Richard It's All About the Coney

By Bobby Joe Harlan

I wrote the story in first person; I wanted the reader to see what was written from each person’s point of view. Chapter One sets the foundation on the two worlds that are part of Richards life. His mother’s family coming from Greece in the early 1900’s. His father’s family having settled in America in the very early colonial days. We then go to each of the key people around Richard, see their lives, and their lives around “The Coney”. Like other short stories I have written, you always learn a great deal about the life of our family; the Harlan Line. The Coney first opened in 1921, this year, in June of 2021 will be 100 years open as a family diner. Another point is how Richard and I developed a closer connection, talking about our family, and life in general. My wife and I visited Richard and his family several years ago in Highland Park, Michigan. Our first meal together was at The Coney, we dined on a 100-year tradition of a Coney Hotdog, topped with the old family traditional chili that started back in 1921 - Bobby Joe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665555128

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© 2022 Bobby Joe Harlan. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-6655-5511-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-5512-8 (e)

Published by AuthorHouse 05/04/2022

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Contents

About the Author

Pre-Face

Chapter 1 The Past is Who We Are Today (as told by the author)

Chapter 2 Eugenia - A Late Baby (as told by Eugenia and her children)

Chapter 3 Mary Kay - I Was Always a Bit Mischievous (as told by Mary Kay)

Chapter 4 Christina - I’m a Little Busy Here (as told by Christina)

Chapter 5 Richie - G. M. (Great Moves) (as told by Richard Richie)

Chapter 6 Carol - It’s All About Our Family (as told by Carol)

Chapter 7 Richard - It’s All About The C1oney (as told by Richard)

About the Author

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Bobby Joe Harlan

Bob was born in Columbus, Ohio to Phyllis Jean Harlan (Cornell) and Justice Lee Harlan Jr. Shortly after birth, he was placed with his grandmother, Lydia Cornell (Siders) of Ashton, Mason County, West Virginia. Bob was the youngest of nineteen family members that resided in a small frame home without electricity, running water or inside plumbing. The farm was located some twenty miles from the magnificent Ohio River. This farm was the home of one adventurous youngster. There were many days filled with fishing and hunting with plenty of room to roam the hills. Bob says that his life was in great poverty as a child, but his family lived a very rich life due to the love and care of his grandmother, Lydia Cornell. Bob went on to marry at age seventeen. He and his wife, Terri, had three children, four grandchildren, and several great grandchildren. Bob joined the Air Force and spent twenty years traveling the world. At one point, the family lived three years in Greece. Bob’s wife, Terri, of forty-three years passed away in 2014. Today, Bob is retired in South Georgia, getting ready to travel with his second wife, Shoyle Elaine Harris, of Soperton, Georgia.

Bob has co-written several family histories books, Mud in my Face, which is about the life of a long-term friend, Donald Vaughn. Another story is about each generation of the Vaughn family since the late 1600’s, Vaughn, Steps from The Past. Bob wrote a story about his cousin, Richard Peter Harlan and the 100-year-old family restaurant and Richards’ family history, Richard, it’s all about The Coney. Bob wrote a collection of short stories about his grandmother Lydia Cornell, and the children that lived under her roof, which included Bob and his sister Penny, Where an Angel is Born.

Pre-Face

About the front and back cover:

The front cover shows Richard Peter Harlan, working at The Coney as a young man in 1968, age fourteen. The back cover is 50 years later, in 2018, age sixty-four, at The Coney.

The title:

Richard – It’s all about The Coney, I chose this to be the title, because I feel that Richard is the center person on a family line that made a huge difference in the direction of his family due to his hard work and caring.

The story line:

I wrote the story in first person; I wanted the reader to see what was written from each person’s point of view. Chapter One sets the foundation on the two worlds that are part of Richards life. His mother’s family coming from Greece in the early 1900’s. His father’s family having settled in America in the very early colonial days. We then go to each of the key people around Richard, see their lives, and their lives around The Coney. Like other short stories I have written, you always learn a great deal about the life of our family; the Harlan Line. The Coney first opened in 1921, this year, in June of 2021 will be 100 years open as a family diner. Another point is how Richard and I developed a closer connection, talking about our family, and life in general. My wife and I visited Richard and his family several years ago in Highland Park, Michigan. Our first meal together was at The Coney, we dined on a 100-year tradition of a Coney Hotdog, topped with the old family traditional chili that started back in 1921.

The Past is Who We Are Today

This story is about a cousin I met several years ago, Richard Peter Harlan. On my search for who my family line of the Harlan’s are, I made the connection to Richard Peter Harlan. As I write each page, a foundation of the past and present life of Richard will unfold. With each family member I write about, it will be their story, another part of who Richard is and his family. With each page you’ll see a part of me, another Harlan.

As a child I knew my father’s name, Justice Lee Harlan, nothing more. As a teen I went searching for my father, found him and some of his brothers and sisters. As a young man I spent several days with Junior (everyone called my father, Justice Lee Harlan Jr., Junior) and full sister, Betty Reynolds (Harlan). Betty was very kind to me and my wife, Terri Ann. Betty lived not far from Columbus, Ohio. She gave me several photos of her mother, my granny, Cora Elizabeth Fellure and her mother, Della Gothard. She also gave me several pictures of her father, my grandfather, Justice Lee Harlan Sr. (1900/1931). The pictures now hang on my wall in a location where I see them every day.

Many years later, I wanted to know who the father of Justice Lee Harlan Sr. was. No one I talked to knew the answer. I started doing some online research as well as calling different people who might have a clue. I found both my fathers and Betty’s birth certificate in Huntington, Cabell County, West Virginia. I found my grandfather’s death certificate from Roan County, West Virginia. His father was listed as Frank Victor Harlan of Lawrence County, Ohio. Justice Lee’s mother was not listed. Doing some digging I found Justice Lee’s mother, Lilly Bragg (1877/1942) of Lawrence County, Ohio. With that, I found several census records listing Justice Lee Harlan(d) living with his grandfather, Bruce Bragg (1850/1930) and Mary Louisa Brammer (1853/1912) also of Lawrence County, Ohio. Once I knew who Frank Harlan was, a little more research and I found who Frank’s parents were; Thomas Harlan (1848/1907) & Belle Victoria Reese (1859/1946). Richard’s branch is from the 7th child of fourteen children; Edward Earl Harlan (1886/1965) of Thomas & Belle. Several census records state that Thomas was born in Tennessee. The records also state that Thomas’s parents were from Tennessee. It is Belle’s family line that I find very interesting.

The story goes that in the early 1800’s three brothers; Zebulon Gillett (1769/1825), this would be both Richard’s and my past grandparent, William Gillett (1774/1862) and Joel Gillett (1778/1823) traveled from their birth place in Milford, New Haven, Connecticut to Lawrence County, Ohio. All three brothers (there were seven children of John William Gillett (1731/1807) married to Comfort Plumb (1738/1828), two girls, five boys) were born under the British Flag. The colonies declared their independence on 4 July 1776. The American Revolution won a major victory when General George Washington defeated Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis in the battle of Yorktown on 19 October 1781. Zebulon would have been around twelve years old in 1781. The official end of hostilities with Britain was the signing of the Peace of Paris accord on 3 September 1783. The government in the America was formed under what was called the Articles of Confederation, this was the outline of our government until 17 September 1787. From this time forward the framework of what we call the Constitution of the United States was formed. The final ratification took place on 29 May 1790.

As we look at the birthdates and birth locations of the children of the three brothers, you can see a time line. The first children of the brothers were born in Harford, Connecticut. The next set and most of the children were born in New York. The child of Joel Gillette, Roswell Gillett born in 1804 at Hector, Seneca, New York. On our line of Zebulon Gillette, his son, Sidney Gillette (1801/1884) was born in Cayuga, New York. I believe the Gillette brothers arrived in Lawrence County around the 1815/1816-time frame. The last two of Joel Gillette’s children were born in Rome Township, Lawrence County, Ohio; Columbus Gillett (1816), Emily Gillett (1817).

As the Gillette brothers were living in the New York area, another major war broke out in the America, the War of 1812. Some see the War of 1812 as an extension of the American Revolution. There were still many people living in the America’s that wanted to rejoin Great Britain. As tensions over trade with France, and the British took more action to restrict American trade and they would capture American Seamen, force them to serve under the British Flag. Many of the northern states wanted to settle the peace with Great Britain, resume trade (Federalist Party). Most of the Southern States called for war. The British were in a long-drawn-out conflict with Napoleon Bonaparte of France. The United States decided to continue trade with France, and stopped trading with England. During this time frame, Napoleon could not stop a rebellion in Haiti, he seen the future cost of war with England, he needed funds to prepare for war. Napoleon brokered a deal with the United States, promoted by President Thomas Jefferson to sell the French Louisiana holdings Louisiana Purchase, this agreement was ratified on 20 Oct 1803. This doubled the size of the United States, further setting the stage for American expansion and British and American Indian concerns. The first major conflicts of the war were when the United States invaded Canada. It was a major defeat to the American forces lead by the Canadian British forces and the Shawnee Indian nation lead by Tecumseh. During this time frame, the City of Detroit was surrendered to the Canadians without a shot. The United States did have several major sea victories against the world’s leading naval power of Great Britain, but for the most part American forces were ineffective.

Once the British were able to defeat Napoleon, they sent a large force to the America, the first group landed in the Chesapeake Bay Area. The British easily took control and marched onto our capital in Washington. There on 24 August 1814, the British burnt numerous government buildings and setting fire to the capital building. President James Madison and his wife Dolley Madison (Payne) saved as many paintings as they could before fleeing Washington. As the British were preparing to leave the capital in ruins, they were soundly defeated, not by the American forces, but by the forces of nature. As the fires in the capital were burning on 25 August 1814, the British forces did not pay any attention to the very dark clouds on the horizon. The local people knew the signs, and took cover. A tornado formed and ripped through the British, tossing cannons and men like toys. This was not the end of it, the Tornado was just one part of a major storm hitting the area. The British forces were decimated by the storm.

As the war progressed, slowly the American forces started to gain ground. On 11 September 1814 at the Battle of Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain, in New York, the American Navy soundly defeated the British Fleet. On 13 September 1814 at Baltimore’s Fort McHenry, the fort withstood over twenty-five hours of bombardment by the British Fleet. The next morning the American Soldiers of the Fort hoisted a huge American Flag. Francis Scott Key was so inspired by the sight he wrote a poem, several years later the poem was set to a British Drinking tune. We know the poem as our national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. The British, realizing they could not achieve their goal of retaking the America, the Americans realizing they could not achieve the goals they had set out, both parties agreed to a peace. Both the United States and Briton agreed to end hostilities with the Treaty of Ghent on 17 February 1815. The war had ended, but there was one more major battle.

The British strategies was to retake the Americas through three different directions. Initially, the American push into Canada was a major victory for the British. As time went on, the American Navy on the Great lakes countered any gains by the British. Another major victory for the British was their landing in Chesapeake Bay, the sacking of the American Capital. Thanks to foul weather and a tornado that hit the Washington area while the British troops were totally unprepared for such an event, any further British action was halted. The third leg of the British plan was to sail up the Mississippi River to New Orleans, and take the city. This would cut off all trade going through New Orleans. A great plan, except for some unforeseen actions by the Americans.

Andrew Jackson was a young teen during the American Revolution. Andrew’s older brother had died of heat exhaustion after being in a major battle with the British. Andrew and his elder brother, Robert, acted as couriers for the American Forces, until they were captured in April of 1781. One of the British officers demanded that Andrew clean his boots, Andrew refused. The officer took a swing at Andrew with his sword. Andrew slung his hand up deflecting the blow, he still received wounds to his hand and head. Robert refused to clean the British Officers boots, the officer then stabbed Robert with his sword, a painful blow but not fatal. By the end of the year their mother, Elizabeth Hutchinson (their father had passed away years earlier) secured the release of both Andrew and Robert. Both boys were in very bad shape. Robert rode the only horse they had while Andrew walked some 40 miles back home. Near the end of their journey, a heavy rain storm soaked the boys. Robert died soon after, Andrew was hanging on for dear life. Elizabeth took a job tending sick American captured troops on a British prison ship. There was a typhoid break-out on the ship, Elizabeth soon died. Andrew was 14 years old when he became an orphan with no living family. The death of his older brother, and his mother, Andrew grew a deep hatred for the British.

Realizing that the British were going to attack New Orleans, with neither side knowing a peace treaty had been signed, Andrew Jackson took charge of the defense of New Orleans. Andrew’s first defense was to set up chain barriers in the Mississippi River in a bend below New Orleans. They set up cannons to shoot any British ships that had to slow down to go around the bend in the river. Andrew set up fortifications around the city to repel any British land invasion. On 8 January 1815, the British received their worst slashing by the hand of Andrew Jackson. As the news of the great American Victory swept the land, America took great pride in what they had become.

Once all hostilities were over, both the United States and Great Britain resumed full trade and diplomatic events, no borders had been changed, no settlement of captured American Sailors’. Both sides continued on as if nothing had happened. The only real losers were the Federalist Party who wanted to rejoin with Britain, this issue in the America’s was ended. America took on a new self-pride, time to move to more fertile grounds, to the new American frontiers.

The three Gillette brothers travel from their home in Milford, Connecticut to Hartford, Connecticut, this is about 50 miles. One of the main reasons the younger brothers would leave home is the common custom was that eldest son, John Gillett Jr. (1755/1843) would inherit the family estate. Even if something happened to John, then it would go to Benjamin. They had to strike it out on their own. We know from family records the brothers first settled in the Hartford, Connecticut area, and started families. From there, around 1801, we know they were in the Seneca/Cayuga, New York area. Sidney Gillett (1801/1884) was born in Cayuga, New York as a child of Zebulon Gillett. Joel Gillett’s son, Roswell Gillett was born in Hector, Seneca, New York in 1804. William Gillett’s child of Laura Ann Gillett was born in 1813 in Seneca, New York. From Harford, Connecticut to Seneca, New York is about 310 miles.

We know that sometime around the 1815/1816-time frame, the Gillette brothers traveled from the Seneca, New York area to the Rome Township, Athelia, Lawrence County, Ohio area. This is about a 550-mile journey. As part of the new expansion of America after the War of 1812, more than likely the brothers just wanted some of the adventure, some of that land. Ohio was on the edge of the western expansion. My thoughts on how the families traveled that distance, yes, I said families. Records show most of the children of the brothers were either born in Connecticut or New York, many of them lived out their adult life in Lawrence County area. I can see a route the families could have used? From Seneca, New York to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is about 320 miles. The Allegheny River at one-point flows just across the southern South West part of New York. Did they take wagons to the area of the Allegheny River, barges loaded with their family and goods, and use the river to flow onto Pittsburgh? At Pittsburgh the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio River. The Ohio River flows south past Lawrence County (about 280 miles) on to Cairo, Illinois where it flows into the Mighty Mississippi River. The Mighty Mississippi River flows south past New Orleans into the Gulf of Mexico. As Early as 1811, Steamships started navigating the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois. Trains were still a few more years into the future. So where is Lawrence County, Ohio?

As the colonies were formed, expanded, Virginia included the areas of present-day Virginia, plus the area of West Virginia and what was called Kentucky County of Virginia. The Ohio River flows south, about 40 miles up-river from Lawrence County, the cool waters of the Kanawha River meet the Ohio. This is the location of what was called Point Pleasant, Virginia (Now Mason County, West Virginia). Across the Ohio River is Gallia County, Ohio. Many people never knew that Daniel Boone spent about 12 years in the Kanawha Valley area. As a young man and explorer Daniel Boone left his home in Pennsylvania, started searching, trapping, trading, making a name for himself. One of his more famous adventures was his surveying the route from Fort Watauga in Tennessee across the Cumberland gap into the area we know today as Boonesborough, Kentucky (1775/1779). During the early days of exploring the western parts of Virginia, there were constant conflict and killings on both the explorers and the local native Indians. The explorers’ wanting new land to farm for their families, the native Indians wanting to preserve their way of life, their land. Due to short supplies at Fort Boonesborough, Daniel Boone led a party of 30 men to scout for food and salt (needed to preserve the meats). We know about 7 February 1778, the party was attacked by Chief Blackfish’s Shawnee Indians. Many of the party were killed, some forced to be Shawnee warriors, and Daniel Boone was captured. Daniel was held by Chief Blackfish and taken to the Indian village of Chillicothe (now Chillicothe, Ohio). Daniel had killed Chief Blackfish’s father in an earlier battle. Daniel convinced Chief Blackfish that the death was between warriors, Daniel talked his way out of death. As a trusted prisoner, Daniel learned that Chief Blackfish had planned on taking a large group of warriors and destroy Boonesborough. Daniel escaped around 16 June 1778 and headed to Boonesborough on horseback and the last forty miles on foot to warn the people of Boonesborough of the impending Indian attack. His early warning saved Boonesborough. In the early days of Boonesborough we know that Daniel’s daughter, Jemine Boone and two teen girls were captured by the Shawnee Indians. Daniel and a small group of settlers rescued the girls. It is believed that this event led James Tenimore Cooper to write the great novel The Last of The Mohicans in 1826.

A few years earlier, as Virginia settlers pushed into western Virginia into the area where the Kanawha River meets the Ohio River, there were numerous conflicts between the local Shawnee and Mingo native Indians and the settlers. On 10 October 1774, the Shawnee and Mingo Indians engaged in what was called the Battle of Point Pleasant. The Shawnee was decimated, they soon moved across the Ohio River, downstream to an area we now know as Scioto County, Ohio. From 1788 to 1799, Daniel Boone was in the Kanawha Valley area, at one point he lived and ran a trading store in Point Pleasant, Virginia (Now Mason County, West Virginia). In 1789, he was elected to the position of lieutenant-Colonel of the Kanawha militia. He was also elected to represent the county in the Virginia Legislature. It is documented he walked the distance from Point Pleasant to Richmond, Virginia, some 372 miles each way, to be part of the legislative assembly. Daniel Boone moved further up the Kanawha River and built a house across from the area of Campbell’s Creek. Daniel Boone departed for Missouri in 1799, Daniel Boone’s son took over the home. Kentucky County of Virginia became a state in 1792. Ohio became a state in 1803. The western counties of Virginia became West Virginia on 20 June 1863.

Across the Ohio River from Lawrence County, Ohio is the area of Huntington, West Virginia and the Guyandotte River (the river flows into the Ohio River). As the early settlers were exploring the America, the French set up a fort on The Guyandotte River. The river named by the French as a term for their Wendot Native Indians that lived in the area. Several years later, George Washington would be in the Western Counties of Virginia (now West Virginia) surveying the area. He noted several accounts of the native Americian Indians in the area. One note is about one branch of the Shawnee Indians living in the area of Point Pleasant, Virginia (now Mason County, West Virginia). This area is not far from Lawrence County. The Kanawha River and the Ohio river meet at Point Pleasant. In 1775, the area of the Guyandotte River and Ohio River was known as Holderby’s Landing. In early America, it was the Rivers, Streams and Lakes that were the super trading highways. As railways took shape in America in the mid 1800’s, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) developed as a western terminal in the location of Huntington, Cabell County, West Virginia. Collis P. Huntington and Delos W. Emmons are credited with co-founding Huntington. Huntington was Incorporated in 1871.

Just a few miles from Lawrence County, Ohio is what was called the Kentucky County of Virginia, now the State of Kentucky. If you travel a few miles into Kentucky, go just south of Lexington, Kentucky, you can reach Boonesborough, Kentucky. About 123-mile distance. We know Daniel Boone did not use this route to settle the area of Boonesborough, he traveled up from Tennessee, a more settled area at the time.

The Gillette family is very well documented in Lawrence County, Ohio. The story goes that Joel Gillette, a carpenter and shoemaker by trade started an apple orchard in the Rome Township, Lawrence County area. The story goes he took a flatboat loaded with 100 young apple trees from the Nursery in Marietta, Ohio back to the Rome Township area around the 1816/1817-time frame. Marietta, Ohio is across the Ohio River from Parkersburg, West Virginia, about 105 miles floating down the Ohio River to reach home. One of the seedlings he was going to plant was in very poor condition. He gave the small tree to his son, Alanson Duncan Gillett (1802/1884). He is just one of the Gillette children born up north, and died in the Lawrence County area. Joel stated this poor Democrat of a tree is worthless, Alanson can plant it. Alanson planted the seedling near the banks of the Ohio River. Several years later the tree matured, and had the most beautiful red apples, there was nothing like these apples in the entire orchard. The story goes that our past grandparent, Horatio Nelson Gillette (1799/1881) took clippings from the tree, grafted them, and started an orchard of those firm, crisp red apples. For many years the apples were known as the Gillette Seedlings. Years later, around 1832, the apple variety was re-named the Rome Beauty apple in honor of the small town of Rome, Lawrence County, Ohio. Years later this variety of apples was introduced to northern Georgia, then to Washington State. The original tree survived for many years until sometime in the 1850’s, a flood on the Ohio River washed it away. As a child, I lived about 30 miles upriver from Lawrence County, Ohio in Mason County, West Virginia. By the well near our house stood a tall Rome Apple tree. As a child I loved the time of year when the apples were ripe, great to eat right off the tree, granny made the most delicious apple pies. I never realized how this tree was connected to our family.

One of the fun stories of the Lawrence County, Ohio branch of the Gillett family is their name. Our DNA cousin Marlalie Boyd, granddaughter of Alma Lorriane Harlan (1902/2002) talks about the family joke that they missed out on the big Gillette money because someone dropped the e off their name. I first meet Marlalie on my search for the line of Harlan’s. Marlalie lives in the Huntington area. I have many family members in the area. I was visiting my aunt, Lydia Arthur (1932/2020, Cornell) when I set up a visit to her home. My wife, Shoyle and I arrived on a sunny afternoon to her very nice wood frame home. Marlalie greeted us at the door. As we entered her home, we noticed all the drawings on the wall, beautiful drawings of homes from the past. As we got closer, we noticed the artist had signed each drawing; Marlalie Boyd. The house inside was magnificent, rich with history of our Harlan & Gillett line in every room.

There are several routes that we are connected to the past on the Gillette line. King Camp Gillette (1855/1932) was the founder of the Gillette Safety Razor Company in July of 1902. He did not invent the safety razor, just refined the blades, and did a great job of marketing the safety razor. The common metal safety razor with a disposal blade barely has changed over the early years. In the late 1800’s, the Gillette safety razor sold for $5, that would be more than $140 in today’s dollars. The Gillette line of King Camp Gillette can be traced back to a William Gillett (1579/1641), then to our branch of the Gillett’s. The far past Gillette line came from France, then into England. As the