Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center

 

Gillmor Family

 

LH- 345
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Introduction

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content

Inventory

Introduction

 

The Gillmor family is a prominent family in the Ballville Township, Sandusky County and Old Fort, Ohio areas. This collection follows the family from the time Thomas Gillmor moved to rural Ballville Township in 1833 when he purchased land from the government for $1.25 per acre and began farming. This collection, assembled by Lola Fry, great-granddaughter of Thomas, and her son, Gerald, also traces the family lineage back through Lola’s paternal ancestors the Gillmor, Frary, Fry, and Myers families, and her maternal ancestry through the Speller and Hineline families. The folders for individuals are frequently identified by their relationship to Lola.

 

Biographical Sketch

 

Gillmor Family

 

Thomas Gillmor was born in New York in 1809. He was a son of James, born 1763 in Ireland, and Elizabeth (Bailey) Gillmor. Thomas moved to Ballville Township, Sandusky County, Ohio in 1833 when he purchased 160 acres from the government and began farming. Farming continued to be a family tradition as many of his descendants owned and operated farms in Sandusky and Seneca counties. Margaret Frary, the first white child born in Ballville Township and the daughter of Phineas and Nancy (Cochran) Frary, and Thomas were married in1837. Thomas and Margaret were the parents of five children: Nancy, Phineas, James, Delores, and Delilah.

 

Phineas served in the 169th O.V.I. during the Civil War. He later farmed and was a well-known racehorse man. In 1866 he married Margaret Myers, daughter of Emanuel and Marie (Myres) Myers. Phineas and Margaret were the parents of seven children: Bert, twins Clara and Clarence, James, Lester, Maud, and Artie. Bert and his wife, Charlotte, headed the Gillmor Troupe, and acrobatic show that traveled with several large circuses.

Clarence worked as a farmer and painter. He married Gladys Speller, daughter of Henry and Rebecca (Hineline) Speller, in 1905. They were the parents of nine children: Frances, Robert, Marian, Paul (P.M.), Ernest (Bill), Margaret, Lola, Alice, Bernice, and Ralph (Spiv). Frances taught 2nd grade in the Old Fort schools for many years; Robert, Ernest, and Ralph farmed; and Paul owned a trucking firm and headed the Old Fort Banking Co. Paul’s son, Paul E. Gillmor, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1988 and served until his death in 2007.

 

Baker Family

 

Alexander Baker, his wife, and two children arrived in Massachusetts in 1635. They moved to Boston about 1645 where the family continued to increase in numbers. One of these children born in Boston was Joshua who eventually moved to New London, Connecticut and married Hannah (Tonge) Minter.

 

Among the children of Joshua and Hannah was a son, John, born Dec. 24, 1681. John later moved to Woodbury, Connecticut and married Sarah Hurlbut. John and Sarah were the parents of nine children including Elijah born 1718.

 

Elijah married Tabitha Castle about 1771. Their son, Elijah II, was born near Saratoga, New York in 1775. Elijah II married Lavina White, daughter of John and Bathsheba (Fairchild) White, and was the father of Sanford Gadcombe Baker.

 

Sanford married Cynthia Elmira Webster in November 1840. Their son, John White Baker, eventually moved to Ohio where he married Caroline Rearick, daughter of Joh and Rebecca (Reed) Rearick, who was born in Woodville. A daughter of John and Caroline, Bessie, married Howard James Fry May 1, 1901.

 

Howard J. Fry II, son of Howard and Bessie, married Lola Gillmor in 1933. Lucy Fry, daughter of Howard and Bessie Fry, married Paul M. Gillmor Jan. 20, 1934

 

Frary Family

 

John Frary was born about 1600 in England. He married Prudence Townsend in 1628 and they were the parents of nine children. Around 1637 they moved to Massachusetts where the last three of their children were born. Eleazer Fary, one of these children born in Massachusetts, married Mary Graves, daughter of Isaac and Mary (Church) Graves in 1665 or 1666 and they were the parents of Samuel Frary and eight other children. Samuel married Sarah Boardman, daughter of Isaac and Abiah (Kimberly) Boardman.

Samuel and Sarah were the parents of Joseph Frary born in 1699. Joseph married Hannah White, daughter of Jacob and Deborah (Shepard) White in 1728 and they were the parents of eight children including Joseph born in 1732.

This Joseph Frary married Elizabeth Kirby, daughter of John and Hannah (Stow) Kirby, in 1762. Joseph and Elizabeth were the parents of three daughters and six sons including John born October 1766. John Frary married Rachel Crooks in 1791.

Phineas, the oldest of eight children of John and Rachel, was born in 1794 and about 1820 he married Nancy Torrance Cochran, daughter of Samuel and Margaret (Green) Cochran. About this time Phineas and Nancy moved to Sandusky County, Ohio because their oldest child, Margaret, born November 6, 1821, is reported to be the first white child born in Ballville Township. Phineas and Nancy were the parents of seven other children. Margaret married Thomas Gillmor October 12, 1837.

 

Fry Family

 

Hans Heinrich “Henry” Frey was born in Alsace, Germany in 1663. Henry arrived in Philadelphia in 1685 and naturalized in 1691. A year later he purchased land and married Anna Levering who was also born in Germany. Henry and Anna were the parents of fifteen children.

Benjamin Frey, the third child of Henry and Anna, married Christena Markley (various versions of this name appear) about 1721 and they had nine children. In 1744 Benjamin bought 500 acres of land on Cedar Creek in Frederick County, Virginia.

 

The fourth son of Benjamin and Christena, Joseph, was born in Pennsylvania in 1727. Joseph married Anne Funk and they had nine children.

 

Jacob Fry, the fourth son of Joseph and Anne, was born in 1769, He married Elizabeth Bean, daughter of Mordecai and Judith (Hammond) Bean. They were the parents of three children: James, Mordecai, and Judith.

 

Mordecai Fry was born 1799 in Virginia and married Eliza Littler, daughter of Isaac Littler. Some time in the 1830s the family moved to Ohio because their fourth  and fifth children, James Henry (1840) and Mordecai Richard (1844), were born in Seneca County

 

James H. Fry married Emma Wickert. They were the parents of two children, Howard James and Orpha. James Fry was serving as Seneca County commissioner when he died. Howard J. Fry married Bessie Baker and they had three children: Norene, Lucy, and H. James II. Howard worked as a farmer, managed the Old Fort Elevator, and was a banker, retiring as president of the Old Fort Bank.

 

H. James Fry II married Lula Clara Gillmor, daughter of Clarence and Gladys (Speller) Gillmor, June 1933

 

Hineline Family

 

Matheis Heinlein, his wife, son Johann, and daughters Sarah and Eva sailed from Amsterdam and landed in Philadelphia in 1754. Johann married Sarah Dykson in 1763. He served throughout the Revolutionary War and worked as a farmer and potter. Johann and Sarah had eleven children.

James, the oldest child of Johann and Sarah, married Ann Bay, daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth (Bell) Bay, in 1798. At some point James changed the spelling of the family name to Hineline. James and ann were the parents of nine children.

 

Hugh Hineline, the first child of James and Ann, was born February 11, 18802 in Pennsylvania. He married Rebecca Lattig and they had nine children. About 1860 Hugh and three of his brothers with their entire families moved to Ohio.

 

Rebecca Emma Hineline, daughter of Hugh and Rebecca Hineline, married Henry Speller in 1881. Their daughter, Gladys, married Clarence Gillmor in 1905.

 

Myers Family

 

      Henry Myers was born 1782 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He married his second  wife, Margaret Bostic, daughter of Johannes and Margaret Bostic, about 1815. Henry and Margaret were the parents of seven children, the oldest a son named Emanuel. Emanuel married Maria Myres of Lancaster, Ohio in 1842 and they were the parents of nine children. Their oldest child, Margaret, married Phineas Gillmor in 1866.

 

Speller Family

 

Lambert Speller was born 1815 near Berlin, Germany. He married Mary Fry in 1842 and in 1858 they moved to the United States, settling in Ballville Township. They were the parents of four sons and two daughters.One of these sons, Henry, born 1845 in Germany, married Rebecca Emma Hineline in 1881. They were the parents of one daughter, Gladys, and two sons, Hugh and William. Gladys Speller married Clarence Gillmor April 4, 1905.

Scope and Content

 

The collection, dating from 1880 to 2007, contains genealogical records for the Gillmor family as well as its ancestry through the Baker, Frary, Fry, Hineline, Myers, and Speller families. Some of these records trace the various lines back to the 1600s in New England, England, Germany, or Ireland. The collection also contains many photographs of individuals or family groups from the late 1800s to the present as well as legal records such as wills and deeds. Newspaper clippings include obituaries, wedding & birth announcements, and general interest articles about some of the family members. Other items found here include letters & post cards, business records, wedding & graduation invitations, and funeral announcements.

 

Inventory

 

Ac. 5685

3 linear ft.

 

Box 1

Genealogical Charts and Reports

1.  Baker Family Records

2.  Frary Family Records

3.  Frary, Nancy (Cochran) (Lola’s  great-great-grandmother)

4.  Fry Family Records

5.  Fry, Howard J. (Lola’s father-in-law)

6.  Fry, Roscoe - letters

7.  Hineline Family Records

8   Hineline, John - letters (Lola’s great-uncle)

9   Myers Family Records

10 Myers, Margaret (Bostic) (Lola’s great-great-grandmother)

11 Myers, Emanuel (Lola’s great-grandfather)

12 Myers, Maria (Myres) (Lola’s great-grandmother)

13 Myers, Bert (Lola’s great-uncle)

14 Myers, Henry and Amanda Lucretia “Topsy” (Lutz) (Lola’s great uncle & great-aunt)                                                              

15 Myers, Lewis (son of Henry and “Topsy”)

16 Myers, Charles B. (son of Henry and “Topsy”)

17 Myers, Harry (son of Henry and “Topsy”)

18 Myers, Leander and Mary (Lola’s great-uncle and great-aunt)

19 Speller Family Records

20 Speller, Lambert and Mary (Fry) (Lola’s great-grandparents)

21 Speller, Henry (Lola’s grandfather)

22 Speller, Rebecca (Hineline) (Lola’s grandmother)\

23 Speller, John George (Lola’s gret-uncle)

24 Speller, James and Bertha (son of John G. Speller)

25 Speller, Augustus (Lola’s great-uncle)

26 Speller, Hugh and Grace (Lola’s uncle and aunt)

27 Speller, Wilbur and Aleta (son of Hugh and Grace)

28 Speller, William (Lola’s uncle)

29 Gillmor Family Records

30 Gillmor, James (Lola’s great-great-grandfather)

31 Gillmor, Thomas (Lola’s great-grandfather)

32 Gillmor, Margaret (Frary) (Lola’s great-grandmother)

33 DeLong, John and Delores (Gillmor) (daughter of Thomas and Margaret

Gillmor

34 Wagner, Nancy (Gillmor ) (daughter of Thomas and Margaret Gillmor)

35 Gillmor, James (son of Thomas and Margaret Gillmor)

36 Clink, Ralph W. and Bertha (Gillmor) (daughter of James Gillmor)

37 Gillmor, Phineas (Lola’s granfather)

38 Gillmor, Margaret (Myers) (Lola’s grandmother)

39 Gillmor, Bert (Lola’s uncle)

40 Gillmor, James H. (Lola’s uncle)

41 Bartlett, Clara (Gillmor) (Lola’s aunt)

42 Bartlett, Clara (Gillmor) - letters from Texas

43 Gillmor, Maud (Lola’s aunt)

44 Gillmor, Artie (Lola’s uncle)

45 Gillmor, Lester (Lola’s uncle)

46 Gillmor, Clarence (Lola’s father)

47 Gillmor, Clarence – photographs

48 Gillmor, Clarence – letters from West 1907, 1908, 1910

49 Gillmor, Clarence – letters from Florida 1937-1938, Misc. letters

 

Box 2

1 Gillmor, Gladys (Speller) (Lola’s mother)

2 Gillmor, Gladys (Speller)

3 Gillmor, Gladys (Speller) – photographs

4 Gillmor, Gladys (Speller) – letters to

5 Gillmor, Clarence and Gladys (Speller) - family photographs, etc.

6 Witter, Frances (Gillmor) (Lola’s sister)

7 Gillmor, Robert (Lola’s brother)

8 Voelzke, Louise (Gillmor) (daughter of Robert Gillmor)

9 Gillmor, Robert “Bob” (grandson of Robert Gillmor)

10 Heilman, Marian (Gillmor) (Lola’s sister)

11 Gillmor, Paul M. (Lola’s brother)

12 Gillmor, Paul E. (son of Paul M. Gillmor)

13 Drown, Margaret (Gillmor) (Lola’s sister)

14 Fry, Lola (Gillmor)

15 Joseph, Bernice “Bea” (Gillmor) (Lola’s sister)

16 Gillmor, Ralph “Spiv” (Lola’s brother)

17 Gillmor – Frary Reunions

18 Miscellaneous Photographs

19 Invitations – Weddings, High School & College Graduations

20 Funeral notices

21 Miscellaneous Deeds and Real Estate Items

22 Miscellaneous Items

 

Old Fort High School Class of 1932 and 1933 composite photographs

Wedding book for Clarence and Gladys (Speller) Gillmor, “Roses are on the Way”

Account books for 1941 and 1953

Newspapers regarding the death of Paul E. Gillmor