Week 44: Challenging (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2024 Version)

The theme for Week 44 is "Challenging." Some ancestors are easy to research. Others, not so much. Who has been challenging to research? Another way you could approach the prompt is an ancestor who challenged something in their life.   Check out all the 2024 themes.

Overall, I think Genealogy is Challenging. In fact, it is one of the reasons I like doing Genealogy. I even tell people that if genealogy was easy, then everyone would be doing it.

Don’t get me wrong, there are days that are easy. That I sit in front of my computer, and everything just seems to fall in place. However, the normal day involves, some easy, some difficult and a bunch of challenging aspects to figure out.

Many years ago, an acquaintance of mine, exclaimed with glee “I don’t know why you say Genealogy is hard. Last weekend, I went on the computer and by the end of the night I had traced my family back to the 1700’s”. I looked her straight in the eye and asked, how do you know that is really your family? Did you verify all the information or were you just relying on other people’s trees and hoping they knew what they were doing. She gave me the “deer in the highlights” look.

So here is my disclaimer: if you are a person who just goes from one tree to another, collecting names, stop! Those could be your people, but how do you really know unless you do the work. I will give you some examples.

My husband’s great grandfather is Ernest Kaeding. He was born on Sep 29, 1868 most likely in Germany. He married Lydia Erbrecht in 1902 in Shawano, Wisconsin. They had at least 13 children. I researched all of this from the Shawano County Courthouse. The birth records I did find, would tell me what number child they were and often gave the first names of the other children. 

In 1900, I have him living in Tigerton, Shawano County, Wisconsin. A Single male born Sep 1869, living with his widowed mother and several of his siblings.

However, one of my husband’s cousins has him in 1900, living in Chicago with his widowed father and several of his siblings. His birth date is given as Mar 1877. 

First of all, you can see, these two Ernest’s are not the same age or even close to the same age. Their siblings’ names are quite different too. This cousin has Ernest married twice and have children born around the same time. This cousin not only has my Ernest’s wife but another woman too. My Ernest was married in Shawano in 1902 while their Ernest was married in Hammond, Indiana in 1906. My Ernest stayed in Tigerton, Shawano, Wisconsin while the other Ernest moved from Illinois to Indiana and later to Minnesota. The other Ernest even produced a death record on Sep 18, 1959 in Minnesota. My Ernest also produced a death record on May 2, 1931 in Shawano County when he died in a car accident. 

Moral of this example: Genealogy is Challenging. People have the same name, lived in the same area and was born and married around the same time. However, you have to do the work, follow the leads and determine if these Ernest(s) were two people or one, living a double live. Since Ernest could not die twice, this is clearly two people.

Another example: My husband’s 2nd great-grandfather is Friedrich Theodore Christian Martin Gloede born Nov 12, 1842 in German. Died Jan 3, 1901 in Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin. His Find a Grave memorial is 109073583. However, the Ancestry Hints that come up for this person refers to Friedrich Carl Heinrich Theodor Gloede born Apr 6, 1843 and died May 2, 1900. His Find A Grave memorial is 80195156. Thus, there are many trees where people have records for both of these men in their tree and claim it is the same person. 

In fact, one of my husband’s cousins has done this. Her tree comes up in the list of hints, showing my husband’s ancestor with his wife and the Sheboygan County man’s grave information. 

Of the 12 hints that Ancestry is giving me, only one, the 1900 US Federal Census for Oshkosh, Winnebago County, Wisconsin is valid for my husband’s ancestor. Challenging right?

However, when I used the search option, the magnifying glass to the right of my person’s profile page, the list of records is more accurate and appears to be for my person. The first record is the Find a Grave for my husband’s ancestor along with the next six records listed. It’s the eighth record that brings up the Find A Grave for the Sheboygan man. 

Moral of this example: Genealogy is Challenging. We have to look at all the records, see if the information fits what we know about our person. It might mean following the life of a person who isn’t our relative.

Another thing that makes Genealogy Challenging, not everything is found on-line. Let me repeat this, NOT EVERYTHING IS FOUND ON-LINE!  I explained previously how I went to the Shawano Courthouse to look at the actual records. This is because the index that Ancestry offers on-line only goes so far. It was the actual records that told me the order of the children and gave me names of the previous children already born. I found a few stillborn records (deaths only) for children of Ernest Kaeding. After looking up the births, I switched to the death records and found those children who died young or were stillborn. To make things even more challenging, they repeated the names of their deceased children. Thus, if a child died, they didn’t have a problem reusing that child’s name for a future birth. They had an August Gottlieb Kading who had been born and died in 1912. Then in 1918, they had another August Kading who had been born and died. They had two stillborn children that they didn’t name, one from 1915 and another from 1917. 

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 35: Disaster (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 35 is "Disaster." (I want to point out that this theme was chosen long before any of the catastrophic events that we've seen in the past few weeks.) Disasters come in many forms. They can be personal or they can affect an entire community. You can also have a disaster in your research. Click here to check out all of themes for 2023.

The current surge of both natural and not so natural disasters unfolding around the globe prompts my reflection regarding the safeguards in place for my extensive genealogical research.

This topic resonates strongly within the genealogy Facebook groups I’m part of , where the practice to establish backups in triplicate is heard consistently. Many years ago, I initiated a practice of monthly backup onto an external drive of all my files, both genealogy and not genealogy related.  Although my academic background in computer programming taught me the significance of data preservation, my adherence to diligent backup practices left much to be desired.

The lesson of backup’s importance was learned in the must grueling manner. A fateful day brought forth the dreaded “Blue Screen of Death,” an indicator of impending doom. Ultimately, my only recourse laid in reinstalling the operating system and all software, a process that regrettably carried the weight of a six-month-old data backup. The toll encompassed half a year’s worth of genealogical exploration. While not conducting research on a daily or even weekly basis at the time, relinquishing six months of meticulous work was an arduous blow.

In the aftermath, I embarked on an expedition to explore online backup systems. Selecting a suitable candidate amongst the many options available, I adopted a regimen where my computer automatically underwent nightly backups. The initial instance backed up the entire system, tailored to the specific folders earmarked for preservation. Subsequent nightly backups exclusively encompassed files that had undergone modification or were newly added. 

My exploration also led me to embrace “Dropbox”. This service enabled access to essential files not just from my desktop, but my laptop or any computer that has internet access.  My online backup system extends its protective service over my “Dropbox” folder. 

Despite these measures, I persist in a monthly backup of my genealogical materials onto a portable hard drive. This precautionary action stands as a defense against the improbable event of the sudden disappearance of my online backup solution. Though the likelihood appears remote, caution compels this redundancy.

Occasions demanded retrieval from the online backup system; instances where accidental deletion led to the realization that the file held value, or when computer malfunctions intervened. The failure of a portable hard drive necessitated the acquisition of a secondary unit. Presently, rotation approach has been established; two portable hard drives, interchanged bi-monthly to encompass monthly backups. 

Even, my physical genealogical records have undergone scrutiny. Scanning and incorporation into the computer genealogy folders has been the primary directive. Although significant strides have been made, a backlog of unscanned documents remains. Paper readily accessible online, is selectively discarded after scanning. For example, a newspaper obituary clipping involves seeking the digital version, which is subsequently preserved along with it’s web address, allowing the disposal of the original print version. In instances where online versions are elusive, a scan secures their representation with the digital folders and the original is manually filed into the appropriate paper file folder.

Preparedness for an array of disasters is a must. While the hope is to evade catastrophic occurrences, the readying oneself is paramount. Personal experience has borne witness to the ramifications of faulty portable drives, system crashes or the inadvertent deletion of invaluable files. 

Recommendation is to initiate proactive disaster preparedness over lessons learn the hard way.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

 

Week 26: Slow (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 26 is "Slow." We living in a rapid world. Everything seems instantaneous. What is something an ancestor did that would seem slow by today's standards? (Farming and laundry come to my mind.) What about a line that has been slow for you to research? Click here to check out all of the themes for 2023.

Last week I talked about how Genealogy is not Fast, but some things with Genealogy seem to take forever. I remember when I started my Genealogy journey back when I was 20 years old, that was forty years ago. Anyway, if we couldn’t visit the repository, we might have to write for information. 

I kept a correspondence log to record my outgoing correspondence and then would patiently, or not so patiently, wait for a response. It wasn’t uncommon for months and even years to go by before hearing anything back. My mailbox became my wishing well.

I would write to older family members, introducing myself by giving my parent’s names and ask specific questions, such as “Do you know who your maternal or paternal (depending on which side I was needing) grandparents were?” I would send them a pedigree chart, and many didn’t know how to fill it out, so I made sure I would start with the information I had about them, their parents and ask for the next few generations. Whatever they knew. I even sent family group sheets to know more about them and their children.

I had people write back and attach their own hand-drawn charts that I didn’t know what I was looking at. It didn’t matter, they replied. Many didn’t. I even had a reply many years later, when a spouse was going through her deceased husband’s files and found my letter. It arrived when he was alive, but he set it aside. Oh, the information that was lost when he died.

I still have the treasured letters, I have scanned them and placed them into my computer, however, I have also kept the originals. They seem too valuable to just toss after I scanned them. These are one-of-a-kind letters, with valuable family information, I will never throw them away.

Talk about slow, scanning all my documents from pre-computer days, I purchased my first computer back in 1988. But scanning didn’t really become affordable or easy until about the early 2000’s. I had a hand-held scanner before that, but for big scans, you had to scan sections and piece them together. Plus, you had to be smooth with your movement. Later I purchased a flat-bed scanner and just placed the sheet on the scanner. It did an okay job, but still it was a lot of work sometimes just to get my computer to talk to the scanner. Plus, it took up so much space, I had my hubby create a small roll out table that stored underneath my desk when not in use. Now I have an all-in-one printer, that prints, faxes, scans, copies, and web. Even though I don’t fax because I don’t have a landline, I can fax by scanning and sending it through a special online website. Anyway, the scans are so much nicer and in color. Plus, with smart phones, we have scanners on our phones, just take a picture, send it to our email and like magic, we have a scan or copy of whatever we want!

Now the only thing slow might be my internet connection. If I am on the road and want to look something up, my bandwidth might be slow or not found. Then I would have to wait until I was in a better reception area. 

Since, not everything is available on-line, many aspects of Genealogy can be slow. It might be months before I am able to take a short road trip to the desired courthouse to view records in person. Or if I send for a request, it might take a while before I hear anything back. Anyone who has sent a request to the state of New York, will tell you that they may still be waiting for over two years. Plus, when Covid reared its ugly head, Genealogy requests took a back burner to all other requests.

I am a firm believer that all good things come to those that wait. But why do we Genealogist have to wait so long.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

Week 45: Tombstones (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

Amy Johnson Crow’s Week 45’s theme is one of her favorites: "Tombstones." Cemeteries are near and dear to many of us. Whose tombstone stands out to you? Was it something on the tombstone, the effort to find it, or who was buried there that makes it special to you? Click here to check out all the themes for 2022.

It’s been a while since I have done these weekly posts. It wasn’t because I wasn’t inspired by the themes, because I was inspired. It was because I became busy with life. It’s hard to image life without Genealogy, however sadly it happens to the best of us. 

Anyway, this week’s theme really spoke to me. In fact, it was a Tombstone that got me interested in Genealogy many moons ago. Many of my genealogy friends have heard this story, but I think it is well worth telling again.

When I was about 14 years old, I had been assigned a genealogy project in Junior High School by my social studies teacher. I asked my parents a few questions about their parents who had all died by this point in my life and asked them about their grandparents. I wrote up my report and even though it was very interesting, it was the end. 

Then during the summer, my dad said he was going to take me to visit some relatives. I was excited because my relatives consisted of my father’s sister and my mom’s two sisters. My father had a brother, but we rarely saw him. My dad would swing by the Gas Station “Garage” that his brother owned, that he inherited from their father, to speak to his brother. Their visits were short and I either waited in the car or went to the garage to watch the female mechanic at work. I really wanted to be a female mechanic. 

Anyway, my father picked up his sister and she guided my father, who was driving, through the countryside until we came upon a cemetery. The following stone was found.

This stone pulled at my heartstrings. Three children, all died by 1864 and I wondered about their parents. Did they have any other children still living or did they have to start over with their family. I knew that their parent’s were my ancestors, because my father and aunt told me so, but besides that fact, I didn’t know much. The genealogy bug bite me that summer. We went to another cemetery that day, a larger cemetery located in Doylestown, Columbia County, Wisconsin. The first cemetery was the original cemetery. Later they built a church in Doylestown and added a cemetery next to the church. It was at this church that I found the parent’s graves of the three small children along with some of their other children. 

James Crinion (1832-1823) and Mary Ann McMahon (1839-1899) had a total of ten children. James and Mary were my 2nd great grandparents. Their first child, Eliza was born Jan 2, 1857 and died Feb 3, 1864. Their second child, Ann was born Apr 10, 1860 and died Oct 25, 1861, she was the first one to die. Their third child, Patrick was born Mar 6, 1862 and died Mar 25, 1864. I am guessing their tombstone was created after all three children died, since they are listed on the stone based on their placement in the family and not the order of their deaths. When I first saw the stone, it was lying on the ground and I could read the age of Patrick and thus this is how I calculated the birth date of Patrick. Notice the spelling of Crinion on the stone is Crenien. This is the only time I saw this spelling variation. The spelling of Crinion is in use today in Ireland.

Mary was pregnant with her fourth child, David, who was born May 15, 1864 at the time of Eliza’s and Patrick’s deaths. David was my great grandfather. 

This wasn’t the end of the tragedy for James and Mary. In 1890, their daughter, Rose died during childbirth. James and Mary took care of their grandchild, also named Rose even after Mary passed in 1899. In 1896 their daughter Mary died at the age of 17. Their son James died in 1909 at the age of 28. Their daughter Jane died in 1872 at the age of 42. Jane's son, John Spooner died four days after his grandmother Mary. 

Their son Charles died in 1933 at the age of 60, their son John who might have been intellectually challenged, died in 1946 in an Asylum at the age of 70.  According to family lore, he was sent there after his mother died. My great grandfather was the last sibling to die, at the age of 84 in 1950. I can’t imagine being the oldest and having to watch each of your younger siblings being buried.

Of the ten children, only three had children, David had five, Rose had one and Jane had eleven. I have found about 125 descendants for James and Mary. 

Over the years, I have revisited the Doylestown Cemetery since it appears about 90% of the people buried there are related to me in one way or another. Much of my early research consisted of visiting cemeteries and then looking for their obituaries in local newspapers to find out family relationships. From there, I would visit courthouses to find birth, marriage and/or death records. 

I wonder what my life would be like, if I hadn’t visited that original cemetery, so many moons ago, and saw the tombstone that tugged at my heart strings. I feel as if it was my ancestors who gave me the genealogy bug, so that they would not be forgotten.

Just remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

 

Week 32: At the Library (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

This week, Amy Johnson Crow’s prompt is “One of my favorite things to do when I was little was going to the library. (It still is!) It's really no surprise that I ended up getting my Masters degree in library science. This week's theme is "At the Library." Do you have any librarians in your family? What about fond memories of going to the library or help that you've received from a librarian?” Click here to check out all of the themes for 2022.

Growing up, the public library was only ½ mile from my home. I loved going to the library, because it was free, it was air conditioned (something my home wasn’t) and it was quiet. Being the youngest of nine children and being an aunt by the age of seven, having a quiet place was heaven.

When I became interested in genealogy at the age of 14, it was the library that I went to, to find books on how to do genealogy. It was this library that I found out about my older half siblings’ ancestry, they descended from the Wisconsin French-Indian Fur Traders. 

When I reached by mid 20’s, I started to research my family history a little bit more and travelled to nearby communities and always started in their library. I even found a library open on a Sunday, in the town that I was born in. This was great, especially as a working parent, my research time was limited to weekends or using my vacation days for researching.

In 1999, my husband and I relocated our family to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. So of course, the first thing I did was check out the library. They had recently built a new library. However, I could not find any genealogy section. When I asked about it, they didn’t seem too concerned. I was bummed and confused. It wasn’t until around 2003 that I stubbled across the Lake Havasu Genealogical Society Library. I found out through the society, that the public library will donate all genealogical books to the society library. I thought this was strange, because perhaps they should at least have some beginning genealogy books?

Anyway, the library seemed very cluttered and I was overwhelmed by what I considered was disorganization of their books. The card catalog was hard to use, because I had no idea where in the library the book would be located. 

By 2011, I returned to the library and decided to join the society and find out more. I came in on Wednesday’s because it was the day the library was open from 9am-5pm. A whole day dedicated to genealogy. I volunteered to help at the library and when the volunteered Librarian asked if I wanted to take over Wednesdays, I jumped at the opportunity.

I approached the Society Board about doing classes. After raising almost $500 from my classes, I offered to revamp the library foyer which looked more like a back storage area than a welcoming entrance to the library. I gave them my design ideas, tearing up the old carpet and putting down some press-on tiles in the bathrooms and by the front & side door and putting press-on carpet squares between the two. I offered to paint the foyer and bathrooms. I also offered to rearrange the computer setup and clear out and organize the foyer area. They agreed and since they are closed during the summer, I decided to work on it in August.

When I was done, I made sure that I did not throw anything away, I moved the tall file cabinets that were in the foyer to the back corner of the library. They scaled down from four cabinets to only two. I moved the copier that was located between the front windows to the front of the research room along with a short file cabinet and the lateral file cabinet that was in the back corner of the library. They even had an extra desk that I moved out of the foyer to the back corner. I moved two nice side chairs and end table into the large foyer for a sitting area. I donated short bookshelves to fit along the pony wall that separated the foyer from the research room. I left one desk in the foyer for the sign in sheet. They had mini refrigerator that they use to sell water and soda and I left that in the foyer next to a new small storage cabinet that I donated to store extra soda, water and supplies for refreshments for the general meetings that the society has from October to May. The painted glass in the wall hanging between the bathrooms was from a garage sale. It was too pretty to get rid of. So I had the piece cut so that the chip corners were removed and my husband made the frame. It fits perfectly on the wall, below the needlepoint of the society's logo.

I also organized some of their wall hangings for the foyer, which freed up some wall space between the front two windows so that I could securely anchor the bookshelves to the wall. They were just at the end of the rows of some other bookshelves they had.

Later on, I tried to start a new chair fundraiser, but no one was interested in it. I didn’t like the chairs didn't match. My husband’s work was getting rid of eight non-wheeled chairs and I kept eight matching wheeled chairs and we got rid of the rest. I noticed that some of our older members struggled with their balance getting in and out of moving chairs. 

One of our members even donated a large TV that was mounted above the Computers, over the left side opening of the pony wall. Now when they do classes or even have general meetings, they can use the tv for a display. We found out, there is not a bad seat in the room.

Those lacy curtains  have been removed. Another member donated some black out drapes that we can pull shut to help with energy cost during the summer months when they are closed. Plus another member donated some nice pull down shades for the two front windows so that we don’t feel like we are exposed to everyone walking past the library windows. 

Before I moved back to Wisconsin in 2020, my last project for the library was reorganizing their books and periodicals. We transitioned from a stand-alone Access catalog system to LibraryThing. Now their patrons can view their book and periodical collection online. I made sure to organize the books a little better, weed out duplicates and books that would not help in genealogical research. Also, many of the help books were so out of date, so those were reduced too. 

Check out their website at lhgs.weebly.com

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

Week 29: Fun Fact (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

This week's theme is "Fun Fact." Not everything in family history has to be serious. This week, think of something fun you've found during your research. Click here to check out all the themes for 2022

When I hear the phrase, Fun Fact, my mind goes to the TV Show “The Big Bang Theory” because the character Sheldon was always saying “Fun Fact” and then gave useless facts to his friends. This is similar to when as the family historian/genealogist we share facts with our family.

So here goes, “FUN FACT”, when my mom was pregnant with me, I was supposedly due around July 22nd. When August 1st rolled around, my grandfather, her father-in-law asked my mother what was she waiting for, his birthday? My mother said, sure when is it, and he told her August 21st. My mom agreed to have me August 21st. However, my grandfather then said his birthday was actually August 23rd. My mom agreed to have me on August 23rd. My grandfather kept changing his birthday and finally my mother said, I will have this baby on August 22nd. YEP, my birthday is August 22nd.

I did find out, later, that my grandfather did celebrate his birthday on both days and didn't really tell anyone which was correct. I wondered why this was. I don’t have a birth record for my grandfather, however on his World War I draft registration card, he listed his birthday as August 23rd, 1899. His mother’s birthday is August 21st and I wonder if he was really born on her birthday and perhaps, they didn’t want to share the day. 

In the 1900 US Federal Census for Calamus, Dodge County, Wisconsin, I find my great grandfather, David married to my great grandmother Amelia and only one child is listed, their son Frederick age 4. However, it states that Amelia had two children and only one is living. So, if my grandfather was really born in 1899, shouldn’t he be listed in the 1900 Census? 

By the 1910 US Federal Census for Beaver Dam Ward 5, Dodge County, Wisconsin, David and Amelia have five children living with them and she is listed as having seven children and only five are living. Fred is 14, Elise is 11, Lawrence (my grandfather) is 9, Ruby is 8 and Marie is 6. I found a birth record for Elise showing she was born Oct 15, 1898 in Columbia County, Wisconsin. However, the birth record I found is only a transcription and I don’t actually see the record, thus I am unsure when the actual record was issued. This could be a late registration. Otherwise, shouldn’t Elise be listed with her parents? Even if Elise was born in 1899, she should be on the 1900 census.

Many in my family believe that my grandfather was born in 1900. And thus being 9 in 1910 would make sense since his birthday is in August and the census date was earlier in the year. Thus, he didn’t turn ten yet. His social security death record lists his birthday as Aug 23, 1900 however, his Find A Grave record listed it as Aug 21, 1900. Even though, the gravestone doesn't have the complete date, I am unsure where they came up with this date. 

Now to another “FUN FACT” my grandfather has three grandchildren all born on September 7th, different years. Each of his three children, have a child born on September 7th. First my aunt, her oldest is born on September 7th. Then my father, had a child born on the 7th and the very next year, his brother had a child born on the 7th. I am sure this happens in other families too. 

So, I decided to see how many people share my birthdate of August 22 and I found 38 in my database of 18000+ people.

Next, I decided to see how many people share my sister’s birthdate of September 7 and I found 39 in my database.

What “Fun Fact” have you found in your research. 

Remember to have fun and to Just do Genealogy! 

July’s Theme and Week 26: Identity (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

The theme for Week 26 and July is "Identity." In genealogy, we seek out the identities of our ancestors. But they were more than just names. One way you could approach this prompt would be to share something about an ancestor besides just his or her name. Be creative and have fun! Click here to check out all the themes for 2022.

When I saw the theme Identity, I thought of my 2nd great grandfather, Seymour Hiltz who seemed to vanish after 1880.

Seymour was the son of Lawrence Hilts and his wife Nancy. I haven’t found Nancy’s maiden name, though one document listed Perin as the maiden name. Seymour was born about 1850 in Manlius, Onondaga, New York, USA. He is the third son and 7th child of Lawrence and Nancy. They had a total of 9 known children, four sons and five daughters.

He is first found in the 1855 New York State Census in Manilus, Onodaga County, New York. Lawrence and Nancy moved to Jefferson, Jefferson County, Wisconsin by 1860. On the 1860 Census, Seymour is called Orville. George age 20, Uriah age 17, Orville (Seymour) age 10, Julius age 5 and Mary age 3 are living in the household. By the 1870 Census, Nancy no longer appears and Lawrence is living with sons Seymore age 19 and Julius age 15 in Turtle, Rock County, Wisconsin. My first question is where are Nancy and Mary? Did they die or is Nancy estranged from Lawrence? 

On Nov 5, 1872 in Ripon, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Seymour marries Wilina Ellen Booth. They had a son, Orville Charles Hiltz (my great grandfather) in 1873 and Mabel Laurena Hiltz in 1876. In 1880, the same family are living in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois and Seymour is listed as an Engineer. 

By 1900, Orville is living with his sister and her husband and his family in Nekimi, Winnebago County, Wisconsin. This leads me to the next question, why is Orville living with his sister and where did his parents go?

In 1903, a newspaper articled titled “Was Mourned as Dead” appeared in the Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, Winnebago County, Wisconsin. Samuel Hilts (might me a newspaper mistake with the name) wrote from South Dakota after an absence of twenty years. He writes ““Can you give me any information regarding my wife and children? I am the owner of a large cattle ranch in the Black Hills, with 1,000 head of cattle and am drawing $125 a month as superintendent of construction of a new road just building, and am anxious to communicate with my wife and children.” The letter was sent to a Ripon woman whose sister was the wife of Hilts. She forwarded the letter to her niece, the letter writer’s daughter.

About twenty-one years prior, Seymour Hilts, a cooper residing at Traverse city, Mich and his wife had some difficulty and his wife left him temporarily. She went to live with her sister. After a time, her husband wrote a letter to her asking her to come back to him. The wife agreed to do this provided he would agree to take good care of her and the two children. No reply was received to the letter and the man dropped from sight. The mother struggled along for a time alone and then secured a divorce from her husband upon the grounds of desertion and remarried. About four years ago she died. 

It was from this article, that made me look for another marriage for Wilina Booth. I found it in 1890 in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. She married a man named George Pansie and Wilina died on Jun 1, 1898. While looking up this record, I came across a birth certificate for an unnamed Male child born to Seymour and Wilina on Sep 8, 1883 in Ripon, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Was Wilina expecting when she left temporarily left her husband? It appears the child died because she only mentioned two children in her reply letter to her husband. I never found a death record in the years from 1883 to 1890. 

Several years after her second marriage, Mrs Hilts heard from the mother of Hilts that he had died and that a letter had been sent to her asking whether she would send money to have the remains taken to her home. This the mother was unable to do and the man was mourned as dead. My questions: where has the mother of Seymour Hilts been living? She wasn’t living with her husband and sons in 1870. Since this was several years after Wilina’s second marriage the date would be around 1893. 

The letter Seymour sent was written from Belle Forche, South Dakota and from the Belle Forche Hotel upon the Hotel stationary. Both the sister-in-law and daughter sent replies to the letter to the Hotel and both came back unanswered. They asked the Postmaster in Belle Forche for help and he stated a man giving the name as S. Hilts left Belle Forche for Deadwood and asking for all mail addressed to him be forwarded. No one in Deadwood or anyone in the vicinity have claimed any mail for S Hilts. 

Seymour Hilts was last seen by the family when Mrs. Buehring was a child of about three or four years old which places it shortly after 1880. In 1903, Seymour would be about 54 years old, therefore he could be alive and well.

As you can see, I have lots of questions. Reviewing the timeline above, gives me some new ideas for research. Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy! 

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NOTE: the mentioned newspaper article was found through Newspapers.com using the keyword "buehring" date of 1903 and location of Wisconsin. It was published in the Oshkosh Northwestern, Oshkosh, Wisconsin on Tuesday, January 13, 1903, page 3, column 3. 

Week 18: Social (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

Week 18's theme is "Social." Maybe you have a story or photo of an ancestor at an ice cream social. Maybe your ancestor was part of a society, like the Masons or Odd Fellows. Maybe you've made a connection with a cousin or made a great discovery thanks to social media. Whatever it is, write it down! Click here to check out all the themes for 2022.

When I think of social and genealogy, I think of collaboration.  

I started my first major collaboration with my maternal Aunt Mary. I have two Aunt Mary’s; both my mother and father have a sister Mary. Anyway, I never realized that my Aunt Mary was interested in genealogy until I attended a family reunion in 1990 and my aunt had started a family history book on her maiden name. She was a retired teacher; while I had a computer degree and I proposed that we work together to compile a formal book. Over the next year we visited courthouses, libraries, cemeteries and even relatives and collected information, family stories and I typed all the information up into Word Perfect. 

We published “The Hafenstein Family” in 1991 and did one update in 1992. Many years later, I managed to scan the entire book and created a version that family can purchase through LuLu and you can find it here. Keep in mind, this book is 30 years old and many updates have occurred in our family, including the birth of my fourth child and the death of my aunt. However, this book is a snapshot of our work from 1992. This was my start with documenting and sharing of my genealogy research. 

Through the years, I have connected with many distant cousins who were generous in sharing their genealogy research. Some shared written genealogies, some share specific documents, I even had one visit a courthouse and surprised me with my 2nd great grandfather’s will. A type document that I never really explored until I received it.

It is with these social connections that allowed me to expand my tree, expand my research skills and to develop friendships along the way.  This is one of the reason’s I started a blog. A way to share my research and skills with others. I even started a Facebook page for my Revolutionary Patriot, Johannes Spanknable and I have connected with various descendants. A cousin had a family site on the now defunct website of MyFamily which I turned into a private Facebook group. However, I spent many hours, downloading all the data on the site and shared with my distant relatives by sending them CD’s with this information. My relatives took me up on my offer.

So my advice, don’t be afraid to be social with your genealogy. Create small books on your family branches and share them with your siblings or other relatives. Don’t be afraid that it’s not perfect, or that it’s not complete. My personal genealogy motto that I didn’t come up with is “I think I shall never see a finished genealogy”. Thus, share what you have, it is a snapshot of what you found as of that day. People are born every day, people get married and unfortunately, people die too and thus we will never be done. Start somewhere and share what you have.

Remember, Just do Genealogy!

 

Week 17: Document (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

"Document" can be a noun or a verb and, as genealogists, we should be using it as both! Perhaps this week you share a neat document you've found or write about your efforts to document an ancestor. Click here to check out all the themes for 2022

Genealogist are always gathering documents to prove relationships and facts. When I was preparing to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), I was just gathering documents to prove facts that I thought I already knew.

I needed birth, marriage and death records for my parents and my maternal grandparents. I went to the courthouse where my mother’s birth certificate is filed along with her parent’s marriage record. My mother was born in 1927 and her parents were married in 1926. I happily went to the courthouse and used the birth index book first. For those of you who don’t know, the birth index book is a large book with the name of the person being born, their birth date and the volume and page number that the birth certificate can be found. Births are recorded by last name and in order of being recorded. I noticed that my mother’s name was listed as Hilts, her mother’s maiden name. Then it was crossed off and Hafenstein was written along with the year 1945. This was not the normal markings one would find in the birth index. 

As I was turning the pages of the volume that contained my mother’s birth certificate, there was nothing unusual about the pages. They were typed pages until I reached my mother’s. It looked like a microfilm printed page; it was black with white lettering. 

On the left side of the page was a 1945 written date, this was the same year as the Indexed book. The rest of the information looked normal, her parents are listed, her date of birth, doctor signatures and more.

I then proceeded to the Marriage index to find my grandparent’s marriage record. The marriage index is a little different, it is an index based on marriage date. They are recorded as they issue certificates, thus I went to May 1926 and found no marriage record for my grandparents. I keep looking through the remainder of the year, into 1927, and then 1928 and finally in 1929 I found the listing. Now I am questioning who is the father of my mother. My mother is a spitting image of my grandmother, so I have no doubts that she is her mother. 

I gather my documents and proceed home. I submit my application to DAR and they reject it, stating that it appears that my mother was adopted, since she was born before my grandparent’s wedding. Since I was going through my maternal grandmother’s line, I just needed to prove that her mother was indeed her biological mother.

I decided to send an inquiry email to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families to find out if my mother was adopted in 1945 by her step-father. I stated that I am pretty sure that her mother was her biological mother. 

They were nice enough to confirm that my mother’s step-father did adopt her and sent me a form to request her non-identifying adoption paperwork. I did send for the paperwork, which confirmed that my mother was adopted after her 18th birthday. My mother was going to go to college and her step-father didn't want her to bear the shame of showing an illegitimate birth certificate the rest of her life. Up until that day, my mother didn't know that her father wasn't her biological father.  

At this point, my curiosity was sparked. I then contacted the local catholic dioceses for my mother’s baptism record. Unfortunately, the record appears it never had her birth father’s name on it and it was modified to include her step-father’s name.

The moral of this cautionary tale, is that not all documents are accurate. Even though the birth certificate I obtained is a legal document, it is not necessarily an accurate document because when my mother was adopted a new birth certificate was created. Whether or not her original certificate ever contained her biological father’s name, I don’t know. Also, her baptism record contains accurate information but also inaccurate since it also appears to not have her biological father listed on it.

This was my driving force to use DNA in my genealogy endeavors. I am pretty confident that I found out who my biological grandfather is. One of his daughter’s did finally show up as my half-aunt on one of the testing sites. It was his only surviving child. 

So keep looking for those documents and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 16: Negatives (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

There are some negatives to family history... Discovering something "negative" about an ancestor, not finding what you were expecting, and even film negatives. This week, explore one of those negatives. Maybe it will turn into a positive! Click here to check out all the themes for2022

Negative can include evidence as in Negative Evidence. For example, I am helping my sister-in-law with a branch of her family, her mother’s maiden name of Steffes. Anyway, starting with the immigrant ancestor of Jacob Steffes (1821-1878) and Anna Arenz (1830-1915), I have been documenting all their descendants. We are working off a family history that someone started in 1980’s. He had listed the youngest child as Engelbart Steffes (1872-1905)

Most of the family is buried in a tiny cemetery located in the unincorporated area of St Joes, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. The area is named after the catholic church of Saint Joseph’s and there is a church cemetery.

However, the stone for Engelbart states his last name is Steffen. The stone does list that he is the son of Jacob. The stone has a birth date of 1872 and a death date of 1905. Thus, if Engelbart is a son of Jacob and Anna, he should be living with the family in 1880. However, looking at the census record, I find the other younger children, however no Engelbart.

So, I decided to take another approach, to search for an Engelbart Steffen. I find him in the 1880 census for the St Joe area living with his father Jacob and his mother Margaret. On the Ancestry website, I am also given a hint for a birth and christening records. These two records are for Engelbart Steffen and the birth date matches the gravestone.

I turn to Find A Grave and decide to look at what memorials are created. There are two memorials for this one gravestone, one is for Engelbart Steffen and the other for Engelbart Steffes. At this point I am very confident that there was never an Engelbart Steffes, so I reach out the creator of the memorial for Engelbart Steffes, who happens to be a distant relative of my sister-in-law and a descendant of Jacob and Anna.

I send him a message and point out that there are two memorials, one for each surname and reference the birth record and ask him to review those because I believe that this gravestone is for Engelbart Steffen. Please note, I never state that he is wrong and I am right. I like to gently guide people to come to their own conclusions. I also like to share my reasoning with records so that they can review what I am looking at. The memorial creator responded that he deleted his memorial.

Therefore, I used the Negative Evidence of not finding a Engelbart Steffes to conclude that there wasn’t a person by this name. To confirm this assumption, I found a Engelbart Steffen who fits the tombstone information. Ironically, last week’s theme was “how do you spell that”? and this wasn’t a case of changing the spelling of someone’s name.

Keep in mind, not all situations are this straight forward. I am currently dealing with a different family whose child doesn’t show up in the census record with the rest of the family. However, looking at obituaries, they are all listing each other as siblings. This child is too young to be a farm hand on another farm. Also, his parents and siblings are in the census record, but not him. I try to make sure it wasn’t the case where he was known as a different name as a child and another as an adult. I currently can’t figure out where this child came from. Based on the time frame, perhaps this is an adoption. Maybe from the orphan train or other family who died and left an orphan child. All speculation on my part. Currently I have added this child to the family unit with notes, because I need to investigate him more, to check all the siblings of the parents, maybe see if there are any newspapers articles about visiting orphan trains or other news worthy articles to explain a tragedy in the area that might had left an orphan child.

Good luck with your research and remember to Just do Genealogy!

Week 15: How Do You Spell That? (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

One of the things I tell people who are starting out in their family history journey is to not get hung up on a spelling. It's amazing how many ways a name can be spelled. (Just visit your local Starbucks, and you'll know what I mean!) Who is an ancestor who might have had trouble with people mangling their name? Click here to check out all the themes for 2022.

My first acceptance in misspellings deals with my first name. Back in the late 1980’s someone did a family history on my Quinn family branch. My 2nd great grandmother’s maiden name was a Quinn. In this book, they spelled my name Charleen. No big deal, but annoying. 

A few years later, someone did a family history on my O’Brion family branch. My Quinn great grandmother who married a McDonald, had a son who married an O’Brion. This author copied, like photocopied the book pages from the Quinn family book that covered the O’Brion descendants, thus my name is spelled wrong, because they photocopied the book pages. 

Just the surname of O’Brion is a weird spelling, the above branches are on my dad’s side of the family and on my mother’s side I have an O’Brien branch. I have seen the O’Brion family have spellings of O’Brien. Even some of the McDonald descendants have changed the spelling to MacDonald. 

On my mother’s side, her mother’s maiden name is Hiltz. Through the years, various branches use Hilts while others use Hiltz. I even seen brother’s use different spellings. 

I guess spelling wasn’t that important to many. Let’s be honest, many of our Ancestors didn’t know how to read or write. Thus, they didn’t know how to spell their names. Therefore, clerks and such may have spelled it phonetically. Or perhaps they used various spellings to create a unique identity. We all know families that seem to name everyone John, Timothy, James, Michael and so on. Perhaps this helped keep the John Hilts family separate from the John Hiltz family. 

In more modern times with computer systems, spelling definitely counts. Names like O’Brien with the Apostrophe can cause glitches in computer systems because it can confuse some programming languages. I have worked at places where they didn’t want us to input the apostrophe and this sometimes makes the person associated with the name upset. Someone would type O Brien while someone else typed Obrien. We know that when you sort a group of names with these spellings, they are not necessarily sorted together. Also when you do a search for Obrien it would not display O Brien because the blank space would sort before letters. However, if you sort for O Brien, you might see Obrien at the bottom of the list. Confusing right? As a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, they even tired to come up with a standardized spelling for names. For example, if I search for an Ancestor and type in Hilts it will recommend using the spelling of Hiltz. 

Moral of story, don’t dismiss a record based on the spelling. It might be your person, look into it further. Also, don’t sweat the small stuff. If someone spells a name “wrong” in their tree, it might be the spelling they are more familiar with, one they found on a document, or just wasn’t sure which spelling to make default and they had to pick one.

Don’t forget to JUST DO GENEALOGY! 

Week 13: Sisters (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

This week’s theme prompt is Sisters, "Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters..." Any families made up of lots of sisters? Now is a great time to tell their story! Click here to check out all the themes for 2022.

I decided to tell the story of my sisters, I have five and I am the youngest of my sisters and my entire family. We use to share one bedroom in our three-bedroom house. We had three sets of bunk beds. The older sisters slept on top and the younger sisters on the bottom. I remember going to girl scout camp and it felt just like home with all the bunk beds. ;-)

My two oldest sisters are born just shy of one year of each other. Thus, they are the same age for 5 days. The two middle sisters are born on the same day, five years apart. and my fifth sister and I are born less than a year apart and are the same for age for 16 days. 

My three oldest sisters are from my mother’s first marriage, her husband died as a result of a tragic work-related accident. He was a welder and was working on a skyscraper building in Chicago. He was climbing up the safety ladder and someone forgot to weld the top of the ladder and thus it pulled away from the building and he fell over 500 feet to his death. So tragic, he left behind 5 children and a pregnant wife. He died the day after my oldest sister’s birthday. My mother gave birth to her sixth child, a son on their wedding anniversary. 

My mom remarried and had three more children, all girls. Therefore, I have full sisters and half-sisters, however in my family we only use the term “half” when explaining why they have a different maiden name than my own. Otherwise, we always use sister or brother, no “half”.

My second oldest sister, Maureen had a daughter out of wedlock and gave her up for adoption. This was back in the early 1970’s, so she was sent away to have her baby and thus wasn’t able to attend our oldest sister’s wedding. My youngest child, a girl was born on my sister’s daughter’s birthday. 

Unfortunately, Maureen developed breast cancer and died in 1998, only about 7 months after my youngest child was born. Maureen was an artist and has painted many beautiful paintings and has done many lovely drawings both in black and white and color. I am blessed to have a few of her pieces of art hanging in my home. Maureen seemed to be the glue who held the family together. She was the one who would keep in contact with everyone and keep everyone informed of what is happening in each other’s lives. After her death, I felt our family slowly drifting apart.

My oldest sister, for whatever reason doesn’t talk to me, doesn’t want to talk to me and it took a while for me to realize this is on her and not me. I can’t make anyone like me, so I just have to surround myself with those who do. I once was staying with my oldest brother, helping him recovery from a broken hip and my oldest sister called and I answered the phone because it was a landline in the kitchen. I could see it was her based on caller id, when I said hello, she hung up. I had to take the phone to my brother and he called her back. I was shocked that she couldn’t just asked for my brother, I would not have forced her to talk to me, but would had given the phone to my brother. She knew I was taking care of my brother, so she really should not been surprised that I answered the phone. Anyway, I guess that line from the song "Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters..." is wrong.

My two “full” sisters were both born with Intellectual disabilities. I have set them up into an apartment. They know how to cook and clean. They go for walks, maybe too many even when the weather isn’t really for walking. I do all their shopping, take them to appointments and make sure their prescriptions are filled. 

I wish I had a group picture of my sisters and me but this really wasn’t something that was done. As we got older, I don’t think we were all in the same place much, maybe for Christmas and Father’s Day. My two sister’s who share a birthday, the youngest was born on Father’s Day, my dad’s first Father’s Day. Therefore, Father’s Day is a big day in our family, its usually our big summer get-together. Of course, not so much anymore. It also was near when my oldest sister got married, then my oldest brother’s daughter’s only child was born near Father’s Day. 

I know my family isn’t unique, might be a little dysfunctional but still is my family. 

Week 12: Joined Together (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

This week’s theme is "Joined Together." Could it be a marriage? Could it be an organization? Could it be a carpenter/mason/builder? It can be whatever you make it out to be! Click here to check out all the themes for 2022.

FYI – I skipped last week’s theme of Flowers. 

Families are joined together in so many ways, in the case of my 2nd great Grandfather James Crinion and his sisters Mary and Anne who all married McMahon siblings, their family ties became even closer plus all their children became double first cousins. 

James Crinion, who was born Feb 2, 1832 in Ireland on Jan 7, 1857 married Mary Ann McMahon, who was born about 1839 in Ireland. She is the daughter of Edward McMahon and his second wife Rose Ann Kirley. Her parents are both buried in Doylestown, Columbia County, Wisconsin, USA 

James and Mary Ann had 10 children. Mary Ann was pregnant with her fourth child, my Great grandfather David when she buried two of her first three children in 1864, Eliza and Patrick. While her second child had died earlier in 1861. Life didn’t get much easier for Mary Ann, she would bury two more of her children before she died on Aug 11, 1899. Her daughter Rose Ann Van Heukelon died during childbirth in 1890, her child, Rose survived and Mary Ann took the child in. Her other daughter, Mary Ann died on May 5, 1896 at the tender age of 17. James was left alone to bury two more children, his son James who died Sep 9, 1909 and his married daughter Jane Adline Spooner who died Apr 12, 1918. Jane gave birth to 11 children and her second child, her son John C Spooner died a few days after Jane’s mother on Aug 15, 1899. James and Mary had three sons who lived into adult hood. My great grandfather David died Mar 9, 1950 at the age of 85. Charles died Aug 3, 1933 at the age of 60 while John died Jul 9, 1946 at the age of 70. My 2nd great grandfather, James died at the age of 91 on Feb 2, 1832. 

Mary Crinion who was born Dec 25, 1824 in Ireland married Hugh Peter McMahon on Sep 2, 1855. Hugh was born Apr 5, 1825 in Ireland. Mary and Hugh had 6 children, all who lived well into adulthood. Hugh died on Apr 4, 1909 and Mary died on Aug 25, 1912.

Ann Crinion who was born in 1835 in Ireland married Philip McMahon somewhere between 1855 and 1860. Phillip was born in 1824 in Ireland. Ann died on Feb 16 1860 shortly after giving birth to her daughter Elizabeth McMahon. Philip remarried and had 7 more children and he died Aug 3, 1910.

Many of the McMahon’s, Crinions, descendants and other relatives are buried in Doylestown, Columbia County, Wisconsin in the St Patrick’s Cemetery. Most of these families were farmers. Many moved into the city as they aged. 

I can’t image how family gatherings were for these double first cousins. Edward McMahon and his wife Rose Ann Kirley had 9 children together, and Edward had two other children with his first wife. Thus, they had about 72 grandchildren and a majority of them lived in Columbia County, Wisconsin area. 

As for the parents of James, Mary and Ann Crinion, it is believed that their mother, possibly Ann Dillon died in Ireland. It is family lore that their father, Patrick Crinion came to America with his four children,  the other daughter being Margaret Crinion born about Aug 1839 in Ireland, in 1861 in New York State married Daniel Sullivan who was born Jun 14, 1835 in Ireland. They moved with their 9 children to the Chicago Area. Margaret died Mar 16, 1890 and Daniel died Jun 4, 1897. 

However, by the time my childhood came around, I don’t remember there being any family reunions. This branch of my family, my maiden name was unknown to me. Both of my Crinion grandparents died by the time I was five. My mother would joke and say that those Crinion's must have lots of secrets because not much was known about them. What I found has been through census records, actual burial plots and some vital records. 

Week 10: Worship (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

Religion played an important role in the lives of many of our ancestors. Write about how a person's faith impacted their life, how an ancestor was involved with their church, or a discovery you've made in church records. Click here to check out all the themes for 2022.

I have taken a different spin on this. I have decided to select my 2nd great grandfather Myron O’Brion who took his own life over a difference of religious view between himself and his family. He was not a member of any church. My warning is that this subject matter is very sensitive, however I feel it is important to share, because depression is known to run in families and it’s all a part of life. A very sad part, indeed. 

Myron was born in 1835 in New York State, the son of John O’Brion and his wife Jane Margaret Kress. After Spending much of his childhood days in Dodge County, Wisconsin, he grew up and married Mary Goodwin, daughter of Thomas Goodwin and Jane Burns. She was also living in the same vicinity. After marriage, they moved to a new home in Fountain Prairie. The farm was located one and one-half miles northwest of Fall River. After living there twelve years, he moved to a farm in the Lost Lake area of Dodge County, Wisconsin. He lived there until his death on November 19, 1883. Mary also lived on the farm until her death on March 18, 1910. She was born January 1, 1839 in Ireland. Their children were: Mary Jane O’Brion, John, Henreitta Cora (my line), Jessica, Caroline, Alice, and Thomas.    

Randolph Radical, Columbia Co, Wisconsin - 27 Nov 1883    

SUICIDE. - On Tuesday p.m. last Justice Calkins, of this place, was called to hold a coroner's inquest upon the body of Myron O'Brien, found dead by the road side some four miles from his residence, in the town of Westford. The justice, accompanied by Dr. Bliss, went to O'Brien's house and a jury was convened the same evening, which rendered a verdict that the deceased came to his death from poison administered by his own hand. The facts as developed at the inquest are as follows: Mr. O'Brien left his home on Monday, on foot, stating that he was going to Columbus, and that his family would not see him again alive. His son accompanied him a mile or so, vainly trying to persuade him to return home. He arrived at Columbus and had his will drawn up by a lawyer, signed and duly attested. On Tuesday morning after procuring a bottle of whisky and a vial of strychnine, he started for home on foot. When found, the whisky bottle in his overcoat pocket was nearly empty and the strychnine bottle duly labeled was found in his bootleg, with about a teaspoonful of the powder taken out. The presumption is that on his way he had drank enough of the whisky to nerve himself up or craze him then added the strychnine and taken a last and fatal drink.   

Mr O'Brien was a farmer, some 60 years of age, supposed to be well to do and not a man of sufficiently in temperate habits to impel the commission of the act. he had been in a depressed mental condition for some days, induced, it is said by some temporary pecuniary trouble and a difference of religious views between himself and the family, they being Catholics, while he, we believe, was not a member of any church. His suicide is doubtless attributable to the combination of these causes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

The distance between Lost Lake and Columbus is 12 miles. Even though the article states he was some 60 years of age, I have him as only 48. In the 1850 census, he is a 14-year-old boy and thus his birth year is pretty much accurate. His children at the time of his death ranged in age from 24 to 4 years old. His eldest son John was 23, most likely the son mentioned in the article. 

Myron’s mother, Jane Margaret Kress died the following summer on Aug 19, 1884. I feel sorry for her having to live through such as sadness. Myron’s wife, Mary Goodwin lived 27 more years and died on Mar 18, 1910 on the farm. 

Later that year (1910), the farm was sold at public auction.

Week 7: Landed (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

The Week 7 theme is "Landed." There are many meanings of landed: to have arrived at a destination, to have been delivered, to own real property, to be part of the "landed gentry." So many ways you can go with this week's theme! Click here to check out all the themes for 2022.

I have decided to jump from my ancestors to my older half-siblings ancestor(s). Their father passed when my oldest brother was about 8 years old. My niece, my oldest brother’s daughter and I were going through his papers because she is handling the estate of her father. My brother, Tim McAbee lost his battle with cancer on October 24, 2021.

Among the stuff, I found a few genealogical papers. My brother like looking at his genealogy, however never was bitten by the bug. One of the pages looks like something my mother wrote. Another page was written by my deceased older sister, Maureen McAbee Wienke. She lost her battle with breast cancer on April 9, 1998. Another page, a family group sheet, appears to be sent from a Joe McAbee who lived in Gillette, Wyoming. I don’t know if Joe was asking for information from my brother. Finally there was a typed page from the “Commemorative Biographical Record of the Fox River Valley” published in 1895. Thus I have decided to type those two pages, because it explains how my half siblings ancestors landed in Wisconsin, our home state.

My Mother's handwriting

My sister's handwriting,
I cut off the picture since it listed living people's birth dates.

JOHN L McAbee, one of the well-known successful agriculturists of Lawrence Township, is a native of Brown County, born November 1, 1842, in Fort Howard, son of Lambert McAbee, an early president of the county.

Lambert McAbee was born, about 1816, in Detroit, Mich., of French and Scotch extraction, and was a member of one of the early families of this section of Michigan. In an early day he came to Green Bay, Wis., to trade with the Indians, with whose language he was quite familiar, and this business, in which he was very successful, was his principal vocation.  In about 1840, he married, in Green Bay, Miss Sophia La Vigue, who was born in that city in 1820, daughter of John La Vigue, a native of Canada, of French extraction. John La Vigue came to Green Bay in early manhood, and there married Elizabeth Huldrick, who was born in Fort Howard, daughter of Peter Huldrick, a native of Germany, who came to the United States about the beginning of the present century, arriving at Fort Howard with the first English troops that ever landed there.

To Lambert and Sophia McAbee were born five children, namely: John L., whose name introduced this memoir; Catherine, Mrs. Augustus Gerarden of Outagamie County, Wis., Mary, unmarried, of Lawrence Township; Angeline, deceased; and Josephine, unmarried, of Lawrence township. In the spring of 1850, the father of this family died, and was buried in Allousez cemetery, and the widow was thus left with five small children, our subject, the eldest, being not yet eight years of age. The family at that time were living on a small piece of land along the Fox River, which Mr. McAbee had purchased of the Government; but they were defrauded of this, and the only home left to them was an old sugar-house on Section 22, Lawrence Township, where Mr. McAbee had operated a sugar-camp. Never having been intended for a dwelling-house, it was but a rude construction, without even a floor; but with the assistance of willing and kind-hearted neighbors it was improved and made habitable, and here they lived until 1861, when a substantial log house was erected, which is yet standing. They squatted eighty acres of land, which they subsequently purchased from the Fox River Land Company at $1.25 per acre, selling the only horse they had to pay for it. But one path led to or from their location, and that was a “winter road” leading to the Fox River, at a point one mile from Little Kaukauna. The first space cleared on the land was planted in corn and potatoes, and each year, as the land improved and the children grew old enough to help, the farm became more and more productive, till it yielded them a comfortable support.

John L McAbee was about nineteen years old at the breaking out of the Civil War, and like may young men, longed to take part in the suppression of the Rebellion. Accordingly, in December 1861, he enlisted in Company K Seventeenth Wis., V. I., being sent to Madison, Wis., whence, after a short stay at Camp Randall, he was sent to Camp Benton, St. Louis, and thence to Tennessee, arriving at Shiloh shortly after the engagement of that place. He participated in the fight oat Corinth (his first battle) and next in the engagement at Holly Springs, from there going to Memphis, where in January 1863, he was discharged on account of illness, the result of a cold he had contacted at Madison, Wis., Mr. McAbee returned to his home in Brown County, Wis., and after recuperating his health re-enlisted, in January 1864, this time in Company F., Fourteenth Wis., V. I., proceeding with the command to Vicksburg., Miss., and thence to Eastport. He took part in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain and in the march to Atlanta, participating in seventeen engagements around that city, and after its fall he was among those who returned to Nashville with Hood. From Nashville they were conveyed by transports to New Orleans, near where they camped for three weeks, on Dauphin Island. He was in the engagement that followed at Spanish Fort, and in the land forces around Mobile, and at the time of Lee’s surrender was on the march to Montgomery, Ala. Mr. McAbee was mustered out of the service at Mobile and on October 29, 1865 received an honorable discharged at Madison, Wis.; during his long term of service he was never injured.

Immediately after receiving his discharged our subject returned to Brown County, and November 14, 1865 he was united in marriage with Miss Abigail Garity, who was born October 7, 1848 in Milwaukee, Wis. She was the daughter of George and Abigail (Childs) Garity, natives, respectively, of Ireland and new York state, who came in an early day to Milwaukee, and subsequently, to Kaukauna, Outagamie County, where they were residing at the time of Mrs. McAbee’s marriage. Mr. Garity was at one time an extensive landowner in Outagamie County, where he ranked among the leading men of his section. He died in Kaukauna, and his widow now makes her home in Wausau, Wis.

After his marriage, Mr. McAbee built a log home on his present farm, and here he and his family resided until the erection of the pleasant home they now occupy. They have had children as follows: Angeline, deceased  in infancy, Amos and Lambert, at home; Genevea, Mrs. James Sullivan, of Lawrence Township; Martha, deceased when two years old; James, at home; Sophie, a well-educated young lady, who has held a teacher’s certificate since her fifteenth year; Henry, deceased in infancy; Henry, living at home; Mary, deceased in infancy; Gertrude, at home; Ellen, deceased in infancy, and Louis and Maggie, at home. Mr. McAbee has ninety-two acres, of excellent farm land, all of which he himself has taken from its primitive state. He has been successful in his chosen vocation and deserves great credit for what he has accomplished, especially as it is all the result of his own efforts. By reading and observation he has acquired a good practical education, in spite of his lack of early literary training. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and has served his township as supervisor, at present holding the position of health officer, and for fourteen consecutive years he has been school director. He was selected to act as jury man three times, and served each time. In religious connection he and his wife are members of St. Paul’s Catholic Church at Wrightstown.

Week 6: Maps (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

They say X marks the spot. I don't know if that's true, but I do know that maps are great resources for our research! Think about a time when a map helped you discover an ancestor. Another way you could approach the theme is think about an ancestor would could have really used a map. Feel free to be creative!

When I started out my genealogy quest 40 years ago, in my late teens, I needed a map of my state, as I was traveling to various courthouses, cemeteries, libraries, etc. or I might have gotten lost. Okay, I did get lost, but having a map meant I wasn’t totally lost.

While visiting one of the many libraries I use to visit, I came across plat maps. I decided to look at one and it blew my mind. It had land owners names and the boundaries of their land. They had schools marked and even cemeteries. It took a while, but I found my family on such a map. In the map below you will find several of my ancestors. 

James Crinion (1832-1923), my paternal 2nd great-grandfather on my surname line. Near him was his son, Charles (Chas) Crinion (1873-1933). To the West is Mrs. M J McDonald, which I believe is my 2nd great-grandmother through my father’s mother’s surname line, Catherine Quinn McDonald (1829-1914) since her husband Michael McDonald (1827-1910) had passed in 1910. They had a son William (1863-1954). Between these two landowners I found Wm Gadow, my 2nd great-grandfather, through my paternal grandfather’s mother’s surname line. William was born on Aug 22, 1844, whom I share my birthday with and died Dec 7, 1923.

I think seeing this map made genealogy more fun for me. I compared the map to a current map and tried to find the land. I realized that the roads did change a little over time. This map was from a time before cars were popular and thus horses probably could go more freely than cars. I know they had some sort of roads for wagons and such. The biggest thing is that I could visually see how close of neighbors my family really was. How a Crinion and Gadow might have met and how a Crinion and McDonald might have met. They were neighbors who probably helped each other out, attended church together, perhaps attended the same one room school house. My family is in the upper right hand quadrant. 

Check out Amy Johnson Crow 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Themes for 2022 to receive a weekly email with ideas for using the prompts or to check out the Themes for 2022.