Reader solves Fredericktown’s missing children mystery from 1910

FREDERICKTOWN — An alert reader who wishes to remain anonymous did some in-depth genealogy research beyond what I was able to do regarding last week’s column, a real photo postcard showing three unknown children and their dog.

The back of the postcard offered some clues, but seemingly not enough to reveal the writer. Or so I thought.

But this reader dug further and turned up a name that never turned up in my hasty searches: Elizabeth Carpenter. That was her married name in 1910, when she and her husband James lived near Fredericktown.

James is listed as a farmer, with jibes with the wind-powered water pump seen in the background of the photo.

What’s more, this census report gives us the names of the three children: Matching the listed children with the ones in the photograph, this would suggest that the boy standing behind the chair is Glenn S. Carpenter (1906-1984); the girl holding the doll is Dorothy Carpenter (1907-1996); and their seated little brother is Charles Merritt Carpenter (1909-1967).

All three children grew up, lived in, and ultimately passed away in Knox County.

Further digging turns up the fact that they lived on Chesterville Road (now Ohio 95) west of Fredericktown, on a farm which the family was buying.

In 1910, they were still paying on a mortgage, but that was later paid off.

By 1930, Dorothy was still living at home and working at a bookkeeper at a bank. Charles was also there, working as a laborer. Charles later got married and relocated to southern Knox County, near Utica, where he worked as a machinist. When he passed away, he was buried in Fairview Cemetery.

Dorothy continued to work at the bank through the 1930s. One wonders if she was present for the frightening bank robbery that took place at the bank in Fredericktown during the Great Depression, which we’ve covered previously in this column.

During that 1933 incident, there was indeed a teller named Dorothy, though the surname reported in the news was Scarborough. I found no indication that Dorothy was ever married, but it could be a name error.

Whatever the case, Dorothy appears to have remained single the rest of her life, and when she passed away, she was also buried at Fairview Cemetery.

Glenn eventually married and moved to Lorain County, where he was a vocational agriculture teacher. After his death, he was returned to Fredericktown for burial in Forest Cemetery.

As for Lizzie herself, she was born Elizabeth Crouch in Coshocton County, which is presumably where she became friends with Hulda, to whom the postcard was mailed.

Her parents were William and Sophia Crouch. Early census reports confirm that Elizabeth had siblings named Ethel and Russell, which are presumably mentioned in the postcard because Hulda would have known them in childhood as well.

Lizzie worked for many years in the Fredericktown area as a schoolteacher, and after her death in 1956 was buried in Fairview Cemetery.

So, that clears up most of that mystery. If anyone is aware of current descendants of this family who might want the original postcard, let us know.

Maybe they could even clear up the final mystery: What was the dog’s name? Inquiring minds want to know.