Great Grandpa Roy Parker on a Horse

Recently I was able to view and scan a picture of my great grandfather Leroy Joshua Parker ( often known as Roy) on a horse! This picture was taken by the Platt studio in Sandusky, Ohio. Though Grandpa Roy resided in Perkins Township, Ohio, I am reasonably sure that this picture was taken in downtown Sandusky, not far from the photographer's studio. Grandpa Roy was born on May 30, 1880. I am guessing he is about 9 years old, which would date this picture about 1889.

Poetry Book by Rev .J.A. Griffith

This delightful book of poetry, entitled Garlands Gathered from God's Garden, written by Rev. J.A. Griffith, was recently given to me by a dear cousin. Rev. Griffith was the minister who confirmed my mother and maternal grandmother; he married my parents; and he baptized several of the children of Paul and Joyce Orshoski, including myself! He served as the minister of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Sandusky, Ohio, for many years.

I was very young when I met Rev. Griffith. My parents called him out of retirement, to christen my younger brother Todd. He held my hand gently, and said to me, "You are almost  as lovely as your mother." At that time he had white hair, and to me he seemed like an angel. The poem below was read at the wedding of my dad's cousin Janet, when she married Richard.

This poem was written to remind us that you can see the Lord's handiwork throughout the earth.

This small poem is entitled "I Would be Sorry."

Truly I would be sorry if I had never met Rev. J.A. Griffith. He was a positive influence on so many members of my family, and he was a well respected leader in our community. The final resting place of Rev. J.A. Griffith and his wife Golda is the Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio.

Mrs. Eliza Sydnor Barker, Died From a Mistaken Dose of Strychnine

Eliza Sydnor was the spouse of Zenas Ward Barker, the former Mayor of Sandusky. Sadly, on the evening of October 27, 1849, she thought she was taking morphine, but in reality it was strychnine, due to a mistake at the druggist. Mrs. Eliza Sydnor Barker died in Sandusky, and she was buried at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery in the Barker family lot on the North Ridge. Though her tombstone death year reads 1851, her obituary in the Sandusky Clarion indicates she did indeed die in October of 1849. Rest in peace Eliza!

Parents and Students of Venice Elementary, Circa 1940

This is a photocopy of an old picture of some of the students of Venice Elementary School and their parents, taken in the late 1930s or early 1940s. I do not have the original, and I cannot recall if this was a picture my mom had, or my neighbor Mary. In the top of the picture are all adults, and dressed very nicely. In the bottom of the picture are several students in the cafeteria, which was in the basement level of the old Venice School, then a part of Margaretta Local Schools. I only know a few of the names of the people in this old picture. To the best of my knowledge, the lady with dark hair is Mrs. Martin, who lived in Venice. Next to her is Mrs. Krafty, who used to be my Girl Scout leader.

On the close up view below, Mrs. Karl Sessler is at the bottom right. Immediately behind here is my paternal grandmother, Emma Orshoski. At the far right of the picture, I am reasonably sure that this lady is Rosie Mavros. Emma Orshoski and Rosie Mavros both resided in Bay View at that time.

Below, you can see the Martin twins, two young ladies with long dark hair, at the right side of the picture. In the back left is Mrs. Krafty, who appears to be working in the school cafeteria.

I am so sorry that this picture is of such poor quality. If anyone from the Venice or Bay View or Bay Bridge area can identify any of these folks, please leave a message! Thanks!

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Update!!

In an old article from the Sandusky Register Star News of Feb.4, 1947, all the individuals have been identified! Sorry the print is so small! I see that the lady whom I thought was Mrs. Krafty is actually Miss Dorothy Wahl! 

William and Augustus Hornung

William and Augusts Hornung (sometimes spelled Horning) were the young sons of Augustus William and Christina (Boos) Horning/Hornung. They both died in the fall of 1863, Augustus at age 12, and William at age 3, of diphtheria. They were laid to rest in the family plot at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. How very sad to lose two children in one year. May they rest in peace.

Dudley C. White Died Tragically in a Fire in 1857

Dudley C. White was the son of Samuel M. White, and his wife, the former Demarius Pendleton. Samuel M. White was well known as a builder and contractor in Sandusky, Ohio. In the 1850 U.S. Census, we find Dudley, age 15, residing in Portland Township, Erie County, Ohio, with his parents and brother and sisters. (Portland Township was an early name for a portion of the city of Sandusky.)

By the year 1857, Dudley had moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he worked as a hardware clerk. Sadly, he was killed in a fire in Chicago on October 19, 1857. The inscription on Dudley White's  tombstone reads:

Dudley C.
son of
S.M. & D. White
was killed at the
fire in Chicago by the
falling of a building
Oct. 19, 1857
aged
22 yrs. 9 mos. 5 days

How very tragic for Mr. and Mrs. White to lose a son who had just begun to live. Dudley C. White was buried in the family lot at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

Another New to Me Picture from the Steen Family

Since having time off with a broken leg, I have had a chance to look at some old pictures that cousin Barb shared with me recently. In the picture above, the man on the left is identified as Wes or West. On the right is "Dad Steen," also known as Charles F. Steen, who was my great great grandfather. Grandpa Steen is so distinguished! I love his bow tie and pocket watch. The walls are decorated with a lot of art work. My guess is that picture was taken in the 1920s in Perkins Township, Erie County, Ohio. Grandpa Charlie Steen was very active in the Erie County Agricultural Society. He was married to Sarah Milner Steen, and they had four children: Harry (who died young), twins Ada and Alpha, and their youngest child, Rollin Steen, who grew up to be an educator in public schools in Ohio, and later at Ohio State University. Below is a picture of the Steen family, long after the death of Harry.

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I so wish I could have met my Great Great Grandpa and Grandma Steen! Mom had just vague memories, as they were quite up in years when she was born. Ada Steen, one of the twins, is my great grandmother, and I am eternally grateful to her for instilling a love of family history in my Mom, who then passed it on to me!  Thanks again Barb for sharing yet another family treasure!

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.