MILITARY HISTORY IN PAULDING COUNTY
By: Mark Holtsberry
Joseph Tomsey was born January 11, 1894, in Strassnitz, Bohemia-Austria. He was the son of Frank (Franz) Tomsey, born in 1864 in Bohemia, and Anna (Numan) Tomsey, born May 26, 1862. After their marriage in 1886, the couple became the parents of Joseph, born in 1894, and Phyllis (Filomena), born August 25, 1895.
This family became naturalized citizens in 1907, and in 1910 they migrated to Hicksville, Ohio. Phyllis married John Polasek in 1913. They had two daughters and lived in the Hicksville area. Around 1915, it is believed that Joseph moved to the Oakwood area.
On June 5, 1917, Joseph went to the West Brown Township precinct and registered for the World War I draft. He was listed as single, a naturalized alien, of medium height and build, with blue eyes and dark brown hair. At the time, he was working as a farm laborer in Section 30 of Brown Township as an employee of the Columbia Sugar Company, which is believed to have been the sugar beet factory in Paulding. He listed no dependents relying on him for support.
On July 28, 1917, Joseph joined the National Guard out of Paulding. He served in Company B, 2nd Ohio National Guard, until October 4, 1917. He was then assigned to the National Army, serving in the 146th Infantry until May 22, 1918. He was later sent to Camp Sherman to serve in the 156th Depot Brigade until August 29, 1918. He was then assigned to the Auxiliary Remount Department, 315th Quartermaster Corps, until March 27, 1919, when he was honorably discharged.
This unit was part of the U.S. Army’s Remount Service, which provided horses, mules, and service dogs to military units. The service later evolved to systematically breed horses for the U.S. Cavalry. It played a crucial role in supplying horses, with 33 auxiliary remount depots established during World War I to meet military demands.
In 1920, Frank Tomsey was working as a beet laborer at the Columbia Sugar Company. He passed away on January 7, 1923, and was buried in Forest Home Cemetery in Hicksville. After his death, Anna remarried in 1925 to a man named Jay Greenwood, who passed away on March 12, 1930. Anna later died from diabetes on January 19, 1943, and was also buried in Forest Home Cemetery.
In 1928, Phyllis remarried Orville Miller. She passed away in 1974 and was laid to rest in Forest Home Cemetery as well.
As for Joseph, he passed away at the National Military Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, on September 28, 1941. He was laid to rest on October 1, 1941, in the Dayton National Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio, where he received a military upright tombstone.
… Until Next Time!
