FOLLOW UP ON HOBART B. STEWART–MURDER VICTIM

In a post on February 13th, I wrote about the tragic killing of Hobart B. Stewart.  He was killed during an escape attempt from the Boys  Industrial School in Fairfield County, Ohio.  You can read about it in this post:  http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2014/02/thriller-thursdayhobart-b-stewart.html

I could not locate any death certificate or burial record for Hobart Stewart, in my usual haunts like FindAGrave, Ancestry or Family Search.  I checked on FindAGrave in Woodland Cemetery, Ironton, Lawrence, Ohio, as that is where is deceased wife, Marcella is buried, according to her death certificate.  Neither of them were listed on the site.  

Next, I went to the Ohio Historical Society website, as I know that they have vital records information at that site.  I put his name into the search criteria and up popped this record:  STEWART, Hobart B., 12/17/1936, Fairfield County, Cert. 75584 (Ohio Death Certificate)

I knew that had to be our Hobart because the date of death and location matched what information I already had.  I was able to order the certificate online for only $7.  About 6 days later the certificate arrived in the mail.

NOTE:  I'm as excited as a kid at Christmas when I get the mail and see that a record I ordered has arrived.
 

DEATH CERTIFICATE FOR HOBART B. STEWART (click to enlarge the image)

This certificate confirms much of what I already know such as his date of birth, date of death, his parent’s names and that his death was a homicide.

WHAT NEW INFORMATION DID I LEARN FROM THIS CERTIFICATE?

• His residence at the time of his death – 1123 S. Broad
• That he was married at the time of his death to a woman named Ruth who was the informant on this certificate.
• That he was either buried or removed to Ironton, Ohio
• That an autopsy had been performed after his death
• The name of the Coroner who performed the autopsy
• The name of the funeral home and that his body was embalmed

All of these items help to complete the story for Hobart B. Stewart.  Of these items the most surprising to me was that he was married at the time of his death.  There was no mention of a wife in any of the articles I read.  

NOTE:  I have not located an actual obituary for him yet.  

We know his wife, Marcella died in 1930. 
So who is Ruth and when did they marry?

I have not located a marriage record for Hobart & Ruth yet, despite my intensive efforts on familysearch.org and Ancestry.  

However, I did locate two CITY DIRECTORY listings which have Hobart and a woman named Ruth in the same house in 1934 & 1936.  This certainly fits with her being his wife on the death certificate.  Also of note is that his son Charles H. is listed in this directory at the same address.

Here are images of those directory listings.

1934 Lancaster, Ohio directory listing for Hobart B. Stewart

1936 Lancaster, Ohio directory listing for Hobart B. Stewart

  
TIP:  City Directory listings can tell you a great many things about someone and they are a very useful source of information which I use frequently.

What did I do next?

I went onto one of the genealogy Facebook pages I belong to and posted a query about the burial location for Hobart B. Stewart.  The name of the page is  I Come from Lawrence County/Ironton, Ohio   

Here is my post.

"Looking for burial site in Ironton. Hobart B. Stewart died on 17 Dec 1936. Actually he didn't just die, he was murdered. The incident occurred in Hocking, Fairfield, Ohio and the Boys Industrial School. I sent for and have just rec'd his death certificate. I have tried locating him on FAG, with no luck. His death cert states he was buried/removed to Ironton. It does not have "cremation" circled, so I'm assuming he was buried, although not certain. His first wife was M...arcella Jean Wood who died in 1931. She is buried at Woodland Cemetery in Ironton. I'm wondering if he could also be in Woodland?
If any of you have any idea, records from Woodland or other info, I would be very grateful. AND, if any of you are related to this family I would love to hear from you. Thanks!"

Within an hour I had a response from someone I have communicated with often via the Ohio Facebook groups I belong to.  She told me that Hobart is buried at Woodland Cemetery in Ironton, Ohio and gave me a burial number.  

TIP:  As I have said before, belonging to regional groups on Facebook and being on social media in general, is a great way to enhance your research and meet others who can assist you.  It’s also fun to assist them when they need something.

Now I need to call Woodland Cemetery and see if I can find his exact location.  

What I did today was to double check entries at Woodland Cemetery on FindAGrave.  There were none for either Hobart or his wife, Marcella.  

I created memorials for them and requested photos of their headstones.  There are several Facebook friends who are regular photo volunteers in the area.  I may have to wait til the weather clears though, in order for the photos to be taken.

Here are the links to the memorials:

Hobart B. Stewart memorial #125478990

Marcella Jean Wood Stewart memorial #125480839

WHAT I STILL WANT TO DO

As I said in my previous post about Hobart B. Stewart.  I would like to know what became of his children and I am still looking.  I have not been able to locate any information about them after the 1940 census.

If you are related or have information about Charles H. Stewart, born 30 Apr 1918 in Ohio or Phyllis Jane Stewart, born Feb 1926 in Ohio, please contact me.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST:

ADDING SIBLING LINKS TO FINDAGRAVE MEMORIALS

CEMETERY RECORDS - WHAT THEY CAN TELL YOU, HOW TO USE THEM

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

THRILLER THURSDAY–Hobart B. Stewart Murdered - 1936

HOBART B. STEWART, PRISON GUARD, MURDERED BY TWO YOUTH INMATES DURING ESCAPE ATTEMPT

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT

Hobart Basil “Hob” STEWART is a 3rd cousin twice removed on my maternal side of the family.  I was surprised to find this article at Genealogy Bank when I was researching his family.  Hobart was the son of Dr. Charles E. Stewart and Ida Lunsford.  He was born on 18 Sep 1896 in Lawrence Co., Ohio.  I have located many articles about his murder, but so far have not located an obituary.  

Hobart married Marcella Wood, daughter of Royal H. & Matilda Wagner, on 9 Jun 1917 in Ashland, Boyd, Kentucky. Hobart & Marcella had three children, Page Albert, Charles & Phyllis Jane. 

In 1920 we find Hobart & Marcella living with their two young sons in Mingo Junction, Jefferson, Ohio.  He is working as an Engineer in, I believe, a steel factory.  The entry for the type of industry is a bit difficult to read.



On 21 Oct 1923, their young son, Page Albert, dies of meningitis at the young age of 4 years. 

DEATH CERTIFICATE FOR PAGE ALBERT STEWART

In 1926 their daughter, Phyllis Jane was born.



The family moved from Mingo Junction to Hocking, Ohio sometime between 1920 & 1930.  The 1930 census is enumerated on 6 Apr 1930  and you see that Hobart has taken a job as a Stationary Engineer at the power plant in a Boy’s Industrial School.



A SAD DAY FOR HOBART & HIS CHILDREN
On 7 Aug 1930, just 4 months after the 1930 census was taken, Marcella Wood Stewart, Hobart’s wife, died at Deaconess Hospital of a post operative embolism after a laparotomy.   Now Hobart has his son Charles, age 12 & daughter, Phyllis, age 4 to raise by himself.  What trials he and his children went through during those times we may never know.  

But, it’s about to get much worse.

On 17 Dec 1936 Hobart is killed, at work, during an escape attempt by two youth’s at the Boy’s Industrial School.

This was a very horrible and sad thing for the Stewart family.  They lost a young son, then the mother dies and now their father is murdered.  Stories like this break my heart.
 
The two youth’s who committed this crime were caught, tried and convicted.

  

In the 1940 census we find Charles, now 21 and his sister, Phyllis, now 14 yrs. old, living with their Grandmother Ida Lunsford Stewart.  Also in the house is their Uncle Mark & his wife, Myrtle. 

I haven’t taken this story any further, yet.  I need to find out what became of Charles & his sister Phyllis.  Did they marry and have children of their own?  I hope whatever they did that they were happy.  They certainly experienced a lot of tragedy when they were young.

NOTE:  Normally I wouldn’t spend this much time researching a 3rd cousin, twice removed and his wife and children.  They aren’t closely related to me and certainly aren’t blood relations.  However, sometimes you run across stories that peak your interest and you just have to follow them.  Of course, any time we research one part of the family, we never know what we will run across that will help with another part of the family.  As genealogists it isn’t always about  how close to us the person is, but about their story. 

Our ancestors were no different than we are today.  They lived and loved.  They made mistakes, they worked hard, and, they experienced the joys and sadness life brings.  

If anyone reading this is related to this Stewart family, I would really enjoy hearing from you.

I apologize for the fact that the articles are blurry when you enlarge them.  I have tried and tried to fix that issue and don't seem to be able to.  

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

TREASURE CHEST THURSDAY ~ BIRTH RECORDS (twins) and others on one register page

What is one thing we always tell others and remind ourselves?  Be sure to look at other entries on any record you find.  Whether it’s a birth, death or marriage register or census records.  You never know what else you will find.

Today I was working on my Lunsford line.  It’s an extensive line on my maternal side with LOTS of children born to many of the couples.

I noted that I had found a birth record for a set of twins born to Basil Lunsford and Mahala Taylor Lunsford.  In fact, these twin girls appear to be the first of 11 children born to this couple.  In 2011 I have recorded the index record of the birth, but no image.  I wondered if that image had since been put online. I returned to familysearch.org to look for it.

Sure enough, it had.  And not only are the twins on this page, but another Lunsford cousin is listed as well.

I’ve marked Ada & Ida in red and circled the word “twins.”  And, marked Charles in green.



For any of my fellow genealogist in Lawrence County, Ohio, there are quite a few Massie & Vermillion births on this register as well.  None of those particular Massie or Vermillion’s link to my family, but they may link to yours.

Here is the family of Basil & Mahala Lunsford as they appear in my Legacy database.

(You can click on the image to enlarge it)



This is what I like to see when I look at a family view in my database.  A robust family with lots of names and dates and other critical information like causes of death.

I know that Ida Lunsford went on to marry Dr. Charles E. Stewart and have four known children; Hobart (murdered in 1936-see link below), Charles, Mark & Thelma. She died on 15 Nov 1958.  I am not able to ascertain yet, if Ada married and to whom.  The names Ada & Ida are mixed up and cross referenced on many of the records.  I’m still working on Ada.

Do you know of any twins in you family?  If so, did they live to adulthood?  I’d love to hear about them.

If you think you have additional information about the ancestors mentioned in this post, please contact me.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

THRILLER THURSDAY - Hobart Stewart Murdered in 1936

FOLLOW UP ON HOBART B. STEWART - Murder Victim

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2017 Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FAVORITE POSTS FROM MY BLOG FOR 2014–Here’s my Top 10

Since this last year was my busiest year of posting on my blog, I thought I’d share with you which ones were my favorites.

The “Popular Posts” are listed in the right hand column.  That is determined by the number of hits a particular post is currently receiving.  I’m going to list my TOP 10 based on which ones I enjoyed writing and/or which ones taught me new lessons.

The posts are listed in no particular order
.
1.  A Great Discovery Yesterday – Ask for Help and You May Get It!
2.  Thriller Thursday – Hobart B. Stewart Murdered – 1936 and the follow up to this post Follow Up on Hobart B. Stewart-Murder Victim – His Death Certificate
3.  Office Closet Clean Out & Organization Project – Do You Have One of “Those” Spaces?
4.  My Trip to Scotland – What I Did Right and What I Did Wrong
5.  Evaluating A Record Found – In Honor of Father’s Day (BRICK WALL DOWN)
6.  Coroner’s Case File – Robert L. Bowden – An Analysis
7.  Why Didn’t I See That?  When the Obvious Escapes Us
8.  Ever Had One of Those “Slap Your Forehead” Moments in Your Research?
9.  A State Census Record That Leads to A Lot More Questions – The Monson Thorp Family
10. Amanuensis Monday – Transcribing My Grandmother’s Journal – Birth & Death Dates – There are 10 posts last year from her journal.  This entry will take you to a post that has links to all of them.

There you have them.  In writing this post I was able to go back & read the posts I have listed and it did bring to mind the fun I had researching and writing them.

I hope you too will enjoy them.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

BOYS INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL–A FOLLOW UP

This is a follow up to my post about the murder of my ancestor Hobart B. Stewart.  He was a guard at the Boys Industrial School in Fairfield County, Ohio.  
You can read the post here: http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2014/02/thriller-thursdayhobart-b-stewart.html

There are many websites with information about this school.  This school was the first minimum security correctional facility for youthful offenders in the nation.

This article appears on the website:  http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Boys%27_Industrial_School?rec=2113

“In 1857, the Ohio government established the Ohio Reform School, the predecessor to the Boys' Industrial School. The Ohio Reform School was a reformatory for boys between eight and eighteen years of age. It was located approximately five miles south of Lancaster, in Fairfield County, Ohio, and the institution accepted its first inmate in 1858.

Before the creation of this institution, the State of Ohio imprisoned male juvenile offenders in the Ohio Penitentiary with adult criminals. The Ohio Reform School was not like a traditional prison. Walls and fencing did not surround the inmates. Rather, the Ohio Reform School utilized the "open system." The boys could traverse the grounds freely. They lived in cottages -- not prison cells -- with forty boys to a cottage. The cottages were named after rivers in Ohio. Guards, cottage matrons, and other workers supervised the boys, but the intent was to create an institution that would educate and instill good and productive values in the boys. Because of the Ohio Reform School's success, by 1901, twenty-eight states adopted the "open system" for their juvenile prisons.

Each boy arrived at the Ohio Reform School with a certain number of demerits, which were based on the severity of their crime. For good behavior, students lost demerits. Once they reached zero demerits, the boys were freed and returned to their families. Students could also have demerits added for bad behavior, and in extreme circumstances, corporal punishment was permitted.

The boys spent one-half of the day in school and the other one-half either working on the Ohio Reform School's farm or learning a trade in one of the vocational education buildings. In 1901, the school offered training in blacksmithing, tailoring, baking, carpentry, stenography, brick making, shoemaking, horticulture, and cattle-raising, among numerous other professions. This same year the institution also boasted a forty-two-member band, and the children received military training as well.

In 1884, the Ohio Reform School became known as the Boys' Industrial School. Comedian Bob Hope spent some time at the Boy's Industrial School as a child. As an adult, Hope donated sizable sums of money to the institution. In 1964, the institution became known as the Fairfield School for Boys, and in 1980, the school became the Southeastern Correctional Facility for adult offenders. In 2004, juvenile inmates were held in eight juvenile detention centers across Ohio.”

 

I located a site that has an index for the school that allows you to enter the name and bring up the information for those who spent time at this facility.  I located the entries for the two suspects who killed my ancestor, Hobart B. Stewart.

http://ww2.ohiohistory.org/resource/database/industrial/

 

Inmate Name: Sedar, Frank (boy)
Inmate Number: 36811
Volume Number: 51
Page Number: 411
Volume Dates: 1936
SAS Number: 1097

Inmate Name: Brown, Albert (boy)
Inmate Number: 35729
Volume Number: 50
Page Number: 29
Volume Dates: 1935-36
SAS Number: 1097

I also learned, from a couple of readers, that actor, comedian, Bob Hope (real name Leslie/Lester Hope) spent some time at this facility.  Below is an excerpt from this site:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hope

“From age 12, Hope earned pocket money by busking (frequently on the streetcar to Luna Park), singing, dancing, and performing comedy patter.[4] He entered many dancing and amateur talent contests (as Lester Hope), and won a prize in 1915 for his impersonation of Charlie Chaplin.[5] For a time Hope attended the Boys Industrial School in Lancaster, Ohio. As an adult, Hope donated sizable sums of money to the institution.[6]”

Inmate Name: Hope, Lester (boy)
Inmate Number: 20546
Volume Number: 26
Page Number: 246
Volume Dates: 1918
SAS Number: 1097

Here is another site for good information on this facility: http://ohiohistory.wordpress.com/2007/01/27/boys-industrial-school/

One of the many aspects of doing genealogy research that is very interesting to me, is the amount of history we learn as we go.  The history of people, places & cultures never gets boring.  Well, history was my favorite subject in school, so I guess this is no surprise.

I'm sure there is a lot more to learn, so I'm off to find it.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

SOMETIMES RECORDING MY ANCESTOR’S LIVES BREAKS MY HEART

 Chester, Helen, Walter & Adolph Ortell

This is one of those days.  I’m continuing my goal to get all of those 33 death certificates I downloaded from the seekingmichigan.org site in March, entered and sourced in my Legacy database.  When I wrote the blog post about this process I had only recorded 4 of them.  I am up to 21 as of this afternoon.  Progress is good.
 
However, in doing my entries today, I am reminded of the terrible heartbreak that occurred in many of the lives of our ancestors.  Today it concerns the Ortell family.
 
The Ortell’s are related to me via my 2nd & 3rd cousins, Paula, Shirley, Betty & Debbie.  I’m closest to my cousin, Paula, but am proud to call all these ladies family.
 
Shirley, Betty & Paula are daughters of Everett Hockster and Mary Sophie Ortell.  It is the story of Mary Ortell’s siblings and father that I share with you today.

Here is the story of the Ortell’s as I recorded it today.
 
6 May 1936 – Chester Ortell, age 23 dies of a broken neck in a tractor accident on the family farm.
17 Nov 1936 – Helen Ortell, age 22 dies of pulmonary tuberculosis.
7 Feb 1937 – Ladislaus “Walter” Ortell (father of Chester, Helen & Adolph), age 47 dies of a fractured skull in an auto accident.
22 May 1944 – Adolph Ortell, age 26 jumps to his death from the 7th story of a hotel.

Within 9 months, between May 1936 and Feb 1937, Walter Ortell’s wife Sophie lost two of her children and her husband.  Then 7 years later she loses another son.  In 1920 she had lost a son at the age of one month to convulsions.

I cannot help but be affected by these events.  Our ancestors are very real people with the same joys and sorrows that we have in our lives.  I never want to forget that.

Here is a family group photo of some of the Ortell children, including Chester, Helen & Adolph
 

Here are the death certificates for Chester, Helen, Walter and Adolph

Death certificate - Chester Ortell

Death certificate - Helen Ortell

Death certificate - Walter Ortell

Death certificate - Adolph Ortell

Newspaper article about the death of Walter Ortell and one that tells of the families sad losses.

There are memorials created for the Ortell family on findagrave.com.  You may visit them here:

Chester – Memorial #93489947
Helen – Memorial #93490009
Walter – Memorial #89393193
Adolph – Memorial #93489344

Do you have stories like this in your family that have made you stop and think of what they went through?  If so, I’d love to hear about them.  Please share in comments here or on your own blog with a comment and a link to your blog.

If you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog, please contact me!

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
WEDDING WEDNESDAY - Walter Ortell & Sophie Warchol – 1908
THRILLER THURSDAY - Hobart B. Stewart Murdered – 1936

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

AMANUENSIS MONDAY - BIRTH & DEATH DATES FROM MY GRANDMOTHER'S JOURNAL - MARCH

What does Amanuensis mean anyway?

To put it simply, it means a “person employed to write what another dictates or copy what has been written by another.”

As many of you know from reading previous posts on my blog, my maternal grandmother left a spiral notebook, which I call her journal.  In it she left recipes, a list of 183 family members and their birth dates and some death dates, a list of anniversaries and other various lists or things that were important to her.  It’s a treasure that I cherish. 

Today I’m going to be transcribing her list of names & dates from March.

For the previous posts transcribing January & February, please click on these links.

Amanuensis Monday - Transcribing my grandmother's journal - January

Amanuensis Monday - Transcribing my grandmother's journal – February

Here is the page from her journal.  This journal was begun when my grandmother, Florence L. Bowden, married my grandfather, Joseph A. Milne, in 1906.  She was just 18 years old at the time.  This journal is very old and falling apart.  I have digitized all the pages and have the original stored in a safe, archival box.

Here is my transcription of this page, with some annotations.  I have indicated the family connection in brackets, even thought it’s not part of the document.  I though you’d like to know who these people are to me.  And, for any cousins out there reading this, maybe you’ll find it helpful.

I’ve added whatever photos I have of the family members named in this list. (See below)

ADDITIONAL NOTE:  I HAVE REDACTED THE BIRTH DATES OF PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL LIVING, FOR THEIR PROTECTION.

March

William H. Gillespie  Mar 1   ‘62   died Dec 13, 1912 [great grand uncle]
James Forsyth   Mar 1   ‘64      Feb 1, ‘51  [husband of great grand aunt]
* Harry J. Koehn    Mar 7   ‘85      May 7, ‘52 
Janet Diebel     Mar 9  ‘24 [2nd cousin, once removed]     
Norman Joseph Verney    Mar 8  ‘96  [1st cousin, twice removed] 
Clyde Hunter    Mar 21     died 1901  [great grand uncle]
Ruth Estelle Duncan Hogue   Mar 23  ‘08    8-14-78  [1st cousin, once removed]
* Marion Cole    Mar 26   
George Verney    Mar 30  ‘95    died ‘72  [1st cousin, once removed]
* Jim Scott     Mar 7   ‘88     June 1950  
Beryl Thornton Strouse    Mar 13  1913  [2nd cousin, once removed]
* Margaret – Purcey   Mar 2  1943 
Margaret King   Mar 16  ‘12  [2nd cousin, once removed]
Diane Gould  7lb  6 oz.  11:16 a.m.  (redacted for privacy) [Yours truly]
Rickie Morrison  7 1/2 lbs.  12:15 (redacted for privacy)  [1st cousin] 
Faye Morrison   6 lb 10 oz  10:29 p.m.  19 1/2 in.  (redacted for privacy) [1st cousin, once removed]
Mar 5  Joseph Edward Cornelius   died March 4, ‘81  [step-father]

That’s a total of 17 names.  I am very fortunate to have this kind of list from my grandmother.

I have placed an asterisk * next to the names I have not yet connected to our family.  Four of the names are still waiting for me to find their connections.  I have them in my Legacy database as unlinked individuals.  In the lists from the other 11 months of the year, there are also names that aren’t yet connected.  I keep looking from time to time and link them as I identify them.

         
          Wm. H. Gillespie                                   Ruth Estelle Duncan Hogue                                  Diane Gould Hall
      
                 Rickie Morrison                                          Joseph Edward Cornelius

It’s fun sharing this with all of you and I can’t wait to do it again next week. 

Please contact me if you recognize any of the names with asterisks or if you are related to any of these family members.  I’d love to hear from you.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY ALSO BE OF INTEREST

BIRTH RECORDS WITH INCORRECT NAMES - What would you do? 

FOLLOW UP ON HOBART B. STEWART - Murder victim 

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION