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

Introduction

The Feick Family Papers consist of materials relating primarily to the contractor and builder, John A. Feick, of Sandusky, Ohio. The collection dates from 1810 to 1982 with the major portion being from the years 1900 to 1930. This collection includes a large amount of correspondence intermixed with business and financial papers, and some printed and scrapbook materials.

The Feick Family Papers were donated to the Center for Archival Collections by Anita Feick, on March 25, 1994. No restrictions exist on the use of this collection. Duplication is permitted for the purposes of preservation and research. The collection was processed by Marilyn Levinson, Curator of Manuscripts in April 1994. This register was compiled in June 1994 by Paul Buckingham, Archival Assistant.

Biographical Sketch

Members of the Johann Philip Feick family first came to Sandusky, Ohio from Steinau, Germany in 1849 with the arrival of eldest son, Johann Philipp Feick, followed in 1852 by his brother Johann Adam, and sister Elizabetha Catharina in 1854. The youngest brother, Johann Georg, emigrated from the family home in 1866 at the age of 17.

Adam, after working several years as a carpenter with his brother Georg, established the firm Adam Feick & Brother in 1872. The business was quite successful and was responsible for several notable buildings, including Zions Lutheran Church, the Erie County Jail, buildings at the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, and the State Capitol at Cheyenne, Wyoming.

The Adam Feick family consisted of two sons and five daughters, the eldest of whom was John Adam. From 1880 to 1891, John attended boarding school at St. Mary's of the Brothers (now the University of Dayton), where he studied architecture and drafting. Married in 1884 to Lizzie Zipfel, his family consisted of a child, Edwin (who died as an infant in 1885), and another son, John Charles, generally referred to as Charles, who was born in 1889.

After the death of Adam Feick in 1893, the family business became George Feick & Company, with John A. Feick joining his uncle. Together, George and John were responsible for several projects, including three buildings at Oberlin College and the Law building at Ohio State University. In the early 1900's, George took his sons into the business, changing the name to George Feick and Sons. At this time John A. Feick started off on his own with his son, John Charles, operating out of his home. His company had contracts which included many buildings on South Bass Island, such at the U.S. Fish Hatchery, the Put-in-Bay School, the Colonial, and the retaining wall at the Perry Memorial. After his father's death in 1930, John C. Feick concentrated more on remodeling and renovation work than on the construction of large buildings.

John Charles had married Mylitta Taubert, daughter of a neighbor, in 1912, and together they had four children, Mary Katherine, John Charles, Jr., Edward Lewis, and Thomas William. After a long career in construction, Charles died in 1960. Both Edward and Thomas continued in the family tradition of construction, while John served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and later worked for Westinghouse.

Scope and Content

The Feick Family Papers span the years 1810 to 1982. The largest portion of the collection are the business-related papers of John A. Feick and his son John Charles. The business papers focus mainly on the years between 1900 and 1930. This correspondence includes blueprints, sketches, bills, and receipts from a variety of building projects around Sandusky and Put-in-Bay, Ohio.

There is a small collection of school materials, assignments, and informational brochures. The majority of this series is concerned with John Charles Feick's study at the Carnegie Technical School from 1909-1912.

The papers also contain a property abstract of family land on Put-in-Bay and a number of newsclippings about the Hotel Victory and Lonz Winery, two Put-in-Bay landmarks.

The group of printed materials includes a set of home designs from the first decade of the twentieth century.

Two sets of photographs and postcards round out this collection. The first is a number of family photos taken at Old Hen Island in 1898. The second set is a group of various postcards and photos of the Sandusky area, mainly showing local disasters.

Series Description

CORRESPONDENCE

JOHN A. FEICK CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS
1889-1943
21 folders
Arranged alphabetically by topic, then chronologically
This series contains a large set of business correspondence including bills, receipts, blueprints, sketches and estimates. The majority of the subjects concern building projects around Put-in-Bay and Sandusky, Ohio.

MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE
1906-1921
1 folder
Arranged chronologically
Includes business correspondence, work estimates, and a small number of personal letters.

SUBJECT FILES

SCHOOLS
c1860-1912, n.d.
3 folders
Arranged alphabetically, then chronologically
Assignments, schedules, information from St. Mary's Institute (University of Dayton), Carnegie Technical School and Sandusky Business School.

MISCELLANEOUS
1906-1937
3 folders
Arranged alphabetically, then chronologically
Food bills, Sandusky Yacht Club information, and material from Perry Victory Memorial.

LEGAL DOCUMENTS

ABSTRACT OF TITLE
1810-1937
Abstract of title, Lot 40 Peach Point, Put-in-Bay.

SCRAPBOOKS AND SCRAPBOOK MATERIAL

HOTEL VICTORY, PUT-IN-BAY
1887-1982
Clippings describing the building of the hotel, its history and the fire that destroyed it in 1919.

LONZ WINERY ISLANDS, PUT-IN-BAY
1944
Clippings of the 1944 fire.

MISCELLANEOUS
c1900
A number of articles including a report on the trial of a morphine fiend.

PRINTED MATERIALS

THE CRAFTSMAN, Vol. 13, No. 3
December 1907

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH DIRECTORY, SANDUSKY, OHIO
1979

THE FORUM, SANDUSKY HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK.
1937

HOPKIN'S AND DAVIS ARCHITECTS, HOME DESIGNS
c1900, 1905

PUT-IN-BAY BROCHURES/POSTCARDS
n.d.

RADFORD ARCHITECTURAL COMPANY, HOME DESIGNS
1908

WINERY BROCHURES.
n.d.

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL

OLD HEN ISLAND
1898
Photos taken on Old Hen Island includes pictures of John A. Feick, J. Charles Feick and Elizabeth Z. Feick.

SANDUSKY, OHIO
1900-1981
Photos and postcards of Sandusky area includes pictures of Cedar Point, Lake Erie ferries, Sloane Hotel, the "old" post office and various scenes of fires and other disasters.

Inventory

Box 1

Folders

1. Correspondence - Boats and Trucking (Put-in-Bay Dock, Inc., Alf Brown General Trucking, Nicholas Fox and Sons, Transferring and Trucking, Steamer Lakeside Freight, Put-in-Bay Auto Ferry Company), 1903-1921
2. Correspondence - Brown and Clutch Company Re-stock, 1916-1925
3. Correspondence - J. Charles Feick from N.V. Heinemann, 1932
4. Correspondence - John Feick and Gustav Heinemann Including bills, 1909-1932
5. Correspondence - Gilbralter and Chas. D. Barney Company (Includes estimates, blueprints), 1905-1924
6. Correspondence - Hotels Includes Bills, Estimates (Hotel Perry, Bay View House, Merkly Saloon and Restaurant, Park Hotel, Island House, The Carey Company), 1905-1943
7. Correspondence - Interlaken Hotel Company, Put-in-Bay Includes prospectus, 1926
8. Correspondence - Johannsen R. Schnoor (General Merchandise) Includes bills, estimates, 1907-1917
9. Correspondence - William Kunzler, Blacksmithing Bills to Feick's, 1906-1919
10. Correspondence - Labor Agreements, Wages, 1904-1919
11. Correspondence - Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Home - Sandusky Includes sketches, receipts, estimates, 1889-1924
12. Correspondence - Ohio State University Fisheries Includes estimates, blueprints, 1905-1910
13. Correspondence - Perry Memorial Re: repairs on retaining walls, Jan. 31, 1912-Sept. 21, 1933
14. Correspondence - Put-in-Bay Country Club Erie County Children's Home Includes estimates, sketches, 1921
15. Correspondence - Put-in-Bay Improvement Company (Includes estimates, plan sketches), 1905-1916
16. Correspondence - Put-in-Bay School (Includes estimates, contracts, bills), 1919-1931
17. Correspondence - Put-in-Bay Yacht Club: Letters to John Feick, 1923-1924

Box 2

Folders

1. Correspondence - Put-in-Bay, 1906-1925
2. Correspondence - Schiele and Hollway Real Estate, 1905-1906
3. Correspondence - Sunyende and Club (Includes constitution, rules), 1910-1914
4. Correspondence - Victory Monument Fund, 1907
5. Correspondence - Miscellaneous, 1906-1921
6. Carnegie Technical School Assignments, schedules, 1909-1912
7. Sandusky Business College
8. St. Mary's Institute (now University of Dayton)Information sheet, ca. 1860
9. Doller, V. Food bills, 1906, 1935
10. Perry's Victory Memorial
11. Sandusky Yacht Club
12. Abstract of Title - Lot #40 Peach Point, Put-in-Bay, 1810-1937

Box 3

Folders

1. Newsclippings - Hotel Victory, 1887-1982
2. Newsclippings - Lonz Winery Islands, 1944
3. Newsclippings - Miscellaneous
4. The Craftsman, Vol. 13, No. 3, Dec. 1907
5. First Presbyterian Church, Sandusky, Ohio Pictorial directory, 1979
6. The Forum - Sandusky High School Yearbook, 1937
7. Hopkins and Davis Architects Hopkins home designs, 1905
8. Hopkins and Davis Architects Houses and cottage design #7, ca. 1900
9. Put-in-Bay Brochures/postcards
10. Radford Architectural Company 250 home designs, 1908
11. Winery Brochures
12. Photos - Old Hen Island, 1898
13. Photos/Postcards - Sandusky, includes Cedar Point, 1900-1981

Manuscripts by Subject | Family Collections | Miscellaneous Collections