OHIO STATEWIDE FILES OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List Issue 15 *********************************************************************** 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. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *********************************************************************** OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 03 : Issue 15 Today's Topics: #1 [OH-FOOT] Probate Births, Putnam C ["Bakers" ] #2 [OH-FOOT] Births, Probate Court, P ["Bakers" ] #3 [OH-FOOT] Cooke Family, and histor [SCHcrochet@aol.com] #4 [OH-FOOT] Clintonville, Beechwold, [SCHcrochet@aol.com] Administrivia: To unsubscribe from OH-FOOTSTEPS-D, send a message to OH-FOOTSTEPS-D-request@rootsweb.com that contains in the body of the message the command unsubscribe and no other text. No subject line is necessary, but if your software requires one, just use unsubscribe in the subject, too. ______________________________ ------------------------------ X-Message: #1 Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 11:20:29 +0100 From: "Bakers" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <00b701c2c5ed$bd1842c0$7502bfc3@iu5k3> Subject: [OH-FOOT] Probate Births, Putnam County, Ohio, Vol. 3, p. 319 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" I have some probate births for subject county. If you'd like copies there are two pages involved. Please let me know. Kathy Zimmerly, Milton, Mar 6 1889 Zurcher, Fred, Apr 24 1888 Zuker, Alma, Oct 24 1888 Zeigler, looks like Hay C., Jan 14 1889 Zink, Maria E., Jul 1 1889 Zigler, Emma L., Apr 8 1889 Zachariah, Lewis W., Nov 27 1889 Zimmerman, Ezra, Jan 3 1890 Zink, Katharina, Nov 14 1889 Zink, Magdelina, Oct 18 1890 Zeigler, Ophal Gendola, May 26 1890 Zimmerly, Homer Cornelius, Aug 7 1891 Zeller, Anna Thomas, Sep 19 1891 Zachariah, Elmer Ray, Apr 10 1892 Zeigler, Carrie F., Aug 8 1892 Zeisloft, Ray, Feb 15 1894 Zickafoose, Blanch, May 25 1893 Zink, John E., Dec 28 1893 Zeigler, Roland, Jun 28 1894 Zeigler, Roland, Jun 28 1894 Zeigler, Ina, May 12 1894 Zigler, Lillian, Aug 24 1895 Zigler, Blanch, Sep 17 1895 Zebold, Floyd Meakin, Dec 7 1895 Zeisloft, Guy, Nov 26 1895 Zimmerman, Cora L., Aug 7 1895 Zeigler, No name, Aug 29 1895 Zickefoose, Ray, Sep 21 1896 Zink, Dora, Jun 28 1896 Zahner, Albert, Aug 7 1897 Zellers, Mary Janett, Jun 20 1897 Zigler, Francis, Jul 6 1897 Zurcher, M. K., Aug 22 1897Zeisloft, Gail Maria, Feb 18 1898 ______________________________ ------------------------------ X-Message: #2 Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 16:18:43 +0100 From: "Bakers" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <001e01c2c617$61a5d2c0$5303bfc3@iu5k3> Subject: [OH-FOOT] Births, Probate Court, Putnam County, Ohio, Vol. 4, p. 219 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" I have some probate court births. This involves two pages. If you'd like copies please let me know. Kathy Parsons, John Francis, Feb 16 1912 Phipps, Kathryn M., Sep 14 1916 Phipps, ? , Sep 14 1916 Pierman, Geo. Donald, Apr 12 1916 Pitney, Jola Marita, Jun 24 1916 Pittner, Regina Gertrude, Jan 15 1916 Plescher, Herbert Paul, Jun 24 1916 Pohl, Clara, May 29 1916 Polland, Evelyn L., May 24 1916 Porter, Earl Deloy, Jan 21 1916 Powell, Lulie Ella, Apr 21 1916 Pohl, Bula Violet M., Oct 15 1917 Patten, ? , Apr 3 1917 Patterson, Mary C., June 16 1917 Peach, Robert looks like Hue, Oct 13 1917 Pease, Bettie Nadine, Oct 21 1917 Perkey, Paul Franklin, Dec 20 1917 Perrin, John Joseph, Aug 23 1917 Peters, Naomona L., Aug 9 1917 Peto, Andrew, Feb 4 1917 Plister, Paul Edward, May 17 1917 Pierman, Elizabeth C., Mar 24 1917 Pitney, Levi Joseph, Aug 6 1917 Pittner, John George, Mar 11 1917 Place, Donald Paul, Oct 12 1917 Pope, ?, Feb 20 1917 Porter, Harriett Louise, Dec 18 1917 Porterfield, Leroy, May 5 1917 Pothast, Elene Marie, May 23 1917 Prowant, Eva, Aug 17 1917 Prowant, Naomi Lucile, Jan 10 1917 Pacey, Edith Anna, Jan 31 1918 Parker, Betty Gene, Apr 18 1918 Parker, Geraldine C., Mar 8 1918 Parrett, Gaylin August, Jul 10 1918 Parson, ? , Sep 14 1918 Patton, Ross Edward, Jul 5 1918 Perkey, Lois Marguerite, Aug 19 1918 Pfahler, Alvedia Annabell, Jan 11 1918 Phillips, ? , Oct ? 1918 Phipps, Leonard Anthony, Jul 9 1918 Pickens, Helen L., Mar 23 1918 Pitney, Howard Russell, Sep 20 1918 Pitney, Woodrow Wilson, Nov 11 1918 Pope, Clara Elizabeth, Sep 3 1918 Potts, Eileen Laverne, May 28 1918 Potts, Harry Stephan, Jul 28 1918 Pohl, Edward Henry, Oct 19 1918 Phillips, Nellie Mae, Sep 14 1918 ______________________________ ------------------------------ X-Message: #3 Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 16:04:15 EST From: SCHcrochet@aol.com To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <165.1a5443f7.2b66f8cf@aol.com> Subject: [OH-FOOT] Cooke Family, and history buffs of Clintonville and Beechwold Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Hi all, This is an interesting read Photocopy of an un-dated unnoted newspaper. UNDER THE OAKS. Reunion Of The Cook Family Near Worthington...Relatives Are Present From Several States and thoroughly Enjoy Themselves----A big dinner, songs, a Family History and a Grand Illumination Make Up the Day and Night. **Please note, Cook is spelled without the "e" in the article The palatial home of Mr. H. C. Cook, on High street between Clintonville and Worthington, was the scene today of the first annual reunion of the Cook family. The beautiful lawn, the giant shade trees and the spacious verandas were gaily decorated in honor of the 150 guests expected. This residence is on the site of the old homestead, while across the street is another beautiful residence on the other farm that was taken up, as will be seen later. About a giant tree on front lawn tables were so laid that they formed a great C, and these tables later in the day fairly groaned under a load of verandas, glassware, silver and flowers. This tables seated 100 guests, while other tables nearby accommodated the overflow. the interior of the big house was prettily decorated and even the big trees in the yard were twined with garlands. In fact the idea of exterior and interior decoration has been food for thought in the Cook family for months. In 1813, Roswell and Rachell Cook started for the far west from Wallingford, Conn, overland in wagons. The caravan crept ever westward through an almost unbroken wilderness until the Scioto was reached. At that time there was but a single cabin in a "slashing" on the east bank of the river. The eastern visitors went up stream to a point half way between what is now North Columbus and Worthington and there settled , clearing out the woods and planting crops. With the father ad mother on this six weeks journey from New England were Rodney and Chauncey Cook sons, with their young wives. It was hard work these early settlers had, but they were industrious and healthy and now representatives of the family can be found from Main to California. Chauney and Rodney each had nine children and soon the need of a school was felt. One was started and instead of answering to their names at roll call the oldest representative of the family would sing out "Rodney Cook, seven," meaning that seven children of Rodneys were represent. To-days Proceedings included the reading of a family history compiled by Mrs. Caroline P. Barber, of Cleveland, and cousin Bolivar, songs and recitations by the children, a big dinner under the trees, a grand supper and an illumination at night. Regrets were received from members of the family in Wisconsin, Indiana, San Francisco, Spokane, and other places. Charles Cook of Missouri , Gurvin Griswold of New York, and other members of the noted and widespread family, were present. the day was a perfect, one for the reunion and everyone enjoyed the outing and the meeting with dear relatives from Toledo, Cleveland, Findlay, and other places. Of the children of the original families, but two of Rodney Cook's are living, Messrs. H. C. Cook, and D. S. Cook. Of Chauncey Cook's but one, Mrs. Caroline J. Barber, of Cleveland. Mr. H. C. Cook, started with nothing to so to speak, has reclaimed both ancestral farms and now has over 300 acres, embracing in their bounds the land cleared with so much labor of his grandfather, father and uncle of the virgin forest. Naturally, there have been changes since the eastern wagon train pulled up at their future home, 84 years ago. Sandy ______________________________ ------------------------------ X-Message: #4 Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 16:15:09 EST From: SCHcrochet@aol.com To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <30.36c95324.2b66fb5d@aol.com> Subject: [OH-FOOT] Clintonville, Beechwold, Henderson Road, Cooke Family Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Don't know bout you all, but crossing the bridge at Henderson takes on a whole new meaning, or cruising the hills on Cooke Rd. Page 16, Week of July 9, 1990; Business First Inside Report of Greater Columbus. TRAINS KEPT LOCAL COMPANY'S BUSINESS ON TRACK By Robert Reid In the 111 years that Fritz-Rumer Cooke Co. Inc. has been in business, the Columbus company has had it's share of ups and downs. The family owned railroad and general contractor spent many of those years eliminating railroad grade crossings throughout central Ohio and replacing them with with train bridges. Today, FRC builds and maintains industrial railroad lines. FRC survived the economic changes wrought by two world wars, the Great Depression, a major shift in its market and the demolition of its home office after more than 40 years in one location. That the company was not derailed by any of these events is attributed to several factors, including religious faith, good judgment and knowing what kind of business to be, explains Carl C. Cooke, Jr., FRC's president and great-grandson of the company's founder. Like his family before him, Carl believes in a personal, hands on and Christian based approach to management. While he concedes that this may have limited the company's growth, Carl says he prefers the other rewards the policy brings. Today, FRC employs about a dozen people full time, down from the more than 100 during its heyday in the 1920's, Carl says. It's this smallness that lets company mangers stay close to employees. "When you own the thing, you're smart to get out of the office" and onto the job site, he explains. So even at age 65, Carl still like to pull on work clothes and boots and "rub shoulders with the guys" on the work crews. If you're right there with the workers on he job and something is bothering them, "you can see it in their eyes," Carl says. That couldn't be done as easily if FRC became a big company and started blocking access to top management by closing office doors and asking secretaries to screen callers, Carl explains. And while the company used to do many projects for the city of Columbus and Franklin County, FRC has not bid on many state or federal jobs lately. FRC managers used to know Central Ohio's local leaders well, and like doing business on that personal level, Carl says, but the bureaucracy and impersonality of "big government never appealed. Carl would not discuss FRD's current volume of business. He says only that, over the past century, FRD's fortunes have pretty much followed the rest of the economy. This year, for instance, business started off strong but slowed down in April and May. For the long haul, though, Carl remains optimistic about the future of his family's business. Two of his four sons -- Clement and Tim, both in their early 30's--have joined him at RFC. They run the day to day operations of the business. Fritz-Rumer-Cooke began in 1879 as Cooke & Grant. The partnership was formed by Henry C. Cooke, Carl's great-grandfather, and a family acquaintance, Adam G. Grant. Their first project was building a schoolhouse at the corner of Henderson Road and High Street. (see connected article in notes of Mrs. Wallace Hambleton (Dorothy Belle Cooke). Cooke & Grant put in the stone masonry substructure in 1882 for the wooden Whips Mill Bridge over the Olentangy river. the bridge was destroyed in 1896 and later replaced. today is known as the Henderson Road More bridge projects followed, with the railroad industry being RFC's principal customer. Along with bridges, the company also built railroad roundhouses, machine shops, water towers, even the occasional passenger platform and canopy. Most of these jobs were done in central Ohio, although the company also helped with projects in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. William A. Fritz, and John F. Fritz of Zanesville joined the company in 1905, with Charles V. Rumer coming on board in 1911, the same year the company was incorporated. Over the years, the other partners died or left the firm. Today, all stock is owned by the Cooke family, Carl says. Carl's grandfather, Albert C. Cooke, was a principal with the firm and his father, Carl, Sr., was president from the early 1950s until his death in 1971. During the 1920s, FRC's growth paralleled the general business boom throughout the country. The company had started doing "gunite" work in 1913 and used its own innovations of this procedure to save the North High Street bridge from demolition in the mid -'20s', Carl says. Gunite work involves pneumatically spraying a concrete mixture over steel reinforcements. The North High Street bridge survived until 1970's when it was torn down to make way for the Ohio Center. but it came close to being condemned a half century earlier because it was being destroyed by a combination of road salt from above and sulfur fumes from below. The bridge, itself was used by automobiles in the '20s', but trains often had to stop on the tracks that ran under the structure, Carl explains. When the engineers cleaned their smokestacks by flowing out soot, and fumes, the exhaust enveloped the bridge, helping to eat away at the steel beams--an early example of acid rain-style destruction, Carl adds. There was talk of tearing down the bridge and building anew one, but that would have been difficult and disruptive because high volumes of passenger and freight train traffic passed through the area each day. FRC worked on the bridge section by section, and its gunite procedure kept the trains running, Carl says. And it helped the company's bottom line too. In 1928 and '29 FRC worked on 55 separate projects. For FRC the Depression-era '30s became a struggle for survival. Seven years passed with little or no business, Carl notes in a five-page history of the company he compiled in 1948. The boom surrounding World War II meant more work but fewer workers. Many potential employees entered the armed services, forcing RFC to send a recruiter to others to find work crews for such projects as the Leonard Avenue bridge, Carl says. "How the army didn't locate them, I don't know", he says of the employees FRC recruited. But he does remember that many arrived shoeless. In fact, FRC often appealed to the ration boards to outfit its employees with footwear, he recalls. As the war effort progressed, FRC helped the railroads store supplies headed for France or Russia. truck bodies, wheels, gasoline cans and other non-armaments, were stockpiled at RFC rail yards until shipped overseas. Because it was wartime, private railroad guards, national guard troops and even U.S. soldiers helped guard the material. Once, when FRC's own employees refused to work as part of the dispute, soldiers even helped load the material on trains. Wages were frozen during the war, Carl adds. When the fighting ended, FRC was in for some changes. Bit by bit, state and federal authorities began taking over railroad construction projects previoiusly handled by the railroad or local authorities. At first the government's involvement was pretty much limited to funding rail improvements, including repair and replacement of grade crossings. By the late '40s and '50s, however, the government ran these projects. And FRC, largely because company officers weren't interested in working with "big" bureaucracies, shifted it's focus to private rail facilities, Carl says. Most of FRC's work during the '80s was for such industrial facilities, Carl says. But he would not name any private customers. FRC also has done the occasional non-rail project. In 1953, for instance, FRC devised a method to stop a gymnasium and pool at Kent State University from continuing to sink into bad soil, Carl says. Adapting a pile driver to a forklift, RFC crews drove hollow tubes into the ground and poured new concrete to support the structure. Trains remain the company's chief interest, though. even its offices reflect that rail heritage. Although FRC's first offices were on the Cooke family farm, near Cooke Road, the company moved to downtown Columbus in the early 1900's. FRC moved several more times before settling in at one of its most impressive and appropriate addresses: Columbus' Union Station, just upstairs from the train deport. The year was 1933. It was a useful location, especially in the days before fax machines and overnight delivery services. If FRC had a bid to send out, all company officers had to do was walk downstairs and drop off the envelope at the depot post office, Carl explains. The letter then went out on the next train. FRC stayed in the Union Station until 1974, when demolition of the building seemed imminent. (Union Station was torn down in 1976.) After working around trains for decades, the company moved inside a train, relocating to two old railroad cars that it purchased and parked at a rail yard it owns at 635 Woodrow Ave. The offices are cramped, Carl concedes. But he likes the glamour of working out of the old diner and baggage cars, which are decorated inside with train lanterns, railroad spikes and other rail memorabilia. Sandy -------------------------------- End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V03 Issue #15 ******************************************