Gazlay Family History
 

Family HistoryFamily History - Catherine Hartley Chase


Key:1.“+” before a child’s name indicates the child has their own entry in the next generation.
 2.“born xxxx” indicates the child is under 18 years of age so the birth date is not shown.
This family history features Catherine Hartley Chase and her immediate family.



First Generation
1. Catherine Hartley Chase,1 born 15 December 1903 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio (parents not determined);1, 2, 3 died 4 September 1988 in Dade County, Florida.2, 3 Catherine married, 15 August 1945 in Coral Gables, Dade County, Florida, John Peirce Gazlay1, 12 (born 23 May 1904 in Bellevue, Huron County, Ohio, the son of John Arvin Gazlay, Jr. and Maude Irene Peirce;4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 John died 12 February 1996 in Dade County, Florida4, 5, 11). Catherine is buried in Westwood Cemetery, Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio.13

As a teenager, John moved with his family in 1919 from Ohio to Miami. He graduated from Miami Senior High School and worked with his father raising training and show horses. John entered horse competitions and exhibitions as documented in numerous newspaper articles. He was also trained at the Chicago Art Institute and he painted many oil portraits of horses.11


  1. Email from Mary Fetter to Lee Gazlay, various dates in April and June 2013. The emails include as attachments 18 pages of hand-written family history notes containing the names, birth, marriage and death dates and places, primarily centered around the ancestors and descendants of Carl Adolph Hildebrand (1886-1965) and his wife Maria Elizabeth Gazlay (1883-1973). The pages include surnames Gazlay, Hildebrand, Rhoades, Morgan, Zehner, and Fetter, among many other surnames. The information in these pages matches the same information found in other (primarily public) records, so is considered highly reliable.
  2. Social Security Death Index (SSDI), Rootsweb (website). Gazlay, Catherine C.; no. 285-01-1499.
  3. Florida Death Index 1877-1998; available at Ancestry.com and familysearch.org, Gazlay, Catherine Chase, born 15 Dec 1903; died 4 Sep 1988, Dade County, FL, age 84.
  4. Social Security Death Index (SSDI), Rootsweb (website). Gazlay, John P.; no. 267-07-4874.
  5. Florida Death Index 1877-1998; available at Ancestry.com and familysearch.org, Gazlay, John P., born 23 May 1904; died 12 Feb 1996, Dade County, FL, age 91.
  6. U.S. Federal Census, 1910, Ohio, Sandusky County, Bellevue, Enumeration District 134, Sheet No. 1A, family of John Gazlay Jr. (28, Ohio, traveling salesman, packing house), wife of 7 years Maud (29, Ohio, 1 child, 1 living), son John Gazlay (5, Ohio).
  7. U.S. Federal Census, 1920, Florida, Dade County, Miami, Enumeration District 33, Sheet No. 11A, family of John A. Gazlay (38, Ohio, salesman, automobiles), wife Maude I Gazlay (39, Ohio), son John Gazlay Jr. (15, Ohio), son Harold J. Gazlay (9, Ohio).
  8. U.S. Federal Census, 1930, Florida, Dade County, South Miami, Enumeration District 13-105, Sheet No. 2A, family of John Gazley (48, Ohio, salesman, real estate, 21 at first marriage), wife Maude Gazley (49, Ohio, 22 at first marriage), son John Gazley Jr. (25, Ohio, farmer, 23 at first marriage), daughter-in-law Cora F. Gazley (23, Ohio, 21 at first marriage), grandson John Gazley 3 (11/12, FL), son Harold Gazley (19, Ohio, guard, prison).
  9. Florida State Census, 1935, Dade County, Precinct No. 63, Page 4, family of John Gazley (54, Ohio, salesman), wife Maude P. Gazley (54, Ohio), son John P. Gazley (30, Ohio, salesman), son Harold Gazley (24, Ohio, salesman), wife’s mother Olive G. Pierce (85, VT), wife Cody C. Gazley (26, Minn., cashier), son John C. Gazley Jr. (5, Fla).
  10. Gazlay Family Notes, undated and unpublished. This photocopy of five pages of hand-written notes start with what is believed to be the same 1852 interview of Sayrs Gazlay by his brother Theodore that is transcribed elsewhere. The remaining pages focus on the branch of the family that includes John Arvin Gazlay (1846-1911). Some dates in this photocopy differ from other sources. Transcription available at Gazlay Family History (website).
  11. Obituary, Miami Herald, Miami, Florida, John P. Gazlay, 18 February 1996, died 12 February 1996.
  12. Florida Marriage Collection, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001, John P. Gazlay and Catherine H. Chase, 1945, Dade County, FL.
  13. Find a Grave (website). Westwood Cemetery, Oberlin, Loraine County, Ohio, Catherine Chase Gazlay, born: unknown; died: unknown (from record, which also contains images of her entries in the Social Security Death Index and the Florida Death Index, 1877-1998, that provide vital details).