Berg Cemetery (Fearing Twp.)

When I visited Marietta in 2011 one of the side trips was to the Berg Cemetery.  This church was established November 30, 1846 so it is too late for my purposes.  The time frame I am interested in is 1800 to 1828.

Most of the published cemeteries in Fearing Twp. were established much later than our time frame so that is why I am digging so deep into just what was going on regarding burial at the time of Solomon’s death.  There are several possible scenarios like: was he moved to Marietta and buried there in one of the old cemeteries;  was he buried on his land in Fearing Twp. or in that area; or was he buried someplace else like in the Rainbow area where his daughter Elizabeth Goss Lake lived and died?

I believe it is much easier to go up Hwy 821 from Marietta and turn on the Nicholas Road till it comes to the Berg Church Road and then turning north to the Berg Church and Cemetery.  The way we came was from Whipple Run Road and we turned up Nichols Road which was very steep and rutted terribly.  This area is very hilly, with gravel roads that twist and turn a lot.

Looking back, not too bad the worst was before this area that you are seeing.

Find A Grave has pictures of the church from a distance and it makes it look like it is on flat land.  Well it is, but it is also on a hill.  Their listing has about 430 tombstones.

Berg Cemetery Plaque

There is an area off to the right with a ranch fence around it that houses some of the older stones.  There is also a section behind the church with a large grouping of tombstones.  It is very well-kept.

Older part of Berg Cemetery

Maria Fuch’s tombstone:

Maria Fuch’s Tombstone

Caroline F. Accus or maybe it is Flaccus and her broken stone. I hope I read that right.

Caroline Accus Tombstone

More stones in the older area:

Berg Cemetery more stones

The rows behind and on the side of the church and before the corn field:

Back of the Berg Church more stones

The Berg Church and more tombstones on the side off in the distance:

Berg Cemetery – more stones

The Berg Church:  http://www.siue.edu/~jandris/genealogy/html/berg.html  and more interesting information:

http://www.midohiovalleychurches.com/articles/oldchurches.html

The Berg Church & cemetery behind

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Harmar Cemetery, west Marietta, Ohio

Harmar Cemetery is located across the Muskingum River in the western part of Marietta.  It is a little tricky to get too.  We were coming north on Hwy 7 and exited off at Gilman, if memory serves, and then drove to Stone Street.  This sign points the way and states that due to weather and flooding the earliest stones were destroyed.

Harmar Cemetery in Marietta.

Here are two overview photographs of this old cemetery.  As I walked around this burial site I felt sad because it was not in very good shape with broken stones and large empty areas where there maybe once were tombstones.

Harmar Cemetery looking west

Harmar Cemetery overview photos

There is a publication about this cemetery:

Source:  Burials in Harmar Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio, A Bicentennial Project of the Muskingum Valley Builders 4-H Club, April 7, 1977, Washington Co. Historical Society. 

“The Table of Contents Reads: Prefatory Essay, Abbreviations & Symbols, Over-All Key Map of Harmar Cemetery, Maps of Section 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 7, Burials in Harmar Cemetery, Index to Additional Family Names, Civil War Memorial, Fragmentary Stones. “

Dr. Owen P. Hawley writes in the first chapter .  He describes the history of the cemeteries in the area and cites names of the burials giving information on the individuals mentioned.  He researched the Ohio Company records, history books, city records, the newspaper and more.  Mr. Hawley is the author of the Mound Cemetery book I have mentioned in past posts.

Here is the table tombstone for Noah Fearing:

Noah Fearing Tombstone

The tombstone of Henry Fearing 1798 to 1894 and more:

Henry Fearing Burial in Harmar

This is the Civil War Monument in Harmar:

Harmar Cemetery Civil War Memorial

More Fearing tombstones and monuments:

More Fearing family tombstones

This is Paul Fearing and his wife’s monument.  You will note a stack to the right.  In Ohio they pile the broken stones up into this type of stack which makes it impossible to read them for they are very heavy.

Paul Fearing”s Tombstone

William Skinner and Mary Chambers etc.

William Skinner in Harmar Cemetery

Levi Barber and Elizabeth Rouse’s tombstone

Levi Barber 1777 to 1833 and Elizabeth his wife

Here are 3 tombstones for the Humphreys family.  As you can see they are flaking and it is difficult to read them:

Flaking tombstones in Harmar – Humphreys

Here is another look at the geography of Harmar Cemetery which you can see is on a hill and highway 7 is right along the western border.  The book I mention above talked above slippage of the graves making it hard to figure out what graves belong to whom.

On this particular day we visited, it was cold, very wet and mushy so I stayed pretty close to the bottom of the hill rather than go exploring up into the higher areas.  What I saw are large areas without tombstones and that makes me wonder how many have disappeared over the years with debris covering them and more.

Find A Grave has this cemetery listed as well with 908 stones read with some more details than I list here.

Harmar Cemetery looking northwest

I have visited Mound, Oak Grove and now Harmar Cemetery looking for clues.  So I feel I have a good idea of why it is so difficult to find Solomon’s grave site.

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Oak Grove Cemetery, Washington Co., Ohio

Oak Grove Cemetery is located in Marietta in Washington County, Ohio.   There is a book that has the burials listed:

Source:  Oak Grove Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio Burials 1860 to 1920, published by the Washington County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society 1991.  

Oak Grove Burial Book 1991

Here is a map of Oak Grove.  Section 19 is where the bodies from the Old Burying ground where moved to and where the memorial plaque is located.   Find A Grave has this cemetery listed to a total of 9340 graves.

Oak Grove in Marietta

In my post of September 13, 2011 “Marietta and Washington County – A Dream Come True!” I mention my visit to Oak Grove Cemetery because I was in search of Solomon Goss, Olive, David and their grandchildren’s graves.

The post before this dated January 8, 2013 is  about Mound Cemetery.  In that post,  I described the Mound Cemetery book and the different burying grounds used before Mound and Oak Grove and the lack of recordkeeping before 1858.

In Oak Grove there is the history plaque that is dedicated to Englehard Hopper and below his biography is a reference to The Old Burying Ground:

Historical plaque in Oak Grove

“The original burial site of the early pioneers was 600 feet SW of this spot.  28 people were interred there between August 1788 and September 1801, except during the Indian War of 1791-94.  In the Fall of 1871, the remains of 26 were brought to this this lot.  Two were reinterred in the Mound Cemetery.  Contributions by the Durm Family, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Washington Co. Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society.”

The dates given on this plaque are well before Solomon Goss who died in 1825.

This  is the memorial stone erected to the memories of the unknown pioneers.  Next to it are the graves of James Mitchell Varnum and his SAR emblem, and E. Hopper’s grave and emblem.

Oak Grove Cemetery, Pioneer Memorial Stone and more

There is a plaque for James Mitchel Varnum.

James Mitchell Varnum plaque in Oak Grove Cemetery

This is looking down from the Pioneer Monument which is located on a steep hill:

Oak Grove Cemetery

Here is the entrance to Oak Grove Cemetery:

Entrance to Oak Grove

Much to my frustration and disappointment I did not find any clues as to Solomon, Olive, David and the grandchildren’s burials in this cemetery.  I did take the time to find the Pioneer Memorials in Oak Grove and Mound Cemeteries and pay my respects.

A DAR or SAR emblem placed near or in one of these cemeteries may be a possibility for the future to honor Solomon Goss, we will see.

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Mound Cemetery, Marietta, Washington Co., Ohio

Mound Cemetery Entrance Gate

To find the grave site of Solomon Goss and his wife Olive, his son David and the two babies of Solomon Goss, Jr, I studied the cemeteries of Marietta and its surroundings.

Map of Mound Cemetery – also one in the book

Mound Cemetery is one of the oldest.  Was it possible that they transported Solomon’s body to Mound Cemetery from Fearing Twp.?

I was not finding Solomon, nor Olive and their family in any of the Fearing Twp. Cemeteries so I decided to explore Marietta closely and learn about the history of the cemeteries in the area.  I was disappointed to find out that they did not keep records till about 1858 and older burying grounds were opened for development and the bodies were moved at various times to either Mound or Oak Grove.

An Overview of Mound Cemetery

There is a very excellent book that I have already mentioned in the last post.  I suggest that you get a copy of it if you can and read the chapters that are about the history of the area they do mention names of deceased in these pages other chapters including a very carefully prepared listing of the plots and graves in the last couple of chapters.   This book is at the Ohio Genealogical Society in Bellville, Allen County and probably in a major genealogical society or library near you.

 ”Mound Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio” by Owen Hawley.  This is an excellent book published in 1996 by the Washington County Historical Society.

Mound Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio

This book describes the really old cemeteries/burying grounds and what happened to them and the bodies – Here is the Table of Contents:

• Prologue:  Requiem
• East Marietta Burial Sites Before Mound Cemetery

a. Emerson Hill (Old Burying Grounds) “The earliest cemetery was east of the Muskingum in Marietta was the “Ten Acres lying between City Square number thirty-three and the tree acre Lots…which is to be kept as a burying ground forecver (Archer Butler Hulbert, Records of the Ohio Company, Marietta, 1917, II 208) This covers City Square 33 which is the entire block bordered by Sixth, Seventh, Tupper and Wooster streets….Location of this earliest burial ground appears on the “Plan of the Town of Marietta” signed by Rufus Putnam, Superintendent of the Ohio Company’s Surveys, 20 April 1802. ” Names are listed that were buried there but no Solomon Goss. page 5. “…26 others whose remains were exhumed in 1871 and reinterred in the Pioneer Lot in Sect. 19 Oak Grove Cemetery.”  Only two could be identified positively.

“The hill-hugging Pioneer Lot in Sect. 19 in Oak Gove Cemetery is marked by a white monument bearing only the legend “To the Memory of the Unknown Pioneers who Rest Here.  This stone is erected by the Washington Co. Pioneers Association, A.D. 1875.  Names pass away but deeds live on.” In front of this onument are two bronze DAR and SAR gravemarkers for James Michell Varnum…Englehard Hopper.”

Note: The Washington Co. Pioneers Association is defunct and is now the Washington Co. Historical Society.

b. Warren Street at Third Street “This burial ground was opposite City square 11…only one Warren Street burial was recorded: that of Brig. Gen Benjamin Tupper…remains were removed to Mound cemetery.

c. Wooster Street at Third Street…the site of another early East Marietta cemetery.”  It is unclear as to whether the burials were removed to Mound Cemetery?

• Burial Records and Reading of Mound Cemetery
  • “Strange as it may seem, with certain exceptions, Marietta did not always keep a careful record of where it planted its dead.  This is true even of Mound Cemetery for a  considerable part of the 19th century…Rufus Putnam to whom that land had been leased in March 1791 gave the Square to the town for use as  a public burying ground.  It was not, however, until 3 May 1803 that trustees of the Ministerial Land officially set aside a portion of Mound Square as a burial ground; since the ground lay within Section 29 (Ministerial Land), only its trustees could make such official designation.”

“Although no written record of interments was kept before August 1858 it is possible to determine that by May 1803 there and been four burials in Mound…”

It goes on for pages about the history of the Mound Cemetery.

• Marietta’s Ancient Earthworks
  

  The Mound in Mound Cemetery

• Cemetery Fence, Gate and DAR Memorial Plot
• The Receiving Tomb (Ward Stone Vault)
• Tombstones, Stonecutters and Gravestone Designs
• African Americans in Mound Cemetery
• Other Happenings in Mound Cemetery
• Funerals, Funerary Customs and Memorial Verse
  • “…The burial of one early Mound Cemetery couple attests to this.  Caleb Thorniley Sr. died 26 August 1807; his wife Mary (Alcock) Thorniley died within 48 hours on 27 August 1807.  John Holt, Joseph Lincoln and Nathaniel Saltonstall also died during this time.  Writing to his brother Dudley Woodbridge Jr. from Marietta on 5 September 1807, William Woodbridge began: “I am sorry the truth will warrant me in saying that our little town has been and continues to be unhealthy, not withstanding its well merited character of healthiness, a fever has raged among us almost as fatal as the yellow fever. Majr. Lincoln is dead & his wife is at the point of death.  Nott is dead.  Old Thorniley & his wife are dead…There is scarcely a family at the point up and down the Ohio for many miles which has not one or more sick in it.”
  • Conditions during the summer epidemic of 1822-1823…were even more grisly than they had been in the epidemic of 1807.  Since the mortality rate was higher, an even larger number of people were given unceremonious burials. ”
    • There is much more description in this chapter than I have written here.  I was interested in the epidemics.
• Abbreviations, Symbols and Sources
• Burials and Plot Owners – lists in detail the burials they know about and other research done like newspapers
• Index to Buried Names – a quick index to the names throughout the book
• Epiloque: Passage from Shakespeare

Mound Cemetery’s Dedication to the Pioneers of the area.

The  plaque below reads: To the Memory of the Soldiers of the American Revolution buried in Washington County, Ohio Whose Graves are Unknown, erected by the Marietta Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution 1927.  In front of this memorial are rows and rows of the DAR emblem with the names of some of the soldiers on them.  No Solomon Goss was listed.   On my visit I did not go to the DAR house which, I believe, was across the street from the Oak Grove Cemetery.

The DAR Plaque for the Revolutionary War Soldiers

Abraham Whipple’s Monument

Ebenezer Sproat’s Tombstone

On my trip to Massachusetts in the Spring of 2011, I took a drive up to the home of Rufus Putnam’s when he was living in North Brookfield.  In my post dated April 13, 2011 “Monday, April 11, 2011: The Brookfields, At Last.”  This was described in my blog about my trip to Massachusetts and Connecticut in 2011.  I wrote about this visit to Horseshoe Lake.  You will have to scroll to just after the North Brookfield Library to find the part about Rufus Putnam. http://massmeanderings.blogspot.com/

You cannot study the history of Marietta without seeing or hearing about Rufus.  I even visited the Campus Martius and toured his house.  I believe he knew my Goss family.  See the post dated September 13, 2011 “Marietta and Washington County – A Dream Come True!” written for this blog where I discuss visiting Rufus’ house in Marietta.

The tombstone of Rufus Putnam a very important man in the history of Marietta and more

This is a very interesting cemetery and well worth exploring:  Find A Grave has this cemetery listed but I do not know if they have all the tombstones included so you might want to consult the book above and also talk to the cemetery office.

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In search of the final resting place of Solomon Goss & Olive (Scott) Goss

Now that I have shared my findings regarding Solomon Goss’es will, I would like to share about my search for the final resting place of Solomon, Olive and David and Solomon Goss Jr’s two babies, while visiting the area of Marietta in September 2011.

Sadly, I was not successful in locating their graves.  I did give it a very good try.  Finding them with their stones would answer a lot of questions.  Here is what I did.

1.  I personally visited as many cemeteries as I could during the time I had. I noted their establishment dates like Rainbow, Harmar, Mound, Oak Grove, Berg, Rockland, and Waterford. Mound and Oak Grove are in the town of Marietta and they have monuments to the early pioneers. They also have DAR and SAR memorial plaques and flags:

Blog Posts about various cemeteries I visited:

1. Marietta and Washington County – A Dream Come True!, dated Sept. 13, 2011.  This post featured a little about Mound and Oak Grove and mentions my visits to Rainbow, Watertown, Rockland and Harmar.

http://sgossfamily.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/marietta-and-washington-county-a-dream-come-true/

2. Rainbow Cemetery was featured in the post The Lakes: Rainbow Cemetery, Washington County, Ohio, dated October 31, 2011:

http://sgossfamily.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/the-lakes-rainbow-cemetery-washington-co-ohio/

3. The Family of Daniel Goss and Lydia Ackley Goss, April 9, 2012 features Rockland Cemetery in Belpre.

http://sgossfamily.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/the-family-of-daniel-goss-and-lydia-ackley-goss/

I will present more of my photographs from my cemetery tour of Washington County in the next posts:  Mound, Oak Grove, Harmar, Berg, and Watertown.

2.  I studied as many of the published cemetery books for Washington County, Ohio, targeting the Marietta area and the Fearing Township area. The farther back a cemetery was recorded the better.  Some of these publications  are with the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  I made an Excel spreadsheet as I studied the FHL records to keep track of my progress.  You will find that here in the form of a PDF:  SolomonGossCemSearch.  Some involved searching the newsletters of the genealogical and historical society for publications of the cemeteries in Washington County.  These publications cover established cemeteries not private ones.  I did not have time.

The Tallow Light is featured in the PDF – SolomonGossCemSearch.  It is the main publication of the Washington County Historical Society.

3. On my visit to Marietta, I visited the Washington County Public Library Genealogical and Historical Annex and searched their records, publications, maps and articles including the Jerry Devol collection. Mr. Devol has passed but he did leave his genealogical research which includes a lot of his cemetery research.  The volunteer at the annex, Lila Hill, is very knowledgeable and helpful and a member of the Washington Co. Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society.  Here is their website:  http://www.washogs.org/index.html

4.  I worked with Jean Yost, President of the Sons of the American Revolution Marietta Chapter who was very helpful.  They had a listing on their website of soldiers of the American Revolution from the area and Solomon Goss was included under their “Spirit of ’76 Patriots.”  http://mariettasar.com/spirit76.htm  Of course, there is more information and names at their website and it is definitely worth studying.

5. Mr. Yost gave me the name of the current owner of Solomon’s land in Fearing Twp. We both personally visited the land and met the owner. I do not publish the owners name out of respect for his privacy but I am willing to share if you contact me or leave a comment.

The current owner of Solomon Goss’es land told me he had never found nor located any burials on his property.  I took his word.  He further stated that he had lived there all his life and his parents had been there for a good 80 years.  He mentioned that there were other burials sites on farms near him. The area is very hilly and the roads are gravel.  They are very rough, very steep and have deep ruts.  My husband was brave in our rental car and drove up a steep hill with huge ruts to the Berg Cemetery which is on top of a big hill.  We did venture up to one area east of Solomon’s land which placed us on a ridge.  Again we climbed steep hills with gravel roads to get there.  My husband knocked on a door but no one was home. The farm was filled with lots of equipment, buildings, houses, junk and overgrown grass.  It was not a good idea to explore their land because we did not have permission and that would be trespassing.  So we decided to back off.  Much to my sadness, I was told that some of the farmers had plowed over burials.

6.  I studied online versions of cemetery lists for Washington County.

a.  Find A Grave is a good place to start.  They have Rainbow, Berg, Watertown, Harmar, Mound, Oak Grove, Oak Grove, Rockland and many more. I did not visit the Stanleyville Cemetery in Fearing Township but you will find it on Find A Grave. Caution:  Online listings are not always complete so check a publication as well or search out other alternatives.

b. The Washington County Cemetery Index was very helpful:  http://wchs-ohio.org/cem_index.htm  It gives a listing of the cemeteries and townships they are in and it also has a surname index.  There are no Goss listings.

c. Cemeteries in Fearing Twp are:

• Berg Church 1st Protestant 1846,
• Berg Old
• Saint Jacobs,
• Chapman
• Cherry
• St. Jacobs
• Flanders 1874,
• Gerkin,
• August Spindler Farm/Hobby Farm (Goldsmith) 1822,
• Lynch Church 1842,
• Miller
• Minor
• Mt. Ephraim,
• St. Jacob Church,
• Stanleyville 1806,
• Zimmer Family (Tuttle Family) 1817.

As you can see I was having trouble finding establishment dates for these cemeteries. I did not find any Goss names in any of these cemeteries.

In evaluating these cemeteries in my search I had to consider the religious affiliation (Protestant, Catholic, German etc.) as well.  See my  SolomonGossCemSearch PDF listed in #2 above for more detail.

The Washington Co. Public Library Annex has Cemetery readings for all except Gerkin, Cherry, and Miller.

7.  I called several historical societies like the one in Belpre for the Rockland Cemetery to find out where the grave of Daniel Goss was located and was informed they were updating their cemetery book.  I tried the Marietta Cemetery department but struck out.

8.  I was told by the President of the Washington County Historical Society that Marietta used to be a big shipping port and the ships would come in and the disease they brought would race up the Muskingum River valley wiping out many people.  They would bury people quickly and fast back in those days.  Did Olive and David get caught in one of these epidemics?

9.  There were floods on the Ohio and Muskingum River that destroyed graves.  Harmar Cemetery suffered greatly which is one of the oldest.

Solomon died in 1825.  Olive his wife and David his son probably died earlier before 1810 so those events took place 187 years ago.  See my previous post regarding Solomon’s will and my conclusions about the deaths of Olive and David.  I have seen how quickly a cemetery can be overcome with fallen and broken stones and the elements.

10.  The town government did not keep records of the cemeteries in the early years and many were moved as progress came.

The book “Mound Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio” by Owen Hawley is an excellent book published in 1996 by the Washington County Historical Society.  This book gives the history of the cemeteries in Marietta. I will share some of it in the post on the Mound Cemetery in following posts.

“Pioneer Cemeteries of Washington County,”  compiled by Mrs. C.R. Sloan.  ”Washington County (Ohio) Cemeteries 1789-1940,” by Mrs. Helen Hill Sloan, 1964.

Burials in Harmar Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio, Washington Co. Historical Society, April 1977

Oak Grove Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio Burials 1860-1920, by the Washington County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society

11.  The area around Rainbow was once a thriving community and it is possible that Solomon, Olive and David and Solomon Goss Jr’s two babies are buried in that area of Washington County, north and west of Marietta and west of Fearing Twp.  I personally visited Rainbow Cemetery.   I have posted about that cemetery.  See number #1 above for the link to the post I wrote on Rainbow.

12.  I have researched Solomon and Olive’s children trying to see if any information would shed light on the burial of their parents.  I have asked of descendants and cousins if they have any ideas or knowledge of the burials.

13.  Early vital records in Washington County were consulted.  Marriage is more widely published and death is very difficult to find before about 1867.

14.  I consulted the newspaper clipping files of the Washington County Historical Society and all I found was the estate notice that I have published in several posts in this blog regarding the Solomon Goss estate.  Here is a listing of Marietta newspapers I found in a Tallow Light publication.  As you read this list you see that there is a gap of missing issues right in the 1825 time period when Solomon died.

Marietta Newspapers and the years.

15.  I tried to find Obadiah Scott Jr’s resting place. He was Olive Scott Goss’es brother.  He is said to have been buried in the Waterford Cemetery/Round Bottom.  So we visited that cemetery but did not find any tombstone showing his burial. A Tallow Light publication did list him in the Waterford Landing Cemetery (Waterford Cemetery) on pg. 48 third from the bottom “Scott, Obadiah died 30 Nov. 1827 in 57th y.”

16.  I did find a listing for Wine Rood and Anne Andrews Rood and the Rood family in the Mound Cemetery in Marietta.  The Mound Cemetery book mentioned in #10 above has some good information about them.  Unfortunately when I visited the Mound Cemetery and searched out were they were buried I found no tombstones and that verifies what the Mound Cemetery book states. They are buried left of Rufus Putnam’s tombstone monument in the back north corner. Anne Andrews Rood is the sister of Elizabeth “Betty” Andrews Spracklin. I will talk about what I know about the Rood family in a future post.

In summary, I was traveling in an unfamiliar area with little time, so I had to target specific cemeteries and records.  I  feel that if the descendants of Solomon and Olive were to do more searching, it would require cultivating friendly connections to seek out further possibilities.  I did meet a lot of people while visiting Marietta and hopefully these contacts will remember me and something might turn up.

So Solomon, Olive, David and the two babies of Solomon Goss Jr. remain missing and I continue to dig into other records to learn about more them.

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What Happened to David Goss?

My trip to Ontario and Quebec came to a close and I was busy getting caught up with that project. It was a big challenge. 

 

Sunset on the Ohio River 2011

 

It is time to resume posting about the children of Solomon Goss and Olive Scott Goss.  I left off with Daniel Goss and after him comes Levi and Lydia with David being the youngest child. 

David is a puzzle.  Sigh!

David and Daniel have been confused in abstracted published works. I have posted about Daniel Goss in these two posts:

Daniel Goss a Man of Conviction, Belpre, Ohio! Dated March 26, 2012 http://sgossfamily.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/daniel-goss-a-man-of-onviction-belpre-ohio/

and The Family of Daniel Goss and Lydia (Ackley) Goss dated April 9, 2012:  http://sgossfamily.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/the-family-of-daniel-goss-and-lydia-ackley-goss/

David would have been the youngest son of Solomon Goss and Olive (Scott) Goss.  David Goss was born 15 January 1799 in Washington County, Ohio.  

There is no formal birth record on this child. I have tried to find it in the Washington County records.  It may be found in church records if they exist.  The problem is figuring out exactly where his father was living at the time.

Elizabeth Goss the older sister married Andrew Lake on May 17, 1798 in Washington County, Ohio so this means that Solomon Goss had migrated and settled there by that time.

David must have died early 1810 or before 1810 because he is not mentioned in his father Solomon Goss’ will which is dated the 26th day of March 1810. 

There are no deeds prepared by Solomon Goss the father with the name David written in them.  This is regarding the land in Knox County that Solomon Goss deeded to his children in 1815.

In past posts I have shown that the other siblings Elizabeth, Noah, Mary, Daniel did have deeds by Solomon the father very clearly stating the child and their relationship to him except for Solomon Goss (Jr.) who inherited the land in Fearing Twp., Washington Co., Ohio. Levi and Lydia received land as well.  I will discuss the will and the land holdings of Solomon Goss in future posts.   

The census for Ohio is all but destroyed for the earlier years so it makes it difficult to even get a statistic for Solomon’s family.  Tax lists are wonderful sources but they only give detail about the owner and their property unless you get lucky and a note is written in the margins. 

According to the book:  State Census Records by Ann S. Lainhart Ohio did not have any state census.  She writes:

“Ohio did not take any state censuses, but starting in 1803 a census of eligible voters (Quadrennial Enumerations) was taken every four years as required by the first Ohio Constitution.  At that time the only eligible voters in Ohio were free white males age 21 and older…They list the head of household and either the number or names of other eligible voters in the household.  There was also an earlier 1800 territorial census which preceded statehood and listed the names of eligible voters under the names of the heads of households in which they lived…

Unfortunately, few of Ohio’s quadrennial enumerations have been found…The records that do exist are not housed in one archive.  Most are distributed among the Ohio “Network of American History Research Centers” created in 1970.”

Solomon Goss in the early years of Washington County as found on Ancestry under census.

• 1800 U.S. Census – No results for Solomon Goss in Ohio
• 1800 Tax List for Washington County – Solomon Goss in Marietta Twp.
• 1803 State or Colonial Census for Washington County, Solomon Goss in Adams Twp.
• 1809 Tax List for Washington County, Solomon Goss, Fearing Twp.
• 1810 U.S. Census is transcribed at this link but it gives no details.

 http://www.usgwcensus.org/cenfiles/oh/washington/1810/index/index01.txt

This link is to Family Search had their index of Ohio Tax Records:  https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1473259

At this point, I have not looked at the actual tax lists and or territorial census for Washington County in 1800.  Remember Washington County was much bigger back then.  I am reconsidering that choice.

Again I turn to Flora Montanye Osborn as the only source for this child’s existence. She must have had a bible or learned of these births through her family connections.  Her father was Levi Goss a brother and I will discuss him in future posts and also more about Flora and her manuscripts and articles.

When I visited Marietta this past year in August and September of 2011 one of my goals was to try to figure out where David, Olive and Solomon Goss the father are all buried.  I will devote several posts to this topic; so far I have not been able to find them? 

So I am very frustrated regarding David and his fate. 

The President of the Washington County Historical Society told me that Marietta had been a shipping port at one time and the ships would dock and bring disease that would make its way up the Muskingum River without mercy.  Did David get caught in one of these outbursts? Did Olive Scott Goss, his mother?

What happened to David Goss? 

If you know or have any information on Dave please contact me.  See the About page for contact information, or leave a comment.

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Daniel Goss a Man of Conviction, Belpre, Ohio!

Belpre Water Towers

Daniel Goss was another son of Solomon Goss and Olive (Scott) Goss. He migrated to Belpre, Ohio to live.  Belpre is about 14 miles south of Marietta.  You follow the highway as it curves south along the Ohio river.  Belpre is tucked in along the north edge of the river as it turns west and then curves south.      

Daniel is often confused with a possible younger brother David Goss. Daniel was 10 years older than his younger brother.   

Daniel was born 23 September 1790.  The census indicates that he was born in Virginia, which is very interesting. 

West Virginia was not established till June 20, 1863 when it seceded from Virginia during the Civil War long after the death of Solomon Goss, the father.  One of the goals I have had is to track Solomon Goss and determine the route he took to get to Ohio from Eastern Pennsylvania. If Daniel was born in Virginia, this means that a search of Virginia records is in order.  I have done some research into deeds in Williamstown, West Virginia looking for his brother-in-law John Andrews Spracklin.  I didn’t have much luck. This is another item for the ToDo list. 

Daniel died 18 November 1868 in Belpre, Washington Co., Ohio according to his tombstone (see below).  He is not listed in the death records at the courthouse, which is very curious? He is buried in Rockland Cemetery, Belpre, Washington Co., Ohio.

Daniel Goss 1890 to 1868

It reads:  Daniel Goss, Born Sept 23, 1790, Died Nov. 18, 1868, Ae 75 yrs, 1 mos. and 25 days. There is more wording on the tombstone and so far it escapes me what is written there?  

The publication I consulted didn’t give any more detail about what was written on the tombstone.  (Click the photo and it will open to a bigger picture but don’t forget to click the back button to return to this post.)

Source:  Rockland Cemetery Inscriptions, Belpre Twp., Washington Co., Ohio FHL#977.198 V3r, pg. 92, 1982, by the Washington County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society. 

FindAGrave has a listing for this cemetery but no Daniel nor Lydia is mentioned. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&GSln=McCualsky&GSiman=1&GScnty=2123&CRid=42977&pt=Rockland%20Cemetery& 

The USGenweb Archives Ohio has more information and photographs and no Daniel or Lydia Goss:   http://www.usgwarchives.net/oh/washington/photos1-index.html

I was so happy to find his tombstone and view it.  There was no stone for his wife Lydia and actually no stones close around him.  It is possible she is there but not identified? 

The Belpre Historical Society is updating the cemetery transcriptions and trying to make it easier to find the stones.  I called them before I went to Ohio and they were very helpful.  They gave me the section and lot number so I could find him easily. Rockland is not a small cemetery. 

Belpre Historical Society, Belpre, OH

Rockland Cemetery is south of Hwy 32/7 and best reached via Hwy 618 or the James A. Rhodes Appalachian Hwy/Washington Blvd.  The cross street is Victor St. 

On July 1, 1815 Daniel Goss applies for a license for the purpose of manufacturing or making leather.  A bond is made for $300.00.  This was signed by Daniel Goss.  Followed by a James Whitney and Wm. Skinner as securities. This document was in the Special Collections at the Marietta College.  It is several pages and very fragile.

License to Make Leather!

Daniel acquires land in a deed on  2 October 1815 from his father Solomon Goss for the land in Knox Co., Ohio.  In this deed Solomon refers to Daniel as his “third son of the Town of Bell-Pree.”  There are two pages for this deed.  Here only one page is featured.

Daniel Goss was very active in Belpre. 

pg. 506 Belpre Twp. – Prior to 1815 Daniel Goss, a native of New England, settled near Miles mill. Thos. Burt Hibbard owned the place in 1858 and in 1875 according to maps of those dates. He (Daniel) had a tan-yard. He was a leader in the Methodist Church, and helped organize its first society.”

pg. 519: Belpre Twp. – During the fall and winter of 1820-21 a soc. was organized (Meth Episcopal), there being the first class books thirteen names, as follows: Daniel GOSS and his wife Lydia, Samuel Hooper, Clarissa Ackley, William P. Howe, A. Gridley, Eliz. Howe, Leroy Gridley, Susan Oaks, Susan O’Brien, Chester and Caroline Gridley and Louis Bradford. Daniel Goss, who was one of the most energetic of the early Methodists, was appointed class leader. Among his papers there were found the old subscription paper for the building of the church: – in this list Daniel gave $40.00 in a long list and Solomon Goss gave $2.00.

A log church was built near the forks of the Little Hocking north of Centre Belpre (or Porterfield), of which church there is now (1881) no vestige. The quarterage paid in 1821 and 22 was twelve dollars and 13 1/4 cents, and was subscribed in the following sums: Daniel Goss, cash $2.50 etc.

The Cedarville Church – By the year 1832 the Methodists in Belpre decided to build a house of worship at Cedarville, on the Ohio. Daniel Goss and Daniel Ellenwood were among the first trustees and members of the building committee.

Source:  1788-1881 History of Washington County, Ohio with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, published by H.O. Williams & Bros in 1881 and reprinted in 1976.  Sponsored by the Washington Co. Historical Society. Please note that there are several history books on Washington Co., Ohio and it can get confusing.  Porterville and Cedarville do not show on current maps having become part of Belpre.   Historic Map Works has a great Belpre Township map for 1875.  You can find Cedarville on the Ohio just as it turns west and across from Blennerhassett’s Island.  Further west by the “Belpre Middle Settlment” is the name T. Hibbard.  This was the former land own by Daniel Goss. Apparently the use of Porterville was gone by 1875 and it was known as Centre Belpre. 

Daniel appears in another history that covers Belpre:

pg. 112: The Temperance Reform – Daniel Goss, Perley and Wm. P. Howe, Geo. Dana Sen. and O.R. Loring…prompt in this work. It was the custom in earlier years when neighbors gathered for a “Raising Bee’ to lubricate them freely with whiskey, but the sentiment of the Christian men in Belpre was so far advanced that when the frame of the Methodist Meeting House in Rockland was raised in 1832, no ardent spirits were provided. This is said to have been the first frame so raised in Washington County…”

 http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/Controversies/The-American-Temperance-Society.html

pg. 121: Chapter XII, Slavery and the Underground Railroad: “There were in Belpre — people gloried in the name of “Abolitionists’ though it was given to them by both Whigs and Loco Focos, as a term of reproach. Among these were Capt. John and Mr. Jonathan Stone, Perley Howe, Daniel GOSS, Joseph Smith, T. B. Hibbard and others in different parts of the town.”

Underground Railroad in Belpre, OH

More on the underground railroad in Southeastern Ohio http://henryburke1010.tripod.com/id60.html

I can’t help myself but Wikipedia gives this explanation for the term Loco Focos:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locofocos 

Pages 183-185 – Methodist Churches – there were occasional services held by itinerating Methodist ministers from Virginia in various homes in the township but the commencement of this part of the history was in 1820 when a class of thirteen members was organized with Daniel GOSS as leader. Of this number two soon withdrew and two were expelled leaving nine. About this time a log meeting house was erected near the Little Hocking about one mile north of Porterfield Station, and in the vicinity of the home of Daniel Goss. All traces of this building have disappeared….

About April 1st, 1832 work was commenced on the proposed meeting house and the 9th of June following, the third quarterly meeting was held in the building. The work was greatly facilitated by the memorable flood of 1832 on which the lumber was floated by Daniel Ellenwood from the mill on Little Hocking. This is memorable as being the first building in Belpre Twp. that was raised without liquor and at which there was neither accident nor want of help. In 1842, Daniel Goss was leader of Class No. 2 which met in the church.”

Source:  A History of Belpre, Washington Co., by C.E. Dickinson D.D., Ohio, Globe Printing & Binding Co., 1920. This book is online at the Internet Archive. 

In still another history book:  History of Marietta and Washington Co., Ohio

pg. 390 – Barlow Methodist Episcopal Church…

pg. 391: The Barlow Methodist Episcopal Church. The site of the present (1902) church was selected and deeded by Jesse Lawton and John M. Proctor to John Houghland, Luman Richards, David Ormiston, Daniel Goss, and Jacob Bridges, trustees (1836).”

Source:  History of Marietta and Washington Co., Ohio and Representative Citizens, Edited and compiled by Martin R. Andrews, M.A., Biographical Publishing Co., 1902.

I was unable to locate an estate file for Daniel but I did find a deed. This deed was dated July 10, 1867 and recorded a year later July 13, 1868.  It is in FHL#935960 Vol. 68 pg. 343 of Washington Co., deeds.  Daniel Goss, Gilbert O’Neal, Samuel Barkley, Thomas McFarland and Jesse Pride are the Grantors and they are selling land to Grantee John Edswick for $5.00, in Cedarville, Ohio.  This is a quit claim deed. The men listed as Grantors are the Trustees of the ME Church. The description is very detailed regarding the land being sold. It is interesting that this was recorded just months before Daniel’s death. 

Daniel was listed as an heir in the estate file of his sister Mary Goss.  See the post on this blog dated:  December 18, 2011 “Mary Follows Her Brother Solomon Goss to Iowa!” 

Daniel Goss was apparently a man of conviction and faith.  In the next post Daniel’s marriage to Lydia Ackley will be discussed.

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Notes:  I was surprised to find the sign (see above) regarding the Underground Railroad in Southeastern Ohio outside the Belpre Historical Society.  Later we were returning to Columbus to fly home, my husband and I drove up Hwy 77 and turned west on Hwy 70 and we stopped in Zanesville. 

We went to the Pioneer & Historical Society of Muskingum County, Ohio and learned about the town being divided in half on the issue of slavery and that if was very dangerous to assist runaway slaves.  In the house was a hiding place for the runaway slaves under the floor.  It looked very small and cramped.  If you click the link to this society you will find another name mentioned.  Does the name Rufus Putnam mean anything to you?

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Mary Goss, School Teacher!

Mary Goss was a school teacher.  She is mentioned in the History of Washington County. 

“Mary Goss taught a small school of young children in an old log barn.”  History of Washington Co., Ohio, pg. 688,  C. Williams & Bros, 1881.

She was a daughter of Solomon and Olive (Scott) Goss and was born 4 March 1785 probably in the area that Connecticut claimed ownership of which we know as Luzerne County.  The area eventually went under the ownership of Pennsylvania in 1786.  

Again for Mary Goss, the actual date of birth comes from the manuscripts of Flora Montanye Osborn, a cousin of mine.  Flora is a descendant of Levi Goss, a younger brother.

1.   ”Additions to the Cooley Family,” The Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Magazine, Vol. VII, No. 1, Sept-Oct, 1943.  This magazine can actually be found in a large public library, or the Family History Library.  You can contact the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library.

2.  ”Keziah Cooley Goss Chapter of the D.A.R., May 3, 1942, Yearbook 1943-1944, FHL#940938 Items 4-5.” 

3.  Notes of Flora Montanye Osborn DAR Goss Family File: Flora writes: “I have a song book which states “From Mary Goss of Washington Co, Ohio to Mary Goss of Lenawee Co., Mich.”)   

Note:  The Mary Goss of Lenawee Co., Michigan is a daughter of Levi and Sophia Rummersfield who married Joseph Rice Flora’s grandparents.

Mary’s father, Solomon Goss, deeded land to her just like he did to her brother Noah and her sister Elizabeth (Goss) Lake.  Date of deed 19 April 1815:

Deed of Solomon Goss of Fearing Twp., Washington Co., Ohio to his second daughter Mary Goss (Gofs) for $100 (50 acres). Witnesses were Simon Porter and Solomon Goss, Jr. and Joel Tuttle JP. Description of the land: ” …certain tract or parcel of Land, Situate and being in said State of Ohio in the Fourteenth Range and Sixth Township of the United States Military land so called, containing fifty acres being part of a tract of four hundred and fifty acres of Land deeded to me by Zaccheus Biggs the 28th July 1802, Refference thereto being had, butted and bounded as follows beginning at the South East corner of a Tract of land this (day) deeded to Elizabeth Lake, Thence West Twenty Four Chains to Lands this day deeded by me to Levi Goss, Thence South Twenty Chains 83 1/3 Links, Thence East Twenty four Chains, Thence North Twenty Chains 83 1/3 links to the place of beginning….”

Source:  Knox County, Ohio Deeds, Vol. B-C, pg. 274-275, FHL#314037.

Not too many years later Elizabeth Lake husband Andrew decided to sell their share of the land in Knox County to Mary.  Here is a transcription of that deed to the best of my ability in being able to read the interesting spellings and legalese. 

Andrew Lake
Deed to
Mary Goss
Rec’d for Record
Jany 5^th 1818
 

To all people to where these Presents shall come.  Greetings:  Know ye, That we, Andrew Lake and Elizabeth his wife of Washington County and State of Ohio, for and in consideration of the sum of one hundred Dollars, lawful money to use in hand  before the ensealing hereof  well and truly paid by Mary Goss of the same County and State.  The receipt whereof we do hereby acknowledge, and ourselves therewith fully satisfied and contented. Have given, granted, bargained, sold, alien, conveyed & confirmed and by these Presents do freely fully and absolutely give, grant, bargain, sell, alien, convey and confirm unto her the said Mary Goss, her heirs and assigns forever, a (page 6 ) certain tract or parcel of land situate and being  in the said [County] of Ohio, in the fourteeth range and tenth Township of the United States Military land (so called) containing fifty acres being part of the tract of land containing four hundred and fifty acres, deeded to Solomon Goss on the 28^th of July 1802 by Zaccheus Biggs.  The land hereby conveyed abutted and bounded as follows:  Beginning at the north east corner of said tract of four hundred and fifty acres running thence West four chains to lands belonging to Noah Goss.  Thence south twenty chains 33 1/3 links: thence East 24 chains; thence North 20 chains 33 1/3 links to the place of beginning, being the said land conveyed to said Elizabeth Lake by Solomon Goss, April 19, 1815. 

To Have and to Hold the said granted and bargained premises, and all the appurtenances, privileges and commodities to same ___ anywise belonging to her the said Mary Goss, her heirs and assigns forever to her and their only proper use, benefit, and behoof forever in fee simple and we the said Andrews and Elizabeth Lake for ourselves, heirs, executors and administrators, do convenant to and with the same Mary Goss her heirs and assigns that before the ensealing hereof ___ she true sole and lawful owners of the above bargained premises and are lawfully seized and possed of the same in their own proper as a good perfect and absolute estate of Inheritance in fee simple have full forever and authority to sell and convey the said bargained premises, in manner as aforesaid, and furthermore do convey and engage the above demised premises to the said Mary Goss___  and assigned against the lawful claim or demands and persons or persons whatsoever forever hereafter to Warrant, secure and defend by these presents.

In Witness thereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals this 26^th day of December, in the year of our Lord one hundred and sixteenth.  Signed, Sealed and Delivered in the presences of Geo. Dunlevy, Elizabeth Cogswell.  Signed Andrew Lake (Seal) Elizabeth Lake (Seal)

The State of Ohio Washington County ss.  At Marietta, Dec. 26 A.D. 1816.  The above named Andrew Lake and Elizabeth Lake his wife the signers and sealers of the above instrument personally appeared and acknowledged the same to be their free and voluntary act and deed before me and the said Elizabeth being examined freely and apart from her said husband relinquished all right to dower and other estate in the fee conveyed by said Deed.  Certified mg. Aug 28^th, 1817 Sardius …….. State of Ohio Washington County ss.  I George Dunlevy Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas within and said County do hereby certify and make know that Sardius…who hath signed his name to the annexed certification was at the —– his signing and certifying the matters and things in the same certification and was act this being is an acting Justice of the Peace within and forever duly elected, commissioned and qualifying agreeable to the said State and that full faith and credit is and ought to be given to all things by him, this certificate – as well in Courts of Justice as Elsewheres.

In testimony Whereof I do hereunto set hand and affix my official seal at Marietta in said County this first day of December A.D. one thousand eight hundred and seventeen.  Geo. Dunlevy, Clerk. (Seal).

Source:  Deed Book 1, 1843 Recorders Office, Knox County Annex, Mt. Vernon, Ohio, 2011.

Mary appears years later as a witness on a deed in 1835 involving land being sold to Peter Spracklin.  Her brother Solomon Goss (Jr.) is also a witness.  

Wine Rood. Grantor, to sell land in Dudley Twp. to Peter Sprantlen Grantee of Hardin Co., Ohio. Description: “…The east half of the south east quarter of section No. Twelve (12), in Township No. (5) Five, south of Range No. 12 Twelve in the District of Delaware containing 80 acres more or less…(Signed by Wine Rood and witnessed by Solomon Goss and Mary C. Goss 1834).

Note:  Peter Sprantlen’s name is spelling very different here but it is still the Peter Spracklin who is the father-in-law of Lydia (Goss) Spracklin sister to Mary Goss. 

Source:  Hardin County, Ohio Deeds, Vol. A, pg. 366-368 (373-375), FHL# 913819,

Jump ahead two more years to 1837 and Mary Goss appears in the deed records.   This time it is in Knox County, Ohio.  In this deed she is the grantor and she is selling land to John Spracklin of Knox County. 

Deed: Mary Gofs of Union Twp., Washington Co., sold land to John Spracklin of Knox Co. on Jan. 24, 1837 and recorded in August 12, 1837. The deed was for $250. Witnesses were S. Bartlett and Andrew Lake. Description of Land: ” …following described lots a parcel of land to wit, one tract situate in said State of Ohio, in the fourteenth Range and Sixth Township of the United States Military lands, so called, containing fifty acres, bounded as follows beginning at the South East corner of a tract of land deeded the 19 of April 1815 by Solomon Gofs to Elizabeth Lake, hence that 24 chains to lands deeded to same day by Solomon Gofs to Levi Gofs, hence South 20 chs 38 1/3 links, thence East 24 chains, then North 20 chs 83 1/3 links to the place of Beginning, likewise one other tract of fifty acres deeded by Elizabeth and Andrew Lake to me 26th Dec 1816 situate in the aforesaid Military lands in Range 14, Township Sixth, both of these tracts were conveyed to Solomon Goss by Zacheus Biggs on the 28th of July 1802, being a part of four hundred and fifty acres conveyed by said Biggs to the said Solomon Gofs on that day.” 

Source:  Knox County, Ohio Deeds, Vol. R. pg. 354, FHL #314044.

Mary will follow her brother Solomon Goss (Jr.) and his family to Iowa.

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Visiting a Cousin In West Virginia!

A Bridge Over The Ohio River to West Virginia

I added my 25th state when I entered West Virginia on Labor Day September 5, 2011.  Granted some were brief visits like Texas because of an airplane connection.  So that means I have 23 more to go. HA!

My purpose was to visit a half cousin once removed on my Spracklin side or rather my dad’s maternal side.  She is a descendant of Peter George Spracklin the half-brother of my great-grandmother Amarilla Spracklin Barclay Dawes Urton.  Yes those are all her last names because she married three times. 

Janice and I share photographs

Janice, my cousin and I met on Facebook through another full cousin of mine.  Our shared ancestor is Daniel D. Spracklin who married twice first to Elizabeth Keller and then after her death to Sarah Blacketer Allgood.  I come down from Elizabeth while Janice comes down from Sarah.  Amarilla is Elizabeth and Daniel’s youngest daughter. 

Janice was born in Estherville, Iowa to Ivan and Florence Louella Nick and partially raised in Reading, Pennsylvania.  I visited Pennsylvania several years back but didn’t go to Reading because I didn’t realize there were all these Spracklins living there.  After a very full life Janice decided she liked the mountains of West Virginia so she set down roots.  She found a house that is a work in progress but I think she is open to that challenge.   

One of Janice's puppies!

My hubby and I left Marietta around 7:50 am and headed across the bridge over the Ohio River on Interstate 77 into West Virginia.  Tropical Storm Lee was reminding us of the fury of Mother Nature by dropping a ton of rain on us as we traveled to visit with Janice.  Once off Interstate 77th we were on winding country two lane roads through beautiful farm land, past meandering rivers filled with stilt.  I spotted several footbridges and wondered if that would be a fun adventure to cross one?  The road took us onto mountains and ran along the ridges so I could look down into the convoluted valleys filled with trees.  Western West Virginia is very pretty. 

I told Janice we would be at her house by 9:30 am and we were there almost to the minute.  Janice is even smaller than me and I gave her a hug afraid I might crush her.  Her daughter Crissa and family were visiting.  They had given Crissa a 50th birthday party the night before so I wished her a Happy Birthday.  They were preparing to head back home.  They were able to party on the new deck that surrounds Janice’s home and was built by Janice’s youngest son Bill and his friend.  There was the smell of new fresh wood.  Bill had to work so I was not to meet him this time.  Too bad I live so far away for he does good work.  The deck was beautiful. 

Once the company had left, Janice and I spent the day chatting about family history and getting to know each other.  Janice fed us twice and we were happy and content.  She told me about her grandfather Peter George.  She said he was a bit of a dreamer and wanderer and that explains why I had so much trouble tracking him.  She said her father Ivan worked hard to give them a good life.  Janice is very eager to meet other cousins so please contact me if you wish to share and I will get her in touch with you.   It was a good day but ended too soon and there were still many questions that I wanted to ask Janice and I am sure she wanted to ask me. 

My hubby and I made it back to Marietta as night began to fall.  We had traveled the winding roads of West Virginia in light rain which made it easier to enjoy the lovely scenery, but by the time we were back in Marietta it was again heavy rain.  It was a long but happy day keeping up with Spracklins!!

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Marietta and Washington County – A Dream Come True!

For years I have wanted to visit Marietta and do genealogical research in Washington County, Ohio.  I have been studying Solomon Goss for years and this was a major goal of mine.  I visited the area on my recent trip from Friday September 2 to Wednesday September 7th, 2011.  It was a very busy visit.

I picked up my hubby at the Columbus airport on September 1st, 2011 and we drove back to Mount Vernon and the Apple Valley Resort condo for one more night.  Checking out the next day we drove down to Gambier and took a quite visit to the Oak Grove Cemetery there looking for more Kellers.

Heading south we drove down Hwy to Hwy 229 to Hwy 31, 586 and 146 where we came out in Zanesville. It was an interesting scenic drive over country roads that went through beautiful farmlands.  From Zanesville we got onto Interstate 70 and headed east to Interstate 77 to go south to Marietta.  We stopped at a Denny’s for some lunch and discovered a very different Denny’s.  This one was a vintage Denny’s.  The waitress said there were about 80 built but only around 40 left operating.  This one had an Art Deco appearance.  It was really easy to get to Marietta from Zanesville and took about 1.5 hours maybe less.  Know that I know the way I see that it was pretty easy.

Washington County Historical Society

We arrived in Marietta in time to visit the Washington County Historical Society which is located north of the city in a sort of group of official looking brick buildings.  There was highway work going on so it was a little confusing to find the entrance.  I spent the first part of my visit getting signed up for their membership and studying their cemetery listings.

The sad part was when the President Ken Finkel tried to find the original will of Solomon Goss.  It was missing!!!!!

Someone had taken it back in 1991 and left a note with initials.  Mr. Finkel was very unhappy and tried another document that was also missing.  The rest were okay for I searched for them on the following Tuesday when I visited again.

I had traveled a long way to see this will of Solomon Goss’s and this was very disappointing to me.  Taking a document like this makes it so that those who are descendants will never get to see it.  I can just imagine that it is now lost forever.

I checked the courthouse later in the week and they didn’t have it.  A lot of original documents were given to the Historical Society and they are taking very good care.  This was not their fault.  I felt bad that I upset Mr. Finkel really cares about the records of Washington County.  I do too.

PLEASE DON”T TAKE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS!

There is a Mound Cemetery in Marietta that is very old.  They have a monument to the Revolutionary war soldiers.  They also have a Pioneer Monument to the lost graves of those buried in the area.  I have been trying to figure out where Solomon Goss, Olive (Scott) Goss, their son David and two of Solomon Goss (Jr’s.) babies might be buried.  Many tombstones are lost, flooding has taken its toll in 1913 and again in 1937?  There are readings of the many cemeteries in Washington County at the Historical Society and the Library but these are the larger cemeteries not the family ones on private land that may exist now or are gone totally.

Mound Cemetery Entrance

We had dinner at the Lafayette Hotel in the downtown area of Marietta.  It is located on the Ohio River and there is a little park there to view the river and see the sternwheeler boats tied up.  It was very lovely inside the hotel.  The dining room looked like it had been a theatre at one time and apparently they do occasionally hold events.  I did not book us into it because their website worried me with the broken links.  My husband was told they were updating it?  We stayed at the Comfort Inn on the other side of Interstate 77th.  It was okay but not the best Comfort Inn that I have stayed at.

Lafayette Hotel in Marietta

The Ohio River at Marietta

The next day we went to the Washington County Genealogical Society which has its collection in the library annex at the Washington County Public Library Local History and Genealogy Annex which is a completely different building than the main Library and situated a block south on the corner.  Again I looked at cemetery records, family history files, and more.  They had microfilm to access as well.  It was a very nice library.  I joined the Washington County Genealogical Society for $8.00.

Washington County Library Local History & Genealogy Annex

The next cemetery was Oak Grove which also had a Section 19 where they had moved many of the old pioneers to that area of the cemetery from the old locations in Marietta.  From the book about Mound Cemetery (very good book) I figured out that there were probably about 3-4 cemeteries that had disappeared because of removal to other cemeteries in Marietta.  I will talk more about this and the cemeteries of Washington County in a future post. Oak Grove Cemetery is on a hill with one lane roads that wind around.  It is a very hilly and scary cemetery because of these narrow roads, so be careful.

Oak Grove Section 19 Pioneer Monument

My husband said the man from the Marietta Cemetery Department called and left a message saying he didn’t find any Goss in Marietta.  So he did search.  The question is whether he did all cemeteries in Marietta or just Oak Grove.  I will let you know when I figure that out.

We also visited the Campus Martius Museum.  There is a three floor museum in the building and out buildings including the original Ohio Land Office that Rufus Putnam worked out of.  Also his home has been rebuilt inside the museum and you are taken on a tour of it.  It was so hot I had to leave because I started to get a little shaky.  Rufus and I are fast friends for I have seen the location of his home in North Brookfield.  I shall do a tribute post to this man, he knew my family and was quite a player in the history of the southeastern Ohio.   The name of the museum is pronounced like Marcius without the “t,” and is a Latin word.  We did not have time for the Ohio River Museum which would have been very interesting.

I have to admit I am confused.  I have seen documents coming from Campus Martius regarding genealogical research but apparently that has changed.  I tried to find out on my visit just what the status was for researching at this museum but I did not make much progress.  I was told it was not a research library but maybe you can visit by making an appointment.

The weather in Ohio had been fine till I picked up my hubby at the Columbus Airport on Thursday September 1st.  It had turned hot and muggy.  They did not get hit with Hurricane Irene but they were just about to get hit with heavy rain from Tropical Storm Lee. The Washington County Fair was taking place while we were there so we visited on Saturday in hot, muggy weather to see the hynotist at 6 pm.  It was a fun performance but I decided we needed to eat in a cool restaurant and they had an Applebee’s near our hotel.  It worked.  We would be missing the Sternwheeler Festival coming up in the next week.

On Sunday, September 4th we toured Washington County and visited several cemeteries:  Rainbow, Watertown, Rockland and Harmar.  I will discuss my findings in future posts.  I was looking for Goss, Scott and Lake burials and I wanted to see the general state of condition of the cemetery and get a feel for the distances.  We stopped in Belpre where the Historical Society is located but they were closed for the weekend.  I did call them before I headed to Ohio and they were very helpful in locating a grave in the Rockland Cemetery.  They are redoing the cemetery publications.

Belpre Historical Society

Sunday we ate at Austyn’s which was very fancy and located in the heart of Marietta.  Later was the Buckley House on our last night which was even more fancy.  I had salmon with peach sauce and it was delicious.  The Buckley House is an old Victorian home that used to be a B&B so it is a little unusual for a restaurant.  The theme is black and white with touches of red.  A really happy end for a last night in Marietta.

Tuesday I revisited the Washington County Historical Society and dug into the court documents for Solomon Goss, Obadiah Scott and Wine Rood.  They have indexes and finding aids.  I used white gloves to look a the original records.  Mr. Ken Finkel the President helped me try to find Obadiah Scott’s burial but it was not happening in published records.  He should be in the Waterford Cemetery.  He also helped with trying to locate a deed regarding Solomon Goss.

After the historical society we headed to the Marietta College in the rain.  My goal was the Special Collections.  I was greeted by Linda the archivist and she helped me to further dig for clues and answers.  I highly recommend a visit to this College which is in the heart of Marietta.  Linda is wonderful and friendly and very helpful.  They have a lot of information about the Ohio Company and Rufus Putnam on their digital website.  Very good.

Marietta College Special Collections

On Wednesday our last day, I visited the Washington County Courthouse probate office, recorders office and clerk of the courts.  It was a wonderful visit.  In fact, all my visits to courthouses in Ohio have been very enjoyable and the staff have been helpful and friendly.

Washington County Courthouse records

My time was up and we headed back to Columbus via Interstate 77 north and then west on 70.  We stopped in Zanesville and visited the Pioneer & Historical Society (Muskingum County) there and took a tour.  Did you know Zanesville was on the Muskingum River and did you know it was four towns before becoming one? Rufus Putnam and family were big in the history of the area?  Oh, it was also like Marietta part of the Underground Railroad.

Ah yes, Solomon Goss’s land.  Where is it?  That is for another post in the future.  It is on private land so I cannot reveal too much.  I would like to point out that a cousin gave me information years ago and it is wrong!  So be careful.

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