William Westley Bostwick is the common ancestor to our Bostwick branch. No information has been found on his parents.
According to his marriage and death certificates, William was born on February 28, 1870. According to his marriage certificate, he was born in "Hayland," Ohio. No Ohio map found so far shows "Hayland" on it. Perhaps the name of the town may have been changed. One theory is that William may have actually written the county instead of the town down.
Although there is no Hayland County, there is a Highland County, Ohio. However, after looking at the birth records for Highland and the surrounding counties, none of the records show a male with the surname "Bostwick" being born on 28 Feb. 1870.
Another theory was that instead of "Hayland" the town's name is of a different spelling such as "Wayland". There is a Wayland in Portage County, Ohio. After researching the Portage County and surrounding counties' birth records, none of them recorded a male with the surname "Bostwick" being born on 28 Feb. 1870. The marriage certificate copy is very clear,but as with many written documents, the writing is not always easy to decipher.
One mystery solved is what William's actual middle name was. Sources such as his marriage certificate, administration dockets and tax records, and the US Census' for 1910 and 1920 give him the middle initial "S.". William's death certificate states that his middle initial was "A". One source gives him the middle name of "Abram". Two descendants of his daughter Lillie May and a descendant of his daughter Marjorie Ellen give his middle name as "Westley". Normally, the vital records, i.e., William's marriage and death certificates, would be the primary source of information, giving him the middle initial "S" or "A". In the last few years new evidence has surfaced, which finally settles the matter. Lillie May Bostwick's daughter, the late Thelma Hughs, provided copies of her mother's birth and death certificates. The birth certificate states her father as William W. Bostwick, and her death certificate states his name as William Westley Bostwick. Furthermore, Lillie May's obituary states that she was "a daughter of the late William Westley Bostwick...". Thus, the name of our ancestor is William Westley Bostwick.
William married Mary Elizabeth Harriman on May 29, 1890, at Muses Bottom, Jackson County, West Virginia. William and Mary had eight known children of which six lived to adulthood.
According to William's death certificate, his occupation was a stationary engineer for an ice plant in East Liverpool. William's occupation required that he have a fairly good education. He worked in this capacity for various ice plants along the Ohio River. As a result the family moved along both sides of the Ohio and West Virginia borders, as is evidenced by the variety of locations their children were born.
William's last residence was in East Liverpool, Ohio, where he had purchased a home. He died at the age of nearly 52 years on January 26, 1922. According to his death certificate, William died of "death by shooting". Mystery has surrounded the way William died, ranging from suicide to accident to murder. Whatever the circumstances, William's death was tragic. He was not quite 52 years of age at the time. His wife was 48. Marjorie Ellen, their daughter, was only 10 years old. William's daughter, Hazel was executor for his will and property.
William's burial took place in Riverview Cemetery in East Liverpool. However, the grave once marked is no longer so. Therefore, the exact location of his grave site is being sought for. What may have happened is for whatever reason, when the grave marker disappeared, another person later was buried at or near the same location. William's grandaughter, Thelma (Nicholson) Hughes, had been investigating this matter prior to her death. Mostly due to the way William died, little was said about his ancestral family. Nothing was ever mentioned about his parents or his having any siblings.
Those that recall William or have talked to people who knew him, agree that he could be temperamental at times and at other times display a sense of humor. Those who knew him state that he was a hard working individual and apparently did what was necessary to support his family, including moving to different locales. He most likely had a good education, which accounted for his being a stationary engineer.
The photo shown above was taken c.1890 and was provided by William and Mary's great-grandaughter, Bernice [Dyke] Neer. It shows him as a man of fairly large stature and of average height and reveals his physical characteristics well. He strikes a handsome figure having a broad mustache and wearing a bowler style hat and vested suit and tie.
Mary Elizabeth Harriman was born on May 15, 1875, in West Virginia. She was the oldest of five known children to Aurelius and Evelyn [Lewis] Harriman.
Aurelius Harriman was born about 1842 in Jackson County, Ohio and died in Marietta, Ohio on 17 Mar 1932. He is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Marietta. There is no further information about Evelyn Lewis. However, Aurelius did have a second marriage to Mildred Wise. Aurelius' father was Daniel Harryman.
Mary's educational background is unknown. She had three brothers, Rome Edward who was born 22 May 1890 in West Virginia, Arthur, and Albert, and a sister Emmeline. Rome lived in Marietta, Ohio with his wife Catherine (Kate). The Harriman family moved from West Virginia [probably Jackson County] to Marietta, Ohio, where they stayed through the balance of Mary's childhood.
Mary married William Westley Bostwick on May 29, 1890, at Muses Bottom, Jackson County, West Virginia. She traveled with William along both sides of the Ohio River along the Ohio and West Virginia borders until they settled in East Liverpool, Ohio.
Following her husband's tragic death, Mary is said to have become very sullen and recluse for the rest of her life. According to some of her grandchildren, she was good to them and enjoyed their company. She lived in her daughter Lillie's home in East Liverpool for a time and then later on at her daughter Hazel's residence in Sebring, Ohio. In the fall of 1929 she became ill with bronchial pneumonia. Her grandson, Thomas Lamp, then only 4 years of age, found her on the morning of 17 October 1929 in her room where she had passed away during the night. She was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in East Liverpool and a grave marker is at the site.
The photo shown above was taken c.1890 and was provided by William and Mary's great-grandaughter, Bernice [Dyke] Neer. It reveals her physical characteristics well. The picture shows her as having petite and beautiful features and wearing a large plumed hat and ruffled dress. Those that recall her or have talked to people who knew her, agree that she could be temperamental at times and for the most part kept to herself. She was known to be a hard working individual and apparently did what was necessary to raise her family, including moving to different locales when her husband's employment required it.
William and Mary Bostwick had eight known children.
Hazel Leota Bostwick was born March 20, 1891, at Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio. She married Elmer Beadnell [1889-1919]. They had at least three children: Glenna Mae, Cecil [1906-1922] and Clifford J. [1918-1996]. Hazel married James Emery Lamp [1903-1980] on October 11, 1922, in Lisbon, Columbiana County, Ohio. James was the second of five children to Thomas Jackson and Margret Ruth Amy [Birkhimer] Lamp. James and Hazel had four children: Clarice, Thomas Emery, James Junior and Hazel Louise. Hazel worked in potteries in Sebring, Ohio. She died on March 20, 1949, in Sebring, Mahoning County, Ohio.
Lillie Mae Bostwick was born September 19, 1892, in Jackson County, West Virginia. She married Archie Nicholson [1890-1955] on August 29, 1909, in East Liverpool, Columbiana County, Ohio. They had seven children: Edward [1910-1993], Robert [1911-1929], Lester [1914-1977], Thelma, Bessie, May and Ronald [1930-1930]. Lillie died on June 7, 1966, in East Liverpool, Ohio.
William Westley Bostwick, Jr., was born October 23, 1896. He served in the Army during World War I. William married Verna Growt. They moved to Tacoma, Washington, and had one child, Gordon Eric [1920-1994]. William later married Rose. He died August, 1967, in Akron, Ohio.
Clarence Abram Bostwick was born September 15, 1898, in Belpre Township, Washington County, Ohio. He married Mabel Lavera Lamp [1900-1952] on July 6, 1915, in East Liverpool, Ohio. Mabel was the first of five children to Thomas Jackson and Margret Ruth Amy [Birkhimer] Lamp. Clarence and Mabel had five children: Bernard, William [1918-1920], Margaret Elaine, Maxine Loretta and Ralph Garland [1925-1991]. Mabel died of cancer and heart disease on February 23, 1952, in Salem, Ohio. Clarence married Alyce McKee [d. 1991] in 1954. Clarence moved from place to place from Ohio to Tennessee, where Ralph was born. The family settled in Sebring, Ohio, during the Great Depression. There Clarence with his oldest son, Bernard, started Modern China in Sebring. Clarence was killed in an automobile accident near Harrisonburg, Virginia, on December 27, 1961, while he and Alyce were on their way to Florida. Clarence was buried along side his first wife, Mabel, in Sebring, Ohio.
Thomas Sumner [Sammy] Bostwick was born July 12, 1902, in Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia. He married Eva Roselia Mann. They had three children: Charles Leroy [1923-1991], Mary Isabel and Ruth Elaine. Thomas died on April 4, 1967, in Calcutta, Columbiana County, Ohio.
Unnamed Male Bostwick's birth record was found in the East Liverpool Courthouse. The record states that he was stillborn, January 28, 1905, to William and Mary Bostwick.
Lorena R. Bostwick was born about 1909 and died before 1920. This information is taken off the 1910 and 1920 US Census records as discovered by Mary [Bromaghim] Bostwick. The 1910 census has Lorena as 1 year of age, but the 1920 census does not mention her.
Marjorie Ellen Bostwick was born March 10, 1911, in Dixonville, Columbiana County, Ohio. She was only 10 when her father died. Marjorie married Clarence Elmer Stephens [1909-1969] on September 10, 1927, in Marietta, Washington County, Ohio. They had seven children: Clarence Victor, Gordon, Barbara Jean, Mary Jo, Marjorie Rose, Bonita Louise and Glenna Mae. Marjorie died March 7, 1980 in Aliquippa, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. She was the last surviving child of William and Mary.
To see a picture of the 1999 Bostwick/Lamp Family Reunion go to Bostwick/Lamp Reunion 1999
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