My paternal great grandfather John C. Eggenberger may have been brought up hearing both French and German in his Wayne County, Ohio home in the 1870s, considering his parents were both immigrants from Switzerland; his mother from the French-speaking region of Eschert in Canton Bern and his father from the German-speaking region of Grabs, St. Gallen. But John's first official language was almost certainly (American) English, as was every other one of my great grandparents.
However, there was one set of my maternal great grandparents who were saddled with the question of whether English was the most appropriate language for rearing two of their children.
Chester Dean and his wife Beatrice were married in 1917 in Braxton, West Virginia. While their heritage could be traced back to many worldly places, the two were natural born citizens of the United States just like their parents before them. Chester only had an 8th grade education, and Beatrice only surpassed him by a few years, staying in school up through her second year of high school, but each learned how to read, write, and speak English.
It wasn't until the couple started to grow their family that a language other than English needed to find a place in their home. Their first born, Raymond Edward Dean, was born on May 2nd, 1918. The newlyweds sure didn't dally in expanding their household! But Ray grew up unlike most other kids in town. He was born deaf. He couldn't hear the language of his parents and most certainly was forced to develop some sort of shorthand with them in order to communicate, because English was the only language they knew.
It's not certain whether being deaf or hard of hearing was an inherited trait passed down from generations further back, but relatives say they learned Chester had hearing loss in one ear. It's possible one of his Dean ancestors may have been partially deprived of their hearing as well.
Raymond wasn't Chester and Beatrice's only child affected in this way. Their second daughter, Mary Ruth Dean, born April 6th, 1921 was just short of being deaf as well.
She was born extremely hard of hearing. Having two children in their care who couldn't speak their native tongue became difficult. And while it was a hard decision to make, the Deans felt it best to send Ray and Mary Ruth away to Romney School for the Deaf.
It was still located in West Virginia, but a few hours from their home, so the kids boarded there throughout the school year and only came home during summers. At Romney, Ray and Mary Ruth could learn a new language -- American Sign Language.
They were amongst peers who they could finally hold a conversation with! There is so much community based around one's language. It's unfortunate that neither of Ray and Mary Ruth's parents, nor any of their siblings, ever learned ASL. But in those days, it just wasn't as common for hearing folk to do so, despite the communication deficit between loved ones.
VIDEO CAPTIONS:
FRANCES: She went to Deaf School.
THELMA: In Romney.
BEANN: What age?
FRANCES: What age when she went to deaf school? I think she was about 9 years old.
BEANN: Oh, and—
FRANCES: And Ray was 12.
BEANN: Oh, and so Ray was deaf, too?
FRANCES: We knew, we knew about the deaf school. But my dad didn’t want the kids to leave home. And they weren’t doing any good in the public school. Finally, they decided that that’s where they need to go. So they, they went there. I don’t know how many years, through the 8th grade.
KIRA: Well, was aunt Mary Ruth deaf, or was she hard-of-hearing?
THELMA: Extremely hard-of-hearing.
KIRA: Oh, extremely…
BEANN: And so they went at the same year? The same year to school, away?
FRANCES: Every year. Romney, West Virginia is where the Deaf School is.
BEANN: West Virginia? Oh.
FRANCES: Yeah, we had to take ‘em. We had to take them to that school.
BEANN: Romney?
FRANCES: Romney, West Virginia.
KIRA: Did she live on campus?
SHEILA: Oh yes. They both lived there.
KIRA: Or she lived at home? No, they lived there?
SHEILA: It was a long way away.
FRANCES: Uhuh. Yeah. I think it took about 4 hours to get there.
MARY: They boarded and then came home for holidays?
SHEILA: Uhuh. Summer.
FRANCES: Boy, it was always sad when uh, when it was time for them to go to school. We would be all bidding goodbyes cryin’! It was heartbreaking.
BEANN: Wow. So Lloyd—Lloyd, is it Lloyd? He went? He stayed with you guys and went to school there too? Lloyd?
FRANCES: Was he born yet? He might not’a been there yet. Seems to me he wasn’t there yet.
THELMA: Well you were born in ’43, right? (to Sheila) What year was Lloyd born?
SHEILA: He was born in um.
THELMA: He’s 6 years younger than you?
SHEILA: 7.
THELMA: 7.
MARY: See I thought you were younger.
BEANN: So did I!
MARY: I thought that Lloyd was ahead of—
SHEILA: No, he was. He was 7. He is! 7 years older than me!
MARY: I thought you said –
BEANN: Yeah, you did say younger.
SHEILA: Oh, I’m sorry. No, no, no.
THELMA: But, boy, it was a happy day when they came home.
SHEILA: And then they went to grandma’s for the summer.
FRANCES: Oh yeah. Yeah, Mary Ruth was grandpa’s favorite one. And uh, Ray was grandma’s favorite one. So they the ones that always got to go.
SHEILA: They didn’t have to work.
BEANN: Got what?
GARY: Got to go.
BEANN: Oh, I thought she said dough.
THELMA: They didn’t have to work.
FRANCES: (laughing)
Ray and Mary Ruth, like many deaf and hard-of-hearing people in their time, had to face much adversity to navigate amongst a majority of native English-speaking and hearing people, including within their own home. Not only were they able to adapt and do so, but they learned another language to boot.
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