GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY WILL NOT MEET IN
DECEMBER AND JANUARY.
MEETINGS WILL RESUME IN FEBRUARY.
THE BLOG WILL ALSO BE VACATIONING UNTIL THE NEW YEAR.
Friday, December 16, 2022
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Mark Eagles Edge Out Farmer Tigers - Tournament 1948
"MARK BEATS FARMER, 51-50, IN CLIMAX OF EXCITING COUNTY TOURNEY
The Blue and White, brought to the peak for this one, after a stunning first round defeat at the hands of Jewell, won the hard way - by withstanding the loss of their star, Junior Kline, early in the fourth quarter on fouls; by closing a five point gap in the final minutes when it seemed that all was lost; and then by slugging it out with the desperate Tigers in a point crazy regulation overtime that saw 22 tallies - 11 by each side - swished through the nets in three minutes.
For the Farmer contingent and Coach Ollie Zedaker, this loss was a heartbreaker, coming as it did on top of the overtime defeat in the championship bracket at the hands of Ayersville They had few excuses, however, for in both contests, they enjoyed comfortable leads in the late minutes, only to get nipped at the wire.
This was one of the best of recent tournaments - an affair of surprises and thrills galore However, patronage fell off somewhat, being considerably less than last year, and there was plenty of room the final round for what turned out to be the best-played game of the entire event.
Individually, Mark's Junior Kline looked the best of the lot throughout the tournament, while Curly Lilly and Willard Kammeyer, of Farmer, Ted Shreves of Ayersville, Hellemn and Bergman of Ney, Keith Kinzer of Mark and one or two others performed consistently well...
Mark held a three point margin over Farmer throughout most of the first half, with the Tigers pulling up to 19-17 at intermission. The county league champs took the lead, 30 - 27, in the third quarter, and when Kline left the game in the early minutes of the last canto, the Farmer advantage was 6 points. The jig seemed up for Mark, but the Walters boys, paced by Kinzer, kept pecking away, and it was tied at 38 all when the game ended.
The overtime was a frantic nightmare with both clubs playing almost perfect under terrific tension. Kinzer popped home the first 5 of Mark's 11 points, but Bob Gotschall answered with three beautiful long shots to keep Farmer moving, and the count was tied at 49 when the extra period ended.
Leland Anderson, who had replaced Kline, was the hero of the 'sudden death' overtime, breaking free from the pivot position to score after Curly Lilly had given Farmer the lead with a charity toss. Big Andy really drove for his bucket, moving past two Tiger defenders - and that was it.
The Geer brothers, Lloyd and Ralph, worked the tournament and did (in the eyes of the observer) a bang-up job There were some debatable calls, of course, but all in all, it as high class officiating
Mark and Ayersville will represent the county at the Leipsic district, and both should do reasonably well."
The Sherwood Chronicle, 26 February, 1948
Monday, December 5, 2022
Let's Go Dancing at Sunset Gardens
In September of 1928, a dance pavilion was constructed on the Hicksville-Defiance Pike (State Route 18 today), to be known as the Sunset Gardens. The location was about 2 1/2 miles east of Sherwood and the man behind the idea was Charles W. Seibert.
Charles William Seibert was born on September 4, 1884, in Hicksville, Ohio, to George J. and Charlotte (Miller) Seibert who operated a boarding house or hotel there. Charles married Gertrude Wilson on June 1, 1907, with whom he had two children: Helen, born in 1909, and Robert Miller Seibert, born in 1911. The family lived with his parents in Hicksville at the time of the 1910 census and they were in the theatrical trade, trying to work in vaudeville.
Sometime after the birth of Robert, the second child, Charles and Gertrude divorced and Charles headed for the U.S. Navy and New York City. Gertrude stayed in Hicksville with his parents. Always interested in the field of entertainment, Charles lived at the dance hall while it was constructed and in the 1930 census was listed as the manager of an amusement park.
The front page of the Defiance Crescent-News on July 31, 1928:
Once opened in early 1929, the dance hall proved to be a very popular spot for drinking and dancing . Soon it began to bring in bands from all around. In 1929, WOWO, Ft. Wayne, broadcast music from Sunset Gardens.
Occasionally, trouble ensued among the customers. One newspaper report in 1929 reported drunkenness charges against Bernard, Virgil and William Carpenter, brothers. They all were charged $5 on the charge. Bernard declared that he was not drunk or involved in any way, but he paid just to end the matter.
In August,1930,tragedy struck when the dance hall caught fire and was completely destroyed. The Defiance Crescent-News reported on August 16, 1930 on page 1:
"FLAMES RAZE SUNSET GARDENS.
SCHEUERMAN SUMMONS FIRE MARSHALL'S DEPUTY, SUSPECTING INCENDIARISM IN $12,000 BLAZE
Suspecting an incendiary, Fire Chief John Scheuerman has summoned Deputy State Marshall C. O. Figgins, West Unity, to come this afternoon to investigate fire which at 2 a.m. today razed Sunset Gardens, a dance hall on the Hicksville-Defiance Pike, two and half miles east of Sherwood.
Owner Charles Siebert, reached by telephone at the Wellington Hotel restaurant, Napoleon, where he is employed as a cook, estimated the value of the destroyed building between $12,000 and $15,000. Insurance totaling $5,000 is carried in two companies. Representatives of these companies here conferred with Chief Scheuerman before Deputy Figgins was summoned.
More than a year ago, an attempt to burn the dance hall failed. Following a investigation at that time, the case was presented to a Defiance county grand jury which returned an arson indictment against Robert Sanders, Delaware Bend, who kept his cattle near the pavilion. For want of evidence, Prosecutor Jay R. Pollock later nolled this bill. He said today he did not think Sanders had anything to do with the former attempt to fire the place.
The investigation last year was the result of a $25 blaze. There was indications that oil had been sprinkled about the building and lighted, but that the fire had smothered since the building was closed and no air could reach the flames.
Firemen Harvey Hughes, Francis Beadel, and Rolla Dunn of the Defiance department took the small chemical truck to the hall this morning after an alarm was sent here from Sherwood. They said they were unable to learn any cause for the flames which were widespread by the time they arrived.
The Sherwood department was already on the job. Firemen devoted their time to checking spread of the flames through the dry grass and protecting buildings on the David Fair farm across the Hicksville-Defiance Pike. Only a motor connected with the Delto-light system was saved.
Mrs. Marie Miller who lives near by, notified the Sherwood department and spread the alarm. Defiance firemen said they talked to Carl Kuhn, Hicksville milk truck drier. Kuhn, according to the Defiance men, had driven past the dance hall a few minutes before the alarm was spread and saw nothing wrong. When about a mile and half up the road, he happened to look back, he said, and one end of the structure was enveloped in flames.
Siebert, in discussing the fire over the telephone from Napoleon, expressed the theory that possibly persons camping near to sleep there, had set the place afire. It was recalled that several months ago, Siebert, while sleeping in the dance hall, was aroused by intruders who fled when he opened fire on them. Campers are known to have been in that vicinity on Friday...
Siebert constructed the pavilion in September of 1928 and conducted dances and served dinners there during fall, winter, and spring months each year. The place was closed for the summer and changes had been made with a view to reopening in the fall."
Charles died in Hicksville on November 21, 1939 of cancer. He is buried in Forest Home Cemetery in Hicksville, Ohio.
👉 Many thanks to Dan Hasch who provided all this information on Sunset Gardens and Charles W. Seibert.
Are there any photos of Sunset Gardens out there??/
Friday, December 2, 2022
Richard Knight - Long Time Farmer, Ohio, Resident
A native of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Richard Knight came to Farmer, Ohio, early and settled in for at least fifty years. He was a farmer, but he also served as postmaster one year, sold insurance, sat on the board of a bank and the county infirmary, and contributed to the draining of the swampland in the area.
He was a family man, married to his wife, the former Harriet Firestone for their lifetimes. Three daughters blessed their marriage: Eliza Jane, Eleanor (Foot), and Eugenia May (Haymaker).
His obituary detailed his life and accomplishments, and appeared in the Hicksville Tribune on June 3, 1909, p. 1.
"KNIGHT
Richard Knight was born in Pennsylvania, Jan. 26, 1816, and died at Farmer, Ohio, May 28, 1909, aged 93 years, 5 months and 9 days. The funeral was held at Farmer on Sunday, May 30th at 10:00 a.m.
In childhood, he removed with his parents to Wayne County, Ohio, and in 1839 was there married to Harriet Firestone. For 70 years this couple lived together, Mrs. Knight passing away on March 28, just two months prior to the death of her husband.
In early manhood, Mr. Knight united with the Baptist church and maintained his church relations as long as a society of that denomination was maintained in his community.
Mr. Knight was a member of Fountain City Lodge F & A.M. at Bryan and that lodge had charge of the funeral. At the time of his death, he was the oldest member of that lodge.
Mr. Knight removed to Defiance County in 1850 to farm in Section 8 of Farmer Township, removing some years later to Farmer Center, where he resided the rest of his life. Two children survive: Mrs. Ella F. Foot of Farmer and Mrs. K. V. Haymaker of Defiance.
Very few men are vouchsafed such length of years as was given to Richard Knight, and it is also true that very few men accomplish as much of good to the community in which they lived as he did. In the early pioneer days when he settled in this country, life was a strenuous affair and in the work of reclaiming the land from the wilderness and developing its resources, he bore a man's part.
For many years, he was engaged in the lumber business, conducting saw mills in various points in the western part of the county. He was also a carpenter and builder, and much of his work in that line is still in use.
It may not be generally known that the first official surveys of this county designated a large portion of Mark Township as 'Irreclaimable Swamp Land.' When the first efforts were made to drain 'The Marsh,' as it was called, Richard Knight was one of the contractors who did the work of constructing the first of the big ditches through that land, where today are located some of the finest farms of the county.
Deceased was one of the organizers of the Farmer Township Mutual Protection Association which has become a very popular company among the farmers of this county, and is probably carrying more farm risks than any three companies doing business in the county. He was for many years the president of this company.
He was also for many years a director of the Farmers' Banking Company of Bryan, which has since been reorganized as The Farmers National Bank.
In politics, he was a democrat of the old school, and for many years was one of the wheel horses of the party. He was never an office seeker, though he was elected as a director of the first Board of Infirmary Directors, that being the only office which he ever held. For more than forty years he attended every Democratic Convention in this county and enjoyed a very wide acquaintance among the workers of the party, to which he gave allegiance.
It is men like Richard Knight that makes our country truly great, and he will long be remembered as an upright man, a good citizen, and a true and faithful friend."
Saturday, November 26, 2022
School Days in Sherwood in 1889
From a column in the Sherwood Chronicle, April 8, 1948 -
OUT OF THE PAST
SCHOOL DAYS - 1889
Mr. Emerson (Shelly) Miller got to rummaging around in an old trunk recently, and came upon a folder, entitled 'School Memories," dealing with the Sherwood School for the term which began on October 7, 1889, and closed on March 14, 1890. He has since been kind enough to loan the folder to The Chronicle for the purpose of this article.
Mrs. M. M. Farnsworth and Miss Rose Gleason were the teachers, and one of the mottos adopted by the students went as follows:
'If God and your own conscience gives you a good grade, the pencil marks of the whole world cannot reduce your value.'
Mrs. Farnsworth wrote: 'Aim to live so well that the world shall demand your service while living, and learn of your death with regret.'
The folder, printed at the Hicksville Independent, shows that 119 pupils were enrolled for the term - a big responsibility for two teachers, even in that day and age.
Here are the names:
Willie Blair and Louis Blair -
Chas. Bercaw
Albert Bossler
Luman and William Farnsworth
Coe, John, and Albert Haver
Peter Hammel
Samuel Kintner
Eddie Marlett
Hollis Miller
Martin Openlander
Clarence Pitts
George Shoe
Alpha Van Meter
Ernest, George and Daniel Whetstone
Emerson Miller
Wilber Shook
Warrie Peach
Edward and Curtis Miller
Chas. Dunigan
Florence and Grace Allendeer
May, Regina, and Hattie Boor
Choe Boyer
Addie Huff
Lydia Huffman
Cora Miller
Elsie Marlett
Estella Mller
Pearl and Lillian Potter
Iona Pitts
Lizzie, Ella and Emma Rock
Bina and Cora Rank
Lottie Buckman
Mary Shoe
Lillian White
Myrtle Wallace
Albert and Grace Marlett
Esta and Vernie Rank
Willie Huffman
Curtis and Lily Haver
Dallas Koons
Elmer Renz
Emma Polry
Carl Weber
Effie Worthington
Henry, Melbourne and Ethel Miller
Broes Bercaw
Era Wheaton
Clara and Charlie Hamel
Onie Adams
Elmer Bloom
Joe Smith
Milo Bowker
Louisa Sprow
Bertha Heller
Alice Byers
Allie Conkle
Yetta Standecker
Bessie Doud
Maud Havlin
Willie Boyer
Arthur Farnsworth
Josie Andrews
Roy Ruckman
Clara Shoe
Bertha, Harvey and Charley Rank
Frank Huffman
Robert and Myrtle Haver
Adam Rigal
Jessie Poiry
Grace Weber
Marty Whetstone
Cory, Elmer, Ada and Elsa Miller
Otto Breeze
Harry Wallace
Willie Hamel
Lottie Pitts
Ray Bloom
John and Peter Smith
Ada Kintner
Erma Heller
Lawrence Creig
Ezra Byers
Julius Standecker
Eethel Havlin
Katie Boyer
Henry Boyer
Clayton Huffman
Willie Ruckman
Fannie Crookton
Charley Allender
*None of the photos are from Sherwood; they were added to show the dress and hair of the students of the time.
Thursday, November 17, 2022
Thanksgiving in Defiance - One Hundred Years Ago, November, 1922
"Prof. and Mrs. Milo Rice will spend Thanksgiving Day and the weekend with her parents in Pandora.
"Dr. and Mrs. G. W. DeMuth and family will spend Thanksgiving with her parents in Fort Wayne."
Many of the churches held Thanksgiving morning services on that day...before the big meal might put parishioners to sleep.
In local schools, Thanksgiving programs were held on the day before Thanksgiving. School rooms were where "verses were said and songs sung by the little folks." At the high school, a regular chapel service was held.
They were probably following Ohio State who also took away the usual five day vacation because of moving to a four quarter system. To add to a student's injury, any student absent the day before or after Thanksgiving would receive only half the credits for the course!
In Defiance, an afternoon Thanksgiving Day football game was held on the high school field. Defiance High played St. Mary's High, and Defiance pulled out an easy victory - 46-13.
For further entertainment, a dog parade was held in the afternoon. "Boys, get your dogs ready!" Were girls excluded?
The headlines read "TURKEY PRICE HIGHER, BUT OTHER EDIBLES WILL REDUCE THE COST OF THE FEAST." Turkeys sold .55 - .60 a pound, but it was thought that there was a "phantom scarcity created by government reports from turkey raising states, local raisers who have been holding their product for peak prices." Chicken, ducks, and geese were lower priced. Fruits were plentiful and cheap, and potatoes went for .75 a bushel. Five pounds of sweet potatoes would set you back .15 and in the height of the popularity of jello salads, one could buy three boxes of jello for .25.
No television or electronic gadgets were available to distract anyone from enjoying family conversations and activities. It was truly a family day.
“What if today, we were just grateful for everything?” Charlie Brown
*Research was a result of reading various Defiance Crescent-News papers from Nov. 1922.
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
George T. Carpenter - An Early Settler of Defiance County
Any ancestors of George T. Carpenter would qualify for Defiance County Genealogical Society's First Families status. According to his obituary, George T. Carpenter was in Defiance by March 1846, clearing out land for a farm. He is first found on the 1850 Federal Census for Noble Township, and he remained a farmer in Noble Township until his death in 1886. He appeared in all the censuses through 1880 with his wife Harriet, nee' Williams, whom he married on January 2, 1845, and various children. He and his family are buried in Brunersburg Cemetery. Although the stones of Harriet and George are missing, many of his children are buried together there with existing stones.
His obituary is one that all of us hope to find for our ancestor, as it gives a detailed account of his life and puts it into historical perspective. It appeared in the Defiance Democrat on February 18, 1886, on page 3.
"DEATH OF GEORGE T. CARPENTER
From the fact he was one of the pioneers of Defiance county, many of his old friends and acquaintances will be interested in the following brief summary of his genealogy and history.
He was born in Butler township, Knox county, Ohio, October 12th, 1810, and died at his farm, January 18th 1886, of Nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys), aged 75 yrs., 3 mon. and 6 da.
He was the son of Thomas Carpenter who so far as is reliably known, was the first white male person born in the State of Ohio, his birth being in a rude cabin (rail pen) on the banks of the Ohio river opposite Wellsburg, Va. His grandfather and three brothers came from England to America while the United States were yet British colonies, thus making his paternal descent English, while on the other hand, his maternal parentage was German.
His grandfather, John Carpenter, come from Virginia to Ohio in May 1786 (one hundred years ago); Ohio at that time forming a part of the Northwest Territory, which was composed of the present states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. At the place of his settlement on the Ohio river (opposite Wellsburg, Va.), he built a block house and had several engagements with the Indians and was one wounded by them, and also once captured and taken nearly to what is now Norwalk, O. where he made his escape.
His father, Thomas Carpenter, following the advancing frontier, came and settled in Knox county, O. and at which place, as above stated, George T. Carpenter was born, and at the age of four years, moved with his father to Holmes county, at which place he lived until he came to Defiance county.
Squire Carpenter first came to the farm on which he ever since lived on the 5th of March 1846, cutting a wagon road through the woods the last few miles of the way, there being no roads in that part of Defiance county at that tie; showing that he possessed a taste of his ancestors by still advancing with the tide of emigrants to a new country. At the time of his coming to this place, the red man yet lingered here, although peaceable and subdued; an encampment of them being located at what is familiarly known as the 'Sulphur Hollow,' and he knew the well known character at Defiance known as 'Indian Jake.' The wolf and few bear, plenty of deer, turkeys and other wild game abounded at the time of his location here.
At the time of his coming here, the only farm occupied near him being the one adjoining his on the west, and that fact being so prominent at Defiance that a guide board was erected there with this inscription: 'To the Bixby Farm 3 mi." He was in Defiance the day on which its first bridge across the Maumee river floated down stream from high water.
Noble Township, sections 1 and 12. The Noble -Richland County line is on the right.
To fully understand the length of a long span of life, it can best be done by comparing it to some of the contemporaneous events of its time. At the time of his birth, Washington had been dead less than eleven years having lived under all the Presidents up to Cleveland, save three, Gen. Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. James Madison was president at that time, serving his first term. Since his birth, the United States has been engaged in its second war with England, several Indian wars, war with Mexico and the great Rebellion.
Two presidents during this time have been assassinated, Lincoln and Garfield. Ohio had been admitted to the Union but seven years. General Wayne had but seventeen years previous conquered the Indians at Defiance. Fulton had but three years previously made his first trial trip with his steamboat the Clermont on the Hudson River from New York City to Albany. He was eligible to vote for President the first time when Gen. Jackson and Henry clay were opposing candidates (Jackson for second candidacy).
The population of the United States at that time (1810) was 7,239,881. The invention of the lithograph had not been made for nearly thirty-four years. Thus his life has reached from the infancy of this country up to its present magnificent standing and development of its industries, government, and not least its mighty prowess.
He was married to Miss Harriett Williams, who survives him as a widow; they have had a family of eleven children, six of whom are dead, and five surviving, the eldest being Dr. T. J. Carpenter. He was twice consecutively elected real estate appraiser of this township (Noble), was several times elected assessor of private property of the same, and through the years consecutively held the office of Justice of the Peace, and was holding the office for a fourth term at the time of his death. A trial was being held before him the day on which he was taken sick, so that it was necessary for him to dismiss the same before its conclusion.
He was director of his school district several years, nearly always being clerk of the same in which he always took a keen interest, and was one of its first organizers. He as also a trustee of the township several years, and was also a candidate for County Treasurer.
In his death, his family have lost a kind parent and husband and the community a worthy citizen, whose loss is scarcely realized until that void is which can never be abridged..."
Monday, October 31, 2022
Civil War Vet and Rural Mail Carrier in Mark Township - Curtis Sylvander Elder
The Hicksville Tribune, January 2, 1908, p. 8:
"This post card was received by the R.F.D. News in Chicago, Illinois -
Mark Center: - We are in receipt of a souvenir post card, showing the portrait of C. S. Elder, the only carrier of Mark Center. Mr. Elder is standing by his mail wagon and intelligent looking horse, and in the wagon stands his little daughter, Ruth, a charming child of five years of age.
Mr. Elder is a veteran of the civil war, enlisted in 1863 at 17 years of age and rode with Sherman to the sea in Kilpatrick's famous cavalry division. Mr. Elder has been carrying mail since February 15, 1905."
This photo is a part of the Mary G. Smith Photo Collection and was provided by Dianne Grimm.
Curtis Elder's little girl, Ruth, was 5 at the time of photo, dating it to about 1913, and her father was 68. She was the youngest of eleven children through two different wives.
Born in Pennsylvania on November 19, 1845, Curtis came to Ohio with his family and settled in Seneca County, Ohio. In the Federal Census of 1860, he lived with his widowed mother, Eliza, and five siblings. His mother, widow of Achor Elder, was only 39, and she was left with real estate worth $2150; Curtis was 15 at the time. Just two years later he would enlist for the Union side.
Curtis enlisted on November 5, 1863 into the 9th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, Company K at the age of 17. He was all over the south with the Cavalry and often in some large battles, including the Battle for Atlanta. He rode with Hugh Jackson Kirkpatrick who advanced to a brevet general by the end of the war. However, Kirkpatrick was not always respected by his soldiers. Kirkpatrick was a man who took risks with his soldiers, using battle tactics that put them in danger. Discharged on July 25, 1865, Curtis made his way back to Seneca County, Ohio.
He married Tena (Dinah) Stahl on 23 September 1869 there and the couple had five children: Estella E., Ollie E., Charley, Earl and Lillian. Tena died on the Elder homestead in Seneca County on March 10, 1881. (Another source gave the death date as 8 March 1882). She was buried in the Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery in Jackson Twp., Seneca County. In 1881 - 1882, some of the Elder family, including the widower, Curtis, and his children made their way to Mark Township, Defiance County, Ohio.
A second marriage to Emma Jane Crawford occurred on January 21, 1883. Emma was significantly younger than Curtis by about 15 - 16 years. They added to their family: Carrie, Clyde, Glenn, Rodney, Levon, Thelma, and Ruth (born 1903). In 1888, Curtis purchased his own farm - 80 acres in Sections 14 and 15, Mark Township. The Federal Census enumerator found him and his family there in 1900 - 1920.
He was a farmer, but at some point he became the rural mail carrier, the one and only in Mark Township. His brother, Clyde, known for his store in Mark Center, was his substitute, both having passed the civil service exam necessary. One newspaper described him as Mark Center's genial and obliging mail carrier, a "jolly" man.
Photo is from the Mary G. Smith Photo Collection and was provided by Dianne Grimm.
Curtis Sylvander Elder died at his home in Mark Township on October 31, 1923. The Defiance Crescent-News reported on November 6, 1923 on page 5:
"Curtis S. Elder. The funeral of Curtis S. Elder of Mark Center, who died suddenly Wednesday, was held Saturday afternoon at 1:30 at the house, and at 2 p.m. at the M.E. church in Mark Center with Dr. J. F. Olive officiating, assisted by Rev. Arthur, Rev. Colgan and Rev. Hurtig.
Pall bearers were the four sons: Clyde, Glen, Dale and Levon Elder and grandsons, Harry Brubaker and Noah Hull.
Flower bearers were Class No. 8 of the Mark Center Sunday School which Mr. Elder taught for several years. Interment was in Sherwood Cemetery."
Curtis' wife, Emma, lived twenty more years, passing away on October 11, 1943.
"EMMA ELDER, 80, TAKEN BY DEATH.
MARK CENTER WOMAN DIES AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS ILLLNESS.
The body was removed to the Perkins and Reeb funeral home in Hicksville, and will be returned to the residence at noon on Tuesday. Burial will be made in Sherwood cemetery following services which will be arranged later.
Mrs. Elder was born and reared in Mark township and was a member of the Methodist Church.
She leaves six children: Mrs. Carrie Heater, South Ridge, Mass.; Clyde and Lavon Elder, both of Mark Center; Glen Elder, Hicksville; Mrs. Thelma Conley, Inglewood, Calif.; and Mrs Ruth Decker, Sherwood; three step daughters, Mrs. Lillian Hull, of Kendallville, Ind.; Mrs. Stella Brubaker, West Mill Grove, Ohio, and Mrs. Ollie Frazer, Paulding; a sister, Mrs. Ella Deardorf, Hicksville; 15 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
A son, Dale Elder of Defiance preceded her in death last January."
Note - For those researching the Elder family more in death, here are two sources:
1. In the archives of Bowling Green State University, a file on Sarah V. Elder, born 1840, sister to Curtis, letters, photocopies, transcripts from the Civil War and later, 1854 - 1896 archived. Sarah married Joshua Dicken who served in the Civil War.
2. The Historical Record of the Elder Famiy by Lillian Elder Hull, daughter of Curtis. It can be found in its entirety online.
Monday, October 24, 2022
First Grade Students of Sherwood-Delaware School - 1948
From the Sherwood Chronicle, 1948
"This is the first of a series of twelve Sherwood-Delaware pictures to be published by the Chronicle - and when you do first things first, you start with the First Grade.
Miss Grayce Sigg, a member of the Sherwood-Delaware faculty for nine years, is the teacher, and this is , perhaps her most unusual class at least as it includes the largest proportion of boys - only three of the 23 pupils being girls. Maybe this is a world's record: anyhow, it's interesting.
FIRST ROW, left to right: Lee Dickey, Mark Moats, Roger Hanna, Larry Thompson, Kenneth Theis, Virginia Bok, Shirley Boetz, Cyril Shininger, Denny Kroeckel, Billy Guyas, Peter Shininger
MIDDLE ROW, left to right: Jimmy Wasnich, Ronald Corwin, Derrell Swift, Clifford Mossoney, James Bok, Jerry Walk, LaVon Lambert, Darrell Luderman, Joe Speiser, John Miller
BACK ROW - Dennis Kauser, Miss Sigg, Johnny Campbell
Thursday, October 13, 2022
Booze Boat
"A BOOZE BOAT
MILFORD TOWNSHIP NOW HAS FLOATING SALOON ON ST. JOE
Jacob Larman has taken out Dow tax and has started a saloon on a bum boat anchored in the St. Joe River at the Clarksville bridge.
This is possible because this county is wet as is also Milford township. The Williams county line and the Indiana state line are but a few hundred feet away from the boat.
The public will now watch Milford township with great curiosity, to see what, if anything, will be done in the matter. The boat is there legally just now, and nothing short of a 'dry Milford' can root it out.
It is centrally located, having reference to several dry towns. Among these are Edgerton, Hicksville, Newville, Butler, St. Joe, Auburn, Waterloo, etc."
Hicksville Tribune, May 27, 1909, p. 1
"FIRST JOLT
IS GIVEN BUM BOAT BY JUDGE KILLITS OF BRYAN
Property owners along the St. Joe river at Clarksville secured an injunction against the bum boat at Clarksville from Judge Killits court at Bryan last Saturday, and the same was served by a deputy sheriff of Williams county. Judge Killits is common pleas judge and has full jurisiction.
The complaint says the boat, lights and unseemly noises made the bridge unsafe an damaged surrounding fences, etc.
The boat has been pulled up the river about a mile and has suspended business to date having dealt out wares last Saturday."
Hicksville Tribune, June 3 1909, p. 1
Saturday, October 8, 2022
My Cameron Line Found Defiance County, Ohio - Part THREE
We will now back up to Mordecai (b. 1775), Simon's second son. In about 1807, Mordecai married Nancy Isaacs from Maryland. They would have eight children. Their first two children were christened in the Donegal Presbyterian Church - John Eagan Cameron (b. 1807) and Harriet Cameron (b. 1810). John's christening record shows his middle name as Eagan.
When Charles moved North, Mordecai decided to move farther west. He had listed his work as a tanner in Maytown, PA in 1807 and 1810, but showed up on tax records n Monogala County, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1813. It seems odd that to move West from Pennsylvania, one would travel via Virginia to get to Ohio, but roads were few and travel by water was, perhaps, easier. He may have taken the great road south. He had a son born in Virginia in 1815, Samuel P. Cameron. In 1819 and 1820, Mordecai shows up in East Union Twp. of Wayne County, Ohio. By 1830, he is in Salt Creek Township of Wayne County and by 1840, he is in Williams County, Ohio, mostly due to his son, John Eagan Cameron.
Mordecai's wife died in 1860, and Mordecai died in 1862 and they were buried on the farm of their daughter, Harriet Bostater (nee Cameron, b. 1810). The grave yard was 500 feet north of Bostater Road, near Evansport, Ohio, but in 1944, it was declared abandoned and the stones moved. No records exist where they were moved to.
Mordecai and Nancy's children were: John Eagan (1807), Harriet (1810), Samuel (1815), Mary Louisa (1820), Stanbery Looman (1820), Mathew Milton (1823), Ellen Jane (1825), and Lucretia Ann (1826).
Mordecai's son, John (1807) married Lydia Stenger in 1829, and they had nine children. In 1834, John walked from Wooster in Wayne County, Ohio, up to Lake Erie and along the shore to the settlement of Toledo, where he painted a schooner to earn money for supplies. He then traveled up the Maumee River to the Auglaize River to the Tiffin River to Lick Creek (near Evansport, Ohio). He made several trips and then convinced his family to move there and homestead land.
His wife, Lydia was 24 when they arrived. In the 1860s, John heard of McKenzie relatives in Pennsylvania and that perhaps his family was entitled to some of the estate. He traveled to Pennsylvania to talk to people there about it and kept a journal of his travels. As mentioned earlier, John, the grandson of the Simon who had married three times, would talk to people with firsthand knowledge of the early Camerons who came to Lancaster County through Philadelphia.
The following are excerpts from his journal:
(John E. Cameron first heard of Alexander McKenzie's estate by Elisa J. Karns, Nov. 15, 1867.
"Lewisburg, Pa, Dec. 8th, 1867 -
This is to certify that in the summer of 1865, I was employed to arrange the papers of William Cameron, Esq. of Lewisburg County of Union, Pa. In examining the papers, I found a letter from a man in the western part of Pa, stating he was a relation of William Cameron and he and his brother was getting older and had no family and that said Wm. Cameron and his brother, Simon, were the only relations they had in the United States that they had any knowledge of. And that they had considerable property. I read the letter and asked Wm. Cameron what I should do with it, telling him what the contents was. He said he cared nothing about the property as he had enough and told me to burn it which I did with many other papers.
Paul Geddes"
*This referred to Sec. of War, Simon, and his brother, William.
Inscriptions on tombstones in Lacock Cemetery, East Rochester, Beaver County, Pa -
ALEXANDER MCKENZIE died June 21, 1864, aged 76y 8m (Oct. 21 1787)
GEORGE MCKENZIE died August 24, 1862, aged 74 years, 10 m and 23 d (1787
(*Note - I think that these two men were twins and when George died, of course, his brother could give the exact age; but when Alexander died, only the year and month of his birth were known.)
This was entered into John E. Cameron's journal:
"...and that Mordecai Cameron was a son of his Grandfather Simon Cameron by the second wife, but her maiden name he has no recollection of. Our Grandfather, Simon Cameron was married three times, his first wife's maiden name was Katharin Cameron of Glasco, Scotland. The third wife was Katherin McCoy (widow) The second wife's maiden name unknown but supposed to be McKenzie."
Quotation from Wm.Cameron, brother to Sec. of War, Simon Cameron.
William would only have known his grandfather's first wife by Katherine Cameron, but her maiden name was perhaps Catherine McKenzie The third wife's name was clearly Catherine McCoy and if the second wife was a McKenzie, it is assumed by the author that it was Ann McKenzie.
John never found any inheritance in Pennsylvania as he had hoped and some reported Mary Wilson burned most of his papers and many church records and other papers. In a book entitled Colin McFarquhar (1729-1822), Pastor of Donegal Springs Presbyterian Church, written by Alexander Preston Reed, the following is stated:
"That we have so little valuable information about Colin McFarquhar is due to Aunt Mary Wilson. After her mother's death, she was left in Grandfather McFarguhar's care and went with him to the Cookes at Hagerstown. On his death, Aunt Mary seized all his papers and burned them, all the letters, all information to Grandfather's business affairs. On hearing of grandfather's death, cousin Colin Reed of Washington, Pennsylvania, hastened to Hagerstown, but the mischief was done. After destroying her grandfather's papers, she proceeded to destroy the church papers and so lost to the Camerons an estate in Scotland, as no proof of a marriage could be found. When I was at Lochin, Mr Cameron (Simon Cameron) asked me, 'How is that woman, I always call her that, since she burned all the proofs of a marriage by which I have lost an estate in Scotland.'"
John and his wife, Lydia, are buried in Evansport Cemetery just south of Evansport. John and Lydia's family consisted of Nancy Jane (1831), Harriett Bostater (1833), John Stenger (1835), Lucretia Ann (1838), Simon Mordecai (1841), William Wallace (1843), Robert Bruce (the author's great grandfather) 1845, Edward Ruthvin (1848) and John Porter (1851).
From this point on, the records are rather modern and easily verified. The difficult part of the document was researching the 1700s and very early 1800s.
If you have an comments, corrections or additions, please leave a comment on this post or message the genealogy society and they will get the message to me.
Virgil Cameron.
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
A Story of My Cameron Line from Beauly, Scotland to Defiance County, Ohio - PART TWO
PART TWO -
He started as a farmer, then apprenticed as a tailor but, as he got older, he would fail in several business ventures.
Charles was married in 1794 and owned a hotel (left) in Maytown for a short time where his first son, William, was born in 1795. His half-brother, Mordecai (b. 1775) worked with him and stayed close for a time. According to family lore, Mordecai would settle arguments at the inn owned by Charles by saying, "The answer is...and I KNOW because I'm a year older than this country!"
Charles' son, John (b. 1797) would come to be an important member of the family, as he married Mary Shulze, the sister of the Pennsylvania governor, John Andrew Shulze. He would help funnel many lucrative contracts to his brothers, William and Simon.
In 1808, Charles lost everything to a "Sheriff Sale" and moved the family to Northumberland. Charles was hard put to support the family and he had to put his children into foster homes. Charles died in 1814. He had listed his occupation as "tailor" in the 1810 census.
Charles' son, James (b. 1800) would be killed at the Battle of Bull Run.
(Note: Having served in the Mexican-American War, he had retired to his estate in Pennsylvania when the Civil War started. Feeling he had to serve, he went to Washington, D.C. where he was asked to serve as Colonel for the 79th Cameronian Highland Regiment, at first made up of mostly men of Scottish blood. Valiantly, he lost his life on July 21, 1861, at the age of 61 years and 4 months.)
Charles would have a son, also named Simon (b. 1799), who would become Secretary of War for Abe Lincoln and an extremely powerful politician. He also had a grandson who would serve as a Senator.
But back to Simon (b. 1746)...In 1778, he was a widower with four small children, but he didn't stay that way long. He married a widow named Catherine McCoy, who had a son of her own named John. With this third wife, Simon had three more children: Daniel (b. 1779), Colin (b. 1780) and Rachael (b. 1782). Daniel, Colin and half-brother, John McCoy are listed as serving in the "Danville Blues"
Daniel stayed close to home around Mt. Joy. Daniel Cameron, a worthy Scot, was the great pedestrian who walked from Harrisburg to Danville in a day without deeming it any great exploit. He was also a skillful carpenter and builder.
It is unclear what happened to John McCoy, but Colin Cameron would have quite a future in the West, as his descendants were cattle barons. Without too much detail, Colin had a son named Simon who, in turn, had a son named Colin, the cattle baron and owner of the San Rafael Cattle Ranch in Arizona, with his brother, Brewster, who was killed in 1908 when he fell into the Niagara River and went over the falls!
Rachael Cameron would marry William Carter whose will specified that he was to be buried in Dr. Petrikin's burial ground. Petrikin Cemetery was abandoned and any graves moved., although there is a stone in Chilisquage Cemetery, Montour County, PA, that may be his. His wife, Rachael, moved to California with her daughter and is buried there.
There have been no records found that state definitely when Donald (b. 1710) or his son, Simon (b. 1746) died, but the obituary for Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, states that "the elder Simon died in 1789 at harvest time from overwork and exposure." Simon and his father, Donald, are probably both buried near the Donegal Church, but the graves are unmarked. Simon's third wife, Catherine, was listed as "The Widow Cameron" on tax rolls and lived to be 92, and is buried next to Daniel's wife, Mary.
Moving on to Defiance County, Ohio - Part III
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