Frederick W. Wiseman

Great Grandfather

Frederick William Wiseman was my great-grandfather. He was born in London, England in 1905. My great grandfather was the second oldest of six children. His uncle had moved to America and when my grandfather was seventeen, he decided to immigrate to America as well. To get into the United States he had to lie about his age because he was supposed to be 18. My great-grandfather always said he wanted to go to America to have a better life with more opportunities to make money and to have new experiences. He sailed to America on the ship Homeric and arrived in 1922. My great grandfather was the only person who left England from his family. His Uncle Arthur who worked as a butler, sponsored my great-grandfather. Immigrants needed to have a sponsor who would sign for them and help them settle into the country.

My great-grandfather first worked as a footman, and then worked as a butler. First, my great grandfather became a United States citizen in 1929, and then in the 1940’s he got a job in a bank. At night he took the night shift and told my grandfather stories about taking his lunch down to the pier on the East River in New York. Later on he worked as a claims adjuster for General Electric. My great-grandfather then spent many years as the private secretary/assistant to a philanthropist (she did fundraising and gave money to good causes) and author. My great grandfather was successful in investments and was able to provide many things for his family. He mostly lived in New York and Florida until he died at age 93 in 1998.

One of the reasons my great-grandfather is a hero is because of the charity work he did. Other people recognized him as generous. I also think he is a hero because he worked very hard to reach his goals. He came to America without any money, but kept moving into better positions. My great grandmother and he had one son, my grandfather, and they were very involved in the lives of their grandchildren. His family was very important to him.

I was three months old when my great-grandfather died, but I have lots of pictures of us together and I have heard stories. I was supposed to be born on his birthday, which made him very proud, but I came a few days early. My great-grandfather spent a lot of time with me during those last few months, and I am glad I was special to him. He is a hero to me for that reason as well.

In addition to pictures, I have something very special to remember my great-grandfather. He brought a piece of coal with him from England when he came to America. He wanted to bring something with him to remember England and it is also a symbol of luck. This piece of coal was broken into three pieces and given to his three grandchildren. I like that I have something that is almost a hundred years old and that he touched it.