War on the Homefront

The clip was taken from the Richmond Enquirer on March 13, 1838.  I am thinking this is an update on the Patriot War.  

A Case of Mistaken Marriage

The Gazette out of Lexington, Virginia dated Thursday, February 2, 1860 has this shocking story on the front page. 

 The Lynchburg Daily Virginian has a similar account they shared on January 27, 1860 via Chicago.

I, being the curious/nosy, person I am checked the Ottawa County, Ohio marriage records for December 1859 and January, 1860 and found only five marriages (Harmon Anglebeck & Nancy Wonnell; John Schmardcheck & Anna Schroder; Henry Snider & Abigail Knight; John Stewart & Rhoda Moore; Joel Labeen & Hester Vellequett) but none of them are listed as having filed for divorce.  I let you know if I ever figure out who they are because I'm crazy curious to see what happened to them.  I can't believe somebody actually did that.  Good grief!!  

Jopp Family Bible

 While I was looking for something entirely unrelated I stumbled upon a list of family Bible's currently in possession of the Hayes Presidential Center.  On the list was Stoner and Jopp.  I called, asked some questions and received scanned copies of both!  JACKPOT!  Sadly at this time I don't know where the Stoner family fits with our Stoners but the Jopp was a home run.  Below are the pages I received.  

Unfortunately some of this is hard to read and in the true motherly fashion she listed each and every one of her babies and nothing about herself or her husband.  However from this we can see that the Bible was printed in 1813 and gifted to Mary Jopp in 1815.  At this time I believe they were still living in New York and the other records I have show them coming to Ohio in 1831.  You can also spot some fun spellings such as "Munday" and a gift being one word.  If anybody can make out the information on Luas Elbert that would be wonderful but I'm going cross eyed trying.   

Where it fits:  Due to the inscription reading "agift give to Mary Jopp by. . . " I believe this is the Bible of Mary Jopp and probably by proxy her husband Daniel.  Together they are the parents of Orin, Betsey, Isaac, Sally, Jerusha, Elbert, Luther, Miller, Eliza Jane, Wealthy Ann (spelled Welthyan in the Bible) and Hudson.  Miller Jopp married Augusta Horton and together they were the parents of Laura Etta.  Laura Etta married David Stone and was the mother of Helen Naomi Stoner.  Helen married Dale Allen and they were the parents of LaDonna, Donald, Ralph "Jim" James, Richard, Thomas, Virginia, Robert, Carol & Margaret.  

P.S. if you can tell who gifted her the Bible I'd also appreciate that.  Tim and I are betting it's a misspelling of Priest Parker.  

The Port Clinton Lighthouse

 

In January of 1831 Port Clinton, Ohio was but a baby city having only been founded in 1828 yet in the "CONGRESS" section of the Virginia Free Press & Farmers' Repository in February, 1831 they announced there had been a resolution to built a light house in Port Clinton.  Upon some minor research (okay, okay, I Googled) I discovered that this isn't the lighthouse currently standing in Port Clinton but its predecessor.   The small lighthouse currently standing was built in 1896 and while the government isn't necessarily known for its speed this is most likely in regards to the stone lighthouse built in 1833.  Like I said the government isn't known for speed but two years is better than sixty-five.  😀  The original article can be found here and more information on both light houses complete with pictures of the beautiful stone light house can be found here.

Money Goes Missing

This little gem was found in the Lynchburg Daily Virginian and was published on March 22, 1856 meaning the robbery probably took place on or about March 15, 1856.  That amount of money would be over $250,000 worth in today's money.  At some point I might need to dig through the local newspapers and see what comes of any of these cases.  

The original publication can be found here and was considered worthy of the front page.  

Cornerstone of a Courthouse

 

This clipping was in the Norfolk Landmark, Vol. 48, No. 110 published on May 16, 1899.  The entire construction period of the courthouse was from 1898 to 1901.  More information on the courthouse can be found here.  The entire edition of the Norfolk Landmark can be found here.  Grandma Allen (Joyce Johannsen Allen) always said that presidents visited frequently and it wasn't usual to see them out and about.  Now I'm curious to see if I can find any more references.  I know the Island House claims that multiple presidents have stayed there including President James Garfield, President Rutherford B. Hayes and President William Howard Taft.  They also have an extensive list of celebrities that have stayed there.  

Port Clinton Lutheran Church

As some of you might know I LOVE hunting through church records to see what goodies they have in regards to birth, marriage and death records but some also have family registers or track membership and communion recipients so you can narrow down when a family moved into the area.  They also have baptism and confirmation records that often prove helpful with the added bonus of a lot of churches took pictures of their confirmation classes.  Apparently the new church building was a big deal as this is found in the "Our Church Paper", December 4, 1895.  

   

Further source: "Our Church Paper", Volume 23, Number 51 published in New Market, Shenandoah County, Virginia.  The full edition can be found here.

State of the Tree

 I have been slowly attempting to rebuild my tree from the roots up and have been enjoying a whole new world of resources.  It is amazing how many new resources have joined the world since I first started hunting however many years ago that was.  (I refuse to admit I've been doing this for over 20 years).  That being said in my reconstruction attempts I found a whole slew of very cool Port Clinton articles on the Virginia Chronicle website as well as some interesting reads on family so hopefully over today or the next several days I'll be flooding this page with the articles I've found.  Some might be family, some might be distant family and some might be just something I found interesting but as always I will attempt to make it clear exactly where they fit and how.  I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have enjoyed finding and sharing them! 

Leutz family papers

Last Tuesday I received a message from Mariah informing me they had found some documents and she was wondering if I was interested.  I replied with my address and like magic I received some very exciting mail today and I have jumped right on to share it with you.  So, without further delay I give you a passport and two baptism certificates.  

Am I the only one looking at his height listed as 6' 1" and thinking that for this time frame the man was a giant?  

This isn't the original-original baptism record but it is a certified copy of her baptism record which at the time also served as a birth certificate.  It would also be used to help gain membership to a parish wherever they ended up.

The documents came with both transcribed copies and full on translations if anybody is interested I can share those as well.  Thank you so much Mariah! 

Where It Fits: Johann & Louisa are the parents of Carl, Gustav, Charles, Luisa & Clara.  They are the grandparents of Oscar, Myrtle, Lorenz, Leon, Berlin, Clara, Edward, Emery, William, Edith, Esther and Fred Leutz & Omah, Homer, William, Ada, Luella, Maud and Clara Bisch.  

A picture of the couple can be found here: https://photographsandmysteries.blogspot.com/2010/03/update-fredrick-frederica-leutz.html

Are you my Octave?

 I might have had a break through in a long standing brick wall.  From the time I started hunting down my ancestors I've had a brick wall at Octave Debo.  He just wouldn't budge.  He and his family were surrounded by various leads and none of them lead to productive records.  Let me lay out his timeline for you and we'll see if my brick wall just came tumbling down.  

• In the 1870 census Mr. Octage (yes, it lists him as Octage) Debo is living in Townsend Township, Sandusky County, Ohio.  His age is recorded as 54 and he is living with his wife, Jane; and his children, Edward, William, Ella, Leon & E. Albert.  He lists his birth place as Canada.  
• In the 1880 census Mr. O. Debo is living in Townsend Township, Sandusky County, Ohio.  He lists his age as 69 and he is living with his wife, Jane; and sons, William, Leon and Albert.
• In the 1900 census Mr. Octave Debo is living in Townsend Township, Sandusky County, Ohio.  He lists his date of birth as July, 1823 and his age at 76.  He is living with Jane, his wife of 48 years and he claims to have been born in Canada while both parents are listed as born in France.  
• In his obituary in 1904 it says he was 79 years of age and all other useful clues are left out as it was a short obituary with little to no useful genealogical significance.  

This gives us a birth year for Octave as 1816, 1811, and July 1823/1824.  I say July 1823/1824 as his age says 1824 but the document says July, 1823.  The 1904 obituary puts his birth year about 1825 so I'm going to say 1823-1825 is a good guess.  Now, let's take a little visit to the cemetery.  Tew Cemetery to be exact.  

This says Octave Debo was born July 6, 1824.  His obituary has the same date of death and mentions him dying at his daughters house, my direct ancestor, so I know this to be the correct man.  He is buried beside Geneva and they have matching headstones but we will get to her some other time.  Finally things are starting to come together.  After banging around on this brick wall and taking breaks and coming back to it a couple of different times I more or less gave up.  Family lore says they lived in the Saint Lawrence River Region.  There were mentions of reservations and I'd found Debo's in the register for the Mohawks but I haven't been able to get anywhere.  So on a whim I posted on a Facebook group, Genealogy Addicts Anonymous, just to see if anybody there could lend any insight to search in the area (New York is notoriously hard to get anything out of and this could also be in Canada, especially with the French name).  Enter Dawn Duncan.  She replied almost instantly with this....

The cited source is Institut Genealogique Drouin; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Drouin Collection, Author: Gabriel Drouin, comp.  However, neither Dawn nor I speak French.  So off to another Facebook group, Genealogical Translations, where Barbara Poniewierski and Jocelyn Cote jumped in with a translation for us.  This is a baptism record for Michel Octave DuBeau.  "6 July 1824, we baptized at Quebec Michel Octave Dueau, born today of the legitimate marriage of Francois Dubeau, day laborer, and Marie Gingras of this town.  Godfather Michel Tessier, esquire, godmother Miss Henriette Viller, signed below, the father having declared that he did not know how."  Michel Octave DuBeau was born and baptized te same day as Octave Debo.  In the same region.  Could this possibly be my mystery man?!  All the trees I've attempted to cross reference with Francois DeBeau & Marie Gingras have no son Michel nor Octave listed.  I can find no death record for the baby, which is rare since they usually are baptized on the same day of birth only if there is a belief that the baby will soon pass.  It is very possible that Michel Octave DuBeau and Octave Debo are one and the same.  IF Michel & Octave are the same person than Dawn also supplied me with another three or four generations.  Mercy!  So do you think Octave and Michel are the same man?  Let me know in the comments or zap me a message.  I'm curious for any advice that can be offered.  I'll keep you posted as I find new documentation.  

Rachel Lee (Taylor) Myers (1942-2020)

 

CASTALIA — Rachel Lee Myers, 78, of Castalia, passed away on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, after suffering a stroke.

Rachel was born on March 5, 1942, to Elizabeth and William Taylor in Lacarne, Ohio.

After graduating from Oak Harbor High School in 1960, she went on to graduate from Stautzenberger College in 1961. She took her first position at Periodical Publishers, then worked for the Plumbers Union and later was employed as the high school secretary at Perkins High School, where she retired after 31 years of service to the district.

During this time, Rachel also was an active member of the Educational Office Professionals of Ohio (EOPO) and served as president for two years.

In 1959, Rachel met Terry Myers, and they were married in Monroe, Michigan, in 1960. They lived two years in Kentucky while Terry was in the Army and then returned to Ohio.

Terry and Rachel have two married children, Phillip (Tana) Myers and Debbie (Jim) Roderick. Rachel and Terry also have four granddaughters, Makenna and Keeleigh Myers, both of Columbus, Morgan Roderick of Boston and Marissa Roderick, who is attending Eastern Kentucky College.

Rachel spent much time enjoying her family cocker spaniels, Maxx, for 15 years and Maxine for the last 10 years, walking them daily. Rachel enjoyed boat rides with Terry when Terry wasn’t fishing. Lunches with her girlfriends were weekly, and she and Terry played cards with their friends on a regular basis.

Rachel was a devoted member of Grace Lutheran Church in Castalia. At Grace, Rachel was involved in the contemporary music program with high school students, taught Sunday School, attended Bible Study and was a member of Circle 5.

Rachel was preceded in death by her parents and her sister Carol Merrick. She is survived by her husband Terry, her children and grandchildren, her sister Lorna (Don) Noble, sister Ann (Jim) Dickerson and brother Bill (Jane) Taylor.

Visitation will take place 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, from at Ransom Funeral & Cremation Service, 610 South Washington St., Castalia. Masks and social distancing will be required.

A private funeral service will be held at Ransom Funeral & Cremation Service on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. The Rev. Kathleen Suggitt of Grace Lutheran Church will be officiating. Interment will follow in the Lacarne Cemetery.

The family suggests that memorials may be made to Grace Lutheran Church 203 S. Washington St., Castalia, OH 44824 or Back to The Wild, PO Box 423, Castalia, OH 44824.

Condolences and gifts of sympathy may be shared with the family by visiting ransomfuneralhome.com

Charles H. Hatch

This post was started April 21, 2017 and just recently completed.  --Kate

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Don't think for a second that I've forgotten about the Rudes side of the family but sometimes you have to go where the fish are biting and lately that hasn't been the Rudes side.  However, today I came into the possession of an obituary for Charles Hatch.

Died

HATCH - At his late residence in Vanlue, O., on Saturday evening, Aug. 17, 1889, Mr. Charles H. H. Hatch , aged 53 years, 8 months and 1 day.

Mr. Hatch was born in the state of New York, December 13th 1835, and in early life being left fatherless, by death, he came with friends to Ohio, located in Crawfordsville, Wyandot county.  Here he was apprenticed to Cornelins [sic] Shaw, and learned the blacksmith trade.  After having finished his apprenticeship, on December 6, 1857, he married Miss Catherine Coontz, with whom he pleasantly lived to the day of his death.

In 1858, Mr. Hatch moved to Iowa, where he toiled and prospered till the breaking out of the war, when he sent his family back to friends in Ohio, and enlisted in the 3d Iowa cavalry for one year, obtained a furlough and came home and moved his family to Vanlue where he continued to reside until the day of his death.  After arraigning his affairs at home, he returned to his regiment, and faithfully served his country to the close of the war, and was honorable mustered out of service.  Since the war he has been engaged in saw mill and factory work in Vanlue and Findlay,  and it was in the pursuit of his daily labor, at the former place, that last Saturday morning he met with the frightful accident, necessitating the amputation of his arm from the shock which in the weakened condition of his general health, he died in the evening of the same day. 

Mr Hatch was the father of 9 children, 4 sons and 5 daughters of whom 2 sons and 4 daughters, with the mother, are left to mourn his loss. 

Mr. Hatch was a good citizen, and his absence will be felt in the village of Vanlue.  

The funeral took place from his late residence, on Tuesday morning, August 20th, the services and interment taking place at the Lee church.  A very large congregation of sympathizing neighbors and friends being present to contribute their compassion for the living, and their respect for the dead.  Rev. J. M. Dustman, of Bluffton, officiating.  The burial was conducted according to the beantiful (sic) ritual of the order of the I.O.O.F, of which fraternity he was an honored member.

According to the August 22nd news paper Mr. Hatch was at Fred Sutters saw mill on Saturday when he fell against a saw, cutting his arm off above the elbow.  Medical aid was immediately summoned and the injury dressed and he fell to shock that same evening.  He was only 53.

Where it fits: Charles was the father of Lillie Mae Hatch, wife of Carlos A. Rudes.  Together they are the parents of Merrill Basil Rudes (1890-1939) and seven sons in total (Earle, Ercell, Cecil Harold, Gail Carlton, Raymond Sandwich, Dewey Lee & Merrill Basil), grandparents of Merrill Rudes (1920-1994) & George Rudes (1923-2007).  

Laurie Dangler

I don't know why this was such a hard obituary to post.  We weren't particularly close yet for some reason each time I logged in to share I ended up backing out.  I kept hoping it would magically become easier but it hasn't yet I find that she needs to be here among her family.  Farewell Laurie.  

Laurie A. (Rudes) Dangler, M.D., age 48, died Saturday, June 1, 2019 at her home after a long battle with brain and breast cancer. She was born August 5, 1970 to Randolph and Paulette (Oberhaus) Rudes in Toledo Ohio.

While growing up outside Toledo, Laurie excelled in many activities including playing trumpet in her high school marching band, competitive horseback riding, and learning how to bake the best apple pies ever. She was known for her kind heart, strong work ethic, drive and determination. After graduating with honors from Genoa Area High School, Laurie went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, Cum Laude, from the University of Toledo, and her M.D. from The Ohio State University.

Laurie met the love of her life, Doug, in junior high school and they were married August 1, 1992 in Genoa, Ohio. Throughout their many years together, Laurie and Doug enjoyed participating in Volkswagen clubs throughout Ohio, traveling and a mutual love of music. Laurie and Doug raised two outstanding children, Rebecca and Evan, who Laurie loved deeply.

While training to run the Columbus Half Marathon in 2007, Laurie was diagnosed with brain cancer. She was determined to run again after treatment and formed ROC On! (Run Over Cancer), a charity that raised funds for brain cancer research. Laurie continued to run half-marathons after treatment for many years, inspiring many others to run and raise funds as well.

Laurie was also an excellent doctor who was adored by her patients. Laurie made friends easily wherever she went. Her loving spirit will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

Laurie is preceded in death by her parents, Randolph and Paulette Rudes. She is survived by her husband of 26 years, Doug; daughter, Rebecca; son, Evan; sisters Angela Jimerson, Abigail (Jeremy) King, Lindsey (Thomas) Milam; nephews Gregory, Nicholas and Timothy; and niece Sarah.

Services are listed below. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to The Ohio State University Fund, ROC On Research Fund for Neuro-Oncology Center, Fund #313389 (www.giveto.osu.edu <http://www.giveto.osu.edu>).

**UPDATE #2** Little Brown Box

UPDATE #2:  If you would recall back in December, 2009 I told you about a little brown box I had discovered that contained the wedding pictures of George Rudes & Marian Bringe.  Let me refresh your memory on the mystery photograph in the box.  Below is a small section of the original post:

There were two pictures in the box that I couldn't identify. One was another wedding photograph. On the back I can't make out the first word but the rest is:

Jean
---------------------
Bristol England
--------------------
15/6/45

Now, since I was working on the confirmation picture tonight (yes, tonight.  You are getting updated as it happens so no lag time this time.)  I picked Merle Porter.  The name sounded familiar and I wasn't sure why.  It turns out that is the name of a famous photographer but as far as I can tell they aren't one in the same.  In that search I found his obituary, if you aren't interested in the whole thing you can read the highlighted part:

PORTER Merle Harrie 1919 - 2012 This man was not a physician or a millionaire or famous in any way...except to his family. This is a bit of his story. Merle Harrie Porter came into the world on January 26, 1919, and left it 93 years later on April 10, 2012. Born in Oberlin, OH, to Burton and Mabel (Kelly) Porter five years after his brother, Burton Durand, he lived most of his life in Genoa, OH excepting the last five years in Ludington, MI. As a boy visiting family back in Oberlin, he became a fan of the Cleveland Indians. He attended games at three different stadiums in Cleveland and after faithfully watching them on TV, saw his last game the evening before he died. After graduating from Genoa High School, he studied pharmacy at Toledo University, but left in 1942 to enter the Army of the United States and serve his country as a medic in Africa and Europe during WWII. It was in Bristol, England, that a local chap befriended him at a barber shop and, while stopping briefly at his new friend's home before going on to the pub, Merle spied his future bride. Twelve days after their meeting, Merle and Jean Boyce were engaged. After several failed leave attempts, they were finally wed in Bristol 3 years later on June 15, 1945, in a wedding that was planned in just two days. Upon return to civilian life, Merle went to work for Walding, Kinnan, and Marvin Co. becoming a pharmaceutical salesman. After retiring in 1981, he remained friends with many of the sales team, office staff, and pharmacists on whom he had called over the years. As a long time member of St. John's United Church of Christ, he served at various times on many committees, taught Sunday school, served as president of the congregation, His greatest joy was to sing in the choir that his father had directed at one time. He had a resonant, deep bass voice and sang for more than seventy-five years, becoming the longest serving choir member in church history. Merle also served on the Genoa village council and school board. Together the Porters raised six daughters, Donna (Jon) Fish, Barbara (Calvin) Wolcott, Gail (Larry) Moss, Sharon (Carl) Dietrich, Marilyn (Bob) London, and Kelly (Roger) Anderson. Through them, Merle and Jean were blessed with sixteen grandchildren, Cris, Jennifer, Ryan, Marty, Josh, Andy, Rachel, Matt, Kerrie, Mark, Chris, Casie, Julia, Megan, Jim, and Joe, and 22 1/2 great-grandchildren. Merle is survived by all of them, along with his sister-in-law Sara Porter and nieces and nephews in the US, Canada, England, and Australia. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother; his wife of 52 years, and an infant grandson. Merle was well loved and well respected in his community. He had an infectious laugh that was loud enough to serve as a beacon for his children. He and Jean set an incredible example of marital love, which all of his family hold up as THE example of what marriage should be. He had a wonderful way with words. Letters written even as a teen show his wit and command of language. His letters to his Jean during the war are voluminous. At home in his later years, he stayed in contact via emails with many of his extended family members and friends. If you were the recipient of any of those mailings, it wasn't long before you realized that he retained his wonderful sense of humor, even after his physical abilities were greatly reduced. As Merle aged and became less able to care for himself, he was able to stay in his home with daughters close by, for which he and his family are very grateful. We wish to especially thank family members Barb and Cal Wolcott and Kelly and Roger Anderson for their loving and tireless attendance to him and Mom over the past 20 plus years. Merle's love of singing was passed on to his family, and those family voices, along with those of friends, will be lifted in celebration of his life at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 22, 2012, with a dessert reception immediately following in the fellowship hall of St. John's United Church of Christ, 1213 Washington St. Genoa. If you wish to honor Merle's memory with a memorial donation, it would please the family if you would consider writing checks out to "Rachel Volschow" and send it c/o Robinson Walker Funeral Home 501 West St. Genoa, OH 43430. These will be used for Merle's beloved granddaughter's expenses in her ongoing battle with breast cancer. Thank You. Online condolences may be shared with the family at walkerfuneralhomes.com

Published in The Blade on Apr. 20, 2012  

June 15, 1945.  Jean.  I wonder what the chances are that the young man in the confirmation picture, the groom in this wedding picture and the older man below are all one and the same....

Penny for your thoughts on this one all y'all!  

Original post can be found in its entirety here: https://photographsandmysteries.blogspot.com/2009/12/update-little-brown-box.html

UPDATE: Confirmation?

UPDATE:  As you might recall I have been rebuilding my/our tree from the roots up.  This has lead to a number of new discoveries that I might have missed the first time around, weren't important, etc.  One of which was a document listing the home congregation of Della Meyer Rudes.  On a whim I emailed the church and a lovely lady by the name of Mary replied and offered to do some look ups and see if we can get some ducks in a row, especially in regards to this picture.  Ladies and gentleman, I give you the confirmation class of 1933 for St. John's Church in Genoa.  Below you will see Rev. Paul O. David with Donnabel M. Coleman (Ardner), Ruth E. David (Norwine), Alice L. Fondessy (Gleckler), Paul Gaul, William Hahn, Donald D. Lenz, Herbert E. Lorenzen, Leota M. Moritz (Dipman), Margaret C. Moritz (Holbrook), Merle H. Porter, and Merrill B. Rudes Jr.  Laurie had been right in calling out Merrill but the fourth from the left also looks familiar so now with the list of names maybe I can narrow down who he is and why he looks familiar.  

A nice Sunday mystery. This was taken at Northland Studio in Toledo, Ohio. There is no label saying who, what, when, or why. I am assuming it is a confirmation but I'm not sure.

Timeframe: The skirts are short enough that it is fairly safe to assume this was taken after 1908. Since all the girls have a bob cut, which didn't become popular until the 20's, this was taken after 1920. They started to get longer then the jaw length in the 30's and all these girls have the shorter bobs so I am guessing this was taken between 1920 & 1930.

Where It Fits: I don't know. Can you tell me?

Hilda Michel

Hilda M. Michel, 85, of Oak Harbor, Ohio, passed away Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at Riverview Health Care Campus, Oak Harbor. She was born in Toledo, Ohio on July 14, 1933, a daughter of the late Frank & Catherine (Schmitz) Keil. Formerly Sr. Merici of the Sisters of St. Francis, Tiffin, Hilda later worked in the library of the former Mary Manse College, Toledo.

On April 15, 1967, she married Kenneth J. Michel, and he preceded her in death on June 26, 2011. Together they worked on the family farm and vegetable stand near Oak Harbor. Hilda was the secretary at R.C. Waters Elementary School, Oak Harbor, for many years and was a substitute aid. An active member of St. Boniface Catholic Church, Oak Harbor, she was a former organist and was a member of the Altar Rosary Society and the Corda Club. Hilda and Ken enjoyed traveling after their retirement and visited many places in the U.S. and Europe. She was “always busy” and volunteered her time with the Holiday Bureau and Meals on Wheels. Hilda enjoyed reading, playing the piano at Riverview, and going out to eat with her friends.

She is survived by her sons, Ed (Katie) Michel, Joliet, IL and Frank Michel, Oak Harbor; sisters, Sr. Angie Keil, OSF/T, Boonville, KY and Dorothy Murawa, Toledo; and grandchildren, Kyle, Paige, & Daniel Michel. She was preceded in death by her son, Greg Michel, and a sister, Mary Lou Westhoven. 

The family will receive friends from 2-8 PM Sunday at Crosser Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 301 N. Locust St., Oak Harbor, where a Christian Wake service will be held at 7:30 PM Sunday. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 AM Monday, April 15, 2019 at St. Boniface Catholic Church, 215 Church St., Oak Harbor, where friends may call after 9:00 AM Monday. Rev. Timothy F. Ferris will officiate, and interment will follow at Salem Township Union Cemetery, Oak Harbor. Following the services, a luncheon will be served in the undercroft of St. Boniface Church. Those planning on making a memorial contribution are asked to please consider St. Boniface Church or School, the Sisters of St. Francis, Tiffin, or Heartland Hospice. Crosser Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Oak Harbor, is assisting the family with arrangements and encourages those wishing to send a condolence or share a fond memory to visit www.crosserfuneralhome.com.

Where she fits: Kenneth Michel, husband of Hilda, was the son of Edward Michel and Helen Foos.  Edward Carl Joseph Michel is the son of Frank Michel and "C. Millie Fritsche" (according to Edward's birth certificate).  That being Amelia/Emilie Fritsche, sister of Robert Fritsche making her the aunt of Merle Fritsche.  

Monuments Men in the news

Merrill Rudes, Jr. made the news in March.  (Video at the link at the bottom).  




March 21, 2019 at 12:35 PM EDT - Updated March 21 at 12:37 PM

TOLEDO (WTOL) - In 1949, the world was changing. Quickly.

A television set was becoming a permanent piece of furniture in the living room. Europe was still deep in the recovery from the ravages of World Two. China was declaring itself a future super power, while Russia and the U.S. began to chill in the run up to the cold war.

Here at home in Toledo, family life was starting to return to normal in Post War America as the economy was starting to shift into a new civilian posture.

Men were home from the war and new houses were sprouting up throughout the city. In short, America and Toledo were trying to heal from the wounds of a long war.

In March of 1949 - 70 years ago this week - a remnant of that war came to Toledo and put the Glass City in America’s spotlight as the Toledo Art Museum hosted one of the most important art exhibits in its history.

For ten days, more than 10,000 people a day came to the museum to witness and view the greatest masterpieces of European art. The paintings of the iconic artists that had been stolen by Adolph Hitler and the Nazis during the scourge of the Third Reich.

The Toledo Museum of Art Archivist Julie McMaster says thousands descended on the museum for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the masterpieces that had been rescued by a special detachment of art experts and curators.

They were known as the Monuments Men, made famous in the 2014 movie of the same name. This group of several hundred were able to find many of these treasures in various hiding places, including some deep in a salt mine in Merkers, Germany.

These included priceless works that had been stolen from the Berlin Museum

“There were 202 of them that came over for for safe keeping, and we showed 96 of those paintings.” said McMaster.

Toledo was the last stop on an American tour of 14 large city museums that got to display the masterpieces.

Toledo’s opportunity to have an exhibit was made possible partly because TMA’s curator at the time was Otto Wittman, one of the Monument’s Men.

McMaster said Wittman spent about a year working to research and document the many works of art that were being uncovered by the special team. By late 1946, Wittman accepted a job in Toledo and stayed for 30 years.

Toledo was fortunate to have a man of Wittman’s expertise and stature, and also fortunate to have been a part of this cultural event in 1949.

Area citizens and businesses embraced the show and raised money for charter buses to transport 42,000 schoolchildren to see the paintings that few Americans would ever see.

"It was an opportunity to see things that we would not necessarily be able to see without traveling to Europe,” McMaster said.

In a local grace note to this story, these paintings hidden deep in the Merkers Salt Mines were in part found because of a local solider fron Genoa. Captain Merril Rudes.

It is written that while on patrol with his company at Merkers, two women came up to him and said something about the “treasure in the Salt Mines."

Rudes, a Genoa High School graduate, who later became an Ottawa County Judge, said he didn’t know what they were talking about, but just put the information in his notes and sent it up to headquarters.

The rest is history.

And so, too, is the story of this exhibit that came to Toledo for 10 days, drew 100,000 visitors and raised $190,000 to be given to the children and orphans of Germany.

After the paintings left Toledo, they were sent back to Washington D.C. and eventually returned to Europe and their rightful owners and museums.

Toledo residents were the last Americans ever to see them in person all in one place on U.S. soil.

Copyright 2019 WTOL. All rights reserved.

http://www.wtol.com/2019/03/21/greatest-art-exhibit-ever-seen-toledo-was-made-up-paintings-saved-by-monuments-men-wwii/?fbclid=IwAR3Msq0oXqznEISOy2dVCBtkjcKmsoryNA0dopUnn5vyTjcyC6YAZYu2m-c

Les Meyer Turns 100

On March 7th, there was a very special birthday.  Les Meyer would have turned 100 so the children at the Meyer Center celebrated. 

https://www.foxcarolina.com/slideshows/photos-the-meyer-center-celebrates-founder-s-th-birthday/collection_e8e2183e-4139-11e9-9d80-370107f70c55.html

https://www.wyff4.com/article/project-community-meyer-center-helps-children-with-disabilities-reach-their-full-potential/26757401

Nellie Meyer

As I have previously mentioned I have "trashed" my tree.  Sawed it off at the ground as it were and am working on growing a new tree.  It will be the same species, I haven't decided to find new ancestors but the hope is in attacking the tree with new and more experienced eyes and the vast new world of sources since I started this over 15 years ago that I would find some cool new facts about the same ol' people.  Enter Nellie Meyer.

I was looking for the birth record of Della Meyer.  I usually search by parents names as this sometimes leads one to find siblings you didn't originally know about and lo and behold up pops Nellie.

Line 36 lists Meyers, Nellie.  She was born 1891, Jun 7 in Allen Township to George Myers & Maggie Schnackenberger.  Who is Nellie?  She has the same date of birth as Della so she could be a twin but Della isn't registered.  It all seems very interesting indeed until....

 
Della Matilda Wilhelmina Meyer filed to have her birth record corrected as she is listed as Nellie and both parents have their names misspelled.  Not only does this little gem solve the mystery of Nellie but if you look closely you will be able to see that she was born at home by Dr. J.C. Bowman of Martin, Ohio.  The document was witnessed by George H. Rudes.  Supporting affidavits were submitted by Katherine Clark & A.H. Samsen who are not related but could somehow swear that they knew when Della was born and to her parents identity.  What a cool piece of trivia to uncover.

Where it fits:  Della Meyer is the wife of Merrill Rudes.  She was previously thought to have been born in Woodville, Ohio* but the birth records state otherwise.  No previous birth records had been located but her name was believed to be Della Matilda Katrina Meyer.  She is the daughter and at this time only known child of George Harlow Meyer & Marguerite Schnackenberg.  She is the mother of Merrill Basil Rudes & George Harlow Rudes.

*Her obituary states she was a native of Woodville, Ohio.

Irons in the Fire

Sometimes this little adventure is a lot of tiny steps while looking for an open door.  Right now I am...

• Working on setting up a meeting with a Japsen descendant 
• Awaiting a reply on a possible photograph identification
• Continuing to rebuild my tree which as lead to a number of new discoveries 

Hopefully I will be able to catch you all up soon with lots of new developments.  

The Mysterious Miller Jopp

Originally written several months ago and for some reason I never posted it.

Miller Jopp has been a long standing brickwall for me.  The Horton line was recently expanded (see the post regarding Barnabas Horton) but I was still left bouncing my head against the brickwall that is/was Miller Jopp.  This case was blown wide open after a tip from Mike Allen about the Stoner family in Green Springs Cemetery.  Let's review the cold hard facts together and see what we can figure out.

Miller Jopp & Augusta Horton were married July 4, 1876 in Seneca County, Ohio.  This was the second known marriage for Augusta.  It seems she had married a Mr. Young sometime previous to her marriage to Mr. Jopp and from this union she had a daughter named Cora Young.  Together Miller & Augusta had one child, Laura Etta.  All of this is "fact" received from the family of Laura Etta, minus the marriage date, but it tells you what family group for which we are searching.

Now, let's start searching sources and see if we can work our way backwards.  In the 1880 census for Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio we find the family of Benjamin Horton (a 60 year old farmer from New York).

• Benjamin Horton, 60, farmer, New York 
• Phoebe Horton, 60, wife, keeping house, New York 
• Bela J., 23, son of Benjamin & Phoebe, carpenter, New York 
• Elmer E., 17, son of Benjamin & Phoebe, farmer, New York 
• Miller D. Jopp, 50, farmer, New York 
• Augusta M. Jopp, 29, wife of Miller, at home, New York 
• Cora Young, 6, daughter of Miller & Augusta, New York 
• Henrietta L. Jopp, 2, daughter of Miller & Augusta, Ohio

This looks like our family since we have Miller, Augusta, Cora and Etta.  They are living with Augusta's known parents so I have a good feeling about this.  Now to see if we can work backwards from 1880.  While searching for other census records another census from 1880 appeared.  This time we have a census in Willowdale, Dickinson County, Kansas.  This time for M.D. Jopp.  

• M.D. Jopp, 53, farmer, New York
• Augusta, 29, wife of M.D., house keeping,  New York 
• Cora Jopp, 6, daughter of M.D. & Augusta, New York 
• Lauraetta, 1, daughter of M.D. & Augusta, Ohio 
• Elmer Horton, 17, brother in law of M.D. Jopp, farmer, New York

This looks like our family since we have Miller, Augusta, Cora and Etta.  A known sibling of Augusta is living with them and everything just seems too close to be a coincidence.  Well, hmm.  All census information is supposed to be accurate as of June 1st but the information is collected on various dates so I took a closer look.  They were enumerated in Clyde on June 11th and enumerated on June 2nd in Willowdale.  They move fast!  I especially love that there is a three year age difference between M.D. and Miller.  Interesting.  

If we assume the information on the census is accurate which is a gamble depending on various factors we now know that Miller was born somewhere in New York and possibly between 1837 & 1840.  If we attempt to drop back ten and punt we'll find Miller in the 1870 census.  He only appears once this time and in Pleasant, Seneca County, Ohio.

• Miller Jopp, 40, farmer, New York
• Orvan Jopp, 56, farmer, New York 
• Mary Jopp, 17, Ohio 
• Eva Jopp, 15, Ohio 
• Mary Jopp, 76, New York 
• Jarusha Jopp, 49, New York 
• Weathly Jopp, 28, New York

Also listed in the same house but as a separate family are

• Isaac Jopp, 53, farmer, New York 
• Mira Jopp, 46, keeping house, New York 
• Ida Jopp, 18, school teacher, Indiana 
• Bertha Jopp, 12, Wisconsin 

Now you should notice that the 1870 census doesn't list the relationship to the head of household so who on earth are all these people living with Miller?!  You can make assumptions but nothing solid anywhere  Maybe the 1860 census will help clear things up a little.  

Miller is again found in Pleasent, Seneca County, Ohio.  This time the household dynamics looks something like this.

• Miller Jopp, 28, farmer, New York 
• Mary Jopp, 66, New York 
• Orange Jopp, 45, New York 
• Wealthy Jopp, 24, school mistress, Ohio 
• Jerusha Jopp, 28, New York 
• Mary Jopp, 6, Ohio 
• Eva Jopp, 4, Ohio 
• Sarah Cummings, 12, Ohio 

Yep, that made things as clear as mud.  Traditionally the census lists breaks the household down into family groups but these all seem to be intermingled and confusing.  If we are to assume they were grouped Mary & Eva would be the daughtesr of Orvan in the 1870 census but they are listed under Jerusha in the 1860 census.  Maybe Jerusha is the wife of Orvan but then why is Wealthy in the middle.  How did Miller go from 53/50 in 1880 to 40 in 1870 to 28 in 1860?  How did Weathly only age four years when the records are ten years apart?  Poor Jerusha goes from 28 to 49 in ten years and changes genders to boot.  Ugh!  Maybe I'll muddy the water a little more and throw the 1850 census in here too.

 In the 1850 census the Jopp family is again in Pleasent, Seneca County, Ohio.  

• Mary Jopp, 50, farmer, New York 
• Orin Jopp, 39, farmer, New York 
• Elbert Jopp, 29, farmer, New York 
• Luther Jopp, 24, farmer, New York 
• Miller Jopp, 22, farmer, New York 
• Jane Jopp 19, New York 
• Elfa A. Jopp, 18, New York 
• Hudson Jopp, 16, New York 

Who the what!  Well, fiddle dee dee.  That made matters worse.  Who's Hudson?  Luther?  *sigh*  Without solid dates to work with it was hard to track down any firm information.  Was Miller living with an aunt and cousins or maybe his mother and siblings?  I had nothing solid until Mike made a comment about where to find the Stoner family in Green Springs Cemetery.  Cemeteries make excellent sources as the dates are written in stone (literally) so they are usually something solid on which to build your case.  (Getting too punny?  Sorry.)  Since Augusta was buried with the Horton's in the GIANT McPherson Cemetery and not with her spouse I was at a loss.  Then I walked into the Green Springs Cemetery and I might have actually been caught jumping up and down.  There buried among the Stoners was the Jopp family plot and in the Jopp family plot you'll spot:

Miller Jopp born May 13, 1828; Died Mar. 13, 1892

J.M. Jopp, 1820-1894

Mary, wife of D.H. Jopp Died May 1, 1876, Aged 82 years, 8 months

-----

Wealthy Ann Jopp, born Feb. 19, 1832, died Mar. 14, 1887

Daniel H. Jopp died Nov. 26, 1849, Aged 60 years, 5 months & 18 days (text below unreadable)

Full view of the Jopp headstone

John, son of O. & F. Jopp

Mabel, daughter of O. & F. Jopp

Earl, son of O. & F. Jopp

Emeline E. wife of Luther S. Jopp, died May 23, 1874 

Entirety of Emeline Jopp's headstone 

Luther Jopp, died May 8, 1874

From the family plot we can gather that the Mary we've seen in the census records was the wife of Daniel.  Daniel died in November of 1849 and the first of the census records to list members of the households was in 1850.  Since they are all buried together and most of them are all on the same headstone it would imply that Daniel and Mary were the parents of Miller, J.M., Wealthy Ann & Luther and all of those people appear in the census with Mary at one time or another so now with some concrete evidence let's see if we can fill in some gaps.  Since I had done a lot of digging on Miller, I tried following up with Jerusha Jopp, who I believe to be J.M. Jopp.  Lo and behold, Jerusha had a write up in the Stemtown News!  (Click here to see her information).  Sadly it was to be continued and I've yet to be able to find any of the other Stemtown News editions but the one I do have starts out with "Daniel Jopp my Father..." and goes on to say "was born in Winsted, Connecticut, June 8, 1790."  There are lots of interesting stories on the early Ohio life and making the trek to the wilderness.  It also says Daniel married Mary Dumond and they were the parents of 11 children, a lot more than what was implied from the census records.  "Orrin the oldest was born Aug 23 1813 (he was the father of Eva Horton & Mary Emery) the others were Betsy, Isaac, Sarah, Jerusha, Elbert, Luther, Miller, Eliza, Wealth Ann and Hudson".  Well, that accounts for everybody in the census records and explains some of the confusion.  There were THREE generations all living in the same house.  If you have the time I highly recommend you check out Jerusha's article in the Stemtown News.  It's fascinating!

Where it fits:  Miller Jopp married Augusta Horton and together they were the parents of Laura Etta.  Laura Etta married David Stoner and was the mother of Helen Naomi Stoner.  Helen married Dale Allen and they were the parents of LaDonna, Donald, Ralph "Jim" James, Richard, Thomas, Virginia, Robert, Carol & Margaret.