Uncovering Daisy: Daisy Lillian (Fox) Schoener.

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Archives, Charles Krickbaum, Church, Clay Township, Dennison, eclampsia, First Evangelical Brethren, Gnadenhutten Cemetery Gnadenhutten, historical societies, Huron County, influenza, Inspire Others, Libraries, Massillon, Massillon City Hospital, Monroeville, ohio, Past and Present, seek the threads, Stark County Probate Records, Tuscarawas County, Urichsville, West Lawn Cemetery, Wyandot County

…was born in Nevada, Wyandot County in the north western part of Ohio. By the 1900 census the Samuel and Alice (Nussbaum) Fox family was living in Clay Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. The household consisted of son, Simon age twenty, daughter Rose age sixteen, Earnest thirteen, Daisy seven, and Estella age three. Samuel Fox was a railroad laborer. Clay Township, is southwest of Dennison, and Urichsville, in Tuscarawas County. Today most people do not consider Dennison, and Clay Township to be a far drive from Canton, Ohio, but in the early 20th century it was quite a trek. 

By 1912 Daisy had met William Schoener born in Monroeville, Huron County, Ohio. Daisy Lillian Fox was married to William Schoener on November 26, 1912 by Reverend Charles W. Recard of the First Evangelical Brethren Church of Canton, Ohio. Probate Judge Charles Krickbaum recorded this marriage in the Stark County Probate Records on June 6, 1913. Meredith as he preferred to be called was twenty-one, and Daisy was nineteen years old when the two became one. Both were residents of Massillon, Ohio when they were married. By 1920 the Schoener family was back in Tuscarawas County, with two boys Ralph six, and his one and a half year old brother John. 

In 1922 Daisy had a baby boy named Dean Meredith, but he died and was buried in the Gnadenhutten Cemetery in the village of  Gnadenhutten, Ohio on March 21, 1922. The family eventually made their home way back to Stark County to live in Massillon. Daisy was pregnant and developed eclampsia, and influenza. She died in the Massillon City Hospital on Tuesday January 10, 1933. She was forty years old leaving her husband Meredith, two daughters Betty Jean and Mary Jane and three sons Ralph, John, and Thomas. Daisy was buried in West Lawn Cemetery in Section Z on January 12, 1933. 

Libraries, archives, and local historical societies are invaluable in helping to provide families with necessary  information. In my experience visiting libraries or archives for which I am unfamiliar, can be a rather cold experience, or sometimes a frustrating one. Recently, I was reminded of the importance of always viewing a situation from the other person’s point of view. When a patron is reaching out for help it is important to put yourself in their place. The McKinley Presidential Library & Ramsayer Research Center is a great laboratory in which we test these actions. The volunteer staff care for and validate each patron and each story they bring to us. We have helped literally hundreds of people find grandma’s house, find the footprint of a relative’s home, or find a letter or photograph that the patron never knew existed. 

We are proud of our work, and always strive to connect the past and present. Thank you for continuing to support our cause to seek, find, and knock.  

We Seek the Threads that connect the Past and Present, to Inspire Others in Their Quests…

This is WHY we do what we do

November 16, 2022 McKinley Presidential Library & Museum

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Underground Railroad in Stark County

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abolitionists, African American, Alliance, Anson Pease, Anti-Slavery Bugle, anti-slavery convention, anti-slavery movement, Canton, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, First Women’s Rights Convention, Frederick Douglas, free, fugitive slaves, George Harsh, Haines House, hiding places, Jacob Gaskins, James Bayliss, Jonathan Ridgeway Haines, Kendal, Lisbon, Lucretia Mott, Massillon, mayor, Quakers, railroad, Roanoke, Robert Folger, Rotch family, runaway slaves, safe houses, slave emancipation, social reform, Spring Hill House, Stark County, stations, Thomas and Charity Rotch, Underground, William Lloyd Garrison, women’s rights

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The Underground Railroad was a system of safe houses and hiding places in which white and free African American “conductors” would assist runaway slaves, or freedom seekers, from Southern slave states to freedom in Northern free states as well as Canada.

One of the most prominent Underground Railroad stops in Stark County is the Spring Hill House in Massillon. The Spring Hill house was built in 1821 and owned by Thomas and Charity Rotch, who were Quakers and abolitionists. They used their home as a stop for fugitive slaves escaping slavery to the North. Despite attempts by slave hunters, no fugitive slave was ever caught at Spring Hill. 

Spring Hill had a secret staircase that connected the basement kitchen to the servants’ quarters on the second floor. This allowed fugitive slaves to move between hiding spaces without being exposed to the main floor of the house.  Using the secret staircase, fugitive slaves could hide in the attic crawlspace. Additionally, the attic was at one time used to keep bees and make honey because The Rotch family did not want to buy sugar, which used slave labor in the Caribbean to produce.

Another stop on the Underground Railroad was the Haines House in Alliance. The house was owned by Jonathan Ridgeway Haines, a Quaker and abolitionist, and his wife Sarah. Jonathan Haines and his son John would stand guard while runaway slaves stayed in the upper story of the house.

There were several other citizens of Stark County that were involved with the Underground Railroad. Many of those who were involved used their houses as stations on the Underground Railroad. Some of these people were the lawyer Anson Pease and his family. Their home, nicknamed Roanoke, was a station on the Underground Railroad.

Some of the other people involved in the Underground Railroad were James Bayliss and George Harsh, who both used their houses as stations. There was also Jacob Gaskins, one of the first African American settlers in Stark County, and Robert Folger, the former mayor of Massillon in 1861 and from 1864 to 1866.

Another important figure was Lucretia Mott. For a short time, her parents lived in Kendal, Ohio, which is now Massillon. Lucretia fought for women’s rights and slave emancipation, and in 1847 she delivered a lecture in Massillon on social reform. She would later help organize the First Women’s Rights Convention with Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

There were many active members of the Underground Railroad and anti-slavery movement in Ohio. In an article from the Anti-Slavery Bugle of Lisbon, Ohio, citizens of Massillon proposed an anti-slavery convention. Another article from the anti-slavery bugle features plans for anti-slavery conventions in Ohio in which prominent abolitionists Frederick Douglas and William Lloyd Garrison would be in attendance.

Ohio was an important part of the Underground Railroad. In Stark County, there were several routes though cities such as Canton, Alliance, and Massillon and many prominent figures that helped on the Underground Railroad.

Tales from the Negatives: WandL.E. Tower What…

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archive, Canton, communication points, freight train, history galleries, keys, main line, Massillon, MN Tower, Museum, negatives, ohio, photograph, railroad, scanning, Stark County, Street of Shops, switch tower, switchman, track, tracks, trains, Wandle, Wandle Tower, Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad Company

While scanning an archive of some 1400 negatives I found an interesting image of a switch tower. 

John Taylor at MN Tower

A switch tower is a building where railroad personnel monitor track switches.  Towers were placed near switch locations into order for the railroad personnel to manually “throw” the switch to direct trains to a different track.  A switchman possessed keys to unlock/lock a switch so that someone just walking along could not “throw” the switch and cause an accident.  These towers also served as a communication points along the rails passing along information to trains as to the status of the tracks ahead.

The MN switch tower in this collection was near a passing siding.  Passing sidings utilized switches in order to allow two trains on the same track to pass one another.  As these opposing trains approach one another, one train is switched from the main line onto a passing siding to wait for the other train to pass. Once the train with the right of way has passed, the train waiting can move back onto the main line and go on its way.  The average freight train can be one to one and a quarter miles in length or 90 to 120 rail cars and therefore this passing siding must be long enough to accommodate these large trains. 

The photographs in this large archive were shot by amateur photographer William Ward Lowery in the early twentieth century. Mr. Lowery worked for the Canton City Water Department where he retired in 1955 having served the City of Canton for forty-two years.

William Ward Lowery

While cleaning the history galleries in our museum last Friday I noticed a tower in the model train set up we have in our Street of Shops. This tower looked like the switch tower in Mr. Lowey’s photographs.  As I walked around the set up I noticed more towers in more cities in Stark County. 

The two towers we feature today are the MN Tower, and the Wandle Tower.  We have found evidence that the MN Tower was East of Massillon, Ohio. The Wandle Tower in the model represents a tower that once stood in Canton, Ohio. The word Wandle is an amalgamation of the initials of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad Company W. and L.E. Wandle.

Stay tuned to our museum’s Facebook, YouTube Channel, and our blog Archivist’s Attic for more Tales from the Negatives…

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Tales from the Negatives: Get Technical…

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Archives Bring Good Feelings, archiving in the key of life, Baltzly, Canton, find your quest, Glass plates, Hamilton, History, history nerds, Massillon, Massillon Museum, McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, negatives, seek the threads, Stark County

In February of this year Archivist, Mark Holland discovered a clue that solved a 48 year old mystery. See how this happened and get to know a little bit about two Stark County Photographers…

Finishing at Brooke Hall…

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1897, Annie Steese Baldwin, Arch Street, archivist, Aultman Hospital, Baltimore Street, Board of Directors, Borough of Media, Brooke Hall, Brooke Hall Female Seminary, Canton, Caroline McCullough Everhard, Carrie Jacobs Brown, Chinatown, Delaware County Courthouse, finishing school, First Lady, Flora Russell McClymonds, footprint of Brooke Hall, George D. Harter Bank, Ida Saxton, James & Katherine (Dewalt) Saxton, Lemon Street, Massillon, McKinley Archives, Media, Media Historical Archives Commission, Miss Harriet Gault, Miss M. I. Eastman, Miss Mary Saxton, Mr. Bryan, Mrs. William McKinley, nineteenth century, oath of office, ohio, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, photographer, Pina, President of the United States, Shortlidge Boy’s Academy, Upper Providence Library, W. L. Germon, William, William Jennings Bryan, William McKinley

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Miss Ida Saxton of Canton, Ohio would go on to be Mrs. William McKinley and eventually First Lady when her husband William took the oath of office of the President of the United States in 1897.  Ida’s sister Miss Mary Saxton known as Pina (Peen Ya) would later marry Marshall C. Barber of Canton and serve on the Board of Directors of the George D. Harter Bank and Aultman Hospital both in Canton, Ohio.

Ida and Mary Saxton

Ida & Mary’s parents James & Katherine (Dewalt) Saxton had the means to give their children a well-rounded education.  They sent their two daughters to Brooke Hall Female Seminary in Media, Pennsylvania.

James and Katherine (Dewalt) Saxton

Photographer W. L. Germon of nearby Philadelphia took an early photograph of Brooke Hall that found its way into our McKinley Archives.

Brooke Hall Female Seminary

W. L. Germon worked in Philadelphia at 914 Arch Street, in what is present day Chinatown.  The building was razed and the area is now a parking lot.

Courtesy of Google Maps

Brooke Hall was located on Lemon Street near Baltimore Street in Media, Pennsylvania.

Courtesy of Media Historic Archives

William Jennings Bryan who ran for president against William McKinley in both 1896 and 1900.

With help from the generous team of the Media Historic Archives Commission my wife Alyson and I were able to learn more about the “finishing school” Ida and Mary Saxton attended in the mid nineteenth century.  We started at the Upper Providence Library in Media where the Media Historic Archives are housed.  We met with Kathy a commissioner of the historical group.  She allowed us to explore books, archival photographs, and papers on Brooke Hall.  The commission’s archivist, Adam generously took the time to pull all the items connected with the school.  Walt, another commissioner in the group took us on a two and a half hour tour of the Borough of Media.  Our first stop was an area where a house once stood that was associated with William Jennings Bryan who ran for president against William McKinley in both 1896 and 1900.  Another place in town that is connected to Mr. Bryan is the Delaware County Courthouse where he gave a speech on the steps.

Using both the 1882 and the 1892 atlases of Delaware County, PA we were able to locate the footprint of Brooke Hall.

Courtesy of Media Historic Archives

Courtesy of Media Historic Archives

It was an exhilarating experience to visit another place where Ida and Mary Saxton once walked and lived for a time in their young lives.

Brooke Hall Footprint on Lemon Street

The Media Elementary School became the first anchor in the revitalization of the downtown area.

Students of Brooke Hall were not permitted to write letters to boys or visit Media without an escort.  Shortlidge Academy for Boys also operated in town at the same time as Brooke Hall.  Walt, our tour guide told us the all too familiar story of the suburbanization of Media, and the decay of the borough in the mid-20^th century.  The beginnings of the rebirth of the downtown area rested in the land where the poorhouse once stood.  The same area then became the Shortlidge Boy’s Academy, and finally one of the borough’s elementary schools.  The Media Elementary School became the first anchor in the revitalization of the downtown area.

Media Elementary School

Other anchors were established and eventually Media came back to be a healthy thriving borough.

Alumni from Massillon, Ohio

Ida & Mary Saxton kept fond memories of Brooke Hall, and their Principal Miss M. I. Eastman. Ida would became Brooke Hall’s most famous graduate, graduating in 1863. Over thirty years later Mrs. McKinley was still on affectionate terms with one of her teachers Miss Harriet Gault.  In 1898, First Lady Mrs. Ida (Saxton) McKinley would host a banquet for Brooke Hall Alumni in the White House. The party included Teacher Miss Harriet Gault.  The guest list also included; Caroline McCullough Everhard, Flora Russell McClymonds, Annie Steese Baldwin, and Carrie Jacobs Brown all of Massillon, Ohio.

Caroline McCullough Everhard Courtesy of Massillon Museum

Flora Russell McClymonds Courtesy of Massillon Museum

Annie Steese Baldwin Courtesy of Massillon Museum

Carrie Jacobs Brown Courtesy of Massillon Museum

The Massillon Museum has a fan in their collection. It is signed by these ladies from Massillon.  We have reason to believe this may be a fan from Brooke Hall.

Courtesy of Massillon Museum

Brooke Hall in Media, Pennsylvania was a very special place to many young women…

The photographs in this presentation were provided by the Historic Archives Commission in Media Pennsylvania, Massillon Museum in Massillon, Ohio, and the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum in Canton, Ohio.

Thank you to National First Ladies Library in Canton, Massillon Museum in Massillon, Ohio and the Media Historical Archives Commission in Media, Pennsylvania for collaborating with McKinley Presidential Library & Museum in the telling of this story.

Mark G. Holland
Archivist

On Visiting the Monument (Installment 1)

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Canton, Family, Massillon, Mckinley, Monument, Stark County

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The following is a personal account of the first visit of the writer in 1965 to the McKinley National Memorial in Canton, Ohio

On Visiting the Monument (Installment 1):

My first visit to the McKinley National Memorial – a site that we as Massillonians had always just called, “the monument,” most likely came at the invitation of my first grade school- and Cub Scout-pal, Robert.

One fine June morning , just as our summer vacation was getting underway, Robert and his mother drove up in front of our house in their trusty blue Chevy.  Mom and I were out directly and got situated in the car – moms in front, kids in back.  A picnic lunch for four that mom had made the night before was folded neatly in waxed paper and packed in a basket with our drinks wrapped with equal care in aluminum foil so they’d stay cold, rested on the seat between Robert and me.  The moms both wore white “cat’s eye” rimmed style sunglasses to protect their eyes from the glare of the mid-morning sun.  Rob and I were men.  We didn’t need no glasses.

Driving from Massillon to Canton, we covered the eight mile trip in mere minutes.  As we rode the then familiar landmarks along Lincoln Way West and West Tuscarawas Street passed before us:  Lambrou’s Chicken Chateau, Brady’s Pink Cottage Restaurant and Stark Drive-In; ahead on the left, the orange roofline of Howard Johnson’s, Milk Maid Candies, the Ohio Bell Telephone Terminal Center and The Sachsenheim Club, Stemco’s, The Red Coachman, the Town & Country Buffet and little F’n E Dairy.  Construction was near finishing on the new St. Joan of Arc Church, then came Central Catholic High School, Kling Motors, The Dog House, McDonald’s Golden Arches, the Robert Hall Store and PDQ on the left, Laughlin Motors on the right; there’s Fishers and Country Fair Shopping Center.  Across the street on the south side of the block, the new Mellet Mall was getting signage in place on the wall of the huge new Penny’s store soon to open and in a few more blocks there was Heggy’s Nut Shoppe. A little farther on the left, there’s Schrock’s Hobbies and the bell tower of St. Joseph’s Church, Shopper’s Fair on the right and finally, there ahead on the right, the golden dome of First Baptist Church and just beyond, venerable Mother Goose Land.  We turned left off of West Tusc and entered the edge of the park but still at that point, the whole sweep of the monument itself was hidden from view.

We drove in heart-pounding silence up the right-hand side of the tree-lined boulevard where once, “The Long Water” formed the blade and tip of a figurative sword.  Just a little further and there at last was the monument!  First the motor court then the tiers of steps drew our eyes up to the bronze doors and the glistening white dome.  Big as it was, you almost had to refocus to capture the bronze statue of the president standing centered at a point about half way between the first step and the top step.  As I leaned over on Robert’s side of the seat to look out of the open window, the view took my breath away!  His mom brought the car to a stop in a parking space as he and I stared out the back window.  Before we left the car the moms, speaking almost in a whisper, reminded us that this was supposed to be a quiet and respectful place – like church.  Once outside the car, I still wasn’t sure of myself and I held my mom’s hand.  I remember being just caught up in the moment – dare I say, the majesty of the place – the glaring white granite, the brilliant blue of a cloudless late spring sky, the deep green of the grass and the leaves on the trees – and the silence; respectful, awesome and still.  Everybody’s mom must have had that talk in the car that morning because except for maybe the click of a camera shutter or the occasional robin or cardinal trill, there was no sound.  The American and Ohio state flags fluttered on their halyards but never scratched against the masts.  Busy West Tusc was just a few blocks away but not a sound intruded on that setting.  It seemed holy.  Then a little voice from someone who, in their own excitement, forgot the whispered reminder from their mom in the car, turned and hollered merrily from the top-most step, “One hundred and eight!”

The steps had a bit of an irregular stride so it took a few to get our climbing rhythm but it was quickly mastered and we were on our way up and up, “44,45,46…” a quick look back down to reckon how high we’d climbed and get a closer look at the statue.  “68,69,70…” gettin’ kinda sweaty; “106, 107, 108!”  We first turned to look behind us as we were standing above the tops of the trees and could see clear into downtown Canton.  The bell tower of St. Joseph’s on our right at about 2 o’clock; the fifth floor dome of Central Catholic much farther out at about 1 o’clock; directly ahead and to the left, the panorama of skyscrapers, church steeples, smoke stacks and signal towers that was the pulse of Stark County.

Now composed and reverent again, we turned to step inside.

Only one of the bronze doors was open and it was, it seemed, only open a crack but each of us entered with room to spare.  In the cool, quite stillness, taking a few seconds for my eyes to adjust, I remember making the sign of the cross and looking for a holy water fount – so very church-like was the atmosphere.   Gathered on the floor were several of the wreaths still on display from the Decoration Day program held just a few weeks before.  And there at last lying side by side in a very tall granite vault were the two McKinley’s.  Their daughters, the sign read, had been interred in the walls.  Looking up into the arch of the dome I noticed that there were flood lights shining on the vault that wasn’t black as I’d thought but instead a deep green.  This seemed an almost surreal spot, so cool and clean and quiet; right on the edge of a busy downtown but almost unaware of the hustle and bustle going on all around it.  Time suspended itself for those several minutes we spent inside reading and imagining and taking history by the hand.

Michael J. Bachtel Guest Blogger