wasmhi1977_6486.xml Guide to the Ziegler and Rankin Families Photographs and Other Material circa 1890-1933 Ziegler and Rankin Families Photographs and Other Material Finding aid prepared by Jody Hendrickson Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Museum of History & Industry © 2006
5933 6th Avenue South Seattle, WA 98108 Phone: 206-324-1126 URL: http://www.mohai.org
Finding aid encoded by ArchProteus 2006 Finding aid is in English Finding aid based on DACS ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard) Museum of History & Industry, Sophie Frye Bass Library
5933 6th Avenue South Seattle, WA 98108 Phone: 206-324-1126 URL: http://www.mohai.org
1977.6486 Ziegler family Rankin family Ziegler and Rankin Families Photographs and Other Material circa 1890-1933 3 boxes plus 3 oversize folders .8 linear feet 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. 2b.1.6 1a.3.6, 10 (oversize photos) Collection materials are in English. Biographical Note:

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 Background:

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.

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.

View selections from the collection in MOHAI's online collections.

The collection has been divided into series by format, with separate series for photographs, albums, papers and publications.

The collection is open to the public by appointment.

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.

Ziegler and Rankin Families Photographs and Other Materials, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle

Donated by Mrs. F.R. Rankin in 1977.

One of the photo albums was disassembled due to deterioration. Album pages were placed in folders and retained in their original order.

These materials are part of a donation that also included artifacts. These artifacts are cataloged and stored separately by MOHAI's Collections Department.

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.

 Rankin, William Ziegler, Carrie Ziegler, Gertrude Ziegler, Fred Ziegler, Henry Hall Brothers Shipyard (Port Blakely, Wash.) Port Blakely Mill Company Port Blakely (Wash.) Bainbridge Island (Wash.) Photograph albums Photographic prints Portrait photographs Tintypes Mills--Washington (State)--Port Blakely Lumber industry--Washington (State)--Port Blakely Shipyards--Washington (State)--Port Blakely Forestry and Forestry Products Home and Family Photographs Washington (State) Photographs 1/1 1 Judkins Young man, probably Henry or Fred Ziegler undated 1/2 2, 3 Hamilton, Seattle Gertrude Ziegler undated 1/3 4 Maud Hemstock undated 1/3 Globe Studio , Seattle 5 Abbie Durkin undated 1/3 James & Bushnell , Seattle 6 Grace Gill undated 1/3 Nordlund's Photo Co. , Seattle 7 Ellen Tobin undated 1/3 Toyo Studio , Seattle 8 Chieko Shigemura undated 1/4 Urban & Rogers , Seattle 9 Sol Asher undated 1/4 Jacob , Seattle 10 Mr. and Mrs. Hjellmer Anderson 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 Colpitts , Seattle; Boyd , Seattle; Urban & Rogers , Seattle; Wils & Vreeland , Seattle 15-18 Individual portraits of women undated 1/6 19-21 Bushnell , Seattle; LaPine , Seattle; Dingman Studio , Seattle Individual portraits of men undated 1/6 22 James & Bushnell , Seattle Couple with infant 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 Lynn & Cram , Seattle Alice Jane Carroll at two months old 1909 February 1/7 27 C. Verlaine Ziegler at 11 years old 1913 September 1/7 28 Infant Georgia Franks undated 1/7 29 Mercer Studio Leslie Lincoln Randall at 1 year old 1910 1/7 30-33 Dingham , Seattle; A.T. Miles , Bremerton; Lothrop , Seattle; Christy Studio , Seattle Individual portraits of children undated 1/8 34 School group 1909 February 14 1/8 35 School children 1925

Identifications on verso

 1/8 36 Second grade group undated

Identifications on verso

 1/8 37 Students on steps of Woodlawn School undated 1/8 38 Students, including Carrie Ziegler, on steps of school undated

Identifications on verso

 1/8 39 Students in front of Port Blakely School undated

Identifications on verso

 1/8b 121 Flower girls at wedding of William Rankin and Carrie Ziegler 1906

Two of the girls are identified on verso as Helen Peterson and Kathleen Price.

 1/9 40 Group of women in costumes undated

Identifications on verso

 1/10 41 Two men looking at burnt timber after clear-cut and fire 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 58, 59 Port Blakely Lumber Mill showing log pond in foreground circa 1890s 1/12 60 Crane moving lumber undated 1/13 61 Two workmen, including one African-American, in Port Blakely Mill boiler room circa 1900 1/13 62 Man at desk in Port Blakely Mill office undated 1/14 63, 64 C.P. Harper Port Blakely Mill and band saw after fire 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 67 Mill company house with flowers on porch circa 1900 1/16 68 Row of mill company houses showing wooden tracks along road 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 76 Port Blakely ferry terminal with ferry Bainbridge 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 Dale Clipper ship Benjamin Packard 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 U.P. Hadley Nooksack Indian Old Tolowie and Nooksack woman circa 1903 1/26 89 Native woman weaving basket outside shack undated 1/27 90-95 N.W.F. Co. S.S. Bertha on fire in Uyak Bay, Kodiak, Alaska 6 photographic postcards 1915 July 19 1/28 96-99 W.H. Case Exterior, interior and fish bin of Tea Harbor Packing Co. Cannery, Tea Harbor, Alaska undated 1/29 100 Merrill Studio , Sitka, Alaska View of volcano, probably in Alaska undated 1/30 101 Memorial stone markers near Union Gap, Yakima, Washington after 1917

These markers commemorate Tow-Tow-Nah-Hee, the only Indian killed in the Battle of Two Buttes

 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 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 1901 Wilhelm Hester Photograph Albums 2 111 Photograph album circa 1900-1925

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.

 2 112 Photograph album undated

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.

 2 113 Photograph album undated

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.

 Papers 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 1898-1911

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.

 3 4 Patent certificates to Philip Martin Low for "spark arresters" 1891 September 8 1909 February 9 3 5 Programs 1899-1933

Programs for theatrical productions, luncheons and banquets, mostly in Port Blakely

 3 6 F.G. Ziegler's copy of script for "A Regular Fix" 1899 3 7 Clippings early 1900s 3 8 Miscellaneous undated Publications 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 early 1900s

Tips on taking photographs at home, published by the Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N.Y.

 3 117 Victor Hugo Elfendahl circa 1918

Brief biographical booklet about the life and professional career of Elfendahl, the assistant general manager of the Port Blakely Mill Company of Seattle.