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Documents (PDF*)
Documents continued: Deeds -- Letters -- Newspaper Articles
This archive contains Toledo and Lake Erie Boating & Fishing Association and Middle Bass Club official documents such as the Articles of Association, List of Members, Articles of Incorporation, Club House Rules, etc, arranged chronologically (from oldest to latest) by the date on the documents. Also included are membership cards, party invitations, excerpts from the Club House Register (which all Members & Guests had to sign in order to enter the Middle Bass Club.) Wall inscriptions from a cottage are also included. This “original post” of the archive is dated: July 2021; the date of additions to this archive will be noted here so viewers can check for new content. If you have photographs to add, please contact Marie Demer Rader at
Use the [View] links following the desacriptions to open the files below. *Note: you can open PDF files in your browser, Adobe Reader (free), or similar programs.
| Year | Description and document link |
|---|---|
| 1875 | Toledo and Lake Erie Boating & Fishing Association 1875 Membership Card for James Clark. Matthew Shoemaker, President, Leander Burdick, Treasurer. [View] |
| Toledo & Lake Erie Boating & Fishing Association announcement for a Pleasure Excursion Social Party on Saturday, July 24th, 1875. [View] | |
| 1877 | List of Officers and Articles of Association of the Toledo and Lake Erie Boating and Fishing Association, 1877-78 [View] |
| List of Officers and Articles of Association of the Toledo and Lake Erie Boating and Fishing Association, 1877-78 (transcription) [View] | |
| Toledo and Lake Erie Boating and Fishing Association, List of Members, 1877 (transcription) [View] | |
| 1880 | Article of Incorporation, March 5, 1880. Toledo and Lake Erie Boating and Fishing Association. [View] |
| 1881 | Middle Bass Club Membership List, 1881 [View] |
| Middle Bass Chapel Association Records Book, 1881-1910 (transcription) [View] | |
| 1882 | Chronological listing of ministers at the Middle Bass Club Chapel, 1882-1912 [View] |
| 1882 Middle Bass Club Member Cottages [View] | |
| 1882 Club House "ticket" from A. F. Rutherford, Supt. [View] | |
| 1883 | Invitation to Dinner, Supper and Dancing at Middle Bass, Circa 1880s. Tickets were sold at L. S. Baumgardner & Co. and J. O. Reed's companies in Toledo. [View] |
| 1892 | Toledo & Lake Erie Boating & Fishing Association, Fishing Log. 1892 catches for members Edward E. Dwight, Jethro G. Mitchell, Francis Pilgrim Isherwood, Burt Baker, James Clark and Willis Bixby. [View] |
| 1895 | Club House Rules and Regulations of the Middle Bass Club, 1895 [View] |
| 1899 | Club House Ledger: Wednesday, May 10, 1899. Note President Grover Cleveland, R. D. Evans and John Uri Lloyd were guests of Middle Bass Club member LeRoy Brooks. [View] |
| Club House Ledger: Saturday, July 15, 1899. Note the Toledo Member family names: Baker, Shaw, Gosline, Kelsey, Holbrook, Cone, Berdan, Frost, Walbridge & Cummings. [View] | |
| 1900 | Club House Ledger: Thursday, July 19, 1900. Note the Toledo Member family names: Lewis, Doyle, Scribner, Stoddard, Gosline, Kelsey, Lewis, Wilcox, Rowland, Backus, Holbrook, Walbridge, Robison, Berdan and Geddes. [View] |
| Club House Ledger: Saturday, August 18, 1900. Note the Toledo Member family names: Bell, Suydam, Colburn, Simmons, Backus, Lemmon, Berdan, Cone, Shaw, Woolson, Geddes, Dwight, Rowland, Coffroth, Rodgers, Colburn and Kelsey. [View] | |
| Club House Ledger: Wednesday, August 29, 1900. Note the Toledo Member family names: Baumgardner, Rodgers, Baker, Kelsey, Colburn, Lewis, Berdan, Baker, Poe, Holbrook, Nettleton, Shaw and Rowland. [View] | |
| Club House Ledger: Saturday, September 22, 1900. Note the Toledo Member family names: Brown, Baumgardner, Berdan, Marvin, Kelsey, Rodgers, Isherwood, Reynolds, Young, Shoemaker, Woolson and Bell. [View] | |
| 1901 | Toledo & Lake Erie Boating & Fishing Association. Fishing Log of May 10 & 11, 1901. Note "ex-President Grover Cleveland's" catch. [View] |
| 1901 Middle Bass Club Membership Certificate for Walter Folger Brown. Source: Brown Hafer Family [View] | |
| 1902 | Middle Bass Club Sunday, August 24, 1902 - Johnston's Orchestra Program [View] |
| 1903 | Middle Bass Club Sunday, August 16, 1903 - Johnston's Orchestra Program [View] |
| 1907 | Middle Bass Club House Menu for July 4, 1907 [View] |
| 1908 | Toledo & Lake Erie Boating & Fishing Association, Fishing Log, last entry in 1908. 1905 catches for members Albert T. Colburn and James Brown Bell and 1907 catches for member Clarence Elisha Burke and family. [View] |
| William Howard Taft and family visited to the Middle Bass Club on August 31, 1908. The Middle Bass Club House Guest Register book contains the signatures of future President Taft and his son, Master Charles P. Taft. The family stayed in a cottage on Grape Avenue that exists today and is owned by the FitzGerald family. William Howard Taft became the 27th President of the United States on March 4, 1909. One of the photos indicates that Mr. Taft was campaigning while at the Middle Bass Club. Other photos show Taft in the company of his wife, Helen, strolling down Lake Avenue, and his children. Source: Cumberworth, Fine & Taliak Personal Collections [View] | |
| 1911 | Middle Bass Club Guestbook: Signature "graffiti," Aug. 28, 1911 [View] |
| 1912 | Middle Bass Club Guestbook: Signature "graffiti," 1910-1912 [View] |
| Middle Bass Club Guestbook: Signature "graffiti," July 4, 1912. [View] |
Deeds
| Year | Description and document link |
|---|---|
| 1874 | 1874 property deed from William Rehberg to Francis Pilgrim Isherwood. Included are th deeds where Francis Pilgrim Isherwood sells them to fellow Middle Bass Club members to build cottages. Source: Ottowa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1874 property deed for Rehberg lot 6. Source: Ottowa County Recorders Office [View] | |
| 1875 | 1875 property deed for Rehberg lot 21. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1876 | 1876 property deed for Rehberg lot 13. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1878 | 1878 property deed for Rehberg lot 14. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1879 | 1879 property deed for Rehberg lot 55. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1880 | 1880 property deed for the Grove. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1881 | 1881 property deed for the Grove. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1881 property deeds for Rehberg lots 37 and 38. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] | |
| 1882 | 1882 property deeds for Rehberg lots 28 and 29. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1882 property deeds for Rehberg lots 41 and 42. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] | |
| 1882 property deed for Rehberg Lot 45, Chapel, deed between William & Louise Rehberg and the Lake Erie Boating and Fishing Association. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] | |
| 1886 | 1886 property deeds for Rehberg lots 28 and 29. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1889 | 1889 property deed for Rehberg lots 25. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1889 property deed for Rehberg lot 26. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] | |
| 1893 | 1893 property deed for Rehberg lots 43 & 44. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1894 | 1894 property deed for Rehberg lot 55. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1896 | 1896 property deeds for Rehberg lots 51, 52 and 53. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1906 | 1906 property deeds for Rehberg lots 51, 52 & 53. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1911 | 1911 property deed for Rehberg lot 55. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
| 1922 | 1922 property deeds for Rehberg lots 48, 49 and 50. Source: Ottawa County Recorders Office [View] |
Letters
| Year | Description and document link |
|---|---|
| 189? | Toledo and Lake Erie Boating and Fishing Association letterhead, 1890s [View] |
| 1893 | Middle Bass Club letter from Supt. A. F. Rutherford to member James Clark. June 20, 1894. Source: Ohio Genealogy Express. [View] |
| 1894 | Letter from J. M. Rauch to Middle Bass Club regarding the upcoming 1915 season. [View] |
| 1915 | Letter dated January 21, 1893 from Herman D. Rehberg to Middle Bass Club member Alvin Mansfield Woolson. Source: Jack Snyder Personal Collection [View] |
Newspaper Articles
| Year | Description and document link |
|---|---|
| 1898 |
At Middle Bass Island: Glorious celebration of the Fourth by the Club. Patriotic address by Rev. Kelsey--Destiny of America -- Little Folks Contest for Prizes. Blade, July 5, 1898. Microfilm copy [View], Transcription [View] |
| 936 | Put In Bay Gazette article, "Exclusive Club at Middle Bass Opened." July 3, 1936. [View] |