Family History Travels with My Mom Joyce Parker Orshoski

All through my life, my mom, Joyce Parker Orshoski, now in Heaven, told me family history stories. She loved going to her grandparents' farm in Perkins Township. She was heart broken to lose her mother at age 11. She cherished a diary that her Grandma Ada Parker had kept.

As time went by, Mom and I wanted to learn more about our family heritage. We traveled to libraries in Milan, Fremont, and Cleveland. 

We trodded through area cemeteries to find the final resting places of those who went before us.

We visited the Hayes Presidential Library, to search for obituaries of our ancestors. 

We talked to cousins, and even cousins of cousins!

Relatives told us stories, which helped us "flesh out" those bare bone statistics on vital records and census records. 

Missing Mom all the time, along with so many other cherished loved ones!  Thank you for the memories Mom!

Flora Mills Johnson Heywood

 

Flora Mills Johnson was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard B. Johnson, of Sandusky, Ohio, born on March 26, 1859.  Flora's father was a prominent businessman, active in the lime business, and he was also the former owner of Johnson's Island. In 1884 Flora Johnson married John Wicks Heywood in Minneapolis. Soon, they had two children, Johnson Heywood and Flora Jeannette Heywood. On April 7, 1894, Flora Johnson Heywood died at the age of 35. Her youngest daughter was only two months old. Funeral services for Flora Mills Heywood were held at her father's home on Columbus Avenue in Sandusky, Ohio. Two of her favorite hymns were sung at the funeral, "Abide with Me" and "Jesus Tender Shepherd Lead Me. She was laid to rest in the family lot at Oakland Cemetery in Erie County, Ohio.