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Monday, January 24, 2011

Jessie Alvin Love: Man of Mystery



     Jessie Alvin Love, the son of John Wesley Love and Jennie A. Roberts, was born on January 8, 1884 in Waterford, Washington County, Ohio.

     There is a lack of family information surrounding Jesse and I am attempting to recreate his story through the meager research I have been able to find online. Apparently, Jesse did "something," was sued and then had a warrant posted for both he and his wife, Minnie. What is known: Jesse's father, John Wesley Love never spoke of his son again and did not want him to ever visit.

     First, the family members now living are not clear as to the crime Jesse committed. The warrant was posted in the local newspaper in Zanesville Ohio and there is where I have been able to ferret out the majority of my information. And second, where did Jesse, Minnie and their young daughter, Loretta disappear to? Perhaps when the 1940 census reports are released, they can be tracked past 1930. Social Security Death records show that both Minnie and Loretta died in Maryland.

     An added confusion was that I found what appeared to be two Jesse Love's who lived in the Zanesville, Ohio area. Searching for the name in the Zanesville newspapers, I kept running into a Jesse who did not match up with my family information. A quick check of the 1930 census produced a second man named Jesse Love. The difference is their middle names. The second man is Jesse Kyle Love and he lived with his family in McConnelville, Morgan County, Ohio....down river from Zanesville.

     Jesse Alvin Love is enumerated with his parents through the 1910 Ohio Federal census. At age 26he is listed as not employed, although perhaps he is working on the family farm and not engaged in employment outside his home.

     When he married Minnie Bell Marshall, daughter of Richard Webster Marshall and Atha Linda Beam on January 17, 1915, Jesse was a resident of Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia. Unfortunately, the wedding certificate does not list his employment. The marriage was held at the bride's home and conducted by A.V. Vondersmith, pastor of the First U.B. Church in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Jesse misrepresents his age on the certificate stating that he is 26, when in reality he is 31. Minnie Bell Marshall was born on July 28, 1894 in Mineral Wells, Wood County, West Virginia.

     One child Loretta Amelia Love February 11, 1916 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.  In 1949 she married William Hiram Dewey.

     Evidence on Jesse's World War I draft registration card shows that he is married, living at 451 Clark Street, Zanesville, Muskingum County, Ohio and is employed as a shipping clerk with the Mosaic Tile Company in Zanesville.

     The 1920 Ohio Census reveals that Jesse was promoted to a foreman position with the Mosiac Company. The family is still living at 451 Clark Street.

     By 1930 the Love family was living at 255 Yale Street in Zanesville and Jesse appears to be with a paint company, perhaps as a traveling salesman.

     The December 18,1929 a front page article appeared in The Zanesville Signal, a local newspaper announcing that Jesse A. Love is suing Knight K. Culver and Ray W. Renshaw. Jesse contends that he was swindled by these two above mentioned men who entered into an agreement with him to purchase his interest in his patented formula for a preservative to be used on various exterior building materials. Love is asking for $50,000 for the formula and an additional $25,000 in damages.

     Of special interest is the name of Knight K. Culver, one of the men that Jesse sued. There is an abundance of information on Knight on the net. He was a man of great wealth, building a grand home in the Bexley area outside Columbus, Ohio. He founded the Dart Manufacturing Company, later known as Culver Air Craft Company.

     There are numerous notices in the local paper during the month of January, 1930 from Jesse A. Love regarding his law suit.

     The family story that has been passed down through generations was that Jesse was involved in something illegal or was being prosecuted for some infraction of the law.

     From the information I have found I think that Jesse may have been a swindler to sorts and he filed a law suit in 1929 for $75,ooo against two men. The discrepancy involved a patent for stucco covering and Jesse was suing them for his portion of the company. Later there was a suit filed against Jesse and his wife, Minnie. It appears that this law suit was for money they owed on their property in Zanesville. In March 1931 a warrant for the arrest of Jessie and Minnie was listed in the local newspaper.

     Here ends the trail for Jesse.

     Minnie Bell Marshall Love died on October 3, 1988 in Edgewater, Anne Arundel, Maryland. Loretta Amelia Love Dewey died on February 2, 1985 in Michelville, Maryland.



There is a  the time line for Jesse Alvin Love  on TimeToast.  All documentation for this blog is also on Jesse's timeline.

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© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

1 comment:

  1. Such an interesting family story!!! Truth is just as amazing as any novel!

    ReplyDelete