Edward
Jacob Van Horn
(1862-1942)
Click to See a
Memoir By His Daughter
Edward
Jacob Van Horn was born on Sept. 27, 1862, presumably in Wood County, OH,
the son of Eli and Mary Ann (Kimberlin) Van Horn.
He migrated to Southern California in the early years of the 20th century.
Edward's years as a young adult are not known, though he did suffer from epilepsy, which may have delayed his education.
He was a teacher when in his 20s, perhaps in a grade school setting, and is said to have been "quite a math whiz."
As a 30-year-old bachelor in Ohio, Edward enrolled in the Commercial College of Ohio Normal University (today's Ohio Northern University) in Ada, Hardin County.
One of his student identification cards is reproduced below, with the name of the university's president, H.S. Lehr, printed at the bottom. His commencement speech was entitled "Ambition Necessary to Success."
A physician once told Edward that his medical condition would improve if he'd move to warmer climates. Thus, in about 1902, at the age of 40, he relocated to Southern California.
Because of his epilepsy, he and his future wife Lucy Melia Zimmerman (1869-1962), agreed not to get married for fear that they might pass along this trait to children. However, after an absence of many years, Lucy finally came from Ohio to join him in California in about 1909, and they were married later that year, on Oct. 25, 1909, in San Bernardino. He was age 47 at the time, and she was 40.
They had one daughter, Ruth Genevieve Snyder.
On Christmas Day 1914, Edward's father Eli passed away back home in Ohio. The news was telegraphed to the Van Horns in California. Commenting later in life, daughter Ruth wrote: "I remember the telegram coming re: this tho' I was only 1 yr. 9 mos."
Edward
and Lucy are seen here with daughter Ruth and her future husband,
Pasadena native Donald Glenn Snyder, at the news of the couple's engagement in
December 1936. The wedding took place in Glendale on July 24, 1937.
The Van Horns were members of the Lake Avenue Congregational Church.
Edward
passed away on July 27, 1942 in Pasadena. The Pasadena Star News noted in
the obituary that Edward had "resided in Pasadena for the past 40
years."
Lucy outlived her husband by 2 decades. She died at age 93 on Jan. 6, 1962, in Alhambra, CA. They are buried at Mountain View Cemetery.
Ruth and Don Snyder had 2 daughters, Sally and Carol. Donald passed away in Pasadena on Aug. 30, 1984.
Granddaughter Carol (Snyder) McGann and her husband Bill are owners of Torelli, an import distribution business in Camarillo, CA that specializes in upscale bicycles and related accessories. Contact her for more information on this branch of our family.
Copyright © 2003 Mark A. Miner