Hall Cemetery, Ottawa County, Ohio

More often than we know, early pioneer cemeteries - without burials for many years and sometimes even decades - are abandoned. This  takes place in every county and state. Grave markers are often broken and illegible, suffering from neglect and the ravages of time and weather. Families move on, leaving behind few records and friends to remember and care for these nearly forgotten burial sites. As new settlers arrive, the  cemeteries gradually lose their identity and meaning altogether. 

So it was with the Hall Cemetery in Ottawa County, Ohio. But thanks to Elmore, Ohio's Robert Luckey, who wrote letters in the late 1890s to the Elmore Independent, a record does exist.  In an 1898 letter, he reminisced about his friends and relatives who had long-since passed and were buried in the Hall Cemetery.  

He mentioned his mother, Anna N. Luckey who was buried December 18, 1838 and his father John L. Luckey who died December 29, 1839. A. W. Luckey's wife died August 4, 1854 of cholera. Frank [Luckey] a son of theirs died April 10,1862 at the age of 7 years.

Nancy Ferris, wife of Ezekiel Ferris and daughter of Joseph and Letha Hall died September 2, 1840.

Rachel Gordon died March 3, 1842 aged 42 years [mother of Washington Gordon]. John Gordon died November 7, 1851 aged 53 years. Mary J. Gordon died August 21, 1837 aged 2 years

George W. Hall died February 9, 1837 in Port Clinton [and was buried in May of that year and then brought by canoe to be reburied in the Hall Cemetery. He was the first one buried in the cemetery.] Joseph Hall died January 1, 1859 aged 74 years. Samuel Hall died April 12, 1836 aged 25 years. James Hall died October 8, 1872 aged 64 years.

Desire Larned died March 4, 1846 aged 81 years.

Former Elmore, Ohio librarian Grace Luebke reprinted some of Robert Luckey's reminiscences in her Elmore Ohio, A History Preserved, Revised Edition with Supplement, 1997 by the Elmore Historical Society. For a complete reading, see pages 22 and 23.

“Two Lights for Tomorrow,” America Begins its 250th Anniversary Celebration

 

In 2026 America will celebrate its founding 250 years ago. The initiative that is already sweeping the nation takes place on April 18^th.  “Two Lights for Tomorrow” honors the historic ride of Paul Revere.

On the night of April 18^th, 1775 Paul Revere warned the Sons of Liberty of approaching British troops by hanging lanterns in Boston’s Old North Church. “One if by land, two if by sea!” Revere’s signal marks America’s fight for liberty and independence. “The shot heard round the world” was fired the next day, beginning the American Revolutionary War at Lexington and Concord.

Ohio will join other states across the country by displaying two lights in the statehouse at 8 PM on the night of April 18^th. Every household, business, and government office throughout the state is invited to participate. “Two Lights for Tomorrow” honors the spirit of unity, endurance, and the quest for freedom. It is an opportunity to remind ourselves of the sacrifices made by those minutemen for our freedoms that we so often take for granted. 

Some of Ohio’s 88 counties are already launching the celebration of the country’s birth. One of those is Ottawa County. Linda Huber, head of the county’s AM-250 Committee, received a flag from Ohio’s 250 Commission. County commissioners raised the flag at the County/City Government building in Port Clinton on March 6^th. Municipal and county buildings will join residents throughout Ottawa County in displaying two lights on the night of the 18^th.  On the 19^th Ottawa Countians are encouraged to remember Paul Revere’s act of service by undertaking their own volunteer projects. Some are planning cemetery cleanups, food drives, and assistance to the elderly at home and in care facilities.

On May 17^th at 1 PM, the Ottawa County Historical Society will dedicate a Daughters of American Revolution Patriot Marker at the gravesite of the Revolutionary War veteran Benajah Wolcott. The Wolcott Family Cemetery is located at the Keeper’s House in Danbury Twp. Four other Revolutionary War veterans are buried in Ottawa County: Isaac Ambler, buried in Danbury Twp.; John Clemons in Marblehead; and John Green(e) and Israel Harrington in Harris Twp. They will be honored at the event as well.

The bodies of John Greene and his daughter Diana Green(e) Thompson were reinterred in the Harris Elmore Union Cemetery through the efforts of the
DeLery Portage Chapter of the DAR of Ottawa County.  In 1930, the bodies of Green(e) and his daughter were brought from the neglected private cemetery on the Thompson farm located near the juncture of the Portage River and Sugar Creek in Harris Twp.

A version of this article appears online at Lifestyles 2000.

Enoch Freeman, Company B. 27th U.S. Colored Troops

 

The service of African American Civil War soldiers is often overlooked and difficult to research. However, the Clyde Library and Hayes Presidential Library and Museums have documented those known to them on their websites and honored their service at public ceremonies. Below is the story of another African American Civil soldier in nearby Ottawa County, Ohio.

Enoch Freeman was 18 years old when he enlisted at Russia Twp., Lorain County, Ohio in Company B of the 27^th US Colored Troops for three years. The 27th was the second black regiment organized in Ohio. The first African Americans to join the Union army from Ohio were those who enlisted to fill out the ranks of the 54th Massachusetts. (Edward Leonard of Sandusky County was one of those.) 

The pay for Union colored troops was discriminatory; African Americans could make more as day laborers than as  soldiers. Despite that, more than 3,000 black Ohioans enlisted in regiments outside the state before the 27th began recruiting.

Freeman mustered in at Camp Delaware Ohio on February 8, 1864. At that time, only 8 of the necessary 35 officers were present. (Only whites could serve as officers.)  Like all new recruits, Freeman was subjected to the contagious diseases that spread like wildfire among troops. He soon fell sick at Annapolis, Maryland. 

He returned to duty in May as the regiment moved out to the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. Their duty was to guard the supply trains against cavalry attacks. In early June, the 27th with other regiments, freed more than 500 slaves. According to Kelly D. Mezurek, author of  "For Their Own Cause," (a history of the 27th), the regiment finally was ordered to the front at Petersburg.  

It was at this time that Freeman fell sick at City Point, Virginia and was sent to the General Hospital. Freeman did not return to his regiment until September 1864. He was present at Hatcher's Run, on the Bermuda front, the expeditions to Fort Fisher, North Carolina and its subsequent bombardment, assault, and capture. Nine months later, he was promoted to corporal.  The following September, Corporal Freeman was mustered out at Smithville, North Carolina. 

Following Corporal Freeman's service, he returned to Ohio and worked as a laborer in Clay Twp. Ottawa County. On August 25, 1890, Enoch Freeman received a pension (#682971) for his Civil War service with the 27th.  He died June 25, 1913 and is buried in Clay Twp. Cemetery in Ottawa County, Ohio.

Moses Johnson of the 100th U.S. Colored Troops

 Moses Johnson was born in 1832 in Maryland where he worked as a laborer.  Noted on his military service record was "refugee of North Carolina." Johnson was recruited by Lt. J. J. Steiner. He enlisted in the Civil War on September 24, 1864 at Sandusky, Ohio. He was mustered in December 31, 1864 for one year's service. He listed his age as 32 and his height as five feet seven inches. Private Johnson served in Company D of the 9^th US Colored Heavy Artillery as a substitute for John Luckey, Esq. of Elmore, Ohio (Ottawa County). His service was credited to Harris Twp. Ottawa County where Luckey lived. 

 He worked as company cook for the teamsters of the 9th Heavy Artillery unit and performed extra duty as a teamster for the quartermaster department. Johnson was later transferred to Company E of the 100th US Colored Infantry. He mustered out one year and twelve days later. 

Civil War Tombstone of Private Moses Johnson
Courtesy of Find a Grave

Moses and his wife Anna, who was born in North Carolina in 1834, farmed in Washington Twp. Sandusky County. In 1870, the couple had a son named Moses. By 1880, Moses and Anna had adopted an eleven-year-old boy named John Thomas. 

The following year, Moses filed for and received a pension for his Civil War service (#543749). Sometime after this date, Anna passed away. And on October 16, 1889, Moses married again in Ottawa County, Ohio to Martha Elonor Bibb. He reportedly suffered from a degree of blindness. Martha Johnson was granted a widow’s pension (#564284) March 31, 1898. Moses Johnson is buried in the Elmore, Ohio Union Cemetery.

Undated Obituary for Moses Johnson
Courtesy of Find a Grave

 

St. Joseph's Catholic Church - Toussaint, Carroll Twp., Ottawa County, Ohio

After receiving the photograph below, Sandra Zenser researched and wrote the following history of the St. Joseph's Catholic Church - Toussaint in Carroll Twp., Ottawa County, Ohio. We welcome Sandra's guest post.

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church - Toussaint

by Sandra L. Zenser

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The photo shows St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, parishioners, church leaders (believed to be l-r: Father Thomas McCarthy, Bishop Samuel Stritch¹, and Father Albert Fate), with the church parsonage in the background. The celebration is possibly a first communion, ca.1922. The picture was donated to the Carroll Township History Committee by Betty Youster Dubbert, granddaughter of Fred and Akie Swope, and hangs on the wall of the historic 1880 Carroll Township hall/museum. Church records have the Swope family as members in 1860.

The church was located next to the Catholic Burial Ground, now known as St. Joseph’s Cemetery on Duff-Washa Road in Ottawa County, Ohio. Early church records have the Toussaint pastor as Rev. Amadeus Rappe in the year 1841. The Mass would have been celebrated in members' log cabins. Eventually in 1845 a log chapel was built on a half-acre tract at this location. The log chapel served its purpose until 1861 with the erection of this wooden structure. In 1944, the St. Joseph’s Church building was thought to be in danger of collapse and the Bishop felt that the small number of parishioners did not have the resources to build a new church. St. Joseph’s Church was torn down in 1945, one of the oldest parishes in the diocese, the first church in Carroll Township ceased. Catholics living in the Toussaint territory would become part of the Bono parish (Lucas County). 

What remains are the cemetery, privately owned by the Catholic Diocese of Toledo, and the parsonage home (built in 1916 according to diocesan history), a private residence since 1942.

Catholic Church records refer to this parish as Toussaint, French word meaning “All Saints”. However, to the locals it is Frenchtown as it was a French Canadian settlement where early settlers gained their livelihood by hunting, trapping, and fishing. Possibly the reason for the church not referring to this area as Frenchtown is because of  Frenchtown, Michigan and a St. Joseph’s Catholic Church there. The Toussaint River is just south of this property and Toussaint being a French‑Catholic name. So to eliminate confusion in the diocese, it opted to call this parish Toussaint.

 ¹Bishop Samuel Stritch, bishop from 1921 to 1930, later becoming a Cardinal as Cardinal Stritch Catholic High

  School is named after him on east side of Toledo in Oregon.