Tuesday’s Tip: Look Beyond the Subject in a Photo: The Helbling Family
Helbling Family (Click for Family Tree)
This image was just posted recently, but there is more to it than just Mary and the family dogs.
Tuesday’s Tip: Look beyond the subject of a photo to learn more about the event and the family.
Looking at the above photo, we notice that there is a shadow at the bottom, obviously of a person. The shape of the shadow suggests, by the silhouette of the hairstyle, that it was a woman taking the picture. We cannot be sure, but most likely it was little Mary’s mother, Anna “May” (Beerbower) Helbling (1881-1954), taking the picture. That shape of shadow would not have been cast by Mary’s father, Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling (1882-1971). In 1929, young women were cutting their hair- and their skirts!- short, but since May was 48 years old that year (she was 43 when she had Mary), she wore her hair a bit more old-fashioned, as she did in the nineteen-teens. The Edwardian styles were poufy on the sides and flat on the top so they could wear the big hats of the day. The shadow reflects (actually the opposite?? Wordsmithing is fun.) that style.
Analyzing the picture further, we also note the woman in the background, at the screen door. (No air conditioning in those days!) Too bad we cannot see her face, but that woman was most likely Mary’s beloved maternal grandmother, Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower (1854-1939). Why do we think that? We found Anna Missouri in Indianapolis, Indiana, with her husband Edgar Peter Beerbower at the time of the 1910 census. He died in 1916 but we cannot find her in the 1920 US Federal Census- not in Indianapolis, St. Louis, nor with her other children. There is a picture of Anna holding her granddaughter Mary as a baby (see previous posts) so she was at least visiting in 1925, if not living in St. Louis with the family. We do find her listed with her daughter and son-in-law and their family (including Mary) in 1930, the year after this picture was taken, at the house at 5154 Page Ave., St. Louis, Missouri. So checking censuses can help us learn more about what is in the background of the photo.
Anna’s son, Edgar Springsteen Beerbower (1876-1940) lived with them too as he was divorced. He was Mary’s “Uncle Edgar.”
That must have been a very full house at 5154 Page Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri! The Helbling house appears to have been since demolished, (see Google Maps link below) but neighboring houses are about 2,000 sq. ft. Zillow lists the one next door as multi-family, with 2 bathrooms. The lot size is about double the size of the house, at just over 4,000 sq. ft. In the 1930 census, the residents of the house were G.W. and May Helbling (who is listed as age 46, not 49), their children Edgar B. Helbling, the oldest at age 22; Anna “May” Helbling; Viola G. Helbling; Robert “Bob” Helbling; William “Bill” Helbling; and Mary Helbling, age 5. Anna Bierbower was listed as G. W.’s mother-in-law, and Edgar Bierbower is listed as his brother-in-law (his wife’s brother). Emma Johnson was their servant. (They definitely were not ‘rich’ money-wise, but May had health problems- likely diabetes before there was insulin, so needed help at home.) So there were 10 people in that house and since it was built in 1895, at that time there was likely only one bathroom. A 2,000 sq. ft. house is considered a ‘starter home’ in the suburbs today, but is the norm for many city areas. The home was very near Forest Park, and even back then was considered city.
Although this information about the home and occupants is not something we directly learn from the photo, the research was inspired by it, to add more to the story. So always analyze more than just the subject of a photo, to understand more about your ancestors.
Notes, Sources, and References:
- Google Maps for 5154 Page Blvd– https://goo.gl/maps/TP2PpBgu4dH2
- Zillow listing for 5156 Page Blvd, St. Louis MO–https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/5156-page-blvd-st-louis-mo_rb
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