Editors Note: Below is a brief and incomplete biography of my grandfather and grandmother, Joseph and Theresa (Schmaltz) Senger. Most of the information comes from handwritten documents provided by Cecilia Senger. From these documents came most of the details (e.g., names and dates) and a couple of the stories that Joseph Senger passed along to Cecilia in 1972 and 1977. Most of the other information comes from my personal (mostly childhood) recollections of grandma and grandpa Senger. As such, the biography is very incomplete. If anyone has any corrections, suggestions, or possible additions, please contact Bob Burdett.

Theresa Schmaltz - from Russia to South Dakota (1898)

In 1898, Theresa immigrated to the United States with her parents and siblings.

The family arrived in New York City in December. They quickly moved on and celebrated their first USA Christmas in Chicago. They filed homestead in the spring of 1899 in Edmunds County, South Dakota (near the city of Bowdle). The family (except for Jacob, who was of age and had to take out papers) became citizens of the United States in 1903 by proving their homestead.

Joseph Senger was born in Odessa, Russia on September 17, 1889. He lived in Strassburg, Russia for the first nineteen years of his life.

Joseph's ancestors had moved to Russia from Germany during the reign of "Queen Catherine the Great." She gave them free land grants.

Some of Joseph's relatives belonged to the "Cuzahse" Russian army. He remembered his Uncle Paul, his father's brother, riding a white horse, as a soldier in the Russian army.

In 1908, Joseph immigrated to the United States with his parents, brothers and sisters.

Joseph noted that they had left Russia because of the terrible hard times and the unfair treatment that the poor people received.

The family left their home in Strassburg, Russia and sailed from Odessa, Russia around October 9, 1908. It took them 14 days to sail (third class) across the ocean. They landed in Baltimore, Maryland on October 23 or 24, 1908.

Editor's Note: The family surname may at one time have been spelled "Saenger." One family story has US immigration "simplifying" the spelling.

The family took a train from Baltimore to Aberdeen, South Dakota and then moved on to Strasburg, North Dakota.

Three years later, in 1911, Joseph and the family moved from Strasburg, North Dakota to Bismarck, North Dakota. Joseph lived in Bismarck the rest of his life.

Joseph Senger's Immigration Recollections (as documented by Ceile)

Story #1: "While waiting for the ship to sail [from Russia to the USA], they heard this loud music and talking in German. Dad's [Frank's] brother Wendline [?] said there was a man inside the victrola (grapherphone in German), which had a big horn on it. So dad asked the steward -- and he told them it was a machine that you wind up and has a record on the top. They were all so surprised as they never had seen one before."

Story #2: When they were waiting to take a train from Aberdeen SD to Strasburg ND, Joseph's father, Frank, wanted to nap until the train arrived. Joseph and his sister, Helen, were to keep watch while Frank and the others napped. While Frank was napping a man sat next to him and tried to steal his gold watch and chain. When Joseph saw this he screamed and yelled in German "Fatah" (Father) and the man ran off. Joseph's father mentioned this to the German women who managed the tiny coffee shop in the depot. The German women told them that, "there were many thieves trying to rob the foreigners, thinking all Germans and Russians were stupid and dumb."

Joseph Senger married Theresa Schmaltz in Bismarck on November 20, 1914. They lived in Bismarck the rest of their lives (most of that time at a small house at 320 South 10^th Street in Bismarck.

Over the next twenty plus years they had twelve children. Two of the twelve children died in their infancy.

To support such a large family, Joseph (Joe) Senger had to work a number of jobs.

He was an "iceman" for a number of years. In the days before refrigeration, ice would be frozen during the winter, stored (e.g., in sawdust - for insulation) and distributed by men such as Joe to all of the households and businesses that needed ice for cooling. The job was very physical. Horse-drawn wagons were used to haul the ice along the iceman's route. The iceman would use tongs to pick up and carry the heavy blocks of ice from the wagon to the customer's icebox.

Joe Senger also worked as a bartender (Palm Gardens / Johnnies Bar) for awhile.

Editors Note: My uncles would sometimes take me to the bar while grandpa was working. It was quite exciting for a pre-teen youngster to hang out at the bar, drink a cool one, and play some tabletop shuffleboard. My Uncle Mike reminded me that when I was really young (3 years old?), I had apparently memorized a "Chip and Dale" book to the extent that it appeared like I could read it. Uncle Mike would show me off (bet?) to his "beer drinking buddies" at the bar.

Editor's Note: My grandfather was 59 when I was born and as such most of my memories of him are associated with his "retired" years. One of my main memories involves the garden.

Gardening was very important to my grandfather. When I say gardening -- I mean "food" (e.g., potatoes, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, carrots, lettuce, cabbage). I suspect that part of his interest in gardening resulted from his need to feed his large family -- but I believe that his German-Russian heritage also had a lot to do with his interest in gardening.

In suburbia today, most people have very small, if any, gardens. Gardening more often than not refers to "grass" and "flowers." The "food" gardens are typically small. The backyards of most suburban homes are nicely landscaped with lots of grass.

My grandfather's backyard was almost all garden. You had to go to the front yard to find a little grass. Multiple crops were planted in the same area (i.e., late season crops replaced early season crops, early crops were placed between rows of late season crops). The rain gutters on the roof of the house led to a 55-gallon barrel. Grandpa would haul this rainwater, in pails, to the area of the garden that required extra water. That is how seriously the garden was taken -- quite a change from the automatic sprinkler systems of today. A chicken coop was located along the alleyway in the back for awhile -- to provide some eggs and "fried chickens."

The produce from the garden was enjoyed in season, and the extra produce was stored (potatoes and onions), canned (beans, beets), frozen and/or pickled (cucumbers). The garden produce was thus enjoyed all year.

In the article "Germans from Russia" noted earlier, there were a couple of general topics that still applied in my grandparent's neighborhood in Bismarck.

The first topic was "Hofs in the Dorf." The German colonists in Russia lived in farmyards, called a Hof or yard, which were located side by side in a village called a Dorf. The dorf (village) and hof (homestead) design in Russia contributed to their ability to sustain an unmixed culture, to protect themselves, and to preserve their ideas and beliefs. In Russia the people lived in agglomerated villages which consisted of households bordering the roads. Attached to the rear of each hof were narrow strips of land on which were grown the gardens, the fruits, and other items of domestic consumption.

The German-Russians took the "Hofs in the Dorf" concept and incorporated it in my grandfathers neighborhood. The hofs (homesteads) were the same. My grandfather's garden was the narrow strip of land attached to the rear of the hof, on which the items of domestic consumption were grown.

The dorf (village) was the square block on which my grandfather's house was built. All of the lots were long and narrow. All of the hofs had big gardens in the rear. The culture of the block was unmixed. Virtually everybody living in the area was German-Russian, and most of those living on the block were related. My grandfather's sister (Catherine) lived in the hof to the south. My grandfather's brother (Matthew) lived in a hof to the north. This arrangement -- this close knit community -- protected them and preserved their German-Russian identities.

The other topic in the "Germans from Russia" article that was still applicable in my grandparent's dorf involved the three precepts repeated below. They were:

• Never lose your religion.
• Never lose the mother (German) tongue.
• Never lose your (German) nationality.

The long wandering German-Russians were attempting to hold to these precepts in the United States, just as they had in Russia. This was very obvious and easier for those that moved from Strassburg (Russia) to Strasburg (North Dakota). It was a little harder for those that moved from Strassburg (Russia) to Bismarck, but the 300 block of south 10^th Street was still a dorf -- where the above noted precepts could be maintained.

• The 300 block of south 10^th Street was as Catholic as Strassburg, Germany; as Catholic as Strassburg, Russia; and as Catholic as Strasburg, North Dakota. St. Mary's Church was the German-Russian Catholic Church in Bismarck. Sunday Mass was, as far as I could determine, mandatory at the Senger hof. Daily Mass, Rosaries, Stations of the Cross, etc., were also attended frequently. Religious statues and paintings were located throughout the hof.

• German was spoken in the hof and in the dorf. At the big family dinners (lots of beef, chicken and garden produce) that I attended with my parents, English was usually spoken -- probably as a courtesy to my father, my sister, and me. As my grandparents, my mother, my uncles and aunts would talk; someone would inadvertently interject a German word. This "word" would often act like a switch, as the conversation would instantly shift from English to German, leaving my father, my sister, and myself in the dust. It was especially funny, when after speaking in German for an extended time, someone would ask (in German or English) what we though about the topic of the conversation -- the topic that we had long before lost track of.

• World War II probably impacted the third precept above the most. Within the dorf, during WW II, the foods, language, dance, etc. were still German but the German-Russians were probably stressing the "Russian" (e.g., Ukraine) more than the "German." Because of their "looks," they were treated much better than Japanese-Americans (on my wife's side of our family) during WW II. I found it somewhat ironic that the Japanese-Americans that were interred in Bismarck ND during WW II were sometimes guarded by German-Russian-Americans.

Theresa Senger was a pretty good cook. Before she married, she worked as a hotel chef. Over the years she cooked and did housecleaning outside the home. As the Sengers had no car, she would sometimes have to walk miles to these outside jobs. She also took in laundry to bring in some needed cash. She had a hard life.

Theresa Senger died first. She passed away on April 19, 1969. I was away at college at the time of her death. She was 77 years old when she died.

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Editor's Note: The rest of the information is genealogical in nature. Some of the information, especially dates, is suspect (i.e., the handwritten documents contained conflicting information).

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Frank Senger

Born October 7, 1865 [in Russia]

Son of Joseph and Kathlene (Wolf) Senger

Married: October 15, 1888

Died October 29, 1940 in Bismarck (age 75)

Elizabeth (Schnieder) Senger

Daughter of Laurence and Helen (Wolf) Schnieder

Born November 1, 1865 in Russia

Married: October 15, 1888

Died, August 3, 1951 in Bismarck (age 85)

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Joseph Senger had 4 brothers and 4 sisters as noted below:

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Helen (Seiler or Wald) Senger

Born: January 6, 1887 or 1888 in Odessa, Russia

Died: October 19, 1963 in Zeeland, North Dakota

Helen was the oldest when the family immigrated to the US (age = 21).

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Frank Senger, Jr.

Born: in Russia (1887-1889?)

Died in Russia when he was 3 years old (1900-1902).

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Died: January 28, 1978 in Bismarck.

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Matthew Senger

Born: November 20, 1891 in Odessa, Russia

Died: June 29, 1977 in Bismarck

Matt Senger was almost 17 when the family immigrated to the United States.

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Anna (Marback} Senger

Born: November 21, 1899 in Odessa, Russia

Died: December 14, 1971 in Bismarck.

Anna was almost 9 years old when the family immigrated to the United States.

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Catherine Senger

Born: April 7, 1902 in Russia

Catherine was 6 years old when the family immigrated to the United States.

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Elizabeth (Schnieder) Senger

Born: September 19, 1904 in Russia

Died: December 4, 1985 in Bismarck.

Elizabeth (Betty) was 5 years old when the family immigrated to the United States.

Joseph had two other brothers that apparently died before adulthood.

Matthew #2 died when he was 8 years old (in Strasburg, North Dakota?).

Michael died when he was 9 years old (buried at sea on trip to USA?).

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Laurence Schmaltz

Born: 1859

Son of Michael and Theresa (Stroh) Schmaltz from Kandel, Russia

Died: July 16, 1903 in Bowdle, South Dakota (Age 44)

Cecile (Kraft) Schmaltz

Born: June 26, 1862

Daughter of Gregory and Katrina (Geier) Kraft from Bardel, Russia

Died: September 30, 1926 (Age 64)

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Laurence and Cecile Schmaltz had five children:

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Jacob Schmaltz

Born: December 1881

Died: October 23, 1906 (age 24)

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Joseph Schmaltz

Born: January 23, 1886

Died: January 9, 1964 in Belle Fouche, South Dakota (age 77)

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Elizabeth (Hoffort) Schmaltz

Born: June 30, 1888

Died: June 5, 1956 in Portland, Oregon (age 67)

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Died: April 19, 1969 in Bismarck, North Dakota (age 77)

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Augustine Schmaltz

Born: February 6, 1899

Died: March 15, 1903 in Bowdle, South Dakota (age 4)

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On 3-25-05, the spelling of Bowdle, South Dakota was corrected and Aunt Arlene's memories were added.

On 3-27-05, added information and editors note on the "Roosevelt Bar." Also added several "Aunt Geri" memories (canning/baking, Bingo, soap opera).

On 4-06-05, I corrected the information on grandpa's bartending career, per input from Uncle Mike: " Grandpa Senger never worked at the Roosevelt Bar. A dentist (Dr. Priskie) owned a bar called the 'Palm Gardens.' John Thomas worked for him, as did my dad. John eventually bought the bar and changed the name to Johnnies Bar."