Kelleys Island History Blog

  JAMES ESTES & THE KELLEYS ISLAND SCHOOL   James Estes died in Cleveland in October 1898. His occupation was listed as grape grower and the cause of death was heart disease.   The family monument came from the Hughes Granite works and cost $5,000. It was reported that the monument was an elegant piece of work and it was installed in February 1900. “Mrs. Eva Cameron, trustee, has awarded the contract for the memorial to the Hughes Granite and Marble Co. of Clyde, O. The monument will be one of the finest in northwestern Ohio, of Romanesque design, massive, and with elaborate carvings. Competition for the work was very sharp, some 8 or 10 leading monument firms bidding, among them one from Barre, Vt., but the design submitted by the Hughes Granite and Marble Co. was pronounced the finest of all for the sum stipulated in the will, and the contract was accordingly given that enterprising company.” The Estes Family monument James, son of J & A   ...

OCTOBER 1867 - OPERATING A SALOON & SELLING INTOXICATING LIQUORS In May, John Reinheimer was accused of selling liquor to minors. This was followed by complaints of vandalism against Wm. Robinson; the first of several cases involving the Robinsons and the Reinheimers, as well as a charge of Assault & Battery. The Island had several Justice of the Peace officers, and their dockets often record some really creative testimony. SELLING INTOXICATING LIQUORS TO A PERSON INTOXICATED - “ The State of Ohio vs. John Reinheimer - Selling intoxicating liquors to a person intoxicated and for keeping a saloon for the sale of liquors contrary to law . This day came William Robinson and entered complaint that on or about the 4th day of May, the above named John Reinheimer did sell or otherwise dispose of intoxicating liquors to one named Edward Robinson, knowing that the Edward Robinson is in the habit of getting intoxicated. At the same time said William Robinson made complaint that the...

THE FIRST BURIAL S IN THE KELLEYS ISLAND CEMETERY Discover the earliest burials in the Kelleys Island cemetery. In my last post I shared the history of our cemetery which was established in 1854. Now we can explore some of the earliest burials. In 1854, the year the cemetery was established. John McDonald, who died on January 14, 1854 at age 26, was the first burial and his headstone still stands. Norman Hills told an interesting story about McDonald, who had been employed in preparing the new cemetery for burial purposes.   He was taken to task for carelessness in his work and his reply was to the effect that he did not care, for he did not expect to be buried there. It so happened that soon after completing his work in the cemetery, McDonald was accidentally killed and became the very first person to be buried in the cemetery he built. McDonald’s death appeared in Datus Kelley’s Ledger. “A letter from Mr. Addison Kelley informs us of a sad accident which occurred on Kelley’s ...

IT’S 1854 AND OUR ISLAND CEMETERY IS ESTABLISHED by  Leslie Korenko This is the history of our Island cemetery, which is quite old. It is a source of meditation, interest, research and an occasional lawsuit. In fact, Ned Williams and a couple of others, are combing through old newspapers to locate and add obituaries for of our Islanders who have passed on. These can be found FindaGrave.com; a great place to find interesting items about Island family members. The Island Cemetery was  officially established in 1854 with this deed. “Know all men by these  presents; that I Elizabeth K. Webb of the County of Erie and State of Ohio in consideration of the sum of $18.00 in hand paid by J. E. Woodford, E. Ward, Chas. Carpenter, as Trustees of the Kelleys Island Cemetery Association…do hereby  grant, bargain, sell and convey unto the said Woodford, Ward and Carpenter and  their successors in office forever, the following Premises, situate in the county of Erie, in the ...

C. C. Townley, manager of the Island House hotel for several years,  wrote a lengthy article about winter life on Kelleys Island. In this, part 2, he shares how the Islanders kept themselves busy before radios, telephones, computers, televisions, and even electric lights! The Islanders are generally a large hearted, intelligent people, well up to the ways of the world with the happy faculty of making money and disbursing it judiciously. Isolated a greater portion of the winter, they are thrown upon their own resources for amusement, consequently nearly all take an active interest in any pastime that will help shorten the long winter. They are all great readers, not only keeping themselves thoroughly posted on the leading topics of the day but readily devouring nearly everything readable that comes in their way. Statistics at the Post Office   show that there are more newspapers, magazines, etc. delivered there than at any other office of similar population in the country. ...

Today we have the luxury of an extended ferry season and travel by airplane all year round. The airport is our lifeline during the winter months, providing regular flights to Port Clinton, bringing us the mail and transporting our school students. However, back in the 1800s, we did not have these options. Mail, freight, and travelers had to travel over the ice to get from here to there. C. C. Townley, manager of the Island House hotel for several years,   may have left the island but his heart was never far from the friends he made there. He became involved in the Mansfield   Lyceum   and read the following paper about life on the island. “Those only who have had the experience can form but little conception of what constitutes Island life in winter. To the novice it presents itself in two different characters; that of novelty and monotony; while to those native and to the manner born, the situation is accepted as one of the most natural things in life. …   Durin...

The first mention of Valentine's Day appeared in The Islander in 1861 – “St. Valentines Day passed off very briskly. We learn that 50 Valentines passed through the Post Office on that day. We went down after one but were doomed to disappointment and were very much surprised to hear that we wrote this Valentine and we wrote that. We must have had our hands full to have written 40 or 50 Valentines besides attending our Editorial duties. We can assure our readers that Editors have enough to account for besides manufacturing Valentines.” F. Kelley and E. Huntington were the editors of this issue of the Islander. The Post Office, established in 1854, was located in the Store on the Corner, also known as The Lodge (the building on the left) On the right was the Kelley family home and hotel called the Island House and in the middle is Kelley's Hall.   THE HISTORY OF VALENTINES The island Store was always willing to provide the community with the latest items and when valentines...