Hidden Gems of Family History :: Found 'em in the Newspaper!

Newspapers are one of my favorite resources. Many precious tidbits of information have been found within their pages that have added to the "humanization" of my family tree. Recording the events of their daily lives, newspapers can be a goldmine of information. Obituary notices are, of course, most commonly found, and they are wonderful (some more so than others). But it is those extra tidbits that, oftentimes, can only be found by reading the microfilm until your eyes are crossed, your head is pounding with a headache, and your stomach queasy from motion sickness! Ah, the joys of newspaper research. But the treasures that can be found make it all worthwhile.

From local newspapers, I've learned a few interesting things about some family members:

During the early 1900s Mr. and Mrs. Brubaker are Royal Entertainers. I sorta knew that from my grandmother's writings, but thought it was neat that one of their parties made the local news.

In July 1902, Franklin H. Foust had eight or ten Sheep Drowned as a result of the floods.

On May 1st 1909, Curtis W. Jones remembered the worst May Day "ever perpetrated on the people in this vicinity." That was in 1851. . .

It was in May 1905 that my great-grandfather, Henry Phend, pulled a gun on poor Dr. Souder when he came to check on the family. Henry had been quarantined with his wife and 7 children for 11 days, The children ranged from 6 months to 12 years old.

We learned that in January 1911 about "Mrs. C.R. Brubaker, who went to Traverse City, Michigan, to look after the shipment of the household goods, was stormbound for three days and did not arrive here until Wednesday. A great snow storm was raging in northern Michigan. The C.R. Brubaker family will make their home with his father, Wm. Brubaker in Troy township." This was after the tragic death of C.R.'s brother Hale Brubaker.

In August 1914, within a week of each other, there were Fires at the Brubaker and Phend Homes. Thankfully, little damage was done to either house.

In August 1917, Henry Meier and his friend, a Miss Burnworth, spent the day with friends where he had an encounter with a Runaway Colt. Ten days later Mr. Meier and Miss Doris Burnworth eloped to Michigan to get married.

In December 1917 Two Fellows were Home From Camp Taylor, one of whom was my grandfather, Victor Phend.

In July 1918, we find that Roy Parkinson Has a Fine Store at Wolf Lake.

The next month, Mildred Jones Married an Illinois Man. She had to resign a very fine position as physical director at the Y. M. C. A. in Detroit, Michigan. And he was going to be entering an army training camp the first of September.

In January 1919, a letter that Vic Phend Writes From France to his sister in Columbia City was published in the local paper.

In 1921, the Brubaker-Phend Marriage joined together my grandparents, Vic Phend and Hazlette Brubaker.

Fast forward to May 1947 when a Larwill Girl was Married in a North Webster Church. That girl would become my mother and she was marrying the man who would become my father.

On September 4, 1952 Henry & Susie Yarian Phend celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary. A family celebration was held the previous Sunday. "Seventy-five people attended the dinner at noon which was served on the lawn. In the afternoon 150 guests called between 2 and 5 o'clock." I was there, but being only 4 years old at the time don't remember the events of the day.

In November 1957, Henry Phend Celebrated his 92nd Birthday at the home of his son Gerald.

These are just a few of the "special" items I've found buried in the pages of local newspapers. When I first started my research I didn't always take the time to read the other stories, even those on the same page. I was fixated on finding a specific article. One day I came home from the Nappanne Library so excited. I had found the obituary of my 2nd great grandfather, Eli Yarian. I won't go into detail here as he will be the subject of a future post, but Eli died on January 28, 1895 in a "frightful and very sad accident" whereby he "met instant death by being struck on the head with a limb of a falling tree." The story of his demise took nearly an entire column of the first page; it was full of the rather gruesome details surrounding his death.

I showed the copy of the article to my mother. As she finished reading it, she started laughing. I didn't understand why it would be so funny to her. When I asked her, she handed the copy back to me and pointed to a little article in the next column.

"Last Saturday, Frank Smith paid a fine and costs amounting to $8.30 imposed in Justice Corns' court for using profane language. The affidavit was filed by Jonathan Yarian. Young Smith, with others, were hauling logs, and some difficulty arose about loading, which caused the young man to so far forget himself as to heap some abuse on Mr. Yarian, among other things, language calculated to reflect discredit on the name of the latter's mother, and supplementing it with a threat to chop off his leg, or some things to that effect. As he might have carried out his threat without bodily harm to Mr. Yarian, he was simply caused to plead guilty to using profanity. Frank will probably be a little more discreet in the future, in the choice of language."

After reading it, I too began laughing. You see, we knew that no "bodily harm" would have come to Mr. Jonathan Yarian even if Mr. Smith had followed through on his threat. Why? Because Jonathan Yarian had a wooden leg, which was the result of injury and amputation during the Civil War.

After that little incident I was more conscientious in my reading. Doing so, however, comes with a price - more time spent looking at that microfilm! But what fun it is, especially when you find those hidden gems of family history!

Contributed to the 57th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy :: I read it in the news!

Historic Foust Outhouse

Index to articles on the Historic Outhouse built by Franklin H. Foust in 1866 and donated to the Whitley County Historical Museum in August 2007 by Greg and Jan Anthes.

• An Historic Outhouse? (It's Coming)
• An Historic Outhouse - Part 2 (Delivery and Installation)
• Franklin H. Foust
• The Death of Maxia Jones Foust
• Article in the Springfield News-Sun by Tom Stafford

Franklin H. Foust

Franklin H. Foust was the original owner of the Historic Brick Outhouse recently moved from Springfield, Ohio to Columbia City, Indiana. He was married to my 3rd Great-Grand Aunt Maxia Jones Foust.



The portrait engraving on the left is from "Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana Historical and Biographical", Weston A. Goodspeed Historical Editor and Charles Blanchard Biographical; Chicago: F.A. Battey & Co., Publishers, 1882 and the one on the right is from "The History of Whitley County, Indiana" by S. P. Kaler and R. H. Maring; B. F. Bowen & Co. Publishers, 1907. Below is the gravesite for Franklin and Maxia, in the Masonic Section of Greenhill Cemetery, Columbia City, Indiana.



Franklin's obituary, published in The Columbia City Commercial-Mail on Friday, May 24, 1912 is pretty much a combination of his biographies that were published in the above mentioned county histories in 1882 and 1907. I have added some paragraph breaks to make it a little easier to read and a link for "fanning mills" since I didn't know what they were :^)

Franklin H. Foust, pioneer merchant, banker and farmer, Oddfellow and Methodist, who had reached the ripe old age of 87 years last January 10, died at his home on east Van Buren street this city Saturday morning at 9:55 o'clock.

Franklin H. Foust retired from the presidency of the Columbia City National Bank on January 10, 1910 and gave his time to overseeing the work on his farms near Columbia City from that time until last fall, when he was confined to his home on east Van Buren street with infirmities due to his advanced age. He was unable to leave the home after that only on two occasions this spring when he was given an automobile and a buggy ride.

Mr. Foust was taken to his bed in his last illness on last Sunday and realized that he could not recover, though he had a desire to live to be a centenarian. The last three days of his illness he was in a semi-conscious condition and slept peacefully away at 9:55 o'clock Saturday morning.

Franklin H. Foust was the last and oldest of 15 children, 9 of whom grew to manhood and womanhood. His surviving relatives are: Mary Foust, daughter of the late Archie Foust, who with her mother Mrs. Jessie Foust have resided with the deceased since the death of his wife which occurred March 11, 1910; Cleon Foust and Mrs. Fred Morsches, his nephew and niece, children of his late brother Allison, and Franklin B. Foust, a son of his brother, the late Jacob Foust of Atlanta, Kas. The survivors of his wife are Curtis W. Jones, Mrs. Mary Sherwood, Charles I. Jones, Mrs. Harry L. Taylor and Frank L. Jones. All of the relatives named reside in Whitley county, and all but F. B. Foust in Columbia City.

In addition to the relatives mentioned, three children of Jacob Foust, deceased, a brother of Franklin H. Foust, reside in the west. They are: Orpha Ridpath, of Goodnight, Okla.; Mrs. Mary Clover, of Cambridge, Kas.; and Charles V. Foust of Atlanta, Kas. These children were born to Jacob Foust's second wife. F. B. Foust of this county is a child of Jacob Foust by his first wife.

Judge Walter Olds of Fort Wayne who was called to the Foust home as soon as the death occurred and came at once, is a distant relative of the deceased. The Mother of Franklin H. Foust was Mary Olds and Judge Olds is a descendent of the same family.

The funeral of Franklin H. Foust occurred from the home Tuesday at 10 o'clock, Rev. C. W. Shoemaker officiating, and interment made in the Masonic cemetery. The business houses were closed during the funeral. The active pallbearers were Frank E. Kenner, J. E. North, Alton Beeson, John M. Mowrey, Jacob Jontz and C. W. Tuttle.

Franklin H. Foust was born in Delaware county, Ohio, January 10, 1825. The paternal grandfather, Jacob Foust, was born in Germany, and when a youth accompanied his father to the United States, settling in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, where the family became tillers of the soil. Jacob Foust removed to Delaware county, Ohio, being one of the first settlers in that section.

He located where the city of Delaware now stands and constructed the first bridge across the river between that point and Columbus. The family lived in their wagons until they could hew timbers and complete the erection of the primitive log cabin which served as their domicile. The land was wild and the Indians still disputed dominion with the incoming pioneers. Jacob Foust bore arms in the war of the Revolution and in recognition of his service was awarded a pension, which he continued to draw until the time of his death.

His son Henry, who was born in Pennsylvania, married Mary Old, of the same state, in 1812, and settled ten miles north of Delaware where they began housekeeping in a log cabin, typical of the place and period. He enlisted as a soldier in 1812, while his wife contributed what she could to the cause by doing camp work at Fort Norton. After the war they were reunited and for more than sixty years lived happily on the farm which they had reclaimed from the wilderness, where both eventually found graves. Henry Foust was a successful farmer and accumulated a competency. He was a man of strong individuality and integrity of character and served many years as a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church. He had nine children who grew to maturity.

Franklin H. Foust was reared on the old homestead in Ohio and bore his part in its reclamation and cultivation. Schools were scarce and poor in those days, but he managed to acquire an elementary knowledge of the ordinary English branches and arithmetic. In his boyhood he partially learned the shoemaker's trade at which he frequently worked until twelve o'clock for the compensation of fifty cents a night. The frequent want and need of a dime taught him to realize the value of money, a lesson never forgotten during his subsequent career. He made most of the footwear worn by members of his family, and in every way did his part toward their support. He hauled wheat from Delaware county to Sandusky City by team, a distance of seventy-five miles, and sold it at sixty cents per bushel.

In 1848, unable to command a single dollar, he hired to Adam Wolfe to peddle fanning mills, retaining his position for two years, receiving for the first year eight dollars per month and expenses, which was increased to fifteen dollars the second year. Even at this small compensation he managed to save some money, and in the fall of 1849 formed a partnership with his employer under the firm name of F. H. Foust & Co., for the manufacture of fanning mills. This association was maintained without interruption until the death of Mr. Wolfe in 1892 at Muncie, Indiana.

At the time above mentioned partnership was consummated, Mr. Foust came to Columbia City, rented a room and began the manufacture of fanning mills, the firm continued this enterprise for three years. In 1852 the firm purchased a stock of dry goods, valued at about ten thousand dollars, and opened a store which the partners operated about nine years. Mr. Foust hired an experienced buyer to accompany him to New York to purchase the original stock, but subsequently attended personally to all purchases. The firm retired from the mercantile business to engage in other lines in which the senior partner, Franklin H. Foust, especially was destined to achieve a notable success.

Mr. Foust for some time did collecting and banking business of modest order. During the war he received deposits, and the confidence which was placed in him is shown by the fact that his system of accounts contained in merely making a note of how much he received and from whom, making no charge for his services. In this way he had in his old-fashioned, large fire-proof safe at one time deposits aggregating sixty thousand dollars. Realizing the necessity as the town grew, he opened a private banking house in 1867 in partnership with Mr. Wolfe. This enterprise prospered and became the center of the most reliable financial concerns in northeastern Indiana, its conservative management gaining public confidence and making it widely known.

The firm acquired ownership of about one thousand acres of land contiguous to the city, of which three hundred acres were brought under cultivation, the remainder being devoted to pasturage. In April, 1904, the bank was organized as The Columbia City National Bank, Mr. Foust being made president. About this time the properties of Foust & Wolfe were divided, [rwNote: a line is illegible, but it probably mentions the settlement of the estate of Mr. Wolfe] Mr. Foust retaining about seven hundred acres of land, all personal property, and the banking building for his share, the balance going to the Wolfe estate. Later he sold the bank building to the bank.

Mr. Foust after retiring from the banking business devoted such of his time as his health would permit to his large farming interests but two years ago became interested in the banking business, although not in active capacity. At that time he became a stockholder and was elected a director, in which capacity he has since served, of the Farmers Loan & Trust Co., of this city.

Franklin H. Foust joined the Odd-fellows order soon after reaching 21 years of age and had been a loyal and enthusiastic member of that order until death. He was the oldest member of the local lodge of the order at his demise.

His father before him being a staunch Methodist, and for many years a minister of that denomination, Franklin H. Foust was born and reared in Methodism and never departed from its teachings. He had been affiliated with the Methodist church of this city during the entire history of the church and had always been one of the church's strongest aides, both with his active held and in a financial way. He was greatly interested in the erection of the proposed new Methodist church to occupy the site of the present edifice. Mr. Foust taught a Sunday School class in the Methodist church for over 40 years, and among his last inquiries for the welfare of old friends, was concerning members of his old Sunday School class. He had been a trustee of the church many years.

The Death of Maxia Jones Foust

Maxia Jones Foust is my "link" to the Historic Brick Outhouse recently moved from Springfield, Ohio to Columbia City, Indiana. Maxia was the daughter of my 4th great grandparents, Elizabeth Helms and William B. Jones and a sister of my 3rd great grandmother, Catherine B. Jones Dunfee.

Columbia City Post ~ March 12, 1910

Bankers wife expires Friday. Injury Sustained in Fall Proved Fatal. Mrs. Franklin H. Foust Lived But One Week After Serious Accident - Lacked One Day of Being 83 Years of Age.

In the death of Mrs. Franklin H. Foust, wife of the well known banker and pioneer citizen, a familiar figure is removed from this city. For the past 64 years she was identified with the growth and development of the town, and she was known by nearly every resident of the city and by many people throughout the county. In her young girlhood she was a successful teacher and after her marriage she became identified to some extent with the business interest of the village, assisting her husband in conducting a small store which they established in the early history of the town. She knew all the early pioneers of the county and it seemingly afforded her great pleasure to recount the experiences of her early life in this place, and especially was she fond of telling of the manner in which the pioneer women did their part in those days.

As is already known, Mrs. Foust was in poor health during the past winter and last Friday afternoon she was seized with a dizzy spell as she left the telephone and fell heavily to the floor. It was feared at the time that the breaking of the hip bone by the fall would result in her death, and one week later almost to the hour, she quietly passed into her last sleep, the exact time of her death being 12:50 Friday afternoon.

The pain of the fracture was intense and every effort was made by the physician to lend comfort to the sufferer, but her advanced years left her with insufficient strength to survive the shock. Friday morning it was seen that she was sinking rapidly and all of her relatives were called to her bedside before 7 o'clock. She rallied however, and although very low, survived until the hour named.

Maximillia A. Jones was born at Dresden, Muskingum county, Ohio, March 12, 1827, to Elizabeth and William P. Jones and died in Columbia City, Ind., March 11, 1910, aged 82 years 11 months and 29 days. When 18 years of age, she came with her parents to this county and settled on a farm three and one half miles southwest of Columbia City. Mr. Jones had lost all of his property through the failure of a friend for whom he had been a bondsman and he came to this county to build up his fortunes anew. They settled in a log house at the farm on the evening of the 31st day of October, 1845, and lived there till they moved to this city March 6, 1846, just 64 years ago to the day before she sustained the injury that caused her death. The house, at that time in this city was east of the site of the Lutheran church. December 12, 1850, she united in marriage with Franklin H. Foust and by her death a wedded life of more than 59 years is broken. Three children were born to them, but they all died in infancy. Mrs. Foust was a member of a family of six, but two of whom survive her. They are Curtis W. Jones and Mary E. Sherwood of this city.

Mrs. Foust was a member of the Baptist church, but since her marriage had been affiliated with the Methodist church in this city. For years she had been in feeble health and was unable to walk with comfort, so that she was forced to remain within the confines of her home a great part of the time. She never lost interest in the affairs of the locality and kept up many friendships among those who knew her as a most conscientious and kind-hearted woman. The fact that she was forced to inaction made the telephone a great comfort to her and she daily communicated with friends. In fact, it was while leaving the telephone for her accustomed chair by the window that she was overcome with an attack of vertigo and fell.

Mrs. Foust came to this county when it was largely a wilderness and she had seen it emerge from the forests and arise to its present standing during her residence here. She maintained a vital interest in all of the activities of the community and lived in accordance with her ideas. Her death takes from among us one who has had a part in the affairs of the locality for an average lifetime.

An Historic Outhouse - Part 2

The first posting about this historic outhouse was made last Sunday. After that post I found out that the building was to be delivered on Monday morning. So, since it is a family heirloom, sort of, I decided to document its delivery to the Whitley County Historical Museum. I got there just before it arrived but missed it coming through downtown.

The owners, Greg and Jan Anthes, referred to it as the "Little Brick House" and contacted the Whitley County Historical Museum in early June to see if they would be interested in it. Greg and Jan offered to pay for getting the site ready and transporting the building as well as setting up an endowment fund for its maintenance. Of course, the Museum accepted. Thus, on a hot and very humid Monday morning the building arrived with Greg and Jan along to ensure that it was safely established in its new home.

Its journey actually started four years ago. According to Greg and Jan, they purchased it when they found out it was going to be torn down. Greg's grandparents had owned the little brick house when he was growing up and he had very fond memories of the times spent playing there with his grandmother. Of course, at that time, the little house was no longer used as an outhouse. The "facilities" had been removed many years before and the holes covered over.

According to Jan, the project was purely a labor of love. It couldn't have been otherwise. It turned out that moving the little house to their home in Springfield, Ohio was no easy task. The brick foundation went twenty feet into the ground. The only way it could be moved was by taking it apart. So that is what they did. They carefully removed the doors and windows and trim, marking each piece so it could be put back in its proper place. Then the bricks were removed. The walls were two-bricks thick so it was double the work. But they got it apart and safely moved.

Then they spent the next few months cleaning the brick, scraping off the mortar and dirt. By hand. One brick at a time. Greg prepared the site with a three-foot thick concrete foundation and then started putting the little house back together again. Some of the brick had been damaged. There wasn't enough of it to make the walls two-bricks thick so a wooden frame was made with a plywood facing and the outer walls of brick were laid. The windows and doors were put back on and the interior was dry walled and plastered. The outside of the trim was painted but the inside was left as it was since there was some graffiti and small drawings that they wanted to save. After nearly two years of hard work, the little house was completed. Greg and Jan used it as a garden shed and within it they also displayed some of the items that his grandmother had used.

Why were they donating it to the Whitley County Historical Museum? Well, when they bought the little house they thought they would remain in Springfield for the rest of their lives, but things change and opportunities come along that can't be passed up and a move to New Hampshire is on the horizon. They didn't want to leave the little brick house in Springfield and didn't think it had any business being in New Hampshire so they decided that it should go home again. It's not exactly in the same spot where it resided for over 130 years but it's close enough.

The journey from Springfield back to Columbia City began when the little house was literally cut from its foundation. A 12" section of the foundation was left attached to the building. It was moved from its site by a moving company in the same way that a house would be moved, very carefully, then put upon a trailer used for hauling excavation equipment. The trip was mostly uneventful, except for a flat tire on the truck near Ohio City. And a portion of the roofing material came off as it was moving along at 55 mph down the highway. Just a little worse for the wear. But it made it without any major damage.

Its final journey, off the truck and onto its new site, took about five hours. It wasn't rushed, it needed to be done slowly and carefully. It arrived a few minutes after 9 a.m. and was sitting on its new foundation by 3 p.m.


10:20 a.m. on a hot and humid Monday morning. Backing into the driveway of the Whitley County Historical Museum.
10:40 a.m. Greg Anthes, in khaki pants and owner of "The Little Brick House", talks with the movers checking out the new site.


11:20 a.m. Almost set up. The sun came out, but it's still very hot and humid.
11:30 a.m. The building has been lifted a little and the dollies are being set in place.


12:30 p.m. After a lunch break. It's moving. Slowly but surely.
12:45 p.m. About half-way there.


1:10 p.m. Getting closer. It took a while to readjust the equipment.
1:35 p.m. Preparing to lower the building.


1:45 p.m. Lowering it down gradually, like a seesaw, one end, then the other.
2:30 p.m. That's as far as it goes.


3:15 p.m. Some work will need to be done to attach the building to the footing but it isn't going anywhere anytime soon, it weighs 12,000 pounds!
3:30 p.m. Greg and Jan Anthes. The plaque reads: "The Little Brick House" / Built in 1866 / By Columbia City, Indiana banker / Franklin H. Foust / Purchased in 1915 / By John C. & Fanny Myers / Gifted in 1936 / To their daughter, / Mary B. Anthes / 2003 - 2005 / Saved from destruction, / Moved, & rebuilt / By her grandson & his wife, / Greg & Jan Anthes

An Historic Outhouse?

Friday evening I received an interesting email from a "Community News editor" of an Ohio newspaper. He is working "on a story about Franklin Foust in connection with a local man who has had possession of the Foust double-occupancy outhouse and is donating it to the Whitley County Historical Society." He found me through my website. The person who contacted me has also been in touch with the Historical Society. Then, yesterday I received an email from a friend at the Historical Museum informing me that she was doing some research on the Foust family. She had seen from some obituaries posted on my website that Franklin's wife was related to me. If I hadn't had that info posted no one would have contacted me. Anyway, the Foust Outhouse is scheduled to be delivered to the Museum sometime tomorrow.

Oddly enough, while looking for obituaries in the microfilmed newspapers a few months ago I came across an article published in the July 12, 1971 edition of the Columbia City Post titled "An Early His-Hers of Prominent Banker Once Divided, now Stores Garden Tools" which included a picture of the outhouse as well as one of their home. In 1971, the 14-room house was a duplex. The pictures aren't really reproducible so I'm going to see if I can get a better copy somehow. Perhaps the newspaper still has the pictures on file and I can get permission to use them.

"An historic His and Hers believed to be around a hundred years old, this little 9 x 7 foot building was partitioned in the center as a privy (outdoor toilet to the younger generation) with a side for him and her. A matching door and window remains on the opposite side and end.

"Now used to store garden equipment the center partition has been removed. The building with brick exterior has lathe and plaster on the inside. It has served as a playhouse and a garden shed."

How common was a "double-occupancy" outhouse back in the day? Deluxe edition, at that, with plaster walls on the inside and brick on the outside. I wonder what Franklin and Maxie would think of all the fuss that is being made over their outhouse?

Franklin Foust was married to Maxamillia Francis Jones. She was the oldest child of my 4th Great Grandparents Elizabeth Helms and William B. Jones. Franklin was born January 10, 1825 in Delaware County, Ohio to Henry and Mary (Olds) Foust. Franklin became a prominent businessman and banker in Columbia City. His wife Maxie was well respected too so I have a lot of information about them, actually, mostly about him. In the article on their 50th wedding anniversary published in the Columbia City Post on December 19, 1900 she is mentioned briefly, but the lengthy article mainly dealt with his career.

"For half a century Franklin H. Foust and wife have journeyed through life together. On the 12th day of December, 1850, Franklin H. Foust and Miss Maxamillia Jones were united in marriage by Rev. Sewel, a Methodist minister who at that time was located at this place. There were quite a number of young people present on the happy occasion, but the only persons present who are alive today, which Mrs. Foust could call to mind, are her brother, Curtis W. Jones, and Levi Adams, of Troy township. Richard Collins was then the county clerk and to him Mr. Foust paid seventy-five cents for a marriage license. The documents have enhanced in value since that time and today they readily sell for two dollars.

"The present Mrs. Foust became a resident of this city in 1845, and for five years she was engaged in the occupation of a school teacher. Quite a number of her pupils are yet residents of this city. After her marriage she gave up the occupation of teacher and assisted her husband later on in business.

"When seen this morning and reminded that this was his fiftieth wedding anniversary, Mr. Foust jogged his memory and said: "Yes, that is a fact. I was married on the 12th day of December, 1850. I felt like a boy then and feel like a boy yet. He then talked briefly of his early life and how he started out in the world to make a living for himself."

The rest of the article was anything but brief, and I'll save it for another post perhaps. Franklin and Maxie had three children, they all died in infancy. She died on March 11, 1910 and he passed away on May 18, 1912. They are buried in a vault in the Masonic Section of Greenhill Cemetery in Columbia City. The gravesite is simply marked "Foust" with no names or dates engraved on the tombstone.

Sheep Drowned

Columbia City Commercial ~ Wednesday, July 2, 1902

F. H. Foust had eight or ten sheep drowned Sunday night and Monday morning as a result of the floods. He had about 150 head on the low lands Saturday and the recent rains drove 50 or 75 to an island boarding on the river, where they were compelled to remain until the island was completely submerged with water. Some of the sheep were fortunate enough to get on the tree tops, stumps, etc., but as many as ten are thought to be lost. Supt. Harshbarger and his hands had a narrow escape from drowning Monday while going to the rescue. They attempted to drive a team of horses and wagon to the isolated sheep, when they got into the deep water, the wagon box floating off. After some time and trouble they rescued the remainder of the wool growers to a place of safety.

[Franklin H. Foust was the husband of my 3rd Great-GrandAunt, Maxamillia Francis "Maxie" Jones.]