Examine individual changes

'{{Infobox person | name = Elizabeth Christ Trump | image = Elisabeth_Christ.jpg | caption = | birth_name = Elisabeth Christ | birth_date = {{birth date|1880|10|10|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Kallstadt]], [[Kingdom of Bavaria]], [[German Empire]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1966|6|6|1880|10|10|mf=y}} | death_place = [[Manhasset, New York]], U.S. | known_for = | alma mater = | spouse = {{marriage|[[Frederick Trump]]|August 26, 1902|May 27, 1918|end=died}} | children = Elizabeth, [[Fred Trump|Fred]], and [[John G. Trump|John]] | parents = Philipp Christ, Marie Anthon<ref name="Blair1">Gwenda Blair, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PmrwtRTQ3fMC&q=Elizabeth#v=snippet&q=Elizabeth&f=false The Trumps: Three Generations That Built an Empire]''. Simon and Schuster, 2000. {{ISBN| 9780743210799}}</ref> | occupation = Real estate developer | nationality = German <br> American | citizenship = }} '''Elizabeth Christ Trump''' (born '''Elisabeth Christ'''; October 10, 1880 – June 6, 1966) was a German-born American businesswoman and is considered the matriarch of the [[Trump family]]. She married [[Frederick Trump]] in 1902. While raising their three children, the early death of her husband in 1918 required her to manage his properties in order to support her family. She founded the real estate development company [[Elizabeth Trump & Son]] with her son [[Fred Trump|Fred]].<ref name="Blair1"/> The company, now known as [[The Trump Organization]], is currently owned by her grandson, [[Donald Trump]], who is the 45th [[President of the United States]]. Her great-grandsons, [[Donald Trump Jr.]] and [[Eric Trump]] are running the family business as trustees during their father's presidency. ==Early life== Elizabeth Trump was born as Elisabeth Christ in [[Kallstadt]], [[Kingdom of Bavaria]], the daughter of Philipp Christ by his wife Anna Maria Christ (née Anthon).<ref>[http://www.rheinpfalz.de/lokal/bad-duerkheim/artikel/trumps-vorfahren/ List of Donald Trump's ancestors from his father's side], [http://www.rheinpfalz.de/nachrichten/titelseite/artikel/trumps-cousins-ueber-acht-ecken/ created by] Johannes Steiniger</ref><ref>[https://www.geni.com/people/Anna-Christ/6000000035876804616 Full name of Marie Christ]</ref> While the family owned a little vineyard, the income from that was not adequate to meet their needs, and Philipp Christ worked as a [[tinker]] who repaired and polished old utensils and also sold pots and pans. He ran his trade from his house on Freinsheimer Straße in Kallstadt, which was just across the street from the home of the Trump family, where Katharina Trump, an elderly widow, lived with her six children.<ref name=Blair1/> ==Marriage== [[File:Elisabeth Christ & Friedrich Trump.jpg|thumb|Elizabeth Christ Trump & [[Frederick Trump]], about 1918]] Katharina's son [[Frederick Trump|Friedrich]] had emigrated to America in 1885 at the age of 16 and made his fortune with restaurants in the [[Klondike Gold Rush]]. When he returned to Germany in 1901, he wooed Elisabeth over the objections of his mother, who felt that her prosperous son could and should find a bride from a wealthier and more refined family than Elisabeth's. Nonetheless, Frederick proposed to Elisabeth, who accepted, and they were married on 26 August 1902.<ref name=Blair1/> He was 33 and she was 22-years-old. Frederick and Elisabeth moved to New York and they set up house in an apartment in the predominantly German quarter of [[Morrisania]] in [[the Bronx]]. Elizabeth (as her name was spelled in the US) kept house, while Frederick worked as a restaurant and hotel manager. Their first child, a daughter whom they named Elizabeth, was born on April 20, 1904.<ref name=Blair1/> Despite living in a German neighborhood, Elizabeth was homesick and the family returned to Kallstadt in 1904, selling their assets in America. [[File:Friedrich Trump Family (retouched).jpg|thumb|Trump family portrait, from left to right: [[Fred Trump|Fred]], [[Frederick Trump|Frederick]], Elizabeth, Elizabeth Christ, and [[John G. Trump|John]], 1918]] Because the Bavarian authorities suspected that he had left Germany in order to avoid the service in the [[German Army (German Empire)|Imperial Army]], Frederick could not remain in Germany, so the family returned to the United States in 1905.<ref name=Blair1/> Their second child, [[Fred Trump|Fred]], was born and they set up house on 177th Street in the Bronx. After Elizabeth gave birth to her third child, [[John G. Trump|John]], the family moved to [[Queens]], where Frederick began to develop real estate. In 1918, he died of [[influenza]] during the [[1918 flu pandemic]], leaving an estate valued at $31,359 ($492,016 in 2016 dollars).<ref>[http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=31359&year1=1918&year2=2016 CPI inflation calculator]</ref> ==Founding Elizabeth Trump & Son== Elizabeth had a "remarkable talent"<ref name="Blair1"/> for keeping the real estate business going. She hired a contractor to build houses on an empty piece of property left by her husband, sold the houses, and lived off the mortgages paid by the new owners. Her vision was to have her three children continue the family business when they finished school, but Fred wanted to start earlier, so she founded the company Elizabeth Trump & Son. Since Fred was still a [[Minor (law)|minor]], she had to sign all legal documents on his behalf, and perform the [[Closing (real estate)|real estate closings]]. In 1927 when Fred was 22, Elizabeth Trump & Son was formally incorporated.<ref>{{cite news|title=New Concerns Function with Queens Capital|work=The Daily Star|date=April 16, 1927|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?uri=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252015%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Star%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Star%25201927%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Star%25201927%2520-%25200653.pdf&xml=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D6c404f01%26DocId%3D9682416%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cIndex%2520I%252dE%252dV%26HitCount%3D3%26hits%3D9b%2B9c%2B9d%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fNew%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false}}</ref> Fred became quite successful with the business but Elizabeth remained involved throughout her life. Even in her 70s she would collect coins from the [[laundromat]]s in Trump buildings.<ref name = "Blair1"/> ==Personal life== Elizabeth was considered the [[matriarch]] of the Trump family. She had "extraordinary determination".<ref name = "Barrett">Wayne Barrett. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ItkJAQAAMAAJ Trump: The Deals and the Downfall]''. HarperCollins, 1992.</ref> She dressed very conservatively and formally. She was hardworking and had a stern demeanor. She remained close to her son Fred for her entire life.<ref name=Blair1/> And maybe if she had been determined to see her son finish his education then perhaps her grandson wouldn't be such a blithering idiot. ==See also== * [[Married Women's Property Acts in the United States]] * [[Women's rights#Property rights (US & Britain)|Women's property rights]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * {{Find a Grave|105719858|Elizabeth Christ Trump}} {{Trump family}} {{Donald Trump}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Trump, Elizabeth Christ}} [[Category:1880 births]] [[Category:1966 deaths]] [[Category:American real estate businesspeople]] [[Category:American women business executives]] [[Category:American business executives]] [[Category:Businesspeople from New York City]] [[Category:German emigrants to the United States]] [[Category:People from Bad Dürkheim (district)]] [[Category:Trump family|Elizabeth]]'