The Ebert Siblings in 1864 and 1878

The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Ebert are pictured above in a picture taken by J.M. Frisbie in Sandusky, Ohio on September 28, 1864. Carl was age ten, Conrad was age four, and Margaret was age 7. Conrad Ebert, the father, and his wife Margaret, were both natives of Bavaria, but all three children were born in Ohio according to the 1870 United States Census.

Another portrait of the Ebert siblings was taken about 1879, at the A.C. Platt studio. By this time Carl and Margaret had married, and they posed with their spouses. Conrad Ebert is standing in the back, next to his brother in law Louis Duennisch. In the front are: Carl Ebert, his wife Caroline Ebert, and Margaret Ebert Duennisch.

The younger Conrad Ebert was a successful druggist in Sandusky for a number of years. Carl Ebert had a long career with the U.S. Post Office in Sandusky. Margaret Ebert married Louis Duennisch, who worked for several years with the Sandusky Sash, Door and Blind Company, later known as the George R. Butler Company. Because an Ebert family member donated these photographs to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, we are able to see how the Ebert children changed over time. If you have vintage family photographs of people, businesses, or organizations from Sandusky or Erie County, Ohio, please consider donating them to the Archives Research Center so that future generations may enjoy and learn from them.

Charles Evans Hughes Made Campaign Stop in Sandusky

On September 26, 1916, Charles Evans Hughes campaigned for the U.S. presidency in Sandusky, Ohio. He had resigned from the Supreme Court to run for President. He is pictured above, speaking in front of the American Crayon Company, near the Hayes Avenue subway.  The factory was decorated with patriotic bunting and flags, and a large crowd came out to hear what the Republican candidate had to say.

                             

Because the train was an hour late, Ackley’s band entertained the crowds that had come out to hear the candidate speak. Once he arrived, Justice Hughes spoke for fifteen minutes, speaking about the power of progress, social justice, and the conditions of the American worker. Governor Myron T. Herrick and Erie County Auditor Hayes Adams also gave remarks.  In the November 1916 election, incumbent President Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic candidate, defeated Hughes.

During his 1908 presidential campaign, William Howard Taft spoke at the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Home (now the Ohio Veterans Home), and Theodore Roosevelt gave a whistle-stop speech at the foot of Columbus Avenue to a large crowd of Sanduskians in May of 1912. Read an earlier blog post to learn more about other political campaigns in Sandusky

Wagenet & Davis, Insurance Agents

In the 1886 Sandusky City Directory, H. W. Wagenet and Josh B. Davis were listed as agents for over twenty five different insurance companies. Their offices were on the upper floors of the Cooke Block.  Their advertisement stated that they offered the lowest going rates, and that they offered insurance protection for fire, marine, accident, lightning, cyclone and plate glass damages. H.W. Wagenet had previously been in the insurance business with Bryon Gager at the same location. In the 1880 City Directory, Mr. Wagenet’s name was listed as H.W. Wagenknecht, but by 1886 he had changed the spelling of his name to Wagenet. 

The September 8, 1888 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that H.W. Wagnet was leaving Wagnet & Davis. His interests were taken over by his brother, John H. Wagenet, with the new partnership being known as Davis & Wagenet. You can see a sign for Davis & Wagenet, barely visible above the main front door in this image: 

    

The Cooke Block has been home to many different businesses in Sandusky throughout the years. Visit the Sandusky Library to view historic city directories to learn about the many different residents and businesses of our city.

Resources for Locating Oakland Cemetery Burial Records

This week the Cemetery Walk: Titans of Transportation will be held at Oakland Cemetery on these days: Tuesday, September 20; Wednesday, September 21; Thursday, September 22; and Saturday, September 24 at 10:00 a.m. 

Even if you cannot attend one of the tours, there are many ways to access individuals buried at Oakland Cemetery!

Oakland Cemetery is the final resting place of thousands of former residents of Sandusky and Erie County, Ohio.. Though it is not 100% inclusive, there is an online database at the City of Sandusky’s website.

Simply enter the first and last name of the person you are researching, and the result will provide you with the date of death, and location of the gravesite. Below is the listing for Moors Farwell, Sandusky’s first Mayor.

Another online database that is helpful in locating Oakland Cemetery records is Find a Grave. This link will take you directly to Find a Grave’s Search Box for Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

Resources that are available inside the Sandusky Library include the book Erie County Ohio Cemetery Census Before 1909. Interment information for Oakland Cemetery begins on page 355 of this reference book. Inside the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center are even more places where you can access Oakland Cemetery burial records. A standalone computer provides a database where you can search by first or last name to access burial information. The results vary, sometimes providing very little information, but sometimes giving the cause of death, date of death, and location of death. The interment card for Confida Textor, who died at the age of 2 is seen below.

Yet another place to access Oakland Cemetery records at Sandusky Library is on the microfilmed copies of interment cards in the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Complete up to the 1980s, the records are arranged first by cemetery, and then alphabetically by surname. Below is the interment card for Anne Hubbard Butler, the young daughter of Watson Hubbard and Susan Quay Butler.

If you have ancestors buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery, and you would like to learn more about them, consult some of the many resources of information available to you.

Employees of the Sandusky Demokrat

This picture from 1888 shows several employees of the Sandusky Demokrat in Sandusky, Ohio. The  Demokrat was a German language newspaper published for the many local residents who spoke German. The company also offered printing services in either the English or German language. 

From left to right in the picture are: Charles Ruemmele, John Erney, Otto Mielke, Albert Kolb and William F. Senn, who was the editor and publisher of the Demokrat in 1888. Peeking out from an upper story window is Philip Buerkle. The building was located at 742 Water Street in 1888, which was later 216 West Water Street. (This structure no longer stands.) You can see 742 Water Street in a portion of the 1886 Sanborn Map below. It was on the south side of Water, east of Jackson Street.

The Sandusky Demokrat was in business in Sandusky from 1856 to 1919. A front page article in the May 7, 1919 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that the Demokrat had become “a thing of the past.” At the time it ceased operations, it was considered Ohio’s oldest German language newspaper. The newspaper closed for a variety of reasons, many caused by pressures arising from anti-German sentiment that was prevalent throughout the United States due to the war in Europe.

You can read more about German language newspapers in Sandusky in a previous post at Sandusky History.

The Kewpee and Markley's

When the Kewpee Hotel opened on September 14, 1939, several area businesses offered their best wishes in the Sandusky Register. A regular hamburger sold for ten cents, and a deluxe hamburger cost fifteen cents. The advertisement stated that the restaurant was “Sandusky’s Only Hamburg Shop.” Besides hamburgers, the Kewpee featured malted milks, a full line of beverages, pies, rolls, and cereals. Kewpee Hotel restaurants were started by Sam Blair in Flint, Michigan in the 1920s. Soon Kewpee Hotel restaurants opened in nearby states.

By the late 1940s, the restaurant was known as the Kewpee Lunch; in 1954, it was sold by owners Carl and Helen Ruth to Lyle Mayhew. The new name of the restaurant was the Whitehouse Restaurant, and Lyle’s brother in law Roger Markley was the manager. Eventually Mr. Markley acquired the restaurant, and it became known as Markley’s. In the 1960s, the doorway was moved from the corner of the restaurant to the Market Street side of the building. Many a young person went to Markley’s after Sandusky High School sporting events. The chili was very comforting after sitting out in the cold weather for a football game. A longtime staff member of the Sandusky Library fondly recalls the Little Sister sandwich from Markley’s.

   

Markley’s closed about 2010, and now a Subway shop and Amarone Italian Restaurant share the site.

Postcard View of the Perry's Victory Centennial

This photographic postcard view of Columbus Avenue was taken at the time of the Perry's Victory Centennial which commemorated the one hundredth anniversary of Oliver Hazard Perry’s victory in the Battle of Lake Erie. Sandusky’s celebration took place on September 8 and 9, 1913. Downtown Sandusky was decorated with flags, lights, banners, and patriotic bunting. Visitors to the Perry Centennial arrived by the interurban electric railway and automobiles, and then could board boats to Put in Bay on South Bass Island.

On the west side of Columbus Avenue, one of the shops on the street level of the West House hotel hung a banner promoting their services for the developing of Kodak camera prints.

A café and restaurant on the east side of Columbus Avenue were open for business to serve meals to the many visitors to Sandusky and the Lake Erie Islands region.

The Lake Shore Electric Railway Co. transported people to Sandusky from all points on the system, which included Cleveland, Lorain, Elyria, Norwalk, Bellevue, Fremont, Toledo, and many stops in between, while the steamer Arrow made two trips daily to Put in Bay, Lakeside, Kelleys Island, and Middle Bass Island. Taking a closer look at this postcard allows us to see the energy and excitement that was associated with the celebration of this historic event. The Official Souvenir Program of the Perry’s Victory Centennial is available online at the Internet Archive.

The 1932 Sandusky High School Football Team

Recently we ran into a team photo of the Sandusky High School football from the academic year 1932-1933. The individuals in the picture have been identified.

Top row (left to right): Null, Alden Feick, James Earl, Eddie Bryant, Maag, Kleinfelder, Steuk, H. Maag

Middle row: Coach Bob Whittaker, Ken Stauffer, Les Gast, London Gant, White, Jordan, Dehnel, Coach Wallace Glenwright

Bottom row: Young, Ted Roth, Gene Burns, Davis Chaffee, Al Hess, A. Missioni, Johnny Baum, and Carroll

Number 77 was London Gant, who was a legend in Sandusky High School football history. In Sandusky High School athletic records, He still holds the record for the most all-time career touchdowns and the most games played in career. Near the end of the football season in Gant's senior year, Johnny Dunn, sports editor of the Lorain Journal paid tribute to him in his newspaper column. It was reprinted in the October 20, 1932 issue of the Sandusky Register. A portion of the column read:

Sportswriter Dunn pointed out that “a united sigh of relief along the Northern Ohio football front,” will be heard when London Gant takes off his uniform for the last time at Sandusky High School. 

On the Thanksgiving Day football game of 1932 between the Sandusky High School Blue Streaks and the Fremont Ross Little Giants, Sandusky beat Fremont 33 to 0. It was estimated that 5000 spectators attended the game at Strobel Field. The victory was attributed to "sensational forward passing," according to an article from the November 25, 1932 edition of the Sandusky Register.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to read more about Sandusky High School’s past football seasons on microfilmed copies of the Sandusky Register and Star Journal. A book by Vince Guerrieri, The Blue Streaks & Little Giants chronicles the long rivalry of the football teams of Sandusky High and Fremont Ross.

At Work in Sandusky

Celebrated in the U.S. since 1882, Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is dedicated “to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” The men in the photograph above were employed by Lay Brothers Fisheries in the 1930s. The crew was on a fishing boat, pulling up nets from Sandusky Bay. In the historical photograph collection at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center are a wide variety of images of local residents pictured in the workplace. 

Several men and women who were employed at Hinde and Dauch can be seen in the 1905 picture below.

The ice industry provided many area residents with jobs in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

During World War II, employees at Barr Rubber made life rafts for the war effort.

In the picture below, taken sometime between 1910 and 1915, are members of the Sandusky Chapel of the Typographical Union employed by the Sandusky Register. Maybe their vehicles were decorated for a Labor Day celebration!

 

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to see many more vintage pictures of the people who called Sandusky and Erie County home.

Leonard and Theresa Winkler

This tintype picture of Theresa Weber Winkler was most likely taken before her marriage to Leonard Winkler in 1871. The couple was married in Monroeville, Ohio.

Theresa was born in Germany in 1847. Her future husband, Leonard Winkler, was also a native of Germany. During the Civil War, Leonard Winkler served in Company I of the Third Ohio Cavalry. Here he is in a picture taken in 1863:

Leonard and Theresa Winkler had a large family of children which included three sons and three daughters. Mr. Winkler worked as a delivery man for a brewery. 

These portraits of Leonard and Theresa Winkler were taken later in life.

Leonard Winkler died on May 26, 1893, following a bout of bronchitis. He was buried at Oakland Cemetery. Following his death, some of his military items were donated to the historical museum of the Sandusky Library, and are now housed at the Follett House Museum.

  

A daughter of Leonard and Theresa Winkler, Justina Winkler, was a nurse who served in World War I and later worked at Providence Hospital. A grandson, also named Leonard, was a teacher for several years, and he was known as the “Voice of Sandusky Athletics."