Most people outside of East Central Ohio probably have never heard of Roscoe Village. Located in Tuscarawas Township, Coshocton City, Coshocton County, Ohio, it sits off of the Ohio and Erie Canal. Coshocton County was formed from the Muskingum and Tuscarawas counties in December 1810 and takes its name from the Delaware Indian word meaning “black bear town” (cush-og-wenk) or “union of waters” (“coshoc-gung”)[Source: Wikipedia]. The first canal boat docked at Roscoe Village in 1830 bringing people and goods into this area of Ohio.
Today Roscoe Village has become a part of living history with guided historical tours and festivals annually to celebrate its significance.
My great-great-grandfather, William Amore, born in the Albany area of New York in 1828, found his way to Coshocton County by 1848. His grandson (my great-uncle), Isaiah “Zade” Henderson Amore recounted in a letter to the editor of the Coshocton Tribune in 1971, “Inasmuch as my grandfather, William Amore, was a mule-driver on the Erie Canal prior to 1850 . . .”
I believe, though I haven’t any documented proof, that William, wanting to leave New York to find land of his own, migrated toward Ohio via the Erie Canal around the age of 16-18 years old. Perhaps his own father or both of his parents had died or were facing difficult economic times, and William wanted to strike out on his own. Upon reaching the state of Ohio, he more than likely traveled down river until he reached Roscoe Village and Coshocton County. Sometime before 1850 he became a mule driver on the Erie Canal to earn a wage in order to live. It is known that he married in 1848 to Frances Price who only lived two years more.
In the 1850 Census William is found living in Oxford Township, Coshocton County, with the Thomas Buck family and gave his occupation as Shoemaker (a trade he would pass down to his oldest son, William Henry Amore). William married a second time to Charlotte (Reed of Imons – depending on what document is to be believed) who gave him five sons of which three died very young. With is third wife, Elizabeth Spencer, the family increased by seven more children – three sons also dying as children or infants. Elizabeth lived many years after William, who passed away on February 9, 1896. He had spent his life as a mule driver and then shoemaker.
William’s oldest son, William Henry (or “Henry” as he was known), also took up the cobbler trade. He and his wife, Mary Angelina Werts (“Annie”) lived in Roscoe for many years. His granddaughter reflected, “When us kids were younger, we used to go over to Roscoe to visit my grandparents (Pop’s mother and father). Grandpa had a shoe shop in one end of the kitchen and then later he did have a little shop just down on the hill about one half block from their house.”
Cobbler Shop & Henry Amore Home
The first family reunion was held at William and Annie’s home in Roscoe on May 25, 1924. Subsequent reunions were held at the Grange Hall at the Coshocton County Fairgrounds.
Henry’s son, Lloyd William Amore, the fourth of seven children, and his wife, Ella Marie (House), lived above the Roscoe General Store in the early 1900s shortly after they were married. In one of those rooms some of my aunts and uncles were born!
Roscoe General Store
My paternal side has a long and endearing connection to Roscoe Village and Coshocton County, Ohio. I was fortunate to feel some of that connection as a child when we would visit relatives who lived there or attend one of the many family reunions. I wish that today as an adult who has discovered so much more than I thought I could about my family history, that I could visit that historic town again. To stand on the banks of the canals and rivers and picture William Amore driving the mule. To sit on the porch of Henry and Annie’s home in Roscoe and picture the 100+ family members gathered together over 80 years ago at the first reunion. To visit the Roscoe General Store and hear in my mind the cries of the newborn babies – my father’s older siblings. To visit Coshocton High School where my dad graduated and to visit the graves of ancestors I never got a chance to meet. Those opportunities are waiting for me – just as my ancestors are waiting through their wills, graves, birth records and more, for me to find them.