The 1850 Census of Madison, Wisconsin. It lists R. Ream as being 40 and a clerk Lavina, her mother as 33 Robert Jr. as 13 years old C.A. (They called her Mary) as 11 and L.E. as 9 Also lists Mrs. Ream's mother (Mary McDonald) as being 68 and born in PA (she was born in Hagerstown.) Vinnie was named for her mother, full name: Lavinia Ellen "Vinnie" (Ream) Hoxie So there are two L.E.s on the census listed, one age 33 (mother) and her daughter (9) When Mary McDonald died (Vinnie's grandma), they called C.A. (Vinnie's sister) Mary to perpetuate the name--common at that time. I have read the entire material on Vinnie in the Library of Congress and never saw her C.A. referred to as anything but "Mary." The Ellen Thompson on the list was 23 and from Norway--think she might have been a boarder or helper, also common. I never researched her. You'll also note that Vinnie's brother Robert L., Jr. was 13 and born in Ohio, while the two girls were born in Wisconsin. You'll also notice that Vinnie's Father was making the princely (at that time) sum of $7,000/yr. The Postmaster of Madison is also on this census page as making $20,000 - that was an awful lot of money for the times...he must have had other income.
Richard Leveridge Hoxie received his early education in Italy, where his father was a merchant and importer. He returned to America in 1858. He then attended Iowa State University for three years. When the Civil War started, he enlisted in the First Iowa Cavalry. After the war, he served in the Army Engineers, in Western exploration and in the construction of new water and sewer systems. As District Engineer, he designed and constructed the Washington, D.C. water supply system, including filtration plants and underground aqueducts. He laid out part of the Rock Creek Park in Washington. He married Vinnie Ream in 1878. Brig. Gen. Richard Levering Hoxie retired from the U.S. Army in 1908. On November 20, 1914, Vinnie Ream died. She was buried in Arlington National Cemetary.
In 1917, Richard L. Hoxie married Mae Ruth Norcross (called Ruth) of Clearfield, PA. She was an education editor for the Philadelphia Record. She had attended George Washington University and took a great interest in the work of her husband's first wife and her friend in Washington social circles, sculptor Vinnie Ream. General Hoxie died in April of 1930. Ruth and General Hoxie had a son named Ritchie who died in 1936 of cancer. In July of 1959, Mae Ruth Norcross died. She, along with General Hoxie and Vinnie Ream Hoxie are all buried at Arlington National Cemetary in the family plot. |