THE STRANGE ESTATE OF JOHANN ULRICH ALBRECHT

========================================================================================

OHGenWeb NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations.

Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor.

This file was contributed for use in the OHGenWeb Ross County By: Charles L. Weidinger

In Memory

of

Charles L. Weidenger

Aug. 19, 1932 - July 30, 2006

Johann Ulrich Albrecht of Yellowbud, Ohio, was my adoptive second great-grandfather. "Ulrich," as he and his friends called him, arrived in Philadelphia from Engelhardtsberg, Bavaria, in 1845. While residing in Pennsylvania, Ulrich and his wife Magdalena had a daughter, Barbara, born in 1846, a son Johann Georg, born in 1848, and a daughter Margaret, born in 1850.

This family moved to Ross County, Ohio late in 1853, or early in 1854. The records of the Reformed Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chillicothe show that Magdalena passed away on 6 April 1854, and was interred in the old Western Methodist Cemetery in that city. There was a brief second marriage to a Barbara Meinfelder, which resulted in divorce. On 4 September 1854, he acquired property at a sheriff's sale in the town of Yellowbud on which a grocery and general store already stood.

On 6 July 1858, Ulrich married Elizabeth Och Shaffer, a widow from Cincinnati. This may not have been totally by chance, since Elizabeth was born in Ulrich's home village of Engelhardtsberg, Bavaria in 1828, five years after Ulrich. Along with Elizabeth came her nine year old son, Charles C. Shaffer, who later appeared in Ulrich's will along with his mother.

From 1858 until 1866, the store in Yellowbud was operated by Ulrich and Elizabeth, and from evidence presented later, it appears they carved out a reputation for honesty and efficiency. In fact, a large number of locals owed them money through purchases on account, or by borrowing against notes that Ulrich held. By 1860, he had acquired two additional lots in the town, one of which was the location of the Albrecht home.

I do not know if Ulrich's death on 29 January 1866 came as a surprise, but he appears to have been in readiness. His will, recorded in Record G., Page 65, February 1866, stipulated that all real estate and personal property remaining after payment of all just debts be divided evenly between his wife Elizabeth, his step-son Charles, (called Conrad in the will, likely his middle name) and his legal heirs then living. Their adoption of Martha Ione Albright from Kansas in 1863 caused later complications in ownership of Ulrich's property which is mysterious, to say the least.

In 1870, Elizabeth Albright was still living in Yellowbud, likely running the store with help from her 21 year old son Charles and her other children. By 1880 however, Elizabeth was living as a housekeeper with the family of Francis T. Kendrick in Wayne Township, Pickaway County, just a few miles north of the village of Yellowbud. She was then obviously out of the grocery business, but just who continued the business is unknown. I will now reveal the mystery, then close with a look at those who owed Ulrich Albrecht's estate at the time of his death. It is a review of many of the prominent farmers and businessmen all over the Union Township, Ross County area.

Final disposal of Ulrich's Yellowbud property is a study in complex, long- distance litigation. On 15 November 1912, by Ross County Probate Court Case No. 11923, George F. Albright and his wife, Mary Jeanette Albright, as well as John G. Albright, all of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Charles C. Shaffer of Avant, Oklahoma, filed a quit claim to Martha Weidinger, then also of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and her heirs and assigns, on properties described as previously owned by Johann Ulrich Albrecht. This complicated procedure was done in absentia by all concerned, through statements from testimony from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Osage County, Oklahoma, entered into the Ross County Probate Court documents.

Now comes the real mystery. On 27 June 1913, Madison County Probate Court Case No. 11924, filed a quit claim to Frank T. Kendrick by all of his sons and their wives on exactly the same properties as described in Ross County Court Case 11923. Your confused author wondered if Francis T. Kendrick was merely acting as an agent for Martha Weidinger. The answer was found in yet one more court document.

On 28 March 1914, quit claims from Pickaway County, Ohio, Bernadillo County, New Mexico, and Delaware County, Ohio, signed these same properties over to George and Jacob DeHus, et al, of the village of Yellowbud, Union Township, Ross County, Ohio. That settles who owned and ran the store from 1914 on, but leaves the period 1880 to 1914, completely open to question. It looks like a little more searching for needles in haystacks lies ahead for your poor genealogy compiler.

Should I find an occasion to visit the tiny village of Yellowbud again, I'll take a few general pictures. However, there is literally nothing left of all the thriving businesses which once lined both sides of the Ohio and Erie Canal that passed through the town. The grocery and general store is gone, and at least half of the original homes have been replaced by a rag-tag assortment of mobile homes and trailers. Closure of the old canal tolled the death knell for Yellowbud.

Now, to the notes and accounts owed Ulrich Albrecht. If these amounts seem trifling, please recall that the buying power of an 1866 U.S. dollar (Union, not Confederate, please) was like a ten dollar bill in 1998, maybe even more. Following the list is some detailed information on those for which I could find it.

NOTES BELONGING TO THE ESTATE OF JOHANN U. ALBRECHT

*John Samuels $ 32.86
Samuel G. Lutz 11.79
James C. Shasteen 13.00
Samuel M. Pinto 38.61
*Sarah Thomas 30.01
*Henry Adams 16.33
Alexander N. Albright 42.25
Samuel J. Kendrick 12.81
*James Shasteen, Jr. 12.70
*Jacob Samuels 77.34
John G. Albright 28.60
John C. Ebenhack 60.70
Samuel J. Kendrick 58.54

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE TO ESTATE

George Barton 5.04
Samuel E. Bratton 2.65
*George Allen 11.67
Joshua Clifton 26.40
*Thomas I. Dean 23.75
William Shasteen 2.95
Jacob Ritchart 1.77
*Nelson Linton 18.31
*John Prichard 8.96
*George Gallenberger .90
Frank T. Kendrick 9.20
*James Shasteen, Jr. 4.50
Sherman L.N. Foote, MD 2.55
*Robert Ballow 13.50
*Abraham Champ 65.42
Chester Brown 2.80
*David Layton 5.02
John Wood 79.76
*James Layton 4.25
*Josiah Thomas 34.58
George Ebenhack 11.94
Charles C. Shaffer 14.30
*Joseph Day 15.80
Jacob S. Morrison 18.00
*Samuel M. Lutz 27.18
*George Adams 19.31
*Adam Cafritz 6.00
Jackson Shanton 7.50
Robert Layton 90.33
James M. Thompson 9.75
*Henry Layton ?

* No detailed information could be found on these men.

SAMUEL G. LUTZ

Born 13 March 1817 - Died 18 February 1885. Owned 363 acres one mile south of Yellowbud and a lot in the village. Prominent farmer with many descendants in Ross and Pickaway Counties. Buried at Springbank Cemetery with his wife Polly (Magdalena). Both were born in Bavaria.

JAMES C. SHASTEEN

Born 6 January 1807 - Died 18 June 1866. Union Township farmer. During the Civil War, he served in Company K, 89th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Buried at Springbank Cemetery (Government stone) with his wife Margaret. From his date of demise, it is possible that he died from the aftermath of wounds received during the war.

SAMUEL M. PINTO

Born 10 March 1828 - Died 7 January 1891. Owned 210 acres south of Yellowbud, and Lot 6 in the village. Buried at Springbank Cemetery with his wife, Elizabeth Ritchart (see Jacob Ritchart, below).

ALEXANDER N. ALBRIGHT

Born 29 August 1821 - Died 14 March 1886. Born in New York, and likely not directly related to Johann Ulrich Albrecht. Owned 119 acres southwest of Yellowbud, and ran a grain mill on what became known as Albright Mill Road. Buried at Springbank Cemetery with his wife Elizabeth Ebenhack, a daughter of Johann Adam Ebenhack.

SAMUEL J. KENDRICK

Born c. 1810 - Died c. 1875. Brother of Tunis Kendrick, government surveyor of grant lands in Ross County and took-over that post in 1850. Married Nancy Curry. Likely buried in family plot in Westfall Cemetery, Wayne Township, Pickaway County, north of Yellowbud. The remaining stones in this cemetery are now nearly totally unreadable.

JOHN G. ALBRIGHT

Born 27 March 1848, Philadelphia - Died 21 March 1931, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Son of Johann Ulrich Albrecht and first wife Magdalena. He was only 17 years old at the time of this entry in the Albrecht ledger. Later left Ohio for Kansas and New Mexico, where he carved out a career in journalism enmassing a considerable fortune.

JOHN C. EBENHACK

Born 26 March 1838 - Died 14 December 1901. Born Johann Conrad Ebenhack in Neudorf, Bavaria. Son of Johann Adam Ebenhack, family patriarch in Union Township. Married Katherina Doerres. Wounded at Bull Run with Company D, 73rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Tailor and bootmaker. Moved to Chillicothe around 1870. Buried in family plot at Grandview Cemetery.

GEORGE BARTON

Born c. 1810 - Died ? Veteran Civil War, Co. H., 149th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Buried at Springbank Cemetery, but the weathered stone contains no readable dates.

SAMUEL E. BRATTON

Born c. 1827 - Died ? Farmer and Butcher. Came to Union Township, Ross County from Guernsey County in 1860. His stay may not have been very long. His death date and burial location are unknown.

JOSHUA CLIFTON

Born c. 1813 - Died ? In 1875, owned 100 acres next to Alexander Albright. Death and burial site are not known.

WILLIAM SHASTEEN

Born c. 1807 - Died 14 June 1902, at age 95 years. Married Elizabeth Pritchard. Owned 103 acres near the farm owned by John W. Brown which was leased by Johann Tobias Weidinger. Buried at Springbank Cemetery.

JACOB RITCHART

Born 16 June 1817 - Died 29 November 1882. Owned 210 acres south of Springbank Cemetery. Buried at Springbank Cemetery with his wife Anna.

FRANK T. KENDRICK

Born 1846 - Died 1906. In 1868, he married Barbara Albright, daughter of Johann Ulrich Albrecht and his first wife Magdalena. Buried in Wayne Township, Pickaway County, north of Yellowbud. Actual first name was Francis. His age was 20 when this entry was made. I suspect his courtship of Barbara had begun.

SHERMAN L.N. FOOT, M.D.

Born 1831 - Died ? Local physician and surgeon for a time in Yellowbud. Owned home and office lot in the village south of Bluff Street. Later relocated to Chillicothe. Buried at Grandview Cemetery.

CHESTER M. C. BROWN

Born 31 September 1832 - Died 31 March 1877. May have been related to John W. Brown, who owned the farm leased by Johann Tobias Weidinger in extreme western Union Township. Served in Civil War with Company E, 18th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Suspect his full name was actually Clement M. Chester Brown. Buried at old Baptist Cemetery in Deerfield Township east of Clarksburg.

JOHN WOOD

Owned 47 acres south of Deer Creek, near the farm of Alexander N. Albright. No statistical data known.

GEORGE EBENHACK

Born 26 November 1829 - Died 9 March 1900. Another son of Johann Adam Ebenhack, born in Bavaria. Married Elizabeth Barbara Distler, sister of Anna K. Distler, wife of Johann Tobias Weidinger. At Yellowbud, he was a tailor and boot maker. About 1880, he moved to Chillicothe, and is buried at Grandview Cemetery.

CHARLES CONRAD SHAFFER

Step-son of Johann Ulrich Albrecht. Likely born in Cincinnati in 1849. Later moved west to Avant, Osage County, Oklahoma.

JACOB S. MORRISON

Born 23 May 1821 - Died 22 July 1891. Grain dealer in Yellowbud. Married Penelope Ritchart, daughter of Jacob Ritchart. Buried at Springbank Cemetery.

JACKSON SHANTON

Born 13 May 1812 - Died 30 October 1860. Owned 116 acres just south of the John W. Brown farm in western Union Township. Jackson and his wife Rachel are buried at Brown's Chapel Cemetery. Judging from his date of death, this debt may never have been paid.

ROBERT LAYTON

Born 1846 - Died 1909. Married Lida Barton. Little is known about him. Buried at Springbank Cemetery. There is also a George Layton at Springbank, who died on 15 October 1886 at age 52 (1834).

JAMES M. THOMPSON

Born 1822 - Died ? The Thompson family, including George, John and Humphrey Thompson, owned several adjoining farms south of Yellowbud, which included a private burial ground, the Thompson Cemetery. All were likely buried there. I have not visited this site.