Notes:

Brian W. Coate and family lived in the Northwest section of Columbus, Ohio when I last saw him at Margaret Besaw's third marriage on 10/10/2015. He was employed as the Vice President of Lancaster Pollard, a financial advice firm.

Family/Spouse: Kelly A. HOLLINGSWORTH. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Anderson M. W. COATE
2. Weston C. J. COATE

Charles married Barbara Jean KOHLHAAS. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

My father remembers that they moved from Middletown, OH to northern Indiana to work the onion fields for a summer and then moved back to Piqua, Ohio where Ben was born.

He graduated from Trenton High School, in Trenton, Ohio during the depression. He then joined the CCC. When the depression was waning, he became a student at Ohio State University. He was a member of a Fraternity there. He completed two years at OSU before being drafted into World War II. Ben achieved the rank of Sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was a member of the East Columbus Lion's Club and the National Kitchen Cabinet Association. He was the founder and owner of the Formitex Plastic Fabricators and Coate Floor Co.

He is remembered by friends and family as a very hard worker, someone with a lot of spunk, who spoke up for the underdog and showed no prejudice for any of his fellow man. He was a great supporter of his church, St. Andrew Christian Church in Dublin, Ohio. (C-1779, Obit.)

Benjamin married Virginia BRIGHTWELL about 1941. Virginia was born on 26 Feb 1917 in Wheelersburg, Scioto, Ohio, USA; died on 16 May 2002 in Columbus, Franklin, OH, USA; was buried on 20 May 2002 in Blendon Central Cemetery, Westerville, Franklin, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Virginia attended Randolph Maco College and graduated from Ohio State University in 1938. She was a teacher for three years at the Junior High level in Laurelville, Ohio. After she married, she worked in partnership with her husband in Coate Floor Company and Formitex Plastic Fabricators. She was a member of the East Columbus Lions Club Auxiliary and a P.T.A. President at Shepherd Elementary School as well as a founding member to St. Andrew Christian Church. I will fondly remember her request to have Louis Armstrong's rendition of "Oh When the Saints Go Marching In" played at her funeral.

Notes:

Information about Albert P. is mostly from his children's memories, with some of it coming from insurance papers, deeds, and birth records.

When he was a child, he hated school and by the fifth grade his mother took a switch to him to get him to school. He was a very gentle and quiet man, the opposite of his wife in many ways. He was a very plain looking man and always very kind. His only fault mentioned was a quick temper. He went out of his way to help any person in need. He was the first of his family in Ohio to not be a practicing Quaker as an adult. He was a floor sander by trade and worked in all the counties surrounding his home. He also worked for what is now ARMCO, a steel rolling mill company. His job was to help turn the steel over and flip it onto a new line. When my dad was about nine, his father designed a device to automatically place the steel onto the new line. He showed the company his design and they said they had just gotten a patent on a similar device. They paid him $500.00 for his design. It was his design they actually built and this invention is still being used there today.

Some of what we know about Albert P. Coate comes from documents in his insurance files and my father, Albert Edward Coate. They rented one half of their Aunt's house in Piqua, Ohio when their first daughter was born. In the record of their 2nd stillborn daughter's birth in 1912, they lived at 696 Woodlawn, Middletown, Ohio. (C-DOC). They had moved to Baltimore St. in Middletown when their first son, Albert Edward was born. When Albert was 2 years old they tried to make a living by moving to the onion fields of northern Indiana. The summer brought a drought there and my father remembers living on potatoes and onions. It was a disaster and the Coate and Stevens families both moved back to Ohio after the first summer. Albert Pickering and his family then lived in Piqua, Ohio renting the house from their aunt again where Ben was born in 1916. Within a year, they moved to Trenton, Ohio on the opposite side of town that became their final home. Here Bob was born in 1917. They returned to Middletown on Franklin St. in 1919. About 1923, they returned to 113 John St. in Trenton where Albert P. Coate purchased the home I remember them living in for one thousand dollars. This is where he lived until the end of his life.

He was the third person to own a car in Trenton, Ohio. It was a Green Rio. His second car was a Model T. His young son Ben and a neighbor boy cut out the icing glass in it's windows when it was brand new. (C-687) On Sept. 13, 1934, he bought a Ford 28 Roadster from Lebanon Motor Sales for $95.00.(C-284) The final home belonging to Albert P. and Maud Stevens Coate at 113 John St., in Trenton, Ohio was sold in 1976 when Maud Coate moved to Columbus. It was listed at a cost of $23,500.00 with Jack Hembree Real Estate. (C:DOC-20)

Albert P. was known as a very friendly man. My father says "he never knew an enemy". People came from miles around to honor him at his funeral. It was one of the largest the town ever held and was packed with the people he'd befriended and an overflowing abundance of flowers. Twenty five years after his death, my father ran into a member of his community who commented on his dad's funeral and then said in a soft, sweet voice, "There was a fine.... man." He obviously touched people's hearts. One of his newspaper obituaries says that he had been ill since the November previous to his death and had been bedridden for the last three months. My father remembers his death occurring at the young age of 54 due to liver cancer. Apparently Albert P.'s smoking and years of exposure to floor sanding products got to his liver. My father, Albert Edward, stayed with him the night before he died. He died the next morning with the whole family gathered around him including his sister Mamie and her husband, Joe. His funeral service was held at the United Presbyterian Church with James P. Sturgeon and J.E. Amstutz (a Mennonite and close friend of the family) officiating. (C-284, 285, 2108) His death certificate says he died at age 53 years, 7 months and 21 days. It also says he was born on Nov 12, 1887, but his funeral book says he was born on Oct. 12, 1887 and his birth certificate says he was born on Dec. 12, 1887. The later is more likely to be correct. His son Benjamin was the person who gave the information for his death certificate and his memory on this subject might not have been accurate. His birth record would have been added closest to the event. (C: DOC)

The following is a biographical piece done by Richard Coate, son of Albert Pickering Coate about his father.ALBERT PICKERING COATE - INTELLIGENT, RESOURCEFUL AND INVENTIVE."As we all know, Dad was not a man of great means at the time he married Mom; however, an overall view of his history as a provider for his family reveals him to have been an intelligent, resourceful, and inventive man whose attempt to improve his circumstance and exercise a degree of control his own destiny was often foiled by the climate of the times in which he lived as well those who would exploit him for their own gain. That he was a man of deep humility was evident to all that knew him, due in large part to his Quaker upbringing. That he was capable of overcoming the many obstacles he confronted through the years is a testament to his tenacity, resilience and strength of character.

The pride and devotion to his family predominated all else. Considered by some to be a "dreamer" he was actually a man of considerable vision. Despite the error in judgment in quitting school at an early age, he was nonetheless determined to overcome the handicap by making his mark in the world.(In) 1915, when Marahelen and Albert were five and two respectively, Dad and Mom, along with members of the [Kaufman family] in Piqua, Ohio spent a hot, dry and unproductive summer in the Onion fields in Indiana. Though I don't know how many children they had at the time Dad and his younger brother John, owned a company for the manufacture of decorated cement blocks, they were still residing in Piqua. It must have been disheartening when Dad learned that Uncle John took off for Mexico with the $7000.00 in company funds.

When the Company was forced to close down for lack of sufficient operating funds, Dad, was again confronted with a crisis. Not one to bear a grudge, with passing time Dad apparently forgave his brother, for I recall the times Dad visited Uncle John at his home in Hamilton, Oh. However, as long as Mom lived she never had a good word to say about her brother-in-law. Though it is not known when he became an employee of the steel manufacturing company which became known as Armco in Middletown, Oh., Dad's inventive mind became a boon to his employer. In 1922, he was paid $ 1,000.00 for an invention of a means whereby a sheet of steel was automatically placed onto a new line in the manufacturing process. After he paid the man whom supplied material and the money to develop the invention, his profit only amounted to $5,00.00. Revolutionary as the process proved to be, the $500.00 was still pittance in comparison to the boon it proved to be for his employer. The amount of money and time in labor it saved them is inestimable.

Apparently Dad used some of the money to purchase the house on 113 John Street in Trenton, which became our home until Mom sold it in 1976. It was still in the boom years of the '20s when Dad left Armco. He apparently used some of the money to invest in a new business of his own. Dad would continue in the floor sanding business until his death. However, during the early depression years, floor sanders or refinishers as they were sometimes referred to, were not in great demand. Confronted with yet another personal financial crisis, Dad again confronted the challenge with the courage and resourcefulness that was akin to his nature. Though I have vague recall of Dad loading blocks of ice containing frozen fish onto the fender of his car, I was not old enough to appreciate what he did with them after he pulled out of our driveway. The older boys in the family no doubt recall that Dad hawked the fish as one source of income. He purchased the fish encased in ice blocks at the fish market in Middletown, Oh. Securing the blocks on either fender of the front bumper of his truck, he proceeded through the streets of Trenton and Middletown, calling out for all to hear. "Fresh fish for sale, Fresh fish for sale. Get them before their gone!" Warren tells me that he did this for several winters in those early depression years. By the time the Depression began to ease up, Dad was back at floor sanding full time.

As all the boys in the family learned the business, we had good reason to be proud of our father. By the mid-thirties, word had spread about the pride he took in his work as well as his work ethic. Always an advocate of a fair business deal, his client's invariably recommended his work to others. By the time ill health forced him to retire, his territory expanded to include Middletown, Hamilton, Lebanon, Franklin, Oxford, the outskirts of Cincinnati and Dayton, Oh. His clients included business people, owners of luxurious farm homes as well as those of city dwellers. As a boy, I found the diversity of his clients exciting and it always proved to be an adventure to work in these great houses I would never have seen had it not been for Dad's choice of occupation. As the invention for Armco Steel had lasting impact, Dad was sure that his invention for a more efficient floor sanding machine would lift him from the economic woes which plagued him for most of his married life. The invention was intended to render the machine more efficient in operation and less time consuming in the achievement of the desired result - a smooth, magnificent finish intended to endure for years. I recall the many arduous hours Dad spent working on the invention with his partner, Gink in "Gink's garage." Gink [short for Gingerich] was a long time, and highly respected Trenton resident. Dad, in the late '30s, employed Gink's hearing impaired son. Unfortunately, Dad's illness halted work on the invention, so a patent was never issued.

Though some of my older brothers often referred to Dad as a dreamer, he was, in my mind, a true visionary. As one with proven ability to conceive ways to improve productivity in a manufacturing process ranked him well above those who readily accept status quo as norm. Had he not been felled so early in life, I am sure that a patent on the invention for improving the sanding machine would have resulted in the financial boon he deserved. And I might add, as a kid whose formative years were during the hard times of the Great Depression, I was not a little envious of those who could afford to live so well. And it was a proud moment for me to walk hand in hand with Dad through the streets of Trenton, passing towns people who invariably addressed him, "Hello, Mr. Coate. How's the family." Dad would always respond with a warm smile, nodding in the affirmative, replying "Just fine, thank you." The occupational hazards of working with material giving off toxic fumes would take its toll. In 1939 when his health began to fail, Ben, a student at Ohio State University, having established his own floor sanding business in Columbus, Oh. was able to supplement Dad's diminishing income.

By summer of 1940 Dad was no longer able to work and the burden of supporting the family fell upon the older boys. Given the circumstance at home, Bill, Shirley and myself would spend a year away from home, Bill living with Aunt Grace and Uncle Corey in Akron, Oh., Shirley with Marahelen and Charles in Ashville, NC, and I with Ben's business partner's family, the Renwick's of Uhrichsville, Oh.[Though I could never relate this experience to Charles at the time I wrote the letter, by late May of 1941 we returned home to discover that Dad's weight was so reduced that he was a mere shadow of his former self. The day before he died, Dad summoned me to his bedside to read from the 23rd psalm from his bible. It was an experience I treasure. That he had singled me out for so private a moment so near his death was a defining one.

During my first days as a combat rifleman, I would have reason to recall that an ennobling experience with Dad. I, too, would seek comfort by repeating the 23rd psalm. On a post card to Betty I would inform her of my assignment, my address and state, "If I've repeated the 23rd psalm once, I've repeated it a hundred times this past day." Dawn of June 2, 1941 is one I shall never forget. Marahelen's gentle hand shaking me, her insistent voice commanded me to wake up. Her speech had taken on a soft southern inflection. "Wake up Dick, wake up, your Daddy's dyin.'" I recall racing downstairs to join the entire family, including Helen Schenck, Aunt Mamie and Uncle Joe, who were gathered around his bed at the moment of his passing. It was a sad day for all of us. Dad was dearly loved and respected and the impact of his life upon his immediate family, relatives and a vast array of friends, business associates and clients, accounts for the huge turn of those who came to pay their respects at his funeral."

Albert married Maud STEVENS on 2 May 1910 in Covington, Kenton, KY, USA. Maud (daughter of John STEVENS, * and Keturah (Kitty) DIMMACK) was born on 14 May 1892 in Dayton, Montgomery, OH, USA; died on 27 Mar 1982 in Columbus, Franklin, OH; was buried on 30 Mar 1982 in Woodside Cemetery, Middletown, Butler, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Maud Stevens Coate was a true character. She is remembered by me as a great storyteller, chronic complainer, and the life of any party she attended. I really enjoyed how much fun she could be. The minute she attended a get-together, she'd be laughing and ready to do a jig. I remember her very expressive face as she scared the wits out of her grandchildren while telling them ghost stories around the campfire. I came to be a storyteller myself, partially due to her influence.

When I interviewed her, she related an interesting story about how she and her husband met. She had gone to visit her cousin Helen Lee. Helen's cousin was Albert Pickering Coate. He came to visit Helen at the same time. The three of them raided the chicken coop and cooked their catch on the day they met. Maud and Albert married 7 months later when she was almost 18. My father says that Maud's sister, Keturah, forged her mother's name on the parent consent form for their marriage. Maude remembers that she weighed 98 pounds at this event.

She had a very demanding life raising nine children through the depression years. She had to have a strong nature to make it through those years mastering the tasks of caring, cooking, and sewing for such a large crowd with absolutely minimal resources. Her husband died early in his fifties which meant she was alone to raise nine children. To her great credit, all of them graduated from High School. Four of them also completed several years of college. A fifth son, Richard, not only went to college but was likely the first Coate in our tree to achieve a degree, a B.A., majoring in theatre, minoring in American Literature and Art.

Most of her children had some involvement in the service and major wars of the 20th century. Warren and Bob served in the army in World War II. Ben served in the Air Force. Richard served in the Korean War. Shirley was in the U.S. Air Force from 1952 -1955 serving in Newfoundland. Maude was one of the original liberated women. My uncle Richard, relayed the story of when she and her husband had gotten a new horse and buggy. Albert P. had warned her not to go near the horse until he had broken him in, but Maude was a stubborn woman. She rigged him up to the buggy to go pick up her husband after work at Armco. Not only was she in for a wild ride, but she sure surprised her husband when she flew past him in the buggy where she was trying to pick him up.

She also was the first woman in Trenton to open her own business. She was an artist with her handmade afghans and crafts. Her craft store was apparently still open when I was very small. I have one memory of it. She had had the store for many years at that point in time. Her social security number, 301-30-0046 was issued in 1952, years after she had started her business.

She lived most of her life at 113 John St. in Trenton, Ohio, the yellow wood home where her children were raised. Her sons helped move her to Columbus, Ohio for her last few years to be near her family. (C-2108E) According to the newspaper clipping from the Columbus Dispatch, she was a member of the Mt. Olivet Presbyterian Church, the W.S.M. Sewing Club, the C.I.C. Sunday School class, and the D.A.R. in Trenton, Ohio. Upon her death, just shy of 90 years, she left 20 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. (C-281, 282, 283, 285, 286) She and her husband are buried a couple of rows from her cousin, Albert Dimmack in section 19 of Woodside Cemetery in Middletown, Ohio, and a son, Bill, who is in section 20 of that cemetery. ( C: Doc)