MILITARY HISTORY IN PAULDING COUNTY
By: Mark Holtsberry
Oswald Theodore Schmidt was born January 3, 1899, in Oregon, Lucas County, Ohio, Oswald was the son of Rev. Edward Johannes Karl Schmidt, born July 9, 1866, in Detroit, Michigan, and Elisa Katherine (Schmitt) Schmidt, born November 27, 1868, in Columbus, Ohio. The couple married in 1893.
By 1900, the family was living in Oregon, Ohio. They had several children: Lillian P., born in 1893; Edward J., born February 6, 1895; Esther Louisa, born February 14, 1896; and Oswald, born in 1899. By 1910, the family was still residing in Oregon, Ohio, on Pickle Street, where Oswald and his siblings attended school. Two more children were later born: Luther Christian Ottmer Schmidt on June 2, 1903, and Helen Agnes on December 21, 1908.
Sometime after 1910, the family moved to Paulding, Ohio. Oswald joined the Paulding baseball team and left school after completing his junior year. On May 12, 1917, he enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve Force. He was described as 5’7” tall, weighing 175 pounds, with brown hair, blue eyes, and a ruddy complexion.
Oswald was stationed at the Recruiting Station in Detroit, Michigan, and served at the Training Station in Great Lakes, Illinois, until December 28, 1917. He later served at the Receiving Ship Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, until January 14, 1918. His assignments also included the Naval Air Station in Pauillac, France, until February 4, 1918, and the Naval Air Station in Gujan, France, until November 11, 1918. He also served at the Demobilization Station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ultimately reaching the rank of Quartermaster 2nd Class. Oswald received an Honorable Discharge on July 9, 1919.
Following his service, Oswald traveled the country for a few years. Meanwhile, his parents and siblings moved to 219 East Jackson Street in Paulding. His brother Edward became a school teacher at the church.
On January 18, 1930, Oswald married Cleo K. (Matzinger) Doblinger, a divorced woman. The couple lived with Cleo’s parents on Swanton Maumee Road in Monclova, Lucas County, Ohio, where Oswald worked as a truck driver for a mercantile establishment. By 1931, Oswald and Cleo had moved to Toledo, residing at 425 Colburn Drive, where he worked as a truck driver for the L&K Company.
By 1940, Oswald, Cleo, and their children—Cleo Kathryn, born in 1930, and Stephan, born in 1937—had moved to 1325 Corry Street in Toledo. Oswald was working as a deliveryman. On February 15, 1942, he registered for the World War II draft while employed by the Lamsen Brothers Company in Toledo, Ohio.
On June 23, 1947, in the afternoon, Oswald collapsed from a heart attack at the office of Dr. E.R. Marker and passed away. At the time, he was working as an assembler at the Spicer Manufacturing Division of the Dana Corporation. Funeral services were held at the Bersticker Funeral Home at 2:00 PM on Thursday, June 25, 1947. He was buried at Swan Creek Cemetery in Monclova, Ohio, in Section 1, Lot 14, with an upright tombstone marking his grave.
His wife, Cleo, passed away on September 15, 1981, in Toledo.
…Until Next Time!
