Introduction | Biographical Sketch | Scope and Contents | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

The Henry Freyensee Negative Collection consists of 324 glass plate negatives (319 4x5 plates and 5 8x10 plates) and 5 film negatives (approximately 1.5 linear ft.), dating from 1897 to 1916. Primarily showing family and lake shipping scenes around the Sandusky, Ohio area, including the family operated tug Grandon and other lake ships, the collection also includes a few photographs from Port Clinton and the Lake Erie Islands.

The collection was transferred to the Center for Archival Collections through the cooperation of Gordon Wendt, Sandusky, Ohio, in 1978. This register was prepared by Marilyn Levinson, Curator of Manuscripts, Center for Archival Collections, August, 1991. No restrictions exist on the the use of this collection.

Biographical Sketch

Henry Freyensee was born around 1876 in Sandusky, Ohio. His father, Capt. William Freyensee sailed the B.F. Ferris on Lake Erie on the Sandusky-Catawba-Port Clinton route in the mid-1870's and later became master of the R.B. Hayes. Between 1898 to 1918, the period of the bulk of this collection, the family operated the Tug Grandon in a general freight and passenger business around the Lake Erie Islands. Henry Freyensee died in 1964 at the age of 88.

Scope and Contents 

The Henry Freyensee Collection consists of 4x5 and 8x10 inch glass plate negatives of people and shipping activities around Sandusky, Ohio and the Lake Erie Islands, dating from 1897 through 1916.

The series of photographs of the Sandusky area are primarily typical family pictures, many with the individuals identified. There are, however, a few shots of local businesses and events in the collection. Of particular note is a series of photographs of a parade of Company B, 16th Regt. O.N.G., departing Sandusky for Toledo and Columbus on April 26, 1898. There are also outstanding images of workers at Wehrle's, Kemblers Brewery, two interiors of Moltz Bar, the Hotel Victory on South Bass Island, and an excursion group at the arrival pier of Cedar Point.

The series of Lake Erie shipping photographs center around the family operated tug, Grandon in Sandusky harbor, and related Lake Erie shipping, including numerous photographs of tug and barge operations. Many of the identified ships, such as the A. Wehrle, Arrow, Frank E. Kirby, Eastland, and the City of Detroit, were active in the Great Lakes excursion trade, particularly to Put-in-Bay and Cedar Point.

Series Description

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL

NEGATIVES - SANDUSKY, OHIO AREA
1897-1916
Glass plate negatives (193 4x5 plates and 5 8x10 plates) showing family members and scenes around the Sandusky, Ohio area. Also includes some views from Port Clinton, and Lake Erie Islands.

NEGATIVES - LAKE ERIE SHIPPING
1897-1912
Glass plate negatives (126 4x5 plates) and film negatives (5) showing the family operated tug Grandon, as well as other Lake Erie ships, many identified.

Inventory

Box 1

1. Street car wreck, Sandusky, Ohio, March 7, 1898
2. Kemblers Brewery, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
3. Wehrles working men, Sandusky, Ohio, Sept 14, 1899
4. Crowd waiting for Co. B, Sandusky, Ohio, Apr 26, 1898
5. Lake Shore Limited Train, Sandusky, Ohio, March 14, 1898
6. Harbor view, possibly Cedar Point or Sandusky, circa 1900
7. Pa, Sandusky, Ohio (enlarged positive), circa 1900
8. Burt and Douglas, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
9. Will H. & N. Senne, Sandusky, Ohio, 1897
10. Lizzie at the piano, Sandusky, Ohio, Dec 18, 1897
11. Bendel (?), Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
12. Front view of Ma, Sandusky, Ohio, March 6, 1898
13. Castalia's cooks, Sandusky, Ohio, Nov 26, 1898
14. Mrs. Shayler, Sandusky, Ohio (cracked plate), circa 1900
15. Seas, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
16. Jerome, Uncle John Fondil, Sandusky, Ohio, Nov 5, 1899
17. Sarge Lyon, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
18. Miss McCormick in her room, Sandusky, Ohio, Jan 8, 1898
19. Willie Freyensee, Sandusky, Ohio, March 5, 1898
20. Pa and Ma on porch, Sandusky, Ohio, 1897
21. Cirrti girls and Will, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
22. Two unidentified children, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
23. Lizzie and Tina, Sandusky, Ohio, Dec 18, 1897
24. Father with child in a carriage, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
25. V. Doller, wife, and Olga, Sandusky, Ohio, 1897
26. Family of four, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
27. Three unidentified women, circa 1900
28. Interior of a house, unidentified location, circa 1900
29. Tool shop, unidentified location, circa 1900
30. Family of four, unidentified, circa 1900
31. Two children in a carriage, circa 1900
32. Mother and child, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
33. Church choir, April 17, 1898
34. Side view of Ma, Sandusky, Ohio (broken plate), March 6, 1898
35. Child in a carriage, circa 1900
36. Klein, circa 1900
37. Three children playing with blocks, circa 1900
38. Cleveland girls, Ed & Henry, end of dock, circa 1900
39. Three children, circa 1900
40. Mother and child, circa 1900
41. Mrs. Davidson, Buffalo, N.Y., circa 1900
42. Mr. Davidson, Buffalo, N.Y., circa 1900
43. Mr. Davidson, Buffalo, N.Y., circa 1900
44. Child, circa 1900
45. Family of four, circa 1900
46. Child in armchair, circa 1900
47. Mother and her two children, circa 1900
48. Mother and her two children, circa 1900
49. Mark Wieland's baby and Christmas tree, circa 1900
50. Waves, Rattlesnake Island in distance, circa 1900
51. Fair Halls, Feb 10, 1898
52. Harry & Elmer boxing, August 1897
53. Woman (Rosa?), circa 1900
54. Five people, 1897
55. Burt, Rose, Harry & Mother, 1897
56. Harter's house, March 15, 1898
57. Rosa, standing, Dec 19, 1897
58. East end, Rattlesnake Island, circa 1900
59. Shaylor and interior of church, June 22, 1898
60. Two women riding in a horse & carriage, circa 1900
61. Rosa, June 2, 1901
62. Man, horse & carriage, circa 1900
63. Child in carriage, circa 1900
64. Family of four, circa 1900
65. Five people in front of the Water Works Building, circa 1900
66. Room in a house, circa 1900
67. Alkner boys & girl, circa 1900
68. Etta Sutton at piano, Sandusky, Ohio, April 1, 1898
69. Two men at Stone Ridge, circa 1900
70. Man & women pushing child in a carriage, circa 1900
71. Spaith's horse & colt, April 29, 1898
72. Beer window, circa 1900
73. Police marching, escorting Company B, April 26, 1898
74. Group of young boys, circa 1900
75. Ducks & turkeys, circa 1900
76. Bar scene, circa 1900
77. Unidentified, circa 1900
78. Beer residence, circa 1900
79. Rock, with splashing waves, 1897
80. Men and women fishing, circa 1900
81. Four people on a bridge, circa 1900
82. Woman and man, unidentified, circa 1900
83. Woman and man, unidentified, circa 1900
84. Two portraits of man, unidentified, circa 1900
85. Six people on lawn, circa 1900
86. Holly (cracked), Feb. 6, 1898
87. Two boys, circa 1900
88. Husband and wife, circa 1900
89. Three people viewing the lake, circa 1900
90. Portrait of a woman, circa 1900
91. Woman, circa 1900
92. Family group of three, circa 1900
93. Fruit on a vine, circa 1900
94. Man & woman on front steps of a house, circa 1900
95. Woman and man, circa 1900
96. Pigeons, circa 1900
97. Three people at the lake, circa 1900
98. Cats on a buggy, circa 1900
99. People at the lake, circa 1900
100. Portrait of a man, circa 1900
101. Rosa, circa 1900
102. Rosa viewing a picture, 1897
103. Jim, the dog, Sandusky, Ohio, Nov 1898

Box 2

104. Mrs. E.M. Stan & child in a boat, circa 1900
105. Will, with guns and rabbits, 1897
106. Mrs. Davidson from Buffalo, N.Y., circa 1900
107. House and baby carriage, circa 1900
108. Mother & child, circa 1900
109. Family group of three, circa 1900
110. Mother & child, circa 1900
111. Company B at the corner of Hayes & Columbus, April 26, 1898
112. Company B, marching, April 26, 1898
113. Company B, blurred picture, April 26, 1898
114. Company B, March 5, 1898
115. Pasture Point, circa 1900
116. Pasture Point (?), circa 1900
117. Two children, circa 1900
118. Mother and baby in rocker, circa 1900
119. Rosa (back head view), Dec. 16, 1898
120. Louise & Aunties, circa 1900
121. Cabinet of Education (?), Dec. 23, 1897
122. Cats, circa 1900
123. Pigeons, circa 1900
124. Finney Band, 1905
125. Mrs. Starr (?), 1905
126. Louis Graf and Mrs. Starr (with boy & girl), Sept. 7, 1905
127. Will, July 1906
128. Charles Ross' Tinware Store window, circa 1900
129. Rincuff store window, circa 1900
130. Water-Works pump (broken plate), Dec. 13, 1897
131. Aerial view of street scene, circa 1900
132. Water Works, circa 1900
133. 9th Ward School, March 29, 1898
134. Wehrles Hall, circa 1900
135. Unidentified building, circa 1900
136. Construction site, circa 1900
137. B & O Elevator, March 24, 1898
138. Rock drill, March 31, 1898
139. Running locomotive, Dec. 27, 1897
140. Hotel Victory, South Bass Island, Nov. 4, 1898
141. Oil derrick, August 1901
142. Beach area, circa 1900
143. Three ladies and one man, 1897
144. Street scene, circa 1900
145. Castalia Fish Hatchery, March 14, 1898
146. Freight engine running, Jan. 4, 1898
147. Lake at Port Clinton, Ohio (cracked plate), circa 1900
148. Moltz Bar, circa 1900
149. Congregational Church, March 24, 1898
150. Burned-out building (cracked plate), circa 1900
151. Fishing, circa 1900
152. Waves, circa 1900
153. Grampa W.H. Tuyarie, copy from crayon portrait, Dec. 30, 1897
154. Toledo party, circa 1900
155. Rev. E.V. Shayler, Oct. 12, 1897
156. Child, viewed over mother's shoulder, circa 1900
157. Mother & child, circa 1900
158. Niagara Falls from bridge, circa 1900
159. Inspection certificate, 1916
160. Temporary inspection certificate, 1916
161. Niagara Falls, circa 1900
162. Unidentified, circa 1900
163. Unidentified, circa 1900
164. Unidentified/Interior of a house, circa 1900
165. Pigeons in a camp, circa 1900
166. Releasing hook, circa 1900
167. Cows, 1897
168. Komm! Komm!, circa 1900
169. Clouds, circa 1900
170. Church celebration (broken plate), Sept. 9, 1899
171. Table Furniture Company, circa 1900
172. Interior of a church, circa 1900
173. Leonhardt House, Jan. 8, 1898
174. Miss McCormick's House, Jan. 8, 1898
175. Piano parlor, unidentified house, circa 1900
176. Spinning room, unidentified house, circa 1900
177. Moltz Bar, circa 1900
178. Interior of house, circa 1900
179. Shayler, circa 1900
180. Priscilla (Boat), 1900
181. Louis Graf portrait, circa 1900
182. Rose, seated portrait, Dec. 19, 1897
183. Family in front of house, circa 1900
184. Mother pushing baby in carriage, circa 1900
185. Front of house with children, circa 1900
186. Front of house, circa 1900
187. Mother with baby in carriage, circa 1900
188. Father and child, circa 1900
189. Father and child, circa 1900
190. Father and child, circa 1900
191. Houses, circa 1900
192. Unidentified, circa 1900
193. Two children, circa 1900
194. People arriving at Cedar Point pier (8x10), circa 1900
195. Miniature train ride (8x10), circa 1900
196. Harbor, unidentified (8x10), circa 1900
197. Riverway with construction (8x10), circa 1900
198. Outside a show (8x10 - broken plate), circa 1900

Box 3

199. Ship, unidentified, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
200. Ship, unidentified, with flags, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
201. Small sailboat, with sail up, circa 1900
202. Sailing ship, unidentified, circa 1900
203. Lake scene, with two small motor boats, circa 1900
204. Ship Castalia, at Sandusky, Ohio, Nov. 26, 1898
205. Visitor at Cedar Point, circa 1900
206. Ferry Hazel, Sandusky, Ohio, Aug. 25, 1907
207. Tug Grandon, Sandusky, Ohio, June 29, 1916
208. American Eagle in the ice, Sandusky, Ohio, March 6, 1898
209. Perry's Monument in Sandusky, Ohio, 1900
210. Ship Haze, Sandusky, Ohio, April 7, 1898
211. Ship New York, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
212. Two ships, blurred picture, circa 1900
213. Ship Columbus, in drydock, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
214. American Eagle, in drydock, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
215. Ship State of Michigan, Sandusky, Ohio, April 8, 1898
216. Grandon and Beta in dock, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
217. Arrow and Frank E. Kirby, Sandusky, Ohio, August 1901
218. Yacht, unidentified, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
219. City of Detroit, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
220. Eastland, Sandusky, Ohio, Aug. 25, 1907
221. City of Detroit, at dock, Sandusky, Ohio, July 4, 1898
222. City of Erie, at dock, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
223. Oliver H. Perry, surrounded by small boats, circa 1900
224. Grandon in slip, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
225. Ferry Put-in-Bay, circa 1900
226. Ship, unidentified BROKEN PLATE, circa 1900
227. LeFevre, by a sailboat, circa 1900
228. Steamer, unidentified, blurred picture, circa 1900
229. Steamer B.F. Ferris, Sandusky, Ohio, Feb. 14, 1905
230. LeFebre, and Annie Laura, Jan. 9, 1908
231. Steamer Indiana, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
232. Ship Lakeside (Positive image), circa 1900
233. Visitor, Sandusky, Ohio, Feb. 14, 1905
234. Grandon, Sandusky, Ohio, 1900
235. Boats, Barry and unidentified, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
236. Unidentified ship of Cleveland, Put-in-Bay & Toledo Line, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
237. H. Houghton, Sandusky, Ohio, Nov. 4, 1898
238. City of Erie, at dock, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
239. Ship, unidentified, in drydock, blurred picture, circa 1900
240. Lake scene with sailboats, circa 1900
241. Harbor scene, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
242. Numerous sailboats in tow, circa 1900
243. Sailboat, circa 1900
244. Lake scene with numerous small boats, circa 1900
245. Lake scene with numerous small boats, circa 1900
246. Yacht, unidentified, circa 1900
247. Boat Tourist with several smaller boats, circa 1900
248. Wehrle Pavilion on Middle Bass Island, circa 1900
249. Sailboats, circa 1900
205. Harbor scene with Oliver H. Perry, circa 1900
251. Grandon, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
252. Barge Beta, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
253. Grandon, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
254. Dock scene, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
255. Harbor scene, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
256. Boat Tourist with several smaller boats, circa 1900
257. Tug W.Avery with J.B. Lozen, 1905
258. Sailboats in choppy water, circa 1900
259. Dock scene with ticket office, circa 1900
260. Ferry Put-in-Bay, circa 1900
261. Harbor scene with several ships, circa 1900
262. Woman on a ship, circa 1900
263. Ship LaBelle, circa 1900
264. Small ferry leaving dock, circa 1900
265. Two sailboats, circa 1900
266. Ship LaBelle, circa 1900
267. Numerous sailboats in tow, circa 1900
268. Bridge, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
269. Five men, wearing Inter-Lake Regatta buttons, circa 1900
270. Sailboat, circa 1900
271. Shoreline with small boats and dredge, circa 1900
272. Sailboat, circa 1900
273. Small motor boat with #80 on it, circa 1900
274. Barge Beta in harbor, circa 1900
275. Motor boat in lake, circa 1900
276. Harbor area with several large ferries, circa 1900
277. Two boats, Speejacks, and unidentified, circa 1900
278. Boat Speejacks, circa 1900
279. Tug Grandon with unidentified ship, circa 1900
280. Rock formation at shoreline, circa 1900
281. Men working on the LeFevre, circa 1900
282. City of Cleveland leaving Put-in-Bay, July 4, 1898
283. Crowd of people at the Life-Saving Station, circa 1900
284. U.S.S. Michigan, circa 1900
285. Sailors going to the U.S.S. Michigan, circa 1900
286. Crew of the Haze, April 6, 1898
287. Put-in-Bay harbor, circa 1900
288. Main engine of the steamer Haze, April 6, 1898
289. Ship Columbus, in drydock, Sandusky, Ohio, circa 1900
290. Small boat launching, Kelley's Island (blurred), 1897
291. Port Sheridan, Pelee Island, 1897
292. Sailboat race, circa 1900
293. Grandon, circa 1900
294. Grandon ferrying people to Wehrle's Pavilion, circa 1900
295. Motor launch, unidentified, Aug. 1901
296. Battleship, unidentified (blurred picture), April 14, 1902
297. Racing yachts, circa 1900
298. A. Wehrle, circa 1900
299. Niagara Falls, circa 1900
300. Ship, unidentified, circa 1900
301. Bridge at Niagara Falls, circa 1900

Box 4

302. Niagara Falls, circa 1900
303. Boatyard workers, circa 1900
304. Unidentified group of men, circa 1900
305. Sailboats racing in distance, circa 1900
306. Crew of the Haze, April 6, 1898
307. Engine of the Castilia, Nov. 26, 1898
308. Plans of unidentified ship, April 25, 1902
309. Three sailboats, circa 1900
310. Line of small boats being towed, circa 1900
311. Grandon, circa 1900
312. Small motor boat, circa 1900
313. Alpha in sea, circa 1900
314. Boat, unidentified, circa 1900
315. Sailboat Otsikita, July 6, 1898
316. Harbor, unidentified, circa 1900
317. Men working on the barge Beta, circa 1900
318. Steamer Lakeside, circa 1900
319. Put-in-Bay lighthouse, Nov.4, 1898
320. Steamer, unidentified, circa 1900
321. Marshy lagoon with camper's tent on shore, circa 1900
322. Grandon, circa 1900
323. On deck of the Alexander McDougall, circa 1900
324. Yachts from regatta, circa 1912
325. Waterfront area (poor exposure - film neg.), circa 1900
326. Ship, unidentified (film neg.), circa 1900
327. Boats on lake (poor exposure - film neg.), circa 1900
328. Sailboats (film neg.), circa 1900
329. Lake scene, circa 1900

Photographic Collections Bibliography