Joseph Mathias or Mathis

Joseph Mathias, was my Great Great Grandfather. Joseph was born in Endigen, Freiburg, Baden, Germany February 15, 1811, and worked as an Apprentice Shoemaker. He came to America as a young man, and once in America he settled in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio and married Maria Anna Merkle on December 17, 1834.

Joseph and Maria were the parents of 9 known children. All were born in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio:

1.  Magdalena "Ellen" [1835-?] married Augustus Eisele

2. Joseph [1837-?]

3.  John [1840-1904] married Margaret Schuees

4.  Mary [1842-1842]

5.  Elizabeth [1844-1844]

6. Elizabeth [1845-?] married Lucas Keller

7.  Lucas "Luke" [1848-1914]

8.  Philomena [1850-?]

9. Joseph Aloysius [1854-1854]

Joseph also raised his granddaughter, my grandmother, Philomena Margaret Mathias Dailey.

Joseph Mathias died December 6, 1890 in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio and is buried, with his wife Maria, in St. Margaret Cemetery in Chillicothe.

I'm not sure why his gravestone carries the surname Mathis. I'm not sure who his parents were but I have indications they were Bernard Mathis and Magdalena Fleiz or Gleiz. I'm trying to confirm or deny this supposition. This would explain the surname Mathis on Joseph's grave stone.

I had collaborated with two Mathias cousins I found through my research in Chillicothe. The one cousin had in his possession a small book belonging to Joseph and it contained a record of his children's births.

It breaks my heart to say that in 2011 a good portion of my genealogy, and the photocopies of records I obtained, were destroyed in a home burglary. 

John Mathias

John Mathias, my Paternal Great Grandfather, was born in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio on February 24, 1839. He was the son of Joseph Mathias and Maria Anna Merkle. His father, Joseph, emigrated from Endigen, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany.

John Mathias married Margaret Schuees who was born in Bavaria on February 20, 1836. Her parents are unknown at this time. Their marriage was in Chillicothe on August 27, 1860. Together they had the following 7 known children, all born in Chillicothe:

           1.  Aloysius Mathias; 22 Nov 1860 – 1922

            2. John J Mathias; 1862 – 5 Jun 1919

            3. Joseph Mathias; 5 Sep 1864 – 5 Jul 1929

            4. Elizabeth Blanche Mathias; 1 Oct 1866 – 17 Oct 1950

            5. Magdalena “Lena” Mathias born about 1869.

            6. Edward Mathias; 30 Nov 1870 – 15 Jan 1871

            7. Philomena Margaret “Minnie” Mathias; 25 Nov 1874 – 17 Mar 1959

                        (my Paternal Grandmother)

Margaret Schuees Mathias died in Chillicothe on March 27, 1875, when my Grandmother was only a few months old. In May of 1875 John remarried to Mary (Long) Keller.

John enlisted in the Civil War on October 26, 1861 and served as a Private in Co. E, 63rd Ohio, in the Union Army. He  was discharged with a medical disability January 15, 1863 in Cairo, Illinois.  John had been wounded in the shoulder by a mini ball during the battle of Corinth, Mississippi on October 15, 1862. John spent the remainder of his years in and out of the Soldiers and Sailors Hospital in Dayton, Montogmery County, Ohio (The current site of the Veteran’s Administration). John died there on August 5, 1904 and is buried at the Dayton National Cemetery. 

Grandma Minnie

I'd like to tell you some things about by Grandma Minnie (Philomena Margaret Mathias Dailey). Dad was the last of grandma's children to get married, and when he and Mom got married they moved in to grandma's house to take care of her. I grew up with grandma in the house, she died March 17, 1959 when I was 12, but I have to say I know very little of her.

Grandma Minnie in our kitchen in the 1950's

a. Grandma didn't say much unless it was important, but she had an expression for every occasion.

b. I don't ever remember Grandma talking about her side of the family other than her sister Lizzie and her brother Joseph.

c. I remember a friend of Grandma's, that I called Aunt Kate, would come and visit her every once in a while and they always had a good time.

It wasn't until I started researching the Mathias family that I found out most of my information. For example:

Grandma was born in 25 November 1874 and her mother Margaret Schuees Mathias died when she was a few months old.

Grandma was raised by her grandfather Joseph Mathias, her dad John Mathias' dad. So there's the question of why she didn't live with him. My dad later told me these two things.

Well, I discovered Grandma's mother did die in March 1875 when grandma was 4 months old. Her dad John did, in fact, remarry to a Mary Kelller who by chance, had a daughter from a previous marriage by the name of Kate Keller. This second marriage took place in May 1875. Kate was about the same age as grandma and her name, at the time I knew her, was Mrs Kate Bockwitz.

A photo of Aunt Kate Bockwitz on the left, and Grandma Minnie of the right.

I still haven't resolved why grandma lived with her grandfather Joseph. It wasn't unusual at that time for a widower to have family raise small children, However, her dad remarried right after his first wife Margaret's death so I'm at a loss for a reason. Maybe it had something to do with the Roman Catholic faith at that time. Maybe grandma's step-mom Mary Keller Mathias was a Protestant and her dad John married her anyway, outside the church. It must have been something, because when grandma's grandfather died all of his children, except grandma's dad, were given a 5th share of the estate. Grandma and her younger, minor siblings shared their father's 5th of the estate.

It just goes to show that for every question answered, three new questions arise needing answers.

My Dailey Family Unit

Remember my post a couple of days ago about the Daily-Mathias outing around 1924? Well, today I’m bringing you My Family Unit in the photo. My dad is #90, Martin Dailey. My family unit, being Charles & Minnie Mathias Dailey, is on the far right side of the panoramic photo. I cropped this area for reference.

All of the people shown, except for one child #19 and one man #92, are my family unit.

Row 1: #20 Margaret Dailey, daughter of Charles & Minnie Mathias Dailey

            #21 Ruby Dailey Crispin, daughter of Herb & Vera Gaugler Dailey

Row 2:

#55 Philomena “Minnie” Mathias Dailey, wife of Charles Dailey deceased at the time the                photo was taken.

#56 Anna Josephine Tompkins Dailey, wife of Charles R “Dick” Dailey

#57 Vera Gaugler Dailey, wife of Herbert Dailey

#58 Virginia Dailey Bohm, daughter of Herbert & Vera Gaugler Dailey

#59 Herbert Dailey, son of Charles & Minnie Mathias Dailey

Row 3:

#90 Martin John Dailey, my dad, and son of Charles & Minnie Mathias Dailey

#91 Charles R “Dick” Dailey, son of Charles & Minnie Mathias Dailey

#93 Ernest Dailey, son of Charles & Minnie Mathias Dailey

#94 Albert Dailey, son of Charles & Minnie Mathias Dailey

#19 is listed as Lyle Dailey, son of Jacob & Mary “Molly” Davis Dailey. Jacob was deceased          when this photo was taken, and was my grandfather’s brother.

#92 is unknown but listed as a friend of Ernest Dailey.

The Dailey-Mathias Clan

I would like to take you back to about 1924 in Chillicothe, Ohio. The Dailey and Mathias clans got together for a family outing, and it was held at the then Smith Junior High School on Arch Street. The turnout for these outings was huge! Why? Remember… my grandfather’ Charles Dailey, had married my grandmother, Minnie Mathias. Charles’ sister; Aretha Mae Dailey, had married Minnie’s brother, Joseph Dailey. 

Left side of the photo

Right side of the photo

A photographer was on hand to take a panoramic photo of everyone. I have one of these long photos which belonged to Grandma Minnie. At a later time someone made two photocopies of the picture and gave everyone a number. A list was compiled that tried to identify every number with a name. There were quite a few people who were not identified at that time. The information was supplied by:

          (1)  Elizabeth H. Flesher Gilmore #18 on the photo.  [Granddaughter of Rebecca                            Elizabeth Dailey and Peter Henry Flesher] 

          (2)  Ruby A. Dailey Crispin #21 on the photo.  [Granddaughter of Charles Dailey and                      Minnie Mathias Dailey. 

I think this is awesome; because when the photo was taken the two informants were just children. 

Then, in the late 1980’s, four more people sat down and tried to fill in the missing names. These four were my mom, Martha Renner Dailey; myself, Marlene Dailey Diefendorf; and two cousins Martha Mathias Bowman and Frances Davis Ulry. Quite a few name were filled in but there are still some unidentified people… but there’s always hope that some day, some one, could fill in more blanks.

Our Branch of the Tree

All of us “Dailey Cousins” are from one of the children born to Charles Dailey and Philomena ‘Minnie’ Margaret Mathias. As one can imagine the name Dailey can be found spelled many ways, and sometimes on the same document. My dad, Martin John Dailey, said he heard the family is of Irish and German ancestry. There is plenty of documentation of the German ancestry, but I have not found anything to support the Irish ancestry legend.

My dad, Martin, didn’t remember his dad Charles that well because he died when my dad was very young. From Census records I have found Charles, as well as his father Joseph, were Carriage Makers/Woodworkers. Long after my dad died my mom, Martha, showed me an old wooden box in the basement that was full of old wood working tools. Mom said dad told her they belonged to his dad.

Charles Dailey

Philomena "Minnie" Margaret Mathias Dailey

Philomena "Minnie" Margaret Mathias Dailey as most of us remember her.

Charles Dailey was born 10 April 1866 in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio to Joseph & Elizabeth Dailey. Minnie Mathias Dailey was born 25 November 1874 in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio to John and Margaret Mathias. Charles and Minnie were married in Chillicothe 15 May 1892 by Reverend J. C. Cupp. Together they had 6, possibly 7, children who were all born in Ross County, Ohio except the youngest who was born in Summit County, Ohio.

Children of Charles and Minnie Dailey

1 Albert Joseph Dailey

Born:  9 November 1892 in Chillicothe, Ross Co., Ohio

Died: 15 Apr 1931 in Barberton, Summit Co., Ohio

Legend has it that Albert had a twin who died at birth. I have not found anything to prove or disprove this legend.

            Married Ruth E Baughman

                        Barbara Dailey Rohrer

2 Herbert Anthony Dailey

born: 16 October 1894 in Chillicothe, Ross Co., Ohio

died: 15 Jan 1975 in Barberton, Summit Co., Ohio

            Married Vera Fern Gaugler

                        Virginia Dailey Bohm

                        Ruby Dailey Crispin

                        Edna Dailey Barnes

3 Charles Roland “Dick” Dailey

born: 16 June 1900 in Chillicothe, Ross Co., Ohio

died: 1 Sep 1970 in Ontario, Canada

            Married Anna Josephine Tompkins

                        Richard Dailey

                        Joanne Dailey Dowler

                        Gordon Dailey

4 Ernest Dailey

born: 17 March 1905 in Chillicothe, Ross Co., Ohio

died: 2 Aug 1958 in Akron, Summit Co., Ohio

            Married Edith Lila Wolfenbarger

                        Margaret Dailey Schoolcraft

5 Martin John Dailey

born: 5 May 1908 in Chillicothe, Ross Co., Ohio

died: 6 Mar 1987 in Barberton, Summit Co., Ohio

            Married Martha Ellen Renner

                        Marlene Dailey Travis Diefendorf

6 Margaret Philomena Dailey

born: 7 April 1913 in Kenmore, Summit Co., Ohio

died: 22 Jul 1936 in Akron, Summit Co., Ohio

Never married.

Hello

Hello Everyone!

I've decided to create this blog, Search Through Time, to connect with family members who are interested in their Family Tree, but not so much in wading through countless forms. Let's face it... those forms can be confusing and hard to understand unless you are used to working with them.

I started with the Dailey-Mathias Family Tree back in 1986. Back then there weren't all the online records that are available today. Back then genealogy was done through research trips, countless hours searching through old, dusty records, and lots of time and money. If you couldn't travel to where an ancestor had lived you had to actually sit down and write a letter asking for information and patiently wait until someone, hopefully, wrote back.

In the 1990's I started tracing the Diefendorf-Norris Family Tree because little was known or recorded about Ken's family. I had to stop all my research when Ken became sick because he was my main priority. Records got misplaced; and a home break in a few years ago didn't help any. Many of my records, documents, and pictures were lost or damaged and are gone forever. Time and money won't allow me to even try to replace them.

Even so, I'm bound to recreate what I can, mostly through online searches, so that something is recorded for these families.