According to her death certificate, Emma Leike was born in Hinter Pommern on May 26, 1875. She married Edward Krueger in Erie County, Ohio in 1902, but that marriage ended. By 1920, Emma was married to Thomas F. Larkins (sometimes spelled Larkin.) Thomas had lost his first wife Mary Louise Cross Larkins, in 1912. In 1920, Thomas and Emma lived at 1309 Shelby Street in Sandusky, Ohio. The 9 year old granddaughter of Thomas, Doris Wheeler, also lived at 1309 Shelby Street in 1920.
Emma loved little Doris, and saw to it that she attended church and Sunday School. Family stories told of how Emma kept house spotlessly, but when Doris's first child Tommy was born, that little boy could do no wrong, and Grandma Emma rarely scolded him, even when he pounded on the legs of the dining room table with his toy hammer!
On December 9, 1936, Emma Larkins died from carcinoma of the pancreas.
She was greatly missed by her beloved husband and by his large extended family. Reading between the lines, I think it took a lot of courage for Thomas Larkins, an Irish Catholic man, to marry a divorced Protestant woman. But they loved each other, and made a wonderful home at 1309 Shelby Street. When Thomas's daughter Irene was having a difficult time, they helped raise Irene's daughter Doris. They lovingly welcomed Doris's children to their home for holidays and family dinners and card parties, and reached out to Doris's husband's family as well. I only wish I could have met this loving, hard working woman who added so much love to so many members of my Larkins family. Emma Larkins is buried at Oakland Cemetery, next to Doris Wheeler Parker, the little girl she helped to raise. When Great Great Grandpa Thomas F. Larkins died in 1944, he was buried next to his first wife, Mary Louise Larkins at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Sandusky.
Mrs. Emma Larkins was survived by her husband, stepdaughter Irene, stepson Thomas Arthur Larkins, and six sisters: Mrs. Bertha Buoy, Mrs. Frank Stoner, Mrs. Arthur Benson, Mrs. Frank Mischler, Mrs. Allen Bickley, and Mrs. Ralph Stanley. She also was a step grandmother and step great grandmother to Doris Wheeler Parker, Jimmy Larkins, Steen Thomas Parker, and Joyce Parker, who all loved their Grandma Emma.
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