Frank Corwin Blue
BOOKKEEPER | TREASURER
BIRTH
FRIDAY | 12 DEC 1890
Amanda Township, Fairfield County, Ohio, USA
DEATH
SATURDAY | 07 APR 1990
Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Florida, USA
BLUE REBUILDS AFTER THE ASHES
Joe McFarland
The Far-Land Legacy
The Publishing Legacy Company
February 2, 2024
BIOGRAPHY
AMANDA TOWNSHIP – Charles E. and Maggie May (Rowles) Blue had one child, a son, Frank Corwin Blue, who completed their family of three on Friday, December 12, 1890, Charles’s 23rd birthday. While growing up Frank went to the local schools of Amanda and helped on the family farm. Frank graduated from Amanda High School and soon later continued his education in the study of scientific agriculture as an undergraduate at The Ohio State University. There was a gap between high school and college as the 1910 census reveals as it recorded he was not attending any school after graduating the year before in 1909. Late historian, Charles Miller, referenced his attendance in college during the year 1912. Frank’s parents were known to periodically entertain friends at their home near Amanda. One of these occasions happened in late April of 1911 in honor of Frank, and his college roommate J. C. Ray, both visiting from OSU. It was an enjoyable time filled with a large lunch and contests to compete in. Frank’s mother died in the summer of 1916, shortly after he finished his studies. After her death on July 6, that same year, William and Lavina (Martin) announced the engagement between Frank and their daughter, Hazel Katherine Ashbrook, in the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette on Friday and Saturday, November 24 and 25, 1916.
The wedding took place the following year on Wednesday, May 16, at Hazel’s parents’ property, a beautiful country home on Cedar Hill Road, near Amanda. At the time, the newspaper highlighted Hazel as an accomplished musician and Frank as a young, popular farmer who had recently finished his studies in Agriculture at The Ohio State University.
By the time the winter of 1918 surfaced a tragedy sparked at approximately 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon on December 3rd after Frank’s father, Charles, left to head into town in Amanda on a business trip. A fire ignited from the furnace room and razed the farmhouse to ashes. During the rage of the flames, nearby neighbors witnessed the unfortunate event and rushed in and managed to successfully save items within the house before the flames engulfed the structure. Frank was still on the farm, however, a great distance away from a visual of the house until the smoke arose over the horizon echoing the evidence of the flames claiming the house. The reported loss of the house and property estimated $5,000, yet the insurance policy for the house only covered up to $2,000.
Frank’s father, Charles, moved in with Frank and Hazel after the fire and remained there until his death on Thursday, March 11, 1920. Upon his death the farm property was left to Frank.
Later that year fifty of Frank’s relatives and friends gathered and managed to pull off a surprise birthday to honor Frank on December 10, at this home. A dinner social was enjoyed by all those present and Frank received many gifts, both useful and valuable.
About two and a half years later, September 27, 1922, Frank sold his farm to Mr. Albert VanSickle of Logan, Hocking County, Ohio, and relocated with Hazel to Columbus making his residence on Bulen Avenue. His farm was noted as a “fine big well improved farm and splendid modern brick residence and stock and farm implements.” The local Eagle-Gazette newspaper reported on October 9, 1922 that the sale transfer from Charles to his son Frank occurred by a transfer affidavit, further substantiating his ownership after the sale the previous month.
After moving to Bulen Avenue, Frank and his wife, Hazel, entertained guests, Dean M. Hickson and his wife at a 6 p.m. dinner party.
By 1930, Frank and Hazel relocated again to Crestline, Ohio, a village located in Jackson Township in Crawford County where he worked as a bank cashier. They lived at 802 Main Street and their home was valued at $8,000 according to the 1930 U.S. Census. The current market value in February 2024’s dollars, adjusted for inflation, is $146,944.19. That does not include other economic factors.
In 1939, they lived at 2224 Emily Street in Lakewood, Cuyahoga County where Frank held a bookkeeper position at Coal 9 Supply. His annual income was reported as $2,120, equivalent to $46,784.28 today. Their house there was valued at $7,500, equal to $164,328.21. Sometime in the last decade, by 1949, Frank transitioned to work as the treasurer for the Clifton Coal & Supply Co. and as of April 20, the following year, he worked as an office and credit manager
for a retail concrete and building supply company. At that time, still in Cuyahoga County, they lived at 337 Morewood Parkway.
Frank registered for the draft, both for World War I and II, however there is no record found indicating he ever served. He was recorded to have blue eyes and light colored hair with a medium physical build.
Frank Corwin Blue passed away on Saturday, April 7, 1990, in Boca Raton, Florida, a little over eight months from reaching one hundred years old. His remains are stored in the Boca Raton Municipal Cemetery and Mausoleum in the Arlington Mausoleum.
PARENTS
Charles E. Blue
Maggie May Rowles
LANCASTER – Frank’s parents, Charles and Maggie were married on Thursday, April 23, 1896. They owned a farm in Amanda Township and Charles traveled periodically to conduct business in Amanda. He and his son, Frank, also shared the same birthday. When Maggie died in 1916, she left Charles a widower and Frank was 25 and soon to be married.
EDUCATION
AMANDA TOWNSHIP – 1909 – Frank graduated from Amanda High School.
COLUMBUS – c.1912 – Frank graduated from The Ohio State University in Scientific Agricultural studies.
OCCUPATION
CENSUS – 22 APR 1910 – Labor Farmer in Amanda Township near Amanda.
CENSUS – 02-04 FEB 1920 – Farmer in Amanda Township near Amanda.
CENSUS – 04 APR 1930 – Bank Cashier in Crestline, Ohio.
CENSUS – 16 APR 1940 – Bookkeeper for Coal 9 Supply Co. in Lakewood, Ohio.
LAKEWOOD DIRECTORY – 1949 – Treasurer for The Clifton Coal & Supply Co. at 1310 Hird Avenue.
CENSUS – 20 APR 1950 – Office and Credit Manager with a Retail Concrete and Building Supply company.
BURIAL
BOCA RATON MUNICIPAL CEMETERY AND MAUSOLEUM – Frank’s burial is located next to his wife in the Arlington Mausoleum. Photos courtesy of FindAGrave.com since buried outside of Fairfield County.
Check out others who lived in the same time and place or select the Fairfield County map to go back to the Legend Page.
THE REFERENCES
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THE REFERENCES
Charles C. Miller, Ph.D., History of Fairfield County, Ohio and Representative Citizens (Chicago: Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., 1912), 705.
“Farm House,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Wednesday, December 4, 1918, 5.
“Forty Years Ago,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Friday, April 27, 1951, 6.
“Forty Years Ago,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Saturday, November 24, 1956, 6.
“Forty Years Ago,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Thursday, May 16, 1957, 6.
“Forty Years Ago,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Saturday, December 10, 1960, 6.
“Frank Corwin Blue,” Find A Grave, last modified March 28, 2015, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144276254/frank-corwin-blue.
“Mr. Frank Blue,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Wednesday, September 27, 1922, 8.
“Real Estate Sales,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Monday, October 9, 1922, 3.
“Surprise Party At Blue Home,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Saturday, December 11, 1920, 2.
“Will Attend Party In Columbus,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Thursday, February 21, 1924, 3.
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