Service News: Walter M. Burns, Jr.

On September 11, 1945, the Walter M. Burns family of Chuckery received word that their son, Walter, Jr. had completed basic training.  The family was told that their son had left the United States for the war front.

The Ohio State Fair

Photo Courtesy of TOURING OHIO

In 1885, the Ohio State Fair was held at the beginning of September.  Many people in the Chuckery neighborhood went to the state fair.  The timing of the fair was just before the fall harvest and the start of school.

The Dellinger Boys Leave for Michigan

In early September of 1939, Luther and Lincoln Dellinger left for Michigan for a brief hunting trip.  They were back home within a week so that they could help with harvesting crops in the Chuckery neighborhood.

Surprise Anniversary Celebration

Early September of 1939 marked the 35th wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Marion Baldridge.  Most of the families in the Chuckery community attended the party.  Dinner was potluck style, with the women of the community treating everyone to a feast!

Typhoid Fever in Chuckery

September of 1890 found typhoid fever in Chuckery.  Especially hard hit was the Raider family.  Mr. Raider succumbed to the fever.  Mrs. Raider had recovered enough that she was able to attend her husband's funeral.  The Mitchell family also suffered from typhoid fever.

John Thiergartner's New Barn

In 1902, Chuckery really was a bustling community.  Members of St. Paul Lutheran Church worked to erect a new church building.  Albert Gaulke made additions to his house to accommodate his growing family.  And, John Thiergartner erected a new barn on his farm, located about a mile south of Chuckery on the Chuckery-Plain City Pike (present-day Lombard Chuckery Road).  Today, the 1902 St. Paul Church building is gone.  And so is John Thiergartner's barn.

Rest in Peace, Little Ralph Hicks

In September of 1902, the Marysville Evening Tribune reported the death of Ralph Hicks.  He was the 6 month old son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Hicks of Chuckery.  His funeral was held at the Lewis Chapel Methodist Church in Chuckery, with Rev. J. B. Stewart officiating.  Burial was in the Milford Center Cemetery.  The whole community would like to express condolences to the Hicks family.

Slow Down!

Today we spend a lot of time rushing from place to place.  Many people wish for a simpler time, a time when buggies were the primary mode of transportation.  But, even in pioneer times, people felt rushed. In September of 1885, note was made in the Marysville Tribune that the boys in Chuckery were driving their buggies much to recklessly and fast.  Two buggies had been involved in a recent crash.  It was also noted that Hezekiah Fenner tipped his buggy over while driving through Irwin.  Fortunately he only received some bruises.  But the message was clear, the boys of Chuckery needed to take care while driving and slow their buggies.

Appendicitis in Chuckery

I had intended to keep writing posts for this blog all summer.  But, sometimes even the best of intentions take a back seat to reality.  My oldest daughter suffered a dangerous attack of appendicitis in June.  Her appendix did rupture, unbeknownst to me.  And, she appeared to get better.  Then, a few days after the rupture, she got very ill.  I rushed her to the hospital.  And, after many diagnostic tests, she was transferred to another hospital that specializes in pediatrics.  There, I found out that the rupture had happened many days earlier.  My daughter's abdomen was filled with infection.  Surgery was eminent.  A week after the first surgery, three more infections appeared.  So, once again my daughter needed to have surgery.  Today I thank God for living in a time that modern medicine was able to save my daughter.  I have read too many death certificates, obituaries, and gravestones that reflect the prevalence of this illness in pioneer times.  And, too often, children were sent to an early grave.  Thank God my daughter has recovered!

New Officers for the Lewis Chapel Epworth League

Chuckery has always been a bustle of social activity.  June of 1897 marked the election of new officers for the Epworth League at Lewis Chapel.  The officers were as follows:  George R. Reed - President; A. R. Bigelow - 1st Vice President; Miss Alice Fairbanks - 2nd Vice President; Miss Kittie Baker - 3rd Vice President; Miss Amy Bigelow - 4th Vice President; Archie Smith - Secretary; Ed Farra - Treasurer.  Congratulations were extended to all successful candidates.

A Painful Accident

In early June of 1897, a tragedy was narrowly averted when Emmer Hammond jumped between his son and a log that was about to fly from his sawmill.  Mr. Hammond saved his son from a sure death by crushing.  Mr. Hammond suffered terrible injuries to his leg in the form of ripped muscles and torn flesh.  The doctor was summoned and is confident that Mr. Hammond will make a nice recovery.

The Union Township Cemetery at Milford Center, Ohio

Today I invite you to head over to my other blog to read a history tidbit about another Chuckery area cemetery.  Many Chuckery residents have found a final resting place at the Union Township Cemetery.  Check it out!

Guy Cemetery

Guy Cemetery is another graveyard that dates pioneer times in the Chuckery area.  It is located on the east side of Guy Cemetery Road.  It is on land that was donated to Pike Township by William and Adelaide Guy upon the death of their son, Lewis F. in 1843.  This land is still well maintained and used as a cemetery today.

Phellis Cemetery Update

It has been a year since I first discovered the Phellis Cemetery on Rosedale Road near Chuckery.  And, in that year I still do not know much about this cemetery.  Find-A-Grave has thirteen listings for interments in this cemetery, but there are no pictures.  A friend of mine said he thought that gravestones might have been destroyed by a tenant farmer in recent years.  Whatever the story, I would love to visit this tiny cemetery.  I hope that someone reads this post and decides to pay this cemetery a visit.

The Bigelow Cemetery - An Ohio State Nature Preserve

The Bigelow Cemetery (A repeat of an oldie but goodie!)

The Bigelow Cemetery is a pioneer cemetery containing many of the remains of the Bigelow family and their neighbors. This cemetery is alternately known as both the Chuckery Cemetery and the Boerger Cemetery. This is due to its location near land presently owned by the Boerger Family and the Chuckery community.

In pioneer days, native vegetation was cleared from the Darby Plains by setting fire to the prairie each spring. Then the land would be prepared for planting. Largely, the land was not heavily tilled. It is here on the Darby Plains that people came from the New England states to settle. These pioneers included the Bigelow family, the Reed family, the Mc Cloud family, and the Smith family. In old histories, scarcely a family was left untouched by the plague and malaria in the early 1800s.

In 1978, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources named the Bigelow Cemetery a state nature preserve. This was due to the fact that it had never been tilled, and it is considered to be a remnant of the vast Darby Plains. This site is owned by the Pike Township trustees, while being managed by ODNR.

For me, this is another one of those spots that I get lost, I get lost in yesteryear as I read the tombstones.  My heart breaks as I read of young children who died very young. And, my heart rejoices as I read of those pioneers who have lived to ripe old ages. And, sometimes, if I close my eyes, I can smell the light fragrance of the prairie flowers, I can see a wagon on the road. I can hear the clip-clop of the horse hooves, and for a moment I am truly living a life on the Chuckery Prairie.

Mitchell (Robinson) Cemetery in Darby Township, Union County, Ohio

Today I invite you to head over to my other blog to read a history tidbit about another Chuckery area cemetery.  Check out Mitchell Cemetery!

The St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery

Today I invite you to head over to my other blog to read a history tidbit about a Chuckery area cemetery.  Check out the St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery!

Chuckery Area Cemeteries

As a genealogist, I have always been fascinated by cemeteries.  I like to stroll among the graves, reading names and dates while I imagine how these people might have lived their lives.  I also have a fascination of history, especially the local histories of Union and Madison Counties in Ohio.  In many cases, I know the stories behind the people. . .  But, it is still something that I ponder.

Since Memorial Day is a traditional time for people to visit cemeteries, I have decided to take my readers on a virtual tour of the cemeteries near Chuckery.  As we stroll through yesteryear, please let me know if there is specific information that you would like to know about each cemetery.  And, if you would like specific pictures taken, I am more than willing to help you out.

Thank you for visiting!

Happenings at Lewis Chapel

Today it is hard to imagine, but once upon a time there were two churches in Chuckery.  And, the larger church was the Lewis Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church.  In late May of 1894, Lewis Chapel hosted a New England Supper.  This supper was well attended by Methodists from Marysville, Unionville, Resaca, and Plain City.  The church made around $32 on the dinner.  And, plans were made for a Sunday School - Children's Day.

Bad News From Marysville

Wind Causes Damage at the Burns Brickyard

In late May of 1904, the Burns family of Chuckery received word that relatives near Marysville had suffered a huge loss of bricks at the Burns Brickyard.  John Burns, formerly of Chuckery, was in the process of enlarging the kiln at the family brickyard.  His workers had made 55000 bricks needed complete an expansion of the kiln.  These bricks were destroyed by rain when high winds destroyed the drying sheds on the Burns property.    

The 175th Anniversary of St. Johns Lutheran Church at Neudettelsau

Today I invite you to head on over to my other blog.  I would like you to check out this post specifically - The 175th Anniversary of St. Johns Lutheran Church.  Enjoy!

A Petition Filed

On May 19, 1904, residents of the area surrounding Chuckery petitioned the Union County Probate Court for a "graded" school.  This was the official beginning of the Chuckery Special School.  It was called a "special" school because it did not follow the township system.  This district was later created from parts of Pike and Darby Townships in Madison County and Union and Darby Townships in Union County.  More about the Chuckery Special School can be found in earlier posts on this blog.  Check out these links for more information:  Chuckery Special Public School, Chuckery and a Graded School, and The Creation of the Chuckery Special School.  Check out my other blog as well!  The Humble Historian, specifically The Fairbanks School District - Darby Township Roots

German Church Dedication at Chuckery

On May 18, 1892 the Marysville Evening Tribune reported that the German (Lutheran) Church at Chuckery was nearly complete and awaiting a proper dedication.  Today that church is known as St. Paul Lutheran Church, a congregation of the Lutheran Church Missouri-Synod.  But, in 1892, that church had a much longer name.  It was the founded as the Plains Branch of St. Johns Lutheran Church.  St. Johns Lutheran Church was, and still is, about 10 miles away on the Plain City-Marysville Road (present-day State Route 736).  The dedication that was announced in the Marysville Evening Tribune was eventually held on May 29, 1892.  At that time, the Plains Branch sent forth a call to the Missouri Synod asking for a pastor to lead their church.  And, that call was denied due to an extreme shortage of pastors for the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.  The congregation was asked to wait another year before reapplying for a pastor.  And, so the small congregation remained a part of St. Johns Lutheran Church for the next year.

I am back!

After a hiatus of nearly a year, I am back to working on researching Chuckery history - one day at a time.  Thank you to those who have followed me on this trip.  There are a lot more stories to share!  Happy Friday!

A Rumor in Chuckery

News travels fast in Chuckery.  And, this has always been the case.  In the April 24, 1890 Marysville Evening Tribune, it was announced that the latest rumor in Chuckery was that a German Lutheran Church would soon be built in the village.  Though it took a few years to procure the land and materials necessary to erect a building, a German Lutheran Church was in fact built in 1892.

A Sick Child in the Gaulke Family

In February of 1903, it was reported that Albert Gaulke's youngest child was sick with both pneumonia and spinal meningitis. This child was Esther Gaulke. She did recover from this illness, but she died later in the year from another childhood ailment.

Lewis Chapel Methodist Church

Lewis Chapel Methodist Church was organized at Chuckery, Ohio circa 1858 by Rev. F. F. Lewis who was then a pastor of the Milford Center Circuit. (Beers, Union County History, p. 237) The earliest members being Elihu Bigelow and wife Miriam, Mrs. Hiram Kent, James McCloud, and Joel Fairbanks.

This small white framed church faced east to Route 38 very near the intersection of Route 161. Until maybe the 1970’s, the concrete slab and steps to the church were still in the field. (As I grew up, those steps looked strange until I found out that they were the entrance to the old Lewis Chapel Methodist church.) After the church was dissolved, the building was sold and moved about a mile south. This frame church building became incorporated into a dairy barn on Gearhart Rausch’s farm (present day farmed by Carlton Rausch). That land where the church stood was returned to farmland.

In 1900 the Milford Center Circuit included Unionville Center, Lewis Chapel, Rosedale, and Irvin’s Station. In 1883, the pastor was Rev. C. A. Naylor; that had a membership of about 50 people in 1883. For a few years beginning in 1912 Plumwood was added to that circuit.

Circa 1923 Lewis Chapel Methodist Church was dissolved because of low membership and probably maintenance issues. My father remembers when the ceiling fell down on top of all the pews. As a very young child he remembered crawling in and out of the pews and having a great time with his other little friends. My dad would have been 4,he had a sister who was 2, and a brother who was 8 plus whatever other children might have been there. Soon, thereafter, the church was closed.

Mabel Berne Geyer and George Nelson Morse were married on March 28, 1904 at the parsonage of the pastor of Lewis Chapel Methodist Church. The pastor was Rev. Jas. F. Steele. (My aunt Mary thought the parsonage at that time was in Milford Center.) In 1904, the Lewis Chapel church was in the London District of Methodist Episcopal Church (Ohio Conference).

Mabel Geyer and her three oldest children were members of that church—Kermit Morse, Mary Morse, and Dorothy Morse when it was closed. They then transferred to the Unionville Center Methodist Church.

Rev. Jas. F. Steele served as the pastor of this circuit from 1902 - 1904.

- Lois Morse Barr
September 2007