Emily Skillman and Her Brother Alva Halt

Emily Johanna Halt was born in 1889 to Frederick and Louisa Frey Halt. Sadly, Emily’s father was killed in a railroad accident when she was just a child.  Emily marred Harry Hickman Skillman on October 16, 1907. They were married for over 50 years, until Mr. Skillman died in 1965. She lived to be 94 years of age,  passing away in Milan on March 10, 1983. Mrs. Skillman was survived by a daughter, Lois Skillman. She had outlived her husband and two sons and grandson.

Emily Skillman’s brother Alva Halt, often  known as Al or Alvie, was a well known professional baseball player. Alvie played for the Brooklyn Tip Tops, of the Federal League, in 1914 and 1915, and with the Cleveland Indians during the 1918 season.  He is pictured below with Sandusky’s BPOE Elks Baseball Team in 1910. (Unfortunately, we are not sure which one he is in the picture.)

After the death of Harry and Emily Skillman, family members donated a microfilmed copy of the papers of Harry’s uncle, Isaac Skillman, to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Isaac Skillman served as a Sergeant and later as a Second Lieutenant with the Third Ohio Cavalry during the Civil War. His papers include diary entries and personal recollections of his war experiences. Isaac Skillman died in 1925, and he is buried in Oakland Cemetery.

Reunion of the Third Ohio Cavalry

On August 24, 1892, Veterans of the Third Ohio Cavalry met at the library building of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in Sandusky (now the Ohio Veterans Home.) An article in the August 25, 1892 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that General Manning F. Force, commandant of the Home, gave a “short but eloquent” address.

Capt. E. J. Colver thanked General Force, and praised him “for his excellent management of so grand an institution, a noble monument of the great struggle for the perpetuity of the Union.”

Other speakers for the day were John M. Lemmon and P.F. Graham. The Home quartet sang the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” After the morning program about two hundred people, including Veterans and their wives and daughters, had dinner on the porch of the railroad depot, followed by a tour of the grounds of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home.

At 2 p.m. the Veterans met at Cedar Point for a business meeting. An election of officers was held, including Capt. J.B. Luckey as president, Conrad C. Finkbeiner as treasurer, and vice presidents from each of the twelve regiments of the Third Ohio Cavalry. After the business meeting, a camp fire was held at which more addresses were given, interspersed with songs and stories.

Reunions of the Veterans of the Third Ohio Cavalry were held in Sandusky in 1880, 1889 and 1892. Former Second Lieutenant Isaac Skillman donated two ribbons from Annual Reunions of the Third Ohio Cavalry to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Also available at the Sandusky Library Research Center is a microfilmed copy of Isaac Skillman’s personal recollections from his Civil War service with the Ohio Third Cavalry.

Several men who were with the Third Ohio Cavalry are buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery, including Darius E. Livermore, Elisha M. Colver, Isaac Skillman, Leonard Winkler, and Clark Center.

Update: I have recently been informed that there is a new book about Kelleys Island history (Kelleys Island 1862-1865-the Civil War, the Island Soldiers & the Island Queen), which has first-hand accounts from several soldiers who served in the Third Ohio Cavalry. It is not in the library's collections yet, but will be soon.