Florence Roberts

In 1900 in NY, Florence Rothenburg had four servants. Rose, Anne, Mary, Delia

Helen Hunts's great grandmother was Florence. She had enough money that she could choose to live n a hotel.

In 1900 Florene Rothenberg was in New York, married to Gustav.

Gustav died of gastro intestinal problem related to thyphoid fever.

In 1910 after her husband's death, Florence traveled 3,000 miles to Pasedena with four young children. Pasedena was high society at that time. She changed her name to Roberts due to anti-semitism. It would be a lot more challenging to go through life as a Rothenbergtthan it would a Roberts.

She lived to age 86. Her father was William Scholle. He came to New York in 1845 from Bavaria. He went by the name Wolf Scholy. William sounds more American so he changed to that name. He began as a farmer and then moved to the city for greater economic opportunity.

in 1853 at 174 Bowery St.New York he and his brother Abraham are running clothing stores. But William is in San Francisco.

From 1848 to 1850 gold was discovered in the foot hills of Sierra, Nevada. William was very well positioned to join the gold rush. He had acquired enough language skills and enough money to head to the West.

Prof. Stephen Eron, an expert on the American West finds that William came to California in the early 1850's. He was there in 1852 per the census. In 1848 the promise of gold lured men to San Francisco. While miners searched for gold, sauvy businessmen like William provided clothes for the rough and tumbling gold diggers. This is how he attained his wealth and how his dauhter Florence was able to live in a hotel and have four servants in 1900.

In 1855 Scholle Bros shipped 10,045 dollars was the value of some cargo he had shipped, that is about a quarter of a million dollars in today's dollars. In 1858 business directory for San Francisco his young brother Jacob came out to San Francisco. Abraham stayed in New York.

In 1870 census William Schelle and his wife Rosa,Abert, Minna, Clara, Adolph, and daughter Florence (elen Hunt's great grandmother) are all living in the same household, they have three domestic servants. Sophia Willis, Ann Walsh, and Catherine Mangels.

Jacob and Willian Schelle in 1874 were very wealthy men, right along with people like Levi Strauss. Other's came for gold and they found the gold in the form of the clothing business. They saw an opportunity, a need, and went for it.

A story in the New York Times , Feb. 16, 1890, a Nevada Bank to be sold. So they were looking to buy this bank along with Levi Strauss and some others. Millionares were lining up all over the country trying to get shares of this bank. The Schelle brothers were among them. The new bank became Wells Fargo. The Schelle brothers were part of that initial investment.