Skip to content

“No Finer Home on Wheels”

By Julie Schlesselman, Local History & Genealogy Department Manager, FCPLD This article ran in the January 13, 2021, edition of the Brookville American, and in Volume 2 of Forgotten Franklin County. ….was just one of the advertising slogans for the luxury trailer coaches made right here in Brookville. Our county was once known for its…

Do You Have an “A.F.&S.” Brick?

By Julie Schlesselman, Local History & Genealogy Department Manager, FCPLD This article ran in the October 23, 2019, edition of the Brookville American. …almost everyone in Brookville does. The “A.F.&S.” stamped in the center of the bricks stood for Anthony Fries and Sons. Anthony Fries was born in Germany in 1835. He came to the…

Glenn English: Doctor to the Stars, and Silver Star Recipient

By Julie Schlesselman, Local History & Genealogy Department Manager, FCPLD This article ran in the January 15, 2020, edition of the Brookville American. Glenn English died in California in 1951. He was born in Midland, Ohio, in 1898, but called Franklin County his home for many years and spent the majority of his formative years…

Dr. Maguire

By Julie Schlesselman, Local History & Genealogy Department Manager, FCPLD This article ran in the March 15, 2025, edition of the Brookville American. This image of Dr. Maguire’s house, cropped from a larger view, was just too intriguing to overlook. Who was Dr. Maguire, where was this house, and what happened to it? The image…

Once Upon a Time

By Julie Schlesselman, Local History & Genealogy Department Manager, FCPLD This article ran in the May 18, 2022, edition of the Brookville American. I was a beautiful house – one of the most regal and unique in our entire county. I was a showplace in Laurel, and that’s saying a lot because at one time,…

Revisiting the 1882 Atlas

By Julie Schlesselman, Local History & Genealogy Department Manager, FCPLD This article ran in the July 3, 2024, edition of the Brookville American and is available in the book Forgotten Franklin County, volume 5. For the Forgotten Franklin County column of August 19, 2020, I wrote about Beers the Cartographer. Mr. Beers’ map company is…

Beers the Cartographer

By Julie Schlesselman, Local History & Genealogy Department Manager, FCPLD This article ran in the August 19, 2020, edition of the Brookville American and is available in the book Forgotten Franklin County, volume 2. In the past, I have referred to our “standard” county reference books, which simply means they are the go-to books for…

Encyclopedias, Magazines, Guides, and Book Covers

By Julie Schlesselman, Local History & Genealogy Department Manager, FCPLD This article ran in the December 27, 2023, edition of the Brookville American and is available in the book Forgotten Franklin County volume 5. Having been published in all of those renditions, in addition to scholarly publications and written about in newspaper articles – with…