Grandpa’s siblings (Filson/Manuwal Lineage)

My Great Aunt Cosa Ethel Filson Heckaman and Great Uncle Robert “Bob” Reuben Filson

My Great Aunt Cosa (pronounced Cozy), (June 22, 1899 - June 6, 1994) and my Great Uncle Bob (Nov 13, 1911- Aug 3, 1990) were born to John Thomas Filson and Catherine Lavinia Manuwal Filson along with my Grandpa Russell. The three siblings were all born and raised on the Filson family farm outside of Inwood, Indiana.  All three children attended Inwood school, Russell through 10th grade, Cosa through 12^th grade and Bob until 8th.

Robert met Hilda F. Hall (Mar 23, 1914 – Aug 23 1993) and they married on Nov 28, 1935. After Bob and Hilda married, they moved to a nearby farm on Hawthorne Road, just a few farms away from the Filson Farm. There they raised four children, some of whom still live on the farm with their children today. When I lived in Indiana in 1974 and 1975, I would walk over to visit Bob and Hilda.  I confess being a city girl (or at least I thought of myself as one), the smell of a pig farm was something I had to grow accustomed to. But I did enjoy being around Bob and Hilda. They were both so friendly and loved to see me. They were “savers”, that is to say, they would save everything, plastic butter dishes, newspapers, etc. I thought it strange at the time, but then I came to appreciate that they were in the forefront of the recycling era which we live in today. They took nothing for granted. Everything had value and use. “Those plastic butter dishes may come in handy someday!” This mindset is typical for those that lived through the Depression, and especially for those that lived in rural areas. We take for granted how easy it is for us to take the trash out every week, how the big green truck makes it disappear from our life. On a farm, disposing of trash had a whole different set of rules. They did not have garbage disposals, trash compactors or a city wide recycling program. Leftover food went into pig slop or compote heap for the garden. Metal trash was separated from paper trash and disposed of accordingly. When I lived on the farm we would burn the paper weekly and haul the metal to the scrap yard when the pile got too big.

Bob and Hilda raised pigs and dairy cows. I was fascinated to watch Great Uncle Bob milk the cows, but never acquired a taste for raw milk.  When Bob was very young he lost three fingers while raising bales of hay up to the hayloft in the barn. His fingers got caught in the pulley system and severed his figures off. 

Great Uncle Bob Inwood School 1925

My Great Aunt Cosa was a very outspoken woman. She was a staunch Republican and if you asked anyone to describe her, they would always mention her politics as being her main trait. She married Marvin Heckaman about 1922. They lived in Inwood for a short time and then later moved to Bourbon, Indiana and raised their son Lloyd. My Aunt told me, Cosa and her mother Catherine acted as midwives for the delivery of all five of my Grandma Grace’s children. Cosa wanted to adopt my Grandma’s fifth child, who was a girl, but my Grandma Grace would not even consider it.

Cosa and Marvin were very musical; Great Uncle Marv would always play his fiddle when he came to our house to visit. As a teenager I thought it was very “square”, but now I look back on it with a smile and miss those moments. I was thrilled to find a photo of them with a band they played in during the 1930s.

Marvin is fifth from the left, holding his fiddle and Cosa is third from the right in her polka dot dress.

Great Uncle Marvin and Aunt Cosa 1930s

My Grandma Grace, Great Aunt Hilda and Great Aunt Cosa were all members of the Ladies Aid Society and worked on quilting projects together. My Aunt is the proud owner of one of the group’s quilts and she was pleased to share it with me.

Ladies Aid Society Quilt

I was also able to find Aunt Hilda’s recipe for Toll House Marble Squares in a 1963 cookbook from the Plymouth Home Demonstration Club

Hilda Hall Filson's receipe

I really enjoy looking through the old cookbooks for my family member’s recipes. I especially enjoy the helpful hit section of this one. What does trimming your child’s bangs have to do with cooking? (See below). I did learn something new; I have never thought of coating a cake pan with cocoa instead of flour when you bake a chocolate cake.

Marshall County Home Demonstration Club Cookbook

1963 Helpful Hints

Grandpa Russell's injured leg (Filson Lineage)

Searching in old newspapers can be time consuming and rewarding. Unfortunately, most of the historical newspapers for Marshall County, Indiana are not digitized yet and we need to rely on local historical society or library to find stories of our ancestors if we are not local. But good news is on the way; The Indiana State Library has been funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and in partnership with the Library of Congress and  is in the process of digitizing Indiana papers from 1836 to 1922. To check on progress of the project, check in with the Indiana Historical Society or the Indiana State Library.

With the help of family members, I was able to get my hands on a story about my Grandpa Russell Filson, that I of heard of in the past. It was the day that Russell Filson received help from all of his friends to bring in the corn crop:

Plymouth Daily Pilot

Wednesday, November 13, 1946

Friends and Neighbors Harvest Filson Corn

Fifty-five friends and neighbors of Russell Filson harvested nearly 1200 bushels of corn at his farm Tuesday afternoon. The farm is located is located one mile north and 1/4 mile east of Inwood. Mr. Filson fell from a scaffold while working at the Frank Listenfelt home in Inwood on Oct. 9 and tore the ligaments in his hip. He was unable to work but is improving slowly. It required just to 2 1/2 hours to do the work on the 21 acres of land with five corn pickers, three corn elevators, eight tractors and 14 wagons.

The same group of men recently harvested some corn at the Jack Miller farm near Inwood. Mr. Miller was working with Mr. Filson in Inwood and also fell from the scaffold.

Mr. Filson told a Pilot and News reporter this morning that "I truly appreciated the fine community spirit and certainly found out how many friends I really had after my fall."

Those men furnishing corn pickers were: Olen Roahrig, Fred Neidlinger, Owen Yockey, Oliver Greer and Roy Nye.

The following men brought their tractors and wagons: Tom McQueen, Guy Roahrig, Gene Dowell, Alpheus, Guy Breeding and Cliff Hepler,Olen Roahrig and Owen Yockey brought their corn elevators.

Others who helped in addition to those above named men were: Chet Hall, Lewis Hall, Claire Hall, Ernest Mast, Clarence Bradley, V.S. Lindsey, Marvin Heckaman, Fred Jacobson, Charles Gerard, Pat Caslow, Virgil Wellborn, Arnold Shively, John Greenlee, Howard Retinger, Buddy Miller, Leslie Lindsey, Russell Boggs, Thurl Hendricks, Wayne Hendricks, Otto Cramer, Malcolm Miller, Bob Filson, Lowell Filson, Frank Listenfelt, Arthur Anderson, Welcome Roose, Elwen Yockey, Harley Sherer, Glenn Bowman, Wilber Wagoner, Junior Breeding, John Miller, Charles Greer, Floyd Roberts, Banks Burden, Elias Burden, Albert Roose, Earl Nifong, Wendell McCollough, Clarence Bradley, Roy Mortmore, George Anders, J.T. [John Thomas] Filson, and Rev. V.O. Priddy

Following the work hot coffee and homemade donuts were served.

My Great Uncle Bob (Robert Filson) who is Russell’s brother is second from the left.

Grandpa is on crutches and is the 6th man standing from the left.

I do have a key to this picture, if you are interested please contact me.

My Grandpa Russell Filson (Filson/Manuwal lineage)

Russell Clarence Filson was born February 25, 1903 to John Thomas Filson and Catherine Lavina Manuwal. He attended school through the tenth grade and then continued to work on the Filson Family Farm where he was born along with his sister Cosa and brother Robert.

When he was sixteen he won an award for his Spotted Poland-China Pig named Big Spotted Lill from the National Spotted Poland-China Association.

According to the Pork Food Service website,
“The Spotted Pig is the ancestor of the Poland China and Gloucester Old Spot breeds. It has become extremely popular in the United States because of its high meat quality and ability to gain weight quickly. The floppy eared Spotted Pig has black and white spots with no red or brown tints.”

He purchased Big Spotted Lill from Banks Burden, the man my father was named after.

Russell met Grace Coplen in 1922 at the Inwood Methodist Church, they married in 1923 and moved to Elkhart, IN to live with Grace’s father Elmer and start their family of five.  By 1930 they had moved onto the Filson Farm, renting it from John Thomas Filson, until Russell inherited it from his father in 1949.

He drove a truck hauling livestock to the stock yards, allowing his children and wife to tend to the farm. This was a very difficult life for his wife and children but they grew to be strong self sufficient people.

Picture of me and Grandpa Russell Filson in 1957

I only have one memory of my grandpa. It was 1960, we traveled to Plymouth, Indiana before we were to be transferred to Lakenhealth Air Force Base in England. We had to stay there to await the birth of my brother. I remember sitting on the front porch with my grandpa and he had a small record player and he put on a 45 record of Gene Autry singing Frosty the Snowman. He sang it to me with a big smile on his face.

I was delighted to find a recording of Frosty HERE posted on line to share with you.

Grace and Russell celebrated their 25^th wedding anniversary in 1948 with a surprise party from their friends. The article notes they received several lovely gifts and ice cream and cake was served.

Grace Coplen Filson and Russell Filson 1940s

                                                     
Russell passed away in 1963 after suffering from an illness that lasted 19 months. At the time he left behind his wife and five grown children.

Marshall County Historical Society

Marshall County Historical Society (Filson/Manuwal lineage)

When researching a family, one must stop at the Historical Society or Genealogical Society in the county where the family lived. I had one day to make a very fast trip to the Marshall County Historical Society. This is a wonderful society located in historical downtown Plymouth, Indiana. The very helpful staff quickly led me to their wonderful index of articles and photographs. Hours and hours of research were saved by the hard work the staff and volunteers have spent on this indexing project. I came away with dozens of photos I have never seen and wonderful stories of my grandmother and grandfather.

I learned from a story written by a town local, that my grandmother invited the Sunday School class over to her house to pull taffy. She cooked the taffy and allowed the children to run all over the kitchen with buttery hands to pull the taffy. The author called my grandmother an angel, for she was more concerned with the children enjoying themselves, than her kitchen getting messed up. These stories are priceless to me.

At the historical society, I also got school photos, maps, estate records, and historical information about the little town of Inwood, Indiana. I am deeply grateful for this wonderful organization and look forward to going back, because one day was not enough. 

But, the most valuable item I found was a compiled genealogy on the Filson line. I was, needless to say, shocked to see this large white binder with the word Filson written on the side of the binder.  The compiled genealogy was written by Marjorie Barber Coffin who resided in Santa Barbara, CA at the time.

She opens the document by stating, “It is my hope that another Filson descendent will be able to use this report to finish the documentation of our Filson line, so nearly complete here, and find records connecting our Thomas, John and Robert with Robert’s parentage.”

Well, hopefully I will be able to fill that wish. I wanted to send her a thank you note and after I did some research, I learned Marjorie passed away in 2001. So I think of her as another ancestral soul and will thank the heavens she has come into my life, for her work is invaluable to me. Marjorie descends from the Alderfer line. Her ancestor Israel Alderfer married a Mary Jane Filson, who was the sister of my 2xGreat Grandfather, Taylor Filson. They lived on the farm adjoining the Filson family farm outside of Inwood, Indiana.

For more information on the Marshall County Historical Society and their resources click here.

 

Clyde Lowell Filson and Theada Helen Filson, brother and sister (Filson lineage)

Today I write a note to say goodbye to my dear Uncle Lowell and a belated note to my Aunt Theada.

 

Clyde Lowell Filson was born in 1926 in Elkhart, Indiana and recently passed in 2012.

Uncle Lowell, as we called him, was a lifetime resident of Marshall County, Indiana. He was a farmer, a machinery mechanic and a salesman. He was a member of Inwood Methodist Church and an honored United States veteran serving during World War II in the 773rd Tank Destroyer division as a gunner in Germany. He was the oldest son of Grace Coplen and Russell Filson.

Preceding him is his sister and my Aunt Theada.  She was the oldest child of Grace and Russell. Theada Helen Filson was born in Elkhart, Indiana in 1924 and passed in 1993. She volunteered for a two year tour in the Woman’s Army Corp during WWII. She lived in California and Florida, but then retired from hospital administration, returning to Indiana and spent her last years living with my Grandma Grace.

Both Theda and Lowell were raised on the Filson family farm outside of Inwood Indiana with my father and two more sisters. I have wonderful memories of playing on Lowell’s farm as a child with my cousin and I was always taken with Theda’s beauty.

Below is an article from a Plymouth, Indiana newspaper showing both of them going to war and a photo of both of them in uniform in 1944.

 

Inwood Indiana (Filson/Coplen lineage)

Inwood, Indiana, in Marshall County, is a tiny community one mile from the Filson family farm— the farm where Grace (Coplen) and Russell Filson raised their family. But it was not always a tiny community.

1872 Map of Inwood Indiana

You can find the following description of Inwood in a book published in 1908, by The Lewis Publishing Company, in Chicago, entitled;

A Twentieth Century History of Marshall County, Indiana, Vol 1, by Daniel McDonald

“This village, situated seven miles east of Plymouth on the Pennsylvania Railroad, was, before the railroad was built, called Pearsonville in honor of Ezra G. Pearson who platted and laid out the town December 29, 1854. Mr. Pearson had located there and built a sawmill. At that place and for miles all around it was even difficult for men used to the “thick woods” to get through it in places. When the railroad was built through that place two years later, the company, looking for a shorter name then “Pearsonville” and finding themselves “in the woods” the name of Inwood easily suggested itself and from that day to this it has been called Inwood.

For many years, until the timber was mostly cut off, it was a fine lumber region, and those who purchased land for the timber alone made enough out of the timber to pay for the timber and the land and had enough land left, and much of it is now among the best farming land in the county. The following additions have been made to the original plat: Pierson's first and second; A.W.Hendrick’s; Croup & Core’s first and second; Fredrickson’s, and Lee & Dickinson’s.

This village has a two-story brick schoolhouse, in which is taught a grade school. The Methodists have a church building here; there is a telegraph office. An express office, and stores and shops of various kinds where such articles as the inhabitants need can be purchased.”

Original Inwood School late 1800s

Inwood School Early 1900s

The schoolhouse was expanded three times to meet the needs of the population. In the two pictures above you will see the original school and then a newer school with the addition.  It grew to be a 12 grade school house. My grandmother Grace attended 12th grade at the school in 1923, but stopped short of graduating by one class because, as she told a friend, she went to work instead of “wasting” her time on a diploma. This was a very typical attitude for young woman in rural America of the 1920’s whose biggest dream was to raise a family. Her children also attended there through grade school and then in the 40s they moved onto Plymouth High School. My own siblings attended in this school in the early 1960s for a short time.

Grace Coplen 1922

In 1905 the Methodist Church of Inwood, which was and still is attended by many of my family members, laid its cornerstone according to the Plymouth Democrat Newspaper on Sept 21, 1905, they had  500 to 600 people attending the ceremony.  In the cornerstone they put current issues of newspapers, a bible and other papers of local interest. It also stated the church was too small for the crowd and people had to be turned away.

Inwood Methodist Church, Inwood, Indiana

Inwood at one time had a saloon, a saw mill which brought the railroad, along with a grain elevator and a stock yard. It even had a little hotel which filled up because it was an “on the way” stop to the Chicago World’s Fair.

In the wake of Prohibition you can see that in 1908, 95% of the voters filed a petition against the sale of alcohol in Inwood. The Plymouth Democrat Newspaper on Thursday February 20, 1908, states, “The people of Inwood are without police protection.. and they claim that the selling of whisky there has caused them considerable trouble and they are determined to rid the place of saloons.”

Sadly, because it was not a big enough town to have police or a fire station, many fires helped to bring on the decline of the little community. In The Bourbon News-Mirror Newspaper Aug 3, 1905 issue we see,

 “Fire started in the Livery Stables of E.O.Warnacut… Spread to the saloon owned by Ed Brown, …an Opera House owned by John Caldwell and The Carlston Hotel.”

Much of the town was burned and despite reconstruction efforts, the fire took the town multiple times. As the timber in the area was cut down, people moved into Plymouth and South Bend to work in factories.

At the Marshall County Historical Society in Plymouth, Indiana,  Judy McCollough has complied a 100 year history on the small community of Inwood and I credit her with providing me much of this information.

Inwood, Indiana (Marshall County)

Grain Mill in Inwood Early 1900s

Town Street Inwood Indiana Early 1900s

Town Street Inwood Indiana Early 1900s

Marriage of Grace Coplen to Russell Filson (Filson/Coplen lineage)

Bourbon [Indiana] News Mirror, December 27, 1923

“MARRIED

Sunday, December 16, 1923, Russell Filson of near Inwood, son of J. T. and Mrs. Filson[1] took unto himself a wife in the person of Miss Grace Coplen, daughter of Elmer and Mrs. Coplen[2], of near Argos. The wedding ceremony was performed by Rev. Montgomery, formerly of the Methodist Church of Inwood, in the presence of only the immediate family. Following the ceremony the couple was given an elaborate dinner for their guests, by the parents of the bride.

Mr. Filson is a farmer, but for the present has not decided just what place he will occupy, but expects to be able to settle on the place by the first of the year. He is an excellent young man, inherits thrift and energy from his excellent parents and will undoubtedly make a success of life.

The bride is reputed a delightful woman, charming in a social and physical way, and a fit companion and home maker for the young husband. Their interests, likes and desires are mutual, so a good home should and will be the result. May they be happy, prosperous, and live long is our wish.”

1) John Thomas Filson and Catherine Manuwal Filson

2) Mrs. Florence Rodabaugh Coplen
 

Above is the marriage announcement for Russell Filson and Grace Coplen. I find it interesting to encounter personality traits other people bestow on my ancestors. My guess would be this announcement was written by Russell’s mother Catherine. She sees Russell as thrifty and energetic, traits he likely inherited from her. I make the assumption it was written by Catherine because she uses the word “reputed” when describing Grace. This is not a word a mother would use, but one a new mother-in-law would use. She says Grace is delightful and charming and my favorite part is, she is “a fit companion and home maker for the young husband.” In the 1920s, this sort of companionship is what most women aspired to. They are indeed a beautiful couple.