part two of two
for part one, click here
"She was a very satisfying grandmother." — Nancy (Dingman) Watson
In part one we saw Annie marrying, coping with losses, raising six children, and serving her community.
1903-1910: changes
Annie's husband Herman owned the Bayside Hotel on the waterfront in Keyport. In May of 1903 Herman and several other Keyport saloon owners were convicted of selling alcohol on Sunday, victims of the temperance movement which was sweeping the country. Herman sold the Bayside, which was fully mortgaged. He auctioned off “a quantity of household goods, etc.” in Keyport that month. [1] He may have been in financial straits, a perilous condition for a man with a wife and six children to support.
I wonder how Annie felt about this. Was she angry? Although there is some evidence of anti-German sentiment in Keyport at the time, Keyport's German community was strong and Herman and Annie’s popularity likely stayed intact. Still, apparently Herman’s only employment from 1903 to 1905 was a job supervising road construction. [2] It is possible, however, that the family were living on money inherited from Annie’s mother.
There were also things to celebrate that year. Eldest daughter Emily graduated from high school fourth in her class of sixteen, while Elsa held a record of perfect attendance for four straight years and Minnie, three years. Emily’s essay on the Monroe Doctrine was read at commencement exercises and Emily herself recited Victor Hugo’s long and dramatic poem “A Relenting Mob.” [3] Frederick and Georgia, Annie’s two youngest, received Sunday School prizes for attendance, lessons, and conduct, along with Anna and Minnie. [4] That September Annie accompanied Herman to New Haven, Connecticut, where he was a delegate to the to the annual Spanish-American war Veterans’ Association convention. [5]
Herman and Annie moved the family to New York in the late fall of 1905, but were back within a year. In December 1906 they bought the grand Pavilion Hotel on Broad Street, across from the old Bayside. They ran it together for four years. Their youngest, Georgia, was now old enough that Annie was freed up to take on secretarial duties for the business. [6] Herman also employed a bartender, two servants, and a stableman. [7]
In June 1910, Herman suffered a stroke and could no longer run the hotel. [8] Annie and Herman moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey. Herman died on March 14, 1912. Annie traveled back to Keyport for her well-known and popular husband's funeral, and soon bought a house and moved back to town. [9]
Despite losing her husband, she got on with life, socializing with her many friends, continuing her service, and connecting with her children and grandchildren.
cards and celebrations
Annie loved playing cards and often hosted card parties. Euchre, a four-person trick-taking game, was a favorite. The 1864 Hoyle’s Gentlemen’s Hand-book of Games called it the national card game. Some say it originated in Germany. It's “an excellent social card game, simple in concept but with a high degree of subtlety in the play.” Annie excelled at Euchre and other card games, often winning first or second prize at Euchre club gatherings. She also belonged to the Columbia Bowling Club. [10]
Annie loved birthday celebrations, putting on large birthday parties for her children. Every February on her own birthday she invited guests for cards, dominos and other games, dancing, and a dinner. [11] She passed on her obvious pleasure in entertaining, and especially the birthday party tradition, to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Summers, Annie's daughters brought their children to Keyport, where the kids could splash and swim in Raritan Bay.
"I remember Nana affectionately," said her granddaughter Nancy (Dingman) Watson. "She and I used to play Euchre by the hour, and I remember that I could hardly wait to get home from school so we could start our game…between [my age] nine and twelve Nana and I had some good times together…I always loved to go to her house. Nana always had peppermints in her pocket. When I would rush in and kiss her hello, she would give me a little peck on the cheek and quickly wipe my kiss off… I remember her glass-doored cupboard with fascinating knick-knacks and her wonderful cooking, especially fricassee chicken and crumb cakes. To me she was a very satisfying grandmother." [12]
At the age of about eighty-seven, Annie moved in with her daughter and son-in-law Ann (Bauer) and Norman Dingman in Ho-Ho-Kus. She left this life on January 22, 1954, just short of her 92nd birthday.
notes
[1] “Town Topics of a Week,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 15 May 1903, p. 8, col. 1; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 April 2022).
[2] “Captain Bauer Road Overseer,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 10 July 1903, p. 2, col. 3; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 April 2022).
[3] “Class of 1903 Bids Farewell,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 12 June 1903, p. 4, col. 1; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 April 2022).
[4] “S. Mary’s Sunday-School,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 7 July 1905, p. 2, col. 3; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 April 2022).
[5] “Town Topics of a Week,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 25 September 1903, p. 8, col. 1; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 April 2022). Also, “Town Topics of a Week,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 21 August 1903, p. 8, col. 1; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 April 2022).
[6] Monmouth County, New Jersey, Land Records, Book 788:453, John Carr, executor to Herman O. Bauer; Monmouth County Clerk's Office, Freehold, New Jersey. Also, "Captain H. O. Bauer Buys the Pavilion," The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 14 December 1906, p. 1, col. 3; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 5 May 2022).
[7] 1910 U.S. census, Monmouth County, New Jersey, population schedule, Keyport, Enumeration District (ED) 77, Sheet 1-B, dwelling 22, family 25, H. O. Bauer; image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 May 2022); citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 901.
[8] “Town Topics of a Week,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 22 July 1910, p. 8, col. 2; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 April 2022).
[9] ““Town Topics of a Week,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 3 May 1912, p. 8, col. 1; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 April 2022). Also, "Capt. Bauer's Funeral," The Keyport Weekly, 22 March 1912, p. 1, col. 4; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 April 2022).
[10] “The Basics of Playing Euchre,” Dummies (https://www.dummies.com : accessed 25 April 2022), path Articles > Home, Auto, & Hobbies > Games > Card Games > General (Card Games) > The Basics of Playing Euchre. Also, David Parlett, “Euchre and Related Five-trick Games,” Historic Card Games (https://www.parlettgames.uk/histocs/ : accessed 25 April 2022). Also, “Independent Euchre Club,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 24 March 1905, p. 2, col. 2; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 April 2022). Also, “Columbia Bowling Club,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 13 November 1903, p. 5, col. 1; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 April 2022). Also, “Independent Euchre Club,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 22 September 1905, p. 7, col. 1; image, Newspapers.com(https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 April 2022). Also, “Town Topics of a Week,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 6 October 1905, p. 2, col. 1; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 April 2022). Also, “Locals,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 12 August 1904, p. 2, col. 1; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 April 2022). Also, “Town Topics of a Week,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, 15 August 1904, p. 8, col. 1; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 April 2022). Columbia Bowling Club: I was unable to locate any information about its history but there seem to have been "chapters" all over the country.
[11] “Locals,” The Keyport (New Jersey) Weekly, p. 2, col. 1; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 April 2022).
[12] Nancy (Dingman) Watson (Truro, Massachusetts) to "Bau" [Georgia (Bauer) Walling], letter, 26 May 1978; privately held by Ann D. Watson [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], New Haven, Vermont, 2022. Nancy Watson was the daughter of Annie (Keim) Bauer's daughter, Ann (Bauer) Dingman.
I love this.This is hardly a boring or dated story. It is filled with life! ! !! If you may it into a book, I would read it . . . .Love You
She looks so happy, even jubilant, in the first picture. And actually in the last one as well. You have created a wonderful tribute and 'resurrection' of a remarkable person, and I can feel I know her just a little now. Thank you, Annie Watson!