52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2025; Week 26 "Military Mail"

WORLD WAR I CORRESPONDENCE:

My paternal grandfather, Elmer Meyer Schulte, was born on August 4, 1894 in Detroit, Michigan.  By the time of WWl he was eligible for the draft.  As required, he did complete a draft registration form as shown below.  While no year of registration is shown, I can only assume the date would have been June 5, 1917 as he listed himself as single and at that time he had not yet been married:

He was, however, dating a young girl named Ella Wellhausen and the thought of being away from her while in the service of his country was daunting.  He was called up for service soon after registering and sent to Waco, Texas for training in the United States Army, Company D, 125th Infantry, 63rd Brigade of the 32nd Infantry of the Red Arrow Division.  Here is his scroll from that service which shows him as a Private 1st Class.  Also in that division was a Corporal, Edwin H. Herz, who just happened to be a first cousin of Elmer's girlfriend, Ella.  Perhaps it was through Ed Herz that Elmer and Ella met though I don't know that for a fact:

Once down in Texas Elmer notified Ella that his division was getting ready to ship off to France.  Up in Detroit, Ella and her aunt, Helena Herz, mother of Edwin, discussed this situation.  They decided to go down to Waco, Texas to see the boys off to France and Ella's mother and father gave their consent.  Though Ella was already 21 it was still customary that her parents give their permission on such travels, at least in the strict Wellhausen family.  While in Texas Elmer and Ella decided to marry and on Christmas Eve, 1917 they were married at the First Lutheran Church in Waco.  The following is the original oil portrait of their marriage:

Ella and her aunt returned to Detroit and to the surprise of Ella's parents she was coming back as Mrs. Elmer M. Schulte.

During the next months letters flowed back and forth between Elmer and his new bride.  On August 4, 1918, which happened to be Elmer's 24th birthday, he wrote a letter to his bride explaining that he had been wounded in the war and was now recuperating in a Base Hospital in France.  This letter was later published in the local Detroit paper under the heading "At The Front" complete with the gaps where the censors cut out some text:

The above article, now over 100 years old, is faint, yellowed and hard to decipher, therefore, I will translate the text below:

At The Front:

Mrs. Elmer M. Schulte received an interesting letter from her husband, Private Elmer M. Schulte, telling of his experience at the front.

Base Hospital 44, August 4th, '18

My dear W_____:

No doubt you will be surprised to hear that I am in the Base Hospital suffering from shell shock.  Well now I will tell you a little about my experience, if the censors will let you read it.  You perhaps have read in the papers that we were at that front.  Well the last one was rather more lively.  For three nights we hiked layed over in some woods at day time.  The food we had was what we carried that was three boxes of hard tack and a can of condensed beef.  Well you can imagine how long that lasts.  What water we had was what we could find in puddles and ditches.  The night we hiked to the front we had our gas masks on nearly all the way, and believe me it's not very comfortable marching with those on.  It was nearly midnight when we got there and talk about tired.  I could have slept most any place.  But we had to get busy and make our dug out for protection from the shells.  After working for about two hours, we got the order to go out on a patrol.  Seven of us volunteered to go.  We were out but a short time when we heard something behind a bush.  We fired three shots and out jumped a Boche yelling "Kamerad, American".  Well the first thing we did was to search him.  He started to talk French and German and tried to make us believe he was a Frenchman.  But we did not listen to that.  I'd liked to have did worse to him.  Well we found a pair of spy glasses and some papers which are of some value to us.  We then took him prisoner.  Well by this time it was getting daylight

gap in text

front of me and exploded.  Well that was all I knew until I got to the first aid, being brought there by some of the boys under heavy artillery.  From there I was taken to a Base Hospital.  But the aeroplanes kept trying to bomb the hospital.  Then we were all taken away from there to Base Hospital No 44 where I am now getting along quite well.  The right side of my face scratched and bruised.  I was deaf for about three hours after the explosion and my eyes bother me so I think there was gas in the shell.  We sure do get treated fine here in the hospital.  Have also received my six months service stripe.  I am anxious to get back with the boys again.  Well I must close as I have told you about all I dare.  Haven't heard from you in nearly six weeks.  And sure getting anxious.

Good-bye.  Regards to all,

Your husband, Elmer

(Note:  (text is translated identically as written; a "Boche" is slang for a German soldier).

Elmer would later receive the Purple Heart for his service in WWI and I am honored to have that medal and all of his war medals including the scrolls from his Red Arrow Division:

As an interesting aside to this piece of my family history, three years after my grandparents were married their first son, Melbourne Meyer Schulte, was born.  This son was given the name Melbourne in honor of the Captain of Elmer's Brigade, "Milburn H. Hawks".

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We never know where more information will come from.  After finishing this post I decided to do a search on Newspapers.com for any other information on my grandfather's WWI injuries.  I have just recently begun using Newspapers.com and never thought to check it before.  Without much effort, up came the following article with a few extra pieces of information from the letter he had written to my grandmother following his injuries:

copyright 2025, 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