Dr. James K. Douglas, Native of Berlin Township

Dr. James K. Douglas was born in August 1869 to James and Cornelia (King) Douglas. He grew up on his parents’ home along Lake Erie in the northern portion of Berlin Township of Erie County, Ohio.

In 1894 he graduated from the School of Dentistry at the University of Michigan. Dr. Douglas started practicing dentistry in Sandusky in October, 1894 in the old Kingsbury block. On December 30, 1894, he married Maora Hill, the daughter of George F. and Mary (Steen) Hill. Maora is seen below with a group of young women from Berlin Heights in the late 1800s. She is seated on the right side, in row of ladies at the bottom portion of the picture taken by I.G. Ferres.

By 1910, Dr. Douglas moved his office to the 400 block of Columbus Avenue in the building known as the Bliss building. Dr. Douglas remained at this location until his retirement in 1950. 

On October 17, 1951, several area dentists, who were members of the North Central Dental Society, met to honor Dr. Douglas for his over fifty years of service to his community as a dentist. Dr. James K. Douglas was a longtime member of the American Dental Association, and past president of the Ohio State Dental Association, the Northern Ohio Dental Association, the North Central Ohio Dental Society, and the Sandusky Dental Study Club. He was a member of the state board of dental examiners for a number of years. Dr. D.D. Smith was the toastmaster at the October event, where Dr. Douglas received an autograph book containing messages from all the dentists in attendance. 

On October 4, 1954, Dr. Douglas died unexpectedly at his home on Meigs Street in Sandusky. He was survived by his wife, a daughter, granddaughter, and sister. Dr. Douglas was buried in the West End Cemetery in Berlin Heights, Ohio.

Dr. Clarence Eugene Stroud, Physician and Dentist

Born in Canandaigua, New York in 1847, Clarence Eugene Stroud was the son of Dr. Charles Taylor Stroud and the former Lucy Fidelia Allen. Dr. C. Eugene Stroud was educated as both a physician and dentist. He graduated from the Detroit Homeopathic College in 1872, and the Wisconsin Dental College in 1873. For several years, Dr. Stroud served on the Sandusky Board of Health. In the 1890 Sandusky City Directory, Dr. Stroud had both lived and worked at 412 Columbus Avenue. His name also appeared in the listing for C.T. Stroud and Son, Dentist, at 410 Columbus Avenue. Working as both a doctor and a dentist must have kept Dr. Stroud quite busy! 

If you look closely, you can read the sign “Stroud and Son, Dentist” on the sign in the picture of the doorway at what used to be known as 410 Columbus Avenue:

Below is a picture that shows several stone buildings on Columbus Avenue, which were all owned at one time by Eleutheros Cooke.

On December 13, 1907, Dr. Stroud was seriously injured at his dental office when a vulcanizing machine (probably used to make dentures) exploded. He died from his injuries on January 2, 1908, at the age of 60; he was survived by his wife, Zenobia, a son, a daughter, a sister, and a brother, also a dentist. Dr. C. Eugene Stroud was buried in the family lot at Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

Dr. Dewey Duane Smith, DDS

Dewey Duane Smith was born in Gratiot County, Michigan in 1878. He was educated at Albion College, the University of Michigan, and Ohio State University’s College of Dentistry. He is pictured above with his wife Alma Smith and daughters Elizabeth and Marjorie. Sadly, Alma died shortly after the birth of her third child, Dewey Duane Smith, Jr.,  in 1925. He later married Etta Detleftsen.

In 1904 Dr. D.D. Smith moved to Sandusky, where he opened a dental office in the Kingsbury Block.

Dr. Smith took advantage of the fact that his initials were the same as the acronym for Doctor of Dental Surgery, as seen in the advertisement below from the August 31, 1905 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal.

Dr. Smith specialized in orthodontia. In the 1920s, he moved his dental practice to 130 East Market Street. 

Besides having a very busy dental practice in Sandusky for over fifty years, Dr. D. D. Smith, Sr. was also very involved in the community. He was a member of Grace Episcopal Church and the Masons. He served on the Council of the Boy Scouts of America for the local district, and he was instrumental in organizing Sandusky’s “Flicker Club,” a group of individuals interested in the promotion of amateur home movies.  Dr. Smith once served as secretary of the Northern Ohio Dental Association and was a member of the Erie County Medical Advisory Board. For eight years he served on the Ad Interim Committee, House of Delegates of the Ohio State Dental Society. 

Dr. D.D. Smith, Sr. died on May 1, 1959. He was survived by his wife Etta; daughter, Mrs. Walter Kerber; and son Dr. Dewey Duane Smith, Jr, who was also a dentist. Dr. Smith’s daughter Marjorie Kahn had died in 1956. Dr. Smith, Sr. was buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

Dr. and Mrs. Edgar J. Waye

According to U.S. Census records, Dr. Edgar J. Waye was born in the state of New York about 1826 or 1827. Dr. Waye is pictured above in a reproduction of a daguerreotype, created when he was a young man. His bride can be seen below  in a digital image of a daguerreotype taken when she was about 21 years old. Sometimes her name is listed as Leonice Smith; later records list her first name as Lelia.

                

On August 11, 1861, Erie County Probate Judge F.D. Parish signed the application for the marriage license of Edgar J. Waye and Lelia H. Smith.

Dr. Edgar Waye had a dental practice in Sandusky from the 1860s through the early 1900s.  An advertisement which appeared in the Sandusky Register of February 4, 1863 stated that Dr. Waye could make artificial teeth for his patients which would improve their physical appearance and also help them to chew their food more easily. Dr. Waye’s office was on Columbus Avenue across from the old Post Office. Dr. Waye often contributed articles to dental journals.  In an issue of the Southern Dental Journal, Dr. Waye discussed “Amalgam and Its Manipulation.”

Dr. Waye wrote about “Textile Foil” in volume 6 of the Ohio State Journal of Dental Science. On March 7, 1877, he delivered the address at the thirty-first annual commencement of the Ohio College of Dental Surgery in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

On April 2, 1905, Dr. Edgar J. Waye died at the age of 78. Dr. Waye was buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.  Mrs. Leonice/Lelia Waye passed away on April 17, 1919. She was buried next to Dr. Waye at Oakland.  Dr. and Mrs. Waye were survived by three daughters.  One of the daughters, Winifred Lee Waye, was well known in Sandusky as a painter, musician and newspaper columnist. Winifred wrote her newspaper columns under the name “Molly Lee.”

Dr. Charles E. Stroud

Charles Edwin Stroud was born in Palmyra, New York in 1859 to Charles Taylor Stroud and Lucy Fidelia Allen Stroud. The family settled in Sandusky about 1865. Both father and son were dentists. Charles E. Stroud graduated from Sandusky High School in 1877 and from the University of Michigan in 1880. Dr. Charles E. Stroud practiced dentistry in Sandusky for almost fifty years, before he became Inspector at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home.

During the Spanish American War, Charles E. Stroud served as Captain of Company B of the 6th Ohio Regiment. Dr. Stroud is seen seated in the center of the group of soldiers pictured below.

Dr. Stroud was a pioneer in the Boy Scout movement in Sandusky. He organized the fist Scout troop in the city, and serve as president of the Firelands Council from 1924 until his death in 1929.

Through the years, Dr. Charles E. Stroud was very active in community affairs of Sandusky. He served as Vice Mayor of Sandusky and was on the board of the Erie County Visitors Bureau and the Erie County Children’s Home. He frequently attended military reunions and he was held in high esteem within the Masonic fraternity. Dr. Charles E. Stroud died on October 7, 1929 at the age of 70. He was survived by his widow, the former Jennie Davis, and two sons, Ira T. Stroud of Michigan and Edgar J. Stroud of Indiana. Burial was in Oakland Cemetery.

Dr Charles E. Stroud was considered an authority on Native American relics. He bequeathed many historical artifacts and photographs to the historical room of the Sandusky Library. Now the Stroud Collection is shared between the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center and The Follett House Museum. The silk hat pictured below was worn by Dr. Stroud in the 1890’s. It was purchased from Harry E. Nason, who ran a clothing store for gentlemen on Columbus Avenue.