The Gilbert Family

John Gilbert was born about 1814, in Maryland. John was a shoemaker and worked in Bridgeport, Ohio. He married Susanna Brooks on September 25, 1834, in Belmont County, Ohio. Susanna was born in October 1817, in St. Clairsville, Ohio. In 1850, John and Susanna lived in Pease Township, in Belmont County, Ohio. By 1860, John Gilbert had died. In 1860, Susanna and her children resided in Bridgeport, in Pease Township. In 1900, Susanna lived with her son, John, in Bridgeport. Susanna (Brooks) Gilbert died on May 15, 1901, in Bridgeport, Ohio.

Children (8 known of 10):
2. James, b. about 1836 (Ohio)
3. Mary E.
4. Martha S.
5. George Brooks, b. 3 April 1847 (Bridgeport, Ohio); m. Mary S. Dutton, 22 December
1867
6. Eliza, b. 1849
7. Caroline
8. Susanna
9. John, b. December 1856

5. George Brooks Gilbert was born on April 3, 1847, in Bridgeport, Ohio. George was a boot and shoemaker. He married Mary Salina Dutton on December 22, 1867, in Morgan County, Ohio. The ceremony was performed by the Justice of the Peace, John W. Steele. Mary was born on November 28, 1847, in Harrisville, Ohio. She was a daughter of William and Sarah E. (Matson) Dutton. During the Civil War, George served in the Union Army. He enlisted on September 1, 1862, in Martins Ferry, Ohio. George was 15 years old at the time, although he claimed that he was 18 years old. His unit was Company G, of the 15th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Family stories report that he was a drummer boy. George was a private. He fought at the Battle of Perryville, in Kentucky. On December 31, 1862, he was captured at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, during the Battle of Stone’s River. He was confined at Libby prison in Richmond, Virginia, on January 16, 1863. George was paroled at City Point, Virginia, on January 26, 1863. At the Battle of Resaca, in Georgia, he was wounded in the arm. He participated in the Battle of Missionary Ridge and during the Atlanta campaign, until wounded. George later rejoined his regiment and fought at the Battle of Nashville, in Tennessee. He served in the Union Army until June 10, 1865. In 1870, George and Mary, resided in Chesterfield (later call Chesterhill), in Morgan County, Ohio. The family later moved to Alliance, Ohio. George was a shoe merchant. In 1898, George and Mary settled in Niles, Ohio. He worked as a Singer sewing machine agent and, later went back to selling shoes. George and his sons were in a band, called “The Peanut Band”. They played at many conventions. George played the tuba. George was a member of three Grand Army of the Republic posts in Ohio; T.J. Mercer Post in Chesterhill, J.C. Fremont Post in Alliance, and McPherson Post in Niles. He was politically a Republican. George was also a member of the Mount Olive Lodge of the Masons, in Chesterhill. Mary Salina (Dutton) Gilbert died on April 22, 1926, in Niles, Ohio. She was buried in Niles Union Cemetery, in Niles, Ohio. George Brooks Gilbert died on August 23, 1939, in Niles, Ohio. He was buried in Niles Union Cemetery.


Children:
10. Alice May, b. 25 November 1868; She was a teacher at Niles High School; d. June 1936; buried in Niles Union Cemetery, in Niles, Ohio.

11. Edgar Allan, b. 5 December 1870 (Chesterhill, Ohio); m. Myrtle E. Harrison, 20
May 1896 (Alliance, Ohio)
12. William Raymond, b. 11 January 1874 (Marion Township, Morgan County, Ohio)
13. George Ralph, b. 18 March 1884 (Chesterhill, Ohio); m. Christine Thorpe
Children:
14. Bernard Ralph Gilbert
15. Ray Travis Gilbert

11. Edgar Allan Gilbert was born on December 5, 1870, in Chesterhill, Ohio. He married Myrtle Ellen Harrison on May 20, 1896, in Alliance, Ohio. Myrtle was born on February 25, 1876, in Alliance, Ohio. She was a daughter of George C. and Matilda E. (Rickard) Harrison. In 1890, Edgar left Chesterhill. He attended Ohio State University, for two years. After Edgar left college, he returned to his parent’s home, who were then residing in Alliance, Ohio. In 1894, Edgar began working at the drafting department of Reeves Brothers, steel plate manufacturers. He worked for Reeves Brothers for two years. In 1897, Edgar and two business partners organized the Niles Boiler Company, in Niles, Ohio. He served first as engineer, and later as manager of the company. In 1905, Edgar organized the Standard Boiler and Plate Iron Company, in Niles. He was the founder, President, and General Manager of the company. Edgar’s brothers worked for the company. The Standard Boiler and Plate Iron Company was a modern plant and considered one of the leading steel plate manufacturers in the Mahoning Valley, in Ohio. In 1911, Edgar was a delegate to the Pan American Commercial Conference, held in Washington D. C. During World War I, he was a member of the local draft board. Edgar was politically a Republican. He served for fourteen years as a member of the Niles Board of Education, part of the time as president. Edgar was a member of the Sons of Union Veterans, the McKinley Memorial Camp. He was a member of the Masonic Order. Edgar was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and the Niles Club. Edgar played the lower range baritone in “The Peanut Band”, with his father and brothers. “The Peanut Band” played at various events in the Niles area. Edgar A. Gilbert died on April 28, 1920, in Niles, Ohio. He was buried in Niles Union Cemetery, in Niles. Edgar’s widow, Myrtle, later lived with her daughter, Dorothy, and son-in-law, John R. Allison, in Mobile, Alabama. Myrtle E. (Harrison) Gilbert died on November 16, 1958, while visiting at the home of her daughter, Beatrice, in Detroit, Michigan. She was buried in Niles Union Cemetery.

Children:
16. Edgar Allan, Jr., b. 19 August 1898 (Niles, Ohio); m. Eleanor J. Allison, (2nd) Ruth
Swanson
17. Dorothy Irene, b. 25 November 1899 (Niles, Ohio); m. John R. Allison
18. Beatrice Marian, b. 12 January 1901 (Niles, Ohio); m. Stanley L. Teachout

12. William Raymond (Ray) Gilbert was born on January 11, 1874, in Marion Township, Morgan County, Ohio. Ray had several occupations including being a sewing machine agent, an engineering draftsman, worked for the Standard Boiler & Plate Iron Company of Niles, an insurance agent, and a writer. He first worked as a printer’s apprentice with the Chesterhill News, in Chesterhill, Ohio. He went on to become a prolific writer for the Niles area newspapers. Ray was known as the “Niles’ historian emeritus”. During the Spanish-American War, Ray served in McKinley’s 8th Regiment, named in honor of President William McKinley. Ray was a member of the Niles Methodist Church. He was a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Niles Garrison of the Army and Navy Union. Ray played the baritone in the “Peanut Band”, with his father and brothers. William R. Gilbert died on October 16, 1957, in Niles, Ohio. He was buried in Niles Union Cemetery, in Niles, Ohio.


Sources:
(for John and Susanna (Brooks) Gilbert)
1850 United States Census, Ohio, Belmont County, page 214.
1860 United States Census, Ohio, Belmont County, page 251.
1880 United States Census, Ohio, Belmont County, page 117A.
1900 United States Census, Ohio, Belmont County, Enumeration District 9, page 22A.
Butler (Jr.), Joseph G. History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, Ohio, Volume II. Page 353. Published in 1921.
Belmont County (Ohio) Death Certificate of Susanna Gilbert
(for George B. Gilbert)
1850 United States Census, Ohio, Belmont County, page 214.
1860 United States Census, Ohio, Belmont County, page 251.
1870 United States Census, Ohio, Morgan County, page 138A.
1880 United States Census, Ohio, Morgan County, page 113D.
1900 United States Census, Ohio, Trumbull County, Enumeration District 126, page 6B.
Butler (Jr.), Joseph G. History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, Ohio, Volume II. Pages 353-354. Published in 1921.
(for Edgar A. Gilbert)
1900 United States Census, Ohio, Trumbull County, Enumeration District 126, page 23B.
Butler (Jr.), Joseph G. History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, Ohio, Volume II. Page 354. Published in 1921.
April 30, 1920 Obituary of Edgar A. Gilbert (from the Warren Daily Tribune)
(for William R. Gilbert)
October 17, 1957 Obituary of William R. Gilbert (from the Tribune Chronicle, Warren, Ohio)