Fendig familes (the penultimate post of a series)

(The previous post in this series is here.)
A second Fendig family that came to Rensselaer in the 19th Century is that of Nathan (1839-1913) and Amalia Rubel Fendig (1854-1926). The family appears in the 1880 census and Nathan's occupation was listed as "dealing horses." In the 1900 Census he was a shoe merchant, and in the 1910 census he was selling shoes while his son was the owner of the shoe store.

The 1900 Census asked women how many children they had had and how many were still alive. Amalia had had 11 children, 8 of whom were still alive. Only one stayed in Rensselaer, their second child, Benhart (1876-1925). He became a school teacher and is listed as such in the 1900 census. However, in the fall of 1906 he ran afoul the superintendent when it was discovered that the was playing poker with other Rensselaer residents. The superintendent revoked Benhart's teacher license, Benhart appealed, but at the appeal hearing he failed to make his case. He then took up his father's shoe business.

In the 1920s Benhart had health issues and after stays in a couple of sanatoriums, died in December of 1925. The editor of the Jasper County Democrat, who had worked with him in a group that later became the Chamber of Commerce, praised his civic involvement in the article reporting his death. He is buried in Weston Cemetery.

Benhart was predeceased by his younger brother Solomon (1884-1924). Solomon left Rensselaer after finishing high school and settled in Spokane, Washington. When the U.S. entered World War I, he enlisted and was sent to France. He saw action and was rather quickly discharged as being unfit for duty. I think that what he had is what today we call "PTSD" and in the old days was called "shell shock." Not all the casualties of war suffer wounds to the body. In the 1920 Census he was working for his brother selling shoes but the report of his death (you can find it here) said that he had been in veterans hospitals. He died in veterans hospital in Marion, Indiana and is buried in Weston Cemetery.

One other brother is buried in Weston Cemetery, Arthur (1878-1942). He left Rensselaer for Chicago where he was a salesman for a number of years and then moved to Detroit where he continued in sales. He never married. His grave is north of Benhart's and unmarked.

The fourth son, Robert (1886-1950), moved from Rensselaer to Hammond. Searching for Fendigs on the Hoosier State Chronicles finds frequent mentions of him in the Hammond paper. In the 1920 census he is in New Orleans selling shoes. He married and had two sons with his first wife. It appears that the birth of his second son had complications that resulted in the deaths of both mother and child in 1919. He then married Jessie Jacobs (1891-1973), the sister of his brother-in-law and had another son with her. In the 1930 census he was back in Rensselaer as a proprietor of a shoe store. This second marriage ended in divorce after about 15 years and he was back in New Orleans selling shoes in the 1940 census. Robert's son by his second marriage became a prominent businessman involved a great many organizations in Tampa, Florida. He even has a library named after him.

All four daughters married and left Rensselaer. The one that stayed closest was the youngest daughter Edna (1888-1942). She married Marion Jewell (1894-1980) and lived her life in Lafayette. Two daughters are buried together in a cemetery in Tampa, Florida. Oldest daughter Tillie (1874-1957) married Lewis Eisenberg and initially lived in Chicago. I could find almost nothing about her life in records from genealogical sites, though she seems to be living with sister Belle Weil in the 1940 Census. Third daughter Clara (1880-9155) married Sol Jacobs (1978-1941) and moved to Tampa, Florida. They seem to have had only two children. Belle Fendig married Leopold Weil and they made their home in New Orleans. Belle appeared in the 1910 Census living with her uncle Ralph's household and seemed to be living in Hammond when she married. I could find very little about the Weils other than what is in Census reports. They do not seem to have had children.

Below is a little piece that appeared in The Times of Hammond, Indiana.

There is a Rosa Fendig buried in Lafayette's Jewish Cemetery with no dates and it is possible that this is a child of Nathan and Amalia. Also, the Jasper County death index has a Noble Fendig who was five months old when he died on March 11, 1887 and this also may have been a child of Nathan and Amalia.

I could find only four grandchildren of Nathan and Amalia who reached adulthood and only two great grandchildren.

Two Fendigs fought in WWI. One was wounded in battle and another, mentioned in this post, suffered a wounded psychologically. On Sunday we celebrate the centennial of the ending of that terrible war. It was touted as the "War to end all wars" but instead set the stage for another terrible war, WWII. If anyone needs an example of elites making horrible decisions, WWI and its aftermath are examples that are hard to top.

On Friday morning Rensselaer woke up to a dusting of snow. The flag is part of a line of flags that were set out in preparation for the Veterans Day (formerly Armistice Day) ceremonies at Brookside Park on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.