Sandusky Mourns President Garfield

 

President James A. Garfield died on September 19, 1881, after having been shot on July 2, 1881.  Born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio in 1831, he became president of the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (now Hiram College) in 1857, and was elected to the Ohio Senate in 1859.  Garfield served as a general in the Civil War, and after the War he was elected to the United States Congress. In 1880, at the Republican National Convention, James A. Garfield became the “dark horse” candidate for the presidency. He was elected President on November 4, 1880. Author James Baird McClure wrote in his book General Garfield: From the Log Cabin to the White House, that Sandusky Register editor I. F. Mack rode with James Garfield in the train to Cleveland, immediately after Garfield secured his presidential nomination in Chicago in 1880. 

The Sandusky Register carried several feature articles about the funeral of President Garfield from September 20 through September 27, 1881. A detailed list of the groups participating in the funeral procession appeared in the paper, as well as an account of the hymns sung, scriptures read, and government officials in attendance. A delegation from the Sandusky Masons, the Erie Commandery, marched in the procession. A number of tributes to President Garfield also appeared in the Register.

On September 25, 1881, the First Presbyterian Sunday School held a commemorative service for the deceased president.

O. P. Cowdery spoke about Garfield’s boyhood; U.T. Curran’s address was about Garfield, the educator; while W. F. Converse spoke on Garfield as a statesman.

The back of the program from the Presbyterian service featured President Garfield’s favorite hymn, “Ho, Reapers of Life’s Harvest.”

At the dedication of the Garfield Memorial, on May 30, 1890, I.F. Mack commanded a group of Sandusky Civil War Veterans who were at the service in Cleveland. The Great Western Band

from Sandusky sent twenty five musicians to participate in the procession. The full text of the dedication of the Garfield Memorial can be read at Google Books. On July 3, 1948, the Sandusky Register Star News featured a syndicated column entitled “Let’s Explore Ohio: Mother of Presidents.”  The column mentions the home of James A. Garfield and his tomb at Lakeview Cemetery.

 

Thoughts Preserved in a Scrapbook by M.F. Cowdery

A large scrapbook that once belonged to prominent Sanduskian M.F. Cowdery is preserved at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The scrapbook contains a compilation of biographical sketches, engravings, poems, and religious passages, many from newspapers. Some entries are patriotic and others are written from an abolitionist perspective. Many articles and poems are sentimental in nature, bringing to mind thoughts of home and family. Below is a portion of a tribute to Dean Richmond, a former New York Central Railroad official who died in 1866.

 

Echoes is a poem written by Marian Ross, and originally appeared in a New York newspaper in October of 1866.

The tribute to General James McPherson, a native of Clyde, Ohio who died during the siege of Atlanta in the Civil War, was first published in the Memphis Avalanche. The article points out that General McPherson had been brave and gallant, even though it was written by someone from the South.

This poem was dedicated to “the cause of truth by Datus Kelley and his wife” by Mrs. Frances D. Gage on October 23, 1861. Kelley was the namesake for Kelleys Island, where he acquired and developed land, and lived from 1836 to his death in 1866.

Marcellus F. Cowdery was superintendent of schools for Sandusky City Schools in the 1860s.

He was also associated with the Western School Supply Company, which was a forerunner of the American Crayon Company. It is interesting to see what types of articles were important to an early educator in our community in the nineteenth century.

Early Report Cards from Sandusky City Schools

William Henry Nye taught grammar at the elementary level for Sandusky City Schools in 1848 and 1849. The grade card pictured above belonged to Martha E. Newton, who later became Mrs. Rollin M. Wilcox. Martha’s individual scores in grammar are listed on the right side of the report card. On the left portion of the report card are the names of all the girls in Mr. Nye’s grammar class, and the “exception to morals” for each student. Martha had no exceptions to morals, but Miss Rosabella Dewey received marks for exceptions to good lessons and good order. Several of the students’ surnames are well known for their parents’ early contributions to Sandusky and Erie County. Clara Beecher was the daughter of the abolitionist lawyer Lucas Beecher. Augusta Farwell was the daughter of Sandusky’s first Mayor, Moors Farwell. Julia Townsend’s father was pioneer Sandusky businessman William Townsend. The report card was signed by both the teacher, Mr. Nye, and the school superintendent, M.F. Cowdery.

We do not know the owner of the report card from Miss L.A. Barney’s arithmetic class. The names of young gentlemen and young ladies in Miss Barney’s class appear on the left side of the report card. It is clear that the boys in this class had several more “exceptions to morals” when compared to the marks of the young ladies in the class.

Sandusky City Schools Report Card from 1848-1849

This  report card from  the arithmetic class of Miss L. A. Barney  for the term that met December 4, 1848 to March 17, 1849 was given to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center by the Dean family. Miss Barney was a teacher in the Grammar School department of Sandusky City Schools.  

Names of the boys in the class were: Samuel Belford, John Dean, Benjamin Gregg, Robert Matthews, John Monroe, Christopher Mores, Max Rhobacher, James Van Fleet, and Joshua Watson. The young ladies in the class were: Mary Clarkson, Eliza Fisher, Margaret Garvey, Sarah Jane Jenks, Sarah Stephens, Sarah Willston, and Sarah Withington. Beside each student’s name were “exceptions to morals” in several catagories, and  the number learned for preliminary defitions, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. At the bottom of the report card were the signatures of Miss L.A. Barney, teacher, and M.F. Cowdery, superintendent of schools. 

M.F. Cowdery was the first superintendent of schools in Sandusky, serving in that capacity until 1871. He wrote a history of Sandusky City Schools, entitled Local School history of the City of Sandusky, from 1838 to1871 Inclusive, published by the Journal Steam Printing House in February 1876. A copy of this brief history is found in the Schools Collection of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. In the early history of Sandusky Schools, Mr. Cowdery recalled that before school buildings were built, classrooms were rented in the Methodist Chapel, Presbyterian Church, Grace Church, and a brick building in the Western Liberties. 

In February of 1844, a committee consisting of Moors Farwell, Alexander Porter, and Zenas Barker, voted in favor of purchasing lots near the East and West Markets, and one in the Western Liberties as the sites of school buildings. A high school building was to be erected on the public square. The Academy building, pictured below, was originally built on the east public square as the high school, but was also used as an early Courthouse for Erie County prior to the construction of the new high school in 1869 and the Courthouse in 1874.

M.F. Cowdery was still serving as superintendent of Sandusky City Schools when the new high school building opened in 1869.

Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. Huntington

Henry Clay Huntington was born on November 21, 1841 in Brownville, New York, to Apollos and Deborah (Rowland) Huntington. Henry came with his parents to Sandusky, Ohio in 1852. He graduated from Sandusky High School in 1859. Even before he graduated from high school, Henry worked for C.V. Olds in his bookstore and stationery business. After the death of Mr. Olds, Henry took over the bookstore and stationery business on Columbus Avenue in Sandusky. For a time, he was in a business partnership with B.L. Skadden.  

In 1890, H.C. Huntington and Co. published a souvenir album of Sandusky.

The small album featured pictures from Sandusky, including the business district, churches, the Cold Creek area, Cedar Point, and the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home. This page features several businesses from downtown Sandusky.

The album also contains images of the homes of prominent residents.

Brown paper book covers were once sold or perhaps given away by H.C. Huntington and Company.

H.C. Huntington was married twice. His first wife, Laura, was the daughter of educator M.F. Cowdery. Laura Cowdery Huntington died in 1868. Mr. Huntington's second wife, Mrs. Josephine Huntington, served on the board of the Sandusky Library in the late 1800s.

Henry C. Huntington died unexpectedly on December 11, 1905, at the train depot in Sandusky. He was survived by his wife, three sons, and three daughters. Mr.Huntington was buried in Oakland Cemetery. Besides running his successful  bookstore, from which he retired in 1904, Mr. Huntington had been a member of the Congregational Church, served on the board of the Sandusky Cooperage and Lumber Company, and he had been member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Men’s Literary Society. Mrs. Huntington moved to Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx, New York after her husband’s death, where she and her daughter ran an inn. Mrs. Josephine Huntington passed away on August 19, 1914. Her remains were returned to Sandusky for burial in Oakland Cemetery.

Streets Near the Sandusky Post Office

Have you ever wondered for whom the streets near the U.S. Post Office in Sandusky were named?  The Post Office sits near the corner of Parish and Caldwell Streets.

Samuel B. Caldwell was once the Mayor of Sandusky, and he served as an Associate Judge of the Common Pleas Court in the 1800s. His portrait is now housed at the Follett House Museum.

F. D. Parish was an early Sandusky lawyer. He became well known as an abolitionist and was an active agent of the Underground Railroad.

To the north is the intersection of Follett and Caldwell Streets.

Oran Follett was active in the railroad, politics, and he published the Lincoln-Douglas Debates with Frank Foster. You can tour the former home of Oran Follett, which is now the Follett House Museum, located at the corner of Wayne and Adams Street.

Cowdery Street is one street south of Parish Street. 

M.F. Cowdery was Sandusky’s first Superintendent of Schools. His brother and brother-in-law were key developers of an improved chalk for use in school classrooms, which eventually led to the formation of the American Crayon Company.

Sadler Street is a short street that runs between Cowdery Street and Perkins Avenue. It was named for E.B. Sadler, who served as a Judge in the Common Pleas Court in the 1840s, when the 13^th Judicial Circuit included several counties, including Erie County. He was so popular, it was said that he lived his life without an enemy.

1847 Attendance Register of Elementary Students

The names of twenty-two female elementary students appear on this attendance register, which dates to August and September of 1847. The youngsters range in age from 4 to 10. In the early 1840s, there were school buildings in Sandusky in the East and West Markets as well as a high school on the public square. Teachers employed for 1846-1847 included these teachers for the male students: A.C. Huestes, A.M. Barber, E.P. Jones, James W. Shankland, and James Evers. Teachers for the female students were: L.A. McElwain, L.M. Jones, D.R. Whipple, L.B. Sprague, A.D. Latscha, M. Strong and E. Brewster. 

Sadly, at least three of the young ladies who attended school in Sandusky in 1847 died in the cholera epidemic of 1849.

Mary Halpin was among four members of the Halpin family to die from cholera. Helen and Marian Benschoter both died on July 28, 1849. Their sister Eulalia Benschoter, also a student in 1847, went on to marry Captain John Decatur Peterson; she lived to be age 55, and is buried in Scott Cemetery in Huron, Ohio.

Sandusky’s first school superintendent, M.F. Cowdery, wrote a history entitled: Local School History of the City of Sandusky: From 1838 to 1871 Inclusive in February 1876. The original item is housed in the Schools Collection of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. A photocopy of this document is available for patrons to read.  

Musical Entertainment at Norman Hall on December 18, 1863

On Friday evening, December 18, 1863, musical entertainment by the pupils of the Sandusky High School was presented at Norman Hall under the direction of Prof. William C. Webster. The venue was the same location where noted abolitionist Frederick Douglass would present a speech in Sandusky in 1864.

Martha A. Webster played the piano for the evening’s program. Several musical numbers were performed during the first part on the program, which concluded with the chorus singing “Prepare We for the Festive Scene.”  During the second part of the night’s entertainment, the “Coronation of the Queen” was enacted.

The queen was played by Mary Whitney, with Mary Dewey and Julia W. Webster serving as attendants. Twelve young ladies presented the queen with a basket of flowers. Speeches were given by Emma Cowdery, Julia Pool, and Maud Youngs. Several musical performances by the Webster family were included during the course of the evening.  

Tickets to the program were sold at the C.V. Olds Bookstore at the West House for twenty five cents, with tickets for children under 12 years old selling for fifteen cents.  William C. Webster and his wife, Mary Cushing Webster, were pioneer music teachers in the states of Ohio and New York. A biographical sketch about William C. Webster in the book History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut states that Mr. Webster was a teacher of vocal music for thirty years.

First Anniversary of the Buckeye Business and Telegraph College

A lengthy article in the November 27, 1867 issue of the Sandusky Register reported on the first anniversary celebration of the Buckeye Business and Telegraph College. The school was founded in Sandusky by Professor E. A. Hall, and began as the Buckeye and Great Western Business College. Eventually the name was changed to Sandusky Business College. In the 1860s the school was located at Union Hall, on Columbus Avenue, between Water and Market Streets. The first anniversary celebration was held at Donahoe’s Block, with the Great Western Band providing musical entertainment. A.C. Van Tine, proprietor of the college, called the audience to attention.  M.F. Cowdery, the superintendent of Sandusky City Schools, gave an address.

The Register article summarized his remarks: “He said that next to religion, morality and intelligence must be ranked the claims of trade and commerce of the world. He referred to the effects of commerce in settling new countries, opening seaports and stimulating enterprise. He alluded to the fact that our American Independence was achieved in a war begun on account of commercial oppression, and closed by discussing the importance and value of a strict and unyielding integrity in all the walks of a business life. He paid a very handsome tribute to the energy and enterprise of the proprietors of the Buckeye College, and foresaw for it a career of great usefulness to the young of our city.”

During the evening’s program business students presented Professor Jarrett with a Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary. Lieutenant Governor John Lee spoke to the audience, advising them: “You do well to patronize and encourage an enterprise so fraught with good to the youth of your city.” Mr. John Delamater presented a gold-headed cane to Professor S.P. Hare. Rev. W.D. Godman of Cleveland told the audience that education was important not only for business, but for any vocation to which one is called. Judge Taylor pointed out that the prospects for the winter term were promising, as a large number of students had already enrolled. The evening concluded with the presentation of the engraving “Irving and His Friends” to Mr. A.C. Van Tine. 

The college had a variety of locations and proprietors throughout its existence. The last proprietor of the Sandusky Business College, then located in the former residence of Rush Sloane on Adams Street, was William O. Loudenslagel. The college closed in 1949, due to declining enrollment.

J.J. Dauch

J.J. Dauch, co-founder of the Hinde and Dauch paper company, graduated from Sandusky Business College, and at one time owned the college. Hinde and Dauch was known for hiring graduates of the local school. For over eighty years, The Sandusky Business College and its predecessors played an important role in training young people for their careers in banking, finance, and many manufacturers in Sandusky.

Teacher’s Institute in Sandusky, 1845

The first Teachers’ Institute in Ohio met in Sandusky on September 2, 1845. Hewson L. Peeke wrote in his book, A Standard History of Erie County, that Ebenezer Lane, Rev. Leverett Hull, and C. B. Squires were active in securing lecturers for the Institute. The purpose of the Teachers’ Institute was for the improvement of common schools. Any Ohio teacher was invited to attend the Institute. Those who attended the Institute were not charged any fees, except for their own paper and paying board while in Sandusky. Private homes were opened to the teachers for a fee of not over $2.00 a week.

The main speakers of the Teachers’ Institute were Salem Lord, a teacher from New York State, Asa Lord, and M.F. Cowdery, who would later serve as Superintendent of Sandusky’s school system. Asa Lord was a teacher of mathematics, while M.F. Cowdery specialized in geography. Over ninety Ohio teachers attended the Teacher’s Institute. The Catalogue of the Instructors and Students of the Teachers’ Institute held in Sandusky, Ohio in 1845 was printed by W. S. Mills and Sylvester Ross. Sessions continued for two weeks, with instruction during the day, and lectures and general discussion held during the evening hours.

The names of the teachers who attended the Teachers’ Institute were listed in the Catalogue. Usually known as Rush R. Sloane, Mr. Sloane’s name was given as Richard Rush Sloane in the catalogue. Rush Sloane became well known as an abolitionist and served as Mayor of Sandusky from 1879 to 1880. Daughters of another Sandusky Mayor, Foster M. Follett, also attended the Teacher’s Institute. Helen and Sarah Follett worked along side their parents in attending to the sick during the 1849 cholera epidemic in Sandusky. Sarah and Emily Townsend were daughters of pioneer Sandusky resident, William Townsend. Sadly, Sarah Townsend and both her parents died in the cholera epidemic in 1849.

Several resolutions were adopted at the closing of the Institute. One encouraged the continuation of Teachers’ Institutes so that teachers could obtain practical instruction on subjects connected with teaching and governing schools. Another resolution demanded that the business of teaching be made a distinct profession. A significant resolution recommended “the introduction of vocal music into the Common Schools of this state, as an aid in mental and moral improvement, and an agreeable relaxation from study.” Paul D. Sanders wrote about this early support of vocal music education in Ohio in an article in the October 2001 issue of the Journal of Historical Research in Music Education. (subscription required)

The American Crayon Company

The American Crayon Company, steeped in Sandusky’s colorful history as one of the premier and foremost manufacturers of school art supplies and other industrial products in the nation during its time, originally grew out of the need for a high quality chalk. It soon branched out of a humble kitchen into a national company primarily operated and concentrated in the city of Sandusky. It expanded over time by merging with and absorbing other companies and redirecting its product line focus, and also established itself as a lifetime employer of countless Sanduskians. With the acquisition of Prang’s Educational Company around 1915, the American Crayon Company adopted and incorporated Prang Educational Company’s mission to make art accessible to the common American household and child by way of the public classroom, thus cementing its historical impact on a local and national scale.

In 1835, Dr. Francis F. Field, a dentist in Waltham, Massachusetts experimented with chalk, which was later developed into a commercial product by Parmenter, Powell & Powers Company to become known as Waltham Crayons. Similarly, Marcellus F. Cowdery, the first superintendent of Sandusky’s Public Schools, frustrated by existing chalks constantly scratching slate boards, encouraged his brother-in-law, William D. Curtis, to formulate an improved chalk. In the 1860s Curtis began conducting experiments in the kitchen of his small home, located on Hayes Avenue near Polk Street and was able to create a few sticks of pure white, processed chalk. Plentiful gypsum and limestone deposits, used in the production of this chalk, were conveniently located nearby, alongside Sandusky Bay. Initially, the business remained small and was operated out of Curtis’s kitchen, as he peddled the product from house to house. The invitation of John S. Cowdery, Marcellus’s brother into this new business venture, sparked company growth, as by 1869, John Cowdery’s cellar on Columbus Avenue became the center of operations for chalk production for the Mississippi and Ohio River Valley markets. By the late 1860s, the American Crayon Company had made the first tailor’s chalk, the first carpenter’s chalk, and in 1878 created the first railroad chalk. Originally labeled as the J.S. Cowdery Manufacturers the company quickly renamed itself Western School Supply in 1884 after expanding production facilities in 1881 near Hayes Avenue and Polk Street to meet the growing demands for school related products.

In 1890, the Sandusky based Western School Supply Company merged with Tiffin Crayon Company and the Parmenter Crayon Company in Waltham, Massachusetts to officially form and establish the American Crayon Company. On October 4, 1901, a fire destroyed the company’s original Sandusky plant, and a larger one on Hayes Avenue south of the New York Central Railroad tracks was opened in September 1902. The revitalized company began purchasing additional art supply companies in New England and the Midwest.

World War I interrupted commercial trade between many nations including the United States and Germany. Prang’s heavy reliance on German chemicals and products to manufacture its own items was impeded by decreased availability before and during World War I. These circumstances pushed Prang Educational Company and American Crayon Company into a merger in 1913. The combined companies organized their own small independent watercolor factory in Sandusky called Kroma Color Company. American Crayon Company’s complete take- over of the Prang Educational Company around 1915 gave them the rights to use the unmistakable “Prang” trademark of the “Old Faithful” geyser at Yellowstone National Park as their advertising logo symbolizing quality, value, and tradition. The American Crayon Company manufactured a long line of crayons, chalks, blackboards, erasers, watercolors, pencils, paste, cleaners, and other more industrial items, such as chalk for tailors, carpenters, textile mills, and railroad stockyards. The growing success and popularity of the American Crayon Company led to its prosperous operation at the original Sandusky plant through the 1920s to the 1950s.

In January 1957, the American Crayon Company became an affiliate of Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, based in Jersey City, New Jersey. The news was followed by high hopes and promises to continue labor operations in Sandusky and deter little from the existing set up. The unpredictable nature of business and changing economy led to the Bryn Mawr Corporation’s 1984 purchase of American Crayon’s parent company, Joseph Dixon Crucible. Dixon Ticonderoga, established much earlier than American Crayon Company, produced similar products but tended to focus more on industrial supplies. Although predictions and negotiations continued and were meant to reassure the ongoing operation of the Sandusky plant following its acquisition, gradually labor and plant operations along with a host of selected employees were outsourced to Canada and Mexico. Eventually, all the operations were progressively moved out of the original Sandusky plant, and it closed its doors in 2002 after 167 years of service in Sandusky, Ohio as a loyal and long-term employer in the community. American Crayon Company opened a new world of art to young children and provided a major source of employment for the local community, earning itself an important place in Sandusky’s history of development and business.

Temperance Activities in Early Sandusky

According to an early Western Reserve Historical Society Tract (in 1888), the first temperance society in Huron County was organized by F. D. Parish in 1831. (Sandusky was located in Huron County until the creation of Erie County in 1838.)

Hewson L. Peeke’s History of Erie County contains an entire chapter devoted to temperance activities in Erie County. He states that in the 1840s the “Sons of Temperance” and the “Washingtonian Total Abstinence Society” were both organizations that were opposed to the use or manufacturing of intoxicating beverages.

A joint parade was celebrated on St. Patrick’s Day in 1844 by the local members of the “Sons of the Emerald Isle” and the “Washingtonian Total Abstinence Society,” followed by a dinner at the Mansion House. On June 10, 1847, the Sons of Temperance had a parade in Sandusky, with members coming from Sandusky, Castalia, Mansfield, Mount Vernon, Tiffin, and Republic. An estimated 300 members marched in the parade.

On the night of August 7, 1849, a meeting was held at the Congregational Church for the purpose of organizing a Temperance League. There were nineteen women who were active members, and five women who were supporting members. Later their group became a chapter of the W.C.T.U., the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. (The opening page of their book of minutes from 1879 is shown above.) The women gathered regularly to pray, sing, and make plans on how to spread the message of temperance throughout all sections of the community.

Mrs. M.F. Cowdery (above) was a founding member of the Temperance League in Sandusky. (This portrait shows her, circa 1895, when she was a founding member of the organization that eventually became the Library Association of Sandusky.)

Ohioans were very involved in the temperance movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There is a museum devoted to the Anti-Saloon League (whose origin is traced to Oberlin in 1893) at the Westerville Public Library.