Julius “Jay” Seltenreich: 52 Ancestors Prompt “At Work”

Julius “Jay” Herman Arthur Seltenreich: 1892-1955

            Many of my ancestors were farmers, so I am always interested when I find someone in my tree with a different occupation. Jay Seltenreich, my great-aunt Martha Hoffman’s husband, was a firefighter for the city of Mankato, Minnesota. To my delight, as I looked through old family photos from my grandmother Nora Hoffman Macbeth, I found two photos of Jay at work.


            Jay was born on January 21, 1892 to Julius and Friedericke Fabian Seltenreich. He was the fourth of their five children, with older siblings Ida, Louise, and Carl Oscar, and younger brother Frederick. His full name was Julius Herman Arthur Seltenreich, but he was called Jay to distinguish him from his father Julius.

_{^{Seltenreichs: L-R Carl Oscar, Julius, Ida, Frederick, Friedericke, Louise and Jay}}


            Jay grew up on a farm just outside Mankato, Minnesota, near a farm owned by William Hoffman. William had six daughters, several of whom were close in age to the three Seltenreich boys. Jay and his brothers all married Hoffman girls—Carl Oscar married Grace, Fred married Sadie, and handsome Jay married Martha, who was a few months his senior. 


            Jay and Martha married September 20, 1916, with their siblings Sadie Hoffman and Fred Seltenreich as their attendants. Following their marriage, they lived in Mankato where Jay worked as a laborer for the St. Paul and Omaha Railroad. His 1917 WWI draft card described him as being medium height, with gray eyes, brown hair, and, stunningly, a “stout” build! I find it unlikely he’d become so overweight in less than a year! His marriage photo shows a slim, handsome man.

By the 1920 census, Jay is working as a “checker” at a freight depot, but by the 1930 census, he has become a fireman with the Mankato Fire Department. The photos I found show Jay on the firetruck, still handsome and smiling. He must have cut quite a dashing figure in his uniform, and he appears to have been the engine driver as both shots show him behind the wheel. His 1942 WWII draft card states he was 5’10” and 190 pounds—that might qualify as “stout”, but a lot of the weight would have been muscle. Firefighting required hard, physical work, even in a smaller city like Mankato. By 1953, at over age 60, he was listed in the city phone directory as being a lieutenant with the fire department, so he had put in over 25 years with the department and advanced up the ranks.

Jay died June 22, 1955 at age 63. He was survived by his wife Martha and their only daughter Lucille. When I am in Mankato next, I will try to do more research to see if I can find out more about his career with the Mankato Fire Department.