Thomas R. McGeachie

The photograph above, taken by W.A. Bishop, appeared on page 21 of the 1903 publication, What: Souvenir of Sandusky, Ohio and the Islands of Lake Erie. In 1903 Thomas McGeachie was a general contractor, but in 1900 he was a foreman at George R. Butler and Company. The January 21, 1902 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that he had been promoted to superintendent at the company. You can see a portion of this business in the picture below, taken in 1899. Started by Jay Butler, the company manufactured sashes, doors, and blinds in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

 

Mr. McGeachie was also involved in local politics. According to an article in the Sandusky Star of May 18, 1899, he was appointed chairman of the Erie County Republican Party at the Third Ward Republican Caucus. The article stated: “This name is a new one in local politics but it jumped at once into prominence. He is a politician who has studied the art in Cleveland and showed the old timers a few pointers last night.” 

By about 1907, Thomas R. McGeachie and his wife Sarah returned to their native Canada, settling in Welland, Ontario, where he worked as a lumber merchant. Though he lived in Sandusky, Ohio for a relatively short time, his activity in business and political circles caused him to be remembered by many local residents after he left the Sandusky area.  Two sons remained in Ohio after their parents moved to Canada. Percy and Thomas McGeachie, Jr. are buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. 

See the book What: Souvenir of Sandusky, Ohio and the Islands of Lake Erie to learn more about the important people and businesses of Sandusky in 1903. Inquire at the Reference Services desk if you would like to see this historic publication.

John W. Stevenson, Pioneer Merchant

 

John Wesley Stevenson was born in Maryland in 1825 to Mathew and Jane (Gilson) Stevenson. Mathew Stevenson was a pioneer physician in Ohio. The photograph above was taken by Sandusky photographer Willard A. Bishop, who was his brother-in-law. 

In the summer of 1853, Mr. Stevenson opened up a dry goods store in the Reber block of downtown Sandusky. An advertisement which appeared in the September 8, 1853 issue of the Sandusky Daily Commercial Register indicated that the store had just received a new shipment of goods from the east. The store sold fancy and staple dry goods, boots and shoes, groceries, hardware, willow ware, and other merchandise. The ad stated that the assortment and stock at Stevenson’s dry goods store was not excelled by any other business in Sandusky.

By 1867, he listed his occupation in the city directory as produce merchant. 

John’s wife was the former Caroline Converse Mathews. They married in July, 1853 in Worcester, Massachusetts. The couple had two children, Frederick Boyd Stevenson and Mary Stevenson, who married John Sweet. Frederick Boyd Stevenson had a long career in newspapers. He was on the staff of the Brooklyn Eagle in New York for twenty-seven years.

John W. Stevenson died on May 22, 1910, at his home at 921 Washington Street, at the age of 85. Rev. Ashton Thompson from Grace Episcopal Church conducted funeral services for Mr. Stevenson, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery. From 1865 until his death in 1910, John W. Stevenson and his wife resided at what is now 603 West Washington Street, a home originally owned by George Reber.

Gilbert Harris, Dry Goods Merchant

Gilbert E. Harris was born in Sandusky in 1848, to Gilbert Harris, and his wife, the former Almira Belknap. The elder Mr. Harris died in 1849, leaving his widow to raise two small children on her own. The younger Gilbert Harris started out his long career as a clerk for the dry goods store of Charles and George Cooke. Later Mr. Harris went into a partnership with Henry Schumacher and John Bredbeck. In his final years in business, the dry goods store would become simply Harris and Schumacher. In 1900, this store was at 131 Columbus Avenue, just down the street from the West House.

This advertisement appeared in the Sandusky Register of March 13, 1900:

Mr. Harris and Mr. Schumacher were so enthusiastic about the closet sets they carried at their store that they took out an advertisement, along with many others, in volume 28 of Scribner’s Magazine in 1900.

The hangers provided in the Goodform Closet Set were supposed to keep garments in good condition, while also providing more space in one’s closet.

Mr. Gilbert E. Harris died from a bout with pneumonia on April 15, 1905. His obituary, in the April 16, 1905 issue of the Sandusky Register, stated that he was one of Sandusky’s “prominent, popular and progressive citizens.” He had been a deacon and trustee of the Congregational Church.  Mr. Harris was survived by his wife and two daughters. His obituary reported that his many friends were filled with sorrow. Mr. Harris was buried in Block 59 of Oakland Cemetery. Henry Schumacher carried on the dry goods business as sole proprietor.

Sandusky Business College and Its Students

The Sandusky Business College was founded in 1865 as the Buckeye and Great Western Business College and educated students until its closing in 1949. First located in Union Hall (part of what became the Cooke Block) on Columbus Avenue, in the 1890s, the school moved to the Mahala Block on East Washington Row. After the big 1909 fire that destroyed the Mahala Block, the college moved to the Feick building on East Market Street. 

Below is the Sandusky Business College men’s basketball team from the 1914-1915 academic year:

This post card showed the confidence that the Cleveland based Bourne-Fuller Company had in eight former students from the Sandusky Business College:

The Protectograph, an early business machine that allowed for forgery-proof check writing, was used by students at the college in the first half of the twentieth century. This machine is now in the historical collections of the Follett House Museum.

Beginning in 1923, the Sandusky Business College was in operation at 403 East Adams Street, at the former residence of Rush Sloane. It was its final home, because declining enrollment forced the school to close in 1949.  

The Zurma Brothers

Image courtesy of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library, Fremont, Ohio

From the 1920s until 1945, two brothers of Italian descent, Urbano and Guerrino Zurma were in the tire business. The Zurma Brothers’ first shop was at 316 Scott Street.

The Zurmas were local distributors for Mason tires. They used a "Vulcanizing" process to repair tires. In an article in the Sandusky Star Journal of April 23, 1927, the Zurma Brothers promised to “give you the best in tire service.”

By June of 1928, the Zurma Brothers had moved their tire shop to the corner of Cleveland Road and Ogontz Street. In 1931, the Zurma Brothers sold Atlas tires and used Standard Oil products in their shop. In an article in the December 13, 1934 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal, Urbano Zurma explained that full retreading of tires was superior to the process of “capping” tires. The Zurma Brothers used Akron Simplex Retreaders at their tire repair shop.

Guerrino Zurma passed away in 1945. The Sandusky Register Star News of November 7, 1945 reported that the Lake Shore Meat Company had acquired the former property of the Zurma Brothers. When Urbano Zurma died in December of 1954, his obituary stated that he had been “a pioneer in the tire vulcanizing and repair business in Sandusky.”

Advertisements from the W.O. Stubig Shoe Store

William O. Stubig began working in his father’s shoe store on Water Street in the 1890s. Christian Stubig, a German immigrant and Civil War veteran, founded the shoe store in 1866. After the elder Mr. Stubig’s death in 1904, William took over the shoe store. Frequently identified as W.O. Stubig, he believed in the power of advertising, often running ads in the Sandusky Register and the Sandusky Star Journal. In this ad from the October 5, 1906 issue of the Register, W.O. Stubig let customers know that he carried several popular brands of shoe wear, including the B. & P. “Korrect Shape” shoe.

The Star Journal of December 30, 1911, carried an ad which implied that shoes were an important feature of a woman wanting to appear attractive. Stubig was adept at fitting shoes for Sandusky ladies (and men.)

A "price wrecking" sale, with “the most stupendous shoe sacrifice ever known” began on December 9, 1919 at Stubig’s shoe store.

In a clever advertisement in the January 20, 1909 issue of the Sandusky Register, W.O. Stubig stated he would give a free pair of shoes to the first person to solve this rebus:

The lucky winner of the contest was Fred L. Werner. The solution to the puzzle is in the article below, from the Sandusky Register of January 24, 1909.

The W.O. Stubig shoe store closed shortly after the death of Mr. Stubig in 1956. 

Here is a picture of the Stubig shoe store while still under the management of the founder, Christian Stubig:

Prior to 1915, the store was at 754 Water Street. After street numbers changed in 1915, that address became 228 West Water Street. The building which once housed the well known shoe store was razed in 1965. A parking lot is now located at the spot where Stubig’s store once stood, near the southeast corner of Jackson and Water Streets.

Maus Shoes

After working as a salesman for W.O. Stubig’s shoe store, John N. Maus opened his own business on Market Street in Sandusky. The advertisement above, from the Sandusky Star Journal of July 6, 1916,  stated that the store's temporary quarters were above the Manhattan store. The German surname Maus translates to “mouse” in English, so a mouse was often seen in ads for Maus Shoes. By January, 1917, John Maus moved his shoe store to the upper level of the Schade Theatre building.

In May of 1920, the movie, A Regular Girl was playing at the Schade Theatre on West Market Street in Sandusky.

You can see signs for the Maus shoe store on the second floor of the building. The shoe store was next to the office of Dr. McCormick, the eye doctor.

In this 1935 advertisement, John Maus declared that he sold shoes that fit well, so that ladies could have proper shoes “for cooking and doing housework.”  By this time the theater on West Market had become the Ohio Theatre.

A notice in the November 18, 1968 issue of the Sandusky Register informed customers that Maus Shoes had moved from Market Street to 145 Columbus Avenue. This “back to school” ad appeared in the August 26, 1969 issue of the Register.

After the death of John N. Maus in 1977, his son Glenn Maus took over the business. After over sixty years of doing business in Sandusky, Maus Shoes had a large going out of business sale in May of 1984. Your parents or grandparents probably purchased shoes at this popular local shoe store!

A shoe horn from Maus Shoes is now in the collections of the Follett House Museum.

David M. Arndt, Sandusky Businessman, Local Telephone Pioneer

Mr. David M. Arndt was known as one of Sandusky’s foremost citizens. He moved to Sandusky in the 1860s from Seneca County, Ohio. Mr. Arndt worked in several different lines of work in Sandusky, including grain shipping, a dry goods business, and a stave factory. Additionally, he had been superintendent of the Sandusky Water Works. 

According to an article in the April 9, 1921 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal, the first telephones in Sandusky were brought here as a result of D.M. Arndt’s efforts. It turns out that he was personally acquainted with Alexander Graham Bell. The two gentlemen met in New York in 1878, where Arndt saw a demonstration on an early telephone. Soon Mr. Arndt purchased six telephones and brought them to Sandusky. Several other Sandusky residents also wanted a telephone, so wires were strung across trees and housetops. All six phones were on the same line, and every time a call was made, all the individuals on the crude network could hear the conversation. 

On May 18, 1914, David M. Arndt died at the home of his son, the Rev. Charles Henry Arndt, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. An article in the May 27, 1914 issue of the Sandusky Register stated that on his way home from his daughter’s funeral in Chicago in the fall of 1913, Mr. Arndt stopped by Sandusky on his way back to Germantown. While in Sandusky, He visited with Major C.B. Wilcox, Dr. Charles E. Stroud, and John J. Marquart, and made plans with the group for his own funeral arrangements. Two funerals were held for Mr. Arndt, one in Germantown, and one in Sandusky. In Sandusky, Mr. Arndt’s remains lay in state at the Masonic Temple. James A. Ryan delivered the sermon at the Knights Templar services. He was buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery, next to his wife, Anna Arndt, who had predeceased him in 1909.

Ruggiero Ricelli was a “Man of Many Jobs”

Ruggiero Ricelli was born in Italy in 1879, and emigrated to Sandusky around 1893. Beginning in 1895, he operated a fruit and confectionery cart at the corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street in Sandusky. Later he ran a store in the Cooke building, and eventually he set up shop at 119-121 East Market Street.

In the early twentieth century Mr. Ricelli served as an advisor to local residents of Italian descent. He helped them write letters to family members back in Italy, and aided them in understanding business conditions of their new town. In the Erie County Common Pleas Court, he served as an interpreter whenever knowledge of his native language was needed. He also was a Notary Public, and by 1911, he was an agent for several steamship lines which traveled from New York to Italy. For several years, he was president of the American Fruit Company, which was located on Water Street. 

Mr. Ricelli’s first wife was Arcangela Carapetta; they had a son, Orlando C. Ricelli. Dr. O.C. Ricelli was one of the founders of the first Memorial Hospital in Sandusky, along with Dr. Lester Mylander and Dr. Carle Koehler. (Note: in later years, Dr. Orlando C. Ricelli changed the spelling of his surname to Ricely.)  Arcangela Carapetta Ricelli died in 1920 at the age of 32. In 1922, Ruggiero  Ricelli married Minnie Augusta Barnett, and they had two children, John and Jeanne.

Ruggiero  Ricelli died at the age of 66 on September 26, 1945. An obituary for Mr. Ricelli, sometimes spelled Riccelli, appeared in the Sandusky Register Star News on September 26, 1945.

Fred Kranz, Sandusky Businessman

Fred Kranz was born in Nassau, Germany in 1841; in 1848 he came to the United States with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Balthasar Kranz. The Kranz family settled in Perkins Township of Erie County, Ohio.  Fred was raised on the family farm, and at the age of fifteen he was trained in the tinner’s trade. 

In the 1860s, he worked for Flood, Geasen and Company, tinsmiths in Sandusky. By 1884, he was the senior partner in the company. The advertisement for F. Kranz below appeared in the 1884 edition of the R. L. Polk & Company’s Marine Directory of the Great Lakes.

A biographical sketch about Fred Kranz, which appeared in History of Erie County, Ohio, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich, stated that Mr. Kranz had an extensive and well-equipped establishment, and he specialized in lime kiln work. In 1894, he had the contract for Faultless Furman boilers. also that year he installed a heating system in the Edward Jarecki residence on Central Avenue. Before that, in 1884, he installed a heating system at Holy Angels Church. There were two supply coils, and one-half coils under each seat, in a system which was devised by Mr. Kranz. 

By 1896 Fred Kranz was the proprietor of the Sandusky Metal Works.

The advertisement from the 1896 Sandusky City Directory indicated by F. Kranz was a wholesale and retail dealer in plumbers’ supplies; gas and steam fitter; and also did tin, copper, and sheet iron work. he seemed to adapt his skills as the needs of his customers evolved through the years. 

On May 5, 1899, Fred Kranz died at his residence at the age of 55. He left behind a wife, the former Caroline Traub, and four children. An obituary which appeared in the Sandusky Star of May 6, 1899, read in part, “During his long residence in Sandusky Mr. Kranz had won the esteem and respect of all who knew him. His private life and business methods had made many friends who will learn of his death with sorrow.”  To read more about the Kranz family and other Sandusky residents of German origin, see the book Sandusky Then and Now,  housed with the genealogy books at the Sandusky Library.

Mr. and Mrs. William V. Latham

 

These oil paintings of Mr. and Mrs. William V. Latham are on display in the second floor hallway of the Follett House Museum. Both natives of Connecticut, William V. Latham and Mary A. Bouton were married in Erie County, Ohio in May of 1856. From the 1850s until 1895, Mr. Latham was a merchant tailor in Sandusky, Ohio. In 1854, he operated a business with H.S. Adams on Columbus Avenue, a few doors down from Water Street.

Soon after, he became a sole proprietor, and by 1886, was in business at 212 Columbus Avenue. By the 1870s, Mr. Latham's brother in law, Charles E. Bouton, became a partner at W.V. Latham and Company. (Mr. Bouton became Sandusky’s Mayor in 1895.)  This photographic portrait of W.V. Latham was taken in the late 1800s by Sandusky photographer W.A. Bishop.

On December 18, 1895, William V. Latham died at the age of 72. A lengthy obituary in the Sandusky Register of December 21, 1898 read in part, “The middle aged and older men of this city knew the late W.V. Latham as a man of upright life and pure impulses. Loyal to his friends, faithful to his family, generous in an unostentious [sic] way, he went about the business of life from his youth up without creating frictions or arousing antagonisms. He had no use for shame, despised hypocrisy and never pretended to be other than he was. An honest, well disposed gentleman…The useful business of life of life is in the hands of the quiet and unassuming, and of such was this unpretentious gentleman, who has crossed the divide and is now at rest where physical pain and mental sorrow cannot reach him.” 

Funeral services took place at the Latham residence on Adams Street. He was buried at Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. Mrs. W.V. Latham survived until 1927, when she passed away at the age of 88.

Miss Agnes Stankard, Business Owner

 

In the early twentieth century, Miss Agnes Stankard operated a hairdressing  manicuring salon on Washington Row, next to the Beecher House. In early 1905, she placed an advertisement in the program of a theatrical performance at the Grand Opera House (later known as the Sandusky Theater). 

In the ad she stated that she was an Artist Graduate in manicuring, and she made a specialty of scalp treatments and face massage. She claimed that scalp irritations, nervous headaches and neuralgia could be cured by her treatments. 

An advertisement in the September 18, 1905 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal was aimed at the ladies of Sandusky. The ad said that ladies desiring manicuring and facial treatments would “receive prompt attention by competent workmen.”  

After residing in Sandusky for several years, sometime around 1924 Miss Stankard moved to Van Wert, Ohio where she worked as a housekeeper for the Rev. M.J. Smith, who had once been a priest at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Sandusky. She passed away in Van Wert on March 29, 1935 and was buried at the St. Mary’s Cemetery in her hometown of Clyde, Ohio.

Victorian Era Trade Cards

Here are a some Victorian era trade cards, which were used to advertise products in the late nineteenth century. These cards were given out by businesses in downtown Sandusky.  Greetham & Son., dealers in groceries and provisions, recommended Merchant’s gargling oil liniment for sore throats, toothaches, and a variety of other ailments.

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F.R. Lange sold Hoyt’s German cologne in three different sizes, and Rubifoam, for the teeth, cost twenty five cents a bottle.

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This card from Graham and Gerlach Druggists stated that Hires Root Beer “always brings health.” It was thought that Hires Root Beer purified the blood. The back of the card states that Hires Root Beer “is the health and happiness of childhood, and the joy and comfort of old age.”

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J. Pape, a druggist at the corner of Market and Jackson Streets, sold genuine McLane’s liver pills, prepared by the Fleming Brothers of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center is home to several archival boxes of primary resources related to businesses in Sandusky and Erie County. Because of the generosity of the individuals who donated these items, we can have a glance in to the daily lives of the former residents of our community.

Daniel Kunz, German Immigrant and Business Owner

Daniel Kunz (sometimes spelled Kuntz) was born in Bavaria, Germany in 1845 to Mr. and Mrs. Philip Kunz. He emigrated to the United States as a youngster. In 1866, he married Christine Gilcher, the daughter of Peter Gilcher, a pioneer settler of Sandusky also of German descent. By 1867, he was working as a barber in Sandusky on Water Street (between Columbus Ave. and Jackson St), where he also operated a bath house. 

Lime kilns were prominent along the Sandusky waterfront in the 19th century

In 1878 Daniel Kunz began a new business venture when he built lime kilns at the foot of Hancock Street. A steam barge was named for him in 1888, built in Sandusky by Savord and Ratti. By 1890 Mr. Kunz had several business ventures underway. He was president of the Lake Erie Coal and Transit Company, president of the Point Marblehead Lime Company, and he was a partner in Kunz and Johnson, stone dealers. 

In 1900 he purchased property that had been occupied by the National House hotel at the northwest corner of Market and Wayne Streets. He had the hotel razed, and built a multi-story brick building. At the street level was commercial property with large glass windows that would be home to the Cohn's department store for many years. On the upper floors were apartments that could be reached by either stairs or an elevator. Each apartment was modern, with hot and hot running water, steam heat, and a gas range in each kitchen. The Kunz block can be seen below on the 1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, across from the Lea block, which is still there today.

Mr. Kunz was president of the Home Savings and Loan Company of Sandusky in 1903. After his wife died, he moved to Toledo, Ohio, to make his home with his daughter. 

In April, 1935 the Sandusky Masonic Bulletin, edited by Dr. C.H. Merz, announced that Mr. Kunz had recently celebrated his 90th birthday. At the time of his death in 1938, he was the oldest living member of Perseverance Lodge, 329, F. & A.M. He had been prominent on Masonic circles for several years. Mr. Kunz was survived by a son, three daughters, and several grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Graveside funeral services were conducted by Rev. Donald Wonders, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery.