Jay C. Smith, Civil War Veteran

Jay C. Smith was born in 1844 to Samuel H. and Rachel Mack Smith. In June of 1863, Jay C. Smith enlisted in Company M of the Ohio Heavy Artillery during the War Between the States. He served under Capt. Henry Bly, who was the father of journalist Nellie Bly. Jay was honorably discharged from military service in 1865, and he returned to his home in Margaretta Township of Erie County, where he ran the family farm, which consisted of 400 acres. He had a superior stock of cattle, and for over twenty-five years, he provided milk to the Ohio Soldiers Home in Sandusky.

Jay C. Smith married Alice Sewell of Louisiana.They had three children. Following the death of his first wife, Jay married May O. Palmer, and they also had three children. Hewson Peeke in his STANDARD HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY, available full text on Heritage Quest, wrote about Jay C. Smith: "The members of Mr. Smith's family are typical representatives of the best American citizenship, who do credit to their upbringing, and are respected and esteemed wherever they reside."

On May 4, 1929, Jay C. Smith passed away. He is buried in the Castalia Cemetery, where a flag and GAR symbol still mark his grave. A biographical sketch of Samuel H. Smith, Jay's father, is found online.

Love of Genealogy

When my niece was working on her family history for a 4-H project, she said to me, “My friends say that genealogy should be the study of genies!” At a state genealogy conference, my co-worker and I heard someone say she heard there were several people attending a gynecology conference! Then, this week a library patron asked for the geology study room.

Whatever it is called, I know that I love to do genealogy research, which according to the 2010 edition of the Random House dictionary is: a record or account of the ancestry and descent of a person, family, group, etc.
(I accessed this information at Dictionary.com.)

Treasure Chest Thursday: Emma and Steve Orshoski's Family in 1929

My second cousin from Nevada recently sent me several pictures that had been in a box in her mother's closet. The pictures originally belonged to her grandmother. Included in the pictures were this one of Emma (Yeager) and Steve Orshoski, and their first three children, Alberta, Paul, and baby Wayne, from about 1929.

Steve Orshoski was a longtime employee of the Medusa Cement Factory in Bay Bridge. Steve and Emma celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in Bay Bridge in 1951. Until this lovely surprise made its way to my mailbox, I had never seen a photo of my father, Paul R. Orshoski, Sr., at such a young age. God bless Debbie and the box in her mother's closet!

Wordless Wednesday: Oakland Cemetery

(Click on image for an enlarged view.)

Clifford Orshoski

Clifford Orshoski was the youngest child of Steve and Emma (Yeager) Orshoski. He married Barbara Lindsley on April 7, 1956, and they had four children, two sons and two daughters. Cliff attended Margaretta High School in Castalia, Ohio, and he served in the U.S. Army in 1954 through 1955. Sadly, Barbara Lindsley Orshoski died in November of 1983. Cliff and Barb's son Mike died very young, in an automobile accident in 1993.


Cliff Orshoski worked with his brother Wayne, for Orshoski Construction. He also worked as a cook at the Log Cabin Inn in Bay View, Ohio. Cliff Orshoski passed away on November 17, 2005. He is buried next to his wife at Meadow Green Memorial Park, not far from the grave site of their son Mike. Cliff will always be remembered for his lively personality, and gusto for life. He especially enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren.

Asa Loomis, 1775-1859

According to the book DESCENDANTS OF JOSEPH LOOMIS IN AMERICA, by Elias Loomis, Asa Loomis was born on September 11, 1775 to Ezekial Loomis and his wife Mable Bidwell Loomis, in Lebanon, Connecticut. Asa Loomis married Mary Gay in 1796, but Mary died in 1826. Asa and Mary Loomis had a family of ten children: Miranda, Russell, Eliza, Juliet, Lewis, Asa, George, Henry, Chauncey, and Mary Cornelia Loomis. The only personal details about Asa Loomis, written in the book DESCENDANTS OF JOSEPH LOOMIS IN AMERICA were that Asa Loomis was a Whig and a Methodist.

Asa Loomis eventually moved to Sandusky, Ohio, after having lived in Utica, New York for a time. Asa Loomis died on November 14, 1859 in Sandusky, Ohio, and he was buried in Sandusky, Ohio. Read more about the Loomis family online at the Internet Archive, where the book DESCENDANTS OF JOSEPH LOOMIS IN AMERICA is available full text.

Technical Sergeant William R. Jarrett

Technical Sergeant William Jarrett was killed in action during World War Two, on February 22, 1944. Though William Jarrett was buried in the Neuville-en-Condroz United States Military Cemetery in Belgium, this marker at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery honors him.

William R. Jarrett was the son of James W. and Blanche A. Jarrett. He left behind a widow, Rose Ann Keller Jarrett. An article which reported William Jarrett missing appeared in the March 8, 1944 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News. Thank you for your brave service to your country, Technical Sergeant William R. Jarrett!