Whiteman Family

Herbert Lincoln Whiteman and his wife, Margaret Estella Bonnell, for most of their married life resided in the red brick house on the northwest corner of County Road V and Township Road 10 (Liberty Township, Henry County, Ohio), at what is known as "Bonnell's Corners" dating from pioneer days. On the southeast corner of this cross-roads the one-room "Bonnell School" house built in 1872 still stands. The land used for school purposes reverted to the Whiteman family following consolidation of schools in Liberty Township. The brick house of French colonial design with its mansard slate roof and ornamental cantilevers supporting the cornice was built in 1883 by Mrs. Whiteman's parents, Jacob Thomas Bonne]] and Sarah Ann Norris Bonnell (married October 3, 1861). They moved from a farm in Seneca County, Ohio, to Henry County, in 1873, at a time when Margaret Estella was 21/2 years old. They had purchased this farm in Section 16, Liberty Township from Henry Van Fleet (subsequently Treasurer of Henry County). Because these people were pioneer settlers it is well to identify their forebears.

William Bonnell, whose forebears settled in the New Haven Colony and are buried in the old Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, and Margaret Ann Beiter (Pathereiche sp. ?) - (French Hugenots from Alsace Lorraine), parents of Jacob T. Bonnell, lived in Scipio Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, at the time of Jacob T. Bonnell's birth. They later removed - a part of the westward movement - to a farm in Seneca County, Ohio, in the vicinity of what was known as Egbert's Church (now Mt. Pleasant M. E.) on the "Portland Road" northeast of Tiffin. Members of their family, in addition to Jacob T. Bonnell, were: John Bonnell, Margaret Bonnell Callow, Jim Bonnell, Richard Bonnell (died in Civil War), Catherine Ann Bonnell, Alfred Bonnell, Rachael Bonnell Coppas, and a girl child who died in Pennsylvania. Many members of this family, including Jacob T. Bonnell's parents, are buried in Egbert's Cemetery - the churchyard at Egbert's Church.

The Bonnell-Whiteman residence, Liberty Twp.

Sarah Ann Norris, Jacob T. Bonnell's wife, was born near Taneytown, Maryland. Her parents, who migrated to Seneca County, Ohio, were Lott Norris and "Luraner" Todd Norris, both of whom are buried in Egbert's Cemetery, as are many of their children. The children, in addition to Sarah Ann, were: William Norris, Ephriam Norris, Charles Norris (died in the Civil War), Emma Norris (married Alfred Bonnell), and Mary and Susan Norris (first and second wives of Peter Van de Vere). The members of this Norris family were cousins of Senator George W. Norris, Senator from Nebraska, who was born in Seneca County, Ohio.

The children of Jacob T. Bonnell and Sarah Ann Norris Bonnell were: James Ulysses Grant Bonnell who married Mary Williams (daughter of Captain William F. Williams of Henry County); Margaret Estella Bonnell who married Herbert L. Whiteman; Herbert Roscoe Bonnell who married Anna Fought. Three other children, Willie, Emma and Orrin, died in their early years and are buried in Egbert's Cemetery, as are Jacob T. and Sarah Ann Bonnell.

Herbert Lincoln Whiteman's parents were John Perry Whiteman and Martha Jane Petticord Whiteman. As were the Bonnells, the Whitemans were pioneers who moved from a farm in Seneca County to a farm in Henry County in 1876. They purchased a farm in the middle of Section 15, Liberty Township, one-half mile as the crow flies from the Bonnell farm in Section 16. John P. Whiteman was the son of Jesse Whiteman, son of Samuel Whiteman (born Apr. 4, 1794 - died Dec. 28, 1857). Jesse Whiteman married Nancy Meyers, twin sister of Polly Meyers who married "Giles" (Abraham G. Whiteman). John P. Whiteman was the eldest son of Jesse and Nancy Meyers. Jesse and Nancy Whiteman had the following other children: William, George, Sam, Matilda (married Hank Richie), Mandy (married a Ganby), and Winfield Scott (died as a boy and buried in Indiana). Nancy died young and all of her children (except Winfield Scott) were raised by "Giles" and Polly (her twin sister) along with their own large family, on a farm in Adams Township, Seneca County, Ohio.

The Jacob T. Bonnell Family. Front row, left to right: Jacob T., Mrs. Jacob T. (Sarah Ann Norris), Margaret Estella Bonnell (later Mrs. H. L. Whiteman); back row, left to right: Herbert Roscoe and U. Grant Bonnell.

John P. Whiteman married (April 4, 1861) Martha Jane Petticord, also of Adams Township, Seneca County, Ohio. Martha Petticord's mother was Sarah Rule Petticord wife of Dan Petticord (Herbert L. Whiteman's grandparents). Dan Petticord was the son of John Petticord who married a Guisebert (Herbert L. Whiteman's great-grandparents). Martha Petticord's brothers and sisters were: John Petticord, Mary Ann Petticord Gooding, Elizabeth Petticord Metzger, Cynthia Petticord Hopkins, Milton Petticord, Willie Petticord (died young), Bell Petticord Bloomer, and Marshall Petticord. Many of the Petticord family lie buried in the so-called "Block Church" Cemetery, located on the road north of Clyde, Ohio (Seneca County). The Dan Petticord, mentioned above, operated a station of the "underground railroad" prior to and during the Civil War (moving southern slaves, in loads of hay, to a station near Lake Erie, on their way to Canada).

The children of John P. Whiteman and Martha Petticord Whiteman were: Herbert Lincoln Whiteman, Stella Bell Whiteman Graffice Bressler, Charles Grant Whiteman, Milton Leroy Whiteman, Bertha Elva Whiteman Leist, Frederick Weldon Whiteman, Bessie P. Whiteman Daum, and a daughter Carrie May who died at preschool age. The members of the John P. Whiteman family (with the exception of F. W. Whiteman) are buried in Young's Cemetery, Liberty Center; Ohio.

These early settlers found a much newer settlement north of the Maumee River than they left in Seneca County. Grandfather Bonnell's father gave him, when he left for Henry County, a broadax for hewing timber. As a young girl, I heard Abe Hoover, then over 90 years old, telling my father that as a boy he had helped his father clear farm land in the northwest corner of Section 21, Liberty Township, where in my youth the Hoover log cabin still stood. The cabin was located in a field back a distance from what is now County Road V. A lane led west from the cabin to what is now Township Road 11. The field was surrounded by a rail fence. In the period when my grandfather arrived in Liberty Township, the typical farm home was a log cabin with nearby rather flat log barn. A little later "plank houses" (perpendicular plank siding with narrow perpendicular strips of wood covering the space between the boards).

Land, at least on the north side of the Maumee River located as it was in the so-called "black swamp" was cleared later than land in certain other areas. It was cheaper than land in Seneca County. Hence, the movement to Henry County. Much of the year roads in the area were deep in mud. Bridges were few across the Maumee and in winter when the river was frozen over trips were made with a team of horses hitched to a bob-sled. Grandfather Bonnell took his wheat and grist to the mill in the town of Texas on the Maumee River and brought home the family's flour, cornmeal and buckwheat flour. It was then stored in a large flour chest (with a compartment for cornmeal) which was made of three foot wide poplar boards and stood in the kitchen. The road (now County Road V) east from Bonnell Schoolhouse was in part "corduroy" road, that is, it had logs put crosswise of the road in low spots to keep traffic from bogging down. Grandfather Whiteman and his eldest son (Herbert L. Whiteman, my father) built and operated a tile and brick yard on the John P. Whiteman farm located in Section 15 on the east side of the road north of Liberty Chapel. The site of the tile yard, on the south side of the lane east of the Whiteman barn, is still visible. After the tile yard ceased operation, the spot where earth had been removed for making brick and tile filled with water, and when frozen over was the source of ice for the family ice-houses in the neighborhood. Additionally, it was a wonderful ice skating rink for the Whiteman grandchildren of which I was one. I should add for the record that my father did much of the night burning of tile and brick and that Grandmother Whiteman cooked for the tile yard hands along with her family of eight children. She baked bread every other day. I might also add that the ice-house on the Bonnell-Whiteman farm stood a few feet from the northwest corner of the house, where we children watched from the kitchen windows as the men hauled the great sawed blocks of ice and packed them in sawdust in the icehouse. After people stopped storing ice for the summer in ice-houses, we children laid boards on the sawdust floor of the ice-house and used the building for a playhouse; still later, father moved the building to the southeast corner of the barn, by the silo, where it was used as the milk house (and where it still stands). At that time we milked 20-30 purebred Holstein cows and sold milk to the Van Camp condensery in Wauseon.

Jacob T. Bonnell and Sarah Ann Norris Bonnell as bride and groom, 1861

I recall the first stone road in the immediate vicinity. The road west of Liberty Center (now County Road T) was probably the first "improved" road in this area. Township Road 10 was made a stone road at a time when County Road V was still a dirt road with grass growing down the center of the road. The west side only of the new road was stoned (with loose stone)and covered with deep stone dust. The east side of the road was left a dirt road in order that horses could use the road without injury to their hoofs.

In the early 1890s Grandfather and Grandmother Bonnell, shortly after father and mother were married, moved from their farm home to Wauseon, Ohio, leaving the farm to mother and their oldest son Grant. In 1901 my father purchased the Grant Bonnell acreage, and still later added to the farm the Andy Hoffman farm to the northwest, and still later the Henry King farm farther to the west. Later the family also acquired the Nettie Bowers' 80 acres (formerly owned by Cyrus Bricker Jennings and his wife Electa Leist Jennings, and still earlier by Newton B. Jennings), located across the road to the south from the Whiteman home, and also the so-called George Grinder farm on which Bonnell Schoolhouse still stands. On these acres we as a family, mother, father and four daughters worked together and were a happy contented family, raising much of the family living on the farm.

At the time when Grandfather and Grandmother Bonnell arrived in Liberty Township to take possession of the farm they had purchased, a saltbox frame house facing east stood in the area slightly north of the present house, and the remains of a log barn still stood northwest of this early frame house and east of the lane (running north from the present barn to the fields). At that time, to Grandfather's delight, there was a large well-built comparatively new barn west of the house, facing south, located on the north side of what is now County Road V. The barn, painted red with white shuttered windows, had a large horse painted blue on the horse stable door at the east front and a cow, also painted blue, on the cow stable door at the west front. This barn, with its solid walnut beams, plus a covered barnyard added at its north side, built in 1908 or 1909, is still in use. The brick house now standing on the corner -the present Bonnell-Whiteman home - built in the 1880's was the result of a promise made by Grandfather Bonnell to Grandmother to induce her to leave Seneca County and come to Henry County.

Mrs. H. L. Whiteman

Farm work in Grandfather's time, and even in my father's time, was far heavier than at present. Crops were planted, tended, and harvested without benefit of modern powered machinery. For example, land was plowed a furrow at a time, and corn was often weeded with a hoe, or cultivated one side of a row at a time with an Ajax cultivator pulled by a horse. The riding cultivator, regarded as a wonderful device, came late. It was pulled by two horses, one on each side of the row. Grandfather Bonnell used a cradle (a form of scythe with an attached rounded wooden rake) to cut wheat. Later, a McCormick binder was used to cut wheat. By its use, the grain was bound into bundles or sheaves. It was then shocked in the field to permit the grain to dry and ripen before threshing. To make a shock, usually four sheaves were stood up in a row, supported on each side by three sheaves and with one or two cap sheaves flattened and spread out over the top. After about 10 days or two weeks the grain was hauled on flat-rack wagons to the barn where it was either stored in the mow or, if ready, threshed immediately. For this, a grain separator was used that separated the grain from the chaff and straw and blew the latter from the barn into a huge straw stack in the back barnyard. The separator stood on the barn floor; its machinery was turned by use of a long belt from a large fly-wheel on a steam engine standing outside the barn. Included in a threshing outfit was a water wagon, necessary for supplying water for the steam. In the             immediate area northwest of Liberty Center, there were a number of threshing rigs available, namely those operated by: Reuben Hoffman (son of Andy Hoffman); Harl Dunbar; George Morrison; M. L. Whiteman (formerly owned by Bergstresser); Kirby Warner; and Arthur Hoffer. Thirty bushels of wheat per acre was unheard of in Grandfather Bonnell's time. My father in later years raised 30 or 40 bushels of wheat to the acre. And my brother-in-law, Charles Murdock, who took over the farming in the years subsequent to father's farming days raises as high as 60 bushels of wheat per acre. So with other crops, modern methods and fertilization produce lerger yields.

There was plenty of work to do. Grandmother made her own soap. She kept in supply, as did mother for some years, a keg of soft soap. Lawns were mowed several times a summer with a scythe. For sweetening, sorghum was raised and bees were kept for honey. The apple orchard north of the house and garden covered two or three acres. Buckwheat was planted in the orchard. The potato patch north of the orchard yielded 20 to 30 bushels each fall. Potatoes were stored, for winter use and for seed for the following spring, on the offset in the cellar. In the fall apple-butter and sauerkraut were made. Winter apples were either buried or stored in the cellar. Also placed there in the cellar for winter use were cans of fruit: 50 or 100 quarts of cherries, the same of peaches and usually 15 or 20 quarts of pears and plums.

John P. and Martha Petticord Whiteman Family, 1909. First row, left to right: Frank A. Daum, Bessie Whiteman Daum, Atha Whiteman (Mrs. Elwood P. Howell), Terry Whiteman, Helen and Marjorie Whiteman (holding photo of Carrie Whiteman d.), Doris Whiteman, Howard and Bernice Leist Roberts; 2nd row: Burton Murray, Stella Whiteman, Graffice Bressler with daughter Gladys, Estella Bonnell Whiteman, John P. Whiteman, Grace Murray (child standing), Mrs. John P. Whiteman, Gertrude Eleanor Whiteman, Charles Whiteman (holding Ford Hahn), Lucy Miller Whiteman; 3rd row: Herma Graffice Murray, Josephine Whiteman Sharpe, Ira G. Sharpe, Francis Bressler (Mrs. Grant Fouty), Henry Bressler, Herbert L. Whiteman, Norma Whiteman (Mrs. Howard McClarren), Hubert V. Leist, Bertha Whiteman Leist, Milton L. Whiteman, Maliva Wright Whiteman, Pearl Jennings Whiteman, Fred Whiteman.

Additionally, apples, peaches, pears, and sweet corn were dried to enhance the food supply. Even in my day, meat was smoked with hickory wood in a small brick smoke-house built by my father at the rear of the summer kitchen. A beef and three or four hogs were butchered each year. Wood for the wood-burning cookstove and for the wood-burning heating stove was cut and later split in the winter and hauled from the woods to the family wood lot or wood house adjacent to the summer kitchen. In 1908 or 1909 a hot water furnace (heated by wood and coal and later converted to oil) was installed in the basement by Frank Harper, plumber of Wauseon. This was the first such furnace in the area. In the same year, replacing kerosene lamps, an acetylene (made from carbide) light plant was put in the second room of the basement. The basement or cellar itself had been put under the entire house by my father in the late 1890's. Father did his own masonry.

Winter days were not dull at our house on Bonnell's Corner. Sometime between 1895 and 1905 my father and Israel Pontious (owner of the farm across the road in Section 15 as far east as Liberty Chapel) built and operated a sawmill on the west bank of North Turkey Foot Creek (opposite the Jake Grinder home). Father left the house before daylight on winter mornings (walked the one-half mile to the sawmill) and fired the boiler of the steam engine and sharpened the saw. In the early spring days, the family's maple grove of 200 trees at the edge of the woods on the half-mile road (bounding the farm at the north), furnished -that is after considerable labor -maple syrup in plenty. After tapping the trees, collecting the sap and boiling it down (at least 30 gallons to a gallon syrup), the syrup was cooled, later reboiled, skimmed, strained, and poured into quart glass bottles, bottles that had been hand painted in oil by father and mother in patterns of multicolored maple leaves. The syrup with bottle was sold at $1.00 a quart! Father and mother painted in oils, both before and after they were married. Father, who was very artistic, had one lesson in oil painting from Mrs. French in Napoleon; mother had regular lessons from a Mrs. Reynolds who lived on East Chestnut Street in Wauseon.

As a young lady, mother attended the Wauseon Normal School (in the building eventually used for the east Elementary School), at which time she roomed in the home of the President of the Normal School (Solomon Metzler) located on the hill at the northwest corner of Oak and Franklin Streets. This home was later purchased by my parents and they resided there while the older daughters were in high school. In addition to art lessons, Grandmother saw to it that mother as a young lady attended sewing school on East Cherry Street in Wauseon in the home of Vonia Garrett at which time she roomed with Nell Wright (who later married Roll Leist, President of the Toledo Trust Company). Commercial dressmaking patterns were unheard of in this area in mother's girlhood and early married life; they did not come into existence in this community until sometime around 1905 or 1906. The complicated 11-21 gored skirts and the tiny basque waists were cut from materials by adjusting certain forms made of card board. In mother's married life she did all the sewing for six, herself, her mother, and her four girls (including all everyday clothes, underwear, night clothes, sunbonnets, aprons, Sunday clothes, and at least two petticoats for each season). Additionally, she was busy with washing, ironing (done with flat irons heated on the cook stove), canning, cooking for the family and hired farm hands, helping with the farm chores, milking, churning, raising a flock of chickens, and tending a large vegetable garden. At house cleaning time she did one room at a time. Usually the attic with a complete hardwood floor over the entire house was done first. All carpets, mainly rag carpets upstairs and down were taken out of doors, beaten with a carpet beater made of wire, washed as needed; the floors were swept and then mopped with soap and hot water and dried before carpets were replaced, and again stretched and tacked down. Everything was cleaned from stove pipes and stoves to straw ticks on the four-poster beds (which were washed and refilled with fresh straw from a straw stack). Many a time one of us children fell off the four-poster rope beds (without springs) the night following the refilling of the tightly packed straw ticks.

The H. L. Whiteman Family, late 1940's. Front row, left to right: Herbert and Thomas Murdock; middle row, left to right: Gertrude Whiteman Murdock, Norma Whiteman McClarren, Herbert L. Whiteman, Estella Bonnell Whiteman, Helen and Marjorie Whiteman; back row, left to right: Howard McClarren, Margaret Ann McClarren, Robert McClarren and wife Margaret (Peg), Richard Murdock, Charles R. Murdock.

The Charles Murdock Family, 1943. Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Murdock and sons: Richard, Herbert, and baby Thomas.

In winter, in addition to other sewing, Mother found time to make allfamily bedding, feather beds, comforts, and quilts. She delighted in making beautiful quilts for herself and family. Each quilt was a work of art and an heirloom, with every care being taken as to patterns, materials and unusually fine stitching. Usually, Father designed and marked the quilt top with the quilting patterns such as the feather wreath, old maid's twist, etc.

The H. L. Whiteman family was active in the Liberty Chapel United Brethren Church located one-half mile east of the family home. Grandmother Bonnell often walked to the first Chapel in elaborately fluted silks and cut velvet with her tiny but thick leather bound hymnal in hand. The little hymnal was without the music scores containing only the words. Music was "lined" (a line at a time was sung by the chorister and repeated by the members, followed by the singing of the verse). With the purchase of a pedal organ by the congregation, Margaret Estella Bonnell became the first organist. She had had music lessons from Jay Guyer of near Colton, Washington Township, who traveled about the country-side giving music lessons. Grandmother Bonnell had previously purchased a beautiful solid walnut "chamber" organ with nine blue and gold pipes and having three ranks of reeds (unusual for pedal organs) for the parlor of her new brick home. It has been restored and still stands in that very parlor.

Herbert Lincoln Whiteman and Margaret Estella Bonnell were the parents of four children: Norma, Marjorie, Helen, and Gertrude. The girls grew to womanhood on the farm at Bonnell's Corner. Helen and Marjorie have retired from their work in Washington, D.C. and now live in the old home. Gertrude Eleanor and her husband Charles Murdock live within sight of the old home, approximately a quarter of a mile west of what was formerly the Grant Bonnell farm and the Andy Hoffman farm. Norma who married Howard McClarren died in 1974 and is buried in Young's Cemetery at Liberty Center, Ohio. Certain data regarding their lives and interests are set forth hereinafter.

Norma Whiteman McClarren

Norma Leona Whiteman, eldest daughter of Herbert Lincoln Whiteman and his wife, Margaret Estella Bonnell Whiteman, was born on October 20, 1895, in the Whiteman farm home at Bonnell's Corners. She attended the one-room Bonnell School and in 1910 took and passed with high marks the Patterson-Boxwell Examination then required in Ohio for all pupils entering a first-grade high school. She attended the Wauseon High School for four years, graduating in the Class of 1914. She later taught at the Williams School east of Wauseon. But this was First World War time and she decided to take nurses training. For her training she selected the Lakeside Hospital Nurses Training School in Cleveland (now the Western Reserve School of Nursing), where she graduated in June, 1919. Subsequently, she passed the State Board Examination and became a registered nurse in the State of Ohio.

On December 25, 1919, she married Howard McClarren, great-grandson of Col. Dresden William Howard (friend of the Indians and the second white child to attend mission school at Grand Rapids, Ohio, where he played and learned the language of the Indian boys). After her marriage Norma lived for a brief time on the McClarren-Howard farm near Winameg, in Fulton County. Later, she lived in the Columbus-Westerville area where her husband graduated at Ohio State University, School of Agriculture, and later was identified with the program of Vocational Agriculture in Ohio. In the early 1940's they moved to Washington, D.C. There Norma practiced professionally, first with Dr. H. Ford Anderson and later with Dr. Ernest Sheppard while Mr. McClarren continued work in his field. In 1962 they retired to the Westerville-Columbus area, where Norma died on July 26, 1974. She left surviving a son, Robert R. McClarren, who married Margaret Weed of Westerville, Ohio. In World War II, he served in Europe with the 14th Armored Division, and later, as a Reserve officer, served in the Korean War. He holds a Master's degree in library science from Columbia University and is presently an assistant state librarian in the State of Illinois. Norma also left surviving a daughter, Margaret Ann McClarren White, who is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and is married to Dr. A. Wayne White of Houston, Texas.

Marjorie Millace Whiteman was born in the Bonnell-Whiteman home on November 30, 1898. She attended the one-room country school across the corner from her home (Bonnell School). In the spring of 1910 she took and passed the Patterson-Boxwell Examination for 8th grade pupils required by Ohio law as a prerequisite for admission into a first-class high school. At that time Marjorie was 11 years old and in the 5th grade. She graduated from the Wauseon High School in the Class of 1915. In 1920 she graduated with high honors from Ohio Wesleyan University (Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude, and a recipient of the Charles Eiihu Slocum prize in scholarship). While there she majored in history and also completed all educational courses required for teaching. When she began teaching in the Napoleon High School in 1920, she held a life certificate to teach in the State of Ohio. Yale Law School was next. There she received an LL.B. degree, and a doctorate in international law. She is a member of the Ohio Bar. From 1929 to 1970 she was employed in Washington, D.C. by the Federal Government in the Office of the Legal Adviser of the Department of State, first as Assistant Legal Adviser and later as Counsellor on International Law. She is the author of a 3-volume work on Damages in International Law and a Digest of International Law comprised of 15 volumes. In retirement she is a member of the Board of Editors (now Honorary member) of the American Journal of International Law, the scholarly journal of the American Society of International Law of which she has been a member for many years.

Helen L. Whiteman

Helen Whiteman, a Federal employee in Washington, D.C.

Helen Luella Whiteman, the third daughter of Herbert Lincoln Whiteman and Margaret Estella Bonnell Whiteman, was born August 24, 1901, in the family home at Bonnell's Corners (northwest of Liberty Center, Ohio). There she spent her early years and attended the country school across the corner from her home. She attended and graduated from Wauseon High School, graduating in the Class of 1920. She attended Oberlin School of Commerce and later graduated at Ohio Northern University. Because of her interest in art she attended the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. and also took private lessons in portrait painting and landscape.

She was a teacher in Liberty Center High School for some years. For twenty-seven years she worked for the U.S. Government in Washington, D.C. Her first position there was with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (at that time handling World Bank accounts; and later, during World War II, mainly Defense accounts). When the War was over, she worked in the Scientific Division of the Smithsonian Institution for the Department of Geology in the Division of Paleontology in the Natural History Building on Constitution Avenue in Washington. Her next position in the Federal Government was with the United States Department of Labor where she remained until her retirement in 1963.

She now enjoys the old family home in Liberty Township, Henry County, Ohio, where she and her sister Marjorie find much of interest.

On the evening of March 6, 1907, at 7:30, the bell on the Hebron Church (Christian Union) north of the H. L. Whiteman home in Liberty Township, was ringing for the evening service. Outside the Whiteman home snow was in deep drifts; inside, a small hummer stove was doing its best to heat the parlor bedroom. Margaret Estella Bonnell Whiteman was giving birth to Gertrude Eleanor, the youngest of the Whiteman children. Dr. L. G. Ennis, country doctor, attended, and Grandmother Bonnell was present. The baby was so tiny that for some weeks after her birth she was kept on a pillow beside the wood-burning heater in the living room. She proved to be a carefree, happy child, a real joy to her family, and as the years passed an indispensable member. As a young girl she enjoyed roller skating and basketball. Her musical and artistic talents gave enjoyment to her throughout her life.

Gertrude Eleanor Whiteman Murdock

Gertrude graduated from the Liberty Center High School in 1926. She attended Ohio Northern University and Defiance College, graduating from the latter in 1959. She began teaching at the Fulton Centralized School in 1928. After teaching 21/2 years, she married Charles R. Murdock, eldest son of Earl and Pearl Swartzlander Murdock. They have two sons: Richard C. Murdock and Herbert W. Murdock. After training at Camp Gordon, Georgia, Richard served with the U.S. Army in Korea from July, 1952, to November, 1953, as a military policeman and as a mechanic. In 1964, Thomas R., their youngest son, was killed at age 19 in an automobile accident.

During World War II Gertrude did substitute teaching in the Liberty Center Elementary School. Later she served that school system for a period of 19 years as a regular elementary teacher, retiring in 1974. In retirement, she and her husband Charley enjoy fishing near Iron Bridge, Ontario, Canada. At home, Gertrude plays the piano and electric organ, paints, does beautiful hand work, writes poetry (some of which has been published), and is never too busy to help others.

She is a member and former Regent of the Wauseon Chapter of the D.A.R. She is also a member of the Liberty Center Rebekah Lodge No. 273, serving as pianist for some years. She is a member, and a former teacher of the Young People's Sunday School Class, of the Liberty Chapel Methodist Church.

Charles R. Murdock was born January 20, 1905, west of Liberty Center (in Section 27, Liberty Township). He is the eldest child of 0. E. Murdock (born 1879 and died 1960) and Pearl Swartzlander Murdock (born 1881, and now 93 years old). His father, known throughout the community by his second name "Earl," an able country school teacher, was at the time of Charley's birth, teaching at the Chroninger School located two miles west of Liberty Center.

Marjorie M. Whiteman

O. E. Murdock taught in the country schools of Liberty and Washington Townships for some 20 years. In 1918 he was elected county recorder. Subsequently, he served as manager of the Liberty Center and of the Tontogany Grain Elevators. His mother, Pearl Murdock, is the youngest daughter of Mathias and Mary Swartzlander. Her father volunteered to serve in the Union Army at age 17. Too young to serve, he enlisted later in the Army at age 18 and served for the remainder of the War. He was shot in the hand in the battle of Shiloh.

Charles R. Murdock attended the Reed Country School in Liberty Township (District No. 1). He graduated with honors in 1924 from the Liberty Center High School. He was, and still is, interested in all sports and is an avid fisherman.

He married Gertrude Eleanor Whiteman in 1930. They have two sons, Richard C. and Herbert W. A third son, their youngest, Thomas R., died in 1964 as the result of an automobile accident. For 44 years Mr. Murdock has managed and farmed the entire Bonnell-Whiteman acreage. He is considered one of the County's best informed and capable farmers. Friendly and able, he is well-liked in the community.

Mr. Murdock served as a township trustee in Liberty Township for 12 years. For some 20 years he served on the Liberty Center Elevator Board. Heis an active member of the Liberty Center I.O.O.F. Lodge No. 718, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Liberty Chapel United Methodist Church.

Submitted by Marjorie Whiteman

Whiteman Family Correction, Volume 3, Page 62

On page 468, Volume I, a name of John Norris was omitted from the list as printed of the children of Lott and Loraner Todd Norris.

On page 475, Volume I, the date of death of Herbert Lincoln Whiteman should be 1952, not 1962.