Grave Spotlight of the Month - October 2021 - Sylvanus Schrock

 

Sylvanus "Venes" Schrock was born on October 1, 1860 in Belmont County, Ohio to Samson Baker and Rachel J. Baker.

He was married probably at least three times, though I have only found the names of two of his wives and one of them in a bit contentious.  He had to have been married in and before 1881 as there is at least one child, Minnie Margaret Prosser Henry.  

His second wife was a woman named Rebecca Coulson, who he married on September 24, 1893.  There was a child from that marriage, Louis "Lew" Estel Schrock.  He served in World War I, having been assigned to the Machine Gun Company, 9th Infantry, American Expeditionary Forces.  Unfortunately, he died while stationed in France and was likely buried there in one of the many graves of fallen soldiers.

He was married a third time, though the name of his third wife is a bit fuzzy.  Find-A-Grave lists him as having been married to Emma Jane Kaserman in 1894.  But the Brown County Marriage Index doesn't show her as being his wife.  Instead, it shows that he married Emma J. Antile on July 16, 1894.

It was likely to this Emma that he had a son with named Joseph Sylvanus Schrock.  He served in WWI as well in the Depot Brigade.

Sylvanus seemed to have led a fairly normal life.  He was a mail carrier between Nashville and the not too distant Morgantown and later from Nashville to Columbus. But, he does have his claim to fame.  When visiting the lovely town of Nashville, Indiana, you will see a lot of mention of a character named Abe Martin.  His cartoon styled image is plastered all over town.  In fact, the lodge at the Brown County State Park is called the Abe Martin Lodge.  But we wouldn't have this beloved, local character if it hadn't been for our very own Sylvanus Schrock. 

IU Lilly Library Hohenberger
Collection

Sylvanus would dress in overalls and a large felt hat and pose around town.  The city visitors would take photos of him.  He was even hired by a local hotel owner to dress up and parade around the hotel spouting bits of his country wisdom.  A local artist named Will Vawter made a drawing of him, dressed up and posing near a log cabin.  This became the inspiration for Abe Martin and was a favorite of American cartoonist Frank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard.  

Kin Hubbard created a gag-a-day cartoon that would run in newspapers from 1904-1937 all across the United States.  Abe had some very famous fans including Will Rogers and James Whitcomb Riley.  A bench in Nashville was erected with one of his sayings on it.  Books are available to purchase that show us Abe's country wisdom.  

Reference:

Southview Cemetery - A Walk Through the Tombstones

Brown County, Indiana Marriages - InGenWeb

The Man Who Became Abe Martin - Brown County Democrat