A Glimpse into the Life of the Samuel Beach Family

Samuel F. Beach and his wife, the former Harriet Jakes, were married in Erie County, Ohio in June of 1900. According to city directories, from about 1906 to 1921, they resided at 1311 Shelby Street.

Mr. and Mrs. Beach’s only child, Ruth Imogene Beach, was born on February 14, 1902. Ruth is pictured below when she was about three or four years old.

For most of his life, Samuel F. Beach was employed as a carpenter, working for many years for George Feick, but in 1915 and 1916, Sam Beach worked as a patrolman for the Sandusky Police Department.

Ruth Beach worked at the Citizens Banking Company for over forty years, retiring in 1964. This photograph of Ruth standing next to an automobile was taken when she was a young woman.

Samuel Beach passed away in 1939 and his wife Harriet died in 1948. Ruth Beach lived to be 73 years old, passing away in 1975. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Beach and their daughter Ruth are all buried at Oakland Cemetery. Several photographs from the Beach family were donated to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, allowing us the opportunity to learn more about the life of a local family in our community. If you have old family photographs, you too can learn more details about your family by looking at vital records, city directories, and genealogical databases, such as Ancestry Library Edition, Heritage Quest, and FamilySearch. Visit the Sandusky Library to get started on your family history research.

A Trip to Put-in-Bay

The library's historical collections contain photographs of young ladies from Sandusky visiting South Bass Island in 1919 and 1920. Pictured below are Ruth Beach, Helen Rheinegger and Verna Bornhauser, who were all in their late teens at the time. 

    

The young ladies also visited Hotel Victory during their visit in 1919. They posed for a snapshot on the ladder of the (apparently empty) hotel swimming pool. Sadly, the Hotel Victory was destroyed by fire on August 14, 1919.

  

On May 22, 1920, Verna Bornhauser and Dorothy Sturm posed on the barrel of a cannon in the park at Put-in-Bay.

                      

This picture was taken on the road to a visit to the state fish hatcheries:

Residents of Sandusky were fortunate to have easy access to steamboat transportation to the Lake Erie Islands. The Frank Kirby was just one of the steamers that ferried passengers to Put-in-Bay in 1919 and 1920.

Summertime in Vacationland

For decades, the pleasant summer weather in the Lake Erie Islands region has provided a terrific spot for local residents and tourists to spend some leisure time. Here are just a few images from the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center that capture some of those moments. Above is a snapshot of swimmers and boaters at Marblehead in 1957. Below is a picture of Ruth Beach, Verna Bornhauser, and Helen Rheinegger, at the Hotel Victory swimming pool in the summer of 1919.

The guests at Cedar Point in 1946 were walking along the Moon Rocket ride, long before Apollo 11 landed on the moon in July of 1969. In the 1940s visitors to the amusement park dressed much less casual than today’s visitors. This attraction was only at Cedar Point for a few seasons.

             

Notes that were attached to the original picture indicate that these people were fishing at the Bay Bridge Beach in June 1923. What a catch!

    

You can see the enthusiasm of the youngsters getting off the train in downtown Sandusky about 1940. Perhaps they were getting ready to board a boat to one of Lake Erie Islands.

     

View many more historical pictures from Sandusky and Erie County at the Sandusky Library Local History Archives online.

Sandusky Police in 1915

In this picture from about 1915, Sandusky police officers are lined up across Columbus Avenue for a parade. Pictured above are: Sam Beach, Otto Rudolph, Officer Curtis, Leo Schiefley, John Molz, Henry Scherer, August David, John Rimidy, Sam Black, Joseph Schlitt, John B. Taylor, Dan Loveland, John Hobert, Adam Zimmerman, Andrew Polta, Melville White, Conrad Hobert, Henry Ringholz, George Dean, Jay Perry, Peter Herb, Al Tremper, John Bauer, George Leitz, and John DeMuth.


This portrait image of Samuel Beach allows a clearer view of the police uniform of that era.

Sandusky policemen are pictured below in an unidentified parade. The streetcar rails are clearly visible, and a marching band is behind the group of policemen. A little boy wearing a hat and knickers appears to be very interested in the parade.

Transporting Baby in Sandusky

An image of a baby stroller appeared in Punch in 1847. An article found online states that the earliest carriages and prams were made of wicker or wood, and the infant would recline in the carriage. Strollers allow for a young child to sit up. Today a wide variety of baby strollers, car seats, and travel systems are available for parents of young children.

These images from the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center show examples of youngsters being transported around the turn of the twentieth century. The baby pictured below is in a wicker carriage in front of the Bock Barber Shop.

Children of Ferdinand V. Seibert are seen in a carriage in front of a residence on Third Street in Sandusky.

Ruth Beach is pictured below about 1905.

This vintage collapsible doll buggy can be seen in the toy room of the Follett House Museum.

A newspaper advertisement from the March 2, 1901 issue of the Sandusky Daily Star features a Sleep Go-Cart from Goebel’s Big Store. The product is upholstered, and contains a parasol to protect baby from the sun.

Miss Ruth Beach

Ruth I. Beach was the only child of Samuel and Harriet Beach, born on February 14, 1902. Samuel Beach was employed by Feick Builders for many years. Ruth is pictured below as a young child.

During her years at Sandusky High School, Ruth Beach followed the Commercial Course. She graduated in 1920. This is a photo of her with her graduating class.

Here is a photograph of Ruth with her automobile.

In February of 1964 Ruth Beach retired from the Citizens Banking Company, after having worked there for forty four years. Miss Ruth Beach passed away on June 18, 1975. She was buried in the family lot at Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

Following the death of Ruth Beach, several photographs from the Beach family were donated to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. If you have vintage family photographs or documents from the Sandusky or Erie County area, consider donating them to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center for future generations to enjoy.