According to information given to my great-aunt Nan Offutt, John and Mary were married in Cincinnati, Ohio. No factual record of this marriage has been found so far. The 1849/1850 Cincinnati City Directory lists a Martin H. Offutt in a grocery, s.s. 4th, between Elm and Home. However in the 1855 Cincinnati City Directory I have found a John Offutt that was a harness maker. As Mary's father Thomas Costello was a Wagon Maker, this would seem to indicate a possible connection. I also located a Thomas Costello in the same city directory, although the occupation listed is dry goods. So far I have been unable to find John and Mary as a family. Using the ages of the children as a guide they were probably married sometime around 1849 or 1850. This would have meant that Mary would have been around 18 years old.
Mary Offutt first appears in the 1857 Cleveland City Directory as the widow of "John S". In other years she is listed as the widow of John, Johan, or John C.; with John C. the most prevalent.
At first I thought that there were only two children to this marriage. I have since discovered that a third child may have been born to this couple. In 1880 Mary and her son William lived with Thomas Costello, Edward had his own house. In 1870 Mary, James, John (also listed as Edward J.), and William are all listed with Thomas Costello. No Offutt's are listed in the indexes for the 1860 Federal Census for Ohio. However I recently found a family that corresponds to Thomas Costello, with a May J., Edward (John), William, and a Robert J. (presumably James). Although the last name is spelled as Alford, I am certain that this is Mary J. Offutt and her 3 sons.
I base this belief on 2 key points:
1. First names, ages, places of birth.
2. The fact that the Costti listed was a coach maker born in Ireland, and one of the other people is a Costello daughter buried in the Offutt/Costello plot in Woodland Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio. I am trying to verify my suspicions through further research.
Addresses and References:
873 Bridge St., Cleveland, Ohio; (1900 Federal Census)
[1900 Ohio Fed. Census, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County; Page 8(Stamped #271]
172 Liberty, Cleveland, Ohio; (City Directory 1880)
[1880 Ohio Fed. Census, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County; Page 37(Stamped #133)
68 Hickory or 172 Liberty, Cleveland, Ohio; (City Directory 1869/1870)
[1870 Ohio Fed. Census, Tenth Ward of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County; Page 56]
55 Carroll St., Cleveland, Ohio; (City Directory 1860)
[1860 Ohio Fed. Census; 8th Ward of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County; Page 2B/831]