Tag: Eleazer John Beerbower

image_pdfimage_print

Military Monday: Samuel Taylor Beerbower’s Civil War Service

 

Samuel T. Beerbower, from "The Story of Sherman's Brigade" page 637.
Samuel T. Beerbower, c. 1864?,  from “The Story of Sherman’s Brigade,”           page 637.

 

➡  Helbling, Beerbower Families

Today marks the 154th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. We had thought to list all those of our ancestors who fought in the war, but that would be a long list. It would also ignore the sacrifices of those who stayed behind, whose land was destroyed yet consecrated by the blood of both sides, and those who dealt with the physical and psychological aftermath throughout their lives- not just the soldiers, but the family, friends, and community.The Civil War changed us as a nation, and changed us as a people. It would be impossible to tell all these stories, so instead, we will tell a story of Samuel T. Beerbower.

 

The oldest (surviving) son of Eleazer John and Matilda McKelvey Beerbower was Samuel Taylor Beerbower, born on 10 November 1842 in Fairfield County, Ohio. He was the brother of our ancestor, Edgar Peter Beerbower, who married Anna Missouri Springsteen. So he would be an uncle with a variable number of ‘great'(s) before, depending on the generation of our dear reader.

Sam turned eighteen just four days after Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States in November, 1860. Southern states began to secede from the Union within six weeks of Lincoln’s election. Lincoln was not inaugurated until March 4, 1861, and the South made good on their promise if Lincoln became President- the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12th, officially beginning the hostilities of the rebellion. Three days after the loss of Fort Sumter to the Confederate States, Lincoln called for 75,000 militiamen to protect the Union. In a special congressional session on July 4, 1861, President Lincoln told Congress the Union was in, “…a struggle for maintaining in the world, that form, and substance of government, whose leading object is, to elevate the condition of men…” Congress recognized the gravity of this struggle, and instead of 75,000 men, the number authorized was over six times the request- 500,000 men.

The call to arms to preserve the union of the United States was surely felt strongly by Samuel, his friends, and neighbors. The Union loss at First Bull Run on July 21, 1861 likely fueled the fires of a young man’s passion to go off to war and Samuel enlisted in the Sixty-Fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company B, on 23 Oct 1861, in Mansfield, Ohio. Sam was promoted to Sergeant just one month after enlisting, on 18 November 1861. His unit became a part of the Army of the Cumberland, and the battles in which he fought included Perryville, Stone River, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, and Mission Ridge.

Samuel was promoted to First Sergeant on 02 Aug 1862. The company had been on duty along the Memphis and Charleston Railroad and then marched to Louisville, Kentucky in pursuit of Bragg.

The Battle of Mission Ridge near Chattanooga, Tennessee on 25 November 1863 was a brutal battle. Union troops took the first row of rifles in the valley fairly easily, but then had to go up the mountain to get to the next line, and they were easy targets for the Confederates from above. As Samuel’s company was storming the ridge, he took a minnie ball to the right shoulder; it passed out near his shoulder blade, just to the right of the spine. (Only a short bit to the left and most of his body would have been paralyzed for life.) Samuel spent  three months confined in the hospitals of Chattanooga and Nashville to recuperate. Although he had avoided almost total paralysis, he did suffer from paralysis of his right arm and right hand.

 “In January of 1864, the subject of reenlistment coming up, three fourths of the men expressed a willingness to re-enlist…”

and Sam’s company was furloughed home for 30 days. Sam was not one of those interested in continuing in the Army, due to his wound and paralysis.

Samuel T. Beerbower was promoted to First Sergeant, and then was honorably discharged 23 March 1864 from Nashville, Tennessee, on a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability. He returned to Marion, Ohio, and filed for a disability pension right away, on 08 April 1864. He may have been out of the fray, however the Civil War always stayed with him, as it did for all those who survived such a horrible war.

 

More to come about Sam’s life after the War.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) “The U.S. Civil War 1861-1865” on “The History Place” at http://www.historyplace.com/civilwar/.

2) 1860 US Federal Census, E J Beerbower, head of household: Year: 1860; Census Place: Marion, Marion, Ohio; Roll: M653_1006; Page: 326; Image: 123; Family History Library Film: 805006. Ancestry.com.

3) The Story of the Sherman Brigade. The camp, the bivouac, the battle; and how “the boys” lived and died during four years of active field service., by Wilbur F. Hinman, published by the author, 1897. This book is about the Ohio regiments mustered together by Col. John Sherman, not William Tecumseh Sherman, though they did assist in his march through the south. The book is a very interesting read as it contains so many details that regimental histories do not- truly, much of the day-to-day life as the author was a Lt. Col. in the Ohio 65th Regiment, and was there. https://ia600801.us.archive.org/26/items/StoryOfTheShermanBrigade.theCampTheMarchTheBivouacTheBattleAnd/Story_of_the_Sherman_Brigade.pdf

 

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.

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.
 

Copyright 2013-2015 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 of our blog material.

 

Wishful Wednesday: Olive Beerbower and Emma Beerbower

Screen Shot 2015-03-29 at 8.50.30 PM
Co. B., 136th Ohio Muster Roll- Stephen R. Beerbower entry. (Click to enlarge.)
Co. B., 136th Ohio Muster Roll- Samuel Beerbower entry.
Co. B., 136th Ohio Muster Roll- Samuel Beerbower entry. (Click to enlarge.)

Beerbower Family- 

Olive Beerbower and her cousin Mary Emma Beerbower would have wished for August 31, 1864 to come quickly- it was the day their loved ones were to come home from the Civil War. Samuel Beerbower, who was Ollie’s father and Emma’s uncle, and his brother, Stephen Russell Beerbower, uncle to both girls, had spent 100 days in the Union Army. Their unit, Company B., 136th Ohio, had been on garrison duty south of the Potomoc as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. Although 22 members of the 136th died during their 90-day tour, no one in Co. B perished, and the men arrived home safely as hoped.

Mary "Emma" Beerbower, daughter of Eleazer John Beerbower and Matilda Louise McKelvey Beerbower, c late 1860s? Courtesy of Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
Mary “Emma” Beerbower, daughter of Eleazer John Beerbower and Matilda Louise McKelvey Beerbower, c late 1860s? Courtesy of Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
The family reunion was short-lived, however. Ollie and Mary Emma no longer lived next door to each other and two years later, in 1866, Eleazer J. moved to Indianpolis, Indiana for his job. The family stayed in Marion while he established himself in Indianapolis. Emma and the rest of the family joined him a year later, around 1866. How difficult that must have been- wishing they could be with their father, but not wanting to leave family and friends. In 1870, they were the only Beerbowers listed in Indianapolis. The following year, son Stephen Russell married and was listed as a carpenter in the Indianapolis City Directory, and son Edgar P. Beerbower was a clerk, ‘boarding’ at his parent’s address.

Ollie Beerbower
Ollie Beerbower daughter of Samuel and Jane Huggins Beerbower. Courtesy of Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. circa mid 1860s? (Click to enlarge.)
Meanwhile, Ollie’s family was still living in Marion, Ohio. In 1872, however, they decided to move to Winterset, Madison, Iowa. Ollie’s uncle George Albert Beerbower had already relocated there about 1852, so at least they did have some family, and lots of cousins in the county- he had 6 living children!

Two years later, Emma married Ashford Ligenfelter (b. 1847) on 13 May 1874 in Marion County, Indiana, possibly in Indianapolis. It would be interesting to learn if the Marion, Ohio and Winterest, Iowa families came to celebrate with the happy couple!

We do know that some family members traveled back to Marion, Ohio, to visit:

Mary Emma Beerbower Ligenfelter and her family visiting her brother, Samuel T. Beerbower, in Marion, Ohio.
Mary Emma Beerbower Ligenfelter and her family visiting her brother, Samuel T. Beerbower, in Marion, Ohio. Marion Daily Star, 26 Dec 1878, volume 2, number 67, page 4. Posted with kind permission for non-profit use. (Click to enlarge.)

This must have been a jolly Christmas visit!

The reunions were sometimes as much as three weeks long, such as this visit from 10 August to 04 September 1880:

Emma Beerbower Ligenfelter visiting Samuel T. Beerbower and family. Nancy Jane Huggins Beerbower, the wife of Samuel Beerbower of Winterset, Iowa, accompanying her.
Emma Beerbower Ligenfelter visiting Samuel T. Beerbower and family. Nancy Jane Huggins Beerbower, the wife of Samuel Beerbower of Winterset, Iowa, accompanied her. Marion Daily Star, 10 Aug 1880, page 4. Posted with kind permission for non-profit use. (Click to enlarge.)
Emma (Beerbower?) Ligenfelter
Emma (Beerbower?) Ligenfelter returning home to Indianapolis after a 3-week visit to Marion, Ohio. Marion Daily Star, 04 Sep 1880, page 4. Posted with kind permission for non-profit use. (Click to enlarge.)

We don’t know which children, if any, also traveled to visit family, but we do know that Ollie Beerbower was not a part of the 1880 visit… More on that in our next post.

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) 136th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company B Roster, from 136th Ohio Infantry Soldier Roster – Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866, Volume 8, by Ohio Roster Commission (Joseph B. Foraker, Governor, James S. Robinson, Sec’y of State and H. A. Axline, Adjutant-General), 1886. p. 637-9:     http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyoh/rosters/136th_oh_infantry_roster.pdf

2) Official roster of the soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 -1865, Vols. 1-12.

3) A note on the RootsWeb message boards from Betty (commanchestar) from 05 Mar 2005 states her relationship to Casper, Ollie, and Bertha Beerbower. I have tried contacting her in hopes she is still interested in sharing family information. I do hope she finds our posts about the Beerbowers. http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx?o=30&m=1.3.6.29.1&p=surnames.beerbower

 

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

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 2013-2015 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 of our blog material.

Sibling Saturday: Olive Beerbower and Mary Emma Beerbower

Ollie Beerbower and Caspar Beerbower
Ollie Beerbower and Caspar Beerbower, children of Samuel and Jane Huggins Beerbower. Courtesy of Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. c mid 1860s? (Click to enlarge.) 
Beerbower Family-

Mary Emma Beerbower and Olive Beerbower were not siblings, but instead, children of two siblings, our direct ancestor Eleazer John “E. J.” Beerbower (1815-1882) and his brother, Samuel Beerbower (1824-1890); this made them cousins.

Olive Beerbower was the daughter of Samuel Beerbower (1824-1890) and  Nance “Jane” Huggins Beerbower (1834-1930- she was 96 when she died!). Born on 13 March 1855 in Prospect, Marion County, Ohio, Olive was the first of three children born to Samuel and his wife.

Olive probably helped out at home when her brother, Caspar Samuel Beerbower, pictured above, was born four years later, in 1859.

“Ollie” as she was affectionately known, grew up in Marion, Ohio with her brother.  They lived next to her uncle E. J. and his family, and she would have played with her cousins, particularly Mary Emma Beerbower, who was just 3 years older, but who only had brothers. Ollie’s father was a marble cutter, and they likely were fairly comfortable, as the 1860 census notes that he owned $1500 in real estate and had $850 in personal value. Her uncle E. J. was also a highly skilled craftsman, as he was a buggy upholsterer. Neither family was rich, but they probably had enough to get by.

Mary "Emma" Beerbower and her brother John Eleazer Beerbower
Mary “Emma” Beerbower and her brother John Eleazer Beerbower, children of Eleazer John Beerbower and Matilda Louise McKelvey Beerbower, c late 1860s? Courtesy of Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
Mary Emma Beerbower, or “Emma” as she was called (Germans often used their middle name on a daily basis, rather than their first Christian name), was the daughter of Eleazer John Beerbower and Matilda Louise McKelvey Beerbower. She was the eighth of nine children, born 10 March 1852 in Marion. Her brother John E. Beerbower, above, was the baby of the family.

The early 1860s were an unsettling time for both families, as it was for the whole nation as southern states seceded and war broke out to preserve the Union. Emma’s brother and Ollie’s cousin, Samuel T. Beerbower, decided to enlist for a term of 3 years in the Union Army beginning October 23, 1861; he was just 19, and 10 years older than Emma. The Underground Railroad operated through Ohio, and much of the state had northern sympathies. The family would have closely followed the news of battles and Samuel’s unit, hoping to not hear the bad news so dreaded by families who have members serving their country.

The terror of the War of the Rebellion really came home to Ohio in July of 1863, when Morgan’s Confederates entered southern Ohio as part of their 46-day, 1,000 mile raid through Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. Thankfully the Raiders did not get as far north as Marion, but they were close enough, and people were afraid they might get that far. Although captured in Ohio (but they escaped), the Confederate Raiders successfully diverted Union troops from southern campaigns, and definitely did strike fear into the population as part of the psychological warfare of the time. Ollie was just eight, Emma eleven- it must have been very frightening to children, especially with so many young men away fighting, and not there to protect their families.

Even more frightening was what happened next, just four months after the Raiders hit Ohio-  Samuel T., who had fought in many of the War’s battles, was wounded on November 25, 1863. He was charging up the mountain bravely at Mission Ridge, Georgia, when a ball went through him near his shoulder blade and spine, lacking an inch or so of paralyzing him from his chest down for life. He spent three months recuperating in military hospitals, until his arm was more usable, and then requested a discharge home to more fully recover. It was granted, and he mustered out March 23, 1864. It must have been quite a homecoming!

Emma’s brother Stephen Russell Beerbower, age 19, enlisted just six weeks after his brother Samuel T. came home. Emma was probably heartbroken, but grateful that her two little brothers were too young to enlist.

And then Ollie’s nine-year-old world really fell apart- her father, Samuel Beerbower, enlisted in the Union Army on the same day, in the same unit as Stephen: May 2, 1864, Co. B, 136th Ohio.

The mix of emotions must have been so difficult for the two girls- pride in their family serving the Union (and going to get those Rebs who hurt their Samuel!), fear for the safety of their loved ones, especially after seeing Samuel’s injury, and that hole in their heart as the 136th Ohio marched off to war.

Why would they enlist- especially Samuel, at age 39, and a husband and father?

As the war continued and more soldiers were needed, conscription was begun in 1863 for men between 20 and 45 years old. Samuel was thus eligible- maybe he enlisted, knowing that he might be drafted, or perhaps he felt he needed to help the Union finally win the war.  All the men in his unit were mustered in on that same date, with those in higher positions knowing the Union was preparing to launch a massive campaign on many fronts to try to finally end the war.

Samuel and Stephen had 100-day enlistments, and those units generally did guard duty at facilities and strategic places, such as Washington, D.C., freeing up the trained troops for actual fighting elsewhere. It wasn’t quite as dangerous as being in the field, though at times it could be a dangerous, possibly even lethal, situation.

 

It was probably a very long 100 days for the whole family, including Ollie and Emma.

 

To be continued…

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) 1860 US Federal Census for Samuel Beerbower: Year: 1860; Census Place: Marion, Marion, Ohio; Roll: M653_1006; Page: 326; Image: 123; Family History Library Film: 805006. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

2) Morgan’s Raid: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan%27s_Raid

3) Civil War conscription: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_the_United_States#Civil_War

4) Wilson Peters, who would later become Samuel T. Beerbower’s brother-in-law, was in the 136th Ohio as well. There are other familiar last names on the roster as well, which shows that the company was tight-knit, and all from the same area.

5) See “Those Places Thursday: Bertha Beatrice Beerbower and her World Travels” to learn more about Ollie’s youngest sister Bertha. http://heritageramblings.net/2015/03/19/those-places-thursday-bertha-beatrice-beerbower-and-her-world-travels/

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

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 2013-2015 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 of our blog material.

Those Places Thursday: Bertha Beatrice Beerbower and Her World Travels

 

Winterset, Madison, Iowa, 1907
Winterset, Iowa, 1907. “Winterset, Iowa – 1907” by FJ Bandholts – Library of Congress. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Beerbower Family

A Beerbower living in Egypt? Shanghai, China? Yes, there was, and she was living in those places, not just visiting.

We often think of our ancestors, especially those born in the 1800s, as staying in one place for much of their lives. Some of our ancestors, however, were world travelers. It would be so interesting to have them tell us their stories themselves!

Sadly, I have not found a diary or other information to detail daily life for Bertha Beatrice Beerbower, but can describe a bit of her life and travels.

Bertha was the youngest of three children born to Samuel Beerbower (1824-1890) and his wife Nance “Jane” Huggins Beerbower (1834-1930); she was the granddaughter of Caspar J. Bierbower (1782-1851) and Christina Reiber Bierbower (1784-1849). She would be a cousin, as her father Samuel was the younger brother of our ancestor, Eleazer John Beerbower.

Samuel and family moved from Marion, Ohio between 1870 and 1876, where Bertha was born 3 January 1876 in Winterset, Madison County, Iowa. Winterset is just 30 miles southwest of Des Moines, Iowa, and in 1870, the population was 1,485. The town was growing though, and by 1880 had 2,583 residents.

Berth’s siblings were quite a bit older- Olive was 21 when Bertha was born, and Casper 17; their mother age 42. Ollie passed away when Bertha was just 3, and Casper married when Bertha was 4, so she was, for all purposes, an only child.

Roseman Covered bridge, Madison County, Iowa.
Roseman Covered Bridge, Madison County, Iowa. Wikimedia Commons.

Madison County, Iowa, is located on a a beautiful prairie, with hills and rivers running through. It is famous for its covered bridges, such as Roseman Bridge, which was built in 1883. Of the original 19 bridges built in the late 1800s, there are six still standing, built 1870-1883, and they are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. (The reference number for Roseman Bridge is 76000792.) Doubtless Bertha and her family traveled over these bridges many times, and may have picnicked along the banks.

Madison County, Iowa, Courthouse.
Madison County, Iowa, Courthouse. GFDL, Wikimedia.

Winterset was the county seat, and the old courthouse, which burned, was replaced the year Bertha was born, in 1876. This would have been a familiar sight in the downtown shopping area for Bertha and family.

Bertha married Benjamin Franklin Bare (1874-1951) on 25 May 1895 (or 15 Dec 1895 or 1896- need to verify date) in Winterset, so they would have visited the courthouse to obtain their marriage license. They had one child, Robert Osborne Bare (1901-1980), and lived in Winterset through the 1920 census. Benjamin, like his father, operated a grocery store and bakery in Winterset. He was also very interested in that new-fangled invention the automobile, owned one of the first in Madison County, and even offered a taxi service around 1900.

Robert and Bertha divorced after 1920 (1918 per some researchers, but they are found together in the 1920 census, along with 18 y/o Robert). Bertha was noted alone as a roomer in the 1925 census for Winterset, so the divorce likely took place between 1920-1925.

Bertha was a schoolteacher. She likely taught in the US, but she also taught in a girl’s school in Cairo, Egypt, after her enumeration in the 1925 Iowa census.

Tourists on camels near the Great Pyramid, Gizeh, Egypt.
Tourists on camels near the Great Pyramid. Egypt, Gizeh,1904. Public Domain, Wikipedia.

Life in Egypt would have been very different than that in Winterset, Iowa! King Tutankhamun’s tomb had been discovered in 1922, and the romance of ancient Egypt permeated cultures far and wide around the world during that time period. Architecture, jewelry, and home decor reflected the new-found riches of the tomb. It would have been an exciting adventure for Bertha to be in that part of the world during that time, and especially for a single woman.

There are passenger records for her departure from Bremen, Germany, on 12 Aug 1932 with her arrival a week later in New York on the ship, Columbus. She may have traveled from Egypt to Germany for her passage to the states.

1930 Shanghai along the Bund.
Bird’s eye view of the Bund in 1930. Displayed at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center. Public Domian, Wikipedia.

Bertha also taught at a school in Shanghai, China. (We are not sure of the timetable of when she taught where overseas.) China was still not very “open” to Westerners at that time, so she would have probably delighted to see the old culture. The 1930s were tumultuous years in China- there were skirmishes between the Nationalist party and the Communists, with Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung) battling for the country. Additionally, the Japanese had occupied parts of the country from 1931-1945, and committed many war atrocities against the civilian population. Bertha must have been very brave to stay through it all! But what a view she had of world history in the making- the occupation during the Sino-Japanese War became a part of World War II, in which Bertha’s son later served in the Marine Corps as a General of the Allied amphibious forces in the Pacific Theatre.

Bertha’s son Robert O. Bare and his wife Elizabeth Lowes Bare were listed on a passenger list for the ship Henderson which arrived in San Francisco on 19 Nov 1927 from Qinhuangdao, China.  Perhaps they had been visiting Bertha? (Alternatively, Robert may have been stationed in China and his wife accompanied him.)

[UPDATE 6/5/15: We now know that Robert was stationed in China at one point, so perhaps this was their return rather than a visit.]

Bertha is listed on the manifest of the M.S. Chichibu Maru which sailed from Yokohama Japan on July 15th, 1938, and arrived at the Port of Los Angeles on July 31st, 1938. Her destination in the United States was the “American College for girl Winterset Iowa.” There is no one else listed on that page with the same name, nor same hometown or destination, so it appears she was traveling alone. Leaving Asia in 1938 was a wise choice, as more war was imminent.

Bertha moved to Annapolis, Maryland after she returned from her travels and retired from teaching. She died there, on 24 Apr 1950 after a long illness. She is buried in the Winterset City Cemetery.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Winterset, Iowa, 1907 image: “Winterset, Iowa – 1907” by FJ Bandholts – Library of Congress. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Winterset,_Iowa_-_1907.jpg#/media/File:Winterset,_Iowa_-_1907.jpg

2) Roseman Bridge image from Wikimedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winterset,_Iowa#/media/File:Roseman_Bridge.jpg. The bridge was used in the 1995 movie, The Bridges of Madison County.

3) Population statistics per Wikipedia entry for Winterset, Iowa, and originally from “American FactFinder”. United States Census Bureau. and Iowa Data Center.

4) 1932 Passenger list: Year: 1932; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 5207; Line: 11; Page Number: 41. Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

5) M. S. Chichibu Maru manifest: Ancestry.com. California, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1959 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Page 947/1076 on Ancestry, No. 104 written in on list. Original data: Selected Passenger and Crew Lists and Manifests. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

6) Gizeh, Egypt image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Touristen_in_Egypte_-_Tourists_in_Egypt.jpg

7) Shanghai, China image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bund_in_1930_-_Shanghai_Urban_Planning_Exhibition_Center.JPG

8) Bertha Beerbower Bare- Obituary transcription: http://iagenweb.org/boards/madison/obituaries/index.cgi?read=144104

9) Find a Grave Memorial: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13685689&ref=acom

 

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image. Click to enlarge image.

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 2013-2015 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 of our blog material.

Wednesday’s Child: Mary Emma Beerbower

Mary Emma Beerbower's birth announcement in the Marion [Ohio] Daily Star, 26 Apr 1880.
Mary Emma Beerbower’s birth announcement in the Marion [Ohio] Daily Star, 26 Apr 1880. Posted with kind permission of the newspaper for non-profit use only.
 What a joyous news note- the birth of a daughter to Edgar “Ed” Peter Beerbower and Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower!

This cherished daughter was born 22 April 1880. She was named Mary Emma Beerbower, likely after her paternal aunt, Mary Emma (Beerbower) Ligenfelter, who was 3 years younger than her brother Ed.

A Marion, Ohio newspaper printed this story, since Ed and his father, Eleazer John Beerbower, his mother, Matilda Louise McElvey Beerbower, and their other children, were former residents of Marion. (It was also a way to increase newspaper sales in another city- a common ploy by savvy newspapers.) Ed’s brother Samuel T. Beerbower still lived in Marion, and was the postmaster, so the news would be of interest to many in the town.

Ed and Anna Beerbower had already had 2 sons, Robert Warson Beerbower, born 1874, and Edgar Springsteen Beerbower, born 1876. There was then a gap of about three and a half years before dear Mary Emma was born. Two more children would later be born to Ed and Anna: Anna May Beerbower, b. 1881, and Willie Beerbower, b. 1889, but Willie only lived one day.

Samuel T. Beerbower and his wife, Irene L. Peters, had only two known children, both sons: Cornell R. Beerbower (b. 1870) and Wilson Beerbower, birthdate unknown but probably in the 1870s; he only lived one year and a few days.

Little Mary Emma’s grandparents, Eleazer and Matilda Beerbower, were still alive and living in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1880, and must have been thrilled to finally have a granddaughter. Other children of Eleazer and Matilda would give them more grandchildren in later years.

Note the play on words: “Brightwooder be the smiles…” instead of “Bright would be the smiles.” The writer refers to Brightwood, where the daughter was born, a residential area then northeast of Indianapolis, Indiana.

We have real privacy concerns today, but it’s really not that new, except the scope- the newspapers of old could print pretty much what they wanted and usually filled their columns with all sorts of goings on in the town, along with editorial content in the news pages. The birth of a niece was probably a happy event for Samuel and his wife Irene, especially with the 3+ year gap in children for Anna and Ed Beerbower, when they may have lost another child not known. Sadly, the newspaper sort of rubs in the fact that Samuel and Irene do not have a daughter of their own- that probably hurt deeply, as anyone who has lost a child or been unable to have as many as they wish would know.

The sadness continues though… despite being a healthy 8- 1/2 pounds at birth, baby Mary Emma Beerbower only lived just over two months. The Beerbower family bible states

“Died

Mary Emma Beerbower

June 29th 1880 Aged

9 weeks, 5 days

Brightwood, Ind.”

Telgram re: death of Mary Emma Beerbower, in the March 30th, 1880 issue of the Marion [Ohio] Daily Star.
Newspaper article about telgram re: death of Mary Emma Beerbower, in the March 30th, 1880 issue of the Marion [Ohio] Daily Star. Posted with kind permission of the newspaper for non-profit use only.
The telegram was dated 29 June,, but states that the infant died “yesterday, at 4 p.m.” making her actual death date 28 Jun 1880. The paper notes her burial is to be July 1st, but the Find A Grave record for Mary Emma in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana, notes that she was buried 29 Aug 1880, quite a long time from the bible and telegram death date.

Mary Emma is buried in Section 22, Lot 894, which is not by the remaining family’s lots.

Even though the news is first happy but ultimately sad here, one bright spot to an intrepid family historian is that the first article tells where  Ed Beerbower worked- the CCC & IRR office, so we may be able to find some railroad worker records for him now that we know the line and a date.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Birth announcement in Marion [Ohio] Daily Star, April 26, 1880, Volume III, No. 170, Page 4, Column 2. Posted with kind permission of the newspaper for personal, non-profit use only.

2) 1880 US Federal Census for Eleazer and Matilda (McElvey) Beerbower: Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana; Roll: 295; Family History Film: 1254295; Page: 227B; Enumeration District: 113; Image: 0156.

3) Death telegram news story in Marion [Ohio] Daily Star, April 26, 1880, Volume III, No. 225, Page 4, Column 2. Posted with kind permission of the newspaper for personal, non-profit use only.

4) Mary Emma Beerbower’s Find A Grave Memorial #45869800: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=45869800&ref=acom

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.