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.

McMurray Family, Helbling Family (Click for Family Trees)

Sometimes it seems I am ‘wasting’ time by reading so much on the internet, but one can learn fantastic things. There are also fantastic people who share their fantastic ideas with the world via the internet, and for that I am so thankful- not only on Thankful Thursday.

Today, gratitude goes to J. Paul Hawthorne, who posted “A Little Thing That Went Viral… #MyColorfulAncestry” on his blog, “GeneaSpy.”  Of course, I am behind the times as it went viral last March, but that is what happens when one lives with one foot in the present, and the other back in the 1700s, 1800s, etc.

The above chart is for the children of Edward A. McMurray, Jr. and Mary Theresa (Helbling) McMurray.

Note how color-coding the Excel cells helps to show migration of a family.

Grayed cells are unknown birthplaces, although they most likely were in the same country as where the more recent generation was born, such as Germany or Ireland.

Follow the links on J. Paul’s blog for templates to use, as a number of other genealogy bloggers have added generations. I do recommend that one clear the cells of text, or use all caps when inputting your own ancestor’s birthplaces. When all the words are in the cells, then go back and change colors so that each state and country are different.

The chart also follows the genealogical convention of an Ahnentafel chart, with the father’s name on top, mother’s below. So the largest bright green box for Iowa is for Edward A. McMurray, Jr., and the largest rose-colored box for Missouri would be the birthplace of Mary (Helbling) McMurray. Mary’s father, William Gerard Helbling, was born in Missouri, so is represented to the right, with the lower box being for her mother, Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling, who was born in Indiana. Take a look at the associated family trees for names and details.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. “A Little Thing That Went Viral… #MyColorfulAncestry” by J. Paul Hawthorne in his blog, “GeneaSpy.” http://www.geneaspy.com/2016/03/a-little-thing-that-went-viral.html. Thanks to J. Paul for sharing such a cool idea!
2. There are many excellent versions of this chart found throughout genea-blogland.
3. Excel is an excellent tool for timelines, one-name or one-place study, data analysis, etc. Many videos and webinars are available online and information is available on FaceBook and genealogy blogs as to how to use Excel as more than just a numbers-cruncher.
4. Make sure that you note the problem with dates in Excel- it only recognizes those that go back to 1900! So all my dates are in three columns in Excel- one each for day, month, and four-digit year. The months can be listed as numbers for easy sorting, or Excel has a function that allows you to tell it to sort by month order. See Teresa Keogh’s Excel videos, especially, “Example 7 – The Date Issue in Excel” at   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hj6FS2QViI

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Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Helbling Family, Beerbower Family (Click for Family Tree)

While some of our dear readers may not actually consider this to be a real thriller like some of the wild movies or tv shows that are out there today,  today’s post does at least have a “whodunnit?” component. And then there is the thrill of research, though sometimes gone too far… (maybe).

As has been mentioned previously on the blog, Elsie Bierbower (1889-1956) was the cousin of Anna May Beerbower (1881-1954), who married William Gerard Helbling. Anna May was the daughter of Edgar Peter Beerbower (1849-1916), while Elsie was the daughter of John Eleazer Bierbower (1858-1929). Elsie went by “Little Elsie” in her child-star years, and then used “Elsie Janis” as her stage name.

Elsie started her career in vaudeville and on the stage, but eventually added audio recordings and later movies. “That Fascinating Baseball Slide”- AKA just “Fascinating Baseball Slide,” was her first recording, in 1912.

Those of us who grew up with piles of records alongside our turnables- actually called ‘record players’  at the time, ‘turntables’  probably later in the 70s- know that the name in parentheses under the title is the name of the songwriter. This record shows that Elsie wrote the song, as well as sang it with an orchestra.

A number of websites and other resources state that Elsie wrote the song.

Imagine the surprise when this result popped up in a search:

I have been unable to find this song with Elsie as author, with or without the word “That” in the title, listed in the official copyright books printed by the government. (There were, however, many other entires of Elsie’s songs and screenplays in various government volumes.) The copyright of 20 April 1912 fits well with when the record was released, but finding a copy of the ‘Crescent music co.’ sheet music has been challenging. Additionally, finding H. S. Wittmaak in more than the copyright entry books has been unsuccessful. (Wittmaak did write other songs that were listed in the copyright books.)

Elsie was just 23 when this song came out, but she had been a huge star for many years. Did she really write “Fascinating Baseball Slide”? Or possibly she purchased the song from H.S. Wittmaak and paid for the right to list it as her own? Maybe she rewrote the song to some extent?

One more interesting tidbit- our leading picture shows Elsie sitting at the piano, reading sheet music. Surprisingly, in an article published in Liberty magazine later in her life, she stated that she did not know how to play the piano! She likely did know how to read and write music, however, if she was a songwriter and singer.

So that’s our “whodunnit”- hope you found it thrilling for this Thursday.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Hear the song “That Fascinating Baseball Slide” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84aPkozicqk
2. Library of Congress version of song– https://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox.2903?#
3. The song is also on a 2009 CD of Elsie’s music, called, “Sweetheart of the A.E.F.” by Archaeophone. It has 24 songs, including this one. Eight songs are also available on iTunes, as is one of her books and a movie that she helped write. The CD used to be on iTunes, but is no longer; I was surprised when the lyrics were noted as ‘explicit’- turns out some are racist, sadly- just FYI.
4. Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. “Victor matrix B-12527. Fascinating base-ball slide / Elsie Janis,” accessed July 20, 2016, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/200012723/B-12527-Fascinating_base-ball_slide.
5. “McCreery and Company- New Victor Records for January- Elsie Janis Records” in The Gazette Times (Pittsburgh, PA), 28 Dec 1912, page 7, via Google Newspapers–  https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JBZRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=F2YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5333%2C742293
6. “Is Elsie Janis Guided by Her Dead Mother’s Voice?” Liberty Magazine, 28 November 1936, https://archive.org/stream/Liberty_v13n48_-_1936_-_MacFadden/Liberty%20v13n48%20-%201936%20-%20MacFadden#page/n13/mode/2up

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Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Helbling Family, Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

We continue our posts of the Springsteen Family Bible with the small piece of paper clipped to the “Memoranda” page:

It reads:

Baby Born 2/26/06

”      Baptized 4/22/06

Mary My then died 4/15/06

Jefferson Springsteen died 4/14/05

John           ”    died 5/2/06

Ed married 10/19/05

Mother           4/2/07

Baby died      6/12/07

The dear “Baby” who has a birth, baptism, and death listed was the first child of Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling (1881-1954) and William Gerard Helbling (1882-1971). Anna May was the daughter of Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower (1854-1939), probably the original owner of the bible. The baby’s name was William Francis Helbling. Anna Missouri had two of her own five children die young- one just a day old, the other only nine weeks- so she surely understood the pain that her daughter felt at losing a child. It was probably doubly painful to Anna Missouri because she had lost her first grandson (she did have a granddaughter at that date), but also to see her own baby in pain from losing a baby must have been almost unbearable.

If memory serves, Mary T. (Helbling) McMurray said that the handwriting was that of her grandmother, Anna Missouri, but the last 3 entries on this scrap were written by her own mother, Anna May.

Mary Mythen is Mary G. (Springsteen) Mythen (or Mithen), married to John Mythen. See next week’s “Mystery Monday: Mary G. (Springsteen) Mythen” for the little bit we know about Mary and John.

The Jefferson Springsteen who died 4/14/05 would be the younger family member, known as Thomas Jefferson Springsteen, born in 1848. He was the brother of Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower, the bible owner, thus son of Jefferson Springsteen (1820-1909) and Anna M. (Conner) Springsteen (1824-1887).

Anna Missouri’s other brother John William Springsteen is listed on the scrap with his death date. The rest of her siblings died in the 1930s, except baby Joseph Springsteen who only lived not quite two years, and Mary Elizabeth (Springsteen) Beckwith, who died in 1928.

The Ed who married in 1905 was Edgar Springsteen Beerbower (1876-1940, Anna May’s brother. His wife was Rosabel K. Hoppe (1885-1976), but sadly their marriage did not last, and they divorced sometime between 1920 and 1930.

The next entry for “Mother” likely means that Anna May’s mother married on 4/2/1907. Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower had divorced her husband years before, but had, as was common, been listed as ‘widowed’ on the census and even in an 1897 Indianapolis, Indiana city directory. This marriage entry is curious, as Anna Missouri was living in St. Louis in 1900, and she and Edgar Peter Beerbower (1849-1916) did remarry. A marriage record has been found for her husband dated either 26 or 28 December 1908- a very different date than what is in the bible. The marriage record is  for E. P. Beerbower (Edgar did use his initials) and a “Mrs. Mae Clore.”

This does not make sense with anything we know of the family, as in 1910 Anna Missouri and Edgar P. Beerbower were living together in Indianapolis. No re-marriage certificate has been found for them in Indiana (their 1873 first marriage is a record available on Ancestry.com), and none with Anna Missouri’s name on it. Clerical error, perhaps, with the marriage register? Anyone have other ideas?

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Family treasure chest.

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Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Helbling Family, Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

Jefferson Springsteen (1820-1909), married Anna Connor (1824-1887).

Anna Missouri Springsteen (1854-1939) married Edgar Peter Beerbower (1849-1916).

Anna May Beerbower (1881-1954) married William Gerard Helbling (1882-1971).

William Francis Helbling (1906-1907) died at age 15 and one-half months.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Family treasure chest of photos, provided by a dear cousin- thank you!

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Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.