Thomas R. McGeachie

The photograph above, taken by W.A. Bishop, appeared on page 21 of the 1903 publication, What: Souvenir of Sandusky, Ohio and the Islands of Lake Erie. In 1903 Thomas McGeachie was a general contractor, but in 1900 he was a foreman at George R. Butler and Company. The January 21, 1902 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that he had been promoted to superintendent at the company. You can see a portion of this business in the picture below, taken in 1899. Started by Jay Butler, the company manufactured sashes, doors, and blinds in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

 

Mr. McGeachie was also involved in local politics. According to an article in the Sandusky Star of May 18, 1899, he was appointed chairman of the Erie County Republican Party at the Third Ward Republican Caucus. The article stated: “This name is a new one in local politics but it jumped at once into prominence. He is a politician who has studied the art in Cleveland and showed the old timers a few pointers last night.” 

By about 1907, Thomas R. McGeachie and his wife Sarah returned to their native Canada, settling in Welland, Ontario, where he worked as a lumber merchant. Though he lived in Sandusky, Ohio for a relatively short time, his activity in business and political circles caused him to be remembered by many local residents after he left the Sandusky area.  Two sons remained in Ohio after their parents moved to Canada. Percy and Thomas McGeachie, Jr. are buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. 

See the book What: Souvenir of Sandusky, Ohio and the Islands of Lake Erie to learn more about the important people and businesses of Sandusky in 1903. Inquire at the Reference Services desk if you would like to see this historic publication.

I.J.P. Tessier

Israel J.P. Tessier was born in 1848 in Ontario, Canada. As a young man he moved to Ohio, where he learned the printer’s trade. He was an apprentice to a printer in Toledo for several years. While in Toledo, in 1867, he married Margaret Quigley. Eventually Mr. and Mrs. Tessier moved to Sandusky,  where he became foreman of the job department of the Sandusky Register. 

In 1885, I.J.P. Tessier was the president of the “Register Monumental Association.” The Association arranged the acquisition of a lot at Oakland Cemetery for graves for former employees of the Register. The buyers of the lot were I.F. Mack, John T. Mack, and C.C. Keech.

Sandusky Register Monument, Lot 87, Oakland Cemetery

In 1900, Mr. Tessier was elected to the position of Erie County Recorder, a position he held at the time of his death on April 13, 1905. He left behind a wife, four daughters and two sons. He was buried at Oakland Cemetery.

William Booth gave an oration at the funeral; it was published in the April 22, 1905 issue of the Sandusky Register. It read in part, 

“He was one of God’s noblest works – an honest man. Every day some man’s burden was made a little lighter by a kindly deed or an encouraging word. He loved to pluck the flowers of happiness that grew along life’s rugged pathway that others might catch and enjoy their beauty and fragrance. His words of cheer and commendation were not kept until the one for whom they were intended had passed away….”