Source: The Commercial Review, Portland, Indiana, February 7, 1930, page 1.
MRS. LEMASTER DIES THURSDAY FROM OPERATION
FUNERAL WILL BE HELD MONDAY MORNING FROM SALAMONIA METHODIST CHURCH
Mrs. Barbara I. Lemaster, wife of L.C. Lemaster, of east of Salamonia, died at 4:25 o'clock Thursday evening at the hospital in Union City. She underwent an operation for gall stones on January 29, and it was thought that she was recovering until she suffered a sudden relapse.
The deceased was a daughter of William P. and Olive (Smith) Wehrly, and was born in Jay county, March 14, 1869, being aged at the time of her death, 60 years, 10 months and 23 days.
She was united in marriage to L.C. Lemaster, November 13, 1886, who survives with the following children: Clarence H. Lemaster, south of Brice; Chester W. Lemaster, west of Salamonia; Floyd Lemaster, of near New Pittsburg; Bertha, wife of Russell Hercules of Akron, Ohio; Gerald Lemaster of Ft. Wayne; Dorothy, wife of Charles Hunt, of Cincinnati; Stanley Lemaster; Freda, wife of Orville Lafollette, and Miss Mary Lemaster, all of Akron, Ohio; John Lemaster of Cowan, Indiana and Ord and Elvin Lemaster at home. One son preceded her in death.
She is also survived by the following sisters and brothers: Kate, wife of Arthur Andrews of Hamilton, Ohio; Mrs. Delbert Jackson, William Wehrly and Blaine Wehrly of this city; Harry Wehrly, Ida, wife of Ed Scholer, and Martin Wehrly, all of New Castle; Alva Wehrly of near Salamonia, and Ethel, wife of William Shreeve of Fort Wayne.
The body was brought to the Williamson Shadow Lawn funeral home in this city and prepared for interment, after which it was taken to the home near Salamonia this afternoon.
Funeral services will be conducted Monday morning at 10:00 o'clock from the Methodist church at Salamonia. Interment will be made in the Salamonia cemetery.
Comment: Barbara was my paternal great-grandmother, wife of Luman Cooper LeMasters. The surname is alternatively spelled LEMASTER or LEMASTERS in the records.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Grandma Didn't Die Where She Was Supposed To
For years, perhaps as many as twenty, I have been reporting in my database and various reports, email lists, etc. the fact that my paternal great-grandmother, Barbara Isabel (WEHRLY) LeMASTERS, died in Salamonia, Jay County, Indiana.
On the surface, this fact would appear to make sense. She and her husband, Luman, lived near Salamonia in Madison Township for many years, and both are buried in the Salamonia Cemetery. The fact of her death in Salamonia was even reported in a compiled genealogy, "Three Sons of Steffan Petry, 1729-1977" by Merle Rummel & Madelaine Olt. I believe that my father may have been the one who contributed that information to the authors, as he has Barbara's place of death as Salamonia as well.
As recounted in an earlier post, I recently was in Jay County, Indiana doing research on the LEMASTER family. One of my first stops was the county library, where I obtained Barbara's obituary along with several others. As my next stop was the Jay County Health Department, I had planned to obtain a copy of Barbara and her husband, Luman's death certificates.
The clerk had no trouble finding Luman's death certificate, but could not locate the record for Barbara. After giving her the death date again, I mentioned that I knew that she did die in Jay County, as I had just obtained her obituary. While the clerk continued to search, I paused to go out to my car and retrieve the obituary. When I came back in to the office, I re-verified that we were searching the correct date, and then I read the first lines of the obituary:
Mrs. Barbara I. Lemaster, wife of L.C. Lemaster, of east of Salamonia, died at 4:25 o'clock Thursday evening at the hospital in Union City.
She died in Union City, which means I was in the wrong county! If only I had researched her obituary earlier, I would have saved myself some embarrassment and would have been reporting this fact correctly all along. In my naivete, I had accepted as fact what I had seen in print and had not bothered until now to go back and verify the facts in my database. Barbara was not some far distantly removed relative, she was only my great-grandmother and yet I had her dying in the wrong place!
Of course, the fact that she died in the Union City hospital created another dilemma. The newspaper didn't specify whether her death was in Union City, Indiana or Union City, Ohio. Union City is one of those interesting towns that has been split by the state line. In fact, until Indiana went on Daylight Savings Time recently, you could walk across the street and be in a different time zone.
A call to the Randolph County Indiana Health Department a few days later confirmed that the hospital in 1930 was on the Indiana side of the state line. So I will be sending off to Winchester for a copy of her death certificate and will be correcting Barbara's death information in my files right away.
A lesson learned here is the first rule of genealogy is to work from the known to the unknown, working backwards in time and verifying each tidbit of information. Compiled sources are good clues for future research, but each fact should be documented as clearly and accurately as possible.
On the surface, this fact would appear to make sense. She and her husband, Luman, lived near Salamonia in Madison Township for many years, and both are buried in the Salamonia Cemetery. The fact of her death in Salamonia was even reported in a compiled genealogy, "Three Sons of Steffan Petry, 1729-1977" by Merle Rummel & Madelaine Olt. I believe that my father may have been the one who contributed that information to the authors, as he has Barbara's place of death as Salamonia as well.
As recounted in an earlier post, I recently was in Jay County, Indiana doing research on the LEMASTER family. One of my first stops was the county library, where I obtained Barbara's obituary along with several others. As my next stop was the Jay County Health Department, I had planned to obtain a copy of Barbara and her husband, Luman's death certificates.
The clerk had no trouble finding Luman's death certificate, but could not locate the record for Barbara. After giving her the death date again, I mentioned that I knew that she did die in Jay County, as I had just obtained her obituary. While the clerk continued to search, I paused to go out to my car and retrieve the obituary. When I came back in to the office, I re-verified that we were searching the correct date, and then I read the first lines of the obituary:
Mrs. Barbara I. Lemaster, wife of L.C. Lemaster, of east of Salamonia, died at 4:25 o'clock Thursday evening at the hospital in Union City.
She died in Union City, which means I was in the wrong county! If only I had researched her obituary earlier, I would have saved myself some embarrassment and would have been reporting this fact correctly all along. In my naivete, I had accepted as fact what I had seen in print and had not bothered until now to go back and verify the facts in my database. Barbara was not some far distantly removed relative, she was only my great-grandmother and yet I had her dying in the wrong place!
Of course, the fact that she died in the Union City hospital created another dilemma. The newspaper didn't specify whether her death was in Union City, Indiana or Union City, Ohio. Union City is one of those interesting towns that has been split by the state line. In fact, until Indiana went on Daylight Savings Time recently, you could walk across the street and be in a different time zone.
A call to the Randolph County Indiana Health Department a few days later confirmed that the hospital in 1930 was on the Indiana side of the state line. So I will be sending off to Winchester for a copy of her death certificate and will be correcting Barbara's death information in my files right away.
A lesson learned here is the first rule of genealogy is to work from the known to the unknown, working backwards in time and verifying each tidbit of information. Compiled sources are good clues for future research, but each fact should be documented as clearly and accurately as possible.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Family Milestones: November 11th
My maternal 4th-great grandaunt, Elizabeth CROCKETT, married Miles BRAY on this date in 1845 in Owen County, Indiana. Elizabeth was the daughter of David and Mary Ann (NOSLER) CROCKETT, and was the older sister of my Mary Ann CROCKETT. Elizabeth was born circa 1827, probably in Owen County, but I haven't followed this line any further. I have no information in my database on Miles BRAY.
My paternal 2nd-great granduncle, Abel Woolston CHEW, was born on this date in 1843 in Blackwood, Gloucester County, New Jersey. Abel was the son of Dr. Ezekiel Cooper and Caroline Bishop (WOOLSTON) CHEW, and the older brother of my Mary Keziah CHEW. Abel married September 25, 1862 in Greenville, Darke County, Ohio to Salome H. HOLDEMAN. Abel was a school teacher and farmer and they lived in Darke County, Ohio and Charlevoix County, Michigan where he died on January 9, 1903.
My paternal 5th-great grandmother, Avis HURLBUT, was born on this date in 1762 in Woodbury, Connecticut. Avis was the daughter of Israel and Jerusha (________) HURLBUT. She married John MOULTON, son of Samuel and Phoebe (________) MOULTON, on July 24, 1781 in Castleton, Rutland County, Vermont. I do not have a record of Avis' death, but it was probably in Vermont.
My maternal 2nd-great granduncle, Charles Riggs WRIGHT, was born on this date in 1870 in Madison County, Indiana. Charles was the son of Joseph W. and Rebecca Ann (HEATON) WRIGHT, and the younger brother of my John William WRIGHT. Charles married Bertha Cordelia LEONARD, daughter of Stephen Sylvester and Susan (TODD) LEONARD, on December 6, 1890 in Innisdale, Madison County, Indiana. Charles was a salesman and farmer of Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana where he died November 23, 1967.
My paternal 3rd-great granduncle, Jonathan MAXSON, was born on this date in 1810 in Clark County, Ohio. Jonathan was the son of Jesse and Sarah (SUTTON) MAXSON, and the older brother of my Prudence MAXSON. Jonathan married in 1829 to Christiana DAVIS. He died 1878 in Dearfield, Indiana.
My paternal 2nd-great granduncle, Abel Woolston CHEW, was born on this date in 1843 in Blackwood, Gloucester County, New Jersey. Abel was the son of Dr. Ezekiel Cooper and Caroline Bishop (WOOLSTON) CHEW, and the older brother of my Mary Keziah CHEW. Abel married September 25, 1862 in Greenville, Darke County, Ohio to Salome H. HOLDEMAN. Abel was a school teacher and farmer and they lived in Darke County, Ohio and Charlevoix County, Michigan where he died on January 9, 1903.
My paternal 5th-great grandmother, Avis HURLBUT, was born on this date in 1762 in Woodbury, Connecticut. Avis was the daughter of Israel and Jerusha (________) HURLBUT. She married John MOULTON, son of Samuel and Phoebe (________) MOULTON, on July 24, 1781 in Castleton, Rutland County, Vermont. I do not have a record of Avis' death, but it was probably in Vermont.
My maternal 2nd-great granduncle, Charles Riggs WRIGHT, was born on this date in 1870 in Madison County, Indiana. Charles was the son of Joseph W. and Rebecca Ann (HEATON) WRIGHT, and the younger brother of my John William WRIGHT. Charles married Bertha Cordelia LEONARD, daughter of Stephen Sylvester and Susan (TODD) LEONARD, on December 6, 1890 in Innisdale, Madison County, Indiana. Charles was a salesman and farmer of Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana where he died November 23, 1967.
My paternal 3rd-great granduncle, Jonathan MAXSON, was born on this date in 1810 in Clark County, Ohio. Jonathan was the son of Jesse and Sarah (SUTTON) MAXSON, and the older brother of my Prudence MAXSON. Jonathan married in 1829 to Christiana DAVIS. He died 1878 in Dearfield, Indiana.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)