Person:Ellsworth Burch (1)

Ellsworth Francis BURCH, my Mother’s father, I knew from dinners at my Grandparents house, occasional family gatherings, and cheerful Christmas Eve’s spent there for many years. He was born August 8, 1871, in the farming town of Metz, IN, a few miles from the Ohio border. He had five siblings. Ellsworth graduated from high school in Ohio, where he majored in oratory (probably called debate today). He started a teaching career in 1891 in a rural school in Indiana. He apparently attended Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, IN, for one term. He subsequently graduated from Tri-State College in Angola, IN, in 1889. Ellsworth was an instructor of commercial courses at Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio, from 1898 to 1899. He married Mabel Gertrude EICHELBERGER in Edon, OH, on November 29, 1899. Although Edon is only 15 miles from Metz, I don’t know how Ellsworth and Gertrude met. I speculate that Ellsworth accepted a job on a farm near Edon, near where Gertrude’s family farmed. The couple lived with his parents on the farm near Metz as young married people. Daughters Ruth Darling and Maude Albertine were born in the same house as their father. In McMinnville, TN., Ellsworth taught in the commercial department of a normal training school in 1904. By 1906 he was teaching in Michigan, and son Paul was born in Bay City, Michigan, in October of that year. In 1907 (or 1909) the family moved to Rock Island, where Ellsworth taught commercial law, bookkeeping, and Pittman shorthand for several years in high school. He then (1915) switched to serve as clerk, while continuing his teaching, and then (1925) to supervisor of buildings for the Rock Island Board of Education. In 1933 he became clerk-treasurer (essentially the business manager). He worked until 1948 and retired at age 72! Grandpa had a darkroom in his house and would there develop glass photo plates and later film. He took many of the old family photos that I have acquired. The Burches bought a lot at 1515-28th Ave. in Rock Island and Ellsworth built a house on it in the early 1900s. They referred to the house as "their homestead". In 19??, after living in the house for 17 years, he sold the homestead to raise money to buy a farm in Minnesota, and moved to 1519-29th St. Ellsworth gave the farm to son Paul and planned to join him in farming after retirement, but later realized that he was not physically capable of it. The Burches rented a house (1706-28th St) for several years after selling the homestead, but then bought a house at 2318-24 1/2th Street. Ruth lived with her parents until their death. Ellsworth liked woodworking, and he made lots of their household furniture. After he retired, he devoted considerable time to his woodworking from his basement shop. He made a sturdy cabinet for rock storage for me, which is still in use in 2004 (although it has been converted to a coin and stamp cabinet). When he was 88, Ellsworth cut off the tip of one finger on a bench saw and this ended his woodworking days. He was making a bedroom suite for Gin and Ralph. Grandpa took regular walks in his later years, and several times walked from his house to ours, a distance of three or four miles. He generally took a cane, but had little need for it. During the war years Grandpa helped tend the Victory Garden (a family garden to help the war effort) across the street from Maude Burch Lawson and Hugh Lawson's house- where we also had a garden. Ellsworth was in his 70's. A neighbor called Hugh at work one hot summer day to report that Ellsworth had just collapsed in the garden. The neighbor took Ellsworth some water and he recovered. Ellsworth asked the neighbor not to inform Hugh of the caper or Hugh would not want him to work in the garden any longer. Like Gertrude, Ellsworth did not display open affection for his kids. Mom recalls once seeing her Dad leave the house with a small suitcase. She asked where he was going. To Washington, DC, he replied. Give me a kiss before you leave, Dad. Here in the middle of the street? But he did kiss my Mom on this occasion. I don't recall that Grandpa Burch ever directly gave me encouragement or words of wisdom, but he gave me books to stimulate my curiosity as Christmas presents. He did write me a few letters when I was in graduate school- and I responded. His letters complained about the sad state of world and US affairs- so what else is new?. Grandpa Ellsworth died November 7, 1967, of coronary artery disease and complications of general arteriosclerosis. He was 96. Social security #: 356-40-6714.

“E.F. BURCH, PAST SCHOOL OFFICIAL, SUCCUMBS AT 96 Ellsworth F. Burch, 96, of 2318 24 1/2 St., Rock Island, former business manager for the Rock Island Board of Education, died at 7:35 last night in St. Anthony’s Hospital, where he had been a patient for the past five weeks. Funeral services will be conducted at 10 Friday morning in the Knox-Larson Funeral Home, with the Rev. Donald L. Jones, pastor of Memorial Christian Church, officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery, Rock Island. Friends may call after noon tomorrow at the funeral home. Mr. Burch was born Aug. 8, 1871 in Metz, Ind., a son of William and Samantha Corkins Burch. He received his education in Metz, Ind., public schools and attended Valparaiso University and Tri-State College, Angola, Ind. He had resided in Rock Island for the past 60 years. He married Mabel G. Eichelberger Nov. 29, 1899 in Edon, Ohio. She died Sept. 8, 1963. He formerly taught at Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio, for two years and Bay City, Mich., two years before moving to Rock Island in 1907. He was a teacher in the Rock Island school system until 1925, when he became business manager for the Rock Island Board of Education, retiring from that post in 1948. He was a member and elder of Memorial Christian Church, and was a past treasurer of Fifteenth Avenue Christian Church. He also was a former member and secretary of the Rock Island Kiwanis Club and former member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge and the Odd Fellows Lodge. Surviving are a son, F. Paul Burch of Buffalo Lake, Minn.; three daughters, Miss Ruth D. Burch, Mrs. Hugh J. Lawson and Mrs. Earle C. McBride, all of Rock Island, five grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. He also was preceded in death by a granddaughter, two brothers and two sisters.”

Grandma Mabel Gertrude (EICHELBERGER) BURCH, my Mom’s mother, was born August 4, 1871, in Edon, OH, another small farm community that was only 15 miles from the birthplace of Ellsworth. Gertrude came from a family of 11 children. Her family lived in and around Springfield, Missouri, but at some time (around age 6) Gertrude lived in Kansas. Apparently she was farmed out to a member of the Swonger family for a while to help with household chores. Grandma recalls on one trip there was an "Indian scare", a report of a possible attack by Indians, and all the white folks went to the local schoolhouse for protection. There was no incident, fortunately. She also reported that she was generally the last person to be pulled into the storm cellar when there was a tornado alert. Grandma obviously was not treated well by her relatives and the lack of affection afforded her colored her treatment of her children. When she was a little older, Gertrude was shipped to Aunt Mant (her mother's sister, Samantha), who still lived in Eden, Ohio, to help out in the kitchen. The aunt had three boys, but only one girl. When she arrived, Gertrude was so homesick that she spent the first week there in bed. It was during this period in Ohio that she fell in love with a cousin, but could not marry him because of blood ties. Later she met Ellsworth Burch and married him in 1899. She was a housewife all her life. Like many women of her time, Grandma canned lots of fruit and vegetables that were grown in their garden. She was not active in church or civic affairs. The level of schooling that she attained is unknown, but she was put to work at a young age and may not have finished grade school. During the depression (early 1930s), Maude and her mother and other family members made quilts (quilted) in the attic. Maude reports that she learned lots of family history there in the attic. Both Maude and Ruth were born in the farmhouse of William and Samantha Burch near Eden, OH. Gertrude's mother insisted that one of Gertrude's children be born in her house in Springfield, Missouri. Thus, the family traveled to Springfield for my Mother's birth in 1911. Politics reached the Burch household. My contact with Grandma Burch was limited to occasional visits to their house, commonly for dinner. Grandma was a very quiet, serious person. She refused to show affection to Grandpa or her kids in public. In fact, Mom says that her Mother did not show affection even in private. The only serious conversation with her that I can recall was when she tried to convince me to undergo baptism by submersion. I had been sprinkled for my baptism, but Grandma believed that one had to be immersed -- like Biblical descriptions. She was quite concerned about me for some time. For some reason Grandma served salmon patties a lot when we visited. Probably she didn’t realize that she served them so frequently during our visits. I guess I wasn't fond of them, because on one visit I said at the dinner table: "Salmon patties, salmon patties, all we ever get is salmon patties!" Hey, kids tell it like it is. I don't recall the outcome, but I suspect that we didn't get served salmon patties for a while. On another occasion Grandma served homemade soup. I was reluctant to eat my soup, because, I said "it had worms in it." That’s just barley, my Dad said. “Eat your soup”. No, it’s got worms in it. Show me, Dad said. I pointed to my soup and pointed "Here's one, here's one, and there's another one." Sure enough, something was very buggy, and those little larvae were floating all around in the soup. Eating at Grandma's house was exciting. In her later years Grandma's hearing worsened, and she gradually became senile. When Ruth and Grandpa were no longer able to care for her, she was placed in the home for the elderly run by Pearl Campbell, the mother of my good boyhood friend, Max. Grandma died after only a few months in the rest home. She died of cardiac arrhythmia at the age of 92 on September 8, 1963, in Rock Island.

RITES PENDING FOR MRS. BURCH OF ROCK ISLAND Mrs. Mabel G. Burch, 92, of 2318 24 1/2 St., Rock Island, died at 5 yesterday morning at Shady Lawn Rest Home, Rock Island. The body was taken to the Knox-Larson Funeral Home, Rock Island, Mrs. Burch, the forme Mabel Eichelberger, was born Aug. 4, 1871, in Edon, Ohio, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Eichelberger. She attended Kansas schools. She moved to Rock Island in 1907. She was married to Ellsworth F. Burch Nov. 29, 1899, in Edon. Mrs. Burch was a member of Memorial Christian Church and Fifteenth Avenue Christian Churches. Surviving are the widower; three daughters, Miss Ruth B. (sic) Burch, who made her home with her parents, and Mrs. Hugh J. Lawson and Mrs. Earle C. McBride, both of Rock Island; a son, F. Paul Burch of Buffalo Lake, Minn.; five grandchildren, two sisters, Mrs. Florence Estes and Mrs. Blanche Patrice (sic), both of Springfield, Mo., and a brother, Lewis Eichelberger of Oklahoma.,

1. ↑ Family data. (1).
2. ↑ Death certificate state file number 63318; registered number 441..
3. ↑ Memorial Park Cemetery Internment Records 6/2003..
4.   Obituary in The Rock Island Argus, Nov. 7, 1967..
5.   Obituary in The Rock Island Argus, Sept. 9, 1963, p. 2..