1930 German Residents of Bullard St., Walpole (first half)

#276  Bullard Street – The home of John Stamphl,

John Stampfl was born 27 Jan 1889 Tiefenthal, Gottshee, and died 1980 Walpole. He was the son of Andreas/Andrew Stamphl and Magdalena Honigmann.  He married 24 Sept 1913 to Gertrude Katie Eppich, born 19 Dec 1893 in Walpole; died 1940 Walpole. She was the daughter of Joseph Eppich and Gertrude Pfiffer. John & Gertrude (Eppich) Stampfl became the parents of seven children – Edward, Emma, Frances, Joseph, Walter, John and Evelyn.

Johann Stampfl arrived in New York City on 11 Oct 1908, he stated he was on his way to Norwood to his cousin, Mathias Pfeiffer’s house. John Stampfl worked for several years at the Winslow Bros & Smith Tannery, before working for Walpole’s Public Works Department. He was also a life-time member of the Workman’s Hall on Wilson Street.

#268 Bullard Street – The home of Joseph Eppich

Joseph Eppich, was born 19 Mar 1860 in Tiefenthal, Gottschee, and died 9 Jul 1932 Walpole. He was the son of John Eppich and Mary Sigmund.  He arrived in the US June 1887. He married 2 Jan 1892 to Gertrude Catherina Pfeifer in Norwood. She was born 12 Mar 1869 in Tiefenthal, Gottschee, and died 27 Apr 1940 Walpole, MA. She was the daughter of Stephan Pfeifer and Maria Honigmann. Joseph & Gertrude (Pfeifer) Eppich became the parents of five children – Frank, Gertrude, Joseph, Edward and Lewis.

According to records, Joseph arrived in June of 1887. He was in Norwood by 1890 as he is listed in the 1890 Norwood Business Directory, which makes him one of the first Gottscheers in Norwood. He applied for citizenship in 1890, which was granted in 1897, and by 1900 he was living on Bullard Street, Walpole. Joseph worked for a while for Bird & Sons, but most of his life he worked for Winslow Bros & Smith tannery as a laborer.

#198  Bullard Street – The home of Thomas Rogers

            This house was the first house in the entire Germantown neighborhood. In 1757, Deacon Joseph Fisher built this house. It replaced the original home that had burned down in September and had stood there since 1722; two years before Walpole was set off from Dedham. Deacon Joseph Fisher originally owned all the land that now makes up the Germantown Neighborhood, buying it from his grandfather-in-law, Nathaniel Whiting. The home had been in the Fisher-Hartshorn family for well over 150 years before it was sold in 1877, eventually ending up in the hands of Joseph Hamlin in 1887. He sold it to George Willett in 1913. The house lot was a small part of a larger piece of land that was needed for the construction of New Pond. The Norwood Housing Authority assumed control of the house lot renting it to families over the next several years. The Koestner/Johnson family rented it before they bought the house across the street (#197), which was the house the Rogers were renting. The Rogers, not wanting to back up to a New Pond, they bought this house.

#197 Bullard Street – The Home of Oscar Johnson

Oscar Johnson was born 18 Nov 1875 in Finland and died 1930 in Walpole. He was the son of Andreas Johnson and Maggie Pelelr. He worked in the Winslow Brothers and Smith Tannery. He married Josfa “Sophie” (Petschauer) Koestner in 23 Apr 1921. This was a second marriage for both.

Sophie was a Gottscheer, she arrived at Ellis Island in New York City with her first husband John Koestner, soon after they married. John/Johann Koestner, was born 18 Apr 1870 in Mooswald, Gottschee, Austria-Hungry and died 26 Jul 1918 in Walpole. He was the son of Johan Koestner and Maria Hoge. His marriage to Sophie was his second marriage. He married first to Maria Honigmann 24 Nov 1895 in Mitterdorf, Gottschee, Austria-Hungry. She was the daughter of Andreas Honigman and Gertrude Jaklitsch. John and Maria had two children; Maria in 1897 and Edward in 1904. John married secondly to Josefa “Sophie” Petschauer 8 Nov 1909 in Kerndorf, Gottschee. She was born 1882 in Austria and died 19 Oct 1935 in Walpole. She was the daughter of Johan Petschauer and Josefa Basn (or Rom). John & Sophie (Petschauer) Koestner had three children – Sophie (1913-2005), Fritz (1914-1924) and Lena (1916-1997).

Census records in which Sophie appears note she arrived in the US in 1910. Records from Ellis Island have a couple, Johan & Josefa Kostner (of the right ages) arriving on 3 Oct 1910 from Antwerp, heading to their (his?) sister, Maria “Koslner” (Kostner) of 797 First Ave, NYC. In the “name and address of nearest relative from whence alien came” column, Joseph lists his children Maria & Edward Kostner from Kerndorf and Josefa “Sophie” lists her mother Maria Jaklitsch in Mitterdorf. The 1905 NY State census and the 1910 US Federal census show the Kostner family living at 797 First St, NY. Which helps to identify John’s siblings, as John was living with his sister Maria (Kostner) Tscherne (and other Kostners) at that address in 1905. This also establishes that John had already lived in the US at least once.

John and Sophie Koestner originally settled in Norwood, as the births of their three children are recorded there. What brought this couple to the Norwood/Walpole Germantown neighborhood is unknown. So many of the people who settled here followed family. The Koestners do not appear to have any family in the area, so their connection may have been through a friend. By 1920, Sophie was a widow and was living at 198 Bullard Street, where she had taken on a boarder, Oscar Johnson, who she married in 1921. When the Norwood Housing Association sold off the properties at 197 and 198 Bullard, the Keostner/Johnsons living at 198, bought the house across the street (#197) and the Rogers renting 197, bought 198 Bullard.

When he arrived in Walpole, John most likely found a job working in one of the mills or factories that were in walking distance from Germantown, as his death certificate only notes he was a “laborer.” In November of 1916, while out with Mathais Eppich, John was hit by a south-bound streetcar. Newspapers reported he broke his ankle and collarbone, and that a passing motorist, who witnessed the accident, drove John to the hospital. Family lore has is that little three-year-old Sophie was also with her father that night. It is not known how long it took John to heal, but he died 18 months later and a contributing factor was a “fractured spinal column from a street railway accident” a 1½ years earlier.

It would seem that Sophie would have struggled both financially and emotionally. She became a single mother of three children under the age of ten. She was far from home, in a county where she most likely was still learning the English language. Returning probably was not an option for her. She most likely would not have had the money to pay for the fare, but also World War One was happening and the Gottschee area was in the midst of it. In the censuses in which Sophie appears she is listed as “at home,” but it is highly likely she took on some sort of work to help pay the bills. She most definitely had boarders in her home. In 1921 Sophie had remarried to Oscar Johnson, and perhaps this new marriage offered some stability to the family. She and Oscar had one daughter together – Elsie (1921-2010). However, in 1924 another tragedy struck the family as ten-year-old Fritz downed in New Pond, and six years later in 1930 Oscar died. By now Sophie’s older children were able to work and help bring money home.

Descendants of Sophie (Petschauer) Keostner-Johnson still live in the 197 Bullard Street home!

#192 Bullard Street – The home of August Petrovick

Augustus Petrovek/Petrovick was born 28 Aug 1897 in Orehovlje, Austria and died 12 Sept 1982 in Walpole. He was the son of Franz/Frank Petrovek and Josefa Sillic. He married 26 Nov 1921 to Mary/Maria Palsic. She was born 2 Jun 1904 and died 1959 in Walpole. She was the daughter of Joseph Palsic and Margaretha Zucrerschie/Zakrojsek/Sakraisak. When Maria arrived in the United States 15 Nov 1920 she stated she was heading to her brother Valentine’s on Wilson Street in Norwood. August & Maria (Palsic) Petrovick had three children – August “Red” (1922-2007), Josephine “Josie” (1924-2012) and Francis (1927-2003).

The house at #192 Bullard Street was originally a carriage workshop for Harvey Bird, the son-in-law of Willard Hartshorn and was part of the Hartshorn property. By 1900 the carriage shop had been turned into a house. Sometime in the 1930s, the Petrovick family built a cape style house on the back of their property, and moved into their new home. Josie lived in the house until her death.

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