In Memoriam - Walter Eugene Mitchell (1921-)

My uncle, Walter Eugene Mitchell, was born October 25, 1921 in Whitley County, Indiana and died May 30, .. at Columbia City, Whitley County, Indiana. He was the son of Clarice M. and Sarah Goldie (Killian) Mitchell.

Walt graduated from Columbia City High School with the Class of 1940 and spent his entire lifetime in Whitley County with the exception of a few years in Laporte, Indiana. He married Phyllis Elizabeth Phend on a snowy, wintry day - December 6th, 1942 - at the home of the bride's parents. Phyllis is the daughter of Hazlette Brubaker and Rolland Victor Phend.
Phyllis and Walt opened a bait and tackle store in their home in Columbia City in 1946. They kept the store for 23 years closing it down in 1969. Walt was also one of Columbia City's top bowlers between 1954 and 1974. In 1964 Walt was employed as a machinist and store keeper for Monsanto Plastic Company in Ligonier, Indiana. The company produced numerous plastic products, including mud flaps for trucks. Walt retired from Monsanto in 1984.
Walt also collected post cards and vintage bottles. His postcard collection started in 1928 when he was 7 years old. He purchased two cards at Trier's Park in Fort Wayne. One card was of Tom Mix and the other was of "Our Gang". In the mid-eighties his collection of post cards numbered between 25-30 thousand cards. They were everywhere! He continued to collect post cards and after his retirement the collection reached 50,000 cards. It was then that Phyllis and Walt started traveling to post card and bottle shows throughout Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio selling and buying. About 10 years ago they had several auctions, selling most of their post cards and bottles.
In addition to his wife, Phyllis, he was survived by one daughter, three sons, eight grandchildren, eleven great grandchildren and one brother, Clarice Mitchell of Columbia City. He was preceded in death by his parents, one son, 2 year old Patrick Allen Mitchell who died in an auto accident in 1948, one grandson, Michael W. Mitchell and two sisters, Ethel Nicodemus and Naomi Trier.

The 1913 Hoffman Family Reunion

This article (and a second one) was brought to my attention a few days ago by Bob Hoffman (see this post), courtesy of the two wonderful ladies who volunteer at the Columbiana County Archives and Research Center.



The Chronicling America website (part of the Library of Congress) shows that The Mahoning Dispatch was published weekly on Fridays in Canfield, Mahoning County, Ohio beginning on May 4, 1877 with the last issue printed on April 26, 1968. The site currently has digitized issues available from October 2, 1908 through September 30, 1921. I haven't yet taken the time to go through all of the issues but a search for Hoffman and related surnames provides quite a few hits.



As a side note, there are two options for downloading the images - a high quality, large "jp2" file and a smaller pdf file of lower quality. After downloading the jp2 file I discovered that I didn't have a graphics program that would open the file! A quick search showed that Irfanview along with a JPEG.. plugin will open the downloaded images.



The article consumes the entire first column of the first page and a small portion of the second column so it had to be "clipped" in sections. It includes quite a few surnames, some of which I recognized from information that was given to me in September .. by Stephanie Martin Shively. She is a descendant of Daniel Coy, half-brother of Catherine Coy who married John Hoffman. Catherine and John are my 4th great-grandparents.



Stephanie had some information on all of the eleven children of John and Catherine, more on some than on others. This article contains quite a bit of information on the family of John Hoffman, Jr., which is one of the children for which Stephanie had little information.



Since obtaining the article two days ago, I have found quite a bit more information on the family of John Jr. and have been able to trace all of his children and some of the grandchildren through census records from ancestry.com as well as marriage and death records from FamilySearch. but still have a few holes to fill in. Several passages have been emphasized in bold and will be discussed in future posts, as will other portions of the article.




The Mahoning Dispatch ~Canfield, Mahoning County, Ohio ~Vol. XXXVII

Friday, August 15, 1913




WASHINGTONVILLE

Bright, Breezy Paragraphs Telling

The Happenings in the Village on

Mahoning's Southern

Border.

By Peter M. Herold.




Hoffman Family Reunion.

When we asunder part,

It gives us inward pain;

But we shall still be joined in heart

And hope to meet again.




The largest family gathering held in Washingtonville for many years assembled in town hall last Saturday, when the Hoffman family held their annual reunion and picnic. Other families have had larger gatherings, but they are held statedly in groves especially fitted up for the purpose; while that of the Hoffman family held last Saturday was all under cover and had the privileges of the town property and the school grounds.



The out-of-town members of the family came by electric line and automobiles from Cleveland, Chagrin Falls, Canton, Homeworth, Alliance, Freeburg, Paris, Salem, North Lima and Leetonia - the Washingtonville kinship being divided among the Weikarts, the Bostons, the Hilemans, the Fitzsimmons' and their intermarried relatives, so that when dinner was announced 138 relatives surrounded the tables and partook of a bountiful meal, which none can prepare and enjoy than persons of German extraction. Before adjournment everybody present was served with ice-cream and cake.




Order being restored, the meeting was opened with devotional exercises conducted by Rev. S. Z. Cowgill of Salem, whose mother was a Hoffman. Then followed the following program, conducted by Mr. and Mrs. Howard C. Hoffman, president and secretary of the reunion:
Piano solo..... Marie Weikart


Recitations by Willie Bowker and Ethel Weikart.

Vocal solo..... Thelma Bossert

Recitation........Helen Woods

Song - "Count Your Blessings," by Dr. H. K. Yaggie of Salem, whose mother was a Hoffman.

Recitation....... Mary Grim

Piano duet... Ruby and Marie Weikart

Recitations... Rose Woods and Glen Van Skiver

Piano solo......... Freeda Paisley

Recitation....... Dorothy Woods

Vocal solo..... Mercedes Gilbert




Short talks by Rev. S. Z. Cowgill,J. R. Hoffman and others interested and entertained the audience. Some of these talks were for the benefit of the family historian who is preparing a book of some 800 pages and dates the family tree to Germany in the 17th century, when Adam Hoffman and his brothers Michael and Robert sailed for America, locating in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.Another branch whose paternal head is Didrich Hoffman (first son of Michael Hoffman) was born in Philadephia, Pa., and located in this part of Ohio. He owned the Cherry Valley farm now covered by the coke ovens. The brown stone marker in the Lutheran graveyard at Washingtonville bears the following inscription:



"In memory of Didrich Hoffman who was born June 23rd, 1751, and departed this life on the 10 of March A. D. 1826, aged 74 years, 8 months and 13 days."



His son, John Hoffman, sr., owned the Fairview farm north of town and his son, John Hoffman, jr., resided in Washingtonville; was thrice married, all of whom bore him children - Mrs. N. C. Fitzsimmons of this place being by his first marriage with Nancy Koons. His second marriage was to Tabitha Crane, whose sons were here from Cleveland at the reunion. Of his third marriage with Elizabeth Hess are Mattie and Curtis Hoffman, both married. Mattie Graduated from the Washingtonville high school in the class of 1890, and was afterwards married to Grant Greasel, now of Cleveland. Curtis was in the employ of the Brown-hoist Co of Cleveland and represented his company in Cuba for a while, then in Russia and in Egypt. Both were here Saturday.And inasmuch as many of the Hoffman family attended school here, A. L. Taylor of the school board opened the new school building, and all those in attendance went through the various rooms, and some from basement to bell tower. Curtis Hoffman was one of the Hoffman Bicycle Co. a few years ago, but now resides upon a small farm near Chagrin Falls. When going through the various school rooms on Saturday with his wife and three children he remarked to "Buck" Taylor that after all the carving he had done, getting his name and initials, upon the seats and benches in the old building, it was a pity to have all his labor destroyed by fire. So that it can be seen that C. C. Hoffman was much like the average boy of his day.



It should have been stated in the proper connection that the elder John Hoffman and his wife Catharine are also buried in the Lutheran grave yard with the following inscriptions:

"Catharine, wife of John Hoffman died Feb. 10, 1857, aged 77 years."

"John Hoffman died Feb. 8, 1869, aged 80 years, 3 months."



John Hoffman, jr., was buried in the Odd Fellows (or Oakland) cemetery west of town; his first wife having been buried in the Methodist grave yard. His third wife was at the reunion on Saturday and enjoyed the day's proceedings with her children and grandchildren.



A business session was held near the close of the reunion. The old officers were retained for the coming year and Washingtonville was unanimously chosen as the place of next meeting to be held the second Saturday of August, 1914. A collection was taken and enough money was raised to pay for the use of town hall and other incidentals, leaving $6 in the hands of J. C. Weikart, treasurer of the Hoffman Reunion.



Relatives visited both church yards after adjournment, and while they found the names and dates they sought for, they found neither grave yard in an inviting condition. They may get some needed attention before next year's reunion.

Welcome, Spring!

According to the calendar, today is the first day of Spring! The Daffodils have broken through the mulch covering but the temperatures are still cool with a high today in the upper 30s and low 40s. The sun is shining and the skies are blue... But then there is that winter storm watch issued last night by the National Weather Service: "A Late Season Winter Storm System Will Have The Potential To Produce Significant Snowfall Amounts Friday Into Saturday Morning Across Much Of Northern Indiana...Southwest Lower Michigan...And Northwest Ohio. Snowfall Accumulations Of 4 To 8 Inches Will Be Possible Before Tapering Off Saturday Morning." Hopefully, this will be the last snow storm this winter, after all, Spring Has Arrived!

The Dunfee Family :: Eliza and Aquilla Hoff

Eliza is presumed to be the daughter of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee. The primary link is the fact that Eliza was living with Jonathan Haslett in Mifflin Twp, Ashland County, Ohio in 1850. We're making the assumption that Jonathan is probably the father of Sophia. Bottom line is that I really don't have any “proof” that Eliza is the daughter of James and Sophia.



Census records put the year of birth for Eliza Dunfee at 1811, 1813, or 1815 and place of birth in Maryland or Pennsylvania. In 1850, she is 39 years old and born in Maryland. In 1860 she is 47 and born in Pennsylvania. And in 1870 she is 55 and born in Pennsylvania. Chances are, her age in 1850 is probably closer to the truth ;-) since she seems to lose a few years with each census.



Eliza married Aquilla Hoff on September 4, 1851 in Ashland County, Ohio as recorded in volume 2, page 70 (license 1134) of Ashland County Marriage Records.





The image above is from the FamilySearch online database of Ohio County Marriages. There seems to be some “confusion” on the part of the clerk that recorded the marriage or the “authority” who performed the ceremony. Under “Names of Parties” it shows that the record is for Aquilla Hoff and Eliza Dunfee. In the far right column, it states that R. D. Emerson is certifying that “on the 4th day of September Eighteen hundred and fifty one I joined in Marriage Mr. George W. Brown and Miss Eliza Dunfee.”



In actuality, it was Eliza Dunfee who married Aquilla Hoff. When the property of Jonathan Hazlett was sold on October 25, 1853, the majority of the items were sold to Aquila Hoff.





Sale Bill from the estate file (#190) of Jonathan Hazlett. Ashland County, Ohio.





The last entry in the above image (a portion of page 299 of the Ashland County Tract Book) shows that Luke Selby, administrator of the estate of Jonathan Hazlett sold in March 1854 the land that had been owned by Jonathan to Aquilla Hoff. The transaction is also recorded in Ashland County Deed Book 10 page 206.



Aquilla Hoff and his wife Eliza, sold that land to Christian Vesper on March 27, 1857 (Ashland County Deed Book 15 pages 162-163).



That was, essentially, all the information I had on Aquilla and Eliza. Until in November .., when I received an email in response to an 11 year old query I had posted on the Hoff Family Genealogy Forum. My correspondent passed along the information that Aquilla and Eliza had moved to LaGrange County, Indiana where she had found them in the 1860 census.



I'm guessing that they probably moved to LaGrange County in the spring of 1857 after they sold the land that had belonged to Jonathan Hazlett. They are listed in the 1860 and 1870 census in Bloomfield Township, LaGrange County, Indiana.



Aquilla Hoff is 45 years old in 1860. He is a farmer with real estate valued at $3000 and a personal estate of $342. He was born in Maryland. Listed in his household was Eliza, age 47 and born in Pennsylvania; Jonathan, age 6 and born in Ohio. Also included was Lucetta Dumbar, 12 years old and born in Indiana.



In 1870, Aqula Hoff is 54 years old. He is still a farmer but has real estate valued at $5000 and a personal estate of $1000. He was born in Maryland. Included in his household were Eliza, now 55 but still stating she was born in Pennsylvania; and Jonathon, who is 16 years old and born in Ohio.



Eliza (Dunfee) Hoff died on August 6, 1876 and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Lagrange County, Indiana. There is a memorial for her on Find A Grave. Looking closely at the photo of her gravestone it appears that the word “AGED” is written below the date of death. If so, it might pinpoint her year of birth a little better than the census records.



In the 1880 census, Aquilla Hoff was found in Drum Creek Township, Montgomery County, Kansas. He was 65 years old, retired and born in Maryland. Listed with Aquilla was his son, Jonathan H. Hoff, who was 26 years old, a farmer, and born in Ohio. He gave his father's place of birth as Maryland and that of his mother as Pennsylvania.



According to my correspondent, Aquilla Hoff was born February 15, 1815 in Washington County, Maryland and died June 27, 1883 in LaGrange County, Indiana. However, I suspected that he died in Kansas since that was where he was living in 1880. Turns out, Aquilla really did die in LaGrange County. There is an entry for him in the book “Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920” that was compiled by the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration). It shows that he died in Newbury Township and was 68 years old.



What happened to their son Jonathan H. Hoff? Jonathan does not appear to be in the census records after 1880 (ancestry online index).



I did find a John H. Hoff in Kansas census records, 1900 through 1930, that I think is a likely candidate to be Jonathan H. Hoff, son of Aquilla and Eliza. However, there is a six year discrepancy in their ages.



But, this John H. Hoff has a daughter, his first born child, named Eliza... and his middle name is Hazelet!



See The Dunfee Family :: Are Jonathan H. Hoff and John H. Hoff the same man?



See the Index for previous posts on the Dunfee family.

Back in the cold

I am now back in the Netherlands and at the airport I was met with the crispness of the cold temperature seeping through the runway tube. Before touchdown the pilot announced it is 10C in Schiphol, a far cry from 30C-35C in Athens by day, and 22C in Budapest.

A candid-stolen shot; withdrawing money from an ATM in Athens (the ATM brand is a previous employer). Thanks S!

Navigating my way through the crowd in Schiphol, I quickly searched for the nearest toilet. I need to re-touch my makeup as I am heading straight to work in Amsterdam. Although I barely slept comfortably in the plane, luckily I did not have eye bags or dark rings under my eyes.

The taxi ride to work was quite interesting. The young driver, who I reckon must be Turkish or Moroccan looked like Jan Smit who did not shave for 2 days. Jan Smit is a (folk-country) singer in the Netherlands who hails from Volendam and is very popular with the younger group.

So right I am back and all I hear is the mortgage crisis in the USA. Lehman went bankrupt and who would have thought the mighty AIG would be in deep shite? Fortis too lost its share value while still having a huge debt over the ABN-Amro takeover. Then I had a good laugh at Wilder’s debating skills in the Tweede Kamer which should be the talk of the week in town! Oh dear, Dutch politics is indeed hilarious.

At work this week I have been totally sacharijnig, impatient, and aggressive and rightly so I think. I always try my best to be politically correct though, if I can help it, but the feisty confrontational side of me prevails especially when something needs to get done ASAP or when there is injustice. You know, I have hands to type and I have a mouth to speak.

At home, haven’t really slept well and been catching up lately. After dinner I just fall lifeless on the couch and Dutchman had to wake me up and drag me to the bedroom at midnight.

The last few days this week have just been so incredibly tiring, and stressful. I looked like a walking zombie, gaunt, sucked out of energy and blood but ready to take out a fight, lol.

Anyway, glad that the week closed beautifully.

I will post fotos and stories of Budapest and Athens in the coming days, and also my last entry of Texel!

Sunshine Yellow?

On an overcast day, the Vienna Citibikes really stand out! But are they too bright to ride? I admit that I have avoided renting these, because I don't fancy riding around looking like an enormous advert for a bank.

Here are the tamer blue versions on the left, but they too are covered with enormous adverts. What do you think? More bout Vienna Citibikes here.

Dark Secret

Last night I posted a picture of a gimlet-sippingbikeyface at dinner, and a reader emailed to ask what bikes we ride when we go out. It would be great, she suggested, to write a post about being out on the town on bikes.



Hmm that does sound nice. But it would be pretty tough. Because the truth is, we didn't ride bikes. Last night our destination was only 15 minutes away and walking just seemed easier. The other week we did the same when going to see a movie. Come to think of it, most of the time we see each other there are no bikes involved. We live in the same neighbourhood and are usually so tired that we stick to local places and walk to them. Does that make us bad bicycle bloggers? Maybe I should have kept this a secret!





When I first began cycling for transportation 3 years ago, I was so excited about it that I would ride everywhere no matter the distance just for the heck of it. I would ride down the block, or to the store around the corner and back. Now that cycling has lost its novelty, it seems too much of a hassle to get my bike out just to ride a short distance. I would rather walk.



In a sense there is some sadness in having lost that beginner's excitement. But I think it also means that I've transitioned to a stage where transportation cycling has become truly normalised. With cycling established as an inherent part of life, I don't feel the need to ride down the block when I can walk. If you've been riding for a while, have you had the same experience?