Charlie Documents

(A quick story I heard lately:
Uncle Tony said he never met gramma's brother Charlie Sand, but that he heard about him from his mom, in particular about the trip to visit Charlie in 1941.

Turns out Marie Wintermeyer had a brand new 1941 Chevy, and they decided to break it in by taking a long trip.  Wenatchee, Washington qualified ☺.  So, Marie and her cousin Fronie Hesch, and their moms Vernie and Lizzie, drove to the west coast to visit and pick fruit in Charlie's orchard.  See THIS post).

Earlier this month, Charlie's grandaughter Kathryn was moving, and found that her dad had saved more of Charlie's stuff than she knew (see Larry?  It's not just me...lol).  But as usual, cool new documents create more question.

For instance, why would Charlie have sent to Little Falls for a certified copy of his birth certificate in 1954--when he was 68?  And look--he was born in December 1886, but his birth wasn't registered till January, 1887, which probably accounts for the discrepancies in his birth date on various records...

 And this affidavit from 1918: we know Charlie and Elizabeth moved to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada right after they married in 1911, but here they are in Bear Lake, St Louis County, MN, (about 70 miles north of  Duluth), 7 years later.  This was when Minnesota was doubting the loyalty of German-speaking Americans, but what an odd bit of proof he was required to show.  Also, it proves that even his parents forgot exactly when he was born!

Now THIS photo (above) is interesting because it was taken on the same day as THIS photo, but what was the occasion?  Was it their wedding photo?  Probably not, as Charlie was 25 in 1911, and Elizabeth Caldwell was 19.  (Besides, their wedding witnesses were Agnas Ryan and Elizabeth Buhl, not Charlie's  brother and sister).  We know they were running a boarding house in an Idaho mining camp in 1920, but I doubt Vernie and Frank would have gone to see them there.  We don't know the answers yet, but stay tuned!

THANKS for these Kathryn!


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The comment from my sister (below) got me to find the 1940 family photo of dad's parents, brothers and sisters to compare Charlie's 'look' with them.  Matt and Ted are in the middle, back.  She's RIGHT!


(Just so you have it straight, Lizzy Hesch and Charlie were siblings, so it makes sense that her kids might look a bit like him, as well as sibs Vernie and Frank (standing) in◄ that photo). Cool, huh?