Grandparents of John Phillip Torski and Mary Ann Marshall
(Nearly) All Roads Lead to Mansfield
Of the eight grandparents of John Phillip Torski and Mary Ann Marshall, six spent at least part of their lives in Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio, arriving in this area by varying paths.
Mary Ann’s maternal grandparents and mother, Harry Wilkinson, Teresa Wervey, and their daughter, Mary Wilkinson, were born and lived their entire lives in Mansfield. The Wilkinson family had been in Richland county since 1817 when Harry’s great-grandfather bought land a few miles north of Bellville. Born in England, he lived in Kentucky and Pennsylvania before moving to Ohio. The Wervey family came to Mansfield about 1875 when Teresa’s father, who was born in Germany and grew up in Wisconsin, moved into town. Mary Ann’s fraternal grandparents, James A. Marshall and Mary Hubbard, were both born in Miami county, Ohio. They lived the majority of their lives in Pigua, Ohio. After their children were born, the family moved to Columbiana, Ohio, where they lived for a few years. About 1925, the family moved to Mansfield, James A. and Mary returning to Piqua after a couple of years, Mary ann's father, Robert Marshall, and his two brothers staying in Mansfield.
John’s maternal grandparents, Anton Rebel and Barbara Naumann, were born and married in Europe. They emigrated with their family to North Dakota, staying there about 20 years. They then moved to Mansfield, some of their adult children staying in North Dakota. John’s fraternal grandparents, George Torski and Anna Stilecki, are the only ones to have never been to Mansfield. They lived their entire lives in
The following paragraphs trace the names of the eight grandparents back to the earliest known member of the family.
In 1841, William Hubbard was born in Ireland, some evidence points to Tipperary as his birthplace. When he was about 10 years old, William came to the United States with his parents, the family settling in the Miami county area of Ohio. In 1869, William married Bridget Doolin in Shelby county, Ohio. Bridget was born in Ireland, about 1845. William and Bridget had three children. The oldest, Mary, born in Troy, Ohio, in 1871, married James A. Marshall in 1893, in Piqua, Ohio.
The Marshall name has been traced to Mullaghbrack, County Armagh, Ireland, where Hugh Marshall was born about 1746. In 1771 Hugh married Rosanna Marshal, who was born about 1750 in Mullaghbrack. Hugh and Rosanna had two children in Ireland, then about 1776 they emigrated to America, settling in Washington county, Pennsylvania (south of Pittsburgh), where they had four more children. About 1800, their son Samuel, who was born in Ireland in 1775, married Margaret Mary Cracraft, who was born in Pennsylvania, in 1781. Samuel and Mary had three children in Pennsylvania, then about 1806 they headed west to Ohio, their fourth child was born along the way. The family settled in what is now Shelby county (it was then part of Miami county), and six more children were born. In 1830, Samuel Marshall, son of Samuel and Mary, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1803, married Jane McCord Russell, who was born in Kentucky in 1807. Samuel and Jane had 11 children. William Russell Marshall, son of Samuel and Jane, was born in 1838, in Hardin, Ohio. In 1863, in Shelby county, William married Sarah A. Davis, who was born in 1840 in Hardin. William and Sarah had five children, the oldest, James A. Marshall, was born in 1864, in Hardin. James married Mary Hubbard in 1893, in Piqua, Ohio. James and Mary had four children, the youngest, Robert Morris Marshall, was born in 1905 in Piqua. About 1920 James and Mary moved with their three youngest children to Columbiana, Ohio. In 1925, the family moved again, to Mansfield, Ohio. In 1929, Robert married Mary Teresa Wilkinson in Mansfield. Robert and Mary had two children, the older, Mary Ann Marshall, was born in Mansfield, April 14, 1930. Mary Ann married John Phillip Torski July 4, 1951, in Mansfield.
The Naumann name
The Rebel (RAY-bul) name has its roots in Austria/Hungary. At the time of the family’s emigration, c. 1904, Austria/Hungary made up a large part of Eastern Europe. The only indication of the city of origin is Anton M. Rebel’s WW I draft registraion card, which lists his place of birth as Nemet Cerne Hungary. Today this tiny village is near the Austrian-Hungarian border, the nearest city which shows up on maps of Europe is Szombathely, Hungary. When the Rebel’s came to the United States the family had five children. After the family arrived in this country, they gradually moved west, spending some time in Illinois, where another child was born, before eventually settling in Stark county, North Dakota. Five more children were born, and Anton Rebel homesteaded 160 acres in 1914. In the early 1920’s some family members moved to Mansfield, Ohio. Agatha Rebel had already moved to Saskatchewan, Canada. She married John G. Torski in 1922, and had three children. Agatha and John moved their family to Mansfield, Ohio, in 1931.
When the Rebel’s moved to Mansfield, some family members changed the spelling of their last name to Rabel because they didn’t like being called “rebels.” This led to some confusing and humorous situations. Two brothers had a business together and they spelled their name differently. In city directories, the spelling of people’s name would change from year to year, and family members living at the same address would spell their name differently. Even in obituaries, the survivors would be listed under the spelling they preferred.
The roots of the Strilecki name begin and end in Bukovina (see Torski). The only known person on our family tree with this surname is John G. Torski’s mother, Anna Strilecki. Nothing is known of her ancestry or any other family members.
The Torski name has its origins in eastern Europe, in the region known as Bukovina, which is today partly in Romania and partly in Ukraine. John G. Torski was born here in 1898, in the small town (the population was about 1,500 in 1910) of Kadobestie, which is about 30 miles north of Chernivitsi. When .
When John and his uncle established the english spelling of their name John spelled it Torski and his uncle spelled it Torsky. The Torsky spelling is more common than the Torski spelling A search of the Ellis Island immigrant database shows an Iwan Torski that went through in 1910, his hometown was Kadobestie. He was 29 years old, appeared to be traveling with two other people from Kadobestie, all three gave Montreal
The Wervey name has its roots in Trier, Germany, where Peter John Wervey was born in 1850. When Peter was two years old his family emigrated to the United States, settling in Wisconsin. About 1875 Peter moved to Mansfield, Ohio, where he married Theresa Baker in 1877. Theresa was born in 1853 in Germany. Teresa, born in 1878, the oldest of Peter and Theresa’s nine children, all born in Mansfield, married Harry Wilkinson in 1902, in Mansfield.
The Wilkinson line has been traced back to John Wilkinson who was born in 1707 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England. In 1727, John married Hannah Blamires, who also was born in Bradford in 1707. John and Hannah had ten children, all born in Bradford. In 1761, in Pannal, Yorkshire, Samuel, born in 1732, son of John and Hannah, married Sarah Bentley, who was born in 1741, in Pannal. Samuel and Sarah had eight children, all born in Bradford. Samuel, son of Samuel and Sarah, born in 1767, emigrated to the United States as a young man, marrying Jane Williams in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1799. Jane was born in 1774 in Mold, Flintshire, Wales. Five of Samuel and Jane’s eight children were born in Lexington. About 1810, the family moved to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where their last three children were born. In 1817 Samuel moved his family to Richland county, Ohio, purchasing 320 acres of land a few miles north of Bellville. James W., Samuel and Jane’s oldest child, born in 1800, married Elizabeth B. Mason in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1836. Elizabeth was born in Pennsylvania in 1817. The first of the couple’s seven children was born in Cincinnati, the family returning to Richland county about 1838, where the rest of their children were born. Edward W., son of James and Elizabeth, born in 1846, married Mary Zimmerman in 1867, in Mansfield, Ohio. Mary was born in Ohio in 1842. Edward and Mary had four children, all born in Mansfield. Harry Joseph Wilkinson, son of Edward and Mary, born in 1873, married Teresa Wervey in 1902, in Mansfield. Mary Teresa Wilkinson, born in Mansfield in 1904, the oldest of Harry and Teresa’s three children, married Robert Marshall in 1929 in Mansfield.