A Fire, A Hero, a Little Girl Saved....

 My grandaunt on my paternal grandmother's side was Mary Kathlaleena Hendricks (1908-1976). In January, 1972, Mary wrote a "Family record"- typed it out on a typewriter and I'm assuming gave copies to her children and other family members. This text is several pages long, but there is one excerpt that really spoke to me as a genealogist. 

The script reads: 

"Well, more sadness. A family next door to us house caught fire and Mother was ready to have another child. We lived so closet to them, just think about this, every able man, woman and child in our town of Jeffersonville, Indiana, came in and saved our possessions. Everybody around a one mile area was at that fire. The neighbors that lived in the house that burned up was named Baldwin. The flames were so high, everyone in seeing distance could see it. They had three boys and one daughter. She was asleep, taking a nap, and her coward father wasn't making an effort to rescue her. Our dad, bless his heart, told that coward to get back and away. He rolled up his sleeves and opened his shirt and went through the flaming house and rescued the little girl. That's the kind of man our Dad was, he loved everybody".

So, as a genealogist, I wanted to know more about this Baldwin family and this little girl whom my great-grandfather rescued. Because of the text before this story, I was able to pinpoint the fire around or just after 1920. 

In the 1920 U.S. Census, Isaac (36 years) and Myrtle (35) Hendricks (my great grandparents) lived at 621 Broadway in Jeffersonville, Indiana. They live in their rented home with their 2 sons and 3 daughters: Harry (17), Ida (12), Mary (11), Catherine (6) and Claude (2 1/2)..  

Next door, at 623 Broadway lived Frank Baldwin (50), his wife Laura (45) and their 4 sons and one daughter: Edward (10), Franklin (9), Joseph (6), Ormand (5) and Mary R (2 1/2). . 

Here's what I found about the Baldwin Family:

Frank Baldwin was born on 22 April 1868 in Indiana and died at the age of 79 on 23 Mar 1948 in Kentucky. In 1903, Frank married Laura Katherine Metz. Laura was born on 17 Aug 1875 in Clark County, Indiana and died at the age of 59 on 11 September 1934 in Jeffersonville, Indiana. 

On Findagrave.com, Frank and Laura have 3 children listed: 

Edward H. Baldwin (1909-1973), David Franklin (1911-1978) & Mary Rose Baldwin Bishop (1917-1993). 

Now, Mary is the little one that my great-grandfather rescued from the fire. 

Mary Rose Baldwin was born on 14 May 1917 in Jeffersonville, Indiana and died at the age of 75 on 06 March 1993 in Jefferson County, Kentucky. 

Although I did find the small information of Mary's birth, death and married name, I couldn't find an actual marriage record or her husband and/or any possible children information. However, It's good to know that she lived until the age of 75. 

Chester Millard Mendenhall (1923-2003)

Today, I researched my 6th cousin, 3x removed- Chester Millard Mendenhall

Chester was born on November 20, 1923 in South Bend, Indiana to Millard Mendenhall (1903-1981) and Mabel Margaret Six (1902-1986). He had two siblings: Deloris Mable (1922-2001) and Richard Lee (born 1933).  

Family Photo
Date- Unknown
Chester, Millard, May and Deloris

Chester's Birth Certificate 

Census Records: 

1930, April 8- 1509 Huey St., South Bend, Indiana- Son- age 6; Living with Father (age 27), Mother (27), and Sister (7)- home is owned and valued at $600. His father was working as a carpenter. The house at 1509 Huey Street was built in 1944, so Chester's house is no longer there.

1940, April 4- Same address as above- Son- age 16; Living with Father (37), Mother (37), Sister (17) and little Brother Richard (6). His father is working as a millwright, Delores is working as a waitress for a cafeteria and Chester is working as a latherer in building construction. 

On August 10, 1940, Chester married May Eva True in St. Joseph, Michigan. May was born on February 18, 1923 to Leo Vern True (1900-1971) and Tressie Elizabeth Hofmeister (1902-1987). 

Marriage License for Chester and May

Together, Chester and May had 3 Children and at the time of Chester's death, 10 grandchildren: 

1. Carol Jean Mendenhall (1922-2001)

2. Dennis Eugene Mendenhall (born 1947)

3. Rebecca Sue Mendenhall (born 1952)

Chester died on February 24, 2003 at the age of 73. Cause of death was Sudden death syndrome due to critical non operative articular stenosis. He is buried beside his wife in the Southlawn Cemetery in South Bend, Indiana. 

Death Certificate 

My relation to Chester- 6th cousin 3x removed: 

52 Ancestors Biography- Frank B. Seaver (1856-1936)

Meet Frank B. Seaver- my 2nd Great-Grandfather:

Frank with Wife Hester

Frank was born on 14 Nov 1856 in Patriot, Indiana to Greenberry M. Seaver (1823-1905) & Mary Douglas (1827-1862). He had a total of 10 siblings, 6 of whom were half-siblings: Helen, Elmer, Abel, Henry, Sarah, Daniel, Jacob, William, Mary and Oma Belle.

Frank married Harriett Olive "Hester" Watson (1856-1915) on 16 Oct 1888 in Tipton County, Indiana. Hester was the daughter of William A. Watson (1844-1919) & Susanna Manus (1846-1908). 

Frank & Hester had 2 children: 

1. Cleo Roxie Seaver (1892-1973) 

2. Otto Watson Seaver (1901-1972) - (my great-grandfather)

U.S. Census Records:

1860: June 21- Posey, Switzerland County, Indiana- Frank B. is 3 years old, listed as "Son" to his father Greenberry (53), who is a farmer. Along with his father, he lives with 4 siblings and another man named Frank Hickman (20) who is also a farmer (probably a hired hand).  The family's real estate is valued at $1200 and the personal estate is valued at $150.

1870: Sep 22- Posey, Switzerland County, Indiana- Frank B. (13) is living with his father (farmer- 47), step-mother Madeline (37), 8 siblings and 2 others who are laborers. The family's real estate value is $5000 and the personal estate is $1000.

1880: June 25- Posey, Switzerland County, Indiana-  Frank (22) is listed as "son" and "works on farm" lives with his father Greenberry (56) (Farmer) and Step-mother Madeline (46) and 9 siblings.

1900: June 11- Johnson, Clinton County, Indiana- Frank B. (42) is the head of the household, working as a farmer. He lives with his wife Harriett (31), daughter Cleo (7) and a servant Lesley Henderson (20). 

1910: April 19- Johnson, Clinton County, Indiana- Frank B. (51) is the head of household, working as a farmer. He lives on Hillsburg Gravel Road- home is Owned, Mortgage-free. He lives with his wife Harriett (40), daughter Roxie (17), son Otto (9) & a hired man named Bert McDaniel (26) (widowed). 

1920: January 24- Johnson, Clinton County, Indiana- Frank B. (51)  is head of household, working as a farmer. The home is listed as a farm- owned, mortgaged-free. Frank is a widow, he lives with his son Otto (19) and daughter in-law Ruby (18). 

1930: April 2- Jefferson, Tipton County, Indiana- Frank B. (73) is now listed as father-in-law. He lives with his daughter Roxie (37) and her husband James Jackson (41) (Farmer) and their son Charles (13).

Frank died on 20 Feb 1936 at the age of 79 years ago. Cause of death- Arteriosclerosis and fracture of left hip joint from fall (16 days since fall).

Frank's Death Certificate

He is buried in the Kempton Cemetery in Kempton, Tipton County, Indiana:

 

52 Ancestors Biography- James W. Hyman

James W. Hyman - My 2nd Great-Grandfather

James was born on 07 Jan 1854 in Clark County, Indiana to German Immigrant parents- Daniel Andrew Hyman (1810-1860) and Mary Bedleman (1817-1895). He had at least 4 sisters: 

1. Mary A. (b. 1839)

2. Henrietta (1840-1918)

3. Ellen (b. 1846)

4. Matilda Amelia (b. 1850)

James was a Cooper- made barrels. 

Photo courtesy of Google.com

On 03 Nov 1874, James married Mary Kime.

Mary Kime

Born: 05 Feb 1859 in Clark County, Indiana

Died: 14 Oct 1917 in Jeffersonville, Indiana, age 58

Daughter of William Martin Kime (1819-1871) & 

                        Cynthia Ann Bell (1834-1901)

James and Mary had 9 children: 

1. James Henry (1878-1964)

2. Elizabeth "Lizzie" (1880-1932)

3. Joseph (b. 1882)

4. Myrtle May (1884-1953) (my great-grandmother)

       Read more about her Here.

5. Stella E. "Della" (1890-1962)

6. Eva Lena "Lena" (1892-1941)

7. John Huffman (1895-1967)

8. Katherine Belle "Katie" (1897-1956)

9. Henry Ruben (1899-1951)

James died at the age of 72 on 20 Aug 1926 in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Cause of death- Organic Heart Disease. He is buried in the Eastern Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. 

52 Ancestors Biography- Mary Bostick

Mary Bostick- my 2nd great-grandmother.

Mary was born on 21 Aug 1848 in Kentucky to Miles Bostick (b. 1812) & Margaret Francerider (1827-1906).  Early sources when I first started researching several years ago always referred to her as Mary Ann, but I recently found her burial and death certificate and it states: Mary E. 

She was the 3rd child out of 7 children:

1. John Bostick (b. 1844)

2. Sarah Elizabeth Bostick (1845-1917)

3. Nancy Bostick (b. 1852)

4. Jane Bostick (b. 1855)

5. Alice Bostick (b. 1856)

6. Miles Bostick Jr. (b. 1860)

Mary married Isaac Hendricks (1843-1918) on 02 Jan 1867 in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Census records show Mary having had 8 children total, but only 4 living- I have yet to find out when she had these other 4 children and when they passed. They also showed that Mary worked as a seamstress. 

Children of Mary & Isaac: 

1. William Henry (1868-1941)

2. John T. (1869-1945)

3. Anna (1874-1935)

4. Isaac Jr. (1883-1942)

Mary died on 17 May 1920 at the age of 71. Her cause of death sounds complicated- Cerebral Apoplexy- described online as "a sudden disease caused by spontaneous, endogenic, non-inflammatory circulatory disturbances involving cerebral blood vessels". She was laid to rest in the Sellersburg Cemetery in Sellersburg, Indiana. 

The Suicide of James A. Moon

My 3rd cousin, 6x Removed- James Aaron Moon

If you ever visit Lafayette, Indiana, make sure you visit a legendary hotel named the Lahr. AND, if you're daring, stay in room 41.

Side Note: (I really liked my beginning so I kept it, although, you cannot stay in room 41... the building that once was the Lahr hotel, is now an apartment building, sadly).

In this room, 143 years ago, 38 year old James Aaron Moon committed suicide in the most unique fashion-even by today's standards! James was a civil war veteran, a farmer, husband and a father. He also took his own life with a homemade guillotine!

This is James Moon, born on 04 Jun 1838 in Mill Creek, Indiana. He was the son of Enoch Moon (1806-1881) and Elizabeth Lewis (1807-1868). He married Mary Cox (1837-1913) on 16 Sep 1858 and they had 6 children. 

1. Arthur Tellus (1860-1925)

2. Adella C. (1862-1901)

3. John Luther (1867-1920)

4. William Aaron (1869-1941)

5. Frank Marion (1871-1931)

6. James Albert (1877-1926)

On Saturday, June 10, 1876, he checked into the Lahr Hotel and then went to a hardware store to purchase a 12 inch axe head and two pieces of iron plate. He purchased cotton batting and chloroform from a drugstore and retired to his room. By midnight he was dead. 

With all of these items and a soap box and a candle, he had created an auto-decapitation machine. 

His head lay inside the soap box which was lined with the cotton batting soaked in chloroform. The candle was used as a "trigger"- see pictures. 

It is unclear why he why he wanted to die, but his death was ruled an suicide. His body was found by a maid the next morning. Because his door was locked, she had to enter in the joining room next to his. 

How I am related to Moon: 

Mordecai Mendenhall (1713-1803)

(Common Ancestor)

Aaron Mendenhall      Siblings        Richard Mendenhall

Dinah Mendenhall                        Joseph Mendenhall

Enoch Moon                                Richard Mendenhall

James                                        Aaron Mendenhall

                                                Richard Mendenhall

                                                Marion R. Mendenhall

                                                Earl D. Mendenhall

                                                Harold E. Mendenhall

                                                My Mother

                                                Me-Carrie