Titus C. Hamilton

According to his death certificate, Titus C. Hamilton was born on October 13, 1844 to James and Sabra (Titus) Hamilton. In 1888, Titus C. Hamilton married Fredrena Kelley. Fredrena was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Kelley; granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Addison Kelley; and the great granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Datus Kelley. During the Civil War, Titus C. Hamilton served in Company K of the Ohio 130th Volunteer Infantry. Sadly, the oldest child of Titus and Fredrena Hamilton, Addison Kelley Hamilton, died when he was just a toddler. Another child of Mr. and Mrs. Titus Hamilton, Frank Hamilton, would become a well known captain of several Great Lakes vessels.

Titus C. Hamilton passed away on June 13, 1913, and he is buried in the Kelleys Island Cemetery along with many other members of the Hamilton and Kelley families. A G.A.R. marker is located next to his tombstone. Mrs. Fredrena Kelley Hamilton passed away in 1946. A great deal of family history pertaining to the Kelley family can be learned by reading the book A GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE KELLEY FAMILY, which is available fulltext at Google Books.

Albert W. and Julia Maag Schlesselman

Albert W. Schlesselman and Julia Maag Schlesselman are buried in the Kelleys Island Cemetery. Albert W. Schlesselman was born on September 21, 1876 to William and Mary (Barnhope) Schlesselman, at Kelleys Island, Ohio. According to Ohio Marriage Records, available at Family Search Labs, Albert W. Schlesselman married Julia Elizabeth Maag in November of 1903. Julia was the daughter of Daniel and Fredericka (Youngman) Maag. Sadly, Julia Maag Schlesselman died on June 15, 1906, when she was only 23 years old.

In August of 1907, Albert W. Schlesselman married Louisa Schnittker, the daughter of August and Amelia (Mayer) Schnittker. In the 1920 U.S. Census, Albert W. and Louisa Schlessman were living in Humboldt County, Iowa. They had a son and three daughters. Albert W. Schlesselman listed his occupation as Minister. By 1930, there were five Schlesselman children in the household, and Rev. Schlesselman stated that he was a clergyman in the Evangelical Church. In 1930, the family lived in Cresco, in Howard County, Iowa.

According to his tombstone, Rev. Albert W. Schlesselman died on December 29, 1948. He was buried next to his first wife Julia in the Kelleys Island Cemetery. At the top of the tombstone for Albert W. and Julia Maag Schlesselman is the inscription: "There is no night there."

James and Lydia Titus Selfe

The Ohio Marriages database at Family Search Labs provides us with the date of marriage of James Selfe and Lydia Titus as December 24, 1898, in Erie County, Ohio. James Selfe was the son of James and Elizabeth Selfe. The death certificate of James Selfe indicates that he was born in London, England in 1863. He died in Akron, Ohio on February 23, 1938.

We read in the book HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY, OHIO, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich, that Lydia Titus was the daughter of Jared Titus and Elizabeth Hamilton. The biographical sketch about Jared Titus states that Jared was "a member of one of the old representative families of Kelley's Island." Lydia Titus Selfe passed away on August 4, 1919, as a result of lung cancer. Lydia Selfe was a resident of Kelleys Island, but she died in Sandusky, Ohio.

James and Lydia Selfe are buried in the Kelleys Island Cemetery. Their tombstone was created by Conrad Keim. The following article about the Selfe tombstone appeared in the August 4, 1920 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal. It describes the Easter lilies that were carved onto the stone as "the wonderful effects of a chisel in a trained hand." Conrad Keim signed his work in block letters that read C. Keim. You can see his name on the upper right portion of the base of the Selfe monument. (Click on the image for a close up view.)























The marker next to the tombstone of James and Lydia Selfe was placed there by the Womens Benefit Association of the MacCabees, #320, according to the inscriptions of the Kelleys Island Cemetery which are available at U.S. GenWeb Archives.

Kelleys Island Cemetery

The Kelleys Island Cemetery is found on Division Street in Kelleys Island, an island in Lake Erie, just north of the Marblehead peninsula. Many members of the Kelley family and Himmelein family are buried in the Kelleys Island Cemetery.
























Though now they are privately owned, the Kelley Mansion and Himmelein house can still be seen on the island today.

This monument which honors the Bauman family was created by Sandusky resident Conrad Keim. (Click for an enlarged view. Keim's name is found on the upper right side of the base of the stone.)























The Estes family lot has lovely floral tributes during the summer months.

















A listing of inscriptions for the Kelleys Island Cemetery is found online at the U.S. GenWeb Archives. Several items of interest relating to Kelleys Island historical individuals, places, and businesses are featured at the website of the Kelleys Island Historical Association.