John J. Halterman,
Methodist Minister
Compiled by Teresa
Martin Klaiber, 2020
John J. Halterman,
original possession of compiler.
MyHeritage colorization 2020
While my
great grandfather, S. S. Halderman, inferred, in several letters, that he knew
little of his family. As stated in an
article at this blog site one such letter written 15 March 1889 says:”
Sciotoville, Ohio March 15, 1889 Mrs. O A Barbe McLaughlin Mt Auburn, Cin., O
Dear Madam Yours of March 4th recived promptly and I did not answ immediately
was ...I tried to get accurate data but could get nothing very definite. Father
died while I was quite young and his books and papers were not preserved. He
had quite a library and many valuable papers. I know very little of my
ancestors. Trusting the enclosed may be of some value. I am very resp. Stephen
S. Halderman.”
John J. Halterman did leave the family with
some valuable items to follow the genealogy trail. The above picture is from a tintype, in black
& white that this compiler owns. It was among the pictures my mother gave
to me. My introduction to John J.
Halterman, left me with a first impression of his being rakish.
When the
Halderman/Feyler properties were sold in the 1970’s, there was an estate sale, in Portsmouth,
Ohio. I could not attend, because of
distance and toddlers, so when I made it home later that year, mother said that
the estate sale manager, Vernon Waggoner, also a family friend, had a few
things he salvaged from the trash for me.
Mother went on to say there were many unnamed pictures and papers that
were of no family value so they had disposed of them. She could not imagine anything of worth that
Waggoner had discovered. As a
genealogist the thought of any pictures or papers being tossed made me shutter.
Waggoner
appeared later in the day with a paper grocery bag in tow. I quickly opened it to find a very early
bible, with loose pages, torn pages, and no cover. The blessing was the title page with
copyright was in tact and the family pages were full. Mother meant well and was serious, when she
said that was not her family because it was spelled Halterman, not
Halderman. I think she was flustered
that I knew more about the early family than she, at that point. The 1847 Holy Bible was and is a cherished
jewel. It has since been professionally
recovered in leather and the pages professionally repaired. I proclaimed Vernon, my angel and could not
thank him enough.
The bible
includes the birth of John J. Halterman, 8 December 1816 as well as his death
20 April 1866. The marriage of J. J.
Halterman to Isabelle Kinnison (stating she was the daughter of William
Kinnison) 19 March 1835.
Later
documentation places his birth in Shenandoah County, Virginia and their
marriage in Pike County, Ohio. Shortly
after their marriage John J. Halterman is listed as an entryman with 35 acres
in what is Jackson County, Ohio. Their
first child Nancy Halterman (Brown Albin) was born 9 April 1836 and when she
dies states she was born “near” Beaver, Pike County. Their second child Elizabeth was born 14
January 1838.
In 1840 their
first son Martin Halterman was born 4 February.
John J. was appointed postmaster at Mountain Ridge, Jackson County which
is just outside of Beaver, Ohio on Beaver Pike, the same year. Martin died 31 July 1841 and is buried at
Mountain Ridge Cemetery, Scioto Township, Jackson County. Both dates were duly noted in the bible.
There are
numerous Common Plea entries for John J.
between 1842 and 1850 concerning debts in Jackson County. In April 1848, his father Daniel L. Halterman
granted John part of lot 4 township 7 range 19 containing 10 acres in the
northwest corner of the said lot with stipulations. “…to have and to hold…during his natural life
and is not to have the privilege of selling or conveying…” The transaction was for $1.00.[i]
After
Martin’s birth/death four more children would be born in Jackson County before
1850. The 1850 census for Jackson County
lists John J. Halterman as a laborer. There is no mention of Postmaster nor of
minister. In 1851 Sarah Lamb Fout made
an agreement with Halterman to quit claim Halterman the undivided half interest
in Levi Fout’s estate for a term of
twelve years. John J.’s sister, Rachel
Ann, named for their mother, had married Daniel Fout. I will leave you dangling on Lamb and Fout
connections for a future article.
John J.’s
mother Rachel died in October 1851 and they laid her to rest beside her husband,
Daniel who had died in 1849. Tragedy
struck John J. Halterman’s family again, when the couple’s sixth child Daniel
Ripley Halterman, born 30 March 1846 died 25 Oct 1852, when only six years old
and again both dates are noted in the family bible.
By 1852 the
family is in Ross County, near Chillicothe where their youngest son Stephen
Simpson Halterman was born.
Among the
tattered material received from the estate was a tiny booklet with handwritten
title, A Matrimonial Register by Rev. J. Halterman. In June 1980 I extracted and shared this
short list with the Pike County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society which they
published in their newsletter.[ii] But it is worth repeating to a larger
audience. All spelling is copied as
written on the original. The writing is
extremely poor.
Henry Campbelle to Meriah L Lowry both of Ross Co Ohio Oct 11 1855 (filed Ross County M. Register says 1854)
Samuel Diggens - Martha Vanskze of Ross Co Ohio Jan 21, 1855 (filed Ross County M Register Index says her maiden VanScoy)
Robert Clark to July Anne Miller both of Ross Co Mar 18 1855
William Kight to Ester Melsa Miner both of Pike Co Feb 17 1856
Amos Watts to Ellen Milisa Cothern both of Pike County Ohio Feb 17 1856 (Pike Co., M. Register gives her name as Ellen Malissa Cochran)
Martin Curent to Semantha Buzly(terribly hard to read) both of Pike County Ohio Mar 13, 1856
In all the
entries made in Ross and Pike County marriage books his signature is simply J.
Halterman, minister.
The last
marriage entry in the matrimonial register is March 13, 1856. The month prior to the entry a partition
suite of father Daniel Halterman was finalized in Jackson County.
In January
1858 John and wife Isabel along with her brother George Kinnison sold premises
described as Huntington Township, Ross county beginning at a stone in the
center of the Columbus and Portsmouth Turnpike.[iii]
Today that is Route 23 and we travel it more than several times a year.
Which brings
me to a serendipity. Many genealogists
share their serendipity experiences. We
were driving thru Chillicothe and saw a small group of vendors aka “flea
market.” Nothing unusual about that but we really needed to be on our way when
I wanted to turn around. Now we have a
rule in the car about not back tracking, but this time I urged the turn
around. I felt drawn to a table full of
tools and odd items. I made a beeline
past several booths, stopping at that table. I confess I have always liked a nice walking
stick, and have done some woodcarving myself, so my hand reached for an old
burl handle stick that had blackened with age.
I showed it to hubby and we both commented on its age and how it must
have a story to tell, as I started
putting it back on the table. Something
stopped me and I looked a little closer.
A tiny brass plaque simply says “Rev. J. H.” We are in Chillicothe, on the “modernized”
Columbus and Portsmouth Turnpike and I am holding my great, great grandfather’s
walking stick. Try to convince me
otherwise!
By 1860 the
family had moved to Miami County, Ohio. My great grandfather is just seven years old
when they made this move. Yet again
there is no mention of occupation of minister. The census taker simply notes he
is a farmer. This was a head scratching genealogy discovery, because I had
already proven he died and was buried in Adams County, Ohio. But for the sake of chronology will place
this in proper order. In May of 1860,
daughter Mary married Rockwell Barde and the census shows them residing side by
side. Besides the Barde’s, daughter
Elizabeth had married 27 Dec 1857, in Ross County George Kinnison (s/o David
Kinnison and Elizabeth Cutlip). Thus a twisted tree made this George Kinnison
Isabel’s son-in-law and first cousin.
Six short
years later, John J. Halterman died in Locust Grove, Franklin Township, Adams
County, Ohio at the age of fifty, 20 April 1866. I had several snap shots of his tombstone
with my great aunt Ruhama Halderman Anderson standing beside it, complete with
notations on the back.
Ruhama Halderman
Anderson, 1931, Locust Grove, Cemetery, Adams County, Ohio
Another
picture taken on the same trip is the stone of John W. Bard who died 4 March
1865 age 8 months and 14 days. This is
the grandchild of John J. Halterman.
We travelled
to Locust Grove, with a stop at Serpents Mound on a cloudless, sky blue day in
1980. The over-all photo I took included
the tree in the background from the 1931 pictures.
Locust Grove Cem.[iv]
Aka Palestine Cemetery, Adams County,
Ohio with Halterman & Bard stones forefront.
With
every new piece in the puzzle, another develops. Why is this tiny baby and grandfather buried
in the cemetery so far from Miami County, Ohio?
The answer
would not surface for another 13 years when this compiler’s great grandfather
also visited the cemetery in 1879. An article of the visit was posted in the Portsmouth
Daily Times. A belated obituary of
sorts:
“Dr SS Halderman, of Sciotoville, visited Palestine Cemetery, Locust Grove, Adams County, on Decoration Day with the intention of disinterring the remains of his father and removing them to the Wheelersburg Cemetery but finding that the cemetery was so well cared for there he abandoned the idea at the request of friends of the deceased in that section. No notice of the death of Rev John J Halderman having ever before appeared in print, we may add that he was born in Beaver county PA[v]., in 1816 and at a tender age removed with his parents to Jackson county, who were early settlers of the county… owning to failing health, he removed to Adams county in 1864 thinking the chalbeate[vi] waters of that section would restore his health. He died on the 20th of April 1866. He was a minister of the Protestant Methodist Church, and this intelligence of his death, although published 13 years after his demise will be learned for the first time by his many friends in Miami and Jackson counties.”
The History of Adams County, Ohio….
by Nelson Wiley Evans and Emmons B. Stivers goes into detail concerning the
chalybeate waters and the slate on South Fork of the county with cliffs 100
feet in height. The slate is blended
with copperas and alum.
But our story does not end with John J. Halterman. Wife Isabella (Isabel) remarried 7 April 1870
in Shelby County, Ohio to Eli Baldwin.
This was a 2nd marriage for both and it appears the
descendants do not cite this 2nd marriage on the Baldwin side any
more than Stephen Simpson Halderman accepted the marriage to his mother.
Baldwin died in Shelby county 29 March 1889.
Stephen brought his mother Isabella Kinnison Halterman back to
Sciotoville, Ohio. She died in Sciotoville six months later. The family buried
her in Stockdale cemetery, Little California, aka Stockdale, Pike County, Ohio.
Isabel’s obituary makes no mention of a 2nd
marriage. It is glued on the inner page of the bible I so gratefully received
so many years ago"Death of Mrs. Halderman. Mrs. Isabel Halderman aged
mother of Dr. Halderman died at her home in Sciotoville, Thursday
afternoon....77 years old Sept 19 1889...sick since October 10 with senile
gastric catarrh, resulting in nervous prostration heart failure...six children
survive, SS of Sciotoville, Mrs. Stephen Brown of California, Ohio, Mrs. Bard
of Piqua, Mrs. Kinnison of Newton, Ohio, George E. of New Hampshire, Ohio,
William W. of Wabash, Ohio. Funeral will be at California, Pike County, Ohio
Sunday 11 o'clock. Rev S. B. Johnson officiating" (in handwriting on edge
of clipping "Died Nov 7, 1889")
[i]
Oh, Jackson deed book J p 285/286
[ii]
Oh, Pike Co., Chapter OGS, Newsletter Vol VI, No. 2
[iii]
Oh, Ross,deed book 60 p 405
[iv] The cemetery is located on the southwest corner of the
intersection of Ohio State Route 41 and Cemetery road (County road 16) and Frog
Hollow Road (Township Road 216).
[v]
Stephen S. Halterman apparently told everyone he was from Beaver, PA when in
fact the family was from Beaver, Ohio.
It is assumed because he was so young when he left home and did not know
a lot about his background.
[vi]
Chalybeate waters are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron.
