One Township's Yesterdays Chapter XXIX  

HAWK

The Hawk family settled close to Lost Lake , known in other years as Little Maxinkuckee and sometimes Hawk Lake, taking the name of the settlers whose log house had been built, so close to its shore. Fortunately, this family has a capable and painstaking historian in the person of Mrs. CLARA (BLANCHARD) GOTTSCHALK, now residing near Leiters Ford.

"This is the day of reunions," wrote this family historian in a "History of the HAWK Family" read at their first reunion, September 9, 1923. "Scarcely a Sunday passes the summer months but that we hear of one or more family reunions. Now we, the members of the HAWK family, descendants of Louis and Eva Hawk, are met to renew our acquaintance with each other and to strengthen the ties that hind us as members of one family; also to consider who we are, whence we came and whither we are going.

"To begin with, let us see what we can find out about these two people from whom we are descended. What sort of persons were they as to character, occupation and habits? Where did they come from, how did they live, where and when did they die, what did they accomplish during their lifetime, what heritage have they left to their posterity?

"The very brief records available at this time lead us to believe that they were honest, God-fearing and industrious people, lover of home and pioneers in spirit. By occupation LOUIS HAWK was a blacksmith and by religion profession a Lutheran. A very old book of German songs and Scripture readings bears the following inscription on the title page: "LUDWIG HACK, Scholar ill Ohmearhausen 1815, on the 13th BazenHof, where I bought this book. _

"We gather from this that he was born in Germany and lived there until at least thirteen years of age (he was born in 1802), when he came with his parents to America, and settled in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, where he grew to manhood and on January 18, 1824, was married to Miss EVA FERBER, daughter of JACOB and CATHERINE FERBER.

"Miss Eva was born ou [on] February 8, 1805, and baptized on March 5, 1805, by Rev. JOHN HENRY HELSTRICH of the Reformed Church. She was confirmed by the same minister in 1821. Her mother's maiden name was HANDWERKIN.

"On coming to Ohio Louis and Eva purchased a forty acre farm near West Lodi, Seneca County, where he set up his blacksmith shop and began the clearing of the land. His early death in 1843 at the age of only forty-one years left the burden of caring for the large family upon the shoulders of the widowed mother and older sons.

"After the marriage of the other children, the mother, Eva, with her youngest son, Franklin, moved from Ohio to Marshall County, Indiana. The two lived together until his marriage. She then bought a house and an acre of ground at Rutland where she lived for a few years, after which she made her home with her children until a few years before her death when she with her sister Lydia (who had married Louis' brother Johannes) bought a house and lot in Marmont, now Culver. Here she died on May 16, 1882, at the age of seventy-seven.

The other seven children grew to manhood and womanhood here in Seneca County and from here, following the example of their parents, they married and set up homes of own.

LOUIS and EVA HAWK were the parents of nine children:
David, born October 5, 1824 in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania

"David had now reached the age of nearly nineteen and he, with the help of neighbors, managed to learn his father's trade and to oversee the work on the little farm.

"David and his companion labored well, and by hard work and economy were able to provide for each of their children a farm of eighty or more acres near the old homestead. David died here in October, 1908, at the age of eighty-four. Catherine remained with as for nearly two decades longer. She died, January 2, 1927, at the age of eighty-eight.

Regarding the descendants of David:
SARAH ANNA (BLANCHARD)

descendant of David, was born September 22, 1856, in Seneca County, Ohio, and married EZRA BLANCHARD (December 19, 1875), a soldier of the Civil War. He was born May 4, 1845, in Jennings County, Indiana, and died December 22, 1926, at Culver. Their descendants were:

David Archie, who married ESTHER ASPER
ESSIE CATHERINE (CARLISLE)
CLARA LUEMMA (GOTTSCHALK)
Daisy (who died in infancy)
PEARL MAY May (ROMIG),
Ezra Perchis (who married MARY MURPHY)
Jesse Orville (who married DESSIE MCGINNIS)
Lulu Evalena (widow of ALFRED B. CROMLEY).

Emma died in infancy,
David, Jr., [died] in 1899, leaving a widow and children
Franklin [died] on January 7, 1913, leaving a widow and children.

Franklin was born June 14, 1851, and died January 7, 1913. He married ETTA ELDORA MORICALE ,they had one daughter,.

Cora Belle

Cora Belle, who was born August 3, 1887, married on June 12, 1930, to GEORGE W. GOTTSCHALK (widower) whose birthday was September 26, 1878, and who died January 27, 1933.

Cora's mother died in January, 1859, and her father married ELDORA KINSEY HORNER, a widow with one son, Arnie. To Franklin and Eldora were born two children:

Estella, who married GANO BATZ;
Edward, who married LEONA GIBSON.

Edwin, with their families, live in or near Culver
John with their families, live in or near Culver
Rollen, with their families, live in or near Culver.

Reuben, born January 7, indiana_map_1827in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania

"Reuben, second son or Louis and Eva Hawk, was married to Miss MARY BENNEHOFF. They had one child:

Fietta she and her parents lived and died in Seneca Courty, Ohio.

Josephine, born March 18, 1829 in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania

Josephine had died in infancy

Mary Ann, born January 26, 1831 in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania

Mart [Mary] Ann at the age of probably twelve or thirteen.

Lewis, born December 27, 1833 in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania

"Lewis, the third son, was married to CATHERINE GROSSKOPH, and with their first child they moved to Marshall County. After a short time they moved to Wolf Creek, Indiana. Later they returned to Ohio and made their home at Republic:

Ella
Louis William, was born Wolf Creek

After the departure of his wife, Lewis was married to AMANDA E. SKEELS (KNAPPENBERGER)and Amanda [died on December 18, 1921. To them was born one son,:

Franklin P. Lewis died on December 19, 1909

Sarah, born February 27, 1836 in Seneca County, Ohio

"Sarah, oldest daughter of Louis and Eva, was married in 1861 to LEWIS HARTMAN of West Lodi, Ohio. After the birth of their first two children (Emma and Catherine) they moved to Marshall County and settled on a piece of land near what is now Rutland, where the youngest son William now lives with his family. Here Lucy, Franklin, William, Susan and Laura were born, and here Lucy died in infancy.
Over in the northeastern cor­ner of the township, in early days, the HARTMAN family took up land. That was in the Rutland neighborhood.
LEWIS HARTMAN was born in 1834. He was married in 1861 to SARAH HAWK, whose family also settled in Union Township in early times.

The death of LEWIS HARTMAN occurred December 11, 1904. He passed away near Rutland at the age of seventy years
Sarah died, July 10, 1909, at Rutland, her husband having preceded her on.

To this union were born two sons and five daughters.

Emma

Emma married SOLOMON CAVENDER and both she and her husband have died, leaving sons and daughters grown to manhood and womanhood.

Catherine

Catherine married CHARLES GROVER and, after raising her family, passed away in 1921.

Lucy Lucy died in infancy
Franklin
William
Susan
Laura

Susan born August 1, 1840 in Seneca County, Ohio

"Susan was married in 1855 to EZRA PURCHIS TILLEY, an Englishman from Gloucester, England.

They moved to Morrison, Illinois, where they resided until Mr. TILLEY's death in 1897. Susan brought her husband's body to Culver for burial, and she remained here with her brother David and family.

She died on July 15, 1908, following a stroke of paralysis. Her last illness was of but one day's duration.

Susan and her husband had no children, but raised one boy, Rolla Robert, whose whereabouts is not now known to the family.

Fian [Fianna], born August 1, 1840 in Seneca County, Ohio

"Fianna, twin sister of Susan, was married on May 22, 1859, to ABRAHAM BOWERMAN, a young man who had come from Oswego, N. Y., to Seneca County with his parents when he was a small child.

The two had grown up together in the same community, often attending singing school and other events, their friendship leading to courtship and marriage.

Immediately after a short honeymoon to Put-in-Bay Island, they went to Indiana, riding on the old Seneca, the first train to travel westward, where the groom had previously provided a home, then in the dense forest. This home was a rude log cabin, similar to all in its time, but out of the ordinary, was sided, making it look like the modern home of today. This home still stands in good preservation.

"Fianna died on January 30, 1905, after a long period of suffering from paralysis, during which time she was tenderly cared for by her daughter Maud. Mr. BOWERMAN died in 1906.

Here their children were born:
Edson Purchas, August 6, 1860

grew to manhood, married, had children and died in the county of their birth

Perry Lloyd, August 5, 1864

grew to manhood, married, had children and died in the county of their birth

Charles Allen, August 21, 1871

grew to manhood, married, had children and died in the county of their birth

Ella Maud, August 24, 1876.

Maud was married on January 30, 1908, to HENRY A. WILSON of near Bluffton, Indiana, and was at home since 1915 at Warren, Ohio.

Franklin, born December 29, 1842 in Seneca County, Ohio

"Franklin, youngest son of Louis and Eva, was married to HARRIET YORK of near Burr Oak, and to them were born four children:

Ella
Elizabeth

Only Elizabeth grew to womanhood and she with her husband, PAUL FIESER, reared a large family of children.

Fietta Sarah Louise

After the death of his wife. Franklin married Mrs. ARWESTA REEMS (nee MILES) and to them were born three children:

Franklin, Jr.,
Susan
Roscoe

who with their families live near Walnut, Indiana. Franklin died in September, 1909, and his widow has since married WILLIAM ALLEMAN of Argos. (Arwesta died in 1933).

"A baptism certificate of David gives the spelling of the family name as Haag (probably the Pennsylvania translation of the name Hack) and the god-parents as JOHANNES and LYDIA HACK. He was baptized by a minister of the Lutheran Church in Heidelberg Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, October 22, 1824." This certificate, the paper of which is now brown and brittle with age, was found some time ago amongst family belongings and is kept in the family and prized. The lettering much of which was done, is in the old German style and is still black and distinct. The wording is in German and is quaint. Proper names are given different spellings from those used today. The inscription on thee certificate says that to LUDWIG (later called LEWIS) HAAG and wife Eva is born a "Sohn" (son) and the date of that is _ 5 October 1824, _ while the place is Heidelberg Township, Lecha (Lehigh) County, Pennsylvania. To the boy is given the name David Haag, and the witnesses are JOHANNES HAAG and his wife LITHIA (LYDIA).

"We have no way of knowing the exact time of their (Louis' and Eva's) coming to Seneca County, Ohio," continues the historian, "but records of the birth and baptism of Lewis, their fifth child, show that he was born in Pennsylvania and baptized in Ohio by a minister of the Reformed Church as LEWIS HAWK. Here again there is a change in the spelling of the name, - - this probably being the American translation of the original name." At any rate, Ludwig developed into Lewis and HAAG into HAWK, but just where these changes took place is problematical. One story is related that attributes the change from HAAG to HAWK as taking place in Union Township after the family settled here.

According to this tradition, the name of Hawk was first used in a deed that was made out when property was bought in this township. The person drawing up the deed inquired as to the name, misunderstood it, and put it down as HAWK. But let us go on with the historian's account of the progress of the family westward.

"So far as we have been able to trace them," the historian adds, "there are at present one hundred eleven direct descendants of Louis and Eva Hawk living. (The widows of David and Franklin are living, but this estimate does not include any relatives by marriage). The living descendants are: Children, none; grandchildren, 15; great-grandchildren, 57; and great-great-grandchildren, 39."

It was a matter of interest that Catherine, widow of the oldest son, and Arwesta, widow of the youngest son, were present at. the first reunion of the HAWK family, in 1923. The oldest living grandchild, Mrs. EZRA BLANCHARD of Culver, aged 67 years, and the youngest, FRANKLIN P. HAWK of Republic, Ohio, aged 29, were also present, as were the oldest and youngest members of the next generation: ARCHIE BLANCHARD of Culver (46) and LEWIS DANIEL HAWK of Republic, Ohio, aged eight months. RUBY CARLISLE was the oldest great-great-grandchild and CLARA MAY BOWERMAN of Garrett, Indiana, the youngest.

In early times, the lands of the HAWK family in Union Township consisted of:

• acres in the name of D. HAWK, west of Lost Lake;
• northwest of that, 92 acres, also in the name of D. HAWK;
• and north of the Lost Lake tract, 60 acres in the name of F. HAWK.

The settlement of the family in this township was made around 1860. David and CATHERINE HAWK had come to Allen County, Indiana, about 1859. After spending a little over a year there, they came on to the Lost Lake home-site.