Hugh Benjamin McClure, Inventor and Entrepreneur

Folder patent received by hubby's great uncle H.B. McClure

My husband's great uncle, Hugh Benjamin McClure (1882-1960) was a successful inventor and entrepreneur who ran a thriving manufacturing firm and received patents on industrial devices. Above, one of his patents from 1954. Don't ask me what it is, but it apparently was a plus for the manufacturing side of the business. (I found it by doing a general online search for his name.)

Ben's Early Life

Hugh Benjamin--called "Benjamin" or simply "Ben"--was born on February 3, 1882, in Wabash, Indiana, the youngest child of William Madison McClure and Margaret Jane Larimer. He married Olivette Georgia Van Roe in 1902, at the age of 20, and their only child was born the following year.

Sorry to say, Olivette died of TB in 1905. In the 1910 Census, Ben was living in Wabash with his daughter and his Van Roe brother- and sister-in-law. Ben's occupation was listed as "shipping clerk, cabinet factory."

In 1913, Ben completed a legal transfer of some real estate lots in Wabash to his then 10-year-old daughter. The paperwork adds "love and affection" along with the transfer. He sounds, to me, like a warm-hearted Dad.

Ben, Rebekah, Family, and Factory

It was 101 years ago this month that Ben remarried, to Rebekah Venice Wilt (1896-1975). He was already working for a Fort Wayne, Indiana, company. The family moved to Fort Wayne by 1920, where he told the Census he was based as a "commercial traveler, cabinet." But then they moved to Peoria soon afterward, so Ben could get into the manufacturing business.

In 1930, the Census shows Ben, wife Rebekah, and three daughters in a home they owned in Peoria. The home's value was $6,500 at that time (about $95,000 today). It wasn't the most expensive home on the block, but many others were renting, so clearly Ben was well off enough to be an owner. His occupation in 1930 was "manufacturer, filing equipment."

By 1940, Ben and Rebekah had four daughters and he was listed as the president of his office equipment firm. His WWII draft registration card shows him as 60 years old in 1942, self-employed, living in Peoria--but, curiously, he listed one sister, Lola McClure Lower, as a "person who will always know your address."

During the 1950s, Ben received patents like the one at top, and he continued to expand his manufacturing firm. The company was now a family operation, with Hugh as president, his wife Rebekah as vice-president, and his sister-in-law as secretary. H.B. McClure Manufacturing provided employment for many people in Peoria over the years.

Families Stayed in Touch

Ben died in August, 1960, at the age of 78, leaving his wife and five daughters, 10 grandchildren, two great-grandkids, and a successful family business that his wife Rebekah and several in-laws continued to operate for years.

By reading my late father-in-law's diary, I learned that the McClure family stayed in touch with Rebekah for some time after Ben died. Ben's brother, Brice Larimer McClure, visited with Rebekah and family in 1964, an occasion for McClure relatives to gather together.

When Rebekah's sister and family came east in 1965, they visited with Ben's brother Brice, Brice's daughter, and my late father-in-law (whose diary entries reflect pleasure at this surprise visit).
--
Hugh Benjamin is my focus ancestor for this week's #52Ancestors prompt of "rich."

Sibling Saturday: Lola, Brice, Lucille, and Hugh Benjamin McClure

Lucille McClure De Velde, John De Velde, Margaret Larimer McClure

Margaret Jane Larimer (1859-1913) and William Madison McClure (1849-1887) had four children, two of whom were entrepreneurial types.

• Lola A. McClure (1877-1948), born in Elkhart, Indiana. She married Edward A. Lower and had three children (Margaret, Edward Sherman, and Ross).
• Brice Larimer McClure (1878-1970), born in Little Traverse, Michigan. He married Floyda Mabel Steiner and they had one daughter, Marian (hubby's Mom).
• Lucille Ethel McClure (1880-1926), also born in Elkhart, who married John E. De Velde (no children). The tintype above shows Lucy, John, and Lucy's mom Margaret McClure, sometime before 1913.
• Hugh Benjamin McClure (1882-1960), born in Wabash, Indiana. His first wife was Olivet Van Roe (and they had a daughter together, Georgianna). His second wife was Rebekah Venice Wilt and their children were: Margaret Susan, Jean A., Marietta, and Virginia Rebekah.

Brice McClure ran his own shade shop in Cleveland, to supplement his income during the Depression. He was a crackerjack machinist for various companies, striking out on his own between jobs because his specialty was in high demand. Brice was nicknamed "The Old Gentleman" by his daughter and son-in-law, who cared for him when he was older. He wasn't the first Brice in the family, by the way. That honor belongs to Brice Smith (1756-1828), Brice McClure's g-g-g-grandpa, who married Eleanor Kenny (1762-1841).

Hugh Benjamin McClure founded the H.B. McClure Manufacturing Co. in Peoria, Ill, which produced office equipment. Hubby's parents visited Peoria to see the family and tour the factory during the 1960s and they kept in touch for some time.

PS This is my 400th genealogy blog post! Woo-hoo!

PPS: 2022 update: I found Hugh in the 1950 US Census, still listed as the manager of an office supply factory (Peoria, IL, ED 109-106, sheet 10, lines 17-18).

A Winter Wedding for Hugh Benjamin McClure and Olivette van Roe

 

On this day 118 years ago, my husband's great uncle Hugh Benjamin McClure (1882-1960) married Olivette Van Roe (1885-1905). The groom was 20, the bride was 17.

Winter Wedding Weather in Wabash

What was the weather like on that wedding day in 1902?

I found a bit of info on weather.gov (see image at top from my result here). 

Also I used newspaper sources to research the weather on that wedding day. 

The free Hoosier State Chronicles site has an issue of the Indianapolis Journal from that date--and on page 2, the weather forecast indicates below-average temperatures for that month and for that year.

I sure hope Hugh Benjamin and Olievette bundled up warmly for their winter wedding!

Understanding the weather and other elements in their lives helps me envision their activities  at a time and place so far removed from my own.

This is my #52Ancestors post for week 51, with a prompt of "winter."

Couldn't Keep 'Em Down on the Farm

My husband's maternal McClure family came to America specifically to buy land and farm during the 1730s. Until they couldn't keep 'em down on the farm any longer, about 150 years later.

The patriarch, Halbert McClure (1684-1764) led a group of his sons, a daughter, and several brothers making the journey from Donegal to Philadelphia in the 1730s. Originally from the Isle of Skye before being forced to relocate to Donegal, the McClures had enough money to pay for their Atlantic voyage. After landing in Philadelphia, the family walked to the colony of Virginia and plunked down cash for hundreds of acres of fertile farmland.

In hubby's direct line, Halbert's son Alexander McClure (1717-1790) and grandson John McClure (1781-1834?) both were farmers. John, however, ventured from Virginia into Ohio to be a pioneer farmer. John's son, Benjamin McClure (1812-1896) was born in Adams County, Ohio and he became a pioneer farmer in Wabash county, Indiana. Benjamin was my husband's 2d great-grandpa.

At top is a land ownership map showing where Benjamin's 80 acres were located in Paw Paw township in 1875. Benjamin was a civic leader as well as a farmer, and served as an Elder in the Presbyterian Church in Wabash county. Benjamin was the end of the line as far as career farmers in his branch of the McClure family.

Benjamin's son (hubby's great-grandpa) William Madison McClure (1849-1887) worked for "the railway" (according to 1880 census). Another of Benjamin's sons, John N. McClure, was a farmer and then later went to work for the railroad. A third son, Train Caldwell McClure, was an oil mill operator (1880 census). The oldest son, Theodore Wilson McClure, was a farmer and storekeeper in 1880 but became a day laborer by 1900, according to Census records.

William Madison McClure had four children and none of them had anything to do with farming. In fact, all moved to more urban settings. The oldest daughter, Lola (1877-1948), became a teacher and married a civil engineer.

The oldest son grew up to be hubby's Grandpa Brice Larimer McClure (1878-1970). He was a master mechanic, first with the railroad and then with industrial firms in Cleveland, Ohio.

The younger daughter, Lucille Ethel McClure (1880-1926) moved to Chicago and married a farmer turned plumber, who worked on new construction in the booming economy of the Windy City.

The younger son, Hugh Benjamin McClure (1882-1960), began as a shipping clerk and then worked as a salesman before owning his own successful manufacturing firm in Peoria, Illinois.

The next generations had nothing to do with farming, either. Just couldn't keep this McClure family down on the farm after 150 years.

Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow for the #52Ancestors prompt about "on the farm" (or, in this case, "not on the farm").

November Is NaGenWriMo Time

A few years ago, my husband participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), writing fiction every day during November. The idea was to set goals, and make the time to write consistently throughout the month. He found the structure helpful and motivating. 

This year, I'm participating in NaGenWriMo, which stands for National Genealogy Writing Month. Taralyn Parker Pope (@KeepMovingTara on Twitter) is giving this a social media push and I'm jumping on the bandwagon! 

Today is the kickoff. 

My goal is to write and post bite-sized bios of more ancestors on my family tree and my husband's family tree. I've already completed and posted bios for nearly all of the ancestors in our direct lines: parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and some great-greats. 

Now I'm branching out [pun intended] to write bios for aunts, uncles, and cousins in multiple generations--including spouses and partners, including infants who died young. 

I'll be posting the bios on sites like Family Search, Find a Grave, WikiTree, My Heritage, and so on. 

In the process, I'm sure I'll notice gaps in my knowledge of an ancestor and need to do a bit of additional research and attach sources before polishing a bio. That's great! 

But my main focus in November will be writing family history that I haven't written before and sharing widely because LOTS OF COPIES KEEP STUFF SAFE. 

Tuesday, day #1 of NaGenWriMo, I wrote about my hubby's great aunts and great uncles, including Carrie E. Steiner Traxler (1870-1963) and her husband John Newtown Traxler (1862-1924). 

On day #2, I wrote about two other Steiner ancestors, Etta Blanche Steiner Rhuark (1864-1956) and Minnie Estella Steiner Halbedel (1867-1947), and their husbands. Also I wrote about Lola A. McClure Lower (1877-1948) and her husband, Edward A. Lower (1873-1920).

On day #3, I wrote briefly about milliner Lucille Ethel McClure De Velde (1880-1926) and her husband, John Everett De Velde (1874-1947), a plumber. Also I added a memorial page for him on Find a Grave, based on the burial place listed on his death cert.

On day #4, after participating in the WikiTree Symposium, I wrote about Hugh Benjamin McClure (1882-1960) and his first wife, Olivette Georgianna Van Roe McClure (1885-1905). Next will be Hugh's second wife.

On day #5, while watching WikiTree Day festivities, I wrote about Rebekah V. Wilt McClure (1896-1975), the second of Hugh Benjamin McClure. Now moving on to siblings of hubby's other grandfather, Edgar James Wood.

On day #6, I wrote about Lucy Maria Kize Wood (1851-70) and her brother Alfred Olando Wood (1855-1895), and will continue with more of their Wood siblings. 

Day #7: Wrote about Francis "Frank" Ellery Wood (1857-1933) and his wife, Louisa Mary Schultz Wood (1860-1948), and continued with their descendants, partly based on genealogy researched by a Wood cousin and supplemented with additional details. Also corrected Find a Grave info and located vital records for some of the Wood ancestors. 

Day #8: Wrote and posted sad story of Robert Orrin Wood (1873-1933), who died of myocarditis in the Toledo State Hospital for the Insane. While hospitalized from 1925-1933, one of his children was placed in the Institute for the Feebleminded in Columbus, Ohio, where she remained for the rest of her life. The other two children were taken in by the Lutheran Orphans' Home until they were of age to work. One grew up to be a nurse, the other worked for an oil refinery for his entire career. Also finished other siblings in the Wood line, now ready to begin working on my grandparents' siblings on day #9.

Day #9: Wrote about my great uncle, Lithuanian-born Abraham Berk (1877-1962) and his English wife Anna, who crossed the pond to settle in Montreal and raise their family. Then I wrote about Abraham's sister Jennie Birk and her husband, Paul Salkowitz, who operated a citrus grove in Florida during the late 1940s/early 1950s.

Day #10: Wrote about Matel Max Birk (1892-1953), one of my grandpa's brothers, and about Matel's wife Rebecca. He was a jeweler, she was a bookkeeper, and they eventually left New York to live close to Matel's sister Jennie in Florida.

Day #11: Wrote about Meyer Berg (1883-1981) and his wife Anna Paris Berg (1888-1981). Meyer was my great uncle and lived for a short time as a boarder in the NYC apartment of his brother's in-laws. 

Day #11: Wrote about g-grandpa Meyer Eliyash Mahler's first marriage/divorce in Riga, Latvia and about his oldest son, Riga-born David Mahler (1882-1964), a black sheep of the family. 

Day #12: Revised bio of g-grandma Tillie Jacobs Mahler, whose exact birth year has long been in doubt. She's my longest-living ancestor, supposedly either 99 or 100 years old when she died in 1952.

Day #13: Revised bio of Tillie's mother, Rachel Shuham Jacobs, who is buried in Mount Zion Cemetery in Queens, NY, where her two children are also buried. 

Day #14: Enriched bio of Flora Jacobs, daughter of Joseph Jacobs & Eva Michalovsky Jacobs, granddaughter of Rachel Shuham Jacobs. She died at age 33, the third daughter of that family to die young. I added a gravestone photo to her bio.

Day #15: Corrected portion of Henry Arthur Slatter's bio on Find a Grave to include current link to photo of his gravestone, which also mentions his wife Alice and their son Arthur A. Slatter, a WWI casualty. Added Alice and Arthur's bios to various sites. The Slatters were part of my husband's family tree.

Day #16: Improving Mahler family bios, including Morris Mahler and his sister Sarah Mahler, who were siblings of my grandmother Henrietta Mahler.

Day #17: Finished Sarah (Sadie) Mahler Smith's biography. Will be documenting the military service of her sons.

Day #18: Wrote about Ida Mahler Volk (1892-1971), who was a favorite sister of my grandma Henrietta, and about Ida's husband Louis.

Day #19: I set up an account at Mastodon where I'll try tooting as @MarianBWood@genealysis.social so please say hello there! Wrote about my great aunt Mary Mahler Markell and her husband, Joseph A. Markell.

Day #20: More on Mastodon and writing about my uncle and aunt, Fred and Daisy, who were lifelong educators in New York City.

Day #21: Returning to my husband's family, beginning to write bite-sized bio of his Wood uncles.

Day #22: Wrote a blog post about Thanksgiving week weddings in my family tree, saved the info to plan future bite-sized bios. Created a Find a Grave memorial page for a cousin's baby born prematurely in 1924, who sadly died after only two days.

Day #23: Wrote bite-sized bio of Rosalind Ashby Wood, who was married to Theodore William Wood in 1949. 

Day #24: Wrote bite-sized bio of Leona "Lee" Zonna Wallace, my maternal aunt's life partner. Aunt Lee directed the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade for a number of years! Nov 24, 1903 was her birthdate so I wrote her bio on what would have been her 99th birthday.

Day #25: I blogged about Aunt Lee Wallace, an immigrant from Poland who rose through the ranks of Macy's to direct the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Day #26: I posted bite-sized bios of my great-grandparents, Leni Kunstler Farkas and Moritz Farkas. They were the journey-takers who left Hungary in search of a better life in New York City, after Moritz's harvest failed.

Day #27: I posted grandma & grandpa Schwartz's bios on additional genealogy websites and linked to their Find a Grave memorial pages. Here's Grandma Minnie's memorial page, for instance.

Day #28: Working on bios for Hermina Farkas's siblings and in-laws. Today I wrote and posted bios for Alexander Farkas and his wife, Jennie Katz Farkas. They were active in the Kossuth Society, a benevolent group helping Hungarian immigrants, founded in 1904.

Day #29: Wrote bios for Hermina's brother Bertalan Albert Farkas and his wife, Sadie Sari Klein Farkas, also active in the Kossuth Society. 

Day #30: Finished this month's write-ups with Albert & Sari's son George Eugene Farkas.

Wrapup: I wrote 70 bite-sized bios during the 30 days of #NaGenWriMo! 

Which ancestor(s) will you be writing about in November?

This is my blog post for the Genealogy Blog Party, November, 2022.

Two Ancestors Named Margaret Larimer

L-R, Lucille E. McClure with husband John E. De Velde
and mother Margaret Larimer McClure

My husband's family tree is filled with multiple versions of John, Mary, Elizabeth, and Thomas. Just one example: he has "John Slatter" ancestors in three generations.

Today I want to look at two female ancestors with the same maiden names but very different lives. Margaret Larimer Short was my husband's third great-aunt. Margaret Larimer McClure was my husband's great-grandmother. The two Margarets were granddaughters of Isaac Larimer and Elizabeth Wood Larimer.

Margaret Larimer Short, Pioneer Mother of Doctors and a Dentist 

Margaret Larimer was born in 1825 in Bremen, Fairfield county, Ohio. She was a granddaughter of Isaac Larimer and Elizabeth Wood Larimer, two Ohio Fever ancestors who were living in the "Territory north west of Ohio River" in 1800, according to a land-claim petition submitted to the U.S. Congress in 1801. These ancestors had moved from Pennsylvania to the frontier near the Ohio River in search of fertile farmland.

Isaac and Elizabeth's son John Larimer, a farmer, married Rachel Smith in 1818 in Bremen. Margaret was their third child (but first daughter). When Margaret was 11 years old, her father John purchased land in Elkhart county, Indiana, and was moved the family westward to pioneer in rugged country yet again.

In 1842, at age 16, Margaret Larimer married a farmer, Thomas Short, in Elkhart county, Indiana. Thomas was the son of pioneers, James Short (born in Ireland) and Frances Gilbert Short (also born in Ireland), who had left Pennsylvania for the wilds of Indiana. Thomas and his bride Margaret continued the pioneering spirit, farming in LaGrange county, Indiana. Of their ten children together, the youngest was only 11 when Margaret died in 1877, at the age of 52.

Remarkably, four sons of Margaret and Thomas became physicians, and one son became a dentist!

Margaret Larimer McClure, Mother of an Inventor and a Teacher

Margaret Jane Larimer was born in 1859, the youngest child of Brice S. Larimer and Lucy Emeline Bentley. Brice was a son of Ohio Fever pioneers Isaac Larimer and his wife Elizabeth (the common ancestor with Margaret Larimer Short). Lucy was a daughter of Indiana pioneers born in upstate New York.

Margaret's father Brice farmed only briefly before becoming a postmaster and then railroad agent in the fast-growing county of Elkhart, Indiana. Like the other Margaret Larimer, this Margaret married young, at age 17. Her husband was William Madison McClure, who grew up on his family's farm but decided to work for the railroad in Elkhart.

Not one of Margaret and William's children became a farmer, despite the long tradition of family farming on both sides of the family tree. Their youngest son, Hugh Benjamin McClure (1882-1960), became involved in industry, first as a shipping clerk, then a salesman, then the owner of a thriving manufacturing firm in Peoria, Illinois. Ben invented a folding machine and received a patent in 1954.

The older daughter, Lola, graduated from high school (not typical for the time and place), became a teacher, and married a civil engineer. The younger daughter, Lucille, embraced city life, marrying a plumber in Chicago and remaining in the Windy City.

The older son, Brice Larimer McClure, was a master machinist who worked for the railroad and, later, put his skills to use working in a company that supplied equipment for the U.S. military during World War II. This Brice was my husband's beloved grandfather.

This is the Week 6 prompt for #52Ancestors.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #10: Typhoid Fever Fells William M. McClure

Hubby's great-grandpa William Madison McClure (1849-1887) had been married to Margaret Jane Larimer for only 11 years when he died following six weeks of suffering from typhoid fever. As noted in his obituary from the Wabash Plain Dealer, above, "Will" was a Mason. According to the 1880 Census, he was a worker on the railway.

Will left four children under the age of 10 at the time of his death:

• Lola A. McClure, born in 1877 in Goshen, Indiana
• Brice Larimer McClure, born in 1878 in Little Traverse, Michigan
• Lucille Ethel McClure, born in 1880 in Millersburg, Indiana
• Hugh Benjamin McClure, born in 1882 in Wabash, Indiana

Luckily, the Wabash Plain Dealer reported that Margaret (known as Maggie) had some financial cushion, thanks to his advance planning and his Masonic connection: 

Will McClure had his life insured in the Masonic Mutual Insurance Co for $3,000. The policy was made payable to his wife.

What caused Will and Maggie to move from Elkhart, Indiana, where they married in 1876, to Goshen, then to Little Traverse, then back to Millersburg and finally to Wabash? I know a number of McClures lived in the Little Traverse area, which was in the midst of a farming, tourism, and lumber boom. But why leave to return to Indiana so quickly?

Tombstone Tuesday: Wm Madison McClure & Margaret Larimer McClure of Wabash, IN

The Wabash Carnegie Public Library is a good source of genealogical info for folks like me, who are tracing ancestors in Indiana via long-distance. They're so busy that sometimes it takes a few months to process a request, but yesterday I was delighted to receive the obits for William Madison McClure (1849-1887) and Margaret Jane Larimer McClure (1854-1913), my husband's maternal g-grandparents. There was a bit of a surprise in William's obit when we learned he was a victim of typhoid fever.

Here's where Margaret Jane Larimer McClure is buried, in Wabash's Falls Memorial Gardens cemetery (Indiana).

Her obit, in a nutshell, says she died at the home of her son, H. B. (Hugh Benjamin) McClure on West Main Street, on Thursday, 15 May 1913 and burial was 17 May 1913.

William Madison McClure's obit, dated 7 October 1887, says he died of typhoid fever "after an illness of six weeks." He was a member of the Presbyterian church (his father was an Elder) and he was of the "Masonic fraternity."

A search on Google for "typhoid fever wabash indiana 1887" turns up 16,000 hits, most not actually in that year. Still, it was quite a deadly problem.

I've added both newspaper obits to these ancestors' Find-A-Grave pages, hoping to help other McClure researchers.

52 Ancestors #36: Margaret McClure "Stricken with Grippe . . . Until Life Became Extinct"

Hubby's great-grandma, Margaret Jane Larimer McClure (1859-1913), the daughter of Brice S. Larimer and Lucy E. Bentley, outlived her husband by more than 30 years.

Born in Elkhart, Indiana, Margaret married William Madison McClure in October, 1876. After great-grandpa Willy died in 1887, Maggie moved to Wabash, Indiana, with three of her four children (Lola, Lucy, and Hugh Benjamin).

The photo above shows Maggie with her daughter Lucy (Lucille) and Lucy's husband, John Everett De Velde.

As a member of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, I can conveniently search databases like Newspaper Archive from home. So I plugged Maggie's name into the search box for Wabash, IN, and found her obit in the Wabash Daily Plain Dealer of May 15, 1913--the day she died.

According to the obit, Maggie was "stricken with grippe" a few days before her death, "which later developed into a complication of diseases and caused her to grow gradually weaker until life became extinct." Rest in peace.

Surname Saturday: Georgiana Olivette McCLURE

Hubby's 1st cousin, 1x removed was Georgiana Olivette McClure (1903-1973), the daughter of Hugh Benjamin McClure (1882-1960) and Olivette Van Roe (1885-1905).

Georgianna was born in Wabash, Indiana, where many of the McClure family lived.

Sadly, Georgiana's mother Olivette died at age 20, when the baby was only 2.

When Georgiana was 15, her father remarried to Rebekah V. Wilt (1896-1975), and that's how Georgiana met her future husband--through the Wilt family.

Georgiana married William Evert Gillespie in 1925. His mother was a Wilt!

Military Monday: Elihu Served 6 Days in the Revolutionary War

Elihu Wood Sr., hubby's 3rd great-granddaddy, is the only one of his ancestors officially recognized as having fought in the Revolutionary War.

According to the 1896 multivolume publication Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Elihu--a resident of Bristol County, MA--responded to an alarm in Rhode Island by joining Captain Henry Jenne's company in Colonel Hathaway's 2d Bristol Regiment on August 2, 1780. Elihu was mustered out on August 8, 1780. Grand total of Revolutionary War service: 6 days.

During the War of 1812, his son, Elihu Wood Jr., was in Lt. Col. B. Lincoln's regiment, serving from June 30, 1814 to July 10, 1814 in New Bedford and Fairhaven, MA. His military service totaled 10 days.

Two other ancestors saw service during the War of 1812:

• Daniel Denning was a private in Capt. John Hayslip's Ohio Militia from September to November, 1814.
• Isaac M. Larimer was a Sgt and Ensign in Capt. George Sanderson's company in Ohio, serving from April, 1812 to April, 1813. 

At least four ancestors fought for the Union side during the Civil War:

• Benjamin Franklin Steiner was a private in 10th Company L, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, enlisting in 1862.
• His younger brother, Samuel D. Steiner, served in Company C, 180th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in 1864-5.
• Hugh Rinehart was a private in Company I, 15th Ohio Infantry, in 1861.
• Train C. McClure served the longest of hubby's ancestors. He enlisted as a private in the 89th Regiment of the Indiana Infantry in August, 1862, and didn't leave the Army until July, 1865.

Ancestors Who Served in the Military, Honored on This Memorial Day 2020

Capt. John Daniel Slatter
World War I, Camp Borden

In my husband's family tree, many ancestors served in the military during wartime.

Searching for clues to their service, I've checked enlistment records, pension files, 1910 Census (which asked about Civil War participation), 1930 Census (which asked which war served in), Fold3, obituaries, death certs, newspaper articles, and beyond.

On this Memorial Day 2020, I'm honoring these military veterans and continuing to look for additional clues to other ancestors who served. I'll add names as I locate more veterans in hubby's family tree.

War of 1812
* Isaac M. Larimer - hubby's 4th g-grandfather
* Robert Larimer - hubby's 4th great-uncle
* John Larimer - hubby's 3d g-grandfather
* Daniel Denning - hubby's 3d great-uncle
* Elihu Wood Jr. - hubby's 3d great-uncle

Union Army, Civil War
* James Elmer Larimer - hubby's 1c4r

* John Wright Larimer - hubby's 1c4r
* Isaac Larimer Work - hubby's 1c4r
* John Wright Work - hubby's 1c4r
* Train Caldwell McClure - hubby's 2d great uncle
* Benjamin Franklin Steiner - hubby's 2d great uncle
* Samuel D. Steiner - hubby's 2d great uncle
* Hugh Rinehart - hubby's 2d great uncle
* Ira Caldwell - hubby's 1c3x
* John N. McClure - hubby's 2d great uncle
* George H. Handy - hubby's 1c2r

World War I
* John Daniel Slatter - hubby's great uncle
* Albert William Slatter - hubby's great uncle
* Arthur Albert Slatter - hubby's 1c1r
* Albert James Slatter - hubby's 1c1r
* Ernest Slatter - hubby's 1c1r
* Albert Matthew Slatter - hubby's 1c1r
* Frederick William Slatter - hubby's 1c1r

World War II
* John Hutson Slatter - hubby's 2d cousin
* John Albert Slatter - hubby's 2d cousin
* Albert Henry Harvey - hubby's 2d cousin
* Harold McClure Forde - hubby's 2c1r
* Albert Lloyd Forde - hubby's 2c1r
* Joseph Miles Bradford - hubby's 2c1r

Honoring US Civil War Vets for Decoration Day

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day, a day to honor those who fought in the US Civil War by decorating the graves of the fallen. 

For some years, I've been researching and documenting Civil War vets from my husband's family tree. Nearly all returned from the war, although a few died--mainly of disease.

To honor their service, I'm listing their names, genealogical relationship to my husband, and their military branch.

Union side, US Civil War

Ira Caldwell (hubby's 1c3r) - 84th Indiana Infantry

George H. Handy (hubby's 1c2r) - 4th Massachusetts Infantry

Harvey H. Larimer (hubby's 1c3r) - 151st Indiana Volunteer Infantry

Isaac Newtown Larimer (hubby's 1c4r) - 35th Indiana Volunteer Infantry

Jacob Wright Larimer (hubby's 1c3r) - 151st Indiana Volunteer Infantry

James Elmer Larimer (hubby's 1c4r) - 17th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry

John Wright Larimer (hubby's 1c3r) - 17th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry

John N. McClure (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 89th Indiana Infantry, then transfer to 26th Indiana Volunteers 

Train Caldwell McClure (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 89th Indiana Infantry

Hugh Rinehart (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 15th Ohio Infantry

Benjamin Franklin Steiner (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 10th Ohio Cavalry

Samuel D. Steiner (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 8th Ohio Infantry

Lemuel C. Wood, Sr. (hubby's 3d great-uncle) - Commander of the USS Daylight, Union Navy

Lemuel C. Wood, Jr. (hubby's 1c3r) - 3d Massachusetts Infantry

Robert Crooke Wood, Sr. (hubby's 4c4r) - Asst. Surgeon General, Union Army

Thomas F. Wood (hubby's 1c2r) - 3d Massachusetts Infantry

Isaac Larimer Work (hubby's 1c4r) - 74th Indiana Infantry

John Wright Work (hubby's 1c4r) - 74th Indiana Infantry

Confederate side, US Civil War

John Taylor Wood (hubby's 4c5r) - Confederate Navy, CSS Tallahassee, CSS Virginia

Robert Crooke Wood Jr. (hubby's 4c5r) - Wood's Mississippi Cavalry Regiment

Dr. Thomas Fanning Wood (hubby's 6c3r) - 18th No. Carolina Infantry, 3d No. Carolina Infantry

Honor Roll Project, Part 3: Newtown, CT, Gulf War and Civil War

In Newtown, Connecticut, the stately memorial at the head of Main Street includes plaques with names of men and women who served in our country's military over the years. As part of Heather Rojo's Honor Roll Project, I'm transcribing the names and including photos to pay tribute to these brave people.

This is Part 3 of names from Newtown. Part 1 covers those who served during the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War, and the Mexican Border War. Part 2 covers those who served from 1944-1971.

Here are the names of those from Newtown who served during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, 1990-1991:

Check, Emory T. (Army)
Demand, Dana B. (Air Force)
Denslow, Alan L. (Navy)
Evans, William (Navy)
Fischer, Lawrence B. (USMC)
Godfrey, Kenneth C. (Air Force)
Gottmeier, Richard P. (Army)
Hannah, Stephen (Army)
Hayward, Brian P. (Air Force)
Knapp, Letitia Renee (Army)
Knapp, Robert D. (Army)
Kieras, Christopher (USMC)
Killing, Robert E., Jr. (USMC)
Klewicki, John E. (Army)
Leavitt, Brian (Air Force)
Leedy, Roberta C. (Army)
Mead, James g. (Navy)
Schaedler, David A. (Army)
Schmidle, Paul W. (Navy)
Schmidle, Robert E. (USMC)
Swart, John J. (Army)
Sturges, Donald (Navy)
Wade, Brian (Navy)
Waller, Darrick (USMC)
Wrinn, Johnathan (Air Force)

And here are the names of Newtowners who served during the Civil War:

Adams, James

Alldis, Frederick G.

Andress, David

Banks, Allen

Banks, Edward A.

Beers, Hawley

Beers, James M.

Benedict, Edwin

Benedict, Henry W.

Bigelow, Henry B.

Bissell, Henry

Blake, Martin

Blakeslee, George B.

Booth, Charles, Jr. 

Booth, John W.

Booth, Starr L.

Botsford, Gideon B.

Botsford, Israel C.

Bradley, George A.

Bradley, Thomas

Brewster, John H.

Brisco, Ephraim

Briscoe, Charles

Briscoe, George

Briscoe, Gustavus

Brown, George W.

Brown, Jeremiah

Brown, Jerome

Bruno, Gottfried

Bulkley, George

Burritt, Charles H.

Butcher, Charles

Camp, Daniel B.

Camp, George B.

Carley, Edward

Carmody, Michael

Casey, Barney

Cavanaugh, Michael

Chipman, Charles C.

Clark, Allen B.

Clark, Newell

Clark, Robert

Clinton, George

Coger, Henry B.

Coley, George S.

Colgan, Matthew

Conger, Charles T.

Conley, William

Connell, William

Cornell, Hiram

Cunningham, John

Curtis, Charles G.

Curtis, Jasper L.

Curtis, Joseph

Curtis, William

Curtis, William E.

Davis, Daniel

Davis, William

Dayton, Charles W.

Dick, Charles L.

Dimon, Arthur

Downes, Munroe D.

Downs, Oliver

Downs, Smith

Dunn, Hugh

Dunning, Edward A.

Edgett, Seneca

Edwards, Levi H.

Egan, James

Ellwood, Frederick

Ellwood, William

Evans, James

Evarts, George A.

Fairchild, Alpheus B.

Fairchild, Henry W.

Fairchild, Jerome B.

Fairchild, Lewis

Fairchild, Lewis H.

Fairchild, Reuben A.

Fairchild, Robert B.

Fairchild, Theodore B.

Fairman, Arthur

Faulkner, John

Flannery, Patrick

Foote, John G.

French, David R.

Gage, George R.

Gannon, John

Gilbert, Charles E.

Gilbert, Henry A.

Gilbert, Horace 

Gillette, David A.

Glover, Henry J.

Glover, Martin V.B.

Gordon, James

Gordon, William A.

Greene, John W.

Griffin, John

Groever, Paul

Guernsey, Truman

Hall, Henry C.

Hall, James P.

Hawley, Charles E.

Hawley, David B.

Hawley, George

Hawley, James

Hawley, William G.

Hayes, Dennis

Hickey, John

Hubbell, George S.

Hubbell, John P.

Hull, Andrew C.

Jackson, Henry J.

Johnson, Henry

Johnson, Jacob

Johnson, Thomas

Jones, Charles

Jones, David W.

Jones, John

Kaine, Patrick

Kane, Daniel

Kane, James

Kane, John

Keenan, Michael

Kelly, Bernard

Kelly, James

Knapp, John S.

Lake, George

Lattin, John O.

Lewis, George H.

Lillis, Griffin P.

Lillis, John

Lillis, Martin

Lynch, Patrick

Manley, Henry T.

Matthews, Benjamin W.

May, Charles

McArthur, William L.

McMahon, Michael

McNerney, Thomas 

Merritt, Charles

Meyer, Fritz

Monson, Charles

Nash, Adelbert

Nichols, Beach

Nichols, Elijah B.

Nichols, Harmes L.

Nichols, Henry E.

Nichols, James

Northrop, Alpheus

O’Brien, David

O’Brien, Thomas

O’Halloran, Michael T.

Olmsted, Peter D.

Parker, James

Parsons, Charles M.

Payne, Charles H.

Payne, David S.

Peck, Albert W.

Peck, Austin L.

Peck, Chester D.

Peck, David M. 

Peck, John F.

Peck, Nelson J.

Peet, Benajah H.

Pete, Elijah S.

Peterson, Arlan

Peterson, Carl

Platt, Francis W.

Platt, Orlando M.

Ramsay, George W.

Reed, Hawley

Reicker, Edward

Rigby, Matthew

Riley, James

Roberts, Charles H.

Root, Nathan H.

Ryan, Michael

Sanford, Andrew W. 

Sanford, Julius

Schriver, Andrew

Seeley, Eli B.

Seeley, John D.

Shaughnessy, Lawrence

Shepard, Charles

Shepard, Charles S.

Shepard, Hall

Sheridan, James

Sherman, George H.

Sherman, Ira

Sherwood, Charles R.

Smith, Frederick E.

Smith, John

Smith, Pearl

Smith, William A.

Spencer, George H.

Spitzler, Gottlieb

Spring, Charles

Squire, Cyrenius N.

Squires, George D.

Stuart, Louis L.

Sullivan, James

Tappan, John

Tappan, Robert

Taylor, Ammon

Taylor, Milton C.

Taylor, Roswell

Tongue, Elam M.

Tongue, Hanford

Troy, Edward

Twitchell, Franklin S.

Tyrrell, Stephen

Urmston, Thomas D.

Walsh, John

Weed, Daniel B.

Weed, Joseph B.

Weible, Christian

Wenzel, Frederick

Wheeler, Cyrus W.

White, Joseph

Williams, George W.

Wood, Smith B.

Wooster, Charles 

Memorial Day 2021: Hubby's Ancestors Who Served

Sadly, a few members of my husband's family tree died during their wartime military service. I've been memorialized them on my trees and on other genealogy sites. Now, for Memorial Day, let me pay honor to those who died by listing them individually:

• Isaac Larimer Work (hubby's 1c4r) - died in U.S. Civil War, served in 74th Indiana Volunteer Infantry 
  
• John Wright Work (hubby's 1c3r) - died in U.S. Civil War, served in74th Indiana Volunteer Infantry 
• Arthur Henry Slatter (hubby's 1c2r) - died in WWI, served in Middlesex Regiment and Labour Corps 
• Arthur Albert Slatter (hubby's 1c1r) - died in WWI, served in Royal Fusiliers, 20th Battalion 

I also want to remember the service of hubby's ancestors who were in the military and then returned to civilian life, with respect and appreciation:

War of 1812, American side

• Daniel Denning (hubby's 3d great-uncle) - Mounted Infantry, Ohio Militia
• Isaac M. Larimer (hubby's 4th g-grandfather) - Capt. George Saunderson's Company
• John Larimer (hubby's 3d great-grandfather) - 90 days service, No. Ohio
• Robert Larimer (hubby's 4th great-uncle) - Hull's Division
• Elihu Wood Jr. (hubby's 3d great-uncle) - Sgt. F. Pope's Guard, Mass. Volunteer Militia

Union side, U.S. Civil War

• Ira Caldwell (hubby's 1c3r) - 84th Indiana Infantry
• George H. Handy (hubby's 1c2r) - 4th Massachusetts Infantry
• Harvey H. Larimer (hubby's 1c3r) - 151st Indiana Volunteer Infantry
• Isaac Newtown Larimer (hubby's 1c4r) - 35th Indiana Volunteer Infantry
• Jacob Wright Larimer (hubby's 1c3r) - 151st Indiana Volunteer Infantry
• James Elmer Larimer (hubby's 1c4r) - 17th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry
• John Wright Larimer (hubby's 1c3r) - 17th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry
• John N. McClure (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 89th Indiana Infantry
• Train Caldwell McClure (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 89th Indiana Infantry
• Hugh Rinehart (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 15th Ohio Infantry
• Benjamin Franklin Steiner (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 10th Ohio Cavalry
• Samuel D. Steiner (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 8th Ohio Infantry
• Lemuel C. Wood, Sr. (hubby's 3d great-uncle) - Commander of the USS Daylight, Union Navy
• Lemuel C. Wood, Jr. (hubby's 1c3r) - 3d Massachusetts Infantry
• Robert Crooke Wood, Sr. (hubby's 4c4r) - Asst. Surgeon General, Union Army
• Thomas F. Wood (hubby's 1c2r) - 3d Massachusetts Infantry

Confederate side, U.S. Civil War

• John Taylor Wood (hubby's 4c5r) - Confederate Navy
• Robert Crooke Wood Jr. (hubby's 4c5r) - Mississippi Cavalry Regiment
• Dr. Thomas Fanning Wood (hubby's 6c3r) - 18th No. Carolina Infantry, 3d No. Carolina Infantry

World War I

• Albert James Slatter (hubby's 1c1r) - 3d Canadian Battalion, CEF
• Albert Matthew Slatter (hubby's 1c1r) - 134th Battalion, CEF
• Albert William Slatter (hubby's great uncle) - 1st Depot Battalion
• Ernest Slatter (hubby's 1c1r) - Royal Flying Corps/RAF
• Frederick William Slatter (hubby's 1c1r) - 75th Battalion
• John Daniel Slatter (hubby's great-uncle) - 48th Highlanders of Toronto

World War II

• Joseph Miles Bradford (hubby's 2c1r) - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Albert Lloyd Forde (hubby's 2c1r) - U.S. Army
• Harold McClure Forde (hubby's 2c1r) - U.S. Army HQ European Theater of Command
• Albert Henry Harvey (hubby's 2c) - U.S. Army
• John Albert Slatter (hubby's 2c) - U.S. Army
• John Hutson Slatter (hubby's 2c) - Canadian military

It is a privilege to honor these ancestors on Memorial Day weekend, 2021.

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This week's #52Ancestors prompt is "military."