Mission Band Members: Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Fremont, Ohio

Mission Band Members
by Sliger's Cottage Art Studio

Fremont, Ohio

The picture above is identifed on the reverse as "Mission Band Members." The identities of the young women are given as: Amelia Heflinger, Ella Brockman, Fannie Brockman, Lula Hague, Hazel Biddle, Louise Wilson, Clara Totheroh, and Alta Stull. No date appears on this photograph that belonged to Estella Schultz. Miss Schultz was an active member of the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fremont, Ohio for more than sixty years.

Ms. Schultz taught Sunday School, served as the president of the Women's Missionary Society. For 36 years, she was the president of the state branch of the Women's Missionary Society, and she also served as president of the Interdenominational Missionary Society, the forerunner of the Fremont Council of Church Women.

The purpose of mission bands was to create awarenes among young church members of the need for support of religious missionary work - both foreign and domestic. Using activities, maps, costumes, and letters, pictures, and reports from the field, leaders prepared young members for missionary work or for  the support of the denomination's efforts. 

Freedom's Pull Was Stronger than Ohio's Black Laws

Sarah Ellen Curtis

Granddaughter of Thomas Vincent Curtis
Sandusky County Ohio

The state of Ohio is often recognized as the first state formed from the Northwest Territory to outlaw slavery. Despite that, it did much to discourage African Americans from settling in the state. Only a year after statehood, it began passing a series of Black Laws. The reasons were two-fold. Many Ohio settlers were from southern states that allowed slavery. They were not inclined to grant equal rights. Others feared economic competition from African Americans whom they believed would work for lower wages

Among the laws was an 1807 provision that “black and mulattoes” must prove they were not slaves. The law also forced them to find two people to pay a bond of $500 who would testify to their good behavior and that they could support themselves Such laws, indeed, did discourage some African Americans from migrating to Ohio, but freedom’s pull was strong. Many risked everything to reach Ohio.

Township trustees rarely enforced these laws. The need for the skills that African Americans brought to pioneer communities outweighed all else. Men worked as plasterers, barbers, shoemakers, liverymen, carpenters, barge hands, tanners, and farmers. Women cooked, sewed, cared for children, and ran boarding houses.

In the 1840s, Ohio’s Black Laws became a political issue. For the first time, in 1841, Sandusky Township trustees warned 18 “Blacks and Mulattos” living in the township to present bond for their good behavior and support: Some were former slaves who had bought their freedom. Others had never been enslaved.

Regardless, trustees listed these individuals: John Lewis, Abraham Fine, Lewis Fontaine, Nancy Whetsel, Sarah Fine, Hannah Beardsley, James Whetsel, Penelope Demsey, William Davis, Thomas V. Curtis, William Thompson, James Curtis, Rachael Copeland, Jemima Hall, Robert and Sarah Handy, Richard Johnson, and Samuel Thompson.

Despite fear, hardships, and constant disruptions in their lives, many, like Thomas Curtis, remained in Ohio. A skilled tanner and currier, Curtis moved more than a dozen times after coming to the state as a boy in 1810. How many, if any, of these moves were the result of the Black Laws is not known. But once he reached Sandusky County, he made it his permanent home and raised children and grandchildren here while working for James Justice and Isaac Van Doren.

Until their repeal after the Civil War, Ohio’s Black Laws were a frightening and threatening ordeal for African Americans. Ironically, today, the lists represent a positive. African Americans’ search for their roots before 1865 is challenging. With few records available, lists like those recorded by Sandusky Township trustees can provide descendants with their ancestors’ names - both men and women and certainty of the time and place of their residence in Ohio.

A version of this article appeared in Lifestyles 2000.

Dr. Henry Skinner's Account of the Battle of Fort Stephenson

Five Maryland county historical societies have formed a consortium to build a website commemorating the War of 1812 on the state’s Eastern Shore. The website, appropriately titled Eastern Shore 1812 Consortium, is working “to provide in depth information, complete tourism access, and the best educational access for both   teachers and students.” The site features lesson plans, books, scans of newspaper articles, information about the U. S. Army, U. S. Navy, Maryland battles and skirmishes, African Americans, military leaders, Native Americans, ships, British viewpoints, government documents, links to important locations in each of the counties (Kent, Dorchester, Queen Anne’s, Talbot, and Caroline) and much more!

We thank members for kindly forwarding a scan of an article about the Battle of Fort Stephenson published in the Weekly Aurora newspaper. On 31 August 1813, the newspaper published an extract from a letter written 4 August 1813 from Lower Sandusky (Fremont, Ohio) by Dr. Henry Skinner to his brother of Annapolis, Maryland. Dr. Skinner provided a detailed firsthand account of action at the Battle of Fort Stephenson.

If you would like to learn more about the Battle of Fort Stephenson and Major George Croghan, go to Sandusky County Scrapbook.

Exhibit: The Wildlife Art of Bob Hines

Ohio native Robert Hines (1912-1994) holds the distinction of being the only National Wildlife Artist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Hines developed his love of nature growing up along the verdant banks of the Sandusky River in Fremont, Ohio. Despite almost no formal art training, Hines’ innate talent led him to become an internationally recognized wildlife artist and a pioneer of the conservation movement. His work illustrated a weekly newspaper feature, and numerous wildlife guides and books – including those by author Rachel Carson (a close personal friend) and Robert McClung (of Grizzly Adams fame).

The Hayes Presidential Center created The Wildlife Art of Bob Hines in celebration of the 100th year of Hines’ birth. Set for exhibition February 15 through August 14, the exhibit includes an array of original artwork from private and public collections. It is made possible through sponsorship from The Fremont Co., Diversified Insurance and Ohio Department of Natural Resources-Division of Wildlife.

Sidney Frohman Foundation Sponsors 2011 Hayes Center Onsite Visit for Sandusky City Schools

Hancock Elementary 4th Grade Students Tour the Hayes Center's Special Civil War Exhibit

In early November, students from Hancock Elementary are the first of nearly 300 4th grade students from five Sandusky City Elementary Schools to visit the Hayes Home and Hayes Museum. Their firsthand learning experience was made possible by The Sidney Frohman Foundation, who sponsored the students' participation in the Hayes Center's Curriculum Connections educational program. The Sidney Frohman Foundation is one of six original Curriculum Connections sponsors. Students. teachers, and the Hayes Presidential Center were pleased that the Sidney Frohman Foundation chose to sponsor students' onsite visit again in 2011!

Developed by the Hayes Presidential Center staff, Curriculum Connections is a three-part program, providing a "classroom satellite" experience by incorporating Ohio's Social Studies Academic Content Standards into a pair of DVD resources given to teachers for classroom use before and after students' onsite visit.

In a time of tight school budgets and greater emphasis on meeting curriculum goals, schools have been forced to cut back or eliminate visits to Ohio's historic sites. In the words of one teacher: " The Sidney Frohman Foundation's sponsorship of the Curriculum Connections program gave our students "a special opportunity to see the real thing! The historic past takes on new meaning for them! "

Curriculum Connections allows teachers and students to better connect with our nation’s past, Ohio’s history, and our local history while addressing Ohio’s Social Studies and English/Language Arts Academic Standards.

The program finds sponsors, like The Sidney Frohman Foundation, that are willing to cover admission and/or transportation costs for school children to visit the Hayes Presidential Center.

Hayes Presidential Center Development Director Kathy Boukissen is seeking additional sponsors for school systems that do not have adequate funding for a visit. For more information about Curriculum Connections or to donate to the program contact Kathy at 419-332-2081, ext. 26 or email her at kboukissen@rbhayes.org.

Civil War Lecture Series at the Hayes Presidential Center

Larry Strayer

Civil War: Battlefield and Homefront
Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center

In conjunction with its exclusive exhibit CIVIL WAR: Battlefield and Homefront, the Hayes Presidential Center hosts a series of three lectures in the Hayes Museum. Each lecture is free and open to all.

November 17
• Center Executive Director Thomas Culbertson opens the series with his 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17 presentation Rutherford B. Hayes: Citizen Soldier. The lecture takes an in-depth look at what inspired a 39-year-old lawyer, husband, and father to enlist in the Army despite having no prior military training. Culbertson’s talk also examines the effects the war had on Hayes’ life and career.

December 8
• An archaeologist who has spent years researching on Johnson’s Island, discusses discoveries he has made at the site of a former Confederate prisoner-of-war camp beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8. David Bush, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Historic and Military Archaeology at Heidelberg University. He has been excavating the Johnson’s Island site for more than 20 years. Recently, Bush authored a book about the camp titled I Fear I Shall Never Leave This Island: Life in a Civil War Prison. The work combines letters written between a prisoner and his wife, with archaeological evidence Bush has unearthed. A book signing will follow the lecture.

December 15
• On Thursday, Dec. 15, Civil War expert and collector Larry Strayer shares the story of how he got involved in collecting Civil War memorabilia, and how his collection has evolved over 40 years in Battlefield & Homefront Exhibit - An Inside Look at Civil War Collecting. Numerous items from Strayer’s collection are on display in the CIVIL WAR: Battlefield and Homefront exhibit. Following his lecture, Strayer will invite participants to view the exhibit with him.

Major funding for CIVIL WAR: Battlefield and Homefront is provided by
Diversified Insurance partnered with Auto Owners Insurance.
Additional funding is provided by Croghan Colonial Bank

Lest We Forget: Remembering Sandusky County, Ohio's Veterans

CBS Sunday Morning

On Memorial Day 2010, CBS Sunday Morning featured the efforts of Wayne Van Doren and his family to place American flags beside the grave sites  of veterans in six Sandusky County cemeteries. From Revolutionary War soldiers to the highest ranking general killed in the Civil War, McPherson Cemetery in Clyde, Ohio, is the final resting place for nearly a thousand veterans. Wayne has meticulously mapped the location of each so that on every Memorial Day he and his family can continue their tradition of honoring those who have served in America's wars.

Wayne Van Doren 

Fremont, Ohio's Oakwood Cemetery
Courtesy of The News-Messenger

Wayne has extended his reach. He hopes to honor each veteran buried in Sandusky County, Ohio by placing an American flag beside each grave. Wayne stated that there are 64 cemeteries in Sandusky County where veterans are buried. Above is a picture of Wayne in Fremont's Oakwood Cemetery that appeared in the September 16th, 2011 issue of The News-Messenger.  Wayne has been walking Oakwood Cemetery all summer, attempting to locate all of the veterans' grave sites. It is one of the largest in the county. Sadly, in Oakwood alone, there are 357 veterans' graves that do not have bronze flag holders beside them. Flag holders and an American flag are issued to veterans' surviving family members when veterans die. Each flag holder has the emblem that identifies the war in which the veteran served.

After learning of my attempts to discover Sandusky County's African American Civil War soldiers, Wayne took photographs of their gravesites while walking Oakwood. Below is the photo he gave me of David J. Vance's tombstone. Others that Wayne shared with me are posted on the Hayes Presidential Center's Civil War Research page, where short sketches of each African American Civil War soldier appears. (With the help of Charles Weiker, we recently discovered the service of two additional soldiers.  Both have been added to the page.)

David J. Vance
Oakwood Cemetery, Fremont, Ohio