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Mrs. Paul Bogert donated this picture, taken by W.A.
Bishop, of a local chapter of the Knights of the Maccabees, taken around the
turn of the twentieth century. Though we do not know exactly who each
individual is in this picture, the first five individuals in the back row (from
left to right) are: John Schoepfle, Frank Close, Jacob Hoffman, Alex Saxer, and
Adam Smith. In the very front row are: Conrad Rhonehouse, Mosey Hohl, Bert
Wiegel, Henry Bromm, and Dan Arndt (or Arend.) Other men in the group photo
are: Gus Koegle, Caleb Till, Fred Hinkey, Robert Fox, George Braley, George
Maley, Joe Andres, Lewis Biehl, E. Stevens, Dr. H.A. Chandler, John Kohler, and
Al Ernst.
Though the Knights of the Maccabees ceased to be a fraternal organization
in 1962, in the late 1800s and the early 1900s the organization was active in
Sandusky. In the 1916 Sandusky City Directory, there were four “tents” of the
Knights of the Maccabees and two “hives” of the Ladies of Maccabees. One of the
main benefits of joining the Knights of the Maccabees was the opportunity for
members to obtain life insurance at a reasonable rate.
An article in the July
16, 1900 issue of the Sandusky Star
reported on a trip that the Maccabees took to Columbus. The Chandler Division
of the uniformed rank, Knights of the Maccabees, marched from their hall on
Market Street to the train station. As they marched, the members of the
Maccabees wore wigs and played kazoos. While in Columbus, they had an
encampment with several of divisions of the Maccabees. A special side show
exhibit was held at the Maccabees encampment, in which Jacob Hoffman portrayed
one of Custer’s scouts and Dr. Chandler served as a “crack-a-jack” story
teller.
If you have ancestors from Sandusky or Erie County, visit the Sandusky
Library Archives Research Center. In our Clubs and Organizations collection,
are many photographs, historical articles, and primary sources about many of
this area’s former residents.
5 comments:
My great-grandfather, Fred W. Matthes, was a KOTM member, Schiller Tent. He passed in 1901. I am wondering if you know of any records I could access and finding more information about him? Thank you so much for this very informational blog post!
The library does not have records of the Maccabees organization, and there does not seem to be many of those records available, other than some records from Michigan, held at the Detroit Public Library. As far as personal information for Mr. Matthes, you should be able to find some via genealogy sites such as Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. (Some of these sites require subscriptions, but many public libraries offer free access.) Here is some information from the Find a Grave website: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131970114/fred-w-matthes.
I bought a Knights of Maccabees ribbon in an antique shop in Ashland, Ohio today and was researching the background when I found this article. This ribbon is about 7" tall. I am not a Maccabee, but will use this in period re-enactments.
http://ohiowheelmen.org/temporary/Maccabees-Ribbon.JPG
Gibsonburg had a hive and sported a band in a picture I saw in about 1916
I recently learned more about the pin / ribbon I have. The manner the pin was normally worn was like this:
http://ohiowheelmen.org/temporary/Maccabees-Ribbon.JPG
In the event of a funeral observance, the ribbon portion was reversed to reveal the black reverse side.
http://ohiowheelmen.org/temporary/MaccabeesFuneralVersion.jpg
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