Located on the corner of Delmar & Tower, the present structure was built in 1914, and served as the Bushelman home until 1933, the year of the owner’s death. John Henry Bushelman, originally of Covington, Kentucky, settled in St. Bernard prior to 1900 and operated a dairy and sand business at this location.
The 1900 Federal Census states the Bushelman address as 200 George Street, later Delmar Avenue; the present structure is 206 Delmar Avenue. The address change was due to the intersection being altered, at which time the original house was moved to another site along Delmar Avenue.
John Henry Bushelman and his wife, Nettie Kirgan, had three children: Mary, who married Charles Lester Bird; William, who married Cecelia Bower; and John Francis, who married Zella Brown. It was John who became a professional baseball player for the Boston Red Sox, 1909-1912.
John Henry Bushelman and his wife, Nettie Kirgan, had three children: Mary, who married Charles Lester Bird; William, who married Cecelia Bower; and John Francis, who married Zella Brown. It was John who became a professional baseball player for the Boston Red Sox, 1909-1912.
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By 1920, a census year, John Francis was listed as head of household at the Delmar address. Other household members included his wife, four children and his father, John Henry Bushelman. His mother, Nettie, had died two years prior.
The Bushelman family continued to occupy this home until at least 1935, two years following the death of John Henry. By 1940, Dr. Frank E. Cunningham had set up his medical practice at this address. As St. Bernard health commissioner, he and his family resided there until the mid-1960’s, when Dr. Michael Kirk set up practice.
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Currently, this building is used as rental property.
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Kay Heller Phillips
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Source: St. Bernard, Ohio 1878-1978; Spring Grove Cemetery Death Records, The Cincinnati Enquirer, 25 Jan 1977, p. 28; Professional Baseball Players, 1876-2004 from http://www.ancestry.com; Hamilton County, Ohio Auditor’s Office; Federal Census Records from http://www.ancestry.com