Several Photos Taken at the Follett House

Click here to see several photos taken by the photographers at the Sandusky Register, both inside and outside the Follett House Museum. Former publisher Oran Follett and his wife Eliza are buried at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

To Teach the Future Mother...

This advertisement from the Butterick Publishing Company appeared in the December 16, 1907 issue of the Sandusky Register. The patterns for the Butterick rag doll and clothing were designed "to teach the future mother to dress the future child." In 1907, for twenty five cents, Butterick would mail customers a pattern for the Butterick rag doll as well as patterns for a kimono, dress, guimpe and coat.

Sentimental Sunday: "Send Your Voice"

Long before cell phones, computers, and Skype, the March 14, 1911 issue of the Sandusky Register featured this advertisement for the Bell Telephone. Housewives of Sandusky were encouraged to telephone their butcher, grocer, druggist, as well as their neighbors, friends, and relatives. Several of my great grandmothers were homemakers in the Sandusky area at the time this newspaper ad appeared in the local newspaper.

Martin's Ad from December, 1919

If your ancestors lived in Sandusky, Ohio in 1919, they may have seen this advertisement from Martin's in the December 20, 1919 issue of the Sandusky Register. Fred A. Martin, Sr., was the owner of Martin's Confectionery which specialized in making and selling candies and ice cream.

Pitt Drake

The IGI section of Family Search lists Pitt Drake as being born about 1841 to Charles Ferris Drake and Maria Van Vechten Livingston Drake. The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors network indicates that Pitt Drake served in Co. I of the 102nd New York Infantry during the Civil War.

An exciting tale of danger involving the Drake family is found in the chapter "An Eventful Night" in Theresa Thorndale's book SKETCHES AND STORIES OF THE LAKE ERIE ISLANDS, available through Heritage Quest. Pitt Drake's father Charles was the keeper of the light on Green Island. On New Year's Eve, 1863, the lighthouse on Green Island caught on fire. Pitt was at a neighboring island, Put in Bay, to celebrate New Year's Eve, and a terrible winter storm prevented him from making his way to Green Island. The weather let up on New Year's Day, and Pitt Drake found his family, cold and shaken, but alive. You can read more about the Green Island Lighthouse at the Touring Ohio website.

Pitt Drake died in Chicago in 1897. His obituary is found in the Grace Luebke Digital Collection hosted by the Harris-Elmore Public Library. The obituary stated that Pitt died on August 2, 1897. His remains were taken to the home of his sister, Mrs. Abram Gregoire, by his wife. The funeral was held at the Episcopal Church, and he was buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Mr. Pitt Drake was survived by two brothers, Rush and Benjamin Drake, and a sister Mrs. Gregoire. Pitt Drake had been born in Sandusky in 1840 and learned the printer's trade at the Register office under the direction of Henry Cooke. He also worked on the Chicago Tribune. Mr. Drake suffered from heart trouble, and it is felt that the severe heat of the summer contributed to his sudden death.

A headline from the Chicago Tribune (subscription required), stated that Pitt Drake was "One of the Best and Most Widely Known Men in His Trade."

Charles H. Becker, Newspaper Editor

Charles H. Becker was born on June 20, 1861 to John and Mary Becker of Berlin Heights, Ohio. Charles H. Becker was the city editor of the Sandusky Register for seventeen years. While still in his thirties, Charles H. Becker died on March 15, 1894. At the summer picnic of the Sandusky Register correspondents, Mr. J. F. Greene gave a tribute in memory of the former city newspaper editor, known affectionately as Charley. Mr. Greene said, in part, "It tinges with sadness and sorrow our festivities today: but we love to pause and drop a tear over his untimely grave and in memory's loom weave choicest garlands of flowers in sweet remembrance of his many virtues." The full tribute can be read in the August 15, 1894 issue of the Sandusky Register.

Another article about Charles Becker is found in the November 23, 1897 issue of the Sandusky Register. When Charles Becker died, his first grave was located in the rear portion of the West End Cemetery in Berlin Heights. Charley's mother, Mary Becker, had a lovely monument made in honor of her son. A new lot was donated to Mary Becker by Samuel Reed, the sexton of the West End Cemetery. The new plot was located in a portion of the cemetery which overlooks the ravine. The McKnight and Smith Monumental Works of Norwalk made the monument, which was made of Millstone Point granite. Atop the monument is a carving of a scroll and pen, to signify Mr. Becker's occupation as a newspaper man. The inscription reads:

CHARLES H. BECKER
Born June 20, 1861
Died Mrch 15, 1894
He lived the law of kindness
And never dipped his pen in gall

The 1897 article concludes: "These lines bear fitting memorial to Charley Becker's nobility of soul. The design of the monument is an original one of George H. Smith of this city, who was a warm personal friend of Mr. Becker. It stands four feet and eight inches high and its weight is two tons."

I. F. Mack

Isaac F. Mack was the longtime editor of the Sandusky Register, having been associated with the newspaper from 1869 until 1909. He was a Civil War Veteran, and was very influential in securing Erie County as the location for the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors Home, now the Ohio Veterans Home.


In 1892 Mack was elected Commander of the Ohio Department of the Grand Army of the Republic. Isaac F. Mack was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.




Mr. Mack was very opinionated, and expressed his views often in his newspaper. Charles E. Frohman wrote a biography of I. F. Mack entitled SANDUSY’S EDITOR. I. F. Mack died in April 1912, and he is buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.