Paulina (Gersbacher) Schneider's 140th Birthday

Paulina Gersbacher, 1895

140 years ago today, on 13 August 1876, my great-grandmother Paulina (Gersbacher) Schneider was born in Niederwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany.

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

Battle of Château-Thierry

"Chateau Thierry, the turning point of the World War". Postcard depicting the World War I Battle of Château-Thierry. Postcard published by E.B.Remenson, Chicago, 1919. Public domain. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

My first cousin three times removed Ferdinand Constand Schneider was killed in action on 15 July 1918 at the Battle of Château-Thierry (Aisne, Picardy, France) during World War I. I am posting this image in his memory.

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

Military Monday: Memorial Day

Today is the day that we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country. I am remembering family members who died while in service.

My great-grandfather's first cousin Ferdinand Constand Schneider (4 November 1887 - 15 July 1918) was killed in action during World War I at the Battle of Château-Thierry. He was the son of a German immigrant, and died fighting against the Germans.

Photo from page 165, Missouri - Soldiers of the Great War, compiled by W. M. Haulsee, F. G. Howe, and A. C. Doyle. Washington, DC: Soldiers Record Publishing Association, 1920. Available online at http://www.usgwarchives.net/mo/wwi/missourisoldies-greatwar.htm.

 The map  below shows the Western Front of the war at the time that he was killed.

 Chicago Daily Tribune, 16 July 1918, page 2

Thomas J. Tarkington, whom I suspect was my 3rd-great-grandfather Joseph Tarkington's brother, was killed in the Battle of Buena Vista (23 February 1847) during the Mexican War.

Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the Mexican War, compiled 1899 - 1927, documenting the period 1846 - 1848. Thomas J. Tarkinton, Wheeler's Co., 2 Illinois Foot Vols. (Bissell's), Mexican War. NARA M616. Available from Fold3.

Map of Battle of Buena Vista. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

Although my 3rd-great-grandfather Davidson Binkley did not die in battle, he was serving his country when he died. He was a private in Company G, 128th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. He was stationed at Cairo, Alexander County, Illinois during the winter of 1862-1863. He died of measles on 9 January 1863.

Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Illinois. Davidson Binkley, Company G, 128th Illinois Infantry. NARA M539. Available from Fold3.

Harper's Weekly, 1 June 1861, p. 350. Available from Son of the South.

Fred Logan Trickey, Jr., the husband of my second cousin once removed Peggy Lorraine Clark, was one of five World War II heroes that died when B-25 bomber 227 crashed on Cold Mountain, Haywood County, North Carolina on 13 September 1946.
 

Fred and Peggy (Clark) Trickey. Milwaukee Journal, 10 October 1943.

Cannon, Doris Rollins. Cold Mountain Bomber Crash: The Enduring Legacy. Printed by Edwards Brothers, 2005. ISBN: 0-9772101-0-3

Surname Saturday: Schneider

The surname Schneider means "tailor" in German. It is an occupational surname. These maps from Christoph Stöpel's Geogen 3.0 surname mapping site show just how common the surname is.

Absolute distribution

©Christoph Stöpel. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DE (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/de/deed.en). http://legacy.stoepel.net/de/MapGateway.aspx?name=Schneider&target=DE&renderer=EN_US&mode=abs

Relative distribution

©Christoph Stöpel. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DE (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/de/deed.en). http://legacy.stoepel.net/de/MapGateway.aspx?name=Schneider&target=DE&renderer=EN_US&mode=rel

My known Schneider ancestors are:

Maternal grandmother: Margaret Ann Schneider
born 16 March 1911, St. Louis, Missouri
married William Herbert Foerstel 22 September 1931, St. Louis, Missouri
married John Boe (my grandfather) 25 September 1939, Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana
died 4 August 1986, New York, New York

Great-grandfather: John (Johann) Schneider
born 6 December 1878, Remagen, Ahrweiler, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
married Paulina Gersbacher 23 July 1902, St. Louis, Missouri
died 11 June 1955, St. Louis, Missouri

2nd-great-grandfather: Carl Joseph Schneider
born 22 January 1855, Erpel, Neuwied, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
married Christina Nagel 31 January 1878, Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
died 5 November 1901, St. Louis, Missouri

3rd-great-grandfather: Johann Wilhelm Schneider
baptized 2 April 1826, Remagen, Ahrweiler, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
married Anna Sibylle Lindlohr (my 3rd-great-grandmother) 20 April 1853, Erpel, Neuwied, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
married Adelheid Noll 3 February 1863, Erpel, Neuwied, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
died 13 November 1871, Erpel, Neuwied, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

4th-great-grandfather: Nikolaus Schneider
baptized 11 September 1777, Düngenheim, Cochem-Zell, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
married Anna Franziska Fassbender 6 January 1818, Remagen, Ahrweiler, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
died 7 November 1835, Remagen, Ahrweiler, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

5th-great-grandfather: Bernhard Schneider
married Catharina Miesen
died 12 November 1784, Düngenheim, Cochem-Zell, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Treasure Chest Thursday: Cat and Pyramid

My mother recently gave me this cat and pyramid. They belonged to my maternal grandmother Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe. She got them in Egypt.

Wordless Wednesday: Grandma Boe and My Parents

Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe and her daughter and son-in-law

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.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Boe!

I am thinking of my maternal grandmother Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe on her birthday. She would have been 105 today.

Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe and her son, my uncle Dobby, Long Beach, California, 1949

National Love Your Pet Day

February 20 is National Love Your Pet Day. I have six beautiful cats that I love dearly.

Jewel

Melody and Harmony

Luna

Flash and Kit

My maternal grandmother Margaret Schneider and her sister Paula are pictured here with a dog, possibly a family pet.

Pets are an important part of the family!

Snow

The Blizzard of 2016 has buried my house in snow. There is so much snow that I can only open the side door (the one I use) an inch or two. I shoveled the front and back steps, but the rest is still there. I got a text from my town that said that 24-30 inches of snow were expected. The storm could break New Jersey records.

My backyard

I have lived through other major snowstorms. After the Blizzard of 1996 struck, I did not leave my apartment for four days. When all the snow melted, the roof leaked and water poured down my ceiling. I had to move out of my first apartment.

My ancestors experienced many snowstorms. On 17 March 1892, Nashville, Tennessee experienced its biggest snowstorm, which brought 17 inches of snow.

Daily American (Nashville, TN), 18 March 1892, page 4

St. Louis, Missouri experienced a severe ice storm in December 1924. Three-quarters of the state of Missouri was covered by ice for the last half of December. When this happened, my maternal grandmother Margaret Ann Schneider was thirteen years old, and my maternal grandfather John Boe was sixteen years old.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 19 December 1924, page 1

My ancestors in Chicago, Illinois also experienced snowstorms, such as the one in January 1918, which at that time was the worst blizzard in Chicago's history (it is now the 10th worst). My paternal grandmother Helen Martha Marie Anderson was six years old, and my paternal grandfather Henry Cornelius Gatlin was seven years old.

Chicago Daily Tribune, 7 January 1918, page 1

Chicago Daily Tribune, 7 January 1918, page 1

Porter County, Indiana experienced a bad snowstorm at the end of 1927.

Vidette-Messenger (Valparaiso, IN), 31 December 1927, page 1

The Children's Blizzard, also known as the Schoolhouse Blizzard, struck Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho on 12 January 1888. It was the deadliest blizzard in Minnesota history. Many of the victims were schoolchildren.

Saint Paul Globe, 14 January 1888, page 1

Some of my ancestors were living in Swift County, Minnesota at that time. Benson is the county seat.

Saint Paul Globe, 14 January 1888, page 1

Family Recipe Friday: Three Bean Salad

This recipe for Three Bean Salad is from my maternal grandmother Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe. My mother often makes it.

Sunday's Obituary: Charles J. (Carl) Schneider

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 19 February 1969, page 23D

Schneider
Charles J. (Carl) Schneider, Wed., Feb. 19, 1969, fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church, beloved husband of Louise Schneider, dear father of Louise Bascom and Virginia Vessels, dear brother of Mrs. Ann Wegman, dear father-in-law, grandfather, great-grandfather and uncle.
     Funeral from KRIEGSHAUSER'S SOUTH, 4228 S. Kings-highway, Fri., Feb. 21, 8:30 a.m., to Immaculate Conception Church Lafayette and Longfellow. Interment Sunset. A member of the Elks. In state after 1 p.m., Thurs.

Carl J. Schneider was the son of my 2nd-great-grandparents Carl Joseph Schneider and Christina Nagel. He was born on 17 March 1885 in Remagen, Ahrweiler, Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany. He and his family emigrated in 1892, and he grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. He married Louise Scheffer on 12 June 1912 in St. Louis. They had twin daughters, Louisa Virginia and Virginia Louisa, born on 21 March 1915. He died on 19 February 1969 and was buried in Sunset Memorial Park in Affton, St. Louis County, Missouri.

Travel Tuesday: The Schneiders' Visits to the Nagels in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe, New Mexico was the regular vacation spot of my 2nd-great-grandparents Carl Joseph and Christina (Nagel) Schneider. Christina's brother Mathias Joseph Nagel had moved from Jefferson City, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1891, a year before the Schneiders emigrated from Germany and settled in St. Louis, Missouri. They would bring gifts with them, and would return with gifts from Mathias and his family.

Christina (Nagel) Schneider with Mathias Nagel and his family

The Schneiders would have traveled to Santa Fe by train. They would take a train from St. Louis to Kansas City, Missouri. They would then take the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to Lamy, New Mexico. Finally, they would take a branch line from Lamy to Santa Fe. The trip would probably take a couple of days.

The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe railroad system, 1899. 

Map available at http://www.loc.gov/item/98688582/.

Photo labeled "Christina Schneider, Grandpa Schneider's mother, in Santa Fe, New Mexico"

Photo labeled "Grandma Schneider & Aunt Anne." Although my great-grandmother Paulina (Gersbacher) Schneider had a sister, Anna (Gersbacher) Taschner, "Aunt Anne" is probably Anna (Schneider) Wegman, Christina (Nagel) Schneider's daughter and the sister of Paulina's husband John Schneider. Christina (Nagel) Schneider) may also be in this photo. It looks like it was taken on a visit to Santa Fe.

Image labeled "Grandma Schneider's brother Matt Nagel scenery"

Information on Santa Fe, probably brought back by the family on one of their visits

References
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe railroad system, 1899.
Conant, Michael. Railroad Mergers and Abandonments. University of California Press, 1964.
Missouri Pacific Railway. Rand McNally, 1886.
Railroads and the Making of Modern America. Santa Fe.