Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Ziegler and Rankin Families Photographs and Other Material, circa 1890-1933
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Ziegler family ; ; Rankin family
- Title
- Ziegler and Rankin Families Photographs and Other Material
- Dates
- circa 1890-1933 (inclusive)18851938
- Quantity
- 3 boxes plus 3 oversize folders, ( .8 linear feet)
- Collection Number
- 1977.6486
- Summary
- Photographs, photo albums and papers from the Ziegler and Rankin families, who lived in Port Blakely on Bainbridge Island from approximately 1888 through the early 1900s. Along with a number of portraits of family, friends and school groups, the collection includes photographs documenting the Port Blakely Mill and company houses, the Hall Brothers shipyard and other Bainbridge Island locations.
- Repository
-
Museum of History & Industry, Sophie Frye Bass Library
P.O. Box 80816
Seattle, WA
98108
Telephone: 2063241126 x102
library@mohai.org - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
- Languages
- English.
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
The collection strongly suggests that there were three Ziegler siblings: Fred, Henry and Carrie Ziegler, children of Mr. G. and Christina Ziegler.
Fred G. Ziegler was a resident of Port Blakely since 1888 and ran the Bainbridge Hotel at Port Blakely until at least 1920. After the hotel burned down on August 12, 1928, Ziegler ran a dairy with his herd of Jersey cows, whose milk he sent to the creamery in Bremerton. It was during such a delivery that Fred Ziegler died in 1931, in a drowning accident at Fletcher Bay when he accidentally backed his truck off the ferry dock. Ziegler was survived by his wife, Gertrude Zeigler, who seems to have been an active member of the Port Blakely community. The Zieglers had a son, Weldon.
Henry Ziegler worked for Port Blakely Mill and lived in the company housing with his wife M. Augusta Meins Ziegler, whom he married in 1898.
Carrie Ziegler married William Rankin, a manager of the Port Blakely Mill Company, in 1906. The Rankins had two sons, Elwood (b. 1908) and Weldon (1911- 1925), the latter dying of pneumonia at the age of 14. In 1925, the Rankin family lived in Seattle, having moved there from Port Blakely three years previously, and both sons attended Queen Anne High School. William Rankin died on June 30, 1926, after managing the Port Blakely Mill Company for the previous 25 years.
Historical BackgroundReturn to Top
Port Blakely Mill
After failed attempts to establish mill operations at Alki and Port Orchard, Captain William Renton founded the Port Blakely Mill Company in 1864, on land he purchased at Bainbridge Island's Blakely Harbor. One of several small mills in the area, the mill's output began to increase during the 1870s, partly as a result of a large immigrant labor force. In 1872, ferry service began between Seattle and Port Blakely and in 1879, Renton persuaded Hall Brothers Shipyard to move its operation to Port Blakely. During this period, Renton built houses for the families of mill workers, bachelor dormitories and the nearby 75-room Bainbridge Hotel; he also established a daily stage between Port Blakely and Port Madison. By the 1880s Port Blakely mill had become the largest sawmill on the Pacific Coast, turning out 200,000 board feet a day. The Port Blakely Mill was damaged by fire and subsequently rebuilt in 1888 and again in 1907. Following a decline in the lumber market, the mill was closed and demolished in 1924. Today, the Islandwood center for outdoor education for school children operates on the site of the old Port Blakely Mill.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists of photographs, photo albums and papers from the Ziegler and Rankin families, who lived in Port Blakely on Bainbridge Island from approximately 1888 through the early 1900s. The photographs include many portraits, including a few portraying Ziegler family members. Group portraits of school children include Ziegler children as well as many children from local immigrant families, such as the Elofsons. The photographs also document the company houses for mill employees, including the house of the Henry Ziegler family. Other photographs depict the Port Blakely Mill, office and boiler room, Hall Brothers shipyard and other Bainbridge Island locations.
The albums consist of family photographs and clippings. Albums photographs include further images of company housing, and formal and informal photographs of family and friends. Family papers include wedding announcements, letters, invitations and programs, and newspaper clippings about friends and family. A biographical booklet about Victor Hugo Elfendahl describes the life and professional career of this assistant manager of the Port Blakely Mill.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Preferred Citation
Ziegler and Rankin Families Photographs and Other Materials, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection has been divided into series by format, with separate series for photographs, albums, papers and publications.
Location of Collection
2b.1.6Location of Collection
1a.3.6, 10 (oversize photos)Acquisition Information
Donated by Mrs. F.R. Rankin in 1977.
Processing Note
One of the photo albums was disassembled due to deterioration. Album pages were placed in folders and retained in their original order.
Separated Materials
These materials are part of a donation that also included artifacts. These artifacts are cataloged and stored separately by MOHAI's Collections Department.
Bibliography
Kitsap County Historical Society (1977). Kitsap County: A History. Book VI: Bainbridge Island.
Price, A., Jr (1990). Port Blakely: The Community Captain Renton Built. Seattle, WA: Port Blakely Books.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Photographs Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1 | 1: Young man, probably Henry or Fred Ziegler
Judkins
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/2 | 2, 3: Gertrude Ziegler
Hamilton,
Seattle
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/3 | 4: Maud Hemstock |
undated |
| 1/3 | 5: Abbie Durkin
Globe Studio
, Seattle
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/3 | 6: Grace Gill
James & Bushnell
, Seattle
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/3 | 7: Ellen Tobin
Nordlund's Photo Co.
, Seattle
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/3 | 8: Chieko Shigemura
Toyo Studio
, Seattle
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/4 | 9: Sol Asher
Urban & Rogers
, Seattle
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/4 | 10: Mr. and Mrs. Hjellmer Anderson
Jacob
, Seattle
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/4 | 11: Two men in bowler hats on sidewalk |
undated |
| 1/4 | 12: Group on horses on Las Cascadas Road |
1909 December 12 |
| 1/4 | 13: Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Connors |
1911 June 11 |
| 1/5 | 14: Woman with fur boa |
circa 1917 |
| 1/5 | 15-18: Individual portraits of women
Colpitts
, Seattle;
Boyd
, Seattle;
Urban & Rogers
, Seattle;
Wils & Vreeland
, Seattle
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/6 | 19-21: Individual portraits of men
Bushnell
, Seattle;
LaPine
, Seattle;
Dingman Studio
, Seattle
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/6 | 22: Couple with infant
James & Bushnell
, Seattle
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/6 | 23: Two women and man |
undated |
| 1/6 | 24: Two women and man in front of horse-drawn carriage |
undated |
| 1/7 | 25: Ronald Eben Bucklin at five months old |
1909 August 17 |
| 1/7 | 26: Alice Jane Carroll at two months old
Lynn & Cram
, Seattle
(photographer)
|
1909 February |
| 1/7 | 27: C. Verlaine Ziegler at 11 years old |
1913 September |
| 1/7 | 28: Infant Georgia Franks |
undated |
| 1/7 | 29: Leslie Lincoln Randall at 1 year old
Mercer Studio
(photographer)
|
1910 |
| 1/7 | 30-33: Individual portraits of children
Dingham
, Seattle;
A.T. Miles
, Bremerton;
Lothrop
, Seattle;
Christy Studio
, Seattle
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/8 | 34: School group |
1909 February 14 |
| 1/8 | 35: School children
Identifications on verso
|
1925 |
| 1/8 | 36: Second grade group
Identifications on verso
|
undated |
| 1/8 | 37: Students on steps of Woodlawn School |
undated |
| 1/8 | 38: Students, including Carrie Ziegler, on steps of school
Identifications on verso
|
undated |
| 1/8 | 39: Students in front of Port Blakely School
Identifications on verso
|
undated |
| 1/8b | 121: Flower girls at wedding of William Rankin and Carrie Ziegler
Two of the girls are identified on verso as Helen Peterson and Kathleen Price.
|
1906 |
| 1/9 | 40: Group of women in costumes
Identifications on verso
|
undated |
| 1/10 | circa 1900 | |
| 1/10 | 42: Man in office |
undated |
| 1/11 | 43-48: Portraits: tintypes |
undated |
| 1/12 | 49-57: Sailing vessels at Port Blakely Lumber Mill dock |
undated |
| 1/12 | circa 1890s | |
| 1/12 | 60: Crane moving lumber |
undated |
| 1/13 | circa 1900 | |
| 1/13 | 62: Man at desk in Port Blakely Mill office |
undated |
| 1/14 | 63, 64: Port Blakely Mill and band saw after fire
C.P. Harper
(photographer)
|
circa 1907 |
| 1/15 | 65: Henry Ziegler's mill company house |
undated |
| 1/16 | 66: Three men, two women and child on steps of mill company house
|
circa 1909 |
| 1/16 | circa 1900 | |
| 1/16 | circa 1900 | |
| 1/17 | 69: Hotel, possibly the Port Blakely Hotel |
undated |
| 1/17 | 70: Hall Brothers shipyard |
undated |
| 1/18 | 71: Port Blakely Hall decorated for Masonic party |
undated |
| 1/18 | 72: Room decorated for event at Masonic Hall |
undated |
| 1/19 | 73-75: Greenhouses on Bainbridge Island |
undated |
| 1/20 | circa 1930 | |
| 1/20 | 77: View of Puget Sound at sunset |
undated |
| 1/20 | 78: Seagull with Seattle skyline in background |
undated |
| 1/20 | 79: Dirt road through wooded area |
undated |
| 1/21 | 80: Clipper ship Benjamin Packard
|
undated |
| 1/21 | 81, 82: Clipper ship Benjamin Packard
Dale
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/22 | 83: Battleship before launch, probably the Nebraska
|
undated |
| 1/23 | 84: Road around Lake Crescent on the Olympic Peninsula |
undated |
| 1/23 | 85: Olympic Highway Bridge on Duckabush River on the Olympic Peninsula
|
undated |
| 1/24 | 86: 60 by 90 feet flag flying at Camp Lewis |
undated |
| 1/25 | 87: Members of a fraternal order posed outside commercial building
|
undated |
| 1/26 | 88: Nooksack Indian Old Tolowie and Nooksack woman
U.P. Hadley
(photographer)
|
circa 1903 |
| 1/26 | 89: Native woman weaving basket outside shack |
undated |
| 1/27 | 90-95: S.S. Bertha on fire in Uyak Bay, Kodiak,
Alaska 6 photographic postcards
N.W.F. Co.
(photographer)
|
1915 July 19 |
| 1/28 | 96-99: Exterior, interior and fish bin of Tea Harbor Packing Co. Cannery, Tea
Harbor, Alaska
W.H. Case
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/29 | 100: View of volcano, probably in Alaska
Merrill Studio
, Sitka, Alaska
(photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/30 | 101: Memorial stone markers near Union Gap, Yakima, Washington
These markers commemorate Tow-Tow-Nah-Hee, the only Indian killed in the Battle of Two Buttes
|
after 1917 |
| 1/30 | 102: Horse drawn cart in front of Ike's Place Confectionary & Pool Hall
|
undated |
| 1/30 | 103-105: Boat Lieut. Elliott aground |
undated |
| 1/30 | 106, 107: Steamers near dock, probably at Port Blakely |
undated |
| 1/30 | 108: Ship in shipbuilding cradle |
undated |
| 1/30 | 109: Ship at dock, probably at Port Blakely |
undated |
| 1/30 | 110: Ships near dock |
undated |
| box:oversize | ||
| OS | 118: Waterfront (Port Blakely?) |
1891 |
| OS | 119: Group of children in front of brick building |
circa 1890s |
| OS | 120: Launch of the five-masted schooner H.K. Hall at the Hall Brothers
Shipyard, Port Blakely
Wilhelm Hester
(photographer)
|
1901 |
Photograph Albums Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box | ||
| 2 | 111: Photograph album
This album consists largely of images of the William Rankin and Carrie Ziegler Rankin family and
friends. It includes photographs of William and Carrie Rankin, two children who are probably their sons Weldon and
Elwood, and photographs of a Port Blakely Mill company house. The album also contains clippings, including several
about the death of Weldon Rankin at the age of 14 from pneumonia, and about the death of William Rankin. Loose photos
removed from the album are in a separate folder.
|
circa 1900-1925 |
| 2 | 112: Photograph album
The front of the album consists of portraits of several individuals. Some are recognizable as members of
the Zeigler family (probably Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ziegler); others are possibly members of a Lowe family. The album also
includes several images of the Port Blakely company houses, and photographs of the Hall Brothers shipyard, the U.S.S.
Arizona, and church and school buildings. The back of the album contains photographs of
pets, livestock and farm buildings. Loose photos removed from the album are in a separate folder.
|
undated |
| 2 | 113: Photograph album
This album contains images of a Mrs. Brock and her family, "Aunt Lizzie Hogue" and her husband, and
other individuals. Locations depicted include a hotel, houses, a cabin, Mount Rainier and Bainbridge High School. Loose
photos removed from the album are in a separate folder.
|
undated |
Papers Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 3 | 1 | Letters to Mr. and Mrs. F.G. Ziegler |
1906; 1912; undated |
| 3 | 2 | Invitations to Mr. and Mrs. F.G. Ziegler |
circa 1900-1910 |
| 3 | 3 | Wedding announcements and wedding invitations
Includes announcement of marriage Henry F. Ziegler to Augusta Meins on June 20, 1898 and of Carrie
Ziegler to William Rankin on June 18, 1906.
|
1898-1911 |
| 3 | 4 | Patent certificates to Philip Martin Low for "spark arresters"
|
1891 September 8; 1909 February 9 |
| 3 | 5 | Programs
Programs for theatrical productions, luncheons and banquets, mostly in Port Blakely
|
1899-1933 |
| 3 | 6 | F.G. Ziegler's copy of script for "A Regular Fix" |
1899 |
| 3 | 7 | Clippings |
early 1900s |
| 3 | 8 | Miscellaneous |
undated |
Publications Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box | ||
| 3 | 114: Booklet of photographs of Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition buildings
|
circa 1909 |
| 3 | 115: The Cornish School General Catalog |
1924-1925 |
| 3 | 116:
At Home with the Kodak
Tips on taking photographs at home, published by the Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N.Y.
|
early 1900s |
| 3 | 117:
Victor Hugo Elfendahl
Brief biographical booklet about the life and professional career of Elfendahl, the assistant general
manager of the Port Blakely Mill Company of Seattle.
|
circa 1918 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Lumber industry--Washington (State)--Port Blakely
- Mills--Washington (State)--Port Blakely
- Shipyards--Washington (State)--Port Blakely
Personal Names
- Rankin, William
- Ziegler, Carrie
- Ziegler, Fred
- Ziegler, Gertrude
- Ziegler, Henry
Corporate Names
- Hall Brothers Shipyard (Port Blakely, Wash.)
- Port Blakely Mill Company
Geographical Names
- Bainbridge Island (Wash.)
- Port Blakely (Wash.)
Form or Genre Terms
- Photograph albums
- Photographic prints
- Portrait photographs
- Tintypes
Finding aid prepared by Jody Hendrickson
2006
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
