One House’s Story: The Brucks Family
Ferdinand Brucks (1830-1915) was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States when he was 22 years old. He arrived in Tuscarawas County shortly after his immigration and, in 1854, he married German-born Catherine Wegele (1837-1914). It is likely that Ferdinand chose Tuscarawas County as his home because of other family members who had…
One House’s Story: The McGregor Apartment Building
The construction of Jack’s House of Hope by the Friends of the Homeless of Tuscarawas County motivated me to take a look at the history of this building, discovering something innovative in its design was not expected. In June 1919, New Philadelphia became the site of an innovative construction experiment when the McGregor Apartment Building, then…
One House’s Story: The McLean Family
This house sits on a prominent corner in New Philadelphia, befitting the significance of the family that once lived in it. William McLean (1841-1922) was the son of a Maryland-born Methodist preacher named Edward A. McLean (1810-1876) and his Connecticut born wife Julia (1810-?). The couple arrived in Tuscarawas County sometime in the 1830s and…
One House’s Story: The Herbert Family Tragedy
The Herbert family’s story, rooted in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, is one of immigration, hard labor, wartime service, and unexpected tragedy. Content warning: This post contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Click here for…
One House’s Story: The Hurst Family
The Hurst family home on the corner of West Fair Street and Tenth served as a cherished residence for Charles and Maggie Hurst, who raised their three daughters there, and it remains a lasting piece of New Philadelphia’s history. The Hurst family arrived in New York from Switzerland aboard the Ship Advance on December 19,…
One House’s Story: The Stocksdale Family
Never let the size of a house fool you into believing there is no history to be found. The home of Elisha and Sarah Stocksdale is the perfect example of just such a house. William Stocksdale (1819-1894), a cooper by trade, and his wife Margaret (1831-1915) moved to Dover, Ohio in the 1850s. They started…
One House’s Story: Gustavus A. and Elizabeth Senhauser
Swiss immigrant Gustavus Senhauser began his American journey as a lighthouse tender in New Jersey, but would build a thriving family business in Ohio, that left a lasting architectural legacy in New Philadelphia. There is a house that sits prominently on North Broadway in New Philadelphia, Ohio that would, at first glance, give one the…
One House’s Story: Weber Family of Dover
When this family of tradespeople built their homes on the north end of Factory Street (now Tuscarawas) in Dover, Ohio in the late 19th century there were few homes there to be found. The houses they built, including this one, are still standing over 130 years later. Leonard Weber (1817-1888) and his wife Catherine Hess…
One House’s Story: The Crossland Family
The story of my home’s construction is said to have started with a 19th century butcher named Samuel Crossland. I thought I would take a deeper dive into his life and discover more about the man who had my home built in the 1850s. The Crossland family immigrated from Germany and originally settled in Lancaster…
One House’s Story: The Schmidt Family
This simple, unassuming home on what was the outskirts of New Philadelphia, Ohio once belonged to an immigrant who’s skills helped build the city of New Philadelphia in the 1800s. Note: The surname Schmidt is often recorded as the anglicized ‘Smith’ as well in later historical records. Notably, the Schmidt children all went by the…
One House’s Story: “Grandmother” Harriet Mitchell
It was believed that she was the oldest resident of Tuscarawas County when she was interviewed in 1903. Born enslaved in rural Virginia in the early 19th century, her life carried her to New Philadelphia, Ohio where she lived in a small home on South 7th Street. Harriet Mitchell, often referred to as “Grandmother” Mitchell,…
One House’s Story: The Herron Family
This New Philadelphia home was built in the 1920s by a respected painter and wall paperer before his crime would make him infamous in Tuscarawas County history. The Herron family arrived in Tuscarawas County from Maryland in the early 1820s with the arrival of Richard Herron (1780-1857) and his family. They settled principally in Warren…
One House’s Story: The Shaffer Family
I have walked past this house so many times and wondered who occupied it when it was a new, and attractive home in New Philadelphia. The home’s history is connected to a family that originally settled on the banks of the Ohio River but made New Philadelphia their home for over sixty years. John D.…
One House’s Story: The Glatfelter Family
This house’s history is associated with the family of a Pennsylvania-born Civil War veteran and his family of bricklayers who contributed to the construction of New Philadelphia, Ohio in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Why Solomon Glatfelter (1838-1912) left his home in York County, Pennsylvania in the late 1850s and moved to New…
One House’s Story: The Maurer Family
This house’s story is connected to the son of a prominent Tuscarawas County German immigrant who’s work impacted the New Philadelphia school system and countless late 19th and early 20th century New Philadelphia students. The parents of Jacob Maurer (1824-1901) immigrated, along with their six other children, to Tuscarawas County around 1840. The family of…
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© Noel B. Poirier, 2023.
Tuscarawas County Stories 