This second John Jacob was born in Prussia on Jan. 15 in 1839. He immigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was about 9 years old. They settled in Cannelton, IN. He went on to marry another immigrant from Germany, Elizabeth Arnold, in 1868. Here is a picture of John Jacob Jr. and Elizabeth.
They went on to have 8 children. Here they are with their children at the old home place. Such a solemn group.
One of the boys was named Fred Christian Franzman (notice the change in spelling on the last name?) - he was my great grandfather. He had a reputation for a horrible temper. I've heard tales. If I had to judge by this picture...I'd believe the tales. They called him Grandpa Hitler...got the idea?
He married a woman named Lena. German was the language spoken in their home. This couple had 5 children that I know of. One of them was a boy named Frederick Elmer Franzman...my grandfather. I never knew him. He died working in a clay mine when my Grandma was about 6 months pregnant with my Dad. He was 21 years old.
This is my Grandfather, Frederick Elmer as a child:
Very "Spanky and the Gang" isn't it? That cute little boy turned into a very dapper young man!
No wonder Grandma fell hard...that and the fact that his Dad was very well to do in a very small, poor, river town. As I said...I've heard tales.
I'll continue uncovering family secrets tomorrow as we learn about the other side of the family. And we'll get closer to the deep, dark, family secret related to Thalassemia.
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Correct me if I am wrong, but I think the tradition of 'smiling' for the camera did not actually become a practice until the turn of the century, or somewhere in the 1900's.
ReplyDeleteRob,
ReplyDeleteI think you are right...I've heard it had a lot to do with the condition of their teeth... and/or the desire to appear dignified.
Blessings,
Cheri
Hmmm....I think I know where you are going with this, because of my niece....
ReplyDeleteone reason I know they didn't smile back then was because of exposure time... it took several minutes to complete a photograph and you had to be real still. The very first photo took 8 hours to complete, the time only got faster as more discoveries were made but the habit of no smiles and perfectly planted bodies stuck for awhile.
ReplyDeleteThis has been really neat reading about your family history. :) Can't wait to hear more!
By the way, my cast is off and the pins are out! Full recovery of my wrist is not quite finished. Right now I can hardly move it and it is sore from trying to move it. I have several occupational therapy appointments over the next 6 weeks and then one last check up with the Orthopedic doctor. I'm still praying for a full recovery so I can start painting again!