OHIO STATEWIDE FILES OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List *********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. *********************************************************************** OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 254 Today's Topics: #1 OBITS: Daily News, Troy, Miami Cou [Maggie Stewart-Zimmerman <73777.25] #2 ...Then They Went West, Erie, KELL [Maggie Stewart-Zimmerman <73777.25] ------------------------------ X-Message: #1 Date: Thu, 22 Apr 1999 20:34:31 -0400 From: Maggie Stewart-Zimmerman Subject: OBITS: Daily News, Troy, Miami County Billie Loofburrow del@olynet.com April 22, 1999 Daily News -Troy, Ohio Obits -------------------------------------------- Anna Zimmerman Services Friday April 04, 1956 Mrs. Anna Zimmerman, 65, of R. R. 1, Ludlow Falls, died at 11:30 p.m. Monday at her residence following an extended illness A native and life-long resident of Miami county, she was a member of the Church of the Brethren at Pleasant Hill. Surviving are her husband, William; a son Leo; a brother, Roy Cassell, all of R. R. 1. Ludlow Falls and a sister, Mrs. Bertha Rench of Pleasant Hill. Funeral services will be conducted at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Church of the Brethren, Pleasant Hill. Burial will be in Pleasant Hill cemetery. Friends may call a the Ross Memorial home in Pleasant Hill after 2 p.m. Thursday. ****************** FRANK HELMAN, 80, Retired Farmer Bradford--- Frank Helman, 80, Rt. 2 Bradford, well-known Darke County farmer, died Monday at 3:20 p.m. in Piqua Memorial Hospital. He had been in ill health about three years and suffered a stroke July 3. Mr. Helman was a native of Miami County, but had resided most of his life in Darke County on a farm four miles west of Pleasant Hill. He was a member of the West Grove Congregational Christian Church. Surviving are his wife, Nona; a daughter, Mrs. Robert MacArthur of Hastings, Michigan; a granddaughter and one great-grandson; a brother, William Helman of Ludlow Falls, and a sister, Miss Mina Helman of Pleasant Hill. Services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Thursday in the Miller Funeral Home at Greenville. The Rev. Emmett Osborne will officiate and burial will be in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home between the hours of 3 and 5 and 7 and 9 p.m. Wednesday. ********************** Golden Anniversary To Be Honored Monday, July 25, 1955 Mr. and Mrs. Harley Laughman will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary at their farm home near Savona with open house Sunday, August 14. Hours for the open house will be from 2 until 5 o'clock in the afternoon and 7 until 9 o'clock that evening. Mr. and Mrs. Laughman were married August 17, 1905, near Pitsburg. They have two children, Roy Laughman of Winchester, Ind., and Mrs. Onda Harter of New Madison. There are also four grandsons, one great-grandson, and one great-great-granddaughter. The family formerly lived in the Troy vicinity. Mr. Laughman is a brother of Ray Laughman of 422 Ohio Avenue. ********************** E. MASON RENCH December 30, 1956 Pleasant Hill--- E. Mason Rench, 69, died unexpectedly of a heart attack at his home on W. Monument St. at 11:45 p.m. Sunday. Born near Pleasant Hill, he was the son of E. B. and Clara Kinniston Rench. A life resident of Miami County, he was educated in the Pleasant Hill schools. He was a member of the First Brethren church and a retired farmer who had worked for the past 10 years in the Pleasant Hill cannery. Survivors include his wife, Bertha Cassell Rench; three children, Mrs. C. .B Clark, of Hawthorn, Cal., Mrs. Mark Flory of Dayton and Eldon Rench of Springfield; five grandchildren; one brother, Francis Rench of Canada, and two sisters, Mrs. Park Wicks of Oregon, and Mrs. Oscar Potteger of Washington. Services were to be held in the Ross Memorial home at 2:30 p.m. Thursday followed by burial in the Pleasant Hill cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home. ************************************ (no Date ) Mrs. Rench of Pleasant Hill Dies Funeral services for Mrs. Bertha Rench, of Pleasant Hill will be conducted at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Ross Memorial home, Pleasant Hill. Rev. Samuel J. Adams will officiate. Burial will be in Pleasant Hill cemetery. Mrs. Rench, the widow of E. Mason Rench died early Saturday at the Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton. She was a member of the First Brethren Church, Pleasant Hill. Friends may call at the memorial home Monday afternoon and evening and Tuesday until time of the services. *********************** (Unknown Newspaper) HARRY BUCHHOLZ DIES NEAR PIQUA Harry William Bucholz, 65, R R. 2 Piqua, died unexpectedly at his home this morning. He was born on January 11, 1892, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Buchholz of Pleasant Hill. Mr. Buchholz married the former Daisy Archer on November 20, 1954. He had been a member of the First Evangelical and Reform church in Piqua, and had worked as a bridge carpenter for Miami County. Surviving are his wife, Daisy; three stepchildren, Mrs. Walter Rhodes, Piqua, Mrs. Florence Gunckel, Pomona, California and William E. Archer, Johnstown, Pennsylvania; four sisters, Mrs. Daniel Wagner, Piqua, Mrs.Floyd Palsgrove, Piqua, Mrs. Cecil Brown and Hazel Buckholz. both of Gettysburg, Ohio; three step grandchildren and one step great-grandchild. Services will he held Wednesday morning at 10 at the Madison Funeral home in Piqua. the family will receive friends here from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow. the Rev. L. E. Detwiler of the First Evangelical and Reform Church in Piqua will officiate. Burial will be held at the Fletcher cemetery. (Died July 15, 1957 and buried Wednesday 17th, 1957) ************************ (unknown Newspaper) November 26, 1956 MRS. SUSANNA STRAWSER Brookville--- Services for Mrs. Susanna Strawser, 70, who died at home, 637 Vine Street, Saturday, will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the S. A. Dunkel and Sons funeral home with burial in Arlington cemetery. Mrs. Strawser was a native of Darke county, but had lived in and around Brookville for many years. Survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Ruth Cox of Brookville and Mrs. Hazel Haupt of Trotwood; three sons, George and Virgil of Brookville and Clifford of Dayton; three sisters, Mrs. Maude Young of Dayton, Mrs. Jennie Hart of Union, and Mrs. Emma Garrison of Greenville; four brothers, Luther Waymire of Troy, John Waymire of Bradford, and James Waymire of Greenville and seven grandchildren. Friends may call at the funeral home from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday. *********************** April 04, 1956 Daily News, Troy, Ohio ANNA ZIMMERMAN SERVICES FRIDAY Mrs. Anna E. Zimmerman, 65, of R. R. 1, Ludlow Falls, died at 11:30 p.m. Monday at her residence following an extended illness. A native and life-long resident of Miami County, she was a member of the Church of the Brethren at Pleasant Hill. Surviving are her husband, William; a son, Leo; a brother, Roy Cassell, all of R. R. 1, Ludlow Falls, and a sister, Mrs. Bertha Rench of Pleasant Hill. Funeral services will be conducted at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Church of the Brethern, Pleasant Hill. Burial will be in Pleasant Hill cemetery. Friends may call at the Ross Memorial home in Pleasant Hill after 2 p.m. Thursday. (Note: Anna was the daughter of Rudolph Cassell. She went to Buckeye School and she lived south of the school.) ************************** (No date but probably from the Troy Daily News ) EZRA J. SMITH COVINGTON--- Ezra J. Smith, 81, of R. R. 1, Covington, died at 1 a.m. Tuesday at the Dettmer General hospital where he had been admitted Monday night after suffering a stroke Monday afternoon. Mr. Smith was a retired farmer and a member of the Church of the Brethren at Covington. Survivors include the wife, Clara, and two daughters, Mrs Wilbur Bucholtz of Columbus and Mrs. Earl Robbins of R. R. 1, Covington, and seven grandchildren. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Routzahn funeral home in Covington, with burial in Highland cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home. ************************** ------------------------------ X-Message: #2 Date: Thu, 22 Apr 1999 20:34:15 -0400 From: Maggie Stewart-Zimmerman Subject: ...Then They Went West, Erie, KELLEY (1) Historical Collections of Ohio The Kelley Family Book compiled by Hermon Alfred Kelley 1897 And Then They Went West by D. Kelley 1998 (Part 1) *********************************************** A race of strong men (of ancestors) inheriting marked individuality of character. From the Stow side they seem to have received intellectual force, tenacity of purpose and a strong will; from the Kelley side, coolness, a disposition to thorough investigation, and a well balanced judgement. These characteristics, possessed in a greater or less degree by all these sons, together with a training, which breathed into them the sturdy traits of New England character, made them landmarks in the communities in which they severally lived. ********************************************** Datus Kelley, eldest son of Daniel and Jemima (Stow) Kelley, was born at Middlefield, Conn., April 24,1788 and came to Lowville, N.Y. in the year1798, when his father removed the family thither. At Lowville the father made some advantageous investments and by industry and economy accumulated a moderate property. Datus attended school at Middlefield and Lowville in his boyhood, but by being the eldest son, his services were much required upon the farm and in the mill. He early became proficient in surveying, and throughout his life was a student, not only of books, but of men and things. While, therefore, his early opportunities in school were limited, he neverless became a thoroughly educated man, and in his later years few college graduates could surpass him in breadth of reading and general information. In the spring of 1810 he took his pack upon his back and started on foot for the West, prospecting. His Uncle, Joshua Stow, one of the original purchasers of the Connecticut Western Reserve, owned large tracts of land in what was then frequently called "New Connecticut", and, partly through his influence and partly because he was dissatisfied with the rigorous climate of Lowville, Datus determined to find a new home in the far West. He arrived in Cleveland, Ohio, on the first day of July, but his search for a location does not appear to have been sucessful, for he returned to Lowville that summer. His western fever does not seem, however,to have been cured. In 1811 he again came out to Cleveland, whither his brother Alfred had preceded him. This time he went to Oswego on foot, thence to Lewiston by vessel, from there to Black Rock on foot again, and then once more by vessel to Cleveland, where he arrived in May or early June. In a letter to Alfred dated July 7th, 1811, his father says "We feel at present somewhat solicitious about Datus. Two points he ought particularly to guard against- one, to settle in a place which is likely to be unhealthy; the other, respecting a place where there is not a prospect of forming some society; many serious may attend each of these." Datus returned to Lowville in midsummer, and on August 21,1811, married Sara Dean, daughter of Samual and Mary (Weller) Dean of Martinsburg, New York. Soon afterward they removed to Ohio, having for traveling companions his brother Reynolds, brother-in-law, Chester Dean, and sister-in-law, Cynthia Dean. Like many modern bridal couples, they visited Nigara Falls on their wedding journey, which was made by team to Sackett's Harbor, boat to Fort Erie, team to Chippewa and the "Scooner Zephyr, 45 tons burthen" from Black Rock to Cleveland, where they arrived about the middle of October. Datus and his bride kept house in a new warehouse at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River during the first week or two after their arrival and pending the selection of their farm.They had the choice of lands situated in the heart of the now city of Cleveland and lands ten miles west on the lake shore, and took the latter. The old farm, for which Datus Kelley paid $3.18 per acre, lies about a mile west of Rocky River and originally extended from the shores of Lake Erie to the "North Ridge" road, so called. The southernly portion of this farm Datus sold in 1832 to his brothers-in-law, Chester and Joseph Dean, in whose decendants the title to most of it still remains. The northerly part, consisting about 200 acres on the lake, is now (1897) the property of Hon. Clifton B. Beach. On this farm a log house was first built, which was afterward superseded by a more commodious homestead, on the lake shore, just east of the present residence of Mr. Beach. In the old log house and in the new homestead were born all the children of Datus and Sara Kelley. Until the declaration of War in 1812, Datus had for neighbors a number of friendly Indians, who used to come down to the lake to hunt in summer, occupying some half dozen rude huts, half a mile west of his house. The roads were so bad that most of the traveling to and from Cleveland was done in canoes and small boats. The mails were carried on horseback from Cleveland to Detroit twice a week. When the news of Hull's surrender at Detroit came, there was great excitement. It was reported that the Indians were coming to destroy everything and kill everybody, and the settlers, even many of those living in Cleveland and Newburg, hastily sought places of safety. The Kelleys refused to move and in vain they counselled their neighbors to remain in their homes. He owns that he pulled in his latch string and a put a nail over the latch one night, but this was the only fastening he ever had for an outside door; and that solitary night was the only one, when friend or foe could not walk into his house unbidden, during the 35 years of his residence in Rockport. In 1813 Datus was drafted into the army, but his brother-in-law, Chester Dean, went in his stead. The next twenty years were busily occupied in clearing up lands, setting out fruit trees, supintending schools, in laying out roads and making surveys in various parts of the Western Reserve, and in all those various forms of activity which fall to the lot of pioneers. (Part 2 to follow) -------------------------------- End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V99 Issue #254 *******************************************