On my Mothers side of the family, my Great Grandfather Dietrich (Dick) became a widower in 1913 when he was 47 years old and he had three sons ages 9, 6 and 4 and a daughter 2 years old who would be my Grandmother. He sent my grandmother off to live with his sister Elizabeth. ( I have heard that My Great Grandmother's death in 1913 was questionable...she was pregnant and fell or was pushed down some stairs by her husband.)
In 1915 Dietrich procured a "mail order bride"...not truly an ordered bride but perhaps some one knew someone...or some men and women took out ads in newspapers. There were also people who were "bride brokers" and for a fee you could get a name and write letters back and forth.
The bride, Bertha was 45 when she arrived in Minnesota from New York. Her step sons would be ages 11, 8 and 6 by then. It must have been quite a shock to become an instant mother to three young boys. My Grandmother never returned to the family fold...she remained with her fathers sister until she married. ( Perhaps it was safer for her there)
I never heard anything nice about Bertha...in about 1935 she turned two of her step sons and my grandfather and grandmother in for making moonshine. After that she was known as an "evil woman".
I found her obituary the other day.
Far Side
14 comments:
This story is why I love researching family history - real people living real lives, for better or worse. Love it! :) xx
Hmmn… it doesn’t say she will be sadly missed does it? I hope your grandmother had a happy life with her aunt.
What a story. Interesting that she emigrated from Austria. She must have felt very alone and heavily burdened with instant responsibility. It’s pretty amazing you have so many details.
Interesting!
I'm betting there were more of this type of family story from that time period than we would expect. My grandmother and sister were born in Melrose MN in 1890s, but were orphaned at 3 and 5. They were taken in by the maternal grandparents in Fergus Falls. But their father's brother came and took them away because they didn't "approve" of the family. But they got split up and shuffled around from relative to relative until adults because nobody really wanted them. Hopefully your grandmother had a good life in the other household.
Assuming that the family placed the obituary, it seems they either forgave her for her meanness, or at the very least felt obligated to post the notice.
I'm sure the transition was difficult for everyone, the children especially. It does sound like your grandmother was able to live in a better home for her.
Sounds like your Grandma was the lucky one.
Interesting to hear people's family histories.
What a story Oh my!
Very interesting and sort of sad story. I do enjoy finding out bits of the history of my ancestors too.
I was going to say Oh My also but it was just done. I had a grandfather on my mom's side that was called a horse trader in a negative way. He never held a steady job ever, picking up grave digging when he could. His whole history was not discussed by my mom but my grandmother had five brothers seem to hoover over her and the three kids through it all. No one is left to tell the truth about him. It was so weird how my mom and grandmother covered for him even though I am sure it was an abusive life.
Wow, interesting story. When you do a deep dive into genealogy, it is interesting what you may find. Genealogy is not for wussies.
Wow! That's an interesting story. I've read lots of books about mail order brides but have never talked to anyone who had family with one. I can't imagine that it would be an easy life without love to build a foundation on. I'm glad that your grandmother wasn't part of that life.
Blessings,
Betsy
What an interesting family history. I think your grandmother was the lucky one!
Story was so interesting.
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