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Anthony “Tony” Leopold

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Anthony “Tony” Leopold

Birth
Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA
Death
31 Mar 1913 (aged 56)
Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA
Burial
Fort Knox, Hardin County, Kentucky, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
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Anthony 'Tony' Leopold was the second son of immigrants to Louisville, Martin Léopoldes from Schaffhouse-près-Seltz, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France and Barbara Schall from Seltz, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. Tony had an older brother Christ Leopold and a younger sister Margaret Leopold Popp.

Tony's parents left France and came to Louisville @ 1853 where his mother Barbara had a cousin - Victor Stoltz, the son of her aunt Thérèse Schall Stoltz. Victor came to Louisville on his own around 1840 and must have communicated back to his family in Seltz that Kentucky was a pretty good place to be. Victor's older brother, Joseph Stoltz and his family ended up in Louisville in 1854. Tony's maternal cousin, Louis Schall (b. 1865 Seltz -d. 1952 KY) also emigrated to Louisville in 1889.

Tony's parents settled in Downtown Louisville near the foot of 4th Street at the Ohio River, where their three children were born. Tony's childhood must have been closely tied to all the events, commerce and activity of the thriving river city during and the years after the Civil War. There's no doubt that Tony knew the waterfront of Louisville very well - something that helped shape his future career. One of his father's jobs was being a Watchman on the river.

On 22 October 1881, Life Saving Station #10 was placed in service upriver from Falls of the Ohio at Louisville, Kentucky, the most dangerous place on the entire Ohio River. Skilled rivermen, who had served here as volunteers, became personnel of the Federal Government Department of Civil, Military and Naval Services. Built at the Howard Shipyards at Jeffersonville, Indiana, the Life Saving Station boat was the first on America's Western Rivers system. It served until being replaced in 1902 by another wooden hull boat, which was replaced in 1929 with a steel hulled boat called the Mayor Andrew Broaddus which is now a Historic National Landmark and used as the offices for the famous Belle of Louisville Steamboat.

Tony was one of the few men who worked for the U.S. Life Saving Service in Louisville and was employed there by the Federal Government for 27 years from 1882 to 1909. Tony was known for his bravery and rowing skills saving many lives at the Falls of the Ohio River with his fellow Lifesavers under the command of Captain William Devan Jr. Many Louisville newspaper articles during that time period mention Tony and the Lifesavers in reporting the numerous incidents where thousands of lives and millions of dollars of cargo and property were saved.

The U.S. Life Saving Service eventually became part of the U.S. Coast Guard, with their station in Louisville the only inland station in the United States except for those on the Great Lakes. A book called "Heroes at the Falls - Louisville Lifesavers" written by Dr. Leland R. Johnson and edited by Historian Charles E. Parrish was published in 2014 and has preserved the legacy of their heroic actions and contributions to the safety of the city and to the travelers and commerce along the Ohio River.

Tony married Mary J. O'Brien (1863 KY - 1893 KY) on 15 Oct 1883 in Louisville. They had a small farm in Hardin County, Kentucky but when working, Tony's residence was his parents home on Bullitt Street in Louisville near the Lifesaving Station # 10 docked at the foot of Second and Third Streets where Tony worked. The Lifesaving Station also had a galley and crew quarters where the lifesavers ate and slept during break time from being on river watch. Where Tony and his parents lived on Bullitt Street was eventually converted into the area around the Galt House Hotel complex. Bullitt Street can now only be found on old city maps.

Together Tony and his wife Mary had 6 children:

Margaret Leopold Schmidt (1885 KY - 1953 KY)
Martin Leopold (1886 KY-1887 KY)
Laurette Irene Leopold (1887 KY-1888 KY)
Mary Leopold (1889 KY-1890 KY)
William Louis Leopold (1890 KY-1932 Chicago, IL)
Julius Christopher Leopold (1892 KY -1957, Chicago, IL)

Sadly his wife Mary died in December 1893 at 30 years old of pneumonia leaving Tony a widower with 3 young children. After Mary died, Anthony met Katherine 'Kate' Ludwig in Louisville. Kate told her family who lived in Tell City, Indiana, that she had married Tony. She used the surname Leopold, but there is no marriage record on file and no record that they lived together. Tony and Kate did have 2 children together, Antoinette Leopold Nash Everett in 1898 and James Chambers in 1905 (who Kate gave up for an unofficial adoption in 1905 by her neighbors and friends on Cabel Street in Louisville - George and Susie Norris Chambers).

In 1899, Anthony married Mary J. Mears Estes (1854, Hart County, KY - Oct 1932, Hart County, KY) who had 3 daughters of her own, Sudie Estes Scott (1876-1944), Lulu Estes Sherrard (1880-1956) and Sallie Estes Adams (1888-1908).

Although Tony lived and worked in Louisville, his 3 children by his first wife Mary O'Brien lived with their step-mother Mary Mears in Colesburg, Hardin County (re: 1900 and 1910 census records). It appears that Tony generally lived in Louisville and occasionally commuted by bicycle to Hardin County (about a 3 hour bicycle ride each way). A Courier-Journal newspaper article of 1898 notes that Tony had recently purchased a new bicycle and was faster on land than rowing on the Ohio River, quite a compliment on both counts.

Tony became disabled in 1909 and had to quit working for the Louisville Lifesavers. He spent his last few years mostly under the care of the U.S. Marine Hospital in the Portland neighborhood of Louisville where there was a view of the Ohio River that he was so familiar with. He died of Tuberculosis in Louisville in March 1913 during a major flood of the city. Two obituary articles in the Louisville Courier-Journal of April 1, 1913 mention Anthony, one of which states that the Louisville Lifesavers flew their flag at their station on the Ohio River at half-mast in honor of Anthony's distinguished service of 27 years as a Lifesaver.

Pleasant View Cemetery East inside Fort Knox is only open to the general public on Memorial Day each year, and a pass must be obtained at the Visitor's Gate on Bullion Blvd. With proper ID, a pass is easy to obtain. The cemetery is a few miles from the Visitor Gate near the corner of Wilson and E. Baker, about 1/4 mile east on Main Range Road. At the first bend in the road there is a small parking area on the right with a 4-5 step stairway up to a clearing in the woods and the cemetery. Anthony's grave site is about 12 sites in on the right hand side at the top of the stairway - Once at the top of the stairs...continue walking straight and a little towards your right.

Anthony's tombstone has the Woodmen of the World emblem carved into the high quality granite/marble that has withstood the elements well after 100 years. The same emblem is on the tombstones of his 2 nephews Anthony and John, the 2 sons of his sister Margaret Leopold Popp.

Next to Anthony's stone is the grave of his step-daughter (daughter of Mary Mears Estes Leopold) - Sallie Estes Adams who died in 1908.
Anthony 'Tony' Leopold was the second son of immigrants to Louisville, Martin Léopoldes from Schaffhouse-près-Seltz, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France and Barbara Schall from Seltz, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. Tony had an older brother Christ Leopold and a younger sister Margaret Leopold Popp.

Tony's parents left France and came to Louisville @ 1853 where his mother Barbara had a cousin - Victor Stoltz, the son of her aunt Thérèse Schall Stoltz. Victor came to Louisville on his own around 1840 and must have communicated back to his family in Seltz that Kentucky was a pretty good place to be. Victor's older brother, Joseph Stoltz and his family ended up in Louisville in 1854. Tony's maternal cousin, Louis Schall (b. 1865 Seltz -d. 1952 KY) also emigrated to Louisville in 1889.

Tony's parents settled in Downtown Louisville near the foot of 4th Street at the Ohio River, where their three children were born. Tony's childhood must have been closely tied to all the events, commerce and activity of the thriving river city during and the years after the Civil War. There's no doubt that Tony knew the waterfront of Louisville very well - something that helped shape his future career. One of his father's jobs was being a Watchman on the river.

On 22 October 1881, Life Saving Station #10 was placed in service upriver from Falls of the Ohio at Louisville, Kentucky, the most dangerous place on the entire Ohio River. Skilled rivermen, who had served here as volunteers, became personnel of the Federal Government Department of Civil, Military and Naval Services. Built at the Howard Shipyards at Jeffersonville, Indiana, the Life Saving Station boat was the first on America's Western Rivers system. It served until being replaced in 1902 by another wooden hull boat, which was replaced in 1929 with a steel hulled boat called the Mayor Andrew Broaddus which is now a Historic National Landmark and used as the offices for the famous Belle of Louisville Steamboat.

Tony was one of the few men who worked for the U.S. Life Saving Service in Louisville and was employed there by the Federal Government for 27 years from 1882 to 1909. Tony was known for his bravery and rowing skills saving many lives at the Falls of the Ohio River with his fellow Lifesavers under the command of Captain William Devan Jr. Many Louisville newspaper articles during that time period mention Tony and the Lifesavers in reporting the numerous incidents where thousands of lives and millions of dollars of cargo and property were saved.

The U.S. Life Saving Service eventually became part of the U.S. Coast Guard, with their station in Louisville the only inland station in the United States except for those on the Great Lakes. A book called "Heroes at the Falls - Louisville Lifesavers" written by Dr. Leland R. Johnson and edited by Historian Charles E. Parrish was published in 2014 and has preserved the legacy of their heroic actions and contributions to the safety of the city and to the travelers and commerce along the Ohio River.

Tony married Mary J. O'Brien (1863 KY - 1893 KY) on 15 Oct 1883 in Louisville. They had a small farm in Hardin County, Kentucky but when working, Tony's residence was his parents home on Bullitt Street in Louisville near the Lifesaving Station # 10 docked at the foot of Second and Third Streets where Tony worked. The Lifesaving Station also had a galley and crew quarters where the lifesavers ate and slept during break time from being on river watch. Where Tony and his parents lived on Bullitt Street was eventually converted into the area around the Galt House Hotel complex. Bullitt Street can now only be found on old city maps.

Together Tony and his wife Mary had 6 children:

Margaret Leopold Schmidt (1885 KY - 1953 KY)
Martin Leopold (1886 KY-1887 KY)
Laurette Irene Leopold (1887 KY-1888 KY)
Mary Leopold (1889 KY-1890 KY)
William Louis Leopold (1890 KY-1932 Chicago, IL)
Julius Christopher Leopold (1892 KY -1957, Chicago, IL)

Sadly his wife Mary died in December 1893 at 30 years old of pneumonia leaving Tony a widower with 3 young children. After Mary died, Anthony met Katherine 'Kate' Ludwig in Louisville. Kate told her family who lived in Tell City, Indiana, that she had married Tony. She used the surname Leopold, but there is no marriage record on file and no record that they lived together. Tony and Kate did have 2 children together, Antoinette Leopold Nash Everett in 1898 and James Chambers in 1905 (who Kate gave up for an unofficial adoption in 1905 by her neighbors and friends on Cabel Street in Louisville - George and Susie Norris Chambers).

In 1899, Anthony married Mary J. Mears Estes (1854, Hart County, KY - Oct 1932, Hart County, KY) who had 3 daughters of her own, Sudie Estes Scott (1876-1944), Lulu Estes Sherrard (1880-1956) and Sallie Estes Adams (1888-1908).

Although Tony lived and worked in Louisville, his 3 children by his first wife Mary O'Brien lived with their step-mother Mary Mears in Colesburg, Hardin County (re: 1900 and 1910 census records). It appears that Tony generally lived in Louisville and occasionally commuted by bicycle to Hardin County (about a 3 hour bicycle ride each way). A Courier-Journal newspaper article of 1898 notes that Tony had recently purchased a new bicycle and was faster on land than rowing on the Ohio River, quite a compliment on both counts.

Tony became disabled in 1909 and had to quit working for the Louisville Lifesavers. He spent his last few years mostly under the care of the U.S. Marine Hospital in the Portland neighborhood of Louisville where there was a view of the Ohio River that he was so familiar with. He died of Tuberculosis in Louisville in March 1913 during a major flood of the city. Two obituary articles in the Louisville Courier-Journal of April 1, 1913 mention Anthony, one of which states that the Louisville Lifesavers flew their flag at their station on the Ohio River at half-mast in honor of Anthony's distinguished service of 27 years as a Lifesaver.

Pleasant View Cemetery East inside Fort Knox is only open to the general public on Memorial Day each year, and a pass must be obtained at the Visitor's Gate on Bullion Blvd. With proper ID, a pass is easy to obtain. The cemetery is a few miles from the Visitor Gate near the corner of Wilson and E. Baker, about 1/4 mile east on Main Range Road. At the first bend in the road there is a small parking area on the right with a 4-5 step stairway up to a clearing in the woods and the cemetery. Anthony's grave site is about 12 sites in on the right hand side at the top of the stairway - Once at the top of the stairs...continue walking straight and a little towards your right.

Anthony's tombstone has the Woodmen of the World emblem carved into the high quality granite/marble that has withstood the elements well after 100 years. The same emblem is on the tombstones of his 2 nephews Anthony and John, the 2 sons of his sister Margaret Leopold Popp.

Next to Anthony's stone is the grave of his step-daughter (daughter of Mary Mears Estes Leopold) - Sallie Estes Adams who died in 1908.


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