“At Christmas Time”

 

“At Christmas Time” is a hand-painted card made by Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling. He most likely made this for his wife, and the Arts & Crafts style suggests it was done in the early 1900s. (Click to enlarge.)

 

Helbling Family (Click for Family Tree)

             – and all our wonderful Heritage Ramblings blog readers!

Just a quick post to wish all our good readers health, joy, and love this Holiday Season, and always!

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. More to come in another post about this card painted by G. W. Helbling (1882-1971), likely for his wife, Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling (1881-1954). From the Arts & Crafts style used and knowing their family history, it probably was painted after 1904 when they married and before 1920 or so.

 

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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

Original content copyright 2013-2021 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.
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A Christmas Eve Gift of Love: G.W. Helbling to Anna May Beerbower Helbing, 1916

 

Cover of a Christmas card from G. W. Helbling to his wife, Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling, Dec. 24, 1916. (Click to enlarge.)

Helbling Family, Beerbower Family (Click for Family Tree)

As many are ‘wrapping up’ their holiday shopping today, one of our ancestors helps to put gift-giving into a different light.

Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling (1882-1971) was a talented artist as well as a very loving husband. He married Anna “May” Beerbower (1881-1954) on November 24th, 1904.

Drawings done by Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling as frames for pictures of himself and the love of his life, Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling. They both appear to be pretty young- maybe high school age? (Click to enlarge.)

G. W. had a sign painting business during his younger years and then again in later years of his life. He also made beautiful cards, paintings, and even scrapbooks for his grandchildren. Within all he painted for family, his love came through, most especially in those treasures for his dear wife.

It would be wonderful to have the color version of G.W.’s card so that we could better tell if it was a manufactured card (the flower section does look pre-printed) or if he had painted part of the image; we also do not know what was inside the card or on the back of it. We are, however, grateful to have this black and white copy of the card front, and the letter inside, from an early, miraculous contraption called a “Xerox machine.” (Introduced in 1959, these copiers were not widely available for individual use for another 5-10 years, and copies were expensive when one was finally located.)

What was the Helbling family tradition as far as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and gift giving? Devout Catholics, it is likely they attended a Christmas Eve church service and again another on Christmas morn. Did the two exchange their own gifts within the sweet adult quiet later on Christmas Eve, when the children were in bed, or wait until the morning when their children, 8 year-old Edgar Bradley Helbling (1908-1994), 5 year old Anna “May” Helbling, later Reilly (1911-1985), and 3 year old Viola Gertrude Helbling, later Carrigan (1913-1971), would excitedly unwrap a gift or two stashed under the decorated tree? Perhaps they waited until the children were engrossed in their new toys and then G.W. and May could share a moment together.

From left: Vi Helbling, May Helbling, and Edgar Helbling, in front of their home at 5136 Page in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 14, 1917. (Click to enlarge.)

G. W., or “Dard” as May called him, would have handed this envelope sweetly to his beloved wife:

Envelope from a Christmas card and letter from G.W. Helbling to his wife, Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling, Christmas Eve, 1916. (Click to enlarge.)

“Merry Christmas

to my dear pal”

May would have pulled the card out of the envelope, feasting on the beautiful card that was a gift in itself.

Inside the card was something even more precious- a sweet letter detailing G.W.’s gift for Anna:

A Christmas letter/gift from G.W. Helbling to his “darling wife” Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling, Christmas Eve, 1916. (Click to enlarge.)

Here is a transcription of the letter:

G. W. HELBLING

LONG DISTANCE                            UNDERTAKER                       KINLOCH, DELMAR
PHONE                       LICENSED        EMBALMER                      2518-J
MOTOR AND CARRIAGE SERVICE
3930 ST. LOUIS AVE.
ST. LOUIS

                                                                          Christmas Eve 1916

                      My darling wife: ~
I’m wishing you another
Merry Christmas, of the many happy
years we have spent together, I
am bringing to you nothing that
could be less customary as a gift
at such a time, but a gift that
I feel will better suffice to show
my love for you, and the tenderness
and protection which it is ever my
one thought to surround you with.

Living, I love you, and beyond-
thus it is that my Christmas greeting
to you this year will be an additional
$1000. Insurance policy in your name.

Again, dear pal. Merry Christmas
and happy New Year.

always your
Dard

The family did not have much income for holiday presents and even daily expenses, but G.W. knew that the cost of a life insurance policy would help to provide peace of mind for the unthinkable- his death. Working as an undertaker at that time would have likely influenced him to choose his “less customary” gift. The policy was one of the best gifts he could give his wife, especially as their family grew. What a loving husband!

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Family treasure chest of photos and ephemera. It is unknown where this copy came from, or where the original is today. If someone reading this has the original, we would love it if you would share a color copy, and let us know more about the card itself. Thanks in advance!
  2. G. W. Helbling was sometimes listed instead as William Gerard Helbling, especially in his earlier years. His paternal side was German, and in many German families it was very common for a person to use their middle name on a daily basis, rather than their first given name.
  3. Thankfully May never had to use the insurance policy (unless they cashed it in) as G.W. survived to father three more children with her (their first child had died in infancy). Anna May passed away in 1954, and G.W. lived another 17 years.

 

Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

Original content copyright 2013-2021 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about the copyright or use of “Heritage Ramblings” blog material.



Caspar Bierbauer- A Revolutionary War Ancestor to be Celebrated on Veteran’s Day

Casper Bierbauer’s Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity, May 16, 1778. From “House of Bierbauer” by James Culver Bierbauer, page 47, public domain.

HELBLING Family, BEERBOWER Family (Click for Family Tree)

Genealogy always has components of serendipity, even when one really tries to stick to a research or writing plan. This is what happened recently, when a question about membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) led to some new information and connections within our Beerbower ancestors.

The DAR has made documentation of our Revolutionary War veterans a top priority, and they also work with schools and other groups to promote history and patriotism. Women who are interested in joining DAR must research and prove relationships to an ancestor who,

“with unfailing loyalty, rendered material aid to the cause of Independence”

DAR provides some of their genealogical materials to non-members researching their family history. (Thank you, DAR!)

Today is Veterans Day in the United States, when we honor all those who have served our country to create and preserve our democracy. This story includes four ties to Veterans Day: Elsie Janis, a cousin who became a DAR member and served our country in war though not as a member of the military; her British fiancé Basil Hallam, who died while serving in World War I; her husband Gilbert Wilson, who served in the Army in World War II; and the ancestor to Elsie and to the St. Louis Helbling branch and various Beerbowers, Caspar Beerbower/Bierbrauer, who served in the militia during the Revolutionary War. Elsie joined the DAR on Casper Bierbower’s record.

Because this story grew the more it was researched, this will need to be a multi-post narrative. The connections are wonderful through the years, however, so we hope you will enjoy reading. We will start with one of the persons who made “us” possible, our direct ancestor Caspar Bierbrauer (Bierbrauer, Beerbower, Bierbower, Beerbrower, etc.).

It is believed that Casper Bierbauer was born in 1736, possibly in Westerwald, Schaumburg, Niedersachsen, Germany, but this needs more research to verify. Also needing more research is exactly when he came to the American colonies, but a number of sources state it was 1752, when he was 16. He came with his father, Johann Jacob Bierbrauer (1705-1760), and possibly his mother Annae Christiannae Sonderhausen (although we do not know for sure if she made the voyage, since so little was recorded of women’s lives). His siblings made the trip as well. They were a part of the largest wave of German immigration to Pennsylvania, from about 1749-1754. Constant wars in the German principalities, a need there for young men for military service (Casper was about that age), and reports of America being a paradise were some of the reasons that whole families immigrated to the colonies.

When Casper was about 29 he married Elizabeth Ashenfelter (~1740-1821). They may have lived in Chester County, Pennsylvania in the 1760s and 1770s, as a Casper Bierbower witnessed a will there on September 29, 1766, and another record states a Casper Bierbower had 100 acres, 1 horse, and 1 head of cattle in the county in 1770. There are also records for Chester County with a Casper Beerbower (with various creative spellings) being taxed there in Pikeland in 1762, 1764, 1765, and 1766; in E. Whiteland in 1767 and 1768, and 1771 in Vincent, all in Chester County.

The Revolutionary War started in 1775 when Casper was 39, and continued through 1783. Casper signed the Pennsylvania Commonwealth’s ‘Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity’ on May 16, 1778, declaring his loyalty to the revolution, rather than to the king. He may have signed this eagerly, but would have known that what he was doing would be considered an act of treason by the king, if the rebels lost.

Casper signed that Oath in York County, Pennsylvania, so he and Elizabeth were living there by that date. He also paid tax in York’s Dover Township in 1780, and again in 1781 and 1783.

In May of 1779, as the Revolution raged on, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania  required:

” a true and exact list of the names and surnames of each and every male white person usually inhabiting or residing within your Township, between the ages of Eighteen and fifty-three years, Capable of bearing arms.”

Certain persons were exempted from the list, including delegates in Congress or members of the Executive Council, faculty of colleges, Supreme Court judges, Ministers of the Gospel, and purchased servants (white, Indian, or black). (Possibly half of German immigrants came as indentured servants, or ‘redemptioners’ who could not afford passage so had to work off the cost in service, often with cruel masters.)

Male farmers, craftsmen, merchants, and others from the towns and sparse rural areas of the county were thus required to serve the Revolutionary cause when needed. Older citizens, like Casper Beerbower, could perform duties that freed up the younger for the more strenuous marching and battles.

At age 45, on December 8, 1781, Casper’s enlistment as a Private began in Captain John McMaster’s Company of the York militia. “Casper Beerbrower” was listed on John McMaster’s payroll from this date until February 8th, 1782.

The York Militia was stationed at Camp Security, an American camp for prisoners-of-war, from July 1781-May 1782. After Casper’s arrival, it was recorded in John McMaster’s log:

” Camp Security, 24th, Dec., 1781.
This is to certify that Casper Bierbower of the 7th Class of York County Militia hath put up his part of the Stockade and is hereby discharged.

Jno. McMaster, Capt.”

While much safer than being on the battlefield or a large camp filled with diseases like smallpox, Casper’s work was still hard labor. Logs would be felled, the ends shaped to a point, and a hand-dug trench was created around the camp. The logs would then need to be raised, with the pointed end up, and fitted tightly side-by-side. Then the men would have backfilled the trench, tamping the earth down to hold the logs in place. Gates, platforms near the top for observation and shooting, etc., would have also needed to be built.

Camp Security was one of many prisoner camps that were located in Pennsylvania. (A McMurray ancestor, Henry Horn, was a Hessian soldier captured at Trenton and taken to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.) Camp Security was built in the summer of 1781 on a 280 acre farm that had been confiscated.  A stockade as well as living quarters were erected by the militia. British General Burgoyne’s troops, captured at Saratoga, New York, in 1777, had originally been housed in Maryland or Virginia. When battles moved closer to those areas, the prisoners were moved- in 1781, to Camp Security in York County.

George Washington’s decisive Seige of Yorktown, with the assistance of French troops, began September 28, 1781. More than two weeks later, on October 19th, General Lord Charles Cornwallis and more than 7,000 of his troops surrendered. Cornwallis, however, was quite ungentlemanly and refused to attend the surrender ceremony. He may have realized that with this battle, the Americans had likely gained their independence from Britain.

Rough translation: “Surrender of the British army of Lord Cornwallis to the combined armies of the United States of America and France commanded by Generals George Washington and Rochambeau at Yorktown and Gloucester, October 19, 1781.” via Wikimedia, public domain.

The Americans had a new problem though- they had thousands of British prisoners to house. (Officers went free after parole.)

Note the dates- Casper helped build the stockade in December of 1781, so it was likely they were adding to the size of the camp to house the new Yorktown prisoners. The Burgoyne troops were still at Camp Security, but the new prisoners, privates and non-commissioned officers, were moved to Camp Security in the early months of 1782; the York Militia, Casper’s friends and neighbors, acted as guards for much of that year. Some of the more trust-worthy prisoners, such as officers and their families, lived in huts in a small village nearby. Many prisoners received passes to work locally for farmers and merchants, which helped to provide needed articles of clothing, bedding, and even food, and aided the locals since much of their population was off fighting the war. The troops of Cornwallis were a much higher escape risk than the Burgoyne prisoners,, so the new men were confined to the stockade. Estimates of the total number of prisoners varies, but it may have been around 3,000 in York County alone.

Like in so many crowded camps, a wave of fever ran through, killing many inhabitants. Once the war was over in spring of 1783, British prisoners returned to their homeland or were given land in Canada (by the British) for their service. The stockade and Camp Security was abandoned, but is now an archaeological and historical site.

And our ancestor Casper Bierbower? After “render[ing] material aid to the cause of Independence” at Camp Security, he and Elizabeth continued to reside in York County, Pennsylvania. They were enumerated in the first census of the United States, in 1790, with one male over 16 (presumably Casper), and 1 under 16, which could be Casper Bierbower Jr. or their youngest son, John Bierbower; three females lived in the household as well. Tax records suggest the family farmed, although we do not know if they owned the land, as one record over these years stated it was rented.

For the 1800 US Federal census, Casper and Elizabeth (likely) are found in Warrington, York County, Pennsylvania. Casper would have been 64 that year, Elizabeth 60, with their children grown and on their own. We can infer this since they were the only people listed in the household in 1800, both over 45 years of age.

Elizabeth died July 16th, 1821 in Warrington, York County, Pennsylvania per some sources but we have not found any reliable record for that date nor place. Casper, and possibly Elizabeth, may have moved after 1800 as we do not find them again in York County, Pennsylvania. Their sons Henry Bierbower and Casper Bierbower, Jr. lived in Washington County, Maryland, so a move there would be logical as the couple aged. On October 28th, 1820, a man listed as “Casper Beerbrougher” was listed in the 1820 US Federal Census for Hancock, Washington County, Maryland. There is one male listed as 26-45 years old, and one listed as older than 45; this could be Casper Jr., who would have been 38 that year, and Casper Sr., who would have been 84. There is no woman listed as being over 45 years old, so this suggests that Elizabeth had actually died by that date, not the year later, in 1821. There are young children in this household of nine, so this could be an instance when Casper as a widower was being cared for in his old age by his son, daughter-in-law, and his grandchildren. Casper died sometime in 1822.

We thank Casper for his service to our democracy.

 

Next: Elsie Janis, two of the men in her life, and her service during wartime.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. “German Settlement in Pennsylvania An Overview,” Pennsylvania Historical Society, https://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/germanstudentreading.pdf
  2. DAR database for Casper Bierbower– https://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search_adb/default.cfm
  3. House of Bierbauer: Two Hundred Years of Family History, 1742-1942, compiled by James Culver Bierbower and Charles William Beerbower, 1942.

  4. John McMaster’s payroll, as transcribed in Pennsylvania Archives, Sixth Series, Volume II, page 650. http://www.campsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/camp-security-listing.pdf

  5. Discharge of Casper Bierbower– Pennsylvania Archives, Sixth Series, Volume II, page 730.
  6. Some Camp Security links–
    https://yorkblog.com/universal/new-camp-security-booklet-is-available-for-students-and-teachers/
    https://yorkblog.com/universal/how-many-revolutionary-war-pri/
  7. Siege of Yorktown– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown_(1781)
  8. See Wikimedia for key to Yorktown surrender image– https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reddition_armee_anglaise_a_Yorktown_1781_avec_blocus_naval.jpg

 

Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

Original content copyright 2013-2020 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about the copyright or use of “Heritage Ramblings” blog material.



Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling

Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling as a young woman, possibly high school aged? The art around her portrait was drawn by the man she married, Gerard William “G. W.” Helbling. (Click to enlarge.)

HELBLING Family, BEERBOWER Family (Click for Family Tree)

Today is the anniversary of the death of Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling, who left her beloved and loving family on November 9th, 1954.

Anna May was born on 26 May 1881 in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower (1854-1939), and Edgar Pater Beerbower (1849-1916), their fourth of five children. She married Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling (1882-1971) on 24 Nov 1904.

Focusing on her as a young woman, full of joy and sweetness, is something that she would be happy about. So here are a few pictures of May, as her loving “G.W.” called her.

Anna May Beerbower (later Helbling) as a teen?, possibly c1890 as she was born in 1881.

There are many family pictures that have been glued to a heavy pasteboard that have amazingly survived over 110 years! This is one of those compositions:

Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling in center with Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling in pictures surrounding. The pictures were pasted on a heavy posterboard. These are probably from around 1900, since she was born in 1881, although the left picture and  bottom two may be a bit later.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Family treasure chest of photos.

 

Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

Original content copyright 2013-2020 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about the copyright or use of “Heritage Ramblings” blog material.



Our Ancestors Lived through Pandemics Too: 1918 and the Springsteen-Beerbower-Helbling Family

About 1911- Edgar P. Beerbower and Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower with their grandchildren. Edgar Helbling is standing and Anna is holding baby Anna May Helbling (later Reilly).

Springsteen Family, Beerbower Family, Helbling Family (Click for Family Trees)

[If you are descended from Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling (1881-1954) and Gerard W. “G.W.” Helbling (1882-1971) of St. Louis, Missouri, these are your ancestors!]

As tough as our times are today with the Covid-19 (Corona virus) pandemic, we have ancestors who lived through pandemics too. Their smart thinking, the fact that they (probably) followed the directions of the experts at that time, and their good genes as well as perseverance helped them get through those difficult times. Love of their family was probably a big factor too!

Let’s go back to 1918, and the “Spanish Flu” outbreak. There are plenty of references to learn more about this pandemic, including a PBS documentary, “Influenza 1918.” Let’s explore a bit about our family in particular.

Our Springsteen family had a number of members who were likely living in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1918.  Jefferson Springsteen (1820-1909) and his wife, Anna (Conner) Springsteen (1824-1887) had lived there from about 1853. They had eight children, one of whom died as an infant and two sons who died prior to 1918. Their daughter Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower, mother of Anna May Helbling, may have been living in Indianapolis, as she had been born there and moved back a couple of times, her husband had passed away there in 1916, and we cannot find her listed in the 1920 Federal Census in any state. Anna’s sister Mary Elizabeth (Springsteen) Beckwith had been widowed- probably actually divorced- and was living with her daughter’s family in New York in 1915, but had moved back to Indianapolis by the 1920 census. Their younger brother, Abram Springsteen, “the youngest drummer boy of the Civil War” as the family lore called him, could also have been in Indianapolis, as he married there in 1912 but then was enumerated in the 1920 census in Washington, D.C. Their youngest brother, Robert E. Springsteen (1857-1931), is the only sibling that we know for sure was living in Indianapolis in 1918, but the others may have been there.

We are looking at Indianapolis, Indiana because there is an excellent article just published on the Indiana History blog about life there during the 1918 epidemic. “Coping with Quarantine in a Pre-Digital Era” is a great read that details how people spent their time during the 1918 quarantine. The information in the article would also probably apply to a large portion of the United States back then. The kids were out of school, it was a Congressional election year, and the economics and boredom of stay-at-home orders were challenging to all. The cause of the disease was unknown, there were no treatments nor vaccines for it, and the death toll in the US and around the world was staggering. (Any of this sound familiar?) The US was in the midst of World War I too, putting additional pressure on the people and government to keep going.

Anna Mae (Beerbower) Helbling and Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling, probably in St. Louis, Missouri, around 1925.

St. Louis, Missouri is another city to mention here, as Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling, daughter of Anna Missouri and Edgar P. Beerbower, lived there. With her husband Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling, she had three children living then: Edgar Bradley Helbling (1908-1994), Anna May Helbling (later Reilly) (1911-1985), and Viola Gertrude Helbling (later Carrigan) (1913-1971). Anna was expecting their fourth child, Robert Harvey Helbling (1918-2001), as the flu began, and “Bob” was born in August.

World War I was using Liberty Loan bonds to help finance the war, and a huge parade was held on September 28, 1918 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is estimated 200,000 people filled the streets to cheer on those in the parade and the war effort. Unfortunately the “Spanish Flu,” which had already attacked military bases and soldiers starting around March of 1918, was unknowingly present in the crowds as well. It only took 72 hours to fill all the beds in the city’s hospitals, and within a week, 2,600 civilians had died. One week later, the city’s death toll was 4,500. The city was short of doctors and nurses, as so many were in military service due to the War.  With no antibiotics nor vaccines at that time, and health care workers using gauze facemasks that had holes large enough to allow most microorganisms through, containment was challenging. Philadelphia finally shut down schools and businesses, but they had waited too late- they could not keep the virus in check. (The 1918 flu was an H1N1 virus of avian origin, so not exactly like today’s corona virus, but still very virulent and hard to contain.)

Thankfully, Anna May and G.W. Helbling and their children were living in St. Louis at that time. It must have been frightening to have small children, including a newborn, as they read the newspapers and saw how the flu was raging across the country, and the world. (Their first child had died as an infant so they must have been very fearful.) The St. Louis city health commissioner was alarmed by the flu activity in the influenza hotspots of Boston and Philadelphia, and toward the end of September 1918, he knew that it would only be a matter of time before the “Spanish Flu” was seen in the Gateway City. He proactively set up a monitoring system, cancelled a Liberty Loan drive, educated the public through articles in the newspaper on how to prepare and avoid the flu, and once cases were being reported, he helped to get a public health emergency declared. Dr. Max C. Starkloff was then given more authority and closures of entertainment, schools, and churches were implemented by October 9th, with public gatherings banned. Those with medical knowledge worked with the city government to minimize any foothold in the community that the flu might gain. As cases of influenza increased, although at a much slower rate than in Philadelphia, St. Louis business hours were cut and then non-essential businesses and factories were closed to further protect citizens. (And yes, business owners and politicians were understandably worried about the economic impact to themselves, their city, and the country.) When restrictions were gradually lifted in mid-December because case numbers had diminished, new illnesses and deaths spiked in a second wave. Eventually, case numbers stayed low and removal of restrictions on December 28, 1918, added some joy to a difficult holiday season.

Death toll of Philadelphia vs St. Louis in 1918 Influenza Epidemic. Closures began Oct. 8th in St. Louis, and the comparison between the St. Louis curve and that of Pittsburgh, where schools, entertainment, and churches were not closed, is striking. “Public health interventions and epidemic intensity during the 1918 influenza pandemic,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Richard J. Hatchett, et al, 2007.

St. Louis is lauded as a city that looked into the future, followed medical advice, and quickly acted for the good of their citizens. What we now call “social distancing” helped to keep the city’s death toll to the sixth lowest in the country; Indianapolis was one of the five cities that had an even lower mortality rate, helping to save our family there. The graph above shows clearly the effect that physical distancing, done early and across the board, can have in an epidemic. This data has been studied by epidemiologists and will hopefully be heeded by governmental bodies and citizens to “flatten the curve” and reduce illness and deaths in our current pandemic. Implementing the 1918 tactics of St. Louis in 2020 can still buy us time for development of treatments and vaccines, and for ramping up manufacturing of materials needed for protection and treatment of patients and staff. The above graphs show that when strict measures are put in place early, the illnesses and deaths are much less than in places that have waited until the virus is rampant.

We are now experiencing in our day-to-day lives some of what our ancestors went through in those days of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. Knowing that they survived through “social distancing” and the economic pain that ensued can help us have resilience and faith that we too can make it through this.

 

BTW, if you have a little extra time on your hands, the references below can be interesting reading. Reference #4 and #10 are particularly good, quick, and not terrifying. They also may give some comfort knowing that a whole lot of folks got to the other side despite not having the technology and scientific advances we have today. And while you are reading, think about how the ancestors only had newspapers, neighbors, local storekeepers and postal carriers to spread news. Sadly they also carried germs, but at least we have a better understanding of that today.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. “Influenza 1918” on ‘American Experience’ on PBS. May be viewed online at https://www.pbs.org/video/american-experience-influenza-1918/

  2. “Have Americans forgotten the history of this deadly flu?” https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/have-americans-forgotten-the-history-of-this-deadly-flu

  3. Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower lived with Anna May and GW Helbling in St. Louis possibly in the 1920s, and it is known she was there in the 1930s. We do have pictures of her there before the 1920s, but do not know if she was visiting or living there.
  4. “Coping with Quarantine in a Pre-Digital Era”
    https://blog.history.in.gov/coping-with-quarantine-in-a-pre-digital-era/. Thank you, Dick Eastman, for featuring this article in your wonderful newsletter.: https://blog.eogn.com/2020/04/03/coping-with-quarantine-in-a-pre-digital-era/
  5. Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling and G. W. Helbling had two more children after the pandemic: William G. “Bill” Helbling (1920-2018) and Mary Theresa Helbling (later McMurray) (1925-2008).
  6. “Philadelphia Threw a WWI Parade That Gave Thousands of Onlookers the Flu”  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/philadelphia-threw-wwi-parade-gave-thousands-onlookers-flu-180970372/
  7. “The Spanish influenza of 1918 in St. Louis, Missouri.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16961567

  8. “The American Influenza Epidemic of 1918-1919: St. Louis, Missouri” https://www.influenzaarchive.org/cities/city-stlouis.html#

  9. “Public health interventions and epidemic intensity during the 1918 influenza pandemic.” Richard J. Hatchett, et al, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, May 1,2007. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0610941104
  10. “This chart of the 1918 Spanish flu shows why social distancing works” by Michael J. Coren, March 11, 2020, Quartz. https://qz.com/1816060/a-chart-of-the-1918-spanish-flu-shows-why-social-distancing-works/
  11. “1918 Pandemic” https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-pandemic-h1n1.html

 

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