Damask Rose Parish

 

J.C. Judson wrote about Damask Rose Parish in his history of the First Congregational Church of Sandusky, which he titled Agony and Attainment. According to Mr. Judson, Damask Rose was born in the fall of 1845, and was baptized on August 27, 1846. Her parents were Francis Drake Parish and Mary L. Parish. F.D. Parish was a well known lawyer in Sandusky, and an active participant in the Underground Railroad. They named their child after the late wife of Congregationalist minister Rev. I. A. Hart. Born Damask Rose Frisbie, Mrs. Hart died in 1840, at about 30 years old.

F.D. Parish in his later years

Mr. Judson wrote that Damask Rose Parish was “an unusual, lovely and beautiful child.”

According to records at Oakland Cemetery, Damask Rose Parish died on October 6, 1855, at the age of ten. Her tombstone, which has a rose inscribed under her name, is in Lot 4 of Block 28.  Mr. Parish was greatly saddened when his daughter died, but he was noted for his stoic dedication to his work and community service. 

Hewson Peeke’s book, Stories of Sandusky contains an almost certainly fictional story about Damask Rose Parish. The story tells how Mr. Parish was a friend to fugitive slaves, and suggests that Damask Rose herself took part in helping provide food and water to the fugitives. But J.C. Judson noted that she could not have been old enough to have helped the slaves that were aided by her father in 1845, since she was born that same year.

You can find the grave of Damask Rose Parish at Oakland Cemetery today. Stories of Sandusky and Agony and Attainment can both be found in the Archives Research Center of Sandusky Library. While the Peeke story about Damask Rose may indeed be fiction, there is no question that F. D. Parish was a friend of fugitive slaves. An account of the Underground Railroad of the Firelands is given in the July 1888 issue of the Firelands Pioneer. Rush Sloane, who knew F. D. Parish personally, gives specific dates and places associated with the activities of the Underground Railroad.

Memorial to President Ulysses S. Grant

While we cannot be certain that any Sandusky residents attended the dedication of the Memorial to President Ulysses S. Grant in Washington D.C., Mrs. John T. Mack bequeathed the program from the dedication exercises to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. 

Civil War veterans in both blue and gray attended the ceremonies, which took place on the 100^th anniversary of the birthday of President Grant, one hundred years ago, on April 27, 1922. Princess Cantacuzene, born Julia Dent Grant, the granddaughter of former President Grant, and her daughter Princess Ida Cantacuzene unveiled the Memorial. A parade made up of soldiers, sailors, and Marines participated in the ceremonies, which included a 21 gun salute and “doves of peace” being released.

According to the April 28, 1922 issue of the Sandusky Register, President Harding addressed a crowd of 15,000 people in President Grant's birthplace, Point Pleasant, Ohio on the former President's 100th birthday, April 27, 1922. President Harding praised Grant as a great hero and military leader.

After President Grant died on July 23, 1885, the city of Sandusky conducted a memorial to the late President on  August 8, the same day as his funeral in New York city. Businesses and private homes in Sandusky were draped with black cloths to pay respects to former President Grant. Flags were at half-mast on boats in the port of Sandusky as well as at government buildings in the city. A parade took place from Market Street to Biemiller’s Opera House; hundreds of mourners were turned away from Sandusky’s memorial service because the Opera House was filled to capacity. I.F. Mack presided at the service, and music was provided by the Great Western Band.

Isaac Foster Mack, 1837-1912

 

Rev. David J. Meese, of the First Presbyterian Church, spoke about General Grant’s boyhood days. Rev. George H. Peeke, of the First Congregational Church, spoke of Grant as an ideal hero. Rev. F. K. Brooke, of Grace Church, spoke about the peace in the United States as evidenced by those who mourned Grant from both the northern and southern states of the United States. Other speakers of the day included Rev. A. B. Nicholas, A.H. Moss, Homer Goodwin, and F. W. Alvord. When the Honorable Oran Follett spoke, he alluded to Shakespeare as he said in part, “We have met today to praise, not to bury, the man who had the courage and ability to lead us to a great victory.” 

Oran Follett, 1798-1894

The Great Western Band played a final song, and the audience dispersed after the McMeens Post of G.A.R. left in a group.

Great Western Band

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the history of the former residents and businesses of Sandusky and Erie County, Ohio.

Rev. George H. Peeke

George Hewson Peeke was born on March 18, 1833 in Rotterdam, New York. He graduated from Rutgers College in 1857, and from the Reformed Dutch Theologial Seminary in 1860. Rev. Peeke’s active years of ministry spanned fifty-five years. He served as the minister of churches in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Iowa, and Ohio. From 1883 until 1890, he was the pastor of the First Congregational Church in Sandusky, Ohio. Rev. Peeke was the first clergyman in Sandusky to advocate prohibition of liquor. 

In 1884, Rev. Peeke was selected to be the speaker at Sandusky’s Memorial Day ceremony at Oakland Cemetery. The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center has a small collection of documents from Rev. Peeke's life's work, including life memberships in the American Bible Society, American Tract Society, and the American Home Missionary Society. When Rev. Peeke left the Sandusky Congregational Church, he went on to serve as the minister of the Congregational Church in Brooklyn, Ohio. He often came back to Sandusky to officiate at funerals, and speak at local churches.

Rev. Peeke and his wife Margaret Bloodgood Peeke had six children; their eldest son, Hewson L. Peeke, was a well known attorney and local historian in Sandusky.  

On December 28, 1915, Rev. George H. Peeke died after suffering a stroke.  Funeral services were held at the home of his son, attorney Hewson L. Peeke. The three pastors who officiated at the funeral services were: Rev. Keller of the Presbyterian Church, Rev. Ross Sanderson of the First Congregational Church, and Rev. Hilberry of Trinity Methodist Church. Burial was in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. A lengthy obituary appeared in the December 29, 1915 issue of the Sandusky Register.

Stories of Sandusky, by Hewson L. Peeke

According to the Sandusky Register of August 4, 1922, Hewson L. Peeke wrote ten stories about the early days of the city of Sandusky, calling them Stories of Sandusky. They could be best described as fictionalized versions of early events. Sandusky City Schools Superintendent Frank J. Prout had the stories mimeographed in the form of a pamphlet for use in the public schools. Dr. Prout stated, “They will teach the children to respect the historical incidents connected with the city’s existence.” In 1934 an expanded version of Stories of Sandusky was printed by the Stephens Company in Sandusky, Ohio, with forty-five stories in this edition. 

In many cases, Mr. Peeke gave fictitious names to the characters. The story “How John North Came to Sandusky and What He Did There” was actually about early Sandusky businessman William T. West. It turns out that William T. West intended to go to Cincinnati. In Buffalo, his baggage accidentally was put into a boat bound for Sandusky, so he followed the boat to Sandusky to retrieve his baggage. Then Mr. West missed his train bound for Cincinnati, and he ended up staying in Sandusky. He worked as a carpenter, ran a store, and eventually he and his brother constructed the West House hotel in Sandusky. The story indicates that Mr. West felt he was a “creature of circumstance.” 

The character of John North in Stories of Sandusky was William T. West

 In “The Story of Damask Rose,” Peeke relates that Damask Rose was the beloved daughter of attorney and abolitionist F.D. Parish. Supposedly, young Damask Rose Parish was carrying food to a runaway slave child and was seen by a U.S. official. The little girl and her mother were turned over to the slaveholder, and sent back south. Damask Rose Parish died at age 10, and she always blamed herself for the unfortunate events that transpired. 

A lawsuit was brought against F.D. Parish, and he lost the case. Though F.D. Parish did indeed have a young daughter named Damask Rose, the U.S. Census and Oakland Cemetery records indicate that she died in 1855, not in 1845, as Peeke wrote in Stories of Sandusky. Her tombstone can still be seen in Block 28 at Oakland Cemetery in the Parish family lot. 

In the story about “Old Mockabee” Peeke recalls how the town drunkard redeemed himself by digging graves for the victims of cholera in Sandusky in 1849. You can read many more stories about Sandusky and the Firelands in Stories of Sandusky. Inquire at the Reference Services desk if you would like to see this interesting book by Hewson L. Peeke.

Hewson L. Peeke, Lawyer and Author

Hewson Lindsley Peeke was born on April 21, 1861 in South Bend, Indiana to the Reverend George Hewson and Margaret Bloodgood Peeke. He graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts.

After teaching school in Illinois, he moved west to the Dakota territory where he was admitted to the bar in 1883. In about 1885, when his father was assigned as Pastor of the Congregational Church in Sandusky, he moved to Sandusky as well.

After being admitted to the Ohio Bar, he practiced law in Sandusky for many years. His obituary, in the 1942 Obituary Notebook (in the Sandusky Library), stated that he was known as the “dean of the County Bar Association” in Erie County. Mr. Peeke was admitted to the United States District Court in 1895; U.S. Court of Appeals in 1905; and to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1918. 

In 1902 and 1906, he ran unsuccessfully for Representative of the 13^th District, under the Prohibition ticket. He was a staunch follower of the old Prohibition Party, following the motto “The Wets Cannot Win.”

Local history was a favorite topic of his. He was the author of two histories of Erie County, A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio, published in 1916, and The Centennial History of Erie County, published in 1925. He also wrote Stories of Sandusky, which most people consider to be fictionalized accounts of people and incidents in Sandusky, Ohio. Mr. Peeke also served as the President of the Firelands Historical Society for a number of years.

An important issue in the life of Hewson L. Peeke was the idea of Temperance. He wrote a comprehensive study of the history of drunkenness in 1917, entitled:  Americana Ebrietatis: The Favorite Tipple of Our Forefathers and the Laws and Customs Relating Thereto. George Sargent, an editor from the Boston Evening Transcript newspaper praised Peeke’s book. He wrote in an article, which was reprinted in the November 20, 1917 Sandusky Register, that Peeke was “as impartial as the apostles in dealing with this subject and leaves his witnesses to be examined and cross-examined by either side. The collection of material which he has gathered gives a history of drunkenness and drinking customs in America, and while it is not the only one in the country, it is probably the finest in existence in private hands.” A copy of this unique title is in the Local Authors Collection of the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library.

Hewson L. Peeke died on February 17, 1942. His funeral was held at the First Congregational Church, and he was buried at Oakland Cemetery. The entire local bar association attended the rites, and the active pallbearers were: Judge E. H. Savord, Judge W. L. Fiesinger, and Attorneys Earl Webster, C.E. Moyer, James Flynn and Wilbert Schwer.

Historic Notary Seal

This historic Ohio notary seal is now in the collections of the Follett House Museum. It is much larger than the notary seals in use today. A Notary Public is a person authorized to witness the signing of important documents. Many banks, legal offices, and government offices have staff on hand who are recognized as notary publics (or notaries public -- both are acceptable according to Merriam-Webster) by the state of Ohio. Wills, deeds, and other legal transactions often need to be notarized. 

Several certificates of the commissions of notary publics that were  issued to Hewson L. Peeke and Rush R. Sloane are found in the files of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Below is a document that indicates that Rush R. Sloane was appointed as Notary Public by Governor Seabury Ford, on September 8, 1849.

Rush R. Sloane was Mayor of Sandusky (1879-80), owned the former Sloane House Hotel, and was very active in the Underground Railroad activities of the Firelands.

Elmer B. Otto, Pioneer in the Dairy Business

Elmer B. Otto, seen above in a portrait which appears in Hewson Peeke’s A Standard History of Erie County (Lewis Publishing Co., 1916), was a pioneer in the dairy industry in Erie County. He was born in 1885 to Herman and Frances (Oswald) Otto, who owned a farm in Perkins Township. Elmer began selling milk from his father’s farm with just one horse and wagon. Soon he purchased a large milk cooler and a cream separator. In 1907, he bought the former Pitt Cooke residence at what is now 515 West Washington Street. He lived with his family in the front portion of the large stone home and in the rear part of the building, he operated the dairy. 

An article in the August 16, 1958 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that a Mr. Whitney had operated a restaurant at 515 West Washington Street, and he named the house the “Esmond House,” after his son. Elmer Otto decided to call his business the Esmond Dairy, in honor of Mr. Whitney’s son.  In 1916, the business had eight delivery wagons that took milk, butter and other dairy products to customers all over the city of Sandusky.

A new building for the Esmond Dairy opened at 1610 Campbell Street in 1919.

        

A special feature article about Esmond Dairy appeared in the May 1, 1919 Sandusky Register.    

The Esmond Dairy used the Milwaukee filler and capper machine to ensure that dairy products were bottled and sealed in the most sanitary conditions. George Feick and Sons had built the modern building, which was three stories high and constructed from brick, steel and concrete. The new Esmond Dairy building and plant was considered “a model of perfection.” The public was invited to the grand opening on May 2, 1919, and Esmond ice cream was served to all visitors. 

On June 7, 1921, it was announced that Don Lightner would take over as president of the Esmond Dairy Company, with Elmer B. Otto still retaining part of his holdings in the company, and remaining on the board of directors of Esmond Dairy for a time.  Elmer Otto branched out into the cold storage business and a new dairy business known as Otto’s. A listing in the 1925 Sandusky City Directory stated that Elmer B. Otto was the proprietor and manufacturer of milk products. The main plant was located at 305-307 East Water Street, with substations on Monroe Street, the corner of Adams and Lawrence Streets, and in Venice. Otto’s products carried the name Otto’s which was always slightly angled in an upwards direction.

This Otto’s syrup bottle is now housed in the historic collections of the Follett House Museum.

          

A later popular location operated by Otto’s was at 2434 West Monroe Street, which was eventually purchased by Toft’s. Otto’s had a variety of locations throughout its many years of operation. Visit the Sandusky Library to view historic Sandusky City Directories for the  exact years and locations.

Elmer B. Otto died in 1973. His obituary in the July 20, 1973 issue of the Sandusky Register indicated that Mr. Otto had been a pioneer in the practices of pasteurization and homogenization of milk, and he was innovative in his use of paper and milk bottles for milk. Elmer B. Otto was survived by two sons, a daughter, and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. His wife had died in 1957. Elmer B. Otto was laid to rest at Oakland Cemetery. His years of innovations and good business practices were recalled by hundreds of area residents. 

Fathers from Sandusky

There are thousands of historical photographs in the collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, and of course many of them include men who were fathers. Above is a picture showing Daniel Hoffman, Sr. and five of his sons as they were inducted into the Masonic lodge in 1904. 

Here is a portrait of former Judge Ulysses Thompson Curran. 

Judge Curran was judge of the Probate Division of Erie County Court of Common Pleas from 1899 to 1905, and he had served as superintendent of schools in Sandusky 1872 to 1880. He was the father of well-known artist Charles Courtney Curran.

Below is a picture of George Schade as a young man. Mr. Schade was the father of Julian Schade and Christine Schade Mylander, and the grandfather of George Mylander.

       

He was associated with the coal business in Sandusky, as well as the Schade Theatre, and served as a Sandusky City Commissioner for many years in the 1920s and 1930s.  

Pictured on the 1903 postcard below are Horatio Linn and his young daughter Gertrude.

              

Mr. Linn was an educator in Erie County in the 1890s,  and later he was a newspaper publisher in Cleveland, Tennessee. 

The Rev. George Hewson Peeke was the minister of the Congregational Church in Sandusky in the 1880s. He was the first clergyman in Sandusky to advocate for the prohibition of liquor. He and his wife Margaret were the parents of attorney and author Hewson L. Peeke.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the past residents of Sandusky and Erie County.

Hewson L. Peeke, Lawyer and Author

Hewson Lindsley Peeke was born on April 21, 1861 in South Bend, Indiana to George Hewson and Margaret Bloodgood Peeke. He graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts.

After teaching school in Illinois, Hewson Peeke moved west to the Dakota Territory where he was admitted to the bar in 1883. In about 1885, when his father, the Rev. George H. Peeke was assigned as Pastor of the Congregational Church in Sandusky, Hewson Peeke moved to Sandusky as well.

Hewson Peeke was admitted to the Ohio Bar, and practiced law in Sandusky for many years. His obituary, in the 1942 Obituary Notebook, stated that he was known as the “dean of the County Bar Association” in Erie County. Mr. Peeke was admitted to the United States District Court in 1895; U.S. Court of Appeals in 1905; and to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1918. In 1902 and 1906, Hewson L. Peeke ran unsuccessfully for Representative of the 13th District, under the Prohibition ticket. He was a staunch follower of the old Prohibition Party, following the motto “The Wets Cannot Win.”

Local history was a favorite topic of Hewson Peeke. He was the author of two histories of Erie County, A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio, published in 1916, and The Centennial History of Erie County, published in 1925. Another book he wrote was Stories of Sandusky, which many consider to be fictionalized accounts of people and incidents in Sandusky, Ohio. Mr. Peeke also served as the President of the Firelands Historical Society for several years.

Peeke wrote acomprehensive study of the history of drunkenness in 1917, Americana Ebrietatis: The Favorite Tipple of Our Forefathers and the Laws and Customs Relating Thereto. George Sargent, an editor from the Boston Evening Transcript praised Peeke’s book. He wrote in an article which was reprinted in the November 20, 1917 Sandusky Register that Hewson L. Peeke was “as impartial as the apostles in dealing with this subject and leaves his witnesses to be examined and cross-examined by either side. The collection of material which he has gathered gives a history of drunkenness and drinking customs in America, and while it is not the only one in the country, it is probably the finest in existence in private hands.” A copy of this unique title is found in the Local Authors Collection of the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library.

Hewson L. Peeke died on February 17, 1942. His funeral was held at the First Congregational Church, and he was buried at Oakland Cemetery. The entire local bar association attended the rites, and the active pallbearers were: Judge E. H. Savord, Judge W. L. Fiesinger, and Attorneys Earl Webster, C.E. Moyer, James Flynn and Wilbert Schwer.

The Historical Pageant of Sandusky and Erie County

On June 28 and 29, 1933, the Camp Fire Girls presented “The Historical Pageant of Sandusky and Erie County” at Esmond Field near the corner of Columbus and Perkins Avenues. The pageant was a John B. Rogers Production, and was directed by Hazel Anderson. Music was provided by Ackley’s Band, with Bruce Clarks at the piano. The general chairman of the event was Earl Krueger. The cast was made up of hundreds of area adults and children.

The pageant began with Janet Munce, queen of the pageant, appearing with “Miss Columbia” and several attendants who represented the Camp Fire Laws: Beauty Trust, Work, Knowledge, Health, Service, Happiness and the Spirit of Camp Fire. Beginning with the dawn of civilization, the pageant proceeded to re-enactments of several key events in the history of Sandusky and Erie County. Included were: early Native American camp life, settlers of Sandusky, circuit riders, the cholera epidemic of 1849, early education in Sandusky, the Underground Railway, the Civil War, and a wedding celebration and ball. At the end of the pageant was a mammoth spectacle which symbolized the Spirit of Camp Fire, in which the cast members were dressed in the costumes of several different nationalities.

An article in the June 29, 1933 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that the early history of the area was well portrayed in the Camp Fire Girls pageant. A wagon which had actually been used to transport the dead bodies during the 1849 cholera epidemic was used in the scene which portrayed that event. The wagon was owned by Lee B. Keller, who played the role of Father Time. The article pointed out that many items of clothing used in the pageant were heirloom garments from ancestors of current area residents. A cow was seen in the wagon train scene, and dog who sat by his master in the wagon scene, added to the authenticity of the pageant. The pageant committee thanked these individuals who provided historical background information for the production: Mrs. Marjorie Loomis Cherry, Mrs. George Doerzbach, Miss Jessie Wilcox, Hewson L. Peeke, and James Ryan. The book History of Erie County, Ohio, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich, was also consulted when the committee was researching the history of Sandusky and Erie County.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view the program from the Historical Pageant of Sandusky and Erie County put on by the Camp Fire Girls in 1933. If anyone has photographs from this event, please contact us so that we may possibly scan the items to include in our historical collections.

Zenia the Vestal, by Margaret B. Peeke

Margaret Bloodgood Peeke was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Garry Peck. She was born in Mechanicsville, New York on April 8, 1908. In 1860, Margaret married Rev. George H. Peeke, a Protestant minister. Rev. and Mrs. Peeke settled in Sandusky in 1883, where George served as the minister of the Congregational Church. Rev. Peeke later served a congregation in Cleveland as well. Rev. and Mrs. Peeke had six children, one of whom was well known Sandusky lawyer and local history author, Hewson L. Peeke. Hewson L. Peeke wrote in his book, A Standard History of Erie County, about his mother, “She had a remarkably bright mind and wonderful conversational ability.”

Robert H. Stockman wrote in his book The Baha'i Faith in America, that while Margaret B. Peeke had been raised as a strong Protestant church member, her interests changed, and she became a Martinist. Martinism is a form of mystical Christianity. Margaret was the author of Born of Flame, Numbers and Letters: or The Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom, and Zenia the Vestal.

A book reviewer stated that Zenia the Vestal was a book which embodied “the occult laws of spiritual development, as given by the wise men of other lands…”

An advertisement for two of Mrs. Peeke’s books appeared in The Metaphysical Magazine in 1901.

According to Ohio Authors and Their Books, Margaret Bloodgood Peeke traveled widely, teaching Hermetic philosophy, with her largest following in the northern Ohio area. Margaret Bloodgood Peeke died on November 2, 1908. She is buried in Pomona, Tennessee near her daughter Grace Peeke. Grace Carew Sheldon wrote in an article in the Columbus Medical Journal shortly after Margaret’s death, that “The loss to her myriads of friends in every part of the world testifies to her international value, for she was beloved both at home and abroad.”

A copy of Zenia the Vestal is located in the local authors collection of the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library. The book contains an inscription from Rev. George H. Peeke to Miss Hazel Maud Morgan, the daughter of local Sandusky businessman, T. T. Morgan. The inscription reads:

Wisdom is the principal thing

Therefore get wisdom. –Proverb