TIME TRAVEL in Toledo, Ohio -- WEEK of May 1st - May 5th 2023
Time Travel in Toledo, Ohio
with Kelley Amstutz, The Genealogy Investigator
The BIGLEY Family
For the month of MAY, I really wanted to HIGHLIGHT my own family heritage and I am starting off with the:
BIGLEY BRANCH
Louis Bigley (1856-1895)
3x Great Grandfather
Allow me to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Louis Bigley, my 3rd great-grandparents. They have ties to both Wood County, Ohio and Toledo, Ohio.
Photo courtesy of K. Amstutz Family Collection | This photo shows Louis and Margaret with my 2x great-grandfather, Chester and sister, Hattie, circa 1886.
Louis, my 3x great-grandfather was born on the 26th of August 1856 in Risingsun, Wood County, Ohio to Obediah Bigley (1805-1888) who owned a tannery in Republic, Ohio, and Elizabeth Bowerman Bigley (1817-1894). Louis died at the age of 38 on the 7th of May 1895 in Toledo, Ohio. He was laid to rest at Graham Cemetery in Wood County, Ohio.
Obediah Bigley (1805-1888) and Elizabeth Bowerman-Bigley (1817-1894)
Parents of Louis Bigley (1856-1895)
Louis Bigley - 3x-great-grandfather (1856-1895)
Margaret Jane Hunt- Bigley- Smith (1865-1948)
3x Great-Grandmother
Louis' wife, Margaret Jane Hunt - Bigley - Smith (1865-1948) was born on the 26th of September 1865 in Wayne, Wood County, Ohio. She was the daughter of Charles Hunt and Ann Rumbaugh. Margaret's father was from a Quaker family that had settled in Columbiana County, Ohio, and Charles Hunt was also a Civil War veteran in the 144th O.N.G.
Margaret Jane Hunt - Bigley - Smith
Charles Hunt (1831-1898) and Ann Rumbaugh-Hunt (1831-1922)
Parents of Margaret Jane Hunt-Bigley-Smith
Margaret and Louis went on to have four (4) children, Chester Obediah Bigley (my 2x great-grandfather) (1883-1976), Hattie Bell Bigley (1885-1887), Charles Harrison Bigley (1888-1972), and Mary Elizabeth Bigley - Harrison (1890-1981).
Margaret would remarry a Mr. William York Smith (1872-1963) sometime after the death of Louis in 1895 and raise the children in Toledo, Ohio.
Chester Bigley (1883-1976)
2x Great Grandfather, Chester O. Bigley (1883-1976)
This brings us to my 2x Great Grandparents, Chester Obediah Bigley (1883-1976) and Emma “Emily” Adkins-Bigley (1885-1932).
Chester O. Bigley and Emma Adkins-Bigley
At the age of 16, Chester, son of Margaret Hunt-Bigley-Smith and the late Louis Bigley, was living in the household of his mother’s new husband, William Smith at 1519 OakDale Avenue in Toledo, Ohio and working as a Day Laborer for Bridge Works. He would end up working his way up the ladder to become Foreman of this company by 1920, allowing him to own the family home at 1620 East Broadway in Toledo, Ohio.
On December 25th, 1911 Chester and Emma married at the age of 28 and 24 respectively. At the time of their marriage, Chester was living at 1775 E. Broadway and Emma at 1620 E. Broadway, leading me to believe that they were probably meeting due to living near one another.
Emma Adkins (1885-1932)
2x Great-Grandmother
Emma Adkins (1885-1932) 3x Great-Grandmother
Emma Adkins was the daughter of a name that some might recognize in the East Toledo area…
Joseph Adkins (1834-1897) and Harriet Hartshone-Adkins (1843-1934).
The Adkins family had a homestead at the corner of East Broadway and Oakdale in Toledo, Ohio, where Oakdale school now sits. Joseph Adkins was the son of Joseph Adkins who immigrated from Oxfordshire, England, buying an estate with his wife, Ruth Coy-Adkins in 1837 in America. Our Joseph came from a large family, and after wandering about for some time, he came to Toledo where he met Harriet Hartshorne. They were married on January 15, 1858 and began their lives in the area at their modest home in the old Anderson Place.
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.
In 1912, my Great-Grandmother, Laverta Margaret Bigley-Corum was born on the 2nd of October in Toledo, Ohio to Chester and Emma Bigley.
In 1920, Laverta’s sister, Dorothy was born in Toledo, Ohio to Chester and Emma Bigley.
Great-Grandma Laverta (1912-2002) and her sister, Dorothy (1920-Unk)
In 1930, Chester and his family, including his mother-in-law, Harriet Adkins, who is 86 years old, are living at 1658 East Broadway in Toledo, Ohio. Chester is 46 now, renting the family home, and working as a Billing Clerk for Bridge Works. He seems to move around within this company every ten years or so.
A big event happens on the 17th of July 1932, when Emma Adkins-Bigley passes away. According to Emily’s obit from 1932, she was battling a 12 year long illness and died suddenly at home, 1658 East Broadway. She was a member of the Oakdale School Parent-Teachers Association, Ladies Auxiliary to troop No. 77 Boy Scouts of America and very active in the East Broadway Neighborhood house and member of the Oakdale U. Church. Emma was 47 years old when she died.
My great-grandma, Laverta, was only 20 years old when she lost her mother and newly married, as well. Dorothy was only 12 years old at the time of Emma’s death.
Chester Bigley socializing.
Chester would go on to marry two more times after the untimely death of Emma. In 1940, Chester is living with his 2nd wife, Hazel at 1775 East Broadway, working as a Glass Finisher, owning his home. In 1950, he is still working at the age of 66 at the Grain Elevator Factory as a Laborer. He is living on a farm in Oregon, Ohio at this time still living with his wife, Hazel.
Chester Bigley (1883-1976)
Hazel passed away in 1961.
In 1964, Chester would marry once more to a woman from Decatur, Indiana, Bertha Rinehart-Sheets-Bigley. Bertha moved from Indiana to the 1700 block of South Coy Road in Oregon, Ohio to marry Chester. She passed away in 1970, at the age of 88, and had moved back to Indiana after 5 years, leaving Chester in Oregon, Ohio for 1 year prior to her passing. He was still surviving at her death.
Chester Bigley lived to the age of 92 yeas old, passing away on the 19th of May 1976 in Oregon, Ohio. He was laid to rest in Willow Cemetery in Oregon, Ohio.
Laverta Bigley-Corum (1912-2002) and Tillman Corum (1909-1986)
Laverta Bigley-Corum (1912-2002)
Great-Grandmother
This brings us to the FINAL chapter of my Bigley Family, my great-grandmother, Laverta Bigley-Corum. Laverta was born on the 2nd of October 1912 in Toledo, Ohio to Chester O. Bigley and Emma Adkins. She was the oldest of two children born to Chester and Emma, and grew up in East Toledo, Ohio.
On the 8th of December 1930, Laverta married my great grandfather, Tillman Corum (1909-1986) in Jackson, Kansas City, Clay County, Missouri. Laverta was 18 years old and I haven’t the faintest idea WHY she was in Missouri or how she met Tillman. An interesting find is that Laverta lists her age as 21 and Tillman as 22 on the marriage application when they were both 18 and 19 years old respectively.
Laverta and Tillman would have three (3) children, two girls and a boy, one of which is my relation.
In 1940, Tillman is 31 years old and the head of the household, working as a glass worker for the local glass factory - LOF. The family is living on Fassett Street in Toledo, Ohio. In 1950, Tillman is working as a Grinder at a Glass Factory, LOF, Laverta is also working as a Glass Worker at the Glass Factory, LOF, and one of their children who is living at home is also working as a clerk.
Tillman would leave this earth very young, in 1986 at the age of
Great-Grandma Laverta Bigley-Corum (1912-2002)
What I remember about great grandma Corum - her tiny voice and her giggle. We would play the piano in the basement and she would sit and listen and giggle. She was always smiling, too.
Laverta would carry on to the age of 89, passing away on the 25th of April 2002 in Georgetown, South Carolina. At the time of her passing she was survived by all three (3) of her and Tillman’s children, 11 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.
She was laid to rest alongside her husband, Tillman, at Restlawn Memorial Park in Toledo, Ohio.
Misc. photos of the BIGLEY Family
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Thank you for allowing me to share my BIGLEY FAMILY branch. I still have so many research questions and more work to be done on this branch, but with this side of my family I seem to have an abundance of photographs, which are SO special to me, personally.
Until next week!
~Kelley Amstutz
The Genealogy Investigator
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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!