Wedding Anniversary of Ernst August Brueggemann and Emma Long

Ernst August Brueggemann (age 24) married Emma Louise Frieda Lisette Long (age 21) in 1888.     They were married in Springfield, Illinois at her home church.  We are lucky to have a wedding picture and the article from the newspaper describing the wedding.

Daniel Roberts, Thomas Roberts Riley's Maternal Uncle

Daniel Roberts was the younger brother of Tom's Mother.  He was the witness at Tom's father's (Ezra) wedding.  He relocated to North Woolrich when Ezra took a job there.  He is listed on many censuses as a Wire Welder. When Ezra settled in Birmingham, Daniel moved back to Manchester, first showing back there on the 1881 Census.  He died at age 58 in 1898.
He and his wife, Mary Ann had the following children:
Mary Ann (b 1866)
William E. (b 1872)
Thomas (b 1874)
James and Robert (b 1877)
Robert (b 1877)
Ada Elizabeth (b 1879)
Alfred (b 1882) 
I found a picture of his daughter Ada and her family in 1924 at one of her daughter's wedding.  Ada married James Stratton so this is the Stratton Family.  Ada would have been Tom's first cousin.

Family Picture Friday: The Rileys

I want to share this picture of Sid and Selma,  It was probably taken in late 1930 or early 1931 as the baby is Mark Andrew Riley, born in October.  I wonder what the occasion was, maybe Mark's baptism?  The boy on the left is David, right is Norman.  Sid is holding Ron and Selma is holding Mark.

1930 Census Sidney Riley

Sidney and family were living on Harcourt Drive at the time of the 1930 Census.  Here is a recent picture of the house:

He was listed as a Department Manager for Auto Bodies.  The house was listed as owned by them with a value of $8800 and that they did not have a  Radio Set.  He was listed as having worked in the last 12 months and was a veteran.

Doddlebug Disaster: Cuyahoga Falls 1940

Bonnie Way Riley, Wife of Ronald Riley lost her father (Russell  Way) in this incident.  A group of students in the Falls started a school project to learn more about about this disaster.  They were responsible for getting this memorial installed.

On a warm summer night, July 31, 1940, The engineer of the Doodlebug was told to put the single car passenger shuttle on a siding and wait for a 73-car freight train to pass. The Doodlebug was a Pa. Railroad gasoline powered car that ran from Hudson, Ohio to Akron, a distance of around 25-miles carrying passengers to work in Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Kent and Hudson. It also carried people wanting to go shopping in the differant small towns. For whatever reason, probably a mis-communication, engineer Thomas L. Murtaugh continued the Doodlebug on its trip. At about 6:00 pm the silence of the evening was shattered by a loud crash on Hudson Drive when the Doodlebug ran head-on into the freight train. Murtaugh, conductor Harry B. Shafer and Tod E. Wonn were in the front of the Doodlebug and jumped seconds before impact. They would be the only survivors, however, they were badly injured. The 350-gal. gasoline tank ruptured on impact and sprayed the entire interior of the coach with flaming gas. By the account of the medical examiner, 9-passengers were killed on impact. The remaining burned to death, unable to escape the flames. 43-passengers died in all. Residents from the homes and businesses in the area came running to help, but they couldn't get within 20-feet of the wreakage because of the flames and smoke. They would live the rest of their lives with the screams of the victims as they were forced to stand horrified and watch the tragedy. After fighting the fire for 45-minutes, it would take the firemen another several hours to be able to remove the bodies from the burned out hull of the car. Most were burned to the seats and had to be removed using saws. The tragic event remains the worst rail disaster in Cuyahoga Falls history. The Doodlebug went for decades unknown but by the witnesses, untill three 7th graders from Sill School decided that this tragic event needed to be remembered and the victims needed to be honored. These students, Joseph Gajovski, Nathan Gera and Clarissa Melvin spearheaded a project to have a monument erected at the spot of the tragedy. They did well. Today, a large monument lists the victim's names and allows future generations to know what happened on that terrible July night in 1940.

VICTIMS FROM CUYAHOGA FALLS
Earl C. Clifford, Lois Helmick, Joan Schreiber, Cleon H. Wills, Elmer E. Davis, Loren C. Morris, Charles T. Squires Jr., Betty Fahrney, Mary Fahrney, Fred H. Palmer, Nelson Vaughn.

VICTIMS FROM AKRON

Adam Ellenbrook, Wilbur Harpley, W.P. McKee, Lois A. Perry, Albert Johns, Otto Bedarf, Sophie Ellis, Leonard Kirchner, Fred Howard Duve, Jacob Henry Peters, Mary Badonsky, A.J. Bailiff, Charles W. Frank, Bruce Kermit Kelly, Lillian Gilbo, C.E. Tarleton, Albert Burke, Russell Way, Nina J. Morey.

VICTIMS FROM OTHER AREAS

Louis Fountain, Cleveland, Ohio; L.C. Letzkus, Pittsburg, Pa.; E.W. Gibbons, Endicoff, NY; W.H. Rice, Pittsburg, Pa.; Harry B. Smock, Cambridge, Ohio; Margaret Lagani, Bayonne, NJ; William Schmitz, Mecken, W. Va.; Ernest C. Durbin, New Castle, Pa.; Anastasia Miksa, Pittsburg, Pa.; Dolores Simpson, Charleston, W.Va.;Charles Bilderdeck Crew, Unknown Location; Robert Orem, Unknown Location.

It is such a sad story. 

Excerpt of Letter from EAB to Emma during their Courtship

When EAB was in West Virginia, he was writing to his sweetheart, Emma.  Some of it is hard to read, where there are underlines, those are words I cannot read. Here is an excerpt from a letter dated October 24, 1887.
Dear Emma-----
Yesterday again I had another full house, when preaching.  I held service at Mitchell's school house.  I even had to sacrifice my coat for the audience.  Outside at the windows, some were sharpening their ears to hear the Gospel sermon.  The more I preach here, the more are coming.  Would only their hearts be _____ but like faith sail. Among the audience, there were some ladies who painted themselves, but here they have not reach the climax of perfection in this art.   The powder is too _______.    I ought not to be thinking about while preaching but it falls in every ones's eyes at once........Last Saturday, I wrote to your papa & sister Lizzie.  Of late I was not afflicted with serious headache.  The headache with which I was troubled must be ascribed to my long hair on my head.  They are tremendously heavy at present and around here is no barber who can cut them.  I do not want a farmer to practice hair cutting on my head.....


I will post more from these letters soon.

Not feeling too inspired tonight

I've been working with Max on Civil War records from the ancestors of my Mother and of my husband today.  Since the Rileys and Brueggemanns don't have any veterans of the Civil War, I don't have anything to report to you.  It kind of took all of our attention today.

Instead of researching another topic for the blog, I thought I'd just post a picture for you.

Here is a family picture with some of Ernst August's family with his wife Emma. I labeled this a long time ago and now I see problems.  I certainly have some questions about some of the people in the picture.  Selma was the only blond in the family so I am not sure who the blond in the front is.  The boy on Selma's right must not be Edwin as he was older than she, so I am not sure who this is.  The baby next to Gus, looks too young to be Karl compared to the ages of the others.  Any ideas readers.  Here is an unlabeled one.

Charlie Long's Employer

I googled the employer listed on Charlie's WWI Draft Registration, Tone Brothers.  I was surprised to find they are still in business and is still located near Des Moines.  You might recognize one of their product lines, Spice Island.

Tone Brothers, Inc. is the country's oldest spice company, as well as its second largest, behind industry leader McCormick & Company, Inc. Still based near Des Moines, Iowa, where it was established in 1873, Tone is noted for being the first company west of the Mississippi to sell roasted coffee (in the 1880s), and for introducing clear plastic, hermetically sealed packages with flip-top lids for spices (in the 1980s). ...

.....A Pioneering Company in the Nineteenth Century

In 1873 Jehiel Tone, who was born in New York and had worked for a coffee and spice company in Michigan, convinced his brother I.E. Tone to head west with him and start their own business. The brothers came to Des Moines, Iowa, which had just become the state capital, and chose it as the home of Tone Brothers, Inc. At first, the company sold only coffee and spices, and the original staff consisted of Jehiel Tone, I.E. Tone, Aunt Mary, and "Mother." For the next century Tone would continue as a family business, even as it greatly expanded in size.

Within its first 25 years, Tone had set up a sales force that marketed coffee, tea, and spices. It had become the first company west of the Mississippi to sell roasted coffee, which before that time had consisted of whole green beans that were roasted over wood stoves at home. (The notion of selling ground roasted coffee beans came years later.) And it had become the first company in the United States to sell pure ground pepper, as opposed to the widely used blend that contained ground olive stones and lamp black for added color. Tone's also introduced the concept of individual packages for spices, and began to sell them in orange-and-black boxes.

The New Century Brings New Ideas

In the late 1890s, I.E. Tone's son, Jay E. Tone, Sr., graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a chemical engineer. He brought this knowledge to the family business, and soon the company was selling extracts as well as coffee, tea, and spices. Lemon extract was the most popular of Tone's extracts. The company, still based in Des Moines, began to sell its products in other Midwestern states.

By the 1930s Tone's was importing coffee, tea, and raw spices from several countries. Jay Tone, Sr. became company president in 1939, and soon afterward he and his brother Fred introduced a new product: "pressure packed" ground coffee in cans, which eliminated the common problem of coffee spoilage. Jay Tone, Sr. remained president of Tone for 30 years and continued to work in his office regularly until the age of 96. In 1969, soon after his son, Jay Tone, Jr., assumed the presidency, the company's family ownership came to an end, when it was sold to Mid-Continent Bottlers, another Des Moines company. Jay Tone, Sr. died four years later, at the age of 100. He had been born the same year that Tone's was established, and lived to see its entire first century.

WWI German Discrimination took a serious turn

I wrote here about the Anti-German experience in World War I.  In the new resource I found yesterday, there were files released from the precursor of the FBI.  I searched the database for "Brueggemann".  I found this record, not one of "our" Brueggemanns.
  

Apparently, the Postmaster of Aloca, TN reported to the US Marshall  that there was a gentleman in his community that he found to be suspicious. 

 "A.L. Brueggeman of Alcoa, Tennessee, and I note that this man has aroused your suspicions because of his name and German accent, and the fact that he has written a great many letters, most of which, however, appear to go to his wife in Newark, New Jersey, and under these circumstances, I do not consider it advisable to have his mail opened and examined by an agent of this department, as suggested by you."  

Clay Irvine, Postmaster, thought this man was suspicious because he spoke with a German accent and he wrote a lot of letters.  It must have been a very hard time for German Americans, especially those who were proud to be American.

A New Resource for Cleveland

I found a new resource, or at least new to me, yesterday:. Cuyahoga County Ohio Birth Returns. Although there are some instances where a child's given name is provided, it typically will not appear on these birth returns.. Information on the returns includes full names, ages, address, and nativity of the parents, as well as the newborn's place of birth and attending physician or midwife. These records are available from 1872 through 1908.


I started looking for Louise and Minnie Brueggeman's children.  I could only find a Birth Return for their oldest two children, Meta and Rudolf.  I looked for variants in spelling but I still couldn't find the remaining children.  Someone had gone back in 1924 and wrote Meta's name on the top of the record.

Meta's birth was attended by a Doctor but Rudolf's was attended by a midwife, a neighbor from just a couple doors away, 862 Lorain Street.

I will keep searching this database to see if I can find any more of Clamor's grand children, Brueggemans, Barlags, or Bennhoffs.  Don't forget you can click on the document to make it larger.

Wedding Anniversary of Ezra Riley and Jane Roberts

I am in SC and have totally lost track of what day of the week it is.  I posted Family Picture Friday on Thursday night.  Oh Well.


Today is the wedding anniversary of Ezra Riley and Jane Roberts.  They were married in Manchester in 1853. 

St. Mary's Church, Address 22 New St, Parish of Manchester in the County of Lancaster, by J.H. Hatfield, Her address was 22 New Street, father Thomas Roberts, witnessed by Adam Plant and Mary Ann Baker

Ezra's witness was Adam Plant.  Adam was listed on the 1850 Census as being a lodger at Ezra's home (actually his Aunt Grace's home).  His occupation was also a Blacksmith.

Ezra reported that his father was John Riley with the occupation of Spinner.  As I have mentioned before, I don't think Ezra's father will be known.  I think he "made up" this one.  On his marriage record to the second wife, Mary, he reported is father's name as Ezra  and that he was a Blacksmith.

Family Picture Friday: Elizabeth Kate Bostwick's Family

Elizabeth Kate Bostwick was the daughter of Grace Amelia Riley Bostwick Carr and grand daughter of Tom and Lizzie Riley. She was born June 15, 1920.  She married James Nathaniel Thompkins.

They had one daughter, Marianne Thompkins.

Marianne Thompkins Schneider, husband George (Dusty) and Jamie and Dawn Schneider

She married Frank Christopher Sweetman Jr in 1948.

They had three children:  Sterling Alan Sweetman, Shelley Sweetman and Marsha Sweetman.  Thanks to Marsha for providing this information and pictures.

Sterling

Shelley

Marsha (Sweetman), Katie, Greg, and Stephen Veltri

William Frederick Keske

When reviewing the agenda from the 1924 Brueggemann Family Reunion, it mentioned that William Keske was key to setting up the first reunion in 1923.  Interestingly, he was the spouse of a Brueggemann descendant.  He was married to Louise Ottilie Barlag (grand daughter of Clamor).  If you remember, the Reunion was held in Euclid (a suburb of Cleveland).

Ottillie and William Keske
(photo from David Reinhardt)

 He was listed in the 1920 Census and 1930 Census as a Wage Clerk for a Steel Mill.  They had four daughters and six sons.  Two of the daughters were twins and died at birth.

Charles Long Jr

Charles H Long Junior was the youngest son of Charles and Louise Long.  The picture is of Charlie and his mother and who I think is his daughter, Dorothy (born 1901).

Charlie  worked for his father as a Grocer in Springfield.  He was married in Springfield in 1899 to Alice.  She was not from a German family.  She was born in England and came to the US as a toddler.

They first show up in Des Moines Iowa on the 1910 Census.  Charlie was a Traveling Salesman (some time listed as a Commercial Traveler) for a Spice Company.  In the 1920 Census, they were living in Des Moines.  Something must have happened to Alice, because Charlie married Pearl in 1924.  He was 45 and she was 19!!!!

They had a daughter approximately a year later, Frances L. Long (as per the 1930 Census).

I don't know what happened to Alice.  Their daughter, Dorothy, was not living with her father in the 1930 Census but that is to be expected as she was 28.  She was not living with him in the 1925 Iowa Census either.

Charlie died 4 Oct 1954 in Des Moines.  This little bit of research has raised more questions.

Welcome to the World Eleanora Grace Potsko

Eleanora Grace Potsko was born yesterday in Washington to Rachel Riley Potsko and Andrew Potsko.  Eleanora was named for her Great Grandmother, Selma Eleanora Brueggeman.  She will be called Ella.  Congratulations to the new parents!

"Celebration of the 75th Brueggemann Reunion 1998"

This year will mark the 88th Anniversary of the Brueggemann Family Reunion.  I thought that seemed like a very long time to be having a reunion but not as long as the Siler Family in North Carolina. Descendants of Weimar and Margaret Rafferty Siler had their first "Family Meeting" in the Franklin NC on January 1, 1853.  It is believed to be one of the oldest continuing family reunions in the United States.
Here is the agenda of the Family Meeting held August 31, 1924 at South Euclid, Ohio.  I had no idea that there would have been such a formal agenda.

(Did you notice, no women included to speak)

I was sent a book that was created in 1998 (by David Reinhardt) to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Reunions.  It has lots of pictures and recipes.  I have to get it copied and return the original to David.  If any of my readers want a copy, I will be happy to send one to you.  Just send me an email.   Also, does any one know who put this together?  

Emma Maybury Haines

Every family seems to have someone who is the one that tries to keep the lines of communication open.  It is particularly hard once a sibling emigrates to another country.  In Mark's family it was his Great Aunt Ethel King Grimes.  We have many pictures of her family and as it turns out, her grandson had many pictures of Mark's family.


In the Maybury family, it looks like Lizzie's younger sister, Emma Maybury Haines was the one.  We have several pictures and post cards that she sent Lizzie.  It is apparent from these, Emma missed her sister.  At some point, Thomas Bowen Riley was in England (during WWII), and he met with the Haines family.  I haven't had much luck in locating any Haines descendants.  Haines is a pretty common name in the Birmingham area.

Family Picture Friday: Charles Henry Long

I realized that I haven't posted a picture of Charles Henry Long aka Carl Heinrich Lange.  He was the father of Emma Long, wife of Ernst August Brueggeman.  He was a shop owner in Springfield, IL.

Blogger was down, Missed post

Blogger was down yesterday (Thursday) afternoon and just became available a few minutes ago.  I will post later today.

Russell Krausman Died on this day

Russell Krausman died on this day in 2005 in Pima, Arizona.  He was 83 years old.

He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery (Sec 5-Qq Row 30 Site 4). Remember, his parents and wife are also buried there.

Anniversary of Emma Maybury and James Swadkin

Today marks the Wedding Anniversary of Emma Harris to James Swadkin.  She was the maternal aunt of Lizzie Maybury Riley.  They were married in 1867 in Birmingham.  


They had five children:  Clara, Eliza, Thomas, James and Harriett.  Emma was left a widow at an early age as James died in 1890 at age 47.  In the 1881 census, they lived next door to St Matthiaus Church at 129 Farm Street in Birmingham.  His profession was listed as Packer.


His family continued to live at that address through the last census I have access to (1901).  At that time, she still had three children at home who must have been supporting her.  All were employed in jewelry and watch making.

One step further back...

Every so often, I take a look at Ancestry.com to see if any new information is available for Clamor and his wife's family.  Tonight, I discovered someone in Germany has posted information on Marie Anna Hermscheips (second wife and mother of the US born Brueggemann children).  We knew her parents were Franz Heinrich Hermschaips  and Anna Marie Elizabeth Kohring.  I think some of the new information includes his birth date 26 Aug 1793 and death date of 15 Apr 1872.  According to the family tree I found, he was born and died in Wimmer, Niedersachen.    No dates were listed for his wife.  This tree listed his wife's name as Marie Elizabeth Kohring.


The other new info, are the parents of Franz.  This tree lists his parents as Johann Friedrich Hermschaips and Maria Clara Schroder.  They had two other children: Anton and Maria.


I hope this info is correct and I will have to work on it some more but I think it looks pretty good.

Military Monday: WWI Thomas Percy Riley

There is no draft registration card for Thomas Percy Riley (son of Tom and Lizzie) as he enlisted prior to being drafted.  It appears that he was in the National Guard.  From this record it appears that he was a Captain in the Infantry coming out of the National Guard.  It appears that he was in Europe from 1 Oct 1918 until 7 Apr 1919.  Tom was involved in the founding of the VFW and I'll write more about that later.  

It appears that the 151st Infantry Division was part of the Indiana National Guard and not Ohio.


He was then discharged from the National Guard into the American Expeditionary Forces.


Here is some information from Wikepedia about the AEF:
President Woodrow Wilson initially planned to give command of the AEF to General Frederick Funston, but after Funston's sudden death, Wilson appointed Major General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing in May 1917; Pershing remained in command for the entire war. Pershing insisted that American soldiers should be well-trained before going to Europe. As a result, few troops arrived before 1918. In addition, Pershing insisted that the American force would not be used merely to fill gaps in the French and British armies, and he resisted European efforts to have U.S. troops deployed as individual replacements in decimated Allied units. This attitude was not always well received by the Allied leaders who distrusted the potential of an army lacking experience in large-scale warfare.^[1]

By June 1917, 14,000 U.S. soldiers had already arrived in France, and by May 1918 over one million U.S. troops were stationed in France, half of them being on the front lines.^[2] Since the transport ships needed to bring American troops to Europe were scarce at the beginning, the army pressed into service cruise ships, seized German ships, and borrowed Allied ships to transport American soldiers from New York, New Jersey, and Newport News,Virginia. The mobilization effort taxed the American military to the limit and required new organizational strategies and command structures to transport great numbers of troops and supplies quickly and efficiently. The French harbors of Bordeaux, La Pallice, Saint Nazaire and Brest became the entry points into the French railway system which brought the US forces and their supplies to the front. American engineers in France built 82 new ship berths, nearly 1,000 miles of additional standard-gauge tracks and 100,000 miles of telephone and telegraph lines.^[3]

The first American troops, who were often called "Doughboys", first landed in Europe in June 1917. However the AEF did not participate at the front until late October 1917, when the 1st Division, a formation of experienced regular soldiers and the first division to arrive in France, entered the trenches near Nancy....

American Army and Marine Corps troops played a key role in helping stop the German thrust towards Paris, during the Second Battle of the Marne in June 1918 (at Château-Thierry and Belleau Wood). The first major and distinctly American offensive was the reduction of the Saint Mihiel salient in September 1918.^{[citation needed]} During the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, beginning September 12, 1918, Pershing commanded the American First Army, comprising seven divisions and more than 500,000 men, in the largest offensive operation ever undertaken by United States armed forces to date. This successful offensive was followed by the Meuse-Argonne offensive, lasting from September 26 to November 11, 1918, during which General Pershing commanded more than one million American and French combatants. In these two military operations, Allied forces recovered more than two hundred square miles (520 km²) of French territory from the German army. By the time the Armistice had suspended all combat on November 11, 1918, the American Expeditionary Forces had evolved into a modern, combat-tested army.^[7] 

Happy Mothers Day

I want to share with my readers a bit about my mother, Elinore Lee Cork.  Judy and I are so lucky to have her as our mom.  She is the most supportive mother and grandmother.  I know she loves us unconditionally and I know the five grandchildren know this too.  When something good happens, she is the first one the kids want to call.


She grew up in Stow, Ohio and was the daughter of Eunice and Dwight Cork.  She has one older sister, Judy and one younger sister, Kathi.  

LOVE YOU MOM!

Thank You David Reinhardt!

I received the best gifts today.  David sent me a bound version of the Brueggemann Family Information.  It is a great resource with more information than I can imagine.  Also, he sent me a book made for the 1998 reunion, full of details, pictures, family recipes, and MEMORIES.  It will be something I will share often in this blog.  I am currently at our lake cabin in Salem, South Carolina and my dear husband knew I would want these right away and drove them up from Atlanta so I wouldn't have to wait until I get home in a week or two.


I want to share this article that was found in Emma Long Brueggeman's book of recipes.  Apparently, Lydia ended up with this book.  I wonder which one of her children may have the book now?


"There arrived today from Norris, Michigan, a little town north of Detroit in the county of Wayne, four deaf mute children aged probably from 10 to 13 years.  They were all German children and bound for their homes in Milwaukee.  At the depot the little party of silent people were met by Rev. Brueggemann of St. John's Lutheran Church who is caring for them until the steamer Wisconsin leaves tonight.  In the party are two boys and two little girls.  The boys have their names and address pinned on their coats.  When seen this afternoon they were eating dinner at the Hotel Kirby.  There is one thing peculiar about them which is not found in other deaf mutes.  They are all students at an institution in Norris, where they are taught to emit sounds resembling words, quite plainly.  When one talks the other children watch and then by the position of the mouth they can tell what the other is saying.  The sound which they emit when talking is a sort of pathetic cry; but even one who is not familiar with the children can understand some of the words they speak.  The children are all well appearing and seem happy.  One of the boys, who was especially bright, when asked his name answered "Wilhelm Harter" in that peculiar sound, which when once heard, will always be remembered.  A person by tieing (sic) his tongue to the bottom of his mouth could imitate it fairly well, but not in the way these children have.  The institution where they are studying is on the plan of the German Deaf Mute schools.  Finger language is taught only to the very young, after which they are allowed to converse only with their mouths.

"This clipping from the Grand Haven, Michigan newspaper

published in the summer of 1891.  It had been saved by Mother

(Mrs. Emma Louise Brueggeman) for 42 years"

Signed by EAB

"I (EAB) was urged to care for them during the day

and in the evening bring them on the boat

for Milwaukee"

I love this!  Must have been a big deal in Grand Haven to have four "deaf mute" children in town for the day to have such an article written for the paper.

I googled and found the name of the school:  German Evangelical Lutheran Institute.  I cannot share a photo without permission from Gallaudet University Archives but I give you the link to see a picture from 1890.  I bet the children watched over by EAB were in this picture. This info below was from a book published in 1893.  It is kind of long so don't feel like you have to read it if not interested.  The article was written by the school's director:

THE GERMAN: EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN DEAF-MUTE INSTITUTION. 

^iN'the year 1873 there was organized within the membership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Detroit, Michigan, a society whose object was to erect an orphanage for orphans of the Lutheran Church within the State of Michigan. For 

this purpose ten acres of land were purchased some twelve miles west of Detroitwithin the confines of Royal Oak, Oakland county, Michigan, on which was erected a building of adequate dimensions for the time. The Eev. G. Speckhard, then 

pastor of a society in Sebewaing, Huron county, Michigan, was called to take 

charge of the orphanage. Pastor Speckhard acceppted the call and assumed chargeof the orphanage, and also of the Lutheran congregation at Royal Oak. He was 

accompanied by two deaf-mute children, natives of Saginaw county, Michigan, 

whom he had already for several years successfully instructed by the German 

oral method, and whose parents desired that he should continue to so instruct them in order to enable them to be confirmed in the Lutheran faith. This system of orally instructing the deaf was well known to Pastor Speckhard, as he had twenty years previously taught the same in the German Deaf-Mute Institution at Priedberg, in the Grand Duchy of Hesse- Darmstadt — a system of instruction then unknown not only in the State of Michigan, but also in other States of the 

Union. Nevertheless, this system met with speedy approval, and consequently, within ten months, no fewer than fifteen deaf-mute pupils had presented 

themselves to the Rev. Mr. Speckhard for German oral instruction. This 

unexpectedly compelled the society in question either to decide on 
carrying out their original design of establishing an orphan asylum or to foundan institution for deaf-mutes, because to conduct and sustain two benevolent institutions having entirely different ends in view was out of the question. 

After mature deliberation, it was decided to found a deaf-mute institution, 
more especially because, meanwhile, other provisions had been made for orphans by the establishment of an orphanage at Addison, Du Page county, in the 

adjoining State of Illinois, where also the orphans of Michigan could be 

accommodated, and more especially because an institution under the auspices 
of the Lutheran Church where deaf-mutes of the Lutheran faith could be 

instructed had been seriously desired for some time past. The orphans, therefore, were transferred to the Home at Addison, and the Michigan Institute was thenincorporated, and devoted exclusively to the instruction of deaf-mutes 

according to the German oral method. 

The existing structure, which soon proved inadequate, necessitated plans for 

enlargement. As, however, for diverse reasons, it became desirable to have the Institution in the vicinity of the city of Detroit, a suitable location was 

looked for, whereupon a noble-minded American, Mr. Philetus William Norris, of Norris, Wayne county, Michigan, tendered to the association the generous gift 

of twenty acres of land, improved with sundry farm buildings, provided the 

Institution should be removed to Norris. This praiseworthy offer was gratefullyaccepted. At once arrangements were made to erect there a suitable building to accommodate some fifty pupils. The structure was commenced, proceeded 

satisfactorily, and was happily completed early during the year 1875. It is 

true this encumbered the society with an indebtedness of $15,000, which, owing to the stringency of the times, entailed innumerable cares and responsibilitiesupon the Institution, to overcome and satisfy which demanded no small amount ofthought and labor. But the work has been accomplished with God's assistance, 

the undertaking not only holding its own, but meanwhile actually advancing in 

prosperity; so that to-day it has paid off nearly all of its debt, besides 

adding numerous conveniences and improvements to the Institute building and 
erecting three teachers' residences. The total expenses of erection, 

improvement, maintenance of pupils, salaries of teachers, matrons, and other 

employees have been and are defrayed from voluntary contributions and gifts 

bestowed by members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in this country; 
in particular by those of the aforesaid Evangelical Lutheran Synodal ConferenceThus far no State support has been received and none is asked for. 

The transfer of the Institution from Royal Oak to Norris, as stated, occurred 

in February, 1875, the Institution then comprising 23 pupils, together with the director, G. Speckhard, and family, and Mr. H. Uhlig, who, in January, 1875, 
had been called into service as an assistant instructor from the Theological 

Seminary at St. Louis, Missouri. The ceremony of dedication took place on the 

following 17th day of May, and was attended by a large concourse of friends andpatrons from Detroit and vicinity, the deaf pupils on that occasion giving evidence of the results of their instruction by speaking orally in public. Their efforts met with general approbation. At the same time those present inspected 

the interior arrangements of the Institution building. The latter is, exclusiveof basement, a three-story brick structure, 46 x 74 feet, ornamented with a 

belfry. The basement comprises a cellar, store-rooms, a bake oven, laundry and bath rooms. On the first floor are two spacious school-rooms, a dining hall, 
which serves at the same time as the boys' study, a kitchen, and on either sidewash-rooms for the children — the one for the boys being on the east, and that for the girls on the west side of the building. On the second floor are the 

living-rooms of the matron and husband, or "Hauseltern " (the so-called 
'' Institution father and mother "), dormitories for the girls, their rooms for study and industrial classes, and an apartment for the sick. On the third 

floor are an additional school-room, dormitories for the boys, and a guest chamber. Fire-escapes are provided from each story. All of the apartments have highceilings and are bright and cheerful, while the stairways and halls are wide 

and convenient. 

Thus arranged, the activity of the Institution increased to such an extent that, within the year 1875, another instructor; Mr. G. Eitzman, was engaged. This gentleman, however, after serving some eighteen months, withdrew, and it 

devolved  again upon the remaining two instructors, Messrs. Speckhard and 

Uhlig, to divide the labor of the school-work. This continued until November 

20, 1879, when the Institution sustained a most severe loss in the sudden 

demise of its founder and faithful director, the Rev. G. Speckhard. The 

assistant instructor, H. Uhlig, who had been specially prepared for the arduousduties of deaf-mute training, was then appointed to succeed the deceased as 

director, which position he has held ever since. Messrs. L. Zeile and H. Witte 

were then called in as assistant instructors, and in place of Mrs. Speckhard, 

who, with her deceased husband, had supervised the domestic arrangements of theInstitution, Mr. and Mrs. F. Vogt were installed as Institution father and 

mother — manager and matron. At the same time, they assumed charge of the 
farm connected with the Institution, heretofore conducted by farm hands. 

Instructor Witte, however, left the Institution in the year 1883, and Mr. L. 

Krause took his place, which he continues to hold at the present time. In the 

year 1885 Mr.Zeile retired and Mr. J. G. Etter succeeded him as instructor, 
but also withdrew in 1892. Meanwhile Mr. and Mrs. Vogt also left, and Mr. and Mrs. J. Ketel were chosen as manager and matron, which positions they now hold. 

The total number of pupils since the foundation of the Institution amounts to 183, distributed as follows : 

Boys. Girls. Total. 

1880 20 18 38 

1881 24 20 44 

1882 24 16 40 

1883. 28 16 44 

1884 20 20 40 

1885 28 13 41 

1886 26 9 35 

1887 26 11 37 

1888 22 16 38 

1889 21 26 47 

1890. . ■. 21 24 45 

1891 20 25 45 

1892 20 22 42 

1893 19 21 40  

Board, however, is only paid by parents able to do so ; others 
are exempt. The maximum amount charged for board is $10 
per month. This sum, however, is only paid by very few ; by 
far the greater number of those who pay do so according to 
their ability. 

The total valuation of the property of the Institution, real 
and personal, is estimated to be $25,000. 

In regard to the school proper, and more especially the work 
of instruction, as already stated, the oral method in the Ger- 
man language is taught and used. This German oral method 
of instruction is conducted strictly in the manner and accord- 
ing to the system which prevails in nearly all of the deaf-mute 
institutions of Germany, which is designated as the speech- 
method. 

The first thing done with a j)upil upon entry is to have him 
engage in breathing exercises ; that is to say, lung gymnastics 
are employed, with a view systematically to encourage the 
emission of single sounds, the teacher slowly emitting sounds 
in a clear and natural manner and encouraging the pupil to 
imitate them. As a rule, the beginning is made with the con- 
sonants h, b, d, etc. In cases, however, where the pupil, in 
repeating, inclines more readily to give vowel sounds, vowels 
themselves are at first substituted for consonants. After a few 
hours thus devoted to practice on single sounds, several of the 
easier sound combinations are secured and determined, and 
soon, with a view to impart greater interest and eagerness, sig- 
nificant sounds and word combinations present themselves, 
which are readily and eagerly comprehended by the youthful 
beginners in speech. As accessories in attaining this end, use 
is made of a collection of pictorial mural reading charts pre- 
pared and published by the director of the school at Frankf ort- 
on-the-Main, Mr. J. Vatter. In this way, utilizing these by 
story and otherwise, the first speech, lip-reading, and instruc- 
tion in writing is given. It follows, of course, that all which 
the pupil has thus correctly articulated is permanently secured 
to him by writing, as likewise that writing from the very first 
is steadily called into requisition and daily practiced. 

The acquisition and definite determination of all sounds in 
connection with and relation to significant words, with scholars 
of ordinary capacity, takes from six to eight months— longer, 
however, in the case of the more dull and intellectually feeble. 
By the time a pupil has thoroughly familiarized himself with 
the contents of the mural charts, he has also advanced suffi- 
ciently to be able to read printed matter, and, therefore, now 
receives his first reader, entitled " Object and Language In- 
struction." The pupil is here confronted with sentences, and 
henceforth is taught to read by sentences, and so to speak and 
think. In addition to this reader, in which grammar receives 
systematic consideration, forms of speech in sentences, such as 
the responses to queries like " where," " whereof," " where- 
unto," "why," "wherefore," etc., are specially practised, as 
also are all manner of substitute forms of speech, the language 
of personal intercourse, and of whatever transpires in the daily 
routine of life. Furthermore, a special course of object les- 
sons is introduced about this time, as, in fact, during the entire 
course of instruction, by observations in natura, models, and 
pictures. At this time also, after the requisite preliminary ex- 
ercises in numbers have been had, the study of arithmetic is 
commenced, first with numbers ranging from 1 to 10, then 1 
to 20, and later 1 to 100. 

It requires from two to three years for the material con- 
tained in the first reader to be thoroughly mastered. "When 
this is done, the pupil receives his second reader, in which not 
only grammar is introduced in its more extended form, but 
the contents generally pay due attention to descriptive and 
narrative forms of speech. The special exercises in the forms 
of speech already referred to are continued, as also are all 
those involving the more difficult vocal and consonant combi- 
nations, for the latter of which J. Vatter has issued special 
language charts as a basis. At this stage of the pupil's prog- 
ress, and even earlier at times, biblical history is introduced, 
and somewhat later religious instruction is given. This is at 
first of the simplest kind, and then gradually augmented. 
Geography, more especially that of the United States, is also 
taught, as well as the more important features of natural and 
political history. Practice in arithmetic now embraces the 
four ground rules, with numbers in words and figures, and in 
some cases includes simple work in fractions. On the part of 
the pupils, brief compositions and other work which involves 
writing, such as keeijing a diary, letters, etc., are exacted, in 
which to some extent they have already had some practice. 
Likewise drawing and ornamental penmanship have meanwhile 
been added to the curriculum, together with the study of the 
English language. The latter, however, is confined to writing, 
as the repeated efforts made have shown us that it is too much 
and too difficult for deaf children to learn simultaneously 
equally well, orally, two different languages during a period 
of only six years' attendance at school, which frequently, 
alas ! ignorant parents even abbreviate. 

It is true one of the languages suffers to the extent of only 
being learned in its written form, whereas the other, the orally 
acquired language, also suffers somewhat. We must, how- 
ever, accommodate ourselves to circumstances and do the best 
we can, and not what one might prefer to do on his own ac- 
count. 

This applies equally to the matter of taking children into 
school to be instructed under the same roof regardless of their 
mental capacity, whether gifted or of feeble intellect. Owing 
to the fact already stated, that our Institution was primarily 
founded in order that all the deaf belonging to the Lutheran 
Church might be made acquainted with the Lutheran faith to 
the extent that they might, in later years, of their own per- 
sonal volition, become members of their mother church, it is 
requisite that the German oral language shall at all times take 
precedence in our speech intercourse, so that by means of the 
same our scholars may finally, on leaving school, be enabled 
to be confirmed in the said faith. Therefore, in addition to 
other essentials, it becomes incumbent upon us that at all 
events during the second half of the entire school term special 
attention be given to the matter of religious instruction. 

In addition to the mental labor which the pupils are called 
upon to do in the school proper, they are also taught to do suit- 
able work out of school-hours. The girls are employed in the 
kitchen, in the dining-room, in the laundry, in the sewing- 
room, at repairing, etc., while the boys are put to work in the 
yards, in the gardens, and upon the fields, prepare wood, and 
perform such other duties upon the premises as are helpful 
and to which they may be assigned. 

The study and school hours daily comprise five and a half 
hours, and the annual school term extends from September 
1st to July 15th. In addition to the summer vacation, there 
are holidays of eight days each at Christmas and Easter. 

The age of admission for pupils varies from eight to fifteen 
years ; applicants exceeding that age are only taken exception- 
ally. 

The library of the Institution contains some four hundred 
volumes and pamphlets, together with a collection of pictures, 
charts, and other appliances of service in object-lessons. 

The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri and other 
States exercises general supervision over the Institution, 
whereas the immediate control devolves upon a board of 
managers, the members whereof are residents of Detroit, 
Michigan, consisting at present of the following-named gentle- 
men :