Song of Sadness

Anna Albert was the wife of Adolf Wernette, one of the subjects of an earlier post which you can read here. But Anna had a life before Adolf and it is a story of promise and sadness.

Anna Elizabeth Albert was the daughter of Robert William Albert and Augusta Clara Schreider (?) born 24 Jun 1876 in Saxony, Germany. She arrived in the United States in September of 1882, entering the country through Galveston, Texas.  When her father renounced his alliance with the Kaiser of Germany in 1884, she too became an American citizen. Around Anna’s 18th birthday (circa 1894) she married George Joseph Bolstetter. So far I have been unsuccessful in locating a marriage record for these two. George was born 6 May 1872 in Neustadt, Germany, was about 22 years of age and had only been in the US about four years when he and Anna married. I do know that the Albert’s lived on a remote farm in a now defunct whistle-stop town named Fratt Station, Texas. I can only suppose that he may have come to the farm to work or to buy and sell livestock and that is how the paths of Anna and George crossed.

May 16, 1895, 19-year-old Anna and 23-year-old George welcomed their son Joseph Nelson Bolstetter into the world. He would become the focus of their existence. My grandfather, Otto Albert, also felt that this young man was especially promising and talented. The future seemed bright.

On 31 July 1897 George signed up to serve in the Spanish-American War as part of the band. He was assigned to Company E, 23rd Division of the US Infantry. I do not know what instrument he played but I would guess he was probably a bugler. He served until 31 July 1900 when he was released from service at Jolo Island in the Philippines. You can learn more about the service the 23rd division by clicking here. It does seem that George was an exemplary soldier, always present and on time. On the 1900 San Antonio census taken in June, Anna lists George as a soldier in the Philippines, herself as a laundress having been married for six years and her five-year old son Joseph living with her on Vinton street in San Antonio, Texas.

Upon George’s return to the family he found employment at a bartender. It would appear that sometime between 1900 and 1910 George developed an affair with alcohol that extended beyond his bar keeping duties. The discontent within family life is reflected in their continual movement around the city; 1903: 1220 San Pedro Ave, 1905: 2201 N. Flores, 1907: 205 Warren, 1909: 120 California, 1910: 1041 Hayes IN the Buckhorn Saloon, 1912: 624 Pine. At this point George had also changed where he bartended with every move, indicating that he was able to get a job but not terribly successful in keeping one. In the 1913 San Antonio city directory Geroge and Anna seem to have separated and most likely divorced by circa 1915. They appear in the 1916 directory, Anna listed first as living at 624 Pine and the widow of George. He is listed below her as the bartender at the Cozy Corner and living with his new wife Marguerite at 327 West Florida. George would also have a stillborn daughter in March of 1916 with a Gertrude Dau or Dan. 

Joseph however, seemed to rise above. A talented and well liked young man, he was destined to go far. He worked at several local hotels and was admired for his work ethic and style. It was newsworthy when Joseph decided to abandon the service industry in San Antonio and move to Houston to attend dentistry school.

 

The article from the San Antonio Express reads:

Joe Bolstetter, until a few days ago an assistant room clerk at the Gunter Hotel, has resigned to study dentistry at the Texas Dental College in Houston. Mr. Bolstetter was with the Gunter Hotel for two years and his friends regretted his departure because of his uniform courtesy to all. Prior to his employment at the Gunter he was captain of bell boys at the St. Anthony Hotel. He is paying his way through school partially with his savings. 

I had always heard about his musical skills and nothing of his desire to be a dentist. I happened to find this little clipping tucked behind a photograph of him in a presentation folder and while it is a brief mention, it does provide some interesting information about this young man.

While we now might scoff at the idea of being the “captain of bell boys”, swanky hotels with attentive staff were a high point of the era. The St. Anthony was built in 1909 and was considered to be one of the most luxurious hotels in the South. It was frequented by movie stars and important people, located just a mile from the Alamo. The Gunter was also completed in 1909 and at the time it was the largest building in San Antonio. Being situated across from the Majestic theater, it also attracted the rich and famous of the era such as Mae West and Tom Mix. The St. Anthony and the Gunter are still actively operating.

Joseph was an extremely talented musician by all accounts. My grandfather stated that he played the piano beautifully and also had command of the trumpet and violin. I am unsure of the year that these photos were taken but I would guess that he is no more than 18 or 19.

He was certainly dashing enough to own at least two suits, with a stick pin and cufflinks. Also note the pocket watch chain in his breast pocket. He posed a dashing figure with dark hair and eyes, thin build and a strong but welcoming face.

But this kindly and talented young man would be taken down a dark path of which I do not know all the details. He underwent a mastoidectomy in early 1917. This surgery is performed to remove infected mastoid air cells in the area behind the ear which are usually caused by uncontrolled or chronic ear infections that can invade the temporal bone or even the brain. Remember that this operation took place pre-antibiotics and this kind of procedure is relatively rare today. I can’t help but wonder if Joseph was already experiencing some hearing loss due to chronic or massive infection. There was also the possibility that additional hearing loss would be experienced if the ear drum and middle ear structures had to be removed.

The days of Joseph’s life from February 25 until March 12, 1917 could not have been kind. Unfortunately the infection appears to have spread and he died of meningitis following the mastoidectomy. There is some confusion on the death certificate….his age was transcribed correctly as 21 years, 9 months and 26 days but his date of birth is stated as 1885. Someone “corrected” the age to agree to read 31 years but his year of birth is 1895. I am somewhat confused by the newspaper article stating he was going to attend dental school in Houston and yet he died in Dallas. I will surmise that his aunt Hedwig was living in Dallas and that may have been where he was staying while attending a branch of the Texas dental school based in Houston.

The 1918 San Antonio directory lists Anna Bolstetter as widow of George and living at 904 N. Pine. George is living with wife Marguerite at 327 W. Florida and Joe is listed as died Mar 12, 1917. Shortly afterwards, Anna married Adolf Wernette and moved to Orange county, California. George was last living in the Post View apartments at 1825 New Braunfels Avenue in San Antonio. He would die on 2 January 1922 with the cause of death listed as cirrhosis of the liver.