The Tragic Life and Death of George Scudder

 

According to an article in the August 11, 1884 issue of the Sandusky Register, George T. Scudder took his own life on August 9, 1884. The article states that George shot himself on Friday evening, and died early Saturday morning. He left a letter, but according to the Register, it was “too sacred to be published in full.” In the letter he left his property to his sisters and bid them good bye. 

In the 1880 U.S. Census, George was age 16, and lived with his widowed mother, and his older brother and sisters Sandusky, Ohio. The 1867 Sandusky City Directory listed the occupation of George's father, William H. Scudder, as a grape grower. William Scudder died in 1874; his wife Louise died in 1880. By 1884, with both parents deceased, George and his brother Arthur R. Scudder were working as clerks at the B & O Railroad freight office on Water Street. They resided at 1115 Washington Street with their sisters Minnie (Mary) and Kate (Katherine). 

This bill for the tombstone of George Scudder is on file in the historical collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. His sister Minnie Scudder bought the stone from A. Hornig of the Sandusky Steam Marble and Granite Works on Columbus Avenue and Campbell Street, at a total cost of $16.50 ($539 in present value).

The Scudder family monument is located at Block 26 at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

The names of George's parents, William H. Scudder, who died on February 12, 1874 and Louise Russell Scudder, who died on December 28, 1880 appear together on the side of the monument that faces west. The names of George's sisters, Mary Louise Scudder and Katherine S. Scudder appear together on the side of the Scudder family monument which faces east. The name of a member of the Russell family, Mary A. Russell (1802-1883) is on the side of the monument which faces north. George T. Scudder’s name appears on the side of the monument which faces south (seen above). While we know that M. L. Scudder purchased a tombstone in 1885 in honor of George T. Scudder, it seems likely that the family monument presently at Oakland Cemetery, along with several separate stones in memory of individual Scudder and Russell family members, were purchased at a later date.

School Children 100+ Years Ago

 

Pictured above is a group of children from classes 3-A and 4-B at Sycamore School in 1919. Most of the young people look very serious. While the students have not been identified, we know that Polly Smith is among the children in the picture. Sycamore School was built in 1876, and hosted students for more than 100 years, until the building was repurposed into apartments in 1984.

The four young men above were on the second team of the Eagles basketball team in 1920. (We don't have information about the team, but it may have been in a recreational/intramural league.) The surnames of the boys were listed on the back of the original picture. From left to right are: Meinzer, Schemenaur, Stephens, and Pusateri.

The students above were in class 3-B from Campbell School in 1919. There are 45 children in the group, but only one person has been identified. Thomas Rotsinger, the donor of the photograph, is the fourth person from the left, second row from bottom.

The Eighth Ward School, later known as Campbell School, was built in 1885 by Adam Feick and brothers and designed by J.C. Johnson. The building is now home to Nehemiah Partners of Sandusky, a nonprofit group that serves area youth.

The students above were in the first grade class at Monroe School (Ninth Ward) in 1911. The Monroe School was built in 1894 to serve the students of what was then the Ninth Ward of Sandusky.