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Message:: [QUOTE="James Conrad, post: 4350768, member: 5066"]Williamsburg, which owns a couple of Spitler pieces including a rare tall clock has this to say about his last years in Ohio. Not quite as sad a chapter as some researchers suggest. "Sometime around 1807, Spitler's parents moved to Fairfield County, Ohio. Johannes and several of his married siblings followed shortly. What he did in Ohio remains a mystery. Like many other German-American settlers, he may have spent part of his time farming. In 1826, Jacob Spitler deeded 106 acres to his son, Johannes, who appears as "John" in the Fairfield County records. Spitler sold this property in 1835, a year after the death of his wife, Susanna. Two years later, he died at the age of sixty-two. Several furniture forms with Spitler-like designs have been found in Ohio, but they cannot be tied to Spitler's work with any certainty. The only hint of what Spitler did for the final quarter-century of his life in Ohio is a claim against his estate seeking repayment for a wide range of goods including many references to large quantities of liquor, suggesting that he may have operated a tavern. The Fairfield County probate records note that "Found in chest of said Spitler" were three books printed in German, an ax, and a spade. His estate also included a tall clock, a large chest, a small chest, and an "old chair," but no large tool or painter's kits."[/QUOTE]