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| 22 Springfield Pike |
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| 34 Walnut Ave. in the 1980s (a third floor was added in the 2000s) Source: Wyoming Historical Society |
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| 19 Allen Ave. |
...but no clear answer here either: the County Auditor's site reports 19 Allen Ave. built in 1885 and 34 Walnut Ave. built in 1900. But three nearly identical homes would not have been built over a span of 35 years. There are inaccuracies in the Auditor's data.
22 Springfield Pike was built on what was historically known as Archibald Burns's farm, though he, a Carthage resident, died in 1844. The property was subsequently held by his heirs, who in the late 1860s hired J. T. Wilson to subdivide the farm into lots and sell them. Unfortunately, Wilson died soon after that agreement, in 1870, with only a small number of the lots sold. In 1874 a group of Wyoming residents, including many owners/residents of land from that first subdivision, bought the remainder of the farm from Burns's heirs, establishing the Wyoming Land and Building Company (WLBCo) to continue to sell lots.
WLBCo reconfigured the lot lines in the yet unsold southwestern portion of the former farm, and in 1874 published a book, Hints on Building, which included a map of the lots available. Also shown on the map were the footprints of existing buildings in and near the subdivision, with owners' names printed beside them. On this map there are no buildings shown where 22 Springfield Pike, 19 Allen Ave., and 34 Walnut Ave. are today. [This book and map can be found in the Ohio History Library Archives, Columbus, Ohio; I don't have permission to publish it here]
Then in 1875 the WLBCo published an advertising pamphlet for the subdivision. This map does show the homes at 22 Springfield Pike and 19 Allen. However, there is no owner's name listed next to them, because they were still owned by the WLBCo (as is also true for two homes on East Mills/Wiley Ave. which I know from other research were renter-occupied for the first decade or so after they were built). The houses are sited perfectly within these newly platted lots. Given this evidence, I believe that these homes were built in between the time that the WLBCo purchased the land from the Burns heirs and published their first advertising book, about 1874, and when the second advertising brochure was published in 1875. The third triplet, on Walnut, was built on a lot owned by Grant H. Burrows, on the lot adjacent his own home (two more homes have been built in between since). Burrows was the "Superintendent" of the WLBCo.; he easily could have been the one to have contracted to have all three of these homes built.
Then in 1875 the WLBCo published an advertising pamphlet for the subdivision. This map does show the homes at 22 Springfield Pike and 19 Allen. However, there is no owner's name listed next to them, because they were still owned by the WLBCo (as is also true for two homes on East Mills/Wiley Ave. which I know from other research were renter-occupied for the first decade or so after they were built). The houses are sited perfectly within these newly platted lots. Given this evidence, I believe that these homes were built in between the time that the WLBCo purchased the land from the Burns heirs and published their first advertising book, about 1874, and when the second advertising brochure was published in 1875. The third triplet, on Walnut, was built on a lot owned by Grant H. Burrows, on the lot adjacent his own home (two more homes have been built in between since). Burrows was the "Superintendent" of the WLBCo.; he easily could have been the one to have contracted to have all three of these homes built.
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| 1875 Pamphlet, annotated Source: Wyoming Historical Society |
I was not able to determine who lived at 22 Springfield Pike for its first ten years. The 1880 Census does not list house numbers, and there were too many homes on Springfield Pike to make a guess as to who lived where, without additional evidence. And no published directory of county residents is available prior to 1897.
Marchant / Huston Family 1886-1936
In April 1886, the WLBCo. sold the houses at both 22 Springfield Pike and 19 Allen (Grant H. Burrows sold 34 Walnut in 1883). 22 Springfield Pike, on Lot 24, was bought by Nathan Marchant (1817-1893), along with the vacant lots to the south and north, Lots 23 and 25. He paid $3,220 for the properties.
Nathan Marchant was born in Warren County, Ohio in 1817, and in March 1839, in Hamilton County, he married Maria Holmes. They made their home in Cincinnati, and Nathan served the city first as a constable; by 1860 he was a justice of the peace,;and by 1880 he was a magistrate. He and Maria had a son, Franics "Frank," in 1852. Maria died in 1864, and sometime before 1870 Nathan married Mary Hille. Over the years the value of real estate Nathan owned rose, as reported on the Censuses. From 1860 on, there was a domestic servant listed living with the family. The 1880 Census shows Frank, his wife Della (or Delphine), and their daughter Myrtle living with Nathan and Mary, at 123 Linn Street, Cincinnati. Mary Hille Marchant died in 1883, and in August 1887 Nathan married Belle Kerr in Warren County, Ohio.
I have no definitive evidence as to whether or not Nathan and Belle Kerr Marchant ever lived in the home at 22 Springfield Pike. I have evidence that they lived in Wyoming, and it was likely here, but they could have lived in another home in the village. After 1886 Nathan is no longer listed in the Cincinnati directory at the home at 123 Linn Street. In the 1890 and 1892 Cincinnati city directories N. Marchant is listed as one of the three justices of the peace for Springfield Township, though he is not listed in the alphabetical section of the directory. His Cincinnati Post obituary states that he lived in Wyoming until a few months prior to his death, when he moved to East Walnut Hills. None of this absolutely confirms that he lived at 22 Springfield Pike, but it is highly likely he did. Nathan Marchant died in December, 1893. He was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery. After his death, Belle Marchant transferred the Springfield Pike properties to Nathan's son, Frank Marchant.
Frank Marchant (1852-1932) attended St. Xavier Colllege when it was located on Sycamore Street followed by the Chickering Classical and Scientific Institute, also in Cincinnati. He began his working career as a bank clerk for the First National Bank, and later listed his occupation as bookkeeper. He married Della Van Doren (1854-1932) in 1874; she was born and raised in Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio. As noted above, they lived with Frank's father in Cincinnati until the 1880s. They had a daughter, Maude, who died at birth in 1874 and then a second daughter, Myrtle Marchant (1876-1938). The year after his father purchased 22 Springfield Pike in 1886, the 1887 Cincinnati City directory lists Frank Marchant working in the city with residence in Wyoming; the first Hamilton County Directory (1897) indicates his address as 22 Springfield Pike and that he was clerk for Springfield Township, with an office on Crescent Avenue (maybe in one of the buildings mentioned in this blog post) He later held the position of deputy auditor for Hamilton County. Frank was also an active volunteer in Wyoming's Fire Company.
Interesting note: Wyoming Marshal Fred Bracker (see this post) and his wife Mary Ann named their son, born in 1892, Frank Marchant Bracker.
Myrtle Marchant was about ten years old when she moved with her parents into the house at 22 Springfield Pike. She married Clifford Bogen Huston (1873-1951) in 1901; they made their home with her parents. Clifford's maternal grandfather, Peter Bogen, had a large Cincinnati slaughter house, and was a leading sausage manufacturer. He moved out to Hartwell, at the time an independent village, where he established a farm and vineyard, part of which was later annexed to Wyoming (future blog post in the works) and part of which is now the Evergreen retirement community. Clifford's father, Simeon A. Huston, was a bookkeeper and later a partner in his father-in-law's business. His mother, Matilda Bogen Huston became postmaster of Hartwell after Simeon's death.
One of Clifford's first jobs was as clerk for the Cincinnati Hamilton and Dayton Railroad. Over the years he held a variety of white-collar jobs, as bookkeeper, in sales, and in management. Clifford and Myrtle Marchant Huston had one son, Frank Marchant Huston who died at birth in 1915.
In 1922 Frank Marchant sold the land to the north of his home, Lot 25 of the WLBCo subdivision, to George H. Leugers. Ten years later, in 1932, both Frank and Della Van Doren Marchant died; they are buried in Spring Grove Cemetery.
Myrtle Marchant Huston inherited 22 Springfield Pike on Lot 24, and the as-yet vacant lot to the south, Lot 23 of the WLBCo subdivision. In 1936 Myrtle sold the house and the north portion of Lot 24, which is the current lot area of 22 Springfield Pike, to Elsie L. Sides. In 1937 she sold a a second piece of land to the south, that is now 20 Springfield Pike, parts of Lots 23 and 24, to Elsie and her husband Virgil Sides. In May of 1938 Myrtle sold the last of the land the Marchant family owned. The southern portion of Lot 23 was transferred to John F. and B. E. Jackson; 18 Springfield Pike is now on this parcel.
Just one year later Myrtle Marchant Huston died in Lakeview, Logan County, Ohio; she was buried alongside her parents in Spring Grove Cemetery. Clifford Huston next moved to Seattle, Washington, where in the 1940 Census he is listed staying with his brother S. Arthur Huston, an Episcopal Bishop. He remained in that area until his death in 1951 in nearby Port Madison, Washington; his body was then returned to Spring Grove Cemetery for burial.
Sides Family 1936-1950
In 1936 Virgil Shinn Sides (1894-1989) and Elsie Fleitz Sides (1894-1961) purchased and likely moved into the home at 22 Springfield Pike. Virgil was born in Springfield, Ohio and attended Wittenberg College. He served in World War I from April 1917 to June 1919, rose to Corporal in the 324 Field Artillery Company, and participated in the Meuse-Argonne campaign. After the war, he became a dentist, obtaining his license in 1929. For part of his career he was a public health dentist working in the Cincinnati Public Schools. Virgil and Elsie were married in 1934, when they were both about 40.
Elsie Fleitz Sides was born in Cincinnati to parents who immigrated from Germany and Switzerland in the mid-1880s. Her father Henry Fleitz was a brewer. She grew up in the West End of Cincinnati; the family moved to Fairview Ave. in the late 1910s, and then to Probasco Ave. in the 1920s. Elsie lived with her parents and worked as a clerk during her 20s and 30s.
In about 1948 the Sides had a barn on the property moved to the south of 22 Springfield Pike. They converted the structure to have a dental office on the first floor and living space above, creating what is now 20 Springfield Pike. They moved into its second floor apartment, and sold 22 Springfield Pike to Gayle William Shearer in June of 1950. Elsie passed away in 1961. Virgil continued to live at 20 Springfield Pike until he sold the property in the early 1970s, and moved away. At the time of his death in 1989 he was living in Huron County, Ohio.
Shearer Family 1950-1954
Gayle William Shearer (1920-2000) grew up in Lockland, Ohio; his father was a bookkeeper. He earned a degree in business administration from the University of Cincinnati in 1942. He was an ROTC cadet and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Gayle bought 22 Springfield Pike a few months in advance of his marriage to Norma Schrichte (b. 1935) in November of 1950. Norma grew up in northern Kentucky and had a career in advertising, both working in local agencies and for a radio station. Other than owning the home, I do not have other evidence that the Shearers lived in it, though it is likely they did. They sold the home to Emily Knight Gedge in 1954. A city directory lists them living in Amberley Village in 1955; they subsequently moved to Peoria, Illinois.
Knight-Gedge Family 1954-1974 (with tenants including Lohmans & Ackerson)
The next owner of the home did not live in it, but her brother and sister-in-law did. Emily Knight Gedge (1892-1962) was born and raised in Wyoming; her childhood home was 142 Burns Avenue. Her father John Knight came from England and had a printing and engraving business. She married Royal Porter Smith in 1915; he died two years later. She married her second husband Edwin Lee Nielson in the 1920; he died in 1950. Her third husband was Fred Gedge (see this blog post) whom she married in 1952. They lived at 357 Beech Avenue in Wyoming. Emily was very active in the Cincinnati Women's Club.
While Emily owned 22 Springfield Pike her brother and sister-in-law, John Dodd Knight (1887-1958) and Maria Winters Knight (1893-1988) lived in the home. John was involved in the printing business, like his father. He had served in World War I, in the 147th Infantry, served in the Machine Gun Company, and rose to the rank of Captain. Maria, John's second wife, was born in Germany.
There was also a second listing in the county directories for this home, indicating a second, rental unit's presence. During the late 1950s Fred H. (1927-1996) and Jacqueline A. Schultz Lohman (b. 1931) were tenants; he was a chemist for Proctor & Gamble and a WWII veteran of the Air Force. They likely moved to the area and into the rental soon after he graduated from college, the two were married, and he began work for P&G.
In 1960, Emily Knight Gedge transferred ownership of the house at 22 Springfield Pike to her widowed sister-in-law, Maria Winters Knight. For most of the 1960s, Isabelle Kelley Ackerson (1890-1974) was listed in city directories as a tenant in the home. Isabelle grew up in Wyoming; the 1900 Census lists her family living on Worthington Ave., and then 1910-1940 they were at 307 Grove Ave. Her father was a mail clerk for the railroad. Isabelle is listed as a librarian in the 1930 Census, and for much, if not all, of her career, into the 1960s, she worked at Cincinnati's Mercantile Library. Maria W. Knight owned 22 Springfield Pike until April 1974 when she sold it to Abagail D. Wise.
One remaining unanswered question about this house is when it became a two-unit residence (it has since reverted back to one). It was clear that there were two separate units by the 1950s, when two unrelated families were living in the building. Many older single-family homes in Wyoming were made into multiple units during the 1930s depression through the post-WWII housing shortage. But from the very beginning, with the Marchants, there were two generations of a family in the home. Maybe it was two units from the beginning? Maybe someday someone will find evidence to solve this unanswered question.
Marchant / Huston Family 1886-1936
In April 1886, the WLBCo. sold the houses at both 22 Springfield Pike and 19 Allen (Grant H. Burrows sold 34 Walnut in 1883). 22 Springfield Pike, on Lot 24, was bought by Nathan Marchant (1817-1893), along with the vacant lots to the south and north, Lots 23 and 25. He paid $3,220 for the properties.
Nathan Marchant was born in Warren County, Ohio in 1817, and in March 1839, in Hamilton County, he married Maria Holmes. They made their home in Cincinnati, and Nathan served the city first as a constable; by 1860 he was a justice of the peace,;and by 1880 he was a magistrate. He and Maria had a son, Franics "Frank," in 1852. Maria died in 1864, and sometime before 1870 Nathan married Mary Hille. Over the years the value of real estate Nathan owned rose, as reported on the Censuses. From 1860 on, there was a domestic servant listed living with the family. The 1880 Census shows Frank, his wife Della (or Delphine), and their daughter Myrtle living with Nathan and Mary, at 123 Linn Street, Cincinnati. Mary Hille Marchant died in 1883, and in August 1887 Nathan married Belle Kerr in Warren County, Ohio.
I have no definitive evidence as to whether or not Nathan and Belle Kerr Marchant ever lived in the home at 22 Springfield Pike. I have evidence that they lived in Wyoming, and it was likely here, but they could have lived in another home in the village. After 1886 Nathan is no longer listed in the Cincinnati directory at the home at 123 Linn Street. In the 1890 and 1892 Cincinnati city directories N. Marchant is listed as one of the three justices of the peace for Springfield Township, though he is not listed in the alphabetical section of the directory. His Cincinnati Post obituary states that he lived in Wyoming until a few months prior to his death, when he moved to East Walnut Hills. None of this absolutely confirms that he lived at 22 Springfield Pike, but it is highly likely he did. Nathan Marchant died in December, 1893. He was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery. After his death, Belle Marchant transferred the Springfield Pike properties to Nathan's son, Frank Marchant.
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| Cincinnati Post, December 30, 1893 |
Frank Marchant (1852-1932) attended St. Xavier Colllege when it was located on Sycamore Street followed by the Chickering Classical and Scientific Institute, also in Cincinnati. He began his working career as a bank clerk for the First National Bank, and later listed his occupation as bookkeeper. He married Della Van Doren (1854-1932) in 1874; she was born and raised in Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio. As noted above, they lived with Frank's father in Cincinnati until the 1880s. They had a daughter, Maude, who died at birth in 1874 and then a second daughter, Myrtle Marchant (1876-1938). The year after his father purchased 22 Springfield Pike in 1886, the 1887 Cincinnati City directory lists Frank Marchant working in the city with residence in Wyoming; the first Hamilton County Directory (1897) indicates his address as 22 Springfield Pike and that he was clerk for Springfield Township, with an office on Crescent Avenue (maybe in one of the buildings mentioned in this blog post) He later held the position of deputy auditor for Hamilton County. Frank was also an active volunteer in Wyoming's Fire Company.
Interesting note: Wyoming Marshal Fred Bracker (see this post) and his wife Mary Ann named their son, born in 1892, Frank Marchant Bracker.
Myrtle Marchant was about ten years old when she moved with her parents into the house at 22 Springfield Pike. She married Clifford Bogen Huston (1873-1951) in 1901; they made their home with her parents. Clifford's maternal grandfather, Peter Bogen, had a large Cincinnati slaughter house, and was a leading sausage manufacturer. He moved out to Hartwell, at the time an independent village, where he established a farm and vineyard, part of which was later annexed to Wyoming (future blog post in the works) and part of which is now the Evergreen retirement community. Clifford's father, Simeon A. Huston, was a bookkeeper and later a partner in his father-in-law's business. His mother, Matilda Bogen Huston became postmaster of Hartwell after Simeon's death.
One of Clifford's first jobs was as clerk for the Cincinnati Hamilton and Dayton Railroad. Over the years he held a variety of white-collar jobs, as bookkeeper, in sales, and in management. Clifford and Myrtle Marchant Huston had one son, Frank Marchant Huston who died at birth in 1915.
In 1922 Frank Marchant sold the land to the north of his home, Lot 25 of the WLBCo subdivision, to George H. Leugers. Ten years later, in 1932, both Frank and Della Van Doren Marchant died; they are buried in Spring Grove Cemetery.
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| Cincinnati Inquirer, September 20, 1932 |
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| Cincinnati Inquirer, September 30, 1932. Note that there are inaccuracies here - some confusion between his father, Nathan Marchant, who was the squire and judge, and his grandfather (named either Nathan or Isaac) who might be considered a pioneer settler, but of Cincinnati, not Wyoming. |
Myrtle Marchant Huston inherited 22 Springfield Pike on Lot 24, and the as-yet vacant lot to the south, Lot 23 of the WLBCo subdivision. In 1936 Myrtle sold the house and the north portion of Lot 24, which is the current lot area of 22 Springfield Pike, to Elsie L. Sides. In 1937 she sold a a second piece of land to the south, that is now 20 Springfield Pike, parts of Lots 23 and 24, to Elsie and her husband Virgil Sides. In May of 1938 Myrtle sold the last of the land the Marchant family owned. The southern portion of Lot 23 was transferred to John F. and B. E. Jackson; 18 Springfield Pike is now on this parcel.
Just one year later Myrtle Marchant Huston died in Lakeview, Logan County, Ohio; she was buried alongside her parents in Spring Grove Cemetery. Clifford Huston next moved to Seattle, Washington, where in the 1940 Census he is listed staying with his brother S. Arthur Huston, an Episcopal Bishop. He remained in that area until his death in 1951 in nearby Port Madison, Washington; his body was then returned to Spring Grove Cemetery for burial.
Sides Family 1936-1950
In 1936 Virgil Shinn Sides (1894-1989) and Elsie Fleitz Sides (1894-1961) purchased and likely moved into the home at 22 Springfield Pike. Virgil was born in Springfield, Ohio and attended Wittenberg College. He served in World War I from April 1917 to June 1919, rose to Corporal in the 324 Field Artillery Company, and participated in the Meuse-Argonne campaign. After the war, he became a dentist, obtaining his license in 1929. For part of his career he was a public health dentist working in the Cincinnati Public Schools. Virgil and Elsie were married in 1934, when they were both about 40.
Elsie Fleitz Sides was born in Cincinnati to parents who immigrated from Germany and Switzerland in the mid-1880s. Her father Henry Fleitz was a brewer. She grew up in the West End of Cincinnati; the family moved to Fairview Ave. in the late 1910s, and then to Probasco Ave. in the 1920s. Elsie lived with her parents and worked as a clerk during her 20s and 30s.
In about 1948 the Sides had a barn on the property moved to the south of 22 Springfield Pike. They converted the structure to have a dental office on the first floor and living space above, creating what is now 20 Springfield Pike. They moved into its second floor apartment, and sold 22 Springfield Pike to Gayle William Shearer in June of 1950. Elsie passed away in 1961. Virgil continued to live at 20 Springfield Pike until he sold the property in the early 1970s, and moved away. At the time of his death in 1989 he was living in Huron County, Ohio.
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| The former barn being moved into place at 20 Springfield Pike. The pile of dirt in front of the building is from excavating the basement. Source: Wyoming Historical Society / Maria Knight. |
Shearer Family 1950-1954
Gayle William Shearer (1920-2000) grew up in Lockland, Ohio; his father was a bookkeeper. He earned a degree in business administration from the University of Cincinnati in 1942. He was an ROTC cadet and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Gayle bought 22 Springfield Pike a few months in advance of his marriage to Norma Schrichte (b. 1935) in November of 1950. Norma grew up in northern Kentucky and had a career in advertising, both working in local agencies and for a radio station. Other than owning the home, I do not have other evidence that the Shearers lived in it, though it is likely they did. They sold the home to Emily Knight Gedge in 1954. A city directory lists them living in Amberley Village in 1955; they subsequently moved to Peoria, Illinois.
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| Cincinnati Enquirer August 28, 1950. |
Knight-Gedge Family 1954-1974 (with tenants including Lohmans & Ackerson)
The next owner of the home did not live in it, but her brother and sister-in-law did. Emily Knight Gedge (1892-1962) was born and raised in Wyoming; her childhood home was 142 Burns Avenue. Her father John Knight came from England and had a printing and engraving business. She married Royal Porter Smith in 1915; he died two years later. She married her second husband Edwin Lee Nielson in the 1920; he died in 1950. Her third husband was Fred Gedge (see this blog post) whom she married in 1952. They lived at 357 Beech Avenue in Wyoming. Emily was very active in the Cincinnati Women's Club.
While Emily owned 22 Springfield Pike her brother and sister-in-law, John Dodd Knight (1887-1958) and Maria Winters Knight (1893-1988) lived in the home. John was involved in the printing business, like his father. He had served in World War I, in the 147th Infantry, served in the Machine Gun Company, and rose to the rank of Captain. Maria, John's second wife, was born in Germany.
There was also a second listing in the county directories for this home, indicating a second, rental unit's presence. During the late 1950s Fred H. (1927-1996) and Jacqueline A. Schultz Lohman (b. 1931) were tenants; he was a chemist for Proctor & Gamble and a WWII veteran of the Air Force. They likely moved to the area and into the rental soon after he graduated from college, the two were married, and he began work for P&G.
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| Wedding Announcement, Jacqueline A. Schulz and Fred H. Lohman Carroll Daily Times (Carroll, Iowa), February 2, 1955 |
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| Isabelle K. Ackerson at the Mercantile Library with William F. Dohrman Cincinnati Enquirer, April 21, 1968 |
