Schuster, Theresia

Schuster, Theresia

Female 1894 - 1978  (84 years)    Has 38 ancestors and 46 descendants in this family tree.

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  • Name Schuster, Theresia 
    Born 6 Jun 1894  Furstenthal, Voivodeasa, , Romania Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Female 
    Biography
    • THERESIA, This, of course, is the one of Klara and Ferdinand's children that I wou ld know the most about. She shared my life since birth and I called her " Momma" when I was little and Mom later.
      The bridal gown that she wears in this photo, she made hersel f. It is of silk crepe, embroidered with white seed pearls. . waltz lengt h. Her tiny feet are encased in white satin pumps adorned with a white si lk "pouf" . Her jewelry is a locket, given to her when she and Dad were co urting, but I am getting ahead of myself in the stories. Their wedding w as a simple affair, Aunt Clara tells me. Mass at St. Mary's in Ellis in J anuary. Snap shows wind-blown dresses, but no snow on the ground. Their " carriage" was Uncle Mike's new car (which he drove) complete with glass in stead of isinglass windows. They were attended by Gottleib Heinrich (Dad 's nephew) and Aunt Barbara (Mom's sister). Aunt Clara says they just h ad a nice dinner with the family. She didn't say if or how many Kaisers w ere there, as Schuster's didn't seem to be given to "big blowout" celebrat ions.
      She went to work of an early age. She spoke of a time when she was eleve n, working for a farm family. She'd been home over Sunday, and this fami ly came to get her and by the time they reached that house it was past sun down. The chicken house was dark, but she was sent to collect the eggs an yway, without a lantern. She reached into the nest, and to her terror, s he grasped and let go quickly of a large snake, filled with swallowed h en eggs. In my growing up years, the hoe was always very handy during t he warm weather, and no snake of any size was given quarter or mercy in o ur yard.
      When she went to Ellis to work, she first worked for Waldo's then in ti me began to work for a banker's family named "Nichelson". Aunt Clara tel ls me. "Theresia had it good there, She had her own room, with a nice cro chet white bedspread on her bed. She learned to cook "good" because the Ni chelson's had everything to cook with. They let me come in and spend t he day with her sometimes, and play with the kids. There was only three k ids at first then a fourth.
      I am guessing alot more rubbed off on Theresia ... how to set a table prop erly, the graciousness of a lovely big home. To use linen tablecloths a nd silver service ... Yes, she probably ironed those tablecloths too ... d ifferent from farm kitchens that mostly had oilcloth. These people also e ncouraged her to read, not only in the more familiar German but Engli sh as well.
      Grandma Klara collected Theresia's wages every week when she brought the c ream and eggs to town. This money helped out to raise the younger childre n, and I would guess defray the cash costs of the farm. Because it was cu stom, Theresia was given one day a week and church time off, as we ll as an occasional Sunday. She stayed at Nichelsons on her days off, a nd Mrs. Nichelson gave her extra money for doing such things as crocheti ng edges on linens, embroidery and cutwork, hemstitching and such. This m oney she squirreled away and in time was able to buy herself a White Rota ry sewing machine, a dome topped trunk which she filled with nice things f or herself (a hope chest); a set of silver flatware; a Kodak Camera with b ellows and fabric for her own clothes. She was a valued employee, f or it was told to me that the Nichelsons offered her lifetime employment w ith them and a stipend for care in her older years if she would stay unt il the family was raised.
      Theresia and Nick were introduced by Mom's friend, Mary (Ziegler) Renge l. Aunt Clara called Mary Rengel, "an untiring matchmaker". It is assum ed that Mary (a German Russian) probably knew other German Russians amo ng who were Uncle John and Aunt Theresia Kaiser. They lived and worked f or a time in Ellis ... John with the railroad. Also assuming Daddy visit ed Uncle John's for I have no knowledge that he ever worked in Ellis. Tran sportation from Park to Ellis was not too much a problem by then, as tra in rides were very available, however by this time (1920-21) Daddy had h is own car ... a Dodge. I have heard Dad referred to as "a high-steppe r" and Aunt Emma called him, "quite a lover-boy."
      His photos show a good-looking man, and I understand, quite popular. Popul ar enough to have had a paternity suit slapped on him, and spent some ti me in the hoosegow, because he refused to. . ."Marry the mother of someo ne else's kid." This is probably a good reason why he sought a wife outsi de of his own "Kamradschaffen". He was a generous man, sometimes to a fau lt. He bought his bride to-be a ruby ring, a wristwatch and a locket, a ll of which she wore when she went to church at Park with him on the thi rd Sunday of their announcement of Banns. He gleefully reported a whisp er he overheard "She must anyhow be a school teacher, she wears a wrist wa tch."
      Theresia, frugal and hard working was just about what was needed to try (t hough I don't think she ever did fully) to tame this macho, rainbow-chasin g, butterfly of a man. She one time said. "He was always looking for som ething golden over the next hill." "I'd just get one bedbug infested ho le cleaned up and livable, then he wanted to go someplace else, inste ad of knuckling down and making it where we were." I think the turnarou nd came in their marriage ... at least when he started listening to her so und reasoning ... when they'd been married for about seven years and had f our children. . I was just born. There was a foreclosure on land Dad h ad purchased "on a handshake" the previous year. The year following, wh en it came time to make the payment, he was also confronted with the mortg ages the previous owner had taken on the land, which of course, they cou ld not handle. Mom told me that they were not left completely destitut e. There were good people. Paul Herl just quietly came and chased the ca ttle into his herd. Uncle Mike Zimmerman drove off with the car. The mon ey changers came, sold off what there was and Mom and Dad were out of farm ing for good. Paul sold the cattle along with his and returned the mone y, and eventually Uncle Mike brought their car back. Oh yes, he always lo nged to go back to the land, I'm sure. He enjoyed the farm jobs he had, b ut one must work all year around to feed and clothe a young family. So on after, came the dust storms and the depression. Acquiring land was th en an impossibility.
      Mom must have, after this, kept a real tight lid on things. They seldom h ad much money, but they didn't have debts either, just a couple that I rem ember that Mom worried about. A truck that took almost all of his wage s. . she bought home the beans for awhile, and a new Maytag washer. This l atter because-- the Health Department told her they could get out from und er quarantine after Frances had scarlet fever after the house was scrubb ed down and everything was laundered. The last time was to finance the ho me they retired to, and she moved from, to Frances and LeRoy's before h er final illness and death. Yes, a family car was also occasionally finan ced but payments were generally in the range that Mom's earnings could cov er... if Dad decided "sousing"' with his "friends" was more important th an his obligations to his family. I ask myself how many lives would ha ve been so much more pleasant without alcohol? I'm not saying a convivi al type of drinking is wrong. ..that's up to the individual. Even Jesus C hrist used wine at the Last Supper. He condemned no man, for he said, " It is not what goes into the body that defiles it, it is what comes ou t. I interpret that to mean that it is not liquor that is wrong, but how y ou use it, how it makes you behave when you do, and who is affected by it 's use.
      Aunt Clara described Mom once as "clever", and I know she was, in spi te of the fact that the cash money she brought home was from domestic wo rk ... washing walls, mending, sewing, butchering chickens, etc. Were we p oor? I certainly never felt so. We had a good up-bringing. Taug ht to be honest in our dealings with everyone and hopefully ourselves. Th is meant learning instead of cheating at school; that there was no free ri de to anywhere; to save for the things we wanted; to chose when we spent o ur own money; the best value for the pennies we spent and that there we re times you never took money for something you did for another. We alwa ys had our penny for the collection plate on Sunday, furnished at fir st by our parents, and later from our own earnings. We lad a little musta rd jar apiece in Mom's trunk for depositing savings. Part of our sitter 's money had to go into that little jar to be spent on tablets and penci ls for school, and our summer's money (when we were old enough to work ou t) went for school clothes, and if we had enough for books. We really lea rned to take care of our books, for there was a good brisk trade goi ng on in schoolbooks at the beginning of school.
      We also learned valuable lessons without being aware we were being taug ht lessons for "life". In her book, there were a few cardinal sins. To m isbehave in school; to play hooky; to take something that didn't belo ng to you ... and that included what belonged to your sisters and brothe rs ... (She said, in a good one-liner, " You KNOW what's yours, so keep yo ur hands off the rest "); borrowing at school; to sass our elders or be de liberately unkind to other kids; to laugh at another's misfortune; to cu ss or use God's name in anything but prayer. . and to leave the yard witho ut permission. The biggest sin we could commit in her book was to do some thing that she didn't want us to do, then to lie about it. We could sin a gainst her rules, but barely, if we told her we had overstepped the bounda ry. Then we might get a lecture, but Boy! , if we lied about it, we cou ld expect heavy punishment. She said we needed double because we did t wo bad things. . we didn't mind for one, and lied for two. Paddling and s itting on the chair for a while to think about what we'd done ... and in r are cases to say over and over, "I will not lie again." when we were young er, and grounding when we were older... Her grounding really hurt, for s he made it long enough for one to remember.
      "Clever" I would say she was. Hand-me-downs were altered to fit each pers on who wore them ... and we all did. If the material was real good, she c hanged it with some sort of decoration she'd made herself or ric-rack or l ace or something she'd ripped off something else, washed and ironed, th en turned over to the brightest side. I never, as long as she had anythi ng to do with what I put on, wore an ill-fitting garment ... or one that w as spotted or dirty, or unpressed, for that matter.
      Home was not a place to go when there was no place else to be .. Mom kn ew with seven people living together the place could become unlivable in j ust two days, if everyone didn't clean up after themselves. I can still h ear her say, "Do you know where you got it?" We were expected to put ba ck anything we dragged out ... I still don't do so hot in that quarter . .. Dirty clothes went into the wash basket, we were, expected to hang up o ur coats, change our school clothes after school and get after our chore s. The boys, to bring in kindling coal and water. The girls had jobs li ke setting the table, washing dishes, Folding clothes and simple flat piec es of ironing. Sometimes when we got home from school, and she had the cl othes folded, each person's in a pile, we were expected to put them awa y. We each had a section in stacked orange crates. Once when I asked h er to teach me to cook, she said, "No, I won't teach you how to coo k. "I have to cook for Dad, and nobody I know eats like your Dad." "Sa ve your learning for on the man you marry, and cook like he likes it ." We did make cakes for Sunday dinner, and cookies for school lunches som etimes, but I'm convinced she abhorred the wasting of a grain of flo ur or a drop of milk, that she just couldn't stand to see us leave a table spoon of flour spilled on the cabinet ... that should have been in the coo kies or cake.
      Other memorable one liners: "The winter is long." this when we complain ed about washing jars and helping fix produce, for winter's canning . .. or picking the bugs off the potatoes with a can of kerosene in one han d, and a little stick in the other to knock the ugly beasties into the ca n. "if you burn your butt, you sit on the blister." A short blunt less on in chastity. In other words ... You fool around and get pregnant, y ou suffer all the consequences, for there's no extra money around he re to spirit you off to Denver or Kansas City to hide your shame ... or yo ur burgeoning stomach. She said, "There's no shame in a few patches, b ut dirt is another story.." I can still hear her say. . ."Wash your neck a nd ears." That meant. . . Everything ... or "Only a slop puts a silk dre ss over dirty underwear." meaning the prettiest dress can't hide the gri me and smell underneath. "Keep the floor swept, the beds made and the dis hes washed and you don't have to be ashamed of your house, even if the pri est walks in." I know darn well that meant clean curtains, washed window s, dusted furniture ... the whole nine yards ... in her book.
      Another choice one: 'The cow has a birthday too." We got that in answer t o, "What am I going to get for my birthday?" We celebrated one birthday . .. Christ's. More: "People can take just about anything you have, but th ey can't take your learning." Thus she spoke of the value of an educatio n. "Finish your High School." In other words, a college education we can 't guarantee there will be money for, but get all you can, while you ca n. It turned out that any of us that expressed a desire for further schoo ling got it, for we each helped the other along. Since Frances did not wa nt to go further, they told me that I could live and work and save, a nd in October they'd take what I could save to help pay off the last $500. 00 of the house mortgage. (We did it the old fashioned way ... we earned i t.)
      On marriage: "Marry a nigger if you want to, but make sure you want to spe nd the rest of your life with who you choose." This was not to cost aspers ions on those of another race, it was to point out that marriage in the be st of circumstances was a difficult adjustment ... in other words ... We' re not going to choose your mate, but you'd better be satisfied with yo ur choices or don't make one you can't live with.'
      Self educated herself ... she used the books we kids brought home, and esp ecially with Johnnie for he was the First, she was appalled by wasted oppo rtunities. She once said, "I did Okay, until Johnnie brought home an Alge bra book, and there was something I couldn't do without someone else's exp lanation, and Johnnie was learning too, and he couldn't explain it so I co uld grasp it." She was Dad's written word, and the store clerk where she s hopped for groceries always turned the pad around to her for verificati on of the addition. In later years she still read German script and oft en did read letters to other people when they had a letter from a German p arent, and could not read this for themselves.
      She once said, "If there's a dance in town the day I die, I want y ou to go to it." this expressed her feelings about a lot of mourning ov er things which you have no control. I think that if I could fault her f or anything in our upbringing it would be this: She did not hesitate to te ll us when she was disappointed, but was extremely slow, if ever to prai se a job well done. She signed our report cards without comment if they w ere good, but if it wasn't, we heard about it in spades. "Get your boo ks home and study harder. " And woe betide you if you didn't show up wi th them.
      "You two girls go, and come home together." Yes, there is safety in numbe rs sometimes, but Gawd! How that must have often rankled Rose, a blythe, g ay, laughing spirit to be inflicted with a physically underdeveloped bookw orm who really didn't want to be along.
      There, is so much more, but I must move along too. She was as private a nd devout in her last hours as she was in life. No words were spoken, s he just tucked her hands, with her rosary entwined, under her cheek, and w ith closed eyes, she sighed, and was gone.

      By Mary Kaiser Conard 1988.
    Immigration 2 Jul 1904  Ellis Island, New York Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Died 9 Jun 1978  Hoxie, Sheridan, Kansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Obituary Aft 9 Jun 1978 
    Buried St. Michael's Cemetery, Ellis, Kansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I50158  1FamilyTree | JaysRelated, JayW_Mom_I101
    Last Modified 1 Mar 2018 

    Father SCHUSTER, Ferdinand,   b. 1 Nov 1865, Furstenthal, Voivodeasa, , Romania Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 21 Jul 1912, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 46 years) 
    Mother BAUMGARTNER, Klara "Clara",   b. 3 Dec 1868, Furstenthal, Voivodeasa, , Romania Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 3 Jul 1955, Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 86 years) 
    Family ID F15944  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Kaiser, Nicholas,   b. 15 Dec 1893, Blyumenfel'd, , Kransnodarskiy Kray, Russia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 20 Jul 1969, Wakeeney, Trego, Kansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 75 years) 
    Married 18 Jan 1921  Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Male Kaiser, John Nicholas,   b. 11 Feb 1922, Park, Gove, Kansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 8 Nov 1959, Pueblo, Pueblo, Colorado, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 37 years)
    +2. Male Kaiser, Ferdinand Carl,   b. 20 Apr 1925, Larrabee, Gove, Kansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 20 May 2002, Garden City, Finney, Kansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 77 years)
    +3. Female Kaiser, Rose Marie,   b. 2 Dec 1926, Hackberry, Labette, Kansas Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 8 Mar 2007, Salina, Saline, Kansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 80 years)
    +4. Female Kaiser, Mary,   b. 13 Sep 1928, Collyer, Trego, Kansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 25 Nov 2006, Lewistown, Fergus, Montana, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 78 years)
    +5. Female Kaiser, Frances,   b. 27 Jun 1930, Hackberry, Labette, Kansas Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 7 Jan 2013, Wakeeney, Trego, Kansas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 82 years)
    Last Modified 9 Dec 2013 
    Family ID F51498  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 6 Jun 1894 - Furstenthal, Voivodeasa, , Romania Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsImmigration - on the ship Kaiser William the second from Bremen - 2 Jul 1904 - Ellis Island, New York Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarried - 18 Jan 1921 - Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 9 Jun 1978 - Hoxie, Sheridan, Kansas, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - - St. Michael's Cemetery, Ellis, Kansas, USA Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Photos
    Schuster, Theresia circa 1916
    Schuster, Theresia


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