The Matzke Women

March 8th is International Women's Day and March is International Women's History Month. When I hear those words I think of famous and noteworthy women, but I also think of the women in my family. Not a lot of fame but many noteworthy and interesting. Despite being just average folk I've been able to find some of my relatives in the newspaper and I'd like to share their stories in this month's post.

From the writer's collection

Here's a picture of some Matzke women - from left to right they are Josephine Faustman Matzke (my great-grandmother), Christina Matzke Schneider (my great-aunt), Iris Schneider Allard (my first cousin once removed) and Bonita Allard Reis (my second cousin). Before I get to the newspaper article some background on the family.

I've written before about the Matzke family and their long journey to Canada from Romania. The driving force behind this journey was Josephine. She was born on July 8th 1875 in Atmagea Romania, a small village located inland from the Black Sea on the east coast of Romania. Though born in Romania Josephine and her family were of German background and were staunch Lutherans. On February 1st 1894 Josephine married Franz Matzke from the nearby village of Tulcea. Franz had been raised a Roman Catholic but the couple was married in the Lutheran Church. Josephine was in charge from the start!

A young Josephine, from the writer's collection

Josephine had one sibling that I am aware of - her younger brother Karl. Karl had moved to Canada in 1906 and settled in the community of Landestreu in Saskatchewan. Landestreu was eventually renamed MacNutt. No doubt he suggested to his sister the she and her family join him in Canada, and eight years later they did.

The Matzke family - Carolina, Josephine, Christina, Jacobena and Franz 

Life was hard on the Canadian prairies. Franz tried farming but was unsuccessful. He ultimately started a shoe repair business in town. Meanwhile, Josephine managed the family. She was strict - there was no dancing or card playing allowed on Sundays. But her girls were lively and all married young - my grandmother Bena married in 1915 at the age of 17, my great-aunt Lena married in 1919 at the age of 16 and great-aunt Tina married in 1925 at the age of 16.

In 1936 my grandparents left their farm in MacNutt and moved to Winnipeg with their six children. Josephine and Franz followed. It must have been hard to leave behind their two younger daughters as they likely weren't able to visit too often. Lena and her husband Fred had three children, Tina and her husband John had six children.  

And that brings me to the newspaper article that I found. In earlier times newspapers were great sources of social information. I was searching the Winnipeg Free Press for my family and discovered this article dated July 19th 1944:

Courtesy of the Winnipeg Free Press

A visit from Saskatchewan was an exciting occasion for the Matzkes and also made for a great human interest story. The ages of the women make for a neat little fact and I think is a really cool article. You'll note that Tina's eldest daughter Iris continued the family tradition of marrying early and starting a family right away!

The picture may have been taken by the newspaper photographer and presented to Josephine but I don't know for sure. I do know that she treasured the photo and had it nicely framed. Unfortunately all the women in this picture have now passed away. On International Women's Day I'm remembering them and all my other female ancestors.

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Longevity runs in my family

My mother just turned 90. Hard to believe but she's in great shape and I anticipate she'll keep going strong for some time to come. But she's not the only one in our family. Here's a picture of my mom and two of her siblings when they were kids. Coincidently the two siblings in this picture are the two that are still alive: her younger brother is 85 and her older sister is 97!

From the writer's collection L to R, mother, Uncle Len, Aunt Vi

Even though their three other siblings are now deceased all lived to a good age - my two uncles were 82 and 85 and my aunt was 90. Here's a picture of my grandmother with her four eldest children. I'm not sure if the baby is my mother but it's possible. Not sure who the other two children with the snazzy hats are, could be cousins. So being born on a farm in Saskatchewan obviously was a healthy start to life!

From the writer's collection. L to R u/k, Aunt Bertha, Uncle Art, Uncle Henry, Grandma Bena, my mother?, uk, Aunt Vi

Or perhaps the longevity gene came from the Matzkes, about whom I've already written. My grandmother Bena Matzke Besler unfortunately died from lung cancer at the relatively young age of 75. But her two younger sisters lived long lives. Christina Matzke Schneider lived to 81 and Carolina Matzke Mundt lived to 102! Their father Franz (Frank) Matkze lived to 85. All the Matzkes were born in Romania and managed the arduous trek to Canada so obviously some good genes there! Here is my favourite picture of the Matzke family again.

From the writer's collection. L to R Caroline, Josephine, Christina, Jacobena, Franz Matzke

However, there's some longevity on my father's side as well. My grandmother Getrude Kingswell Brooks lived to the age of 86. Here is a great photo booth picture of her. I call this my glamorous grandma Gertie picture!

From the writer's collection

Her youngest sister Christina Kingswell Clegg also lived to a good age dying at 91. Here's her glamorous photo booth shot, probably from the same time!

From the writer's own collection

Their sister Olive Kingswell Glover lived to 93and their brother William Kingswell to 96. 

On my father's father's side my great-grandfather John Andrew Brooks lived to the age of 88. Here's a picture of him as a young man. I'll be writing more about John and his family in the future.

From the writer's own collection

All in all I have almost 50 ancestors that were born in the 17th, 18th, 19th and early 20th century that lived into their 80s, 90s, and even 100s. Life expectancy in the 17th and 18th century was about 35. In the 19th century it was around 40-45 and in 1900 50 for males and 51 for females. Currently it is around 80. Seeing this you would think that it would be odd for people to live as long as my ancestors did. However, the cause for the low average life expectancy was the prevalence of death in childhood. If people were able to survive childbirth and the many childhood diseases that one would encounter in the days before vaccines and modern healthcare they could live as long as people today.

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The Matzke's Incredible Journey - Part Two

(please read part one of the post below)

The ship the Matzkes sailed on was the Cassandra. In a 1980 letter to me my aunt Caroline told me the ship was beautiful and it sank during the First World War. Here is a picture of the Cassandra:

From the Library and Archives Canada website

The family sailed from Glasgow on July 4th 1914, bound for Quebec and Montreal. Here is the boarding list:

From the National Archives London website www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Their last name was misspelled and they are listed as citizens of Austria. The boarding list tells me they sailed from Antwerp, Belgium to Leith, Scotland via the Gibson Steamship Line. I wasn't able to identify a ship they may have boarded in Antwerp but this was a common route.

The journey took 9 days, ending in Quebec city on July 13th 1914

From ancestry.ca, Library and Archives Canada

They are correctly listed as Romanian on this list. What strikes me as odd is the fact that their destination is listed as MacNutt Saskatchewan. How in the world out of all the places in Canada did they choose that tiny town? Only 80 people live there now, not many more in it's heyday. Wish I'd thought to ask my grandmother about her family's journey to Canada when she was still here.

The Matzke's Incredible Journey - Part One

In July 1914, 102 years ago, Franz and Josephine Matzke, along with their three daughters, landed in Quebec City. Franz and Josephine were my great-grandparents and their eldest daughter Jacobena was my grandmother.  This picture of the Matzke family was taken in 1914 in Tulcea Romania.

Caroline, Josephine, Christina, Jacobena and Franz (from the writer's family collection)

The Matzke's incredible journey began in April 1914 when they received their passport from the Romanian government.

From the writer's family collection

All four family members were named on the passport and the document features French and Romanian text. Interesting, I would have thought German would have been the second language.

Somehow, on the verge of World War One the family made their way across Europe to travel to Canada. The current driving distance between Tulcea Romania and Glasgow Scotland is 3513 kilometers. That's quite a distance, particularly in that time period. I presume they took a train, but I can only imagine the hardship of the journey and the length of time the trip took.

To be continued...