August C. Farschman, son of Gustave Julius August Farschmin and Eva Hass, was born in Germany on January 11, 1875. He immigrated to the United States, with his family, arriving in New York on the ship Vandalia on March 28, 1882. The family first settled in Grafton, Lorain County, Ohio but later removed to Lorain, Ohio. About 1898 August married Amanda Kutza, daughter of Julius Martin Kutza and Ida C. Kroll. Amanda was also born in Germany on October 19, 1879.
During the early years of their marriage, August was self employed in Lorain. His confectionery and tobacco store was located at 718 Broadway. The Lorain City Directories from 1909 and 1910 list August as a laborer for a dairy company and in 1912 he was with the National Stove Company. In 1915 he owned a confectionery and billiards business. The Farschman family moved to Cleveland, Ohio in January 1916 and August opened a billiard and pool room at 8309 Madison Avenue, on Cleveland’s west side. August and Amanda suffered the loss of their thirteen year old daughter after living in Cleveland only one month. Following the death of their daughter, the Farschman’s moved back to Lorain and in 1920, August was employed as a pressman at the National Stove Company. From 1922 until about 1932 he owned and operated a grocery store in Axtel, Erie County, Ohio. August moved back to Lorain until his daughter, Carrie’s death. His final residence was a small home in rural Vermilion Township outside Vermilion, Ohio.
Jim Bardonner, nephew, remembers his Uncle August Farschman--...”He loved to laugh and play cards (usually “66”). I never knew him to work for anyone else. He bought and sold several small businesses and buildings and always seemed to come out on top. He spent most of his adult life in Axtel, Ohio. There he had a combination grocery store and gas station attached to his home. Included were his daughter Carrie and sometimes Orie and Eva Hiser. When he finally retired, he sold the business and buildings and built a newer nice, new house in Lorain, Ohio and Carrie and her husband came along. After Carrie’s death, he sold the house and moved to a very tiny one just outside of town where he stayed until his death.”
Great grandson, Ted Hiser, recalls family members having a good laugh remembering August’s involvement in local politics in Lorain, voting, and perhaps holding a position with the Democratic party without the benefit of US citizenship!
August and Amanda were both members of St. John’s Evangelical Church in Lorain. Amanda also was a member of the St. John’s Evangelical Church Aid Society and the Vermilion Grange. Amanda had a goiter and it is listed as the cause of death on her death certificate, although the obituary indicates that she died from a heart attack. Amanda died on March 18, 1927 at age forty-seven at her home in Axtel, Ohio following lunch. August died in his home in rural Vermilion Township on November 19, 1950 at the age of seventy-five. The cause of death was coronary thrombosis. Both August and Amanda are buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Lorain, Ohio with their young daughter, Anna. Nearby are buried Amanda’s parents Julius and Ida Kroll Kutza.
Children of August C. Farschman and Amanda Kutza:
EVA MATILDA FARSCHMAN born January 26, 1901 in Lorain, Ohio died June 18, 1968 in Tiffin, Ohio married ORISON HENRY HISER.
Thank you to Jim Bardonner for sharing his family memories.
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