Notes:

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

There is conflicting information about John's place of birth. Sherwood, Ohio and Wyandot County, Ohio are both mentioned as birth places. Sherwood, Ohio is in Defiance County. Research of censuses is continuing at this time.

John's occupation was that of cooper as was the occupation of his father, Andrew J. Williams. In his later life of retirement in Portland, he had a passion for gardening and fishing. He raised a large garden, and had a rowboat that he used fo r fishing on Grand River, not far from his home in what was then called Culver Town, but is part of Portland. He worked as a cooper in Portland until the cooperage closed. He continued to work part time at his trade in the Knox Farm apple ware house, near the old mill on U.S. 16, and sold apples at roadside during apple season. He was still doing this in the early 1930's.

In December of 1977 Dorothy Aker sent, to Clela Williams Van Amburg, a letter which contained a clipping of an advertisement about a dinner theatre called "True Grist Ltd." which is located in the old mill at Homer, Michigan. She thinks this ma y have been where John worked when he and his family lived in Homer.

Original clippings from the Portland paper include one on their Golden Wedding celebration in 1925 as well as obituaries of John Henry and his wife, Samantha Harriet. These also are held by Pamela Reddin Luttig. Others in the family have copie s of them.

John's paternal grandmother was Mary Coy and his grandfather John Williams. In a letter re-printed in the research notes for John's wife, Samantha Harriet, she refers to an "Ivine Coy" whom she visited somewhere enroute to or from Lawton, Michi gan in 1886. Research is still going on for more information about the Coy family. Andrew J. Williams' death certificate merely states that his parents were John Williams of Ohio and Mary Coy of Pennsylvania.

Near the grave site of Andrew J. Williams and wife, Harriet Hannah Huggins, in the cemetery at Hillsdale, Michigan, there are two old grave markers for Henry and William Shoemaker who are half brothers of Andrew J.. Dorothy Aker remembers he r mother, Addie, referring to them as Uncle Billy and Uncle Henry. They lived at 17 Champaign St. (now Willow) in Hillsdale according to the 1900 census.

In a letter to Clela from Harry Williams, Jr., he mentions the Shoemakers as half brothers to somone on the Williams side of the family and mentions that they were both carpenters, and that Henry was exceptional.

The grave markers show that Henry was born in 1841 with no death date engraved, and William was born in 1849 and died in 1914. Henry's grave has a Civil War marker beside it.

Dorothy also noted in one of her letters that she had pictures that belonged to her mother, Addie. There are some of Andrew and his wife, Harriet, as well as some of their two children, John Henry and Agnes.

John married Samantha Harriet Lammond on 27 Nov 1875 in Elkhart County, Indiana. Samantha (daughter of Cortland S. Lammond and Nancy Jane Grove) was born on 15 Jun 1857 in St. Marys, OH; died on 7 Sep 1936 in Portland, MI; was buried in 1936 in Portland Cemetery, Portland, MI. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

written by Georgia Haines

Samantha Harriet Lammond is believed to have been born in Saint Marys, Ohio in what is now Auglaize County. Her family, the family of Cortland and Nancy Lammond are named as residents of Putnam County, Greensburg Township, Buckeye Post Office i n the 1860 Ohio Census. The last name is not reproduced clearly, but it looks as though the spelling is Lemons, or possibly Lemond. Cortland is listed with an age of 29 and Nancy is listed with an age of 27. (Our family records show both of th em having been born the same year.) Three of their children, Levi, age 7, Samantha, age 3, and Alvaro, age 3 months, are also listed. It gives Cortland's occupation as that of "farmhand", and Nancy is indicated as not being able to read or wri te. It states that Cortland was born in New York and Nancy in Pennsylvania. According to some family sources, Nancy Jane was born in Piqua, Ohio.

Samantha was known as "Mattie" to her family and friends. A letter written by her to her husband, which was postmarked from Lawton, Mich. on Aug 11, 1886 is on file with her great granddaughter, Pamela Reddin Luttig and great great granddaughte r, Amber Luttig. She wrote the letter in print because her husband could not read script. It is addressed in her pretty longhand script to John H Williams, then in Leslie, Michigan. She, with her two small boys, Guy and Harry, and daughter, Add ie, then age nine, were visiting the Lammond family in Lawton. The letter does not give information that tells where she and John and the family were living at that time, but it may have been Hillsdale. He very likely was just working in Lesli e as there is no record of them having lived there. They traveled by train in those days. Here is her letter in its entirety as she wrote it. There are no periods in it, and it is printed in all capital letters except for the letter "i" and a n occasional "l". The only editing done on it is double spacing where it appears that a new sentence is starting. The 3 (3 dollars) was written like a script E.

Samantha's Letter to John:

"DEAR HUSBAND WE GOT HERE YESTERDAY AT NOON i FOUND COYS ALL RiTE
iT COSTE ME 50 CENTS FOR HACK IViNE NEW ME AS SOON AS SHE SEE ME WE
HAD AGOOD TiME THEY WANT US TO STOP WHEN WE COME BACK i CAN STARTE
HERE AT NOON AND GET HOME AT 5'OCLOCK WEARE HAViNG ANiCE TiME GUY
AND HARRY DRiVE THE HORSE AND HAVE A BIG TIME WE HAVE ALL THE BiG
YELLOW PEACHES WE CAN EAT THEY HAVE SHiPED all OF THARE EARLY
PEACHES THAT iS RiPE NOW THEM THAT HAS THEM GET 3 DOLLARS ABUSHEL FOR
THEM i Will COME HOME AS SOON AS YOU SEND THE MONEY YOU Will HAFT TO
SEND ME MONEY ENOGH TO GET ADDiE APAiR OF SHUES THE SOLE COME OF OF
ONE OF THEM AT JCKSON THEY WANT LASTE HER TO GET HOME SHE iS TO
PROUD TO GO BAREFOOTED SO GOODBYE FROM YOUR WiFE MATTi"

Another item of interest is a poem written (in longhand) about her baby that died at about age one, entitled "In Memory of Little Ray Williams". Pamela Reddin Luttig also has the original of this. The following is an unedited copy. Her poem:

In Memory of Little Ray Williams

How sad was the day
When our dear little Ray,
Was taken away,
Up in heaven to stay.

Oh, if he only could have said
How he suffered in his bed.
With upraised eyes and little head
Looking around the room and bed.

The hour of five had past
How plain we saw it was his last.

How pretty still he looked that hour.
And we done all that was in our power
To save our darling through that hour.
But Oh there was a greater power.

Some research notes:
1860 Census--Living in Putnam County, Greensburg Twp. OH with parents.
1870 Census--Living in Elkart County, Olive Twp Wakurusa, IN, age 12, with parents.
1880 census--Elkart Co, IN-- not found,husband John is listed with his parents.
1900 Census--at 147 Spring St., Hillsdale, MI with John, Harry, Arthur, and Carl

Notes:

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION on CORTLAND S. LAMMOND
written by Georgia Haines

Information on Cortland S Lammond was obtained through family records, obituaries, and census reports.

In the 1850 census for Putnam County, Greensburg Township, Ohio he is listed as age 19, living here with his parents, 3 brothers and 5 sisters. His occupation is farmer and his birthplace is New York. His name is given as Courtland Lemon.

According to the August, 1860 census for Putnam County, Ohio, he was then residing in Greensburg Township with his wife, Nancy and three children, Levi, age 7, Samantha, age 3, and Alvaro, age 3 months. The census taker reported that Cortland w as born in New York and his wife, Nancy, in Pennsylvania. His occupation was reported as that of farmhand.

Family records contend that Samantha was born in St. Marys, Ohio which is currently in Auglaize County. Orange C. Lamond?UAs wife lived at St. Marys part of the time while Orange was in the Civil War. All information seems to point to the thre e Lammond brothers, Henry, Cortland, and Orange as residents in various places in what are now Auglaize, Allen, Putnam and Mercer Counties. Towns near, or in, which they lived were St. Marys (Auglaize), Lima (Allen), Ottawa (Putnam), Kalida (Pu tnam), and Mendon (Mercer). Information on other siblings and their descendants has not yet been researched. The obituary of their son, Stephen, states that he was born in Putnam County in 1864, and in that same year they moved to Wakurasa, In diana. They lived there until the summer of 1885 when they moved to Lawton, Michigan. Cortland and Nancy farmed in Lawton, Michigan and lived there until their deaths in 1913. Theyraised peaches and possibly grapes.

Cortland married Nancy Jane Grove on 30 Sep 1852 in Putnam County Ohio. Nancy (daughter of Levi Grove and Mary Rohrer) was born on 4 Aug 1831 in Piqua, OH; died on 5 May 1913 in Lawton, Michigan; was buried on 7 May 1913 in Oak Grove Cemetery, Lawton, Michigan. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION on NANCY JANE GROVE
Researched and written by Georgia Haines

Nancy Jane Grove?UAs birth location of Piqua, Ohio is not currently verified by official records, but rather is from information passed down through the family. Some censuses give her birthplace as Pennsylvania. In 1840 her father, Levi Grove, i s living in Putnam County, Greensburg Township, Ohio. In his household are listed the following:

Age less than five: 1 male (Probably Stephen, about age 2)

Ages five to ten: 1 male (Probably Levi, Jr. 2 females (Nancy would be 9 and Mary 5)

Ages ten to fifteen: 1 male and 1 female (Both unknown, however the male may be George Grove who appears in the 1850 census for Putnam County with wife Susannah, both age 23, and a son, John, age 6 months. Putnam county marriage records show Ge orge Grove married to Susan Eger April 5, 1848.)

Ages fifteen to twenty: 1 male (Probably John, about age 18)

Ages thirty to forty: 1 female (Probably Mary, age 37)

Ages forty to fifty: 1 male (Probably Levi, age 43)

This census gives only the name for the head of the household. The connections listed above are based on information in subsequent censuses.

Nancy is listed living with her parents, Levi and Mary Grove(s), two brothers and two sisters in the 1850 census for Putnam County, Greensburg Township, Ohio. This census report states her age as 19 and that she was born in Ohio. It also menti ons that she had been in school during the past year.

The 1860 census for Putnam County, Greensburg Township, Ohio, where she and her husband were then residing, reports that she was born in Pennsylvania. The 1860 census taker also reported that she could not read or write, and reported her age a s 27 which would have put her birth date at 1833 instead of 1831 which is the date in her obituary and on her gravestone.

The following is a quote from a letter written by Clela (One of Nancy Jane?UAs granddaughters) at age 83 to daughter, Georgia, on March 1, 1986 in which she related some recollections of her grandparents. This is unedited and copied as Clela wrot e it, except she used the hand written + symbol in place of the word "and".

"My grandma and grandpa Lammond I do remember they both died when I was 10 years old. My Mother used to take Carl and I and sometimes Arthur and go on a train to see them. They lived in Lawton Mi. My grandma couldn?UAt walk and grandpa used to c arry her from one room to another or out on the porch. One day my grandpa took me and grandma for a ride in a buggy. I was afraid of the horse. They had to get the buggy close to the porch, so as to get grandma into it. I guess I thought th e horse was going to climb onto the porch. Another thing I remember about her was that she sat in a chair by a window and smoked a pipe. It was a little clay pipe. My grandpa didn?UAt smoke. She used tobacco out of a little cloth bag. That?UA s one thing my grand or great grandchildren won?UAt remember me by."

Notes:

Death record, Putnam County Vol.1, p. 26, died of stomach disorder. Listed as Levi Groves. States place of birth as Westmoreland County--neighboring county to Fayette County, PA. Most evidence supports Fayette County as being actual birtl . His father died in 1811, when he would have been about 13, he had several guardians appointed, lived in Baltimore, Md. with older brother John, and (possibly in W. Va.) with Shepherd Grove. Place of marriage unknown. Oldest son, John R. Gro ve gives birth place (in 1822) as Fayette Co. PA. May have lived in Columbiana County, OH (Levi B., Jr. gives his birth in 1829 as being in Columbiana County). Moved to Putnam County PA in 1833 according to Putnam County History book, listing f or 1880 Atlas, Putnam County--early pioneers under 1833 heading. 1840 Census, Putnam County Ohio, Greensburg Twp., aged between 40-50. 1850 Census, Putnam County Ohio, Greensburg Twp. (children's names taken from this census)

1870 United States Federal Census
about Levi Groves
Name: Levi Groves
Birth Year: abt 1798
Age in 1870: 72
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Home in 1870: Greensburg, Putnam, Ohio
Race: White
Gender: Male
Value of real estate: View image
Post Office: Sheridan
Household Members:
Name Age
John Groves 47
Mary Groves 44
David Groves 20
Orlando Groves 13
Luona Groves 9
Leroy Groves 7
Levi Groves 72

View
Original
Record

View original image


1850 United States Federal Census
about Levi Groves
Name: Levi Groves
Age: 21
Estimated birth year: abt 1829
Birth Place: Ohio
Gender: Male
Home in 1850 (City,County,State): Greensburg, Putnam, Ohio
Family Number: 59
Household Members:
Name Age
Levi Groves 53
Mary Groves 47
Levi Groves 21
Nancy Groves 19
Mary Groves 15
Stephen Groves 12
Elija Groves 5

1840 United States Federal Census
about Levi Grove
Name: Levi Grove
Township: Greensburg
County: Putnam
State: Ohio

Levi married Mary Rohrer. Mary was born about 1803 in PA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Mary Rohrer Grove must have died after 1876, because her husbands
death cerificate lists him as being married at the time of his death
on Mar. 11, 1876.

Died:
Y
Y
Y
Y