TIME TRAVEL in Toledo, Ohio -- WEEK of May 1st - May 5th 2023 (Copy)
Time Travel in Toledo, Ohio
with Kelley Amstutz, The Genealogy Investigator
The old Adkins Home, East Broadway and Oakdale, 1884
The Adkins Family
For the month of MAY, I really wanted to HIGHLIGHT my own family heritage and I am starting off with the:
ADKINS BRANCH
Joseph Adkins Jr. (1834-1897)
3x Great Grandfather
While the Adkins line for this branch begins much further back, Joseph Adkins Jr. was the ancestor who, at the age of eighteen made the journey across the Atlantic to visit his uncle, Moses Adkins, who lived in Massilon, Ohio.
Joseph was the son of Joseph Adkins Sr. (1799-1870) and Ruth Coy (1806-1881). He was born in 1834 in Bourton, Oxfordshire, England, and one of five siblings.
Joseph was often referred to as a restless young man, so it was not of any pause that once he arrived in Ohio, he soon began to wander about, finding his way to Toledo, Ohio, where he would meet and marry Harriet Hartshorne on the 15th of January 1858. Joseph Jr. and Harriet would settled for a short three months at the home at the old Anderson Place.
They moved from the old Anderson Place to the school lot on the Charles Coy Farm on East Broadway. This location would be significant to their history.
They would live on the Coy Farm for a short time before moving to the log home on the farm of George Coy, where they would welcome their three oldest children to their now growing family.
In around 1865, Joseph Jr. and Harriet ended up buying the property on East Broadway from Charles Coy and would end up living in that home for the next 55 years.
The Adkins Homestead, East Broadway and Oakdale.
It is in this home [below] that my very own 2nd great-grandmother, Emma (Emily) Adkins-Bigley (1885-1932) would be born, the last of 11 children.
The Adkins family were living the life of all the early pioneers, maneuvering their way through the Black Swamp that was their farm, making it a rich gardening proposition.
In 1897, Joseph Jr. fell to paralysis, and after a three month illness he would pass away on the 30th of July 1897.
Harriet took over the homestead, working the land, trying to make way for their large family after the death of her husband.
She was just a few weeks shy of her 91st birthday when she passed on the 18th of July 1934 in Toledo, Ohio. She was laid to rest next to her husband in Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio.
Emma (Emily) Adkins - Bigley (1885-1932)
2x Great-Grandmother
Emma (Emily) Adkins - Bigley (1885-1932)
Emma Adkins was born on the 1st of January 1885 in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio to Joseph Adkins Jr. and Harriet Hartshorne-Adkins. Emma was the last child born out of eleven children.
When Emma was just fifteen years old, she was living at 1525 E Broadway (and Oak St.) in Toledo, Ohio. Her father had passed away three and a half years earlier and her mother, Harriet, was living as the head of the household, gardening. Emma was attending school, in the 10th grade.
In 1910, Emma was 25 years old, still living with her mother, Harriet, helping her mother garden on the farm. A term “Truck Garden” is listed, which tells us that they were bartering their fruits and vegetables to earn their income. Harriet’s granddaughter, Grace Adkins, who is 19 years old is also living with the two women at this time in the same home at 1525 E. Broadway.
Emma and Chester Bigley
On the 25th of December 1911, Emma Adkins marries Chester Obediah Bigley (1883-1976) in Lucas County, Ohio.
[Read more about the BIGLEY Family HERE]
In 1912, Chester and Emily welcome their first child, my great-grandmother, Laverta Maraget Bigley- Corum (1912-2002).
In 1920, Chester and Emily welcome their second daughter, Dorothy Bigley-Foldvary (1920 - 1982).
Laverta Bigley-Corum (1912-2002) and her sister, Dorothy Bigley-Foldvary (1920 - Unk)
In 1920, Emma is now married at the age of 34, with two young children and a husband, Chester Bigley. They are living at the family home on East Broadway with Harriet, who is 76 years old. Chester is supporting the household with his work as a Foreman at Structural Iron, the bridge building company that he has been employed with since the age of 16.
The family stays on the homestead into the 1930’s, when Emma, now 45, and her husband, Chester, 46, are living with her mother, Harriet (86) and Emma and Chester’s two children, Laverta (17) and Dorothy (10).
Tillman Corum (1909-1986) and Laverta Bigley (1912-2002)
Shortly after this census was taken, my great-grandmother, Laverta, finds herself in Clay County, Missouri, where on the 8th of December 1930, she married my great-grandfather, Tillman Corum (1909-1986) before heading back to Toledo, Ohio to settle down.
Shortly after this census was taken, my great-grandmother, Laverta, finds herself in Clay County, Missouri, where on the 8th of December 1930, she married my great-grandfather, Tillman Corum (1909-1986) before heading back to Toledo, Ohio to settle down.
In 1931, Laverta and Tillman Corum welcome their first child, a daughter, who is Chester and Emma’s first grandchild.
Unfortunately, Emma had been battling a long illness for 12 years and lost her battle after her sudden death on the 17th of July 1932 in Toledo, Ohio. She would never meet her other grandchildren that were born after her death.
Various Adkins Family Photos
They lived in this home for nearly three months, before moving to the school lot on the Charles Coy Farm on East Broadway. They would move again to a log cabin owned by George Coy and settle until after the Civil War. When Joseph returned from the War, about the year 1865, the family bought the property on East Broadway from Charles Coy and settled from that date for fifty years, until the land was purchased by the board of education. The terms of this deal with the new school was Harriet would lose the land the original home sat upon to make way for the school building, but she would retain the homestead with arrangements to move the house to a separate location on East Broadway, land she also owns.
Old Newspaper Article - I inherited this copy so I am uncertain about the date, but I believe it is from The Toledo Blade.
Are you curious about your #familyhistory?
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Listen to the PODCAST:
CRIME TRAVEL IN TOLEDO, OHIO
This podcast is for the TRUE CRIME fanatic who is interested in old crime stories taking place in and around Toledo, Ohio. Caution: Some of these crimes are GRAPHIC!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!
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