Center for Archival Collections

Introduction | Biographical Sketch | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

The Boltz Family Papers consist of materials including correspondence, legal and financial documents, photographs, printed material, and certificates of the period from 1871 to 1981.

The Boltz Family Papers were donated to the Center for Archival Collections by Thomas W. Boltz of Vienna, Virginia in groups, in March 1992, May 1993, and October 1993. No restrictions exist on the use of this collection. Duplication is permitted for the purposes of preservation and research. The collection was processed and register prepared by Marilyn Levinson, Curator of Manuscripts in October 1993, with revisions in February 2007.

Biographical Sketch

Abner Boltz came to North Baltimore around 1920 as an employee of the Water Works, working for the utility for twenty years until his health failed. He was married to Tryphena Lyon, daughter of William Lyon, and had two sons, Forrest and Harry Emerson, and a daughter Marian Boltz Brobst.

Harry Emerson Boltz, who generally was known by his middle name, was born in 1909 in North Baltimore. Married in 1938 to Edith Chase, daughter of Thomas Justus Chase and Ruth Perry Chase, the Boltz Family consisted of a daughter, Francia Ann, and a son, Thomas W. Emerson Boltz was the founding editor of the North Baltimore News, which he ran from 1933 to 1955. Later he established the Advertiser-Press, published between 1958-59. He was also President of B & B Publishing Company in Findlay, Ohio.

Included with the collection is correspondence relating to Reuben H. Hamman. Hamman was a Waterville, Ohio physician who was a friend of Emerson Boltz. Hamman, who served in the Air Force during World War II, was a native of Toledo, Ohio, and was a member of the staff of Mercy Hospital. He also served on the Waterville Village Board of Trustees of Public Affairs, both before and after the War. Other donated material associated with Hamman is separately cataloged in the Center's holdings.

Scope and Content

The Boltz Family Papers span the years 1871 to 1981. The primary focus of the material is Harry Emerson Boltz, founding editor of the North Baltimore News, including some minor correspondence, legal and financial papers. Notable among this material are letters written to Boltz during World War II from servicemen from North Baltimore who were receiving his newspaper. Also relating to the war, the collection contains items associated with Dr. Reuben H. Hamman, a family friend, consisting of letters to Boltz.

Other Boltz Family members are represented in the collection in scattered items, including the oil leases and a account book of William Lyon, Boltz' maternal grandfather; a work record from the North Baltimore Water and Electric Company kept by his father, Abner Boltz; and a variety of programs from North Baltimore women's groups in which his wife, Edith, was active.

Material donated with the body of the collection, but dealt with individually include a Reuben H. Hamman memoir of the war, which is separately cataloged in the Center's collection as MMS 1855. The miscellaneous items connected to Samuel Feese, who operated a saloon in North Baltimore, and later was a beer distributor in Hancock, Henry, and southern Wood County have been separately cataloged as MMS 1856. A larger related collection of papers belonging to Ruth Perry Chase, Emerson Boltz' mother-in-law, have been organized and cataloged MS 662.

Series Description

CORRESPONDENCE

CORRESPONDENCE - SERVICEMEN TO EMERSON BOLTZ
1941-1944
Arranged chronologically
Letter from servicemen during World War II, to Boltz, referring to receipt of the North Baltimore News and to wartime activities

CORRESPONDENCE - MISCELLANEOUS TO EMERSON BOLTZ
1939-1941
Arranged chronologically
Scattered letters relating to activities and operations of the North Baltimore News

CORRESPONDENCE - REUBEN H. HAMMAN TO EMERSON BOLTZ
1933-1942, n.d.
Arranged chronologically
Scattered letters relating to activities, including two written while serving with the Air Force during World War II

CORRESPONDENCE - LEAH FRANKS TO MRS. C.W. GILLESPIE
n.d.
Letter describing family activities in Tulsa, Oklahoma area and referring to old stationery used to write the letter

LEGAL DOCUMENTS

CONTRACTS
1887-1901
Arranged chronologically
Oil and gas leases to property owned by William Lyon, the grandfather of Emerson Boltz, in Henry Township of Wood County, Ohio

CONTRACTS
1959
Bill of Sale by Emerson Boltz of the machinery and equipment of the B. and B. Publishing Company of Findlay, Ohio

AGREEMENTS
1945
Memorandum of Agreement for the purchase of machinery and equipment belonging to the former North Baltimore Weekly Beacon by Emerson Boltz

FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS

ACCOUNT BOOK
1871
Small pocket account book, kept by William Lyons, listing wages, expenses, and hours worked

ACCOUNT BOOKS
Feb 1926-June 1927
Small memo and record books of Abner Boltz, recording labor done for the North Baltimore Water and Electric Company

BALANCE SHEET
1958
Balance sheet of B and B Publishing as of December 31, 1958

SCRAPBOOKS AND SCRAPBOOK MATERIALS

NEWSCLIPPINGS
1931-1954, n.d.
Scrapbook pages of newsclippings (photocopied) relating to family members, friends, and local activities in North Baltimore, Ohio

PRINTED MATERIAL

CERTIFICATES
1962
Arranged chronologically
Membership card certifying Emerson Boltz as a member of the Findlay Area Chamber of Commerce

PROGRAMS
1895, 1927, 1948, 1949, 1951
Arranged chronologically
Programs, including the 1895 Commencement of North Baltimore High School, Dedication of the Elementary and High School (1927), Dedication of Trinity Christian Parish (1948), Homecoming and Formal Opening of the Portage Chapel Methodist Church (1949), and annual programs of the North Baltimore Business and Professional Women's Club, and the Literary and Lyric Circle

PAMPHLETS
1909, 1942
File cover, with advertising of Rockwell's Flour & Grain Elevator in North Baltimore; and printed paper fan, commemorating the 60th anniversary of Ten Mile (Bethel) Church

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL

PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS
c1890-1960
Arranged chronologically
Views of North Baltimore street scenes, Water Works and Electric Plant, churches, and North Baltimore Public Library

Inventory

Box 1

Folders

1. Correspondence - Servicemen to Emerson Boltz, 1941-1944
2. Correspondence - Miscellaneous to Emerson Boltz, 1939-1941
3. Correspondence - Reuben H. Hamman to Emerson Boltz, 1933-1942, n.d.
4. Correspondence - Leah Franks to Mrs. C.W. Gillespie, n.d.
5. Oil and gas leases, 1887-1901
6. Contracts and agreements, 1945, 1959
7. Account book of William Lyons, 1871
8. North Baltimore Water and Electric Company labor records, 1926-1927
9. Balance sheet of B and B Publishing, December 31, 1958
10. Scrapbook pages of newsclippings, 1931-1954, n.d.
11. Certificates, 1941-1947, 1962
12. Programs, 1895, 1927, 1948, 1949, 1951
13. Printed material (File cover & Paper fan), 1909, 1942
14. Photographic prints, c1890-1960

Manuscripts by Subject | Family Collections | U. S. in Wartime | Miscellaneous Collections