➡ Beerbower Family, Helbling Family, Lee Family, Cooper Family, McMurray Family, Whitener Family

My mother always told me that I was here on earth because two people fell in love, but Brad Paisley’s hit song said it in a slightly more catchy way:

“There ain’t nothin’ not affected
When two hearts get connected…

Every one of us is here
All because two people fell in love.”

The Brad Paisley song, “Two people fell in love” is delightfully sweet, whether one is a country fan or not.

Brad Paisley goes on to sing:

“I’m glad your dad could not resist
Your mama’s charms and you exist
All because two people fell in love.”

Take a look at the full lyrics here. They are very sweet- as are these pictures of ancestor couples.

Thank you, dear ancestors, for falling in love.

Have a love-ly Valentine’s Day!

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) “Two People fell in Love” by Tim Owens, John Lovelace, Copyright: Emi April Music Inc., Sea Gayle Music, Love Ranch Music- https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bradpaisley/twopeoplefellinlove.html

Portions of the lyrics posted for educational use only.

2) Photos from family treasure chests.

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Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

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This is really a ‘Sentimental Sunday’- a day that causes memories, regrets, happy thoughts, and a whole mix of emotions to weave through my consciousness throughout the day. It is the birthday of Mary Theresa (Helbling) McMurray.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, to G. W. Helbling and Anna May Beerbower Helbing, Mary never knew that she was named for her paternal great-grandmother, Mary Theresa (Knipshield) Helbling. She always thought her family was of poor German and Irish origins, but it turns out that they were early pioneers, upstanding community members, and good, hardworking people. (See previous Helbling posts.)

Mary was the last of the seven children born in the family, with her nearest sibling eight years older. So she was the ‘baby’ of the family, and often felt like she had a number of mothers and fathers, since her oldest sibling was 17 years older. Her father was stern with her, but her mother doted on her, and she loved her mother so intensely that it was very hard for her to leave home even when she fell in love and married.

Mary’s father, G. W. Helbing, was extremely intelligent, even though he had not completed more than the eighth grade; her mother completed two years of high school. Her older brothers and sisters were very intelligent too- she sometimes had the same nuns for teachers as they had at St. Mark’s Catholic School, and the nuns would expect so much of her, because her older siblings had done so well. She was very good at spelling and loved to play chess, which her father and siblings taught her when young, and was a whiz at schedules and plain old arithmetic. She never really liked school though.

Mary loved to play with paper dolls and read movie magazines, though the magazines were considered scandalous back then. She would sometimes cut out the pictures of the movie stars, and use them as paper dolls. She loved the ‘glamour girls’ of the 1940s and wanted to look like them- there are many pictures of her in similar poses. She loved singing- even sang on the radio once as a child or young teen. Her mother’s cousin was Elsie Janis- a famed comedienne/singer/actress  of the early 1900s and “The Sweetheart of the A.E.F.”  (more on Elsie in upcoming posts) – and Mary wanted to be like her. The family had cocker spaniels which Mary dearly loved. One died in a fire in the family home, and Mary was always so sad about that, even 50 years later.

Mary T. Helbling and her husband, Edward A. McMurray, September 1948. “The Merry Macs” as she labeled this photo in her album. 

 Mary was a very fast typist and knew shorthand. She worked at Gardner’s Advertising and then a government group (maybe AFEES?) during the war. Mary met US Army/Air Corp veteran Edward A. McMurray on a blind date at a picnic in a park in 1946. The two fell madly in love, but did not want to marry, as Ed was in pharmacy school. Love won out, however, and they married on June 5, 1948. They lived with her parents until Ed graduated, found a job, and they purchased a house in north St. Louis County, in a new subdivision during the booming 1950s.

Although Mary would have loved to have the glamorous life of a singing star, as her mother’s cousin Elsie Janis had, she mostly just wanted to be a wife and mother. She did both, and always said that was her greatest accomplishment.

Mary Theresa (Helbling) McMurray passed away April 3, 2008, of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Happy Birthday, Mary Theresa. We love you and miss you.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) G.W. Helbling, head of household, 1940 US Federal Census- Source Citation: Year: 1940; Census Place: St Louis, St Louis City, Missouri; Roll: T627_2208; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 96-670.

2) Family photos and oral history.

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family pictures are such an incredible treasure. I still am in such awe that we have any images of our ancestors, and that we even know who some of them are. 😉 I feel like a rich woman every time I see these delightful photos, and being able to put a name and place and activity with my ancestors has truly enriched my life.

My mother thought that the above picture was of Francis X. Helbling (her grandfather), his wife Lena Gertrude (O’Brien) Helbling, and their sons. She never met these grandparents, as he died in 1919, and she in 1920, years before my mother was born. Looking at the adults in this image, however, they appeared much too old to have children that young. After doing many years of genealogical research (so much of it done pre-computer), and happening upon some old family photo albums, we began to think the youngsters might be grandchildren, and my mother’s siblings.

Another photo find confirmed the hypothesis:

This is a picture of Gerard William Helbling holding his young son Edgar, who was born 17 July 1908, and G.W.’s father Francis. This photo of three generations of Helbling men was taken in front of the family home in St. Louis. We know that because we can see the edge of the sign on the wall, which reads “G. W. Helbling, Undertaker.” We found another such house picture in the photo albums that had been packed away so long, and the family was living in St. Louis at that time.

I just love how my mother’s father looks- so handsome, so dapper- even with a cigar in his mouth.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family oral history.

2) Family photographs.

3) Gerard William is also known as G.W., William Gerard, W. G., etc.- the Germans could never decide whether to use their first or middle name.

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My mother always thought that her family were most probably just poor Irish or German immigrants, with little education and only blue collar jobs. Little education did not mean little intellect, however- as an example, her father was brilliant and read everything. With the publication of the 1940 census last year I was surprised to learn that her father had only completed 8th grade, and her mother completed 2 years of high school. Education was very valued within the family, and that has been passed on through subsequent generations.

I wish my mother had been able to know about her family- by the time I found the early information on the family, it was too late. She would have been very happy to know about Dr. John H. O’Brien, who was the maternal grandfather of G. W. Helbling.

John H. O’Brien was born in June, 1808 in Carrick on Suir, Ireland. His parent’s names are as yet unknown- there are a lot of John O’Brien’s in Ireland!

John O’Brien graduated from the University of Dublin with a medical degree sometime before 21 Jun 1831 when he immigrated to the United States. Western Pennsylvania was in the midst of a cholera outbreak around that time, so his medical skills were put to good use right away. The inscription on the monument is appropriate for his calling, and states:

Blessed is he that understandeth concerning

the needy and the poor, the Lord will deliver

him in the evil day. -XL Psalm 

Dr. John H. O’Brien married Jane Neel who descended from early pioneers, and they lived in Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania, in various places such as Baldwin, Scott, and Pittsburgh. It has not been as easy to find information about John’s life and career as with other doctors- possibly because he was Irish, and they were looked down upon? Or because he initially practiced out on the frontier of Western Pennsylvania?

John and Jane had at least 10 children, and possibly two more who are listed on the O’Brien monument in Saint Mary Catholic Cemetery, Lawrenceville, Allegheny Co., PA, Section H.

Nothing is known about Jane Neel O’Brien’s death as yet, and she does not appear to be buried in the same cemetery, at least, not with this same name. She did survive him, and one researcher states she died 06 Dec 1895. More to come about the children and Jane Neel and her family in upcoming posts.

A grandchild of John and Jane is also buried in this plot, and listed on the monument:

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) The 1940 census was a goldmine for family historians, if you can find how they were indexed- Gerard W. Helbling is listed on Ancestry.com as “Gerhart W. Hebling.” I found the family by looking for their daughter and her husband- they lived in the same house.

2) 1940 US Federal Census for Gerard W. Helbling: Source Citation: Year: 1940; Census Place: St Louis, St Louis City, Missouri; Roll: T627_2208; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 96-670. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls. Accessed 12 Jan 2014.

3) I have been unsuccessful as yet getting information from the University of Dublin re: John O’Brien’s attendance there.

4) A John O’Brien’s immigration is listed in 1840 in Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania, at Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010. WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, Pittsburgh, compilers. A List of Immigrants Who Applied for Naturalization Papers in the District Courts of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh: the society. Vol. 2, 1841-1855. 1978. 139p. 7,800 names, p. 82. Original data: Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2012. I believe this may be another John O’Brien, or maybe when his papers were filed. More investigation is needed. Accessed 12 Jan 2014.

5) Find a Grave Memorial # 55460843 at https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=55460843. Accessed 14 Jan 2014.

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Copyright 2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Every once in a while, there is an object that is just SO LOVELY that it becomes a part of your soul, and the above heirloom gravy boat is one of those objects for me.

The gravy boat sat in the china cabinet in our dining room as I grew up. We did not use the dining room very often, and I don’t ever remember using the gravy boat. Maybe it was too precious, or maybe all the cracks in the glaze made it unsafe to use. We didn’t have gravy often- my mother was a minimalist cook, plus she would have had her own gravy boat to match her china. So this lovely object sat in the china cabinet, which really was a museum of our family history and reminder of times gone by. I would lovingly dust it a few times per year, thinking of my grandparents, and how life must have been for my mother growing up, the youngest in a family of eight. It was her job to dust just as it was mine, and I felt her fear of dropping such a beautiful object or even chipping such a special piece that showcased the assets of a family.

So what is a ‘gravy boat’? A gravy boat, sauce boat, or sauciere is an oval table service piece that looks like a low, elongated pitcher. Most have handles for pouring out the sauce; others, such as this, are lower and have one or two long lips at the end, and may have a handle or not. Sauce could be poured but usually a gravy ladle would be used if there was no handle on the gravy boat. Gravy boats had a matching oval plate or saucer that was attached, or it might be separate, as in this piece. The saucer would have a depression into which the foot of the gravy boat sat so it didn’t slide if slippery gravy was dripped onto the plate, or while it was passed hand-to-hand around the big table. The saucer was also important to prevent gravy stains on the nice tablecloth- and that would have been cloth of the old fashioned kind- a linen or cotton that would also need starch and ironing after washing. (They had no quick-wipe plastic or easy care permanent-press polyester tablecloths like we have today.) A matching porcelain gravy ladle might have also been used, or the family might use their sterling silver or silverplate gravy ladle. The oval shape and spout-like ends of the gravy boat are designed to pour but also to hold the ladle without it slipping down into the gravy, though proper manners dictated that the gravy ladle at least start the meal sitting on the saucer. (See source #4 for an example of a similar set with plate.) I do not remember a plate for our treasured heirloom, so it was probably broken long before my time.

The decoration on this gravy boat is so very delicate and pretty. Sweet pansies or violas were hand painted in two lucious purples, and the raised gold is set off by beautiful white porcelain. It is authentic Noritake Nippon Hand Painted china as it has the correct mark, plus I know the chain of custody. The gravy boat would have been made between 1890 and 1918, probably, as the McKinley Tariff Act required “Japan” be used on imported pieces after 1921, although Japan had already started using the name of their country on export china shortly after WWI.

This lovely object belonged to Anna Mae Beerbower (1881-1954) and her husband, William Gerard Helbling (1882-1971)- or Gerard William Helbling- he switched the order of his names throughout the years as good Germans often did. They were married 24 November 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri, the year of the World’s Fair. Maybe this was a wedding gift, or a special Christmas, anniversary, or birthday gift. The family was of modest means, but such lovely objects graced their table, even if there was not enough income to buy a lot of food, especially in the tough economies of the 1920s through the 1940s.

Interestingly, a daughter of the family was named Viola Gertrude Helbling (1913-1971). I wonder if my grandmother was partial to violas, the flowers? They have always been a favorite of mine, and my mother loved them too.

Somehow, KFC gravy in a styrofoam cup with plastic lid seems even more unappetizing after thinking about this lovely heirloom gravy boat.

Notes and References:

1) Family oral tradition.

2) Noritake Nippon mark: https://www.noritakecollectorsguild.info/researchers/lisalondon/fakenipponguide.pdf

3) Noritake history: https://www.antique-marks.com/noritake-china.html

4) Similar: https://www.rubylane.com/item/274555-20-229/Vintage-Early-1900-Noritake-Gold

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Copyright 2013 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.