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Henry Griffin WASHBURN b. 5/31/1813, NY, to Ohio when 17 ~1830, d.9/22/1886 and his wife Anna Maria VAN BENSCHOTEN b. 8/23/1823, m. 2/20/1842, Pine, Ohio, d. 3/30/1912
bio below pictures
Pictures belong to Beth Saurer
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Walter
WASHBURN (b. 1/4/1790, d. 5/21/1865) m. 1st Nellie (Penelope) VAN BENSCHOTEN
(b. 12/29/1786, d. 2/18/1828) Together they had six children, the second
oldest was their oldest son, Henry Griffin WASHBURN.
Henry moved to Huron County, Ohio from New
York when he was 17 years old in about 1830 and built the Washburn
homestead. His parents (Walter WASHBURN 1790-1865 and step-mother Maria
Polly HENDRICKSON-VAN BENSCHOTEN 1799-1852) followed him to Huron County
three years later in about 1833. Henry and Anna's homestead
totaled over 700 acres. They raised four children in the farmhouse: Daniel
Smith WASHBURN (b. 4-8-1843, d. 4-18-1920) m. 1-23-1867 Sarah Jane MACOMBER
(b. 5-30-1845, d. 1-16-1916) Minerva WASHBURN (b. 3-13-1845, d. 9-30-1863)
Alice E. WASHBURN (b. 12-14-1849, d. 1-20-1920) m. 7-10-1878 William E.
GASKIN (b. 11-20-1850, d. 1-19-1915) Jay WASHBURN (b. 4-14-1852
Greenwich Twp., Huron County, d. 5-9-1922 Greenwich Twp., Huron County)
m. 6-20-1873 Mary E. BRADY (b. 7-19-1852, d. 1-4-1934)
Daniel
Washburn and family became the owners of a farmhouse about half-a-mile
from the one pictured and just around the corner of Greenwich Milan Townline
Road and Boughtonville Road (NOTE: That homestead is pictured in a historical
picture book of Huron County!). That farmhouse was built in 1843, eight
years before the one pictured here. Daniel was not only a farmer but he
was also Greenwich's First National Bank's president for fourteen years.
The last WASHBURN to live at Daniel's homestead was Clark WASHBURN, Daniel's
Grandson (there seems to have been someone nicknamed "Fred" WASHBURN who
had lived there, perhaps earlier than Clark). Apparently there was some
determination that Clark had a "life lease" of the homestead. Another family
bought the approximately 143 acre plot after the issue of the life lease
was settled up, and they continue to reside there today.
Jay and family became the owners of the farmhouse
pictured. Jay and Mary raised three children on the homestead: Howard
WASHBURN (b. 8-11-1879, d. ?) (m. Bertha SUTLIFF, b. 2-14-1876, d.
?) Myrtle "Myrtie" WASHBURN (b. 12-21-1884, d. ?) Myrtie was a premature
baby which never developed into an average adulthood. She stood about four
feet tall and was called "crippled" and "invalid" by those whom I interviewed.
One thought she had polio. She was hidden from guests to the farmhouse
and was the only one who had a bedroom downstairs, presumably because she
couldn't get up and down the stairs well enough. A cousin said that Myrtie
was so small when she was born that she fit in a shoe box and they had
to keep her in the shoe box on the open wood-burning oven door to keep
her warm during the winter months surrounding her birth. Myrtie never married.
In her adulthood she lived with her brother Howard. Etta Lucille WASHBURN
(b. 10-6-1895 Huron County, d. 2-16-1919 Greenwich Twp., Huron County at
age 23) (m. 10-23-1913 Archie Paul BLISS, b. 9-16-1892 Cleveland, Cuyahoga
County, d. 1977 New London, Huron County) According to Etta's death certificate,
she was attended by her doctor from 2/7 to 2/16. The certificate reads
"Broncho Pneumonia (added April 25, 1919) was primary cause of death".
She is buried at the Edwards Grove cemetary. Etta had two daughters before
she died: Mary Arbella BLISS (b. 4-21-1915, d. ~1979) m. 7-21-1941 Cloyd
Martin SCOTT (b. 3-23-1917) (4 children) Bernice May BLISS (b. 5-23-1916
Greenwich, Huron County, d. 2-4-1985 Dalton, Wayne County) m. 10-31-1939
Elmer Ray SAURER (b. 10-2-1907, d. 12-7-1992 Dalton, Wayne County) Bernice
and Elmer had one child, Harold, and two Grandchildren, Elizabeth
and Teresa. (I am the older of these two).
After Jay passed away from cancer of the gall duct,
his wife Mary moved out of the big house and into the smaller house so
that Howard could move into the big house (pictured here). Howard
and his family lived on the over 200 acre Homestead. Howard and Bertha
raised four children on the homestead: Walter WASHBURN (b. 9-18-1906, d.
9-16-1951) m. 5-29-1929 Ruth R. LEPARD (b. 6-8-1908) (two children) Grace
Lucile WASHBURN (b. 4-20-1909, d. ?) m. 12-29-1929 Lynn MORROW (b. 5-21-1905)
(three children) Lincoln WASHBURN (b. 7-31-1911, d. ?) m. 12-12-1929 Ellen
MILLER (b. 2-24-1912) (five children) Alvin WASHBURN (b. 11-16-1914, d.
1-19-1989) m. 6-28-1947 Evelyn SPRING (b. 8-26-1913) (three children)