52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 8 "Power"

MY "GRANDMA" LAMP

Growing up I often saw a beautiful cut glass lamp displayed in the home of my paternal grandparents.  It was lovely and we were never allowed to touch it.  My grandfather, Elmer Schulte, told me the lamp had belonged to his parents (Rudolph and Juliane, nee Feucht, Schulte) and had been displayed in their home at 521 St. Aubin in Detroit when he was growing up.  His mother had loved this lamp, he said; he believed it had been a gift to them when they married in 1891.

This lamp is powered with an electrical socket from the Hubbell Lamp Company.  The lamp in a mushroom shape has 40 prisms which hang from the removable cut glass shade.  The prisms are staggered, one being long, the next shorter, the next long and so forth around the circumference of the lamp.  There are two bulbs in the lamp with pull-chains to turn them on and off.

Over the years this lamp has been passed down in my family.  After my great-grandmother, Juliane's death in January, 1907, my great-grandfather remarried and the lamp stayed in his home with his new wife.  When my great-grandfather, Rudolph, passed away in 1940 the lamp went to the home of my grandparents (Elmer and Ella, nee Wellhausen, Schulte).  My grandfather passed away in 1968 and my grandmother in 1989 at which time my aunt took possession of the lamp.

After the death of my aunt, her son had the lamp in his home.  I had a deep desire for the lamp and approached my cousin about this. He agreed that the lamp was not "his style" and he was happy to pass the lamp on to me.   I continue to display this lamp in my home.  It holds a special significance to me as I can imagine my great-grandmother lovingly caring for this very extravagant lamp for the times.

Cut Glass Mushroom Lamp

Hubbell Lamp Socket With Pull Chains

A few years ago representatives from Antiques Roadshow came through my town and I took the lamp to them for appraisal.  I was pleased to learn that it continues to be a very collectible and valuable item some 100+ years after my great-grandparents had it in their home.

A LITTLE LAMP HISTORY

Since my grandfather had assumed that the cut glass mushroom lamp had been a wedding present to his parents I took him at his word.  However, when the Internet came on the scene I decided to do a little research on the Hubbell Lamp Company.

I learned that on August 11, 1896 a Bridgeport, Connecticut inventor and industrialist, Harvey Hubbell, patented a socket for incandescent lamps.  It utilized a simple on/off switch contained in the base of the light socket and was controlled by a pull chain. This is a design that remains popular to this day.  The above link to the Hubbell Lamp Company shows a socket that is a perfect match for the socket (labeled as Hubbell) within my "grandma lamp" and thus dates the lamp to no earlier than August 11, 1896.  Therefore, my lamp was not a wedding gift for Rudolph and Juliane Schulte but something they either purchased or received later.

As my grandfather, Elmer, could remember the lamp in his childhood home and could remember his mother caring for the lamp, and as he was only twelve when his mother passed away, I can safely date the appearance of the lamp in the Rudolph & Juliane Schulte home to between 1896 and 1906.

Note:  A similar cut glass lamp in a slightly different pattern recently sold at auction for $14,000!

Copyright 2021, Cheryl J. Schulte

From Whence I Came - Juliane Feucht

CHRISTINE KATHERINE JULIANE FEUCHT

On February 16, 1870, in Detroit, Michigan, a baby daughter was born to Johann Jacob Feucht (known as Jacob) and his wife, Magdalena Helena Bauer (known as Helena).  This daughter was named Christine Katherine Juliane but was called Juliane or Julia for her entire life.  She was one of my great-grandmothers.

Juliane was the 6th of what would be 10 children born to Jacob and Helena and at her birth she joined her older siblings Elizabeth, Rosa and Johann Conrad.  Two other siblings, Johann Georg and Karoline, had died as infants.

A devout Lutheran couple, Jacob and Helena had their baby daughter baptized on March 20, 1870 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Detroit.  Her sponsors were Peter and Christine Lutz and Katharine Feucht.  The minister performing the baptism was the Rev. J.A. Huegli who served Trinity from 1860-1902.  It is unknown to me at this time who these sponsors were in relation to the Feucht family but in all likelihood Katharine Feucht was in some way related.

The 1870 Detroit, Michigan, US Census shows the Jacob and Helena Feucht family with Juliane listed as a 3 month old infant.

The 1880 Detroit, Michigan, US Census showed the family, living on Macomb Street in Detroit, with Juliane now 10 years old.

No data is known of Juliane's life from 10 years old until she married, nor how she and her future husband met, but I do have this photo of her that was taken when she was a teenager.  I feel she was one beautiful young woman:

On October 7, 1891 Juliane married Rudolph Myer Schulte at Bethany Lutheran Church in Detroit.  Their witnesses were Margaret Feucht, the sister of Juliane and Felix Hauer who in 1893 would marry Rudolph's sister, Elizabeth:

On May 14, 1892 a baby daughter, Irene Elisabeth, was born to Rudolph and Juliane, however, she passed away at birth and is buried in the Feucht family plot at Trinity Lutheran Cemetery on Mt. Elliott Avenue in Detroit.

On August 4, 1894, Juliane and Rudolph welcomed a baby son, Elmer Meyer Schulte, into their family and it was obvious that Juliane was a loving mother.  When I was growing up, my grandfather, Elmer, talked lovingly to me about his mother and his memories of her.

The above photo I also have in a locket which is a treasured possession.

In 1900 Rudolph, Juliane and Elmer appeared in the 1900 Detroit, Michigan, US Census showing them living on St. Aubin Avenue.  An error by the census taker shows Rudolph's name as W.F. Schulte:

In 1906 the following photo was taken of the Rudolph and Juliane Schulte family with son, Elmer, age 12:

On January 14, 1907 my great-grandmother, Juliane Feucht Schulte, passed away from cancer of the liver.  She was buried in her Schulte in-law's family plot at Trinity Lutheran Cemetery on Mt. Elliott Avenue in Detroit.  I was told that there was a gravestone on the grave but over the years it was vandalized and removed.  I have visited the cemetery over the years and, hopefully, my great-grandmother has felt the fact that her only great-granddaughter thinks often of her.

Today I am thinking of my great-grandmother on what would be the 151st anniversary of her birth. Very few photos of Juliane exist though I am happy for the three that I have.  Despite only having his mother for 12 years, my grandfather carried many warm memories of her with him for his entire life.  He was the most wonderful and loving grandfather and I am sure these qualities came to him from his mother.

Copyright 2021, Cheryl J. Schulte

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 6 "Valentine"

WELLHAUSEN/SCHLUESSLER VALENTINE WEDDING

When I began my genealogical research in the 1970's I began with my paternal grandmother's parents.  My grandmother was still living and had a treasure trove of memories to share with me.  One of the first things she told me was "Ma and Pa were married on Valentine's Day in 1894".  Why that day, I don't know, but in doing a little Google search I learned that day in 1894 fell on a Wednesday.  

My research on this family began back in the day when there were no personal computers, certainly no Internet, no Ancestry.com, etc.  My first step in this research was to visit the church where my grandmother told me her parents were married - St. John's Lutheran Church in Fraser, Michigan which is in Macomb County.  

I visited the church and the secretary graciously brought me out the huge book of marriages and I began my research.  Armed with the date of the marriage I was able to quickly find the following entry:

Groom:  George William Wellhausen

Bride:  Emilie Auguste Christina Schluessler

Date of Marriage:  February 14, 1895 by Rev. Frederick Dreyer

Witnesses (and this was a surprise - 6 individuals were listed as witnesses):

Rosa Bloss and Edward Wellhausen - Edward was the brother of the groom and in 1897 he would marry Rosa Bloss.  

Louisa Wellhausen (probably Caroline Louisa Wellhausen) sister of the groom.

William Schluessler, Jr. - brother of the bride.

Emily Klein (probably Amelia Klein) and Louis Priehs - friends of the bride and groom and who would also marry in the near future.

This information I copied by hand as there was no smart phone to capture the picture!

In later years I was able to find their official marriage listing in the records of the State of Michigan.

Marriage entry of George Wellhausen and Amelia Schluessler, Macomb County, Michigan, 1895:

This entry massacred the surnames of both the bride and groom which is something I have seen many times in my research, however, all of the other information was accurate.  Additional information from this entry showed that the license was issued on February 7, 1895.  Parent's names were listed for both the bride and groom, their occupations, places of residence, etc.  It is a wonderful resource with a wealth of information.  However, I noted that there was a discrepancy in the year of their marriage.  My grandmother had told me her parents were married in 1894 but in reality they were married in 1895.  When I pressed her, she admitted that her parents had "diddled" before marriage and that her mother was 7 months pregnant.  Sure enough, their first child was born on April 10, 1895.

I don't have any photos of my great-grandparents from their wedding; it would be wonderful to have had an actual wedding portrait but there was none to be found.  

I have many photos of my great-grandmother as she lived until 1963 and I knew her well.  I was 16 when she passed away.  I have few photos of my great-grandfather as he died 25 years earlier.  

In looking at the witnesses to their marriage and the fact that 4 of the witnesses were 2 couples destined to also marry in the future, perhaps there was a "romantic" theme to choosing February 14th for their marriage.  

I will never know but I can dream!

George and Amelia Wellhausen with grandson, Lynwood Wellhausen, 1935:

Copyright 2021, Cheryl J. Schulte