Josephine Anna Mager b. 14 Sep 1895 Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA d. 30 Dec 1978 New Jersey, USA: Zellner Family Genealogy

1895 - 1978 (83 years)

Name	Josephine Anna Mager
Born	14 Sep 1895	Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA [1, 2]
Christened	23 Sep 1895	Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 528 Martin Luther King Blvd, Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA [2]
Gender	Female
Name	Josephine Mager [3]
Name	Jotty Mager
Reference Number	PERS155
Residence	13 Jun 1900	102 West St., Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA [1]
Residence	20 Apr 1910	102 West St., Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA [4]
Residence	14 Jan 1920	146 West St., Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA [5]
Residence	1930	168 Seymour Ave., Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA [3]
Residence	9 Apr 1940	168 Seymour Ave., Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA [6]
Died	30 Dec 1978	New Jersey, USA [7]
Person ID	I155	Zellner Genealogy
Last Modified	21 Oct 2020

Father	Valerian Mager, b. 13 Apr 1862, Zepfenhan, Rottweil, Baden-Württemberg, Germany , d. 8 Aug 1913, Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA (Age 51 years)
Relationship	natural
Mother	Anna Marie Steets, b. 8 Apr 1863, Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA , d. 12 Jun 1941, Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA (Age 78 years)
Relationship	natural
Married	12 Jan 1886	Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 528 Martin Luther King Blvd, Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA [1, 8, 9, 10]
Reference Number	MARR188
Documents » Slide Show		1895 New Jersey State Census Essex, Newark, Ward 3, P. 75, Valerian Mager Family
		1895 New Jersey State Census Essex, Newark, Ward 3, P. 76, Mager & Steets Families
		1900 U.S. Census NJ, Essex, Newark, Ward 3, ED24, P16A-B, Valerian Mager and Jacob Steets Families (1 of 2)
		1900 U.S. Census NJ, Essex, Newark, Ward 3, ED24, P16A-B, Valerian Mager and Jacob Steets Families (2 of 2)
		1910 U.S. Census NJ, Essex, Newark, Ward 3, ED17, P12-B, Valerian Mager Family
		At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
		1920 U.S. Census NJ, Essex, Newark, Ward 3, ED119, P. 22-A, Anna Steets Mager Family
Family ID	F60	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Event Map

	Born - 14 Sep 1895 - Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA
	Residence - 13 Jun 1900 - 102 West St., Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA
	Residence - 20 Apr 1910 - 102 West St., Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA
	Residence - 14 Jan 1920 - 146 West St., Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA
	Residence - 1930 - 168 Seymour Ave., Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA
	Residence - 9 Apr 1940 - 168 Seymour Ave., Newark, Essex, New Jersey, USA
	Died - 30 Dec 1978 - New Jersey, USA

= Link to Google Earth

Pin Legend : Address : Location : City/Town : County/Shire : State/Province : Country : Not Set

Photos » Slide Show		1907 First Generation of Magers in America Valerian Mager, Anna Steets & Children
		Zellners & Magers
		Gertie, Jotty & Ferd Mager
		Zellners & Magers
		Mothers Day 1952 Zellners & Magers
		Mothers Day 1952 Zellners & Magers
		Jotty Mager - Chillicothe, Missouri
		The Mager Girls
		Anna Mager Zellner, Sr. Loretta (Bernadette) Schirmer, Jotty Mager, Gertrude Mager Wolf
		At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
		1924-10-14 George Zellner Sr. & Anna Marie Mager Wedding Anne Zellner Schnabel believes the last two people on the right to be longtime family friend Emma Ott and either Paul or Leo Strack.
		Magers & In-laws

Documents » Slide Show		1930 U.S. Census NJ, Essex, Newark, Ward 16, E.D. 7-290, P. 5-B, George Zellner Sr. Family & Magers
		1940 U.S. Census NJ, Essex, Newark, Ward 16, ED25-521, P2B-3A, George Zellner Sr. Family & Mager In-Laws (1 of 2)
		1940 U.S. Census NJ, Essex, Newark, Ward 16, ED25-521, P2B-3A, George Zellner Sr. Family & Mager In-Laws (2 of 2)

Videos At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

Notes

Recollections from family members solicited and compiled by Terese Schirmer Piccoli, organized and transcribed by Anne Marie Zellner:

Terese (Schirmer) Piccoli:

Josephine Mager was “Aunt Jotty” to 26 nieces and nephews, only 5 of whom carried the name “Mager” (and only one of whom passed the surname on). Jotty -- I’m not sure where that nickname came from -- perhaps from a toddler’s attempt at pronouncing “Josephine”? -- was everyone’s favorite aunt. She was godmother to half a dozen of the children -- one from each family, perhaps? She never married, but kept house for her mother and two unmarried brothers, Charlie and Ferd.

Jotty was a wonderful seamstress who made First Communion dresses for a dozen little girls, all feather-stitched around the neck and sleeves. Jotty took us to Coney Island once a year or so. She was a great cook, hosting an annual family dinner of sauerbraten and the heavenly potato dumplings called “Kartoeffel-glace” with sweet sour red cabbage seasoned with chopped apples, cider vinegar and brown sugar. She made beautiful birthday cakes and her masterpiece was a spice cake that appeared at every family gathering.

Jotty had a wicked sense of humor and could laugh at things that your mother would probably have frowned on. With no children of her own, perhaps a sadness in her life that she never admitted to, she gave feely of her time to her many nieces and nephews and took great pride in them.

Claire (Wolf) Mindnich:

Aunt Jotty was the special aunt to every one of us. She was the one chosen to stay home and take care of her family. She was an excellent cook and wonderful baker; we all loved to go to Grandma’s house. I often helped Jotty with her chores. One day she was making stuffing for Thanksgiving dinner. I was breaking bread and chewing gum. Well, the gum went somewhere in the stuffing and Uncle Charlie was the one to find it on his plate.

Aunt Jotty said she hoped one of the great grandchildren would be named “Valerie” after her father. Well, I had boys, so that name went out the window for me.

Sister Loretta Schirmer, OSB (Bernie)

Every girl First Communicant had something made by Aunt Jotty. Grandma crocheted yokes and Aunt Jotty completed the slip. The same with bags for First Communion prayer books and rosaries. Grandma crocheted the bag and Aunt Jotty lined it.

Aunt Jotty frequently chaperoned trips to Coney Island on a boat or by tubes, and kept track of us for the day. On parish trips to the shore when her sisters had to stay home with the young one, Aunt Jotty was brave enough to take the teenagers.

She also baked the streusel every Sunday so the visiting grandchildren could indulge in the half-inch thick streusel topping!

Jotty made Angie’s (Sr. Mary Austin OSB) and my dresses for Uncle Frank’s wedding in Manchester, New Hampshire. They had “Bertha” collars and Grandma crocheted lace on the collars. She gave me a piece of white linen for a collar for a dress I made for Bettie when I was 9 and she was in kindergarten. (P.S. She wore it!)

Mary Agnes (Sis Schirmer) Schoenberger:

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that she always made our First Communion dresses and came to the house to curl our hair for the “big event” -- even for processions -- (and there were many in St. Mary’s -- e.g. on Corpus Christi) when all the little girls in white dresses and carrying baskets of rose petals would scatter the petals on the ground as they led the procession in which the Blessed Sacrament was carried in an outdoor ceremony. Aunt Jotty would come early and get us all dressed and ready -- Angie, Bernie and me.

I also think of Aunt Jotty as coming to clean our house very week or so. I’m sure she was paid for this. Any time there was a big celebration -- like Cathy’s birthday or Bill and Jean’s wedding, Jotty was there to help out -- this out of the goodness of her heart, I’m sure.

I also think of all the care she took of Grandma and the daily cooking she did for Grandma and Uncle Charlie and Uncle “Fat” (Ferd). Jotty also had a special place in her heart for our Bill who was her godson. I always get a smile when I think of her coming to the swimming meets at the Jewish “Y” when Bill was competing and she would yell “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, help him!” -- out loud in the midst of the 95% Jewish fans.

“Buddy” (Louis) Sieben:

Aunt Jotty was the “keeper of the house” on Seymour Avenue. She took care of her mother and brothers until they died or got married.

Anne Marie (“Clockie” Schirmer) Cuff:

Spice cake maven, cheerful and capable, good cook. (“I put a whole pound of butter on that chicken!”) Excellent seamstress. Made my First Communion dress, a lovely concoction of sheer material with satin ribbon trimming which I tore about two weeks later playing in St. Catherine’s school yard. She was disappointed (and so was Mother) but nobody yelled at me. Laughing and hugging often with consistently bad breath. She put beans up her nose as a child where they fermented and caused her bad breath as well as the cancer that caused her demise, or so it was said. (Ask Joan Zellner about the bean story -- not the bad breath.) Deep shadows were evident near the inner part of her eyes -- actually on her nose. I’ve got them now. (My daughter) Katie tells me they’re fat deposits. Was she pretty? Did she miss not getting married? Always appeared happy with her lot in life. Sometimes I felt sorry for Mother because Jotty’s competence outshone hers. A child’s view. Wonderful help; loved us a lot.

Joan (Zellner) Scheuermann:

Lots of memories of Aunt Jotty. She was a born homemaker -- loved to cook, baked fabulous lemon meringue and apple pies plus lots of other goodies. Remember her spice cake? My Dolores still makes it. Jotty did lots of sewing -- used to hem dish towels for Bamberger’s. They’d send bolts of toweling. She measured, cut, hemmed and sent them back with Uncle Charlie. Her talents as a seamstress were unmatched. I still have the christening dress she made for Regina 53+ years ago. All the girls (but two) in this family wore it and their names and dates are monogrammed on the slip thanks to my Marie who has a little business doing that.

The christening dress is made of fine lawn fabric. It’s long, square-necked, short puffy sleeves edged in a straight type lace (not ruffled). It has narrow tucks from the neckline maybe 1 ½ to 3 inches long. There is ruffled lace around the bottom. The slip is built up shoulders with a tiny button and handmade buttonhole at top, lace on bottom and monogramming on the front (added much later, of course). The dress opens in the back and has tiny buttons and loops for closing. I have them in my cedar chest. When I get to it, I’ll take a picture and send it to you.

Back to Aunt Jotty. She made First Communion dresses, flower girl dresses and many of our clothes.

She and my mother took care of our Grandma when she was ill.

In her later years when she moved to Maplewood and we were married and had children, she always had soda and cookies in her dining room corner cabinet for the children. They knew exactly where to find it.

Unfortunately, her mind became unclear and she went to live with Aunt Gert until she had to be put in a nursing home where she lived six or eight years until her death. I can’t remember the date, but I know it was December. I doubt that Aunt Jotty was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It probably was “dementia” then, but looking back, I’d say it was Alzheimer’s.

Aunt Jotty’s room always smelled good. She liked jewelry, perfume and makeup. Always had lipstick on. She loved going to the movies and when I was young, she often took me. I think we saw “Naughty Marietta” six times. She loved Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald.
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Sources

[S9] 1900 U.S. Census, Population Schedule; NARA Microfilm Publication T623, NJ, Essex, Newark, Ward 3, ED24, P16 A-B.
[S168] Parish Register of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Newark, New Jersey.
[S15] 1930 U.S. Census, Population Schedule; NARA Microfilm Publication T626, NJ, Essex, Newark, Ward 16, ED7-290, P5-B.
[S11] 1910 U.S. Census, Population Schedule; NARA Microfilm Publication T624, NJ, Essex, Newark, Ward 3, ED17, P12-B.
[S14] 1920 U.S. Census, Population Schedule; NARA Microfilm Publication T625, NJ, Essex, Newark, Ward 3, ED119, P22-A.
[S481] 1940 U.S. Census, Population Schedule; NARA Microfilm Publication T627, Roll 2428; Ward 16, Newark, Newark City, Essex, New Jersey, United States; enumeration district (ED) 25-521, sheet 2B-3A.
[S114] Kelly Sieben.
[S55] Das Mager-Buch: Geschichte einer Familie aus vier Jahrhunderten, Dr. Edwart Mager, (Location: Freiburg im Breisgau; Date: 1935;), 193.
[S130] Marriage Register of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Newark, NJ, January 1858 - December 1888, 131.
[S266] New Jersey, Marriages, 1678-1985.