Person:Maria Wagner (11)

State Archives Arad, Reg. 7, No. 33

Address 1: Harrisburg, PA/22 Scrantom St./ 370 Empire Blvd./Gravel Road
City: /Rochester/Rochester/West Webster
State: PA/New York
Country: United States of America/Hungary

Born on a Sunday and died on a Tuesday. Married on a Tuesday

Mary Wagner Keller was born 2 May 1897,the same that 20 years before her mother had been born, in a little village in Hungary. Her birth is recorded in the State Archives in Arad, Register 7, page 201, No. 33. She was baptized as a Lutheran in the Evangelische church and her godparents were Adam Grünvald, listed as a servant & A. Maria Rück, Priest: Goldsperger P. Pal. Her family was part of a German settlement in the area. Her role as eldest child lasted throughout her life as she was always taking care of others. She came to the US as a young girl and helped her family earn money for their return to the old country. But she met young Joseph Keller. It is unclear whether she met Joe in Harrisburg, PA, or in Semlak, Hungary. She married him October 6, 1914, 10 months after she, her sister Elisabeth, and her father had arrived for the second time on American shores. Her mother and other two sisters arrived in America in 1914 in time for the wedding of the oldest daughter in the family. Her first son, Henry, was born in Harrisburg. Between the time of Henry's birth in 1915 and the birth of Elisabeth in 1920, they moved to Rochester, New York. When Elisabeth was a babe in arms, the family went for one year to Semlak, which had become part of Romania due to the Treaty of Trianon. It was right after the war and things were very hard. Joe and Mary and their two children returned to America to eventually become citizens. They arrived at the port of Boston on the Rotterdam and they said they were going to the home of Martin Bartolf, Mary's second cousin.

Monroe County Naturalization Records, Volume 186, page 115 gives us information on Mary's gaining citizenship. The last time she entered the US (after the post-war trip to Hungary and the disillusionment about remaining there) was as an emigration from Boulogne, France on the 10th day of February 1921, landing at the port of Boston, MA on the 21st day of February. They sailed on the Rotterdam. Her witnesses for her petition for citizenship were Rozalie Keller (sister-in-law, married to Konrad Keller) listed as "wife," and Joseph Keller (husband) listed as "trucking." Rozalie's address is 45 Sullivan Street, Rochester and Mary and Joseph are listed at 22 Scrantom Street. Citizenship is granted on July 31, 1929. The petition is dated April 23, 1929. She gained citizen a year and two months after her husband. On the petition, Mary's occupation is listed as "wife."

After her husband, Joseph, became a heavy drinker, whenever she had problems (according to Uncle Henry) she would turn to her brother-in-law, Henry. When it became apparent that she and Joe were going to lose the house on Scrantom Street (resulting from the loss of Joe's business and the Great Depression), she went house hunting. With a loan from her parents, she paid $500 as a down payment on the house at 370 Empire Boulevard. Years later, the lot next door was about to be sold. She went to Henry and asked him what she could do -- they would be losing the space where they tied the cow, Heidi, and the goats; there would be no grazing space. Henry advised her to take out a loan and buy the property -- which she did. When Betty and her husband, Hank, divorced, Mary and Joseph renovated the little building on the lot for a home for Betty. It was a godsend for her as Betty, a single mother, didn't have to travel every day to Empire Boulevard to bring her children for baby sitting by Grandma Wagner -- she now lived next door; the children could sleep longer (as could she).

Mary was a loving, selfless person who never thought of herself first. It was always her children, her parents, her sisters, her spouse . . . never herself. She was beautiful inside and out and kept her beautiful long hair in the old country fashion by braiding it in one braid and winding it around her head like a halo. She was a talented cook, an expert handicrafter who embroidered and crocheted pieces that were intricate and beautiful. She kept her house sparkling clean and had a great love for fine china -- her plates were hung on the walls and her collection of cups and saucers filled two china cabinets. She gardened and preserved all kinds of food -- fruits, vegetables, poultry, saUnited States of Americage, jams, and jellies were just among the many items that filled her "fruit celler." She had a lovely soprano voice and she and her husband would sing in the car as they traveled. Life was not easy for her but she didn't complain and had an abiding faith in God. She cleaned other women's homes so that she could help put food on her families table and made the clothing her children wore (without a pattern). She was a small person but tall in her strength. Despite her husband's alcoholism, she continued to love him and insisted that he live his final days at home. This, I believe, contributed to her early death -- she alone lifted her husband in and out of bed as he slowly died. She was the strength that held our family together -- there will never be another like her. Her children were all devoted to her and even after all these years since her death, her two remaining daughters miss her love and miss her wisdom.

Mary always believed she was destined to follow in her mother's footsteps since she had been born on her mother's twentieth birthday. She married 20 years after her mother married and she fully expected she would die 20 years after her mother -- which she did on 4 September 1970. One day in 1970, she said to me, "Rose Mary, this is the year I will die." I replied that I didn't want to hear her talk that way. I couldn't bear the idea of her not being in my life any more. However, she was slowly turning blind due to diabetes. She had been filled with grief at the loss of her grandson, Robert Keller, and was worn out from caring for my dad as he died from cancer. I truly believe she was ready to die -- she missed all those who had died before her. She couldn't see her beautiful flowers and could not do the fine handwork for which she was known. She couldn't read her Bible.

Mother is buried at Mount Hope cemetery, R368. She was living at 940 Gravel Road when she died. She was discovered dead by her grandson, David Keller. Adam, David's dad and Mary's son, reported her death. She last saw her physician March 11, 1970.

Brøderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 1, Ed. 4, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Social Security Death Index, Internal Ref. #1.111.4.123753.157]

Individual: Keller, Mary
Birth date: May 2, 1897
Death date: Sep 1970
Social Security #: 126-10-2489
Last residence: New York 14580
State of issue: New York

Snapshots of my Mother:

Sitting and drying her long, lustrous hair over the floor register -- such a pretty sight
She was the strength of her family and she was adored by her children and grandchildren
Never complained--never gave up.
Had 4 years of school in Hungary; she was very intelligent and I can't imagine what career paths she might have chosen if she had lived in today's times. She was forever learning and revered education.
Always 20 years after mother--birth, wedding, death
Singing as she worked.
Entertaining all kinds of friends. She loved serving her fine pastries on the beautiful dishes and cups she collected. She had a Kaffeeklatsch group of German-speaking neighbors--Mrs. Ritter, Mrs. Ostertag, Mrs. Hamburger, and Grandma. What good times they had gossiping and eating.
When I went to work for Dr. Field, mother told me to watch carefully what the good doctor and his wife did for they were people of the world and I could learn from them.
The two of us going to the antique shop at the top of Empire Blvd. We would stop and if mother could afford something she would buy it and proudly display her purchase on her shelves. More than once I asked my father to buy her something special that she wanted so badly in the shop but didn't feel she could buy because it didn't fit in her budget. One such purchase my Dad made was a tea service with cups that had little dainty legs -- he pretended to finally relent to my begging but was so very proud when he presented the set to his wife.

A Newspaper Tribute to My Mother

In a response to an article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle regarding memorable Christmas gifts, I submitted the following which was chosen and appeared in the paper on Christmas morning, 1999.

"Special Christmas Gifts . . . In reply to your call for a special gift from one's childhood, I would like to submit my remembrance.

It was the Depression years and money was very tight. I think my father had lost his business by that time and my mom was valiantly trying to make do with limited resources. My family was German-Hungarian and celebrated on Christmas Eve. The tree would be trimmed behind closed doors through which we children weren't allowed to pass. The tradition was to eat dinner and then go into the parlor to open our gifts. I was afraid that Santa would pass our house by because I kept getting warnings from everyone that he was doing the best he could for all the children in the world but that times were hard. I was perhaps five or six — and even though I understood that we'd have a lean Christmas, I couldn't help, as a young child would, hoping that there would be something for me under the tree. Dinner was finally over and we were going to gain access to the parlor. Mother slid open the pocket doors into the living room and a wondrous sight was before me! It was absolute magic! All of my dolls, looking like new with pretty smiling faces and brand new dresses, were lined up on the sofa! They were just too beautiful to imagine! My mom, despite her grueling schedule of cleaning other people's homes during the day and then coming home to launder clothes for pay, had found time (probably in the wee hours of the morning) to make all the new dresses, petticoats, and other necessities for my dolls. My sister, who was 11 years older than I, had done the painting of the faces and had applied nail polish to the dainty hands. I never had a more special Christmas than that one when a mother, whose heart was filled with love, extended herself beyond her fatigue and created a bountiful, beautiful Depression Christmas for her littlest girl. I can still close my eyes and see that sofa with all my dollies transformed -- it was a magical moment I shall never forget."

State Archives Arad, Reg. 7, No. 33

Draft registration of her husband.

Witnesses: Rozalie Keller and Joseph Keller, Monroe County records, Vol. 186, p 115