Forrest and Irene (Sexton) Parker

Irene Sexton Parker was my half first cousin three times removed, according to the Kinship Report of my Family TreeMaker database. Irene's parents were Merritt Sexton and Sarah J. Milner Sexton. Irene and I can both trace our roots back to Lorinda Stevens. Irene was the granddaughter of Lorinda/Lorenda Stevens Sexton and her first husband Martin Sexton. After Martin died of milk sickness in 1841, Lorinda married my ancestor, Charles Steen. Erie County Probate Records record the date of the marriage of Forrest Franklin Parker and Irene Rosella Sexton as June 22, 1898. By the time of the 1900 U.S. Census, Forrest and Irene Parker were residing in Boston, where Forrest was working as a teamster. In 1900, they had a young son, Forrest Sexton Parker. Irene Sexton Parker passed away in Toledo, Ohio on March 12, 1924. Forrest F. Parker died on April 6, 1935. Mr. and Mrs. Forrest F. Parker were buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

Capt. Merritt Sexton and Sarah Milner Sexton

A biographical sketch of Merritt Sexton is found in HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE, by Harriet Taylor Upton. Merritt Sexton was the son of Martin Sexton and Lorenda Stevens Sexton, born in Berlin Township, Erie County, Ohio on February 1, 1838. In 1861, Merritt Sexton enlisted in Company G of the 72nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Merritt was seriously wounded at the Battle of Shiloh, but he recovered, and he was eventually commissioned as Captain of Company F. of the 72nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

In 1866, Merritt Sexton married Sarah Milner, a daughter of Thomas and Ann Bowser Milner. Mr. and Mrs. Sexton farmed for many years, and then Merritt worked for the gas company for thirty-three years. Merritt Sexton was a member of the G.A.R., and Sarah Milner Sexton was a member of the Woman's Relief Corps. Merritt Sexton died on June 30, 1912. Mrs. Sarah Milner Sexton died on November 10, 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Sexton are buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

Lorinda Stevens Sexton Steen

According to records at FamilySearch, Lorenda Stevens was born in Lima, New York, on December 26, 1809. (Some sources list her first name as Lorinda.) Page 1550 of HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE, tells us that Lorinda’s father, Thomas Stevens, settled in Berlin Heights around 1818. Thomas Stevens was an early school teacher in Berlin Heights. Lorenda’s first husband, Martin Sexton, died of milk sickness in 1841. Lorinda and Martin’s son, Merritt Sexton, served in the 72nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. Lorinda Stevens Sexton married Charles Armstrong Steen, a native of Armagh, Ireland, in 1842. They had four children: Eliza Jane, David, Mary, and Charles F. Steen. In 1858, Charles and Lorinda Steen sold their property, and intended to move the family to Kansas, but Charles A. Steen was robbed and murdered, before the move ever took place. Lorinda was left a widow with her youngest child not even one year old. Lorinda’s elderly mother, Sally Stevens, lived with the family until her death in about 1860. In some Steen family papers, an article dated February 19, 1890, featured an obituary of Mrs. Lorinda Stevens, entitled “Another Pioneer Gone.” The article stated that Lorinda had come to Erie County in 1816, when there were only one or two buildings in Sandusky, and much of the county was “a howling wilderness. Mrs. Steen during her more than three score years and ten of residence the county witnessed a wonderful transformation.” Lorinda/Lorenda Stevens Sexton Steen is buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Thanks to my oldest grandson Ty for helping me locate this tombstone at Oakland!