52 in 52 "Fresh Start" Hilda Ida Berkel McIntire (1 of 52)
I'm going to try and do a better job with the #52in52 this year, I think I wrote maybe a dozen last year, but we had some good ones, and hey, quality over quantity, right?
Anywho, this year's first theme is "Fresh Start." I actually wasn't sure who I was going to write about this week, until I opened ancestry just a little bit ago, followed a few leaves, and opened my 1st cousin 2x removed, Hilda Ida Berkel. I actually thought the record hints I was viewing were incorrect at first, but after a few verification checks, I saw what an amazing life Hilda eventually lived. Not only that, but she absolutely fits the Fresh Start theme for this week: Born to first generation German American parents (and a bit of a scandalous father) Hilda moved from poor rural Midwest to New York, only to marry very rich and live out the rest of her days in luxury. A fresh start, indeed.
My second great-grandparents, Benedict and Pauline Heigert, emigrated from Waldulm, Baden-Wurttemburg Germany to the US March 17th, 1870. Their fourth child and first daughter, Paulina Mary"Lena" Heigert was born December 1874 in Madison county Illinois. At nineteen, Lena married Ignatius Lorenzo Berkel, himself a son of German born immigrants. It seems the couple moved around a bit; they were married in Macoupin county Illinois, Hilda was born in St Louis Missouri, but her brother Harry was born just two years later in Staunton, back in Macoupin county, where her family would continue to live and Hilda would eventually be buried. Ignatz could have been trying to find work in the city, but then gave up as his family began to grow and took them all back home to Staunton. I am not sure on this one, so it's all speculation at this point.
Little Hilda Hilda's Confirmation
As for the scandal; Ignatz and Paulina had six children; Hilda (1896), Harry (1898), Walter (1902), Estella (1909), Elmer (1913), and Delores (1916). By the 1920 census Ignatz is living in St Clair county with his marital status listed as divorced, he marries Lena's cousin Elizabeth Brockman in 1921, and she has their first child Netah the same year. They too are divorced by 1927. OK, so maybe it's not a scandal per se...but divorce sure wasn't encouraged, and marrying your ex-wifes cousin in what seems to be a shotgun wedding most likely because you knocked her up....again, it's pure speculation until I get dates for records, but either way, it doesn't look great for Ignatz. To be fair, Elizabeth divorced Ignatz so she could marry her third husband, so it's just a bunch of running around on everyone's part at this point.
By the 1930 census, Hilda has married a man by the last name of Hall and is living in New York City. I can't find the 1920 census or their marriage record, but by 1930 she's a roomer and listed as single at 203 West 103rd St, working as a waitress. Thus far, she probably doesn't think her life has gone much the way she wanted it to. And then she meets Paul McIntire.
Paul Goodloe McIntire was born May 28th, 1860 in Charlottesville, Virginia to George and Catherine (Clark) McIntire, the fourth of seven children. He married his first wife, Edith Clark, in 1891 and his one and only child was born, monikered after his beloved city; Charlotte Virginia. Edith and Paul divorced, and he married again, to Anne Rhodes, in 1921. Anne passed away March 27th, 1933 and Paul married Hilda April 18th, 1934. They would stay married until his death in 1952.
Hilda hit the jackpot, and it must have been a whirlwind romance. Paul had made a fortune, first in coffee sales, and then purchased a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. He was a generous donor to numerous schools in the Virginia area. His Wikipedia page cites "McIntire was a generous philanthropist. Virginia historian Virginius Dabney notes that he gave nearly $750,000 to the University of Virginia in named gifts, in addition to gifts to the city of Charlottesville and other anonymous donations, and that by 1942 he had given away so much of his fortune that he "was struggling to live within his annuity of $6,000."[1] He is best remembered for his $200,000 gift establishing a school of commerce and economics, today the McIntire School of Commerce, in 1921." He gifted to the University enough money to form the Department of Fine Arts, which had been planned but never materialized until his more than generous gift. He donated enough to build an Amphitheater, and towards a University Hospital. A set of ultra-rare books, financing of a concert series, and 500 works of art and seven sculptures were just some of his donations to his obvious love and respect of music and the arts. And if that wasn't enough, in 1929 he founded a children's tuberculosis hospital in France, earning him the French legion of Honor.
The couple traveled extensively: To Naples Italy aboard the ship Conte Di Savoia in 1935, and to Southampton England aboard the Volendam in 1936. I can only imagine the concerts and plays and venues they attended in New York. They lived and played in New York until Paul's death July 1st, 1952. Hilda herself didn't pass until 1994, but she never remarried. She was brought back to Staunton and buried near her family, and not much has ever really been said about her. Paul's deeds are extensively covered but Hilda is rarely mentioned, or his other wives for that matter. Either way, it's an amazing story, a rural backwoods girl moving to New York and living out the rest of her days in luxury. A Fresh Start indeed.
*If anyone has any more info, or especially images of Hilda and Paul, I'd love for you to share! I'll put the call out here as I seem to get much more traffic on the blog then anywhere else. I would LOVE to see a wedding picture, I could only image her dress!
Anywho, this year's first theme is "Fresh Start." I actually wasn't sure who I was going to write about this week, until I opened ancestry just a little bit ago, followed a few leaves, and opened my 1st cousin 2x removed, Hilda Ida Berkel. I actually thought the record hints I was viewing were incorrect at first, but after a few verification checks, I saw what an amazing life Hilda eventually lived. Not only that, but she absolutely fits the Fresh Start theme for this week: Born to first generation German American parents (and a bit of a scandalous father) Hilda moved from poor rural Midwest to New York, only to marry very rich and live out the rest of her days in luxury. A fresh start, indeed.
My second great-grandparents, Benedict and Pauline Heigert, emigrated from Waldulm, Baden-Wurttemburg Germany to the US March 17th, 1870. Their fourth child and first daughter, Paulina Mary"Lena" Heigert was born December 1874 in Madison county Illinois. At nineteen, Lena married Ignatius Lorenzo Berkel, himself a son of German born immigrants. It seems the couple moved around a bit; they were married in Macoupin county Illinois, Hilda was born in St Louis Missouri, but her brother Harry was born just two years later in Staunton, back in Macoupin county, where her family would continue to live and Hilda would eventually be buried. Ignatz could have been trying to find work in the city, but then gave up as his family began to grow and took them all back home to Staunton. I am not sure on this one, so it's all speculation at this point.
Little Hilda Hilda's Confirmation
As for the scandal; Ignatz and Paulina had six children; Hilda (1896), Harry (1898), Walter (1902), Estella (1909), Elmer (1913), and Delores (1916). By the 1920 census Ignatz is living in St Clair county with his marital status listed as divorced, he marries Lena's cousin Elizabeth Brockman in 1921, and she has their first child Netah the same year. They too are divorced by 1927. OK, so maybe it's not a scandal per se...but divorce sure wasn't encouraged, and marrying your ex-wifes cousin in what seems to be a shotgun wedding most likely because you knocked her up....again, it's pure speculation until I get dates for records, but either way, it doesn't look great for Ignatz. To be fair, Elizabeth divorced Ignatz so she could marry her third husband, so it's just a bunch of running around on everyone's part at this point.
Paulina and Ignatz Berkel wedding picture, 1894
Hilda Burkel
Paul Goodloe McIntire was born May 28th, 1860 in Charlottesville, Virginia to George and Catherine (Clark) McIntire, the fourth of seven children. He married his first wife, Edith Clark, in 1891 and his one and only child was born, monikered after his beloved city; Charlotte Virginia. Edith and Paul divorced, and he married again, to Anne Rhodes, in 1921. Anne passed away March 27th, 1933 and Paul married Hilda April 18th, 1934. They would stay married until his death in 1952.
Paul McIntire
The couple traveled extensively: To Naples Italy aboard the ship Conte Di Savoia in 1935, and to Southampton England aboard the Volendam in 1936. I can only imagine the concerts and plays and venues they attended in New York. They lived and played in New York until Paul's death July 1st, 1952. Hilda herself didn't pass until 1994, but she never remarried. She was brought back to Staunton and buried near her family, and not much has ever really been said about her. Paul's deeds are extensively covered but Hilda is rarely mentioned, or his other wives for that matter. Either way, it's an amazing story, a rural backwoods girl moving to New York and living out the rest of her days in luxury. A Fresh Start indeed.
*If anyone has any more info, or especially images of Hilda and Paul, I'd love for you to share! I'll put the call out here as I seem to get much more traffic on the blog then anywhere else. I would LOVE to see a wedding picture, I could only image her dress!
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