Gen Laura Scrapbook 1 Part 1

         This section starts just before Laura and Albert’s wedding in 1915 and goes through the start of the Great Depression in 1929. 

          Some background information: Albert’s parents, Charles Gustav Hering, Louisa Schmidt Hering and 7 children moved to McGregor, TX in 1896 from the Welcome Community, near Brenham. Albert was just 2 at the time. They rented a place on the old Crawford Highway about 2 miles north of town and farmed some 230 acres. Boyd and Debbie own that land now. It’s where Bob had his office. In about 1900-1901, Charles built a new house 3 or 4 miles further north where the highway makes a turn left to the east, and that is where Albert grew up and later met Laura. Albert was six when they built the new house, and his job was to ride a pony down there everyday while they were digging (yes, digging with a shovel) the well and bring 2 jugs of water. Laura refers to that 2nd house as the “old Hering homeplace”. That was inherited by the Wieses (Nora’s family) Neither house still stands. 

          Laura’s mother, Augustina Meyer, moved to McGregor, TX in 1884 with her mother, Augustine Jahnke Meyer, from Throckmorton Co., TX. Augustina was 8. Her father, Jacob Meyer, had died. Augustina was born in New Jersey. Her mother, Augustine (later called Grandmother Hayes) had been born in Posen within the Kingdom of Prussia and migrated to the US at a young age. 

         Laura’s father, Warren Hall, also moved to McGregor from Throckmorton. Warren and his brother operated a thrift store in McGregor. Family legend has it that Warren first dated the mother, Augustine Jahnke Meyers, and later dated the younger Augustine whom he married in McGregor in 1892. She was 16. He was 28. The following year they had a child who died within in a year, and Laura was born in 1895 in McGregor. They moved to San Antonio for business reasons, but moved further west as Warren had contracted Tuburquelosis. Warren died in Junction, TX in 1899 and Augustina and Laura returned to McGregor to live with Augustine (the elder), who had married Frank Hayes in 1896 and lived on 2nd Street. To Laura at age 4, her grandparents with whom she now lived were known as “Mickey and Muney”, Mister and Mommy”. Gustine or Gussy took on work as a seamstress and Laura was raised primarily by her grandmother whom she adored.