The theme for Week 40 is "Least." This is theme that can go countless directions. Least number of records found. Least number of descendants. You could also do a play on words with "leased." Remember: There is no wrong way to interpret the prompt! Click here to see all of the 2024 prompts.
When I think of “Least” I think of all of my relatives who have the least amount of interest to many researchers. A person who comes to a genealogy club that I attend, only researches her direct line, no one else. I think of all those relatives who will never have any descendants. Those that died young, those that never married, those that were not blessed with any children. I do genealogy for them, so they are not forgotten.
Without looking at my tree, one individual comes to mind instantly. A child born to my 2nd great-grandparents, Seymour Hiltz and Wilina Booth. He was born on Sept 8, 1883 in Ripon, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. I found this record by chance. At the time, I was doing my application for the Daughters of the American Revolution and wanted to see if I could find a birth record for my great-grandfather, Orville Charles Hiltz born Jul 28, 1873 in Ripon, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin.
I found an index on Ancestry that showed a male child being born to my 2nd great-grandparents. Therefore, I went to the courthouse to see what additional information could be found on the original record versus the index. It was for a sibling of my 2nd-great grandfather. My 2nd great-grandfather was listed as one of the other issues as Chas O, which could be Charles Orville. This record was for a child born to my 2nd great-grandparents.
So, what happened to this unnamed baby boy? I didn’t find any death record for him. I can not find the family in the Wisconsin 1885 State Census. This family did move around quite a bit. In 1880 they were living in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA. Wilina had family living in Ripon and perhaps she moved back there to have the baby. Around this time, Seymour abandons the family. Or according to letter received around 1902, Wilina left her husband, who was living in Traverse City, Michigan and moved back to Ripon, Wisconsin to live with her sister. Did the baby die and cause friction within the family? The newspaper article written about this letter received from the long-lost parent alluded to possible violence in the relationship. Some mysteries might never be solved.
It’s people like this and many more, that I do genealogy to find the least researched relatives. I want to create family history books and thus, I include all these people with no descendants so that they may never be forgotten.
Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!
You are doing a good deed researching this poor baby and keeping his memory alive, despite not knowing his name or his fate.
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