Friday, March 13, 2020

Jacob Ong's tool chest!




The Historical Society of Mount Pleasant, Ohio shared the news that they had acquired this large wooden tool chest which belonged to Jacob Ong (1760-1849), the builder of the Friends Yearly Meeting House in that town.  It was in the basement of a local family, the Cleavers, who are related by marriage to the Ongs:  John Wheeler Ong (1851-1933), a great-grandson of Jacob Ong, married Clara Belle Cleaver (1856-1923) in Mount Pleasant in 1894.  According to the 1906 "Ong Family of America," John W. Ong was a contractor and builder and probably inherited the chest, which subsequently passed into the hands of the Cleaver family.  What a great find!