From New Philadelphia, Ohio, to the rolling hills of Daviess County, Missouri, Valentine Shuler’s journey, both physically and socially, was typical of many tradespeople of the 19th century. The patriarch of the Shuler family was a gunsmith named Johann Valentin Shuler (1759-1833) who, along with his wife Eva (1772-1833) and their children, relocated to LickingContinue reading “Gunsmith Valentine Shuler: New Philadelphia to Missouri”
Tag Archives: 1800s
Seances and Slates: W.A Mansfield Visits New Philadelphia
During the last half of the 19th century, the spiritualism movement garnered a great deal of attention and followers. Oftentimes those interested in spiritualism attempted to contact those who had passed away through seances and people known as mediums. Tuscarawas County was not immune to the attraction of spiritualism. Content warning: This post contains aContinue reading “Seances and Slates: W.A Mansfield Visits New Philadelphia”
Emmet D. Sharp and the Sharp Building of New Philadelphia
A building down the street from my home is lovingly being given a new life and purpose as a community gathering place. I thought I would take a look at the man responsible for its original construction over 100 years ago. John Sharp (?-1853) immigrated from England to the United States before the 1830s andContinue reading “Emmet D. Sharp and the Sharp Building of New Philadelphia”
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 LancasterContinue reading “One House’s Story: The Crossland Family”
The “One Dollar Ghost”
I stumbled across a letter written in 1819 from a Tuscarawas County resident in a Canton, Ohio newspaper that told a fantastical ghost story that I simply had to investigate further. A letter from New Philadelphia, Ohio appeared on the front page of a July 1819 edition of the Canton Ohio Repository newspaper describing aContinue reading “The “One Dollar Ghost””
The Hensel Skeletons and A Wife’s Revenge
A discovery in 1875 on land just south of New Philadelphia helped prove the veracity of a one-hundred year legend from the era of the American Revolution and the mission at Schoenbrunn. In the spring of 1875 Josiah Hensel (1825-1919) was busy trying to determine if there was any iron ore to be mined onContinue reading “The Hensel Skeletons and A Wife’s Revenge”
One House’s Story: The Brown Family
I have always said that every house tells a story no matter how modest the house may be or what it’s modern appearance may be. This small, working-class house on the west end of New Philadelphia is an example of just that truth. A note about addresses: House numbers and street names often change overContinue reading “One House’s Story: The Brown Family”
One House’s Story: The Horning Family
This large brick home on East High Avenue in New Philadelphia, one of many large homes on that stretch of road, was home to one New Philadelphia’s most successful businessmen and his wife. The son of an immigrant, the home stands as a testament to the immigrant goal of achieving a better life in AmericaContinue reading “One House’s Story: The Horning Family”
One House’s Story: The McCullough Family
When this house was built by a prominent New Philadelphia attorney, it was considered by one newspaper writer to be one of the “prettiest cottage homes in the city.” A note about addresses: House numbers and street names often change over time. Relatively speaking, the McCullough family were recent arrivals to Tuscarawas County. Pennsylvania-born CharlesContinue reading “One House’s Story: The McCullough Family”
One House’s Story: Dr. Israel J. Williams & Family
I thought I would, once again, take a look at a house that now serves as a place of business as opposed to a residence. You may be one of the many people who have visited this house in its modern role as a community pizza parlor, but it started out life as the homeContinue reading “One House’s Story: Dr. Israel J. Williams & Family”