We could not tell the story any better than this article.
Lizzie (Helbling) Spahn-Frank Brussman marriage clipping, unknown source, part 1.
The story continues:
Lizzie (Helbling) Spahn-Frank Brussman marriage clipping, unknown source, part 2.
Notes, Sources, and References:
Mary Theresa (Knipshield) Helbling (1810-1891), mother of Elizabeth “Lizzy” Barbara (Helbling) Spahn (1839-1928), would have been the cause of the “interference” that broke off the original betrothal.
Frank Brussman (1839-1898) was originally “Francis” and his name is often spelled “Bussman.”
Frank Spahn (1862-1882) was the son who drowned; the other son was Frederick A. J. Spahn (1865-1937).
Family clipping.
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 2013-2018 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.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower holding her granddaughters Viola G. Helbling on left in picture, and Anna “May” Helbing on right in picture. Grandson Edgar B. Helbling stands at attention in front of his grandmother. From same page as “Easter 1914” pictures in Helbling family album.
Tuesday’s Tip:Assess the accuracy of photo captions by looking at clothes, backgrounds, hairstyles, age of subjects, etc. in all the pictures on one page. Images that have too many differences may not actually be ‘attached’ to a date or caption nearby.
Yesterday’s post, “Matrilineal Monday: Easter, 1914 with the Helblings,” included an image that had “Easter 1914” written on it by Anna “May” (Beerbower) Helbling. The scan of the whole page is important to see how /where the date is written and the relationship to other photos.
“Easter 1914” page, from Helbling Family Album.
Unless the little ones changed out of their Easter best clothes, the picture of Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower with her grandchildren may have been taken on another date. The children look a bit older, too.
Those ‘of an age’ to remember putting pictures in a photo album, may also recall just adding a picture in here and there, if there was space.
Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower holding the hands of her granddaughters Viola G. Helbling (second from left in picture), and Anna “May” Helbing (on right in picture). Grandson Edgar B. Helbling stands at far left. From same page as “Easter 1914” pictures in Helbling family album.
This second picture was possibly on another page, but does seem to be the same time as the first picture of Anna Missouri and her grandchildren. Her clothing looks more like a robe than a dress, so it does seem to be a different day than Easter Sunday.
Knowing a bit of history helps- or muddies the analysis- when assessing a photo too. In April of 1914, the world still had some of the innocence seen in the Easter Sunday images of yesterday’s post. By August of that year, Europe had become embroiled in World War I; the United States would join the fight in 1917. Were Edgar’s homemade ‘swords,’ wooden ‘rifle,’ and play reflecting the world at war in later 1914? Or was it typical boy’s play? If we knew the answer, it would help us to better date the photos.
Three more important tips:
When scanning photo albums, it is important to scan the whole page, in addition to individual photos, in order to maintain the context.
Look critically at all that is on the page to ensure that any date or caption is truly attached to any one picture.
When writing about the image, or adding a caption to the photo, be careful about the wording if there is a question as to the date. Note the above captions do not actually state the date, but only the date listed on the page where they were found.
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 2013-2017 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.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
“Easter 1914” Anna “May” (Beerbower) Helbling and her children, Edgar B. Helbling (right), Anna “May” Helbling (standing on left), and baby Viola G. Helbling on 12 Apr 1914. From Helbling Family Album. (Click to enlarge.)
Easter came very early this year (and on April Fool’s Day since it was April 1st!), but in 1914 Easter Sunday was on April 12th. The Helbling family would have dressed in their very best clothes for the special Catholic church service. They later enjoyed their Easter baskets on the porch of their home, likely at 4927 St. Louis Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri.
“Easter 1914” Anna “May” (Beerbower) Helbling and her children, Edgar B. Helbling (right), little Anna “May” Helbling standing in back, and Viola G. Helbling (baby) on 12 Apr 1914. From Helbling Family Album. (Click to enlarge.)
These pictures are so sweet and innocent!
“Easter 1914” Edgar B. Helbling and “May” Helbling on 12 Apr 1914. From Helbling Family Album. (Click to enlarge.)
Notes, Sources, and References:
The 1914 St. Louis City Directory lists “Helbling Gerard W. with Ellis Undertaking Co 727 King’s Highway boul [boulevard] r[esidence] 4927 St. Louis.”
Helbling Family photo album.
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 2013-2017 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.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
1935- Helblings. Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling (1882-1971) on left, his son Edgar B. Helbling (1909-1994) on right. Man in center is now known to be a cousin, Robert A. “Bob” Geier.
Actually, this mystery has been solved, even before it was published.
Here is what was written last week:
This image was shared by a cousin, but I do not have a record of who the man in the center might be. I checked my emails, because that is where I would have received the image, but many of the emails I exchanged with this cousin have disappeared from my mail service. (WHY??) It reinforces the fact that one needs to document well, and save to their hard drive, the cloud, or even such an archaic thing as paper. We can no longer expect these companies to keep things available to us forever, and WE are the losers if we do not ‘back-up’ information in a format that cannot be easily eliminated by a computer. And don’t forget to share– LOCKSS— Lots Of Copies Keep Stuff Safe.
Back to the photo- do you know this mystery man? He looks to be younger than Edgar, who would have been about 26 when this picture was taken; as a guess, perhaps our Mystery Man was born around 1915?
Edgar did the driving on some family trips to Illinois and other places. Note the car to his right- does that belong to the Helblings? Or to the Mystery Man?
It is hard to tell where the photo may have been taken- was it St. Louis and they were being visited, or were they off visiting somewhere? Checking the old Helbling photo albums to see if there is another picture of this young man or the background might give us more information.
Please do let us know if you can tell us the identity of our ‘Mystery Man!’
An email to what I thought might be an old, defunct address of the cousin actually worked! It has been a number of years since we corresponded, but she did answer the above questions. I still thought it might be helpful to list some of the thought process that one can go through in trying to identify a photo. Posting information about LOCKSS is important, I think, as well.
So back to our photo. Our dear cousin Mary Lou, who so generously shared her detailed research on the Helbling family (all done the hard way- before the internet!), explained that the man in the center was Robert Albert “Bob” Geier. He was the son of Laurelda Colette Helbling and her husband Bernard Adam Geier. Laurelda was the daughter of William Helbling, brother to our Francis Xavier Helbling (Jr.). So Bob’s mother and G.W. Helbling were first cousins. That makes their children, Bob Geier and Edgar Helbling, second cousins.
Mary Lou went on to explain that Bob drove across the country in 1935, so that is probably his car in the photo. He likely started in his hometown of Avalon, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh), and one of his next stops was St. Louis to visit his Helbling cousins. Remember, the interstate highway system as we know it today was not built until Dwight D. Eisenhower was President, authorized in 1956 but not completed until 35 years later. So no four- or six-lane I-80 for Bob! He may have taken the Lincoln Highway west to the Chicago area and then south to St. Louis, or possibly just taken smaller roads that were more direct. (The Lincoln “Highway” was only two narrow lanes in some places back then, and just a dirt road in others, as paving was not completed until 1935. So there might not have been much difference in quality of the road back then between the two routes.) The St. Louis Helblings had travelled to Pittsburgh by car (as well as train), so they probably knew the best route.
From St. Louis Bob could have taken the famous Route 66 west to California.
Route 66 Map via Wikipedia, By Fredddie – USA map(GIS data), roads (GIS data), maps to help locate the route in GIS data, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12499286.
What an adventure that trip must have been for a young man of 23!
Bob’s adventures continued, as he learned to fly small planes and started a flying school with his younger brother Bernard Geier. There was a story in a 1940 Pittsburgh newspaper about Bob’s plans to fly from Santa Ana, California, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in a biplane that was 15 years old and only cost him $300. The story stated he was a superintendent at a fruit canning plant, but also held a commercial pilot’s license. He had been an aeronautical student at the University of Pittsburgh prior to his move to California.
Bob married and had children, and ran for Congress in Orange County, California.
1961 advertisement for Bob Geier, candidate for Congress in Orange County, California. Family image.
Bob passed away 19 September 1990 in San Diego, California.
If you are a grandchild of G.W. Helbling, you are a second cousin once removed to Bob. It was nice to get to know one of our distant cousins!
Thanks, Mary Lou!
Notes, Sources, and References:
Family treasure chest of photos.
Robert Albert “Bob” Geier (1912-1990); Laurelda Colette Helbling (1888-1961); Bernard Adam Geier (1887-1961); William Helbling (1841-1896); Francis Xavier Helbling (1840-1919); Bernard Geier (1924-2007)
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 2013-2017 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.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
“Dinghy” was the dog that was hit by a car in front of their home on Hampton Ave., in St. Louis, Missouri. Mary had married the love of her life, Edward A. McMurray, Jr., who was attending St. Louis College of Pharmacy. (Most people called him “Mac.”) They had very little money, so they lived with Mary’s parents, G.W. Helbling and Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling. One day they heard the screech of tires in front of the house and rushed out to the busy street. A car had hit a black dog, so they carefully carried the dog to the vet’s office. Thankfully the dog survived, and he was a loving member of the family for over ten years. They took him on their honeymoon to the Lake of the Ozarks:
Mary (Helbling) McMurray on Lake Ozark, on their honeymoon, 05 June 1948. Dinghy (the dog) was either in the water or in the front of the boat, nose in air. (Click to enlarge.)
They loved the Ozarks, and took a number of trips there.
August 11, 1952, “Happy Days In Ozarks- Dinghy and Mac” was the caption Mary wrote for this photo. (Click to enlarge.)
He was the sweetest dog- loved swimming in the lake and running, and tolerated four young children pulling and poking at him, trying to ride him, dress him up, etc. If there is sainthood for dogs, he definitely deserves it!
About 1953- Mary T. (Helbling) McMurray and “Dinghy” in their new home in Glasgow Village in St. Louis County, Missouri. (Click to enlarge.)
The brand new home that Mary and Mac built in Glasgow Village, in north St. Louis County, became home in 1953 or 1954. This may be one of the last pictures with Mary and her dog before children were always in the pictures too!
Notes, Sources, and References:
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 2013-2017 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.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
