Marriage of John A. Strobel and Mattie E. Bretz

Rev. J. G. Enzslin of the Emmanuel German Evangelical Protestant Church officiated at the wedding of John A. Strobel and Mattie E. Bretz on June 20, 1894. The marriage license was recorded at the Erie County Probate Court on page 915 of Volume 9 of the marriage records. Witnesses at the marriage ceremony were his brother, Christ Strobel (who later became the namesake for Strobel Field) and her sister, Hattie Bretz.

The original marriage license of John A. Strobel and Mattie E. Bretz was secured into a wedding memory book titled Our Wedding Bells. The book was published by John Gibson Publisher with copyright dates of 1889 and 1892. Though no names are recorded, there are several lined pages on which guests could record their names and “courteous words.”

The wedding memory book contains twenty pages of poems and inspirational passages, including this passage, Song of the Bells:

Hear the mellow wedding bells,

Golden Bells!

What a world of happiness their harmony foretells,

Through the balmy air of night,

How they ring out their delight,

From the molten golden notes,

And all in tune.

John A. Strobel was employed for many years in the Sandusky offices of the B & O Railroad. He passed away on June 5, 1933. Mattie Bretz Strobel survived her husband and lived in Sandusky until her death on January 31, 1959. Mr. and Mrs. Strobel are buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

Pictured below is the Bronze Centenary Medal celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The medal once belonged to Mr. Strobel, and was given to the Follett House Museum by Hattie Bretz, the sister of Mrs. Strobel.

Mattie Bretz Strobel made a quilt that is also in the historical collections of the Follett House Museum. The quilt, which was pieced in part by hand and in part by machine, was made in the novel star design, with silk and satin fabrics. It is estimated to have been created in the 1890’s. Just a small portion of the quilt can be seen in this photograph.