#52 Ancestors - Live Long - Matilda Moehlmann 97 years 9 months

Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small has a weekly challenge to write the stories of your ancestors. This is week #16 and the suggested theme is LIVE LONG. I am highlighting my great grandmother Matilda Tendick Moehllmann.

Matilda is the only great grandparent that I ever knew.  She was born in Neurkirchen, Rheinland, Prussia in 1872.  At the age of 16 she immigrated to the United States with her parents Peter and Katrina Tendick and five of her siblings.  Two older brothers, already married, stayed behind in Germany.  The family settled on a farm in Greene County, Indiana among a large settlement of German immigrants.  

Matilda had an older brother and sister and a younger brother and two younger sisters.  The family was living in a two room house. I don't know how long she stayed on the farm, most likely not very long.  Instead she moved 65 miles away to the big city of Indianapolis. It was there she met her husband, Frederick Henry August Moehlmann and they were married in 1893 just two months after her 21st birthday.  

Matilda Tendick about 1890
Moehlmann Family Collection

Eleven months later, her only son, Alfred, was born. Frederick worked for the Railroad and soon they bought a four room house on Spann Avenue in Indianapolis.

Matilda & Alfred Moehlmann in front on their home on Spann Ave. 1900
from Moehlmann Family Collection

According to Alfred there was a lot of quarreling in the home and in 1907 the marriage ended in divorce.  Alfred was sent to live with his grandparents on the farm and Matilda stayed and worked in Indianapolis for a while. In 1909 her father died and by 1910 she is living with her mother, two brothers, a sister, and son Alfred on the old homestead.

For a while Matilda worked as a domestic in the home of a prominent doctor in the area. In 1918 she is once again living at home and caring for her ailing mother. Her son Alfred was in the Army and stationed in Vermont when he was called home September of 1918 due to the health of his grandmother. 

Alfred and mother Matilda (Tendick) Moehlmann Sep 1918
from Moehlann Family Collection

Matilda's mother died Oct. 1, 1918 at the age of 80.  In 1920 Matilda is still living on the family homestead with her younger brother Diedrick and son Alfred. In the fall of that year Matilda was ill and ultimately had surgery in Terre Haute.  Alfred was told that her chances of recovery were not at all guaranteed. She did recover, but it was a slow recovery and Alfred and Deidrich hired someone to the housework. In March of 1921 Alfred married Helen Bovenschen.  Since Matilda was still recovering the newlyweds moved in with Matilda and Dietrich.  Alfred was concerned about this arrangement "because of her temperament", referring to his mother.   It lasted until November of that year and then Alfred and Helen set up housekeeping in their own home.

Matilda became a grandmother in January 1922.  Then again in 1923 and 1924 and 1927. In 1930 she was still living with her brother Dedtrich on the farm. Her last grandchild was born in 1935.

Mathilda Margaret Tendick Moehlmann c. 1935
Moehlmann Family Collection

This is the same farm that she was living on when I have my first memory of her sometime in the mid 1950's.  I remember the kitchen being on the back of the house and there was an old fashioned well just outside the back door. Now Matilda was a small woman, very thin and not very tall.  None the less I was scared of her. Well actually I was scared of her shoes.  She wore black boots that laced half way up her leg. I think it was the association with the witches in the "Wizard of Oz".   Also she had a very thick German accent which I was not accustomed to.

Our family moved from Indiana to Florida when I was nine. I don't remember seeing her too many times after that. I know that by the early 1960's she was in a nursing home.  In 1960 my grandparents spent the winter in Florida and it was touch and go whether they would come due to Matilda's health.

Back Row: John Cerar (Gertie's husband) Dietrich Tendick, Alfred Moehlmann
Front  Row: Tillman Tendick, Bill Tendick, Matilda Tendick Moehlmann, Sophie Tendick Nolting, Gertie Tendick Cerar
taken c. 1950
from Moehlmann Family Collection

All of Matilda's siblings preceded her in death. Bill in 1953 at age 88, Tillman in 1957 age 87, Gertrude in 1960 at age 84, Diedrick in 1864 age 84, and Sophie died just two week prior to Matilda at age 87. Matilda died February 18, 1970 at age 97 years 9 months and 2 days.

from Linton Daily Citizen
February 18, 1970

I have a very one sided view of my great grandmother - mostly through the eyes of my grandfather. And that relationship between mother and son was rather rocky.  There was a part of her eulogy from Rev. Stepler that reminds us of others views "I spoke to several of her old friends this week.  They recounted how Tillie liked doing things at the church - preparing food, serving it, quilting and just plain visiting. These were the wistful remembrances of the old ladies transcending the years when they were young, handsome and energetic."

Matilda Tendick and Frederick  Moehlamnn Wedding  Nov. 19, 1893
from Moehlmann Family Colleciton

Recap on Alfred Moehlmann's Extended Family

This blog has been sharing the story of Alfred William Moehlmann (1894-1974) as he wrote it in his 1961 memoir titled "AS I WAS".  So far we have heard about his early childhood in Indianapolis until the time of his parents divorce in 1907.  Then his mother sent him to the country farm of his maternal grandparents, Peter and Katrina in Linton, Indiana when he was a young teenager.  He completed eight years of school and then at age 16 he went back to Indianapolis to work. That lasted only a short time and he was back in Linton attending high school for one year before he went to work in the coal mines. So we are about to hear about his early adulthood.

Before I start that section, I want to fill you in a little on the Tendick family. Alfred's grandparents were born in Prussia and had 10 children. They arrived at the port of New York on April 3, 1889. Peter was 59 and Kathrina was 50 and traveling with them were daughter Mathilda age 17, daughter Gertrude age 13, son Dieterich age 9, and daughter Sophia age 7.  Three of Peter and Katrina's older children, Margaret, William and Tillman, had immigrated two years earlier while their two oldest children had remained in Germany.

Margaret Tendick married James Blanton in 1895 and had four children before she died of cancer in 1904. Alfred's Uncle William Tendick had learned the blacksmith trade in Germany and had been hit by the head of a hammer that flew off the handle causing a deformity in his back.  William worked in the coal mines in Linton and never married.  Tillman married Emily Holscher in 1892, they had two surviving children and divorced in 1906. He was married two more times but had no other children. Tillman was a successful baker but worked in the coal mines before having a long career with the railroad.  The story of Alfred's mother Mathilda going to Indianapolis to work and getting married has been told in earlier possts. Gertrude was married to John Cerar in 1905. John was born in Austria had immigrated the year before marrying. John and Gertrude never had children. Diedrich was a farmer and coal miner.  He lived most of his life on the Tendick farm and never married. Sophie, the youngest, was the last to marry in 1911. She married George Nolting and they had five children.

Alfred didn't mention much about his Grandfather Tendick in "As I Was"  but later on he wrote this about Peter Tendick:

My Grandparents on my mother's side were Peter and Katrina (Kukes) Tendick. They immigrated to this country in 1888 from Rhineland, Germany.  Grandfather was an average size man and was a sort of craftsman. He made many things out of wood - rakes with wood pegs, ax handles, etc.  He also had the knack of sharpening tools, all on the old fashioned grind stone.  I don't think he was a very good manager and was always in debt.  He wore a beard which covered his entire face.  He smoked a long flexible stemmed pipe that had either a ceramic or meerschaum bowl and would get an occasional replacement from Germany. He served as a sergeant in the Old Prussian Army and I think that old arrogance was one of the traits of his character.  Grandmother was more of a quiet and docile person.  She was very religious.  She knew the Heidelberg Catechism from memory and did a lot of Bible reading.  They lived to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

Katrina and Peter Tendick
From the Moehlmann Family Collection

Peter died in 1911 at the age of 79 and is buried in Fairview Cemetery in Linton, IN.

Meanwhile, back in Indianapolis, Alfred's paternal grandfather, Frederick William Moehlmann, also died in 1911. You can read his obituary here. Frederick's wife Ida died the year before of pneumonia at the age of 69.  Fredierick and Ida had nine children and all of them were born and stayed in Indianapolis.

Daughter Anna married William Lichtsinn, an 1885 immigrant form Germany. This family had lived down the street from Alfred and his parents when they lived on Spann Ave. They had nine children. Peter and Ida's daughter Ida died at age ten. Daughter Mary married Henry Cruse in 1891 and had two children. Daughter Mathilda never married and always lived with other siblings. Son Lewis married Emma Koss in 1904 and they had five children. Son Gus married Marie Gehle in 1902 and they had one son. Daughter Catherine died as young child before 1900 as did their youngest child Ernest. 
 

Frederick and Ida Moehlmann
From the Moehlmann Family Collection

Alfred's father had moved back in with his parents after his divorce. By 1910 Frederick Jr.'s brother Gus had died and his widow and son were also living with in the family home.  Frederick Jr. continued to work for the railroad. He did not remarry.

So that brings us up to date on Alfred's extended family.  As you can see, Alfred had many Aunts, Uncles and Cousins in both Indianapolis and Linton. There are many good stories about that extended family, but that is for a much later date.

#52 Ancestors Week 7 - Love - AND THE WINNER IS

Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small has a weekly challenge to write the stories of your ancestors. This is week #7  and the suggested theme is LOVE.  I'd been pondering this topic for the past week.  I didn't know of any great love stories, no Wallace and Simpson giving up the throne type stories.  No Burton and Taylor on again off again can't live with you or without you type loves.  I couldn't decide on just one ancestor I love to research, because I can get thoroughly involved and fall in love with each and every one.  Then I was watching the "Sunday Morning" TV show with its theme of love this week.  Their last story was about the longest married couple - 81 YEARS! They are each 99 years old and the wife says the key to a long marriage is "I always let him have it my way." Priceless.

Katrina and Peter Tendick
From the Moehlmann Family Collection 

So I started looking to see which of my ancestor had the longest marriage. My great-great grandparents, Peter and Katrina (Kukes) Tendick were married in 1858 in Neukirchen, Prussia at ages 28 and 20 respectively.  They had been married 31 years and had 10 children by the time they immigrated to America.  They farmed in  Indiana and helped raise their grandson Alfred Moehlmann. They had been married 51 years when Peter died in 1909 in Indiana. 

Helen and Alfred Moehlmann
From the Moehlmann Faimly Collection

My grandparents Alfred and Helen (Bovenschen) Moehlmann were married in 1921 at the ages of 27 and 25 respectively.  Alfred was an only child, his parents divorced in 1907. But his grandparents, Peter and Katrina had set a good example. In his later writings, Alfred relayed this story about his wedding day:

 "March 26, 1921 was a beautiful day - bright sunshine all day. I cranked up the Model T and went to Mom's [he always referred to his wife as Mom] house. The trip to Bloomfield was a sort of joy ride. I don't think we had been together in the morning before. Yes, we were a little embarrassed when we went to the county clerk's office to get the license. We ate dinner at Mom's home and then the long wait for 6 pm, the hour set for the ceremony. Cranked up the Model T - Mom was ready and dressed in a new suit and all, Aunt Grace and Uncle Russell were waiting too, they were out witnesses and we drove to the parsonage and were married there in a simple ceremony - not even a ring.  I had a feeling of my own, relative to a ring. I saw the wide, plain band wedding ring my mother wore and somehow I felt it took something more than a ring to make marriage a success and also a happy one."

Their marriage was a success and they had a big celebration for their 50th anniversary. Alfred died in 1974 after 53 years of marriage.

Arnold and Jane Sargent's Wedding
From Sargent Family Collection

Alfred and Helen had set the example and three of their children celebrated their 50th anniversary as well.  One of them was Jane Moehlmann, my mother, who married Arnold Sargent in 1946. They had two children and in 1959 moved from Indiana, where all their relatives lived, to Florida. Their rule was that they never went to sleep without a "goodnight kiss."  They too had a big celebration for their 50th anniversary.  In fact they had several: one at the church, one in their community recreation center, and one with the family at their home.  They also win the prize among my direct ancestors of being married the longest - 61 YEARS.

  

Arnold and Jane Sargent - 50th Anniversary
From the Sargent Family Collection

TEENAGE YEARS - Part 4 - A Bike, Confirmation, Back to Indianapolis

It happened again, after posting about Alfred's school life, I found a class picture in front of the school. so here is the link back to that post. I am determined to get my photos in order, but not sure when that will really happen.  So now we are back to Alfred's AS I WAS story:

"It was about this time that my mother came back to Linton and worked for Dave Terhune and his wife doing general house work.  Mr. Terhune was quite a prominent businessman at that time and had one of the first automobiles in town.  He took me for rides occasionally which was a double thrill for me:  1^st the ride itself and 2^nd it was Mr. Terhune.  It seems to me that Mrs. Terhune and her young son, Dave Jr. went to California to live and mother then worked for the Dr. Knoefel family for a few years.  Some time while I attended common school I got my first Bicycle – a Peerless (Sears & Roebuck) 16⁹⁵.  It had no gadgets such as fenders, chain guard; not even the conventional coaster brake but never the less it was the first real thing of value that I ever got."

David Terhune was a prominent man in Linton, Indiana. You can read about him here. Did you know that Ancestry.com has the old Sears & Roebuck catalogs in their collection? Here the page from the 1908 catalog showing a Peerless Bicycle.

"Also while attending common school I went to confirmation class which was held in the 1^st Reformed Church 2 miles N.E. of Linton and joining the Sarons Church in Linton about 1910. I had my 1^st year of instruction under Rev. Lieckemper and was confirmed by Rev. Burkhart.  Well do I remember these class instructions every Saturday morning.  Anna Kramer (now Stoekel) would walk this 2 mile trip with me. There were six of us; Anna Kramer, Anna Reinhardt, Edith Stietelmeir, W^m Berns, Chas. Wills & me.  At confirmation I got my first suit with long trousers; also I got an Elgin watch (Gold).  So with a new suit, gold watch and a bicycle I was a real proud youngster."

Confirmation Certificate of Alfred Frederick Wilhelm Moehlmann
April 10, 1909
Moehlmann Family Collection

 Notice the certificate is in German. This is also the only place where I have seen Alfred with two middle names Frederick and William. 

1909 Confirmation Class Saron Reformed Church

The church where Alfred was confirmed is now the Saron United Church of Christ.  They have a hallway where all the confirmation class pictures line the walls.  

 "After finishing common school, Aunt Sophia got married and mother came back to the farm.  Grandmother Tendick was getting old and Grandfather Tendick had passed away.  But I do remember that I didn’t like the farm life too well and after graduating from Grade School I went to Indianapolis to get a job."  

There's a lot of information in that last paragraph. Alfred's grandfather, Peter Tendick died in March 1909. In the 1910 census, his mother, his Aunt Sophie, Uncle Will and Uncle Diedrich are all living with Catherine Tendick, the widow. It's interesting to note that Matilda is listed as a widow rather than divorced.

Aunt Sophie gets married in April 1911. So Alfred is 16 years old when he decides to head back to Indianapolis. I do find it unusual that Alfred doesn't talk about the death of his grandfather and wonder why, since he is so detailed about events in his life.

Several years after my grandfather wrote this story, I was confirmed.  He sent me a card and letter at that time and I want to share it.

  March 17, 1964.........And now we are sending you a little gift for confirmation. To me this [is] one of the two most important events in your young life. It follows a sort of pattern handed down to us by our ancestors. It centers around a word that we deal with all through life. The word is decision - The first decision you ever made and in fact that all of us make is when we take our first baby step and none of us remember that. As we grow up our parents make most of our decisions for us.   The first important decision your parents made for you was when you were Baptized. That is your badge that you are a Christian. The second is this, your confirmation. Now you are an actual working part of the Church. As the years mount up you will make many decisions on your own. But I am sure that these two will mean a lot to you in the years ahead. Even though we cannot be with you on this day in person, we will still share it with you when we see your two cousins confirmed. I still can remember my confirmation, because it meant that I got my first suit of clothes with long pants. So now Grand-ma and me wish you a lot of Joy during this Easter season.

TEENAGE YEARS - Part 2

Alfred continues with some more detail of farm work, but he does move on to talk about other activities on the farm.

"Our farm, or rather Grandfathers, was small, consisting of 47 acres and we had to utilize every foot of it for production and naturally conserve anything that had a semblance of forage for the stock.  In my teenage the corn shredder made it appearance.  The same process of cutting was used but the shredder was something on the order of a thrashing machine.  Some power, the steam engine, water wag on and a lot of man power.  It took several men to load the shocks on the wagons and then hauled to the shredder, where the corn was picked from the husks and by various belts & elevators it was dropped in the wagon; in the process the fodder was cut into small pieces and blown into the hay mow of the barn.  This made excellent feed, for none of it would deteriorate in the weather.  We never used this method, first it was more expensive and secondly we didn’t have enough barn room.
 Another chore befor frost was the cane patch – Patch is the proper word for we would only plant about one quarter of an acre in it.  This was a hard crop to raise – when it first came up, it looked like crab grass and had to be hoed several times.  Of course it would get plowed in due time.  The job of harvesting was a lot of work – first it had to be “Stripped” or all the blades or leaves pulled off; then the job of topping or cutting the tops off (the tops were carefully taken car of for seed and the balance use to feed the chickens – it was a side line job to separate the grain from the husks and then fan the chaff out – all hand operation.)  Third the base stalks were cut close to the ground and stacked into piles.  Fourth – It was loaded on wagons and hauled to the cane mill.  Here it was processed, by pressing the juice from the stalks and the juice cooked in large pans and the final product, sorghum molasses, which was an important food item.
 A winter job besides the feeding was work in the woods and in the wood log.  Trees were cut down by the back breaking job of the cross-cut saw and ox.  Blocks were cut from the tree log in lengths to fit the stove and of course they had to be split.  The wood would be hauled to the wood yard and corded in rows and carried to the house and stacked in the wood box.  Through the winter months we tried to hit a time when snow was on the ground and would haul the wood on a sled.  This made loading and unloading easier because the sled was not as high as the wagon – Also much of the corn fodder was hauled with a sled. Now it wasn’t all work on the farm – of course there were Sundays – No work, only necessary chores as feeding the stock, milking, etc.  To church and Sunday School in the morning.  It was four and one-fourth miles to town and transportation was the old hack if everybody went (and only bad weather would keep all from going) or the horse and buggy.  Church would last until 12 noon and it took an hour or more to get home for dinner.  Many was the times that I walked in the winter time.  The afternoons we had to ourselves and as a rule I went to the homes of W^m D. or Fred Kramer to play.  These were boys of my age and in the summer we would go swimming, fishing, play Town Ball and in the winter we would skate or go coasting on sleds if there was snow on the ground.  It seems to me that we had a lot more snow when I was a kid than we have today.  Then there were days that the weather was bad and according to the season of the year, we would hunt squirrels, go fishing, hunt rabbits and sometimes go night hunting for fur bearing animals, such as coon, opossum, skunk but I don’t remember of ever catching any of these animals at night."

The church that Alfred and grandparents attended was the Reformed Church located in Linton shown below:

Here is a plat map of Greene County showing all of the townships.  Both the Tendick farm and the town of Linton were located in Stockton Township which is the middle west most side of the county.

The 47 acre farm of the Tendick's was in the upper right square of that township. The Kramer boys live right across the road from Alfred.  (Click to enlarge maps.)

EARLY CHILDHOOD

This is the first section of my grandfather's writing about his life.  He has titled it "Early Childhood". I guess I should tell you, my grandfather's name is Alfred William Moehlmann. He writes:

"My father (Fred A. H. Moehlmann) was born July 1, 1869, at 617 East McCarty street, Indianapolis, Ind. the son of Frederick and Anna (Krentler) Moehlmann and my mother was Mathilda (Tendick) Moehlmann born on May 15, 1878 in Neukirchen, Kries Moers, Germany the daughter of Peter and Katerine (Kukes) Tendick.  She came to the United States with her parents, brother Diedrick, and sisters Gertrude and Sophia in the year 1889 at the age of 16 years.  Her family located on a farm about 4 miles N.E. of Linton and there they started a new life in a new country and their home was a 2 room log house.  She soon went to Indianapolis to find employment and there met my father and was married in 1893."

I know that is a very short excerpt but there is a lot of information there that I think I should explain.  Alfred's father was Frederick August Henry Moehlmann and his paternal grandparents were Frederick Henry William Moehlmann and  Ida Sophia Mathilda Krentler.  Alfred has said her name was Anna but I have not seen that in any record.  In all the census records it is listed as Ida. Frederick and Ida were married August 15, 1867 in Meisen, Germany and just 17 days later on the ship "Hansa" they sailed into New York harbor. On the church's marriage registry there was a notation that not much notice of the intended marriage was given and that they were married at seven in the evening because their ship is going to America. The passenger list does list Ida with her maiden name.  

Fred and Ida (Krentler) Moehlmann
From the Moehlmann Family Collection

Unlike Alfred's paternal grandparents, his mother's parents were married in Germany on January 14, 1858 and raised raised their ten children there.  The immigrated in 1889 and settled in the farming community of Linton in Greene county, Indiana where there was a large number of German immigrants.  Linton is located about 60 miles south of Indianapolis. 

Peter and Katrina (Kukes) Tendick
From the Moehlmann Family Collection

Alfred's parents, Matilda Tendick and Fred Moehlmann were married November 19, 1893 in Indianapolis.

Wedding photo of Fred and Matilda (Tendick) Moehlmann
From the Moehlmann Collection

So we have been introduced to Alfred's parents and grandparents. Next we will learn about Alfred's early years and the neighborhood in which he grew up.