Caroline Leah “Lee” Ellis

My great grandmother, Caroline Leah “Lee” Ellis nee Johannpeter was born to Frederick William August Johannpeter, 1839 – 1903, and Joanna Grieve, 1843 – Unknown, in St. Charles, MO on June 13, 1881. She was the second youngest of six siblings, Gustav, Anna, Amalia “Marie”, Julius “Jules” and Charles Frederick. Great Grandma was said to be a very strong-willed person. Mom says her personality came down through Grandpa, to my mother and then to me.

Great Grandma went to work in the garment cutting industry at an early age. She met and married William P. Ellis on May 15, 1912, shortly before her 31st birthday. In 1915, she would give birth to my grandfather, Gilbert P. Ellis. Great Grandma told my mom years later that her doctor told her, “Have a baby or have a nervous breakdown. I didn’t want a nervous breakdown, so I had a baby.”

Tragically, Great Grandpa died on December 4, 1917, when my grandfather was only two years old. At the time, Great Grandpa’s family had money, but they expected her to ask them for assistance. Mom said, “That wasn’t going to happen. She was not going to ask for charity.”

She continued to work in the garment industry and worked to support herself and my grandfather. In 1918, she was the Manager of the Mutual Manufacturing Company. A woman managing a manufacturing company was exceedingly rare in early Twentieth-Century America.

Sometimes, she lived on her own and sometimes she lived with family members. In 1920, she lived with her mother and sister at 2136 Salisbury Street across from the Bethlehem Lutheran Church. In 1930, she shared a two-family flat with an aunt at 1942-44 Hebert Street.

Sometime in the 1920s, they moved in with Great Grandma’s brother, Julius Johannpeter (March 5, 1875 – November 13, 1961) and his wife Bertha Johannpeter nee Horst (July 19, 1880 – October 22, 1952). Uncle Jules was a surrogate father to Grandpa. Grandpa always talked about the fun he had living with his aunt and uncle and their four kids. The two boys and two girls were like siblings to Grandpa.

Grandpa always said Uncle Jules had a limited spoken vocabulary, but he wrote the most beautiful letters. Grandpa told me one time he and Uncle Jules were sitting in the living room. Uncle Jules had been drinking a little too much home brewed German beer when he looked up at the clock. He said, “Gil, you know that is a delicate piece of mechanicinism.”  Grandpa got the biggest kick out of retelling that story.

Mom told me that Uncle Jules was a typical German husband. He did not do anything around the house. Great Grandma sometimes felt he did not always appreciate Aunt Bertha. Since Great Grandma adored Aunt Bertha, she sometimes let her feelings be known.

After a Saturday or Sunday meal, Great Grandma wanted to play cards, but the table needed to be cleaned off first. Uncle Jules went to sit in the other room, while Aunt Bertha was going to clean off the table and do the washing up. Great Grandma took the situation in hand by grabbing the tablecloth, pulling it off the table and dumping the China dishes onto the floor. The dishes shattered upon hitting the floor with broken plates and cups everywhere.

Uncle Jules exclaimed, “What the hell are you doing Lee!?!”  Great Grandma replied back, “It’s about time you bought Bertha some new China. Sweep this mess up and let’s play some cards.”  Great Grandma got to play cards sooner. Uncle Jules bought Aunt Bertha a new set of China.

Great Grandma continued to progress in her profession until she was the fore lady in the garment factory, where she worked.

She sent my grandfather to the prestigious Missouri Military Academy in Mexico, MO. Grandpa did very well his first two years but started goofing off in his junior year. Great Grandma told him that if he did not buckle down second semester, she would not send him back for his senior year. Grandpa thought she was bluffing but found out very quickly not to call her bluff. His grades did not improve, so she did not send him back for his senior year. He often told me that was one of the biggest mistakes of his life and one of his greatest lessons. He had to be responsible for his actions.

My grandmother, Alvina, who would marry my grandfather in 1938, worked for Great Grandma at the garment cutting factory. Great Grandma lived with them for a couple years after they got married and in 1940, they all worked in the same shop although Grandma quit work soon after the census was taken. Great Grandma would go on to manage one of the garment shops Downtown.

Great Grandma used to take my mom to the Fox Theater, when they still showed movies. They spent a lot of time together. When Grandma and Grandpa moved onto Kingsland Court, Great Grandma moved in with them for years. She always told my mom that she was going to live to see who she was going to marry. My mom and dad got engaged in late 1967 and Great Grandma died in April or May 1968, six weeks before my parents got married. Great Grandma’s will was strong to the end.

No one has built a statue to Caroline Johannpeter, but she was a foundational figure in our family. Faced with circumstances that would have broken other people, she persevered and accomplished things that were unheard of for her sex in that day and age. I never met Great Grandma, but I admire her strength and character. I saw that character in my grandfather and still see it in my mother. We come from sturdy stock.

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