The Rittman Family of Put-in-Bay and Sandusky

This picture of Lucy, George and Mamie Rittman was taken at the Pascoe studio in Sandusky, Ohio in the late 1880s. The parents of these children were Frank Rittman, Jr. and his wife, the former Fannie Parker. The Rittman family resided in Put-in-Bay, but often visited Sandusky to see relatives, including their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Rittman, Sr. 

Memorial card for Grandfather Frank Rittman, Sr.

The Put-in-Bay column in the Sandusky Register often reported on the social activities of the Rittman family. In this brief posting, Lucy and Mamie had gone to Cleveland to visit their brother George and his wife.

George F. Rittman carried on the family butcher business at Put in Bay. He spent his final years on the mainland in Sandusky. In the early 1900s, Mary Rittman was a teacher in the public schools. In 1916 she married Captain Ezra Bickford, a veteran lakesman who was the first captain of the ferry the Erie Isle. Lucy became the wife of Granville Heuchele, who was associated with the U.S. Fish Hatchery. After Lucy’s death in 1933, Granville remarried.

The graves of George, Mary, and Lucy are all on South Bass Island. George Rittman (1877-1959) and Lucy Heuchele (1879-1933) were buried at the Maple Leaf Cemetery, and Mary “Mamie” Bickford (1882-1944) was buried at the Crown Hill Cemetery.

If you have ancestors from Sandusky or the Lake Erie Islands area, you can search for articles about them in local newspapers through Newspaper Archive, a Clevnet database. (To access, log in with your Sandusky Library card.)

G.B. Hodgman Manufacturing Company

Above is a receipt for goods sold to Frank Rittman from the G.B. Hodgman Manufacturing Company in Sandusky in 1893. The company was located on the very eastern end of First Street along the waterfront. 

The G.B. Hodgman Company started out as a cooperage in the 1870s, and later became a lumber mill; it was founded by George B. Hodgman, who served as president of the organization. O.A. Knight was vice-president, and Henry Knight was the secretary-treasurer.

An article in the Sandusky Register of July 30, 1881 reported that the G.B. Hodgman Manufacturing Company gave constant employment to over one hundred workmen. At that time the factory sat on two acres, and had two docks for shipment of products. There was a branch factory in St. Louis, Missouri. The book History of Erie County, ed. by Lewis Cass Aldrich (D. Mason, 1889) described the company as sitting on twenty acres, which included a warehouse, sawmill, band factory, cooper shop, stables, blacksmith shop and wagon shop. The buildings had incandescent lighting, and the company had its own generator. Products were shipped throughout a large portion of the United States, and the proprietors were known for “business integrity and thoroughness.” The 1890 Sandusky City Directory listed the company as a manufacturer of lumber and cooperage, specializing in fish, syrup, lard and pickle packaging. 

During the Panic of 1893, the G.B. Hodgman Manufacturing Company went into receivership, as did many companies throughout the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Hodgman moved to Chicago, where George worked in wood manufacturing, and later they moved to St. Louis, Missouri. George B. Hodgman died in St. Louis on May 8, 1934. His remains were returned to Sandusky, Ohio for burial in Oakland Cemetery. 

Marian Hodgman, a sister to George, was an early member of the Board of Trustees of the Sandusky Library.

  

Portraits of Katie Rittman

Miss Katie Rittman was born in Sandusky in 1870 to Frank Rittman and Catherine Kuebeler Rittman, who were both natives of Germany. The portrait above was taken at the Bishop & Veitch studio in Sandusky, when Katie was about age 12 or 13. The picture below was taken at the studio of C.A. Cross when Katie was a teenager.

This lovely picture of Katie Rittman as a young woman was taken at the Pascoe studio in Sandusky.

U.S. Census records indicate that Katie lived with her parents in Sandusky 1880 and 1900. On February 4, 1902, Katie Rittman married Charles Hoffman, who was employed at the Hoffman family business, the Hoffman Coal and Milling Company. Charles and Katie were the parents of three daughters and a son.  In 1919 the Charles Hoffman family operated a store at the corner of Scott and Hancock Streets. "Puck," a zinc statue that had once been in the store window of Dietz & Mischler's cigar shop, stood on the roof of the Hoffman business for several years. Puck is now housed at the Follett House Museum. Katie Rittman Hoffman passed away in 1929, and Charles Hoffman died in1933. Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman were both buried in Oakland Cemetery.

Walter F. Rittman, Chemical Engineer

Walter F. Rittman was born in Sandusky in 1883 to Christ and Louisa Rittman. Walter was an excellent football player while at Sandusky High School. He worked his way through Ohio Northern University, and then went on to complete his Master’s Degree at Swarthmore College in 1909. At Columbia University, he earned his doctorate. Dr. Rittman was pioneer in the field of chemical engineering, and was considered one of the outstanding chemical engineers of his time. In 1915 he gained national attention for his invention of a process which increased the output of gasoline from crude oil. He also perfected several other processes used in the explosive and dyestuff industries, which were used by the U.S. government during World War I.  He wrote several articles about the application of chemistry to industrial processes. From 1921 to 1933, Dr. Rittman was connected with the engineering department of the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He also served as a trustee of the Ohio Northern University from 1928 to 1941. For a time, Dr. Rittman was an instructor in chemistry at Columbia University, and later he worked as a chemist in the U.S. Bureau of Mines. On September 26, 1954, Dr. Walter F. Rittman died in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He was survived by his wife Anna, two sons, a daughter, and a sister, Mrs. Elmer B. Otto of Sandusky, Ohio. Dr. Rittman was buried in Chautauqua, New York, where his family had a summer home.

Frank Rittmann’s Funeral Card

Frank Rittman died on March 19, 1901, at the age of 72 years, 9 months, and 22 days. Under the phrase “Gone but not forgotten” appears the following verse:

Tis hard to break the tender cord,

            When love has bound the heart.

Tis hard, so hard, to speak the words:

            “We must forever part.”

Dearest loved one we must lay thee

            In the peaceful grave’s embrace,

But thy memory will be cherished

            Til we see thy heavenly face.

Frank Rittman (sometimes spelled Rittmann) was born in Germany about 1828. He came to Ohio before 1850, and settled in the Cincinnati area. According to records found on the Family Search website, Frank Rittmann married Catherine Kiebler in Hamilton County on July 11, 1856. By the late 1860’s, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Rittmann had moved to Sandusky, Ohio, where they lived in a house at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Scott Street.  U.S. Census records list their seven children as: Frank, Louisa, Charles, Christian, George, William and Kate.  During the Civil War, Frank Rittman served in Company D of the 128^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This unit was assigned to guard Confederate Prisoners at the Johnson’s Island Prison.

Frank Rittman died at his home on Columbus Avenue. Funeral services were held at the residence on March 19, 1901 at 2:45 p.m. Burial was at Oakland Cemetery, under the auspices of Ogontz Lodge, No. 66 of the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows. The Rittman Family lot is in Block 59 of Oakland Cemetery.

Pictured below is the Rittman home at Columbus Avenue and Scott Street about 1870.

Dr. Walter Frank Rittman, the grandson of Frank, and son of Mr. and Mrs. Christian Rittman, became a well known chemical engineer.