Olaf G. Christie, "Traveler of the Seven Seas"

According to his death certificate, Olaf Gunarius Christie was born in Grimstadt, Norway on October 15, 1864. On September 18, 1919, Olaf G. Christie married Emelie Hommel in Detroit, Michigan. Emelie was the daughter of Michael Hommel, who was had of the M. Hommel Wine Company in Sandusky, Ohio. On Monday, May 16, 1949, Olaf G. Christie died at Sandusky's Good Samaritan Hospital. His obituary, which is found in the 1949 OBITUARY NOTEBOOK at the Sandusky Library, stated that Olaf G. Christie had been a "sailor and traveler of the seven seas." He was said to have served aboard Admiral Dewey's flagship during the Spanish-American War. Olaf G. Christie was survived by his widow, Emily, and a brother and a sister. Funeral services for Olaf G. Christie were held at the Quick Funeral Home, and burial was at Oakland Cemtery.

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!

Say it isn't so!

Bill at West in New England announced on his blog that "Who Do You Think You Are?" has been canceled for the 2012-2013 season. I am so disappointed, as I feel that the program was very informative, and certainly piqued interest in genealogy! Read Bill's post to read more about this event, and contact NBC to express your opinion.

Infant Thomas Hartnett

A record search in Family Search Labs indicates that Thomas Hartnett died on May 17, 1926. He was the five day old son of Edward J. Hartnett and Alice White Hartnett, who were both born in Wales. Little Thomas is buried at St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery, in a section which contains several tombstones of the Larkins family. At this time, we do not know if or how the Hartnett family is connected to the Larkins family, though it seems clear that both families were of the Catholic faith. If anyone knows more about the Hartnett family who lived in Sandusky in 1926, please leave a comment.

Reuben Smith

Reuben Smith was born on May 13, 1820, and died on May 16, 1900. He is buried in Deyo Cemetery. A symbol from the Independent Order of Odd Fellows is found on Mr. Smith's grave marker.

An obituary from the May 24, 1900 issue of the Clyde Democrat read:

Reuben Smith, father of Mrs. W. A. Trump of this place, died at Detroit last Thursday, and the remains were brought here and interred in the Deyo cemetery. Mr. Smith was quite well known in Clyde.

It is clear that Reuben Smith, who died over one hundred years ago, is still remembered, as evidenced by the beautiful floral tribute upon his tombstone.

Sentimental Sunday: Mom's Thoughts on Our Singing in Her Honor

In December, 1996, four of Joyce Orshoski's six children, along with daughter in law Cindy, sang "I Was There To Hear Your Borning Cry" during a Sunday morning church service at the Congregational United Church of Christ on Main Street in Castalia, Ohio. Though not all of us have a beautiful singing voice, Matt and Kellie carried us. Mom really appreciated us singing this song, in honor of her 65th birthday. After Mom's death, I went through a scrapbook that had been made for Mom by Great Grandma Orshoski (my dad's step grandmother on the Orshoski side.) Mom had written a comment to an unidentified publication, in which she stated how very much she appreciated us singing at church. Most of us had never even known she wrote about this! We miss both Mom and Dad so very much. They gave us a lifetime of wonderful memories and they set a great example of how to life to the fullest. Pictured below is Mom with Kellie, the youngest of her six children.

On this Mother's Day, we fondly remember your loving ways, Mom!

Above is the last picture of Mom ever taken on my camera, before her passing on September 8, 2010.(Brother in law Steve snapped this picture on my camera.) A few of us had gathered for breakfast on a beautiful Sunday morning in August, 2010. The next day was to be the last day she ever drove, or ever worked. Even though it has been over a year since her death, it is still very difficult to recall her tough battle with cancer. She was one in a million!

C. Friedrich Werner/Fredrick Werner

The tombstone of C. Friedrich Werner is located in St. John's Cemetery in Oxford Township of Erie County, Ohio, near the intersection of Mason and Thomas Roads. Mr. Werner was born on February 12, 1819, and he died in Huron County, Ohio, on May 6, 1902. The 1880 U.S. Census has a listing for a Fredrick Werner, age 61, who was residing in Lyme Township of Huron County. His occupation was given as weaver. Fredrick Werner stated that he had been born in 1819 in Saxony. A brief obituary for Fredrick Werner appeared in the May 8, 1902 issue of the Sandusky Star. The article reported that Mr. Werner lived as a hermit in Bellevue, and left considerable property to his daughter, who was a resident of Milan, Ohio.