Family Named in the Estate File of Elizabeth (Armitage) Meinzen

Yesterday I posted Elizabeth Meinzen's will which she wrote on March 23, 1920. She passed away on June 26, 1920.

On July 6, 1920, Elizabeth's daughter, Isabella (Belle) Hashman, filed the will and an application to admit the will to the Probate Court of Jefferson County, Ohio. A section of that application names Elizabeth's family members, calling them "her only next of kin." Below are the people named.

• Henry Meinzen, her husband, living in Steubenville, Ohio
• Henry Meinzen, Jr., son, Youngstown, Ohio
• Isabella Hashman, daughter, Steubenville, Ohio
• Elizabeth W. Harris, daughter, Steubenville, Ohio
• Lulu Sticker, daughter, Steubenville, Ohio
• W. C. Robert Meinzen, son, Warren, Ohio
• Naomi Rohme [sic], daughter, Steubenville, Ohio
• Zerelda Hendricks, 11 years, grand-daughter, Ambridge, Pa.
• Edna Hendricks, 12 years, grand-daughter, Ambridge, Pa.
• William Henderson, 11, grand-son, East Cleveland, Ohio
• Elizabeth Anna Meinzen, grand-daughter, Garretson, Pa.

Five of Elizabeth's grandchildren became half-orphans before they were 8 years old; 4 when their mothers (Hannah (Meinzen) Hendricks and Bertha (Meinzen) Henderson) died; 1 when her father (Jacob Meinzen) died. Of those 5 children, one died in infancy. The other half-orphans are the last 4 people named above.

Finding all the members of a family is important to me. With the help of my aunt, another of Elizabeth's granddaughters, I searched and was able to find information about Zerelda and her family. Tracking down Elizabeth Anna was much harder. My aunt remembered that Elizabeth Anna's mother had remarried and remembered her mother's new surname. Knowing where Elizabeth Anna lived in 1920 was a great help in putting pieces of information together. I was able to find her and her family and correspond with her.

Finding Edna Hendricks and William Henderson have been more difficult. To date, I've been unsuccessful. I will do separate posts about my efforts to find them.