Marie Brehm, 1924 Vice Presidential Candidate

Marie C. Brehm was the first legally qualified female candidate to run for vice president of the United States. In 1924, she ran on the Prohibition Party ticket with Herman P. Faris. For several years Marie was active in the W.C.T.U. promoting temperance. According to a New York Times article from January 22, 1926, Marie Brehm had been appointed by President Woodrow Wilson as a delegate to the World Anti-Alcohol Congress in Milan, Italy in 1913.

On January 1, 1926, Marie Brehm was injured in California when a grandstand collapsed during the Rose Bowl Parade. She died on January 21, 1926, as a result of her injuries. She was buried in between the graves of her parents at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

(Note: While Marie Brehm's tombstone states that she died in 1925, all other sources indicate that she died in 1926.)











Miss Brehm's death was reported in Sandusky newspapers, as well as in Time Magazine, and the New York Times. Marie Brehm was named to Erie County's "Gallery of Achievers" in April of 2011. You can hear a podcast about Marie Brehm by visiting the Multimedia portion of the Follett House Museum page at the website of the Sandusky Library. The podcast about Marie Brehm is the third item in the listing of podcasts.

While you are visiting the Multimedia selections, see the recently added book about Sandusky entitled SANDUSKY OF TO-DAY. The book, published in 1888, may be downloaded for your viewing pleasure.

J.V. Nickolai, Victim of Cholera

J.V. Nickolai was also known as John Valentin Nicolai. As often is the case with individuals of German descent, there are often discrepancies in spellings of both their first and last names. This brief biographical sketch of Mr. Nickolai/Nicolai in HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY, OHIO, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich:

Valentin Nicolai was born in Saxonia in 1806 and emigrated in 1834. He worked at his trade, that of carpenter, for many years with Peter Gilcher and F. R. Rheinheimer. In 1837 he was married to Elizabeth Schmidt ; of their six children four are now living : Frederick, residing in Tiffin ; Ezra, also a resident of Tiffin ; Johannes, residing in Cincinnati, and Christine Scheer, of Michigan. Mr. Nicolai died of the cholera in the epidemic of 1849.

Valentin Nickolai/Nicolai succumbed to cholera on July 20, 1849, at the age of 44 years, 3 months, and 25 days. He was buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Hundreds of individuals died in Sandusky during the cholera epidemic of 1849. A marker found at the Cholera Cemetery, which served as a mass burial location for hundreds of cholera victims, honors the memory of both the cholera victims, as well as those who came to their aid.

















Note: A GAR marker is found near the tombstone of J.V. Nickolai, however this is most likely an error, since GAR members were Civil War Veterans. Mr. Nickolai died several years before the outbreak of the Civil War.

Mrs. Paulina Schweneken

Mrs. Paulina Schweneken died on July 12, 1892. She was buried at Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio. An obituary from the July 14, 1892 issue of the Sandusky Register stated simply that the funeral of the late Mrs. Paulina Schwineke was to be held at the family residence at the corner of Harrison and Sandusky Streets in Sandusky on July 14, 1892.

With the help of the Department of German Studies from the University of Cincinnati, I was able to learn the English translation of the inscription on Paulina's tombstone.









In English the inscription reads:

A faithful mother's heart
has stopped beating.
All of your pains have been allayed,
and your laments have been silenced.

Adam Heyder, Fisherman

According to the 1900 U.S. Census for Erie County, Ohio, Adam Heyder was born in Germany in 1857. He came to the U.S. in 1858. Adam Heyder's marriage record, accessed at Family Search Labs, listed his name as Henry Adam Heyder. His parents' names were Ernest Heyder and Mary Ann Goodsite, and his bride was Frida Kuebler. Frida was also born in Germany. Adam Heyder died in Sandusky, Ohio on July 18, 1929. His death certificate indicated that his occupation was fisherman, and that by 1929 he and his wife had divorced. An article in the July 28, 1929 issue of the Sandusky Register featured an article about Adam Heyder with the headline: "Like Marine Museum is Home of Recluse, Recently Found Dead." Adam's niece from Indiana, Emma Horton, inspected her uncle's home at 914 Hancock Street in Sandusky. Old boats, engines, pumps, nets, oars, and propellers and many other marine related items were found in and outside the Heyder home, There were rumors that the items may have been valued at $40,000 or more, but in the final inventory, the property was valued at $2,000 and personal property at $375.

Adam Heyder was buried at Oakland Cemetery. His tombstone stated simply, Born in Germany, Died in Sandusky, O. Adam Heyder kept to himself, but he had a deep interest in boats, engines, and all things related to fishing.













(Image credit: http://antiqueimages.blogspot.com/2009/12/free-clip-art-antique-image-of-ship-and.html )

Sentimental Sunday: Aunt Bertie as a Young Mother

Recently my cousin Debbie scanned and emailed me this lovely family photo of my dad's sister Alberta, her first husband Luther Gantz, Sr., and their infant son named Luther Gantz, Jr. Alberta Orshoski was born on October 20, 1926, and she passed away on February 19, 1997. A previous blog post discussed my Aunt Bertie's many roles, as a Deputy Police Woman and co-owner of the Log Cabin Inn Restaurant. In the picture above, taken about 1945, Aunt Bertie's first husband Lute was still serving in the U.S. Navy during World War Two. Luther Gantz, Sr. passed away in Illinois in 1981. Bertie and Lute divorced, and both re-married.

Sadly, the baby in the photo, Lutie, passed away on October 5, 2010, at the age of 65. Lutie was an electrical engineer, and was very interested in computers and ham radio. He also was an EMT and a fire fighter for several years. An obituary for Luther "Lutie" Gantz appeared in the Sandusky Register.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Water

The prompt for Week 29 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Water

Do you have any memories of the sea or another body of water? Did you live there or just visit? What did you do there? You can also describe a body of water by which you live or visit in the present day.

Living near a body of water has been an important of my life, since I grew in Bay View, and now reside in Bay Bridge, both located on Sandusky Bay. The bay used to provide fish to eat for my dad's side of the family for many decades. The water also was a source of recreation in both the summer and the winter months! Growing up, we used to ice skate and take sled rides on the frozen bay.






















In the summer, we often visited East Harbor State Park for swimming and picnics.

















Great Grandma Irene and Grandma and Grandpa Parker rode the G.A. Boeckling over Sandusky Bay countless times on their way to and from Cedar Point.















Pictured below is Gram Irene with my uncle Steen Thomas Parker aboard the steamer G.A. Boeckling.






















The Marblehead Lighthouse is my favorite spot on the entire planet! Just last night, we saw the almost full moon shining brightly on Lake Erie. The waves were ferocious, the breeze was refreshing, and the lights of Cedar Point were sparkling.






















When my husband and I resided briefly in Galion, Ohio, long ago, we really missed the cool breezes and lovely sunsets made possible by living near Sandusky Bay. Water is essential to life itself, and it has always been important to me, no matter what the season.

Ernst Niebergall, Photographer

Following his death in 1954, Ernst Niebergall was buried in Section 12-B of Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. German born Ernst Niebergall lived in Sandusky, Ohio from 1908 until his death in 1954. Mr. Niebergall took thousands of photographs of Sandusky and the region, primarily between 1909 and 1915.

Local historian Charles E. Frohman preserved the negatives and photographs of Ernst Niebergall, and donated the collection to the R. B. Hayes Presidential Center. An excellent article about Mr. Niebergall is found in the April 2004 edition of the “Paper Trail,” available online at the Hayes Presidential Center’s web site. As is mentioned in the “Paper Trail,” many of the photographs of Ernst Niebergall are available online at “Lake Erie’s Yesterdays.”

An image of a camera appears above Mr. Niebergall's name on his tombstone.