For our blog today we travel to northern Kentucky, in the county of Campbell. The border of the county is the grand Ohio River, down which many pioneers descended in the early days to come to the great state of Kentucky. The city of Newport is on the Kentucky side of the river – Cincinnati on the Ohio side. Both have grown tremendously since the Lock family lived there, would they recognize the area today?
Our story begins a bit further away, across ‘the pond’ to merry old England. John B. Lock, his wife Ann Richards and their family were born there, coming to the United States in 1848, as listed on the 1900 census. In 1850 they are living in Campbell County. John Brown Lock is 42, a grocer; Ann Lock is 44. Their children were John, 21; Mary, 19; David, 15; Ann, 13; Jollard, 10, Sarah, 8, Eliza, 6; and Frances 4. All were born in England.
In 1860 only the younger children were living with their parents. John Lock, 54, is listed as a farmer instead of grocer; Ann is 44 – I think this must have been 54 since she was born in 1805. Jollard is listed now as John, 20; Sarah is 18, Eliza 16 and Frances 14.
Ann Lock, wife of John B. Lock, died January 5, 1870, in the 65th year of her age. Evergreen Cemetery, Campbell County, Kentucky.
Ann died January 5, 1870, at the age of 65.
In 1870 John Lock is listed as a City Weigler (could not find anything about this), 62. John Jr., 30, is a grocer; Eliza is 23 and Frances 20. As in many census records the ages are not always ten years from the previous census.
1880 is the last census in which John Lock, Sr., is listed. He was 74 years of age and was Treasurer of Public Schools. Daughter Eliza, 30, lived with her father.
In the 1880 census, John Brown Lock, Jr., has married Mary Revell, in 1875, and is listed as 48, a grocer. Mary is 29, and their two small sons, John, 3, and Wilbert, 1, are living with them.
John B. Lock died January 9, 1882, in the 75th year of his age.
John B. Lock died January 9, 1882, twelve years from his wife’s death, and was buried beside her in Evergreen Cemetery.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton County, Ohio
Wednesday, January 11, 1882
Lock – January 9, 1882, at his residence in Newport, Kentucky, John B. Lock Sr., aged 75 years. Funeral will take place this (Wednesday) afternoon, at 2 o’clock, from his late residence, Monmouth Street, Newport.
In 1896 the family was caught up in the sensational murder of Pearl Bryan – since it happened on their farm! The headless body was found on the family farm. It wasn’t until four years later that the head was found, near where the body was left.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton County, Ohio
Friday, February 21, 1936
‘The body of Pearl Bryan was found in a clump of bushes on the west end of the farm near Alexandria pike, about 300 yards west of the end of the Fort Thomas car line on a Sunday morning in the spring of 1896.
‘More than a year later, April 11, 1897, Alonzo Walling and Scott Jackson, Cincinnati dental students, were hanged in the Newport Jail yard for the crime.
‘The girl lived in Greencastle, Indiana. She had met the two accused students through a cousin, who also attended the dental collage.
‘Both defendants denied the charge, even on the scaffold.
‘Thousands of persons visited the place where the body was found. They began to carry away limbs of trees or anything else they could lay their hands on as souvenirs.
‘Colonel Lock opened a little cigar store and confectionery on his land near the end of the car line. He sold pamphlets containing the history of the lives of the two men, souvenirs and trinkets, from which he derived considerable revenue.’
Wilbert Edward Lock, the one-year-old in 1880, mustered in the Newport Company, G, as a private in the Spanish American War in May of 1898.
The Courier Journal, Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky
Friday, May 20, 1898
The Newport Company
Per the 1900 census, John Lock, Jr., is 60, has been married 25 years to wife Mary, 49. She has given birth to 9 children, 6 are living. In their household are children Josephine, 17; Frederick, 15, a music salesman; Hope, 13; John B., 11; and Kitty C., 9. Oldest son John, born in 1878, died in February of 1885.
Notice that Wilbert was not with his family in the census, but boarding with the Herman Bevilk family, and was a state railroad conductor.
Wilbert married Mamie Schuh September 5, 1900; he was 21, Mamie, 23.
In 1910 John Lock, is 70, has a pasture farm. Wife Mary is 58. Just the three youngest children are living with their parents – Hope, 23; John B., 21, who runs a confectionery store; and Kitty C., 19.
John B. Lock had to put down his favorite black horse.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton County, Ohio
Friday, March 10, 1911
Ft. Thomas, KY.
Colonel John B. Lock was compelled to kill his valuable black horse yesterday. The animal was stricken with hydrophobia in some mysterious manner, and Dr. Myers, the veterinarian, advised that the animal be shot. A dead dog was found in the stable about two weeks ago, and it is thought the canine bit the horse while suffering from rabies.
Kitty Clyde Lock married Clyde Congrove in June 1912.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton County, Ohio
Sunday, June 2, 1912
Mr. and Mrs. John B. Lock, of the Highlands, have announced the marriage of their daughter, Kitty Clyde, to Mr. Clyde Congrove, of Cincinnati. The marriage took place at the parsonage of Rev. George W. Bunton, of the Union M. E. Church. Mr. and Mrs. Congrove will reside with the bride’s parents.
The United States became involved in World War I on April 6, 1917. John B. Lock, son of John and Mary, younger brother of Wilbert, volunteered for service. The following article gives the military history of the Lock and Revel families.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton County, Ohio
Sunday, November 18, 1917
Ft. Thomas, KY.
John B. Lock, Jr. [III], Ft. Thomas Avenue, has heard the call of his country and volunteered for army service for the war. Mr. Lock is a son of John B. Lock, one of the oldest and best-known residents of Newport and the Highlands.
Mr. Lock was in business in Detroit, having been away from home several years, but gave up his position and returned to Ft. Thomas to enlist. He has been assigned for training service at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, and left for that post during the week.
Mr. Lock comes from fighting stock, soldiers being numerous on both sides of his family. A great-uncle, Richard Lock, London, England, fought in the battle of Waterloo. His father and two brothers, D. R. Lock and Dr. F. J. Lock, Newport, fought in the Civil War. His brother, W. E. Lock, was one of the first to volunteer his services at Ft. Thomas in the Spanish-American War.
On his mother’s side his great-grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War, and two uncles, E. W. Revel and S. G. Revel, fought in the Civil War. A great-uncle, Gardiner Reed, fell at the Battle of Cynthiana, Kentucky.
Wilbert Lock registered for World War I, but I’m not sure if he served. His registration card says that as of September 12, 1918, says he was 39 years old, born December 18, 1878. Wilbert worked for West Motor Company as a mechanic, in Trenton, Ohio. His nearest relative was his wife, Mame Lock, at their address of 911 3rd Avenue, Dayton, Campbell County, Kentucky. Wilbert was of medium height and stout build, with grey eyes and hair.
Census records for 1920 shows Wilbert and Mame, both 41, living on Berry Avenue in the city of Bellvue, a small town next to Newport, on the Ohio River. Wilbert was a car mechanic. They are both 41 with no children. I could not find his parents, John and Mary in this census.
Due to the following announcement of Wilbert’s marriage to Mary Gasdorf, I believe his first wife died shortly after the 1920 census was taken.
The Dayton Herald, Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio
Friday, April 27, 1923
Wilbert E. Lock, 43, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Mary E. Gasdorf, 34, Phillips Hotel.
John B. Lock, born in England, 1838-1925.
John B. Lock lived a long life, dying in December 22, 1925 at the age of 86.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton County, Ohio
Wednesday, December 23, 1925
Retired Grocer Dies
John Brown Lock Widely Known Resident of Ft. Thomas
John Brown Lock, widely known resident of Ft. Thomas, Kentucky, died at his home, 1355 Ft. Thomas Avenue, early yesterday following a stroke of paralysis last Thursday. Mr. Lock was in his eighty-sixth year and had been a resident of Campbell County for 74 years. He formerly was in the grocery business in Newport and was widely and prominently known throughout Campbell County.
Mr. Lock was born in London, England, coming to this country when 10 years old. He was married to Kitty Revel, of a prominent Campbell County family, and on December 15, they celebrated their fifty-first wedding anniversary.
Mr. Lock was a member of the Robert Burns Masonic Lodge of Newport. He attended St. Paul Episcopal Church. He is survived by his widow and six children: W. E. Lock, of Covington; S. J. Lock, of Ft. Thomas; J. B. Lock, Jr., of Ft. Thomas; Mrs. Clifford C. [Josephine] Southgate, of Ft. Thomas; Mrs. Fred [Hope] Hanger, of Detroit; and Mrs. Clyde [Kitty] Congrove, of Hyde Park.
Funeral services will be held at the chapel at Evergreen Cemetery, Newport, Thursday at 10:30 o’clock.
The death certificate for John Lock gives his birthdate as February 22, 1840. He was born in London, England, as well as his parents, John Brown Lock and Nancy Richards.
The 1930 census was taken April 7, 1930. We find Wilbert, 50, and Mary, 42, living with their two young sons, William Revel Lock, 5; and Robert Wilbert Lock, 3. Mary K. Lock is 78; her daughter Hope R. Hanger, 42, and grandson, John L. Hanger, 13, live with her. Daughter Josephine, 47, and husband Clifford Southgate, 48, live next door.
Mary Revell Lock, 1851-1930. Small stone reads ‘In memory of Little Richie, son of J. B. and Mary Lock, died December 23, 1876, aged 3 months, 24 days.
Mary Revel Lock survived her husband by five years, dying May 11, 1930.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton County, Ohio
Tuesday, May 13, 1930
Lock Funeral Tomorrow
Funeral services for Mrs. Mary R. Lock, 78 years old, widow of John B. Lock, Sr., will be conducted at 10:30 o’clock tomorrow morning at the residence, 814 South Fort Thomas Avenue, Fort Thomas. Rev. Frank F. Cooley, rector of St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Church, will officiate. Her death occurred Sunday. She is survived by six children, Mrs. Clifford C. [Josephine] Southgate, Fort Thomas; Mrs. Clyde [Kitty] Congrove, Mrs. Hope Hanger, Bert Lock, Fred Lock and John B. Lock, Jr.
John B. Lock married Minnie E. Keith December 15, 1930.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton County, Ohio
Thursday, December 15, 1930
Fort Thomas Man Weds
John B. Lock and Miss Minnie E. Keith, Chicago, Married
John B. Lock, Fort Thomas, surprised his friends yesterday by announcing his marriage to Miss Minnie E. Keith, Chicago, Illinois, the ceremony having been performed at the residence of his sister, Mrs. Clifford E. Southgate, 1432 South Fort Thomas Avenue, Monday. Dr. William B. Campbell, pastor of Highland M. E. Church, officiated.
Mr. Lock, who conducts a confectionery near the Fort Thomas military reservation, is a son of the late John B. Lock, Sr., an early resident of Fort Thomas, who conducted a store at the end of the Fort Thomas car line for many years.
Mr. and Mrs. Lock will be at home to their friends in an apartment in the Elinor, South Fort Thomas Avenue.
Wilbert E. Lock, Corp. Co. G, 2 Ky. Inf., Spanish-American War
Wilbert Edward Lock died November 2, 1934. He was 56.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton County, Ohio
Saturday, November 3, 1934
City Employee Dies
Wilbur [Wilbert] E. Lock Native of Newport – Last Rites Monday
Wilbur [Wilbert] E. Lock, city employee and a Spanish-American War veteran, died yesterday morning at his home, 1050 Marshall Avenue. Mr. Lock was born in Newport 55 years ago.
Besides his two sons, William and Robert, he is survived by three sisters, Mrs. C. C. Southgate, Mrs. L. F. Hanger, and Mrs. Clyde Congrove, all of Fort Thomas, and two brothers, John B. Lock, Jr., Fort Thomas, and Frederick Lock, Hyde Park, Cincinnati.
Services will be held at the A. C. Dobbling funeral home, 106 South Fort Thomas Avenue, Fort Thomas, at 10:30 o’clock Monday morning. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery, Southgate.
Wife Mary was not listed in the obituary, she passed away before her husband.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton County, Ohio
Sunday, November 4, 1934
Lock – Wilbert Lock, husband of the late Mayme [Mary] Lock (nee Gasdorf), at his residence, 1050 Marshall Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio. Funeral Monday, November 5, 1934, from the Dobbling funeral home, Ft. Thomas, Ky., at 10:30 a.m. Interment Evergreen Cemetery.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton County, Ohio
Thursday, November 8, 1934
Lock Will Probated
In the will of Wilbert E. Lock, probated yesterday before Judge William C. Buten in Campbell County Court, a $3,000 insurance policy and one-third of the remainder of the estate is left to his widow, Mrs. Mamie E. Lock [who had passed away?]. The residue is to be held in trust by his brother, John B. Lock, for two sons, William R. and Robert W. Lock, when they become 21 years old. William U. Warren, Newport attorney, is named executor. The will, dated January 29, 1929, was written in Cincinnati.
The application for a veteran’s headstone for Wilbert Lock, Corporal, Company G, 2nd Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, was requested and sent to brother John B. Lock.
Jo Lock Southgate, 1882-1936.
Josephine Elizabeth Lock Southgate died September 4, 1936.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton County, Ohio
Thursday, September 3, 1936
Southgate – Josephine Elizabeth Southgate (nee Lock), beloved wife of C. C. Southgate, at her residence, 1432 S. Ft. Thomas Ave., Ft. Thomas, Kentucky. Funeral Friday, September 4, 1936, from the Dobbling funeral home, Ft. Thomas, at 10 a.m. Interment Evergreen.
John B. Lock, III, was still alive in 1946. I could find no obituary.
Three generations of a family, one hundred and fifty years. How quickly life goes by. Enjoy to the fullest while you can!
Categories: Family Stories
