2024 #52Ancestors, Week 5: Vaudeville Influencers

While this blog is mostly devoted to blood relatives (mine and Cuzzin Heather's), I think this prompt calls for me to branch out and include my husband's family. My husband's great grandparents, Jacob and Anna (Goldstein) Shemerinsky emigrated from Poland in the late 1800s/early 1900s and settled in Chicago.  In total, I have been able to identify 11 children, born between 1895 and 1920.  At some point, the children changed their last names to the more easily pronounced Sherman.  Of the 11 children, at least 3 of them influenced the vaudeville acts of the 1930s and 40s.

Harold, born 1903

Harold, known in the show business world as Boogie Woogie Sherman, was a fixture of the night club circuit.  According to his obituary, "he brought the nut house idea to Pittsburgh in 1936.  He was a singer and comedian, and under the nut house theme, customers could eat peanuts and throw the shells on the floor and just sit back and enjoy the crazy acts of the performers...Mr. Sherman later opened his own place, Boogie Woogie Nut Club." Here, he welcomed comedians, musicians, and all other manner of popular entertainment.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 17 Oct. 1940

Harry's sister, Faye (born 1907), paved her own way in the vaudeville circuit.  Her obituary noted, "At age 16, Mrs. Levey joined contemporary theater in "School Act," a vaudeville show created by Albert Levey, whom she would later marry. The couple performed in "Sherman and Wallace Collegiate Capers" with a vaudeville group that toured as part of the Orpheum Circuit nationwide." A Green Bay newspaper described the act as, "full of good singing and dancing. There is some slapstick comedy in the bit, but it is all in fun." This act was first mentioned in newspapers in 1929.

Faye and Harry's younger sister, Mae (born 1910), was bitten by the show business bug around the same time.  She was billed as "Bebe Sherman - The Miniature Sophie Tucker," and early articles remarked on her amazing ability to commit songs to memory. A 1934 article in The Philadelphia Inquirer observed, "The task of singing any and every song requested by her audience during a single week involves the absorption of every new number that is published and the accumulation of an unlimited repertoire which, in Bebe's instance, now reaches about 5,000 songs."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 23 Apr. 1937

Bebe also performed at her brother's Boogie Woogie Nut Club before World War II led to its shuttering.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 28 Oct. 1940

Bebe continued to perform into the 1950s and 60s.  A 1952 article in the Detroit Free Press referred to her as a top-rate comedienne and recording star.  In 1966, Billy Gray of the Los Angeles Band Box, described Bebe as "the greatest feminine vocalist who ever sang here." We have a couple of Bebe's records in our collection of vinyl, and she does have a beautiful voice.

Sources:

"Bebe Sherman Has a Large Repertoire," The Philadelphia Inquirer, 11 Mar. 1934, p. 57.

"Blond Bebe Shines as Comedienne," Detroit Free Press, 12 Aug. 1952, p. 16.

"Faye S. Levey," Chicago Tribune, 15 Nov. 1998, p. 165.

Glazer, Barney. "In Hollywood...," Rhode Island Herald, 11 Feb. 1966, p. 7.

"Harry Sherman, Nut Club Owner," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6 Jun. 1977, p. 11.

"Song and Dance Act," Green Bay Press-Gazette, 13 Feb. 1932, p. 12.                             

2024 #52Ancestors #Week4 - Witness to History

I have been reviewing as many historical events as I can think of, and none of the major events are calling to me. I'm going to tell a story about everyday history. The farm life, which has changed dramatically due to machinery and an ever-evolving society, saw everything done by hand and by back-breaking labor in the 1890's by immigrants unfamiliar with a vast grassy landscape. From the narrow shop lanes and canals of native Holland to the wide-open prairies of North Dakota and Iowa, Dirk Winkel and Dirk TenKley didn't just witness the history of a changing American landscape, they helped to build it. And their children, my great-grandparents and their many siblings worked right along with them.

After traveling intermittently for 2 years, from Holland to Connecticut to Michigan to Iowa, the TenKleys set out for North Dakota where cheap land was offered for homesteading. The journey took months and was done in the ubiqitous covered wagon (with oxen too, not horses), and on arrival they lived in what was part cave, part lean-to. Their youngest daughter Bertha was born there. The following year the boys helped their father cut deep furrows in the sod and build a sturdy house from it, frequently called "soddies" by the settlers. There would have been endless dirt, mud when it rained, and little privacy, but a cousin wrote that Grandma was very happy to be out of the cave, with a proper door and extra space. It was snug, heavy insulation in the winter.

The children were noted to have been very busy in addition to helping with the soddy, keeping the farm both safe and well-supplied. It is not known is any of the children attended formal school in North Dakota or on their brief sojourn to Missouri, but Bertha, the youngest daughter, was in the intermediate class at the Dutch school when the family returned to Iowa to stay. The children assumed suck farm tasks as twisting bundles of grasses or collecting buffalo chips to burn in the hearth or stove for heat. They gathered nuts in the forest in Missouri. Every hand was useful., as a family's survival depended on everyone's participation. While in Missouri, they also felled trees from the land and sold them (often for a pittance) to the expanding railroad.

I've read also about prairie fires and locust or grasshopper storms - my family contended with those too, and there is a story of Grandma TenKley hearding both the children and the animals into the soddy for safety.  Traditionally, the far end of a soddy was also the barn. It was certainly a long way from a Febreeze-scented den. They stayed long enough in North Dakota to see the building of and congregate in it's first Reformed Church. 

The Winkels (as noted by their name meaning "shop" or "shopkeeper") were more town dwellers. Dirk Winkel was a shoemaker who rented space in the shops of larger retailers, and the brother-in-law he'd moved to America to join was a blacksmith prior to the latter man's death. Winkel's younger daughter Jo was a purveyor of a millinery shop. In a community founded and populated by the Dutch, I can imagine that the millinery supplied many linen and lace caps, perhaps also traditional ashion-forward hats for men and women. When I learned of Jo Winkel's shop and classified ads placed by sisters Elsje and Bertha TenKley to take in sewing, I wondered if this is what cemented these two families together with the marriage of two of their members. Likely it was church and other social events, but trade may have played a role as well.

This is what excites me about genealogy - the little details of life, the daily living and character of my people. They were all so much more than their names and dates. I can imagine them surveying good crops and those with damage. Rejoicing over births and mourning deaths, together. Though I've been to Sioux Center, Iowa in about 2015, I can imagine it in 1915. I've even spent a small amount of time bemoaning that we no longer have a shoe repair shop in my city. 

2024 #52Ancestors, Week 4: Witness to History

I toyed with this prompt for a couple days, trying to find an event that wasn't a war or the Great Depression, but in the end, those tend to be what we remember (and what we teach) any time we talk about history.  My dad's Uncle Bud served in World War II, and this is part of a profile I wrote for his service.

Rosario Thomas 'Bud' Aloisio

Service: US Army
Enlistment Date: 30 Oct. 1942
Discharge Date: 20 Dec. 1945 (division inactivated)

    

[Above: 104th division insignia]

Bud was part of the 104th Infantry division known as the Timberwolves, so named because the division trained in the northwestern United States. It was also one of the first divisions specifically trained to fight in nighttime conditions, hence the nickname “Nightfighters.”  "Nothing in hell must stop the Timberwolves" was their slogan.

The 104th was ordered into active military service in September 1944, saw combat in Belgium, Holland, and Germany under the command of Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen, and returned to the United States on July 3, 1945.  1,119 of its men had been killed in action.

Sources: U.S. Army Center of Military History website and Timberwolves: The Story of the 104th Infantry Division

From Bud’s nephew & godson:

“Your grandma used to tell us this story about Uncle Bud in WWII. He was one of the few GIs who had graduated from high school, and so he was given the job of writing to the parents of the boys who had been killed. He had to send them a little note and he also put any small articles of the soldier's in the envelope. It bothered him terribly. He was a very thoughtful, decent man. You would never know it by his wicked sense of humor.”

From Bud's grand-niece: "There's also the story about how Uncle Bud was writing a letter home and saying he hadn't seen Pete (his brother, also serving at that time). The story goes that Uncle Pete was behind him reading the letter over his shoulder and said, "Well then why don't you look behind you, ya horse's ass."

Sadly, Bud didn't just witness history; he had to write to people about the end of their loved ones' histories.

2024 #52Ancestors #Week3 - Favorite Photo

While the photo that immediately came to mind is not available to me, the photo above has always been precious to me.  Taken sometime in 1918 or early 1919, my Grandma is about 2 years old here.  There are several photos of the four siblings and their parents, but this one of just the children is quite sweet.  

Margaret, age 2, is quite serious, and I love her round little face. I have a picture of myself at about this age, and while my hair wasn’t nearly as tidy, the resemblance is undeniable.  I also have wondered it she kept the tiny bracelet, which has been lost to time.

David, age about 4 1/2 in this photo, appears to be struggling to stand still. I love that his head is slightly cocked, as if he’s been reprimanded a time or two and is trying so hard to stand ramrod straight. 

Dick, age 6, seems to be taking his role very seriously.  Not yet old enough for long pants, he nevertheless is wearing what is likely his father’s pin in his suit jacket. He surely had been asked to help his younger siblings understand that they needed to be still.

Dorothy, nearly 8 years old, is the only one with a bit of a smile on her face. I imagine her pretty plaid dress in some blue shade indicating her Dutch heritage, but am more curious to know if her mother or aunts made the lace trim.  Her wispy curly hair has been brushed almost straight, the rest died back in her stylish oversized bow.

I’m going to need to take a magnifying glass to the original, but it appears Margaret and Dorothy might be wearing matching necklaces.  Sisterhood, brotherhood and childhood, it’s just such a sweet photo.

2024 #52Ancestors, Week 3: Favorite Photo(s)

I'm cheating a bit.  The prompt is favorite photo, but I couldn't choose from this series of three from my Grandma and Grandpa Palermo's wedding.  Besides, the photos themselves are teeny tiny (about 2x2 inches), so my rationale is that three of them equal about one, regular-sized photo. 😆

Let's start at the top.  My grandmother (Rose Aloisio) and grandfather (Martin Palermo) were married - well, I see I'm going to have to call my cousin...again. I have conflicting license dates - 6/23/44 & 6/28/44 - and places - Florida and New York.  (After a quick text conversation with my cousin and aunt, I am no closer to 'the answer.' My aunt suggested maybe they took out more than one license.  They were living in Florida at the time, but the rest of Grandma's family was in New York.) For simplicity's sake, I'll just say they were married...somewhere...in June of 1944.  My grandmother was a hairdresser, and I remember my aunt saying that Grandma Rose was so busy doing everyone else's hair that she didn't get to do her own!  Her hair always looked immaculate, though, and there's nothing in these photos to suggest she didn't spend at least a little time putting it in order.

In the photo on the bottom left, we have - from left to right - Aunt Mary (grandma's sister), my grandfather, my grandmother, and Uncle Pete (grandma's brother).  Bottom right is Grandpa Martin, Aunt Nell (grandma's sister), Grandma Rose, and Uncle Sal (Nell's husband).  I love everything about these photos.  Grandma Rose is radiant, and Grandpa Martin is dapper.  They look unabashedly happy, too. It is also evident that Grandpa got along well with his in-laws.  It looks like Aunt Mary is sitting on his lap, and he and Aunt Nell have an arm around each other.  There is so much more personality in these photos than in the posed ones of more modern day wedding photography.

Then there's the spread of baked goods on the tables.  If you look closely, you can just make out a white wedding cake in the center.  It's difficult to see, but there is a bride and groom figurine sitting atop it.  Then, there appears to be at least three other dessert trays, and I'm willing to bet they contain an assortment of Italian wedding cookies and possibly a cannoli cake!

My grandma and grandpa's time together was unfortunately brief, but there is so much love in these photos.

2024 #52Ancestors #Week2 - Dutch Origins

(TenKley family with youngest 6 children, top. Winkel family, bottom)

My paternal Grandma was 100% Dutch, no question. Her mother and her father were born in the old country and came with their parents and siblings in the years just before Ellis Island opened to immigrants. Both Peter Winkel and Elsje TenKley were quite small on their respective journeys, and very likely anything they knew of their homeland would be gathered from stories of their parents and for Elsie, her older siblings.

The Winkels’ name translates to “shop” or “shopkeeper” and the name often had either a prefix or suffix indicating what type of shop or trade the family was engaged in. There is scant evidence that Peter’s grandfather may have used the name “SlotWinkel” but he seems to have been the only one, and this moniker indicates he may have been a locksmith. Certainly within the realm of possibility. His son, Peter’s father Dirk Winkel, worked as a shoemaker. In the words of Pete as an adult, “Why father came to U.S., caste system. Made shoes, not wooden ones. Manufacturing concerns began making shoes, put him out of business, nothing but repair work.” My aunt owns two pairs of wooden shoes made by Peter, so even if his father didn’t make a living making shoes from wood, I imagine he had the skill.

Peter and his two brothers had been born in Hattem, Gelderland, and when he was three years old and his brothers two and just three months, left Hattem and journeyed to Rotterdam, leaving the Netherlands in June 1886. They came on the ship W.A. Scholten and the passenger list states Dirk is coming to work and that his wife Dirkje, listed by her maiden name Bosch, is coming to join family (her brother Jan Berend settled in Minnesota, but she seems to have had another brother who died shortly after their arrival, wrote Peter). The WInkels settled shortly after their arrival in West Branch Township, Sioux County, Iowa (this is not the Iowa town of West Branch where President Herbert Hoover was born, across the state). While Peter and his family later moved to Sioux City, the path from Holland to Sioux County seems to have been firm and lasting for several decades.

The history of Elsje TenKley’s ancestors had been documented by a few of Grandma’s cousins and was passed to me, and I have added as I’ve been able. The “Kley” or “Kleij” part of the name means loam soil or clay, and many of the men of this line who can be traced back to about 1700, worked as schippers or polder builders. The Netherlands is a small area with many swaths reclaimed from the sea, and the oldest Ten Kleys were certainly involved in these endeavors. 

From my Grandma;s cousin Peter TenKley: “Grandfather Derk TenKley was a schipper of  commodities by waterway. By this trade he made a meager living hauling cargo from one city to another by barge or houseboat … a living hauling grains, fuel, turf or whatever he could transport by water, possibly even livestock.” It is said that most of the 8 of Derk and Maggie’s 10 living children were born on their houseboat. 

The family made the decision to emigrate in 1884, and cousin Peter wrote many years ago that the parents sent oldest daughter WIllempje (Minnie) to school to learn some English before their departure. This interests me, since per my Grandma, a member of the next generation, they had no English until they started school. Perhaps I’ll explore that further in another post.

The TenKleys lived in Baltic, Connecticut for about 2 years before traveling west to Orange City, Iowa, but they did not stay there (they moved on to North Dakota and briefly to Missouri before returning to Iowa). Orange City had been established between the 1860’s-70s by Henry Hospers, a Dutchman moving westward from the previous settlement of Pella, Iowa (established in the late 1840s by Reverend Scholte and his followers). 

From the reading I’ve been doing, both the financial stresses and at least some religious division were both at play in 1880’s Holland. I’m certain that the wide open plains of Iowa and the Dakotas were also tempting to Dirk and Dirkje Winkel and Dirk and Margie TenKley. Dirk Winkel lived to be 96 years old, and Dirk TenKley was described in !910 as a “well to do farmer.” I would say that they chose well.

2024 #52Ancestors, Week 2: Sicilian Origins

When you look at my mother's family origins, it's quite the mishmash of Scandinavian countries:  Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and then a dash of Wales is thrown in for good measure.  Dad, though, is straight Sicilian.  Even Ancestry DNA says so.  

Great Grandpa Mariano Aloisio was from Catania, Sicily.

Great Grandma Serafina (Sapienza) Aloisio was from Collesano, Palermo, Sicily.

Great Grandpa Francisco Palermo and Great Grandma Santa (Palermo) Palermo were from Milazzo, Messina, Sicily, but you might notice Santa didn't need to change her surname.  That's because she and Francisco were first cousins - children of brothers Rocco and Antonino Palermo whose parents were Matteo Palermo and Santa (Marana) Palermo.  If you know your Sicilian geography, you might surmise that this family line originated in Palermo, Sicily, and you would be right.

Catania, Palermo, and Messina are all coastal towns, and as you can see, they are not particularly near each other.  Although I know it is important and necessary, I have not always paid close attention to the geographical aspects of genealogy, but its impact is undeniable.  I thought the next step here would be to see what these towns were like during the time when my ancestors lived there.

Catania, Sicily

Catania is situated at the foot of Mt. Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world.  Fortunately, although frequently active, it is not generally destructive.  The city itself is built upon lava left from its numerous eruptions.  In 1848, Catania joined most of the rest of the island in claiming autonomy for Sicily. The movement was suppressed, but these civil disturbances were happening all over the island.

Palermo, Sicily

Palermo's claim to fame is its ties to the Italian mafia. For centuries, Sicily endured a constant stream of invasion.  As a result, residents of the island formed groups (or clans) to protect themselves from the invading forces.  When Italy annexed Sicily in 1860, the clans morphed into something more sinister, extorting money from landowners.  In exchange, they received protection from the new government.  A revolt in Palermo in 1866 cemented the city as the home of the Cosa Nostra - which translates to "our thing."  Perhaps this is why my Palermo family moved to Messina in the late 1800s.  

Messina, Sicily

By the early 1900s, many of the Palermos had made the move to the U.S, thus missing the Messina Earthquake of 1908.  Its center was the Messina Strait, the water between Sicily and the tip of Italy's boot. The earthquake triggered a tsunami that destroyed coastal towns; Messina was almost completely decimated.  As I write this, it occurs to me that it is quite possible Antonino and Maria (Napoli) Palermo, Francisco's parents, might have died in this disaster.  They were married in Messina in 1883, and Francisco was born there, but I have no record of them immigrating to the U.S., nor have I found a definitive death record for either of them - in the United States OR Sicily.  Great grandparents, Frank and Santa Palermo, and great great grandparents, Rocco and Paulina (Rizzo) Palermo eventually made their way to St. Louis, Missouri.

Based on a couple days of research, I would say that the Aloisios, Sapienzas, and Palermos most likely immigrated to the United States because of political and social unrest in Sicily.  My next goal will be to determine if Antonino and Maria Palermo were victims of the 1908 Messina Earthquake.

Sources:

"Messina Earthquake," PBS, WBGH Educational Foundation, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/rescue-messina-earthquake/#:~:text=On%20December%2028%2C%201908%2C%20at,7.5%20by%20today's%20Richter%20scale. Accessed 5 Jan. 2024.

"Origins of the Mafia," History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 May 2019, www.history.com/topics/crime/origins-of-the-mafia. Accessed 5 Jan. 2024.

Tikkanen, Amy. "Catania," Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Dec. 2023, www.britannica.com/place/Catania.  Accessed 5 Jan. 2024.

2024 #52Ancestors #Week1 - Family Lore

 A New Year, A New Challenge! Heather here, and this year I'm going to travel to Iowa (no, really!) and turn my focus to my paternal grandmother's Dutch lineage. As it turns out, I know even less than previously thought. While both her mother and father's lines are fairly well-documented, and I have a fair number of photos, anecdotes and family stories are few.

There are perhaps a few reasons for this. I grew up over 400 miles from my grandma's childhood home and the home county of her parents, brothers and most of her extended family. In addition to physical distance, my great grandmother passed away when Grandma was pregnant with my dad, her oldest.  I'll never know what kind of stories may have been passed to her daughter or her grandchildren.

Another reason may be that as the Dutch stereotype of being quite taciturn certainly holds up in my family. My Dad is fond of saying "I AM smiling" while scowling quite heavily for photos, and in return we heckle the Dutch smile.

So I'm left with a brief anecdote from both of my grandparents:

Grandpa grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, but Grandma moved there between 1930-32. They attended Sioux City's Central High School together. While they both told me that they didn't know them incredibly well, they did share the school hallways with a pair of twin girls, slightly younger than themselves. The twins had twin names, Pauline Esther "Popo" and Esther Pauline "Eppie" Friedman. You probably know them as Dear Abby and her sister, Ann Landers.

2024 #52Ancestors, Family Lore (Week 1)

Now that I've figured out how to add labels on this blog, I don't mind spending 2024 writing about different surnames!  For the 'Family Lore' prompt, I'm not going to focus on one specific story but a couple smaller ones.

First up is my great grandma, Serafina (Sapienza) Aloisio, more commonly known as Sophie.  Grandma Sophie was born in Collesano, Italy.  The 'where' is certain, but the 'when' is not, and that's not just because I don't have her birth record.  As the story goes, Sophie's mother (Anna LiPira) was in labor on the evening of Christmas Eve 1887.  As the church bells were ringing midnight, Great Grandma made her appearance, so there was some uncertainty as to whether she was born on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  When Great Grandma filed for a social security number, she used Christmas Eve as her birthdate, so that is what all her American paperwork says.  

Burgess Meredith, American actor (via Universal History Archive)

Other interesting family lore revolves around Sophie's daughter (and my grandmother) Rose.  Grandma Rose was married three times.  Her first marriage was very brief (and will be covered in a different prompt).  Her second marriage was to my grandfather, and her third marriage was to Ralph of Australia (a family inside joke because that is how Ralph was listed in various newspaper articles).  However, I vaguely remembered a story about my grandmother dating Burgess Meredith, so I texted my cousin to confirm this story.  And while family lore doesn't always turn out to be true, this story was.  After consulting with my aunt, my cousin said that yes, they had dated, and that Grandma used to have a picture of him with a very personal message.  Unfortunately, that picture has been lost.

I know Burgess Meredith as the actor from the Twilight Zone episode 'Time Enough At Last,' but it's interesting to think he could have been my grandfather!