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Linesville Cemetery Association, Wallace Avenue, Linesville, PA (2026)

01/20/2026

Our next cemetery resident is one who was extremely important in various aspects of Linesville's history.

Shubael Childs Stratton, Jr., was born October 28, 1814 in Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine. *Note his Pennsylvania death certificate lists an incorrect date of birth for him as October 14th. He was the 8th of 8 known children born to Shubael Childs and Elizabeth "Betsey" (Cook) Stratton. He came with his mother and two brothers to Crawford County around 1831, first settling in Conneaut Lake and by 1840 they were living in North Shenango Township.

He first marries Melvina Amanda Strong on October 10, 1839 in Linesville and they had one child. Melvina died February 7, 1843 and their child died January 14, 1846. On March 1, 1846, Shubael marries secondly to Almira Van Winkle and they had four children.

Shubael's store, S.C. Stratton & Co was broken into and robbed of $600 in January of 1869. A notice about this appeared in the January 30, 1869 issue of The Clarion Democrat. We know that Shubael's business was on the north side of the downtown business block as his business had the windows broken out from the heat of the April 1890 Linesville fire that destroyed the south side of the Linesville business block.

In 1877 he was elected to Linesville Borough Council.

In 1879 he sells land to M.A. Arnold where the Arnold House will be built. The Arnold House became the Arlington Hotel, and is now the Knickerbocker. An article about this sale of land appeared in the February 6, 1879 issue of the Conneautville Courier.

July of 1880 he was appointed one of the directors for the new railroad that was going to have its terminus in Linesville. In August of 1880, he was elected to the "Committee on Accounts" for the start of the Meadville and Linesville Railroad. An article about this appeared in the August 12, 1880 issue of the Conneautville Courier.

In 1881, the Universalist Society decides to build a church in Linesville, but the location of the place has not yet been determined. The May 20, 1881 issue of the Conneautville Courier notes that "The subscription paper is in the hands of Mr. S.C. Stratton and that is sufficient evidence that the amount required to build the church will be forthcoming." Shubael and several others (J.G. Gaugh, Ed. Ellsworth, George Stratton and Mrs. M. Cunningham) applied to the Crawford County Court of Common Pleas on February 13th, 1888 to start and incorporate a new organization in Linesville - the "Church of Good Shepherd, Universalist" - which is now the Linesville Library.

He was elected Burgess (mayor) of Linesville in February of 1882. The article about this appeared in the February 24, 1882 issue of the Conneautville Courier.

When Shubael was 83 years old, he suffered a "stroke of apoplexy" in March of 1898. Love the article that appeared in the March 24, 1898 issue of the Conneautville Courier that says "Mr. Stratton is well up in years, but it takes more than this to knock him out."

Shubael died at his home in Linesville on September 23, 1906 of "softening of the brain following apoplexy, "at the age of 91 years. He was buried here September 25, 1906 between his second wife, and the cenotaph for his first wife, in Section A, Lot 1, Grave 3.

01/18/2026

Almira Van Winkle was born Christmas day, December 25, 1826 somewhere in Pennsylvania. She was the 6th of 12 children born to Thomas and Nancy C. (Miller) Van Winkle.

Almira married Shubael Childs Stratton, Jr. on March 1, 1846 and they had four children. The family resides in Pine Township for the 1850 and 1860 census, where they also took in boarders. They have moved to Linesville by 1870 and 1880 finds then residing on Penn Street with their youngest son and his new wife.

By 1900 they are all back to residing in Pine Township, again taking in lodgers.

Almira's husband dies September 23, 1906 and the 1910 census finds here still living in Pine (on Penn Street - think the census takers were liberal with using Pine Township as the location) with her son and his family.

On February 12th of 1919, Almira falls at home. She fractured the neck of her right femur and did not recover. She died at 4 a.m. on February 19th and was buried her on February 21, 1919 in Section A, Lot 1, Grave 2. Note that the date of death was never inscribed on her tombstone.

An obituary was found for her in a scrapbook at the Linesville Historical Society and is transcribed here:
"Mrs. Almira Van Winkle Stratton, widow of the late SC Stratton, passed to the higher life early Wednesday morning, Feb. 19. Mrs. Stratton was born Dec. 25, 1826 and has passed her ninety-second birthday when she died.
She was a true and loyal helpmate of her late husband to whom she was married in 1846, for sixty-one years; a loving and devoted mother to her four sons who survive her, Ira, George and Thomas, and Isaac, who are deeply indebted to her for the pure and sweet home life which she did so much toward establishing for them.
The funeral services were held at her home Friday, Feb. 21, at 3 p.m. The services were conducted by the Rev HH Graves, pastor of the Universalist church at Girard, Pa. Interment in Linesville Cemetery.
She was for many years a devoted communicant and loyal worker in the Universalist church of this place."

01/16/2026

Another cenotaph:

Melvina/Malvina Amanda Strong was born September 8, 1821 in Owasco, Cayuga County, New York, the second of eight children of Walter Madison and Sarah (DeVoe) Strong. She married Shubael Childs Stratton, Jr. October 10, 1839 in Linesville and they had one child.

Not a lot is known about Melvina's life. She gave birth to her son, Walter, on January 23, 1843 and she died 15 days later on February 7, 1843. Her exact cause of death is unknown, but we can assume possible complications of childbirth?

She was laid to rest in the Seeley Cemetery, where her son would join her only a few years later. Her body remains in that cemetery; however, her original tombstone was left in place and a new tombstone for her placed in Section A, Lot 1, Grave 4, beside the Stratton family stone. Her stone, and her son's stone are on opposite sides of the family stone.

Also shown here is her tombstone in the Seeley Cemetery. Note that her old tombstone spells her name "Malvina" while her new stone spells it "Melvina."

01/16/2026

Do you know what a cenotaph is? Translates to "empty tomb" and is commonly referred to as a "memorial stone" - usually referring to people not actually buried in one place, but there is a memorial to them. We have several cenotaphs in our cemetery.

Walter Stratton was the only child of Shubael Childs and Melvina Amanda (Strong) Stratton, Jr.

Walter lived only a short life, and his total story is not known. He was born January 23, 1843 and died (most likely right around this area) on January 14, 1846 at 2 years, 11 months and 22 days of age. He was buried in the Seeley Cemetery (aka old Baptist Church cemetery) on the left side of the curve heading out of town going towards Harmonsburg (Leffingwell property).

Walter remains buried there, but his tombstone there has not been found. He received a new stone in our cemetery when that cemetery became closed to burials and his father purchased a 7 grave lot in our cemetery (Section A, Lot 1, Graves 1 through 7 at a cost of $1.43 per grave) in 1867 when Shubael's mother died.

Leaving the remains behind was a common practice back then - what with wooden coffins or caskets, and the body "returning to the earth."

Walter's tombstone was placed in Section A, Lot 1, Grave 6, beside the Stratton family tombstone.

01/16/2026

Sarah Elizabeth Strong was born February 1, 1825 in New York, the fourth of eight children of Walter Madison and Sarah (DeVoe) Strong. She married Horatio Shattuck March 28, 1843 in Linesville and they had three children.

In 1850, she is living in Jefferson, Ashtabula County, Ohio, with her husband and two children where her husband is a farmer. In 1860 she is now living in Pine Township with her husband, two children and her mother-in-law. She would give birth to her 3rd and final child just after the census enumeration that year.

Sarah's husband went off to join the fighting in the Civil War on June 27, 1863. He quickly contracted a severe case of pneumonia and was discharged August 13, 1863 - came home and died of the disease on September 6, 1863, leaving her a widow. Can you imagine her turmoil - he goes off to war, thinking she might lose her husband to battle, only to have him die of pneumonia?

In the 1870 census she is living in Linesville with her two youngest children, her oldest daughter had moved out of the home already. By 1880 she is living alone on Mercer Street with an occupation of keeping house.

The 1890 census was lost to time, but the 1890 veteran's census does survive and Sarah is listed on that as her husband's widow.

In 1892 Sarah travels to Kansas to pay a visit to her youngest child and only son, Fred. An article about this appears in the June 2, 1892 issue of the Conneautville Courier.

By 1898, Sarah is in poor health and suffers a fall, resulting in her being "laid up." An article about the fall appeared in the May 12, 1898 issue of the Conneautville Courier. On June 2, the Courier notes that Sarah is still quite ill, with little hope of recovery.

Sarah dies June 12, 1898 of typhoid pneumonia at her home on Mercer Street. A brief obituary appeared in the June 15, 1898 issue of the Meadville newspaper, The Evening Republican. The June 14, 1898 issue of the Linesville Herald had a longer obituary and it is transcribed here:

" MRS. SARAH SHATTUCK
The funeral of Mrs. Sarah Shattuck was held this afternoon at 3 pm at Universalist Church, Rev. OR Washburn, officiating; very large concourse of people witnessed the last rites performed; interment Linesville cemetery. Her death occurred Sunday afternoon, aged 73 years. Some weeks ago she fell while working about the house and the thought is entertained that she then had a parallitic (sic) stroke, as death resulted from that disease. Her husband, Horatio Shattuck, enlisted in the three months service in the Rebellion, contracted disease, came home and died of pneumonia, in winter of 1863-64. Of three children, those living are son Fred, who is now in the Alaska gold fields, and daughter, Mrs. Ida Stratton. Aunt Sarah, as she was known to friends as well as relatives, will be greatly missed by all her acquaintances. Her sunshine disposition and helping hand will be known no more among us, but her memory always remain."

She was laid to rest here June 14, 1898 beside her husband in Section A, Lot 1, Grave 7. Her individual headstone simply says "Mother." She is mentioned on the larger family stone.

01/11/2026

Horatio Shattuck was born August 14, 1819 in Crown Point, Essex County, New York, the oldest son of Samuel and Rosa "Roxey"(Rodgers) Shattuck.

He married Sarah Elizabeth Strong March 28, 1843 in Linesville and they had three children.

In 1850, Horatio is found living in Jefferson, Ashtabula County, Ohio, as a farmer, with his wife, mother and daughter Alta. In 1860 the family is back in Linesville where Horatio is still farming. He now has a daughter, Ida May (born 1855) and a son Fred (born 1860, after the census was already enumerated).

Horatio enlisted in the Civil War and served as a Quartermaster Sergeant with Company D of the 56th Pennsylvania Militia from June 27, 1863 until August 13, 1863 when he was discharged on a surgeon's certificate of disability (he had contracted a severe case of pneumonia during his service time). He died less than a month later of that pneumonia on September 6, 1863 and was buried here in Section A, Lot 2, Grave 6.

01/11/2026

A young, adventurous life cut short.

Fred Shattuck was born here in Linesville August 8, 1860. He was the youngest of three children born to Horatio and Sarah Elizabeth (Strong) Shattuck.

Fred is still at home in the 1870 census for Linesville (of course, he was only 9 years old). I do not find him in the 1880 census anywhere. The 1890 census is (for the most part) lost for all time; however, I found a mention of him in the September 18, 1890 issue of the Parsons Weekly Sun (Parsons, Labette County, Kansas) where he is listed as Past Master for the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen in that area. Obviously he moved to Kansas sometime before then.

Now, this paragraph is pure speculation on my part - Fred worked for "The Katy" which was the Missouri - Kansas - Texas Railroad company. The Dalton Gang robbed the Katy on July 14, 1892. Was Fred working at that time, on the train that was robbed? Who knows, we can only speculate.

Fred seems to have some adventuring spirit in him - or at least he felt the urge of the gold rush. The February 13, 1898 issue of the Parsons Daily Sun (Parsons, Kansas), notes that Fred has taken a leave from the railroad, and he and some of his friends head to the Klondike in Alaska for the gold rush. Unfortunately, he didn't strike gold and the August 4, 1898 issue of the Parsons Weekly Sun notes his return. It says he saw "plenty of the shining metal, but it was not worth the mining, being small particles of gold dust."

Not much more is known about Fred except for a few mentions in 1896 and 1898 that he took some vacation time "back home to Pennsylvania."

Fred is hospitalized with a very serious illness in early July of 1899 and the doctors feared he would not make it, so sent for his sister from here - Mrs. Ida Stratton. The July 13, 1899 issue of the Conneautville Courier notes that "his life was despaired of for several days" but that he was improving and she hoped to be able to "bring him home" with her. The July 27, 1899 issue of the Conneautville Courier notes that Fred "is recovering rapidly" and is now home in Linesville.

Now, Fred survived his unknown illness and returned to Kansas - only to die tragically 3 months later. Fred was killed October 21, 1899 when he fell from his train. This tragic accident appeared in multiple newspapers across the nation - some containing more facts than the others.

The October 25, 1899 issue of the Parsons Weekly Eclipse notes that he was standing on a box car when his hat blew off, he reached for it and fell from the train.

The October 22, 1899 issue of the Parsons Daily Sun had a little bit more information about the accident - saying he was standing on a box car, lost his hat, but then was struck by the cross beams of a bridge south of Humboldt, which knocked him off the train. This article mentions that he had been in the "Katy" hospital (train company's hospital) with his prior illness. Another interesting bit of this newspaper article is it tells us that they used the "Katy Flyer" to transport him to his home in Pennsylvania. I have attached a postcard image of the Katy Flyer.

The October 26, 1899 issue of the Conneautville Courier has more details about his injuries - I will attach it here for you to read, rather than detailing his injuries here.

Fred was laid to rest here on October 24, 1899 in Section A, Lot 2, Grave 4.

01/09/2026

Rosa "Roxey" Rodgers was born November 5, 1788 in Springfield, Windsor County, Vermont, to parents who are currently unknown.

She married Samuel Shattuck in Vermont (date of marriage unknown) and they had five children, four of whom I can find information on (Horatio, Lorenzo, Frederick and Phoebe) - per family history books there is supposedly another daughter who married and settled in Ohio.

Roxey and Samuel were apparently either separated or divorced by the 1850 census. Samuel is found living in Pine Township with another woman (Sarah Shattuck) and Rosa is living in Jefferson, Ashtabula County, Ohio, with her son and family (Horatio). By the 1860 census, Horatio's family has moved to Pine Township and she still resides with them.

Roxey dies September 5, 1864 and was buried here in Section A, Lot 2, Grave 3. Her individual headstone simply states "Grandma" while she has a mention on the larger family stone.

01/09/2026

Samuel Shattuck was born September 17, 1781 in Pepperell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, the first of seven known children born to Samuel and Hannah (Hartwell) Shattuck.

Samuel moved with his parents to Springfield, Windsor County, Vermont, in his early life. He was still living in Springfield for the 1820 census - by the 1840 census he has moved to North Shenango Township here in Crawford County. Could not pinpoint where he lived in 1830 (there are hundreds of Samuel Shattucks out there) but it has been written that he also lived in Essex County, New York and then Ohio before moving to Pennsylvania.

Samuel was twice married. He first married Mercy Tower on September 23, 1804 in Springfield, Vermont. They did not have children and it appears that their marriage did not last long as they both ended up marrying other people. Could not find a divorce record. He married second to Rosa "Roxey" Rodgers (date of marriage unknown) and they had five children, four of whom I can find information on (Horatio, Lorenzo, Frederick and Phoebe) - per family history books there is supposedly another daughter who married and settled in Ohio.

1850 finds Samuel living in Pine Township living with a Sarah Shattuck. Now, he had a daughter-in-law named Sarah, but she is found in the 1850 census living with her husband and her mother-in-law Rosa. Were Samuel and Roxey separated and keeping two separate households?? I have a feeling they were separated, as the 1860 census again finds Samuel living with a Sarah H. Shattuck and Rosa living with her son, Horatio and his wife, Sarah E. Shattuck.

Rosa dies September 5, 1864. Samuel has moved to his son's home (Lorenzo) by the 1870 census. Samuel dies March 1, 1875 in Linesville. A brief obituary appears for him in the March 5, 1875 issue of the Meadville newspaper, Evening Republican: "SHATTUCK - In Linesville, March 1, 1875, Samuel Shattuck, in the 94th year of his age." A blurb in the March 1, 1915 issue of the Conneautville Courier appeared about Samuel's death in an article entitled "40 Years Ago: Samuel Shattuck, probably the oldest man in Western Crawford, died at his home in Linesville on the 1st, in his 94th year. He came to Linesville in 1836."

He was laid to rest in our cemetery beside his younger brother, Daniel, in Section A, Lot 2, Grave 2. He has no tombstone.

01/05/2026

**This man's story serves as a reminder to all of us, especially at this time of year, to check on your family, friends and neighbors every once in awhile.

Daniel Shattuck was born July 17, 1783 in Pepperell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, the second of seven known children born to Samuel and Hannah (Hartwell) Shattuck.

Daniel moved with his parents to Springfield, Vermont, in his early life, and was a cooper by trade until 1816.

He was twice married. He first married Louisa D. Organ on December 4, 1809 in Shrewsbury, Rutland County, Vermont, and they had five children. They were divorced in December of 1827 (divorce granted to his wife based on desertion and him possibly being already married). I can not prove or disprove this story. Daniel subsequently married Judith L. Johnson on September 26, 1829 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, and they had one child.

Daniel was a War of 1812 veteran. He enlisted May 20, 1814 at Boston, Massachusetts and was discharged May 25, 1815. At the time of his enlistment he was 5'10.5" tall and had dark eyes and hair and a light complexion. Served in Captain William Gates company. He must have thought a lot of his commanding officer, as he named his one son "William Gates Shattuck."

From 1816 until 1847 he lived in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1847 he moved to Linesville (then called Lines Mills).

Daniel was found deceased in his barn in late March of 1858. It is thought he had fallen from his hay mow. A brief obituary for him appeared in the March 20, 1858 issue of the West Chester, Pennsylvania newspaper "Village Record and Register & Examiner."

He was laid to rest in our cemetery beside his older brother, Samuel, in Section A, Lot 2, Grave 1. He has no tombstone.

12/30/2025

Ocalia M. Potter was born in Ohio on May 7, 1863, the first of four children of Franklin Horatio and Florance (Royce) Potter. Ocalia's mother died when she was six years old and is buried in the Steamburg Cemetery. Her father married again to Lucy Hendrick and gave Ocalia two new half-siblings.

The 1870 census for Conneaut Township finds Ocalia living with her grandparents (George and Louisa Wilder Potter) - not unusual as her mother passed away the previous year. She is still in Conneaut Township in the 1880 census where she is living with her father, his second wife, her brother, and two half-siblings.

Ocalia becomes a little bit of an enigma for me between the 1880 census and 1894. Puzzle pieces to follow:

Ocalia Potter opens a millinery store in Linesville. The April 6, 1893 issue of the Conneautville Courier notes that she has opened her millinery store in the former Buffalo Supply Store (now Merry's Hardware) and she will have a spring opening on April 6th and 7th.

She marries Eugene Shattuck at the Linesville Universalist parsonage (now the Linesville Library) on March 17, 1894. The marriage license for Eugene and Ocalia notes his prior marriage, and also a prior marriage for her - and a divorce date of July 2, 1892 for her. Not altogether uncommon, but what is uncommon is that her marriage announcement (March 22, 1894 Conneautville Courier) notes that E.S. Shattuck and "Mrs. Ocalia M. Potter" were issued a marriage license. The March 29, 1894 marriage announcement from the Conneautville Courier also notes her as being "Mrs. Ocalia Potter."

So....was she married to a man with the same last name as her maiden name? Perhaps a cousin marriage? Who knows for sure as I can find no mention anywhere of a prior marriage for her!

The 1900 census has Ocalia living with her husband and stepson in Pine Township. By 1910 the family has moved to Linesville Borough on Pymatuning Street, where they reside for the 1920 census and her husband's death on April 13, 1922. Still on Pymatuning Street in 1930, the widowed Ocalia has shortened her name to "Oca" and is now listed as a "publication agent." By 1940 she has moved to West Erie Street.

Ocalia dies November 19, 1945 of auricular fibrillation and was buried here in Section A, Lot 3, Grave 3 beside her husband.

Her obituary (transcribed here) appeared in the September 22, 1945 issue of the Linesville Herald:
FUNERAL SERVICES HELD WEDNESDAY FOR MRS. OCA SHATTUCK
Mrs. Oca Shattuck died Monday, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. H.A. McGranahan, West Erie street, where she had been living since her health began to fail. Her husband, Eugene Shattuck, preceded her in death many years ago, and she had maintained her own home since that time up till a recent date.
Mrs. Shattuck was a member of the Universalist church and had always been very active in all the departments of that institution. During the many years that the Universalist church conducted its annual bazaars in the old opera house and Stratton's hall, she was one of the leaders.
Earlier in her life she conducted a millinery store and had a wide acquaintance throughout the entire community, taking an active part in social and civic affairs. Her late husband was prominent, also with civic affairs and served a long term on the borough council with the man men who supervised public affair up through the years.
Mr. and Mrs. Shattuck were well known in this community for a long period of years when he was in the meat and grocery business with Amos Line. Their wooden store building stood on the north side of the business section about where William Warner had his shoe store previous to moving a year ago. It was a land mark until removed for the new yellow brick block which stands there now.
Mrs. Shattuck is survived by a half sister, Mrs. Miriam Curtiss of Franklin; five grandchildren, Robert, Frank, Allen, Arthur and Gene, of Youngstown, Ohio, sons of the late Frank Shattuck and Gordon Shattuck of Oregon, son of the late Clyde Shattuck; three cousins, Mrs. R.D. Rose, of Andover, Mrs. Oscar Olsen, of Ashtabula and Janie Potter, of Linesville.
Funeral services were held from the Maryott Funeral Home, Linesville, Wednesday at 4 p.m. with interment in the Linesville cemetery.

12/12/2025

A BIG THANK YOU to Kevin McGrath and the Borough of Linesville!

Kevin came out this morning and plowed the pathways in the cemetery to make getting through for tomorrow's ceremony so much easier!

A reminder, the snow is DEEP in the cemetery (up to my knees in some areas) but the pathways are now clear. Do wear boots tomorrow - or even snow pants.

Linesville Cemetery Association

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