In April I shared that I had found an Ancestry hint on my great-grandmother Margarethe Klein’s Ancestry page. The hint directed me to the index of the birth of a little boy in 1906. George Joseph Klein was born 21 August 1906 in Chicago. I had never heard about this brother of my grandmother, and I don’t think my father or uncle had known about him either.
At the time, I quickly did a search for a death record and found the index. George passed away 22 March 1909.
I didn’t believe that I could get a copy of his death certificate because of Covid-19. However, my 2nd cousin who I have met through genealogy managed to obtain the copy. What he found made me so teary for George. This is one of the saddest situations I’ve encountered.
When George was born, his brother Frank, Jr. was ten years old. His three sisters were teenagers. The family must have been thrilled to have another boy that his older sisters could dote upon.
This certificate says George was over three years old, but I don’t see that from his birth and death dates. Death date: 22 March 1909 as I mention above and as it is on the certificate. Birth date: 21 August 1906. That is only two years old, by my count. Two years, seven months.
But what killed George? According to this death certificate he died from Tubercular Basal Meningitis, a horrible disease. The symptoms include headaches, behavioral changes, fever, a stiff neck, and vomiting. Look how long George was in the hospital: One year and four months! Imagine being sick with those symptoms for that long–and only being a toddler! That breaks my heart. You have to wonder how he got this disease at such a young age.
Then the most heartbreaking fact on this certificate of all: he died without the names of his parents listed and in an orphanage.
So how did George end up in an orphanage? This is what my cousin and I believe happened. Tuberculosis is a highly contagious disease. With four other healthy children living in the home, no doubt the parents wanted to protect them and would need to quarantine George. Also, it is possible that his symptoms made it difficult to care for him–especially because this disease affects the brain. His mother Margarethe wasn’t a nurse. The nuns at the orphanage hospital would have been skilled at caring for a sick child, and they probably had the facilities for quarantining contagious patients.
Did this mean that Frank Sr. and Margarethe couldn’t see their son once they turned him over to the sisters at Angel Guardian Orphan Asylum? That I don’t know. What I know is that George effectively died an orphan. The pain must have been terrible for the family. Perhaps that is why they never talked about George.
George is buried in Saint Boniface Cemetery, and I have put in a request on Findagrave for a photo of his grave.
What was Angel Guardian Orphan Asylum like?
First line: The charitable care initiative that would become Angel Guardian Orphanage illustrates how immigrant German religious women were able to succeed in America. The Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ (PHJC), an order of German sisters newly arrived in the United States, mentored and inspired other German immigrants through their work at the German Catholic Orphanage of the Holy Guardian Angels, which would later be known more simply as Angel Guardian Orphanage. This asylum existed in West Ridge for over 100 years. The orphanage’s founding and its first 35 years of existence set the stage for its later development into a major mission for the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ and a source of pride for Chicago’s German Catholic community.
Archdiocese of Chicago Archives
First line: Angel Guardian Orphanage began as an alternative to the separate boys and girls orphanages that the diocese of Chicago operated to ensure the health, faith, and cultural heritage of German children.
Loyola University Chicago–link through image
What happened to the orphanage?
Today, most of the cottages are gone, Misericordia Heart of Mercy occupies the old A.G.O. grounds. Misericordia cares for children and adults with mild to profound developmental disabilities. If you would like to take a tour of what is left of A.G.O., Misericordia has always been very accommodating when it comes to allowing formers to visit. History of Misericordia
The Family Kalamazoo 
So sad, and probably also too common.
There are so many babies on my family tree who died within a year of being born. But this little boy held on so long and without his mama. Sniff.
Painful to read. I believe it was pretty standard treatment to isolate anyone with tuberculosis. I don’t think the parents had any choice on his care. It was a matter of public safety and the spread of this disease, very much like today and what we are seeing with COVID, Which in no way takes away from the fact that this was and is so so so sad.
You don’t think they would’ve been allowed to quarantine him at home? That’s an interesting take on it. I didn’t realize they would’ve been able to take away someone’s child. I know there were tuberculosis sanitariums but I didn’t realize they were quite that rigorous about quarantine. It’s all so sad. I can’t figure out where a baby got TB. Now I wish I had the actual birth certificate to see if it gives an address where he was born. If he was born in a hospital he could’ve picked it up at birth?
TB was spread by the droplets that were airborne and highly contagious. I don’t know if mandatory but perhaps they also thought his chance of surviving was better with experienced care and fear of the others catching it which you mentioned. I did check on familysearch and the birth certificate is available through them but at a family history center and not online. Perhaps you could get it by via calling your local center and a volunteer could get it for you if the centers are are closed to the public right now.
Oh, thank you!!! Sharon! That is so sweet of you! I tried to call them, but no answer so I emailed. Fingers crossed!
What a tragic story, and how it resonates today when families cannot be with their elders who are dying of COVID-19 in long-term care homes.
I agree. So sad that people are dying alone, and I also have to wonder how many people are losing hope and feeling abandoned in nursing homes and so they “give up.”
What a dreadfully sad way to live and to die. Sadly it reminds of what is happening to so many right now—being alone in hospitals without family being able to visit and dying without their comfort and love.
Yes, it is similar, although of course this was a baby and toddler. But I can’t imagine the fear and depression of the older people in facilities with the virus or who can’t see their families.
So sad… I am glad that you were able to find those small clues about his short life.
Yes, it really is sad. I did discover where the name George came from. George’s father had a younger brother George. But I haven’t found out what happened to older George! I have his birth and baptism info, but nothing past that. Sigh.
It is so sad that he had to spend all that time in hospital with it, and that he died in that way, with the family not being mentioned.
You’re right about it being a terrible disease. While it wasn’t tubercular, I had (viral) meningitis when I was in my teens and it was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. I was hospitalised but thankfully (and obviously) recovered. I think it took 3 to 6 weeks. Poor George. And your poor family.
Oh Val, that must have been a very frightening and painful time. I can’t imagine. I know it is a dangerous disease although I’ve only had two real brushes with it–one was my neighbor’s 2 year old who died very suddenlly from it–and why? his adrenal glands were underdeveloped. The other was my son’s best friend who contracted bacterial meningitis. We were all scared for him when he was in the hospital.
I actually think that the mistake in the certificate listing his age is because his parents were not involved in the death certificate at all. 😦
Children wouldn’t have much defence against meningitis as it affects the brain. (I nearly typed drain, I’m having one of those days…. make that ‘weeks’.)
I agree with the comments by your other readers. George’s story is just heart-wrenching.
It’s so sad. I can’t imagine how scary it was a tiny one to be so sick in an institution without mama!!!
Neither can I.
Luanne, this is so very sad. As already stated, they couldn’t have kept him home with them because it was so very contagious. My heart breaks for this little darling.
Me too. Think of how scared he must have been and how little comfort he probably received. I can’t barely think about it.
Tragic for sure, but wonderful that you were able to unite George Joseph into his genealogical line. I have a favored great-aunt who disappeared in death from TB. This gives another push to find her.
Marilee, yes, definitely try to locate her! Was it in this country? Thank you for saying it that way, about uniting George with his genealogical line. Yes, I feel like he’s back with the family now.
Hope this doesn’t duplicate. In NW Wisconsin, and I have a trip in mind to my newly found kin there, to pursue – but they are getting on and still distancing due to Covid-19. Yes I do intend to find her. (newly found through my blog)
Incredibly sad tale, Luanne. Check out my post on Koch’s Disease. In the 1920s it was estimated that 50% of children in the US carried TB, but in most it is latent. It’s a widespread infection, but in most people doesn’t progress to disease. For some reason, George was one of the unlucky ones.
Great post–so information. I hope others take the time to read it: https://myricopia.com/2020/03/24/kochs-disease/
Thanks, Eilene. How horrifying. I wrote to you over there.
Thanks for sharing the information in case people are interested.😊
I misstated the statistic earlier. After re-reading I see that nearly all children had latent TB.
How though?
I’m not sure how it spread so widely.
Hmmm
So sad.
Both TB and meningitis can be treated with antibiotics, but they simply weren’t available in the early 1900s. Mum was born in ’21, and had diphtheria, whooping cough, and scarlet fever, any one of which could have carried her off. The son of Eldest Daughter’s baby sitter came down with meningitis and I went up to watch the Littles for a couple of weeks.
I do feel sorry for poor little George, but I weep more for his parents. The little tacker probably really didn’t know or remember his parents, and I’m sure the nuns would have taken tender care of him. But his poor, poor Mum would have been simply heartbroken.
My nephew’s second child came ten weeks early, and was air-lifted to a NICU quite a ways from their home. Because of the distance, and the fact that they had a preschooler, his wife pumped her milk and made the drive every other day. Sometimes, on the in-between days, he would find her in the bedroom, rocking a pillow and sobbing.
Oh, your poor nephew and his wife. Awful. I agree about this being so hard on the mothers. I can’t imagine what Margarethe went through. So very sad. I think we take antibiotics too much for granted!!!!
They were very lucky. Cardie (it’s a family name) survived and it doing fine. She’s a tiny thing, with dark hair and eyes. I think she looks absolutely elfin! As I said, the baby probably didn’t know the difference, but it must have been so very, very hard on Margarethe.