# 7 Corporal Herman Frederich Wilhelm Bartels
Corporal Herman F. Bartels was a well-liked member of Company M, 6th O.V.I. He enlisted as a private at the age of 22, and by November 7, 1898, had been promoted to Corporal. He was a tailor by trade, and the men generally described him as the "happy tailor."
"Herman Bartels, the practical tailor of the company, is much sought for service as we have received our uniforms, to sew the officer's stripes and lengthen and shorten the private's trousers." (Defiance Express, July 7, 1898)
"Herman Bartels, our happy tailor, is always looking for trouble and is one of us who takes things too easy to get sick." (Camp Chat, Defiance Daily Crescent, September 22, 1898)
"Herman Bartels, our happy tailor, is improving his leisure time in reading the high class literature of our regiment. So far, he has completed 'The Life of Jesse James,' Diamond Dick Jr. 'series, and is now reading the adventures of Frank Merriwell. (Defiance Daily Crescent, October 6, 1898)
Herman was born in Defiance on January 23 1876, to Christian Wilhelm F. Bartels and Marie/ Mary S. Rieckhof. A note on a public tree (chickylava) on Ancestry noted that he was raised by the Schwable family of Defiance after he left home at 12. His father was very abusive toward him and he was forced to leave. He learned the tailoring trade at a very young age.
When Herman came back from the Army, he was employed by the railroad as a fireman. In 1900, he lived as a single man in Lavina Stump's boarding house in Canton, Stark County; he was 23. However, by the 1910 census, he had moved to Massillon in the same county, where he lived with his wife Della and son, Clarence, age 8. He married Della Maybelle Watkins, the daughter of William and Ann (Richardson) Watkins on September 19, 1900, in Carroll County when he was 24 and she was 21. It was the first marriage for both. Clarence was born in 1904.
It took a while to discover, but the final conclusion was that Della and Herman divorced sometime between late 1910 and 1914. In 1922, Della remarried to George H. Williams in Ontario, Canada. George has been living in Ontario for at least fifteen days before this wedding to establish residency. She was from Cleveland. Why did they go to Canada to marry? Here is their wedding certificate:
(Click to enlarge.)_
Some strange things were noticed on this document. The bride was now going by Mrs. Della Watkins, calling herself a widow and using her maiden name. Someone had mistakenly written in Wm. Bartels, her former husband using one of his middle names, Wilhelm, as her father, although Ann Richardson as her mother is correct. Why the deceit? Della died in Bedford County, PA in 1930 at the age of 51.
In the meantime, on November 11, 1914, Herman, 37, married his second wife, Beatrice Williams, aged 20 in Dillonvale, Jefferson County. The marriage certificate verified his birth in Defiance and his occupation as a Railroader. Beatrice was the daughter of Thomas and Johanna (Ulrich) Williams.
By the Federal Census of 1920, Herman and Beatrice owned a home in Dillonvale, Jefferson County, Ohio, and Herman was a railroad engineer. They also had two sons: William F. - 3 and Howard W., 1.
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| Herman Bartels with sons, William Elisha and Howard Walter (Ancestry) |
Even though Herman was 42, he was required to register for the World War I draft in 1918 in Jefferson County. He described himself there as tall, of medium build, with gray eyes and brown hair.
At some point, the family moved to 238 Plymouth Street in Toledo, Ohio, where they were enumerated on the 1940 census. Herman, 64, was still working 50 hours a week as a railroad engineer with a total salary of $3,000 a year. Beatrice was home with her adult sons, William, now 23, and Howard, 21. Herman was almost ready to retire.
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| Captioned "Bea and Herm" (Ancestry) |
Herman died on May 1, 1954, at the age of 78, and he was buried in Toledo Memorial Park, Sylvania, Ohio. His obituary appeared in the Toledo Blade on that same day"
"HERMAN F. BARTELS
Herman F. Bartels, 78, of 238 Plymouth St., died today in St. Charles Hospital after a 9 month illness.
Born in Defiance, Mr. Bartels lived in Toledo 30 years. He was an engineer for the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad 44 years, retiring in 1941.
A veteran of the Spanish-American War, he was a member of the Veterans Railroad Organization, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Smithfield Lodge, F & AM, Smithfield, Ohio
Surviving are his wife Beatrice U.; sons Clarence - Bedford, William E. - Phoenix, Ariz. and Howard W., - Toledo; six grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Services will be Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the Eggleston Meinert Mortuary. Burial will be in the mortuary. The body will be in the mortuary after noon tomorrow.
Twelve years later, Beatrice died on March 9, 1966, while living in the Toledo area. Also in the Toledo Blade:
"BEATRICE BARTELS
Mrs. Beatrice U. Bartels, 70, died today in the home of her son, Howard W. Bartels, 5859 Summit St., Sylvania.
Born in Dillonvale, O., Mrs. Bartels lived in the Toledo area since 1924. She was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
Also surviving are her son, William E., of San Francisco, and three grandchildren.
The body will be in the Reeb Mortuary, Sylvana, after 7 o'clock tonight. Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday in the mortuary, with burial in Toledo Memorial Park."
Dianne Kline, Researcher
