Mothers of Erie County, by Marjorie Cherry

Marjorie Loomis Cherry wrote Mothers of Erie County in 1932. She subtitled her book A Pageant of Historic Personages. Mrs. Cherry provides brief biographical information about thirty women from Erie County. In the sketch about Minerva Bell, a recounting of Minerva out-screaming a wild panther is told. Mrs. Katherine Banks Darling’s role in the Underground Railroad is told in Article 25.

The text is anecdotal in nature. The article about Lorania Mitchell discusses the life of a pioneer woman, including chopping wood, building a fire, and the use of herbal medicine. Mrs. Cherry points out that while Frances Ann Griswold Lane, wife of Judge Ebenezer Lane, was the daughter of Governor Griswold of Connecticut, she still knew how to milk a cow, and care for a baby at the same time. The story gives an account of the Lane family moving to Norwalk from Elyria on horseback. Judge Lane put a pillow in front of the saddle, and after Frances placed her infant on the pillow, she got on the horse as well. They rode through the woods to their new home, all riding on horseback.

Marjorie Loomis was born in 1889 in Steuben, Ohio. She was married to Ross Cherry. Mrs. Cherry lived in either Norwalk or Sandusky for most of her life. She was the author of several books dealing with local history and genealogy. Marjorie was considered an authority on flags and early American costume. She was responsible for planning numerous historical pageants given in Ohio. In 1951, the Toledo Blade reported that Mrs. Ross Cherry was the head of a state conference of the United States Daughters of 1812. Members from all over Ohio met at the Hotel Rieger in Sandusky in April 1951.

Mrs. Marjorie Loomis Cherry died on January 22, 1978. Her obituary appeared in the January 23, 1978 issue of the Sandusky Register. Marjorie had been a member of the Peru Farm Women’s Club, the Opportunity Club, the Firelands Historical Society, Sandusky County Historical Society, the Western Reserve Historical Society, and the Ohio State Historical Society. She had also been past president of the Joshua Giddings Chapter Daughters of 1812, and was past regent of the Martha Pitkin Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Visit the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library to read several historical books written by Marjorie Loomis Cherry.