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 7 "Unusual Source"

MY FATHER, THE BOWLER

My father was an avid sports lover.  Growing up in Detroit he had plenty of outlets for his love whether with the Detroit Tigers, Lions, Pistons or Red Wings and he could be seen either attending the games, watching them on television, listening on the radio or doing both the television(s) and radio at the same time.  I can still see him sitting in his recliner with the main television showing one game, a small portable television (very small) sitting on his lap watching another game and the radio in his ear listening to yet a third game.

My grandfather told me that my father received his first baseball uniform when he was a teenager and he wouldn't take it off for several days.  He loved playing baseball as a young boy but that quickly changed when he discovered bowling.  Bowling would continue to grip him for his entire life.

During my childhood and teen years I like to say that I grew up in bowling alleys.  Actually my father bowled in two men's leagues a week and then my mother and he bowled in a mixed league on another day.  Three days a week my brother and I accompanied them to the various bowling alleys where I would sit and either read or do homework.  I guess the action bored me!

I have a few photos of my father related to his bowling.  He was an excellent bowler and in high school was predicted to be a champ.  He probably could have achieved that if he had pursued it but WWII came up and that changed young men forever.

When I was growing up our home was filled with bowling trophies.  Here is a photo of my father in approximately 1958 with his championship team at the time:

Back Row:  Robbie Robinson, Mylen Schulte, Floyd Labuhn

Front Row:  William Machleit, Clifford Rupnow

Ritz Bowling Alley

Detroit, MI, ca 1958

In approximately 1966 another championship for his team and my father is sitting with his trophy.  This was from the mixed league he was in with my mother; why her photo isn't here I don't know unless she was taking the picture:

Mylen Schulte with bowling trophy
ca 1966

But where did this love begin?  Some time back, due to the post of another genealogy blogger, I learned something new about my father from an unusual and unexpected source.  Kristin of "Finding Eliza" had an excellent post about her mother in which she mentioned that her mother had graduated from Eastern High School in Detroit in 1940.  My father graduated from Eastern in 1941 and I sent off a comment to Kristin.  A few comments went back and forth and Kristin asked me if my father had been in any sports or activities at Eastern.  I told her he was an avid bowler and she graciously checked her mother's 1940 yearbook and found a photo of the bowling team of that year.  She scanned the photo and sent it to me and there WAS my father in the photo in his Junior year of high school.  This was a photo I had never seen of my dad when he was very young:

Eastern High School, Detroit, MI

Bowling Team, 1940

Mylen Schulte, back row, far left side

The text that accompanied the photo gave my father's name as "Milton Schulte".  I will admit that my father had a very unusual first name of "Mylen" but where the high school got the name of Milton is a good question.  In any case, that IS my father and a photo that I received from a unexpected and unusual source.

Text from Eastern High School, Detroit, MI

Yearbook of 1940

This only goes to show the kindness and generosity of fellow genealogists!  Thanks, Kristin!

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 1895".  Why that day, I don't know, but in doing a little Google search I learned that day in 1895 fell on a Thursday.  

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

State of 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.

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

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 5 "In The Kitchen"

AUGUST GOTTLIEB KOLBERG'S 10TH BIRTHDAY

I have created the following using notes and recollections that my maternal grandmother, Ella Kolberg Kijak, shared with me regarding HER father, August Gottlieb Kolberg's, 10th birthday.  At the time that she shared this information with me I did not have any knowledge as to how to link all the relatives listed in his memories into our family history.  Now, years later, with the help of the Internet and access to German churchbooks, etc. I do know how all of these relatives fit into our Kolberg family and I am pleased to see that my great-grandfather did relate these relationships accurately.  

Enjoy this account of a boy's 10th birthday in Pommern in the 1860's:

August Kolberg's memories of turning 10:

I was born on November 24, 1854 in Klein Tuchen, Kreis Bütow, Pommern, Germany and I was the third son of my parents.  In our family a boy's 10th birthday was a special occasion and the year I was turning 10 my birthday in November was on my mind constantly.

November 24, 1864 began bright and early.  I awoke even before it was light outside and could hear Mama and Papa working in the house.  Today would be my special birthday and many aunts, uncles, cousins and neighbors would be coming by.  Papa and Mama had a strict rule in our family that each child must attend school for four years; that was very important to them as they were not able to have any schooling.  So far my two older brothers, Albert and Fritz, had studied for four years in school and then when they were 10 they were allowed to stop school and begin working on the farm with Papa.  I was looking forward to this as well.  I must admit school was not my favorite thing to do; I would have rather been outside in the fields or playing with my brothers but Papa and Mama were very strict about the school rule.  Today I would be allowed to stop school and begin to work on the farm as well.  

Papa called to us boys to get up while it was still dark.  Albert, Fritz and I got up immediately but our younger brothers, Heinrich and Johann, were lazier and had to be prompted to get up.  They were only 7 and 5 at the time.  Baby Hermann would be 2 tomorrow and he was still sleeping as well.  Mama also had the new baby, Gustav, who was only 5 weeks old at the time.  There had also been another brother, Franz, but he had died last year when he was only 2.  Mama had been so hoping that this latest baby would be a little girl but now we were a family of Mama, Papa and 7 sons.

That morning Mama had our breakfast ready for us and told us to hurry and eat because aunts would be arriving soon to help with the birthday celebrations.  Because Mama had baby Gustav to tend to some of the aunts would be helping with the food for the birthday so that Mama could rest.  Mama would do this for the aunts in return as well.  Having a large family was important Mama would say because everyone would help everyone else.

We had barely finished our breakfast and the light was just beginning on the day when we could hear a wagon outside.  It was Oma Kautz coming to help with the birthday.  Oma was Mama's mother and all us boys loved Oma Kautz because she always brought us special breads and cakes that she had made.  Oma was the only grandparent I had anymore.  I had not known Opa Kautz because he had died long before I was born.  When he died, Oma married a Mr. Krause so that she would have help on the farm.  Mr. Krause was very stern and never smiled so we boys stayed away from him.

Oma came in the house and told me "Happy Birthday, August" and showed me the basket she was bringing that held some special cakes with sugar on top.  She went over to Mama and inquired how baby Gustav was doing.  Mama said he was sleeping fine but not eating well and she was worried.  We did not know it then but in a few months baby Gustav would die.

After breakfast all us boys were sent outside to give Mama and Oma room to work on the birthday.  Soon the aunts arrived carrying baskets of food as well.  Mama was going to make my favorite Pommern potatoes and the aunts had been helping her the last few days by boiling and cooling pounds of potatoes.  Now they were bringing them to the house so Mama could prepare them. The potatoes took a long time to make but it helped Mama that the aunts had boiled them ahead of time.  Mama then sliced them and put them in the pan on the fire with lots of lard. The potatoes sizzled and fried for quite some time while Mama kept slicing more potatoes.  We would need a lot for all the family that were coming.  What made these potatoes special was that after they were almost done frying Mama would crack eggs into the potatoes and fry them together; the eggs would work into the potatoes and Mama would get them very crispy.  I always wanted the potatoes around the edge of the pan because they were the best.  Many times we had only these Pommern potatoes for dinner because they were so good.  Mama had promised me she would make them herself for my birthday because her potatoes were much better than those made by the aunts though we could not tell them that.

Aunt Carolina and Uncle Johann arrived soon with some of the cousins.  Aunt Carolina was one of Papa's sisters.  They brought more food and chicken as well for the meal.  Mama was happy to see them because Aunt Carolina was a hard worker.  Soon Uncle August and Aunt Friederike arrived.  Uncle August was Papa's brother and he was my godfather which was something he reminded me of all the time.  I liked Uncle August because he would take my older brothers out behind the barn and let them smoke some tobacco and he had been promising this to me all year.  Aunt Friederike came bearing her usual gift for all the cousins which were hand knit socks.  She took great pride in using heavy yarn so that the socks would be warm and she would always say the same thing "if your feet are warm you won't get sick".  We boys thought her socks were picky and uncomfortable but Mama always frowned at us and we quickly thanked Aunt Friederike.  Later Mama would tell us that we needed to be grateful because we had many feet in the house to put socks on and it helped Mama when an aunt would give us new socks.

By midday we had many guests - aunts, uncles, cousins and even some neighbors all coming for my 10th birthday.  Uncle Gottlieb and Aunt Karolina brought a smoked ham from the hogs on their farm and Papa praised the ham.  Uncle Gottlieb was Papa's brother as well.  They had children the same ages as us boys and even had an August born the same year as me.  Sometimes it became very confusing when all the cousins were together.

The day went by quickly but it was grand fun.  Uncle August tried to take me out behind the barn to show me his tobacco but Papa saw us and quickly stopped this.  Uncle August and Papa talked loudly about this for a while but in the end Uncle August shrugged and walked away.  Papa told me that there would be plenty of time for tobacco but he didn't want me to be sick today on my birthday.  I wasn't very happy but we boys knew we had to obey Papa.  That was the way it was.

By the end of the day the families were all leaving but Aunt Carolina and Oma Kautz stayed longer to help with cleaning up the house.  Mama was looking very tired and Oma was worried about her.  But Mama said to me "I think August Gottlieb that you had a grand 10th birthday and now you are a man".  Oma Kautz reminded me that Mama had worked hard on my Pommern potatoes while tending baby Gustav and I should never forget the grand birthday I had.

And I never did!!

(As a side note - the making of Pommern potatoes continues in our family and has been passed down mother to mother).

Copyright 2021, Cheryl J. Schulte