52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Water

The prompt for Week 29 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Water

Do you have any memories of the sea or another body of water? Did you live there or just visit? What did you do there? You can also describe a body of water by which you live or visit in the present day.

Living near a body of water has been an important of my life, since I grew in Bay View, and now reside in Bay Bridge, both located on Sandusky Bay. The bay used to provide fish to eat for my dad's side of the family for many decades. The water also was a source of recreation in both the summer and the winter months! Growing up, we used to ice skate and take sled rides on the frozen bay.






















In the summer, we often visited East Harbor State Park for swimming and picnics.

















Great Grandma Irene and Grandma and Grandpa Parker rode the G.A. Boeckling over Sandusky Bay countless times on their way to and from Cedar Point.















Pictured below is Gram Irene with my uncle Steen Thomas Parker aboard the steamer G.A. Boeckling.






















The Marblehead Lighthouse is my favorite spot on the entire planet! Just last night, we saw the almost full moon shining brightly on Lake Erie. The waves were ferocious, the breeze was refreshing, and the lights of Cedar Point were sparkling.






















When my husband and I resided briefly in Galion, Ohio, long ago, we really missed the cool breezes and lovely sunsets made possible by living near Sandusky Bay. Water is essential to life itself, and it has always been important to me, no matter what the season.

Ernst Niebergall, Photographer

Following his death in 1954, Ernst Niebergall was buried in Section 12-B of Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. German born Ernst Niebergall lived in Sandusky, Ohio from 1908 until his death in 1954. Mr. Niebergall took thousands of photographs of Sandusky and the region, primarily between 1909 and 1915.

Local historian Charles E. Frohman preserved the negatives and photographs of Ernst Niebergall, and donated the collection to the R. B. Hayes Presidential Center. An excellent article about Mr. Niebergall is found in the April 2004 edition of the “Paper Trail,” available online at the Hayes Presidential Center’s web site. As is mentioned in the “Paper Trail,” many of the photographs of Ernst Niebergall are available online at “Lake Erie’s Yesterdays.”

An image of a camera appears above Mr. Niebergall's name on his tombstone.

Levi P. Johnson, Civil War Soldier

Levi Johnson's name appears in the 1860 U.S. Census with the household of Edward and Mary Johnson in Bay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio. Levi was 16 years of age, and had been born in New Hampshire. Records on file at Ottawa County Probate Court show that Levi P. Johnson married Mary M. Mackey on February 7, 1861.

According to the database American Civil War Soldiers, at Ancestry Library Edition, Levi P. Johnson was drafted into Company E, of the 64th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on September 19, 1864 at the age of 30. He mustered out with on June 16, 1865 at Nashville, Tennessee. Sadly, Levi P. Johnson died on July 14, 1865. He is buried at Shook Cemetery in Ottawa County, Ohio. A GAR marker is located in front of the tombstone of Levi P. Johnson.

The Beautiful Handwriting of Logan A. Snook

The image above shows a portion of the 1900 United States Census for the City of Sandusky in Erie County, Ohio in 1900. Logan A. Snook, who was also the Census Enumerator, was a a lawyer in Sandusky, Ohio at this time. He was 28 years old, and was in a law practice with his older brother William Snook. Logan and William Snook lived with their mother Nancy, on Fourth Street in Sandusky, Ohio. I was struck by the amazing legibility of Logan's handwriting, which is now over one hundred years old.

After a lengthy illness, Logan A. Snook died on May 28, 1902, at the age of 31. He passed away at his mother's home in Sandusky, which in 1902 was on Vine Street. An article in the May 28, 1902 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that Logan A. Smith had been a promising young lawyer and he was "cut off in the midst of life." Logan A. Snook was originally from Vanlue, Ohio in Hancock County, Ohio, and he was a graduate of the University of Michigan. A short funeral service for Logan A. Snook was held at his mother's home, and then the remains of Logan A. Snook were taken by train to Vanlue, Ohio, where he was laid to rest.

While Logan A. Snook had a very brief life on this earth, his meticulous enumeration of the Twelfth U.S. Census in Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio, is still providing helpful genealogical data to family and local historians to this day. Thank you for your excellent work, Logan!

What Great Great Great Grandpa Milner Was Doing on June 24, 1875

(Image courtesy Graphics Fairy)

Through the amazing resources at Google Books, I was able to determine exactly what my Great Great Great Grandfather, Henry Milner, was doing on June 24, 1875! According to page 238 of Volume 30 of the Annual Report of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture, on June 24, 1875, Henry Milner was trying to save an ailing potato crop. The report from the Committee of Farms, Erie County Agricultural Society, puts it ever so eloquently:









By looking at a slang dictionary online, I learned that "Irish lemons" used to be a slang term for potatoes. Yet another search at Google Books led me to learn that Paris green and plaster was a remedy used on potatoes to kill the potato beetle, a pest that was harmful to potatoes.

The Annual Report of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture summarized the activities of the summer farm tour undertaken by the Committee on Farms, on which O.C. Tillinghast, Jr., Samuel Nims, and George B. Richmond served. They visited several farms in Erie County, and though Henry Milner was busy tending to his crops that day, the committee concluded about the Milner farm that:

...the right man is in the right place, presiding over the best managed and most prosperous county fair in the State of Ohio.














Henry Milner was the president of the Erie County Agricultural Society in 1875, which conducted the Erie County Fair.

As was explained in a previous blog post, Henry and Huldah Milner were the adoptive parents of Sarah Milner Steen. To my knowledge, I have no Milner DNA in my blood, but the strong family ties passed on to Sarah from Henry and Huldah Milner, and then passed on to my Great Grandmother Ada Steen Parker, who passed them on to my mother Joyce Parker Orshoski, are still alive and well in this present generation! I have no idea what Henry and Huldah Milner looked like, but I am so thankful that family heritage was so very important to them. What a delight it was for me to read about the potato crop on the Milner farm of 1875!

Hayes M. and Katharine Bier Adams

Hayes M. Adams, former Erie County Auditor, and secretary of the Sandusky Savings, Building and Loan Co. died on July 14, 1937. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery. Mr. Adams was a member of the First Reformed Church, the Knights of Pythias, Maccabees, Eagles, Elks, Moose Club, German Beneficial Union, United Commercial Travelers, and the Progressive Business Men's Club. An obituary for Hayes M. Adams is found in the 1937 OBITUARY NOTEBOOK, at the Sandusky Library. Both the first and last name of Mr. Hayes M. Adams were the surnames of American presidents, which seems quite fitting for an elected official. Mrs. Hayes M. Adams, the former Katharine Bier, passed away on July 14, 1963. The couple was married in 1899.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Summer

The prompt for Week 28 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Summer

What was summer like where and when you grew up? Describe not only the climate, but how the season influenced your activities, food choices, etc.

Growing up in the "baby boom" years of the 1950's and 1960's, summer was a magical time! No school for three months, and no more homework, left plenty of time for the children in Bay View, Ohio to enjoy their free time. We were close to the beach and a play park, so we had lots of fun in the warm sunny weather. Fresh sweet corn and tomatoes were often on the menu, and evening trips to the dairy queen were frequent. We had picnics in the back yard...




















and we visited Cedar Point with our extended family.




















It was great fun to visit the farm out in the country on a summer afternoon.















As my brothers got a little older, we spent many a summer evening at the ball park in Bay View.






















When baby sister Kellie came along, I even gave her a bath on the back porch one summer day.






















As time goes by, those childhood memories seem to only get sweeter! My siblings and I were fortunate to have a happy home with parents who were devoted to providing us with lots of wonderful family moments.