The Graduating Class of Sandusky High School, 1872

Pictured above are several members of Sandusky High School’s graduating class of 1872. In the front row are: Lula Hayes; Sarah Lawler; Charles McLouth and Antonia Springer. In the middle row are: Hattie Miller; Frank Barker; Emma Hages; Robert Walsh and Eunice Williams. In the back row are: Ella Rayl ; Alex Camp; Emma Alder; Hattie Keech; Henry Moore; Laura Wetherell; Alice Kinney and Ella Kelham. 

By 1876, Ella Kelham was an elementary school teacher for Sandusky City Schools. Frank Barker became the city clerk of Sandusky, and he married Laura Cooke, the niece of Civil War financier Jay Cooke. (Barker Street in Sandusky was named for Frank Barker’s ancestors.) Hattie Keech was the daughter of Sandusky businessman and philanthropist, C.C. Keech. She would go on to marry Edmund H. Zurhorst, who was very active in politics in Sandusky. Alice Kinney was the daughter of newspaper publisher J.C. Kinney, and Alex Camp’s ancestors were instrumental in the founding of the city of Sandusky. These students were all born before the Civil War, and most lived well into the twentieth century.  They saw many changes in technology in their lifetimes. 

To see more historical photographs from Sandusky and Erie County, visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, on the lower level of the Sandusky Library.

Homer B. Williams, Educator

Homer B. Williams was born in 1865 to John and Mary (Secrest) Williams in Mt. Ephraim, Ohio. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Northern College, and he earned graduate degrees from Baldwin-Wallace and Columbia University. He was given an honorary doctor of law by Bowling Green State University. After teaching in rural Ohio schools, he served as school Superindent of schools in Caldwell, Kenton, and Cambridge. In August, 1898, Sandusky City Schools selected Homer B. Williams as Superintendent of Sandusky Schools. An article which appeared in the August 8, 1898 issue of the Sandusky Star reported that Williams was considered one of the leading educators in Ohio. His annual salary in 1898 was $1,800.  During the annual session of the Ohio States Teachers’ Association, which met at Cedar Point from June 27 to June 29, 1911, Mr. Williams gave the opening address, entitled “Intellectual Habits.”  The text of his address was reprinted in Volume 60 of the Ohio Educational Monthly.

In 1912 Homer B. Williams went to Bowling Green to become the first president of what was then the Bowling Green Normal School. The school had an enrollment of 100 when classes met in 1914. At the time of his retirement in August of 1937, Bowling Green State University had an enrollment of 1,876. Williams Hall, on the campus of BGSU, was named in his honor in 1917. 

Dr. Homer B. Williams died on September 22, 1943, at age 77. Funeral services were held at the auditorium of Bowling Green State University. Dr. Williams was survived by his wife, a daughter, and three sons. He was buried at the Oak Grove Cemetery in Bowling Green. An obituary for Dr. Homer B. Williams appeared in the September 23, 1943 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News.

Sandusky High School Orchestra in 1903

Pictured above is the Sandusky High School orchestra in 1903. The students are seated on the north steps of the old high school, which later became Adams Junior High School.  Another picture of the same group was taken with the musicians standing.

Notes on the back of the picture have identified the students:

Though the notes say that the year was 1904, the pictures were most likely taken in 1903, since the names of several of the members of the orchestra appeared in the 1903 Sandusky High School commencement program. Andrew Prout and Ralph Scherz both went on to become prominent doctors. Two of the students in the 1903 orchestra went into the field of education. Miss Bess Lawrence taught in the Sandusky City Schools for over thirty years, retiring in 1944. Edwin Williams became a professor of languages at the University of Nevada and the University of Redlands in California.

Remember the Eisenhowers?

An article from the Sandusky High School student newspaper The Sandusky Hi Lites from February 13, 1953 features a picture of four SHS students who wore hairstyles with bangs. The article began, “Any way it’s looked at, bangs seem to dominate the nation’s politics as well as hair styles this year. Whether they’re curled, brushed up, brushed down or just plain straight, it appears as if they’re here to stay.” The wife of newly-elected President Dwight Eisenhower, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower is pictured, along with Judith Maschari, Fran Sausser, Diane Williams and Kathy Murray. The photographer was Jerry Zellers.

John H. Williams, Hardware Merchant

In 1855 John H. Williams was the proprietor of a hardware store on Columbus Avenue in downtown Sandusky. He sold foreign and domestic hardware, and a variety of hardware, tools, safes, and bank vaults. In the 1860 U.S. Census, he, his wife Elizabeth, and their five children were residing on 109 Wayne Street in Sandusky, Ohio. Patent number 59,700 was issued to John H. Williams in 1866 for improvements to a cider and wine mill.

During the Civil War, John H. Williams, along with several other individuals, was arrested after a failed attempt by Southern sympathizers to release prisoners from the Johnson’s Island Prison Camp. After an investigation, Williams and the others were released.

An article in the September 25, 1864 issue of the New York Times discussed the conspiracy.

John H. Williams and his family left Sandusky in 1871, moving to New York City. Mr. Williams died on April 8, 1896. His remains were brought back to Sandusky by railroad, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery in the family lot. An obituary which appeared in the April 17, 1896 issue of the Sandusky Register stated that John H. Williams had many friends in Sandusky, and he had been an active leader in the Democratic Party. The article continued, “He was generous to a fault and always ready to aid those he could."

Sandusky High School’s Mid-Year Commencement, 1909

Sandusky High School’s second mid-year commencement ceremony was held at Sidley Memorial Hall on February 12, 1909, on the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. The class presented anecdotes of Lincoln. Edna Holzaepfel gave a talk on “The Private Life of Lincoln.” Marjorie Anderson, who later became a college professor, spoke about “Lincoln in Literature.” Mary Daly spoke on “America’s Debt to Lincoln.” Charles Feick’s presentation was on “Other Great Men of 1809.”

Graduates of the February 1909 class were: Marjorie Anderson, Elizabeth E. Butler, Mary R. Daly, J. Charles Feick, Edna A. Holzaepfel, Norman R. Holzaepfel, Leona E. Ohlemacher, Chester S. Schoepfle, and Anna M. Soutar. Among the faculty members were E. L. Moseley and E. B. Ackley, who directed the SHS Orchestra. George C. Dietrich was the principal of Sandusky High School in 1909, and H. B. Williams was the superintendent.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to see this and several other historical commencement programs, yearbooks, and photographs which cover a span of several decades of students and faculty of Sandusky High School.

Thomas Edison’s Visit to Erie County

On August 11, 1923, Thomas Alva Edison visited his birthplace in Milan, Ohio. He was accompanied by Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and Walker D. Hines. The group had recently attended the funeral of President Warren Harding in Marion, Ohio.

Judge Roy Williams, another former Milan resident, formally welcomed Thomas Edison. A crowd of two thousand people had gathered in Milan to get a glimpse of the famous inventor and his friends. A band played “Hail, Hail the Gang’s All Here.”
Judge Williams is pictured above, with two of the ladies from the first female jury in Erie County in 1920.

After visiting Milan, the men drove to Cedar Point, where they spent the night at the Hotel Breakers. On August 12, the men were dinner guests of Mrs. Edward Wheeler. As a boy, Thomas Edison had played with childhood friends at the Wheeler farm, which had been owned by Hiram Page during Edison’s youth. The Sandusky Register carried front page stories of the visit of Edison, Ford and Firestone on August 11 and August 12, 1923. Thomas Edison declined to address the crowd, saying “I’m too deaf to speak.” Henry Ford said “I’ve heard to so much talk that I don’t know what to say.” Harvey S. Firestone began his speech with: “Mrs. Firestone has all the hot air in our family. I’m no speaker, but upon this occasion I might say that I am here to reflect the glory of this occasion. I am proud to be known as a friend of the greatest man of the generation, Thomas A. Edison and as the friend of a benefactor of the nation, Henry Ford.”

The book Uncommon Friends, by James D. Newton, gives insight into the relationship of Thomas Edison with Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Alexis Carrel, and Charles Lindbergh. This book is available for loan through the ClevNet Consortium.

On February 19, 1927, Thomas Edison once again was in the newspaper regarding his ties to Erie County. Edison had written to Erie County Auditor Fred W. Bauer, questioning why his property in Milan had been reappraised by thirty percent.

In 1929, a floral mound honored Thomas A. Edison in Washington Park.

The First Female Jury in Erie County

On August 26, 1920, an important ‘first’ quietly took place at the Erie County Courthouse in Sandusky. Early that morning, the ratification of the nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was certified. That Amendment read in part “The right of citizens in the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. “ On August 18, 1920, Tennessee was the thirty-sixth state to ratify the nineteenth amendment. Ohio had ratified the amendment on June 16, 1919.

On the morning of August 26, 1920, at the Erie County Courthouse, Judge Roy Williams was to conduct the trial of Pennok Jeffries vs. the Pennsylvania Railroad, for an automobile accident that occurred in 1919, when a train car struck Jeffries’ automobile.

Ten men were summoned to serve on the jury, but nine offered excuses as to why they couldn’t serve. Having heard that the 19th amendment had been ratified, Judge Williams said “I decided to impanel a woman jury. Twelve women were summoned. Twelve women responded and twelve women served.”

The women were sworn in, the cases were stated, and cross examinations were made. When the statements were concluded, the judge gave the women of the jury their instructions and they retired to the jury room. They made their decision in four minutes and shortly returned to their seats in the jury box. They decided for the plaintiff, who was awarded $1500.

After the trial was over, the judge congratulated the women for their service on the jury. Each of the twelve women were paid two dollars for serving on the jury. This was the first all female jury in Erie County, and one of the earliest in the United States.

The women of the jury included Katherine H. Biller, Mary R. Boehmer, Sarah Cooke Sloane, Alice K. Hertlein, Alice D. Mack, Anna Sutton, Emma Broadbent, Sallie W.D. Neill, Mabel. L. Magill, Sarah C. Scott, Henrietta Zerbe, Bertrha Mitchell. The three men in the photo are Roy Williams, George Beis and Claude Minor.

This historic event was commemorated with an Ohio historical marker erected during Ohio’s 2003 Bicentennial. The marker is located near the north entrance of the Erie County Courthouse where the photograph of the women of the jury was taken.