Category: Chicago, IL

A snowy Chicago day

Louise and Dorothy Mueller in the snow

This is a photo of my great-grandmother Dorothy Mueller and her grandmother, Wilhelmina Nahrstaedt, after a large snowstorm. This photo was likely taken in Dorothy’s backyard at 1618 Diversey Ave. in Chicago, about 1916. It had apparently snowed so much that the doghouse was nearly covered, and the snow was piled up to the windows in the garage! It looks like Dorothy is having a great time playing in the snow!

Dorothy Marie Mueller was born on December 17, 1908 in Chicago. Her parents were Albert Carl Mueller and Louise Marie Nahrstaedt, and they were active members of the German community in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Her father and uncle were involved in the brick making industry in Lakeview, which was waning by this time. Dorothy had two older sisters, Gertrude and Edna. The family attended St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, where the girls also attended school until 8th grade. Dorothy would later marry Erwin Wischmeyer in 1934 and have two children.

Auguste Marie Wilhelmina Kaefermann (who normally went by Wilhelmina) was born in Germany in 1856. She married Ludwig Nahrstaedt in about 1877 in Germany, and their first three children were born there. Sometime in early 1891, Ludwig left for the US to find a new home for them in Chicago. Several months later in August 1891, when she was eight months pregnant, she gathered up the three children and followed him to the US. They settled in Lakeview, just north of Chicago, and Ludwig found a job as a teamster for a lumber company. Their daughter Louise would marry Albert Mueller, and they would live nearby at 1618 W. Diversey Ave. Ludwig would pass away in April 1916, likely just after this photo was taken. Wilhelmine would pass away in March 1929. They are both buried at Eden Memorial Park in Schiller Park, IL.

After the Fire: the Chicago Brickmakers

Chicago in Flames
Chicago in flames: Scene at Randolph Street Bridge. Lithograph from Currier & Ives. (Image from Library of Congress Digital Collections.)

Chicago, October 8, 1871. Fire!

On the evening of Sunday, October 8, 1871, a fire breaks out in Chicago, just to the southwest of the city’s center. It had been a dry fall, and the fire quickly spread. Over the next 30 hours, the central area of the city burned, spreading across roughly 3.3 square miles of the city, leaving over 100,000 people (1/3 of the city) homeless, and about 300 people dead. Much of the city was left smoldering in ashes and rubble. The fire was known as The Great Chicago Fire, and today marks the 150th anniversary of the blaze.

In 1871, my 3rd great-grandfather, Johann Adolph Wilhelm Mueller, was a brickmaker in Lake View, and had owned his own brickyard for about six years. While it is a populous Chicago neighborhood now, at that time, Lake View was a rural township just north of Chicago city limits, with about 2,000 residents, and was known for its celery fields and emerging brickyards. Thomas Moulding had established the first brickyard in the township in 1863 on Southport Ave., and started using the clay along the Chicago River to make bricks. Very soon, others, mostly Germans like my 3rd great-grandfather, set up brickyards nearby. After the Great Chicago Fire, their bricks literally helped rebuild the ravaged city. This is the story of my brick-making ancestors. Continue reading “After the Fire: the Chicago Brickmakers” →

In memoriam: Ted C. Jordan

1989_Jordan_Ted_Trudy_Xmas copy 2My great-uncle, Ted Jordan, passed away unexpectedly last week. I last saw Ted when I was five years old, when he came to Christmas in Illinois. I don’t remember much about our encounters that year, but I remember him as jolly and friendly, and had a genuine smile. Although I didn’t know him well, I’ve gotten to know him through talking to those who worked with him, cared about him, and were his family. Below is my memorial to him.

Ted C. Jordan
Ted Clarence Jordan was born July 28, 1939 in Chicago, IL, and died February 15, 2018 in Portland, OR at the age of 78 after being struck by a vehicle while crossing the street. He was the son of Erwin and Dorothy (née Mueller) Wischmeyer.

Ted in Chicago, about 1941.
Ted and his sister Trudy, about 1943.
Ted with his mother Dorothy and his sister Trudy, about 1947.

Continue reading “In memoriam: Ted C. Jordan” →

Solar eclipses in my ancestors’ time

Today, August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse will roll across North America. For many, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. In Illinois, some people remember the partial eclipse experienced here in 1970 and 1979, but the last time Illinois residents experienced a full total solar eclipse was in 1869. This eclipse was the only time in the history of the state (established in 1818) that a total eclipse had ever been observed! As this Daily Herald article discusses, Illinoisans were building the State Capital building at the time, and attempted to commemorate the occasion with a monument at the capital. Since solar eclipses are such relatively rare occurrences, I wondered, which of my ancestors experienced a solar eclipse during their lifetimes? Continue reading “Solar eclipses in my ancestors’ time” →

Cubbie Blue runs deep in my blood

Sometimes you live through history. I am blessed to have witnessed the Cubs winning their first World Series in 108 years. Being a Cubs fan is just in my blood.

When I was growing up, we’d try to go to a Cubs game once a year. As a kid, Chicago seemed very far away, and traveling to a Cubs game seemed like such a trip. Most of these trips were organized by a local bank, who sold tickets to its members and would take us to the game on a big fancy Cubs bus. We’d usually sit on the third base side, under the balcony so we were protected from the sun and the rain. My grandfather (Papa) would buy tickets for the whole family, and we’d spend the day at Wrigley. I’ll never forget sitting next to Papa during the game while he explained who everyone was on the team, and gave us some light commentary.

drake_ed_baseball_photobooth_1944
Papa played baseball on a community team when he was in his 20’s, about the same time as the Cub’s last World Series appearance in 1945.

Continue reading “Cubbie Blue runs deep in my blood” →