________________________
|
_William DILLON _____|
| |
| |________________________
|
|
|--Carol DILLON
|
| _Louis James SCHNEIDER _+
| | (1897 - 1978)
|_Eve Ann SCHNEIDER __|
|
|_Evelyn AFFELD _________+
(1899 - 1969)
_Arthur KEMPSTER ____+
| (1903 - 1974)
_Charles KEMPSTER ___|
| (1933 - 1992) |
| |_Catherine GELLISH __+
| (1904 - 1964)
|
|--Denise KEMPSTER
|
| _____________________
| |
|_Lenore TADY ________|
|
|_____________________
_Joseph SCHNEIDER ___+
| (1841 - ....) m 1864
_Joseph A. SCHNEIDER _|
| (1875 - ....) m 1900 |
| |_Kathrina KEIL ______
| (1845 - 1921) m 1864
|
|--Dorothy Margaret SCHNEIDER
| (1917 - ....)
| _____________________
| |
|_Anna PETTINGER ______|
(1877 - ....) m 1900 |
|_____________________
_Anton SCHNEIDER ____+
| (1799 - 1875) m 1826
_Martin SCHNEIDER ___|
| (1830 - 1906) m 1851|
| |_Gertrude HUERTER ___+
| (1798 - 1863) m 1826
|
|--Gertrude SCHNEIDER
| (1866 - 1947)
| _Peter RIEDEN _______
| |
|_Gertrude RIEDEN ____|
(1831 - 1907) m 1851|
|_Anna FUHRMANN ______
[11]
The following information was provided through the archives of the
Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Congregation located in
Monroe, Michigan.
Gertrude Schneider entered the Immaculate Heart of Mary Congregation
on 10/1/1886 from Holy Redeemer parish in Detroit. She was received
as a novice on 3/17/1887, and took her final vows into the
congregation on 3/28/1889.
What follows are notes handwritten on the back of some primary
seatwork sheets in her file folder:
"In Sister Winifred's childhood days, her home--the beautiful
Schneider farm just outside Detroit's western limits--was far away
from a Catholic church or school. And being one of the older members
of the family she had no contact with religious teachers as did the
younger members of the family.
"Sister Winifred's cousins who lived in Saint Boniface parish,
Detroit, often invited her to come to her church for Mass and Holy
Communion, and to their home for breakfast. Gladly did she accept
their kind invitation, and at once she became interested in the IHM
Sisters who taught Saint Boniface School. So much so, that she
explained to her Redemptorist confessor (Father Egidus Smulders) her
desire to be a Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He approved of
her decision, and soon she was ready to enter as the first postulant
from the new Redemptorist parish of Holy Redeemer.
"As a religious at the Motherhouse or any of her missions, she was
ever ready to give a helping hand to the needy. And in every duty
assigned to her, she proved how reliable she was, and of deep interest
in her work for the love of God and salvation of souls.
"As a teacher she gave her pupils a solid foundation upon which,
day-by-day, they were to build upon the plan she proposed to them.
That required careful thought of what they were doing. Guess work
would mean failure because of their lack of effort. No wonder, at the
end of the school year the pupils were thoroughly prepared for
admission to a higher grade."
Gertrude and her twin sister, Mary, both entered the IHM Congregation
in Monroe on 10/1/1886. Mary eventually returned home but remained
very close to her sister and a very good friend and benefactor of the
community.
The marble alters found in the present Motherhouse chapel were
formerly in the old chapel built back in 1879. They were donated by
the Schneider family, largely at Mary's urging. Mary herself donated
the altar for the Sacred Heart Chapel in Saint Mary Academy, Monroe
(circa 1932). Note: Saint Mary Academy today is known as Saint Mary
Center. It houses about 30 educational and human service groups which
serve the Monroe community.
The IHM Archives has a spinning wheel used by Sister Winifred's
mother, Gertrude Rieden Schneider. It was used and treasured by the
family for over a 100 years. The spinning wheel was donated to the
congregation by Mrs. Schneider's granddaughter, Delores Hackett
Schneider, in 1965, on the 50th anniversary of her 1915 graduation
from Saint Mary Academy.
In 1916, Sister Winifred was injured when she struck her arm against a
swinging door. An X-ray showed that the bone was infected with
tuberculosis. Faced with amputation (and in those days, immediate
removal from classroom teaching) or a few years more of teaching with
great pain, she chose the latter. She served for many years, keeping
her pain to herself, often keeping her arm fastened to her belt with a
piece of blue habit material so that others would not notice.
Schools where Sister Winifred taught:
Saint Joseph, Detroit: 1888, 1901-1903; Saint John, Jackson:
1889, 1893-1900; Saint Michael, Monroe: 1890; Saint Patrick,
Carleton: 1891-1892; Saint Boniface, Detroit: 1904-1915; Saint
Mary, Monroe: 1918-1932; Our Lady of Help, Detroit: 1918-1932;
Epiphany, Detroit: 1933
When she retired (1934-1947) she took charge of the clothesroom at the
motherhouse in Monroe, making certain that the laundry was correctly
distributed, labeled and mended. She was extremely kind and helpful
to others, and had the gift of understanding young people and being
able to motivate them to their best efforts.
Her funeral mass was celebrated on 10/25/1947 by the Rev. Clement J.
Esper. He was stationed at Our Lady of Lourdes in river Rouge, and is
noted as a cousin. The death notice indicates her burial was at an
"old family site in Holy Cross Cemetery" in Detroit.
In the IHM congregation today (1994), Sister Marilyn Schneider is a
relative of Sister Winifred, and living in the Detroit area.
The above account is taken verbatim from a paper furnished by Richard
Schneider, Buffalo Grove, Illinois, who provided much of the
genealogical information in this project. There is a handwritten note
indicating that Sister Winifred is actually buried in Monroe in the
IHM cemetery.