Whiting’s First Family

Anthony Borgo April 2022

This year’s Whiting High School’s valedictorian is Dominic Harbin. The title of valedictorian runs in Dominic’s family. His brother Ethan was the Class of 2019 valedictorian and his mother Michelle received the same honor when she graduated from WHS in 1990. However, the class of 2022 is full of interesting stories. Twin sisters Sofie and Grace Cabrera, number two and three respectively, will also be graduating as part of the Whiting High School Class of 2022. The Cabrera girls come from a long line of firsts.

You can follow the Cabrera girls lineage in Whiting, Indiana for seven generations. The first generation to call Whiting home was Jacob Schellinger who passed away in Whiting on June 7, 1894. Likewise, Jacob’s son Aaron and his wife Nancy Schellinger settled in Whiting on Clark Street. They produced a daughter named Henrietta, who married William Brown. Henriettta Brown gave birth to Gertrude. Gertrude later married Frank Sandrick who had a child named Jim. Jim went on to wed Norma Price, and the two had a daughter named Angela. Angela then married Gabe Cabrera and the two brought into this world this year's graduates, Sofie and Grace.

If you trace their family tree far enough you will find that their ancestors were descendents of the Mayflower. The Schellingers were among the members of Pilgrims who founded the Plymouth Colony. In 1663 Firman Schellinger was among the first settlers to inhabit Staten Island, New York. The Schellingers were whalers and farmers by trade. However, when the English began to move in, these early settlers were driven out. They traveled south to New Jersey where they settled in Cape May.

The spot where they landed is known as Schellenger's Landing. Over the centuries the Schellinger name is also referred to as Skellinger and Schellenger. Without Schellenger’s Landing, tourists in the 1800s had no way of reaching Cape Island proper. Because of the tourists, Cape May Harbor was constructed to open the waterways for larger steamboats and commercial fishing boats. Schellenger’s Landing is the point where the tourist and the fisherman meet to share their common love for the sea.

Aaron Schellinger was born in Bridgeton, New Jersey on May 16, 1846 to Jacob and Elizabeth Schellinger. On December 9, 1863, Aaron giving his age as 19, volunteered “. . . to serve as a SOLDIER in the Army of the United States of America, for the period of THREE YEARS, unless sooner discharged by proper authority . . .” According to his enlistment papers Aaaron declared his occupation as farmer. He is described as having grey eyes, dark hair, light complexion and stands at 5 feet 4 inches.

The document was signed by Ethan T. Harris, Recruiting Officer for the Third Regiment of New Jersey Cavalry Volunteers. Although Aaaron’s enlistment papers state that he was 19 years of age, other records indicated that he was in fact 17 when he volunteered for service. Two years later, at the ripe old age of 19, Aaron was a battle-hardened veteran of the Civil War when Honorable Discharged in Washington, D.C. on August 1, 1865

Aaron Schellinger married Anna Stevens in Hopewell, New Jersey, on May 26, 1869, the couple had three children together. Anna passed away on November 27, 1875. Four years later he remarried, this time to Nancy Anna Hayes Moss. Aaron and Nancy went on to have six children together. Aaron and Nancy arrived in what would become Whiting, Indiana in 1885.

The Schellingers originally settled in Berry Lake. In 1892 Aaron served as a fire marshall. Aaron’s daughter Henrietta recalled having to pour water on their house after a saloon caught fire on New York Avenue, probably making her Whiting’s first female fireman. Aaron eventually took a job with Standard Oil. While working at the refinery he served as a fireman, stillman, and he worked in the laboratory for Standard Oil. One of Aaron and Nancy’s six children was Henrietta.

Henrietta was born in Cape May, New Jersey on February 12, 1878. On March 25, 1896 at the age of 18, Henrietta married William Brown, who she met at a boarding house where she worked. Henrietta was a member of the Rebekah Lodge for 60 years. She also served as the president for the American Legion Auxiliary. Henrietta was an activist at heart. She often corresponded with various congressmen and senators regarding issues she was passionate about. She was also instrumental in forming Whiting’s first Boy Scout troop. The Browns were the parents of 11 children, one of them being Gertrude Brown.

Gertrude Vivian Brown was born in Whiting, Indiana on February 5, 1918. Gertrude was a natural born leader. While at Whiting High School, she was an active member of many clubs and even served as a class officer. She met her husband Francis (Frank) Sandrick, while he was an usher at the Hoosier Theater. The happy couple got married on May 7, 1938. While raising five children, she was the co-owner and manager of Sandrick Sundries located on Indianapolis Boulevard. She was involved in many organizations including the Daughters of Isabella, regent; American Legion Auxiliary, president; Whiting-Robertsdale Chamber of Commerce, charter member; and the Whiting-Robertsdale Historical Society, president.

Gertrude surely passed her civic minded leadership onto her son Jim. Jim was born on May 3, 1943. He likes to say that he married the first woman he slept with. The woman was Norma Price and the two shared a nap way back in Kindergarten. The long-term couple got married on May 14, 1966. Jim has been an active member of the Whiting-Robertsdale community for decades. Like his mother before him, Jim has served as a past president of the Whiting-Robertsdale Chamber of Commerce. He has been a member of the Park Board, Economic Development Commission, Whiting-Robertsdale Historical Society, Director of Community Improvement Commission, as well as many more. He was also instrumental in preventing the Whiting Public Library from being demolished.

Angela Marie Sandrick, daughter of Jim and Norma, was born on November 11, 1974. Like her father and grandmother before her, Angela was very active in high school. A graduate of Whiting High School, Angela served as president of the Class of 1992. She went on to attend Indiana University in Bloomington, where she studied art and graphic design. She married Gabe Cabrera on September 27, 2003 at Beck Chapel which is located on IU's campus. The Cabreras had twin girls Sofie and Grace on January 7, 2004.

Sofie and Grace must have caught the artistic bug from their family. They will be attending Indiana University’s Media School’s Scholars Honors Program. They were selected by Media School faculty in a highly competitive review process. Media Scholars are a select group of approximately 15 students who are admitted each year based on excellence documented in the Selective Scholarship Application. Special honors classes, opportunities for travel - including a 6 week internship in London, and scholarship funds are an integral part of the program. Sofie plans to major in Animation, while Grace intends to major in Film and Digital Production.

An interesting side note, Sophie and Grace’s uncle David Sandrick was also a Whiting High School valedictorian in 1988.