JEREMIAH BELSHA was born in Jefferson County, Kentucky in approximately 1785. We know very little about our ancestor, Jeremiah Belsha, and much of what is available on genealogy websites is contradictory. The information included below is based on the examination and comparison of actual historical documents, and not on public family trees. 

The surname, Belsha, appears in Missouri prior to the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. In ​"​​​​​​​​​The History of Missouri from the Earliest Explorations and Settlements until the Admission of the State into the Union" by Louis Houck (1908), there was an Elisha (or Elijah) Belsha noted as having been in the Bois Brule area in 1800.​ In addition, the Missouri State Archives houses documentary evidence that a man by the name of Elisha Belsha claimed land in the Bois Brule region of what is now southeast Missouri. The area is described as follows:​

On March 2, 1805, Thomas Jefferson signed into law an ​​​​​“Act for ascertaining and adjusting the titles and claims to land within the Territory of Orleans and the district of Louisiana.” At this time, Missouri belonged to the Louisiana Territory, purchased from the French in 1803. The act stated that anyone “who on the first day of October, in the year one thousand eight hundred, were resident with the territories ceded by the French Republic” and had obtained “any duly registered warrant, or order of survey for lands lying within said territories...shall be confirmed in their claims...”​ 

Elisha Belsha is recorded by the U.S. Recorder of Land Titles as an "Original Claimant" of the land.​​​​​​​

Based on the information above, we know that Elisha Belsha was in the Bois Brule bottom in the year 1800 and had made an original claim on a one mile square parcel of land (640 acres).​ The land in question was, by order of the act signed into law by Thomas Jefferson, granted to him after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.​​​ ​​​​We also know that Elisha was deceased by the year 1805 as evidenced by the letter of administration granted to the administrator of his estate, George Belsha, on June 11, 1805, and the parcel was passed on to the "Heirs of Elisha Belsha."

The parcel of land, outlined below, is located in the Bois Brule Township of what later became Perry County, Missouri at T.36N, N11E. The land is clearly labeled "Heirs of Elisha Belsha." 

Exactly who Elisha Belsha was in relation to our ancestor, Jeremiah Belsha, is unclear. Reasonable speculation, based on known facts, suggests that he could have been a direct ancestor or close relation to Jeremiah, either his father or possibly an uncle. The name Elisha is prevelent in the Belsha family over several generations. Jeremiah had a brother named Elisha, as well as a nephew named Elisha by his brother, James.

Also in question is the identity of the executor of Elisha's estate, George Belsha. George does not appear in early tax documents of Jefferson County, Kentucky - where Jeremiah Belsha lived before coming to Missouri. Neither does he appear in early census documents of Perry County, Missouri. There was a George Belsha living in Missouri at the time of, and immediately following, the dates associated with the Elisha Belsha estate. However, that George Belsha was located significantly north of the Bois Brule bottoms, in St. Clair County, Illinois, near St. Louis. Missouri. In addition, George's Last Will and Testament makes no mention of other Belsha family members, save that of his son, John E. Belsha and a child named Josephine who was in his care at the time of his death.

In 1856, a copy was made of the 1819 plat map. The 640 acres deeded to "Elisha Belsha Heirs" is still visible, although amended to "Elisha Belsha Heirs and Legal Representatives." There is no 1820 Census available for Perry County, Missouri, but later census data tells us that Jeremiah, his wife Hester, and his brothers James and Elisha, along with their wives and families, were residing in Perry County by 1830.

If Elisha Belsha was, indeed, the father of Jeremiah, it is possible that he arrived in what was to become Perry County in the late 1790s and made his claim to the 640 acres in the Bois Brule bottomlands. Then, sometime between 1800 and 1805, died, leaving George Belsha as the administrator of his estate, and leaving the land to his heirs. ​​George could have been his heir, but this seems unlikely based on the above information and the knowledge that there was no other George Belsha listed as head of the household in any census until Jeremiah's son, George, who wasn't born until 1830.​

Jeremiah and his brothers were at or nearing adulthood by the time Elisha Belsha died. This may, indeed, have been the reason that the Belsha brothers moved from Jefferson County, Kentucky, to Perry County, Missouri - to claim their inherited land. Hester Belsha, sister to Jeremiah, may have already been in the Bois Brule area by the time her brothers left Kentucky and joined her in Missouri.

James Belsha and his wife married earlier than the other brothers and had a child in Missouri in 1811. We know that Jeremiah arrived between 1821 and 1823. We do not know when their brother Elisha arrived, but based on his marriage record in Kentucky, it was after 1809.

Another argument for the association between Elisha Belsha and Jeremiah and his brothers is that there are no other people with the Belsha surname farming in the Bois Brule bottomlands except this particular family line for at least two more generations (Jeremiah's great grandson, James Lawrence Belsha). ​By the 1930s, however, the land had been sold to Charles Killian. Unless and until more documentation is found, we can only speculate as to the identity of Elisha Belsha and his heirs.​

As is typical, many online genealogies create more confusion by arbitrarily assigning documents to "Elijah Belsha" as the father of Jeremiah Belsha (which may be true) but the documents are actually for Jeremiah's brother, Elijah, and not his father.

Although Jeremiah's parentage may remain a mystery, we are fortuate to learn the names of several of his siblings by examining the ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Last Will and Testament left by his brother, Elisha, written in 1829. 

It is possible that some of Jeremiah's siblings may have been deceased by the time that Elisha composed his will, and therefore would not have been mentioned. Years of birth for each sibling is unknown, as are specific dates and/or years of death.

Several of these siblings left Jefferson County, Kentucky, to farm the bottomlands of Southeast Missouri. Brothers Elisha and James, as well as sister Hester, are all represented in documents found in Perry and Sainte Genevieve Counties in Missouri.

No information has yet been found to indicate who - or even if - Jane and Delilah Belsha married and if they remained in Kentucky or also relocated to Missouri as their other siblings chose to do.

For more information on the siblings of Jeremiah Belsha, see the "Belsha Sibling Biography" page. 

"Kentucky militia played a prominent role in the military history of the United States. As a result of the predominantly volunteer nature of the early U.S. military establishment, state and local militias— including volunteers from Kentucky—provided a great portion of military service during periods of conflict on the untamed frontiers following the end of the Revolutionary War. From the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth centuries, ongoing disputes with Native Americans over hegemony in the trans- Appalachia region necessarily drew in Kentucky militiamen to patrol the wilderness and protect scattered settlements." 

~ John P. Deeben, ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Defending the “Dark and Bloody Ground”: Kentucky Militia Service in Early Indian Campaigns, 1790–1811, ​(Kentucky Ancestors, Spring, 2011) 

Jeremiah Belsha served in the military in the post-Revolutionary War Indian Campaigns of 1790-1811. He joined Company B of the Kentucky Militia and was given the rank of Private. Commanded by Captain John Hughes, he was called into actual service on a detachment under the command of Brigadier General Joseph Winlock on Christmas Day, 1806. He served until January 24, 1807. For his enlistment he received the sum of $5.00 as well as an allowance of $2.00 for clothing.

Hester McCasland was born approximately 1794 in Jefferson County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of James McCasland. Hester's mother is often listed on public family trees as a woman by the name of Adrian Fitzgerald, but, as yet, there has been no document found to corroborate that claim.​ Hester's approximate birth year was determined by examining her age listed on early census documents. Her year of death was determined by the date listed on her probate documents.

​We are fortunate to have the Last Will and Testament of Hester's sister, Catherine McCasland Belsha, as well as her brother, John P. McCasland, to shed some light on the identity of Hester's father and siblings, as well as some of their their spouses.

On February 15, 1809, a marriage bond was entered into by Jeremiah Belsha with the intention to marry Hester McCasland in Jefferson County, Kentucky.

Jeremiah Belsha and Hester McCasland Belsha made their first home in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Jeremiah, as head of the household, was listed on the 1810 census for Jefferson County. At the time of the census, their household included the following: 

• One male between the ages of 16 and 25, which we may assume would have been Jeremiah.

  • This would place Jeremiah's birth between 1785 and 1794. We know that the couple married after Jeremiah served in the Kentucky militia in 1806-1807. A reasonal estimate, therefore, of his birth year would be approximately 1785, placing him at 21 years of age when serving in the militia and 24 years of age at the time of his marriage.

• One female between the ages of 16 and 25, which we may assume would have been Hester.

  • This would place Hester's latest possible birth year at 1785. However, when compared with the 1830 census, which used a different means of recording age spans, her birth year must be placed between 1791 and 1794. This would make her between 15 and 18 years old at the time of her marriage.

• One male under the age of 10, which we might assume would have been their eldest son, Jeremiah (Jr.)

  • Based on the year that his parents were married and his age in the 1820 census, we can place Jeremiah's year of birth at 1810.

• One male 45 or older.

  • The identity of this man is unknown. However, it is logical to assume that he is a relative of either Jeremiah or Hester.

Sometime between 1809 the year of their marriage, and 1830, where we next find a census record for the Belsha family, they moved from Jefferson County, Kentucky, to Perry County, Missouri. Later census records reveal that their fifth child, William, was born in Kentucky in 1820 or 1821, so we can reasonably set their departure date after 1821. Their first child born in Missouri was Henry, born in 1823, so an estimated date for their arrival in Perry County would be 1822.

Perry County was officially organized on November 16, 1820 (effective January 1, 1821). ​The 1810 and 1820 censuses of the Louisiana and Missouri Territories would have listed the heads of household, but those records have been lost. Perry County did not divide the census into specific townships until 1850. Therefore, although we know the Jeremiah Belsha family was in Perry County in 1830, and can assume from later censuses that they were farmers, we do not yet know if the land upon which they farmed was that property willed to the heirs of Elisha Belsha.​​​​

In 1830, the Belsha family had a full household. Jeremiah was approximately 45 years old, and his wife, Hester, was between 36 and 39 years old. The children ranged between a few months old to 21 years.

There were eleven children living in the Belsha household at the time, eight males and three females. The number of male children is inconsistent with the known children of Belsha family that we find by examining later records. There was one "extra" male child between the ages of 15 - 19 years old.

Whether this child was, indeed, an offspring of Jeremiah and Hester or possibly a relative living in the same household, we do not know, as names of spouses and children were not included on census records in Perry County until 1850.

By 1840, Jeremiah Belsha was no longer represented on census documents, and is assumed deceased. We know, by both census documents and by the Will of his brother, Elisha Belsha, that he was still alive in 1830.

The Last Will and Testament of John P. McCasland, drafted in 1834, mentions both his sister, Catherine Belsha and his sister, Hester Belsha. In that document they are both described as "widows." Therefore, we can confidently place Jeremiah's death between 1830 and February 30, 1834.

The 1840 census listed Hester Belsha, widow, as head of the household. In 1840, the unidentified male, who would have been between 25 and 29 years old, is still found living with the Belsha family, along with an additional male child between the ages of 5 and 9. The young male is the appropriate age for their grandson, John Logan Belsha, but this is unlikely, as both of his parents were still living at this time.

We know that Jerry's parents were married on February 15, 1809 in Jefferson County, Kentucky. By the 1810 census taken of the same county, they were shown as having one male child under 10 years old. Although the Belshas were presumed still in Kentucky in 1820, they have not been found represented in the census documents for that year. In 1830, however, they are found once again, this time in Perry County, Missouri.

There was, in the Belsha household in 1830, one male between the ages of 20 and 29, which would be the accurate age for a child born in 1810. We may assume that child was their first born son, Jeremiah "Jerry" Belsha.

The actual existence of Jerry Belsha would be in question, despite the census information (which did not list names of anyone other than the head of the household until 1850 in Missouri), if it were not for the ​​​​Last Will and Testament of his uncle, Elisha Belsha, written in 1829.

This document tells us conclusively that Jerry Belsha did exist and was still alive in 1829. On May 2nd, 1831, only one year after the death of her husband, Mary "Polly" Belsha relinquished all rights and title to the estate left her by her late husband, Elisha, while still claiming other portions of the estate that she was entitled to as widow. This was sometimes done when the person inheriting cannot afford the taxes or upkeep of property. At 64 years old, it would have been understandable that Polly no longer wanted or needed the estate willed to her by her husband. It would, at that time, have been divided and passed on to her two nephews, Elisha and Jerry Belsha, as per the instructions of the will.

Jerry Belsha was not represented in the 1840 census for Perry County, Missouri. Nor can he be found in the 1850 census, which lists actual names of all household members. That, in and of itself, is not sufficient evidence to conclude that he was no longer living at that time. He could have moved away from the area or been missed by census enumerators.

However, the document below, found within the probate packet of Jerry's mother, Hester McCasland Belsha, gives compelling evidence that Jeremiah was no longer living by the time of his mother's death din May of 1850. The document shows that Ferdinand Belsha, Hester's second eldest son, had been named the administrator of the estate. One would expect, if Jerry were alive (and in the area) that he, as eldest son, would have been named the administrator. 

​But more importantly, the document specifically names all of the heirs of Hester Belsha, including her two grandchildren, John Logan and Sarah Caroline Belsha, children of her deceased son, John. One would assume that this was an accurate list, as Ferdinand surely knew which of his siblings were still living. The absence of Jerry implies that he was deceased by the death of his mother.

The document does not list the children of any of the other siblings because, with living parents, it is assumed that they would be included in their own parent's estate. Hester, in including John Logan and Sarah as heirs, was attempting to provide for the children of her deceased son, John. By not including any other children in the probate document, it may be be assumed that either, 1) Jerry left no children, otherwise Hester would have surely provided for them as well, or 2) Jerry had had a wife and children, but that wife had remarried, and therefore did not need her children to be provided for by Hester.

Taking into consideration the above information, we may reasonably conclude that Jeremiah "Jerry" Belsha, Jr. was born in 1810 in Jefferson County, Kentucky, and died sometime between 1830 and 1850 in Perry County, Missouri. We cannot determine whether or not he had a wife or children, but if so, neither were living at the time of Jerry's mother's death in 1850.

In 1840, at age 27, Ferdinand appeared to be living with his mother and siblings in Perry County. Their father, Jeremiah, had already passed away and Ferdinand was the oldest male in the household. His occupation was listed as "agriculture."​​

In 1842, Ferdinand and Margaret Davis were married by Alfred A. Parks, the Justice of the Peace for Bois Brule Township in Perry County, Missouri. Together they had two children: Ann, whose first name could have been Nancy, was born in 1844 or 1845, and Eliza J., born in 1846. Many public ancestry trees list Eliza as the daughter of Jeremiah and Hester Belsha, but the census and other documents show she was the daughter of Ferdinand and Margaret.

By 1850, Ferdinand had lost his first wife, Margaret, and had remarried to Catherine Crowder on May 9, 1848. The census showed them living in Bois Brule Township on a 123 acre farm adjacent to his sister, Elizabeth, and her husband, William Cann. Other Belsha siblings also occupied farms in the immediate vicinity at the time. The Agricultural Schedule shows that Ferdinand had the following: 5 horses, 6 milk cows, 2 oxen, 4 cattle, 8 sheep and 30 pigs. His main crop consisted of Indian corn (1000 bushels).

In addition to his daughters, (Nancy) Ann and Eliza, the household included a one year old daughter named Mary C., with the "C" probably standing for Catherine. Public family trees also suggest that additional daughters may have been born to Ferdinand and Catherine, namely Louisa, born in 1851 and Ellen, who would have had to have been born before or soon after 1853, the year of Ferdinand's death. Documentation has not, as yet, been found to corroborate this information.

The 1850 census also lists a young man, William Cummins, as living in the household with the Ferdinand Belsha family. It would not be uncommon for the Belshas to have a farm laboror living with them, particularly because they had only very young daughters, who would have been of little help on the farm. However, the census does not list William as a "laborer," but as "idiotic."

In the early census, this was one of the disabilities that census enumerators were expected to record. At the time, "idiotic" was used to describe "a person the development of whose mental faculties were arrested in infancy or childhood before coming to maturity."

How William came to be with the Belshas in unknown. Documentation has been found to indicate that Ferdinand Belsha was William's guardian. In August, 1850, Ferdinand presented to the court his accounts for the settlement for William Cummins, a minor. The document states that Ferdinand claimed $86.53 for "maintaining and taking care of Ward for 2 years and 3 months from May, 1848 to August, 1850."

The age of majority in 1850 was 21 years, so William, now 21, would no longer have been considered a minor. Therefore, Ferdinand's guardianship would have, assumably, been terminated at that time. What happened subsequently to William is unknown.

Ferdinand Belsha died in 1853. He was approximately 40 years old. His brother, Henry, was the Executor of his estate and his brother, Napoleon, was a signer on the administration letter. We do not know when his wife, Catherine, died. However, documentation exists to suggest that two of the daughters, (Nancy) Ann and Eliza J., Belsha, were sent to live with the family of Oliver and Amanda Cross in Jackson County, Illinois, which is across the Mississippi River near where the Belshas lived. Nancy married Joel P. Barber and died in 1865. Eliza married a man named Disney Crain and died in 1879. They had a son whom they named Ferdinand. The Last Will and Testament of Henry Belsha, 1866, verifies this by specifically mentioning his niece, Eliza Crain, the daughter of his brother, Ferdinand.​

On June 25, 1848, Elizabeth was married to William Cann by William Allen, the Justice of the Peace for Bois Brule Township in Perry County, Missouri. There is some ambiguity regarding the spelling of William's last name. It has been spelled Cann, Carry, Camy, Cama and Canny in various documents. The decision to choose Cann as the correct spelling is based on the examination of two documents in which his name is written very clearly (Hester Belsha probate document and John Logan Belsha's guardianship document). At the time of their marriage, Elizabeth was 32 years of age and William, who was from Kentucky, was 26.

In 1850, the Cann family lived in Bois Brule Township, Perry County, Missouri, on a farm next to Elizabeth's brother, Ferdinand. It appears from the Agricultural Schedule from 1850 that they were pig farmers, as they are listed as having two horses, 3 cattle, 100 pigs and 500 bushels of Indian corn.​

The 1850 census showed that William and Elizabeth had a one year old son, John M. Cann. Also living in the Cann household at the time was a 13 year old boy named Elias Cann from Illinois. Elias would have been born in approximately 1835, so it is not likely that he is the child of William and Elizabeth. It is possible that he was a relative, perhaps a nephew. Documentation suggests that Elias married Rebecca Jane Honey on October 1, 1857, in Monroe, Illinois. Monroe is located along the Mississippi River north of Sainte Genevieve, Missouri. There is also documentation to suggest that Elias was a participant in the Civil War. T​​​​​​​​he Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls lists an Elias Cann, farmer, born approximately 1836, married, with sandy hair, grey eyes and a light complexion, 5' 11" tall. He entered the service on August 1, 1861. Unfortunately, he died on November 29, 1861 in Mound City, Illinois. During the Civil War, Mound City had one of the largest Union hospitals in the western states.

William Cann was named the guardian of both Sarah Caroline (often called Salli) and John Logan Belsha, children of his brother-in-law, (and Elizabeth's brother) John Belsha, who died in 1844 or early 1845. Their mother, Harriet, had remarried, but died before 1847.

In 1841, he married Harriet Finch Kinnison in the Baptist church in Perry County, Missouri. Harriet was the daughter of Thomas and Nancy Finch and widow of Joel Price Kinnison. Together they had two children, Sarah Caroline and John Logan.

John Belsha died sometime between 1844 and very early 1845, when his wife, Harriet remarried to Robert Winsett. He was approximately 26 years old. For more information on the life of John Belsha, see the John Belsha Biography page by clicking here.

At 29 years old, William Belsha was found living in Bois Brule Township in Perry County, Missouri, with his younger brother, Napoleon Belsha. Their farm was adjacent to that of their brother, George, and their sisters, Melissa and Mary Ann. William was listed as the "farmer" and Napoleon was listed as "laborer." The agricultural schedule for 1850 reported that William the had following: 2 horses, 2 oxen, one cow, 40 pigs and 1000 bushels of Indian corn.

Many public family trees confuse William B. Belsha (Jeremiah and Hester's son), born in 1820, with William P. Belsha, son of James and Catherine Belsha, who was born in 1811 and married three times (Catherine Fare, America Hoskins and Lucy Ann Tessel). The men were cousins but had separate households in the 1850 census. 

William B. Belsha died intestate before December of 1852. His brother, Henry Belsha, was the administrator of his estate. He was approximately 32 years of age. There has been no documentation yet found to indicate that William married or had a family.

In the 1850 federal census, Henry Belsha was be found listed as a "laborer" on a farm owned by Ann Kinnison in Bois Brule Township, Perry County, Missouri. The Kinnison farm was adjacent to a farm owned by Henry's brother, Ferdinand, and two properties over from the farm owned by his family (brother George and sisters Mary Ann and Melissa). Why Henry wasn't living and working on his family property isn't known. However, because Ann Kinnison was listed as the head of the household (implying that she was a widow) and hadd several young children, the oldest being Milton at 13 years of age, perhaps Henry, who had no family of his own at that time, was simply acting in the capacity of a farm foreman. 

On Thursday, June 9, 1853, Henry married Lucretia Robinson. The marriage took place in Perry County, Missouri and was performed by Andrew Hogard, a Justice of the Peace. Andrew Hogard was also a Minister of the Gospel in the Baptist church and performed the marriage ceremony for Henry's brother, John, and his wife Harriet. At this time, we have no documentation on Lucretia, her parents, or where she was born. By the 1860 census, she was no longer represented as living in the household with Henry Belsha, so it is assumed that she was deceased by this time. 

In 1860, Henry was found living on a farm in Bois Brule Township. Living in the household were two young boys: John R. Belsha, (6 years old), and Thomas Belsha (2 years old). It is unclear who these two boys are. Neither are mentioned in Henry Belsha's Last Will and Testament, although Henry does specifically mention the names of other people, including nieces and nephews, to whom he left bequests.

Also living in the household in 1860 were two of Henry's nephews: John Logan Belsha, son of his deceased brother, John, and John M. Cann, son of his (presumed) deceased sister, Elizabeth. Henry Belsha was the guardian of John Logan and his sister, Sarah Caroline, a position he assumed in 1851 from his brother-in-law, William Cann. Another family, Priest Anderson, his wife Nancy, and their nine month old daughter, Melissa, also share the household. A 30 year old man, John Krabby, who may have beend a farm laborer, also resided with the Belshas. The Missouri Agricultural Schedule for 1860 listed Henry Belsha as the "owner, agent, or manager of the farm."

In 1865, Henry Belsha registered for military duty in the third Congressional District in the state of Missouri. At the time of his registration, Henry was 42 years old. The Enrollment Act of 1863, also called the Civil War Military Draft Act, was the first wartime draft of U. S. citizens in American history and called for registration of all males between the ages of 20 and 45.​​​​​​​​​​ Men were divided into two classes. Class one grouped men between the ages of twenty and thirty-five years and unmarried men between thirty-five and forty five. Class two included all other persons subject to do military duty.​​​​ One exception was that married men could not be drafted until all available unmarried men had been drafted.

Because Henry's wife, Lucretia, was not represented in the 1860 census, we do not know his marital status at the time of his registration for the draft, although she is assumed deceased. Therefore, we do not know under which draft class he qualified. However, no additional documentation has been yet found to indicate that Henry Belsha actually served in active duty during the Civil War.

Henry drafted his Last Will and Testament on October 23, 1866. It is reasonable to assume he died sometime soon after, in 1866 or 1867. In his will he made specific bequests to several of his family members, but did not mention a wife or children. This is further supportive evidence that his wife, Lucretia, was deceased by the time of his will. He left substantial property to his nephew, William Cann, son of his deceased sister, Elizabeth Cann. He also left property to Priest Anderson, the man who was living with him in 1860.

A specific bequest was mentioned to his sister-in-law, Eliza Belsha, of a black horse and $400. This most likely refers to the wife of his youngest brother, Napoleon.

Henry specifically mentioned his sister, Melissa, as a beneficiary, therefore implying that she was still living in 1866. He also mentioned his niece, daughter of his brother, John, and called her Salli Faina. The niece's actual name was Sarah Caroline Belsha Faina.

Also living in the household at the time was her brother George, her sister, Mary Ann, her niece Sarah Caroline (often called Salli) Belsha and her nephew, John Logan Belsha. Also listed in the household was a man named George Goodell, most likely a laborer on the farm.

On July 2, 1850, Malissa married Henry Smith, from Kentucky, in Perry County. The marriage was performed by William Allen, the Justice of the Peace  for Bois Brule township. Because the wedding occured after June 1st, the official census date for 1850, Malissa was not listed on the census that year as living in the same household as her husband. Malissa was Henry's second wife, his first being Emily McDaniel, whom he had married in 1845 and had one child, Mary Hannah Smith, born in 1848. 

In 1860, the Smiths were found living on a farm in Bois Brule Township, adjacent to the farm of her sister-in-law, Teresa, wife of her deceased brother, George. Mary, Henry's daughter from his previous marriage, was 12 years old and together Henry and Malissa had a son, Charles, who was four years old.

Henry Belsha, Malissa's brother, left her a bequest in his will, written in 1866, so we know that she was still living at that time. However, by 1870, her husband, Henry Smith, was found living on the farm of Richard McCarver and his mother (who was listed as 100 years old) in Bois Brule, a family he had lived with before his marriage to Malissa. Their son, Charles H., who was 14 in 1870, was not living with his father, but was working on another farm in Bois Brule owned by the Van Canneyt family, immigrants from Belgium. The census stated that Charles' father was foreign-born, but this was a mistake of the census enumerator who possibly assumed that Charles was the child of the Van Canneyt family.

Several public family trees claim Malissa's death to be in 1859. These are not accurate as two separate documents, the 1860 census for Bois Brule township, Perry County, Missouri, as well as the October 23, 1866 will of her brother, Henry Belsha, both refute these claims. We can, with reasonable confidence, place Malissa Belsha Smith's death between October, 1866 and 1870.

Also living in the household was her brother George, her sister, Malissa, her neice Sarah Caroline (often called Salli) Belsha and her nephew, John Logan Belsha. Also listed in the household is a man named George Goodell, most likely a laborer on the farm.

On March 9, 1854, Mary Ann married Joseph Wimsatt. Joseph, from Missouri, was working as a laborer on the farm of  Susan Abernathy in the Cape Cinque Hommes township of Perry County in 1850. The marriage was perormed by Andrew B. Hogard, Justice of the Peace.

Together, Joseph and Mary Ann had a son, Joseph E. Wimsatt, who was born in approximately 1858. However, neither Joseph (Sr.) nor Mary Ann were represented in the 1860 census for Perry County so it is assumed that both were deceased by that time. 

Documents show that, in 1859, a man named Stephen Wimsatt, assumed to be a relative of Joseph E. Wimsatt (a minor) was appointed as his guardian. Then, in 1864, that guardianship was transferred to Henry Belsha, Mary Ann's brother and Joseph E. Wimsatt's uncle. In 1866, again the guardianship was transferred, this time to a man named Martin Moore. Martin Moore was a farmer in the Bois Brule township and his relationship to Joseph E. Wimsatt is unknown. It is assumed that the guardianship was transferred due to the death of Henry Belsha in 1866. 

Two letters of administration of probate for Joseph Wimsatt were located, one dated December 22, 1857, that listed Stephen Wimsatt as the administrator of the estate, and another in February 23, 1860, listing Henry Belsha as the administrator with Stephen Wimsett as security.

In 1870, Joseph E. Wimsatt, age 12, was listed as living on the farm of Susan Twyman in the Cinque Hommes township. He was listed as having attended school within the year, could read, but could not write. The relationship of Susan Twyman to Joseph is unknown. Joseph was listed as one of beneficiaries of the estate of his uncle, Henry Belsha.

By examining the few documents that exist, we can, with reasonable confidence, place Mary Ann Belsha Wimsatt's death between 1858, the birth of her son, and 1859, when Stephen Wimsatt was assigned guardianship. If the letter of administration dated December, 1857, was for Joseph Wimsatt, the husband of Mary Ann, then he would have died when Mary Ann was pregnant with their child.

Living in the same household were his sisters, Malissa and Mary Ann, his niece, Sarah Caroline (often called Salli) Belsha, and his nephew, John Logan Belsha. Also living in the household was a man named George Goodell, most likely a laborer on the farm.

On December 24, 1855, George, at the age of 27, married Teresa Ann Winfield in Perry County, Missouri. Teresa was born approximately 1833 in Missouri, daughter of Stephen Theodore Winfield and Delila Anna Stafford. Sometime before 1850, her father died and her mother remarried to a man with the last name of Arick. Teresa was the eldest daughter.​

Unfortunately, the couple's marriage did not last for very long. By 1860, George was no longer represented in the census and is presumed to be deceased. His wife, Teresa Belsha, was listed as the head of the household. Three sons were listed: Henry N. (possibly Napoleon, age 4), William (2), and Joseph (1). Also living in the household at the time and working as a laborer on the farm was George's younger brother, Napoleon Belsha.

In 1870, Joseph, at age 12, was found working on the Nathan and Susan Middleton farm in Bois Brule. Also listed were Paul Belsha (14) and Talbot Belsha (13).  The October 11, 1867 issue of the Perryville Weekly Union newspaper lists Nathan Middleton and Teresa A., his wife. Marital records show that Nathan married Theresa in June of 1861. It is likely that Teresa was using the name Susan. The newspaper article also mentioned the minor children of George Belsha, deceased; Napoleon, Talbot and Joseph Belsha. Although the names are different, it is likely that these were the same children.

In 1880, Joseph, still single, was was working as a farm laborer in Saline township in Perry County. A Missouri death certificate could not be found for Joseph, so it is assumed that he died prior to 1910.

In 1880, at the age of 22, William, single, was working as a laborer on the Allen farm in Bois Brule. By 1910, he was working on his own account on a farm that he rented in the St. Mary's township in Perry County. William died on July 9, 1915 from pulmonary tuberculosis. He is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Perryville, Missouri.

Henry N. Belsha, single, was living in Central township (Perryville) in 1880 and working as a laborer. In 1900, he was living in Perryville in a boarding house. His occupation was listed as "pauper" and he could neither read nor write. In 1910, he was listed as an "inmate" of the Perry County Poor Farm and, once again, his occupation was listed as "pauper." Henry died in 1922 and is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Perryville, Missouri.

William Belsha was listed as the head of the household and Napoleon was listed as a laborer. The farm was located adjacent to that of Napoleon's brother George, his sisters, Malissa and Mary Ann, and his niece and nephew, Sarah Caroline and John Logan Belsha. Also in the near vicinity were his sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth and William Cann, as well as his brother, Ferdinand and his family. Napoleon's brother, Henry, was working on a neighboring farm owned by Ann Kinnison.

In 1860, Napoleon was working on the farm of his sister-in-law, Teresa, wife of his deceased brother, George, in Bois Brule township. No records have yet been found to document Napoleon after 1860. In the October 11, 1867 issue of the Weekly Perryville Union newspaper, there is a mention of Eliza Belsha, widow of Napoleon Belsha, so we know he had married and died before 1867. We also know that the newspaper article is referring to the correct Napoleon Belsha, because listed in the same article are several other members of the Belsha family. We do not currently have documentation to suggest Eliza's maiden name. In the will of his brother, Henry, written in 1866, it mentions a bequest to Eliza Belsha, (Napoleon's wife) of a horse, but that isn't sufficient to place Napoleon's death prior to 1866, as Henry could have left the horse to her even had his brother been alive at the time.

Based on the documentation found, and, perhaps more revealing, the documentation ​​​not found for each of the Belsha siblings of this generation, it appears that they were not affiliated with any particular church or denomination. Most were married by Justices of the Peace in the area in which they lived, primarily Bois Brule township. John Belsha was married by A. Hogard, a Minister of the Gospel in the Baptist Church in 1841. A. Hogard could refer to either Austin or Andrew Hogard. Both were preachers and pastors of the Bois Brule Baptist Church at the time. Other Justices of the Peace referenced above include Alfred Parks and William Allen, who presided over the marriage of three of the Belsha siblings. There are no Belshas among the list of members of the Bois Brule Baptist Church from 1807 - 1879.

Death or burial records were also not located among the records of the Assmuption Catholic Church. Neither are they among the list of burials of the Bois Brule Baptist Church. The first Belsha for whom a grave has been located in Perry County at this time is that of John Logan Belsha, grandson of Jeremiah Belsha and son of John Belsha, who was buried in The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cemetery, also known as Belgique Catholic Cemetery. He and his sister Sarah had been taken to be baptized in the Catholic church by their mother, Harriet, after their father had died.

Finally, the Belshas are not featured prominently in the book, Maryland Catholics on the Frontier. Although they are represented, it isn't until the generation following the siblings listed above, when John Logan married into the prominent Catholic Tucker family. Therefore, it is unlikely that they were Catholics from Kentucky.