Snapshot of the Extended Parker and Lindsley Families at the Wedding of Delores Dahs and Richard Parker in 1951

Today my cousin Barb shared this terrific family picture with me. It was taken on the occasion of Barb's parents in February of 1951.  The happy couple, in the bottom right of the picture, are Delores Dahs and Richard Parker. (Delores has a corsage, and Richard a boutonniere.) I have attempted to identify everyone in the snapshot.

Three youngsters in front row: Chuck Parker, Patricia Parker, Joan Baumeister.

In the row behind the three little ones: Glenn Parker, Janet Parker Baumeister, Lois Parker, Delores Dahs Parker (the happy bride!) and Richard Parker, ( the happy groom.) Behind Richard is Gary Lindsley (young man with eyes closed.)

Behind Uncle Glenn Parker (dark hair) is his mother, Ada Steen Parker, then Florence Lindsley Parker, then Libby Lindsley, then little boy Leroy Baumeister, who is sitting on his dad’s lap, Paul Baumeister (spouse of Janet.)

Back row: (this is tricky) Ruth Renwand Parker, Paul Parker, Sally Parker (later Sally Fresch), Leroy Parker (partly hidden behind Grandma Ada),  Leona Lindsley, Gloria Lindsley, Maribel Parker, Joyce Parker Orshoski, and Paul Orshoski.

In the very far back, the tall man is Clifford Lindsley, spouse of Leona.

While I have seen pictures of most all of these folks before, I never saw this particular group all together! It is wonderful to have cousins who share....you get a slightly different perspective on family dynamics!!! Thank you Barb, for sharing this treasure with me!!! 

The following article about the newlyweds appeared in the Sandusky Register Star News on March 13, 1951.

Many of the individuals in this picture are no longer with us, and found their final resting place at the Perkins Cemetery. 

Note: I may have Gary Lindsley and Leroy Baumeister mixed up! The two young men behind the bride and groom are those two boys....but I am not 100% sure who is who! I need my Mom here to help me sort it all out!!

Carl and Norman Ging

Two sons of Mr. and Mrs. John Ging both died in 1896. Norman died in July of 1896, at the age of 3, and Carl Henry Ging died in October, 1896, at the age of 7 years. Both were buried in the family lot at St. Mary's Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Ging went on to have five more children. They were married for 50 years. Mrs. Helen Ging died in February of 1942, and John Ging died in June of 1942.

The Fifth Wedding Anniversary Celebration of Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Steen in 1880

This picture of my great great grandparents, Charles F. and Sarah Steen was most likely taken on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1925. While I do not have a picture of the couple from 1880, the celebration of their 5th wedding anniversary was covered by the Sandusky Daily Register of April 5, 1880.

One hundred eighty of the friends and family of Charles and Sarah Steen attended the event, which was held at the home of Sarah's parents, Henry and Huldah Milner, in Perkins Township, Erie County, Ohio. The Register article stated that "City and country folks mingled in the pleasures of the afternoon and evening..."  The decorations included festoons of evergreen, and a monogram of the years 1875 and 1880, to mark the years of the couples' wedding and their fifth anniversary. A feast "fit for a king" was laid out on tables at the Milner's home. There was dancing for the young, and social visiting for the older folks. A lengthy listing of the gifts received by Mr. and Mrs. Steen was included in the newspaper article. Some of the gifts were table mats, fans, tooth picks, parlor games, art prints, a towel rack, slippers, Bible stand, a looking glass,  and an easy chair. Several people went together for a marble top table and set of chairs for the Steens. An especially poignant gift was an India ink portrait of the Steens' oldest child, Harry Milner Steen. Sadly, Harry would pass away at the age of 8 in 1885. The baby twin girls of Mr. and Mrs. were not forgotten. Babies Ada and Alpha Steen  each received a gold necklace, as well as a pair of twin lambs.

What fun I had reading about the big celebration for my Great Great Grandpa Charlie and Great Great Grandma Sarah Steen!

Tombstone Honoring the Memory of Paul and Elizabeth Sprau

The tombstone of Paul and Elizabeth Sprau is found at the Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio. Paul Sprau was born about 1799 in Bavaria, and he died from paralysis on August 11, 1879. His wife, the former Elizabeth Miller, had died on October 19, 1876. Many individuals who settled in Sandusky were of German descent. To read more about the early German-American residents of Sandusky, see the book SANDUSKY THEN AND NOW, available at many public libraries in Ohio. 

Family Bible of H. MIlner

Today a dear cousin  has allowed to me to have in my care, for a time, the family Bible of Henry Milner (1820 - 1889.) Henry Milner is my3X great-grandfather. (Well sort of! ) Grandma Ada's parents were Charles F. Steen and Sarah Milner. Sarah's biological parents were Eliza Jane Westfall and Wheeler Nodine. For reasons I will probably never know, Eliza Jane Westfall Nodine gave her baby Sarah to her sister Huldah, the wife of Henry Milner. Sarah Milner was the only child of Henry and Huldah Milner.  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Henry Milner loved his wife and adopted daughter, and his grandchildren. In the Perkins columns of the Sandusky newspapers are countless articles about the Henry Milner family's participation in church, Grange, and community activities. Below is an ancestor chart beginning with my maternal grandfather, Steen Parker, and Henry Milner is included in it.

Such a blessing to have some time to look through this Bible! My cousin and I have already made a plan for the future as to where this Bible will ultimately be donated, so that future generations may enjoy it.  (This will be revealed at a later time.) Though he may not be my ancestor through DNA, I know that Henry Milner is connected to me and many generations of my family through loving kindness, hard work, and "ties that bind."

Mrs. Elisabeth A. Brown, Wife of the Mayor

Ohio County Marriages, a database housed at FamilySearch, indicates that Elizabeth Moore married John Brown in Erie County, Ohio on October 21, 1850. While her tombstone states that Elisabeth/Elizabeth A. Brown was born in 1819, the 1880 U.S. Census indicates that she may have been born in 1838. Elisabeth’s spouse, John M. Brown, was once the Mayor of Sandusky.  In 1880, John M. Brown was working in real estate, and Elisabeth was listed as a house keeper.  Oakland Cemetery records state that Elisabeth Brown died from heart disease on October 6, 1883. She was buried in Block 51 of Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

Alfred Chesebrough

Alfred Chesebrough was born in 1816 in New London, Connecticut. On May 9, 1842, he married Frances Lane, the daughter of Judge Ebenezer Lane. Alfred and Frances had a large family of seven children. Alfred Chesebrough died on October 3, 1894, in Detroit, Michigan. The following obituary for Mr. Chesebrough appeared in volume 8 of the Firelands Pioneer.

Alfred Chesebrough was buried in the Lane family lot at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.