Wednesday, December 2, 1925

Wednesday, December 2, 1925

Mama came over. I had lots of odd jobs but felt I didn’t get much done. With some one talking to me all the time I get nervous and make poor head way.

(Since there is not too much in the diary for today, I’ll digress and get everyone caught up on the story of Aunt Hattie, who is mentioned a few times in the diary, and her daughter, Edna. Aunt Hattie was Grandma’s father’s sister. About her, Grandma wrote the following in her history:

“…Harriett (Aunt Hattie) was married to George William Krenning, a prosperous dry goods merchant, whose parents were pioneers who owned the ground on which General Wayne had built his “Fort Recovery”. It was not there when I was little, but later was rebuilt on the original spot, and still stands. To this union were born three children, Edna, who survived both her parents, Alice Krenning Mohr who died after a long illness on Feb. 20, 1908, and George Campbell Krenning who was one of the executives for Western Electric and lived many years in Hew Haven, Connecticut. He had one son, who died in infancy, so no grandchildren survived in the Krenning family. Uncle George died December 6, 1906 and left the community as one of its most distinguished citizens, having been active in the Congregational Church as well as in business and community affairs. Aunt Hattie lived to be over ninety, and when she died on April 15, 1943 was Fort Recovery’s last pioneer resident.”

From census records, we also learned the following:

George Krenning’s parents (Benjamin and Elizabeth) came from Bavaria and he was one of two sons. George was born in May 1854.

Hattie (Harriett Theressa Campbell) was born in February 1853
Their children were: Edna was born in December 1877, Alice in March 1881, and George Campbell in December 1889.

Edna lived all her live with her mother, Hattie, in the house in Fort Recovery, Ohio. As noted in Grandma’s history, Alice died in 1908, and George married and moved to the East Coast.

In the 1930 census records, it was noted that Aunt Hattie’s house was worth $3,050 and they had a radio set. Edna was still living with her, and is listed as having a job as an Editorial Critic for a Publishing House.

Aunt Marjorie sent me the following information about a visit to see them in 1938.

“Edna was Aunt Hattie’s daughter, Mother’s cousin. When Uncle Guy & Vangie (his second wife) took Mother, Eleanor and me to Fort Recovery on July 4, 1938 (I think it was just before I started high school), Edna was living there and her mother (Aunt Hattie) reproved her for talking too much and Edna meekly stopped talking. Edna must have been in her 50’s. Some years later, Edna was put in an asylum for a while because she tried to strangle her mother.”

Since we know Aunt Hattie died in 1943, it could not have been too long after this visit that this event with Edna occurred!

Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of cousin Edna to post, but I do have this picture from 1924 of several people sitting on the porch of Aunt Hattie’s house. Perhaps one of the women is Edna?

(Many thanks to Annie in Austin for the census record information!)