Benjamin E. Deeley, Civil War Veteran

Benjamin E. Deeley was born in Sandusky on August 31, 1841, to Edmond and Dora Kinney Deeley. Benjamin worked with his father in the local fishing industry, and he was also a carpenter by trade. In 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in Company E of the 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry for three months' service. In 1862, he re-enlisted, this time in Company G of the 123rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, ultimately earning the rank of Corporal during his service.

During his years as a soldier, he was held as a prisoner of war at least three times, in prison camps at Libby, Belle Isle, and Andersonville. After the war was over, he worked for the railroad in Sandusky, building railroad cars. He was also an active member of the McMeens Chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic; during Sandusky's Memorial Day services of 1911, he was chairman of the decorating committee.

Benjamin Deeley and his wife, the former Eliza Jane Steen, had six children. Two sons became physicians, one son became a dentist, and two daughters were teachers in Sandusky City Schools. At the time of her retirement, his daughter, Miss Mary Deeley, was serving as principal of Sycamore School, and had been in the field of education for forty-two years.

Benjamin E. Deeley died on November 26, 1925. His obituary appeared in the Sandusky Star Journal on the same day.

In light of the occupations of the children, it is clear that the Deeley family placed a great value on education and service. Surviving the horrors of war in military service and confinement at prison camps, Benjamin Deeley returned home to his family after the Civil War, and led an active life. Mr. Deeley was buried in the family lot at Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio.

A Soldiers’ Memorial, honoring Co. G. of the Ohio 123rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry can be seen at the Follett House Museum.

Nearly All of the Loeffler Family Died in the 1849 Cholera

St. Joseph's Cemetery, Sandusky

According to the book, Sandusky Then and Now, in the course of a few days, John Loeffler, his wife Catherine, and four children all died from cholera in the summer of 1849. The only member of the family to survive was the youngest child, Johannes/John Loeffler, Local residents took the young child in, and the younger John Loeffler lived in Sandusky until his death in 1928 at age 82. He never married, and he worked as a gardener, tending to gardens and lawns all over Sandusky.

The elder John Loeffler came from Rentheim, Baden, Germany to Sandusky in 1835. He married Catherine that same year. Eventually, he ran a tailoring business, in conjunction with a tavern and grocery store at the corner of Fulton and Market Streets. John Loeffler was the first in the family to die from cholera, on July 24, 1849. On July 26, Catherine, Frank and George died. The last child to die was Conrad, who passed away on July 28, 1849.

John Loeffler, the young child who survived the deadly epidemic, made a career as a caretaker of lawns and gardens, and was buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Sandusky in 1928.

Though no stones have been located, St. Joseph’s Cemetery records list all six members of the Loeffler family as having been buried in Section B at St. Joseph’s Cemetery. A total of 357 persons died from cholera in 1849, and smaller epidemics took place in 1852 and 1854. While many have tombstones at Oakland Cemetery and St. Joseph’s Cemetery, most victims were laid to rest at the Cholera Cemetery on Harrison Street. An historical marker was placed at the Cholera Cemetery in 1966.

You can read more about the cholera epidemic in Sandusky in Hewson Peeke’s book, A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio (Lewis Pub. Co., 1916.)

The Cowell Family of Castalia

For many years Mr. and Mrs. Alvin T. Cowell resided in a home on South Washington Street in Castalia, approximately where the Castalia Branch of Civista Bank is now located. Mr. and Mrs. Cowell are in front of the house, and their daughter Frances Alberta Cowell, known as “Bertie” or “Fannie” is standing by a chair.

The book A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio, by Hewson L. Peeke provides biographical information about Alvin Cowell and his family:

Alvin T. Cowell was reared in Castalia, attended the public schools there, and was about seventeen years of age when the country was thrown into the confusion resulting from the outbreak of the Civil war. A few years later he responded to the call of his patriotism and enlisted on May 2, 1864, in Company I of the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Volunteer Infantry of Ohio. He was out about four months, and spent most of the time with his regiment in guard duty at Arlington Heights, just across the Potomac River from Washington. On receiving his honorable discharge he returned to Erie County, and subsequently .had the advantage of a brief attendance at the Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana. With this preparation for practical life he became a farmer, and for many years conducted a large farm of more. than 200 acres in the vicinity of Castalia. While a man who has been known for his strict attention to his business, he has at different times consented to serve in the public interest and for six years was a trustee of Margaretta Township. At the present time he is living in Castalia, and has all the conveniences and comforts he needs for the evening of life.

On February 28, 1910, Mr. Cowell was called upon to mourn tine loss of his faithful companion who had shared with him in the joys and sorrows of existence for nearly forty years. On December 26, 1871, he married Catherine Cooper, who was born in Mount Vernon,. Ohio, a daughter of Cyrus and Sarah (Mitchell) Cooper. Her father was for many years a resident of Knox County, Ohio, and came from there to Margaretta Township where he was a prosperous farmer, but finally sold his land and spent his declining years at Clyde, Ohio, but his body now rests in the cemetery at Castalia. Mr. and Mrs. Cowell became the parents of two children. Fannie A. is the wife of Rev. Charles J. Dole, who is pastor of the Congregational Church at Chelsea, Michigan. The only son, Philip C., is now deceased. Rev. Mr. Dole and wife have five children named Marie L. Catherine Irene, Alberta A., Edward C. and Charles R.

Frances Alberta Dole married a Congregational minister, Rev. Charles Joel Dole in 1891. In the late 1800s, Rev. Dole served as the minister of the Castalia Congregational Church. Two of the Dole daughters had long careers with the Sandusky Library. Miss Irene Dole was the librarian for the Castalia Branch Library from 1942 to 1968. During her time as librarian, the library was housed in the former Town Hall on Main Street in Castalia. The former town hall in Castalia is pictured at the left, in the post card below, about 1905.

Mrs. Alberta Dole Smith was the children’s librarian at Sandusky Library during the 1950s and early 1960s. Mrs. Smith’s picture appeared in the Sandusky Register during National Library Week, on March 19, 1958. The article stated in part: “Children’s librarians feel that none of their patrons will turn out to be a Johnny or Joan who “can’t read” as they are accustomed to having books around the home, and visiting a store house of wonderful and exciting book friends.”

Admiral Byrd In Sandusky

On December 12, 1930, The famous explorer Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd spoke to a crowd of 1200 at Sandusky Junior High School, under the auspices of the senior class at Sandusky High School. He was delayed in Cleveland, but he finally arrived on the New York Central train in Sandusky. Due to the delay, the parade that had been planned for him was cancelled, but crowds of people greeted the Admiral as he arrived at the Sloane House Hotel. 

In his talk, Rear Admiral Byrd spoke about his recent expedition to the Antarctic. Byrd and his men experienced temperatures ranging from 50 degrees below zero to 70 below zero. They wore garments made from reindeer skin, and had sleeping bags made from fur. During his talk, he showed motion pictures that had been taken during the two year expedition.

While in Sandusky, Admiral Byrd visited the Parker Air Field, where he signed the register. During his visit here, he suggested that the Air Field be lighted. 

Sheriff John Parker can be seen in the picture below with the Admiral.

 John W. Parker and Lucius Parker operated the first airport in Sandusky from about 1927 to 1937, when it was sold to the city. It became the Griffing Sandusky Airport until it was closed in 2013.

Airplane at Parker Air Field in 1930

Byrd left Sandusky the next morning in a  Ford tri-motor plane that had been supplied by Edsel Ford. Admiral Byrd was to give a lecture in Detroit, Michigan.

A brief film clip entitled With Byrd at the South Pole can be viewed at Turner Classic Movies.

Enrico and Olimpia Ambrusini, Victims of the 1918 Influenza Epidemic

Enrico and Olimpia Ambrusini both died from influenza in October of 1918, when the disease spread across the United States and many other parts of the world. Their young son Tulio had died in 1916, in a tragic drowning incident. In 1918, four Ambrusini children were left as orphans: Theresa, Erma, Eda and Louis.

In 1907 Olimpia Filipinni and Enrico Ambrusini, both natives of Italy, were married at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Sandusky, on the very same day that Olimpia’s sister Filomena Filipinni married Lazzaro Uguccoini. Olimpia and Filomena were the daughters of Enrico Filippini and his wife Maria.

By the time of the 1910 United States Census, three related families were all living on Market Street. Enrico Flippini and his family were at 426 Market Street. Filomena Uguccioni and her husband Lazzaro Uguccioni, and their daughter Rosa lived at 430 Market Street. Enrico (here listed as Federico) and his wife Olimpia resided at 432 Market Street. (These house numbers changed in 1915, when the city of Sandusky re-numbered the city streets.)

Sadly, Enrico Ambrusini died at the emergency hospital on Adams Street on October 19, 1918. Olimpia Ambrusini died on October 20, 1918, leaving behind four young children.

An article on the front page of the Sandusky Register of October 21, 1918 told of the rapidly rising numbers of cases of influenza in Sandusky at that time:

Theresa Ambrusini was adopted by the Battisti family in Sandusky. She lived a long life and died in Louisville, Kentucky at the age of 91. Her married name was Theresa Moremen. Erma Ambrusini marred Zeno Adante. She lived most of her life in Michigan, but passed away in California in 1997, at the age of 87. Louis Ambrusini, later known as Louis Ambrosine, lived in the Dearborn, Michigan area. He repaired and sold juke boxes, and he retired in Florida. A reasonable search did not find information about Eda/Ida Ambrusini.

The 1918 influenza epidemic brought tragedy to many. The Ambrusini family hoped to find a better life in the United States. They were active in the local Catholic Church, and had close relationships with members of their large extended family. Enrico and Olimpia Ambrusini were buried at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio.

Note: The spellings of both first and last names of members of the Filippini and Ambrusini families vary widely, depending on the record.

Leicester and Juliet Walker, Pioneer Residents of the Firelands

Pictured above is the home of Leicester and Juliet Walker, in Perkins Township, Erie County, Ohio. The home was at what is now the intersection of Milan road and Hull Road, on the west side of Milan Road.

 The Firelands Pioneer of September, 1876 states that Leicester Walker was born in Herkimer County, New York in 1796, and he was orphaned as a child. He settled in Sandusky in 1818, and assisted in building the first frame homes in the Sandusky area. He married Juliet Andrews of Richland County, Ohio in 1825. It is said that both Leicester and Juliet Walker often attended to the needy and sick. Leicester was an abolitionist who was “an active supporter of the government in its efforts to crush the slaveholder’s rebellion.” (Three of the Walker sons served in the Union Army during Civil War.) In 1832, Leicester and Juliet Walker moved to Perkins Township, and they raised a large family of seven sons and two daughters.

On March 31, 1875, the Walkers celebrated their Golden Anniversary. Unfortunately, not long after, on May 6, 1875, Leicester Walker died at his home in Perkins Township. Mrs. Walker died at the home of her daughter in Michigan on September 13, 1875. The Walkers were interred at Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio.

The pioneer settlers of the Firelands area worked the land, established churches and businesses, and formed governmental units to oversee the region where they lived. To learn more about the earliest residents of Erie and Huron Counties, see the Firelands Pioneer a multi-volume set of books housed in the Reference Services section of the Sandusky Library.

Sandusky Business College and Its Students

The Sandusky Business College was founded in 1865 as the Buckeye and Great Western Business College and educated students until its closing in 1949. First located in Union Hall (part of what became the Cooke Block) on Columbus Avenue, in the 1890s, the school moved to the Mahala Block on East Washington Row. After the big 1909 fire that destroyed the Mahala Block, the college moved to the Feick building on East Market Street. 

Below is the Sandusky Business College men’s basketball team from the 1914-1915 academic year:

This post card showed the confidence that the Cleveland based Bourne-Fuller Company had in eight former students from the Sandusky Business College:

The Protectograph, an early business machine that allowed for forgery-proof check writing, was used by students at the college in the first half of the twentieth century. This machine is now in the historical collections of the Follett House Museum.

Beginning in 1923, the Sandusky Business College was in operation at 403 East Adams Street, at the former residence of Rush Sloane. It was its final home, because declining enrollment forced the school to close in 1949.