Albert Perry Winch (1851 - 1916)

Born 21 Feb 1851 in Richmond Township, Ashtabula, Ohio, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Marietta (Nichols) Swartz — married 11 Feb 1872 (to Jun 1887) in Ashtabula, Ohio, United States

Husband of Lydia D. (Lattin) Kerney — married 22 Nov 1887 (to 27 Nov 1911) in Jefferson, Ashtabula, Ohio, United States

Descendants

Died 16 Jan 1916 at age 64 in Kingsville, Ashtabula, Ohio, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Richard Kerney [send private message]

Biography

Albert Winch was born in Appalachia, in Ohio.

Albert Winch was an Ohioan.

Albert Perry Winch was born in Feburary 1851 in Richmond Township, Ohio near where Pymatuning lake now sits.

^[1] He was the son of Ethelbert Winch and Hannah Sturgis.

Albert had a sister named Sarah Elvira and a brother named Freeland. His father Ethelbert died when Albert was only 6 yrs old. A year later his mother Hannah married Lester Turner. Hannah had 3 more children by Lester, a daughter Flora and a set of twin boys. Circa 1862 the family moved to Indiana. Some people his Albert's mother went without her husband Lester, some say the entire family went. In April 1864 Albert and Flora (possibly called Mary) and Freeland were put on a train and sent back to Richmond Township without Hannah.

Their fare was paid by their uncle Philo Winch. I am not certain what happened to Hannah, she may have died, or been seriously ill. The children were split up between their family. Philo was granted custody by the Ashtabula County court.

Marriage

Albert married twice:
1.) On Feb. 11, 1872 Albert married Marietta (Ettie) Nichols. She was only 15 and Albert was 20. They lived on a farm in Pierpont Twp. They had 5 known children:

1. Miriam Winch
2. Flora Winch
3. Nelson Winch
4. Polly Winch
5. Myrtle Winch (1891-)

2.) Albert divorced Ettie on Nov. 2 1887, and on the same day he married Lydia Lattin. Lydia was 19 and Albert was 36. About 7½ months later their first child Laura was born. Lydia and Albert had 6 children:

1. Laura Winch
2. Alfred Winch
3. Helena Winch
4. Hazel Winch
5. Charles E Kerney (1902-abt.1978) (Richard Kerney's grandfather)
6. Frank Winch (abt.1904-)

They lived in Triumph Township, Pennsylvania. Albert was said to be 1/2 Indian. Lydia was also said to be 1/2 indian. I have not been able to verify this. DNA tests done by family members do not indicate any Native American ancestry. Also my research does not indicate any Native American ancestry. I believe that neither Albert nor Lydia had any Indian blood. It is possible that Albert's first wife Ettie, or Catherine's second husband Lester had Indian ancestry. This is possibly where the family story of Indian ancestry originated.

It appears that Albert liked the ladies. Albert and Lydia separated before 1910 and were divorced in November 1911. In the 1910 census Albert was living by himself on Creek Road in Pierpont Township Ohio. He was a laborer doing odd jobs. Albert became a resident of the Ashtabula County Home in Kingsville Twp, around 1915.

Death

Albert died at the home on Jan. 15, 1916 of an STD. He is buried in a unmarked grave in Longview Cemetary - lot #101. His family never claimed him and he was buried by the County in a paupers grave. I visited the cemetery on Cemetery Road in Kingsville, Ohio in the county section at the West end of the cemetery. I found the area where marker #101 should have been, but there was nothing there. Albert had a total of 11 children and he died alone from a disease that seemed to define his life, Unclaimed, in an unmarked grave. ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51438158/albert-perry-winch
2. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51438158/albert-perry-winch

• Marsha Johnson, firsthand knowledge.