Undertakers in Sandusky were also Furniture Dealers

The advertisement above for Chas. J. Andres appeared in the 1900-1901 Sandusky City Directory. Mr. Andres was a furniture dealer as well as a funeral director and embalmer. In the classified business directory of that volume, Krupp and Goebel and Marquart and Myers were also listed as both furniture manufacturers and undertakers. The same skills it took to make fine furniture were also used in the making of wooden coffins. After the death of Charles J. Andres in 1902, for several years, Mrs. Andres and Fred Frey, Sr. were partners in the furniture and undertaking business. These postcards advertised furniture sold by Andres and Frey, about 1912.

An advertisement from the Sandusky Star Journal of October 16, 1918 stated that furniture from Andres & Frey would add “personality and charm to the home,” which brings to mind a fond image of hearth and home. This image is in sharp contrast to the thought of losing a loved one, which necessitates the need for an undertaker.

After the death of their parents, the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Andres continued as the C.J. Andres & Sons Funeral Home until 1971.

The Frey Funeral Home began at 604. W. Washington Street in 1925. When F. Leo Groff joined the firm, the name changed to the Frey-Groff Funeral Home. In 1987, a new building was opened on East Perkins Avenue, and the name was changed to Groff Funeral Home. 

The Dilgart & Bittner Company

Here is an advertisement created by Gerald Abele Signs for the Dilgart & Bittner Company. (Most records list Dilgart as the correct spelling of the first partner’s name, though the sign gives the spelling as Dilgert.) According to A Standard History of Erie County, by Hewson L. Peeke, Dilgart & Bittner was “a business which Sandusky people regard with special pride, and for many years its development and prosperity have reflected upon the thorough commercial enterprise and character of William H. Dilgart, senior proprietor.”

William H. Dilgart came to Sandusky in 1901, and opened a furniture store in the Odd Fellows building. On March 4, 1905 William H. Dilgart and William P. Bittner formed a partnership, and the company was incorporated in 1907. The business, located on East Market Street, was a retail establishment which sold furniture, floor coverings, stoves, and other household items. After a fire in 1906, the store relocated at Wayne and East Market Streets.

After another fire in 1916, the Dilgart & Bittner store moved to East Washington Row.

In the mid 1920’s, the partnership between Mr. Dilgart and Mr. Bittner was dissolved, but William H. Dilgart continued in the furniture business. William P. Bittner went on to become secretary of the Erie County Investment Company.