Coffin Monument at Clemons Cemetery

This tombstone at the Clemons Cemetery in Marblehead, Ohio honors the memory of Rev. Nehemiah Cogswell Coffin, his wife, and three children. A brief biographical sketch of Rev. Coffin is found in the book THE NATIVE MINISTRY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, accessible at Google Books.











Nehemiah Cogswell Coffin was born on March 25, 1815 in New Hampshire, to Moses and Susannah (Farnum) Coffin. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1836. He studied for the ministry at Andover Theological Seminary and Lane Theological Seminary. He married Susan J. Rust in 1842. Rev. Coffin ministered at churches in Fearing, Ohio; Bethel, Ohio; Bremen, Ohio; Hebron, Ohio; and Piqua, Ohio. In the early 1850's Rev. Coffin taught at Granville, Ohio. In the book The History of Boscawen and Webster From 1733 to 1878, we read that due to failing health, Rev. Coffin moved to Marblehead. He cultivated grapes, and hoped that life in a rural setting would help restore his health. Rev. Nehemiah Cogswell Coffin passed away on January. 9, 1868, after a life of much usefulness, lamented by all who knew him. Mrs. Susan Coffin died in 1893.

The names of three daughters of Rev. and Mrs. Coffin also appear on the tombstone. They are:

Ellen M. Stuart, 1844-1878
Lucy A. Coffin, 1849-1874
Hattie M. Coffin, 1861-1898

Civil War Heroes at Oakland Cemetery, Sandusky, Ohio: Now at YouTube

Click here to view a video presentation of Civil War Heroes who were buried at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Graves visited include: Louis Traub, Charles B. Dennis, Maurice Darnell, Emma Marshall, Dr. Robert McMeens, Anna McMeens, Jay Caldwell Butler, Isaac Skillman, Foster M. Follett, Leonard B. Johnson, Elijah Brown, and Horace Harper Bill.

Walter T. Hall, World War One Soldier

An article in the October 6, 1918 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that Walter T. Hall had died at Camp Taylor, Kentucky from influenza. Walter T. Hall enlisted in the U.S. Army on August 26, 1918. He was assigned to 39th Company 10 Battalion 159, Depot Brigade. His date of death was October 4, 1918. Obituaries in the local newspapers stated that Walter T. Hall's foster parents were Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Hall, who resided on Boalt Street in Sandusky, Ohio, and Walter's biological father was John Pfaff, of Berlin Heights, Ohio. Walter T. Hall was also survived by five sisters and three brothers. Funeral services for Walter T. Hall were held at the Hall family residence, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery.

Sentimental Sunday: Sandusky Library 1901 Glass Floor Commemorative Paperweight

When the Sandusky Library opened to the public in 1901, one of the special features of the new library was the glass floor in the library stacks. Since the building was built before electricity was in use, the glass floor allowed light from the gas lamps to extend to the lowest level of the library building. During the Sandusky Library's major renovation and addition project, from 2001 to 2003, several sections of the original glass floor were cut, polished, and engraved. These commemorative paperweights are for sale at the Sandusky Library's AfterWords Gift Shop. This fall I was given a gift of a Sandusky Library 1901 Glass Floor Commemorative Paperweight, and it is a gift I will treasure always!

Wilhelmina Becker

According to her death certificate, available at Family Search Labs, Mrs. Wilhelmina Becker, a widow, was born in Germany on June 6, 1833, and she died on October 1, 1911 in Lucas County, Ohio. Wilhelmina was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Kappen.
Wilhelmina Becker was buried at Oak Harbor Union Cemetery. Her tombstone is in the shape of a wooden chair, upon which is a pillow, and a scroll. On the pillow is inscribed the word MOTHER. One hundred years after the death of Wilhelmina Becker, her tombstone is still in wonderful condition. Mrs. Becker surely must have been loved by her family.

A Rewarding Day: Combining Old and New Resources

Because my hobby and occupation both involve genealogy, it was a very rewarding today! A patron from out of state came in today, and it just so happens that the person she was researching was in my Family Tree. We are very distant cousins on one of Mom's Irish lines. After some searching, I tracked down a birth record on Family Search, from 1811, in the England and Wales Non-Conformist Records. Google Books led me to a listing in the HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE, and the 1855 Sandusky City Directory. A FindaGrave record provided an image of the tombstone of the person our patron was researching. The Archives Research Center at the library where I work held photographs of descendants. A quick Google search yielded obituaries of the son and granddaughter of our person in question. The Ohio Obituary Index gave the exact citation of three obituaries of our person! A database from Old Newark provided the year and location of the couple for whom we were looking! It is amazing how the Internet, combined with traditional resources, can quickly help us along the path of family research! It is an exciting time to be a researcher!

*Note - names and specific records found have been withheld to ensure privacy. (Top image courtesy ClipArtHeaven.)

First Battle Site Marker in Marblehead, Ohio

In September of 1812, General William Hull sent a company of volunteers to defend the residents of the Marblehead peninsula in Ottawa County, Ohio. Native Americans, who were British sympathizers, attacked the party, resulting in casualties on both sides. Joshua Reed Giddings, who survived the attack, erected a stone in honor of those who lost their lives on September 29, 1812. The names of officers Daniel Mingus, Alexander Mason, and M. Simmons appear on the stone.

Today this stone stands in a spot that is now known as Battlefield Park in Marblehead, Ohio.

You can read about this early battle in an article about Joshua Reed Giddings, found in Volume 8 of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.