The Ebenezer Lane House

The building at 318 Huron Avenue, now known as the Firelands Apartments, was constructed in 1853 from limestone. Built in the Italianate style, this structure was considered a mansion at the time, and served as a spacious home for Dr. Ebenezer Shaw Lane’s family.

 

Dr. Ebenezer S. Lane, 1819-1893

Dr. Lane’s wife was Pallas Anderson, whose father Dr. George Anderson was the first physician to settle in Sandusky. During the cholera epidemic of 1849, Dr. Lane worked long hours to aid the many people who were sick with the dreaded illness that took many lives. 

Prior to 1915, the address of this home had been 114 Huron Avenue, as seen on this nineteenth century Sanborn map. The creators of the Sanborn map made an accurate depiction of the curved double steps that lead up to the main entrance of the home.

After Dr. and Mrs. Lane moved to Chicago in 1870, John H. and Elizabeth Hudson purchased the home and property.

John H. Hudson, 1827-1893

John H. Hudson was superintendent of the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad prior to the Civil War. After the war, he had a grain, salt and lime business at the foot of Columbus Avenue. His second wife was Elizabeth Orton Hudson. After her husband died in 1893, Mrs. Hudson supported herself by painting and giving art lessons. She also rented out some of the upper rooms. In the late 1890s, a female doctor, Dr. Emily Blakeslee, had her medical office and residence in the building, perhaps renting from Mrs. Hudson. Dr. Blakeslee went on to practice medicine in Sandusky for over fifty years.

This straight razor, once used in Dr. Blakeslee’s office, is now a part of the historical collections of the Follett House Museum.

From about 1908 to the early 1910s, Dr. W.A. Crecelius had his medical practice in the building. Dr. Clarence Schimanksy practiced here from 1916 through the 1930s. Dr. Emil Meckstroth had his office here in the 1940s and 1950s. Now the Firelands Apartment building is a multi-family rental unit. There have been additions to the original structure on the eastern and southern sides of the building. To learn more about the many historic buildings in Sandusky, see Ellie Damm’s book Treasure by the Bay, and Helen Hansen’s book, At Home in Early Sandusky.

Artist Elizabeth Nourse and Her Mentor, Elizabeth Hudson

A copy of this painting of water lilies, by Elizabeth Nourse, is in the Artists of Sandusky file at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. In 1882 Miss Nourse became acquainted with Mrs. John H. Hudson of Sandusky, Ohio. That fall, Mrs. Hudson served as a chaperone to Elizabeth Nourse while she attended the National Academy of Design in New York City. Elizabeth’s twin sister, Adelaide Nourse, became the wife of Benn Pitman in Sandusky, Ohio on August 10, 1882, so perhaps that is how Elizabeth Nourse happened to be in Sandusky at that time. Mrs. Hudson, who served as a mentor to several artists in Sandusky, is pictured in the photograph below.

In 1887, Elizabeth Nourse, with her sister Louise, sailed to France. They lived the rest of their lives abroad, except for a few brief visits back to the United States. In 1895 she became the first American woman to be made an Associée of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. Several works by Elizabeth Nourse can be seen at the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. An online exhibit of images created by Elizabeth Nourse can be seen at the Mercantile Library in Cincinnati. Elizabeth Nourse died on October 8, 1938 in Paris.

Mr. and Mrs. John H. Hudson

An entry from Ohio Biographical Sketches, 1876 (available online through Ancestry Library Edition) states that John H. Hudson was born on July 5, 1824 in Auburn, New York to Emmanuel and Margaret (Boyd) Hudson. He was associated with the Buffalo and Erie Railroad, and the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad, before accepting positions with the United States Treasury Department during the Civil War.

John H. Hudson married Louisa Clark in 1844 in New York state. Their son Henry F. Hudson was born on February 29, 1852. Louisa died quite young, leaving John a widower with a young son. In October of 1852, John Hudson married Elizabeth A. Orton, the daughter of Rev. Samuel and Clarissa Gregory Orton. In 1869, John and Elizabeth Hudson were living in Sandusky, Ohio, where John was a grain dealer.

In 1873 John H. Hudson was elected to the State Senate of Ohio. He was re-elected in 1875, defeating a local newspaper man, I. F. Mack. Charles E. Frohman wrote in his book about I. F. Mack, Sandusky's Editor, that Mack did not take losing the election to Mr. Hudson very gracefully. He wrote his reflections about the election in a newspaper column on October 27, 1875 stating that the Republicans who voted for John H. Hudson “would have voted for the devil, Jeff Davis, or a Jesuit priest, just as cheerfully.”

Elizabeth A. Orton was born on June 16, 1827. In a genealogical book about the Orton family, An Account of the Descendants of Thomas Orton of Windsor, Connecticut, 1641, the writer describes Elizabeth: “She is a lady of unusual intellectual activity and force and does not allow the burden of years to weigh down her vivacity or depress her ambition.” After the death of Mr. Hudson in 1893, Elizabeth Hudson was left in difficult economic circumstances. (Mr. Hudson had suffered financial losses in the 1890’s.) To support herself, she painted watercolor paintings, gave art lessons, and rented out rooms. It is believed that Mrs. Hudson was a mentor to artists Emma Matern, Charles F. Shuck, Elizabeth Nourse, and Charles Courtney Curran.

Following Mrs. Hudson’s death on November 27, 1911, the Art Study Club of Sandusky adopted a resolution which was printed in the December 2, 1911 Sandusky Register. It read in part, “Resolved, That as a loving tribute to her memory we, the members of the club of which she was a most honored and worthy one, always contributing to its upbuilding by her interest, enthusiasm and thorough knowledge of the subject of art was ever a source of inspiration to the members. We express our deep regret over her removal from our midst where she was found worthy of our highest esteem.”

Mr. and Mrs. John H. Hudson are buried in Block 56 of Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. In the photograph below, Mrs. Hudson can be seen gazing at a portrait of Mr. Hudson at their home on 318 Huron Avenue in Sandusky.

The brother of Elizabeth Orton Hudson was Edward Orton, Sr., who was the first president of the Ohio State University, and served as the state geologist of Ohio for many years.

The Unveiling of the Confederate Cemetery Monument at Johnson’s Island

On June 8, 1910 over one thousand people witnessed the unveiling of the Confederate Cemetery Monument at Johnson’s Island. Several prominent former officers of the Confederacy attended the ceremonies. The dedicatory address was delivered by General George W. Gordon of Memphis, commander of the Army of Tennessee United Confederate Veterans. The monument was created by Moses Jacob Ezekiel, a Jewish sculptor who had attended the Virginia Military Institute and fought for the Confederacy. The Robert Patton Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy had commissioned the monument, which was funded by donations from members of the Masons across the nation as well as by members of military organizations. Fund raising efforts were led by Mrs. Mary Patton Hudson, whose brother Oliver A. Patton had been a prisoner at Johnson’s Island during the Civil War. According to a report in the June 9, 1910 issue of the Newark Advocate, “The veterans of both armies without exception were moved to tears and some fairly shook with emotion when the strings drawn by Mrs. Mary Patton Hudson, of Cincinnati, the big American flag that screened it from the public gaze was lowered and the statue designed and executed by Sir Moses Ezekiel was revealed.” After the unveiling ceremony, several former Confederate officers were escorted to dinner at the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors Home where they inspected the grounds and were entertained at dinner. John T. Mack of Sandusky was the marshal of the parade, in which soldiers from both the Union and Confederate armies participated.