Maria Louisa Cooke

Maria Louisa Cooke is buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. She died on June 21, 1856 at the age of 33 years, 5 months, and 21 days. She was the spouse of William W. Cooke, whose occupation was listed as "street superintendent" in the 1860 U.S. Census for Erie County. Not much is known about this young woman who died at just over 33 years old, but her tombstone is still sturdy, upright, and the engraving very readable even though it has been over 150 years since she was buried.

Mrs. Thresa Schellhorn

Thresa Schellhorn was born in Germany on April 4, 1848. She died in Erie County, Ohio on January 5, 1931. Mrs. Schellhorn's death certificate states that her father's name was John Hurst. However, a listing at the Ohio Obituary Index states that in October 1870, a Theresa Dorst married Mr. Andrew Schallhorn. (The Ohio Obituary Index also contains some references to newspaper articles which reported marriages.)

The Mortality Schedules available at Ancestry Library Edition provide the information that Andrew Schollhorn died by drowning in April, 1880, in Erie County, Ohio. Andrew was born in Württemberg, Germany about 1840. Thresa Schellhorn never remarried.

An obituary for Thresa Schellhorn is found in the 1931 Obituary Notebook at the Sandusky Library. Mrs. Schellhorn died on January 5, 1931 at her home on Second Street. She was survived by sons Fred and Otto Schellhorn; six grandchildren; seven great grandchildren; and one sister. Mrs. Schellhorn was buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

As is so often the case with persons of German descent, many variations in spelling are found in Mrs. Schellhorn's first, last, and maiden name.

Sandusky Collection of the Cleveland Memory Project

The Sandusky Collection of the Cleveland Memory Project can be accessed at this url:

http://www.clevelandmemory.org/sandusky/

A brief overview of the city of Sandusky is provided at this page. Any keyword can be entered into the search box. A search for the term cemetery brings up two postcards of the Johnson's Island Confederate Cemetery, and a picture of the historic Cholera Cemetery. Over 50 items are retrieved with the search term Cedar Point. A search of Theodore Roosevelt brings up two pictures of that dynamic "Bull Moose" when he was giving a speech in Sandusky in 1912. If you have ancestors from the Sandusky area, check and see if you can find any items related to your family in the Sandusky Collection of the Cleveland Memory Project!

Jennie and Charlie McKelvey

Harriet Taylor Upton, wrote in her book HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE,that Jennie Adams McKelvey was born on January 22, 1873, and died on April 8, 1876. Her brother Charles Sumner McKelvey was born January 3, 1875, and died on August 17, 1875. These siblings who died young were children of John McKelvey,a prominent Sandusky business man, and his wife Jane Rowland Huntington McKelvey. The tombstone in the shape of the tree stump often symbolizes a life that ended prematurely.

John and Jane's son John Jay McKelvey, born May 24, 1863 in Sandusky, became the first editor-in-chief of the Harvard Law Review. Another of John and Jane's children was Ralph McKelvey a museum director, painter, teacher and art critic. One can only wonder what little Jennie and Charlie could have achieved, had they survived to adulthood. Charles and Jennie McKelvey are buried with their parents in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. A biographical sketch of their father John McKelvey is found on page 529 of HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY, OHIO, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich.

Carey W. Hord

Carey Wyoming Hord was born in 1885 in Cheyenne, Wyoming to Amaziah Hutchinson Hord and Martha Hill Hord. In the 1880 U.S. Census, Mr. and Mrs. A.H. Hord and their son Payton were residing in Marion County, Ohio, where A. H. Hord listed his occupation as Clerk of Courts. An article in the Sandusky Star Journal of March 3, 1928, stated that A.H. and Martha Hord had resided in Cheyenne, Wyoming for eight years, where they managed a cattle ranch. It was during their time in Wyoming that Carey W. Hord was born. His middle name was Wyoming, in honor of the state of his birth.

On March 25, 1909, Carey W. Hord married Nelle Elizabeth Taylor, the daughter of Erie County banker Truman B. Taylor and Martha Eddy Taylor. Truman B. Taylor traced his roots back some of the earliest settlers of Perkins Township in Erie County, Ohio. For many years Carey W. Hord was associated with the American Crayon Company. He started with the company shortly after moving to Sandusky in 1906. In 1911 he was named Sales Manager for American Crayon, and he became a director of the company in 1913. He was elected Second Vice President in 1918, and later he became First Vice President in charge of sales. Around 1936 Carey W. Hord moved to New York City to go into business for himself, but he always kept a home in Sandusky, Ohio.

On January 1, 1941, Carey W. Hord passed away at his Sandusky residence after a brief illness. A lengthy obituary for Mr. Hord appeared in the January 2, 1940 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal. Funeral services for Carey W. Hord were held at the family residence at 525 Wayne Street in Sandusky, on January 4, 1941. Chaplain A. J. Funnell officiated, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery. Mr. Hord was survived by his wife, a sister, a brother, his son Burton Hord and two grandsons.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy: Blogs

Geneabloggers has announced that Amy Coffin of We Tree will start another 52 Weeks series, entitled 52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy. The topic for the first week of this series is Blogs.

Blogs: Blogging is a great way for genealogists to share information with family members, potential cousins and each other. For which blog are you most thankful? Is it one of the earliest blogs you read, or a current one? What is special about the blog and why should others read it?

Oh my...I am thankful for SO many blogs! The first two blogs I ever started reading were both by individuals named Terry. Neither are active now, as one Terry passed away, and the other Terry is not actively blogging, but both of these individuals gave me great encouragement in my early days of blogging!! The first Terry, who passed away on August 10, 2010, blogged about the Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi. How I miss his quick wit, and encouraging words! The other Terry wrote a blog for a newspaper, and then the posts were archived in Desktop Genealogist Unplugged. Though Terry is not actively blogging at this time, I visit her blog several times a day, because her blog list is so excellent!

I am a member of Graveyard Rabbit, which hosts several blogs devoted to cemeteries, tombstones, and family history. It is fun to read about cemeteries in other states, and other countries! The blogs Geneabloggers, Genea-Musings, Creative Gene and The We Tree Genealogy Blog provide me with a great deal of information and inspiration! The Educated Genealogist keeps me laughing all the time! Carol blogs about genealogy and her travels, and I learn a lot following her around the country through her blog Reflections From the Fence.

These blogs are interesting to me because they cover cemeteries, genealogy, or local history in Ohio:

• My Ancestors and Me

• Brady's Bunch of Lorain County Nostalgia

• Gravestoned

• Ohio's Yesterdays

• Almost Forgotten Gravesites in Ohio

I also enjoy following these blogs:

• Footnote Maven

• West in New England

• Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories

• In Deeds

• Apple's Tree

• Greta's Genealogy Bog

These are just some of the genealogy blogs that are special to me. I run into new ones every week, and it is exciting to see how the love of genealogy is spreading!
Stop by some of these blogs and check them out!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Wylie Walleye, seen above at the Lake Erie Shores & Islands Welcome Center in Ottawa County, will be the center of attention tonight at midnight! Wylie Walleye will be dropped at the stroke of midnight in downtown Port Clinton. Click here to read more about the Walleye Drop!