F.W. Johannpeter eta 1883 Tabernako Gorabehera

Frederick William Johannpeter (1839 – 1915) nire bigarren birraitona izan zen amaren aldetik. Hil zen 4 bere biloba jaio baino hilabete lehenago, Gilbert P. Ellis, who was my grandfather.

Nire aitona jaio baino lehen hil zenez, Oso informazio mugatua nuen berari buruz, familiaren historia ikertzen hasi nintzenean. Grandpa didn’t have any verbal history on his grandparents. He lived with F.W.’s widow, Johanna, edo “Hannah”, after Grandpa’s father died but she passed away when Grandpa was five years old.

I did have one picture of F.W. and Johanna in a window behind my great grandparents William and Caroline “Lee” Ellis on their wedding day in 1912. My mother had this picture in a group of family pictures she had from Great Grandma Lee, F.W.’s youngest daughter Caroline Leah “Lee” Johann Peter Ellis nee. Everything I know about F.W. is from official sources and a few newspaper articles.

F.W. was born in Bielefeld, Germany on January 7, 1839. He married Johanna Grieve on December 23, 1866. F.W. zen 27. Johanna was 23. Urte bat geroago, their oldest son Gustave was born in Germany.

Urtean 1868, the family moved to the United States and settle in St. Charles, Missouri. Their remaining 8 children, including Great Grandma Lee, the second youngest, were born in St. Charles between 1869 eta 1883.

It appears F.W. went by Frederick, Fred, William and most frequently in official documents and one of the two newspaper articles, F.W. Johannpeter. Duela urte batzuk, I found a reference to a F.W. Johannpeter being involved in a political brawl in 1883. The article didn’t have enough information to confirm it was my second great grandfather, so I initially dismissed it. Zoritxarrez, I cannot find the original article.

Hala ere, I recently found a St. Louis Post-hilabete newspaper article, which contained enough information that I feel comfortable it was F.W., who was involved. Urtean 1883, the 44-year-old F.W. was running for St. Charles City Council from the 3rd Ward. While attending a local tavern, he began arguing with another unnamed “prominent politician”. It was not one of his opponents.

The prominent politician offered several opinions, which were not well received by F.W. A heated exchange occurred between the men until F.W. decided things had gone far enough. F.W. ended the exchange by bringing his beer mug down on the prominent politician’s head.

F.W. decided not to wait for the local police to intervene and exited the premises. The man didn’t press charges but the bad publicity couldn’t have helped F.W.’s campaign. One of his two opponents won the election. F.W. withdrew from politics and managed to avoid this type of publicity for the remainder of his life.

Most of the Johannpeters moved from St. Charles to North St. Louis in the early 1910s. F.W. died of heart disease while living on North 19th Street on February 21, 1915. F.W. zen 76 urte.

People often tell you not to argue politics or religion. Now you know why.

Iruzkin bat utzi edo galdera bat egin dezakezu mezu honi edo edozeini buruz beheko iruzkinen atalean edo nire atalean Facebook orria edo Twitter profila.

Source: St. Louis Post-hilabete, Apirila 2, 1883 edition, p. 8

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