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.

Martin Nicholas Werling

Nicholas and Susan [Mendels] Werling welcomed their baby boy Martin Nicholas Werling into the world on September 28, 1832. When he was five years old, the family relocated to Seneca County from Bethel, Stark County, Ohio, where he was born. In 1831, Martin’s parents and two older brothers emigrated from Belgium.  He was the first American-born sibling. 

Martin and an older brother decided to join their neighbors, the Reinhard brothers, and try their luck at seeking gold after learning about the California Gold Rush. "Seneca County, Ohio History and Families" states that the four men first went to New York, then circumnavigated the tip of South America by sailboat, and finally set up camp at Hangtown (Placerville), California. They stated that chickens were selling for $50 and eggs for $5 a dozen. Only bartenders with a lot of skill were hired since the cost of a drink at a bar was a pinch of gold dust from the prospector's poke. After four years, they walked over the Panamanian isthmus to the Atlantic side, where they boarded a ferry to New York and then Ohio, and returned home in January 1856. "Martin possessed 173 acres at the time of the book and had the resources to start a life in the California mines," according to the "History of Seneca County, Ohio" (1886). 

On September 10, 1861, Martin wed Mary Ann Lonsway in Seneca County, Ohio. Joseph and Sarah Ann [Julien] Lonsway welcomed Mary into the world on May 14, 1843, in Seneca County. Amelia, Joseph Anthony, Sarah Ann, Emma Elizabeth, Rose Ann, Susan K., Lewis Sylvester, Leander Martin, George Edward, Leo Andrew, and Mary M. were the eleven children raised by Martin and Mary Ann. The 1874 land owners map lists Martin as a farmer as well as a grain and stock raiser.

His father, Nicholas, moved in with his son, Martin, after his mother passed away in the 1873. Nicholas lived there until his death in 1881. Martin and Mary Ann Werling are interred at the cemetery of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Tiffin, Ohio, where the Werling's were members.