Ohio History Connection seeks heir to Akron woman who lent antiques
Attention, genealogists. You might want to shake your family tree to see if any antiques fall out.
The Ohio History Connection, formerly known as the Ohio Historical Society, is trying to locate the heir of a former Akron woman who lent antiques to the Columbus institution during the Great Depression.
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Elizabeth Yagala Burdette was the subject of a public notice published Jan. 31 in the Akron Beacon Journal. She and her husband, Clinton Maxfield Burdette, lived in a two-story Colonial at 1754 Hampton Road in Akron’s Goodyear Heights when she placed more than a dozen heirlooms on loan April 4, 1937, at the state historical society.
Now, 85 years later, the group is taking steps to maintain possession of the collection if it is unable to locate a rightful owner.
“The Ohio History Connection hereby terminated the loan and requests anyone who may know the whereabouts of the owner of the property provide written notice to the museum,” the public notice reads. “If you desire to claim the property, you may contact the Ohio History Connection in writing, establish ownership of the property, and make arrangements to collect the property.”
The 15 objects, which include ceramic plates, glass vases, kerosene lamps and a pocket watch, have been housed at the Campus Martius Museum in Marietta. Bettie Burdette, as she was known, had family history in Marietta.
About the Burdettes
According to Beacon Journal records, Bettie and her husband, Clinton, were prominent in Akron society from the 1940s through 1970s.
Bettie served as librarian and genealogical research chairwoman of the Cuyahoga Portage Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution. She also belonged to the Indian Trails Chapter of Daughters of the American Colonists, the Akron Newcomers Club, Wives of the East Akron Kiwanians and Flowers for the Church Garden Club at Goodyear Heights Methodist Church.
Her husband, Clinton, a salesman, was an officer in the East Akron Kiwanis Club.
The couple met in Coolville in Athens County, got married in 1933 and lived in Marietta before relocating to Akron. They had no children.
Bettie was born Dec. 13, 1913, in Pennsylvania. Her parents were Carl Schurz Yagala (1878-1956) and Elizabeth Maxon Yagala (1887-1936) of Coolville. She had no siblings.
Clinton was born Jan. 3, 1911, in West Virginia. His parents were Abraham Burdette (1883-1969) and Ila “Lumma” Chapman Burdette (1887-1976) of Coolville. His siblings included Russell S. Burdette, Roscoe Burdette and Marguerite Burdette Boston.
As family genealogist, Betty traced her lineage to Maj. Gen. Israel Putnam (1718-1790), the namesake of Ohio’s Putnam County, and Maj. Ezra Putnam (1728-1811). Both were leaders in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
She also was related to Brig. Gen. Rufus Putnam (1738-1824), an Ohio pioneer and founding father of Marietta. His house, completed in 1790, was built as part of the Campus Martius fortification that protected pioneers. Latin for “Field of Mars,” Campus Martius was named for the ancient Roman site where troops trained for war.
Bettie and Clinton Burdette attended the reopening of Putnam House in 1972 after the Ohio Historical Society spent six years restoring it for the Campus Martius Museum.
“My great-grandparents were married in the parlor of this house,” Bettie told Beacon Journal reporter Frances B. Murphey at the ceremony.
Bettie was 71 when she died Oct. 30, 1985, after a lengthy illness. She was buried at Coolville Cemetery in Athens County.
Clinton Burdette sold the Hampton Road home for $40,000 in 1994 and lived in St. Petersburg, Florida. He died April 14, 1999, at age 88, joining his wife at Coolville Cemetery.
Heirlooms lent to museum
According to the Ohio History Connection, Bettie Burdette lent 15 pieces to the Marietta museum in 1937. Here are brief descriptions and catalog numbers:
• Tea service (ceramic teapot, sugar bowl and creamer). Circa 1840. (H 18041)
• White ceramic plate with white and pink flowers. Made in England circa 1840 to 1870. (H 30703)
• White ceramic dinner plate with scalloped edge. Its central image depicts two swordsmen fighting behind a small child in a white gown. Made in England circa 1840 to 1865. (H 30704)
• White ceramic plate with 12-sided rim. Made in England circa 1850 to 1880. (H 30705)
• Whiteware tea bowl. It features a domed building with a minaret. Made in England circa 1840 to 1875. (H 30711)
• Frosted-glass vase. The sides are painted with tan, white, blue and green flowers with green leaves. It dates from 1825 to 1900. (H 32133)
• Frosted-glass vase. Etched around the rim are flowers, stems and leaves. It dates from 1840 to 1900. (H 32137)
• Whiteware bud vase. It features molded flowers and leaves, and dates from 1880 to 1920. (H 34785)
• Large whiteware platter. The rim shows ferns and a farm scene of a man with cows. Made in England circa 1850 to 1860. (H 35118)
• Alphabet and floral decorated sampler. The hand-sewn sampler is dated 1850. (H 35388)
• Pocket watch marked No. 36618. Made in Liverpool, England, between 1875 and 1900. (H 75789)
• Trinket box octagonal shape with chromolithograph portraits. The Moorish-style box was made in 1874. (H 75719)
• Miniature kerosene lamp with double belly base. The hand-painted lamp is decorated with pink flowers. No date is provided. (H 78029)
• Kerosene lamp with blue glass reservoir. It dates back from 1870 to 1900. (H 78030)
• Quilted bonnet hood of white plaid with yellow, pink and paisley. The silk textile dates from 1845 to 1860. (H 75290)
Go to https://museumcollections.ohiohistory.org/collection/museum/search to view the heirlooms after typing in the catalog numbers. Registrar Lesley Poling noted that most of the items are pictured.
Where to write
Anyone claiming ownership to Elizabeth Yagala Burdette’s property should send a letter to Registrar, Ohio History Connection, 800 E. 17th Ave., Columbus OH 43211.
“If you fail to do so within six months, you will be considered to have waived any claim you may have had to the property,” the Ohio History Connection explained in its public notice.
Savannah Robles, public relations coordinator, noted that if no rightful claimant comes forward for the property, the title would transfer to the Ohio History Connection per Ohio Revised Code Section 3385.03.
The code states: “A museum shall send notice of abandonment of property or termination of a loan by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner of the property at the owner’s last known address as shown by the records of the museum. If the museum has no address on record, or the museum, does not receive written proof of receipt of the notice within thirty days after the date the notice was mailed, the museum shall publish notice, at least twice over a sixty-day period, in a newspaper of general circulation in both the county in which the museum is located and the county in which the last known address of the owner, if available is located.”
The six-month countdown has begun.
Mark J. Price can be reached at [email protected].
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