Young George and John Stotler

George Henry Stotler

John Harrison Stotler

These photos were taken in Monticello, Illinois in 1869. They are John Harrison Stotler (1867-Unknown) and George Henry Stotler (1865-1902), brothers of my 2nd great grandmother Mary H. Stotler-Ross.They were in an old photo album that belonged to Mary H. Stotler-Ross.

Click the labels for George and Henry to see more articles about them. I'm still searching for more information about Rev. John Harrison Stotler. He was alive at the time of George's death in 1902 and after that, I lose track of him. I don't know when he died or where he is buried.

Another photo of George Henry Stotler

Here is another photo of George Henry Stotler (1865 - 1902) that I scanned from an old album that belonged to my 2nd great grandmother, Mary Stotler-Ross.Yes, this is like the 3rd or 4th one in a week, but I scanned it, so I may as well post it. He's a bit older than the last two photos, maybe this is 1885 or so. Stay tuned, I have a few more from this album.

Hiram Stotler and Sarah F. Stotler in 1879

Hiram Stotler and Sarah F. Stotler

This is another from an old Stotler album. It was captioned: 1879 - "My father and step mother, Mr. and Mrs. Stotler" Bedford, Iowa. I assume the caption was written by my 2nd great grandmother Mary H. Stotler-Ross. After my 3rd great grandmother Hannah Argo-Stotler died in March 1871, Hiram married Sarah Frances Stevenson ("Fannie") in December 1871. They eventually divorced and she lived in Mansfield, Illinois from 1880 until her death in 1920. I posted her obituary here. I think Hiram was living in Iowa from 1900 until his death, so perhaps they divorced prior to 1900.

Rev. John H. Stotler - Pastor of the Church of Christ in Eaton Ohio

Rev. John H. Stotler

Here is another photo from one of Mary Stotler-Ross's old photo albums. This one was captioned Rev. John H. Stotler. Pastor of the Church of Christ, Eaton, Ohio. It is not dated, but probably around 1890 +/-. John was married in Ohio in 1890. John Harrison Stotler was the brother of my 2nd great grandmother, Mary H. Stotler-Ross. He was born in 1867 and the family kind of lost track of him after 1902. All that I know for sure is that he signed for the burial plot for his brother in Crown Hill Cemetery in 1902.

His wife Anna Perry apparently died in Ohio not long after the 1910 census, but she was living with her family. John Stotler was not listed as living with her in Ohio. It is not known to me if they divorced (which seems unlikely for a Christian minister in the early 1900s) or if he died. I have been looking through the diaries of Mary H. Stotler-Ross, but she doesn't seem to mention her brother John. She does mention George, but not John. He is not buried with his father and brother at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.

Stotler cousins in Kansas June 1887

Stotler cousins in Kansas, June 1887

This is a scan of a photo from an old album owned by my 2nd Great Grandmother, Mary H. Stotler-Ross. According to the photo's caption, Mary H. Stotler is standing on the left and her brother [George] Henry Stotler is on the right. Their cousin, Minnie Stotler-Hempy, is in the center. This photo was taken in June 1887 at Fort Scott, Kansas. Minnie was the daughter of [Charles] Harrison Stotler. Harrison was wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga. His two brothers were killed in the same battle.

 To be honest, I'm not certain about the part of the caption that says his two brothers were also killed at Chickamaugua. I found an Civil War book that said the following:

• Henry Stotler, PVT, US Army, 115th Illinois Infantry, Company "B". Died in Cincinnati, Ohio, November, 1862
• William Stotler, 115th Illinois Infantry, Company "B". Died at Covington, Ky., October 21, 1862. 

Similar information was listed at this website and this book. They say Henry and William Stotler mustered into the 115th Illinois Infantry from Shelby County, Illinois. This seemed logical since that is not too far from where Hiram Stotler lived in Piatt County. Perhaps the family lore was wrong and they were not all in the same unit and not killed in the same battle C.H. Stotler was wounded at? I'm not sure what the answer is, but that's all I know right now.

A scan of the handwritten caption

Wordless Wednesday - Anna Perry Stotler with the horse and buggy

Anna Perry-Stotler with a horse and buggy

This photo was captioned "Aunt Anna Stotler" and had "Harry" written on the back. It is Anna (Perry) Stotler, wife of John Harrison Stotler.

John was known to his sister's family as uncle Harry. He was my 2nd great grand uncle. The family lost track of him in the early 1900s after he finished preaching at Mt. Carmel, Illinois. He was said to be moving from Illinois to California or Pennsylvania and to my knowledge he was not heard from again.

His wife Anna was listed as single and living with her family in Ohio at the time of the 1910 census. She died a few months later.

The last record I have of Rev. John H. Stotler was from 1902 when he purchased two cemetery plots at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana. One was for his brother who had just died and his father was eventually buried in the other. I have no idea where or when John Harrison Stotler died or where he was buried.

If anyone has any additional info, feel free to add a comment here.

Amanuensis Monday - John H. Stotler holds revival meetings

Christian Church at Mt. Carmel, Illinois c. late 1890s.

The photo above is said to be the church where John Harrison Stotler preached for 5 years in the late 1890s and early 1900's. It is from my grandmother's collection of photos and is captioned on the reverse with "Christian Church Mt. Carmel, Ill" and "where uncle John preached for 5 years." John Harrison Stotler was the brother of my 2nd great grandmother, Mary Hay Stotler-Ross.

According to Genabloggers, "An Amanuensis is a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. Amanuensis Monday is a daily blogging theme which encourages the family historian to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts."

Tonight's transcription is from The Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville, Illinois, November 30, 1897 edition, "Pew and Pulpit" section on page 1:

Revival meetings are in progress every night at the Christian church. Rev. J. H. Stotler, of the Christian church at Mt. Carmel, is doing the preaching. His subject tonight will be "Hindrances to Christian Growth," Gal. 5:7; Wednesday night. "The Intermediate State of Man, or Future Probation," 1 Peter, 3:19; Thursday night, "The Mission of the Church." Services begin promptly at 7 o'clock. All are invited to attend the meetings, as they will continue only for a short time.

This was followed a few weeks later with this item from The Edwardsville Intelligencer, Edwardsville, Illinois, December 24, 1897, "Pew and Pulpit" section on page 1:

The revival meetings at the Christian church, conducted by Rev. J. H. Stotler of Mt. Carmel, closed Wednesday night. They were very successful and the interest aroused was great.

I find this interesting since Edwardsville is on the western side of Illinois while Mt. Carmel is on the eastern border. It's about 120 miles straight line distance, but about a 2 1/2 hour drive in modern times. It's curious that the meetings were publicized so far away.

Happy Memorial Day 2011

The gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery are graced by U.S. flags, April 30, 2007.

Memorial Day is an opportunity to remember the sacrifice of soldiers and sailors that died in service to their country. Here is a listing of some of the relatives I would like to remember this Memorial Day.

Korean War:

• Jack Duane Alexander (1929-1950), PFC, US Army, missing in action July 12, 1950 and died in Hanjang-ni POW camp, November 19, 1950. He was my 1st Cousin, twice removed on my mother's side.
• Harry Brassfield (1911-1951), M/SGT, US Army, captured November 2, 1950 and died in captivity July 31, 1951. He was a 4th cousin to my Great Grandfather, Floyd Gipson Brassfield

World War II:

• Vilas D. Parker (1917-1944), S/SGT US Army, member of Merrill's Marauders, missing in action May 22, 1944. He was killed when the C-47 he was being transported in crashed in Burma. His remains were not recovered until 1987. He was my 1st Cousin, twice removed on my mother's side.

Civil War:

• Benjamin W. Firman (1800-1862), Wisconsin 16th Infantry, Company H. Died May 5th, 1862 of disease after the Battle of Shiloh. He was my 4th Great Grandfather, on my mother's side.
• Henry Stotler, PVT, US Army, 115th Illinois Infantry, Company "B". Died in Cincinnati, Ohio, November, 1862. Nephew of my 3rd Great Grandfather Hiram Stotler.
• William Stotler, 115th Illinois Infantry, Company "B". Died at Covington, Ky., October 21, 1862. Nephew of my 3rd Great Grandfather Hiram Stotler.

See my Veteran's Day 2010 post for a list of Veteran's in the family. There are more that are still living, but one of my policies is to not list names of living persons on this blog.

The above image is by Kathleen T. Rhem, US Department of Defense via Wikimedia Commons.

Tombstone Tuesday - Stotler plot at Crown Hill Indianapolis

A couple months ago I wrote to Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana and requested cemetery records and photos of the Stotler plot. They were very prompt in sending a detailed response and even waited until the grass was green to before taking the digital photos I paid for. The photos and records confirmed the information I have for Dr. George Henry Stotler, but also created a further mystery.

As you can see in the above photo there is a main stone that says Stotler and has the "Woodmen of the World" seal on it. I mentioned this stone in a previous post last October.There is also a smaller stone that says G. Henry Stotler M.D. 1865 - 1902. This matches the information I have for Dr. George Henry Stotler. Apparently George preferred to go by the name Henry.

Dr. G. Henry Stotler

The cemetery provided me with 3 detailed maps to assist in locating the plot, which is in section 36, lot 47. If you're look at this post in blogger you'll see I've pointed to the approximate location in the "location" field below. The records Crown Hill provided state that Mrs. Emma Stotler and John H. Stotler purchased the north 1/2 of lot 47 on Feb 19, 1902 for $200. My records indicate the G. Henry Stotler died the day before, Feb 18, 1902. Emma was G. Henry's wife (of just under 4 months) and John was his brother. G. Henry and John Stotler were the brothers of Mary Hay (Stotler) Ross, my 2nd Great Grandmother.

The cemetery records also listed the interment time as 2:00, February 20, 1902. Date of death, Feb 18, 1902 age 37, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Cause of death was listed as "Nervous Prostration", which apparently is equivalent to a serious nervous or mental breakdown of some sort. Those are all interesting details and except for the cause of death, I already had most of that information. So far so good, right? Not quite.

Hiram Stotler

The second burial location in the Stotler plot should be G. Henry's father, Hiram Stotler, at least according to the information I have. Unfortunately, cemetery records don't match that, so I have some conflicting information. Their records say that G. Henry's brother John H. Stotler was buried in the second spot, grave 8, lot 47, section 36 on June 14, 1920. They also provided a copy of the lot interment order that says the same thing. Unfortunately, there is no headstone for the plot, so there is no information that can help.

I've mentioned John H. Stotler before, he is somewhat of a roadblock for me. There was some indication that he died in a flood in Columbus Ohio, in 1913, but that was apparently not the right John H. Stotler. So I'm stuck with only the 1900 Census record for Rev. John Harrison Stotler and his wife Anna (Perry) living in Wabash County, Illinois. After that, I can't find much on John, though apparently his wife died in 1910 in Columbus, Ohio. Beyond that, I'm stumped on John H. Stotler.

Family history passed down to me indicates that Hiram Stotler died June 10, 1920 in Rockwell City, Iowa. His body was shipped to Indianapolis, and he was said to be interred at Crown Hill Cemetery, with his son. These dates match up with the interment dates listed by the cemetery, only the name doesn't match.

So what does all this mean? Well, my guess is that the cemetery records are misleading. Since the records say that John H. Stotler owned the lot, I'm guessing that they just put his name on the 1920 record. I don't think Hiram died a wealthy man, so my working theory is that he was buried in John's lot and for whatever reason, the paperwork did not match. It is a bit troubling to me that my 3rd Great Grandfather is basically buried in an unmarked spot, under the wrong name, but there isn't much I can do about that. I'm certainly not in the position to prove who is actually buried in that location. I'm still not any closer to figuring out what happened to John H. Stotler, perhaps he died prior to 1920.

I'm open to alternative theories and documentation, so let me know if anyone has anything on John Harrison Stotler or proof that Hiram was buried at Crown Hill.

Wedding Wednesday - Hiram Stotler and Hannah Argo

This is the marriage certificate I obtained from the Piatt County, Illinois Courthouse for Hiram Stotler (1838-1920) and Hannah Argo (1833-1871). They are my 3rd great grandparents. Their daughter Mary Hay Stotler (1864-1959) married John Franklin Ross (1859-1934). Their daughter Clara Bernice Ross (1897-1994) married Frank Brown Fowlie (1982-1977) and their daughter married Elvis John Brassfield (1920-2006).

According to the certificate Hiram and Hannah were issued a marriage license Wednesday, October 9, 1861 and were married Thursday, October 10, 1861. According to my notes, they had 5 children. Catharine, Mary Hay, George Henry, John Harrison and Jane Gregory. Catherine and Jane died before they were a year old, possibly at their births in 1862 and 1869. George and John had no children as far as I can tell. Mary had 7 children.

The certificate is transcribed after the jump

Sunday's Obituary - Fannie Stotler

Sarah Francis (Fannie) Stevenson-Stotler, 1920

I found this obituary in an envelope in one of my Grandmother's boxes. It is the obituary for the 2nd(?) wife of my 3rd Great Grandfather, Hiram A. Stotler (1838-1920). I am a descendant of his first wife, Hannah Argo. Hannah died in March 1871 and Hiram married Sarah Francis Stevenson in December 1871. They later divorced. The article to follow is dated October 28, 1920 and probably from a newspaper in the Piatt County, Illinois area, though that part is missing from the article. The obituary omits details on their divorce, but Hiram had moved to Indianapolis by the 1900 census and he died in Rockwell City Iowa in June 1920. Fannie was listed widowed in 1900 and 1910 and divorced in 1920. They were probably divorced prior to 1900 and the census taker recorded widowed by mistake or misunderstanding. The 1900 census also lists 3 children, zero living.

FOUND DEAD IN CHICKEN PARK

Mrs. Fannie Stotler Found Dead Thursday Afternoon After Being Dead Several Hours

Word spread through the village on Thursday of last week that Mrs. Fannie Stotler, a familiar character about town was found dead in her chicken yard.

Mrs. Stotler lived alone for many years, and on the day of her death she was missed about the house by her neighbors, but they thought she was in town until in the afternoon when Mrs. Wells and Mrs. Skeels went to the house, but found her still absent and in a short time Mrs. Wells found her lifeless body in her chicken park where she had gone to feed her chickens. In a short time a large crowd had gathered and the lifeless body was removed to the undertaking parlors of Wm. House, where the body was prepared for burial.

Coroner W. J. Porter of Montecello came to Mansfield Saturday morning and empaneled the following jury, A. R. Ross, foreman, Chas. Slater clerk, Garret VanMeter, Robert Bateman, Sr., A. F. Smothers and Dr. Young, who returned a verdict of death from natural causes. (A.R. Ross may be a descendant of a sibling of my 3rd Great Grandfather Henry Ross)

OBITUARY

Sarah Francis Stevenson was born in Cable county W. Virginia, August 1, 1844 and died in Mansfield, October 28, 1920. She was left motherless when a few weeks old and was taken into the home of James Mathews, where she grew to womanhood. In 1852 she accompanied her foster mother to Fayette county, Ohio, and in 1885 [This must be a typo in the newspaper, probably 1855 or 1865] the moved to Illinois, December 28, 1871 she was married to Hiram Stotler. In 1880 they came to Mansfield where she has since resided.

She was converted in early life and united with the Methodist church and lived a constant christian life in her peculiar way, often saying it was the grace of her Lord that carried her thru.

Funeral services were held in the M E. church Sunday afternoon, conducted by the pastor Rev. J. E. Evans. In addition to the floral offerings of friends there was a large boquet [sic] of flowers plucked from the garden of the deceased. The body was laid to rest in the Mansfield cemetery.

Anna M. Perry Stotler

This is a photo of Anna M. (Perry) Stotler, wife of John Harrison Stotler. I don't have too many details about her, except born in Ohio March 1865 from the 1900 census on Mt. Carmel, Wabash County, Illinois. John and Anna lived on 6th St while John was a minister there. I don't have anything else on her and I can't find them in the 1910 census. The oral tradition in my family has been that John died in a flood during 1913, probably the Great Flood of Indianapolis in Columbus, Ohio of March 1913. They may have lived in Indianapolis in 1913, but Stotler is a difficult name to search the census for since there are many ways the census taker can misspell it and the people creating the database can misread their writing. Stotler, Stotter, Statler, Statter, Stattler, etc etc. It makes it tricky to search the databases and Indianapolis is too large to check page by page. I'll keep working on it. 

Update: I'm starting to have doubts on the flood story. The source of that story was the April 1913 notification of Mary Ross by a Franklin County Coroner following the disastrous flooding. I now think that the notification was in error and in the confusion following the flood, the wrong Stotlers were notified. The death certificates for John and Katherine Stotler that died during the flood indicate they were much older by 20 years and were born in Germany, not Illinois. Based on this, I think I need to go back to the drawing board on John Harrison Stotler.



As I mentioned the other day, John H. Stotler was the brother of Mary Hay Stotler-Ross. He was my 2nd great grand uncle.

John H. Stotler at his desk

Here's a followup photo of John Harrison Stotler. The caption just says John Stotler minister on the back of the photo. I can almost read the calender on the wall on the 1200 dpi scan, but not quite. It's a 30 day month that starts on a Sunday, looks like 190-something. I'm guessing April 1906, but you decide...(Update: Can't be 1906, see below)

I'm always impressed at how much detail from the scanner. The calender is not even 1/2 inch tall in the original photo.

Update: The photo dates to the time period where J.H. Stotler was a pastor in Mt. Carmel, IL. The bottom of the photo says it was printed by a company in Mt. Carmel. According to other information that I have, he was there for about 5 years. This was after 1894 when he was in Burlington, IN, but before 1902 when he was in Centralia, IL. 

John Harrison Stotler

This one is captioned "John Harrison Stotler". He was the son of Hiram Stotler (1838-1920) and Hannah Argo (1833-1871). He was the brother of my 2nd great grandmother, Mary Hay (Stotler) Ross, so that makes him my 2nd great grand uncle. He would have been Clara (Ross) Fowlie's uncle, if that helps connect things.

John Harrison Stotler was born February 15, 1867 in Illinois to Hiram A. Stotler and Hannah Argo. He was probably born in or near Piatt County, Illinois since his family was recorded to be living in Sangamon township, Piatt County, Illinois in 1870. John became a minister and married Anna M. Perry around 1890. In 1900, John was a minister in Mt. Carmel, Wabash County, Illinois. I don't have a religion listed, but it was most likely a Protestant faith. They had no children in 1900. According to my notes, he died in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1913 due to a flood. There was a large flood in Indiana in March of 1913, so his death might have occurred in that flood. He might be buried at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, IN where his brother and father are buried, but the online database for Crown Hill conflicts with some of my notes. I'll post an update in the future if I find anything else.

Update: John Stotler apparently was killed in Franklin County, Ohio rather than Indianapolis. My grandmother has a letter from the Franklin County, Ohio Coroner dated April 3, 1913 that says he and his wife Katharine were killed in the flooding at that time. The best I can do at this time is say that according to the Ohio Historical Society's website around 100 were killed in Columbus, Ohio and 467 total in the state of Ohio. I will scan the telegram and post it when it becomes available. Apparently, John Stotler remarried Katharine following Anna's death.

Update: I'm starting to have doubts on the flood story. The source of that story was the April 1913 notification of Mary Ross by a Franklin County Coroner following the disastrous flooding. I now think that the notification was in error and in the confusion following the flood, the wrong Stotlers were notified. The death certificates for John and Katherine Stotler that died during the flood indicate they were much older by 20 years and were born in Germany, not Illinois. Based on this, I think I need to go back to the drawing board on John Harrison Stotler.

Stotler glass plate negative

This is an attempt at scanning a dry glass plate negative with my flatbed scanner then reversing the image and tweaking it with photo editing software.

I am not 100% certain who this image depicts. The box is labeled "Stotler" and there are no dates on it. My assumption is that it is a photo of Hiram Stotler (1838-1920). I have another photo labeled Hiram Stotler, but it is a much older man, so I'm not sure if they are the same men. I'll update this post in the future if find a name in one of the boxes of photos that I haven't searched yet.

Update: I found this same picture in a photo album labeled John Henry Stotler on the reverse, but George Henry Stotler underneath it. A similar picture is labeled Henry Stotler. The 1870 and 1880 Census both list George Stotler as the oldest son. Whatever the correct name is, it is clear that this is a brother of Mary H. (Stotler) Ross.

There is a second box of glass plates with 3 plates also labeled Stotler. One image is of a large tombstone labeled Stotler with the "Woodmen of the World" logo on it. The logo also says "Dum Tacet Clamat" which apparently means, "Though Silent He Speaks." The second image is the same tombstone with a woman standing next to it. The third image looks like men standing in a river or lake, possibly an immersion baptism?

Update: I found the same photo in an album labeled Aunt Emma at Henry's grave - 1902 Crown Hill cemetery - Indianapolis, IN. So it would appear that Emma was the wife of George Henry Stotler.

The Stotler connection to the Brassfield surname is Hiram Stotler (1838-1920), father of Mary Hay Stotler (1864-1959) (married John Franklin Ross (1859-1934)), mother of Clara Bernice Ross (1897-1994) (married Frank Brown Fowlie (1892-1977)). Frank and Clara's daughter married Elvis John Brassfield (1920-2006).

Census Saturday - Hiram Stotler

Today I conducted a search of census records via HeritageQuest online. I was looking for details on Hiram Stotler born in Pennsylvania 3 August 1838 and died in Rockwell City, Calhoun, Iowa 10 June 1920. His picture is to the right, it had been kept safe in a frame by his great granddaughter for many years and it found its way onto my flatbed scanner this afternoon for your viewing enjoyment.

Wisconsin residents, or at least ones that have IP addresses based in Wisconsin, can access a variety of research materials via http://www.badgerlink.net HeritageQuest and Access NewspaperARCHIVE are good tools to use without leaving home, but they take some time to get used to and require some tricks to find information.

In searching for Hiram Stotler, I ran across a common problem when searching census records. The problem is spelling. His last name is listed by the search engine as Stotley in 1870, Statler in 1880, Stoller in 1900, Stotter in 1910 and Stouller in 1920. Fortunately his first name Hiram was spelled the same allowing for a search by birthplace, age and first name. 1920 took the longest to find because both names were misspelled, Hyram Stouller. I did a Calhoun County Iowa search for persons born in Pennsylvania between the ages of 81 and 90 and that revealed the name I was looking for. I was also briefly stumped by the 1860 census, but careful detective work found him living in Piatt County, Illinois near his future wife, Hannah Argo.

The Stotler connection to the Brassfield surname is Hiram Stotler (1838-1920), father of Mary Hay Stotler (1864-1959) (married John Franklin Ross (1859-1934)), mother of Clara Bernice Ross (1897-1994) (married Frank Brown Fowlie (1892-1977)). Frank and Clara's daughter married Elvis John Brassfield (1920-2006).

After the jump I have posted a summary of the census info relating to Hiram Stotler...