Festival of the Flower Queen

On Tuesday evening, August 14, 1860, a performance of the Festival of the Flower Queen was held at Norman Hall, under the direction of Professor A.B. Chase of Cleveland, Ohio; he had directed productions of the same play in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1858, and in Cleveland in 1859.

The musical performance featured seventy five young ladies from the Sandusky area, all appearing in beautiful costumes which represented different flowers. Featured performers were: Josephine Chapman, Sarah Parish, Kate Burton, Sarah Monroe, Amelia Brainard, Nettie Wetherell, Alice Hard, Fanny Barney, Alice Porter, Jennie McGee, Lina Mills, Kate Monroe, and Miss Sallie Reber. The theme of the musical was that the flowers were meeting in a dell in order to choose their queen. A recluse, played by Professor Chase, was discontented with life. In song, the flowers told the recluse about love and duty, and by end of the performance he was ready to return to society among his fellow creatures.

The August 15, 1860 issue of the Sandusky Daily Commercial Register reported that the performance at Norman Hall was a “a most decided success in every way.” The article stated that the Daisy, who was played by Sallie Reber, was coaxed into an encore song; she would later go on to be a popular performer with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in New York. 

Our American Cousin Played in Sandusky

On May 19, 1875, the play Our American Cousin was presented at the Sandusky Opera House in Sandusky by the Sandusky Amateur Dramatic Association. Admission to the play was fifty cents, and proceeds were donated to the Young Men’s Christian Association. Of course Our American Cousin is best known as being the play that President and Mrs. Lincoln were watching on the evening of  the President’s assassination at Ford’s Theatre on April 16, 1865. 

In 1875 the building known as the Sandusky Opera House was Norman Hall, on the north side of Water Street between Jackson and Decatur.

The building later known as the Sandusky Opera House, the Biemiller Opera House, was not built until 1877. 

Ulysses T. Curran, superintendent of Sandusky Schools, played the part of Lord Dundreary.

Two of the local play’s performers, Miss Jennie M. West and Mr. C.L. Hubbard, would marry in 1877. 

A brief article which appeared in the May 20, 1875 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that, “The play was received in the best possible manner, and that it deserved such a reception will not be gainsaid by anyone who saw it. The members of the Sandusky Amateur Dramatic Association deserve the highest praise for their faultless interpretation of the many difficult characters in the piece.”

Musical Entertainment at Norman Hall on December 18, 1863

On Friday evening, December 18, 1863, musical entertainment by the pupils of the Sandusky High School was presented at Norman Hall under the direction of Prof. William C. Webster. The venue was the same location where noted abolitionist Frederick Douglass would present a speech in Sandusky in 1864.

Martha A. Webster played the piano for the evening’s program. Several musical numbers were performed during the first part on the program, which concluded with the chorus singing “Prepare We for the Festive Scene.”  During the second part of the night’s entertainment, the “Coronation of the Queen” was enacted.

The queen was played by Mary Whitney, with Mary Dewey and Julia W. Webster serving as attendants. Twelve young ladies presented the queen with a basket of flowers. Speeches were given by Emma Cowdery, Julia Pool, and Maud Youngs. Several musical performances by the Webster family were included during the course of the evening.  

Tickets to the program were sold at the C.V. Olds Bookstore at the West House for twenty five cents, with tickets for children under 12 years old selling for fifteen cents.  William C. Webster and his wife, Mary Cushing Webster, were pioneer music teachers in the states of Ohio and New York. A biographical sketch about William C. Webster in the book History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut states that Mr. Webster was a teacher of vocal music for thirty years.

Cartes de Visite of Tom Thumb and Company

Mrs. Inez Koch donated several cartes de visite of Tom Thumb, his wife, and others who appeared with him in the 1800s, to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.  The picture above was originally sold by John W. Pittock of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

Tom Thumb’s real name was Charles Sherwood Stratton. He was born to normal size parents, but as a youngster he stopped growing. In 1842, under the management of the famous theatrical promoter P.T. Barnum (a distant relative), he began a show business career as “Tom Thumb.” In 1863 Charles Sherwood Stratton married Lavinia Warren, who was also of short stature; the wedding was a major news story of the time. On their wedding trip, the couple met President Lincoln.

Between 1869 and 1872 George Washington Morrison Nutt, known as “Commodore Nutt” toured the world with Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb and Minnie Warren, the sister of “Mrs. Tom Thumb.”

Hewson Peeke wrote in his book A Standard History of Erie County that General Tom Thumb appeared at Norman Hall in Sandusky on April 27, 1869. When the General and his “troop of little folks” appeared in Cleveland in May of 1868, the Plain Dealer reported that Commodore Nutt was “the life of the whole party.” The article continued, “There is more fun and mischief in his little body than is usually allotted to a whole family.”  Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb and Commodore Nutt and Minnie Warren achieved fame and financial success in their interesting career. 

You can read the full-text of the book General Tom Thumb’s Three Years’ Tour around the World at the Internet Archive.

1867 Concert by the Sandusky Mannerchor

On Friday, October 18, 1867, the Sandusky Männerchor gave a vocal and instrumental concert at Norman Hall, on Water Street in downtown Sandusky. Norman Hall was eventually incorporated into property owned by the Hinde and Dauch Paper Company, and today no longer stands.

Many towns in the U.S. had a männerchor in the nineteenth century. It was a male chorus made up primarily of those of German descent. Members could socialize, enjoy music, and preserve elements of the German culture. The group was assisted by J.L. and E. Bonn, Miss B. Silva, and Cornelius Schnaitter. J.L. and E. Bonn had been born in Bavaria, and moved to Sandusky with their family, where they ran a grocery store not far from the Sandusky Library.

Cornelius Schnaitter was also a native of Bavaria. He moved to Sandusky in 1849, and ran a successful tailoring business.

It appears that many local businessmen could work at their jobs in the day, but still enjoy participating in singing societies during their time off at night and on weekends. An article in the October 19, 1873 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that a full house attended the männerchor concert. A song which brought the house down was a comic song called “Frog” in which several men wore costumes of green and ashen hues, and leaped around the stage like frogs. The performers were accompanied by a grand piano, and their numbers were well received by the audience. To read more about the musical societies of Sandusky’s early German-American citizens, see pages 160 to 173 of Sandusky Then and Now.

Union Ticket for Ohio from October 1863 Election

During the Civil War, many Ohioans became members of the Union Party, which was made up of Republicans and Democrats who were in support of the Union cause. On October 13, 1863, John Brough was elected Governor of Ohio on the Union Party ticket. Brough soundly defeated Clement L. Vallandigham, who was against the Civil War, and had been forcibly exiled to the Confederacy. When President Abraham Lincoln heard that John Brough’s majority was over 100,000, he personally wired the Governor-elect. His message said “Glory to God in the highest. Ohio has saved the nation. A. Lincoln.”

John Brough, Ohio Governor 1864-1865(Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JohnBrough.jpg )

Several articles that appeared in the October 16, 1863 issue of the Sandusky Register, reported that Sandusky area residents had a “grand era of good feeling” over the Union party majority during the recent election. The article stated that the hundreds of people from all around Sandusky and Erie County turned out at the Erie County Courthouse. The courthouse was illuminated from top to bottom, and bonfires were ablaze at the parks on Columbus Avenue. The Union Band played patriotic music, and at 8 p.m. Colonel J.C. Lee of Tiffin addressed the crowd. There was an announcement for the Brough Ball which was to be held at Norman Hall on October 16.

Proceeds from the Brough Ball were for the benefit of the families of Union soldiers.

Business owner C.C. Keech included the words Brough! Brough! in his advertisement for wool. The ad mentioned the 100,000 majority for Brough, along with an ad in which he offered to purchase 100,000 pounds of wool for 73 to 75 cents a pound.  Governor Brough died in 1865, before he completed his two year term as Governor of Ohio.

The names of several local candidates also appeared on the ballot in the fall of 1863, including W.D. Lindsley, who was elected to the Ohio Legislature; George Morton, elected Probate Judge; George O. Selkirk, elected as Clerk of Common Pleas Court; George W. Smith, elected Erie County Auditor; Calvin Caswell, elected Erie County Commissioner; and John Wines, elected Infirmary Director. 

Frederick Douglass Spoke in Sandusky in 1864

On March 16, 1864, Frederick Douglass spoke in Sandusky at Norman Hall, located on Water Street. His topic was the “Mission of the War.”

An article which appeared in the March 17, 1864 issue of the Sandusky Daily Commercial Register read in part:

Norman Hall was filled with an appreciative and highly delighted audience last evening to listen to Fred. Douglass’ lecture on the “Mission of the War.” As this was the first time the speaker ever addressed a Sandusky audience, the attendance as well as the often-repeated expressions of approbation, were flattering to the speaker and betokened a public sentiment in sympathy with his views of the mission of the present great struggle…Suffice it to say that it was a masterly effort – both as to matter and manner was worthy of the speaker’s reputation as one of the first orators in our country. It evidenced logical thought, abounded in nice points, well put, and was delivered in most choice and chaste language, and with an air of ease and dignity which belongs to the graver debates in the Senate chamber, but which is too rarely seen there or elsewhere

 A copy of “The Mission of the War,” as presented by Mr. Douglass in Philadelphia in 1863 can be viewed at The Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress.

Entertainment by the Ladies of Grace Church, 1866

On Monday evening, July 30, 1866, the ladies of Grace Church directed an entertainment at Norman Hall. Funds from the evening’s events were to be given to the church. Several tableaux vivants were exhibited, which represented various scenes and characters. Both vocal and instrumental entertainments were provided during the concert portion of the program. Refreshments of ice cream and cake were to be served after the evening’s entertainment concluded. Fifty cents was the price of admission, which would be about $7.00 in today’s economy.

Many years later, in an example of Tableau Vivant, Mrs. James Douglas posed as Whistler’s Mother at a meeting of the Art Study Club in Sandusky.