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Emma Waldner Schlatter,
My Paternal Grandmother
We know very little about Emma. My father, Emma's second son, talked
very little about his parents and his early years -- in fact, he said almost
nothing on these topics.
We know these facts about Emma:
| Date |
Event |
Notes |
| 26 December 1885 |
Emma Waldner born, Baden, Germany |
Family legend says her father was a civil engineer working on a
road project in Germany when Emma was born. |
| 25 September 1910 |
Emma Waldner marries Adolph Schlatter |
Info from Adolph's application for US citizenship dated march
1923 |
| 31 October 1910 |
Emma and Adolf arrive at Ellis Island |
Ellis Island records list the following:
Date of entry: 31 October 1910
Ship: SS Lapland
Sailed from: Antwerp on 22 October 1910
Adolf Schlatter; age 47; baker
Nationality: Switzerland
Last residence: St. Gallen, Switzerland
Destination: Memphis
Emma Schlatter; age 27; housewife
Nationality: Switzerland
Last residence: St. Gallen, Switzerland
Destination: Memphis |
| 21 May 1911 |
Emma's first son, John, born, Cleveland, MS |
|
| 1 August 1915 |
Emma's second son, Joseph, born Cleveland, MS (my father) |
|
| 1920 |
Adolph, Emma, and two sons listed in US census |
|
| 26 October 1921 |
Emma's third son, Fred, born Cleveland, MS |
|
| 1930 |
Adolph, Emma, three sons, and Emma's brother Louis listed in US
census |
|
| 1 May 1948 |
Emma dies in hospital, Greenville, MS |
See details of Emma's death
below. |
Here are the only photos we have of Emma.
Adolph and Emma. Date unknown but we suspect this photo was made in
1930. Note the goiter evident on Emma's neck -- more about that later.
Adolph died in November 1930. The effects of his stroke are evident in
this photo -- he seems to not have use of his left arm and the left side of
his face is distorted.
Adolph and Emma's three sons: L-R -- Joseph (b. 1915, d. 2005);
John (b. 1911, d. 1960); Fred (b. 1921, d. 2010)
Note that the background of this photo resembles that in the photo of Adolph
and Emma, above. Handwritten notes on the back of this photo of the
three sons reveal that the photo was made in 1930, thus, I believe the photo
of Adolp and Emma was taken at the same time -- 1930.
A handwritten note on the back of this photo of Emma says it
was taken when her youngest son, Fred, left for military service in WW II.
Fred enlisted in 1942; this picture probably dates from sometime in 1942.
I do not know the location of the house, though it no doubt is in Shaw, MS.
Emma seated on bench, probably in front of Schlatter bakery in
Shaw, MS. Unknown date.
Because Emma was born in Germany and never became a US citizen,
she was declared an "enemy alien" during WW II and was required to register with
the FBI. I have in my family history files her alien registration booklet.
Here are photos of two pages from that document.
Look closely at Emma's throat, above the scarf -- you'll see what appears to
be a scar on her throat. In the photo of Adolph and Emma, probably made in
1930, she has an obvious goiter. According to other information she was
operated on in 1934 to remove the goiter. This document is dated February
1942 (see postmark). The mark on her neck probably is a surgical scar from the
goiter operation.
My mother told me the FBI confiscated two items from Emma because of her
alien status:
- A pistol that my grandfather owned.
- An AM radio that tuned up into the low shortwave bands that Emma
would use to listen to German-language broadcasts from Germany and
Switzerland.
- After the war, the radio was returned and I recall that we
listened to news broadcasts on the radio every night after supper. The
pistol was not returned.
In this lawsuit, filed five years after Emma's death, we learn more about her
than we ever knew.
| When Emma died in 1948, she
had a life insurance policy that paid double the death benefit in
case of accidental death. When she died, the policy paid
normal death benefit. A few years later, her sons sued the
insurance company, claiming that her death was accidental and they
should have been paid double indemnity. Their claim was
denied. Here is an excerpt from the record of the suit that
describes her death. |
|
New York Life Ins. Co. v. Schlatter,
C.A.5 1953.
United States Court of Appeals,Fifth Circuit.
NEW YORK LIFE INS. CO.
v.
SCHLATTER et al.
No. 13999. |
|
. . .
Emma W. Schlatter
fractured her hip on April 20, 1948, and died on May 1, 1948.
Appellant paid the face amount of the policy but denied liability
under the double indemnity provision.
At the time of her death,
Mrs. Schlatter was 63 years of age and resided at Shaw, Mississippi,
with her sons who operated a small store. The living quarters for
the family, consisting of three rooms and a bath, were located
upstairs in the back of the store. At one time Mrs. Schlatter had
operated a bakery on the premises, but her health began to decline
in 1934, when she had an operation for goiter, and the year
following she applied to appellant for benefits due under the policy
by reason of her being totally disabled to do any kind of work. She
submitted medical statements in support of her contention that high
blood pressure, heart trouble and other ailments had disabled her
from July, 1935. On the basis of these proofs, appellant admitted
her total disability, waived payment of further premiums as of
January 30, 1936, and paid her $50 per month on account of her total
disability on up until the time of her death. On April 20, 1948,
while alone in a day room in the rear of the store premises, the
insured fell on the floor and fractured her hip.
Freddie Schlatter, one of
the appellees, testified that he was in the store in the front part
of the building when he heard his mother scream, that he reached her
within 3 or 4 seconds and found her on the floor, her foot lying on
a crumpled up rug about 18 feet from the couch on which it was her
custom to rest. He picked her up, and, over objection of appellant,
testified that he asked her what had happened, ‘and she told me that
she had tripped over the cat and slipped on the rug, that she was
getting a drink of water’.
Within 10 minutes she was
examined by a physician, who testified that he saw no evidence of
shock or heart attack, found that she was suffering from a fractured
hip, and ordered her taken immediately to a hospital. An operation
was deferred for ten days. Mrs. Schlatter withstood the operation,
but about twelve hours later died.
The record is replete
with evidence covering the physical condition of Mrs. Schlatter from
1935 until the time of her death, consisting of: (1) statements by
Mrs. Schlatter at periodic intervals in support of her claims for
disability benefits; (2) written reports made by physicians in
connection with such claims; (3) hospital records of her condition
on eight separate occasions; (4) testimony of her sons and of
*186 friends who claimed to be conversant with her physical
condition; and (5) the testimony, as to her last illness, of Drs. J.
G. Peeler and Charles T. Berry, who were called by appellees, and
Drs. C. L. Field, T. M. Riddell, and J. B. Archer, who were called
for the appellant. To state that evidence at length would unduly
prolong this opinion.
. . .
|
Emma's headstone, Schlatter plot, Shaw town cemetery, Shaw,
MS.
Here is a letter
that Emma wrote to my mother after receiving a telegram from my parents
announcing my birth (December 1944).
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