Employees of the Sandusky Demokrat

This picture from 1888 shows several employees of the Sandusky Demokrat in Sandusky, Ohio. The  Demokrat was a German language newspaper published for the many local residents who spoke German. The company also offered printing services in either the English or German language. 

From left to right in the picture are: Charles Ruemmele, John Erney, Otto Mielke, Albert Kolb and William F. Senn, who was the editor and publisher of the Demokrat in 1888. Peeking out from an upper story window is Philip Buerkle. The building was located at 742 Water Street in 1888, which was later 216 West Water Street. (This structure no longer stands.) You can see 742 Water Street in a portion of the 1886 Sanborn Map below. It was on the south side of Water, east of Jackson Street.

The Sandusky Demokrat was in business in Sandusky from 1856 to 1919. A front page article in the May 7, 1919 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that the Demokrat had become “a thing of the past.” At the time it ceased operations, it was considered Ohio’s oldest German language newspaper. The newspaper closed for a variety of reasons, many caused by pressures arising from anti-German sentiment that was prevalent throughout the United States due to the war in Europe.

You can read more about German language newspapers in Sandusky in a previous post at Sandusky History.

Mrs. Rosa Ruemmele, Army Widow

In the historical collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center, is a carte de visite of Mrs. Rosa Ruemmele, taken by R.E. Weeks, a very early Sandusky photographer. According to her death certificate, Rosa Senn Ruemmele was born in Switzerland on November 1, 1846. Her father’s last name was Senn, and her mother’s maiden name was Verna Rule. U.S. Census records indicate that Rosa emigrated to the United States in 1854. Records on file at Erie County Probate Court list November 14, 1867 as the date of Rosa Senn’s marriage to Joseph Ruemmele. The chapter about the “German Element” in the History of Erie County, Ohio, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich, (D. Mason, 1889) stated that members of both the Ruemmele and Senn families were associated with the publishing of German newspapers in Erie County, Ohio. During the Civil War, Joseph Ruemmele was a musician in Company H of the 72^nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  Sadly, Joseph Ruemmele died on November 5, 1871 at the age of 28 years and 9 months. He was buried at Oakland Cemetery. He left behind his widow Rosa, and their young son.

For several years, Rosa and her son resided in Sandusky with her brother, John Senn. Civil War Pension records, available at FamilySearch show that Rosa Ruemmele received a widow’s pension, based on her husband’s military service during the Civil War.

Mrs. Rosa Ruemmele passed away on August 28, 1929, at the age of 82. She was survived by a son, a grandchild, and four great grandchildren. Mrs. Ruemmele was buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Sandusky. Her obituary, which appeared in the August 29, 1929 issue of the Sandusky Register, stated that Rosa Ruemmele had been a faithful member of St. Mary’s Church, and the Mother and Altar Society of that parish. Rosa left her native Switzerland and made a new home in the United States. She showed courage in the face of adversity, as she faced widowhood at a very young age and life in her adopted country as a single woman.

German Newspapers in Sandusky

Some of you may not know that there once was a large, active German community in Sandusky, one large enough to support German-language newspapers. Many native Germans migrated to the United States in the nineteenth century; some chose Sandusky (and many other midwestern towns) as their point of settlement. Ernst von Schulenberg's book about the German influence in Sandusky (written in German, and translated into English as Sandusky: Then and Now) claims that there were about 300 German-speaking people in Sandusky by the 1830s -- out of a total population of about 1000.

In 1851, the first German-language newspaper in Sandusky began publication. The Intelligenz-Blatt was founded by Herman Ruess (left) and August Ruemmele (right). By 1860, the newspaper had ceased publication.

Another German newspaper began publication in Sandusky in 1856. Founded as the Baystadt Demokrat ("Bay City Democrat"), the newspaper later called the Sandusky Demokrat operated until 1919, when anti-German pressure as a result of World War I forced the paper out of business. (During the war, German-language publications were required to seek a government permit to publish; additionally, popular sentiment made it difficult to support German heritage at that time.)

These newspapers help us to understand a part of our culture that no longer exists. Unfortunately, the Sandusky Library has very few copies of these newspapers, and there does not appear to be a complete run of these newspapers in any public institution. Could there be copies of these newspapers in your attic, or in some other storage place? If you find any of these newspapers, please consider donating them to the Sandusky Library, or loaning them for microfilming, so that we might preserve our city's heritage.