WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - Seaman 2 Robert J. Harkey

 

Seaman 2nd Class  

Robert Jay Harkey

Robert Jay Harkey

Robert graduated from Hicksville High School in 1942 and enlisted in the Naval Reserves very soon after. By July 31, 1942, he was starting his training at the Great Lakes Training Center in Chicago.

Born on April 23, he was the son of Harry Jennings and Freda (Dull) Harkey, who lived at 115 West Smith Street in Hicksville. Robert was soon cast into the war.  In September 1942, he reported to Norfolk, Virginia, for his final training before heading overseas.

Draft registration

His first assignment was on the battleship, U.S.S. New York, and then he was transferred to the U.S.S. Rowan, a destroyer. On September 9th, the Rowan was helping with the invasion of Italy.

The Rowan

  

It was serving as a fleet escort into the Gulf of Sicily, screening the freighters and transports that followed. Late on September 10th, they headed back to Oran with empty ships.

Sometime after midnight, the Rowan was approached by 4 German boats which the Rowan fired at and chased away. Within five miles, another enemy boat approached which they tried to allay, getting their torpedo guns ready.

One enemy boat got too close and hit the Rowan with a torpedo.

The Rowan exploded and sank in less than a minute, according to reports, taking 202 of 273 men with it. Some were rescued by one of our nearby ships, but Seaman Robert Harkey was not one of the lucky ones.

October 3, 1944

His body was not recovered, and as was customary, he was declared dead a year and a day after he went missing. His date of death on the Navy rolls was September 12, lost at sea, but other sources use the date of the sinking, September 11, 1943.

At the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial, Nettuno, Rome, Italy, Seaman Robert J. Harkey is listed on the Tablets of the Missing.  A memorial stone listing him and his parents is also present in Six Corners Cemetery, Hicksville Township.

Six Corners Cemetery

Dianne Kline, Researcher

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - PFC Robert L. Wade

 

Private First Class

Robert Lee Wade

Robert Wade was born in DeKalb County, Indiana, lived in Hicksville, Ohio, and then enlisted in Kalamazoo, Michigan!

Born in DeKalb County, Indiana, on March 10, 1922, to Stearl Earl and Delpha Iola (Coburn) Wade, Robert had four siblings: Gerald Calvin, Leone Ruby, Irene Helen and Donald Harry.

In the 1940 Federal Census, they lived at 321 Chicago Avenue, HIcksville, with Delpha's father, Calvin Coburn, who was 85 and widowed. Just the two younger children, Robert L., 18, and Don, 14 were with them.

Robert filled out his draft card in Kalamazoo, Michigan, as he was working at a dairy farm in Niles, Berrien County, Michigan. His grandfather lived past 90, so one could assume his parents stayed in Hicksville to care for him, while Robert found work in Michigan.  Enlisting on December 15, 1942, in Kalamazoo, Robert was inducted into the 184th Infantry, 7th Division. 

The 7th Division was known as the "Hourglass Division", a group that fought from the islands of Alaska to Hawaii. By the time Private Wade was sent overseas, they were in Hawaii undergoing rigorous training for jungle fighting in the heat. Early in 1944, they landed on Kwajalein in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands, where the Japanese lost their first territory in the war.

184th Infantry landing in the Phillipines 1944

"On October 20, 1944, the 7th Division "hit the sand near the town of Dulag and found themselves opposed by one of the crack Japanese divisions - the 16th, perpetrators of the Bataan Death March. Fighting for every foot, the 7th drove inland, and within four days, had captured Dulag, its important airstrip, the San Pablo airfield, and the city of Burauen. Swinging north, (they) plowed through the rice paddies, waist deep mud and monsoon gales to crush Jap resistance and overrun Jap defenses at the key town of Dagami.

But MacArthur gave them little rest. He turned them south and told them to eliminate all the enemy from Leyte watershed...  The mission was accomplished under the most adverse weather conditions. The men were pelted by torrential rains, blown down by the winds of typhoon velocity, and had to fight flash floods and swollen rivers and streams.

The 7th finished its chore in the Leyte campaign by landing on Camotes Islands and exterminating all the Japanese on this island group. The 7th moved 105 miles on Leyte, covered 1,950 miles in reconnaissance and killed 16,559 of the enemy." 

(Sons of Liberty Museum narrative)

The battle actually ended on Christmas Day, 1944, yet hard fighting continued after that to finish. PFC Robert Wade died of wounds on December 30, 1944. He was admitted to the field hospital with two hits from a rifle bullet, one on the spinal cord in mid-back and one in the lung. A blood transfusion was given, but he did not survive.

The South-Bend Tribune, August 5, 1945

His name appears on the Tablets of the Missing monument in the Manila Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Philippines. A memorial stone stands in the Alton Cemetery, DeKalb County, Indiana, as well.

Dianne Kline, Researcher

 

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - PFC Lee A. Bell

 

Private First Class

Lee Albert Bell

Lee "Ding Dong" Bell

Lee Bell was a Hicksville native, born on June 17, 1925, to Albert Ray and Ila Thelma (Lindsay) Bell. The only child of the Bells, he was active in sports at Hicksville High School and earned his Varsity Letter during his senior year.

He was one of five Hicksville High students who had already enlisted before he received his diploma. On May 6, 1943, he enrolled in the Marines in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and was assigned to 1st Platoon, Company E, 24th Regiment of the 4th Marine Division.

The 4th Marine Division left San Diego, California in mid-January 1944 and sailed to Pearl Harbor. They docked for one day and then sailed from Hawaii on January 22nd, headed for Kwajalein, an island located in the Caroline Island chain in the Central Pacific. The 24th regiment landed at Mamur Lagoon on February 1st and ran into heavy resistance from enemy pillboxes https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=japanese+pillbox&mid=7AEBBF19442B8A983D7B7AEBBF19442B8A983D7B&FORM=VIRE  and blockhouses.

They held off a Japanese counterattack. The first night Kwajalein was secured by February 4. (It was February 12 before his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lindsey, received word that Lee was overseas.) On February 15, the 4th Division sailed east to Maui, Hawaii for rest, regrouping and training. They trained until early June when they sailed west again and arrived at Saipan in the middle of the month. Saipan had 30,000 troops stationed there.

Their motto: If you want peace,
prepare for war.

Saipan was shelled for five days, and, on June 15, the land invasion began. The 4th Division landed on the western shore south of the town of Garapan. The Marines went 

ashore and after cleaning the beaches, the 4th Division was to cut across Saipan

towards Magicienne Bay on the east coast

It was on this drive that Private Bell was 

mortally wounded by sniper fire on June 17,

1944, his nineteenth birthday. He died the

next day of his wounds.

According to a member of Bell's First Platoon, Wallace Ralson, who witnessed Bell's wounding:

"...we were advancing in a skirmish formation and were under some sniper fire. I recall we were moving across an open area toward a low ridge. Lee was found 20 yards away when I saw him go down. Our corpsmen went to his aid and the rest of the company moved on. 

   Later, when the corpsman caught up with us, he told me that Lee was the bravest man he had ever seen. I have never forgotten that statement. Apparently, Lee knew he was dying. The corpsman was killed a few hours later when we went over the ridge and received heavy fire.

   Lee was the first fatality in the first platoon."

Saipan was taken on July 9, 1944, and the Americans had 14,021 killed or wounded, while the Japanese had 29,000.  Private Bell's parents had not heard from him for several weeks prior to receiving notification of his death on July 3, 1944. On Sunday, July 9, a memorial service was held for him at the United Brethren Church. Members of the 1943 graduating class of Hicksville attended in a body. He was buried temporarily in Saipan, but later, his body was brought home.

Crescent-News, June 19, 1948, page 1

He was buried with his parents in Six Corners Cemetery, Hicksville Township.

Scott Lantow, Researcher

Shall Defiance County be Wet or Dry?

 In 1908, one of the biggest controversies in Defiance County revolved around the sale and intake of liquor. Should saloons exist in the villages of the county?  A big vote would be taken in October, 1908, to decide.

Long ago, the Hicksville folks had voted for "Personal Liberty," meaning that it was for each individual to decide whether to drink or not. It was well known that on Watson Richardson's lawn on the drive into town, a large maple tree drew men each day who stood under the cool shade to drink. Some thought that men could not resist the temptation to drink, so saloons were thriving, but many families were affected by this choice. Wages were bring drunk away and families suffered. 

By 1908, the Women's Christian Temperance Union was thriving, using their influence to convince men to stay away from strong drink.  According to one man's opinion, saloons cannot be reformed nor the habits of men changed, so it was best to take the temptation of drink away totally. But will it hurt the businesses in town and will the loss of the saloon tax have an effect on the economy of the towns?

In Farmer township, saloons were voted out by a huge majority and now no one wanted  them back.  Business was good!  Currently, a petition to oust the saloons was circulating in Hicksville, with a majority thought to support a dry county.  The problem was Mark Township...many went there to drink after it was banned in other areas of the county.  Many citizens of Mark Center apparently did not appreciate being the center of drink in Defiance County.

The Bryan Democrat, Bryan, Ohio, reported on 20 November 1908:

"DEFIANCE COUNTY SALOONS MAY SOON BE IN ONE TOWN, MORE DRY

On Dec 15, two saloons will pass out of existence in Mark Center, Defiance County, as the result of the decision of voters of Mark Township Saturday when at a Beal law local option election, the township voted dry by a majority of 87.  The unofficial figures are: dry 216, wets 129.

Two saloons both located at Mark Center villages are affected.  The saloons are conducted by Chas. Kisabeth and L. E. Ritterman.  They will pass out of existence thirty days from the day of the election.

Because of the result in Mark township, it is now said that a petition for a Beal law election in Sherwood village will be started.  There are two saloons in the village. Sherwood is an incorporated village and, for this reason, the election will simply be a municipal affair and will not include the township.  The drys also assert if Sherwood village votes dry, a petition will be started in Ney village.  If both Sherwood and Ney village vote dry, the saloon business of Defiance county will have been centered in Defiance city.

The voting out of the saloons in Mark township will make a change in the Hicksville situation.  Mark Center is located but a few miles from Hicksville and it has been the custom for many from the dry towns to visit Mark Center at different times during the week.  Hicksville drys assisted the Mark Center drys in the fight to oust the saloons in Mark township."

But it was not to be...

World War I Series - Edward C. Smart

 

Edward C. Smart

Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, June 8, 1918, p. 2

Eddie Smart was the son of John and Luella Lytle Smart and just a boy of three when enumerated in the 1900 Federal Census of Marion Township, Marion, Ohio. Born in October, 1896, Eddie was their only child. His father died in 1904, and ,by the taking of the 1910 census, Eddie was enumerated with his mother and his new stepfather, Chauncy Delong, and two new siblings, Lelah, 3, and Elizabeth, 2, in Scipio Township, Allen County, Indiana. They eventually lived in Hicksville, Ohio, just across the state line.

At 17 years, 5 months old, Edward enlisted in the local National Guard on February 5, 1914.  He served in Company E, 2nd Infantry with his Hicksville National Guard until August 22, 1917. He went quickly up the ranks, and made sergeant by August 21, 1917.

Photo provided by Dianne Grimm

On September 30,1917, he was given an Honorable Discharge and commissioned into the AEF and sent overseas to participate in the Meuse-Argonne campaign. He wrote back to his family, and he was known for his descriptive letters. There he attended Officers' Training School and was made Second Lieutenant.

The Hicksville Tribune noted on Oct. 3, 1918:

"I had a letter from Edward Smart a few days ago.  He is well and doing fine and is bound to make good and get his commission.  The platoon sure hated to see him leave us although they all joined in wishing him the best luck in his new work."

In January 1919, the Tribune noted that no one had heard from or about Edward Smart.  It was worrisome, as the last letter received from him was October 8, 1918. Months... Then word arrived that Edward C. Smart had been killed in action on October 15, 1918, while leading his company in France. The chaplain of the command had informed his family.

Scipio Cemetery, Allen County, Indiana - not far from Hicksville, Ohio

Edward's friend, Ralph Schumaker, wrote to the newspaper in Hicksville, giving information on his friend's decease. What a gift that must have been to his family.  From a part of the letter printed in the Hicksville Tribune, April 3, 1919:

"RALPH SHUMAKER WRITES IN MEMORIAM

GLOWING TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF HIS COURAGE, LIEUTENANT EDWARD C. SMART

... It was my good fortune to have known Lt. Smart ever since May, 1915, when he, as a Corporal of Company E, 2nd Infantry of Hicksville, became my military instructor.  He proved a good instructor as many present members of the company can testify.  He had earned a Sergeantcy by June 19, 1916, when we were called into the service of the United States for Mexican border patrol.  He remained with the company till the end of his enlistment on February 4, 1917, when he was furloughed to the National Guard Reserve.

As First Sergeant of the company, he made a friend of every member of the company, and we one and all missed him even if it were for only a little afterwards that the company remained on the border.

July 15, 1917, when the active members of the old company were called to the service of the United States for participation in the great world war, he was eager to volunteer again, but as a Reservist, he could do nothing until the Reserves were called.

August 15, 1917, he, with the Reserves, were called and he reported for duty with the company that he had always labored so hard for.  As an old member of the company, his knowledge of military instruction proved almost indispensable in the training of the many new men that the company had acquired through the influence of such soldiers as he had always been.

On August 14, 1917, he, with fifteen other members of the company, of which I was one, was transferred to Company E,4th Ohio Infantry at Camp Perry, O.

August 23, 1917, he was again transferred to Headquarters Company, 4th Ohio, now 166th Infantry.  I was one of the eight Hicksville boys that were transferred with him.  He was made Sergeant of the Signal Platoon and continue till his being detailed to Officers' Training School.

Ohio 4th Infantry 1917

October 18, 1917, he, with his regiment left the Land of Liberty to do battle with the Hun who had outraged humanity and civilization.  He arrived in France Nov. 1, 1917.  After a period of training in which he played no small part, we entered the trenches in the Lorraine sector on Washington's birthday, 1918, and remained there for almost 4 months.  He participated in the Champagne defensive of July 4 - 20, having charge of the platoon since June 14th.  By forced marches, we were taken to the Chateau Thierry sector which we entered on July 23rd.

After pushing the Hun for 22 kilometers, we were allowed to drop back into the Reserve where he left us on or about August 12 for Officers' Training School near Langres.  This closes the history with the company that he had served so faithfully...

By frequent letters, we learned that he was successful at school, being commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant and assigned to the 7th Infantry of the 3rd Division.

In the Argonne-Meuse offensive, there were many hard places to be taken.  He, with his platoon, were ordered to make the attempt and in the fulfillment of that task, he was mortally wounded while at the head of his command.  Although he was fast sinking away, he urged his command onward, and by his inspiration, he gave them the courage to rout the Hun from his nest.  After the stronghold of the Hunt had been taken, he allowed himself to be taken to a 1st Aid Station where he was treated without success.

After death had claimed him for his own, his remains were given a hero's burial by the men of his platoon, and at Cunel, France, he awaits the judgement day and a home eternal..."

U.S. Army Transport Steamer, The Crook

But it's not quite the end of the story.  Lt. Edward Smart's body wa disinterred on August 17, 1921, and shipped from Antwerp, Belgium on the ship, Crook, leaving on December 28, 1921. The body was shipped, addressed to the Hicksville undertaker, J. M. Hoack, arriving at Hoboken, New Jersey, on January 14, 1922.  It arrived in Hicksville on January 28, 1922, and a funeral service was held on February 1st.

"Lieut. Edward C. Smart, whose funeral was held Sunday under direction of the American Legion Post which bears his name, was a Hicksville High School boy when he enlisted in company E.

The funeral service at Huber Opera House was the most largely attended of any ever held in Hicksville.

Rev. G. W. Whyman of Bryan delivered the funeral oration and W. L. Manahan read the obituary.  Prayer was offered by Rev. W. H. Bransford and the music was furnished by the Legion Band.  Harmonic quartet, a duet by Mrs. Daisy Tuttle and Mrs. Jeff Hoff and a piano solo by A. W. Roper.

Lieut. Smart's remains were borne to Scipio Cemetery where they were placed beside his father who died several years ago."

In Memoriam

Edward C. Smart

 

The World War I Series - Donel Glen Cottrell, KIA

 

Donel Glen Cottrell

Born in Paulding County, but raised as a Hicksville boy, Donel Cottrell entered life on April 20, 1893. He was a farmer, just like his father, Warren Cottrell, and he stayed on the farm with his mother, Anna and numerous brothers and sisters.

But patriotism called this young man and he enlisted in the Army Infantry, Company F, 28th Infantry. On February 5, 1918, before his deployment to France, he married Clara Booth in Hicksville.  Their time together was brief before he left with K Company, 335th Infantry, 24th Division on the ship "Karmala" for France. 

Donel and Clara Booth Cottrell

Donel was traveled, like so many others, to the Meuse-Argonne area.  Tragically, only 65 days later, Donel was killed in action, allegedly a mere one hour before a cease-fire and just four days before the American Armistice was signed.  He died on November 7, 1918.

He was first buried in the American sector at the French Civilian Cemetery at Cheveuges, Ardennes.  On April 2, 1919, he was disinterred and moved to the Sedan American Cemetery at Letanne Ardennes. Mrs. Clara Contrell, his wife of about nine months was informed of this.

It would be a few years later, in 1921 before the body was shipped home to Hicksville.

Clara Booth, Donel's widow, was the daughter of Elihu and Rose Bishoff Booth.  She continued to live with her parents after Donel's death with their baby daughter, Doris. Sadly, Donel had never met his offspring.

Donel Cottrell was buried in Forest Home Cemetery, Hicksville, Ohio, in Lot 35, Block C, Grave 1, his service noted on a flat marker.

His obituary:

"Cottrell

April  20, 1893, there was born to Anna Wentworth Cottrell and Warren G. Cottrell, at their farm home in Paulding County, a fourth son, Donel Glen Cottrell.  At this place, Donel spent his boyhood with his brothers, sisters and neighborhood playmates by whom he was greatly loved.

He learned the lesson of industry at an early age on the farm, and after completing his common school education, continued the training of his youth by engaging in farming on the old home place.

Following a delightful courtship, Donel was married Feb. 5, 1918 to Miss Clara Booth. To this happy marriage blossomed the life of little Doris Marie, two days after the father's death.

Donel is survived by his wife, little Doris Marie, Father, Mother, three sisters and five brothers, all present at the funeral, but Corporal Earl R., of St. Louis, Mo., and Lee A., of Yellowstone National Park, Wy.

Of all the boys, Donel was the home boy. He was devoted to his parents and always counseled with them. He was strong of body, alert of mind, a young man of clean morals and vigorous Christian character. He was affiliated with the United Brethren church and a loyal and faithful Sunday school worker.

July 22, 1918, while the enemy armies were suffering the bitter pangs of defeat at the hands of the sturdy Americans, Donel was called to the oolors and assigned to Co. K, 355 Infantry, 84th Division, following two brothers and a sister who were in active duty in France with the 84th Division, but shortly after landing, Donel was transferred to that renowned First Division, that battle-scarred Division that always took its objective and that never knew defeat.  A division heralded for its fighting tradition, its dash and its high spirit.

Donel soon caught the spirit of this now famous Division, and was ever ready to uphold its zealously guarded traditions.  And thus in the faithful and patriotic performance of his duty to his Division, to his comrades, to his country, to you and to me, while his Division was striking the enemy to relieve that other famous division - The Rainbow Division, in the Argonne on Nov. 7, 1918, a brief hour before peace dawned, with his face a smile and unafraid, an enemy bullet laid his life on the altar of his country.  Thus making our freedom more sacred and his memory more precious."

In Memoriam

Donel Glen Cottrell

Guest Blogger - Kim Bercaw

Civil War Pensioners in Defiance County - 1884 - Hicksville

                                               Defiance Pensioners   - HICKSVILLE           

                                                         "PENSIONERS

A List of Wounded and Disabled Soldiers in Defiance County

Below is a list of persons in Defiance County who were on the pension list of the United States, January 1, 1884, together with their injuries and the amounts they received."   (Payments were per month)

The Defiance County Express, January 17, 1884, pg. 16

Hicksville

Werker, Rebecca, dependent mother, $8.00

Harrison, Deborah, dependent mother, $8.00

Staggs, Nancy, dependent mother, $8.00

Dutterer, Susan, widow, $8.00

Bower, Emily E., widow, $8.00

Donafin, Julia G., widow, $8.00

Johnson, Julia A., widow, $8.00

Woodcox, Sarah, widow, $8.00

Murphy Phebe, widow, $8.00

Lorah, Charlotte, widow, $8.00

Ames, Eliza, widow, $8.00

Arrents, Elizabeth, widow, $8.00

Ferry, Mary, widow, $8.00

Rose, Amelia, widow 1812, $8.00

Rex, William A., wounded in right arm, $18.00

Nelson, John, wounded in the throat, $8.00

Blosser, John, wounded in right hip, $2.00

Brinker, Simon P., wounded in right hand, $4.00

Kinmont, Thos. C., wound in right leg, $25.00

Semasters, Abraham R., wound in left thigh, $4.00

Mullenix, Thos. B., wound in left leg, $4.00

Bell, Benjamin F., wound in left shoulder, $18.00

Kintigh, Isaac E., wound in left thumb, $7.50

Palmar, George W., wound in left leg, $18.00

Gag, Timothy E., loss of left leg, $24.00

Ferris, Lewis, loss of left arm, $24.00

Hollinger, Charles, loss of left leg, $24.00

Barnes, Sylvester, loss of right ?, $24.00 (theig, did they mean leg?)

McCalla, Simon, chronic diarrhea,   $4.00

Gallintine, Thomas, chronic diarrhea, $4.00

Pressler, Jacob, chronic diarrhea and disease of the abdomen viscera, $4.00

Dieahl, Samuel, chronic diarrhea, $6.00

Meek, John W., lost one finger, $1.00

Oldfield, George B., disease in left ear, $2.00

Otis, George, consumption, $18.00

Rittenhour, Adam, rheumatism, $4.00

Many pension files or parts of them may be found on fold3.com, a subscription site.

Adam B. Whitman - G.A.R., I. Donafin Post #52, Hicksville, Ohio

Born in Bremen, Germany to his father, Adam Whitman and an unidentified mother, Adam emigrated to the United States in 1855, according to his report on a census.  Born December 7, 1845, his ocean voyage to America ended when he was about ten. His earliest years remain a mystery as all efforts to find immigration records and 1860 and 1870 census records for the Whitmans have failed.  Adam's death certificate named his father as Adam, and because of his enlistment in the war in Kendallville, Indiana, it is possible the family first settled there.

On the third of November,1864, Adam enlisted in Kendallville as a substitute for John Regenberg into Company B, 22nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Adam was 19 and ready to fulfill his patriotic duty. He was transferred into Company E, 82nd Regiment on November 21, 1864, at Evansville, Indiana. His service ended when he was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky on July 24, 1865. According to his pension record below he as also unassigned to the 37th - a confusing number of transfers for the months he served.

When Adam joined the Union Army, battles remained to be fought.  It was the end of the Siege of Atlanta and Sherman was marching to the sea.  Northern troops were moved into Savannah and then the Carolinas to finish off the war before the surrender in April. The official Civil War roster noted that Adam was from Edgarton (Edgerton), Ohio, when he enlisted. Another confusion.

On September 13, 1869, Adam married Catherine Steinhilber in Defiance, Ohio. Their first child, John Frederick was born in Milford Twp. on June 17, 1872. A second son, Adrian Adam, followed in 1874. By the Federal Census of 1880, Elizabeth (1875), Mary C. (1878), and George Washington Whitman (Feb. 1880) would join the family. Adam worked as a farmer.

The 1890 Veterans' Census of Milford Township named "Addam Whitman", Pvt. Co. B. Indiana Infantry, serving from November 3, 1864 - July 24, 1865, a period of eight months.  His residence was recorded as Hicksville and his disability as "chronic direah" (diarrhea). 

 The Defiance Democrat of March 10, 1898, reported on page 2:

"A house belonging to widow Rimmesnyder burned last Saturday night.  Some of the nearest neighbors saw the fire and barely saved her life.  She was very old and fragile and alone at the time.  It was a total loss, the insurance having expired a short time ago.  She will make her home with her daughter, Mrs. Adam Whitman." 

By the Federal Census of 1900, the Adam Whitman family lived in Hicksville Township when the enumerator came around on June 8th or 9th.  Adam, 53, farmed and owned his home (mortgaged).  In this census, he reported his immigration date as 1855 and noted he was a naturalized citizen.  His wife, Catherine, 46, had had eight children, and seven survived. (One died in infancy.) She gave her immigration date as 1856.  Only three children were left at home: George, 20, farm laborer; Mabel, 15, and Earl, 8.

 

One newspaper stated that in 1905, Adam's daughter, Mary, and her husband, William McClellan moved onto Adam's farm.  So it was probably about that point that Adam and Catherine moved into the village of Hicksville and settled on Smith Street.  In the 1910 census, Adam, 64, and Kathrine,56, were there with son, Earl, 18, who was a printer working in a printing/painting? office. Adam's income was on his own account which meant he was not working outside the home anymore and taking a wage.

Adam became widowed in June, 1911 when Catherine died after being ill for a long period.  Her obituary appeared in the Hicksville News-Tribune on June 22, 1911:

"WHITMAN.

Catherine Steinhilber was born in Bremen, Germany, July 13, 1853.  When but two years of age, she came with her parent to the U.S., who settled in Crawford County, Ohio.

In 1863, they moved to Defiance County and located to Milford Twp. where she resided until about five years of age, when they moved to Hicksville on East Smith Street.

She was united in marriage with Adam Whitman September 13, 1869.  To them were born 8 children, five sons and three daughters.  One son died in infancy.  

She was converted about 30 years ago and joined the Church of the United Brethren of Christ at Milford Twp.  After moving, she had her membership transferred to the U.B. Church of Hicksville of which she was a faithful member at the time of her decease. She was a devoted Christian, enjoyed and loved the services of the sanctuary and attended the means of grace when health permitted.

Unassuming in disposition, yet always ready to do her part in the home, or in the church. The cares were not few in raising a large family, but cheerfully and bravely, she shared the toils and responsibilities with her companion.  She suffered greatly through a lingering illness, but was patient and resigned to the will of the Lord and expressed her readiness to go when the Lord should call.

She departed this life June 14, 1911, aged 57 years, 11 months and 1 day.  She leaves behind seven children: John H. (F.) , Adrian A. of Chesterton, Ind.; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Charles Steele of Clarksville; Geo. W., Mary, now Mrs. William McClellan; Mabel, now Mrs. Hanford Monroe of Willes, Mich., and Earl of Butler, Ind., with other relatives and friends who mourn her loss.  Funeral services occurred from the U.B. Church on Saturday, conducted by Rev. J. W. Lilly, assisted by Rev.J. F. Miller.  Interment in Forest Home Cemetery.  

Adam B. Whitman died on January 8, 1912, in Hicksville. The cause of death was apoplexy or stroke.  He was a member of the G.A.R., Donafin post in Hicksville, attending the funeral of another veteran when he met his own demise soon after.

"OBITUARY - WHITMAN

Adam Whitman was born in Germany, December 7, 1845, and early in life came to America.  He inherited the true spirit of patriotism and as evidence of this allegiance, he tendered his services to his country when it was in the throes of deadly strife.  Enlisting in Co. B., 22nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry in 1864 when but nineteen years of age, he served faithfully until the close of the war, receiving an honorable discharge.

A few years later, he married Catherine Steinhilber, September 13, 1869, who preceded him in death, June 14, 1911. To this union were born four sons and three daughters, all of whom are living.  These, with a number of grandchildren and many friends, mourn his departure.

Some years ago, he enlisted under the cross and identified himself with God's people by joining the United Brethren Church at West Milford near his farm home.  Six years ago, having removed to Hicksville, he transferred his membership to town and remained faithful until death. 

He was a member of the I. Donafin Post, G.A.R., and with them attended the funeral of his comrade, Appleton Hopkins, Monday, January 8 (1912).  He was returning from the cemetery where he had assisted in laying his comrade to rest, when the last tatoo was heard and he, too, lay down to the long sleep, and entered into that rest prepared for the people of God."

(Obituaries - Pioneers of Northwest Ohio, #348, Johnson Memorial Library.)

The death certificate for Adam Whitman indicated he died on January 8, 1912, found dead of a stroke around 5 p.m. He was buried January 12 in the Forest Home Cemetery, Hicksville.

Thanks to Whitman family researcher, (Caroll) Lynn Monroe, for all his contributions.