A Funeral Notice from 1853

This funeral notice for David Adams invites friends of the young man’s parents, Thomas P. and Eliza Hurst, to the funeral of David Adams, to be held at David Adams' residence on September 8, 1853.

At the top of the notice is an image of a tombstone next to a willow tree. Bertram S. Puckle wrote in his book, Funeral Customs: Their Origin and Development, that: “The weeping willow, by reason of its form trailing and bowed in grief, as its name suggests, caused it to be frequently planted in such a position where it might overhang a favoured tomb, like some perpetual mourner.”

Mary Elizabeth Seibert Fernau

Below is a tintype of Mary Elizabeth Seibert, who was born in Sandusky about 1865.

By 1904, Mary Elizabeth Seibert had become the wife of Henry Fernau, who was a painter and interior decorator. They lived at what is now 620 East Adams Street.

Descendants of Mary Elizabeth and Henry Fernau donated several family photographs to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, allowing us to have a visual record of Mrs. Fernau throughout several years.

The funeral card for Mrs. Fernau, who passed away on January 6, 1925, features a touching poem.

A precious one from us has gone

            A voice we love is stilled:

A place is vacant in our home,

            Which never can be filled.

God in his wisdom has recalled,

            The boon his love had given.

And though the body slumbers here

            The soul is safe in heaven.

An obituary for Mary Elizabeth Fernau, found in the 1925 Obituary Notebook at the Sandusky Library, stated that she was “a woman of estimable traits and many relatives and friends will mourn her departure.” Funeral services for Mary Elizabeth Fernau were held at the family residence on Adams Street, and burial was in Oakland Cemetery.

Funeral Notice for David Adams

The funeral notice for David Adams invites friends of the young man’s parents, Thomas P. and Eliza Hurst Adams, to his funeral, to be held at the Adams residence on September 8, 1853.

At the top of the notice is an image of a tombstone next to a willow tree. Bertram S. Puckle wrote in his book Funeral Customs: Their Origin and Development that: “The weeping willow, by reason of its form trailing and bowed in grief, as its name suggests, caused it to be frequently planted in such a position where it might overhang a favoured tomb, like some perpetual mourner.”

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Adams may not have lived  in Erie County, or lived here only briefly, as their name does not appear in the 1850 or 1860 U.S. Census for Erie County. Unfortunately, we do not know the location of the David Adams residence.

John and Charles J. Krupp

Born in Bavaria, Germany in 1822, John Krupp was in the furniture and undertaking  business in Sandusky from about 1870 until he retired in 1895. Charles J. Krupp, his son, and Henry T. Goebel took over the business after John Krupp retired. Charles J. Krupp received special training in scientific embalming from Professor Auguste Renouard.  The partnership of Krupp and Goebel was dissolved in 1900, with Mr. Goebel continuing in the furniture business, and Mr. Krupp continuing in the undertaking business. By 1901 Charles J. Krupp had relocated the business to the Mahala Block on Washington Row.

An advertisement which apperared in the August 21, 1905 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal stated that Krupp was the “most complete undertaking house in Sandusky.”  Ira Krupp was assisting his father in the business at this time.

By 1911, the Mr. Krupp had moved the business  to the Masonic Temple building, where  Edward Quick was his assistant. Also in 1911, John Krupp passed away. His wife Katherine Simon Krupp had died in 1906.

Charles J. Krupp married Ida Palmerton in 1878. After the death of Oran Follett, Ida’s father purchased the former Follett residence for his daughter and her husband. After Ida Krupp passed away in 1906, Charles J. Krupp married Mary Buyer.   Below is a picture of 404 Wayne Street when Charles and Mary Krupp resided there.

               

On May 14, 1924, Charles J. Krupp died at his home on Wayne Street after he suffered a stroke. Charles J. Krupp had been an undertaker for fifty-four years, and was considered a leader in his profession. He had been the last person to look upon the face of President William McKinley, as Mr. Krupp had been a member of the state licensing board of embalmers at the time of McKinley’s death, and he was the person who closed the casket before it was placed in the tomb. Charles J. Krupp was survived by his widow Mary, his son, daughter, and one sister, Mrs. Paul Miller of Sandusky. Funeral services for Charles J. Krupp were held at both his residence, and at Sts. Peter and Paul’s Church. Burial was at St. Mary’s Cemetery. It was estimated that Charles J. Krupp had buried more than 10,000 during his many years in business in Sandusky. To read more about the Krupp family, see A Standard History of Erie County, by Hewson L. Peeke (Lewis Publishing Co., 1916.) 

Frank Rittmann’s Funeral Card

Frank Rittman died on March 19, 1901, at the age of 72 years, 9 months, and 22 days. Under the phrase “Gone but not forgotten” appears the following verse:

Tis hard to break the tender cord,

            When love has bound the heart.

Tis hard, so hard, to speak the words:

            “We must forever part.”

Dearest loved one we must lay thee

            In the peaceful grave’s embrace,

But thy memory will be cherished

            Til we see thy heavenly face.

Frank Rittman (sometimes spelled Rittmann) was born in Germany about 1828. He came to Ohio before 1850, and settled in the Cincinnati area. According to records found on the Family Search website, Frank Rittmann married Catherine Kiebler in Hamilton County on July 11, 1856. By the late 1860’s, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Rittmann had moved to Sandusky, Ohio, where they lived in a house at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Scott Street.  U.S. Census records list their seven children as: Frank, Louisa, Charles, Christian, George, William and Kate.  During the Civil War, Frank Rittman served in Company D of the 128^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This unit was assigned to guard Confederate Prisoners at the Johnson’s Island Prison.

Frank Rittman died at his home on Columbus Avenue. Funeral services were held at the residence on March 19, 1901 at 2:45 p.m. Burial was at Oakland Cemetery, under the auspices of Ogontz Lodge, No. 66 of the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows. The Rittman Family lot is in Block 59 of Oakland Cemetery.

Pictured below is the Rittman home at Columbus Avenue and Scott Street about 1870.

Dr. Walter Frank Rittman, the grandson of Frank, and son of Mr. and Mrs. Christian Rittman, became a well known chemical engineer.

Lincoln Funeral Train at Cleveland

Longtime Great Lakes Captain Frank Hamilton donated the above photograph to the historical collections of the Sandusky Library. The Lincoln Funeral Train carried the body of slain President Abraham Lincoln from Washington D. C. to Springfield, Illinois, from April 21 through May 3, 1865. Along the 1,650 mile route, the train would stop at key cities in seven separate states.

After leaving Buffalo, the Lincoln Funeral Train arrived in Cleveland, Ohio on April 28, 1865 at 6:50 a.m. Over 100,000 people filed through Public Square to pay their respects to Lincoln. The catafalque holding Lincoln’s coffin was shaped like a pagoda, and allowed for two lines to pass through simultaneously. Members of the 29th Ohio National Guard and the Veteran Reserve Corps troops stood guard over President Lincoln’s remains. The weather remained rainy the entire day of April 28th. At 10:00 p.m., the casket was closed, and police led the procession to Union Depot. The Lincoln Funeral Train arrived at Columbus, Ohio at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 29, 1865.

Several photographs of the Lincoln Funeral Train in Ohio can be seen at the Ohio Memory Online Scrapbook.