Category Archives: Foster

Amanuensis Monday – July 5, 1942

Another week of letters transcribed! So far I have transcribed 41 letters from 3 different authors. This week I’ve learned about my grandfather’s efforts to get into the flight course for doctors and his attempts to get leave to return to Indiana. Unbeknownst to him at this point, he will be home in just over a week. During the last week, he has been busy giving more inoculations and examining new recruits. Many of his peers have moved on to new assignments and new doctors are expected soon. I enjoy reliving his dry sense of humor. I laughed when I read about the mix-up with the letters to Dr. Matthews and his comments about possibly getting a phone call from other women. I wonder what went on between Dorothy Krull and my grandmother. What did Dorothy say that got my grandmother so steamed? My grandfather’s advice was pretty good.

It has only been a month since the Battle of Midway. By July 5^th, the Japanese had firmed up their control of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. An allied reconnaissance mission sometime during this month revealed that the Japanese were building an airfield on the island. Since this was major threat to Australia, the United States felt they urgently had to launch an assault to reclaim the island. The first landing of US Marines occurred on August 7^th, 1942, in just over a month from today’s letter. Things are about to change for my grandfather, and not necessarily for the better.

____________________________________________

: Image of the Lady Elsa (1940) from BBC’s history website WW2 People’s War

: Image of the Lady Elsa (1940) from BBC’s history website WW2 People’s War

: July 5, 1942 Envelope

: July 5, 1942, p. 1

: July 5, 1942, p. 2

: July 5, 1942, p. 3

: July 5, 1942, p. 4

Letter transcription:

Sun 10:30 AM

Dear Mother,

Just got off Duty. There wasn’t much doing last night – even though it was Sat and July 4^th. Got to go on two merchant vessels at the piers. Men were sick and wanted medical attention. The USS Ulua¹ and the Lady Elsa² (a British trawler). The Captain of the Lady Elsa had the stomach ache. Those two trips were interesting and possibly a little different than one would expect. The stairways or interiors of the navy the ladder ways were very narrow and very steep. I couldn’t help from thinking of the difference in that and in our Stairway which had to rise in so many feet etc. The British Captain offered us a Scotch + Soda but we were on duty and had to refuse. That is one difference between U.S. + British they can have their drinks on board.

We were telephoned from the signal tower that the Lady Elsa was coming in in about 2 hours so we went down in time to see her Dock, wasn’t much to see because all was dark except a small search light on the ship and a flash light on the pier. Besides the Captain there was another sailor who had had trouble with “is ‘eart”

(page 2) That was almost a dud. Finally we understood it was his heart. The captain’s room was about the size of our bath room but it was well planned and there were numerous things present. One port hole on each side. One davenport a tiny fireplace with electric coils for heat. One steam radiator a close closet and numerous drawers and shelves. Other than a slight rocking from side to side one wouldn’t know that but what it was a small pushed together hotel room.

The USS Ulua was a larger ship but it wasn’t the captain who was ill so we didn’t get such a good look around. There were both cargo boats, but were both armed.

Since I had the duty last night, I had to inspect the chow Sat noon and then eat at the demonstration mess. It being the 4^th we had a regular holiday meal. Turkey and all its trimmings. I even ate 3 helpings of turkey and two of just plain navy beans. Supper last night wasn’t so extensive. Had ham and fried potatoes for breakfast, besides cereal toast and a coffee cake. Don’t think I’ll eat until late this Eve.

We are expecting a number of new men in this week and I’m going to try the leave again hope it works. I’m beginning to feel that maybe the

(page 3) flight application will go thru now since it has been several days since it was sent in and no orders to upset the plans. Maybe I’d better hold my breath for a few days yet.

Lentz is gone for the week end (weak end) I don’t know where. He left Sat P.M. and expects to be back sometime tomorrow. I don’t have any idea. He can’t go all the way back to Pa. in that length of time. Smith is home for a few days. Mr. Ferneau was out last night and I had the duty so Mrs. E. was all alone and I guess plenty lonesome too. She isn’t used to such quietness for so long a period of time.

Since I’m writing more than usual today I’ll not write the boys. I’ll get them at some later date. That ic last picture you sent was better than the other but I think you didn’t take[look?] good in either. Maybe it was your shape or somethingᶟ.

Jim called before I got home and said he couldn’t come out after Church because he had to be back on duty. So guess I’ll be all alone all day long except for – – – -get it.

(page 4) Got a letter from Dr. Matthews yesterday seems as if he is busy especially since many of the Drs. are away on vacations.

If I get leave I’ll call you either from here or some place in route depending upon the schedule. I’m going to the Captain tomorrow I only talked to the Commander the other time but it’s not best to gone go over the commander only I’m going to because I know what he will say “I’ve been here 3 yrs. without a vacation.” So what his wife and sister-in-law are here with him.

I have to write to Boonie, The folks and Ruth M. Yet today sometime. I sorta reserved today to do this and it’s a pretty good days work Id for it takes more time for me to think and compose their letters. Their not interested in the same thinks that I might write to you.

I’ve written 3 others now so so long

Love Daddy

Notes:

1. I have not been able to find a USS Ulua. A submarine of that name was built later in the war, but was never completed.

2. The HMS Lady Elsa was a British trawler under the command of Sidney George Phillips. For more information on the Lady Elsa, visit this link http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/6383.html

3. I am impressed that my grandfather would be able to get away with saying my grandmother didn’t look good in either picture and it had something to do with her shape!

Sunday’s Obituary – Clarence Earl Yegerlehner (1897-2001)

6 Replies

Clarence Yegerlehner was the oldest son of John H. and Lovina (Schiele) Yegerlehner. He lived until the ripe old age of 104. I find it curious that his youngest sibling Floyd, born 14 years after, only outlived him by 5 months. There isn’t much more that I can add to Clarence’s story that hasn’t already been written in his obituary or the biography from the Church booklet. I am also adding a piece that Clarence himself wrote about the Yegerlehner farm.

Transcription of Clarence’s History:

Yegerlehner Homestead History

Clarence Yegerlehner’s History of the Yegerlehner farm

Just recent information tells of David Yegerlehner and wife Magdaline Strahm Yegerlehner with their children Christian, John, and Rosina after leaving Switzerland in 1851, landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Fayette County, Paint Township. Years from 1851-1860 are not known, but in June of 1860 census, they lived in Homes [Holmes] County, Ohio near Winesburg south of Mt. Easton Church. By trade David was a carpet weaver. Migrating west they came to Marion Mills near Patricksburg in Owen county, Indiana. Christian came over in Clay County and purchased 104 acres farm. (Forty acres direct from government and balance in 1860[sic] from those living near by.) David never owned the farm, only a building on the south side of the road for his shop. Christian made boots and shoes on northside of the road. The road then going direct from Clay City to Bowling Green between present house and barn. The other two of David’s children located in northern Indiana near Ft. Wayne. As only seven acres of homestead was cleared Christian had quite a task of clearing the land, John of second generation, purchased the farm. There was still some acreage to be cleared and he spent a summer draining the low lands with tile and changing of branches as low land was only swamps and crooked woods. None of the third generation, seven in number, owned the place, but only two born there and balance grew up and lived there until married and had homes of their own. Clarence, the writer of this history, was of this generation.

Kenneth, his son, was of the fourth generation, then purchased the place. No resemblance today as to previous. House has been replaced, the Swiss-type barn burned and replaced as a modern dairy barn, including silos, loading, sheds, etc. Alan, his son, lives on adjoining farm purchased from his grandfather, Clarence (originally owned by Clarence’s father, John). In all these years (122), it has been father and son working together on both farms. Now still a Swiss decendat [descendant] as of long ago, milk 50 to 60 cows, typical of the Swiss. So seven generations of Yegerlehners make up the 122 years of the old homestead history.

We hope that in future years it will be Luke, Alan’s son born October 1, XXXX, that will finally become the next owner. Then the Yegerlehners name has never been changed in ownership in all 122 years. Seven generations in all.

Written by: Clarence Yegerlehner, August 1982

: Biography of Clarence, p.1

: Biography of Clarence, p. 2

___________________________________________

: July 3, 1942 Envelope

: July 3, 1942, p. 1

: July 3, 1942, p. 2

Letter transcription

Fri.

Dear Mother,

Got lots of mail today a letter from you, Ruth M + Mom – a package from Boonie + wife and a package (carton of cig) from Dorothy. I wouldn’t pay any attention to Dorothy because you know how her stories are. Sometimes they stretch-Don’t let the boys get hold of this. Maybe you will have a brighter outlook after you get the letters this week. I forgot to write Free on the letter yesterday so don’t know if you’ll have to pay for it or not. I remembered it after it was mailed.

I’ll have to write Boonie thanking him for the candy-probably will do that Mon Sun. You can call Dorothy and thank her or go and tell her. You can’t afford to be mad at her now.

It’s been pretty hot and Humid here today no rain but just damp.

Someone called me yesterday Eve. just before I got home and Mrs. E told them to call back later but they never did. I suppose it was Jim-Said it was a man. He’s the only man I could think of. Might be several women? (O yea)

Just had to run down and answer the phone

(page 2) someone wanted to talk to the “nice man”.

Tomorrow I’ll be on duty and may not get a chance to write, but will on Sun again. I won’t be off until 9:30 or so on Sun. That being the night of the fourth I suppose we’ll have lots to do.

It’s about meal time and I’ll get the little slips you sent and mark the amounts to be paid.

That Warren Feed bill seems high. You won’t have to go far back because I paid him each mo. Never did run an account with him larger than one mo. and I didn’t remember buying that much from him the last time he was there. I may have mail ordered just before he came the last time and that would be on that bill. What did you send back.

Well, if I were there for a short time I could figure it out but it doesn’t look like I’ll get to come for a few days yet.

Love Daddy

Surname Saturday – Lawhead or is it Laughead?

6 Replies

Open Court sound spelling cards

My great grandmother’s maiden name was Lawhead or most likely Laughead. Lawhead is one way to phonetically spell the name and it is how I see the name spelled most often, especially in written records like censuses. If you know anything about teaching children to read, as I do, the Open Court reading program (which we use in my school district) has a card for the /aw/ sound. It’s called the Hawk card and it gives two spellings for /aw/: aw and au. There have been a few occasions where I have seen the name spelled Laughead which leads me to believe that Laughead is the proper spelling of the name. I can also easily picture semi-literate people spelling Laughead as the more phonetic Lawhead. Some instances of the name being spelled Laughead are on my grandmother’s birth certificate and my Great Uncle Jim’s middle name.

A quick search on the internet has provided virtually no meanings or crests for the name Lawhead/Laughead. It is actually quite funny when landing on the meaningofnames.com website, they have posted “the meaning of Laughead has not been submitted”. So what’s a girl to do? I have deduced that Laughead is probably related to the Irish Loughead or the Scottish Lochhead and left it at that for present.

Marriage record of Joseph Laughead & Cassandria Harden, 1838, Belmont County, Ohio

I lose the trail of this family pretty early in the 1800s. The last Laughead I have is Joseph, my grandmother Gladys’s great grandfather. According to census records, he was born about 1817 in Pennsylvania. In 1838, he makes his first appearance in written records on his marriage certificate in Belmont County, Ohio. Coincidently, the surname is spelled Laughead. There are several other Laugheads and Lawheads living in this region of Ohio at that time as well. I seem to keep circling around them trying to figure out how they all fit together.

1850 Census Seneca, Belmont County, Ohio for the family of Joseph Lawhead

On the 1850 census, Joseph, Cassandria and their 5 children lived in Seneca, Guernsey County, Ohio. Enumerated with the household is an older woman named Basheba Lawhead. She was aged 60 years and was also born in Pennsylvania. Because of her age, I have always gone under the assumption that Basheba was possibly Joseph’s mother. I have yet to find any evidence of this, either way.

Joseph and his family moved further west and settled in Greene County, Indiana for a time. Along the way, another family of Lawheads always seemed to be around. This family had a son Elijah G. Laughead who was about the same age as my James Henry Lawhead. In 1860, both young men worked as farm hands for the family of William McNabb. Elijah eventually married Mr. McNabb’s neice, Mariah. And many years later, one of Elijah’s daughters married James Henry’s oldest son. I have always felt that there is a familial relationship between Elijah and James beyond being in-laws, perhaps they were first cousins. And just to let you know, Elijah’s name was spelled Laughead on his gravestone.

Joseph & Cassandria, photograph provided by a long lost cousin, circa 1860s

Joseph & Cassandria, photograph provided by a long lost cousin, circa 1860-70s

©2012 copyright owned by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2012/12/29/surname-saturday-lawhead-or-is-it-laughead/

Pearl Harbor (and not the one in Hawaii)

4 Replies

Commissioned Officers’ Mess, Norfolk, Virginia
Postcard from the 1940s

This is the second letter in which my grandfather refers to going to Pearl Harbor to eat. I can only assume that it is one of the naval mess halls since it appears to be walking distance from the dispensary. Perhaps it was even the Commissioned Officers’ Mess pictured at the left. I tried finding some reference to this nickname via google but to no avail. I did find a dictionary of Navy slang published at www.goatlocker.org. I will keep this link for future reference in case my grandfather slips in some other unknown naval terms. Some of the terms in the dictionary are quite humorous and definitely not for polite company.

This letter posed some other interesting questions:

What is oxathelien? A search on google resulted in nothing as did a search for Kendall Co. I found a Kendall Company that sold bandages and other medical supplies during this time period but they don’t appear to have actually sold medicines.

Who is Art? My grandfather has mentioned him several times now. I am assuming he is the local pharmacist.

What type of shot did my grandfather get?

Who was Harold Foulks’ brother-in-law?

Are John and Lovina, Roscoe’s parents, receiving any of his letters?

I may never find the answers to these questions. I think I might be able to figure out some of them eventually: such as who are Art and Harold Foulks’s brother-in-law? I might even find out if my great grandparents were receiving Roscoe’s letters. Oh the joys of family research! The questions never seem to end. It’s all part of being the family researcher and genealogist.

__________________________________________

: July 1, 1942 Envelope

: July 1, 1942, p. 1

: July 1, 1942, p. 2

Letter transcription:

Wed

Dear Mother,

Just got home from a heavy days work shots + exam. I don’t believe it is as warm here as it was when you were down.

Guess by this time you have my letters explaining the latest move and are standing by on same.

Don’t get too much worked up about this but I’m going to try to get a leave sometime within the next few days. I’ll either call or telegraph you before I leave so that you will know for sure-but don’t bank too much for they are moving into the new dispensary and don’t know what that will mean. If I can get over to see the boss tomorrow I’ll find out. Don’t say anything about it at home until I know more definite.

Lentz is going golfing so I’ll have to walk to supper and that means Pearl Harbor. Guess I can stand it for one meal.

I got a letter from Mrs. Wm Unger today and she asked about a tablet – I think she was taking (oxathalien –purple of Kendall Co.)+ Hy-Val-flora of WM Warren Warren Feed. The purple tablet she has but I don’t believe Art has any of the others. She will have to call him Call both she and Art and

(page 2) see if he has them. If not, she will have to go elsewhere.

Got my last shot today. So far my arm doesn’t seem to be very sore. Maybe it won’t this time.

I’ve written two letters home. Or rather you wrote one and I’ve written one since and haven’t heard. I’m just wondering if they got my letters. Have you gotten any letters which indicated whether they have gotten them or not?

Has Harold Foulks’ brother in law been transferred or do you know?

Well, guess I’ll get over toward Pearl Harbor and get back and do some reading-

Love Daddy

Keep a stiff upper lip

Wednesday’s Child – Ralph C. Yegerlehner (1918-1918)

8 Replies

Photograph of gravestone by Tonya & Keith Tetidrick from Find A Grave

Ralph C. Yegerlehner was the first child of Samuel Albert Yegerlehner and his wife Esther Mary Zurcher. He lived and died in one day. Samuel was my grandfather’s oldest brother so Ralph would have been his first nephew. My grandfather would have been about 13 years old when Ralph died. Ralph was also the first grandchild for John Henry and Lovina (Schiele) Yegerlehner. There must have been so much joy and anticipation surrounding this birth and it ended so tragically.

Ralph is buried at St. Peters Cemetery on the Clay County & Owen County line.

______________________________________

: June 29, 1942 Envelope

: June 29, 1942, p. 1

: June 29, 1942, p. 2-3

: June 29, 1942, p. 4

Letter transcription:

Mon Eve

Dear Mother,

To begin with-no I didn’t tell Dorothy anything about not moving. I did say under the circumstances it probably would be better if you stayed there-because I might be shipped out 2 weeks before the appointed time and that would be too late for you to travel etc. but I didn’t say the moving deal was definitely out.

Mr. Strole is to get 2⁰⁰ out of the check and that is all. Ira wanted me to let him know when it came in so he could make a collection but that can be forgotten.

I got 3 letters from you today two this A.M. and one this P.M. none Sat. You see the mail is delivered in

(page 2) the P.M. and there is no Sat. delivery so that makes the difference.

Don’t let what people say about us moving or not moving get you down of course it gets the best of one but skip it. Ignore the whole situation. If things look like we can we will.

Dr. Ganey a Dentist recently had a[n] appendectomy-after leaving the hospital he got a 10 day leave and during that time they moved then after he was back 2 days he got order to leave so there you are. Maybe after July 1 the end of the fiscal year we will know

(page 3) something. I haven’t done anything about the flight business because it may not be what its cracked up to be but I still haven’t decided definitely either way.

Haven’t talked to or showed Mrs. E the pictures yet. She got her letter today I saw it in the mail but haven’t got any responses yet.

We didn’t do anything yesterday but sit on the front porch-then read + listened to the radio. Jim went home about 3:00 oclock.

I’ve got to get some laundry this eve. I’m all out of socks.

Maybe I told you this job. There are 12-15 new (jg)s coming in in

(page 4)the next few days. The boys who have just finished their internships-so that might make a difference on what our standing might be.

Well I must get after that laundry and mail this on the way.

Love Daddy

You are the oldest and she needs a man there

Amanuensis Monday – June 27, 1942

5 Replies

Bonds build Ships. Buy More Bonds, 1943
Artist: George Picken
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

The last week of letters has seen the arrival of my grandmother in Norfolk and her departure. We learned a few details from the time my grandmother was there. Some sea mines were released outside Virginia Beach and several boats were hit. The Kingston Ceylonite, a boat on loan from the British Navy, was sunk. My grandparents’ friend Dorothy Krull appears to have come along for the drive. A mouse was found in the closet of Mrs. Evans house, an alarm clock was set very early, one of my grandfather’s white suits was misplaced and Dr. Lentz borrowed my grandfather’s raincoat.

Most likely due to the success of the Battle of Midway in the Pacific, my grandfather was kept busy inoculating sailors and administering routine exams. A new level of anxiety seems to have been creeping into the letters. Several doctors received orders for shipping out, including ones who had arrived after my grandfather. Dr. Lentz received some phone calls and my grandfather was getting jittery whenever the phone rang. He expected to receive his new orders soon too. In one letter, he remarked that another doctor received orders to report to a new battleship in New Jersey. My grandfather thought that was a “pretty good” assignment.

Many of the letters contain details of just plain old, down and dirty, everyday life. My grandfather’s adventures with laundry (which at times seem amusing to me) must have driven him crazy! I can’t imagine having to continuously buy new clothes because of a lack of clean ones. Updates on pay raises, allotments and money orders also grace this week in letters. There was also another mention of purchasing war bonds.

Today’s letter gives Dr. Cole his entrance into the story. Dr. Ira Cole was the attending physician during the birth of my father. I am intrigued by the obsession with my grandmother receiving enough vitamin B. While it is important today for pregnant women to receive sufficient B vitamins, I can’t help but wonder if my grandmother’s vitamin B regimen had something to do with the death of baby Michael in 1940.

We still have about three weeks more of letters before we hear my grandmother speak. I must tell you I am getting very impatient to hear her side of the story! It’s on my list of things to look forward to in 2013.

________________________________________

: June 27, 1942 Envelope

: June 27, 1942, p. 1

: June 27, 1942, p. 2 & 3

Letter transcription:

Sat. P.M. (postmark June 27, 1942 8:30 PM)

Dear Mother,

Didn’t write early this A.M. because I wanted to see what your letters might contain but Lentz picked them up took them to the base and I missed him somehow so he still has my letters, he didn’t think that I was off this P.M. since I had the duty last night.

Had to get up once during the night a policeman dislocated his thum. Other than that the night was uneventful.

I was going to suggest that you take the money order you got the other day and apply it on a bond to keep the months record clean maybe you still can if you haven’t

(page 2) already this month. I would send some money home but I wait until after next Wed. – pay day, then send it all at once- I’m at the P.O. now. Came down town to pay the remainder on my clothing bill. I’m going on down town for a shopping tour to see if I can get some underware I’m supposed to get laundry today but I think I’ll just wait until Monday to be more sure.

Got a letter from Dr. Roberts yesterday he is still waiting, hasn’t heard for sure yet. He tells me that most of the fellows are gone or going around Watseka [Illinois].

(page 3) If you haven’t been to Dr. Cole yet you had better do so and I believe I’d stop getting shots from Dr. Math. He might feel rather hurt if you run up to to late and anyway Dr. Cole said he would come up if necessary. Get some unicaps from Art and take 2-3 each day. You should get enough Vit B. from those.

I realize this is rambling but there is lots of traffic thru here where I’m writing.

I’ll write in the A.M. again.

Love Daddy

Sunday’s Obituary – Samuel Albert Yegerlehner (1891-1944)

2 Replies

Obituary for Samuel Yegerlehner: Terre Haute Tribune, Wednesday May 3, 1944. p. 2

Samuel Albert Yegerlehner was my grandfather’s oldest brother. Samuel was the son of John Henry and his first wife Emma Harden. I don’t really know much about Emma Harden or why she died. She was the daughter of Henry and Melinda (Boleck) Harden. Emma and John Henry were married in Clay County on April 6, 1890. Samuel was born almost exactly one year later. Two years passed and then in 1893, at age 21, Emma died. I can only imagine the heartache experienced by my 26 year old great grandfather John Henry. Since John took over his father’s farm and his mother continued to live on the farm until she died, I can imagine that John had the support of his family to help take care of young Samuel. Three years following in 1896, John Henry remarried. John’s new wife, Lovina Schiele, by all accounts treated Samuel as one of her own. John and Lovina had six additional children, including my grandfather.

Samuel received an 8^th grade education in one of the small rural county schools. He was married on January 31, 1915 to Esther Zurcher. The Zurchers were another Swiss German family that lived in Harrison Township who were also members of St. Peters German Reformed Church. In 1917, Samuel signed up for the World War I draft. I don’t think he actually served during the war. According to the 1930 census, Samuel was not a veteran so he most likely did not. Samuel and Esther had three sons, the oldest of which died in infancy.

Biography of Samuel & his wife Esther, from the Centennial booklet of St. Peter’s Church, 1854-1954

Samuel was a farmer, like his father. He had his own farm nearby his father’s land. I do not know if this was land he purchased himself, or a parcel his father had given him, or even perhaps something he might have inherited from his maternal grandfather Henry Harden. Samuel’s family did not inherit the Yegerlehner farm which went to his brother Clarence and his descendants.

Samuel was also active in his church, serving as a Trustee, Deacon and an Elder. According to his biography in the Centennial booklet of St. Peter’s Church, Samuel also helped take care of the church property, due in part to its proximity to Samuel’s farm.

Samuel died suddenly in 1944 while my grandfather was stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Base. I have not read ahead in the letters of my grandparents during this time so it is possible that there is mention of Samuel’s death. In fact, as I look through the letters there seems to be a gap for this period. There is a letter postmarked May 2, 1944 (the date of Samuel’s death) and then nothing for almost a month. I feel like I am jumping ahead in the story, and I don’t want to disturb the narrative. To quote one of the sayings of a favorite science fiction character, she would at this point say “Spoilers!”

Samuel, his wife Esther, and two of their sons are buried at St. Peter’s Reformed Church Cemetery on the Owen county line.

_______________________________

: June 25, 1942 Envelope

: June 25, 1942, p. 1

: June 25, 1942, p. 2

Letter transcription:

Thur P.M. 1715 (postmarked June 25, 1942 8:30 PM)

Dear Mother,

Just got home and have had a chat with Mrs. E. Dr. Lentz didn’t bring me home-he called and informed me he had other arrangements. Don’t know what’s cookin. He got a telephone call Tue Eve. Don’t know which one it was from.

The mail enclosed will probably be the last maybe some tomorrow-That makes $18⁰⁰ that has gone thru the mail this week.

I got your letter last night (wed) Glad to hear you made it OK and in such good time. I have the duty tomorrow and may not get a chance to write. I could

(page 2) write OK but the mail isn’t taken from the base after 1500 so that makes it the same if I write the next day.

Guess I’ll have to eat at Pearl Harbor this Eve. because its too far to walk any farther and I don’t want to spend .20 to ride the cars to + from eating.

I got three telephone calls this P.M. and on each of the three I expected orders, but nothing happened. One was about the allotment. They had made a mistake and they couldn’t make corrections so had to fill out another card. After one or two of those calls one get the jitters wondering where he’s going to land.

Well, so long until tomorrow

Love Daddy

Surname Saturday – Schiele

6 Replies

My grandfather’s middle name was Schiele. It was a common custom in the past to saddle a child with the maiden name of its mother as a middle name. My grandfather was the “lucky” child in the family who got Schiele as his middle name. Have I mentioned that my grandfather hated his name and preferred to be called “Jake”? My grandparents continued the tradition and gave my grandmother’s maiden name to my uncle John, hence John Foster Yegerlehner. I hope my uncle didn’t dislike his middle name as much as his father detested his.

Regardless, Schiele was the surname of my grandfather’s maternal grandmother. Schiele is German. My family always pronounced the name Shē – lē. Two syllables, both with long e. I have seen it spelled phonetically as Sheely in old census records and on Michael’s naturalization papers. I don’t really know what the name means or where exactly my Schiele family comes from in Germany. I found one definition for Schiele that is quite funny (or tragic) “one who was crippled; one who squinted.”¹ I picture some near-sighted Germans wandering about the forest, running into stuff. If you can’t see very well, I am sure you could very easily cripple yourself, walking into things.

Naturalization paper for Michael Schiele, Clay county, Indiana, 1866

All humor aside, my great, great grandfather Michael Schiele is a bit of an enigma to me. In many ways, he is one of my earliest and most prolonged brick walls. Why? He is from Germany. His branch is one of the most recent branches of my family to land on North American soil and therefore, more difficult for me to trace. Until recently, there have not been many German records available to search, either in a library or online, and they are usually in German. I have always wished that I knew how to read German, especially when one wants to read old German records. Michael also did me the disservice of dying before 1900. So no death record! And so far, I haven’t been able to locate an obituary either. He did leave two biographies in Clay county history books which have provided me with a wealth of clues and some bread crumbs.

In The History of Clay County, Indiana by William Travis (1909), there is a very nice biographical sketch of Michael within the write up of his son, Reuben Jacob Schiele. In addition, the book’s section “Memoirs of leading and familiar home people” includes a separate biography just for Michael. These biographies are written after Michael’s death and they provide a lot of good information which I have mostly verified. Travis gives Michael’s birthplace as Wittenberg, Germany. Wittenberg is a city located in the Saxony area of Germany. The only problem is that other sources give Michael’s nativity as Württemberg which is located in the area now known as Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. These two cities are nowhere near one another and I have been told that there are also multiple locations that have used these names in the past. Some even better and more tantalizing clues are in Charles Blanchard’s Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana (1884). This biography gives information on Michael’s parents. It opens with “MICHAEL SCHIELE, farmer and stock-raiser, was born, November 2, 1831, in Germany, and was the fourth child born to Michael and Mary (Smith) Schiele, both natives of Germany”. Oh woe is me! A SMITH!

I keep hoping someday that a database will come online with German birth and marriage records that will reveal more about my Schiele family (AND that I can read in English). I do know when Michael was born and I know the names of his parents. I know all the names of his children and grandchildren. For now, that is enough.

Notes:

Meaning of the surname Schiele from http://surnames.meaning-of-names.com/Schiele/

: June 24, 1942 Envelope

: June 24, 1942, p. 1

: June 24, 1942, p. 2

Wed (postmark June 24, 1942 8:30 PM)

Dear Mother-

Hope you are home all OK. We just got home and pretty tired, had a big day we had to shoot 22 platoons this A.M. and there are about 84 men to each platoon and besides that there was near 400 to examine.

I got real “writey” last night – wrote to Uncle Wes and Mom. Lentz was catching up on his writing so I thought I’d do the same.

It really got cold here last night – had to get under cover but it warmed considerable today-Didn’t get any mail from home today. Hope you stop that as soon as you get there because I don’t like to

(page 2) have to send it back.

Lentz didn’t take my white suit-it was in a paper cover and we just missed it at least that is what he said. But he did take the raincoat.

We ate at the Famous Café last night the food was OK but the service was poor had to wait about one hour. Don’t know where we will go tonight. I just go along because I don’t do the driving.

I’m unusually hungry tonight so will ring off and get some eats-

Love Daddy