My grandmother, Kathryn (Plank) Carey, was born in West Liberty, Ohio, and had numerous Plank relatives who had come to Logan county from Pennsylvania during the 1840s. These Planks were originally Amish or Mennonites, but by my grandmother's generation many had joined other churches. Grandma was a Lutheran, as was her mother, Elizabeth Wilhelm (1852-1945), who married the Samuel W. Plank1 listed below.
Only one of grandmother's five siblings survived to adulthood -- her sister Amanda Lucretia Plank (1872-1947), who married William Walter Lakin (1873-1942), 13 Nov 1895 in West Liberty, Logan county, Ohio. Here is a clipping describing Amanda and Bill's 40th wedding celebration:
William and Amanda Lakin and nine of their ten children were enumerated in the 1920 census on West Liberty Pike in Iron City. Their daughter Gladys had just married Clarence Stultz and moved to Springfield, Ohio. Clarence died in 1926 and Gladys later married Harley Palmer. Iron City is now a part of the city of Bellefontaine. West Liberty is about seven miles south of Bellefontaine, OH. When my family visited Bellefontaine, in 1949 and 1953, most of grandmother's ten Lakin nieces and nephews were living there, and one of them showed me a typewritten document from which I copied the following account of the Planks' coming to the New World...
According to facts given by Father David Plank to General Robert P. Kennedy of Bellefontaine for his book, The Historical Review of Logan County, Melcher Blanck was born in either Germany or Switzerland, living there until manhood and marriage. Accompanying some friends on board a vessel bound for the New World, he was persuaded by the captain to remain on board over night. He had been told that the vessel would not start until the next day, but in the morning he found that they were far from land. He then realized that they had been kidnapped by so-called pirates.
On reaching Pennsylvania he was sold to a Mr. Morgan living in either Lancaster or Berks County to pay his passage. Mr. Morgan was a farmer by occupation and a member of the Mennonite Church.
According to the history, Melcher Blanck (Blanck was later changed to Planck and then to Plank) had a son, Christian Plank, a native of Berks County, Pa. Christian united in marriage with one Barbara Yoder, had a son, Samuel Plank, born July 20, 1808 in either Berks or Lancaster County, Pa.
Samuel Plank and his wife, Julianna Hartzler Plank, were engaged in agricultural pursuits in the Keystone State until the fall of 1845.
Born to Samuel Plank and his wife, Julianna, while still in Pennsylvania were the following children, respectively:
Samuel Plank came to Ohio, buying a farm in Union Township consisting of 140 acres on which he later brought his family to live. Joseph, the eldest son started ahead of his family on horseback to Ohio, but was overtaken by the covered wagons in which his family was riding.
- Joe,
- Dave,
- Mattie,
- Elizabeth,
- Barbara, and
- Leah.
Three children,
were born to Samuel and Julianna after moving to Ohio.3
- Ann,2
- Samuel,1 and
- Mary
The David Plank who was the source of this information is quite likely my great grandfather's older brother. The D. D. Yoder on whose land the Mennonite church was built was the same David D. Yoder (1830-1922) who was great-grandmother's second husband. The Yoder surname4 was at least as plentiful as Plank among Mennonites in PA and OH. Samuel Plank's obituary appeared on page 17 of the January 1879 issue of Herald of Truth:
Dec. 11th, very suddenly, near West Liberty, Logan co., Ohio, Bro. SAMUEL PLANK, aged 70 years, 4 mos. and 21 days. He was a deacon in the Amish Church about 30 years, which office he filled faithfully. Buried the 13th, in the presence of a large concourse of friends, acquaintances and neighbors. Appropriate remarks for the occasion were delivered by David Hartzler and Jonas Yoder in the German language and Pre. Howbert in the English. Text: Matt. 24:44. He was a kind neighbor an affectionate father, and an exemplary Christian. He lived in Mifflin and Lancaster Cos., Pa., until 1845; when he moved to Logan Co., Ohio, where he lived on the same farm until his death.
His wife Juliana's obituary is from the Herald of Truth for May 1879, pp 96, 97:
April 11th, in Logan Co., Ohio, of typhoid fever, Sister JULIANA PLANK, aged 68 years, 9 months and 22 days. She was the widow of the late Deacon Samuel Plank, who preceded her in death only 4 months. She was buried on the 13th in the presence of an immense concourse of friends, neighbors and acquaintances. Remarks by S. Headings in the German language and by Jacob Frantz in English. Text: 2 Tim. 4: 7-8.
Mother Plank was a faithful member in the Amish Church, an affectionate mother and a kind neighbor. Sister Plank and her husband together, brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, 9 children, 3 sons and 6 daughters, all of whom became members in the church. The oldest daughter preceded her mother in death 3 years and one month, 8 are still living to mourn their loss, but they mourn not as those who have no hope, as they may in faith and hope say,
Thus father and mother are gone home to dwell,
With the angels in heaven where all is well;
They are resting sweetly together above,
There beyond where all is peace, and joy, and love.
Pg 525, History of Logan County, published in 1880 by O. L. Baskin, Chicago, under the history of Union Township, tells how the Ormish, a division of the Mennonite denomination, came to the area in about 1840:
They soon got strong enough to erect a church in Liberty township, which served until 1875, when the present building was erected on land given by D. D. Yoder... There are about 150 members, with Dan. F. Yoder as deacon, David Plank and Samuel Headings as local preachers, and John Weary as bishop.
The Planks, and related families, are also mentioned in Logan County, Ohio 1982, Volume One, A Collection of Historical Sketches and Family Histories Compiled by Members and Friends of the Logan County Genealogical Society, Bellefontaine, Ohio, pp 115-116, in its description of the South Union Mennonite Church:
The South Union Mennonite Church has its roots in an Amish settlement that began in the year 1840. The first to come were Peter and Charity Yoder from Wayne County, Ohio, who purchased a farm in the northern part of Union Township. A year later Daniel and Nancy Yoder came from Mifflin County, Pennsylvania.
In the next four years the families of Jacob Yoder, Daniel Yoder, Christian Yoder, David Yoder, John B. Yoder, John D. Yoder, Jonas Troyer, Joseph Kauffman, Jacob Hooley, Christian Kauffman, Joseph H. Kauffman, Samuel Plank and others arrived from Holmes County, Ohio, and Mifflin County, Pennsylvania...
David Plank was ordained to the ministry in 1859 while a young man. In 1863 with the consent of the congregation, he organized the first permanent Amish Mennonite Sunday School to be held in a meeting house...
David Plank was ordained as bishop in 1895. He served the congregation of Walnut Grove and South Union as minister and bishop for 52 years.
Many Planks lived in the West Liberty, OH, area over the years. This handbill was photocopied and sent to me by a fellow Plank researcher, Cathy Mere. Does anybody know anything about the annual Plank reunions? Have more reunions been held in recent times?
There was once an excellent Plank and Yoder site, maintained by David Burton, at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~davidaelred/index.htm, which no longer exists. David is a cousin who assembled a data base of several thousand individuals, including many whose names are familiar to me. We hope David will be able to make his site available once again.