Newspaper article from The Delphos Herald March 13, 2006

March 13, 2006

The Men Behind the Neighborhood

by MARY M. GROTHAUSE

DELPHOS — Much attention has been given the preparations for the first ever Marbletown Festival.
Marbletown was named for an early Delphos financier and founder of the First National Bank, Colonel J.C. Marble.
John Miner Carey Marble was born July 27, 1833 in Pennsylvania, to Eleazar and Hannah Marble. His father died the year after he was born and he and his mother lived with her grandfather, John Carey Sr. until his death in 1844. He and his widowed mother moved to Ohio in 1846, joining her mother, who had re-married Jacob Rimer.
At the age of 21, he became a member of the mercantile firm Bope & Lye, which dissolved and later became Lye & Marble, located in what was then called Section 10 in what was carved out of the Black Swamp.
Later he founded the First National Bank, eventually rising to the position of bank president. He also laid out lots and built a number of residences in the south part of town, known as Marble’s Addition.
He attained the rank of colonel while serving during the Civil War with the Allen County regiment, part of the 151st regiment, which was stationed at Washington, D.C. during the summer of 1864.
Marble was married in 1861 to Mary L. Coleman, daughter of Guilford Coleman and Myrille Skinner. Mary died in 1865, leaving one son, Guilford L. Marble. He then married Elizabeth Emerson, daughter of Charles Emerson and Margaret Bayman in May 1870, and they had two sons, John Emerson, William Carey and one daughter, Elizabeth Dana.
Marble later moved to Los Angeles, California for health reasons where he resumed his banking empire. He died on April 29, 1912, in New York when he was stricken ill with pneumonia while returning home from a trip to the Holy Land.
While no one is sure of the actual boundaries of Marbletown, most agree the east boundary was the Miami-Erie Canal.
The main street of Marbletown, Clime Street, was named for James H. Clime, who built homes and buildings, including the first Methodist Church erected in Delphos.
Clime was born March 20, 1840, in Mahoning County, and was 11 years old when his parents moved to Van Wert County.
He also served during the Civil War and was assigned to the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry when he was one of the guards to stand watch over the body of President Abe Lincoln.
Clime returned to Ohio in May 1865, farmed for a year, then began carpentry, contracting and building in Allen and Van Wert counties.
He served as Van Wert County Auditor, a councilman and a director of Delphos Savings and Loan.
He married Anna E. Merriman from Dayton on March 20, 1873, and they had two children, a child that died at the age of 5, and a daughter, Mate DeFrees, who later married Charles E. Ward.
Clime died on Oct. 9, 1899, in a Toledo hospital. His wife, Anna, died Sep. 27, 1929, at her daughter’s residence in Los Angeles. A group of former Delphos residents who resided in that area and called themselves the Delphos Colony, had celebrated her 84th birthday on Sept. 5.
A sister of James Clime, Betty Krutsch, was mentioned as still living on West Fifth Street in Delphos.
In the founding days of Delphos, different sections were known by different names, East Bredeick was east of the canal, and West Bredeick was on the west side. Section Ten was also known as Hollister Pettit and Bliss Addition. The town of Howard was platted by Samuel Forrer, the engineer in charge of the canal survey.
Delphos actually received that name in 1850 following a meeting held at the Methodist Church. Father Bredeick suggested the name Delphos from the Greek word “Adelphos,” meaning brother.
In later years, residents of Marbletown were having a problem with drunks who would congregate in “south Delphos.” On Nov. 11, 1898 a town meeting was held to deal with lawlessness in that part of town. Residents gathered at MacKenzie's Grocery to select a man to act as a special policeman, electing a James Harter. Residents presented a petition to Mayor Cochran with Harter’s name to be sworn in as a special officer.
The Marbletown Festival is set for Aug. 5. A committee meets monthly to organize the event, which will include a parade.
A search is underway for relatives of the founders of Marbletown so they can be invited to participate in the festival.
Anyone with information on Marbletown descendants can contact Bob Ulm, 419, 236-1371 or at 415 Wayne St., Delphos.

Jeffery Cocansparger of South Main...

I had mentioned Waterworks Park earlier. I don’t know what was so special about it. Maybe all the tall trees or all the playground equipment. It was just a cool place. There were always people there. Lots of kids. Fine place for picnics also. The park was old you could tell by the age of some of the equipment. It was opened in 1923 and as far as I know has remained open since.

I don’t remember a lot about living on South Main Street but I do remember a kid name Jeffery Cocansparger. Jeffery was a neat kid. He was funny and I liked being around him because he was always laughing. His ears stuck out from the side of his head and he had a long with an oval shaped face he was just cool looking. Add the laugh and there you have him. Jeffery. We played together a lot whenever he could get away from his house. I don’t remember where I me him. I do remember his mom was like the wicked witch of the west. She always wore a frown. Jeff lived in the very last house on South Main Street on the corner lot when you took a right to go over the canal bridge. I believe his dad may have worked at the post office. One day Jeffery and I were playing in the backyard of an old abandoned house. It was located about halfway between my house and his. You could tell someone still owned it as it was being taken care of but I don’t remember anyone ever living there. It was always empty. Out of the blue Jeff picked up a stone and threw it at a glass window of the house. It broke out rather nicely I’d say. Well I think that someone living very close by saw what happened because it wasn’t even a few minutes later here come Jeffery’s mom like a tornado. She marched up to Jeffery and grabbed him and then looked at me and said “You are the trouble of all this” and then proceeded to haul Jeffery off. I was dumbfounded. What the hell did she mean by that remark? I didn’t talk him into throwing the stone. He was on his own. I hadn’t even picked up a stone. Oh well, maybe she was mad because he got into trouble and I didn’t. I didn’t see Jeffery for a long time but I can assure you it wouldn’t be the last time you’d hear of us getting into trouble together.

Photo Credit:

"Bandstand at Waterworks Park" Courtesy of Delphos Historical Society Published on Web site:http://www.delphos-ohio.com/history/Holdgreve/Waterworks_Park.htm Window to the past - Waterworks Park History by Bob Holdgreve