52 Ancestors: Week 4 "At the Library": The Truth About the Death of Catherine Elizabeth (Winters) Graham Mapplebeck

According to her death certificate, my 2nd-great-grandmother Catherine Elizabeth (Winters) Graham Mapplebeck died of coronary sclerosis due to chronic nephritis on 4 March 1942.

 Elizabeth Maplebeck death certificate. Missouri State Board of Health.

She was 80 years old, so the cause of death seemed quite plausible. I never suspected that there was more to it until I visited the Hayner Public Library District's Genealogy & Local History Library in Alton, Illinois, where Elizabeth and her children had lived for a time. I searched the digitized newspaper collection and came across a brief item from the 5 March 1942 issue of the Joplin Globe entitled "Two St. Louis Women Overcome by Smoke, Die." One of the women was Elizabeth Mapplebeck!

I went to the St. Louis County Library to look for more information. At that time, I did not have access to the digital archives of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, so I looked through the microfilm. The 3 March 1942 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch contained more details ("Invalid Perishes in Nursing Home Fire; 9 Overcome," p. 3.). A fire had broken out at the Brantwood Nursing Home in Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri. The nursing home had opened about four months previously, and had no outside fire escape. The fire started near the motor for the electric icebox. One man, Henry Kern, died of asphyxiation an hour after he was taken to the hospital. Five others had been carried out while unconscious, but had been revived. Three people were stated to be in serious condition. Elizabeth Mappleback was at the hospital, but was not considered to be in serious condition. However, the next day, her death was reported ("Woman, 82, Second Victim of Lemay Hospital Fire." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4 March 1942, p. 7C. )

It is strange that there was no mention of anything related to the fire on her death certificate. She must have suffered from smoke inhalation. Perhaps the stress of the experience brought on a heart attack.

Brooke Johns' Missouri Girls

My maternal grandfather's sister Florence Kathleen Boe was born 107 years ago today, on 22 November 1909. Florence was a dancer. She is pictured below (bottom right) as part of a group that danced in vaudeville performer Brooke Johns' stage shows.

St. Louis Star, 2 March 1928, page 11

Wordless Wednesday: Washington State Building, St. Louis World's Fair, 1904

Society Saturday: Children of America Loyalty League

The Children of America Loyalty League was organized in St. Louis, Missouri on 29 June 1917. Its purpose was to teach children to love their country and to provide aid to soldiers and sailors, the Red Cross, and other children. It was founded by Mrs. Nat Brown.

Dues were 20 cents per year for children. For adults, honorary membership cost $1 per year, and active membership cost $5 per year. The organization's national song was "The Rainbow of the Free" by John L. Herman (music) and Will DeFord (lyrics).

 In 1917, the organization donated socks to soldiers in France, and donated glasses of jelly to war hospitals in France.

The Children of America Loyalty League's events included performances, parties, and fashion shows. On 14 September 1917, the league held a celebration at the St. Louis Coliseum in honor of the 103rd anniversary of the writing of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

 The league held a masque and pageant, "The Song of Truth and the Court of Youth," on October 3, 4, and 5, 1918 at the Odeon Theatre in St. Louis.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 29 September 1918, page 18B

The league gave lawn parties which featured entertainment. On 9 July 1920, a lawn party was held at the home of my great-grandmother Kathleen (Graham) Boe. The entertainers included my grandfather John Boe and his siblings Florence, James, Theodora Catherine, and Geraldine.

St. Louis Star, 1 July 1920, page 19

On 30 April 1921, the league held a children's fashion exhibition.

St. Louis Star, 29 April 1921, page 17

On 29 July 1921, another lawn party was held at Kathleen (Graham) Boe's home. The entertainment included a fortune-teller, a snake charmer, a museum, and a fish pond.

St. Louis Star, 21 July 1921, page 17

 On 10 December 1921, the league held a Christmas party.

St. Louis Star, 9 December 1921, page 19

In 1921, when the Old Glory chapter of the Children of America Loyalty League was reorganized, Kathleen (Graham) Boe became secretary-treasurer.

St. Louis Star, 20 September 1921, page 15

References
"Children of America Loyalty League." Musical Monitor, vol. 8 (1918), p. 223. Available from Google Books.
"Children's Aid to Red Cross to Be Nation-Wide in Scope." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8 July 1917, p. 17.
"Children's Lawn Party." St. Louis Star,  21 July 1921, p. 17.
"Children's League to Send Socks to Soldiers Abroad." St. Louis Star, 6 September 1917, p. 2.
"Children's Loyalty League Lawn Parties." St. Louis Star, 1 July 1920, p. 19.
Children of America Loyalty League Christmas party advertisement. St. Louis Star, 9 December 1921, p. 19.
Herman, John, and DeFord, Will. The Rainbow of the Free: National Song of the Children of America Loyalty League. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1921. Available from Internet Archive.
"League Chapter Reorganized." St. Louis Star, 20 September 1921, p. 5.
 Masque and pageant adverstisement. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 29 September 1918, p. 18B.
"Summer 1921 Children's Fashion Exhibition." St. Louis Star, 29 April 1921, p. 17.
"Writing of National Anthem Celebrated." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 15 September 1917, p. 3.

Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Missouri

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri is the world's tallest arch and the tallest man-made monument in the Western hemisphere. It is 630 feet tall. Its facade is made of stainless steel. From the top of the arch, it is possible to see up to thirty miles in each direction.

In 1933, civic leader Luther Ely Smith came up with the idea to build a memorial on the Mississippi River riverfront in St. Louis. As a result, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association was created. In 1945, a design competition for the memorial was announced. The contest opened on 30 May 1947, and the winning design, by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, was chosen on 18 February 1948.

The monument's construction began on 12 February 1963. It was completed on 28 October 1965.

References
About the Gateway Arch
Gateway Arch 
History of the Gateway Arch

Wordless Wednesday: City Hall, St. Louis, Missouri

Sympathy Saturday: Non-Resident Heirs of Hannah (Hardgrave) Russell

Nashville Union and American, 22 December 1853, page 2

My 5th-great-grandmother Hannah (Hardgrave) Russell died in 1853. Skelton Demoss was the administrator of her estate. Some of her heirs were not residents of Tennessee, so they could not be served by the County Court of Davidson County, Tennessee. Her daughter Helen (Russell) Dawson was living in Missouri. Her son Mills Russell (incorrectly listed as Miles in the notice) had died in 1852, but he had three sons in Livingston County, Kentucky: Andrew Russell, John D. Russell, and Wesley Russell.

A notice was published in the Nashville Union and American, beginning on 22 December 1853 (the beginning date given at the bottom of the notice is December 23, but the newspaper issue that the notice appears in is dated December 22). The last notice was published on 9 February 1854. Mills Russell's sons and Helen Dawson were asked to appear at the courthouse in Nashville on the first Monday in February 1854 (6 February 1854).

Tombstone Tuesday: Clifford Irwin Clark

Photo by Jo Nelson (Family Hunter) - Find A Grave Contributor

Clifford Irwin Clark was born on 22 November 1896 in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of Charles W. and Grace Clark. He was a staff sergeant in World War I and World War II. He was a member of the 1507th Engineer Company. He married my first cousin twice removed Nina Lorraine Leech on 1 September 1917 in Davidson County, Tennessee. Their daughter Peggy was born in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee on 19 September 1918. By 1920, the family had moved to Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee. Their daughter Helen was born about 1921. Clifford worked as an auto mechanic. His wife Nina died on 3 August 1966. He died on 27 October 1970 and was buried in Memphis National Cemetery on 30 October 1970.

Missouri Statehood Day

State flag of Missouri on Public Domain Images

On 10 August 1821, Missouri became the 24th state. The request for statehood had initially been submitted in December 1818, but because Missouri had requested admission as a slave state, there was a delay. The Missouri Compromise, passed in 1820, allowed Missouri to be admitted as a slave state. The balance between free and slave states was maintained, since Maine was admitted as a free state. Slavery was also prohibited in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36° 30´ latitude line, except in Missouri.

My ancestors did not arrive in Missouri until much later. The first relative came in the 1870s. My direct ancestors arrived in the 1880s, 1890s, and 1900s.

A celebration is held at the First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site every year. There are special demonstrations, an open house, and interpreters in period dress.

References
History of Missouri
Primary Documents in American History: Missouri Compromise
Statehood Day | Missouri State Parks

Wedding of John Schneider and Paulina Gersbacher

My great-grandparents John Schneider and Paulina Gersbacher were married 114 years ago today. When I was taking the National Institute for Genealogical Studies class Research: Social History, one of the assignments was to write an account of an event in the life of my ancestors, and to try to find out what the weather was like on the day of the event. I wrote about the wedding of John Schneider and Paulina Gersbacher.

 July 23, 1902

John Schneider and Paulina Gersbacher were united in marriage today at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. The church, which is the largest Roman Catholic church in the area, is made of Grafton limestone and has a spire that is more than 200 feet high. The stained glass windows provided a lovely backdrop for the wedding mass.

The weather was fair but humid. Thankfully the waters of the Mississippi River, which had been approaching flood stage, had receded by four inches. The bride and groom are natives of Germany, as is typical of the congregation of Sts. Peter and Paul, and of a large portion this ethnic neighborhood, which is home to many European immigrants.

Sources:
"Floods Threaten Missouri and Mississippi Valleys - Heavy Rains Continue in Tributary Territory." St. Louis Republic, 20 July 1902, page 1. Chronicling America. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84020274/1902-07-20/ed-1/seq-1.pdf
"No Danger from High Water." St. Louis Republic, 23 July 1902, page 5. Chronicling America. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84020274/1902-07-23/ed-1/seq-5.pdf
United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form. Soulard Neighborhood Historic District. http://dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/72001559.pdf
Wayman, Norbury L. History of St. Louis Neighborhoods: Soulard: Churches. https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/archive/neighborhood-histories-norbury-wayman/soulard/churches23.htm
"The Weather." St. Louis Republic, 23 July 1902, page 14. Chronicling America. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84020274/1902-07-23/ed-1/seq-14.pdf
"The Weather." St. Louis Republic, 24 July 1902, page 12. Chronicling America. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84020274/1902-07-24/ed-1/seq-12.pdf

Sports Center Saturday: William J. Schneider, Wrestler

My great-grandfather's brother William J. Schneider was a wrestler. He participated in wrestling matches at the Standard Theater in St. Louis, Missouri.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 15 May 1908, page 16

 

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 29 May 1908, page 12

William became a policeman and taught jiu jitsu and wrestling to the police force.

 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 13 November 1909, page 3

Tombstone Tuesday: Harry Ashby Lee

Harry Ashby Lee was born on 28 August 1927 in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of Ashby Lee and Etta Pedigo. He married Joan Elise Roberts (the daughter of Earl Mason Roberts and my maternal grandfather's sister Florence Kathleen Boe) in 1952 in Missouri, and they had four children. Harry was a veteran of the United States Navy and served in World War II and the Korean War. He died on 3 August 2006 and was buried in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Oakville, St. Louis County, Missouri.

Shopping Saturday: Foerstel Bros.

 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 23 December 1927, p. 27

Charles F. Foerstel, the father of my maternal grandmother's first husband William Herbert Foerstel, was a grocer in St. Louis, Missouri.

1930 United States census, St. Louis, Missouri, Ward 15 part 1, population schedule, p.25B, family 542. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.

Charles worked for the Foerstel Bros. Mercantile Co. Charles' brother, Michael J. Foerstel, was president of the company.

Gould's St. Louis City Directory 1931. St. Louis, MO: Polk-Gould Directory Co., 1931. P. 455. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

My grandmother Margaret Ann Schneider married William Herbert Foerstel on  22 September 1931. By 1932, Herbert was working as a grocer.

Gould's St. Louis City Directory 1932. St. Louis, MO: Polk-Gould Directory Co., 1932. P. 397. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. 

Margaret and Herbert had two children during the early 1930s. My aunt told me that because of the family grocery business, they always had food during the Great Depression.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 9 May 1924, p. 19

Worldless Wednesday: Souvenir Postcard, 1904 St. Louis World's Fair - Corner Palace of Varied Industries

Friend of Friends Friday: Former Slave Mrs. M. A. Smith (Syntha Dickerson) Seeks Relatives

Nashville Tennessean, 9 January 1935, page 14

Former Slave Seeks 

Postmaster's Help in 

Hunt for Relatives

______

    Days of the Old South when there were masters and slaves and when masters often sold their black property "down the river" sound an echo from the pages of a letter recently received from the Nashville postmaster.
   The letter came from an old negro woman living in St. Louis, Mo. Now she is Mrs. M. A. Smith. But years and years ago, she was a pickaninny, the property of one Robert Gibson, a horse salesman of Nashville.
    "I was sold in slave days. My name was Syntha Dickerson. My master was named Robert Gibson," the letter opened. In such brief and simple sentences, the letter told that the slave child, Syntha, was taken to New Orleans and sold.
   But the letter tells between its lines far more than is expressed in its simple sentences. The writer must be about 80 years of age by now––one of a comparatively few survivors of an innumerable number of slaves who stood on the mast in New Orleans for sale to the highest bidder.
  When she was just a child she was taken to New Orleans from Nashville. In all probability the trip was made by river. There she was sold to another "master" and never again saw the mother, father, brother, and sisters or the "white folks" back in Tennessee.
   "I have never seen or heard from eny of my people since," is the way in which the old woman voices her lifetime of separation from everything in her childhood. "My children wants to see some of my people," she writes.
   Nearing the end of her life that began in slavery, this old woman has turned her thoughts backward to the days of her carefree, happy childhood in Nashville and wants to locate any surviving members of her own family and those of her "master."
   To her they are still "my people" regardless of a Civil war that swept a master's ties on his slaves and gave them a life of her own. She has written the Nashville postmaster in the hope that in this way she can establish those long-lost contacts.
   Any one having the information desired by Mrs. Smith is asked to communicate with Postmaster William Gupton.
   Following is the letter, containing between its lines a more vivid and moving story than the old ex-slave expresses in words:
    "St. Louis, Mo., 4580-A Garfield avenue. January 3––1935. To the postmaster of Nashville, Tenn. An inquirie of my people.
"I was sold in slave days. My name was Syntha Dickerson. My master was named Robert Gibson. He had a little girl that I stayed at the house with until she was old enough to go to school. She learned her letters well enough to go and she would not go without me and she would not go in her class without me so her father took me down to New Orleans and sold me. I have never seen or heard from eny of my people since. My father was named Harry Dickerson. My mother's name Sopha, a sister name Mary, one Harriet one bro name Alferd
   "Now postmaster please let me know if you can find any of the white children of Robert Gibson and any of my people as my children wants to see some of my people
   "Now I shall waite your ans Mrs. M. A. Smith."

Shopping Saturday: Wegman & Sons Grocery

My great-grandfather's sister's husband Anthony Leo "Andy" Wegman worked with his father Herman J. Wegman and his brother John P. Wegman in the family grocery business, Wegman & Sons. The store was located at 3326 Shenandoah Ave., St. Louis, Missouri.

Gould's St. Louis City Directory 1914, page 2234. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

One of the products that they sold was India tea. 

 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 9 October 1912, page 9

The store also carried Troco Nut Butter.

 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 21 June 1918, page 11

Sports Center Saturday: Erwin Schaefering

My maternal grandfather's sister's husband Erwin Schaefering participated in many sports.

He played baseball at McKinley High School in st. Louis, Missouri, and was team captain in 1919.

The Carnation (yearbook, McKinley High School, St. Louis, Missouri), 1920, p. 28. Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3 April 1919, page 30

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2 April 1920, page 28

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 18 April 1920, page 6

He was chairman of McKinley High School's standing committee on athletics.

The Carnation (yearbook, McKinley High School, St. Louis, Missouri), 1921, p 75. Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Erwin played football at St. Louis University.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11 November 1923, page 1S

He later played professional football for the St. Louis Blues.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 28 October 1926, page 32

Ervin was also on the wrestling team at St. Louis University.

The Archive (yearbook, St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri), 1922, p. 228. Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Tuesday's Tip: They May Have Moved

Many families were enumerated in the same location in two or more consecutive U.S. federal censuses. However, they may not have lived in that location for the entire time between census enumerations. People sometimes moved away, and then moved back. Even if you check city directories, if you skip some years, you could miss a move.

At the time of the 1910 U.S. census enumeration, my 2nd-great-grandfather's brother Clarence Bateman Gatlin and his family lived at 4801 Alabama Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee.

1910 United States census, Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, Ward 25, population schedule, enumeration district 82, sheet no. 7A. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

By November 1910, the family had moved to New Decatur, Morgan County, Alabama. Clarence's son Clarence J. Gatlin died there on 14 November 1910.

Clarence J. Gatlin death record. Center for Health Statistics, Alabama Department of Public Health, Montgomery, Alabama. 

The 1911 Nashville City Directory mentions Clarence's move.

Nashville City Directory 1911. New York: Marshall-Bruce-Polk, 1911. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

By 1912, Clarence and his family had returned to Nashville. They lived at the same address as they had before the move, 4801 Alabama Avenue. Perhaps they rented the house while they were away, or perhaps Clarence's father William Dow Gatlin, who lived with the family in 1910, had remained there. (He died in Nashville on 4 March 1911.)

Nashville City Directory 1912. New York: Marshall-Bruce-Polk, 1912. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. 

My great-grandfather John Boe and his family went back and forth between St. Louis, Missouri and Williston, Williams County, North Dakota. On 28 April 1908, my grandfather John Boe was born in St. Louis. The 1908 St. Louis City Directory lists the Boe family.

Gould's St. Louis City Directory 1908, page 220. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

The next child, Florence Kathleen Boe, was born on 22 November 1909 in Williston. The Boe family was in St. Louis at the time of the 1910 U.S. census enumeration.

1910 United States census, St. Louis, Missouri, Ward 22, population schedule, enumeration district 340, sheet no. 2A.

John Boe was also listed in the 1910 St. Louis city directory.

Gould's St. Louis Directory for 1910, page 304. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. 

John was listed in the Williston City Directory in 1911.

Williston City Directory, 1911-1912. Williston, ND: North Dakota Directory Co., page 31. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

In 1913, he was listed in the St. Louis directory.

Gould's St. Louis Directory for 1910, page 356. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
 
On 9 February 1914, John's daughter Theodora Catherine was born in Williston. The Boe family had returned to St. Louis by 29 July 1916, when John's daughter Geraldine Edith was born. This was the last of the moves back and forth.

Knights of Columbus Founder's Day

March 29 is Knights of Columbus Founder's Day. On 2 October 1881, Father Michael J. McGivney, the assistant pastor of St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Connecticut, gathered a group of men from St. Mary's Parish and and proposed that they establish a Catholic fraternal benefits society. The first meeting of the Knights of Columbus took place on 6 February 1882. The Order was officially incorporated on 29 March 1882.

My great-grandfather John Schneider was a member of the Knights of Columbus, Lafayette Council, No. 1940 in St. Louis, Missouri. Lafayette Council No. 1940 was founded in March 1919. Rev. John F. Stevens, the pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, was one of the founders. John Schneider was also a member of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 14 June 1955, page 5C

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 16 November 1919, page 9

References
Biographies S - St. Louis County, Missouri Genealogy Trails
Founder's Day - March 29
History | Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus

Good Friday

St. Louis Republic, 6 April 1903, page 10 

My Schneider and Gersbacher ancestors lived in St. Louis and were Catholic. They probably attended the services described above at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church. On Good Friday, they would have been at the Mass of the Presanctified and the Adoration of the Cross, and stopped at the Stations of the Cross.