When my Grandmother was 15 years old she was sent to America to help care for a sick aunt. She left her comfortable home on the 23 August in 1899 and arrived in Ellis Island on the 30th of Aug. She was met there by her Uncle Issac and taken to Champlain ,New York. There she was to help care for her aunt. She told me herself, the only words of English she knew upon arrival where, ice cold milk and donuts. She had learned them from a barker on the steamship. When others, mostly cousins of hers, asked her what she wanted she said she would ask for ice cold milk and donuts. Fortunately her Uncle Issac spoke her native language Swedish. As it turned out that aunt passed away. Grandmother went to a cooking school and became a pastry chef. In a story lost to time she some how wound up working for a wealthy family named Gardiner. This family owned and still does, its' own Island. An ancestor of those that hired my Grandmother was a man named Lion Gardiner. In a strange twist in all of this Lion Gardiner is also my 10th great grandfather ! Funny how family trees can intermingle like that.
It was while working for this Gardjner family that my grandmother met my grandfather Horace. Now Horace, by all accounts, was a bit of a drinker. The story is told that he would be gone days at a time, off on a bender. Grandmother was left caring for the children and making a living as best she could. Grandfather Horace must have showed up often enough however, Grandma had ten children ! My mother was the youngest of those kids and is the only one surviving today. Most of what I know I have been told by her.
For a number of years Grandma worked in the manor house on the Island. She would take her two eldest with her and take a boat across the bay to work each day. Grandma lived down in a place called Northwest right on the harbor. At some point Mr. Tommy, that was the Gardiner that Grandma worked for, asked her to work at his house on Main Street uptown. No longer would she have to take a boat with small children and go to work. It was only a walk of about three miles from Northwest to this house. She accepted the offer. The story is that one time Mr. Tommy saw Grandma walking with her children, in the winter on her way to work. He is said to have asked her where Horace was. Grandma had no choice but to tell him she didn't know, but he was off somewhere drinking. After that Mr. Tommy had an old way station, once used as a layover spot for carriages, moved to a small piece of property less than a mile from his home. He held the mortgage on this house, which he insisted be only in my Grandmothers name. Horace was not to have his name or any rights to it. Mr. Tommy was afraid Horace might sell it. And so it was in that house that Grandma lived. It was added onto over the years by Grandfather Horace. He did have periods of productive endeavors but the demon of liquor stayed with him.
My Grandmother lived in this house and raised ten children there. She tried leaving Grandfather Horace once. She went to her brothers house in Massachusetts. Grandfather followed her there and convinced her to come home. Oh, I hear he was a silver tongued devil that Horace. Grandmas' brother told her he would pay for her passage and the children back to Sweden if that is what she wanted. When she declined her told her to never ask again. Grandmother had sealed her fate.
The rest of Grandmothers family, some still in Sweden and others here in America were quite prosperous people. They owned their own businesses. They certainly weren't wealthy but what you might call well to do. Grandma, with her ten children in an old way station, after leaving the employ of Mr. Tommy ( reason unknown ) took up doing laundry to get by. She did that until the age of 77 or so. Although she never said so I knew she was embarrassed to have any of her family come to visit. My mother told me she and her Mom did go visit an uncle one time when she was a child.
Grandmother fell in that house and broke her hip. She was taken to the hospital and there was an accident there. She was left unattended and fell off a stretcher in the hallway. She sustained a concussion and some brain damage. Following that she only spoke Swedish and her memory was altered. She passed away in a nursing home.
That is the short version of her life. I wonder if she ever wanted to come to America ? I'm certain when she was fifteen the life I just described wasn't in her plans. I always knew Grandma as a happy lady. I never heard her complain about anything. She worked every day morning to night. I now she only came to my house one Christmas and that was an event. Grandma never went anywhere. She had a long life and a tough one. It wasn't what I would call the American Dream. I wonder how she really felt. I do believe her Bible sustained her over the years. There was no back up to her ! She moved forever forward, an inspiration.
It was while working for this Gardjner family that my grandmother met my grandfather Horace. Now Horace, by all accounts, was a bit of a drinker. The story is told that he would be gone days at a time, off on a bender. Grandmother was left caring for the children and making a living as best she could. Grandfather Horace must have showed up often enough however, Grandma had ten children ! My mother was the youngest of those kids and is the only one surviving today. Most of what I know I have been told by her.
For a number of years Grandma worked in the manor house on the Island. She would take her two eldest with her and take a boat across the bay to work each day. Grandma lived down in a place called Northwest right on the harbor. At some point Mr. Tommy, that was the Gardiner that Grandma worked for, asked her to work at his house on Main Street uptown. No longer would she have to take a boat with small children and go to work. It was only a walk of about three miles from Northwest to this house. She accepted the offer. The story is that one time Mr. Tommy saw Grandma walking with her children, in the winter on her way to work. He is said to have asked her where Horace was. Grandma had no choice but to tell him she didn't know, but he was off somewhere drinking. After that Mr. Tommy had an old way station, once used as a layover spot for carriages, moved to a small piece of property less than a mile from his home. He held the mortgage on this house, which he insisted be only in my Grandmothers name. Horace was not to have his name or any rights to it. Mr. Tommy was afraid Horace might sell it. And so it was in that house that Grandma lived. It was added onto over the years by Grandfather Horace. He did have periods of productive endeavors but the demon of liquor stayed with him.
My Grandmother lived in this house and raised ten children there. She tried leaving Grandfather Horace once. She went to her brothers house in Massachusetts. Grandfather followed her there and convinced her to come home. Oh, I hear he was a silver tongued devil that Horace. Grandmas' brother told her he would pay for her passage and the children back to Sweden if that is what she wanted. When she declined her told her to never ask again. Grandmother had sealed her fate.
The rest of Grandmothers family, some still in Sweden and others here in America were quite prosperous people. They owned their own businesses. They certainly weren't wealthy but what you might call well to do. Grandma, with her ten children in an old way station, after leaving the employ of Mr. Tommy ( reason unknown ) took up doing laundry to get by. She did that until the age of 77 or so. Although she never said so I knew she was embarrassed to have any of her family come to visit. My mother told me she and her Mom did go visit an uncle one time when she was a child.
Grandmother fell in that house and broke her hip. She was taken to the hospital and there was an accident there. She was left unattended and fell off a stretcher in the hallway. She sustained a concussion and some brain damage. Following that she only spoke Swedish and her memory was altered. She passed away in a nursing home.
That is the short version of her life. I wonder if she ever wanted to come to America ? I'm certain when she was fifteen the life I just described wasn't in her plans. I always knew Grandma as a happy lady. I never heard her complain about anything. She worked every day morning to night. I now she only came to my house one Christmas and that was an event. Grandma never went anywhere. She had a long life and a tough one. It wasn't what I would call the American Dream. I wonder how she really felt. I do believe her Bible sustained her over the years. There was no back up to her ! She moved forever forward, an inspiration.
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