Honor Roll Project ~ The U.S. Marine Corps Memorial in Cincinnati, Ohio

As part of Heather Wilkinson Rojo's Honor Roll Project, I am, this year, again representing Ohio.  Each Veteran's Day, we try to find Honor Roll monuments and plaques around the country, some prominent and famous, others unknown or obscure. We transcribe the names in a blog post, thereby making the names searchable by most internet search engines.

In so doing, we provide a hint for genealogists and famiy historians searching for ancestors on the internet, and give them a glimpse into the military heritage of their family.

Stop by Heather's blog, Nutfield Genealogy, on Veteran's Day, November 11th, to see all the participants' posts so far, or visit our Military Honor Rolls board on Pinterest.

The U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, located in Lytle Park, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was built and dedicated on July 4, 1921.  It consists of a 500-pound bronze reproduction of the traditional Marine emblem, the globe, anchor, and eagle, sculpted by Sarah Ayers Kruthap, resting on a rough block of Beverly (Mass.) granite.

The inscription on the memorial states that the memorial was given to the City of Cincinnati by Dr. Benjamin Ricketts, in memory of all the Hamilton County marines who died in action during the World War, including his own son. It lists the names of 35 marines who died during World War I.

"In honor of the United States Marine Corps & the Marines of Hamilton County who made the supreme sacrifice in the World War"

The portrait depicts 

Corporal Merrill Laws Ricketts

XVIII Co., V. Reg., U. S. Marines

"FILIO PATER"

Defensive Sector * Aisne-Marne * St Michiel * Meuse-Argonne

In left and right columns, here are the names:

Walter S. Austin

Otmer O. Anderson

Walter H. Berger

Russell P. Blackham

Charles H. Boettcher

George W. Budde

Lovette L. Channell

James W. Costigan

Edward T. Danford

Robert B. Decatur

Henry E. Denham

James F. Duncan

James W. Easter

Ford E. Erdmann

Raymond Erhardt

Albert C. Gahr

Guy Gaynor

Edward C. Gehlert

Harry J. Gorth

Lyle C. Houchins

Elmer H. Hughes

Wilber H. Jeffries

Robert D. Johnson

Lyle B. Jones

Edward A. Koehne

Julius J. Latscha

William F. Lindsey

Raymond D. Lindsey

Leo P. Linneman

Albert R. Marshall

Joseph E. Miemann

Nicholas W. Miller

Charles A. Naegelen

James A. O'Brien

Neal O'Leary

Philip E. Patton

Earl L. Parrott

James F. Reynolds

John Roos

Henry Schmidt

Max E. Seal

Albert Silverston

Russell A. Stephens

Ulysess W. Upton

Albert C. Veid

Willard J. Wagner

Robert A. Waters

Henry Watson

William F. Welch

Leo Weschke

Charles M. Wintering

Eli Wittstein

The memorial also included a Marine drinking water fountain on the back side, when in its original park location, but after the memorial was relocated, it no longer works.

This memorial is now located on the southern tip of Lytle Park, overlooking the I-71 Expressway and Anna Louise Inn.  It is #8 on the map.

Additional info:

Dr. Benjamin Merrill Ricketts was a world-renowned surgeon, who founded Ricketts Hospital in Cincinnati. His son, Merrill Laws Ricketts, born in Cincinnati September 24, 1893, was killed in France on October 4, 1918, six weeks before the end of the war, 25 years old.

Merrill Laws Ricketts' military service records show his name as Langdon Laws Ricketts (His name was changed by his mother after his parents' divorce.). He is buried at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, but has a cenotaph in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.*

* Find A Grave. Find A Grave Memorial # 26205779.  http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=RICK&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=37&GScntry=4&GSsr=1761&GRid=26205779& Grave of Corp Langdon Laws Ricketts (1893-1918).

Cincinnati, OH ~ World War I Honor Roll for Memorial Day 2013

I usually fill this space with stories about my New England and Maritime Canada ancestors. And, last summer, I wrote about the World War I monument in Bridgton, Maine, which lists my grandfather, Howard Seavey.

That story, and quite a few others, are part of an ongoing series started by Heather Wilkinson Rojo of Nutfield Genealogy, where genealogy bloggers are transcribing the names on Honor Roll monuments and plaques around the country, listing them in blog posts, thereby making the names searchable by various search engines on the web. This will enable genealogists and family historians to find their ancestors and build their family trees.

Since I work in Cincinnati, Ohio, I've decided to share the names on a World War I Honor Roll plaque located in the lobby of the federal courthouse, which used to house the United States Post Office. This post will be included on Heather's blog, under the tab Honor Roll Project.

This plaque is located on the right-hand wall just inside the east door of the

 Potter Stewart United States Courthouse in Cincinnati, Ohio.

WORLD WAR HONOR ROLL

1917     1918

George M. Ake

John L. Anthony, Jr.

Alfred G. Bach

Edward P. Bradstreet

Paul F. Bauer

Herbert G. Brunner

Raymond T. Bryson

Julius Block

Bernard Bryan

Edward L. Ball

Carl A. Barnhardt

Albert W. Beckman

Fred H. Busch

Wm. L. Dougherty

Edward Esterkamp

Edward E. Evans

Spencer G. Essell

Bernard H. Ebker

Thomas Flanagan

Ben A. Fangman

John J. Glenn

George H. Gravius

B.H. Goertemoeller

Herbert P. Herier

John G. Halpin

Jos. F. Hellmann, Jr.

Robert E. Hoffman

John E. Hendrixson

Jacob L. Haft

Percy H. Hawkins

Jos. J. Heltman

Hannibal Hull

Stanley J. Hill

Ernest G. Ingram

Daniel J. Joy

Mervon Jackson

Marion B. Kohlhepp

Fred H. Kipf

Wm. L. Kottmyer

Erwin J. Knecht

Cornelius J. Keating, Jr.

John T. Knoll

Harry W. Knight, Jr.

Alex. C. Piket, Jr.

Wm. G. Keck

Edwin H. Kinney

George F. Lindeman

Fred Linciman

Earl W. Lichtendahl

Wm. J. Morrissey

Joesph Moeller

Walter H. Moebus

Edward E. Mutschler

George J. North

Joseph A. O'Neil

Clarence G. Ruoff

Samuel F. Ridings

John Rath

Fred G. Rost

Charles Riesenberger

John F. Reinke

Edgar J. Roof

Emmett A. Stephenson

Joseph A. Sattler

Joseph A. See

Louis C. E. Schnelle

Wm. E. Sheppard

Edward F. Springmeier

Edwin W. Schneider

Harry W. Schweninger

Carlisle H. Snell

Edward Schulz

Rudolph G. Schmidt

Clifford C. Scheidt

H.L. Shoemaker

Edwin L. Turner

David F. Tippenhauer

Frank H. Trickler, Jr.

Emeran B. Tillan

James P. Timon

Frederick J. Vosseler

Fred J. Vance

Edwin W. Wright

Amos J. Woeber

Charles R. Welti

Geo. Weidmann, Jr.

Albert H. Westerkamp

Clarence W. Wagner

IN A RIGHTEOUS CAUSE THEY HAVE WON IMMORTAL GLORY AND HAVE NOBLY SERVED THEIR NATION IN SERVING MANKIND  1918

Woodrow Wilson 1917

ERECTED A.D. 1919 BY OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE CINCINNATI POST OFFICE

E.C. Shaw & Co. Cinti.,O.

An Interesting Footnote

A triumphal arch was constructed for the returning soldiers at the end of World War I. It was set up on the south side of 5th Street, across from the Post Office, now the courthouse, where this plaque hangs. In the photo below, the soldiers, marching east, are passing under the arch inscribed "Honor For Duty Nobly Done."

-- Photo copyright Don Prout of Cincinnativiews.net and used with permission

Genealogy On My Doorstep – NGS2012 in Cincinnati –Motivation Monday

I’ve been to quite a few conferences in my day, from one coast to the other, primarily for my professional development as a law librarian. This time I was scraping my pennies together for a conference on my passion – family history – because it was coming to my locale of 27 years – Cincinnati, Ohio. And I really didn’t know what to expect.


Once I made arrangements to be away from the office, just two blocks from the Duke Energy Center downtown, I started to get excited. Who knew I would be setting my alarm clock just as early for the next four days (including a Saturday!) as if I were catching the Metro bus?!


Driving downtown from Warren County in rush hour traffic is a pain and a half (I usually sleep on the bus, or at least nod off). If I didn’t bring coffee in the car, I’d better allow myself time to buy some soon after I got there (at Conference Center prices, no less!).


Surprisingly, the enormous herd of amateur family historians (of which I count myself) and professional genealogists awaiting the opening of the Exhibit Hall promised Genealogy Fun Aplenty awaiting us all.


Swinging flimsy bright green totes, and donning lanyards of various and curious lengths, over 2000 attendees began migrating from session to session, occasionally dropping off to cruise the exhibits for genealogy loot, and I was in the mix !!


My adventure had actually begun on Tuesday evening, at the annual Media/Blogger Dinner sponsored by FamilySearch. While the “local cuisine buffet” left a lot to the imagination, the presentation was informative. Far more valuable from my perspective was seeing, in the flesh, such blogger heavy-hitters as Dick Eastman, Lisa Alzo, and Pat Richley-Erickson, putting faces with names from the genealogy Twitter-verse like Tina Lyons, Jennifer Holik, Shelley Bishop, Susan Clark, Linda McCauley, Jennifer Alford, and meeting new friends like Amanda Perrine and Ruth Blair.


After Wednesday’s wonderful Opening Session on the Cincinnati Panorama of 1848, it was off to hear Lisa Louise Cooke (I love her and what she does with Google tools!) for Genealogy-on-the-Go with the iPad, then Using Excel to Create Timelines, and finally Snagit for Genealogists.  I came home completely exhausted, but exhilarated, and looking ahead to 3 more (count ‘em 3!) full days.


Thursday began at 8 am with Storing Your Tree in the Cloud, followed closely by Geneablogger Guru Thomas MacEntee’s Utilizing Social Networks for Genealogy Research (I never fail to learn something new from Thomas!).


The next session on Spring Grove Cemetery was a real disappointment. I did not need to see slides of the pyramids and hear about the history of burial and mourning, plus the speaker was not even a local historian!  I was headed to the Exhibit Hall and looking forward to an evening at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center followed by dinner and drinks at the Christian Moerlein Lager House at the Banks.


Somehow (I honestly don’t know when) I had met a group of local folks from the Hamilton County Chapter of the OGS, including Kathy Reed, Gail Burkholz, and Liz Stratton. We shared a lot of laughs both inside and outside the Duke Center, and plan to get together again. Even though I don’t have any local family ties, I plan to take advantage of joining up.


Friday included a lecture on Historic Newspapers, my first exposure to the huge draw of a speaker like Tom Jones on Documentation (we were packed in like sardines), Topographic Maps for Genealogy (who knew the US Geological Survey was such a wealth of information?!), and ended with a very funny talk called How to Be a Bad Genealogist. It was a great way to end Day 3.


I woke up with coffee-in-hand to hear Josh Taylor’s remix of his RootsTech talk Do I Trust the Cloud?, took in superstar Elizabeth Shown Mills’ Information Overload? (a worthy diagnosis indeed!), and ended the whole conference with Jean Hibben talking about The Two Sides of Interviewing. I still have my 80 year old mother and my 92 year old great aunt to quiz, so this was very valuable to me.


So, my first genealogy conference had come to a exhausting, illuminating, and fulfilling conclusion.  So many of us felt like our brains could not hold any more knowledge, and that is how I felt and continue to feel.


On the other hand, I have a renewed enthusiasm for working on my family tree (seriously, I’ve lost sleep!) and a deep appreciation for the significant contributions of so many toward the passion we all share for genealogy.