Ormsby

Reta Winona "Nonie" Ormsby (b: 19 Aug 1923 Natchez, MS; m: Jack Bachman Cochran 4 Dec 1943; d: 15 May 2018 Bunkie, LA)

Reta Winona Ormsby, likely 1924 with Clarice Nell Calloway and Nelle Belle Lancaster

Reta Winona Ormsby was originally named Francis by her mother Clarice who thought that was the agreement with father Francis who was not present at the time. Later, Francis came back saying "no, we want Reta Winona” to name her after an Indian girl in their New York apartment that the Ormsby’s had admired, so they had it changed. After her marriage to Jack Cochran, she applied for a birth certificate and it came back Francis. Both parents were kind of sheepish as they told her the story and then paid to legally have her changed to Reta Winona as apparently, the change at her birth never made it to the permanent records. For her early years, Reta Winona Ormsby lived in Ferriday, Louisiana where her father owned and operated the family business, Louisiana Hoop Company. The family moved to Bunkie, Louisiana in 1930, following the great flood of 1927.

Reta Winona Ormsby...2nd picture is 1942

Winona attended Bunkie Elementary where she once played the piano at an assembly to represent her grade. She passed musical ability down the family by insisting on lessons for her kids. Sheet music found by family from those days revealed she had an early nickname… “Wendy.” Winona Ormsby became engaged to a young U.S. Army Lieutenant, Jack Bachman Cochran, when he was graduating from Officer Training School at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma on September of 1943. The marriage took place at the David Haas United Methodist Church in Winona’s hometown, Bunkie, on December 4, 1943. After a week long honeymoon that started the first night in Baton Rouge and then New Orleans, they returned to Fort Sill where Jack was serving in the 349th Field Artillery School Group under Colonel Charles Boyle. Jack and Winona enjoyed Fort Sill, but living conditions were not always for the best. Their first home was a one car converted garage with a living/bedroom area, small bath, kitchen, and closet…all small. One of their entertainments was to sit in the

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living area and watch the mice run from the stove to the refrigerator and back again. They did enjoy going out to the base to eat at the officer’s club, the dances, and going to church. Winona had two courses of study to complete to graduate from LSU and it was while they were at Fort Sill that she completed her courses by correspondence and received her degree by mail. After Fort Sill, Jack and Winona were moved with the troops to Fort Hood. Winona was pregnant with their first child, so she was allowed a chauffeur to make their trip to the new assignment. They bought a blue 1941 Chevrolet in Lawton for $3000 (later sold it in Bunkie for the same amount after Jack was sent overseas and Winona returned home to live with her parents). The entire convoy had to make frequent stops for Winona to take a “comfort break”. The housing situation at Fort Hood in Gatesville, Texas was even worse. The town was very dusty, and roaches were everywhere. You couldn’t walk the sidewalks or enter the stores without seeing roaches running around. Finding housing was difficult and the only place Jack and Winona could find was the front room in a small house, which also had another couple renting there. They had to walk through the bedroom of the owners to go to the bathroom and had to buy their share of rationed ice to have kitchen priviledges.

Winona had to take her ration book to the local icehouse, stand in line for her allotment, and haul the ice back to the refrigerator. After several months, they secured a room in the local hotel. Winona finally went to Throckmorton, Texas to stay with Jack’s mother for the remaining duration of their stay in the states, with Jack commuting on the weekends and furloughs. Jack’s assignment was to Northern Italy and during this time, the Red Cross informed him of the birth of his first daughter Sandra Dianne, eight days after the birth. The name had been settled on long before overseas shipment, but the name she was to be called took a bit more time. Jack had assumed that his daughter would be called Sandra and Winona thought they would call her Dianne. So, he wrote about Sandra and Winona described his beautiful daughter as Dianne. It took about a week for mail to arrive and when he got his first letter from Winona, he changed to the name

Jack and Winona Cochran

Dianne, and Winona got her first letter, she changed to Sandra. Then they got letters again and so the names were once again switched. This went on back and forth for several months, and Jack finally wrote back that he was going to call his daughter Dianne and not make any more changes, and thus she remained from that day on. After the war, Winona and Jack lived in Bunkie, Louisiana to raise children Sandra Dianne, Frances Geraldine, Jane Alice, and Bert Francis while also working as bookkeeper in the family business, Bunkie Wood Products.

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Reta Winona Ormsby with girls Sandra Dianne, Frances Geraldine, and Jane Alice 1959 and 1960

Winona was Christian by faith, and actively walked and served that faith at Bunkie’s David Haas Memorial United Methodist Church (fire destroyed most of the church in November 2016). Even with all their travelling, Winona always ensured the family attended Sunday School each week whereever they were travelling, ensuring the family kept the perfect attendance streak going. Jack and Winona bought property in 1973 on Indian Creek Reservoir and built “Camp” which transitioned over the years from an Airstream RV, to shell with living space and upstairs sleeping around the Airstream RV, to a full functioning lake house. Camp was a gathering place for family, friends, church groups, etc. for many years for good, clean fun (boating, fishing, swimming, camp fires, holiday celebrations, coffee on porch rocking chairs, etc.). Winona loved to travel around the world with trips to China, Greece, Egypt, Canada, much of Europe, USA, etc. and encouraged family to travel by taking kids and grandkids on trips. Jack and Winona also owned recreational vehicles (RVs) for road trips around Louisiana and USA with family members and Methodist Camping Group. On long road trips, she would typically have done research and would read about the town out loud for all in the car as driving through. Winona loved investing in stock market and would frequently talk about positions she was in and how she was beating her financial advisor. She was affectionately known as “Nonie” by grandkids, great grandkids, and friends in later part of her life. Nonie was remembered as serving Jack Cochran with great devotion in the later years of his life until he passed away June 21, 2005. Nonie continued to live in Bunkie and lived her last years with Alzheimer’s Disease which affected her short-term memory, before passing away May 15, 2018.

Reta Winona Ormsby 1961, unknown, 2005

The following shows the transformation of the Bunkie Home at West Dr. McConnell Blvd with oak trees, azaleas, and even conversion of the garage and screen porch.

Sibling of Reta Winona Ormsby:

Gerald Edison Ormsby (b: 15 Sep 1926 Ferriday, LA; m1/d: Eunice Faye Whitey 25 Jun 1952; m2: Jane Bordelon Shaw 1984; d: 9 Feb 2018 Avoyelles Parish, LA): Grandfather refused to use the name Gerald and rather game name "Timbucktoo" and after he was called by friends and family as "Tim" his whole life. Tim graduated from Bunkie High School and Texas A&M before serving in the US Army during WWII. With his father on the Avoyelles Parish draft board, Gerald was drafted 21 January 1945 into the Army and trained at Camp Fanning. From Camp Fanning, Gerald went to the Philippine Island of Leyete where he was a unit clerk mostly involved in recording troop movements, payroll activities, and communications for the Field Artillery Division of the Army. Gerald was released from the Army on 23 January 1947 and returned to Texas A&M to complete college and return to the family business in Bunkie as Co-owner of Bunkie Wood Products with brother-in-law Jack Cochran.

Gerald Edison Ormsby, "Tim"

Francis "Papoo" Gerald Ormsby (b: 1 Apr 1898 Ossian, IN; m: Clarice "Tattie" Nell Calloway 6 Jun 1921; d: 5 Apr 1973 Bunkie, LA)

Francis Gerald Ormsby, likely 1919-1921

Francis Gerald Ormsby was born April 1, 1898, in Ossian, Indiana to parents John Edson Ormsby and Nelle Belle Lancaster. Francis was a middle child after Indus Rudolph (1896) and before Ilene (1907). Census records showed Francis in Jefferson Township in 1900, La Porte, Indiana in 1910, and his father moved the hoop mill to Ferriday, Louisiana in 1910. Brothers Indus and Francis went to school in Ferriday, but were unruly and the teachers resigned. So father John Edson Ormsby sent Indus and Francis to New Orleans where they attended Warren Easton High School, living with a Baptist preacher while there. For college, Francis Gerald Ormsby went to Louisiana Industrial Institute, in Ruston, LA (former name for Louisiana Tech) to study business and it was there that he met Clarice Calloway who was studying home economics teaching. Francis was probably a challenge at college as he used to tell many stories like the time he sawed a hole in the floor of his dormitory room and ran water on the boys in the room below.

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Francis Gerald Ormsby played clarinet in band at Louisiana Industrial Institute (standing at top in middle of window)

When President Woodrow Wilson declared war on Germany on March 30, 1917, he called upon the people of the United States to respond to a Call of Duty for their country. The First Regiment Louisiana Infantry, Company F, of the National Guard was formed in Ruston, Louisiana and a patriotic rally was held on April 3 in Ruston where many young men responded and enlisted in the Army. Thirty young men from Louisiana Industrial Institute signed up on April 4, 1917 including Francis who signed on as a bugler in the National Guard. On April 6th, Francis and the rest of the young men from Ruston were sent to New Orleans where they received their basic training. In September of 1917, Company F was sent to Camp Stafford, which was an old Military Camp near Alexandria, Louisiana. Company F was assigned the job of clearing the area and rebuilding the military camp which was renamed Camp Beauregard. Francis was appointed company clerk and retained at Camp Beauregard while Company F was sent overseas to France. He was reassigned to Company L of the 161st Infantry, 41st Division and promoted to Sergeant. Company L of the 161st was finally shipped to New York and sailed for France in November 1917. Francis wanted to fight with a gun, but because he was a business major, he was selected to serve as a book-keeper (company clerk). Sometimes this service meant setting up an office on just a plank between two stumps. Francis never saw any real action where the closest he came was the “Battle of the Pine Tree.” The story as he told it was that an air raid alarm sounded in middle of night and he started running and ran into a pine tree and was knocked out cold.

Francis Gerald Ormsby serving Army Infantry in France during World War 1

Francis Gerald Ormsby visiting home with Jane Fisher (grandmother), John Edson Ormsby (father), and Ilene Ormsby (sister)

Clarice finished her degree during war and taught 6th grade Home Economics in Ferriday, Louisiana. When Francis returned from the war, he first came back to Ferriday, LA to be in business with his father, but that did not work out, so he left and went to Poughkeepsie, New York to finish his business school degree at Eastern Gaines Business School. Francis sent for Clarice to meet him in Chicago (Clarice was accompanied to Chicago by brother Wattie Aubry Callaway) where Francis proposed and they were married. They married 6 June 1921, at the Chicago home of Francis' Aunt Nellie Silence Ormsby and Uncle Ed Hall (Louis Edward Hall). They went back to Poughkeepsie, New York where Francis worked at Chase Manhattan National Bank and had a neighbor girl named "Winona" that would eventually be the namesake of their daughter.

Francis Gerald Ormsby and Clarice Nell Calloway: 1923, 1940, 1966, and 1971

In 1922, Francis and Clarice came back to Ferriday, Louisiana to enter his father’s Louisiana Hoop Company, INC. business, but only after father John Edson Ormsby fired Indus, Francis brother, because he could not work with him. Flooding of the Mississippi River generally put the mill out of business for four to five months out of the year. After the great flood of 1927 (Mississippi River) and his father's death that same year, Francis decided to move the business to Bunkie, Louisiana in 1930 after testing all the flood areas and availability of good forest materials. Barrels proved to be a stable economic provider for the city of Bunkie, Louisiana especially thru the depression years. During World War II, barrels were in demand for shipping goods overseas for the war effort, giving Louisiana Hoop Company a priority status. Daughter Winona said he really didn't hug much, but she always knew he loved her. He was sort of a "democratic type." For instance, once when a teacher said she'd give bonus points for typing the assignment, Papoo was angered as he didn't think it was fair since many of the kids did not have access to a typewriter (Winona did, however). So, he made Clarice talk to Mr. Snotty (mean principle...stern I guess) and cancelled the whole thing. Winona wasn't well received after that.

Francis was a long time Mason, joining as a young man in Ferriday. Also, he was also a Methodist, but did not attend church. Francis was also a humorous prankster. He loved to set you up and find a weakness in your character as fair game for having fun. These pranks seemed like Papoo's way of experimenting to see how he could manipulate the behaviors of the mind, learn about human behavior and dependency. Some examples were:

Francis Gerald Ormsby

Grandson Bert Cochran left his cat Boots with Papoo and when he returned to pick up Boots, he was so fat that the cat could not get off the floor. Papoo had fed the cat one shrimp at a time just to see how much the cat would eat and if it would ever stop. He would laugh at how the cat could not get up, but would reach out it’s tongue to pull in the shrimp, of course as time went on he would put the shrimp just out of reach to make it work harder for the free meal.
On a vacation going East toward Florida with his close friends, they would drive all night and switch drivers, but he would fail to tell them he turned the truck going West and let them drive for 30 minutes or so just to see them try to figure it out.
Papoo would take granddaughter Geraldine and friend Donna during sleepovers to the dairy queen to get banana splits. Then he would drive over the railroad crossing again and again until they were screeching with laughter with ice cream all over.
Papoo would turn the color dials on the TV to green and purple for grandkids to watch shows in psychedelic colors.

Francis Gerald Ormsby

Papoo would frequently go fishing with a bunch of men at Grand Isle...one trip the station wagon slipped back into the ocean because they forgot the brake. That car was used to help train the grandchildren in driving because it didn't matter if they wrecked it...it already stunk. He had alligators at the mill and would bring the baby alligators home and keep them in a concrete fountain behind the house. People would pick them up and lay them on their back and pet their tummies. He also had a bunch of cats around the mill and house that gave everyone ringworms...he claimed he wouldn't get the ringworms, but at some point, started wearing long sleeve shirts during the summer until someone saw the ringworms even poking out of his long sleeves. In 1947, Francis’ son-in-law, Jack Cochran joined the business after returning from the service in Italy during WWII and after earning his bachelor’s degree in Forestry from LSU. In 1950, Francis’ son, Gerald Edison “Tim” Ormsby entered the company after serving in the Pacific during WWII and completing his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Texas A&M. The company ventured into manufacturing green hardwood and pine furniture squares. The first dry kilns were installed in 1952, and thereafter the furniture trade was supplied with kiln dried hardwood squares, manufactured to exact specified requirements of the furniture industry. In 1962, Louisiana Hoop Company was the last remaining wooden hoop plant in the United States when it ceased its hoop production. Jack and Tim had adapted, over the years from the barrel hoop to furniture squares, and hardwood pallets. His daily tradition every morning was to kill a squirrel, go to the sawmill to read the mail and scale the logs, and then go home for lunch…which is what he did on his last day in 1973 when he sat down in his lounge chair in front of the TV waiting for wife Clarice to make lunch. When she brought his lunch, he had died of a stroke. Siblings of Francis Gerald Ormsby include the following:

Indus Rudolph Ormsby (b: 18 May 1896 Bluffton, IN; m1: Opal Geraldine Alexander 26 Aug 1937; m2: Annette Moulle'; d: Feb 1966 Fort Wayne, IN) Born in Indiana, Indus moved with his family to Mississippi and Louisiana and likely even Bunkie, LA as he married Annette Moulle' who was from Bunkie. However, at the request of Francis Ormsby, Indus left the family business and ended the last 35 years of his life back in Fort Wayne, Indiana where he owned Ormsby Heating and Air Conditioning Company.

Ilene Ormsby (b: 29 Sep 1907 Ossian, IN; m: Edwin John Byrne; d: 15 Nov 2001 Longboat Key, FL) Husband Edwin John Byrne had a furniture business in Natchez, Mississippi

John Edson Ormsby (b: Jan 1864 Union Township, IN; m: Nelle Belle Lancaster 9 Aug 1895; d: May 1927 Natchez, MS)

John Edson Ormsby was born in 1864 in Union Township, Indiana. At marriage to Nelle Belle Lancaster in 1895, his profession was a schoolteacher.

John Edson Ormsby signature

John Edson Ormsby with Nelle Belle Lancaster and Ilene Ormsby

In 1907, the 55 year old John Edson Ormsby was a book keeper for a wooden hoop manufacturing company in Prospect, Indiana near Fort Wayne. When the owner of the Indiana based company offered John Edson the opportunity to buy the business, he jumped at the chance. In 1910, Ormsby decided to move his family and his mill making wooden hoops for wooden barrels to Ferriday, Louisiana by railcar and was out of production for only about 4 months. The name of the new company was Ferriday Hoop Company, which later to become LouisianaJohn Edson Ormsby signature Hoop Company, INC. Elm logs were manufactured in a coiled wooden hoop used on slack barrels which was a primary bulk container of the era because of the ease of filling and handling with a single man. The company patented a 3/16” bevel on one side and the 5/16” bevel on the opposite side which allowed the hoops to fit better together around the barrel. Elm boards were sawn and sent to a shear to make the long 2” wide beveled strips or hoops. Later hoops were boiled to make them pliable to bend into coils. Barrels were filled with meats, pickles, flour, sugar, coffee, nails, and salt.

1921 Clarice Nell Calloway joining Ormsby family: John Edson, Nelle Belle, and marrying Francis

John Edson Ormsby, Clarice Nell Calloway, Alice Amazon Calloway, Jane Fisher, and Nelle Belle Lancaster

John Edson Ormsby family with mom Jane Fisher welcoming Clarice Nell and Alice Amazon Calloway

In 1922, a major flood of the Mississippi River flooded Ferriday including the hoop mill and the Ormsby house. The Ormsby's stayed at the Eola Hotel as their house was flooded to the 2nd story. Son, Francis Gerald Ormsby joined the family business in 1922, my guess is after the flood to help with recovery, but that is not certain. Again, another major flood of the Mississippi River in 1927 and John Edson died of a massive stroke in Natchez, Mississippi the same year though still investigating the exact day. John was buried back in Union Township, Indiana.

Ormsby home flooded in 1922

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1923 note John Edson Ormsby sent Clarice Nell Calloway: "strong as an ox"

Siblings of John Edson Ormsby include:

Alonzo Eugene Ormsby (b: 5 Jan 1866 Union Township, IN; m: Mary Elizabeth Archbold 10 Sep 1887; d: 16 Apr 1916 Ferriday, LA) Obituary says died as a result of injuries suffered while "blasting timber." Not sure what this means, but surely this is connected to Ferriday Hoop Company with brother John Edson Ormsby.
Luella Nancy Ormsby (b: 1867 Union Township, IN; m: Jacob Franklin Meyers 30 Oct 1890)
Alfred Alexander Ormsby (b: 16 Feb 1873 Wells County, IN; m: Dora Ellen Cass 13 Sep 1894; d: 3 Mar 1949 Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada)
Jennie M. Ormsby (b: Sep 1877 Wells County, IN; m: Michael Joseph Gumlock 4 Aug 1919; d: 1933 Wells County, IN)
Della Delight Ormsby (b: 18 Feb 1879 Wells County, IN; m: Thomas Calvin Guldin 23 Aug 1900; d: 4 Jan 1957 Fort Wayne, IN)
Nellie Silence Ormsby (b: 6 Aug 1881 Wells County, IN; m: Louis Edward Hall 12 Aug 1914; d: 12 Sep 1952 Fort Wayne, IN)
Jessie Irene Ormsby (b: 10 Nov 1886 Wells County, IN; m: Edwin Louis Hamje 18 Feb 1918; d: 1941)

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Nellie Silence Ormsby, Nelle Belle Lancaster, Illene Ormsby, Jack Ormsby Hall, Louis Edward Hall, and John Edson Ormsby

Nelle Belle Lancaster (b: 28 Aug 1877 Cedarville, IN; m: John Edson Ormsby 9 Aug 1895; d: 31 May 1972 Ferriday, LA) Nelle Belle Lancaster, affectionately known as “Mama Nell” by her grandkids, was born August 28, 1877, in Cedarville, Indiana. Her father, Theodore A. Lancaster, died when she was 9 years old and thus she went to live with Uncle Brent Silas Hollopeter, who was a prominent Methodist Minister near Leo, Indiana. Her mother married another Methodist minister who owned the church where he preached and also had a farm, Jeremiah Soule in 1889 (Side story: Nelle Belle was sitting in the parlor of a hotel and Jeremiah Soule started talking to her asking all kinds of questions about herself and her mother. Nell Belle related this conversation to her Uncle Brent Silas Hollopeter and found out that he knew the man as well. Jeremiah sent her mother a letter telling of meeting Nelle Belle and later came to visit, starting the courting, and eventually the marriage.). Nelle Belle was musically inclined (had only 8 lessons) and played the organ by ear, playing for many church services and funerals. As a family, Nelle Belle was raised by the Bible with morning and evening devotionals everyday. At the age of 17 in 1895, Nelle Belle married school teacher John Edson Ormsby and they lived in the Prospect neighborhood of Indiana until 1910 when husband bought and moved the barrel hoop plant to Ferriday, Mississippi where they lived. The family weathered several floods of the Mississippi River in Ferriday (1922 and 1927), John Edson died in 1927, and son Francis Gerald Ormsby moved the barrel hoop plant to Bunkie, Louisiana in 1930. At that point, Nelle Belle lived in Natchez, Mississippi until her death in 1972, though towards the end of her life, she stayed with each of her three kids, though mostly with her daughter Ilene Ormsby Byrne in Natchez.

Nelle Belle Lancaster

In her later years after Ilene was married, Nelle Belle gave up housekeeping and travelled extensively, visiting among her three children as well as Europe and every state in the United States. Mama Nell was a "lady." She didn't drink, smoke, or say bad words...but she did love the nickel slots. Son, Francis Gerald Ormsby, would give her a roll of nickels to play with which she didn't see it as gambling since it wasn't her money. Mama Nell played the slot machines in Bunkie at the Kent Court Restaurant & Motel. In those days you could have slot machines just about everywhere, just not other gambling games. The Kent Court was just south of the Bunkie Wood Products mill and had a swimming pool, a restaurant (with slots) and cabins to rent.

Nelle Belle Lancaster's parents were:

Theodore A. Lancaster (b: 1850 Manchester, OH; d: 10 Aug 1888 Summit, OH) The Lancaster family was a carriage maker from Lancaster, England. Hand written notes from great granddaughter Reta Winona Ormsby say Theodore was a good friend of Mark Twain having attended school together. Mark Twain gave Theodore a scrapbook and a pen (son of Kittie M. Lancaster, Vance Willmington family in Akron, Ohio has the pen and Myrt's family probably has the scrapbook).

Mary Virginia Hollopeter (b: 1 Sep 1854 Allen County, IN; d: 4 Mar 1897 Wells County, IN) Mary Virginia was born in 1854 in Allen County, Indiana. She first married to Theodore Lancaster August 31, 1873 and had four kids: Kittie, Nelle Belle, Myrtella, and Floyd Lancaster. After Theodore's death, Mary Virginia married Jeremiah Sowle August 29, 1889. Mary Virginia Hollopeter's parents were John Wesley Hollopeter (b: 16 Sep 1822 York, PA; d: 31 Oct 1893 Allen, IN) and Mary Kaziah Zimmerman (b: 21 Dec 1833 Bedford County, PA; d: 1 June 1910 Allen County, IN). John Wesley Hollopeter was the 2nd son (9 siblings) of Abraham Hollopeter and Lydia Myers. He was two years old when his family moved (1824) from Pennsylvania to Seneca County, Ohio where he grew into manhood. In 1845, he went to Allen County, Indiana on a prospecting trip and found it desirable, so he returned to Ohio and married first wife Virginia Welch in 1845 and they went to Indiana to establish a home. In Indiana, John Wesley Hollopeter worked at clearing the land by ax and as a carpenter. By 1847, he was able to purchase 150 acres. He was almost out of debt on the land when Virginia suffered a long and costly illness and died in 1852. Other misfortunes added to this experience and caused him to lose his farm, and everything he owned except a team and wagon. The doctor he had for Virginia sued for possession of them, but the judge refused to force John Wesley to part with them. After a time, he was able to purchase more land near Leo, Indiana where he planted 10 acres as an apple orchard. Keeping his family together, John Wesley married Mary Kaziah Zimmermann in 1852 who was sympathetic to the family as her father died when she was quite young and had to help keep her siblings together. John Wesley and Mary were Methodists, serving many years as a trustee of the church and parsonage and as a steward. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge 224 for many years.

The Hollopeter Family Record (1957) by Eva Hollopeter Ridenour and Wanda Hollopeter Burris nicely describes a lot of the early Hollopeters including

Nelle Lancaster, Francis Ormsby, Winona Ormsby, Francis Cochran = page 36
Mary Virginia Hollopeter (1854-1897) = page 36
John Wesley Hollopeter (1822-1893) = page 34
Abraham Hollopeter (1800-1869) = page 33
Andrew Hollopeter (1777-1846) = page 33
Matthias Hollopeter (1728-1799) = page 1

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Theodore Lancaster and Mary Virginia Hollopeter

Siblings of Nelle Belle Lancaster include:

Kittie M. Lancaster (b: 16 Dec 1874 Wells County, IN; m1: Decamp F. Wilmington 31 Aug 1892; m2: Charles Edward William Saul 12 May 1920; d: 24 Jan 1960 Fort Wayne, IN) Lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana with Uncle Charles
Myrtella Regina Lancaster (b: 27 Feb 1881 Summit County, OH; m: Frank W. Humbert 12 May 1903; d: 7 Dec 1940 Akron, OH)
Floyd Lancaster (b: 19 Nov 1883 Northampton Center, OH; d: 20 Nov 1883 Northampton Center, OH)

Kittie M. Lancaster 1942, Myrtella Regina from Ohio visiting Nelle Belle Lancaster

Oliver Ashton Ormsby (b: 13 Mar 1842 Mahoning County, OH; m: Jane Fisher 20 June 1863 ; d: 14 Jul 1909 Ossian, IN)

While Oliver Ashton was born in Mahoning County, Ohio, he moved around the age of 10 in 1852 with his parents to a farm in Union Township, Wells County, Indiana. Oliver married Jane Fisher in 1863 who very little is known about except that she was born in 1841 in Ohio. Siblings of Oliver Ashton Ormsby include the following:

Joseph H. Ormsby (b: 1822 Austintown, OH; m: Mary Ann Matthews 21 Jul 1845; d: 27 Aug 1863 Marion Township, IN) Died during the Civil War fighting for the Union side...Company G, 101st Infantry Regiment
George S. Ormsby (b: Aug 1825 North Jackson, OH; m1: Elizabeth Smith 15 Feb 1866; m2: Nancy Ewing; d: 21 Feb 1902 Milton Township, OH)
Abraham W. Ormsby (b: 4 Aug 1827 Jackson, OH; m1: Sarah Boothroyd 25 Dec 1849; m2: Lydia Jane Goliver 28 Dec 1898; d: 9 Mar 1906 Union Township, IN)
Sarah Ann Ormsby (b: 1829 Jackson, OH; m: Henry B Taylor 19 Sep 1850; d: 23 Nov 1899)
Ann E. Ormsby (b: 18 Dec 1833 Ohio; m: Joseph Rich about 1856; d: 1898 Zanesville, IN)
Margaret E. Ormsby (b: 29 Nov 1835 Trumbull County, OH; m: Samuel Preston Vaughn 31 Jul 1852; d: 3 May 1919 Canton, OH)
Nancy Jane Ormsby (b: 1838 Jackson Township, Ohio; d: 13 July 1924 Warren, GA)
Martha Alice Ormsby (b: 16 Jun 1838 Youngstown, OH; m: Aaron Osborn 23 May 1867; d: 25 Jun 1920 Bonners Ferry, ID)
John H. Ormsby (b: 24 May 1841 Jackson Township, OH; m1: Samantha Leeper 30 Dec 1869; m2: Jennie Ray 12 May 1875; d: 23 Apr 1902 Wells County, IN) John received his education in the common schools of Wells County, Roanoke Seminary and Fort Wayne College. He began teaching when eighteen years of age, and has taught in all twenty-two terms in the schools of Union Township. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and First Regiment Indiana Volunteers as a private, and was discharged as a Sergeant 3 July 1865. In June, 1873, he was elected superintendent of the schools of Wells County and served two years, declining a re-election. During 1880 and part of 1881 he was a teacher in the Reform School at Plainfield, Indiana. He was also in the mercantile business at Zanesville from 1869 to 1873. In the fall of 1882 he was elected clerk of the Wells Circuit Court and re-elected in 1886. He has always been a pronounced Democrat and ever alive to the interest and success of his party. He was first married to Miss Samantha Leeper, who died in September, 1872. He was married to his present wife May 12, 1875. Her maiden name was Jennie Ray, a daughter of George and Virginia (Morrison) Ray, of Richmond, Virginia. They have one child, Homer M., born November 17, 1877. He is a bright boy around whom their fondest hopes cling. Mr. and Mrs. Ormsby are members of the Presbyterian church in Bluffton, of which Mr. Ormsby is a member of time board of trustees. He is also a member of Lew Dailey Post, No. 35, G. A. R. He is a believer in the doctrine of total abstinence from all that can intoxicate. He is a popular and efficient officer, obliging and pains-taking in the discharge of his duties. His wife is intelligent, generous and charitable and is a valuable laborer in Sunday-school and church work.
William A. Ormsby (b: about 1842 Jackson, Ohio)

Jane Fisher (b: 1 Oct 1841 Ohio; m: Oliver Ashton Ormsby 20 Jun 1863; d: 13 Jul 1924 Warren, IN)

Jane Fisher

Alexander Ormsby (b: 24 Mar 1800 Trumbull County, OH; m: Nancy Ann Wolfcale 8 Apr 1820 ; d: 20 Mar 1876 Union Township, IN)

Alexander and his younger brother Joseph Ormsby both married Wolfcale siblings. Alexander married Nancy Ann Wolfcale and Joseph married Martha Wolfcale. Alexander and Nancy married in Ohio and moved to Wells County, Indiana in 1852 and settled on a farm in Union Township, where they resided until death. Alexander and Nancy had 10 kids, 5 sons and 5 daughters. Siblings for Alexander Ormsby include the following:

Joseph Ormsby (b: 1803 Austintown, OH; m: Martha Wolfcale 7 Apr 1831; d: 20 May 1870 Mahoning County, OH) Joseph Ormsby was reared a farmer and, although he had but a common school education, was an eloquent orator and a earnest advocate of the principles of the Democratic party. Joseph and Martha (Wolfcale) Ormsby were both born in Mahoning county, Ohio, lived there all their days and died there at the respective ages of sixty-seven and sixty-three years. To Joseph and Martha Ormsby there were born ten children.
Anna Margaret Ormsby (b: 1806 North Jackson, OH; m: Robert Turnbull 27 May 1834; d: 1855 Mahoning County, OH)

Nancy Ann Wolfcale (b: 12 Dec 1801 Loudoun VA; m: Alexander Ormsby8 Apr 1920; d: 17 Dec 1877 Union Township, IN) was the daughter of Jonathan Wolfcale Jr. (b: 30 Sep 1776 Loudoun, VA; d: 12 Mar 1851 Austintown, OH) and Bulinda Brickley (b: 4 Jan 1788 Loudoun, VA; d: 9 Dec 1819 Trumbull County, OH) and the granddaughter of John W. Wolfcale (b: 13 Jun 1751 Pommern, Germany; d: 1 Jul 1838 Austintown, OH) and Agnes Conard (b: 1747 Montgomery, PA; d: 13 Dec 1828 Canfield, OH). This grandfather came to Philadelphia from German at an early age in 1760, married Agnes Conard, and moved to Loudoun County, Virginia in 1776. Documentation shows that a John Wolfkill served in the 8th Virginia Regiment of the American Revolutionary War. Later John came to Ohio settling in Austintown.

George Ormsby (b: 1774 County Mayo, Ireland; m: Sarah Graham (or McClellan) 1797 ; d: 8 Nov 1871 Jackson Township, OH)

George Ormsby came to America from Ireland in 1793 when he was 18 years old and settled in Mahoning County, Ohio about 1805 arriving on horseback. There he married a Scotch lady, Sarah Graham (or McClellan) in 1797 in Maryland. Sarah was a cousin of Civil War General George B. McClellan. George and Sarah made a visit to Ireland, remained there about three years, and then returned to home in Ohio, where he died at the age of ninety-seven and a half years. Possibly served as Army Captain in War of 1812 in Caleb Baldwin's Company? George’s parents and ancestry are not clear. There are rumors that it may have been Thomas Ormsby and Elizabeth Rutledge, but the math does not work out. Regardless, the Ormsby family came from England, Scottland before that, and Scandinavia before even that. There was a castle called “The Orme” on an estate called Ormsby in what is now Ormsby Parish, in Lincolnshire, England. How they are all connected is unclear. And ultimately, many Ormsby family stories go back to the Legend of Orm.

Legend of Orm

The father of Orm lived on the Scandinavian Peninsula and owned large tracts of land. He had several wives, which was normal for the wealthy who could afford large families and thus resulted in a large family of boys. As the boys grew to manhood, the father followed the custom of those times and gave each of his male offspring a portion of the land he owned. When the youngest and last son, Orm reached manhood, there was no more land requiring him to seek and forge for himself. It is said that he used to wield a sword with one hand that any other man would have difficulty in wielding with two hands. It is also said he crushed the skull of a large bear that attacked him with one blow of his fist. It was Orm's boast that he could wrestle and defeat any two strong men of his day. About the year 750 AD, Orm joined a Viking crew under the leadership of an old, experienced Viking, who plundered the coast of Scotland. At this time, Orm in his prime, must have been about thirty years of age. Nearing the coast of Scotland, the Scots came out in their own ships to give battle. The Viking Leader was fearful that the Scots were too strong to overpower, and wishing to spur his men to greater effort, called them together and promised that he would grant the land of the captured territory to the first man who put his foot on Scottish soil. The battle with the Scots was fought about a mile from the coast of Scotland. When Orm's ship came alongside of one of the Scottish ships, Orm was the first to board, and it was said, that with one blow of his mighty sword, he killed the three leading Scots. He had killed about six of the Scots when he was overcome by one of his uncontrollable fits of rage. Flinging aside his sword, he rushed at his nearest Scot and, lifting him high in the air he bludgeoned the head on the side of the ship. However, in doing so he neglected other Scot fighters, and as he turned to defend himself, the broad axe of the Scottish Chieftain severed his leg just above the knee. Not to be beaten, the story has it, that ORM picked up the Scottish chief in his arms and “bear-hugging” him, crushed him to death. At the end of the battle, Orm and his crew defeated the Scottish Chieftains boat, which outnumbered them three to one. With rude surgery, the Vikings succeeded in bandaging Orm's leg as the night was drawing near. Orm insisted on taking leadership of his crew the next morning despite his frightful injury and as the Viking ship neared the coast, Orm picked up his severed leg and threw it on the shore before the others had the opportunity to land, thus claiming the reward for having been the first man of the crew to put his foot on Scottish soil. The Viking Chief kept his word and became ruler of the captured territory. After subjugating the Scottish people, Orm settled in the new country. After a few months, he later went back to Scandinavia and returned with a wife which was different from most of his crew who selected fresh wives from amongst the wives of Scottish Chieftains who had been slain in battles. Orm only had one wife and as far as the records show he remained true to her during the whole of his life. After making the settlement he never went on a Viking crusade again and it is believed that he lived to a considerable age. Although he was much handicapped by the loss of his leg, he was still reckoned one of the strongest men in the land. Orm had seven children, three boys and four girls. The girls married and nothing further is heard of them. Two of the sons, in accordance with the Viking custom went away to far distant lands and no true record of them is known, although it is believed that one of these Vikings penetrated into the Mediterranean Sea and went over land to India. A fellow named Ormus Kahn, who as a border tribesman in the North of India of Pathan ancestry, later fought for the British in the Great war was reputed to be a direct lineal descendant of one of Orm’s children. But although there are many legends to this effect, little is known of this branch of the family. Of the other two of Orm’s children, both married and had children although one died in battle at an early age. The other son was a man of tremendous strength and fighting ability like his father. It is definitely known that he had four children and that the family gradually migrated south towards what is now Lincolnshire. During this migration, these descendants populated many parts of the North of England. Born in 965, or thereabouts, it was an heir, and prominent thane, retaining the family name, Orm, and holding a number of significant estates, that gave his name to Ormside, Ormskirk, and Ormesby from which descended the Ormsby clan. Later the "Bey" "By" "Bee" was added meaning the place over which Orm ruled and the name was changed to Ormsby meaning Orm's place. The settlement grew and prospered, and after many generations they quarreled with the government of England. After considerable fighting the King of England offered to grant a title and land in Lincolnshire to the Ormsby ruler if he would relinquish his control, and live peaceable as an English subject. Ormsby accepted and moved to Lincolnshire, England. The remaining Ormsby tribe scattered and nothing further is known of them. The English family however, became quite prominent, but little worthy of note was heard from them until the middle of the 11th century, Sir William de Ormsby. [edited from text from www.geni.com and www.surnameguide.com]

The Ormsby crest is a man’s arm holding in the hand the human armored leg as though he were about to throw it. Motto is Fortis Qui Prudens (Bravery with Prudence). The name “ORM” originally from the "SCOTS" word meaning Elm tree, or as applied to a person, would mean one who comes from a place by or near an elm tree. The BEE or BY means a place hence the names Ormsbee, Ormsby, or Ormsbey were derived from "One who comes from Orm's place. [edited from text from www.geni.com and www.surnameguide.com]

Legend of Orm

While the Ormsby family originated from Ireland and likely ultimately Scandinavia, there was significant German heritage on the maternal side of the family thru several generations, including early settlers in the Colonies of America. Germantown, Pennsylvania was founded by thirteen German, Mennonite families from Krefeld, Germany who purchased 1800 acres of land from William Penn. The Mennonite faith/church was part of the second wave of the Protestant Reformation, Anabaptism, and were heavily and persecuted by Roman Catholics. These families left Krefeld in search for religious freedom and sailed July 6, 1683 on the ship "Concord” and arrived in what became Germantown, Pennsylvania on October 6, 1683.

Theiss Matthias Dohrs (b: 18 Sep 1614 Kaldenkirchen, Germany; d: 1663 Jülich, Germany) married to Agnes Neesgen Op Den Graeff (b: 1 Sep 1614 Krefeld, Germany; d: 20 Aug 1691 Krefeld, Germany) Also known by names Matthys Doors and Theis Doors. Mathais was a shopkeeper or "retail merchant" according to records of Kaldenkirchen in 1652. He lived in a little house on a small piece of land near the town wall, about a quarter acre of arable land and alongside it a quarter acre of fishery rights, worth together about 350 Reichstalers. Sometime before 1655, Theiss Doors left the Catholic Church and became a Mennonite and an effort was made to expel him from Kaldenkirchen by a fine of 100 gold guilders for some violation. He was unable to pay the fine, and the authorities confiscated the goods in his shop. The bailiff of Kaldenkirchen entered the Doors home, and got into an argument with Agnes Doors, who was soon to give birth to a baby, abused her, and struck her hard in the face. Charges were filed, and the case was eventually taken before Elector Philipp Wilhelm, Duke of Julich, who decreed that Theiss could stay on in Kaldenkirchen and was not to be further molested. Theis and Agnes Doors was a parent or parent in law to many of the founders of Germantown, Philadelphia.

Arents Klincken (b: 1644 Dalem, Netherlands; d: Feb 1708 Germantown, PA) married to Niske Agnes Jansen (b: 1661 Gladbach, Germany; d: about 1710 Worcester, PA) Aret Klincken came from Holland with William Penn in 1682 and built the first six-story house ever raised in Germantown. Penn was present and partook of the raising dinner. Aret was a member for Germantown’s Religious Society of Friendsand due to his religious principles, he declined to be burgessin Germantown in 1695. On Dec. 30, 1701 he was appointed overseer to collect subscriptions and arrange with a school teacher to start the first school in Germantown.

Thonis Dennis Conrad Kunders (b: 1653 Gladbach, Germany; d: 30 Dec 1729 Germantown, PA) married to Helene Lijntijen Tyson Dohrs (b: 26 May 1650 Kaldenkirchen, Germany; d: Sep 1729 Germantown, PA) Thones Kunders’ parents, Coentgen Lenssen Coenis and Anna Entgen, were originally Heckerhofestate owners in Gladbach-Damm, Germany. Because they were Mennonites, the government of Julich-Berg ordered them, on 30 December 1652 to sell their possessions and leave the land within two years and either they could not or would not sell and entrusted his brother-in-law, Peter Kenten and his sister Giertgen with the management of the property and fled to Krefeld, Germany. In 1669, the government of Julich-Berg ordered a commission to seize the possessions left behind by the banished Mennonites and also to find if any of "that Damned sect" still remained in the land and it was reported. Coentgen, residing in Krefeld, still owned property, which was eventually sold after his death around 1691. Son Thones Kunders, was born and spent his early life at Krefeld, Germany, where he worked as a blue dryer (used blue dye to lighten textiles like calico during production or laundering). Thones and Elin Kunder were part of the Germantown settlers building a home on what is now Germanton Avenue. His name was anglicized to Conrad with different first names noted of Dennis and Thomas. In 1688, five years after founding Germantown, Pastorius, Gerret Hendericks, Derick Updegraeff and Abraham Updengraef gathered at Thones Kunders's house and wrote a two-page condemnation of slavery and sent it to the governing bodies of their Quaker church, the Society of Friends, becoming the birthplace of the anti-slavery movement in America. The petition was mainly based upon the Bible's Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Though the Quaker establishment took no immediate action, the 1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery was a clear and forceful argument against slavery and initiated the process of banning slavery in the Society of Friends (1776) and Pennsylvania (1780).

Cunraed Cunraeds (b: 17 May 1678 Krefeld, Germany; d: 10 Mar 1747 Germantown, PA) married 31 Jul 1704 Germantown, PA to Eunike Anna Klincken (b: 4 Jun 1683 Krefeld, Germany; d: Aug 1721 Germantown, PA) Cunraed and brothers Madtis and John, were naturalized February 20, 1713. Documentation shows he was living in New Bristol or Skippack in 1782 and later in Matacbin in 1730. Despite being married twice by Friends Ceremony, there is evidence that be belonged to the Reformed Church in Worcester known as “Wentz.” Spent most of his married life in Worcester Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania where he owned 100 acres of land.

John Hatfield (b: 1686 Pennsylvania; d: 1756 Montgomery, PA) married Margaret Elizabeth Travis (b: 1693 Montgomery, PA; d: 27 Jun 1750 Pennsylvania) Hatfield is the anglicized name from German name Hartsvelder, which is not the same Hatfield family that produced the famous outlaws as that family originates from England. Bought 198 acres near Philadelphia in 1717.

Anthony Conard (b: 1706 Gwynedd Meeting, PA; d: 8 Mar 1747 Worcester, PA) married 24 Feb 1733 to Sarah Hatfield (b: 1712 Gwynedd, PA; d: 1762 Loudoun, VA) Father of Agnes Conrad, the wife of John Wolfcale Sr. Anthony was spoke of as being a great hunter, spending a long life in such pursuits. It was said that he would have the garret of his house filled in winter with wild game, and had it marked with the date that he killed it, so as to eat it in due succession as an epicure. He would wade the Wissahickon in the depth of winter and finally contracted gout and rheumatism, which so ossified the flesh of his knuckles, that he could scrape chalk from them when old.

Peter Brickley (b: 1748 Pennsylvania; d: 19 Sep 1804 Loysville, PA) married to Barbara Lehman (b: 1750; d: 1818) Mathias Brickley from Karlsruhe, Baden, Germany and wife Elizabeth Fix from Burrn, Baden, Germany had three sons: Michael, Paulus, and Peter Brickley. Michael and Paulus were born in Germany, when the family emigrated to Pennsylvania where Peter Brickley was born. Peter took the oath of allegiance to the State of Pennsylvania on May 29, 1778 and was a Revolutionary War Soldier in Captain Bretz's company of Berks County, Pennsylvania. Four of the children they raised were adopted in 1779 from Peter's brother Paulus and his wife Catherine passed away and left the children orphaned. Amish residents in Berks County confirmed that the original surname "Bruckle" is pronounced Brickley.

Frederick Roose (b: 5 Mar 1712 Württemberg, Germany; d: 24 Mar 1785 York County, PA) married in 1733 in Warrington Township, PA to Christina Knitson (b: 9 Jan 1716 Württemberg, Germany; d: 28 Mar 1785 Warrington Township, PA) Frederick was born in Germany in 1712 and came to America on the ship "Osgood” which landed at Philadelphia on Sept. 29, 1750. Friderick Roose died in 1785 and wife Christina died four days later…love or sick? They were buried in the Bentz Burying Ground, which was also the burial place of son in law Matthias Hollopeter. November 1980 their gravestones were removed from the unprotected Bentz Burial Ground and in 1981 they were erected in the Quaker Cemetery in Wellsville, Pennsylvania, alongside the Quaker Meeting House. Alternate last name spelling = Ruse. (related to Hollopeters who was the maternal side of Nelle Belle Lancaster who married John Edson Ormsby)

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