Annabelle: The People

Aunt Aggie and Clara were both Jessie’s sisters. Agnes Mae (1891-1980) was the youngest of the three sisters. She married Hervey Northrup (1875-1953) in January, 1920. Hervey was a “Cattle Buyer,” according to his obituary, and also served on the town and school boards. He had been widowed previously and had one son from that marriage, Albert (1910-1988). Agnes and Hervey had another son, Hervey Jr. (1924-1953) in May, 1924, who (according to Annabelle’s diary) served in WWII. The two lived in Waupun for the rest of their days. Hervey Sr. died in 1953 and Agnes died in 1980.

Clara Jane (1882-1983) married Edward Landgraf (1875-1964) in July, 1901, in Milwaukee. He was a carpenter and built houses. They lived in Milwaukee while they had their three children, Lucille (1904-1997), Maude (1906-2004), and Truman (1907-1989). Clara died at the age of 101 in 1983 after outliving her husband, who died in 1964. Interestingly, Annabelle doesn’t ever talk about her cousins much, with the exception of mentioning that Hervey Jr. was serving in the war.

Uncle Louis (1896-1981) was one of William’s brothers. As I said in the narrative, he had many siblings, but Louis is the only one that Annabelle mentions. He lived in Mecan, Wisconsin an was married to Lillie (Fredrick, (1900-1991). He owned a Gasoline and Automobile Service Station and was called a “Service Man” in the 1950 Census. Lillie and he had one son, Alvin Louis (1921-1992). Louis died in 1981 and Lillie died 10 years later.

The Conely’s were a family that Annabelle was close to. She often spent the night at their house and was friends with the daughters. The family was made up of the parents, Vincent (1890-1931) and Elsa (1891-1986), and six children, Bernice (1918-2004), Mildred (1919-1998), Vincent Jr. (1921-1997), Olive (1923-1990), Wilma Mae (1929-1992), and Eleanor (1931-1958). In 1931, the father of the family, Vincent, died leaving Elsa to raise their six children. He had been an electrician. I’m not sure how she brought money in after his death because she isn’t listed as having a profession in the 1940 and 1950 census. In any case, she remained in Fond du Lac for the rest of her life.

It seems that Annabelle was closest to the two oldest girls, Bernice and Mildred, which makes sense since Annabelle was also born in 1919. Bernice lived with her mother and younger sisters until sometime after 1950. She worked as a stenographer right after high school and then became a Payroll Clerk for the US Census by 1950. Sometime soon after, she married Charles Zimmerman (1918-?); he was a “Caterpillar Operator” for the City Street Department of Fond du Lac. They went on to have two daughters. She died in 1998 and is buried in Fond du Lac. Mildred married Charles Callahan (1916-1991) sometime before 1943 and they had four sons and one daughter together. By 1950, they had moved to Polk County, Iowa, and Charles was working at an Accident Insurance Company as a “Casualty Superintendent.” Before she died in 1998, they had moved back to Fond du Lac and she is buried there.