William Ayres Simpson and Mary Denman Simpson

 

William Ayres Simpson was born in New Hampshire in 1812. After working in Boston and Detroit, he moved to Sandusky in 1834. In Sandusky, William Simpson was a partner of Horace Aplin in the grocery business. Later he was engaged in business ventures with Leonard Johnson and David Everett. Mr. Simpson was a stockholder and director in the Sandusky Gas Company, and served as  its president for many years. He was also a stockholder and director in the Second National Bank. 

Mr. Simpson was a member of Grace Episcopal Church for over forty years, serving on the church vestry for thirty-six years. Following his death on December 20, 1887, his former pastor, Rev. Dr. S. A. Bronson wrote in a letter, “Mr. Simpson was a man with as many virtues, and as few faults, as almost any one who can be found in this crooked world. As a vestry man in my church during the sixteen years I was rector of Grace Church, Sandusky, I can safely say I found no fault in him. As a business man, he was honest and honorable; as a Christian, and as an Officer of the church, he was faithful is the discharge of all his duties; benevolent, judicious and wise. If help was needed, he was always ready to do his part. He was always a pillar in Grace Church," and he adds, "a thousand more words in all departments of life may be said of him."  Rev. R. L. Howell, another former Grace rector, stated in the book History of Erie County, Ohio, that “William A. Simpson was one of those rare instances of the happy commingling of solid worth and simplicity of character which it is positively refreshing to behold.”  

On January 5, 1841, William A. Simpson married Mary A. Denman.

Mary’s parents, David and Mary Wright Denman died when she was only age two. She was adopted by Major John G. Camp, who was a friend of Mary’s father. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson did not have children of their own, but they raised two adopted daughters. One adopted daughter was Eliza D. Bartlett, who was the daughter of Mary Simpson’s sister; the other child was born Jane Eliza Marsh, to Cornelius and Rebecca Marsh. After her parents died in the cholera epidemic of 1849, Mr. and Mrs. Simpson raised her, calling her Jennie E. Simpson. 

Mary A. Simpson died on March 8, 1911. In her obituary, which appeared in the March 9, 1911 issue of the Sandusky Register, she was referred to as “a woman of generous impulses. Mrs. Simpson found great pleasure in giving for almost every good work.” Among the gifts that Mrs. Simpson presented to Grace Episcopal Church were the parish house, at the corner of Adams and Hancock Streets, and the east transept window of the church, which features “The Feast of the Epiphany.” Mrs. Simpson also left monetary gifts to Calvary Church, the Women’s Guild of Grace Episcopal Church, Kenyon College, Providence Hospital, and several others.

Mr. and Mrs. William A. Simpson were very generous to the community of Sandusky. To read more about this couple, there are several sources available, including History of the Western Reserve, At Home in Early Sandusky, and History of Erie County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. William A. Simpson are buried in the North Ridge section of Oakland Cemetery.

Erie County African American Soldiers in the First World War

 The book Honor Roll of Ohio: Erie County Edition is a compilation of Erie County residents who served in military or civilian activity during World War I. Soldiers and sailors who served during the war are listed in the book, with photographs, brief personal information, and service summaries included for each man. 

As in the service itself, the American American servicemen were segregated from the rest of the men into two pages of the book. Those pages are shown here.

 Although we do not have additional information for all of the soldiers depicted here, we are able to gather brief biographical data on some of these men. 

Reading the descriptions, you will notice that two of these men died in overseas service. Corporal Clarence Howard was featured in a previous blog post. He was noted as a star pitcher for the Sandusky Crescents baseball team before the war. He was killed by an accidental weapon discharge on October 12, 1918.

Private Robert Adkerson died in service in France on October 22, 1918, at age 25. He was initially buried in France, but in 1921 his remains were returned to his native Tennessee for reburial.

Three sons of William and Mary Alexander performed military service during the war. Sergeant Robert Alexander served overseas with Co. H of the 802nd Pioneer Infantry. Private Charles Alexander was in France with Co. L of the 365th Infantry, 92nd Division. The youngest brother, Private Earl Alexander, served in the Student Army Training Corps at the Ohio State University, beginning September 1918.

The Honor Roll of Ohio is available in the Genealogy book collection at the Sandusky Library.

Birth Announcement of Margaret Belle Ainslie

On February 23, 1911, Ned and Sadie Ainslie sent a postcard announcing the birth of their daughter, Margaret Belle Ainslie to Mrs. Mary Ainslie of East Adams Street in Sandusky.

The birth announcement is a poem, which allows the parents to insert the date of birth, hair and eye color, and weight of the baby. The poem is appropriate for either a boy or a girl. Margaret weighed ten pounds, and had light hair and blue eyes. She was born on February 22, 1911.

Though we do not know the exact relationship of Ned Ainslie to Mary Ainslie, an article in the New York Times of July 6, 1933, states that Edward Douglas Ainslie was born in Sandusky, Ohio about 1873. His wife’s name was Sarah, and his children were Margaret and Edward D. Ainslie, Jr. It is most likely that Ned and Sadie were the nicknames of Edward Douglas and Sarah Ainslie. E. D. Ainslie, Sr. was the general passenger agent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He died in Brooklyn in July, 1933.

Mrs. Mary Ainslie of Sandusky lived to the age of 98 years. She had moved to Erie County in 1818. Her husband Samuel Ainslie died in 1851 or 1852. Two of Mary’s daughters were teachers in the Sandusky Schools, Miss Mary Ainslie, and Mrs. Susan Holland.

Photographs of the Children of Andrew and Louise Biemiller

Andrew and Louisa Biemiller, both natives of Germany, had a son and two daughters born in Sandusky. Mr. Biemiller worked in the fish business, as well as being the original owner of the Sandusky Opera House, built in 1877. Originally called the Biemiller Opera House, ultimately it became known as the Sandusky Theatre and was the location for hundreds of performances of operas, musicals, vaudeville acts and plays, as well as motion pictures. 

John Biemiller

John Biemiller was born about 1857. He married Anna Graves in 1879, but died in the following year. He was the father of Andrew Frederick Biemiller, and the grandfather of politician Andrew John Biemiller.

Barbara Biemiller

Miss Barbara Biemiller was born around 1862. She married Otto H. Ilg on April 24, 1884. After her husband died, she married August H. Klotz. Barbara outlived both her husbands. She passed away on June 23, 1930.

Cora Biemiller

Cora Biemiller was the youngest child of the family, born in Sandusky, Ohio on April 8, 1872. Cora never married. When she died on January 31, 1952, her obituary (found in the 1952 Obituary Notebook), stated that she was the last member of one of  the city’s older families. Her funeral services were held at the Biemiller residence at 312 East Adams Street, with the  Rev. Hunsdon Cary, Jr., of Grace Episcopal Church, officiating. Burial was at Oakland Cemetery.

The patriarch of the family, Andrew Biemiller died in Sandusky in 1882. He was buried in the family lot at Oakland Cemetery.

Andrew’s widow Louisa married Robert McChesney, in 1885. Mr. and Mrs. McChesney resided in New York State.

Louisa Biemiller

After her death in 1908, she was buried next to her first husband in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

The Kilbourne Family Had Many Ties to Sandusky

 In the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center is a book entitled The New Eden: James Kilbourne and the Development of Ohio, by Goodwin Berquist and Paul C. Bowers, Jr. (University Press of America, 1983.) The authors detail the life of James Kilbourne (1770-1850), who contributed significantly to the development of Ohio and the Old Northwest. Of particular interest to local residents is chapter 5, “The Sandusky Enterprise.”            

James Kilbourne saw the importance of a community along the shores of Lake Erie  that could be developed for trade and commerce. He discussed this idea at length with Zalmon Wildman, and eventually Kilbourne helped to settle the land dispute between Wildman and Isaac Mills and George Hoadley. It was James Kilbourne who surveyed the land between Columbus and Sandusky, where a roadway was to be built between the two towns. Known as the Columbus and Sandusky Turnpike, today this route roughly follows Ohio routes 4 and 23. Kilbourne encouraged business owners to settle in Sandusky, and he influenced legislators to see that a post office and customs port were established  in the young community. 

James Kilbourne's son, Hector, is credited with platting the city of Sandusky. The streets were laid out to form the Masonic emblem. Hector Kilbourne was the first postmaster of Sandusky, and he also served as the first master of Science Lodge No. 50, the earliest Masonic lodge in Sandusky.

The Masonic symbol can clearly be seen in the map of the city of Sandusky below, with the diagonal layout of the streets representing the square and compass of the Masonic emblem.

The final resting place of several descendants of James Kilbourne is Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. After attorney George Reber’s first wife died, he took as his second wife Anna Stiles Kilbourne, who was the widow of Dr. James Kilbourne, the youngest son of James Kilbourne (1770-1850.) Anna, often known as Nancy, had a young son named Lincoln P. Kilbourne. Lincoln and his wife, and several members of the extended family are buried at Oakland Cemetery in the Kilbourne family lot.

Read The New Eden: James Kilbourne and the Development of Ohio to learn more about James Kilbourne and the role he played in the early development of the state of Ohio

Happy Valentine's Day

This four-piece Valentine’s Day card was donated to the Follett House Museum by the family of George Gilbert. The Valentine features a poem which reads:

Dreams of Love

I think we love the chief

            of all love’s joys,

Only in knowing that we

            love each other.

 

Three cherubs are attached to the main portion of the Valentine card with ribbons. Cherubs are a symbol of love and innocence.

 If you would like to learn about the symbolism of cherubs, request the title Cherubs: Angels of Love (Bulfinch, 1994) by Alexander Nagel through the Clevnet system.

A Sandusky Native’s Connection to President Lincoln

 

Howard Hill Morton was born in Sandusky, Ohio in 1840, to Dr. and Mrs. George R. Morton. When Howard was a young man, he and George Doll published a small leaflet which they called The Sandusky Gazette. In 1860 he moved to Washington, D.C. where he worked in a print shop, and published a small periodical about various governmental agencies, then from 1862 to 1869, he worked as a clerk in the Treasury Department. Later he transferred to the Department of  Internal Revenue.  On July 10, 1864, H.H. Morton married his wife Annie in Cincinnati, Ohio. After the wedding, the couple moved back to the nation’s capital. During the Civil War, Mr. Morton was a war correspondent for the Cincinnati Enquirer and other newspapers.  After his father’s death in 1875, Mr. and Mrs. H.H. Morton and their family moved to North Bass Island. Howard H. Morton died on September 30, 1888, and he was buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

The Sandusky Register and the Sandusky Star Journal both featured articles in February of 1922  in which Mrs. Annie Morton discussed her experiences from her years in Washington D.C.

Mrs. Morton and her husband often attended the Saturday receptions at the White House when President Lincoln was in office. Mrs. Morton said that Lincoln was friendly towards everyone, and often tried to make people smile. She said that while Lincoln was not a handsome man, she was struck by the kindness in his face and the strength of his handshake. Mrs. Morton wore a rose and azure blue gown to President Lincoln’s first and second inaugural balls. She was quite a petite lady, and she could still fit in the gown in 1922 when she was aged 79. Annie Morton died on January 8, 1925. At the time of her death, she was the only living Sandusky resident who had been a guest at Lincoln’s inaugural balls. 

To read more about the Morton family, see Hewson Peeke’s book The Centennial History of Erie County, Ohio ((Penton Press, 1925.)  Biographical sketches of Howard H. Morton, his father Dr. George R. Morton, and his son Lawrence D. Morton are found in Mr. Peeke’s 1925 book.

Dr. Bartel H. Reinheimer, Episcopal Bishop

 

Sandusky High School graduation photo

Born in Sandusky in 1889, Bartel H. Reinheimer was the son of Alfred and Beatrice Reinheimer. Alfred was the son of German immigrants, and made his living by manufacturing cigars.

 

Sandusky High School Class of 1907

In his youth, Reinheimer spelled his first name Bartelle. He graduated from Sandusky High School in 1907, where he served as editor in chief of the Fram in his senior year. The verse below lists his many high school activities:

 

“Here is Reinheimer – sure you know him! Twice “of course,”

You’ve heard “rooters” yell for him ‘till they were hoarse?

A “star” in athletics, a Scrooge in the play,

Brimful of school spirit-whatever you say.

A strong voice the chorus, now head of the Fram,

He’s able to play either lion or lamb.

Though now he is aiming to be a school teacher,

Some day our Bartele may become a great preacher

Then we to his parish will speedily go

To hear and rejoice with an “I told you so!”

Bartel Reinheimer graduated from Kenyon College in 1911, and Bexley Hall Divinity School in 1914. He indeed did become a minister, serving churches in Shelby and Dayton, Ohio, before being appointed as the executive secretary of the General Episcopalian Council in New York City. Rev. Reinheimer served as Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester from 1938 through 1949. When he was consecrated as Bishop, the services were broadcast by WTAM Radio of Cleveland, Ohio. He also was a trustee of the University of Rochester, and had been a chancellor of Hobart College. He died in Rochester, New York in 1949, shortly after he retired his duties as Bishop.

While a student at Sandusky High School, he was a member of the football team, shown here in 1906. 

Second Baptist Church: Sandusky's Pioneer African American Church

 In May 1949, the Second Baptist Church, then led by the Rev. R.T. Booker, celebrated its centennial anniversary of service to the African American community in Sandusky. (The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center holds a copy of the commemorative program, as well as one for the 150th anniversary in 1999.) 

Rev. Booker, with wife Bernice and son Robert

The church, on Decatur Street in downtown Sandusky, was founded in 1849 by Sandusky residents, including Maria Winifred French, Laurence Johnston, and Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Jones. At first called Zion Baptist Church, it soon became known as the Anti-Slavery Baptist Church, until 1920 when the church was incorporated under its present name. Early members, most notably George J. Reynolds, were active in the Underground Railroad, aiding many people to escape to Canada.

The original building (pictured above) was acquired by church members, and it served as the house of worship until 1934, when the present church was constructed around the frame of the earlier building. 

As the church grew and became self-sustaining, members were able to hire their first pastor in 1856, Rev. Israel Campbell. The longest serving pastor at Second Baptist was Rev. W. Benson Stephens, who served from 1972 to 2008.

Rev. Stephens and Family in 1999

The church continues to serve the community more than 170 years after its founders established the church as a weapon against slavery and a beacon to those seeking freedom and faith.