Charles Labbe of Ohio, Boot & Shoe Dealer

Charles Labbe lived his entire life in Canal Fulton, Stark County, Ohio. He was the brother-in-law of my 2nd great-uncle, Charles Eugene Huber of Akron.

Charles Labbe's father was an immigrant from Bavaria who settled in Canal Fulton in the 1850s and set up shop as a shoemaker. In 1870, Charles was working as a shoemaker apprentice, so it looks like he joined the family business. From the 1880 census to the 1920s, he was identified as a boot & shoe merchant. Charles had retired by 1930.

The Labbe family appeared in newspapers a few times. In 1898, Charles' son Cornelius was accidentally shot & killed at the age of 15 by a friend:

The Massillon Evening Item (Ohio), July 15, 1898

And in 1906, the Labbe family's house was struck by lightning:

Coshocton Daily Age (Ohio), August 1906

Charles Labbe died in September 1942 at the age of 85. His wife, Louise, was 95 years old when she died in 1955. They are buried in Saints Philip and James Church Cemetery in Canal Fulton, Ohio.

An interesting side note: When Charles' sister, my 2nd great-aunt Rachel, visited him in early 1942, it was mentioned in the local newspaper. However, it used her name from the first marriage, Rachel LaCroix, even though her first husband had died and she had been Mrs. Charles E. Huber since 1919.