Parents: Charles Edelman, Sr 1815-1850 & Sophia (Kolb) Edelman 1819-? Grandparents: Johannes Edelmann born 4/10/1778 and Magdalena (Fried) Edelmann born 5/22/1776 died 7/29/1864 and buried in the New Hanover Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (the first German Lutheran Congregation in America).

Charles was born not long after his father died in a gun-powder mill explosion at a mill owned by Jos. Johns. Since records are unclear on his exact birthday, perhaps his father died when Charles, Jr. was 3 days old. His mother died when he was 10. He lived with the families whom he worked for and also lived with older sister Sophie and her husband who were farmers (his brothers Henry and Franklin lived nearby) along with several others before earning his wages. Went to school for only 3 months but taught himself to read and write. He read songs to learn and anything he found to read and to do business. He was a good man with figures, and it was useful all his life. He left PA at 21 years of age and went to Virginia for 3 months. There he worked for $10 a month. He said the reason for leaving was because the food was mostly corn-based products. He hitch-hiked to Ohio where wages were $12- $12.50 per month. He worked by the day and got half-a-dollar more a month than his friend. He would make $140 per year. Worked for 3 years in Ohio for one man and was able to purchase a horse and buggy (equivalent to buying a car). He sold the horse and buggy and traveled by train to Nebraska. Changed the spelling of his name form Edelman to Adelman as that was the phonetic spelling in America.

In 1877 started working on a farm near Nebraska City for Mr. Gillmore for about 3 months and also worked during harvest near Hastings NE. The new and improved harvesting equipment had a platform on which two men would stand and tie the straw and ripe heads of grain in bundles with a small handful of straw. Next the bundles were tied together in shocks.

After harvest he returned to Nebraska City and worked for Pet Shart doing fall husking of corn. He stayed for a year and was paid $20 per month. During winter he worked choring for room and board. He liked the good food of pork, beef, wheat breads, and lots of fruit. The meals were good. He stayed two or three years and had two mules at the time. Charles and another fellow batched together and raised barley and corn. They did not own farmland. He came to Nebraska to be a cowboy catching and breaking wild horses, herding big cattle herds in the summer.

1882 : in the summer he and another fellow took 2000 head of cattle to pasture. Quite a lot of farmers let them take what cattle they cared to have pastured. They took them about 40 miles west of Nebraska City, rented prairie land to graze. He and John Waling made good wages in summer by taking cattle in May and returning them in Sept. He had two horses and two dogs. John Waling had a horse and a Spanish Mule. The mule would get tired and pitch John off, but he never tried to pitch Charles off.

1883 Charles and another man went up to Yellowstone River in summer months looking for the highly advertised homestead land. They found only sand dunes. In the fall they returned to Nebraska and ran the threshing machine. On the Yellowstone trip his covered wagon and mules were with a caravan of 2-5 wagons. They traveled through herds of buffalo stretching as far as they could see. An old hunter who they asked to estimate the number of the buffalo said he thought there were 30,000 at least. While they were still in Nebraska, at Pine Ridge Indian Agency, an Indian offered them an Indian papoose asking to take any amount of money so he could buy "firewater".

1884: Near Nebraska City he boarded with Traugott Frenzel family while farming nearby. He boarded for 2 years at $2.50 a week. Worked for the Frenzel's where he met Alwine. They knew each other for 2-3 years before marriage. The Frenzel's had 3 daughters living at home. Charles said, "I got into a bad place and no escaping three women." Once when the thrashing crew was coming in for dinner, the different men and teams had a horse race on the way to the house. The wagons were bumping over rough ground with Charles' future father-in-law, and several other men seated in the wagon box. Mr. Frenzel hung on the side of the wagon and puffed out his breath. He acted so frightened that when he got to the house, he told his family "He never again would ride with that crazy fellow, Adelman." Mr. Frenzel was a town boy and cabinet maker in Germany. Mr. Frenzel had a high German dialect while Charles had the German-Dutch dialect. They had a hard time understanding each other. Each thought the other was dumb in their conversation. (Notes from granddaughters Willa Swanson McAllister and Caroline Swanson Bunn)

February 10, 1887, Alwine and Charles Adelman were married. Charles was 33 years and 3 months of age. He was 14.42 years older than Alwine. Alwine was 18 years and 10 months old.

The married couple lived in Otoe County, Nebraska raising their oldest children until 1900, then moving to Rooks County Kansas. In 1903 they moved to Thomas County, KS - then in 1906 moved to El Paso County, Colorado. There they lived until 1936 when they retired and moved into Calhan, CO. Charles lost his eyesight for about the last 6 years of his life. After Charles death, Alwine lived in Sharon Springs, KS with her eldest daughter Emma (Adelman) Swanson.

Children: Alwine married Charles Adelman 10 Feb 1887. This union was blessed with the following seven children: Emma I. born Dec. 8, 1887; Hattie M. born May 10, 1889; Henry H. born Jan. 3, 1891; Franklin W. bornFeb. 5, 1893; Walter E. born Jul. 28, 1895; born Della A. 1899; Sophie A. born May 26, 1902

Written and edited by Thomas Bunn - December 2023.