Findagrave member Nan Brennan (#49027587) adds:


Esther was the last daughter of John and Henrietta Munhall. She was born in 1869 among 5 brothers and 1 sister in Oil City, Venago, Pennsylvania where her father was an oil producer. She was a handful, so much so that when the census taker asked "Who's that?" back came the answer, "Lulu! "

She'd need every bit of that luluness in her life. Her brother Gilbert had already died. Maggie, her older sister followed. By the time the 1880 census arrived in Mifflin, Allegheny, only her father, William, Albert and Otis remained besides herself. Her mother had died in 1875 and the 10 year old Essie now had a young stepmother barely 14 years older than herself. Although Margaret had brought her mother with her to the marriage, her attention was to be given to her own children, soon to number five. The remarkably pretty Esther was free to party, attending taffy pulls with the local young people. Among them was Joseph Edward Schwab, brown eyed and brown haired like herself, a rising steel mill superintendent. They met at a church social. It seemed to be love at first sight for the couple. He had the reputation of being little interested in the bright-eyed girls he encountered; she was just out of school, looking at the world through roseate romantic eyes. Schwab never made a formal proposal of hand to her parents or her brothers who had desired a very different alliance for her. Certainly not to a Catholic as they were Presbyterian. Joe and Esther exchanged vows of undying love and eloped from her home at night to be married Nov. 2o, 1889. For a time, it is said there were threats of physical violence towards Joseph, but the family came to a truce eventually.

Esther lived the life style of the wife of a rising steel magnate of the Gilded Age. Joseph was closely associated with his distinguished brother Charles M. Schwab, the “Steel Titan”. Together the brothers gambled at Monte Carlo, where Charles broke the bank, and took ocean liners to Paris where they and their families had suites at the Ritz. There were yachts, and private railroad cars, actresses, and foreign dignitaries. Joseph heard Mark Twain lecture, surrounded by fellow businessmen.

It was a rich life. Charles built Riverside in New York City, Joseph stayed with his family (Charles M was born in 1897, Dorothy in 1899) at the Ansonia, two blocks apart. Both edifices had air conditioning, bowling alleys, and swimming pools. The Ansonia had seals in the lobby and a bear on the rooftop farm among the chickens and cows. Charles and Dorothy had all the advantages of the country in the middle of the city- fresh eggs were brought to the door of their suite every morning by bellhop. Joseph and Dorothy also maintained a home in Duquesne near Esther's family. Esther was at her father's bedside when he passed away in 1904. But by 1907, Joseph was trying to secure a divorce. Esther and the children were in an apartment near Central Park while Joseph stayed at the Waldorf Astoria. Esther allowed Margaret, her stepmother, to speak for her to the press throughout the affair. Esther continued to live alone with her children until she died on Aug. 22, 1922. Joseph had died Feb. 17 of that year. they were separated in death by the same religious conflict that had led to their elopement. But, Esther lies buried by and with her children.

Sources

1870 US Census

1880 Us Census

New York Times June 10, 1904

Pittsburgh Press Dec. 15, 1907

Pittsburgh Press Dec. 16, 1907

Tribune Feb. 18, 1922

The Iron Age Feb. 23, 1922

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Aug.28, 1922