Events in Ohio History Remembered in the Past Week

There were remembrances of several  historical events in the northern Ohio area during the past week. Click on the links below to read more about:

• The Lorain Tornado of 1924  (which also struck Sandusky)
• A major flood in Sandusky in 1937
• Knute Rockne and Gus Dorias perfecting the forward pass at the Cedar Point Beach in 1913
• The old Sandusky Bay Bridge was a key component of the Lake Shore Route in the 1930s

(Note: Tornado image from iconbug.com )

Tombstone Tuesday: Karl and Augusta Grahl

This beautiful monument in memory of Karl and Augusta (Kohl/Kuhl) Grahl is found at Venice Cemetery in Margaretta Township, Erie County, Ohio. Karl Grahl (sometimes listed as Carl or Charles) was born in 1856 in Germany. He and his wife, the former Augusta H. Kohl (sometimes listed as Kuhl), had ten children. William, Otto, and Frank were all born in Germany, between 1880 and 1884. In 1885 Karl and Augusta and their three oldest sons all immigrated to the United States. Records on file at FamilySearch indicate that they traveled on the ship Moravia. The family traveled in steerage, and they arrived at New York City on June 23, 1885. By the time of the 1900 U.S. Census, Karl/Carl Grahl listed his occupation as farmer. The family resided in the village of Venice, Ohio. By 1900, seven more children had been added to the family: Carl, age 11; Max, age 10; Eric, age 7; Anna, age 5; Cora, age 4; Clara, age 2; and a baby girl, whose first name was not listed in the census. In 1911, Mrs. Augusta Grahl died at the age of 55, of chronic heart disease. Karl Grahl died On April 3, 1934, also from heart disease. Mr. Grahl was survived by four sons, two daughters, and seventeen grandchildren. His wife, two sons, and two daughters had preceded him in death. Mr. and Mrs. Karl Grahl were buried at Venice Cemetery. Many members of the Grahl extended family are also buried at Venice Cemetery.

Boeckling Monument: "The Lord is Loving Unto Every Man"

Though I have seen the Boeckling monument at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery so very many times, recently I noticed a lovely inscription at the top of the monument above the columns, visible when you view the monument while facing north.

The inscription reads: "THE LORD IS LOVING UNTO EVERY MAN"

George A. Boeckling,who greatly improved the Cedar Point Amusement Park in the early part of the twentieth century, was buried in the Front Hill section of Oakland Cemetery after he died on July 24, 1931. After his sister Elizabeth A. Boeckling died, on October 15, 1948, she too was laid to rest in the Front Hill section of Oakland.

If you ever visit Sandusky, Ohio, stop by Oakland Cemetery to view this majestic monument.

E.F. and Rachel F. Osborn

According to the 1850 U.S. Census for Erie County, Ohio, E.F. Osborn (sometimes spelled Osborne) was born in the very early 1800s in Massachusetts. Details about Ebenezer Francis Osborn are found in the Finding Aid to the Camp Family Papers at the Cornell University Library. As a young man, E.F. Osborn worked as a clerk for the firm of Osborn and Young in New York City. From 1825 to 1828, Mr. Osborn embarked on a voyage to South America. In 1850, he was residing in Sandusky, Ohio. He listed his occupation as Railroad Superintendent in the 1850 U.S. Census.  His wife Rachel was age 45. The children residing in the Osborn household included: Fanny, age 7; Mary, age 4; and Ellen, age 1. Three individuals who were natives of Ireland also lived at the Osborn residence. In the 1855 Sandusky City Directory, E.F. Osborn was listed as president of the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad, and he also was director of the Union Bank. In the book AT HOME IN EARLY SANDUSKY, Helen Hansen wrote that Ebenezer Francis Osborn was the owner of a prosperous flour mill in Missouri before he came to Ohio.  E.F. Osborn  moved to Sandusky in 1845 to become the superintendent of the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad, when Ebenezer Lane was the president of the railroad. Eventually E.F. Osborn  became the fifth president of the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad.

Mrs. Rachel Osborn died on June 17, 1851, at the age of 46 years, 1 month, and 23 days. She was buried in the North Ridge section of Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

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E.F. Osborn died on May 17, 1857. He was buried beside his wife Rachel in Oakland Cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn were survived by several children. One daughter, Elizabeth Francis Osborn,  became the wife of Jacob Andrus Camp.  According to the HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY, OHIO, the town of Osborn, Ohio was named for E.F. Osborn. (The town of Osborn no longer exists.)

Battle of Lake Erie Bicentennial

September 2013 will mark the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie, in which the U.S. Navy, led by Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, defeated the British fleet. Recently I was able to visit the Perry's Victory and International Peace Monument. At the site, my grandsons and I viewed a DVD about the Battle of Lake Erie. We saw several images of the ships and the commanders at the Visitors Center, and of course we all enjoyed traveling up the elevator to see the panoramic view of Lake Erie from the top of the monument.

If you get a chance to go to South Bass Island this summer, visit the Perry's Victory and International Peace Monument to learn more about the history of the War of 1812 in Ohio. Online, you can view this full PBS documentary about the War of 1812. 

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Here are the steps to find full text articles about the War of 1812 from the website of the Ohio Historical Society. (Click on images below for a larger view.)

1. Go to the Publications section of the Ohio Historical Society. Choose Ohio History Online Archive.

2.  At the Index Search page, select Full Search.      

3.  Enter  War of 1812 as a subject.

4. This selection will retrieve several full text articles about the War of 1812, from the Ohio History Online Archive.

The Battle of Lake Erie Bicentennial site will lead to more information about this historic event in our nation's history, and to find about the activities that are planned to commemorate the Battle of Lake Erie.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: June 15, 2013

Randy at Genea-Musings has given us this challenge this Father's Day weekend:

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Your mission this week, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  Sunday, 16 June, is Father's Day.  Let's celebrate by writing a blog post about our Father, or another significant male ancestor (e.g., a grandfather).

2)  What are three things about your father (or significant male ancestor) that you vividly remember about him?

3)  Tell us all about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status or Google+ Stream post.

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Above is a picture of my husband and I, as I share a moment with my dad, Paul R. Orshoski, Sr., on our wedding day.  Mom is behind me, and the little ones are my baby sister Kellie and Tom's cousin Jerry. Dad left us in 1983, when he was only 55 years old. He packed a lot of life into those 55 years!

The three things that I remember most about my dad are:

• his unconditional love 

• his terrific sense of humor

          and

• his willingness to help others.

Dad lived the Golden Rule throughout his life in a practical way, and he really showed us a wonderful example of how to face the challenges of life head-on. Dad and Mom raised a family of six children. We did not have a lot of expensive material things, though Dad was a very good provider. Just the every day things like going out for ice cream, going to Sunday School, to the ball game (oh so many ball games!) and celebrating the holidays with loved ones are memories that I will always cherish! We miss you Dad on this Father's Day weekend! Thanks for the memories!


 

Edgar J. Waye, Dentist

Dr. Edgar J. Waye was a dentist in Sandusky from the late 1860's through the early 1900's. A citation from the Lorain County News tells us that Dr. Waye married Leila H. Smith in Sandusky, Ohio on August 21, 1861.






Dr. Waye advertised "artificial teeth" in an advertisement from the April 1, 1891 Sandusky Register.










An article from the July 11, 1900 issue of the Sandusky Star reports that Dr. Waye was the president of the Sandusky Dental Society in 1900. The local Dental Society traveled to Johnson's Island, where Dr. Waye gave a short address about the former Civil War prison.

Dr. E. J. Waye died in April of 1905. He was buried at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Dr. Waye's daughter Winifred Waye was an artist and a journalist. You can read about her at the Sandusky History blog.