[Daughter of Anna Missouri and Edgar P. Beerbower, on Nov 24- 1904.]
Edgar S. Beerbower to
Rosabel K. Hoppe Oct. 19- 1905
St. Louis, Mo. Thursday
[Edgar Springsteen Beerbower, son of Anna Missouri and Edgar P. Beerbower.]
Robert W. Beerbower
Josephine Ruffle Aug-23,
Indianapolis Ind.
[Robert Warson Beerbower, son of Anna Missouri and Edgar P. Beerbower.]
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Beerbower family bible.
2)Springsteen and Beerbower Family Group Records compiled over many years using bibles, census, and other data.
3) Edgar Peter Beerbower was called, “Ed” and I have seen him listed as “Edward.” Being that Edgar became a family name, I lean toward his name being “Edgar.”
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Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
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“Jany 19 -74” may indicate that Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower began recording family events in the bible received from her father on that date. We also know that any dates that occurred before the date of presentation, 31 December 1873, may be subject to error, although most information has been verified with a few exceptions that will be noted.
BIBLE INSCRIPTION
NOTES
Births
E. P. Beerbower Born June 28th-49Pickerington, O
Edgar Peter was the husband of Anna Missouri Springsteen; year b.was 1849.
Anna M. Beerbower Born May 16th-54Indianapolis Ind 117 Spring St.
Anna Missouri Springsteen Beerbower, bible owner. Year b. was 1854.
Robert Warson Beerbower Born June 16 187[?]126 Spring St. Indianapolis, Ind Tuesday
The first son of Edgar P. and Anna Missouri, b. 1874.
Edgar Springsteen Beerbower Born Oct 19 187[?]263 Christian Ave, Indianapolis, Ind Thursday
The second child of Edgar P. and Anna Missouri, born 1876. Given his mother’s maiden name as his middle name.
Mary Emma Beerbower Born April 22 1880 ThursdayBrightwood, IndMarion Co.
Third child of Edgar P. and Anna Missouri Springsteen Beerbower.
Anna May. Born May 25th-81- 9 pm ThursdayAt 264 East Ohio St. Indianapolis
Fourth child of Anna Missouri and Edgar P.; year b. was 1881.
Willie Beerbower Born[Fe?]b 14 1889 at Cairo Ill
Fifth and last child of Anna Missouri and Edgar P.; b. Feb 14, 1889.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Beerbower family bible.
2) Springsteen and Beerbower Family Group Records compiled over many years using bibles, census, and other data.
3) Edgar Peter Beerbower was called, “Ed” and I have seen him listed as “Edward.” Being that Edgar became a family name, I lean toward his name being “Edgar.”
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.
Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, 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.
The year 1866 must have been a year of a big collective sigh in what was again a United States of America. The strife of the Civil War was behind the country, although the personal, physical, financial, and emotional wounds still festered; they would heal some with time. The Beerbower family bible was printed that year, but we have no information on its whereabouts prior to its presentation in 1873.
The bible is inscribed,
“Presented to Anna M. Beerbower by her Father.
Dec 31st 73″.
Unfortunately that page seems to be missing in my scans, but one of the scans has some of the information below:
Beerbower Bible-
The date is listed in my transcription from long ago, but I do not know why there is no scan with that page. Another item to investigate in my spare time…
Anna Missouri Springsteen was married 12 Feb 1873 to Edgar Peter Beerbower. The bible was a gift from her father, Jefferson Springsteen (1820-1909), at the end of that year, as her married name was inscribed in the first pages.
Upon Anna Missouri’s death, the bible was passed on to her daughter Anna May, and then to her daughter, Mary Theresa Helbling McMurray. Names included are BEERBOWER, SPRINGSTEEN, HELBLING, HOPPE, RUFFLE,and CROZIER; the majority of the family lived in Indianapolis, Indiana. The bible was copied and transcribed in 1995, then the transcription was revised and annotated in 2008, all by Anna Missouri Springsteen Beerbower’s great-granddaughter (yours truly).
I do not believe the above is the handwriting of Anna Missouri Springsteen Beerbower- in upcoming posts you may note the different style of “M” and “B” on this page as compared to early entries in subsequent pages. I am not a handwriting expert, but this looks like the writing of a little girl. I am wondering if this is the handwriting of her daughter when young- Anna May Beerbower Helbling. The second style of handwriting in later pages also differs from this, and does look like other examples we have of Anna May’s handwriting.
Sometimes it is hard to remain objective as a family historian, as my mind wanders to what might have taken place between people, daydreaming about the circumstances: the who, what, where, why, when, and how of an event. Looking at this information as I write it, I wonder why the bible was a gift at the end of the year, and not a wedding gift or Christmas gift. Christmas was much less lavish back in the 1870s, and the Panic of 1873 set off a six year depression so money was probably tight. Thin budgets might explain it being an older bible- maybe used or a clearance sale item? Since the family record pages were not written in, even if it was a used bible, it was very gently used over those seven years before it came into Anna M.’s possession. It may even have been an extra family bible owned by Jefferson and his wife Anna Connor, as we also have their Springsteen family bible pages. (Those will be posted soon.)
I do find it curious that it was given to her by her father, and her mother, still living, was not mentioned. But that would have been consistent with the times, a wife/mother being on the sidelines with all owned and given by the male head of the family.
Back to the circumstances- why was the bible given on Dec. 31, 1873?
Trolling through records of both families, mind open to seeing new connections, the flash of understanding occurred- Robert Warson Beerbower, the first child/son of Anna M. and Ed Beerbower’s, was born 16 Jun 1874. That was six and a half months after the bible was presented. My mind leapt to the idea that Anna had announced her pregnancy about the end of December, when signs of her pregnancy became evident and she knew she might carry to term in the days of pregnancy being a dangerous condition. (Pregnancy still is dangerous- the US has an embarrassingly high infant and maternal mortality and morbidity rate.) Delving further into the information known about her siblings, I realized that two others were married prior to the bible presentation date in 1873, but none yet had children.
So we can’t say for sure, but I surmise that the bible was a gift from a father to his daughter, on the occasion of his first grandchild preparing to come into the world. How touching, and how wonderful to have an idea about the possible circumstances of the bible presentation.
Pages from the bible will be presented with their transcriptions in upcoming posts.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Beerbower family bible.
2) Springsteen and Beerbower Family Group Records compiled over many years using bibles, census, and other data.
3) Edgar Peter Beerbower was called, “Ed” and I have seen him listed as “Edward.” Being that Edgar became a family name, I lean toward his name being “Edgar.”
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.
Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, 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.
On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the official flag of the United States of America. That date has been commemorated throughout the years with parades and picnics, a rite of summer across the land. Although the oldest continuous Flag Day parade may have been in 1909, Flag Day was not officially proclaimed a holiday until 1916, when Woodrow Wilson established June 14 as Flag Day.
The people of America didn’t need an official proclamation, however, to celebrate their pride in our flag and all it represents. Our Helbling family documented their Flag Day celebrations through the years, and preserved them in family photo albums.
From left: Vi Helbling, May Helbling, and Edgar Helbling, in front of their home at 5136 Page in St. Louis, Missouri.
The above image shows the children of Gerard William Helbling (AKA G. W. Helbling) and Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling in front of their home at 5136 Page Ave. in St. Louis, Missouri. Edgar Helbling was about 9, May Helbling 6, and Vi Helbling just 4 years old.
From left: Edgar B. Helbling, (Anna) “May” Helbling, Vi Helbling, and Gerard William Helbling, on Flag Day 1914.
Other photo albums hold earlier years of Flag Day celebrations. This picture shows G.W. Helbling in front of their home with their three oldest children. (Three more were to be born to them in subsequent years.) Edgar looks so stoic, the little soldier, the big brother, flag on his shoulder, ready to march off into history to show his pride. (…in his little short pants ;D) Little May Helbling is upset- is she scared of all the flags? Not wanting to pose for a picture? Maybe it is that giant bow on her head??? G.W. seems like such a loving father, trying to comfort her and get her to participate. (His youngest daughter, however, remembered him as very stern.) Cute little Vi Helbing, just one year old, is taking it all in- she always was so even-tempered when I knew her as an adult, and being a middle child, may have been that way too when young.
Note the sign on the house- “G. W. Helbling, Undertaker.” The 1914 St. Louis, Missouri, City Directory lists Gerard W. Helbling as being “with Ellis Undertaking Co, 727 King’s Highway boul.” His daughter Mary remembers that 10-15 years later, when she was young, he had his undertaker’s equipment down in the basement of the house. Visitation for the deceased’s family was on the first floor living area, and the children would stay upstairs on the second floor and have to be quiet. Wonder why the funeral home address was given in the City Directory, when he had the sign in front of the house? Maybe he had left the employ of Ellis Undertaking by this date and had his own business.
People were much closer to death, back in those days. Mary remembered that it didn’t seem strange or creepy at the time to have a dead body in the house- mostly, it was just hard to be stuck upstairs and be very, very quiet as a young child.
The family was living at 4927 St. Louis Ave., St. Louis, per the 1914 St. Louis City Directory. This address is between N. Kingshighway and N. Euclid Avenue, and has sadly declined very significantly. (Although valued at $40,000-50,000, the building sold in 2013 for just over $7,000.) Today’s websites, like GoogleMaps, Trulia, or Zillow indicate that the home was built in 1906 and currently has 2,482 square feet; it has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths. It is currently a multifamily home, and probably also was when the Helblings lived there. Husband and wife, Grandma (Anna May’s mother) and three children, all in 2 bedrooms and 1 bath- people lived a lot ‘closer’ back then.
Of course, back then you didn’t just display the flag in front of the house- you participated in a parade!
Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling holding 16 mo.old Viola Gertrude Helbling, Anna May’s mother to her right is Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower with 3 y/o Anna May Helbling (called May), and 6 y/o Edgar Bradley Helbling in front by steering wheel. Flag Day, June 1914.
It didn’t always go well, however. Getting everyone dressed, primped, hats attached so they didn’t blow off in the wind (long hatpins to the rescue), finding umbrellas to shade delicate young (and older!) skin from the brutal St. Louis summer sun, and into the car was probably a challenge, especially with three little ones.
G. W. Helbling, Flag Day June 1914, and portion of scrapbook page.
Oh, oh- trouble! A slight delay…
Looks like G. W. was a master of all trades- artistic and creative, but he could also build a garage or repair an automobile. The caption on the scrapbook page was written by Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling, we believe. G.W. had wonderful handwriting too, so it may have been his note.
Note that the steering wheel is on the right, and the windshield is split (on purpose). The lights that can be seen on the sides of the car would help in identification of the car type, and although I have looked, it is hard to determine which model they had. (Car model ID is definitely not my forte.) It may have not been the most current model, especially since there appears to have been some trouble. Hope they got to the parade or picnic on time!
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Flag Day Poster, 1917- United States Library of Congress‘s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3g06262. Public Domain.
2) Flag Day entry on Wikipedia, Accessed 06/08/14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_Day_(United_States).
3) Gould’s St. Louis [Missouri] Directory for 1914. Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Accessed 06/07/14.
4) 4917 St. Louis Ave was sold in 2013 for just $7,237- sadly, the neighborhood has been in decline for a long time.
5) A great website of images of American autos through the years may be found at http://www.earlyamericanautomobiles.com/1900.htm. Pages 9-12 have some charming photographs of cars out on the streets of America, sometimes with famous people in them or nearby.
6) Helbling family photo albums owned by the author.
Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.
Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, 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.
Lisa Alzo, one of my favorite genealogy rock stars, is commemorating National Women’s History Month with “Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month” on her blog “The Accidental Genealogist.” She hopes these prompts will help us tell the story of our female ancestors. Today’s prompt is: Post a photo of one of your female ancestors. Who is in the photo? When was it taken? Why did you select this photo?
First of all, some may ask why women need a month of their own- Women’s History Month- isn’t that sexist? Yes, in a way, but since “History is written by the victors.” (said Winston Churchill, but you can also substitute ‘powerful’ for ‘victors’), women have a bit of catching up to do. It is especially hard to track women through history as well, since most lose their birth name when they marry (except French women, some Scandinavians, and other uppity women here and there). Most women even lose their first name when they say, “I do,” such as Anna becoming “Mrs. G. W. Helbling.”
Interestingly, women get their first name back when they become widows, so if Anna had predeceased her husband, she would have become “Mrs. Anna Helbling.” This knowledge helps pinpoint when a husband died, or left/divorced, as I am finding out about some of the women in my tree who became “widows” while their husband was still alive.
Since land and money were usually controlled by the male head of household, women again leave no tracks, not even in the US Federal censuses, until 1850.
But I digress with justifying why women need their own history month. Back to Anna May.
Anna May Beerbower is one of my favorite ancestors- I feel as if I know her, from the stories I have heard all my life. I actually did meet her, but was just a month or two old; I probably only remember the stories of those meetings, rather than actual memories of those times. My mother always did a good job making sure that we knew a lot about the ancestors she loved and knew.
This photo was probably taken 1895-1905 when Anna May was a teenager. I love the innocence in her face, and how sweet her curls are, especially the perfectly placed curl in the middle of her forehead.
There will be more about Anna May in future posts.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Family photo collection.
Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.
Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, 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.
