Museum and Chapter HouseTour and Wreath Laying Ceremony, Colonel George Croghan Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, August 2, 2015

1946 Celebration

Mrs. Willah White Linder sings the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" on  August 2, 1946, during the Colonel George Croghan Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution celebration at the Minnie Louise Failing  Home, at 209 Justice Street, Fremont, Ohio.

Today the home is known as the Minnie Louise Failing Museum and Chapter House of the Colonel George Croghan  Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Members invite the public to tour the museum and chapter house on August 2nd at 209 Justice Street, Fremont, Ohio from 1 to 3 p.m. Cookies and beverages will be served. RSVP Marie: 419-307-4100 or DARCROGHAN@aol.com

Another view of the celebration of the Colonel George Croghan Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution on August 2, 1946. Members look on during the dedication of the property as the official  home of the Colonel George Croghan Chapter. 

Wreath Laying Ceremony 1946

August 2, 2015 the Colonel George Croghan Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will again honor Colonel George Croghan and his men who courageously defended Fort Stephenson during the War of 1812. The wreath laying ceremony will take place at Fort Stephenson Park/Birchard Public Library at 4 p.m.. 

   

Anniversary of the Death of Civil War General James B. McPherson

On this day in 1864, Clyde, Ohio native General James Birdseye McPherson was killed in the opening rounds of the Battle of Atlanta. The Society of the Army of the Tennessee dedicated this equestrian statue of their former commander at what became known as McPherson Square in Washington, D. C. located some six blocks from the White House.


The veterans unveiled the monument on October 18, 1876, the date of the society's 11th reunion.  The sculpture features McPherson on horseback, surveying a battlefield with field glasses in his right hand. In the casting of the statue, created Louis Rebisso, Confederate cannon captured at the Battle of Atlanta were used.


To learn more about the statue located over General McPherson's grave in Clyde, Ohio, go to the earlier post http://ohiosyesterdays.blogspot.com/search?q=mcpherson.

Tinker's Creek Trestle of the Lake Erie and Pittsburg Railway

 This undated photograph appears to be the crew who constructed the Tinker's Creek Trestle of the Lake Erie and Pittsburg Railway. According to an article by Railroad Historian John A. Thompson, Jr., the Lake Erie and Pittsburg was a bridge or connecting route between two major rail carriers, the New York Central and the Pennsylvania.

After the unsuccessful construction of the first route due to swampy ground near Berea, Ohio, a new route was laid out.  The line was open for service in 1911. From a point near Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio, then known as Marcy, it headed southeast and crossed three trestles the first over Mill Creek, then Brandywine Creek, and Tinker's Creek.
According to Cuyahoga Valley, published by the Cuyahoga Valley Historical Museum and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association, the railroad became obsolete in the late 1960s. The trestle was demolished in 1973.
 

Railroad Bridge Crew, Fremont, Ohio, 1907

The photograph above was taken by professional Fremont, Ohio photographer Elmer Whitney. He dated the photograph February 7, 1907. A search of the Fremont newspapers around this date did not reveal any articles on the subject of this railroad bridge. Was this a construction crew? or a repair crew? None of the individuals is identified.

Fraktur of Johann Gahn and wife Catherina Schmidt Gahn of Washington Twp. Sandusky County, Ohio

Above are scans of a hand painted fraktur, belonging to Beverly Wheatley of Tiffin, Ohio. The document was created as a family register in 1877, representing Johann Gahn who was born April 14, 1848. He married Catherina Schmidt November 19, 1874. Catherina was born September 25, 1858. In the second image, it reads "CONRAD GAHN! Glory to God in the highest and on earth peach to all mankind."Fraktur is both a style of lettering and a highly artistic and elaborate illuminated folk art created by Pennsylvania Germans..Most were created between 1740 and 1860.
Fraktur drawings were done entirely by hand in both ink and/or watercolors. Later, actual printed text became increasingly common. 

Most fraktur, like that created for Johann Gahn, are personal records, such as birth and baptismal certificates. They can provide genealogists with a resource for tracing family histories. 

According to the Free Library of Philadelphia,  which holds a large collection, fraktur were also used to express religious beliefs or to help schoolchildren with their studies. Fraktur artists often decorated these documents with drawings of flowers, birds, stars, and other figures. You can explore online the large variations in fraktur drawings and lettering by examining the Free Library of Philadelphia's digital collection. 

Fremont Ohio Native Louis C. Kaiser Lost His Life While Serving Aboard the WWII Submarine U.S.S. Tang

Fremont native Louis C. Kaiser who served as a motor machinist mate aboard the celebrated submarine Tang, lost his life while on the submarine's 5th patrol in the Formosa Straits. The Tang was sunk by her own defective torpedo. Thirteen men escaped from the forward torpedo room, and by the time the last made his exit, the heat from the fire was so intense that the paint on the bulkhead was scorching, melting, and running down. Only eight reached the surface, and of these but five were able to swim until rescued.

In all nine survivors were picked up by a Japanese destroyer escort. On board were victims of Tang's previous sinkings. They inflicted tortures on the men from the Tang. Captain Richard O'Kane received the worst of the clubbings and kickings. The nine suffered as prisoners of war until the end of WWII.  

USS TANG

In her five patrols, the Tang is credited with sinking 31 ships, totaling 227,800 tons and damaging two for 4,100 tons. This record is unequaled among American submarines. The loss of the Tang by her own torpedo, the last one fired on the most successful patrol ever made by a  U. S. submarine, was a stroke of singular misfortune. She is credited with having sunk 13 vessels for 107,324 tons of enemy shipping on this patrol, and her Commanding Officer Richard O'Kane was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
                                             

Commander Richard O'Kane receiving the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman

Colonel George Croghan Chapter Members of the Daughters of the American Revolution Researching at the Hayes Center

Members of the Colonel George Croghan Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution researching their ancestors in the Hayes Presidential Center Reading Room.
The chapter home, also known as The Minnie Louise Failing Museum, is the childhood home of Miss Julia M. Haynes. She was the organizing regent of the chapter. Through a bequest of Miss Minnie Louise Failing the chapter home was purchased in 1946.
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The Colonel George Croghan Chapter Home/Minnie Louise Failing Museum is located in Fremont, Ohio. Meetings are held on the 4th Mondays of September -November and March -May.