HELBLING Family (Click for Family Tree)

Happy First Day of Spring!

This picture is so happy and spring-like that it just HAD to be our post for today. It’s also a good way to finish up honoring Mary during her birthday week.

Flowers are blooming all around and the trees and grass are greening up after our very dark winter of 2020, so it is especially lovely to see this picture of Mary. She was born March 16, 1925, so may be about age 12?, and is definitely smiling and happy. It does look a bit later than March, since the flowers are so tall and it was most likely taken in St. Louis, Missouri, where winter lingers a bit, especially back in those years. This might be her Easter picture, with her short-sleeved, ruffled dress, cute shoes, and her big hat. It could instead be a year or two earlier, as Mary was always tall, but there is no date on the image for us to know for sure. The family lived at 5154 Page Blvd. in St. Louis, Missouri, a two-story home built in 1895, at least from 1920-1940, so this was probably taken in that back yard.  Mary’s father, Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling, loved to garden, so he may have planted these beautiful flowers. (We don’t know if her mother, Anna May Beerbower Helbling liked to garden or not.) One of those windows may have been in Mary’s bedroom.

If anyone can help us date this more precisely or tell us more, please let us know!

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Family treasure chest of photos.
2. 1920-1940 US Federal censuses and city directories.
3. Google and realtor.com images to confirm what house at 5154 Page Blvd. looks like. https://www.google.com/maps/place/5154+Page+Blvd,+St.+Louis,+MO+63113/ and  https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5154-Page-Blvd_Saint-Louis_MO_63113_M72000-86995

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Original content copyright 2013-2021 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

McMurray Family, Helbling Family (Click for Family Tree)

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. This record belonged to Mary (Helbling) McMurray and her husband Edward A. McMurray, Jr. It is a vinyl, 10″, 78 RPM, Picture Disc released in 1947. The genre is Latin music. Wonder if they thought of themselves with Side A- they had just met in 1947 and it was love right away. The “Cuban Yodelin’ Man” is hilarious- not much snow in Cuba! But yodeling was popular at that time in a number of musical genres, including classic country.
2. This is a perfect example of how technology changes- we don’t have anything to play this on anymore!

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Original content copyright 2013-2017 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

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Helbling Family (Click for Family Tree)

Collecting salt and pepper shakers was a big thing in the 1950s and even before and after. One collector written about has over 55,000! (And those are pairs, so 110,000 individual shakers!)

The above S&P shakers belonged to Mary Theresa (Helbling) McMurray, who thankfully did not have that large of a collection. These were always favorites, though.

Mary was the daughter of William Gerard Helbling and Anna May Beerbower.

These S&P shakers are called ‘lusterware,’ and one antique dealer stated they were from the 1940s.

The tray is about 2-1/2″ long and 1-1/2″ wide; the houses are each about 1-3/4″ high, 1″ deep, and 3/4″ wide. Each roof on this set is actually a soft gray-blue, and the tray is an iridescent white. These shakers came in other colors as well.

Their value on one website was only $11.50, so truly, it is sentimental value that is important here. These are objects Mary loved, and part of the treasure chest of items she left to those who loved her.

Little Dutch girls and boys and windmills were popular images at various points during the 20th century. These S&P shakers suggest a stylized bit of a Dutch influence, being tall, narrow, and having a steep roof. Mary liked the cute Dutch items available, including a pitcher and mug set she had. She would be SO amazed to learn that her Springsteen family was really Dutch, and lived in New Netherlands!

New Netherlands= Dutch New York City— Manhattan and Long Island! The first-born Springsteen of her line was born in Bushwhick, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, in 1664! (They would be amazed to know how much their land would be worth today.) We will have some of this exciting research coming up on the blog in the near future.

DNA and some wonderful sharing- including a post from this blog detailing an obituary shared by Mary’s brother, Edgar Helbling- broke open the whole mystery of the Springsteen family. So please share your family heirlooms, and get your DNA tested! The results can lead to wonderful family stories, and new cousins.

And sentimental feelings about salt & pepper shakers. Especially today, on the anniversary of Mary Theresa’s birth.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Family heirloom.
2. Mary apparently did not know that she was named for her German paternal great-grandmother, Mary Theresa (Knipshield) Helbling (1810-1891). Sure wish we had been able to learn about her heritage while she was still with us.

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Original content copyright 2013-2017 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

Rereading the obituary of Buster Broida/ Max Broida, it is sad to think that he ended up mostly alone, selling pari-mutuel tickets at the racetrack in between acting jobs, just to pay the bills. There was a brighter side of Hollywood, however, and Max likely saw some of that in the movies as he worked to make them. (Can you imagine being on the set of “The Wizard of Oz”?) Most of our other ancestors of the 20th century- those who went to the movies- saw this bright side too, and it definitely helped them get through the challenging years of the Depression and World War II. Mary Helbling McMurray talked of going to the movies with her girlfriends after work, and they loved these types of films.

What would these folks think of today’s music? There are now so many musical genres that they couldn’t have even imagined, with our electronic instruments, a looser moral code, and ‘unique’ combinations. (Christian gangsta rap???) Much of their music was considered risqué or not appropriate for refined young ladies and gentlemen in their time, too.

We also need to consider the context of their times- it was ‘shocking’ back then to see Shirley Temple dancing with a black servant, though made more ‘okay’ since she was a little girl and the darling of America. Glad that most of us are past that today. (Can’t believe it had to be ‘most of us’ instead of just the all-inclusive, “we.”)

Here is an earlier version featuring Fred Astaire, not a mix of many films:

I’ll bet Buster Brodie could ‘cut a rug.’ Take a look at how much rhythm he has in “Groovy Movie” as they dance the jitterbug. (Buster is the piano player.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbaNYWkQYYA

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Slate article- http://www.slate.com/articles/video/video/2015/11/mashup_of_uptown_funk_and_hollywood_golden_era_movie_dancing_video.html
2. 66 Old Movie Dance Scenes- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1F0lBnsnkE
3.  Fred Astaire with “Uptown Funk.”- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb3VTnuuuRI
4. “Groovy Movie”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbaNYWkQYYA

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

➡ Beerbower Family, Helbling Family

Roberta Pearl Beerbower was the only child of Robert Warson Beerbower (1874-1900) and Anna Josephine Reiffel (1876-1965) who married 23 August 1898. Roberta was born 16 October 1900 in Indiana (likely Indianapolis) less than a month after her father died at age 26 in Colorado. Robert had gone to Denver for health reasons, and died of consumption there.

“Cousin Roberta” was a beloved older cousin of Mary Theresa Helbling. Mary looked up to her beautiful cousin and wanted to be like her. Roberta would have been 25 when Mary was born, which surprised me as I always thought they were closer in age, maybe just 5-10 years difference.

Recently I received a note from a Find A Grave member requesting I change Roberta’s middle name to Pauline on her memorial, as that was what Roberta’s daughter-in-law thought the name was. The family bible owned by her aunt, Anna May Beerbower Helbling, lists Roberta’s middle name as ‘Pearl’ so I am using that name here, but it needs further research. The new collaboration is wonderful though, as this researcher was able to provide the above beautiful portrait, and more information about Roberta and her marriage and family that I did not know.

Following are some photographs that Mary Helbling McMurray thought would be Roberta, or that were labeled with her name, and some of my notes. Please let us know if you have additional information or corrections.

This is Roberta per Mary Helbling; Roberta would have been 15 in 1915 so this is likely correct. (Note ‘G.W. Helbling Undertaker’ sign in front of the Helbling home in St. Louis, Missouri.)

The above two photos could be Roberta, as she would have been 10 in 1910. Not sure about the date though, as Edgar was born in 1908 so 1910 for the photo cannot be correct if that is him with his younger sisters in the image. Will need to review photo album again. Maybe the girl on the right is another cousin? Maybe these are not Helbling children, though they do look like Edgar, May, and Vi, and were identified as such by their youngest sister Mary (but she wasn’t there as she was not yet born).

Edgar would have been 12 in 1920 and Roberta 20, plus these people were positively identified in photo album, so this identification should be accurate.

This photo was a game changer when I realized the date and the identification of the man with Roberta. The man was “Ed” per the caption in the album. Mary Helbling did not know if the man was her uncle, Edgar Springsteen Beerbower (1876-1940) or her grandfather, Edgar Peter “E. P.” Beerbower (1849-1916), both with the same nickname. Looking at the dates though, and the age of the man, lets us know it must be Edgar S. Beerbower, since  his father (E.P.) died in 1916 and had been born 71 years before the photo was taken. So now we can use this positive identification for other images of this man. (Sadly, though, it means we do not have a picture of Edgar Peter Beerbower.)

The photo album belonged to Anna May Beerbower Helbling, and her mother lived with Anna and her family in her later years. Love how cute ‘flapper girl’ Roberta is! No wonder that Mary Helbling, born in 1925, looked up to her glamorous cousin.

It was thought the girl on the right in the picture was Roberta P. Beerbower but the age is not right- Roberta would have been 30 when this photo was taken because of the approximate age of Mary. Maybe it is the same girl as above that we are not sure about?

Robert Eldon Wertz was born 30 July 1932 in Indiana to Roberta and James F. Wertz (1895-1979). He was their only son, and he had no children with his wife, Halina Ulrych. He is such a cutie with that smile!

A special thanks to Shelley for sharing what she has to help us extend our tree.

Please do let us know in the comment section if there are any correction or if you have more information about these folks.

➡ Beerbower Family, Helbling Family

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Family treasure chest of photos.

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Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.