Joseph, Della, & Virginia...1920

Joseph, Della, and 9 month old Virginia (my Mom) lived at 1420 North 23rd Street in 1920. They rented the house. Joseph, a repair mechanic at the Electric company was 25 and Della was 27.

The location of the residence was in North St. Louis close to where Della grew up. Joseph was raised in South St. Louis.

It is noted that Joseph's mother and father were from Alsace Loraine, France and German was their native tongue. On the other hand, Della's parents were from Ireland and their native tongue was Irish.

The Loss of Lena...my Great Grandmother

Lena Gressel was born in Germany on August 3, 1870 and she died as Lena Froehly in St. Louis, Missouri on March 25, 1915. Late March in St. Louis is a time when the winter weather begins to break as the temperature starts to warm. Rains fall and snows melt as the waters in the creeks and tributaries flow into the rising Mississippi River.



It was almost 3 years since Lena lost her beloved husband, Alfred and her youngest son, Larenz to the currents of the river. The memory must have been too hard to bear as the anniverary of their deaths was rapidly approaching. Afterall, the flowing Mighty Mississippi was in sight each and every day as the Froehly's house was just a short walk to the riverbank. That is where Alfred and his son, Larenz went fishing on the night of May 24, 1912.


The story goes that the 13 year old boy somehow was taken by the river's current and Alfred went into the water to save his son. At some point both were pulled from the river, but it was too late. On the report, the time of death was given as 10 p.m. that evening. When I asked my Aunt Dolly about this event she told me that she had heard that the father and son were still clinging to one another as rescuers retrieved the bodies.


Lena 44, Joe 21, Mary and Clara now lived at the house on 3730 Salena St. since the passing of Alfred and Larenz. Their home was just south of Soulard and the Annheuser-Busch brewery, an area where many Germans lived back then. Who knows what pressures the family faced with the losses? One can only imagine what their lives were like back in 1915 without their loved ones. Apparently, it became too much for Lena as one day she decided to end her life by drinking a clear, sweet-smelling liquid. She was then rushed to the City Hospital in an attempt to save her, but it was to no avail as she died the following day, March 25, 1915. It was ruled a suicide and the cause was carbolic acid poisioning.


My Grandfather, Joe Froehly signed the death certificate for his mother and had his mother laid to rest at New Picker's cemetary. The location was just across the street on Gravois Avenue where Alfred and Larenz were previously buried. Joe, Mary, and Clara were now on their own.

On a side note...the death certificate indicates that the Froehly Family lived in St. Louis for 16 years. This means the family arrived in St. Louis in 1899 and Alfred was 37, Lena 28, and Joseph 5 years old. More than likely the family took the train from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to St. Louis, Missouri as Joseph was born in Pittsburgh. When the family traveled to St. Louis the Eads bridge (1874) was the only bridge to cross the Mississippi River at that time. The bridge was built with two levels; one level was for train traffic and one level was for regular road traffic (horses). The only other way to cross the river would have been by ferry. By taking the train the family would have arrived at the beautiful Union Station which opened five years earlier in 1894.

Joseph & Della Froehly

The image of this posting is taken from the US census taken on April 11, 1930. The location of the family was St. Louis, Missouri and the census states that Joseph & Della were each 37 years of age and they had four children. Joseph and Della were 24 years old when they married. Both Joseph & Della would have been born in 1913, however I have been told by my Mom & Aunt Dolly that my Grandmother was older than my Grandfather.

According to the information contained in this census Joseph was born in Pennsylvania and it was actually Pittsburgh as I will show you in another posting later. His mother & father were both born in Alsace Lorraine, France. Della on the other hand was born in Missouri. Her parents, Michael & Catherine Geraghty were born in Ireland and immigrated to the United States in 1882.

In 1930 Joseph & Della Froehly owned their home and it was valued at $2,000.

Virginia, 11 was the oldest child. Ryan and Joseph were 9 year old twin boys and Katherine was the youngest at 5. ...Note Ryan as he was called at that time is actually my uncle Chubby. His given name is Michael Ryan as his middle name was the maiden name of Della's mother. My other Uncle Joseph was known as Junior. My Aunt Dolly's first name is Katherine with a K.