It's all relative…
My father, George Ernest Hackathorn, was born on New Year’s Day 1910 in Bergholz, Ohio, to Thomas John and Flora Hackathorn. He shared his birthday with his sister Elsie (born 1908). His mother died when he was 7 and his oldest sister Mary took over the motherly duties for her younger siblings. George attended high school into his senior year (c. 1928), as we have his senior photo, but he did not graduate. He was working in the spring and decided to continue in his job and forego graduation.
I don’t know if it was a tree-trimming job, but by 1932 he was working for Nelson and Kuemmerling, Inc., the first power-line-clearing tree-service company in the U.S. That’s George and his crew in the banner photo for the family page. The photo was taken in Cleveland, Ohio.
While working in Cleveland, he met my maternal uncle, Ed Reising, who introduced George to his younger sister Ruth. George and Ruth were married in Wellsburg, West Virginia, on New Year’s Eve 1932, the eve of his 22nd birthday; Ruth was 17. George’s sister Lois was one of the witnesses; the minister’s wife was the other witness. My sister Kay (Kathleen Lois) was born June 11, 1933. (You can do the math.) George and Ruth lived with her parents in Cleveland for several years, and had another child, Tommy (Thomas Henry, named for his two grandfathers) in 1934. By 1937, George and Ruth had moved to the Adrian, Michigan, area, and had three more children—Gloria (1940), Leora (Cookie) (1941), and Dennis (1945). George was still working as a tree trimmer. In 1949, George was offered a job with the Union Line Clearance Co., based in Lorain, Ohio, so they packed up and moved back to Ohio. They looked at many towns in the Lorain area, but chose to live in Norwalk because they thought it would be the best place to raise their family. At the end of 1949, I came along, their sixth and last child.
George was a representative for the Union Line Clearance Co., traveling in Ohio and West Virginia to negotiate tree cutting for power-line rights of way. I can remember riding along with him in the summertime, listening to Arthur Godfrey on the radio. In early 1963, George became ill and was diagnosed with arteriosclerosis, complicated by Buerger’s disease. He had one leg amputated, and recovered fairly well, but the circulation in his other leg began to fail, and they had to amputate his other leg. He never really recovered from the second operation and died in Good Samaritan Hospital in Sandusky on September 26, 1963.
Some random stories about George Hackathorn:
My Dad told us that one time his sister Goldie got so mad at him that she threw a fork at him, and it stuck in his forehead.
At some time while growing up, George was kicked by a horse and had back trouble all his life because of it.
During World War II, George tried to enlist in the Army but was designated 4F (physically unfit) because of his back problems.
My Dad told my brother Denny that he, George, was a semi-pro heavyweight boxer for awhile, weighing 250 pounds. I have never found any information about that aspect of his life. It is hard to believe he could have weighed that much! In all the photos we have of him, he has a trim build.
Beginning today, Friday, March 27th, I’ll be publishing family narratives written by family members. Because these will be written by those who knew them the best, we’ll be able to get a better sense of who our ancestors were and help to preserve their stories. Thank you, in advance, to those who contribute to this little project.
Want to contribute a story? Drop me a line in the comments.
~ Hollie
When researching my ancestors, I am often struck by how similar the lives of a lot of them are. “Same old story, same old song, and dance.” They seem, when just looking at the birth, death, and marriage facts, to start their lives on the east coast, work their way across Pennsylvania to the edge of the frontier (western Pennsylvania), marry and have children – wife dies, marry again, have some more children, settle in Ohio and live out the remainder of their lives there. It’s a distinct pattern with many, many of my ancestors. Rarely, though, is there any indication of who exactly these ancestors might be as a people. Except…with my 4th great-grandfather, Hugh A. Clark.
My grandmother, Elsie Marcella Hackathorn, would often mention her “grandfather’s grandfather” who was a music teacher. I have not spent a lot of time researching the Clark family over the years, but I have a good idea that I will be dedicating a lot more time to this surname after looking into them for this week’s 52 Ancestors posting. This appears to be a very interesting family and there are stories waiting to be told. On the surface, there are many teachers, at least one author, a well-known minister, some lawyers, a few characters, and a lot of well-educated people. I can hardly wait for a good chunk of free time to delve into the Clark’s history, but first, we’ll take a look at Hugh since he’s an ancestor after my own heart.
Hugh A. Clark was born near Brownsville in Fayette County, Pennsylvania around 1778 to Samuel Clark and Eleanor “Nellie” Violette. Samuel had been born in Hagerstown, Maryland and his brothers, George and John, had been killed by Indians. Hugh was the youngest of four brothers (Alexander, George, and Samuel) born to Samuel and Nellie. This family eventually ended up in Washington Couty, Pennsylvania. Soon after Hugh came of age, he was employed by an uncle (a brother of his mother) on the uncle’s slave plantation in Kentucky. Because of his experiences there, he became an abolitionist. Around 1800 (and when Ohio was opening up to settlers) he hopped across the river to Jefferson County, Ohio and married Elizabeth Fishel in 1811.
Hugh and his bride, Elizabeth then moved across the state to Mad River, Clark County, Ohio. Elizabeth gave birth to two daughters, Eleanor and Mary, and then passed away around 1814. After Elizabeth’s death, Hugh moved with his young daughters to Columbiana County, Ohio near Yellow Creek and just a few miles west of what would become the town of Salineville. Although Hugh was a farmer by occupation, during farming down-time he taught school and taught music. One county history has described him as being a “singing-teacher”.
Yes! An ancestor with a strong appreciation and knowledge of music! And these very things are what make me like this ancestor an awful lot. I have always loved school (I’m still attending classes working toward my degree) and music has always been very important to me. I sang in regular choir, concert choir, and ensemble throughout junior high and high school. I took coronet lessons, drum lessons, and guitar lessons when I was a kid. I have a keen appreciation of music and have always listened to a LOT of music and have owned huge music collections over the years. And I absolutely adore books. Yes, I was that kid who when told to go outside and play, took my book outside to read. Under the blankets with my little flashlight reading? Yep. Me. And although I’m not a farmer, I love gardening and have been planting things since I was a second grader. Yes…I can relate to this Mr. Hugh Clark.
On 11 January 1815, the widower, Hugh married Letitia Kerr in Columbiana County. Letitia was the daughter of James Kerr (also a teacher) and Hannah Beard. Hugh and Letitia had seven children together:
Letitia passed away in May of 1855 and Hugh died 12 December 1857. He is buried at the cemetery in Monroeville.
This is my Week #12 post for Amy Johnson Crow’s
52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Challenge.
The optional theme for this week was “Same”.
SOURCES:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABaschenis_-_Musical_Instruments.jpg
Descendants of Samuel Clark: From Hart Family History: Silas Hart, HisAncestors and Descendents: William Lincoln Hart; Alliance, Ohio 1942
Mack, Horace. History of Columbiana County, Ohio: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Evansville, IN: Unigraphic, 1976. Web.
History of the Upper Valley – Vol. I – Publ. Madison, Wis. – Brant & Fuller – 1891 – Page 306
Happy 76th Birthday, Dad!
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