Ancestor animation, part 3: The fateful importance of grandparents

This is the only photo I have of my paternal grandfather’s parents, Robert August Bertram and Flona Agnes (“Aggie”) Murphey, together. They look like a fairly sedate older couple, though the light reflecting off their glasses makes their faces hard to read. Yet their meeting was just as unlikely, and required as much daring, as that of my maternal grandmother’s parents.

This animation shows part of Robert and Aggie’s story. Aggie’s people (in purple) came from the east and settled in and around Morocco, Indiana. Robert’s family (in green) went from Milwaukee to Chicago. Around the turn of the 20th century, you’ll see Aggie make a break for the big city.

My mom’s ancestors’ motives for moving away from an established home are a matter for conjecture. In Aggie’s case, I have a succinct note made by my Aunt Mary in flawless cursive: “She went to Chicago to stay with her aunt, Julia MacFarlane, to avoid being a maid at Amanda’s (her grandmother) hotel.”

Amanda’s hotel was the Murphey House on State Street in Morocco. Based on an old photo in this Newton County Historical Society Newsletter, it was a multi-story brick building. Other than that, I don’t know much about it, except that Aunt Julia had also worked there, and the experience may have helped propel her to Chicago just as it did Aggie.

As for Amanda, her first husband was badly injured in the Civil War and died not long after, leaving her with two small children and one on the way. She married her dead husband’s brother just over a year after his (the first husband’s) death. According to my Aunt Mary, Amanda ran her hotel with no help from husband #2. I infer that Amanda was a pretty tough lady. Probably not the world’s easiest boss.

So Aggie’s grandma launched her in Robert’s direction by creating a difficult work environment. How about Robert’s side of the family? His maternal grandparents had come to the United States from Prussia in 1868. For at least part of Robert’s childhood, he, his parents and siblings lived with them. By the time Robert married Aggie, his father was dead and his mother remarried, living with her new husband and new baby. According to the 1910 Federal census, Robert and Aggie’s home as newlyweds was with his grandparents August and Johanna Siekmann.

It would be easy to draw a sharp comparison: Aggie’s Grandma drove her away, Robert’s took them in. But relationships aren’t that simple. Yes, Aggie made it clear she didn’t want to work for her Grandma, but she still maintained ties. Here she is, standing next to her father J.C. Murphey, putting her firstborn, Grace, on Grandma Amanda Murphey’s lap.

If you watch the animation closely, you’ll see Aggie dart back to Morocco in 1911. Though her permanent address was still Chicago, Morocco was where she gave birth to my grandfather, William Bertram.

Next time: honor and mystery.