Clara Newheiser Zink

Clara Newheiser was born August 13, 1891 in Maryland. The 1900 Census shows her living at 1910 East Oliver Street in Baltimore City with her widowed mother, Annie. Her father was Bernard Newheiser, born Sept 12, 1861 and died Apr 3, 1900.

The 1910 Census shows Clara (18 years old) living with her mother, Annie M. (head of household, 43 years old), Raymond H.(15 years old), son, Annie E. Wiseman (19 years old), a boarder, and Mary M. Carl, a niece, age 13. Annie was listed as an operator in the vest industry and Clara was an operator in the straw hat industry. Raymond was listed as a wagon driver in the mills and Annie (the boarder) was listed as a stenographer at Conned Yard.

They lived at 1923 Biddle Street in Baltimore City.

It was Annie E. Wiseman who would later marry Joseph Zink and give birth to their four sons. After Annie passed and Joe was alone, raising the four boys, it was Clara who stepped in to help out, eventually married Joe Zink, and became step-mom to the four boys.

Clara gave me this photo. Some research reveals that it is one of the earliest steamers, with a vertical boiler, no shelter for the engineer and drive rods that inspired the nickname, “grasshopper.” Even though the Atlantic became obsolete design-wise shortly after it was built, it was used to push cars around Mount Clare for sixty years, long enough for its historical value to be recognized. It can be seen today in the B&O R.R. Museum. It has double-decker passenger cars, like stagecoaches with train wheels.