Family Picture Friday

Here is a great picture from the 1965 Reunion.  Don't forget you can click on the picture to make it bigger  I haven't done my "thing" yet to identify everyone with a legend.  Sorry.  Looks like the Ernst August children and their spouses.

Ernst August and family's Akron Home

Here is a picture from Selma of the family's home in Akron.  Ernst came up from Zanesville before the family. Selma's diary started a couple of days prior to the move in September of 1917.

The address was:  359 Hickory Street.  Remember, you can click on the picture to make it bigger.  I found it interesting how much land surrounds the house.  The house is no longer standing.  A house that is for sale on the street says that it has a view of Cuyahoga Valley Historical Train Line and is a short walk to Cuyahoga Valley Tow Path hike and bike trail.


Houses directly across the street from the vacant lot are valued between $46K and $58K.  These house have huge lots.  I have no idea what the neighborhood is like now.

Brueggmann Surname

Since I talked about the Riley surname the other day, I thought it would be good to look into the meaning of the Brueggemann name.  There are so many variations in the spelling that it can make research difficult.  For example. in the 1910 US Census, Ernst August's last name was recorded at Berrygemara by the census taker.  Another year it was recorded as Bruggemann,  and another as Bruggman.   


The German surname of BRUEGGEMANN was both an occupational and locational name meaning 'the dweller and worker at the bridge from residence nearby. Building and maintaining bridges was one of the three main feudal obligations, along with bearing arms and maintaining all the fortifications. The cost of building a bridge was often defrayed by charging a toll, the surname thus being acquired by the toll gatherer.  If you have read Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth, you will remember how important the bridge and the tolls were.


Ancestry.com can give you a summary of families with this last name (Brueggemann):
For example in the 1920 Census:
Illinois                    17-32 Families
Missouri                17-32 
Ohio                       6-16
Wisconsin              6-16
a handful of states had 1-5 and most didn't have any.

Take away the second "n" and the results are similar:
Illinois                    22-42
Missouri                22-42
Ohio                       8-21
Wisconsin             8-21

On this day in 1980

My dear Grandmother, Selma Brueggeman, died on this day in 1980.  She was 81 years old.  She was living on her own at 504 Gage Street, their home for many, many years.  Mark and I were living in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the time.  Unfortunately, a terrible snow storm was expected and it wasn't a safe idea to make the four hour drive in the storm.  It is truly something that I still regret.  She is still missed by her sons.

Looks Like a Christmas Picture to Me

This is one of the pictures I scanned in while in Ohio.  With the snow on the ground, my guess this is a Christmas picture of the Ernst August Brueggeman family.  It was taken outside their home on Hickory Street in Akron. I can't think of another occassion that the family would all be together in the winter. Unfortunately, I don't recognize the faces and am hoping dear readers can help me.  Once we figure out how the babies are, we should be able to date it.

Remember to click to make it bigger.

Here is a numbered picture.  If you can piece anything together for me, let me know by face number. I am pretty sure #13 is Emma Long Brueggeman.  What do you think?