Reading left → right: you are on the left, and each person's parents branch to the right — back to the immigrant generation. Tap any name to jump to that person's full story and sources below. On a phone, scroll the chart sideways to follow a line back.
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Randall O. Hartmanb. c. 1959
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Ronald F. Hartman1931–2025
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Walter Hartman1895–1974
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- Christina Behrens1859–1944
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- Adelia Luecke1896–1965
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Jacalyn Lee Masonliving
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Robert L. Masonliving
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Jacob Henry Mason1875–1956
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Henry H. Masonc. 1841–?
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- Ruth Lemonsc. 1810–?
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Jane Henryc. 1837–1918
- Robert Henry19th c.
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Stella Taylor1882–1939
- Hudson Taylorb. Ohio
- Sarah E. Fryb. Ohio
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Sylvia Mae Waldron1912–1996
- Porter D. Waldronc.1886–1973
- Ella Waldronmaiden unknown
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Janet A. Strattonc.1933–c.2015
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- Walter William Strattonearly 1900s
- Daisy Eunice Hooverearly 1900s
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Ethel Graessle1906–by 1992
- Jacob F. Graesslec.1871–1959
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Profiles & Sources
every name on the chartYou
Coby Lee Hartman
b. November 23, 1989
Grant Hospital, Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio
The person this chart is built for. Everything branches upward from here into the two great trunks of the family — the Hartman line on your father's side (German, out of Illinois) and the Mason line on your mother's side (German immigrants and colonial Americans, out of Ohio and West Virginia). Your brother, Tucker Hartman, appears among the grandchildren in your grandfather Ronald's obituary.
Your Parents
Father · Hartman line
Randall O. "Randy" Hartman
b. c. 1959–1960
Illinois; raised in central Ohio
Your father, born in Illinois into the Hartman family before it settled in Ohio — the bridge between the Illinois-German Hartmans and your Columbus childhood.
Mother · Mason line
Jacalyn Lee Mason
living
Central Ohio
Your mother, a Mason by birth. Her distinctive first name became a useful thread for testing — and ruling out — look-alike records during this research.
Your Grandparents
Paternal grandfather
Ronald F. Hartman
May 9, 1931 – April 12, 2025
b. Woodworth, Iroquois County, Illinois · d. Westerville, Ohio
A Korean-War Army veteran who earned a law degree from Capital University, ran Tree Haven Campground for 34 years, and was a member of Mensa. His 2025 obituary is the keystone of the paternal line — it names his parents as Walter and Adelia (Luecke) Hartman and lists you among his grandchildren, tying you directly to the Illinois Hartmans.
How we found him
His April 2025 funeral-home obituary names both parents and his grandchildren.
Paternal grandmother · the open branch
Joy Glover
dates unknown
unknown
Ronald's first wife and your father's mother. Family recollection gives her maiden name as Glover and places the marriage's end in the 1960s–70s. Because that marriage left no records we could reach, her own parents remain the single unopened branch of the tree — the one place we couldn't climb even one step.
Next step
The Iroquois County (Illinois) Genealogical Society, or a family lead on where and roughly when Joy was born.
Maternal grandfather
Robert L. Mason
living
Grove City area, Franklin County, Ohio
Your mother's father. He married Janet Stratton on June 14, 1952, at St. John's Lutheran Church in Grove City. The 1952 engagement notice in the Grove City Record names both fathers — "B. H. Mason" and "C. R. Stratton" — the record that documents Robert as the son of Bennie Hudson Mason.
How we confirmed the link
The 1952 Grove City Record engagement announcement ties Robert to his father "B. H. Mason."
Maternal grandmother
Janet Arlene Stratton
b. c. 1932–1934 · d. c. 2015 (date undocumented)
Grove City / Harrisburg area, Ohio
Your mother's mother, a Stratton of the Grove City–Harrisburg farming community. Her parentage is firmly documented, but — remarkably — no published obituary exists for her in any newspaper or obituary database we searched, so her exact death date remains open. Her siblings were the Rev. Jay Dean Stratton (1928–2001) and Nyla Stratton (1931–2024).
How we searched
The Columbus Dispatch archive (1985–present), HeritageHub's national obituary index, Find a Grave, and FamilySearch all came up empty — suggesting only a private funeral-home record was ever filed.
Your Great-Grandparents
Hartman line
Walter Hartman
August 2, 1895 – February 7, 1974
b. Illinois · d. Milford / Woodworth, Iroquois County, Illinois
Your German great-grandfather — remembered as the last generation to speak German, and the one who dropped the second "n" from Hartmann during the World-War years. A farmer near Woodworth, buried in the family plot at St. Paul Lutheran Church Cemetery.
How we found him
Found in the family plot on Find a Grave (under the one-"n" spelling), confirmed by the Social Security Death Index and 1950 census; his memorial links directly to his parents.
Hartman line
Adelia Sarah Luecke
March 26, 1896 – October 12, 1965
Iroquois County, Illinois
Walter's wife, of the German Luecke family in the same Illinois farming district. Named in Ronald's obituary as "Adelia (Luecke) Hartman"; buried beside Walter.
Mason line
Bennie Hudson Mason
February 14, 1908 – c. late 1990s (date undocumented)
b. Halls Mills, Wetzel County, West Virginia · later Grove City, Ohio
Your West-Virginia great-grandfather — the "Benny" of family stories who grew up near Wileyville. Born in Wetzel County, married in New Martinsville in July 1931, and in Grove City by 1952. Still living in 1996; his death almost certainly came in the late 1990s in Highland County, just before online obituary coverage of that area began.
How we found him
West Virginia Vital Research Records (birth, marriage) plus the 1952 engagement notice. A state death certificate would fix the exact date.
Mason line
Sylvia Mae Waldron
October 3, 1912 – January 5, 1996
b. Vinton County, Ohio · d. Greenfield, Highland County, Ohio
Bennie's wife, of the Waldron family of Vinton County. Her death is recorded in the Ohio Obituary Index.
Stratton line
Charles Russell Stratton
March 3, 1904 – January 9, 1970
b. Xenia, Greene County, Ohio · later Harrisburg / Grove City, Ohio
Janet's father — remembered as "born Charles Russell, later went by Russell Charles," a name-flip the records confirm. His 1904 Ohio birth record opened the next generation by naming his parents. He married Ethel Graessle on November 1, 1925.
How we found him
His FamilySearch profile holds 15 sources — census 1910–1950, Find a Grave, and the 1904 birth record naming Walter William Stratton and Daisy Hoover.
Graessle line
Ethel C. E. Graessle
b. 1906, Ohio · d. by 1992
Franklin County, Ohio
Janet's mother, of the Graessle family whose farm named Graessle Road near Harrisburg. Through her, the tree reaches the German immigrant Riebels two generations up.
Your Great-Great-Grandparents
Hartman line
Johan "John" Hartman
February 18, 1855 – July 26, 1927
b. Eagle Lake, Will County, Illinois · d. Woodworth, Illinois
Walter's father — and, crucially, American-born, in the German colony at Eagle Lake. He became a merchant and moved north to Woodworth. Because he was born in Illinois, the ocean crossing belongs to his parents.
How we found him
Find a Grave and the Illinois Deaths Index agree on his dates, Eagle Lake birthplace, and occupation, and link him to his mother, Engel Behrens.
Hartman line
Christina Behrens
June 21, 1859 – December 14, 1944
Woodworth, Iroquois County, Illinois
John's wife, of the Behrens family that settled alongside the Hartmans; buried in the family plot at St. Paul Lutheran.
Mason line
Jacob Henry Mason
September 10, 1875 – April 21, 1956
Marshall County, West Virginia
Bennie's father. His West Virginia death certificate (no. 6889) names his parents, Henry Mason and Jane Henry — carrying the line back another generation.
How we found him
West Virginia death certificate #6889 names both his parents.
Taylor line
Stella Frances Taylor
September 15, 1882 – March 29, 1939
b. Bebee, West Virginia · Northview Cemetery
Jacob's wife. Her records name her parents as Hudson Taylor and Sarah Elizabeth Fry, both born in Ohio — the small Taylor–Fry branch shown on the chart.
Waldron line
Porter D. Waldron
c. 1886 – May 3, 1973
Vinton County · d. Greenfield, Highland County, Ohio
Sylvia's father, of the Vinton County Waldrons. Death recorded in the Ohio Obituary Index.
Waldron line
Ella Waldron
maiden name unknown
Vinton County, Ohio
Sylvia's mother, appearing beside Porter in the household records; her maiden name is a small open thread.
Stratton line · newly documented
Walter William Stratton
fl. early 1900s
Xenia / Greene County, Ohio
Charles Russell Stratton's father, uncovered in this round of research — pushing the Stratton line back a generation.
How we found him
Named as the father on Charles Russell Stratton's 1904 Ohio County birth record (Xenia, Greene County).
Stratton line · newly documented
Daisy Eunice Hoover
fl. early 1900s
Greene County, Ohio
Charles Russell Stratton's mother, named alongside Walter on the same 1904 birth record.
Graessle line
Jacob F. Graessle
c. 1871 – April 24, 1959
Harrisburg, Franklin County, Ohio · Grove City Cemetery
Ethel's father, of the German Graessle family whose farm named Graessle Road. Married Minnie Riebel on March 28, 1899.
Riebel line
Wilhelmina "Minnie" Riebel
May 26, 1870 – June 6, 1944
b. Franklin County, Ohio · d. Grove City, Ohio
The "Willamina Yohanna" of the family trunk letter, long remembered as the one who "came over from Germany." The records gently correct that: Minnie was born in Ohio in 1870. It was her parents who crossed, and the trunk traveled with them. The letter's "Rieble" was simply her maiden name, Riebel.
How we found her
The 1880 U.S. Census (Pleasant Township, Franklin County) lists her, age 10, born in Ohio, with her German-born parents — the record that rewrote the family story.
The Immigrant Generation
the crossingsHartman line · from Germany
Engel Behrens
May 2, 1827 – July 18, 1893
b. Germany · d. & buried Trinity Lutheran Cemetery, Crete, Will County, Illinois
Your German immigrant great-great-great-grandmother. Born in Germany about 1827, in Illinois by 1853 as part of the German Lutheran settlement at Crete–Eagle Lake. Buried in that colony's churchyard; her sons carried the family north to Woodworth.
How we found her
Linked from John Hartman's memorial to her own at Trinity Lutheran, Crete — the German colony the family settled in.
Hartman line · from Germany
John Carl Hartman
19th century
Germany → Will County, Illinois
Engel's husband and John Hartman's father, named in the family records. The male immigrant of the Hartman line; his own grave has not yet been positively matched among the Hartmanns at Crete. Family tradition places the origin in Hanover / East Friesland.
Riebel line · from Germany
Charles Karl Riebel
March 9, 1836 – May 21, 1914
b. Germany · d. Franklin County, Ohio · buried Grove City
Your German immigrant ancestor on the maternal side — the man who carried the family trunk to Ohio. Born in Germany in 1836, he immigrated about 1853 and married Caroline in Columbus in 1857. His own parents appear in the tree as Fred Riebel and Rosina Maria Maier, though their specific German town is not in any free record.
How we found him
His FamilySearch profile records an 1853 immigration and German birth; the 1857 Columbus marriage and 1880 census place the family in Franklin County.
Riebel line · from Germany
Karolina "Caroline" Hemsline
1835 – 1902
b. Germany · d. Franklin County, Ohio
Charles's wife, also German-born; married Charles in Columbus on March 4, 1857 — the event dating the family's arrival to the early-to-mid 1850s. The 1880 census confirms both spouses were born in Germany.
Mason line · colonial roots
Henry H. Mason
b. c. 1841–1842
Marshall County, (West) Virginia
Jacob's father. He married Jane Henry on April 6, 1865; the marriage register names his parents as Thomas and Ruth Mason, pushing the line back to a couple born around 1810.
Henry line · Scottish roots
Jane Henry
c. 1837 – February 26, 1918
b. Ohio · d. Maud, (West) Virginia
Henry's wife. The 1865 marriage register names her parents as Robert Henry and his wife — and the census records that wife as born in Scotland about 1814, making that unnamed Scotswoman another documented immigrant ancestor in your tree.
A second crossing
Jane's Scottish-born mother is a distinct immigrant line, arriving separately from the German ancestors.
The Colonial Floor
the Mason line's deepest reachMason line
Thomas Mason & Ruth Lemons
both b. c. 1810–1815
Pennsylvania → (West) Virginia, c. 1838–1841
The deepest firmly-documented ancestors on the Mason line. Born in Pennsylvania around 1810, Thomas migrated south to the Fish Creek country. He and Ruth are proven by the death certificates of two of their sons, each naming "Thomas Mason, born Pennsylvania" and "Ruth Lemons, born Pennsylvania" — an early-American, English-descended line already generations deep in the country.
How we found them
Independently confirmed by the death certificates of sons John Jasper Mason (d. 1926) and Silas Mason (d. 1923).
Mason line · a lead, not yet proven
Samuel B. Mason & Mary Belle
Samuel c. 1767–1813 · Mary c. 1770–1848
Washington County, Pennsylvania → Fish Creek
The most likely candidates for Thomas Mason's parents — a colonial Pennsylvania couple of the Revolutionary generation. Geographically right and chronologically plausible, but not yet proven by a document naming both generations. This is the frontier of the tree: an English-descended family already rooted in southwestern Pennsylvania in the 1700s, whose own immigrant ancestor lies somewhere in the colonial period, beyond the reach of these records.
The First Ancestors in America
the crossings, gathered| Line | First ancestor(s) in America | Origin & arrival |
|---|---|---|
| Hartman (paternal) | Engel Behrens & John Carl Hartman | Germany (Hanover / East Friesland, by tradition) → the Crete–Eagle Lake colony, Will County, Illinois, c. 1850–1853 |
| Riebel (maternal) | Charles Karl Riebel & Caroline Hemsline | Germany → Columbus, Ohio; immigrated c. 1853, married 1857 |
| Henry (maternal) | Jane Henry's mother (given name uncertain) | Scotland, born c. 1814 — a separate crossing |
| Mason (maternal) | Traced to Thomas Mason & Ruth Lemons (b. c. 1810 PA); a colonial English line | Already in Pennsylvania by the 1700s; the original immigrant lies in the colonial period |
Three of your four grandparent lines are traced to the immigrants themselves; the Mason line runs back to colonial Pennsylvania. The one branch still unopened is your paternal grandmother, Joy Glover — the natural next chapter of this research.