Inez Aletha Hill

Inez Aletha Hill, known as Aletha, was the daughter of Mary Steen Hill and George F. Hill of Berlin Heights, Ohio. Aletha graduated from Lake Erie College in 1904. She served as Assistant Postmaster of Berlin Heights for ten years, and was the librarian for Sandusky's Library from 1919 through 1923.






In 1923, Aletha was the Alumni Secretary at Lake Erie College in Painesville. She retired from the position in 1944, due to poor health.

An undated tribute to Inez Aletha Hill was written by Abbie Z. Webb for a Lake Erie College publication. Abbie wrote that many of the graduates of Lake Erie College felt this way about Miss Hill: "One of the most cherished memories of my college life is of Miss Hill, her cheer which brightened the darkest day, her true interest in the girls and in the personal problems we sometimes took to her for help in solving, her restoration of our confidence in our own powers when we felt beaten, her gladness in any special happiness we had." Miss Webb continued, "She had a genius for friendship and an unshakable faith in humankind. She loved people and saw in them their best, with which they rose to her belief in them."

Inez Aletha Hill passed away on March 31, 1947, after three years of failing health. She was buried in the family lot at the West End Cemetery in Berlin Heights.

Sentimental Sunday: John Paul and the Tower of Stroh's

For many years, John Paul sold and delivered Stroh's Beer for the Sandusky Butter and Egg Company. Here he is standing next to a store display of Stroh's six-packs, in the 1960's.





John met a lot of wonderful people throughout his years at Sandusky Butter and Egg. Since Stroh's was a sponsor of the Detroit Tigers, John's children and grandchildren all became Tigers fans. The family especially enjoyed following the Detroit Tigers during the 1968 and 1984 seasons. Cecil Fielder was one of the Paul family's favorite players. John Paul passed away on August 3, 2005. He is buried at Meadow Green Memorial Park with his first wife Linda.

Father John Quinn

Father John Quinn was born on December 1, 1824, and he died on March 26, 1887. Father Quinn was a pastor at St. Mary's in Norwalk from December 1860 to April 1861. In 1868, Bishop Rappe appointed Father John Quinn to be the pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Toledo.

After a lengthy illness, Father John Quinn died on March 26, 1887. The April 21, 1887 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that the remains of Father Quinn arrived in Sandusky on April 20, 1887. J.Krupp and Son were in charge of the arrangements. A large crowd gathered at the Lake Shore train depot to pay their respects to the deceased priest. Father John Quinn is buried in the Priests Circle at the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Sandusky.

A photograph of Father John Quinn is found on the Catholic Architecture and History of Toledo, Ohio website.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Postcard of the Erie County Courthouse

Located in Sandusky's Washington Park, the Erie County Courthouse was dedicated in 1875. In the 1930's, the Courthouse was remodeled in the Art Deco Style. Thousands of the persons who are buried in the cemeteries of Sandusky and Erie County have records on file at the Erie County Courthouse. Marriage records since 1838, birth and death records prior to 1909, and wills are some of the resources on file at the Erie County Courthouse in the Probate Court Division. In the Clerk of Court Offices are Naturalization records, divorce cases, and many other legal and business filings. The very earliest records have been transferred to the Center for Archival Collections at Bowling Green State University.

Visit the Erie County Courthouse if you have ancestors from Erie County. You may be pleasantly surprised to learn details about your family members.

Tombstone Tuesday: Conrad Prediger

SANDUSKY "EINST UND JETZT" states on page 200 that Conrad Prediger was born in 1822 in Oberellenbach, Hesse. His spouse was Mariane Sotton (later sources list her name as Mary Ann Sutton), who was born in 1827 in the state of Pennsylvania.The 1855 SANDUSKY CITY DIRECTORY lists a C. Predinger as operating a merchant tailor shop on Water Street in Sandusky, Ohio.




Conrad Predinger died on March 25, 1868, at the age of 46. He is buried at Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio. At the base of Mr. Prediger's tombstone is the German phrase:

Ruhe sanft im frieden

which translated into English reads:

Gently rest in peace




By the time of the 1880 United States Census, the widow of Conrad Prediger had married Mathias Bock. In 1880 Mary Ann, along with her sons Carl and Louis Prediger, were residing with Mathias Bock, and his three children from a previous marriage. Mary Ann Sutton Prediger Bock's mother, Christine Sutton, was also residing at the home of Mathias Bock in 1880.

Dancing at Wedding Receptions

My earliest memories of my family members dancing are from wedding receptions. Pictured to the left are Nick Orshoski, dancing with his nephew Paul's wife Joyce at the wedding of Cliff Orshoski and Barbara Lindsley, on April 7, 1956.

Besides the typical romantic "slow dances" at the wedding receptions we attended, there were often polkas and square dances. A dance that included even the very youngest children was the "Bunny Hop." Many times the disc jockey would invite the gentlemen at the reception to pay a dollar to dance with the new bride.


I do not recall whose wedding we attended, but the day after the wedding reception, my brother, sister, cousin Paula, and I practiced dancing, so we would be ready for the next big family affair.


















Sadly, I do not have a photograph to mark the occasion, but my father and I attended several Father-Daughter Dances held for the Sandusky and Castalia area Brownies and Girl Scouts. The Father-Daughter Dance was usually held in February. Since my dad loved to dance, he volunteered to not only escort me, but he also danced with any of the Girl Scouts whose fathers were working, or could not attend the dance for some reason. After the dance, we usually got ice cream to top off the lovely evening of dancing. Thanks for the memories Dad!

Stein Patent Burial Case Exhibited in Sandusky, Ohio

An article in the October 6, 1873 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that Christopher Ruff, who was in the undertaking business in Sandusky, recently received a Stein Patent Burial Case. The Stein Manufacturing Company manufactured burial cases in Rochester, New York in the 1870's. This new burial case was made from prepared wood, but was said to have been as sturdy as a metallic casket. It was gold and silver mounted, and lined with satin on the interior, and featured an outer lining of black broadcloth. The Stein Patent Burial Case was to be on exhibit at the Erie County Fair in the fall of 1873. The article stated that James Gordon Bennett, founder of the New York Herald, had been buried in the exact style of burial case as the one that Christopher Ruff had just received.

Samuel Stein, of Rochester, New York, was issued several patents for burial cases. The burial case pictured below is a from U.S. Patent Number 124,769, issued on March 19, 1872. The full text of this patent is accessible via Google Patents.



Christopher Ruff was in business in Sandusky from the 1870's through 1890, when his store was destroyed by fire. After losing his business in the fire, Mr. Ruff moved to St. Paul, Minnesota. He died on December 4, 1893, and his obituary appeared in the December 6, 1893 issue of the Sandusky Register.

Mr. and Mrs. Voltaire Scott

The tombstone of Mr. and Mrs. Voltaire Scott is located in the North Ridge section of Oakland Cemetery. Voltaire Scott was born in Buffalo, New York in 1834, to Jacob and Margaret Scott. In the HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich, we read that the Scott family settled in Put in Bay in 1837. They moved to Port Clinton, and eventually settled in Sandusky. In 1865, Voltaire Scott and his father purchased a hotel in Sandusky, at the southwest corner of Water and Wayne Streets. Across the street from the hotel was Scott's Park, which featured a lighted fountain, the Boy with the Boot statue, and several other statues. The Boy with the Boot was cast by the J.W. Fiske Iron Works. See the Sandusky Library's Frequently Asked Questions (question number 3) to read more about the history of the Boy with the Boot.

On August 24, 1899, Voltaire Scott passed away. He willed the contents of Scott's Park to the city of Sandusky. Scott's Park was damaged in the 1924 tornado, and the Boy with the Boot was stored at the city's greenhouse. In 1935, the area occupied by Scott Park became a parking lot and the Boy with the Boot moved to Washington Park in front of the Erie County Courthouse. During the 1990's, the original Boy with the Boot was vandalized. The original statue is now on display at the City Building. Washington Park now features a replica of the original Boy with the Boot statue.

Mrs. Voltaire Scott, formerly Eva Schweinfurth, died on June 22, 1931. Mr. and Mrs. Scott's individual stones are identical to the tombstones of Mrs. Scott's sister, Anna Barbara Strobel and her brother in law Charles J. Strobel, who are buried near Voltaire and Eva Scott.



Voltaire Scott's name appeared in an article in the Sandusky Register on May 7, 2010. Some Sandusky residents would like to see the Maid of the Mist statue placed back in the Sandusky City Park system.

Charles J. Strobel, Father of Baseball in Toledo

Charles J. Strobel was born in Kenton, Ohio in 1864, to Gottlieb and Mary Strobel. As an adult Charles J. Strobel lived in Toledo, where he was a noted promoter of baseball and entertainment. The Toledo Mud Hens website provides this information about Charles J. Strobel:

Charles J. Strobel brought the stability necessary for Toledo baseball to be a legitimate proposition. He bought the Toledo team in 1896. During his tenure of 11 years he established a popular downtown location for play, the Mud Hens nick name, entered Toledo in the competitive American Association, and won a couple of championships along the way. During Strobel’s time, baseball in Toledo matured and became a tradition.

Historian John Husman wrote in his book BASEBALL IN TOLEDO, that we should probably call Charles J. Strobel the "Father of Toledo Baseball" for all of his hard work in developing the sport of baseball in Toledo.

After having been stricken with spinal meningitis, Charles J. Strobel passed away on June 5, 1915. An obituary for Charles J. Strobel appeared in the June 9, 1915 issue of the Sandusky Register. The article stated that on Tuesday morning, June 8, a funeral service took place at the Elks Club in Toledo. At the funeral service, several musical numbers were heard, including Bach's Aria in G Minor, Ase's Death, Lead Kindly Light, and I Shall Meet Him Face to Face. Forty members of the Toledo Musicians Union escorted Mr. Strobel's coffin to Union Station.

The Register reported that impressive funeral services were held for Mr. Strobel at Oakland Cemetery on Tuesday afternoon, June 8, 1915, under the auspices of the Sandusky Elks Club. The New York Central train brought the remains of Charles J. Strobel to Sandusky. Several Toledo lodge members escorted the casket. Members of the Sandusky Elks Club greeted the train, and then there was a funeral procession from the train depot to Oakland Cemetery. Charles J. Strobel is buried next to his wife, Anna Barbara Strobel, in the North Ridge Section of Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Mrs. Strobel was a sister in law to Voltaire Scott, the Sandusky hotelier who brought the Boy With the Boot statue to Sandusky. Voltaire Scott's wife Eva, and Mrs. Charles J. Strobel were both the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Schweinfurth, according to their death records, found at Family Search Labs.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Daniel Larkin's Naturalization Record

Filed in Journal 2, page 225 at the Court of Common Pleas of Erie County, Ohio is the naturalization record of Daniel Larkin (sometimes spelled Larkins.) The transcription reads:

Daniel Larkin an Alien and Native of Ireland

Court of Com. Pleas, Erie County Ohio.
Apri 6, 1840, Declaration of Intention Filed.
And afterward at the June term to wit on
the 14th day of June A.D. 1842 the said Daniel Larkin appeared in open court
and produced the necessary proof of residence and and good character was (illegible)
on duly sworn and admitted a citizen of the United States and a citizen
(illegible)to him on the same day.

Rice Harper Clerk
By: Z.W. Barker, Dep.

Daniel Larkin/Larkins lived in Ohio until his death at the home of his daughter in Bellevue on May 25, 1893. He is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio.

Fred Deering, Former Ohio Legislator, Passed Away

Fred Deering, who was an Ohio State Representative for 20 years, passed away on Monday, March 15, 2010. Obituaries for Mr. Deering can be found at the Morning Journal, and the Toledo Blade. Mr. Deering was buried at St. John's Cemetery, near the intersection of Mason and Thomas Roads in Oxford Township, Erie County, Ohio.

The following cartoon appeared in the Sandusky Register on March 17, 2010.

Thanks Fred, for your many years of service!

Tombstone Tuesday: M. F. Cowdery, Educator

Marcellus F. Cowdery was born in Rutland County, Vermont in 1815. He was the first superintendent of Sandusky City Schools, and he was a leader in education throughout the state of Ohio, participating in many Teachers' Institutes in the 1840's. M.F. Cowdery wrote a collection of MORAL LESSONS, which were widely used in public schools.

Oliver Cowdery, the brother of M.F. Cowdery, was an early leader in the Mormon Churuch, and he served as a scribe to Joseph Smith at one time.

M. F. Cowdery died on September 26, 1885, and he is buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. To read more about him, see the EDUCATIONAL HISTORY OF OHIO, accessible through Google Books. Cowdery Street in Sandusky was named for early Ohio educator M. F. Cowdery.

Dr. Thomas M. Cook, Civil War Surgeon

Dr. Thomas M. Cook is pictured in STORY OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIRST OHIO INFANTRY: A MEMORIAL VOLUME, by Lewis W. Day, available at Google Books. The photograph was taken by W. A. Bishop, a Sandusky photographer, in 1894. Dr. Thomas M. Cook was the regimental and brigade surgeon of the 101st Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. Dr. Cook enrolled at Monroeville, Ohio on August 12, 1861. He was appointed Brigade Surgeon in September of 1862,and he was mustered out with his unit on June 12, 1865 at Camp Harker, Tennessee.


A biography of Dr. T. M. Cook's twin brother, James Hervey Cook, which appeared in the CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY, ed. by A.J. Baughman, states that the Cook family traces its roots back to the Mayflower. Thomas and James Cook were born to Jabez and Hannah Cook, in Richland County, Ohio on September 3, 1816. Dr. Thomas McCurdy Cook died in Sandusky on March 13, 1896. He is buried near his wife and son, Dr. Alta Cook, in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Dr. Cook was highly respected by his family, friends, and the community.

Tombstone Tuesday: Miss Daisy Kugel

Daisy Kugel was born in Sandusky on March 10, 1878 to Benjamin and Bertha Crane Kugel. She was highly educated, having earned her A.B. degree at the University of Michigan, as well as a Master's Degree in Home Economics at Columbia University. Miss Kugel also took graduate classes at the University of Chicago. For fifteen years, Miss Daisy Kugel was head of the Home Economics Department at the Stout Institute in Menomonie, Wisconsin. A brief article published in the August 1922 issue of the Journal of Home Economics reported that Miss Daisy Alice Kugel was to spend the summer in Europe, visiting schools in England, France and Belgium. Daisy authored a book of recipes for a series of textbooks at Spelman College.

After being associated with home economics education for many years, Miss Kugel moved back to Sandusky as a result of poor health. Miss Daisy A. Kugel passed away on December 18, 1940, after she received injuries when she was accidentally struck by an automobile not far from her Wayne Street home. An obituary for Daisy Kugel, found in the 1940 OBITUARY NOTEBOOK at the Sandusky Library, stated in part, "Miss Kugel had been a leader in the cultural life of Sandusky for a number of years and her death will come as a great shock by her wide circle of friends and acquaintances. She took an active part in the work of many organizations here." A separate newspaper tribute reported that Miss Kugel kept in contact with many of her former students, as they frequently sought out her counsel. Daisy A. Kugel is buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

Cemeteries Described in the 1874 Register Sandusky Directory

While Erie County, Ohio now has many cemeteries, in the 1874 Sandusky City Directory, published by I. F. Mack, a brief section of page 31 contained a description of three cemeteries in the Sandusky area.

Oakland Cemetery, operated by the City Council of Sandusky was opened in May of 1850, located two miles south of the city of Sandusky, in Perkins Township. To secure a lot, applications were to be made to City Clerk Charles Cross.

The English Catholic Cemetery, now called St. Joseph Cemetery, was opened in 1839 or 1840 by Rev. Father Machebeuf. It was located in the Western Liberties section of Sandusky. In 1874, to purchase a lot here, applications were to be made to Rev. Father Sidley.

The German Catholic Cemetery, known now as St. Mary's Cemetery, was located across the road from the English Catholic Cemetery. In 1874, the sexton of the German Catholic Cemetery was Mr. B. Merk, who lived close to the German Catholic Church. Applications for lots at the German Catholic Cemetery were to made to Rev. N. Moos.

To view the 1874 Register Sandusky Directory, visit the Sandusky Library. The library features several shelves of historical Sandusky City Directories.

William Dell Lindsley

William Dell Lindsley served as a Representative from Ohio in the Thirty-third Congress of the United States, from 1853 through 1855. He was a Captain in the Ohio Militia from 1840 to 1843 and as Brigadier General in 1843. Helen Hansen wrote in AT HOME IN EARLY SANDUSKY, that "the General" would often hold military drills in the public square of Sandusky. During a cholera epidemic in Sandusky, his house on South Columbus Avenue was a refuge for people from the city who wanted to escape the epidemic.

William Dell Lindsley was married to Minerva Bell. W. D. Lindsley died on March 11, 1890. Mrs. Lindsley had died in 1888. They are buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. A photograph of W. D. Lindsley is featured on the Sandusky History website.

See the Construction of the Ohio Genealogical Society's new building!

Follow this link to see recently posted photos of the construction being done on the Ohio Genealogical Society's new library.

Groundbreaking for the project took place on May 29, 2009. You can read about the capital campaign here. Graveyard Rabbits throughout Ohio look forward to this new facility!

Tombstone Tuesday: Frank Gunha

Frank Gunha
Died March 1, 1872
Aged 37 years & 7 days
Oakland Cemetery

Unknown Sailor Buried at Oak Bluff Cemetery

The inscription on the tombstone of an unknown person buried along the shore of Lake Erie reads:

Unknown
U.S. Sailor
1813

In 1935, the U.S. Government provided a granite marker for this unknown sailor, buried at the Oak Bluff Cemetery, located between Huron and Vermilion, in Erie County, Ohio. In the mid 1930's, members of the Martha Pitkin Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution researched several Veterans of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, and were successful in obtaining grave markers for several Erie County veterans.

An article in the February 3, 1935 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that members of the Martha Pitkin Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Mrs. Ross Cherry and Mrs. George Doerzbach, met with Charles Ruggles, the son of Almon Ruggles, who was an early surveyor of the Firelands. Charles Ruggles said that on a fall day in 1813 his father was walking along the beach, when he came across the body of a man dressed in a United States naval uniform. Almon Ruggles was sure that the body was that of a man who had served with Commodore Perry in the recent Battle of Lake Erie. The elder Mr. Ruggles purchased a coffin for the sailor, and saw that a Christian burial service was held for the unknown man. The sailor was given a tombstone in 1813, but by 1935, only one letter was legible on the badly worn marker.

Later in the summer of 1935, the unknown sailor received the U.S. Government issued granite tombstone. This took place due to the efforts of the D.A.R. ladies, who according to the newspaper article worked with "indefatigable patriotic zeal."