The Leonard Baumgartel Family in 1900

Leonard and Mary Baumgartel are pictured above with two of their daughters. They lived at 212 Hayes Avenue in Sandusky, Ohio. According to records in the 1900 U.S. Census, accessed via Ancestry Library Edition, Leonard Baumgartel was born in Germany in 1850, and his wife Mary was born in Switzerland in 1854. Mary stated that she was the mother of ten children, but only four were living in 1900. They were: Matilda, age 23; John, age 24; Ida, age 12; and Mary, age 13. Notes with the original photograph indicate that Leonard was a tailor, and he worked for Frank Schnaitter. When you look closely at the clothing that Mary and the children are wearing, there is a lot of detail in the necklines, collars, and sleeves of their garments. We do not know if Leonard sewed these items of clothing, or if Mary or someone else stitched them.

Leonard Baumgartel died at the age of 49, on July 11, 1901. He was buried in the I.O.O.F. lot at Oakland Cemetery. Leonard and Mary’s daughter Matilda married Robert Rheinegger on June 5, 1900 in Erie County, Ohio. Matilda and Robert Rheinegger were the parents of Helen Rheinegger Hansen, who photographed and researched several historic homes in Sandusky. The book At Home in Early Sandusky was published as a result of Helen Hansen’s research.

If you have vintage photographs or documents from families who resided in Sandusky or Erie County, please consider donating them to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, so that future generations may enjoy them, and learn more about their family history.