Friday, November 30, 2018

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 48

As November is the next-to-last month in the year, Next to Last is the writing prompt this week.  For this prompt I will be writing about my paternal great-grandmother, Louisa A. Boegel. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in July of 1870, Louisa was the fourth of seven children born to Johann Heinrich Boegel and his wife, Sophie Elizabeth (Suhre) Boegel. Johann had emigrated from Prussia, arriving in Baltimore on 20 July 1858. On 26 November 1858, he married Sophie Suhre in Cincinnati. In later years he owned a saloon on the northwest corner of Ninth and Elm Streets.

In the 22 June 1882 edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer, an article appeared on page 8 entitled "Good Pupils" with the subtitle "Who Have Been Tried and Passed". The article went on to list the names and average percentage of all the pupils of Grade D who were examined for admission to the Intermediate Schools and received a score of at least 70%. Under the Third Intermediate School, Sixth District appears the name Louisa Boegel, with a percentage of 70.3. There was one student who scored 70%, making Louisa the next to last student in the class.

Louisa Boegel

On 18 January 1891, Louisa married Henry Kubler at St. Gabriel’s Church in Connersville, Indiana. Together they had two children: Joseph (my grandfather), born in 1891 and Ethel, born in 1894 and died in 1895. Louisa was listed in various city directories as being a seamstress.

Henry was only 33 when he died on 11 February 1902, and on 9 November 1903 Louisa married Charles Fredrick Brinkman. They had a son Charles, born 6 January 1907. Louisa died 17 October 1913 at the age of 43, when her son Charles was only 6 years old.

Louisa may have been next to last in her class when she was 12 in 1882, but without her I wouldn’t be here. And we all know what the person who graduated last in the class in medical school is called - Doctor.

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