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Joseph Esch was born on Jan. 11, 1837 in Brush Valley, Indiana County, PA, the son of Joseph and Sarah (Younkin) Esch.

Joseph grew up learning the trade of carpentry. He stood 5 feet, 5½ inches tall, weighed 170 lbs. and had grey eyes and auburn hair.

On July 7, 1862, at the age of 25, he tied the knot with Laura Ann Shoupe (May 18, 1845-1938), daughter of George and Elizabeth (Mattern) Shoupe of Indiana County. The wedding took place in Armagh, East Wheatfield Township, Indiana County, officiated by justice of the peace Hugh Parker. No public record of the union was made, and only was recorded in a family Bible that the family kept for many years.

Together, the Esches produced a trio of children -- John "Edwin" Esch, Sarah Elizabeth "Lizzie" Esch and William Worthington Esch.

During the Civil War, on Aug. 30, 1864, he enrolled in the Union Army at Brownsville, PA and was assigned to the 6th Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, Company L. The nature of his wartime service has not been recorded. He is known to have received his honorable discharge at Fort Ethan Allen, VA on June 13, 1865.

Bird's-eye view of Fremont, Ohio, looking east

When the United States Census was made in 1870, the Esches lived in Armagh, with Joseph earning a living as a carpenter. 

The couple pulled up stakes in 1876 and made a move to Ohio, settling in Elyria, Lorain County. They are shown there in the 1880 U.S. Census, with Joseph now working as a telegraph repairer. Then in 1883, they relocated to Fremont, Sandusky County, OH, where Laura's relative W.S. Shoupe was then living.

By 1890, when a special census was made of Civil War veterans, the family was in Fremont. He was awarded a military pension that year. [Invalid App. #952.374 - Cert. #948.099] His check from the government totaled $8 each month, raised to $10 in about 1902.

As of 1902, when he underwent a physical examination from a military surgeon, he complained of rheumatism, heart problems, dyspepsia and heatstroke. He had no teeth at that time.

The pair remained in Fremont for good. As of 1902, he earned income as a telegraph lineman. Then in 1905, at 306 West State Street, he owned a store providing flour, feed, hay and staraw, located where the Hotel Fremont later was constructed. He was retired by 1913.

Above: rare stationery letterhead from Joseph's flour and feed store. Courtesy National Archives. Below: Hotel Fremont, reputedly where the store once stood.

Letter in Laura's writing Courtesy National Archives

On the fateful day of Aug. 9, 1913, in Fremont, Joseph was felled by heart failure and died immediately at the age of 76. His remains were laid to rest in Oakwood Cemetery. Son William signed the official Ohio certificate of death.

The widowed Laura petitioned to receive his pension. She was required to provide proof of her lawful marriage to the soldier, and furnished a notary public with marriage and birth records on leaves from an old family Bible. Wrote the official, "There is no date on said leaves to show when the bible was printed but I am informed by claimant that these leaves were torn from the family bible at the time of moving and the bible on account of being old and worn was left and only the Birth and Marriage and Death record leaves were torn out." Her brother-in-law Rev. John Esch and sister-in-law Angeline (Younkin) Esch along with first cousin Biddie O'Connor, neighbor Dr. R.J. Tomb and friends I.H. Burgoon and William E. Haynes all signed eyewitness affidavits of support. Laura's kisnman W.S. Shoupe, of Elyria, wrote that he could vouch for the longevity of the couple's marriage by saying "Our relations were such that if they had ever separated or divorced I would have known of it."

Laura's pension request was granted. [Widow App. #1.013.120 - Cert. #768.742]

Laura's signature, 1926 - Courtesy National Archives

She survived her soldier-husband by more than two decades, and endured the deaths of her adult daughter Elizabeth and son William. Her address in Fremont in the 1920s was 122 Elm. Circa 1924, she was receiving $30 per month in pension payments but felt she needed more. In a letter to the commissioner of the Bureau of Pensions on March 29, 1924, she wrote:

I understand there are a numbe of Civil War widows not as old as I who are receving $50 per mo. pension and I know no one need it more than I, as I have no one to epend upon or to help me. And I have been trying to make my $30 reach. I have been doing home baking but I find I cannot do that much longer as I am 79 yrs. old this coming May. I am almost destitute for clothing and I do need it so much. Will you kindly tell me how to go about it to get this.  

Burdened with senility and cardio-vascular disease, she was swept away by the angel of death at age 92 on April 12, 1938. Her obituary in the Fremont News-Messenger said that she "would have been 93 in May."

~ Son John "Edwin" Esch ~

Son John "Edwin" Esch (1863-1949) was born on May 28, 1863 in Indiana County, PA.

He relocated to Ohio with his parents in boyhood. As of 1880, in Elyria, Lorain County, OH, he clerked in a local store. Within a few years he relocated again and put down roots in Findlay, Hancock County, OH. 

On March 15, 1888, Edwin entered into marriage with Emma J. Schneerer ( ? - ? ). In an article about the wedding, the Elyria Democrat said it had been held in the home of the bride's parents in Elyria, by the hand of Rev. E.O. Buxton, "in the presence of a large number of their young friends, who extended many good wishes to the couple... The occasion was an unusually happy one."

Together, the pair bore at least three children -- Laura "Katherine" Robinson, Glenn D. Esch and William "Worthington" Esch.

Main Street in Findlay, Ohio, where the Edwin Esches lived for decades

The Esches remained for decades in Findlay, with Edwin running a retail jewelry store. In 1920, the federal census enumeration shows Emma's widowed mother in their household.

He passed away on Aug. 11, 1949. Burial was in Clymer Cemetery in Mount Cory near Findlay.  

Emma survived for another nine years. Death swept her away on July 7, 1958. 

Daughter Laura "Katherine" Esch (1891-1928) was born on Nov. 21, 1891 in Fremont. She was joined in wedlock with Thomas T.  Robinson ( ? - ? ). The Robinsons' address in 1928 was 200 Greenlawn in Findlay. The family was plunged into anxiety when Catherine was diagnosed with tuberculosis vertebrae, an illness which destroyed her spinal column. She also contracted kidney disease. She suffered for two years. Death plucked her away at age 36 on Jan. 31, 1928. The remains were placed into eternal repose in Maple Grove Cemetery. 

Son Glenn Edwin Esch (1893-1976) was born in 1893. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I. Glenn wed Helen A. (1902-1980). One known son was Robert Esch. Glenn died in 1976. 

• Grandson Robert Esch (1924-2000) was born in 1924. He is believed to have wed Jean (1927-2009).

Son William "Worthington" Esch (1897-1971) was born in 1897. He appears to have been named for an uncle.

~ Daughter Sarah Elizabeth "Lizzie" Esch ~

Daughter Sarah E. Esch (1866-1925) was born on April 3, 1866 in Armagh, Indiana County, PA.

She moved with her parents to Ohio and never married.

Single at the age of 32, in 1900, she lived under her parents' roof in Fremont, Sandusky County, and was employed as a bookkeeper. Then in 1910, still with her mother and father, she earned a living as a clerk in the county auditor's office. She remained a bookkeeper to the end of her life.

Reported the Fremont News-Messenger, she "was active in [Methodist] church and social affairs of the city and was a young woman well and favorably known and universally esteemed by all."

Cirtca 1914, she moved to Findlay, Hancock County, OH.

She was diagnosed with an enlarged thyroid gland, called a goiter. She succumbed to the spectre of death in Findlay at age 59, on May 22, 1925. Her remains were returned to Fremont to be laid into the sleep of ages in Oakwood Cemetery. In an obituary, the News-Messenger said "There was a short service at the grave, where a number of friends assembled for the ceremonies."

~ Son William Worthington "Will" Esch ~

Son William Worthington "Will" Esch (1870-1917) was born on June 4, 1870 in Indiana County, PA.

He was a boy when the family migrated to Ohio.

William served circa 1898 as city editor of the Sandusky Daily News. He and his relative Mr. Shoupe of Elyria were part of a group that went on a fishing trip to northwest Wisconsin in September 1898. Clucked the Clyde (OH) Enterprise, "No doubt there will be some tall fish stories related on the return of the disciples of Isaak Walton." 

At some point William went to law school. A bachelor at age 29, in 1900, he practiced law in Fremont and resided in his parents' household. He held a membership in the Sandusky County Bar Association.

On April 20, 1902, William was joined in wedlock with Louise M. Neiss (Aug. 15, 1870-1954). Officiating was Rev. John H. Fairlee of the St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

The couple did not reproduce. 

Louise was an alumna of Fremont High School and Lake Erie College of Painesville, OH. 

As of 1917, after a move to Fremont, he was employed as deputy superintendent of an insurance business.

Grief blanketed the family when, at age 46, while buying cigars in a downtown store, William collapsed with acute heart failure and died within five minutes on Feb. 2, 1917. Interment of the remains was in Oakwood Cemetery. The Sandusky Star-Journal said in an obituary that he was a "well known Fremonter..."

Louise outlived her husband by 37 years. She was very active in community affairs, including as secretary and treasurer of the Women's Relief Corps, charter member in 1895 of the Sorosis Club, the Fremont Federation of Women and the Matinee Musical Club. For four decades, she owned the Posey Shop on Croghan Street and was organist at her church.