Marriage of John A. Strobel and Mattie E. Bretz

Rev. J. G. Enzslin of the Emmanuel German Evangelical Protestant Church officiated at the wedding of John A. Strobel and Mattie E. Bretz on June 20, 1894. The marriage license was recorded at the Erie County Probate Court on page 915 of Volume 9 of the marriage records. Witnesses at the marriage ceremony were his brother, Christ Strobel (who later became the namesake for Strobel Field) and her sister, Hattie Bretz.

The original marriage license of John A. Strobel and Mattie E. Bretz was secured into a wedding memory book titled Our Wedding Bells. The book was published by John Gibson Publisher with copyright dates of 1889 and 1892. Though no names are recorded, there are several lined pages on which guests could record their names and “courteous words.”

The wedding memory book contains twenty pages of poems and inspirational passages, including this passage, Song of the Bells:

Hear the mellow wedding bells,

Golden Bells!

What a world of happiness their harmony foretells,

Through the balmy air of night,

How they ring out their delight,

From the molten golden notes,

And all in tune.

John A. Strobel was employed for many years in the Sandusky offices of the B & O Railroad. He passed away on June 5, 1933. Mattie Bretz Strobel survived her husband and lived in Sandusky until her death on January 31, 1959. Mr. and Mrs. Strobel are buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

Pictured below is the Bronze Centenary Medal celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The medal once belonged to Mr. Strobel, and was given to the Follett House Museum by Hattie Bretz, the sister of Mrs. Strobel.

Mattie Bretz Strobel made a quilt that is also in the historical collections of the Follett House Museum. The quilt, which was pieced in part by hand and in part by machine, was made in the novel star design, with silk and satin fabrics. It is estimated to have been created in the 1890’s. Just a small portion of the quilt can be seen in this photograph.

A Military History of the Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Franklin Sawyer

During the Civil War, Franklin Sawyer was the commanding officer of the Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry from May of 1862 until the unit was mustered out. A prominent lawyer from Norwalk, he achieved the rank of Brevet Brigadier General. Mr. Sawyer wrote a book about his unit, called A Military History of the Eighth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. It was published in 1881 by Fairbanks and Company of Cleveland, Ohio.

A copy of this military history, donated by Hattie Bretz, is housed in the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The book originally belonged to Hattie’s father, William Bretz, who served in Co. E of the Ohio Eighth Infantry. A reprint of this book, with additional photographs, was published by the Blue Acorn Press in 1994. This edition of Franklin Sawyer’s books is found in the Local History and Genealogy collection in Reference Services.

General Sawyer tells about the Eighth Ohio’s participation in many battles, including Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor. During the Battle of Antietam, a barn on a nearby farm was used as an operating room. Wounded and dying men covered the ground around the barn. Sandusky native Horace Harper Bill, who was then with Company K, died at Antietam. In the author’s preface, Franklin Sawyer stated, “There were many individual acts of bravery and fortitude, on the part of both officers and men.”

Many men from Sandusky and Erie County were in Company E of the Ohio Eighth Volunteer Infantry. Sawyer’s book lists the names of all the officers and soldiers in each company. The unit’s chaplain, Rev. Lyman N. Freeman, had served as rector of Grace Church in Sandusky from 1845 to 1850. Zenas W. Barker, Jr., the son of the former Mayor of Sandusky, died at Oakland, Virginia on August 28, 1861. Wells W. Miller, who was a Captain in the Ohio Eighth Infantry, went on to serve as Ohio’s Secretary of Agriculture. To read many more details about the Eighth Ohio, visit the Sandusky Library to view this historic accounting of the unit.

After the war Franklin Sawyer was elected to the Ohio legislature. He died in Norwalk, Ohio on August 22, 1892. Reunions of the Veterans of the Ohio Eighth Infantry were held for several years. A reunion was held at the Dixie restaurant in Sandusky on September 18, 1922. According to the Sandusky Star Journal of August 7, 1922, four of the former soldiers of Company E of the Ohio Eighth Infantry were living in Sandusky. Their names were E.E. Warren, William Braby, Charles Chapman and Romeo Foster.

Interior Views of the Perry and Bretz Clothing Store

From 1918 until its closing in 1963, the Perry and Bretz Store sold men’s clothing and accessories at 136 East Market Street in downtown Sandusky.

The 1919 Sandusky city directory lists Jay J. Perry and Robert B. Bretz as the proprietors of Perry and Bretz. By 1927 the store was run by Robert B. Bretz, Donald D. Perry, and Eugene J. Perry.

When Bretz died in 1947, his obituary stated that he had been one of Sandusky’s oldest business men, having been in the clothing business in Sandusky for sixty-five years. The Perrys continued to operate the store until 1963. An article in the July 8, 1963 issue of the Sandusky Register featured a going out of business sale for the Perry and Bretz store.

The Follett House Museum has two hangers in its collections, one from the former Robert B. Bretz store at 117 Columbus Avenue, and one from the former Kronthal and Bretz store.