Thursday, August 5, 2010

Treasure Chest Thursday - Charles Auble Obituaries

It's Treasure Chest Thursday - time to "show and tell" a document or artifact about my ancestral families.

Newspaper obituaries are often the only "window" to every day events in a person's life, other than vital records, military records, land records, probate records, etc.

My great-grandfather, Charles Auble (1849-1916) left no personal papers and my grandmother and mother didn't talk about him much, other than to say that he was a painter and a drunk who died months after falling down the stairs.

These two newspaper articles, probably from the San Diego Union newspaper (they are undated), provide some glimpses into Charlie's professional life:


This article reads:

" Charles Auble, Old Time Painter, Dead

"Departed Brother Leaves Widow and Daughter to Mourn Departure -- Funeral Will Be Saturday Afternoon

"Charles Auble, an old time member of the Painter's Union, died Thursday night at his home, 767 Fourteenth street. He leaves a widow, Georgia, one daughter, Emily, to mourn his departure.

"Brother Auble has been a member of the Painter's union for many years, coming to San Diego from Chicago about five years ago, and immediately affiliating with local No. 333 in San Diego.

"Funeral services will be held at the Bradley & Woolman chapel at 2 o'clock Saturday afternoon, interment being in Greenwood cemetery. All members of Painter's union and friends are requested to be present."

This article may have been clipped from the labor newspaper, The Labor Leader, in San Diego, or from the San Diego Union. It reads:

"Honor the Memory of Departed Brother
"Painters' Union No. 333, Adopt Resolutions of Condolence in Memory of Charles Aubell -- Was Old and Honored Member
"A committee of Painters' Union No. 333 submitted the following resolutions in honor of the memory of Charles Aubell, one of the old and honored members of the Painters' union, who died March 23, and were adopted at the meeting of the Painters' union Monday night.
" 'To the Officers and Members Local Union No. 333
" 'Your committee on resolutions of condolence on the death of our late brother, Charles Aubell, beg leave to submit the following:
" 'Whereas, Nature's law requires that we, each and every one of us, sooner or later, go into transition, commonly known as and called death, thereby relieving us of all earthly cares and burdens we might have been carrying, leaving family and friends to mourn our passing, in accordance with the degree in which we were environed, and
" 'Whereas, In accordance with that inexorable law, the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America have suffered a loss from their ranks and our late honored and esteemed Brother Aubell is no more. While we feel a very keen sadness at our loss, we can but realize that the pain is but a disappointment compared to the real sorrow that must necessarily accompany the great void in the hearts of his helpmate and family in the vicissitude of life, caused by the removal from their midst of the husband and father. Therefore, be it
" 'Resolved, By Local No. 333 of the B. of P., D. and P. of A., that we extend to the bereft family of our late brother, Charles Aubell, an expression of that sincere sympathy which we each and every one feel in this their seemingly darkest hour and sorrow of their lives, with an assurance of our best offices in every way possible in alleviating the pain, and be it further
" 'Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be furnished the family of the deceased, that they be published in The Labor Leader, and be made a part of our minutes.
" ' G.W. Myers
Arthur H. Dutton
H.M. Hubbard
'Committee
" 'San Diego, Cal., April 3, 1916' "

I learned several things from these articles - that Charlie was a member of the local Painters' Union in San Diego, that he came from Chicago to San Diego five years before his death, the address of their home in San Diego, the funeral home that managed the funeral, and the planned place of his burial. While the obituary says he was to be buried at Greenwood Cemetery, he is actually buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in San Diego, and his plot does not have a gravestone.
There is nothing in the articles about the cause of death, or anything about Charlie's work as a painter. There are no great words of praise for his character, intellect or contributions to society so often found in printed tributes in newspapers.
The Painters' Union couldn't even get the spelling of his last name right! He really wasn't that old - age 66 at death, and how "honored" could he be after only five years of living in San Diego?

1 comment:

Rebecca Dean Ringgold said...

It is interesting, trying get information regarding an ancester that were not well thought of.
I find them the most interesting.