Francis Plants, Duck Creek Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio (2025 photo by Karen)
This is the tombstone of Francis M. Plants, located in row 6 of the Old Section of Duck Creek Cemetery, Black Creek Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:
Francis M.
Son of
T. & M. Plants
Died
March 2, 1864
Aged
7 ys, 3ms, 2ds
Francis Marion Plants was born in Mercer County, Ohio, 29 Nov 1856, the third child born to Tobias (1820-1888) and Maria (Neville) (1819-1903) Plants.
In 1850 Francis’ parents moved from the Wayne County, Ohio, area to Liberty Township, Mercer County. His father Tobias purchased 80 acres of farmland from Albert Cortelyou on 12 September 1850 [1], the southeast corner of State Route 49 and Strable Road. That property would eventually become the north end of Chattanooga.
Tobias Plants was one of the first businessmen in Chattanooga, running a general store as early as about 1854. [2] Tobias even gave his occupation as grocer in the 1870 census.
Francis Plants, enumerated as Marion F. Plants, age 5, was enumerated with his parents and his brother William in the 1860 census in Liberty Township: Tobias Plants, 41; Maria, 42; William, 7; and Marion F, 5. The family had a Skeels Post Office. [3]
Francis Plants died 2 March 1864. He was buried in Duck Creek Cemetery, near his sister Ann M. who had died in 1851. [4]
Ann M. & Francis M. Plants, tombstones of siblings, Duck Creek Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio (2025 photo by Karen)
Tobias and Maria Plants’ son William (1852-1890) was the only one of their three children who lived to adulthood.
Tobias and Maria Plants lived in Liberty Township for thirty years and were enumerated there in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses. Tobias sold his 80 acres in Chatt to Jacob Deitsch on 8 October 1870, [5] and Tobias, Maria, and William moved eastward, to Crestline, Ohio, where Tobias worked as a druggist. The three of them remained in Crestline the rest of their lives and all three are buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, Crestline.
Tobias Plants died 12 July 1888, age 68 years, [6] and his widow, Maria (Neville) Plants, died 3 March 1903, age 84 years. [7] Their son William Plants died 5 December 1890, age 38 years. [8]
[1] Albert Cortelyou to Tobias Plants, Mercer County, Ohio, Deeds Vol. P:48, 12 Sep 1850; Mercer County courthouse.
[2] Mrs. Maria Plants obituary, Crestline Advocate, Crestline, Ohio, 12 Mar 1903, Newspapers.com
[3] 1860 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, p.359, dwelling 1007, family 1012, Tobias Plants; Ancestry.com.
[4] Ann E. Plants, Find a Grave memorial no. 26808905, Duck Creek Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio; Find a Grave.com.
[5] Tobias Plants to Jacob Deitsch, Mercer County, Ohio, Deeds Vol. 16:441, 8 Oct 1870; Mercer County courthouse.
[6] Tobias Plants, Find a Grave memorial no. 100998955; Greenlawn Cemetery, Crestline, Richland County, Ohio; Find a Grave.com.
[7] Maria Plants, Find a Grave memorial no. 100998934; Greenlawn Cemetery, Crestline, Richland County, Ohio; Find a Grave.com.
[8] William A. Plants, Find a Grave memorial no. 100998965; Greenlawn Cemetery, Crestline, Richland County, Ohio; Find a Grave.com.
1 comment
Thank you!