Ralph Fred Christopher

On January 31, 1923, Ralph Fred Christopher was born in Pisgah, Preston County, West Virginia, at his parents' house. Harry Dayton and Ida Merle (Everly) Christopher were his parents. Of his four siblings, all of whom were males, he was the youngest.

In addition to playing baseball and being on track, he was named "All State" for the high school football team. He studied welding in a vocational school in Baltimore, Maryland, after graduating from high school. He started working for Bethlehem Steel Company right away, constructing 'Liberty' ships for the Second World War.

In December 15, 1942, Ralph joined the US Navy, where he remained until December 1946. In addition to serving in the Mediterranean Sea around the African coast and the southern coast of France, he was assigned to Normandy and Omaha Beachheads in France. Three times in thirteen days, his brother Charles Warren was in the same vicinity aboard a mine sweeper, and their vessels were close enough to make touch with one another in a normal discussion. He received the purple heart and the Distinguished Service Medal.

After he was discharged, Ralph married Helen Tomaska and began focusing his career on heavy construction. He built bridges and three locks on the Monongahela River between Morgantown and Pittsburgh. He also worked at a hydroelectric plant at New Martinsville, Wetzel County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River.
His love of fishing and hunting was his favorite pastime. Ralph had triple bypass heart surgery in 1981 after which he retired. He could be found enjoying the family mountain and cabin called "The Shanty" mowing the fields around his grandfather, Ralph Spencer Christopher's homestead.

Ralph passed away on July 20, 1990 at the age of sixty-seven.

Martin Leo Werling

Martin Leo Werling was born on July 13, 1913 in Tiffin, Seneca County, Ohio. He was the youngest of four siblings to Leo and Emma [Stine] Werling.

At the age of 23 years old, Martin married Grace Ruth Linthicum on November 20, 1937, in Wood County, Ohio and had three children (Marlene A., Mary L. and Martin Leo, Jr.). Martin and Grace divorced in October 1941. 

Martin was a World War II and Korean War veteran with 10 years of service in the Air Force. He entered the US Army at Camp Attebury, Indiana on December 1944 and discharged as a Private in the service battery, 49th field artillery at Camp Attebury on January 29, 1946. Martin re-entered the service on June 28, 1946 and was discharged as a Sergeant in the US Air Force on May 9, 1950. Martin died in the Veterans hospital in Fort Harrison, Montana.

Leo Andrew and Emma Cecelia (Stine) Werling

Leo Andrew Werling was born in Seneca County, Ohio, on January 31, 1879. Born and raised in Seneca County, he is the third youngest of Martin Nicholas Werling and Sarah Ann Lonsway's twelve children.

Emma Cecelia Stine was born in the Rising Sun, Wood County, Ohio, on November 4, 1868. She was the seventh of John and Elizabeth (Krauft) Stine's ten children.

While working as a farmhand for Emma's brother, William, Leo got to know Emma. On Tuesday, February 17, 1903, Leo and Emma tied the knot at St. Joseph's Church in Tiffin, Ohio. Together, they reared three boys and one daughter — Vincent Ignatious, James Louis, Cletice Leona, and Martin Leo. Leo cultivated his own acreage near Hopewell. 

Leo was employed during the Great Depression as a night watchman at the Great Western Pottery Company. Leo died on October 22, 1959, in Tiffin, Ohio, at the age of 80, and interned at St. Joseph’s Cemetery. Emma died of a cerebral hemorrhage on November 28, 1944 and buried alongside Leo.

Penelope Kent VanPrincis Stout

Penelope Kent VanPrincis was a young bride traveling with your groom onboard a ship from Holland (now The Netherlands) that was shipwrecked off Sandy Hook, New Jersey. It was initially going to the Dutch colony, New Amsterdam, which was later called New York. According to Samuel Smith’s “History of New Jersey,” written in 1765, the passengers reached the shore but feared Indians were nearby. The others tried to persuade her to go with them, but her husband was badly injured and unable to move. The Indians killed her husband and left Penelope partially scalped and disemboweled, mangled from tomahawk wounds. They were left for dead; however, Penelope was not killed. She regained consciousness and managed to crawl into a hollow tree for several days, eating the moss that grew inside the log.

Two Indians of the Lenni Lenape or Delaware Tribe were out hunting and came upon Penelope. The youngest wanted to kill her, but the older Indian saw her courage and took her to his camp, where she was fed along with her wounds sewn up with fishbone needles and vegetable fiber. Penelope remained with the Indians for quite some time but eventually chose to leave for New Amsterdam. She remained connected with the older Indian, who considered her an adopted daughter.

Settling in New Amsterdam, Penelope met and married an Englishman named Richard Stout. Richard was born in 1605 in Nottingham and served on a British warship. It was said that he was instrumental in developing the Long Island settlement. Richard and Penelope married in 1644 and made their home near Middletown near those who saved her life. The old Indian came by to warn her of an attack and provide a canoe hidden near the river for her family. The wives and children fled while the men stayed to defend their village. An alliance was made with the men purchasing the land from the Indians, where Middletown flourished by many descendants. According to “A History of the Baptists,” written by Morgan Edwards in 1792, the first Baptist church in New Jersey was established at the home of Richard and Penelope’s son, Jonathan, in 1688.

Note - There is a commemorative medal depicting a scene of Penelope Stout based on the story that was shared above.

Louis Broussard dit Langevin (Lonsway)

Louis Lonsway was the youngest son of Jean Baptiste Broussard dit Langevin and Marie Thérèse Durand dit Chartier.

In 1844, Louis followed his older brothers, Joseph and Peter, in leaving his childhood home in Trois Rivieres, Quebec, Canada and settling in Ohio, becoming a pioneer of Seneca County. The three brothers worked together in obtaining a timber contract in building and maintaining the railroad for the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad. In 1846, the first train traveled from Sandusky to Kenton. After their eight-year contract ended, Louis moved to Wyandot County for a while then settled on a homestead in Hopewell Township where he lived his remaining days farming. The 1874 land owners map for Hopewell Township lists Louis as a farmer and school director.

Louis married Victoria Cecelia Julien on 2 Feb 1847 at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church (Tiffin, Seneca, Ohio). Victoria is the daughter of John and Eva [Miller] Julien. Together Louis and Victoria raised nine children (5 boys, 4 girls) - Elenora, Frances, Sarah, Sylvester Bertram, Lewis Vincent, Mary Sophronia, Adolph, John Roman, and Albert.

At the age of 70 years old, Louis died of a stroke on March 8, 1893. Victoria died of heart disease on December 14, 1896 at the age of 67. Victoria’s obituary states that she was the first white baby born in Seneca County.

Interesting family fact: Louis' older brother, Joseph Narcisse, married Sarah Ann Julien, who was the older sister of Victoria. The Lonsway brothers had married Julien sisters.

Homer Byron Myler

Homer Byron Myler was born on April 18, 1855, in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He was the third of eight children to parents Samuel and Sarah Ann [Cleland] Myler. In 1859, Samuel moved his family to Jefferson County, Ohio, where they settled in Warren Township. Homer's father, Samuel, was a farmer, a skilled woodturner, and the sexton of Spring Grove Cemetery in East Liverpool, Columbiana County, Ohio.

At the age of 22 years old, Homer married 17-year-old Mary Aditha Bucey on March 23, 1878, in Jefferson County, Ohio. Together, they raised eleven children (6 boys, 5 girls) in East Liverpool. Homer was a farmer, worked as a sexton of Spring Grove Cemetery, as well as a kiln fireman for various pottery factories. Homer’s youngest brother, Ulysses Simpson Grant, was a potter for Homer Laughlin (renamed Fiestaware).

In 1910, upon the death of his daughter, Sarah Lowessa, Homer welcomed his son-in-law, Louis Earl Lonsway, and little granddaughters, Ruth Lillian (1904-1992) and Marian Elizabeth (1905-1976), into his home. Shortly after, Louis Earl contracted tuberculosis, and the family moved to Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, to be near the best tuberculosis hospital of its time, Boehne Camp Hospital. Louis Earl succumbed to this disease five years later. Homer and Sarah Ann continued to raise their granddaughters in Evansville. Homer worked as a kiln fireman at the National Pottery Factory in Evansville.

Ida Barbara Haefling

On October 6, 1875, Ida Barbara Haefling was born into the family of Adam and Agnes Barbara [Kuhn] Haefling. Out of her eight siblings, she was the youngest. Ida was born and raised in Tiffin, Seneca County, Ohio. Agnes, Ida's mother, was born in the Bas-Rhin region of France in 1830. Adam, her father, was born in January 10, 1823, in Bavaria. Before relocating to Tiffin in 1839, they initially made their home in Pennsylvania. Adam was a prosperous miner during the California gold rush, according to her father's obituary. He possessed 160 acres in the township of Hopewell.

As an adult, Ida lived with her brothers, Francis "Frank" and Jacob Alphorus, and handled domestic chores. In addition to farming, Frank worked as a machinist for Hanson Clutch & Machine Co., a company that manufactured excavators, and Jacob was a butcher. Despite never getting married, the three siblings played a crucial role in raising their nieces and nephews.

After their oldest sister Clara [Haefling] Lonsway passed away, Ida and her brothers took in Everett and Louis Lonsway, their nephews, into their home. Sylvester Bertram Lonsway, their brother-in-law, remarried and relocated to Colorado in the interim.

Ruth and Marian Lonsway, their adolescent grand-nieces, were welcomed into their house following the passing of their parents, Louis Lonsway and his wife Lowessa.