52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 8 Prompt - Prosperity

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 8

Prompt – Prosperity

"Prosperity is the flourishing, thriving, good fortune and successful social status. Prosperity often produces profuse wealth including other factors which can be profusely wealthy in all degrees, such as happiness and health." Wikipedia

Circa 1892 Friedrich Wilhelm August Bachmann

Circa 1892 Wilhelmina Fesser

Bill's great grandfather and great grandmother comes to mind. I would not know if they had profuse wealth, however I believe their life was filled with successful opportunities after immigrating to
Canada from Germany / Austria.

Bill's maternal great grandfather is known as August Bachmann. I was surprised to learn that his full name was Friedrich Wilhelm August Bachmann. Bill's mother and August's granddaughter did not know this about August. To me, it feels rather upper class to have more than one given name.

August Bachmann was 22 years old when he sailed from Hamburg,Germany to Winnipeg. He was single and alone in his travels. Apparently Winnipeg and Manitoba in general were destination places for German immigrants. This was 1887. He worked as a metal worker for C.P.R.

Wilhelmina was born in Theodorshoff, Austria. She completed all levels of school available to children in Germany.

In 1889, Wilhelmina and her father immigrated to Canada through Ellis Island and on to Winnipeg. Wilhelmina worked as an indentured servant for a Winnipeg furrier. I have not found why she came to do this but perhaps her father did it to pay for their passage from Austria to Canada.

August and Wilhelmina met through their Lutheran church. August was an usher collecting the offering and that was the first time she saw him. She liked him from the start. They married January of 1893.

After their marriage they lived 6 years in Winnipeg. August was elected president of the German Union Club in 1894. He remained active in the church. After 6 years in the city he became tired of city life (Winnipeg at the turn of the century!). They bought a farm outside of Winnipeg where they farmed and had their 3 children – all daughters. At the same time they were learning English which neither knew before coming to Canada. 

Dorothy, August, Lena, Wilhelmina, Ida Bachmann

After 5 years, they sold the farm and moved to Killaly, Saskatchewan where Wilhelmina's brother, John Fesser and wife were already located. August and John went into business together and ran a general store in the small town of Killaly. The first store was built by John Fesser – brother of Wilhelmina. Wilhelmina's father, Daniel Fesser built the first dance hall in 1908. This was what August bought to convert into a store and post office after 1910 when fire destroyed the first store.

Initially August, Wilhelmina and children stayed at John and Wife's home until there home was built. It was a 7 room home. 

Circa 1906 Wilhelmina and August Bachmann in Front of Their Store

Besides running their general store, they contracted the first post office of Killaly. August Bachmann was postmaster for 35 years.

They also became the paymasters for the grain elevators.

Besides raising their three daughters, Wilhelmina worked along side of her husband in the store.

August also had homestead land around Killaly which he rented out to newcomers to the area. Eventually he sold the land to his 3 daughters and their husbands.

Wilhelmina was also the first woman to vote in Killaly. She remembers it was during WWI and she had just recently lost her brother, Carl. He was killed in Action while flying over France.

August was also active in the village. He was treasurer of the town, the school board and an elder for the Lutheran church. Oh yes they had donated part of their land that their home was built on and gave it to the church so they could build the Lutheran Church. 

He owned his first car circa 1915.

Bill's mother has a beautiful big photo album of studio portraits of this family. They were taken in Winnipeg and Melville. The first time I saw them, I was awed by them. They date back to 1893 or before. That is 127 years ago! Professional studio photographs would have been beyond the means of most immigrants in the 1890's.

August and Wilhelmina Bachmann came to Canada with very little. They were educated and August was apparently business savvy. They worked hard. They participated in local civic duties and their social German club. They helped family and friends as much as possible. They attended church faithfully and August was an elder of St. John's Lutheran Church in Killaly, Saskatchewan.

August Bachmann died in 1952. Wilhelmina lived to be 98 years old. She had been predeceased by two daughters. She was able to stay in her home until 92 years of age with the help of her last living daughter and son in law who also lived in Killaly. She spent the last 6 years in Melville nursing home. She had 6 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and 2 great great grand children at the time of her death.

I believe this is a family who prospered living the dream they were promised when they immigrated. 

1943 On Occasion of Golden Anniversary.

Wendy