FAMILIES D-H: DITMAN ~ Josephus Ditman (1850-1934)
A review of available maps and real estate ownership records SUGGESTS that Josephus Ditman owned THREE properties in Section 20. This is suggestion is based on the assumption that Josephus acquired co-ownership to land that his first wife, Barbara Kramer received from her parents (see the November 13, 1886 conveyance listed below).
This page summarizes what our research team believes to be the location of farms that Josephus Ditman owned in Milford Twp. If you have any info that will clarify this topic, please use the link in the footer of this page to contact the webmaster.
Butler County property records show that Josephus Ditman was involved in the following Section 20 transactions.
1886, Nov. 13: GRANTOR Geo. Kramer & w / GRANTEE Barbara A. Ditman et all / 164.92 A pt in sec 21
1895, Mar. 5: GRANTOR Margaret Kramer / GRANTEE Joseph Ditman 60 A
1900, Mar. 1: GRANTOR Josephus Ditman / GRANTEE Geo. & Mary Popp 60 A
1900, Mar. 1: GRANTOR Geo. L. Hoffman / GRANTEE Josephus Ditman 174 3/4 A
1910, Sep. 15: GRANTOR Margaret Kramer / GRANTEE Joseph Ditman 60 A
1922, Aug. 19: GRANTOR Josephus Ditman / GRANTEE John W. Smith 174 3/4 A
An encumbrance (also, known as an incumbance) is a claim against a property by a party that is not the owner. In real estate, the most common types are mortgages, easements, and property tax liens. A real property loan from a lender often is secured by a mortgage. If you take out a home loan and give the lender a mortgage in return, you're called a mortgagor. The entity that loans the money is called the mortgagee.
CONVEYANCES
Grantor sells or gives
Grantee buys or receives
ENCUMBRANCES
Mortgagor borrowers
Mortgagee lends
In real estate terms, a conveyance may occur through the SALE of the land or property; through the transfer as a GIFT; or by INHERITANCE, such as through succession laws.
1913, June 2: MORTGAGOR Harry L. Kramer / MORTGAGEE Joseph Ditman 164.92 A
1922, Aug. 31: MORTGAGOR John W. Smith et al / MORTGAGEE Joseph Ditman 174 3/4 A.
1900, Mar. 1: MORTGAGOR Josephus Ditman / MORTGAGEE Isabella E. Keil 174 3/4 A.
This conveyance of 164.92 acres (from Geo. Kramer and his wife to their daughter, Barbara) occurred seven months after Josephus Ditman and Barbara Kramer were married. The 164.92 acres are the total of two pieces of land marked "109-35" and "55-57" on the 1875 Section 20 map (click the link at right). The conveyance (to the Grantee) reads "Barbara A. Ditman et al."
The location of the 174 3/4 acres (conveyed from Geo. L. Hoffman to Josephus Ditman) appears in the 1885 map (see link above and locate the property with Hoffman's name). Click the "Farm 2 info" link at the right to learn more. See related photos at Radiance Farm photos.
This encumbrance indicates that Josephus Ditman purchased the 174 3/4 acres from Geo. L. Hoffman by borrowing money from Isabella Keil.
The 1900 U.S. Census reports Isabella Keil (born 1840) to be a widow living on College Avenue in Oxford, Ohio.
The 1875 Butler County property map (see map link immediately above) shows a sixty acre tract that is adjacent to (west of) the Geo. L. Kramer property. The owner, in 1875, is listed as J.J. Watt. The 1885 map at the right shows the owner to be Jos. Ditman. See the "60 A. History" link to learn how this piece of land wound up as Josephus Ditman property. Five years later, Josephus sold this property to Geo. & Mary Popp.
In 1868, the 60 acre tract was conveyed from S.Z. Gard to J. J. Watt. In 1875, J. J. Watt sold the land to James Elliott. In 1883, Mr. Elliott sold the 60 acres to Geo. Kramer. In 1886, Geo. Kramer conveyed the land to Charles Kramer and Margaret (Mary) Kramer. In 1895, Margaret (Mary) Kramer sold the 60 acres to Josephus Ditman.
It seems that Josephus and Barbara lived on the 109.35 acre parcel of the Kramer property, which was located on the west side of the Hamilton-Richmond Road and on the west side of Darr's Run. The image of the farmhouse and outbuildings shows Darr's Run in the foreground. In the 1950s, this property was owned by Lawrence and Augusta (Liebrich) Gaiser. Kirk Mee III, a native of Darrtown, recalls that the Gaisers had installed a "swinging" bridge over the stream, so that people could walk above the water - which was particualry helpful when heavy rains forced the stream out of its banks. The swinging bridge was constructed of ropes or cables that supported planks that people could walk across.
This is 60 acre transaction is unexplained. More research needed.
This 164.92 acre transaction may mean that Harry L. Kramer purchased Joseph Ditman's part of the Kramer farm that Joseph had acquired through his marriage to Barbara (Kramer) Ditman.
Josephus and his second wife, Eva (Polster) Ditman, called this the "Radiance Farm." This 173.75 acre farm is located immediatly south of the 109.35 acre farm where Josephus and his first wife lived. The property is situated west of the Hamilton-Richmond Road, opposite the Hansel property.
TRACKING THE PROPERTY RECORDS
OVERVIEW
This transaction confirms that Joe Ditman sold the Radiance Farm in 1922.
Joe, his wife, Eva, and their two sons moved from the farm in 1915 to return to Joe and Eva's home state of Maryland.
From 1915 to 1922, Joe's nephew, Joe Burns operated Radiance Farm. The "Connections" page has a 1922 photo of Joe Ditman visiting his nephew on the farm. The same page shows an image of a Joe Burns sale bill.
Several real estate sources define "et al" as being a Latin phrase that is short for "et alia." It means "and others," and is commonly used in legal documents to reference the family or people involved.
However, James Ditman, grandson of Josephus Ditman offered the following thought in a November 13, 2021 email message: "It might be that there is no land transaction for this property after Barbara dies because it was held jointly with her sister Mary. So Mary Kramer then just became the sole owner. I don’t think Josephus had any legal claim to Mary and Barbara’s farm."
If James is correct (that Josephus had no claim to the 164.92 acres), then it follows that Josephus owned TWO, not three, properties in Section 20. The first was a 60 acre farm purchased in 1895 from Margaret Kramer. The second property, purchased in 1900 from George Hoffman, was a 174.75 acre farm that became known as the Radiance Farm.
Butler County property records may be accessed at: Recorder's Office.
Click the followng link to access Guidelines for Determining Property Ownership in Butler County, Ohio
LOCATING THE DITMAN FARMS
Barbara Kramer's parents owned farmland in Sections 20 and 21 - shown in the map at the right.
Barbara Kramer and Josephus Ditman were married on April 13, 1886.
On November 13, 1886, Barbara's parents conveyed 164.92 acres of land to "Barbara Kramer et al."
The yellow arrow, on the map at the right, points to the location of the house and outbuildings where Joe and Barbara lived, on the 109.35 parcel.
See an image of those farm buildings at the right.
Click the link below the image at the left to see a larger view of the Ditman homestead. Josephus and Barbara lived here 13 years, until Barbara's death in 1899.
The 164.92 acres are indicated by the green ovals on the map at the right (109.35 + 55.57 = 164.92).
However, it may be that Josephus was NOT a co-owner of that land.
James Ditman, grandson of Josephus Ditman offered the following thought in a November 13, 2021 email message: "It might be that there is no land transaction for this property after Barbara dies, because it was held jointly with her sister Mary. So, Mary Kramer then just became the sole owner. I don’t think Josephus had any legal claim to Mary and Barbara’s farm."
If Josephus Ditman did not become a co-owner of the 164.62 acres, in Section 20, by virtue of his 1886 marriage to Barbara Kramer, then he did become a land owner, in 1895, when he purchased 60 acres from Barbara's sister, Margaret. The green lines, on the map below, show the boundaries of the 60-acre tract.
The red lines, on the map below, show the 164.92 acres conveyed to Barbara (Kramer) Ditman, by her parents, in 1886.
The next, and last, farm owned by Josephus Ditman in Section 20 of Milford Township is depicted by the orange boundary lines, on the map below. Records show that Joe Ditman bought this farm from Geo. Hoffman, on March 1, 1900. This was after Joe's first wife, Barbara (Kramer) Ditman died and before Joe met his second wife, Mary Eva Polster.
Ditman family members came to know this place as the Radiance Farm. Joe and Eva lived on the Radiance Farm, along with their two sons, until their decision to return to Maryland, in 1915.
Joe sold the Radiance Farm to John W. Smith, on August 31, 1922.
As noted in the "Tracking" section above, Butler County (Ohio) property records, from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, list Josephus Ditman as the owner (or co-owner) of three properties in Section 20 of Milford Township.
The orange ovals on the following 2020 Google Earth aerial image mark the location of each.
Click the green and black "Info" icons for more information.
LOCATING THE DITMAN PROPERTIES... THEN... AND NOW
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POSTSCRIPT: THE SONS OF JOE AND EVA
While living on their Milford Township Radiance Farm (from 1900 to 1915) Josephus and Eva Ditman had two sons; Lewis (born 1903) and Joshua (born 1905). Consequently, the boys' formative years were experienced as "farm kids." The impact of those years spent in an agricultural environment became evident as Lewis and Joshua moved into adulthood.
James Ditman, Joe Ditman's great-grandson, provided some insight to Lewis and Josh as adults. To access James' thoughts, click the link at the right.
