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318 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
women, who gave their services night and day to help along this work
of love and mercy, hushing to rest the wailing infant or soothing to quiet
the hysterical weeping of the older ones who were beginning to understand
the great loss they had sustained, doing everything prompted by
motherly hearts until, after many weeks, when all danger was past, relatives
or friends came to claim their own. Orphan asylums in other cities
opened their sheltering arms to receive the "unidentified," or everybody's
children, and the doors of Sandusky's first children's home were
closed; its work was done.
This sketch would be incomplete without mentioning a strange dispensation.
Catherine Bissonette, or "Miss Catherine," the orphans'
mother in 1849, afterwards became Sister Ursula, the first mother superior
of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, whose daughters in
religion, Sister George and her zealous co-laborers, as tenderly nursed
back to life and health or helped our friends peacefully, hopefully meet
the angel of death within the walls of our beautiful Providence Hospital,
an institution of Avhich we are all justly proud.
Sandusky has ever had lovely, charitable women, ever ready to
respond to the call for help for poor suffering humanity. Women who
put aside all thought of self when charity demanded their attention, but
particular mention ought to be made of the ladies in the family of Foster
M. Follett, himself a leader in the charity work in that dread year, his
gentle Quaker wife and lovely daughters, Helen and Sarah, Avere untiring
co-Avorkers with him in deeds of charity.
THE SECOND CHILDREN 'S HOME
By Fred H. Zerbe
On October 5, 1898, a petition was submitted to the commissioners
of Erie County to have the question of building a Children's Home submitted
to the voters for decision. A petition Avas granted, and on November
13, 1898, the question Avas voted on, with a total of 7,684 votes
being cast, of Avhich 5,033 voted for the home and 1,270 against it, and
1,381 voters expressed no opinion. In accordance Avith the decision of
the voters five acres of land Avere purchased in the east end of the city
on September 23, 1899, and the present Children's Home AVIIS erected
thereon.
The first board of trustees organized April 22, 1901, by electing
Sidney Kilbourne, president, and Fred H. Zerbe, secretary of the board
of trustees. The remaining members of the board Avere L. S. Van Scoten,
of Berlin Heights, and I. W. HooA'er, of Milan. The trustees chose
Eugene Peake as superintendent, and Mrs. Eugene Peake as matron, and
Dr. F. W. Morley as the first physician. Mr. and Mrs. Peake continued
to serve until October 1, 1910, AA-hen Mr. and Mrs. II. 0. Halm Avere appointed
to succeed them, and are still serving.
In 1902 a hospital and boiler room AA'ere added to the Children's
Home at a cost of $6,787. Drs. R. H. Hubbard, G. II. Boehmer and Fred
Schoepfle have since acted as physicians. The average annual number