Suttonsonline.com family genealogy website

Ellis and Elizabeth were well known farmers who owned their own farm in Sarver when the 1900 census was taken. The oldest child, Minnie, had evidently already left home by this time, perhaps to be married; and there would still be one more child born to them. The oldest boy at home, Edward, had work as a carpenter, but the census notes he had been unemployed 6 months. Nellie (16 1/2), Emma (14), Blanch (12) and Maude (8) were in school which left Wilda (7), Raymond (5), Guy (3), Kenneth (1) and Glen, the baby at home.

By the 1910 census, two more children had been born: Olen (named Oland in the census) was now 9, Audley (spelled Odley in the census) was 7 and Robert L. was 6 years old. The 1916 Farm Directory lists Ellis as 4 ch. (?) farmer, owning 101 acres in Sarver, Winfield Township. All the children attended the Hesselgesser School: likely named that because most children attending were from the Hesselgesser families! The school was located thusly: come out the lane from the house, turn right, up the hill, make a turn and the school was back in on the left with the sawmill on the right. This would have been on the West Winfield Road. Ellis is remembered as calling to his wife (Sarah Elizabeth) "Hoy, Liz!"

Sarah's sister was married to a Hesselgesser who went west to Nebraska. Her sister and her husband had one son named Guy. Sarah was a lifelong member of the Cabot Methodist Church. She raised turkeys to sell. My mother (Nancy sutton) does not remember this, but she writes in her genealogy notes that others remember this vividly! Eileen Clark remembers that Sarah once traveled to Chicago by train and returned with a trunkload of hats for the grandchildren. She also made a trip to Kansas to visit a sister there at one time.

Sarah was known to have quite poor eyesight, as evidenced by the heavy black-rimmed pair of glasses in one of her pictures. My mother records in her genealogical notes that the pictures reflect a kind face.

Sarah and Ellis moved off the farm and into a house in Sarver where they lived until Ellis' death in 1927. My grandmother Ruth remembers visiting her at her home in Sarver when my Aunt Bev was a baby. When she was widowed in 1927, she remained at the house for another 7 years. In 1934, she moved to her daughter Minnie's home (Mrs. W.H.L. Newingham) who lived at 1411 Freeport Road in Natrona Heights where she lived the remaining 6 years of her life. Sarah died in her 81st year on 16th or 17th (Saturday?) March 1940 following a lingering illness. Funeral services were held at the Turner Funeral Home in Freeport at 2:00 pm with the Rev. Wallace Faas of the home church officiating. Her's and Ellis' tombstone at St. Paul's Cemetery is marked lovingly "FATHER" and "MOTHER" with a cross directly under the name "Hesselgesser".

References

Last data update: Oct 2, 2022

1880 United States Census Document, Winfield T.P. , Butler County, PA; Enumeration date: June 16th, 1880, page 17, lines 47-49 Citation post date: 2009-07-04

1900 United States Census document, Winfield Township, Butler County, PA; Enumeration date: June 15th, 1900, page 7, lines 87-98 Citation post date: 2009-07-04

1910 United States Census Document, Winfield Township, Butler County, PA; Enumeration date: May 2, 1910, page 8, lines 26-35 Citation post date: 2009-07-08

Personal genealogical research information and notes provided by Nancy Lee (Hesselgesser) Sutton, Citation post date: 2006-06-11