LOOKING BACK
–by Gayleen Gindy
PUBLICATION DATE: Sep 14, 2020

The next historical house is on the north side of Maplewood Avenue and is the first house west of the railroad tracks. County records say that the house was constructed in 1877.
Washington Huling purchased the entire block in 1851 on the north side of Maplewood Avenue, from the railroad tracks, west to just past the curve. Two historic maps dated 1861 and 1875 of the village of Sylvania both show a house at this railroad intersection, but county records indicate the current house was constructed in 1877. Either the date is incorrect and the current house is older, or the current house replaced the original house indicated on the two maps. A biography written about Huling said that he had very bad luck with fires destroying many of his buildings over his lifetime in Sylvania. Could the original house have been destroyed by fire and then rebuilt in 1877? That’s what I think probably happened.
The owners of the subject house are recorded as follows:

• 1851 – Washington H. Huling
• 1890 – Clara L. Huling
• 1896 – Clara F. Kennedy
• 1897 – Kinney M. Grover
• 1907 – Charles and Gladys Gries
• 1910 – John R. and Millie Peck
• 1914 – Charles F. and M.H. Dewey and James E. Dailey
• 1917 – James E. Dailey
• 1949 – Donnah A. Dailey
• 1950 – Eugene F. and Phyllis Paul
• 1974 – Raymond W. and Alice N. Dorcas
• 1975 – Raymond W. Dorcas
• 1995 – Mark and Christina Cowdrey
• 2011 – Mark Cowdrey

The 1900 census is the first that shows owner Kinney M. Grover and his family were living in this house. They were listed as follows: Kinney M. Grover – born 1843 – 57 years old – widowed – farm laborer – owned home – free of mortgage; Goldie G. Grover – daughter – 17 years old – single – domestic; Genevieve G. Grover – daughter – 13 years old; William Driscoll – son-in-law – 22 years old – married – day laborer; Grace G. Driscoll – daughter – 21 years old – married – zero children. Grover only owned this home for 10 years and sold it in 1907 to Charles and Gladys Gries.

Charles Gries and Rose Gladys Bordeaux were married in 1906 and in 1907 purchased this home. In the 1910 census they are listed living in this home as follows: Charles Gries – 29 years old – married three years – manager of the telephone company; Gladys Gries – wife – 23 years old – married three years; Beatrice Gries – daughter – 11 months – single. Also, renting the other portion of this same house was Earl Orewiler – 29 years old – proprietor of a barber shop; Marie Orewiler – wife – 30 years old – married seven years. The same year that this census was taken Gries sold the home and purchased a home down the street.
In 1910 John and Millie Peck purchased the home. When the 1910 census was taken they were still renting a home on South Main Street. He was employed as a dispatcher for the railway and was 33 years old. Millie was 25 years old and their son Clare was 2 years old. Also living there was his brother Clifford Peck who was 23 years old, single and employed as a conductor for the railway. They only owned this home for four years.
In 1914 Charles F. and Mary Helen (Potter) Dewey, along with their son-in-law, James E. Dailey, purchased this home, and by 1917 James took over full ownership. He owned it until he died in 1948. The next year the home transferred to his widow, Donnah A. Dailey. She owned it for one more year and sold in 1950.
James Dailey and Donnah Dewey were married in 1908. They moved to this home in 1914 and in 1917. When James completed his registration card for World War I, he was employed as a motorman for the Toledo & Western Railway Co. and was married with one child. By the 1920 census they were living in Adrian, Mich. and he was employed as a motorman for the electric railway. They still owned this house and were renting it, but because the 1920 census does not list the residents by address, it was impossible to determine who was renting the home.
The 1930 census shows Dailey had the home at 6728 Maplewood Ave. built and they were living in that home. They rented the subject home to Oscar W. McCulley and his wife Ina May, and their daughter Charlotte McCulley. He was listed as 46 years old and employed as the village marshal.
In December of 1931, a building permit was issued by the village of Sylvania to James E. Dailey allowing the construction of a two car garage, using the old frame and covering it with composition shingles.
In the 1940 census John Goist – 53 years old, and his wife Grace – 54 years old, were renting 6706 Maplewood Ave. and Helen M. Dewey – 79 years old, widowed, was renting 6708 Maplewood Ave.
The owner, James E. Dailey, was well-known in Sylvania as the elected police constable, then as a county deputy sheriff. After retiring, he drove a school bus for Sylvania Schools and became the school bus supervisor. He died in 1948 and then his widow sold this house in 1950 to Eugene and Phyllis Paul.
The Pauls owned and lived in this home, according to the Suburban directories, until 1962 and then rented the house out through 1974. Paul served many years on the Sylvania Municipal Plan Commission and is a large property owner in Sylvania, and a well-known builder.
Zoning permits were issued in 1955 for repairs to the front porch roofs and for adding a 17-foot x 18-foot screened in porch on the rear of the home. In 1962 a permit was issued to install a canopy on the garage.
The 1963 through 1974 directories show there were two units listed, and both were being rented out. In 1974, Ray and Alice Dorcas purchased the double home. They owned and lived in the house to the west of this house, and while they owned this house they rented out both units until 1994. In 1980, Dorcas was issued a zoning permit for an addition to the carport behind the garage.
The Cowdrey family purchased the home in 1994 and they have lived here, using both units, since that time.