Hoover-Evacuee Author…

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Author, Ballroom, Children, company, downtown Canton, employees, England, Evacuee, foster families, historic hotel, History, holiday tradition, Hoover, Hoover Historical Center, Hotel Onesto, immersed, Indiana, London, North Canton, North Canton Heritage Society, novel, ohio, old historic building, President McKinley, Ramsayer Research Center, researchers, restoration, sojourner, Stark County, Thanksgiving, threads, transformation, United States, World War II

More often than we can count the Ramsayer Research Center is asked to provide information on an interesting topic concerning either Stark County or President McKinley. We are honored and consider it fun and a privilege to help these fellow researchers “Seek the Threads.” This is the story of one of our visiting researchers and her experiences here.

Hoover Evacuee Author

We were once again given the opportunity to host and help fellow sojourner, Rebecca McVay from central Indiana. We first met Rebecca and her father in 2015. She returned in 2019 to continue her search for the threads of history that tied together people in little North Canton and London, England.

Rebecca is writing a novel on the experiences of children of Hoover Company employees who worked at a branch of the company just north of London, England during World War II. Many children were brought to the United States to escape the war and placed with North Canton foster families. This is Rebecca’s third trip to Canton, Ohio to research in the Ramsayer Research Center, the North Canton Heritage Society, and the Hoover Historical Center, which is now maintained and administered by Walsh University, North Canton, Ohio.

“Boss” Hoover hosted at least one Thanksgiving dinner for the English evacuees in Hotel Onesto’s Ballroom. Rebecca was given the opportunity to visit the building, now known as the Onesto Lofts, located on North Cleveland Ave. and 2nd Street N.W., Canton, Ohio. Steve Coon and his team at Coon Restoration & Sealants were the people responsible for taking an old historic building in downtown Canton. Ohio and bringing it back to its former glory. Much appreciation goes to Brett Haverlick, project manager for the restoration and transformation of the historic hotel into condos. Brett is a good friend of the Ramsayer Research Center and on a Sunday morning he made a special trip from Akron, Ohio to Canton to show Rebecca the former hotel. She was immersed in a location visited by the English evacuees in the 1940’s. Rebecca walked on the same floors where these children had experienced American kindness and holiday tradition some eighty years earlier. There is much more to the story of her latest visit, but we will leave that for another time.

Mark G. Holland
February 14, 2023
McKinley Presidential Library & Museum

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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

Everything Fine…

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Bonnot Company, Canton Drop Forge, ceremony, Chicago, Florida, Genealogy, Gulfport, Hotel Onesto, Illinois, Jefferson County, McKinley High School, McKinley Presidential Library, Mississippi, ohio, Ohio State University, Tyndall Field, United States Army, wedding reception

This fall the McKinley Presidential Library received a small collection of papers and photographs from Jefferson County Genealogy Society. Flora Ver Straten – Merrin the president of the genealogy society forwarded this gift to us, explaining her daughter found these papers in her house in Toronto, Jefferson County, Ohio. The minute I opened the parcel I knew there were “threads” to “Seek.”

William E. Aeschbacher who lived at 210 Exeter S.W. Canton, Ohio attended McKinley High School on North Market Avenue in Canton. “Bud” as he was known to his friends studied industrial as a vocation, and played volleyball in his junior year. His classmates described him in their annual saying “Everything has a bright side, and Bill always finds it.”

Meanwhile Audrey J. Babb a junior in 1939 also attended McKinley High, and dreamt of her future. The Babb’s lived at 347 30^th Street NW Canton, and the Aeschbacher’s lived at 210 Exeter SW. We can only guess Audrey and Bill may have been high school sweethearts. Audrey attended Ohio State University, and worked at The Bonnot Company, while Bill worked for the Canton Drop Forge Company before being inducted into the United States Army.

In August of 1943 the two were wed in the living room of Audrey’s home on 30^th Street NW. She wore a white street-length dress with a shoulder corsage of orchids, while the groom was attended to by his father. Immediately after the ceremony a small wedding dinner was held in the Del Monte room at Hotel Onesto.  A wedding reception was that evening at the bride’s home.

William received training in both Chicago, Illinois and Tyndall Field, Florida. The former Miss Audrey Babb, now Mrs. William Aeschbacher accompanied her new husband as he returned to duty in Gulfport, Mississippi.

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November is National Veterans and Military Families Month declared by the Department of Defense, USA. As a part of celebrating the ordinary people performing extraordinary work we at the McKinley Museum bring you stories of our local veterans, and the people on the Homefront.  We you enjoyed this week’s adventure Everything Fine the story a two young kids from Canton, Ohio who are doing their best for “The War” effort.

Elizabeth Aultman Harter’s Lasting Legacy… Part Seven, the Aultman Hospital

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Archives, Aultman, Aultman Hospital, Aultman Memorial Hospital, Canton, Charity, Cornelius Aultman, Donation, Elizabeth Harter, exhibit, Healthcare, Hospital, Intern, Katherine Barron Reybold Aultman, Lasting Legacy, Library, Local History, Medical, Museum, ohio, Research, Stark County

On December 26, 1884, millionaire Cornelius Aultman died suddenly.  His widow Katherine Barron Reybold Aultman wanted to create Stark County’s first hospital in memory of her late husband, as it was an unfilled aspiration of his.

From left to right: Cornelius Aultman, Katherine Barron Reybold Aultman, and Elizabeth Harter.

She proposed the idea to his daughter, Elizabeth Aultman Harter. Elizabeth agreed to help her step-mother fulfill this plan in honor of her father. In 1891, the two women provided funding and 4.5 acres of land for the medical center.

Once it was complete, the hospital could accommodate up to 70 patients, larger than any other hospital in a city of Canton’s size at this time. Sitting at its current location of 2600 6th Street Southwest, the Aultman Memorial Hospital opened on January 17, 1892. However, the hospital did not receive its first patient until February 5 of that year. Aultman Hospital is still serving Stark County to this day. According to their most recent annual report available, the hospital cared for over 650,000 patients in 2018 alone.

Elizabeth Aultman Harter’s Lasting Legacy… Part Six, the Aultman-Harter Mansion

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Archives, Aultman, Canton, Cornelius Aultman, Elizabeth Harter, exhibit, George Dewalt Harter, History, Hostess, Intern, Lasting Legacy, Library, Local History, Mansion, Museum, ohio, POTUS, President, Research, Roosevelt, Social, Stark County, William McKinley

Designed and built by Cornelius Aultman in 1869, sold to George D. Harter, and later passed onto Elizabeth Harter in 1885, the Aultman-Harter Mansion was a social hub of Canton, Ohio.

From left to right: Elizabeth Harter, Cornelius Aultman, and George DeWalt Harter.

In her adult life, Elizabeth was fondly thought of as the unofficial hostess of Canton. Located at 933 North Market Avenue, this mansion would be the site of many gatherings and social events. While Cornelius was still living, he hosted several presidents and important political figures at the mansion, including Rutherford B. Hayes, Ulysses S. Grant, James A. Garfield, and good family friend William McKinley.

Elizabeth would continue her father’s trend after the assassination of President McKinley. For the two days after McKinley’s death, Elizabeth’s home became the temporary residence and office of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Elizabeth Aultman Harter’s Lasting Legacy… Part Five, the Harter Homestead

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1896, 1896 Election, Archives, Aultman, Campaign, Canton, Cornelius Aultman, Elizabeth Harter, exhibit, Family, Front Porch Campaign, home, Intern, Lasting Legacy, Library, Local History, Mckinley, Museum, ohio, POTUS, President, Presidential Campaign, Research, Stark County, William McKinley

The Harter family’s home, located at 723 North Market Avenue, would eventually be the site of William McKinley’s famous “Front Porch Campaign.” Before McKinley campaigned here, and before the Harters lived here, Elizabeth’s father Cornelius Aultman and step-mother Katherine Barron Reybold Aultman resided at 723 North Market for three years, from 1868 to 1871. The couple lived here while they waited for the completion of the Aultman mansion. 

From left to right: Elizabeth Aultman Harter, the Harter home during William McKinley’s front porch campaign, and Cornelius Aultman.

In 1871, The Aultman couple moved out of the house and future president William McKinley rented the home for over two years. From 1873 to 1899, Elizabeth and husband George DeWalt Harter, owned the home. The Harter family resided here for twelve of the twenty-six years they owned it, until 1885 when they moved to the Aultman-Harter Mansion. Finally, in 1896 presidential candidate William McKinley rented the Harter home for his “Front Porch Campaign.” During this campaign, citizens would gather on the front yard of the Harter home to hear William McKinley perform his speeches literally from the front porch.

Elizabeth Aultman Harter’s Lasting Legacy… Part Four, the Matriarch

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Archives, Aultman, Banker, business, Canton, Children, Elizabeth Harter, exhibit, Family, George Dewalt Harter, History, Intern, Isaac Harter Senior, Lasting Legacy, Library, Local History, Marriage, Museum, ohio, Research, Single Mother, Stark County

In 1868, Elizabeth became engaged to George DeWalt Harter, the son of well-established Canton banker Isaac Harter Senior, and a banker himself. George was also the first plant manager of Cornelius Aultman’s Mansfield factory. In March 1869, the two married and Elizabeth Aultman became Elizabeth Harter. In January 1870, the two had their first child, Eliza, named after Elizabeth’s mother. The newlywed couple was wrought with grief when their daughter passed away at only six months old. Over the next seventeen years, Elizabeth and George had five more children, consisting of four girls and one boy. Their only son, Cornelius Aultman Harter, passed when he was only four years old on May 17, 1880. On December 8, 1890, George Harter’s death made Elizabeth the sole parent of four daughters, aged 19, 12, 10, and 3. In addition to her professional responsibilities with inheriting her late husband’s business interests, Elizabeth now had to raise four young women on her own.

Elizabeth Aultman Harter’s Lasting Legacy… Part Three, The Businesswoman

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Archives, Aultman, business, Businesswoman, Canton, Cornelius Aultman, Director, Elizabeth Harter, Entrepreneur, exhibit, George Dewalt Harter, History, Intern, Lasting Legacy, Library, Local History, Manufacturing, Millionaire, Museum, ohio, President, Research, Stark County

Elizabeth Aultman Harter’s involvement in her father Cornelius Aultman’s business was exceptional for a few reasons. First, it was rare for women to be involved in business operations, let alone at the level Elizabeth would reach in her lifetime. Secondly, Elizabeth was only nineteen in 1867 when she began serving on the board of directors for the farm equipment manufacturer Aultman & Taylor Company in Mansfield, Ohio. Despite the common attitude towards women working at this time, her father was incredibly proud and encouraging of his only child.

For over fifty-five years, from 1866 to 1924, Elizabeth was an integral part of the Aultman Taylor Company’s success in the farming machinery industry. Additionally, following the passing of her father and her husband, George DeWalt Harter, Elizabeth inherited their fortunes, along with their responsibilities. Because of this, Elizabeth took on leadership roles at various business and banking institutions.

A C. Aultman & Co. fashion trade card, one from a set of four. The front of these cards commemorated fashion throughout one hundred years prior and the backside advertised the company’s brand of Buckeye Harvesting Machines.

The Genealogy of the Essig Family. Pictured in the bottom left corner, a man uses a Buckeye Binder.

The heading on a piece of Aultman & Taylor Machinery Co. stationary. Mrs. Harter is identified as the vice president of the company in the top left corner of the paper. This heading also features the company’s logo of a starving chicken. It is accompanied by the slogan, “Fattened on an Aultman-Taylor straw stack.” This ironic comment is a reference to the fact that Aultman & Taylor machines leave behind no grain for chickens to feed on.

Elizabeth Aultman Harter’s Lasting Legacy…Part Two

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Archives, Aultman, Banker, business, Canton, Children, Elizabeth Harter, exhibit, Family, George Dewalt Harter, History, Intern, Isaac Harter Senior, Lasting Legacy, Library, Local History, Marriage, Museum, ohio, Research, Single Mother, Stark County

On May 14, 1847, Elizabeth Aultman Harter was born to Cornelius and Eliza Wise Aultman in Greentown, Ohio. Throughout her life, Elizabeth would leave a lasting legacy here in Stark County. She would serve on the board of directors for her father’s business, the Aultman Taylor Company, and bring great success to the corporation. She would provide the location for future President William McKinley’s front porch campaign and become the close friend of several other presidents. Along with her stepmother Katherine Barron Reybold Aultman, Elizabeth would create Stark County’s first hospital, which is still caring for hundreds of thousands of patients today. She would become the third president of Canton’s YWCA. Another thing that made Mrs. Harter so outstanding is that she, like her father Cornelius Aultman, was one of Cantons greatest ‘silent’ benefactors, putting many young men through college who otherwise would not have had the opportunity. She was also left a young widow and single mother to four children at the age of forty-three. She was a multifaceted woman who fulfilled numerous roles during her life, as well as overcame several devastating hardships. By the time of her passing on October 25, 1932, Elizabeth had reached various achievements throughout her lifetime, exceptional then, and still remarkable to this day.

Elizabeth Aultman Harter’s Lasting Legacy…Part One

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accomplishedwoman, Archives, archivesbringgoodfeelings, archivinginthekeyoflife, assignment, AultmanHospital, AultmanTaylorCompany, Canton, career, CorneliusAultman, daughter, display, ElizabethAultmanHarter, ElizabethHartersLastingLegacy, ElizaWiseAultman, exhibit, findyourquest, findyourwhy, forgottenhistory, GeorgeDeWaltHarter, historynerds, ideas, Internship, KatherineBarronReyboldAultman, Legacy, lifestory, Mansfield, Mckinley, mckinleypresidentiallibrary, McKinleyPresidentialLibraryandMuseum, MrsHarter, ohio, Project, researching, seekthethreads, Shareastory, silentbenefactor, StarkCounty, strongwoman, topic, volunteer, women, YWCA

As part of my internship at the Ramsayer Research Library here at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, I was tasked with creating an exhibit for the display case in the library. The assignment was, “Share a story that needs to be told.” At first, researching possible ideas was overwhelming because there were simply too many stories to tell. After much thought and consideration about what kind of story should be told, the topic presented itself. The women who shaped Canton, Ohio have been largely forgotten in history and their stories need to be shared. Library volunteer Judy Cloud Pocock gave some guidance for this project. She suggested that Elizabeth Aultman Harter be included in the display case exhibit. Once Elizabeth’s life story started to be uncovered, it was clear that she was the woman who the exhibit should focus on.

Elizabeth Aultman Harter was an incredibly accomplished woman— and not just in her time. Her legacy still impresses to this day. Daughter of Canton, Ohio’s first millionaire entrepreneur Cornelius Aultman, Elizabeth left a lasting mark on Stark County. She and her stepmother Katherine Barron Reybold Aultman founded Aultman Hospital here in Canton, Ohio. Elizabeth served on the board of directors at the Aultman Taylor Company in Mansfield, Ohio. She also presided as one of the first presidents of Canton’s YWCA. Another thing that made Mrs. Harter so outstanding is that she, like her father Cornelius Aultman, was one of Canton’s greatest ‘silent’ benefactors, putting many young men through college who otherwise would not have had the opportunity. While she exceled in her professional career, she was also a strong woman in her personal life. When she was just eighteen, Elizabeth lost her birth mother Eliza Wise Aultman after a long-term illness. In her adult life, Mrs. Harter lost her first daughter Eliza when she was just six months old. Later, Elizabeth lost her only son Cornelius A. Harter when he was four. The passing of her husband George DeWalt Harter made Elizabeth a widow and single mother to four daughters by the age of forty-three. However, despite her successes and the hardships she overcame, her memory has faded from history. To bring her back to life, Ramsayer Research Library intern Alyia Marasco has uncovered her legacy to share her story. “Elizabeth Harter’s Lasting Legacy” will be displayed in the Ramsayer Research Library display case. The Library is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm for anyone who would like to view this new exhibit.