The Final Days of Fitch Bishop

This weathered stone marks the grave of Fitch Bishop, patriarch of my husband’s ancestors in Portage County, Ohio. Pitted with age, the letters indistinct and barely legible, the stone reads: “FITCH BISHOP, DIED May 22, 1868, AGED 56 yrs, 9 mos.”

Fitch’s death was unexpected and sudden. On May 17, 1873, his wife, Sarah, wrote in her diary, “5 years today since my husband was stricken down in full health with his last sickness, I cannot realize it.” On May 19, she recalled, “I was watching by the bed of a sick and dying husband.”

It appears that Fitch may have suffered a stroke or heart attack that did not immediately kill him, but left him lingering in a greatly weakened state. The concern was immediate. A will was hastily drawn up and witnesses gathered. On May 17^th, the same day he was stricken, Fitch scrawled his signature on a paper that read:

                                   Freedom, May 17^th, 1868         

                       The last will and testament of

                       Fitch Bishop

                       I hereby give and bequeath all my

                       property both real and personal

                       to my wife Sarah Ann Bishop

                       This is my last will and Testament

                                                      Fitch Bishop

                                          {         E. R. Kneeland

                          Witnesses {         J. J. Hutchins

I imagine that a doctor was called and everything possible done to make Fitch comfortable. Fitch and Sarah’s three living children no doubt drew near. Annette, 21, and Walter, 16, living at home, could have been by his side at once. George, almost 27, had to be summoned. If George was still working as a wagon-maker in Hiram, as he had been in 1860, it was a short ride to Freedom. Augusta Bishop, widow of Fitch’s oldest son, Albert, might have brought eight-year-old Theodore to his grandfather’s bedside. 

Work in the fields and routine household chores likely stopped for a time. Neighbors and friends, alerted to the crisis, might have come by to see Fitch and offer words of comfort to Sarah. But in the end, all they could do was wait.

Five days later, Fitch succumbed. The Portage County Democrat reported only, “In Freedom, on the 22d of May, ult., of heart disease, after a few days illness, Mr. Fitch Bishop, aged 57 years.” A grieving Sarah had to make funeral arrangements and prepare for another trip to Freedom West Cemetery, where she had already laid two sons and a granddaughter to rest.

I feel fortunate to have such a variety of records to draw on regarding the end of Fitch’s life, sad as it was. What I wouldn’t give for just one to tell me about his beginnings!

Sources:

1.  Portage County Genealogical Society, compiler, Portage County, Ohio Cemeteries, Volume IV: Freedom Township and Windham Township (Ravenna, Ohio: the society, 1993), p. 90-91.

2.  Sarah Ann Barnum Bishop, Pocket Diary 1873, entries for May 17 and May 19. This diary passed from Theodore H. Bishop to Annah L. Bishop to Robert F. Bishop; privately held by Shelley Bishop.

3.  Portage County, Ohio, probate file 2108 (loose papers), Fitch Bishop, Portage County Historical Society, Ravenna.

4.  Fitch Bishop obituary, Portage County Democrat (Ravenna, Ohio), 3 June 1868, p. 2 col. 8.

Related Posts:
Albert Bishop (1828-1865)
More Questions than Answers: Augusta Bishop
The Short Story of Walter H. Bishop
Walter F. Bishop, Aged 20 yrs.
Lettie A. Bishop-Wednesday's Child

Lettie A. Bishop - Wednesday's Child

This little tombstone doesn’t look like much these days. Not your big, well-carved monument designed to last the ages. It’s sunk into the ground so far that I could only make out the letters of the name by tracing them with my finger. L-E-T-T-I-E. When I was photographing the headstones of my husband’s Bishop ancestors in Freedom West Cemetery, in rural Freedom, Ohio, this little one puzzled me. Who was Lettie?

Fortunately, the cemetery markers were first read by Ernest Moore in 1927 on behalf of the Western Reserve Historical Society. His transcriptions were used to help decipher stones that had deteriorated by 1992, when the Portage County Genealogical Society set about compiling cemetery records. The stone, now virtually illegible, once read: “Lettie A. Bishop, died Apr. 7, 1864, age 14 mos, 18 days.”¹

Ahhhh. This was somebody’s baby girl. But whose? I cast around the family plot for a likely candidate. Perhaps she was Albert & Augusta Bishop’s daughter. They were buried nearby, and the right age to have been her parents. But speculation won’t do in solving these little mysteries. And so one hot summer morning found me in the cool depths of Reed Memorial Library in Ravenna, searching the microfilm records of local newspapers. There, on the second page of the April 27, 1864 edition of the Portage County Democrat, I found the answer:

“In Freedom, April 7^th, of congestion of the brain, Lettie A., daughter and only child of George and Mary Bishop, aged 14 months.

         'And is she gone? Oh, sudden solitude!

         How oft that fearful question will intrude.

         ‘Twas but a moment past when here she stood,

         And then without the portal’s front she rushed,

         To live again in Heaven.’”

What a world of sorrow conveyed in just a few words. Even from a distance of 146 years, I can feel their pain.  Neither George nor Mary is buried in Freedom. Lettie rests with her aunt, uncles, and grandfather. One day, no doubt, her little stone will be gone. But she won’t be forgotten.

1.     Portage County Genealogical Society, compiler, Portage County, Ohio Cemeteries, Volume IV: Freedom Township and Windham Township 1812-1992 (Ravenna, Ohio, 1993), p. 91.


Related Posts:
The Final Days of Fitch Bishop
Albert Bishop (1838-1865)
The Short Story of Walter H. Bishop
More Questions than Answers: Augusta Bishop
Walter F. Bishop, Aged 20 yrs.

Confessions of a rubber band researcher

I hit the ground running in January, starting right off with the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. It was a fantastic experience, both in and out of the classroom, and I came home with some new strategies and skills. I also came home with research findings on several ancestral lines from the Family History Library. These now need to be analyzed, documented, and filed. Right now everything’s sitting in folders on my dining room table, and on a flash drive. I want to process the research carefully and completely. But where to start?

I made a big breakthrough in identifying my husband’s great-grandmother, who died shortly after his grandmother was born. I made some discoveries in my Eberhard line, which I want to share with a cousin. I need to check more church records for my Herrels. I found some good information on my King and Roush ancestors in Gallia County. I’m anxious to pursue some leads on my husband’s Barnum, Sanborn, and Ives ancestors. The list goes on, but I’m getting a little dizzy.


On top of that, I have a big assignment due for my ProGen study group, and I really should tackle the next lesson in the NGS Home Study Course. And I set a daily writing goal for myself that I’m trying to keep. There’s a backlog of blogs and forums waiting to be read. Not to mention that we’ve had drywall guys and painters working in the house for the past five days. Or that our power was out for 12 hours in the recent ice storm. But now that just sounds like whining!

I feel like a rubber band being stretched every which way. How do you focus on one genealogical goal when you have so many jostling for your attention? I need to determine a focus and stick with it. For now, I'm going to start by writing a research report on  my husband's great-grandmother. I’d love to hear how other people prioritize and manage multiple projects. What are your favorite strategies?

Albert Bishop (1838-1865)

Albert F. Bishop, a resident of Freedom in Portage County, Ohio, was 
my husband's great-great-grandfather. He suffered an untimely death
146 years ago this week, as noted in the Portage County Democrat:

“Died.

BISHOP—in Freedom, on the 28^th inst., of consumption, Albert F. Bishop,

son of F. and S. A. Bishop, aged 26 years.

         The deceased was an excellent young man, and bore his long and

painful illness with Christian composure and resignation, and leaves

behind him as a testimony, for the comfort of surviving friends, his

expression of unshaken confidence in his salvation, through the

atonement purchased by the blood of Christ. He selected a text for his

funeral sermon, Psalms 93:4. Though I walk through the valley of the

shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy

staff they comfort me. He requested Rev. William Potter, to preach the

sermon.

         Thus in early manhood has passed away a kind and dutiful son, an 

affectionate and loving husband and father, leaving behind him the savor

of a good name.

         He leaves a wife and one child, and parents and brothers and

sister, to mourn this sad bereavement, but not to mourn as those who

have no hope, for in his case hope is full of a blessed immortality.”


It appears from his obituary that Albert fought consumption 
(tuberculosis)for quite awhile--long enough to reach a stage of 
acceptance and plan his own funeral service. He would have been too 
sick to fight in the Civil War, which ended shortly after he lost his own 
battle. His widow, Augusta, now faced raising their five-year-old son, 
Theodore, alone. She was just 24. Both she and the country had some 
healing to do over the next few years.

Citations:

Albert F. Bishop obituary, Portage County Democrat (Ravenna, Ohio), 1 February 1865, p. 2, col. 8. (Transcribed August 2010 by Shelley Bishop)

Freedom West Cemetery (Freedom, Portage County, Ohio), Albert F. Bishop marker, lot 91; photographed by Shelley Bishop, 2009.


Related Posts:
More Questions than Answers: Augusta Bishop
The Final Days of Fitch Bishop
Lettie A. Bishop
The Short Story of Walter H. Bishop
Walter F. Bishop, Aged 20 yrs.

Striking gold in Salt Lake City

I’m writing this from Utah, where I’m attending the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) this week. I’m learning a lot from the class that Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, is teaching on “American Records and Research,” and having fun talking genealogy with classmates and friends. But another great thing about being here is the chance to do research at the Family History Library. I’m spending virtually every spare minute there.

Yesterday, after cranking many rolls of microfilm, I loaded up #1514064 and made an exciting discovery: my great-great-grandparents’ marriage record. There it was, plain as day, in the record book of St. Peter’s German Evangelical Church in Cincinnati. Yes! Although the family has an oral tradition that John George Herrel and Wilhelmina Mueller were married here in the U.S. after emigrating separately from Germany, no one has seen a marriage document, and the date was unknown. They came too late for the 1880 census, so aren't found until 1900 in Cincinnati. Since the Hamilton County Courthouse was completely destroyed by fire in 1884, a church source like this may be the only surviving record.


Even though it is written in German, and I have no skill or experience in reading the language, it's not hard to decipher. Here’s what it looks like:

They’re number 12 on the page. The microfilm is a little streaked, but my (admittedly rough) translation is:

(married)   Johann Herrel with Mina Mueller
(marriage date)  25^th January 1883
(license date)     25^th January 1883

I think the last column is for the clergyman, but can’t make out his name. Any ideas?

I can’t wait to show this to my Herrel relatives at home. We had a big reunion last summer, so I know they’ll be interested. And as exciting as this strike was, I found some equally interesting nuggets on different family lines. But since there’s still a lot to do and only a little time left, those will be stories for another day…

Source: St. Peter’s German Evangelical Church (Cincinnati, Ohio), “Copulationen, Confirmanten, St. Peters Gemeinde, Angefangen 1874,” p. 152, no. 12, Johann Herrel and Mina Mueller (1883); Family History Library microfilm #1514064, citing original records at Wright State University (Dayton, Ohio).

Going out on a limb

Ok, I’ll admit I’m a little uneasy with putting my genealogy goals out here for all to see. What if I fall flat on my face and don’t get any of them accomplished? Public goals are so, well, public. And sometimes, even when I set out with all good intentions, real life interferes and things don’t quite go the way I planned. But I guess I’ll risk it. Besides, even though I’m relatively new to blogging, you all seem to be pretty understanding and supportive. If I run into problems or get stuck along the way, maybe you can help me out.

With that in mind, here are my three main Research Goals:

1.      Research my Ballenger ancestors back to at least the early 1800’s, and complete an OGS Settlers & Builders of Ohio application for them.

2.      Find the parents of Carrie Beum, who married John Evans and was the mother of Ruth (b. 1898) and Leatha (b. 1900) Evans. Carrie died when Leatha was five months old, and not only were the connections with her family lost, but records of her seem to be hiding as well.

3.      Research the ancestry of my husband’s grandmother, Annah L. Crites.

And here are my three main Writing Goals:

1.      Write research reports for my own files as I complete segments of research on particular questions or individuals.

2.      Complete writing assignments for remaining lessons in the NGS Home Study Course and ProGen Study Group.

3.      Create a narrative summary or mini-book out of the research I’ve done on the Bishop-Crites family.

That last one will be a real challenge. But it deserves to be a top priority, because I’d like to make something I can share with my father-in-law, who is probably my #1 fan when it comes to genealogy. He’s a World War II vet, and as we all know, that generation isn’t getting any younger. So it’s something I’ll have to figure out. Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me in 2011! 


Written for the 101st edition Carnival of Genealogy, "Research/Writing Goals for 2011"