Mary Elizabeth Seibert Fernau

Below is a tintype of Mary Elizabeth Seibert, who was born in Sandusky about 1865.

By 1904, Mary Elizabeth Seibert had become the wife of Henry Fernau, who was a painter and interior decorator. They lived at what is now 620 East Adams Street.

Descendants of Mary Elizabeth and Henry Fernau donated several family photographs to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, allowing us to have a visual record of Mrs. Fernau throughout several years.

The funeral card for Mrs. Fernau, who passed away on January 6, 1925, features a touching poem.

A precious one from us has gone

            A voice we love is stilled:

A place is vacant in our home,

            Which never can be filled.

God in his wisdom has recalled,

            The boon his love had given.

And though the body slumbers here

            The soul is safe in heaven.

An obituary for Mary Elizabeth Fernau, found in the 1925 Obituary Notebook at the Sandusky Library, stated that she was “a woman of estimable traits and many relatives and friends will mourn her departure.” Funeral services for Mary Elizabeth Fernau were held at the family residence on Adams Street, and burial was in Oakland Cemetery.

Ferdinand V. Seibert, Painter and Interior Decorator

Above is a tintype portrait of Ferdinand V. Seibert as a young man. Mr. Seibert was born in Sandusky, Ohio on February 20, 1861, to Valentine and Margaret (Ulrich) Seibert. This cabinet card of Ferdinand V. Seibert was created by photographer W.A. Bishop in the 1880s.

Ferdinand was well known as a sign painter and interior decorator. In the 1890s and early 1900s, Ferdinand V. Seibert was in business with a Mr. Hasselbach. Hasselbach & Seibert were awarded the contract for painting rooms at Sycamore School in 1894. When Hasselbach & Seibert did the decorating work for attorneys King & Guerin in 1901, the January 11, 1901 issue of the Sandusky Star reported that the work done by them was “as fine as any ever done in Sandusky.” Later, Ferdinand V. Seibert worked alone. In 1912 he created fifty-six life size oil paintings of bathing beauties for a local resort. Mr. Seibert did art work on the face of Frank Steinle’s “Wonder Clock,” now on display at Cedar Point’s Town Hall Museum. Ferdinand V. Seibert died on November 17, 1930, after a lengthy illness. His obituary, which appeared in the Sandusky Register of November 18, 1930, stated that he had been an expert sign painter, and a lifelong resident of the city. Mr. Seibert was survived by three sons. He was buried next to his wife, the former Mary Schumacher, at Oakland Cemetery.  The bracelet pictured below was crafted by Ferdinand V. Seibert from walnut shells. It can be seen at the Follett House Museum.

Transporting Baby in Sandusky

An image of a baby stroller appeared in Punch in 1847. An article found online states that the earliest carriages and prams were made of wicker or wood, and the infant would recline in the carriage. Strollers allow for a young child to sit up. Today a wide variety of baby strollers, car seats, and travel systems are available for parents of young children.

These images from the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center show examples of youngsters being transported around the turn of the twentieth century. The baby pictured below is in a wicker carriage in front of the Bock Barber Shop.

Children of Ferdinand V. Seibert are seen in a carriage in front of a residence on Third Street in Sandusky.

Ruth Beach is pictured below about 1905.

This vintage collapsible doll buggy can be seen in the toy room of the Follett House Museum.

A newspaper advertisement from the March 2, 1901 issue of the Sandusky Daily Star features a Sleep Go-Cart from Goebel’s Big Store. The product is upholstered, and contains a parasol to protect baby from the sun.