Swinehart Family History

Johannes was born April 23, 1832 in Germany and died between January 03 - 05, 1912 in Wyandot County Ohio.He married Mary Jane Thompson December 25, 1863 in Mexico Seneca County Ohio.Mary Jane Thompson was born April 07, 1842 in Warren County New Jersey and died January 07, 1906 in Smithville Wyandot County Ohio.Both are buried in the Smithville Cemetery.

The following was copied from the obituary for John Von Blon:

The following was copied from the obituary for Mary Jane (Thompson) Von Blon:

Johannes Von Blon was the son of Johann Jacob Von Blon (born 1798) and Frederike Caroline Freiss and he immigrated to America from Germany when he was twenty-one years of age.Johannes first went to Toledo Ohio to reside and then later he settled in Mexico.Shortly after that, he moved to Smithville, where he resided for fourteen years until his death.He served two terms as trustee of Crane Township.Johann Jacob Von Blon was the son of Johann Jacob Von Blon (born 1766) and Catherine Gillissible both of Waldmohr Germany.Johann Jacob Von Blon (born 1766) was the son of Johann Peter Von Blon (date of birth unknown however his death was in 1789) and Charlotta Elisabetha Dottweiller both also of Waldmohr Germany.Johann Peter was a Freeman of Waldmohr, a carpenter and farmer, and an Elderman of his church.

Johann Peter was the son Johann Caspar Von Blon (born approximately in 1701 and died January 29, 1758).Johann Peter’s mother was either Johann Caspar’s first wife – Maria Margaretha Hoffman or his second wife – Anna Margaretha Gerhart.Johann Caspar was also a carpenter and farmer.He was the son of Johann Ludwig Von Blon (born between 1650-70 and died before 1737) and Anna Catharina.Johann Ludwig is as far back as this line has been traced.He is the Palatinate Progenitor and was a master carpenter and master miller.He was the copyholder of the Konken or Hare Mill, our ancestral House.Further research is needed on this line to clarify the first few generations to make sure I have it correct.

Weist

The sister of Joseph Peter Swinehart was Emma Catherine Swinehart and she married John Gilbert Weist.His parents were Christopher Weist and Mary Wilt (Mary Wilt was the sister of Mary Margaret Wilt who married my great great grandfather John Heininger).

Joseph P. Swinehart with sisters: Emma Weist and Mary A. Cooperider

The following information was copied from the Weist family web site:

The following information is provided as background information on John Weist’s parents:

Wilt/Wild

The Wilt/Wild name is frequently related to the Swinehart name after arriving in the Wyandot County area.As indicated above, the Weist line was tied to the Wilt name.The parents of John Gilbert Weist, who married Emma Catherine Swinehart, the sister of my great grandfather Joseph Peter Swinehart, was Christopher Weist and Mary Ann Wilt.This Mary Wilt was the daughter of Henrich Wild/Wilt and Mary Star who were also the parents of Mary Margaret Wilt who married my great great grandfather John Heininger.To further complicate things, Margaret’s father, Henrich Wild/Wilt, had a brother, Jacques Wild/Wilt, who married Salome Straub and they had a daughter, Mary Wilt who married Phillip Weist.Now that the reader understands the relationships, I want to point out that for some reason both Jacques and Henrich, used the Wild and Wilt surnames at different times.Their father Hans George Wild and earlier generations used only the Wild name.Now that makes everything clear right?

The following information is provided about Margaret and Mary’s father Heinrich "Henry" Wild:

Dunkleberger

Johannes Swinehart Sr. was married to Magdalena Dunkelberger.Her parents were Clemens Dunkelberger and Anna Hauer.

The following information was taken from Floyds’ Northumberland County Genealogy and mentions both Magdalena and her father Clemens:

Cooperrider

Although not direct ancestors, I have included information on the Cooperrider line because many of the Swinehart line intermarried with this family, mainly in the Glenford Perry County area.Apparently, many in the Jacob and Joseph Swinehart line maintained contact with the Cooperrider families, even after moving to Wyandot County.This is evidenced from a collection of Cooperrider photographs that Aunt Emma and Aunt Mattie had and passed on to Wanda Lee Fulscher.The earliest Cooperrider/Swinehart connection was the marriage in 1833 of my Great Great grandfather Jacob’s sister, Elizabeth, to Jacob Cooperrider.In addition, Jacob Swinehart’s daughter Mary Ann, married Aaron Cooperrider, Jacob’s brother Peter had three daughters that married Cooperrider men.From this you can understand, the close relationship between the two families over the years.

The information on the Cooperrider line was obtained through an internet contact with F.O. Cooperrider.After several emails back and forth, Miriam and I drove to his home, north of Glenford, and visited with him.He provided some general background information on the family and it was through him that we obtained a copy of the Cooperrider Chronicles.The book was written by J.L. Cooperrider of Evansville Indiana in 1952 and traces the Cooperrider history throughout America.F.O. Cooperrider owned a printing shop and he reprinted the book in 1990 so that copies could be distributed to relatives.

The history of the Cooperrider name is unknown although, like the Swinehart name, there are a variety of spellings and differing stories about its origin.Over the years spellings have included: Kaufriter, Kaufrader, Karfroider, Kupreiter, Kooperighter, Coperrighter, Coopurghter, Coopright, Kooperrider, Cooperider, Cooperrider, and Cooprider.It appears that the name had German origins.With all of the variations of spelling it is surprising that only three separate spellings of the name are in use in America today.They are: Cooperrider, Cooperider, and Cooprider.There are various stories about how the name originated including one about the family coming to America on a sailboat that sank killing all of the passengers except a small child that survived by clinging to a floating chicken coop.Another story has a Cooper family coming to America on a ship that had several Cooper families on board.In order to keep them straight, the captain suggested that one Cooper family add rider to their name since they were Coopers and they were riding the ocean, therefore Cooperrider.As with most names the true origin will probably never be known.

The first Cooperider to immigrate to America was George Peter Cooperider.He was born in Germany and died in Luzerne Township Fayette county Pennsylvania in 1787.He was naturalized as an American citizen at Annapolis Maryland in 1762 while living in Frederick County Maryland.He and his wife Catherine had seven children.John was born in Germany and died before 1787, located to Glenford Perry County Ohio and was largely responsible for establishing the Good Hope Lutheran Church there.His son, Jacob, married my great great grandfather Jacob Swinehart’s sister, Elizabeth.

Ancestral names associated with the Moyer line and a brief history:

Moyer

Martha Lou’s maiden name was Moyer.She was the daughter of Roy Sylvester Moyer who was the son of Adam Daniel Moyer.There is a wealth of information and photographs on the Moyer family including Adam and his ancestors in the book entitled The Daniel Moyer Family History compiled by Jane (Nihart) Boone printed in 1997.Some of the information is included here as background information.The book goes into detail about the Sugar Valley area and describes the history and geography of the area.It is an area of about 20 miles by two miles and only a few miles off of route 80 in Clinton County Pennsylvania.The area is described as soft rolling hills surrounded by mountains.This is the county where Roy Moyer grew up and I remember grandpa calling the area "God’s Country" because it is so beautiful.Roy loved the area and brought a pine tree back from this area and planted it in his front yard in Sycamore.

The following was taken from the Daniel Moyer Family History book:

The earliest information begins with John Moyer who was born June 2, 1795 and died February 9, 1845.He is buried in Schrack Cemetery.Before 1816, he married Mary Phillips.She was born April 8, 1798 and died June 14, 1882.Her father was John Philips one of the earliest residents of Sugar Valley.They had six children, the youngest of which was Daniel Moyer born June 18, 1832.He died July 5, 1920 in Lock Haven Hospital in Clinton County.

Daniel married Sarah Jane Ocker about 1851 and she died in 1882.In about 1862, Daniel owned a store in Logan Mills by the covered bridge that had a wide variety of merchandise.In 1867 he purchased the estate of his mother-in-law Lydia Ocker for $6,710.41.Her husband, Michael had left it to her and it had 106 acres and 62 perches and was located at the western end of Sugar Valley near the village of Tylersville.He farmed the land and had a very successful shingle mill along the Fishing Creek.

Sara Jane (Ocker) Moyer and Daniel Moyer with daughters.

Sarah Jane and Daniel had nine children not all of which lived to have families.In 1881, their youngest daughter died at age 10, the next June Daniel’s mother died and then in August his wife Sarah Jane passed away.This must have been a very trying time, losing a daughter, mother and wife all in just over a year.He married Ellen L. (Slaterbeck) Nihart in 1889 and they had two children.According to family recollections by Ethel (Rishell) Mitchell and Maurice W. Moyer:

He must not have stayed long in Missouri because the 1900 census showed him back in Clinton County as a widower living near his daughter Blanche Miller and working as a mail carrier at age 66.Daniel died in 1920 at age 88 and was buried in Tylersville Cemetery although tombstones have not been found for him nor for Sarah, since many of the markers in this cemetery are old and missing.

According to the book:

Adam Daniel Moyer was born August 7, 1874 in Tylersville and died August 24, 1940.He was the youngest child of Daniel Moyer and his first wife Sarah Jane Ocker.He married Katherine S. Keister who was born in 1877 at Clintondale Porter Township, Clinton County Pennsylvania daughter of William Keister and Anna Sophie Reigel.She died February 13, 1929.

Adam Daniel Moyer in the 1890s and in the 1930s.

Adam D. and Katherine (Keister) Moyer Family

Adam was a carpenter and a blacksmith and had a blacksmith shop behind his home.

Adam and Kate had four children – two boys and two girls:

1. Roy Sylvester was born March 9, 1903 and married Sallie Christean Hufford – See separate section.
2. Anna Jane Moyer was born October 8, 1896 and married Clarence "Pete" Franklin Romig.She died January 5, 1967
3. Mary Edna Moyer was born April 27, 1899 and she married Raymond Frazier Vonada Sr.She died may 15, 1976.
4. Adam Russel (Tucker) Moyer was born June 22, 1911 and married Helen Corrine Gardner.He died April 29, 1979.Tucker got his nickname because as a child he went with his uncle delivering "Tucker" brand ice cream.

Roy was the oldest boy.Both Adam and Kate are buried in Cedar Hill cemetery.The Moyers apparently have a family history of sugar diabetes.Grandpa Roy had it, his mother, his brother Tucker and both of his sisters died of it, two of his sister’s daughters died of it and Uncle Dale takes insulin shots for it.So this is a good point to remind all family members to get checked regularly.

Keister

Roy Moyer’s mother was Katherine Keister who was the daughter of William Keister and Annie Sophie Reigle.William was born and died in Clinton County Pennsylvania.He served in the Union Army in the Civil War.He served as a corporal in the 80^th regiment, 7^th calvery in company E under Captain Isaiah B. Davis.Roy Moyer was given the last unspent bullet in William’s rifle prior to the end of the Civil War.The bullet was passed on to Joe Swinehart and remains in the family.Katherine’s brother, Rob or Robert Keister who lived in Ohio at Belle Vernon, is whom Roy went to live with when he left home.

Hufford

Christean Moyer’s maiden name was Hufford.She was the daughter of Harry Hufford who was the son of Conrad Hufford.Much of the information on the Hufford family comes from written histories prepared by Martha Shough in the sixties.This material provides a great deal of information both factual and personal on this side of the family and I am indebted to Aunt Martha for her preservation of the Hufford family history and for the stories she has shared with me about the family.In addition, an earlier book on the Hufford line was written by Franklin Pierce Hoffart in 1909 and is available through the publishing company Higginsbooks.com.

The following was taken from the Alice Beard web site:

In addition there is a great deal of information available on the Alice Beard web site concerning the early generation including Casper and Christian.As a result of so many sources being available there is more information on this line than on many of the others.

The family name began as the German name Hoffarth.It quickly mutated to Hoffart, Hoffort, Hoffert, Huffert, Hufferd, and Hufford.There are differing interpretations as to the origin of the name.The most frequently cited interpretation claims the name comes from Hoffwarth, meaning warden or guardian of the hof (manor).Another interpretation has the word coming from Hof Fort which they claim means to push or pull a cart.Still another interpretation from someone with the name of Hoffarth claims the word comes from the German middle age language and means someone very snobbish or arrogant.Another person claims the word comes from Hoffert and means wagon master.Take your pick.

Fortunately the family line is easier to follow than the meaning of the name.The Hufford line is traced from Conrad to his father Christopher born in 1803 and buried in the Hufford section of the Mt Zion cemetery in Sycamore.Next in the line are Casper born in 1762 and then his father Christian Hoffarth born in 1716.Casper is buried in Fairfield County Ohio.There is a great deal of information on both Casper and Christian located on the Alice Beard web site and many of the pages have been copied and stored digitally with the family photographs.After Christian the lineage becomes less clear and more research is needed to determine the ancestry however it appears to lead to Hans Jorick Hoffarth born in 1674 and then to Johann Christoffel "Stoffel" Hoffarth (a judge in Germany) born in 1626, Phillip Hoffarth born in 1589 and finally Hans Hoffarth in 1554.All of them, Christian and earlier, were born in Schwaigern Neckar Wurtemburg Germany.The earliest generations definitely require additional research but it is the best I have been able to find thus far.

The following information was copied from Alice Beard’s web site:

Elias Hoffert was the grandson of Casper Hufford/Hoffert and the following information was copied from the History of Fairfield County Ohio and is included because of the information concerning Casper:

Christopher Hufford

Christopher Hufford was Casper’s son and was born March 17, 1808 in Pennsylvania and died September 5, 1887 in Wyandot County Ohio.He was one of the first in this line to change his name from Hoffert to Hufford.He married Catherine Corfman August 5, 1827 in Fairfield County Ohio.They had nine children and they are both also buried in the Hufford plot of Pleasant Ridge Cemetery adjacent to Mt. Zion Church Sycamore Ohio.After his wife died, Christopher lived with his son Conrad prior to his death.

Conrad Hufford was the son of Christopher Hufford and Caroline Corfman and was born February 29, 1840.He married Caroline Adelia Stoner daughter of Daniel Stoner and Sarah Cover (both are buried in Old Mission Cemetery in Upper Sandusky Ohio).

Conrad and Caroline (Stoner) Hufford Family

Conrad was known to his grandchildren as "Grandpa Coonie" and to all of his neighbors and friends as "Coon".The land that in later years he would be the owner of was purchased by his father Christopher when Conrad was 15 years old.Conrad accompanied his father to the federal land office in Delaware Ohio.The sheepskin deed was signed by the President of the United States as was the custom in those days.Conrad spoke Holland Dutch until the age of 15.Although he was stone deaf from a very early age he spoke English fluently and had excellent penmanship.He was a very reserved man and a hard worker.He was an excellent manager of his farm and was financially able to retire in his early fifties, but continued to manage his land while his sons and son-in-law took care of it.Conrad and Caroline had six children.According to stories told to Aunt Martha Shough from her mother Christena "Tena" Hufford, Conrad was very tight with his money.Apparently in his later years, his wife Caroline had wanted lace curtains for the house to make it look better and he refused because they were too expensive.According to Tena Hufford as told to Martha Shough, Caroline had plans that when Conrad died she was going to ride Conrad’s horse into Sycamore and buy lace curtains and other things for the house and would fix it up before she told anyone Conrad had died.Although they had a nice house it was old and had very little paint and was scantily furnished since Conrad never wanted to spend money.Back in those days the funeral was held in the home and she wanted the house to look nice before anyone would be there for the funeral.Unfortunately, Caroline died before Conrad and was never able to put her plans into action.After she died Conrad still had Mayme (baby as he called her) and Charles at home.For whatever reasons, Conrad decided to build a new house after Caroline died.Not only did he build a new house but also purchased new furnishings for it – maybe he felt a little guilty for being so tight.

Conrad was rather stern and sometimes difficult to get along with.This was particularly true with his sons, Alvin and Charles.Charles moved away from home and went to live in Toledo working hauling coal when he was 16 years old.After his wife and youngest daughter Mayme passed away, Conrad continued to reside alone until about age 80.At that time he resided with his son Harley for a short while and then he moved back home.Soon he wanted to move in with his son Harry and Tena.Harry told him he had to ask Tena if it was alright.Because he was afraid she would say no, he waited outside and would not go in to ask.Tena had to go out and tell him that it was alright for him to stay with them.Since Tena took care of him and fixed his meals, he insisted on paying her directly for letting him stay there and he paid her $25 per month for keeping him.Conrad was used to being the boss and to some extent made life difficult for the family, although he continued to live with them for almost 15 years until his death at age 94 April 18, 1934.Conrad and Caroline are also both buried in the Hufford plot of Pleasant Ridge Cemetery adjacent to Mt. Zion Church Sycamore Ohio.

Harry and Tena Hufford

Harry Hufford was born November 5, 1870, a middle child of six children and the son of Conrad Hufford and Caroline Adelia Stoner.Harry Hufford was educated at the Negrotown Country School and married Mary Christena "Tena" Smith November 15, 1893.Tena Smith was born August 5, 1873 and was educated at the Smithville Country School.Tena Smith grew up in the large brick house that sits near the Smithville Church.Tena, along with her parents, were strong Republicans and according to family stories, she would not marry Harry, who was a Democrat, until he changed political parties and became a Republican.They were both farmers and they continued that endeavor when they purchased the family home in a bankruptcy sale from Willard Curts located on the corner of state route 587 and 103.Tena inherited money from her Uncle Harrison Smith when he died.She had her son, Harrison Hufford, bid on the farm at the bankruptcy sale.She did not tell the children about moving until the last minute because she knew they would not want to leave the Thompson school area and move to Sycamore.This farm is considered the Hufford homestead and was purchased for $6,600 and consisted of 86.3 acres.In addition to this purchase, surrounding property from the Hufford family was added over the years including the Conrad Hufford homestead located on 32 acres and situated about halfway between the Mt. Zion Church and Negrotown School (Tymcochtee Township Election House).The accumulated acreage was 286.98 acres and included farmland and a maple sugar grove that was operated commercially and produced maple syrup for many years.The farm was originally called the Taylor Run Farm but the house, buildings, and approximately 10 acres were sold to a Barth family and the name of the farm was changed to Green Acres.

Harry’s best friend and cousin was Levi Eckleberry whose granddaughter was Gladys Ellen Eckleberry Von Stein - the same Gladys Eckleberry that Martha Lou grew up with and graduated with and later lived next door to in Nevada.Harry disliked anyone that drank too much, however his best friend, Levi, frequently would imbibe.Harry would pretend he didn’t know when Levi was drinking.However, according to Aunt Martha, you could always tell when Levi was drunk, because his young grandson Medford, would have to drive Levi around in his old Ford.Medford was still only about 12-13 years old and would have to lean out the open door to see the road since he couldn’t see above the steering wheel and still reach the pedals.Whenever this happened, and Medford was driving Levi past the Hufford home, Levi would look straight ahead and salute when they went past.Aunt Martha and Medford were only a few years apart in years and they were very good friends.Whenever Aunt Martha needed to know something, instead of going to her brothers, she would ask Medford.She tells the story of when she asked Medford what the difference was between a bull and a steer.This greatly embarrassed the younger Medford, however after he thought about it, he told her that the bull was the father to a calf, however, the steer didn’t have a calf.This polite explanation satisfied Aunt Martha’s curiosity.

Harry, like his father, was pretty much deaf most of his adult life.According to Aunt Martha, the family had a dinner bell in front of the house and when it was mealtime Tena would ring the bell for Harry to come to eat.When he was out working in the fields with his mules, Harry would not hear the dinner bell, but the mules would and after they finished the row they were working on they would automatically head to the house when they heard the bell.

Harry and Tena Hufford had eleven children.The children were Sallie Christean, Henry Harrison (Skinny), Otto McKinley (Mac), Herbert Smith, Florence Margaret, Mary Helen, Joseph Smith, Harry Kenneth, Horace Hale, Martha Undine, Mason Smith (Smithy).Mason Smith died at age one year and four months and Mary Helen died shortly after her ninth birthday of Scarlet Fever.Three of the boys had Smith as a middle name reflecting their Smith ancestors.Most of the children were named after specific individuals.As an example – Otto McKinley (Mac) was named by and for the doctor that delivered him "Otto" and his middle name was for President McKinley, Martha Undine was named after Tena’s friend Undine Lime and Martha Washington, and Sallie Christean was named after her grandmother Sallie Mae Straw.Harry and Tena were both members of the Mt. Zion United Brethren Church, although Harry did not attend after going deaf at approximately age 25.Harry died at age 66 after being an invalid for five years prior to his death.He died August 20, 1937 due to complications resulting from advanced arteriosclerosis.After Harry died, Tena continued to reside on the farm along with her son Mac who farmed for her.She died as the result of complications of gall bladder surgery at age 78 on March 8, 1951.Harry and Tena both were buried in the Hufford plot of Pleasant Ridge Cemetery adjacent to Mt. Zion Church Sycamore Ohio.It should be noted here that the Hufford section of the Mt. Zion Cemetery was originally Hufford property, which was donated to the church.In addition, the pipe fence around the side of the cemetery was built by Grandpa Roy.

Sons of Harry Hufford and Mary Christena Smith

Sitting L-R: Kenneth, Mac, Harrison, Hale

Standing L-R: Herbert, Joseph

Daughter of Harry Hufford and Mary Christena Smith

Sitting L-R: Tena, Florence

Standing L-R: Martha, Christean

The children of Harry Hufford and Mary Christena "Tena" Smith:

1. Henry Harrison Hufford, known as Skinny, was born January 13, 1895.He was named after his uncle H. Harrison Smith.Henry Harrison Hufford was a carpenter all of his life.He married Modest Mae (Keller) Kuncy and had three step children:

• Garneita Lenore Kuncy who married James Robert Hufford.
• Lodema Marcile Kuncy who married Max Wilton Moore.
• Mariam Yvonne Kuncy who married Donald James Ekleberry.

2. Otto McKinley Hufford, known as Mac, was born December 5, 1896.Mac never married.He worked as a construction foreman for the C.R. Bolton Company in Columbus Ohio until his father became ill and he moved back home to take care of the family farm.He remained on the family farm until his death due to a heart attack December 13, 1952.
3. Herbert Smith Hufford was born November 22, 1898 and married Gertrude Amelia Carrick.They were farmers and resided on the farm that Gertrude inherited from her mother.When Herbert retired they purchased a home in Sycamore.They had two sons:

• Roland Mac, who was an invalid since birth.
• Claude William, who was killed in an auto accident at age 20.

2. Florence Marguerite Hufford was born July 10, 1901 and married Harold Clayton Huber, or Dutch as he was known.Dutch worked as a truck driver for his Uncle Chauncey Huber in his early years and then worked at the National Machine Company in Tiffin Ohio.In his later years he farmed.Florence worked for the General Electric Company also in Tiffin.They had four children:

• Mary Jo, who married Robert Richard Beitel and they had three children - Gayle Elaine, Gregg Richard, and Wade Robert.
• Nancy Lee, who married Joseph M. Martin and had four children – Terri, William, Daniel, and Ann Elizabeth.
• Sallie Ann, who married Wayne Allan Kuhn and they had three children - Michael, Susan, and Mark.
• Haldon Hufford, who married Lois and they have five children – Haldon Hufford Jr, James, John, Sarah Christine and unknown.

2. Mary Helen Hufford was born January 27, 1904 and died February 2, 1913 from complications of Scarlet Fever.
3. Sallie Christean Hufford was born March 19, 1906 and married Roy Sylvester Moyer.See separate section.
4. Joseph Smith Hufford, known as Joe, was born April 7, 1908 and married Dorotha Eloise Biller.Joseph was a farmer and worked for the Sterling Grinding Wheel Company of Tiffin.They had five daughters and two sons:

• Marilyn Ann, who married Merle Barth and had three children – Douglas Merle, Debra Ann, and Pamela Jane.After Merle passed away Marilyn married C. Eugene Baughman.

• Betty Jo, who married Donald Hannum and have two daughters – Kathy Joyce and Dianna Lynn.
• Frederic Daryl who died at age 18 in an auto accident
• Judith Kathryn who married Donald Ward and they have two children – Kristel Lynn and Timmie Lee.

• Virginia Sue who married Cloyce Allen Gilliland and they had two children – Rodney Allan and Cynthia Sue.
• Vicki Lynn.
• Donald Michael.

8. Harry Kenneth Hufford was born April 1, 1911 and married Bernice Lena Luthy.Harry was a farmer and also bought and sold obsolete farm equipment.They had two boys and one girl:

• Janet Louise who married Richard Shellhouse and had two sons – Eric Wayne and Dane Richard.
• Paul Wayne.
• Ronald Larry.

9. Horace Hale Hufford, known by Hale, was born March 17, 1913 and married Mildred (Stumpp) Anderson.He was a project engineer with the Catylatic Construction Company of Philadelphia Pennsylvania.Mildred was employed as a nurse at the Wyandot Memorial Hospital Upper Sandusky Ohio.They resided in the home that was originally owned by Conrad Hufford and 32 acres that was part of the original land purchased by Christopher Hufford from the Delaware Land Bank.Hale and Mildred Hufford had three children and tow children from Mildred’s first marriage:

• Gordon Hale Hufford who married Sharon Ann Smith.
• Conrad Charles Hufford.
• Bradford Lee Hufford.
• Jack Wendell Anderson who married Ollie Elizabeth Spring and they had three children – Ollie Adele, Jacquelyn Lee, and Scott Boyce.
• June Anderson who married Dale E. Samsel and they had three children – Mark Edward, Kim Michele, and Denise.

10. Martha Undine Hufford was born October 18, 1914 and married Leonard Orlando Shough.See separate section.
11. Mason Smith Hufford was born January 20, 1917 and died April 20, 1918 of bronchial pneumonia.

Martha (Marnie) Undine Hufford

This section would not be complete without at least a few words about Aunt Martha (Hufford) Shough or "Marnie" as she was known when she was younger.She was the youngest Hufford girl and Grandma Christean Moyer’s baby sister.To be honest, I did not know hardly anything about Aunt Martha until we became re-acquainted in the spring of 2001.Even though our mother was close to her as a child, we had very little contact with Aunt Martha through the years and even less after mother died.When dad died, Aunt Martha telephoned and talked to Miriam, however, it was several years before I made contact with my Great Aunt Martha and then only with the help of my Aunt Tena Kay.As I have mentioned several places, the information she wrote about the Hufford, Smith, and Straw side of the family was completely unknown to me – it added greatly to this family history.Even more important, were the personal family stories she told about mother and our grandparents, which had never been put down on paper and thanks to her willingness to tell me lots of stories, these too will now be part of our family’s history.

When I first became acquainted with her in the spring of 2001 she was 86 and was still healing from a severely broken knee that resulted from a fall that she took in her driveway the previous November.In addition, she had a quadruple bypass operation ten years earlier and her husband "Shough" had died shortly before that.In spite of everything she is in great shape, and spends hours weeding and planting in her flowerbeds.She has so much energy, that she keeps Mike and I busy just trying to get some of her work done so she doesn’t go out and try to do it all by herself.Aunt Martha is always wanting to pay the kids and I for the work we do around her house.Sometimes I don’t think she realizes how much value there is in the stories she tells.I tell her I will keep doing work as long as she keeps telling me stories.She loves her flowerbeds and has dozens of varieties of plants and flowers and she knows the names of them all.She and Shough had no children and she has no other relatives nearby.In addition to retiring from the Borden Company as an administrative assistant/executive secretary, through the years she has been a babysitter and surrogate mother to a number of neighborhood children, many of them still keep in touch with her.

One of the things I learned from her is that apparently a Hufford characteristic to pick your fingers.I remember mother doing it, Grandma Moyer and Tena Koehler do it, as well as Aunt Martha and according to her, her mother, Tena Hufford did also.

Since the spring of 2001 we have had almost daily contact and in addition to learning lots of family history, and all about flowers and plants, I have learned a lot about Martha and her life.I feel I must include some of this information here for other family members that may not have had the benefit of getting to know her as I have.

As I said before Aunt Martha is the youngest of Harry and Tena Hufford’s children (the baby of the family).She readily admits to being mischievous in school and tells stories of getting help from her brothers and friends to get through an algebra class that she didn’t like.She also tells of having to always work hard growing up.Her mother, Tena, was a hard worker and always canned fruits and vegetables.Martha had to go out and milk the cows every morning while it was still dark before going to school.She always enjoyed doing it and also enjoyed working in the garden.When she graduated from high school she wanted to go on to college but could not afford it.She managed to borrow the money from a local businessman that helped a number of students and she was able to enroll in Tiffin Business College.At the end of the first quarter she had to drop out and return home to help take care of her mother and father.Her father, Harry, had heart problems and was an invalid at this time.Her mother, Tena, fell and broke her hip and was no longer able to care for herself or Harry.So the responsibility fell on the youngest and only unmarried daughter – Martha.She dropped out of college and moved back home.Throughout this period she continued to study shorthand and typing.Her brother rented a typewriter for her to practice on and she stayed up late in the evenings practicing.

Finally she was able to return to business school.After completing her first year she was able to get a job at a local business.She stayed at this place for over three years making approximately $3 per week.She learned that the local Aide for the Aged Agency had an opening paying more money.So she took the train to Toledo to take the civil service test.She scored second highest on the test and was hired as a stenographer.She worked at this position until she was promoted to a field investigator.She enjoyed doing field investigations and working with the elderly in the Tiffin area.It was during this time that she met and started dating Leonard Orlando (L.O.) Shough or just plain "Shough" as she called him.At that time, Shough was in sales and traveled frequently.Martha told him that she would not marry him unless he transferred to Columbus (she did not like the wild Toledo area).Shough was able to transfer to the Columbus area and shortly after he transferred, they were married.They rented a small apartment in Columbus.Martha also was able to transfer to the Columbus Aide for the Aged office and began doing field investigations in some of the worst sections of Columbus.Frequently she would save up the worst or most dangerous visits for the weekend and Shough would go with her and wait in the car for protection.She worked for the Aide for the Aged Agency for thirteen years.

When an opening came up in the Veteran’s Service Office in Columbus, she accepted the position and worked there for almost three years until decentralization of services resulted in the office splitting up.She next worked for the federal Rent Control Commission also in Columbus.This commission consisted of local professional individuals who were responsible for, among other things, regulating rental prices in the Franklin County area.Aunt Martha enjoyed this job very much, however, once again this commission was soon disbanded.Aunt Martha decided to retire, but one of the commission members worked for the Borden Company and talked her into applying for a job there.Borden desperately needed to fill an executive secretary position, and with Aunt Martha’s past experience, they had to meet her pay and hour demands in order to get her to accept the job.She started out making more than any of the other secretaries and had her own nice office.With her experience, she moved up the ladder and worked most of her time at Borden as an administrative assistant to the company general manager and vice president.Although she originally planned only to work a year or two, she retired from Borden with twenty years of service.

Martha and Shough saved their money and lived frugally and were able to save up $13,000 after a few years.They used this money as the down payment to invest in an apartment building with four rental units.Shough eventually quit the sales business and started his own successful real estate business working out of his home.They moved into a two-story house on Olentangy River Road right on the river.The two-story house was too much for them and they later moved to the current ranch house on Bickley Place in Upper Arlington.Martha has lived there for almost 50 years.They added the family room and fireplace after the blizzard of 1978 when most of their neighbors were without electricity.Some of the nicest things about the home are Martha’s collection of marble rocks and the beautiful white birch tree in the front yard with white marble chips around it and the family heirlooms and photographs that she keeps.The detailed family history that Aunt Martha wrote in the mid-sixties has been invaluable to me.The information contained in the history could not have been traced in any other genealogical or historical source.

Martha Undine Shough – Age 86

Martha, at 87, is very active and still drives her huge 25-year old Oldsmobile.Although she gets some help with mowing and tree trimming she does the rest of her own yard work and has the best looking yard and flowers on the block.She can’t walk past a fallen leaf without bending over and picking it up and there are (of course) never any weeds in her flowerbeds that she tends to energetically.She is constantly planting new plants or thinning her plants out to give starts to others.She knows the names of all the plants and cares for them lovingly.She loves working in her flowers and yard and says it reminds her of rural farm life.She is proud of her farm background and has asked that when she is buried that a broken sheaf of wheat be placed on her casket as a symbol her rural roots.She has an opinion on almost everything and does not hesitate to express it.I think she is incapable of hiding her distaste for things that she dislikes and she expresses it with a unique sour expression.She has also perfected a smiling pout expression that she has used since a child to get her way.She will explain to you that she used to use it on teachers to avoid getting into trouble.

She continues to be active in her church and she communicates by letter with family and friends throughout the country.One of the things I have learned from her is a wide variety of sayings and folk wit and wisdom that was passed down to her from her elders.One of my favorites involves oatmeal, especially since I like oatmeal.Aunt Martha explains that she has to pick out all of the dark specs in oatmeal because when she was a child, her older brother Harrison, told her that, the oats were removed from the stalks by people stomping on it with their bare feet, and the dark specs were "toe jam".Even though she now knows it is not true, she still picks out the dark specs.One of the sayings that we all remember mother and Grandma Moyer say is that we must go out the same door we came in or else we won’t come back.This is a saying that Aunt Martha remembers her mother telling them all as kids.Another one that I like is the saying that someone’s hair is as fine as "frog fur" (in case there are any city kids reading this – frogs do not have fur nor hair).And of course she can always come up with a slightly off color joke or two.It has been a unique and very special experience getting to know Aunt Martha.

Smith

Christean Moyer’s mother was Mary Christena "Tena" Smith who married Harry Hufford.Tena Smith’s father was Joseph Mason Smith.Again the majority of information about the Smith line comes from Martha Shough’s mid 1960s work and without her records much of the information would be lost.

The following is reprinted from a posting on the Surname Web site and is provided for information only:

There!That should give you a general idea of the origin of the Smith name and now on to more relevant information.

Mary Christena "Tena" Smith’s father was Joseph Mason Smith and he was born December 28, 1832 and died September 11, 1909.His parents were Daniel Smith and Mary Duddleson.Daniel was born March 27, 1800 and died June 4, 1866 as aresult of injuries he received while horse racing.Mary was born February 28, 1797 and she died December 10, 1882.Daniel and Mary were married in 1822.Daniel was the son of David Smith Sr. and Phoebe Mills.David was born February 11, 1763 and died in 1836.Phoebe Mills was born November 10, 1767 and died in 1813.David and Phoebe were married in 1785.David’s parents were Samuel Smith and Hulda Bull Mathers.Samuel was born in 1742 and died in 1789.Hulda was born April 26, 1742 and died August 6, 1825.They were married in February 1771.Samuel served in the Revolutionary War under Captain Cabel Baldwin’s Company in Connecticut as this was his residence at the time.

The following story was told to Martha Shough by Helen Juvenal who heard it from Joseph Mason Smith when she was a young girl:

Daniel Smith gave each son 400 acres of land.One of the sons, Harrison Smith, gave, in about 1920, approximately 15 acres to the city of Upper Sandusky for a park with the understanding that it was to be used for a picnic and playground and nothing sold there.This became the Harrison Smith Park.

At 28 years of age, Joseph Mason Smith, or Mason as he was always known, married Sallie May Straw on November 6, 1860.The first 16 years of their married life they lived in a cabin built by an Indian by the name of Sarrahas.They had nine children.They were Mary Christena "Tena" Smith, William Scott Smith, Gnettie May Smith, Anna Viola Smith, Eunice "Eun" Ellen Smith, David Straw Smith, Sallie May Smith, Joseph Mason Smith, and George Robin Smith.In addition to the land that he gave to his children, Joseph Mason Smith gave each child a handmade oak bedroom suite that he had made in Upper Sandusky.Tena Smith Hufford gave her bedroom suit to her daughter Martha Hufford Shough before her death.Martha still has it and has indicated that it is to be passed on after her death to Tena Koehler whom was named after Tena Smith Hufford.

The following was copied from the Crane Township section of the History of Wyandot County:

Aunt Martha Shough recalls stories told to her by her mother about her grandfather – Joseph Mason Smith.He was liked by all his neighbors and they all called him Uncle Mason.He was very fond of his children and was always doing little things for them.He would take turns riding with them on horseback to go to town.One time he took a pillowcase to town and came back with the whole pillowcase filled with peanuts for the children.He built the brick house in Smithville that was completed in 1878 at a cost of $12,000.The bricks were hauled by ox cart from Republic.Because of the distance required to transport the bricks, it was taking too long to complete the house, so Joseph had a brick kiln built on his property and used clay from his fields to have the bricks made on the site.The home is now owned by a relative - Clara Needs.

Joseph Mason Smith’s brother, H. (Henry) Harrison Smith was the first to donate property for the Upper Sandusky Park which was named after him – the Harrison Smith Park on route 30 on the east side of town.According to records he donated over 15 acres to be used for a park.Others donated another 15 acres making the park what it is today.On a recent trip to the Indian Mill Museum in Wyandot County I found postcards with a picture of H. Harrison Smith and a brief narrative describing his donation of land to the city for use as a park.A copy the post card is included in the appendix to this material.When he died, Henry Harrison Smith left money to over 46 relatives and friends.His sister Christena "Tena" Smith Hufford received enough to purchase the home in Sycamore.

There is a good deal written about the Wyandot Indians and their departure from Wyandot County and it is interesting to note that some of the stories and comments that are included in the writings by Martha Shough.Apparently Joseph Mason Smith and his brother Harrison Smith were both in Upper Sandusky on the day in June 1848 when the Indians departed the area.Martha also wrote that she remembered her mother (Tena Smith Hufford) telling her stories about her Grandmother Smith’s (Sallie May Straw Smith) many kindnesses to the Indians in their vicinity as she was very generous in supplying them with lard as well as other foodstuffs as she was constantly reminded that "taters don’t slip down good without grease".According to Martha, the Indians called her grandmother "Squaw Smith" and they would frequently just come into their home and spend the night in front of the fire since there were no locks on the doors.Upon the death of Chief Tarhe, he was buried in Grandmother Smith’s deer park and the monument still stands marking his grave and now is surrounded by an iron fence (the Tarhe monument has been relocated from the deer park referred to here and now sits on a road that is diagonal from the Smithville brick house – on CR 37 about ½ mile south of SR 67).According to Martha, Smithville was originally called Poplar Forks and was changed to Smithville in honor of the Smiths since there were so many living there in the community.

Many of the Smiths are buried in the Smithville Church Cemetery.There is a mausoleum and several large monuments in their honor.The large mausoleum is the burial place for Daniel M. Smith, Mary Duddleson and Henry Harrison Smith.There are many related Smiths buried there also including two for whom the only tall monuments are in memory of.

Joseph Mason and Sallie May (Straw) Smith Family

Christena "Tena" Smith is the small child seated next to her father.

Joseph Mason Smith died September 11, 1909 and his wife Sallie May Straw Smith was born July 4, 1839 and she died February 24, 1910.Both are buried at Oakhill Cemetery Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio (Note: there appears to be some confusion in the cemetery directory for Oakhill since there is a Jacob Mason Smith and wife listed in Section D Lot 39 and also a Joseph Mason Smith and Sally May Smith listed in Section J Lot 10.Death dates are the same for both listings and further research is needed to clarify this although the tombstones are correctly listed.).

Straw

Tena Smith’s parents were Joseph Mason Smith and Sallie May Straw.Sallie’s parents were Samuel C. Straw (born in 1800 in Vermont and died November 22, 1854) and Christina Staley (born October 1805 and died August 11, 1874).Samuel was the son of David Straw Jr. (born September 1769 in Maine and died April 1849) and Mary Cady (born in 1771 at Shutesburg Massachusetts and died May 2, 1853).They came to Ohio from Vermont.Samuel moved to Ohio in 1820 and taught school in Wyandot County for 4-5 years.Samuel C. Straw, his wife Christena and his father David Straw Jr. are buried in the Bowsherville Cemetery located in the Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area near Harpster.David Jr. was the son of David Straw (Sr.) who was born in Wales in 1746.

The following is taken from writings of Martha Shough:

David Straw’s eldest son was Samuel Straw.Samuel’s eldest son was David Straw III who was born in 1826 and died in 1890.He had ten children: Israel, David IV, Jason, Lewis, Joel, Polly, Sallie, Elizabeth, Theodore, and Michael who died in infancy.

The following David Straw III is the brother to Sallie May Straw Smith and is included to give the reader an idea as the prominence of the Straw Family in the history of Wyandot County.The material is copied from Colonial Families in the US volume 5:

It is interesting to note that at one point, there was some family animosity regarding David III’ success.According to Aunt Martha Shough, after David’s father died his mother had enough money to pay off the farm and she gave the money to David III to pay off the loan.According to family stories he did in fact pay off the loan with this money, however, he had all the property transferred into his name and that is the beginning of his success.Whether this is true or not is unknown.

Lewis was the son of David Straw III and the nephew of Sallie May Straw.

The Straw residence in Carey Ohio is still standing and is a beautiful example of the period architecture and is by all definitions a mansion.It was recently sold at an auction and was sold for over $305,000.Photos of the home are included in the family photo CD.

There are a number of ancestral names associated with the maternal side of the Swinehart and Moyer lines that need further research and I hope to be able to pursue those in the future.These names include: Eckert, Specht, Kelly, Longwell, Thompson, Zircher, Frey, Reigle, Keim, Stihli, Corfman, Stoner, and Cover.However for now we will move to more recent relatives.

Recent History

I will turn to recent history and to what we know about our more recent ancestors and family members starting with the grandparents of the six Swinehart brothers.Although much of this information is already known, at least by the brothers, it is hoped that everyone will find something interesting that they had not known before and that it will be helpful to our children and possibly future generations.Therefore I shall proceed and if anyone is dissatisfied with the information provided, I would encourage you to give me corrections and add to the material.

Roy Sylvester Moyer and Sallie Christean Hufford

A special thank you goes to Great Aunt Martha Shough and Aunt Tena Koehler for providing me with a great deal of personal information about Roy and Christean and many of the family stories cited below.Thanks to them, I have been able to gather a great deal of information and interesting stories about the Moyer family life and I will try provide the reader with some of this information.Since this part consists of a mixture of stories and information combined it may not fit together very coherently.I regret this but feel it is important to put as much of this information and stories down on paper as possible before they are lost to future generations.Therefore please be patient with my ramblings.

Roy Sylvester Moyer, SSN 283-05-2642, was born March 09, 1903 in Clintondale Porter Twp, Clinton County Pennsylvania and he died at age 79 in January 1983 in Sycamore Ohio and is buried in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery Sycamore Wyandot County.He was the son of Adam Daniel Moyer and Katherine Suzanne Keister.He was next to the youngest in a family of two girls and two boys.His younger brother - Adam Russell "Tucker" Moyer married Helen Gardner and lived in Lakeworth Florida most of his life.While Roy’s mother was on her deathbed, she made Roy promise to take his brother Tucker back to Ohio with him to live because she knew Tucker would not get along with his father Adam.Tucker went to Ohio and lived with Roy and Christean and that is where he met Helen Gardner.

Adam was a carpenter and blacksmith and had a shop behind his house.According to family stories, Adam had a brother who at age 26 left to go out west and was never heard from again.Roy did not get along with his father, Adam, and as a teenager he ran away from home and went to Ohio to live with his Uncle Rob Keister who was a carpenter and lived in Bellevue.According to family history, Adam was difficult to get along with and had a temper.He separated from Katherine and the two lived in separate houses across the street from each other for years.Although they lived apart they apparently got together occasionally, since Katherine became pregnant while they were apart and had twins that died shortly after birth.Adam and Katherine are both buried in the Cedar Hills Cemetery Clinton County Pennsylvania.

Sallie Christean Hufford was born March 19, 1906 in Eden Township Ohio and died at age 81 on January 11, 1988 in Sycamore Ohio and she is also buried in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery Wyandot County.She was one of eleven children of Harry Hufford and Mary Christena "Tena" Smith.She was named after her grandmother Sallie Mae Straw and her mother Christena.Although her mother wanted her to be called Christena like her, Harry won out and she was named Christean.As a student, Christean would walk or ride a horse to the schoolhouse early each morning before everyone else arrived and would bring in the water and build the fire.She saved the money she earned doing this and purchased a small gold ring with two rubies and a diamond in it.

Christean’s ancestors, through the Smith and Straw line, were some of the earliest settlers in the Wyandot County area.Mary Christena (Smith) Hufford’s father, Joseph Mason Smith, is one of the Smiths for whom Smithville is named and her Uncle Henry Harrison Smith donated the land to Upper Sandusky on which a park by his name lies today.The Smith family owned a great deal of property in Wyandot County and the town of Smithville was named after them.The Smithville Methodist Church cemetery includes several large monuments and a mausoleum built in their memory.Joseph Mason Smith was married to Sallie May Straw whose father was Samuel C. Straw.Samuel C. Straw and his father David Straw Jr. are buried in Bowsherville cemetery in the Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area near Harpster.David Straw Jr,’s father, David Straw Sr., was born in Wales in 1746 and was killed in action during the Revolutionary War near Philadelphia.

Christean’s mother, Christena "Tena" (Smith) Hufford, purchased the Greenacres farm in Sycamore.The farm included a maple sugar camp.This farm is considered the homestead of Harry and Tena Hufford and was considered home to the family.Prior to that time the Hufford family rented and moved frequently.Harry was blind for many of his later years.After Tena and Harry died, the farm was split into two parcels.Kenneth Hufford bought the parcel that contained the house and buildings and Roy’s son, Dale, successfully bid on the other half on behalf of his father.In later years, Roy and Christean’s part of the farm was purchased by their daughter and her husband - Wallace and Tena Koehler.

Martha, Dale and Tena Moyer

Roy and Christean Moyer

Roy and Christean met when Roy was playing baseball with some of Christean’s brothers – the Hufford boys.According to Aunt Martha, Roy wanted to take Christean home but she would not go with him since he had been drinking with the others guys during the game.They apparently did get together later and Roy asked Christean’s father – Harry Hufford if he could marry her.Harry was almost deaf and Roy had to practically shout to ask permission.According to Aunt Martha, Christean’s siblings were around and heard Harry tell Roy that he would not bless the wedding until Christean turned 21 – she was only twenty at the time.Apparently Christean cried for a bit and they finally agreed to wait until she turned 21.Harry always liked Roy, partly because he was always a hard worker, like Harry, and according to the family, Christean was always Harry’s favorite daughter.At about this time the family moved from the Thompson school area to the farm in Sycamore.Christean was still in her senior year of high school and was allowed to stay with a neighbor in order to finish school at Thompson.When she graduated she moved back home with her parents who were now living on the Sycamore farm.Roy was living with his Uncle Rob in Bellevue and when Christean moved to Sycamore he followed her and asked her parents if he could live with them until he could find something else.Even though the house was small and several of the older brothers quit their jobs and moved to Sycamore with them, they allowed him to stay so he could be close to Christean.At this time the Hufford home included three grown sons who had quit their job and Roy, also unemployed.A friend of Harry’s, Noah Baumgardener stopped at the house and hired all three Hufford boys as well as Roy to do construction work.Roy Sylvester Moyer and Sallie Christean Hufford married June 25, 1927 in Sycamore Ohio.

They first lived in an apartment near where they eventually bought a house.The home they lived in most of their lives was at 307 Griffith Street Sycamore.The home was on a corner lot with a large backyard and a two-story barn.The barn served as a workshop and garage for Roy.It had a fenced in dog pen on one side and a garden on the other side.The house and barn were always immaculately painted and cared for.Roy built a white picnic table and lawn chairs for the yard and there was a huge white birdhouse near the house.Roy always thought Pennsylvania was beautiful and he went back occasionally to visit or go on hunting trips.On one of his trips he brought back and planted the pine tree that sits in the front yard.Throughout his life he smoked cigarettes and or a pipe.As a child, I remember going to their house and I was always fascinated with the large standing ashtray that had an electric lighter and a variety of grandpa’s pipes.In later years Roy had dentures and would frequently stick them out and make faces at us kids – always in a joking manner.Whenever he did this grandma would get after him and make him stop.

With the skills he learned from his father and Uncle Rob Keister, Roy became a carpenter/cabinet maker.One of the first places he worked was for Mr. "Toot" Mulholland in McCutchenville as a carpenter.He also worked for a number of years for Noah Baumgardener.Later he was employed by, and retired from, the Basic Dolomite Corporation plant at Maple Grove Ohio off of route 53 near Fremont.He was employed there for 30 years and was a member of the company’s Quarter Century Club.There was a time before he worked for the Basic Dolamite Corporation, and during the depression, that he was unemployed and worked in the WPA program.During this time he worked on a number of local community improvement projects including the Upper Sandusky Park and swimming pool.After retirement he worked and volunteered at the Sycamore Evangelical and Reformed Church (now called the Sycamore United Church of Christ).The church still has a large display case that he built.In addition to his own work, he spent a good deal of time helping his children, especially Melford and Martha Lou remodel the old Nevada farmhouse.With his help, the kitchen, bathroom and upstairs attic were completely redone.The kitchen and bathroom cabinets that he built by hand, are still attractive and one of the few surviving features of the house.

Christean worked for the local telephone company as an operator while still in school and for several summers.She graduated from Thompson Centralized School in the class of 1924.Although she had always wanted to become a schoolteacher, she did not have the opportunity to go on with her education in order to do so.Instead, she worked as a telephone operator and as a clerk with the Fruth Furniture Company.Christean was an excellent cook and this is the occupation for which she is best remembered.She was manager of the Sycamore school cafeteria for many years and retired from there.For many years she was also the advisory cook for Camp Pittinger in McCutchenville during the summer months.Christean was a member of Enterprise Chapter #345 of the Order of Eastern Star, a member of the Pythian Sisters of Sycamore and a member of Legion Auxiliary for Sycamore.Both Roy and Christean were members and attended the Mt. Zion Church and Sunday School.This was the same church that Harry and Tena Hufford attended and where the Hufford children, including Christean, attended as children.All three of Roy and Christean’s children attended, and were confirmed in this church.In later years, Roy and Christean became members of the United Church of Christ of Sycamore, which was just around the block from their home.This is the church that Martha Lou and Tena Kay, were both married in.Prior to their death, both Roy and Christean were residents of Fairhaven Nursing Home Upper Sandusky Ohio.Before his death, Roy suffered numerous strokes and was diabetic.Christean suffered from what would now be diagnosed as Alzheimer’s disease.

The house on Griffith Street was almost completely changed from the way it originally stood when Roy and Christean bought it.The house had no inside plumbing for many years and even Tena Kay, the youngest child, remembers carrying hot and cold water from the house to the "wash house."Every Wednesday and Saturday they had to fill a large tub with water so they could take a bath.The washhouse did not have water but had a drain and was heated with a large gas stove.Christean also used the washhouse to do laundry with an old hand wringer washer and tubs of water.Since there was no indoor plumbing the family also had to use the outhouse that sat along the sidewalk between the house and barn.The house consisted of two large front rooms downstairs and two bedrooms above.There was a big coal burning stove between the two front rooms and above it an open register in the upstairs floor to allow heat to go up.They would always keep a covered pot at the top of the stairs for using when they didn’t want to go to the outhouse.Family stories have it that, as a child, Dale was using the upstairs pot and missed.It went down the open register and down on to the stove.Not only did he hit the stove, but Christean had a pan of potatoes sitting on the stove to keep warm and he hit them also.

The upper level of the house only had two bedrooms meaning that after all three children were born, there was always one of them sharing a bedroom with Roy and Christean.At first Martha and Tena shared a bedroom and Dale had a bed in Roy and Christean’s room.When Martha Lou got married Dale moved into the bedroom and Tena’s bed was in Roy and Christean’s room.Only after Dale moved out did Roy and Christean have a bedroom to themselves and Tena also had a room of her own.

During the depression it was very difficult for everyone, but especially for non-farm families.This was true for the Moyers also.As stated elsewhere, Roy worked for the WPA program for a while during this time.They also had a cow and Roy would milk it, make butter and bake fresh rolls and take them around to neighbors and sell or barter for other things they needed.Eventually times improved and Roy was able to remodel the house and add in-door plumbing.Christean was a strong Republican, as was her family, however according to Martha Shough, Roy was a "democratic leaning" Republican, whatever that is.

Martha Lou played the piano and frequently the family would gather around the piano and sing while she played.Roy loved singing along with the piano and he had a good voice.He was also a good harmonica player and would frequently play along with the piano as well as sing.

Children of Roy Moyer and Christean Hufford are:

• Martha Lou Moyer, born August 22, 1929 in Sycamore Wyandot County Ohio; died November 20, 1972 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio; married Melford Eugene Swinehart October 24, 1948 in Sycamore Ohio
• Dale Edward Moyer, born January 24, 1932 in Sycamore Wyandot County Ohio; married LaDenna Marie Roth February 16, 1958 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.
• Kathryn Christina "Tena Kay" Moyer, born October 30, 1939 in Sycamore Ohio; married Wallace Clair Koehler November 30, 1958 in Sycamore Wyandot County Ohio.

It is interesting to note that Tena Kay (Kathryn Christina) was named after Roy’s mother Katherine Keister Moyer and Christean’s mother Sallie Christena Smith Hufford.According to Aunt Martha, at Tena Kay’s baptism at the Mt. Zion Church, Roy was asked by the minister what her name was.He said, "Kathryn Christina but we are going to reverse it and call her Tena Kay".This was apparently a surprise to all including her mother but it stuck and "grandma Christena "Tena" Smith Hufford was very pleased with it.

In order to avoid long distance telephone charges, grandpa and grandma used a code name –Ross Morris (for Roy Moyer) - to let the family know when they arrived home safe from a drive and that mom and dad used to let them know they had arrived home all right.Whichever party drove somewhere, when they arrived they made a collect call for Ross Morris to let the others know that they were home and safe.

John Stanley Swinehart and Bernice Mary Courtad

John Stanley Swinehart, SSN 276-34-3200, was born March 18, 1892 in Pitt Twp Wyandot County Ohio and died at age 79 on October 10, 1971 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.He was the third youngest child in a family of eight children of Joseph Peter Swinehart and Margaret Heininger.Margaret was the daughter of John Heininger and Mary Margaret Wilt.John Heininger came to America from Basil Switzerland and Margaret Wilt came from Alsace France.According to newspaper sources, John Heininger was one of the co-founders of the Emmanuel United Church of Christ and he died by hanging himself.John Swinehart, as well as some of his siblings, attended, received their religious training, and were confirmed in, the Emmanuel Reformed United Church of Christ.John Swinehart married Bernice Mary Courtad, SSN 273-62-2717, March 15, 1922 the same year that his father Joseph died.John was 30 and Bernice was 27.She was born April 10, 1895 in Wyandot County Ohio and died at age 93 on February 11, 1989 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.They are both buried in the Old Mission Cemetery Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.Bernice was the fourth oldest of nine children of August John "AJ" Courtad and Emmaline Von Blon.AJ’s father was Johann Petrus Courtad and Emmaline’s father was Johannes Von Blon and both came to America from their birthplace of Alsace France.

From information provided by Aunt Mariam, unlike most women her age, Bernice became self reliant by working away from home rather than marrying at an early age.She started out by caring for women after they had a child.During this time period it was normal that after giving birth, the women would be required to stay off their feet for several weeks at least.Because of this, it was common for someone to come in and care for the family, including the baby and new mother.Bernice started doing this for her sisters and then relatives and finally was asked to help by others in the community because she did such a good job.From her earnings, she was able to rent a room and live on her own in Upper Sandusky.Prior to this time she attended the Smithville Church where her father August had taken her as a child.Once she moved into Upper Sandusky she began attending the Trinity United Church of Christ Church.At first, she worked at a cereal packaging company, then as a cashier at a restaurant, and later she became a telephone operator (the same occupation as grandmother Christean Hufford Moyer when she finished school.)According to Aunt Mariam, Bernice was admired by her sisters and friends because her jobs allowed her to be independent and to dress nicely.Two of her sisters – Hilda and one of the others, eventually worked at Neumiester’s Bakery.

It was during this time that she met and dated John Swinehart.John lived with his parents in Little Sandusky and farmed.No one seems to know how they met, however according to Mariam they dated off and on for awhile, mainly because of the distance between Little Sandusky and Upper Sandusky – over seven miles.During this time each dated other people also.Mariam recalls Bernice telling her that when she was walking down the streets in Upper she could always tell if John was riding in his buggy behind her because of the sound the buggy and horse made.The horses were always well groomed and John would pull the reins in such a way as to almost have the horses prance down the street.John was very proud of the horses and kept the buggy spotless and shinning.Since it was such a long distance between the two towns, it was common for the person in the buggy to fall asleep on the way home and the horse would just automatically go home.Apparently on one occasion John fell asleep on the way home and another driver going in the opposite direction did the same thing.With the roads so narrow, when they met, the buggy wheels got caught on each other, waking both drivers.No one was hurt but they both had to stop and separate the buggy wheels before going on their way.

It was during this time that Bernice dated Rev B.E. Lienknemper - the minister of the Emmanuel Church.He became quite serious and asked her to marry him.She declined and eventually married John, however it was this same minister that later married John and Bernice.(It is interesting to note that in the Swinehart trunk there is a post card written to Bernice Courtad and it does not say whom it is from.The front of the card has a drawing of a man and woman sitting on a park bench kissing and another man is watching from the other end of the bench.Underneath the card is typed "Three is a crowd".I am curious if this instance is related to the card).

John was 30 and Bernice was 27 when they married.The following was taken from a newspaper clipping describing the wedding from the Daily Chief dated March 16, 1922:

Their first home was the house behind John’s father and grandfathers property in Little Sandusky.This is where they set up housekeeping for the first time and where Darrel Edward Swinehart was born.They later purchased the 95-acre farm and house, which is considered their home, with savings they had accumulated and money that John borrowed from a neighbor instead of going to a bank.The neighbor knew John was a good farmer and that he would keep his word.Later John and Bernice bought the rest of the farmland that made up their home from the "Smalley Sisters".The Smalley sisters owned property adjacent to John and Bernice’s farm and they lived in the house that was on the property that Jason’s home now sits on.

John and Bernice lived on a large, approximately 300 acre-farm off of route 182, about three miles east of Upper Sandusky.The farm was back a long gravel lane that had a railroad track intersecting it.In addition to their home, there was a large white barn and another rental house on the property now owned by Jason Swinehart.The farm was large and impressive with numerous white outbuildings and a white house with green trim sitting on a huge front lawn.The buildings consisted of a large barn with three main sections and haylofts, a granary, corncribs, workshop, storage for tractors, chicken coop, and several other buildings.The buildings and lawns were always well maintained as long as John was healthy.The buildings were regularly painted and grass was cut away from the edges of the sidewalk with sand poured around the edges.

In addition to raising livestock and farming, John kept honeybees, which provided honey.The square white boxes which contained the bees, were behind the barn and in the middle of a small orchard and every once in awhile we would get to watch grandpa take the honey from the boxes.He always wore a hat with a net over his neck and face and used a "smoker" to get the bees away from the honey.The honey was in a series of boxes with wax covers and honeycomb material covering five-inch square units.It was always fun to watch from a distance as the bees came out and grandpa would take the honey filled boxes out and put new ones in.He kept the families supplied in honey and my favorite part was to eat the honey directly from the boxes with the wax stuff all over it.

The farm was always a favorite place for the grandsons to get together.In the earlier years, cousins would frequently get to spend time there during the summer.It usually would be Brian, Rodney, Joe, Doug, Tom and Steve.Exploring the barns, helping milk the cows, target practice with grandpas old 22, and riding the red Wheelhorse lawn mower were always favorite activities.The front room had a large curio cabinet that had curved glass doors.The bottom doors of the curio contained a variety of books and small toys that the boys always got out to play with.I later found out that the cabinet had belonged to Joseph and Margaret Swinehart and now is prominently displayed in Mariam Veith’s home.It still amazes me that the glass was never broken by the grandsons getting into it all the time.Altogether there were 11 grandsons and no granddaughters.After Bernice was no longer able to live at home and because all the structures were old, the house and all buildings were cleared to provide more farmable land.

John S. and Bernice Swinehart Family

Darrell (standing), Melford and Mariam Swinehart

John and Bernice had three children.Mariam was the youngest and only girl.Wanda Lee Fulscher remembers that as kids the two boys - Darrel and Melford - would frequently get into fights and John would have to get after them to break it up.Darrel was the oldest and would often pick on Melford.John was a quiet man but everyone said he had a great sense of humor.He always seemed very tall even though he was about the same height as all of his sons and grandsons.This appearance was mostly the perspective of a small boy and the fact that grandma was rather short making grandpa seem even taller.John was asked, and did, go around to all of his neighbors and talked them into buying war bonds during the war to help finance the war efforts.He was also active on the board of Director s for the local REA (United Rural Electric Cooperative).John was a farmer and Director of Northwest Creamery Association.He suffered a stroke in later years, which left him bedridden and unable to communicate for several years prior to his death.He was a patient of Fairhaven Nursing Home for over six years during which time, almost daily, Bernice would drive the 3-4 miles into Upper Sandusky to take care of and feed him.Throughout most of this time he could not communicate but everyone, especially grandma, believed that they could tell from his eyes that he was happy they were there.John was named after his mother’s (Margaret) brother John Stanley Heininger.Bernice was a housewife and mother.She was a member of the Eastern Star.After Martha Lou died, Bernice also helped Melford take care of the boys and was always fixing food to send over to them and helping out.She enjoyed crocheting afghans and she made one for each of her children, all eleven grandsons and most of the great grandchildren.In her later years, she still made them, even though her eyesight was failing and she could barely see to crochet.Bernice lived to be 93 and up until the last few years of her life she was very independent and lived alone on the farm.After she became too fraile to live on the farm alone, she moved into an apartment at a seniors housing complex in Upper Sandusky and after that she resided at the Fairhaven Nursing Home.

John and Bernice were always very proud of their grandchildren and proudly displayed the photos on top of the large floor model television that they had.I can still picture grandma sitting in one of the big chairs in front of the TV and crocheting.Grandpa would sit in the other chair and frequently would have grandsons on each arm of the chair while he peeled and fed them pieces of apples.Family members recall that John always kissed Bernice goodbye whenever he had to go anywhere.They were both liked and very well respected in the community.As Carl Veith frequently told people "his in-laws were some of the finest people he ever met".Most of my memories are of grandma in her later years after grandpa passed away.She continued to live back the long lane on the farm and rarely would let anyone do anything for her.She was an avid Democrat and it was always interesting to hear her opinions about political current events and the news.She enjoyed watching television when she was alone especially the news and of course she enjoyed the soap operas.She also worked taking care of the farm and her roses.She used to carry buckets of water from the side of the house to water the roses rather than unroll a hose. I don’t remember seeing any houseplants, except purple African Violets.She always had several of these blooming in the front room.Although I seem to do alright with house plants, I can never seem to keep African Violets alive.Her daughter, Mariam, seems to have inherited her ability to grow them.

I don’t recall Grandma ever saying anything bad about any one including the politicians, except to occasionally call one a "rascal".Other than that, she was always understanding about everything including when you didn’t make it over to see her as often as you should.She never complained about anything.They were both people that could be admired.

The following was from John’s obituary taken from the Daily Chief Union newspaper:

The following was from Bernice’s obituary newspaper clipping probably taken from the Daily Chief Union newspaper:

John and Bernice are both buried in Old Mission cemetery in Upper Sandusky.It is unclear why they chose Old Mission since they originally had purchased five plots in Forest Hill Cemetery in Marion Ohio.Joseph and Margaret were buried in Oak Hill Cemetery also in Upper Sandusky and Jacob and Mary Ann Swinehart are buried in the Little Sandusky Cemetery.It is believed that John and Bernice chose Old Mission because August and Emmaline Courtad (Bernice’s parents), rather than being buried in the Catholic cemetery, were buried in Old Mission so it maybe the reason John and Bernice chose to be buried there as well as Melford and Martha Lou and Mariam and Carl Veith also have plots there.

Children of John Swinehart and Bernice Courtad are:

• Melford Eugene Swinehart, born March 06, 1926 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio; died November 23, 1997 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio; married Martha Lou Moyer October 24, 1948 in Sycamore Ohio
• Mariam Eloise Swinehart, born November 13, 1927 in Wyandot County Ohio; married Carl J. Veith September 05, 1948; born April 15, 1923.
• Darrel Edward Swinehart, born March 18, 1924 in Wyandot County Ohio; married Christine Everhart January 18, 1948; born November 16, 1928.

Melford Eugene Swinehart and Martha Lou Moyer

Martha Lou Moyer was born August 22, 1929 in Sycamore Wyandot County Ohio and died at age 43 on November 20, 1972 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.Martha was the oldest of three children of Roy Sylvester Moyer and Sallie "Christean" Hufford.Her nickname was "Louie".She was named after her mother’s sister Martha Hufford and her mothers school friend Luella (Lou) Zahr.She attended and graduated from Sycamore High School.She attended the Grant Hospital Nursing Program in Columbus Ohio prior to getting married.

As a child Martha Lou spent quite a lot of time at her grandmother "Tena" Hufford’s farm and was very close to her aunt Martha.There is one story that was related to me by Aunt Martha (Hufford) Shough concerning a photograph that was taken of Martha Lou at about age 5.Roy and Christean had her picture taken in a studio in Fostoria.Several weeks later Aunt Martha, who worked in Fostoria, saw the photograph of Martha Lou in the studio window but she had a yellow dress on.She knew that Martha Lou did not have the yellow dress that she was wearing in the photo so she went in the studio and inquired about the picture.She found out that the photographer thought it was the cutest child’s picture he had taken and wanted to use it in a show he was attending in Chicago.He had his wife or assistant touch up (repaint) the picture with a different color dress and ribbon and the photograph won first place.When Aunt Martha told Roy and Christean about the picture Roy went to the studio and had them hold it for him until payday so he could buy it.

Martha Lou "Louie" Moyer

Aunt Martha told several stories about Martha Lou as a child.Martha Lou had beautiful natural hair curls and her mother frequently put a ribbon in her hair.On one particular occasion when she was about three or four she was dressed up in a nice outfit with a ribbon in her hair and was allowed to go out and play with her friends.When she was expected home her mother saw her coming down the sidewalk with the ribbon almost falling out of her hair and her clothes all disheveled and she was singing "who’s afraid of a drunken sailor---" which she had heard from her friends.She loved cookies and once went to a neighbors house and asked if they had any cookies since her mother didn’t have any that day.Also when she was about the same age she got on the telephone and told the operator that she wanted her "ma-maw".In those days, in a small town, the operator knew everyone and therefore connected her to grandma Tena.She wanted to see her and when Grandma Tena told her she didn’t have anyway to come and get her, Martha Lou asked why she didn’t just get on one of her mules and ride it into town to pick her up.As a child, Martha Lou had pneumonia twice.When she was three years old she had pneumonia and according to Aunt Martha was very near death.Grandma Tena Hufford stayed with Roy and Christean to help take care of her for about two weeks.Martha Lou liked school and she participated in "Prince of Peace" contests and won awards on several occasions.According to Aunt Martha, Martha Lou talked incessantly as a child and was always asking questions.I guess this is where my daughter Nikki gets it.While in school, Nikki usually had good grades and her report cards usually had all As and Bs but there was always a note in the comment section saying "talks excessively".Now I know where it comes from.Martha Lou and Tena Kay were close in spite of their age differences and since Dale Edward was between them in age, Martha Lou frequently tormented him and pushed him around according to stories by Aunt Martha.As a child and teenager, Martha Lou worked cleaning house for her Grandmother Tena Hufford.When she finished school, she turned over her housecleaning duties to her cousin Marilyn Hufford.During their youth, Marilyn and Martha were extremely close cousins and Marilyn says that Martha was always the peacemaker in the family trying to smooth things over with the cousins.In later years, after they were both married, they remained close, frequently visiting with the kids.

Melford Eugene Swinehart

Melford Eugene Swinehart SSN 277-26-9903 was born March 06, 1926 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio and died November 23, 1997 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio at age 71.He was the middle of three children of John Stanley Swinehart and Bernice Mary Courtad.He married Martha Lou Moyer October 24, 1948 in Sycamore Ohio.She was born August 22, 1929 in Sycamore Wyandot County Ohio and died November 20, 1972 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.Both are buried in the Old Mission Cemetery Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.

We are very fortunate that there exists a great many family memorabilia that has been saved and stored in a "Swinehart Brothers" trunk.This includes a variety of pictures, letters, news clippings etc. and is passed between the brothers annually so that everyone can enjoy the memories stored in the trunk.It is hoped that in the future, even after the brothers are gone, that the trunks are passed back and forth among the cousins to ensure that everyone has a chance to enjoy the contents.Also included in the trunk are family genealogy books that cover Swinehart, Courtad, Moyer and Hufford names and which trace each of the family’s historical roots.

Melford attended and graduated from Upper Sandusky High School in 1944.As a youth, he was active in sports and was a very good football player.He also was active in the Future Farmers of America and participated in a number of trips as a result of his involvement with agriculture.According to Wanda Lee Fulscher, Melford and his brother Darrell used to fight frequently and grandpa used to have to pull them apart.We do know that they both used to like throwing knives.One of the downstairs doors was filled with cuts and gouges where they had thrown knives at it.According to Mariam Veith, they got into trouble for it.When the house was torn down my brother John got one of the doors and I think it is the one that was used as a knife target.Even in high school Melford knew he wanted to farm and wrote a paper describing the advantages of farming as a career.He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a mechanic and spent time in Germany.When he returned from the service he helped his father farm and worked at a tractor dealer in Forest Ohio.During this time he would spend a lot of time with the "guys" either fishing, watching or playing ball games.

He also found time to date Martha Lou who was attending a nursing program at Grant Hospital in Columbus.According to both Tena Kay and Marilyn Baughman, on one occasion they were parked on the edge of a bean field and stream in Sycamore near the Hufford farm, and Melford got his car stuck in the mud.He had to have someone pull him out (maybe Dale) and since it was such a small town everyone knew about it including Martha Lou’s parents.When they were dating Martha’s sister, Tena, always looked forward to Melford coming over because he always had chewing gum for her.

We are fortunate to have a couple dozen "love" letters that Melford sent to Martha Lou describing his feelings for her and discussing some of the activities that they were both doing during this time.A number of these letters are included on the photo cd and the originals are in the Swinehart brother’s trunk.From these letters it is clear that they both had a hard time being apart while Martha was attending classes during the week.Melford would drive to Columbus to pick her up on Friday and drive her back on Sunday evening.On one of the trips to pick up Martha Lou, Melford proposed and gave her an engagement ring.This is described in Martha Lou’s brides book also in the trunk.Apparently Martha Lou was also having difficulty in nursing school because she disliked dealing with the cadavers.So she dropped out of school and they got married.They were married October 24, 1948 in Sycamore Ohio at the United Church of Christ Church.They took a long honeymoon driving through the Smokey Mountains and spending time in Florida with Martha’s aunt and uncle - Helen and Tucker Moyer.Martha describes the trip in a brief diary she kept for the trip, which is also in the trunk.

After returning from their honeymoon, Melford and Martha lived with Melford’s parents.Soon they rented a home in Forest.Fourteen months after they got married Joe was born.The family next moved to a house outside of McCutchensville and from there to a house west of Upper Sandusky.The next place was a house in Upper Sandusky within a couple of blocks from the South Elementary School where Joe attended first grade.Melford and Martha Lou both wanted a farm – which had been a dream especially of Melford’s since high school.In 1956 they finally had the opportunity to buy a home and selected a small 80-acre farm in Nevada.It is not known why they decided to purchase in Nevada, except that Melford’s brother Darrel lived in Nevada and the farm was directly across the road from Martha Lou’s childhood friend Gladys Ellen (Eckelberry) Von Stein.The first few years Melford attempted to work at Westinghouse and also farm.Farming proved not to be that profitable, although it provided Melford with the chance to use the skills he learned from his father and in FFA to help his sons have champion 4-H projects - winning championships at both the local Wyandot County Fair and the Ohio State Fair.He also shared his knowledge with other youth, by being a 4-H advisor for many years with the Nevada Bobcats 4-H Club.For the next years the farmland was either used for pasture, hay or rented out to larger farmers.

The Nevada farm is considered home by the older boys, and the newer brick ranch style house, now owned by Jason, is where the younger boys grew up and consider home.Jason’s house sits on property that was part of John and Bernice’s farm and was originally owned by the Smalley sisters.The Nevada farm was approximately 80 - acres and included an old farm house, part of which was the original log cabin built on the property, a utility shed and outhouse beside the house, a large two story barn, chicken coop, machine shed, rabbit shed and an old corn crib.Most of the land was farmable, however there was a small woods on the property.The house sat up on a hill and was back a long gravel driveway.The driveway went around into a circle with an old pine tree sitting near the barn.There were numerous trees around the house and a small orchard by the barn.Behind the house there were several trees including about four apple trees.Behind the trees there was always a large garden with strawberries and all kinds of vegetables.When the family first moved there, the house had no indoor bathroom and only a hand pump for water in the kitchen.Although I am sure we used the outhouse for awhile, I don’t really recall it.One of the things that I do remember about it is that there were six to eight large round glacier stones and a large rock made of green glass beside the shed and outhouse.Throughout my childhood I thought the glacier stones were meteorites and was fascinated by them.When we were splitting up dad’s belongings I was able to get the green glass rock and it sits on my front porch and reminds me of the Nevada farm whenever I see it.

Melford and his father-in-law Roy, converted a downstairs room into a bathroom with pink fixtures and a long wall of storage closets and drawers, remodeled the upstairs attic into a barracks style bedroom for the boys, completely redid the kitchen including new cabinets, sink, flooring and windows, replaced the upstairs balcony, enlarged the basement, built storage cabinets in the basement, installed a new furnace and made some improvements to the barn.The farm always had some livestock including 4-H projects, "Linda" - the Guernsey cow that provided all the milk and butter the family needed for years, chickens, rabbits, sheep and in later years a pony for the boys.

Melford was employed by Westinghouse Electric Cooperation (later changed to A.O. Smith) Upper Sandusky Ohio as a machinist and farmed 80 acres in Nevada Ohio before building and moving to the Upper Sandusky residence.I remember at one time dad had wanted to quit Westinghouse and become a rural mail carrier.At the time the position was a civil service position controlled by the local county Democratic Party.A test was required as well as being selected by the local democratic committee.I remember mom helping dad study for the test and after taking the test and doing ok someone else got the job because they had better political connections.

Melford was a Nevada Bobcats 4-H advisor for numerous years, a member of the Wyandot County Democratic Party, Wyandot County Coon Hunters Club, Wyandot County Rod and Gun Club, and Bud's Social Club.He was an avid Democrat as was his parents.He served as a Crane Township trustee for two terms.After his retirement he had more time to enjoy his favorite outdoor activities especially fishing, mushroom hunting, berry picking, and arrowhead hunting.The first few years after his retirement he supplied the families with all the fresh fish they could eat – croppy and bass that he caught and cleaned as well as mushrooms when in season.Fresh deep fried perch fillets and lightly breaded and fried mushrooms are still some of my favorite foods.Melford enjoyed collecting antiques and Indian artifacts.

Martha Lou was a housewife and mother.Her main interests were in raising her six boys.After helping everyone with school work, preparing home cooked meals for a family of eight, canning fruits and vegetables, sewing and mending clothes, baking cookies and cakes for all, there was very little time left for personal interests.There were many times I remember two three of us boys sitting around the kitchen table, doing our homework, and mom going from one to the other helping or checking the work.Even with all this she managed to find time to be a 4-H advisor, an active member in the church and Women’s Guild of the Emmanuel United Church of Christ Upper Sandusky Ohio and served on the Wyandot County Board of Elections.

Throughout their lives, Melford and Martha Lou’s top priority was their boys.Both sacrificed a great deal to give their sons the best that they could.Martha Lou spent hours helping the boys with their schoolwork and cooking, baking, canning, and freezing enough for the family.My memories are mostly of the earlier years and I am sure that the younger boys have different memories.When I was growing up mom and dad both did a lot to help ensure that the boys had opportunities for their future.For a short period I took piano lessons and later I was in band and was given drum lessons.In addition, activities were encouraged and they bought me a guitar, science kits, and an art kit.Education was always a priority and the older boys were always encouraged to save their money and to plan to attend college.As kids we were encouraged to pursue activities that would help in our growth.Presents were frequently educational or sports equipment and some of mine that I recall included a microscope, encyclopedias, and science kits.Both parents were very active in the 4-H club and helped us prepare projects to exhibit at the state and county fairs.Dad was always working with Doug and I on our sheep 4-H projects, and frequently helped other club members.Although we all had to help out on the farm and with the chores, there was always time for activities outside the home including school, church, camp, sports, and 4-H, and our parents were always involved with us.

In later years, while still on the farm, the boys had a pony and a small cart to pull them around on.Later when living at the new house in Upper Sandusky, dad was active with teaching the boys about guns, as well as hunting and fishing.They also had a small moped motorcycle.One of the first things that happened after they got the moped, was that dad took it for a test ride.Unfortunately, he wrecked it and he was scraped up quite a lot and put big scrapes on the helmet where his head hit the pavement.He was not hurt seriously and one of the first things he told the boys was "let that be a lesson to you".In later years he also had a snowmobile, which the boys enjoyed driving around in the neighboring fields.Dad also had a small camper and took the younger boys camping.

Although they had made great improvements to the Nevada farmhouse, Melford and Martha Lou both wanted a new home.They began making plans and decided to build a new home on a lot on Melford’s father’s farm.They spent months planning and saving and finally they sold the Nevada farm and moved to a rental house near Upper Sandusky while construction began.The new home was mothers dream and one that she had worked hard and saved for.Unfortunately she never lived to see the house built.She died as a result of an auto accident on her way to church.She was running late and there had been a slight dusting of snow – enough to make the road slippery.She lost control of the car with the youngest three boys in the car with her.She did not have a seat belt on and was thrown part way out of the car and dragged until the car stopped.The boys were not injured and the car was not damaged.It was a freak accident, one that could not have been prevented and that no one was to blame for.For years, dad and some of the boys, felt responsible in some way, but the truth is that it happened and a different set of circumstances might not have changed it.Most family members were able to see her Sunday afternoon or evening and I was able to talk to her.She made me promise to help take care of the younger boys if anything happened.With few visible injuries we were optimistic that she would recover.Martha Lou died of heart failure and internal injuries at around six A.M. early the next morning in the Wyandot County Hospital Upper Sandusky.Apparently the doctors knew she wouldn’t make it through the night and had been overheard saying that she couldn’t live long because her heart had been crushed so badly in the accident.

When Martha Lou died she left the four youngest boys still at home and a new home only partially built.Although it was difficult for Melford, with Doug’s help the house was finished so they could move in.Raising four boys, alone, was a difficult task, but he succeeded and they all turned out well each with their unique abilities and interests.His mother lived nearby and helped as much as she could.

For several years he regularly saw Rosemary Pell and later in life he also dated Jean Shealy Risner for a number of years.Jean had been one of Martha Lou’s closest friends and was the bridesmaid in their wedding.Although he frequently dated, and was engaged twice after Martha Lou’s death, he never remarried.At age 71 he died of a sudden massive heart attack 25 years after Martha Lou died.They both died on the Sunday before Thanksgiving – 25 years apart.He was at home when he had a heart attack, however he was able to get to the telephone and call Jay and LeAnne who rushed there and called an ambulance.Although the other boys were with him at the hospital, by the time John and I got there from Columbus he had passed away and we didn’t get to talk to him.He had been relatively healthy and active all his life.Although he had no previous heart problems, he smoked and struggled with trying to quit numerous times.He also had broken his neck in an industrial accident and had to wear a hallow brace for six months causing him to take an early retirement.Approximately ten years prior to his death he had prostrate surgery.

After his retirement, Melford devoted more time to going to auctions and antique collecting resulting his amassing numerous antiques and collectables – in many cases six of each.Since he never liked to throw things away and he collected things, his home became filled with a variety of things.Upon his death, the six boys were faced with splitting up the things that Melford had collected over the years.The boys decided that rather than have an auction and sell the family’s belongings, they would divide them up amongst themselves just as they believe Melford would have done had he been there.In the years before his death, Melford frequently would split up everything from antique clocks, guns, arrowheads and coins among the boys.This usually was done over the holidays and would require each boy to draw a number from a hat and then select from the items to be split up.He did it this way to ensure that there was no favoritism and I think the boys really enjoyed the process.We frequently used this method while splitting up the household belongings resulting in everyone amassing a large selection of antiques, family heirlooms and a variety of household belongings.By the end of the summer after Melford’s death, the estate had been settled without having a public auction and with all the belongings being divided up and Jason purchasing the house.During the process of inventorying his belongings and splitting them up, the boys developed an appreciation for antiques and his collections.Through the years of living alone, Melford became quite a "pack-rat" saving and collecting everything.In addition to an extensive collection of antiques and family heirlooms, he filled the house, barn, garage and attic with an assortment of things he could not throw away.Many of the items served a useful purpose but he didn’t know when to stop saving them.As an example he saved cottage cheese containers – hundreds of them.Originally he used these to freeze fresh fish that he caught and gave away to family.However he continued to save them long after he stopped fishing, amassing hundreds only to be discarded when we cleaned the house.Going through some of his belongings in the basement – animal skulls, animal teeth, and other animal body parts was educational for the brothers to say the least.In retrospect, it is clear that his frugality helped him accumulate a significant nest egg, which rather than spend on himself, he choose to leave for his sons.

During his later years we all encouraged him to spend his savings on himself, although none of us had any idea that he accumulated as much as he did.We just wanted him to enjoy himself while he could.Rarely did he splurge on himself, instead choosing to continue his frugal habits and enjoying a more familiar life style, which he developed living alone for so many years.Occasionally he would take a trip to Florida or go fishing in Canada with friends, or buy a newer used car or truck.However, for the most part he enjoyed more everyday events such as coffee with friends at Buds, picking berries, mowing the lawn, or attending the Wyandot County Rod and Gun Club.In addition he was a trustee for Crane Township and he enjoyed attending the meetings and being involved in township activities.Melford, probably knowing how difficult it would be to take care of his estate, chose to have Doug and Joe share the responsibility as co-executors.Contributing to this decision may have been his memories of his disagreements with his brother Darrel when Darrel was the executor of John and Bernice’s estate.Although dividing everything up and cleaning things up was difficult and tempers flared occasionally, it was completed without any serious conflicts and for the most part the brothers have remained close over the years.

Before Bernice died, she gave Melford, along with Darrel and Mariam, the farm in equal one-third interests intending to keep the farm intact.She retained a life estate interest in the property.When Melford died Mariam and Darrel did not originally want to sell the farm, however about a year later, after experiencing heart trouble, Darrel changed his mind and put in motion action to have the jointly owned property sold.The 2/3s that belonged to Melford’s sons and Mariam and Carl Veith was sold to the Mariam Smalley family that had previously farmed it and whose ancestors had originally owned a portion of it.Darrel’s 1/3 was sold to another party.As a result of this and because of how it was handled, there have been bad feelings between Darrel and the rest of the family.

Melford and Martha Swinehart Tombstone

Old Mission Cemetery, Upper Sandusky Ohio

The following is from Martha Lou’s obituary as it appeared in the Daily Chief-Union:

Mrs. Melford Swinehart

The following is taken from Melford’s obituary as it appeared in the Findlay Courier:

Melford E. Swinehart

Both are buried in Old Mission Cemetery Upper Sandusky Wyandot County section B lot 165.

Swinehart Brothers

Top Row: Neil Lon, Douglas Gene, Joseph Allen

Bottom Row: John Roy, Jason Hale, and Scot Eric

Children of Melford Swinehart and Martha Moyer are:

• Joseph Allen Swinehart, born December 17, 1949 in Kenton Hardin County OH; married (1) Pamela Sue Ralph June 13, 1991 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County OH; married (2) Miriam Livingston Walker January 12, 1996 in Columbus Franklin County OH.
• Douglas Gene Swinehart, born November 25, 1952; married (1) Krista Jean Hines; born June 20, 1962 in Meadeville PA; married (2) Brigitte Charlotte Meier March 06, 1975 in Switzerland.
• Neil Lon Swinehart, born October 23, 1955 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County OH; married Zorina Marie Moses July 20, 1985 in Gatlettburg KY; born December 07, 1960 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County OH
• John Roy Swinehart, born July 24, 1960 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County OH; married Sharon L. Farrow; born October 26, 1960.
• Scot Eric Swinehart, born November 01, 1964 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County OH; married Michelle Lee York March 25, 1992; born August 02, 1969 in Wyandot County OH
• Jason Hale Swinehart, born July 25, 1967 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County OH; married LeAnne Antoinette Reading May 06, 1988 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County OH; born May 10, 1968 in Trenton MI.

Left to right: Joe, Neil, Mel, Scot, Jay, John, and Doug

Left to right: John, Mel, Joe, Scot, Doug, Jay, and Neil

Left to right: Scot, Neil, Joe, Doug, Jay, and John

2000

And of course, the women behind the great men:

Standing: Zorina, Krista, and Sharon

Seated: Michelle, Miriam, and LeAnne

Each of the six of us brothers is different and unique in our own ways and I know that dad and mom were proud of all six of us.It is interesting to note the differences between us as well as the similarities.With 18 years difference between the oldest and youngest, the experiences that we each had are very different.I was graduating from high school and leaving for college when Jay was born.The most obvious example is the differences experienced between the younger and older brothers because of our mother’s death.Other differences include the influence of grandparents and other individuals had on each of us at different stages.Dad had different interests as well as different responsibilities when the youngest son was growing up compared to his life when the oldest ones were growing up.As an example, when I was growing up, dad only occasionally went hunting and always had one or two guns around, but it was never something that he spent much time on.More time was spent on 4-H projects and taking care of the farm.When the younger boys were growing up, dad no longer had a farm to take care of and spent more time on other activities.He was much more interested in hunting and fishing and collecting guns.This interest was passed on to the younger boys especially Jay and Scot.

Although we all look different as well as having different interests, there are a number of things about our appearance that we have in common or reflect our ancestors.Relatives have frequently pointed out resemblances we each have to other family members.As an example everyone thinks Doug looks more like dad than any of the rest of the brothers.Others have pointed out that Neil looks like mom and more like a Hufford than the rest and I look more like a Moyer.Neil and I both have/had curly hair, more like mom and grandpa Moyer, while Doug and Scot have finer and thinner hair like dad.And I don’t know about Jay and John – they both seem to have hair that is a little thicker and it is straight – maybe a combination of the two traits.As toddlers, most of us had light curly hair.We are all about the same build as dad, however over the years some of us have gained more weight than we had in our younger days.Grandpa Swinehart and dad both had large hands and long fingers and I think we all have this trait.It is interesting to compare the various photographs of the six of us over the years and watch the changes that have occurred with time –thinner – heavier – long hair –short hair – thin hair – no hair.

To some extent each of us have also picked up some habits from our parents and family.Most of us like the outdoors.For some it is hunting and fishing and others are more into gardening.Some, especially Jay and Scot, are good with woodworking.Although I am not good at it, I enjoy hammering and sawing away at something.This probably is something we learned from Grandpa Moyer as well from the fact that many of our Swinehart ancestors were carpenters.All of us seem to have developed at least some interest in antiques – some more than others.

Some of the habits we picked up aren’t so positive.For instance, I for one know that I yell too much and do not have enough patience when dealing with the children as I would like.Although I have the greatest respect for dad, I remember him yelling a great deal and occasionally having to get the belt after us.I admit that I probably gave both mom and dad plenty to be upset about when I was younger as did most of the boys.Five of the six boys used tobacco, like dad and both grandfathers.Grandpa Swinehart always chewed tobacco and Grandpa Moyer always smoked Lucky Strikes.After smoking for 30 years I finally quit but I remember the first cigarettes I had (and it probably is true for the other brothers) were Viceroys that I took from dad.

Another one of dad’s habits that was very annoying at the time and I can only now appreciate it more, was his unwillingness to let his kids buy him anything.Every holiday or birthday or father’s day was the same.He would make us promise not to get him anything, and then we would anyhow and he would get upset or sit around and pout about it.I can’t remember how many things we got him and he wound up taking back because he didn’t want it or wouldn’t use it – everything from cordless phones to vacuum sweepers.After a while we all pretty much gave up on giving him things except maybe cookies or cheese that we thought he would at least eat.After he died we found many of the gifts in his bedroom still unopened.Later I finally realized that he wasn’t trying to be difficult but really didn’t feel he needed the stuff and didn’t want us to spend money unnecessarily - especially on him.

Within a few months of each other, Doug and I both had a blockage on the same coronary artery and needed to have angioplasty and a stent inserted to keep it open.Whether this was an inherited problem with our arteries or caused because we both smoked is unknown.Neither of us had ever had high cholesterol or high blood pressure but we both smoked heavily for years.Fortunately we were both finally able to quit smoking after all these years.In addition, as mentioned earlier, several of us pick at our fingers and this is a characteristic - learned or inherited - from the Hufford side since mom, Grandma Moyer, Tena Koehler, Martha Shough and great grandmother Tena Hufford all did the same thing.

Joseph Allen Swinehart

Joseph Allen Swinehart was born December 17, 1949 in Kenton Hardin County Ohio.Joe was named after his great grandfather – Joseph Peter Swinehart on the Swinehart side and his great-great grandfather Joseph Mason Smith on the Moyer/Hufford side (there were also great uncles on both sides named Joseph – Joseph Howard Swinehart and Joseph Smith Hufford).He married Pamela Sue Ralph June 13, 1971 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio at the Emanuel Reformed United Church of Christ.She was the daughter of Richard Donald Ralph and Joyce Altvator.She was born January 12, 1953 in Bucyrus Crawford County Ohio and died December 25, 1991 in Columbus Franklin County Ohio.She died of diabetes and is buried in Kenton Hardin County Ohio.He married Miriam Livingston Walker January 12, 1996 in Columbus Franklin County Ohio.She is the daughter of Reverend Frederic Walker and Barbara Kramer and the granddaughter of Grace Livingston Hill, the prolific Christian romance novelist.Miriam was born March 08, 1967 in Columbus Ohio.Joseph attended Nevada Elementary School, Wynford High School, Bucyrus Ohio and graduated in 1968.He also attended Ohio Northern University, Ada Ohio and graduated in 1974 with a BA degree in psychology.He was employed 1974-1990 at the Hardin County Department Human Services for the last ten years as the director.He was employed next by the State of Ohio Office of Budget and Management as a budget and management analyst from 1990 to the present.In his spare time Joe enjoys family, music, camping, photography, genealogy, home improvement projects and reading – especially science fiction and early Ohio pioneer history.He is a member of the First Community Church Columbus Ohio, and past member of the Elks, Moose, Rotary Club, Ohio Human Services Director Association, and past president NW Ohio Human Service Directors Association.Joe and Miriam currently reside on Baffin Court in Dublin.

Child of Joseph Swinehart and Pamela Ralph is:

• Nicole Lee Swinehart, born October 19, 1974 Bucyrus Crawford County Ohio.

Children of Joseph Swinehart and Miriam Walker are:

• Micheal Walden Maynard, (step-son) born January 30, 1985 Columbus Franklin County Ohio.
• Jonathan James Swinehart, born June 30, 1990 Cincinnati Hamilton County Ohio.
• Jennifer Elizabeth Salyer, (step-daughter) born September 28, 1991 Cincinnati Hamilton County Ohio.

Pamela Ralph graduated from Bucyrus High School Bucyrus Ohio in 1971 and from the Ohio State Beauty Academy Marion Ohio.She was employed as the manager of the Eastcrest Dairy Freeze Kenton Ohio prior to her death.She died as the result of a diabetic coma.

Miriam Walker’s father was a minister resulting in their family moving around considerably while she was a youth.During this time she lived in Chillicothe Ohio, Birmingham Alabama, St. Louis Missouri, Evanston Illinois, Cambridge England and finally Columbus Ohio.Most of her elementary years were spent at Evanston Elementary School (near Chicago IL) and most of her high school years at Upper Arlington High School, Columbus Ohio.She attended business classes at Bradford Business College Columbus Ohio.She is employed by the State of Ohio, Department of Job and Family Services, as an administrative assistant in the Office of Child Support.In her spare time she enjoys family, writing children’s stories, reading and crafts.

For additional information concerning Joe Swinehart see the My Story section at the end of this document.

Douglas Gene Swinehart

Douglas Gene Swinehart was born November 25, 1952 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.He married Brigitte Charlotte Meier, born March 24, 1956 and the daughter of Werner and Dora Meier, March 06, 1975 in Basel Switzerland.He married Krista Jean Hines, daughter of Gerald Hines and Jean Eggener, October 17, 1986 in Lima Allen County Ohio.She was born June 20, 1962 in Meadeville Pennsylvania.Krista’s interests include: Longaberger Baskets, volunteering at school, reading, classic movies and piano.Douglas attended Nevada and Mount Zion Elementary Schools, Wynford High School, Bucyrus Ohio and graduated in 1971.He also attended Ohio Northern University, Ada Ohio and graduated in 1985 with a B.A. degree in History.While at Ohio Northern he was selected to participate in the student exchange program enabling him to live in Switzerland and attend classes in Basel.It was here that he met and married Brigitte Meier and where Ryan was born.He lived in Switzerland for approximately four years.He is employed by Fifth Third Bank Lima Ohio as a Mortgage Loan Officer.In his free time he enjoys baseball, coaching, skiing, and gardening.They reside in Lima.

Child of Douglas Swinehart and Bridgette Meyers is:

• Ryan Eric Swinehart, born January 06, 1976, Basel Switzerland.

Children of Douglas Swinehart and Krista Hines are:

• Luke David Swinehart, born December 28, 1983, Lima Ohio.
• Aaron Michael Swinehart, born March 18, 1991, Lima Ohio.

Neil Lon Swinehart

Neil Lon Swinehart was born October 23, 1955 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.He married Zorina Marie Moses July 20, 1985 in Catlettsburg Kentucky.She is the daughter of Wayne Moses and Cecelia Fink.She was born December 07, 1960 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.Neil attended Nevada Elementary School, Mt. Zion Junior High, Wynford High School and graduated from Upper Sandusky High School in 1974.He also attended Ohio Northern University and Ohio State University Marion Branch.Neil enjoys working and surfing on his Apple IMAC computer.Zorina attended Forest Jackson Elementary School, Wharton Junior High, and graduated from Riverdale High School in 1979.Zorina is a music fan particularly of the Goo Goo Dolls and Tonic.She enjoys family, flowers and gardening.She also collects pig decorations.They reside east of Forest near Zorina’s father.

Children of Neil Swinehart and Zorina Moses are:

• Courtney Ellen Boecher, born January 13, 1979 Marion Ohio.
• Mariele Paige Swinehart, born November 26, 1990 Marion Ohio.

John Roy Swinehart

John Roy Swinehart was born July 24, 1960 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.He married Sharon L. Farrow, daughter of Robey Farrow and Lois Swisher.She was born October 26, 1960 in Upper Sandusky.John was named after his grandfathers – John Swinehart and Roy Moyer.John attended Nevada Elementary School, Upper Sandusky High School Upper Sandusky Ohio and graduated in 1979.He also attended Marion Technical College in Marion, Ohio, Stark Technical College in North Canton, Ohio and attended a few classes at Akron University in Akron, Ohio.He has an Associate degree in Electrical/Electronics Engineering Technology. He is currently attending a night class in order to pursue a career in computer networking. Upon graduating from high school he worked for a brief time in a factory in Upper Sandusky.From about 1980 through 1984 he worked at Marion Power Shovel - Dresser, primarily involved in computer-generated structural steel templates while attending classes at Marion Technical College.After Marion Power Shovel fell on difficult times, Sharon and John moved to the Akron/Canton area for a better opportunity.There, John worked for what was then Goodyear Aerospace, which later became Loral Corp. and is currently Lockheed-Martin.They lived in the Canton/Akron area for about twelve years. They currently reside in Sunbury, Ohio in Delaware County.

John enjoys the outdoors and most things that stimulate the mind and keep him from doing actual work. He occasionally enjoys a chess or a card game. He likes catching fish - but not necessarily just the fishing.He especially likes hiking and bicycling and enjoys fine automobiles and pretty women (like his wife!).He continually wishes he had more time for outdoor activities and more time for traveling, which he also enjoys.John likes a variety of rock and roll music including "everything from Abba to ZZ Top".

Sharon and John met in high school.Sharon’s father had held many jobs through-out his life, including tending bar, linesman, gas-meter reader, and dairy farmer. He was very proficient with math and drawing/drafting and excellent with written words.He later became a drafting and layout supervisor at Marion Power Shovel - Dresser and assisted John in landing his job there at a time when the U.S. economy was in a bit of a rut.Sharon’s mother was a homemaker most of her life and became somewhat well known for making great apple pies.Sharon currently works at BISYS, a financial administrator for banks and retirement programs.She shares John’s love of the outdoors, but would prefer to eat and sleep indoors where the shopping is better.

Scot Eric Swinehart

Scot Eric Swinehart was born November 01, 1964 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.He married Michelle Lee York, daughter of Ray and Sarah York, March 25, 1992.She was born August 2, 1969 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.Scot attended Upper Sandusky High School Upper Sandusky Ohio.He is employed at Pfeiffer Hardware in Upper Sandusky Ohio.According to Scot "he is blessed with looks and brains."He enjoys hunting, fishing, arrowhead hunting, woodcarving, and the outdoors.He spends much of his time fixing up and organizing his "arts and entertainment" room which is filled with his collection of antiques and primitive artifacts.He is a member of the Wyandot County Rod and Gun Club and the Archaeological Society of Ohio.

Michelle graduated from Upper Sandusky High School in 1988.She is employed by the Daily Chief-Union.In her spare time Michelle enjoys taking trips to the lake and collecting anything that has to do with lighthouses.She also likes sailboats and horses.They have one "baby" – Molly Marie Swinehart.She is a Rotweiler trapped in the body of a Beagle.Scot and Michelle reside in Upper Sandusky Ohio.

Jason Hale Swinehart

Jason Hale Swinehart was born July 25, 1967 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.He married LeAnne Antoinette Mick, daughter of Dick Reading and Nancy Stagger (adopted by Wayne Mick), May 06, 1988 in Upper Sandusky Wyandot County Ohio.She was born May 10, 1968 in Trenton Michigan.Jason’s middle name – Hale – was named after his grandmother Christean Moyer’s brother Hale Hufford.Jason graduated from Upper Sandusky High School Upper Sandusky Ohio in 1985.He is employed as a carpenter by Niederkohr Brothers Upper Sandusky.In his free time Jason enjoys arrowhead hunting, hunting, fishing, and antique tractors.After Melford died, Jason purchased his house, which is where Jason spent most of his childhood.LeAnne and Jay have put a lot of time and effort into remodeling and fixing up the house that now is a home they are proud of.They have completely refinished the upstairs and are working on the basement now.

LeAnne graduated from Carey High School in 1986.She enjoys Longaberger baskets.Most of her time is taken up with running her children around, keeping up with all of Kaleb's sporting events, and managing the household.She works at the Commercial Bank in Upper Sandusky Ohio.Jason and LeAnne are expecting another child in March 2002.

Children of Jason Swinehart and Leanne Mick are:

• Brittany Marie Orians, born March 06, 1985 at Upper Sandusky Ohio.
• Kaleb Pierce Swinehart, born March 16, 1989 at Upper Sandusky Ohio.
• Ross Gabriel Swinehart, born March 19, 2002 at Marion General Hospital, Marion Ohio.