Isa Musetta Heavilin’s young life, shaped by deep county roots and new beginnings, ended in a Christmas mystery.
Isa Musetta Heavlin (1874-1895) was born in Stock Township, Harrison County, Ohio in February 1874. She was the second child born to farmer William Heavilin (1848-1916) and his wife Mary Ann Layport (1849-1929) who were married in Harrison County, Ohio in 1869. The families of William Heavilin and Mary Layport arrived in Jefferson and Harrison Counties in the early 1800s before both settled in Stock Township, Harrison County by the time the 1850 census was taken. William’s father passed away in 1853 and he, a brother, and his mother appear together in the 1860 census. Mary’s father also passed away during the 1850s and she resided with her mother, a sibling and a roomer in the same census.
William and Mary Heavilin had six children by 1890 and, while they lived in Harrison County for most of their early lives, relocated to Dennison, Ohio in the early 1890s. William sought work in the railroad shops and, by 1895, had risen to the role of Car Inspector at the Dennison Shop. The Heavilins, along with four of their daughters, lived in a home on North Second Street in Dennison. Isa Heavilin, in December 1895, was due to marry a railroad foreman on the Pan-Handle Railroad named Perry Wilson later that month. The couple received their marriage license on December 15, 1895 but had not yet married when the Christmas holiday arrived. It was a marriage that would never take place.
Map of Stock Township, Harrison County, Ohio, 1875. (Source: ancestry.com) 
Marriage of William Heavilin and Mary Layport recorded in the Harrison County records, September 1869. (Source: familysearch.org) 
Birth of Isa Musetta Heavilin recorded in the Harrison County, Ohio records, February 1874. (Source: familysearch.org)
It was on Christmas Day in 1895 that the Heavilin’s Dennison home was struck by sudden tragedy. That afternoon, Isa went upstairs to dress after dinner but never came back downstairs. When she failed to return, Mary Heavilin went upstairs to check on her daughter and discovered Isa’s lifeless body in front of the fireplace in her room, nearly unclothed, with a bowl of water and toiletries by her side. There was no obvious evidence in the room to suggest what happened to Isa and Isa’s fiancé was downstairs at the time of her death with the other Heavilin family members.
Suspicion though quickly surrounded the circumstances of Isa’s death. Dr. L. H. Hughes (1852-1924), called to the scene, found troubling signs and recommended an inquest. The county coroner, Dr. Orin S. Welty (1852-1930), with the assistance of Dr. Hughes, conducted a post mortem examination. The two men were unable to determine Isa’s cause of death. They even went so far as to send the young woman’s stomach to prominent pharmacology expert, and New Philadelphia born, Professor James H. Beal (1861-1945) of Scio College to analyze for possible poisoning. Nothing discovered provided any insight into the cause of her death.
Newspapers across the state picked up the story of the mysterious Christmas-day death of Isa Heavilin. While the family and community waited for answers, funeral services for Isa were held at the Heavilin residence on evening of the day after Christmas, and the following morning she was buried. Despite their best efforts, the county coroner was unable to confirm Isa’s cause of death. This uncertainty led to a growing suspicion in the community of foul play, though no investigation was ever undertaken. The untimely loss of Isa Heavilin remains a somber Christmas mystery that cast a shadow over the holiday season in Dennison in 1895.
Postcard image of Second Street in Dennison, Ohio, c. 1910. (Source: ebay.com) 
New Philadelphia, Ohio newspaper article on the mysterious death of Isa Musetta Heavilin, January 1896. (Source: newspaperarchive.com) 
Isa Musetta Heavilin’s death recorded in the Tuscarawas County records, December 1895. (Source: familysearch.org)
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