Helen Frances Thesing: World War I Nurse. Died in the line of Duty, 1918

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Helen Frances Thesing. 1895 ~ 1918.

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Hello! I'm Mr. Ed

Blog Created: 5-21-2024

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The 19teens was a troubling period in world history. We had fought the Civil War at home just 50 years before. Then the Spanish-American War in the 1890s. Now a world war raged in Europe. No one would guess that another would follow in the next 30-years. America's freedom was once again being threatened. And once again, Americans were going to war. There would be many wounded and many dead. And when the call went out for nurses to serve, there was no shortage of young women, white, black and brown, that answered that call.

Helen was the daughter of William H. and Johanna R. Thesing. She was a very popular and attractive girl. Although it is reported that she had received several marriage proposals in her short life, Helen wasn't yet ready to give up her independence. She had been trained as a nurse and when World War I broke out, she decided that her greatest service could be as a Red Cross nurse with the U.S. Army.

Helen performed her duty proudly and with extreme dedication. She had taken her role very seriously. While treating victims of the 1918 influenza epidemic, she contracted this horrid disease and died at Camp Sherman at the age of 23. This tragic event was a loss from which her family never fully recovered.

Even her community took note of her passing and gallant service. The American Legion chartered Post 271 in Barberton, Ohio and it became known as the Helen Thesing Post. Her brothers claimed she was truly "something special to all who had the great good fortune to know her."

Helen rests now in Holy Cross Cemetery in Akron, Ohio. She lived but a short life on this earth but many have enjoyed a long life here due to the efforts she displayed as a very hard working and dedicated nurse in the service to our country.

FROM THE AKRON CITY DIRECTORIES:

1910

Helen Thesing, student, home - 418 N. 2nd St., Barberton, Ohio.

1915

Helen F. Thesing, student nurse, home - 855 Cornell St., Barberton, Ohio.

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Camp Sherman, World War I ~

Camp Sherman was one of sixteen national training facilities to train soldiers during World War I, named after Ohio General William Tecumseh Sherman. Construction began on June 28, 1917 and continued until October 1917 with over 2,000 buildings in place. The Camp was located northwest of Chillicothe and became known as the "Soldier Factory."

Receiving Station for incoming draftees. New recruits arriving at Camp Sherman.

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Helen's Father ~

William Thesing Oct. 2, 1894.

He was born Herman Heinrich Wilhelm Thesing in Rieste, Northwest Germany in 1870. When he was 3-years old in 1873, he moved with his parents to the U.S. and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. He became a U.S. citizen on March 28, 1891 and took the name William. The family has no idea what the "H" in the middle name was for. Possibly Herman or Heirich. Will met, courted and married Johanna Rose Stadtmiller. Hannah lived in Saint Leon, Indiana, essentially a German speaking rural community not far from Cincinnati. They were married in Saint Paul's Catholic Church in Cincinnati on Oct. 2, 1894. Following the marriage, William and Hannah moved to Akron, Ohio living first on Euclid Ave. then on Chestnut St. They attended the newly built St. Bernard's Catholic Church which served a predominantly German congregation. They had 6-children, Helen,(see Helen Thesing), John,(see John Thesing), Anna, Barbara,(see Barbara Thesing McGrath), Joseph and Sylvester Michael. Will was an excellent wood engraver and worked in the printing industry until the advent of steel engraving. Then in about 1904, he became a partner in the Barberton Plumbing Co. In the 1933 election primaries, the Republican party got Will to run for Mayor of Barberton. He lost and a Democrat ultimately won the election.

FROM THE AKRON CITY DIRECTORIES:

1895

William H. Thesing, (Johanna R.), wood engraver, home - 505 Cedar St.

1900

William H. Thesing, (Johanna R.), wood engraver, home - 113 Euclid Ave.

1905

William H. Thesing, (Johanna), wood engraver, home - 214 W. Chestnut St.

1910

William H. Thesing, (Johanna R.), (Barberton Plumbing Co.), home - 418 N. 2nd St., Barberton, Ohio.

1915

William H. Thesing, (Johanna), (Barberton Plumbing Co.), home - 855 Cornell St.

1930

William H. Thesing, (Johanna R.), (Barberton Plumbing Co.), home - 423 Wooster Road, N., Barberton, Ohio.

1946

William H. Thesing, (Johanna R.), plumber, home - 423 Wooster Rd., N., Barberton, Ohio.

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Helen's Mother ~

Johanna R. (Hannah) Thesing. Oct. 2, 1894. Age 27. She was commonly known as Hannah.

Johanna was born in Saint Leon, Indiana to Bavarian immigrant parents. She was called Hannah. Hannah married William H. Thesing, a wood engraver from Cincinnati, Ohio. Following their wedding from St. Paul's Catholic Church on Oct. 2, 1894, they moved to Akron, Ohio where her brother was learning to become a plumber. Hannah and Will had six children before moving to Barberton, Ohio in 1913, where they lived out the remainder of their lives.