Author, Poet, Lecturer, Group Leader
Born May 4, 1881, Hoboken, New Jersey
Died August 1970, presumably in Brooklyn, New York
Tessida Swinges, who wrote one story for Weird Tales, was actually Tessida Catherine (Weczerzick) Schwinges, daughter and wife of immigrants. She was born in May 4, 1881, in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Carl Weczerzick, an Austrian-born merchant or businessman, and Charlotte "Lottie" (Geisler) Weczerzik, who was born in Germany. Austria and Germany were of course shorthand terms for empires. I believe Weczerzick is a Czech name, but I'm not sure.
I don't know anything about the early life of Tessida Weczerzick. In 1900, she was with her parents in Brooklyn, New York. I believe she lived in that borough of the city for most of her life. In 1911, she met a German businessman named Clement Schwinges in New York. After just a three-week courtship, they were married on December 6, 1911, in Brooklyn. He was in business in the Philippines at the time. Tessida lived with him in Manila in 1913, probably before that, too. He came to America for good in June 1913, accompanied by his wife.
Clement Schwinges (1871-1934) was born in Aachen, Germany and studied at Heidelberg University and economics at the University of Bonn. He was a traveler and businessman before coming to America. He worked in the lumber business in Santo Domingo and Brazil. He was also involved in the rubber business during his career, and he wrote articles on rubber and other economic issues. His greatest success was as a manufacturer of mother-of-pearl buttons in the Philippines. In 1920, he was manager of a law office in Brooklyn. Later that decade, he took up the cause of middle-aged workers. Calling himself "Mr. Action," he advocated for those over forty in their search for work. (Schwinges was himself married at age forty.) He founded and was president of the Action Membership Corporation for just that cause. At Christmastime in 1933, he suffered a stroke and lingered in paralysis for several months. Schwinges died on April 21, 1934. His widow and her brother, Vincent Weczerzick, took over for him, but I don't think the Action Membership Corporation lasted for very long after that.
To be concluded . . .
Text copyright 2025 Terence E. Hanley
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