Happy Birthday, William Mark!

William Mark

26 May 1844 OH – 21 Nov 1904 OH

Son of Abraham Mark & Mary Isabella Heffelfinger

Spouse #1 – Emma Abeline Flory

Spouse #2 – Elidia Rebecca Ritter

14 children

Military service: 195^th Regiment, Ohio Volunteers

Cemetery : Overton Church of God Cemetery, Wayne Co., OH

My second great grandfather was born 172 years ago today. He was a colorful figure. My grandmother, Ivy R (Mark) Brown, remembered her grandfather. In 1994 she told me about his house in rural Wayne County, Ohio and shared a photo of a very small log house that did not look like it could contain 14 children.

"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."

The rifle William carried during the Civil War is still in the family. My grandmother talked about his military service.

William Mark "was on Look Out Mountain in Tennessee. A tornado came. A big plank slammed right into him; into his stomach.  He was never well after that."

My grandmother told me about his death.

"…my grandfather lived in that house and he wasn't well enough to do much. He used to go for walks. He loved to be outside. So, this one day he went for a walk and he come back and he told Grandma he had walked further that day than he had for a long time.  And she [Elidia Rebecca (Ritter) Mark] said, 'Well, sit down a few minutes. Dinner isn't quite ready.' And he sat down and when she went to call him, he was dead."

Although he is gone stories about him continue in our family.

Select Sources:

·         1850 Federal Census, Wayne Co, Ohio; 1850; Extracted from Census by C. Arthur Phillips, Published by MicroPhoto Div., Wooster, Ohio, Wayne Co. Public Library, Wooster.

·         1860 U. S. Census, Wayne County, Ohio; 1860; ; Page 150, Lines 14-22; Family History Center Microfilm #805051.

·         1880 Federal 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.

·         1890 Us Census Special Schedule Veterans SD 6 ED 315 Page 1; Chester, Wayne, Ohio Line 3; William Mark Private Company I 195 Regiment Infantry.

·         1900 Federal Census, Wayne Co., Ohio; 1900; Vol. 155, E.D. 142, Sheet 10; Line 37; Family History Center Microfilm #1241331; NOTE Chester Township; William "Marks".

·         Index to Service Records, Volunteers from Ohio, 1861 - 1865, MAL - MARS, Microfilm #0882280, Family History Center, Albany, NY. William Mark 195 Reg. Ohio Infantry.

·         Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion, 1860s, Washington, D. C., U S Government Printing Office, 1901.

·         Office of the Govenor, State of Ohio, Columbus. Jan 22, 1996. Govenor's Office of Veteran's Affairs. OFFICIAL ROSTER OF THE SOLDIERS OF THE STATE OF OHIO IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, 1861 - 1866, Vol. X (Cincinnati: The Ohio Valley Company, 1889).Page 185: "195th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

·         Pension application of William Mark; 1865-1905; Civil War, Ohio Volunteer Inf.,Co.I, 195 Regiment, filed by widow Rebecca Mark, National Archives, Washington, D.C

·         Wayne Co. Ohio Marriage Record; 1878; Volume 9; Page 132; William Mark and Rebecca Ritter m. 20 Apr 1878.

·         Family papers & stories

Related Posts:

• Mary Isabella Heffelfinger Mark
• Elidia Rebecca Ritter Mark