Billius
Kirtland By 2nd Great-Grandson Edward Kirtland Hine, Jr. ("Ted") - First Edition - March 2015
Introduction
I've discovered no single primary source of information regarding Billius and Ruthanna Kirtland but have found bits and pieces regarding them from numerous sources which together paint a picture of their lives. The most useful and interesting sources are manuscripts left by two of Billius and Ruthanna's descendents. Their granddaughter Ellen Louise Hine ("Nell", the daughter of Emma Caroline Kirtland) wrote a rambling 17 page paper about them as well as other ancestors and relatives in the mid 1940's when she was in her mid 70's. Also, great-granddaughter Ruthanna Anderson-Clark (a descendent of daughter Lucy Hall Kirtland) wrote about her memories as a very young girl of the Billius Kirtland house in 1978 when she was in her late 70's. Ruthanna Clark's memories were summarized and provided to me by her daughter Joanna Clark-Moore in 2010. I will refer to these sources as "Nell's Manuscript" and "Ruthanna Clark's Manuscript". Additionally, Joanna Clark-Moore (my 3rd cousin) sent me an email in 2012 in which she relays some interesting tidbits regarding Billius which she heard from her mother and aunt. Links to these sourced are:
The Early Years Billius Kirtland was born on August 29, 1807 in Poland Township, Ohio. He would live in Poland as well as only a few hundred feet into neighboring Boardman Township his entire life except when away at school. Billius, sometimes referred to simply as "Bill" in Nell's manuscript, was the 5th of the 7 children of Turhand and Polly Kirtland and the first to be born in Ohio, the first 4 having been born in Connecticut. "Billius" is not a common name but apparently it ran in the Kirtland family as he had an uncle with this first name and a 1st cousin with the name Isaac Billius Kirtland. I've found no record that Billius had a middle name. Billius' father, Turhand Kirtland, was an early settler of what was then known as the Connecticut Western Reserve (now part of northeastern Ohio) and had first visited the then unsettled frontier area in 1798. In 1803 Turhand, as a part owner, surveyor, and primary land salesman for the Connecticut Land Company which had considerable land holdings in the Western Reserve, relocated his family from Wallingford, CT to the wilderness of what is now Poland, OH (near today's Youngstown) where he spent the rest of his career laying out and selling land to settlers during the rapid expansion of the area. When Turhand first settled in Poland there was no infrastructure, only a few other people around, and the family's first home was a log cabin. Over the coming years the area would grow rapidly and Turhand would become quite financially secure. While Billius had 5 siblings, only a few were anywhere near his age, his parents having had their family over a period of 20 years. In his youth he would have grow up with the many hardships associated with life on the frontier and without the day-to-day conveniences of a more established area. In the early days of Poland the public schools were non-existent and then very limited. Billius' 14 year older brother Jared Potter Kirtland is known to have attended private schools in Connecticut prior to attending Yale suggesting that Turhand would have possibly also have arranged for a private education for Billius and the other children. I've found just one reference that this was in fact the case. The publication "History of Mahoning County and Representative Citizens" reads in part regarding Billius "..... was sent by his father to Warren Ohio, to a private tutor, later to Cannonsburg, and subsequently to Yale College". (Cannonsburg is in Pennsylvania not far from Pittsburg). There are numerous historical references that briefly mention that Billius attended Yale (New Haven, CT) where his brother Jared had gone as well as his maternal grandfather Dr. Jared Potter. However, I've uncovered evidence from multiple sources that he apparently didn't graduate from Yale. A paragraph in Nell's manuscript reads: "Grandfather Billius was sent to New Haven to study but old ocean appealed more to his liking as one day when a Professor remarked 'Young man, your studies don't smell much of midnight oil.'. He replied, 'I didn't come on to study but to bathe in the sea'. Home later proved a greater urge so he ran away." Additionally, a part of Ruthanna Clark's manuscript reads: "Billius must have had a prankster's sense of humor, for he was expelled from Yale for severely frightening a fellow student near a cemetery." then "When he hitchhiked over several days and arrived in Ohio in the middle of the night, to waken his parents he threw pebbles at their window, and Turhand said, 'There's Billius', as though he had never expected him to last." Joanna Moore's email reads in part regarding Billius "Aunt Elise wrote 'He must have been thought of as that wild kid from Ohio, because he rode his horse once into the Yale president's office. (You see, every student had a horse in those days, which must have been about 1825). Another exploit of wild Bill happened one Halloween when he dressed in a sheet and waited for a half-witted boy to come by. When jumped at, the boy was scared to death and never really recovered.'" Finally, included in Turhand Kirtland's Last Will and Testament are the words "Billius having relinquished his studies, my will is that he be charged three hundred dollars as part of his share of my estate for monies expended in preparing him for college". While Billius may not have graduated from Yale, all accounts are that he was a talented (and sometimes mischievous) chemist, amateur astronomer, and horticulturist. About Ruthanna Lindley Frame Ruthanna Lindley Frame was born on
March 08, 1809 at Downington, PA. What
little I know about Ruthanna's childhood is contained in memoirs written
by her 81 year old sister Mary Frame-Meacham in 1888 shortly after
Ruthanna's death and at the request of my great grandmother Emma
Kirtland-Hine. (The transcribed memoirs were provided to me in 2010 by my 3rd
cousin Joanna Clark-Moore.)
Ruthanna's parents, William and Rebecca Frame were originally from the New York / New Jersey area. William was apparently mostly an inn and/or tavern keeper and, after several moves, ended up in Downington, PA where the children were born. Ruthanna's middle name Lindley was taken from William's aunt who had raised him. Regarding William's brother David the memoirs reads "He was a Quaker and often came to see us and wanted Mother to send Ruthanna with him to attend a Quaker school. They had children, and Ruthanna went and enjoyed it very much." This is all that I've uncovered about Ruthanna's education. For unknown reasons the Frame family moved to Poland, OH around 1827 when Ruthanna was about 18 years old. The memoirs reads: "After father decided to move to Ohio the only way there was to come by land. He had a pair of big horses and fitted up a wagon to accommodate the family and bring a bedstead and a few household things. We had extra horses, but we children walked until we were tired. We crossed the Allegheny Mountains. Mother's brother George was with us, and he could play the flute and when we stopped to rest he would play and the girls sing. Ruthanna had a lovely voice. I do not remember how long it took us to get to our journey's end but remember well the farm house they expected to occupy was not vacated and we had to go in a small log cabin, only one large room and a floor, half one on the second story and no windows, only a hole to see daylight and we girls were stowed away on the floor in the loft. My parents brought the bedstead which they enjoyed. I do not remember what the boys and uncle did do, but I remember well the girls thought they had come to the back woods sure enough. Sister Ruthanna rebelled and exclaimed one day in walking around the cabin,: 'Is it possible we have come to this?' but we did not have to stop there long. We moved into a double log house and had plenty of room but plain." It's not mentioned what William Frame did to support his family in Poland. Marriage Joanna Moore's email reads regarding the period after Billius returned from Yale: "When Bill returned to Ohio his father advised him to get married and settle down. He offered to take Billius to pay a call on the Frame girls. He said 'There are some pretty girls over there, the daughters of Mose Frame who just moved up from Baltimore. I'll take you over for a visit.' But Bill wanted to see for himself and got a good look when he passed the old swimming hole on Yellow Creek. The Frame girls were there swimming and laughing. He picked out Ruthanna and said to himself 'she's the girl for me!' Then he wrote her a letter of proposal which was the proper thing to do in those days." Roughly two years after the Frame family settled in Poland Billius Kirtland and Ruthanna Frame were married there on April 5, 1829 (some sources say 1830) when Billius would have been about 22 and Ruthanna about 20. The handwritten letter of proposal written by Billius to Ruthanna has survived having been passed down the family to my 3rd cousin Joanna Moore who provided a copy.
According to Nell's mid-1940's manuscripts "When Grandfather and Grandmother Ruthanna Frame were married, they lived in a red brick house still standing on the Poland-Boardman Road near the corners on the opposite side of the beautiful house that was built by Grandfather [Billius]. Some thoughtful members of the family stocked the pantry shelves with cookies, pies, etc." This was likely a rented house where the couple lived temporarily till their long term home was built nearby. Children
During the 20 years from 1831 to 1851 the Kirtland's would have 9 children however only 3 would survive to adulthood, the other's passing away in infancy or as young children. Ruthanna Clark's manuscript reads: "Billius had nine children; only three survived the scourge of scarlet fever that swept the country for two generations or more." I don't show a cause of death for Caroline who died in 1836 at age 5 but my records do show that daughter's Rebecca (age 7) and Mary Potter (age 5) both died from diphtheria in 1842. I also show that son Turhand died of scarlet fever in 1849 at age 10. Edgar, age 2, also died in 1849 from unknown causes which could have also been scarlet fever like his brother. Kate died in 1851 after living for only 10 days. The surviving children were: Emma Caroline Kirtland-Hine
(1841-1914) More about the children's lives can be found at the bottom of this page. Work Life, The Home, and The Farm Joanna Moore's email says "In addition to farming, Billius also taught chemistry in the local high school. He shared the fruit experiments with his brother Jared". Additionally, "Bill settled down to be a plant scientist and gentlemen farmer. "He had a wonderful greenhouse and laboratory and invented new varieties of melons and other fruits." There are other mentions of his interest in chemistry but the evidence is that Billius was primarily a successful farmer and horticulturist. I note that Billius' brother George Kirtland is credited with inventing and selling
"Kirtland Ink" which was a popular and widely distributed writing ink in the mid
1800's. While I have no direct evidence, I suspect that Billius, with his
background in chemistry, may have helped his brother develop the ink's formula.
A significant factor in Billius' work life and farm would likely have been his 14 year older brother Jared. Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland (1793-1877), who in future years would become the most famous and influential of the Ohio Kirtland's, had stayed behind in Connecticut when Turhand had moved the rest of his family to Poland in 1803. Jared became a Yale educated physician and was an incredibly talented self trained horticulturist and naturalist which became his passions. In 1823 Jared joined his parents and siblings in Poland, Ohio and, in addition to becoming the local doctor by default, went into farming and horticulture for a time before moving on to other pursuits elsewhere. In the recently published book "Jared Potter Kirtland - Naturalist, Physician, Sage of the Western Reserve" author Thomas M. Daniel writes regarding Jared in 1824 on page 129: "Jared Potter Kirtland established a nursery and orchards in Poland, Ohio, in collaboration with his brothers, Henry and Billius. They established a greenhouse two years later." Starting on page 41 he writes regarding Jared: "Kirtland wanted to be a farmer. His father gave him 243 acres in Boardman Township, just west of Poland, and built a house for him which was completed in 1826. Within a year Kirtland was working in his brothers' orchard and had established his own orchard and greenhouse. He used the grafting and pollination skills he had learned from his grandfather [Jared Potter] to develop new varieties of fruit. His younger brothers - Henry, already an accomplished gardener and orchardist, and Billius joined him in this enterprise. Henry had opened a store in 1825, and he regularly traveled east to obtain merchandise. Kirtland poured over catalogues and arranged for his brother to bring back cuttings and seedlings of more than one hundred varieties of cherries, peaches, pears, and apples, in addition to many other plants from New England and New York. From these he developed new varieties. The Kirtland nursery would eventually be regarded as one of he most outstanding facilities of its kind in Ohio." On page 107 he writes regarding Jared's move to the Cleveland area around 1837: "He sold his home in Poland to a local farmer named Chauncy Rice. His orchards he left in the care of his brother." Since Jared's brother Henry was apparently running a store, I think "brother" probably refers to Billius. Regardless, Billius clearly would have learned from Jared and brought the benefits of his brother's horticultural work to his own farm which would continue long after Jared's move from Poland. Jared's work had brought new and improved forms of horticulture to the area suitable for the Ohio climate and soil and Billius would have certainly benefited from his brother's work. I think it likely that this was a foundation of Billius' apparently successful farm and that Billius could have made his living at least partially by selling and distributing horticultural products developed by Jared.
The above quote indicates that Turhand Kirtland provided his son Jared with 243 acres of land and built a home for him. This was around 1826. (Turhand was land rich and building materials including hard wood timber were readily available and inexpensive.) Turhand did the same for son Billius in the early 1830's giving him about the same amount of land and building him a similar home. While not shown on an 1830 Boardman Township map, an 1840 map of Boardman Township shows that Billius owned 286 acres of land immediately adjacent to that owned by Jared. (The 1830 map did show Jared's land.) Billius married in 1829 and I suspect that he got ownership of the land from his father shortly thereafter, perhaps in the very early 1830's but not quite in time to show up as the owner in 1830. Joanna Moore's email says regarding Billius' father Turhand Kirtland: "He sent for some good Connecticut builders to came and build them [Billius and Ruthanna] a beautiful house. We called it Kirtland Manse...... Billius and Ruthanna had a charming home, surrounded by farm land." Also, "He [Billius] made a deep little lake for raising fish at the bottom of which is still, no doubt, a large chunk of some kind of phosphorous compound which he threw there because it is to dangerous to have around". Billius' land was split roughly in half by the main east/west road (today Route 224) from Poland Village to Boardman Corners. While I don't know exactly when his house was built the publication "A Look At Poland, Ohio - 200 Years and Counting" by Robert Wilkeson (1996) indicates that "Billius' home was located on Rte. #224 near the site of the Boardman K-Mart Department Store". The K-Mart is today located just to the south west of the intersection of Route 224 and I-680. Other evidence suggests that the home was actually on the north side of Route 224 and not on the south where the K-Mart is located and set back somewhat from the road. The home stood till the 1970's when it was torn down to make room the the I-680 highway. The home Turhand built for Billius was similar to that built for Billius' brother Jared Potter Kirtland which is restored and still occupied today having been relocated to Poland. While Billius and Jared technically lived and farmed in Boardman Township, their land was just a stone's throw from Poland Township and its Village of Poland which was within easy walking distance. Because of this their family, religious, and social lives were centered in Poland so they were for all practical purposes considered residents of Poland. A historic geographical note: Prior
to 1846 Boardman and Poland Townships were part of Trumbull County, Ohio.
After 1846 they became part of Mahoning County where they remain today.
Billius Kirtland's home was apparently a substantial and well appointed structure. It is described as having a large basement, 2 living stories, and a substantial attic. The descriptions I have of the home and farm, all certainly from their later years, come in bits and pieces from granddaughter Nell's and great-granddaughter Ruthanna Clark's manuscripts. Current Poland resident Rebecca Rogers, who restored and occupies the similar home of Jared Potter Kirtland, tells me that photos of the interior and exterior of Billius' home by I.T. Frary, a well known Ohio architectural historian and photographer, can be found in the Columbus Ohio Historical Society archives. I have not checked into them. From Nell Hine's manuscripts regarding her grandparents home and farm: "Emma, Lucy, Alfred, and their help too, I imagine sat in the dear old dining room with it's two windows facing Boardman and the other window and door opening on the porch on the Poland side......." "In the attic there was a life size bust from which to study Phrenology. The cellar was sixty feet long. In one of the rooms, now a modern bathroom, was where I first remember hearing a rooster crow. The sugar barrel that was in the garret covered with Grandfather's and Grandmother's portrait doesn't exist but Ruth Anderson has the portraits in her parlor. They have been retouched by her brother, Paul Mays, a really fine artist. Grandmother sent a maid to the attic with its twelve inch risers to get sugar but neglected to tell of the portraits. The maid gave one glance and fell head-long down the stairs." "Grandfather Billius' mind didn't stop working when he left school as he built a laboratory with a glass dome on the farm where he conducted experiments which school children came to see. The glass dome caused many people passing to drive in to learn what it was." "Grandfather Billius' house was the most intriguing house I have ever seen. It was about 250 feet from the road and was entered through two picket wooden fence gates on each side of the yard and still has the finest Larch I have ever seen. A Larch was planted on each corner of the farm. There was a high hedge on the Boardman side of the house to protect it from high winds. It was the most ideal grandparent's home, both giving limitless hospitality in their inimitable manner. It was a Colonial house. The front door, with its overhead long window, opened into a hall. On the right a winding staircase opposite the parlor with its lovely mantle between two arches with columns. One of my early delights was taking a prism from the candelabra that were at each end of the mantle and look through it and enjoy the gay flowered carpet. Mr. Frary of the Cleveland Art Gallery said the staircase was the finest he had ever seen and that there were not two rooms that had the same moldings. The mantles always fascinated me; some with their cupboards over the front of the mantle or at one end. The dining room mantle was about seven feet high. The kitchen, like ours, had a 'wood' bake oven but unfortunately they thought it took up too much room and had it removed." "Grandfather kept bees and wore a bee bonnet when he removed the honey. The bonnet which was made of wire screening, resembled a high hat box, being about 17" high."
"Grandfather had a Maple Sugar camp which children always enjoy. One time Morris Bucklin, Paul Schaeffer from Youngstown with a fine girl and I visited the Camp and being hungry from our walk, sent someone up to Grandfather's for eggs which we boiled in the maple sap. One of my earliest memories was being put on a horse by Henderson, who worked for Grandfather." "Just opposite one kitchen door was a fine well and the water was pumped into long troughs in the little spring house where milk was kept in crocks. Above it and the wood-house with its arched entrance, was the wood-house loft where a Carpenter's bench, and etc. attracted us. As you walked to the Carriage House by the orchard, you passed a big 'swill' barrel where Grandfather was fattening a big turtle which he said had seven or eight kinds of meat. Alas! for his efforts as the day before the big turtle feast, the turtle disappeared." "There was a barn on the left as you entered and the barn yard gate which opened into the barn yard with its squashy straw covered ground was surrounded on two sides by big barns with hay lofts." The following quotes are from Ruthanna Clark's manuscript regarding the Billius Kirtland home and farm. She was Billius' great-granddaughter and would have never known him or her namesake, Ruthanna Kirtland. I note that Ruthanna Clark's 1978 recollections were from when she was a 5 or 6 year old child in 1905 or 1906 and was staying in the old Billius Kirtland home with her family some years after Billius and his wife had passed away (in 1891 and 1888 respectively). It's not clear to me who owned the home and farm at the time of Ruthanna Clark's childhood stay(s) there. In the first paragraph below she refers to the Olsen family as the farmer's (caretakers?) of the property but not as the owners. Also, Clark's wording suggests that the Olsons may not have lived in the Kirtland home. I suppose it possible that the farm was then owed jointly by Billius and Ruthanna's children including Alfred P. Kirtland, Emma Kirtland-Hine and Lucy Kirtland Mays. Or perhaps the farm had been passed to Alfred as the only son and that he made it available to other family members. "There were quite a few of us there one summer. I don't know how we were all housed so comfortable because somewhere, in addition to our family, there were the Olsens, the farmer and his wife and children. Our group was made up of Lucy, called Gammy, us children and her son Paul, our father and mother, Uncle Alf Kirtland, Lucy's brother, and Alf's daughter Ruth, a young lady. This was a brave and mighty effort of my grandmother to install herself at the old homestead after the death of her husband. Uncle Alf was a part of the family because he had lost his wife and son. He worked hard in the garden, and my mother and grandmother did also. My father was city bred and did not know what to do. I remember there was much talk about planting Potter's favorites. These were Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland's trees and plants. He had died, but all remembered him." Ruthanna Clark regarding the home: "The first memory comes from the delight experienced by me in my bare feet over the cold wet and large stone slabs under and around the pump area. When water was running into a shallow and slanted trough it splashed off onto the paving stones and drained off to some unseen area. This is where we children rinsed off our bare feet before coming into the house. Of course we flicked water at each other. This pump was at the northeast corner of the narrow porch that ran beside the dining room, past the kitchen to the tool sheds. One of these large back rooms (like sheds) had been equipped with a tower and telescope where Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland and his brother Billius had studied the heavens. At one time it had a glass dome." "The house was set back several hundred feet from the road [from Poland to Boardman Corners] and the long front lawn was a pleasant part of the whole place. Around the house a lawn was kept cut. The boundary of the lawn on the west was outlined with an ancient and very tall mock orange hedge, and in the middle of this high hedge was maintained an arch tall enough for a fully-loaded hay wagon to drive through. Here a large farm gate was kept closed, so there must have been animals pastured beyond. In this west yard was an open fireplace outlined by three or four layers of brick, and set on the fireplace was a large iron kettle where apple butter and all sorts of things that needed slow and long cooking were boiled. They would heat up the house too much if stirred in the kitchen." "This kitchen had a large open fireplace where a whole side of beef or pork could be roasted. This hearth had various kinds of iron equipment that made our daily cooking quite complicated. At the left of this open hearth was a deep bricked-in oven in which my grandmother built a fire, and when the oven was hot enough she would shovel the small fire and its ashes out of the main fire box, then by means of a long-handled wooden shovel or paddle she would lift in her loaves of bread to be. This kitchen was fairly large. On one side a door opened into the back sheds, another on the opposite side was where a water pump and trough were, and another to the dining room." "The dining room was not quite as large as the kitchen. It had an open fireplace with a high mantelpiece with a lot of white woodwork. To the west of the dining room was a [unintelligible]. In these old farm houses the master bedroom was within sight and hearing of the barns and premises so the farmer could tune an ear to any untoward noises at night on the premises. To one side of the front hall and sort of under the circular staircase was a smallish room leading out of the dining room and a stairway leading to a basement. This room was called the [unintelligible] because it led down to the cool basement where vegetables, etc., might have been kept. I never went down there; it was scary." "The front hall was gracious with its circular stairway and a kerosene lamp that hung down from the 2nd story high above. It was the sort that pulls down and up with a glass and partly-frosted chimney that is lifted to light it. Then the parlor was the other side of the hall with its high white mantel and fireplace. On a table facing into the room between the two windows was the large family Bible from which Billius [had been accustomed to] read every morning to the whole assembled family and farm hands. Also the floor of the parlor in my time was carpeted with Aubuson carpet sent from Cousin Lucy Boardman's house in New Haven. I have a pair of candle sticks with gilded ironwork surrounded by glass prisms from this mantel, and to the left of the fireplace was a white marble statue of Diana on a pedestal almost waist high. On each side of the fireplace mantel were two tall white woodwork arches without doors in the wall, and portraits were hung in these spaces." Ruthanna Clark Regarding the farm: About Billius and Ruthanna I've uncovered little about Ruthanna during her married years. The only references I have specifically regarding her appear in Nell's manuscript which reads "Grandmother Ruthanna kept her nicest fruits for us and always welcomed us. Her cooking had a different taste from anyone else's, and try as I would, I could never equal it, but some of her descendants have it to a certain extent.......Ruth Anderson and Eloise Ray and likely Ruthanna Clark." and her obituary which reads in part: "Mrs. Kirtland was one of the pioneers of Poland, and enjoyed a large acquaintance throughout Mahoning county."
There are, however, multiple references to several of Billius' personal characteristics including the fact the that he was intelligent, an accomplished chemist and amateur astronomer, that he was also apparently somewhat of a prankster, and that he was quite charitable. Nell wrote in her manuscript: "When Billius was a boy, a neighbor came to the kitchen door and was much perplexed when he saw a wooden butter bowl gliding over the floor. Bill exclaimed, 'I've discovered perpetual motion.' He had brought in a little pig and put it under the bowl." Ruthanna Clark wrote "Billius must have had a prankster's sense of humor, for he was expelled from Yale for severely frightening a fellow student near a cemetery. In spite of his aborted college history he must have absorbed enough education to have taught and conversed with his younger son in Latin." Nell opens her manuscript with symbolic
quotes from her grandparents: "Billius, the children must start to school."
"Yes, Ruthanna, just one more commentary" This suggests that Billius may have
had a reputation of being talkative. Billius' obituary reads in part "He was a public hearted man, always alive to the interests of the community, and ever ready to lend substantial aid to all enterprises for the common good. But it was the social side of Mr. Kirtland's character that will ever hold his memory dear to the hearts of all his wide circle of friends. He possessed the art of entertaining to an extent that rendered his companionship an exquisite pleasure. A genial humor pervaded his conversations and a well nigh inexhaustible store of entertaining and instructive anecdotes and personal reminiscences gave his conversation added interest. He was an acknowledged authority on all matters pertaining to the early settlement of the country and his personal memories would be most valued from a historical point of view."
Later Years Billius' obituary indicates that he "was a lifelong member of the M.E. Church, and till quite recently took a prominent part in it's work." This was the Methodist Episcopal Church and it's probably safe to assume that Ruthanna was also a member. As Billius and Ruthanna grew older they would have many nieces and nephews (and grand nieces and nephews) in the area, the children and descendents of their siblings. Many of Turhand Kirtland's descendents would go on to be prominent citizens in Poland and nearby areas of Ohio. An 1874 Boardman Township map shows that
Billius owned only a little less than half the land he had in 1840 map. He
is still shown as the owner of the 133 acre parcel north of today's Route 224
but the 153 acre parcel on the south belonged to someone else. In 1874
Billius would have been 67 years old and likely either retired or thinking about
it.
Nell wrote in her manuscript: "In the blessed Christmas times, Grandfather Billius and Grandmother Ruthanna always had their Christmas with us so there were nine stockings hung on chairs forming a semi-circle around the sitting room fireplace." Nell Hine grew up and lived on Main St. in Poland not far from Billius' farm with her parents Samuel and Emma Kirtland-Hine. Celebrating Christmas with daughter Emma and the Hine grandchildren made sense because in the later years Billius and Ruthanna's two other children, Alf and Lucy, were both married and living in Pennsylvania. In their old age Billius and Ruthanna moved from the farm into Poland proper. The "Guidebook to Historical Sites and Points of Interest In Poland, Ohio" states regarding the home at 433 South Main Street in Poland which was next door to the Hine home at 441 South Main St.: "In 1887 Billius Kirtland, the third son of Turhand Kirtland, bought the property when he retired so that he might live next door to his daughter, Emma C. Kirtland Hine." In 1887 Billius would have been 80 and Ruthanna 78 and I'm sure that daughter Emma would have cared for her parents in their old age. I note that it's possible that Billius didn't sell his home and farm when he moved into Poland so perhaps it was leased or turned over to a caretaker. (See my discussion above about great-granddaughter Ruthanna Clark and her mother and grand-mother staying in the old Kirtland home around 1905, some years after Billius and Ruthanna's death.) Ruthanna Frame-Kirtland passed away in Poland on June 08, 1888 and Billius a little over 3 years later on August 21, 1891, also in Poland. Both we interred in Poland's Riverside Cemetery.
About The Children The surviving children of Billius and Ruthanna were Emma Caroline Kirtland-Hine (1841-1914), Alfred Potter Kirtland ("Alf", 1844-1927), and Lucy Hall Kirtland-Mays (1849-1913). All grew up on their parents farm and went to Poland schools which, by the time they attended starting in the mid to late 1840's, had become some of the best in the relatively new State of Ohio. In the mid 1800's it was not common for girls to attend college however Alfred graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York, one of the nations best technical institutions of the day. Future U.S. President William McKinley (1843-1901) grew up for a time in Poland and knew the Kirtland children well. Both Nell Hine and Ruthanna Clark commented about his relationship to the Kirtland children in their manuscripts. Nell wrote: "Young William McKinley was so devoted to Aunt Lucy Kirtland that he didn't like the idea of her going to Oberlin to study music, fearing she would meet someone who would be his rival. One night in getting out of the Parlor window, he tore his trousers so he had to go home. Another night when he was coming up the long driveway, Grandfather heard a sound, and knowing that often one of the very big gates was left open, and thinking a cow had gotten in, shouted, 'Get out, Get out!' McKinley had a great variety of experiences but being taken for a cow was quite unique." Ruthanna Clark comments: "Once, Alfred Kirtland and his pal William McKinley, in a naughty mood, snuck in there [the Kirtland parlor] and were jumping over the chairs, I guess to prove their bravery. Well, Bill didn't succeed in one of his jumps and knocked a rocking chair over and broke off the end of the rocker. This chair we have always kept, and I am sitting in it now in my living room." And also: "My mother used to like to tell that when McKinley was President of the U.S. he was going in a parade past our house on 5th Avenue in Pittsburgh. Uncle Alf Kirtland was watching it from our steps when Mr. McKinley happened to see him and stood right up in his carriage, waving his hat, and called out 'Alf, hi Alf!' He had to be pulled down so he wouldn't fall out of the carriage." In an email dated May 5, 2009 to me from Joanna Moore (Billius and Ruthanna's 2nd great-granddaughter and my 3rd cousin) she wrote: "I remember my mother telling me that Alf and Will McKinley were good friends and a bit rambunctious playing in the Billius Kirtland home. I think it only came up when Mother told me Lucy Kirtland was engaged to McKinley. She really wasn't engaged. They were friends, possibly sweethearts in high school, but not engaged. She wrote asking him to return her pictures and letters, and his response was preserved. I gave it to the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, but I think I have a copy. Much, much later Alf attended a McKinley wedding (son or nephew of Wm.M, I think) and wrote to Emma and Lucy about it. It's a long and interesting letter. It's at MVHS. I can't remember whether I made a copy. I could ask them to make a copy if you're interested." Nell also wrote about her uncle: "One year Uncle Alf Kirtland brought out fireworks. The thrill I had, perhaps seven years old, racing around swinging Roman Candles above my head and the sparks flying at a lively rate. The only time in my life when I was more venturesome than Kirt but we were very young." (Kirt was Nell's brother). About Emma Caroline Kirtland-Hine (1841-1914) Emma (my great-grandmother) would marry
Samuel Hine in Poland on October 10, 1866 and live the rest of her life there
where the Hine's would raise 5 children, Samuel Kirtland Hine, Ellen Louise Hine
("Nell"), Alfred Blakelee Hine, Homer Henry Hine (my grandfather), and Charles
Potter Hine. I've assembled a detailed biography about Emma and Samuel.
Click here:
About Alfred Potter Kirtland ("Alf", 1844-1927)
From "Poland Historical Highlights" (Poland Ohio, 1966): "Alfred Potter Kirtland, Civil Engineer, who graduated from R.P.I. [Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute] at Troy, N.Y. in 1871, and was for 17 years superintendent of the West Penn Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad." Alfred would have been between 17 and 21 years old during the American Civil War years suggesting the possibility that he may have served. The fact that he didn't graduate from college till 1871 at age 27 also suggests this possibility and additionally his childhood friend and future U.S. President William McKinley is known to have served and was sworn-in in Poland. However, I've uncovered nothing which specifically suggests that he did or did not serve. If he did, it would have been most certainly in the Union army. Alfred married Lucy M. Shields (1852-1887) on October 12, 1876. He would spend his working life living in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania (about 60 miles from Poland) where he became first the Superintendent of the Allegheny Valley Railroad and later (perhaps through a merger) the Superintendent of the West Penn Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. (The term "superintendent" would today translated to something like "division manager", a high level corporate position.) Ruthanna Clark wrote in her manuscript: "Alf Kirtland was superintendent of the West Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He had been to Troy and was a classmate and good friend of Roebling, Jr., who built the Brooklyn Bridge, having to take over the job of superintendent after the death of his father, Roebling, Sr., who started it."
Alf and Lucy would have two children, Ruth Caroline Kirtland (1880-1924) and John Shields Kirtland (1886-1908). While Alf's professional life was apparently quite successful, his family life was tragic. In 1887 wife Lucy passed away from unknown causes at age 35 a year-or-so after son John was born. Then son John passed away in 1908 at age 22 apparently from tuberculosis. Finally, in 1924 daughter Ruth, who had never married, passed away at age 44 from unknown causes. Son John was apparently handicapped. Nell's manuscript reads: "Our beloved Uncle Alf Kirtland, of merry, blessed memories, came to visit us with his children, Ruth, John and his sister-in-law, Miss Mame Shields, for a stay of indefinite weeks. Mother [Emma] was visiting her brother, Alfred P. Kirtland, (Supt. of West Penn Railroad) and lived first in Blairsville, Pa. and then in Cheswick, Pa., and later in Pittsburgh, Craig Street. When in Blairsville, she remarked, 'Little John doesn't walk right'. It was only a short time when he couldn't walk at all and then began Uncle's walk with him. First making little blocks a few inches high which increased in height until he could walk on crutches. Uncle Alf built him a shack in our orchard [in Poland] where he and John spent some thrilling hours, doing exactly as they pleased. A great triumph was one summer when he found he could ride a horse, even if it were on my side saddle." In her email dated May 5, 2009 my 3rd
cousin Joanna Moore wrote in part:
"Alfred had two children, John and Ruth.
John, I think, was in poor health for many years. In Cousin Nellie's
memorabilia she mentions that John can't stand up when they go to Poland for a
visit. John died of TB. The dates on tombstone are 1886 to 1908,
that's 22 years! Ruth was a librarian in Philadelphia. She never
married........ I had a paper showing Ruth had named all her first cousins in
her will...... Alf seems a tragic character in this drama."
Since neither John nor Ruth ever married and had no children, Alf was left with no heirs. Alf would also outlive both of his sisters by almost a decade and a half. While I have no direct evidence, I think it possible that Alf may have moved back to the Poland, Ohio area (or maintained a residence there) after he retired from the railroad to be near his sister Emma as Ruthanna Clarke's manuscript (as quoted above) suggests that he was staying at his parents farm around 1905 which perhaps he may have owned. At the time of Emma's 1914 death her obituary indicates that Alf "is now in Germantown, N.Y." but it's not clear if he was living there or just visiting. Alf's obituary indicates that he passed away in Philadelphia and had been ill for 13 years. This, plus that fact that his daughter Ruth lived there, suggests that Alf may have moved to Philadelphia in his old age to be near his closest living relative (Ruth). While he outlived Ruth by 3 years he may have stayed in Philadelphia after her death where he had established medical care. Alf passed away on August 01, 1927 at age 83 (his obituary erroneously indicates he was 79). He and both of his children are buried with his parents Billius and Ruthanna Kirtland in Poland's Riverside Cemetery (see gravesite photos above). For unknown reasons his wife Lucy isn't interred there suggesting that she is possibly buried with her Shields family, perhaps in Pennsylvania. A final note regarding Alf.............. In 1890 Alf was presented with a silver tea set by his railroad employees. It's not known what the occasion was but it probably wasn't a retirement gift as Alf was only 46 years old at the time. The inscription reads: "Presented to A. P. Kirtland by the Employees of the West Penn Division, Pennsylvania Rail Road, 1890". Since Alf had no heirs at the time of his death the tea set ended up with his nephew Samuel Kirtland Hine ("Kirt", the son of Alf's sister Emma). Kirt also had no children so left it to his brother Homer Hine (my grandfather) with instructions that it be passed on to Homer's son Edward Kirtland Hine (also "Kirt", my father) who was a Hine descendent still carrying the Kirtland name. My father passed it on to me before his death, again because I still carried the Kirtland name.
About Lucy Hall Kirtland-Mays (1849-1913) Lucy married Rev. Dallas Valentine Mays on October 04, 1871 at New Castle, Lancaster Co., PA when she was about 22 years old. The Mays family would live in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania only about 60 miles from Lucy's hometown of Poland, OH. Dallas and Lucy would have 5 children: Ruth Emma Mays-Anderson, Catherine (Kathryn?) "Kate" Frame Mays-Harsch, Paul Kirtland Mays, Lucy Eloise Mays, and C. Frederick Mays. Lucy Eloise and C. Frederick died as children.
From Nell's manuscript:
"Uncle Alf built a house in Cheswick, Pa.
where his sister Lucy and her husband , Rev. Dallas Mays lived, he being the
Presbyterian Minister there at Aspinwall, Pa. Ruth, Kathryn, Eloise,
Freddie and Paul were their children. Alas, Eloise and Freddie's lives
were seemingly too short. Eloise looked like an angel with heavenly
blue eyes, light hair and an exquisitely modeled face. No wonder when she
spoke to my Father, "Uncle Samuel" that he wanted to adopt her. She played
the violin as well as the heart strings of ones she knew. In her last
illness (scarlet fever) she was overheard praying, 'Lord, help me to gain the
victory as every victory helps me to gain the next victory.' Heaven was
the richer when she entered it at ten years old. Freddie was a beautiful
child with his soft brown eyes and golden curls. I can still see him
sitting by our piano when his mother played and sang, showing pride of a parent
as he looked proudly around. He died of Diphtheria. His artistic
sense, as wall as his appetite, showed one day when we were driving through some
unusually beautiful country, and I was exclaiming over it when Freddie remarked,
'Yes, and if the 'goodest' things to eat could only come down on golden
plates". I note that there is more information about Lucy's
children in Nell's manuscript on pages 11, 12, and 13.
The above accompanying photos from the Hine/Kirtland Family Photo Album are of two of Lucy's children, Ruth Emma Mays-Anderson (1873-1956) and Catherine (Kathryn?) Frame Mays-Harsch (1876-1931). The photo album doesn't contain a photo that I can directly identify as Lucy though there is one unidentified woman included that I suppose could be her. Also I would expect a photo of Paul Kirtland Mays to be included with his sisters (above) and there is a photo of a male about the right age that I can't specifically identify.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
