Jacob and Adelaide Wahl

According to the United States 1880 Census, Jacob Wahl was born in Baden, Germany in 1838, while his wife Adelaide was born in Prussia about 1846. Jacob was a farmer, and the couple had a little girl named Anna who was 12 at the time of the census. During the Civil War, Jacob Wahl served in Company I in the 145th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a unit of the National Guard. Jacob Wahl died in 1905, and his wife Adelaide died in 1933. Both are buried in the Castalia Cemetery in Margaretta Township.

In the nineteenth century, a significant number of German immigrants made their way to Erie County. Dr. E. Von Schulenburg wrote a chapter on the “German Element of Erie County” in THE HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY, OHIO, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich in 1889. Dr. Ernst Von Schulenburg, who was both a minister and a physician in Sandusky, first published his book Sandusky "Einst und Jetzt in 1889. The book was later translated into the English language by Dr. Norbert A. and Marion Cleaveland Lange. Persons of German origin have added greatly to the growth of businesses, churches, and the cultural heritage of Sandusky and Erie County.

Martin and Louisa Eldis

According to THE HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich, Martin Eldis settled in Portland Township, Sandusky, and opened a bakery and provision store on Water Street in the Spring of 1828. He was born at Munster, St. Gregorienthal, Elsass, January 4, 1798, and emigrated to America in 1817. He was married in 1827 to Louise Guckenberger, at Cincinnati, 0hio. Mr. Eldis died on November 28, 1852, "leaving to his wife and children an abundant share of earthly goods."

Aldrich's History continues, in reference to Mrs. Eldis: "We were not welcomed. On our arrival sixty years ago, we were advised to better move on ; if it had not have been for the steamboat trade," she continued, " we never could have made a living in the first year or two. By and by though, the inborn element became more friendly to us, and learned to respect our ways. For nearly four years we were the only German family in this hamlet, and in all probability in the county."

As time went on, many persons of German descent did live happily in Sandusky and Erie County. They became a vital part of the churches, businesses, and culture of Erie County. Martin Eldis and Louise Guckenberger Eldis are buried in Oakland Cemetery.