This tintype photo was in the possession of Grant Mottice's son Robert N., and in an envelope labeled, "Tin-type of John C. Mottice and brothers." Although the image is in rather poor condition, it is one of the oldest Mottice photos I have.

So, if the identification of the photo is correct, which one is John Mottice, and which 3 of his 6 brothers are pictured with him? Moreover, when was it taken?

William Sherman Mottice, brother of Grant Mottice, was the the fourth son of John C. and Catherine G. Mottice. He was born on April 14, 1870 and died Oct. 21, 1923. He married Mary Rose Keck, and they had three children; John H., Arthur Leon, and Gladys C.

From an unknown newspaper circa 1937:

Mrs. Jane Mottice Bowman, 64, of 912 Cleveland Ave. NW, died Sunday night in Western Penn Hospital, Pittsburgh, from a complication of disease following a long illness.

Mrs. Bowman was a life resident of Canton and Stark County and was a member of Martin Luther Church and Daughters of the G.A.R.

In addition to being County Commissioner and ruling elder of the Presbyterian Church, Peter Mottice also served as Justice of the Peace in Stark County for a number of years.

View all the pages of Peter Mottice's Justice of the Peace case log here.

In 1981, the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society responded to a request by Bob Mottice for information on early Mottices in Pennsylvania. Subsequent research by him and others has failed to convincingly associate any of these names with Mottice ancestors. The LMHS researcher was looking for Peter, but we subsequently know that Peter went from Morris County, NJ to the area around Washington, PA as a member of the militia during the Whiskey Rebellion. So it is unlikely that any of the Peters she found were our Peter Mottice.

 
This a postcard dated 1920 that shows the Case camp near Waynesburg, but is otherwise unidentified.

 
This is a reprint from an undated newspaper article. Don Mottice is third row, second from left (beside teacher); Arnold Mottice is third row, fourth from left; and Willam Dieringer is sixth row, first on left.

From a copy of an unidentified but hand-dated "1880" newspaper clipping:

"MOTTICE - Died at his residence in Osnaburg, February 8th of consumption, William H. H. Mottice, aged 38 years, 6 months and 28 days.

I just posted an obituary I found for James B. Mottice, and the facts of that obituary have left me very confused.

Let me try to explain that confusion in an, er, un-confusing fashion. The name James B. Mottice is most commonly associated with the only child of Peter Mottice's second marriage to Mary Sibert. This James B. Mottice was born in 1823 and died in 1889. He is mentioned in Peter's will and married a woman by the name of Sarah Marks.

From an unidentified, undated newspaper clipping:

"Miss Abigail Mottice was born October 4, 1833 in Sandy Township and died at Waynesburg, October 9, 1914; age 81 years and 5 days.

"At the age of 15 years she united with the Presbyterian Church of Waynesburg, Ohio and remained a faithful member until her death. She possessed a deep religious nature. In her lifetime she had many opportunities to put into practice the life which she professed. This she never failed to do with the tenderest devotion.

From an unidentified newspaper clipping dated Oct. 21, 1885:

"Mottice: --
Died near Waynesburg, Oct. 7, 1885, Mrs. Elizabeth Mottice, widow of the late John B. Mottice, deceased, aged 75 years, 5 months and 3 days.

"Again has the golden ring been broken; again has the pale horse and his rider invaded the family circle, this time claiming as his own a dear aged mother. One by one the leaves are falling. The deceased with her husband was among the early pioneers of Stark County, having spent most of their lives near Waynesburg.

From an unidentified, undated newspaper clipping:

"Grant E. Mottice, 72, Dies at Aultman Hospital

Andrew Dieringer was the father of Frances Dieringer. He was born on Nov. 13, 1843 and died Feb. 11, 1918. He married Mary Holshoy on Aug. 27, 1844 and they had 12 children of which Frances was the eighth.

I have heard the name of Jean-Marie Motice as an ancestor for many years, but have never been able to pin down who he is. I had thought he might be the father of Peter, but there is evidence that Jean-Marie was alive in 1783 which conflicts with other informal family histories about Peter's father.

But I have recently uncovered a letter sent to my father from Lynn G. Mottice of Mentor, OH in 1982 that fills in some blanks. Here are relevant excerpts from that letter:

Here are a couple of pictures of a house on Mottice Rd. outside of Waynesburg that -- maybe -- are of the building that housed Peter Mottice's tavern in the early 1800s. The photos belong to a woman who grew up there in the 1950s. Both photos were taken around that time and show her family in front of the house.

In a collection of historical records entitled, "Gateway to the West, Volume II," the section on Stark Co., Will Abstracts, 1811-1822, page 555 mentions Peter Mottice as an executor of the will of John Hewitt, whose brother James was evidently the first justice of the peace in the area and immediately preceded Peter Mottice in that office:

John Mottice, son of Peter and Pheby Mottice, was born in 1800 and died in 1879. He was the only son of Pheby.

There is uncertainty about his middle name. Charles D. Mottice, in his genealogy of John's half brother James, identifies him as John Crawford Mottice. Charles K. Mottice, in his history of the line that runs through John's son James, identifies him as John L. Mottice. But the 1870 census report identifies him as John B. Mottice, and all other documents list his middle initial as "B".

Mahala Mottice was evidently a daughter of Peter and Pheby Mottice. I have found no birth or death records for her, but I infer that she was born around 1805 and died between 1828 and 1836.

The first mention of Mahala is in the historical records of the Presbyterian Church in Waynesburg:

"On the fourth Sabbath of May 25, 1823 the Lord's Supper was administered . . . accepted were Nancy Mottice and Mahala Mottice."

• Read more

Pheby Mottice is a mystery woman, largely because we do not know her maiden name. If we only had that information we could track down a lot more about her. I conclude that she was born about 1774 and died about 1823, and I explain below how I came up with that hypothesis.

What we know is mostly inferred, and the only reference to her name is in the historical session records of the Waynesburg Presbyterian Church. On August 31, 1821, the congregation of Waynesburg Presbyterian was formed with Peter being one of the founding elders and "Pheby his wife" was named.

The genealogical search for the Mottice family effectively ends with Peter Mottice, 1772-1855. As I posted previously, we don't know the name of his father or any other details with any degree of certainty.

From the Ohio Repository (now Canton Repository), June 1855:

"DIED: At his residence in Sandy Township, Stark County on the 7th of June 1855, Peter Mottice, Esq., another of the good old pioneer settlers, aged 83 years 4 months and 21 days, leaving 4 sons to mourn his loss.

Here is a document, dated November 17, 1872 and written in German tha I cannot translate, in part because of the elaborate script.

This is a framed photo formerly in the collection of Robert N. Mottice of his grandfather Andrew Dieringer and 4 of his brothers.  Andrew, who was born in Germany, was the father of Frances Dieringer who married Grant Mottice.

Frances Dieringer was the daughter of Andrew Dieringer and Mary Holshoy, and later wife to Grant Mottice.

Ruth Mottice was the oldest daughter of Grant and Frances Mottice. Born in 1908, her obituary lists the location as Canton although it is not clear if perhaps the actual location wasn't North Industry. Grant and Frances lived in North Industry around this time, and there are suggestions that children were born at home rather than in a hospital.

Bob Mottice, son of Grant Mottice, graduated from Glenville State College (WV) in 1952.  He married Maxine Elliott that same year.  He began his college studies after he was discharged from the Army at the end of WWII.  While at Glenville, he earned a number of honors, including the ones shown here.

This first photo is his college graduation picture.

Grant Mottice and Frances Dieringer lived in the Waynesburg, OH area all their lives (Frances moved to Canton late in her life) had 8 children. The last surviving child, Robert N., died in 2003. Here are family facts:

John, the oldest son of Peter, has been identified by the middle initial "B" in some accounts, but there is some evidence that his middle name was Crawford. Here is what's known of his family:

The following is an excerpt from a letter to Bob Mottice (Frances Dieringer's son) from Lorena Holshoy dated 1-23-1993:

"Steve Shonk, who is doing research on the family trees of the Zoarites, has discovered two facts about the early Holzhey (Holshoy) family. One is that Frederick Holzhey arrived in the U.S. with the Separatists on the ship "Vaterlandsliebe" on 8-16-1817 which docked in Philadelphia harbor. He is listed among the passengers along with his wife and 2 children.

Mary Catherine Mottice Stratton, 2-15-1918 to 1-9-2000

Mary Catherine Stratton, age 81, of Waynesburg, passed away Sunday evening in Aultman Hospital after an extended illness.

She was born in North Industry on Feb. 15, 1918, a daughter of the late Grant and Frances Dieringer Mottice and was a life resident of this area. She was a 1936 graduate of Waynesburg High School. Mary was retired from Harrison Paint & Decorating Center, after 24 years of service, where she worked in the office. She was a member of Waynesburg Presbyterian Church.

Virginia Kelley Mottice, 8-21-1913 to 1-8-1990

Florida -- E. Virginia (Kelley) Mottice died Jan. 8 at Robinson Memorial Hospital.

She was born Aug. 21, 1913 in Scio, the daughter of Paul and Esther Leggett Kelley. She was an executive secretary for Roadway Express in Akron for over 30 years.

She is survived by sons James of Garrettsville and Robert of Cuyahoga Falls; brother, Sheldon of Akron; five grandchildren; one great-grandchild. Her husband, Marion, died in 1989.

Funeral arrangements were made by Mallory-DeHaven-Carlson Funeral Home in Garrettsville.

Catherine Dieringer Carl, 12-15-1866 to 10-15-1951

Mrs. Catherine Carl, 84 died Monday night in the Evans rest home at Leesville where she was admitted last June. She was the widow of Jefferson Carl.

Born in Massillon, she had lived the greater part of her life in the Waynesburg vicinity, coming to Malvern 18 years ago to live with a daughter, Mrs. Corwin Sarbach. she was a member of Martin Luther Church of Malvern and the Missionary Society.

Nora E. Dieringer, 11-15-1877 to 4-12-1962

Nora Ella Dieringer, age 85, of East Lisbon St., Waynesburg passed away at the Magnolia Nursing Home Thursday morning after an illness of nine months.

She lived in Waynesburg her entire life. She was a former sales clerk at the Elsass Store, retiring in 1953. She was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and also a member of the Women of the Church, and the Friendship Class.

Frances Dieringer Mottice, 12-8-1880 to 10-22-1967.

Mrs. Frances Mottice, 86, of 165 Poplar Ave. in Canton, passed away Sunday at Mary Grove Nursing Home after a long illness. A native of Waynesburg, she lived there until moving to Canton in 1959.

Edna D. Muckley, 6-20-1869 to 1-25-1976

Services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday in St. Paul's Lutheran Church (Waynesburg) for Mrs. Edna D. Muckley, 86, of 263 W. Lisbon St. She died Sunday in Aultman Hospital after a long illness.

She is survived by her husband, Martin M. Muckley, a daughter and a sister.

Burial in Sandy Valley cemetery. Callers 7 to 9 tonight in McCreery-Finefrock funeral home at Magnolia and one hour before the services at the Church.

Memorial contributions may be made to the church memorial fund.

The article pictured here appeared in the Canton Repository sometime in 1942. It announces the induction into the military of two of Grant and Frances Mottice's sons, Bob and Merle.

The following history is from a pamphlet entitled "Brief Historical Sketch of the Dieringer Family" by John Wiest and H.J. Dieringer. It traces the family back to a location in what is now the area of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The date of this writing is uncertain. Grant Mottice's wife, Frances, was the daughter of Andrew Dieringer the great-great-grandson of Christoph Dieringer identified below.

This Coat-of-Arms comes from an inquiry to a professional genealogist in 1974 by Robert N. Mottice. These are the attached comments:

"The coat-of-arms illustrated [ . . .] was drawn by a heraldic artist based upon information about the Mottice surname and its association with heraldry. In the language of the ancient heralds, the arms are described as follows:

Mary Holshoy was the mother of Frances Dieringer -- Grant Mottice's wife. She was born in 1844 and later married Andrew Dieringer. This is a certificate confirmation dated 1862 and written in German even though recorded in Ohio. The name of the county is illegible as is the month in which the confirmation took place. Her name as spelled on the document is Maria Holshoi.

This announcement appeared in the Ohio Repository (published out of Canton -- later to become the Canton Repository) in early July 1821.  

"Married -- On the 24th ult. by Geo. Dunbar, Esq., Thomas Rockhill to Miss Harriet Grant, both of Lexington Twp.
                 On the 28th, by the same, Mr. John Creighton to Miss Abigail Mottice, daughter of Peter Mottice, Esq."

 Robert N. Mottice, who died in 2003 at the age of 87, was the son of Grant Mottice and Frances Dieringer.  This autobiography of his is a compilation of a historical account of his childhood that he wrote while a student at Glenville State College, and personal memoirs he wrote late in life for his 4 grandsons.  It was originally recorded on audio tape in 1997.

This is a family tree that highlights the descendants of James B. Mottice, who was a son and only child of Peter Mottice and his 2nd wife Mary Sibert.  This family tree was produced, or at least in the possession of Charles D. Mottice.

This cemetery record is for the Blaugh Cemetery in southwestern Pennsylvania, about 10 miles from Somerset and just outside of Berlin, PA.  The cemetery is located in a wooded area just in back of a private home.  I happened to be there during the winter with lots of snow on the ground, and the owners of the property were not around so I did not linger long since I did not have permission.  The stones were very old and nearly impossible to read without using a charcoal rubbing.

This is a transcript of a letter held by Charles Mottice of California. It is written by John Creighton Mottice, but not the same John Creighton Mottice who was the father of Grant Mottice. The author of this letter traces his lineage back to Peter Mottice and his second wife, Mary Sibert. Peter Mottice's first wife, Pheby, died sometime in the 1820s and it is through her that Grant Mottice and his father John Creighton Mottice trace their lineage.

COMPILED BY: CHARLES DARWIN MOTTICE

GREAT, GREAT GRANDFATHER PETER MOTTICE (1772-1855)

IT WOULD BE PRESUMPTUOUS TO SAY THAT THIS HISTORY IS ONE HUNDRED PERCENT ACCURATE. THE STORY HAS BEEN TOLD MANY TIMES OVER A PERIOD OF TWO HUNDRED YEARS.  MUCH OF THE HISTORY HAS BEEN VERIFIED THRU RECORDS FROM STATE AND FEDERAL LEVELS.  MUSEUMS FROM VARIOUS STATES HAVE BEEN MOST HELPFUL IN COPIES OF DOCUMENTS.

This is a transcription of Peter Mottice's will located at the Stark County Library in Canton Ohio.  The library holds an original copy, but not the original will.

Peter Mottice Will & Testament (10/25/1852)

 This document dates from an earlier time period than his account book, and is more detailed and lengthy.

 Calvin Mottice was born in 1839 and died in 1857 at the age if 18.  He was the son of John B. Mottice and Elizabeth Cachel.

 William (Will) Dieringer (1870-1940) was the brother of Frances Dieringer, wife of Grant Mottice.  His father was Andrew Dieringer and mother was Katharina Stroble.  This photo album was in the possession of my father, Robert Mottice.  I suspect it came to him by way of his sister, Ruth Garster Mottice, after Frances Dieringer Mottice passed away.