#MorrowMonday – Pioneer Quakers

Today we will be continuing our monthly #morrowmonday

The article we are featuring is dated June 17, 1909, and highlights the early pioneer Quakers in the Warren County area, and more specifically Waynesville. In the article it chronicles the establishment of Friends’ meetings at Waynesville, which predate Ohio becoming a state!

 

Western Star, June 17, 1909

Western Star, June 17, 1909

Did you know Miami Monthly Meeting: The Religious Society of Friends still meets in the Meeting House built in 1811? If you are interested in learning more, check out the Miami Monthly Meeting Webpage. The Museum at the Friends Home is housed in the 1905 Friends Boarding Home within the Quaker Historical District in Waynesville, Ohio, and is open to the public and provides many out of museum experiences within Waynesville.

 

The Warren County Centennial Atlas, 1903

The Warren County Centennial Atlas, 1903

You can read the article in its entirety over at Ohio Memory

Josiah Morrow (1838-1928) was a Warren County native and grandson to the famed Jeremiah Morrow. He took great pride in preserving the history of Warren County and wrote a weekly column in the Western Star from 1907-1928.

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#NationalMilitaryAppreciationMonth

With May being #NationalMilitaryAppreciationMonth, we thought we would highlight some of the resources within the county available to Veterans, along with a list of the records our office has available to researchers.

The Warren County Recorder, Linda Oda, takes a lot of pride in making sure that her office is helping to support the Veteran population of Warren County. Some of the services they offer for Veterans include:

• Recording your DD214/NGB22
• Honor Rewards
• Honor Rewards Participating Businesses
• Veteran ID Card
• Getting your DD214/NGB22

You can access information for these services using this link from the Recorder’s Office Website: Military Information & Rewards

Warren County Recorder’s Office Website – Military Information & Rewards

The Warren County Veterans Service Office provides local Veterans with services ranging from transportation to emergency financial relief. Their office has a comprehensive website that provides more resources than can be summed up in a bulleted list. Be sure to check out their website if you are a Veteran or know a Veteran that could benefit from what they have to offer: Warren County Veterans Services Office

Warren County Veterans Services Office Website

Finally, our office has been working on providing historic resources that involve Warren County Veterans and making them available to the general public for research. To date we have the Recorder’s Office Veteran’s Gravesite Index available to search online, this includes almost 8,000 entries spanning from the mid 1800’s to current date. Our office also houses the Soldiers Relief Commission, Appointments, and Oaths Records along with a volume of Officers Records. The last two record series are not available to search online as of yet, if you would like more information regarding them you can reach out to our office directly. If you would like to access the online index you can click this link: Warren County Recorder’s Veteran’s Gravesite Index

Warren County Records Center & Archives Website

The Year was 1803…

If you are not familiar with Warren County history, you might not know just how significant the year 1803 is. To celebrate Warren County’s 216th birthday we have decided to create a fun list of all the reasons we think 1803 is such a big deal to us!

#1 – Ohio became a state on March 1, 1803

Railroad Map of Ohio, 1912

#2 – Warren County became a county on May 1, 1803

Map of Warren County, Warren County Atlas, 1875

#3 – The Golden Lamb has been in operation in some form or fashion since 1803

Golden Lamb Tavern Licence, December 23, 1803

#4 – Franklin, Wayne, Hamilton, and Deerfield Townships were formed

Franklin Township, Warren County Atlas, 1875

Wayne Township, Warren County Atlas, 1875

Deerfield Township, Warren County Atlas, 1875

Hamilton Township, Warren County Atlas, 1875

#5 –  Benjamin Jones & Hannah Julyon were the first of marriages to be recorded on August 30, 1803

Benjamin Jones & Hannah Julyon’s Marriage Record, August 30, 1803

#MorrowMonday – Some Old Epitaphs

Today is our very first #morrowmonday

Josiah Morrow (1838-1928) was a Warren County native and grandson to the famed Jeremiah Morrow. He took great pride in preserving the history of Warren County and wrote a weekly column in the Western Star from 1907-1928.

The first article we are featuring is dated December 10, 1908, and highlights some of the epitaphs inscribed on some of the oldest graves in Lebanon, Ohio. Josiah highlighted the Corwin family specifically because they were amongst the earliest settlers to the Lebanon and Warren County area.

Western Star – December 10, 1908

Rachel Lewis Drake

Grandmother

 

Western Star – December 10, 1908

Find A Grave – https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2015/117/7143396_1430257731.jpg

Ichabod Corwin

First settler in Lebanon, Ohio, in March of 1796

Western Star – December 10, 1908

Find A Grave – https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2017/336/7146969_42552042-4866-4387-95c9-9461577aae95.jpeg

Sarah Corwin

Ichabod Corwin’s Wife

Western Star – December 10, 1908

Find A Grave – https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2008/173/7146973_121417738541.jpg

 

To read the entire article you can find it and many other Western Star Articles that have been digitized and made available through Ohio Memory.

 

To Shred or not to Shred! Records and Information Month at Warren County

It’s finally Records and Information Management Month! In celebration, we are highlighting Warren County’s behind the scenes efforts to keep our records and information management cycling. Today we are talking about the destruction process.

As mentioned in one of our blogs from last year, once a record has hit its retention cycle, it might need an RC-3 (certificate of destruction) or CO (court order) for destruction. This information is relayed to me (the Records Manager*), an RC-3 or CO is created, and then signed by the department head or elected official before destruction or disposal can take place.

At Warren County we conduct on-site destructions every three weeks and when needed in case of special requests.  Having our records destruction done on-site keeps the county accountable to ensure that any sensitive or confidential materials are disposed of in the most secure manner.

Frank W. assisting in our April shred.

Records Assistant Ted Hitchens assisting in the April shred.

Onsite shredding with our vendor.

Already in 2019 we have conducted five on-site shreds and one special media shred. Special media means electronic, audiovisual media and over-sized books that cannot be shredded in the on-site truck.  These are taken off-site with our vendor and also disposed of confidentially. The on-site shreds alone have disposed of 30,000lbs of paper, helping keep the records and information cycle moving at Warren County.

 

*Guest blogger, Records Manager/Archivist Jen Haney Conover

Women’s History Month – Louisa Jurey Wright

March is Women’s History Month, and to honor its purpose of “commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history” we would like to showcase Louisa Jurey Wright.

Image courtesy of the Warren County Historical Society

Image courtesy of the Warren County Historical Society

Louisa contributed much to the city of Lebanon, Ohio. She attended the National Normal University, where she graduated and later became a teacher at Lebanon High School. Her biggest accomplishment came in the form of being the first woman Superintendent for the school from 1867-1868. Her accomplishment was summarized briefly in this article from the Western Star dated June 24, 1915:

In addition to her teaching career and brief position as the Superintendent, Louisa led an active social life. She was involved in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and was known to have attended meetings for the Progressive Woman’s Club.

Western Star, November 8, 1888

Western Star, February 20, 1890

Western Star, July 20, 1905

The Lebanon City Schools sought to honor her memory in the 1960’s by naming one of their schools after her. The Louisa Wright Elementary School was demolished in 2018.

Location of Origin: Ireland

In the past we have shared snip its of our collections of Naturalization Records in the form of celebrating various individuals who immigrated to the United States. For our Records Center, these records are extremely valuable but very difficult to research in because of their sporadic entries, lack of a major index, and the different media they appear in (paper & journal entries). Due to the hectic nature of these records we do not get many requests for them from the public, which is a shame because they could hold the missing piece in someone’s family history.

We are so very happy to announce that we have been able to upload an index to our Index Page where you can search these records by: Name, Type of Record, Court Recorded, Date, Location Recorded, Location of Origin, and Age/Birthdate. These records are so rich and full of amazing insights of the people they are about. Some include such information as: occupation, physical description, port of entry, etc.

Our top goal at the Records Center and Archives is to make our records as accessible as possible to the public and our online indexes are one of the ways we try to achieve this. We hope that these records help as many people as possible and we also hope to get digital images available to accompany these entries!

 

 

Cattle Running at Large…The He Said He Said Road Supervisor Story

Who knew that there was so much controversy surrounding the clearing of cattle from the roadway? Knowing that Warren County was primarily a rural county in the late 1800’s, it seems like this would be a very cut and dry instance where the cattle are rounded up and returned to their rightful owner. Well it appears that the cattle running at large on the roadway was the tip of the iceberg for a feud that had been ongoing between the Gustin family and Samuel R. Crane.

The first documented case we have found is The State of Ohio vs. Levi Gustin, where Levi is charged with  “Assault & Battery on Samuel R. Crane & Resisting/Obstructing officer Samuel R. Crane” dated January of 1876. The final case we have uncovered thus far is The State of Ohio vs. Jesse Gustin, where Jesse is charged with “Assault & Battery on Samuel R. Crane” dated September of 1886.

The instances that led to these Assault & Battery/Resisting charges? Cows. The case just before Jesse’s in 1886 is The State of Ohio vs. Samuel R. Crane in which he is charged with “Resisting Officer Jesse Gustin in execution of his duties as Road Supervisor from preventing him from taking up certain cattle running at large.

Although I do not think we will ever get to the heart of this story, it is clear that their feud goes much deeper than the removal and return of those free roaming cows.

State of Ohio vs. Jesse Gustin – September 1886

State of Ohio vs. Jesse Gustin – September 1886

State of Ohio vs. Samuel R. Crane – September 1886

State of Ohio vs. Samuel R. Crane – September 1886

 

 

Timeline of an Absconder: Auditor Al Graham

Last week we had posted a #whenwasitwednesday where we shared a story about  four Warren County Treasurers who were accused of embezzling roughly $127,000. Well it turns out that this story was much more complex than originally thought. It appears that the treachery extended to multiple representatives within the county, the guiltiest party being Auditor Al Graham.

What we have provided for your enjoyment is a newspaper trail that helps us put the pieces of this sordid affair together. In the caption for each picture is included the  source, date, and notes summarizing the speculation of his whereabouts while on the run leading up to his eventual capture, sentencing, and imprisonment.

Before the Chase…

Western Star, July 25, 1889 – Speculation of guilt and whereabouts of Al Graham

Western Star, July 25, 1889 – Story about Graham’s disappearance

Western Star, August 1, 1889 – Summary of Al Graham’s character, past indiscretions, and how he manipulated money out of Warren County

Western Star, August 1, 1889 – Summary of Al Graham’s character, past indiscretions, and how he manipulated money out of Warren County

Western Star, August 1, 1889 – Summary of Al Graham’s character, past indiscretions, and how he manipulated money out of Warren County

On the Run…

Western Star, July 25, 1889 – Speculation of Al Graham’s whereabouts

Western Star, July 25, 1889 –

Western Star, September 5, 1889 – Reader questioning the ability to extradite Al Graham from Canada

Capture…

The Dayton Herald, March 10, 1890 – Discusses how Al Graham returned to the area and was eventually discovered, disguised as a “Minister of the Gospel”

Sentencing…

The Piqua Daily Call, March 10, 1890 – The absconding Auditor has been sentenced

Prison…

The Marion Star, March 13, 1890

Western Star, May 29, 1890 – Sick and in prison

Western Star, July 10, 1890 – July 4th celebration at the penitentiary

Western Star, July 10, 1890 – Al Graham is candid with the reporter and admits his guilt

 

The Award We Won – OHRAB Achievment Award

Today the Warren County Records Center & Archives had the pleasure of accepting the OHRAB Achievement Award, awarded by The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board. We won this award: for our work furthering the digital accessibility and archival preservation of Ohio’s public records, exemplified by the innovative use of its website to make its records easily available to researchers around the world.

We, as a department, have worked hard over the past few years to ensure the effort we put into digitizing, preserving, and indexing our historical records was not just for our use. It seems pointless to have these amazing records organized if they are not available to everyone. So thanks to our fearless leader, Jen Haney Conover, who made her vision for the Records Center & Archives a reality.

The purpose of making sure we share our work with anyone with internet access is because these records are typically hard to get a hold of. Many people aren’t comfortable trying to navigate public records, we are only open normal business hours so access can sometimes be an issue, and it can be extremely disheartening to reach out to us only to find out we do not have what you are looking for. Our end game result would ultimately be for as many people as possible to use our website for research and for each individual to find something truly unique to their story. By receiving distinguished awards such as this it helps put us in the eye of the County Officials and the eye of the public to help spread the word and for that we are truly thankful!

We hope you have had the chance to browse the indexes and images available on our website so far. If you haven’t please feel free to check out The Warren County Records Center & Archives County Index page.

Warren County Archives Staff left to right: Jana Wells, Shayla Wheat, Jen Haney Conover, Jenifer Baker, Tori Roberts, and Ted Hitchens

OHRAB Award Acceptance, Warren County Commissioners Meeting – January 15, 2019

Warren County OHRAB Achievement Award – Accepted January 15, 2019