Charles William Vanderwyst (1877-1952)
BORN: December 25, 1877 in Brighton/Cleveland, Ohio
DIED: June 29/30 1952 at Cleveland, Ohio
PARENTS: Albert Vanderwyst (1825-1882) and Charity Amelia Thomas (1840-1926)
SPOUSE: Rose Mary Kleiman (1876-1958), married June 19, 1901 at Sacred Heart (Brooklyn/Brighton), Cleveland
CHILDREN: William Albert Vanderwyst (1902-1967), Lillian Rose Vanderwyst (1904-1961) and Carl Joseph Vanderwyst (1910-2002)
Biography
Charles William developed severe cataracts in both eyes as a very young child. At about age five a doctor operated at the family home to remove them, but was unsuccessful on both eyes. Charles was functionally blind for the rest of his life. Despite his disability he was very proud of the life he built -marrying; buying a house at 9235 Birchdale in Cleveland; raising three children; and working at several jobs.
As a young man he attended the Ohio School for the Blind in Columbus where he learned piano tuning, how to read braille and other life skills. While there he met his future wife Rose Mary Kleiman (1876-1958) who was visiting her blind sister Wilhelmina Kleiman (1866-1960), a fellow student.
Charles and Rose Mary were married June 19, 1901 at Sacred Heart in Brighton/Brooklyn where his mother Charity Amelia Thomas (1840-1926) and possibly some of his siblings still resided. In attendance were his godfather William Greif (b.1855) and his cousin Imogene Thomas (b.1878) (wedding notice clipped from newspaper). The couple honeymooned in Buffalo, New York at the World's Fair where President McKinnley was shot.
Back in Cleveland Charles worked as a piano tuner for the school board. A deaf man by the name of Northrup drove a horse and buggy from school to school while Charles tuned the pianos at each stop (biography clipped from newspaper). This job ended when Northrup died.
Charles found other jobs. He worked in a broom factory operated by the Cleveland Society for the Blind on East 55th Street. For a while he assembled radios for the Sterling Manufacturing Company at East 30th Street & Prospect and also assembled various small items at home on a piecemeal basis. The family eked out a living thanks to Rose Mary's skill at stretching what little they had: Charles' earnings, a small blind pension from the state and contributions from the children when they finished school and went to work.
Charles was active in a Social Club for the blind sponsored by the Cleveland Society for the Blind. He also played the viola, read braille and listened to music and talking books on his wind up Victrola.
Charles seems to have retired early and was supported in his declining years by his youngest son Carl Joseph Vanderwyst (1910-2002). He apparently enjoyed playing cards with the neighbours. He passed away at his home at 9235 Birchdale in June 1952 (Cleveland Necrology File). He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland with his wife.
This entry was last edited February 19, 2005
