The prompt for this week is "least." I decided to write about the least known member of the Strand(t) family, Ruth "Bessie" Strandt Carlisle.
Ruth Strandt was born November 27, 1904 in Otsego, Michigan to William and Mary Strandt. William's occupation was listed as farmer. They were living in Otsego at the time. Before they came to the current Strandt family farm. Ruth was the third child born, and second daughter of William and Mary. Carl was the older big brother.
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| Ruth Strandt birth record. |
When Ruth was 5 she moved with the family to Illinois, where younger brother, Howard, was born. Not able to find work to support his growing family, William moved everyone back to Michigan, ending up on the Strandt family farm in Watson township.
I haven't been able to discover much about Ruth. She hasn't come up much in stories from the past. Either from Eva's remembrances, or stories from Carl. I didn't even know Ruth existed until I started researching the family. Howard was the only Strandt sibling I had ever heard stories of.
We know Ruth attended Allegan High School and later transferred to Kalamazoo Central High School, which she graduated from in 1924. The quote next to her picture says " An idle brain is the devil's workshop." There are no extracurricular activities listed by her name. I couldn't find her, or any Strandt, living in Kalamazoo in 1924 for that matter. Her picture is in the yearbook. If she graduated in 1924, she would have been 19 years old at the time.
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| Ruth Strandt's Senior High School picture 1924. |
On July 26, 1925 she married Gerald Carlisle. They lived in Kalamazoo where Ruth worked as a clerk at the Kalamazoo Stationary Company. According to notes in the Strandt family Bible, Ruth had a baby that died when it was born. I haven't been able to find any records of this birth so far.
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| Gerald and Ruth Carlisle |
Ruth passed away on May 24, 1928 at Old Borgess Hospital, after surgery for appendicitis. Her death certificate lists cause of death as a ruptured tubal abscess. A Double Salphingectomy was listed as a contributing cause of death and had occurred 5 months before her death. Ruth had had both fallopian tubes removed 5 months before. 2 days before her death she'd had an operation for appendicitis. She must've been in a lot of pain. Doctors didn't have the imaging technology and tests they have today to more accurately diagnose conditions. Not to mention antibiotics and pain killers.
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| High school photo and newspaper death notice of Ruth. |
I've heard it mentioned that the two deaths that most upset Carl in his lifetime were the deaths of Ruth, and his daughter, Yvonne.
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| Top row: Carl and Eva Bottom row: Howard and Ruth |
Do you have any information, pictures, or memories of Ruth Strandt Carlisle? Post them below or email me. I'd love to hear more about this least known member of the Strandt family.
