David Orlando Steen

David Orlando Steen was the older brother of my Great Great Grandpa Charles F. Steen. David, sometimes known as Orlando, was born on March 9, 1845 to Charles A. and Lorinda/Lorenda Steen, in Berlin Heights, Erie County, Ohio. Sadly, David's father died when David was only a young teenager. In 1860, David was living in Florence Township, Erie County, Ohio with his mother, his maternal grandmother, and his three siblings.

Erie County Probate Court records show that Orlando Steen married Julia Minard at the bride's residence on September 12, 1868, by a Rev. William Bassett.

David and Julia Steen had a large family of six children. According to census records, Herbert and William were born in Ohio; Fred and Sadie were born in Nebraska; and Robert and Hattie were born in Iowa. By 1885, the David Steen family was residing in Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa. In 1880, when the family was still living in Merrick County, Nebraska, David Steen was working as a butcher. By 1900, David Steen had become a coal dealer. Below is a map which shows the three locations where the David Orlando Steen family lived. They seemed to move almost straight across the country, moving from Erie County, Ohio to Merrick County, Nebraska in the 1870s, and then backtracking to Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa by 1885.

(Google Maps and Kodak EasyShare Software were used to create the map above.)

Records at FindaGrave show that David O. Steen, Julia Steen, and their son Herbert Steen, all died in 1934. All three of these Steen family members were buried in Lot 16, Section 47, at Forest Cemetery in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Thanks to a wonderful volunteer at the Oskaloosa Public Libray in Oskaloosa, Iowa, I now have an obituary for my ancestor David Orlando Steen. It is from the Oskaloosa Daily Herald, dated January 22, 1934. A transcription of the obituary reads:

OBITUARY
David Orlando Steen

David Orlando Steen was born March 9, 1845 in Sandusky, O., and died at his home in Oskaloosa, Ia., at 12:00 o'clock Tuesday afternoon, January 16, 1934, after a short illness, at the age off 88 years, 10 months and 7 days. He was married to Julia Minard of Florence, O., September 10, 1868. To this union six children were born. One son, Frederick, preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Julia Steen, two daughters, Mrs. Guy Reynolds of Oskaloosa and Mrs. John I. Nelson of Ames; three sons, Herbert, William and Robert Steen of Oskaloosa; five grandchildren; one great grandchild; one sister, Mrs. Mary Hill of Berlin Heights, O., and a host of other relatives. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Oskaloosa for over 50 years. Mr. Steen was a well informed man on the general topics of life. He kept himself posted through the reading of the daily papers which he enjoyed so much. Funeral services were held at the Wilcox-Garland chapel at 2:30 o'clock Thursday afternoon, with Rev. E. E. Hickox pastor of the First Baptist Church in charge. Burial was in Forest Cemetery.


I have never seen photographs of David and Julia Steen, but they truly had a pioneer spirit. They left family and friends in their home state; moved twice while they had young children; and they made a good life for themselves.

Note: In a previous blog post, I discussed an article which mentioned that my Great Great Grandpa, Charles F. Steen, had recently been living in Lone Tree, Nebraska. While researching the David Orlando Steen family, I learned that the David O. Steen family lived in Merrick County, Nebraska in the 1870s. Lone Tree, Nebraska is also in Merrick County, Nebraska. Great Great Grandpa Charlie must have gone to visit his older brother's family in Nebraska, and stayed there for a time. It is so much fun to put these pieces of the puzzle together!

Visits from Cousins

I have cousins from the east
And cousins from the west,
But the ones who stop to see me,
Are the cousins I like best!

Today I had visits from cousins from two different parts of the U.S.! On the Parker side, distant cousin Mike and his wife Carmen, and their lovely three daughters stopped at the library to see me (and several other friends) at the library. They drove from Texas to Ohio!

Later in the afternoon, cousin Pam, on the Steen side of the family, along with her sister in law, from Pennsylvania, also stopped by the library. (Pam is on the right.) They were getting ready for some exciting cemetery visits, which is easy to do now that the Springtime days are so long!

I like to imagine that Great Grandma Ada Steen Parker and Great Grandpa Leroy J. Parker are both looking down from Heaven, happy that relatives have found their way back to Erie County, Ohio for a visit!

Aunt Alpha hosted the Steen Family Thanksgiving in 1927

The extended Steen family Thanksgiving celebration in 1927 was held at the home of my Great Grandaunt, Alpha Steen Martin and her husband Fred Martin, Sr.at their home on Columbus Avenue in Sandusky, Ohio. Pictured below are the Steen family in the early 1900s. Pictured are twins Alpha and Ada Steen (Ada was my great grandmother), along with their parents Charles and Sarah Steen, and their younger brother Rollin Steen.

By 1927, both twins were married: Alpha to Fred Martin, Sr., and Ada to Leroy Parker. Ada and Alpha stayed close throughout their entire life, though Ada was primarily a county girl, and Alpha preferred city life. The following news article in the Perkins Township column of the Sandusky Register of November 30, 1927 reported on the Steen family Thanksgiving in 1927:

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Martin entertained the following guests for Thanksgiving: Mr. and Mrs. Charles Stein (should read Steen, Mrs. Marian L. Parker, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Parker, Mr. and Mrs. Rollin Steen, two children, Robert and Elaine, Halso Brooks, Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Parker, Mr. and Mrs. Steen Parker and son Tommy, Miss Janet Parker, Harry Martin, student at Ohio Wesleyan University, and Junior Martin.

Aunt Alpha opened her home to her immediate family along with her sister's mother-in-law, and a Brooks family member related to Mrs. Rollin Steen. By 1927, Alpha had a son in college, and two of Ada's sons were married. Rollin was all grown up and had a wife and two children. Since Roy and Ada Parker lived on a farm, they probably contributed a variety of fruits and vegetables and home canned goods to the Thanksgiving dinner. Mr. Fred Martin, Sr. was the proprietor of Martin's Confectionery, which was a wholesale and retail confectionery business. I am sure that delectable goodies from Martin's Confectionery were served at Thanksgiving dinner. Advertisements from the November 22, 1927 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal indicate that coffee sold for 29 cents a pound, and eggs were 36 cents a dozen. The Erie Market was running a special sale of home dressed chickens, ducks, and geese for 30 cents a pound.

All those who attended that lovely Steen family Thanksgiving from 1927 are now gone, but I can imagine that there was plenty of wonderful food, lots of laughter, and lively card games being played. Mom always said that Grandpa Roy Parker was lots of fun, and he truly enjoyed spending time with the family. It must have been very special for Ada's first grandchild, Tommy, to join the family celebration! Tommy, whose full name was Steen Thomas Parker, is pictured below, with his parents Steen and Doris Parker.

Below is a small portion of the Steen family tree. In each of four generations, the name Steen is found as either a surname, maiden name, or first name. Today, I have a brother living in Ohio and a cousin living in California who still have the name Steen in their full name. The Steens were oh so proud of their name and their heritage.

Great Great Grandpa Charlie had a Masonic Funeral

My great great grandfather, Charles F. Steen, died in Sandusky, Ohio on August 9, 1933. After taking another look at his obituary, which appeared in the August 10, 1933 issue of the Sandusky Register, I realized that he had strong Masonic affiliations. His obituary stated that he had been a member of Science Lodge, No. 50, F. and A.M., Sandusky City Chapter, No. 26 R. and S.M., Erie Commandery, No. 23, Knights Templar, and the Toledo Consistory. He was also a past president of the Erie County Agricultural Association.

Friends and family were invited to call on the family of Charles F. Steen at the family residence at 517 Wayne Street, on Saturday, August 12, and at 2 p.m. funeral services were held at the Masonic Temple in Sandusky where funeral services were held under the auspices of the Erie Commandery, Knights Templar, with Rev. C.L. Alspach officiating.















My great great grandfather Charles F. Steen was buried in the North Ridge section of Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Grandpa Steen looks so wise. I think he worked very hard in his youth, and then was loved very much by his wife Sarah's extended family. How I wish I could have met him!

The Complicated Parentage of Sarah Nodine Milner Steen

My great great grandmother, Sarah Nodine Milner Steen, seen on the far left of the Steen family picture above, has a complicated situation concerning her parents. Her date of birth, as listed on her death certificate, was on November 13, 1850 in Michigan. The death certificate listed Sarah's parents as Henry Milner and Huldah Westfall Milner. However, an obituary from volume 14 of the Firelands Pioneer states that the daughter of Henry and Huldah Westfall Milner was adopted.























In 1990, my mother and I were curious about Great Great Grandma Sarah. We contacted Erie County Probate Court, to see if we could find out more information. The staff from Probate Court stated that in Erie County Court records, Sarah's twin daughters Ada Parker and Alpha Steen, give their mother's name as Sarah Milner, and Sarah had been born in Hastings, Michigan. Yet another birth record of an infant born to Sarah and Charles F. Steen, who died young, stated that the Sarah's maiden name was Nodine.

So...next we contacted Probate Court in Barry County, Michigan, which was in Hastings, Michigan. The Probate Register of Barry County Probate Court did not have on file a birth certificate for Sarah Nodine, because their records did not begin until 1863. However, she looked through some microfilm records, and found that Wheeler Nodine died in February, 1872, and one of his heirs was named Sarah, and was residing in Ohio at that time. Records also hinted that Eliza Jane was the mother of some of the children of Wheeler Nodine, but it did not definitively state that Sarah's mother was Eliza Jane Westfall.

When I was first becoming familiar with computers and email correspondence, another researcher from the West coast (who sadly has since passed away) told me that her ancestor Julia Nodine was also the daughter of Wheeler Nodine and his wife Eliza Jane Westfall. We made a conjecture that for reasons unknown, Wheeler and Eliza Jane Westfall Nodine gave their infant daughter, Sarah Nodine, to Eliza Jane's sister Huldah Westfall Milner, living in Erie County, Ohio.

Though the total story is not told, our hypothesis seems to be correct. A third cousin who lives nearby, allowed me to photocopy this page of birth records from the Milner family Bible. She said that the Bible originally belonged to Huldah Milner, then was passed down to Sarah Nodine Milner Steen, and then was kept up to date by my great grandmother Ada Steen Parker. Whoever filled out the births included both the biological parents of Sarah, who were Wheeler Nodine and Eliza Jane Westfall, as well as the adoptive parents of Sarah, Henry Milner and Hulday Westfall. The sisters were only about two years apart in age. We may never know why Sarah was adopted by the Milner's, and that was their only child. Wheeler Nodine and Eliza Jane Westfall Nodine had several other children, and Eliza appears to have been married three times.




















The birth records state that Sarah Nodine Milner was born in Ohio, but all other records indicate that she was born in Hastings, Michigan. At the very bottom of the page of birth listings are the names of several of Sarah's biological brothers and sisters.

Sarah married Charles F. Steen in March, 1875, and she died on March 6, 1939. She had four children, including Harry, who died young, twins Ada and Alpha, and another son Rollin. She was a lifelong member of the Perkins Grange, having been a charter member of that organization in 1874. Reading between the lines, I think that Sarah cherished her family. She had a lot of photographs taken of her children, and according to Great Grandma Ada's scrapbooks of clippings, she attended countless family dinners, parties, and family reunions. Though her past is somewhat mysterious and we do not know the reasons why she was adopted, she had a rich life, and I am thankful that she kept a record of so many of her family connections.

Grandpa Charles Steen’s Horse Named Hester Belle

In Google Books, I came across my Great Great Grandfather’s name in conjunction with a horse he owned in the 1890’s. Great Great Grandpa Steen's name was Charles F. Steen, but he often went by C. F. Steen. The publication in which I located Grandpa Steen's name was entitled Wallace’s AMERICAN TROTTING REGISTER, and the listing appeared in Volume XI, and was dated 1892. Printing was by the John Morris Company of Chicago, Illinois.





















Here is the listing for Hester Belle from Wallace’s American Trotting Register:





Hester Belle was a chestnut mare who was foaled (born) in 1891. The sire (father) was Strathbridge, and the dam (mother) was Ophelia. Ophelia was the product of the union between Strathmore and Zora. Hester Belle was bred by C. F. Steen. I do not have much experience in interpreting the pedigrees of animal, but after seeing the movie Secretariat, I can understand the excitement connected with a new foal, and the implications of having an impressive blood line. Here is the C.F. Steen family in the early 1900’s.















I only wish I could ask Grandpa Steen some questions about his experiences with horses back on his farm in Perkins Township!


















Many thanks to the U.S. Trotting Association and my co-worker Karen for helping me to interpret Hester Belle's listing in Wallace's AMERICAN TROTTING REGISTER.

Benjamin E. Deeley

This weathered stone at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery honors the memory of Civil War Veteran Benjamin E. Deeley. According to HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE, by Harriet Taylor Upton, Benjamin Deeley was born in Sandusky on August 31, 1841, to Edmond and Dora Kinney Deeley. Banjamin helped his father in the local fishing industry, and he was also a carpenter by trade. In 1861, Benjamin Deeley enlisted in Company E of the 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for three months' service. In 1862, Benjamin re-enlisted, this time in Company G of the 123rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Twice during his years of service during the Civil War, Benjamin Deeley was held prisoner. After the war was over, Benjamin worked for the railroad in Sandusky, building railroad cars. In politics, Mr. Deeley was a Republican. He was also an active member of the G.A.R. During Sandusky's Memorial Day services of 1911, Benjamin Deeley was chairman of the decorating committee.

On June 8, 1866, Benjamin E. Deeley married Jane Steen, a daughter of Charles and Lorenda Stevens Sexton Steen. The family residence was 619 Perry Street in Sandusky. Benjamin E. Deeley passed away on November 26, 1925. He is buried at Oakland Cemetery with his wife, Jane Steen Deeley, who died in 1908. An obituary for Benjamin Deeley is found in the 1925 OBITUARY NOTEBOOK, in the genealogical section of the Sandusky Library. Benjamin Deeley was survived by Dr. William Steen Deeley and Dr. B. C. Deeley, both of Mount Vernon, Ohio; Mrs. E. W. House of Cleveland; and Mary and Sarah Deeley, both of Sandusky. Benjamin Deeley had another son who was a physician in Mount Vernon. Dr. Stanton E. Deeley died in 1923.

There's One in Every Family: Great Grandma Ada and Her Love of Family Heritage

Ada Steen, who later married Leroy Parker, is seen to the left with her identical twin sister Alpha. The twin girls were born to Charles and Sarah Steen on February 3, 1880. Ada Steen Parker was my great grandmother. She and Grandpa Roy Parker lived on a farm on Perkins Township for many years. My mother, Joyce Parker Orshoski, used to spend a lot of time at her grandparents' farm. During long winter afternoons, Grandma Ada would let Mom look through her family scrapbooks.

The scrapbooks were part diary, and part scrapbook, and contained other information as well.
























A recipe for corned beef, which starts with 100 pounds of beef is found inside the front cover of the scrapbook.
















These entries from November, 1929, tell briefly of Grandma Ada's daily activities. She seems to have had a lot of enjoyable events with family and friends, in between the many tasks connected with helping her husband run the family farm. Between November 2 and 12, 1929, Grandma helped haul sand, haul cabbage, made cider, and also had the children for supper one night, and had a birthday dinner on another evening.















In the second half of the scrapbook are newspaper clippings of events that were important to Grandma Ada. Below is an article about distant relatives who celebrated an anniversary.























Many obituaries were included in Grandma's scrapbook.























I think that the love of family was instilled in Ada by her mother Sarah.(Sarah is at the far left in the Steen family image below.) Sarah was adopted by Henry and Huldah Milner when she was quite young. I think that because Sarah was loved by her adoptive parents so much, that she wanted to ensure that her husband and children were also loved and appreciated. The love and devotion to family that the Milners extended to their youngster Sarah was passed on by Sarah to her own children, and my Great Grandma Ada just kept that theme going. To me their family devotion shows the Golden Rule in action.














Shortly before Grandma Ada died, she gave two family scrapbooks to my mom, her granddaughter. Mom treasured these items, which she always called "Grandma's books." When I learned how to read, I too would go page by page through these scrapbooks, asking questions of my mom. So often I did not know whether the article was about a family or friend, and I asked Mom about the people who were mentioned in the newspaper clippings. I learned so much by looking through these scrapbooks. Now the scrapbooks have been passed down to me. I feel so blessed to have them, even they are well worn and crumbling from age. I am thankful that Grandma Ada passed the love of the family heritage on to my mother, who then passed it down to me. Even my young niece Julia is interested in the family tree. Thanks Grandma Ada for that "genealogy bug."

Here is a photo of Grandma Ada and Grandpa Roy with their children, Glenn, Janet, and Paul at their fiftieth wedding anniversary. By that time, son Steen had already passed away.













Though Grandma Ada and Grandpa Roy Parker are gone, their memories remain, and the love of the family history is being passed down to future generations.

Sentimental Sunday: The Many Hairstyles of Ada and Alpha

Ada and Alpha Steen were the identical twin daughters of Charles and Sarah Steen, born on February 3, 1880. Ada and Alpha are pictured here with their older brother Harry, who died in 1884. Their hairstyle features curled bangs.















Here the twin girls have long tresses, when they are about age 6.










In 1891, Ada and Alpha cut their hair. Their mother Sarah was so upset that she decided they should get their picture taken, to record the momentous occasion, and perhaps to remind them not to do that again! (Alpha is on the left; Ada on the right.)


















By the early 1900's, Ada and Alpha had grown up to be lovely young ladies. They appear in this family picture with their parents and younger brother Rollin. Ada and Alpha have their hair swept away from their face, similar to the "Gibson Girl" style.


Ada would marry Leroy Parker, a farmer and Cedar Point concessionaire. Alpha would marry restauranteur Fred Martin, a native of Belgium. Family members have said that Ada loved the country life, while Alpha was definitely a city girl. Ada Steen Parker died on September 4, 1956. She is buried in Perkins Cemetery.









Alpha Steen Martin passed away on March 17, 1959. She had survived her husband Fred by several years. Alpha's great niece that after Ada died, Leroy enjoyed visiting with Alpha, because it was almost like being with his beloved wife. Alpha and Fred Martin are buried in the North Ridge section of Oakland Cemetery.













It is fun to see the variety of hairstyles of these two women, who were not only identical twins, but they were the best of friends throughout their lives.

Charles Steen Wanted to Move West!

In the March 5, 1875 issue of the Sandusky Register, is a small article which tells of the wedding of Sarah, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Milner, and Charles Steen (his last name is spelled incorrectly as Stein in the article.)























The wedding took place on March 3, 1875, at the Milner residence, with the Rev. Mr. Wager officiating. The guests had an elegant supper after the wedding ceremony. The article reported that Mr. Charles Steen had been residing in Lone Tree, Nebraska. The article continues, referring to the bridegroom, "He has shown his good sense in returning to the home of his boyhood to find his wife, and the people of Perkins will bear us out in saying he has chosen well. The kind wishes of many friends will go with Mr. and Mrs. Stein (sic) to their future home in the Far West."

It may have been the intention of Charles Steen to move back to Nebraska, but he and his bride Sarah lived in Erie County, Ohio for the rest of their lives. They were very active in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Perkins Grange, and farmed land in Perkins Township for many years. They had a family of four children, Harry, who died young, twins Ada and Alpha, and another son named Rollin Steen.

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!

Ada and Leroy Parker were Lifelong Valentines

On February 3, 1880, Ada Steen and her identical twin sister Alpha were born to Charles and Sarah Steen of Perkins Township, Erie County, Ohio. On March 1, 1901 Ada married her sweetheart Leroy Parker, and they raised a family of four children. Leroy and Ada Parker had a large farm, and they were active in the Methodist Church and the Perkins Grange.

According to the February 13 issue of the Sandusky Register, on Tuesday, February 12, 1935, Ada Parker was the hostess for the monthly meeting of the Perkins Civic Improvement Club. Luncheon was served at 1 p.m. with table decorations in the “Valentine motif.” Each member of the civic club received a Valentine, and also a comic Valentine poem which they read aloud. Mrs. Parker led the program for the afternoon, which focused on the members’ favorite poets and composers and their works. Ada Parker also read several humorous selections at the meeting.

Leroy Parker had served on the committee for an all day meeting of the Perkins Grange in February of 1917, which featured an oyster dinner and a Valentine Party. The topic for the February Grange meeting was “A Day with our old Readers,” and the title of an essay read at the meeting was: “Are Farmers’ Wives as Proud of Their Husbands’ Profession as Other Business Men’s Wives?” A brief report about the Grange meeting appeared in the February 17, 1917 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal.

It seems that Leroy and Ada were lifelong Valentines, as they were married for over fifty years. Their interest in literature and humorous poems was passed down to several of their grandchildren and great grandchildren.



Descendants of Ada and Leroy Parker are very thankful for the rich family heritage they helped us all to appreciate.