Five Brothers/ Three Stories - Thomas C. Ordway, Ohio Soldier

Thomas C. Ordway, the eldest son of Harrison and Philina, was born February 22, 1834/1835 in Pennsylvania.  He married first Sarah Hess in Henry County, Ohio in October 1858.

1860 Census – Monroe Twp, Henry County, OH

Thomas Ordway, 24, farmer

Sarah Ordway, 21

Catherine Ordway, 2

 In December 1859, their daughter, Catherine, was born,  followed by Mary Malissa in October 1860 (after the census had been taken).  On July 25, 1862, their first son, William Harrison, was born and only about a month later on August 21, 1862, Thomas enlisted in the 124^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company D.   He was not forced to enlist.  Later in the 1863 draft, his name was drawn. But in the draft registration book, it was noted that he was already a member of the 124^th.  It incorrectly lists him as unmarried.

1863 Draft Registration, Henry County, OH

The 124^th Infantry was organized at Camp Cleveland, Ohio from August – September 1862 to serve three years.  It proceeded to Kentucky in January 1863 and then to Tennessee in February.  The regiment marched to Chattanooga and participated in the bloody battle of Chickamauga in September 1863 where it lost 140 men.  It was a part of the Mission Ridge battle and then it left for Knoxville in December of that year.  In the spring of 1864, the 124^th joined Gen. Sherman’s march to Atlanta, participating in all its battles, from Resaca to Marietta and the Kenesaw Mountain and finally to Atlanta from July 22 – August 25, 1864.   The regiment made its way back up to Nashville in November and December and finally back to Huntsville, Alabama and duty there until March 1865. 

The Veterans Schedule for Henry County, Ohio of 1890 lists Thomas Ordway as serving from 21 August 1862 – 7 September 1863 in Company D, 124^th and then he transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corp beginning 30 October 1863 to 24 July 1865.  The VRC was originally called the Invalid Corp until the name was changed in 1864 because it was thought the name affected soldier morale.  If a soldier was thought unfit for active service in the field because of wounds he had received or disease,he could be transferred into the VRC and put on light duty, such as being a guard, a cook or nurse, an orderly, an escort for prisoners or new recruits or other tasks not requiring great physical exertion.  VRC men would be guards at the prison camps for the Confederate captives, guard buildings or be a musician, if capable.  Their uniforms were sky-blue with dark blue trim, as shown here.

Thomas served a total of 2 years, 8 months and 24 days. 

The Veterans Schedule also indicates that he was rendered deaf because of his service, so when he was transferred to the VRC (Veteran Reserve Corp) in October 1863, he may or may not have take an active part in the battles after Chickamauga.

One list of soldiers in Henry County described Thomas this way:

“Ordway, Thomas.  Corporal, Co. F, 2^nd Reg. Vet. Res. Corps, Vols.  Enrolled 21 Aug 1862 – discharged 5 July 1865.  Born: Chester Co., PA.  At discharge, age 28, 5’11”, light complexion, dark eyes, black hair.  Occupation before enrollment – farmer.  Lived Monroe Twp.  1866.

1890 Veterans Schedule for Henry County, Ohio.

Thomas returned to his bride and a home in Henry County, Ohio, after the war.    

1870 Census, Pleasant Twp., Henry County, Ohio

Thomas Ordway, 32, farming, real estate valued at $1200 and personal goods valued at $280

Sarah, 32, keeping house

Mary, 9

William H., 8

Elizabeth, 6

Benjamin, 4

John M., 2

(What happened to the first born daughter, Catherine, who would be about 12? I haven't been able to find her.)

Sadly, in January 1874, Sarah Ann Hess Ordway died, leaving Thomas with five small children.  By December of that same year, he married Sarah Mae Hill who was about ten years younger. 

1880 Census, Flat Rock, Henry County, Ohio

Thos. Ordway, 44, farmer

Sarah, 35

Melissa, 19 (Mary Melissa)

William H., 17

Benjamin F., 13

John M., 11

Charles L., 9

Harvey H., 3 (mother is Sarah Hill Ordway)

(Now, where is Elizabeth who would be about 16?)

Thomas and Sarah had one more son together, Richard H., born 4 January 1881.   Sometime between 1881 and 1900, the whole family moved to Putnam County.

1900 Census – Palmer Twp, Putnam, OH

Thomas C. Ordway, 66, married 16 years, born Feb 1834, farmer, owns his home, mortgaged

Sarah, 56, had two children and two are living, born May 1844

Richard, 19, b. January 1881, farm laborer.

(A few mistakes made in this reporting in the census.)

1910 Census- Palmer Twp, Putnam, OH

Thomas C. Ordway, 74, married twice, 36 years, does odd jobs, a Union Army veteran, owns home free

Sarah, 65, married once, 36 years.

Thomas’ health must have declined because by October 20, 1910, he was admitted to the National Home for Disabled Soliders in Dayton, Ohio.  According to the entry document filled out at admission, Thomas had defective vision (cataracts in both eyes), a double hernia, chronic rheumatism, cardiac hypertrophy,  (heart?) action rapid and unstable, moderate arterio-sclerosis and frequent ? debility of old age.  And we know he was deaf.

His domestic history reports him born in Pennsylvania, 74 years old, height 5’ 11”, dark complexion, dark eyes, gray hair, can read and write, Protestant, farmer, lived in North Creek, Ohio, married to Mrs. Sarah Ordway of same address.

Sarah, it says, was born in Kentucky, and was age 41 (really???), 5’ 5 ½ “ , dark complexion, blue eyes, brown hair, can read and write, Protestant, Occupation – Laborer.  Residence before he was discharged from the Army was Owensville, KY and single.  Nearest relative – Traverse Warner, Olympia, KY.

(Now I wonder – did he meet her while stationed in KY and remember her after his first wife died?  I’m sure there’s a story here, and if you know, I hope you’ll share.)

The report goes on to say that he gets $15.00 a month in pension money.  Thomas C. Ordway died in the National Home on January 7, 1911 and they notified Sarah by mail the next day.  He is buried in Section Q, Row 7, Grave 1 at the National Cemetery there.

The pension records show that the pension money then was given to Sarah, the widow of Thomas.  The amount changes as different laws are passed concerning veteran pensions. 

U.S. Pension Cards, Sarah Ordway, widow of Thomas

By 1920, Sarah had moved to live with her youngest son, Richard H., and his family in Poplar Bluff, Butler County, Missouri.

1920 Census-

Richard H. Ordway, 38, renting, laborer, general work

Bertha, 30, wife

Perry J., 13

Goldie M., 10

Harvey L., 8

Richard H., 7

Harrison S., 4

Sarah Ordway, 74, mother, widowed.

Sarah eventually moved back to Putnam County, Ohio , where she died on February 11, 1926.

If anyone has photos of Thomas or Sarah, I would love to add them to this story.

The Old Scrapbook

When my cousin told me that she would let me have a look at an old photo album of Great Grandma Ordway's she had rescued from a pile that was going to be burned, I was so excited.  I really didn't have that many old photos from the Ordways or Delphs, so what good fortune it was to have these pictures.  Some faces were easily recognizeable, but some will never be identified.   Even when we couldn't name the faces, the photographs, themselves, give all of us a peek into what life what like in the early 1900's.   


Great-Great Grandmother's (Elizabeth Delph Ordway) Scrapbook

 

Unfortunately, many unidentified photos



My grandfather, Fritz Ordway, feeding the chickens with his mother, Elizabeth Delph Ordway

My great-grandmother, Lizzie Ordway, doing the laundry.
Do we have it easy or what?

Pete Bensing and my great-grandfather,
Lemuel Ordway.  No wedding ring on Lem's finger and he married in 1897.

Great-Great Grandparents, Philip and Elizabeth Witzgall Delph

"The Brick Block"  - the main drag of Malinta.  I think the Delph
store was under the awnings somewhere.

Great Grandpa and Grandma Ordway's house - after the porch and kitchen addition.  Eventually,
I remember that the porch was screened in and it had a wonderful porch swing where we spent hours. 

From Left to Right - Elizabeth Delph Ordway, unknown, Marie Ordway, Lemuel Ordway
Do you suppose this was their new car?  Anyone know the make and model?



Great-Grandpa, Lem Ordway, pumping his water.  Maybe he's pumping bath
water into that tub. They never did have running water in their home. 

Many, many thanks to Mary Seibert for letting me scan some of the photos
in this scrapbook!  I'll post more later.



Elizabeth Delph Ordway - My Great-Grandmother

Lemuel and Lizzie Ordway

Known most often as “Lizzie” or “Bess,” my great-grandmother, Elizabeth Margaret Caroline Delph was born 18 November 1878.  Lizzie was the fourth child of Phillip and Elizabeth (Witzgall) Delph.  My mother told me that her grandma always said that her father Phillip had named her after all his sisters, and he did, indeed, have three sisters named Elizabeth, Margaret and Caroline.

In the 1880 Federal Census, Monroe Township, Henry County, Ohio, Lizzie, age 1, was living with her parents, Phillip, 34, and Elizabeth, 31.  Her siblings listed at that time were Cora, 8; Julia, 6; Ottas, 4 and with them lived George Delp, 30, Phillip’s younger brother.

My great-grandma Ordway is not seen much in any record books.  Occasionally, her name appeared in the newspaper as she was active in some women’s church groups and I did find a large group photo taken in 1913 showing her at a Sunday School picnic.  After her marriage to Lemuel in 1898, she became a homemaker and mother to four children and that was her life. 

Up until her death in the 1960’s, she lived in a home with no running water, no indoor bathroom, no phone, and I don't think they ever did get electricity.  She kept a garden in her back yard and grapevines.  She cooked and baked using a large green and silver cast iron stove fueled by coal, as I remember.  She pumped her water from a well in the back yard.  When you wanted a drink at her house, you got it using a tin dipper from a pail of water that sat in the kitchen. 

Behind the house at a distance sat a little outhouse.  Grandma had its walls decorated with pictures from old calendars and catalogs. It was a very, very cold place in the winter time!  And dark.  And…fragrant.

Her kitchen had no kitchen cupboards along the walls, but just one sideboard cupboard to hold foods.  The big stove and a wooden table and chairs finished off the kitchen furnishings.  I can remember that Grandpa Lem loved Ritz crackers and would have them in the cupboard as a treat for the kids.

My great-grandparents’ living room was a room of mysteries for children.  I was always fascinated by the sofa covered in real horse hair.  In one corner stood an upright player piano with many rolls of old-fashioned songs that could be played.  Oh, how we would annoy our parents when we pumped those piano pedals and got the music going loud and fast!  The last treasure I especially remember in that room was a stereoptic viewer or stereoscope and a pile of double imaged photos.  One would place a photo in the metal holder on the viewer and then look through the lenses and the photo would blend into one, 3-D picture. 

Another favorite place to be at my great-grandmother’s was on her front porch where there was a wonderful, wooden porch swing.  It was a screened-in porch, a cool place in the summer.  I remember the giant size Christmas cactus on a stand and the bookcase with Betty Boop, Mutt and Jeff, Felix the Cat, and the old style Mickey Mouse big little books.

It was a simple life for Lemuel and Lizzie Ordway in their little house in Malinta, Ohio.  After Lem died in 1959, Grandma Ordway continued to live in the house until dementia threatened her safety.  She was in the nursing home for awhile and died on 7 July 1965.  She is buried beside her husband in Hoy Cemetery.

Marie Julia Ordway




My grandmother, Dorothy Doty Ordway
and Marie Ordway Baker

 
Marie Julia Ordway was the youngest daughter and last child of Lemuel and Elizabeth Ordway.  Her middle name was the same as one of her mother's older sisters, Julia Delph Spangler.  Marie was born on 24 June 1904 in Monroe Township, Henry County, Ohio.

The 1930 census found Marie at age 25, still living at home with her parents in Malinta and employed as an assistant cashier at a bank.  I can remember Aunt Marie once telling me that she was working at a bank when it was robbed!  I am still searching for the clipping I once found of that incident and will post when it is located.



The census taker in 1930 visited in April, and by August 28th of that year, Marie married Charles J. Baker.  She was a homemaker and mother of two children, living much of her life in Liberty Center, Ohio.  She was, at one time, the clerk for the Village of Liberty Center, and a member of the Order of Eastern Star.


"Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Baker, Liberty Center, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their children at a dinner party held at the Holiday Inn, Napoleon.  An open house for the immediate family followed at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Baker.  The couple was married August 23, 1930, by the Reverend Stockmier, St. John's Reformed Church, Holgate.  They are the parents of Robert, Napoleon, and Sue, Nashville, Tenneseee.  There are six grandchildren."
(Another clipping from my mother, probably from the Northwest-Signal, undated)

Marie Ordway Baker died on 20 Dec 1997 at the age of 93, the last surviving child of Lem and Lizzie Ordway.  At the time of her death, she was at Country View Haven in Napoleon.  She is buried at Young's Cemetery, Liberty Center.







Philip Richard Ordway

Named after his two grandfathers, Philip Delph and Richard Ordway, Philip Richard Ordway was the oldest son of Lemuel and Elizabeth Ordway.  He was born in Monroe Township, Henry County on 28 November, 1899.

On September 13, 1918, Philip completed his World War I draft registration.  At the time, he was farming for or with his father.  He described himself as of average height and build, with hazel eyes and brown hair. He was not called to serve in the military.
At the age of 24, Philip married Bonnie Glick, age 23.
The 1930 Federal Census shows Philip living on Henry Street in Malinta with his wife, Bonnie and daughter, Lois, 2 1/2.  (Later, in 1937, another daughter, Phyllis, was born.)  Phil's occupation is listed as Silo Manufacturing.
Sadly, in 1947, when the girls were young, their mother, Bonnie, died of influenza.
Later, Phil remarried to Freda M. Symons Mohler who died in 1989.  Phil died in 1990.  He celebrated his 90th birthday BIG with a hot air balloon ride.

My great-uncle Phil died on 25 June 1990. 
His obituary:
"Philip Ordway
Napoleon - Philip R. Ordway, 90, died at 3:30 p.m. Monday in Henry County Hospital.
He was born Nov. 28, 1899, in Malinta, the son of Lemuel and Elizabeth (Delph) Ordway.  He married Bonnie Glick, who preceded him in death.  In 1947, he married Freda Symons, who also preceded him in death.  A retired employee of the Malinta Silo Co., he was a member of Sharon United Methodist Church and a 37 year member of Oddfellows Lodge 260.  He was a Harrison Township trustee for 12 years and was a former trustee of Malinta United Methodist Church.
Surviving are two daughters, Mrs. Duane (Lois) Saul of Liberty Center, and Mrs. Thomas (Phyllis) Spieth, Napoleon; a sister, Mrs. Charles (Marie) Baker, Liberty Center; seven grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and three step-grandchildren.
Services will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. in Sharon United Methodist Church with Rev. Roger Reese officiating.  Burial will follow in Hoy Cemetery.  Visitation will be from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Wednesday at Walker Mortuary.  Oddfellows Lodge will hold a memorial service Wednesday at 8 p.m.  Memorials may be made to Sharon United Methodist Church."

Five Generations

Another clipping from my mom, showing five generations of the family.  It is not the best photo, coming from an old newspaper, but what a joy to see my great-grandmother and great-great grandmother in the same photo.

An error in the paper named my great-grandmother as Lena Ordway.  It should have been Elizabeth,
Lizzie or Bess.  I never heard of her being called Lena.

Ordways in Malinta, Ohio - Fay and Am

I love this photo of my great-grandparents as young folks with four children in what I remember as a pretty small house with no running water. Yes, that means an outhouse and drinking water in a bucket with a metal dipper from which everyone drank.  But more on that in a later post.  I'm guessing this photo was taken around 1910 - 1912.

First, the oldest child and daughter - Fay Eunice Ordway.
The first and only census, released so far, that we have after Fay and Am married on 4 May 1921 is the 1930 census.  The census shows Am, aged 34, and Fay, aged 33, living with their two daughters, Alta Mae, aged 7, and Marcella, aged 6, on Henry Street in Malinta.  Down the street from them lived her two brothers and their wives in separate residences.  Around the corner were her mom and dad and sister Marie. 
The census also states that Am was 25 when married and Fay, 24, and they and their parents were all born in Ohio.  The value of their home was $3500, they owned it, AND they had a radio...one of those strange questions asked in 1930.  Am's occupation was proprietor of a restaurant.  That was a new piece of information to me. 

They are both buried in Hoy (Shunk) Cemetery and I wanted to include their obituaries in this post, once again thanks to my mom who was a good "clipper" of family news from the daily paper.

Fay Eunice Ordway died on May 7, 1986.

"Fay Gunter
Fay Gunter, 88, formerly of Malinta, died Wednesday at Henry County Hospital. 
Born in Monroe Township, Henry County on March 2, 1898, she was the daughter of Lemuel and Elizabeth (Delph) Ordway.  She married Ammasa Gunter on May 14, 1921, and he preceded her in death on Jan. 4, 1978.
She was a member of Memorial United Methodist Church, Malinta.
Surviving are one daughter, Alta Mae Ritz, Fairborn, Oh.; one brother, Phillip Ordway, Napoleon; one sister, Marie Baker, Liberty Center; six grand-children and thirteen great-grandchildren.  She was preceded in death by one daughter, Marcella Rice.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Walker Mortuary, Inc. with Rev. Edgar Shady, former pastor of Memorial United Methodis Church, officiating.  Interment will be in Hoy Cemetery, Harrison Township.
Preferred memorials are to the Henry County Home Memorial Fund."

"Ammasa Gunter
Ammasa Daniel Gunter, 81, Malinta, died Wednesday evening at Defiance Hospital. 
He was born June 20, 1896, in Monroe Township, Henry County, the son of David and Jennie (Cary) Gunter.  The deceased was a retired employee of Campbell Soup Company, Napoleon.  He was a former groundskeeper at Bowling Green State University.  He was a member of Malinta United Methodist Church, The Liberty Center V.F.W. Post, the American Legion Post #400, Malinta, and the 42nd Rainbow Association of Cincinnati.  He was a life member of the Disabled American Veterans, Napoleon.  He was a United States Army Veteran of World War I.
Surviving are his wife, Fay; two daughters, Mrs. Charles (Marcella) Rice, Defiance, and Mrs. Dorvin (Alta Mae) Ritz, Fairborn; one brother, Walter, Malinta; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Walker Mortuary, Napoleon.  Reverend Edgar Shady, pastor of Malinta United Methodist Church, will officiate.
Interment will be made in Hoy Cemetery, Harrison Township, where Military Graveside Rites will be conducted by the Malinta American Legion Post #400.
Friends may call at Walker Mortuary, Napoleon, after 2 p.m. on Friday.  A Disabled American Veterans memorial service will be held Friday at 8 p.m. at the funeral home."