#53-William Conners, #54-Martin O. Young, #72-Merle Richardson, #84 Harry H. Van Horn
#84 Sergeant Harry Hayes Van Horn
In 1897, Harry was a resident of Toledo, living with his parents, Nathaniel and Sarah Ann "Sadie" (Pelton) Van Horn. When he enlisted into Company M, 6th O.V.I. in 1898, however, he was listed as a resident of Defiance at the age of 23. He mustered in as a sergeant and by October 26, 1898, he was detailed as acting Sergeant Major of the 3rd Battalion, 6th O.V.I. Harry Van Horn was a leader in many ways throughout his life.
He was born in Clark County on February 21, 1877, where his father worked as a carpenter. When the soldiers came home in May 1899, Harry led a drill on Clinton Street for the entertainment of the people of Defiance, as reported by the Defiance Democrat on June 1, 1899. His next step was to marry his sweetheart, Jessie Bell McCullough, the daughter of William and Emma (Booth) McCullough, on September 4, 1899, in Defiance.
"MR. AND MRS. HARRY VAN HORN
The secret marriage of Miss Jessie McCullough and Harry Van Horn Discovered.
Popular Young People Enter Wedlock all on the Quiet Decoration Day and Guarded Their Secret Well.
How well Miss Jessie McCullough and Harry Van Horn kept the secret of their marriage is best shown by the fact that although they joined heart and hand May 30, the nearest friends and relatives will be surprised when they read this item. The altar was well managed and it has just leaked out that Miss McCullough and Mr Van Horn, instead of being friends, are and have been for nearly four months, husband and wife.
Mrs. Van Horn is a charming young lady of a kind and loving disposition and pleasant manners. She is held in the highest regard by all who know her, and all feel that Mr. VanHorn can be proud of his choice and congratulate himself on having won so delightful a companion. She is one of the pleasant salesladies at Hadey & Whitaker's bargain house.
Harry Van Horn is a stately, graceful young man, who is an enameler by trade. He is very popular with his associates and stands high among the boys of Company M, in which he served his country during the Spanish-American war.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Van Horn took place on the evening of May 30th, when they dropped into the office of Squire Phelps, who announced the words that united the futures of the happy couple. The license, permitting the marriage, was obtained in Henry County, and therefore the records of Defiance county did not disclose the secret.
Mr. Van Horn has a good position on the B & O railroad running from Pittsburgh to Wheeling and will be joined by his bride in a few days."
Defiance Daily Crescent, September 27, 1899
In 1900, Harry became very sick and spent some months at the Veterans Home in Dayton to recover; he was released on April 23, 1900. When the enumerators came around in May 1900, they mistakenly counted Harry twice - once in Toledo with his parents and once in Defiance with his wife and brand new son, Russell, zero months old. Harry noted unemployment for four months that year (perhaps while in Dayton), but now they rented a home at 219 Summit Street and he had a job as a machinist.
**In some sources, the boy is called Robert.
In 1904, Van Horn and friends came together to invent a new version of a carpet sweeper. The Crescent-News reported on January 25, 1904:
An invention of a carpet cleaner, the work of several Defiance men, is now before the "patent office at Washington, and within a few days a patent right will be issued.
The new product is a sweeper manufactured almost entirely of steel and was first conceived by Harry VanHorn. Later S. A. Craven became interested and then several more business men. Recently they perfected the model and then applied for the patent. So far the papers for the latter have not yet arrived but are expected daily.
Nine-tenths interest in this sweeper is owned by S.A. Craven, W.H. Ruess, F.J. Papenhagen, J.A. Diendorfer, R.T. Whitaker and John C. Vandenbroek. The other tenth is held by Mr. VanHorn."
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| Manual sweeper made of metal |
This is in a time when wooden sweepers were the norm, which were heavy and costly to make, and they had one roller. The new invention was made of steel which was more durable, lighter to use, less costly to make, and it had two rollers. The plan was to have it manufactured in Defiance by the American Steel Packaging Company. An offer had also been received from a Chicago firm for all patent rights which was being considered and would have been very prosperous for the owners. The patent could not be located under the name Van Horn, but they could have taken the Chicago offer.
Also in November 1904, Harry Van Horn and Herman A. Spangler took the lead in organizing a Veterans of the Spanish-American War organization which was to be known as Camp Wayne. Spangler was voted Commander and Van Horn as Senior Vice Commander.
On April 2, 1908, Harry lost his first love and mother of his young son, Jessie Bell. Her obituary appeared in the Defiance Democrat on April 4th:
"JESSIE VAN HORN PASSES AWAY AT TOLEDO HOSPITAL AFTER AN OPERATION
Jessie Bell Van Horn, eldest daughter of Mrs. Emma McCullough, died Thursday afternoon at 4 o'clock at Toledo Hospital, the result of an operation for peritonitis. She had been in ill health for about six weeks.
The deceased was born in Defiance, October 8, 1879, and was therefore 29 years of age. All her life was spent in Defiance.
She was united in marriage in 1899 at the close of the, Spanish war to Harry Van Horn, to which union one son, Robert aged 8, was born. In addition to a husband and son, she is survived by mother, Mrs. Emma McCullough of the city, two brothers, Robert and George of the city and four sisters, Mrs. P.L. Schlosser of Toledo, Mrs. W. D. Beardsley and Helen and Mae McCullough of this city.
The deceased was a member of Grace Episcopal Church and leaves a large circle of friends to mourn her departure. The funeral arrangements have not yet been made, but the services will be private..."
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| Jessie was buried in Riverside Cemetery. |
Now, with a young son to raise, Harry moved back with his parents for a while in Toledo.
On September 6, 1927, Harry married a second time to Katherine G. (Radcliffe) in Cook County, Illinois. Harry was fifty years old by this time, and his bride was 39. They settled in Chicago and were there in the 1930 and 1940 censuses. Harry worked as a salesman for an air-conditioning and refrigeration company, while Katherine worked as a rental agent for a real estate company. She reported her income as $1350 a year, but Harry had only worked 17 weeks at his job with an income of $400.
Harry Van Horn died on March 4, 1950, and his obituary appeared in the Crescent-News on March 10th:
Katherine survived him until 1964 when she died in California. Her death notice appeared in the Los Angeles Times on March 23, 1964:
"VanHorn, Katherine. Remains forwarded to Toledo, Ohio for Requiem Mass and interment."
Both Harry and Katherine were buried in the mausoleum at Fort Meigs Cemetery, Perrysburg, Wood County, Ohio.
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