Norwalk High School Class of 1907 Demographics – Where They Went – Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio – 1930 [1]

 

By far, Cleveland and its suburbs was the primary destination for the graduates of the Norwalk High School Class of 1907. Why Cleveland? Today – although it is experiencing a renaissance – the city is a shadow of the metropolis that lured young people from around the world to work in its factories. In 1907, Cleveland was already an industrial powerhouse, by 1920, it became the fifth largest city in the nation. And it was not only jobs that made it a destination of choice for many in the early twentieth century. Philanthropy by titans of industry like John D. Rockefeller and Louis Severance brought culture to the city. [1]

Nine of the twenty-seven graduates of the Class of 1907 spent most of their lives in Cleveland or its suburbs, but only three lived in the city limits of Cleveland, and none of them ever married.

Fred Osborne came from a working class family, his father was a housepainter and paperhanger, and he became a working class man. After graduating from Norwalk High School, he went into farming, and became a beekeeper. Around 1920, he moved to Cleveland, and for over twenty years lived in an apartment at 1482 East 84th Street with his sisters, while working as a mail carrier out of the University Post Office at 1950 E 101st Street, Cleveland. After retirement, he moved to Pinellas, Florida, where he died in 1972.

 

University Post Office 2017 [3]

Myrtle Woodruff

How important is it to check source documents and not rely on transcriptions? Very important. But sometimes we goof, as I did in my post on education when I reported that Myrtle Woodruff had not pursued an education after high school. That despite finding her obituary, which reported that she had graduated from Ohio University. While drafting this post, I checked her obituary and realized my mistake. I went to the original 1940 Census record for confirmation, and there it was: Myrtle Woodruff had completed five years of college. How stupid of me! Oh, well! Lesson learned (I hope), and now I have the chance to set the record straight.

What did Myrtle do with her education? She taught at West Technical High School in Cleveland. [4] In 1928, she lived on Prospect Avenue in Cleveland. Later she moved to the suburb of Lakewood. After retiring in 1946, she returned to live with a sister in their hometown of Fairfield Township, where she died in 1951.

West Technical High School, Cleveland, Ohio [5]

Edna West spent most of her short life (she died in 1936) living in boarding houses. After graduation, she moved to Trenton, Michigan, where she taught school, living in a home with fourteen other boarders, most who were teachers. By 1920, she had returned to Ohio and was working as a clerk in Cleveland, boarding at 3848 Prospect Avenue (now a parking lot). But in the end she returned to teaching. According to the 1930 Census, she was a governess at the Cleveland Christian Home for Children located at 11401 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio. [6] She was the first of the class of 1907 to die, passing away on April 6, 1936 in Toledo, Ohio.

That’s it for the tales of those graduates of the class who lived in Cleveland, Ohio. Next up, the suburbs, beginning with Cleveland Heights.

 

Footnotes:

[1] Image from Pinterest, downloaded August 6, 2017

[2] From the Cleveland Wikipedia article. An excellent source of information about Cleveland is the Case Western Reserve Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.

[3] Google Maps Image downloaded August 6, 2017.

[4] West Technical School was a highly rated high school in Cleveland. Established in 1912, it closed in 1995 and was converted to apartments. For more information, visit the West Tech Alumni Association website.

[5] Image from West Technical High School Class of 1967 Reunion Website. on Classmates.com.

[6] The Cleveland Christian Home for Children is an orphanage founded in 1900, and is still operates today. A history of this institution is at the Cleveland Christian Home Website.

Note: For timelines and sources, click on these links: Fred Osborne, Myrtle Woodruff, and Edna West. I will fill in the gaps with individual biographies for these three in later posts.

 

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Norwalk High School Class of 1907 Demographics – Age and Gender

It’s been a couple weeks since my last post about the Norwalk High School Class of 1907 – Out Into the World. I return today with a series of posts about demographics of the class in 1907 and during their lives after graduation. I know demographics may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I think they are fascinating. They provide the only way to truly understand what’s going on in a population – or in this case what went on over one hundred years ago.

I start with a breakdown of the class by gender and age. The graduates of the Class of 1907 were almost twice as likely to be female: seventeen women to ten men. Why was that? I would imagine that more young men of that era had to start work early to help support their families. In that more agrarian age, boys often were needed in the fields.

There was also a striking difference by gender in the ages of the class. The women were on average older at graduation than the men. Fred Osborne was the only boy twenty years old at graduation, but five girls had reached that age: Alice McCammon, Edna West, Carrie Spurrier, Gertrude Ryerson, and Myrtle Woodruff. Interestingly, these young women all were born in the townships around Norwalk.

 

Fred Osborne

Alice McCammon

Edna West

Carrie Spurrier

Gertrude Ryerson

Myrtle Woodruff

Norwalk High School Class of 1907 graduates who were twenty years old at commencement (clockwise from top left): Fred Osborne, Alice McCammon, Edna West, Carrie Spurrier, Myrtle Woodruff, and Gertrude Ryerson.

 

Fred Osborne was not only the oldest male graduate, but was the oldest in the class overall. He and Myrtle Woodruff were the only graduates born in 1886. If you’ve been following this blog, you may remember Myrtle from the series, It Was Buried on the Banks of Mud Run. If you don’t remember, it’s worth checking it out.

The baby of the class was Harriott Wickham (my grandma), who was the only graduate born in 1890. On the first page of her 1909-1910 diary, she wrote that she had started school early, two months before her fifth birthday. I remember her mentioning that to me because I also began school when I was four, although I only had to wait two weeks before my birthday. That wait did not mean much to me back when I was very young. Where my early start really made an impact on me was when I went to college. I was one of the few in my dorm who could not legally drink — at that time in Ohio, you could purchase 3.2% beer at eighteen.

Finally, two graduates of the class had the same birthday: Sheldon Laning and Eugene Bloxham were both born on November 9, 1889. Was that considered remarkable by them and their classmates?

Sheldon Laning

Eugene Bloxham

Sheldon Laning and Eugene Bloxham shared the same birthday.

 

That’s all I have for now on this subject. Starting with my next post, we’ll look past graduation, and see how the Class of 1907 fared in life.

 

 

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Norwalk High School Commencement, 1907

On Friday, June 14, 1907, one-hundred and ten years ago today, the Norwalk High School Class of 1907 walked across the stage at the Gilmer Theater to receive their diplomas.

What did those young people experience that memorable evening? Well the Norwalk Daily Reflector and the Evening Herald reported extensively in their issues the next day, giving us a blow-by-blow description of the pomp and ceremony.

How did they look that night — these young people about to “join those who are fighting life’s battles,” as the Daily Reflector put it. How were they dressed? We don’t need to imagine. We have a photo taken that very evening at the Gilger. [1] Aren’t they are good looking crew?

 

Norwalk High School Class of 1907 Front Row: Ruth Jenkins, Irene Eline, Irene Bragdon, Myrtle Woodruff. Second Row: Lillian Smith, Eugene Bloxham, Arthur Young, Carrie Spurrier, Harriott Wickham, Robert Venus, Ruby Hoyt. Third Row: Sarah Barnett, Fred Osborne, Nina Humiston, Earl Sinclair, Florence Davidson, Inez Adams, Stephen Young, Fred French. Fourth Row: Homer Beattie, Florence Bascom, Alice McCammon, Sheldon Laning, Edna West, Harry Holiday, Cleo Collins.

 

The audience arrived at the Gilger to find the auditorium decorated with the school colors of black and gold and Stewart’s Orchestra playing “Slavery Days.” The Norwalk High School Classes of 1904 and 1906 occupied boxes decorated with their class colors. After all had settled into their seats, the curtain rose to reveal the Class of 1907, dressed as captured in the photo above, the women holding a single stemmed American rose. Above them hung a banner in black and gold, with the class slogan “Immer Siegend,” (always victorious). Accompanied by the orchestra, the class sang the chorus of the hymn, “A Dream of Paradise.”

Father in heaven above,
Glorious and mighty;
Send forth Thy Light of Love,
O King most mighty!
Father, Glorious and mighty;
Send forth Thy Light of Love.
Thy Light of Love. [2]

To great applause, the curtain lowered, and when it again raised, the class were seated in wicker chairs set in a semi-circle on the stage. With them were School Superintendent A. D. Beechy, the school faculty, and members of the board of education.

This graduation ceremony was not like what we experience today. There was no Valedictorian and Salutatorian, nor did a respected member of the community address the graduates. Instead, this ceremony focused on the graduates, with orations and essays by speakers selected for academic excellence, interspersed by musical performances by others in the class. [3]

Who were the speakers, and why were they chosen? The newspapers are handy references for this as well. Eight young men and women were honored in four categories: Arthur Young and Irene Bragdon for best grades in regular school work. Inez Adams and Alice McCammon for best grades in literary work; Sheldon Laning and Nina Humiston were chosen by the class; and Homer Beattie and Carrie Spurrier were chosen by the faculty. [4]

What did they talk about, these speakers? The subjects may surprise you. We’ll see what they said, and who they were, in subsequent posts, beginning with Mr. Young and Miss Bragdon.

 

Footnotes:

[1] The commencement photo is from the papers of Harriott Wickham, my grandmother,

who kindly wrote the names on the back. As I reported in my post, Mystery Girl, missing from this photo is Gertrude Ryerson. Newspaper accounts tell us that twenty-six graduates were at the ceremony, so I do not know why she is not in the commencement photo. It is a mystery. I clipped this image of her from a photo of the Senior / Junior study hall that I also found in my grandmother’s papers.

[2] “A Dream of Paradise,” by Claude Littleton, 1900. Full text of the lyrics and an audio file of the tune are at Hymnary. org.

[3] Lengthy descriptions of the ceremony and fulsome praise for the graduates are in “School Life is Ended,” The Norwalk Daily Reflector, June 15, 1907, page 1-2, column 6, and “Get Their Diplomas,” The Norwalk Evening Herald, pages 1,4.

[4] “Forty Seventh Annual,” The Norwalk Daily Reflector, June 13, 1907, page 1, column 3.“Get Their Diplomas,” The Norwalk Evening Herald, pages 1 and 4.

 

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Class Day 1907 – Who’s Missing – And Why?

In my last two posts about Class Day 1907, Bachelor Hall and The Chorus Girls Who Are They, I identified all members of the cast of the play Bachelor Hall that was performed at the Norwalk High School on June 5 and 6, 1907. The cast, however, did not include the entire Norwalk High School Class of 1907. Six students did not perform those two nights: Myrtle Woodruff, Alice McCammon, Gertrude Ryerson, Inez Adams, Earl Sinclair, and Fred Osborne. [1]

 

Myrtle Woodruff

Alice McCammon

Gertrude Ryerson

Earl Sinclair

Inez Adams

Fred Osborne

Clockwise from upper left: Myrtle Woodruff, Alice McCammon, Gertrude Ryerson, Fred Osborne, Earl Sinclair and Inez Adams.

Were these six young people working backstage? According to the Norwalk Daily Reflector, [2] the actors’ “makeups were true to life, [and] the stage settings were in excellent taste.” Someone had to apply the “makeups” and someone was needed to manufacture the stage settings and change them between scenes.

But then again, perhaps these six were not involved at all; age and place of residence may be the reason they did not participate in these follies.

Three of the young women lived outside Norwalk, and were older than their classmates: Myrtle was twenty years old and lived in Fairfield Township, [3] Alice was the same age and lived in Greenfield Township, [4], Gertrude was a year younger and hailed from Bronson Township. [5] Inez and Fred lived in Norwalk, but she was nineteen [6] and he was one month shy of his twenty-first birthday. [7] Earl Sinclair was nineteen and lived on a farm outside of Norwalk. [8]

Bottom line, it seems that older students did not participate in school activities as much as their younger classmates, most of whom were seventeen or eighteen years old. Location also seemed to be a factor. Those who participated in extra curricular activities were more likely to live in Norwalk.

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In high school, I enjoyed performing in theatrical productions. But I and my fellow cast members were not the most popular in our class. In 1907, however, all the younger members of the Norwalk senior class were involved in the class play, and many other activities. Class spirit in my high school in 1972 can only be characterized as dismal. In 1907, however, with the Norwalk High School Class of 1907, it was everything.

 

Footnotes:

[1] The links for each student lead to that person’s WeRelate person page.

[2] “Brilliant Success,” The Norwalk Daily Reflector, June 6, 1907 – page 1, column 3.

[3] Fairfield, in Huron County, Ohio. 1900 U.S. Census Population Schedule, Roll: 1288; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0020; FHL microfilm: 1241288.

[4] Greenfield, in Huron County, Ohio. 1900 U.S. Census Population Schedule, Roll: 1288; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0022; FHL microfilm: 1241288.

[5] Bronson, in Huron County, Ohio. 1900 U.S. Census Population Schedule, ; Roll: 1288; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0018; FHL microfilm: 1241288.

[6] Kenton Ward 2, in Huron County, Ohio. 1900 U.S. Census Population Schedule, Roll: 1288; Page: 13A&B; Enumeration District: 0031; FHL microfilm: 1241288.

[7] Kenton Ward 3, in Huron County, Ohio. 1900 U.S. Census Population Schedule, Roll: 1288; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0032; FHL microfilm: 1241288.

[8] Norwalk, in Huron County, Ohio. 1900 U.S. Census Population Schedule, Roll: 1288; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0029; FHL microfilm: 1241288.,

 

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The Heritage of Myrtle Woodruff – Final Chapter

After his father Chauncey died in 1818, George Woodruff continued to clear the land they had settled, and in the following years, established a prosperous farm. He and his wife Hannah started a family.

Hannah died in 1830, and over the years, his children left home, starting their own families around the Firelands. His eldest son Chauncey, named for his father, settled in Peru Township, and served in the Mexican and Civil Wars. Chauncey’s son Lewis was the father of Myrtle Woodruff, alumnus of the Norwalk High School Class of 1907. Here is her family tree, tracing her ancestry back to those first pioneers of Norwich Township in the Firelands.

We now end the story of Myrtle’s heritage. Here are the posts that made up this series:

• Norwalk High School Class of 1907 October Birthdays
• Village House: A Cabin at the End of Beall’s Trail
• Location of the “Village House” in Norwich Township, 1817
• Hardship and Tragedy
• It was Buried on the Banks of Mud Run
• Litany of Death in the Sufferers Land

For the next couple of weeks, we’ll return to 1907 Norwalk, and see how the Class of 1907 fared in the new year, starting with the events of Wednesday, January 9, 1907.

Sources for this post were John Niles article “Memoirs of Norwich Township,” The Firelands  Pioneer; Volume II, number 2; The Firelands Historical Society; March, 1860, pages 38-46, and W.W. Williams’ book History of the Fire-Lands Comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of the Prominent Men and Pioneers, Press of Leader Printing Company, Cleveland Ohio, 1897, pages 417-425.

Litany of Death in the Sufferers Land

In my last post, It was Buried on the Banks of Mud Run, I wrote about two baby boys, who in 1817 were buried in the forest on the banks of Mud Run north of Village House where the Woodruff and Lawrence families had taken up residence. The remains of these two infants were soon joined by the Dickinson twins: two boys who were the first children born to settlers in Norwich Township. They came into the world on October 24, 1817. One boy was stillborn, the other lived but a few hours. Both were buried on the banks of Mud Run.

The final burial in that place, according to the records, was in the fall of 1819, Richard Moon, a widower, left his children in New York and came to Norwich Township. He was taken ill with “the lung fever” and died soon after he arrived. His was the first funeral in the township. Richard Moon and the four little boys are not recorded as being interred in Boughton Cemetery, so it is likely that their remains are still buried along the banks of Mud Run. [1]

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Clearing the land in the Firelands was a generational task. Often, the first generation did not live to see the fruits of their labor. Such was the case with Chauncey Woodruff.

In order to make ends meet until they cleared enough acres on their land to be profitable, the first pioneers had to find work elsewhere. As I described in Sufferers’ Land Post #7 on this site, Platt Benedict, in his first winter on the frontier, earned sixty  dollars working on a crew that cut a road from Norwalk to Milan to buy enough pork to feed his family until spring.

Chauncey Woodruff faced the same dilemma. In 1818, he took a job grinding grain at a grist mill located between Sandusky and Venice and owned by a Doctor Carpenter. While there, he fell ill and was taken home to Norwich Township. His condition worsened, and he was moved to the more established community of New Haven Township, [2] where presumably, he could receive better care. But he was too far gone, and died a few days later. Were his remains brought home and buried along the banks of Mud Run, or was he buried in New Haven? I have found not found the answer to this question. [3]

Now George Woodruff had to shoulder the entire burden of supporting his family. We’ll continue his story, and of his descendants down to his great granddaughter Myrtle Woodruff, of the Norwalk High School Class of 1907, in my next post.

Notes

[1]  The three sources I consulted for information about these deaths were: John Niles, “Memoirs of Norwich Township,” The Firelands  Pioneer; Volume II, number 2; The Firelands Historical Society; March, 1860, pages 38-39; Huron County, Ohio Cemetery Inscriptions, by the Huron Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, 1997, page 714;  W.W. Williams’ book History of the Fire-Lands Comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of the Prominent Men and Pioneers, Press of Leader Printing Company, Cleveland Ohio, 1897, pages 417-425.

[2] New Haven Township was one of the oldest in the Firelands. Although the township was not established until 1815, it was first settled in 1811 by Caleb Palmer and was a place of refuge during the War of 1812 for settlers along the shores of Lake Erie. Reference: A.G. Stewart, Esq., “Memoirs of Townships – New Haven,” The Firelands Pioneer, Volume I, Number 3, March 1859, The Firelands Historical Society; page 8-16; and W.W. Williams, History of the Fire-Lands Comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of the Prominent Men and Pioneers, Press of Leader Printing Company, Cleveland Ohio, 1897, pages 295-308.

[3] Story of the death of Chauney Woodruff is from “Memoirs of Norwich Township,” The Firelands  Pioneer; Volume II, number 2; The Firelands Historical Society; March, 1860, page 38.