John C. Zollinger, Civil War Veteran, Businessman, Humanitarian

According to the October 28, 1924 issue of the Sandusky Register, John C. Zollinger was one of the oldest native born Sandusky residents at the time of his death at age 82 in 1924. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Zollinger, both natives of Germany. 

As a young man, he worked in the dry goods business, first for Everett Cooke and Company, and later for C.E. and G.A. Cooke. When the Civil War broke out, Mr. Zollinger enlisted in Company G of the 65th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. During the war, he took part in many engagements, including battles at Shiloh, Perryville, Stone River, Missionary Ridge, as well as the siege of Atlanta. After the war’s end, Mr. Zollinger was reenlisted and served as an officer with a regiment that was sent to Texas. Hewson Peeke’s A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio stated that he achieved his commission as captain; the 1890 Census of United States Union Veterans lists his highest rank as Full Quartermaster. 

After the war, in September 1866, he married Paulina Lerch. 

Throughout his lifetime, Mr. Zollinger had many different occupations and civic interests. In 1880, the U.S. Census listed him as a merchant. Later he was in a partnership with Frederick Ohlemacher in the lime business. In the late 1890s, he was in the fish business with Louis Adolph. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Zollinger were very active in the Erie County Humane Society. A resolution from the Erie County Humane Society, which appeared in the Sandusky Star Journal of January 22, 1925, read in part, about Mr. Zollinger, “Nothing stirred him so deeply as cruelty to either to persons or animals, and he was ever ready to help protect the defenseless and helpless. Mr. and Mrs. Zollinger not only devoted much of their lives to the work of the society, but gave in addition thereto thousands of dollars for its support, although they were in very moderate circumstances.” 

For several years, Mr. Zollinger served as president of the Castalia Trout Club. In 1893, he presented 44 adult brook trout from the Castalia Trout Club to J.J. Stranahan, superintendent of the United States Fish Commission at the Put in Bay station, for the purpose of being placed in the Fish and Fisheries Exhibit at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. 

In 1875, he was the master of the Science Lodge, No. 50, F.and A.M. When the Science Lodge celebrated its centennial, John C. Zollinger was the oldest living past master, and he gave reminiscences at the celebration.

Sandusky Star Journal, October 18, 1919

On October 26, 1924, John C. Zollinger died after a lengthy illness. The Sandusky Register published a lengthy obituary in the October 28, 1924 issue. He was survived three sisters and two brothers. Mrs. Paulina (Lerch) Zollinger had passed away in 1904. Funeral services for Mr. Zollinger were held at the Masonic Temple in Sandusky, and burial was in Oakland Cemetery.

The Early Years of the Erie County Humane Society

According to Hewson Peeke’s book A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio, the Erie County Humane Society was organized in 1882, with George Marsh as president. The directors were: I.F. Mack, A.E. Merrill, J.C. Hauser, and John C. Zollinger. By 1889, Albert E. Merrill was serving as president of the Erie County Humane Society. Albert E. Merrill was a physician and a lawyer, and he served as Erie County Probate Judge from 1878 to 1890.

A lengthy description of the Erie County Humane Society was featured in an article in the June 1, 1896 issue of the Sandusky Daily Register. The article reported that, “The general objects of the society are to prevent cruelty to children and rescue them from vicious influences and remedy their condition, and to prevent cruelty to animals.” The Erie County Humane Society had been chartered under the law of the state of Ohio, and was authorized not only to prevent cruelty to children, but also to punish those who are guilty of such cruelty or neglect. The article continued, “The Humane Society calls upon teachers in the public schools to inculcate humane sentiment among the children. It urges clergymen of all denominations to advocate kindness to animals. It urges newspapers to keep before their readers the importance of humane treatment of both children and animals.” The society hoped to extend its membership into all portions of Erie County. Some of the inhumane conditions that the Humane Society hoped to prevent included: dog fights, cock fights, overloading horse cars, mutilation and underfeeding of animals, driving disabled animals, and tying the legs of calves or sheep in wagons to market. According to the February 16, 1911 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal, a meeting of the Erie County Humane Society had recently met at Carnegie Hall at the Sandusky Library.

Discussed at the meeting was the situation in which several men left their horses on the street unattended for hours, while they frequented saloons. Letters of warning were issued to the offending parties. Human officer Mrs. Fannie Everett presented a total of forty-two cases of cruelty to children or animals in her quarterly report. While we do not have extensive historical documents related to the Erie County Humane Society, it is clear that Erie County leaders have been concerned with the well-being of animals (and in its early days, of children), for many decades. To read the complete articles mentioned in this post, visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, where past issues of Sandusky newspapers are available on microfilm.