Fredricks Vaudeville Stage Show

August Bert Fredrick was the half-brother of my husband’s great-grandmother, Bozana Fridrich Svejkovsky. He was born on the 31st of August 1883. His 1907 marriage license names his parents as, “Jas Pessick and Frances F Fredrick”.  It is uncertain whether his parents were ever married. I became interested in AB Fredrick’s story when I learned he was a “vaudevillian”. Searching the traditional family resources, along with newspapers and Billboard magazine opened up his story.

In 1946 Anna Stransky sent a letter to her cousin Bill Svejkovsky in Oklahoma. She shared some family news and mentioned her Uncle August and his family, who she had hardly known - “. .  the last time we heard of them they were traveling with a Circus side-show.” Family members were surprised that August had gone into “that sort of life.” In the early twentieth century, when August Fredrick was beginning his family, he operated a postal route near Geddes South Dakota. But, the 1930s and 40s found he, his wife Vera, and his two children Carlyle and Maxine, caught up in the Show Business life.

The Fredrick family may have begun this new life by “joining the circus”. They capitalized on their various talents by forming a sort of family group.  They made their home-base in Houston Texas and travelled primarily in Texas. August Fredrick was both a performer and promoter; his wife Vera Frush Fredrick was a magician; son Carlyle Fredrick a musician; and daughter Maxine Fredrick an aerial artist.

1932 City Directory of Houston Texas
Aug B Fredrick (Vera M); Orient Ball Room, manager
Carlisle M Fredrick; Musical Fredricks Novelty Band, director
Maxine, Miss; musician; Musical Fredricks Novelty Band
Musical Fredricks Novelty Band; home 5400 Harrisburg Blvd

Billboard (magazine) was founded in Cincinnati as a trade publication for men who posted “bills” on walls. From its first issue in 1894, Billboard covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs and burlesque shows, and also created a mail service for traveling entertainers.  August Frederick and his family used the Billboard mail service, and occasionally purchased promotion ads.

AB Fredrick circus unit has signed with Rice Brothers. It consists of musical act; Madam VeOra, magic and illusions; Major Dot, midget for Side Show; Maxine Fredrick, tight wire and rings; and Fredrick's trained dogs for big show. Will leave for Jackson Tennessee.
The Billboard, 21 March 1936.

In 1943 the family matriarch, Vera Frush Fredrick, died. She was remembered with a brief obituary and a memorial statement in Billboard.  

Vera M Frederick, 53, known as Madam Ve_Ara, magician, at Memorial Hospital. Houston, October 22 following a long illness. She formerly toured with the Frederick Vaudeville Playhouse tent show. Survived by her husband AB Frederick; a daughter Maxine, aerial artist; a son Carlyle, for the musical act, Fayne and Foster; and a foster son Louis L Stice, in the armed service. Interment in Brookside Memorial Park, Houston.
The Billboard, 13 November 1943.

In Memory of Our Dearly Beloved Wife and Mother “Madam Ve-Ara” Who passed away 22 October 1943. Husband – AB Fredrick, son – Carlyle I Fredrick, daughter – Maxine C Fredrick.
The Billboard, 4 November 1944.

Following Vera’s death the family forged on, placing occasional ads in Billboard’s magazine through the 1940’s.    

Wanted at Once; Team or family with specialities, anything suitable for three night stand vaudeville Tent Show. Established Texas territory. Long season; AB Fredrick, 4845 Yale Street, Houston Texas.
The Billboard, 5 April 1947.

Wanted - Single or Team doing two or more spots for Fredricks vaudeville stage show (tent), little spots, short jumps, two and three night stands. Texas only, long season. AB Fredrick, 302 Payne St, Houston Texas.
The Billboard, 16 April 1949.

The great depression years signaled a slow demise for the canvas playhouses of the Midwest. Vaudeville disappeared and the small circus began a decline.  Radio shows kept people at home, and after WWII, television and air-conditioning held sway.  Carlyle Fredrick married Mary Pearl Dozier in 1934. Maxine Fredrick married her ‘foster brother’ Louis Stice in 1946. There is no evidence that either had children. August Burt Fredrick died in 1967.  His obituary describes him as “retired entertainer and operator of a local trailer park”. He is buried with his wife Vera at Brookside Memorial Park in Houston.


Would you like to know more?

Tent Shows, by Randy Mallory, December 2018.
At the turn of the 20th century, traveling circuses and repertory theaters brought live shows to the Texas countryside. Blog Post appearing at the Sam Houston Electric Cooperative website.

About the Photo:
Trapeze Artist, by James Lechay, 1940; Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Andrew Albert Burr and WWI Field Hospitals

In 1917, at the age of 23, Andrew Burr signed up for the draft, and set out for service in WWI.  His records indicate that he served as a private for Field Hospital Co No 12.  It has been a challenge to determine exactly where he was during the War, but company histories suggest that he worked with a medical unit that was eventually established at Bonvillers in Northern France. He could have performed a variety of jobs such as ambulance driver, stretcher bearer, surgical assistant, cook, or cleaning crew. No detailed records for Andrew Burr’s particular role have been found. 

The term Field Hospital covers several types of medical units that were set up near the front lines of the war.  These were generally the places where wounded soldiers went for triage (assessment) and stabilization of wounds before transport. After triage, they were taken by ambulance to the evacuation hospitals. The Field Hospital Co No 12 moved about to different locations during the war and served both as a triage location and an evacuation hospital. 

 

On the 22^nd of April 1918, Field Hospital No. 12 opened in a large chateau in Bonvillers. It treated the most severe and non-transportable wounded, of whom it admitted 1,220 between April and July 1918. At some point (unclear) the medical operations at Bonvillers were referred to as an American Base Hospital, where surgeries and longer term care was offered.

An internet search turned up an amazing, first-hand video of the medical support provided at Bonvilliers during WWI. Very interesting! Under the topic of WWI Field Hospitals, the description reads - Raw footage of ambulances, medical men and nurses around tents; soldiers walking past other large medical tents on large estate grounds at Bonvillers, Picardie [France].

As mentioned above, no detailed records of Andrew Burr’s type of work have been found.  The University of Kansas Medical Center presents an interesting collection of articles on their website related to the establishment and daily work of American Base Hospital No 28 in Limoges, France during WWI.  A few details from these articles might serve to “frame a picture” of what Andrew Burr was connected with during the war. 

During stateside training non-medical enlisted men received training in treatment of shock, injuries from poison gas, limb amputation, identification and removal of shell fragments, and reconstructive surgery.

The American military set up base hospital clusters located from 50 to 200 miles from the front.  The rhythm of the hospitals was largely determined by the arrival of ambulance trains from the front.

On 27 July an ambulance train with 600 wounded and sick soldiers arrived at Base Hospital #28 at 9:30 PM. In spite of the hospital station platform being dark, Dr. Hibbard and all available staff triaged patients quickly and by 3:00 AM all patients, including some with very serious wounds, were in appropriate wards in their beds. The process of "renovation" as Captain Sherman Hibbard described it, was the transformation of filthy, louse-infested, weary, sick and wounded soldiers into clean patients with warm meals in their stomachs.

To accomplish this goal the effort and dedication of a huge support staff was needed.  This “unnamed” group included Andrew Burr, our ancestor.

Andrew Burr was demobilized in August of 1919. He departed from Brest in France and arrived back in the US at Hoboken New Jersey on the first of September 1919.  He was discharged from service on 24 Sept 1919 at Camp Dodge, Iowa. After his war service Andrew Burr spent some time with his family in Nebraska and then removed with his older brother Edward Burr to homestead in Wyoming.

 

For more details on Andrew Albert Burr, visit his page at the Family Stories website.

 

Further Reading:

WWI Field Hospitals. 221694-07; Description:  Raw footage of ambulances, medical men and nurses around tents; soldiers walking past other large medical tents on large estate grounds at Bonvillers, Picardie [France]. 10 minutes.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS6ufYuRcWo

Medicine in the First World War; Base Hospital #28; University of Kansas Medical Center.

 

About the Photo: 

Chateau de Bonvillers (no date). United States Army Base Hospital No 12, Located at Bonvillers in Northern France.  Images from the History of Medicine; The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain.

 

Moving back in time:  Kevin Andrew Germann 1978 > Gary Germann 1958 > Elsie Josephine Burr 1930 > Andrew Albert Burr 1894.

Andrew Albert Burr is the great-grandfather of my son-in-law, Kevin Andrew Germann.

 

Whitchurch Connections to the Past

For many years I have been aware of a tradition among Whitchurch descendants, that their Whitchurch ancestor was “the first printer of the King James Version of the Bible”.  Like many family traditions (myths) there are elements of truth, coupled with suspect interpretations.  In a previous blog post I took a look at Edward Whitchurch (c.1500-1561), printer of the Great Bible.  A period of more than one hundred and fifty years passes between  Edward Whitchurch, the sixteenth century English printer, and Thomas Gilbert Whitchurch who appears in late eighteenth century America, residing in New York.  This blog post looks at a few clues that could eventually provide an ancestral pathway connecting the two men. The path is tenuous at best.  Hopefully future work will reveal more.  Pam Garrett, 2021.

Edward Whitchurch lived during the first half of the sixteenth century, in the reigns of the English King Henry VIII and his progeny.  He was a prominent printer of London, and was noted for his enthusiastic support of the reforming protestant movement of his age, and for making available the Great Bible. Researchers record four children for Edward Whitchurch, three daughters and one son – Edward Whitchurch jr.  Beyond his name, no clear evidence has surfaced to define this younger Edward Whitchurch.

A large family of Whitchurchs were established at Frome in Somersetshire by the beginning of the seventeenth century. A significant collection of documents reflect that they were successfully pursuing the merchant, and related trades, of the period.  They appear on a list of men licensed to trade in Virginia tobacco (1634), and have connections to the East India Company.  A 1681 Will for William Whitchurch of Somersetshire establishes a group of brothers - William, Edward, James, Samuel, and Leonard Whitchurch.

A brief biography of James Whitchurch, Apothecary, living during the mid-1600’s, identifies him as the son of Samuel Whitchurch of Frome, “one of a prominent family of mercers, drapers and salters.” He left quite an amazing Will and codicil in 1692, highlighting his activities and possessions.  

Another curious player in the Whitchurch family story is James Whitchurch (1703-1786) of York House in Twickenham, London.  He is a descendant of the Whitchurchs at Frome in Somersetshire; a grandson of James Whitchurch, Apothecary. His business connections were extensive, and included trade in Virginia. He and his wife, Mary Rust, purchased York House in Twickenham about 1746, and it remained the Whitchurch home for almost forty years.  Mary predeceased her husband and died without issue.  James Whitchurch’s 1786 Will, with codicils, runs to fifteen pages, and introduces a broad spectrum of interesting people, connected by family, business and church. A mention of Matthew John Gilbert and his sister Elizabeth Gilbert in his Will, seemed worth pursuing.  But, there was nothing to suggest a connection between James Whitchurch of Twickenham and the Whitchurchs in America.

In the late years of the eighteenth century a man that Whitchurch researchers name as Thomas Gilbert Whitchurch shows up in New York City.  His wife is called Bethia, sometimes Bethia White, and he is noted as the ‘immigrant’ to America for a large family of Whitchurchs scattered throughout the United States today.  Evidence for Thomas Gilbert Whitchurch is scant. But, his likely children do present themselves more clearly – Thomas, John, Bethia, Mary, and William Whitchurch.

Descendants of Thomas Gilbert Whitchurch hold to the ‘Bible printing ancestor’ tradition. Hints and clues keep that story alive.  But, much further work needs to be done to strengthen the pathway.


For more details on Thomas Gilbert Whitchurch, visit his page at Family Stories, pamgarrett.com.

Further Reading:
Edward Whitchurch: Bible Printer; posted on the Family Stories Blog, 17 January 2022.
The Twickenham Museum website.  Places > Twickenham > York House

About the photo:
Mansion at Twickenham; print made by James Peller Malcom, 1782-1815; from the collection of the British Museum.  Note – The British Museum website gives the description “View of a large neo-classical villa . . “.  Other sources identify this illustration as “York House, 1808”.  A comparison with more recent photographs of York House in Twickenham suggests that they could be one in the same.  James Whitchurch lived at York House about 1746-1786.  

Moving back in time:  Otis Sylvester Garrett 1894 > Isaac Sylvester Garrett 1860 > Celia Whitchurch 1833 > William Whitchurch 1778 >Thomas Gilbert Whitchurch c.1750.
Thomas Gilbert Whitchurch is my husband’s 4xgreat-grandfather.

Edward Whitchurch – The Bible Printer

For many years I have been aware of a tradition among Whitchurch descendants, that their Whitchurch ancestor was “the first printer of the King James Version of the Bible”.  We need to consider a variation on this theme.  Over the years I have collected bits and pieces of information related to this story, but after a more considered study, I am beginning to get a clearer picture. The English printer who is being considered is Edward Whytchurch or Whitchurch, who lived about 1500 to 1561, primarily in London.  He was not connected with the King James Version of the Bible (printing begun in 1611).  He was most closely associated with the printing of the “Great Bible”.   Pam Garrett, 2021.

“Edward Whitchurch or Whytchurch (died 1561), protestant publisher, was a substantial citizen of London in the middle of Henry VIII’s reign.  His business was probably that of a grocer.  He accepted with enthusiasm the doctrines of the protestant reformation.  In 1537 he joined with his fellow citizen Richard Grafton in arranging for the distribution of printed copies of the Bible in English.”  
from – Edward Whitchurch’s biography published in England’s Dictionary of National Biography.

Whitchurch and Grafton worked together for a number of years printing Bibles in English and other protestant literature.  Their first printing efforts took place in France, but that shortly met with disapproval and they established their presses in England at the ‘House late of the Graye Freers’.  That is where the Great Bible was first published in April 1539.

In 1538, the English clergy was directed to provide "one book of the bible of the largest volume in English, and the same set up in some convenient place within the said church that ye have care of, whereas your parishioners may most commodiously resort to the same and read it."  This was the Great Bible, authorized by King Henry VIII, commissioned by Thomas Cromwell, prepared by Myles Coverdale, and printed by Whitchurch and Grafton.  Although called the Great Bible because of its large size, it is known by several other names as well; Cromwell Bible, Whitchurch’s Bible, and the Chained Bible, because it was chained to the church lectern to prevent removal.   

There are documents recognizing royal support for Edward Whitchurch’s printing efforts, but in 1543, following the fall of Thomas Cromwell, Whitchurch and Grafton, along with other printers, were committed to the Fleet prison for printing unlawful books.  They remained for several weeks, but then returned to their printing efforts.  

During Edward VI’s reign (1547-1553) Whitchurch was noted for a number of projects at the sign of the Sun on Fleet Street; including several further editions of the Great Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, primers for school children, and secular books on philosophy and medicine.  The accession of Catholic Queen Mary in late 1553 again brought trouble for Edward Whitchurch, and he determined to leave England.  

A man of wealth and influence, Edward Whitchurch, gave up much in England, before his flight to the continent, possibly to Germany or the Netherlands.  Some of his personal story can be uncovered by looking at the history of Merton Priory and neighboring Growtes Manor.

As a part of his scheme to establish an English Church, King Henry VIII dissolved many of his country’s Catholic institutions, including Merton Priory which resided in the beautiful district of Morden*.  The main priory building, a significant structure, was physically dismantled and the stones were used in the building of a nearby castle. In June of 1553 Edward Whitchurch had the opportunity to purchase Morden from King Edward VI, and he occupied a manor house, Growtes, on the extensive grounds. Sadly, he did not enjoy it for long.   

An article of interest, ‘Growtes: The Home of a Rich Man in 1554’, was written by David Haunton, and published in the Merton History Society Bulletin of December 2009.  Haunton introduces the article:

Edward Whitchurch sold the mansion house called ‘Growtes’, together with the lordship and manor of Morden and all his other lands, houses and rights in Morden, to the Garth family on 7 March 1554 . . for the sum of £460 (at least a million pounds today) . .  

The primary purpose of Haunton’s article is to look at the inventory attached to the Bargain and Sale document, and “explore the taste of a rich man in the mid sixteenth century”.  To that end, the article is very interesting.  But, for purposes here, Haunton’s work is helpful in giving some clues to Edward Whitchurch’s wives and children.  Evidence is scant, but it suggests that Edward Whitchurch was married two or three times.  His first wife remains unclear.  He may have had a wife named Agnes, who could have been the first wife, but was more likely to be second.  Haunton tells us Edward Whitchurch was, “survived by four adult children, presumably of his first marriage; Edward, Helen, Elizabeth and a third daughter whose name is unknown.”

About the year 1556, during his exile on the continent, Edward Whitchurch was married to Margaret, widow of the “tragic” Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. Cranmer was in long service to England’s King Henry VIII. During an early diplomatic mission on the continent Cranmer befriended Andreas Osiander, “leading architect of Nuremberg’s reformation movement”.  In short order, Thomas Cranmer had married Margaret, the niece of Osiander’s wife.  Margaret’s maiden name is not known.  Edward Whitchurch and Thomas Cranmer worked on a number of publishing projects together, and Whitchurch was known to be “Cranmer’s favorite printer”.  After Cranmer’s murder on the 21st of March 1556, the Whitchurch family made an effort to shield and protect his widow and children.   

Not long after Elizabeth came to England’s throne, 1558, Whitchurch returned to his English presses and completed several more projects before his death.  Evidence suggests that he is the “Maister Wychurch”, buried on the 1st of December 1561, at Camberwell in South London.

It is a challenge for today’s researchers to draw a connection between Edward Whitchurch, the sixteenth century English printer, and Thomas Whitchurch who appears in late eighteenth century America, residing in New York. Evidence for both men remains sparse.  Whitchurch family researchers have worked toward drawing a connection but no clear picture has emerged.  There are a few clues of interest.  Hopefully future work will reveal more.


*Today Morden is part of busy south London. Morden Hall Park, operated by the National Trust, is one hundred and twenty-five acres of parkland with the River Wandle running through it. Morden Hall, at the park’s center, was built by the Garth family in the 1770s.  Morden’s Tudor past, represented by Merton Priory, is the subject of an interesting archaeological study.  


Further Reading:
∙ Edward Whitchurch; Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900; Sidney Lee article.
∙ Edward Whitchurch; Alec Ryrie, 2008; published in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
∙ An Auncient Zelous Gospeller . . Desirous to Do Any Thing to Common Good: Edward Whitchurch and the Reformist Cause in Marian and Elizabethan England; Scott C Lucas; 2016.
∙ A Century of the English Book Trade: Short Notices of All Printers; E Gordon Duff; Cambridge, 2011.
∙ Growtes: The Home of a Rich Man in 1554; David Haunton; published by Merton Historical Society, Bulletin 172, December 2009. Available online at the Merton Historical Society website.
∙ Merton Historical Society website.  Excellent!
∙ Merton Priory - History Unearthed; sixteen minute documentary film on UTube. Also Excellent!

About the photo:
Title page from The Byble in English (The Great Bible), prynted by Richard Grafton and Edward Whitchurch, 1539; located through wikimedia commons.

The Whitchurch Family at Silver Creek

St Clair County Illinois rests in the southwestern part of the state and includes the towns of Belleville and Mascoutah.  It borders with the state of Missouri, and the famous prairie town of St Louis-East St Louis, which straddles the border, is within twenty miles of Belleville Illinois.  St Clair County’s earliest form of government divided the county into precincts, but later used the township system.  The Whitchurch farms were located about equidistant from the small St Clair communities of Freeburg and Fayetteville. 

 A description of the area in a St Clair County history, gives detail:

 . . Silver creek, which enters the township on its northern boundary, flows a southerly course, emptying into the Kaskaskia; tributaries furnish water for stock and other purposes. The streams are skirted with a fine growth of timber. The surface is gently undulating, with considerable stretches of rich prairie. The noted Tamarois prairie . . lies partially in this township. The soil is well adapted to all cereals, and produces abundant crops.

Some of the earliest surveys and land grants to immigrant settlers were taken out around the turn of the century.  Family names included Teter, Mitchell, Shook, Griffen, Biggs, Rutherford and Edgar.  By 1814, public domain lands were being purchased from the federal government.  These early purchasers included – James Adams, Matthew Atchison, Pierre Menard, *David Howell, William McIntosh, Samuel Griffith, G Hendricks (to Stephen Whiteside), Samuel Mitchell, William Goings, Thomas Pulliam and Daniel Stookey.

It is not clear exactly when William Whitchurch arrived in the area.  According to family history, William Whitchurch was born in New York City in 1778, and he was married to Elizabeth Howell in 1801 in Knox county Tennessee.  The first record of note in Illinois is when William Whitchurch appears in the 1820 Census, placing him near the Silver Creek “settlement” in St Clair county.  It seems likely that he came to the area about 1815, around the time that *David W Howell, his brother-in-law, purchased, “. . 160 acres, being the NE quarter section 25, April 27th, 1815.“

William Whitchurch was married three times. He was first married to Elizabeth Howell, with whom he had nine identified children.  After her death he was married to Celia Carr in 1824, St Clair county Illinois.  William and Celia had four children.  His final, brief marriage was to Sarah (maiden name unknown).  Sarah was the widow of a Mister Herrin and brought three Herrin children into her marriage with William Whitchurch in June of 1848.  William Whitchurch died three months later, in September 1848.

William Whitchurch and his son built a mill in 1828.  The county history tells us, “. . They did all the work themselves, except the blacksmithing. The stone, which they dressed themselves, was found in David Pulliam’s branch, about three miles south-east of FayettevilIe. It was a round rock about 5 feet in diameter. It was claimed by millers to be equal to any French burrstone. By changing teams, the mill would turn out seventy-five bushels per day. Oxen were mostly used in grinding . . . “

On 21 March 1811, seven families organized the Silver Creek Baptist Church. They met in homes until 1817, when a log church was built.  The church was constituted on the Bible of the Old and New Testament, and stated a stand against slavery.  Members of the Whitchurch family participated in the life of the Silver Creek Church. The deaths of William Whitchurch’s second wife, and two sons appear in the records:  Celia Whitchurch in November 1845, Wessel Whitchurch in January 1849, and James [White] Whitchurch in Nov 1852.

Today the Old Silver Creek church is gone. Families joined with the congregations of Freeburg, Fayetteville and Mascoutah.  An 1863 township map for St Clair County, shows William Whitchurch’s son Gilbert Whitchurch still in possession of the family farms along Silver Creek.  But, by 1870 Gilbert had moved on to Dekalb County Missouri.  A number of Whitchurch descendants remained in the Silver Creek area well into the twentieth century.


*The History of St Clair County Illinois refers to the early settler of the NE corner of section 25 as Daniel Howell.  But, a review of the land records confirms that it was David W Howell.  

Sources:
History of St Clair County, Vol 2; Wilderman, 1907.
St Clair County History; Brink, McDonough and Co, 1881.
Freeburg Centennial Booklet, 1859-1959; available online.


For more details on William Whitchurch, visit his page at Family Stories, pamgarrett.com.

About the photo:
Turkey Hill Farm; from History of St Clair County Illinois; Brink, McDonough and Co, 1881.

Moving back in time:  Otis Sylvester Garrett 1894 > Isaac Sylvester Garrett 1860 > Celia Whitchurch 1833 > William Whitchurch 1778.
William Whitchurch is my husband’s 3xgreat-grandfather.