Sentimental Sunday: My Ancestors Were Thrifty

My great grandmother, Ada Steen Parker, was very thrifty. She pasted newspaper clippings about her family, friends and neighbors onto the pages of an old Congressional Record.   My paternal grandfather, Steve Orshoski, had a garden in the backyard to help stretch the family budget, and Grandma Emma Orshoski used to make salad from dandelions found in the back yard.

My mother, Joyce Parker Orshoski, was also very thrifty, a trait she learned from the older generation!  Mom believed in using leftovers and handing clothes down from the older children to the younger ones.

She saved magazines for us kids to use when we had to do a school project. Thanks to my ancestors for teaching the younger generations to re-use and re-cycle!

The Wedding of Nelle Taylor and Carey W. Hord: With Decorations "Suggestive of Spring and the Easter-tide"

In my Great Grandma Ada's scrapbooks of clippings, I recently came across this article about the wedding of Nelle Taylor and Carey W. Hord. Nelle Taylor was my third cousin three times removed. Nelle traces her family tree back to pioneer settler Julia House Taylor, while I descend from Julia's twin brother, Julius House. Julia and Julius were orphaned in Connecticut, and they brought their families to Perkins Township, Erie County, Ohio by oxen train in 1815.

Nelle Taylor and Carey W. Hord were married on March 25, 1909, in Perkins Township. The newspaper article that was in my great grandmother's scrapbook read:

A pretty romance that had its inception when both young people were students at Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, culminated Thursday noon in the marriage of Miss Nelle Elizabeth Taylor, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T.B. Taylor, and Mr. Carey W. Hord. The wedding was a beautifully appointed affair at the country home of the bride's parents, in Perkins, and was solemnized by the Rev. Mr. F.A. Hinman of the Perkins church. Guests were limited to the immediate family connections of the bridal couple and although quietly celebrated, every detail was charmingly arranged.

The whole effect of the decorations of the spacious apartments were suggestive of spring, and the Easter-tide. A profusion of southern smilax was used with white blossoms in outlining the doorways, staircase and in graceful festoonings, and palms, ferns quantities of the stately Easter lilies were otherwise disposed about the rooms. The parlor, chosen as the setting of the ceremony, was particularly attractive. Southern smilax mingled with valley lilies, formed handsome festoonings and on one side of the prettily decorated apartment was arranged a lovely altar of palms and lilies.

The bride entered on the arm of her father, who gave her in marriage. She was very lovely in her wedding gown, an exquisite maltese lace robe fashioned over luminous white satin, and her bouquet was a shower of valley lilies. There were no formal attendants. 

Directly after the service an elaborate wedding breakfast was served. Covers were laid for fifteen at a table prettily adorned with greenery and lilies. Mr. Hord has been connected with the offices of the American Crayon Co. for some time past. He was a former student of Cornell University at Ithaca, N.Y., and later at Ohio Wesleyan University where he met his bride, who was pursuing her musical studies in the conservatory at that institution. Both have congratulations of scores of Sanduskians.

Mr. and Mrs. Hord will leave late Thursday afternoon on an extended wedding trip, touring cities in the east. After June 1st they will be at their handsome new home at No. 525 Wayne street. Among the out0of-town guests her for the wedding were the groom's mother, Mrs. Martha Hord, of Marion, and his brother and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Payton Hord, of Pittsburg.

Nelle and Carey Hord were married for several years. Carey W. Hord died in January, 1941, and he was buried at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

Mrs. Nelle Hord passed away in December, 1967, after a lengthy illness. Funeral services for Nelle were held at the Presbyterian Church in Sandusky, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery. Mrs. Nelle Taylor Hord was survived by one son, Burton Hord, two nieces, a nephew, and several cousins.

Roses Placed on the Tombstones at the Ohio Veterans Home

Sharing a news story from the Sandusky Register about an individual who is placing roses on the graves of veterans at the Ohio Veterans Home Cemetery. Thank you for remembering!

Sentimental Sunday: My First Song on the Trombone

When I was in the fifth grade, I started to learn how to play the trombone in our school band. (Later

I played alto clarinet.) The first song I learned was "Mary Had a Little Lamb."  When he heard me play that song, my dad picked me up, and literally carried me next door so I could play the song for his brother, my Uncle Wayne. I am quite sure that Uncle Wayne was not as thrilled about my musical talent as my dad was! I learned to have joy in small things from the example that Dad set! Thanks Dad!  Below is a family picture taken a few years before I signed up for the school band.

Charly Hibinger

Charly (sometimes spelled Charlie) Hibinger was born in Virginia on June 2, 1885 to Mr. and Mrs. William Hibinger. He was employed as a brakeman by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway. While hunting in the Big Island area of Erie County, not far from Cedar Point, Charly was caught in a snowstorm, and he froze to death during the storm. His date of death was March 21, 1913. Charly was buried at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. His death certificate is on file at FamilySearch.

Mr. and Mrs. John G. Strobel

The March 19, 1919 Sandusky Register obituary for John G. Strobel stated that Mr. Strobel was "numbered among the oldest and best known residents of this city, and a pioneer in the wine industry in this vicinity." John G. Strobel was born in Bavaria, Germany on June 23, 1837. He came to the United States when he was fourteen years old. He had resided in Sandusky since 1872. Mr. Strobel was a member of Perseverance Lodge F. and A.M., Sandusky Council of Knights Templar, the Order of the Eastern Star, and Sandusky Lodge of I.O.O.F. He was at one time a trustee of Oakland Cemetery, and was president of the board when the residence and chapel of Oakland Temple were built.

Surviving Mr. John G. Strobel were his wife, sons Christ J. Strobel and John A. Strobel, and a daughter, Mrs. Lewis Taubert. Christ J. Strobel was a longtime banker, and member of the Board of Education for Sandusky Schools. Strobel Field at Sandusky High School, was named for Christ J. Strobel, in honor of his many years of service to Sandusky City Schools.


John G. Strobel died on March 18, 1919. His wife, the former Louisa Fleischauer, was born on July 15, 1843, and died on August 11, 1928. Mr. and Mrs. John G. Strobel are buried in the North Ridge section of Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

Sibling Saturday: The Yeager Sisters Married the Orshoski Brothers

On July 25, 1925, Steve Orshoski, the oldest child of Joseph and Julia Orshoski, married Emma Yeager, the oldest daughter of Huron residents Andrew and Lena (Piehl) Yeager. They were married in Monroe, Michigan. Steve and Emma are pictured (left) as a young couple fishing in Bay Bridge. The younger girl is Dorothy, Emma's younger sister. Steve and Emma were my paternal grandparents. It turns out that Dorothy, Emma's sister, married Nick, Steve's younger brother, in March of 1934, also in Monroe, Michigan. 

So, that means the five children of Steve and Emma Orshoski are the "double cousins" of the children of Nick and Dorothy Orshoski. All eight of these offspring share the same maternal and paternal grandparents, and they share all eight of the same great grandparents.

Below is an Ancestor Tree of my father, Paul R. Orshoski.

All the great grandparents on my dad's paternal line were born in Hungary, while all his great grandparents on his mother's side were born in Germany (though the Piehl and Jaensch families resided in a part of Germany that later became a part of Poland.) So, that makes all the eight offspring of Steve and Emma, and Nick and Dorothy, 50% Hungarian and 50% German. My dad was as All-American as you can get, working hard, raising funds for charities, and coaching baseball for over half his life. It really is true that America can be considered a "melting pot" of cultures!

Karl Gysan

According to the April 1, 1904 issue of the Sandusky Star, Carl Frederick Gysan died on March 30, 1904. His funeral service took place at the family residence, with the Rev. Theo. Stellhorn officiating. Burial was at the Castalia Cemetery. By looking at vital records of the children of Karl/Carl Gysan at FamilySearch.org, we learn that he was originally from Hinter Pommern, Germany, and his wife's name was Henrietta. In 1900, Karl Gysan made his home with the family of his daughter Wilhelmina and her husband August Borchardt in the Castalia precinct of Margaretta Township, Erie County, Ohio.

Mrs. Edith Fewings Wenmoth, a Native of Canada

According to records at FamilySearch, Edith/Edythe Fewings was born in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, to John and Sarah (Galpin) Wenmoth. The inscription on Edith's tombstone lists her birth date as March 31, 1867. On February 3, 1909, Edith Fewings married Ernest Howard Wenmoth in Erie County, Ohio. Mrs. Edith Fewings Wenmoth passed away on August 2, 1928. She was buried at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Edith was survived by a sister and brother, both of Canada, and several nieces and nephews. A lovely cross adorns the top of her tombstone, which is in the shape of a the tree trunk that is cut off, to signify a life cut short.

An obituary for Edith Fewings Wenmoth appeared in the August 2, 1928 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal.

Sentimental Sunday: Poem by Mom

Today I was going through some of my mom's things, and I ran into a poem she wrote for her paternal grandparents, Leroy and Ada Parker in 1949.

It reads:

"Laugh"

Build for yourself a strong box
Fasten each part with care,
Fit it with hasp and padlock,
Put all your troubles there.
Hide therein all your failures
And each bitter cup you quaff.
Lock all your heartaches with in it,
Then sit of the lid and laugh.

Tell no one of its contents,
Never its secret share,
Drop in your cares and worries
Keep them forever there.
Hide them from sight so completely,
Fasten the top down securely,
Then sit on the lid laugh.

From your doting eldest, grandaughter,

Joyce Parker
1949 Dec, 29

Both Mom and her grandparents had plenty of troubles and cares in their lives, and putting them in a box and forgetting them seemed like the best way to handle them! Miss you Mom! Below is a picture of Grandpa and Grandma Parker. I so wish I could have spent more time with them!