The Vanishing Albees

Jesse B. Albee was Hobart's second postmaster, appointed in 1854 to succeed George Earle.[1] A few years later he was elected Hobart Township Trustee; this page from the trustees' ledger records the beginning of his term in April 1859:


(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society.


In the same book we find Jesse serving as a "school director," and "buylden" a new schoolhouse for the township. Elsewhere the book notes his services as a justice of the peace in 1873, giving him the customary title, "Squire":


(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society.


I do not know how long he held the office of J.P. — at least until November 12, 1879, according to the 1874 Secretary of State's annual report.

In a book published in 1884, W.H. Rifenburg mentions Jesse as a member of the committee charged with overseeing the construction of the Unitarian church building.

All of this shows that Jesse B. Albee was a prominent figure in Hobart's early history.

And yet, as I noted in the post about his son's death, if he and any family members have their final resting place locally, exactly where is a mystery to me.

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The census records all agree that Jesse was born in Vermont circa 1815. Local historians cautiously say: "It would appear that Albee came to Hobart from Ohio sometime between 1843 and 1848"[2] without noting a source for that information. In my indexing work, I have encountered him conducting business locally as early as August 1846:


(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society.


In the 1850 Census, Jesse shows up with his wife, Sarah (Hendershot),[3] whom he had married in Ohio in 1841,[4] and their two sons, Americus and Alonzo.

In 1851, Jesse bought the whole northwest quarter of Section 21, Twp. 36 N., Range 7 W. — 160 acres southeast of Lake Station on the county line (U.S. General Land Office Records, 1776-2015).

When Sarah Albee died is unknown — 1858 or later, it would seem, since the 1860 Census lists no wife in the household, but there is a two-year-old Jesse Junior. There is also a 25-year-old "domestic," Mary Hoff.

On January 29, 1861, Jesse (senior) married Emily Wilcox; on July 15, 1861, Mary Ann Pierce; and on May 25, 1864, Caroline (Spencer) Carpenter (Indiana Marriage Collection).[5]

In the 1870 Census, Jesse and Caroline are living near Lake Station with the two younger sons from his first marriage; the eight-year-old son from her previous marriage, James Carpenter; and the two sons they had together: four-year-old Clarence and an unnamed two-month-old boy.

The 1874 Plat Map shows Jesse owning nearly 160 acres in the next section north of his 1851 purchase (which by then was in other hands). Here I have marked his 1874 parcel on an image from the 1950 Plat Book so we can better see where it lay with respect to present-day streets:


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Then comes the 1880 Census — and no Albees. That is to say, I can't find them in the census on Ancestry.com under any reasonable spelling of their name, not in Hobart Township or anywhere else. It's possible they were not counted, or the enumerator got their surname completely wrong — but I've also searched on their first names only, with no luck.[6]

And yet it seems that they had not left Hobart. Ballantyne and Adams state: "In the Hobart Township School enumeration for 1885 Jesse Albee is listed as having a son of school age (between 6 and 12)" and "Jesse Albee died in Hobart in 1886." I wish they'd given their source for that second item. I can't find anything to confirm it.

The year after Jesse's death, Caroline married Henry James in Lake County (Indiana Marriage Collection, the marriage being recorded under her middle name, Amelia). She died in 1903 (Indiana Death Certificates) and is buried in Hobart Cemetery — at least we've found one of them!


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[1] Dorothy Ballantyne and Robert Adams, Along the Route: A History of Hobart, Indiana, Post Offices and Postmasters, Hobart: The Hobart Historical Society, Inc. (1979, rev. 1992).
[2] Ibid., p. 12.
[3] Ballantyne and Roberts (p. 12) describe Sarah as a four-year-old daughter, but the image of the 1850 census on Ancestry.com clearly shows her age as 24, which, together with the Ohio marriage record, leads me to believe that she was Jesse's wife.
[4] Ancestry.com. Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Marriage Records. Ohio Marriages. Various Ohio County Courthouses.
[5] Caroline's maiden name was Spencer, per Ballantyne and Adams (p. 12), who add that she was the widow of James Carpenter, a Civil War casualty, and mother of James Carpenter Jr. — whose name I have often encountered in my reading; he sat on Hobart's town council and otherwise made a prominent citizen of himself in the early 20th century.
[6] If I had the time, I would just read through all of the Hobart Township 1880 census in search of something that could pass for the Albee family.

Harriet Towl Ragen

An early resident of Ross Township, Harriet Ragen died in June 1922, just short of her 79th birthday.


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Hobart Gazette 30 June 1922.

Here is the Ragen farm as it appeared on the 1874 Plat Map.



This map suggests a house in the approximate location of 4012 E. 73rd Ave., where there now stands a house and large barn along with other outbuildings, most of which date to 1921 if the county property records are correct.

After moving to Hobart in 1896, the Ragens rented out their farm. Charles and Lovisa (Chester) Nelson rented it in the spring of 1903; by August of that year, the Ragens had rented it to a Wilhelm Neuman (or Newman), reportedly for a five-year term. By December 1908 George Ragen was advertising for a new tenant. In September 1914, the widowed Harriet, now living in Gary, offered it for sale or rent. She sold it in January 1915 to May Blachly (who sold it to S.J. Craig, who sold it to Emil Wojahn … who probably built that house and barn, etc.).

I believe "Mrs. Cora Maybaum of Gary" was married to Louis Maybaum, the streetcar motorman whose photo we've seen.

Harriet Ragen's husband, George, was not only a veteran of the Civil War but also a brother of Amanda Ragen Bullock, as we learn from his obituary:


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Hobart Gazette 1 Mar. 1912.

That would explain why Joseph (aka Josiah) Halladay came down from Chicago in June 1922 to attend Harriet Ragen's funeral — he was the husband of Amanda Ragen Bullock's daughter, Ruth. (I don't know why Ruth did not accompany him.)

From George's obituary, also, we also learn that the "Mrs. Mary Stevens of Gary" who survived Harriet was the wife of Hobart's one-time baker and restaurateur, Willard Stevens (so I suppose she is the Mate Stevens identified in one of the photos in that first link).

In closing, I will add this random item I came across in the 1901 microfilm: "A carload of laborers, men and women of the African type, have pitched camp upon George Ragon's farm near the Grand Trunk railroad and will be engaged in work on the double track grading. They are said to be a jolly crowd."

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The second story marked on the 1922 image above tells us that the elder Severances, George and Anna, had celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. I believe Bunge is a misprint for Burge — the married name of their daughter, Mary.


Additional Sources:
♦ 1920 Census.
♦ "For Sale or Rent." Hobart Gazette 25 Sept. 1914.
♦ "General News Items." Hobart Gazette 19 Apr. 1901; 24 Apr. 1903; 28 Aug. 1903; 11 Mar. 1904; 11 Dec. 1908.
♦ "Local and Personal." Hobart News 6 July 1922.

Switching Tower

This photo has nothing to do with Ainsworth or Hobart, but I like it.


(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society and Fred Ols.

The identifying notes read: "Ollie James — Wanatah. Aunt Clara's husband."

According to the Wanatah Historical Society's website, two railroads — the Pennsy and what eventually came to be called the Monon — ran through Wanatah, crossing there. In fact, the switching tower above looks much like the one on their railroad history page, but I don't suppose that switching towers were the playground of architects' imaginations.

This picture is undated. It was printed on a postcard with a divided back (thus manufactured after March 1907).

I think Aunt Clara was Clara Rhoades, sister of the Ralph Franklin Rhoades who married Elizabeth Ols (daughter of Henry and Bertha (Wischman) Ols). I believe Clara Rhoades married Oliver James in Michigan in 1908, when he was about 31 and she 27. I can't find them in the 1910 Census; the 1920 Census shows them in Whitley County. Not until the 1930 Census do we find them in Wanatah (he working as a railroad telegraph operator). In the 1940 Census, if I've got the right Oliver James (this time his wife's name is Cecelia and their age gap is wider; they live in Wanatah/Cass Township), his job is described as a railroad operator-leverman.