Elizabeth Steinigger
(1889 - 1978)
Early Years
Elizabeth Steinigger was born on June 13, 1889, at 1432 Belmont in St. Louis, Missouri, to Eva and Henry Steinigger.
1900’s
On February 1, 1908, Lizzie married William Thomas Stevens. 4 After their marriage, William and Lizzie continued to live with William's parents.
On December 7, 1909, Lizzie gave birth to a baby girl, whom they named for William's mother - May Francis Stevens. 5 As a family of five, they all moved together to 4409 Vista Avenue. 6
1910’s
In 1910, both William and his step-father John were working as clerks at a grocery store. 7
On November 5, 1912, a second daughter, Dorothy Faye, is born to William and Elizabeth. 8
Around this time, the family was living at California Avenue. William was working as a laborer, likely taking local odd jobs where he could find them. 9
On November 22, 1915, their eldest son was born - William Albert. 10
By 1916, William and his family were living at 2313 Lynch Street, and William was working as a beer bottler at Anheuser Busch once more.11
In 1917 they were living at 2919 S. 13th Street.12
1920’s
On October 14, 1920, William's step-father, John died at the age of 53 after a short illness.13
On April 7, 1923, a third daughter, Vivian Annette, was born to them.14 Unfortunately, shortly after her second birthday, Vivian became ill and died in infancy.15 She was buried in St. Matthew's Cemetery.16
On August 25, 1925, just over a month after the death of Vivian, Lizzie gave birth to their second son - Kenneth Oliver Stevens.17
By 1927, the family had moved to 2808 Salena.18
Their eldest daughter, May, had taken a job as a stenographer, and on February 4th, she married Arnold Klein.19 They had only been married for five months when May became ill and on July 4, 1927, she passed away at the age of 17. She was buried in St. Matthew's Cemetery next to Vivian.20 At the time, Lizzie was seven months pregnant with their sixth child.
On September 6, 1927, she gave birth to another daughter, Audrey Vera Stevens.21
On September 1, 1929, their youngest child was born - Lorraine Charlotte Stevens.22
1930’s
In 1931, William and Lizzie divorced.23 He was 44 years old.
In 1932, President Franklin D. Roosevelt enters office with a landslide victory.
By 1933, William was living at 2016 Sidney Street.24 That December, prohibition officially ended.
By 1935, William had married Mary Bettlach.25 Around the same time, his mother, Fannie, remarried a man named Frank Ryan.28
1940’s
In 1941, news hit of the terrifying and tragic Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the U.S. declaration of war that followed. Daily life became challenging as families constantly prepared for attacks on American soil and rationed food and common supplies to support the war effort.
Beer bottlers at Anheuser Busch Brewery circa 1945
On April 12, at the height of the war, President Roosevelt died suddenly, and Vice President Harry S. Truman assumed the role of President. Four months later Truman issued orders for the use of the atomic bomb on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to the surrender of the Japanese delegation and the end of WWII.
August 14, 1945 was celebrated as Victory Over Japan, or "V-J Day". There was singing, dancing, bonfires, and fireworks in the street, and Truman was hailed as a national hero.
It may have been a time of peace, but the conflict was not over. Instead, a new period of Cold War began and fear of the communist threat began to sneak into the American psyche.
1950’s
The summer of 1950 saw war once again - this time in Korea. It lasted three years, but is often termed the "Forgotten War". In addition, the "Red Scare" was really starting to intensify.
The election of Dwight D. Eisenhower was another landslide in 1952.
That same year, the first color televisions go on sale. NBC was the only network to broadcast in color at the time, and the sets were very expensive, so they didn't really gain household popularity until the early 1960's.
May of 1955 brought the integration of public schools in the United States with "deliberate speed", and January of that same year Rosa Parks infamously refused to give up her seat to a white man on the public bus. The next several years would be marked by civil rights protests that would change the face of American society as everyone up until this point had known it.
William Stevens headstone - Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery, St. Louis, MO
On September 26, 1956, William, passed away at the age of 68. He was at his home at 3405 Keokuk Street, and official cause of death was a blood clot in the brain. He was buried at Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery.26
He had been a member of the Stag Athletic Club and Beer Bottlers Local No. 187.27
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