Interesting Post at Ohio's Yesterdays on Construction of Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial

To take a break from cold winter weather, head over to the Ohio's Yesterdays blog, and read about the construction of the Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial! Thanks for this interesting post, and link HISTORYPIN!

George B. Richmond

George Burr Richmond was born on May 10, 1850 to David C. and Sarah (Burr) Richmond, both natives of Connecticut.  His name is listed in the 1850 Erie County Census.

George's father, David C. Richmond, was a successful farmer in Perkins Township, for many years, and he also served in the State Legislature of Ohio. George worked on the family farm. George B. Richmond died on January 29, 1888, when he was not yet 40 years of age. He was buried in the family lot at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. An obituary for George B. Richmond, which appeared in the January 30, 1888 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that George, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. D.C. Richmond, had died following a week's illness with pneumonia. The article read, in part, about George, "He was a kind hearted young man, full of energy, and closely identified with his father in the management of the latter's large farm, three miles from this city. He leaves a wife, the daughter of Mrs. I.f. Reynolds, of Berlin Heights, and a son eight years old.....The family will have the sympathy of a wide circle in the affliction that comes to all in turn and spares none."

Sentimental Sunday: Educational Statistics from Erie County, Ohio in 1917

While browsing online through Google Books, I came across an issue of  The Ohio Teacher (volume 37, number 6), from January, 1917. On page 223, I found several statistical listings, prepared by R.E. Offenhaur (sometimes spelled Offenhauer), an educational administrator from Sandusky, Ohio.

In 1917, there were still some one-room and two-room schools in operation in Erie County, Ohio. At that time, 18 teachers were college graduates; 12 teachers were normal school graduates; 29 teachers had one year of normal school training; and 77 teachers had less than one year of professional training. High school teachers in Sandusky City Schools had the highest average yearly salary in 1917, at $1062.50 per year. Elementary teachers in Berlin Township, Erie County, Ohio, had the lowest average yearly salary, at $470.07 per year. Browse through Google Books for educational statistics for teachers in your part of the country. How things have changed through the years! Roy E. Offenhauer went on to become the second  president of Bowling Green State University.

Wisdom Wednesday: Things My Mother Used To Tell Us

My mom, Joyce Parker Orshoski,  and I are pictured above, when I was about 10 ten years old. Mom had several sayings that she told us over and over again, and I am sure that most of them were sayings that she had heard from the adults in her life. Here are some of the words of wisdom she gave us six children:


"Always do your best."

'If you can't anything nice, don't say anything at all!"

"When God closes a door, he always opens a window."

"You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar."

"Don't knock it until you've tried it."

When someone was being mean to us , Mom would tell us to "Kill them with kindness."

When kids teased me about being short, she told me to tell them, "Good things come in small packages."

When we had a cold, Mom would say: "Wear your socks; put Vicks under your nose; and take a Vitamin C."

When everything was going wrong, she'd say, "Cheer up, things could be
worse; and sure enough, I cheered up and things got worse!"

Mom used to put a picture of a cat at the bottom of the refrigerator,
so that our cat Patches would have something interesting to look at, at her own level.

What words of wisdom did your parents give to the children in your family?

GenEx2014 Conference to be Held in Ohio

GenEx2014, the statewide conference of the Ohio Genealogical Society, will be held April 30 to May 3, 2014. Click here to see the program. (At this page, click on Download File to view the program in a pdf.) Click here to see a list of presenters, called "Safari Guides," as the conference is being held at Kalahari in Sandusky, Ohio. I have attended the conference of the Ohio Genealogical Society before, and it is always an invigorating event! There are outstanding speakers, opportunities to network, and a lot of learning and fun along the way.  Browse through the GenEx2014 program. There are even fourteen separate workshops that are free! (Registration is required, however.) Consider attending all or part of the GenEx2014!

Lee S. Weed, Perkins Township Farmer

According to Hewson Peeke's book A STANDARD HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY, OHIO, Lee S. Weed was born in Sandusky to William and Sarah (Sanford) Weed, early pioneer settlers of Erie County, Ohio. William Weed made coffins for cholera victims of Sandusky during the 1840 cholera epidemic, and he also aided in caring for the sick during that difficult time. Lee attended schools in Perkins Township of Erie County, Ohio, and he also completed a course of study at the Buckeye Business College in Sandusky. Lee S. Weed was a successful farmer in Perkins Township. In politics, he was a Republican, and for a time he served as a Perkins Township Trustee. In October of 1885, Lee S. Weed took as his wife, Mary Ann Denman, the widow of John R. Denman. Mary Ann was a daughter of Thomas and Ann Milner. On January 9, 1923, Lee W. Weed passed away at the age of 73. Funeral services for Lee S. Weed took place at the family residence on South Columbus Avenue, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery.

Note: While Mr. Weed's tombstone lists his birth year as 1850, Peeke's history lists his birth date as 1849.

Jesse and Matilda E. Stem

The Handbook of Texas Online tells us that Jesse Stem was an Indian agent Indian who was born about 1820, to Jacob and Sarah Stem, in Green Springs, Sandusky County, Ohio. Jesse and his wife, the former Matilda Elizabeth Pittinger, had four daughters. After practicing law for a time, Jesse Stem became an Indian agent in Texas. In 1854, Jesse Stem and a friend were both killed by Kickapoo Indians. Jesse Stem's remains were returned to Ohio, and he was buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. (Some sources indicate that Jesse Stem died in 1854, and others state that he died in 1853.)

Matilda Elizabeth Pittinger Stem passed away in 1903, and she is buried beside her husband Jesse at Oakland Cemetery.










An essay written by Aline Stem, the daughter of Jesse and Matilda E. Stem, can be seen at the Sandusky History website.

Jacob J. and Jenna Schrank

Jacob J. Schrank was born in 1878 in Germany to Jacob and Phillipina Schrank. As a youngster, he immigrated to the United States. In 1910, Jacob was living in Ward 3 of Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio, with his widowed mother, and two sisters. According to the 1910 U.S. Census, Jacob J. Schrank was already assistant manager of a fish company. Jacob continued to be associated with the Booth Fisheries in Sandusky until the 1930s. On Valentine's Day of 1914, Jacob J. Schrank married Jena Biehl at the First Congregational Church in Sandusky.

Jacob J. Schrank died of pneumonia on March 3, 1935. He was survived by his wife, three sisters, and several nieces and nephews. Mr. Schrank had active in Masonic organizations in Sandusky. He also was a member of the Elks, Sandusky Council of United Commercial Travelers, the Catawba Cliffs Club, and the First Congregational Church. Funeral services for Jacob J. Schrank were held at the family home on Hancock Street, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery. Mrs. Jena Schrank died on January 12, 1967. The majestic monument honoring the memory of Jacob J. and Jena Schrank features Masonic emblems. Mr. Schrank's obituary appears in the 1935 OBITUARY NOTEBOOK at the Sandusky Library,and  Mrs. Schrank's obituary was in the January 12, 1967 issue of the Sandusky Register.

Louis and Annie E. Heinzerling

Louis Heinzerling and Annie E. Heinzerling are buried at Oakland Cemetery. The inscription on the monument is in German.

LOUIS HEINZERLING
GESTORBEN
DEN 25 MAR 1901
ALTER
69 JAHRE

ANNIE E. HEINZERLING
GESTORBEN
DEN 25 MAI 1874
ALTER
73 JAHRE

Louis Heinzerling was born in Hesse, Germany in May 1832, according to the 1900 U.S. Census. He came to the U.S.A. in 1854. In the 1871 Sandusky City Directory, Louis Heinzerling was employed at a dry goods store, Zollinger & Heinzerling, located at the southeast corner of Hancock and Madison Streets. This location was home to a great number of businesses in Sandusky through the years, including the Wholf Hardware store from the 1960's through the 1980's. Wholf Hardware store had wooden floors, and a variety of hardware and household items in a "no frills" style. Sandusky residents were sad to see it close.

Not much information is known at all about Annie E. Heinzerling, other than her date of death and her age at that time. It is safe to say that she probably also was born in Germany, and while we do not know if she was a spouse or sister to Louis, she was most definitely a family member.

Mystery Monday: Old Photo from California

This old photograph was in my mother's things, and it was probably taken by my great grandmother Irene Larkins Risko. Grandma Irene visited California in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, and she had family and friends in Santa Monica, Hawthorne, and Fullerton, California. My cousin from southern California wasn't sure where it was taken, and I don't have any other living relatives who would know. If anyone has any idea as to where this picture may have taken, could you please contact me? Thanks so much!

Isaac J. Sperry

Isaac J. Sperry's tombstone is found in Row 36 of the Strong's Ridge Cemetery in Lyme Township of Huron County, Ohio. He died on January 3, 1835, in his 33rd year of age.

Wordless Wednesday: Winter View of Weier Mausoleum at Oakland Cemetery