Family Record

Died [Handwritten]

Mary Emma Beerbower

June 29^th 1880 Aged

9 weeks, 5 days

Brightwood, Ind.

[Anna Missouri & Edgar P. Beerbower’s daughter born April 22, 1880.]

 

Mrs. Anna Springsteen

April 17 1887 aged 64 years

Cairo Ill

[Anna Missouri’s mother, Anna Conner, wife of Jefferson Springsteen. Died while staying with her daughter Anna Missouri.]

 

Willie Beerbower died

Feb 15 1889 at Cairo Ill.

[Son born the day before, Feb. 14. Anna was about 35 when she had Willie.]

 

Robert Warson Beerbower

Died Sept 17^th 1900 Denver Colo

Wednesday 2 a.m.

[First son who was b. 1874; only 26 years old at death.]

 

Roberta Pearl Beerbower

Rob’s little baby born Oct 16^th– 1900     Tuesday

Indianapolis Ind

522 Buchanan St.

[Daughter born to Robert Warson Beerbower, child of Anna Missouri- this is NOT a death! Roberta was born about a month after her father died. She lived to be 91, and she was a close cousin to Mary Helbling McMurray during the 30s and 40s.]

 

Ed. P. Beerbower

Died Jan [20?] 1916     Thursday a.m.

Burial Monday Jan 24, 1916   Lot #202 Sec 32

Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Ind.

[Edgar P. Beerbower, husband of Anna M. Beerbower, b. 1849.]

 

NOTE: Miscellaneous papers from the Beerbower Family Bible will be posted 1/6/15 and 1/7/15.

 

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.

 

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Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

 

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Transcription:

Marriages

Family Record 

 

Edgar Beerbower To

Anna M. Springsteen

Feb. 12 1873

at 117 Spring St.

Indianapolis Ind

By Rev. Hanford A. Edson

[Bible owners.]

 

Anna May Beerbower

Gerard W. Helbling

Thanksgiving Nov 24-04

St. Alphonsus (Rock Church)

8 a.m. Rev. Father T. Clark

[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.

 

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:

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.

Sadly, we do not have funeral cards for Jefferson Springsteen in our family, but there were a few death and funeral notices published in the newspaper for him, including one in the Washington DC newspaper. (Jeff’s son, Abram F. Springsteen, was celebrated as the youngest drummer boy in the Civil War in Indiana, and he worked for the Federal government in the Pension Office.)

See the originals of Jeff’s obituary and death/funeral notices that we have at “Wishful Wednesday: Jefferson Springsteen was “Lured by the Sawdust Ring…”

Here are the transcriptions:

WILL BE BURIED TUESDAY

Funeral Services of Jefferson Springsteen at Home of Daughter

The funeral of Jefferson Springsteen, who for seven months had been confined

to his bed at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. J. F. Beckwith, 1118

Bellefontaine street, with whom he made his home, will take place from there at

2 p.m. tomorrow. The burial will be at Crown Hill cemetary. His wife died

twenty-two years ago. He is survived by the following children: Abram F.

Springsteen of the pension department, Washington, D.C.; Robert Springsteen,

this city; Charles Springsteen, Champaign, Ill.; Mrs. E.P. Beerbower and Mrs.

J. F. Beckwith, this city; also by eight grandchildren and eleven

great-grandchildren.

His death occcurred Saturday afternoon. He was born at Harrison, O.

February 14, 1820 and when a boy ran away with a circus, but soon gave up the

sawdust ring. He came to Indianapolis in 1835 and when sixteen years old was in the employ of the government carrying the

mail on horseback between this city and Winchester, a trip of sixty-five miles.

In 1837 he went to New York, where for some time he had a restaurant at the

old Fulton market. He married Anne Connor of Brooklyn and in 1852 they came to

this city for permanent residence. He was a Democrat and soon became a leader

in his party in local politics. In 1854 he was made “captain of the watch” and

between 1855 and 1861 served as city marshal. He was well known as a

contracting painter for many years, but retired from active business life

twenty years ago.

————————————

CARRIED MAIL ON HORSEBACK

Public Service Began When 16

Over 65-Mile Route- Later

Democratic Politician.

Jefferson Springsteen, one of the oldest pioneers of Indiana, died at 8

o’clock yesterday afternoon at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Joseph Beckwith,

1118 Bellefontaine street, closing an eventful and interesting career of

ninety years. The funeral will be held at the home Tuesday afternoon with

interment at Crown Hill Cemetary.

—————————————-

SPRINGSTEEN, JEFFERSON – Died in his ninetieth year at the home of his

daughter, Mrs. Joseph Beckwith, 1118 Bellefontaine street. Funeral notice

later.

—————————————–

SPRINGSTEEN – Jefferson Springsteen, age [?] years. Funeral Tuesday, September

28, at [?] p.m. at the home of his daughter Mrs. [?] Beckwith, 1118 Bellefontaine

st. Friends invited. Burial private.

 

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

1) Family Treasure Chest

2) Abram F. Springsteen HeritageRamblings blog posts:

Sibling Saturday: Happy Birthday, Abram F. Springsteen! Part 1

 

 Sentimental Sunday: Abram F. Springsteen, Part 2

 

 

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Indianapolis in 1835 was a small village with just a few houses on South Illinois Street when Jefferson Springsteen arrived. He was probably on his own after being with the circus, and still a young teen.

“Before he was 16 years of age he was a government mail carrier with a route extending from lndianapolis to Winchester through Strawtown. He made the journey of sixty-five miles on horseback and encountered numerous hardships of winter snows and spring freshets which furnished data for many stories which he loved to relate to his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. At Strawtown, near Noblesville, he was compelled to pass through a settlement of lndians and he gained the friendship of many of the redskin tribe.

Many years after this settlement was broken up and the state was settled by white men, an old lndian, whose acquaintance he had gained at Strawtown, came to lndianapolis to visit him. The Indian was cordially received.”

See: 1836 A New Atlas Map Of Indiana with its Roads & Distances to see Jeff’s route as a mail carrier through rural Indiana. His route covered five counties. He would have ridden northeast from Indianapolis to Noblesville, then further north to Strawtown, and then east to Winchester. (Map cannot be posted due to copyright, but may be used for personal genealogical use. I was going to post a Google map, but one from the time period is so much better.)

Following is a transcription of the remaining obituary and additional newspaper notices:

… [The first two paragraphs were transcribed in yesterday’s article. “Wishful Wednesday: Jefferson Springsteen was “Lured by the Sawdust Ring…”; third and fourth paragraph quoted above. See actual image of obituary and funeral notes also at previous post.]

Had Rugged Constitution

This rugged life developed a body of steel and enabled him to keep his health until about one year ago. His death came from general debility and was without suffering.

He induced his father to come to lndianapolis. In 1837 [?], with his father, he went back to New Jersey to visit his grandfather. From there he went to Brooklyn, where he conducted a restaurant at the famous Fulton Market. He married Anne Connor at Brooklyn.

In 185? [poss. 1852] he started back to lndiana with his bride. Most of the trip was by water. They were shipwrecked on Lake Erie in a storm, but landed safely at Erie, Pa. They made their way to the less turbulent waters of the Ohio, on which stream they drifted down to Madison and hence to lndianapolis.

When the couple arrived they stopped at Little’s Tavern, a national road stage coach inn located at New Jersey and Washington streets.

Later his father bought a piece of ground on New Jersey street, between New York and Ohio streets. At this time he was ridiculed by the [citizens?], who predicted that the city would never grow that far from the center, which was then located on South street, around the old Madison Railroad Depot and on Illinois and West Washington streets.

Was Diversified Painter.

He was a painter by trade and painted everything from a landscape in oil to a house. Mrs. Beckwith still retains several of his paintings, which are said to reveal true artistic talent.

In 1854 he was appointed “captain of the peace” and served four terms as town marshal between 1855 and 1861. He was a prominent Democratic politician.

In 1856 he was elected when the Democrats carried the full ticket, with the exception of prosecuting attorney, which office Benjamin Harrison won.

He was too old to be a soldier, but contributed two sons to the Union army, John and A. F. Springsteen. The last named was a drummer boy and enlisted at 11 years of age. Mr. Springsteen followed his trade for a long time after the civil war, but retired many years ago.

He leaves a sister, Mrs. Eliza Hanna, Fortville, mother of Judge Charles Hanna; Three sons, A.F. Springsteen of the Pension Department, Washington, D.C. ; Charles of Champaign, Ill., and Robert E. of 41 0 North Meridian street; two daughters, Mrs. Joseph Beckwith and E. P. Beerbower, North Delaware street.

Eight grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren survive him.

Tomorrow: Part 3 with the remaining death and funeral notices of Jefferson Springsteen.

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1)  1836 A New Atlas Map Of Indiana with its Roads & Distances: http://www.mapofus.org/_maps/atlas/1836-IN.html

2) Jefferson’s father was John Springsteen (1782-1867), but his grandfather is unknown to us.

 

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.

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.