Elidia Rebecca Ritter Mark; Ohio Mom

Elidia Rebecca Ritter Mark

30 July 1854 OH – 28 August 1912 OH

My Great Great Grandmother

Elidia Rebecca Ritter Mark & children in OH

Elidia Rebecca Ritter was the daughter of Isaac Ritter & Isabell Fisher. She was the fourth of 12 children. Her siblings were: Lovina B., John William, Mary Catherine, Barbary Ann, Amos, Elizabeth, Eslie D., Anthony Casper, Matilda Jane, Philip & an infant Ritter. In 1860 the Isaac Ritter family was in Wayne Twp., Wayne, OH. Isaac was a carpenter.[1] In 1870 they were in Chester Twp.[2]

Elidia Rebecca Ritter married William Mark on 20 April 1878 in Cedar Valley, Wayne, Ohio.[3]  She was his second wife. In 1880 they were living in Chester Township in Wayne County.[4] William was a 36 year old day laborer. He and Elidia Rebecca had five children at home. In 1900 William and Elidia Rebecca owned their home with no mortgage.[5] He was a farm laborer who was unemployed for six months that year. Seven children were at home, between the ages of 22 and 3 years old. Providing for seven children and being unemployed for half the year must have been difficult. Granddaughter, Ivy (Mark) Brown remembered the small home in Chester. She said,

I remember their place. It wasn’t a very big place but they always had a good garden and a lot of chickens. Chickens were out back. In those days there was a lot of hunting. Like rabbit, turkey, wild turkey and such things. They had a lot of fishing. There was a big creek right by their house. They could fish.[6]

After William died in 1904 Elidia Rebecca applied for a pension to help support herself and her children. She received $10.00 a month and $2.00 per child under 16 [She had 4]. At some later date, this was increased to $12.00 a month. She received her last payment 4 June 1912.[7]

Her obituary was entitled "Mother of 11 Children Died Wednesday Night":

"Mrs. Rebecca Mark died at her home one mile south of Overton at 7 o'clock, Wednesday evening.  She had been ailing for a long time with cancer, which caused her death.  She is survived by the following children: George, William, Amos, Guy, Charles, James, Mary, Elva, Margaret Mark and Mrs. Emma Pfeiffer of Wayne County and Thomas Mark of Medina County. Funeral services will be held from the late home at ten o'clock, Friday morning.  Interment will be made in the Church of God cemetery east of Overton."[8]

Elidia Rebecca (Ritter) Mark & her husband share a tombstone in Overton Church of God Cemetery, row 7[9]^,[10],[11]. There’s a large flowering shrub that reaches over the tombstone in the spring. An American flag is proudly planted in front of the tombstone to show that William was a veteran.[12]

Elidia, William & Family:

1 William Mark b: 26 May 1844 Wooster, Wayne, OH, d: 21 Nov 1904 Chester, Wayne, OH

... + Elidia Rebecca Ritter b: 30 Jul 1854 Chester, Wayne, OH, m: 20 Apr 1878 Cedar Valley, Wayne, OH, d: 28 Aug 1912 in Chester, Wayne, OH

......2 William M. Mark b: 12 Feb 1877 Cedar Valley, Wayne, OH, d: Aft. 1920

...... + Alice Leota Heacock b: 3 Oct 1880 Ashland, OH, m: 19 Oct 1899 Wooster, Wayne, OH

......2 George Washington Mark b: 1 Apr 1878 Wayne, OH, d: 16 Oct 1938 Chester, Wayne, OH

...... + Elizabeth Shifferly b: 10 Oct 1881 Plain Twp., Wayne, OH, m: 20 Nov 1901 Cedar Valley, Wayne, OH, d: 3 Sep 1949 Chester, Wayne, OH

......2 Thomas Kenneth Mark b: 19 Jul 1879 in Wooster, Wayne, OH, d: 12 Feb 1975 Wadsworth, Medina, OH

...... + Nancy Regina Victoria Gruissy b: 31 Jan 1879 Sharon, Medina, OH, m: 28 Jan 1903 Medina, OH, d: 24 May 1959 Wadsworth, Medina, OH

......2 Margaret Maude Mark b: 6 Jan 1881 Chester, Wayne, OH, d: 10 Jan 1964 Wayne, OH

...... + Ralph Clayton Kauffman b: 8 Nov 1877 Wayne, OH, m: 28 Aug 1937  Wayne, OH, d: 12 Nov 1968

...... + Samuel Martin Jolliff b: 8 Dec 1871 Wayne, OH, m: 10 Mar 1898 OH, d: 28 Jan 1927

......2 Emma Jane Mark b: 27 Apr 1882 Wayne, OH, d: 9 Dec 1961 Wooster, Wayne, OH

...... + Alfred C. Pfeifer b: 23 Feb 1880 Grafton, Lorain, OH, m: 30 Dec 1902 Lagrange, Lorain, OH, d: 8 Apr 1968

...... + Elmer Howard Wilson b: 10 Oct 1879 NJ, d: 12 Jul 1959 New Castle, Delaware

......2 William Hercules Mark b: 30 Apr 1884 Wayne, OH, d: 12 Aug 1929 Congress, Wayne, OH

......2 Mary Jeanette Mark b: 28 Feb 1886 Chester, Wayne, OH, d: 6 May 1940 Berea, Cuyahoga, OH

...... + John Rickert Shaw b: 13 Jan 1886, m: 12 Jun 1912, d: c. 1984

......2 Amos Martin Mark b: 21 Jun 1888 Chester, Wayne, OH, d: 16 Jun 1969 Wayne, OH

...... + Lillian Myrtle Hoverstock b: 25 Apr 1896 Chester, Wayne, OH, m: 28 Apr 1914 Overton, Wayne, OH, d: 10 Oct 1975 Wooster, Wayne, OH

......2 Eslie Guy Mark b: 2 Dec 1890 Chester, Wayne, OH, d: 10 May 1972 Medina, Medina, OH

...... + Golda Mae Warner b: 22 Sep 1902 Lodi, Medina, OH, m: 15 Apr 1922, d: 25 Mar 1982 Lodi, Medina, OH

......2 Charles Forest Mark b: 2 May 1892 Chester, Wayne, OH, d: 30 Apr 1967 OH

...... + Bertha Flickinger b: 2 Mar 1904 Wayne, OH, m: 2 Jun 1923 Overton, Wayne, OH, d: 01 Jul 2000 Wooster, Wayne, OH

......2 Elva Gale Mark b: 28 Jun 1894 Wayne, OH, d: 12 Jan 1959 Wooster, Wayne, OH

...... + Myron A. Boreman b: Abt. 1893 Wayne, OH, m: 13 Sep 1912 Wayne, OH, d: Unknown

......2 James Everett Mark b: 28 Oct 1896 Wayne, OH, d: 28 Oct 1968 Wooster, Wayne, OH

...... + Effie Margaret Carter b: 15 Feb 1904 Knox, OH, m: 31 Dec 1924, d: 5a Apr 1966

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[1] 1860 US Census,   Wayne, Wayne Co., Ohio; the Isaac Ritter family.

[2] 1870 US Census, Wayne County, Ohio; 1870; Volume 60 (1-124);Page 14, Line 9; Family History Center, Loudonville, NY Microfilm #552779; Isaac Ritter inTownship of Chester.

[3] Certificate of Marriage for William Mark and Rebecca Ritter, 20 April 1878, Volume 9, Page 132, Wayne County Marriage Records. From the Wayne County Public Library, Wooster, Ohio.

[4] 1880 U. S. Census, Wayne Co., Ohio; 1880; Compiled by Richard G. Smith, 1979, Published by Wayne Co. Historical Society Genealogical Section, Wooster, Ohio; Page 38; State Library of Ohio, Columbus, Ohio.  “Marks, William”

[5] 1900 U. S. Census, Wayne Co., Ohio; 1900; Vol. 155, E.D. 142, Sheet 10; Line 37; Family History Center Microfilm #1241331. William “Marks.

[6] “Interviews with Ivy Regina Mark Brown”.

[7] Pension Application for William Mark; Cert #602620; Civil War, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Co. I, 195 Regiment; filed by widow Rebecca Mark; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[8] "Mother of 11 Children Died Wednesday Night." Wooster Daily Record 29 August 1912: Page 1.

[9] Letter from Rebecca Kurtz Cogar at Overton Church of God Cemetery Association (7940 Akron Rd., Sterling, Ohio 44276) letter to Colleen G. Pasquale (7 Seneca Drive, Averill Park, NY 12018) 7 April 2009.

[10] Murray, Wendy. Overton Church of God Cemetery Records. Privately Published, 1992.

[11] Genealogical Section of the Wayne Co Historical Society. Wayne County, Ohio Burial Records. OH: Privately printed.

[12] Graves Registration Card for William Mark, 21 November 1904, Ohio Military Records: Grave Registration, Microfilm #0182752, Family History Center, Loudonville, NY.