Third Generation

19. Auguste Lydia "Liddie" KEWIT (*) was born on 27 September 1883 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.^{1,25,27,36,38,45,46,134} She was baptized on 4 November 1883 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.^27,36,135 at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Witnesses at her baptism were Hermann Jaskewitz (her father's brother), Auguste Achtenberg (her mother's sister) and Marie Gnewikow (a first cousin).

The church records show that she was baptized as "Auguste Lydia Jaskewitz" but her baptismal certificate lists her surname as "Kewit." Between the day of her baptism and the day that the certificate was prepared, her family must have decided to change her surname. Oddly, her baptismal certificate lists her father as August "Jaskewitz," so he had not yet decided to change his own surname. (Gary Griggs has her Baptism Certificate, which is written in German.)

Several years before her baptism, in 1875, her parents had listed the surname of their daughter Emma Bertha as "Kewit" in the church records. So there does not appear to be a distinct date when the family surname was officially changed.

She appeared in the census in 1885 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.¹² Liddie appeared in the census in 1895 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.¹³ She was confirmed on 3 April 1898 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.^36,134,136 at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Her Confirmation Verse was John 15:21 "But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me." (Gary Griggs has her confirmation certificate, which is written in German.) She appeared in the census in 1900 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.¹⁴ She was living with her parents and was listed as "Liddie." Liddie appeared in the census in 1905 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.⁴² She was living with her parents. She appeared in the census in May 1910 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.³⁰ She was living with her parents. She appeared in the census in 1920 in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.²⁴ Liddie a founding member of the Utopian Homemakers club in 1927 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.⁴⁴ These are the minutes of the organizational meeting of what was to become the Utopian Homemakers, with 10 women at the first meeting and a total of 24 joining within the next six months: "In spite of the inclement weather today, Monday afternoon, November twenty-seventh, ten ladies met at the home of Dora Helen Cline in order to organize under the Homemakers Club. Mrs. Vilas Ferris of Wilton, sec. treas. of the county acted as chairman.

Mrs. Fred Gnewikow was nominated as president and unanimously elected. Mrs. August Pergande was unanimously elected vice president, and Dora Helen Cline was elected secretary-treasurer. Mrs. E. P. Martin and Mrs. Art Brahmer were elected as delegates to attend the central meetings.

After some discussion the name "Utopian" was chosen as an appropriate name. Utopia as written by Sir Thomas Moore is an imaginary island where all is a state of ideal perfection. The making of woolen flowers occupied the afternoon. Mrs. E. P. Martin graciously extended her home for the next meeting. Refreshments were served. The meeting adjourned."

Mrs. Cline's daughter, Lyda Lanier, wrote in her Tomah Journal newspaper column on Nov. 14, 2002: "It didn't take long for one change to take place. Except for my mother, who early on in her marriage signed her name Dora Helen Cline, everyone followed the traditional Mrs., husband's name here, married last name. By the third year, each member listed on the roll call used her own first name, and more often than not that's how it continued to appear in the minutes of the meetings. Through Homemakers, women were being recognized as individuals with their own identity.

Meetings back then were and continue to be both educational and social. Emphasis in those early days was and still is on home and family, with lessons on patterns, bleaching and dying, machine ruffling and pleating, cutting and sewing aprons, fabric painting, and recipes for one-dish meals. Eighty people attended the club's first ice cream social, Feb. 14, 1928, at the home of Mrs. George Vincenz, where, according to the secretary, "games and stunts gave hours of amusement." She appeared in the census in 1930 in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.³⁴ Between 1937 and 1970 she was an owner of a boarding house at 702 Kilbourn Avenue in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^34,36,137 In 1935, Lydia and her husband celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary. The following newspaper article noted the event: "Mr. and Mrs. August F. Pergande celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary last Saturday evening, June 22, at their home at Ridgeville. Nearly a hundred friends, relatives and neighbors assembled to make the occasion a gala one and to wish them many more happy returns of the day.

The bride and groom and their two daughters, Bernice and Doris, marched into the living room to the familiar strains of the "Lohengrin Wedding March," played by Mrs. Dora Helen Cline, and took their places on grouped chairs. Following this, the beautiful song "I Love You Truly" was sung.

Then, relatives of the bridal pair reminisced on the wedding of 25 years ago. Mrs. Ernestine Kewit, the mother of the bride, told of the banquet she served. Matie Vincenz told of making the bridal trousseau. Bertha Noth described the wedding cake she had made, and Amelia Noth told of the beautiful day and other events. Mrs. F. C. Gnewikow remembered the weather was extremely hot and dry. Mrs. F. Schaefer recalled other happenings. Frank Peterson sang "The Sunshine of Your Smile." Mr. and Mrs. Pergande responded graciously to a toast, and their daughters Bernice and Doris sang a duet, "Love's Old Sweet Song." Mrs. Fred Noth and Mrs. Ernestine Kewit lead the song, "So Nimm den Meine Hande, und rure mich, Bis an ein Selig Ende -- wo wirst gehen und stehen, da nimm mich mit."

Cards of congratulations were read from Rev. C. E. Berg, and the F. Wilde's of Minneapolis. Lydia Pergande wore a dress of lemon colored crepe, a corsage of roses, and a wreath of silver roses in her hair. The groom wore a grey suit. The two children were dressed in white silk.

Alfred Kewit, best man of 25 years ago, was present; Lillie Pergande Brandau was unable to be present. Numbers were matched and 45 couples marched into the dining room and helped themselves at a table set with delectable foods of great variety.

Mr. and Mrs. Pergande, with their two daughters, Doris, who graduated from the eighth grade this year at 12 years of age, and Bernice, who will graduate from high school next year at 17 years of age, set a fine standard for their community. Their home is beautifully kept; flowers and shrubs surround a house, modern in every respect; a large rock garden adorns the yard; the lawns are clipped short; the barns house large herds of blooded stock; hollyhocks and vines make the barn yard attractive; a large vegetable garden suns itself near the house, and out beyond are green fields of oats, corn and alfalfa.

The many acquaintances of Pergandes wish for them many years of good health and prosperity."

Local lore had it that Mrs. Pergande would rest on Summer afternoons by weeding her hollyhocks.

She was one of the founders of the Utopian Club for women, which was founded in 1927. She served as the club's first Vice President.

After August's death in July 1936, Lydia kept the farm and made a living by selling eggs and roosters to the Cash Store in Tomah, as well as heifers and hogs to local farmers. She also received money for crops by renting out the farm. She kept an "account book" in which she recorded all of her cash receipts and expenses; Gary Griggs has that book.

Lydia moved to Tomah with her daughters Bernice and Doris on March 1, 1937, about eight months after her husband died. She bought her home at 702 Kilbourne Avenue from Lulu Fox, who lived there during the 1930 Census. At the time of the 1920 Census, the home was owned by Fred and Mae Kohl.

She kept the farm as rental property, eventually selling it to her daughter Doris and her husband, Harold Waege, in January 1954. In Tomah, she rented upstairs rooms at her home for family income. She kept a record in the "account book" of all of her "roomers" at her home in Tomah and of the money that she received from them, as well as of the expenses of the boarding house; Gary Griggs has that book.

She maintained the boarding house until October 1968, when she moved to a smaller house next door at 209 East Saratoga. She had built that house in 1940 and used it for rental property; Gary Griggs has the cigar box in which she kept all of her receipts when she built the house. One of them shows that the basement was dug by Dick Keene for $25.

Lydia was active in her church and enjoyed playing cards. In 1963, she took a trip to the East Coast with her daughter Bernice and husband, Vern. She visited Ocean City and Baltimore, MD as well as Washington, DC (including the White House). In the early 1970's, she took a trip to Wisconsin Dells with her grandson Gary and his family. She had not been there since her honeymoon in 1910.

She was in good health until her death in 1975, when she walked to the ambulance that took her to the hospital the night before she passed away. She died one week before her 92nd birthday. Liddie appeared in the census in 1940 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.⁴³ Her household was at 702 Kilbourn Avenue and she was living alone. The value of her home was listed as $3,000. She appeared in the census in 1950 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.¹²⁸ She had three "Lodgers" in her home at 702 Kilbourn Avenue: Wallace Brown, Milton Ring and Donald Wrabel (?). She died on 20 September 1975 at the age of 91 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^25,38 Obituary Notes: "Mrs. Lydia Pergande, the daughter of August Kewit and Ernestine Achtenberg, was born on Sept. 27, 1883, in the township of Ridgeville. She was a faithful member of St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church for many years.

On June 22, 1910 she was united in marriage with August Pergande. The marriage was blessed with two daughters, both of whom remain to mourn their mother's loss. They are: Bernice, Mrs. La Verne Griggs of West Allis, and Doris, Mrs. Harold Waege of Tomah. Also surviving are Mrs. Blanche Pergande of Sparta, 6 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.

Mrs. Pergande was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and four sisters and one brother.

She passed away Sept. 20, 1975 at the age of 91 years, 11 months and 24 days. Burial was at the Oak Grove Cemetery." Liddie was buried on 22 September 1975 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^16,64 in the Oak Grove Cemetery (Second Addition, Block 1, Lot 15).
She has Ancestral File Number LDCS-XR4.

Auguste Lydia "Liddie" KEWIT (*) and August Friedrich Wilhelm PERGANDE (*) were married on 22 June 1910 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.^{30,44,46,63,138,139} at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Their sponsors were Alfred Kewit (one of her first cousins) and Lillie Pergande (one of his sisters). (Gary Griggs has their Marriage Certificate, which is written in German.)

August was not listed in the 1910 Census for Wilton Township. He may have been living in or near Sparta, where he was working as a woodworking craftsman. His church marriage record listed his residence as Sparta and his occupation as "Schreiner." A search of the census records for all of the households in Sparta Village, Sparta Township and nearby Leon Township failed to locate him.

They lived in Sparta for the first year of their marriage, before moving to their eventual family farm on "The Ridge" in Wilton Township. They were living there when he died in July 1936, and Lydia and their two daughters lived there until they moved to Tomah the following Spring. August Friedrich Wilhelm PERGANDE (*), son of Franz Friedrich August PERGANDE and Louisa Friederike Wilhelmine WILDE, was born on 13 August 1882 in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.^{1,27,38,44,123,139,140,141} (He may have been named after his maternal grandfather, August Friedrich Wilde.) He was baptized on 10 September 1882 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.²⁷ at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. His sponsors were Johann Bremer (a granduncle), August Wilde (his maternal grandfather) and Wilhelmine Pergande (his mother). He appeared in the census in 1885 in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.¹² August appeared in the census in 1895 in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.¹³ He was confirmed on 3 April 1898 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.^136,141 at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. (Gary Griggs has his confirmation certificate, which is written in German, as well as his German prayer book, which was published in 1872.) He appeared in the census in 1900 in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.¹⁴ He was living with his parents. August appeared in the census in 1905 in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.⁴² He was living with his parents and his occupation was "F(arm) Laborer." ¹⁴² Newspaper Article: "Aug. Pergande was badly burned about the face Monday by the explosion of an oil can which he had been heating over the fire." Before 1911 he was a carpenter and joiner in Sparta, Sparta Township, Monroe County, WI.¹⁴³ The church record of his marriage lists his occupation as "Schriener" (woodworker). Between 1911 and 1936 he was a farmer in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.²⁵ He registered for the Military Draft on 12 September 1918 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI. ¹⁴⁴ According to his World War I draft registration card, his occupation was "Farmer," his employer was "Self", he was of "Medium" height, "Medium" build, and had Brown eyes and Brown hair. He listed his name as "August Fred Pergande" and his address as "RFD 5, Tomah." August appeared in the census in 1920 in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.²⁴ He appeared in the census in 1930 in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.³⁴ His household consisted of August, Lydia, their daughters Bernice and Doris, Lydia's mother Ernestine, and a hired man, Anthony Thorsen, age 21. He died on 14 July 1936 at the age of 53 in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.^{25,38,123,139} Obituary Notes (handwritten by his wife, Lydia): "August Frederick William Pergande was born in the town of Wilton, Monroe County, Wis., Aug. 13, 1882, and at the time of his death was 53 years, 11 months and 1 day.

He was confirmed in the Lutheran church of Ridgeville when a youth, and remained a faithful member to the end.

On June 22, 1910, he was united in marriage with Miss Lydia Kewit. This union was blessed with two children. For a year after their marriage they resided in Sparta, where Mr. Pergande was employed as a carpenter for the Sparta Sash and Door Company. Then they purchased the farm on "The Ridge" where they lived until his untimely death.

On Tuesday morning, July 14, at nine, while he was cutting grain on his field, Mr. Pergande fell victim to a sunstroke, which caused his death.

He leaves to mourn his sudden and untimely death his bereaved widow; two daughters, Bernice and Doris; his mother, Wilhelmina Pergande; his mother-in-law, Ernestine Kewit; one brother, Philip Pergande, Sparta; 3 sisters, Mrs. Ida Schafer, Mrs. Emma Ludeking, both of town of Wilton, and Mrs. Lillie Brandau, South Ridge; and many other relatives and friends.

Funeral services on Friday afternoon, July 17 at St. John's Lutheran Church, followed by interment at Oak Grove Cemetery, Tomah. Text of the sermon is Matthew 24:44." ("Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.") August was buried on 17 July 1936 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^25,64,123 in the Oak Grove Cemetery (Second Addition, Block 1, Lot 15).

Auguste Lydia "Liddie" KEWIT (*) and August Friedrich Wilhelm PERGANDE (*) had the following children: