ca 1900 School Photograph
from
German Flatts
Herkimer County NY
Contributed by Judy Morgan
Click on photos for larger view.
Teacher Evington Sharpe from E. Herkimer
Back Row - Zadia Harder, Gertrude Earl, May Helmer, Edna Bellinger, Della Eisenlord, ____ Earl, Arthur Casler, Stanley McCormick, Frank Karasek, Clyde Helmer
Front Row - Laura Fisher, Wildora McCormic, Gus Lentz, Zadia Lightheart, Russel Bellinger, James Fox, don't remember next one, Cleon Helmer
SOME PERSONS FOUND IN THE CENSUS
Research done by the site coordinator, using ancestry.com.
GERTRUDE EARL - in 1900, a Gertrude A. Earl, age 6, b. ca 1894, "granddaughter," resided in the household of Herbert E. and Anna E. Potter in the Town of Russia. In 1910 a Gertrude P. Earl, age 20 resided with Wesley A. and Florence Marshall and family in the Town of Herkimer.
MAY HELMER - in 1900 a May Helmer age 7, b. ca. 1893, "daughter," resided in the Town of Mohawk with Orville and Anna Helmer and family.
EDNA BELLINGER - in 1900, an Edna M. Bellinger, age 8, b. ca. 1892, "daughter," resided in the Town of German Flatts with Frank and Minnie Bellinger and family. In the 1910 census another Edna M. Bellinger, age 6, b. ca. 1904, resided in the Town of Manheim with Bertram and Josephine Bellinger.
DELLA EISENLORD - in the 1910 census, a Della R. Eisenlord, age 9, b. ca. 1901, "daughter," resided in the Town of German Flatts with parents John P. and Aanna Eisenlord and siblings. She is likely the Della Eisenlord found in the SDDI, b. Nov. 18, 1900, and d. Aug. 5, 1998, last residence Herkimer, NY, but her birthdate seemss too recent to be the Della Eisenlord of this photograph.
ARTHUR CASLER - in the 1900 census of German Flatts, an Arthur D. Casler, age 10, b. ca. 1890, "son," resided with Hawley and Ella E. Casler and Mary Fisher. In the 1910 census of German Flatts, Arthur B. Casler, age 20, resided with Hawley and Ella E. Casler.
STANLEY McCORMICK - residing in Little Falls Ward 2 in the 1900 census is a Stanley McCormick, age 6, b. ca. 1894, "son," with parents William and Dora McCormick and sister Mira age 10.
FRANK KARASEK - in the 1900 census of German Flatts, Frank Karasek, age 10, b. Bohemia ca. 1890, "son," resided with Jacob and Mary Karasek and family. In 1910, Frank Karasek, age 19 and b. Austria, was still residing with his parents.
CLYDE HELMER - in 1900 a Clyde E. Helmer, age 11, b. ca. 1889, "son," was residing in German Flatts with Adam and Mildred M. Helmer and family, including a Mary Helmer, age 14.
LAURA FISHER - in 1900 a Laura B. Fisher, age 8, b. ca. 1892, "niece," was residing in German Flatts with Ammi and Cora Casler. She was still residing with them in 1910.
WILDORA McCORMIC - in the 1900 census of German Flatts, a Wildora McCormic, age 8 and b. ca. 1892, "boarder," was residing in the household of Hiram and Almira Darling.
GUS LENTZ - in the 1900 German Flatts census, an Andrew Lentz, age 6, b. ca. 1894, "son," was residing with James and Isabelle Lentz. No Gus Lentz appears in the census in Herkimer County. Could "Gus" be a nickname?
Surname LIGHTHEART - in the 1900 census of Little Falls Ward 1, a Mabel Lightheart, age 23, "wife," b. North Carolina resided with husband Calvin. No other Lightheart women in the county. Should the surname be Lighthall?
RUSSEL BELLINGER - in 1910 a Russell E. Bellinger, age 14, b. ca. 1896, "son," resided with parents Frank E. and Minnie Bellinger.
THE FAMILY OF EVINGTON P. SHARP, TEACHER
In 1860, Philip and Charity Sharp resided in German Flatts, p.o. address Mohawk. Their children were Joseph age 18, Lany age 15, Alfonzo age 10 and Samantha age 16. In the 1870 census of German Flatts, Philip Sharp age 51 resided with Laura age 27, Oscar A. age 21 (this is likely Alfonzo) and Evington P. age 3. The next household listed on the census page is the family of John Coakley Jr. In the 1880 census of German Flatts, Evington P. Sharp, age 14, b. ca. 1866, was still residing with his father Philip and brother Oscar A., who were both farmers.
The closest rural cemetery to the Sharp residence was likely the Heath Cemetery, on Heath Road between Routes 168 and 68, where Evington Sharp's parents are buried. Others buried in this cemetery share some of the same surnames as the school children. Is there someone in Herkimer County who could check ca. 1890-1910 plat maps for a neighborhood of persons named as parents or guardians of the children on the 1900 census, and look for persons buried in Heath Cemetery (or their children who later resided on their property)?
SHARP, Mary D. Ette, 1851 - 1852, Dau. of Charity & Philip
SHARP, Charity, d. 12-10-1863, 43yr 2mo 1da, Hus. Philip
SHARP, Philip, 1818 - 1886, 68yr 9mo, Wf. Charity
HOLT, Laura Rena, 1840 -1922
According to preliminary Coakley research done by Lisa Slaski and posted on our site, Evington P. Sharp's wife Mary B. Coakley was the daughter of David and Amanda Coakley of German Flatts, later of Stark and Herkimer Village. School teacher Evington P. (b. Nov 1876) and Mary B. (b. Oct. 1874) Sharp, and in-laws David and Amanda Coakley, appear in the 1900 census of the Town of Herkimer. Evington Sharp then makes a career change. In the 1910 census of the Town of Herkimer, Evington Sharp, age 43, stated that he was a carpenter who did odd jobs. He and wife Mary, age 35, had been married 15 years, and had had 1 child and 1 still living, Laura Sharp, age 5. His brother-in-law Everett David Coakley was a building contractor at this time. In the 1920 census, Evington P. Sharp, age 53 and a general contractor, wife Mary B., age 45, and daughter Laura, age 15, resided in the Town of Herkimer. In the 1930 census of the Town of Herkimer, Evington P. Sharpe, age 63, and building contractor, owned a home valued at $20,000 on West German St. in the village of Herkimer. His wife Mary was said to be age 55, and daughter Laura, age 25, a public school teacher.
Information from contributor Judy Morgan:
"I have a school picture emailed to me by cousin Jack Morrison, taken about 1899-1900, of students and the teacher Evington Sharpe. The back of the picture says "Teacher Evington Sharpe from E. Herkimer". I am interested in donating it to the website. The only problem is that I don't know the name of the school. I'm pretty sure about the year because one of my ancestors is in the picture and she was born in 1892 and she looks to be about 7-8 yrs old. The family lived in German Flats at the time. Can you use this picture being I don't have the name of it, or would there not have been more than one school in the area at the time."
Site Coordinator's Comments: Children usually attended the closest "one-room" schoolhouse within reasonable walking distance, and within the school district that their parents or guardians paid school tax to. By searching through any surviving German Flatts school district taxpayers' records and minutes for parents' names, the name of the specific brick school might be determined. In the absence of this type of written record, by looking at a plat map of the town for the properties of the children's parents and of families living close to Heath Cemetery, I think that this school's exact location can be identified or at least narrowed down to a couple of strong possibilities.