Director

Born in Wisconsin in 1890, Clarence Rodman earned advanced degrees in chemical engineering and honorary Doctor of Science and L.L.D. degrees. He began his career as a research chemist and engineer with Eastman Kodak and Westinghouse. He came to Alliance at the request of his father-in-law William Purcell to take over the management of the Buckeye Jack Company in 1926. At the same time, Dr. Rodman also partnered with Purcell to found the Alliance Toy Manufacturing Company. The company started out producing scooters and wagons, then branched out into hedge shears and lawn tools. By 1927 the company had dropped the toy lines and became known as the Alliance Manufacturing Company. By the early 1940s, Rodman gave up his position with the Alliance Manufacturing Company to concentrate on his other business interests.In 1927, Rodman had founded the Steel Sanitary Company, which did research and development of the first successful steel bathtub in the country. Utilizing the research from Steel Sanitary, he founded Alliance Porcelain Products Company in 1934, which produced pressed steel bathtubs and sinks. The company would be renamed AllianceWare in 1944.Another company founded by Dr. Rodman in the 1950s was the Alliance Tool Company, which helped to refurbish the Clarke Observatory telescope at Mount Union College.Through his work and companies, C. J. Rodman was the holder of numerous patents; he was also the recipient of many awards and honors for his work and philanthropy. He and his wife were the parents of two sons, Robert L. Rodman and James P. Rodman. Dr. Rodman died in 1972, leaving a legacy of innovation and generosity which will not soon be forgotten.

Clarence James Rodman headstone showing University insignias for degrees earned

25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – Alliance Ware

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Born in Wisconsin in 1890, Clarence Rodman earned advanced degrees in chemical engineering and honorary Doctor of Science and L.L.D. degrees. In 1927, Rodman had founded the Steel Sanitary Company, which did research and development of the first successful steel bathtub in the country. Utilizing the research from Steel Sanitary, he founded Alliance Porcelain Products Company in 1934, which produced pressed steel bathtubs and sinks. The company would be renamed AllianceWare in 1944.C. J. Rodman became a philanthropist to the Alliance community. Rodman Public Library and Butler-Rodman Park are just two of the sites in Alliance that bear his name.

Rodman Monument

The Alliance City Cemetery was founded in 1865 as a place to bury the dead of the Civil War. Around 1900, two small cemeteries were completely moved and reburied at the Alliance City Cemetery. One of the cemeteries belonged to the Oyster family and had been located on the east side of Mahoning Avenue. The Mount Union Village Cemetery, which had been located on South Union Avenue, was the other cemetery moved. Some of the dates of death from these two cemeteries are for years before 1865.This is not meant to be a definitive history of the Alliance City Cemetery. It is meant to highligh a few of the monuments that belong to some of the better known citizens of Alliance's past and to help us appreciate our community's rich history.

The Alliance City Cemetery began in 1865 as a place to bury the dead of the Civil War. The first interment was in 1865. The cemetery consists of 52 acres and 33,000 people are buried there. There is room for another 30,000 burials. Ten private family mausoleums exist in addition to the main cemetery mausoleum and ten sarcophagi exist.

The Zimmerman headstone is a fine example of the ornate hand chiseling of the late 19th century cemetery monuments. Headstones today are engraved using laser technology.

Zimmerman Headstone

The mausoleum was dedicated on August 29, 1909. It includes 420 crypts and was built by the National Mausoleum Company of Shelby. It is constructed of marble, stone, and concrete. For more information, see The Alliance Review, August 30, 1909, p.1.

The mausoleum was dedicated on August 29, 1909. It includes 420 crypts and was built by the National Mausoleum Company of Shelby. It is constructed of marble, stone, and concrete.

Alliance City Mausoleum

On Tuesday, May 2, 1916, the dead body of a baby boy was found wrapped in newspaper in the toilet of the Pennsylvania Railroad Station. The skin of the baby was dark but not damaged in any way. The coroner from Canton was summoned to determine whether the baby had been born alive or stillborn. The mother was never found. People from the community came together to bury the child. Each year in the spring, an unknown person places flowers on the grave.

Unknown Baby Boy

The Reeves Brothers Company built rotary cement kilns, stand pipes, grain elevators, and gas and oil tanks. George Reeves moved to Alliance in 1893 to open the business, and was very successful despite two fires in 1900 and 1901, which destroyed the plant. Reeves rebuilt with the help of his son, Albert, and by 1903, the plant was running smoothly again. The plant closed in 1932, and was sold in 1942 to the Babcock-Wilcox Company. George Reeves died in 1916 and his son Albert in 1943.

The Reeves Brothers Company built rotary cement kilns, stand pipes, grain elevators, and gas and oil tanks. George Reeves moved to Alliance in 1893 to open the business. The plant closed in 1932. Note the Masonic symbology on the corners of the lot, including the Masonic compass and square and the abbreviation TWSSTKS, which stands for The Widow's Son Sent To King Solomon, signifying that the Mason had died.

Reeves Mausoleum

Located in Section N of the Alliance City Cemetery, this steam pipe from the battleship USS Maine serves as a memorial to the veterans of the Spanish-American War of 1898.The battleship USS Maine arrived in Havana, Cuba, in January 1898, to protect U.S. interests as Cuba fought for independence from Spain. That all changed on February 15, when a massive explosion caused it to sink in Havanna Harbor. How these explosions happened, whether from an external mine or an internal coal fire, is still debated today. Because of the explosion and sinking of the Maine, 266 Americans, or two-thirds of the crew, perished and went down with the ship. The sinking served as a catalyst for the eventual war between Spain and the United States. President William McKinley declared war on Spain on April 11, 1898 with the battle cry, “Remember the Maine,” resounding throughout the country. The 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company K, led by Elliott Gyger, represented Ohio in Cuba. The war lasted only four months and ended on August 12 with Cuban independence from Spain coming soon thereafter. In 1910, the Cuban government pressured the United States to remove the wreckage of the USS Maine from Havana Harbor since the masts from the Maine were still visible above the water line and proved to be a navigational hazard. After recovery of the ship, the government began to give pieces of the wreck to organizations and towns across the country from Maine to California to be used as memorials to the disaster.Although the exact date of this relic placement in Alliance City Cemetery is not known, we do know it was prior to February 1916, when a brief article about the Maine’s anniversary appeared in The Alliance Review. The article states that the relic was suitably mounted and placed by Crubaugh Camp No. 19 of the United Spanish War Veterans. It occupies a place in the section of the cemetery deeded to the camp as a burial place for veterans of the Spanish-American War.

The inscription on the pipe states that it is a "Steam pipe from the Battleship Maine which was sunk in Havana Harbor, February 15, 1898. Erected in memory of Spanish-American War veterans.

Steampipe from Battleship Maine and Spanish-American War Monument

The original Greek sense (ἐξέδρα, a seat out of doors) was applied to a room that opened onto a stoa, ringed with curved high-backed stone benches, a suitable place for conversation. In cemeteries, they are often memorial monuments with a carved bench where family members can pause to feel close to their departed loved ones. You will note many of these throughout the cemetery.

An exedra is a permanent open air masonry bench with a high back, usually semicircular in plan, patterned after the porches or alcoves of classical antiquity where philosophical discussions were held. In cemeteries, they are often memorial monuments with a carved bench where family members can pause to feel close to their departed loved ones.

Reeves Exedra

Perhaps the most famous of the monuments in Alliance City Cemetery, this World War I Doughboy serves as a memorial to one of Alliance’s most distinguished sons and his nephew.Edgar Weybrecht, the son of Benjamin F. Weybrecht, joined the army in May 1918. He immediately went to France, where he served the 146th under his uncle Charles Weybrecht’s leadership. Unfortunately he died of pneumonia only 9 days before the Armistice was signed.Col. Charles C. Weybrecht loved the military and rose through the ranks from Major in the Spanish American War to Colonel during World War I. He returned home in July 1919. A special dinner party was held in his honor on August 23, 1919, at which a jar of ripe Black olives was served. The olives were tainted with botulism and Weybrecht, as well as six others, died as a result of eating them.In November 1921, Col. Weybrecht’s brother and Edgar’s father, B.F. Weybrecht, attended the unveiling of the Fighting Doughboy statue by Pietro Montana in Brooklyn, NY. He was so taken by the statue’s resemblance to his son, that he commissioned another casting to serve as a memorial to his fallen family members. Montana’s Fighting Doughboy was the winner of a 1919 war memorial competition and was his professional debut work. It depicts an aggressive soldier with clenched fist, his shirt opened, his helmet beneath him, and a rifle in his other hand.The memorial was dedicated November 11, 1922. The City Band led a procession of Civil War, Spanish American War, and World War I veterans to the cemetery for the unveiling.The Doughboy stood ready to fight for nearly 80 years when a violent thunderstorm broke a large branch from a neighboring tree. The heavy limbs landed atop the statue, pushing the head into the chest cavity, collapsing the chest. The arm was snapped off and the top part of the statue was broken off at the knees. The statue was painstakingly restored and returned to the cemetery in July 2001. It is impossible to see where the damage occurred.In the words of Col. Frank Gerlach, who spoke at the 1922 dedication, “We dedicate this monument, not to the glorification of war, but rather as a memorial to humanity’s progress and worldwide struggle for universal peace.”

Col. Charles C. Weybrecht, son of John T. Weybrecht, was a war hero who survived the Spanish-American War, the Mexican Border War chasing Pancho Villa, and World War I, but died three days after eating poisoned olives at his welcome home party held on August 23, 1919. He was one of seven persons who died from the botulism tainted olives. The Fighting Doughboy statue was created by Pietro Montana and was dedicated on November 11, 1922. The monument was purchased by Benjamin Weybrecht and stands as a remembrance to his brother Charles and his son Edgar C. Weybrecht, who died in Belgium in 1918, just nine days before the Armistice was signed.

Fighting Doughboy / Weybrecht Memorial

John T. Weybrecht opened the first lumber yard in Alliance. He was born in France (Alsace) and came to this country in 1853. During the 1870s and 1880s, his business, located on E. Broadway, grew to become one of the largest lumber and building supply businesses in Ohio. In 1892, his two oldest sons, Benjamin and Charles, joined him in the business which then became J. T. Weybrecht &amp; Sons. John Weybrecht's daughter Mary married Leroy Leslie Lamborn, Dr. Levi L. Lamborn's son. John Weybrecht died in 1895 at age 66. The draped vessel located at the top of the monument signified the lack of life, since the vessel would have been used to carry the signs of life - oil, water, and wine - and it is now empty and shrouded. The oak leaves on the sides signify strength and the laurel wreaths depict a winner, or champion.

John T. Weybrecht opened the first lumber yard in Alliance. He was born in France (Alsace) and came to this country in 1853. The draped vessel located at the top of the monument signifies the lack of life, since the vessel would have been used to carry the signs of life - oil, water, and wine - and it is now empty and shrouded. The oak leaves on the sides signify strength and the laurel wreaths depict a winner, or champion.

John T. Weybrecht

Harvey Laughlin was Alliance's first mayor, from 1854-1856. He was also elected two more times, serving from 1857-1859 and 1870-1872.

Harvey Laughlin

Charles O. Silver was the Alliance city auditor for 25 years. Silver Park is named for him, not for silver maple trees. The former 55-acre Lorentz farm on the south side of Alliance was purchased by the city from a bankruptcy auction for $25,000. That land is now known as Silver Park.

Charles O. Silver was the longtime city auditor for the City of Alliance. Silver Park is named for him, not for silver maple trees.

Charles O. Silver

Soldiers from Company F of the 115th Ohio Volunteer Infantry died in the explosion of the steamboat Sultana seven miles north of Memphis on the Mississippi River on April 27 1865. The Sultana reportedly carried more than 2,400 passengers, six times its capacity of 376. The vast majority were Union soldiers recently freed from southern prisons at the end of the Civil War. Approximately 1,800 passengers and crew died in what is considered the worst maritime disaster in American history. Company F was organized in Stark, Columbiana, and Portage Counties and was mustered into service at Camp Massillon in the fall of 1862.The front side of the monument includes the inscription: "Erected in memory of the deceased of Co. F 115th OVI by the Company and friends, 1865." One side of the monument lists the names of those men who were killed by an explosion on the ship Sultana on April 27, 865, on the Mississippi Riber as it was returning home at the end of the war. The two other sides of the monument list tose soldiers who died in prison and those who died of disease.The State Historical Marker is a memorial to the soldiers of Company F who died as a result of the Sultana tragedy and other war related causes. This marker was erected in 2011 and was funded by Ina "Scotty" Hayes who was instrumental in maintaining the Alliance City Cemetery as well as Friends of the Cemetery and the Ohio Historical Society.

Soldiers from Company F of the 115th Ohio Volunteer Infantry died in the explosion of the steamboat Sultana seven miles north of Memphis on the Mississippi River on April 27, 1865. The Sultana reportedly carried more than 2,400 passengers, six times its capacity of 376. The vast majority were Union soldiers recently freed from southern prisons at the end of the Civil War. Approximately 1,800 passengers and crew died in what is considered the worst maritime disaster in American history.

Sultana Tragedy/Civil War Monument 

The Phillips - Eppley grave is an example of one of the 10 sarcophagi in the Alliance City Cemetery. The term comes from the Greek: sarx, “flesh,” and phagein, “to eat”. A sarcophagus is a stone coffin, usually located above the ground. It is designed to hold the coffin or bodies of the people for whom the sarcophagus was built. The word came into general use as the name for a large coffin in imperial Rome and is now used as an archaeological term.

Phillips - Eppley Sarcophagus

Abraham Greenawalt served in the Civil War as a Private in Company G, 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee on November 30, 1864. His citation reads "Capture of corps headquarters flag (C.S.A.)". His Medal was awarded to him on February 13, 1865. He was one of six 104th Ohio soldiers to be awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery during the Civil War.

Abraham Greenawalt was a member of Co. G, 104th Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI). He enlisted in 1862, and was discharged in June 1865. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor for helping to capture a rebel gun, flag, and soldier at a Confederate Headquarters in Tennessee in 1864. He was 88 when he died in 1922.

Abraham Greenawalt - Congressional Medal of Honor

Notable about the Garwood Monument is the material from which it is made. The marker is fabricated from zinc and is referred to as "white bronze." These zinc monuments stand out from other monuments because of its bluish-gray color. These markers are hollow and durable, but not unbreakable.Scrollwork, wreaths of roses, and family names that appeared to be carved from tree branches could easily be added to the monuments without the added expense of a stone mason. Plaques with the deceased's information could easily be bolted onto an existing monument design. Zinc monuments began to appear in the 1870s and remained popular for a short time. The zinc monuments don’t oxidize from brown to green (as bronze monuments do) they don’t end up with lichen growing on the surface, a common problem with granite monuments.Because they are made from metal, they do not deteriorate and the inscriptions remain readable for many years longer than their stone counterparts.

Notable about the Garwood Monument is the material from which it is made. The marker is fabricated from zinc and is referred to as "white bronze." These zinc monuments stand out from other monuments because of its bluish-gray color. These markers are hollow and durable, but not unbreakable. You will see many tall and short zinc monuments throughout this area of the cemetery.

Garwood Monument

Charles Marchand was an investor who partnered with Thomas Rees Morgan, Sr. and helped him relocate his business from Pittsburgh to Alliance in 1871. Marchand &amp; Morgan built their business along Mahoning Avenue, building steam hammers, punching and shearing machines, rail carts, gun and mortar carriages, cranes and other specialized heavy equipment.In 1877, Marchand took ownership of Crew's Opera House, located at E. Main Street and Seneca Avenue. Marchand's Opera House collapsed in 1886.

Marchand Monument

Dr. Levi Leslie Lamborn (1827-1910) was a man of many talents and interests. He came to the Alliance area about 1849, after studying to become a physician. He practiced medicine for many years and built a beautiful home on the NW corner of Main Street and Union Avenue. He and his wife Maria Grant Lamborn had seven children together, six of whom lived to adulthood.Dr. Lamborn had many other interests besides his medical career. He started the first newspaper in Alliance in 1854, served as clerk of the Ohio House of Representatives in 1859, opened a hospital in his home during the Civil War, and had numerous local business interests. In company with Elisha Teeters, Hugh Bleakley and others, he developed several large real estate additions to the city of Alliance and enticed Thomas R. Morgan to bring his company to Alliance and the Ohio &amp; Pennsylvania Railroad to locate their division headquarters here.At his home, he constructed a conservatory and began cultivating flowers, especially carnations. In 1866, he purchased carnation plants grown from the first carnation seeds germinated in America; he would go on to write a book called American Carnation Culture, which would see four editions.In 1876, Dr. Lamborn decided to run as the Democratic nominee for the U. S. congressional district seat. His opponent was a Republican from Canton named William McKinley. According to Lamborn, the campaign was “fervent but friendly.” Even though they differed in politics, the two were personal friends. They canvassed the district making speeches, and it was at this time that Lamborn first presented McKinley with a carnation for his lapel. The future President took a liking to the flower and considered it a good luck charm. McKinley won the 1876 election, the two men continued to be friends, and McKinley would often be seen wearing a carnation as his political career progressed.Dr. Lamborn died in 1910, having lived to see his carnation named the state flower and his family greenhouse business grow and flourish.

Dr. Levi Leslie Lamborn (1827-1910) was a man of many talents and interests. He came to the Alliance area about 1849 after studying to become a physician. He practiced medicine for many years. He and his wife Maria Grant Lamborn had seven children together, six of whom lived to adulthood. All the children had the initials "L. L. L."Along with his medical career, Levi Lamborn was a businessman, a newspaper publisher, and a horticulturist. He propagated the "Lamborn Red," otherwise known as the Scarlet Carnation in his greenhouse at W. Main Street and N. Union Avenue. The Scarlet Carnation is why Alliance is the Carnation City.

Levi L. Lamborn Monument

Jonathan Ridgeway Haines and his wife Sarah Grant Haines were Quaker farmers and active Abolitionists who raised their family in the house built by Sarah's father, John Grant. Beginning in 1853, the house was used as an Underground Railroad station to help hide fugitive slaves on their way north to Canada. Mr. Haines and his family hid the slaves in a small room over the kitchen during the day and helped to transport them to the next "station" after it was dark. Their house, located at 186 West Market Street at the corner of West Market and Haines Avenue, is known as the Haines House today. Mr. Haines died in 1899 and his wife in 1903.

Jonathan Ridgeway Haines and his wife Sarah Grant Haines were Quaker farmers and active Abolitionists. Beginning in 1853, their house, located at 186 West Market Street, was used as an Underground Railroad station to help hide fugitive slaves on their way north to Canada. Mr. Haines and his family hid the slaves in a small room over the kitchen during the day and helped to transport them to the next "station" after it was dark.

Haines Monument

At 4 o’clock in the afternoon of February 1, 1884, Alliance experienced its worst disaster. Seven people lost their lives and at least 15 others were seriously injured as the fumes from a gasoline spill inside the Orr Block ignited, causing the three-story building to explode. Frank M. Orr, age 46, owned the stove and tin ware store, located on the south side of Main Street near 5th Street (now known as Seneca) in downtown Alliance. On the second floor of the building, lived Mr. Orr’s 24-year-old daughter and son-in-law, Homer and Allie Highland, along with their 2-year-old son, Vernon Highland. The Highlands had been married three years. On the third floor lived Frank Evans, his wife Ida, and their two small children, ages 2 years and 4 months. Frank Orr’s son, Elmer, age 21, worked in the store with his father. He was friendly and showed a good talent for business.Mrs. Highland and her son Vernon were visiting with her father, Frank, and brother, Elmer, in the tin shop when young Vernon opened the spigot of the gasoline tank. Frank Orr kept gasoline in an airtight galvanized iron tank inside his store for his customers. About a gallon of the liquid spilled out onto the floor of the shop and the fumes began to disperse into the air. Elmer Orr began to mop up the gasoline when the fumes reached a fire-burning stove and caused the great explosion.All seven victims of the Orr Block explosion are buried at Alliance City Cemetery. Their names:<ul><li>Frank M. Orr, age 46;</li><li>Elmer Orr, age 21, son of Frank Orr;</li><li>Allie Orr Highland, age 24, daughter of Frank Orr;</li><li>Charles Vernon Highland, age 2, son of Allie Highland;</li><li>Ida Evans, and her two small children, ages 2 years and 4 months.</li></ul>

On February 1, 1884, Alliance experienced its most deadly disaster when the Orr Block exploded. The three-story structure collapsed to the ground when fumes from a gasoline spill reached a fire-burning stove in the store. The proprietor, Frank Orr, his son, Elmer, daughter, Allie Orr Highland, and her 2-year-old son, Vernon perished, along with residents of the third floor apartment, Ida Evans and her two small children, ages 2 years and 4 months.

Orr Monument

This cannon from the Civil War has been placed here next to a monument erected in 1934 in memory of the John C. Fremont Post No. 729 of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). The monument includes a line from President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: "That we do here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain."

Civil War Memorial

Mabel Hartzell was the adopted daughter of Matthew and Mary Edwards Earley. Matthew Earley operated a tannery at Vine Street and Walnut Avenue and was a city councilman. He built his house on N. Park Avenue and E. Vine Street in 1867. Earley's Hill Park is on land that was once owned by Mr. Earley. Mabel Hartzell was born in 1875, in Saginaw, Michigan, and moved to Alliance when she was 7 years old. Her mother died when Mabel was 9 years old and the Earleys adopted her. She graduated from Mount Union College and received a Master's degree from The Ohio State University. Mabel Hartzell was a lifelong educator and community leader. She continued to live in the home that Matthew Earley built until her death in 1954, at which time she donated it to the Alliance Historical Society, an organization that she helped found. Today, the home at 840 N. Park Avenue is known as the Mabel Hartzell Historical Home. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is an Alliance Local Landmark.

Mabel Hartzell was the adopted daughter of Matthew and Mary Edwards Earley. Matthew Earley operated a tannery at Vine Street and Walnut Avenue and was a city councilman. Mabel Hartzell was a lifelong educator and community leader. She continued to live in the home that Matthew Earley built until her death in 1954, at which time she donated it to the Alliance Historical Society, an organization that she helped found.

Earley-Hartzell Monuments

Thomas Rees Morgan, Sr., Col. William H. Morgan and members of their family are entombed in the Morgan Mausoleum. The mausoleum was built and dedicated in 1909, and contains 24 crypts. T. R. Morgan came from Glamorganshire, Wales, in 1864, and moved to Alliance after living in the Pittsburgh area. He is the inventor of the traveling overhead crane and the founder of Morgan Engineering. His son, Col. William Henry Morgan, became the leader of the company after T. R. Morgan's death in 1897. For many years, Morgan Engineering was the largest builder of overhead cranes. Col. Morgan built Glamorgan Castle as his home in 1904. Glamorgan Castle is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is an Alliance Local Landmark.Located inside the mausoleum are beautiful stained glass windows and a decorative ceiling. The windows were bricked over due to the fear of vandalism. Family names of the interred include Morgan, Ramsey, Sebring, Keely, and Conroy.

Thomas Rees Morgan, Sr., Col. William H. Morgan, and members of their families are entombed in the Morgan Mausoleum. The mausoleum was built and dedicated in 1909 and contains 24 crypts. Located inside the mausoleum are beautiful stained glass windows and a decorative ceiling. The windows were bricked over due to the fear of vandalism. Family names of the interred include Morgan, Ramsey, Sebring, Keely, and Conroy.

Morgan Mausoleum

Oliver Transue and Transue-Williams Steel Forging Corporation helped Henry Ford when he was looking for a way to manufacture lighter steel to use in building his cars. Esperiments done at United Steel Company in Canton were successful, and the steel was brought to Transue-Williams for forging. Oliver Transue died in 1925, at the age of 59.

Oliver Transue and Transue-Williams Steel Forging Corporation helped Henry Ford when he was looking for a way to manufacture lighter steel to use in building his cars. Oliver Transue died in 1925, at the age of 59.

Transue Mausoleum

On August 23, 1919, a "welcome home" party was held at the Lakeside Club in Canton, Ohio, for Col. Charles C. Weybrecht, who had at last returned from France and his tour of duty during WWI. The party was organized by Mrs. Helen Sebring Gahris and was attended by Willard I. Gahris &amp; Helen Sebring Gahris (Sebring, Ohio); Col. Charles C. Weybrecht &amp; Emily Brosius Weybrecht (Alliance); Col. W. H. Morgan &amp; Annette Sharer Morgan (Alliance); John C. Sharer &amp; Katherine Ballou Sharer (Alliance); A. Fred Morris &amp; Ella Bullock Morris (Alliance); Louis H. Brush &amp; Maude Snowden Brush (Salem, Ohio); Dr. Willis F. Sanford &amp; Jessie Williams Sanford (Alliance); Clem Bates &amp; Mary Bates (Alliance).On the way to the dinner party, Mrs. Gahris stopped at a store in Alliance and purchased some additional items to add to her table, including a jar of Mammoth Ripe Olives. Unknown to her, the jar of olives was tainted with botulism. The chef, Frank McElroy, and waiter, Robert Jennings, tasted the olives before they were placed on the table. Some members of the dinner party avoided the olives and others freely ate them, although they were mottled in color and tasted a bit odd.Several hours after the dinner party, those who ate the olives, including the chef and waiter, began to get ill. Within a week after the dinner party, seven people had died from the botulism poisoning. Those who are buried in the Alliance City Cemetery include John and Katharine Sharer, Col. Charles Weybrecht, and Jessie Sanford. Helen Sebring Gahris is buried in Grandview Cemetery in Sebring, Ohio; Frank McElroy is buried in West Lawn Cemetery in Canton, Ohio; and Robert Jennings is buried in Georgia.The funerals for the Sharers were short and simple with only family attending at their home. The service followed the Episcopal Ritual and included no eulogies and no music. They occurred on Friday morning, August 29, 1919. Their memorial here at the Alliance City Cemetery depicts a young woman weeping. It is thought that the young lady was the couple’s only daughter, Ann, who was only 7 at the time of her parents’ deaths but could also symbolize John’s mother who buried her son.

John Cummings Sharer, a jeweler in Alliance, and his wife Katharine Ballou Sharer were victims of the Great Olive Poisoning. The funerals for the Sharers were held on August 29, 1919, and were short and simple with only family attending at their home. Their service followed the Episcopal Ritual and included no eulogies and no music. Their memorial here at the Alliance City Cemetery depicts a young woman weeping. It is thought that the young lady was the couple’s only daughter, Ann, who was only 7 at the time of her parents’ deaths but could also symbolize John’s mother who buried her son.

Sharer Memorial

The Alliance Machine Company was founded by William H. Purcell in 1902. Mr. Purcell previously worked at Morgan Engineering Company. Alliance Machine manufactured cranes. Mr. Purcell also founded Alliance Structural Steel Company, which made the bridge work needed for the Alliance Machine Company, and was involved in the Buckeye Jack Manufacturing Company in Bolton, which produced jacks for railroads and automobiles. Mr. Purcell was very active in civic and business organizations and died in 1944 at the age of 79.His daughter, Hazel, married Clarence J. Rodman.

The Alliance Machine Company was founded by William H. Purcell in 1902, and was known for manufacturing cranes. Mr. Purcell also founded Alliance Structural Steel Company, which made the bridge work needed for the Alliance Machine Company, and was involved in the Buckeye Jack Manufacturing Company in Bolton, which produced jacks for railroads and automobiles. His daughter Hazel married Clarence J. Rodman.

Alliance City Cemetery

Rodman Monument

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information