1500 Eastwood Avenue - Artura Photo Paper Company

Artura Photo Paper box

Lot 12 Cornfield's Addition

Walter B. and Mary S. Page bought lots 9, 12, 14, 28 and 29 for $4,500 from Charles B. Cornfield on May 10, 1889.

Herbert Henry Davenport bought lot 12 from the Pages for $700 on January 1, 1904.

Dr. Lewis M. Early and Melville Arlington "Arlie" Yauch purchased lot 12 on October 13, 1904 for $5,000 including a mortgage for $2,000.

Early and Yauch sold the property for $5,000 to their newly incorporated company on May 5, 1905. The Artura Photo Paper Company was incorporated on April 19, 1905.

In 1904, Yauch lived at 203 North Garfield Avenue. Early lived at 108 North 20th Street.

Business was a great success and the photo paper factory needed room to expand. The company purchased lots 8-11 (between their original location and Taylor Avenue) in 1907. 1500 Eastwood Avenue was the address of the factory. On lot eight, there was a house with the address of 50 Taylor Avenue which remained and is the subject of its own blog entry.

Another partner in the Artura business was Schuyler Colfax. Page six of the Society section of the  March 22, 1908 Ohio State Journal reports, "Work on Factory - Work on the new plant of the Artura Photo Paper company to be erected on Eastwood avenue, was begun yesterday morning. The building will be 30 x 120 feet, and two stories high. A power plant will be erected in addition to the factory building."

Dr. Early was behind this short lived Nash automobile dealership opened in
early 1910 at 177 South High Street. It was bankrupt by 1912.

Artura was bought by Eastman Kodak in 1909 for $1.25 million. At the time it was reported that the factory employed 150 people and has 33 salesmen on the road. Kodak manufactured Artura brand products until 1924.

An extensive biography of Yauck appears in the Encyclopedia of biography of New York, Volume 7, "Yauck, Melville Arlington, Inventive Artist.

When Melville A. Yauck, of Rochester, passed from earthly view, that city lost an upright, talented citizen, and the photographic world a man who had contributed largely to its development. When he produced Artura paper he delivered the professional photographer from the bondage of sunlight and made one of the most important and permanently valuable contributions to the materials used in the art of photography. He was a man of strong character and high principles, possessing pleasing personal qualities that endeared him to a wide circle of friends. He was a close observer and clear thinker, having an infinite capacity for painstaking, exacting labor. Sterling was his character, very fine grained, with the tenderness and sweetness of a woman, yet with a strong will and determined spirit that never yielded to failure. After years of toil his dreams were realized, and at his beautiful home at the corner of East avenue and Arnold Park, presided over by his wife, a woman of personality equally charming, he was enjoying the rewards of success when stricken with a fatal illness that quickly ended his earthly career.

Melville A. "Arlie" Yauck

Mr. Yauck was of German descent, son of Rev. Martin and Melvina (Althen) Yauck. Rev. Martin Yauck was born near Schwenningen, a village of Wurttemberg, Germany, circle of the Black Forest, at the source of the Neckar river, August 27, 1845. When a lad of tender years he was brought to the United States by his parents, spending his youth in Rochester, where he obtained his preparatory education. He then entered Northwestern College, Naperville, Illinois, and in 1870 was ordained a minister of the Evangelical Association at Lafargeville, Jefferson county, New York. From that time until he received the Divine approval, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord," on December 17, 1885, he was engaged in ministerial work, having stated pastorates. For four years prior to 1870 he had been preaching under lesser authority, serving on the Mohawk, Jefferson, and Oneida circuits in New York during the years 1866-67-68 and 69. In the last named year he was preaching at West Sand Lake and was there stationed after his ordination in 1870. In 1871 and until 1873 he was stationed at Dunkirk Mission; in 1874 at Lockport; in 1875 until 1877 at Utica Mission; in 1878 until 1880 at Albany; in 1881 at Herkimer; in 1882 and 1883 at St. Paul's Church, Buffalo. In 1884 his health failed and he was without an appointment until his death. He was one of the originators of the illustrated Lord's Prayer and Ten Commandments, a lithograph in ten colors, which hangs in thousands of homes throughout the United States. The original painting, two feet six inches by three feet eight inches, may be seen in the Sunday-school room of Calvary Evangelical Church, in Rochester. Rev. Martin Yauck married Melvina, daughter of Philip and Christina Althen. She was born at Lyons, New York, March 6, 1849, died at Rochester, March 21, 1915. They were the parents of four children, Melville Arlington, William Percival, deceased; Edwin C, vice-president of the Haloid Company, of Rochester; and Agnes, died in infancy.

Melville Arlington Yauck was born at West Sand Lake, New York, May 16, 1870, died at Rochester, February 18, 1914. He was educated in public schools, but the death of his father in 1885 compelled him to leave school and to begin his own battle of life. He early developed decided artistic talent and when thrown upon his own resources began learning the art of engraving on wood. He did not long continue his first efforts, however, as he made the acquaintance of W.J. Lee, a photographer of Rochester, and entered his employ. This was in the day of wet plates and collodion papers, when the photographer coated his paper early in the morning of the day he intended using it. But a spirit of investigation and experiment had been developed, and after learning the rudiments of the art young Mr. Yauck became filled with an enthusiasm for research and experiment that never forsook him and that was finally to result in the discovery of one of the greatest gifts that has ever been bestowed upon the photographic profession. Where ever he lived he had a little dark room, and there he spent every spare hour, mastering by self study the chemistry of photography and the various processes by which pictures are made by that art. After attaining a degree of proficiency that made his services valuable he went to Michigan, where he was employed in a studio, thence to Cleveland, where he conducted a photographic supply business and did finishing for amateurs. In 1890 he located in Albany, New York, where, until 1894, he conducted a studio. He then formed a connection with the Baker Art Galleries, of Columbus, Ohio, one of the leading studios of the United States.

While there he painted special backgrounds for a series of art figure photographs that was copyrighted and had a very large sale. From his first days in the studio he had been interested in tinting photographs, and with his great natural talent it was inevitable that as he progressed in art he should develop into a portrait and landscape painter. His work attracted much attention and favorable comment at the exhibitions held by the art clubs of which he was a member. Among notable canvases that bear the imprint of his genius is a portrait of President McKinley, that hangs in the State Capitol at Columbus, Ohio.

At different times during his career Mr. Yauck had seen collodion and gelatine printing-out papers made successfully and marketed. In using these papers, however, the photographer was dependent on bright daylight to do his printing, and Mr. Yauck reasoned that if a paper that would yield equally good results could be produced, one that would print by artificial light, fame and fortune awaited the inventor of such a paper. It was not a new thought, as many scientific men were endeavoring to work out the problem. During the years Mr. Yauck was with the Baker Art Galleries he spent his evenings and far into the small hours of the morning in his laboratory at his home making emulsions, having in his wife an able, valued assistant. In fact, it was her help, her confidence in ultimate success, and her encouragement that lightened the many disappointments he endured and that held him to persevering effort. Finally the goal was won and their work was crowned with success by the perfecting of a paper that would print by artificial light and faithfully reproduce all the gradations in a negative, yielding as soft and perfect a print as the daylight printing papers. This paper he named "Artura," and to make and market it he organized the Artura Photo Paper Company of Columbus, Ohio.

Photo-Era Magazine, April 1914

Many were the obstacles and discouragements that yet beset his path, not the least of which was the prejudice and conservatism of professional photographers. But this, too, in time, was overcome, and the paper became very popular and reached an immense sale, supplanting to a large extent the printing-out papers that up to that time had been in use. In the fall of 1909 the Artura Photo Paper Company was sold to the Eastman Kodak Company, and Mr. Yauck returned to Rochester to supervise the manufacture of Artura paper. For five years thereafter he lived to enjoy the legitimate fruits of his long years of toil and in the beautiful home now occupied by his widow he catered to the demands of his artistic nature to the fullest extent. The hospitality of his home was unbounded, and with a grace and charm possessed by host and hostess alike, their friends were made welcome.

Mr. Yauck married, June 16, 1889, Minerva Florence, daughter of George Yeldhan, of Geneva, Ohio. To them one son was born, Daniel Althen Yauck, who married Adelaide Parnell, of Rochester.

Clipping from the Rome (NY)
Daily Sentinel, February 3, 1912.

A 1912 issue of Studio Light magazine reports, "We regret to announce the death of Dr. L. M. Early at his home in Columbus, Ohio, June 13th.

"Dr. Early was one of the pioneers in experimental work with the X-ray, and it was in the beginning of this work, when the safeguards now used by operators were unknown, that he received X-ray burns on his hands. These burns destroyed the tissues to such an extent that physicians were unable to check the gradual destroying influences of that force, which, in milder form, has since been of such great benefit to mankind.

"Dr. Early became known to the photographic world through his association with Mr. M. A. Yauck, who had discovered a new photographic paper emulsion of very fine quality. After these two had worked together for five years, Mr. Schuyler Colfax became associated with them, and the Artura Photo Paper Co. gradually grew to be one of the great photographic manufacturing concerns of the country.

"With the sale of the Artura Company, Mr. Yauck and Mr. Colfax became associated with the Eastman Kodak Co., while Dr. Early retired from business and devoted his entire time and efforts to the search for a cure, but without avail.

"Dr. Early was a prince among men and a martyr to science. He was beloved by all who knew him and his friends were legion."

In 1911, the Artura Photo Paper Company sold lots 8-12 to Frank S. Noble of Rochester, New York. Noble sold lots 8-12 to the Eastman Kodak Company on April 9, 1917. On December 30, 1919 Kodak sold the property to the Snyder-Chaffee Company of Columbus for $25,000.

Postcard circa 1910-1919 featuring The famous Snyder Chaffee Chocolate Shop.

Snyder, Chafee and Company was a chocolatier with a shop at 47 North High Street. They operated a retail chocolate shop in downtown Columbus at least from the 1880s until sometime in the 1920s, perhaps longer. The firm also manufactured chocolates and other confections wholesaling them to other retailers. An 1889 History of the State of Ohio indicated the firm had 73 employees in 1887.

The reverse of the postcard showing the interior of the Snyder Chaffee Chocolate Shop says that Snyder Chaffee confections were made in a factory located at 29-39 West Gay Street "that's clean as a 'pink.'"

In 1918, Clarence W. Amore, bookkeeper for Snyder, Chaffee & Company was living at 50 Taylor Avenue.

Box from 1898 for Snyder Chaffee Cough Drops

The 1925 City Directory lists the Central Storage and Transfer Company, owned by Elmer C. Richardson, at 1500 Eastwood Avenue. The John Brehmer Company, Malberger and Sons, Proprietors - upholsterers and furniture repairers, antique furniture bought and sold, 1502-1504 Eastwood Avenue. The 1928 City Directory lists H.G. Pierce, contractor, living at 1500 Eastwood Avenue.

Snyder-Chaffee transferred the property to The North Side Land and Improvement Company on July 1, 1930. North Side lost the property to Sheriff's Sale and it was transferred to The Capital Investment Company in 1932.

I could not trace the ownership of the property from 1932 through 1946. I could find no transfer from the Capital Investment Company.

In 1940, Alvan Tallmadge of 63 Parkwood Avenue is listed in the City Directory under "Sash, Windows, Doors and Trim" at 1500 Eastwood Avenue. In 1941 he is listed as is listed as a civil engineer and also a "sash dealer" at a new address 1502 Eastwood Avenue.

In March 1946, Overland Realty Company sold the property to Union Building and Savings Company. In April 1946, Ritter bought the property from Union Building and Savings Company. In 1956 the storage firm was known as the Atlas Eastwood Storage Co.

Ira died February 9, 1956. The property was transferred to his widow and son, Dorothy T. and John S. Ritter on November 18, 1957. On March 3, 1958 they sold lots 9-12 to the Atlas Eastwood Storage Company. Dorothy continued to live at 50 Taylor Avenue, and she married Dana H. Walser before 1959 and they sold the house on lot eight to Atlas Moving and Storage on September 20, 1963. The Walsers moved to Perry County and divorced in August 1971.

On June 9, 1960, the Columbus Dispatch reported that twelve non-union truck drivers for Atlas Eastwood Storage Co. claimed that they were fired from their jobs and did not quit.

Atlas sold the property to the Board of Education on August 22, 1968. They would eventually demolish all the buildings on the property.

Cornfield's Addition - North of Broad and South of Long

John Duffy, circa 1909

Cornfield's Addition was laid out in 1875 for John Duffy, the guardian of Charles B. Cornfield and his younger sister Margaret. Their father was John Cornfield from Kildare, Ireland, a successful Columbus pawnbroker in 1870. Duffy was a prosperous Columbus grocer, originally from Tipperary, Ireland. He retired from the grocery business in 1884 and became a real estate speculator. John had a "beautiful home" at 319 East Gay Street.

Seventeen homes and one business in Cornfield's Addition were demolished after 1967 to make what is now the parking lot of East High School.

The original 1875 plat map is interesting as all the street names but East Long have changed or no longer exist. Reed Avenue is now Taylor Avenue, Mulberry Street is now Parkwood Avenue and Barr Street and Maplewood Alley are gone altogether, though Barr Street was later known as Eastwood Avenue.

As you can see on the map the "Street R.R." or streetcar tracks ran down the center of Long and turned south at Mulberry Street (Parkwood) towards East Broad Street, which was the end of that car line. At the time this map was drawn those were horse-drawn cars, not yet the electrified versions. Columbus' streetcars were converted starting about 1890 and were all electric by 1892. The Long Street route was electrified on September 7, 1891.

The Long Street horsedrawn streetcar, circa 1888. From the Columbus Railroads website.

Lots 1-7 of the addition ran along East Broad and contain the original foot print of East High School. The back of the school building ran along the south side of Eastwood Avenue (Barr Street).

Lots 12-14 had two homes on them that faced on Eastwood (Barr), a duplex, 1505-1506 Eastwood Avenue and a single family home, 1512 Eastwood Avenue.

Along Parkwood Avenue, lots 15-18 and 25-27, there were six homes, 35, 43, 51, 57, 63 and 73. The largest was the mansion at 51 Parkwood Avenue built in 1905 for Walter B. Beebe, president of the Central National Bank. Another was the home of Ferdinand Schoedinger, where he died and from which his funeral was held in 1935. Other Columbus notable who lived in these homes include Newton Kurtz Billow, Eugene A. Reed, Walter A. Jones, Alvan Tallmadge and Carlton T. Nelson.

There was a home on lot 8 which was 50 Taylor Avenue. A commercial structure was on lots 9-11 with an address of 60 Taylor Avenue. Later lots 8-11 were all commercial and known as 1500 Eastwood Avenue.

On the south side of East Long Street were lots 19-24 with eight homes, 1493, duplexes 1495-1497 and 1501-1503, the rest single family homes, 1507, 1511, 1515, 1519 (alternately numbered 1521) and 1527.

1715 East Long Street

1715 East Long Street, October 2012

1/2 Sec 15 Twp 5 R 22 Refugee Lands

Charles and Dorothy Mendenhall

Ella Brown Gwinn bought the property June 28, 1908 from Charles Elwood and Dr. Dorothy Mabel Reed Mendenhall. The Mendenhalls were married in Columbus in 1906.

Dorothy's biography from Wikipedia, "She did her undergraduate work at Smith College and became one of the first women to graduate from Johns Hopkins Medical School. She graduated fourth in her class in 1900, she was awarded a prestigious internship at Johns Hopkins Hospital, serving under Dr. William Osler. The next year she became a Pathology fellow there under the direction of Dr. William Welch. During this period Mendenhall taught bacteriology, assisted at autopsies and undertook research on Hodgkin's disease. She made her best recognized contribution to medical science when she discovered the cell that is a primary characteristic of Hodgkin's lymphoma and effectively disproved the common belief that the disease was a form of tuberculosis. Mendenhall's findings, published in 1902, brought her international acclaim and the cell became known as the Reed cell (also called the Sternberg-Reed and Reed-Sternberg cell).

"Next she accepted the first internship in pediatrics at the Babies Hospital in New York... She left to marry Charles Mendenhall who had been hired as a member of the Physics faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW). He became the Chairman of that department. They had four children—the first (a daughter) died one day after birth; the second (a son) died at age 1 in an accident. Another son, John "Blackjack" Mendenhall, became a renowned physician in his own right, and was also a faculty member at UW Medical school. He had first done a residency in pathology, as had his mother, but, following service in World War II, became a thoracic surgeon after he acquired tuberculosis himself. The youngest son of Dorothy Mendenhall, Thomas C. Mendenhall, was a professor of History at Yale University, and served as the sixth President of Smith College.

Dorothy Reed Mendenhall died of heart disease on July 31, 1964, at the age of 89."

Ella Brown Gwinn transferred the property to her daughter, Mary G. Dauber with two deeds, one on September 7, 1921 and another on December 9, 1924.

John J. Dauber was born in August 6, 1890 in Jackson County, Ohio, son of John H. and Josephine Marie Johnson/Johnston Dauber. He married Mary E. Guinn in Franklin County on September 8, 1920.
Mary was born September 30, 1899 in Washington Courthouse, Ohio, daughter of Othniel Edward and Ella Brown Gwinn. They had two children: John G. and Mary E. (1924)

At the time of their marriage, Mary lived at her parents' house at 1706 East Broad Street. Othniel Gwinn was President of The Gwinn Milling Company. The book Mostly True: A Memoir of Family, Food, and Baseball by Molly O'Neill (Frances Louise Gwinn's granddaughter) recounts great stories about the family.

Mary was sister to Frances Louise Gwinn Rowland who lived at 1647 Granville Street in 1924. Her husband, Warwick Rowland, later lived at 1499 Menlo Place.

In 1930 John was a wholesale jewelry salesman. John died January 30, 1931 of pneumonia at Mt. Carmel Hospital. He is buried at Greenlawn Cemetery. After the death of her husband, Mary moved to Florida.

On July 7, 1933, Thomas M. England purchased the house, assuming a mortgage of $7,250.

Thomas Marcus England was born October 14, 1876 in Chillicothe, Ohio, son of Thomas Jefferson and Lucy Miller England. He married Anna M. Hammett about 1907. Anna was born February 12, 1866 in West Virginia.

In 1900 he was with the Army Hospital Corps stationed at Columbia Barracks in Cuba. In 1910 he was  a hospital pharmacist at Fort Ward in Port Blakely, Washington. In 1930 the Englands lived in Washington, DC and in 1940 they were in Brooklyn, New York. At the time of his death, Lieutenant Colonel England was an executive officer of the Medical Branch of the Fifth Service Corps, U.S. Army. Anna had been an Army nurse.

England died at home on Long Street of coronary thrombosis on July 23, 1943. Anna died October 5, 1951 at Rest Haven home on 813 Bryden Road.They are both buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

The Ironsides Company

On August 28, 1946, Elmer G. Thompson bought the house for $14,000 from Lucille A. Justice. Lucille became a guardian for Anna on November 10, 1943. Anna had been determined to be a mentally incompetent person.

Elmer Gildersleeve Thompson was born March 27, 1904 in Brooklyn, New York, son of Henry Francis and Annie Truslow Ruland Thompson.
He married Rosamond Bowker. Rosamond was born January 15, 1905 in Pennsylvania, daughter of Horace and Adelaide K Bowker. They had twin boys born November 1, 1934; Robert Henry and James Horace. A daughter, Adelaide was born December 1, 1941

The Thompsons lived at 1720 East Long Street in 1941. Elmer was a salesman. In 1956 they lived at 280 South Parkview Avenue. Elmer was a salesman for the The Ironsides Co. (lubricants, wires, paint and oilers). In 1960 he was Vice President of Ironsides Resins, Inc.

By 1967 the Thompsons had moved to Clearwater Beach, Florida. Elmer applied to be a member of the Sons of the American Revolution in 1967.

Rosamond died January 2, 1979 in Florida. Elmer died in San Diego, California on September 28, 1984.

Dr. Nimrod Booker Allen

On November 4, 1955 the Allens bought the house from the Thompsons.

Dr. Nimrod Booker Allen was born October 12, 1886 in Girard, Alabama. He married Clara W. about 1917. Clara was born about 1893 in Georgia. The had a daughter Phoebe (1925).

A September 7, 2012 Columbus Dispatch article about Allen said, He was the..."son of a minister...studied at Wilberforce and Yale before deciding to become a social worker."

In 1917-1918 Allen was Branch Secretary of the YMCA and lived at 1598 Pembroke Avenue. In 1919 he was Executive Secretary of the YMCA. In 1923 he was Executive Secretary of the Columbus Urban League and the Allens lived at 239 Lexington Avenue. The 1930 Census says Nimrod was Social Secretary for the Urban League. The City Directory of that year says he was President and Manager of the Columbus Independent Mortgage Company. In 1929 and 1931 he is listed as Executive Secretary of the Urban League. They lived at 236 Lexington Avenue until buying the house on East Long Street.

Allen is in the City of Columbus Hall of Fame, and on that website it says, "Throughout his life, Allen played a major role in creating favorable atmosphere for better interracial understanding in Columbus and the nation.

"In 1936, he founded the Frontiers of America, Incorporated, no Frontiers, International, which at that time was the only service organization working primarily to unearth, develop and mobilize Negro leadership in the United States and South America.

"Allen was a man with vision and wisdom and had the far-sighted ability to organize the Columbus Urban League in 1917. During his thirty-three years as Executive Secretary for the League many positive changed occurred, including the virtually non-existent opportunities for Negroes in labor. He was also the first to coordinate the press, radio, television, police department and citizens to work together in the interest of promoting interracial harmony."

Clara died January 22, 1966 in Columbus. Nimrod died in 1977.

James L. Allen, administrator of Nimrod's estate, sold the house for $31,500 to Linda M. Marshall on June 21, 1983. Marshall transferred the house to Linda Davis about a month later on July 27, 1983.

Six months later on December 6, 1983, Davis transferred the house to Carol Sue and Robyn Michelle Montgomery.

1563 Clifton Avenue - Sandwick House

1563 Clifton Avenue

Lot 11 Smith's Second Woodland Park Addition

Charles L. Bell was born October 13, 1869 in Union County, Ohio, son of Phineas Jun and Martha A. McKitrick Bell. He married Nellie May Cratty on November 4, 1891 in Delaware County, Ohio. Nellie was born October 21, 1869 in Ostrander, Ohio, daughter of David and Martha Crain Cratty. They had four children: Lyle (1891), Lisle Devonshire (1893), Carroll Everett (1896) and Edith (1907).

Charles Bell is listed in the 1901 and 1905 Columbus City Directories as a contractor and in 1907 his occupation is real estate. In 1907 the Bells are living at 824 Oak Street.

824 Oak Street in 2010

Bell purchased a few of the lots in Smith's Second Woodland Park Addition directly from the Smiths. Lots 1 and 2 in 1903 and then Lots 11 and 12 on June 27, 1904 for $1,600 though the deed for that sale wasn't recorded until 1907.

Bell sold the property to the Elders on August 6, 1904 for $3,300.

Bell died July 26, 1913 at his home at 824 Oak Street and is buried at Greenlawn Cemetery. Nellie died in November 1953 at the Columbus State Hospital, though she still made her home on Oak Street.

Adam Griggs Elder was born in April 9, 1877 in Jackson, Perry County, Ohio, son of Joseph Mason and Louise Catherine Griggs Elder. He married Estella W. Shaw in Perry County about November 1897. They had three daughters, Avis Gwendolyn (1899), Eleanor Grace (1905) and Gladys Louise (1908).

Elder was a physician and appears to have completed his studies about 1907-8. In 1909 he lived at 98 West Third Avenue. There are no directory listings for the Elders at the Clifton address, and he lived at 72 West Third Avenue until his death. Dr. Elder died of typhoid on March 12, 1916 at Protestant Hospital in Columbus.

William Henry Sandwick came to Columbus in 1910. He bought the property from The Elders on January 21, 1911 and this house was probably built for him shortly thereafter.

William Henry Sandwick was born June 1, 1862 in Maravia, New York, son of John and Elizabeth Booth Sandwick. He married Nellie Givens about 1883. Nellie was born January 6, 1862 in Dryden, New York and the daughter of Darius and Nancy McLean Givens. They had three daughters, Mabel Elizabeth, Mildred and Florence May.

Sandwick also owned Lot 10 in Smith's Second Woodland Park Addition, which he sold in 1919.

A complete "Oxypathor" oxygen generator kit, circa 1912.

In 1910 Sandwick was an agent selling oxygen generators. It was reported that this device was an, "appliance for transmitting oxygen into the human body which has been liberally advertised as a means of curing practically all forms of disease." The machine was advertised to "quiet the most agonizing pain in a marvelously short time, give profound restful slumber, stimulate and arouse the body and all its organs to renewed vigor and cure practically every disease."

Sandwick is listed in both the 1910 Census in Syracuse, New York and in Columbus. In the 1911 Columbus City Directory he is listed as General Manager of the Central Ohio Oxygenator Co., residing at 1563 Clifton Avenue.

The Postmaster General announced on March 12, 1915 that the Oxypathor Company of Buffalo, New York, Columbus, Ohio and Wilmington, Delaware had been, "defrauding the public on a large scale for the past six years." and goes on to say, the device is "declared by the department to be worthless for the purposes claimed and it's promoters are held to be conductiong a scheme for obtaining money through the mails by means of false pretenses. Post Office inspectors find that from 1909 to 1914, inclusive, 45,451 such machines were sold at $35 each."

Sandwick apparently knew when it was a good time to get out of the business as you can see from the paragraph below. The "Reverend" Preston King Reynolds ended up on the hook. In the 1916 Columbus City Directory Sandwick is listed a general manager of Venus Spray Co., a real estate firm with a very unusual name.

From the book Medical Mail Order Frauds by the
American Medical Association, 1915.

In the 1890s Sandwick was Manager of the Dryden Opera House in Dryden, New York (population 1,000) as well as Postmaster for the small town. Sandwick was also interested in another bit of quackery, the "science" of phrenology. Sandwick was an organizer of the Order of the Golden Seal, which by all accounts looks like a rather dodgy sort of fraternal organization.

The Sandwicks are listed in the 1920 Census in Syracuse, New York, where William is working as an assistant in a barber shop.

The Sandwicks moved to Winter Haven, Florida about 1926. Nellie died there on September 21, 1927.

William married a second time on April 12, 1929. He married divorcee Mrs. Ruth Head in Washington DC. The marriage was performed by Mrs. Head's son, the Rev. Donald W. Head.

Sandwick died in Winter Haven, Florida on January 16, 1939. His death certificate lists his occupation as a barber with his own shop.

On February 3, 1922, Sandwick sold the house to Frances M. Lasser.

Fred Edward Lasser was born July 10, 1894 in Circleville, Ohio, son of Charles and Nellie M. Lasser.
He married Frances about 1915. Frances was born about 1890 in Ohio.

Fred was a yardmaster for the steam railroad. From about 1915 until purchasing the house on Clifton, they lived at 1383 Mt. Vernon Avenue. In the 1930 Census, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law Frank W. and Florence G. Minck are living with them. In 1931 the Lassers moved to 541 Tibet Road. Fred's Draft Registration cards say he worked for the Norfolk and Western Railway and had an office on Joyce Avenue. The Lassers rented out the house after they moved in 1931.

Fred died in 1954 and Frances in 1958. They are buried in Union Cemetery.

From 1932 to 1935 The Goldens rented 1563 Clifton Avenue. Ben had a barber shop and billiards parlor in the building at 1533 Mt. Vernon Avenue.

Ben Golden was born October 24, 1902 in McDonald, Pennsylvania, son of William and Anna Mitchell Golden. He married Jeanette Evans in Franklin County on July 28, 1924. Jeanette was born about 1903 in Jackson, Ohio, Ben E. Jr. "Bennie" (January 18, 1927).

In 1928 the Goldens lived at 1521 Mt. Vernon Avenue and Ben ran the barber shop at 1533 Mt. Vernon Avenue. In 1940 the Goldens lived at 337 Taylor Avenue. In 1954 Ben was running the North Bexley Barber Shop on Cassady Avenue and living at 2690 Allegheny Avenue.

Ben, Sr. died August 29, 1968.

On December 5, 1935 William B. Nye of Newark, Ohio, purchased the house which he maintained as a rental property.

Dr. William Bennett Nye was born January 27, 1875 in Chillicothe, Ohio, son of William Worth and Rebecca Bennett Nye. He married Bertha Grace Dille in Newark, Ohio on August 29, 1906. Bertha was born about 1873 in Chillicothe, Ohio, daughter of Frank and Anna Fernald Dille. They had two daughters, Jane Elizabeth and Virginia.

Nye was a general practice physician, a 1903 graduate of the Ohio Medical University and on the staff of Newark Hospital. He retired to Santa Barbara, California in 1955 and lived at Wood Glen Hall where he died December 6, 1968. Bertha died in 1960.

In 1936 Richard Shelton Finley rented the house.

Richard Shelton Finley was born in Columbus on October 27, 1912, son of James B. and Bertha B. Shelton Finley. He married Cleta Alys Clark on her birthday in 1934 on September 14. Cleta was born September 14, 1913 in Chillicothe, Ohio, daughter of Herman D. and Mary Roxy Smallwood Clark.

In 1940 the Finleys lived on Fallis Road in Clintonville and Richard was working as a foreman at a printing company. Richard died in Columbus on January 26, 1983.

From February 1937 to 1939, Dr. Nye's daughter Jane and her husband, James E. Matchet lived in the house. He was an industrial designer. In the 1940 Census the Matchets were living with her parents in Newark, Ohio. They had a daughter and a son, Victoria Leslielynn (June 24, 1937) and Michael W. (November 22, 1938). James' occupation in 1940 is a decorator at a pottery works.

Victoria married a Nelson. Apparently at some point, perhaps when they moved to California, the Matchetts changed the spelling of their surname to Machet.

James Everett Matchett was born July 24, 1911 in Lancaster, Ohio, son of Charles Wallace and Josephine Howard Kinkade Matchett. He married Jane Elizabeth Nye in Ashland, Kentucky on October 9, 1935. Jane was born July 26, 1911 in Ohio.

James and Jane met at the Columbus Art School. Interestingly, the announcement of their marriage didn't appear in the Newark newspaper until January 1937.

In June 1971, James, as President, incorporated the J.N. Machet Corporation in California. There are several online auction listings for acrylic Tiffany-style hanging lamps manufactured by the J.N. Machet Corporation.

All four Machets died in Santa Barbara, California. Jane on September 1, 1964, Michael on July 29, 1977, James on April 5, 1994 and Victoria Nelson on November 15, 1995.

In 1940, Frank Walters rented the house.

Frank N. Walters was born about 1908, son of Martin Lawrence and Henrietta Susan Walters. He married Beatrice. Beatrice was born about 1911 in New York. They had a son Richard (1936). Frank was a studio photographer.

The house was vacant from 1941 to 1943. On April 28, 1942, the Nyes sold the house to Kathryn A. Campbell.

Russell H. Campbell was born June 6, 1907 in Utica, Ohio, son of Robert S. and Clara L. Campbell. He married Kathryn A. Hill in Poland, Licking County on August 15, 1926. Kathryn was born in Newark, Ohio, on October 1, 1906, daughter of Garry O. and Mabel Hurbaugh Hill.

The Campbells were probably friends of the Nyes. At the time of their marriage in 1926, Russell was working in as a baker and Kathryn was a stenographer. The 1930 census finds the Campbells in Newark and Russell is proprietor of a bakery. In 1937 the Campbells lived in Granville, Ohio. In 1942, Russell was a deputy county auditor and the they lived at 1905 Bedford Road in Upper Arlington.

Russell died in Canton, Ohio on October 10, 1980.

The Campbells rented the house to the Cramers before 1946 and sold it to them on February 16, 1949.

240-242 Taylor Avenue

Leo J. Kramer was born about 1902 in Indiana, son of Phillip J. and Anna Kramer. He married Katherine. Katherine O.was born about 1912 in Indiana. They had five children  Phillip L. (1932, Indiana), Francis (1932, Indiana), William (1934, Indiana), Roberta (1936, Ohio) and Maryanna (1939, Ohio).

It appears that the Kramers moved to Columbus in late 1933-early 1934. They are listed in the 1934 City Directory at 1487 East 26th Avenue. In 1937 they are living at 1284 South 4th Street. The Kramers rented 242 Taylor Avenue about 1939 to 1945. Leo was a coal truck driver.

Leo died in Tehama, California on September 26, 1961. Katherine may have died in Vigo County Indiana in the early 1950s.

Two weeks later, on March 2, 1949 the Kramers transferred the house to Lawrence and Ruth Mulligan.

The Mulligans didn't live here very long, selling it on September 29, 1950 and then purchasing 263 Woodland Avenue.

Laurence Mulligan was born about 1913 in Georgia, son of Alfred Edgar and Lena Mulligan. He married Ruth. Ruth was born about 1913.

Lawrence appears in the 1920 and 1930 Census in Fort Gaines, Clay County, Georgia. By 1940 he is living in Columbus at 1417 East Long Street with his uncle, Berry McDonald. Lawrence is working as a bartender at a private club.

Ruth died in Columbus on December 18, 1978 and Lawrence died on April 6, 1985.

On September 29, 1950, George and Geraldine Barnett bought the house from the Mulligans. The house is still owned by the Barnett family.

1715 Clifton Avenue - Guitner House

1715 Clifton Avenue, March 2010

Lot 11 Clifton Park

Harold Guitner and Irene Thrailkill bought this lot on February 12, 1917 from Esther Fearn, Horace H. and Mary Tremaine. This trio bought lots 1-5 and 7-12 in Clifton Park along with some other properties on April 22, 1913 for $7,984.91 from the estate of Edward Denmead. The Denmeads lived in several homes on Woodland Avenue. Denmead had bought the lots (along with some other property) for $10,000 on May 12, 1899 from Cotton H. Allen, Vice President of The Hayden National Bank and The P. Hayden Saddlery Hardware Co. Allen had purchased some of the lots in 1891 and in 1892 from John G. Calender.

Harold Guitner

Harold transferred his interest in the property to Irene on March 3, 1918 while he was at Camp Sherman in Ross County, Ohio.

Harold Westwater Guitner was born May 5, 1892 in Dayton, Ohio, son of William Owen and Ella Westwater Guitner. He married Irene Thrailkill in Franklin County on January 26, 1918 . Irene was born April 24, 1894 in Columbus, daughter of M.E. and Laura Haughn Thrailkill. They had a daughter, Constance.

This house was probably completed in late 1918/early 1919. In 1919, Harold was a partner in Bates & Guitner, surety bonds and general insurance and the 1919 City directory shows the Guitners living in their new home.

1901 ad for the Goodhair Remedy

On January 23, 1923, The Newark (Ohio) Advocate reported, "Goodhair Interests Locate in Columbus - The Goodhair Remedy company of Newark, manufacturers and distributors of Goodhair soap, has been purchased from the estate of Edward S. Miller by two Columbus men, Merwyn R. Hatch of the Independent Tire company, and Harold W. Guitner of Bates & Guitner. The new company will be known as the Goodhair company and will locate in Columbus. Hatch is president of the new organization and Guitner, secretary and treasurer. The new owners plan to inaugurate an extensive advertising and sales campaign in the immediate future." The Goodhair Co.  is last listed in the 1925 City Directory. It does not seem that this venture met with success.

Harold's death on September 30, 1962 made front page news in the Columbus Dispatch on October 1, 1962. The headline read "Harold Westwater Guitner, 70, 76 Ashbourne Rd., President of The H.W. Guitner Insurance Agency, 150 Broad St., for 45 years, dies." The article contines with a biography of Guitner.

Irene died on December 6, 1970. She and Harold are buried at Greenlawn Cemetery.

On October 31, 1933, Marion T. Johnson bought the house assuming an unspecified balance on an original $7,500 mortgage.

Derrol Johnson, circa 1924

George Derrol Resh Johnson was born March 21, 1904 in Ira, Ohio, son of Arthur Charles and Grace Resh Johnson. He married Marion M. Tracy in Franklin County on May 18, 1929. Marion was born June 22, 1907 in Columbus, daughter of Uri, Jr. and Elta Moore Tracy. They had two daughters: Nancy (1933) and Sarah (1936).

Uri Tracy, Jr. was vice president of The Tracy-Wells Co. and lived at 43 Woodland Avenue in 1907. An engagement announcement that appeared in the Milwaukee Journal on December 24, 1928 mentions that, "Miss Tracy is a member of the Columbus Junior league and a graduate of Miss Baird's school in Orange, N.J. where she was a roommate of Miss Elizabeth Houghton. She has often been here as Miss Houghton's guest at her country estate at Nashotah."

In 1930 the Johnsons lived at 879 Sunbury Road. Derrol was a bank auditor. In 1940 the Johnsons lived at 2618 Berntwood Road and Derrol was a cashier and assistant vice president for a bank. They had a live-in maid, Effie Freeman.

Derrol died in Sanibel, Florida on February 11, 1983.

Helena C Swickard bought the house June 10, 1941

Charles Robert Swickard

Charles Robert Swickard was born April 14, 1864 in Westerville, Ohio, son of Henry and Ann Langham Swickard. He married Helena Gertrude Cohan about 1902. Helena was born July 24, 1869 in Portsmouth, Ohio, daughter of Jeremiah and Ellen Sullivan Cohan. They had two children Marion (April 12, 1903) and Charles Robert, Jr. (1906-1927).

Charles had his own business listed in the 1939 City Directory, C.R. Swickard, Real Estate, Rents, Property Management, 20 East Broad Street. In 1939 the Swickards lived at 24 South Monroe Avenue.

According to The Ohio Genealogical Quarterly, Charles was "was a trustee of the Columbus Genealogical Society, and served on the committee of Publication for the Ohio Genealogical Quarterly. He was interested in genealogy, not for himself, but as a matter of public interest and civic concern. He was a member of the class of 1893, Ohio State University, the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, The Virginia Historical Society, The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, The German Society of Pennsylvania, a life member of the Ohio State Archeological and Historical Society, a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and of the Society of Colonial Wars." The Quarterly published a history of the Swickard family as a memorial to Charles after his death.

Charles Jr. and Charles Sr. both died at the family home at 30 South Monroe Avenue. Charles Jr. died of tuberculosis on August 9, 1927. Charles Sr., died on May 12, 1940.

Helena died May 15, 1949 at St. Anthony's Hospital of an intestinal obstruction, strangulated hernia. She is buried at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Lockbourne, Ohio.

Marion Swickard, circa 1925

On December 16, 1949 the house was transferred to the Swickard's daughter, Marion.

In 1939 Marion was Assistant Manager of her father's business.

In the early 1950s Marion was president of the Columbus Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, and served on that organization's board.

Marion is listed in the 1954 City Directory living at 1715 and is self-employed, the Swickard Rental Agency. In 1957 she is listed at 999 Chelsea Avenue. The business is listed as Swickard Rental Agency (Marion Swickard), real estate, rents, property management, 208 Rowlands Building, 12 North Third.

Marion died in Columbus on December 16, 1998.

On May 14, 1956 The Smiths bought the house from Marion.

Joreece V. Smith, 2011

Harold Lloyd Smith was born May 5, 1922 in Georgia. He married Joreece V. Sweeney who was born May 19, 1925, daughter of Glenn L. and Mattie Haynes Sweeney.

In 1947 they lived at 531 Trevitt Street. In 1948 they lived at 194 North Monroe Avenue. In the 1953 and 1954 City Directory Harold is a salesman for Central Realty Company and their home address is listed as 86 Jefferson.

Harold died December 25, 1993. Joreece sold the house the the Fraziers in 2004.

1543 Hawthorne Avenue - Norris House

1543 Hawthorne Avenue, March 2010

Lot 19 of L.B. Tussings Trustees Subdivision

Norris' bought the house from Odos M. and Mary Blose for $6,500 on December 6, 1906. Blose was a building contractor and he also built 1559 Granville Street for the Dornbergs in 1904 and several other homes in the neighborhood.

Walter Beebe Norris was born March 2, 1866 in Columbus, son of John Adams and Jeanette "Nettie" Beebe Norris. He married Alice "Allie" Johnson about 1893. Allie was born March 11, 1868 in Fayette County, daughter of James and Sarah Eubanks Johnson. They had a daughter Zella B. (1900).

Norris graduated from OSU about 1890. While a student from 1884-87 he lived at 174 East Long Street. In the 1890s Norris was a real estate and financial agent. In 1899 he was manager of Lang Livery and Boarding Stables. Starting about 1900 he sold newspaper advertising for the Columbus Citizen. In 1902 they lived at 343 North 20th Street. In 1908 the Norrises lived at 1505 Hawthorne. In 1920 they lived at 330 Taylor Avenue. Before 1929 the Norrises moved in with their daughter and son-in-law, Zella and Harold W. McKinney at 1320 West Third Avenue.

Allie died January 22, 1929. Walter died April 24, 1932. They are buried at East Lawn Cemetery.

Hazelton bought the house from the Norrises on September 14, 1907. He assumed a mortgage dated December 5, 1906 for $3,500 as part of the sale.

James P. Hazelton, circa 1909

James Perry Hazelton was born May 7, 1860 in Coal Township, Perry County, son of Harrison and Lovina Marlow Hazelton. He married Emma M. McKellar on June 17, 1886. Emma was born about 1864 in Ohio, daughter of George McKellar. They had nine children: Cordelia Lovina (1888-1934), Walter Wayne (1889-1891), Ernest E. (1890), Juliet C. (1891), May (1895), Thelma C. (1896), Lucile (1899), Helen (1901) and Kirk E. (1903).

Hazelton was President of The Standard Clay Company. In 1895 he was living in New Straitsville, Ohio. The 1910 Census shows James as an agent for coal lands and the house is rather full with James and Emma and their eight children.

The Centennial History of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Volume 2 (1909) has this biographical sketch of Hazelton. "While the field of business is limitless and its prizes are many, it is a well-known fact that they are to be won only through persistency of purpose and unfaltering diligence, and in the cultivation of these qualities Mr. Hazelton has gained a foremost place in business circles, his investments now yielding him gratifying profit, while he enjoys in full measure the admiration and respect of his colleagues and associates. He was born in what is now Coal township, Perry county, Ohio, May 7, 1860...James P. Hazelton was reared to the occupation of farming, working in the fields until he reached the age of twenty. When the farm labors were largely suspended, owing to the approaching winter season, he became a pupil in the district schools and later attended the high school at New Straitsville, Ohio. For two years in early manhood he engaged in teaching school and was later a book agent or canvasser. Subsequently he was given a position as a district agent for establishing agencies for different book houses and he continued in that business until 1884. In January, 1885, he formed a partnership with Henry Spencer under the firm style of Spencer & Hazelton for the purpose of operating in the coal fields, having a mine between Shawnee and New Straitsville, known as the Spencer & Hazelton mine. The also conducted a general mercantile store in New Straitsville and the partnership was continued with mutual pleasure and profit for twenty-two and a half years. Mr. Hazelton then withdrew but the business is still continued by Mr. Spencer. In 1890 Mr. Hazelton began the manufacture of paving brick, conducting that business until 1895, when the company began the manufacture of building brick. Int he winter of 1898 he organized the Columbus Face Brick Company, manufacturing what is known as "ironclay brick." Mr. Hazelton was vice president of the company and manager of the plant until 1900, when he severed his connections with the business, which, however, is still conducted under the name of the Iron Clay Brick Company.

Lovina Marlow Hazelton,
mother of James Perry Hazelton

"For many years Mr. Hazelton has maintained an office in Columbus, although retaining his residence in New Straitsville. In September, 1907, however, he removed his family to the capital city. Since withdrawing from the field of brick manufacture he has given his time and attention to the development of his coal properties and leases and carries on extensive operations in this line. In 1903 he bacame president of the Dorr Run Coal Company, having properties located near Nelsonville, Ohio, covering and area of eight hundred and sixty-four acres. This coal field is all leased on royalties. In 1907 Mr. Hazelton organized the Starr Coal & Land Company, owning fifteen hundred acres of coal land near Starr in Hocking county, Ohio. He is also vice president and general manager of the company, which leases its lands on royalty. In 1908 he organized the Reed Coal & Land Company, having properties in the Pocahontas coal fields in McDowell county, West Virginia, along the Norfolk & Western Railroad. They have twelve hundred and seventy-one acres under contractor's lease yielding royalties and in this business Mr. Hazelton is also an active executive force, being vice president and general manager of the company. He is also interested in several other projects which are good dividend paying concerns but is perhaps most widely known in connection with his operations as a representative of the coal interests of the state.

"On the 17th of June, 1886, Mr. Hazelton was married to Miss Emma M. McKellar, of Wheeling, West Virginia, a daughter of George McKellar, a florist, who was born in Paisley, Scotland and came to this country with his brothers in the early '40s. Prior to going to Wheeling, he lived for a time at Chillicothe, Ohio, and was engaged as a florist and gardener. The mother of Mrs. Hazelton was descended from the Churchills of New Hampshire. The children born to our subject and his wife are Cordelia L., Ernest E., Julia, Mary, Thelma,Lucille, Helen and Kirk.

"Mr. Hazelton belongs to the various Masonic bodies, holding membership relations with the lodge at New Straitsville, the chapter at Nelsonville and with Mount Vernon Commandery, K.T., at Columbus. His rise in the business world has been gradual and has been the logical sequence of well directed effort and fit utilization of opportunities."

Hazelton died June 28, 1910. Emma died in 1948.

Mine fire, New Straitsville, Ohio. Hazelton Hill between Shawnee and New Straitsville. Perry County.

 This photograph shows smoke wafting from the New Straitsville Mine Fire in Perry County. The mine fires are said to have started November 13, 1884, when striking miners pushed burning cars into a mine, during a strike over wages between the New Straitsville Mining Company's management and mine workers. A small group of union members decided to sabotage the mines. Cars filled with oil-soaked timber were set on fire and were pushed into a mine owned by the New Straitsville Mining Company. The fire quickly spread to the coal seam underground. Reportedly, the coal seam was fourteen feet across and extended an undetermined distance into the Earth. It took several days for the fire to be discovered. By that point, it was too late to stop the fire's spread. As a result of the fire, the mine closed. The New Straitsville mine fire has raged ever since 1884. In 1936, the WPA began work to stop the spread of the fire by building barriers across burning veins of coal. In 1938, nearly 350 men were employed on the project, which then was estimated to cost less than $1, 000, 000. Under the direction of James R. Cavanaugh, a veteran mine fire fighter, tunnels were driven through veins in the path of the fire, and were filled with a clay-water mixture or similar non-burning material. The mines fires affected coal deposits in Hocking and Perry Counties in southeastern Ohio. It was estimated that by 1938 the coal destroyed, more than two hundred square miles, was worth fifty million dollars. In 2003, smoke began to emerge from the soil of the Wayne National Forest, 119 years after the fire began.

In April 1919 the Brisleys bought the house. Apparently the title wasn't completely clear and their are several deeds associated with the sale.

Edward Charles Brisley was born May 26, 1888 in Port Huron, Michigan, son of Robert and Rose Fisher Brisley. He married Marie Louise O'Niell in Detroit on October 20, 1915. Marie was born June 11, 1889 in Michigan, daughter of John G. and Emily Olwell O'Niell. They had six children: Virginia (1919) and John Robert (1920), Emily O. (1922), Alean (1923), Edward (1925) and Frank (1929).

Edward was vice-president of The Packard Columbus Motor Company founded in 1917. In 1918 they lived at 700 Franklin Avenue. In 1920 they lived at 1543 and had a servant, 26 year-old Stella Eikelberger. By 1930 they had moved to 2448 Sherwood Road in Bexley.

Edward died in late December 1934. Marie died in Newark, Ohio on August 3, 1975.

On February 14, 1924 they sold the house to Robert K. McAllister and Robert S. Dingledine, partners in Robert McAllister & Company, real estate and builders. McAllister lived at 1603 Clifton Avenue in 1924. A little over six months later on September 30, 1924, McAllister and Dingledine sold the house to the Longs.

Charles Ford Long was born January 10, 1880 in Jackson, Ohio, son of Stephen J. and Emily Ford Long. He married Mary L. Sheldon March 30, 1910 in Franklin County. Mary was born about June 6, 1887 in Columbus, daughter of Frederick B. and Harriet Thrall Sheldon.

Long was a graduate of Miami and Ohio State Universities. Long was a chemist and for three years, starting in late 1903, he was chief chemist of the Globe Iron Company, of Jackson, Ohio doing coal analysis. He opened a laboratory with two partners in July 1909. Burgess, Kimberly & Long had offices in the Columbus Savings & Trust Building. In 1910 the Longs lived at 1300 East Long Street. The May 13, 1920 issue of Engineering News-Record reports, "Philip Burgess and Charles F. Long, of Columbus, Ohio, have dissolved partnership. Mr. Burgess has entered into a new partnership with Chester A. Niple and Warren F. Hopkins, under the firm name of Burgess and Niple, with offices at 141 East Broad St., Columbus, Ohio."

In 1930 Charles was working as a chemical engineer for a fertilizer company. He also did chemical analysis of the evidence in a famous Columbus unsolved crime. An article in This Week newspaper in December 2010, recounts, "The Bexley minister (Christ Lutheran Church) summoned his children to an upstairs room and broke the news thusly: "Mama's in the furnace," he said.

Rev. Clarence Valentine
Sheatsley, circa 1920

"Among the odd and intriguing cases dealt with in the new book "Historic Columbus Crimes," written by the father-daughter team of David Meyers and Elise Meyers Walker is the 1924 death of the Rev. Clarence Sheatsley's wife. (Addie Sponseller)

"It was on a Monday that the whole family had lunch together before scattering, leaving the mother behind alone. Later that day, Clarence Sheatsley returned to observe acrid smoke rising from the chimney, Meyers said.

"Upon discovering his wife's body incinerated in the furnace, the minister, instead of calling the police, went next door to get his neighbor, a professor at Capital University, evidently to verify the startling find.

"Then he called the children together and uttered the words that would, 80 years later, became part of the subtitle of a tome about not only the historic but also the just plain strange in terms of crimes committed in Columbus.

"What so intrigued David Meyers about the "Mama's in the Furnace" episode was that the children didn't seem particularly shocked. In fact, one of the daughters had investigated the smell and thought someone had thrown rabbit skins into the furnace, and one of the sons had looked in and realized it was his mother in there, dead, Meyers said. He responded by taking a nap and later going outside to play football.

"It's just the way the whole family reacted to this," Meyers said. "The case was never solved, but there was a coroner at the time named Murphy and even though they called in several scientists at the time and they declared she had been dead when she went into the furnace, he said she was alive."

Longs ad in the Annual Chemical Directory
of the United States, 1920.

Chemist Long and pathologist H.M. Brundage concluded that Mrs. Sheatsley "did not breathe after her body entered the furnace."

In 1942 Long had his own business, the Charles F. Long Laboratories at 8 East Long Street.

Charles died in Columbus on March 6, 1958.

The Longs sold the house on March 24, 1954 to Henry M. and Grace J. Hancock. Though the Hancocks were living there as early as 1951.

Henry Moses Hancock was born December 12, 1912 in Virginia. He married Grace Jeanette Karshner before 1951. Grace was born March 17, 1914 in Ross County, Ohio, daughter of John Franklin "Frank" and Josephine "Josie" Davis Karshner.

In the 1951 City Directory the Hancocks are living at 1543 Hawthorne Avenue and Henry is a city policeman. In the 1953 City Directory he is working as a house cleaner.

In 1957, Henry bought lots 20, 21 and 22 adjoining 1543 Hawthorne Avenue which he sold in 1963 to William T and Bonnie L. Binns of 1963 Maryland Avenue.

The Hancocks later lived at 8221 Flint Road.

Grace died in Columbus on February 20, 1993. Henry died on August 25, 1999 in Gahanna, Ohio.

Lela M. Boykin purchased the house on March 10, 1981.

1499 Menlo Place - Pickering House

1499 Menlo Place, March 2010

Lot 20 of Joel E. McCarty's Subivision

Joel McCarty sold this lot on June 9, 1908 to Ruth Hood for $700. W.W. McNeille was notary public on the deed.

Ruth Hood was born August 1853 in Ohio. The 1910 Census lists Ruth living with her sister at 1007 Madison Avenue. Both Ruth and her sister have no occupations listed other than "own income."

On March 1, 1909 Kittie Waters bought the lot from Ruth and on October 5, 1909 Kittie sold it to Susanna Pickering.

1499 Menlo Place, September 2012

Thomas Oliver Pickering was born September 7, 1874. He married Susana "Susie" Miles on June 13, 1897. Susie was born January 30, 1877, daughter of Yearsley and Minerva Miles. They had a daughter Audrey M. (1907).

The Pickerings lived in several homes in Woodland Park besides this one. They also lived at 1628 Granville Street and 1517 Hawthorne Avenue. From 1901 to 1908 they lived at 1101 East Long Street.

This house was built in late 1909-early 1910 for the Pickerings. The Pickerings are listed in the 1910 Census and the 1911 City Directory at 1499. Thomas is listed as working for Albaugh & Pickering, jewelers at 81 North High Street.

Pickering's partner, Edwin S. Albaugh (1869-1948) and his family settled in Worthington in 1920. Albaugh was a renowned watch and clock maker, having designed the largest watch in the world and the first ball-bearing clock.

The Pickerings were living at 1628 Granville in 1915. In 1918, Pickering was manager of Central Tire & Repair at 181 East Gay Street and they lived at 1517 Hawthorne Avenue. In 1920 they lived at 50 Taylor Avenue.

Pickering died April 7, 1947 and Susie died August 24, 1947 in Youngstown, Ohio.

The Pickerings sold the house in 1911 to the Huggards.

Richard T. Huggard was born August 20, 1863 in Chicago, Illinois, son of John and Mary Garvey Huggard. He married Grace A. Saxton in Cuyahoga County on October 29, 1902. Grace was born about 1874 in Akron, Ohio, daughter of Wallace S. and Cornelia Saxton. They had two children: Faye E. (1912) and Billy D. (1920).

In 1930 the Huggards lived at 1637 Franklin Park South. Richard was an insurance agent.

Richard died October 4, 1943 in Columbus.

The Huggards sold the house on September 14, 1922 to Ada M. Mountjoy. W.H. Havens of 1654 Granville Street was witness to the deed.

Carl H. Mountjoy was born December 5, 1885 in Columbus, son of Tallman H. and Jessie Rinney Mountjoy. He married Ada Moling in Franklin County on November 29, 1917. Ada was born about 1881 in Columbus, Ohio, daughter of Joshua T. and Josephine Wright Moling.

In from 1903 to 1907, Mountjoy lived at 1452 Bryden Road and is occupation was musician. In 1908 his occupation changed to draftsman and in 1920 he was a contractor living at 720 Miller Avenue.

In 1920 the Mountjoys lived in Akron, Ohio and Carl was working as a construction contractor. Carl died in Columbus on April 17, 1927, his death certificate lists his occupation as architect. He died from peritonitis, blood poisoning in his right foot from a blister caused by an ill-fitting shoe. In 1930, Ada was living at 79 Latta Avenue in Columbus and was working as a dry goods clerk.

Ada sold the house on November 14, 1928 to Merl D. Weiger.

Merl Dee Weiger was born January 20, 1899 in Allen Township, Hancock County, Ohio, son of Jefferson H. and Ova N. Britton Weiger. He married Marion Elizabeth Brown on February 22, 1924 in Franklin County. Marion was born  June 12, 1902 in Watertown, New York, daughter of D.S. and Clara M. Phillip Brown.. They had a daughter Eugenia M. (1925).

In 1930 the Weigels lived in Bay Village, Ohio and Merl was a sales manager for a building construction company. Merl was Mayor of Bay Village in 1938. In 1940 he was sales manager for a greenhouse.

Merl died in Sonoma, California on March 19, 1967, Marion died there on July 22, 1983.

On June 10, 1929 the property was transferred to Brown & Sons, Inc. They sold it to Florence Price on January 27, 1930 with an outstanding mortgage of $4,500 to The Central Building Loan & Savings Company.

Arthur V. Price, Jr.,
circa 1940

Arthur Virgil Price was born about 1893 in Ohio, son of James H. and Lovina Price. He married Florence Mayme Rose about 1914. Mayme was born about 1895 in Ohio. They had five children: Pauline Agnes (1915), Clarice Louise (1918), Lois G. (1920), Arthur, Jr. (1923) and Lee Calvin (1925).

In 1930 Arthur was working as a wallpaper hanger. In 1933 they lived at 121 East Blake Avenue. In 1940 they were still on Blake. Arthur was working as a car salesman, Mayme was a baker in a pie factory, Clarice was a waitress in a restaurant, Lois was working as a private nurse.

Arthur died in Columbus on December 17, 1960.

On September 16, 1931, Ada Mountjoy who had been living at 79 Latta Avenue bought the house again. It was transferred to The Central Building Loan & Savings Company on June 16, 1932 and the same day they sold it to Warwick I. and Alice B. Rowland.

Warwick Rowland,
circa 1918

Warwick Inman Rowland, Sr. was born October 6, 1891 in Blanchester, Ohio, son of John Henry and Nannie Inman Rowland.

Rowland was an attorney. In 1917 he lived at 79 North Ohio Avenue. In 1918 Warwick applied for a passport to be a clerk in the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy.

He married Frances Louise Gwinn in Franklin County on September 20, 1916. Frances was born December 26, 1894 in Huntington, West Virginia, daughter of Othniel E. and Ella Brown Gwinn. She was living at 1816 Franklin Avenue in 1919 when she applied for a passport to join Warwick in Rome.

Othniel Edward Gwinn was President of The Gwinn Milling Company. The book Mostly True: A Memoir of Family, Food, and Baseball by Molly O'Neill (Frances' granddaughter) recounts great stories about the family.

Frances Gwinn Rowland,
circa 1919

The Rowlands are listed in the 1924 City Directory at 1647 Granville Street and Warwick has offices at the Comstock Building. They must have divorced before May 1925 as Frances married William Arthur Moss of Raleigh, North Carolina on May 12, 1925 in Franklin County.

Warwick married Alice G. Bloom on February 14, 1927 in Franklin County. Alice was born November 21,  1898 in Bloomdale, Ohio, daughter of Earl D. and Eleanor Lathrop Bloom. She was a probation officer at the time of their marriage and was divorced from Charles H. Douglass. Alice was the daughter of his Warwick's business partner, Earl Bloom. They had two children, a boy and Eleanor (1928-2011).

Rowland died January 2, 1939 of a skull fracture from an automobile accident on Granville Havens Corners Road, 1-1/2 miles east of Gahanna. Alice died in Sacramento, California on April 15, 1986.

On November 27, 1936 a quitclaim deed was filed between the Rowlands and The Central Building Loan & Savings Company which stipulates that "It is agreed that it is the intention of the grantors and grantee that the mortgage now owned and held on same premises by grantee, not be merged with the legal title thereto; that said mortgage and legal title shall remain separate and distinct.."

The property was sold on October 14, 1938 to M. Lucille Woods.

Mary Lucille Vermilion was born November 23, 1893 in Arabia, Ohio, daughter of Amos and Minnie E. White. She married Harold E. Woods in Clark County on November 11, 1915. Harold was born November 8, 1894 in Waverly, Ohio, son of John Wesley and Ida Davis Woods. They had a son, J. Harold (1923).

At the time of their marriage, Harold was a street railway conductor. They lived in Springfield, Ohio. Harold died May 22, 1922 in Delaware, Ohio. He was working as a N.Y.C. railroad brakeman and fell from a moving freight car and was mangled by the wheels. Lucille was working as a bookkeeper.

In 1930, Lucille and J. Harold were living with Lucille's widowed mother at 1355 Bryden Road. Lucille was working as a secretary in a lawyer's office according to the Census and as a secretary at the Deshler-Wallick hotel according to the City Directory.

The 1940 Census shows a full house at 1499. Lucille, her son Harold, her mother Minnie, two boarders and a nephew, Earl E. Vermillion. Lucille was working as a stenographer at the State Department of Liquor Control and in 1941 she was a calculating machine operator there.

Lucille sold the house on February 4, 1946 to the Burghs.

Paul Leo Burgh was born November 6, 1895 in Jászberény, Hungary to Jewish parents. He married Levinnier "Vivian" Barker who was born December 6, 1904 in Pennsylvania, daughter of George and Rebecca Platts Barker. They had four children, Nancy Ruth (1927), Maurice G. "Punch" (August 6, 1930 - May 15, 2005), Richard J. (1933) and David W. (1936).

Burgh came to the US with his mother and brother, arriving at New York from Bremen on the ship Grosser Kurfurst on July 10, 1907. He became a naturalized citizen in 1909. In the early 1930s the Burghs lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Paul was working as a tobacco salesman. In 1940 they lived in Ingram, Pennsylvania.

In the 1946 City Directory, Paul is listed as manager of the Stone Grill Company.

Stone's Grills were located in many cities throughout Ohio. Stone's had several locations in Columbus, W. Spring Street and 232 S. Fourth Street. The location at 43 N. Pearl Alley and 40 N. High Street was one location with doors on both ends and what may have been Columbus' longest bar. And lest you have any illusions about the grill part, Stone's was much more of a bar than a grill.

This November 25, 1963 Columbus Dispatch photo of Broad and High Streets (looking north)
shows the 40 North High Street/43 North Pearl Alley location of Stone's Grill.

Vivian Burgh died in Pittsburgh in December 1972.

Almost exactly a year later the Burghs had moved back to Pittsburgh and sold the house to the Schafers.

Howard L. Schafer was born May 30, 1913 in Belmont County, Ohio, son of Elmer L. and Jessie H. Lynn Schafer. He married Carolyn I. Morgan in Franklin County on October 27, 1945. Carolyn was born March 4, 1920 in Wellston, Ohio, daughter of David H. and May Campbell Morgan.

Howard had been married once before. On June 2, 1940 in Franklin County, he married Audrey Frost (born about 1913 in Newark, Ohio, daughter of John and Pearl Holligsworth Frost). It appears that marriage ended in divorce.

In 1945 at the time of their marriage, Howard was living at 269 East Gay Street and Carolyn was living at 275 Miller Avenue.

In 1951 the Schafers lived at 672 Wexham Avenue. Howard was a purchasing agent for Columbus Plastic Products.

Howard died in Columbus on March 3, 1981.

The Shafers sold the house on April 23, 1948 to the Allens.

Charles D. Allen, Jr. was born January 10, 1914 in Columbus, son of Charles D. and Charlotte Mitchell Allen. He married Esther Elizabeth Ashby in Franklin County on January 1, 1947. Esther was born June 29, 1914 in Rendville, Ohio, daughter of John B. and Edna O. Chapman Ashby.

At the time of their marriage, John lived at 909 East Gay Street and Esther was living at 84 North 17th Street. The Allens are listed in the 1949 City Directory at 1499 Menlo Place. Charles was a teacher. In 1952 they moved to 234 Sherbourne Drive and Charles was teaching at Champion Junior High School.

Esther died in Columbus on March 3, 2002.

On January 2, 1952 the Whites bought the house. The Whites had been living at 272 North 22nd Street.

Arnett Keith White was born February 13, 1922, son of Arnett C. and Pauline Redman White.
He married Alberta B. They had a son Arnett, Jr. (June 2, 1942-December 26, 2008).

In 1930, Arnett's father was a Vitaphone movie operator and the family lived at 1474 Hildreth Avenue, but in 1920 Arnett's father was an undertaker with his father Norman and they lived at 1217 Mt. Vernon Avenue.

Arnett was a firefighter and had served in the Navy.

The Whites probably divorced in 1957, as the property was transferred solely to Alberta on July 27, 1957. The deed changed again on August 24, 1961 after Alberta married Joseph W. Lyman, Jr.

A Columbus Dispatch headline of August 21, 1967 says, "A major drug investigation results in the arrest of Arnett White, 25, Dorothy Ann Taylor, 19, and Lorenzia L. Wiggins, 30"

Arnett died in Columbus on June 6, 2003.

On October 12, 1995, Kenneth D. Tyson bought the house. Tyson was born August 22, 1970. In 1997 he lived at 1634 Granville Street.

The house underwent major renovations in 2012 including new windows, plumbing, electrical and siding.