Germany      and     France

TO

Canada

FREDERICK GORSALITZ and LEA CATHERINE
ROTH

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3. FREDERICK GORSALITZ: Third child of John Jacob
    Gorsalitz  and Wilhelmina Kaczor.
    Born 31 May 1864, Prussia, Germany (Gorlitz), died
    24 Apr 1946, Humboldt, Sask. On the 11 Dec 1895, in
    Neepawa, Man., he married Lea Catherine Roth, born
    4 Jul 1874, St. Dizier, France, died 12 Dec 1906.
    (d/o Pierre Phillippe Roth and Catherine Lutmann).
    Both buried Humboldt, Sask.
    They had 6 children. John, Charles, Philip, Frederick,
     Adeline and Minnie.

    John left Ethel, Ont., in 1892 and filed for homestead
     rights on the 1 April 1892 for the SW 1/4 Section 30,
     Township 24, Range 17 in the Province of Manitoba,
     which was in the Ochre River area and SE of
     Dauphin, Man. He  received his Patent for this
     property on the 1 June 1897.
    On the 8 June 1900 he sold this property and moved
     to Dauphin, in 1902 he lived in Ethelbert, Man. In
     1906 he moved to Humboldt, Sask., which was a
     predominantly German speaking area, and there
     they stayed and are buried.

    In Humboldt, he started with a pair of mules and a
    dredge and dug basements for a living, later he had a
    draying and wood delivery business. Where his house
    stood, just off the Main Street, is now the location of
    the Humboldt Motor Inn Motel.

    Fred got blood poisoning in his big toe which turned to
    gangarene. He refused to let the doctors amputate his
    toe and the poison went through his system, causing
    his death.   

    Lea's story is a sad one: Her mother died when she
    was 2 years old and her brother Phillipe was 9 years
    old. After his wife's death, their father took to drinking
    and was unable to look after his children, with the
    result that the Priest took them. Phillipe was sent to a
    farm in Switzerland, but he kept running away and
    eventually came back to St. Dizier, where he married
    and raised a family. Phillippe and Lea never saw
    each other again, but they did exchange letters.

    Lea was given to an unknown "couple" who went to
    England. It is not known if these people came to
    Canada or not, but it is known that Fred found Lea in
    an orphanage in the Dauphin, Man., area and that
    she had been there since she was a young child.
    How or who put her there is not known.
    After Fred died a wooden storage trunk was found out
    in the back shed containing articles that belonged to
    Lea, background papers, Rosaries, etc, but they were
    beyond salvaging and thus were lost.
    Numerous letters were written to the Catholic Archives
    in Winnipeg, Man., about an orphanage located at or
    near Makinak, Man., but no replies have ever been
    received to these letters.

    Lea died of Typhoid Fever and son Philip died 8 days
    later of the same thing.
    ____________________________________________

    The following letter is self explanatory. It was sent to
    Ethelbert, Man., and forwarded on to Humboldt, Sask.
    The original letter was written in French.

                     Marnaval, France, 14 April 1906
    My Dear Sister: I am writing you these few words to
    you that I'm glad to have had your news. I shall tell you
    that I had much pain translating your letter. You asked
    me if I didn't have a picture of father and mother. I'll
    tell you that I have nothing of them at all not even a
    pocket handkerchief of father's. I'll tell you that I work
    in the blast furnace where cast iron is made and I
    earn a good  living. I would always like to see you, but
    I believe the distance is too great. I'll tell you also that
    I'll send you our photos soon. I don't see  anything
    more to tell you except that the whole family adopts
    you with all heart. I have two daughters, one named
    Lea in remembrance of you.

                    Your brother who embraces you
                                Philippe Roth
     _________________________________________

     Fred wrote to Philippe advising him of Lea's death.
     This is his reply, again the original was in French.

                                         Marnaval, France
                                         18 February 1907

     My Dear Brother-in-law: I didn't expect to receive
     this news. I asked you to believe that this gave me
     great pain especially since we didn't get to know
     each other. She left St. Dizier at the age of ___
     (either 2 or 5 years) and I was sent to Switzerland
     alone. I was older than she was.
     I'll tell you that I don't have any family mementos,
     father sold every thing at the time I left. Not even a
     portrait. I tell you our youth has not been nice. To
     abandon us both and he no longer had any right
     over us. I will tell you also, when I left a little after
     my sister, father had gone off and left me alone
     after selling everything. Now I hope my letter will find
     us with enough ___. The unhappiness is already
     great enough without there being more of it. I hope
     that my nephews have recovered. The trip is so
     slow for letters that one finds the time long. I am
     sending you my sister's birth notice. She was born
     4 July 1874. That's thirty-two years and eight
     months. If we were closer to one another I'd be able
     to help you, but I am bound to stay in this nothingness,
     void. I join my pain with yours and you will hug my
     nephews for me.  I finish my letter with a strong
     squeeze of the hand to give you courage to surmount
     your pain. Now I am alone.
                           Philippe Roth

     Click the NEXT button at the bottom of the page for
     an outline on the family of Philippe Roth.
      ______________________________________

    
1. JOHN FREDERICK GORSALITZ: Born 21 Sep 1896,
    Ochre River, Man., died 9 Nov 1959. In 1916, he
    married Mary Ross, born 1897 Glasgow, Scotland,
    died 4 Feb 1919.
    Mary buried Humboldt, Sask. (With Fred & Lea).
    They had 2 children. Violette and Leona.

    John re-married 14 Jul 1925 to Anna Schulte, born
    12 May 1903, Piers, Minn., USA, died 5 Feb 1976.
     Both buried at Lake Lenore, Sask.
     They had 13 children. Armella, Theresa, John,
     Harvey, Blanche, Norma, Robert, Ann, Joseph,
     Marie, Edith, Lois and Kenneth.

     John (Jack) move to Lake Lenore in 1922 and
     opened Jack's Garage. He was an outstanding
     mechanic and operated the Village Power Plant.
     He was involved with many of the Village activities
     including the Board of Trade, Community Hall and
     the Lions Club. He was a keen sportsman and was
     a goalie on some of Humboldt's best hockey teams.   

2. CHARLES GORSALITZ: Born 20 Oct 1897, Ochre 
    River, Man., died 2 May 1976. On the 18 Jun 1924,
    he married Augusta Matilda Koski, born 28 Apr
   1897, died 29 Sep 1972.
    Both buried Humboldt, Sask.
    They had 4 children. Clarence, Harold, Marion and
    Charles.

3. PHILIP ROY GORSALITZ: Born 21 Apr 1898 Ochre
    River, Man., died 20 Dec 1906.
    Buried Humboldt, Sask.

    Died of Typhoid Fever 8 days after his mother, who
    died of the same thing.

4. FREDERICK ERNEST GORSALITZ: Born 19 Aug
    1900 Ochre River, Man., died 28 Jun 1918.
    Buried Humboldt, Sask.

    Fred was a fireman with the C.N.R. and contacted
    Pneumonia, which lingered on for nearly 3 months.

5. ADELINE GORSALITZ: Born 2 Mar 1902, Ethelbert,
    Man., died 29 Aug 1979. On the 16 Apr 1923, she
    married Stanley James Lucas, born 7 May 1893,
    Camlachie, Ont., died 3 Dec 1978. (s/o George
    Lucas and Jane Summers Helps).
    Adeline buried Kamsask, Sask. (With daughter June).
    Stan buried Merritt, B.C. (With sons Jim & George).
    They had 4 children. Beatrice, Stanley, Robert and
    Fay.
     (Better known as: June, George, Jim and Fay).

    After her mother died, they had a housekeeper, Mrs.   
    Blashill, who left when Addie was 12 years old. After
    that time the daily housekeeping chores fell on her
    shoulders. When Addie finished shcool, she worked
    for the Sask., Telephone Co., and worked her way
    up until she was Supervisor and Chief operator for a
    very large rural district.  
    She was also a lifetime member of the Rebecca
    Lodge and held  every office in that organization.
    Addie loved to skate and often joined the children at
    the indoor rink. She always dressed up for the skating
    Carnivals and was well known for the fun and
    amusement that took place when she arrived at the
    rink.

     Stanley began his railway career as a boilermaker's
     helper on the Old Grand Trunk Railway in Sarnia,
     Ont. In 1911, he started to work for the C.N.R. and
     went to Dauphin, Man., and shortly thereafter to
     Kamsack, Sask. In 1945, he transferred to
     Edmonton, Alta. When he retired in1958, after 47
     years of service he was a Conductor on the Super
     Continental (later called VIA Rail) and had the
     longest Seniority in the Western Region of the CNR.
     When he lived in Kamsask, he had a small nursery
     and everywhere he went, he always bought back
     some tree saplings to plant in his nursery. These he
     later planted up and down the streets and boulevards
     of that small Community, where they still grow straight
     and tall to this day.  

    After Stan retired in 1958, they moved to Vancouver,
    B.C. where their children resided.

   
6. MINNIE GORSALITZ: Born 21 May 1905, Ethelbert,
    Man., died 28 Jun 1978, Melfort, Sask. On the 1 Aug
    1927, she married James Thompson Brown, born
    14 Jul 1894, Wishaw, Scotland, died 13 Jan 1977.
    Both buried Kinistino, Sask.
    They had 2 children. Robert and Roy.

    James emigrated to Canada in May 1911 coming to
    Kelloe, Man., where he worked as a farm labourer
    and in 1913 went to Winnipeg, Man, where he worked
    in the wholesale grocery trade. He served in the Army
    in WWI and after his discharge in 1919, he worked in
    several locations mainly in Gentlemen's Clothing and
    Furnishings. In 1927 he was working in Humboldt,
    Sask., where he met his wife Minnie. In 1928 they
    moved to Kinistino, Sask., where he was manager of
    a General Store.
    In 1933, he was appointed Postmaster and served in
    that capacity for 27 years until he retired  in 1960.