As a child, it is hard to conceive that older people, like your parents and grandparents, might have had brothers and sisters. When you are a child you think of brothers and sisters as something you and your friends have, because it's a package deal. You visit your friends and their brothers and sisters are not far behind. But not so with grown-ups. Except for family gatherings you rarely see them with their brothers and sisters in tow. And at family gatherings, it's your
aunts and
uncles that show up, not your parents brothers and sisters! We won't even get into why they act so weird (for grown-ups) when they get together.
It never occurs to kids that their parents may have had a childhood similar to theirs; that they may have been bored to death in math class or excelled on the sports field. It is not until we become adults that we can conceive of these ideas...
As a child I recall this mysterious person who lived in a far off land called "
Hollywood". Her name was aunt Helen. I vaguely knew that those flickering black and white images on our T.V. screen originated there too. In fact, the rumor was that my mom was born there! but we knew that must be wrong because we were living in New York, not in Hollywood! (In fact she was born there, but that was inconceivable to our childish minds.)
Aunt Helen was my grandfather,
Erwin Packhiser's, sister. Who could believe such a thing? They even showed us sepia toned family photos. An ancient geezer like my grandfather, with a sister? I wondered how a little girl with a big bow in her hair, in some far off land could be an Aunt I never met?
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The Packhiser Family circa 1912
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I think we got some neat gifts from her. I recall a Disney Land punch out book. Remember them? You'd punch out little cardboard shapes and build little buildings and roller coasters...no batteries required!
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| Disney Land Punch out book |
I vaguely remember sometimes hearing the grownups whispering and hearing that magical name...Helen as they discussed the latest gossip. But my most vivid memory was that day in 1965 when my mother got the call that Aunt Helen had died. I wondered why that news would bring such sadness to my parents and grandparents for someone who I never met.
What's In a Name?
Helen or Helene? Emilie, Emiline or Amilia? Packhiser, Caruso or Anderson? What about "Yvonne"?At one time or another she was identified or called herself by each of these names.
She was born "
Helen Emelie Packhiser" on July 22, 1905 at 103 Brookside Ave, Boston, Massachusetts, to German immigrant parents Rudolph (age 36) and Ottilie A Mialwitz Packhiser (33). Rudolph's occupation is listed as "dyer". [1, 2] Ottilie's maiden name was misspelled as Mialwitz. The correct German spelling was Muhlwitz but the spelling was "Americanized" to Mealwitz by her brother, Edward, in Boston. Ottilie's middle name is Amelia, which was likely intended for Helen's but confused or misspelled as Emelie when registering her daughters middle name. Most other early records indicate Helen A. Packhiser. The original Amelia that this name is in honor of has been lost to history.
(See "Rudolph goes to Boston" for a view of the home she was born in)
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Helen A. Packhiser, circa 1907
Photo taken by J. T. Jackson, Spring Street, Newton, N. J.
Photo Courtesy of Dee Terry Archives |
By the time she was 3, she had moved, with her family, from the metropolis of Boston (Pop. 670,000) 260 miles away to a much smaller Middletown N. Y. (Pop. 15,000). The 1909 Middletown City Directory describes Middletown, Orange County, New York:
"This beautiful, bustling, flourishing, young city is finely located, 67 miles from New York City– nearly in the center of famous Orange County– at a point about midway between the Delaware river on the west, and the majestic Hudson on the east. It is noted for its healthfulness, transportation facilities, educational advantages, thrift and enterprise of its citizens."
A number of manufactories are listed including Bordon's Condensed milk, National Saw Works, foundries, Shirt and hat factories, a brewery, a Piano factory, Cut glass works, several Railroads and two silk mills. The one thing not listed is a Dye works. Perhaps this is why Rudolph , an experienced silk dyer, saw opportunity here. [3]
The Middletown Dye Works, later Packhiser's Cleaners and Dyers was established at 249 North
Street, Middletown New York in 1908.
After her birth registration, the first official accounting of Helen is the 1910 U.S. Federal Census. She lived with her parents and older brother Erwin at 248 1/2 North Street , Middletown, New York. Like her name, her address was identified as 248 1/2, 249 and 251. In reality it was a double lot with a house divided into apartments, a showroom for the business and a dry cleaning and dye works in the back. When I was growing up this was simply referred to as "the Plant".
The census confirms her birth in Massachusetts, her age as 4 (on April 16, 1910 when the census was enumerated, she will be 5 on July 22) and her parents births in Germany (which is what they called themselves, although they are sometimes listed as Russian). There is not much more that can be listed for a 4 year old, but we also learn that her father Rudolph is listed as a Dyer working on his "own account" and they lived in a rented house.
Early Life
Few official records exist of Helen's early life and those who were witnesses are long gone and can not tell us first hand. From various sources and family lore I know that Helen's mother, Ottilie, was hard working and smart. She spoke several languages including German, Polish, Russian, Hebrew and English. She was a trained bookkeeper and kept their books, but also most likely did much of the hands on labour, sharing the burden with her husband Rudolph. An October 19, 1915 article in the Middletown Times-Press describing a gas stove explosion at the dye works support this: " Mr. Packhiser and his wife were working in the cleaning room in the basement of the establishment..." [4]
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| Ottilie and Helen Packhiser circa 1912 |
An early photo of Helen with her mother shows a tranquil scene of the pair relaxing in their garden, a swing can be seen behind them. She is holding a pet dog. She is nicely attired, again with the trademark big bow in her hair, and she is wearing stylish and study shoes. Although a candid shot (vs. the studio portrait below) they appear to be the ideal of a successful, middle class family.
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Helen and Erwin Packhiser Circa 1912
Formal Portrait from Tuthill Studio, Middletown, N. Y. |
1915 New York State Census
The 1915 New york state census was enumerated on June 1, 1915 and gives us a narrow peek into the lives of Helen , now age 9, and her parents and brother. Their address is 249 North street and her father is a "Cleaner and Dyer" operating his own business. The enumerator mangled their names, but after some diligent manual searching for their address, I located them. Both Helen and brother Erwin (Irving on the census form) are listed as students while mother Ottilie is listed as a housewife. The enumerator is careless because he listed everyone on the page as a U.S. born citizen living in the U.S. for the same number of years as their respective ages. This is incorrect for Rudolph, Ottilie and Erwin and probably many other immigrants in the census. Two unrelated families are listed as occupying 251 North street, a property the Packhisers later acquire. [5]
Summer Vacation 1916
Newspapers can be a source of interesting information, especially in the early 20th century when social pages tracked the comings and goings of local citizens. Reported in the 27 Jun 1916 Middletown Times-Press: "Miss Helen Packhiser, daughter of Mr and Mrs. R. Packhiser, has gone to Boston to spend time with her relatives". This would be her cousins and her mother's brother, Edward Mealwitz, a grocer who lived at 55 Fuller ave, in the Dorchester neighborhood in Boston. Don't worry, the 10 year old Helen wasn't alone because the 18 Sept 1916 Middletown Times-Press reported: "Mrs. R. [Rudolph] Packhiser, has returned home with her daughter, Helen, who spent her summer vacation at Boston."
Early Interest in Music
I am not sure how or why the music bug bit Helen and her older brother Erwin, but they were both performing at an early age and continued throughout their lives. The 2 July 1917 Middletown Times-Press reported that Helen Packhiser was listed among 10 of Miss Rose K. Martin's advanced piano and vocal students who performed a delightful concert for a large audience at the Circleville Presbyterian Church.
She was also often listed in the St. John's Luthern Church Christmas program. For example in 1917 the Middletown Times-Press reported that Helen Sang Zum Gebartstage des Helisandes (O, little town of Bethlehem) as a solo and "O, Night Devine" as part of a chorus.
World War One
By the autumn of 1917, American troops were fighting on French soil and the government was turning to it's citizens to fund the war effort through the purchase of war bonds. Wednesday October 24, 1917 was declared "Liberty Loan Campaign" day by a joint act of the President and Governors. Middletown went all out in a push to sell bonds including public meetings and door to door canvassing.
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Posters, like this one, encouraged immigrants
to support their new home. German families
were especially diligent in showing their
sympathies lay with the Allies. |
The following day both 12 year old "Helen Emiline Packhiser" and her 19 year old brother Erwin Rudolph Packhiser" appear on the honor roll of Liberty Bond Purchasers of Middletown (Erwin is listed twice). The minimum amount of a liberty bond was $50.00 which could be subscribed to at $1 per week. This was a substantial commitment for children and most likely represented the whole families support of the war effort.
It is interesting to note that their full names are listed, but their parents are not listed at all, even in subsequent days. Helen's middle name Amelia is misspelled "Emiline". The paper said bond purchasers could call the paper to have their name added to the list. Perhaps the person taking the message misspelled Amelia since Helen is usually know as Helen A. Packhiser at this time.
The war went on in Europe and in 1918 Erwin enlisted and was assigned to Columbia University in New York City as part of the Student Army Training Corps. I'm sure Helen was proud the see her brother in Uniform, but the war ended before he completed training and he was discharged in time to be home for Christmas. The Dec 26, 1918 Middletown Times-Press again carried an article about the Christmas Program at St. Johns's Lutheran Church where they both performed.
The 1920 U.S. Federal Census gives us another checkpoint into the life of Helen and her family. It was a bit of a challenge finding them since they were not indexed correctly on Ancestry and so to find them I had to manually search for the correct Census Enumeration district and then find them at 249 North Street. This took the better part of a morning to accomplish. When I finally found them they were correctly handwritten as "Rudolf Packheiser" by the enumerator, but the transcriber had labeled the name as "
Rudolf Pustcherson". Ottilie was identified as Annie by the enumerator, although the transcriber got this perfectly correct, along with Erwin and Helen. Their ages on the enumeration date of 16 January 1920 are Rudolph- 50, Ottilie- 44, Erwin- 21 and Helen-13. Helen is identified as a student and the rest of the family lists their occupation as Dyer. The other change from 1910 is they are now property owners carrying a mortgage on their house. [6]
As a teenager now, Helen can no longer be considered a child. The next blog will explore her blossoming young adulthood and the beginning of her musical career.
Foot Notes
1. Helen Emelie Packhiser Birth Registration listing, Massachusetts, Birth Index, 1901-1960; Volume number-653; Page number-146; Index Volume Number-68; Reference Number-F63.M362 v.68, from Ancestry.com.
2. Helen Emelie Packhiser Birth Registration listing, "Births Registered in the City Of Boston for the Year 1905"; page 147, no. 6542, found in "Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915," on Ancestry.com
3. Middletown, New York, City Directory, 1909; researched from Ancestry.com U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 Note: The first directory the Packhiser's appear in is 1910, even though they claim their business was established in 1908. Rudolph appears in the Boston City Directory (available on Ancestry.com) from 1904-1906 as a "Silk Dyer".
4. Middletown Times-Press, 19 Oct 1915, pg 1, "2 Burned as Stove Explodes". Note: Rudolph was attempting an adjustment on the stove to increase gas flow when it exploded. A letter to the editor in the next days paper from the gas company made it clear that customers should not try making adjustments.
5. "New York, State Census, 1915"; Ancestry.com (accessed 22 January 2016), Packhiser, Rudolph and family, Middletown, N. Y., Ward 01, A.D. 02, E.D. 03, pg. 3, 249 North St.
6. 1920 US Federal Census reviewed Ancestry.com, Middletown. N.Y., Enumeration District 0111, Pg 8, Lines 20-23, Packhiser
Research time:
In order to keep track of my time and give readers an idea of how long it takes to locate, research and document Genealogical information, I am tracking my time for each blog post. I found everything for this post online at the $ubscription website ancestry,com and also using other free internet sources and my Packhiser family history notebook, where I record everything I am finding. I spent about x hours working on this posting.
1/8/2016- 1 hour (setup and birth)
1/21/2016 5 hours
1/22/2016 4 hrs
1/23/2016 2 hours
