Who Are the Men in the Under the Baton Banner?

The Sandusky Library is pleased to announce the documentary film Under the Baton: Music at Old Cedar Point. The premiere screening will take place on Friday, November 1 at 7:15 p.m., with additional presentations on Thursday, November 7 at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, November 14 at 10:30 a.m., and Friday, November 15 at 1:30 p.m., all at the Sandusky Library’s Program Room. The television premiere will be on November 14 at 8:00 p.m. on WGTE, Toledo.

You may be wondering about the names of the men featured in the picture of Ackley’s Band, which appears on the promotional flyers related to the documentary:

This photograph of Ackley’s Band was taken in the early 1900s. From left to right in the back row are: Ed Senne, John Bauman, M. McAdams, A. Becker, William Hauser, J. Thomas, F. Ortman, and F.W. Bauer. In the front row are: N. Bergmoser, Elmer Center, W. Scott, J. Samsel, F. Bauman, George Godfrey, C. Schaufelberger, and E.B. Ackley.  We know more details about some of the band members than others. Ed Senne played in several local musical groups, including the Great Western Band, Dials Concert Orchestra, and in the orchestra of the Lakeside Association, besides playing in Ackley’s Band. William Hauser, an uncle of Dr. Norbert Lange, also played in several bands through the years, and survived the tornado of 1924; he was inside his home, which was seriously damaged, but he was not injured. There were three members of the Bauman family in Ackley’s Band. Elmer Center was in the plumbing business for over thirty years, and he also operated the Center Hotel. F.W. Bauer went on to serve as Erie County Auditor, and he was instrumental in the founding of Winnebago Park, now known as Lions Park.

George Godfrey conducted a series of free concerts at the Big Store in the spring of 1902.  Mr. Godfrey’s musical composition entitled Sandusky’s Big Store March and Two-Step was published by the C.L. Engels Company in Sandusky, Ohio.

 E.B. Ackley was well known as a band leader and musician.

He also published postcards, operated a billiards parlor, was director of music at Cedar Point and served as the instructor of the Sandusky Band and Orchestra. He wrote the Cedar Point March in 1902, the first piece of music dedicated to the resort. Ackley’s Band contributed greatly to the cultural heritage of Cedar Point and Sandusky. Many of our grandparents and great grandparents had the pleasure of hearing them play, when live music was a significant form of entertainment, before radio and television brought music to the masses.

Georgia Excursion of 1891

On February 26, 1891, about one hundred residents of Sandusky and the surrounding area boarded a special B & O train for a trip to Georgia. The trip was sponsored by the Erie County Board of Agriculture and the Lake Erie Fruit and Wine Growers Association. Most of the men on the trip were farmers and fruit growers, but several Sandusky community leaders went as well, including Judge E. B. King, W. T. West, Judge Merrill, Jacob Kuebeler, U. T. Curran, J. G. Strobel, and Clark Center. The purpose of the trip was to examine southern vineyards, orchards, mills, and factories. The February 27, 1891 Sandusky Daily Register reported that Judge King, Judge Merrill, and City Clerk Miller had hayseed scattered on their hats, and Councilmen Bing and Nielsen carried corn cobs in their pockets. Several containers of “Hommel’s Extra Dry” wine bottles were on the train, reportedly to give the Georgia residents a sampling of Erie’s county’s liquid agricultural products.

John T. Mack was the main organizer of the southern trip. (He did not go on the trip, however.) He coordinated the agenda with W. T. Glessner, a railroad executive from Americus, Georgia. Mr. Glessner, often called Major Glessner, had previously brought a group of farmers and newspaper men from Georgia to visit Northern Ohio’s many fruit farms, vineyards, and wine cellars. While here, the Georgia men visited the Confederate Cemetery at Johnson’s Island. As a result of the trip, it was arranged for slabs of Georgia marble to be placed at the gravesites of the Confederate soldiers interred at Johnson’s Island Cemetery.

During the trip, J.F. Greene and Clark Center wrote articles for the Sandusky Daily Register, reporting of the experiences of the excursionists. Members of the group saw Kentucky bluegrass, southern mountain ranges, and the sites of Civil War battles. They visited cotton mills, and learned how soils and fertilizers differed from those in Ohio. Clark Center reported that Georgia peaches grew in “beautiful perfection.” At Americus, Georgia, all the men received badges that said “Welcome Citizens of Ohio to Americus, Georgia, March 5th, 1891.” The northern visitors were given a reception by the city’s businessmen in Columbus, Georgia.

After leaving Georgia, the Erie and Ottawa County visitors went to Jekyll Island and Cumberland Island. On the trip home, visits were made to Lookout Mountain and the National Cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The Sandusky Daily Register gave reports on the Southern excursion from March 2 through March 18, 1891. Shortly after his return home, J.F. Greene gave a resume of his trip to the Perkins Methodist Church Ladies Home Group, followed by remarks by George Ransom, C. F. Steen, Charles L. House, and Will C. Dewitt.

Prior to the 1891 Georgia excursion, another group of Sandusky residents visited Georgia. In this undated photograph, W.T. West (number 1), W .V. Latham (number 2), and George Barney (number 3) are pictured in a group photo in Albany, Georgia.

Third Ohio Cavalry

On August 6, 1861, the Governor of the State of Ohio commissioned Lewis Zahm, of Norwalk, to raise a regiment of volunteers for a cavalry unit for service to the United States during the Civil War. Men were recruited from northwestern Ohio, and they were trained at Camp Worcester just south of Monroeville, Ohio. The first chapter of The History of the Third Ohio Cavalry, by Thomas Crofts, describes conditions at Camp Worcester. (A reprinted edition of this book, with many photographs, is available at the Sandusky Library.) Food was not ideal, and in the first few weeks, men had to bring blankets from home, and sleep upon piles of straw. In the evenings, the men sang songs, and ran races.

Clark Center, who later was a Sandusky councilman, enlisted as a Second Lieutenant in Company I, of the Third Ohio Cavalry and was later promoted to First Lieutenant. Colonel Darius E. Livermore was a former Sandusky resident who served as a Lieutenant Colonel in Company S of the Third Cavalry. (Col. Livermore’s daughter Jessie May was the designer and creator of the lovely stained glass in the doors and windows of the Adams Street entrance of the Sandusky Library.)

Edwin Niver lost his life in the Andersonville Prison on June 19, 1864. His sister’s book about Edwin’s experiences in the war, Reminiscences of the Civil War and Andersonville Prison, is located in the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library. Emogene Niver Marshall was devoted to aiding Veterans throughout her life.

Private Leonard Winkler served in the same unit as Edwin Niver, Co. I of the Third Ohio Cavalry.

He carried a photo album of soldiers’ photographs with him, and at the Battle of Peach Tree Creek, Georgia, on July 2, 1864, a shot hit the album, which broke the album and caused the bullet to glance off and injure Leonard’s right arm.

Here are images of some of the tintypes from Private Winkler’s photograph album:

Private Winkler’s photograph album can be seen at the Follett House Museum. While we do not know if the album contained the actual photographs of the soldiers at the scene of the battle, the Archives Research Center was given a set of twenty-four tintypes of soldiers from Co. I of the Third Ohio Cavalry, which were owned by Leonard Winkler. These photographs have been reproduced in the 1997 reprint of The History of the Third Ohio Cavalry, and are also available online.

Leonard Winkler died in May of 1893, and was buried at Oakland Cemetery. Judge Elijah M. Colver, who also served in the Third Cavalry, gave the eulogy for Leonard Winkler. Services were conducted by the McMeens Post of the G.A.R. Mr. Winkler’s obituary in the Sandusky Register, May 29, 1893, stated that funeral services for Leonard Winkler were “attended by a large concourse of friends, many of whom were comrades of the departed during the rebellion…The floral tributes were many and beautiful.”