European Adventure- Part 2

Fabian, Gudrun, & Friedbert Schehl

When I left off last time, we were enroute by Eurail from Nürnberg back to Stuttgart. Upon arrival in Stuttgart, we headed back to the Hansa Hotel which is the same place we had stayed at the first time in Stuttgart. It’s not far from the train station, it’s in a quiet neighborhood, and it’s inexpensive! I called our cousin, Friedbert Schehl, who lives only eight blocks from our hotel. I had found Friedbert in my genealogy search and this would be our first face-to-face meeting. By the way, he is our seventh cousin. Our common ancestor is a sixth great grandfather. We were to go to Friedbert’s apartment for dinner that evening. He came and picked us up and I have to say, his English was not bad! At least, we were able to pretty much understand him. His English is a lot better than any German I knew. He had invited his son, Fabian, over to join us and act as translator, if needed. His wife, Gudrun, was preparing kasespätzle for dinner. It’s like a cheese and noodle casserole and was very good. Friedbert and my travel partner hit it off very good; both are big Bob Dylan fans! After a lot of talk and filling in details of our lives, it was time to head back to the Hansa. Tomorrow would be VERY exciting. Friedbert and Gudrun were going to drive us two hours to the west to Erfweiler, the Schell/Schehl ancestral village.

Schloss Solitude

We left midday for Erfweiler. Just outside of Stuttgart is a place called Schloss Solitude; it was a palace built by a noble as his hunting lodge. Some lodge, huh? Next it was on to one of those famous autobahns. We were traveling along at about 85 mph and cars were zipping by us. After crossing the Rhine, we entered an area that had many vineyards. We actually took a little side trip and crossed the French border to the town of Wissembourg. It’s another very charming medieval-style village. Gudrun went into a bakery and got a loaf of French bread and we just walked around town looking at the sites while tearing off pieces of bread! After spending about an hour, it was time to head off to Erfweiler, a mere fifteen minutes away.

House in Wissembourg

Wissembourg

Erfweiler is a very small village of about 1,200 people. I would call it a bedroom community as most people work outside of town. There are only small businesses in town. We went directly to the home of Gerhard and Bärbel Zwick. Gerhard is the first person I was able to contact in Erfweiler over the internet. And it so happens that he was a boyhood friend of Friedbert’s. They had grown up together in Erfweiler. It was Gerhard who put me in contact with Friedbert.

Gerhard & Bärbel Zwick

Gerhard has a doctorate in chemistry and actually works in Karlsruhe, about an hour away. They live there during the week and are in Erfweiler for weekends. Gerhard speaks very good English because his job takes him all over the world and English is a common language for businessmen in Europe. We weren’t at the house very long before Friedbert and Gerhard took me on a hike through forests and up to the top of some rock formations that overlook Erfweiler. These forests had been their playground in childhood. The next day when we took a walking tour of Erfweiler and, today, on the forest hike, it was an indescribable feeling walking the same streets, hiking the same roads, and seeing some of the same buildings that my ancestors had seen. This would definitely be the highlight of my trip. Once we got back to Gerhard’s house, we had a little rest...a glass of beer and

Friedbert & Me above Erfweiler

Forest going to overlook

Gerhard showed me some of the photos of the town that he had on his computer. After about an hour, it was getting to be dinner time. Steve M had gone to our guest room located down on the main street in town. We all walked down town to get him and then go the a wonderful little German restaurant in town called the Jägerhof. I decided to get adventurous again and have something I had only heard of but had never had....sauerbraten. I was not disappointed! I decided this is something I would attempt to make back home (and I did!) That evening was so much fun. It was fun sitting back and

Jägerhof Restaurant

listening to the two families chat back and forth in German. I had no idea what they were saying but it was so much fun just listening. And they were so kind as to stop ever so often and include us in some English conversation. We wound up being there very late.....actually the waitress had left for the night and the proprietor (a friend of Gerhard’s) allowed us to stick around. There were more drinks to be had and I had the chance to experience something else for the first time.....I had never had schnapps! Finally, it was time to head back to the guest room and get some much needed sleep. Tomorrow would be Sunday and time to head back to Stuttgart before making our final train trip back to Amsterdam and our flight home. That will be in my next post.

European Adventure- Part 1

At my house just before leaving

As I mentioned in my last post, I had made a trip to the Netherlands and Germany. I traveled with a friend with whom I had taught at East High in Waterloo. Steve Moravec was also in the history department there and is an experienced traveler to Europe. He is working on his family’s genealogy and had always been after me to make the journey and visit some of my ancestral “homes”. He finally convinced me to go when he offered to be a “travel guide”. That sold me on the idea! 

We left from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on September 3 and arrived in Amsterdam about 9 hours later.

Bikes, bikes, bikes and more bikes!

We stayed in Amsterdam for three days. What a city it is! I simply could not believe the number of bicycles! They are everywhere and at all hours. The picture above is a three-level parking area for bikes. My favorite pastime  was walking along the canals. I did not realize how many they have. You can find so many quaint little shops and cafes along them.

On Saturday, September 7 it was time to use our first Eurail pass trip to go to Stuttgart. Our Eurail pass was good for five trips and we used every one of them. What a system! On all five of our trips, we got to our destination on the minute we were supposed to have arrived! I got my first introduction to German food at an outdoor restaurant in Stuttgart. It was time to experiment, so I chose an entree called schweinebraten and it was simply delicious. It was so good that I looked for a recipe and made it when I returned home! It was terrific again if I may say so!
On Monday, September 9, we headed out to an old medieval town called Rothenburg ob der Tauber. For a couple of old history teachers, this was quite the place. As you can see in these pictures, it has maintained its medieval charm quite well. Being medieval, the town was surrounded by a high protective wall. You can walk atop it nearly the entire length around the town- it’s about a 2-mile walk and this picture below shows the covered walkway on

Atop the wall

 top of the wall. More good food here-- I chose some schnitzel this time!

When Wednesday rolled around, it was time to board the train to Nürnberg, or Nuremberg as we know it. After finding a hotel, we took a stroll around the old part of town and came upon a Pizza Hut. That really sounded good so we ducked in and had some Italian for a change. The next day we toured the Nazi Documentation Center; they have done an excellent job in telling the story of the rise of the Nazi Party without pushing any agenda. The stories and displays pretty much lead you to the obvious conclusions. It’s good to have this kind of place lest we forget; as a matter of fact, there were several German army personnel taking the tour at the time we were there. I wonder if it is a requirement? We were able to walk

Zeppelin Field

over to Zeppelin Field where the large Nazi rallies were held and you can actually walk up to the reviewing platform that Hitler would have stood upon while reviewing the thousands of troops lined up before him. It was really a somewhat eerie feeling to be there. Again, a couple of old history teachers just really ate it up! We also visited the Albrecht Dürer museum which happens to be the home in which he lived in Nürnberg. He was a famous artist.

Dürer home

On Friday, September 13, we left for Stuttgart on our third Eurail trip-- two to go! I’ll continue the trip in the next post. If you happen to follow my other blog “Schell Seekers”, you will find this exact same posting there.

Frederick Happekotte- Adventurer

Before I get to Frederick’s story, I just wanted to mention that I took a little “sabbatical” from posting in September. I was on a trip to the Netherlands and Germany where I got to meet an eighth cousin on the Schell side in Stuttgart, Germany. He and his wife then took us to visit the Schell ancestral home of Erfweiler, Germany. I will have a post about that trip later.

I am skipping the generation with Bernard “Barney” Happekotte and will return to him in the near future. Some new information has recently come to light about Frederick Happekotte, who was Bernard’s father. And this is very exciting news in deed! Frederick Happekotte is my third great grandfather. He was born in Germany on 12 Aug 1821. There may be some question at this point as to where in Germany he was born, but it seems to have been in the Essen area. On May 17/18, 1847, Frederick left Germany and was a part of a German colony in Guatemala. The colony was started in the early 1840s. I do know exactly when Frederick entered the United States. That happened on June 4, 1850 when he, wife Christina, nee Kreitz, and their infant son, John Frederick, entered the port of New Orleans on the ship John Bell. From there, they made their way up the Mississippi to Quincy, IL. Their infant son died in Quincy on 28 Jun 1850. So, this Happekotte family arrived in Quincy sometime between  the 4th and 28th of June. Another son, Mathias, was born about 14 Aug 1850 but only survived until the August 31, 1850.

Here is the exciting development. I was contacted by Jóse Francisco Monterroso back in early August of this year. He had come across this blog and saw the Kreitz connection. He is a direct descendant of Petrus (Pedro) Kreitz who was the brother of Christina Kreitz and was also in Guatemala.  It seems as though Christina was previously married to a Carl Stütggen. This was new information for me. He drowned in Guatemala trying to cross a swollen river on horseback. Then, Christina married my third great grandfather, Frederick Happekotte in Guatemala on May 2, 1848. This was another really exciting piece of the puzzle to obtain. I am indebted to Mr. Monterroso who supplied me with a marriage document for Christina and Frederick. Christina and Frederick went on to have four other children in Quincy: Fidel in 1852, Isabel in 1853, Bernard Frederick in 1854, and Maria Catherine Isabella in 1856. Only Bernard Frederick, my second great grandfather survived. None of the other children seemed to have survived past one year of age. Maria Catherine Isabella is a question because I have no death date for her. I can only imagine the pain that Christina felt in her life. She lost her first husband and, at least,  four of her six children in infancy.

I am also very indebted to Christine Cano who wrote a book about the Kreitz family. Most of the information on the Kreitz family in Guatemala came from her source. She has also painstakingly reconstructed a timeline for the Kreitz family and their Guatemalan experience based upon the new information provided by Mr. Monterroso. This is an ongoing research project as we search for more corroborating evidence. Somethings may never be proven, but Ms. Cano has put together a very convincing and likely story for the Kreitz family in Guatemala which includes our Frederick and Christina Happekotte. 

I am also indebted to Mike Happekotte for providing much of the early Happekotte history. He had obtained information from Frank Habekotte who lives in the Netherlands. Some of that early history now must be substantiated with some documentation. That will be an ongoing quest. 

 

Pictured: Frederick and Christina Kreitz Happekotte (seated), standing are Miss Bergsneider (family friend) and Bernard (son)

Robert E Shepherd

Sad to say, but what I remember most about great grandpa Shepherd was that he was a quiet man. I only saw him whenever we made the trip to Quincy and that was not that often. So, I never really got to know him. My grandma, Edna (his daughter) never really said much and how I wish I had been inquisitive enough to have asked questions back then. I find this is often the genealogist’s lament!

Robert Elmore Shepherd was born in La Grange, Missouri on November 28 , 1880 to parents, William H Shepherd and Nancy A Jenkins. Robert and Mary E Davis were married on August 27, 1902 in La Grange, Missouri. They would eventually have seven children, four of which we had never heard of before I began doing this digging! Charles Henry was born in 1903, Edna Louise (my grandmother) was born in 1904, and Mabel Amelia was born in 1906. The other four children all died very

young. Mildred was born and died in 1908. Norma Estelle was born in 1909 and died at the age of four. Robert Russell was born and died in 1919 and Mary Elma lived for five days in 1920. I didn’t know of these other siblings until Cindy and I discovered their common tombstone in Marks Cemetery in La Grange. That was quite a shock as I don’t remember of Grandma ever speaking of other siblings.

Grandpa and Grandma Shepherd had taken in a young child named Russell Mansperger and raised him from a young age until he died of drowning in a Quincy swimming pool. That is something I remember Grandma definitely spoke of....especially when she was telling us kids to stay away from the river when we lived by it in Sherwood Park!

According to Mom’s notes, he and grandma had worked at a button factory in Muscatine, Iowa. If that is true, I am thinking that may have been before they were married as traveling to Muscatine from La Grange after they had a family would have been difficult in the early 1900s. It would have to have been the very late 1890s when they were in their late teens.

Grandpa Shepherd seemed to have been very handy. Mom said

he was an excellent furniture maker. But mostly he seems to have been a painter. This photo to the right shows him painting the grape arbor at their home in 1929. He retired in 1952 from the Quincy school system as a maintenance man; the family had moved to Quincy, Illinois about 1918. He had been a member of the painters’ union.

Robert passed away in Quincy at the age of 86 on November 11, 1967. I wish I had gotten to know more about him. I cannot imagine the pain of losing four children in addition to Russell, who was just the same as a son to them. And great grandma died fifteen years before him. Mom had written a story in her notes about the time that  great grandma, grandma (Edna), and her sister, Aunt Belle  went to visit relatives in Kentucky. They were gone about two weeks and after they returned, great grandpa got down on his knees and begged her, “Don’t ever leave me alone that long again!” I can only imagine that when she was gone for good, that had to be devastating to him. Maybe that’s why I remember him most as a very quiet man.

John F Happekotte- Patriarch of a Wonderful Family

John Frank Happekotte was my maternal great grandfather. He was born in Quincy, Illinois on January 27, 1879 to Bernard Happekotte and Elizabeth Jasper. John married Mary (Mae) Walford on April 12, 1899. He died in Quincy on April 8, 1950 at the age of 71. John and Mary had eleven children. One child, Charles Bernard, lived only 21 days in 1916. The surviving children were Irene Margaret, Bernadine Mary, Ralph Herman, Henrietta Florentine, Mary Virginia, Lillian Elizabeth, Clarence Jerome, Edward Frank, Edgar Earl, and Kathleen Helen. I was always amazed at how this large family lived in such a small house at 620 N. 18th Street!

John F Happekotte

On their marriage certificate, John is listed as a bookkeeper. He must have had several other occupations at times. According to this picture at the right, he looks as if he were a fireman. I also found a 1904 article in the Quincy Daily Whig that states John was a minute man at the No.2 fire station. In 1909, john had an ad in the Quincy Daily Whig for repairing bicycles, lawn mowers, gasoline stoves, etc. The business was located at 1207 Broadway.  The 1920 US Census lists him as a millwright at an elevator works. In 1930, he is listed on the census as a foreman at the Otis Elevator Co. In 1940, I am assuming John is retired. On the 1940 census, his income is listed as “0” and there is a column where he indicates he is unable to work; he is 62 at this point.

I have a feeling that John could be a ruffian at times. I came across a court case where he had been arrested (but later acquitted) of an altercation in a saloon at 17th and Broadway. The article indicates that the problem stemmed from the defendant putting a cat on the back of John’s dog! I got the strong impression that this had something to do with unions. The defendant was a non-union man and John was a strong union man. The trial was also attended by many union and non-union members.  In another altercation, possibly at the same saloon, John and Mary were out for a drive when they stopped at the saloon for refreshments. He went in to get them while Mary waited outside for him. There were some men outside who were making fun of Mary and John got into it with them. I do not have the outcome of this incident as of yet.

 

In another matter of record, both John and Mary’s obituaries state they were married April 12, 1898. I have their marriage license that contradicts that; it states the marriage was on April 12, 1899! I will point out that their oldest child, Irene, was  born on August 3, 1899. Those are the facts, but I’ll let you draw your own conclusions! Such are the mysteries of genealogy!

 

John and Mary raised a large family. Their children would grow up to be exceptional people and parents. I didn’t know Edward, Lillian, or Kathleen; so I cannot attest to their characters. I have no reason to believe they were any different. Perhaps, someone else who knew them better can add a few words about them. But I do know that ALL the rest were wonderful, kind, and caring people. That has to say something about John and Mary.

 In the above picture, seated are Mary and John (parents). From left to right are Irene, Kate, Edward, Bernadine, Clarence, Henrietta, Ralph, Lillian, Edgar. Not pictured is Mary.

 

 

Time to Change Gears!

Up to now, I have dealt with mostly parents and grandparents who I knew more about. Now, it’s time to start delving into the lesser-known ancestors who were farther back in time. Even though this blog is called “Happekotte Happenings”, I will be telling you about other families in the maternal line including Shepherd, Davis, Jenkins, Percy, Weaver, and maybe a few others as I find more about them. All of these other families are important “pieces” to the genealogical puzzle. There are some great stories here including a Civil War soldier, a ‘49er (not the football kind!), an early settler in Kentucky, and a Union sympathizer who lived in Tennessee, and a German colonist in Guatemala. This maternal line has definitely been more problematic genealogically speaking. The records of some of these ancestors seem to be few; so it is really a challenge to locate them.  But I have found some interesting stories and information about them. Enjoy the upcoming blogs about these people from our past; they deserve to be remembered!

Edna Shepherd Happekotte

Edna Louise Shepherd Happekotte was my maternal grandmother who was born in La Grange, Lewis Co., Missouri on December 23, 1904 to Robert E Shepherd and Mary E Davis. We had always thought that she was one of three Shepherd children; how wrong we were! It was not until Cindy and I were searching for some grave sites in Marks Cemetery in La Grange that we came upon a headstone with four names. Grandma, it turns out, was one of seven children. The siblings that we grew up knowing were Charles and Mabel. Those four children whose names were on that headstone had all died very young. Their names were Norma, Mildred, Robert Russell, and Mary Elma. Only Norma survived past the age of one; she was about four when she died.

I had always heard about a child named Russell, but it wasn’t the brother, Robert Russell, to which Grandma was referring. Her parents had taken in a child named Russell Mansperger and essentially raised him. All that I ever knew about him was that he had drowned in a Quincy municipal pool when he was about twenty. I had never known why he had been raised by my great grandparents; this still remains a mystery. 

Ralph & Edna

Edna married Ralph Happekotte in Quincy on November 14, 1925 which happened to be Grandpa’s 21st birthday. Maybe Grandma insisted on that date so Grandpa wouldn’t ever forget their anniversary! The story goes that they eloped; they were married by a justice of the peace. I don’t know why they chose to elope, but I wonder if it had something to do with religion? Grandpa was a Catholic and grandma was a Baptist. Grandma could be kind of headstrong at times and I can definitely see her insisting on not marrying in a Catholic church......just a guess!

In her youth, she and Grandpa both rowed racing shells for the Southside Boat Club in Quincy. They actually got to row for Quincy in the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago. She met Grandpa when they were both working for Otis Elevator Co. She always told us the story that in order to work there, you had to be sixteen. She wasn’t; so she taped a piece of paper with the number “16” to the bottom of her shoe. That way, she could tell the employer that she was “over sixteen”. I have no reason to believe she didn’t do that; grandma was not one for making up a lot of stories! 

Artistically, Grandma was quite talented. She was very good at tinting black and white photos to make them appear as though they were color photos. I have one and am amazed at the workmanship that it took. She also had quite a business doing women’s hair in their homes....she said she gave them finger waves. Many of her customers were from Quincy’s East End which was the swanky part of town. She didn’t have a state license to do this and when someone turned her in, she had to stop. After that she went to work as an apprentice in a beauty shop owned by a Mrs. Wade. 

Ralph and Edna lived for a while in a duplex at 624 N. 18th St. Grandpa’s sister, Irene, and her husband, Elmer, lived in the other half. From there, they moved to S. 8th St. until the Depression made it necessary for them to move in with her parents at 615 Oak St. Eventually, as times improved, they moved to 1118 1/2 Ohio St. That turned out to be the last place they lived in Quincy. In January, 1936, the family made the move to Waterloo, Iowa. They lived in a

Ralph, Patricia, Edna

couple of different places near downtown Waterloo, including the Elmer Hotel. It was there that they became friends with Fritz and Edna Maeder; their daughter, Jeanne, would become one of my mom's best friends. For most of their lives, the Happekottes spent in the Sherwood Park area of Waterloo. They lived for a short time in one of Art Stitz’s many rentals. They moved to 150 Greenwood, but most of their years were at 204 Greenwood. I can still see Grandma sitting at that kitchen table which took up nearly half the space in that small kitchen. The table was always loaded with pencils, crossword books, or items needed for the beadwork she did or the plastic flowers she made. I can remember playing Scrabble and 500 Rummy with her at that table. It was a great place to be.... and there was always Costello’s ice cream in the freezer!