I don’t recall why, but I was researching my Hatch line again recently. It appears that either the search engine has been improved at Ancestry, or they have added some databases, either way, something happened on the site which has brought up an interesting tidbit.
Dillon and Almyra Hatch lived in Wilmington, Delaware for about 3 years.
After leaving Burlington, Vermont in 1887, when Dillon’s business went bust, they headed to Cleveland, Ohio, where Dillon managed a lumber company. He did this until at least 1892. (There doesn’t appear to be a directory for Cleveland from 1893-1895.) The family is definitely not in the directory from 1896-1900.
They do however, show up in Wilmington Delaware directories starting in 1896.
Dillon was working for the Jackson and Sharp Company in Wilmington. The company made railroad cars and ships. You can read more about the company using the links: https://archives.delaware.gov/delaware-agency-histories/jackson-and-sharp-collection/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_and_Sharp_Company. I highly recommend the read, it is very intersting.
While several archives do have paperwork on the company, nothing in their finding aids indicates that they have employee records. And, as there were several different businesses that they were being run out of the company at the time he was employed there, we could only guess which one Dillon was ‘foremaning’.
This is an interesting side note for the family, who knows what would have happened if they had stayed in Delaware. However, by 1900 the family is back in Ohio, we know this from the census1:
This tells us that by June of 1900, (the date on the census sheet), the family had moved back to familiar territory. Maybe Dillon was hearing rumors of the sale of J & S Co., or the owner had made rumblings of retirement, (both of which happened by 1900/1901). So, it is possible they made the right call and headed back to Ohio.
Source:
- 1900; Census Place: Sandusky Ward 3, Erie, Ohio; Roll: 1264; Page: 11; Enumeration District: 0042; FHL microfilm: 1241264
jen's ancestors 