(courtesy of George Beckman, The Villages, Florida)
Hinrich (Henry) Beckmann (1894-1939), Uncle Charlie, the owner of the Knickerbocker Hotel in Leonia, New Jersey, while visiting from America invited Henry to come to America, which he did. The year must have been around 1910 according to my math, he would have been very young, 16 or 17 years old. Since Uncle Charlie was a man of means, I'm sure he gave Henry a good start in his new world.
Like most German immigrants, Henry most likely started in the food business in NYC (Delicatessen) sandwiches, salads, soups, etc..
In 1917 America, through its English heritage President, Woodrow Wilson, decided it was time for America to enter the war against Germany, along with England and France.
Henry was drafted into the American Army, while in training, he felt uncomfortable because he might be called upon to fight against his brothers George and Carsten who were in the German army. He made his thoughts known to a cousin, also a Henry Beckmann, son of his uncle, John the grocer. Cousin Henry made arrangements for him to go before a judge, who had sympathy for his problem. The judge had him transferred to the Quarter Master Corps (Supply Corps) which prevented him from having to carry arms in combat. I belive Henry finished his Army tour in the United States and wasn't ever sent to France.
Henry met and married Dorothy Friedden, whose family had immigrated from Insel Fohr. Her family owned a delicatessen on 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn. Henry and his brother-in-law Julius Friedden ran this store together. Both Dorothy and Julius were big people about 6 feet tall (185 cm). Julius died suddenly of appendicitis in 1932. Prior to his death he and Henry opened another delicatessen on 5th Avenue, Brooklyn. It was written up in the Brooklyn newspapers as two of the best Deli's in town.
In 1935 the depression was hitting the nation very hard. President Roosevelt offered a bonus to American WWI vets, to stimulate the economy. With this bonus, Henry bought a brand new 1936 Buick 2 door sedan. He was also operating two Deli's at that time so he could afford it. Actually he and his wife owned two stores and they were only a couple, so it tells one that Henry was hard working and ambitious.
Henry was also well loved by his brothers, they used to swim at Coney island and Henry took his nieces and nephews for rides on Shore Road in his new car. He was known as a prince of a guy, loved and liked by all. Dorothy and Henry never had any children of their own.
In the spring of 1939, Henry contracted a bad cold. The infection from his bad cold spread to his kidneys and developed into 'Bright's Disease'. Henry died around June 10th, probably just a few months away from the introduction of the new miracle drug, penicillin, which would have saved his life. Anothe Brooklyn Newspaper article pointed out how the two fine Deli's, were closing, due to the untimely death of their owner. My father Harry was extremely sad on the loss of his brother.
Tante Dorothy continued living at the home on 3rd avenue, she always gave her husbands nieces and nephews gifts, toys, candy, etc. for the rest of her life.
Dorothy suffered deafness and always wore hearing aids. They would constantly squeal and make noise. We often had to repeat all our conversations with her, until she understood what we wanted to say. She never worked, apparently collecting rents, and living on the sale of Uncle Henry's businesses and her rental property.
As children she always offered us ginger ale and cookies and she enjoyed good food, especially hot dogs, which we all would enjoy in visits to the restaurants.
She kept Uncle Henry's new 1936 Buick in the garage until after WWII was over, she never learned to drive it, she later sold it to a plumbing contractor by the name of Messerschmidt, a distant cousin to the German Aircraft manufacturer.
In the 1950's she moved to 4th avenue, Brooklyn, because the Belt Parkway was expanding, and the city of New York wanted her house. Some of her last days she spent with us at my parents Salt Point home. She used to hold my infant son Bob, cuddling and cooing with him, he was less than 6 months old. She died in 1961 in NYC hospital, for ear, nose and throat care.
Friday, August 14, 2009
George Beckmann - 2nd son of Barthold & Christina Margaret (Reese) Beckmann
(courtesy of and written by George Beckman, The Villages, Florida)
George Beckmann (1892-1933), took over the Beckman farm in Lamstedt after his return from WWI where he spent 4 years as a German soldier. He was present at the 1st Battle of the Marne in 1914, and most likely was at the last battles fought in 1918. My father said he drove teams of horses which pulled cannons. This must have been a critical skill, because he survived 4 years at the front. He was wounded in the lung by shrapnel. After his return he said to my father "How can there be a merciful and loving God? after one has seen what I have seen". I'm sure he looked at death in the eye many times.
My father said he was an extremely hard worker, he gave my father 500 Marks to go to Hamburg to learn to be a musician, which he did. My father loved music and used these skills when he immigrated to America. Even in his 80th years, my father was often called upon to play his Cello in concerts at Germania Hall.
George married Johanna Eckoff, and took over the Beckmann farm. They had 2 sons, Barthold & Ludwig. Georg passed away in 1933, some say from the after effects of his wartime injuries.
A few years ago I met with Kathe Boerger, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a distand cousin, she told me young Barthold was an intelligent fine man, who died in Russia in 1943 at age 21.
Ludwig bore the responsibility of running the Beckmann farm, and under his able stewardship, he and his family have prospered.
Those of you in Germany, know more about Ludwig's family than I do.
George Beckman, The Villages, Florida, December 30, 2005
George Beckmann (1892-1933), took over the Beckman farm in Lamstedt after his return from WWI where he spent 4 years as a German soldier. He was present at the 1st Battle of the Marne in 1914, and most likely was at the last battles fought in 1918. My father said he drove teams of horses which pulled cannons. This must have been a critical skill, because he survived 4 years at the front. He was wounded in the lung by shrapnel. After his return he said to my father "How can there be a merciful and loving God? after one has seen what I have seen". I'm sure he looked at death in the eye many times.
My father said he was an extremely hard worker, he gave my father 500 Marks to go to Hamburg to learn to be a musician, which he did. My father loved music and used these skills when he immigrated to America. Even in his 80th years, my father was often called upon to play his Cello in concerts at Germania Hall.
George married Johanna Eckoff, and took over the Beckmann farm. They had 2 sons, Barthold & Ludwig. Georg passed away in 1933, some say from the after effects of his wartime injuries.
A few years ago I met with Kathe Boerger, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a distand cousin, she told me young Barthold was an intelligent fine man, who died in Russia in 1943 at age 21.
Ludwig bore the responsibility of running the Beckmann farm, and under his able stewardship, he and his family have prospered.
Those of you in Germany, know more about Ludwig's family than I do.
George Beckman, The Villages, Florida, December 30, 2005
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Barthold Dietrich Beckman-1st son of Barthold & Christina Margaret (Reese) Beckmann of Lamstedt, Niedersachsen, Germany
Barthold Dietrich Beckmann (1890-1954). The oldest son, in most European families would normally inherit the family farm. I believe Barthold realized at a young age, that he was not cut out for such a heavy obligation. Barthold was known to enjoy himself, and in later life, amongst his friends in America, at the "Plattdeusche Volksfest Verein" was known as a "Good Time Charlie", quick to laugh and party.
At about age 17 or 18 Bartle obtained a job as a butcher on one of the German ocean liners which plied the sea between Bremerhaven and Hoboken, New Jersey. I don't know what arrangements Bartle had made, but when the ship arrived in Hoboken, he walked off the pier and began a new life in the new world. The year would have been around 1908. Barthold was the only one in his family to immigrate to America illegally.
His Uncle "Charles" Beckmann (his father's brother) owned the Knickerbocker Hotel for men in Leonia, New Jersey. Barthold, could have walked there from Hoboken. The uncle, always known as a generous man, might have given him shelter and warmth and a start in the boroughs of New York City.
Eventually, Barthold became established in the butcher trade and met a wonderful lady by the name of Gesina Hillermann. Gesina's parents owned property in Red Hook, Brooklyn (a non residential industrial area) and also owned a nice home out in the country of Richmond Hill, Queens. Barthold and Gesina married sometime in the mid 1920's. For their honeymoon they took a train out to the mid-west, Ohio, Michigan and to visit an uncle, and brother to his father, Henry (Hinrich) "The Pioneer Farmer". Henry and his children had built up beautiful farms in Michigan and Ohio.
The Hillermann home in Richmond Hill was very comfortable, with a grape arbor, a garden, with chickens, a garage for a nice car. Bartle, Gesina, the senior Hillerman's and Gertie lived there, in the 1930's, it was out in the county, but the elevated subway train was just a few blocks away, so it was convenient to all areas of NYC.
There was even a nice second story parlor, for privacy, where one could smoke cigars while listening to the speaches of Adolph Hitler, Charles Lindberg, Fritz Kuhn (Band Leader), President F. D. Roosevelt, Father Coughlin (anti semite), Gabrial Heater (anti German), and the latest Joe Louis/Max Schmeling fight. I don't think any of the Beckmann brothers were Nazi's, but I do believe they were curious as to what Adolph Hitler was up to , and how the Nazi's affected their families in Germany and America.
Bartle also loved dogs, first Chows, then Great Danes and finally Doberman's. I remember one Doberman male wasn't very friendly (Bodo), only Barthold could handle him, anyone else had to be very careful around him or you might get bit. Doberman's have the strongest jaw power of any dog species. One had to be wary around them.
Bartle owned a butcher shop in Elmhurst, Queens, and on the weekends, he always looked forward to taking part in the festivities at the Franklin Square/Schwaben Hall Plattdeutsche Verein Volkfests. There were many friends there, The Plattdeutsche Clubs were made up of members (immigrants from all the small towns in North Germany) i.e. Bremerforde, Ottendorfer, Lamsteder, Foluer, etc.. They would drink beer, eat smoked eel, potato pancakes, buttercake and bien sticht, tell jokes and march in for speeches to the tune of 'Alte Kamaraden Marsch'.
During these German culture events, everything would be fine, even during WWII when there was a lot of anti-German histeria, as long as one paid respect to America by buying War Bonds or singing "The Star Spangled Banner" and/or God Bless America.
Pop Hillerman's car was a 1923 Ford "Model T", touring car, in which my father Harry took his first auto ride, When he arrived in America, out to the Lake RonkonKoma on Long Island. My father always loved cars after that.
Bartle never drove a car, but Tante Gesina was a good safe driver. Bartle and Gesina always had a nice well kept Pontiac or DeSoto car to drive on weekends, or when visiting our family upstate New York or going to the "Plattdeutsche Volksfest", at Franklin Square.
The Hillermann home was known as a welcome place to visit, for immigrants and friends in the German community. Peter and his wife were a great help to my father and mother in the early 1930's, a time, when my father suffered from a near fatal kidney ailment. They paid his hospital bill for 6 months, 26 dollars a week, the only alternative facing him would have been, to leave the hospital and die. They were a Christian and loving family and my family was always grateful to them during a time of need.
According to my brother Harry (an avid sportsman), Uncle Barthold was an excellent shot with a 22 rifle, and could easily hit a moving target. He was a natural "Schutzen Koenig".
Through thw WWII years and after, Tante Gesina and Uncle Bartle visited us often at our home in the Dutchess county along with other "Plattdeutsche" relatives and friends.
In 1951, my father Harry bought a new Buick Super, it was an 8 cylinder, automatic drive, top of the line car. I was 16 at the time, Uncle Bartle, my mother, father and I, all drove out to Michigan, in the Buick to see our Midwestern relatives.
Our western relatives were very devout, religion played a big part of their lives. They were church going people and prayed often for Gods guidance. Their homes and farms were well tended. My parents were surprised how well they spoke German, they had never been to Germany, but had attended a German school in Ohio as children.
It was a memorable trip, I did all the driving, on the way back we traveled through Canada, Niagara Falls and visited our old Minister from the Henry Street Lutheran Church, Postor Emil Kraeling, an interesting 80 year old, who lived in Adirondack mountains. Every Christmas day he would visit us in Salt Point, for a number of years in the 50's.
Shortly after this time 1953, Bartle suffered a heart attack and became an invalid. He couldn't climb stairs and his diet was severely restricted. He couldn't lead the life he wanted to. In 1954, he and Gesina planned a trip to Germany and Lamstedt.
He died May 26, 1954, while visiting a cherry orchard, in bloom, near Lamstedt. He was liked by many, he was a long term member of the Masonic Lodge and the Lamstedter Plattdeutsche Club.
My mother and aunt (Anna Friedrichsen) took care of Tante Gesina in her last days at 125th Street in Richmond Hill. Tante Gesina passed away in 1969 of a stroke.
Before her death my parents and Gesina took many trips together, to Florida, Germany, they enjoyed each others company for many years.
My father Harry, passed away , May 26, 1996, exactly 40 years, to the day, after Bartle's death.
At about age 17 or 18 Bartle obtained a job as a butcher on one of the German ocean liners which plied the sea between Bremerhaven and Hoboken, New Jersey. I don't know what arrangements Bartle had made, but when the ship arrived in Hoboken, he walked off the pier and began a new life in the new world. The year would have been around 1908. Barthold was the only one in his family to immigrate to America illegally.
His Uncle "Charles" Beckmann (his father's brother) owned the Knickerbocker Hotel for men in Leonia, New Jersey. Barthold, could have walked there from Hoboken. The uncle, always known as a generous man, might have given him shelter and warmth and a start in the boroughs of New York City.
Eventually, Barthold became established in the butcher trade and met a wonderful lady by the name of Gesina Hillermann. Gesina's parents owned property in Red Hook, Brooklyn (a non residential industrial area) and also owned a nice home out in the country of Richmond Hill, Queens. Barthold and Gesina married sometime in the mid 1920's. For their honeymoon they took a train out to the mid-west, Ohio, Michigan and to visit an uncle, and brother to his father, Henry (Hinrich) "The Pioneer Farmer". Henry and his children had built up beautiful farms in Michigan and Ohio.
The Hillermann home in Richmond Hill was very comfortable, with a grape arbor, a garden, with chickens, a garage for a nice car. Bartle, Gesina, the senior Hillerman's and Gertie lived there, in the 1930's, it was out in the county, but the elevated subway train was just a few blocks away, so it was convenient to all areas of NYC.
There was even a nice second story parlor, for privacy, where one could smoke cigars while listening to the speaches of Adolph Hitler, Charles Lindberg, Fritz Kuhn (Band Leader), President F. D. Roosevelt, Father Coughlin (anti semite), Gabrial Heater (anti German), and the latest Joe Louis/Max Schmeling fight. I don't think any of the Beckmann brothers were Nazi's, but I do believe they were curious as to what Adolph Hitler was up to , and how the Nazi's affected their families in Germany and America.
Bartle also loved dogs, first Chows, then Great Danes and finally Doberman's. I remember one Doberman male wasn't very friendly (Bodo), only Barthold could handle him, anyone else had to be very careful around him or you might get bit. Doberman's have the strongest jaw power of any dog species. One had to be wary around them.
Bartle owned a butcher shop in Elmhurst, Queens, and on the weekends, he always looked forward to taking part in the festivities at the Franklin Square/Schwaben Hall Plattdeutsche Verein Volkfests. There were many friends there, The Plattdeutsche Clubs were made up of members (immigrants from all the small towns in North Germany) i.e. Bremerforde, Ottendorfer, Lamsteder, Foluer, etc.. They would drink beer, eat smoked eel, potato pancakes, buttercake and bien sticht, tell jokes and march in for speeches to the tune of 'Alte Kamaraden Marsch'.
During these German culture events, everything would be fine, even during WWII when there was a lot of anti-German histeria, as long as one paid respect to America by buying War Bonds or singing "The Star Spangled Banner" and/or God Bless America.
Pop Hillerman's car was a 1923 Ford "Model T", touring car, in which my father Harry took his first auto ride, When he arrived in America, out to the Lake RonkonKoma on Long Island. My father always loved cars after that.
Bartle never drove a car, but Tante Gesina was a good safe driver. Bartle and Gesina always had a nice well kept Pontiac or DeSoto car to drive on weekends, or when visiting our family upstate New York or going to the "Plattdeutsche Volksfest", at Franklin Square.
The Hillermann home was known as a welcome place to visit, for immigrants and friends in the German community. Peter and his wife were a great help to my father and mother in the early 1930's, a time, when my father suffered from a near fatal kidney ailment. They paid his hospital bill for 6 months, 26 dollars a week, the only alternative facing him would have been, to leave the hospital and die. They were a Christian and loving family and my family was always grateful to them during a time of need.
According to my brother Harry (an avid sportsman), Uncle Barthold was an excellent shot with a 22 rifle, and could easily hit a moving target. He was a natural "Schutzen Koenig".
Through thw WWII years and after, Tante Gesina and Uncle Bartle visited us often at our home in the Dutchess county along with other "Plattdeutsche" relatives and friends.
In 1951, my father Harry bought a new Buick Super, it was an 8 cylinder, automatic drive, top of the line car. I was 16 at the time, Uncle Bartle, my mother, father and I, all drove out to Michigan, in the Buick to see our Midwestern relatives.
Our western relatives were very devout, religion played a big part of their lives. They were church going people and prayed often for Gods guidance. Their homes and farms were well tended. My parents were surprised how well they spoke German, they had never been to Germany, but had attended a German school in Ohio as children.
It was a memorable trip, I did all the driving, on the way back we traveled through Canada, Niagara Falls and visited our old Minister from the Henry Street Lutheran Church, Postor Emil Kraeling, an interesting 80 year old, who lived in Adirondack mountains. Every Christmas day he would visit us in Salt Point, for a number of years in the 50's.
Shortly after this time 1953, Bartle suffered a heart attack and became an invalid. He couldn't climb stairs and his diet was severely restricted. He couldn't lead the life he wanted to. In 1954, he and Gesina planned a trip to Germany and Lamstedt.
He died May 26, 1954, while visiting a cherry orchard, in bloom, near Lamstedt. He was liked by many, he was a long term member of the Masonic Lodge and the Lamstedter Plattdeutsche Club.
My mother and aunt (Anna Friedrichsen) took care of Tante Gesina in her last days at 125th Street in Richmond Hill. Tante Gesina passed away in 1969 of a stroke.
Before her death my parents and Gesina took many trips together, to Florida, Germany, they enjoyed each others company for many years.
My father Harry, passed away , May 26, 1996, exactly 40 years, to the day, after Bartle's death.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Charles Beckman "Uncle Charley" & Frieda (Lauble) Beckman "Tante Frieda"
The following story is written by and courtesy of George Beckmann, The Villages, Florida:
Who were Uncle Charley, Tante Frieda (Aunt Frieda) and Charley Jr.?
Uncle Charley was one of my fathers best friends. He was also my fathers cousin. He was born and raised in a log cabin near Paulding, Ohio in 1887. Charley's father Henry and my father's father (my grandfather) Barthold were brothers and were born in Lamstedt, Germany. Uncle Charley's father came to America at a young age of 17 or 18, on a sailing ship. He landed in New York City about 1868.
He started a grocery store and restaurant business on the lower east side, with another younger brother John, about the time the Brooklyn Bridge was being built. Basically Henry loved farming. After saving some money he decided to go to Ohio where he could pioneer farm. He bought 50 acres of swamp land that had to be drained for $200 from the US Government. After draining the land was rich and fertile.
Uncle Charley was one of 8 children born to Henry Beckman the pioneer farmer. Two children were born in New York City and 6 were born in Ohio. Life was not easy in Ohio, the country was new and wild. As a child he was kept inside the log cabin with the other children because of poisonous snakes and insects which roamed about the property. His mother was often overworked with 7 children at home, she suffered from nervous exhaustion and periodically had to be hospitalized. From time to time, Henry had to send for his sister Catherine of Gerritson Beach, Brooklyn to assist him with his growing family. She would come out from NY to help him.
Charley learned how to farm at an early age, especially with horses, becoming a very proficient farmer able to run almost any kind of farm enterprise, grain or cattle. When he was about 20 or so he married a lady of Dutch heritage, I believe her first name was Myrtle. Uncle Charley acquired a farm near Coldwater, Michigan. His father Henry, saw to it, that his sons each had a decent farm to build a life on. Uncle Charley fathered 4 children with his 1st wife, Lucille b:1912, Leo b:1914, Vern b:1916 and Dean b:1920.
Uncle Charley would often rent out himself and a team of horses to construct roads by pulling a road grader, so about 1925 he was away from home quite a bit. The Model "T" Ford car was a popular vehicle and roads were needed, everyone seemed to be driving one.
Because of his home absence, his wife became involved with a neighbor and the marriage came to an end around 1927. Sad moment in anybody's life when a marriage ends, four young children ages 5 to 15. Their father would soon be out of their life forever.
Tough times ahead the Depression of 1929 was coming. Charley tended to become a problem drinker, drinking mostly hard cider since alcohol was outlawed by Prohibition. Henry, his father wasn't happy with Charley's behavior, gave him some money, told him to go to New York State and try to straighten out his life. It was now the height of the Depression, work situations were not very good.
Charley found himself in the lower Hudson Valley employed on the Harriman estate. The Harriman's were wealthy railroad magnates, multi millionaires. The town of Harriman was named after them, I believe their large estate still exists near Central Valley below Newburgh.
Charley wasn't able to support his family back in Michigan, as in most cases of that sort that family grew up very poor and having a tough struggle.
On the Harriman estate things were going OK for Charley, at least he had a job, one day while driving a Fordson tractor, the steering mechanism came uncoupled and Charley escaped injury by jumping off, the tractor quickly turned over in the ditch along side the road. Early Fordson tractors had a reputation of being dangerous for upsetting, many a farmer came to their lives end on one.
In the next years Charley moved up to southern Dutchess where he met Frieda Lauble in a Chelsea dance hall near Wappinger Falls. She was a recent immigrant, living with her sister and brother-in-law, Hermina and Emil Von Koenig, who were all immigrants from the "Black Forest" area of Germany. The two sisters came from either Villingen or Saint Georgian. Emil, I found out later, came from the Rhineland Pfalz.
Charley and Frieda married, most likely in 1928 or 29. Charles as a small boy had attended German school in Ohio and had a working knowledge of that language. English does not come as easy to south Germans as it does to north Germans. Frieda and her sister and brother-in-law Emil always spoke with a rather heavy accent.
Speaking German, was helpful in Charley's marriage to Frieda, in June 1930 their son Charley Jr. was born. Charley and Frieda worked as tenant farmers in farms around Dutchess county. In the years they worked the various farms they became acquainted with my father and my father's older brother Henry somehow, I do not know how exactly. I know in the 1930 national census, they are listed as living in East Fishkill and we visited them there.
I recall as a small boy riding in my fathers 1936 Chevy up the Taconic Parkway to Milton Alley's farm on Todd Hill road, to buy peaches, afterward we would visit Uncle Charley and Tante Frieda, sometimes staying overnight. At that time they were living on a farm which is now Dutchess County Airport. The farm was owned by Murry Wigsten, who was instrumental in electrifying Dutchess county farms in the 1930's.
The son of Murry Wigsten, Warren Wigsten, lives now in Pleasant Valley, New York. Through the years, we spent many weekends in the country. We had some very good times. I remember the nice Easter baskets Tante Frieda made for us and the Christmas gift she always gave us. Charley Jr. and my brother Harry were about the same age, so they enjoyed being together and also fishing and hunting. Charley Jr. was very bright in school, which I have since come to realize was a gift from his mother's side of the family.
Along about 1940, Uncle Charley was working on the Fred Dose farm on Meyers Corners road. Fred Dose was a Dodge car dealer in NYC. My father may have bought a new 1939 Dodge from him. Fred sold a 1938 Dodge to Uncle Charley on convenient terms. Uncle Charley had that Dodge a dozen years, to him it was the greatest car on the road.
The farm Fred owned was a dairy farm, which Charley Sr. managed. I remember in the early summer mornings, the cows would gather at the barn and their cow bells would ding and ring, as pleasant a sound as I ever heard.
One day in 1940, a young man showed up at Charley Sr's door, it turned out to be his youngest son, Dean from Coldwater, Michigan. He had decided to visit his father in Wappinger Falls so he took a train east, he was 20 years old.
Young Charley Jr. was very happy to see his new found brother. Dean was a fine son, he made toys for his little half brother, airplanes with propellers that would turn in the wind. They had a great time getting to know each other. Dean and Charley bonded.
I don't know how long the visit lasted perhaps several weeks or a couple of months. Finally it came time for Dean to leave. Sadly, they bade him good-bye and put him on a train.
Within the next 24 hours they received news that Dean had reached the station in Ohio and had gotten off the train. He was picked up by anacquaintance, who said he would drive Dean home to Coldwater, Michigan. As so often the case the young driver may have been drinking and was driving too fast, he headed north from Ohio to Michigan, within a couple of miles of the RR station, there was a slight bend in the road to the right, the driver lost control and Dean lost his life, he came home to be buried in the Coldwater Cemetery.
Young Charley Jr. was shocked by all this, his father had to return to Michigan to attend his son's funeral. Some said, WWII was st arting up and young Dean most likely would have been killed in that conflict, who knows? It was a tragic loss for a little boy and his family.
Uncle Charley's son Vern came to visit also, he was slightly handicapped, having an under developed arm. He was an auto mechanic and helped us start up a non running Willys Whippit. We drove it around the yard a few times, it never was put on the road.
Uncle Charley's daughter Lucille came to visit a few times through the years. Uncle Charley's oldest son Leo never came to visit his father. Both Vern and Lucille were multi married and divorced through the years. The children of Charley's first marriage lived out their lives in and around Hillsdale and Coldwater, Michigan.
Life goes on, Charley Sr. and Frieda moved a half dozen times to other farms in Dutchess county. Frieda was always quick to set up a comfortable home. Charley Sr. was a good farmer and a hard worker, he knew his farming very well.
He did have some drawbacks, he was quick to anger and sometimes quick to use his fists. On several occasions he came to blows with different individuals, which to me seems to be immature for a grown individual. Other than that, he was a good husband to Frieda and a good father to his son.
He never seemed to want to become wealthy or to own his own home. All of his brothers and sisters back in the mid-west were successful farmers or farm families. He had a rather nice farm back in Michigan, but all that seemed to be behind him in his subsequent marriage.
The Depression may have had a bad effect on him, because from time to time I believe my parents gave him some financial help during those dark days in the 1930's.
1945 came, and my parents boght the 75 acre Grant Nelson farm in the town of Clinton. I'm sure my mother figured ahead of time that Charley Sr. would fit into her plan as the farm manager. It became a reality and the farm ran for about 5 years.
I can still remember when Uncle Charley would begin the milking chores. Part of the ritual would be for him to take a big bite of chewing tobacco and stuff it behind his lip. With his lumpy jaw he would proceed to wash the cows udders with disinfectant and connect the milking machine to the cow. The milking process took about an hour and a half. The milk was placed in large milk cans and then in a cooler and once a day it would be wheeled out to the road and picked up by a Dairylea truck and taken to Poughkeepsie.
There were other major chores to be done on the farm, making hay, growing corn and grain, also growing a vegetable garden for home use. Tending horses, chickens and ducks were all part of it.
Charley Jr. graduated from Roosevelt High School, with several math prizes. His aunt and uncle, Emil and Hermina Von Koenig wanted to send him to college, he wasn't encouraged but discouraged from doing so, by Charles Sr.. Charley pursued a career in home sales. His children reaped the harvest of his good intelligence.
Divorce hit Charles Jr. too, and scattered his children to the corners of the nation. Dixie Lee to Hollywood, James to the Army, as an Officer and finally as an anesthesiologist in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Billy as a wildlife controller in Oregon, Charles the 3rd pursuing a career in the Hudson Valley. Joseph Tung, Charley Jr's grandson, by Dixie Lee, a Naval Cadet at Annapolis.
In 1951-52 Uncle Charley was involved in another tractor accident, his F-20 tractor while climbing an icy hill, on the Gardiner Farm in Stanfordville, slid backwards. Uncle Charley jumped off breaking his pelvis, at age 65, it took him about a year to recover, but he did.
Uncle Charley and Tanta Frieda lived on, in Dutchess county working on various estates, around 1960 Tante Frieda began to have heart problems and she passed away suddenly in 1961, Charles Sr. lived on for 19 years, living many years with Mrs. Keller in North Red Hook on Kerley Corners road, and finally passing away in Northern Dutchess Hospital in 1980.
My father often visited him and as I mentioned previously he was my fathers best friend in life. Some of his last words to my father were, it's time for me to go. I've been here long enough. Thus he passed away at the grand old age of 93.
He was a good farmer and a colorful person, he taught his descendants to hunt, fish and trap.
He loved the land, hunting it's wildlife and telling the many stories of his life in the farm lands of Ohio, Michigan and New York. Uncle Charley lived to go deer hunting every fall, so did his son Charles Jr., it was a big part of their life. Uncle Charley shot his last deer when over the age of 90, it was near Woodstock, New York.
Tant Frieda in her time with Charley made her home a very special place, on Sunday afternoons there was always delicious coffee, cake and pleasant conversations. It's all a memory of over 50 years ago.
George Beckmann 07/24/07
John M. Beckmann
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