Necrology of Toledo's Woodlawn Cemetery

Joseph K. Secor

Joseph K. Secor was born in 1822 in New York. He was the eldest son of Benjamin and Sarah (Ketcham) Secor and the brother of James Secor. In 1840, Joseph came to Toledo. On his arrival, he entered the employ of Valentine H. Ketcham who was in the wholesale grocery trade. He became the partner of Mr. Ketcham and the company name was changed to Ketcham & Secor. In addition to dealing in wholesale groceries, the company was known as a private banking house until 1863. Joseph Secor helped organize it into the First National Bank after the National Banking Act of 1863. He became its director and vice-president. It was a position he held until January 1, 1890.

Joseph K. Secor also served on the Toledo City Council in 1873. He was on the advisory board of the Toledo Industrial School as well. In 1850, he married Elizabeth Ketcham. They were the parents of two children.

In 1850 Peter F. Berdan joined the company. He later became a partner when Ketcham retired in 1854. The company name was changed to Secor, Berdan & Company. Joseph K. Secor remained with the company until he retired in 1888. On April 16, 1892, Joseph Secor died. Elizabeth Secor died on May 28, 1911. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery section 85, lot 10.[Toledo Biography Scrapbook, Local History Room, Toledo Lucas County Public Library. Charles S. Van Tassel, ed., The Story of the Maumee Valley, Toledo and the Sandusky Region. (Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing, 1929), pp.225-28. See also Harvey Scribner, ed., Memoirs of Lucas County and the City of Toledo, vol. 2. (Madison: Western Historical Association, 1910), p.522].