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The Next Generations
Otto
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Otto Zaehring
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By 1910, Otto, William and Auguste’s first child,
was living at 172 Hillside Ave in the southern
part of Newark, NJ with his parents.
Sometime after his father’s death he and his
mother, Auguste, moved to a house he built himself
on Wesley Place in North Arlington. At some point,
he suffered a severe case of frostbite on his ears
while working outdoors, making the cold New Jersey
winters quite painful. For this reason he went
south each winter to Florida where he worked until
spring before returning to his home in New
Jersey. His winter home in Palm Beach
County, Florida was a small house on a small farm
about five miles inland from the ocean where he
grew, among other things, potatoes. Each
time he came north in his Model T Ford5, he
brought citrus fruit for the family. One
year his nephews chipped in to buy a Model A car
since his Model T was worn out. But when it
was time to go south to Florida he sold it and
bought another Model T, apparently unable to get
comfortable with a standard stick shift. (Model
T’s essentially had just a “forward” and
“reverse”.) He would make these trips in about
three days which, considering he was in a Model T
on 1930s roads, is really “pushing it.” He
remained single his entire life. He
died April 15, 1945 in Palm Beach County,
FL. To quote his nephew, “He was a very good
man.”
Margaret
Margaret, William and Auguste’s second child,
married John Frederick Belus between 1895-97, who
was himself no stranger to immigrant problems,
having come to this country from Germany as a
young teenager in 1880. They had three
children, Eleanor, born August 24,1898, William
Charles, born September 29,1901 and John Frederick
Belus, Jr. born May 31,1906. By 1910 they
too had moved from Brooklyn to 194 Devon Street,
Kearney, NJ, where John, Sr. worked as a machinist
at the pumpworks nearby. Margaret died about
1925. One anecdotal fact in family memories
is that Margaret served as a governess for the
Adams family, of Adams chewing gum fame.
Eleanor
Eleanor (nicknamed “Lo”) went to Coleman
Business College where she met and married
William H Becker. They moved to a large
house at 42 Morgan Place, Kearny NJ in 1922 and
lived there for 55 years. They had two
children, Virginia and William, Jr.. The house
was expanded to accommodate her mother Margaret,
which resulted in the current breakfast room.
Uncle Otto did the wonderful woodwork in the
house. Both of Eleanor’s brothers lived with
them until they went off to school or out on
their own. William (Bill) Becker had a
printing company in Newark, with the Howard
Savings Bank as a major customer in the early
years. It was relocated to Keyport, NJ in
the late 1970's after Bill turned it over to his
son, Bill, Jr.. Eleanor’s niece, Gretchen,
bought the Morgan Place house from them in 1978.
They also had a summer home a few blocks from
the beach at 103 Worthington Ave in Spring Lake,
NJ. Eleanor always said it was in Belmar,
because Spring Lake had a reputation as the
Irish Riviera. Virginia married Donald M Bastido
and had two children, Jane and Susan. William
Henry Becker, Jr. married Patricia Gray and had
three children, Wendy, Christopher and
Pamela.
William
Charles Belus
William Belus worked in the Dupont plastics
plant in Kearny until 1938 when he married
Lillian Godfrey and moved to Miami, Florida.
There they had two children, William, Jr. born
September 28, 1939 and Margaret Florence (called
“Gretchen”) born November 14, 1948. Eleanor and
Bill Becker took a vacation every winter and
visited them in Florida each year. William
Belus, Sr. eventually died in Miami on May 19,
1968. His wife Lillian subsequently died in
Jacksonville, Florida on September 13, 1984.
Gretchen married Wayne D Slocum and had one
child, Laura Gretchen Slocum, born December 17,
1969. They moved to New Jersey and eventually
bought Eleanor and Bill Becker’s Morgan Place
home. Laura married Kris Stensland on September
30, 1991on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. They
have two children Katherine Shelby born October
11, 1997 and Tyler James born on November 21,
2000.
William Jr married Brenda Parker in Memphis
Tennessee. They have three children: Kimberly Jo
born on May 21, 1963, Kelley Anne born on
October 18, 1965 and William Charles Belus III
on January 17, 1972. They reside in Bartlett,
Tennessee.
William Jr married Brenda Parker in Memphis
Tennessee. They have three children: Kimberly Jo
born on May 21, 1963, Kelley Anne born on
October 18, 1965 and William Charles Belus III
on January 17, 1972. They reside in Bartlett,
Tennessee.
John Belus,
Jr.
John Belus, Jr. married (Evelyn) Agnes Bodden
and had two children, Paul Richard Belus (who
married Margaret Landis) and Brian David
Belus. Paul Belus has two sons, John
Franklin and David. Brian Belus married
Maryan Kolb and has two children Michael and
Katie. Much of the family remained in the
New York - New Jersey area.
Max
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Max & Elsie
Zaehring
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Max, William and Auguste’s third child, married
Elsie Weise, born November 22, 1882, in 1909
6. William hand-made a round mahogany table
with two matching padded chairs as a wedding
present. After living briefly in Brooklyn,
they moved to the bottom floor of a tall but
narrow multifamily house on the corner of Bergen
and Highland Ave (105 Bergen Ave), Kearney, NJ, on
top of the ridge overlooking the Passaic River
several blocks away. Max was a machinist at
the pumpworks (perhaps together with John Belus,
Sr.). They had three sons there, Robert William
Zaehring born February 19, 1912, Rudolph Otto Max
Zaehring born September 21, 1914 and Bernard Carl
Zaehring born May 4, 1916. They moved to Princeton
Ave, Scotch Plains in 1921. In the 1930s,
Max grew gigantic strawberries, which he sold from
a stand down on the main street. Max died
March 17, 1944. Afterward, the family built
Elsie a tiny cottage next door where she lived
alone for many years, supporting herself as a
housekeeper to a number of families who remembered
her fondly. She carefully tended gardens all
around her little cottage in what was Plainfield,
then Scotch Plains and subsequently part of
Westfield, New Jersey. Elsie died in 1982.
The cottage remains almost the same as originally
built, but without Elsie’s bountiful garden. Their
sons lived for many years in New Jersey and
eastern Pennsylvania, although all three ended up
in Florida.
Robert William
Robert William, Max and Elsie’s oldest child,
first married Ruth Mauser and had three
children, Barbara, Robert William, Jr. and
William Thomas, who all grew up in New Jersey.
After their divorce, Grandma Elsie was a
significant part of the children’s upbringing,
taking the three children in for a number of
years. They all had chores, Barbara
remembers ironing everything– even underwear.
Eventually, Ruth remarried Clarence Gaston and
the three children lived with her for their
remaining upbringing. Clarence lost his hand in
an accident at the picture engraving company
where he worked. Barbara, Robert’s oldest
child, married Andrew Johnson, lived in Scotch
Plains and Toms River, NJ and had 5 daughters,
Sharon, Gail, Cathy, Barbara and Andrea.
After working as a mechanic for a number of
years at Mack Truck, Andrew moved the family to
Naples, Florida in 1975 where he continued
as a mechanic and eventually owned a gas
station. Robert William Zaehring, Jr.,
Robert’s second child, (who never acknowledged
the “Jr.”) married Mary E Polison and had
two children, Katherine and Michael. They
lived in North Plainfield, New Jersey for many
years until August 1972 when they moved to
Indiana due to Robert’s job with Ingersoll
Rand. Robert died in 1999. Michael
Zaehring married Lisa, lived in North Carolina,
and has a daughter, Nichole and a son Douglas.
Katherine Zaehring has one daughter, Mary and
lives in Indiana. William Thomas Zaehring,
Robert’s third child, first married Virginia
Kohl and had four children, Virginia L,
William Henry, Thomas Warner and Robert Kenneth,
who grew up in South Plainfield, New
Jersey. For a number of years William
Thomas worked for the Post Office. After
their divorce, Virginia took back her maiden
name. Virginia L Zaehring, William T. and
Virginia’s first child, has two daughters,
Virginia Bernice Zaehring and Jennifer Lynn
Zaehring. Jennifer has one daughter,
Elizabeth Gillian Briers. William Henry
Zaehring, William Thomas, Sr.’s second child,
married Ann Lapatta and had one daughter,
Heather born in 1984. He was subsequently
married to Carol and then briefly to Pamela
(with no children)and lived in Virginia.
Heather, his daughter, married and has her own
family. His mother lived with them for
some time. Thomas Zaehring, William Thomas,
Sr.’s third child, married Debra Fowler Zaehring
July 13, 1989 and lives in North Carolina.
Robert Kenneth Zaehring, William Thomas, Sr.’s
fourth child, married Ellen Zimmerman Zaehring
before moving to Wisconsin. William
Thomas, Sr. subsequently married Barbara Vogt
Zaehring and lived in Maine. They have two sons,
Shawn Zaehring and William Thomas Zaehring, Jr..
The family moved to North Carolina for some time
before relocating to Arizona. Shawn
married Jennifer Jancewitz Zaehring (now
divorced) in Arizona. He has since
remarried to Tara Trakes and lives in Maine with
two children. William Thomas Zaehring, Jr.
also lived in North Carolina for some time.
Subsequently, Robert, Max and Elsie’s oldest
child, married Ruth Sengstack and had one child,
Richard J, born about 1942. They lived in
New Jersey and Pennsylvania before moving to
Florida. Robert died in 1995.
Richard Zaehring first married Judith Simcox
Zaehring and had one child, Holly. Judith died
in 1993. Holly Zaehring married Richard Andress
and has a son Jesse Mason Andress and a daughter
Emily Joy. Richard was a metallurgist for
many years. Richard subsequently married Theresa
Koller Zaehring. They too live on the east
coast of Florida, where Richard is an avid
sailor.
Rudolph Otto
Max
Rudolph, Max and Elsie’s second child, married
Dorothy E Gehman in 1939. Originally they
lived in Nixon, an area between Metuchen and
Rahway, NJ. They had two daughters, Peggy
born in 1941 and Linda born in 1944. They
moved to Surf City on Long Beach Island, NJ in
1945, the year after the devastating hurricane.
Rudy was a mechanic who worked on outboard
motors and other small engines They
typically moved to north Jersey each winter to
keep earning a living. After a number of
years they moved to Beach Haven, where Rudy
owned and operated an outboard repair shop and
small marina. Peggy Zaehring married Henry
Chamberlain and eventually moved to Florida.
They have two children, Christian and Kevin.
Peggy died of cancer in May, 2006. Linda
married William Charles Kurz and had one son,
William Karl Kurz, who married Karyn
Murray. They live in Florida after serving
as missionaries around the world, and have three
children, Steven, Emily and Jonathan.
Linda Zaehring then had a daughter by Joseph
Smutts, who is now Holly Tomporowski.
Linda married Frank Milano and lives in New
Jersey. Rudolph sold his business and
retired to Florida, where he died in 1979. His
wife Dot lived in the same home in Florida for
many years.
Bernard
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Bernard
Zaehring
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Bernard, Max and Elsie’s third child, married
Mabel Tulloch and lived in Rahway, New Jersey,
where he first worked for Merck Chemical and
then Standard Oil. They had three sons,
Craig born in 1941, Daniel born in 1945 and John
born in 1949. In 1953, the family moved
from Rahway to Middletown, NJ where all three
sons grew up. Craig, Bernard’s first son,
married Cynthia Stanton, lives in Massachusetts
and has three daughters, Emily, Vanessa and
Rebecca. Daniel, Bernard’s second
son, married Andrea A Atkinson on June 10,
1967 and had two children born in Hawaii, James
born 1976 and Jennifer born 1981. They
subsequently moved to Washington State.
James married Michelle Beaver and now lives in
the Seattle, WA area. They have two sons, Judah
and Samuel and a daughter, Zoe. Jennifer married
Bryan Johnson and also lives in western
Washington with their two children, Hazel and
Gustav. John, Bernard’s third son, married
Janice M Campbell and has one daughter Julia,
who has a son, Carson. After living near
Tallahassee, Florida for many years John retired
from the Post Office and moved to Port Orange,
FL. Bernard and Mabel, having lived most
of their lives in New Jersey moved to central
Florida, after Bernard retired with 20 years
from the Post Office. Mabel died in May,
2006. Bernard died in 2012, the last of
that generation.
Frank
Frank, William and Auguste’s fourth child,
married Nellie Sherman, daughter of George and
Hannah Forrest Holman. They had a daughter,
Arriadna born November 15, 1905. The 1900
census and a 1909 city directory reported his
occupation as a baker. Frank died before 1910.
(Interestingly the 1910 census shows Auguste
having 5 children with 4 living.) By 1920, Nellie
and Arriadna had moved to Alameda, CA to live with
Nellie’s sister, Grace Sherman, who ran a
boardinghouse there. Nellie is listed in the 1920
census as Nellie Bowers, a widow. According
to her sister’s family she remarried a Mr Rollins
(or Robins) in California. Arriadna married
Joel Carr and had one daughter, Doris Mae Carr.
Arriadna married Mr Swan by the time of her death
on September 24, 1960 in Alameda County, CA. Her
daughter, then referred to as Mrs Doris Clark, had
several children. I have not found any more
information about this branch of the family.
Ernest
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Ernest W.
Zaehring and Sarge
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Ernest,7 William and Auguste’s fifth child, was a
private in the Marines, having enlisted in 1908 at
the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He was stationed in
the Phillippines at the time of the 1910
census. He also served in Guam, Shanghai and
Boston. He subsequently married Helen
Raichel and had one child, William Ernest, born in
1916. They lived in Arlington, NJ before moving to
Bristol, PA. Ernest died in 1944.
William Ernest
Zaehring, Sr.
William Ernest married Myrtle Davis and had one
son, William Ernest, Jr. born in 1940.
William Ernest, Jr remembers his grandfather
turning over all his shoe rations during the war
so that as a young boy he would have decent
shoes, something his grandfather had gone
without, resulting in lifelong foot
problems. Perhaps related to this, one of
the notations in his Boston military record
reveals that he lacked the required two pairs of
regulation shoes. William Ernest, Sr.
lived many years in Pennsylvania before moving
to California and marrying Alberta. He
died in 1996. William Ernest, Jr. married
Daniene Cheatham and has three children, Holly,
born in 1960, Kris, born in 1963 and William
Ernest III, born in 1971. William Ernest,
III. has a daughter. William Ernest, Jr is
now married to Nancy and lives in California as
did William Ernest, III. Holly is married
to Steve Presnal and has three daughters.
Kris married Elton Powers on April 26, 1982 and
has two daughters, Eslin Rhea Zaehring born in
1981 and Tara in 1984. Elton died in an
accident in 1985. Daniene and her daughters’
families live in Texas. Eslin now has two
daughters.
There are numerous stories of the family either
getting together or looking out for each
other. New Year’s Day celebrations in 1934
included the Bill and Eleanor Becker family and
various Zaehrings huddling around the Becker’s
radio in Arlington listening to the Rose Bowl.
Columbia, in its only appearance there, was
playing Stanford. (Columbia won 7-0.) In
another memory, the Ernest Zaehring side of the
family came to Max’s funeral, but found
themselves in bitter cold snowy winter with only
an open Ford coupe. Cousin Rudy drove them
back to Bristol, Pa in his closed car and then
when the weather was better the next weekend he
and his wife Dot drove both cars down to return
the coupe. Numerous Zaehring’s remember
with fondness visiting Elsie Zaehring’s house,
seeing her garden and sharing her homemade ice
cream. Many more family stories could be
added here.
There remains a few “stray” Zaehrings. One,
who apparently is not related (at least on this
side of the Atlantic). It is a story in
itself. Werner Zaehring was the subject of a
search originating in Germany sent to many of the
Zaehrings in the family. He was born on
December 30, 1909 in Berlin, lived in the United
States for many years, most recently at Kew
Gardens in Queens, NY before dying in August 1978
in Stuttgart, Germany. If he is related, it is
through Wilhelm’s siblings or parents (ancestors)
on the German side of the Atlantic.
The other is a companion to Wilhelm and Max on
their voyage here, Friedrich Zaehring, listed on
the manifest as age 34 and a laborer. Since there
is no further reference to him, until additional
information is found it is presumed that he
returned to Germany or died very soon
thereafter. One possible connection is the
family tree of Adoph Zering in Connecticut lists
his father as Friedrich Zaehring. With a name
change like that, it would almost be the same as
disappearing. In any event, there has so far been
no direct family connection found.
Prepared by Dan Zaehring 1008 Park Street Friday
Harbor, WA 98250
(360) 378-6353 E-mail dan@zaehrings.com
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