Friday, December 17, 2010

Photo Number 399

This is a photo that I purchased at the Antique Shop in Royalton, Minnesota last summer. It was damaged.  Which is not surprising because that Antique Shop is an adventure in itself.  It was raining, and the roof was leaking and they had placed pots all over to catch the worst of the drips.  The shop was located in a very old very tall two story building.  I am sure that the second floor was entirely soaked..I was sure that the roof was going to come down any moment…but I escaped with a few photos instead!
Mrs Ernst Guhr Milwauke RAS Anyway..I fixed the photo in Photoshop.

Mrs Ernst Guhr Milwauke RAS copy
The photo was taken by Frank Zivney in Milwaukee.  He was at 211 State Street in 1889 so that is the date we will use for this photo.
Mrs Ernst Guhr back of card RAS I darkened this up a bit so you can see that it is marked.  Mrs Ernst Guhr.  Tomorrows photo says that she is Mrs Ernst Guhr II and I will assume that is true.   Her husbands parents were most likely Ernst G. Guhr born in Germany August 07 1848 and Ottilie Marie Bass Guhr born August 04, 1849 and died in 1919.  I hope we find out her name..

I thought at first this might have been Ottilie..but this gal is only about 20 years old.  If the photo was taken in 1889..then she was born sometime around 1869.  ( I just cannot make her forty years old in this photo..can you?)  This is a cabinet card.

Thanks for stopping by, do come again:)
Update from Abra: 
First off, Josephine is gorgeous! Yes, I believe this is Josephine Freudenberg, born in 1876 in Wisconsin, married in 1895 to Ernst C. Guhr, who was born in 1874 to Ernst (G.?) & Ottilia. According to their family tree information, they had five children, but I could only confirm the youngest 4 through the census, because I was only able to find them in 1920 & 1930--I suspect the oldest was on their own by 1920 & he or she was not named in the family tree. The children were Robert C. (1899), Ernst A. (1900), Florence M. (1903), and Herbert E. (1905).


Iggy added: The first child's name was Evelyn and she was born about 1897.
Guhr, Ernst C. and Josephine F. were married 21 Dec 1895 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 


Update: Iggy has found a descendant of Josephines..through her oldest daughter Evelyn and Evelyns husband Ed..we will wait to see what happens next! :) 


This photo is headed to Josephines Great Grandson Ed on December 20, 2010 :) 


This photo went Full Circle 17 on December 26, 2010 


Correction:
The following posted by Intense Guy is a bit in error. "Robert Guhr worked for South Milwaukee Brick Company, South Milwaukee, WI (1922) with his dad "EC" and then later lived in Rolling Meadows, IL where he was an Engine Watchman for the Chicago & NW Railway (1951-1957) just before he died in 1958."

More Correctly: Robert Guhr worked for South Milwaukee Brick Company, South Milwaukee, WI (1922) with his dad "EC" and then later lived in Aurora, IL working for the Aurora Well Works; then: Chicago, Wilmette, Winnetka & Deerfield, IL while working as the Purchasing Agent for the Powers Regulator Co. He died in 1958. He never lived in Rolling Meadows, IL.

I live in Rolling Meadows, IL and was in fact an Engine Watchman for the Chicago & North Western Ry. (1951-1957).



More info From Anonymous:
No apologies necessary! "EC" (though I never heard him called "EC") was my Grandfather and Robert was my Father. Naturally, Josephine was my Grandmother. The brick and tile business was originally located in Muskego, WI, moving to South Milwaukee when raw materials became scarce. The South Milwaukee operation eventually failed but during this period "EC" also held a job with a Milwaukee candy company. Josephine insisted he keep this job just in case the brick company didn't make it, proving she had a good head on her shoulders. Josephine died on 12/15/1956 and "EC" died on 2/4/1957.


I mailed a CD copy to Bob in November of 2011. He shared the following information with me. 
ERNST GOTTLIEB GUHR was born in GermanyAug. 7, 1848, and is a son of Gottlieb and Dorthea (Stahr) Guhr, natives of the same country, the former, born Dec. 19, 1819, died Feb. 13, 1883, and the latter, born May 2, 1819, died March 31, 1897. The family immigrated to the United States, landing in Baltimore. Md. on July 11, 1863, and coming directly from that point to Milwaukee. After a stay of four weeks in the city they purchased a farm of 80 acres in the town of Muskego, which was the home of the parents for the remainder of their lives. Of the four children in the family, two are living: the two older ones, Dorthea and Anna, being deceased. Ernst Gottlieb is the third and the only son; Caroline, the youngest, is the wife of Charles Beilfuss and resides in the village of Waterford, Racine County. Ernst, a lad of fifteen when he accompanied his parents to this country, obtained all of his schooling in his native land and after reaching his new home employed himself on the farm, assisting his father. In 1873 he purchased the place and is still cultivating the soil, taking care of a dairy herd of 14 cows and patronizing the creamery at Cold Spring. In 1885 a tile factory was started on the farm, making at first both brick and file, but more recently confining the output of the factory to the last named. Mr. Guhr supplies all the local demand, his being the only factory of the kind in the vicinity. In July, 1873, Mr. Guhr was married to Miss Ottlie Bass, a native of Milwaukee, born Aug. 4. 1840, the daughter of Charles Bass, who later moved to Muskego, where both he and his wife died. To the marriage four children were born. Ernst, born in May 1874, received his preliminary education at the district school, and then attended school for two years at Valparaiso. Ind. and later learning the machinist's trade. He married Josephine Freudenburg (Mrs. Ernst Guhr II) by whom he has five children (Evelyn, Robert, Ernest, Florence & Herbert), and is at present living in Milwaukee, being the machinist at the Johnson Candy factory. Emma, born Dec. 2. 1876, was educated in the home school and is married to Edward Wolmer; they also have five children and their home is in Muskego township. Delia, born in 1878, is unmarried and resides with her father's family. She is a graduate of the Milwaukee Conservatory of Music, and teaches that art in the community. Delia was killed in a railroad grade crossing accident in 1937. George, born Dec. 25, 1884, is also a member of the home circle and assists his father in the work and management of the farm. Mr. Guhr is a Republican, has served as side supervisor for three terms and as chairman of the county board for one term. The tile factory is estimated to be worth $12,000, and will probably be of greater importance in the manufacturing development of the county as the years bring better shipping facilities. The deposit of the pure lacustrine clays suitable for manufacturing purposes that is found in this part of the county is an interesting geological fact that is mentioned in the main history of this work. (This was probably written ca. 1907 – 1910 with later information added by me.)

24 comments:

  1. What a beautiful face. I have a number of similar photographs from the same period and they did have a way of making the sitters look so attractive.

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  2. She really is beautiful. Hope to learn more.

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  3. Mrs. Ernst (or Ernest?) Guhr may have been the customer and not the person in the photo - The woman might have been on of her two daughters, Emma or Della.

    I find this family hard to sort out - there are two many Ernest-Ernst's and many possible mispellings of their name Della-Adelia, Fina-Tina and so on... I assume their german accents were thick. :)

    The good news is - there appears to be a bunch of Guhrs still living in MIlkwaukee and Waukesha Wisconsin - so perhaps I'll find a link to some offspring at lunch time.

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  4. I had this big, long comment and it disappeared when I hit submit. i will try again, but probably lost a few of my thoughts! ;-)

    First off, Josephine is gorgeous! Yes, I believe this is Josephine Freudenberg, born in 1876 in Wisconsin, married in 1895 to Ernst C. Guhr, who was born in 1874 to Ernst (G.?) & Ottilia. According to their family tree information, they had five children, but I could only confirm the youngest 4 through the census, because I was only able to find them in 1920 & 1930--I suspect the oldest was on their own by 1920 & he or she was not named in the family tree. The children were Robert C. (1899), Ernst A. (1900), Florence M. (1903), and Herbert E. (1905). In 1920, they are living in West Allis Ward, Milwaukee, Wi. Ernst C. is a stationary engineer at a candy factory, while Robert is at boarding school. in 1930, they are listed in Milwaukee. Some of the information is hard to read. Ernst C.is listed as an engineer in either a 'candy confectionary' or a 'candy corn factory.' Sounds like my kind of job! Ernst A.(age 30), employed as a real estate salesman, and Herbert E. (age 25), emplyed as a manger at an 'auto (looks like laundry something?), are still at home.

    I will let Iggy continue digging with this information, as I must head to work. I will send a message to the owner of the tree, but the responses are sometimes slow, so if Iggy can find a real, live descendant, that would be great! Can't wait for tomorrow's picture. ~Abra

    P.S. Is the antique store mentioned along Main Street/Highway 10? Sounds interesting--I may need to stop the next time I pass by, if the snow hasn't caused the roof to collapse!

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  5. Please forgive my atrocious spelling above--I was retyping quickly and should have checked spelling before submitting!!

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  6. What remains of Jospehine and Ernst:

    http://usgwarchives.net/wi/cemetery/images/milwaukee/halescor-evangelicalemanuel/evangelicalemanuel0107.jpg

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  7. I am a photography lover. I like your blog! Thank you very much!


    http://lasfotosdecesar.blogspot.com/

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  8. Iggy you found a headstone! Amazing..it makes you wonder what happened in between this photo and the headstone.
    Abra, Great work..so she is a Josephine..a beautiful name for a beautiful woman.
    Yes that shop is right on Hwy 10 on a corner:)

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  9. She is very beautiful! I like this photo a lot. And you did a wonderful job restoring it on Photoshop. I think I still have a lot to learn about this trick.

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  10. If anyone is looking "downstream" - I think Abra's list of children needs a small clarification. The first child's name was Evelyn and she was born about 1897.

    Guhr, Herbert E. (1904-1973) and Florence Barnes (1902-1973) appears on Herbert's gravestone.

    Robert Guhr worked for South Milwaukee Brick Company, South Milwaukee, WI (1922) with his dad "EC" and then later lived in Rolling Meadows, IL where he was an Engine Watchman for the Chicago & NW Railway (1951-1957) just before he died in 1958.

    His headstone reads: Guhr, Robert C. (1898-1958) and Elaine J. (1899-1988)

    Guhr, Ernst C. and Josephine F. were married 21 Dec 1895 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

    Are all buried in the graveyard at Emanuel Church United Church of Christ located in Hales Corners, Wi (a neighborhood/suburb of Milwaukee) - I wrote an email to the Church asking if they had any current members named Guhr.

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  11. Josephine, so pleased to meet you! Your dress is a lovely representation of the turn away from the severe bodices of the bustle period and toward the soft femininity of the Gay 90s. You are lovely.

    Norkio

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  12. I've found some living offspring of Robert C. and Elaine J; their son Robert C Jr, his son, Robert C. Jr.'s sister, and her son.

    I've sent the details to Connie.

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  13. P.s., I forgot to add Evelyn married a Mr. Sweeney and died in 1961.

    I have not been able to find any at all concerning the Sweeney's and whether or not they had children.

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  14. What I'm trying to figure out is there some sort of school that antique dealers go to so that they're price tags look the same all over the country? I swear I've peeled off so many tags that look exactly like the one on the back of your shot. Perhaps we should be collecting them. The future ephemera for some odd collector. It's a category..."Antique Dealer Price Tags."

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  15. Evelyn Guhr married Edward Sweeney and they lived in Walworth, Wisconsin in 1930.

    Edward was born on 11-Dec-1895 and died Nov 1980, at the age of 84 in nearby Milton WI.

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  16. I have been by the Antique store in Royalton many times (on the corner of the main drag.) We have stopped many times and bought stuff. Is that where you bought this?

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  17. 42N..yes that is where I bought this photo..last summer. Thanks for stopping by and for the comment:)

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  18. Tattered and Lost..Oh my just what we need another category..I usually just leave the price tags in place..sometimes it isn't the price paid anyway..in this case I believe I did pay a dollar:)

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  19. What a lovely lady, so sweet, so hopeful. Such a modern face. It strikes me often that faces--apart from clothes, hair styles, moustaches, etc.--seem to belong to certain epochs, yet Josephine also could be a young lady of today. It was a great pleasure to see her, and I thoroughly enjoy your blog, thanks so much for your effort and that of your friends. Happy Holidays and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

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  20. The following posted by Intense Guy is a bit in error. "Robert Guhr worked for South Milwaukee Brick Company, South Milwaukee, WI (1922) with his dad "EC" and then later lived in Rolling Meadows, IL where he was an Engine Watchman for the Chicago & NW Railway (1951-1957) just before he died in 1958."

    More Correctly: Robert Guhr worked for South Milwaukee Brick Company, South Milwaukee, WI (1922) with his dad "EC" and then later lived in Aurora, IL working for the Aurora Well Works; then: Chicago, Wilmette, Winnetka & Deerfield, IL while working as the Purchasing Agent for the Powers Regulator Co. He died in 1958. He never lived in Rolling Meadows, IL.

    I live in Rolling Meadows, IL and was in fact an Engine Watchman for the Chicago & North Western Ry. (1951-1957). Anyone desiring more information may contact me at eng1607@yahoo.com.

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  21. Thank you Anonymous for the correction..I appreciate your input. I bet you have a story or two to tell about your Railroad days:)

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  22. I appreciate the correction and additional information too - and apologize if my mistake caused any troubles or misunderstnadings.

    Is Anonynmous an offspring of Robert Guhr and "EC"?

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  23. No apologies necessary! "EC" (though I never heard him called "EC") was my Grandfather and Robert was my Father. Naturally, Josephine was my Grandmother. The brick and tile business was originally located in Muskego, WI, moving to South Milwaukee when raw materials became scarce. The South Milwaukee operation eventually failed but during this period "EC" also held a job with a Milwaukee candy company. Josephine insisted he keep this job just in case the brick company didn't make it, proving she had a good head on her shoulders. Josephine died on 12/15/1956 and "EC" died on 2/4/1957.

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  24. Thanks for the added info. I can mail you a CD copy of these photos if you like. Just email me with your address. My email is off to the left in my profile:) Connie at Forgotten Old Photos

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Hi, Thanks for the comments, your input on these old photos is appreciated! English only please! All comments will be moderated! Connie