Search for information on a 1907 street address in Toledo, OH.

Daniel57704

Hi

My great-great aunt Lina Schneider emigrated from Switzerland to the United States in 1907. The document about her arrival at Ellis Island (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JXNY-C2D) states that she was a teacher and was traveling on to a specific address in Toledo, OH.

Since cell 16 is hard to read, I increased the contrast of the document:

To me, cell 16 reads:

aunt St.(?) C. Schroyer, co. Erie + Lafayette st.

Assuming the address is correct: I found a very interesting Rand McNally map from 1903 for that intersection (https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/workspace/handleMediaPlayer?qvq=&trs=&mi=&lunaMediaId=RUMSEY~8~1~37885~1210733). On the map the place looks very different to what Streetview reveals today. In any case, the large brick building seems to have been standing there in 1903. Perhaps it is part of the puzzle?

The map also shows something like a train station nearby and the words Freight Depot. To me this place doesn't look like a typical residential neighborhood. But why should Lina come here in particular?

I hope that someone can answer me on this.

PS. Perhaps I should mention that on April 5, 1910, Lina married Carl Rudolph Hirzel, with whom she founded the Hirzel Canning Company in 1923 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ZZBM-R46Z)

Shannon Potter Wilcox

@Daniel57704 As I look at the writing and compare it to what you have thought it was, I think you are right. However, I am wondering if C. Schroyer is a person and not a place? Have you tried looking up that name as a person with 1903 in it as well? Just a thought

Daniel57704

Thank you, Shannon, for your reply. I, too, think that C. Schroyer is a person because the entry begins with 'aunt'. But I have no idea if Lina really had an aunt with that name. Anyway, the search results I received did not satisfy me.

So I wonder if the function of the eye-catching brick building around 1900 could help. For example, was it a hospital? To that purpose, I have already looked through the building photographs of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library TLCPL, but have found nothing.

Of course, my assumption might be absolutely wrong. In any case, a person with the necessary historical knowledge would be helpful.

Lawanna Dalley Casto

Are there Sandborn Insurance Maps of Toledo from this time period? That might shed some light on the buildings.

Daniel57704

Thank you, Lawanna, for this very valuable tip. As a resident of Switzerland, I had no idea what to look for.

In the Ohio Web Library (https://sanborn.ohioweblibrary.org/?t=INFOhio), sheets 6 (https://sanborn.ohioweblibrary.org/viewer/?id=30647) and 9 (https://sanborn.ohioweblibrary.org/viewer/?id=30650) of Toledo will hopefully give me the information I have been longing for.

RobertWessel

@Shannon Potter Wilcox , @Lawanna Casto , @Daniel57704

The Library of Congress has a large collection of Sanborn Fire Insurance maps from all across the country. Best of all, they are digitized and are online.

https://www.loc.gov/collections/sanborn-maps/about-this-collection/

Shannon Potter Wilcox

@RobertWessel thanks for this information.

Daniel57704

Since the Erie + Lafayette St. area is split between two different plans, I used Photoshop to glue the sections in question together:

As far as I can interpret the Sanborn maps, the intersection was more likely in an industrially used area with several warehouses and the B. A Stevens lumber company. Lina Schneider is therefore unlikely to have lived here.

I was somewhat puzzled by the entry 'Drugs' at building 626. The building seems to have no windows and thus is unlikely to have been a store. Or maybe it was? Since I live in Switzerland and am not an expert on Sanborn maps, I would appreciate any comment on this.