Corporal Carl Henry Schmick & Corporal Benjamin Edward Abel

Spanish American War Soldiers

Corporal Carl Henry Schmick

Carl Henry Schmick’s life carried him from the streets and clothing stores of Defiance, Ohio, to military service in Charleston, South Carolina, and later to the American Southwest. Illness interrupted his service with Company M of the Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, but when he returned home in January 1899, the local newspaper welcomed him as a “good and faithful soldier.”

Growing up in Defiance

Carl was born on November 16, 1872, in Defiance, Defiance County, Ohio, according to the collected family notes. His parents, Henry and Elizabeth Schmick, were both born in Germany. The 1880 census placed Carl with his parents at 419 Wayne Street, along with four sisters: Alice, Phebe, Eda, and Cora. The research notes locate that address near the present Metalink building at 419 Wayne St.

These early records place Carl firmly within a Defiance family whose ties would remain important throughout his life. Years later, a military home record named his sister Allie Schmick of Defiance as his nearest relative; Allie appears to be the Alice listed in the earlier census.

Military service and a welcome home

Carl served in Company M of the Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish American War era. The notes identify him as Pvt. C. H. Schmick, with the variant Schmicky, but both the surviving military home record and the newspaper account identify him as a sergeant. The military record gives his enlistment as May 26, 1898, at Defiance.

Illness brought his service to an early end. The military home record lists pulmonary tuberculosis among his disabilities and records his discharge at Charleston, South Carolina, apparently on January 12, 1899 date assigned to the Defiance Daily Crescent clipping announcing his return is listed as January 30, 1899.

The January 30 newspaper account reported that Carl had arrived the previous evening from Charleston. It explained that illness (assuming here that it was tuberculosis) had compelled him to leave Company M and convalesce in Charleston while the company was on its way to Cuba. He had received an honorable discharge and planned to remain in Defiance and return to civilian work. Although he looked thin after his illness, the paper said he was steadily recovering and that his many friends were glad to see him home.

The records and articles suggest that he became ill while awaiting a transfer to Georgia for training and never accompanied his comrades to Cuba. The clipping supports his separation from the company in Charleston.

Back behind the clothing counter

By the 1900 census, Carl was again living with his parents, this time at 802 Clinton Street in Defiance. His occupation was clerk in a clothing store. The Defiance Weekly Express of April 13, 1900, identified his employer as King, Backus & Co.

On October 16, 1901, The Crescent-News reported a new business venture: Carl H. Schmick and Godfrey M. Watkins had purchased David Wertheimer’s clothing store stock in Defiance. Wertheimer had wanted to retire, and the purchasers were taking inventory and cleaning the premises. They expected to open about two weeks from the coming Saturday and sell at reduced prices until the stock was gone. The article describes a stock liquidation rather than confirming a continuing store under their names.

Marriage and journeys west

On March 30, 1904, Carl married Madaline Hark in Saginaw, Saginaw County, Michigan. According to the notes from their marriage record, Carl was then a resident of Chicago, Illinois. The recorded ages were 33 for Carl and 40 for Madaline. Carl’s stated age does not quite match the November 16, 1872, birth date, which would have made him 31 at the time.

The next records take the story west. On July 13, 1908, Carl entered the U.S. National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers at Sawtelle, in the Los Angeles area of California. Its register records his military history, pulmonary tuberculosis, and occupation as a clerk. It names El Paso, Texas, as his residence after discharge from military service and lists Allie Schmick in Defiance as his nearest relative. Madaline is not named in that field, but that omission alone does not establish what happened to the marriage.

An October 3, 1908, voter registration places Carl in Phoenix, Arizona, with his age recorded as 36. This, too, differs slightly from the birth date in the notes, since his thirty-sixth birthday would not have fallen until November 16. The dates place the Phoenix registration within the span of his military home record, so there are discrepancies between the two records

The home register lists a discharge on November 1, 1909. The notes describe a $50 pension, but the reproduced page does not clearly verify that amount as a pension payment. His tuberculosis may help explain his move toward the Southwest, although the records do not state his reason for relocating. They also leave gaps in where he lived, and with whom, during the final years of his life.

National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers register

A final return to Defiance

 

In November 1913, word of Carl Henry Schmick’s death reached his hometown. A notice identified as appearing in The Crescent-News on November 6, 1913, page 5, reported that he had died that morning in El Paso, Texas. His body was to be sent to Defiance and was expected to arrive about Sunday. The paper noted that his family still lived there, that three sisters survived him, and that he belonged to the United Spanish War Veterans, Eagles, and National Union.

A New Mexico death record, however, names Albuquerque, New Mexico, as Carl’s place of death. This conflicts with the El Paso location reported in the Defiance newspapers. The collected information also gives November 7, 1913, as his death date, which differs from the date assigned to the first newspaper notice. Carl was 40 years old, just short of his forty-first birthday on November 16. For now, the conflicting records leave his exact death date and location unresolved.

His return to Defiance is more clearly documented. The Defiance Democrat of November 11, 1913, reported that his funeral took place that afternoon at two o’clock at the family home on Clinton Street. Rev. C. E. Shields of the Presbyterian church officiated, and Carl was buried at Riverside Cemetery. This notice also stated that his body had been brought from El Paso, Texas.

The funeral account remembered Carl as a well-known Defiance resident with many friends. His life had taken him from the family home to military service, the clothing business, marriage, and later years in the West. Although the records disagree about where his life ended, they agree on his final homecoming: Carl returned to Defiance to be laid to rest.

Colfax, New Mexico, United States records

Death notice attributed in the notes to The Crescent-News, November 6, 1913, page 5. Its date conflicts with the November 7 death date in the notes.

Corporal Benjamin Edward Abel

Benjamin Edward Abel appears in the muster rolls of Company M of the Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry as a corporal. Behind that brief entry is a boy who grew up in Defiance, lost both parents at eight, and found care among relatives before entering military service. His childhood can be pieced together through census entries, family notices, and guardianship papers. What became of him later remains harder to discover.

Military roster entry for Ben E. Abell, age twenty, of Defiance, recording his service and changes in rank. See military source at the end.

Benjamin was born on April 13, 1878, in Defiance, Defiance County, Ohio, to Benjamin Loomis Abell and Mary M. Strong Abell. His father was a banker, a position that suggests financial standing and prominence in the community. Benjamin had an older sister, Mary Rebecca, and a younger brother, Donald Strong. 

The 1880 census finds two-year-old Benjamin at home with his parents and sister at 403 Wayne Street in Defiance. His father was listed as a banker, while his mother was recorded as suffering from consumption, the term commonly used for tuberculosis.

The Abell family monument at Riverside Cemetery in Defiance, where Benjamin’s parents are buried. Benjamin Edward is not buried here.

The substantial family monument offers another glimpse of the Abells’ standing in Defiance. Its size suggests the means to commission an imposing memorial, though it cannot tell us the full extent of their wealth.

A childhood changed by loss

In 1886, the children lost both parents within a few months. Their father died in January. A newspaper announcement of their mother’s death, dated approximately May 2, 1886, said she died on a Sunday morning after an illness of only one day, just fifteen weeks after her husband. Benjamin had only recently turned eight. 

Newspaper notice of Mary S. Abell’s death, approximately May 2, 1886. It remembers both parents warmly and anticipates care for the children with their mother’s sister in Grand Rapids.

The notice remembered Mary as highly respected and described the sorrow felt for the three young children, one girl and two boys, the eldest only ten. Its account of a suddenly broken family home gives a sense of the loss behind the dates. Although the 1880 census had noted consumption, the notice does not identify the cause of her final illness.

Benjamin Loomis Abell’s will had provided for his wife, leaving her his possessions, including a house at 37 Jefferson Street in Defiance. It also named Andrew Sauer in connection with funds for the children’s welfare. Sauer had worked as a clerk with their father at the bank. 

After Mary’s death, the Defiance County Probate Court appointed Sauer guardian of the “person and estate” of Mary Rebecca, Benjamin Edward, and Donald Strong Abell. A guardian’s bond filed on May 13, 1886, was set at $40,000. Although Sauer held that responsibility, the children did not live with him. 

Care among relatives and a new guardian

After their parents’ deaths, the children appear to have gone first to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to live with their aunt Janet and her husband, Clinton C. Harley. Their mother’s death notice anticipated that her sister, identified as Mrs. C. C. Harley, would care for them, and a later probate reference placed the children in Grand Rapids. The Harley family seems to have returned to Defiance with the Abell children sometime afterward. Donald apparently then spent time with the Henry Vosz family, whose surname also appears as Foss. 

This sequence is inferred from the newspaper accounts and family estate material. The exact dates, lengths of these stays, and details of the moves cannot be confirmed, but the references offer glimpses of the households that gave the children a home after their loss. 

On August 18, 1894, when Benjamin was sixteen, the Defiance County Probate Court appointed John H. Bevington of Hicksville as his new guardian. Bevington accepted responsibility for Benjamin’s “person and estate,” including his care and his property or financial interests. The bond was set at $10,000, approved that day, and recorded on August 21. 

Benjamin E. Abell’s guardian’s bond, dated August 18, 1894, naming John H. Bevington as guardian. Defiance County Probate Court; recorded August 21, 1894.

Questions about the children’s inheritance

Less than two weeks later, the Defiance Daily Express of August 30, 1894, reported an examination of Sauer’s accounts following his removal as guardian. The newspaper questioned his reports and the handling of the Abell children’s funds. Benjamin’s new guardianship came close in time to this public controversy, although his bond does not establish a connection between the two events. 

Excerpt from “The Abell Estate,” Defiance Daily Express, August 30, 1894, questioning the decline in assets reported by former guardian Andrew Sauer.

According to the article, Sauer’s report of December 30, 1890, listed $19,105.37 in resources; his final account, filed August 27, 1894, listed $13,380.44. The newspaper described the decline as suspicious and put the loss at about $6,000. These were newspaper allegations, rather than proof of embezzlement or a record of a legal finding. Sauer’s later, separate banking troubles should also be distinguished from this dispute over the children’s funds. 

For sixteen-year-old Benjamin, the change in guardianship and questions about his inheritance were part of a youth already shaped by loss. The papers tell us who held responsibility for him and his finances, but little about his everyday life or his feelings. He had begun life as the son of a prosperous banker; his parents’ deaths brought uncertainty that money alone could not resolve.

A corporal and an unfinished story

Benjamin’s name next appears in the military rolls of Company M of the Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish American War era. At twenty, he entered service as a corporal. He was reduced to private on November 3, 1898, under Regimental Order No. 32, and appointed corporal again on April 1, 1899, under Regimental Order No. 20. Both orders came from Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry headquarters. The roster does not explain the reason for either change in rank.

Beyond his military service, Benjamin’s life becomes difficult to follow. The research gathered so far has not identified reliable records establishing a marriage, a later residence, or his death. Those gaps leave his adult story unfinished.

For now, we know him most clearly as a Defiance boy: a banker’s son, orphaned at eight, cared for for a time in family households, placed under a new guardian at sixteen, and later serving as a corporal. The surviving records preserve these moments, even as the years that followed remain out of reach.

Sources and image notes

Military source: “U.S., Adjutant General Military Records, 1631–1976,” Ohio, 1898–1899, Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company M, entry for Ben E. Abell.

Guardianship image: Defiance County Probate Court, guardian’s bond for Benjamin E. Abell, August 18, 1894; recorded August 21, 1894.

Estate clipping: “The Abell Estate,” Defiance Daily Express, August 30, 1894.

Death notice: Newspaper announcement for Mrs. Mary S. Abell, approximately May 2, 1886. The supplied clipping does not display a newspaper title or printed date.

Family monument: Photograph of the Abell family monument, Riverside Cemetery, Defiance, Ohio. Burial identification supplied with the photograph.

 

Tiffin Township High School Grade Cards Available - 1930s, 1940s, and a Few Early 1950s

These grade cards from Tiffin Township High School from the 1930s and 1940s mostly, are currently in storage and looking for family or interested party adopters.

The list is somewhat in alphabetical order. 

They are currently in the care of Addison and Tanya Brunner. They would need your full name and mailing address to get the card to you. Feel free to share the list. Contact at 419.980.6089 or atbrunner75@gmail.com.

 

     High School Dance 1935

High School students in the 1940s

Two Soldiers, Two Very Different Lives - Privates Wirock and Bowers

William Henry Bowers and John Thomas Wirock/Wyrock

Spanish American War Volunteers

Company M-Defiance Ohio

Defiance Soldiers in the Spanish-American War

John Thomas Wirock/Wyrock and William Henry Bowers

This article tells the separate stories of two Defiance men whose lives crossed through Company M of the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American War. John Thomas Wirock remained closely tied to Defiance throughout his life, while William Henry Bowers eventually followed work far beyond northwest Ohio.

Part One: John Thomas Wirock/Wyrock - A Life of Strife

John Thomas Wirock was born 22 August 1878 in Defiance, Defiance County, Ohio, to Peter Wirock and Celesta/Margaret/Martha (Palmer) Wirock, whose surname is also found as Wireock. Defiance would remain the place John returned to throughout his life. In 1900 he was living with his parents and working as a day laborer. Later censuses place the family's long-time home at 264 Gray Street.

Off to War

At 19, John left Defiance for military service during the Spanish-American War. He enlisted on 13 June 1898 as a private in Company M, 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. A Defiance newspaper captured the excitement surrounding the company's departure, announcing that the local soldiers had received marching orders for Columbus and would then join the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry at Chickamauga.

A Defiance newspaper announces the departure of Company M for Columbus and, ultimately, Camp Thomas at Chickamauga.

John's service was interrupted by illness that September, when he spent several days in the Division Hospital and then received a sick furlough that was eventually extended through 26 November 1898. He remained with the regiment until he was mustered out at Augusta, Georgia, on 24 May 1899.

Marriage and a Return to Military Life

Back in civilian life, John married Perle M. Hubbard on 31 May 1901. He was 23 and Perle, who was living in Hicksville, was 20. The marriage eventually ended in divorce. Many years later, on 24 August 1933, John married Luella Marks of Napoleon. That marriage also ended in divorce after about a year.

Military life called John again in 1908. On 30 April he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at Toledo, Ohio, beginning nearly four more years of service before his discharge on 14 May 1912. His Marine Corps years were not without difficulty. Muster rolls from the Marine Barracks at the Navy Yard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for March 1912 record disciplinary proceedings for using profane, abusive and threatening language and striking another service member. He received three months' confinement at hard labor and forfeited $20 in pay.

Back Home in Defiance

By the time of the First World War, John was again in Defiance. When he registered for the draft on 12 September 1918, he was living at 264 Gray Street and working as a laborer for his brother William. The 1920 census likewise found him living with his parents and earning his living as a common laborer.

The Soldiers' Home in Dayton

John's health appeared to have become a greater concern as he grew older. On 15 March 1929 he entered the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Dayton, Ohio. His record described him as an Ohio-born laborer, named his father, Peter Wirock, of Defiance as his nearest relative, and noted medical problems including mild varicocele and what appears to be chronic arthritis. His stay was brief. John discharged himself on 3 April 1929, less than a month after arriving, and appears to have returned to his family's home on Gray Street in Defiance.

National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers record for John Wirock, Dayton, Ohio.

His Final Years

John's life ended in Defiance on 4 October 1935. His death certificate gives his residence as 264 Gray Street, records him as divorced and a common laborer, and lists his parents as Peter Wirock and Martha Palmer. The coroner recorded his death as suicide by strychnine poisoning.

Ohio death certificate for John Thomas Wyrock, 4 October 1935.

A newspaper account published after his death reported that John had recently been divorced and was in ill health. According to the article, he took three strychnine capsules that Friday afternoon. A neighbor later heard his cries and went for help, but a physician was not able to reach him for at least half an hour.

Newspaper account of John T. Wyrock's death, shown in two columns.

Remembered by Fellow Veterans

John's funeral was held the following Monday at the Hoffman-Turner funeral home, with Rev. Theodore Strauss of St. Paul's Lutheran Church officiating. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Defiance. The funeral notice adds a fitting final detail to his military story: members of the United Spanish War Veterans served as pallbearers and flower carriers.

Funeral notice for John T. Wyrock. Members of the United Spanish War Veterans took part in the services.

From his youth in Defiance through two periods of military service and his later years, John repeatedly found his way back to his hometown and the family home on Gray Street. The surviving records offer only pieces of his story, but together they trace a life marked by military service, hard physical work, periods of illness and difficulty, and enduring ties to Defiance.

 

John T. Wirock and William H. Bowers, fellow Defiance soldiers of Company M. (Identification supplied with the photograph. AI edited Picture)

 

Part Two: William Henry Bowers - A Soldier Who Wandered Far From Defiance

William Henry Bowers was born in Ohio in May 1874. According to the 1900 federal census, his family was living in Defiance Twp. on Francis St. Strangely, William and his brother Charles were not living with the family. It is proved by other sources, including birth and death records, that his parents were Martin M. and Mary (nee Bush) Bowers. His father worked as a carpenter, while his mother was an Ohio native who later died in Lima. The surviving records suggest that William found his way to Defiance sometime after 1900.

By his twenties, William had made his way to Defiance, where his life briefly crossed paths with another young man, John T. Wirock. In 1898, both men became members of Company M of the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American War.

For William, military service began with some distinction—he entered the company as a corporal. His service record also reveals that military life did not always go smoothly. During his time in uniform, he was reduced from corporal to the ranks for violations of the Articles of War. Whatever lay behind that episode, William remained with the regiment and completed his service.

After his Spanish-American War service, William was mustered out with the regiment on 24 May 1899.

Little is known with certainty about the next several years of William's life. He appears to have spent some time around Lima, Ohio, and his records associate him with Almeda F. Winegardner. The 1900 census apparently places William and Almeda, as husband/wife in the household of John C. Wright, although a marriage record for the couple has not yet been located. They apparently divorced or became estranged a short time later.

Following Work West

Eventually, William's travels took him much farther from northwest Ohio. His World War I registration card finds him in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, at about age 45. By then, the former soldier was working as an oil-well driller, an occupation that offers a glimpse of the very different life he was leading nearly two decades after leaving the Army.

William Henry Bowers' World War I registration card, recording his residence in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, and his work as an oil-well driller.

His Final Years in Texas

William continued west and south in the years that followed. By the end of his life, he was in Texas and married to Mildred Hale Lambert Bowers. His Texas death certificate records his death at Devine, Medina County, Texas, on 17 February 1935, at approximately 60 years of age. The certificate indicates that his death was accidental and records an injury at his home shortly before his death.

Texas death certificate for William Henry Bowers, 17 February 1935.

Bowers grave marker for William and Mildred. Devine Evergreen Cemetery, Devine, Medina County, Texas

From Ohio to Cuba, Oklahoma and finally Texas, William Henry Bowers seems to have spent much of his life on the move. The surviving records leave considerable gaps in his story, but they also preserve an intriguing trail: a young corporal leaving Defiance for war, a laboring man following work westward, and finally a veteran whose life ended hundreds of miles from the Ohio communities where it began.

Kim Bercaw, Researcher

First WCTU Women in Sherwood

 

SHERWOOD'S FIRST WCTU

Women's Christian Temperance Union

First Row, L to R:

Mrs. Hartshorn, Mrs. Koons, Mrs. V. Openlander, Ella Palmer, Mrs. Palmer, Mrs. Fields and Miss Prunie Palmer  (Lady on far right unknown)

Standing: L to R: 

Alma Miller, Pearl Potter, Mrs. Byers, Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Pitts, Mrs. McCaskey, and Mrs. Knisely

Sherwood Chronicle, January 2, 1947, pg. 1

"The Women's Christian Temperance Union has exerted significant influence in the community for years, and the above is a picture of the first group ever formed in Sherwood, with the photograph being snapped before the turn of the century, the exact date being unknown, by August Koons, who loaned the picture to the Chronicle.

In late years, the national policy of the WCTU has been of a somewhat restrained nature, but in the years immediately before and after the taking of this picture, it was a militant organization, fighting Demon Rum with every available weapon and striking mighty blows on behalf of women's suffrage.  No other organization played so large a part in promoting national prohibition, and none other is doing more today in advocating temperance.."

An Old Settler - Michael Frease

 

Not Michael Frease

Michael Frease - An Old Settler in Hicksville

Michael Frease, born in Pennsylvania, came to Hicksville in about 1849.  Born on October 27, 1821, he had migrated west to Wayne County, Ohio by June 14, 1845, where he married his wife, Jane Aten. His parents, George Frease, Sr. and Sally (Shaff) Frease were also living there at the time.

Michael and Jane were located in the 1870 Federal Census of Hicksville Township.  Of their three children, only Edward, 14, was still living at home and going to school. 

Michael was a farmer, and a very successful one, having real estate worth $4,000 and a personal estate of $1,544 in 1870.

By 1880, the farm had increased in worth and Frease had livestock, including dairy cows and calves, and he also raised chickens. Seventy-seven acres of his ground was tilled, according to the Agricultural Census, twenty acres were pasture or orchards and twenty were woods.  In 1880 he and Jane were caring for three grandchildren: Cris(?) 4, Anna 2, and Ella Jane 7. It is uncertain whose children these were.  Anna was destined to give her grandfather some trouble. She ran away from home after her grandmother's death.

In January of 1895, the Defiance Daily Crescent ran this report:

"ANNIE FREASE LOCATED.

It is said that Miss Annie Frease who so mysteriously disappeared from the home of her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Frease, in the morning before Christmas, has been located at Bloomville, Ohio, twelve miles south of Tiffin, where it is said she is staying with one, Sarah Jane Rhodegast.  Mrs. Rhodegast had been employed at the Frease home for two months during the illness of the girl, Annie Freese.

On the Saturday before Christmas, the said Sarah Jane left the house in the night, bag and baggage, and it is said that the same young fellow, living in this town, who took her to the depot, also a few evenings later, took Annie Frease to the train. The baggage of both Mrs. Rhodegast and Miss Frease was traced to Tiffin and thence to Bloomville, where it is rumored, the two are staying for no good purposes.

Mrs. Rhodegast was formerly Miss Sarah Jane Detter of Tight Street. She was married to Rhodegast, but parted from him about eighteen months ago."

Anna's grandmother died in 1894, and her grandfather, Michael, in 1899.  His obituary was found in the Marckel Scrapbook which contains undated and unsourced obituaries.

"OBITUARY.

Michael Frease departed this life on the morning of March 11 at 4 o'clock. Mr. Frease was one of the earliest settlers in Defiance County, having come here in 1849.

He was a native of Penn. and was born in Somerset county, that state, Oct. 27, 1821.

His parents were natives of Virginia and Penn.

In the year 1845 and on June 14, Mr. Frease was united in marriage to Jane A. Aten in Wayne county, Ohio. His wife wss the daughter or Robert Aten of Penn. and was born in Northampton county, of that state, on the 16th of October 1824. To them were born five children, but three of the five with the mother have passed over and only two children survive."

Forest Home Cemetery, Michael and Jane Frease, Section 1, with three young children who preceded them in death, Elisha, Alfred and Cornelius

"Mr. Frease had lived a long time. He lived to pass man's allotted three score and ten, and when more than eight years beyond that period, he was overtaken with that disease which has removed so many of the aged ones from us, lagrippe*, and on last Saturday morning, he passed away at the ripe age of 78 years, 5 months and twelve days.

Mr. Frease was a very good man. He was a religious man, and when the pastor of the Church of Christ called on him a few days before his death, he said, 'Well, since you are here, we might as well have a little prayer meeting.' (They) did and Mr. Frease enjoyed the reading of God's word which he had been accustomed to hear for more than three score years.

He was an industrious farmer and good citizen and was very quiet and unassuming, strictly honest and just in his dealings. He was not a great conversationalist, but a man of thought and great deliberation. 

His body was laid away in Forest Home to await the day when our dear Lord will come and 'They who are in their graves shall hear His voice and come forth.'"

**LaGrippe - the vintage name for flu or influenza

In looking for the Frease children, Edward J. Frease, was located in St. Joe, Indiana. He was not named on the FindAGrave entry, but his death certificate named Michael Frease and Jane A. Aten as his parents. He died in Newville Township, St. Joe, Indiana on November 19, 1919, of nephritis and heart disease at 84. He, too, was buried in Forest Home Cemetery.

Dianne Kline, Researcher

Side Note:

Further research showed that my husband's grandmother purchased the Ed. Frease farm in 1935. She used it for a rental, as the St. Joe News reported that Mr. and Mrs. Pat Hook moved on the former Ed Frease farm recently purchased by Emily Kline.

Spanish - American Soldiers - Privates Charles E. Switzer, Clyde Davis, and Irvin Hatfield

 #18 Charles E. Switzer

#40 Clyde Davis

#41 Irvin Hatfield

Private Charles E. Switzer

The research on Private Charles Switzer took many turns, beginning with the 1880 Federal Census where the family was found on East High Street in Defiance. Enumerated were Fillmore Charles, father and head of the family (later referred to as Phil or Fill), 25, tinner, and his wife, Charlotte (often referred to as Lottie, nee Taggart), 24, with their two children, Charles, 5, and Fanny, 5 months. Charles was born on February 17, 1875.

Charles' father ran a hardware store in Defiance, last located in the Wilhelm block at the corner of Clinton and Fourth Streets. In October, 1897, it was announced that Phil Switzer would move his tin and hardware store to Sherwood, as well as his family. This article appeared in the Defiance Express in February, 1897, when they were still living in Defiance, but now on East Second Street:

"Wednesday evening about 7:30 o'clock, Mr. Phil Switzer was out in the woodshed at his residence, sawing wood, while his wife and son Charles were seated in the sitting room of the house. Suddenly, the outside door was opened and a tall, thin man poorly attired, walked into the room without knocking. The occupants were, of course, greatly surprised, as the man was a perfect stranger to them.

Upon being asked what he wanted, he said he was looking for his sister and thought he would stay all night. Upon this, Charles Switzer, picking up the stove poker, and assuming a dramatic attitude, told the stranger to 'walk out that door as fast as he came in.'

To this the intruder responded, 'guess I will,' turned around and quietly walked out of the house and up East Second Street. Mr. and Mrs. Switzer scarcely know what to make of their unceremonious visitor, but have decided on this opinion, that he was insane or that he came with a view of seeing how the house was arranged, that he might break into the house some night.

They intend to keep a close watch, however, and hereafter, Mrs. Switzer will keep the door locked when her husband is away after dark."

Charles was 22 years old, when he frightened the strange man at the door. The next year, he enlisted into Company M, Sixth Regiment for the Spanish-American War.  He was in the Division Hospital at Camp Poland from October 12 - November 8, 1898, and then had more time on a sick furlough from November 9 - December 8, 1898. But he finally rejoined his group and was mustered out with the others in 1899.

After that, the family was lost for a while - were they in MO, NY, MD - Charles Switzers were everywhere.  But one line in the Defiance Democrat got the research ball rolling again.

August 21, 1906, Defiance Democrat-

"Mrs. Phil Switzer of Los Angeles is the guest at the home of relations in this city." California!

In the 1910 census, Charles' parents lived in the city of Los Angeles, Fillmore, 59, worked as a tinner in a hardware store. Charlotte, 56, was with him in a rented house, but where was Charles? Several Charles E Switzers were married and living in Ohio and were of about the same age, but it could not be ascertained if they were the correct Charles. No marriage record was found, but it is known that in a later census, he declared himself divorced.

Charles was enumerated in a house with his parents in the 1920 census st in Los Angeles. Fillmore, now 71, was still working with sheet metal in a hardware. Lottie did not work, and neither did Charles, now 37.  Charlotte died on September 6, 1924, and Fillmore followed her on September 3, 1925.  Charles was alone.

In 1930, he was a lodger in an apartment building at 8th Street Place in LA. At 55, he was divorced and not working anywhere. He does name himself as a veteran of the Spanish - American War. 

In 1940, he was still in the same apartment complex at West 8th Street Place downtown LA. This time he called himself the head of the household and his roommate, George Luchman, his partner. Charles was 65 and not working, while George, 32, worked as a waiter at a lunch counter 56 hours a week..

By the time 1950 rolled around, or maybe even before that, Charles was admitted to the Brentwood Neuropsychiatric Hospital in LA, run by the Veterans Administration.  For the census, enumerators were not allowed in the rooms of these patients with mental illness, so they based their census records on the records of the hospital. Charles was 77 at the time.

At first, it was thought he was buried in the National Cemetery in Los Angeles, but the dates did not quite match up with this Charles Switzer.

So, at this point, his burial place is unknown. No obituary was located, nor tombstone. 

If you have more or different information on this soldier, please comment or email us at defiancegenealogy2002@yahoo.com

Private Clyde Davis

In Clyde's early years, he grew up in Defiance at 605 Clinton Street. In the 1900 Federal Census he lived with his father, Baxter Davis, 58, and his step-mother, Mary (Braker), age 47.  This was Baxter's second marriage; his first was to Elizabeth Zellers who was the mother of Clyde. She died in 1900.

Clyde Eding Davis was born in 1879 and was 21 in this census. His siblings, Edna, 15, and Ethel, 11, were both in school.  At the age of 19, Clyde enlisted in the army, Company M, 6th Regiment on May 12, 1898. He was discharged on May 24, 1899.

In the 1900 Federal Census, Clyde lived with his step-mother, Mary Davis, now 57 and a widow in Toledo. He worked as a fireman at the bottle works.

On August 22, 1916, he married Leona A. Regenold in Lucas County. It was the first marriage for both; she was 30 and he was 37. Leona, the daughter of William A. and Margaret (Lehr) Regenold, lived on Dorr Street. Clyde was then living on Georgia Street in Toledo.  At some point, they must have decided that there was money to be made in the oil fields of Oklahoma.

On the 1918 Draft Registration, Clyde noted his address on Dorr Street in Toledo, but he must have been often away from home. His occupation was listed as an "oil rumper* for a Texas Pipe Line, working in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He named Leona Davis, his wife, as his nearest relative who lived in Payne, OK. 

*A rumper worked on an oil rig, shorting pipe string to fit when they were removing damaged or worn sections of drill pipe or casing.

Eventually, they moved back to Toledo by 1920 where Clyde was a metal worker in an auto plant. Did they move home because Leona was ill?  She died on February 12, 1920 and was buried in the Swan Creek Cemetery, Monclova, Lucas, Ohio.

On December 14, 1923, Clyde married Helen I. Ball. He gave his age as 41 and Helen was 34, the daughter of Fred Hoffman and Mary Schneider Hoffman. It was a second marriage for both Clyde and Helen.   Helen was a Toledo resident, living at 1706 Chestnut Street; she was previously married and divorced from Edward Ball. 

Clyde reported that he was previously married but was now a widow. They lived in Toledo on Dorr Street, and he worked in an auto plant, polishing metal.

Clyde became interested again in being a fireman and by 1930 had a job within Toledo as a stationery fireman in a paper fabrication mill. It was rather short-lived, however, as Clyde passed away on January 11, 1936 of mycarditis. He was buried in Toledo Memorial Park Cemetery, Sylvania, Ohio. His wife ordered a tombstone for him through the military.

 Private Irvin Albert Hatfield

In the 1900 Federal Census, Irvin was just a fifteen year old boy, living in Farmer Township and helping his father on the farm. Born on January 23, 1885, in Bryan, Williams County, Irvin was the son of James Columbus Hatfield and his wife, Martha Elizabeth (Strusaker) Hatfield.

After he signed up in Company M, 6th Regiment O.V.I., he became ill by November, 1898, and spent until December 26, 1898, in the Division Hospital. 

In his youth, Irvin was a well known southpaw pitcher on Defiance City teams. Those he played with on the Defiance Baseball Club included Marry (Harry?) Myers, Ed Franzdorf, Gus Buchholz, and Grover Huth.

Bertha Ball, daughter of Ulrich and Marie (Haubert) Ball, became Irvin's wife on April 28, 1909. Irvin resided in Ney and worked as an engineer, while Bertha was a domestic, also living in Washington Township at that time.

Most of their married life was spent in Hillsdale County, Michigan, near the towns of Cambria and Reading. The couple had two children: Marie Martha, born in 1911, and Donald Leroy, born in 1917. Irvin was listed as a farmer on all the Federal Census records from 1920 until 1940.

On October 29, 1940, Irvin died of a heart attack in Cambria Township, Michigan, where he had lived for twenty-six years.  His obituary appeared in the Defiance Crescent-News on the same day:

"IRVIN HATFIELD DIES NEAR HILLSDALE, MICH.

Irvin Hatfield, 57, farmer near Hillsdale, Mich., who formerly was well known in Defiance, died today of a heart attack. He recently visited here in the home of his brother-in-law, Fred B. Steffel.

Mr. Hatfield at various times was employed at the Defiance Machine Works, the Defiance Milling Company, and as a glove cutter at the Boss Mfg. Co.

He was a left hand pitcher for several of the old city baseball teams. He left here about 24 years ago.

Surviving are his wife, the former Bertha Ball of Tiffin township; a daughter, Marie, living in Hillsdale; and a son, Donald, at home. Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday in Hillsdale."

L

Lakeview Cemetery, Hillsdale, Michigan

An additional obituary which appeared in the Bryan Press noted that he was the second son of his parents. Irvin was born in Pulaski township, and "when 

a lad, the family moved to Washington township where he was a student of The Old Man's School* in school No. 2, winter of 1894-95."

*At one time School #2, corner of Scott and Bend Roads, was known at the Rider/ Ryder School. The name Old Man's School was unknown.

Bertha remained in Hillsdale County, never remarried and lived until the advanced age of 89. Her obituary appeared in the Hillsdale Daily News on February 10, 1975:

"MRS. HATFIELD DIES AT 89

Mrs. Bertha L. Hatfield, 89, of 125 Barr St., Hillsdale, died at her home Sunday evening. She was born in Ney, Ohio, Sept. 29,1885, the daughter of Ulrich and Mary Haurbert Ball. She was a member of the Cambria Thursday Club and the Bridge Club.

Her husband, Irvin, died in 1940. Survivors include one daughter, Mrs. Marie Caulkins of Hillsdale; one son, Don L. of Rte. 3, Hillsdale; three sisters, Mrs. Jo Surtman of Toledo, Mrs. Ann Steffel of Defiance, and Mrs. Al Miller of Toledo; one grandchild and six great-grandchildren.

The funeral will be Wednesday afternoon at 1 in the Ned M. Towns Funeral Home. Hillsdale. The Rev. James Burns will officiate, and burial will be in the Lakeview Cemetery, Hillsdale..."

Lakeview Cemetery, Hillsdale, Michigan

Dianne Kline, Researcher

Related Obituaries:

Bertha's mother, Mrs. Mary Ball.  The Crescent-News, April 1, 1929, page 1.

"MOTHER OF 14, CHILDREN DIES

Rites for Mrs. Ball, 82, mother of 14 children and widow of Ulrich Ball, a former Defiance county commissioner, died at 2 a.m. today at her home, 766 Harrison Avenue, one half hour after she was stricken with a heart attack. She had attended Easter services at St. John Catholic church iwth Father George H. Lang officiating. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery.

The funeral will be held Thursday at 9 a.m. at St. John Catholic church with Rev. Father George H. Lang officiating. Burial will be made in Riverside Cemetery. Mrs. Ball died on March 25, 1923.

Mrs. Ball was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on June 4, 1846, and came to Defiance shortly after her marriage to Mr. Ball about 60 years ago. The 14 children are:

Frank Ball, Superior, Wis.; Mrs. Adrian Friend, Denver, Colo.; 

Mrs. Frank Leithauser, Amarilla, Texas; Mrs. Christ Diehl, Pigeon, Mich.'

Mrs. Winfield Sewell, Detroit; Mrs. Irvin Hatfield, Reading, Mich.; 

Mrs. Fred Esaias, Mrs. Albert Surtman, Mrs. A. V. Miller, Neil Ball, and Louis Ball, all of Toledo; 

Mrs. Fred Steffel and Miss Ida Ball, both of Defiance; and

Mrs. William Baker, Fort Wayne, Ind.

A brother, Jacob Haubert, Tiffin, and a sister, Mrs. Joseph Moeder, St. Henry, also survive besides 22 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren."

An obituary for Irvin's mother, Mrs. Martha Hatfield. The Crescent-News, January 15, 1924:

"Mrs. Martha Hatfield.

Mrs. Martha Hatfield who has been ill for some time, passed way Thursday morning at the home of her daughter, Mrs. John Rubel with whom she has resided for several years. 

Mrs. Hatfield, who was 71 yrs. 5 mo. and 21 days old, had spent the greater part of her life in this section of the country where she had many dear friends and relatives.

Her children: Irvin Hatfield, Mrs. Harry Bayes, and Mrs. Art Biglow of Cambria, Mich.;  Mrs. Harry O'Brian of Defiance; Mrs. John Ruebel and Wilbur Hatfield of Ney, with their families were in attendance at the funeral which was held at the Church of God in Ney Saturday afternoon, conducted by Rev. Kruse, the U.B. pastor of Moats. Interment was in the Ney Cemetery. The Michigan families returned home Saturday evening."