Ohio Genealogy Conference & Research

I am just now getting caught up on lots of projects. So I thought since I had been going through the Ohio research I gathered back in April I would tell you a little about our trip. In April my sister and I flew to Cleveland, Ohio for the Ohio Genealogy Society Conference at Sandusky, Ohio. Several of our paternal lines that include, Francis, Batson, Holmes, and Dick migrated from Ohio to California in the years following the discovery of gold in California. So we had planed to travel to the area they left (Muskingum County, Ohio) after the conference to do a little in person research.

Well I thought I would be able to write something each day during the Conference. Wow what a surprise. It was four full days, jam packed with some excellent speakers on everything imaginable that a genealogist may be interested in. After the Conference we were able to take a lazy day and catch up on our social media. The following day we were headed out to the Ohio State Society Library in Belleville. And then we planned to head down to Zanesville to see where our ancestors had lived before the 1850s.

John Batson our 2x great grandfather was a potter. The area around Zanesville was abundant in clay and quite a center for pottery. I was looking forward to visiting the Ohio Clay Museum south of Zanesville and the Roseville area.

First we spent a couple of days in Bellville at the Ohio Genealogy Society Library. We made lots of copies of related material that were available in their Library. Everyone in Ohio was very helpful and accommodating. The library was only about a mile down from our hotel but since we did not have a driver we were able to get a ride from the husband of one of the hotel staff.

Al was so nice and agreed to come back for us at 5:00 when the library closed. About 4:30 that day the tornado warning alarms went off on every phone in the place, alerting us to a tornado in the area. The Library staff suggested we all move to the microfilm room where we would be safest. The main section of the library offered beautiful full walls of glass that provided great light and views of the fields that surrounded the library. Not so good in a Tornado.

The microfilm room was small and filled with everyone checking to see exactly where the tornado was and where it was headed. I was thinking, ” well Al is not coming to get us now.” At 5 o’clock we still didn’t know if the all clear was given but Al arrived right on time and took us back to our hotel. We really appreciated his coming. That was our excitement for the day.

On the Drive from Belleville to Zanesville we asked our driver to take a slight side trip to the Hopewell Ceremonial earthworks at Newark, Ohio. We were able to visit the Great Circle Earthworks and museum. These earthworks were built by Native Americans two thousand years ago. They created eight earthworks in southern and central Ohio. They were ceremonial gathering places that held great meaning to the indigenous people throughout America. Artifacts that have been found here came from many distant regions that illustrate the distance our indigenous ancestors traveled to be part of the ceremonies that took place at these earthworks. This was awe inspiring. Having been to New Grange in Ireland I had campaigned to visit the Great Circle earthworks. I do believe our driver was also glad to learn about the Native American history of Ohio. To learn more for yourself visit: http://ancientohiotrail.org/sites/newark

Zanesville, Ohio was our next stop and while we were located in a fairly good size town Madeleine and I decided to rent a car for the few days we were to be there. We wanted to drive out to Mount Sterling and Hopewell to visit the areas that John Batson and William Francis lived. I also wanted to visit Roseville and hopefully see some typical Roseville and Ohio pottery.

Our first outing was to the County Courthouse to find what records were available for all our ancestors that lived in the county. I also discovered that my cousin Ret’s Jennings family lived just down the road in Perry county and may have also been in Muskingum County. This first day I and the staff helped make lots of copies from the court record books. I was copying everything for a: Batson, Dick, Francis, Holmes, Lawrence, and Redman. I knew they were not all our direct line but may contain clues, I did not have the luxury to read through every single record. The following research day was spent at the Zanesville Library were the Muskingum County Genealogical Society is housed.

One of my favorite discoveries was that John R. Batson was listed in a publication on Muskingum County Pottery. This book lists William Batson Sr., his three sons including John and two of John’s boys who were all potters at one time in their lives. There is photo of a John R. Batson’s pot (1850-1880) and one showing his mark. I just had to have this book. They did not have them for sale but it was available online. It is now in my personal library. A wonderful addition to my family history. Unfortunately none of the pottery works were open while we were there.

Our last stop before leaving Ohio was to the Green Lawn Cemetery outside of Columbus where John R. Batson and his wife Sarah Jane (Dick) Batson were buried.