Treasurer’s Book of the German American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio

Donated by a member of the Armbruster family, the Treasurer’s Book from the German American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio covers the years 1927 to 1942. (Due to the ongoing war in Europe, the organization stopped meeting in 1942.) The book contains a yearly listing of the names of members, as well as the amounts of dues that they paid. The original organization was known as the Plattdeutsch Verein, sometimes spelled Platduetscher Vereen.

The German American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio was a group of men that were all from the Low German speaking area of Germany and neighboring countries. Frequently they had celebrations of dancing and drinking, which were sometimes held in the upper level of the I.O.O.F. (Odd Fellows) building in Sandusky. In the membership listing seen below are the names of Adolph and Martin Brodersen, who operated a grocery store at 1506 McDonough Street in the 1920s and 1930s.

The obituary of Carl Gast, whose name is also on the page above, stated that he had been a member of the German and American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio. He also had been a member of Zion Lutheran Church, which had many members of German descent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. You can see the name of Richard Lorenz on page 7 of the treasurer’s book, pictured below.

Eventually Richard changed his name to the Americanized version of his surname, Lawrence. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to browse through the Treasurer’s Book of the German American Brothers of Sandusky, Ohio. 

Plattdeutsche Verein in Sandusky

Pictured above is a ribbon from the Plattdeutsche Verein of Sandusky (spellings of this organization vary widely.) This organization was a society made up primarily of German born individuals who wanted to preserve the language and culture of the Germans who formerly resided in the low lands of Northern Germany. An article in the August 18, 1890 issue of the New York Times reported that “Jungens Holt Fast” was the slogan of the Plattdeutsche Verein. Translated into English “Jungens Holt Fast” means “Youth Hold Fast.”

On New Year’s Eve in 1921, the Plattdeutsche Verein held a dancing party at Yontz’s Hall (in the Cable Block, on Market and Jackson Streets), which featured the Schoder Trio.

The 1925-1926 Sandusky City Directory has a listing for the Plattdeutscher Unterstetzungs Verein (Low German Mutual Aid Society) which met in Sandusky on the first Monday of each month at Fuchs Hall, located at 702 W. Monroe Street.

Dr. Ernst Von Schulenberg wrote extensively about the lives of Sandusky’s early German residents in his book, Sandusky Einst und Jetzt, which was later translated into English by Dr. Norbert A. and Marion Cleaveland Lange as Sandusky Then and Now. Visit the Sandusky Library to read Sandusky Then and Now, or you can view the original book Sandusky Einst und Jetzt online at Google Books.