Helen Bowers and Conrad Reinhardt 1918

Here is my grandmother, Helen Bowers, at 19 years old with her maternal grandfather, Conrad Reinhardt, in 1918.  I am wondering why she has an umbrella.  Was it raining?  She isn’t holding it above her head to keep the rain off.  I thought maybe to keep the sun off as women use to carry parasols to keep the sun off. The back of the picture says March 20, 1918, Ottawa, Illinois.  I don’t think the sun in March in Illinois would be a problem. Although, it must have been a fairly warm day since both are not wearing a coat or even a sweater.  The picture was probably taken in the Reinhardt’s backyard at 630 Washington Street, Ottawa, LaSalle, Illinois.[1]

Conrad Reinhardt is 66 years old in this picture.  He was born on 18 February 1852 in Nusselock, Heidelberg, Baden, Germany to Johann Friedrich Reinhardt and Philippina Schuh.[2]  He and his wife, his son and one daughter arrived aboard the ship Bergenland in New York on 5 December 1879.^[3]   From New York they traveled to Amana, Iowa arriving on 22 December 1879.^[4] They settled in the South Amana village.^[5]   They left Amana in April of 1883 because they found no basis in the community.^[6]  They settled in Ottawa, Illinois where Conrad was a shoemaker and had his own shop.^[7]  Conrad died in Chicago at his daughter, Elizabeth’s apartment^[8] on 6 July 1922 of Myocarditis and Chronic Intestinal Nephritis.^[9]  His body was shipped from Chicago to Ottawa by train for the funeral at the Gladfelter Undertaker establishment.^[10]  Conrad is buried at the Ottawa Avenue Cemetery, Ottawa, Illinois alongside his wife Anna.^[11]

Copyright ©2019 Gail Grunst

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[1] Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Original sources vary according to directory. The title of the specific directory being viewed is listed at the top of the image viewer page. Check the directory title page image for full title and publication information.

[2] Germany Birth and Baptisms, 1558 – 1898,  LDS Library, Salt Lake City, Utah,  microfilm # 1183248 Page 377 #2.

[3] Germans to America(Vol. 34). (1993). Wilmington, DE, DE: Scholarly Resources.

[4] Amana Church Membership Records, in archive collection of the Amana Heritage Museum, Amana, Iowa.

[5] Year: 1880; Census Place: Amana, Iowa, Iowa; Roll: 345; Family History Film: 1254345; Page: 146D; Enumeration District: 201

[6] August Koch manuscript, Archives Collection, Amana Heritage Museum, Amana, Iowa.

[7] Year: 1920; Census Place: Ottawa Ward 5, La Salle, Illinois; Roll: T625_379; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 141Source Information:  Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA. Note: Enumeration Districts 819-839 are on roll 323 (Chicago City).

[8] Daily Republican Times, Ottawa, IL, Vol XLVI, no 5, Friday Evening 7 July 1922 (front page).

[9] Certificate of Death, State of Illinois, Cook County, City of Chicago, Registration # 17200.  Illinois State Archive, Springfield, Illinois.

[10] Daily Republican Times, Ottawa, IL, Vol XLVI, no 5, Friday Evening 7 July 1922 (front page).

[11] Ottawa Avenue Cemetery, Ottawa, LaSalle, Illinois cemetery records, Cemetery card CCY-TS, Burial Location BU, 47C (N ½) Record # 5855.