The Shoemaker

On 27 October, 1848, 173 years ago, one of my great grandfathers, Stephen Eiriener, was born in Ehingen Germany. Ehingen is on the west bank of the famous Danube River. Stephen was the fifth child, and first son, of Johann Eireiner, and Viktoria Meyer. It was a family of, what I believe to be, nine children; after four girls Viktoria gave birth to five sons. Stephen, and his wife Franziska Leidenheimer Eireiner, had seven children.  My grandmother, Amanda Reiner, was the youngest of the seven.  

Ship Manifest, Stephen is third from
top, has year of birth as 1847

The seven children in the Stephen Eireiner family consisted of four girls and three boys. What is interesting, is that the family must have had an exceedingly strong faith as three of the children, two girls and one boy, would go on to religious life. The sad thing is, as the youngest child, my grandmother likely had few, if any memories of her father.  Stephen died in 1893, on 18 May 1893, less than two weeks after my grandmother Amanda's second birthday. In pre-social security America, one has to give a great deal of credit to Frances, who would raise the seven children, all of whom were under the age of 16 at the time of Stephen's death. 

1875 Chicago City Directory

Stephen arrived as a young man on the shores of New York City on 9 October 1871.  The ship manifest lists his age as 22, (and his name spelled Stephan) and him having been born in 1847. Family records indicate a birth year of 1848. Immigration notes from Ancestry and other sources indicate his occupation as Shoemaker. Stephen's arrival in the US was part of a great migration of immigrants.  Unlike my Hovel side, Stephen was not part of a chain migration, where whole families moved to the US, instead Stephen was like many who were considered a lone wolf.  What is interesting, is that Stephen was stepping on the shore of New York, the City of Chicago was in the midst of the three day conflagration known as the Great Chicago Fire. Happening at the same time as the much worse Peshtigo Fire, the Chicago fire took the headlines, given its status as a major US city. If Stephen made his way directly to Chicago after arriving in New York, he would have come across a scene of devastation, not to mention the smell of burnt everything probably still hanging in the air from the charred wood. 

1891 Chicago City Directory

I am not sure when Stephen arrived in Chicago, but I do know that the 1874 city directory identifies him as being at 778 Archer Street, employed in the trade of boots and shoes. This was a time when footwear was locally made, or at least locally repaired. Shoes at the time were pretty much hand made.  Upon his arrival in the US, Stephen was a craftsman in footwear at a time when craftsmanship meant actual work with the hands. Stephen maintained the occupation in boots and shoes for several years, but sometime between 1877 and 1880 he changed occupations. On my Hovel side, my great uncle's sister married a shoemaker, who would later take up farming upon a move to Iowa from Fort Atkinson--Jefferson, WI area, about the same general time frame as Stephen gave up the occupation. What is also interesting is his change in occupation was, if not in the same year, not many years after his 3 June 1877 marriage to Frances Leidenheimer, which took place in Chicago, IL.

The 1880 directory has him, along with August Glover as partners in a grocery store at 3017 Archer Avenue, in Chicago. By 1885 Stephen is on his own as a grocer, with the 1885 directory making note that he is working at 1025 31st Street in Chicago. What is interesting, is that between 1885 and 1889 he made another change in occupation. The 1889 directory identifies him as owning a saloon at the same address as the grocery store.  He likely remodeled his grocery store into a tavern. I am not sure why he made the switch, it could have been grocery competition, or he saw a way to make more money to support his growing family. 

December 1901 photos of Stephen's Widow Frances
and their children

Stephen died at a young age, in his mid forties, on 18 May 1893. His probate record indicates that his "property and effects...the value of which did not exceed eighty three hundred dollars." was left to his wife. This would represent a middle class estate, which today would be valued at about $252,000. He would be laid to eternal rest at St Mary's Cemetery in Evergreen Park, IL. His legacy, was not in his shoes, canned goods, or drinks he sold, but in his seven children, and their descendants. His children would go on to lead productive lives, learning some strong life lessons from Stephen and, for the very young, their widowed mother, Frances.

Reiner Grave Marker
St Mary's Cemetery
Evergreen Park, IL

The city directories of the Windy City provide a glimpse into the life of Stephen Eireiner. He was merchant for his adult life, beginning first as a shoe and boot maker to grocer, to a saloon keeper. Why he made changes in occupation remain unknown, but perhaps he saw the creative destruction beginning in his select trade of shoes and boots, made a move to consumable goods, and then finally, to the ultimate consumable good--alcohol. Upon passing the bonds of this earth on that spring day in 1893,he left behind his widow, and seven children. History is made up of stories inherent in each person who walked the earth, individually and collectively. This is part of a history formed by my great grandfather, Stephen Eireiner, who made the move at a young age to the United States to start a new life.

Note:  The surname was changed, likely between 1910 and 1920 from Eireiner to Reiner, at the urging of my grandmother's brother, Joseph Reiner, SJ.