Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lindsley

Frank and Elizabeth Horn Lindsley had a farm in Perkins Township in the 1930's and 1940's. During World War Two, the United States Government took over several acres of farm land in Perkins Township, for the construction of the Plum Brook Ordnance Works. The Trojan Powder Company manufactured ammunition at this site during the war. Later the land was owned by NASA. The farmers who owned homes and fields at this location had to re-locate. Frank and Elizabeth (known fondly as Libby) moved to farm near Clyde, Ohio on County Road 177.

Frank Lindsley died in 1950. He was buried in Perkins Township, where many of his family members and former neighbors were buried. (Frank Lindsley was a grandson of General W. D. Lindsley, who was once a U.S. Congressman.) Libby Lindsley lived to be the age of 91. She was honored by the Perkins Grange in 1962. A program honoring Mrs. Lindsley's many years with the Grange was presented, under the leadership of Mrs. Lindsley's daughter, Mrs. Glenn Parker.

Elizabeth "Libby" Lindsley died on May 28, 1974. She was survived by her daughter Florence Parker, and her son Clifford Lindsley. She also had four grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. Libby Lindsley was small in stature, but she was mighty in spirit. She was active in the Mount Carmel Methodist Church, the Grange, and the W.C.T.U. She was a wonderful cook and homemaker. Dear "Aunt Libby," as she was known to her nieces and nephews, and other extended family, saw the country change from a primarily agricultural society to a world filled with telephones, radio, television, automobiles, and countless other technological advances.

Old Perkins Cemetery

The subtitle of the Cleveland Plain Dealer article (left) from March 31, 1941 reads: "Perkins Cemetery Must Yield Bodies of 450 Dead." An article from the website of Perkins Township in Erie County, Ohio, tells us that the original Perkins Cemetery was located behind the Methodist Episcopal Church near the intersection of Taylor Road and Columbus Avenue. In 1941, the War Department of the United States acquired about 9,000 acres of land in Perkins Township, to construct a munitions plant called the Plum Brook Ordnance Works. The Trojan Powder Company produced munitions for the United States Army during World War Two. All the farmers in this rich agricultural area had to leave their farms and re-locate. The Methodist Church, Grange Hall, and the cemetery also had to be vacated.

A company was hired to disinter the bodies of those buried at the old Perkins Cemetery, and the remains were re-buried at the site of the current Perkins Cemetery just off Route 250. A marker placed by the Erie County Historical Society briefly summarizes the relocation of the Old Perkins Cemetery to its currect location. The residents of Perkins Township in the 1940's thought their ancestors' remains had found their final resting place, but due to the War effort, a new final resting place was found.


To learn more about some of the people who are buried in Perkins Cemetery, do a search for Perkins at the Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay. Pictured below is the Parker family lot at Perkins Cemetery. Some members of the Parker family were first buried in the Old Perkins Cemetery, and were re-interred, but many were buried here after 1941.

Leroy and Ada Parker

Leroy and Ada Steen Parker were married on March 3, 1901 in Perkins Township of Erie County. To the left is a photo from their fiftieth wedding anniversary. The parents of both the bride and groom were farmers in Perkins, and were involved in the Perkins Grange, the Methodist Church, and the Erie County Agricultural Association. Leroy Parker served as an Erie County Commissioner from 1920 to 1924. Leroy and Ada both also worked summers for the Concourse Amusement Company at Cedar Point. One of their favorite attractions was "Noah's Ark," a ride in which you could go into a replica of Noah's Ark, and see the animals. It was similar to a "fun house,"because the floor moved as you walked on it.

During the Second World War, many Perkins Township farms were taken by the U.S. Government for the building of the Plum Brook Ordnance Works. Some farmers bought land elsewhere in Erie and Huron Counties, but Leroy and Ada did not choose to continue farming. They moved to an apartment in Sandusky, and focused on their work at Cedar Point, and often wintered in Florida.

Leroy and Ada took an active role in the lives of their families, especially enjoying their several grandchildren. Leroy and Ada Parker both died in the 1950's, and are buried in Perkins Township.




Throughout Ada Steen Parker’s adult life, she kept a personal diary as well as a notebook of clippings containing articles about weddings, church and grange events, family dinners, and funerals. These notebooks got passed down to my mother. As a young child I would read these articles over and over again, thinking about how life must have been in the “good old days.”

My Great Grandma Ada’s notebooks helped inspire me to learn more about my family heritage. Now Grandma's clippings help me piece together the chronology of events that transpired in the lives of my ancestors and their neighbors and friends in Erie County, Ohio.