The lives of the Pipkin family have been filled with hard work and industry. They spent their lives working at the shipyard and steel mills. In the 1880s, Baltimore, Maryland was a city filled with immigrants; it was a thriving city thanks to the shipping port. My 2nd great grandfather, Adalbert Pepka, emigrated from Poland to Baltimore. He immediately found himself working as a stevedore at the shipyards. That would start a trend in my family history because my great grandfather, John G Pipka, worked at the shipyard as a patternmaker and then my grandfather, Edward J. Pipkin, worked at the steel mill. The book An Introduction to Shipbuilding, is a good reminder about what my ancestors did. This book describes some of the things that my grandfathers had to do for jobs such as building patterns and fitting iron for the ships. My ancestors felt that they should try to blend in with everybody in America to help them make a living. That was their reason for changing their last names; they though that Pepka was too Polish, so they changed it to Pipka, and then to Pipkin. They felt that it sounded more American. Below is a picture of An Introduction to Shipbuilding and the 1920 United States Federal Census (shows my great grandfather and 2nd great grandfather, and their jobs):
The Pipkins love Baltimore: we spent 6 generations living there, and my cousins still live in Baltimore. It was where we have thrived as a family together. The main thing that my family enjoyed in Baltimore is a bakery around the corner from their house called Herman’s, where they were customers of almost on daily basis. I was told tons of stories about things they did involving Herman’s Bakery. The Herman’s tradition continues in my family today. Even when the Pipkins finally leave Baltimore, I believe that we will still consider it our home. Even though there were some hard times in the past of my family, the name Pipkin is widely recognized in the city of Baltimore. The Pipkin family has a great past full of determined family members and great workers. My family history makes me proud to call myself a Pipkin. Below is a picture of Herman’s Bakery in 1923:
Work Consulted
Reed, Edward J. Sir. Shipbuilding in Iron and Steel, 1869,London, Murray, Hoole
Library Rare Books Collection
“Staten Island.” Old. Web. 6 Nov. 2014. <www.statenislandhistory.com>.