Fallen Heroes: Private Carl C. Stoller

I was recently contacted by the Carl C. Stoller VFW, Post 1445 of New Philadelphia regarding the post’s namesake and whether I had done any research into his life. I had not, but felt that it was important to put the story to the name. This is Private Stoller’s story. There is some debate aboutContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Carl C. Stoller”

“Six Cents and a Muskrat Tail”: Ohio Hatter John Scroggs

It happens. Sometimes when I am researching one subject I come across something that I can’t resist looking into further. In this case it was an advertisement for a runaway apprentice hatter that took me down, fittingly, a rabbit hole and into the life of an early 19th century Ohio tradesman. When his father AllenContinue reading ““Six Cents and a Muskrat Tail”: Ohio Hatter John Scroggs”

Fallen Heroes: Private William Border

There are many soldiers who train as medics or corpsman so that they can aid their fellow soldiers wounded in the heat of battle. Unfortunately, in this case, one of those trained soldiers never had the chance. The Border family can trace their Tuscarawas County roots back to the arrival of Christopher Border (1800-1856) andContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private William Border”

The “Black Hand” in Tuscarawas County

During the early 1900s, the burgeoning Italian immigrant community in Tuscarawas County watched with trepidation as the local newspaper carried stories of the extortion of their fellow countrymen in cities like New York and Pittsburgh by a shadowy group referred to as the “Black Hand Society”. It would not be long before the “hand” appearedContinue reading “The “Black Hand” in Tuscarawas County”

Fallen Heroes: 2nd Lieutenant Clara A. Young

Not surprisingly, given the nature of warfare in the past, the majority of fallen heroes are young men. There are, however, examples where servicewomen find themselves on or near the front lines, or in roles that put their lives in danger. In the case of this fallen hero, though she prepared and trained for serviceContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: 2nd Lieutenant Clara A. Young”

“Torch Murder” of 1934, Part Two

Investigators believed that they had identified the victim of a brutal killing outside of Dover as that of a Cleveland organized crime figure. However, they were about to learn that the victim of the torch murder was someone whose activities were much more local. Newspapers across the state of Ohio had already run the storyContinue reading ““Torch Murder” of 1934, Part Two”

Fallen Heroes: Corporal Hubert Jentes

During World War One there were numerous young men from Tuscarawas County who found themselves fighting in Europe. The battlefields of Europe, however, were not the only place where American soldiers served and lost their lives. The Jentes family began in Tuscarawas County with the arrival of German immigrant Adam Jentes (1822-1903) and his pregnantContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Corporal Hubert Jentes”

“Torch Murder” of 1934

Tuscarawas County was not immune when it came to the rise of organized crime before, during, and after the era of Prohibition in the 1920s. The local newspapers carried stories of extortion, bootlegging, murder, and more. During the winter of 1934, Tuscarawas County witnessed a brutal gangland killing in a style reminiscent of the worstContinue reading ““Torch Murder” of 1934″