Tag: Jefferson Springsteen

Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

It must have been one of those days, or I had been researching waaaaay too long (probably the latter). Seeing this ad while I was searching page by page for Springsteen ancestors in the 1857 Brooklyn City Directory, it just hit me funny. A ‘mangle’??

Even though I read old books and history and love archaic terms, I had never heard of a mangle before. This certainly looked like one could get a hand or long hair ‘mangled’ in it, and I knew that was true because my grandmother had a wringer washer and we kids played with it when she wasn’t looking. I had long hair and, well, we won’t go there…

I had never seen a wringer with a table attached though, nor one so large, so time for some research.

Wikipedia to the rescue, which is hard for me to say, but I have found it is more accurate than I used to give it credit. Wikipedia says the machines are called ‘mangles’ in the UK, but ‘wringers’ here in the US. Looks like they were called ‘mangles’ here for some time too- the British influence on our country was strong.

The earliest and most simple mangle was a cylinder that was wrapped with a wet cloth that had just been laundered, like a tablecloth or sheet, and rolled with a flat board pressed along the top to get the excess water out before line drying, or to remove wrinkles. (Our colonial ancestors probably used one.) The wringer for a washer was invented in the 1840s, , which would have saved women a lot of time. A wringer would have really helped in the winter, too, when clothing and household items had to be hung indoors because of inclement weather- getting most of the water out before hanging meant your head would not be dripped on while eating dinner, sewing, etc.

Heat was later added to the cylinders to help dry and press cloth. My mother and grandmother both had mangles, though we called them ‘ironers.’ They are large machines that put off a lot of steam and heat. A foot pedal or knee lift raised or lowered one of the rollers so that you could put a piece of cloth in, then lower the cylinder and iron away. My mother was SO good at using hers- she could iron a man’s shirt or pants with it! Really fast, too.

Mangles are not really used anymore except in commercial applications, such as hotels that dry and press their long tablecloths on them. Smaller mangles, such as those of my mother and grandmother, can be seen today in smaller laundries like the neighborhood dry cleaners.

Sure seems like the above mangle would have taken up a lot of room, even the smaller one. The table likely folded up, but that would still be a lot of space required. I wonder if Jefferson and Anna (Connor) Springsteen had a ‘mangle’ in their house in 1850s Brooklyn?

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Wikipedia: Mangle- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangle_(machine)

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

Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

Although the Jefferson and Anna Connor Springsteen family had moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, before the date of this ad, there were likely other brewers in Brooklyn, New York that offered the same beverage when they resided in Brooklyn. Jefferson ran a restaurant at the Fulton Market as well, so he may have stocked this or other ales.

Water was not always safe to drink, even that coming out of city pipes. Children were given beer from very early on to reduce their risk of parasites and infections from local water. “Family ales” would have had a lower alcohol content, but the alcohol and the heating during the brewing process would have killed off much of the disease-inducing microorganisms found in drinking water. Even Puritan children drank beer!

Benjamin Franklin loved beer. In fact, his quote that, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” can be found on t-shirts in pubs today. The advertisement notes that the ale listed is “…strongly recommended by Medical men…” and “…calculated to strengthen and invigorate the system…” This ad is persuasion as to what a smart purchase this would be for a family in 1857.

Since the Springsteen family probably was originally from Germany, and Anna Connor from Ireland, plus Jeff had lived in frontier areas, the chances were high that ales/beer were a part of their larder.

See? What’s old is new again- “Craft Brews” in 1857!

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. See reference with image.

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

Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

Checking through a run of city directories to confirm where Jefferson Springsteen and his wife Anna Connor Springsteen were living, I didn’t find the family in 1857 in Brooklyn but did find some delightful ads that gave me a chuckle.  Although the Springsteens had moved from Brooklyn, New York to Indianapolis, Indiana about 1853, it is possible that these plumbing companies had been in business when they were still in the city. (I believe they also had relatives still in the city then, but still have a lot more collateral kin research.) In the meantime, I thought I would share these ads as a plumber they may have called- with a young family of seven people in the household and no disposable diapers, they probably needed a plumber at some point!

The Springsteens lived only blocks from the East River and the Navy Pier. With shipping being such a huge industry in the port city of New York and environs, it seems logical to find the combination of house and ship plumber. After all, it’s all pipes, right?

Apparently there were some plumbers who only worked on residences and commercial buildings, or maybe it was a given that if  you were a plumber, you didn’t need to be specific as to whether the plumbing was located on land or water. It was just a job.

Our ancestors are more than names, dates, and places. Seeing images of the minutiae of their lives helps us to understand them better, and make connections to our lives today.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. See references with images.

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

Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.