Home > United States of America > Ohio > Henry County > Napoleon > Forest Hill Cemetery > Jeremiah P “Jerry” Belknap

Jeremiah P “Jerry” Belknap

View larger map

1 / 3

2 / 3

3 / 3

❮ ❯

Jeremiah P “Jerry” Belknap

Birth	:	Mar 1859 Napoleon, Henry County, Ohio, USA
Death	:	Jan 1919 Napoleon, Henry County, Ohio, USA
Burial	:	Forest Hill Cemetery, Napoleon, Henry County, USA
Coordinate	:	41.3913994, -84.1100006
Description	:	Jerry P. Belknap – good, old Jerry – has gone to solve the great mystery. Influenza seized hold upon him at a time when his vitality was low. He fell an easy victim. He died Sunday afternoon at his home in Napoleon, Ohio, in the 60th year of his age and the 44th year of his newspaper activities. He was editor and owner of the Henry County Signal at Napoleon a number of years and not long ago made his son, Nathaniel J. Belknap, his business and editorial assistant. He is survived by two other children, Mrs. Laura... Read More	Jerry P. Belknap – good, old Jerry – has gone to solve the great mystery. Influenza seized hold upon him at a time when his vitality was low. He fell an easy victim. He died Sunday afternoon at his home in Napoleon, Ohio, in the 60th year of his age and the 44th year of his newspaper activities. He was editor and owner of the Henry County Signal at Napoleon a number of years and not long ago made his son, Nathaniel J. Belknap, his business and editorial assistant. He is survived by two other children, Mrs. Laura J. Theobald and Mrs. Marian Cuff, both of Napoleon. His wife also survives. He was a Knight Templar, an Odd Fellow, and belonged to other fraternities. He attended the Methodist church. Mr. Belknap had visited Portland frequently in recent years. He came the year of our "homecoming," and greatly enjoyed meeting the old friends. Jerry Belknap located in Portland in 1882, when he bought the Portland Observer of Joseph W. Bailey. His brother-in-law, Y.A. Hartman, was associated with him for a time, but Mr. Belknap carried on the work alone after the first few months. He at once took a place in the front rank of Portland's enterprising business men. Many will recall the two seasons he operated the opera house, and the quality of the shows he booked. One was W.E. Sheridan, a famous actor, who appeared in "Louis XI." He had never set foot in a town of Portland's size since he began his career as an actor, and came here only because Mr. Belknap's confidence in the support he would receive prompted a guarantee of $350. Receipts fell short of this $100. Next a lecture course, too expensive for the town, cost Mr. Belknap another $100. He had not gone into the business of managing the opera house for his own personal gain, but had hoped to at least play even. After two years he quit. He managed the rink during the last days of its popularity and many people still remember the riotous scenes the night he put on an exhibition advertised widely as "A Horse on Skates." At the hour appointed for the exhibition the large audience which had assembled, mostly to skate, but partly to see the show, saw "Jim" Hudson, an employee of Jerry's in the printing office, pushing a sawhorse mounted on rollers, across the floor. By the time Jim reached the rear of the hall the audience had started for him and he escaped through a rear door. Newspaper men quarreled in those days and the Review, then conducted by the present Congressman Doremus, played up the perfidy of this act. It wept for the poor people who had spent their last 15¢ to see a show and then gone to their cheerless home unsatisfied. It held up to public scorn the citizen whose lust for gold would prompt him to deceive the people. The real truth of the matter was that Jerry had no idea people would take his horse on skates seriously. He opened up the rink to give patrons their usual good time at skating, and "the horse" was merely thrown in as an extra. But a certain few really did expect to see a horse, not made of wood, but in the flesh, glide across the floor and do fancy stunts, which shows the quality of ivory they used in the heads of certain of the human race those days. It cannot be said for Jerry that his paper was the most brilliant in these parts, for necessity led him to pay more attention to the job printing end of the business than the editorial. Thus, as press day approached, it was necessary for him to take some things for granted and not spend too much time in looking them up. Rev. M.M. Callan, then pastor of the Methodist church, had fallen for roller skating and Parker & Divine, rink owners, were so delighted, considering that some of the other preachers were knocking the business, that they presented him with a fine pair of nickel-plated skates. A few days later the clergyman appeared to have seen a great light and on a Sunday evening preached a scorching sermon against roller rinks, classifying them among the agencies of the devil. Someone, reporting the matter to Jerry, made the elder say that the rink was run by the devil. Jerry printed this as Rev. Callan's statement and added that it was rather rough on the management. Rev. Callan was Irish and had a temper and the writer of this story well remembers the stormy scene enacted in the printing office when the preacher called. The boys in the office were welcome to contribute any news they might have. Thus, the present editor of the Review, who was getting $3.00 a week, learning the trade, became a frequent contributor, preparing, unconsciously, for future usefulness. At 14 the bump of self-esteem is well developed, while the bump of caution hasn't even started to grow. Back of the office was a woodworking establishment and one of the employees was long on perpetrating jokes, which often had a punch. Jerry had gone to Napoleon on a business trip and when Carl Powell, considerably older, who had traveled all over the country and worked in hundreds of printing offices, suggested that we put something in the paper about this humorous young man we were much interested. "Say the health officer has given him a new pair of socks," said Carl. We thought of this a long time and the conclusion was that it would be entirely harmless. We saw our jocular friend shaking his sides laughing at what the Observer would say about him. Occasionally a doubt arose, but Carl said the papers often got off jokes like that, and we might set it up without spaces between the words. The nobody would know what it meant but the party we were having the fun with. We would go to him and explain the key when the paper was printed and then we would all laugh together. (Ye Gods, were we ever as immature as that?) This explains why the next issue of the paper contained the following paragraph: "Theatmosphereinthevicinityoftheobserverofficeisalittlesweeterthehealthofficerhasboughtcharleywardanewpairofsocks. Charley Ward was then, as now, a highly respected citizen, with whom the health officer had no business. Also he had a father-in-law, Tut Triphagen, who was one of Mr. Belknap's best friends. Tut started something next day. It was an insult – a reflection on his son-in-law's habits. He would have satisfaction if it took every cent he had. He was going to sue Jerry for libel the very minute he stepped off the train. Our young mind seemed to grasp the fact that something had gone wrong. One reason might have been that we didn't hear Charley, in his little shop back of the office, laughing until his breath stopped. The other was probably because Tut was eyeing us murderously. We began to suspect maybe Jerry would be a little provoked when he got home, at what we had put in the paper, though he would probably see the joke. But he didn't. The next issue contained the statement that during the editor's absence from the city an item had been inserted without his knowledge, reflecting upon the habits of sanitation of a certain young man. Anyone acquainted with this young man would understand instantly that what was said was intended as a joke. Nevertheless the editor took this, his first opportunity, to correct any false impression that the little paragraph might have conveyed. Reading this, one might have assumed that the proprietor of the paper could see the joke, himself, though others didn't; but this was far from the truth. That we ever lived another minute was due to Jerry's disapproval of murder in any degree, even when justifiable. The reason we stayed right on the job was because typesetters were scarce and business brisk. As a baseball enthusiast Mr. Belknap had no equal. He played the game himself, and though he appeared on the score card as shortstop he played the whole field. He belonged to Portland's famous polo club, which was counted as the best in the state. He sole the Observer to L.F. McCutcheon in 1886 and went back to Napoleon, where he bought the Signal, the official republican organ of the county. A few years later he sold this and during the world's fair published the Daily Stockman, at Chicago, devoted to the interests of stockmen all over the country, with office near the entrance of the Union Stock Yards. He went back to Ohio and bought the Holgate Review, was elected recorder of his county, and sold the Review to again become proprietor of the Signal. Portland Review, 7 Jan 1919.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Jeremiah P “Jerry” Belknap's memorial?
Jeremiah P “Jerry” Belknap's memorial is located at: Forest Hill Cemetery, Napoleon, Henry County, USA.
When did Jeremiah P “Jerry” Belknap death?
Jeremiah P “Jerry” Belknap death on Jan 1919 in Napoleon, Henry County, Ohio, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Jeremiah P “Jerry” Belknap's memorial?
Latitude: 41.3913994
Longitude: -84.1100006

Family Members:

Parent

Mary Ann Weaver Belknap

(1827 - 1874)

Spouse

Carrie Leora Hartman Belknap

(1861 - 1943)

Siblings

Charles H Belknap

(1851 - 1910)

Children

Marian Lydia Belknap Cuff

(1886 - 1977)

Nathaniel J Belknap

(1890 - 1976)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Forest Hill Cemetery
Napoleon, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3913994, -84.1100006

2. Saint Augustine Cemetery
Napoleon, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3767014, -84.1172028

3. Glenwood Cemetery
Napoleon, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3838997, -84.1425018

4. Henry County Home Cemetery
Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4212830, -84.1506900

5. Hoy Cemetery
Shunk, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3774986, -84.0378036

6. Saint Pauls Lutheran Cemetery
Napoleon, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4061060, -84.1900350

7. Union Chapel Cemetery
Napoleon, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4166985, -84.1877975

8. Morrison Cemetery
Liberty Center, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4426420, -84.0525720

9. Gunn Cemetery
Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3306007, -84.1517029

10. Cole Cemetery
Flatrock Township, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3264008, -84.1521988

11. Damascus Cemetery
Liberty Center, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4174995, -84.0183029

12. Saint Johns Cemetery
Freedom Township, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4491997, -84.1727982

13. Bremer Cemetery
Okolona, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3863980, -84.2093960

14. Brey Cemetery
Napoleon, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3534610, -84.1991170

15. Harris-Jones Cemetery
McClure, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3974940, -84.0072500

16. Knipp Cemetery
Napoleon, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3117162, -84.1152230

17. Saint Pauls Cemetery
Napoleon, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4063290, -84.2163380

18. Kruger Cemetery
Liberty Center, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4036000, -84.0022000

19. Wright Cemetery
Liberty Center, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4464820, -84.0160860

20. Youngs Cemetery
Liberty Center, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4392014, -84.0074997

21. Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery
Defiance County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3702100, -84.2291200

22. Grelton Cemetery
Grelton, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3474998, -84.0006027

23. Liberty Chapel Cemetery
Liberty Center, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4719962, -84.0477244

24. Saint John Reformed UCC Cemetery
Holgate, Henry County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2971550, -84.1150190