George Michael Hermle, His Subdivision, His Terrible Crime

George Michael Hermle was an early resident of Euclid. His father and grandfather were born in Württemberg Germany, but The Hermle family would leave Germany in the mid-1850's and by the time George was born in 1869, the family were well established land owners in the township of Euclid. 

George Michael Hermle

George's father Simon was a Wagon maker and his grandfather George was a blacksmith. The younger George was the oldest of 4 children, 3 brothers and one sister. His mother Anna Schwab Hermle died shortly after giving birth to the her last child in 1878, when George was 9 years old. His mother's family, the Schwabs, were also German immigrants who came to Euclid Township before 1860.

George Hermle got into farming with one brother, Ernest, while another brother Henry followed grandfather George into blacksmithing. All the brothers were bachelors into their twenties. The only married child was the lone daughter, Minnie, who died in 1895 at the age of 25.

Hermle continued to farm as a bachelor while living on the vast Hermle property located on Cut road in Euclid Township when one day fate decided to intervene. It was 1903 and while a 34-year-old Hermle worked pitching hay in nearby Nottingham, a young woman named Stella Marriott asked of him a unique favor: Her aunt had passed away very recently and she desired to have someone watch the body that evening. Evidently the time spent together (aunt not included) bloomed into a romance. George Hermle and Estella "Stella" Marriott were married in August 1903. It was the first marriage for both bride and groom.

Stella Hermle, nee Marriott

 

Estella is listed as being 18 on her marriage license, but she would have in fact been 16 years old when marrying 34-year-old Hermle.

George Hermle and Estella Marriott Cuyahoga marriage license.

While George may have waited a while to enter into matrimony, he and Stella wasted little time in starting a family. Laura was born in December 1904, Robert in May 1906, Verona "Bessie" in May 1907, and finally Elsie in October 1909.

It was shortly after marriage and the birth of Laura that George got into real estate, which would turn out to be lucrative for the Hermle family.

Many years later when Euclid was being cut into parcels, the area of land his family lived on would become East 200th street and Arbor street. The subdivision is called the "George M. Hermle's proposed subdivision of part of original Euclid Township Lot no. 16, Tract no. 17", although this George in name is likely grandfather Hermle.

In 1903 Euclid Village was incorporated, and Hermle's name regularly showed up under real estate transfers for area properties. Stella stayed at home with the 4 children. Family and friends would later remark that the marriage was not a happy one, however.

George suffered an injury that resulted in the loss of his left arm from above the elbow. He ran his hay rake into a ditch that should have been covered. He took the Cleveland, Painesville, and Eastern Railroad Company to court and won. In February 1910 he was awarded $4,118 in damages, nearly $120,000 in 2021 dollars.

The end of this story began October 1911. Within in the first half of the month, Stella Hermle filed for divorce, alimony, and custody of the four Hermle children. Stella cited George's excessive drinking and neglect. 

Meanwhile, George would gripe to neighbors that Stella would no longer cook his meals or do his mending. He also claimed Stella had let the children go hungry an entire Sunday.

On October 16, 1911, Nottingham Deputy Marshal George Morris served the husband and father with the paperwork. Morris observed the couple quietly discussing their future involving property division and such, and left shortly thereafter.

Nearly half an hour later marshal Morris was interrupted at his home by a frantic pounding on the door - George Hermle claiming his wife has fired a weapon at him. A revolver, to be exact. Marshal returns to the Hermle home to find a hole blown clear through an outside door, and Mrs. Hermle missing in action.

George told marshal Morris his wife had fired the revolver at him after the two fought about her bringing in movers and a moving van to get her things from their marital home to her new home she'd plan to make with friends on Granger road. George Hermle voiced his disapproval of this, and that was when Stella got her gun.

Stella and the 4 children, at this time 6, 5, 4, and 2, found lodging elsewhere for the evening and George Hermle stayed in the family home on Cut road.

October 17, 1911: Stella and the children returned as promised the next morning around 10 am, with a moving van and a small crew of able bodied workers. The crew began the heavy lifting and the three oldest children watched and followed them, interested in the flurry of activity. Stella had the 2-year-old in her arms as she uncovered furniture and picked up small objects to move. Things were going smoothly and once the van was properly packed and ready to go, Stella started to dress Elsie, the smallest, for the cool October weather. 

George had disappeared for a while and now threw open the door and entered the same room as Stella and Elsie. He had his only hand hidden behind his back. When he brought it around front, Stella's face fell as she realized he leveled a double-barreled shotgun at her. She leapt up and as she did, he shot her dead. She fell with her body wrapped around Elsie's tiny body. 

A moving man named E. J. Blake had been outside the window of the murder room and and when he heard the shot, ran around to the front. There he saw Hermle exit, shotgun still in hand. He watched Hermle run. Hermle returned his stare and remarked that Blake not, "get too close... this gun is still loaded,".

Meanwhile, Frank Ridsmann, another hired man, heard the shot and found Mrs. Hermle dead. He was startled by the cry of little Elsie as he stared in disbelief. The girl was still holding her mothers hand. He picked up the child, disentangling their fingers and thinking quickly, was able to stop the children from seeing the horrific scene that was their now deceased mother. Ridsmann was able to gently usher them out the back and to a neighbors home.

Rain had begun to fall and Hermle continued across the street from the family home past a grocery store. The grocer saw Hermle running with the shotgun, exited his store in curiosity, and Hermle spared no time in brandishing the shotgun at him.

There are some reports that say there were just a few witnesses to other old newspaper clippings that say Hermle had to fend off a mob of people. There's no doubt Hermle was panicked and brandishing his loaded weapon at anyone who dared go near.

He continued about 50 feet past the grocer and his store and sat down against a tree, where he put the barrel of the gun in his mouth. In a moment that must have been humiliating, to say the least, he could not pull the trigger owing to his arm being missing and the trigger being too far away. 

Hermle angrily dropped the gun, removed his shoes and socks, and this time, pulling the trigger of the shotgun with his toes, fired into his brain. He immediately fell to the side, dead.

Marshal Morris was not home, but his wife was, and she summoned Deputy Marshals Earick of Euclid and E. J. Lawrence of Nottingham upon hearing the news, which reached her only 5 minutes after George murdered Stella. 

Close. Mrs. Hermle shot at Mr. with a revolver. He killed her with a shotgun.

Stella's father and sister were notified. Her father, Charles Marriott, was older and in poor health. They came and watched as the bodies of both Mr. and Mrs. Hermle were placed in ambulance and driven to Nottingham's King's Morgue. They stood and watched as the movers slowly replaced everything back into the Hermle house.

Grandfather Charles took home the 4 children. George's brothers Henry and Ernest were left in charge of the Euclid property.

In an interesting turn, the family decided the two should be buried together.

This was a big story. The entire Hermle family, including the house.

In 1921, this area of Euclid became known as Arbor.

 

No mention of the Hermle name.

This is the corner of Arbor and East 200th (Cut rd) today.

It looks as if 3 of the 4 children (although it's possible all 4) went on to be adopted by different families. The oldest child of the Hermle union passed away only 15 years ago, having seen her 100th birthday.

Estella Marriott Hermle and George Michael Hermle are indeed buried together. You can visit them at any time in our own Euclid cemetery. 

3 of the 4 children are not buried in the same cemetery as their parents.