The Sophomore Literary Class, 1894-1897

Longtime Sandusky High School teacher Jean Beis donated the secretary’s book of the Sophomore Literary Class. The ledger contains the club’s constitution, by-laws, and minutes, from September 10, 1894 to May 3, 1897. Members of the club wrote essays which they shared with members at the club’s meetings. In the fall of 1894, Horton Force was the president of the organization. Horton was the son of Manning Force, the first commandant of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home.

In the fall of 1895 Arthur B. Court served as secretary of the Sophomore Literary Class. His signature was distinctive.

A thought provoking essay by Miss MacAaron was entitled “The Use of Bad Language” at the meeting of the Sophomore Literary Class of October 28, 1895.

Several essays were presented at the May 25, 1896 meeting, including A Trip to the Sun on a Bicycle, A Row to Cedar Point, and 1921 or the New Women.  It is interesting to see how young people spent their leisure time in an era long ago. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to view this unique ledger book from Sandusky High School students of the 1890s.

Miss Jean Beis, Sandusky High School Teacher and Librarian

Jean Beis is pictured above in the Sandusky High School Library, on page 20 of the 1952 Fram. Miss Beis was born Jeanette Beis, in 1894, to local attorney George C. Beis and his wife, the former Lucinda Zerbe. Jean graduated from Sandusky High School in 1912, and attended the University of Michigan, graduating in 1917 with a degree in language. In 1941 she earned her bachelor degree in Library Science from the Western Reserve University in Cleveland. 

Miss Beis began teaching at Sandusky High School in 1920, where she taught Latin for several years. Eventually Miss Beis became the High School Librarian at Sandusky High School. In May of 1954, a slightly overdue book was returned to the High School library from the son of a former Sandusky resident. Though it was not collected, Miss Beis calculated the fine for the overdue book to be $539.70.

Miss Jean Beis is the second to the last person on the right, in the bottom row in the picture of the Sandusky High School faculty below.

In 1951 Miss Beis attended a class reunion. She is the person on the right in the picture below,  beside Letitia Adams and an unidentified male.

          

Jean Beis died on December 2, 1976  at the age of 82, at her home on Huron Avenue. She had been a member of the Sandusky Women’s College Club, Ohio State Retired Teachers’ Association, the Legion of Mary, and Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church. Funeral services were held at the David Suitor Funeral Home and burial was in the family lot at Oakland Cemetery.

The First Female Jury in Erie County

On August 26, 1920, an important ‘first’ quietly took place at the Erie County Courthouse in Sandusky. Early that morning, the ratification of the nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was certified. That Amendment read in part “The right of citizens in the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. “ On August 18, 1920, Tennessee was the thirty-sixth state to ratify the nineteenth amendment. Ohio had ratified the amendment on June 16, 1919.

On the morning of August 26, 1920, at the Erie County Courthouse, Judge Roy Williams was to conduct the trial of Pennok Jeffries vs. the Pennsylvania Railroad, for an automobile accident that occurred in 1919, when a train car struck Jeffries’ automobile.

Ten men were summoned to serve on the jury, but nine offered excuses as to why they couldn’t serve. Having heard that the 19th amendment had been ratified, Judge Williams said “I decided to impanel a woman jury. Twelve women were summoned. Twelve women responded and twelve women served.”

The women were sworn in, the cases were stated, and cross examinations were made. When the statements were concluded, the judge gave the women of the jury their instructions and they retired to the jury room. They made their decision in four minutes and shortly returned to their seats in the jury box. They decided for the plaintiff, who was awarded $1500.

After the trial was over, the judge congratulated the women for their service on the jury. Each of the twelve women were paid two dollars for serving on the jury. This was the first all female jury in Erie County, and one of the earliest in the United States.

The women of the jury included Katherine H. Biller, Mary R. Boehmer, Sarah Cooke Sloane, Alice K. Hertlein, Alice D. Mack, Anna Sutton, Emma Broadbent, Sallie W.D. Neill, Mabel. L. Magill, Sarah C. Scott, Henrietta Zerbe, Bertrha Mitchell. The three men in the photo are Roy Williams, George Beis and Claude Minor.

This historic event was commemorated with an Ohio historical marker erected during Ohio’s 2003 Bicentennial. The marker is located near the north entrance of the Erie County Courthouse where the photograph of the women of the jury was taken.