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Henry Baptism Record

Henry Charles Death Certificate

Victoria Advocate, November 4, 1882

Henry and Mary Anna established their residence at 302 East Goodwin, in a newly constructed house completed in 1888. They had seven 7 children, all born in Victoria.

Victoria Advocate, May 20, 1924

Mary Anna Death Certificate

Mary Anna (Hanauer) Gramann & Henry Thomas (son of Henry Theodore) Gramann

April 24, 1922 Victoria Advocate

1870 (Henry living with Uncle August Goldman)

1880 Gramann

1900 Gramann (Marie Anna (Sengele) Hanauer Wissing living with family)

1910 Gramann

1920 Gramann

1930 Gramann

The house remained a focal point for family get togethers. One grandaughter, Catherine Anne (Nancy) Smith Lukefahr, daughter of Mary Louise (Gramann) Smith recalled sitting on the front porch of the house on Goodwin, playing with Henry Charles' long mustache while he lovingly held her on his lap. Visiting in Victoria was an event much anticipated by all the family.

Sisters (LtoR): Babe, Anne and Mary Louise

LtoR Top Row: Billie Sue (Frobese) Geppert, xxxxx, Nancy (Smith) Lukefahr, Mary Louise Lukefahr, William Baker

LtoR Bottom: Jamie Kathleen Fox, Colleen Coyle Fox, James Fox. xxx, xxx, Joni (Smith) Baker, Ann (Ford) Smith

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Mary Anna was born 3 months after her father, Anton, died and her mother remarried, to Dr. Charles Wissing, three years later. Mary Anna was an only child and was often called by the Wissing name while growing up. Mary Anna was petite with blonde hair and was an accomplished pianist.

Reference Sources

Gramann/Hannauer Genealogogy

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Victoria Advocate, July 29, 1937

Victoria Advocate, December 4, 1966

Mary Anna and Henry's devotion to one another was instilled and reflected in the their children. They made their home life ideal and a home that was open to friends at all times. They were just as in love on their 50th Wedding Anniversary as they had always been.

As a child and young man, Henry attended private schools taught in Victoria by Capt. William H. Allen and Prof. William T. Eichholz. He also took a commercial course at Soule's Business College in New Orleans. After apprenticing with his uncle, Adolph Goldman, he started H. Gramann Groceries (laterHC Gramann Grocery) in 1878.

Henry was an involved member of the Victoria community. He was a member of Victoria's Fire Company #1 in 1883 and the Victoria Hook & Ladder Company #2 in 1894. Henry was a Trustee in 1908 of the Victoria Council No. 1329 of the Knights of Columbus, where he and his son Henry Theodore were among the 32 original members.

Henry was a tall handsome man with dark hair and a jolly disposition.

The Gramann house was a place that was lived in from the attic to beneath the house where the boys built miniature cities of wood and stones and they had play cattle, horses, and people, and they would use colored rocks to distinguish between families. At Christmas the living room was closed for several days. On Christmas Eve, Henry and Mary Anna would have their children line up before the door and at the tinkling of "Old Santa's Bell" the door would open and there would be a gorgeous tree set into a traditional little fence scene. At the base of the tree there were gifts for each child and gifts for friends. After opening gifts the family would rest and then attend midnight mass.   As the children became older there were unplanned informal parties and Mary Anna would always prepare good things to eat for snacks when a group of young people dropped in.

Mary Anna stressed cheerfulness when her children were growing up. She would often pin up some happy saying on the mirror, so each could see it when they went by or when they combed their hair.

Mary Anna was an accomplished pianist. Listening to and enjoying good music was a trait displayed by every member of the Gramann family. Her husband and her oldest son Henry Theodore played the flute, 3 daughters played the piano and the youngest son and daughter played the violin. Music could be heard almost every night at their home. Every member of the family sang beautifully and all were members of St. Mary's choir for years.   On December 21, 1886 along with Reverend A. Gardet, Mary Anna greeted the 5 Catholic sisters to arrive from Brownsville to form the first "convent school" in Victoria.

Victoria Advocate, June 17, 1915

Henry Charles and Mary Anna are buried at Catholic Cemetery #3 in Victoria, Texas.

Sophie Eugenia Gramann, b. January 25,1884; d. September 26, 1934, Victoria (at home)
Henry Theodore Gramann, b. June 08, 1885; d. August 8, 1978, Inez (at home)
Carl Anthony Gramann, b. May 04. 1887; d. December 23, 1874, Brownwood
Anna Augusta Gramann, b. November 21, 1888; d. October 7, 1983, Victoria
Mary Louise Gramann, b. June 28, I891; d. December 13, 1979, Port Lavaca
Leo Anton Gramann, b. August 21,1892; d. August 25,1892, Victoria
Alfreda Columbia (Babe). b. December 9, 1893; d, June 2, 1988, Victoria

Gramann siblings LtoR Carl, Sophie, Anna A., Henry

(L-R): Mary Louise Gramann (Smith); Carl Gramann; Sophie Gramann Frobese; Henry C. Gramann, Jr.; William Frobese, Sr.; Mary Ann Hanauer Gramann; Henry Theodore Gramann; Anna Gramann (Smith); & Alfreda 'Miss Babe' Gramann

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Mary Anna Gramann

US Census Victoria Texas

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Victoria Advocate, November 11, 1882

Mary Anna died April 8, 1934, at home, at the age of 80, in Victoria, Texas.

Henry Carl Gramann and Marie Anna Hanauer

Henry Carl (Charles) Gramann, Jr., was born in Victoria, Texas, on July 28, 1855, to parents Henry Carl and Anna Marie Gramann. Mary (Marie) Anna Hanauer was also born in Victoria on November 19, 1853, to parents Anton and Marie Anna Hanauer. They married October 10, 1882, at Mary Anna’s sister and brother-in-law’s house in Abilene, Texas.

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The house on Goodwin was placed on the National Historic Register in 1986. Several descendants of Henry and Mary Anna attended the ceremony.

Miscellaneous Real Estate Transactions

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"Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6PL-FN5 : 13 February 2020), Henri Charles Grammand, 1858.

The following, from “Gramann/Hanauer Genealogy,” depicts a warm and active family.

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Gramann family on the porch of the H. C. Gramann home (built in 1888). L-R: Sophie (Gramann) Frobese; Henry C. Gramann, Sr.; Mrs. H. C. Gramann (Mary Ann Hanauer); Mrs. Carl Wissing Hanauer (mother of Mrs. H. C. Gramann); & Carl Gramann.