Locket
Locket
Locket

Locket

Object number2018.121.2
MediumGold(?); Metal; Enamel; Glass; Photographic paper; Adhesive(?)
Credit LineGift of Elsie Morey
DescriptionOval gold(?) metal locket. Front has black and floral enamel inlay surrounded by engraved designs; flowers are variegated pink roses with green leaves. Reverse has elongated smooth oval at center surrounded by motif of radiating curved lines that form diamond crosshatch pattern. Reverse has hinge along proper left side. Static gold metal ring at top center. Back of locket opens to reveal two oval portrait photographs each with oval glass glazing. Left photograph is black-and-white bust portrait from the neck up of man in white collared shirt. Right photograph is sepia-toned bust portrait from mid-chest up of man in black jacket and white collared shirt portrayed in three-quarter view facing slightly proper left.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth (Closed): 1.438 x 1.063 x 0.25 in. (3.7 x 2.7 x 0.6 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (Open): 1.438 x 1.813 x 0.313 in. (3.7 x 4.6 x 0.8 cm)
Historical NotesLocket that belonged to Marie Bender depicting her father, William Martin Bender, on the right and husband, Friedrich Franz (Frank) Hilsman, on the left. William Martin Bender (born October 6, 1859, Baden, Germany) and Emilie Gamer (born October 6, 1860, Baden, Germany) married on January 26, 1882. The family came to the United States in 1889, arriving at Ellis Island with four children: Emilie, Marie, Frieda, and Martin. They settled eventually in Pittsburgh where Martin worked as a farmer. Martin Bender and the children died in 1891 of typhoid, except for Marie. By 1900, Emilie Gamer Bender was living in Reserve Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. She worked at St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Orphan Home as the Assistant Deaconess and is listed in the 1900 census as the mother of six children, one living. In 1901, she married Louis Strache (himself widowed by the typhoid epidemic) who had two sons, Gustave and Charles, from his first marriage. Emilie and Louis had one daughter, Frieda. Both Gus and Charlie served in WWII and returned in bad health. Gus apprenticed as a stockbroker and returned to that profession after the war. Charles apprenticed as a baker, but committed suicide not long after his return due to what the family now believes was PTSD. Marie Frieda Bender was born September 28, 1883, in Baden, Germany, the first child of Emilie Gamer Bender and Martin Bender. She reportedly apprenticed at a shoe store on East Ohio Street in the 1890s, but by 1907 she owned a store of her own, M.F. Bender Shoes at 632 Braddock Avenue, Braddock, Pennsylvania. In June of 1907, she married Friedrich Franz (Frank) Hilsman, the son of William Hilsman. They had three children: Emilie, Helen, and Frank. Friedrich Franz (Frank F.) Hilsman was born in Westphal, Germany on September 18, 1883. He became a naturalized citizen on November 24, 1913. His siblings were Minnie and Otto. Frank first worked at Union Switch and Signal then owned and operated Hilsman Shoes at 632 and then 734 Braddock Avenue with Marie after their marriage. After Marie’s death (April 5, 1941) he married Opal Reed in 1946. Frank Hilsman, the only son of Marie Bender and Frank F. Hilsman, graduated from Braddock High School in 1929 and from the University of Pittsburgh in 1933. Frank Hilsman worked at Hilsman Shoes with his father. He assumed ownership of the store in 1951. He retired in 1977 and moved to Gettysburg to live with his sister. Frank Hilsman was very active in the Braddock community, serving on the Board of Trustees of Braddock Hospital, 1963-1977, President of its Chamber of Commerce in 1963, and a member of the Braddock Rotary Club from 1950-1977, he later joined the Gettysburg Rotary where he was honored as a Paul Harris Fellow, 1984.
Previous owner (1883 - 1941)
Related person (born 1859)
Related person (born 1860)
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