Wilh and Emilie Erdmann were born in Prussia in 1837.

Prussia, an area in northern Germany and present-day Poland along the Baltic coast, was once part of the Holy Roman Empire. The Kingdom of Prussia was founded in 1701. Prussia became a powerful state within the German Empire and existed officially until 1945.

Wilh was a farmer; his wife a homemaker. They immigrated to America, arriving in the United States July 10, 1882. Their port of departure is listed as Hamburg, Germany and Le Havre, France. Also joining them on the journey to America were four children:

Field (b: 1874, an 8 year old male child).

Franz (b: 1876, 6 years old). He would grow up, marry and father my Uncle Charlie Erdmann (1906 - see below) who would subsequently marry Mary Elizabeth (“Aunt Marie”) Grossmann, daughter of Mary Elizabeth Mame and Frank Max Grossmann.

Anna (b: 1878, 4 years old), and,

Ida (b: 1881, 11 months old).

They sailed to America on the ship Cimbria.

Also on board was 22 years old Friedr Erdmann, born in 1860 also described as a farmer, and Wilhe Erdmann (b:1820, a 62 years old woman). Their relationship is unclear. The obvious conclusion is he is the son of Wilh and grandson of Wilhe. They are all listed as one family group.

Francis (Americanized from Franz) J. Erdmann was born in 1876 in Germany. At the age of five (1882) he immigrated to the United States with his family. He married in 1894 at 18 years. His wife Emma M. was born in 1877. Both of her parents were born in New York.

By 1910 Francis and Emma rented the home at 39-38 Broadway, Queens; shared with their seven children and Francis’ (34) brother Charles 21. Charles paid rent to his brother from earnings he made as a porter at a movie theater. Francis himself was a waiter at a hotel.

The eldest daughter Elizabeth 15, was a wrapper in a dry goods establishment.

Francis Jr. 12, John 10, Annie 8, and Catherine 6, attended school. Charles 4, and Louise 2, were not yet enrolled.

~ 1920 ~
In 1920 Francis Sr. 44, was an order clerk at a factory. Emma 43, the homemaker, was busy raising her seven children in their new home at 200 Brinkmeyer Avenue in South Ozone Park, Queens. They had a mortgage on the home. Also living there was a nephew, Edward N. Ethorne, 16. Edward was born in New York. His father was born in Sweden, his mother in Germany.

Elizabeth Erdmann, now 25, had moved on as did Francis Sr’s brother Charles.

Francis J. Jr. 22, was working as a lineman at a factory. John W. 20, was employed as a truck driver for a coal delivery company. Anna M. 17, was a winder at a knitting mill.

Catherine R. 15, Charles G. 13, Louise M. 10, and Edward 8, attended school.

~ 1930 ~

In 1930 Francis “Frank Sr.” Erdmann and his new wife Marie 52, lived at 126-24 140th Street, South Ozone Park, Queens. They had a radio. Frank was the owner of the building valued at $13,000. Her father was born in Scotland. Her mother, like Marie, was born in New York. Frank Sr. 53, was working as a security guard for the railroad. Living with them at the time were Frank’s two sons, Charles 24, and Edward 18.

Charles was still single and made a living as a taxi driver. Edward, also single, was a plumber’s assistant.

Frank Sr. also had a brother named Charles (see 1910 Census) about thirteen years his junior. He married in 1912. In 1930 he was living a few doors down from Frank Sr with his wife Jennie 38, at 126-10 140th Street with their six children. He paid $30 in rent. Charles was an unemployed carpenter. Keep in mind it’s the middle of the great depression. Jennie was a waitress in a department store.

The eldest daughter, May 16, as well as her siblings Agatha 15, Dorothy 12, John 11, and William 5, attended school. Also living there was Jennie’s sister, Frances Frohbose 29, a widow and her 2 year old child Margaret.

Frank Sr.’s first-born son Francis J. Erdmann, Jr. 31, was working as a truck driver delivering coal and ice. In 1930 he had been married four years to Katherine 22, and lived at 120-20 South Ozone Park in Queens with their son Frances T., 3. They were owners of the house valued at $6,000, and paid on a mortgage. Katherine’s father was born in Germany, her mother in New York.

John W. Erdmann, second son of Francis Sr., married in 1929 when he was 28 years old. In 1930 he and his wife Catherine lived in an apartment they rented for $40 per month at 129-14 134th Street in South Ozone Park, Queens. They had no radio. John earned a living driving taxi. Catherine 22, was a telephone operator. Her parents were born in “the Irish Free State”.

By 1930 Frank Sr.’s four daughters, Elizabeth, now 35, Anna 28, Catherine 26, and Louise 22, had moved out, probably starting families of their own.

Charles Erdmann 24, son of Frank Sr could very well have been courting Mary Elizabeth “Aunt Marie” Grossmann around this time. By 1945 they were married living at 37 Hemlock Street with four children, Mary Ann, Patricia, Eileen, and Richard. He was a New York City police officer. When Frank M. Grossmann passed away in September of 1940, wife Mary Elizabeth (“Mame”) took one the upstairs apartments and her youngest son, Leonard W. Grossmann “Warren” and his new wife Lucille A. Weisinger took the other. They shared the kitchen.