Joseph Bierbaum, on the left, was Alice's father. He was born September 10, 1875, in Austria. He left when he was eighteen years old. According to family history notes that Alice put together in her later years, Joseph "settled in Newark, New Jersey, and worked in the Newark Edison Celluloid Company, where he manufactured a type of cylinder that preceded the flat records for the phonograph." Later, in 1915, he left the company to open a butcher shop.
Alice said that Joseph met his future wife, Mary Krebbs, "while attending night school to learn English." According to Alice, Joseph and Mary married in Newark on April 25, 1897, at St. Benedict's Church, but the copy of the marriage certificate is dated January 21, 1899. It identified Joseph as 24 years old and his occupation as shoemaker. Mary was only 19 at the time. Her name was misspelled on the certificate—"Krebs." The place of residence for both was 39 Kosswith Avenue, Newark, New Jersey.
Alice described her father as "very formal and proper, especially to his parents. His opening line in his letters [to his parents] was: 'I take pen in hand to write to my beloved parents' in German language." She also told how "every Monday night, he would polish the family's shoes for church the following Sunday."
According to Alice, the family took summer vacations near Dover, New Jersey. They "would go by horse and wagon and then by Model T in later years." Joseph bought the car in 1915, the same year he started the shop. I have a photo of the butcher shop. I'll find it and post it soon.
-L
Actually Great Grandpa was born in Bakonynana, Veszprem, Hungary.
ReplyDeleteYes, and at the time he was born, this town was considered part of Austria.
ReplyDelete