Greenberry Stewart Ott was Born 13 May 1832 in Harrison Co., Indiana, and Died 8 Mar 1907 in Leavenworth, Crawford Co., In. He was buried in Cedar Cemetery, Leavenworth, In. He was the son of Malachi Ott and Mary A. Ware. He married Minerva Moser 30 Sep 1852 In Harrison Co., Indiana, Daughter of Frederick Moser And Dorothy Derr. She was born Feb 1833 in Harrison Co., Indiana, and Died 17 Sep 1911 in Crawford Co., In. She was buried in Cedar Cemetery at Leavenworth.
Operated a blacksmith shop set on part of lot #137 of the original plan of Leavenworth. A photo of three building together with a team of horses show the Ott shop to be the center building in this photo. The photo is well distributed. The Ott building was reduced over time leaving only a piece of the building frame. For many years in the late 1980-2000 part of this frame was used as part of the Leavenworth sign. It no longer exists. Pieces of wood and photos thereof of the original was collected and shared with distant relatives. The wood pieces were salvaged by Bobby Lahue for his relatives.
When viewing the 3 building photo and team of horses, the building on the far L was a warehouse and feed store operated by the Huff family and others. The building on the far R was the Jenner Blacksmith Shop, i.e. Sam Jenner. The person driving the team of horses is Pausy Frans.
The Ott shop was parted with 1/30/1907 which is also the year Greenberry died, 3/8/1907. The shop sat on the west 1/2 of lot 137. Besides Blacksmithing they also dealt in farm implements. A Mr. Dan Booth ran the shop thereafter for an uncertain amount of time. The last person to operate the shop was Craig "Hosey" Richardson.
Greenberry and his wife owned and lived on lot 85 on Jackson Street, down near the Big Spring in Leavenworth. Sherman and his wife Adeline lived on a lot on Front Street, #26. This faced the river. They also owned lots 171, 174, 175, 179, 180 and 181. These faced Spring Street which is also known as "Smokey Road". John Ott and his wife Phoebe lived on lot 84 next to father and mother.
Greenberry and Minerva had had the following children:
Amos Ott was born on 14 Aug 1853 in Crawford County, IN. He died on 8 Oct 1854 in Crawford County, IN. He was buried in Arnold Cemetery, Spencer Twsp, Harrison County, IN.
Marion Harrison Ott (Greenberry Stewart) was born about 1856 in Harrison Co., IN. He died on 20 Apr 1941. Marion married Maria Ellen Hulet, daughter of James A. Hulet and Frances Anne Curl, on 7 Apr 1881. Maria was born on 11 Nov 1862. She died on 16 Feb 1922.
Sarah Elizabeth Ott (Greenberry Stewart) was born on 22 Jan 1857 in Harrison Co., IN. She died on 1 Dec 1915 in Evansville, Vanderburgh Co., IN. Sarah married John Francis Peterson, son of William Peterson and Elizabeth Faith, on 20 Apr 1876 in Mifflin, Crawford, Il. John was born on 8 Aug 1856 in Crawford Co., IN. He died on 22 Jul 1945 in Mt Carmel, Wabash Co., IL. He was buried in Sandhill Cemetery, Wabash Co., IL.
Mary Ellen Ott (Greenberry Stewart) was born on 3 Mar 1859 in Spencer Twp, Harrison Co., IN. She died in 1939 in Grantsburg, Crawford Co., IN. She was buried in Grantsburg Cemetery, Crawford Co., IN. Mary married James Wilson Yates, son of John E. Yates and Elizabeth Roberson "Bessie", on 1 Jan 1879 in Crawford Co., IN. James was born on 28 Oct 1851 in Crawford Co., IN. He died on 16 Sep 1903 in Crawford Co., IN from died with smallpox. He was buried on 16 Sep 1903 in Grantsburg Cemetery, Crawford Co., IN.
A Story about the Death of James Wilson Yates
"A story is told of a very brave man who risked his life and the life of his family to help the Yates's during that time. His last name was Blevins. In looking at the Grantsburg cemetery records I have always thought it was probably William Blevins 1867 to 1954 who helped them due to his age compared to the other Blevins' buried there. The story goes that when he learned of Grandpa's death he told his wife he was going to the Yates's and help the family prepare him for burial. Remember, the family was terribly sick also with smallpox. He told his wife to bring him some articles and leave them on either side of the creek he would cross to go to the Yates place. The articles were: 1. A change of clothes; 2. Soap; 3. A towel; 4. A box of matches. After he had gone to the house and helped Grandma bathe and dress Grandpa for burial he went back down to the creek, took off his clothes, burned them, took a bath in the creek, and returned to his family. Of course we know these days that would not have been enough to protect them from the germ but he did the best he knew.
Uncle Arthur, Wilbur and Imogene's dad was the oldest of the family and so became sort of the head of the household after Grandpa died. He was about 22 yrs old by then. My dad, Harry, was about 15. Since the epidemic was so rampant and so many had died no one would come near the family. That included the undertaker. Uncle Arthur and Dad had to bury their own father. Dad said they loaded him into the back of the wagon, took him over to the cemetery west of Grantsburg, and buried him. I never knew if someone else dug the grave for them. I have tried to place myself in their position at that time.
It was a privilege two of my cousins and I had the summer of 1997 to visit the site of the Yates farm where this all took place. Wilbur W. Yates, Orville Sarles, and I were taken to the site by the owner Carl Grant (Carl passed away this past year). Carl's father had bought the Yates place while Carl was a boy at home yet. He showed us exactly where the original house stood. Then he showed us a place where a log cabin had stood where the family moved to after Grandpa died in a sort of effort to escape the germ. I can't describe the almost sacred feeling I had as we stood there where our parents had lived, played, laughed, and cried. I had heard my Aunt Goldie tell how she and her sisters discovered some love letters my Dad had received from a girl. She said Dad chased them all over those hills laughing and threatening. Some of them were older than he and apparently could still outrun him. The family had been moved down the hill to the log cabin for a few nights when one night the house on top of the hill mysteriously burned to the ground. It was always thought someone had torched it in an effort to kill smallpox germs."
(
source: Jim Yates, son of Harry E. & Georgia (Tingley) Yates, grandson of James Wilson & Mary (Ott) Yates, great grandson of John & Elizabeth (Roberson) Yates. January 22, 2001.)
John W. Ott (Greenberry Stewart) was born on 3 Sep 1863 in Harrison Co., IN. He died after 1930. John married Adelia Purkhiser, daughter of Millard Fillmore Purkhiser. Adelia was born on 4 Sep 1872. She died after 1930.
Sherman F. Ott (Greenberry Stewart) was born in Sep 1874 in Harrison Co., IN. He died in 1927 in Crawford Co., IN. He was buried in Cedar Cemetery, Leavenworth, Crawford Co., IN. Sherman married Frances Adeline "Ad" Elliott, daughter of Joseph B. Elliott and Nancy Jane Sprinkle, on 28 Aug 1894. Frances was born in 1873 in IN. She died on 22 Feb 1953 in Crawford Co., In. She was buried in Cedar Cemetery, Leavenworth, Crawford Co., IN. Sherman's wife Adeline was known in the community as "AD".