A Real Hoot

Nathan Hoot came from Pennsylvania and settled on a farm near Reedsburg, Ohio, probably during the 1830s. He later moved to Ashland with his brother and they ran a shoe business for several years before selling their interests. Nathan relocated to Galion, set up shop there, and worked at making shoes the remainder of his life.

John B. Hoot, his son, was born in Reedsburg in March 1839. After finishing his schooling he was apprenticed to William Ilger to learn harness and saddlery. Upon becoming a journeyman saddler, he entered the Union army, serving in the 196th Regiment, Ohio Infantry.

The Regiment was organized at Camp Chase, Ohio, and mustered in March 25, 1865. They left the state for Winchester, Virginia, on March 26, when they were assigned to 2nd Brigade, 2nd Provisional Division, Army of the Shenandoah. In July they were moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and  held garrison duty there and at Fort Delaware till September. They mustered out on September 11, 1865.

John and Frances (Campbell) Hoot

Frances A. Campbell married John B. Hoot (1839–1911) on 20 February 1862. She was the younger, surviving daughter of Henry and Ann (Callin) Campbell, and the sister of Cyrus and Harrison Campbell, the subjects of our last two posts. Harrison, you might recall, married John Hoot's sister, Catherine Hoot.

Frances was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, on 30 March 1842, and grew up on her father's farm. She married John when she was twenty, and over the following twenty-six years, they had eight children together; two sons and six daughters.

After the war, John moved with his family to Orange, where he rented a saddlery shop for many years, often employing as many as seven men. He was acknowledged throughout the county as being unsurpassed as a saddler and harness maker. His work was reportedly shipped to all parts of the United States. Upon leaving Orange, he removed to Mt. Vernon where he was foreman of a saddlery shop for ten years. In 1903 he retired and moved to Columbus, Ohio, where the family lived on Wisconsin Ave.

Frances died in 1905 at the age of 62, only two years after John retired, and he died in 1923. They were buried together in the Nankin cemetery, Ashland county, Ohio.

1. Agnes Cornelia Hoot (1863–1906)

The eldest daughter, she preferred to go by the name Cornelia, married John Byron Barrick (1858–1935) in 1880. John was a teamster in the Cleveland area for many years. They had a son and a daughter before Cornelia died unexpectedly in 1906 at the age of 43, while visiting in Athens, Georgia. After burying his wife, John moved in with his son, Adelbert, in Ashland, where he lived until his death in 1935.

     a. Adelbert Earl Barrick (1885–1964) worked as a machinist and skilled laborer most of his life. He married Minnie May Mcmurray (1878–1953) on 12 March 1904, and they had four sons. According to his World War I draft registration, Adelbert lost his left leg above the knee in March 1908. The couple remained in Ashland all their lives. Minnie died in 1953 at the age of 75, and Adelbert at 79 years, in 1964. They were buried in the Ashland cemetery.

     i. Charles A Barrick (1908–1969) was a core maker and foundry worker throughout his adult life. He married Velma A Mawhorr (1908–1976) around 1927. Their son, Charles Gaylord Barrick, (1928–2003) was retired pastor of the Sullivan Congregational Church and had taught eighth- and ninth-grade English in the Cloverleaf School District, Lodi, for 30 years.

     ii. Clyde Earl Barrick (1912–1966) was married to Charlotte, though they seem to have been estranged in the 1950s; they had one son and one daughter.

     iii. Ernest Benton Barrick (1920–1977) enlisted in the National Guard on 15 October 1940. He was still living with his parents at that point, but by 1945, he was married to Betty Marken (1918-2014) and living at 30 W Walnut, in Ashtabula. They had four children: three daughters who are still alive, and a son, David Joel Barrick (1951-2013).  David was a U.S. Army veteran and served in the Vietnam Conflict. He and his wife had four daughters.

     iv. Albert Ellis Barrick (1922–1979) was a World War II veteran who served from 26 October 1942 until 15 February 1946. He worked in assembly plants, and never married. He was 57 years old when he died in Ashland.

     b. Rea Barrick (b. May 1890) made one appearance in the 1900 Census, but sadly seems to have disappeared after that. It is possible that after her mother's death in 1906 that Rea might have gone to live with relatives, or gotten married before 1910.

2. Ida N. Hoot (1865–1947) 

Ida was the second daughter of John and Frances (Campbell) Hoot. She married Franklin Pierce Stine (1861–1931) in 1886. Frank was a farmer in Ashland county, and he and Ida had three sons and a daughter.

     a. Leonard Benton Stine (1889–1969), who preferred to be called "Leon," married Norah Wanda Ward (1891-1978). They were a farm family, and lived in Sullivan their entire lives. In 1930, their farm was next door to Leon's brother, Evan's farm. There are no records showing that they had any children of their own.

     b. Evan Francis Stine (1891–1944) married Mary Margaret Gill (1893–1973) around 1918, and began farming in Ashland county. The had seven children (i-vii); four daughters and three sons. Evan died at the age of 53, and Mary at 79.

     i. Mary Lucille Stine (1919–2004) married Paul Eichelberger (1911–1974), and they have four children who are still living: two sons and two daughters, and four grandchildren. Paul and Mary also had twins: a son and daughter born in 1950. The little girl, Carolyn, only lived a couple of weeks, but Carl Harold Eichelberger (1950-2014) was a machinist, like his father, who lived his whole life in Ashland county. Carl left a wife and three daughters.

     ii. Donald F Stine (1921) was born on 30 January and died 7 July 1921. He is buried in the Southview Cemetery in Sullivan township, Ohio.

     iii. Luella Irene Stine (1922–1999) married Donald E Heifner (1911–1960), a farmer from Montgomery township. Don died very young, at 49. Their only child was Kenneth Richard Heifner (1949–1969), a U.S. Marine killed in action in Viet Nam when he was only twenty.

     iv. Walter E Stine (1924–1997) married Mary Ellen Morr (1924–2008) on 13 June 1943, and they had two sons who are still living.

     v. Helen Pauline Stine (1928–1999) was married twice; first to Richard Dale Boales (1927–2009) and then in 1954 to Forrest Milton Fellenbaum (1918–1988).

     vi. Harold Evan Stine (1928–1986) married Martha Irene Johnson (1930–2015) on 25 March 1950. They lost their first two babies at birth (Larry Richard Stine b. 1950 and Stephen Eugene Stine b. 1951), but had a daughter and two more sons, and 36 years together before Harold died at 57. Martha only died last year at 84, having spent her time surrounded by grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

     vii. Phyllis A Stine (1935–1997) married Harold Max Lamb (1934–1992) in 1952, right after she graduated high school. They had a daughter, Mary May Lamb (1953-2003) who married Larry J "Jay" Matthews (1953–2010); the Matthews had three sons, who are still living.

Phyllis and Harold divorced in the early 1960s, and while he remarried later, Phyllis lived out her days in Ashland.

     c. Mary Estella (Stella) Stine (b. 1896), the only daughter of Frank and Ida (Hoot) Stine, grew up on the farm, but in 1920 was living out on her own. She was a factory worker in Ashland, rooming in the home of Rebecca Wood. After 1920, there are no more clues to her whereabouts. I assume she got married and I simply haven't tracked down the record, yet.

     d. Alva Sylvester Stine (1900–1966) grew up farming like his father and brothers, but in 1923 he graduated Ashland University where he was Vice President of his senior class, and he went on to become a school superintendent and administrator. Known as "Alva" throughout his youth, he preferred to be called "Sylvester" later on.

By 1927, Sylvester had married Mary I. Ferrel (1899-1999), and was a principal at a school in Wayne county. Two years after his father died, Sylvester and Mary had their daughter, Miriam Elaine Stine (1933–2000). Miriam grew up in Canton, Ohio, where she married Mr. Cross in 1952. They all relocated to Cass county, Michigan, where Sylvester died in 1966. Miriam was an elementary school teacher there for many years, and she and her husband also had a daughter and two sons who are still with us.

3. Byron A Hoot (1867–1942) 

Byron was one of the leading barbers of Ashland, conducting "a large and elegantly appointed shop" there for many years.

At the age of thirteen years, Byron was apprenticed to a barber. Later he traveled for three years, working as a journeyman in various cities, finally returning to Ashland in 1885, where he opened a shop in the National Bank building. He remained there for eighteen years, becoming popular for his high-class work. After that he relocated to Main street, the third door below Orange street, where he employed three men.

In 1891 Mr. Hoot was united in marriage to Ida Mae Brubaker (1874–1944), daughter of John W. Brubaker and Eliza Barr. Byron and Mae had one daughter and one son.

     a. Glorene Frances Hoot (1895–1977) was the victim of many misspellings in the historical record - "Lorene," "Glarence," and (my least favorite) "Glovine" being just three. She married Harry Eugene Matthews (1895–1976) on 5 October 1916. (He was no relation to the Larry Jay Matthews who married Mary May Lamb as mentioned above.)

Harry was a salesman, worked for a time as a produce manager, and then as an insurance salesman. The couple raised two children:

     i. Rexford Eugene Matthews (1919–2002) enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1939, and served throughout the war, being discharged in 1946. He married his wife, Virginia Louise Page, in 1948. They had at least one daughter and a son who are still living. Rex worked as a salesman in a shoe store, until he landed a job with the State Highway department; Virginia worked in a pastry shop. They were together for 31 years, until they divorced in 1979, and Rex moved down to Sarasota, Florida. There he remained until his death in 2002.

     ii. Patricia Mae Matthews (1925–2012) was a professional Girl Scout and camp director, then a physical education teacher. Pat also had a beautiful soprano voice, and was a soloist in the Ashland College Choir, as well as a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus in the days of Robert Shaw and George Szell. She performed with that group on the stage of Carnegie Hall.

In 1983 Pat received the "Individual Better Life Award" from the Ohio House of Representatives for being a "remarkable individual, combining humanitarian concern and commitment with selfless initiative to become a dynamic force in behalf of the aged." In 1985, she relocated to Sarasota, Florida - that may have been why her brother moved there, as well.  In Sarasota she volunteered in nursing homes and sang in the Key Chorale for 16 years.

     b. John Weldon Hoot (1902–1950) was a professor who married Evelyn Marie (1902-1969) in Ohio, and took his wife to Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, in the 1930s. After his death at 48 years of age, in Philadelphia, Dr. J. Weldon Hoot was buried back home in Ashland, but Evelyn and their teen aged daughter remained in Pennsylvania. Their daughter is still living in that state, as far as I know.

4. Clara Hoot (1869–1916) 

Clara married Philip Kirsh (also seen as "Kirsch") some time around 1888, and they had three children before Philip's death a decade later. Despite leaving few records behind, it is safe to guess that he died between 1895 and 1900.

     a. Helen G Kirsh (b. 1889) appeared on the 1900 Census in the Mount Vernon, Knox county, Ohio household of her widowed mother. There is a marriage record from Chicago in 1908 showing a Helen Kirsh marrying Harry Schmitz, but the details about her in their 1910 Census record (in Chicago) do not indicate that this Helen came from Ohio, so I can't say for certain that this is our Helen Kirsh.

     b. Arlina A Kirsh (1892–1963) married Ora James Bemiller (1888–1939) in 1910, and moved in with his family. Ora grew up a farmer, then worked for a time as a tobacconist, as a firefighter, and later as a metal worker in Shelby, Ohio. James took ill and died about a month after he and Arlina moved to the Galion area. They had one daughter.

     i. Eva Glorine Bemiller (1913-1956) was partly named after her mother's cousin, Glorene Hoot. She married Daughn D Clow (1913-1987) in Ohio county, West Virginia, in 1936. Some time after Eva's death in 1956, the rest of the family relocated to Florence, South Carolina, where Daughn died in 1987. Daughn and Eva had a son and a daughter, and many grandchildren.

     c. William Frederick Kirsh (1895–1958) married Goldie M Hall (1896–1982) on 30 April 1917. William was a restaurant manager most of his career. He died at home in 1958 at the age of 63. Goldie remained in Ashland the rest of her life.

     i. William Frederick Kirsh Jr (1918–1981) was a stock clerk in Cleveland married to Kathleen Corrine Vessels (1920–2002) when he enlisted in the Army in 1943. After the war, they raised eight children, two of whom have died: William Patrick Kirsh (1953-2000) and Frederick "Fritz" W. Kirsh (1946-2008). Still living are three sons and three daughters.

     ii. Philip Leroy Kirsh (1920–1982) took a engineering degree in metallurgy at Ohio State University in 1941, and a commission in the U.S. Navy, where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He was discharged in 1946, and married Elizabeth Axham Keene (1918–2003). They lived for years in Rochester, New York, and retired to Canandaigua in the late 1970s. Their daughter was the late Susan Jean Kirsh Anzalone (1951–2001).

     iii. Jack Loren Kirsh (1927–1973) graduated high school in the class of 1946 and went on to become an educator. He married in 1957 while teaching in Florida, where he was principal of the Greenville Elementary School in 1960. He eventually relocated to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he died in 1973.

Clara Hoot Kirsh remarried after 1900 to William M Litt (1872–1937), and they had three children in the next few years. Sadly, Clara died in 1916, and William remarried a widow named Edith. (Note: while William's name is clearly spelled "Litt" on his headstone, his sons spelled the name "Lett" - I will leave it to the family to sort that out!)

     d. Benton D Lett (1902–1967) was a fireman in Columbus, Ohio. He married a school teacher named Eva D Eyster (1905–1952) around 1928, and they had one child, Eugene Clay Lett (1929-1995).

     e. Milo F Lett (1905–1967) worked as a truck driver and laborer around Berlin, Knox county, where he grew up. in 1942, he enlisted in the Army and served throughout the war in the 1136 School Squadron. I know from notes in his records that he was divorced, but I have no information about any wife or children.

     f. Catherine Litt (b. 1906) is another mystery - after appearing on the 1910 Census with her family, she is not in the household in 1920. There is an Ohio birth index record, but beyond that, I don't know any more about her.

5. Hattie J. Hoot (1870–1924)

At nineteen, Hattie married Alpheus C. Hamman (1867–c. 1935), and they had one daughter. After Hattie's death at the age of 53, Alpheus seems to have been on his own. His grave marker remains undated.

     a. Emma D Hamman (1905-1985) married Leon Clarence Osborne (1892–1975) on 20 September 1915, and the following year, they went to China as independent missionaries. In 1919, they joined the Church of the Nazarene and served its church at Chao Cheng, Shantung, until 1942.
Leon was detained by the Nationalists in 1928 near the beginning of the Chinese Civil War.

 Found on Newspapers.com

Leon was released, and the couple continued their work in the country until 1942. He published a book about the work in China, Christ at the Bamboo Curtain, (Beacon Hill Press, 1956).

6. Abbey I Hoot (1875–1940)

Abbey stayed in the home of her parents until John's death in 1923, at the age of 83. After that, Abbey took in lodgers at the house on Wisconsin Avenue for a few years, with the help of her niece, Leota Roseberry (Zelpha's elder daughter). Sadly, by 1935, she was unable to continue taking care of herself, and spent the last few years of her life committed to the Columbus State Hospital for the Insane.

7. Zelpha L. Hoot (1877–1951)

Born in Nankin, Zelpha probably met William Crawford Welch (1875-1917) when her father retired and moved the family to Columbus in 1903. Zelpha and William were married about 1906, and had two young daughters when he died at 42. I could not find an explanation of how he died, but he was a railroad man, and he would not be the first person in this family to be killed on the railroad.

Zelpha supported herself by as a dressmaker, and evidence says she married a Mr. Kramer (or Kraner) at some point. While she or her daughters took possession of the house on Wisconsin Ave, Zelpha eventually relocated permanently to San Diego, California, where she died in 1951.

     a. Leota E Welch (1906–1998) married Walter William Roseberry (1904–1990) in 1928, but in 1930, she was still living in the home of her aunt Abbey (see above). It may be that the arrival of their son in 1932 meant that Leota was not able to care for Abbey, and that could be what led to sending Abbey to the state hospital in Columbus.

Walter and Leota did not stay together after their son grew up; Leota remarried Ernest Hamlin (1913-1990) in 1972, and they moved down to Manatee, Florida, where they lived out their retirement.

     i. Kenneth William Roseberry (1932–1991) was an electrician in Columbus, Ohio. He was married in the 1950s, but also divorced by the late 1960s. His wife remarried in 1972. Kenny died the year after his father, and they were buried in the Obetz Cemetery in Franklin county. I do not know whether he left any children behind.

     b. Frances Dana Welch (1909–1963) remained with her mother until she was in her early thirties, accompanying Zelpha as she moved between San Diego and Columbus. Eventually, she seems to have married, probably in the 1950s. She is buried in Union Cemetery under the name Frances Dana Gilmore.

8. Walton Wesley Hoot (1879–1951)

Walton was a barber, like his older brother, and around the time the rest of the Hoot family moved to Columbus, he married Effie Mae Snook (1879–1938) and resided with her family in Ashland. They raised one son, and lived out their days in Ashland.

     a. Forest Emery Hoot (1906–1999) married Helen Louise Pancoast (1906-1993) during the 1930s. Forest was working as a salesman. I have not found any information about this couple to indicate what their business was or whether they had children, but they did leave behind an endowment for a scholarship at Ashland University, so they must have been successful.

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And that, good friends, brings us to the end of a very long post about people surnamed Hoot. It also brings us to the end of the descendants of Ann Callin Campbell. I have to say, these last three posts were quite an exercise of my researching abilities, and I am not entirely sure I've done these people justice.

As always, if you are related to any of these families, and can help me identify and fix any mistakes I have made, please do reach out through the comments below, or through my email address, callintad at gmail dot com; there were at least two examples during the preparation of this post that I did "one last search" and found out something revelatory - like a couple I had thought had three children actually had eight children. Or I found an article that revealed a daughter I hadn't known about.

But I'm not complaining. I enjoy the thrill of the hunt, and I love knowing that I've tied together whatever I can for posterity. In fact, for all of the extra work that went into this post, it was, for me...

...a real hoot.