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| Joseph and Laura (Phillips) Low, c. 1880s portrait shared with permission of David Smith |
His father was a native of England, but he drowned before our subject was born. His mother, Catherine, became house-keeper for a gentleman who adopted Joseph, and provided for his education; but when Joseph was fourteen years of age his foster-father died, leaving no will.
Joseph's first employment was as a farm laborer, for which he received $7 per month, and he would work at almost anything by which he could earn an honest living. Later he rented a farm for a time, after which he purchased land in Pennsylvania. After that, he sold out and came to Ohio, locating in Plain township, Wood county, where he purchased forty acres, the nucleus of his farm.
In Pennsylvania, on 14 February 1850, Joseph married Laura Phillips, of Trumbull county, Ohio, and they had ten children. Laura died on 1 October 1887, at the age of fifty-five years. Joseph's second wife was Eliza Miller, widow of Albert H. Perry, a farmer of Middleton township. They were married at Harkins, in Wood county, on 17 February 1889. She was a daughter of George G. Miller, and was born in the Empire State, 12 August 1827.
Over the years, Joseph had added to his holdings, as his resources permitted, until he had a tract of 220 acres, which he cleared and developed with the help of his sons and hired hands. By the time he was done, he had one of the largest orchards in the township, with 5,000 peach trees, 3,000 apple trees, and 1,000 trees of other varieties of fruits.
Joseph was considered "Among the well-to-do and successful farmers of Wood county who have accumulated a competency through their own exertions and economy, and who are carrying on the business of farming and fruit growing in a manner which draws forth praise from every one," according to the biographical sketch in the History of Wood county from which much of this information was taken. He was a member of the Sons of Temperance, and cast his ballot with the Prohibition party. He served his township as supervisor for five years, and for several years served as school director.
He died in 1901, and was buried in the Plain Township Cemetery. Eliza survived until September of 1910, and was buried in the Union Hill Cemetery in Bowling Green.
Cora May Callin (1881–1936) was the first of three daughters born to James Monroe Callin and Almira Weirick. Her parents lived for a brief time in Deerfield, Michigan, where her younger sister, Aurilla, was born, but her mother died in Bowling Green when Cora was 8 years old. In 1900, she was living with her grandparents, Jason and Matilda Weirick, in Harrison, Ohio.
Cora married Joseph Able Low (1881–1965) on 22 December 1902 in Bowling Green. He was the eldest child of Sanford P Low (1858–1929) and Mertie J Woodruff (1862–1890), and a grandson of Joseph and Laura Phillips Low. They were married for 23 years, and raised two daughters, before they divorced in 1925. Joseph remained single, and divided his time between Dayton, Ohio, and Flint, Michigan. He died in Grand Traverse, Michigan, on 27 May 1965.
Cora remarried Harry Squire (1873-1955), a coal dealer from Lorain county, Ohio, on 26 November 1929. (His birth name is "Henry Isaac Squire," but on several documents - including the record of his marriage to Cora - he gives his name as "Harry.") She died in 1936, and was buried in Bowling Green.
I. Oneita Ione Low (1904–1981) was born in Plain township, Wood county, Ohio, and grew up in Harrison, Henry county, Ohio, where her parents had married. The family was in Chippewa, Michigan, in 1920, and she met and married Dale Ebsen Morton (1903–1995) in nearby Flint, Michigan, on 19 March 1925.
Dale was the son of Sidney Victor Morton (1882–1960) and Violet Pearl Stewart (1884–1904). His mother died when he was a baby, and he spent a lot of time growing up in the homes of his grandparents. The Mortons and Stewarts were numerous in the Mount Pleasant area of Isabella county, Michigan.
Dale and Onieta had an infant daughter, Marian L Morton, who died in 1925, but then they had four sons, all of whom are still living. Oneita and Dale raised their family in the Flint area, and in the late 1940s, relocated to California. They were in Alhambra, Los Angeles county, in 1949.
They must have divorced at some point, as the U.S. Social Security Death Index lists Onieta under the name "Onieta McNamara" - but records have proven elusive. When she died, she was taken back to Michigan and was buried in the Flushing City Cemetery; her headstone reads "Onieta I. Morton," but there appears to be a plaque that reads "McNamara" added to it.
II. Alma Eve Low (1909–1998) was born in Henry county, Ohio, until her family moved to Chippewa, Isabella county, Michigan. Allen Edward Storey (1903–1991) lived in nearby Deerfield in 1920, and they married in Billings, Montana, on 28 May 1925. Billings seems to be where Allen's widowed father, David, was living then.
Alma and Allen had two sons and a daughter, still living. They lived in Lansing, Michigan, for the rest of the 1920s, before moving to Dallas in 1931, and then to Los Angeles county, California, where they lived for nearly twenty years. Some time later, probably in the 1980s, they moved to Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo county, where they lived out their days.
Carrie Elizabeth Callin (1883–1960) the second daughter of Almira and Jim Callin, was born 22 January 1883 in Bloom township, Wood county, Ohio. In April 1900, she married Edward George Low (1870–1949), the youngest son of Joseph and Laura Phillips Low. There is some room for debate over whether his name was "Edward George" or "George Edward," but most records refer to him as "Edward" or "Edward G. Low" - the 1870 Census lists him as "Eddy." County marriage records seem to lean towards "George E."
Edward was a farmer and laborer, and the family lived in Plain City, Wood county, until his death in 1949. They raised two sons and four daughters, and when Carrie died in 1960, she was buried beside Edward in the Plain Church Cemetery.
I. Alva C Low (1901–1973) was born on the 4th of July in 1901, in Bowling Green, Ohio. He married Ruth Gertrude Moore (1902–1995) on 4 December 1921. Alva was a farmer in Plain Township, Wood County before moving to Gallia County and then to Jackson County. In Jackson County,he worked as a polisher in an automobile plant. He retired as an employee of the Midwest Stamping and Manufacturing Co., Bowling Green.
In addition to three sons and two daughters, one of whom is still living , Alva and Ruth had a son, Marvin Keith, who died in infancy in 1942.
A. George Low (1922–2011) was born on November 17th 1922 in Bowling Green, Ohio. He served in the Army Air Corp as a Second Lieutenant during World War II. He met the love of his life, Mildred (Mickey) Rouse (1920-2001) in Tampa, Florida, and they married soon after on July 14, 1945. Mickey died in 2001, and George died in 2011 after a 2 year battle with leukemia. They left behind two daughters, seven grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren.
B. Ralph Lester Low (1925–1999) was born 8 March 1925 in Vinton, Gallia county, Ohio, and he served in the U.S. Army from 30 June 1943 to 4 January 1946. He married Patricia Jean Young (1928–1978) on 1 May 1948 in Lucas county, Ohio. She was a stenographer.
C. Walter L Low (1934–1956) met an early end when he fell through the ice while skating on the Maumee river with his sister, Mary on 8 January 1956. Walter drowned, but Mary was pulled out and sent to the hospital. Walter had married on 17 April 1954, and his wife was eight months pregnant with their son, Richard. The newspaper said she witnessed the accident, but I don't imagine there was much she could do about it.
i. Richard Edwin Fox (1956-2003) was born less than a month after his father's fatal accident. It is unclear whether his mother remarried, or if he was adopted; but his life ended in tragedy, too. Richard married Kimberly Marie Swinehart (1959–1983), and they had a daughter shortly before Kim's untimely death. Then in 1989, Richard kidnapped and murdered Leslie Keckler, an 18 year old freshman at Owens Technical College. He was sentenced to death in 1990, and executed 13 years later, in 2003.
D. Mary Eileen Low (Baumgardner) (1936–2013) was a 1954 graduate of Grand Rapids High School where she was co-valedictorian. She worked at the Wood County Auditors Office and previous to that was a secretary for attorney Clarence Hock. She was an avid crocheter who won state fair awards for her beautiful afghans, and was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Bowling Green. Her husband, son, daughter, and three grandchildren survived her.
II. Ralph E. Low (1906–1986) was born in Plain City, Wood county, and spent his first thirty years there. His occupation on the census records was "carpenter." He married Illah L Burditt (1911–1989) in Bowling Green on 18 October 1937, and they had four children over the following decade. One, a daughter they named Lois, was stillborn in 1945; one son and one daughter are still living,
A. Delbert Ralph Low (1941–2007) was the son of Ralph and Illah Low. He worked at Brush Beryllium for 10 years and later a Supervisor at Dupont in Danville, Ohio. He also was a self employed carpenter. He married, but later divorced. His former wife, a daughter, two sons, and eight grandchildren survived him.
III. Laura E. Low (1909–1992) worked for the former Coffee Cup Restaurant in Perrysburg for over 21 years, retiring in 1980 and then for the former C & F Variety Store. She married LaVern W Kopp (1910–1964) on 20 December 1928, and they had two children; a son and a daughter. Their daughter is still living.
A. James E Kopp (1933–1987) was a 1951 graduate of Perrysburg High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in education from Defiance College in 1955, where he was captain of the only undefeated and untied football team in Defiance history. He was also a student at the University of Michigan and Indiana University, and received a master's degree in educational administration from Bowling Green State University.
He taught mathematics and coached football and tennis at Sylvania High School, then was superintendent for two years of Auglaize-Brown Local Schools, Paulding County. A former principal of Oakwood schools, he retired as assistant superintendent of Huron City Schools, and he retired in 1986 because of illness.
He died in Firelands Community Hospital, Sandusky, Ohio. He left behind a wife and two sons.
IV. Pearl Low (1910) is only listed in the Callin Family History, where her birthday is given as 7 August 1910. Her family appeared in the 1910 Census, but it was enumerated in May, so she was not included there; and she does not appear on the 1920. I have also looked for birth or death records, but with no success.
V. Leona R Low (1911–1964) grew up on her father's farm, and had her daughter, Marie, at age 15. Ten years later, she married Bert Wheeler (1880–1961) on 5 October 1936. They lived in Woodville, Sandusky county, Ohio.
A. Ruth Marie Low (1926–1993) appeared on the 1930 Census listed as "Ruth M Low," the daughter of Edward Low, but in 1940, she was listed as "Marie Wheeler," daughter of Bert Wheeler.
Marie had two sons; one of them is still living, and the other was adopted by a family named Juday, and raised in Elkhart, Indiana. Marie later married Hubert "Jep" Snyder (1920–1983) on 28 May 1960. He ran a furniture store near New London, Ohio. They are buried together in Metzgar Cemetery in Helena, Sandusky County, Ohio.
1. Ronald E. Juday (1949–2011) was born April 13, 1949, in Sandusky, Ohio. He was raised a son of Marion L. and Rosemary (Grover) Juday. He served in Vietnam in the U.S. Air Force and was a supervisor most of his life at Ace Hardware of Elkhart, Indiana. He also worked for Atwood Mobile Products, in the RV industry and at Lindahl Specialties of Elkhart. He was a member of Fairhaven Fellowship of Constantine.
When he died, he had lived in Mottville, Michigan for 35 years. He left behind a wife, his son, two daughters, two grandchildren, and an adopted daughter and her two children.
VI. Ethel Marie Low (1914–2001) married Wilbert Franklin Riggleman (1905–1973) in 1940, and while they were in Tucson, Arizona, in 1948, they spent most of their lives in the Norwalk area in Huron county, Ohio.
Aurilla M Callin (1885–1969) was the youngest daughter of James and Almira Callin, born in Deerfield, Michigan, on 3 September 1885. She was four years old when her mother died, and she was only eight when her father remarried to Emma Bradt. Aurilla, or "Rilla" to her father, probably spent a great deal of her childhood in the homes of her grandparents and other Callin and Weirick relatives, but she was also sent to boarding school, which is where she appeared on the 1900 Census.
Rilla married Edward Jacob Pletcher (1872–1957) on 10 January 1903. Ed was an oil pumper, and this was his second marriage. He and Rilla had three daughters before 1910, but divorced in about 1921, and he headed out to Los Angeles, California. Rilla remarried on 7 October 1922 to William Charles Bogart (b. 1889), and they settled in Lorain, Ohio. Her last residence was the Ammers Manor Nursing Home in Amherst, Lorain county.
I. Edna Lucille Pletcher (1904–1955) grew up in Bowling Green. She married one J. Lewis Marzen (b. 1903) in 1924, but was listed as divorced and living back in her mother's home by 1930. Next, she married Charles Joseph Amato (1910–1982) on 15 May 1930, and they lived out their days in Lorain, where they raised two sons and two daughters. One son and one daughter are still living.
A. Patricia Gail (Amato) Burns (1931–2010) was born on 13 February 1931 and raised in Lorain, Ohio. She graduated from Irving Middle School and later from Lorain High School class of 1949. Pat and her husband raised four children at home and she worked for Dr. Kenneth McMahon D.D.S. for twelve years as a receptionist/assistant. She returned to school at St. Joseph Nursing School and graduated in 1981 as an LPN. She worked at St. Joseph Hospital until her retirement in 1993. She left behind her husband, daughter, three sons, 8 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
B. Frank Edward Amato (1933–1974) served in the U.S. Army from May 1953 to May 1956. After leaving the army, he married and settled in Memphis, Tennessee, where he worked as an electrician. He died in 1974 at only 40 years of age, and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Memphis.
II. Hazel I Pletcher (1906–1991) married Sigmond W Noble (1903–1964) of Toledo, Ohio, about 1927, and they had a son and a daughter before they divorced in the 1930s. Hazel remained single, living under her married name, and working as a paint machine operator in a factory in Elyria, Ohio. She died on 20 February 1991, and is survived by her daughter and grandchildren.
A. Robert Joseph Noble (1928–1985) was a veteran of the Korean War, serving in the U.S. Marine Corps from 16 August 1950 to 15 March 1952. He married Beulah May "Bea" Onstead (1931–2012) on 12 May 1973. Bob became step-father to her three children, and they had a son and a daughter together, too.
Bob was a supervisor in the overhead lines department of the Toledo Edison Co. for 37 years. He served as secretary and treasurer of the Maumee Valley Model Boat Club, and was the club's past commodore.
III. Bessie Lorraine Pletcher (1907–1968) was born 1 September 1907 and grew up in Bowling Green, Ohio. Lorraine married twice; first to Merlin Morgan Stewart (1906–1986) on 8 January 1924, when she was 16. They had a son together in Toledo, but were separated before 1930. She married her second husband, Otis Wiburn Sinclair (1901–1977), and was living with him and her son, Merlin, in Lorain county in 1930. Otis ran the Sinclair Cycling Agency in Lorain.
They had two sons and a daughter in the 1930s, and divorced after 1940. When she died, her name was listed as Lorraine Glass, so she presumably married a third time. Her daughter is still living.
A. Merlin E. Stewart (1924–1981) was a veteran of the U.S. Army during World War II and was a salesman for 25 years. He married Mildred Marie Ottney (1926–2013), and they had a son and a daughter together. She was born in Toledo, Ohio, on 27 November 1926 to George and Stella Ottney.
Mildred was a graduate of Waite H.S. and retired with G.M. Power train with over 30 years of service. She was preceded in death by her first husband, Stephen A. Nicholas, in 1967, and by Merlin in 1981.
B. James W "Red" Sinclair (1930–2012) was raised in Elyria Township, Lorain county, ohio. James graduated Markley Grade School and Clearview High School, Class of 1949. He worked at W.C. McConnel Buick, Gargus Garage, Llewelyn Pontiac, Gerbick Pontiac, Wagner Abersol and he retired from Jakmas Plumbing and Heating Inc. in 1991 as an Operating Engineer/Mechanic. He was an avid fisherman and kept parakeets. He also raced stock cars at Lorain County Speedway and he enjoyed Nascar racing.
He is survived by his two sons and two daughters, 8 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.
C. Richard Allen Sinclair (1932–2010) grew up in Lorain and South Amherst and graduated from South Amherst High School in the class of 1950. He lived in Sheffield Lake prior to moving to South Amherst, where he lived for thirty-three years.
Richard served in the United States Air Force with the first Radio Relay Squadron. He met and married his wife while stationed in Germany and France. He was employed with the BF Goodrich Co. for thirty-five years, retiring as a color lab technician. He coached both Peewee and Little League baseball in Sheffield Lake. He was survived by his wife, son, two daughters, and 8 grandchildren.
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And now you know as much as I know about the line of James Monroe Callin. It feels like we packed a lot into a little space, but at the same time, there are huge gaps in what I can know without help from those of you who are more closely related. I always appreciate a little extra guidance, especially corrections, and even more especially, permission to print what you tell me!
But, I always aim to respect privacy first; so if you're not comfortable sharing family info in the comments block below, you can email me at my Gmail address, callintad at gmail dot com, or you can knock on the door of the Callin Family History Facebook group. I'll ask how you're related, and you can meet more cousins there.
We'll take a short break of one week, and then we'll be back to look at the family of the man who started all of this for me by compiling the original Callin Family History: George W. Callin!
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