FIVE:  ACH DU LIEBER LUDEKE

"ALLS" stands for Ada Louise Ludeke Smith: Ada Ick in childhood, Ick at college, Icky to her husband, Mom to her daughters, Louise to her in-laws, Momine or Grandma or Goppy to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Smitty as a senior citizen.  Her informal memoirs were written 1983-96.

Internet sources are indicated by tildes (e.g. ~internet).  A complete list can be found on the Sources page.  Due to the transient nature of Internet entries, only a few hyperlinks will be provided to outside webpages; such as ~a (www.ancestry.com), ~f (www.familysearch.org), ~g (www.findagrave.com), and ~w (www.worldvitalrecords.com).  The United States Federal Census records for 1850 through 1940 cited below are available at ~a (except for 1890's, which was badly damaged in a 1921 fire and later quietly destroyed).
 

            L-2    The Schneiders

  
● The First of the Schneiders: Adam and Wife (or Wives)

The surname Schneider means "tailor" (from Middle High German snider, "cutter") and is as widespread through Europe as its English equivalent, Taylor.  We encountered the Dutch version, Snyder, back in Chapter P-1—though there it started off belonging to a Swissman.

ALLS's information on the Schneiders was "awfully sketchy... I have very few memories of [them], including my Mother."  She knew they were German Catholics who lived at 1102 Vine Street in Hamilton OH, and tended to suffer from tuberculosis.  (Click on the thumbnail on the right to see an 1875 map of the area around Hamilton's Greenwood Cemetery, including Vine Street.)  She thought her grandfather Morris Schneider was born in 1843 and died in 1929; her grandmother Christina Schneider was born in 1850 and died in 1909.  Two children, George Schneider "(1879-1927)" and Robert Schneider "(1889-1891)," were remembered from grave markers; two others, Leonard Schneider and Barbara Schneider, were known only by name; while a couple of aunts, Rose and Helen, are described below. 

We find a "Snider" household (transcribed as "Sinder") in the 1860 census of Hamilton's 3rd Ward:

     * Adam Snider (aged 50) born in Germany, occupation papermaker [looks like "pampanicker" on the original census], $25 in personal estate
     * Orislie Snider (aged 48) female born in Germany
     * Morris Snider (aged 18) German-born, same occupation as Adam
     * Mary Snider (aged 14) Ohio-born, attended school that year
     * John Snider (aged 7) Ohio-born, attended school that year
     * Rosa Snider (aged 6) Ohio-born

"Orislie" is ~a's transcription of Mrs. Snider's first name; the handwritten original is difficult to decipher.  Given that papermaker resembles pampanicker, it may be that "Orislie" was intended to be read as (say) "Christie."

The 1870 census has "Sinder" not only as the transcribed surname, but on the original census forms as well.  Still living in Hamilton's 3rd Ward are:

     * Adam Sinder (aged 58) born in Hesse-Darmstadt, now an American citizen; occupation "common laborer," with $1,000 in real estate and $150[?] in personal estate
     * Christiana Sinder (aged 58) born in Hesse-Darmstadt, occupation keeping house
     * John Sinder (aged 19) Ohio-born, occupation jour house painter [i.e. a journeyman, who'd served his apprenticeship but worked for others rather than as his own master]
     * Rosa Sinder (aged 16) Ohio-born, occupation "helps mother"

1880 finds the family respelled "Snyder" and living on Fifth Street in Hamilton's 3rd Ward:

     * Adam Snyder (aged 76 [as transcribed; original might be "70"]), born in "Hesse-D.," occupation laborer
     * Mercella Snyder (aged 76) born in "Hesse-D.," occupation keeping house
     * John Snyder (aged 20 [sic]) Ohio-born, both parents from "Hesse-D.," occupation laborer

Whether "Mercella" was Adam's second or even third wife—or, alternately, Orislie/Christiana's middle or even first name—is impossible to say.  Schneider Adam F. 1887 and Schneider Marzella 1888 (but no Christiana/Orislie) are listed by ~ststephens/cemetery among those buried between 1876 and 1889 ("taken from the old German Script Records") in Hamilton's St. Stephen's Cemetery±.  ~g supplies further details: Adam F. Schneider ("geb. d. 27 Jun 1813 / gest. d. 12 Oct 1887") and Marzella Schneider ("frau von Adam F. Schneider / geb. d. 24 Jun 1813 / gest. d. 19 Feb 1888) are interred in St. Stephen's section 3A, row 2.  Imposing headstones were placed on their graves, and Adam's has the curious subscription "remembered by Morris Schneider and Mary J. Miller exclusively."

Their other three children were tracked down via ~f:

Mary J. Schneider was born Apr. 10, 1846 in Hamilton.  Circa 1866 she married Leonard Miller [Sr.] (born Oct. 20, 1844, emigrated from Bavaria in 1854) and they had ten children.  In 1880 the Millers lived at 180 Fourth Street and Leonard worked as a "vinegar peddler."  By 1900 they had  moved to 421 North Front Street, along with all six of their surviving children: Anna R. Miller (born Sep. 23, 1869, "plain server"), Leonard F. Miller [Jr.] (born Nov. 1870, machinist), Frank Aaron Miller (born Nov. 1877, "saloonist"), Kate/Katie Miller (born Jan. 1880, sorter in paper mill), Carl Miller (born Aug. 1884, apprentice coremaker), and Edward Miller (born Jan. 9, 1886).  Four other children had died by 1900, among them John Miller (born c.1873) and Mary Miller (born c.1875).  In 1910 Mary and Leonard lived at #818, "rear of Buckeye St." aka "Buckeye Alley," and their household had dwindled to Anna (seamstress) and Carl (foundry coremaker).  In 1920 Carl and Edward (tool works machinist) lived with their parents.  Leonard Sr. died aged 83 on May 2, 1928; two years later his widow lived with daughter Anna at 2511 Benninghofen Avenue.  Mary Schneider Miller died aged 85 on Aug. 25, 1931, her death record showing parents named Adam and "Mercella" Schneider, both from Germany.  She was buried with her husband at St. Stephen's Cemetery on Aug. 29, 1931.

John Schneider aka John Snyder, born May 10, 1850 in Hamilton, died aged 71 on Mar. 8, 1922 in the Butler County Infirmary.  He was unmarried, had worked as a farmer, and his death record shows his parents as Adam and "Margella" Snyder, both from Germany.  It also indicated he was buried at Greenwood Cemetery; but neither ~g not ~greenwood includes him under either surname.

Rosa Schneider was born Sep. 6, 1853 in Hamilton.  Circa 1879 she married Calvin Post (born Dec. 1853: son of farmer Philip Post and Hannah [surname?]) and they would have four children.  In 1880 Rosa and Calvin lived with his parents at their farm in Butler County's Wayne Township.  Their daughter Anna H. Post was born Oct. 19, 1880.  Son William John Post followed May 16, 1882: he would marry Florence Mabel Rhody (1886-1915) on Apr. 14, 1906, and die aged 55 on Aug. 12, 1937, buried at Greenwood.  Rosa and Calvin's two other children died by 1900.  That year the Posts lived at Hamilton's 608 Reservoir Street with son William and Rosa's brother John; Calvin worked as a teamster, William as a molder's apprentice, and John as a day laborer.  By 1910 Calvin and "Rosie" Post had moved to 618 Miami (evidently next door to Wendell Vogt at #616; his daughter Mary Vogt and Rosie's nephew Leonard Schneider would marry in 1913).  Calvin worked at a lumber yard in 1920; living with him and Rosie was son William, now a widower and foundry molder, plus his(?) niece Beatrice (aged 13) and son William (aged 9).  Calvin died in 1923 and was at St. Stephen's Cemetery.  Rosa Schneider Post died in Hamilton aged 75 on Apr. 12, 1929, less than three months after brother Moritz; her death record shows her parents as Adam and "Marcella" Schneider, both from Germany.  Rosa was buried at St. Stephen's Cemetery on Apr. 16, 1929; her marker (viewable at ~g) shows a birthyear of 1854.

● Sergeant Moritz

According to his obituary, Moritz Schneider was born in Hesse on May 7, 1842 and brought to America by his parents in 1845; he worked as a papermaker until volunteering for service in the Civil War.  ~butler/vets states that a Morris Schneider of Butler County OH served in Company D of the 108th Ohio Infantry (a regiment "composed mainly of the German element," adds ~grending) from Aug. 11, 1862 to June 9, 1864, rising from private to sergeant.  ~a's database of Civil War soldiers agrees with the ranks, company, and regiment; but calls the soldier Moritz Schneider, as does ~a's Civil War Pension Index.  However, ~a's 1890 Veterans Schedule shows Sergeant Morris Schneider with Company D of the 108th OVI—and serving till the far more plausible date of June 9, 1865.  (A discharge in 1864 would have taken place on the first day of the Battle of Marietta.)

Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Her Generals, and Soldiers (Cincinnati: Moore, Wilstach & Baldwin, 1868, viewable at Google Books) was a popular Civil War history written by Whitelaw Reid, who would go on to serve as American ambassador to France and Britain, plus Benjamin Harrison's running mate on the (losing) Republican ticket in 1892.  On pages 579-583, Reid confirms that the 108th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was "a German organization," recruited in 1862 from Hamilton, Butler, and Franklin Counties.  It was organized at Camp Dennison in Aug. 1862 and served in Kentucky till December, when "the regiment met with a terrible disaster" at the Battle of Hartsville.  Overwhelmed by John Hunt Morgan's Confederates, ten men were killed and thirty wounded; the remaining 413 were captured and became Morgan's prisoners of war.  "In due time the regiment was exchanged" in early 1863; it reorganized and returned to service in Kentucky and Tennessee.

On the morning of the 22nd of November [1863], with two days' cooked rations in their haversacks, the regiment crossed the Tennessee River, opposite the last spur of Mission Ride.  It crossed the Chickamauga the following night, and in the afternoon came on the Rebels as they were leaving Chickamauga Station.  The Rebels did not stand a moment, but fled in such haste as to leave their dinners in the process of cooking, which the tired and hungry Germans of the One Hundred and Eighth devoured with much comfort.

In May 1864 they joined General Sherman's Atlanta campaign: "one almost continuous scene of marching and fighting for four months...  At Resaca, for four hours, the regiment stood firm amid a perfect hail-storm of bullets, and lost many of its brave men.  On this bloody field it more than redeemed the unfortunate affair at Hartsville."  The 108th went on to drive the Confederates out of Rome GA, finding the town "to be completely sacked, and nothing left but a lot of fine smoking and chewing tobacco, on which the boys of the One Hundred and Eighth feasted to their hearts' content."  In Aug. 1864 the regiment compelled the Confederates to abandon their siege of Dalton; and in November it "hastened to Atlanta to join the 'march to the sea'" and Savannah.  In 1865 the 108th fought in the Carolinas, including the Battle of Bentonville in March, when General Joe Johnston mounted the last major Southern offensive of the war:

Six different attacks by the Rebels were repulsed, although the men were compelled to jump over hastily-constructed breastworks four times to meet attacks from rear and front.  After the last and sixth attack was repulsed there were only two cartridges per man left, and perhaps the menacing glitter of the National bayonets, which the men had already fixed for a charge, deterred the Rebels from another attack, in which, by reason of their greatly superior force, they would most probably have been successful...  Every attempt of the Rebels to check the advance [of Union forces from Goldsboro toward Smithfield on Apr. 10th] was frustrated by the impetuosity with which the men of the One Hundred and Eighth attacked them...  In this engagement Captain Fleischman of Company H was killed, and it is claimed, that as this was the last engagement of the war, that Captain Fleischman was the last National officer killed, and that the One Hundred and Eighth fired the last shot at the rebellion. 

After news came of Robert E. Lee's surrender, the regiment pushed on to Washington DC and took part in the Grand Review of Armies on May 23-24; it then mustered out of service on June 9, 1865.  "The One Hundred and Eighth," Reid concludes, "was held in the highest esteem by brigade, division, and corps commanders, for its prompt action, discipline, and fighting qualities."

● Christina Ka--

Moritz Schneider returned to Butler County OH and there was married to Christina Kapp[?] on May 25, 1868 by Rev. G. P. Steinlage.  Christina (generally known as Christine) was born Aug. 15, 1850 in Germany, emigrating a year or two later—apparently at first to Iowa, since three of her children would one day indicate that state was her birthplace.

According to the 1900 federal census, Moritz and Christine had a total of nine children, one of whom is unaccounted for:

* Leonard Schneider:  born May 6, 1869
* Rosa (Rose) Schneider:  born Feb. 18, 1871
* John Schneider:  born June 1, 1873
* Barbara Marcella Schneider:  born Jan. 11 or 18, 1877
* George William Schneider:  born Apr. 14, 1880
* Mary Adelaide Schneider:  born Feb. 6, 1883
* Robert Elmer Schneider:  (see below)
* Helen M. Schneider:  born May 12, 1893

The Mar. 29, 1889 Daily Democrat reported that "Robert Elmer, son of Morris Schneider of the Third Ward, died yesterday of croup.  Funeral services tomorrow morning from St. Stephens Church at 9 o'clock."  If ALLS was correct about a Robert Schneider having an "1889-1891" tombstone, it may be that this Robert took the name of a brother who died the year he was born—only to die himself two years later.  Or, more likely, Robert died at the age of two and his grave marker, added long afterward, should have read "1887-1889."

Not helping to clarify is another squib from the July 5, 1890 Daily Democrat:

BROKE HIS LEG.  A little son of Morris Snyder who lives in Peck's alley, between Third and Fourth Streets, was sitting on top of a pile of lumber on a freight car Thursday afternoon when the lumber slipping down, carried the boy with it and in the fall broke his leg.  Dr. Skinner was summoned.

Most likely this was George, who would have been ten at the time; but another unknown son might have been born anytime in the 1880s, other than the eighteen months before/after Adelaide's birth.  And that broken leg (like Debbie Hedges Smith's) could have initiated the Unknown Schneider's decline toward premature death.

Certainly all was not beer and skittles for the family during Christine's childbearing years.  According to the Dec. 16, 1892 Daily Republican: "Mr. Morris Schneider desires his friends to know that he has returned to work and the family desire it stated that they were not provided for during his lay-off."

The seven children who lived to adulthood would ring a variety of changes (all as per ~f's databases) on their mother's maiden name:

* Kapp appears on Christine's marriage record
* Kaup on Adelaide's, George's, and Leonard's death records
* Kauf on Adelaide's marriage record (though its final letter can also be deciphered as a "p") and on a transcription of George's death record
* Kaub on Leonard's marriage record
* Kalb on Christine's own death certificate (which lists her father as "Mr. Kalb" and her mother's maiden name as "Don't know")
* Kalp on Helen's marriage record
* Karp on Rose's death record
* Kerber on John's marriage record
* and Miller (transcribed as Mellis) on Barbara [Miller]'s death record.

● From Fairfield to Vine Street

The 1870 census of Butler County's Fairfield Township (which is both east and south of the city of Hamilton; click here to see an 1875 map) includes:

     * Martin Snyder (aged 29) German-born, now an American citizen; occupation farm laborer; $100 in personal estate
     * Christine Snyder (aged 20) German-born, occupation keeping house
     * Leonard Snyder (aged 1) Ohio-born

The names of wife and son indicate that "Martin Snyder" equals Moritz/Morris Schneider; as is borne out by Fairfield Township's 1880 census:

     * Morris Snyder (aged 50) born in "Wirtemburg," as was his father; mother German-born; occupation day laborer
     * Christiana Snyder (aged 36) German-born, occupation keeping house; note—unable to write
     * Leonard Snyder (aged 11) Ohio-born, father from "Wirtemburg," mother from Germany, attended school that year
     * Rosa Snyder (aged 9) ditto birthplaces, attended school that year
     * John Snyder (aged 6) ditto birthplaces, attended school that year
     * Barbara Snyder (aged 4) ditto birthplaces, attended school that year
     * George W. Snyder (aged 2 months) ditto birthplaces

Hamilton's 1888 city directory (available at ~a, as are the later editions mentioned below) lists three Schneiders: Moritz, laborer, "res 520 Vine al b 3rd and 4th and Vine and Heaton," Leonard (also laborer) and Rose—both "res Moritz Schneider's."  1900 finds the family (surname spelled "Schneider" for the first time in a census) at 546 North Fifth Street in Hamilton's 5th Ward:

     * Moritz Schnieder (aged 58) born May 1842 in Germany; immigrated 1845; naturalized citizen; occupation farm laborer (unemployed six months in the past year); renting home
     * Christine Schneider (aged 49) born Oct. 1851 [sic] in Germany; immigrated 1852 (no indication whether naturalized); married 32 years; had nine children, seven living
     * Leonard Schneider (aged 31) born May 1869 in Ohio; occupation laborer in a foundry
     * George C. Schneider (aged 20) born Apr. 1880 in Ohio; occupation "Fcty. tin can-press" (unemployed ten months in the past year)
     * Annaline M. Schneider (aged 17) born Feb. 1883 in Ohio; occupation "Fcty. tin can-press" (see more below)
     * Helen M. Schneider (aged 7) born May 1893 in Ohio; occupation at school

The 1900-01 Hamilton city directory shows Moritz (laborer, wife Christina); Leonard (laborer); John and Geo. (no occupations given); and Adaline Schneider (of whom more in a moment).  The 1904 directory listed Moritz, Christina, and Leonard without change; John was now a driver; "Geo." another laborer; and Adeline (no occupation given).  Their residence was "n.o.c. Vine and Linn."

By 1905 the Schneiders moved to the house ALLS would remember—1102 Vine Street in Hamilton's 3rd Ward—and a photograph was taken of the family in front of their new home.  (Click on the thumbnail at left to see it.)  Here Christina died Oct. 4, 1909 of "pulmonary & intestinal tuberculosis," as per her death certificate, which noted she had suffered from this terminal illness for a full year.  The "20 Years Ago Today" column of the Oct. 4, 1929 Evening Journal would recall that "Mrs. Christine Schneider, beloved wife of Moritz Schneider of Vine Street, died of a lung affliction, at the age of fifty-nine years."  She was buried at St. Stephens on Oct. 6th.

Two-and-a-half years earlier, Christine had served as godmother to her granddaughter Ada Louise Ludeke [ALLS]; in whose memory the deaths of mother and grandmother may have commingled.

Christine's survivors are entered as "Schneider" on 1910's original handwritten census form, but mistranscribed throughout as "Schmader":

     * Morris Schneider ["Mane (sic) Schmader"] (aged 67) widower, German-born, immigrated 1873 [sic], occupation laborer in a cemetery
     * Leonard Schneider ["Lennard (sic) Schmader"] (aged 40) occupation laborer in a paper mill
     * George Schneider ["George Schmader"] (aged 29) occupation house painter
     * Helen Schneider ["Helen Schmader"] (aged 16) occupation "none"

● Sweet Annaline?

The next-to-youngest Schneider girl was born Feb. 6, 1883.  Her first name, transcribed as Annaline in the fairly reliable 1900 census, could also be deciphered as "Arnaline," "Armaline," or "Amaline"; none of its secondary squiggles can be interpreted as a D.  (There are 38 other occurrences of the name "Annaline" in 1900's census, five of them in Ohio.)  The 1900 Hamilton city directory shows Adaline Schneider.  ~w transcribes her name as Adelaide in the Hamilton Sun's June 28, 1905 "Licensed to Wed" column—though the second letter in the original image, faint and blurry, doesn't look like a D.  "Adelaide M." appears on the actual marriage certificate.  When Christine Schneider's will was written in 1909, it referred to this daughter as Adeline—as in "Sweet Adeline," the barbershop ballad first published in 1903.  Adelina appears on her daughter's 1907 baptismal record; Adelaide in the 1910 census; and two years after that, her final official record would name her Mary Adelaide (with the middle name rendered as "Adeliade").  Her daughter generally spelled the name Adalaide, remarking "All her life it seems she was called 'Addie.'"  It may be that Addie Schneider (like her daughter†) was dissatisfied with her given name, and occasionally tinkered with it.

The Oct. 30, 1900 Evening Democrat weighs in with grim assurance on this question.  The top half of page 6 is dominated by a line drawing of William Jennings Bryan (then in the final days of his second attempt to defeat William McKinley).  A "Great Tri-County Meeting at College Corner" is announced for the next day; "Bryan, the Champion of the People, Will Be There and Make a Speech... Will Show Up the Trusts and Tell Why Imperialism Will Surely Destroy Our Nation's Principles."  A special train would be run to the meeting from Hamilton, with everyone invited to come.  Yet Addie Schneider wasn't likely to have made the trip, given the column directly below: "ACCIDENTS—Which Resulted in Damage to Fingers...  Adelaide Schneider had the end of the middle finger on her right hand cut off at the Fiescher [sic] Canning works Monday evening.  Dr. Fitton was called."

The "Albert Fisher Manufacturing Co., Canners and Can Makers" is described on page 289 of The Centennial Anniversary of the City of Hamilton, Ohio (1892, ed. by D. W. McClung):

Albert Fisher & Co. had been engaged for many years in Cincinnati as canners of vegetables, the firm making its own cans by ordinary hand process.  In 1885 the concern moved to Hamilton and built a new factory on Third Street near Black...  In Cincinnati the goods to be canned had been purchased in the market, but when the business was installed in Hamilton, preparations were made for raising the vegetables, as far as possible.  Farms were accordingly purchased and leased until now this establishment cultivates about one thousand acres of land.  The goods packed consist of tomatoes, corn, peas, beans, and vegetables generally.  The market for these goods is all over the United States and the well known "Star" brand of canned goods stands high in the estimation of users.
     The growing business would no longer permit of the cans being made by hand, and accordingly, the latest modern machinery was put in for their manufacture, and even the most modern machinery was greatly improved upon and original machines were devised and built until finally the can-making part of the establishment was in a position not only to produce its own cans, but to sell cans largely to other canning factories... all over the West and South and as far East as Buffalo.  In addition to cans, the automatic machinery is also employed in the manufacture of lard pails and buckets, which are sold largely.

We can only speculate as to 17-year-old Addie's reaction to her accident—whether she shrugged it off as par for the industrial course, or wailed that she'd been maimed for life and what man would want her now??  At any rate the condition of her right middle finger‡ wouldn't prevent William Michael Ludeke from asking for Mary Adelaide Schneider's hand in marriage; of which more in Chapter L-4.
 

● Christine's Will and Barbara's $5 Bequest

By 1920 the occupants of 1102 Vine had dwindled to two: Morris Schneider (aged 78) born in Germany (replacing crossed-out "Darmstadt"), occupation blank, his dates of immigration and naturalization unknown; and George Schneider (aged 39), occupation house painter.  George William Schneider had registered for the draft in World War I, giving Moritz as his nearest relative; the registration card (found at ~a) confirms his middle name and birthdate.  George died in Hamilton aged 47 on Aug. 1, 1927; his death certificate shows the wrong middle initial ("E") and birth year (1882—clashing with the June 1880 census, where George was two months old).  He too succumbed to pulmonary tuberculosis, with "exhaustion" as a secondary cause; and was buried at St. Stephens on Aug. 5th (where his grave marker, viewable at ~g, shows a birthyear of 1879.)

Moritz Schneider died on Jan. 25, 1929, his obituary appearing on the front page of the Jan. 26th Evening Journal:

MORITZ SCHNEIDER TAKEN BY DEATH.  Moritz Schneider, for many years an employee at Greenwood cemetery, died Friday at Mercy hospital after a brief illness.  Funeral services will be held Monday morning, 8:30 o'clock, at the home, 1102 Vine Street, and at 9 o'clock at St. Stephen's church.  Interment will be in St. Stephen's cemetery.  Born in the state of Hessen, Germany, May 7, 1842, Mr. Schneider, when a young man, came to this country and took employment as a papermaker.  At the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in Co. D, 108th regiment, O.V.I. and served honorably with the Union forces during the entire period of the war.  In the engagement he was seriously wounded.  At the close of the war he again took up his residence in Hamilton and had lived here since.  Five children and four grandchildren survive.  The children are Mrs. Henry Hecker, Mrs. Barbara Miller, John Schneider, and Mrs. Edward M. Brennan.  Mr. Schneider's wife died in October, 1909.  Friends may call at the home Sunday afternoon and evening.

What happened next is a puzzle missing some pieces.  The Feb. 20, 1929 Evening Journal reported:

SCHNEIDER ESTATE DIVIDED IN WILL.  Terms of the will of the late Christine Schneider, filed in probate court Tuesday, show that a daughter, Barbara Miller, will receive $5 because as the will recites, 'I did not give her any more of my property for the reason that I did not want anything I have to come under the influence of her husband.'  Equal one eighth shares each in the residue of her estate are given to Maurice Schneider, widower, Leonard Schneider, Rosa Hecker, John Schneider, George Schneider, Helen Schneider, Adeline Ludeke, and a grandson, Elmer Miller.  The will appoints Will Ludeke executor without bond and is dated September 3, 1909.

The same day's Daily News headlined their version "Bequest of $5 to One Sister," leading it off with "A sister is given only $5 by the will of Christine Schneider," and noting that grandson Elmer's share was "to be held in trust until he is of full age."  On Mar. 20th Christine's estate was appraised at $2,500; by Apr. 13th this figure had risen to $3,300—not a meager sum in 1929.  In the meantime William M. Luedeke was officially appointed the estate's administrator, with notice of this appearing three consecutive weeks in the Daily News classifieds.

Nothing more is found online.  We have no answer as to why, twenty years after Christine's demise, her will and estate were only now being dealt with—as opposed to the freshly-expired Moritz's.  Given that both he and Adeline/Adelaide were out of the picture by then, was Christine's estate divided among the six who survived?  Did nothing come to granddaughter ALLS (a few months shy of graduating from college) or her accountant father William, Addie's widower?  Was ALLS even aware of any of this?  She certainly never made mention of it, nor indicated that she'd had any contact with her Grandfather Schneider for many years prior to his death.

Similarly unanswered is how Christine (unable to write in 1880) was able to amass an endowment of this size, given the Schneiders's working-class status and all the children they had to raise.  From the Notes below it would seem that Christine invested in real estate property, perhaps doing well on speculation—but what did she use for initial capital?

As for the recipient of the $5 bequest: Barbara Marcella Schneider was born Jan. 11, 1877 (as per ~f's death record; her obituary said Jan. 18th).  On Apr. 7, 1896 she married Andrew J. Miller (born Apr. 1873) who worked in a paper mill.  Perhaps significantly, they were wedded not by a Catholic priest but Thomas McGreevy JP; and Barbara's surname was entered as Snyder rather than Schneider.  She and Andrew had two sons, who appear in the 1900 census as "Elmer R. Millar" (born Nov. 1896) and "Orville M. Millar" (born July 1898); the family lived at 1032 Greenwood Avenue in Hamilton's 5th Ward.  In ~f's database of Ohio births, Orval Miller was born in Hamilton on July 5, 1898.  In the 1904 city directory, Andrew is a papermaker; he and Barbara live at 525 N. 7th.

For the 1910 census, the parental names (taken from a poor image of a scrawled original) were transcribed as "Ander J." and "Berdena M."  The Millers live at 842 Vine; Andrew appears to work in sanitary supplies; Elmer's middle initial is now "P."; and Orville/Orval has died.  ("Children: number born, 2; number now living, 1.")  In the 1910 Hamilton city directory, the Millers live at 1016 Dayton and Andrew is an engineer.

An Elmer P. Miller of Box 870, Franklin Ave, Hamilton OH enlisted at Fort Thomas KY on June 4, 1918, at the age of 21 years and 6 months (thus born c.1896), and was honorably discharged with the rank of corporal on July 9, 1919.  (As per ~a's record of Ohio Soldiers in World War I.)

The Millers can't be located in Hamilton's 1920 census.  On June 3, 1927, Barbara filed petition for divorce "on the grounds of Gross Neglect of Duty and Extreme Cruelty... [from] Andrew J. Miller whose place of residence is unknown."  As a divorcée she died of "acute dilation of the heart" on May 6, 1930; contributory causes were carcinoma of the lung and breast.  The May 7th Evening Journal starkly announced:

DEATH HAS CLAIMED MRS. MILLER.  Mrs. Barbara Miller, life-long resident of Hamilton, died at the home of her son, Elmer Miller, 5928 Hamilton avenue, College Hill [in Cincinnati], at 5:15 o'clock Tuesday evening of a complication of diseases, in her fifty-third year.  She was born in Hamilton on January 18, 1877, and with the exception of the past year when she made her home with her son, had lived her entire life in Hamilton.  She had been ailing for the past several years and for the past two months, had been confined to her room.  She was a devout member of St. Stephen's church and belonged to the Married Ladies' society at the church.  She is survived by one son, Elmer, of College Hill; two sisters, Mrs. Henry Hecker and Mrs. E.M. Brennan of Hamilton; two brothers, Leonard Snyder of Hamilton, and John Snyder of Florida, in addition to many other relatives and friends.  Funeral services will be held Friday morning [May 8th]... from St. Stephen's church at nine o'clock.  Interment will be made at St. Stephen's cemetery.

The Apr. 25th Daily News noted that Barbara transferred a Hamilton real estate lot to Elmer P. Miller for $1.  In the April 1930 census, an Elmer Miller lives in Cincinnati at 5928 Hamilton Avenue with wife Alvina Miller: a salesman in a dish store, his age is entered as "38," Alvina's as "37," and they married seventeen years earlier.  With them lives "Rosie" Miller, said to be Elmer's mother; but she is aged "60" and first married at "39."  The same address appears here as in Barbara's obituary and on her death certificate; but all the ages are awry, almost as though to deliberately muddle further investigation.

However, ~a's database of 1942 draft registration cards shows Elmer Paul Miller (born Nov. 6, 1896: employed by Wright Aeronautical in Lockland) was living with Alvina Rose Miller in Cincinnati at 1449 North Bend Road.  In Cincinnati's 1951 city directory, Elmer P. and Alvina were back on Hamilton Avenue, though now at 5658.  And several sources—~g, the Social Security Death Index, ~a's Ohio Deaths—confirm that Elmer P. Miller died aged 75 on Jan. 23, 1972, followed by Alvina R. Miller (born May 27, 1893) on June 1, 1972, aged 79.  They were buried at Saint Marys Cemetery in Mount Healthy, Hamilton County OH: concluding the life of the only Schneider grandson to achieve adulthood.

● John: Sudden Death in Indianapolis

On Aug. 8, 1905 John Schneider aka John Snyder (born "1874": occupation driver) married Mary Henschen (born Aug. 1885), daughter of Edward Henschen (1844-1927) and Sophia Sahre (1846-1911) of Mount Healthy, Hamilton County OH.  John and Mary began their married life in Mt. Healthy, where first child Adna J. L. Snyder was born Sep. 30, 1906; second child Morris W. D. Snyder was born July 25, 1908 in New Vienna, Clinton County OH.

The 1910 Cincinnati census shows one of several households at 716 Wade Street:

    * John Snyder (age 35) father born in Germany, mother born in Iowa, occupation laborer on carriages
    * Mary Snyder (age 25) both parents born in Germany
    * Adna J. L. Snyder (age 3) a "daughter" (spelled out)
    * Morris W. D. Snyder (age 1) a son

In 1915 the Snyders lived at 1811 Vine Street (in Cincinnati, not Hamilton).  There young Morris died on June 24, 1915, aged not quite seven, of pulmonary tuberculosis; contributory causes were grippe, measles, and progressive infantile paralysis.  He is a Schneider on his death certificate (viewable at ~f) and at Carthage Road Cemetery (now called Vine Street Hill Cemetery) where he was buried on June 26th.

In 1917 John no-middle-name Snyder registered for the World War I draft.  His card (viewable at ~a) shows a June 1, 1873 birthdate; wife named Mary; occupation laborer at Standard Pully; and Cincinnati address at 4470 Colerain Avenue.  There Adna died aged 12 on Dec. 4, 1918: cause of death was bronchopneumonia, with influenza—during the raging pandemic—as a contributory factor.  On Adna's death certificate (viewable at ~f) the gender entry is "male" and occupation "schoolboy."  He (or she) was buried at Carthage Road on Dec. 7th.

Morris and Adna's bereaved parents remained at the same Cincinnati address for the 1920 census:

    * John Schneider (age 45) father born in Germany, mother born in Iowa, occupation machine shop laborer
    * Mary Schneider (age 33) both parents born in Germany; no indication of any children

Barbara Miller's 1930 obituary said her brother John was living in Florida, and that year's census of Hardee County FL includes:

    * John Snyder (age 50, married at 25), both parents born in Ohio; owner of a home on Crewsville Road valued at $1,500; no occupation entered
    * Mary Snyder (age 45, married at 20), both parents born in Ohio; no indication of any children

No information is given as to what brought the Schneiders/Snyders to Florida.  Did they come there for their health?  Or to take part in the 1920s land boom?  And what led to the following report in the July 20, 1931 Hamilton Evening Journal?

SEEK WIFE HERE OF MAN KILLED AT INDIANAPOLIS.  Hamilton police Monday confirmed their search for a Mrs. Mary Schneider, address unknown to authorities, who is requested to get into communication with police authorities or the coroner at Indianapolis, Ind.  John Schneider, killed in Indianapolis Saturday, had papers among his effects indicating that he had a wife in Hamilton.

This was followed on July 23rd in both the Daily News and Evening Journal with:

The remains of John Schneider, formerly of Hamilton, who died suddenly in Indianapolis on Monday, were brought to Hamilton, on Wednesday afternoon.  Mr. Schneider was born in Hamilton 57 years ago, the son of Moritz and Christian [sic] Schneider, who preceded him in death.  Surviving are the widow, Mrs. Mary Schneider, of Cincinnati, two sisters, Mrs. Henry Hecker and Mrs. Edw. M. Brennan, and one brother, Leonard Schneider, of Hamilton.  Funeral services will be conducted Friday morning, with mass at St. Stephen's Church at 9 o'clock.  Burial will be in Greenwood cemetery.

(Lost behind those two laconic articles is likely to be quite an intriguing story.)
 

● Aunt Rose Hecker

ALLS called her Aunt Rose "a large, loud, domineering type, who lived not far from us and I seem to have been frightened of her.  Especially at the time of my mother's death, when I lived in terror I might have to live with her!"  (Click here for further speculation as to why.)  "In her last years of life, she went completely 'BONKERS' and had to be committed to a Mental Institution.  It seems she lived alone and just across the street from the cemetery.  For want of something better to do, she visited the cemetery every day, joining any funeral she could find and acting as the 'star mourner'—oh me!!  What an ending!!!"

Born Feb. 18, 1871, Rosa (Rose) Schneider was Morris and Christina's second child.  On July 6, 1898 she was married to Henry August Hecker (born Oct. 7, 1872 in Charlottesville VA) by "Henry Proppermann, Rector St. Peters Church."  The 1900 census locates them at 234 North Front Street in Hamilton's 5th Ward: "Rose Haecker," wife of machinist "Henry Haecker," with ten-month-old daughter "Christine Haecker" (Christine Cecilia Hecker, born July 27, 1899).  Here too Rose's mother is shown as having been born in Iowa rather than Germany.

By 1910 the Heckers moved to 1116 Vine Street, a few houses down from newly-widowed Morris Schneider at 1102 and sister Addie Ludeke at 1106.  In that year's census Henry Hecker (aged 37), though still from Virginia, has German-born parents; while Rose (aged 39) again has an Iowa-born mother.  10-year-old Christine's name is transcribed as "Charline."

The 1920 census adds a few details and alters others.  Henry works as a machinist for "Imp Mfg" (Imperial Tool & Manufacturing?); his father came from Baden; both of Rose's parents came from Darmstadt; and 20-year-old Christine works as a clerk in a shoe store.  Ten years later her parents remain at 1116 Vine, a house valued at $3,000; Henry A. Hecker (aged 57) is a machine hand in a machine shop; "Rosa Hecker" (aged 59) once more has an Iowa-born mother; and they have been married 32 years. 

On Apr. 6, 1929 Christine Hecker married Clifford Eugene Beyer (aka Eugene C. Beyer: born Aug. 28, 1897 in Cincinnati, son of John E. Beyer and Anna Christian aka Annie E. Christaman) as per the Evening Journals for Apr. 6th and 8th:

A very quiet but pretty wedding was solemnized at two-thirty o'clock on Saturday afternoon at St. Stephen's parsonage, when Reverend Father Diomede united in marriage Miss Christine Hecker, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hecker, and Eugene Beyer, son of Mr. and Mrs. John E. Beyer...  The bride is a very charming girl and a graduate of Notre Dame academy.  She was most attractive in a modish frock of Lido blue flat crepe, with hat, slippers and gloves to match, and she wore a shoulder bouquet of sweetpeas and silver columbia roses...  Mr. and Mrs. Beyer will make their home with the groom's parents, 2203 Pleasant avenue.

The 1938-39 Hamilton city directory shows "Hecker, Henry A. (Rose) machinist" living as renters at 905 Clinton Avenue, with owners "Beyer, Eugene C. (Christine) laborer."  Rose is unmentioned in 1940-41; she reappears in 1942, but Henry is alone again in 1944.  The July 20, 1944 Daily News Journal reported:

MRS. ROSE HECKER CALLED BY DEATH.  Mrs. Rose Hecker, age 73, wife of Henry A. Hecker, 509 Clinton avenue, died of complications at 4 o'clock Wednesday afternoon [July 19th] in a Cincinnati hospital.  She was born in Hamilton, February 18, 1871, and had resided here all her life.  She was a member of St. Stephen Catholic church and belonged to the Married Ladies society.  She attended St. Stephen school.  Besides the widower, Henry A. Hecker, she leaves a daughter, Mrs. Eugene Beyer, Hamilton, and many friends.  Funeral services will be held Saturday morning... at 9 o'clock in St. Stephen church.  Burial will be in Greenwood.

Rose's death certificate stated that she died of an incarcerated hernia, with pulmonary congestion and psychosis as "other conditions."  The question of whether she had indeed overfrequented Greenwood Cemetery, to the point of being institutionalized, was finally confirmed by the 1940 census: that year Rose Hecker was an inmate of "Longview State Hospital (for insane)" in Cincinnati.

Rose was interred in Greenwood's plot H 80 2 on July 22, 1944.  Less than a month later Henry died in Hamilton on Aug. 20, 1944, and was buried beside her.  Their daughter Christine followed on Apr. 14, 1968.  The next day's Daily News Journal ran the following:

MRS. BEYER DIES SUNDAY.  Mrs. Christine C. Beyer, 68, 905 Clinton Ave., died at 3:45 a.m. Sunday in Mercy Hospital, where she had been a patient for one week.  She had been in failing health for four years.  Born in Hamilton July 27, 1899, a daughter of Henry and Rose Hecker Beyer, she was educated in St. Stephen School and was a member of the Class of 1917, Notre Dame High School...  Mrs. Beyer was employed at the former Estate Stove Co. for five years, and was a member of St. Ann Church.  Active in the civic affairs of the Lindenwald area, and keenly interested in the welfare of the less fortunate no matter where they lived, Mrs. Beyer was past president of the Lindenwald Community Club, a past member of the first Board of Directors of the Hamilton Mental Hygiene Clinic, and a past member of the Longview Social Service League.  A kind and friendly woman, she dedicated her life to the welfare of her husband, her friends and her community.

Christine was buried at Greenwood (plot H 80 3) following a Requiem High Mass at St. Ann.  Her husband C. Eugene Beyer died aged 72 on Dec. 4, 1969 and joined her (in plot H 80 4) five days later.
 

● Aunt Helen Brennan

ALLS: "I remember Aunt Helen fairly well—an 'easy-going, fun to be with' type!  (Like my Mother I was told.)  She married a fireman whose job it was to 'drive'(?) the back part of the huge ladder truck...  I begged him to let me ride with him—but of course he was not permitted to take me."

Helen C. Schneider, born May 12, 1893, was Morris and Christina's youngest child.  On Oct. 2, 1917 she was married by a Rev. G. Schuster to Edward Merrell "Duke" Brennan (born July 5, 1894), son of Richard T. Brennan (1860-1927) and Mary Kelly (1862-1935).  ALLS remembered Duke's first name as "Merle."  On July 26, 1918 they had a daughter, Dorothy Adalaide "Dottie" Brennan.

Their surname is transcribed as "Brennon" in the 1920 census, where they live at 353 Hanover Street.  Here Helen's parents are both shown as coming from Hamburg—which introduces a rogue element into the Schneider family roots, since Hamburg is over 500 kilometers (more than 300 miles) north of Darmstadt in Hesse.  Duke Brennan is "Edward M." in the 1920 census and "Merrell" in 1930's, which transcribes the family surname as "Burman."  Both censuses acknowledge his employment as a fireman with the Hamilton city fire department.  In 1930 the Brennans live at 422 13th Street (a rented home valued at $2,500); Helen's parents are simply said to be German-born. 

The July 25, 1932 Daily News reported:

BRENNANS HURT AS AUTO SKIDS.  City Fireman, Wife and Daughter at Home With Many Injuries.  Edward M. "Duke" Brennan, city fireman, his wife, Mrs. Helen Brennan and their daughter, Dorothy Brennan, 12, were severely injured when their automobile skidded on the traction car tracks in Franklin late Sunday night and crashed into a telephone pole.  They had been visiting Brennan's uncle at Dayton and other relatives at Piqua during the day and were on their way home.  They had been driving at a moderate rate of speed and the road was heavy with traffic.  Making a right turn into Franklin their automobile, a new sedan, skidded on the tracks.  None of the three are able to remember any details of the accident.  All three were dazed and did not come to their senses until they had been removed to the office of a Franklin physician.  They were treated and brought on to their home at 422 South Thirteenth street, here...

Mr. Brennan sustained deep and numerous lacerations of the head caused by being hurled against the windshield.  His head was heavily bandaged Monday.  He also received numerous cuts and bruises about the body.  He was rendered unconscious for some time after the accident.  Mrs. Brennan sustained cuts about the face and body bruises.  Their daughter sustained a fractured collar bone and body bruises.  The daughter was asleep in the back seat.  Mr. and Mrs. Brennan were riding in the front seat.  The car was wrecked.

That day's Evening Journal got Dorothy's age right (14 rather than 12) and added that Duke was a driver for Company No. 4 of the Hamilton Fire Department.  "The automobile in which they were riding skidded on a car track on the Dixie highway, a few miles south of Franklin...  The wheels of their machine caught in the interurban tracks, throwing the auto into a skid which ended in the ditch against the pole...  Although not seriously injured, Mr. Brennan will be unable to work for several days."

Duke went on to further traffic adventures: "Edward Brennan, age 42 ...reported to police at 8:15 o'clock Sunday night that an automobile he was driving northward on Monument avenue, struck a woman and knocked her to the street...  Brennan said the woman was uninjured and walked away from the accident scene" (Daily News Journal for Sep. 28, 1936).  "A pumper of Fire Company Four, operated by Edward Brennan, age 45 ...was damaged at 3:45 o'clock Thursday afternoon, in collision with a traction car of the Cincinnati and Lake Erie railway, in front of 2261 Pleasant avenue...  Brennan told police that the wheels of the pumper were caught in the car rails, causing him to lose control of the vehicle.  Damage was negligible.  A fender and tool box on the pumper were dented" (Daily News Journal for Feb. 5, 1937).

In the 1938-39 Hamilton city directory, the Brennans ("Edw M [Helen C] city fireman") still live at 422 13th; as does Dorothy, a clerk with Ohio Casualty Insurance.

Dorothy got her turn on the Hamilton society page on Apr. 14, 1934: "Miss Dorothy Brennan entertained members of her club... at her home on South Thirteenth street," noted the Daily News Journal.  "A tempting lunch was served."  Her parents announced her engagement to Fred M. Unzicker on Mar. 22, 1940 (according to the "Twenty Years Ago" column in the Mar. 22, 1960 Daily News Journal).  Fred was born Oct. 26, 1914, the son of Daniel Unzicker (1878-1928) and Mae Lorene Bauer (1885-1949) of Milford OH.  Fred and Dorothy were married in the St. Stephen Catholic rectory on May 4, 1940, and a full-length photo of the bride was printed in the July 13th Daily News Journal.  This distinction was slightly flawed by a caption stating "the smiling center bride, Mrs. Fred Unzicker, was Miss Helen Brennan prior to her marriage on May 4."

She may have been able to laugh off being identified as her mother, but Dorothy's marriage ended tragically less than five years after the wedding: "KILLED IN ACTION...  Cpl. Fred M. Unzicker, age 30, tank battalion, husband of Mrs. Dorothy Brennan Unzicker, 422 South Thirteenth street, son of Mrs. Mae Unzicker, Collinsville, killed in action January 6 in France."  (As per the Jan. 23, 1945 Daily News Journal.)

Duke Brennan died July 3, 1948, just before his 54th birthday.  In the 1951 Hamilton directory, Helen and Dorothy share a home at 3207 Griesner Avenue; Dorothy is a clerk with "OClCo."  On Sep. 1, 1961 she married Robert Francis "Blackie" Fitzwater (a World War II Navy veteran: born Apr. 9, 1920 in Hamilton, the son of Carl Francis Fitzwater [1896-1959] and Harriet Naomi Wiles [1897-1968]; died aged 75 on July 24, 1995).

~a's database of Ohio deaths says Helen C. Brennan, a widow aged 82, died at Hamilton's Mercy Hospital North on Feb. 1, 1976.  She was buried beside Duke at Hamilton's Saint Mary Cemetery.  Their daughter Dorothy Adalaide Brennan Unzicker Fitzwater died aged 81 on May 17, 2000, and was buried at Saint Mary Cemetery with her husband and parents.
 

● Leonard and the Last of the ...Snyders

Leonard Schneider was left out of his father's obituary, despite being Moritz's eldest child.  Born May 6, 1869, he stood godfather to niece ALLS in Apr. 1907 (as noted in Chapter L-4) but they do not seem to have had any significant contact after 1912.  On June 4, 1913 "Leonard Snyder" was married to Mary Anna Vogt by Rev. Isidore Veerkamp, pastor of St. Stephens.  Nearly twenty years Leonard's junior, Mary was born Mar. 12, 1889 in Cincinnati, the daughter of blacksmith-turned-machine-shop-laborer Wendel aka Wendell Vogt (1852-1925) and Elizabeth "Lizzie" Witt or Vitt (c.1856-pre-1900).  Leonard moved into the Vogt home at 616 Miami Street, which was evidently next door to his Aunt Rosie Post at #618.  Leonard and Mary had two daughters: Ruth Anna Schneider (born Nov. 14, 1913) and Arline Mary Schneider (born Dec. 15, 1924).

In the 1920 census the household consists of Leonard (aged 49: laborer in a paper mill), wife Mary (aged 31), daughter Ruth (aged 6), and widowed father-in-law Wendell Vogt (aged 66).  Leonard's father was born in "Germany-Hamburg" (echoing sister Helen's 1920 entry) and his mother in "Ohio."  Ten years later at the same address we find Leonard Snyder (aged 60: still a laborer in a paper mill) with wife Mary Snyder (aged 41), daughters Ruth Snyder (aged 16) and Arline Snyder (aged 5).  This time Leonard's father was born in Germany and his mother in "Iowa" (echoing sister Rose and brother John).

The 1938-39 Hamilton city directory shows the household living at 423 Bingham, again as the Snyders: Leonard (laborer), wife Mary A., and seamstress Ruth.  (Arline was still a minor and went unlisted.)  The 1940 census shows 70-year-old Leonard as a fifth-grade graduate; Mary Ann (aged 51) and Ruth Anna (aged 26) had left after seventh grade; Arline Mary (aged 15) was currently in seventh.  Leonard had retired; no occupations show for his wife and daughters; they were renting 423 Bingham for $8.

Leonard was present, sporting a unique middle initial "L.," in the 1944-45 city directory; but 1945-46's displays "Snyder, Mary A. (wid Leonard)" with Ruth and the now of-age Arline.  Leonard Schneider/Snyder had died on Mar. 2, 1945, aged 75, of a cerebral hemorrhage due to arteriosclerosis and myocarditis; and been buried at St. Stephens (as "Leonard Schneider") on Mar. 5th.  His wife and daughters were living at 1214 Greenwood Avenue by 1947; none of them appear in 1949's directory.

~g reveals that Mary A. Snyder died on June 8, 1972.  According to ~a, neither of her daughters married; each died as a Snyder in Indian Springs, Butler County OH—Arline aged 71 on July 14, 1995 and Ruth aged 82 on Jan. 15, 1996.  They were buried with their mother in St. Stephen's Cemetery: Mary in Section 2, Row 12, Lot 1; Ruth and Arline in Row 13, Lots 2 and 3.  No mention is made as to whether Leonard is there in the same section.
 

            Notes

± St. Stephen(')s Church was located at 224 Dayton Street—the "north side of Dayton between Second and Third," added the city directory for 1888-89, when Father Ubaldus Webersinke was rector and Father Guido Stallo his assistant.  St. Stephen's "was the first Catholic church in Butler County and the third in the Diocese of Cincinnati.  It was built in 1834 for 500 worshippers...  The Irish and Germans worshipped together at St. Stephen's until 1848 when the Irish left and formed St. Mary's...  A later stone and brick church was built in 1853 to replace the old.  This edifice stands today... [and] was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983."  (As per ~ststephens.)  It closed in Apr. 1989 for renovation, at which time St. Stephen Parish was merged with neighboring St. Mary and St. Veronica to form the new St. Julie Billiart Parish.  "The birth of the new parish was not an easy one.  Controversy abounded: petitions were circulated, appeals to Rome were made and a multitude of letters appeared in the local press" (as per ~stjulie).  On May 12, 1990, the old St. Stephen's Church was badly damaged in a fire; the rebuilt St. Julie's retained its original exterior.  St. Stephen(')s Cemetery—still so named—is at 1314 Greenwood Avenue, adjacent to Greenwood Cemetery—hence ALLS's reference (in Chapter L-4) to "the Catholic part of Greenwood Cemetery in Hamilton, O."  ~g notes that "the German Saint Stephen parish approved purchase of five acres for the old Saint Stephan cemetery on Dec. 2, 1849.  On Apr. 26, 1873, twelve acres were purchased for the new Saint Stephen Cemetery."
† Some years after Addie's death, her daughter announced that she was tired of the name "Ada Louise" and wanted to be called Bridget instead.  "Ach!" went her paternal grandmother, "a Ludeke named BRIDGET??"  (In a variant Memoir, "Colleen" was the suggested new name.)
‡ In the circa 1910 picture of Addie (a mediocre photocopy of a lost original) her right hand rests on her child's knees.  The middle finger appears to be whole and intact—but Addie may be wearing gloves, at least on that right hand.

●  ~f's database of Ohio marriages includes a George Adam Snider wedding a Marcella Snider in Hamilton OH on July 27, 1845—three years after Moritz was born.
●  Mary Schneider Miller's daughter Anna died aged 67 on Apr. 24, 1937.  Son Leonard F. married May Blaes (born circa 1879: daughter of Nicolas Blaes and Kate Ley) on May 15, 1901.  Son Frank married Katie Kunstmann (born circa 1883: daughter of Fred Kunstmann and Lottie Furman) on Sep. 30, 1902.  Son Edward married Alma Barbara Suldowsky (born circa 1891: daughter of Joseph Suldowsky and Mary Teisch) on Nov. 5, 1914.  Edward died in Hamilton aged 62 on May 7, 1948; his wife at that time was named Josephine.
●  Rosa Schneider Post's daughter Anna married Henry Schmidt (born circa 1876: son of Fred Schmidt and Elizabeth Aruen) on June 28, 1899; Anna died in Hamilton aged 64 on Apr. 7, 1945.  Son William, a molder who lived at 525 Hanover, died in Hamilton aged "57" (actually 54) on Aug. 12, 1937.  His ~f death record shows a birthyear of 1880 rather than 1883—and his late wife Mabel Rhody as his mother.
●  Some details regarding the Battle of Hartsville were taken from ~108th/lanepl.  Whitelaw Reid's book says the 108th's casualties were 46 killed and 162 wounded.
●  While the 1900 census says Christine was born in Oct. 1851, her record in ~f's database of Ohio deaths shows her age on Oct. 4, 1909 as 59 years, 1 month, and 19 days—implying a birthdate of Aug. 15, 1850.  This was confirmed by her original death certificate (viewable at ~f) which noted she had suffered from tuberculosis for one year, and was attended by "Aug. Schumacher M.D."
●  "Cath. Priest" George P. Steinlage, born in Hanover circa Dec. 1840, lived in Hamilton OH in 1870; in Reading Sycamore Twp, Hamilton County OH in 1880; and in Piqua, Miami County OH in 1900.  He died in Miami County OH on Aug. 20, 1913 (as per ~a).
●  Not until 1880 is any surname spelled "Schneider" in a Butler County OH census.
●  Moritz Schneider appears in two cryptic references by the Daily Democrat (Mar. 28 and Apr. 18, 1888) to his lawsuit against "Mary G. Varnskickler et. al., praying for equitable relief" in the common pleas court.  No details or outcome were found.
●  Although Morris/"Mane" is designated head-of-household in the 1910 census, ~a's muddled transcription lumps his household into that of the preceding neighbor, whose name—scarcely legible in the original—is listed as "Joseph Jesmer."
●  ALLS thought her mother Addie had been born in 1882 rather than 1883, but did not know a month or day.
●  The original title of "Sweet Adeline" was "You're the Idol of My Heart, Sweet Rosalie"—but the song didn't sell till it was renamed after opera prima donna Adelina Patti (according to ~adeline).
●  College Corner (where William Jennings Bryan spoke) is five miles northwest of Oxford OH, home of Miami University.
●  Col. David Waddle McClung, editor of 1892's The Centennial Anniversary of the City of Hamilton, Ohio, served at various times as Quartermaster of Camps Dennison and Chase; Superintendent of Hamilton Schools; Editor of the Hamilton Intelligencer; President of Hamilton's Second National Bank; Postmaster of Cincinnati; Collector of Internal Revenue; and husband of a cousin of President Benjamin Harrison.  Charles W. McClung (of whom more in Chapter L-3) came from the Maryland branch of this far-flung family, much of which is documented in The McClung Genealogy (by Rev. William McClung, Pittsburgh: McClung Printing Co., 1904; viewable at Google Books).
●  "Fcty. tin can-press" is also entered as the 1900 occupation for Ida E. Reiff (aged 20) and her sister Bertha L. Reiff (aged 18) who lived at 542 North Fifth Street, next door to the Schneiders at #546.
●  Under "Canned Goods" in Hamilton's 1888-89 Business Directory is "Fischer [sic] The Albert Manuf Co" at 824 North Third.
●  ~americancan quotes the Aug. 30, 1913 Daily Republican News concerning the American Can Company at North Third near Black Street: "The largest and most complete plant for the manufacture of cans in Ohio...  This company manufactures packers' lard cans and pails, butchers' lard cans and pails, candy, baking powder, and cracker cans, grease cans and pails, all styles and sizes slip cover cans and pails, coffee, tea, and spice cans and pails, talcum and tooth powder boxes, shoe-polish and ointment boxes, and syrup cans."  The American Can plant was struck hard by the 1913 Flood though hundreds of people were able to take refuge in the building.  When and how (and even whether) the Albert Fisher Co. turned into American Can has not been discovered.
●  According to zillow.com, the houses at 1102 and 1106 Vine were both built in 1900; have three bedrooms and one bath; and still exist in 2011 (each valued at slightly under $50,000).
●  The "informant" on George's death certificate, and presumably the source for the wrong birthyear and middle initial, was his sister Helen ("Mrs. E.M.") Brennan.
●  In 2012, photos of four Schneider grave markers were added to ~g.  They read "CHRISTINA SCHNEIDER 1850-1909," "ADDIE SCHNEIDER 1882-1911 / WIFE OF WM. LUDEKE," "GEORGE SCHNEIDER 1879-1927," and (heavily cracked) "MORRIS SCHNEIDER 1843-1929."  All four markers are identical in size, shape, and inscription style—implying they were installed at the same time, perhaps long after the interments; which could account for the erroneous dates.  ("ROBERT SCHNEIDER 1889-1891" was not among the 2012 photos; it likely should read "1887-1889.")
●  In 1929 Moritz actually had six living grandchildren, not four: Elmer Miller (born 1896), Christine Hecker (born 1899), Ada Louise Ludeke (born 1907), Ruth Snyder (born 1913), Dorothy Brennan (born 1918), and Arline Snyder (born 1924).  Since Leonard went unmentioned in his father's obituary, Leonard's daughters may be missing from the grandchildren total.
●  The Jan. 23, 1902 Butler County Democrat reported the sale, by Elbert Alston and wife, of Lot 85 in Hamilton's Greenwood Avenue addition to Christine Schneider for approximately $450 (figure blurred).  The Mar. 25, 1909 Hamilton Telegraph says Christine Schneider sold two lots to John Snyder (her son?) for $200.  Even four years after her death, Christine was still listed as an owner of real estate: the Dec. 19, 1913 Evening Journal included her lot (plus one owned by Henry and Rose Hecker) among those being levied assessments "for the improvement of Vine Street and Greenwood Avenue... to the Catholic Cemetery by constructing sanitary sewers and house connections thereto."  The assessment on Christine's property was $23.88.
●  Barbara's petition for divorce appeared in the Daily News classifieds for June 7 and 15, 1927.
●  Elmer P. Miller does not appear in the 1936-37 Cincinnati city directory, nor Hamilton County's for 1939; Alvina Miller is similarly absent.  In the 1940 census, Elmer P. and "Elvina" R. Miller lived in Cincinnati at 1533 North Bend Road, both aged 44; Elmer was a high school graduate and Alvina left after eighth grade.  Elmer worked as a "sup'd rd, county eng" for $2500/year.
●  Details of Mary Henschen Schneider/Snyder's family were taken from ~tree/motz and ~f's database of Ohio deaths.  The latter indicates Mary had an older sister Elizabeth Henschen (1877-1922; mother's maiden name "Surrey") who married a Vogt; but no connection with Wendel(l) Vogt's family has been found.
●  Cincinnati's Carthage Road Cemetery, where John Schneider/Snyder's two children were buried, is now known as Vine Street Hill Cemetery.
●  ~greenwood gives John Schneider (not Snyder) a July 20, 1931 deathdate in Indianapolis, with burial at Greenwood four days later.
●  The Sep. 29, 1894 Daily Republican mentions that "Miss Rose Schneider, of Vine Street, is visiting friends in Cincinnati": a rare appearance by the Schneider family in Hamilton's pre-1929 society pages.
●  On Rose and Henry's marriage record, his surname is spelled as both Hecker and "Haecker."
●  Henry Hecker's middle name and birthdate were obtained from his World War I Draft Registration Card at ~a.
●  Mrs. Henry Hecker and Mrs. Eugene Beyer were among the guests at St. Stephen's Mother-Daughter Dinner, as per the May 16, 1929 Evening Journal.
●  The June 29, 1929 Evening Journal announced that "Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, is a grand old place, according to Henry Hecker, 1116 Vine street, who spent his boyhood and youth in its vicinity.  Mr. Hecker, who has been employed for 35 years at the Long & Allstatter company, described the home of the former president and writer of the Declaration of Independence, in an interview Tuesday...  The house itself was in a run-down condition when Mr. Hecker lived in those parts.  A negro was the sole care-taker, no one living in the house..."
●  While stationed in Hawaii during World War I, Clifford Eugene Beyer wrote a number of letters home that were published in Hamilton newspapers.  One (in the Dec. 16, 1917 Daily Republican News) reportedly described how to do a hula dance.
●  The Evening Journal for Jan. 14, 1933 reported that Clifford and Everett Beyer filed exceptions in probate court to the estate inventory of J. E. Beyer (presumably their late father).  "They contend the inventory omitted $8,000 in United States bonds, $3,000 in deposits in local institutions and $1,500 in insurance.  The inventory also listed personal property not belonging to the estate, they contend.  To Everett Beyer, it was said, belongs one Morris chair, one iron bed, one mattress, two pillows, one silver bread tray, one silver fruit dish, one wardrobe, one set of springs and one carpet.  To Clifford Beyer belongs, by the same petition, one settee, one corner chair, one base rocker and one chest of drawers."
●  The 1940 census shows Christine Beyer as a high school graduate; husband Clifford left after seventh grade.  As a laborer, he worked a 40-hour workweek for $1300/year.  Living with them was the retired Henry A. Hecker, himself a high school graduate, whose marital status was "M"—scored through.  The Beyers owned their home, valued at $3500, at 905 Clinton Avenue.
●  In 1953 Clifford E. Beyer was listed as a crane operator in the Hamilton city directory.
●  Some details re: the deaths and burials of the Heckers and Beyers were found or confirmed on ~greenwood.
●  Details of Edward "Duke" Brennan's family were taken from ~tree/koors, which includes a photo of the headstone he shares with Helen.  That shows a birthyear of 1894; Duke's World War II draft registration card shows July 5, 1893 (and states he was "retired").
●  Dorothy Brennan was not yet married and still living with her parents at 422 S. 13th in the 1940 census.  Edward and Helen Brennan had both left school after eighth grade.  Duke's 48-hour workweek as a fireman brought $1850/year; Dorothy, a high school grad, earned $1000/year as a file clerk.  The Brennans owned their home, though it appears to be valued at only $1200 (compared to the Beyers's $3500 home on Clinton Avenue).
●  A Dorothy A. Unzicker who was born Jan. 24, 1919 and died Jan. 13, 1978 is buried at East Bend Memorial Gardens, Fisher IL; but she was the daughter of William Lee Unzicker and Anna Caroline Oyer (as per several family trees at ~a).
●  Details about the Unzickers were taken from ~tree/fordfamily, whose entry for Dorothy is "Living Brenner."
●  The Rev. Isidore Veerkamp OFM would go on to marry Leonard's (ex-)brother-in-law William Ludeke to his second wife, Drucilla Llewellyn, the following Jan. 28th.
●  Leonard's death certificate claimed his father, "Maurice Snyder," had been born in Oldenburg (far to the north of Hesse-Darmstadt) and his mother "Christine Kaup" had been born in Clinton, Iowa.
●  After listing all the adult Schneiders in town, the 1900-01 Hamilton city directory wisely remarked: "See also 'Snider' and 'Snyder'": good advice echoed by the 1938-39 edition.
 

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