After concluding the interview with Mom (see An Interview with My Mother), she had another surprise — a cemetery deed from her father, Harley H. Deeter. The real surprise was not just the deed, but a note attached to the deed (but that comes later in this post).
DEED FOR THE CEMETERY LOT
FROM The City of Lancaster, Ohio
TO Harley H. Deeter
STATE OF OHIO Fairfield County, SS Presented for Record on the 27th
day of Mar at 2 o’clock PM. Recorded Mar 27 1906 In Cemetery Deed Book No. 1
Page 391
Brooks E Shell Clerk of Council
STATE OF OHIO, Fairfield County
BE IT REMEMBERED that on this 29 day of March 1906
personally appeared before me, the undersigned, notary public within and for said
county, the said LH Russell Mayor, and Brooks E Shell
Clerk of Council of the City of Lancaster, Ohio, and acknowledged the signing and
sealing of the foregoing deed to be their voluntary act and deed, as such Mayor and Clerk for the uses and purposes therein mentioned.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and official seal the day and year aforesaid. Hewwyn Koop (??) Notary Public, Fairfield County, Ohio
Deed for Cemetery Lot
Know all Men by these Presents
That the City of Lancaster, Ohio, for and in consideration of the sum of
Twenty and 75/00 Dollars to it paid, as evidenced by a receipt there-
for, from the Board of Public Service to Harley H Deeter
this day by him produced to the undersigned, Mayor and Clerk of the Council of said
city, has sold, and by these presents does grant, bargain, sell and convey to the said
Harley H Deeter and his heirs
the following lot of ground, to-wit: The West half of Lot No. 133 in
Section C fronting on 5th Ave as mentioned and described on
the plat of the FOREST ROSE CEMETERY, on file in the office of the Board of Public
Service, to have and to hold the same to the use of the said Harley H Deeter
and his heirs, for the purpose of burial only,
subject to the Cemetery laws of this State, the ordinances of said city, and the rules and
regulations prescribed by the said Board of Public Service now or hereafter enacted or
adopted, and applicable to said Cemetery.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, the said City of Lancaster, Ohio, has caused
its name and corporate seal to be set hereunto by Lefford H Persall Mayor,
and Brooks E Shell, Clerk of Council of said city, hereunto duly
authorized.
The City of Lancaster, Ohio, by:
Lefford H Persall Mayor
and Brooks E Shell Clerk of Council.
signed, sealed, acknowledged and executed in
presence of us:
Clyde Albin
Hewwyn Koop (??)
______________________
Note: I was unable to determine the actual spelling of the Mayor’s surname (Russell or Persall or Persell). The full name of the witness and notary is only a guess. I could not decipher it.
______________________
As mentioned above, the real surprise came as Mom and I looked at the note that was stapled to the deed.
To begin, I must admit that my scanning technique with my new VuPoint “Magic Wand” leaves something to be desired. (I missed the top line of the note.)
The inscriptions in darker ink at the bottom of the note are in my sister’s handwriting. She and Mom visited Forest Rose Cemetery a number of years ago. They were not able to find additional information about who was buried in the area referred to in the deed. They did, however, walk the cemetery and noted other family names on tombstones:
Elizabeth Deeter 1893-1913 and Ora V. Deeter 1887-1908 were a brother and sister to Harley H. Deeter (Mom’s Dad). The other name (Kneppers) were Harley H. Deeter’s mother’s side of the family:
Iva Knepper 1885-1950
Cyrus “ 1878-1941
Dad Ray “ 1918-1968
Ruth Knepper Hilliard 1907-1976
The real gem, however, was to be found in the two names written in faint red pencil at the top of the note: Robert E. Deeter (not scanned) and Mrs. Harley H. Deeter. Robert was a child of Harley H. & Mable Deeter. He was born in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1921 and lived only three days. He was buried at Forest Rose Cemetery. Mabel (Smith) Deeter, Mrs. Harley H. Deeter, died in 1937 and was buried in Brunstetter Cemetery, Austintown, Ohio.
All of a sudden it dawn on both Mom and me that the Mrs. Harley H. Deeter referred to in the note must be Harley’s first wife. All that Mom knows of her was that she died after only about 3 years of marriage. The question I should have asked when I first looked over the cemetery deed was: Why did Harley H. Deeter purchase a cemetery deed in 1906? He and Mabel weren’t married until 1908. Aha, 1906 must be when his first wife died! That insight is the first clue I have had about Harley’s first wife. I still don’t know her name but now I have some idea about where to look – death records (probably in Dayton, Ohio, in March of 1906); marriage records (probably in Dayton, Ohio, 1901-1904); city directories for Dayton, Ohio (1902-1906); burial records for Forest Rose Cemetery; … Looks like a research trip to Dayton and Lancaster, Ohio, is in my future.