SCHUSTER, Ferdinand

Other Events:

• Immigration: Video - A short 10 minute video that gives a good idea about immigration from Europe.
• Military Service: Bef 1904; Served in Prussian Army?
• Immigration: 2 Jul 1904, New York, New York, New York, USA; on the ship Kaiser Wilhelm from Bremen
• Immigration: 2 Jul 1904, Ellis Island, New York; on the ship Kaiser William the second from Bremen
• Occupation: Bef 21 Jul 1912; Farmer, Tailor

Notes:

Biography:
FERDINAND SCHUSTER and KLARA BAUMGARTNERThe spring of 1904 was auspicious for Ferdinand (1864-1912) and Klara (186 8-1955), the winter of 1903 had been especially hard and the new Conscript ion law passed by the Diet in Vienna, the capital of the Austrian-Hungari an Empire, a decision had to be made. Since 1894 Ferdinand's two brother s, Joseph with his wife Anna (nee Augustin) and Frank, with his wife An na (nee Poelmann) had immigrated to America (1894 and 1901 respectivel y) as had other family and friends from Furstenthal, settling on the hi gh plains of Western Kansas near Ellis.
The letters from family and friends who had immigrated earlier to the pla ce called Kansas sounded unreal, tales about the many acres farmed, the nu mber of cattle pastured, how cheap the land was, and any number of wonde rs convinced many to immigrate. Little was ever written about the cold win ters, the howling winds, the awesome storms or the many hardships these im migrants had to face. To Ferdinand and Klara, Kansas must have sounded li ke heaven, later they would come to understand the reality of life on t he high plains of Kansas.
Conscription (service in the Army mandatory for all adult males) was anoth er mitigating factor, the Austrian Empire was at this time was requiring i ts young men to serve at an even younger age, 16. Ferdinand had serv ed as a young man, it hadn't been a pleasant experience, although it was t here that he learned trade of a shoemaker which would later be of great va lue to him. Life in the Austrian army was hard, dirty and dangerous ev en without a war and Ferdinand understandably wanted no part of it for h is sons. Frank their oldest son would soon reach that age. To spare the ir sons they must be removed from this perceived threat.
Thus the Conscription combined with the lack of opportunity for their chil dren forced the question of immigration. The promise of a better life th at is the American Dream no doubt left little question where they would g o. America, the place where a family could grow and prosper, a place of u nlimited opportunity for all of their children.
Ferdinand and Klara set out for this Golden Promise in faraway Kansas Amer ica, just as their ancestors had left Bavaria at the beginning of the 19 th Century for the promise of greater things in a place called Bukovina. T hat they would follow their friends and family members to Kansas, made t he decision easier. Yes they were going to a strange new land. But there w as family and friends already there to ease the transition.
So as late winter gave way to the first signs of spring, Ferdinand and Kla ra sold or gave away what they could not take with them, and as summer ca me they said tearful goodbye to family and friends, gathered their seven c hildren, Frank age 14 (1891-1980), Mary age 11 (1892-1980), Theresia a ge 9 (1894-1978), Barbara age 8 (1896-1971), Stephanie age 6 (1898-1989 ), Paul age 3 (1900-1990), and Jacob whowas only 5 months old (1904-1989) and left by oxcart to the rail stati on at Radautz.
Their journey would last approximately a month and can be traced by studyi ng the old railroad maps of the era. A train from Radautz to Vienna, to M unich, to Frankfort and then to Bremen where the family boarded the SS Kai ser Wilhelm der Gross June 28th, 1904 bound for New York.The voyage was hard, especially for Klara confined to a single cabin wi th five children and a baby to feed and care for. All their food for the m ust be brought with them, according to Aunt Fannie (Stephanie) consist ed of bread, sausage, cheese and cabbage.
Few things were provided for passengers in the steerage, coffee and wat er was available, milk could be purchased but was expensive. The men wou ld join their families in a common room (Frank, because of his age was wi th his father placed with the other men in a large below deck dormitori es as was the custom) for their main meal which they could purchase but bo re little resemblance to anything familiar or eat what they themselves h ad brought with them. Decidedly the food available on the ship wou ld be foreign to a family used to making their own meals from the garden b ehind their former home.
A charming story is told about Frank as the Kaiser Wilhelm entered New Yor k, July 4, 1904, witnessing an Independence Day fireworks display, young F rank asked the ships personnel "Is there a revolution?" How astonish ed he must have been to learn that the skyrockets were celebrating the ann iversary of America's revolution.
The ship docked at Ellis Island on July 5th and the family began as many o thers the arduous inspection by biased Immigration employees that would al low them to enter America. The family would be five days on Ellis Islan d, Barbara had contracted an eye infection on the passage, which in itse lf would disallow her admittance into the country, before being allow ed to continue their journey to Kansas.
Frank in later years would relate a story about the prejudice encounter ed on Ellis Island. He told that on the ship coming from Bremen there we re 99 persons of the Jewish faith, 96 were turned away when they told offi cials that their destinations was New York City apparently the official w as to have commented that there were already enough Jews in New York.
Frank, was inquisitive as all young people are, not restricted to the cab in or common room on the ship or the close quarters provided on Ellis Isla nd roamed about. His innate language ability allowed him to acquire so me of the English he would need in America, which would stand the entire f amily in questionable straits on the train from New York City to Ellis, Ka nsas.
Nearing Chicago on the train, the family was extremely low on food. Fran k, who felt he had learned enough English to get by, was given some coi ns to find the family something to eat at the next station. He returned wi th what appeared to be a sausage, a loaf of bread, and some apples. Au nt Fannie would recall " That sausage wasn't what we were used to, it w as bologna and bad too, by the time we got off the train the next day in E llis the whole family was sick." Aunt Fannie remembered that on arrivi ng in Ellis there was no one to meet them as they got off the train, Unc le Joe and Uncle Frank lived on farms west of town and hadn't been certa in of the family's arrival. Mrs. John Weber, a cousin of her mother w as in town for supplies, bundled the family into her wagon and took them o ut to the Weber farm where she fed them their first meal in Ellis, Pota to Soup.
It was a hard establishing a new life for a growing family. Three more ch ildren would be born to Ferdinand and Klara after settling in Ellis, Cla ra 1906, John 1909-1983 and Engelbert (Bert) in 1911. To make ends meet Fe rdinand took work on the Union Pacific Railroad. Often gone for days, t he work on their rented farm fell to Klara and the children.
Aunt Fannie relates Mama was really upset when she saw what Kansas was li ke "There were no trees" she would say. Life was hard for Mama; the old er girls would help with the household chores and us younger children. B ut Mama was left to tend the gardens, feed and water our few cattle and mi lk our cow, Frank would hire himself to the neighbors for the extra mon ey needed for store bought things. There was always something she had to d o. Later when we lived on the farm, the wind was something she could nev er get used to, 'This will drive us all crazy' she would say. Accordi ng to Mama it was never so cold, or so dry, or so windy in Furstenthal.
"But she'd make the best of it, we were never hungry and always busy, we c hildren all had chores to do, but the bulk of the work fell to Mama and Fr ank. Mama was always very proud of the way she was able to manage."
Ferdinand and Klara would begin their new life in Kansas on a rented far m. By saving money earned by Ferdinand on the railroad and combining it wi th what they had been able to save before coming to America, Ferdinand a nd Klara in 1908 were finally able to purchase a farm 10 miles southea st of Ellis. (This farm is still in the family 82 years later, it is now o wned by Michael Schuster, the third generation of Schuster to be there.) S undays were a special day for the family. Even living ten miles out of Ell is, the town still provided their main source of social contact, their chu rch, St. Mary's. Sunday mass was required and there was much visiting do ne between the families of the parish after mass.
During the erection of the present church which began in 1909, the male pa rishioners of St. Mary's, which included Ferdinand, his brothers Joe and F rank, cousins, uncles and other friends from Furstenthal used their spa re time to assist in building of the new sanctuary. When the weather was g ood, the wives could be relied upon to prepare mountains of food which wou ld be laid out under the trees on makeshift tables along Big Creek after S unday mass. After the days work was done a country fair atmosphere would p revail. Uncle Joe could be relied upon to bring his fiddle, and cousin Fra nk had a Jews Harp, all those that could play an instrument were ask ed to play. There in the shade by the side of Big Creek watching their n ew church reach skyward, the families renewed their Bukovinian German Heri tage.In 1912 Ferdinand died. Frank, now 21 became the head of the family. Ev en Ferdinand's death did not alter the families' dream. They stayed on t he farm, growing wheat and raising a few cattle, attending St. Mary's a nd marrying and becoming an integral part of the Ellis community.
Frank married Rosie Aschenbrenner in 1921, Mary married Joseph Locker in 1 916, Theresia married Nicholas Kaiser in 1921, Barbara married Stephen Nem echek in 1921, Stephanie married Louis Locker in 1917, Jake married Elma M ickelson in 1931, Clara married Mike Zimmerman in 1923, John married Mar go Dreiling and Engelbert married Iva Withers in 1939.
Most of Ferdinand's and Klara's children stayed in the Ellis area, marrie d, baptized their own children and are buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in El lis, Kansas.
Ferdinand and Klara's grandchildren now reside in Arizona, New Jersey, Cal ifornia, Colorado and of course Kansas.
Klara Baumgartner Schuster died July 3, 1955, 51 years after arrivi ng at Ellis Island.

by Gay (Ryan) Schuster.------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ----------------------------------------------Another Story...this one a letter by Mary (Kaiser) Conard to her niece Pat ty

Dearest Patty:Had a chance to get to town to do some photocopying...so here's a Schust er start.I wish that I had more time to write the stories as I did about Grandma 's house. Names are okay, dates are a bore (but essential, I've found) a nd stories are fun.
I also filled out a set of pedigree sheets for you. This can really get in volved for anyone who really does it well and with scrupulous accuracy, a nd I have tried to be accurate as I've copied. The typewritten family lis t-sheets I got from Fred Schuster's wife, Gay, who's delving into, fo ur or five intermarried families from the Furstenthal area. Word has i t, she started on the Ferdinand Schuster line and also Freddie Schuster 's mother Rosie Aschenbrenner (married to Uncle Frank Schuster, Mom's brot her) and found so many families intermarried that she went into more famil ies, and as a result the book she was hoping to get published is sti ll in the process. Since families keep adding, I doubt that she ever wi ll get a book accomplished. I dabbled in family sheets, but not living cl ose to where we have family or being able to visit frequently in Kansas . .. what I've done amounts to what it is...dabbling.
From what I can read, and here again lots I want to know, isn't translate d, the Schuster ancestors were originally from the Black Forest Regi on of the German Empire and moved to the village ofFurstenthal in Bukowina (Bucovina). (Bucovina means "Beech Woods")
Furstenthal was first settled at the bequest of Austrian Emperor Jose ph in 1803, German speaking settlers were originally from Pfalz, Hasse, t he Wertemberg Highlands, among others. The villages from which our ancest ors came are located in the Black Forest Region on the Bohemian Czech bord er. I Find Baumgartners and Schusters in an account of Bucovina in Apr il 1803, and listed with those who came from the area of the Bohemian Woo ds were names of some of the earliest among them; Sebastian Baumgartner, A ndreas Schuster and Franz Schuster. By 1808 we also find among the immigr ants from the Bohemian Forests; Josef, Ferdinand, Julius and Johann Baumga rtner. With my very limited knowledge of German, it seems to say that o ur ancestors were Craftsmen. I read accounts where some German Bukovina pe ople come to the area because they were skilled salt miners, and Grandma S chuster did say there were salt mines nearby. (She gave me and also Ro se a crucifix . . .about rosary size . . . she said was obtained of a miss ion held at the salt mines.) There were possibly other mines, as one of t he people with our ancestral names was a smelter, and there are stampers l isted in Furstenthal village census.
I base my assumption that our people were craftsmen with informati on from a 1822 censuslists and among the glassworkers in Furstenthal were Anton and Michael Gas chler, Franz and Jacob Schuster. Christoph Gaschler was a smelter. List ed under private handworkers and listed as cobblers were Johann and Micha el Schuster. As Village Justice, a Johann Baumgartner served from 1859 to 1888. I found others serving equally as long, so this did not seem o ut of reason.
Here again we have families living in villages, each with their own fenc ed in yard with house, barn, well, etc, as in Russia and the Alsace. He re again are solely Catholic villages and villages of other faiths…again m arriages to only ones of their own religion and "Komradschaffen" and fr om their own villages or ones of the same faith nearby. There was a sma ll exception to this. In both Franzfeld and Furstenthal lived other Germa n-speaking people who were Jewish. They stuck together on the fring es of the city (village). Jews married no one of another Faith or Cultur e. They were the moneychangers who had the taverns that only men frequent ed, they traded in grain and merchandise ... and sometimes in illegalit y. Jews and Catholics did not associate with one another, the Jews bei ng looked down upon here as in Russia. To this there was one exceptio n. . when their children were needed to make up the school rolls to have e nough students needed to receive money from the government. (This was giv en without interference from the government).
Village life apparently follows the European way. Cattle were herded in to the woods to graze every day by the cowherd who was paid by an assessme nt of all the villagers (Remember in the story of Heidi where Peter, the g oat-herder took the goats up on the mountain to graze each morning and bro ught them back at milking time?) Geese were tended to by a goosegirls in m uch the same way. Theresia did not say whether they had a swineherd or n ot but one was common in many accounts.
I don't know if all the little Furstenthalers went to school, but the litt le Schusters did by the time they were six, both boys and girls. The gove rnment gave money to the villages, provided there was an enrollme nt of 40 pupils for three consecutive years... this "might" have been an i nducement to have all available students in school. The government did n ot specify the curricula and each taught in their own language and accordi ng to their own culture. They studied usually under the village priest a nd a schoolmaster trained for such. Many times the church and school we re the same building. . i.e.…a room set aside in the church or eventual ly added on to, and in later years a building nearby. In addition to wh at we know as the 3 R's, they started to study Latin in the first grade . .. Latin was the language of the Catholic Church's Mass. Religion was t he 4th of the "R's", but first in the order of importance. Theresia said l earning English reading was comparatively easy for her as she'd learn ed to learn to read and write the German Gothic Script and the Latin Rom an letters. Boy! that's a tall order, as for as I'm concerned, for s ix or seven year olds.
In many ways, you could say their social life, too, revolved around the ch urch. Religious Holidays were the ones most celebrated. Lent was strict ly observed, Theresia said, with no meats and fasting every day for t he 40 days. We did not celebrate birthdays, nor was it customary f or us in Nick and Theresia's family to gather anywhere for Thanksgiving, I ndependence and Labor Days etc. These were days used for catch-up work be cause the whole family was home. We went to a Catholic School and were o ut of school on Holy Days, however no servile work was done on those days.In the yard, our Schuster Family had a cow, chickens, pigs, etc. in the Eu ropean way. Theircow went out with the cowherd each morning and back at night. Agricultur al Fields were outside of the village, as well as a large community garde n. Theresia referred to thunder as "God's Potato Wagons" going across t he sky, because thunder sounded like the potato wagons coming into the vil lage in the fall. There for winter-feed for the cattle, they planted co rn (or cane-type crops) interspersed with pumpkins. In the fall they wou ld gather the grains, then bind the stalks and put the pumpkin under the f eed "shocks". This they would feed the cattle over the winter. They fou nd it surprising when they came to this country, that Americans ate catt le feed... referring to the pumpkins. Theresia said the terrain was a l ot like Montana, but with the hills all covered with woods. Since the ar ea was "woody" they did not use twists of straw for household cookery.
Weather was apparently cooler, as it was not the custom for our Schuste rs to build summer kitchens (as it was among the Kaiser people) so it prob ably wasn't something they did in the old country. Later photos of hous es in Furstenthal also show no little enclosed porch like affair around t he main entry door as was custom in South Russia, so I am guessing, the wi nd was not as high and they had fewer flies. In both the Schuster and Kai ser's European cultures, the front gate to the family home area ... a lar ge one through which to drive the stock, wagons, etc. usually had an orna te archway, the large gate was adorned, and a little side gate that just a dmitted people next to this large one was also decorated. A rather asi de from the story is an oddity in toilets between my parents' culture. T he Kaiser toilets were usually a deep pit with the toilet "shed" on top. .. had maybe two holes, and a little lower one built on the side. When fu ll, the shed was moved. The Schuster toilet was a covered seat, one hol er that sat flat on the ground with a "trap door" in the back. Through th is it was often cleaned out, along with the henhouses, hog sheds, etc. ( In the old country each yard had it's "Mistplatz".. literally manure place .) Eventually this was all put on the fields and gardens. I doubt that th is was left long in the buildings, as it was Theresia's habit when I was g rowing up, to clean the henhouses once a week, and this had to come from h er "Up-bringing".
The Ferdinand Schuster daughters raised good gardens... Do you suppose th ey knew something, God given, that our generation, with its commercial fer tilizer, could learn something from? They were all scrupulously clean hou sekeepers. No bedbugs, lice, or dirty kitchen grease in their homes.
I digressed there, I'm afraid. Grandpa Ferdinand was the last of his brot hers and sisters left in Austria, Grandma once said. He wanted to come wh en they did, but he was enlisted as a cobbler in the Austrian Army ... I t hink this was a little like the militia, as in colonial days in Americ a. Military men drilled as a group in each of their villages in readine ss for whatever wartime action was asked, (or commanded) of them. He seem ed to be home, from Mom's stories, most of the early years of Ferdinand a nd Klara's marriage, Austria was not at war, and if it was, he most like ly cobbled for the army staying in the village. I would guess that he com es from a line of cobblers, because the name Schuster means "One who mak es shoes or footwear (shoemaker)." At any rate, he was afraid to apply f or passport out of Austria before his military time was up. There must ha ve been some unrest, (Mom said there was usually a lot of that ... with o ne ruler trying to gobble up another to fill his own coffers.) They final ly went to a Jew, who forged passports for the family for them to get o ut of the country. About the trip from Bucovina to Bremen, I have not hea rd anyone tell stories. Theresia said they had a little room on the sh ip and that most of them were very seasick, though Grandma Klara seem ed be able to take care of the young family of seven aged from 13 yea rs to five months . . . Frank, Mary, Theresia, Barbara, Stephanie, Paul, a nd Jakob. They boarded the "Kaiser Wilhelm" on the 18th of June in Breme n, Germany, and arrived at Ellis Island on the 5th of July, 1904. (Interes tingly the Kaiser's came also on the "Kaiser Wilhelm", embarking at Brem en in 1907 and 1908.)
They came to Ellis because that was where the rest of Ferdinand's family a nd other Furstenthalers had settled. (Another interesting note: Both Kla ra and Ferdinand come from relatively small families as compared to lar ge families that were general norm in Europe. Klara had one brother, Anth on Baumgartner. Ferdinand's brothers were Frank and Joseph, and his sist er was Franziska (translated Frances) who married Franz Augustine. The bo ys had large families, but sister Franziska only had three children. O ne possible explanation: Many times small families were the result when o ne parent died, and the other did not remarry.
In an old account about Ellis, I read where at first the European immigran ts settled like the European ancestors in small homes in Ellis and went o ut to the land to work it, though I don't know if by the time our Schuste rs came this was the case. An incident sticks in my mind. After Bob a nd I were married we'd visited, along with Mom and Dad at some of the Aunt 's houses in Ellis. Mom pointed out a gravel road straight south of Elli s, and at one turn in the road she said, "This is the first place we liv ed when we came to America." I asked, "You must not have lived there ve ry long?" She said, "No, it wasn't very long after that, when her Daddy bo ught the place where we called 'Grandma's House"'. I have no idea now whe re that place she pointed out to me was. I don't know if they just liv ed there, rented, or bought and sold.
I don't know if this is all, but some of the land is described as: N E¼ of Section 33 in TWP 13 S. Range 21, W of the 6th PM. Listed in book B B, page 12 in the County of Trego, State of Kansas. This information was c opied from a cutting... and I will go into this with another tale.
Upon Klara's death (at which time all her children were still heirs) the f amily decided that each of the others would sell their portion of the inte rest to the land to the youngest son, Engelbert. The others could keep th eir oil rights on the oil leases or sell them back. The inherited oil rig hts ended at the death of Klara's children. Theresia sold her's back to E ngelbert at the time Grandma Klara's estate was settled. So far as I kno w, there were no pumping wells on the property, though in 1939 a lessor br oke a 1935 lease agreement, and action to clear this was taken. Possib ly to lease to someone else, or to keep the rights in the estate.
To get to Grandma's we went East on Highway 40, turned South on the ro ad by the Riga elevator and to the North of Grandma's was a place called " Round Mound". It was a raised round area of earth, a landmark, as it wer e. I can't remember just how far we went South before we turned West (f or a little tad of a ways), then the yelling started, "I see Grandma's hou se first."
Stories aren't so profuse, and I've heard this expression more than once…" Tight-mouthed Schusters". As an example, quite a number of years ago, I w anted to start a genealogy of ourfamilies, and Mom said to me, "That's all past history and none of your bu siness." However, during the raising of children, they couldn't help but s ay some things to tell us just how lucky we were in our generation. In o ne case I was told that the older girls worked out as farmer's wife helpe rs of an early age. . Mom by the age eleven. This leaves the conclusion t hat they must not have lived in Ellis and gone to their land during the gr owing season. (The older girls received no more schooling after they ca me to America)
Cash money was always a need, and I've been told that Grandpa Ferdinand wo rked on the railroad. One of his jobs was to walk the tracks from Ell is to Riga and back ... out down one track and back on the other to see th at there was nothing ... ties loose, loose spikes or loose rail plates . .. that would impede the train's progress. On Sunday's he fudged a bit a nd the family would meet him in the buggy at Riga and he would ride back i nto Ellis, so they could all attend Mass together. Apparently it was t he family, not he, that did the farming with horses and lots of manual lab or.
Theresia once referred to her father as a complete autocrat. She, by t he time this story was told was married with children of her own, and I mi ght add that my parents weren't terribly strict as parents of some of my f riends. She had begun to work for a family by the name of Waldo in Elli s. Mrs. Waldo had given her a hat, and when they picked up Grandpa Ferdin and at Riga, he saw her wearing the hat, and ordered her out of the bug gy to walk home and get her shawl, because only fast girls went about with out their shawls. I asked Theresia if she did, and she said, "No, Mamma ( Klara) told Daddy (Ferdinand) that it was a bigger sin to miss Mass th an to go to church in a hat ... American women already did." By the way, a ll earned money Mom made at her household jobs in Ellis was turned ov er to Grandma Klara.
Grandpa Schuster died in 1912. 1 had heard that it was complications of t he flu, but in talking to Uncle Englebert he said, "it could possibly ha ve been cancer of the stomach, or the result of a severe injury. He had w orked placing ties on the railroad, and in the process someone hit him sev erely across the stomach area. In 1912, I don't suppose that there was mu ch a doctor did for you, but give you something to dull the pain. Grand ma Klara buried her man, when the youngest child was only nine months old.
What stamina these women we know as Grandmas and Great Grandmas had. I 'm sure this came from the Grace of God. I may as well add this thoug ht of my own, since I've had it many times -. . And the Apostle Paul, n ot withstanding, who said, "At the head of the woman is the man." . . . "She should pray with her head covered".. ."That she should keep sile nt in the church." ... "That she should always submit." My thought is thi s, that the older I get, it becomes apparent that it was the women in o ur lives both yours and mine, that were the true pillars of family. Th ey didn't "rule" with a velvet glove more like a warm furry mitten. Mam ma did not have to rule with a spanking or yelling. It required only a ce rtain set of her mouth or an almost discernable shake of her head. It w as your great-grandmothers, both Kaiser and Schuster that were the warp th at wove the fabric of the family, and kept it intact. Although I didn't k now my Grandmother Anna Mary Kaiser (the stories tell of her strengths ), I did know my Gramma Klara. There is only one answer as to why we floc ked around her at holidays, that she became such a cause for excitement wh en she came and stayed with us for awhile and that answer has to be LOV E, freely and openly given ... you knew it ... you felt it ... she never s aid it. We never had to be told to "kiss Grandma and hug her". We d id it naturally --- joyfully. We hung around her chair watching her croche t, or darn socks, or patch overalls. We also learned early that we were n ot to disturb her when she held her rosary or read from her German pray er book, because ... "Shhh, Grandma is praying."
I will insert this bit here, as I don't want to lose it among my note s. In a 1945 census of Furstenthal the name Schuster is no longer liste d, though there are a number of Baumgartners, Gashlers, Artmanns and Kuffn ers. In the upheaval during and after the Second World War alarge percent of German Bukovinans went to Germany under very trying circu mstances. Most of them that live in Germany settled in the Worthgau and Ea st Upper Silesia areas.
The Bukovina of the Hapsburg era (the era in which our people were ther e) has been describedas a model for a United Europe. Home of some 12 nationalities, none of wh ich were a majority.Bukovina inhabitants exercised a mutual toleration for the ethnic and reli gious differences of their neighbors. Bukovina, now a part of Romani a, is located on the east side of the Carpathian Mountains. From a topic al map by Dr. Karl Stump, it appears that the terrain is the type that wou ld be situated between flatlands and mountains. I would describe it, as ro lling foothills. Maps show that Furstenthal is located bout 50 km sou th of Czernowity, the capitol. (Present day name Cernovcy) Present day na me for Furstenthal is Voivodeasa. These name changes were made when the U SSR annexed this territory, which now lies behind the Iron Curtain.
By Mary Kaiser Conard in 1988

Immigration:
Ferdinand Schuster and his family left from the port of Bremen and not Hamburg. But the process would have been very much like what is pictured in this video. Thanks to Janice Tree for the video!

Occupation:
Farmer, Tailor

Ferdinand married BAUMGARTNER, Klara "Clara" 12 Oct 1890, Furstenthal, Voivodeasa, , Romania. Klara (daughter of BAUMGARTNER, Franz and Gaschler, Theresia) was born 3 Dec 1868, Furstenthal, Voivodeasa, , Romania; died 3 Jul 1955, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA; was buried , St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Ellis, Kansas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Other Info or Events: Ancestry Chart
• Immigration: 2 Jul 1904, Ellis Island, New York; on the ship Kaiser William the second from Bremen
• 1910 Census: 1910, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• Naturalization: 21 Sep 1915; Declaration of Intent
• 1920 Census: 1920, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• 1930 Census: 1930, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• 1940 Census: 1940, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• Obituary: Aft 17 May 1980
• Biography: Abt 1988; Biographical Recollection by Mary Conard

Notes:

Naturalization:
Name: Frank Wenzel Schuster
Birth Date: 21 Jun 1891
Naturalization Date: 21 Sep 1915
Age at Naturalization: 24

1930 Census:
Frank W Schuster38
Rosa Schuster27
Louis Schuster7
Willie Schuster6 [5]
Freddie Schuster4 [4 3/12]
Thressa Schuster1 [1 8/12]
Jacob Schuster26

Biography:
UNCLE FRANK Just 21, when his Father died, he seemed to be "the man of the family" (fr om stories Mom has told) until which time Uncle Paul was older ... he rema ined unmarried all his life, and seemed to look after Grandma's business i nterests, during my growing up years.I'm told it was Uncle Frank who planned and built the addition to Grandma 's house.If you look at the photo of the house, the part to the left of the screen ed in porch seems to be an original, two rooms with a loft. Uncle Frank a dded the piece that "T's" the original. At first the porch was not enclos ed with screen. From what I can gather, he and Aunt Rosey lived at Grandm a's after their marriage, because Theresia had this to say about how you m ake money.
It seems Uncle Jake trapped skunks for their pelts, and as a result, he wa sn't so great smelling all the time, and Aunt Rosey complained about "stin k". All this Uncle Jake took without a word. (You know when you stink .) I would imagine that if he was home, he was needed to help with the wor k, and any money that was "made on the farm" had to stay with the farm, a nd skunk trapping was a way to make some pocket money for Jake. At any rat e, when the mailman brought the check for the pelts, Uncle Jake waved it u nder Aunt Rosey's nose and asked, "Now does this stink?" Mom always sai d, "Never criticize how much a job "smells" for which you earn your dai ly bread. The people that you have to worry about are the "stinkers" w ho become rich on the backs of others."
I guess I would describe Uncle Frank as being rather aloof. Gad! How he a nd Dad could argue. . over nothings, as far as I could see, but then we di dn't stick around much where the "old folks" were. Aunt Rosey was swee t. She always looked nice and she was a "town lady", as we kids called i t. She didn't have a chicken house in the back yard, her front yard had f lowers, trees and a lawn. I don't know just when they moved to Ellis, a nd think that Uncle Frank worked as a carpenter and finisher.
He and Aunt Rosey are Baptism Godparents to Freddie, Rose and I, as Nick a nd Theresiaare to Bill, Theresa and Richard, three of their five children. The oth er two are Louis and Frederick.
He must have been a thoughtful person. When we were small children, he bu ilt Rose and I each a doll bed. I still have mine that I converted in to a magazine rack.
We girls didn't hang around uncles much, and we didn't see Uncle Frank a nd Aunt Rosey much after we passed our early teens. I can't say, as I rea lly know much about him.
Up until 1988, they are the only Schuster couple that I know of for sure t hat celebrateda Golden Anniversary. I am speaking in-terms of Mom's family here, a nd in the year of 1988 there is only one couple left that still may g et to the "Golden" Uncle Englebert and Aunt Iva. They may have already, b ut no mention was made of it to me.
By Mary Kaiser Conard 1988

Frank married ASCHENBRENNER, Rosalia 15 Nov 1921, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA. Rosalia (daughter of ASCHENBRENNER, John and AUGUSTIN, Barbara) was born 11 Feb 1903, Wakeeney, Trego, Kansas, USA; died 25 Nov 1973, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA; was buried 27 Nov 1973, St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Ellis, Kansas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Immigration: 2 Jul 1904, Ellis Island, New York; on the ship Kaiser William the second from Bremen
• Biography: Aft 6 Jan 1980
• Prayer Card: Aft 6 Jan 1980

Notes:

Biography:
AUNT MARY, I never see a photo of Aunt Mary without thinking, "garden", and she alwa ys seemed to have a big one ...big as her heart, for she was always willi ng to share with anyone who'd had a hailed, drouthed out or hopper-eaten g arden. I can't believe it was because she had a choicer garden spot do wn below the windmill at her place, in a protected shallow draw. I just t hink that God gave some of us a special love of plants and growing thin gs and this was one of her gifts. She was the first of the Schuster gir ls married, at age 24 to Uncle Joe Locker ... 13 years her seni or .. . in 1916. (Her younger sister, Stephanie, at aged 19 married Unc le Joe's brother Lou, three months later.)
I heard her described once as "the least pretty" of the Schuster sister s, and I did a real double take. I never thought of Aunt Mary as anythi ng but beautiful. Her smiling face always beamed a welcome, and always wh en we dropped in there were treats in the cupboard. She once explaine d, "I always get so hungry when I travel."
I have a snapshot of Uncle Joe and Aunt Mary taken in the front yard of th eir place, but we never, went in that way, or sat in the living room to vi sit. The back door was where we went to find busy Aunt Mary doing somethi ng...and when you got inside her door, the most natural place to gravita te was to the dining room table by the East window for that cup of coff ee ... and a visit with her and the family. There were Mary and Anna, bo th schoolteachers, who were away at jobs alot of the time, and the boys, J oey and Lawrence.
I once remarked to Mom, "Boy! Her house sure shines all the time." Mom sa id, "Yes, I know, but there were "times". She'd work like a beaver getti ng everything all spruced up, then Uncle Joe would bring in harness to men d.
We didn't go visiting much during school year, so many of my memories of A unt Mary include Aunt Mary's donning her white bandanna (spotless, I mig ht add) and reaching for a paring knife. A warm vine-ripened tomato, a ta sty cucumber, and a vine-ripened melon ... Oh! -those were the things unri valed in taste. "Here is a new variety I want you to taste." They a ll tasted the same ... Super Good.
At aged 59 she laid Uncle Joe to rest and sometime after this, she moved i nto Ellis, next door to Aunt Fanny's, cared for by her daughter Anna.
The last time I saw her, her memory wasn't so good. We sat together on t he soft sofa and still felt her love. Mary Kaiser she found there, but n ot Mary Conard a grown woman with three grown children.I've always said each of my mother's sisters gave me something special, a nd from her I'm sure it was true appreciation of growing things ... especi ally those that nourished and sustained life.

By Mary Kaiser Conard 1988

Mary married Locker, Joseph 16 Nov 1916, , , Kansas, USA. Joseph (son of Locker, Joseph and Keister, Mary) was born 10 Dec 1879, Alsace-Lorraine, France; died 1 Dec 1951, Hays, Ellis, Kansas, USA; was buried , St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Ellis, Kansas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Immigration: 2 Jul 1904, Ellis Island, New York; on the ship Kaiser William the second from Bremen
• Obituary: Aft 9 Jun 1978; Ellis Review

Notes:

Biography:
THERESIA, This, of course, is the one of Klara and Ferdinand's children that I wou ld know the most about. She shared my life since birth and I called her " Momma" when I was little and Mom later.
The bridal gown that she wears in this photo, she made hersel f. It is of silk crepe, embroidered with white seed pearls. . waltz lengt h. Her tiny feet are encased in white satin pumps adorned with a white si lk "pouf" . Her jewelry is a locket, given to her when she and Dad were co urting, but I am getting ahead of myself in the stories. Their wedding w as a simple affair, Aunt Clara tells me. Mass at St. Mary's in Ellis in J anuary. Snap shows wind-blown dresses, but no snow on the ground. Their " carriage" was Uncle Mike's new car (which he drove) complete with glass in stead of isinglass windows. They were attended by Gottleib Heinrich (Dad 's nephew) and Aunt Barbara (Mom's sister). Aunt Clara says they just h ad a nice dinner with the family. She didn't say if or how many Kaisers w ere there, as Schuster's didn't seem to be given to "big blowout" celebrat ions.
She went to work of an early age. She spoke of a time when she was eleve n, working for a farm family. She'd been home over Sunday, and this fami ly came to get her and by the time they reached that house it was past sun down. The chicken house was dark, but she was sent to collect the eggs an yway, without a lantern. She reached into the nest, and to her terror, s he grasped and let go quickly of a large snake, filled with swallowed h en eggs. In my growing up years, the hoe was always very handy during t he warm weather, and no snake of any size was given quarter or mercy in o ur yard.
When she went to Ellis to work, she first worked for Waldo's then in ti me began to work for a banker's family named "Nichelson". Aunt Clara tel ls me. "Theresia had it good there, She had her own room, with a nice cro chet white bedspread on her bed. She learned to cook "good" because the Ni chelson's had everything to cook with. They let me come in and spend t he day with her sometimes, and play with the kids. There was only three k ids at first then a fourth.
I am guessing alot more rubbed off on Theresia ... how to set a table prop erly, the graciousness of a lovely big home. To use linen tablecloths a nd silver service ... Yes, she probably ironed those tablecloths too ... d ifferent from farm kitchens that mostly had oilcloth. These people also e ncouraged her to read, not only in the more familiar German but Engli sh as well.
Grandma Klara collected Theresia's wages every week when she brought the c ream and eggs to town. This money helped out to raise the younger childre n, and I would guess defray the cash costs of the farm. Because it was cu stom, Theresia was given one day a week and church time off, as we ll as an occasional Sunday. She stayed at Nichelsons on her days off, a nd Mrs. Nichelson gave her extra money for doing such things as crocheti ng edges on linens, embroidery and cutwork, hemstitching and such. This m oney she squirreled away and in time was able to buy herself a White Rota ry sewing machine, a dome topped trunk which she filled with nice things f or herself (a hope chest); a set of silver flatware; a Kodak Camera with b ellows and fabric for her own clothes. She was a valued employee, f or it was told to me that the Nichelsons offered her lifetime employment w ith them and a stipend for care in her older years if she would stay unt il the family was raised.
Theresia and Nick were introduced by Mom's friend, Mary (Ziegler) Renge l. Aunt Clara called Mary Rengel, "an untiring matchmaker". It is assum ed that Mary (a German Russian) probably knew other German Russians amo ng who were Uncle John and Aunt Theresia Kaiser. They lived and worked f or a time in Ellis ... John with the railroad. Also assuming Daddy visit ed Uncle John's for I have no knowledge that he ever worked in Ellis. Tran sportation from Park to Ellis was not too much a problem by then, as tra in rides were very available, however by this time (1920-21) Daddy had h is own car ... a Dodge. I have heard Dad referred to as "a high-steppe r" and Aunt Emma called him, "quite a lover-boy."
His photos show a good-looking man, and I understand, quite popular. Popul ar enough to have had a paternity suit slapped on him, and spent some ti me in the hoosegow, because he refused to. . ."Marry the mother of someo ne else's kid." This is probably a good reason why he sought a wife outsi de of his own "Kamradschaffen". He was a generous man, sometimes to a fau lt. He bought his bride to-be a ruby ring, a wristwatch and a locket, a ll of which she wore when she went to church at Park with him on the thi rd Sunday of their announcement of Banns. He gleefully reported a whisp er he overheard "She must anyhow be a school teacher, she wears a wrist wa tch."
Theresia, frugal and hard working was just about what was needed to try (t hough I don't think she ever did fully) to tame this macho, rainbow-chasin g, butterfly of a man. She one time said. "He was always looking for som ething golden over the next hill." "I'd just get one bedbug infested ho le cleaned up and livable, then he wanted to go someplace else, inste ad of knuckling down and making it where we were." I think the turnarou nd came in their marriage ... at least when he started listening to her so und reasoning ... when they'd been married for about seven years and had f our children. . I was just born. There was a foreclosure on land Dad h ad purchased "on a handshake" the previous year. The year following, wh en it came time to make the payment, he was also confronted with the mortg ages the previous owner had taken on the land, which of course, they cou ld not handle. Mom told me that they were not left completely destitut e. There were good people. Paul Herl just quietly came and chased the ca ttle into his herd. Uncle Mike Zimmerman drove off with the car. The mon ey changers came, sold off what there was and Mom and Dad were out of farm ing for good. Paul sold the cattle along with his and returned the mone y, and eventually Uncle Mike brought their car back. Oh yes, he always lo nged to go back to the land, I'm sure. He enjoyed the farm jobs he had, b ut one must work all year around to feed and clothe a young family. So on after, came the dust storms and the depression. Acquiring land was th en an impossibility.
Mom must have, after this, kept a real tight lid on things. They seldom h ad much money, but they didn't have debts either, just a couple that I rem ember that Mom worried about. A truck that took almost all of his wage s. . she bought home the beans for awhile, and a new Maytag washer. This l atter because-- the Health Department told her they could get out from und er quarantine after Frances had scarlet fever after the house was scrubb ed down and everything was laundered. The last time was to finance the ho me they retired to, and she moved from, to Frances and LeRoy's before h er final illness and death. Yes, a family car was also occasionally finan ced but payments were generally in the range that Mom's earnings could cov er... if Dad decided "sousing"' with his "friends" was more important th an his obligations to his family. I ask myself how many lives would ha ve been so much more pleasant without alcohol? I'm not saying a convivi al type of drinking is wrong. ..that's up to the individual. Even Jesus C hrist used wine at the Last Supper. He condemned no man, for he said, " It is not what goes into the body that defiles it, it is what comes ou t. I interpret that to mean that it is not liquor that is wrong, but how y ou use it, how it makes you behave when you do, and who is affected by it 's use.
Aunt Clara described Mom once as "clever", and I know she was, in spi te of the fact that the cash money she brought home was from domestic wo rk ... washing walls, mending, sewing, butchering chickens, etc. Were we p oor? I certainly never felt so. We had a good up-bringing. Taug ht to be honest in our dealings with everyone and hopefully ourselves. Th is meant learning instead of cheating at school; that there was no free ri de to anywhere; to save for the things we wanted; to chose when we spent o ur own money; the best value for the pennies we spent and that there we re times you never took money for something you did for another. We alwa ys had our penny for the collection plate on Sunday, furnished at fir st by our parents, and later from our own earnings. We lad a little musta rd jar apiece in Mom's trunk for depositing savings. Part of our sitter 's money had to go into that little jar to be spent on tablets and penci ls for school, and our summer's money (when we were old enough to work ou t) went for school clothes, and if we had enough for books. We really lea rned to take care of our books, for there was a good brisk trade goi ng on in schoolbooks at the beginning of school.
We also learned valuable lessons without being aware we were being taug ht lessons for "life". In her book, there were a few cardinal sins. To m isbehave in school; to play hooky; to take something that didn't belo ng to you ... and that included what belonged to your sisters and brothe rs ... (She said, in a good one-liner, " You KNOW what's yours, so keep yo ur hands off the rest "); borrowing at school; to sass our elders or be de liberately unkind to other kids; to laugh at another's misfortune; to cu ss or use God's name in anything but prayer. . and to leave the yard witho ut permission. The biggest sin we could commit in her book was to do some thing that she didn't want us to do, then to lie about it. We could sin a gainst her rules, but barely, if we told her we had overstepped the bounda ry. Then we might get a lecture, but Boy! , if we lied about it, we cou ld expect heavy punishment. She said we needed double because we did t wo bad things. . we didn't mind for one, and lied for two. Paddling and s itting on the chair for a while to think about what we'd done ... and in r are cases to say over and over, "I will not lie again." when we were young er, and grounding when we were older... Her grounding really hurt, for s he made it long enough for one to remember.
"Clever" I would say she was. Hand-me-downs were altered to fit each pers on who wore them ... and we all did. If the material was real good, she c hanged it with some sort of decoration she'd made herself or ric-rack or l ace or something she'd ripped off something else, washed and ironed, th en turned over to the brightest side. I never, as long as she had anythi ng to do with what I put on, wore an ill-fitting garment ... or one that w as spotted or dirty, or unpressed, for that matter.
Home was not a place to go when there was no place else to be .. Mom kn ew with seven people living together the place could become unlivable in j ust two days, if everyone didn't clean up after themselves. I can still h ear her say, "Do you know where you got it?" We were expected to put ba ck anything we dragged out ... I still don't do so hot in that quarter . .. Dirty clothes went into the wash basket, we were, expected to hang up o ur coats, change our school clothes after school and get after our chore s. The boys, to bring in kindling coal and water. The girls had jobs li ke setting the table, washing dishes, Folding clothes and simple flat piec es of ironing. Sometimes when we got home from school, and she had the cl othes folded, each person's in a pile, we were expected to put them awa y. We each had a section in stacked orange crates. Once when I asked h er to teach me to cook, she said, "No, I won't teach you how to coo k. "I have to cook for Dad, and nobody I know eats like your Dad." "Sa ve your learning for on the man you marry, and cook like he likes it ." We did make cakes for Sunday dinner, and cookies for school lunches som etimes, but I'm convinced she abhorred the wasting of a grain of flo ur or a drop of milk, that she just couldn't stand to see us leave a table spoon of flour spilled on the cabinet ... that should have been in the coo kies or cake.
Other memorable one liners: "The winter is long." this when we complain ed about washing jars and helping fix produce, for winter's canning . .. or picking the bugs off the potatoes with a can of kerosene in one han d, and a little stick in the other to knock the ugly beasties into the ca n. "if you burn your butt, you sit on the blister." A short blunt less on in chastity. In other words ... You fool around and get pregnant, y ou suffer all the consequences, for there's no extra money around he re to spirit you off to Denver or Kansas City to hide your shame ... or yo ur burgeoning stomach. She said, "There's no shame in a few patches, b ut dirt is another story.." I can still hear her say. . ."Wash your neck a nd ears." That meant. . . Everything ... or "Only a slop puts a silk dre ss over dirty underwear." meaning the prettiest dress can't hide the gri me and smell underneath. "Keep the floor swept, the beds made and the dis hes washed and you don't have to be ashamed of your house, even if the pri est walks in." I know darn well that meant clean curtains, washed window s, dusted furniture ... the whole nine yards ... in her book.
Another choice one: 'The cow has a birthday too." We got that in answer t o, "What am I going to get for my birthday?" We celebrated one birthday . .. Christ's. More: "People can take just about anything you have, but th ey can't take your learning." Thus she spoke of the value of an educatio n. "Finish your High School." In other words, a college education we can 't guarantee there will be money for, but get all you can, while you ca n. It turned out that any of us that expressed a desire for further schoo ling got it, for we each helped the other along. Since Frances did not wa nt to go further, they told me that I could live and work and save, a nd in October they'd take what I could save to help pay off the last $500. 00 of the house mortgage. (We did it the old fashioned way ... we earned i t.)
On marriage: "Marry a nigger if you want to, but make sure you want to spe nd the rest of your life with who you choose." This was not to cost aspers ions on those of another race, it was to point out that marriage in the be st of circumstances was a difficult adjustment ... in other words ... We' re not going to choose your mate, but you'd better be satisfied with yo ur choices or don't make one you can't live with.'
Self educated herself ... she used the books we kids brought home, and esp ecially with Johnnie for he was the First, she was appalled by wasted oppo rtunities. She once said, "I did Okay, until Johnnie brought home an Alge bra book, and there was something I couldn't do without someone else's exp lanation, and Johnnie was learning too, and he couldn't explain it so I co uld grasp it." She was Dad's written word, and the store clerk where she s hopped for groceries always turned the pad around to her for verificati on of the addition. In later years she still read German script and oft en did read letters to other people when they had a letter from a German p arent, and could not read this for themselves.
She once said, "If there's a dance in town the day I die, I want y ou to go to it." this expressed her feelings about a lot of mourning ov er things which you have no control. I think that if I could fault her f or anything in our upbringing it would be this: She did not hesitate to te ll us when she was disappointed, but was extremely slow, if ever to prai se a job well done. She signed our report cards without comment if they w ere good, but if it wasn't, we heard about it in spades. "Get your boo ks home and study harder. " And woe betide you if you didn't show up wi th them.
"You two girls go, and come home together." Yes, there is safety in numbe rs sometimes, but Gawd! How that must have often rankled Rose, a blythe, g ay, laughing spirit to be inflicted with a physically underdeveloped bookw orm who really didn't want to be along.
There, is so much more, but I must move along too. She was as private a nd devout in her last hours as she was in life. No words were spoken, s he just tucked her hands, with her rosary entwined, under her cheek, and w ith closed eyes, she sighed, and was gone.

By Mary Kaiser Conard 1988.

Died:
Died at Sheridan Count Hospital, Hoxie,KS

Theresia married Kaiser, Nicholas 18 Jan 1921, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA. Nicholas (son of Kaiser, Karl and Nold, Anna Mary) was born 15 Dec 1893, Blyumenfel'd, , Kransnodarskiy Kray, Russia; died 20 Jul 1969, Wakeeney, Trego, Kansas, USA; was buried , St. Michael's Cemetery, Collyer, Kansas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Immigration: 2 Jul 1904, Ellis Island, New York; on the ship Kaiser William the second from Bremen
• Obituary: Aft 23 Feb 1971
• Prayer Card: Aft 23 Feb 1971
• Biography: 1988; by Mary Kaiser Conard

Notes:

Biography:
AUNT BARBARA
I am guessing possibly this might be a silver anniversary picture. He re is another very special lady, Aunt Barbara. Married to Uncle Steve, ni ne years her senior, at aged 25, she took on a ready-made family of eigh t, then had four of her own.On the photocopy of the Manifest of Alien Passengers (included), it indica tes that daughter Barbara had a deformed hand and an eye infection causi ng the family's detention at Ellis Island for three days. At this poi nt in time, I question the wisdom of the bureaucracy of the immigration Se rvices. It is my understanding they weeded out the eye infections becau se this often led to blindness, thus eventually to non-productivity. (A th ought that has been disproved many times over in recent years.) What in Go d's name did these people think a family of seven would do? Dump a helple ss 8-year old on to society? People then took care of their own, and I mi ght add, very capably. Her deformity consisted of a misplaced finger on h er right hand. A finger grew from the area between forefinger and thum b. While that finger itself was useless, I understand, she accomplished e verything with the remaining Fingers. All the housewifly chores of a b ig family. She could crochet beautifully, and handled a needle and thre ad as easily as you or I.
Fate dumped on her once more in her lifetime. After they were in Ameri ca for about four years, diphtheria shots were to be given to those who h ad not had them, and she reacted to the serum. She spent a time ill, th en recuperating, and before the Family realized it, some muscle damage w as done to her ankle. Auntie wore "Granny boots" which were fashionable f or awhile, and when they were no longer available at stores, Aunt Clara te lls me that Uncle Steve had her buy an orthopedic type shoe. I could n ot see alot of difference in them, and what alot of women were wearing. S he had a limp.
Aunt Clara also told me that Dad's nephew, Gottleib Heinrich, took a shi ne to Aunt Barbara, but Aunt Martha (Kaiser) Heinrich put the "kibos h" on the romance, "Because she is a cripple." Oh how the Heinrichs miss ed out on that one. Also that another fellow from their neighborhood lik ed her (I think his name was Billy Bongartz). Grandma Klara quashed th at because Billy was not a Catholic. This says something to me: That s he must have been as charming in her youth, as I remember her in later lif e.
Married the some year as my folks, going to their house was a real blas t, as her kids were close in age to all of us. We played some in the hous e, but that didn't last too long. The dirt on the North side of the chick enhouse, where the hens "fluffed" was so perfect for making mudpies. Sund ays we were there, we must have frustrated her fat hens something awful . .. She also had some pretty ducks.
Her spotless home that I remember best was a newly built one, complete wi th running water. Their farm was north of WaKeeney. Aunt Clara tel ls me financially there were not the dread money worries as there we re in our family, as there were active oil wells on the property. A ll of their sons, that I know of, were farmers, which leads me to think th at Uncle Steve and Aunt Barbara were instrumental in helping set them u p. Both of Aunt Barbara's sons died in accidents; Leonard at ag ed 33 in a farm accident, and Stephen at 55 in a pickup-camper acciden t. Her youngest Dorothy died relatively young, also, from cancer, I was t old. Barbara, 59, (1988) presently lives in WaKeeney.
Aunt Barbara was my confirmation sponsor. There's something special abo ut the memory of her warm, protective hand on my shoulder as the Bishop ad ministered the Sacrament. . At which, I might add the confirmandi probab ly were all scared witless. We were drilled in the Baltimore #2 Catechi sm till our heads reeled. We were told if the Bishop asked a questi on to which we could not give the correct answer, we were going to ha ve to leave and not receive the sacrament for four more years, for th at is about as often as the Bishop came. We practiced, practiced, practic ed, the Confirmation procession and hymns and admonished, "Don't lose yo ur place or your sponsor won't find you when time comes."
Ridiculous! Our sponsors went into the pews right behind us, and the nu ns acted as thoughour sponsors were complete idiots. . that one could not step behind the ca ndidate they we're sponsoring.She was kind. She'd never back me up against her daughter, Barbara, and a sk, "Why don't you hurry up and grow?" like Aunt Rosey did sometimes wi th her daughter, Theresa.It was from Aunt Barbara and Uncle Steve that we got the little white d og that was such a big part of our growing up. That little dog sat und er the table at mealtimes and ate more of my "Schpeck " (fat) that I di d, and was admonished to eat, "So you grow."
I remember her best with beautiful, silky red-auburn hair. She smiled al ot and easily. She was a good cook and she came the day before Bob a nd I were married and helped prepare our wedding supper. We shared a b ed the last night I was single.
I think, from her I learned the truth that it's not what you have (a defor med hand or stiff ankle) that makes you what you are. I don't recall I ev er gave those things much thought. This I do know; she gave true meani ng to words like "good" and beautiful.

By Mary Kaiser Conard, 1988

Barbara married Nemechek, Steven 11 Oct 1921, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA. Steven (son of Nemachek, Ferdinand and Aschenbrenner, Agatha) was born 25 Dec 1887, , , , Austria; died 30 Jan 1967, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA; was buried , St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Ellis, Kansas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Biography: Written by Mary (Conard) Kaiser - 1984
• Name: Aunt Fannie
• Immigration: 2 Jul 1904, Ellis Island, New York; on the ship Kaiser William the second from Bremen
• 1940 Census: 1940, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• Obituary: Aft 16 Jan 1988; Elis Review

Notes:

Biography:
AUNT FANNIE
From this lovely lady, I learned about granulated dishes, false teeth a nd seeds in salami. It was at her house in the country that I experienc ed a funeral for the first time. She with poise and dignity, laid her hus band, Uncle Lou to rest...she was 36... I was four, and my woolen dress it ched, and I asked, "Why do they cry."
There was always a smile of welcome whenever we came ... any time. She ca red for Grandma over the winters when a slip and fall on the ice out on t he farm could be dangerous. Her neat home in Ellis was so inviting. She l oved and could make the best coffee I ever fasted. I was about eight wh en she was at our house for dinner, and rinsed her dentures. We kids push ed and pushed like she did, but couldn't get our teeth out, and we knew th at she had some kind of magic in there. For a champion dish-breaker, tho se granulated dishes she had sure sounded like the real ticket.
She didn't coin the phrase, "I'd rather be an old man's sweetie than a you ng man's fool " but used it, when at 19 she married Uncle Lou (Broth er to Aunt Mary's husband, Uncle Joe Locker) who was 17 years older than s he. She raised four super nice children; Louise, Blanche, Frances and Art hur alone.
About the salami? We were at her house one summer day when she sent Arthu r, my sister Frances and I to the grocery store for salami for lunch. I 'd never eaten salami before, and encountered a peppercorn. She must ha ve seen the surprised look on my face, because she said, "If you don't li ke the seeds, pick them out. " Logical of course ... How often we p ut up with the peppercorns of life, simply because they are "there".
I remember her hair as being brown, and I can't remember her wearing it a ny way except in two braids, wrapped around her head like a regal crown.
She was my sister, Frances' favorite Aunt, and I think I know why. France s, forever the little peacemaker, didn't have a husband for Daddy to get i nto one of his loud "debates" that the Schuster men and in-laws always se emed to indulge. She said one time, "At Aunt Fanny's it's nice. Daddy go es over and argues with Uncle Jake, and Mom and Aunt Fanny talk about quil ts and stuff, talk Dutch and laugh."
In later years Uncle Paul Schuster made his home with her. Her last da ys were spent in a wheelchair, a victim of a stroke. Her daughter wrote t hat even after the stroke she remained bright and alert, cared for by Loui se (who was by this time herself a widow), and occasionally by daughter Bl anche. She was 89 when she passed away last January 1988.
One more little story, then I'll move on. In the back yard, back to ba ck with hers, lived a boy who was handicapped. He couldn't talk nor wa lk and spent his days hitching his chair up and down the back sidewalk a nd jabbering. We gawked through the fence. Seeing other children, he hitc hed his chair towards us jabbering his own kind of communication. We rac ed into the house to tell Aunt Fanny. She set us down, and explained th at we were not to mock or taunt him ... that he was a Child of God, ju st a little different. From this lovely lady, I learned compassion.

Written by Mary (Conard) Kaiser - 1984

1940 Census:
Stephaine Locker41 (Widowed)
Louise Locker22
Francis Locker15
Arthur Locker9

Stephanie married Locker, Louis 16 Jan 1917. Louis was born 27 Sep 1881; died 1 Jan 1934, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA; was buried , St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Ellis, Kansas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Immigration: 2 Jul 1904, Ellis Island, New York; on the ship Kaiser William the second from Bremen
• Military Service: Bef 1919; WWI
• Obituary: Aft 8 Nov 1989; Ellis Review

Notes:

Biography:
UNCLE PAUL, I would guess that next to our Dad's, that Uncle Paul was the man that bro ught more sparkle to the little Schuster granddaughters' eyes than anyo ne else. A bachelor who didn't belong to anyone else, so he was "ours".
There were lots of Model A Fords in Grandma's yard, and he had the most gl amorous ... a coupe. I would guess that he took care of alot of Grandma 's business, for when she came, it was usually he who brought her. Thou gh the photos did not copy well, both are taken in uniform. he was my on ly uncle serviceman. He was inducted about 1918, about time the World W ar I -was closing. He was stationed of Camp Funsten in Kansas. 'So f ar as I know, be also was the only member of the family who went awayto a private school, and if I heard right, it was the forerunner of St. Jo seph's Military Academy at Hays.
We must have driven him nuts---all those kids on the farm at one time, a nd never knowing where they were going to be next. The only time he co me close to giving us "heck" was the Easter we found the newly tinned h og shed roof, and we were sliding down, head first, belly down. And th en he only said. "You shouldn't do that, you'll ruin your nice pretty dre sses." He told me years later, after I had children of my own, that his wo rst nightmare was that one of us would be seriously hurt. . God took ca re of that, and him, none of us ever were.
He was one of three uncles that visited in Montana after we were marrie d. He stayed four days and there was lots of catching up to do, of cours e. He was interested in politics and the night of one of the presidenti al conventions, our TV went out, and e said . . . "No matter... will be el ected, and it turned out that his prediction was correct. He did crosswor ds with a pen. Now, I love to do crosswords, but with the help of a big f at eraser, using pencil. An avid reader of everything, and also took an i nterest in the community. He served on the Agricultural Stabilization a nd Conservation Service Committee. I didn't know he was coming, and ask ed how be found us, he said he went to the ASCS office and asked. there t hey have maps of the whole county. His car then was a sporty Ford Falcon.
A recent newspaper account states that he has been a member of the Ellis A merican Legion for 70 years.
He lived at Aunt Fanny's after he retired from the farm. After Auntie's d eath, he moved and resides at the Good Samaritan Home in Ellis. It was al ways easy to remember how old he was. It was the same as the year . .. so this year, 1988 he is 88 years old.

Written by Mary (Conard) Kaiser - 1988

Obituary:
See Image

Also see record from Germans from Russia at familysearch.org
"United States, Obituaries, American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1899-2012," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9JH-2TQK?cc=2367299&wc=3BKN-SP8%3A1547769401 : 14 August 2015), 100415110 > image 3288 of 8999; American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Lincoln.

Other Events:

• Immigration: 2 Jul 1904, Ellis Island, New York; on the ship Kaiser William the second from Bremen
• 1930 Census: 1930, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• 1940 Census: 1940, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• Biography: 1988; written by niece Mary Kaiser Conard
• Death Record - Civil: 19 Feb 1989

Notes:

Emigration:
at five months old from Austria

1930 Census:
Frank W Schuster38
Rosa Schuster27
Louis Schuster7
Willie Schuster6 [5]
Freddie Schuster4 [4 3/12]
Thressa Schuster1 [1 8/12]
Jacob Schuster26

1940 Census:
Jake Schuster36
Elma Schuster25
Lena Schuster6
Vivian Schuster4
Rosslee Schuster1

Biography:
UNCLE JAKEUncle Jake is what we called him and there were other Jake Schuster's in E llis. When I visited with a second cousin in Billings, she referred to th is quiet man as "one-eyed Jake". I'd never heard the reference before, b ut held lost an eye, injured with a steel fragment. He had an artifici al eye.He was the last of Klara and Ferdinand's children born in Austria, and w as a little sailor on the Kaiser Wilhelm at the age of five months.Ten years her junior, Mom called him her "grease monkey" because he was al ways taking something apart or experimenting with something. He was a go od mechanic. We took the family car to him for overhaul as long as he h ad his shop in the back yard together.He and Dad could really "souse" together, and occasionally both get a litt le "crocked". Mom said she hated to see this because Dad was a happy, boi sterous drunk and drinking made Uncle Jake very sad ... to tears, then she 'd cry too.He married Elma Mikelson, a vivacious, pretty, dark-haired lady ten yea rs younger than he. They had three girls; Leona Mae, Vivian Irene and Ros alie Ann. They called them, "Nonie, Toots and Tiny." Their house was alo ng Big Creek, and one time they lost everything to a flood. They bought ' another house away from the flood plain and after he and Elma were divorce d, she remained in that house, and he moved back to the house by Big Cree k. She was just 49 when she was killed instantly in a car accident. S he worked at Hays and had been in Ellis visiting. She was returning to Ha ys when her car hit a railroad abutment 1-mile West of Yocemento. There t he highway made two sharp corners as it crossed the tracks. Neither of th em had remarried. In later years Uncle Jake worked with the Ellis Coun ty Road Crew.In a recent visit (1988) Frances had with Leona (now Armbruster) she sai d, "He no longer recognizes army of the family, and is being cared f or at a rest home in Russell Kansas."I liked this introverted quiet man. I don't know as I ever carried on a c onversation with him, but it seemed at the family gatherings there was alw ays a time when he and Mom sat aside somewhere visiting, quietly togethe r. He didn't seem quite as outgoing as the rest of the family, so that 's possibly why I know so little about him. He was easy to trust, and t he quality I admire about him is his ability to render a piece of equipme nt into an unrecognizable pile, put the pieces back together correctly, a dd a little gas and "It goes."
By Mary Kaiser Conard 1988

Death Record - Civil:
Name:Jake T. Schuster
SSN:512-07-2433
Last Residence:67637 Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, United States of America
Born:8 Jan 1904
Died:19 Feb 1989
State (Year) SSN issued:Kansas (Before 1951)

Jacob married Michaelson, Alma 5 Feb 1931, Olathe, Johnson, Kansas, USA. Alma was born 19 Jun 1914; died 29 Feb 1964. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• 1930 Census: 1930, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• 1940 Census: 1940, Baker, Grove, Labette, Kansas, USA

Notes:

Biography:
AUNT CLARA, Aunt Clara was different from her four older, gentle, soft-spoken sister s. She, the only one not stifled by the Schuster attitude on decorum, a nd I attribute that to not leaving been raised under Grandpa Schuster's th umb, being only 8 when he died. The only sister who could be brassy to t he Nth degree at times. She had her own ideas about church. Unlike the r est who were regular and faithful she said, "I go when I darn well feel li ke it." She could hold her own in a good argument, and shouted her side wi th gusto. That could have come from having only brothers as siblings clo se to her own age at home.
Uncle Mike was always good-natured, could cuss like a trooper, yet he w as the only uncle I ever saw open a car door seating the ladies in his com pany.
The photos did not photocopy well, and I hardly think of Aunt Clara witho ut thinking of Uncle Mike at the same time. On the family portrait s he is about twelve, and it appears that she had plenty attention shower ed upon her by older sisters ... Look of those long curls. Mom once sai d, "She was the most willful, destructive little pest in the world." Grand ma Klara, while not objecting to Uncle Mike, thought she was too you ng to get married just two months short of her 17th birthday, but guess w ho did anyway.
As I remembered them, they always lived in Quinter, though his "obit" sa ys they didn't move there until they'd been married a couple of years. Abo ut the time I was ten, or so, he worked on the section crew of the Union P acific railroad out of Collyer. He drove back and forth and occasional ly after work would stop and bring one or two of us along home with h im to Quinter to visit for a couple of days.
Aunt Clara was one of a kind. She seemed always to know the "spice" in t he family and area and regaled it with humor and relish. She must have be en a very good mother, for her own children did not give anyone any reas on to do the same number on her kids. Every once in awhile she'd get a ba tch of "nerves", which Mom said she got because she didn't have enou gh to do. Though I don't think she ever had the habit, she's the only o ne of Mom's sisters that I ever saw with a cigarette.
In the family there were four kids. Robert (Bob), Michael Jr. (Mickey), C larence (Red) and Verdella, their only daughter. It was at their house th at I first encountered firecrackers. The only time 1 went fishing as a k id was with Uncle Mike Red and Verdella. We went to the lake north of Qui nter, and I didn't catch anything. Maybe I didn't then, nor do I now, s ee any reason for sitting with mosquitoes biting, getting an awful sunbu rn waiting on the whims of a stupid fish ... especially if it's only a mud dy-tasting catfish, at that.
Verdella had the first pair of slacks worn in the family (in her generatio n). Aunt Clara in her's probably too. It was Aunt Clara that persuaded M om that they were much easier to care for in summer duds than ironing dres ses. Remember that this was a time when women weren't allowed to vis it a Catholic hospital wearing slacks (what rot!) Mom might have worn th em in her lifetime ... if she did it was rarely. At any rate we begged M om to make us some, and she did. Daddy called them, "slats." Rose's we re a colorful stripe, and Frances' and mine were navy background with r ed and white sailing ships on them.
Aunt Clara and Uncle Mike were an attractive dancing couple, and I can s ay from experience that Uncle Mike was incomparable as a dancing polka par tner. The rhythm seemed to surround him like an aura. (He was the only o ther of the Schuster relatives as Dad was, that was of the German--Russi an decent, and I think that bunch comes out of the womb dancing.) Mom sa id dancing was a part of the social life when she was a girl, though I don 't think to the extent that it was in Dad's world.
We share cousins with Aunt Clara's family. Daddy's brother John Kaiser ma rried Uncle Mike's older sister Theresia. And to this I might add th at a greater contrast in the two women couldn't be more apparent than t he differences in the two Aunts. I doubt that Aunt Theresia Kaiser ever w ore a dress shorter than mid-calf. She wore lots of black, stockings a nd all. She wore her hair in the center part braided style of South Russi a. Her first language was German all her life. Devout to the limit, and c ompletely under the dominance of Uncle John.... all this what Aunt Clara w as not.
I think, from this Aunt I learned something special too, about the zest f or living your own person. She still calls it like she sees it, and if y ou don't like it, TOUGH.
By Mary Kaiser Conard, 1988

1930 Census:
Mike J Zimmerman29
Clara Zimmerman24
Robert Zimmerman5
Mike J Zimmerman4
Dean Zimmerman1

1940 Census:
Mike Zimmerman39
Clara Zimmerman34
Robert J Zimmerman16
Micheal J Zimmerman13
Clarence D Zimmerman10
Verdella G Zimmerman9

Clara married Zimmerman, Michael 30 Jan 1923, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA. Michael (son of Zimmerman, Joseph and Wolf, Margaretha) was born 25 Dec 1899, Odessa, Russia; died 25 Feb 1972, Quinter, Gove, Kansas, USA; was buried , St. Michael's Cemetery, Collyer, Kansas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• 1910 Census: 1910, Glencoe, Trego, Kansas, USA
• 1940 Census: 1940, Laramie, Albany, Wyoming, USA
• Residence: 1942, Saint Louis, St. Louis (City), Missouri, USA

Notes:

Biography:
UNCLE JOHN, We never called him that. We had another Uncle John, and this man was alw ays "Big John". In our family there was Uncle John (Dad's brother), Big John (Mom's brother) Johnnie (our brother) Little Johnnie (Uncle John's first grandson), John Clare (Big John's oldest son), and of course there's "Freddie's Johnnie" (our brother Fred's oldest son).
Big John had the most wives ... four. Margaret, Delores, Audry and Ann a. One son John Clare by Margaret, and three children by Delores ... Rich ard, Sonya and Sandra (twins) He stayed the least "put" of the famil y. He told me that early in the lean years of the 1930's it became appare nt that though he, Paul and Engelbert were all bachelors working on Grandma's place, money was short and one of them was going to have to seek outside employment and he went. Some of the places that he had addresses were Denver, Colo. Casper, Wyo., Billings and Great Falls, Mt. Brother Joh nnie once called him, "The best diesel mechanic in the State of Colorado ." Aunt Clara described him as a man who made something of himself in spite of only an 8th grade education.
Little kids are pretty aware about things around them, and one Easter, "Everybody was there." But then a big man (to me) walked out of Paul's bedroom. Mom was the first to explain that he wasn't a stranger, the man was our Uncle, but we would call him, "Big John".
His daughter Sandra once said, "As a father, he wasn't much" I asked her why, and she said she got into trouble once in her teens, and when he got back off the road (he travelers alot, and the territory he covered was Eastern Montana . ..and vast) when she should have had a good tongue lashing, at least, all he asked her when he walked out of the Police station with her was, "Did you learn anything?" She said, Mom was an "alcholie" and we kids just "grew".
We saw him most often of any of the relatives, as he lived in Great Falls, and a neighbor had a Wagner tractor with a Cummins engine, and when he stopped to service that engine, he would stop in for a few minutes. During the latter part of his life and into retirement, we visited often with him and his fourth wife Anna, a native Pennsylvanian who had a whopping talent for cookery and a friendly warm heart. She worked at night supervisor of the kitchen at the Heritage Inn, one of Great Falls' convention centers.
I think in a way too, Uncle John was an introvert, For he enjoyed hunting and Fishing a lot. Perhaps that was because it was a way to get back into nature, for all ourpeople seemed to be drawn to the land. He once told me that rabbit, squir rel and coonwere fairly decent eating, but I nearly urped my uppers when he said, "Por cupine ain't bad, but I'd have to be pretty hard up to want a steady di et of that." This leads me to think that he didn't kill anything just f or "kicks".
He and Anna took Bob and I to bars where she enjoyed the poker machines. ( With her own money, and she had a little purse separate for just "play mon ey.") He enjoyed teasing the waitresses,and he always proudly introduced me to all his friends. . ."This is my niece." He'd get guffaws and comments like, "You're too mean to have a niece ." or "How come she's so cute and you're so ugly." His buddies were all jovial, laughing accepting people, and he had lots of friends.
He must have been a peaceable husband, for Richard, his son said that he o nly heard his parents argue once. . and that was over what to get Grand ma Klara for Christmas. She wanted to get Grandma a box of chocolate cove red cherries and some peppermint that she knew Grandma liked. He opted f or a Fifth of good whiskey. (I was told that in the old country that oft en times whiskey was used to give you a good appetite and to doctor a co ld ... with toddies.) He told Aunt Delores. "With the candy, she'll ju st treat the kids and if we get a good fifth of whiskey, she'll use it for herself" Richard said that they each went shopping, and Grandma got both.
When Anna called and said he'd suffered a kidney aneurysm, and that the prognosis wasn't good, I kept in touch every day. She called then and told me he was gone, and when the services were to be. We had a raging blizzard out the window that morning, but we dressed in long johns and wool pants (for that miserable time in the cemetery) and ventured forth).
His services were very beautiful. He had requested cremation. There was no casket, no miserable stand in a snowy cemetery, just beautiful flowers, a spotlighted crucifix and Father Malee conducting a meaningful service.... all this on Ascension Thursday.
By Mary Kaiser Conard, 1988

1910 Census:
Fred Schuster 43
Clara Schuster 39
Frank Schuster 19
Resi Schuster 15
Barbara Schuster 14
Stefanis Schuster 11
Paul Schuster 9
Jacob Schuster 7
Clara Schuster 4
John Schuster 0

1940 Census:
John Schuster 30
Margaret Schuster 24
John C Schuster 11/12

Residence:
Name: John Schuster
Race: White
Relationship to Draftee: Self (Head)
Birth Place: Ellis, Kansas, USA
Birth Date: 3 Sep 1909
Residence: St Louis, Missouri, USA
Registration Date: 1940
Occupation: Mauring And Martin
Weight: 152
Complexion: Light
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Brown
Height: 5 9
Next of Kin: Paul Schuster
Relationship to Draftee: Brother

John married Unknown, Audry Aft 1927. Audry was born Abt 1909; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

John married Dreiling, Margo 13 Nov 1934. Margo was born 13 Mar 1916, Victoria, Ellis, Kansas, USA; died 26 Sep 1998; was buried , Larned Cemetery, Larned, Kansas. [Group Sheet]

John married Farmer, Delores Bef 1944. Delores was born Abt 1909; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

John married Earnharth, Anna Catherine Eckhardt [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: E. L. Schuster
• Name: Uncle Red Schuster
• 1930 Census: 1930, Glencoe, Trego, Kansas, USA
• Biography: Abt 1988; By Mary Kaiser Conard
• Death Record - Civil: 20 Jul 2000
• Obituary: Aft 20 Jul 2000

Notes:

1930 Census:
Paul Schuster 29
Clara Schuster 60
Englebert L Schuster 18
Listed living with brother Paul and mother.

Biography:
UNCLE ENGELBERT
I think he'd faint if anyone called him that. To us he was Uncle Ber t, or Uncle Red. Mom didn't like that latter, so mostly we called him Unc le Bert. She also said this tallest and slimmest of the Schuster brothe rs most resembled Grandpa Ferdinand in features and build. When I spo ke to him, and asked him if he remembered anything about his Dad, he sa id he was only nine months old when his father died.
In addition to Uncle Paul, he was a familiar part of Grandma's house, f or he always lived "at home", even after he married Aunt Iva. We got wo rd of their wedding in the mail. He got a pretty bride, we thought, and s he seemed to fit into the family gatherings as though she'd always been th ere. I wonder what she thought the first time, with that raft of relative s, each man with a bottle and each lady with an armload of food turning h er kitchen into a babble of chaotic, Good-natured arguments, with the a ir blue from cigarette smoke, and kids all over the place. We little gir ls thought she and Aunt Elma were "tops". Neither of them spoke German, a nd we could hear the latest ... we could always understand them, and we kn ew how to spell. Aunt Iva was really good-natured and laughed easil y. I don't remember her having to get after us for anything so maybe we w eren't too bad.
In addition to the two girls pictured ... Gwendolyn and Lois Ann, they ha ve a son Mike, who with his wife, Virginia, and three children now li ve on "Grandma's Place".I don't know if he owns it, or if Uncle Engelbert does now. In additi on to farming, Uncle Bert worked for the Federal Crop Insurance Corp. Th is entails measuring bins, assessing hail and drought damage fields, et c. At 77 he is still "on call" in the area.
Since he is one of the few of the family that still knows who I am, witho ut explanation,I try to keep in touch. He calls about once a year to see how the crops a nd cattle etc. are, or maybe just to check in. If I have a question about "family lore" I will give him a ring now and then.
I can't tell you why he is so special. . Is it his warmth and interes t? I like to think that it is, but more than that, I think that it's becau se that he and Aunt Iva gave such complete acceptance to the man I chose. No remarks about non-Catholicism . . ."You'll get homesick out there ." . . .. "It's the coldest place in America." all that sort of jazz.
I didn't see him often dressed like the man in the photo. More familiar to me were the bib overalls, or the dark colored matching work outfit s. He seemed to get along with everyone around him and the least argumentative, at least in my memory I do not ever hear him with a raised voice. In later years, although he was at Uncle John's in Great Falls, he was the few that I visited with "on my turf". Big John or Anna would ca ll and say he was coming, and Bob and I would drive to the Falls to visit with him. Still the quiet listener more than the avid talker, he is an interesting conversationalist. Like Uncle Paul he read a great deal, took an interest in methods of good husbandry, politics, history, family and many other current subjects. Both of us enjoyed his company .
I guess you could say, "He's comfortable to be around." for he's most li ke Mom in temperament. Though he was only a ten-year old boy when my paren ts were married. I have my doubts that this was due to the influen ce of a big sister.
I thoroughly enjoy being around this baby brother of Mom's ... as an Uncle ...as a Friend.
By Mary Kaiser Conard, 1988

Death Record - Civil:
Name: E. L. Schuster
SSN: 513-07-9941
Last Residence: 67637 Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, United States of America
Born: 13 Oct 1911
Died: 20 Jul 2000
State (Year) SSN issued: Kansas (Before 1951)

Obituary:
See Image

Englebert married Withers, Iva 27 Feb 1938. Iva was born 31 Jan 1914; died 28 Aug 2011, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• 1930 Census: 1930, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• 1940 Census: 1940, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• Military Service: Between 18 Aug 1942 and 16 Jan 1944; WWII - US Navy, LTJG,
• News Mention: Bef 1945; Schuster, Louis WWII Service News
• Occupation: Bef 1995
• Obituary: Aft 29 Aug 1995

Notes:

1930 Census:
Frank W Schuster38
Rosa Schuster27
Louis Schuster7
Willie Schuster6 [5]
Freddie Schuster4 [4 3/12]
Thressa Schuster1 [1 8/12]
Jacob Schuster26

Military Service:
Naval Aviator,
Name:Louis Schuster
Gender:Male
Birth Date:4 Jun 1922
Death Date:29 Aug 1995
SSN:514163216
Branch 1:N
Enlistment Date 1:18 Aug 1942
Release Date 1:16 Jan 1944

Occupation:
Accountant

Obituary:
see image Ellis Review

Louis married Allen, Ruth 7 Dec 1974. Ruth was born 31 Jan 1917, Urich, Henry, Missouri, USA; died 13 Oct 1996, St. Joseph, Andrew, Missouri, USA; was buried , Urich Cemetery, Ulrich, Missouri, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• 1930 Census: 1930, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• 1940 Census: 1940, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• Military Service: Between 4 May 1943 and 13 Oct 1945; WWII - US Army 763 Tank Battalion
• News Mention: Abt 1944; Ellis Review
• Obituary: Aft 23 Jul 1995
• Tombstone: Aft 23 Jul 1995, Mount Hope Cemetery, Hays, Kansas, USA; NEED PHOTO

Notes:

1930 Census:
Frank W Schuster38
Rosa Schuster27
Louis Schuster7
Willie Schuster6 [5]
Freddie Schuster4 [4 3/12]
Thressa Schuster1 [1 8/12]
Jacob Schuster26

Military Service:
Field Title Value Meaning
ARMY SERIAL NUMBER 37524137 37524137
NAME SCHUSTER#WILLIAM#J###### SCHUSTER#WILLIAM#J######
RESIDENCE: STATE 73 KANSAS
RESIDENCE: COUNTY 051 ELLIS
PLACE OF ENLISTMENT 7523 Undefined Code
DATE OF ENLISTMENT DAY 28 28
DATE OF ENLISTMENT MONTH 04 04
DATE OF ENLISTMENT YEAR 43 43
GRADE: ALPHA DESIGNATION PVT# Private
GRADE: CODE 8 Private
BRANCH: ALPHA DESIGNATION NO# No branch assignment
BRANCH: CODE 02 No branch assignment
FIELD USE AS DESIRED # #
TERM OF ENLISTMENT 5 Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
LONGEVITY ### ###
SOURCE OF ARMY PERSONNEL 0 Civil Life
NATIVITY 73 KANSAS
YEAR OF BIRTH 23 23
RACE AND CITIZENSHIP 1 White, citizen
EDUCATION 4 4 years of high school
CIVILIAN OCCUPATION 480 Tinsmiths, coppersmiths, and sheet metal workers
MARITAL STATUS 6 Single, without dependents
COMPONENT OF THE ARMY 7 Selectees (Enlisted Men)
CARD NUMBER # #
BOX NUMBER 1226 1226
FILM REEL NUMBER 4.136 4.136

Name:William Schuster
Gender:Male
Birth Date:12 Aug 1923
Death Date:23 Jul 1995
SSN:514164097
Branch 1:A
Enlistment Date 1:4 May 1943
Release Date 1:13 Oct 1945

Obituary:
See Image

William married Turley, Phyliss [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• 1930 Census: 1930, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• 1940 Census: 1940, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• Military Service: Aft May 1944; WWII - US Navy
• News Mention: Bef 1945; Ellis Review
• Occupation: Aft 1946; Fitzsimmons Hospital
• Death Record - Civil: Aft 20 Jan 2011
• Obituary: 31 Jan 2011; Hays Daily Review

Notes:

Health:
From Mary Conard;
And it's tough getting old - the genes are starting to catch up to m e! I have the Schuster's Fuchs corneal dystrophy- did I mention that? - a nd I'm commiserating with Fred every now and then. I went to an ophthalmo logist to see about having Lasik done for my nearsightedness - and he disc overed little pits on the underside of my thinning corneas. So that expla ins the poor night vision and glare, and wet fuzzy vision in the morning s. No Lasik for me. Poo. Poor Fred can't make out neon signs anymo re - I'm not that bad yet. Have you noticed any problems with glare? I 'm assuming Teresa has it, since it is inherited...

1930 Census:
Frank W Schuster38
Rosa Schuster27
Louis Schuster7
Willie Schuster6 [5]
Freddie Schuster4 [4 3/12]
Thressa Schuster1 [1 8/12]
Jacob Schuster26

Military Service:
Name: Fred Schuster
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age: 20
Relationship to Draftee: Self (Head)
Birth Place: Ellis, Kansas, USA
Birth Date: 2 Apr 1926
Residence Place: Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
Registration Date: 12 Jun 1946
Employer: Unemployed
Weight: 120
Complexion: Ruddy
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Brown
Height: 5 8
Next of Kin: Frank W Schuster

Occupation:
Fitzsimmons Hospital

Obituary:
Fredrick J. "Fred" Schuster, 84, Aurora, Colo. died Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011.
He was born April 2, 1926, in Ellis to Frank W. and Rosalia (Aschenbrenner) Schuster. He graduated from Ellis High School and completed his schooling at the University of Colorado-Denver.
He married Darlene Stettnisch Gephart in 1957. She preceded him in death in 1967. He was an accountant at Fitzsimmons Hospital and later a title searcher. He was a U.S. Navy veteran, serving during World War II aboard the USS Scribner from 1944 until his discharge in 1946.
Survivors include a sister, Teresa Wilpolt and husband, Glenn, Oakland, Calif.; a brother, Richard Schuster and wife, Gayle, Shohola, Pa.; a sister-in-law, Phyliss Schuster, Hays; his step-daughters, Sharon McKinney and husband, Dave, Aurora, and Donna James and husband, Don, Wycoff, N.J.; many nieces and nephews, step grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, Louis (Ruth) Schuster and William Schuster and his step-daughter, Caroline.
According to his wishes, no services are being held.
Piece of Heaven Cremation, Denver, is in charge of arrangements.

Fredrick married Stettnisch, Darlene Gephart 16 Aug 1957. Darlene was born 5 Feb 1927; died 7 Jun 1967. [Group Sheet]

Fredrick married Ryan, Gay L. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Baptism: Aft 12 Jul 1928, St. Mary Catholic Church, Ellis, Kansas, USA; Address:
  703 Monroe St
  Ellis, KS 67637
• 1930 Census: 1930, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA; page 7b, line 65
• 1940 Census: 1940, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• Education - College/University: Sep 1949, Wichita, Sedgwick, Kansas, USA; St. Francis Hospital Nursing School
• Occupation: Aft 1949; Nurse
• Occupation: 27 Oct 1954; California Nursing License
• Occupation: 17 Aug 1956; Nurse Licence State of Wisconsin
• Occupation: Aft 1956; Home Maker
• Occupation: Between 1971 and 1991; Nurse - Alameda Conta Costa Blood Bank
• Obituary: 17 Jan 2016; Oakland Tribune

Notes:

1930 Census:
aged 1 and 8/12.
Frank W Schuster38
Rosa Schuster27
Louis Schuster7
Willie Schuster6 [5]
Freddie Schuster4 [4 3/12]
Thressa Schuster1 [1 8/12]
Jacob Schuster26

Occupation:
Nurse

Occupation:
California Nursing License

Occupation:
Nurse Licence State of Wisconsin

Occupation:
Home Maker

Occupation:
Nurse - Alameda Conta Costa Blood Bank

Obituary:
Teresa Claire Wilpolt, aged 87 of Oakland passed away peacefully on January 11 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. She rejoins Glenn, her husband of 59 years, who also recently passed. Teresa was born in Ellis, KS, daughter of the late Frank W. Schuster and Rosalia (Aschenbrenner) Schuster. She graduated from St. Francis School of Nursing in Wichita in 1949 and was a nurse in Wichita before moving to Los Angeles in 1954.
In 1956 she married Glenn Wilpolt in Los Angeles. They lived in Wisconsin and Illinois before moving the family to Oakland in 1968, where they have been faithful members of St. Theresa Catholic Church. In 1971 Terry began work at the Alameda Contra Costa Blood Bank, where she worked for 20 years until her retirement in 1991. Among many hobbies she enjoyed sewing, knitting, and playing golf. Terry was also a voracious reader who loved her book club.
She is survived by her children: Jay Wilpolt of San Diego, Mark Wilpolt of Chico, Carrie Wilpolt (Kent Springer) of Pepperell, MA, Matthew Wilpolt of Oakland and Andrew (Angelica) Wilpolt of Pleasant Hill; one granddaughter Lily Wilpolt of Chico; one brother Richard Schuster of Stockton NJ; Three sisters in law, Phyllis Schuster of Hays, KS, Carole Solie of Appleton, WI and Marge Carey of Cincinnatti, OH, and numerous nephews and nieces. Terry was also recently reunited with Rebecca Hageman, her first born daughter who was given up for adoption.
She was preceded in death by her husband and parents, brothers Louis Schuster, William Schuster and Fred Schuster, brothers in law Riley Solie and Frank Carey, and sisters in law Gayle Schuster and Ruth Schuster.
Funeral service will be held at 10 AM Thursday January 21 at St. Theresa Church in Oakland, with burial to follow at St. Mary's Cemetery, where she will join Glenn in eternal rest. The family will receive relatives and friends at the church on Thursday morning from 9:30 until 10.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Michael J. Fox Parkinson's Foundation or Mercy Retirement & Care Center 3431 Foothill Blvd, Oakland CA, 94601

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/insidebayarea/obituary.aspx?n=teresa-wilpolt&pid=177311802

Died:
died in her sleep 7 30 am, Aged 87 Years, 5 Months, 30 Days.

Teresa married Kendall, Ted Allen Bef 1951 (Friends Never Married). Ted was born 7 Jul 1923; died 15 Mar 2009, Wichita, Sedgwick, Kansas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Teresa married Wilpolt, Glenn John 30 Jun 1956, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA. Glenn (son of WILPOLT, Richard Barney "Hinky" and FELLER, Maria MARGARET) was born 16 Dec 1928, Kaukauna, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA; died 12 Dec 2015, Oakland, Alameda, California, USA; was buried 30 Dec 2015, St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Oakland, California. [Group Sheet]

Richard married Erasmus, Gayle [Group Sheet]

Joseph — Weber, Lillian. (daughter of Weber, Frank and Koerner, Mary) [Group Sheet]

Lawrence — Trippler, Claudelle. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Marriage Status: Never Married

Other Events:

• Military Service: Between 21 Aug 1943 and 2 Feb 1946; WWII, US Army
• Death Record - Civil: 20 May 2002

Notes:

Military Service:
Name:Ferdinand Kaiser
Gender:Male
Birth Date:20 Apr 1925
Death Date:20 May 2002
Cause of Death:Natural
Branch 1:A
Enlistment Date 1:21 Aug 1943
Release Date 1:2 Feb 1946

Death Record - Civil:
Name:Ferdinand C. Kaiser
SSN:512-26-6553
Last Residence:67846 Garden City, Finney, Kansas, USA
Born:20 Apr 1925
Died:20 May 2002
State (Year) SSN issued:Kansas (Before 1951)

Ferdinand married Messersmith, Sylvia Christine [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Death Record - Civil: 8 Mar 2007

Notes:

Death Record - Civil:
Name:Rose M. Bird
Last Residence:67401 Salina, Saline, Kansas
Born:2 Dec 1926
Died:8 Mar 2007
State (Year) SSN issued:Kansas (Before 1951)

Rose married Bird, Hollis 28 May 1946, Collyer, Trego, Kansas, USA. Hollis was born 16 Dec 1926, Quinter, Gove, Kansas, USA; died 15 Jul 1990, Salina, Saline, Kansas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Obituary: Aft 25 Nov 2006

Notes:

Other Info or Events:
NAME:Mary Conard
BIRTH DATE:13 Sep 1928
BIRTH PLACE:Collyer, Trego County, Kansas, United States of America
DEATH DATE:25 Nov 2006
DEATH PLACE:Great Falls, Cascade County, Montana, United States of America
HAS BIO?:Y

Family History Researcher:
Mary Kaiser kept very good notes and newspaper clippings about the Schuster family. In 1984-1988 she wrote about many of her aunts and uncles, those notes have been entered under each persons "notes". Here in a letter to her niece, she tells the history of the Schuster family.

May 7, 1988
Dearest Patty:
Had a chance to get to town to do some photocopying . . . so here's a "Sch uster"' start, I wish that I had more time to write the stories as I did a bout Grandma's house. Names are okay, dates are a bore (but essential, I' ve found) and stories are fun.

I also filled out a set of pedigree sheets for you. This can really get i nvolved for anyone who really does it well and with scrupulous accuracy, a nd I have tried to be accurate as I've copied. The typewritten family li st sheets I got from Fred Schusters wife, Gay who's delving into, Fo ur or five intermarried families from the Furstenthal area. Word has it s he started on file Ferdinand Schuster line and also Freddie Schuster's mot her Rosie Aschenbrenner (married to Uncle Frank Schuster, Mom's brother) a nd found so many families intermarried that she went into more families, a nd as a result the book she was hoping to get published is still in the pr ocess. Since Families keep adding, I doubt that she ever will get a bo ok accomplished. I dabbled in family sheets, but not living close to whe re family, or being able to
visit frequently in Kansas…what I've done amounts to what it is... dabblin g.

From what I can read, and here again lots I want to know, isn't translate d, the Schuster ancestors were originally from the Black Forest Regi on of the German Empire and moved to the village of Furstenthal in Bukowi na (Bucovina). Bucovina means "Beech Woods".

Furstenthal was first settled at the bequest of Austrian Emperor Jose ph in 1803, German speaking settlers were originally from Pfalz, Hesse, a nd the Wertemberg Highlands, among others.
The villages from which our ancestors came are located in the Black Fore st on the Bohemian Czech border. I find Baumgartners and Schuste rs in an account of Bucovina in April 1803, and listed with those who ca me from the area of the Bohemian Woods were names of some of the earlie st among them; Sebastian Baumgartner, Andreas Schuster and Franz Schuste r. By 1808 we also find among the immigrants from the Bohemian Forests; J osef, Ferdinand, Julius and Johann Baumgartner. With my very limited know ledge of German, it seems to say that our ancestors were craftsmen. I re ad accounts where some German Bukovina people come to the area because th ey were skilled salt miners, and Grandma Schuster did say there were sa lt mines nearby. (She gave me and also Rose a crucifix… rosary size ... s he said was obtained at a mission held at the salt mines.) There were poss ibly other mines, as one of the people with our ancestral names was a smel ter, and there are stampers listed in Furstenthal village census.

I base my assumption that our people were craftsmen with information fr om a 1822 census
lists and among the glassworkers in Furstenthal were Anton and Michael Gas chler, Franz and Jacob Schuster. Christoph Gaschler was a smelter. List ed under private handworkers and listed as cobblers were Johann and Micha el Schuster. As Village Justice, a Johann Baumgartner served from 18 59 to 1888. I found others serving equally as long, so this did not seem o ut of reason.

Here again we have Families living in villages, each with their own fenc ed in yard withhouse, barn, well, etc, as in Russia and the Alsace. He re again are solely Catholic villages and villages of other faiths . . . a gain marriages to only ones of their own religion and "Komradschaffen" a nd from their own villages or ones of the same faith nearby. There w as a small exception to this. In both Franzfeld and Furstenthal lived oth er German speaking people who were Jewish. They stuck together and on t he fringes of the city (village). Jews married no one of another Fai th or Culture. They were the moneychangers who had the taverns that on ly men frequented; they traded in grain and merchandise ... and sometim es in illegality. Jews and Catholics did not associate with one anothe r, the Jews being 1ooked down upon here, as in Russia. To this there w as one exception . . . when their children were needed to make up the scho ol rolls to have enough students needed to receive money from the governme nt. (This was given without interference from the government).


Village life apparently follows the European way. Cattle were herded in to the woods to graze every day by the cowherd who was paid by an assessme nt of all the villagers. (Remember in the story of Heidi where Peter, t he goat-herd took the goats up on the mountain to graze each morning and b rought them back at milking time?) Geese were tended to by goosegirls in m uch the same way. Theresa did not say whether they had a swineherd or no t, but one was common in many accounts.

I don't know if all the little Furstenthalers went to school, but the litt le Schusters did by the time they were six, both boys and girls. The gove rnment gave money to the villages, provided there was an enrollme nt of 40 pupils for three consecutive years ... this "might" have be en an inducement to have ala available students in school. The governme nt did not specify the curricula and each taught in their own language a nd according to their own culture. They studied usually under the villa ge priest and a schoolmaster trained for such. Many times the church a nd school were the same building ... i.e. a room set aside in the chur ch or eventually added on to, and in later years a building nearby. In ad dition to what we know as the 3 R's, they started to study Latin in the fi rst grade ... Latin was the language of the Catholic Church's Mass. Relig ion was the 4th of the "R's", but first in the order of importance. There sia said learning English reading was comparatively easy for her as she 'd learned to learn to read and write the German Gothic Script and the Lat in Roman letters. Boy! that's a tall order, as far as I'm concerned, f or six or seven year olds.

In many ways, you could say their social life, too, revolved around the ch urch. Religious Holidays were the ones most celebrated. Lent was strict ly observed, Theresia said, with no meats and fasting every day for t he 40 days. We did not celebrate birthdays, nor was it customary f or us in Nick and Theresia's family to gather anywhere for Thanksgiving, I ndependence and Labor Days etc. These were days used for catch-up work be cause the whole family was home. We went to a Catholic School and were o ut of school on Holy Days, however no servile work was done on those days,

In the yard, our Schuster family had a cow, chickens, pigs, etc. in the Eu ropean way. Their cow went out with the cowherd each morning and ba ck at night. Agricultural fields were outside of the village, as we ll as a large community garden. Theresia referred to thunder as "God's Po tato wagons" going across the sky, because thunder sounded like the pota to wagons coming into the village in the fall. There for winter feed f or the cattle, they planted corn (or cane-type crops) interspersed with pu mpkins. In, the fall they would gather the grains then bind the stalks a nd put the pumpkin under the feed "shocks". This they would feed the catt le over the winter. They found it surprising when they came to this count ry, that Americans ate cattle feed... referring to the pumpkins. Theres ia said the terrain was alot like Montana, but with the hills all cover ed with woods. Since the area was "woody" they did not use twists of str aw for household cookery.

Weather was apparently cooler, as it was not the custom for our Schuste rs to build summer
kitchens (as it was among the Kaiser people) so it probably wasn't somethi ng they did in the old country. Later photos of houses in Furstenthal al so show no little enclosed porch like affair around the main entry do or as was custom in South Russia, so I am guessing, the wind was not as hi gh and they had fewer flies. In both the Schuster and Kaiser's European c ultures, the front gate to the family home area ... a large one through wh ich to drive the stock, wagons, etc. usually had an ornate archway, the la rge gate was adorned', and a little side gate that just admitted people ne xt to this large one was also decorated. A rather aside from the sto ry is an oddity in toilets between my parents culture. The Kaiser toile ts were usually a deep pit with the toilet "shed" on top ... had maybe t wo holes, and a little lower one built on the side. When full, the shed w as moved. The Schuster toilet was a covered seat, one holer that sat fl at on the ground with a "trap door" in the back. Through this it was oft en cleaned out, along with the henhouses, hogs sheds, etc. (in the old cou ntry, each yard had it's "Mistplatz" . . . literally manure place.) Eventu ally this was all put on the fields and gardens. I doubt that this was le ft long in the buildings as it was Theresia's habit when I was growing u p, to clean the henhouses once a week, and this had to come from her "Upbr inging".

The Ferdinand Schuster daughters raised good gardens ... Do you suppose th ey knew something, God given, that our generation, with it's commercial fe rtilizer, could learn something from? They were all scrupulously clean ho usekeepers. No bedbugs, lice, or dirty kitchen grease in their homes.

I digressed there, I'm afraid. Grandpa Ferdinand was the last of his brot hers and sisters left in Austria, Grandma once said. He wanted to come wh en they did, but he was enlisted as a cobbler in the Austrian Army ... I t hink this was a little like the militia as in colonial days in America. M ilitary men drilled as a group in each of their villages in readiness f or whatever wartime action was asked, (or commanded) of them. He seem ed to be home, from Mom's stories, most of the early years of Ferdinand a nd Klara's marriage, Austria was not at war, and if it was, he most like ly cobbled for the army staying in the village. I would guess that he ca me from a line of cobblers, because the name Schuster means "One who mak es shoes or footwear (shoemaker.)" At any rate, he was afraid to apply f or passport out of Austria before his military time was up: There must ha ve been some unrest, (Mom said there was usually a lot of that ... with o ne ruler trying to gobble up another to fill his own coffers.) They final ly went to a Jew, who forged passports for the family for them to get o ut of the country. About the trip from Bucovina to Bremen, I have not hea rd anyone tell stories. Theresia said they had a little room on the sh ip and that most of them were very seasick, though Grandma Klara seem ed to be able to take care of the young family of seven aged from 13 yea rs to five months. . . Frank, Mary, Theresia, Barbara, Stephanie, Palus, a nd Jakob. They boarded the "Kaiser Whilhelm" on the 18th of June in Breme n, Germany, and arrived at Ellis Island on the 5th of July, 1904.
(Interestingly: The Kaiser's came also on the "Kaiser Wilhelm", embarki ng at Bremen in 1907 and 1908.)

Ships that other Kaiser arrived on.... (text handwritten, not legible)

They came to Ellis because that was where the rest of Ferdinand's family a nd other Furstenthalers had settled. (Another interesting note: Both Kla ra and Ferdinand come from relatively small families as compared to lar ge families that were general norm in Europe. Klara had one brother, Anth on Baumgartner. Ferdinand's brothers were Frank and Joseph, and his sist er was Franziska (translated Frances) who married Franz Augustine. The bo ys had large families, but sister Franziska only had three children. O ne possible explanation: Many times small families were the result when o ne parent died, and the other did not remarry.

In an old account about Ellis, I read where at first the European immigran ts settled like the
European ancestors in small homes in Ellis and went out to the land to wo rk it, though I don't know if by the time our Schusters came this was t he case. An incident sticks in my mind…after Bob and I were married we 'd visited, along with Mom and Dad at some of the Aunt's houses in Elli s. Mom pointed out a gravel road straight south of Ellis, and at one tu rn in the road she said, "This is the first place we lived when we ca me to America." I asked, "You must not have lived there very long?" She sa id, "No, it wasn't very long after that, that her Daddy bought the place w here we called 'Grandma's House"'. I have no idea now where that place s he pointed out to me was. I don't know if they just lived there, rente d, or bought and sold.

I don't know if this is all, but some of the land is described as: NE 1 /4 of Section 33 in TWP 13 S.
Range 21 , W of the 6th PM. Listed in book BB, page 12 in the County of T rego, State of Kansas.
This information was copied from a cutting ... and I will go into this wi th another tale.

Upon Klara's death (at which time all her children were still heirs) the f amily decided that each of the others would sell their portion of the inte rest to the land to the youngest son, Engelbert. The others could keep th eir oil rights on the oil leases or sell them back. The inherited oil rig hts ended at the death of Klara's children. Theresia sold her's back to E ngelbert at the time Grandma Klara's estate was settled. So far as I kno w, there were no pumping wells on the property, though in 1939 a lessor br oke a 1935 lease agreement, and action to clear this was taken. Possib ly to lease to someone else, or to keep the rights in the estate.

To get to Grandma's we went east on Highway 40, turned South on the ro ad by the Riga elevator and to the North of Grandma's was a place called " Round Mound". It was a raised round area of earth, a landmark, as it wer e. I can't remember just how for we went South before we turned West (f or a little tad of a ways), then the yelling started, "I see Grandma's hou se first."

Stories aren't so profuse, and I've heard this expression more than onc e. "Tight-mouthed
Schusters". As an example, quite a number of years ago, I wanted to sta rt a genealogy of our
families, and Mom said to me, "That's all past history and none of your bu siness." However, during the raising of children, they couldn't help but s ay some things to tell us just how lucky we were in our generation. In o ne case I was told that the older girls worked out as farmer's wife helpe rs at an early age.. Mom by the age eleven. This leaves the conclusion th at they must not have lived in Ellis and gone to their land during the gro wing season. (The older girls received no more schooling after they ca me to America.)

Cash money was always a need, and I've been told that Grandpa Ferdinand wo rked on the railroad. One of his jobs was to walk the tracks from Ell is to Riga and back…out down one track and back on the other to see that t here was nothing ... ties loose, loose spikes or loose rail plates. . th at would impede the train's progress. On Sunday's he fudged a bit and t he family would meet him in the buggy at Riga and he would ride back in to Ellis, so they could all attend Mass together. Apparently it was the f amily, not he, that did the farming with horses and lots of manual labor.

Theresia once referred to her Father as a complete autocrat. She, by t he time this story was told was married with children of her own, and I mi ght add that my parents weren't terribly strict as parents of some of my f riends. She had begun to work for a family by the name of Waldo in Elli s. Mrs. Waldo had given her a hat, and when they picked up Grandpa Ferdin and at Riga, he saw her wearing the hat, and ordered her out of the bug gy to walk home and get her shawl, because only fast girls went about with out their shawls. I asked Theresia if she did, and she said, "No, Mamma ( Klara) told daddy (Ferdinand) that it was a bigger sin to miss Mass th an to go to church in a hat ... American women already did." By the way, a ll earned money Mom made at her household jobs in Ellis was turned ov er to Grandma Klara.

Grandpa Schuster died in 1912. 1 had heard that it was complications of t he flu, but in talking to Uncle Englebert he said, "It could possibly ha ve been cancer of the stomach, or the result of a severe injury. He had w orked placing ties on the railroad, and in the process someone hit him sev erely across the stomach area." In 1912, 1 don't suppose that there was mu ch a doctor did for you, but give you something to dull the pain. Grand ma Klara buried her man, when the youngest child was only nine months old.

What stamina these women we know as Grandmas and Great Grandmas had. I 'm sure this came from the Grace of God. I may as well add this thoug ht of my own, since I've had it many times… And the Apostle Paul, notwiths tanding, who said, "At the head of the woman is the man.".. ."She should p ray with her head covered". . ."That she should keep silent in the church. "… "That she should always submit." My thought is this that the older I ge t, it becomes apparent that it was the women our lives... both yours and m ine, that were the true pillars of family. They didn't "rule" with a velv et glove... more like a warm furry mitten. Mamma did not have to rule wi th a spanking or yelling. It required only a certain set of her mou th or an almost discernable shake of her head. It was your Great-Grandmot hers, both Kaiser and Schuster that were the warp that wove the fabr ic of the family, and kept it intact. Although I didn't know my Grandmoth er Anna Mary Kaiser (the stories tell of her strengths), I did know my Gra mma Klara. There is only one answer as to why we flocked around her at ho lidays, that she became such a cause for excitement when she came and stay ed with us for awhile and that answer has to be LOVE, freely and openly gi ven. . you knew it ... you felt it... she never said it. We never h ad to be told to "Kiss Grandma and hug her". We did it naturally --- joyf ully. We hung around her chair watching her crochet, or darn socks, or pat ch overalls. We also learned early that we were not to disturb her when s he held her rosary or read from her German prayer book, because... "Shh h, Grandma is praying."

I will insert this bit here, as I don't want to lose it among my note s. In a 1945 census of
Furstenthal the name Schuster is no longer listed, though there are a numb er of Baumgartners,
Gashlers, Artmanns and Kuffners. In the upheaval during and after the Sec ond World War a
large percent of German Bukovinans went to Germany under very trying circu mstances. Most of them that live in Germany settled in the Worthgau and E ast Upper Silesia Areas.

The Bukovina of the Hapsburg era (the era in which our people were ther e) has been described as a model for a United Europe. Home of some 12 nat ionalities, none of which were a majority. Bukovina inhabitants exercis ed a mutual toleration for the ethnic and religious differences of their n eighbors. Bukovina, now a part of Rumania, is located on the East Si de of the Carpathion Mountains. From a topical map by Dr. Karl Stum p, it appears that the terrain is the type that would be situated betwe en flatlands and mountains. (I would describe it, as rolling foothills. M aps show that Furstenthal is located bout 50 km south of Czernowity, the c apitol. (Present day name Cervovcy) Present day name for Furstenthal is Vo ivodeasa. These name changes were made when the USSR annexed this territo ry, which now lies behind the Iron Curtain. (See maps in the back of the f amily descriptions in the book.

(This is a letter to Rose (Kaiser) Bird's daughter Patricia (Bird) in 198 8. She was interested, thought she might have time for family histor y. ?? established herself in landscaping business and has no time to ma ke inquiries, etc. Doing these things is an ongoing thing. You read, you a sk, you come to dead ends, but has been an absorbing hobby for me.)

IN CONCLUSION

I have read over the little vignettes about each of my Aunts and Uncles a nd I find a word repeated in each of them ... each has been described as " special", and each one is. Each one has a quality about them that you can 't dump collectively into the description that they are a family of "go od or poor taste", "Interesting or boring," agricultural or craftsman, a nd I have come to this conclusion..... God made each of us special in o ur own way, and each of us should praise Him for the uniqueness that has b een given to each of us.

You may pick up a family photo and say, "There's a big 'family' resemblanc e." And while the set of a mouth here, or a similar nose or chin, I thi nk that we find only one real resemblance and that is that each is a Chi ld of God and each one different and special as a snowflake.

I've heard it told that you can understand yourself better if you can unde rstand those that have gone before you. Maybe that is true, but I don't re ally think that is the case necessarily. There is only one thing that mak es us truly family and that is the love we share with one another.

And so I hope you will enjoy this little booklet, made in love "speciall y" for you, a "special" part of our "special" big family.

Mary Conard
May 1988

Obituary:
Mary Conard, 78, of Danvers, MT, died Nov 25, 2006, at Benefis Hospital, Great Falls.
She was born Sept 13, 1928 to Nicholas and Theresia Kaiser in Collyer.
Following her graduation from high school she attended business school in Denver where she met Bob Conard, who was stationed at Fitzsimmons Army Base.
They were married on Nov 6, 1950 and made their home on the family ranch north of Danvers.
She was a farm wife first and foremost but was also ative in the Danvers Extension Homemakers, National Farmers Organization, Council of Catholic Women, the Danvers Altar Society and a member of St Wenceslaus Catholic Church.
Survivors include her husband, Bob; daughters, Bobbi (Andy) Ungerer, Philomath, OR, Barb (Rick) Clark, Lander, WY; son, Don (Lori) Conard, Danvers; grandchildren, Michelle (Mark) Plesko, Emily Ungerer, Jennifer Conard, Matt Conard, Wyatt Conard, Erin (Ken) Wolfley, Anna Clark; and sisters Rose Marie Bird, Salina, and Frances Wagoner, WaKeeney.
She was preceded in death by her brothers, Johnny and Fritz.
At her request there was no funeral services. A private family gathering will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the charity of one's choice.

Mary — Conard, Robert. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Health: had scarlet fever as a child

Frances married Wagoner, Leroy 10 Apr 1950, Collyer, Trego, Kansas, USA. Leroy was born 13 Jul 1924, Angelus, Sheridan, Kansas, USA; died 10 Nov 1983, New Almelo, Kansas, Wisconsin, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Obituary: 3 Mar 1967

Steven married Rourke, Eileen (daughter of Rourke, John J. and Halbleib, Margaret) [Group Sheet]

Leonard married Rourke, Helen Laurita 14 Oct 1947. Helen (daughter of Rourke, John J. and Halbleib, Margaret) was born 24 Jul 1930; died 5 Apr 1986. [Group Sheet]

Barbara married Parke, Robert [Group Sheet]

Dorothy married Rourke, John Gerald 4 Nov 1947, Collyer, Trego, Kansas, USA. John (son of Rourke, John J. and Halbleib, Margaret) was born 27 Sep 1922, Brownell, Ness, Kansas, USA; died 18 Mar 2002, Great Bend, Kansas. [Group Sheet]

Louise married Halfman, Robert [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• 1940 Census: 1940, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• Residence: 1963, Hays, Ellis, Kansas, USA
• Find A Grave: Aft 6 Aug 2017

Notes:

1940 Census:
Leonard Erbert24
Blanche Erbert19
Jeanette Erbert1

Residence:
Name:Blanche Erbert
Gender:Female
Residence Year:1963
Residence Place:Hays, Kansas, USA
Spouse:Leonard Erbert
Publication Title:Hays, Kansas, City Directory, 1963

Find A Grave:
Name: Blanche Erbert
Maiden Name: Locker
Birth Date: 15 Nov 1920
Birth Place: Ellis County, Kansas, United States of America
Death Date: 6 Aug 2017
Death Place: Ellis, Ellis County, Kansas, United States of America
Cemetery: Saint Marys Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place: Ellis, Ellis County, Kansas, United States of America
Has Bio?: Y
Father: Louis Locker
Mother: Stephanie Locker
Spouse: Leonard Erbert
Children: Joan M. Atchison
David M Erbert

Blanche married Erbert, Leonard Bef 1939. Leonard was born 21 Jun 1915, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA; died 16 Jun 2001, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA; was buried , St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Ellis, Kansas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Frances — Butler, Roy. [Group Sheet]

Arthur — Meyers, Shirley. [Group Sheet]

Leona — Armbruster, Gerald. [Group Sheet]

Vivian married Dessenberger, Raymond Arthur Aft 1953. Raymond was born 9 Nov 1926; died 3 Mar 1990. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Social Security Applications and Claims Index: 19 Sep 2003

Notes:

Social Security Applications and Claims Index:
Name:Rosalie Ann Dietrich
[Rosalie A Shubert]
[Rosalie Ann Schuster]
SSN:510726272
Gender:Female
Race:White
Birth Date:23 Apr 1938
Birth Place:Ellis Ellis, Kansas
[Ellis, Kansas]
Death Date:19 Sep 2003
Father:Jake T Schuster
Mother:Elma M Mickelson
Type of Claim:Original SSN.
Notes:08 Mar 1974: Name listed as ROSALIE ANN DIETRICH; 10 Jun 1987: Name listed as ROSALIE A SHUBERT

Rosalie — Dietrich, Delbert. [Group Sheet]

Robert married West, Waltine [Group Sheet]

Michael married Wittman, Ida [Group Sheet]

Verdella married O'Brien, Eugene [Group Sheet]

Sandra — Unknown, David. [Group Sheet]

Sonja married Moore, Unknown [Group Sheet]

Gwendolyn — Weisner, Arthur. [Group Sheet]

Lois — Brinker, Jerome. [Group Sheet]

Michael — Bush, Virginia. [Group Sheet]

Rebecca married Hageman, John [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Address: Address:
  Jay Warren Wilpolt
• Marriage Status: Never Married
• Other Info or Events: 26 Nov 1957
• Baptism: Aft 26 Nov 1957, Our Lady Of Lourdes Catholic Church, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA
• Same Person Link: Aft 1957; Jay Wilpolt Facebook Page
• Residence: Between 1958 and 1965, Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA; 1459 Newberry Ave.
• Residence: Between 1966 and 1969, Arlington Heights, Cook, Illinois, USA; 112 S Patton
• Residence: Between 1969 and 1970, Oakland, Alameda, California, USA; 5324 Golden Gate Ave.
• Residence: From 1970 to 1975, Oakland, Alameda, California, USA; 60 Elrod Ave.
• Occupation: From Jul 1974 to Aug 1974, Oakland Feather River Camp, Quincy, California
• Education - High School: Jun 1975, Berkeley, Alameda, California, USA; Address:
  1294 Albina Ave
  Albany, CA 94706
• Occupation: From Jul 1975 to 1977; Golden State Radiator
• Occupation: From 1977 to 1983; Wilkins-Mason and Assoc Sales
• Residence: Bef 1983, Castro Valley, Alameda, California, USA
• Residence: Bef 1983, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
• Occupation: From 1983 to 1986; Allied Distributing
• Residence: From 1983 to 1987, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
• News Mention: 29 Dec 1986; Wall Street Journal
• Occupation: From 1987 to 1997; Price Club Senior Buyer
• Residence: Aft 1987, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA; (1999 - current) 7053 Park Mesa Way #146
• Other Info or Events: Aft 1997
• URL: Aft 1997
• Organizations: Abt Jun 2005

Notes:

Other Info or Events:
1957 On this date (11/26/1957) Desilu Studios bought RKO Studios

Residence:
also 299 Main st

Occupation:
Camp Counselor at Camp Kidd Boys Camp July - Aug 1974

Education - High School:
St. Mary's College High School Class of 1975

Occupation:
Golden State Radiator

Occupation:
Pioneer Stereo 1st Field assistant (Position later became a requirement for each sales rep agency in the USA)

Residence:
Palos verde rd. renter at ranch owned by Mike Jasaitis.

Residence:
991 Delores St. Roommates with Steve Felice.
99 Miguel Street, Roommates with Steve Capps
18th st. Roommates with Gina Morandi, Russ Meduski and mike Trevino.
178 Eureka St. Roommates with Ric Snyder
Next to Moby Dick's Roommate with Wayne Friedman and

Occupation:
Allied Distributing

Residence:
Between 1983 - 1985 commuted monthly between both Northern California and Southern California.

News Mention:
See Image

Occupation:
Buyer for Price Club's "Dept. 12" Small Appliances, Personal Care, Vacuums, Music, Pianos (created the Piano Roadshow program) annual budget 200 Million.
When the Price Club and Costco merger started in late 1994, decided not to moved to Seattle buying offices (had moved for work from No. Cal to So. Cal in 83, then from LA to SD in 86) Was given the chance to bring the outsourced Travel Program into corporate. So bought a 1/2 milllion telephone switch, got national accreditation as a seller of travel, set up a call center, only to have the airline cut agency commissions in half 6 months later. Laid off over 40 personel and transitioned into selling cruises. 3 year growth from externally sourced to over 30 million annual travel sales. Moved to PriceSmart Quest program, "the sinking ship" which was losing 1 million a month...in 1997 Robert Price refused my plans of taking Price Costco Travel online as the "internet is not a venue for sales" even tho' we had already booked cruises online. Stress and health issues forced my retirement due to disability.

Other Info or Events:
Genealogical Codicil to My Last Will and Testament
To my spouse, children, guardian, administrator and/or executor: Upon my demise it is requested that you DO NOT dispose of any or all of my genealogical records, both those prepared personally by me and those records prepared by others which may be in my possession, including but not limited to books, files, notebooks or computer programs for a period of two years. During this time period, please attempt to identify one or more persons who would be willing to take custody of the said materials and the responsibility of maintaining and continuing the family histories. I suggest that the persons or organizations contacted regarding the assumption of the custody of these items include but not be limited to; The Kaukauna Historical Society.
In the event you do no find anyone to accept these materials, please contact the various genealogical organizations that I have been a member of and determine if they will accept some parts or all of my genealogical materials;
The Little Chute Historical Society.
Please remember that my genealogical endeavors consumed a great deal of time, travel, and money. Therefore it is my desire that the products of these endeavors be allowed to continue in a manner that will make them available to others in the future.

Signature _________Jay Wilpolt__________________ Date _____1/01/2001______

URL:
Created the 1FamilyTree web site

Organizations:
Spoke at Little Chute Historical Society monthly membership meeting about the early settlers of the Fox Valley area and the web site 1FamilyTree.

Mark married Pybas, Sheri (daughter of Pybas, Gary and Borchert, Barbara) [Group Sheet]

Mark married Wald, Lisa Valerie [Group Sheet]

Carrie married Springer, Kent (son of Springer, Maxwell E. and Huston, Jean H.) [Group Sheet]

Andrew married Tuuri, Darcie Moria [Group Sheet]

Andrew married Mendoza, Angelica [Group Sheet]

Nicolle married Belsky, Scott [Group Sheet]

Evan — . Unknown [Group Sheet]

Carol married Matthews, Chris [Group Sheet]

Teresa married Robbins, Dean Leroy [Group Sheet]

Arthur married Kyle, Sandra Lee [Group Sheet]

Arthur married Muehlenburg, Cris [Group Sheet]

Arthur married Bray, Mary Ann [Group Sheet]

Robert — Rindahl, Linda. [Group Sheet]

Robert — Denny, Rhonda. [Group Sheet]

Patricia — Bruce, John. [Group Sheet]

Patricia — Hacker, Gary. [Group Sheet]

Roberta — Ungerer, Carl. [Group Sheet]

Donald — Dalton, Lori. [Group Sheet]

Barbara — Clark, Rick. [Group Sheet]

Illa — Dennington, John. [Group Sheet]

Donna — Washburn, Loren. [Group Sheet]

Sandra — Cline, Randy. [Group Sheet]

Jerold — Weber, Anastasia. [Group Sheet]

Edward — Albers, Marjorie. [Group Sheet]

Maxine — Griffin, Stuart. [Group Sheet]

Laurita — Burback, Rick. [Group Sheet]

William — Walt, Mari. [Group Sheet]

Kathleen — Scheiber, Unknown. [Group Sheet]

Dorothy — Legleiter, Ronald. [Group Sheet]

Louise — Seltman, Brian. [Group Sheet]

Jeanette — Prather, Jack. [Group Sheet]

Jeanette — Guinn, Milton. [Group Sheet]

Jeanette married Dietrich, Warner [Group Sheet]

Joan married Atchison, Carson [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Military Service: From 26 Jan 1965 to 25 Jan 1967; US Army

Notes:

Military Service:
Name: David Erbert
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 20 Mar 1943
Death Date: 7 Aug 1972
SSN: 514445403
Branch 1: ARMY
Enlistment Date 1: 26 Jan 1965
Release Date 1: 25 Jan 1967

David — Elledge, Marsha. [Group Sheet]

Judith — Elman, William. [Group Sheet]

Jane — Zook, James. [Group Sheet]

Mark — Ballman, Beverly. [Group Sheet]

Jaqueline — Murphy, Brian. [Group Sheet]

Jaqueline — Johnson, Jeffrey. [Group Sheet]

Frederick — Duncan, Janet. [Group Sheet]

Gerald married Keller, Beverly [Group Sheet]

Sylvia married Morton, Royce [Group Sheet]

Marlis married Norton, Kenneth [Group Sheet]

Toni married Miller, Doyle [Group Sheet]

Debra — Fisher, George. [Group Sheet]

Frederick — Dinges, Michelle. [Group Sheet]

Linda — Kinderknect, Robert. [Group Sheet]

Robert — Unknown, Unknown. [Group Sheet]

Zandra — Farris, Terry. [Group Sheet]

Janet married Gerstenkorn, Brian [Group Sheet]

Arthur married Bond, Sandra Carol [Group Sheet]

Arthur married Biehler, Anita M. [Group Sheet]

Kenneth married Gruver, Nikole Renea [Group Sheet]

Jill — Bliss, Vince. [Group Sheet]

Jenna — Lundstrum, James. [Group Sheet]

James married Capps, Roberta [Group Sheet]

Jana married Ludgen, Randy [Group Sheet]

Jodi married Bowman, Todd [Group Sheet]