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.