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.