by Caroline Schrade Kennedy Zielke (1895-1986) of Mt. Clemens, Michigan
I remember my grandfather Schrade. He was not a tall man (probably 5'-8" or 9") with brown eyes. His hair was gray--a crinkely border around the sides and back of his head. His cheeks, upper lip and chin were shaven with a crinkley border of grey beard all around.
He taught me little German rhymes, how to say my A.B.C.s in German and how to count in German. He read my picture books to me until I could read each page by looking at the pictures. Sometimes mother had to correct my accent in private as in the following:
I can still hear him calling the cats when he took out their food "Here Buss, Buss, Buss!" (puss puss puss).
Grandpa was an important part of my childhood. I think I must have done my first needlework when he had me sew on his buttons when they came loose. He gave me one of his old pipes--then when he was smoking I'd bring my pipe and he'd blow smoke into it (with his hand over the bowl) hand it to me and I'd blow smoke out of my pipe too. I remember sitting in my little rocker besides him and "smoking" my pipe. (That's why I never grew). But mamma decided it wasn't good for me so that stopped that.
Grandpa bought my cradle, my high chair and my little rocker. They served all the rest of the family each baby after me. When I married Tom and Walter both were rocked in my cradle and used my chairs But the fire in 1924 ended their history.
Grandpa used to take me to town with him. He had his own horse and buggy. By that I mean he kept one horse for his own use, besides the farm team. All the stock, farm and tools were his. We lived with him. When I was quite small grandpa used to hitch his horse to the one horse cultivator sometimes and cultivate the potatoes. I also remember him raking up the hay into windrows. He always kept the garden hoed and weeded. But gradually he began staying In the shade and reading rather than do any heavy work. He was an avid reader.
In those days we got three newspapers. The semi-weekly Detroit Journal, The weekly Mount Clemens Monitor and the German weekly "Familien Blatter." Also the "Michigan Farmer" and from Nebraska the weekly "Hooper Sentinel." The latter becasue Grandpa then had four sons in Hooper, Nebraska. Also two nephews George and Bernard Moeck. The sons were Will, John, Louis and August.
Grandpa was a close friend of Pastor Gundert and often got reading material from him. He read German or English, having taught himself the latter after coming to America. Grandpa always celebrated his birthday on January 6, the day of Epiphany, However I found his baptism certificate shows his birth was registered January 7 and that he was baptized the same day.
He was born in Willmandingen (oberampt Reutlingen), Wurtemberg Germany (In der Schwabischen Alb) in the Swabian Alps. A mountain village.
His parents were: Johannes Schrade and Ana Maria Barbara ("geb," nee Eissler) and his sponsors were Johannes Dieber and Ana Maria ("geb," nee Schrade).
Grandpa's childhood was not always happy. He told me that his own mother died when he was two and his step-mother died when he was six. He did not say who took care of him after that. I do know he had an older sister, mother of the Moeck boys, to whom he used to write until her death. She did not migrate to America, altho three of her sons did. They lived in and around Macomb County (the sons) coming first to Mt. Clemens to see their uncle (my grandpa). Eventually two of them, George and Bernard, went to Nebraska and settled there. John Moeck, the oldest remained in Michigan. He settled on a farm near Ionia, Michigan. His wife's first name was Sarah. I believe she was of Irish descent. The last name Moeck became Mick and John Mick was elected to the Michigan Legislature as representative of his district. He died in 1903 and contact with his family was lost.
When grandpa was 17 his father died [Johannes Schrade in Willmandingen, Germany died about 1844]. The home where he was born was still standing when Florence [Florence Julie Schrade Nugent (1909-2007)] and Otis [Otis J. Nugent (1900-1992)] visited Willmandingen. It was built by Grandpa's father in 1792 (1798). The living quarters were upstairs while the first floor housed the animals, feed, tools, etc.
After the death of his father (1844) grandpa worked for a year in Switzerland. Then he made his first trip to the New World. He worked a few years in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In 1850 he was back in Europe. He visited the World's Fair in London and spent about a year in his homeland. However he decided America was where he wanted to live and soon returned.
This time he drifted farther inland and was working in Ohio splitting rail-road ties when he became very ill with fever. He was cared for for 7 weeks by the family he worked for. When he was again able to get about his job was finished and he was again looking for work. One day he came upon a group of German immigrants waiting for the boat to take them down the Ohio River to Iowa, where there was plenty of land still available.
Grandpa decided to go with them and brought his trunk of belongings to the landing. The boat arrived, everyone got on board and the boat trip began.
Grandpa still weak and not yet completely strong after the fever found a spot among the coils of rope on board and went fast asleep. This happened on the last day of the journey. When grandpa awoke his new friends were no longer on the boat. The captain told him that he had unloaded them at their destination. No one had been able to find grandpa so they had gone on without him. "But where is my Trunk?" Said grandpa. "Oh we were sure that you had fallen overboard so they took your things with them."
Remember this was in early 1850s before good roads and easy travel. The ship was headed for St. Paul, Minnesota so grandpa went along to St. Paul. Not finding a job to his liking in St. Paul he decided to walk to the next town, Minneapolis, a distance of 7 miles.
As he approached the tavern and half way house between the two towns a girl came out to the well to get a bucket of water. As she turned the pump handle it slipped from her hand, flew backward and hit her knocking her unconscious. Grandpa picked her up and carried her into the tavern where she recovered. Her name was Caroline Bleidorn and she later became grandpa's wife and my grandmother.
Grandpa worked at this tavern for a while and during this time befriended the local Indians. Later when he and grandmother were homesteading the Indians came and helped him cut trees and build a fence. When grandmother baked she would give the Indians some of her bread.
The climate in Minnesota was so very cold that when my grandparents were able to sell their homestead they moved by wagon to Mt. Clemens [Michigan] where grandma had a sister Christine Volkening. This sister lived on Card Road (now the Tesner place) and within one week grandpa had bought the farm on Elizabeth Rd (40 acres).
Son William was born in Minnesota. George was the first son born in Mich. They were married in 1854. Grandmother died in 1880 at age 46, after suffering for 12 years with a paralyzing ailment. Her husband and 7 stout sons survived her. Grandfather lived on at the farm until 1909 when he died at age 82.
Grandmother Schrade [Caroline Bleidhorn born 18 Feb 1834 in Minden, Germany] was one of three Bleidorn sisters who came to America. Her first home here was as a maid in the home of a Methodist minister in Philadelphia. She worked a year for board and room and when she left was given an English Bible. There was no money to give her. The preacher family was poor. Grandmother had brought her German Bible with her from Germany. I inherited this German Bible and grandmother's baptismal certificate and cherished them until the fire of 1924. The English Bible was in mother's parlor for many years and was borrowed by family.
Grandmother's sister Mary, married a man named Bester. When grandma and grandpa met, the Bester's and grandma were living in Minnesota. Grandma had found work at the Halfway Tavern to support herself. When she and grandpa married they homesteaded a farm nearby, clearing away the timber for a cabin. The winters were so bitter cold and when they were able to sell they left Minnesota to come to Michigan where the third sister Christine lived on Card road near Mt. Clemens. Christine Bleidorn was married to Georg Volkening. There children were William (who went to live in Detroit), Mary who married a man named Miesel and moved away and Carl who chose to be known as Charles. Charles first wife died very young and he then married Elise Stier daughter of Heinrich and Luise Stier of New Baltimore. The children of Charles and Elise were Emilie who married Charles Hourtienne, Julie who married Clark Parker, George who married Delia Donner, Carl killed in train accident at 21, and William married to Fern Crawford.
Later Edward Schrade (my father) a cousin of Charles Volkening married Ella Stier, younger sister of Elise and so became a brother-in-law of his first cousin and I and my brother and sister were first cousins to our second cousins.
Grandpa and Grandma bought 40 acres on Elizabeth Rd. On it was a good house, white frame. There was a small barn, more of a shed, across the stream and up the hill, in what later became Aunt Florence's front yard. Grandpa immediately set about to build a decent barn behind the house and finished it in 1857. As the years passed an extension to the south was added for a cow barn and more mow above. Also a wing to the west for buggies, tools, and farm machinery below and hay mow above.
A beautiful 2 story hog house and corn crib was built, the hen house was a small lean to on the south side of the hog house. All these buildings rested on huge field stones of which there were plenty back on the farm. The farm had been a nursery and grandpa kept a large apple orchard containing a large variety of fruit. Another nine acres containing timber was purchased from Hiram Atwood making the home place 49 acres. Finally he increased his acreage by buying 40 acres of timber on Card Road. This place had a small log shanty on it. This was often occupied by transients especially during winter months. I remember grandpa telling me of Indians living in it. Uncle George bought the fourth just north of grandpa's. He also had a log house. He lived in it until some time after he was married. All this land had to be cleared of timber before it could be farmed. The logs were sold to help pay for the farm and build barns, dig a well. Fences were all rails. Later grandpa sold 10 acres to Uncle George. This left him with just 30 acres.
After my father married, grandpa built a house on his 30. A year or so later he added a kitchen and bedroom on the back. It had been my mother's dream to move into this house. But somehow they never did it and we continued living on Elizabeth with Grandpa and Uncle Albert. Finally in the spring of 1909 Uncle Albert bought the 30 acres and my folks bought the home farm. Before Uncle could move to his place Grandpa had a stroke and was sick. So Uncle Albert did not move but staid to help care for grandpa. Grandpa died in September and Uncle Albert moved to Card Road soon after.
I was fourteen at this time and it was the first time we had lived alone as a family. Florence was a baby, John 3, Elmer 6, Arthur 8, Edward 12, and I, 14. We put up 30 loads of hay that next summer.
While Grandpa was busy improving his land and building barns and outbuildings he was also making changes in the home. He tore out the open stairway and front hall and rearranged the down stairs to make a 1st floor bed room. Later he added an extension to the rear, making another bedroom and a pantry (buttery) below and a large bed room upstairs. Still later he build a 2 story wing to the south for a big airy kitchen. The old one story wing was then attached to the rear of the new kitchen and served as a summer kitchen and winter wood storage. There were three porches -- the "parlor porch" the "front porch" and the "back porch."
Had grandpa and grandma Schrade staid in Germany they would have never met (probably). He was born in South Germany not far from the Swiss border and spoke the Swabian dialect which is very different from the Prussian. Grandmother was born in Minden Prussia, in northern Germany.
My mother's parents were both born in Province Mecklenburg in north Germany - Grandpa at Grunhof, Hagenow, Mecklenburg. Grandma at Gadebusch near Schwerin, Mecklenburg.
|
|
Born |
Location |
Died |
|
Wilhelm |
Mar. 9, 1855 |
Minnesota |
|
|
Georg |
July 5, 1857 |
Michigan |
|
|
Johan Adam |
Oct 8, 1859 |
Michigan |
|
|
Louis |
Dec 3,1861 |
Michigan |
|
|
Edward |
July 18, 1864 |
Michigan |
|
|
August |
August 24,1866 |
Michigan |
|
|
Albert |
Dec 3,1869 |
Michigan |
|
|
Herman |
Apr 8,1872 |
Michigan |
Aug 2, 1872 |
Adam and Caroline Schrade are buried in Section A of Clinton Grove Cemetery, Mt. Clemens, Michigan.
After grandfather came to live on Elizabeth Road his older brother Johannes (half-brother) came to America with his family and moved onto the farm next door to the south. Both brothers (Johan and Johannes) names translated to John in English which is why grandpa used his middle name (Adam).
Johannes had several sons and at least two daughters. The sons all died young except George [born Aug 1863] who moved to [Table Rock, El Paso, Colorado] Colorado to become a potato farmer. Katherine (Kitty) Schrade is buried in Clinton Grove. She died at 28 of T.B. Mary (Maris) married Christian Peters, she was the only one of my father's Schrade cousins that I came to know. Her children that I remember--
One or two older sons (William)
Kate - married a Mr Schultz
Julia - married Otto Kerner
Alice - married Peter Kling. Their sons Marcus, Arnold were my pupils in Atwood School.
The sister that married Kerner was the mother of "Half Pint" also Grace Sims of Zion Church. Mary Peters youngest child was Herman Peters. One of Herman's children is Margaret Lueth from Dorcas - Zion Church.
Altogether Johannes Schrade left several descendants still living in this area and distantly related to our own branch of Schrade's. All of us are descended from the Johannes Schrade who built the home in Willmandingen in 1797 for his beloved, and which Florence and Otis [Nugent] visited in Germany.
Johann and Caroline settled on 40 acres on Elizabeth Road in Clinton Township, Michigan on June 3, 1857.
Johann Adam Schrade 1-6-1827 - Wilmendinger (Wurtenbug) Germany
Caroline Bleidorm 2-18-1834 - Minden Preusen Germany
SCHRADE
|
William |
3-9-1855 |
11-30-1925 |
|
George |
7-5-1857 |
1943 |
|
John |
10-8-1859 |
7- -1946 |
|
Louis |
12-3-1861 |
5-13-1904 |
|
Edward |
7-18-1864 |
9-27-1946 |
|
August |
8-24-1866 |
2-11-1949 |
|
Albert |
12-3-1869 |
1-6-1957 |
|
Herman |
4-8-1872 |
8-2-1872 |