Rutherford B.
Hayes Presidential Center
Frederick Neidecker
LH-326, LH-372
_____________________________________________________________________________
Introduction
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content
Inventory
Addendum
Introduction
The Frederick Neidecker
Collection was donated to the Hayes Presidential Center by Betty Neidecker in
2003. Neidecker family material is
available in the Frederick Starr Neidecker Genealogical Collection,
edited by Martha Dykes and available in the Hayes Center Library Reading Room.
Biographical Sketch
Frederick Starr Neidecker was
born February 16, 1892, in Port Clinton, Ohio. His parents were John Adam and
Elizabeth Starr Neidecker. He grew up in Port Clinton and at the age of 16
joined the United States Navy. While in the Navy, he was stationed at naval
bases along the eastern seaboard. He
also sailed to numerous Mediterranean ports.
During WWI, while the
In 1914, the crew of the USS
Montana was involved in the uprising in
Following
his service in the U. S. Navy, Neidecker returned to Port Clinton and married
Alpha Jane Hennessy. He eventually
joined the furniture and funeral business founded in 1872 by his great-
grandfather. The couple had three
children: Elizabeth Ann, John Frederick, and Nancy Starr Neidecker. Fred loved
the water and especially enjoyed sailing on
Scope and Content
This
collection consists primarily of the correspondence, photographs, documents,
and post cards of Frederick Starr Neidecker during his service in the United
States Navy. The bulk of the material
dates from 1911 to 1918. Included in the
collection are approximately 70 letters written by Fred Neidecker during his service in the United States Navy.
Most of the letters were written to his mother Elizabeth Neidecker, providing sketchy reports of his location and
activities during his naval service. A few of the letters were written to his
sisters Madeline and Elizabeth, to his father, and to Alpha Jane Hennessy. The
letters were written from naval ports along the east coast of the
The folder of military records contains nineteen documents relating to Neidecker=s service in the Ohio National Guard and the U. S. Navy, dating from 1910 to 1922. These include appointments, awards, character references, and discharges.
Twenty-two black and white photos of American sailors in naval uniforms are included in this collection. Although these photos are not identified or dated, several appear to be of Fred Neidecker.
Seventy-eight souvenir postcards from 1911 to 1916 provide pictures and some brief notes of areas visited by Neidecker. Nine were written by Melvin A. Holly to Miss May Hasselbart while he was on a European vacation.
There are many obituaries and
newspaper articles from the Port Clinton area collected by Fred and his sister
Elizabeth, as well as genealogical notes on the Starr - Neidecker family. In addition to photos and post cards, eight
maps or photocopies of maps are included in the collection. The maps show the Ottawa County, Ohio, area
and
Inventory
Ac. 5610
2 linear ft.
1. Correspondence to mother, 1911
2. Correspondence to mother, 1912
3. Correspondence to mother, 1913
4. Correspondence to mother, 1914
5 Correspondence to mother, undated
6. Correspondence to sisters, 1914 - 1916
7. Correspondence to father, 1915
8. Correspondence to Alpha Jane Hennessy, 1918, 1919?
9. Military records
10. Photographs
11. Post Cards
12. Genealogy notes
13.
14. Port Clinton, Ohio area obituaries (acid free paper)
15. Port Clinton, Ohio area newspaper articles, 1896 - 1986 (acid free paper)
16. Speeches by family members
Folder 17 - Miscellaneous
Folder 18 - Port
Folder 19 - Port
Genealogy cards created by Neidecker and used as a basis for the Fred Starr Neidecker Genealogical Collection, a genealogy of the Neidecker, Starr, Mitchell, Hennessy, and Napier families.
Oversize
Map
of
Map
of
Map
of
Map
of Lake Erie, (
Map
of
Map
of
Map
of
Map
of
Addendum
LH - 372
Ac.
5763
This addendum to the Frederick Neidecker Collection was donated to the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center by the Betty Neidecker estate in 2010.
Biographical Sketch
Elizabeth
“Betty” Neidecker was born on 3 June 1920 in Port Clinton, Ohio to Frederick
and Alpha (Hennessy) Neidecker. The
family was a prominent fixture in the community because they owned and operated
the Neidecker Funeral and Furniture Business, established in 1872 by Betty’s
great-great grandfather. The family
home, located on Adams Street in Port Clinton, was first used to conduct
funeral services until the property next door was acquired several years
later. After the death of Fred in 1945,
Alpha operated the firm until it was sold outside the family in 1949. Today, 2011, the business is known as the
Neidecker-LeVeck & Crosser Funeral Home, serving the families of
After
graduating from
Betty
majored in the Speech and Hearing Program, a new field of study at that
time. After graduating with a bachelor’s
degree in 1951, she served as a speech-language clinician for
Two
of Betty’s life-long passions outside of her profession were local history and
genealogy. These interests were sparked
by Neidecker family vacations to historical sites around
Scope and Content
This
collection consists primarily of the genealogical history of the Napier family,
with an emphasis on descendants in
A less extensive portion of the collection is devoted to the families of Capt. John Mitchell, Hennessey, Neidecker and Starr. There are numerous newspaper clippings, correspondence and genealogical notes. In addition to a few photographs, a brief history of the Neidecker Funeral Home is also included in the collection.
Inventory
1: Napier Family Genealogy
2: Napier Family Genealogy
3: Napier Family Genealogy
4:
5: Napier Family Genealogy- Correspondence, 1962-2002
6: Capt. John Mitchell Family Genealogy
7: Capt. John Mitchell Family Genealogy- Correspondence, 1976-1987
8: Capt. John Mitchell Family-Photographs
1: Hennessey Family Genealogy
2: Neidecker Family Genealogy
3: Neidecker Funeral Home
4: Neidecker Family- Photographs
5: Starr Family Genealogy
6: General Genealogy Correspondence, 1961-1993
7: Donor Correspondence, 1980-2004