FIFTH MEDINA COUNTY HISTORY FAIR

It's time again for the Annual Medina County History Fair!

Fifteen of the local history and genealogical organizations will be on hand, displaying their collections and answering your questions about the uniqueness of Medina County.

JOIN US FOR A WONDERFUL DAY OF HISTORY!

Stop by the Library's table and say "Hello!" to Lisa, Lauren and myself!

WE'RE BACK!

The new Virginia Wheeler Martin Family History & Learning Center, opened on December 7, 2019.

After a six month hiatus, the popular Genealogist Is In! service is returning in January 2020.

On WEDNESDAY afternoons, from 1 to 4 p.m., one of Medina's crack genealogists will be on hand to assist you with your genealogy and local history questions.

Lisa Rienerth, Kathy Petras, Lauren Kuntzman, 
The Genealogy Team,  will help you solve your genealogy dilemmas.

It is a "first come, first served" program, so if you have to wait your turn, please be patient!

And while we may not be able to discover ALL your family secrets, we can always point you to other sources to research!

Come see us!

WEDNESDAYS 

1-4 p.m.

GENEALOGY AND LOCAL HISTORY COLLECTION CLOSED

Exciting News!

The Virginia Wheeler Martin Family History and Learning Center is opening this coming weekend.

In preparation,  the local history collection is temporarily closed so that it can be moved into the new center...

Closed until the new Center opens up later this week.

I won't post a picture of the new center. We want that to be a surprise!

Donald J. Pease Federal Office Building

 Quote adapted from poem "To A Mouse" by Robert Burns

I had planned on posting about the Donald J. Pease Federal Building, because frankly, I knew next to nothing about it and was curious. So what was my first course of action??

I wandered over to 143 West Liberty, and "GASP!"

What was going on!!

I know the city is planning to build a parking garage where the old Masonic Temple used to be and that they were planning to reclaim the property that houses Porter's Shoe Repair, but surely they weren't tearing down this beautiful brick building???

Relax! No, they are not tearing it down.

But it took me awhile to find that out.

I emailed Bob Hyde to see if he knew anything and left a message with the city building department to see what they could tell me. But waiting patiently to hear back from these two prime sources is NOT my style.

So I posted the pictures on the Facebook page, Roadside History of Medina County

Many people were as concerned as I was. Many others posted their memories of going into that building, first when it was a Post Office and later when it became a Federal Office Building. To see the many uses of the building, go to Bob Hyde's Beyond the Storefronts web site: 143 West Liberty

My quest was fulfilled when I saw this post:

RS I know exactly what is going on. I work for the Federal agency GSA and we are refurbishing the fascia and cupola. The building is historical and is going nowhere soon. Project will be done early Dec weather permitting

And in response to the many questions about how it is being used now:


R B Judge Alice Batchelder's office.

Postcard of  the "Old Post Office" circa 1930's

And the many, many memories from long time Medina residents:

• LH - When I was a kid back in the 50's there was a painting or mural over the customer area. It depicted early settlers harvesting apples in an orchard. Wonder what happened to it or who has it now?  
• LH -Worked there in the 80s. USDA.  
• D N - Remember going there to sign up for the draft.  
• A M- It also had the Social Security office in it. 
• DR - My Dad ED Rice was a rural postal carrier and. he worked in this building many years before PO was moved to N. COURT. As a child during snow days at school, he would bring me here and I'd watch him sort mail then ride along with him on his route. What a memory💓 
• EL - The mural was a WPA government project to employ people during the depression. I was told it was covered up with paint . Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have that art work restored? I’m not from Medina, but I’ve heard it was beautiful. 
• LH - Yeah, walked in and signed up in the U.S.Navy. Left Medina 12 May 1969. 
• MAB - I remember it had a fallout shelter sign on it years ago 
• SM - Built 1937 by Gibbons-Grable of Canton for $55,791. 1939 12’ mural of apple orchard & bee skeps $750 by Richard Zoellmer native of Portsmouth. Life Mag 12/4/1939 says Zoellner is a muralist and watercolor painter studio in Cincinnati. 
• SM - an example of New Deal artwork: “Gathering the Apple Crop,” an oil-on-canvas mural by Richard Zoellner. Completed in 1938 
• EL - Thank you SM. When I heard it was covered up I was shocked since I had seen other WPA art work in other public places and it was an exquisite style of art. I wonder if a professional restorer could uncover it with the technology of today?

And the discussion continues...

So between Bob Hyde's information about the site on his web page and all the information uncovered on the Facebook page Roadside History of Medina County, there is no need for me to do a blog post on the building.  Sigh...

So, what are you reading?!?

A blog about the power of crowd sourcing!

Merriam Webster defines crowd sourcing as:

Definition of crowdsourcing
: the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers

Which describes what I did! I used traditional sources print and otherwise, and turned to an online resource - The FaceBook group Roadside History of Medina County.

Not only did I get the answer to my question, the discussion went much further, much faster when members of the group contributed their personal memories of the building. It would have taken me weeks to track down that many people and interview them.

I thank each and everyone of them for providing a much richer view of a piece of Medina's History!

SOURCES:

• Quote Fancy  
• Beyond the Storefronts
• Facebook Group Roadside History of Medina County
• Merriam Webster Online Dictionary.

2020 Census

Image from Census.gov

In April, my co-worker, Lisa did a wonderful blog on the historic census records: U.S. Census   Records.

As she states, the census has been taken every ten years since 1790 for purposes of apportioning representatives for U.S. Congress. For privacy reasons, census records are not available for 72 years after they are taken. The 1950 Census will become available in 2022.

Access to the 1950 and more recent census records are available for genealogical purposes by filling out form BC-600 from the Census Bureau and paying the $65 fee. (I will wait for them to become public! How about you?) You do have to either be named in the census or be the heir of the person named in the census. You also have to provide their place of residence, which is often the very information that you are looking for.

This is the information required on the person who are hoping to find in a 1950 or more recent census record.
Bottom of the BC-600 

The next census will be taken next year - 2020. And the Census Bureau is currently hiring 500,000 people to help conduct it. Their website provides vital information for anyone with questions. The 2020 U.S. Census

The official 2020 Census logo from Census.gov

In January 2020, the Bureau will start counting people in very remote areas of Alaska and Maine and the U.S. territorial islands. By April, everyone in America will have received an invitation to participate in the census. You will be able to respond in three ways: Online, by phone or by mail. Census Enumerators (fancy name for counters) will be visiting some homes to collect responses. They will have an ID badge with the US Department of Commerce watermark and their photo on it.

All of your responses should be based on how circumstances were on 1 April 2020.

WHAT QUESTIONS WILL BE ASKED

• How many people are in your home?
• Is the home owned or rented?
• The gender of each person in the home?
• Age of each person?
• Race of each person?
• Is anyone in your home Hispanic, Latino or Spanish?
• The relationship of each person in your home?

Sample questions

WHO IS COUNTED - EVERYONE!

• Children born on April 1st are to be counted.
• Someone who dies on April 1st but was alive for any part of April 1st is to be counted
• Any child, foster, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, if they normally live in your home, are to be counted.
• If you move into a new house on April 1st, that new home should be listed as your residence.
• If you are moving, but have not yet moved into the new home, your old address should be listed as your residence.
• Citizens of foreign countries, living in the United States should be counted. Foreign visitors on vacation are not counted.
• College students living away from home are counted at their college address.
• Military personnel serving overseas should be counted at their usual home address in the US.
• People in prisons, correctional facilities, jails and detention centers are to be counted at the facility.
• People in hospitals who have a usual home, should be counted at their usual residence.
• Patents in long-term care, nursing facilities and who have no usual home should be counted at that health care facility

SPOTTING SCAMS - The Census Bureau will never ask you:

• Your Social Security Number
• Bank account or credit card numbers
• Your political affiliation
• Your religious affiliation
• I received a invitation for a "census" that was asking very detailed questions about my political affiliation. On closer examination it was from the Republican party. I did not finish filling out the survey. Several of my cousins also received this misleading "census".

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU RECEIVE YOUR 2020 CENSUS INVITATION FROM THE CENSUS BUREAU?

FILL IT OUT!

Your descendants will thank you!

Voter's Records

Photo courtesy Family History Daily

Next week, we go to the voting booths and make our selections to decide the fate of different candidates and issues in our area.

Have you ever wondered if you can access your ancestor's voting records?

The answer is yes, and no. While you can't see which way your ancestor voted, you can sometimes view their voter registration.

Voter's registers can be harder to find, but are well worth the effort. Along with census records, they place our ancestors in specific places at specific times.

You can:

• Fill in gaps between censuses
• Find middle names
• Find spouses and other family members registered at the same address
• Naturalization information
• Where born
• Political party affiliation 
• Migration from other locations.
• Physical characteristics

EXAMPLES OF REGISTERS:

1903 Mason Township Lawrence County, Ohio Quadrennial Enumeration.
This places my 4 X great uncle, William Tagg, in Lawrence County in 1903.
He disappeared after the 1900 Census and I have always assumed he died.
Now I know to start my search for his death record after 1903.

State Voter Registration Records:

• Ohio- Ohio counted adult men every 4 years in various counties to determine voting districts, called quadrennial enumerations. Some of them are view-able on the FamilySearch.org web site and the Ohio History Connection has some of them in their Library And Archives. 
• Historic records not available on FamilySearch yet. Ohio took quadrennial enumerations of men 21+ years old to determine voting districts from 1803-1911. Under taxation...
• Current registrations: Check Your Voter Registration
• Arizona - Has "great registers" similar to California's at Ancestry Library Edition (ALE)  (and Ancestry.com) , FamilySearch.org and at their State Library
• California - "Great Registers"
• 1900-1968 is available on ALE  under "California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968
• Available on FamilySearch.org "Great Registers 1867-1890"
• California State Library has 1866-1898 and 1900-1944 on microfilm
• Chicago - (not a state!) have late 1800 voters records at FamilySearch and some are also available on ALE
• Georgia -  At FamilySearch.org - has the 1867-68 Returns of qualified voters
• New York - ALE has a list of registered voters in 1880
• Kansas 
• On ALE,  Leavenworth, Kansas Voter Registration, 1859 and Kansas Election List, 1854
• And for free on the Kansas GenWeb site
• Massachusetts  - on ALE Massachusetts, Applications of Freemen, 1630-1691
• Wyoming - The State Archives has poll lists and voting lists in their collection.

RESOURCES:

• FamilySearch - do catalog search for location "United States, Indiana" then go to bottom of list for "Voting Registers"
• Ancestry Library Edition - catalog search "voter" narrow by location or date. Returns many census records
• Fold3 - enter "voting" in search box.
• Cyndi's List  search for "voters"
• Worldcat.org - search under the location and "voting register"

WEAKNESSES: 

• Before 1920, will not include women in most locations in the US
• In earlier time periods will only include white men of property
• Convicted felons aren't permitted to vote

Arizona Voter Registration 1866-1955 on Ancestry Library Edition showing the EARP brothers, Wyatt, Morgan and J.C. (James) in Pima County (Tuscon) Arizona. Virgil Earp was listed several pages earlier.
The right half of the entries (not shown) provided information on date and place of naturalization.

This 1904 Voter Registration for Wyatt S. Earp shows his birthplace "Ills" for Illinois.
From  Ancestry Library Edition

These entries from the California Voter Registrations 1900-1968 on Ancestry Library Edition show Walt Disney and
his wife, Lillian. Interestingly, she is listed as a Democrat and he is a Republican.

SOURCES:

• "Reasons Why You Should Be Researching Voter Records - A Hidden Gem", The Ancestor Hunter , 12-8-2018
• Haddad, Diane, "Tracing Ancestors in Voter Records" Family Tree Magazine.
• Philibert-Ortega, Gena, "Genealogy 101: Voting Records", GenealogyBank, 6 Nov. 2018.
• "United State Voting Records", Family Search Wiki
• "Voting Created Some Fascinating Genealogy Records! Here's Where to Find them", Family History Daily.

Cemetery Gravestones & Court Records

On October 2, Lisa did a wonderful blog on doing cemetery research Cemeteries...where else would you find your dead relatives?

Next week, you will have the opportunity to take your cemetery research even further with Jill Keppler's talk on Cemetery Gravestones on 30 October. Learn what stories the stones themselves have to tell.

 SIGN UP HERE.

And there are still spots available at the Genealogy Slam: Order in the Court!

Sign up HERE.

Did I mention that Light Refreshments will be served and Door Prizes will be given away?!?!

Fall Genealogy Slam! ORDER IN THE COURT!

• Did your immigrant ancestors have to renounce allegiance to a foreign sovereign to become a United States citizen? 

• Did your ancestor own land in the same county as three other men with the same name?

• Did your grandpa serve time in prison? (Mine did!)

• Did your ancestress have to sign away her dower rights when her husband sold land?

Join Medina's new Genealogy Team and discover how court records can enhance your family history research!

Medina's Genealogy Team features veteran researchers, Lisa Rienerth and Kathy Petras, the new Family History
& Learning Center Manager, Lauren Kuntzman, and new member, Nichole McCluggage.

                                                                                                                                                                

26 October 2019
Saturday
12-4 p.m.
Medina Library
Community Rooms

SIGN UP HERE!

This fall the team will expound upon court records. Lauren will give an overview and talk about Criminal Court Records. Kathy will explain Probate Court Records. And Lisa will talk about Land Records. Nichole will keep us all in line!

Join us and learn more about these daunting topics.

Judge Albert MUNSON

Albert Munson as a younger man from the 1881
History of Medina County and Ohio

Judge Albert Munson was a man of many talents and abilities. But his early years were punctuated with very humble circumstances.

Albert was born to Lyman and Nancy (Porter) Munson on 8 Aug, 1829 at River Styx. He was one of 9 children. His parents came to Ohio in 1816 from Massachusetts and were farmers. 

Albert's first attended a log schoolhouse, later studying at the Sharon Academy. The Academy was a product of the Universalists (religion) in the area who were looking for a non-sectarian educational option.

In 1844 while Albert was still a teen, a political speaker did not show up for his speech. Albert volunteered to speak extemporaneously on the duties of citizenship and finished to cheers and applause. He was fascinated by politics from that time forward.

He organized the River Styx Lyceum where debate was prized. He later said that prepared him for his love of lifelong learning.

Around 1850, Albert contracted dysentary. He would complain of  Rheumatism the rest of his life.
Other benchmarks from Albert's long life:

• Worked 5 years at general store of Allen Howes in Sharon. Then to Colborn & Munson in River Styx. 
• While working at the store, he married Harriet Easton in 1854. Children followed: Cora E. and Lyman E. 
• He then farmed his father's homestead. 
• He worked hard for Republican party throughout Medina County when that party was just getting started in 1856, delivering hundreds of speeches.
• He was physically incapacitated to serve in the Civil War so he recruited other soldiers. For that service he won an appointment as Colonel of the Militia by Ohio Governor Todd in 1862. 
• In 1869 he was elected to Ohio House of Representatives. He was re-elected in 187, serving a total of 4 years. He worked on codifying Ohio State laws, which were later copied by other states. 
• He was a temperance man. 
• After studying on his own for years, he was admitted to the bar in 1873, although he never practiced as a lawyer.
• He worked to bring the Railroad to Medina in 1871-72 and continued to support bringing railroads to Medina for the rest of his life. 
• In 1875 he was elected Director of Ohio Farmer’s Insurance (now Westfield Insurance). 
• In 1878 he was elected Judge of the Probate Court of Medina County and  “never had decision reversed by the higher courts” 
• He moved to Medina to be closer to his work. He was a judge for 2, 3-year terms (6 years). He used the honorific title "Judge" the rest of his life. 
• While he was judge he heard many cases of insanity. From 1880-1881 newspapers:

• 9 cases appeared in the paper 
• 5 women and 4 men 
• 3 of the women were judged insane and all of the men were. 
• They were sent to the Asylum at Newburgh, OH.
• After that he bought Samuel Bradley’s hardware business and ran that business for 25 years as A. Munson & Son 

Ad for Sam Bradley's Hardware store
Medina Gazette July 9 1880

Ad for Munson's Hardware store.
They kept their ads simple & focused
on the products. Sometimes, they
referred to the store as "Dad & I"
Medina Gazette, 28 Dec 1899

Advertising heating stove and fine
English China at the same time.
Quite likely, the Munson's furnished
their home with products from
the store. Medina Sentinel
4 Sep 1903, p.4

A sample of the Munson's personal china
on display at the Medina County
Historical Society.

• He was a member of these fraternal organizations, as well as the Literary Society: 
• Morning Star Lodge (Masons)  
• Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) 
• Royal Arcanum, Council No. 372. 
• He claimed he was personally responsible for William McKinley being elected as President. In gratitude McKinley came to Medina for a speech. After his election, McKinley offered Munson any position he wanted in gratitude for all of Munson's help.  Munson, who was around 70 years old, said being postmaster was good enough. The post office was two doors down from his hardware store. He was postmaster for 6 years. 

Judge Albert Munson
History of the Western Reserve by Harriet Taylor Upton

• From  1907-1908, he wrote column for Gazette “Reminiscences of a Busy Life” (play on "Recollections of a Busy Life" by Horace Greeley) that described many facets of his long life. 
• Albert died 27 June 1911 In Medina (Gazette 7-28-1911, p.4)

His spiritual beliefs:

Probably one of the most interesting aspects about Munson was his religious beliefs. He was a Spiritualist. 

"Spirit" Picture of Albert Munson
in the collection of
Medina County Historical Society.

Spiritualism is the belief that the spirits of the dead can communicate with the living, often through the use of seances and mediums. It grew out of the early 1800's in New York. By 1860, it had spread world wide. It was very popular in the 1870's, particularly in the River Styx area where Albert grew up.

In 1879 he attended a (possibly his first?) séance in Sharon. It was thought at the time it had to do with the insanity cases he was hearing as a judge.

Why would the spiritualist church be appealing to Munson at this time?

• Growth as a movement. Started in US in 1840. Reached its height in popularity from 1880-1920 
• The Universalist Church might have made him more likely to investigate other ways of worshiping. 
• He had already lost his parents and siblings:
• Father Lyman in 1863
• Mother Nancy in 1850
• Sister Emeline in 1876 
• Brother Lyman in 1843 
• Sister Nancy in 1852 
• In 1881, he lost his good friend, James Garfield 
• William McKinley in 1901
• One of the mediums he used was possibly a cousin on his mother's side.

Munson believed he had a psychic link to McKinley and was convinced that the President would not live out his second term. Visiting McKinley in Canton, Munson urged the president to surround himself with guards, but McKinley replied, "Who would kill me?" Munson left, believing it would be the last time he saw his friend. And it was. McKinley was assassinated on 6 September 1901 .

Munson held a seance in his home, trying to each his friend. During the seance, McKinley remembered all the help Albert had been to his political career, especially the 1885 campaign. Munson invited McKinley's grieving widow to one of the seances, but her doctor soon put a stop to further seances as he felt it was detrimental to her health.

In his obituary it was stated that Munson believed "Death was only an incident in the journey to other scenes." One by one, death took each of the Munsons leaving none from that branch of the family. Each was cremated, a practice that had been revived in the 1870's.

Books from the Munson library:

Held at the Medina
 County Historical
Society

Held at the Medina
County Historical
 Society

Letter from McKinley:

Letter written by Wm. McKinley in 1885, before his presidency.
Collection of the Medina County Historical Society.

 Transcript of a seance conducted by  Annie L. Chamberlain, channeling the spirit Electa:

Munson's mother's spirit confirming that Miss Porter is indeed a relative:

Transcription of a seance from 1903.
In the Medina County Historical Society Collection.

The Munson House
Now a private residence, the Munson family lived here until Cora Munson's death in 1956.
Originally it was at 231 East Washington Street. The Community Design Committee moved
the house was to its present location on Prospect in 1985.
Numerous seances were held here.

SOURCES: 

• Butalia, Tarnunjit, Religion in Ohio: Profiles of Faith Communities  on Google Books: https://bit.ly/33gSDJC
• Find A Grave
• King, Joann, Medina County: Coming of Age 1810-1900 
• Kraynek, Sharon, Recollections of Medina Characters 
• Medina County Gazette
• 28 Dec 1899 
• 9 July 1880
• 1 May 1997, page C5
• 27 May 1881, page 7.
• 29 June 1879, page 11.
• 11 July 1879, page 3.
• 21 Dec., 1984
• Medina County Historical Society Collections.
• Medina County Sentinel
• 4 Sep. 1903, page 4.
• 4 Aug 1911, page 1 
• Perrin, William Henry, History of Medina County and Ohio (1881)
• Upton, Harriett Taylor, History of the Western Reserve
• WikiMedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Judge_Albert_Munson_House.jpg
• Wikipedia:
• Spiritualist Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritualist_church

P.S. Thank you to Tom Hilberg for correcting my mistake. The Community Design Committee NOT the historical society moved the MUNSON House to its present location.

Who are they?: The answers to last week's trivia challenge.

And the answers are:

1.William Batchelder - m. Ohio legislator for 40 years.
Read more about his career on this Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_G._Batchelder.
He and his wife, Judge Alice Batchelder, still own a house on East Smith Road in Medina.

William Batchelder
Photo is from a screenshot of a YouTube Video

2. Martin Van Buren Bates - k. A giant among men.
Captain Martin Van Buren Bates was literally a  giant, measuring 7 feet 5 inches tall. He and his wife Anna settled in Seville and became known as The Giants of Seville.

Captain Bates next to an 
ordinary man.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

3. Sylvia Beach - h. Missing Wadsworth girl.
Sylvia was a young woman who went missing in the wild country around Wadsworth in 1823. Read more about her on this blog: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2016/08/missing.html 

4. Wilda Bell - q. 1st Black woman on Medina City Council.
Learn more about her inspiring life here:

https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/search?q=wilda+bell

Photo from Wilda's obituary at Waite & Son

5. Elsie Bennett-Wilson - p. Local library promoter.
Here is more information on this influential Medina woman: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2015/03/elsie-bennett-wilson.html

6. H.G. Blake - o. Started Old Phoenix Bank.
 Pick up any Medina history book and you will find entries on H.G. Blake. Starting the Old Phoenix Bank was just one of his accomplishments. Read more about his life: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2017/04/hg-blake.html

Old Phoenix Bank, undated, from Bob Hyde's Beyond the Storefronts web site.
The bank was one of the first buildings constructed after the 1870 fire that destroyed much
of uptown Medina. It rose from the ashes like a Phoenix. It was a Medina landmark
for well over 100 years until the bank was sold first to First Merit and later to Huntington Banks.

7. John W. Brown - a. Ohio Governor from Medina.
Sure, he was only Governor for 11 days, but he didn't let that slow him down! Here's more info: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2017/03/medinas-governor.html and on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_William_Brown

8. Peter Cherry - c. Medina historian and author.
Almost forgotten now, Peter Cherry was once the go-to person for Medina and Summit county history. He wrote The Western Reserve and Early Ohio (1921) and The Portage Path (1921) and this article from The Medina Gazette:

Medina County Gazette 9 August 1935, section 2, page 3. Article by
P. (Peter) P. Cherry, a local Medina historian.
Cherry inflated the number of troops involved.

9. Sidney Fenn - t. Medina Educator and Principal.
The Fenn Elementary School is named in his honor. Learn more about him at: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2017/09/who-was-sidney-fenn.html

10. Rufus Ferris - r. Pioneer & land-sales agent.
Rufus was the land agent for Elijah Boardman, who owned most of Medina Township. He tragically died while trying to save others' lives during a cholera epidemic. Learn more here: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2017/06/rufus-ferris-medina-pioneer.html

Historic marker outside the house that Ferris built on what is now
North Broadway

11. Michael Foreman - l. NASA astronaut.
Who knew Medina County boasted their own NASA astronaut? Friends and family of Michael Foreman who grew up in Wadsworth.  Read about his career on Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Foreman_(astronaut)

12. William D. Frazier - w. Historic marathon walker.
Confession time - I forgot who William Frazier was, even though I wrote this blog about him:
https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2016/06/william-bill-frazier-medina-legend-you.html

13. Sadie Green - e. An early Medina health nurse. Just not the first!

Often listed as Medina's first county health nurse, Sadie Green held that position from 1924 to 1935. Two other women were Medina Health nurses before her: Constance Hanna, 1920-1922, Miss Musse, 1922-1924. Read more about Sadie's life in this blog: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2015/03/sadie-green.html

14. Letha House - j. Medina benefactress.
The Letha House Foundation has donated to numerous worthy causes in Medina County. If you want a short account of her rags to riches story, check out this blog: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2016/12/letha-e-house.html
For a thorough examination of her life, I can highly recommend this book by Joann King:
https://search.clevnet.org/client/en_US/me-main/search/results?qu=letha%20house&te=

Local author, Joann King wrote this imminently readable
account of Letha's life.

15. Sophia Huntington-Parker - x. founded the Pythian Sisters Home in Medina.
Demolished now, the home once stood at the end of Homestead on Huntington Street.

Read more about the lady who founded the home here: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2017/08/sophia-huntington-parker-pythian.html

16. Amos Mears - u. Businessman & cemetery sponsor.
When Mears left his entire estate to the Friends of the Cemetery, they decided to name their new Memorial Building after him.

https://www.cleveland.com/medina/2016/05/friends_of_medinas_spring_grov.html

His life is covered here: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2015/06/amos-carlton-mears.html

17. Ray Mellert - y. Businessman & sports booster.
Ray Mellert was another Medina businessman and huge booster of local sports. He has a city park named for him on Huntington Street. Read about Ray in this blog: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2017/05/ray-mellert.html

18. Judge Albert Munson - A spiritualist.
The Munson family were spiritualists and held seances in their home. William McKinley, James Garfield and Abraham Lincoln are among the spirits they claimed to have talked with. Munson is one of the few well-known Medina characters that I haven't done a blog on, yet. Stay tuned for that!

19. Pete Rademacher - f. An Olympic gold medal boxer.
Rademacher was a champion boxer of the 1950's. Around Medina, he was just as well known for riding his one wheel motor cycle in parades. My coworker Lisa did a blog on Pete here:
https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2016/02/pete-rademacher-1956-olympic-gold.html

20. A.I Root - i. Father of modern beekeeping.
Seriously? If you don't know A.I. Root is, you need to check out his candle store on West Liberty...
The man and his company were covered in this blog:
https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2017/06/a-i-root-company.html

21. Chuck Schodowski - g. Beloved Cleveland TV personality.
Better known as "Big Chuck" of the "Big Chuck and Little John" TV Show. He was a Hinckley resident for many years. Tell the truth! How many of you looked for Dick Goddard's name in the list? Read more about his 43 years in Cleveland television here: https://search.clevnet.org/client/en_US/me-main/search/results?qu=big%20chuck%20my%20favorite&te=

Chuck wrote about his many years on TV.

22. Frederick Streeter - v. Only man hung in Medina.
Convicted and hung for murdering the Shubil Coy family, the evidence presented in court would not be enough to convict him today. Did he do it?
https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2015/12/did-he-do-it.html

Frederick Streeter
Photo in the Medina Library's Collection

23. Franklin Sylvester - n. Paid for first Medina Library.
Franklin Sylvester was a Granger Township cattleman, who was childless. A friend urged him to follow the example of Andrew Carnegie and donate money to build a library in Medina. And he did.  His blog entry is here: https://mcdlgenealogyspot.blogspot.com/2016/10/franklin-sylvester.html

Franklin Sylvester as a younger man.
From the Medina Library Collection.

24. Edith Thomas - b. Chatham poet.
Edith was a renowned American poet who was born in Chatham. I admit that I would never have heard of her except for my friendship with Frank Munz, late Chatham historian. But she has her own Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_M._Thomas

25. Mel Wiley - s. Missing Hinckley Policeman.
He disappeared in 1985 from Edgewater Park where he went to meet friends for swimming. He left his car, his keys, his clothes and his wallet behind. And he hasn't been seen since. He was declared dead in 1993. Google his name to find the many theories about his disappearance.


How many did you get right??

SOURCES:

• Screen capture of William G. Batchelder speaking to the City Club of Cleveland on January 7, 2011 City Club of Cleveland - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzoLlFwzzTM
• Beyond the Storefronts http://www.medinasquare.org/southside-public-square-3547?rq=old%20phoenix