It Happened in Crawford County: Bill Stanley's life is rooted in American history

Bill Stanley’s grandparents were from Bordeaux, France, and Rome, Italy, and from the Toledo area. Bill moved to Bucyrus with his family in 1952 and attended Holy Trinity School. In 1958 he moved back to Detroit to help his sister Mary for the next two years. While in Detroit, Bill had the opportunity to dance at the Detroit Bandstand, like the TV show "American Bandstand."

He came back to Bucyrus in 1960 and lived with his mom, Mary, and stepfather, Scott McDonald. Bill also began working full time at the L and K Restaurant as night manager until he graduated from Bucyrus High School in 1962.

Bill married his long-time sweetheart Carol McLaughlin in 1962. She was an only child of Harold “Wayne” and Leone McLaughlin. She went to Holmes Liberty School and was a cheerleader in high school. Carol graduated and worked after their marriage at the local phone company until their daughter was born. Eventually, Bill and Carol moved to the 110-acre farm of her grandparents, Jess and Blanche McLaughlin. Jess was a Crawford County commissioner and a director of Farmers’ and Citizens’ Bank.

Carol’s ancestor, James McLaughlin Sr., was listed as the first white man to settle on ground that later became Nevada, Ohio. However, the town moved towards him. His farm was on the northeast corner. His son later sold a section of the south portion of the farm to become part of Nevada. The street running east out of the village was originally named McLauglin Street, but it's now called Center Street. James was born in 1801 near Strasburg, Virginia, and traveled to our area by wagon. He died in 1853 and was buried in Bucyrus Union Cemetery in the northwest part of Bucyrus, listed as a Revolutionary War Cemetery and other early settlers of the area. His stone is in Row 12 near the north end. Carol is very proud of the military heritage in her family. James Diltz Titus, Carol’s great-grandfather, served in the Civil War and was captured and sent to a Confederate prison in Louisiana.

Frank The War Horse

The Stanleys have another claim to fame — “Frank The War Horse” with the 12th Ohio Calvary. Abe Conger and Frank, an unbroken colt, fought in 20 major battles and traveled over 1,600 miles together. They fought under Sherman and Stoneman in the battle from Atlanta to the Sea. When Frank died Sept. 4, 1886, his body was taken by veterans of the 12th Ohio Cavalry to a knoll on the farm of Capt. John Harter near Oceola. He was buried with military honors and a monument was erected at the grave just north of Oceola. His obituary appeared in the Nevada Enterprise and Bucyrus newspaper. Readers can Google “Frank the War Horse” and read the entire story. To visit the gravesite, contact Bill and Carol Stanley, current owners of the farm, at 614-306-0504 to make arrangements.

After Bill retired from Timken in 1995, he went to work as the general manager of a furniture manufacturing company in Delaware for 3 years. Then, he started his own painting business which was successful in Crawford County. He was hired by Dominion to paint their gated communities in Phoenix, Arizona. There about 320 units to be painted on each of their properties. The contract was to paint "everything" inside and out. His nephew ran the business from 2005 to 2008 until the housing market collapsed. Bill went there one week a month and sold the equipment and closed the operation down.

Bill and Carol have spent over 300 days in Europe, Asia and South America. They tried to spend some of their vacation with the people of the areas visited to gain a better understanding of their lives.

Bill and Carol have two children. Tonya (now Zeigler) is retired. She was the director sales/financial services for Global IT Consulting Firm. Their son Todd is the U. S. manager for Perenniel Inc. based out of Hong Kong with offices all over the USA, working with major home appliance manufacturers.

Go online for more of Mary Fox’s stories and photos on bucyrustelegraphforum.com. If you are interested in sharing a story, write Mary Fox, 931 Marion Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820 or email littlefoxfactory@columbus.rr.com.

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Bill Stanley's life and connection to Frank the War Horse