#22 Tedrow Cemetery

For this week’s “At the Cemetery” prompt, I’m going to take a look at Tedrow Cemetery in Dover Township, Fulton County, Ohio. A lot of Belknap’s are buried there, including Thomas Belknap, our ancestor that originally left New England and came to Ohio to continue our branch of the Belknap tree.

Tedrow Cemetery is located on the north side of County Road J, just east of the village of Tedrow. The cemetery has also been known as Spring Hill Cemetery and Eldredge Cemetery.

Photo from Janet L. Parker, Find-a-Grave

Family members buried here include:

• Thomas Belknap (1803-1889)
• Polly Ann Farr Belknap (1837-1887), Thomas’ 3rd wife
• Zera Belknap (1853-1920), Thomas and Polly’s oldest son
• Mary Jane Kessler Belknap (1854-1928), Zera’s wife
• Frederick Belknap (1889-1920) – Zera and Mary’s son
• Myron Belknap (1855-1929), Thomas and Polly’s 2nd son
• Alice Lucelia Belknap Shaffer (1857-1944), Thomas and Polly’s oldest daughter
• David Shaffer (1848-1911), Alice’s husband
• Gertrude Shaffer (1876-1889), Alice and David’s daughter
• Lucretia Belknap (1860-1900), Thomas and Polly’s 2nd daughter
• Henry McDole (1854-1915), Lucretia’s husband
• Lucina Ellen Belknap (1866-1907), Thomas and Polly’s 3rd daughter
• John Q. Clark (1861-1946), Lucina’s husband
• Bessie A. Clark Bachman (1887-1920), Lucina and John’s daughter

Lucina Belknap Clark’s tombstone in Tedrow Cemetery, Fulton Co., Ohio (photo is from 2005)

Only 3 of Thomas’ children are not buried in Tedrow: Francis M., Thomas J., and Arthur.

A very helpful transcription for Tedrow Cemetery can be found here: http://www.crewfamily.com/tombstones/volume_1_page_112.htm.

Week 22 (May 27-June 2): At the Cemetery

#21 Arthur W. Belknap

My grandmother Velma’s brother Arthur was a Master Sergeant in the Air Force, and served during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was born January 8, 1923, the only son out of the 10 children of Earl and Florence Belknap.

I tried to trace his career through records and newspaper articles. Arthur first enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps on May 28, 1942. He served in the 13th Air Force, 307th Bomb Group, 370th Bomb Squadron. He was an assistant aerial engineer on the B-24 “Eager Beaver” at Guadalcanal in 1943. The following images are from the 307th Bomb Group documents on Fold3.

I’m not sure what happened next, maybe he was discharged, but on September 11, 1945, Arthur registered for the selective service in Lincoln Park, Wayne, Michigan. He was listed as unemployed.

On August 22, 1946, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. On July 3, 1947, he married Eva Reitzi in Manchester, New Hampshire and his occupation was listed as U.S. Soldier. I’m thinking he must have been stationed at Grenier Air Force Base in Manchester. He and Eva divorced on October 27, 1949 in Wayne County, Michigan. Arthur next married Daisy Burpee, who was from Manchester. They married on January 5, 1950. In 1953, Daisy was listed as a cementer in the Manchester City Directory. Around this time, Art may have been stationed in Germany. Eventually, Daisy must have joined him, because on December 28, 1955, they adopted 2-year-old girl in Bitburg, Germany that they named after one of Arthur’s sisters. On September 23, 1956, the three of them returned to the U.S. via military air transport, landing at McGuire AFB in New Jersey.

After this, he was stationed at Laughlin AFB in Texas. This is where they were living when their daughter was naturalized on March 17, 1959. A newspaper article in the Del Rio News Herald of May 31, 1959 discussed the opening of the Capehart housing project on the base. Arthur’s family was among the first five families to move in. According to Val Verde County Historical Commission, these were the first on-base quarters available to Laughlin personnel.

After this, I don’t really have any information about Arthur’s career other than his military release date was December 31, 1964. Below is a picture taken at the 1980 Belknap Reunion of Art, surrounded by his surviving sisters.

He died on September 7, 1985 in Tawas City, Michigan and is buried in Fort Custer National Cemetery in Augusta, Michigan. His wife Daisy died in 2018 at the age of 95.

Photo from Sharon W on Find-a-Grave

Week 21 (May 20-26): Military

#20 Farmers

For this prompt, I though I would include some pictures of a couple of farmers from both sides of my family, caught in the act of farming.

My mother’s first cousin, John Wilson, in the mid-1940s

John’s mother, Winnie, doing something with milk at the family farm in Pittsburg Township, Ontario in the late 1960s

Earl Belknap, my great-grandfather, about 1928

Week 20 (May 13-19): Nature

#10 Myron Belknap

Myron Belknap was the brother of my great-great grandfather Arthur Belknap. Myron was born on February 2, 1855 in Ohio to Thomas Belknap and Polly Ann Farr. He had a half-brother Francis (born 1848), brothers Zera (born 1853), Thomas (born 1861), and Arthur (born 1869), and sisters Alice (born 1857), Lucretia (born 1860), and Lucina (born 1866).

On June 24, 1860, he was enumerated with his family in Clinton, Fulton County, Ohio. He was 5 years old.  On June 4, 1870, the family was living in York, Fulton, Ohio. Myron was 14 years old, did not go to school, and could not write. In this census, my great-great grandfather Arthur was 1 year old. On June 18, 1880, Myron was still living at home in Dover Township, Fulton, Ohio with his parents and siblings Lucina and Arthur. He could not read or write and was a laborer.

By 1900, both Thomas and Polly had died. I think Myron took over the farm in Dover Township. His sister Alice and her husband David Shaffer lived nearby with their son Ernest. On April 15, 1910, Myron was still living alone on the farm in Dover Township and was 55 years old. In January 1920, at 65, Myron was still farming in Dover. His farm was described as a truck farm, which is “a farm that produces vegetables for the market.”

Myron Belknap died August 17, 1929 in Dover Township of a cerebral hemorrage. The informant on the death certificate was his nephew Ernest Shaffer. He was buried in Tedrow Cemetery in Tedrow, Fulton County, Ohio with many of his relatives, including his parents, his brother Zera, and his sister Lucina.

Week 10 (March 4-10): Bachelor Uncle

#1 Minnie Gisel

Arthur and Martha (Gisel) Belknap with Minnie and baby Floyd in about 1894

This week I wanted to talk about the first-born child of my great-great grandmother Martha Gisel Belknap. Her name was Minnie Gisel. She was born March 31, 1887 when Martha was just 17 years old. On Minnie’s first marriage license her father is listed as “not known” and her surname is her mother’s. I’m afraid to know what this could mean. I hope Martha just had a teenage dalliance when she was 16 and maybe Minnie didn’t know his name when she went to fill out her marriage license.

Minnie at left, Floyd in back, and baby Earl (my great-grandfather) in about 1897

Minnie was adopted, formally or informally, by my great-great grandfather Arthur Belknap when he and Martha married on March 5, 1890. Minnie married Ernest J. Crume on May 23, 1903 in Fulton County, Ohio when she was 16. Their son Glen was born August 31, 1903. Their daughter Irma was born June 22, 1905.

In 1910, the family was living in Lima, Ohio where Ernest was a carpenter. In 1912 and 1913, Ernest was a pattern maker rooming at 132 11th Street in Toledo, Ohio. In the 1913 Toledo Directory, Minnie was listed as a waiter. In 1916-1918, they were living at 119 12th St. in Toledo. In 1919, they were living at 2034 Vermont in Toledo. On May 22, 1919, their son Glen died at the age of 15 in Fulton County. He was buried in Wauseon Union Cemetery. In the 1920 census, the family was living on Cemetery Street in Fayette Village, Gorham Township, Fulton County.

Unfortunately on December 29, 1921, Minnie also lost her husband Ernest. His obituary in the Toledo Blade in January 1922 stated:

Ernest J. Crume, 39, of 1416 Pinewood in Toledo, Lucas Co., Ohio, died at home from Nephritis and Erysipelas. He was employed at Overland Auto, and worked as a Pattern Maker for automobiles. He is the son of Henry and Elizabeth (Walters) Crume. Mr Crume is survived by his wife Minnie, who was the one who reported his death.

On April 28, 1923 in Henry County, Ohio, Minnie married again. Her new husband was named Lee Counselman. He had three previous wives and would have one more after Minnie’s death. Sadly, Minnie died at the age of 37 on February 24, 1925 in Gorham, Ohio of peritonitis. She is buried in Wauseon Union Cemetery.

Week 1 (January 1-7): First

#48 Lucina Belknap Clark

Lucina Belknap Clark’s tombstone in Tedrow Cemetery, Fulton Co., Ohio (photo is from 2005)

My 3rd great-aunt Lucina Ellen Belknap was the next-to-last child of Thomas Belknap and Polly Ann Farr. Thomas and Polly’s last child was my great-great grandfather, Arthur Belknap (1869-1955). There were 5 other siblings: Zera (1853-1920), Myron (1855-1929), Alice Lucelia (1857-1944), Lucretia (1860-1900), and Thomas Jefferson (1861-1935). There was also a half-brother, Francis Marion (1848-1923).

Lucina was born about 1866 in Delta, Fulton County, Ohio. In 1870, she was counted with the rest of her family in York Township. She was 4 years old. In 1880, she, along with her parents and brothers Myron and Arthur were living in Dover Township. On August 13, 1884, Lucina married John Quimby Clark in Morenci, Lenawee County, Michigan. In June 1886, Lucina’s brother Thomas married John’s sister Clara in Fulton County.

Lucina and John had 9 children: Viola (b. 1885), Bessie (1887-1920), Jesse (1890-1971), Oliver (1891-1977), Lena (1894-1981), Herbert (1898-1981), Lavada (1900-1989), Ida Fern (1902-1998), and Ione (1905-1993). Lucina died in October 1907 and, in 1910, Bessie was married, Jesse was a hired man, and many of her children were living with relatives. Herbert was living with his sister Bessie. Ida was living with Lucina’s sister Alice, and Ione was living with Lucina’s brother Zera.

By 1940, John was living with his granddaughter Florence and her family in Raisin Township, Lenawee, Michigan (Florence was the daughter of Bessie). He died in Tecumseh on January 16, 1946. He and Lucina are buried in Tedrow Cemetery in Fulton County, Ohio.

John Q. Clark with some of his children in the 1940s.

Week 48 (November 26-December 2): Next to Last

#41 Gerald R. Ford

I don’t know much about sportsmen or women in my family tree, but I do know my 10th cousin, President Gerald R. Ford played football for the University of Michigan.

Ford at the University of Michigan, 1933 (Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Library)

Ford and I are related through the Ayer family, as seen below:

Gerald Ford < Dorothy Ayer Gardner < Adele Augusta Ayer < George M. Ayer <    John V. Ayer < Samuel Ayer < Daniel Ayer < William Ayer < James Ayer < Samuel Ayer < Robert Ayer < John Ayer (Ford’s 9th great-grandfather)

Me < R. W. < V. Belknap < Earl Belknap < Arthur Belknap < Thomas Belknap < Obadiah Belknap < Nathaniel Belknap < Obadiah Belknap < Hannah Ayer < Nathaniel Ayer < John Ayer (my 9th great-grandfather)

52 Ancestors #41 (Oct. 8-14) – Sports

#40 – 9 girls and 1 boy

Earl and Florence Belknap had 10 children – 9 girls and 1 boy – between 1913 and 1939.

In this photo from 1980, in the top row, are Helen, Velma, Arthur, Opal, and Betty. In the bottom row, Joyce, Nancy, Nadine, and Shirley. Geneva had already died in 1977.

52 Ancestors #40 – Ten

#37 Arthur F. Belknap

I was born on what would have been my great-great grandfather Arthur Belknap’s 110th birthday.  He was born May 23, 1869, probably in Fulton County, Ohio, to Thomas Belknap and Polly Ann Farr.  He was their last child. His father was 66 years old when Arthur was born.

Arthur Belknap, with his 60th birthday cake (1929)

In the 1870 U.S. census, Arthur was living in York Township, Fulton, Ohio with his parents Thomas and Polly, his half-brother Francis, and his siblings Myron, Lucelia, Lucretia, Thomas and Lucina.  He had another brother, Zera, who was living with the Stillman Biddle family in York, as a farm laborer.

In 1880, 11-year-old Arthur was living in Dover, Fulton, Ohio with his parents and his brother Myron and sister Lucina.

On March 5, 1890, Arthur married Martha Gisel in Fulton County.  Martha already had a child named Minnie, who had been born in 1887.  On August 14, 1891, their son Floyd was born in Dover.  On April 9, 1895, a son Earl was born in Gorham Township.  On March 18, 1899, their daughter Belva was born.

In 1900, the family was living in Franklin Township, Fulton, Ohio.  Arthur was a farm laborer and rented his home.  On August 18, 1901, their son Orville was born in Franklin.  On August 18, 1903, their last child Kennard was born.

In 1910, the family was living in Gorham Township, and Arthur was listed as a laborer.  In 1913, Arthur’s first grandchild, Velma, was born in Wauseon, Ohio.  Velma was my grandmother.

In 1920, Arthur, Martha, Orville and Kennard were living on Gorham St. in Gorham Township.  Arthur was a laborer at a lumber company, while the boys were farm laborers.

Arthur with 2 of his grandchildren in the early 1920s.

In September 1925, Arthur’s wife, Martha died in a car accident.  See this post from March 2011 for details of her death.

In 1930, Arthur was living alone in Fayette, Ohio, working as a laborer at odd jobs.

By 1940, Arthur was living with his daughter and her family in Nankin, Wayne County, Michigan.

In the 1947 and 1953, Lincoln Park, Michigan city directories, Arthur is listed as living with his son Earl at 617 Cleophus.

Clockwise from top left: my aunt, my grandma Velma, my great-grandpa Earl, my great-great grandpa Arthur holding my cousin who was born in February 1955.

Arthur died August 1, 1955 in Wyandotte, Michigan.

He is buried in Wauseon Cemetery in Wauseon, Ohio next to his wife.

52 Ancestors #37 – Closest to your Birthday

#31 Earl E. Belknap

One ancestor that I’ve never had any problem researching is my great-grandfather Earl Ervan Belknap.

Earl Belknap in 1955 at age 60

I’ve noticed a couple characteristics “easy-to-research” ancestors have in common including:

• They are male. Therefore, their surnames don’t usually change over time.
• They have lived within your memory or the memory of a person you know. This is how you find out quirks that the documents don’t reveal. Like my father remembering that Earl always ate his dessert before dinner. It’s also a way to find photographs of the ancestor.
• They lived at a time and place where city directories are available. This helps figure out where they were living when, especially for un-indexed documents.

Earl at age 30 and his son Arthur, about 1925

52 Ancestors #31 – Easy