Jay "Albert" Van Horn
(1868-1949)
Jay "Albert" Van Horn born on Sept. 6, 1868 near Grand Rapids, Wood County, OH, the son of Eli and Mary Ann (Kimberlin) Van Horn.
Albert married Ida Irene Newell (1870-1920), the daughter of Abraham V. and Sarah A. (Dronberger) Newell. They had five children -- Keith Van Horn, Clarence Raymond "Skinner" Van Horn, Clyde Wilbur Van Horn, Harry Lee Van Horn and Ida Pearl Sutton. Son Keith may have died young.
When the federal census was taken in 1900, the Van Horns lived on a farm in Jackson Township, Wood County. Their next-door-neighbor was Albert's uncle, Austin Coleman Van Horn.
In 1941, at the death of his brother Austin, Albert was residing in Deshler, Wood County.
Seen
here is a rare old postcard photograph of Deshler's Main Street from the
early 1900s. Note the telephone poles as well as the horses and buggies along
the street.
Ida passed away in 1920. She was laid to rest at Beaver Creek Cemetery in Grand Rapids.
Nothing is known of Albert's life, other than that he lived for another 30 years after Ida's death.
He died on Dec. 28, 1949 and was buried with his wife.
Seen
here is a farmer's grain elevator in Deshler, a site with which the Van
Horns would have been very familiar.
Son Clarence (1895-1982) "was a retired laborer for the Hay Mill Co., Hoytville," said a newspaper. "He was a former member of the Knights of Pythias, Hoytville, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, North Baltimore." He married Mary Louisa Jane Spence (1895-1980) and had eight children -- Francis Earl Van Horn, Orley Kyle Van Horn, Alta Vernice Benedict, Helen Irene Wolf, Mildred Viola Gerdeman, Carl Raymond 'Bud' Van Horn, Clarence Robert Van Horn and Phyllis Maxine Van Horn. Their grandson, William H. Gerdeman Jr., has been researching the Van Horn genealogy for many years. Also contributing to the research has been Mary Bowles.
Son Clyde worked for Railroad Express Company for a quarter of a century. After retiring, he spent a decade as a tour guide for the Chicago Museum of Arts and Sciences. He was a veteran of the Army medical corps in World War I and World War II, and was a member of the American Legion post in Deshler. He died in Monterey, CA on March 25, 1984.
Son Harry (1902-1982) resided in Findlay, Hancock County, OH, and was a "section supervisor for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad," said a newspaper. "He was a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church." In 1941, he married Olive Spence ( ? -1971). They had no children.
Copyright © 2003-2004, 2007 Mark A. Miner