Extra! EXTRA! Read All About It!

If you are geek like me, I have some exciting news!

The Medina Library has just purchased several Wadsworth newspapers on microfilm.

Masthead from the Wadsworth Enterprise

What?!? You're not thrilled!

Wait. You will be.

First, how can you not love using newspapers for historical and genealogical research?

In newspapers you can find information on your ancestors that you cannot find anywhere else. Sure, you can find birth, marriage and death notices. But you also find information about your ancestor's real estate sales, businesses (and the ads they put in the paper), out of town visitors, vacation plans, engagements and illnesses.

Portage Sentinel 24 February 1847, page 4.
William Tagg followed his father, James, into
the painting and glazing business.

Not too long ago, I found a notice where one of my relatives hosted the birthday party for his mother-in-law. It included a list of all the guests. A whole list of people that can now be added to my research plans.



And when I was researching my 3X great-grandfather, James Tagg, I found a notice of his attendance at a GAR reunion. It told how the gathering was entertained by his stories from his Civil War Service. Apparently, he was a storyteller. Who knew?

Excerpt from a larger article on the Reunion of the 91st O.V.I.
Gallipolis Tribune 1 August 1894, page 3.

Cleveland Plain Dealer 6 November
1929, page 7. Clara was running for
a seat on the Cleveland Board of
Education. It was a position she
held for the rest of her life.

To learn more about online sites to do newspaper searches, look at this BLOG POST from 2 September 2015.

Now, in Medina County, the type of news reported in the papers changed over time. The early papers, 1830-1866, mostly consisted of national and political news. Many of these early papers affiliated with a particular political party and their articles reflected a strong bias. But when you do find information on a ancestor or local resident, you cherish it even more.

Some, like the one below, can fill in the gaps for a period when vital records are scarce or nonexistent.

The Watchtower 1838.
The notice gives us George MCCORMICK's birthday
and his father's name. We know he was apprenticed
to Noah BRONSON, who was an early settler of
Medina and a judge from 1823-1830. We also know
that George is sprightly and active and that Noah did
not have a high opinion of George's father.

Around 1870, more articles on local events and people start creeping into the paper. This trend continued until about 1960. Papers from the 30s, 40s and 50s, are FULL of social events that list everyone who attended and often describe the food served and the clothes worn. These details help give us insight into our ancestor's lives - the best of reasons to get excited about newspapers!

And the Medina County District Library has never owned any of the Wadsworth newspapers on microfilm, until now.

Here is the list:

Medina Watch Tower – 1 reel
Sep 12, 1838-Apr 14, 1841
June 2 & 9, 1841
Aug 4, 1841-Mar 2, 1842

Wadsworth Enterprise – 3 reels
May 4, 1866 to April 25, 1877

Wadsworth News Banner – 26 reels
Feb 3, 1910- Dec 29, 1955

Wadsworth News – 6 reels
Oct 30, 1920-Oct 6, 1932
Feb 23-Sep 2828, 1933
Nov 2, 1933 –June 29, 1944

Now, besides the fact that Wadsworth is one of three cities within Medina County, what can we get out of these films?

First, the Wadsworth Library has the obituaries in the Wadsworth newspapers indexed as part of the Ohio Obituary Project on the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum website: http://www.rbhayes.org/  Access to more obituaries? That is always a good thing!

Next, imagine how my blog on the Wadsworth Coal Mines could be impacted by having access to these Wadsworth newspapers. The post would probably contain a lot more detail than I was able to glean from The Gazette.

AND...

The 1876 editions of the Medina Gazette have always been MIA (Missing In Action). This is critical for two reasons that come immediately to mind.

1. 1876 was the American Bicentennial. As Medina is celebrating its Bicentennial, wouldn't you like to know how the county celebrated the first U.S. Centennial in 1876? Me too!
2. 1876 was the year the H.G. Blake died and for years local historians (including myself) have searched for his obituary. If you want to know who Blake was, read this POST.

The Wadsworth Enterprise has its 1876 editions:

The Wadsworth Enterprise 19 April 1876, page 4.

NOW are you excited?  Me too!

Gardener's Cottage

Sadly, one of the historic Victorian buildings on South Court Street is in danger of collapse.


236 South Court houses the Gardener's Cottage and early Monday morning, chunks of bricks fell off the back wall.










As the official news continues to develop, I will add additional links here.

WEWS coverage from 19 February:
Gardener's Cottage Partially Collapses

Gazette online from the 19th:
Building Partially Collapses

Picture of the back of the building from the February 21st Gazette  article.

Late Tuesday, officials said that the building could  be saved.
Gazette coverage from the 21st:
Building is Salvageable

On Wednesday, plywood was brought in to close off the front of the building so that traffic could be restored on South Court Street.

Back of the building on Thursday, February 22, taken from second floor of the
Medina Library. Photo courtesy of the author. You can see that some framing has
been added and tarps are being installed to keep the rain out.

The history of the building going back to the 1870's  can be viewed at the Medina Square website:
East side of South Court Street. Look for the address 246 South Court.

Brunswick Sun Times 22 February 2018


City of Medina Press Release:

The Medina Post 24 February 2018.

There have also been a lot of posts on Facebook about the building. Here is the business' FACEBOOK page.

February 28, 2018 - All covered up and waiting for the reconstruction to begin!

February 28, 2018 - taken from second story of the Medina Library.

Today's Brunswick Sun News:

Brunswick Sun News 1 March 2018.

Medina's Tank Testing Ground

In the midst of the Cold War, America was ramping up their military strength. Part of the that buildup was producing bigger, faster, better tanks. And what is now known as the IX Center, was in the 1950's, the site of the GM Cadillac Tank Plant, charged with building M41 Walker Bulldog tank.

M41 Walker Bulldog Tank built at the Cadillac Tank Plant 1951-1954.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. 

While the tank was under production, GM needed a place to test the tanks that would reflect the rough areas they would need to travel during war conditions. An area near the Hinckley-West Richfield border was just what the company needed.

In February 1951, Cadillac announced that the location, just off State Route 303, was ready for use and already had a tank on site. Called the Cadillac Ordnance Proving Ground, the site had everything needed to give the tanks a good work out: hilly terrain, deep ravines, switchbacks, dense brush and water hazards. Two test courses were designed to replicate field conditions.

1958 Aerial Photograph depicting the Tank Proving Grounds.

The spring rains were particularly effective in testing the tanks', and the drivers', abilities to maneuver through the muddiest conditions, as illustrated in this photo from the April 30, 1954 edition of The Medina Gazette.

Medina Gazette,  April 30, 1954, page 1.

The Army ceased production of the Walker Bulldog in 1955. A few years later, GM Cadillac turned over the tank plant to its Allison Division. They produced the M-551 Sheridan tank until 1972.

Tank workers depicted in the December 3, 1965 newsletter for the Allison Division, called AllisoNews.

They continued to use the Proving Grounds near Hinckley until 1970.

AllisoNews photo of the proving grounds near Hinckley.

By December of 1970, the Army had abandoned the site. Hinckley and Richfield Township officials worked together to obtain the land. It took until 1978 for the federal government to donate the land for recreational use.

Named "Rising Valley Park", the two townships jointly operated the park from 1978 to 2005, when they decided to terminate the cooperative agreement. 44.7 acres went to Richfield and 188.3. acres became part of the Cleveland Metroparks.

Rising Valley Park in Richfield Township.

Rising Valley Park in Cleveland Metroparks.

You can almost see the outline of the old tank testing grounds in this Google image.

I see a field trip in my future!


SOURCES:
Aerial Photos - 1958- 1V- 169 in the Medina Franklin Sylvester Room Collection
AllisoNews Newsletter Vol. XXV, No. 12, 3 December 1965, pages 1-2.
Cleveland Metroparks - Rising Valley Park.
Google Maps
IX Center History
Medina County Gazette
      "Hinckley Interested in Cadillac Grounds", 1 December 1970, page 1.
      "Hinckley Park Dubbed Rising Valley", 13 April 1978, page 1.
      "Tanks Get Mud Baptisms Near Hinckley", 30 April 1954, page 1.
      "Test Tanks at Hinckley", 27 February, 1951, page 1.
Richfield Township - Rising Valley Park
"M41 Walker Bulldog Tank" Wikipedia

Wadsworth Coal Mines and Strike Breakers

Coal was discovered and mined in Wadsworth Township as early as 1829. With the advent of train transportation, it became more profitable to extract the coal and starting in the 1850's coal mines popped up all over the area.

One of the largest and most profitable of the mines was Silver Creek mines, owned by Erastus Loomis. Occasionally, the miners would go out on strike to pressure the owners to improve wages or working conditions. It was a common practice for the owners to bring in outside workers to take the striking miners' places. It was a cutthroat practice and it was effective.

Map from Rogues Hollow History and Legends by Russell W. Frey
showing the Silver Creek Mines (with red triangle)

In 1880, the Wadsworth mine owners decided they would only pay the miners for the coal chunks that were a certain size. So they started screening each load of coal. The miners were not paid for anything small enough that it passed through the screen. The miners were being paid 50 cents per ton and they were expected to bring a certain tonnage of coal to the surface everyday. If they didn't meet their quota they would be considered a substandard worker and subject to being fired.

Does this mean the owners threw out the smaller coal? Most certainly not! Smaller coal was still fine for home use and it would have been sold.

The miners were incensed!  They were already being paid as little as .50 to $1 per day for the back breaking and dangerous work. Now part of their labors weren't even going to be measured! And the owners were making incredible profit! So they went out on strike!

In her book, Medina County Coming of Age 1810-1900,  historian Joann King says that the strike started on April 14th of 1880. Curiously, I could not find any newspaper articles from that date about the strike. The Medina Gazette was silent on the topic, until later in the year.

But as during past strikes, Erastus Loomis was looking for workers to take the place of the striking miners. However, he couldn't find enough workers locally. So he combed the black communities of the south. Soon, 200 Black men were unloaded from the train cars to work at the mine. Most were from Virginia.

As they would have with any strike breakers, the miners threatened the Black men. Loomis responded by housing the men, and their families, behind a stockade.

14 May 1880, page 7, Medina Gazette

The county Sheriff called for help and Cleveland sent 25 deputies. When the threats continued, the Ohio Militia was sent to protect the strike breakers.

14 May 1880  Medina Gazette, page 7

In June, the strike was still on,  and the Black miners appreciated the presence of the Militia, believing their very lives depended on the soldiers.

Medina Gazette 4 June 1880, page 7.

Within two weeks the strike was settled and the miners went back to work. The militia was sent home.

Medina Gazette  18 June 1880 page 7

True to their word, after the militia left, a number of the Black miners also left. But a number stayed and settled in the Wadsworth area. Over the years, more strikes occurred and and more strike breakers were imported. And so more Black people settled in the Wadsworth area.

A survey of the 1900 Federal Census for Wadsworth Township, shows of the 57 Black males living in the township, 35 were of working age. 27, or 3/4 of those men were miners.

Around this same time, the children of the Silver Creek Black miners, were being taught by a "A colored woman from Massillon." (Joann King, Medina County Coming of Age, page 407).

Soon after the families settled in, a Baptist Church was organized. Now known as the First Baptist Church, they hold annual reunions.

Descendants of the Black coal miners first gathered in 1993.
Sun Banner Pride, 2 September 1993.

Sun Banner Pride 10 August 2000

SOURCES:
Medina County Coming of Age 1810-1900 by Joann King
Medina Gazette:
      16 April 1880, page 7
      14 May 1880, page 7
      28 May 1880, page 2 and 7
      18 June 1880, page 7
 Remembering Wadsworth  by Caesar Carrino
Rogues Hollow History and Legends  by Russel W. Frey
Sun Banner Pride
     2 Sep 1993
    10 August 2000
Wadsworth Center to City Eleanor Shapiro, editor
U.S. Federal Census through Ancestry LE

Black History Month

February is Black History Month...

To commemorate it, the Medina Library has a display recounting some of the highlights from 200 years of Black History in Medina, including:

• The Philips family, the first documented Black family in Medina County.
• The influence of churches on the Black community.
• How industry has spurred Black people to move to Medina County.
• Some of Medina County's Black Community firsts.

Julia Williams lived in Wadsworth,. Born a slave, her story
was captured in 1937 as part of the Slave Narrative project.

Stop in to see the display to learn more about Medina's Black History.

Medina County and City are celebrating and commemorating with these events:

• February 10 - Learn About the Underground Railroad, 1-2 p.m. at the Grace Drake Center
• February 22- Black History Through Music, 7-9 p.m. at the Second Baptist Church
• February 24 - Medina Black History: A Bicentennial Celebration, 1-2 p.m. at the Medina Library

One of the stops in Medina on the Underground RailRoad.

New to the Medina Library!

929.5 NEI

The Family Tree Cemetery Field Guide  - How to Find, Record & Preserve Your Ancestors' Graves by Joy Neighbors. There is a LOT of great information packed into this little book.

Burial records can contain so much more information than just the name and date of death of the deceased:

• Children who died young without birth records and never made it to the census records.
• Multiple spouses.
• Military or fraternal affiliations.
• Who paid for the burial

Check out this book to learn the history of cemeteries and the types of records associated with burials. Includes where to look for records, online resources and how to integrate the information into your family history.