Earl Zahrend Family

Earl Zahrend, a lifelong resident of Liberty Township, was born on August 20, 1892, in Henry County, Ohio.

He was the son of Fred Zahrend, born June 3, 1862, in Mecklinburg, Germany, and Ellen Sarah Fahringer Zahrend, born April 6, 1869, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His grand parents were Harmon and Minnie Henning Zahrend and John and Julia Ann Fah- ringer. Fred and Ellen Fahringer were married in 1892 and lived many years on the farm in Liberty ToWnship which they purchased in 1897.

Earl Zahrend, a farmer, and World War I veteran, was united in marriage to Bertha Kathryn Gilson on December 28, 1921, in the home of her parents, Elmer DeWitt and Barbara Louise Huffman Gilson, on Scott Street in Napoleon, Ohio. Rev. Scott Hershey of the First Presbyterian Church performed the ceremony.

Bertha Gilson Zahrend was born on March 5, 1888, in Napoleon, and graduated from Napoleon High School in 1906. She taught school for eight years. After that she assisted her brother, L. L. Gilson, in his grocery business until her marriage. She was a member of the former Shakespere and Rainbow Garden Clubs, Ladies Literary Society, Eastern Star Chapter and served as Noble Grand and Installing Noble Grand of the Rebekah Lodge and was an eloquent speaker.

The Zahrend family were members of the First Presbyterian Church of Napoleon. Earl and Bertha were the parents of two daughters, Barbara

Elizabeth and Marjory May. They were the first children born in the farm home built by Elmer Gilson for Fred Zahrend. The home was built, for the most part, from lumber grown on the Zahrend farm.

Barbara Elizabeth Zahrend was born on April 14, 1923. She received both the Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degrees from Bowling Green State University, and has done advanced study at Bowling Green State University and at Teachers' College, Columbia University, New York City. She began her teaching career in the Napoleon City schools in 1944 and later went to Bowling Green where she was a supervising teacher for sixteen years. In 1963, Barbara returned to teach in Napoleon, Ohio.

Marjory May Zahrend was born on May 20, 1925. She was a legal secretary and died suddenly on April 13, 1948. She is buried in Glenwood Cemetery, Napoleon, next to her mother who died on April 1, 1965.