Family/Spouse: Visha Ann FITZSIMMONS. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Gavin Edward Joseph RITTER

Notes:

This is a letter that son Dale sent to his cousin Richard Coate about Dale's parents. Dated June 2003 "The address of the farm at the time we lived there was R. R. 1 Arcanum, Ohio. I am not sure of the address now, since those county address have all been changed to road names and box numbers. The farm was forty-three acres of soybeans. In the early years we raised three or four dairy cows to have milk and butter. We had pigs to sell and for meat. We chickens for meat and eggs. We always had cars around the barn to keep the mice away. When I got older and joined 4H I raised pigs for my project for a couple of years and then for the rest of the years, I raised rabbits. At one point I had over forty rabbits at a time and sold them as pets and to a butcher for meat. Mother always had a big bed of flowers along the drive that was 130 feet long and 10 feet wide. She loved flowers and always had lots of arrangements in the house and gave flowers to friends and neighbors. She president of the local Garden Club for a couple of years. The thing that most of the relatives remember, was our huge garden. It was 200 feet long and thirty feet wide. Mother always had three plantings of sweet corn, so we would have it for the whole season. She had five plantings of lettuce. There were always twenty to forty tomato plants with three to as many as six different varieties. She always rows of green beans, pleas, red beats, potatoes, cabbages, and a whole variety of other vegetables, that changed as she found new things to try. To this day, I have never met anyone who worked as hard as my mother did. She got up at four o'clock in the morning and when to bed after the eleven o'clock news. Not only did she take care of her home and yard and garden, but she worked four days a week in Arcanum for The John Smith Company, in their grocery department from 1952 to 1968.Mother was also known all over the county for her baking ability. She made hundreds of pies and cakes and thousands of cookies for bakes sales, carry-in dinners, reunions, birthdays, and even a few weddings. Several local businessmen offered to set her up in a bakery, but that would have been too much for her. The Coate Family Reunions were always a high point of our year. My Dad built long tables to use for these events that were set up in our side yard under those big old maple trees. There was always a ton of food and a wonderful big crowd. We would play games and Mom's bake goods and produce would be the prizes. I think everyone had a great time. I know we did."

Harry married Helen M. NICHOLS. Helen was born on 8 Apr 1917; died on 7 Dec 1994 in Dayton, Montgomery, OH, USA; was buried on 10 Dec 1994 in Weaver Funeral Home, Dayton, Montgomery, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Harry married Keturah Ann STEVENS about 1913. Keturah (daughter of John STEVENS, * and Keturah (Kitty) DIMMACK) was born on 6 Jun 1894 in Dayton, Montgomery, OH, USA; died on 20 Apr 1977 in Greenville, Darke, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

According to his obituary in the Dayton Journal dated Mar. 29, 1922, he was born in Manchester, England. Family tradition has been that he was born in London or in Lancaster, England (Death certificate). However, in the 1881 census record for England his birth place is listed as Rugby, Warwick, England. This is the only source that lists his birth place while he was alive. It was not the same as his wife's or children's place of birth. His birth date is listed as Nov. 25, 1853 or Nov. 25, 1857 (death certificate).

The 1881 census tells us that he was 24 years of age, making either 1856 or 1857 correct. His christening record took place in Aug. of 1857, so he was therefore likely born in Nov. of 1856. Fred Stevens gave the information on the death certificate that is often at variance with other sources. There is a John Stevens and Keturah Dimmock living in the Parish of Hackney, Co. of Middlesex in 1875 on Englefield Rd. that are probably them. (C-589) He was a superintendent of the mechanical department for the "ChatterBox". It was an English child's annual storybook.

In the 1881 census, John is listed as a printer and they lived at 161 Eversleigh Rd., Battersea, Surrey, England. In his christening record and 1881 census record, his name is listed as John Stevens. My father remembered his middle name being Charles, but that has not been verified. He (age 26) and his wife, "Katy" (age 27) and sons, Fred (age 7) and George (age 4) emigrated to the United States arriving in New York on November 1, 1883 on the Grecian Monarch. This was before Ellis Island was opened. They had departed from London, England. John was listed as a printer by profession. They came in Steerage with 3 pieces of luggage for the entire family. (C: Doc)

In his 1922 obituary, he was listed as having been in the U.S. for 35 years, but in reality it was around 39 years. They first moved to Wheeling, West Virginia where he worked as in Interior Decorator. They them moved to Dayton, Ohio in 1892 where he continued in the same trade and where he lived for the remainder of his days. He is listed as a painter living at 1916 E. Fifth Street in the Dayton, Ohio 1889 and 1890 directories. There are several Stevens in the Dayton, Montgomery Co., OH directory of 1887 that have similar names to his children, who could be his relatives that he followed to Ohio. They include an A.E. Stevens, an Alfred, a George W. (1845-1923) and a John Stevens. (C-1905, C-Doc) In the U.S. 1900 census, John is listed as a house painter who could read, write and speak English. They rented their home at 411 N. Main St, Dayton, Ohio. Both John's and Keturah's parents were born in England. (C-98) In his later years, John worked for a cookie factory called Greene and Greene as a painter and custodian.

His sons (Alfred) George and Albert Edward were at one time both in the painting business with him. They lived through 7 floods in the United States. (C-2,4, 1899) These floods might account for the reason they moved often renting the following residences in Dayton, Ohio according to Dayton City Directories: 1900: 411N Main St., 1902: 67 E. Halena, 1908: 218 N. Linwood, 1914: 522 W. 3rd. In his death certificate, his son Fred gives his birth date as Nov. 25, 1857. However, both census records give his age matching a birth year of 1853. (C-226, C:Doc)

As for his death, this was a very sad event for his children. John had remarried and was quite ill. When my father's mother and her sisters wanted to visit their father on his death bed on Bolander Ave, their new mother-in-law wouldn't let them in. She got all of his belongings including all the family heirlooms and furniture from England. The daughters even suspected that he was poisoned by his wife. However, his death certificate says that he died of a cerebral hemorrhage compounded by pneumonia that he'd had for the last 7 days. He died at 9:30 on a Monday evening. The funeral was held at the home of his daughter, Keturah Ritter, at 2:00 p.m. on Mar. 30, 1922. (C:DOC, 2077, 2517)

John married Keturah (Kitty) DIMMACK on 2 Jun 1875 in Hackney, Middlesex, ENG. Keturah (daughter of Benjamin DIMMOCK and Martha AUSTIN) was born on 2 Jun 1855 in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, ENG; died on 11 Feb 1918 in Dayton, Montgomery, OH, USA; was buried on 14 Feb 1918 in Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Montgomery, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

According to her daughter, Maud, Kitty combed her hair with sage tea everyday so that everyone thought she had black hair until three weeks before her death. Albert Pickering nicknamed her "Roly Poly" because she was 4'9" and 140 lbs. She had a white poodle which she led on walks by carrying a sucker behind her. It worked quite well according to my father at keeping him following her. She was apparently an alcoholic, suffered with arthritis and died of a heart attack at about age 63. Her death certificate says she died of Chronic Brights Disease which is a disorder of the kidneys. (C-2, C:DOC) According to her obituary, she died at 8 o'clock in the morning on Feb. 11th. She was buried on Valentines' Day and her funeral was held at her daughter, Keturah Ritter's home. There were relatives listed in Albert Pickering Coate's Funeral Memory book in 1941 listed as Mr. and Mrs. E. Dimmack. They were Ephram and Daisy Dimmack from Middletown. According to my Dad, Albert Edward Coate, they were his 2nd cousins related to Keturah Dimmack Stevens. This could mean that they were 1st cousins once removed instead, but his family would call that relationship a second cousin. Ephram's brother was Albert Dimmack. Two of Albert's daughters had taken my father to their Episcopal Church a couple times (probably in Middletown.) (C-2078, 2517)

They are also related to Dimmacks in Wheeling, WV. (C-687) I have found a birth record for a Keturah Dimmock born the same day as our Keturah in Stourbridge, Kinswinford, co. Stafford, England that could be a relative of our Keturah. The birth record takes place on Jun 10, 1855 on 392 Moorelane. Parents, John Dimmock and Seah Priest Dimmock. (C-300) There is a marriage record another Keturah Ann Dimmack that I sent for that turns out to be a cousin to our Keturah. It's for a Keturah Ann Dimmack who marries a Richard Dawes on Mar. 4, 1876 (though it looks like 1846 - it was indexed as 1876) in Saint Peters Church, Wolverhampton Parish, co. Staffordshire, England. Her father is listed as Mathias Dimmack (our Keturah's Uncle) who was a horse dealer.

There is a Benjamin Dimmack in the London, England 1871 census, age 23, born in Lambeth, Surrey, ENG that would be the right age to be her cousin also. He could be the Benjamin Charles Dimmack that married in 1873 in Wolverhampton District which included parts of the counties of Shropshire, Staffordshire and West Midlands. Wolverhampton District is one place where several events in this family grouping appear to be recorded.