Ferdinand Geiersdorf, Former Mayor of Sandusky

Ferdinand Geiersdorf was born in Munich, Germany (then Bavaria) on December 5, 1831. When he first came to Sandusky he was a poor butcher’s apprentice, but eventually he became quite wealthy in the fish business. Mr. Geiersdorf’s image can be seen in the image above on the upper left, from Plate IV in the book, Sandusky Einst und Jetzt. Below is an advertisement which appeared in the 1869 Sandusky City Directory.

From 1863 to 1867, Geiersdorf served as Sandusky’s Mayor. He was the first individual of German descent to become Mayor of the city. In his inaugural address, which was published in the April 15, 1863 issue of the Sandusky Register, he stated that because of the ongoing rebellion (the Civil War), local residents would be taxed rather heavily until the war’s end. Mayor Geiersdorf called for immediate cleaning of the streets and gutters in town, to maintain the excellent health of the residents of Sandusky. He hoped to see that the principal roads coming in to Sandusky would be maintained in good condition, to ensure the ability of visitors being able to travel to Sandusky, to frequent its offices and businesses. Mayor Geiersdorf concluded his address with the words of President Jackson, “The Union must be preserved.” 

When Ferdinand Geiersdorf died on September 22, 1870, he was greatly mourned.  In a biographical sketch in Sandusky Then and Now, it was said about him that “His goodness and readiness to alleviate need with an open hand will live after him.” The former Mayor was buried at Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

A large letter G is at the top of the monument of Ferdinand Geiersdorf. The letters of his surname, appearing at the base of the monument, were designed to resemble tree branches.

Read Sandusky Then and Now, translated into English from the German version of Sandusky Einst und Jetzt, to learn more about the earliest German American residents of Sandusky.

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.

Zipfel’s Meat Market

Constantine Zipfel founded a meat business in Sandusky. It was in operation from the 1860’s through the early 1900’s. Pictured below is the Zipfel Meat Market in the 1890’s.

Constantine Zipfel was born in Norsingen, Baden (Germany) on May 21, 1839. He married Mary Daniel on December 31, 1858. Constantine and Mary were the parents of seven children, all born in Ohio: Carl, Joseph, Elise, Marie, Ida, Laura, and Alfred. Mrs. Mary Zipfel passed away on January 28, 1886. Constantine married Catherine Liess, and they had a son named Wilbert in 1889. Constantine Zipfel died on June 3, 1894, after he had unsuccessfully sought health in the spas of Germany. He is buried in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Sandusky. One of the original bells at St. Mary’s Church was the gift of Constantine Zipfel.

An image of Constantine Zipfel appears on Plate III, Image 1, in Sandusky Einst und Jetzt, by Ernst Von Schulenburg. This title was translated into English by Norbert Adolph and Marion Cleaveland Lange in 1959. See Sandusky Then and Now, available at the Sandusky Library, to read more about the early German residents of Sandusky. An every-name index helps researchers find specific names easily. Ernst von Schulenburg wrote in the preface to the second edition of Sandusky Einst und Jetzt, about the early German residents of Sandusky, “They are indeed dead-yet they still live.”

Sandusky Then and Now

Ernst Von Schulenburg was both a minister and a physician in Sandusky, Ohio. He was born in Berlin in 1849, and settled in Sandusky in the 1870s. In 1872 he was the pastor of Emmanuel German Evangelical Protestant Church, and later he served as pastor of the St. Stephen’s German Evangelical Protestant Church. He is perhaps best remembered today as the author of the book, Sandusky Then and Now.

The author wrote the book in his native German language; the original title is Sandusky "Einst und Jetzt" : Mit Besonderer Berücksichtigung der Deutschen Localen Verhältnisse, which in English translates to Sandusky Then and Now: With Special Regard to Local, German Situations. In his book, Dr. Von Schulenburg discusses the political life of Germans in Sandusky, as well as German culture, customs, and business ventures. It includes biographies of several Sandusky German settlers, including their dates of migration. The book also provides a history of early Erie County and Sandusky, and includes an entire chapter on the cholera epidemics of 1849, 1852, and 1854.

In the preface to this book, originally published in 1889 , Dr. Von Schulenburg noted that “although the German population of Sandusky seems almost the same as that of the native-born and has become a powerful factor in the religious, political and social life of the city, yet it is surely striking that in all the local histories which I have seen, the German element was either completely ignored or at best treated as a step child.”

In 1959 Dr. Norbert A. and Marion Cleaveland Lange, chemistry professors who resided in Sandusky, translated Dr. Von Schulenburg’s book. It was published as Publication 114 of the Western Reserve Historical Society.

To read Sandusky Then and Now (in the English translation or in the original German) visit the Sandusky Library’s Reference Services area on the lower level of the Sandusky Library.