From Whence I Came - George William Wellhausen

GEORGE WILLIAM WELLHAUSEN

Here I am with my final post in the "From Whence I Came" series that I began at the beginning of this year.  Over this year I have posted on each of my four grandparents and seven of my great-grandparents.  This post, today, will complete the series when I post about my eighth great-grandparent.

George William Wellhausen was born December 28, 1869 in Detroit, Michigan to Charles Ernst Wellhausen and Christina Graumann.  He was their fifth child and first son with daughters Bertha, Augusta, Caroline and Anna born prior to his birth.  Two additional sons, Edward and Charles, would be born after George's birth.  In later years, George would become the father of my paternal grandmother, Ella Wellhausen Schulte.

While George was born in Detroit the family soon relocated to Clinton Township, Michigan in Macomb County where he met his future wife, Amelia Schluessler.  They were married on February 14, 1895.  This was Valentine's day which makes me wonder if he was a romantic man!

Together George and Amelia had three children - daughters Gertrude and Ella and son, George, Jr.

I do know that my great-grandfather enjoyed hunting and fishing as my uncle, Melbourne Schulte, relates that his grandfather taught him both sports which were activities that my father was definitely not interested in.  Obviously George enjoyed his hunting with his younger brother, Edward, as well as these photos depict:

Over the years George tried farming but it proved too strenuous for his health conditions.  He later ran a General Store which was more suited to his health.  He was also civic minded and served as the Clerk of Utica, Michigan from 1917-1918 and as Mayor of Utica from 1920-1921.

George was particularly fond of his granddaughter, Alvis Jean, who was born to his son, George, Jr. and wife, Eleanor.  I have several photos showing Alvis with her grandpa and it is obvious that he loved having her around as this photo taken July 1, 1935 shows:

Anolther photo taken in 1935 shows George Wellhausen, Jr. holding his son, Lynwood with Alvis Jean standing in front of her grandpa, George Wellhausen, Sr.  What the dog's name was is anyone's guess but I am betting it was the hunting dog!

Tragically, Alvis would pass away at the age of 5 after an accident.  Her death greatly affected George perhaps contributing to his own death a few years later.

George Wellhausen passed away on April 8, 1938 in Utica, Michigan and he is buried with his wife, Amelia, in Utica Cemetery.

Following George's death my uncle, Mel Schulte, asked his grandmother Wellhausen if he could have his grandfather, George's, car which he desperately wanted.  George had taught his grandson how to drive and had let him drive this car around their property on different occasions.  Amelia agreed to sell the car to Mel for $300 but not until Mel had proved to her that he had the money readily available.  We have had some good laughs about that remarking "that definitely sounds like great-grandma" who was known for her frugal ways.

A few years ago my uncle Mel submitted the story about the purchase of his first car along with a photo to Reminisce Magazine who selected the story and photo for their yearly calendar.  He was mighty proud of this selection and the memories of his grandfather that this evoked:

While I never knew my great-grandfather, George Wellhausen, I have been thinking of him on this the 152nd anniversary of his birth.

Copyright 2021, Cheryl J. Schulte

From Whence I Came - Marianna Rubis

MARIANNA RUBIS

My decision to write a 12-post series on my four grandparents and eight great-grandparents was an exciting challenge.  To date, the ten posts I have written were enjoyable to write and not very difficult due to the materials and photos, information and identifiable data that I had on these ancestors.  I derived pleasure in doing these posts and feel that I did these ancestors justice as I personally remembered them or as others have spoken about them to me.

Today's post, though, is going to be the most challenging of all.  While all of the previous ten ancestors lived lives that were not perfection, had financial and personal challenges, I am confident that they all had happy lives that overshadowed the down times.  In all that I have learned about my great-grandmother Marianna Rubis, though, I don't know if I can safely say that her life was at all happy and pleasant.  I hope that I can do her justice in my tribute to her.

Marianna Rubis at her marriage on October 26, 1891:

The Polish birth certificate that I received on my great-grandmother states:

"No. 29

Komorowo on December 29th, 1874 before the undersigned Civil Registrar appeared today the laborer Lorenz Rubisch, who is known to us in person residing in Jeziorzany of the catholic religion and announced that a female child was born to Anna Rubisch nee Nowak, his wife of the catholic religion residing with him in Jezierzany on December 24 - twenty fourth of the year one thousand eight hundred seventy four at one AM at his apartment in Jeziorzany who received the given name Marianna.  Read, approved, and since the declarant doesn't know how to write, undersigned with his hand-sign XXX   The Registrar Sellentin."

Lorenz and Anna Rubis had two older children, Andrej Rubis (Andrew), born in 1861 and Jozefa Rubis (Josephine), born in 1867.  In April of 1878 they had another son named Stanislaus (Stanley).  Father, Lorenz Rubis, passed away on March 16, 1887 in Rzegnowo, Poland from tuberculosis.

Over the years in my research I have seen the surname spelled in a variety of ways but the spelling used in the US was Rubis and that is the spelling I have used in my records.

In 1888, following the death of her husband, Lorenz, Anna Rubis immigrated to the US to Bay City, Michigan with her two youngest children, Marianna and Stanley.  Despite extensive research I have still been unable to find a passenger list showing their immigration though the 1900 Bay City, Michigan US census shows the date of 1888.  

Anna's son, Andreas Rubis, and his wife, Marianna Wierzbicki, were married in Gnesen, Germany on February 17, 1884 and also immigrated to Bay City, Michigan.  

In addition, Anna's daughter, Josefa Rubis, and her husband, Thomas Krzwoszynski, also married in Gnesen, Germany on June 21, 1885 and also immigrated to Bay City, Michigan.  

While I have received the Polish birth and marriage records for Andreas and Josefa I am still unable to also locate passenger list information showing their immigration to the US.  However, by 1900 the Rubis family were all living in Bay City, Michigan.  I do not know what prompted their choice of Bay City but there was a large Polish community there and perhaps they had other friends from their home village already living in this town in Michigan.

I have no further information on my great-grandmother, Marianna, from the time she arrived in the US until her marriage on October 26, 1891 at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Bay City to John Albert Kijak.

They would have four children in the next nine years - Joseph born in 1892, Anna born in 1894, Martha born in 1896 and Rozalie (Rosa) born in 1898.  All four children were born in Bay City.

On Marianna and John Kijak's marriage record that I received from St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Bay City it indicated that Marianna had been born in Zczierzany, Gniemenski, Poland.  A vigorous search for any village in Poland resembling this spelling was never found.  When I did finally receive her birth record I saw that the village was called Jeziorzany, Poland which phonetically resembled the spelling on the marriage record.  It is likely that Marianna's pronunciation of her birth place to the recorder of her marriage was spelled the way the clerk understood it.  In any event, her birth record is definitive proof of her birth place of Jeziorzany, Poland.

Once I had received birth records from Poland on both Marianna Rubis and her husband, John Albert Kijak, I could see that Marianna was only 16 when she married John Kijak and he was 30 1/2 years old.  Even though this was a common practice at this time with younger women marrying older men I had to feel sorry for Marianna, a young girl who could not read, write or speak English, coming to a strange country and being married to a man near 15 years older than herself.  

Was Marianna's family life a happy one?  Was it moderately happy? Were the four Kijak children growing up in a loving family atmosphere?  From all indications that I have found and after numerous discussions with cousins it would appear that they were not a happy family.  John Kijak was obviously not destined to be a family man.  Each time Marianna was expecting a new baby John would take a hiatus and leave the family home, go off and stay with other family members and be gone for months at a time.  He would return eventually, stay for a while and when Marianna was again expecting another child, he would be off and running again.  This has been shared with me by more than one older cousin who were old enough to remember "Uncle John" staying at their home for months at a time.  After the fourth such incident, Marianna had had enough.

BUT...divorce was unheard of for a Roman Catholic young woman of only 24 with four young children.  John Kijak again left the family home and went to live with other cousins; it would appear there were no lack of relatives willing to take him into their home.  And what about Marianna and her four children who were just 2, 4, 6 and 8 years of age?

Records indicate that in 1900 Marianna, her brother, Stanley Rubisz, and her four Kijak children, Joseph, Anna, Martha and Rosa moved to South Bend, Indiana.  They moved with a man named Frank Banner, Sr. who had been living also in Bay City.  In South Bend, Marianna entered into a common law relationship with Frank Banner.  I doubt that was acceptable in the Catholic church either but Marianna was determined not to get a divorce from John Kijak.

In short order, Marianna and Frank had at least five children - Emma, Frank, Jr., Anthony, George and James Banner.  The 1910 US census for South Bend, Indiana indicated that Marianna was the mother of 11 children of which 9 were living in 1910.  I later learned that Marianna and Frank had another two children who died in infancy.

This photo shows Marianna with her children Emma, Frank, Jr and Anthony Banner taken in approximately 1906:

Am I able to assume that life in Indiana was better than in Michigan for Marianna?  Was her relationship with Frank Banner happier than her marriage to John Kijak?  It would appear that the answer to both of these questions would be "No".

Marianna's daughter, Anna Kijak, told my mother that Marianna had a very sad and unhappy life without any kind of caring or sharing in her two relationships.  Both men were unkind, cold and mentally abusive.  I can only hope that neither was physically abusive to her but Anna never mentioned that.

In late 1917 Marianna became ill in South Bend.  Rather than caring for her himself, Frank Banner called her daughter, Anna, in Detroit where Anna and her husband were living.  He told her that her mother was ill and made the command "come and get her".  Anna and her husband did make the trip to South Bend from Detroit and Anna brought her mother back to Detroit to care for her.

Marianna Kijak passed away at the home of her daughter at 500 Piper in Detroit on April 25, 1918.  She was buried in Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery on East McNichols and Van Dyke on the east side of Detroit.

Following her death, her children with Frank Banner, who were 4, 6, 8 10 and 12 at the time, were placed in a children's home.  In short order Marianna's daughters with John Kijak, Anna and Rosa, rescued the children from the children's home and each took a few to raise themselves.

When I began my research on my great-grandmother, Marianna Rubis, I struggled to find her death certificate.  I had assumed she would be listed as Mary Banner and would have passed away in South Bend, Indiana.  It was only after receiving information from Marianna's daughter, Anna Kijak, who in later years lived in Florida (she lived to be 101 years old), I was able to learn the true facts:

Marianna had not been married to Frank Banner so her name at death was Marianna Kijak.

She had passed away in Detroit and was buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Detroit.

The family had never put down a gravestone for Marianna.

This bothered me and I could not get past the fact that my great-grandmother was lying in a single grave, far removed from her family members and that nobody still living even knew she was there.  I made a trip to the cemetery and learned the exact location of Marianna's burial site, then went to a local monument shop and selected a gravestone to be placed on her grave though at the time I did not have the accurate birth date to use; that date would be found many years later when I received the birth record from Poland:

I can only hope that my great-grandmother is truly resting in peace in heaven and that she somehow knows that her great-granddaughter thinks often of her on this the 147th anniversary of her birth.

Copyright 2021, Cheryl J. Schulte

From Whence I Came - Emilie Auguste Christina Schluessler

EMILIE AUGUSTE CHRISTINA SCHLUESSLER

Emilie Auguste Christina Schluessler (known as Amelia) was born November 25, 1876 in Sterling Township, Macomb County, Michigan to Christian Friedrich-Wilhelm Schluessler and Ernestine Emilie Auguste Werner (aka Emilie Schauer).  She would one day become my paternal great-grandmother, mother of my grandmother, Ella Wellhausen Schulte.  Amelia was the 5th and final child of Wilhelm and Emilie Schluessler, however, hers was a special birth in that she appeared with a twin brother, Albert.

She would be the only great-grandparent that I actually knew as she did not pass away until I was 16 and I remember her well.

On December 3, 1876, Amelia was baptized in the Lutheran faith at St. John's Lutheran Church in Fraser, Michigan.

I don't have much information about her childhood or school years but I do have a photo of my great-grandmother in a school play.  This photo was a tin type and scanned very well.  The young man with her in the boat is unknown.  Despite knowing my great-grandmother, I naturally knew her as an elderly person and seeing her as a young girl in approximately 1890 was very interesting:

On February 14, 1895, again at St. John's Lutheran Church in Fraser, Michigan, Amelia married George Wellhausen.  They had a wedding party of three couples and began their married life in Sterling Township, later moving to Utica, Michigan.

George and Amelia had two daughters - Gertrude and my grandmother, Ella, followed 10 years after Ella's birth by a son, George, Jr.

Here is a photo of mother and daughter, Amelia Schluessler Wellhausen and Ella Wellhausen Schulte in approximately 1925:

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

While Amelia's husband, George, passed away in 1938 at a young age, she continued to live in Utica and later lived with her daughter, Gertrude in Detroit.  She was very social and enjoyed being with friends and family though one of her favorite things to do was to visit the cemetery where her husband was buried, sit there and eat lunch.  Hmm, sounds spooky to me but it was known that "great grandma loved to go sit in the cemetery".  Too bad she didn't utilize that time in the cemetery for genealogy research which she could have documented and shared with her great-granddaughter!

Here is a photo of Amelia in approximately 1942 with her three children, left to right, Gertrude Wellhausen Kolberg, George Wellhausen, Jr. and Ella Wellhausen Schulte:

Here she is again with her children in approximately 1955.  This is the great-grandma that I remember:

On May 25, 1963 in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, Amelia Wellhausen passed away at the age of 86 and she was buried with her husband, George, in Utica Cemetery, Utica, Michigan.

My memories of my great-grandmother are of her babysitting my brother and I at different times and as an always pleasant and smiling person.  She had a good long life, financial security and her grandchildren gave her pleasure.  One could not ask for more.  

Today I am thinking of her on this 145th anniversary of her birth.

Copyright 2021, Cheryl J. Schulte

From Whence I Came - August Gottlieb Kolberg

AUGUST GOTTLIEB KOLBERG

My maternal great-grandfather, August Gottlieb Colberg (Kolberg) was born on November 24, 1854 in Klein Tuchen, Kreis Bütow, Pommern, Germany.  He was christened the following day, November 25, 1854, at the Evangelical Church in Groß Tuchen, Kreis Bütow, Pommern.  His sponsors were listed as (1) August Colberg (likely the brother of his father), (2) August Goll, (3) Helene Litwinke.

It should be noted that at this time, in 2021, the former Evangelical Church in Groß Tuchen, Pommern, Germany is now a Roman Catholic Church in the renamed village of Tuchomie, Poland.  This explains why the birth/baptismal certificate I received is in a Polish format though the Catholic Church in Tuchomie does have the original churchbooks from when the area was a part of Germany.

August was the third son of Friedrich Wilhelm Colberg, Sr. and Henriette Amalie Kautz of Klein Tuchen.  This couple would eventually have 12 children with 11 sons and 1 daughter.  Four sons and the one daughter died in childhood with 7 sons living to adulthood.  These 7 sons were Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr., August, Heinrich, Johann, Otto, Paul and Ferdinand Colberg/Kolberg (surname is shown with either spelling in the early churchbooks).

In 2008 when I visited the descendants of brother, Johann Colberg, in Berlin I was able to see Johann's journal in which he documented important dates of his parents and brothers.  Here is August's entry, written by his brother, Johann showing that August was born on November 24, 1854 and that he later went to "Amerika":

On October 4, 1878 in Groß Tuchen, August was married to Bertha Kramp at the above named Evangelical Church:

They had at least three children while still living in Germany with two of the children dying in infancy.

August, Bertha and their three year old daughter, Hedwig, immigrated to America on the ship Lessing arriving at the port of Castle Garden in New York on November 28, 1883.  They had traveled from the port of Hamburg in Germany, on to the port of Havre in France and then on to the US.  Their name was spelled "Colberg" on the ship passenger list.  Bertha's sister, Emilie Kramp, and Emilie's future husband, Friedrich Skibbe, also traveled with them on the same ship.  Upon arriving in New York, they traveled on to Lincoln Township in Berrien County, Michigan to join August's younger brother, Heinrich, who had arrived a few years earlier.

Over the course of their years in the US, August and Bertha had a total of 6 more known children with one son dying in infancy.  Times were hard, farming did not produce much income but the family still grew.  Here is a photo of August and Bertha with their oldest daughter, Hedwig, sitting and their daughter, Amelia, standing:

In 1903, August owned 17 acres of land in Lincoln Township according to a plat book in the St. Joseph Public Library in St. Joseph, Michigan.  The farm, home and property were located on Cleveland Avenue between what is now Rockey Weed and Linco Roads in Lincoln Township (Stevensville).  I have searched for this property and located it by going out Cleveland Avenue, towards the town of Baroda, and found the property on the left side of Cleveland Avenue, the third farm before Linco Road.

By 1917, August was a laborer and tenant farmer with a house and lot on St. Joseph Avenue in Stevensville.

Besides farming, August was a cabinetmaker and he made such items as coffins.

While I don't have much definitive information on his life, the facts that I do have don't display a very happy lifestyle for August and Bertha.  While August and his four brothers all became farmers in Berrien County, August's farm was probably the least productive.  His wife, Bertha, had to supplement the income by picking berries on farms of the other brothers and then selling them for additional income.  It also did not help that August had a propensity for alcohol and his wife, Bertha, certainly did not have a happy life.

Bertha Kolberg passed away first on February 26, 1915 and, interestingly, each of the 5 Kolberg brothers in the US lost their wives at early ages.  It would appear that the hard work of farming alongside their husbands, coupled with the enormous number of children that they had, made the lives of the Kolberg spouses difficult and short.

In later years, August lived with his daughter, Amelia Mielke, and her family in Stevensville, Michigan

until his death on April 24, 1920 in Stevensville.  He and Bertha are buried in City Cemetery in St. Joseph, Michigan.

When I was growing up, my grandmother, Ella Kolberg Kijak, never shared any information with me on either of her parents.  While she was the baby of their family and was undoubtedly special to her mother, it just was something she never discussed.  I only have the two above photos of August and only the one of Bertha but I am pleased to have what items I do possess and to have the limited knowledge of my great-grandfather that has been shared with me.

Today I am thinking of him on this 167th anniversary of his birth.

Copyright 2021, Cheryl J. Schulte

From Whence I Came - Ella Anna Helene Wellhausen

ELLA ANNA HELENE WELLHAUSEN

Ella Anna Helene Wellhausen was my paternal grandmother, born on November 15, 1896 in Detroit, Michigan to George Wellhausen and Amelia Schluessler.  She was their second daughter and a son followed 10 years later.  While the family had originally lived in Sterling Township in Macomb County, Michigan where their first daughter was born, they had moved temporarily to Detroit to live with Amelia's sister and that is where my grandmother was born.

Interestingly, I don't know if my grandmother was even aware of being born in Detroit.  She always swore to me that she was born in Sterling Township and was baptized at St. John's Lutheran Church in Fraser, Michigan.  She sent me on a good number of wild goose chases when I began my genealogy research.  Quite by accident while researching my Feucht family and THEIR connection with Trinity Lutheran Church in Detroit, I came upon the baptismal record of my grandmother showing she was indeed born in Detroit and baptized there as well.  When I informed her of this she said she was never aware of it.  She told me that she could remember her mother speaking of the brief time the family had lived in Detroit with her mother's sister but she didn't realize that she was actually born there as well.

As young girls Ella and her sister, Gertrude, took part in a dancing competition and were named the "Dancing Darlings of Macomb County".  They certainly did look darling and their sisterly relationship lasted for Gertrude's entire life with Ella assuming caregiver duties when sister Gertrude's health declined:

Ella did grow up in Sterling Township with her older sister and younger brother.  She attended St. John's Lutheran Church where she was confirmed but I have no idea where she actually went to school.  Here she is on her confirmation day:

I also do not know how she met my grandfather, Elmer Schulte. I am guessing that they met through her aunt, Helena Schluessler Herz, whose sons were friends of Elmer but I don't know that for certain.

Ella and Elmer were married on Christmas Eve, 1917 in Waco, Texas before my grandfather shipped out to the war in Europe.  Here is a wedding photo of Elmer and Ella:

When Elmer returned from WWI, several years later, they began their family life in Detroit.  Together they had three children - sons, Melbourne and Mylen (my father) and daughter, Marilyn.  Their life was rather affluent.  Both my grandparents inherited money from their parents and my grandmother never had to work outside her home.  Here are Elmer and Ella with their oldest son, Melbourne, ca 1922:

Ella raised her children, belonged to several clubs and activities with other women friends and socialized with family frequently.  She and Elmer had several very nice homes in various areas of Detroit.

Here is a photo of Elmer, Mylen and Ella Schulte ca 1942 in Detroit:

Another photo of Elmer and Ella with their oldest son, Melbourne, and daughter, Marilyn, ca 1942 at Marilyn's confirmation in Detroit:

In later years they built a home on Springer Avenue in what was East Detroit, Michigan and is now called Eastpointe.  The home is still standing today in the same pristine condition I remember it though it was unusually designed in that the living room faced the backyard with a large picture window overlooking a long balcony:

When Ella's sister, Gertrude, needed assistance due to failing health, Ella and Elmer moved back to Detroit to Gertrude's home on Engleside Drive.  While living there my grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on December 24, 1967:

They were living in Detroit when my grandfather passed away on January 21, 1968.  Following his death my grandmother continued to care for her sister until Gertrude had to be placed in a nursing facility.  At this time my grandmother rekindled a childhood relationship with a man who had also lost his wife.  Within a few years of my grandfather's death, my grandmother remarried to Robert Bloss who she had known since they were 5 year old children. Their marriage was short lived as Robert was not in the best of health and he passed away soon after their marriage.

Ella continued her independent life in several apartments after the death of Robert.  She maintained her own home, did her own cooking and cleaning and continued her activities with family and friends.  She lived independently until the age of 90 when her fading memory forced her to enter a nursing home.  On December 28, 1989, at the age of 93, my grandmother passed away and she is buried with my grandfather in Gethsemane Cemetery in Detroit.  Both her sister, Gertrude, and her much younger brother, George, had predeceased her.

I was fortunate to have known all four of my grandparents.  My grandmother, Ella Schulte, I knew the best as I grew up in East Detroit and she and my grandfather lived there as well.  While she was a good Christian person she was not what I would characterize as a loving grandmother.  I really think that children annoyed her.  She didn't like having children in her home and she complained royally about crumbs or disarray.  My grandfather, on the other hand, was a wonderful loving person.  Memories of my grandmother are many but they are memories more of a gruff, unsmiling person who my grandfather tried at all times to soften up.  I can remember the times he would grab her in a hug and kiss her only to have her gruffly push him away.  It was something he never minded and his humor and good nature lasted his whole life.  My grandmother's aloof, gruff ways continued through her entire life as well.

The one thing that she did do for me, though, was to initiate my love for genealogy.  I can remember in 1977 that she showed me an onyx ring with a small diamond in the center.  She told me that she had worn a diamond necklace on her wedding day in 1917 and that necklace had 3 diamonds in it.  Over the years the necklace broke and she had the 3 diamonds set in 3 different black onyx rings.  

This conversation led to questions from me about her childhood, extended family, etc. and I was off and running on research.  I was fortunate that she remembered not only her parents but her grandparents and great grandparents as well and her memory was sharp.  She did share much information with me over the years though she tempered it with quite a bit of false information that had me running down false leads.  Her comments at those times were "you don't need to know the truth" or "just let sleeping dogs lie".  Luckily I was able to discern the truth from the fiction and when confronted with my facts she would confirm my data.  I do have to give her the credit for my love of genealogy and she did give me all my grandfather's war medals as well as the medals of my great-grandfather.  She also gave me funeral home guest books, photos, cemetery deeds and burial records.  Initially she told me she was saving all these items for one of her grandsons but as none of them had any interest she did finally allow me to take possession of the memorabilia and I am grateful for that.

When all is said and done, while she was not a loving, affectionate grandmother, she was a good person and she led a very good life.  Her health was good, she had no undue financial problems and she was able to build a life that suited her.  

Today I am thinking of her on this 125th anniversary of her birth.

Copyright 2021, Cheryl J. Schulte

From Whence I Came - Rudolph Myer Schulte

RUDOLPH MYER SCHULTE

My paternal great-grandfather, Rudolph Myer Schulte, was born October 24, 1869 in Beckum, Westphalia, Preußen, Germany to Joseph M. Schulte and Alvina Tobian.  Joseph, Alvina and Rudolph immigrated to the US on the ship "Holsatia" and arrived on April 24, 1872 when Rudolph was only a 2 1/2 year old young boy.  The family settled in Detroit, Michigan where father, Joseph, carved a career as a blacksmith.

Very little information exists about Rudolph's childhood but I do have this photo of him at the age of 21 where he looks so elegant in a professional photo with a hat on a stand and an umbrella (photo from 1890):

The above photo was taken just prior to his marriage to my great-grandmother, Juliane Feucht.  Their son, my grandfather, Elmer M. Schulte, was born on August 4, 1894 in Detroit when Rudolph was working as a Detroit Fire Fighter.  Here are a few photos of Rudolph as a Detroit Fire Fighter.  The first photo was taken in 1890:

Rudolph with some of his fellow Detroit fire fighters in 1910; Rudolph is on the far left:

Another outstanding photo of the Detroit Fire Fighters with Rudolph in the bottom row, far right (date unknown):

At the age of 28, Rudolph enlisted in the US Navy and served aboard the USS Yosemite during the Spanish American War.  His younger brother, Theodore, also served in the military as this photo of the two of them indicates:

Rudolph did not spend a great deal of time in the US Navy as he was injured and returned home to Detroit where he continued to work as a Detroit Fire Fighter:

Between my genie cousin, TK, and myself we have extensively researched our mutual Schulte line back to Beckum and uncovered exciting data taking our family back several generations.  Despite all of our research, we have been unable to uncover an actual birth record for Rudolph from Beckum though we have several US records indicating that was his place of birth.  We have, also, spent a great deal of time and research in attempting to uncover the reasons for the oft-times recorded hyphenated surname in the Beckum records of Meier/Meyer/Myer-Schulte.  In my own immediate family I do know that the name of Meier (again with variant spellings) has shown up as the middle name of one male in each generation going back 6 generations to Rudolph's father, Joseph.  When I questioned my grandmother about this years ago she indicated that the name of Meier, et al was "an old family name".  Anything further she did not know.  Additional research will be needed to solve this mystery.

In 1907, Rudolph lost his wife, Julie, to liver cancer and he was left with his son, Elmer, age 12.  Despite the fact that Julie was to have been his "beloved" wife (as my grandfather often told me his father referred to his mother), Rudolph wasted no time in marrying again.  Within a few WEEKS he was married to Julie's older sister, Elizabeth, who had been widowed twice before and came to their marriage with 5 children of her own.  In essence my grandfather grew up with a step-mother who was really his aunt and cousins who were also step-siblings.  One of the step-brothers even assumed the surname of Schulte though no evidence exists that Rudolph actually adopted him.  It must have been an interesting household.

Over the years, besides being a Detroit Fire Fighter, Rudolph also  worked selling insurance and perfected the early art of investing in real estate.  At one time in the 1930's he owned 4 homes on Concord Avenue in Detroit - homes that he promised to each of his three grandchildren when they reached adulthood.  Unfortunately these promises did not materialize as Rudolph's second wife, Elizabeth, died in 1938 and he immediately turned around and married a third time to a previously single woman, Mary Bender.  It was his third wife who inherited his estate upon his death.

This photo is probably my last photo of Rudolph with  his granddaughter, Marilyn Schulte, and Amelia Wellhausen, Marilyn's maternal grandmother:

Rudolph passed away on April 1, 1940, a short time after his marriage to Mary Bender, and he is buried with her at Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit:

Elmwood Cemetery is a very old cemetery in Detroit, considered an historic site and quite beautiful though located in an area now that is best visited with a large, burly partner.  Despite this, I do have the following photos of the cemetery and the gravestone of my great-grandfather:

I have often thought of what drove my great-grandfather during his life.  My father and my uncle remember their grandfather well and can recount that he always had huge wads of money in his pockets (in actuality single dollars wrapped around a $50 bill) which he would bring out and tease them with.  They said he was a good grandfather but their "grandmother" as they referred to Elizabeth, wife #2, was very solemn and not a grandmotherly type.  I have always felt a kinship to my great-grandmother, Julie, and am just amazed that Rudolph would have chosen to remarry just a few weeks after Julie's death.  While I know that men in those years did not want to be alone raising their children following the early deaths of wives, Rudolph did not have a baby to raise as my grandfather was already 12 when his mother died.  Family stories have indicated that Julie's sister, Elizabeth, initiated the marriage prompting Rudolph to combine their families.  For whatever reason Rudolph and Elizabeth were married many years and her children remained close to my grandfather, Elmer, following the deaths of their parents.

Today I am thinking of him on this 152nd anniversary of his birth.

Copyright 2021, Cheryl J. Schulte

From Whence I Came - Ella Emma Louise Kolberg

ELLA EMMA LOUISE KOLBERG

My maternal grandmother, Ella Emma Louise Kolberg, was born August 8, 1895 in Stevensville, MI to August Kolberg and Bertha Kramp.  I believe that she was probably named in part for her Aunt Ella Kramp and her Uncle Louis Kramp with her uncle being one of her godparents at the time of her baptism.  Ella was the last of the children of August and Bertha Kolberg and she had 5 older siblings still living.  There was such a disparity between the ages of herself and her eldest sister, who was born in 1880, that in later years they were mistaken for mother and daughter rather than sisters which did not please her sister at all.

The August Kolberg family had a small farm in Stevensville, MI during the early years of my grandmother's life.  She was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Joseph and later confirmed at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Stevensville.  Here is a photo of her at her confirmation:

Family life was not easy during my grandmother's childhood.  The farming her parents did was not enough to produce income to live comfortably.  As a child, my grandmother often accompanied her mother to the neighboring farms of other Kolberg family members, where they were allowed to pick berries which they then brought home to their farm to sell.  In addition, her father, August Kolberg, had a propensity for drinking and life was not pleasant.  I must say, though, that I never heard any of this from my grandmother but rather from elder cousins of hers when I began my genealogy research and after my grandmother was already deceased.

Over the years my grandmother had some interesting experiences.  While I could write about the dates of importance in her life, her marriage, raising her own family, etc much has already been written in my post on my grandfather, Joseph Kijak, and my grandmother's mother, Bertha Kramp.  Instead I am going to list some of the experiences that my grandmother had in her life:

1.  As a 14 year old she was sent from the farm to the city of St. Joseph to live with a wealthy family where she worked as a maid and lived in their home.  When I think of that - 14 years old - I am amazed.  While today a trip from Stevensville to St. Joseph might take 15 minutes tops, in those days it was necessary for my grandmother to "live in" at her employer's home.  She told me the story about how one time the home was robbed and when the police came out to investigate they had to go through everything in the home.  In the closet of my grandmother's bedroom she had a cardboard box in which she stored those "delicate" items that women had to use during those once/month occurrences.  These items had to be hand washed and dried to be used over and over and the police had quite an eye full when they dumped out my grandmother's stash of female products.  She liked to laugh about that in later years but said she was mortified at the time.

2.  As a 16  year old young lady she was dating a particular young man who she never identified to me but she did tell the story of going on his motorcycle for a ride through the countryside, something she said her father would have been livid about.  On this ride, she recounted that she fell, down a long hill and never was inclined to get on a motorcycle again.  Gosh, she was a daredevil.

3.  She went to work at Cooper-Wells Hosiery Mill where she met a young man who she would later marry.  Her marriage to Joseph Kijak took place on June 17, 1914 at the parsonage of Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Joseph.

4.  On August 8, 1914, she received a poignant letter from her mother, Bertha Kramp Kolberg, written to Ella on "your first birthday as a married woman".  I have this letter today and it is amazing to see how it has been preserved for 96 years.  

5.  On February 26, 1915, while pregnant with her first baby, Ella lost HER mother when Bertha Kolberg passed away in Kalamazoo, MI.  This was probably a very hard time for her to lose her mother at the time when she would have needed her most but she did host a memorial service at her home on the day of her mother's funeral.

6.  On April 25, 1918, while pregnant with her second baby, Ella lost her mother-in-law when Mary Kijak passed away in Detroit, MI.  I have often thought how my grandmother's first two pregnancies must have been fraught with grief and loss.

7.  Ella and Joseph Kijak moved many times from home to home before settling on a farm on Cleveland Avenue in St. Joseph where my mother was born in 1925 and where their youngest child was born in 1926.  This was their first purchase of a home and my grandparents worked the farm together.  However, the depression came and in 1929 they lost their home and their farm.  They moved their family into the city of St. Joseph proper and for years moved from rental home to rental home.  

8.  During the years from 1929-1940, Ella ran her home, raised her 4 children, cared for her father-in-law and uncle-in-law who lived with them and invited into her home 3 young men, brothers, who became part of their family adding to the amount of cooking, cleaning and laundry that she had to do.  In addition to her work at home, she took employment at the Manley Resort on Langley Avenue in St. Joseph, where she worked as kitchen help, washing dishes.  While this resort is now gone, there is a Manley Street at this location.  Later she worked as a maid at the Whitcomb Hotel in St. Joseph.  She certainly knew the meaning of hard work but did so at all times with a sunny disposition.  While working at the Whitcomb she cut her finger badly while cleaning and developed a deep infection which would not heal.  She later visited the house doctor at the Whitcomb for an exam.  He asked her "do you play the piano" and she replied "no" to which his response was "then you won't care if I cut the finger off at the first joint".  Needless to say she didn't let him near her and went to another physician in town who was able to save her finger.

Here is a photo of Ella with children, Eloris and Leslie, on the USS Theodore Roosevelt on a voyage from St. Joseph to Chicago, IL, across Lake Michigan ca 1934:

Here is a photo of Joseph and Ella Kijak with eldest son, Harris, and younger children, Eloris and Leslie, in approximately 1943 in St. Joseph:

9.  Ella was also very active in her church during these years and made sure that her children and husband attended as well.  All 4 of her children were baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith and her husband converted from his Catholic faith at the beginning of their marriage.  Her two youngest children attended Trinity Lutheran grade school as well.  Ella took part in many activities at the church including Ladies Aid, where she held offices.  She also participated in the Lutheran Women's Missionary League, sewed projects for the church and made cancer dressings.  She also sewed at home and began a sideline business of making craft items and doll clothes some of which I have to this day.  I can remember one room in her home filled with supplies for her craft projects and she always had a project or ten going on at one time.  Here are some examples of her craft items:

10.  During WWII, all three of Ella's sons served in the Armed Forces and she proudly displayed their photos in uniform on her living room wall along with a photo of her daughter, my mother.  Her six grandchildren's photos were displayed in another area of the living room as well.

11.  One story she told about her years renting rooms in her home involved the time one of her renters was found to be involved in counterfeiting.  After the man vacated the room my grandmother found supplies left behind that indicated the counterfeiting of coin.  The man was later apprehended and my grandmother had to go to federal court in Kalamazoo, MI to testify against him. 

12.  After the death of her husband in 1960, Ella continued her activities.  She continued to have renters in her home as well; fortunately the entrance to the second floor was separate from the entrance to her home itself so there was safety but there were several renters that she had to evict and she did so with gumption.

My grandmother stayed in her own home, alone, for over 10 years after my grandfather died and then was able to secure an apartment in a newly built senior citizens complex.  She moved into her little "doll house" as she called her 14th floor apartment and lived there for the rest of her life until she passed away on May 29, 1973.

My memories of my grandmother are many.  She was the sweetest and kindest person ever and I was extremely close to her.  While she had very little finances, she was happy and positive her entire life.  I am pleased, even at this time, when I see people here in St. Joseph who tell me they remember my grandmother and recount wonderful stories about her.  She was truly the best grandmother that any person could ask for.

Today I am thinking of her on this the 126th anniversary of her birth.

Copyright 2021, Cheryl J. Schulte