Theodore and Hermine Goessling

In the 1880 U.S. Census, Theodore Goessling was listed as single and aged 30, with his birthplace as Germany. He lived in Sandusky, where he worked as a retail grocer. His store was located at 727 Market Street (now in the west 100 block) in downtown Sandusky.

Notes on the original photograph state that Theodore Goessling is most likely the man holding a hat in the doorway of the store.

On October 18, 1880, Theodore Goessling married Hermine Engels, the daughter of Herman Engels, a well known local vintner. Hermine is pictured below in a photograph taken at the Platt studio in 1889.

The Goesslings had a son born on December 4, 1881, named Theodore Herman Goessling. Theodore, the son, died at age 30 from heart disease. Theodore Goessling, the father, had died in 1891, at the age of 41. Hermine Goessling lived to be 78 years of age, passing away on August 26, 1933. Because Hermine did have any direct descendants at the time of her death, she left twenty thousand dollars in her estate. She gave one thousand dollars each to Good Samaritan Hospital and the United Ladies’ Sewing Circle, and the rest to relatives.

Petition from Sandusky Residents Requesting Purchase of Library Materials

Sometime in the first decade of the twentieth century, local residents gave a petition to the Carnegie Library Committee (Sandusky Library) requesting that the library purchase the title International Library of Technology.

The first name listed on the petition was that of E.B. Krieger, a reporter with the Sandusky Star Journal. Most of the individuals who signed the petition were men in technical fields who worked in transportation or manufacturing businesses in the area.

The International Library of Technology was a series of textbooks for persons in the trades or the field of engineering, published in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by the International Textbook Company, in conjunction with the International Correspondence Schools. The textbooks were published on a wide variety of topics, and came in several editions. An article in the February 14, 1909 issue of the Sandusky Register indicated that the Sandusky Library indeed did purchase a copy of the International Library of Technology.

Dr. James K. Douglas, Native of Berlin Township

Dr. James K. Douglas was born in August 1869 to James and Cornelia (King) Douglas. He grew up on his parents’ home along Lake Erie in the northern portion of Berlin Township of Erie County, Ohio.

In 1894 he graduated from the School of Dentistry at the University of Michigan. Dr. Douglas started practicing dentistry in Sandusky in October, 1894 in the old Kingsbury block. On December 30, 1894, he married Maora Hill, the daughter of George F. and Mary (Steen) Hill. Maora is seen below with a group of young women from Berlin Heights in the late 1800s. She is seated on the right side, in row of ladies at the bottom portion of the picture taken by I.G. Ferres.

By 1910, Dr. Douglas moved his office to the 400 block of Columbus Avenue in the building known as the Bliss building. Dr. Douglas remained at this location until his retirement in 1950. 

On October 17, 1951, several area dentists, who were members of the North Central Dental Society, met to honor Dr. Douglas for his over fifty years of service to his community as a dentist. Dr. James K. Douglas was a longtime member of the American Dental Association, and past president of the Ohio State Dental Association, the Northern Ohio Dental Association, the North Central Ohio Dental Society, and the Sandusky Dental Study Club. He was a member of the state board of dental examiners for a number of years. Dr. D.D. Smith was the toastmaster at the October event, where Dr. Douglas received an autograph book containing messages from all the dentists in attendance. 

On October 4, 1954, Dr. Douglas died unexpectedly at his home on Meigs Street in Sandusky. He was survived by his wife, a daughter, granddaughter, and sister. Dr. Douglas was buried in the West End Cemetery in Berlin Heights, Ohio.

Victorian Era Trade Cards

Here are a some Victorian era trade cards, which were used to advertise products in the late nineteenth century. These cards were given out by businesses in downtown Sandusky.  Greetham & Son., dealers in groceries and provisions, recommended Merchant’s gargling oil liniment for sore throats, toothaches, and a variety of other ailments.

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F.R. Lange sold Hoyt’s German cologne in three different sizes, and Rubifoam, for the teeth, cost twenty five cents a bottle.

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This card from Graham and Gerlach Druggists stated that Hires Root Beer “always brings health.” It was thought that Hires Root Beer purified the blood. The back of the card states that Hires Root Beer “is the health and happiness of childhood, and the joy and comfort of old age.”

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J. Pape, a druggist at the corner of Market and Jackson Streets, sold genuine McLane’s liver pills, prepared by the Fleming Brothers of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center is home to several archival boxes of primary resources related to businesses in Sandusky and Erie County. Because of the generosity of the individuals who donated these items, we can have a glance in to the daily lives of the former residents of our community.

Robert Wagar, Former Sandusky City Manager

Robert Lincoln Joseph Wagar was born in Lakewood, Ohio on February 12, 1880, to David and Margaret Wagar. He was a descendant of one of the earliest settlers of Lakewood, Mars Wagar.

At first he studied law, but later decided to become an engineer, working as a civil engineer in Sandusky by 1910. His wife was named Bertha, and they had two children, Geraldine and Robert, Jr. (Sadly Geraldine died in 1927.)  In 1911, Mayor George Lehrer selected Mr. Wagar to be city engineer for Sandusky. In 1916 he helped to found the construction company of Homberger and Wagar, where he was enployed for sixteen years. 

Mr. Wagar became Sandusky City Manager in 1933 and served in this position until 1936. He served again in the position from 1938 to May of 1941. 

In the December 30, 1934 issue of the Sandusky Register, Robert L.J. Wagar explained how he had two middle names.

In 1942 Mr. Wagar moved to Bellevue, where he served as safety service director and city engineer. He improved the quality of the water supply in Bellevue with the construction of a 700,000,000 gallon reservoir. It was under Wagar’s direction that Goodrich Road was constructed, and by his efforts that a soy bean plant was brought to Bellevue. 

On May 3, 1950, at the age of 70, Mr. Wagar died at the Bellevue Hospital after suffering from heart disease. Funeral services were held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Bellevue, and burial was at Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. Mr. Wagar had been a member of the National and Ohio Society of Professional Engineers, Kiwanis Club, Elks, Masons, Sandusky Garden Club. One of his favorite hobbies was the propagation of dahlias, to the point that he was originating new varieties. Mr. Wagar will long be remembered for his leadership role in the communities of both Sandusky and Bellevue.

Buildings on the 100 Block of West Market Street in the 1990s

The photograph above was taken in the 1990s by a member of the Erie County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society. The Thrift Shop of Grace Church was then located at 136 East Market Street in a building known as the Kugel Building. According to the Ohio Historic Inventory for Erie County, the Kugel Building was built around 1910. Through the years, there have been businesses on the street level, and apartments and offices on the upper floor. The Kugel Building was constructed from brick, with a stone foundation. The name “Kugel” is cut into the cement above the third floor windows. Herman and Benjamin Kugel emigrated to the United States from Hungary in the 1860s. They were successors to their brother Joseph’s dry goods store which opened in Sandusky in 1859. The Kugel brothers had stores in three different locations in Sandusky, the last one being located in the Kugel Building. Next to the Thrift Shop in the picture is Faroh’s Candies, at 128 East Market Street. Faroh’s Finest Candies first opened in Lorain, and then the company branched out to Amherst, Sandusky and Elyria. Faroh’s was located at 128 East Market Street in Sandusky from 1961 through the early 2000s. 

Here is an advertisement from the opening gala of Faroh’s in Sandusky, from the October 5, 1961 issue of the Sandusky Register:

Abner Lyman, Portland Township Justice of the Peace

 

On September 11, 1830, Abner Lyman was appointed Justice of the Peace for the township of Portland, in Huron County, Ohio. (Portland Township and the city of Sandusky were effectively the same at that time; Erie County was not formed until 1838.) The certificate was signed by Allen Trimble, Governor of Ohio.

Abner Lyman settled in the Sandusky area in 1818. Lyman Coleman in his 1872 Genealogy of the Lyman Family in Great Britain and America wrote that Abner Lyman was “a worthy, estimable man, who enjoyed the respect and confidence of all who knew him.”  He worked as a millwright and carpenter, and had been both a captain and a major in the Ohio Militia. During the War of 1812, he was a private and participated in the battle at Sackett’s Harbor.  Mr. Lyman’s wife was the former Eunice Wheeler. They had four children, including Hiram A. Lyman, who was Keeper of the Cedar Point Lighthouse for nearly thirty years.

You might wonder whether the Abner Lyman family is related to that of Bernard Lyman, founder of Lyman Boat Works, a well-regarded boat manufacturer in twentieth-century Sandusky. To date, no connection has been found between Abner Lyman and Bernard Lyman.

Nope, not the same Lymans

Daniel Kunz, German Immigrant and Business Owner

Daniel Kunz (sometimes spelled Kuntz) was born in Bavaria, Germany in 1845 to Mr. and Mrs. Philip Kunz. He emigrated to the United States as a youngster. In 1866, he married Christine Gilcher, the daughter of Peter Gilcher, a pioneer settler of Sandusky also of German descent. By 1867, he was working as a barber in Sandusky on Water Street (between Columbus Ave. and Jackson St), where he also operated a bath house. 

Lime kilns were prominent along the Sandusky waterfront in the 19th century

In 1878 Daniel Kunz began a new business venture when he built lime kilns at the foot of Hancock Street. A steam barge was named for him in 1888, built in Sandusky by Savord and Ratti. By 1890 Mr. Kunz had several business ventures underway. He was president of the Lake Erie Coal and Transit Company, president of the Point Marblehead Lime Company, and he was a partner in Kunz and Johnson, stone dealers. 

In 1900 he purchased property that had been occupied by the National House hotel at the northwest corner of Market and Wayne Streets. He had the hotel razed, and built a multi-story brick building. At the street level was commercial property with large glass windows that would be home to the Cohn's department store for many years. On the upper floors were apartments that could be reached by either stairs or an elevator. Each apartment was modern, with hot and hot running water, steam heat, and a gas range in each kitchen. The Kunz block can be seen below on the 1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, across from the Lea block, which is still there today.

Mr. Kunz was president of the Home Savings and Loan Company of Sandusky in 1903. After his wife died, he moved to Toledo, Ohio, to make his home with his daughter. 

In April, 1935 the Sandusky Masonic Bulletin, edited by Dr. C.H. Merz, announced that Mr. Kunz had recently celebrated his 90th birthday. At the time of his death in 1938, he was the oldest living member of Perseverance Lodge, 329, F. & A.M. He had been prominent on Masonic circles for several years. Mr. Kunz was survived by a son, three daughters, and several grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Graveside funeral services were conducted by Rev. Donald Wonders, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery.

Tools of a Notary Public

This historic Ohio notary seal was donated to the Sandusky Library in 1933, and is now in the collections of the Follett House Museum. It is much larger than the notary seals in use today, probably because most early legal documents were significantly larger than typical documents of today. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a Notary Public is "a public officer who attests or certifies writings (such as a deed) to make them authentic and takes affidavits, depositions, and protests of negotiable paper." Many banks, legal offices, and government offices have staff on hand who are recognized as notaries public by the state of Ohio.  

Several certificates of the commissions of notaries public that were issued to Hewson L. Peeke and Rush R. Sloane are found in the files of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Here 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 once the Mayor of Sandusky, owned the former Sloane House Hotel, and was very active in the Underground Railroad activities of the Firelands. He most likely performed notary duties in his profession as an attorney at law.