Picturesque
PICTURESQUE HURON or HURON COUNTY, OHIO AS SEEN THROUGH A CAMERA
1896, Laning Printing Company, Norwalk, O.
INDEX OF INDIVIDUALS� NAMES ASSOCIATED WITH BUILDINGS AND PLACES IN THESE PHOTOS (1896 and prior)
VIEW INDEX
Indexed January 2008 by Susan Hopkins, 107 W. Mumford Dr., Urbana, IL 61801
[email protected]
(Depending on life events, may be able to scan photos and send via e-mail.)
This is an interesting photographic documentation of a huge number of residences of both the obviously well to do and the not so well off, and places of business and production. Businesses range from manufacturing, stores, offices, and hotels, to agricultural support services. There are views of parts of towns, rural areas, and fairs. Also documented are community buildings, such as schools and churches. And there are a few portraits and short biographies which others have digitized and put online separately.
The following index includes only those photos of buildings associated with names of individuals, either in the caption or on readable signs on the buildings. I have included details of the photo captions in this index. These often include more information about location, such as street name, rural road, or an approximate location in a township. The captions frequently give either an exact year of erection for older buildings, or indicate that the building is known to be the oldest of its type in a particular place. Signs on buildings and additional caption details are not in the book�s own index.
There are many other views that are worth looking at in the original work in addition to the ones listed here. If you have an ancestor who, for instance, is shown in a census or directory as owning or working in a business, or who was a minister, you are likely to find a pertinent photo. even if it is not listed here. I also recommend looking through the book to get a feel for the area and era - what it would have looked like to residents in the 1890s as well as a number of years before and after. One of my personal favorites includes two unidentified women wearing long skirts and standing with their bicycles in front of residences on Norwood Ave., Norwalk.
Dating the photos. This work has the date of 1896 on its title page and 1895 on a decorative header with the first photos. Some photos, however, were taken earlier. A very few are dated at 1858, 1867, 1875, 1878, with a sketch of Norwalk in 1846. On April 8, 1890, a cyclone hit parts of Huron County. Some of the photos show the damage at specific locations, the reason, and the date of the event, though not the actual date the photo was taken. It is also clear from the presence or absence of leaves on trees and snow on the ground, that photos were taken in a variety of seasons.
Of the men�s names that are more than a surname, many only show first and middle initials. Some first names were abbreviated in the text and are indicated the way they appear in the original text. So Chas., Geo., Thos. and Wm. may appear, rather than Charles, George, Thomas and William. Titles, such as Dr., Hon., Miss, Mrs., Rev. & Col., are included. For those not aware, until recently, it was often the practice to indicate a married woman by her husband�s name or initials. So, for instance, there is a residence of Mrs. R. Boardman. It is likely that the R. refers to her husband�s first name, rather than hers. It�s interesting to see the significant number of homes shown as belonging to women, some of whom are indicated by what is clearly their own first names.
On occasion there are places which appear to be named for someone, as in �Hunt�s Corners� with no mention of who �Hunt� was. Clearly the name goes back a long time to an earlier resident. So I�ve included that surname and reference to the photo.
Many photos include people, sometimes with animals they clearly prized. Since it is the buildings that are the main subject, features of any people can be difficult to see in detail. Even so, sometimes with the use of a magnifying glass, one can usually tell the gender, adults vs. children, or work clothes, as in the case of people at a packing house. These latter, under magnification, are wearing what appears to be blood stained aprons. If you have other photos of families or individuals you may be able to compare and recognize individuals, as I was able to with the family of Freeman. Julia (Hopkins), and son Milton B. Clawson. There is, however, one of a dentist�s residence, with what appears to be the dentist and his horse and buggy, standing on the street, another relative closeup of four men who appear to be associated with the bank in the photo, a large group photo on the occasion of Martin Kellogg�s 100th birthday, and one of A. S. Morehead outside the Morehead Post Office and grocery store in Lyme Township. Notice other details as well, such as whether a building looks well maintained or whether built of brick or wood. Fences, plank sidewalks, and ramps from sidewalk to street level may also be in the photo.
Other clues can come from noticing the apparent age of trees to indicate whether a building is relatively newly built or older. A magnifying glass sometimes reveals other details, such as signs on stores that indicate the name of the proprietor or the type of commerce. For those signs with almost distinguishable lettering, a check of a county directory or town directory for the period may narrow down possible interpretations. To find these directories, look up and call area public libraries, historical societies, or the Ohio Genealogical Society in Mansfield, Ohio. They can be very helpful in narrowing down the period when an individual lived in an area and often what work they did.
Locations of hard to find towns and named crossroads. I recommend using the Delorme Ohio Atlas and Gazetteer, readily available in libraries, bookstores, and even sometimes truck stops and office supply stores of that state. These exist for each state and are the size of national road map atlases. They are detailed enough to show and name back roads and cross roads settlements, and they now show topography. This series is easy to spot because of the large red triangle across one corner with a state�s name. I�ve purchased them for states where I�m researching a lot of ancestors or where we travel frequently. If you want encouragement to explore back roads, these are a big help.
Huron County Historian, Henry Timman has posted a list of old place names and an outline map of Huron County showing township locations, at:
https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ohhuron/town2.html
He suggests using a county road or plat map book. Check with an area Chamber of Commerce for current ones which can be purchased, and with libaries and historical / genealogical societies for access to older versions as well.
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-Barrett�s Chapel - SR 60 at north line
-Boughtonville � Boughtonville Rd (Rt 103) & New State Road
-Chicago * � renamed Willard. SW Huron County
-Centerton � Norwich Township, Egypt & Thomas Roads
-Collins � Townsend Township, Collins & Townsend Center Rds.
-Cook�s / Cooke�s Corners � same place? Latter was somewhere in Ridgefield Twp.
-Delphi � Rt 224 & New State Rd, Ripley Township
-Edward�s Corners- not on DeLorme Ohio Atlas map
-Fitch�s Corners � a few references to homes in Lyme Twp, between Fitch�s & Hunt�s Corners, N. Monroeville or Monroeville. Fitch�s Corners not on modern maps. But these other references imply that it was located about Rt 20/18 & Sand Hill / Yingling Rd.
-Five Points � Bronson Twp. Not named on modern map, but likely the intersection of Old State Rd, Rt 13 & Town Line Rd., SE of Norwalk on township line between Bronson & Norwalk.
Golding�s Corners � not on modern maps. Indicated as on road between Fitchville & New London. So on Rt 162 west of New London. Ohio Gen Web list by Henry Timman puts it on SR 60 at west line.
-Hartland � Hartland Center Road & Court Road
-Havana � NE corner Norwich Township
-Hunt�s Corners � SE Lyme Twp, Sand Hill Rd & Rt 547
-Mackville � Henry Timman lists as same as Peru Hollow and still on map. But is not on DeLorme Ohio Atlas
-Morehead � Lyme Township. Not on Delorme Atlas or Henry Timman�s list
-Olena � US Rt 250 / SR 13 & Peru Olena Rd.
-Peru � Rt 61 & Snyder Road, S of Norwalk
-North Monroeville � Rt. 99 on Huron & Erie County line
-Standardsburg � Rt 99 & Hettle Rd., Ridgefield Twp, S of Monroeville
-Steuben � Greenfield Township, Intersection of Rts 162 & 598
-Strong�s Ridge � Rts 113 & 4, close to [or same as? �Historic Lyme Village�] Lyme Township
-Weaver�s Corners � Sherman Township, Rt 4 & Rt 547
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