52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2025; Week 13 "Home Sweet Home"

AN ANCESTRAL HOME STILL STANDING:

Charles Ernst Wellhausen was my 2nd great-grandfather.  While I did not know him, he was the impetus for my beginning genealogy research in the mid-1970's.

At that time my paternal grandmother was still living.  She came to visit one day and the conversation turned to HER ancestors.  I had known her mother (my great-grandmother Wellhausen) who passed away when I was 15 and I had many photos and memories of "great-grandma".  In the course of that conversation with my grandmother she talked about HER grandparents and it piqued my interest.  I was living in the same area of Michigan as her grandparents had and I decided to do some research on her grandfather.

Charles Ernst Wellhausen was born on July 24, 1833 in Alt Kentzlin, Demmin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.  He was married on March 23, 1860 in Hohenbollentin, Demmin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany to Christina Graumann.  They later immigrated to the US and settled in Mt. Clemens, Michigan in Macomb County.  He passed away there in Mt. Clemens on April 13, 1909.

At the outset of my research, of course, I did not know all the above information.  I did visit the cemetery where he and his wife are buried and was able to learn some basic dates.  It was, though, during a visit to a local library that I uncovered an extraordinary book that referred to Charles Ernst Wellhausen.

In the St. Clair Shores library in Macomb County there was an 11" x 14" hard cover book that was for sale.  It had been advertised in the local newspaper and I went there on a whim to see the book.  The book was entitled "1859 Wall Map, 1875 Atlas Map, 1895 Atlas of Macomb County, Michigan".  In looking through the 1895 Atlas section I found something that excited me.  This section included a page by page listing of 15 local residents' farms or businesses with small pictures of the husband and wife on the top of each page.  In that section I found a page titled "Residence of Charles Wellhausen, Section 20, Clinton Township".

The Charles Wellhausen home and farm, 1895 in Clinton Township, Michigan:

Needless to say I purchased the book.  I'm not sure anymore how much the cost was but probably no more than $20 or $25.  I remember taking the book and driving to my grandmother's apartment where I showed her the photos and asked her "is this your grandfather Wellhausen" to which she concurred it was, adding "my grandfather looked like one of the Smith brothers from the Smith brothers cough drop company"!

Not only did I now have photos of both Charles and Christina Wellhausen but I had an actual photo of their farm and home as well as the location.  It was a very exciting find and a great way to start my genealogical journey.

In more recent years I have learned that the Wellhausen home is still standing although over the years the farm property was sectioned off and more homes were built.  I have had contact with the family now owning the home and there are many similarities in its appearance today to the way it was in the 1890's.

Former home of Charles Wellhausen on Moravian Drive, Clinton Township, Michigan, 2025:

I believe that Charles Wellhausen would be pleased that the home he had in the 1890's is still standing, in good condition, today.

copyright 2025, Cheryl J. Schulte 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2025; Week 12 "Historic Event"

CRIMINAL ENCOUNTER:

My memories of my maternal grandfather, Joseph Kijak, are limited.  I was born in St. Joseph, Michigan, where my grandparents lived, but when I was 18 months old my parents and I moved to the Detroit suburbs where I grew up.  We only came to St. Joseph once or twice a year to visit.  The memories I do have of my grandfather are of a very small man, quiet and easygoing who was always happy to have us visit.  One year he promised my younger brother that on the next visit he would take him fishing off the pier on Lake Michigan.  My brother was very excited about that but unfortunately my grandfather passed away soon after when I was just 12.

So what makes me consider my grandfather a legend in our family?  An experience he had in 1929 which could have altered his life and the lives of his family forever.

One year when I was in high school an article appeared in the Sunday "Parade" magazine that came out with the Detroit Free Press.  The cover of the magazine and accompanying story told of the anniversary of an incident involving a henchman of Al Capone, named Fred Burke.  When my mother saw the article she told me that her father, my grandfather Joseph Kijak, had had a part in the story of Fred Burke in St. Joseph, Michigan.

Al Capone???  What could my quiet, gentle grandfather have to do with Al Capone and his organization?  Much, as it turns out.

Al Capone is a well-known figure in history.  Most people of a certain generation have heard of Al Capone and perhaps studied his organization and the crimes committed by his group.  Perhaps, not so well known, was one of his henchmen, Fred "Killer" Burke.

Fred "Killer" Burke was a participant in the infamous St. Valentine's day massacre.  He then hid out in Stevensville, Michigan, the neighboring village to St. Joseph.  On December 14, 1929, in downtown St. Joseph, Fred Burke happened to be driving.  He struck a car driven by a resident, George Kool, and Mr. Kool approached the car of Mr. Burke.  Mr. Kool demanded payment for the damages to his car and an argument took place.  A police officer, Charles Skelly, approached the car and in the ensuing argument, Fred Burke picked up his revolver, fired three times at Officer Skelly and killed him.

Fred Burke then fled the downtown area of St. Joseph in an attempt to escape and soon abandoned his car after he struck a telephone pole.  When the police later found his car and registration the paperwork showed the car was registered to a "Fred Dane" who was later identified to be Fred "Killer" Burke of the Al Capone "family".

Enter my grandfather who was driving along Cleveland Avenue in St. Joseph on his way home.  While driving, my grandfather noticed a man hitchhiking.  In those days, in 1929, it was not uncommon for people to frequently pick up hitchhikers (these were all country roads at the time and farmland) and my grandfather picked up this man.  He later recounted to my grandmother that they spoke briefly, the rider telling him he needed to be driven several miles down the road which my grandfather did.  At one point, near Glenlord Road and Cleveland Avenue, the rider suddenly announced "let me out here" and that was the last my grandfather saw of his hitchhiker as the man went through the farmland and disappeared from view heading toward Lakeshore Drive and Lake Michigan.  Thinking nothing of it my grandfather returned home.

When the next local newspaper came out there was the report of the shooting of Officer Skelly including a photo of the man accused of the murder - Fred "Killer" Burke.  My grandfather immediately recognized the photo as belonging to the hitchhiker he had transported days before.

Sometime later Fred Burke was arrested, convicted of multitudes of crimes and imprisoned where he later died.

Whether this incident propelled my grandfather into discontinuing driving OR whether the effects of the Great Depression had a part (they lost their farm and property in the depression), my grandfather later sold his car and never drove again.

Joseph and Ella Kijak:

Over the years books have been written about Fred "Killer" Burke and his part in the history of St. Joseph.  Life as my mother knew it (she was only 4 at the time) could have been tragically different if the automobile ride my grandfather gave Fred Burke had not ended safely.

In 2014 I read in the St. Joseph newspaper that a book was being written about this incident in local history.  The book "A Killing in Capone's Playground" by local author, Chriss Lyon, was advertised to be in the process of completion.  Chriss and I connected and I shared with her my grandfather's part in these events which she included in her book after verifying that my facts matched up with the research she had undertaken.

Fred Burke's Stevensville home today?  It is still on Lakeshore Drive and Glenlord Road but is now an office of Coldwell Banker, a local realtor.  In 2019 an historical land marker was unveiled and dedicated at the location to bring history alive and pay tribute to Officer Skelly and his family.

copyright 2025, Cheryl J. Schulte 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2025; Week 11 "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 website of 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, he 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 and 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 2025, Cheryl J. Schulte

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2025; Week 10 "Siblings"

MY GRANDPARENTS AND THEIR SIBLINGS:

In my ancestral research, between the 1400's to the late 1800's, it was very common to see enormously large families with a child having perhaps 12, 14 or even a greater amount of siblings.  By the time I researched down to my grandparents' generation, families began to be much smaller.

My focus in this post is to discuss the siblings of my 4 grandparents, all of whom were born in the 1890's in Michigan.  

MY SCHULTE FAMILY:

My paternal grandfather, Elmer Meyer Schulte, was born August 4, 1894 in Detroit, Michigan to Rudolph Myer Schulte (1869-1940) and Juliane Feucht (1870-1907).  Unfortunately my grandfather was an only child as his mother died very young.

But an interesting feature that I discovered was that my grandfather had two cousins who were all born the same year as him.  My great-grandfather, Rudolph Schulte, and two of his sisters, Elizabeth and Ida Schulte, all had babies born in 1894.  These 3 cousins were as close growing up as though they were siblings as indicated by the following photo.

Left to right:  Mamie, Elmer and Evelyn in 1900:

This sweet photo shows Mamie Schulte, (1894-1958), who was born May 9, 1894 to Ida Schulte, followed by my grandfather, Elmer Schulte, (1894-1968), and then Evelyn Hauer, (1894-1988), born April 1,1894 to Elizabeth Schulte and Felix Hauer.  All 3 children were born in Detroit, Michigan. 

I can clearly remember family gatherings in the 1950's when both Mamie and Evelyn, along with their families, would be present for the festivities.  It was clear that though my grandfather had no siblings of his own, he certainly considered Mamie and Evelyn as close as siblings could be.

MY WELLHAUSEN FAMILY:

My paternal grandmother, Ella Anna Helene Wellhausen, was born November 15, 1896 in Detroit, Michigan to George William Wellhausen (1869-1938) and Emilie Auguste Christina Schluessler (1876-1963).  My grandmother had two siblings, Gertrude and George Wellhausen, Jr. as depicted in the following photos.

In 1900, Gertrude and Ella Wellhausen:

This adorable photo shows Gertrude Wellhausen, (1895-1973), who was born April 10, 1895 and my grandmother, Ella, (1896-1989), appearing in a contest for the "Dancing Darlings" of Macomb County, Michigan.  They won the contest and were featured in the local paper at that time.  Their baby brother, George, (1906-1985), had not been born at that time but he would appear in later photos with both his sisters and their mother.

May 19, 1942 with siblings Gertrude (Wellhausen) Kolberg, George Wellhausen, Jr. and Ella (Wellhausen) Schulte, with their mother Emilie (Schluessler) Wellhausen:

and in approximately 1955, the three siblings again, George, Gertrude and Ella with their mother, Emilie, looking over their shoulders:

My grandmother and her two siblings were extremely close through the years.  I even have very fond memories of my great-grandmother, the above Emilie (Schluessler) Wellhausen, as she lived until 1963 when I was 15 years old.  As a child my brother and I often had our great-grandmother Wellhausen babysitting us when our parents had an evening out.

MY KIJAK FAMILY:

My maternal grandfather, Joseph Kijak, was born August 3, 1892 in Bay City Michigan to Joannes Albert Kijak (1861-1945) and Marianna Rubis (1874-1918).  My grandfather had three sisters, Anna, Martha and Rozalie, however, I do not have any photos of them together.  In recent years I have been able to receive individual photos of my grandfather's three sisters as follow.

Joseph Kijak (1892-1960) in 1912:

and, again in 1945:

Anna Kijak (1894-1995) in 1940:

  

Martha Kijak (1896-1992) with husband Samuel Mills in 1920:

Rozalie Kijak (1898-1969) in 1915:

MY KOLBERG FAMILY:

My maternal grandmother, Ella Emma Louise Kolberg, was born August 8, 1895 in Stevensville, Michigan to August Gottlieb Kolberg (1854-1920) and Bertha Kramp (1860-1915).  My grandmother was the youngest of the six children that her parents had that lived to adulthood.  These children were Hedwig (1880-1956), Amelia (1887-1963), Kurt (1890-1935), Robert (1892-1950), Hugo (1894-1951), and my grandmother, Ella (1895-1973).

I have many photos and stories of my grandmother as I was extremely close to her.  Here are a few pictures of my grandmother and her siblings.

Robert, Ella and Hugo Kolberg in 1902:

Robert Kolberg confirmation in 1908:

Ella Kolberg confirmation in 1910:

Kurt and Edna (Filbrandt) Kolberg at their wedding on October 22, 1913:

Kolberg siblings in 1942 (brother Kurt had already passed away):

Kolberg sisters and sisters-in-law in 1945 at the 50th birthday of Ella:

The sisters-in-law, in the back row, were:  Irene (deCaussin) Kolberg, wife of Robert Kolberg, Edna (Filbrandt) Kolberg, widow of Kurt Kolberg and Gertrude (Wellhausen) Kolberg, wife of Hugo Kolberg.

The Kolberg sisters in the bottom row were:  Hedwig (Kolberg) Kuse, wife of Emil Kuse, Amelia (Kolberg) Mielke, wife of Edward Mielke and my grandmother, Ella (Kolberg) Kijak, wife of Joseph Kijak.

copyright 2025, Cheryl J. Schulte