Selma Rebmann (1893-1974)

Picture of Selma Rebmann


Selma Rebmann
Selma Rebmann in 1940

Individual Facts

  • Name: Selma Rebmann
  • Sex: Female
  • Also Known As: Salie
  • Birth: 23 Nov 1893, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
  • Death: 3 Oct 1974, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
  • Burial: 7 Oct 1974, Amherst, Erie County, New York, USA

Birthplace: Buffalo, NY

Selma Rebmann was born on 23 Nov 1893 in Buffalo, New York, when the city was a busy industrial and immigrant center. Buffalo was growing fast because of its rail links, Great Lakes shipping, and nearby factories, so daily life mixed urban crowding with new economic opportunity. Many families, including German-speaking ones, lived in close-knit ethnic neighborhoods centered on churches, schools, and local shops.

Homes were modest by modern standards, and most people relied on walking, streetcars, and horse-drawn transport, though electric power and other modern services were spreading. Life at the time offered more jobs and city conveniences than rural areas, but it also meant hard work, smoke, noise, disease risk, and limited social support.

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Buffalo, NY
Buffalo, NY

Shared Facts

  • Marriage (Edward William Steckelberg): 16 Dec 1909, Buffalo, New York, USA
  • Children: 1

Biography

Selma was my mother’s aunt, born in Buffalo, New York. She also died in Buffalo on October 3, 1974. Selma and my grandmother Louise were very close, and Aunt Selma was also a special relative to me. Aunt Selma lived with my Moseley grandparents at 36 Broughton St. in Tonawanda after she was divorced from husband Henry Steckelberg. I saw her often while I was still living in New York state.

Selma was an excellent card player; she was once the New York state Pinochle champion. We have an old newspaper clipping that describes her winning the state championship.

Aunt Selma used to give me stamps for the stamp collection that I had when I was a kid. Many of them were Polish, and I believe she got them from somebody in the Catholic Church. Even after my family moved to San Diego, she sent me stamps in the mail. In fact, most of my boyhood stamp collection came from her.


Stamps from Aunt Selma
Stamps from Aunt Selma

Relationships


Stamps from Aunt Selma
Louise Moseley; Edna, Selma, Henry Steckelberg in 1959

For more information

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