I have spent the last few weeks searching for more information about the Albert Brothers Saloon, which is on my paternal line. I was also contacted by two other researchers who are interested in sharing information from other lines of my tree….both on the maternal line. I seem to be spinning my wheels no matter which way I turn, but I have gleaned a few nuggets of knowledge along the way. Here I am to share my findings and perhaps reach out to a long-lost relative. You just never know…
First, I must state that I truly have a love/hate relationship with social media. It is a time waster and more often than not I see the silliest things posted by people who I usually wish I knew a little less about. On the other hand, several of the groups that I belong to have been invaluable to my research. Other participants in these group share ideas, search databases that you may not have access to and help to translate foreign language documents. All before I have my coffee poured and get out of my pj’s. Seriously, how can you complain about that? If you are not using social media as an element to aid you in your genealogical journey, you are missing out. I will post more about using social media groups in another diary, but suffice it to say this is my way of saying “thank you” to all of those who have selflessly helped me with some of my most recent mysteries.
Previously I knew that brothers Gustav Adolph Albert and George Arthur Albert owned a saloon in Chicago and it was named Albert Brothers Saloon. To read my adventure in discovering these brothers read my post here: Photographic Evidence. Now let’s get caught up on what I have discovered since. I initially thought that George Arthur Albert and his wife Anna Frieda Crasselt were each marrying for the first time in 1922. I couldn’t have been more wrong! I found a marriage certificate for Anna.
Like me, you probably don’t read German but the important parts are easy to decipher: Otto Woldemar Albert and Anna Frieda Crasselt married in Dresden on 8 September, 1908. On 21 September, 1921, Otto dies leaving Anna widow with no children. By May of 1922, brother George gets his passport and travels from Chicago to Germany. Was his mission to marry Anna for love or to help his sister-in-law escape the gloom of post-war Germany and the unrest of pre-Hitler Germany? Perhaps I will never know the underlying reason, but by September of 1922 George and Anna are married and headed back to Chicago. This was a bit of an unexpected find but it certainly explains how he went to Germany and found a wife so quickly! I should know by now to always expect the unexpected.
A bit frustrated that I wasn’t finding anything more, I went to one of the genealogy facebook groups and asked for suggestions. One woman said that I should look for Chicago city directories and that Fold3.com was one of the best places to look. She was right…it takes a bit of finesse to eek out the information from Fold3, but I think it is a great resource and it certainly didn’t fail me this time. I wasn’t able to find my brothers in Chicago until 1893 and then I was in for another surprise.
Wait! There is another brother?!? Now I am up to four Albert boys and scant information. I did find that Adolph had been a brewer by trade when he came to the United States. I have to wonder if he wasn’t making the beer that they were selling in the saloon.
Adolph arrived in 1888 and by 1893 he and brother Paul are residing in Chicago and running a saloon at 105 W. Polk. Side note: Like many other US cities, around 1910 Chicago renumbered and realigned all the streets. Previously, odd and even numbers could be on the same side of the street and the numbering had no relation to the distance from Lake Michigan or even adjacent blocks, therefore, some numbers disappeared and so did some streets. So what was 105 W. Polk in 1893, is not the same 105 W. Polk of today. I will have to do further research to determine the current address of the original saloon and if the building is still standing. Keep this in mind when researching large city locations pre and post 1900.
Next, I found the “reorganized” Albert Brothers with new partners of Arthur and Adolph and a new location:
Note the Irving Park address circa 1903.
And again in 1909.
This was a low-rise flat-iron building that had multiple entrances on the intersecting streets of West Irving Park Boulevard and Elston Avenue. After the renumbering of the addresses, these would change to 3654 Irving Park Road and 4032 North Elston Avenue. Quite a difference! One thing that these directories do not do is give the name of the spouse. As you can see, I have addresses for at least two of the brothers and with the help of a website called ALookatCook.com, I was able to decide the enumeration district for the 1910 and 1920 censuses. I searched line by line but these people just aren’t there. Ultimately, I discovered that Gustav Adolph Albert married Augusta Killam 25 January 1896. Adolph died 1 March 1912 and there isn’t even an obituary in the paper, at least not that I could find. He is buried in St. Lukas Cemetery in Chicago. It would appear that George Arthur continued to run the saloon as Albert Brothers, albeit without a brother to help. Theodore Paul Albert was working as a confectioner and/or cigar maker and had been for some years. George would “retire” as saloonkeeper due to Prohibition in 1919 and I am not sure what he did between then and 1933 when it was repealed. When George died in 1939, he and Anna still listed the Irving Park address as home. In 1930 they were enumerated (for the first time) living in Dundee, Illinois just outside of Chicago but by the 1940 census she is back at the Irving Park address.
With the kind assistance of a fellow groupie, Crystal, I was able to find an obituary for George Arthur! It read in part: Beloved husband of Anna, brother of Hugo in Germany, uncle of Alvin, Otto and Clara.
Wait! ANOTHER BROTHER?
Before discussing Hugo, I want to wrap up a few things about George and Anna. Crystal so kindly offered to take photos of their graves if I could obtain the lot information since they are in a large city cemetery. I called the cemetery office and explained who I was and what I wanted. The lady on the phone was quite kind and she told me that he was buried in the mausoleum and should be very easy to find but that Anna was not buried with him and wasn’t even in the cemetery. Drat! We hung up and I was grateful for the information that I was given. Dear Charlie decided that nature was calling, so we stepped outside. As I came back into the house the phone was ringing….it was the secretary from the cemetery. “Yes, Anna is here” she said. As she read through the paperwork it was discovered that two slots had been purchased in the mausoleum. At some point, George was removed for non-payment and then Anna had him reinterred and his location paid for in full. She also had remarried to a Mr. Steinke but upon her death, she was interred with George in his spot in the mausoleum. Who is Mr. Steinke? When did they marry? I don’t have the answer to these questions or even where she was living up until her death on 21 July, 1972. I cannot help but wonder if my grandfather knew that his cousin’s wife was still living, upon his own death in 1970.
Hugo? Of him I know nothing. I haven’t been able to find anything relating to his birth, death, marriage or even his children. Children are an interesting thing within this family. To my knowledge, Hugo was the only one to have any offspring. All of the other brothers (that I know about), either married very late or had no children. Seems very odd for the time.
Theodore Paul Albert is a bit interesting or at least his circumstances are. As far as I know, he is the eldest child of Ewald Florenz Albert and Caroline Schoene born 29 April, 1866. He arrived in the US in 1887 and naturalized in Chicago in 1896. Then in 1898 he applies for a passport to return to Germany.
Note that he states he is a saloonkeeper. Sadly, there is no photo with this application. He returned to Chicago in 1890 and I suspect that he may have turned to the candy and cigar business by 1900. Paul finally shows up in the 1910 census living on South Chicago Avenue with Heinrich Klutt (Kluth) and his wife Martha boarding with him. Paul states that he runs his own cigar business and Heinrich is a baker. Sometime after this enumeration, Martha and Heinrich return to Germany and re-enter the US in May of 1911. By October 1911, Heinrich is dead and shortly afterwards Martha returns to Germany. She arrives back in the US on 7 February 1913 and on 24 February 1913 she marries Theodore Paul Albert in Chicago. Whew!
The marriage wouldn’t last long. Sadly, Paul passed away 7 June, 1920 but not before being enumerated in the census. He states he is the owner of a cigar store and they live at 6822 South Chicago Avenue. Martha and her first husband never naturalized but upon marrying Paul, Martha became a citizen. When she next traveled abroad, she required a passport. She left the US on 31 December 1920, saying that she was traveling to France and Switzerland for leisure. How exactly does the owner of an ice cream parlor leave for 6 months? Nevertheless, I did find a prize with this passport….a photo.
Clara Martha nee Unknown Klutt (Kluth) Albert
Not surprisingly, she is a mystery. I have no idea who her parents are, or if and when she ever returned to the states. At some point you get research fatigue and it seems as though I have looked at the same documents over and over and found nothing new. I need to put this family group on the back burner and let them simmer awhile. In the end, all this craziness and mystery with the Albert Brothers Saloon makes me think I need a drink!
Prost!
