The Story of a House: Jedidiah Brink’s Home

Every old house contains a multitude of stories.  We are very fortunate to be able to learn a great deal about the Jeddiah Brink home, and tell the story of a house.

Home of Jeddiiah Brink

Jeddiah Brink home, Killbuck Township. Picture by Jim Smith about 1996

It started with this photo by Jim Smith, a distant cousin from Ohio.  Jim posted the picture on Ancestry.com, and through it I became acquainted with Jim and with his research on the Brink and Middaugh families. He is descended from my great-grandmother Mary Brink’s brother, Jeddiah Brink.

The photo of the house spun off a remarkable series of events. How could I learn how old this house was? Did it look like this when Jeddiah lived there? What does it look like inside?  So many questions.  And I found answers to most of them.  See how in the story below.

Don’t Miss the Whole Story!

  • When you click on the photo below, it will take you to Adobe Spark.
  •  Using the scroll bar on the right side of your screen, move down through the story.
  • Captions will float up through the pictures as you scroll.
  •  I hope you enjoy this new form of presenting an Ancestors in Aprons Story.

The Story of a House

If I am not consistent in my spelling of this gentleman’s first name, I have good company.  The flexible spelling is clearly a trait of the era in which he lived.  In his father’s will, written in his father’s hand, the name is spelled both Jedidiah and Jedadiah.  On his application for a marriage license, the court spells it Jeddiah, but on the certification of marriage on the same page, it is spelled Jeddediah. The Death certificate for Mary’s brother says Jeddiah. So, when it comes to spelling names–anything goes. Caution, there’s a Jeddiah character in World of Warcraft!

POST SCRIPT

I have just a slight P.S. to add about another member of my family. I was really fascinated to read the information that Jamee Parish shared about the painted canvas floors, because my grandmother, Vera Stout Anderson, painted her kitchen and bathroom floors in the 1940s and 1950s.  She did not paint on canvas, but instead painted right on top of the wooden floor, or old linoleum.  She would paint a background color and then spatter paint with a variety of colors for what I later thought of as a “Jackson Pollock effect.”  Combined with the colorful rag rugs she braided to use as throw rugs, she had a very colorful kitchen and bathroom indeed!

THANKS

I have so many people to thank for their assistance with this story.

  • Amy Johnson Crow for suggesting the use of Adobe Spark. (Amy uses it to make a video here.)
  • The helpful folks in the Killbuck Gang Facebook group who knew a lot about the house, especially Sherri Smail who made a trip to pin down the directions for getting to the house and Tobie Snow, with her husband, the present owner  of the property.
  • Jim and Susan Brink who traveled to Killbuck, took dozens of pictures and share their thoughts with me in lengthy e-mails.
  • Jim and Susan’s daughter Jamee Parish, the architect who helped reveal some of the secrets of the house.
  • Tobie Snow’s sister-in-law provided Susan Brink with a listing of property transactions on the house, which Susan passed on to me.
  • Jim Smith, who first posted a picture of the house on Ancestry.com and has generously shared his research on the Brink family.

 

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2 thoughts on “The Story of a House: Jedidiah Brink’s Home

  1. Michelle Taggart

    I just loved this! I loved this method of sharing the house with us. It really made my imagination take off, wondering how the family felt the first day they moved into the house and what their daily routine was. I just really enjoyed the tour!

    Reply
  2. Pingback: Favorite Reads of the Week: 4 June 2016 – How to teach history, talking about DNA at family reunions, writing your last words – Family Locket

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