The Diary of Helen Korngold: January 6-12, 1919

Helen Korngold, December 1919, New York City

January

Monday 6
Beginning teaching. I suppose I’ll like it—awfully tired. Last night! Class—all OK, Basket ball—lots of fun. Home—orchestra—fellows still discussing Dewey. I should worry. He treated me fine. Eat. Home.

Tuesday 7
Up—Wellston—Class. Things going nicely. Nothing startling. Home. Ellenburg has them bad. But I like Dewey & Summer better. Even M. Block is much more entertaining—on second thought, he’s really a very delightful conversationalist.

Wednesday 8
Rise—eat—Wellston. This is a pretty nice room. Class—Basket ball—it’s awfully rough. Florence F. just naturally tried to bully everyone. Can’t do it. Home.

Thursday 9
Up—Wellston. Kids are funny. I should worry. School. Nothing startling. Home—study—bed. I wish Summer would locate Dewey Pierre Flambert—he won the Distinguished Service Cross & the Legion of Honor, and after doing all that, he actually made a hasty exit out of St. Louis. Poor Dewey. He was so nice.

Friday 10
Up—Wellston. Kids are real enthusiastic—gave them exam. I suppose they flunked. School—unexciting. Home. Summer for dinner. He’s so entertaining—Morris & Sam over in the evening. Very enjoyable. Loaned M. & S. some books. Bed at 11:30.

Saturday 11
Up—eat—School. Dr. U sprang exams. Pretty easy. Why worry—I got an “A” from him! He’s a peach! Nothing special. Home—bath—eat & study & to bed. Party at Cassels house—kids & sophs to Seniors Hockey team. Cute.

Sunday 12
Up—clean up rooms. Study. In afternoon Dan came over. He looks so well. Jewell sent me a beautiful calendar. He’s rather nice I think. But he is too far away from me to be sure about it. Lesson at Aunt Beryl’s. Home.

*****

Notes:

January 6

K.C. is Kansas City

January 7

Wellston High School, originally located at Ella and Evergreen in Wellston, St Louis, had their first graduating class in 1911. http://www.builtstlouis.net/northside/mlk07.html

January 8

Florence Funsten Forbes of 469 Lee Ave, Webster Groves appears on the Freshman class list of the 1916 Washington University Catalog. She graduated from Washington University in 1922.

Genealogies on this family are available at ancestry.com.

Florence was the daughter of the beautiful Hortense Funsten who married Arthur Henry Forbes in 1897. Florence was born on October 26, 1898. Her father died on April 19, 1899, in Waco, TX.  The coroner’s death certificate lists the cause of death as “La Grippe.”

After the death of Arthur, Florence and her mother resided with her maternal grandparents Robert Emmett Funsten (born 12/10/1851 in VA and died 1927 in St. Louis) and Charlotte Elizabeth Cook (6/1852 in VA to 9/1922 in St. Louis). On the St. Louis City Directory Robert appears as President of Webster Groves Dried Fruit Company. Ancestry.com has his family tree and shows three generations of Robert Emmetts.

In 1905 Hortense married author Herbert Durand, born 1858 in New York, who was a famous author of nature guides and travel books. In 1906 Hortense and Herbert had a son Eugene Funsten Durand. They were wealthy enough that the 1940 New York State Census shows they had a butler and a cook. Hortense died in 1950.

Florence's 1922 passport photo

Florence traveled with her mother and step-father numerous times. Her December 12, 1922, passport application shows Florence was 24 years old, 5’ 6 ½” tall, with a low forehead, grey/blue eyes, short retrousse nose, medium mouth, round chin and face, and had light brown hair. Florence reported no occupation. She was born at St. Louis on October 26, 1898. She reported her father Arthur Henry Forbes was diseased. She had resided at the Graniston Hotel in Bronxville, NY. She was going to Italy, Egypt, Portugal, the British Isles, France, Spain, Constantinople, and Morocco, leaving from the port of New York on the S.S. Empress of Scotland on February 3.

Florence’s grandfather Arthur Page Forbes appears in the Book of St. Louisians. He was born in 1840 in Illinois and moved with his family to St. Louis in 1846. His father moved to Massachusetts in 1852 and served in the Civil War. In 1866 he returned to St. Louis with his family and in 1867 joined Forbes Bros and White tea dealers. In 1869 he married Theresa James and they had a daughter Alice Eliza who in 1869 married William Fitzhugh Funsten, born in Virginia in 1855 and was the owner of Funsten & Co. Furs. Their children included Kenneth Mead, Florence, and Arthur Forbes Funsten, who was father to Mary James, Arthur Henry (father of Florence), Helen Francis, Ruth Rogers and Florence Theresa born in 1874.

The family appears in The Ancestors and Descendents of Colonel David Funsten and his wife Susan Everad Meade.

January 11

Washington University history professor Dr. Roland Greene Usher, Ph.D. from Harvard College, was born in 1880 in Lynn, MA to Edward Preston Usher and Adela Louis Payson. His ancestors can be traced back to the Pilgrim Fathers.

At age 30 he became a professor of History at Washington University.

In 1910 he married Florence Wyman Richardson. They were strong supporters of woman’s suffrage. His most famous work is Pan-Germanism, written in 1913. He accurately foretold events leading to WWI and urged the United States to end isolationism and play an active role in world events. He died in 1957 and is buried in St Louis. He is listed as living at 5737 Cates Avenue in St. Louis.

There were many Cassels in St Louis during this time. See this list for a collection: http://www.ancestorstories.org/mom/cassell/Directory.PDF  

January 12

Beryl Frey, Helen’s maternal aunt, was born in 1875 in Germany and at nine months of age arrived with her family in America. She was a music teacher. She married St. Louis pharmacist Louis Lieberstein. She died in 1929.