Not So Wordless Wednesday ~ The Calling Card

I discovered this calling card while going through some of my grandparents old photographs. I wasn't familiar with the name "Hezekiah Cashour" so I decided to do some "detective work" to see if I could find out just how my grandparents (or great grandparents) may have known this gentleman.

Here is what I have found:

In a memorial posted on Findagrave.com, it states that Hezekiah was born on 20 January, 1820 and he died on 29 April, 1908.  He is buried in the Sam's Creek Church of the Brethren Cemetery in New Windsor, Carroll County, Maryland.

According to the United States Census records of 1850, 1860, and 1870, Mr. Hezekiah Cashour was living in New Windsor, Carroll County, Maryland.  His listed occupation is "wagon maker".  On 20 April, 1844, Hezekiah married Harriett Miller or Millards in Carroll County.  They had a son named David, who moved here to Montgomery County, Ohio sometime after 1860.  He had a farm in Madison Township.  He died on 10 January, 1914, after suffering a diabetic coma.  David was buried at the Hillgrove Cemetery in Miamisburg, Ohio. 

From this information,  I can only guess that somehow one of my ancestors knew David and could have received this calling card from him, perhaps when they were interested in obtaining a new wagon of some sort. 

I will probably never know the exact relationship between my family and the Cashour's, and I'm sure they never imagined that a century after this card was produced, it and Hezekiah's story would be shared with the world! 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Frank P. Kesling

 

For today's Tombstone Tuesday, I am sharing the final resting place of Frank P. Kesling, my husband's 1st cousin, 4 times removed.

Frank Kesling, was born to John and Elizabeth Garrett Kesling on 25 December, 1852 in Clearcreek Township, Warren County, Ohio.  His great grandfather was Diderich "Teter" Kesling, German immigrant and veteran of the Revolutionary War.  I have shared information about Teter Kesling in previous blog posts.

According to census records, Frank became a farmer and remained a single man his entire life. He died of pneumonia at the age of 70 years, 11 months, and 2 days. Although his death certificate states that his date of death was 6 March, 1923, his headstone is inscribed "1922". He was laid to rest on 9 March, 1923 at the Springboro Cemetery in Springboro, Warren County, Ohio.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Grandma and Grandpa's Wedding Announcement

 I could hardly wait for Treasure Chest Thursday this week to share the newest addition to my collection of treasured family heirlooms.  The difference between this and other items I have shared in the past is that this one is brand new; at least it is to me!

Today, I have posted the wedding announcement of my maternal grandparents, Leland and Gladys Marling Norris. Up until this week, I never knew this article existed. Not only that, until my mother read this newspaper clipping, she wasn't aware that her parents had had a church wedding.  She had always just assumed they had recited their vows in front of a justice of the peace. So, it was quite a surprise to read that they were married at the Presbyterian church in Elkhart, Indiana and then had a wedding supper at the home of my great grandparents. 

I have to thank Genealogy Bank for giving me the chance to own this treasured bit of my family history.  I hadn't looked at their website for a couple of years and this week when I discovered they now had the Elkhart, Indiana newspapers available, I knew I had to get a membership.  Within the first 10 minutes of researching, I found this wedding announcement. I also found an article pertaining to their marriage license and my grandmother's bridal shower.

I discovered another fact while searching within the pages of the Ekhart newspapers.   My great grandfather, Ralph  Marling, who was a moulder by profession, also happened to be the financial officer of the moulder's union.  Pretty exciting news for someone who makes her living at being a bookkeeper!  His name is mentioned numerous times during the newspaper's coverage of the union's strike in Elkhart.  My great uncle, Chet, is not left out.  His marriage announcement and several articles detailing his World War I army service are included.

This is just further proof that family history research cannot be done with just one website, at one time, and even when you think you are "finished" with a branch of your family tree, you can always discover something new, wonderful, totally unexpected! You never know when you might find a new "treasure"!

Military Monday ~ Grandpa's Official Army Papers

In the past I have shared several stories about the military service of my grandfather, Leland Norris. Today, I am sharing the Honorable Discharge papers he received on the day he was released from the Army, following World War I.

   

  To Whom it May Concern

This is to certify that Leland V. Norris 1532896 Corporal, 5th Battery F.A.R.R.

THE UNITED STATES ARMY, as a testimonial of honest and faithful service,

is hereby Honorably Discharged from from the military service of the United States by reason of

E.T.S. under fro. frobair / 16 M.D. 1918

Said Leland V. Norris was born

in Dayton, in the state of Ohio

When enlisted he was 18 3/12 years of age and by occupation a student

He had Blue eyes, Light hair, Medium complexion and

Was 5 feet 5 inches in height.

Given under my hand at Camp Sheridan this

19th day of May, one thousand nine hundred and nineteen

Fred H. Zinn,

Major Infantry U.S.A.

Commanding

My grandfather, Leland V. Norris, during his service in the Army, 1918-1919.

Sentimental Sunday - Unknown Routsong Gentleman

The distinguished looking gentleman in the above photograph is a member of the Routsong family.  I know this because I found his picture in a cluster of old Routsong photographs that had belonged to my great aunt, Grace Norris Bailey.  He definitely has the features of my great great grandfather, Henry Mathias Routsong, so I think he may be a brother of my great grandmother, Elizabeth Routsong Norris.   I have sent the picture to several people in the family, hoping to put a name to his face, but so far nobody seems to know.  Even so, it is one of my favorite pictures. I love the intensity of his expression and his attitude.  Maybe someday, someone will see this pictures and identify him for me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Shopping Saturday - HATS!

While browing through old editions of The Portsmouth Daily Times Newspaper, I discovered this advertisement from 1927 from Flora Dellert for hats.  Through my family history research, I discovered there are several ladies in my ancestry with milliner listed as their occupation. My 2nd great Aunt Dessie loved to wear hats and luckily for her, her step-mother was a milliner!

Here she is pictured with what must have been one of her favorites.

I certainly don't think I would ever have wanted to wear a bustle, but I think I would have enjoyed wearing hats like these very much!  Let's go shopping!

Thriller Thursday - The Murders at Rocky Fork ~ Part Three

With the Nichols family behind bars for the Piatt murders, the law officers of Scioto county assumed they had solved the crime.  Prosecuting the crime was going to prove more difficult.  They couldn't seem to put together a case against the Nichols family members.  Both 13 year old Hammond, who was already physically crippled, and the Nichols' cousin, David Brown,  became ill.  Months went by without any case going to court.

Then, a series of events happened that sent fear throughout Scioto County and created some doubt that the Nichols men were guilty of the crime.

In September, 1911, Sheridan Piatt, son of the murdered Oliver, was viciously attacked by James Evans, his son, Otto, and James' wife, Nora.  After almost killing Sheridan, they went on a crime spree. For three days at the end of September, they sent shivers throughout the community of Buena Vista.  The Portsmouth Daily Times on 27 September, 1911 stated that the Evans' "Went on the Warpath".  Several people were shot and wounded.   Officials from both Adams and Scioto counties began a manhunt for James and Otto Evans, and Nora was found and arrested.  Citizens were concerned that the Evans boys were out to settle "old scores" and many were afraid to confront the outlaws. At one point, the posse found the men and Deputy George River was shot and wounded. Because the Evans had such detailed knowlege of their surroundings, they were able to escape.  After several days, the law officers decided it was too dangerous to continue to go after the boys so they gave up the  hunt.  Speculation began that the Evans were probably involved in the Piatt murders, but they were never pursued.

Nora Evans was sentenced to 6 months in prison for her part in the assault and attempted murder of Sheridan Piatt. She was sent to the Cincinnati Workhouse, but due to illness and for "good behavior" she was released after only 4 months.

Then, on December 30, 1911, one year after the Piatt brothers murder and after spending almost a year in jail, the Nichols family was released on their own recognizance.  No material witnesses could be found to testify against them and it was deemed impossible to convict any of the Nichols men.  Because of the violence of the Evans family two months before, it could have been that too many questions about their possible involvement existed as well.  The Nichols did have to keep the courts informed of their whereabouts, but no further action was taken against them.  In May, 1912, the Nichols family considered legal action against the county for their imprisonment.  As of the writing of this post, I haven't determined the outcome of that lawsuit.

After the escape of the Evans' and the release of the Nichols family, no further arrests were made in the murders of Oliver and Minor Piatt.  It seems that someone did literally get away with murder.
To add to this tragedy,  on 8 March, 1921, 10 years after surviving the brutal attack by the Evans family, Sheridan Piatt was killed when he was hit in the head by a large branch while he was at work trimming trees. 

At this time, I do not know what became of James and Otto Evans, the "Wild and Wooly" father and son team who terrorized the county.  Scioto County in the early part of the 20th century was still a very rugged area.  Moonshiners were plentiful and the newspaper was often filled with stories of lawlessness.  It is sad that no one ever paid for the ghastly crime that occured on that cold December night, now one hundred years ago. Was it a robbery or something more personal?  We will never know.

Thriller Thursday- The Murders at Rocky Fork ~ Part Two

As early as Friday, 30 December, 3 days after the murders, Sheriff Eckhart of Scioto County was telling the press that he expected  to make an arrest in the Piatt murders "within a few days".  

 Countless stories were reported about the status of the case. Supposedly two women had appeared at the crime scene on the day following murder; acting strangely.

At one point there was even an erroneous report that a third body had been found in the burned out cabin and it was most probably the murderer, who had been killed himself by one of the Piatt brothers.

Doubtless, the sheriff was under great pressure to put the culprit behinds bars

  The victims were well known in the community.  Oliver Piatt was a divorced man.  His wife had left him and moved to West Virginia a few years before, taking one of the couple's sons with her.  Another son, Sheridan, had stayed in Rocky Fork with his father.  Not long Oliver and his wife separated, his brother, Minor, moved into the 3 room cabin he shared with his son and they began farming the tobacco fields together. The land was located in a rugged and remote part of the county.

Their cabin sat at the base of a dangerously high hill.  Surrounding the home were some thriving apple trees and nearby grew an apple orchard that Oliver had planted in 1907.  There was a well-kept garden and a successful 80 acre tobacco farm.  The farm itself was so large that it actually straddled the Scioto/Adams county line.  The Rocky Fork Creek ran through the property and a large ravine made it difficult to traverse the area without great care. 

According to an account in The Portsmouth Daily Times, the Piatt home itself contained a sitting room with a large stone fireplace, a bedroom, and a kitchen. Outside, a porch ran along the entire length of the front of the house. 

The speculation was that the murderer had to have been somewhat familiar with the Piatt's property, and it was believed the killer would be arrested sooner rather than later.

On 4 January, 1911,  the police officers of Scioto County arrested Hammond Nichols.  Nichols, 13 years old and "crippled", was not originally a suspect in the murders. However suspician had fallen on his brother, Jesse. The Nichols brothers lived in a "shanty", in Adams County, one and a half miles from the Piatt cabin.  When officers had searched the shanty, they found an empty gun shell exactly like the three that had been found at the murder scene.  The marks made by the plunger on the shell also matched those on the spent shells at the scene of the crime.  Jesse Nichols, the elder brother, had left town quickly the day after the murders and no one knew where he had gone.  By arresting his younger, handicapped brother, the police thought they could pull Nichols out of hiding.    They decided to leak the story that Jesse was no longer a suspect, hoping he would think it was safe to come home. It worked.  As he tried to make his way to his home, he was recognized by some men working in the woods and they turned him in.  He swore he was innocent, but the Sheriff believed they had their man.

He was questioned, or as the newspaper put it, "sweated" by Sheriff Eckhart, Ex-Sheriff Gillen, and Deputy Smith.  He continued to declare his innocence, telling the officers that he had only left town to visit an uncle in Indiana for the holidays and had fully expected to return. 

Hammond was released from custody on January 30, only to be arrested again, along with Nichols boy's father, Alex in June, 1911.   Then, in July, David Brown, a cousin of the Nichols by marriage who was described by newspaper reporters as a "squatter" was also arrested for the Piatt murders.  The only evidence pointing to Brown was the fact that he appeared to have come into money suddenly.  The Scioto county lawmen thought they had the entire case wrapped up with the arrest of the family Nichols and were just waiting to take the case the court. It should have been an open and shut case.

Right?

Thriller Thursday - The Murders at Rocky Fork ~ Part One

This is the story of the murders of Minor and Oliver Piatt, my husband's 2nd cousins, 3 times removed.


John Piatt, Jr. is standing on his front porch with his son.  It is about 9:30 p.m., Tuesday,  two days after Christmas, 1910.  In the distance he can hear the frantic barking of some hounds on a fox hunt.  The night is cold and he feels the chill through his coat.  Suddenly, the sound of gunshots echoes in the night. It is not unusual for men to carry guns during the fox hunt and  John just assumes that is what has happened..  He is joined on the porch by his son and soon they notice  what they think is the hunter's campfire. It grows larger and larger and John tells his son the men must be burning up the whole country.  The air turns  colder and after watching the flames for awhile, John and his son go back into the house to warm up and head to their beds, blissfully unaware of the tragedy that had taken place only one and half miles away, at the home of his brothers, Oliver and Minor.

At about noon, on Wednesday 28 December, 1910, John Piatt, Jr. was shredding tobacco in his field at his home, near Rocky Fork in Scioto County, Ohio.  He was approached by Mr. Hazelbaker, a storekeeper from the town of Pink,  who informed him that he had heard John's brother's home had burned to the ground.  Neither Minor nor Oliver Piatt,  had been seen, and it was feared they had both been killed in the fire.  John quickly stopped his work and headed for the home of his brothers, an 80 acre tobacco farm, 18 miles from Portsmouth, Ohio on the Adams/Scioto County line. He asked his friend, James Brownfield to go with him.   It was around 3:00 pm when they arrived and before he was able to look for his brothers, two ladies, Mrs. Nichols and Mrs. Brown, apppeared on the scene.  Mrs. Nichols told John that it was her sons who had discovered  what had happened. She had sent them to the Piatt cabin to buy some tobacco.  When they saw the tragic scene, shocked and scared, they ran back home to tell their mother. She and her neighbor came to see if their story was true. Sadly, it was.

 Inside the home, John found  the bodies of his brothers, Minor, age 50 and Oliver, age 53.  They had both been killed by gunshot wounds to the head and they were burned beyond recognition.   One body was located in the corner between the fireplace and the kitchen. It appeared that any gunshot would have come through the front window, perhaps killing him with no warning.  The other man's body was found near the front door.

Sheriff Eckhart was summoned to the scene, as was the coroner, Dr. O.W. Robe.  The investigation began immediately and the speculation was that the Piatt brothers had been murdered for their money.  Family members told the investigators that the brothers were hard working, thrifty individuals who were known to keep large amounts of money in their home.  They carried silver money with them, but no silver was found in the ruins.  Armor Piatt told reporters for The Portsmouth Daily Times that he believed his brothers probably had between $500 and $1000 between them  and it would have been somewhere in the cabin. John Piatt put his suspicians on a man named William Briggs.  For a reason which he could not remember, Briggs had once said that the Piatts would "die with their boots on".   This man had been charged with selling his vote during the last election and was waiting for his punishment on that charge.  He was the first suspect.

The crime scene itself  filled with clues, even though the murderer had done his best to hide his deed.
In the yard were 3 empty Winchester cartridges.  Fresh, sized #8 footprints led in and out of the cabin and a bloody butcher knife was found on a window sill.  It appeared the culprit had approached from the west, up a small ravine that led down to the Rocky Fork Creek.

Within a few hours, a hundred people converged upon the crime scene.  This was a rugged and isolated area and travel to the cabin wasn't easy.  The sheriff, the coroner, and those who reported the crime details for the newspaper had a difficult time navigating the rocky and overgrown terrain to get to the cabin.  In the case of the reporter, he had to have footman on either side of his rig to help steady it and keep it from falling over. 

It didn't take the coroner long to make his determination on the cause of death for the men and he set about gathering up their remains for burial.  All he was able to find of both of the men was placed into an old lard can. and early on Friday morning, 30 December, 1910,  what remained of Minor and Oliver Piatt was placed in a "rough box" and buried in the cemetery at Berry Chapel on Rocky Fork.

In my next post, I will cover the investigation and arrests for the murders of the Piatt brothers of Scioto County.

Wordless Wednesday (Almost!) - The Great Blizzard of 1978

On January 26, 1978, when I was a sophomore in high school, Ohio and most of the eastern half of the country was hit by what was then called "The Blizzard of the Century" and I have to say that in the 34 years since I have yet to see anything that matches it.  We have had many heavy snowfalls, below zero windchills, and strong winds, but never have they come together in the manner in which they did on that January day.  The state of Ohio was virtually shut down for days.  Pleas were aired on the local television and radio stations for those with four wheel drive vehicles to help get emergency personnel to work.  I was very pleased because my school's second and third days of final exams were cancelled.

Pictured above is a certifcate given away by Dayton television station, WHIO, channel 7.  In the photograph is the late Gil Whitney, beloved weatherman and television personality. The official blizzard statistics are listed along the left side. 

Winds 60 mph

Temperature 3

Wind Chill -65

Low Barometer 28.66 (Record)

12.0 inch snowfall in 24 hours (Record)

Snow on Ground 25.5 inches (Record)