1890-1960: A Cincinnati Family at the Turn of the Century

by Laura Stolk, January 11, 2015

Alfred Gross and Sophia Droessler

1890-1960

During the 1890’s there were many changes in the United States that indicated that the world was moving toward a new era. The first skyscraper was built in New York City in 1890. That same year, was the Massacre at Wounded Knee, the last major battle of the Indian Wars. In 1892, the internal combustion engine, which ran on oil, was invented. The Pledge of Allegiance was published, followed by America the Beautiful.

Gross

Alfred Gross was born to Louis and Valentina Gross (nee Schacht) on August 30, 1891. He was their first child and would be followed by three sisters and two brothers. Their busy household was full of change.

Alfred’s father had various occupations through the years. Every job he held required a working knowledge of cast iron. He was a stove mounter, safe maker, iron worker, range finisher, and range maker.

Alfred, his parents, and his siblings, Norma, Ethel, Walter, Marcella, and Arthur, moved five times between 1891 and 1920. They lived on several streets in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine including Moore Street, Pendalton Street, and Estelle Street, all near the Miami and Erie Canal, which was still operating during Alfred’s childhood, until it closed and was drained in 1914.

Over-the-Rhine was at this time reaching the peak of its German influence. Many of the row houses contained a storefront on the lower level and housed families in the upper apartments. The establishment of building and loans made it possible for many families to own their own homes. Beer gardens were popular as were German singing societies.

When Alfred grew up, he married Sophia Droessler.

Droessler

Henry’s wife, Sophia, was born on March 2, 1893. She was the daughter of Heinrich G. Droessler, who went simply by Henry, and Catharine Maria Elisabeth Vinup, who was called Maria. Sophia was the fourth of their five children. Charles, Molly, and Heinrich were her older siblings, and Georg was her little brother.

Sophia’s father, Henry, was born in Berlin in the year 1853 and migrated to the United States as an infant with his parents in 1854. Before the year 1882 he met and married Maria, who was from Ohio County, Bear Branch (Dillsboro), Indiana, a mainly German settlement. They were married between the years 1871-1881.

Sophia’s mother, Maria, was born on June 17, 1857 and her lineage can be traced to Herman Heinrich Rohing-Finup, who was born in Börninghausen, Germany in the year 1672. Maria’s father, Friedrich, migrated to the United States sometime between 1829-1856.

As a child, Sophia and her family lived at 351 Cutter Street with her grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Henry and his father, Andreas, were house painters and had started their own painting company called A & Son Painting. Her grandfather died of tuberculosis in 1877 when he was only fifty years old.

Henry’s older sister, Eliza, was married to Charles Korzenborn. The Korzenborns and Droesslers lived at the Cutter address together for some time. Later, the Korzenborns moved to Hillside Avenue with Charles’ mother. By 1900, Henry and his family had moved to the Hillside address also.

Sophia was presumably named for her mother’s younger sister, Sophia, who was married to Georg Haarmeyer. Perhaps Maria’s youngest, Georg, was named after her sister’s husband.

Sophia lost her mother to tuberculosis when she was only four years old. Maria died one month after her thirtieth birthday, on July 06, 1897.

Here is what was contained in the church book of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Bear Branch (Ohio County) Indiana:

Vinup, Catharine Maria Elisabeth. Born June 17, 1857; Baptized July 19, 1857; Died July 6, 1897; Buried July 8, 1897. Daughter of John Friedrich Wilhelm Vinup and Maria Elisabeth Lanvermeyer. Eight children born; five survived. Died of TB. Husband Heinrich G. Dressler, who survives.

Children who were baptized on the day of her death:

Dressler, Georg Ludwig. Born June 15, 1895; Baptized July 6, 1897. Sponsor: Georg Harmeyer. Child of Heinrich Dressler and Maria Vinup

Dressler, Heinrich. Born June 2, 1890; Baptized July 6, 1897. Sponsor: Ludwig Vinup. Child of Heinrich Dressler and Maria Vinup

Dressler, Sophia. Born March 2, 1893; Baptized July 6, 1897. Sponsor: Catharina Vinup. Child of Heinrich Dressler and Maria Vinup.

By 1900, Sophia and her family lived at 3764 Hillside Avenue. This street is located to the west of the Cincinnati Central Business District. It is near River Road, located at the foot of Price Hill. The street runs parallel to, and overlooks, the Ohio River.

Sophia’s oldest brother, Charles, was eighteen years old in 1900 and he worked as a carriage driver. Mollie was Sophia’s oldest sister. She was sixteen and worked at a shoe factory. Henry Droessler, Jr. was two years older than Sophia. Her brother, Georg, was three years younger.

Tragically, the children also lost their father, who died of consumption in 1904. He is buried at Vine Street Hill Cemetery.

Family lore suggests that Sophia may have lived in the General Protestant Orphan home for a time, perhaps with her sister. The exact dates that she was there are not known. When she was orphaned, her sister would have been too old for the orphan home. So, perhaps she lived there for a time after her mother died. However, the records for the home do not list the Droessler children.

The General Protestant Orphan Home took kids below the age of 16 and had a horse, cows, hogs, and a greenhouse. The girls were taught domestic duties and the boys were taught trades, one of which was shoe repair. Henry was later a cutter at a shoe factory, so probably he learned that trade at the home. Her older sister also worked at a shoe factory.

Sophia was eleven when she was orphaned. Her oldest sibling, Charles, was twenty-two. Mollie would have been twenty, Henry, fourteen, and Georg, ten. Charles was given custody, but not until 1906.

Sophia stayed in school only until grade five, when she would have been about 11. So, presumably she left school when her father died.

In 1912, Sophia lived at 425 Ada Street with brothers, George and Henry, and sister, Mollie, and her husband, John. Mollie and John had a daughter, Edna, on March 16, 1912. Sophia was listed in the Williams Street Directory, but no occupation was noted. Her brothers were both shoe workers. John and Mollie Holzinger were not listed in the Williams Street Directory that year, but we know their address because it was listed on Edna`s birth card.

Alfred and Sophia Gross

Sophia married Alfred J. Gross between 1912 and 1915. He was one year her senior. It could be that they met when they each attended a wedding of mutual friends on June 11, 1911.

In 1917, Alfred and Sophia lived at 303 Seitz Street, which was located between Liberty Hill and Clifton, more or less, just north of Over-the-Rhine. Albert worked as a salesman at a store located on the corner of Elder and Race Streets.

Sophia and Alfred lost their first child, Edith, in 1913 just after she was born. They had three more children in the coming years: Alfred Jr., Edward, and Edna.

The family moved to 435 Crestline Avenue and Alfred worked as a Post Office Clerk. Crestline Avenue is located west of downtown Cincinnati, near Mount Echo Park, not far from the river. This was near the area where Sophia lived as a child.

Alfred’s brother, Walter, married Nell Raleigh, who had conceived of starting a company. It took off and eventually became the precipice for Pepsi Cola Bottling.

The brothers Al and Ed worked as salesmen at the Grand Pop Bottling Company. In fact, several of the boys in the extended family worked at the bottling company.

They would take trips periodically to visit Sophia’s mother’s family in Indiana. Alfred and Sophia’s son, Ed, remained in contact with Sophia & Georg Haarmeyer and considered them “his people in Indiana.” Actually, they were his great aunt and uncle.

Unknown Child From Ed & Betty Gross’ Photo Album, probably Alfred Jr. or Edward.

In January of the year 1937, there was an incredible flood in Cincinnati. The Ohio river reached a peak of 80 feet on Black Sunday, January 24^th . The streets of downtown looked like canals and people were riding through the streets in boats. This flood surpassed the 1887 flood in depth. The river did not recede to below flood stage until February 5^th.

Thousands of residents were left homeless. The radio announcers were calling for any available men to come to the aid of their fellow citizens by volunteering to help rescue efforts and of course anyone with a boat at their disposal was enlisted.

In the midst of all of the chaos, ten tanks of gasoline exploded and caused major fires that destroyed many homes and about ten factories, thirty-two buildings in all.

Street traffic during 1937 flood — Eastern Avenue

Alfred Sr. continued to work as a post office clerk until he retired. He was lucky to have a stable job during those turbulent years during the Great Depression.

Al Jr. and his wife, Ethel, lived with Sophia and Alfred Sr. on Crestline Avenue. Alfred Sr. also owned a camp down by the river where they often had parties.

Alfred Gross (Center) at his camp by the river.

The family lost Sophia on November 15, 1940. She was only forty-seven years old when she died. She was buried at Vine Street Hill Cemetery in Cincinnati.

Her children were in their twenties at the time of her death. Ed had just married two years prior –having eloped to Indiana. His wife was Elizabeth Henrietta Walkenhorst.

After Sophia’s death, Alfred remarried to a woman named Alice Bradley and moved to 437 Crestline Avenue.

Later they moved to 3217 Vine Street. Alfred had five grandchildren and one great-grandchild before his death at the age of sixty-nine in 1960. He was also laid to rest at the Vine Street Hill Cemetery.