Visitors to the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home

 

Now the Ohio Veterans Home, the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in Erie County, Ohio, was established in the late 1880s to provide homes for honorably discharged Veterans. Its earliest residents served in the Civil War. Through the years several notable persons have visited the home.

In 1890 and 1892, former President Rutherford B. Hayes visited Manning Force, the first Commandant of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home.

R.B. Hayes and Manning F. Force were lifelong friends. Hayes and his wife  Lucy named their youngest son after him. Born in 1873, young Manning Force Hayes died as an infant in 1874.

In February 1894, William Henry Gibson, a former Civil War General, gave an address at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in commemoration of George Washington’s Birthday.

Known as the “Silver Tongued Orator,” General Gibson spoke about George Washington’s leadership, President Abraham Lincoln’s accomplishments, and he recalled several of his own experiences in the Civil War. The Sandusky Register of February 23, 1894 printed highlights of General Gibson’s speech.

In 1908 future president William Howard Taft visited Sandusky. He spent the night at the home of Edward H. Marsh, and visited the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home, where he gave a speech of a non-political nature.

In November of 1912,  the editor of the National Tribune, J.M. McElroy spoke at the Home. Between 500 and 600 veterans listened as McElroy encouraged all to vote for President Taft in the upcoming election. Of course, Woodrow Wilson went on to win the election for the presidency in 1912.

Happenings at the Home have been covered by the local newspapers for many years.  Below is a portion of the “Soldiers’ Home News” from the Sandusky Register of January 29, 1913.

The Sophomore Literary Class, 1894-1897

Longtime Sandusky High School teacher Jean Beis donated the secretary’s book of the Sophomore Literary Class. The ledger contains the club’s constitution, by-laws, and minutes, from September 10, 1894 to May 3, 1897. Members of the club wrote essays which they shared with members at the club’s meetings. In the fall of 1894, Horton Force was the president of the organization. Horton was the son of Manning Force, the first commandant of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home.

In the fall of 1895 Arthur B. Court served as secretary of the Sophomore Literary Class. His signature was distinctive.

A thought provoking essay by Miss MacAaron was entitled “The Use of Bad Language” at the meeting of the Sophomore Literary Class of October 28, 1895.

Several essays were presented at the May 25, 1896 meeting, including A Trip to the Sun on a Bicycle, A Row to Cedar Point, and 1921 or the New Women.  It is interesting to see how young people spent their leisure time in an era long ago. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view this unique ledger book from Sandusky High School students of the 1890s.

Reunion of the Third Ohio Cavalry

On August 24, 1892, Veterans of the Third Ohio Cavalry met at the library building of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in Sandusky (now the Ohio Veterans Home.) An article in the August 25, 1892 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that General Manning F. Force, commandant of the Home, gave a “short but eloquent” address.

Capt. E. J. Colver thanked General Force, and praised him “for his excellent management of so grand an institution, a noble monument of the great struggle for the perpetuity of the Union.”

Other speakers for the day were John M. Lemmon and P.F. Graham. The Home quartet sang the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” After the morning program about two hundred people, including Veterans and their wives and daughters, had dinner on the porch of the railroad depot, followed by a tour of the grounds of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home.

At 2 p.m. the Veterans met at Cedar Point for a business meeting. An election of officers was held, including Capt. J.B. Luckey as president, Conrad C. Finkbeiner as treasurer, and vice presidents from each of the twelve regiments of the Third Ohio Cavalry. After the business meeting, a camp fire was held at which more addresses were given, interspersed with songs and stories.

Reunions of the Veterans of the Third Ohio Cavalry were held in Sandusky in 1880, 1889 and 1892. Former Second Lieutenant Isaac Skillman donated two ribbons from Annual Reunions of the Third Ohio Cavalry to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Also available at the Sandusky Library Research Center is a microfilmed copy of Isaac Skillman’s personal recollections from his Civil War service with the Ohio Third Cavalry.

Several men who were with the Third Ohio Cavalry are buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery, including Darius E. Livermore, Elisha M. Colver, Isaac Skillman, Leonard Winkler, and Clark Center.

Update: I have recently been informed that there is a new book about Kelleys Island history (Kelleys Island 1862-1865-the Civil War, the Island Soldiers & the Island Queen), which has first-hand accounts from several soldiers who served in the Third Ohio Cavalry. It is not in the library's collections yet, but will be soon.

Semiannual Encampment of the Ohio G.A.R., 1869

Several Sandusky residents, along with two hundred fifty delegates to the Semi-Annual Encampment of the Ohio Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) took a trip to Put-In-Bay on July 22, 1869. The steamers “Evening Star” and “Reindeer” transported the excursionists, commanded by Captains Kirby and Orr. The Sandusky Register of July 23, 1869 reported: “It was noticeable that the entire party, fully one-third of which was ladies, were in the best of spirits. The occasion was a joyous one, and the weather was as perfect as could be desired. The citizens present vied with each other to make the occasion a memorable one in the annals of the Grand Army of Ohio…”

During the Ohio Encampment, several speakers were heard. Gen. J. Warren Keifer made an address in Sandusky on July 21st, which was published in the July 22, 1869 Sandusky Register.
When Gov. R. B. Hayes spoke, “he assured the audience that the speakers present had been warned not to occupy more than five minutes.” An important topic of the encampment was the necessity of establishing a children’s home for the orphans of veterans.

The McMeens Post of the G.A.R. was the topic of a previous blog entry. Post 19 was named in honor of Dr. Robert McMeens, a Civil War Physician. Larry Stevens, in his Ohio in the Civil War web page, lists these Erie County posts of the G.A.R.:

McMeens Post 19 --- Sandusky
Arthur Cranston Post 73 --- Milan
Gen. M.F. Force Post 142 --- Ohio Soldiers' & Sailors' Home
Geo. E. Fowler Post 153 --- Berlin Heights
Thomas Neill Post 423 --- Castalia
H.G. Delker Post 428 --- Vermillion
Sam Edwards Post (611) --- Sand Hill
Moses Martin Post 649 --- Huron
J.T. Toland Post (695) --- Sandusky - Ohio Soldiers Home

While not all details are known about these Erie County Posts of the G.A.R., some details have been gleaned from historical newspaper articles. The General Manning Force Post 142, at the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors Home was named for General Manning F. Force, an officer in the Civil War, who was Commandant of the Ohio Soldiers Home from 1888 until his death in 1899.
The J. T. Toland Post 695, also located at the Ohio Soldiers Home, was named for Colonel John T. Toland, of the 34th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, who was killed at Wytheville, Virginia on July 18, 1863. The George Fowler Post 153 was most likely named for a corporal in Company G of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Arthur Cranston, namesake of Milan Post 73, began service as a private during the Civil War, later appointed a cadet at West Point. and was a lieutenant when he was killed in the Modoc War in 1872. The H. G. Delker Post 428 was named for prominent Vermilion business man Henry G. Delker. The Sam Edwards Post 611 at Sand Hill, Moses Martin Post 649 at Huron, and the Thomas Neill Post 423 the Thomas Neill Post were all named for Civil War Veterans who lost their lives during wartime service. Thomas Neill, Jr. and his brother Foster Neill, both in Co. G of the Ohio 123rd Infantry, were imprisoned at Andersonville, Georgia, during the Civil War. Foster Neill was part of a prisoner exchange, and he was returned North during the war, but his brother, Thomas Neill Jr., died while he was being held prisoner at Andersonville.

While these Erie County Posts of the G.A.R. are no longer active, the Thomas Neill Woman’s Relief Corps, No. 275 is still active in Castalia, Ohio. The members of the group provide an annual scholarship to a graduating senior at Margaretta High School, and members place flags on the graves of area veterans prior to Memorial Day.