Gus Kelley, Erie County Commissioner and State Representative

 

Gus Kelley was born in 1882 in Huron Township to Charles E. and Charlotte Kelley. His father’s ancestry was Irish, and his mother’s side was English. In 1901, he married Jane Margaret Hinde. Gus was a farmer for most of his life, and he was an active member of the Huron Grange. During the fall of 1924, he ran for Erie County Commissioner. This advertisement appeared in the Sandusky Star Journal of November 1, 1924:

In 1925, Gus Kelley was elected to serve as an Erie County Commissioner. He held that office until January 1933. Later in 1933, after the death of Fred Powers, Mr. Kelley was appointed to serve again as Erie County Commissioner until 1936. In that year, he ran for the General Assembly of the state of Ohio. He began his term as Ohio State Representative in January of 1937 and served in the General Assembly for four years. Some of the issues with which he was involved as a Representative were the development of  state parks along the lake front, pensions for senior citizens, and the change of authority of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home being switched from the Welfare Department to the Adjutant General’s Office.

In May of 1930, a news article in the Sandusky Star Journal reported that when the Sandusky Studebakers played the Red Caps of Wakeman, former major league ball player George (Jerry) Upp was to throw out the first pitch, and Gus Kelley was to catch the ball.

Gus Kelley died on January 29, 1964, at his home on East Perkins Avenue. He was survived by his three sons. Mrs. Kelley had died in 1962. Funeral services for Gus Kelley were held at the Charles J. Andres Sons’ Funeral Home, and burial was in Oakland Cemetery.

Thoughts Preserved in a Scrapbook by M.F. Cowdery

A large scrapbook that once belonged to prominent Sanduskian M.F. Cowdery is preserved at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The scrapbook contains a compilation of biographical sketches, engravings, poems, and religious passages, many from newspapers. Some entries are patriotic and others are written from an abolitionist perspective. Many articles and poems are sentimental in nature, bringing to mind thoughts of home and family. Below is a portion of a tribute to Dean Richmond, a former New York Central Railroad official who died in 1866.

 

Echoes is a poem written by Marian Ross, and originally appeared in a New York newspaper in October of 1866.

The tribute to General James McPherson, a native of Clyde, Ohio who died during the siege of Atlanta in the Civil War, was first published in the Memphis Avalanche. The article points out that General McPherson had been brave and gallant, even though it was written by someone from the South.

This poem was dedicated to “the cause of truth by Datus Kelley and his wife” by Mrs. Frances D. Gage on October 23, 1861. Kelley was the namesake for Kelleys Island, where he acquired and developed land, and lived from 1836 to his death in 1866.

Marcellus F. Cowdery was superintendent of schools for Sandusky City Schools in the 1860s.

He was also associated with the Western School Supply Company, which was a forerunner of the American Crayon Company. It is interesting to see what types of articles were important to an early educator in our community in the nineteenth century.

Kelley’s New Life Medicine

Not the section of the advertisement in German. Many German immigrants lived in Sandusky during the late 19th century.

In a program from the Grand Theater close to the turn of the twentieth century, W.H. Kelley advertised his patent medicine called New Life Medicine. This formula was supposed to cure chronic catarrh and dyspepsia, and claimed to prevent one from catching a cold. Mr. Kelley offered a $1,000 reward for any “germ disease” that Kelley’s New Life Medicine did not destroy. A portion of the advertisement was written in the German language, and featured a testimonial from Mrs. Rachel Lathrow of New Jersey. Customers could find Kelley’s New Life Medicine at local druggists, or order it through the mail.

In an advertisement in the August 31, 1921 issue of the Sandusky Register, William H. Kelley told of having recovered from failing health by taking his own medicine, after several medical doctors and specialists were unable to help him. Though he had both legs amputated as a result of serious illness in the past, by 1921 Mr. Kelley lived on his own, made a good living, and was back in good health again.

By 1922, an ad in the Sandusky Star Journal claimed that Kelley’s New Life Medicine was a treatment for Bright’s disease, rheumatism, gout, diabetes, jaundice, coughs and colds, and also was good for blood purification.

Mr. Kelley ran a second hand shop at 408 East Water Street in Sandusky for several years, in addition to manufacturing the New Life Medicine. In the 1910 U.S. Census, Mr. William H. Kelley was a 42 year old widower, living in Sandusky, Ohio, with his teenage son, William H. Kelley, Jr. The place of birth for both father and son was listed as Pennsylvania. After 1922, William H. Kelley, Sr. did not appear in any Sandusky City Directories. It is possible that he moved out of the area, or he may have died in the early 1920’s. Mr. Kelley was successful at marketing his New Life Medicine for over twenty years. To read about another Sandusky businessman who sold patent medicine see our previous blog post about Dan Schaffer’s Wonderful Liniment.

Photographic Postcards of the Sandusky High School Football Team of 1920

Several postcards in the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center feature the 1920 Sandusky High School football team. The team is pictured above outside the former Sandusky High School, which later became Adams Junior High. Below are eleven key players for the 1920 team.

In the back are, left to right: Abe Cohen, Joe Dise, Jim Kelley, Ray Baker. In the front are: Matt Lauber, Arden Krebs, Hank Krebs, H. Dean, unidentified, Carl Borders, and Axline Dewitt. 

Matt Lauber was the team’s captain.

       

The Sandusky High School Fram of January 1921 stated that the Sandusky High School football team in the fall of 1920 was not very successful. In league play, Sandusky won two and lost three games. An article in the October 24, 1920 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that though Lorain beat Sandusky on October 23 by a score of 7 to 0, many people felt that referee Tommy Neill had made a bad call during the game, which gave Lorain its only touchdown. Sandusky’s Coach Mackey felt that if a protest were to be made, it would not be in the best interest of the league, so no formal protest was initiated.  

To learn more about Sandusky High School's football rivalry with Fremont Ross, look for Vince Guerrieri's book, The Blue Streaks and Little Giants: More Than a Century of Sandusky and Fremont Ross Football, which covers the long standing football rivalry between the Sandusky Blue Streaks and the Fremont Little Giants; it is available for check-out at the Sandusky Library.

Valentine from 1856

This charming Valentine with scalloped edges is dated February 14, 1856. It was donated to the former historical room of the Sandusky Library by George Anderson, and now is in the historical collections of the Follett House Museum. Inside the oval decorated with flowers is this inscription:

A bouquet of flowers

already press'd

Fresh from the bowers
with this single request.

That reading each one

by the language expressed.

The secret you'll have

that lives in my breast. 

The above is original,

Jane, so get your language

of flowers and translate them. 

Secret.

While we do not know who wrote the verse on the Valentine, it was given to a female named Jane. In looking at the 1920 U.S. Census, we see that Jane Coan was residing in the household of her nephew, George F. Anderson. Most likely, George F. Anderson donated the Valentine to the Sandusky Library’s historical room after his Aunt Jane died in 1920. Jane Coan’s great grandmother was Abigail Kelley, who was a part of the Kelley family for whom Kelleys Island is named. 

Basketball Team Pictures from the Sandusky Business College

Sandusky photographer W.A. Bishop took two pictures of the Sandusky Business College basketball of 1913-14. The varsity team is pictured above and the junior varsity is below.

               

Several individuals have been identified in the team picture of the 1920-21 Sandusky Business College basketball team. Seated in the front are: Willard Grathwol, Fred Meinzer and Art Wintersteller. The second individual in the back row is W.O. Loudenslagel, president of the college at that time. Mr. Loudenslagel was once a student at Sandusky Business College, and later became an instructor.  In 1918, he purchased the college, and he served as president until it ceased operations in 1949. Harry Miller is also in the back row, but it is not known which of the other three men he is. 

Below is the 1928 basketball team. Though none of the students have been identified in this picture, President Loudenslagel is the man in the suit and tie at the far left.

        

We have one photo of the women’s basketball team from the 1922-23 season in our collection; none of the women are identified, however.

         

There are several names written on the back of the original photograph of the 1930-31 men’s basketball team of the Sandusky Business College. The team players were: Paul Scheid, Edward Hinde, Duane Rogers, Burrell Braver, Charles Zimmerman, Robert Smith, Abe Grathwol, Ralph Rhodes, James Kelley, Robert Holzmiller, and William Bluhm.  W.O. Loudenslagel is at the far left of the picture.

    

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the people and businesses who have made Sandusky and Erie County home.

Venice School

Mrs. Leona Zeller Fitz donated these pictures of students and teachers from Venice School to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. Pictured above are over fifty elementary students who attended Venice School in the first quarter of the twentieth century. No students have been identified, but Mrs. Baum was the teacher on the left and Mrs. Kelley was the teacher standing on the right. 

In the picture below, Leona Zeller is marked with an x. Mr. D.W. Carlisle, a teacher at Venice School in 1915, is the tall man in the back row. Later, he became principal of Venice School. Many of the male students are wearing short pants, or "knickers," and most of the older boys have on hats.

Venice Heights Elementary School is now a part of the Sandusky City Schools system, but for many years Venice School was one of the schools in Margaretta Township. (The original Venice School was founded in 1818 on Venice Road near Cold Creek.) This map from the 1896 Erie County Atlas shows the location of the school at that time, just south of the railroad tracks along Sandusky Bay.

An article in the April 4, 1923 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that “a handsome new school building” in Venice was to be dedicated on April 5. At that time, Mr. D.W. Carlisle was the principal of Venice School, and he also taught grades 7 and 8. All the other teachers at Venice taught two grades as well. That new school building, no longer standing, was on Bardshar Road, a short distance away from Trinity Lutheran Church. In the 1950s and 1960s, during some years an entire grade held class in the basement of  Trinity Lutheran Church, because of over-crowding at Venice Elementary School.

Norman and Abby Hills

Norman Edwin Hills, born January 4, 1868, was the son of William Darwin Hills and his wife, the former Laura Kelley. He was also the grandson of Irad Kelley, one of the co-owners of Kelleys Island. Norman E. Hills was considered an authority on the geology and history of Kelleys Island. In 1925 he authored a book entitled A History of Kelleys Island, Ohio, which was reprinted in 1982 by the Kelleys Island Historical Association. 

This article appeared in the Sandusky Register on January 15, 1933:

Norman E. Hills passed away on December 20, 1944, and he was buried in Willoughby Village Cemetery.  The first wife of Norman E. Hills was Abby Cleaveland McEwen, whom he married about 1895. Below is a picture of Abby McEwen Hills and the first child of Norman and Abby Hills. Baby Helen Hills was age 3 months and 4 days at the time this picture was taken. These pictures are now in the Kurt Boker Collection of  Kelleys Island History, in the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.

Visit the Sandusky Library and its Archives Research Center to learn more about the history of Erie County, Ohio.

Addison Kelley Hamilton, 1889-1892

Addison Kelley Hamilton was the eldest son of Titus and Fredrena Kelley Hamilton, born in 1889. He was the great grandson of Addison Kelley, and a great great grandson of Datus Kelley, one of the namesakes of Kelleys Island. Addison Kelley Hamilton died at age two years and nine months, at the home of his great grandfather, Addison Kelley, on July 27, 1892. His funeral was held at the Kelley residence.

An obituary for the Addison Kelley Hamilton appeared in the July 28, 1892 issue of the Sandusky Register. It read in part: “He was an attractive child, physically strong and intellectually bright and his winsome baby ways were like sunshine in the home. His illness was brief and though surrounded with every comfort and attended by the best medical skill the disease yielded not to either medical science or kindly nursing. The death of the dear boy – but little more than a baby – has cast a dark shadow over the happy home to which his presence brought gladness a few years ago. In the dark hour of their bereavement this stricken household has the deep sympathy of a closely united community.”

Little Addison Kelley Hamilton was buried in the family lot at the Kelleys Island Cemetery. Frank E. Hamilton, another child of Mr. and Mrs. Titus Hamilton, would become a captain of several Great Lakes vessels, and was a well known historian of the Great Lakes and Kelleys Island.