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 hadContinue reading “One House’s Story: The Brucks Family”
Tag Archives: genealogy
Gunsmith Valentine Shuler: New Philadelphia to Missouri
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”
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 startedContinue reading “One House’s Story: The Stocksdale Family”
Father and Son: The Murder of Jonas Bremer
The Tuscarawas County community was stunned when a father and civil war veteran from one of the county’s oldest families turned his gun on one of his own children. The Bremer family were one of the earliest settlers of Salem Township, Tuscarawas County, having arrived in the county from Pennsylvania before 1811. That early settler,Continue reading “Father and Son: The Murder of Jonas Bremer”
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 theContinue reading “One House’s Story: Gustavus A. and Elizabeth Senhauser”
A “Blue Devil”: Joseph Aloysius Downey
As much as I enjoy researching the family histories of other people, my greatest satisfaction comes from exploring my own family’s history. It is especially satisfying when that research helps answer questions that may have been left unanswered for decades. This is one of those times. James Downey (1847- c. 1910) was born in IrelandContinue reading “A “Blue Devil”: Joseph Aloysius Downey”
Fallen Heroes: Private Daniel K. Hinkel
There are may families where multiple siblings serve their country in the military, in peacetime and during periods of conflict. A large percentage of those families’ sons and daughters will serve without suffering any loss at all. There are those cases however, like this one, where the family sacrifices one of those children to conflict.Continue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Daniel K. Hinkel”
Fallen Heroes: Corporal Arthur T. Friley
Many imagine that only men from the Navy or Coast Guard saw duty on the numerous patrol boats that operated in the rivers of South Vietnam. The Army, however, also played a part in what they referred to as “riverine” operations. The story of this fallen hero is one example of that type of service.Continue reading “Fallen Heroes: Corporal Arthur T. Friley”
The White Hill Chain Works of Fieldsboro, New Jersey
Old photographs often offer glimpses of what life was like for our ancestors, and the world in which they lived and worked. One such photograph of the White Hill Chain Works in my own collection did just that. All I had to do was take the time to look. During the 19th century the areaContinue reading “The White Hill Chain Works of Fieldsboro, New Jersey”
Fallen Heroes: Specialist 5 James B. Alexander
The first Tuscarawas County soldier to lose his life in Vietnam was not some young-faced draftee straight out of high school. He was a career soldier who had served in two previous wars and been wounded in battle once. His death, and those that died with him that day, would bring the Vietnam War intoContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Specialist 5 James B. Alexander”