Thomas William VAN BUREN married Phebe Marie JERVIS on 22 September 1841 (New York)

(original post October 2011, updated January 2022 with info from Phebe's papers, updated again November 2024)

My great-great-great Aunt Phebe Marie JERVIS married Thomas William VAN BUREN on 22 September 1841. His name is recorded in his father-in-law Joel Jervis's bible along with their marriage date. Phebe and Thomas had 3 children and he was born in New York (according to his children's census records). That is all I knew about him until receiving scans of some of Phebe's papers. In Phebe's papers she also has his name and their marriage date recorded. 

According to her papers, her husband was born in 1812. She does not list his death date, but in the early 1850s, she says that she was a widow with three young children, but we have not been able to find Thomas's death date. It is not in her papers.

In 1850, Phebe VAN BUREN and her 3 young children are living with Phebe's parents, Joel and Elizabeth (SMITH) JERVIS in Huntington, Suffolk, New York, so it looks like Thomas died between 1847 and 1850. Phebe is also listed with 2 of her children in the 1850 census in Brooklyn Ward 5, Kings, New York. Here she is misnamed as Phebe Van Benson. Enumeration:

1850 census Huntington, Suffolk, New York
house 239:
Joel Jarvis age 59
Elizabeth Jarvis age 56
Ann E Jarvis age 29
Charlotte R Jarvis age 21
William I Jarvis age 17
Edna A Jarvis age 13
Phebe M. Van Buren age 34
Isabel J. Van Buren age 7
Edna L Van Buren age 5
William H Van Buren age 2


1850 census in Brooklyn Ward 5, Kings, New York

house 259:
Phebe Van Benson age 32
Josephine J Van Benson age 7
William H Van Benson age 2
Clark Jarvis age 22 [Phebe's brother]
Charlotte Jarvis age 20 [Phebe's sister]
Joseph Austin age 63
Harriet E F  Austin age 29

****************************************************

My cousin Eric (4th cousins once removed), who is a direct descendant of Phebe, is the one who generously shared her papers with me almost 3 years ago. We have since started conversing again as on geni.com he found a Thomas Van Buren born in 1812 whose wife is listed as Phoebe. There is no source listed that I can see for this entry.

The entry on Geni.com says that Thomas was born in Livingston, Columbia, New York. Phebe's papers at first seemed to say that her husband was born in Huntington South... but the page where Phebe says her husband was born in Huntington South is a bit ambiguous since she is listing the people who have married into her family and their birth places... only there's 7 names in the left column and 8 places named in the right column. There is a weird bracket looking thing on the right side. I'm wondering if the first 2 items belong to Thomas. The first name on the left is Thomas's name and on the right side it says "Huntington South," but just below that it says "Livingston Manor." So maybe he was born at Livingston Manor but lived in Huntington South when Phebe met him?

The name under Thomas's is Gilbert Smith and Gilbert was born in Huntington,  which is the 3rd one down in the right column, so it basically fits. (However Mary Lockhart was born in Manhattan and not Kentucky. Diedrich Vogt was born in Germany, and the others were born on Long Island, though not necessarily at the places Phebe has listed).

The geni file lists Thomas's birthplace as Livingston, Columbia, New York. 

I looked up Livingston Manor and the info is that it is a small hamlet "in the southern part of the town of Rockland" in Sullivan county, New York. So maybe the family was from Livingston Manor, but someone made the jump that it was the town of Livingston in Columbia county? I've seen things like that happen before.

Anyway, I don't know if the above is truly helpful at all, but to me it does lead a little credence to the Geni file being correct.

*****

Been looking into it more, and this is what I am thinking. Our Thomas William Van Buren is probably the son of Henry Sr and Sarah Williams. In FamilySearch, the Thomas Smith Van Buren listed as a child of Henry and Sarah is really the child of Charles Van Buren and "Catherine" Mynderts. 

I really would like to find concrete proof... maybe there's a will out there somewhere that would firm things up a bit.

The Descendants of Joel and Elizabeth (SMITH) JERVIS of Long Island, New York

My focus lately has been on the family of Joel JERVIS and his wife Elizabeth SMITH (click on their names to go to the posts about them). I have been collecting info on their posterity. It has been fun following some trails and others are a bit frustrating.

According to articles about Elizabeth's 100th birthday party and her obituary 6 months later, she had 8 children, 22 grandchildren, 60 (or more) great grand children, and 3 great-great grandchildren. The "60 (or more)" is there because the number of 60 great-grandchildren came from an article where they only listed the number of those still living, so if she had had some passed away before she did, they would not have been counted.

note: I have decided not to put in dates and places. If you wish to ask about such, please just post a comment and I would be glad to answer any questions.


Some Descendants of Squire Joel JERVIS (1790-1863) and Elizabeth SMITH (1794-1895)
Long Island, New York

******************************************************************************************************

Joel JERVIS (aka Joel JARVIS) (son of Joseph Ireland JERVIS and Phebe CARLL)
     b. 24 Oct 1790 (which happened to be his father's 26th birthday) in Huntington, Suffolk, New York
     m.  Elizabeth SMITH on 29 Nov 1815 in Huntington, Suffolk, New York
     d. 3 Nov 1863 and is buried on the Purdy Farm Private Cemetery in Amityville, Suffolk, New York

Elizabeth SMITH (daughter of Henry Clark SMITH and Jemima TERRY)
     b. 20 July 1794 Blue Point, Suffolk, New York
     d. 22 January 1895 Amityville, Suffolk, New York

The 8 children of Joel and Elizabeth are:

1-Phebe Maria JERVIS (13 Aug 1816-10 Oct 1907) m. Thomas William VAN BUREN, Brooklyn

2-Jemima Etta (aka Jeminetta) JERVIS (3 Nov 1818-10 Dec 1886) m. Gilbert SMITH, Huntington

3-Ann Elizabeth JERVIS (11 Jun 1821-17 Feb 1907)--did not marry, Amityville

4-Scudder Carll JERVIS (24 Sep 1823-31 Mar 1907) m. Mary Elizabeth PURDY, Amityville--my ancestors

5-Henry “Clark” Smith JERVIS (29 Jan 1827-8 Nov 1909) m. Mary LOCKHART, Brooklyn

6-Charlotte Rebecca JERVIS (25 Sep 1829-6 Dec 1916) m. Ezra R. SAMMIS, Brooklyn

7-William Ireland JERVIS (10 Apr 1833-28 Jan 1913) m. Charity “Charrie” E. NICHOLS, Brooklyn

8-Edna Adelia JERVIS (27 Jan 1838-26 Sep 1906) m. Diedrich VOGT, Charleston, South Carolina

******************************************************************************************************

The numbers for these generations come from the newspaper articles written for Elizabeth’s 100th birthday.

They had 22 (+) grandchildren:

children of #1 Phebe JERVIS and Thomas William VAN BUREN:
     1-Josephine Isabel VAN BUREN (married Henry T PETTIT)
     2-Edna Louise VAN BUREN (married Jacob Conklin SMITH--see below for info on his 2nd marriage)
     3-William H. VAN BUREN (married Ada Cornelia PURDY)


children of #2 Jemima JERVIS and Gilbert SMITH:
     4-Susan A SMITH (married William Henry BEERS)
     5-Sarah E SMITH (married Alonzo CONKLIN)
     6-Mordaunt L SMITH (married Abbie R WHITSON)
     7-Henrietta (Hattie/Nettie) SMITH (married Joel G. GARDINER)
     8-Joel Gilbert SMITH (married Lucy Ida WILSON)
     9-George E. SMITH
     10-Henry C. SMITH of Brooklyn, New York
     11-Frank S. SMITH deceased by 1894
     12-William W. SMITH of Northport, New York
     13-Horace SMITH of Rockville Center, New York

The second marriage of Jacob Conklin SMITH:
After Edna Louise (VAN BUREN) SMITH died, her husband married again and had 3 children...one of whom married great grandchild #39, Grace Purdy JERVIS. So Grace and William were sort of 1st cousins by marriage....sort of.

Jacob Conklin SMITH and Frances Matilda ROBIN:
     1-Jacob Robin SMITH
     2-William Wallace SMITH (married Grace Purdy JERVIS, daughter of Joshua Purdy JERVIS and Mary Jane MILLER)
     3-Mabel Louise SMITH 

children of #4 Scudder Carll JERVIS and Mary Elizabeth PURDY:
     14-George Smith JERVIS (m1 Marie Antoinette LOSEE, m2 Alice PRIMROSE)
     15-Joshua Purdy JERVIS (married Mary Jane MILLER)

children of #5 Henry Clark Smith JERVIS and Mary LOCKHART:
     16-John JERVIS (though I'm pretty sure he and Perlee are one and the same since the 1860 census lists a John (age 2) and     
          not a Perlee, but the 1870 and 1880 censuses list a Perlee (ages 12, then 22) and not a John. The 1900 census lists her as     
          having 4 children with 3 still living, so at any rate she did have 4)
     17-Perlee Voohrees JERVIS (married Helen May HUTCHINSON)
     18-Jessie W. JERVIS (married Elisha Taylor EVERETT)
     19-Frank Terry JERVIS (married Fannie Elizabeth HOPSON)

children of #6 Charlotte Rebecca JERVIS and Ezra R SAMMIS:
     20-Lena F. SAMMIS (never married)
     21-Frederick B. SAMMIS (married Mary E.)
The 1900 census lists Charlotte as having 3 children with 2 still living so:
     22-unknown

children of #7 William Ireland JERVIS and Charity “Charrie” E NICHOLS:
     23-Ida JERVIS (married Franklin SCHEPMOES)
     24-Arthur N. JERVIS (married and divorced an Anna L.)

#8 Adele and Diedrich VOGT did not have any children that I know of

******************************************************************************************************

The 60 great grandchildren (though I don't have them all yet):

children of #1 Josephine Isabel VAN BUREN and Henry T. PETTIT:
1-Henry H PETTIT (married Lavenia B. SHERMAN)
2-Susan PETTIT
3-Louie R PETTIT (might be the same as Susan as Susan was listed in the 1880 census and not in the 1900 or 1910 census and
   Louie R was listed in the 1900 and 1910 census but not the 1880 census)
4-Grace PETTIT
5-Felice PETTIT
6-Jessie J PETTIT
7-Ruth E PETTIT
8-Violet Eloise PETTIT

children of #2 Edna Louise VAN BUREN and Jacob Conklin SMITH:
9-Eva Louise SMITH (married Wallace B. YOUNG)
10-Carrie May SMITH (died young)
11-Edna Elizabeth SMITH (married Thomas W JARVIS)
12-Herbert Conklin SMITH (according to someone else's database he married 1st Nettie Estella SIBLEY and married 2nd Francis E.)

children of #4 Susan A SMITH and William Henry BEERS:
13-Emily H BEERS
14-Ellen A BEERS
15-Florence E BEERS

children of #5 Sarah E SMITH and Alonzo CONKLIN:
16-Edith L. CONKLIN
17-Grace Ethel CONKLIN (marred George Tyson GRUMANN)
18-Mabel J CONKLIN
19-Frank G. CONKLIN
20-Adele V. CONKLIN

children of #6 Mordaunt L. SMITH and Abbie R. WHITSON:
21-Harriet (Hattie) M. SMITH
22-Edwin L. SMITH
23-Emily E SMITH (married Samuel WOODWARD)
24-Bessie SMITH (married Mr. SOUTHARD)
25-William C. SMITH (married May L. SIELHORST)
26-Jennie L. SMITH (married Richard Oliver MILLS)

children of #7 Henrietta SMITH and Joel G. GARDINER:
27-Louise GARDINER
28-Caroline T. GARDINER
29-Frederick F. GARDINER

children of #8 Joel Gilbert SMITH and Lucy Ida WILSON:
30-Eugenia M. SMITH
31-Nettie G. SMITH
32-Joel G. SMITH
33-Florabelle W. SMITH

children of #14 George Smith JERVIS and his first wife Marie Antoinette LOSEE:
34-Fanny Rebecca JERVIS
35-Mary JERVIS
36-Ella JERVIS
37-George S. JERVIS

children of #14 George Smith JERVIS and his second wife Alice PRIMROSE:
38-Elsie JERVIS (married Armand MARSHALL/MARCHALL)

children of #15 Joshua Purdy JERVIS and Mary Jane MILLER:
39-Grace Purdy JERVIS (married William Wallace SMITH, son of Jacob Conklin SMITH and Frances Matilda ROBIN)

40-Sarah Emma JERVIS (married Arthur Cuthbert WRIGHT)
41-Scudder Carll JERVIS (died young)
42-Charles Miller JERVIS (married Carolie MEIGS)--my grandparents

children of #17 Perlee Voohrees JERVIS and Helen May HUTCHINSON:
43-Marguerite JERVIS (married Charles Allen SMITH)
44-Helen Hutchinson JERVIS (married and divorced Karl Wendell KIRCHWEY)
45-Jessie Lockhart JERVIS (married Harold Gottfried CARLSON)

I believe child #18 Jessie W. JERVIS and her husband Elisha Taylor EVERETT were childless

children of #19 Frank Terry JERVIS and Fannie Elizabeth HOPSON:
46-Oliver J. JERVIS

I have not found any children for #21 Frederick B. SAMMIS and his wife Mary M.

children of #23 Ida JERVIS and Franklin SCHEPMOES:
47-Glentworth SCHEPMOES (m1 Florence RANDALL and m2 Claudia)
48-Jessie SCHEPMOES

I'm missing at least 12 great-grandchildren.

******************************************************************************************************

So, a partial list of the great-great grandchildren (I don't like posting the names of people who might still be alive, so I'm leaving them off):

children of #1 Henry H PETTIT and Lavenia B SHERMAN:
     1-Hazel E PETTIT
     2-Frank A PETTIT

children of #9 Eva Louise SMITH and Wallace B YOUNG:
     3-Wallace Jeffrey YOUNG

children of #11 Edna Elizabeth SMITH and  Thomas W JARVIS:
     4-Herbert Woodhull JARVIS
     5-Leslie C JARVIS (male)
     6-Gladys JARVIS

children of #12 Herbert Conklin SMITH and Francis E.
    7-Olga SMITH

children of #17 Grace Ethel CONKLIN and George Tyson GRUMANN
     8-Ethel GRUMANN
     9-Leroy R GRUMANN
     10-Elinor A GRUMANN (married Irving SLOTER)

children of #23 Emily E SMITH and Samuel WOODWARD:
     11-Edwin A WOODWARD
     12-Earl S WOODWARD
     13-Arthur WOODWARD
     14-Alfred E WOODWARD
     15-Jennie L. WOODWARD
     16-Mary E WOODWARD

child of #24 Bessie SMITH and her husband Mr. SOUTHARD
     17-Rudolph SOUTHARD

child of #25 William C SMITH and May L. SIELHORST:
     18-Florence B. SMITH

children of #39 Grace Purdy JERVIS and William Wallace SMITH:
     19-Scudder Jervis SMITH
     20-Sara Westover SMITH

children of #42 Charles Miller JERVIS, Sr. and Carolie MEIGS

    21-Joel Russ JERVIS

    22-Charles Miller JERVIS, Jr.

*********************************************************************************************************************

From the Long Islander (Huntington)  24 November 1916

Mordant L. Smith
   Local relatives received word Wednesday of the death of Mordant L. Smith, of Brooklyn, at the home of his daughter, at 26 Windsor place. He arose in the morning as usual and after breakfast complained of feeling ill, but before a physician could be called he had passed away. Besides a widow, he leaves four daughters and two sons. They are as follows: Mrs. Frank Suydam, of Centreport; Edward, of Philadelphia; Mrs. Emily Woodward, Mrs. Bessie Southard, Mrs. Jennie -------- (with whom he lived), and Cleveland Smith, all of Brooklyn. Two sisters and 3 brothers also survive: Mrs. Alonzo Conklin, Mrs. Joel S. Gardiner and Joel G. Smith, of this place, and Henry C. Smith, of Clintonville, Conn. and Horace M. Smith, of Brooklyn. Mr. Smith was born at the old homestead of Park avenue, now owned by William Limberg, seventy-one years ago on May 31.
   The funeral services will be held this (Friday) evening, at 26 Windsor place, and the interment will be in the Rural Cemetery to-morrow on the arrival of the 12:26 train from Brooklyn.
   Mr. Smith was married in 1869 to Miss Abbie Whitson, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Smith Whitson, of Dix Hills. For many years he worked as a carpenter in the Navy Yard and was a veteran of the 127th Regiment.

*********************************************************************************************************************  

 
The following article relates to Gilbert SMITH, son-in-law to Joel and Elizabeth, as he married their daughter Jemima:

Long Islander (Huntington) Friday July 10, 1925 p 14

OLD GILBERT SMITH FARM TO NEW OWNERS   

     Title passed recently on one of the old homesteads in Huntington, which takes it from the hands of the old Long Islanders. It is the William T. Limberg place which is situated on Park avenue at its intersection with Lincoln avenue. The heirs of the Limberg estate have sold it to Bernstein & Altar, who will take possession of it in the fall. They are now renting it to Mrs. A. C. May and family.
     Old records show that the house was built in 1838, (eight-seven years ago) by Gilbert Smith, father of Joel G. Smith and Mrs. Joel S. Gardiner, of this place.
     Mr. Smith married Jemima Jarvis of Amityville, and began housekeeping there. It was built in two sections, the older part being larger. Some years later the wing was added.
     Ten children were born there, four of whom are living, Mr. Smith and Mrs. Gardiner, as mentioned above, and Henry Smith of Clintonville, Conn., and Horace M. Smith, of Brooklyn. Mrs. William Henry Beers, Mrs. Alonzo Conklin and Mrs. Gardiner were married from the old home.
     Gilbert Smith received the land from his father, who was also named Gilbert. He resided in an older original homestead some distance in the rear, to which place he took his bride, who was Miss Hannah Hartt.
     After the old people died, the first homestead was sold to William Jarvis father of the late Mrs. William Limberg. Mrs. Limberg lived there with her son, William, and after the mother and son passed away, Mr. Limberg remained there until his death. The first homestead burned down, but the Limbergs were living in the newer house, which they purchased later. When Mr. Limberg passed away he left the place to his nieces, Miss Lottie May and Mrs. Maynard Pettit, and nephew William May, and they with their mother, Mrs. A. C. May, have resided there, selling recently to Bernstein & Altar and so another homestead passes to the hands of strangers.

Theodore W. WESTCOTT (1852-1904) and Florence Holland ASPINALL (1865-1947) updated

Theodore W. WESTCOTT (1852-1904) 

and Florence Holland ASPINALL (1865-1947)

Theodore and Florence are my sort-of great-grandparents as their daughter, Mattie Jane Westcott Ridlebaugh, raised my mother. 

Theodore W. WESTCOTT is 3rd of the 3 sons born to John Jerauld WESTCOTT, of the Rhode Island Westcotts, and Eliza COUSE. John was an Ohio State Representative from 1858-1861. He was a Mason.

    b. 29 July 1852 Vanlue, Hancock, Ohio

    d. 4 August 1904 Vanlue, Hancock, Ohio

    m. 8 December 1885 Vanlue, Hancock, Ohio to

Florence Holland ASPINALL, who is 5th of the 7 children born to Frederick ASPINALL and his fourth wife Caroline STITZEL.

    b. 11 July 1865 Warsaw, Kosciusko, Indiana

    d. 24 January 1947 Findlay, Hancock, Ohio

Florence must have had a hard life as she was 6 when she became an orphan when her parents died within 10 months of each other. I know she spent time with her sister Mattie STAFFORD. Florence's husband committed suicide when she was 39. Her youngest child and only son died at the end of World War I when she was 53. She was a widow for 42 years.

Theodore and Florence had 5 children:

1. Florence Marguerite WESTCOTT 

    b. 13 December 1886 in Vanlue, Hancock, Ohio 

    d. 11 July 1974 Vanlue, Hancock, Ohio

    m.  21 October 1905 George W. EGBERT 

She went by the name Marguerite and I vaguely remember her.

2. Glenna Corine WESTCOTT 

    b. 1 December 1888 in Vanlue, Hancock, Ohio 

    d. 13 May 1969 in Amanda Township, Hancock, Ohio

    m. 12 January 1907 to Ray G. SHULL. I remember visiting them on their farm.

3. Mattie Jane WESTCOTT (my Grandma Findlay) 

    b. 20 June 1891 Vanlue, Hancock, Ohio 

    d. 22 January 1972 Findlay, Hancock, Ohio

    m. 8 June 1909 Howard Hayes RIDLEBAUGH (my Grandpa Findlay) 

4. Lucille WESTCOTT 

    b. 31 January 1895 in Vanlue, Hancock, Ohio 

    d. 31 March 1987 in Findlay, Hancock, Ohio

    m. 12 December 1952 Carl Henry SHANK

5. Theodore WESTCOTT 

    b. 11 October 1897 in  Vanlue, Hancock, Ohio 

    d. 4 November 1918 in Ostend, West Flanders, Belgium, Killed in Action

    buried in the Van Horn Cemetery in Amanda Township, Hancock, Ohio

Aunt Lucille was much loved by Deni and me. We even spent a few nights at her place when we were in Ohio. She had married later in life to a widower (she was 57 at the time), but became a widow just 14 years later when Carl died in a plane crash. We had never met him. Aunt Lucille was disabled by the time we knew her and had braces on her legs and used a walker. She had a parakeet named Tweety. 

Uncle Ted, I guess we would call him, enlisted on 20 July 1915 in the National Guard. Private Westcott departed for the war on 22 June 1918. His tombstone says he was in Company A 2nd Ohio Infantry (Company “L” 145th Infantry 37th Division National Guard). The sad thing about the situation is he was only there for a few months and he almost made it home from the war. He was killed one week before the Armistice was signed, only 4 ½ months after shipping out. He had just turned 21.

"In Flanders Field" by Lt. Colonel John McCrea

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

      Between the crosses, row on row,

   That mark our place; and in the sky

   The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

   The torch; be yours to hold it high.

   If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

         In Flanders fields.

******************************************************************************************************************

The Indianapolis News  

Indianapolis, Indiana  

17 August 1904, Wednesday   Page 7

FEARED TO FACE FRIEND

Politician, and Alleged Forger, Ends His Life.

  FINDLAY, O., August 17--Theodore Westcott, who, for a quarter of a century was the dominating force in Democratic politics in the eastern part of Hancock county, and reputed to be wealthy, committed suicide in his home, in Vanlue. A member of the family discovered him dying yesterday morning, and aid was summoned, but he died before a physician could reach him.

  It is said Mr. Westcott had received money on notes to which he had signed his friends' names in an amount reaching nearly $10,000. Mr. Westcott, it is alleged, attempted to dispose of a note at a bank in this city for $1,200, to which he had signed the name of a farmer residing in Amanda township. The bank refused to lend the money on the note. It, no doubt, became clear to him, it is said, that his acts had been discovered and he could not face his friends once the facts became public.

******************************************************************************************************************

News-Journal 

Mansfield, Ohio  

18 August 1904, Thursday  Page 3

Findlay--Theodore Westcott, a prominent Democratic politician and merchant of Vanlue, committed suicide by taking morphine.

******************************************************************************************************************

News-Journal

Mansfield, Ohio

9 December 1918,  Monday  Page 11

Sunday List

    Killed in action--

. . . Privates Theodore Westcott, Vanlue; . . .

******************************************************************************************************************

The Lima News

Lima, Ohio

Thu, Feb 03, 1966 ·Page 1

Plane Crash in Hancock Claims Duo

     FINDLAY- Two person [sic], including a Findlay man, died when their single-engine Beechcraft plane crashed in a  field 2.25 miles west of Arlington today.

     Victims were identified by the highway patrol as Carl Henry Shank, 72, of Findlay, and his son, Charles M. [sic] Shank, 46, of Lake Bluff, Ill. They were believed to be bound for Florida.

     The plane crashed at 9:10 a.m., the patrol reported. Reason was not determined immediately.

     “It just came down,” observed an airport official here. Landing gear hadn’t been lowered.

     Bodies of the two men were thrown from the plane, and wreckage was scattered over the field.

******************************************************************************************************************

Lancaster Eagle-Gazette

Lancaster, Ohio

Thu, Feb 03, 1966 ·Page 2

2 Lose Lives In Plane Crash

     FINDLAY, Ohio (UPI)-- An Illinois man and his father from Findlay, Ohio, were killed today when their light plane crashed in a farm field north-west of Arlington in Hancock County.

     The victims ere [sic] identified as the pilot, Charles B. Shank, 46, Lake Bluff, Ill., and his father, Carl Henry Shank, 72, Findlay.

     The two men had taken off from Findlay Airport for Atlanta, Ga., about 10 minutes before the plane crashed in a field on the farm of Bernard J. Cotner.

     The plane, a single-engine craft, was demolished.

******************************************************************************************************************

     

back: Mattie, Lucille, Glenna seated: Florence and Marguerite

Theodore W Westcott

Theodore Westcott

Lucille (seated) and Mattie

Glenna, Mattie, Lucille, and Marguerite Ohio, August 1962

Howard Hayes RIDLEBAUGH and Mattie Jane WESTCOTT updated

Howard Hayes RIDLEBAUGH and Mattie Jane WESTCOTT

                           1 July 1888-7 March 1976               20 June 1891-22 January 1972

Technically speaking Howard and Mattie were my great Uncle and Aunt, but we consider them our grandparents because they raised our mother after her parents divorced. They were Grandma and Grandpa Findlay.  The FIndlay part is because they lived in Findlay, Ohio and it was easier for us to say than Ridlebaugh. My mom reminded me that we first called them Friendly Grandma and Grandpa before we could say Findlay right.

Summers visits to 206 Mound St. Findlay meant:

    long car rides to get from Massachusetts to Ohio (dad started driving them at night so we would sleep most of the way)

    the smell of fresh asphalt as we drove past the road construction going on

    watching rows and rows and rows and more rows of corn go by as we drove to Findlay

    eating cantaloupe, tomatoes, and corn on the cob fresh out of Grandpa's garden

    watching the grasshopper Grandpa had caught in his garden and cut in half with his pocket knife jump all over and wondering how it could do that without a head (thank goodness they didn't have any chickens)

    the wonderful smell of Grandpa's pipe (the cigars, not so much)

    catching fireflies in jars in the little park across the street from their house (we'd put the fireflies in jars and keep them by our beds at night and in the morning let them go so we could catch some more that evening)

      listening to the sound of train whistles while laying in bed at night with the windows open because it was very warm and there was no such thing as central air in their house

Howard Hayes RIDLEBAUGH (he dropped a "d" from his name) is the 4th of 14 children born to John Henry RIDDLEBAUGH and Almeda Elvira WISELEY.

    b. 1 July 1888 in Marion township, Hancock, Ohio 

    m. 8 June 1909 Mattie WESTCOTT in Toledo, Lucas, Ohio 

    d. 7 March 1976 in Findlay, Hancock, Ohio

Mattie WESTCOTT is the 3rd of 5 children born to Theodore W. WESTCOTT and Florence Holland ASPINALL

    b. 20 June 1891 in Vanlue, Hancock, Ohio

    d. 22 January 1972 Findlay, Hancock, Ohio

Since Mattie was 12 days away from her 18th birthday and Howard was 23 days away from his 21st birthday, they had to lie about their age so they could get married without parental consent. Don't know the story behind that, but I'm wondering why they didn't just get parental consent. Did they think they couldn't get permission? If so, why didn't they just wait a month to get married?

Mattie didn't like her name and at some point, after they moved away from Ohio, she took on the name Jane; so to her family she was Mattie, but to her friends in the places she lived after she was married, she was Jane. She is Mattie in the 1930 census, Mattie Jane in the 1940 census, and in the 1950 census she is listed as M. Jane. 

Grandpa worked for a clothing store…

Jack Hayes RIDLEBAUGH was the only child born to Howard and Mattie.

    b. 27 October 1914 Green Bay, Brown, Wisconsin. 

    d. 30 June 1936 drown in the Potomac river

When Jack drowned in the Potomac River, he was engaged to be married to Mary and attending Georgetown University in Washington DC. He was just 8 credits short of graduating in Political Science. He had wanted to be an FBI agent. He was only 21. 

Jack had played the piano and had his own band. Apparently he was an excellent musician. After his death, Grandma and Grandpa had his piano dismantled, using it’s wood to make a secretary desk that now is in my sister's home. We both love that desk.

As for the story of his death, I was told that he and his friend, who wasn't a very good swimmer, had gone canoeing and the canoe overturned. The friend made it safely to shore, and since Jack was a better swimmer, he had assumed Jack had also made it safely to shore. But Jack hadn't. I found a newspaper article that tells better details and it is posted below.

Grandpa's 48th birthday was the next day. It was a very difficult time for them, and Mom said that Grandma and Grandpa couldn't have made it through that tough time if they hadn't believed that they'd see Jack again. 

While I was doing a newspaper search for Ridlebaughs, I came across a few articles.

The following article was a complete surprise to mom and to us. When Jack drowned, he was engaged to Mary. For years after his death, she would write to Howard and Mattie from time to time, and then she finally sent a letter saying she was going to marry someone else and that would be her last letter. Mom knew nothing about Jack's annulled marriage mentioned in the article below  (or even the fact that he was also known as John).

******************************************************************************************************************

The News Journal 

Wilmington, Delaware

7 July 1934, Saturday

Kathryn E Ridlebaugh, by her father and next [sic] friend, William F. McClatchey, has docketed suit in the Circuit Court here, to have her marriage to Jack Hayes Ridlebaugh also known as John Ridlebaugh, declared null and void. The bill states that the parties were married in Elkton by the Rev. Edward Minor, on June 3, 1933 [should that say 1934?]; that neither of the parties is a resident of this state; that the plaintiff was born July 29, 1916, and the defendant was born October 23 [sic], 1914; that neither of them was of age when the [sic] obtained their license to marry.

******************************************************************************************************************

The Evening Star

Washington D. C.

Monday, June 29, 1936. page A-10 (a photo of Jack accompanied the article)

BODY OF STUDENT SOUGHT IN RIVER

Jack Ridlebaugh, G. W. U., Victim of Canoe Accident Above Chain Bridge

    Grappling irons were thrown into the Potomac River above Chain Bridge today by police searching for the body of Jack Hayes Ridlebaugh, 21, of 812 Somerset place, a George Washington University student.  Ridlebaugh drowned yesterday as his life-long friend, Stuart B. Wright, 24, of 1202 Delafield place looked on helplessly.

    The two young men were paddling a canoe toward the Virginia shore when their craft was upset by the currents which eddy above Chain Bridge. Ridlebaugh struck out for the bank, but 20 feet off shore sank from sight where the water is 80 feet deep. The strong current made it impossible for Wright to swim to his friend's rescue.

    Ridlebaugh, whose parents are Mr. and Mrs. Howard Ridlebaugh of the Somerset place address, was to have been graduated from George Washington in September. He attended Drexel Institute in Philadelphia before moving to Washington with his family two years ago. 

******************************************************************************************************************

The Evening Star

Washington, D. C.

June 30, 1936, Tuesday  Page B-1

POLICE DRAG RIVER

Resume Search for Body of Drowned Student.

    Police today resumed dragging the Potomac River, near Chain Bridge, for the body of Jack Hayes Ridlebaugh, 21, George Washington University student, who drowned Sunday when a canoe overturned.

    Ridlebaugh, who lived at 812 Somerset place, was thrown into the rapids about half a mile above the bridge. A companion, Stuart Wright, 24, of 1202 Delafield place, swam to safety.

******************************************************************************************************************

Kingsport Times 

Kingsport, Tennessee

8 July 1936

STICK TO THE BOAT!

     The tragic drowning of Jack Hayes Ridlebaugh on Sunday afternoon emphasizes two facts recently pointed out by Commodore W. E. Longfellow, water safety expert of the American Red Cross, and commented on in these columns last month. The first: that this is the time when many of us feel an urge to take to the water. The second, and more important: that we should stick to our craft if it overturns.

     Rirlebaugh [sic] and Stuart B. Wright were foolishly paddling in a very dangerous part of the Potomac, above Chain Bridge. But even in a strong current, an ordinary canoe can be filled with water and still hold up [sic] four persons. It is natural for any swimmer to think that he can reach shore quicker alone, unencumbered by the overturned craft. But Sunday's accident again revealed the importance of sticking to the boat.

     The Potomac is cool and accessible. Those taking advantage of its charm should guard particularly against the sort of casualty which took Ridlebaugh's life while his companion "clung to the canoe and made his way to shore safely." It is a simple rule, but the annual toll of lives shows how little it is heeded. --Washington Post.

******************************************************************************************************************

Jack passed away in 1936 and Howard and Mattie later raised my mother, their niece, Barbara Ann MOMINEE, After my mom's parents, Helen RIDDLEBAUGH and Theodore MOMINEE, separated, she first stayed with her mother, but then lived with different aunts, uncles, and cousins in Ohio. After a few years of doing this, mom went to live with Howard, one of her uncles. She hadn't known Howard and Mattie when they took her in as they lived in Alabama at the time and she was in Ohio. She went down to live with them when she was about 6 or so, and they raised her. My mom is not living with them in the 1940 census (as a matter of fact, we can't find her in the 1940 census), but she is with them in the 1950 census (and she is listed as their daughter). So, we know mom didn't go live with them till after she was 5, and that makes sense as she spent 1st grade in Ohio. Howard was 21 years older than Helen and already married when Helen was born, so it was like they were raising their grandchild. Mom was only 10 months old when Jack died, so she didn't know him.

Mom thought she was adopted, and in the 1950 census record she is listed as their daughter, but when I went to find her adoption papers, there weren't any and her birth certificate lists Helen RIDDLEBAUGH and Theodore MOMINEE as her parents. She remembers people coming from the Court to do home checks, so why the adoption never occurred, we don't know.

I don't know if we have all the places that Grandma and Grandpa lived, but using the sources I have, this is what I piece together:

1888-grandpa is born in Marion Township, Hancock, Ohio

1891-grandma is born in Vanlue, Hancock, Ohio (Vanlue and Marion Township are about 40 miles apart)

1909-they married in Toledo, Lucas, Ohio

1910 census-they are living in Toledo

1914-they are in Green Bay, Brown, Wisconsin where their son Jack is born

1917-Grandpa registers for the draft in WWI in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania and the papers say that Grandpa was working in New York

1920 census- they are in Capital Township, Sangamon, Illinois

1922    in April Howard took over the management of a store in Evansville, Indiana

1930 census- they are in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1935-according to the 1940 census, they were in Washington D.C. in 1935 and since Jack was going to Georgetown at the time, that makes sense

1940 census-they are in Mountain Brook, Jefferson, Alabama (a neighborhood in Birmingham)

1950 census-they are in Homewood, Jefferson, Alabama (a neighborhood in Birmingham and about 4 miles from Mountain Brook)

1953- right after mom graduated from high school, grandpa retired and they moved to Mount Dora, Lake, Florida

1963- they moved to Findlay, Hancock, Ohio and both passed away there.

******************************************************************************************************************

The Orlando Sentinel

Orlando, Florida

20 September 1956, Thu.  Page 12

Men's Wear Store Sold To Jacksons

    MOUNT DORA -- Sale of Cortland's men's wear store has been announced by James C. Jackson, owner.

    The new owner is Howard Ridlebaugh, who has been associated with Jackson and who has had wide experience in the clothing field.

    Mrs. Ridlebaugh also will be associated with the business in the bookkeeping department. Jackson also will devote some time at the store, assisting the new owner.

******************************************************************************************************************

Obituary in unknown Ohio newspaper 1972:

MATTIE J. RIDLEBAUGH

     Funeral services for Mrs. Mattie Jane Ridlebaugh, 80, of 206 Mound St., will be at 3 p.m. today in the Kirkpatrick-Hawkins Funeral Home with Dr. Robert G. Scully officiating. Burial will be in the Van Horn Cemetery.

     Mrs. Ridlebaugh died at 4:45 a.m. Saturday of a cerebral hemorrhage in Blanchard Valley Hospital.

     She was born in Vanlue, June 20, 1891, to Theodore and Florence (Aspinall) Westcott. She came to Findlay in 1963 from Mount Dora, Fla.

     On June 8, 1909, she was married to Howard H. Ridlebaugh who survives with a daughter, Mrs. Charles M. (Barbara) Jervis, Scituate, Mass.; two sisters, Mrs. Carl H. (Lucille) Shank and Mrs. George W. Egbert, both of Findlay.

     Visitation is underway at the funeral home.

******************************************************************************************************************

Obituary in unknown Ohio newspaper 1976:

HOWARD H. RIDLEBAUGH

     Howard H. Ridlebaugh, 87, a former 206 Mound St. resident living in Good Samaritan Nursing Home, Arlington, died at 6:30 p.m. Sunday in the home after an illness of two years.

     He was born July 1, 1888 in Marion Township to John H. and Elvira (Wiseley) Riddlebaugh. He married Mattie J. Westcott June 8, 1909 and she died Jan. 22, 1972.  

     Surviving are a daughter, Mrs. Charles (Barbara) Jervis, Metairie, La.; four grandchildren; five sisters, Mrs. Porter (Ethel) Shuck, Findlay; Mrs. John (Mae) Schuck, 326 Glendale Ave.; Mrs. Sam (Alice) Brown, Fostoria; Mrs. Erma Nauts, Redwood, Calif.; Mrs. Ed (Helen) Pentecost, Cleveland.

     Mr. Ridlebaugh was a retired manager of ready-to-wear retail stores in numerous cities east of the Mississippi River.

     He was a member of Elks Lodge 75, St. Andrew's Methodist Church, and a 50-year member of Findlay Masonic Lodge 227.

     Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in Kirkpatrick-Hawkins Funeral Home, the Rev. James Foster officiating. Burial will be in Van Horn Cemetery, Amanda Township.

     Visitation is from 3-5 and 7-9 p.m. Tuesday in the funeral home.

Howard Hayes Ridlebaugh around 1912, age about 24

Mattie Jane Westcott Ridlebaugh around 1912, age about 21 

Jack and his fiancée, Mary

Mom and Grandpa Findlay

Denise, me, and Grandpa

Mom (I think she looks like me here), Aunt Lucille, Grandma with me, Deni, and Scott

Grandma