John J. Halterman, Methodist Minister

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 2^nd marriage for both and it appears the descendants do not cite this 2^nd 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 2^nd 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")

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[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.

Wagon Maker Heinrich Gorath

By Teresa Martin Klaiber, 2020

My mother remembered German spoken in the house, as a child.  Mary Helen Feyler Martin was born in 1921.  She was 18 when her grandmother Anna Katherine Gorath Halderman died in Portsmouth, Scioto County, Ohio 19 June 1939.

The Gorath’s left a small treasure trove of official documents to help tell their immigration story.  Anna’s father Heinrich (Henry) Gorath was born 22 June 1829[i] [ii] in Wusting, Holle, Osterburg (Oldenburg) Germany, the son of Johann Heinrich Gorath and Anna Elizabeth Kroog.  His baptism is recorded in the Holle kirchlich and when fourteen he was confirmed in the same church.

His parents dutifully had him vaccinated for smallpox the 24^th August 1830[iii], at one year of age. Smallpox vaccine had been established for decades.  By the 1830’s towns in Germany had sanitary police.  Schoolmasters, master craftsmen, servants and apprentices were requested to only accept vaccinated persons.[iv]

At the age of 18 Heinrich began keeping a small booklet, or day book, dated Oldenburg 1847.  His designs for sleds and wagons are a joy to look at.

Heinrich Gorath in possession of compiler 2020

Heinrich Gorath served in the 3^rd Battalion where he asked permission to marry in October 1853.  Four months later he received a permission after learning the trade right, from the Kirschpiel, to master the trade of wagon maker.

With his life in order, Heinrich married Anna Marie Holman in the Kirschlich Oldenburg 19^th April 1854.  He duly recorded a simple one line note in the back of his day book about his marriage.  Flip the page and the birth of baby Anna is carefully noted as 3 April 1855.  About midway in the book at a bottom of a page is the last date – he simply wrote “Marie Gorath Oberhausen 1857”.

Oberhausen translates to “upper house” and I have wondered if Heinrich was trying to get cabin passage for them when the family migrated to America.  During the early 1850’s  Germany was having an industrial boom but what comes up comes down and the bubble went bust in 1857 with a financial crash. 

His last official act in April 1857 Heinrich was to receive an honorable discharge from six years of military service.   The discharge gives a wonderful description of Gorath.  He was 6 ½ feet tall, his eybrows dark, a high forehead, grey eyes, ordinary mouth and nose, uneven teeth, oval chin, a round face, healthy and a scar on his left hand thumb.

Now with small baby Anna Katherine, and his wife’s widowed mother, Anna Catherine Neumann Holman, they paid passage on the barke Rastede.  There were 226 passengers along with the Captain H. A. Kahle.   A barke is a sailing vessel with three or more masts.  The barke may have been named for the village Rastede which is 12 kilometers north of Oldenburg.  It was built in 1852 by Oltmann’s at a town, near Bremen named Brake.  It was said to have two forward square-rigged masts and a rear mast rigged fore-and-aft.[v]

The family embarked at Bremen.  Among the passengers were eight children under the age of eight which would have included two year old Anna.  The Gorath’s did not pay for cabin passage and are listed as between deck, passengers 219-222 on the manifest whish was submitted by the captain upon their arrive in New York.[vi] The New York Times reported the barke was cleared on July 3^rd.  

When the couple celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary, Gorath gave an account of their voyage. The Wellston Telegram  wrote on 26 April 1904:

 “…Mr. Gorath’s account of their voyage would frighten the twentieth century traveler. They were seven weeks coming across, taking passage on a sailing vessel. At one time when almost in port they were blown out to sea and three weeks passed before they sighted land again. They came direct to Portsmouth and from there to Jackson county. Later they settled at Berlin, where for thirty years Mr. Gorath has been the village wagonmaker…”

Seven weeks between decks with a toddler and elder.  Yet today we complain about cramped seats on jets that cross the world.  They had a destination.  They came directly to southern Ohio because Heinrich Gorath’s, brother-in-law, Hermann Heinrich Hollman had already established themselves.  Hermann Holman and Anna Marie Holman Gorath were children of Johan Heinrich Hollman (1795-1857) and Anna Catherine Neumann Hollman who travelled to America with the Gorath family. Hermann Henry Hollman/Holman was a shoemaker born in Wusting, who with wife, Isabella Katherine Mittendorf, had settled at Pine Creek, Bloom Township, Scioto County, Ohio.

Scioto and Jackson county are noted for furnaces.  Jackson county was not lacking in work and wagons were needed to haul coal, ore and fire clay.  There was plenty of work for Gorath.   At least two Bituminous furnaces are listed in Berlin Cross Roads.

The family settled at Berlin Cross Roads.  Heinrich dutifully registered for the Civil War draft. On July 17, 1863,  John Hunt Morgan was on the march with Ross county militiamen chasing them.  Two Confederate scouts sent into Berlin Cross Roads were shot.  By noon it was over.   It did not deter Heinrich Gorath in October he filed his naturalization in Scioto County.[vii]

Mother-in-law Anna Catherein Neumann Hollman died in March 1867 and was laid to rest at Monroe Furnace, Jackson County, Ohio. By the 1870’s Heinrich/Henry Gorath is well established with his shop in Berlin Cross Roads.  Daughter Anna Katherine Gorath married Dr. Stephen Simpson Halderman 28 August 1873 at Berlin Cross Road, Milton Township, Jackson County, Ohio. By 1875 Gorath is listed as a manufacturer of all kinds of carriages and wagons, with special attention given to repairing.[viii] A simple sign on the shop reads “H. Gorath Wagon Maker.”[ix]

The family lived happily at Berlin Cross Roads until after the death of Anna Marie Holman Gorath, 16 February 1908.  She was buried in South Webster Cemetery.  In March the Portsmouth papers report Henrich Gorath is ill and now residing with his son (in-law) S. S. Halderman at 826 Gay Street, Portsmouth, Ohio.  “venerable Mr. Henry Gorath…continues ill in bed …gaining ..in strength …His old home in Berlin, made desolate by the death of his life partner, the late Mrs. Gorath, has been broken up, and the household goods sold-excepting articles the family desired to keep, and among which is some quaint furniture from the native place of the Gorath’s Germany.”[x]

My 2^nd great grandfather died 11 March 1909 in the home where my grandmother and mother were born, where family passed from this life, and many patients were tenderly treated.   “Venerable Citizen Answers Last Call…contracted a severe attack of the grip, which gradually superinduced serious complications…passed away peacefully at the home of Dr. and Mrs. S. S. Halderman where he was tenderly cared for…”[xi]

I cried when the beautiful brick home at 826 Gay Street had to be torn down in the 1970’s. The bricks were crumbling and could not be saved.  But the whisper of so many voices in that house still linger.  I am 70 now and my mother gone.  I don’t want to be the last to tell the stories. 

826 Gay Street, Halderman Home demolished, late 1970’s.  Still Standing can be seen the outline of attached dental office between Halderman and Feyler Home. Shortly after the Feyler Home was also demolished.  Today both properties are parking lot.  But the carriage house still remains.  Carriages that were repaired and possibly even built by Heinrich Gorath.

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[iii] Vaccination Certificate, James & Teresa Martin Klaiber Family Artifact Collection; privately held by Teresa Martin Klaiber, [address for private use], Rush, KY 41168. Carried on ship to America - original. From Stephen Halderman Home, Gay St., Portsmouth, OH to Mary Helen Feyler Martin to Teresa Martin Klaiber.[iv] The History of Smallpox Vaccination in Germany: A First Step in the Medicalization of the General Public. Journal of Contemporary History Vol 20 #4 Oct 1985 p 617-635[v] Breener & Bonne, The Steffen, Brandt and Euler family histories…p. 138. 1999.
[vi] New York Passenger Lists 1820-1897, microfilm publication M237 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives, ), 175, Arranged by date; Rastede, 1 July 1857, .[vii] 1863 Oct 8 NATURALIZATION: Scioto Co Oh FC Searl Judge
"...of Oldenburgh...emig from Bremen on 4 May 1857 DI from Jackson
Co Ohio 30 Jul 1860 ae 31. Jnl 2 208 {NAT PAPERS OF SCIOTO CO Ohio,
Portsmouth Public Library, Gallia St., Portsmouth} and original document possession of compiler
Gorath notebook item 32 "...of Oldenburgh...emig from Bremen on 4 May 1857 DI from Jackson
Co Ohio 30 Jul 1860 ae 31. Jnl 2 208 {NAT PAPERS OF SCIOTO CO Ohio,
Portsmouth Public Library, Gallia St., Portsmouth} and original document possession of compiler
Gorath notebook item 32
"...of Oldenburgh...emig from Bremen on 4 May 1857 DI from Jackson
Co Ohio 30 Jul 1860 ae 31. Jnl 2 208 {NAT PAPERS OF SCIOTO CO Ohio,
Portsmouth Public Library, Gallia St., Portsmouth} and original document possession of compiler
Gorath notebook item 32
"...of Oldenburgh...emig from Bremen on 4 May 1857 DI from Jackson
Co Ohio 30 Jul 1860 ae 31. Jnl 2 208 {NAT PAPERS OF SCIOTO CO Ohio,
Portsmouth Public Library, Gallia St., Portsmouth} and original document possession of compiler
Gorath notebook item 32
"...of Oldenburgh...emig from Bremen on 4 May 1857 DI from Jackson
Co Ohio 30 Jul 1860 ae 31. Jnl 2 208 {NAT PAPERS OF SCIOTO CO Ohio,
Portsmouth Public Library, Gallia St., Portsmouth} and original document possession of compiler
Gorath notebook item 32
"...of Oldenburgh...emig from Bremen on 4 May 1857 DI from Jackson
Co Ohio 30 Jul 1860 ae 31. Jnl 2 208 {NAT PAPERS OF SCIOTO CO Ohio,
Portsmouth Public Library, Gallia St., Portsmouth} and original document possession of compiler
Gorath notebook item 32
"...of Oldenburgh...emig from Bremen on 4 May 1857 DI from Jackson
Co Ohio 30 Jul 1860 ae 31. Jnl 2 208 {NAT PAPERS OF SCIOTO CO Ohio,
Portsmouth Public Library, Gallia St., Portsmouth} and original document possession of compiler
Gorath notebook item 32
[viii] D. J. Lake, Atlas of Jackson County, Ohio (Philadelphia, PA: Titus Simmons & Titus, n.d.), Berlin Business Directory.[ix] Berlin Xrd, OH, original photograph possession of compiler. 2020
[x] Portsmouth Daily Times 7 Mar 1908
[xi] The Daily Blade Mar 1909

[i] Gorath Auszug [Extracts] Kirchengemeinde kirchlich Oldenburg State Archives, privately held by Teresa Martin Klaiber, [address for private use]; Holle Page 109 Best 250-37 Bd. 2; , Evangelical Lutheran Church, Oldernburg, Germany
[ii] Birth Certificate, James & Teresa Martin Klaiber Family Artifact Collection; privately held by Teresa Martin Klaiber, [address for private use], Rush, KY 41168. Original hand written brought on ship from Germany. From Halderman Home, Gay Street, Portsmouth, Oh to Mary Helen Feyler Martin to Teresa Martin Klaiber.

There Is A Doctor in the House

By Teresa Martin Klaiber Feb. 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znTVi3CDouY – then and now!

Halderman home left, Feyler Home right, Carriage House behind, 9^th & Gay, Portsmouth, OH

All my life I have been surrounded by medical professionals.  My father was a veterinarian. A maternal great granduncle was a veterinarian in Europe before WW I. Don’t forget to spay and neuter. 

My maternal grandfather was a dental surgeon who promptly diagnosed, at my birth, that my mouth was to small, my teeth would be crowded and I would need braces. He was spot on.  I wonder if that is why I always have had such a booming voice, to compensate for the small mouth.  There should be a joke somewhere in that but I digress. 

My great uncle was a physician, to please his father, who practiced a few years, stated medicine was bunk, and stopped practice to enjoy homegrown philosophy, collecting clocks, books, cats and stamps.  But he is a story for another time.  He was not the only medical person to drill into me that every medicine you take will have cause and effect.  Try to stay away from them. 

Henri Halderman doing home visits 1910, Powhatan Point, Ohio

In our family, my great grandfather, Stephen Simpson Halderman, was believed legendary. He was a successful physician and surgeon, who had a wonderful practice, built a hospital, and was good at real estate. He had been deceased twenty years when I was born but his presence was felt by the family. Maybe my thinking he had a bigger than life personality comes from my hauling around the huge ornate framed portraits of him and his wife.  I think I inherited them simply because I had the wall space. 

Stephen Simpson Halderman

He was also written up in several 1880’s history books with vanity biography’s included.  Those were not always correct and several errors appear in his.  S. S. Halderman was born Stephen Simpson Halterman 31 January 1852.  The family bible, his passport and letters all say he was born at Chillicothe in Ross County, Ohio.  But those vanity biographies stated he was born in Beaver, Pennsylvania and moved to Jackson County, Ohio.  It would take genealogy sleuthing to unravel the error and realize that the family was from adjoining Beaver, Pike County, Ohio; not Pennsylvania.[i]

Stephen Simpson Halterman/Halderman

His parents John J. Halterman, a circuit riding minister and farmer, resided in Scioto Township, Jackson County prior to Stephen’s birth.  He was the youngest of eight children.  One of his brother’s Daniel Ripley Halterman died in October that same year S. S. was born.

By the time Stephen was ten, the family had moved to Miami County.  His father died in 1866[ii] when Stephen Simpson Halderman was only fourteen.  His mother remarried in 1870 in Shelby County, Ohio. Stephen went back to Pike County, Ohio to reside with an older sister, Nancy Halterman Brown.  The 1870 census states S. S. is a carpenter and joiner, now seventeen.  Through the years the family knew that his older sisters had been close and helped to raise him.  Carpentry may have been a way to earn money for his medical education.

Stephen Simpson Halderman a young man.

The family never discussed or appears to have known that mother Isabella had remarried.[iii]  Over the years Stephen Simpson Halderman set moral proprieties that his growing family must follow.  When Isabella died in 1889 she was buried in Pike County as Mrs. Isabel Halderman. 

Stephen married Anna Katherine Gorath at Berlin Cross Roads, Milton Township, Jackson county, Ohio 28 August 1873.  He managed to put himself thru the Medical College of Ohio and graduate in March 1875, with a wife and tiny daughter Ruhama May Halderman who was born in May 1874 at Berlin Cross Roads.  By the time they married Stephen is consistently spelling his name Halderman.

Stephen Simpson Halderman in top hat with school mate Dr. Robinson at Medical School of Ohio, Cincinnati, Ohio

Halderman set up his first medical practice in Sciotoville, Scioto County. Those first few years were colorful.   He purchased property and Arson struck three members of the Pension Examination Board of which he had become a member, in 1886.  When interviewed  he stated “…he did not lose any sleep in keeping a vigilant watch…the board aimed to impartially discharge the duties of the office and report according to the nature of the disease of the applicant.”[iv]  By then the Halderman’s were proud parents of Ruhama, Henri Gorath and Laura Halderman.

At the age of 33, a no nonsense, doctor removed to Portsmouth, Ohio where his family and practice could grow.[v]  The Halderman’s purchased a brick two story home, with an amazing curved staircase on the corner of 9^th and Gay[vi] where their youngest daughter Katherine Marie Halderman was born, in 1892, in the upstairs room overlooking City Park, later named Tracy Park.  The Portsmouth Daily Times reported:

“Dr. S.S. Halderman is the happiest man in town. He is so happy he can't talk over the telephone for laughing. Somebody brought a girl baby to his house last Thursday, and now he acts just as if the thing never happened to anyone before. It has been thirteen years since the like occurred in Doc's family - a long time between children, one would imagine. That is what makes him so happy. He rang the curtain down thirteen years ago and supposed the show was over.”

As his practice grew, so did articles in the local Portsmouth, Ohio newspapers.  Papers of the era were sometimes dramatic but one particular article shows, again his love and care of people. 1892 July 16 Portsmouth Times Nellie Purtle a girl of 14 took an overdose of laudanum Thurs morn because her mother       scolded her for hanging over the gate so late with her fellow.  Dr. SS Halderman administered an emetic and gentle Nellie was rescued from a sad end. 

Portsmouth, Ohio was a hub for the Scioto Division Norfolk and Western Railroad, and short lines. In 2003 this compiler published Scioto Division Norfolk & Western Railroad Life and Limb 1895-1928.  Halderman was the Scioto Division surgeon and kept detailed records of the many maimed, wounded and healing success’s which I hope have helped others on their own genealogy journey.   

By 1902 S. S. Halderman needed to move his family practice out of his home.   Stephen Simpson Halderman and Joseph S. Rardin purchased property at 44 East Ninth Street, Portsmouth, Ohio.  The property faced Tracy Park.    They converted the existing building into Park hospital.  Rardin and Halderman along with other area physicians saw a need for seriously ill and injured people to receive proper care that they could not receive in their own home or at a boarding house. 

Park Hospital, Portsmouth, Ohio

Stephen Halderman’s son, Henri Gorath Halderman was house physician. A total of twelve patients could be treated at any given time. Park Hospital included an operating room six private rooms and a ward.  It had a reception room, nurses’ quarters and dining room. The laundry was in a separate building

Patient records were carefully handwritten in a 8 ½ x 14" lined ledger maintained by Dr. Stephen Simpson Halderman.  Park Hospital records from November 1903 through December 23, 1908  were carefully preserved by his granddaughter Mary Helen Feyler Martin who in turn has shared them with daughter and compiler Teresa Lynn Martin Klaiber.  The records have been transcribed for my blog readers in six entries posted in 2018 at this site.

 Stephen Simpson Halderman loved to travel.  His oldest daughter Ruhama married  Eugene Graham Anderson in 1897.  The Anderson brothers were well known for their mercantile business both in Portsmouth and Huntington, West Virginia.  Ruhama and Eugene moved to the state of Washington.  Halderman kept a tight watch over his family and in 1909 travelled to Saskatchewan and King County, Washington.  When he returned he wrote about his western trip for the Portsmouth Daily Times.[vii]

Anderson Brothers, Portsmouth Ohio Postcard

He was politically active in the Democratic party donating a whopping $1.00 to the election of Woodrow Wilson as president and Thomas R. Marshall for vice-president. His family attended the Episcopal Church where he was a vestryman.  When Katherine married and the military shipped them to Honolulu, S. S. was determined to meet his new granddaughter.  They travelled to San Francisco and took the S. S. Sachem in December to meet baby Betty Lee Feyler born there in October.

In January 1920 he sat down to write his son and report on the family:

“Dear son, rcd our mail letter and razor strop now I have 2 bought one in Frisco. The folks have a nice house and seem to enjoy … Howard works from 8 to 12 as is in the office then comes to lunch returns to the office at one and is usually through at 3. It is wonderful how --- you -- sleep ...the weather is warm but then is always a breeze that one does not feel the heat except in the direct rays of the sun. Yesterday about 4 pm I looked at the thermometer mercury stood at 72 degrees f. We sleep under blankets ..with the doors open - out on to the porch. Betty has a crib on wheels on the upper porch - screened and less than ---up her bare feet and legs....Tell Ada May that the first thing Betty Lee tried to play with was the rattle she sent. Now about the --- tax report. I talked with ... definitely collect ...advised me I will write B. E. Williams Columbus O and tell him that my income will be mostly the same as last year. Send a ck for about half the amount and tell him that I will send a complete report in April. You will receive blanks for the purpose. Keep them carefully and also keep a -- book for ---I have not advanced any suggestions but only listened and both Howard and Katherine have their faces set towards the states and civil life. This post is the finest of the few I have even seen. Large area several miles long - perfectly saved roads and ...side walks Everything in circles for the officers quarters and in squares of the privates. Fine con...and...slate roofs vines and flowers and...of very description. We had ...breakfast...plenty of sweet milk.Betty Lee is perfect in development ...healthy and sleeps ...of the time...seldom cries and only when hungry. The parents are particular that she be not disturbed or taken except at feeding. She gets her last meal at 6 pm or at times 6.30 is put in her crib in her own room adjoining Howard and Katherine and that is the last you hear of her until the next morning then she does not cry. I think she would wait longer for her breakfast but Katherine and Howard...but everything is on the dot....I don't know how long I can stand this idleness but if it becomes to dull I will try to get an earlier boat. I am booked now to leave here March 3rd and will advise you if I should decide that we sail earlier....We spent a pleasant 2 days in Frisco ....”

Katherine and Howard, along with Betty returned to Portsmouth, Ohio where Stephen’s second granddaughter Mary Helen was born in the same room, as her mother, overlooking Tracy Park, 13 December 1921.  A home was built next to Stephen and Anna, on Gay Street, with a dental office attaching both homes.  He kept his youngest close. While Ruhama was  residing across the country there continued constant contact, letters and news articles.  Henri, as stated before, was not happy as a physician but lived his life in the house on the corner of 9^th and Gay.  Their sister Laura also grew up in Portsmouth, never married and lived at home until her death in March 1944.

The Ohio State Medical Association presented Stephen and Anna Gorath Halderman with a beautiful silver set on the occasion of their Golden Wedding Anniversary.  This compiler treasures the set complete with two goblets and engraving and I try to keep it polished.

Stephen Simpson Halderman died 30 March 1929.  The editorial for the Portsmouth Daily Times, like the published biographies, has a few flaws.  The Medical College of Ohio was well established by the time he went there. 

 The late Dr S S Halderman was truly a man who had lived a life of service to his fellow man. He was one of the few survivors … older type of country doctor and physician. He began his practice in the rural sections and there he learned to respond at all hours and at all times...When later he came to the city to practice he did not deviate from the habits of his young manhood. He was at the call of any one who desired his services...doctor prepared himself well for his profession and he kept up with the progress of medicine. He became an expert surgeon, in addition to being a general practitioner, in fact was an all around medical man, one of the best in the state....president of the Ohio State Medical Association....organized the Medical College of Ohio...organized the Central National Bank...associated with the Commercial Building and Loan Company...His death causes much regret to many...

I always wonder what makes a person “tick.”  My great grandfather left home at such a young age, and succeeded beyond expectations.  He had this drive to keep his family in the best of positions and close yet, I would find out along my genealogical journey, in his own words he knew very little about his own background:

Sciotoville, Ohio March 15, 1889 Mrs. O A Barbe McLaughlin Mt Auburn, Cin., O Dear Madam Yours of March 4th received promptly and I did not answer immediately ...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[viii]

He is legendary in this compiler’s mind.  He took care of not only his own but many others.  From a teen with nothing to financial stability, he taught the family dignity, work ethics, love and financial responsibility.  He invested wisely and I wonder if he realized those choices would help all his children  thru their final years and beyond.  It is quite a legacy.

---

[i] Halderman, Stephen S.," 15 March 1889; letter, Box 7; Olive McLaughlin Collection; Cincinnati History Library and Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio.

[ii] D. Adams Co., Oh and buried there.

[iii] Ohio, Shelby M Records . Isabella Halterman to Eli Baldwin

[iv] Scioto Chapter Ohio Genealogical Society, Newsletter Jan/Feb 1992

[v] Bannon, Stories Old and Often Told

[vi] Portsmouth Times 23 Aug 1890 purchased from estate of Frdk Gabler

[vii] Portsmouth Daily Times. 22 Jul 1909

[viii] Halderman, Stephen S.," 15 March 1889; letter, Box 7; Olive McLaughlin Collection; Cincinnati History Library and Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio