卡羅琳利亞 “李” 埃利斯
我的曾祖母, 卡羅琳利亞 “李” 埃利斯東東Johannpeter出生腓特烈·威廉月Johannpeter, 1839 – 1903, 和喬安娜格里夫, 1843 – 未知, 在聖. 查爾斯, 莫六月 13, 1881. 她是第二個最年輕的六個兄弟姐妹, 古斯塔夫, 安娜, 阿瑪莉亞 “瑪麗”, 朱利葉斯 “儒勒” 和查爾斯·弗雷德里克. Great Grandma was said to be a very strong-willed person. 媽媽說她的性格通過爺爺掉下來, 給我媽媽，然後給我.
Great Grandma went to work in the garment cutting industry at an early age. 她遇到並與威廉·P結婚. Ellis on May 15, 1912, shortly before her 31st birthday. 在 1915, 她會生下我的祖父, 吉爾伯特P. 埃利斯. 多年後，曾祖母告訴我媽媽，她的醫生告訴她, “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
可悲的是, Great Grandpa died on December 4, 1917, when my grandfather was only two years old. At the time, 曾孫的家人有錢, 但是他們希望她向他們尋求幫助. 媽媽說, “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. 在 1918, 她是共同製造公司的經理. 在20世紀初的美國，管理一家製造公司的婦女極為罕見.
有時, she lived on her own and sometimes she lived with family members. 在 1920, 她和母親和妹妹一起住在 2136 伯利恆路德教會對面的索爾茲伯里街. 在 1930, she shared a two-family flat with an aunt at 1942-44 赫伯特街.
1920年代的某個時候, they moved in with Great Grandma’s brother, Julius Johannpeter (三月 5, 1875 – 十一月 13, 1961) and his wife Bertha Johannpeter nee Horst (七月 19, 1880 – 十月 22, 1952). Uncle Jules was a surrogate father to Grandpa. 爺爺總是談論他與姨媽和叔叔和他們的四個孩子一起生活的樂趣. 兩個男孩和兩個女孩就像爺爺的兄弟姐妹.
Great Grandma and Grandpa Ellis
爺爺總是說朱爾斯叔叔的口語詞彙有限, 但是他寫了最美麗的字母. Grandpa told me one time he and Uncle Jules were sitting in the living room. 朱爾斯叔叔抬頭看時，他一直在喝太多家居釀造的德國啤酒. He said, “Gil, 您知道這是一種微妙的機械學。” 爺爺在重述這個故事中獲得了最大的踢球.
媽媽告訴我，朱爾斯叔叔是一個典型的德國丈夫. 他沒有在房子周圍做任何事情. 曾祖母有時覺得他並不總是欣賞伯莎姨媽. 自從曾祖母崇拜伯莎姨媽以來, 她有時會讓自己的感受.
星期六或週日的飯後, 曾祖母想玩卡片, 但是必須先清理桌子. 朱爾斯叔叔坐在另一個房間裡, 伯莎姨媽要清理桌子並洗淨. 曾奶奶拿起桌布拿到了局勢, 將其從桌子上拉下來，將瓷器倒在地板上. 這些盤子在到處都是破碎的盤子和杯子撞到地板上.
朱爾斯叔叔大叫, “你到底在做李!?!” 曾祖母回答, “現在是時候買伯莎（Bertha）. 掃除這個混亂，讓我們玩一些卡。” 曾祖母早點玩牌. 朱爾斯叔叔給伯莎姨媽買了一套新的中國.
曾祖母繼續在她的職業中進步，直到她是服裝工廠的前女, where she worked.
Great Grandma Caroline “李” 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. 他的成績沒有提高, so she did not send him back for his senior year. 他經常告訴我，這是他一生中最大的錯誤之一，也是他最偉大的教訓之一. He had to be responsible for his actions.
我的祖母, 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, 當他們仍然看電影時. 他們在一起花了很多時間. When Grandma and Grandpa moved onto Kingsland Court, 曾祖母與他們一起搬進了多年. 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.
沒有人向卡羅琳·約翰·塞特（Caroline Johannpeter）建造雕像, 但是她是我們家庭中的基本人物. 面對會破壞別人的情況, she persevered and accomplished things that were unheard of for her sex in that day and age. 我從未遇到過偉大的祖母, 但是我欽佩她的力量和品格. 我在祖父中看到了這個角色，但仍然在母親身上看到它. We come from sturdy stock.
