Charles Stager Served as Sheriff of Lucas County [Ohio] in 1897 by Alan Borer
When
we think of a “sheriff,” many of us think of a man in western garb, wearing a
badge, and drawling, “This town ain’t big enough for the two of us,” or
something like it. Charles G. Stager,
sheriff of Lucas County from 1897 to 1902, did not leave much in the way of
letters or papers, but one thing he wrote was this:
Throughout the week ending today
Clover Seed ruled comparatively dull and lower.
Receipts were liberal, while the demand was very tame and was of a don’t
care order. . . . Today the market ruled
very dull, a sale of 100 bags March was made @8.10, closing dull. (March 25,
1893)
Stager
used the word “dull” three times in four sentences! Although this dates from a few years before
his term as sheriff, it seems out of character for a prospective lawman. But Stager lived at a time when the sheriff’s
job was a political prize, a reward for party loyalty and work. Charles Stager was a salesman first and
foremost. The sheriff’s job was an
extra, a bit of praise, prestige, and remuneration. Stager was a lawman, but not in the way you
might think.
Charles G. Stager was born in Toledo on June 10,
1860. His parents, Gottfried and
Dorothea, were both German immigrants, and German was the language of his
childhood. As an adult, Stager went into
the wholesale garden and farm seed business.
He became a business partner with William F. Kratz in 1885. Three years later Stager and Cratz went their
separate ways, founding separate seed businesses. With a store located at 123-125 Erie Street,[i]
Stager advertised “Clover seed a specialty.”
Stager became a
successful businessman, but sadly his health took a turn for the worse. Now he turned toward civil service, serving
as Toledo’s police commissioner. In 1896
was elected sheriff of Lucas County. Sheriffs
of the late nineteenth century had a reputation of political favoritism,
corruption, and, party hack work.
Charles Stager was different.
Elected at the same time as Toledo Mayor Samuel “Golden Rule” Jones,
Stager leaned toward the Progressive movement in the new century. He received support from both parties in his
campaign for sheriff:
Newly
in office, Stager and Jones agreed on the need to reform the Toledo police
department. One of the issues the old
department wanted approval on was to allow patrolman to carry a large club as a
police baton. Stager viewed these as a
menace, a way of intimidating the civilian population. With Mayor Jones’ “enthusiastic endorsement,”
Stager “recommended the use of walking sticks” instead of cudgels.[ii]
Other parts of the sheriff’s job were more mundane. Stager was the defendant in a lawsuit, Sargent vs Stager (1899). Sargent’s lawyer lost the case, but in 1902,
he countersued under a legal maneuver known as replevin. Replevin allows the loser of a lawsuit to
retrieve some of the money lost.
Stager was active in fraternal organizations. He belonged to the Elks Club, climbing to the
position of “exalted ruler” in the Toledo lodge:
….” A delegation of Elks will leave
Cincinnati for Toledo. They will arrive
in time to make the town hot that night – so hot in fact that Lake Erie will be
tepid as far as Sandusky Bay. . . . because of a testimonial to Charlie Stager,
the Sheriff-elect of Lucas County. It is
to be tendered at the meeting of the Toledo Elks at the Valentine Block, and
all because he, a Democrat, was elected by a handsome majority in a Republican
county.”[iii]
In
August of 1898, Stager and his wife Mary went to an Elks convention in Sandusky,
and “were among the early arrivals.” Among the huge crowds (at least 2,300),
enjoying clambakes, dancing, and yacht races, was a Toledo marching group
called the Toledo Cherry Pickers. “Then came the Cherry Pickers in their
bright red uniforms. . . . They gave several pretty evolutions along the line
of march and were greeted with applause.” It is likely that Sheriff Stager
greeted some of his Toledo friends in Sandusky.
Stager was also a member of the Knights of
Columbus where, in December of 1898, he took part in a mock street battle:
“The
Toledoans were led by that indomitable son of St. Patrick, O’Brien O’Donnell,
ably backed up by Messrs John T. Solon, Frederick Schaal and Charles Stager.
The engagement lasted an hour and although the dwellers on the shores of the
Maumee were at a great disadvantage they went through with flying colors.[iv]
Stager
died at the relatively young age of 49 on January 21, 1910. His is buried in Calvary Cemetery.[v] He left his wife and three daughters, the two
elder of which taught for Toledo Public Schools. Charles Stager accomplished much during his
short life.
[i] https://books.google.com/books?id=PugCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1248&lpg=PA1248&dq=stager+seed+merchants+toledo&source=bl&ots=xgwJmwxfOK&sig=ACfU3U2qHDU8luVaILHwwWcC-Tp3E_qGQw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiGlubyruHyAhUHTN8KHdecDwoQ6AF6BAgCEAM#v=onepage&q=stager%20seed%20merchants%20toledo&f=false
[ii] Marnie
Jones, Holy
Toledo: Religion and Politics in the Life of "Golden Rule" Jones, p.
[iii] Cincinnati Enquirer, November 9,
1897, p. 4.
[iv] The Catholic
Telegraph, Volume 67, Number 48, 1 December 1898
[v]
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DY99-CND?i=1352&cc=2128172&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AF6LW-H83
