Jacob Souder Holtz: Seneca County Ohio Civil War Soldier

Letter by Jacob S. Holtz, 164th ONG to his Mother
22nd June, 1864

Jacob Souder Holtz, son of Jacob P. and Susannah (Huss) Holtz of Pleasant Twp. Seneca County, Ohio, attempted to enlist in a volunteer regiment for Civil War service. Due to a heart condition, he was rejected until May 2, 1864.

As General Ulysses S. Grant came east to command all of the Union armies, he strengthened his forces with the seasoned Union soldiers garrisoned at the forts defending Washington, D. C. 

http://www.fortwiki.com/Category:Arlington_Line_-_U.S._Civil_War

Grant called up national guard units to serve as replacements at the forts. Holtz enlisted on May 2, 1864 in Company H of the 164th Ohio National Guard. He was mustered in May 11, 1864 at Camp Cleveland. The 164th was composed of the 49th Ohio National Guard from Seneca County, Ohio and the 54th  Battalion, Ohio National Guard from Summit County, On the 14th of May, Holtz was sent with the 164^th to defend Ft. Woodbury, a part of the Arlington Line. The regiment arrived on the 17th of May. Others from the 164th defended Forts Smith, Strong, Bennett, and Haggerty

While stationed at Fort Woodbury, Holtz suffered from typhoid fever. He died July 1, 1864 in the hospital at Fort Strong, Virginia. His father brought his body home for burial in the family plot at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, north of Tiffin, Ohio.

To learn more about Holtz, go here to read the description of the collection which is part of the Local History holdings in the Hayes Presidential Library and Museums' Local History Collection.  The Holtz Collection was donated in 1989 and 2001 by Holtz descendants.

                                                                                              Fort Woodbury, VA June the 22 1864

                                                                                              Dear Mother

I thought I would write you a few lines to let you know that I am grunting a little with a cold but it is getting better. I do not know how I got it for I am very careful what I do. I think I will be all right in a couple of days. We are getting along very well. It is very warm and dry. There is not much news here now. It is one thing every day but I am willing to stand it if they leave us here  till our time is out. It is half out. It does not seem a great while since we left home. If I keep as well the rest of the time as I did the time that is gone I will be satisfied. A fella being here will have some little spels that is shure but if a fella takes care of him self it will not last long. I hope you folks are getting along well with the work. when you write  I want you to write how you are getting along with the work. I thought I would get a letter to nigh but did not. I gues I will tomorrow. I have nothing more to write. Write soon.

                                                                                           From your Son
                                                                                                      J. S. Holtz

                                                                                           My Love to all J

Maple Grove School, Seneca County, Ohio

Maple Grove School, Liberty Township, Seneca County, Ohio

The above photograph is of students who attended the one-room school at Maple Grove in Liberty Twp. Seneca County, Ohio. The photograph was shared by Marcia Thomas of Connecticut. Her Paul family ancestors attended the school, located south of Bettsville, Ohio. Maple Grove was originally known as Linden, where a post office was established in 1874. The post office soon faded from existence. By 1886. the name became Maple Grove. It was the site of two railroad crossings.

Although this photograph is undated, the names of all of the children and the teacher are written on the reverse. The names listed here are given in the order written:

Sylvester Paul, Richard Huffman, Peter Hygelund, Blanch Kelley, Josie Kelley, Ella Noggle Teach[er], Mary Cook, Oliver Paul, Anna Paul [?], Thomas Cook, Carrie Smith, Adam Paul, Arthur Morgan, Edith Paul, Harry Paul, Pearl Shffler [sp?], Charley Shifler, Julia Schroder, Jocie Davis, Gerhardt Hygleund, Mary Jones, Sarah Cook, Dora Smith, Bryce Kelley.

Maple Grove School

Coverlet Weavers in Northwest Ohio

Unidentified Seneca County, Ohio children pose for their photograph before an overshot coverlet used as a backdrop

In a letter to her husband, then serving in the Civil War, young Josephine Hetrick of Washington Twp. Sandusky County, wrote, “I have been weaving all day and must go at it again tomorrow.” Weaving cloth on a hand loom for her family’s needs was a skill that was part of Josephine’s heritage. The tradition of producing cloth from wool, flax, and cotton was brought to Ohio by European immigrants and their descendants. From the 1820s through the Civil War era, these talented weavers played a key role in Ohio’s textile production.

Seneca County, with strong German influence, claimed more than a dozen professional weavers during this period including, John Bick of Rome: Henry Miller of McCutchenville; Jacob Sherman of Attica; Charles Schoch of Thompson Twp.; and Henry Brinkman, Jacob Kline, and John Gites of Hopewell Twp. These skilled artisans produced durable, colorful, and richly decorated coverlets for their families and communities.

Overshot coverlet woven in Ballville Twp., Sandusky County, Ohio

ca. 1850

weaver unknown

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Collection

By the 1830s, many professional weavers had purchased Jacquard attachments for their box frame looms. The series of punched cards with encoded designs (a forerunner of today’s digital technology) was attached to the hand loom, making it possible to control the warp and weft yarns. Traditional geometric patterns soon gave way to the complicated designs that could be created only with the Jacquard attachment: birds, flowers, buildings, trees, animals, patriotic emblems, and folk motifs.

Weavers could purchase sets of punched cards or they could punch their own to produce unique designs and their corner “signature” blocks. In the “signature” block, a Jacquard weaver could advertise his product and identify himself by giving his name; date; and the state, county, or township where he lived. Sometimes a weaver even included the name of his customer. Today, it is the “signature” block that provides clues to a coverlet’s origins.

Functional and relatively inexpensive, coverlets were very much a part of Ohio’s middle-class life. They were used commercially in railroad cars, Civil War hospitals, and servants’ quarters. They can often be seen in period photographs such as this one, where a coverlet serves as a backdrop for an image of three Seneca County children.

More sophisticated tastes and the development of the automatic loom shortly after the Civil War forced weavers to find new work or migrate to other areas. Yet in rural Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and New York - where the German influence remained strong – families continued to use these durable coverlets long after their creators had died or moved on. They can still be found in homes, museum collections, and antique shops. Today, because of their rich designs and inherent beauty, woven coverlets are no longer viewed as common household goods, but rather as works of art.

Jacquard coverlet by weaver P. Shreffler, Washington Twp. Sandusky County

date unknown

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Collection