T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S Foreword ____________________________________________________________ 15 Introduction___________________________________________________________ 17 Part 1: Lydia Ryall’s 1913 Sketches and Stories _______________________________ 19 Original 1913 Introduction to the Lydia Ryall Book _____________________________ 20 Fair Erie’s Isles (Illustrated Poem) ___________________________________________ 21 An Historic Event and Its Local Setting _______________________________________ 22 Perry’s Mascot (Illustrated Poem) ____________________________________________ 39 An Interesting Historical Picture and Its Painter________________________________ 40 A Youthful Patriot and His Tragic Fate________________________________________ 42 A Coronal of Verse and Song ________________________________________________ 46 Put-In-Bay ________________________________________________________________ 54 Hotel Victory _____________________________________________________________ 75 Early Recollections of an Old Timer__________________________________________ 81 Middle Bass and Her Attractions _____________________________________________ 83 Famous Middle Bass Club________________________________________________________ 90 “Isle De Fleurs” ___________________________________________________________ 94 Isle St. George and Its Attractions____________________________________________ 97 Adventures of an Island Doctor __________________________________________________ 102 THE GEM OF LAKE ERIE ______________________________________________________ 106 Resources and Phenomenal Development of Kelley’s Island ____________________ 108 The Limestone Industry – Some of Its Interesting and Picturesque Features ____________ 121 Summering at an Island Resort _____________________________________________ 126 The Romantic Shores from Which Commodore Perry’s Ships Took Ballast________ 144 “Call It Square” – True Story of Rattlesnake Island ____________________________ 150 Pt. Au Pelee Island: Its Romantic History and Present Prosperity ________________ 153 The Life and Adventures of Alexander McCormick _________________________________ 158 “Chestnut Burr” _______________________________________________________________ 160 Some Later History of Pt. Au Pelee Island _________________________________________ 165 Pelee Island Fishing Club __________________________________________________ 172 A BATCH OF UP-TO-DATE FISHING STORIES TOLD BY WELL-KNOWN ADEPTS OF THE ANGLING ART _______________________________________________________________ 173 Memories of Jay Cooke and Glimpses of his Island Strong-hold _________________ 187 Captain John Brown, Jr. ___________________________________________________ 195 Owen and Jason Brown____________________________________________________ 202 John Yates Beall – His Piratical Exploit on Lake Erie___________________________ 207 Johnson’s Island: Its Thrilling Reminiscences and Historical Burial Grounds ______ 213 Thrilling Adventures on Island Waters _______________________________________ 224 The Three Fishers _____________________________________________________________ 224 Wreck of the Yacht “Clipper” ____________________________________________________ 225 A Midwinter Storm ____________________________________________________________ 227 Honored for Heroism by “Uncle Sam” ____________________________________________ 228 A Canoeing Adventure and Its Sequel ____________________________________________ 230 “The Mystery of a Ship”_________________________________________________________ 232 Lights Out (Poem)________________________________________________________ 236 Lake Erie Light Keepers: Their Trials and Adventures__________________________ 238 Tying a Row Together (Poem)______________________________________________ 246 Grape Culture Among the Erie Isles _________________________________________ 248 October Glintings (Illustrated Poem) ________________________________________ 253 Catawba Island, the Great Peach Growing Center of Ohio ______________________ 258 The Peach Growing Industry of Catawba Island _______________________________ 266 The Last of the Ottawas ___________________________________________________ 268 Fish Hatchery Work at Put-in-Bay ___________________________________________ 270 Fishing Interests__________________________________________________________ 274 Glimpses of the Underworld at Put-in-Bay____________________________________ 277 An Important Geological Field; Evidences of Glacial Action Fishing Interests ______ 283 Winter Fishing Through the Ice _____________________________________________ 287 Icy (Poem) ______________________________________________________________ 291 Blood-Curdling Adventures on the Ice _______________________________________ 293 Carrying the Mail _________________________________________________________ 302 Automobiling Across Lake Erie _____________________________________________ 307 A Bunch of Emeralds______________________________________________________ 309 Part 2: Additional Historic Images ________________________________________ 314 Ballast Island ____________________________________________________________ 314 Buckeye Island ___________________________________________________________ 316 Catawba Island ___________________________________________________________ 317 Johnson’s Island__________________________________________________________ 319 Kelley’s Island____________________________________________________________ 321 Lake Erie Island Maps_____________________________________________________ 322 Middle Bass Island________________________________________________________ 325 Middle Island ____________________________________________________________ 331 South Bass Island_________________________________________________________ 333 The Raising of Perry’s Flagships Lawrence and Niagara ________________________ 342 Part 3: Excerpts from Major Joseph Delafield’s Diary, 1820-21__________________ 344 Part 4: Islander Listings from 1874 _______________________________________ 351 Part 5: Additional Biographies of Islanders from 1881 ________________________ 356 Catawba Island Township __________________________________________________ 356 George W. Bailey ______________________________________________________________ 356 Frederich Barnholt ____________________________________________________________ 356 John I. Barnholt_______________________________________________________________ 357 John Caugney_________________________________________________________________ 357 Isaac E. Dewitt ________________________________________________________________ 357 George Ellithorp ______________________________________________________________ 357 Cyrus Ellithorp________________________________________________________________ 357 Hiram Fields__________________________________________________________________ 358 Darwin Hyde__________________________________________________________________ 358 Henry Henken ________________________________________________________________ 358 Eli K’Burg ____________________________________________________________________ 358 John McNeill _________________________________________________________________ 359 James R. Newton ______________________________________________________________ 359 Edwin F. Nye__________________________________________________________________ 359 Gideon S. Owen_______________________________________________________________ 360 Andrew S. Reynolds____________________________________________________________ 360 Henry Rofkar _________________________________________________________________ 360 John G. Sexton________________________________________________________________ 360 Walter Smith__________________________________________________________________ 361 Riley Smith ___________________________________________________________________ 361 William F. Spaulding ___________________________________________________________ 361 Solomon C. Stevens ____________________________________________________________ 361 Benjamin F. Tillotson __________________________________________________________ 362 Gerd Vagts ___________________________________________________________________ 362 Charles Henry Vagts ___________________________________________________________ 362 Henry Wonnell________________________________________________________________ 363 Charles L. Zahm_______________________________________________________________ 363 Put-in-Bay Township ______________________________________________________ 364 Peter Betts____________________________________________________________________ 364 George Bickford_______________________________________________________________ 364 Mathias Burggraf ______________________________________________________________ 364 Charles Ruh __________________________________________________________________ 364 Phillip Vroman________________________________________________________________ 365 Put-in-Bay Village _________________________________________________________ 365 V. Doller _____________________________________________________________________ 365 Christopher Doller ____________________________________________________________ 365 Jacob K. Drake ________________________________________________________________ 366 Hermann Herbster ____________________________________________________________ 366 Frederick J. Magle _____________________________________________________________ 366 Charles H. Nelson _____________________________________________________________ 366 Louis Schiele _________________________________________________________________