John (Jack) H. Hathaway and Jennie van Zaltbommel

(Or thanks goes to Arthur Hopkirk for supplying much of the information on this page)

On 25 May 1893 John Van HATHAWAY married Jennie ZALTBOMMEL in Cook County, Illinois. (FHL Film Number:    1030227)
John is age 25, making his birth year around 1868 and Jennie is age 19, making her birth year around 1874.

There is a birth record for a John H. HATHAWAY born 7 December 1870 at St. Johns, Clinton, Michigan on 7 December 1870 to Asher L HATHAWAY and Lavinia BELLUS, FHL film # 987077. This is likely Jack's parents, since his mother's first name is Lavinia, same as the middle name given to his daughter.
HOWEVER, there is this census record from 1870, shortly before Jack is born: From 19 August 1870 near the Clayton Post Office in Dover, Lenawee County, Michigan we find the following family grouping: Jonas BELLUS, age 65, born in New York, a farm farmer, personal estate $1,000, real estate value $3,000; Levina BELLUS, age 47, Keepinghouse; Eva BELLUS, age 15, at home, Noble BELLUS, age 11, attending school; Asher HATHAWAY, age 32, Rail Road Conductor, and Eddie HATHAWAY, age2. We know this is the correct family because of Asher's occupation.

Memo #1: Eddie HATHAWAY is the son of Asher HATHAWAY & Adeline BELLUS. Asher & Adeline married on 6 January 1864 in Lenawee County, Michigan. Adeline passed away on  23 February 1869. We may never know Asher's son John's mother's name.

Memo #2: Adeline J. BELLUS was the daughter of Jonas BELLUS & Lavina McLOUTH. Adeline died in 1869. So who is Jack's mother? His birth record says Lavinia, but she would have been 47 years old at Jack's birth. Could the real mother be Adeline's younger sister Eva?

Memo #3: Levina BELLUS married Isaac Palmer on 2 December 1874 in Clayton, Michigan. and in the 1880 census, none of the younger people in the 1870 census record above are living with Lavina and Isaac. Speculation:  Jonas Bellus died before 1874?

Memo#4: So far I've been unable to find a census record for Asher HATHAWAY or children named John(Jack) HATHAWAY or Edwin HATHAWAY in the 1880 census. So unsure if Edwin could be John. That would explain the date discrepancies for the young child. There is however a 1900 census record for Asher L. HATHAWAY in Dover, Lenawee County, Michigan. He was born in May 1838, he is age 62, and married for 35 years and born in Michigan and parents born in New York. Asher is a machinist. His wife Mary B. HATHAWAY is 38, born in September 1861 and married for 35 years and never had any children. She was born in Ohio and her father was born in England and mother born in New York  Something is wrong with this record, because Mary would have been 4 years old at marriage date.

Memo #5: Noble Bellus, born around 1860, died in Michigan in 1932 and his parents were listed as Jonas Bellus and Lavina McLouth

This military record in interesting. It states that John Hathaway was a United States soldier in the New York Infantry and was declared an invalid on 27 Sept 1890. On 8 November 1909 his wife Jennie was listed as a widow. Is this a different John Hathaway with a wife named Jennie? The only way this could be "OUR" family member, would be if John if John was somehow in the New York Infantry, then fraudulently filed as an invalid in 1890 and his wife fraudulently filed as a widow. This is unlikely.

1891 Grand Rapids, Michigan, City Directory Jennie Van Zaltbommel is a domestic servant living at 273 LaGrave, Grand Rapids, and her father, Martin VanZaltbommel is a carpenter living at 254 Cass, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Their only child was Ruth Lavinia Hathaway, born in March 1896 in Oregon. Ruth married Howard HOPKIRK on 31 December 1919 in Grants Pass, Oregon

From the 1900 census, taken 1 June 1900, we find John and family living at 602 Third Street, Roseburg City, Oregon. John is age 33, born December 1866, he has been married for 7 years and born in Michigan. His father was born in New York and his mother's birthplace is unknown. John is a machinist and he is renting his home. His wife Jennie was born in April 1874, is 26 years old and married for 7 years. She was born in Oregon and both her parents were born in the Netherlands. Their daughter Ruth L HATHAWAY was born in March 1896 and is 4 years old, born in Oregon.
Family folklore says they were born near  Grand Rapids.  Grand Rapids was a major center for the Dutch Reform Church in the US, and Jennie's parents both emigrated to the US from the Netherlands..
Jack Hathaway’s father was a conductor on what became the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad.  When Jack Hathaway was about 16, his father trained him to be a brakeman on the trains on which the father worked.
Jack Hathaway worked as a fireman on steam locomotives pulling trains filled with visitors to the 1893 Columbian Exhibition.  According to family stories, the fare to the fairground was 50 cents and the employees working the trains were paid in 50-cent coins.  Jennie used stockings to carry her husband’s pay to the bank.  (The story of the 50-cent coins may have gotten garbled.  I notice that there were special half-dollar coins minted for the Columbian Exhibition and it could have been the abundance of such coins in circulation in Chicago that led to wages being paid with such coins.)
After the fair closed, Jack Hathaway had difficulty finding work.  He may have been blackballed in the aftermath of the 1893 Pullman Strike for being a union supporter.  (There was a well-known story about letters of reference for railroad employees being issued on paper that had a watermark of a crane with a broken neck to warn potential employers that a job applicant supported unions.)  One of Hathaway’s friends wrote to let him know that railroads on the West Coast were hiring without being concerned about the past activities of job applicants.  As a result, Jack and Jennie Hathaway moved to Oregon where their daughter Ruth was born in Grants Pass, Oregon, in 1896.

From the 1910 census   We find the John HATHAWAY family living at 109 B Street in Grants Pass, Josephine County, Oregon, John H is 41, married for 17 years, born in Michigan, his parents birth locations are not listed and he is a Roundhouse Foreman for a Railroad. Was not out of work in 1909 or 1910. His wife Jennie is 35, married for 17 years, born in Michigan and her parents were born in Holland(Dutch), and daughter Ruth L is single, born in Oregon

Per his descendants, Jack HATHAWAY worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad and eventually was a foreman at the roundhouse in Grants Pass, where he oversaw repairs of locomotives.  According to family lore, he may have quit that job due to dissatisfaction as to how the Southern Pacific was treating his subordinates.  He ended up taking a job with the short-line California and Oregon Coast Railroad.  There, he had to handle a hodgepodge of duties including being a locomotive engineer and mechanic.
Jennie, possibly concerned about the drinking habits of railroad employees, was a member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.  (Ruth was also a supporter of the WCTU.)

After Ruth HATHAWAY graduated from Grants Pass High School, she went to Portland to attend Reed College.  Jack HATHAWAY initially believed that spending money on a college education for a girl was a waste.  However, Jennie apparently took a stand and insisted that if her only daughter wanted to go to college, she should go to college. 

From the 1920 census   Per the census taken on 12/13th of January 1920 we find the HATHAWAY family still  living at 109 B Street, Grants Pass, Oregon. J. H HATHAWAY is 52, born in Michigan, fis father was born in New York and his mother birth place is Michigan. His occupation is a locomotive engineer for a railroad. Jennie is 45, born in Michigan and her parents are born in Netherlands and speak Dutch.

From the 1930 census taken on 12t 14Apri1930 in Grants Pass, Oregon we find Jack H HATHAWAY living at 109 B Street and own their home worth $2,500 and they have a radio. Jack is 61 years old, and was married at age 26. He was born in Michigan and his parents were born in the United States. Jack is an Engineer for a steam railroad. Jennie is age 55, was 19 when first married and born in Michigan. Her p[arents were born in Holland.

From the 1940 census they are still living at 109 B Street, Grants Pass, Oregon. Jack is 69 and his highest grade of school completed is 8th. Jennie is 65 and her highest grade of schooling completed is 5th grade. Jack is no longer working.

From John H Hathaway social security record he was born 7 Dec 1870, his Social Security number was 117-20-5035 from a claim dated 29 May 1945. Birrthplace is St. Johns, Michigan.

After Jack retired from the railroad, he and Jennie moved east to live with Ruth and Howard.  Jack HATHAWAY was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan and liked to listen to games on the radio.  Jack HATHAWAY attended at least one game at Ebbets Field with his grandson John(Jack) HOPKIRK when young Jack was in high school. It is believed that Jack HATHAWAY died 24 June 1949 in New Rochelle, Westchester, New York.  Jennie died in 1962 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Per Jennie's death certificate she was born 20 April 1874 in Michigan to Martin Van ZALTBOMMEL & Katherine VREELAND. Jennie passed away on 8 May 1962 in Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas, USA. Her parents were Martin VAN ZALTBOMMEL & Katherine VREELAND.

The ashes of John(Jack) & Jennie Hathaway are in the Unitarian Universalist Church Memory Garden in Media, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA



This page was last updated on 5 January 2021

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