Remembering Cousin Carol

 

Yesterday, my first cousin Carol passed away. She is seen above with just some of her many grandchildren. I literally knew her all my life, and I looked up to her, since I had no older sister or brother. Below, Carol is seen at the left, with my parents and me in Crystal Rock.

Carol was a hard worker, and had a dynamic personality. She used to babysit my children and she brought us over treats quite often. Sometimes she would take my grandson and adult daughter on "joy rides" to get ice cream or hamburgers on a hot summer night.

My favorite memory of Carol is when our dear neighbor had a stroke, and she could not do the things she used to do. Carol and I would go over and clean her house. Now I cannot tolerate spoiled food, and Carol did not like to clean toilets...so Carol cleaned the frig, while I cleaned the bathroom. We all three had many laughs, in spite of it being a challenging situation.

In Bay Bridge, Carol and her hubby were my neighbors for over thirty years. She shared with me many family stories and photos. One July 4th, my husband took the kids and grandkids to see fireworks, but I did not go. Carol called me over, and we looked through an old box of photos until they got back from the Independence Day fireworks!

I like to think of the joyous reunion in Heaven when Carol gets there, and sees her son John, and all our parents and grandparents who have gone before us. 

James Wheat, Died of Cholera in 1854

According to the Wheat Genealogy James Wheat was born on June 17, 1806 in Hartford, Connecticut. He married Harriet Hunt in 1827, and they had four children. In 1850, James Wheat was the superintendent of the Almshouse in Sandusky, Ohio. Sadly, James Wheat died on cholera on August 20, 1854. He was buried at the old Perkins Cemetery, which was moved during World War Two to its current location off Milan Road in Erie County, Ohio. After the death of Mr. Wheat, his widow and children moved to Utah.

Jacob Schmid's Death in 1926

 

Jacob Schmid was a German immigrant who worked as a stationery engineer in Sandusky for many years. The 1876 Hellrigle's Sandusky City Directory stated that he was employed by Jacob Kuebeler, a prominent business man who co owned a  brewery with his brother. (The Kuebeler brewery merged with the Stang brewery in 1895. In 1897, Kuebeler and Stang merged with other breweries to become the Cleveland and Sandusky Brewing Corp. ) At the time of his fall, Jacob Schmid was emplyed at the Crystal Rock Products Co., which was making soft drinks at the time, in the former Stang brewery on King Street. 

Mr. Schmid died following his fall, due to internal bleeding. He left behind a son Oscar, and daughters, Mrs. Fred Lessenthien, Mrs. Ed Casper, and Mrs. Charles Klepper, and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. His wife, the former Elizabeth Tiedke, had died in 1923. Rev. H.E. Pheiffer officiated at the funeral of Jacob Schmid, whose final resting place is Oakland Cemetery.

Below is a picture of Lot 51, in Block F of Oakland Cemetery. Mrs. Elizabeth Schmid and Adelaide Lessenthien are buried in this lot, but at this time, no stone remains for Jacob Schmid.

Peter and Mary Denova

 

According to records at FamilySearch, Peter Denova  (Pietro Dinova) was born in Palermo, Sicily in 1849. His first wife was Concetta Trentanelli. Together they had three children. Concetta Trentanelli Denova died in 1879. After the death of his first wife, Peter Denova married the sister of Concetta. Her name was Mary Trentanelli (also known as Maria.)

Together Peter and Mary Denova had four children, but only two lived past early childhood. Leonardo Denova, a son was born in 1883 or 1884. A daughter named Lillian (sometimes listed as Concetta) was born in 1886 or 1887. About 1894, the Denova family emigrated from Sicily to the United States. In the 1900 U.S. Census, the family was residing in Omaha, Nebraska, where Peter worked as a peddler. By 1910, the Denova was living in Sandusky in Erie County, Ohio. The U.S. Census listed the household as: Peter and Mary, son Nado, daughter in law Josephine, and two grandchildren, Mary and Peter, who were most likely named after their grandparents.

Sadly, Lillian died at age 26. She was the wife of Joseph Carrou. At the time of her death, she left two small children. Eventually Joseph remarried, and moved back to Nebraska.

Peter Denova passed away in 1919, and his wife Mary died in 1940. Peter and Mary Denova are buried at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Sandusky, close to their son Leonardo Denova.

Not far away is the grave of Lillian Denova Carrou.

This family suffered so much loss, and had to create a new home far away from the land of their birth. Rest in peace Denova family!

*As often is the case in the first part of the twentieth century, spellings of surnames can vary widely, depending on the record.