Honorable Discharge of a Squirrel Hunter

In September of 1862, General Lewis Wallace (of Ben-Hur fame) was ordered to prepare to defend Covington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio, following the capture of Lexington, Kentucky by Confederate forces.  Martial law was declared in Cincinnati, and local civilians were called in to help defend the city against an attack. Governor David Tod ordered the Adjutant-General of Ohio to send any available troops. Several counties around the state offered to send civilians to Cincinnati. Only men who had their own weapons were to respond, and the railroad was to provide transportation to the volunteers at no cost to the men. Eventually these men became known as “Squirrel Hunters.” 

One of the men who answered the call to go to Cincinnati was John McCardle, from Erie County.  In 1863, he received an honorable discharge by Governor Tod. The document was also signed by Charles W. Hill, the Adjutant-General of Ohio, and Malcolm McDowell, Major and acting Aide de Camp. In 1908 Ohio legislators passed a resolution to pay each surviving Squirrel Hunter a sum of thirteen dollars, as pay for serving as an Ohio militia man. You can read more about Ohio’s “Squirrel Hunters” in an online newsletter from the Oberlin Heritage Center.

Prof. Richard Wallace, Prince of Clairvoyants

While we do not know the exact date that “Professor Richard Wallace” appeared at 930 Adams Street in Sandusky, his poster proclaimed that he was a professor of occult science. He claimed to be able to foretell future spouses, locate hidden treasure, and help customers have success in business, love, and lawsuits.

According to an advertisement in the Sandusky Register, Madame and Elfrida Jarbeau, Oracles of Prophecy, gave advice on love, courtship, marriage and divorce. They offered reasonable prices, for a short time only, at 930 Adams Street. The address was a popular location for traveling clairvoyants in Sandusky. Scientific Palmists Edwin M. Goodspeed and Queenie Romaine read cards and told fortunes for a 25 cent fee there in September of 1901. 

The building's days as the center of occult science in Sandusky may have been short-lived: in the November 28, 1911 issue of the Sandusky Register, J.M. French advertised a two story house for rent at 930 Adams Street, “with conveniences for rooming and board.”