Soots and Riley Family Histories

Honoring Our Heritage
Tracing the Life of Harrison William Soots Born 1902

Tracing the Life of Harrison William Soots Born 1902

by | Aug 14, 2024 | Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Roth, Soots Family

My grandfather, Harrison William Soots, born in April 1902 in Madison County, Indiana, remains a bit of an enigma in our family history. Unlike the rest of the family, who stayed in Kokomo and Fort Wayne, Indiana, Harrison took a different path, one that led him far from home and into a life of mystery.  According to my great-aunt Stella, Harrison was something of a hobo, riding the rails and traveling around the country. Occasionally, he’d stop in Fort Wayne for a meal, but those visits were rare. I assume it was during one of these wanderings that he ended up in Philadelphia, but it’s been a challenge to piece together his journey.

I’ve been deeply involved in genealogy since the 1970s, and Harrison has always been on my radar. My search for him took on greater urgency after I found two obituaries—one for my great-grandmother and another for a great-uncle—that mentioned he was either in Pennsylvania or “whereabouts unknown.”  In 1961, when Pennsylvania released death certificates online,

I had a sudden urge on Valentine’s Day to search for him. That day, I discovered a death certificate file number, the state of Pennsylvania had released on line including death certificates up to 1961.  If you wanted the entire Death Certificate  it required you to fill out a form, request it and pay a fee by USPS. Prior to this I had paid for a 10 year search 1950-1960 and nothing.  The Certificate finally arrived and it  listed a stroke as the cause of death, but the document was frustratingly incomplete. His parents weren’t listed, and his birth year was recorded as 1903 instead of 1902. He had been in a nursing home, the William Perry Nursing Home on Spruce Street, for four years. The certificate also stated that he had worked as an orderly at Philadelphia General Hospital.

What puzzled me further was the name discrepancy. We knew him as Harrison William Soots, and my dad was named after him. But in the 1910 census, he’s listed as Wm H, and the death certificate simply calls him William. This inconsistency only deepened the mystery.

I decided to request his SS-5, the application for a Social Security number, hoping it would provide confirmation and list his parents’ names. The wait was nerve-wracking, but eventually, I received the SS-5, and the good news was that the Social Security number matched the one on his death certificate. Even better, it listed his parents—my great-grandparents—confirming his identity.

However, the SS-5 also revealed something unexpected. Harrison had been working on a farm in Hydes, Maryland, for a Dr. Burton, and his Social Security card was to be mailed to John Ayres in Baldwin, Maryland. Both are historic areas, and this was in 1940. Interestingly, Harrison tried to change his name to Henry but then signed the form as Harrison—twice. This occurred 2 years after the divorce.  I see a little research on Dr Burton and Hydes, Maryland in my future.

Twenty one years pass from his time in Maryland to his death in Philadelphia you know there is a story to be told  In 1961 Harrison was in Philadelphia, living in a nursing home for at least four years prior to his death. Despite the information uncovered, I still have many unanswered questions. Both the William Perry Nursing Home and Philadelphia General Hospital are now defunct, making it difficult to track down employment or medical records. Why did Harrison work so hard to hide his identity? Was he avoiding something as minor as back child support, or was he hiding from something more sinister? Unfortunately, these are questions that may never be fully answered.

As I reflect on this journey, I realize that I may never uncover the full story. But for now, I think it’s time to lay Harrison William Soots to rest in the pages of our family history, even if some of those pages remain blank.

 

 

 

“Applejack and Wrath Moonshiners in Jail”

“Applejack and Wrath Moonshiners in Jail”

by | Oct 30, 2021 | Blacksheep, Indiana, Newspaper Clippings, Peter Roth, Roth

The Indianapolis News, Indianapolis, Indiana Mon, Dec 21, 1891 · Page 6 newspaper.com

U.S. Marshals bring in a pair of Harrison County Farmers. One of them is Peter Roth who threatened Revenue Collector Platt. Being a Moonshiner, Peter had a double floor in his house with a hidden cellar that contained 16 barrels of Applejack brandy. Headlines with my great grandfather’s name and county where he was born prompted me to read the article it was confirmed it was about my great-grandfather. I found several articles about this incident, eventual arrest, trial, and prison sentence. I researched at the Indiana State Archives for his prison record, and it was very descriptive of his personal appearance although no photograph. The prison record intake form described Peter as having had numerous scars, old healed fractures, large-framed, ruddy complexion, and a reddish beard.

The Indianapolis News, Indianapolis, Indiana Mon, Dec 21, 1891 · Page 6  Newspaper.com
  https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30466149/applejack-and-wrath-peter-roth-1891/ [1]
 
 
Let’s put Peter’s arrest and his absence from his family in perspective on December 12, 1891, his ninth child was born Lena Helen Roth. So his arrest and incarceration leave his wife Anna Barbara Bach Roth to take care of the farming and raising their children, including their newborn. The oldest Thomas Peter Jr and Adam are 13 and 12 years of age, Theresia is 10, Joseph 7, Rosina 6, Katherine 4, Clara 2, and Lena, the newborn. Anna Barbara had a hard life with my great grandfather, and I believe she was a saint. Anna Barbara was the daughter of Christian Bach and Anna Maria George Bach, who farmed adjacent to the Roth’s. Peter’s mother, Anna Barbara Roth, was active in Anna Barbara’s life as she was also her godchild, and her namesake.
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59 barrels of brandy removedThe Indianapolis News, Indianapolis Indiana, 9 Dec 1891, Sat  •  Page 6 Newspapers.com
  https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3481320/peter-roth-moonshine/
 
 

Offers of compromise rejected by Grand Jury Prosecutor

The Indianapolis News Indianapolis Indiana 09 May 1892, Monday  Page 2 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85560110/federal-grand-jury-may-09-1892/

The revenuers were making raids in Harrison County in the fall of 1891. Under threat of arrest, farmers voluntarily turned in undeclared apple and peach brandy on which they had failed to pay taxes. It was common for farmers to supplement their income by producing peach and apple brandy, which was legal before prohibition. Our country’s first Commander in Chief George Washington broke in his first still in 1797. The Revenuers visited Peter’s farm on December 18, 1891, and found an uncooperative distiller under the influence of his apple brandy. The officers decided to leave, and they returned on the 21st to raid and arrest Peter Roth and his assistant. The officers confiscated 18 barrels of apple brandy that Peter stored in a false cellar under his house. Peter and Phillip Rhinehart, Peter’s employee, were incarcerated in New Albany overnight and transported to Indianapolis by train. Peter paid the bond for his cohort Phillip. [2] The records I have found so far are not clear about how long Peter was in Jail. The grand jury refused to make a deal with him and instead indicted him in May 1892. [3] I found reference to a petition that friends and family in Harrison County were signing and circulating to be delivered to President Grover Cleveland asking for clemency dated April 25, 1893. The article about the petition stated Peter had served half of his sentence, which would have been about six months. I have not found the actual petition. [4 ] I want to think friends from St Mary’s and the German community were trying to do all they could to help Anna Barbara and their children

 

 

 

 
 

 

 
 
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

Peter Roth and Anna Barbary Miller

Peter Roth and Anna Barbary Miller

by | Jul 23, 2021 | 1850, 1860, Anna Barbary Miller Roth, Federal Census, Indiana, Last Will Testament, Peter Roth, Roth, States

Peter Roth Headstone St Mary’s Catholic Church Cemetery

 

Catholic Record of Anna Barbara Roth’s Death and burial. On this day 1 October 1887 was buried at age of 77 years before death received all sacred Sacraments. Father Alphonse Munischina.

 

Peter Roth burial record

St Mary’s Catholic Church Lanesville Indiana Parish burial record of Peter Roth, On this day 31 March 1888 was buried Peter Roth in the age of 71 years before death he received all sacred Sacraments Father Alphonse Munischina.

I became very interested in researching my great grandfather Peter Roth Jr. born in 1854 or 1850, depending on the record, when my favorite great uncle John Leo Roth died in 1970.  During the probate of uncle John’s estate, the attorney discovered 14 half-siblings from his father, Peter Roth Jr’s first marriage. We knew his five siblings from his father’s second marriage to Louisa Fuchs Futterer, my great grandmother. We also knew of his half-sister, Louisa’s daughter, from her first marriage. I do not recall my parents or my grandmother ever talking about my great-grandfather. Peter was a widower when he married my Great Grandmother Louisa Fuchs Futterer, a widow. My research led to looking for his children and parents. I found his parents Peter Roth Sr, born in 1817 in Germany, and  Anna Barbara Miller Roth, born in 1811 in Germany according to the 1860 census.  The subjects of my post today are my great-great-grandparents Anna Barbary Miller Roth and Peter Roth Sr.

The first record that I find is the 1860 census for Harrison County, Indiana, and they are living in Franklin Township in the tiny town of Lanesville. My cousin Lois had been researching family history for a while, and she had shared with me the information on their hometown and the misspelling of the surname in the the1860 census, Boath instead of Roth. The 1860 census has Peter Roth Senior 43, his wife Anna 52 and daughter Ann M 8, son Peter 6, daughter Rosina 3, Adam Michaels or Nichols 19, a laborer and on the next page Mary Miller 12 years old.  Interesting Peter Jr had siblings! Questions that arise from this census are who is Adam Nichols and Mary Miller.
1860 Federal Census Lanesville Indiana Roth family start on line 35.

Peter Roth Family 1860

 

In 2015 we decided to visit Louisville, Kentucky, New Albany, Lanesville, Corydon, and French Lick, Indiana. We stayed at the Sheraton in Jeffersonville, Indiana, for the beginning of the trip. The Sheraton is right on the Ohio River, and it was easy to have the hotel shuttle drop us off in Louisville, Kentucky, for the day. We then toured through New Albany and then onto Lanesville, Indiana. Our Lanesville stop is where my grandmother was born and raised on the family farm that was 3.5 miles southeast of Lanesville.  Saint Mary’s Catholic Church and cemetery at Lanesville is where my great-great-grandparents are buried and some of their children and grandchildren. The church is where my grandmother was baptized, christened, and attended school. I had researched before our visit, and we drove straight to the farm after arriving in Lanesville. It was a grand feeling to step onto the land where she was raised.

 

 

We stayed at West Baden Springs Hotel in French Lick for my 65th birthday. We drove through southern Indiana from Lanesville to Corydon, and of course, we went to The Frederick Porter Griffin Center genealogy Library there. I did find a short transcription of the heirs in the will of Peter Sr, born 1817, my two times great grandfather.  These were names I had never heard of before and left me with more questions than answers. There was also a transcription of a newspaper clipping about the death and burial of one of his grandchildren, Rosa Roth. A couple of years later, I found a copy of the original will on Ancestry,

Peter Roth Sr will Date August 11th, 1883

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Transcription of heirs of Peter Roth Sr as follows:  Peter Roth Jr shall pay to my heirs as follows Christian Mikel, heirs Catherine Michael, now Smodle heirs, John Michael, Adam Michael, Mary Miller, now Hahn, Emma Roth, now Wagner heirs the sum of one hundred dollars, additionally shall I and my wife die consuming all my personal property and there being debts against my estate I direct that each of the above-named heirs shall pay their proportional part of this debt, Peter Roth Jr to pay one-seventh part of said debt.

St Mary’s Catholic Church and Cemetery in Lanesville, Indiana

His wife is referred to as Barbary Roth, so I started researching Barbary Miller as we think that was her maiden name because of St Mary’s Catholic Church Records. I have never found Peter and Barbary in the 1850 census, so I started looking for Barbary Miller in the 1850 census. She is in the 1850 census in Floyd County, married to Mathias Miller. She has Mary Miller, Adam, and Christopher Nickles in the same household. The ages match Mary Miller and Adam Nickles in the 1860 census when she is now married to Peter Roth Sr.  Who is Mathias Miller and his 5 children in the 1850 census, Christopher 16, John 14, Mathias Jr 12, Eleanor 8. Then we have Christopher Nickles, 16, and Adam Nickles, 8. Everyone is born in Germany except Mary Miller, 1-year-old and born in Indiana. I have not found the Miller family again except John Miller, possibly.
                                       Barbara Miller and Mathias Miller Marriage Certificate 14 February 1848

 

1850 Federal Census New Albany, Indiana and the Miller family starts on line 6.

I found a Peter Roth of the correct age in a Kentucky census for 1850, and he was listed as a Carpenter in the household of Joseph Steinbach, also a Carpenter, and they are 33 and 34 years old. I am not sure he is the correct one, and then in the 1860 census, it says he’s married to Barbary and a farmer in Harrison County. He lives on a farm next to Christian Bach, and later Peter Roth Jr marries Christian Bach’s daughter Anna Barbara Bach. Peter Roth‘s will lists Mary Miller, now Hahn, Christopher, and Adam Nickles, John Michaels, and Emma Roth, now Wagner, as heirs. Possibly Emma by a previous marriage?  I did find her marriage certificate to Wagner and Mary Miller’s marriage certificate to Hahn.

For many years I thought that Peter Roth Senior and Barbara Miller Roth were married in Germany. I do not think that is true, and it is still a mystery where Peter emigrated from and who his parents were. On Barbary Miller’s marriage certificate to Mathias Miller, her name is Miller, and she marries Mathias Miller, possibly an in-law.
Barbary dies before Peter and is buried at St Mary’s Catholic Church Cemetery, without a headstone. St Mary’s Catholic Parish Registry Book has her death as recorded by the Priest.
I take away from this research many questions: 1. Who are Peter Roth’s heirs?  2. Where are the other members in Anna Barbary’s household in the 1850 census?
Theresia Mary Roth

Theresia Mary Roth

by | May 1, 2021 | Indiana, Kentucky, Roth, States, Theobold

Theresia was the 3rd born of my great grandfather Peter Roth. I have been researching my paternal lines and I’ve always spent a lot of research time on Peter and his 20 plus children. I did not have any information on Theresa other then birthday and I had searched many times and I thought why not lets do a Ancestry.com search today and I found her. It is great that more and more records are being digitized and are available on line. I was excited.

Theresa Mary Roth was born in 1881 the 3rd child of Peter Roth and wife Anna Barbara Bach. It was said by my grandmother, Edith Matilda Roth, who was Theresa’s younger half sister and the 18th child of Peter Roth and wife Louisa Fuchs, that everyone spoke of her beauty and how striking she was. I am still trying to locate a photograph of her. My grandmother was born the year Theresa died and was not aware of what happened to her. Since she was born in 1881 she misses the 1880 Federal Census and the 1890 Federal Census is destroyed by fire and not available.

The first record is St Mary’s Catholic Church birth and Baptismal record. This information is provided by Father Joseph B Sheets of St Mary’s Catholic Church, Lanesville Indiana to our cousin Florence Roth Edmonds (Emmett Roth’s Daughter) and shared with her nephew Robert. Robert shared a copy of the original letter with me. I had the pleasure of meeting Florence in April of 2016 in Marietta Georgia when she was 90 years old. Florence and her daughter Liz accompanied Mary and I to lunch at a French Cafe and it was delightful visiting with them. She lived alone in an assisted living apartment and it was very fashionable, Florence was truly a special person. I’m glad I had the pleasure of meeting her. Unfortunately we lost her two years later.

Recently I found the Record Books of St. Mary’s Catholic Church Lanesville on World Cat and then at Family Search and they were digitized and not indexed. You have to access them at an affiliate library of the Mormon Church’s Family History Centers. Our local library is an affiliate so I was able to find several records of our Roth family by browsing the records on line.

Theresa Roth Born January 21st 1881 and baptized February 20Th 1881.

Transcription of St Mary’s Catholic Church Registrar written in Latin

Maria Theresia Roth     On this day of 20 February 1881 Baptism Maria Theresia  daughter of Peter Roth and Barbara Bach born on 21st day January 1881 sponsors Luicvius Ringle and Theresia Bach.

I believe Theresia Bach is Barbara Bach’s sister.

The following is a picture of Florence Roth Edmonds, our cousin when I met her and in earlier years..

Florence Edmonds in April 2016

 

                                                                                                                                         Florence Roth Edmonds

My next search led me to the 1900 Federal Census which found her living in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, 8th Magisterial District as a domestic in the home of Albert Struby, his wife Lulie and son Chester. Albert is a Druggist and I have found two addresses associated with his drug store and home 2531 and 2524 Portland Ave. I later found Theresa  in a Louisville City Directory and her oldest brother Thomas Peter, who was already living at 1119 W Oak in Louisville. Their half Uncle Adam Michaels (Nichols) also lived in Louisville at 1663 Portland Ave.

 

          Theresia Roth. Year: 1900; Census Place: Louisville Ward 12, Jefferson, Kentucky; Page: 6; Enumeration District: 0126; FHL microfilm: 1240532.

 

2524 Portland Ave Louisville Google Maps street view Home of Albert Struby and Pharmacy.  “Image: 2524 Portland Ave.
Louisville, Ky; Map data ©2019 Google (https://www.google.com/maps/: accessed 19 August 2019).”

2531 Portland Ave Louisville, Kentucky Google, n.d. [Google Maps Street view of 2531 Portland address associated with Struby Pharmacy in the year 1901] “Image: 2531 Portland Ave.Louisville, Ky; Map data ©2019 Google (https://www.google.com/maps/: accessed 19 August 2019).”

 
//
“U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989”, indexed database and digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com :accessed 19 August 2019), page 1041, Theresa Roth  entry; citing “Louisville, Kentucky, City Directory, 1901 (Louisville, Ky.:n.p.,1901)”

Peter and Theresa in 1901 Louisville Directory. The 1900 Federal Census shows the address  1119 W Oak Street as a boarding house and Peter lived there with several others. It is a vacant lot now between a church  and a Commercial Business. Theresia was residing at the Struby Residence in this directory. I searched Sanborn Fire insurance Maps and Google Maps for addresses of our Roth Relatives and some of the homes and neighborhoods were razed by highway construction, urban renewal and have become commercial areas.


 

The next record is In December 27th 1903 Theresa’s Marriage Certificate which shows her marriage to Edward J Theobald and her father Peter Roth and Henry Theobald as witnessing and present with others. 


“Kentucky, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1783-1965,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61372 : downloaded 20 August 2019) Marriage Records, Jefferson 1903-1904 > Film 000826077 > image 1025, Edward J Theobald and Teresa M Roth married Jefferson County, 27 December 1903; citing “Marriage Records. Kentucky Marriages. Madison County Courthouse, Richmond, Kentucky.”


“Kentucky, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1783-1965,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61372 : downloaded 20 August 2019) Marriage Records, Jefferson 1903-1904 > Film 000482721 > image 206, Edward J Theobald and Theresia M Roth married Jefferson County, 27 December 1903; citing “Marriage Records. Kentucky Marriages. Madison County Courthouse, Richmond, Kentucky.”

I was so excited when I found her and I was thinking about how her life turned out. The next records I came across are newspaper articles not in the social pages announcing baby showers and birth announcements instead it is regarding her illness and death. Theresa is 26 and she dies from Tuberculosis. It saddens me that she died so young.

 

Tuberculosis fatal to Mrs Theresa Roth Theobald 1908Tuberculosis fatal to Mrs Theresa Roth Theobald 1908 24 Mar 1908, Tue The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

Theresa Roth Theobald funeral announcement 24 Mar 1903Theresa Roth Theobald funeral announcement 24 Mar 1903 24 Mar 1908, Tue The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

I felt her and Edward’s grief of a life that was not going to be as they had planned and my heart felt heavy. It seemed she was loved and cherished by her husband and had such a full life ahead of her. I read the clipping regarding their trip to Denver Colorado in hopes of the altitude improving or healing her Tuberculosis. I was able to locate her grave now and she is with her husbands parents at St Louis Cemetery in Louisville.  Edward went on to marry and have children and recently I met one of his granddaughters through our mutual interest in family history and we keep in contact by email. It was interesting in that she had only just found out that her grandfather was a widower before he married her grandmother.

 

Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com/memorial/116925944/theresa-mary-theobald : accessed 07 May 2021), memorial page for Theresa Mary Roth Theobald (21 Jan 1881–23 Mar 1908), Find a Grave Memorial ID 116925944, citing Saint Louis Cemetery, Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA ; Maintained by anony1234 (contributor 47047632) .
Photo and memorial contributed to anony1234 (contributor 47047632) 

“There are three deaths. The first is when the body ceases to function. The second is when the body is consigned to the grave. The third is that moment, sometime in the future, when your name is spoken for the last time.”― David M. Eagleman, from:

Eagleman, David. Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives. Pantheon Books, 2009. 

Let us keep our loved ones alive by speaking their names, remembering and sharing their life’s journey.  May we remember Maria Theresia Roth Theobald by speaking her name and sharing her story today.