Mary Elizabeth Seibert Fernau

Below is a tintype of Mary Elizabeth Seibert, who was born in Sandusky about 1865.

By 1904, Mary Elizabeth Seibert had become the wife of Henry Fernau, who was a painter and interior decorator. They lived at what is now 620 East Adams Street.

Descendants of Mary Elizabeth and Henry Fernau donated several family photographs to the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, allowing us to have a visual record of Mrs. Fernau throughout several years.

The funeral card for Mrs. Fernau, who passed away on January 6, 1925, features a touching poem.

A precious one from us has gone

            A voice we love is stilled:

A place is vacant in our home,

            Which never can be filled.

God in his wisdom has recalled,

            The boon his love had given.

And though the body slumbers here

            The soul is safe in heaven.

An obituary for Mary Elizabeth Fernau, found in the 1925 Obituary Notebook at the Sandusky Library, stated that she was “a woman of estimable traits and many relatives and friends will mourn her departure.” Funeral services for Mary Elizabeth Fernau were held at the family residence on Adams Street, and burial was in Oakland Cemetery.

German Beneficial Union, No. 723

The November 1948 issue of the Union Reporter featured a brief history of the German Beneficial Union, No. 723. Sometimes known as the Greater Beneficial Union, the German Beneficial Union was a fraternal organization which aided Americans of German descent. The organization often offered savings programs and insurance policies to its members, besides promoting German cultural events and community involvement.

Earl F. Fernau was the secretary of District No. 723, German Beneficial Union in 1948. In the article Mr. Fernau listed the various meeting places of the G.B.U., District 723, in Sandusky which included Fuchs Hall, the Odd Fellows Hall, and St. John’s Hall. In September of 1948, the new home of District No. 723, German Beneficial Union was located at the northwest corner of East Adams and Hancock Streets in Sandusky.

Pictured below are the officers of the German Beneficial Union, District 723 in 1948.

Front row: Joseph Michel, President, William Stehle, Secretary Earl Fernau, Treasurer, Marcel Kieffer. Back row: Mrs. Joseph Michel, Mrs. William Stehle, Michael Hert, Clayton Biglin, Mrs. Raymond Grundler, and Mrs. Michael Hert.

Miss Wilma Fernau

While the photographer remains unknown, above are five different poses of Wilma Fernau, who was born in 1902. Wilma was the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Fernau, who were both born in Germany. One pose features Wilma reading a magazine; another shows Wilma on the telephone, which was a relatively new device in the early twentieth century. The Sandusky City Directories list Wilma’s occupation as a stenographer. Wilma Fernau never married. She passed away on December 28, 1980 in Sandusky, Ohio. She is buried in the family mausoleum at Oakland Cemetery.

Sources:

Oakland Cemetery Database
Sandusky City Directories
Ancestry Library Edition