Otto O. Zwicker (April 7, 1899–October 20, 1992)
By Josh Burns
Pre-War Life
Otto Oscar Zwicker was born in Wheeling, West Virginia on April 7, 18991 to Herman Lincoln Lawrence Zwicker and Katie West.2 Herman Zwicker worked as a liquor salesman and served on the local city council.3 Otto had three brothers, Herman (1892), Stanley (1898), and Julius (1906).4 During the first year of Otto’s life, he and his family moved to Union, West Virginia but quickly moved back to Wheeling. As a result, he spent much of his early life in Wheeling.5 Zwicker likely received a primary education, as he was able to read and write by the age of eleven.6 By 1918, Zwicker worked as a mechanic at Hopkins’ Motors in Wheeling.7
Military Service
Otto Zwicker registered for the draft on September 12, 1918.8 He served in the US Army starting on November 4, 1918, only seven days before the war ended. This experience was not uncommon in the US military. The Army discharged Private Zwicker on November 26, 1918; he served for twenty-two days.9
Post-Service History
After the war, Otto worked in the banking industry, holding multiple positions throughout a long career. He initially worked as a clerk, a teller, and ultimately an assistant credit manager.10 In 1920, he married Helen E. Mehen.11 Eight years later, they had their first and only child, Otto M.12 It is likely that the Great Depression deeply affected Zwicker and his family. According to a 1930 City Directory, Zwicker owned his own home in Wheeling. By 1935, however, the Zwicker family briefly lived in Pittsburgh, and by 1940 they rented from Otto’s sister-in-law, Molly Mehen, back in Wheeling.13 In February 1942, Zwicker registered for the WWII draft, seen here in his draft registration card. He was not called to service because of his age.14
The Zwicker family made its way to Florida in 1951, where Otto worked as a furniture salesman at the Woodrum Furniture Company. In 1962, Zwicker was hired as a real estate agent, selling houses in north Miami, seen here in his employment announcement.15 His job as a real estate agent took him all over south and central Florida. He started selling in the north Miami area and later sold homes in the burgeoning Orlando area.16
The family lived in Ocala, Florida when Helen died in April 1968.17 Zwicker remarried six years later to Minnie Bell Gentry on November 22, 1974.18 Otto and Minnie Zwicker moved to Detroit but returned to Ocala by 1985. Otto Zwicker died in Ocala on October 20, 1992.19 Otto’s legacy include his son, Otto, and three stepchildren, John Miley, Bernard Miley, and Carlotta Williams. In addition, he had two grandchildren and three great grandchildren.20 He was interred in Florida National Cemetery on November 5, 1992, exactly seventy-four years and one day from the date he was drafted. His wife, Minnie died on June 1, 2003 at the age of eighty-four.21
Endnotes
1 “WWI Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” database, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed March 5 2017), entry for Otto Oscar Zwicker, Wheeling, Ohio, West Virginia.
2 "West Virginia Births, 1853-1930," database, FamilySearch.org, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X556-N58 (updated December 2014), Otto Oscar Zwicker, April 7, 1899.
3 Gibson Lamb Cranmer, History of Wheeling City and Ohio County, West Virginia and Representative Citizens, (Wheeling: Biographical Publishing Company, 1902), 570, http://www.wvgenweb.org/ohio/hzwicker-bio.txt.
4 “1920 United States Census,” database, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed March 5, 2017), entry for Otto Zwicker, Wheeling, Ohio, West Virginia.
5 “1900 United States Census,” database, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed March 5, 2017), entry for Otto Zwicker, Wheeling, Ohio, West Virginia; “1920 United States Census,” database, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed March 5, 2017), entry for Otto Zwicker, Wheeling, Ohio, West Virginia.
6 “1910 United States Census,” database, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed March 5, 2017), entry for Otto Zwicker, Wheeling, Ohio, West Virginia.
7 “WWI Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” (accessed March 5, 2017), entry for Otto Oscar Zwicker, Wheeling, Ohio, West Virginia.
8 ibid.
9 “U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010,” database, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed August 2, 2017), entry for Otto O Zwicker.
10 “U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995,” database, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed March 5, 2017), entry for Otto Zwicker, Wheeling, West Virginia.
11 “West Virginia, Marriages Index, 1785-1971,” database, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed March 5, 2017), entry for Otto O Zwicker, Ohio, West Virginia.
12 “1930 United States Census,” database, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed March 5, 2017), entry for Otto Zwicker, Wheeling, Ohio, West Virginia.
13 “1940 United States Census,” database, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed March 5, 2017), entry for Otto Zwicker, Wheeling, Ohio, West Virginia.
14 “WWII Draft Registration Cards,” database, Fold3.com, http://fold3.com (accessed August 2, 2017), entry for Otto Oscar Zwicker.
15 “New Associate,” The Miami News (Miami, FL), Jun. 24, 1962.
16 “This Is a Dream,” The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, FL), Sunday, January 19, 1964.
17 “Florida State Death Records, 1877-1998,” Archives.com http://archives.com (accessed March 17, 2017), entry for Helen Mehen Zwicker, Broward, Florida.
18 “Florida, Marriages Index, 1785-1971,” database, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed March 5, 2017), entry for Otto Oscar Zwicker, Florida.
19 “Florida Death Index, 1877-1998,” database, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed March 5 2017), entry for Otto Oscar Zwicker, Marion, Florida.
20 “Ocala Star-Banner”, Florida, GenealogyBank.com https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/11DA52EC5E3B0768-11DA52EC5E3B0768?search_terms=Zwicker%7COtto%7CO (accessed March 20, 2017), entry for Otto O. Zwicker, 93.
21 National Cemetery Administration, "Otto Oscar Zwicker," US Department of Veterans Affairs, accessed September 18, 2018, https://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/NGLMap?ID=2065866
“U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014,” database, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed August 2, 2017), entry for Minnie B. Zwicker.
© 2017, University of Central Florida
