New Article At the Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal

"The Last Ride" by the History Hare is available at the Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal. Click here to read this interesting article which is presented in an attractive digital magazine format.

Helen Toucey Taylor

The name of Helen H. Toucey (spelled Hellen H. Tousey in the census) appears in the 1850 U.S. Census for Fairfield County, Connecticut, with the family of Jacob and Eunice Tousey/Toucey. The IGI portion of FamilySearch provides this birth record:

Helen Hildreth Toucey was born to Jacob Beers Toucey and Eunice Burr Clarke on December 11, 1849 in Newtown, Connecticut. Her death date is listed as January 29, 1885.


THE TOUSEY FAMILY IN AMERICA, available at The Internet Archive, states that Helen Hildreth Tousey married William Nice Taylor on September 15, 1875. They had a daughter, Eunice May Taylor, who was born in 1883. Eunice May Taylor married Garfield Rogers.

Mrs. Helen Toucey Taylor is buried at the North Monroeville Cemetery. Her tombstone is elevated, supported by four legs. It would be interesting to know more details about her life, and learn what brought her to Ohio from Connecticut.

Video Clip about Arlington Cemetery on C-Span2

Image Courtesy of U.S.G.S.

Robert Poole discusses his book ON HALLOWED GROUND: THE STORY OF ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY in this video clip from Book TV, on C-SPAN2.

Click here to view the clip.

Frank B. Butler

Frank B. Butler was one of five sons born to Samuel W. Butler and Clarissa Boalt Butler. As a young man, Samuel settled in Venice, Ohio, where he operated a grist mill. Later, he moved to Sandusky, where he operated a large commission business. (See article 18 of Helen Hansen's book AT HOME IN EARLY SANDUSKY to read more about the Butler family and their former home on Wayne Street in Sandusky.)

For several years, Frank Butler worked as a cashier in his brother's business, George R. Butler & Co. The firm manufactured doors and sashes. Frank's brother John M. Butler married Sarah Cooke, a daughter of Civil War financier Jay Cooke. Frank was mentioned in the book entitled LETTERS HOME. During his service in the Civil War, Jay Caldwell Butler wrote letters home, and his son later compiled the letters written to and received by Jay Caldwell Butler. In his letters, Jay told of how he missed his brothers back at home in Sandusky.

After a lengthy illness, Frank B. Butler died in Manitou Springs, Colorado, on January 25, 1899. He had gone west in hope of improving his health. An obituary for Frank Butler, from the January 31, 1899 Sandusky Register. reported on Frank Butler's funeral: "The deceased was well and favorably known and many friends attended..." Rev. Claude Kelly conducted the funeral service, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery. Mrs. Anabel Butler died in 1912, and she is also buried at Oakland.

"Blogger's Best Friend Award"

Thank you so much, Linda, at the Flipside, for the "Blogger's Best Friend Award!" I had worked all day, and also had a challenging evening with two very active grandchildren, so it was a very nice surprise.

"Bandit," the developer of the "A Blogger's Best Friend Award," says it should be given to your most loyal blog readers. Thus, the award should be given to a follower of yours who takes the time to comment regularly on many of your posts. In addition his or her blog should be creative, funny and always entertaining. Upon receiving this award, pass it along to two fellow bloggers who fit this criteria.

I am passing along the "Blogger's Best Friend Award" to:

Southern Graves

and

All My Branches Genealogy

Congratulations, fellow bloggers!

New Article at Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal

An excellent article entitled Churchyard Literature: A Short Essay on Epitaphs by Stephanie Lincecum is now available at the Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal.

The epitaph pictured above is located on the back of the tombstone for Jay C. Smith, who died in 1928. He is buried at the Castalia Cemetery in Erie County, Ohio.

Tombstone Tuesday

Carl Franz is buried at Sandusky's Oakland Cemtery. THE ERIE COUNTY, OHIO CEMETERY CENSUS BEFORE 1909 lists these dates of birth and death for Carl:

born March 26, 1826
died Jan. 18, 1864


Clasped hands are at the top of the tombstone of Carl Franz, indicating a welcome to the heavenly realm. Mr. Franz's inscription is in the German language.

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy: Week 2

A prompt from We Tree, "52 Weeks to Better Genealogy," hosted by Geneabloggers, has challenged bloggers to examine the local history, archives and/or special collections section. A library that Ohio genealogists, Graveyard Rabbits, and anyone researching their family heritage would find helpful is the Sandusky Library, close to the shores of Sandusky Bay in Erie County, Ohio. The Sandusky Library is dear to my heart, as I have worked there on and off since I was age 18 years old. (Let’s just say that I began working there long ago….) The items that I find especially helpful for local history and genealogy are:

High School Yearbooks

Sandusky City Directories

Bound issues of the Firelands Pioneer, which features journal articles about early Erie and Huron County residents.

The many computers housed in the Lower Level of the Sandusky Library provide access to Ancestry Library Edition as well as Heritage Quest.

The Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library houses a multitude of photographs

as well as

newspapers, local government records, and cemetery records on microfilm.

The Sandusky Library features a local history blog.

The Follett House Museum has several multimedia links.

Another library that is close to Erie County is the Library of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center at Spiegel Grove in Fremont, Ohio. The library has an amazing local history and genealogy collection.

The Obituary Index, housed at the website of the Hayes Presidential Center is invaluable for anyone looking for obituaries in Ohio.

Consider visiting these libraries in you are in the northern section of Ohio, but if you cannot go there in person, stop by their web sites.

Peter Bruckner

According to the 1880 U.S. Census for Erie County, Ohio, Peter Bruckner was born in 1849 in Baden. His wife, Alice Elizabeth (called Lizzie in the 1880 Census, was born in Hesse about 1850. Their children were: George, John, Lizzie, and Cora.

On January 17, 1900, Peter Bruckner died in a fatal accident. He was working for contractor George Feick, in tearing down a building at the old Hodgman factory on the east side of Sandusky. Large pieces of a stone wall fell on Mr. Bruckner.Several workers dug Peter out of the debris, but he died before medical help arrived. Funeral services for Peter Bruckner were held at the family home at 913 Franklin Street. Burial was at Oakland Cemetery. Pallbearers were lodge members from the Knights of the Maccabees. They were: George H. Smith, H. J. Rudolph, John Miller, Charles Metzger, Conrad Market and Louis Ley.

A touching tribute to Peter Bruckner appeared in the September 25, 1900 issue of the Sandusky Register:

IN MEMORY OF UNCLE PETER BRUCKNER

Dear uncle has gone to dwell
With him who gave,
Another quiet happy home
Is shadowed by the grave.

God needed one more angel there
Amid his shining land.
And so he bent with loving care
And clasped our uncle's hand.

We'll miss him when the winter's wind
The leafless branches wave,
And winter's icy, gleaming snow,
Drifts o'er his silent grave.

We'll miss him at the fireside,
We'll miss him at his home,
We'll miss him everywhere we go,
No matter where we roam.

He's sleeping now the sleep of Death
Within the silent grave.
Peaceful be his quiet rest
From life's tumultous wave.

It was a kindly father's hand
Which led him from earth's strife,
But not the wall which quickly fell
Upon dear uncle's life.

Then weep not for the blighted flower
Whom every one has loved.
But think of what a happy home
Dear uncle has above.

The angels in that shining world
Have twined for him a wreath.
He waits for us upon the shore
Beyond the wave of death.

His niece, K.M.S.

Searching for Julius House at Google Books

Julius House is an ancestor on my great grandfather's maternal line. He was an early settler in Erie County, Ohio, and he is buried in Perkins Cemetery. I accidentally stumbled upon more details about his life when I was researching someone else in Google Books.

In the book A WESTERN PIONEER, OR, INCIDENTS OF THE LIFE AND TIMES OF REV. ALFRED BRUNSON, available full text online, I came across this vivid description of my ancestor’s faith and devotion as a leading layman in the Perkins Methodist Church in the early years of the nineteenth century in the Firelands.



(Note: The last name House is misspelled Houre in this passage, but the name of Julius House is correctly spelled in the listing of topics for Chapter 10.)

In a report of Ohio Supreme Court Decisions, I read about a court case in which Julius House disagreed with John Beatty over a land contract. Names of the lawyers, the judge, neighbors of the House family, and details giving key dates and a description of improvements made on my ancestor’s land were all given in this case. A portion of the case summary appears below:


I encourage you to go to Google Books and search for your ancestors. You may be pleasantly surprised!

Happy 101 Award

Today the Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay received the "Happy 101 Award" from Becky at Grace and Glory. Thanks so much Becky! When one is given this award, the recipient then is to:

1. list 10 things that make him/her happy

and also

2. list 10 blogs to which this award is passed on.

Ten things that make me happy include:

1. Spending time with my children and grandchildren

2. Going on day trips with my husband

3. Seeing a movie with the girls from work

4. Helping library patrons find the answers to their questions

5. Seeing my many nieces and nephews at family gatherings

6. Hearing my siblings talk about their memories of our dad

7. Listening to my mom share her childhood memories

8. Visiting the Marblehead Lighthouse or the R. B. Hayes Presidential Center

9. Going to cemeteries, and learning more about the people who are buried there

10. Remembering the many conversations shared with my 96 year old neighbor, and the infinite wisdom she imparted.

I would now like to pass on the "Happy 101 Award" to these ten bloggers:

In Deeds
Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories
Flipside
Saturday's Child
The Graveyard Detective
Untangled Family Roots
The Ties That Bind
Greta's Genealogy Bog
Genealogy Fun
Cemeteries and Cemetery Symbols

Have fun visiting these blogs! And happy hunting in your family tree research!

George W. Compton

The inscription on the tombstone for George W. Compton, who is buried at Graves Cemetery in Margaretta Township, Erie County, Ohio is:

George W.
son of
D. & S. Compton
Died Jan. 9, 1865
Aged 2 yrs. 10 mos. 18 d.

"Little George so bright and blest
Early sought his heavenly rest"

A lamb adorns the top of George's tombstone.

Francis Strong Tombstone

A biographical sketch of Deacon Francis Strong is found on page 454 in THE HISTORY OF THE DESCENDANTS OF ELDER JOHN STRONG, OF NORTHAMPTON, MASS., by Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight, available found full text on the database Heritage Quest. (Many public libraries have a subscription to this outstanding genealogical resource.)

Francis Strong was the son of Ozias Strong and Susannah West. He was born in Lee, Massachusetts on October 24, 1770. In 1794, Francis Strong married Susannah Cogswell, the daughter of Nation Cogswell and Sarah Cole. Francis Strong was a farmer in Homer, New York, and moved to Lyme Township, Huron County, Ohio about 1815. Mrs. Susannah Cogwell Strong died on November 13, 1811. Francis Strong married Mary Curtiss, of Homer, New York, in April 1912.

The children of Francis and Susannah Cogswell Strong were:

Hannah Strong, born 1795
Solomon Strong, born 1797
Chloe Strong, born 1799
Asahel Strong, born 1800
Lyman Strong, born 1802
Selina Strong, born 1806
Zadoc Strong, born 1808

The children of Francis and Mary Curtiss Strong were:

Susannah Cogswell Strong, born 1813
Francis Curtiss Strong, born 1814
Mary Ann Strong, born 1817

Francis Strong died at Lyme Township on January 8, 1845. He is buried in Strong's Ridge Cemetery with his first wife Susannah, his second wife Mary, and a child Francis Curtiss/Curtis Strong.

Susannah Cogswell Strong is one the pioneer women discussed in A Memorial to the Pioneer Women of the Western Reserve, edited by Gertrude Van Rensselear Wickham. The portion of this book which discusses the women of Lyme Township has been reprinted online.

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.

Frohman Family Monument at Oheb Shalom Cemetery

At Sandusky’s Oheb Shalom Cemetery is a lovely monument which honors several members of the David Frohman family.
Names on the monument are:

David Frohman
b. Jan. 14, 1834; d. Jan. 1, 1888
Rachel Frohman
b. May 15, 1838;d.Jan. 1, 1893
Jacob Frohman
b. May 15, 1860; d. April 22, 1915
George Frohman, b. Dec. 16, 1862;
d. Feb. 20, 1937
Charles Frohman
b. Nov. 25, 1867; d. Jan. 7, 1894
Emma Frohman
b. Sept. 13, 1869; d. Feb. 11, 1897

An Odd Fellows symbol with three interconnecting links is found above the name of David Frohman.

An entry at Family Search’s Ancestral File indicates that David Frohman was the son of Gerson and Regina Frohman. David Frohman married Rachel Strauss in 1857. According to David Frohman’s obituary, which appeared in the January 4, 1888 issue of the Sandusky Register, he was born on June 14, 1834 at Frankfort-on-the Main, Germany. As of 1888 he had resided in Sandusky for thirty-two years.

The article continued that David Frohman “was a well known citizen, and had a wide circle of friends, being a genial, bright and active man, with a pleasant look and word for every one. He was a prominent Odd Fellow, and was repeatedly honored with official position in that order, active in promoting its interests and its good work not only here in this city but throughout the State.” Mr. Frohman died on January 2, 1888 and he left behind a wife and nine children, the youngest child being only seven years old. His funeral was held on January 4, 1888 at his residence at 219 Lawrence Street.

The youngest child of David Frohman was Sidney Frohman. Articles in the historical files at the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library report that Sidney Frohman was known as the “dean” of the corrugated box industry. He served as president of the Hinde and Dauch Company for 34 years, and was chairman of the board for seven years. Sidney Frohman was also a great philanthropist. The planetarium at the Sandusky High School is named for him, as is the floral clock in Sandusky’s Washington Park. The Sidney Frohman Foundation continues to provide grants to educational institutions in Ohio.

David Frohman’s grandson, Charles E. Frohman, was a lawyer, historian, and author of several local history books. Several books by Charles E. Frohman pertaining to Sandusky, Erie County, Cedar Point, and the Lake Erie Islands are available at Sandusky Library. Mr. Frohman’s collection of photographs, manuscripts, and books are housed at the library of the R. B. Hayes Presidential Center.

Also named Charles Frohman, the nephew of David Frohman was a theatrical manager who was born in Sandusky but moved to New York. Sadly he died in the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. A biography entitled CHARLES FROHMAN: MANAGER AND MAN, by Isaac F. Marcosson and Daniel Frohman (brother to Charles the theatrical manager) is housed in the Local Authors Collection of the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library.

The Frohman family is well known in Sandusky as well as across the nation and beyond. Dustin Hoffman portrayed Charles Frohman, the theatrical producer, in the film “Finding Neverland.”