Caroline Leah “Lee” Ellis
Min oldemor, Caroline Leah “Lee” Ellis nee Johannpeter was born to Frederick William August Johannpeter, 1839 – 1903, and Joanna Grieve, 1843 – Unknown, i 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. Mor siger, at hendes personlighed kom ned gennem bedstefar, til min mor og så til mig.
Great Grandma went to work in the garment cutting industry at an early age. Hun mødte og giftede sig med William P. Ellis on May 15, 1912, shortly before her 31st birthday. I 1915, hun ville føde min bedstefar, Gilbert P. Ellis. Oldemor fortalte min mor flere år senere, at hendes læge fortalte hende, “Have a baby or have a nervous breakdown. I didn’t want a nervous breakdown, so I had a baby.”
Caroline Johannpeter in her 20s
Tragisk, Great Grandpa died on December 4, 1917, when my grandfather was only two years old. At the time, Oldefars familie havde penge, men de forventede, at hun bad dem om hjælp. Mor sagde, “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. I 1918, hun var leder af det gensidige produktionsselskab. En kvinde, der leder en produktionsvirksomhed, var yderst sjælden i det tidlige tyvende århundredes Amerika.
Undertiden, she lived on her own and sometimes she lived with family members. I 1920, hun boede sammen med sin mor og søster kl 2136 Salisbury Street overfor Bethlehem Lutheran Church. I 1930, she shared a two-family flat with an aunt at 1942-44 Hebert Street.
Engang i 1920'erne, they moved in with Great Grandma’s brother, Julius Johannpeter (Marts 5, 1875 – November 13, 1961) and his wife Bertha Johannpeter nee Horst (Juli 19, 1880 – Oktober 22, 1952). Uncle Jules was a surrogate father to Grandpa. Bedstefar talte altid om det sjove, han havde at bo hos sin tante og onkel og deres fire børn. De to drenge og to piger var som søskende til bedstefar.
Great Grandma and Grandpa Ellis
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, mens moster Bertha skulle rydde af bordet og vaske op. Oldemor tog situationen i hånden ved at gribe dugen, trækker det af bordet og dumper kinaretterne på gulvet. Tallerkenerne gik i stykker, da de ramte gulvet med ødelagte tallerkener og kopper overalt.
udbrød onkel Jules, “Hvad fanden laver du Lee!?!” Oldemor svarede tilbage, “Det er på tide, at du køber Bertha noget nyt Kina. Fjern dette rod, og lad os spille nogle kort.” Oldemor kom til at spille kort før. Onkel Jules købte tante Bertha et nyt sæt Kina.
Oldemor fortsatte med at udvikle sig i sit fag, indtil hun var forkvinde på tøjfabrikken, where she worked.
Great Grandma Caroline “Lee” Ellis in Her Later Years
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. Hans karakterer blev ikke bedre, so she did not send him back for his senior year. Han fortalte mig ofte, at det var en af de største fejltagelser i hans liv og en af hans største lektioner. 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, da de stadig viste film. De brugte meget tid sammen. When Grandma and Grandpa moved onto Kingsland Court, Oldemor flyttede ind hos dem i årevis. 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.
Ingen har bygget en statue til Caroline Johannpeter, men hun var en grundlæggende figur i vores familie. Stillet over for omstændigheder, der ville have knust andre mennesker, she persevered and accomplished things that were unheard of for her sex in that day and age. Jeg har aldrig mødt oldemor, men jeg beundrer hendes styrke og karakter. Jeg så den karakter i min bedstefar og ser den stadig i min mor. We come from sturdy stock.
