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Sunday, April 4, 2021
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
The End of the Road for Henry Chester's House
After 140 years, Henry Chester's fine brick house is slowly but surely coming down.
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Saturday, March 20, 2021
Little Girls Lost
I recently received digital images of two little girls from two generations of the Foreman family of Ainsworth. Both girls died in childhood.
The first was the daughter of Joachim and Maria Foreman.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of R.F.
The original photo was found among a collection of obituaries that had belonged to Louise (Buhr) Foreman, the wife of Otto Foreman and the daughter-in-law of Mike/Helmuth, who was one of Joachim and Maria's two surviving children. But the collection did not include an obituary for the little girl — only this photo, with "Maria" written on it.
The owner of the photo tells me: "In my lifetime no one ever mentioned baby Maria. Joachim's obituary and the picture that was in my Grandmother's belongings are the only indications to me that the child existed."
Let's look at the obituaries of little Maria's parents: first, Maria (aka Mary) Foreman, from the Hobart News of May 3, 1917:
(Click on image to enlarge)
And Joachim (aka Joseph) Foreman, from the Hobart News of June 14, 1917:
(Click on image to enlarge)
Both mention a daughter who died at the age of two, but neither gives the daughter's name or any timeframe for her life.
In the 1900 Census, Mary Foreman describes herself as the mother of three children, two of whom are still living.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Image from Ancestry.com.
Thus we know the daughter died before June of 1900, when the census was taken. As to when she was born, we have no records. No daughter ever appears in any census. She might have been born anytime after 1868, when Joseph and Mary were married, and the early 1890s, after which we might expect Mary, born in 1845, to have passed her child-bearing years.
But if the photograph is indeed the lost Foreman daughter, and if the photographer, Henry Iverson, did not practice his profession in Hobart outside of the timeframe I've been able to establish so far — April 1887 to March 1889 — then we have a better idea of when the child lived and died.
I have re-checked the old issues of the Hobart Advertiser, where I got my information about Henry Iverson, in the hope of finding something about the Foremans' loss of a child. I found nothing, but the Hobart Historical Society's collection of the Advertiser is fragmentary. No Hobart newspaper from that era survives on microfilm. I will have to check other area newspapers that are on microfilm … when I have time.
One problem with this 1887-1889 theory is that by the late 1880s the Foremans were well established in Ainsworth. If they had to bury a child at that time, we would expect the grave to be local, and probably to be marked. But no grave for a little Foreman girl from this era is marked in the Hobart Cemetery, where her parents lie. Even the early readers of local gravestones in the 1950s, as recorded by the NWIGS, found no marker for little Maria Foreman, either in Hobart Township or Ross Township. On the other hand, if a marker ever existed, it might have been broken or removed, or sunk into the ground, as sometimes happens.
♦ ♦ ♦
The second photo is not mysterious — just sad.
Betty Jean Foreman was born January 25, 1927, to Otto and Louise Foreman. She was their third child, and first (and only) daughter.
From the Hobart News of March 27, 1927:
(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of R.F.
Otto and Louise were busy farming folk who may not even have owned a camera in 1927, so perhaps this is the only photo they ever had of their baby.
Betty Jean rests in Crown Hill Cemetery, with her parents.
The first was the daughter of Joachim and Maria Foreman.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of R.F.
The original photo was found among a collection of obituaries that had belonged to Louise (Buhr) Foreman, the wife of Otto Foreman and the daughter-in-law of Mike/Helmuth, who was one of Joachim and Maria's two surviving children. But the collection did not include an obituary for the little girl — only this photo, with "Maria" written on it.
The owner of the photo tells me: "In my lifetime no one ever mentioned baby Maria. Joachim's obituary and the picture that was in my Grandmother's belongings are the only indications to me that the child existed."
Let's look at the obituaries of little Maria's parents: first, Maria (aka Mary) Foreman, from the Hobart News of May 3, 1917:
(Click on image to enlarge)
And Joachim (aka Joseph) Foreman, from the Hobart News of June 14, 1917:
(Click on image to enlarge)
Both mention a daughter who died at the age of two, but neither gives the daughter's name or any timeframe for her life.
In the 1900 Census, Mary Foreman describes herself as the mother of three children, two of whom are still living.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Image from Ancestry.com.
Thus we know the daughter died before June of 1900, when the census was taken. As to when she was born, we have no records. No daughter ever appears in any census. She might have been born anytime after 1868, when Joseph and Mary were married, and the early 1890s, after which we might expect Mary, born in 1845, to have passed her child-bearing years.
But if the photograph is indeed the lost Foreman daughter, and if the photographer, Henry Iverson, did not practice his profession in Hobart outside of the timeframe I've been able to establish so far — April 1887 to March 1889 — then we have a better idea of when the child lived and died.
I have re-checked the old issues of the Hobart Advertiser, where I got my information about Henry Iverson, in the hope of finding something about the Foremans' loss of a child. I found nothing, but the Hobart Historical Society's collection of the Advertiser is fragmentary. No Hobart newspaper from that era survives on microfilm. I will have to check other area newspapers that are on microfilm … when I have time.
One problem with this 1887-1889 theory is that by the late 1880s the Foremans were well established in Ainsworth. If they had to bury a child at that time, we would expect the grave to be local, and probably to be marked. But no grave for a little Foreman girl from this era is marked in the Hobart Cemetery, where her parents lie. Even the early readers of local gravestones in the 1950s, as recorded by the NWIGS, found no marker for little Maria Foreman, either in Hobart Township or Ross Township. On the other hand, if a marker ever existed, it might have been broken or removed, or sunk into the ground, as sometimes happens.
The second photo is not mysterious — just sad.
Betty Jean Foreman was born January 25, 1927, to Otto and Louise Foreman. She was their third child, and first (and only) daughter.
From the Hobart News of March 27, 1927:
The only image we have of Betty Jean is this one, probably taken in the Foreman home on the day of the funeral.Funeral of Infant Daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Otto Foreman Held Sunday
Betty Jean, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Foreman, died Friday, March 18, after a week's illness. The child was first sick with a severe cold, pneumonia developing at the last and causing its death. She was born Jan. 25, 1927. The parents and two little brothers mourn her departure.
The funeral services were held Sunday afternoon at two o'clock at the residence and at 2:30 at the Ev. Lutheran church, the pastor, Rev. G.H. Hentschel, officiating. Burial in Crown Hill cemetery.
Card of Thanks
We wish to thank our friends and neighbors for their kindly acts and expressions of sympathy during the illness and death of our little daughter, Betty Jean, also for the cars and beautiful flower offerings, and Rev. Hentschel for his consoling words.
Mr. and Mrs. Otto Foreman.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of R.F.
Otto and Louise were busy farming folk who may not even have owned a camera in 1927, so perhaps this is the only photo they ever had of their baby.
Betty Jean rests in Crown Hill Cemetery, with her parents.
Sunday, March 14, 2021
The Berghoff Road House Again
I am still overloaded with work, but I came across some information about the location of the notorious Berghoff road house.
First, in the Hobart Gazette of January 22, 1926, we come across an article headlined, "Whip Factory Buildings Sold" — in which we learn that Hobart's old whip factory is to be demolished. The article says that some of the materials from it will be salvaged for new construction by brothers Karl and Paul Wurffel (whom I've never heard of before), who intend to build a filling station "at the northeast corner of [semi-legible number] and Missouri, across from the Berghoff." The problem is that bad microfilm and its semi-legible number. The number looks as if it could be "30th," "36th," or "39th." We've previously seen the Berghoff described as being "on the Chicago Road," a name used for what is now Old Ridge Road. Old Ridge Road curves into 39th Avenue just east of I-65.
In the April 16, 1926 Gazette,the "Local Drifts" column includes this item: "Karl and Paul Wurffel opened last Sunday their filling station on the Ridge Road, opposite the Berghoff, which will be known as the Ridge Road Service Station."
I don't know if "Ridge Road" here means Old Ridge Road, in which case the Berghoff was at the intersection of Missouri and 39th, or (new) Ridge Road (i.e., 37th Avenue), in which case the site of the Berghoff is now buried under the Ridge Road/I-65 interchange.
I have yet to find any more information about noted Chicken Farm.
First, in the Hobart Gazette of January 22, 1926, we come across an article headlined, "Whip Factory Buildings Sold" — in which we learn that Hobart's old whip factory is to be demolished. The article says that some of the materials from it will be salvaged for new construction by brothers Karl and Paul Wurffel (whom I've never heard of before), who intend to build a filling station "at the northeast corner of [semi-legible number] and Missouri, across from the Berghoff." The problem is that bad microfilm and its semi-legible number. The number looks as if it could be "30th," "36th," or "39th." We've previously seen the Berghoff described as being "on the Chicago Road," a name used for what is now Old Ridge Road. Old Ridge Road curves into 39th Avenue just east of I-65.
In the April 16, 1926 Gazette,the "Local Drifts" column includes this item: "Karl and Paul Wurffel opened last Sunday their filling station on the Ridge Road, opposite the Berghoff, which will be known as the Ridge Road Service Station."
I don't know if "Ridge Road" here means Old Ridge Road, in which case the Berghoff was at the intersection of Missouri and 39th, or (new) Ridge Road (i.e., 37th Avenue), in which case the site of the Berghoff is now buried under the Ridge Road/I-65 interchange.
I have yet to find any more information about noted Chicken Farm.
Sunday, March 7, 2021
Below the Dam, Hobart, Indiana
I have been overloaded with work lately, so here's a low-effort post: from a postcard, a random shot of some guy fishing "Below the Dam, Hobart, Indiana."
(Click on images to enlarge)
Ainsworthiana collection.
The photographer stood on the south side of the dam, pointing the camera north. In the upper-right background you can see brickyard chimneys.
The postcard is unused …
… but from what we know about the Wayne Paper Box & Printing Corp., we can date it to around 1948.
(Click on images to enlarge)
Ainsworthiana collection.
The photographer stood on the south side of the dam, pointing the camera north. In the upper-right background you can see brickyard chimneys.
The postcard is unused …
… but from what we know about the Wayne Paper Box & Printing Corp., we can date it to around 1948.
Sunday, February 28, 2021
The Pennsy Bridge and the Spell of Nostalgia
This postcard joins a view of the Pennsy Railroad bridge with a little nostalgic poem …
(Click on images to enlarge)
… but it seems the typesetter wasn't much of a speller. Eyes dimmed with nostalgic tears, maybe? Or should I say nostalgic "ears"?
Here's a high-resolution scan of the tiny (about 1.5" x 2") photo.
I think it's a reproduction of another photo postcard.
The postmark on the verso is nearly illegible, but the year looks to me to be 1912.
It was sent from Wheeler to Hobart by someone who saw no need to sign a name, counting on the recipient to recognize the handwriting.
The recipient, Pete Schaller, was a local whom I've never paid any attention to before. Here is his obituary from the Vidette-Messenger of October 12, 1954:
His family shows up in Union Township, Porter County, in the 1880 Census; by the 1900 Census Pete and his widowed father, August, were the only ones still in the household. They were farming rented land. August died in 1905.
By 1910, Pete was living in the home of Paul and Elizabeth Fredrick, probably in the big white house on the east side of S.R. 51 midway between Ainsworth and Hobart (it's still standing). He is described as Paul's cousin. So far the only explanation I can find of this relationship is — if I've found the right people — Elizabeth Fredrick's maiden name was Gross, like Pete's mother's (Paul and Elizabeth having been married in Chicago in 1899 per the Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index).
Peter remained a part of the Fredrick household through the 1920 Census, at least; I cannot find him in the 1930 Census. By the 1940 Census he had become a lodger in a rooming house in Valparaiso.
Pete's obituary reveals another connection to a local family, the Frames. Anna M. Schaller married Irvin G. Frame in April 1905, in Porter County (Indiana Marriage Collection). But I don't know exactly how Irvin (who seems to show up sometimes as Irving or Erwin) fits into the Frame family that I have previously mentioned in the blog. Irvin and Anna show up occasionally in "South of Deepriver" columns and the announcement of the birth of their son Thomas describes them as living "east of Deepriver."[1] But strangely, I haven't been able to find them in any census.
_______________
[1] "General News," Hobart Gazette, Aug. 20, 1915. I have found, on the 1921 plat map of Union Township, a farm southeast of Deepriver under the name of Anna E. Frame. It's across the road from Henry Schaller's farm.
(Click on images to enlarge)
… but it seems the typesetter wasn't much of a speller. Eyes dimmed with nostalgic tears, maybe? Or should I say nostalgic "ears"?
Here's a high-resolution scan of the tiny (about 1.5" x 2") photo.
I think it's a reproduction of another photo postcard.
The postmark on the verso is nearly illegible, but the year looks to me to be 1912.
It was sent from Wheeler to Hobart by someone who saw no need to sign a name, counting on the recipient to recognize the handwriting.
The recipient, Pete Schaller, was a local whom I've never paid any attention to before. Here is his obituary from the Vidette-Messenger of October 12, 1954:
His family shows up in Union Township, Porter County, in the 1880 Census; by the 1900 Census Pete and his widowed father, August, were the only ones still in the household. They were farming rented land. August died in 1905.
By 1910, Pete was living in the home of Paul and Elizabeth Fredrick, probably in the big white house on the east side of S.R. 51 midway between Ainsworth and Hobart (it's still standing). He is described as Paul's cousin. So far the only explanation I can find of this relationship is — if I've found the right people — Elizabeth Fredrick's maiden name was Gross, like Pete's mother's (Paul and Elizabeth having been married in Chicago in 1899 per the Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index).
Peter remained a part of the Fredrick household through the 1920 Census, at least; I cannot find him in the 1930 Census. By the 1940 Census he had become a lodger in a rooming house in Valparaiso.
Pete's obituary reveals another connection to a local family, the Frames. Anna M. Schaller married Irvin G. Frame in April 1905, in Porter County (Indiana Marriage Collection). But I don't know exactly how Irvin (who seems to show up sometimes as Irving or Erwin) fits into the Frame family that I have previously mentioned in the blog. Irvin and Anna show up occasionally in "South of Deepriver" columns and the announcement of the birth of their son Thomas describes them as living "east of Deepriver."[1] But strangely, I haven't been able to find them in any census.
_______________
[1] "General News," Hobart Gazette, Aug. 20, 1915. I have found, on the 1921 plat map of Union Township, a farm southeast of Deepriver under the name of Anna E. Frame. It's across the road from Henry Schaller's farm.
Sunday, February 21, 2021
President and Mrs. Grabowski
This photo, dating to 1928, shows Teofil and Wanda Grabowski inside the American State Bank in Gary, Indiana, at which time Teofil was the bank's president.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of Aneta and Zenon Grabowscy.
To judge by the way the lobby is filled with flowers, this photo must have been taken on some special occasion — maybe a national holiday, or a significant event for the bank.
The bank's shell is still standing at 1710 Broadway in Gary, Indiana, and I believe that would have been the address in 1928, as that building was erected in 1924 per the county records. I have been looking through "urban explorer" videos on Youtube showing the interior of the bank building as it is now. Here is a shot of the lobby from 2017:
(Click on image to enlarge)
From https://youtu.be/KbRs_VdM_pY; another video can be found at https://youtu.be/pfSQ60Qe3T0?t=541.
These videos spend some time looking at the massive round door of the vault, which may be the same vault door that you can see in the 1928 photo, in the center background behind the metal bars (still photo here).
(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of Aneta and Zenon Grabowscy.
To judge by the way the lobby is filled with flowers, this photo must have been taken on some special occasion — maybe a national holiday, or a significant event for the bank.
The bank's shell is still standing at 1710 Broadway in Gary, Indiana, and I believe that would have been the address in 1928, as that building was erected in 1924 per the county records. I have been looking through "urban explorer" videos on Youtube showing the interior of the bank building as it is now. Here is a shot of the lobby from 2017:
(Click on image to enlarge)
From https://youtu.be/KbRs_VdM_pY; another video can be found at https://youtu.be/pfSQ60Qe3T0?t=541.
These videos spend some time looking at the massive round door of the vault, which may be the same vault door that you can see in the 1928 photo, in the center background behind the metal bars (still photo here).
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