Notes:

William's birth date varies depending upon the source. His cemetery stone said he died on Mar. 1, 1867 and was age 70 years, 11 months and 2 days. This suggests his birth date was a bit earlier than found in other sources giving him a 1798 birth date. He is buried in the same row with his family. William Harp learned his trade, tailoring, in Philadelphia. He went west and settled in Dayton, Ohio from 1814-1823. He is listed as living in Union Twp., Miami Co., Ohio in 1835. In 1833 he had moved to West Milton, Union Twp. and remained there until his death. In the 1860 census record his property and goods are listed as being worth a little over $4000.00. His daughter and son-in-law Ann and John Secrist lived with he and his wife. (C-79) He was born in Pennsylvania in his son's 1900 census records. (C-32) In the Oct. 1850 census for Miami Co., Ohio, Union Twp., he is listed at age 52, a merchant, b. in Pennsylvania, whose property was worth $300.00 at the time. His wife Rhoda was age 48, a female, b. in Kentucky. The box is checked that they were both married within that year. That doesn't match with other family information we've found. If true, it would mean that Rhoda was not the mother of William's children. Son Jackson Harb was age 25, b. in Ohio and a merchant. Son Lafayette was age 16, b. in Ohio and a clerk by trade. He had attended school that year. Calvin was age 15, with the rest of his data matching his brother, Lafayettes. Daughter, Eliza was 12, Charles was age 5, born Ohio. Note that many of the children were called by their middle names. Up to 3 of his children were missing from this 1850 census. William's wife, Rhoda Harb, lived 4 houses away from Johnson P. Mast, another family member, in the 1880, Union Twp., Miami Co., Ohio census. She was 77 at the time, born in Kentucky, her father was born in New Jersey and her mother in Kentucky. The census taker marked that she could not write. She was living with Anna E. Secrist, age 41, her daughter, who was also a widow. (C-385) William's son, William B. Harb was a dry goods merchant in Willshire, Van Wert Co., Ohio and had 7 children with Caroline Harper, his wife. (C-387)

William married Rhoda MARTIN, * on 12 Dec 1822 in Warren, Tennessee, USA. Rhoda (daughter of William MARTIN, * and Margaret HORNBUCKLE, (1820 census, 1 age 26-44, 1830 census - age 40-49)) was born on 31 Mar 1802 in , , Kentucky, USA; died on 27 Mar 1887 in West Milton, Miami, OH, USA; was buried about 23 Mar 1887 in Riverside Cemetery, West Milton, Miami, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown UNKNOWN. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

They lived in Wilshire, Van Wert Co., Ohio before they moved to Arkansas. They lived Corning, Arkansas by 1880 where he and his wife most likely died. These are the details of his 1880 census record: "Corning, Clay, Arkansas Age: 56 Estimated birth year: abt 1824 Birthplace: Ohio Relation to head-of-household: Self Spouse's name: Caroline, Father's birthplace: PA Mother's birthplace: KY Neighbors: Occupation: Druggist Marital status: Married Race: White Gender: Male, Household members: Caroline Harb, age 50, Orlando C. Harb, age 15, and Lillie Harb, age 15."(C-2408)

Dr. married Caroline HARPER on 12 Sep 1850 in , Mercer, OH, USA. Caroline was born in 1831 in , , OH, USA; died after 1880 in Of Corning, Clay, Arkansas, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

He, his wife, children and brother, Calvin lived in Dublin, Mercer Co., Ohio in the 1860 census records. He apparently moved to Corning, Arkansas like his brother, William, did by 1880. Here is a transcription of the 1880 census record for he and his family in Corning. "Andy J. Harb Home in 1880: Corning, Clay, Arkansas Age: 54 Estimated birth year: abt 1826 Birthplace: Ohio Relation to head-of-household: Self Spouse's name: Eliza A., Father's birthplace: PA Mother's birthplace: PA Neighbors: Occupation: Laborer Marital status: Married Race: White Gender: Male, Household Members: Name Age Andy J. Harb 54, Eliza A. Harb 54, Lucy J. Harb 18."

Family/Spouse: Eliza Ann WERTZ. Eliza was born about 1826 in , , OH, USA; died after 1880 in Of Corning, Clay, Arkansas, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

George and his brother William were living with the W.F.R. Davis family in 1850 in Dublin, Mercer Co., Ohio. George was 21 and a merchant. His brother William was 25 and a physician by trade. Here are his 1870 census results: "Alice Harb Union, Miami, OH abt 1869 Ohio White Female, Clara Harb Union, Miami, OH abt 1863 Ohio White Female, George W Harb Union, Miami, OH abt 1829 Ohio White Male, Leona Harb Union, Miami, OH abt 1865 Ohio White Female, Mary Harb Union, Miami, OH abt 1861 Ohio White Female, Mirah L. Harb Union, Miami, OH abt 1837 Ohio White Female. George was listed as a Retail Dry Goods merchant and this was likely where his brother Marcus L. Harb was then employed as a clerk."

George married Maria L. TENNEY on 2 Jan 1859 in , Miami, OH, USA. Maria was born about 1837 in , , OH, USA; died after 1870 in Of Union, Miami, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

In the 1860 census for Dublin, Mercer Co., Ohio, Calvin D. Harb, age 27, appeared to live with his brother, A J Harb age 34, Eliza Harb age 34 , Alonzo F Harb age 7, and Laura E Harb age 3. By 1870, he, his wife and son, B.J. and daughter Josia had moved to Anderson, Madison Co., Indiana. In the 1880 census, his family was as follows: Calvin D. Harb 47, Elizabeth Harb 38, Benjamin F. Harb 15, Josephine Harb 13, Arvilla Harb;7, and Albert Harb 4. He was a brickmaker and they lived in Anderson, Madison, Indiana.

Calvin married Elizabeth DURBIN in 1860 in , Van Wert, OH, USA. Elizabeth was born about 1843 in , , OH, USA; died after 1870 in Of Anderson, Madison, IN. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

My father, Albert Edward Coate, remembers his great grandfather, Marcus Lafayette as a tall man. He often tells the story that he knew his ancestor named Marcus who was probably named after someone who respected and knew the original Marquis de Lafayette who helped found our nation. (C-43) He is living with his mother, Rhoda Coate, who was recently widowed and wife, Mary J. and daughters, Ida J. and Lena in the 1870 census in Union Twp. Miami Co., OH. His son Franklin was not listed in this household. I theorize that his son Franklin died before 1870 as he does not appear in any census record after his birth about 1862. Marcus was a clerk in a Dry Goods store in this census. He was living with his daughter, Lena and son-in-law, Amos Coffman in Preble Co., Ohio by the year 1900. He was a mail carrier in that year. (C-97)

Marquis married Arabelle C. MAST on 15 May 1859 in , Miami, OH, USA. Arabelle (daughter of Absalom MAST and Mary JOHN) was born on 23 Dec 1836 in West Milton, Union Twp., Miami, OH, USA; died on 27 Feb 1865 in West Milton, Miami, OH, USA; was buried in Riverside Cemetery, West Milton, Miami, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Marquis married Mary Jane HAWKIN on 18 Sep 1867 in Montgomery, Ohio, USA. Mary was born on 5 Feb 1841 in , , OH, USA; died on 8 May 1894 in West Milton, Miami, OH, USA; was buried in Riverside Cemetery, West Milton, Miami, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The fruit bowl with lid that has a bubble in it's stem belonged to Ann. Albert E. Coate remembers her with great fondness. In the 1860 census for Union Twp., Miami Co., Ohio, she and her husband are living with her parents, William and Roda Harb. She was widowed by age 25 and lived with her mother. She lived alone in the 1900 census record. (C-16,94)

Ann married John Wesley SECRIST on 4 Sep 1859 in , Miami, OH, USA. John was born about 26 May 1837 in , Augusta, VA; died on 28 Apr 1863 in Of Union Twp., Miami, OH, USA; was buried in Riverside Cemetery, West Milton, Miami, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

I suspect that this unknown son could be the Joseph Harb who lived in Mercer Co., Ohio in 1880. He was born about 1834 in Ohio. His father was born in Pennsylvania and his mother in Maryland. (This should have been Kentucky if it was an exact match with otherr children's reposnses.) His wife's name was Lena and his children's names were Franklin, Mary, William, Andrew, Joseph, and Margaret. His wife's name and children named Franklin, William, and Andrew were repeated in the rest of this family living in Miami Co., Ohio. My family in Miami Co., Ohio also had 2 sons named William and George who lived for a while in Mercer County in the 1850's as young men.

Notes:

Much can be learned about Ida Jane Harb Coate in her obituary. It verifies her parents and states she went to live in West Milton, Ohio in 1876 to stay with her mother's sister, Mrs. M.J. Pickering. "Here she became a member of the First Christian Church and was a teacher in the West Milton Public schools." After her marriage in 1878 she joined his church, The Friends Church of West Milton. After they moved to Piqua she moved her letter to the Grace M.E. church where she was a faithful member for 25 years. "Her cheerfulness and her sweet patience have been a source of inspiration to all who have had the privilege of coming in contact with her. Forgetful of self, ever mindful of her family and those about her, a loving and faithful wife, a wonderful mother, her going leaves a void that can never be filled."

My files also include a letter written in her own hand from Memphis, Tenn. dated Jan. 10 1920. She wrote to Mamie & All (Meaning her children) back in Piqua, Ohio. She was apparently helping "Margie" to get regain her health. (C-DOC)

A third document, is a letter in Ida's handwriting dated just two months before her death, June 18, 1926. She was writing to her daughter Grace. She had gone to live in Hamilton in 1926 or so. (C-54) She said her health was improving, that she felt really good when she was lying down or sitting, but could not walk without being weak headed. Her heart was still too weak. Even so, her letter had grace and a beautiful turn of phrase clear to the end. (C-365)

Ida married Warren C. COATE, * on 30 Jan 1879 in , Miami, OH, USA. Warren (son of John Haskett COATE, * and Jane COPPOCK) was born on 20 Aug 1855 in Ludlow Falls, Miami, OH, USA; died on 27 Sep 1929 in Memorial Hospital, Piqua, Miami, OH, USA; was buried on 30 Sep 1929 in Riverside Cemetery, West Milton, Miami, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Franklin is not living with anyone under the name of Franklin or Frank Harb from 1870 onward. Therefore, I suspect he might have died as an infant or child before the year 1870. He is also not listed in his sister, Ida Jane's obituary so I've have listed his death date as before hers.

Notes:

She pronounced her name with a long e, like Leena according to my father, Al Coate.

Family/Spouse: Amos COFFMAN. Amos was born in Dec 1865 in , Miami, OH, USA; died on 26 Feb 1936 in Piqua, Miami, OH, USA; was buried on 29 Feb 1936. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown SMYERS. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

This aunt of my fathers is remembered with great fondness by him. She was a very sweet, kind genteel woman who outlived her husband and child. She was nicknamed Mamie J. as a baby by the 1880 census where she was staying with her grandparents. She was one of 3 Baccalaureate speakers as her High School Graduation on May 6, 1898 for West Milton High School. She was listed as the honored final speaker with her oration entitled "Thermopylae". She was a teacher in Miami County. I have one of her teacher qualification exam certificates in my files date Aug. 5, 1899, Troy, Ohio. She is the aunt who gave my father the two rocks that had been in the family a long, long time: the indian matat (et) and the stone shaped like a Mexican sombrero (or axe) that was probably the stone found by the first Coates to come to Ohio, Henry's children, on their first day at Ludlow Falls. It is described in a biography of their first day as being shaped like an "adze". It could have been a stone tied to a very large piece of wood made into a very heavy axe. She died at age 81 according to her cemetery records as indexed in the Miami Valley Index on the internet. (C-362, )

Family/Spouse: Joseph (Joe) B. MCKINLEY. Joseph died after 2 Jun 1941. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

I have in my files a copy of the ancestry of Herbert Hoover that includes biographical descriptions of Henry Coate's (Marmaduke's son) emigration from SC to Ohio in Aunt Grace's handwriting. According to my father, her sister Mamie McKinley would do the composing and Aunt Grace would handwrite it out. It's likely that this manuscript entitled "Ohio History of Herbert Hoover's Ancestry" was what Mamie was preparing for a Dayton paper as referred to in an Apr 25, 1931 letter between Mrs. Dunn to Mrs. McKinley.

The letter from Aunt Grace written on May 10, 1963 is partially transcribed below by Richard Coate, it's recipient. The part in which she included Aunt Mamie's work still needs to be transcribed, but it was sent in this letter. "I received a nice letter from your mother a couple weeks ago. She is looking forward with great anticipation to all of you children coming home this summer. How I would like to see all of you. I think she is doing marvelously well to be so active as she is. She is not far from 70. But I guess I was still pretty active at that age, too. I am now 81. Peggy and Don stopped to see her in Trenton on their way home from Houston." [Don was returning to Houston to be employed as Sports Editor for a Houston newspaper.]

"Hannah's son, Richard, is a junior in High School. He was sent with 83 other Boy Scouts to England on a Scout Exchange deal." I feel I have missed so much in not living closer to my nieces and nephews. You all are such nice folks. Albert and family topped here a few minutes on Mar. 10 en route from Mt. Clemens where they had taken Marcena's Aunt home. Albert's children are adorable. Was so glad to hear that Warren, Bob, and Albert's families all went down to Ashville for Martha Ann's wedding and your mother, too."I'm glad I was well enough to go to Mamie's as long as she lived. I spent much time there in the last two years - from 2 to 7 weeks at a time. She was so patient and kind.

There are so many things that come to my mind of long ago, that I want to know and only she could answer."I am expecting Margaret and Robert Fuller the latter part of this month. Their travels East and West North and South, (Australia to Alaska) have been extensive. Of course your darling daughter, Jennifer is walking and is she talking some by now?"

She also enclosed a document Aunt Mamie had drawn up concerning our genealogy, tracing our lineage all the way back to the Marmaduke who, along with his wife, Edith spent fifteen years in an English prison because of their adherence to the teachings of George Fox. It was pretty much what she had already taught us. (C-362) (Note: Our direct ancestor turned out to be John Coate married to Elizabeth Humphries. John spent 15 years in prison for not paying tithes to the Church of England because he was a Quaker. This has been proven through autosomal and YDNA).

According to cousin, Martha Hale, Grace and two of her sisters followed in their fathers footsteps and went to college. This would have been before women won the right to vote.

Family/Spouse: Corey L. WILSON. Corey (son of Benjamin WILSON and Sarah SMITH) was born on 30 Dec 1881 in , , OH, USA; died on 24 Aug 1956 in Akron, Summit, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Lenna, like her father, also went to college. Her obituary in the Journal Hearld, Dayton, Ohio is as follows: "Services for Mrs. Lenna C. Cress of 120 Five Oaks Avenue will be held at 2 p.m. tomorrow at the Roy H. Miller funeral home, West Milton. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery, West Milton. Friends may call at the funeral home from 5 to 9 p.m. today. Mrs. Cress died Saturday at her residence. A native of Miami county, she was employed as a secretary at the Wagner-Smith company 26 years. Surviving are her husband, Walter, and three sisters, Mrs. Grace Wilson of Akron, Mrs. Margaret Fuller of Nashville, N.C. and Mrs. Mamie Mckinley of Piqua." (C-2586) In the 1930 census for Dayton, Ohio it lists that she was employed as a book keeper for an Electrical Engineering firm. This were most unusual patterns for the time.

Lenna married Walter E. CRESS about 1904. Walter was born about 1879 in , , OH, USA; died after 2 Jun 1941 in Of Dayton, Montgomery Co, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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:

He lived on Wood Street in Piqua up to 1925 when he moved to Hamilton, Ohio. He is listed as a contractor in the 1930 census for Hamilton. Years after his brother Albert established himself as a highly respected Contractor/Floor finisher and inventor, John followed his brother Albert's example as a contractor. He is likely the John H. Coate who was a pall bearer for my grandfather's funeral in 1941. (C-370)

John married Vela TUDOR after 1915. Vela was born about 1904 in , , OH, USA; died after 1947 in Of Hamilton, Butler, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Elsie BINGHAM. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Margaret graduated from college about 1910. She taught at a Quaker School which is now the Grace Baptist Church in Ludlow Falls, Ohio.

Margaret married Robert Benjamin FULLER on 18 Jun 1919 in , Miami, OH, USA. Robert was born on 21 Mar 1894 in Meriwether, Greenville, GA, USA; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

She actually was the one to introduce Maude Stevens to Albert Pickering Coate who married and became my grandparents. She and her husband and son were living with her parents in the 1920 census records. She went by the name of Mary H. in the 1930 census and by Helen in the 1920 census.

Mary married Arthur Addison LEE, IV about 1911. Arthur was born about 1888 in , , RI; died in 1948 in , Miami, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]