Charles T. Schuppert

 

Charles T. Schuppert was born in Bavaria , December 3, 1839.  He came to the United States and became a citizen at the age of 21 according to the U S census in San Francisco in 1870.  He was in San Antonio, Texas, when he met Germania Sierra who had a baby boy, Celso.  Germania had been searching for her husband who had disappeared with no success. It is assumed bandits had killed him after selling his share of a gold mine.

About 1859 Charles took Germania and Celso to San Francisco leaving by ship.  Charles was a musician and supposedly played in the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and also with John Philip Sousa.  I have records of letters sent to Raymond H. Clary, historian and authority on history of Golden Gate Park and a Robert M. Hansen who has been a director since 1973.  Mr. Clary died shortly after he sent me what information he had and Mr. Hansen wrote that his predecessors for some reason destroyed records and music of band member names.

Charles could have played with a band in the Golden Gate Park but not with John Philip Sousa.

Charles played every horn instrument and had a good many of them.  In the middle 1920's I was visiting my Sierra grandparents with my cousins Helen and Walter and we were curious as to all the things that were stored in a shed in the back yard.  There were all types of brass horns stored in leather cases with purple lining and many stacks of sheet music.  Grandpa came out and shook his finger in our faces saying to stay out of the shed.  There was a huge dark blue bottle in the corner of the shed room that was covered with spider webs that must have been about 24 inches tall and probably came from a pharmacy that held castor oil at one time....Grandpa threaded to give us some castor oil if we did not stay out of the shed.  Needless to say we obeyed as that big blue bottle scared us!

Charles was a good father to Celso as he bought a home for Celso and his wife Annie in Turlock. Charles died June 18, 1917 and interred beside his beloved Germania at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California.