Frank Grant HOBART

Notes:

Frank was the fourth cousin of Vice President Garret Augustus Hobart.



According to Frank's daughter (our mother) May Hobart Zentmyer, Frank's aunt Stella Picken Wood and her husband Dr. Everett Wood raised him in Sedalia, Missouri after the death of Frank's father Sidney, when he was seven years old. But it is more likely that Frank and his sisters were not taken in by the Woods until after the death of Frank's mother Elizabeth Picken Hobart in 1896. In fact, probate records state that the children were still living in Hancock County Illinois on 12 Feb 1896, shortly after their mother's death.



"Frank G. Hobart, Bachelor of Arts in journalism, University of Missouri, Newspaper career began in High School, writer-reporter, editor, Denison, Sherman, Ft. Worth, Texas. At Los Angeles, Editor of the Los Angeles Record. In field of Advertising, Public and Employee Relations, Industrial Editor in petroleum and electrical industries. Semi-retired at 75, acts as consultant and feature writer." Lehlah Belle West b.1879 writing in 1957



"Frank G. Hobart has resigned as managing editor of the Los Angeles Record, and is succeeded by Thomas P. Grimshaw, late of the Fresno Tribune." The Fourth Estate, March 8, 1913



Frank joined the Cannon Electric Company in 1939, working in advertising and public relations. He was employed by Cannon until his death, although his salary in later years more resembled a pension.

Frank married Jeanette BRUTSCHÉ 14 Oct 1906, St. Lukes Episcopal Church, Denison, Grayson, Texas. Jeanette (daughter of Joseph BRUTSCHÉ and May Augusta LEGATE) was born 20 Dec 1880, Denison, Grayson, Texas; died 07 Oct 1978, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; was buried Forest Lawn Memorial Park, (Hollywood Hills) Los Angeles, California. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

1850 US Census in Hancock, Illinois
1860 US Census in Carthage, Hancock, Illinois (Sidny)
1870 US Census in Carthage, Hancock, Illinois



Sidney Hobart built a flour and grist mill on block 8 in the original town center of Carthage near the old Mormon Jail and the Presbyterian Church. (The 'Mormon Jail' refers to the jail in Carthage where LDS founder Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith were killed by a mob while imprisioned there in 1844 -Ed) The mill operated for many years but was finally torn down and a residence now stands on the site. History of Hancock County, Illinois 1880



Sidney's granddaughter, our mother May Hobart Zentmyer, told us that Sidney died from lung disease resulting from his exposure to flour dust, a hazard unrecognized at the time.

Sidney married Elizabeth PICKEN 09 Apr 1873. Elizabeth (daughter of George T. PICKEN and Elizabeth REGER) was born 24 Feb 1846, Barbour, Virginia (now West Virginia); died 28 Jan 1896, Carthage, Hancock, Illinois; was buried Moss Ridge Cemetery, Carthage, Hancock, Illinois. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

The George Picken family moved from Buckhannon, Upshur County, West Virginia to Carthage Township, Hancock County Illinois in 1867.

Notes:

"Norman Hobart came to Illinois in 1833 locating in Rushville, where he lived until his marriage to Ura Eaton Holiday, (sic -Ed) after which he came to Hancock County, where he located in Fountain Green Township. Mr. Hobart purchased a farm in Carthage township on which he made his home part of the time, and partly in Carthage, where he owned a carding machine. Later he bought the old grist mill on Crooked Creek, which he rebuilt, making a steam flouring mill of it, also adding a saw mill which he operated for a number of years. He then moved the mill to Carthage, operating it as a grist mill, then purchased a farm of eighty acres, one mile from Carthage, which he farmed until his death, December 13, 1878. He was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church for many years, being a local preacher in that church.
He was a public-spirited man and gave his support to the Republican Party, though he was never an aspirant for office. Norman Hobart was a prosperous man of his day and was an important factor in building up the community in which he lived. He assisted in building the first wagon road from Fountain Green to Carthage. His remains were laid to rest in the Carthage Cemetery. His wife was a native of Kentucky and came to Illinois at an early day. This worthy couple were the parents of fourteen children, only two of which are now living." (Isaac and Mariah -Ed) --Biographical Review of Hancock County, Illinois, Hobart Publishing Company, Chicago, 1907



During the afternoon of 27 Jun 1844 an armed mob in blackface overwhelmed the forces guarding the jail in Carthage, Illinois where LDS founder Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were being held. The mobbers stormed the jail, shot and killed the Smith brothers, and severely wounded an associate, John Taylor. Until recently, we had no information as to whether any of the three Hobart brothers living near Carthage during that period had any connection to the murders.

Joseph Johnstun is an historical analyst from Fort Madison, Iowa, which is about twenty-five miles from Carthage. He is one of the leading scholars on Nauvoo, Illinois, (Nauvoo was the nexus of the Latter Day Saints from 1839 until 1845 -Ed) and is widely considered to be the expert on the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. According to Johnstun, writing to us in January of 2019:

"Gary- I am pleased to tell you that your family were not participants in the murders of the Smith brothers; however, they were involved in the events surrounding them in a very important and meaningful way. When the shooting commenced at the jail, Norman and his brother Joshua heard it on their farm four miles south of Carthage. They immediately headed to town. Upon their arrival, they discovered their brother Jonas was one of the guards at the jail during the attack, and considering the scene, Joshua said that it wouldn't do to leave the bodies lying in the jail and yard. So the brothers fashioned stretchers and began carrying them to a hotel on the other side of town owned by Artois Hamilton. Thankfully, Hamilton's neighbor came by with a wagon, and they were able to take the bodies that way. Once at the hotel, Joshua and Norman cleaned and shaved the men, and otherwise prepared the bodies for their journey to Nauvoo the following morning."

Norman married Ura Eaton HOLLADAY 16 Feb 1834, Rushville, Schuyler, Illinois. Ura (daughter of Moses HOLLADAY and Celia SKIRVIN) was born 02 Jul 1816, Gallatin Co., Kentucky; died 06 Apr 1883, Blandinsville, McDonough, Illinois; was buried Old Carthage Cemetery, Carthage, Hancock, Illinois. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

1900 US Census in Wakeency, Trego, Kansas as widow

Notes:

Some of our Picken data comes from from work done by Lehlah Belle West b.1879 writing in 1957, in combination with the information in George Picken's Will from 1803. Some individual dates have been gleaned from the Internet, however.



The George Picken family moved from Buckhannon, Upshur County, West Virginia to Carthage Township, Hancock County Illinois in 1867.

George married Elizabeth REGER 28 Mar 1839, Buckhannon, Upshur, Virginia (now West Virginia). Elizabeth (daughter of Abram REGER and Leah Ann BRAKE) was born 20 Nov 1820, Lewis, Virginia (now West Virginia); died 16 Apr 1904, Hamilton, Hancock, Illinois; was buried Greenwood Cemetery, Hamilton, Hancock, Illinois. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

The George Picken family moved from Buckhannon, Upshur County, West Virginia to Carthage Township, Hancock County Illinois in 1867.

Notes:

Some of the following background information is excerpted from Hobart History and Genealogy, 1632-1956, compiled by Ethel Hobart Carothers. Later facts are supported by My Ancestors, by Irene Hobart, published in the Carthage Republican, February 8, 1933. Jonas Hobart's parents were Amos Hobart (born in 1774 in Lyme, Grafton County, New Hampshire, died in 1842 in or near Carthage, Hancock County, Illinois) and Keziah Marshall, nee Chase (born in 1772 in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, died in 1843 in Hancock County, Illinois).
Amos' parents were Jonas Hobart, born in what was then Massachusetts on November 15, 1744, and Betty Kemp. After Jonas' brother, Isaac, was killed at Bunker Hill, Jonas joined the Continental Army and served for three years. At the Battle of Ticonderoga he was severely wounded in the cheek, but survived and collected a yearly pension of $96.00 for the rest of his life. He moved west to Illinois in 1823, died ten years later and was buried near Rushville in Schuyler County, Illinois.
Of Amos and Keziah's children, the eldest two, Jonas and Joshua C., were born in New Hampshire. The family moved to Essex, Chittenden County, Vermont, where four more children were born: Amasa, Anson, Norman, Mary Ann and Eliza Ann. They moved to Allegheny County, New York about 1816. Amasa and Mary Ann did not live to adulthood. The remaining four came to Illinois.
In addition to Jonas' family, a number of Norman's children are also buried at Webster Cemetery.

Amos married Keziah Marshall CHASE 28 Feb 1803, Nottingham West, (now Hudson) Hillsborough, New Hampshire. Keziah (daughter of Joshua CHASE and Mary HADLEY) was born 10 Jun 1772, Nottingham West, (now Hudson) Hillsborough, New Hampshire; died Nov 1842, Hancock, Illinois; was buried Old Carthage Cemetery, Carthage, Hancock, Illinois . [Group Sheet]

Moses married Celia SKIRVIN 1802, Hancock, Illinois. Celia (daughter of John SKIRVIN and Mary Ann KITCHEN) was born 27 Apr 1779, Virginia; died 28 Nov 1896, Schuyler, Illinois. [Group Sheet]

John married Nancy HALL 18 Jul 1817, Harrison, Virginia (now West Virginia). Nancy was born 1799, Virginia; died 5 Dec 1859, Barbour, Virginia (now West Virginia). [Group Sheet]

Notes:

"REGER, MAJOR ADAM, who died at the home of his son, Rev. John W. Reger, at Buckhannon, in the 91st year of his age, some time since, was an officer in the War of 1812." - The Weston Republican, Sat. 22 Sept. 1883

Abram married Leah Ann BRAKE 16 Jan 1813, Harrison, Charles County, Virginia. Leah was born 5 Mar 1795, Buckhannon, Upshur, Virginia (now West Virginia); died 8 Mar 1835, Buckhannon, Upshur, Virginia (now West Virginia); was buried Heavner Cemetery, Buckhannon, Upshur, West Virginia . [Group Sheet]