<![CDATA[MYERSVILLE-WOLFSVILLE AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

<![CDATA[MYERSVILLE-WOLFSVILLE AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY - MWA Research Blog]]>Mon, 04 May 2026 21:36:15 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[Wolfsville's Music Man]]>Fri, 30 Sep 2022 17:09:34 GMThttps://www.mwahistory.com/research/wolfsvilles-music-man

We have MWAHS Treasurer Mary Pearl to thank for locating this digital record of Wolfsville native Edwin Coleman Hoover (1862-1937), born in Wolfsville to Gideon and Elizabeth Ramsburg Hoover. Below are the front and back covers of sheet music to a piece he wrote titled "Pleasant Thoughts March."

Hagerstown Morning Herald, 10 February 1937:
"Word has been received here of the death of Edwin C. Hoover, a former resident of Hagerstown, in Basin, Wyoming. He was aged 75.

"Born in Wolfsville, Mr. Hoover was a gifted musician and led the Wolfsville band at the age of 14 and taught music when only 18. Many residents of Hagerstown and Washington county took lessons from him in early life.

Mr. Hoover was a member of the Reformed Church of Hagerstown.

In addition to the musical ability, the deceased taught school for a number of years. He was the first musical superintendent for schools in Washington county.

Going to Basin, Wyoming in 1900, Mr. Hoover organized a band there. He was county superintendent of Big Horn county and was treasurer of the town from 1912 to 1914."

Frederick Post, 4 February, 1937:
"Mrs. Tamma Hoover Kline of this place received word a few days ago of the death of her uncle Prof. Edwin C. Hoover, formerly of this place, now of Basin, Wyoming. Mr. Hoover was born April 12, 1862, and died Jan. 23, he being the last of the family of the late Gideon and Elizabeth Ramsburg Hoover. He spent his younger life with his parents here at the old Antietam Homeplace of the Hoovers which belongs to A. E. Hoover now. In 1899, Prof. Hoover went to Basin, Wyoming, and remained there until his death. He was engaged in vocal and instrumental music. He leaves a widow and three sons, Ralph at Basin, Wyo.; Edwin, Jr., Washington, D. C., and Charles, Basin, Wyo."

He married a local Wolfsville girl, Emma S. Hays Hoover.

Frederick Daily News, 8 January, 1910:

"Mrs. Emma Hays Hoover, a native of Wolfsville, Frederick county, wife of Prof. Edwin C. Hoover, died on Wednesday night, December 20, from an operation for fibroid tumor of the abdomen performed at the Rogers House, at Basin, Wyo., aged 46 years. She was in ill health for about two years and seriously ill two weeks. The entire family were present when she died.

"Mrs. Hoover was a daughter of the late John Otho Hays, who attained considerable prominence because of his more than half a century of service as a public school teacher at Wolfsville, and formerly lived in Hagerstown. After the death of her brother, Calvin Hays, who owned a large ranch near Basin, Wyo., Prof. Hoover and family removed to Basin, where he was principal of the Basin public school for some time and later conducted a ranch. Surviving are her mother, Mrs. Hays and brother, Eugene Hays, Wolfsville; husband, children, Ralph, at Basin; Mrs. Emma Ray Maler, Worland, Wyo.; Ivy May, at home. A daughter, Maude, died at Basin in 1903. The funeral took place December 31, with services in the Methodist church at Basin, by Rev. H. E. Shepherd, and interment was made in the new cemetery at Basin."

]]><![CDATA[Professionals, Merchants, and Craftsmen in Myersville, Wolfsville, and Ellerton in 1878]]>Sun, 16 Jan 2022 17:44:03 GMThttps://www.mwahistory.com/research/who-was-who-in-myersville-wolfsville-and-ellerton-in-1878The Following entries come from The Maryland directory: Being a Descriptive Compilation of the Counties, Towns, Villages and Post offices, and Names of Merchants ... and Other New and Valuable Information Never Before Published, J. Frank Lewis Publisher, Baltimore, 1878.

]]><![CDATA[Gleanings from the Maryland State Archives, Part 1]]>Thu, 16 Sep 2021 16:02:30 GMThttps://www.mwahistory.com/research/gleanings-from-the-maryland-state-archives-part-1No Alcohol Sales in Myersville, 1864

Session Laws, 1864, vol. 531, pg. 265

AN ACT to prohibit the issuing of any license for the sale of spirituous or fermented liquors within
three miles of either of the churches in the village of Myersville, Frederick county, Maryland, and to prevent the sale of all kinds of intoxicating drinks within the above described limits.
Passsd Feb.18, 1864.

SECTION 1: Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Frederick county shall not grant a license to any person to sell spirituous or fermented liquors of any kind, at any time or place within three miles of either of the churches in the village of Myersville, Frederick county, Maryland, and that any person selling any kind of intoxicating drinks, whether of original manufacture or of a mixed character, within the above described limits, shall on conviction be subject to all the fines and penalties prescribed by the Code of Public General Laws of Maryland, for selling spirituous or fermented liquors without license.

SECTION. 2: And be it enacted, That this act shall take effect from and after the first day of May next.

Burgess and Council to Establish Myersville Town Water System, 1918

Code of Public and Local Laws of Maryland 1930, Vol 377, pg 2623
FREDERICK COUNTY. 2623
1918, ch. 329, sec. 1. 1918 Code, sec. 605.

The Burgess and Council of Myersville is hereby authorized and empowered to construct, establish and maintain a water supply system in and for the town of Myersville, in Frederick County, Maryland, for the
purpose of furnishing an adequate and proper supply of water in said town for all private and municipal purposes.

1918, ch. 329, sec. 2. 1918 Code, sec. 606.
The Burgess and Council of Myersville is hereby authorized and empowered to acquire by purchase, lease, gift, or by condemnation in the manner now prescribed by law for the acquisition of private property for a public use, any and all lands or any interests therein, within or without the corporate limits of the said town of Myersville, which the said Burgess and Council may deem necessary for the proper construction of said improvements.

1918, ch. 329, sec. 7. 1918 Code, sec. 607.
The Burgess and Council of Myersville is hereby authorized and empowered to do all acts and things not specifically mentioned herein, which may be necessary to arrange for the construction and maintenance
of said water supply system herein provided for.

]]><![CDATA[Be There Soon]]>Thu, 07 Jan 2021 19:38:49 GMThttps://www.mwahistory.com/research/be-there-soon

A postcard to Mrs. D. Edgar Bittle (Floy Miller Biser Bittle) of Myersville, mailed from Frederick on 28 December, 1925. Owned by Ann Longmore-Etheridge.

"Will be out Wednesday afternoon, either on the 1:50 or 3:50 [trolley], am not sure which one. Hope you have had a nice Christmas. Tell the kids, 'Hello'. Will see you later. Lovingly, Madelene."

The Bittles lived at 401 Main Street, Myersville. The family was headed by David Edgar Bittle (1889-1952), son of Myersville merchant and banker George Waters Bittle and his wife Mary Elizabeth Routzahn Bittle. Bittle married Floy Miller Biser Bittle (1888-1964), who was the daughter of Charles Calvin Biser and Carrie May Miller Biser of Middletown. The "kids" mentioned in the postcard were Hilda Mae Bittle Hauver and Kyle Waters Bittle, the couple's children.

In 1925, the Bittle home was new and well-appointed. It was apparently built after fire damage to the previous house on the site in January 1919, when buildings and homes in the immediate area caught light in a substantial conflagration.

Many members of the Bittle clan are buried in St. Paul's Lutheran Church Cemetery, Main Street, Myersville, in a large and striking plot.

Photo courtesy Find A Grave.

]]><![CDATA[A Postcard to Artist Olga]]>Wed, 16 Dec 2020 18:22:29 GMThttps://www.mwahistory.com/research/a-postcard-to-olga

By Ann Longmore-Etheridge

This postcard of adorable dogs making a spectacular mess was sent to Olga Stottlemyer of Wolfsville, posted on 15 July, 1907. It was from her cousin Sadie, who mailed it in in Myersville, and reads: "Dear Cousin, Found all well at home, but I have a bad cold, could barely speak above a whisper since Wed. -?-, Tom Brown is not any better, seems to be getting weaker. Lovingly, Sadie. Mother thinks Knight Errant is fine. Have not read the news yet."

Olga Delvita Stottlemyer (pictured second from left, below), born on 15 February, 1880, in Wolfsville, was the daughter of farmer Henry F. C. Stottlemyer (1842-1927), son of Daniel James and Joanna Recher Stottlemyer, and Martha Ellen Brown (1847-1930), daughter of William B. and Elizabeth Fox Brown of Foxville. The Stottlemyers' farmhouse, to which this postcard was delivered, still stands at 12719 Stottlemyer Road, Wolfsville (pictured below in about 1992).

Olga took a degree in art at Hood College, Frederick. On the 1910 Census, she lived with her parents and sister. She stated her occupation as a landscape painter. In 1926, Olga, who was living with her brother Worth Brown Stottlemyer, was listed in the Waynesboro, Pennsylvania city directory as an artist. Art was extrememly important to both Olga and her brother Worth, a real estate agent, who bequeathed a collection that included works by Rembrandt, James Whistler, Thomas Moran, and many members of the Hudson River School to his son Quayton, who, in turn, gifted it to the Juiniata College of Art in Huntington, Pennsylvania. For a time, all of his collection resided in the farmhouse in Wolfsville.

Knowing that Olga was an artist, it is likely that Sadie chose a postcard featuring a painting, which is titled "The Art Lesson," by an unknown artist. Additionally, Sadie mentions "Knight Errant" in the message. This may refer to The Queen's Knight Errant: A Story of the Days of Sirs Walter Ralegh, a popular fiction novel by Beatrice Marshall that was published in the United States by E. P. Dutton in 1905.

In January, 1910, Olga and her sister Irma were both severely injured when their hysterical horse "ran off, overturned the buggy and threw the young ladies out," reported the Baltimore Sun. "Miss Olga sustained a broken leg and was made unconscious. She was carried to the office of Dr. M. D. Kefauver, who gave surgical aid." In 1927, the Frederick News of 11 July noted that she had sustained another critical injury from a fall whilst wallpapering.

On the 1930 Census, Olga was still with her mother and her brother Claude at the Wolfsville farm, and by 1940, she lived alone with Claude after her mother's passing. Olga died, never having married, at Valley View Nursing Home in Middletown in March 1964 and was buried in Green Hill Cemetery, Waynesboro.

The identity of cousin Sadie and Tom Brown remains a mystery for the moment, although Brown was almost certainly a cousin on Olga's mother's side of the family. If you can shed any light on these two people, please let us know.

Photo courtesy G. K. Brown.

According to a blog post by Juniata College, "From 1952 until 1985, the large trove of artworks [collected by Worth Stottlemyer] were stored in a rural farmhouse in Wolfsville, Md., where pieces were hung throughout the house and stored in trunks, drawers and other areas."

"Moonlit Harbor Watercolor," by Olga Stottlemyer, was sold at a fine art auction on 1 January, 2012.

]]><![CDATA[October 21st, 2020]]>Wed, 21 Oct 2020 18:21:55 GMThttps://www.mwahistory.com/research/october-21st-2020Mailing Miss Daisy

This postcard was sent to Daisy S. R. Gladhill on 26 October, 1907, from Poolsville. There is no message and the sender is unknown. Of Daisy herself, she was born in 1882 to Daniel and Magdalena Kinna Gladhill of near Myersville. She married McClure Hamilton Haupt before 1914 when she gave birth to his daughter, Mary Elizabeth Haupt.

Daisy's great-nephew J. C. Gladhill recalls, "My Great Aunt Daisy was a real character and we were great buddies at the end of her life. She was my grandfather’s sister, born in Harmony. She was a teacher and was married to a teacher, Professor McClure Haupt. They kept their marriage secret for a long time because married women could not be teachers.

"When she became pregnant she had to stop teaching. For many years she became a well known antiques dealer. Carlotta Hays used to say she got some of her finest things from Aunt Daisy. Aunt Daisy passed her knowledge on to Carlotta and Carlotta shared her knowledge with me. Aunt Daisy started to suffer with arthritis in her 80s. Her doctor told her to take up bowling so on her 100th birthday she was on the Washington, D.C., news program bowling. I still have a box of her trophies in the attic. In her 80s, she also took a trip on Pan Am Airlines around the world. I have her certificate. I wasn’t very impressed about that feat when she told me but now that I’m this age and realize it takes me three days to recover just flying to Europe, I have wonderment about her journey. She was also an avid gardener and continued that into her 90s.

"One of her dearest friends in her later years was Nan Rehnquist, wife of the Chief Justice. Aunt Daisy Died when she was 101. She gave me the daguerreotype of her father, Daniel (1819-1888), that he had given to her and she carried it her whole life. She told me the story about her crawling into their Fessler Clock, it fell over and the glass shattered, she was crying when her father lifted her up and said, 'Don’t cry Daisy the clock can be fixed.'

"I still have collections that she gave to me including her dolls bed made by her father for her and lots of fond memories."

]]><![CDATA[George and Vallie Eldridge of Myersville]]>Fri, 22 May 2020 18:29:08 GMThttps://www.mwahistory.com/research/george-and-vallie-eldridge-of-myersville

George Clement Eldridge (1866-1931), of Myersville, and Vallie G. Landis (1872-1954), of Beaver Creek, Washington County, Maryland, were married at the bride's home in Washington County, Maryland, on November 02, 1892. Witnesses were John H. Eldridge (brother of the groom) and Willia Landis (sister of the bride). The minister was Minister-Walter S. Hoye.

George was a well known retired farmer of Myersville, who, according to his obituary, "died at his home Wednesday morning at 4 o'clock after a long illness of complications, aged 65 years, three months, 27 days. He was a son of the late Andrew Cole and Caroline Harp Eldridge and has been a life-long resident of Jackson district. He is survived by his widow Vallie Landis Eldridge; one daughter, Miss Rhoda Caroline Eldridge; and three sons, George Sterling Eldridge and Reno Landis Eldridge, Myersville; Dr. Arthur Clement Eldridge, Sparrows Point. Funeral Friday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock from the late home, with services conducted by Rev. Berry Plummer, Hagerstown. Interment Mount Zion United Methodist Church Cemetery, Myersville, Frederick County, Maryland, USA, Bittle Bros., funeral directors. Source: Frederick Post, Thursday, September 17, 1931.

Photo and information courtesy Julie Eldridge Carbaugh.

]]><![CDATA[Carlotta Hays: An Ellerton Girl Chronicles Life During World War I and the 1918 Flu Pandemic]]>Wed, 08 Apr 2020 17:36:31 GMThttps://www.mwahistory.com/research/carlotta-hays-an-ellerton-girl-chronicles-life-during-world-war-i-and-the-1918-flu-pandemic

Carlotta Hays in in the family garden on October 14, 1918. In her Diary, Carlotta noted that this was taken shortly before her father arrived home with Spanish Flu. Photo courtesy Nancy Hendricks.

by Judy Zeck

A version of this article first appeared in the Middletown Valley Citizen.

There are some years in history with more than their share of momentous events. In 1918, nations around the globe were in the midst what was then called the "war to end all wars." At the same time, a deadly pandemic was sweeping the world. The two fed off each other, with the movement of troops contributing to the rapid spread of the disease. The pandemic lasted one deadly year from January 1918 to January 1919. Scientists still study the virus to understand why it was so contagious and so often fatal. It reportedly infected 600 million people worldwide, from remote Pacific islands to deepest arctic regions, killing an estimated 50 million.

The Middletown Valley was not immune from the impact of the war, and it was certainly not immune from the influenza pandemic. The local effects of these two momentous events can be traced through the diary of a 14-year-old girl named Carlotta A. Hays.

Who was Carlotta Hays?
To this day, Carlotta is remembered by many in the Middletown area. She taught in Frederick County Public Schools for 50 years, with most of her career as a first and second grade teacher in Middletown. In 1918, Carlotta was a young teen, living in Ellerton with her family. She began keeping a diary in May of that year. There is a lot to learn about early 20th Century life in the upper Middletown Valley from her writing.

Carlotta Hays was born November 20, 1903, on Brandenburg Hollow Road near Wolfsville, the oldest child of Milton George Urner Hays and Josephine Farsht Hays. By May 1918, when Carlotta began keeping her diaries, she had four younger siblings: Herbert, aged 12; Elizabeth, aged 10; Genevieve aged 8; and the baby, Harriet, who was not yet a year old. There are actually two diaries: the first runs from May 4, 1918, through the end of the year, and the second covers January 1, 1919, through December 1919.

Milton Hays, Carlotta’s father, a carpenter working for a home building company in Hagerstown, left Ellerton on Sunday nights to take the trolley to where he was employed. He spent his work weeks in Hagerstown then returned home Saturday evenings to spend Sunday with the family. This meant that the diary revolves primarily around Carlotta’s mother, Josephine, and the five children.

Like many diaries of the time, the entries are terse but regular. Carlotta practiced ruila dies sine linea (no day without a line). As will be seen, Carlotta began each entry with the weather, then reported daily activities. There are few feelings recorded or philosophical musings, only a recitation of what the family did each day. Even so, the diaries provide a unique view of life in a time when most people's worlds were more limited. There were few cars, no television, and certainly no internet, but their days were full of work, school, family, and friends.

The Hays family in 1910. From left in front: Herbert, Carlotta, and Elizabeth Hays. Seated from left: unknown woman with child; Allen and Lydia Hays (the parents of Milton G. U. Hays); Josephine Farsht Hays. Back row from left: Paul Hays, Milton G.U. Hays, Robert Brumbaugh, and Emma H. Brumbaugh. Photo courtesy Nancy Hendricks.

Everyday Life
There was a certain rhythm to life, then. Children were integral to the economic success of the family and participated in the daily work around the house, including washing, ironing, cleaning, sewing, gardening, tending the livestock, and picking berries. Carlotta never used the word "chore" -- these were just things that had to be done and everyone pitched in. There is no sense of drudgery in the diary. Additionally, the children made money through several different enterprises. Elizabeth and Genevieve went into Myersville, a distance of two miles each way, every week to sell Grit newspapers; Herbert also had a newspaper route on weekends and kept chickens and guineas. The children picked berries for pay and did other tasks to make money. School was part of their life but was often secondary to things that needed to be done at home. There were many fine times, too, including picnics, visiting neighbors, and vacations to Wolfsville to visit their grandmother.

As an aside, Grit was a weekly newspaper that was popular in the rural United States during much of the 20th Century. It ran the subtitle “America’s Greatest Family Newspaper.” In the early 1930s, Grit targeted small towns and rural families with 14 print pages plus a fictional supplement. By 1932, it had a circulation of 425,000 in 48 states with 83 percent of its circulation in towns comprised of fewer than 10,000 people.

The newspaper espoused the following philosophy, "Keep Grit from being pessimistic; avoid printing those things which distort the minds of readers or make them feel at odds with the world; avoid showing the wrong side of things or making people feel discontented; do nothing that will encourage fear, worry, or temptation.... Wherever possible, suggest peace and good will toward men; give our readers courage and strength for their daily tasks; put happy thoughts, cheer, and contentment into their hearts."

Grit has evolved since the early 1900s and is now a slick monthly magazine still focusing on rural life and small farm living.

Herbert Hays tending the pigs. Photo courtesy Nancy Hendricks.

The First Diary
Carlotta doesn’t say why she started her diary, so we are left to speculate. As the diary progresses, Carlotta refers to her siblings by their first initials: G. for Genevieve, H. for Herbert, and E . for Elizabeth. It should also be noted that as the diary progresses, many people are mentioned, some by their first name, some by their last, and some by both, with very few clues as to who they were. The author hopes to conduct further research on the Hays's friends and neighbors in the future.

The diary entries have been lightly edited for readability.

Saturday May 4, 1918. Today was a fair cool day. Herbert brought the pigs home from Mrs. Harp’s. The four weighed 113 pounds. Mrs. Marker spent the afternoon with us. Herbert went on his paper route and did not return, stayed with Glenn. Father arrived home early and brought us candy as usual.

Sunday, May 5, 1918. Bright sunshine and warm. At half-past one this morning, the pigs decided to go home to mother and so they went. Elizabeth and I went to Sunday School this morning. Elizabeth and Genevieve divided the afternoon with Lizzie and Harp’s girls. Father went back to town.

Monday, May 6, 1918. Beautiful spring day. Elizabeth and I went to school. Herbert stayed home to bring the pigs home again. Mother washed and in the evening we all helped to make a square of garden. We were so tired that mother and I went to bed as soon as dark, but the fairies came and washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen.

Thursday, May 16, 1918. Clear and cool. We planted the patch early in the morning and then I went to school. Mother washed for the second time this week, and she also churned. Mother set a leghorn hen with eleven guinea eggs and three duck eggs, also another one with twelve duck eggs.

Friday, May 17, 1918. Fair weather and rather warm. Our teacher Miss Burhl took all our pictures today. We had Literary today at school. I had a composition on Ducks. We cleaned up the parlor after school. This is rather late for house cleaning, but we were waiting till I was home to help. Lizzie and her son Eldin spent the evening with us.

Ellerton School pupils in May 1918, taken by Mrs Buhrle Dubel, their teacher. Photo courtesy Nancy Hendricks.

Saturday,  May 18, 1918. Fair and very warm.  Mother washed for the third time this week.  We cleaned up one room up stairs. We baked pies and did other tasks too numerous to mention. Herbert started on his paper route. He returned home about dark. Father came home from town. Mrs. Maud Grossnickle and her two sons called during the evening. Mr. Rylidge called on business.

Thursday, May 23, 1918. Fair and very warm. Seven ducklings hatched out today. Mother sent off a Larkin's order which amounted to $28.88. Madeline Stroup called during the eventing.

Periodically, Carlotta makes mention of sending or receiving Larkin orders. The arrival of each order was something of an event, since in the first diary, they are mentioned regularly. The Larkin Company, also known as the Larkin Soap Company, was founded in 1875 in Buffalo, New York, as a small soap factory. It grew throughout the late 1800s and into the early 1900s through an approach called "The Larkin Idea" -- mail order -- the success of which transformed the company into a conglomerate that employed 4,000 people and had annual sales of $28.6 million.

Monday, May 27, 1918. Fair and very warm. We plowed the potatoes today. Taking it turnabout Herbert was the horse and sometimes mother. If anyone reading this diary thinks it's fun, try it one hot afternoon. Miss Burhl’s brother taught school today in her place.

Carlotta often notes that neighbors and family stop in to visit or spend part of the day.

Tuesday, May 28, 1918. Showers in the morning and clear and warm in the afternoon. The examination started today.  As I did not have to take it, I didn’t  go. Mother washed. Late in the evening was heavy thunder showers. Two little children of Mrs. Wolf’s stopped in during the storm. The little girl was very much frightened. We sold our three calves today for $100. They were Martha, Black Beauty, and Belle. Herbert received  .25 cents for taking them down to Mr. Grossnickle’s.

Wednesday, May 29, 1918. Fair in the morning, but thunder showers in the afternoon. I was in school this afternoon to take the examination in Md. history. A small duck committed suicide by jumping into the well. This ends the duck’s troubles, but not ours, for we have not discovered its body yet. Elizabeth, Genevieve, and I went over to Church Hill to practice for the Children’s Service.

Friday, May 31, 1918. Extremely warm. School closed today. We received our examination papers today. Elizabeth, Herbert, and I passed for the next grade. E. will now be in the 4th, H. in the 6th, and I in the 7th. Genevieve and I went to rehearse our recitations for the Children’s Service. Mother made two dresses and repaired one. Mrs. Cis Carty dropped in during the afternoon. Elizabeth spent the evening with Mrs. Shepley.

Saturday, June 1, 1918. Fair and very warm. Mother washed for the third time this week. We baked pies and a cake, and cleaned up the house. I churned and Elizabeth and Genevieve spent the afternoon with Hazel Johnson, and Mrs. Johnson gave them a basket of strawberries. Hazel Johnson and her daughter spent the evening with us. Herbert returned with the cow which had been missing for several days, having found her up at Grandma’s, a distance of four miles. After resting a bit, he started on his paper route. Father was lucky enough to catch an automobile ride from Myersville up.

It is apparent from these entries how hard everyone in the family worked to keep things going. They are constantly cleaning, washing, ironing, sewing, planting gardens, picking produce, canning, and baking pies, bread, and cakes. But they also were interconnected with others in the area and and very much part of what was happening in the greater world around them.

Friday, June 21, 1918. Clear in the forenoon and rainy in the afternoon. Mr. Harp plowed our potato patch. I was out gathering raspberries for dinner, but became frightened by a huge blacksnake which I saw and I came to the house. Herbert [took] a hoe and went out thinking to kill it, but after taking a look at Mr. Snake he also returned to the house. Mary Harp happened to be here at the time and she took the shovel and went out thinking she would kill it, but her nerve also failed her. About this time E. Johnson happened to come along and made away with the snake in short order. It measured five feet one inch. After viewing the corpse, Herbert operated on its stomach with the aid of a pen knife. He removed two whole guinea eggs and the fragments of about four more. Nettie Harshman spent the afternoon with us. Mother was so glad to see her she talked herself horse [sic].

Thursday, July 4, 1918. Clear and very warm. Today, we made two freezers of ice cream. It was fine. Grandma and Minnie came down this morning. Minnie returned home in the afternoon, but Grandma stayed. Herbert and I went to rehearsal at Myersville. Mrs. Stroup spent the afternoon with us.

Friday, July 5, 1918. Clear in the morning and thunder showers in the afternoon. I cleaned up the house, grandma baked six pies. Herbert helped Mr. Johnson to haul in wheat. Mother washed. Geraldine Hays came down late in the evening and took Grandma along home.

Sunday, August 4, 1918. Cloudy all day. Lizzie took Genevieve and I along to Myersville to Sunday School.  Elizabeth went up to Sunday School and in the afternoon she went up to Nelly’s. In the evening they brought her home in the automobile. Clarence Main called to see Herbert. Large thunder showers in the night. Ten guineas of Herbert's hatched out. One hatched which a blacksnake had ate June 21.

The children had their share of bumps and bruises, particularly Herbert. On September 23, Carlotta wrote the following:

Monday, September 23, 1918. Fair and cool. Mother washed. This evening after supper, Herbert attempted to ride his colt although it is only a little over a year old. As a result he streched [sic] out with a broken arm and a very bad break, too, [of] both bones near the wrist and of the right arm. Edna helped to carry him in out of the road. Dr. Browning administered chloroform and set the bones with the help of Mr. Harp.

World War I
The war began in Europe in July 1914 and lasted until November 1918. The United States entered it in April 1917. During the course of the conflict, almost 70 million military personnel were involved worldwide. An estimated nine million military personnel and seven million civilians died as a direct result of the war.

When the fight began, the United States had fewer than 100,000 soldiers scattered across the globe, with another 120,000 in the National Guard. Although the country was tardy in entering the war, once in, the nation mobilized more than four million military personnel. Approximately 110,000 U.S. soldiers lost their lives during the conflict, including about 45,000 who died due to the 1918 Influenza pandemic -- 30,000 of these before they even reached France.

The war is glimpsed in Carlotta’s diary via periodic mentions of those going off to war, wartime marriages, the purchase of war bonds, and the making of War Gardens. The United States Food Administration under Herbert Hoover launched a massive campaign to teach Americans to economize on their food budgets and grow War Gardens in their backyards. For example, the diary reports that Herbert planted one. There was also a program of direct contributions to the financial support of the war; Carlotta refers to this as War Savings Stamps.

Below are the entries mentioning the war as it affected the people in the valley.

Saturday, May 25, 1918. Clear in the morning and thunder showers in the afternoon. We all got to work and sprouted potatoes -- a very disagreeable task. Mother washed and I got dinner. Herbert started on his paper route. Mother ironed and cleaned up. Elizabeth went for the cow and I went to preaching. Father came home from town. 105 boys from the county went to [boot]camp, among them Stanley Pryor, Elmer Delauter, and Willie Beal.

Thursday, May 30, 1918. Foggy and rainy all day and heavy thundershowers in the night. Today was Memorial Day. The president asked us all to fast and pray on account of this great war. There were religious meetings at all churches. Mrs. Sis Carty dropped in during the afternoon. There were over 100 baptized at the Church of the Brethren. We finished up our examinations at school.

Wednesday July 3, 1918. Clear and very warm. Mother went to town to have her throat treated, also took Harriet along for a little trip. The rest of us went camping along the creek. We had both dinner and supper. Herbert went fishing and caught two bullfrogs. Elizabeth and Genevieve waded in the water and I read and learned my recitation for the Children’s Service. We had a very pleasant afternoon. Mother bought $25 worth more of War Savings Stamps.

Saturday, June 8, 1918. Extremely warm. Mother and I planted beans out in Mr. Johnson’s corn field. Genevieve kept Harriet. Genevieve and I went to rehearsal. G. went around on Herbert’s paper route, as he was at grandmother’s. Dr. Browning and Mr. Gaver called soliciting funds for the War Savings Stamps. Mother promised to buy $25 worth during the month of June. Father came home. We cleared up the house, baked pies, and churned during the afternoon. H. took the calves up home to pasture. Billie, a famous chicken belonging to H., passed over during the night.

Tuesday, June 11, 1918. Clear and cool breeze. Mother took G. down to the Dr. for some medicine for her bronchial trouble. She also had him examine her own throat, which had been giving her trouble all spring. He advised her to go to town to a specialist. H. went to Smithsburg to have his teeth treated for the second time. This time it was not quite so painful. Mr. Harshman tore the shop down. Lizzie and her son spent the evening with us, also Pauline and Belva Summers. Mr. Harp plowed our potato patch. Herbert and I each received our certificates today for the money we had invested in the third Liberty Bond. We each have a $50 bond.

Tuesday, September 24, 1918. Cool and clear. Today at noon Edna Harp married Private Glenn Cramer. Mr. Harshman performed the ceremony at home with only a few friends present. They had a nice dinner and left on a short trip. Mrs. Harp was thoughtful enough to send Herbert’s dinner over of fried chicken, lamb, mashed potatoes and gravy, lima beans, sweet potatoes, several kinds of cakes, and bananas, which he enjoyed very much in spite of the pain in his arm. Regina sent Herbert a huge bunch of pink Asters.

Vaccinations
Carlotta, her brother Herbert, and sister Elizabeth were all vaccinated at school that September. Her sister Genevieve refused the vaccination, however, a few weeks later she did receive one. Carlotta recounts how she, Herbert, and Elizabeth all became sick from the vaccination, and both she and Herbert had pain in the injected arm. Elizabeth’s vaccination apparently did not take and she was revaccinated on September 25.

Friday, September 20, 1918. Rainy all day and very cold. It was no school today on account of being so very rainy. We had to make fire in the sitting room to keep comfortable. I am feeling very bad from being vaccinated. My arm is sore, been having a headache and chills. Elizabeth spent the afternoon over at Harp’s learning to knit. She is making Harriet a pair of socks, after a while she is going to knit for the soldiers. Today was E. birthday; she was ten years old.

The Pandemic
While the war was distant, the so-called “Spanish Flu” hit everyone close to home. It infected an estimated 500 million people, which was about one third of the world's population, and killed approximately 675,000 Americans from January 1918 to January 1919. The estimates of fatalities attributable to the flu vary widely because many deaths were classified as pneumonia, as some nations or areas within them, were reluctant to attribute the deaths to the flu in the hope of avoiding panic. One exception was Spain, which reported the losses honestly, therefore seemed to have more deaths than elsewhere, leading to the virus's common appellation.

There is some evidence that the Spring 1918 form of the flu was milder and people who were stricken then were immune to the more virulent form that arrived in the Autumn. By October, the Influenza reached the Frederick County, which was placed under quarantine. All schools, theaters, churches, and Sunday schools in the state were ordered closed. Public assemblies of all kinds were discouraged. By October 4, there were 1,500 cases reported with five associated deaths. Among these was Mrs. Esta L. Fink Hildebrand, the 46-year-old wife of Charles Robert Hildebrand (1867-1928), who lived at the foot of South Mountain, west of Middletown. For several weeks, reports of Spanish Flu fatalities appeared in the Valley Register, the Frederick News, and other local newspapers. According to The History of Myersville by Charles Martin and Thomas Rose, about 30 Myersville- and Wolfsville-area residents died from the flu.

Wednesday, October 9, 1918. Clear and cool. Mother papered a room [of] Mr. Harshman’s. Harriet fell off a chair and hurt her head. School closed today on account of the Spanish “flu.”

Thursday, October 10, 1918. Fair and warm. Miss Nunia Browning died this morning from the Spanish influenza. Herbert bought a pair of white rabbits [off] Regina Gouker for which he gave $1.00.

Nunia Browning was the 24-year-old daughter of Dr. Ralph Browning, a Myersville physician. Her brother Avery Browning was stationed at Camp Meade, where many soldiers sickened and died. It is possible that contact between them led to her infection. In 1915, Nunia was listed in the 1915 Myersville directory of businesses as a piano teacher. By 1918, she had become a popular faculty member at the high school in Thurmont.

Saturday, October 12, 1918. Cool and sunny. Mother baked a cake. Mr. Guy Summers died this morning from the “flu.” Miss Browning was buried this afternoon at the Lutheran Church in Myersville. Mother cleaned up the basement. Lizzie called during the evening.

Then, on October 13, Carlotta begins a series of entries about events that changed the family forever.

Sunday, October 13, 1918. Fair and warm. It was no church this morning anywhere on account of the flu. I went to Myersville for Herbert’s papers as they did not come Sat. Father came home this afternoon with the influenza. Dr. Browning came up this afternoon and said it was a very bad case.

Monday, October 14, 1918. Fair and warm and very windy. We washed. Dr. Browning came up this morning and said father was no better. Herbert went to Myersville for iodine for father. Dr. Browning came up again this evening and said father was a little better as his temperature had dropped one degree.

Tuesday, October 15, 1918. Clear and cool. Dr. Browning came up twice this afternoon and said father was worse. Mother washed and I ironed. Uncle Paul came down and spent the night with us so if we would need help he would be here. The influenza epidemic is raging all over the U.S. In Baltimore there were over 1,000 new cases and hundreds of deaths. In the army camps alone more than ten thousand men have lost their lives from this disease.

Wednesday, October 16, 1918. Fair and warm. Uncle Paul returned home this morning. Dr. Browning came up twice this afternoon and said father was just the same. We used all of our ice, so we had had to go up to grandmother's after some as we have to keep it on father's head all the time. Uncle Paul came back down this evening. Today was the first father became delirious. The Dr. has given up all hope of father ever getting better.

Thursday, October 17, 1918. Fair and warm. Grandmother came down to see father. Mr. Angle, a contractor for whom father was employed came down to see father. The Dr. came three times this afternoon. Father is very delirious, as we had to call men from a nearby cornfield to help Uncle Paul keep him upstairs. Mrs. Bertha Delauter died today from the influenza. She was twenty eight years old and has four small children and husband has the flu.

Friday, October 18, 1918. Fair and cool. The Dr. came twice this afternoon and said father was just the same, very bad.

Saturday, October 19, 1918. Fair and cool. I cleaned up part of the house and mother washed. The Dr. was up three times this afternoon.

Sunday, October 20, 1918. Cool and rainy. Uncle Paul went home this morning to change clothes and take a bath. The Dr. came in three times this afternoon and said father was holding his own remarkably well.

Monday, October 21, 1918. Clear and cool. Mother washed. Harriet was complaining all day but we do not think she has the “flu.” Last night father became worse and during the whole night he was very, very bad. Toward morning, he became conscious, recognizing both mother and Uncle Paul, having been delirious for four days and nights. The Dr. came in twice this afternoon and said father was now much better. We now have hopes that he will get well. Regina Gouker has the flu.

Tuesday, October 22, 1918. Fair and cool. Last night, for the first time, father really seemed to suffer. He spent a very bad night the whole way through. This morning, he seems a bit better; he also ate breakfast. As Uncle Paul had business in town he thought it safe to go. He had scarcely gone when father began to fail again. Mother stayed with him the greater part of the time. The Dr. came in during the afternoon and said nothing could be done for him as the end was near at hand. He passed away at five minutes until four o’clock. He was conscious until the very last and mother stayed with him alone, as we children were afraid to go on account of the dangerous disease. Uncle Paul returned in the evening and was more than sorry he went away.

Wednesday, October 23, 1918. Clear and cool. Mother washed again. Uncle Paul went to town. The neighbors do not come any nearer than the road as they are all very much afraid of this disease. Uncle Paul returned from town but went on up to grandma’s and we stayed alone.

Thursday,  October 24, 1918. Cool and rather cloudy. We buried our father today. We children saw him for the last time since he went away to work Oct. 6, 1918. There were no relatives here but Uncle Paul, Aunt Lulu, Grandpa, and Grandma. Rev.[James] Willis [St. Marks Lutheran], [Rev. George] Harp [United Brethren], and Harshman were present. The only other persons were Mr. Bittle and the bearers. Father was very young, only thirty nine years old. Mrs. Mary Gouker has the flu.

According to Frederick News Post reports, Milton Hays' cause of death was double pneumonia caused by the influenza.

The gravestone of Carlotta's father at St. Mark's Lutheran Cemetery, Wolfsville.

Friday, October 25, 1918. Cool and rainy. Mother washed. Uncle Paul came down to make arrangements about fumigating the house. He returned home this evening. Mr. W.W. Gouker has the flu.

Saturday, October 26, 1918. Cool and rainy. Uncle Paul came down to fumigate the house. Mr. Dallas Gaver was buried this afternoon. He was found in his bed, at Highland, by members of his family. He was seventy-four years old. Mrs. Gouker's maid now has the flu. The flu in the cities is now getting better but [there are] still large numbers of deaths. It’s just starting to spread in the country. We received fifty five cents for eggs today.

Sunday, October 27, 1918. Cloudy and dreary. It was no Sunday school anywhere on account of the flu. Herbert, Genevieve, and Elizabeth took a walk for shell barks.

Monday, October 28, 1918. Fair and warm, very warm weather for this time of year. Mother washed and I ironed. Mr. J. D. Shepley came over to tell us about his home, as he is very anxious to sell and told us to come over and look at the property.

Tuesday, October 29, 1918. Warm and slightly cloudy. Mother washed again and I ironed. Mary Harshman and Esta were the first callers we had since we had the influenza in our family. Elizabeth and Genevieve went up to Mr. Harshman’s for sweet corn.

Left: Genevieve and Elizabeth Hays, 1918. Photo courtesy Nancy Hendricks.

Wednesday, October 30, 1918. Cool and rainy. Mother churned. We received a letter from Mr. Angle expressing his sympathy. His letter also contained a check for $50.00 being sent as a appreciation for what father had done for him. He also said father was one of his best friends and most faithful man he had ever had in his employ. He expressed his regret at not being able to be present at the funeral, being in Baltimore at the time on business and not returning until Friday.

Life went on for the Hays family, but the death of the family's primary breadwinner led to many challenges and changes.

Sunday, November 3, 1918. Fair and cool. Herbert, Genevieve, and I took a walk around by Harmony this morning. We arrived home about four o’clock and very tired and hungry. Mr. Day brought grandma down to visit us a few days. We were very glad to see grandma, as we have had very few callers lately and the home was becoming rather lonely. Mother and grandma talked far into the night after we had retired.

Monday, November 4. 1918. Cool and cloudy. Grandma and I patched stockings all afternoon. Mother churned and called Mr. Bittle over the phone and engaged five barrels of corn at six dollars a barrel. Mother received a letter from Ohio telling of the death of her cousin Albert Eccard who died from the flu.

Tuesday, November 5, 1918. Cloudy and dreary, raw winds, and no sunshine. Grandma went home and Genevieve and Elizabeth went along to visit her a few days. Miss Buhrl Dubel called and engaged Herbert to make the fire [at the school] during the winter for which he is to receive the munificent price of $1.25 per month. We spent the day patching stockings and other clothing for school.

Wednesday, November 6, 1918. Clear and bright sunshine. Mother washed a large wash and I [swept] the school house and aired it out, getting ready for school next week.

Thursday, November 7, 1918. Clear and rather warm. I ironed and mother and Herbert buried cabbage. Mother sent a Larkin’s order off for $13.00 worth of products. Mrs. Horine called up and would have liked for mother to come down and paper a room for her, but on account of their family having the flu she didn’t go. Mr. Gaver brought us a hundred bundles of fodder.

During the next year, Carlotta’s mother took on more and more work for people outside the home, doing washing for one neighbor or wallpapering rooms for another. It also seems that the family was looking to move. However, at least in the short run, things got back to normal.

Monday, November 11, 1918. Clear and cool. School opened this morning. Mother washed. Mr. and Mrs. Umberger called during the afternoon. Mrs. Umberger also brought mother a bouquet of chrysanthemums, which were lovely. Today, the Kaiser [Wilhelm II of Germany] signed the armistice, thus ending the world war. All other countries having given up some time ago.

School was back in session and the war was over. Carlotta reported sporadic cases of the flu through the end of 1918, but in the Middletown Valley, the epidemic was all but concluded.

Second Diary
In her second diary we learn that Carlotta graduated from grammar school in May 1919. During that summer, she was hired for $1.50 a week to help Mr. and Mrs. Leatherman. She lived with them, helped with house and garden work, as well as took care of the Leathermans' baby. In one entry, she reported that they “rise about quarter after four [a.m.].” She mentions washing, hoeing the garden, planting, canning, baking, and whitewashing the fence. Her sister Elizabeth worked picking berries in Boonsboro and kept selling the newspaper Grit.

In September 1919, Carlotta attended high school in Middletown. Initially, she would walk to Myersville with friends and then take the “car” (trolley) to Middletown. The logistics of this were sometimes difficult, and as the days got shorter and colder her mother arranged for her to board in Middletown during the week with Mrs. Coblentz. On October 7, the family moved to a house near Middlepoint. Carlotta did not stay at Middletown High School long. Her grandfather died and on November 22, she reported that she was going to stay with her grandmother and attend high school in Wolfsville. Her first day there was December 1. Fortunately, her close friend Hazel also attended the same school. Carlotta wrote, “The girls treat us very well. Hazel and I sit on the boys' side.”

The second diary ends on December 31, 1919.

The 1920 Census enumerated Carlotta with her grandmother in Wolfsville, but she eventually returned to, and graduated from, Middletown High School. She obtained a teaching job after graduation. According to her obituary in the Valley Register, Carlotta started teaching in the fall of 1923. She first taught at Wolfsville then was transferred to the one-room Valley View School. Carlotta returned to Wolfsville from 1926 to 1935, teaching at the Sensenbaugh School.

Afterwards, Carlotta was transferred to Middletown Elementary School where she spent the next 39 years. She received a B.S. in 1945 from Towson State College and also attended both Hood College and Western Maryland College (now McDaniel). She was awarded a Master’s Degree from Columbia University in 1950. During her 50 years of teaching she never missed a day of school. She retired in June 1974.

In 1920, Carlotta’s mother moved to Braddock Heights and opened a boarding house. This was a common way for widows to make a living and support their families. In an interview in the Frederick News Post in 1975, Carlotta said that at one point, her mother became so successful that she supervised four boarding houses on Maryland Avenue, as well as all the cooking. On a Sunday afternoon during the heyday of Braddock Heights, it was not unusual for Josephine to oversee the feeding of more than 300 diners, according to Carlotta.

Carlotta lived a life full of interests and hobbies. She resided on Hays Avenue in Braddock Heights and was an avid gardener. Her home was full of plants, both inside and out, and she kept a vegetable garden most of her life. In addition to raising plants and gardening, Carlotta was a lifelong collector. Her home was full of antiques and artwork, hand-hooked rugs, Tiffany Lamps, Currier and Ives prints, antique quilts, collections of china and silver, as well as gold and silver coins and clocks by John Fessler, an early Frederick clockmaker. In addition to collecting, she travelled extensively, making several trips to Europe.

Carlotta Hays died in her home in Braddock Heights on August 11, 1986, at the age of 83, and was buried at St. Mark's with her parents. After her death, the auction of her collections took place over four weekends.

]]><![CDATA[Kellsie A. Gaver of Ellerton: The Legacy of a Middletown Valley Craft]]>Thu, 23 Jan 2020 16:18:02 GMThttps://www.mwahistory.com/research/kellsie-a-gaver-of-ellerton-the-legacy-of-a-middletown-valley-craft

The workshop of Kellsie Alvey Gaver on Bittle Road near Ellerton.

By Jody Brumage, Historian and Curator of South Mountain Heritage Society

Until mass-produced furniture became widely available and popular in the late-nineteenth century, many families in the Middletown Valley furnished their homes with chairs, tables, beds, cupboards, and other pieces that they either constructed themselves or commissioned through their local cabinetmaker. The trade of cabinetmaking came to the colonies with European settlers in the seventeenth century. Possessing the skills of joining, carving, and turning among others, cabinetmakers built furniture to the specifications of their customers. Throughout the nineteenth century, cabinetmakers were as common to small towns as blacksmiths, millers, and storekeepers, but only the names of a few have stood the test of time and maintain recognition today among those who collect and preserve furniture made in the Middletown Valley. Many of these cabinetmakers lived and worked in the upper valley around the villages of Myersville and Wolfsville.

Left: Mary Ethel Virginia Gaver Morningstar, eldest sister of Kellsie Gaver, sitting in a caned-back rocking chair made by her younger brother. (Image used with permission of Lisa Heatherly Montgomery)

James Wesley Morgan established a furniture factory northwest of Wolfsville in Brandenburg Hollow in 1883 where he built chairs, tables, and cabinets. The site of his establishment is now the Wolfsville Ruritan Club. Calvin Tressler Kinna Gladhill and his wife, Lola Wiles Gladhill of Harmony, established the valley’s premier furniture store in 1915 in Middletown, employing local cabinetmakers in addition to carrying fine furniture imported from catalog companies. Beginning in the 1850s, the Stottlemyers of Wolfsville, perhaps the most well-known of valley cabinetmakers, produced furniture which has come to define the Middletown Valley style. The work of Frederick Stottlemyer and his son, Christopher Columbus Stottlemyer remains highly sought-after nearly a century after their business ceased operation in 1921.

One of the last families engaged in this traditional cabinetmaking trade in the upper valley were the Gavers of Ellerton. Gaver-made furniture is rare given the short period of time in which it was produced. From the early-1930s until 1942, Kellsie Gaver produced cupboards, chairs, bedsteads, and other furniture in his workshop located on his parent’s farm on Bittle Road in Ellerton along Catoctin Creek.

A sewing rocker, made by Kellsie Alvey Gaver. (Owned by Jody Brumage)

Kellsie Alvey Gaver was born on September 16, 1911, the sixth of seven children born to Charles and Lula (Leatherman) Gaver. Kellsie’s older brother Raymond, born in 1907, operated a sawmill nearby and may have assisted Kellsie in the furniture business. Kellsie Gaver appears to have started his business upon reaching adulthood in 1929 or 1930, around the same time that Christopher Stottlemyer died. When comparing the products of Gaver’s work with that of the Stottlemyers, there is little doubt that Gaver closely studied the furniture of his well-known predecessors.

Gaver chairs display many characteristics invoking the style established by Frederick and Christopher Stottlemyer. The shop produced mostly ladderback chairs with sturdy posts anchored in the tops of the runners forming the seat and back. All of the ladderback chairs observed by the author attributed to Gaver have oval-shaped backslats, either rounded on the top or on both the top and bottom of each slat. Stottlemyer chairs used oval backslats in addition to their more well-known scalloped (or heart-shaped) design. The most clear link between Gaver’s work and that of the Stottlemyers are his acorn finials which ornament the top of the chairs’ back posts. The Stottlemyers also made chairs with spherical “cannon-ball” finials or flattened caps without any finials, and according to Fern Stottlemyer, his father Christopher mastered the turning of the acorn finials. Stottlemyer chairs were also occasionally made with woven or caned backs and the author has observed at least two chairs made by Gaver with similar caned backs.

A detail of the acorn finial on the sewing rocker.

A review of estate listings where Gaver furniture has been sold also suggests that his production and sales practices were similar to the Stottlemyers’. The latter generally sold their chairs in sets of eight: six straight-back dining chairs, an armed rocking chair, and a rocking chair without arms, referred to as a “nursing” or “sewing” rocker. Gaver appears to have maintained this practice in his workshop. Estate listings also reference cabinets, bedsteads, and tables made by Gaver. Also produced in the shop at Ellerton by Gaver were small children’s rocking chairs.

The production of Gaver furniture in Ellerton came to a sudden close in 1942 when the local draft board selected Kellsie Gaver among fifteen men that spring as U.S. involvement in World War II ramped up. He reported to Baltimore on May 22, 1942 where he enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army. He gave his occupation as a “carpenter” on his enlistment record. On June 16, 1943, Kellsie Alvey Gaver, age 32, was killed in action in the Pacific, little more than a month after having entered active duty. He was awarded the Purple Heart and was interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. He never married and did not have any children.

The following year in April 1944, Kellsie’s brother Raymond, executor of his estate, held a public auction at the workshop which included “a full line of woodworking equipment.” Raymond also sold a range of woodworking tools belonging to him, suggesting that if he had been working alongside Kellsie in the furniture shop, he declined to continue the business after his brother’s death.

The historic Gaver woodworking shop stands alongside Bittle Road across from the family’s farm in a peaceful glen along Catoctin Creek. For little more than a decade, Kellsie Gaver carried on a historic legacy and characteristic style of Middletown Valley-made furniture which is worthy of preservation and further study.

Acknowledgement: In preparing this short article, I received photographs of several Gaver chairs as well as a family photograph of Kellsie Gaver’s sister, Mary Ethel Virginia Gaver Morningstar, from Lisa Heatherly Montgomery. Her permission to use the photograph of her great grandmother sitting in a chair made by Kellsie Gaver as well as photographs of additional chairs which supported my research is greatly appreciated.
Additional information about the Gavers was furnished by the Wiles Family from whom I purchased my Gaver rocking chair.

CORRECTIONS: On 28 December, 2020, we received this email from Charles E. Wiles. Jr., "I am the son of Charles Wiles. Sr., Kellsie Gaver's nephew. [The] lady in rocker is Lula Gaver, who was Kellsie's mother, and my father's grandmother. Also, the stream that runs through the farm is Middle Creek, not Catoctin Creek."

The 1944 announcement of the public auction of Gaver's workshop.

Bibliography:
Cottingham, David, “Main Street,” The Daily Mail (Hagerstown), August 21, 1971.
“Dies in Action,” The Post (Frederick), June 28, 1943.
“Induction Notices Sent Registrants,” The News (Frederick), May 11, 1942.
“Public Auction,” The News (Frederick), February 27, 1971.
“Public Sale,” The Morning Herald (Hagerstown), April 19, 1944.
“Public Sale,” The News (Frederick), November 7, 1951.
“Pvt. Gaver Reported Killed,” The Baltimore Sun, June 6, 1943.
Savitt, Robert P. Middletown Valley. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2010.

]]><![CDATA[Sarah Hoover Weddle: Lost to a “Criminal Operation”]]>Thu, 09 Jan 2020 15:45:34 GMThttps://www.mwahistory.com/research/sarah-hoover-weddle-lost-to-a-criminal-operation

Dayton (Ohio) Herald, 25 February, 1903: “Mrs. Amy Snyder, 52, the wife of Aaron Snyder, an expressman, of 223 South Montgomery Street, was arrested Tuesday afternoon by Sergeant Fair and assistants, on suspicion of having performed a criminal operation on Miss May Smith, 19, of Xenia, which resulted in her death.”

Louisville (Kentucky) Courier-Journal, 26 March, 1903: “Miss Stella H. Stork, a pretty young woman whose home was at Huntingburg, Ind. … died at the private hospital of Dr. Sarah Murphy, 1018 West Chesnut Street, Tuesday afternoon. While peritonitis was the direct cause of death, this was brought on by a criminal operation….. George Lemp, a Southern Railway conductor, who came to Louisville with the girl last week, was arrested … but denied he had any knowledge of the girl’s condition.”

Scranton (Pennsylvania) Tribune, 27 March, 1903: “The sudden death of Mrs. Martha E. Rosengrant, widow of the late William Rosengrant, was the occasion of an inquest by Coroner Tibbins…. Mrs. Rosengrant was found dead in her bed at her home on Foundry Street on Wednesday morning…. The verdict of the jury was that Martha Rosengrant came to her death from a criminal operation performed upon her by someone to the jury unknown.”

Frederick (Maryland) News, 30 April, 1903: “The people of Myersville and vicinity are excited by the discovery of what appears to be evidence that the death of Mrs. Sarah E. Weddle, which occurred April 14, was due to a criminal operation. Mrs. Weddle was sick for about two weeks before her death.”

When she died during the quickening Spring of 1903, widow Sarah Weddle left five young children as orphans. The lingering evidence shows she was one of the uncounted thousands of Victorian and Edwardian women who, when they fell pregnant, turned to “female pills”—herbal abortifacients advertised openly albeit with coded language—or to “criminal operations,” as illegal abortions were termed in the press.

This article continues at Your Dying Charlotte.

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