Week 39: Disappeared (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2025 Version)

The theme for Week 39 is “Disappeared.” All of us have someone on our family tree who seems to have just disappeared. This is a good week to write about them. (Who knows – maybe writing about them will help you spot some gaps in your research and give you ideas on new places to look!) Check out all of the 2025 prompts here.

First, let me apologize for not writing much this year. My writing last year was therapeutic because it was a rough one for me personally. This year I have been working on other genealogy projects. Anyway…

Whenever the topic of Disappeared or Lost comes up with my genealogy, I always go to my 2nd great-grandfather Seymour Hiltz.  Seymour was born about 1850 to Lawrence Hilts and his wife Nancy (possibly another branch of the Hilts/z family). He married Wilina Booth in 1872 in Ripon, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. They had three known children, Orville Charles my ancestor, his younger sister Mabel and a younger unnamed brother. I only found this brother’s birth record and I guess he is another example of disappeared.

Sometime after 1880, Seymour seems to have disappeared from the family. I have a newspaper article from 1903 where he wrote a letter to his sister-in-law inquiring about his wife and children. He asked for a quick reply but the reply that was sent was returned undeliverable and unopened. He seemed to disappear again.

My nephew recently found some information about Seymour from 1885 where he was arraigned at the Lewis County Circuit Court (Missouri) and charged with the alleged rape of a 15-year-old. The jury reached a verdict of guilty based on the circumstantial evidence and the direct testimony of eyewitnesses. Seymour’s sentencing occurred on September 23, 1885 (140 years ago). The jury voted 10 to 2 to execute Seymour by hanging but it required a unanimous vote and instead was sentenced to 21 years at the State Penitentiary in Jefferson City, Missouri. 

His penitentiary records give a description of Seymour (spelled in the records as Seymore). He was 34 years old and a cook, he was 5 ft and 1 ¾” tall (he is shorter than me). Foot length is 9 ½. His hair is blonde and he has blue eyes with dark complexion. He does have a mustache. He listed no religion and he can read and write and was never imprisoned before. He listed himself a Widower (which is not true because Wilina is alive) with 3 children. He has a long aquiline nose, a small scar on the index finger of his left hand (faint), long scar inside left wrist and a small mole above the navel.

Within one month of Seymour’s sentence, the mother of the young girl made a confession that Seymour was innocent and she was made to testified by the father of the young girl. The father compelled his daughter to prosecute the suit and by ways of threats, prevented the mother and daughter from acknowledging Seymour’s innocence of the crime of rape at the trial.

Seymour’s attorneys appealed to Governor John Sappington Marmaduke to pardon Seymour on the grounds of a mistaken verdict. However, this did not happen until 4 years later when the new Governor, David R Francis, issued the pardon for Seymour’s exoneration and freedom on April 5, 1889. 

The authors of the article noted that Seymour appeared in a physical wreck and even though he was treated well at the prison, his declining health was a result of his mental troubles due to being innocent. The authors described Seymour as a free, generous and affable and quite intelligent individual and they wished him the best. 

Seymour returned to his original trade as a Cooper. A cooper was a skilled artisan who made and repaired wooden barrels, casks, buckets and vats. On May 8, 1890, while trimming hoop poles, he made a deep cut to his knee and was taken home to receive medical attention. Luckily, it was found that he did not have a “dangerous” wound. This was the last article of Seymour in Canton that the website could detect.

Week 42: Full House (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2024 Version)

The theme for Week 42 is "Full House." Builders, homemakers, card players, parents with lots of children... who in your tree does this this theme make you think of? (Remember: There's no wrong way to interpret the theme!) Click here to see all the 2024 themes.

Sometimes a Full House doesn’t necessarily mean how many people, but who the people are. For example, in the 1900 US Census for Nekimi, Winnebago, Wisconsin, my great grandfather, Orville Charles Hiltz is living with his sister and her husband who are living with his sister’s in-laws.

My great grandfather is listed as a boarder, because there is no direct relationship between the head of household and my great grandfather.

However, this census gave me hypothesis that later was proven partially correct. I hypothesis that Orville and Mable’s parents have passed away. Otherwise, why wasn’t Orville living with his parents.

Orville Charles Hiltz was born Jul 28, 1873 in Ripon, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin to Seymour and Wilinia (Booth) Hiltz. He was the first-born child. His sister was born three years later on Dec 3, 1876 in Green Lake County, Wisconsin, a neighboring county of Fond du Lac.

In 1880, these two siblings are living with their parents in Chicago, Cook County Illinois. At this point I was unable to find either parent after 1880. During a later research day, I found a newspaper article stating that Seymour wrote a letter to his sister-in-law inquiring about his wife and children. I previously blogged about the disappearance of Seymour in 2022; Week 26: Identity for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Anyway, in the article, it stated that Wilina had remarried and later died about 1899. It also stated that Seymour was last seen by the family about 1882. So my hypothesis was partially correct, his mother died. His father had abandoned the family, something that wasn't on my radar at the time.

During another research day, I found a birth certificate for a third child of Seymour and Wilna. Which I blogged about this year’s in Week 40: Least. This unnamed male was born Sep 8, 1883. Therefore, if Seymour is the biological father of said child, then he would had been with the family nine months before the child was born, if the child was a full term baby.

In 1890, Wilina married her second husband George Pansie. Did Orville and Mable go live with their mother and stepfather? In 1895 Mable married William Buehring. Did Orville move into the Buehring home before or after his mother’s death? Wilina and her husband and the parents of William Buehring were all living in the Nekimi, Winnebago County, Wisconsin area. In fact, William’s parents and Wilina and George Pansie are buried in the same cemetery, in nearby graves.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

October’s Theme and Week 40: Least (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2024 Version)

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! 

Week 37: Tombstone (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2024 Version)

The theme for Week 37 is "Tombstone." If you're like me, cemeteries are your happy place. (I even had shirts made!) Have you found an interesting tombstone for one of your ancestors? Has a tombstone given you a surprising piece of information? Check out all of the 2024 prompts here.

Just the other day, a local genealogical society had a Cemetery Walk at the cemetery that my 2^nd great-grandmother, Nellie Booth Hiltz Pansie is buried at. I decided I wanted to go and my husband tagged along.

This society gave all the attendees a handout about the people whose graves we were going to be visiting. I applaud this effort; however, I wish the guide didn’t read verbatim from the handout. We were supposed to visit 10 sites, in an hour, when the first site took 15 minutes, I knew this wasn’t for me and we left.

However, we did arrive early and I showed my husband my 2^nd great-grandmother’s grave along with her grandchild’s grave, my great-grandfather’s niece. My husband, then wandered around the cemetery as I visited with those who were arriving for the cemetery walk.

As we were driving home, my husband made a comment on how people today don’t realize how lucky we are. He was struck by how many people had to bury their children and in general how young people were when they died. Especially, wives, how many he saw that died in their 30’s.

This also got me thinking about a comment a fellow member of a genealogy club I belong to made. She stated that she doesn’t look for anyone other than her direct ancestors. I mentioned that I do genealogy as a way to preserve and honor all my relatives.

On that drive home, it made me think of my great grandfather’s niece who was buried in that cemetery. Mildred Buehring only lived six short years. She will never have descendants who will research her. She died before her family moved to Canada. She also died six years before her younger sister, Mabel was born. Mabel also died young at the tender age of 12. Mabel and Mildred would be fated to be forgotten if she was a relative of my fellow genealogy club member. However, they will never be forgotten in my genealogy endeavors.  

Mabel Carlina Hiltz was born in Ripon, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin on Dec 31, 1876, the daughter of Seymour Hiltz and Wilina Booth. On Oct 13, 1895 in Oshkosh, Winnebago County, Wisconsin she married William George Buehring. Three of their children, Mildred born Sep 18, 1897, George William born Dec 9, 1905 and Paul Henry born Jan 5, 1907, all in Oshkosh, Winnebago County, Wisconsin. Sadly, Mildred died on Jan 19, 1904 in Oshkosh, Winnebago County, Wisconsin and is buried in the Ellenwood Cemetery, Oshkosh, Winnebago County, Wisconsin. Thus, she passed before her younger siblings were born. The Buehring Family moved to Winnifred, Alberta, Canada in 1908. While there, their fourth and youngest child, Mabel Maria was born in 1910. The family moved in 1914 to Beiseker, where their daughter Mable Maria died in 1922. She is buried in the Beisker Community Cemetery, Beiseker, Alberta, Canada. The family moved to Calgary in 1929 and on Oct 21, 1945, Mabel died and is buried in the Queen’s Park Cemetery and Mausoleum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

My suggestion: even if you only want to research your direct ancestors, how about also adding their siblings to your tree. This way if they died with no descendants, they won’t be forgotten completely.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

Week 7: Immigration (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2024 Version)

The theme for Week 7 is "Immigration." For many people, genealogy starts with a desire to know where our family came from. This week, consider an immigrant ancestor: where they came from, why they came, or how different their life was between their "old country" and their new one. Click here to check out all the 2024 prompts.

When I started my journey, 40+ years ago, my goal was to trace my lineage back to my Immigrant Ancestors. I was always told that my lineage was of more recent immigrants, those that came in the mid 1800’s. 

Image my surprise to find a few Revolutionary Patriots. They are of German descent who came to American between 1700 and 1710. In 1709 a group known as the Palatines made the journey from the Palatinate region of Germany. Palatines had trickled into British America since their earliest days. The first mass migration, however, began in 1708. Queen Anne's government had sympathy for the Palatines and had invited them to go to America and work in trade for passage. Official correspondence in British records shows a combined total of 13,146 refugees traveled down the Rhine and or from Amsterdam to England in the summer of 1709. Many died on the way over on crowded ships, but around 21,00 survived and settled in New York. 

A couple of books I used to research these two different branches of my family were “Early Families of Herkimer County New York, Descendants of the Burnetsfield Palatines” by William V.H. Barker and "Compendium of Early Mohawk Valley Families” by Maryly B. Penrose.

My 7th great grandfather is most likely, Christofel HÜLS, born about 1868 and died between 1725-1757. I say most likely, because my lineage from my 4th great grandfather to Christofel is not completely proven by me. I have some DNA matches through my 4th great grandfather, however, I haven’t really worked fully on this branch of the family because of the vast size of this family and the repeated names from generation to generation and brother’s naming their sons similar and many were born about the same year too. Christofel appears on the NY Palatine subsistence list of 1710 and 1712. The spelling through the years has changed from HÜLS to Hiltz or Hilts. Both spellings are being used by modern day descendants. Christofel’s grandson, Lorentz Hiltz (1754-1836) is the Patriot according to a pension record I found. However, I wasn’t able to prove my lineage to him.

My 6th great grandfather is Johannes Spanknable. He is my registered Daughters of the American Revoluation patriot, and thus he is my proven line. Johannes was born in 1747 in Germany. His Probate Abstract list him (of Palatine). His father-in-law, Johannes Philip Kring also might be a Revolutionary Patriot who served in the Tryon County Militia. However, this is a line I haven’t had a chance to full investigate. Plus, no one has yet proven him as a patriot through DAR.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 41: Travel (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 41 is "Travel." Travel impacted our ancestors in numerous ways, including migrating, traveling as part of a job, and traveling for vacation. What about any genealogical travels that you've taken? Click here to check out all of the themes for 2023.

When I started my genealogy research back in the early 1980’s, traveling to do research was a must. The internet was a thing of the future. My ancestors lived in neighboring Wisconsin counties, and thus visiting courthouses, libraries and cemeteries was the extent of my travels. I even took isolated one-day vacation days from work so that I could spend the day doing research.

I think about those early days of researching and how I wasn’t very organized and my trips could have been a little more fruitful. I didn’t record where I didn’t find something, and I am sure I revisited places looking for the same information. Once I started recorded what I didn’t find, my research became more fruitful. I started creating research to-do folders for certain courthouses, libraries and cemeteries. 

However, when we moved to Arizona in 1999, I was lucky that the internet was starting to have more and more items online. Those research to-do folders became even more important for my trips back to my home state, so I could do a little in person research.

Even though I do a majority of my research on-line today, there is still so much to be found that isn’t on line. When my son was in the Navy, he was stationed in Ballston Spa, New York where he was attending Navy School, I had just started researching my maternal grandmother’s maiden name family of Hiltz/Hilts. They had lived in the Little Falls, NY area. While sightseeing in New York State, I made plans to spend a day in Little Falls. The public library is located inside a historic home and I found so many books about my Hiltz/Hilts family. I hadn’t planned enough time to do proper research, I did manage to write down a list of books that I found that talked about the family. I took pictures with my phone of pages.

When I returned to my Arizona home, my local genealogy library had a few of the books that I wrote down. I never realized these books were in their library. I even volunteered there and I didn’t realize the goldmine in the library. I am lucky that I even managed to obtain some of the books for my own library collection when duplicates were donated to the library.

I still enjoy travelling to cemeteries, courthouses and libraries. I now always have a plan on what I am going to research. I have my priority list, the items I will look for first. These items I am very confident will be found here. I have second list of items if time permits that I could look up. These are items that might be found at the location. Finally, I have a third list, because sometimes, you don’t always find items from the first two lists, and since I made the trip, I will see if I can find anything. This list is usually just surnames to see if I can find anyone with that surname in the area. Then I might try to see if they are related to my people.

Why do I still travel for my genealogical research? Because everything really isn’t on-line. Just because you don’t find it online doesn’t mean it isn’t somewhere. Good luck in your genealogy travels!

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 21: Brick Walls (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 21 is "Brick Wall." Do you have an ancestor (or 4) who you can't seem to make any progress on in your research? This would be a good week to write about that ancestor and really think about what you know about that ancestor, how you know it, and where you might look to fill in the gaps. Writing is part of the research process! Click here to check out all the themes for 2023.

I am no exception, I have many “Brick Walls” or “Dead Ends” where my research ends and I am unable to get further back. When I look at my tree as a Fan and it is at my 3rd great grandparents where things start to end. I have all my 2nd great grandparents figured out. YEAH! That’s half the battle. 

My 2nd great grandfather, James Crinion (1832-1922) parents might be Patrick Crinion and Ann Dillon. That’s a big might be. I obtained these names many years ago from my great-aunts. Rumor has it that Patrick came to America with four of his children, who all settled in the Columbia County, Wisconsin area. I can’t find anything about Patrick in America. However, I do match a Crinion family in Ireland and the male Crinion and my father do have the same Y-DNA. Thus, his ancestors and my ancestors are most likely the same. I really need to get some more facts from her.

My 2nd great grandfather, William Gadow, (1844-1923) parents might be Gottfried Gadow and Anna Maria Rosenow. These names are suggested names via Ancestry’s Thrulines. To be honest, I just haven’t had the time to research this yet. Having the names is exciting, it gives me something to prove or disprove.

My 2nd great grandmother, Dorothea Wolter (1836-1897) wife of William Gadow, her father might be Johann Wolter. Her father’s name was on her death certificate and supplied by her husband. He might have known him, since they were married in Germany, but I don’t know where to start looking in Germany for more clues. I have no idea who her mother is.

My 2nd great grandfather, Michael McDonald (1827-1910) father might be Edward McDonald. Michael and his wife Catherine Quinn were married in Utica, Oneida County, New York, USA. I don’t know if Edward came to the America’s, or if Michael came with any siblings. Maybe DNA will give me some clues on the subject. I have no idea who his mother is.

My 2nd great grandfather, Seymour Hiltz (1850-1880) was born in Manilius, Onondaga County, New York, USA. I know his father is Lawrence Hilts and his mother is Nancy. I don’t have a maiden name for Nancy. Speculation is that she is also a Hilts because my DNA matches on the Hilts line are very strong, stronger than the relationship should be if using Lawrence’s line. However, if Nancy is a Hilts, then it would explain why we are such a close match to some of these Hiltses.

My 2nd great grandparents Timothy Obrien (1836-1914) and his wife Mary OReilly (1839-1901) father’s might be John O’Brien and James Reilly. This information was given on their death certificates. Tim and Mary were both born in Ireland and were married in Cook County, Illinois. I found their marriage record and it listed a Bridget Reilly as a witness and this might be a sister to Mary. I don’t know enough to make worthwhile searches. However, I have some promising DNA matches to review.  I have no idea who their mothers are.

As you can see, I have lots of dead ends. I am currently working on a different line, on a known 3rd great grandparents’ line, who I don’t know who their parent’s are. I am researching all their descendants for a book I want to publish. I also want to identify which DNA matches belong to this branch of the family. 

In the past, I would bounce from one “Brick Wall” to another, never really accomplishing anything meaningful. I have switch gears this year, I am concentrating on what I can figure out and I want to start creating books for branches of my family. I am getting older, turning 60 this year and I want to start preserving my research. I also want to identify as many DNA matches to those branches. Thus, I will be left with unknown matches that might help me with these “Brick Walls”. I have decided to approach the method a little different. It makes me think of Sherlock Holmes, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Thus, I will eliminate the known Matches and whatever remains, hopefully will match the Brick Wall lines.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

Week 5: Oops (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 5 is "Oops." We all make mistakes. This week, consider writing about a mistake that an ancestor made or that you've made in your research.  Click here to check out all the Theme’s for 2023!

My Great grandparents, Orville Charles Hiltz (1873-1959) and his wife Mary Alice O’Brien (1884-1925) were married on Oct 26, 1902 in New London, Wisconsin, USA. I always thought New London was in Outagamie County. So, I traveled to Outagamie County hoping to find their marriage record. I know that Wisconsin didn’t mandate recording vital records until about 1907, so I knew it may not be there. I like Marriage Records because they often list the parents of the bride and groom and may even have their mother’s maiden names. It is with these documents, that I can jump another generation.

I looked and it was not found. So, I thought this was the end of my journey. 

Several years went by and Ancestry added a new database titled “Wisconsin, U.S., Marriage Index, 1808-1907”. Therefore, I typed in the surname of Hiltz and found O C Hiltz. This record may not seem very useful, since it doesn’t give the spouse information. 

However, I found a little work around, if you click on the title in O C Hiltz screen; a new search screen comes up for this database. I type in the year, the location, the page and volume number. This brings up a list of people married in this year for the desired county. 

This brought up many pages of records. I use my browser's Find and type in 26 Oct 1902 and then click the next page, then find until I find the record. It was on page 7. So this method can take a little while.

I found May A O’Brien married on the same day. My person is Mary A O’Brien. However, I have found Mary misspelled as May on many transcribed indexes. Finally, it dawned on me that the county is Waupaca and not Outagamie. I thought New London was in Outagamie County. I do a little more research and discovered that all the churches in New London are actually in Waupaca County. The county line runs through New London.

I make a trip to Waupaca County and I am rewarded with their marriage record. 

I might have avoided this “OOPS” had I done a little more research on the churches in New London. However, what I really discovered is how useful Ancestry’s Indexes are in my research. They save me time, by allowing me to browse the index from the comforts of my home to see if a record might exist in that county. Keep in mind, that this doesn’t replace actually looking for the record in the county. The index might not be complete and accurate for a number of reasons. 

These indexes allow me to create a lookup to-do-list for a county and I will look for known records first, gather and record whatever information I want then try looking for records that I think should be there, but were not on the indexes. This saves me valuable time. Online resources are very helpful, however will never replace visits to courthouses for me unless, I can see the actual image of the records. I have found many errors in the transcription versus the actual record.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 1: I’d Like to Meet (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for January and for Week 1 is "I’d Like to Meet" Most of us have an ancestor who we'd like to meet (even if it's to ask, "What are your parents' names?") This week, write about that ancestor or why you'd want to meet him or her. Feel free to be creative! Click here to check out all the themes for 2023.

When I think of this theme, all I can say is Who I’d like to meet, let me count the ways. I have so many I would like to meet, not only to ask questions, but to see what they look like and get a feel for their personalities.

My 3rd great grandfather, Amos Booth just appeared in the United States around 1850 as a single 25-year-old who was born in Canada. Even though my nephew has almost certainly figured out who his parents are. I would still like to meet him and confirm this. I want to know what brought him from Eastern Canada to Northern Illinois. What happened to him during the Civil War that caused his estrangement from his wife and children?

My 2nd great grandfather, James Crinion. I want to know who his parents are. I have found three siblings, all sisters, but did he have more siblings? Did any remain in Ireland? Did any siblings not come to Wisconsin? Also, what made him so bitter that he wrote his dead daughter’s children out of his will. He stated he left them nothing because they did nothing for him in his life. WOW! Losing a mother is tragic and perhaps it was their father that kept them from him. I just want to know more about him and this sad family situation.

My 3rd great grandfather Lawrence Hiltz/Hilts. I want to know not only his parents but his grandparents’ names. My tree starts to fall apart around here. Too many Lawrence Hilts and I can’t figure out his lineage back to his immigrant ancestor who came to American in 1710. Also, was his wife Nancy also a Hilts descendant. It would explain why my DNA matches with Hilts descendants seem to have more DNA than expected. Actually, I want to know all about the Hilts clan. Why do some spell their surname as Hiltz while others Hilts? It keeps getting changed back and forth from one generation to the next and even siblings spell it differently. 

Finally, my 2nd great grandparents, Timothy O’Brien and his wife Mary O’Reilly. Not only don’t I know their parents’ names, I don’t know of siblings either. Tim was married twice, what was his first wife’s name. Was the witness at your and Mary’s wedding, Mary’s sister? What happened to her?

I could go on like this for days. As family genealogist know to well, once one question gets answered we have three new questions. This is a never-ending cycle.

Remember to have fun and 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 25: Broken Branch (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

After the storms that blew through my area last week, it seems appropriate that this week's theme is "Broken Branch." Have you had to trim a branch from your family tree after you figured out it wasn't the right line? Are you researching a branch that it feels like there is nobody else in the world who is researching them? What about a collateral line that seems to have gotten lost? Click here to check out all the themes for 2022.

My major Broken Branch came in 2013 when I discovered my mother’s secret. She was born out of wedlock and her mother’s husband was not her biological father. Read my previous blog post “My Mother’s Secret”. Anyway, I had researched her entire maiden name line with my Aunt Mary. So this way a very broken branch, however it was the only family my mother ever knew and it is my Aunt Mary and Aunt Shirley’s family, so I kept this branch in my tree.

A branch that I had to trim from my family tree was the Parent’s of Elizabeth Lighthall. Actually, I didn’t trim them, because I never added them since I couldn't prove the relationship. See my blog post, “Who are Elizabeth Lighthall’s parents?”. I have researched more on George Lighthall and his family, however I haven’t found the connection to my Elizabeth. 

I do remember actually trimming off a branch after going down the wrong path. I had a woman in my tree Mabel Hiltz who married Albert Salisbury. They married in Missouri and I found them in several census records. I traced her all the way to Find A Grave to only find out that somewhere along the way, this was no longer my Mabel. Find A Grave had her maiden name listed and after investigating a little better, sure enough, I found two Mabel Salisbury’s. Normally, I open tons of browser tabs, sort the tabs in date order and verify that I am still looking at my Mabel. However, for what ever reason, I got ahead of myself and added the children of the 2nd Mabel whose husband name was Al but not short for Albert. I had to go back and remove my citation entries, delete the children and possibly grandchildren. My Mabel moved from Missouri to California with several of her siblings’ families. Lesson learn, don’t get ahead of myself.

Anyway, you can see “Broken Branches” are common when researching. Remember to have fun and 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 5: Branching Out (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

The theme for Week 5 and for February (for those of you doing the 12 Ancestors in 12 Months version) is "Branching Out." Have you branched out your research into looking at your collateral relatives? Made any good discoveries in records beyond the usual census and vital records? Or maybe you've discovered an ancestor who branched out in his or her education or occupation. Be creative!

As with all the theme’s thus far, “Branching out” does mean many things. The first thing that comes to my mind is branching my research into looking at my collateral relatives. Branching out has helped me with my DNA Matches.

One branch of my family, my maternal grandmother’s maiden name Hiltz/Hilts has caused me the most confusion.  I have traced my Hiltz line back to my 3rd great grandfather, Lawrence Hiltz who was born Nov 8, 1808 in Manlius, Onondaga, New York, USA. His wife was Nancy who was born Mar 15, 1813 also in Manulius, Onondaga, New York, USA. I never found where they died, however they moved to Wisconsin by 1860 and by 1870, Lawrence is listed as a widow.  I cannot find him after 1870. 

The confusion is the next several generations back to the Immigrant ancestor, my 7th great grandfather Christofel HÜLS and his wife Eva Catherine Engel. Christofel was born about 1668 in Germany while his wife was born about 1670 in Germany. She died around 1770 in Schoharie, Schohaire, New York, USA. Christofel died sometime between 1725-1757. 

My line is possibly, through Christofel’s son Christofel Hilts (6th ggf) who married Maria Engel, then his son Lorentz Hiltz (5th ggf) who 1st married Maria Catharina Miller and then married Barbara, followed by Lorentz Hilts (4th ggf) and his wife Margaretha Wartenbach. Finally ending with my proven Lawrence Hiltz (3rd ggf) and his wife Nancy. 

This family line repeats so many names within each generation. So many Christofels and Lawrences that it makes my head hurt. Also, to add to more confusion, I found a book “Godfrey Hilts and his Canadian Descendants” compiled by Charlotte Hilts Steele and Harry Doner. 

They have a Godfrey Hilts who married a Maria Miller which looks familiar to my Lorentz Hiltz who 1st married Maria Catharina Miller. In fact, the birth date I have for my Maria Miller is the same as Godfrey’s wife. Thus this questions all those branches. Which branch is really my branch? A distant cousin, also a descendant of Christofel HÜLS gave me my line. I inputted this line based on her knowledge (yes I know this could be my first mistake). I have been trying to prove these branches. The book doesn’t give me Godfrey’s father. In the genealogy given me by my distant cousin, I have a Godfrey Hilts and Maria Catharine Muller as the son of Chrstofel Hilts and his wife Maria Elzabeth Riegel who is the son of Simon Jacob Hilts and his wife Anna. Simon is a son of Christofel HÜLS.

My DNA matches seem to connect to these Canadian descendants, thus makes me think my line would be through Godfrey Hilts. Otherwise, I would not be sharing so much DNA with these people. Plus, it is not just me, it’s also my two sisters and one brother that I had tested too. 

Therefore, a big project I have started is to create a family tree based on the Godfrey Hilts book. Then I want to place my DNA matches into that tree. However, many of my DNA matches tree’s don’t go down very far. However, the Godfrey Hilts book has births in the 1980’s, so I will be branching my research into my DNA matches and the Hilts book. 

First I need to finish by Godfrey Hilts Book project; I am on page 232 of 319 pages. Back to work I go.

Are you going to branch out your research?

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.