Coleman Sigal Witham Family

Coleman Sigal Witham, better known as Sig Witham, was born in Cardington, Ohio, January 1, 1864. He came to Deshler, Ohio, once called Alma, Ohio, I believe, with his parents, Peter and Julia Amick Witham (who came from Charlottesville, Virginia), at the age of nine.

Sig was married to Pearl Jameson when he was 21 and Pearl 14 years of age. Pearl was born on a farm near Bel- more, Ohio, November 22, 1871. Her parents, John and Esther Vance Jameson, also Ohio pioneers, resided on a small acreage of land on the outskirts of Deshler . . . after the Civil War. He served in the Cavalry in the Union Army. At that time Deshler was very primitive and deer often ran down the main street. Sig was a strong, strapping 6 feet 2 and earned a meager living by chopping wood. He was a pugnacious man and many Monday mornings he paid a fine for his fisticuffs of Saturday night. In the Deshler paper files there was a clipping dated February 25, 1898: "Prize fighter Bob Fitzsimmons and his show troupe changed cars here Tuesday morning and a large crowd gazed at them at the depot. All who saw the frisky Bob do not hesitate to say it was surely an accident when he knocked out Jim Corbett. We believe Sig Witham could do him up in three rounds."

After twelve years of marriage, Esther was born; in two years .Sig came along, followed by Thelma two years later and Maxine was born two and a half years later. Sig operated one of the first saloons in Deshler and never drank a drop. It was all profit. Gradually, he bought four 80 acre farms a few miles from Deshler. Much of it he helped clear the densely wooded land. Later, with only a third grade education he became a road contractor. He was very successful and built many miles of the Dixie Highway. Several years later he was worth $250,000 which was a pretty penny at that time. He also owned one of the first automobiles in town; a Buick.

Deshler was growing and when the first Presbyterian church was built, Sig Witham bought the bell which was $50, a substantial sum then. Pearl's grandmother, Hannah Ferguson, a devout Presbyterian, came from Glasgow, Scotland; her grandfather, James Jameson came from Dublin, Ireland. Pearl's father was a Sunday School teacher in the Presbyterian church.

An enterprising band leader came to town and organized a town band. Sig bought all four of his offspring instruments. Esther, the trombone (she was also a beautiful singer); Sig Jr. the clarinet; Thelma, the baritone horn; and Maxine, the trumpet. Five years later all four left Deshler as professional musicians. Sig Jr. joined the noted Al Sweet band and the three sisters went on Chautauqua and the famous KeithOrpheum circuit playing on the same bill with the Marx Brothers, George Burns and Gracie Allen as well as other celebrities of the era.

The Witham family originated in Witham, England (also a Witham River) 30 miles from London which was visited several years ago by Maxine who found it a delightful typical thatched roofed English village. They were descendants of King Edward the Third, the same lineage as Queen Elizabeth, Sir Winston Churchill and even Richard Nixon. Their royal line is documented in the book English Aristocracy, also English Landed Gentry in the Congressional Library.

Sig Witham passed away January 3, 1940, and Pearl Witham passed away January 1, 1946. All four children are still living; Esther in Mansfield, Ohio, Sig Jr. in Detroit, Thelma in Findlay, Ohio, and Maxine in Long Beach, California. Sig and Pearl Witham are interred in the Deshler Cemetery.

Submitted by Maxine Witham Adams