Publicity Photos from The New Dominion

 

On April 30, 1903, an amateur production of the play The New Dominion was presented by the Joe Jefferson Club at the Neilsen Opera House in Sandusky. The play was written by Broadway playwright Clay Clement, Sr.  

A.J. Peters portrayed the Baron Franz Victor Von Hohenstauffen. Mr. Peters is pictured below with Adah Kunz, who played Miss Flora May Randolph in the play.

E.L. Marsh played the character of Mr. Marshall Boner. The part of Miss Martha Boland was played by Mrs. G.E. Wilder.

Local photographer W.A. Bishop played Mr. J. Charles McVeigh in the play.

The May 1, 1903 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that the performance was a “flawless production.” A.J. Peters gave a finished performance, and Mr. Bishop was humorous in his love scenes. The Register article stated that “The characters were well cast and showed to the best of their ability, the attention and interest they centered in their accredited parts.” Theodore Taubert’s ten piece orchestra played musical selections between acts. 

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view the complete collection of publicity photographs from “The New Dominion.”

Memorial to President Ulysses S. Grant

While we cannot be certain that any Sandusky residents attended the dedication of the Memorial to President Ulysses S. Grant in Washington D.C., Mrs. John T. Mack bequeathed the program from the dedication exercises to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. 

Civil War veterans in both blue and gray attended the ceremonies, which took place on the 100^th anniversary of the birthday of President Grant, one hundred years ago, on April 27, 1922. Princess Cantacuzene, born Julia Dent Grant, the granddaughter of former President Grant, and her daughter Princess Ida Cantacuzene unveiled the Memorial. A parade made up of soldiers, sailors, and Marines participated in the ceremonies, which included a 21 gun salute and “doves of peace” being released.

According to the April 28, 1922 issue of the Sandusky Register, President Harding addressed a crowd of 15,000 people in President Grant's birthplace, Point Pleasant, Ohio on the former President's 100th birthday, April 27, 1922. President Harding praised Grant as a great hero and military leader.

After President Grant died on July 23, 1885, the city of Sandusky conducted a memorial to the late President on  August 8, the same day as his funeral in New York city. Businesses and private homes in Sandusky were draped with black cloths to pay respects to former President Grant. Flags were at half-mast on boats in the port of Sandusky as well as at government buildings in the city. A parade took place from Market Street to Biemiller’s Opera House; hundreds of mourners were turned away from Sandusky’s memorial service because the Opera House was filled to capacity. I.F. Mack presided at the service, and music was provided by the Great Western Band.

Isaac Foster Mack, 1837-1912

 

Rev. David J. Meese, of the First Presbyterian Church, spoke about General Grant’s boyhood days. Rev. George H. Peeke, of the First Congregational Church, spoke of Grant as an ideal hero. Rev. F. K. Brooke, of Grace Church, spoke about the peace in the United States as evidenced by those who mourned Grant from both the northern and southern states of the United States. Other speakers of the day included Rev. A. B. Nicholas, A.H. Moss, Homer Goodwin, and F. W. Alvord. When the Honorable Oran Follett spoke, he alluded to Shakespeare as he said in part, “We have met today to praise, not to bury, the man who had the courage and ability to lead us to a great victory.” 

Oran Follett, 1798-1894

The Great Western Band played a final song, and the audience dispersed after the McMeens Post of G.A.R. left in a group.

Great Western Band

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the history of the former residents and businesses of Sandusky and Erie County, Ohio.

Floyd Churchwell, First African American Police Officer in Sandusky

 

Born in Tennessee in 1930, Floyd Churchwell moved to Sandusky as a teen, graduating from Sandusky High School in 1947. After having served in the Korean War, he was appointed to the Sandusky Police Department in 1956 as its first African American officer.

By 1965, Officer Churchwell was promoted to Sergeant; he achieved the rank of Captain two years later, on August 16, 1967.

In 1979, Captain Churchwell was appointed to be the Sandusky Police Department's community relations and court officer. 

Sadly, Captain Churchwell died suddenly on October 8, 1980, but he has left a continuing legacy of service to the community. During his brief lifetime, he served in many roles, including as trustee of Ebenezer Baptist Church, a member of the Fraternal Order of Police, past master of Progress Lodge 85, and several others. Sandusky's Churchwell Park is named in his honor, and the Floyd Churchwell Court #8, Most Ancient Prince Hall Grand Court, Heroines of Jericho, was constituted in Sandusky in 1988. 

Nineteenth Century Children's Photographs

Elma and Frank Geib were the children of Frank Geib and Minnie Emrich Geib. Minnie may have been related to the Emrich family from Sandusky, but to date we have not determined a solid connection. Elma Geib married Frederick Schniewind, who was a pioneer in the introduction of by-product coke ovens for use in the manufacturing of illuminating gas. Elma Geib Schniewind’s son, Carl O. Schniewind, was a well known art historian who was head of the Prints Department of the Art Institute of Chicago. Elma Geib Schniewind died in New York City in 1964, and she is buried with her husband at Cleveland’s Lake View Cemetery. After her death, she donated works of art to the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum.

Elma Geib, born in Ohio in 1875 is pictured below in a photograph taken about 1881 by Henry Biddle, a Cleveland photographer.

Elma’s brother, Franz Geib, was born in Ohio in 1873. He later went by the name of Frank Geib. He became a physician in Cleveland, and passed away in June of 1956.

It is not known who donated these photographs to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, but they show us the style of clothing of two youngsters from Ohio, born to a father who was a native of Germany. Both Elma and Frank grew up to have full lives, and it is interesting to see how they appeared before they started on their journey to adulthood.

The Worthington Nims Homestead in Groton Township

According to the book Pioneers’ Progress: The First 25 Years of Lyme Township and Strongs Ridge, by Adeline Wright(written for the Historic Lyme Church Association), Worthington Nims was one of three brothers who came from Massachusetts to the Strong Ridge area of Lyme Township in Erie County, Ohio in the Spring of 1826. By that fall their father Asa Nims moved to Ohio as well. 

On September 21, 1827, Worthington Nims traveled back to his Massachusetts to marry Betsy Barnard. The newlyweds’ trip back to Ohio took a total of seventeen days, several of them spent traveling on the Erie Canal. During their first winter in Ohio, Mr. and Mrs. Worthington Nims lived in a covered wagon, between the log houses of other Nims families. 

On the occasion of their fiftieth wedding anniversary in 1877, a Bellevue newspaper wrote about the couple: “By industry and wise management on the part of both, Mr. and Mrs. Nims are rightly regarded as wealthy farmers.” The etching of the Nims residence which is pictured above appeared on page 36 of the Combination Atlas Map of Erie County, published in 1874 by Stewart & Page. A home, several outbuildings, and livestock and equipment can be seen in the drawing. 

You can view a copy of the 1874 historical atlas at the Sandusky Library, where you also can find histories of several Ohio towns and counties, including three titles about the history of Lyme Township.

A View of the Foot of Columbus Avenue in 1932

In 1932 the parking area at the foot of Columbus Avenue was paved with bricks. (The Schade-Mylander Plaza is on this location today.) A small portion of the steamer G.A. Boeckling can be seen at the left side of the picture above. The steamer Chippewa is in the center of the picture. A vessel from the Neuman boat lines is docked at the right side of the picture. 

You can see Hansen’s fish market on the far right side of the picture. In 1932 dressed catfish sold for thirty cents; fresh haddock fillets were twenty cents; and halibut sold for a quarter. According to the Sandusky Star Journal of April 7, 1932, Hansen's would deliver any order over fifty cents (equal to about $9.50 today). 

Note the vintage automobiles parked near the dock. If you look very closely, above the Hansen’s fish sign is a small billboard which features a Pontiac automobile, and the slogan “Chief of Values.”  The 1932 Sandusky City Directory listed eighteen automobile dealers. Browsing through the historical city directories, as well as looking through our many vintage photographs, can give one a sense of what life was like for residents of Sandusky and Erie County in years gone by.

Funeral Notice of Mrs. E. P. Ingersoll

 

Volume 52 of The Bible Society Record of the American Bible Society, reported that Rev. Edward Payson Ingersoll, son of William and Samantha Bassett Ingersoll, married Julia DeForest, daughter of Tracy R. and Julia Sutherland DeForest on September 11, 1860 in Cleveland, Ohio. Rev. E. P. Ingersoll was the pastor of the Congregational Church in Sandusky from 1863 to 1867. He later served churches in Indianapolis, Indiana; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Brooklyn, New York. A New York Times reporter wrote that Rev. Ingersoll gave an “exceedingly interesting discourse” in Brooklyn in July of 1867.

Miss Jessie Wilcox donated several items to the historical collections of the Sandusky Library, including the funeral notice of Mrs. Ingersoll. Julia Ingersoll passed away in August 1865, after only three years of marriage. Her funeral was to take place at the Sandusky parsonage at No. 9 Hancock Street, with burial to be in Cleveland, Ohio. Mrs. Ingersoll left behind two little girls, Annie and Alice, both under five years of age. Rev. Ingersoll married Helen Abbott in 1866. By 1880 Rev. Ingersoll, his wife and two daughters, as well as Helen’s sister Kate Abbott, were living in Brooklyn, New York. Rev. Ingersoll died on February 5, 1907, and he is buried in Cleveland’s Lake View Cemetery.

An interesting side note is that Julia DeForest Ingersoll was a cousin to radio pioneer Lee DeForest. Pedigree charts from the Worldconnect portions of Rootsweb indicate that Julia DeForest was the granddaughter of Gideon and Hannah DeForest, while Lee DeForest was the great grandson of Gideon and Hannah DeForest.

Dr. W. P. Skirball Practiced in Sandusky for Many Years

from p 52, Reflections: First 85 Years of Providence Hospital

Wilbert P. Skirball was born on September 20, 1919 in Alabama, to Rudolph and Zerhyl Skirball. After growing up in Ashland, Ohio, Dr. Skirball attended Ohio State University, and graduated from the OSU Medical School. Dr. Skirball served as a Captain in the U.S. Medical Corps. While in military service, he met his wife Mary, who was a nurse. 

In 1948 Dr. Skirball joined the medical staff of Providence Hospital in Sandusky, Ohio. In the early 1950s Dr. Skirball had an office in Castalia and Sandusky. He moved his office to the Sandusky Medical Center at 1218 Cleveland Road in 1956. Throughout his long career, Dr. Skirball was active in community organizations. He was a popular speaker to civic groups. In 1956, he gave a talk entitled “Should We Bury the General Practioner?” to the Jaycees, which focused on the rapid rise in the number of medical specialists in the United States. His topic when he spoke to to the Sandusky Business and Professional Women in May of 1956 was “The Doctor and His Ethics.” 

In the August 8, 1963 issue of the Sandusky Register, Dr. Skirball was one of two local doctors who were interviewed about the problem so many people have with being overweight. He stated that he did not think drugs were an effective tool in weight loss; he advised that people who wish to lose pounds should do so by reducing their caloric intake. 

Dr. Skirball was chairman of the Department of Medicine at Providence Hospital from 1976-1979, and had been active in local and state Medical Associations. The picture at the top of this post was taken at the 1974 Providence Hospital Board of Trustees and Medical Staff Dinner, where he was presented a plaque in honor of his twenty-five years of service. Board member George Howells is standing next to Dr. Skirball in the picture, which was taken by Alden Wintersteller.

Dr. Skirball retired in 1986, and later he and his wife moved to Florida. He died in Florida on November 10, 1999. 

Henry Clay Strong, Soldier and Businessman

Henry Clay Strong was born on October 4, 1841 to Lyman and Calista (Nims) Strong. During the Civil War, he served for a three month term with Company B of the 88th Ohio Infantry. After that term was up, he joined Company D of Hoffman’s Battalion, later known as the 128th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, where he was appointed second sergeant. While serving in the 128th Infantry, he became commissary sergeant, and later served as first lieutenant and regimental quartermaster. For a time he was commander of Company G. 

He married Mary Harper, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rice Harper, in 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Strong had a son named Harper Lyman Strong in 1880, but the child died in 1881. In 1909, Mr. and Mrs. Strong legally adopted William Henry Spencer, a son of Mary Harper Strong’s sister; he went by the name William Henry Spencer-Strong after the adoption.

After the war ended, Mr. Strong was appointed paymaster for the Sandusky, Dayton & Cincinnati Railroad. In the late 1860s and 1870s, he was a salesman for a wholesale lumber house in Sandusky. By 1874, he had moved to Newark, Ohio, where he was in a partnership with John Fleck in the wholesale grocery business. 

In 1897, Mr. Strong moved back to Sandusky, where he was one of the organizers of the Ohio Motor Company, which did business at the southeast corner of East Water and Perry Streets. The company made small engines for stationary power purposes, from the end of the 1890s until 1920. 

On June 12, 1918, Henry Clay Strong passed away following complications from surgery. He was buried in the family lot in Oakland Cemetery. Both Henry and Mary Strong had family ties to pioneer residents of Erie and Huron Counties. Read more about the early residents of the Firelands area in books, historical journals and newspapers at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.