Surname Saturday - 57: Jakobsdotter

Back to the Swedish patronymics.

1. Kevin Joseph HUIGENS

2. Joseph Anthony HUIGENS
3. Shirley Ann OGDEN

6. Emery Julius OGDEN (b. 9 Sept 1896 in Elk Point, Union Co., SD, USA, m. 19 Mar 1929 in Gordon, Sheridan Co., NE, USA, d. 8 Apr 1984 in Martin, Bennett Co., SD, USA)
7. Esther Louise JOHNSON (b. 23 Feb 1902 in Milan, Rock Island Co., IL, USA, d. 24 Mar 1984 in Rapid City, Pennington Co., SD, USA)

14. Gustav Adolph JOHNSON (b. 18 Aug 1867 in Locknevi, Kalmar, Småland, Sweden, m. 4 Sep 1899 in Rock Island Co., IL, USA, d. 25 Dec 1941 in Henning, Otter Tail Co., MN, USA)
15. Rosabell "Rose" STRAYER (b. 23 Aug 1872 in Milan, Rock Island Co., IL, USA, d. 7 May 1955 in Henning, Otter Tail Co., MN, USA)

28. Carl Jacob JOHNSON (b. 1 Jul 1832 in Vrångfall, Locknevi, Kalmar, Småland, Sweden, m. 4 Sep 18 in Locknevi, Kalmar, Småland, Sweden, d. 17 Oct 1915 in Orion, Henry Co., IL, USA)
29. Christina Lotta JÖNSDOTTER (b. 4 Jul 1839 in Slottsbäcken, Locknevi, Kalmar, Småland, Sweden, d. 10 OCt 1919 in Gordon, Sheridan Co., NE, USA)

56. Johan Peter KARLSSON (b. 19 Jul 1807 in Vrångfall, Locknevi, Kalmar, Småland, Sweden, m. 17 Nov 1830 in Locknevi, Kalmar, Småland, Sweden, d. 29 May 1852 in Locknevi, Kalmar, Småland, Sweden)
57. Stina Greta JAKOBSDOTTER (b. 3 Oct 1806 in Hallingshult, Locknevi, Kalmar, Småland, Sweden, d. 30 May 1845 in Vrångfall, Locknevi, Kalmar, Småland, Sweden)

114. Jakob Hieronymisson (b. 1770 in probably Sweden)

115. Anna Kajsa Samuelsdotter Wistedt

There is a tree on Ancestry.com that takes this line back farther, but I'm not going to use that info until I've spent some time verifying it. 

Abraham Strayer's 1889 Civil War Pension Deposition pt. 4

Here is my transcription of page 4 of my g-g-grandfather Abraham Strayer's 1889 deposition regarding his Civil War disability claim. The first two words come from the end of page 3.

I laid//on the brick floor of the Court House there [Jacinto] one night and think I took cold. We were guarding prisoners at the train and I slept on the floor when not on post My diarrhoea got very bad. I was up + about but was running off at the bowels very badly. I was left back with the teams + to guard Co. Theres when the rest marched to Iuka. I was there a week without medical care when a Dr. came back + examined us all + I was sent back. The order was that all who were not able to march 30 miles should be sent back to guard the train to Corinth. We remained there about a week when the teams + all men able for duty were ordered out to the command.

Some surgeon came out to our camp examined the men and ordered me and others who were not fit for duty back to hospital at Corinth. I will state here that I was not able to march back from Jacinto to Corinth and was allowed to ride in one of the wagons. I kept my gun and equipment and in getting down off the wagon (on the second day I think it was) I slipped and fell on the wheel hurting myself down about the groin. I said nothing about it at the time. It hurt me but I thought nothing of it, while at hospital I found a lump there but I said nothing of it and in fact// thought little of it for some little time after the war.

The end of the last sentence comes from page 5.

Between diarrhea and groin injuries, I don't think my ancestor enjoyed his brief time in the service very much.

Surname Saturday - 53: Bruns

1. Kevin Joseph HUIGENS

2. Joseph Anthony HUIGENS
3. Shirley Ann OGDEN

6. Emery Julius OGDEN (b. 9 Sept 1896 in Elk Point, Union Co., SD, USA, m. 19 Mar 1929 in Gordon, Sheridan Co., NE, USA, d. 8 Apr 1984 in Martin, Bennett Co., SD, USA)
7. Esther Louise JOHNSON (b. 23 Feb 1902 in Milan, Rock Island Co., IL, USA, d. 24 Mar 1984 in Rapid City, Pennington Co., SD, USA)

12. William Fredrick OGDEN (b. 10 Oct 1871 in Simcoe, Norfolk Co., Ontario, Canada, m. 25 Jan. 1895 in Elk Point, Union Co., SD, USA, d. 19 May 1951 in Platteville, Grant Co., WI, USA)
13. Mary Elizabeth HERREN (b. 22 Dec 1873 in Batavia, Scott Twp., Sheboygan Co., WI, USA, d. 14 Nov 1938 in Mission, Todd Co., SD, USA)

26. John Fredrick HERREN (b. Nov 1847 in WI, m. 1868 in WI, d. 8 May 1920 in Charles Mix Co., SD)
27. Julia Ann ADELBUSH (b. Jun 1850 in WI, d. 24 Aug 1912 in Charles Mix Co., SD)

52. Johann HERREN (b. 1804 in Hannover, m. before 1830 in ?, d. 14 MAR 1880 in Sheboygan, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA)
53. Anna BRUNS (b. 23 Feb 1808 in Hannover, d. 2 Sep 1881 in Scott, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA)

John and Anna's place of birth is Hannover in the 1860 and 1870 US censuses. In 1850 it is Germany. In 1880, Anna's is Prussia. In 1803, Napoleon's soldiers occupied Hannover, so John and Ana may have been born during a time of French occupation. During the time of the Napoleonic Wars, this area changed hands over and over. I'm not sure how to list the place to reflect accurately the administrative area in which they were born. Plus I'm not sure if they were born in the city or the electorate. Let's just call them Germans and be done with it.

I don't have anything farther back on this line. A quick google did turn up an older post on the Bruns message board in Ancestry.com from someone who has done extensive research on the Bruns of Hannover. I posted a reply in hopes that Anna fits into that research somewhere. Fingers crossed.

Abraham Strayer's 1889 Civil War Pension Deposition pt. 3

Here is my transcription of page 3 of my g-g-grandfather Abraham Strayer's 1889 deposition regarding his Civil War disability claim. I've started with the first complete sentence on the page.

I think I had the measles when I was about two years old. I had no sickness before the war.

Dr. Thos Maybury, Pleasant Plain Ia was called once or twice to see different members of the family, but I had no occasion for his services.

Our Co. was organized at Keokuk Iowa, from there we went to St Louis, was there perhaps two months when we went up the Tenn River to Hamburg Tenn and marched from there, to where Gen. Halleck's army was invading Corinth.

The first sickness I had was along the last of June, felt badly + had some fever for three days. One of the surgeons (forget his name) gave me medicine. I then returned to duty again and was with the Co. until a day or two before the Iuka fight. We were camped near Jacinto. We were at Jacinto for a month. I was troubled with the diarrhoea, more or less all the time. I was at Jacinto, bt was generally on duty until a few days before the Army started for Iuka. Three Co's of our Co was at Jacinto for a week guarding prisoners and the out posts about the town.

Abraham's account of the movements of his regiment corresponds with the account from the Civil War Archive.

SERVICE.--Duty at Benton Barracks, Mo., until May 5, 1862. Moved to Hamburg Landing, Tenn., May 5-7. Advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss., May 8-30. Action on Corinth Road May 29. Pursuit to Booneville May 31-June 12. Camp at Clear Creek, near Corinth, until August 15. Expedition to Ripley, Miss., June 27-July 1. Moved to Jacinto August 15, and duty there until October 2. Expedition to Iuka, Miss., September 18-20. Battle of Iuka September 19.

So it was about Sept. 16, 1862 when he left he company because of another bout of illness.

SNGF: Ahnentafel Roulette

This week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun is to use a great-grandfather's age as a seed to calculate a semi-random number and write about the person with that ahnentafel number in your tree.

I decided to start with John Huigens, my father's paternal grandfather. I choose him because I know his birth year without having to look it up. He was born in 1862; next year is the 150th anniversary of his birth. Dividing by 4 gave me an ahnentafel of 37.

Number 37 in my tree is Anna Margaretha Felder. I previously wrote about the Felder line in this Surname Saturday post. Here are three facts I know about her.

1. She was born 9 Apr 1798 in Wiensheid, the Palatinate, Holy Roman Empire to Heinrich Felder and Anna Christine Jacobs.
2. She married Wimer Fitzler on 25 Aug 1820 in Neunkirchen, Juelich-Cleves-Berg Province, Prussia.
3. She had at least 6 children: Heinrich, Anna Christine, Anna Margaretha, a second Heinrich (I assume the first one died at a young age), Johann Wimer (my g-g-gf), and Wilhelm.

I've tried to be as historically accurate about the administration of the places as I can. It's all very confusing and hard to figure out who ruled where when in the Rhein.

Abraham Strayer's 1889 Civil War Pension Deposition pt. 2

Here is my transcription of the second page of my g-g-grandfather's 1889 deposition in regards to his Civil War disability pension. The first few words of the first sentence are carried over from page 1. I marked the break with a "//". The same for the last two words of the last sentence, which come from the start of page 3.

This page has lots of information about his movements and residences in Iowa between 1858 and 1862. It also mentions several other farmers from the areas where he lived. That information may be useful to someone else.

In the fall of 58 I moved//from Clark Co. Ohio to Pleasant Plain Jefferson Co. Iowa. I was there one month then went to Brighton Washington Co. Iowa remained there two months then went on a farm two miles W of Pleasant Plain was there three years then went back to Brighton and enlisted at that place

The farm I lived on was only 5 miles from Brighton.

Michael Shafer knew me from the time I came to Iowa up to the time of my enlistment. He was a member of same co 

The old neighbors who knew me then are all gone or dead. I went over there three years ago but could find no one.

Seb Johnson 2 m west of Brighton Ia knew me as well as any I can think of. he knew me while I resided in Ohio. Benjamin Andrews now of Oskaloosa, Ia was a near neighbor while on the farm at Pleasant Plain. William Harrison lived on a farm 2 1/2 miles west of Pleasant Plan. I think he is there yet. I did not go over to Pleasant Plain when I was in Iowa.

 These men can tell the examiner who were* there now that knew me before the war.

I was sound and in good physical health at and prior to my enlistment. I was never a fleshy man, but I was that healthy and active, always ready to work, and never had a doctor, before//the war.

The asterisk appears at the end of a line of text and points to a note written vertically in the left-hand margin of this page.

*I was at Pleasant Plain but did not go out to the farm. I could find no one in the town that knew me before the war.

It looks like he remembered afterwards that he had gone to Pleasant Plain when he was in Iowa looking for people who could attest to his health before the war.

Abraham Strayer's 1889 Civil War Pension Deposition

I received a copy of my great-great-grandfather, Abraham Strayer's Civil War disability pension file from the NARA a while back and have finally finished sorting through and organizing it. In 1889, he was trying to get his Civil War disability pension extended. His payments had only covered from his discharge through Sept 1881. He was deposed in his home town of Milan, Rock Island Co, IL on 3 Oct. 1889 by C. C. Horton, a Special Examiner of the Dept. Of the Interior's US Bureau of Pensions. Mr. Horton's handwriting is wonderfully illegible, but I've managed to make my way through the first of ten pages. Here is what it says (as near as I can tell):

My age is 67. I was formerly a farmer, not now able to work.

My P.O. address is Milan, Ill.

I was late pri D, 17th Iowa Vols [He was a private in Co. D of the 17th Iowa Infantry.]

 I enlisted March 17, 1862 and was discharged from the hospital at Keokuk Iowa for disability Jany 28 1863.

No other service.

I claim pension for rheumatism + chronic deirrhoen [sic]. I did apply for  poisoning but I don't know but what I thought to be poisoning was simply the result of rheumatism and deirrhoen [sic]

I was fully swollen in hands, in fact all over. When I came home, a Dr. Pesser of Brighton, Iowa told me I was poisoned. That is all I know about it, and that is why I made that claim. The Dr. did not examine me or treat me, just looked at my hands at a sale. I was also ruptured in service, but I do not know as there is any use in putting in a claim for that, as I did not show it to anyone. I have also been troubled with a trouble about my heart. I can not get my breath at times. All ways have been troubled with shortness of breath since the war.

You can see what I mean about it being tough to read. Here is what the word that I take to be "diarrhea" looks like. 

Even being generous, I cannot give Mr. Horton credit for having spelled that correctly.

More of this soon.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Where I'm From

Wow! I feel very honored that Randy Seaver used my suggestion for a SNGF prompt. I got the idea from a Facebook posting from my niece.

Here's my poem.

I am from toy soldiers, cap guns and cowboy hats. From warm, home-made Nestle’s Tollhouse Cookies dunked in glasses of cold whole milk delivered in cartons weekly by Cliff the milkman.

I am from the small, frame house on Meade St. with its huge metal drums of sweet-smelling flour and sugar in the basement, which we fetched in plastic storage tubs for my mother to use. From my father’s vegetable garden of corn, carrots and tomatoes, which I hated to weed.

I am from the lilac bushes in the back yard and the peonies in the front. From wild chokecherries made into jelly and wild raspberries on cereal when we were camping. From Ponderosa Pines and Black Hills spruces.

I am from a bowl of ice cream every night before bed and from dour myopia. From Aunt Sis, Aunt Babe, Aunt Toots and Uncle Bud, whose real names I can recall only with an effort. From the Ogdens, loyal to England and the King, the Johnsons from Sweden, the Kennedys and the Kains from Ireland. From the Prussians and other Germans we did not talk about. From the faint traces of Dutch and Scottish ancestry.

I am from the long-living and the land-tillers.

I am from always expecting the worst and not believing in one’s self.

I am from my parent’s compromise on the Episcopal Church and a higher power, as I came to understand God.

I am from the Great Plains and the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Sand Hills of Nebraska. From stalks of grains standing tall and burrowing root vegetables. From granite spires and lakeside campgrounds.

I am from a whimsical, jokester of a grandfather that I never knew. From a kindly grandmother who I only saw lose her temper once, at the burial of her abused daughter. From another pair of grandparents, quiet and stoic, hardened by the Protestant ethic and a living that did not come easy. From a father quick to anger and just as quick to laugh, with a special gift for making friends. From a well-organized and matter-of-fact mother who expressed her love through the daily baking of pies and cakes and cookies, which we ate without ever understanding what they were meant to say.

I am from vacation and holiday slides kept in metal boxes and projected on a folding screen for visiting friends and relatives.  From my grandmother’s cast iron skillet that I still use. From the wooden lamp my grandfather made, beside me on a table as I write this.  From the blue and green afghan my mother knitted for me, which still keeps me warm in the cold of winter.  From the wooden folding table that was in our camping trailer.

I am from people, places and things that are only hundreds of miles away, yet there is no way back to there.

The picture is of my immediate family at my parents' 60th anniversary.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your "Heritage Pie" Chart

Here's Randy Seaver's blog prompt from last night:

1) List your 16 great-great-grandparents with their birth, death and marriage data (dates and places). [Hint - you might use an Ancestral Name List from your software for this.]

2) Determine the countries (or states) that these ancestors lived in at their birth and at their death.

3) For extra credit, go make a "Heritage Pie" chart for the country of origin (birth place) for these 16 ancestors.[Hint: you could use the chart generator from Kid Zone for this.] [Note: Thank you to Sheri Fenley for the "Heritage Pie" chart idea.]

4. Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a post on Facebook or google+.

Here are my 16 great-great-grandparents:

1. Evert Huigen, son of unknown parents, was born on 6 December 1827 in the Netherlands. He died on 27 February 1864, probably in Marshall Co., IL. He married Catherine Toemmes on 3 June 1854 in Marshall Co., IL.

2. Catherine Toemmes, daughter of Johann Toemmes and Maria Schmitt, was born on 6 January 1827 in Trassem, Kreis Saarburg, Prussia. She died in Jacksonville, Morgan Co., IL.

3. Johann Wimar Fitzler, son of Wimar Fitzler and Anna Margaretha Felder, was born on 23 July 1832 in Wolperath, Rhein Province, Prussia. He died between 1885 and 1900, prbably in Marshall Co., IL. He married Anna Helene Schmitt on 10 July 1858 in LaSalle, LaSalle Co., IL.

4. Anna Helene Schmitt, daughter of Johannes Schmitt and Anna Helene Peters, was born on 17 August 1833 in Eischeid, Rhein Province, Prussia. She died on 20 May 1904 in Creighton, Knox Co., NE.

5. John Kain, son of unknown parents, was born on 11 June 1819 in Armagh, County Armagh, Ireland, UK. He died on 16 November 1893 in Lyons, Clinton Co., IA. He married Mary Fox on 2 July 1848 in St. Louis, St. Louis Co., MO.

6. Mary Fox, daughter of unknown parents, was born on 29 September 1823 in County Leitrim, Ireland, UK. She died on 12 May 1890 in Lyons, Clinton Co., IA.

7. John Kennedy, son of Micheal Kennedy and an unknown Nolaurd, was born on 2 June 1826 in King's County, Ireland, UK. He died on 6 November 1913 in Clinton, Clinton Co., IA. He married Hanora Collins Wallace on 10 November 1854 somewhere in the USA.

8. Hanora Collins, daughter of unknown parents, was born on 25 March 1830 in Glenbrohane, County Limerick, Ireland, UK. She died on 24 November 1888 in Clinton, Clinton Co., IA.

9. James Robert Ogden, son of Robert Ogden and Frances Amelia Morrell, was born on 9 February 1836 in New Brunswick, Canada. He died on 6 August 1910 in Rapid City, Pennington Co., SD. He married Hannah Gibbon on 12 November 1861 in Grey Co., Ontario, Canada.

10. Hannah Gibbon, daughter of John Gibbon and Margaret Davidson, was born on 10 February 1837 in Chinguacousy, Peel Co., Ontario, Canada. She died on 18 April 1827 in Rapid City, Pennington Co., SD.

11. John Frederick Herren, son of John Herren and Anna Bruns, was born on 1 November 1846 in WI. He died on 8 May 1920 in Charles Mix Co., SD. He married Julia Ann Adelbush on 27 June 1868 in West Bend, Washington Co., WI.

12. Julia Ann Adelbush, daughter of John Jacob Adelbush and Gertrude A. , was born on 13 June 1850 in WI. She died on 24 Aug 1912 in Charles Mix Co., SD.

13. Carl Jacob Johnson, son of Johan Peter Karlsson and Stina Greta Jacobsdotter, was born on 1 July 1832 in Vrångfall, Locknevi, Kalmar, Småland, Sweden. He died on 17 October 1915 in Orion, Henry Co., IL. He married Christina Charlotta Jonsdotter on 4 September 1863 in Locknevi,Kalmar,Småland,Sweden.

14. Christina Charlotta Jönsdotter, daughter of Jonas Nilsson and Lisa Persdotter, was born on 4 July 1839 in Slottsbäcken, Locknevi, Kalmar, Småland, Sweden. She died on 10 October 1919 in Gordon, Sheridan Co., NE.

15. Abraham Strayer, son of Andrew Strayer and Catherine Schaeffer, was born on 2 September 1822 in Dover, York Co., PA. He died on 13 February 1893 in Milan, Rock Island Co., IL. He married Harriet Alice Howard on 10 June 1947 in Clark Co., OH.

16. Harriet Alice Howard, daughter of Samuel Howard and Sarah Bolten, was born on 30 April 1829 in Dayton, Montgomery Co., OH. She died on 2 April 1914 in Davenport, Scott Co., IA.

I'm going to ignore that all of Ireland was part of the United Kindom when my ancestors were born there and treat them all as having been born in Ireland. I'm sure they would have agreed with that sentiment.

So here is my pie chart.

Surname Saturday - 51: Davidson

The Davidson family is the only other of my Scottish lines I know about, other than the Gibbon family.

1. Kevin Joseph HUIGENS

2. Joseph Anthony HUIGENS
3. Shirley Ann OGDEN

6. Emery Julius OGDEN (b. 9 Sept 1896 in Elk Point, Union Co., SD, USA, m. 19 Mar 1929 in Gordon, Sheridan Co., NE, USA, d. 8 Apr 1984 in Martin, Bennett Co., SD, USA)
7. Esther Louise JOHNSON (b. 23 Feb 1902 in Milan, Rock Island Co., IL, USA, d. 24 Mar 1984 in Rapid City, Pennington Co., SD, USA)

12. William Fredrick OGDEN (b. 10 Oct 1871 in Simcoe, Norfolk Co., Ontario, Canada, m. 25 Jan. 1895 in Elk Point, Union Co., SD, USA, d. 19 May 1951 in Platteville, Grant Co., WI, USA)
13. Mary Elizabeth HERREN (b. 22 Dec 1873 in Batavia, Scott Twp., Sheboygan Co., WI, USA, d. 14 Nov 1938 in Mission, Todd Co., SD, USA)

24. James Robert OGDEN (b. 9 Feb 1836 in New Brunswick, Canada, m. 12 Nov 1861 in Grey Co., Ontario, Canada, d. 6 Aug 1910 in Rapid City, Pennington Co., SD, USA)
25. Hannah GIBBON (b. 10 Feb 1837 in Chinguacousy, Peel Co., Ontario, Canada, d. 18 Apr 1927 in Denby, Shannon Co., SD, USA) 

50. John GIBBON (b. 1803 in Scotland, m1. about 1830 in Scotland, m2. 15 Nov 1849 in Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada, d. 1889 in Scotland, Bon Homme Co., SD, USA)
51. Margaret DAVIDSON (b. about 1810 in Scotland, d. Aug 1842 in Chinguacousy, Peel Co., Ontario, Canada)
51a. Isabella DAVIDSON (b. about 1811 in Scotland, d. 1890 in Bon Homme Co., SD)

About 7 years after the death of his first wife, my 3rd-great-grandfather married another Davidson. Was she a relative of his first wife? Maybe a sister or a cousin? John and Margaret named their last child Isabella. That would seem to indicate a possible connection. Yet another in the list of mysteries to investigate.

The second marriage is documented in "Marriage Registers of St. James Anglican Church/Cathedral, York (Toronto), 1800 to 1896, as recorded in "Landmarks of Toronto", volume 3, pp.395 ff., by John Ross Robertson (including biographical notations on some individuals and families by J.R.R.)" according to a RootsWeb post in the archive at http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/th/read/ONTARIO/2001-02/0981527532 (last accessed 18 Jul 2011). The marriage was performed by the Rector of St. James, the Rev. H. G. Grasett. The text of the entry reads:

15 November, 1849, by license, John GIBBON, of the township of Chinguacousy, widower, and Isabella DAVIDSON, of the same place, spinster.

Two years later, John and Isabella appear in the 1851 Canada Census in Chinguacosy.

Here's a picture of them in South Dakota with their grandson, my great-grandfather William F. OGDEN.

May 2011, Week 2: Marriage of John Huigens

My great-grandparents John HUIGENS and Mary FITZLER were married in Henry, Marshall Co., IL at St. Mary's Catholic Church. The priest was Father Carl Hout.  The only thing I'm not sure about is the exact date of the marriage. Back in the 1990s my mother got an abstracted Certificate of Record of Marriage from the Marshall County Clerk. That document gave the date of the wedding as 29 Jan 1884.

In 2006, I obtained a similar certificate from the same place. As you can see, the date listed on that one was 24 Jan 1884. To further complicate the issue, I found a marriage announcement in the microfilmed Henry newspaper from Feb 1884. The wedding date listed in that article was 1 Feb 1884.

So which date is correct?  I think that the 24/29 is a transcription error where a 4 was mistaken for a 9 or vice versa. I also thank that date is the date on which they obtained the license and not the actual date of the ceremony. The three dates fall on a Thursday, a Tuesday and a Saturday.  (Gotta love those on-line calendars for any month and year!)  I think it's more likely that the wedding was on Saturday, 2 Feb 1884.  Seeing the actual marriage license at the county courthouse will resolve the conflict. I was hoping to to find the license on the microfilmed Marshall Co. records at the Illinois Records and Archives Depository in Normal, IL. Unfortunately 1884 was one of the years that was not filmed.  Drat!

I was able to tie Fr. Hout to the specific church thanks to on-line transcripts of newspaper announcements for other Henry marriages in the 1880s here. St. Mary's was the German Catholic Church in Henry. Like many towns across the mid-west in the 1800s, Henry had two Catholic churches, one for the Irish and one for the Germans. That way both of the two main immigrant groups of the period could have homilies and hymns in their native language.

One of John and Mary's wedding gifts was a clock that my dad now owns.  This summer I'll get a picture of it.  It's wonderful to have something that ties back to an event from over 125 years ago.

Surname Saturday - 49: Morrell

The mother of my great-great-grandmother, Hanora (Collins) Wallace Kennedy, would be #47 in my afentahl.  I don't know her name, so we move on to #49: Frances Amelia MORRELL and a long, long line of Morrells.

1. Kevin Joseph HUIGENS

2. Joseph Anthony HUIGENS
3. Shirley Ann OGDEN

6. Emery Julius OGDEN (b. 9 Sept 1896 in Elk Point, Union Co., SD, USA, m. 19 Mar 1929 in Gordon, Sheridan Co., NE, USA, d. 8 Apr 1984 in Martin, Bennett Co., SD, USA)
7. Esther Louise JOHNSON (b. 23 Feb 1902 in Milan, Rock Island Co., IL, USA, d. 24 Mar 1984 in Rapid City, Pennington Co., SD, USA)

12. William Fredrick OGDEN (b. 10 Oct 1871 in Simcoe, Norfolk Co., Ontario, Canada, m. 25 Jan. 1895 in Elk Point, Union Co., SD, USA, d. 19 May 1951 in Platteville, Grant Co., WI, USA)
13. Mary Elizabeth HERREN (b. 22 Dec 1873 in Batavia, Scott Twp., Sheboygan Co., WI, USA, d. 14 Nov 1938 in Mission, Todd Co., SD, USA)

24. James Robert OGDEN (b. 9 Feb 1836 in New Brunswick, Canada, m. 12 Nov 1861 in Grey Co., Ontario, Canada, d. 6 Aug 1910 in Rapid City, Pennington Co., SD, USA)
25. Hannah GIBBON (b. 10 Feb 1837 in Chinguacousy, Peel Co., Ontario, Canada, d. 18 Apr 1927 in Denby, Shannon Co., SD, USA)
 
48. Robert OGDEN (b. abt 1807 in New Brunswick, Canada, m. 13 Jan 1825 in Kings Co., New Brunswick, Canada, d. 26 Jan 1892 in Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada)
49. Frances Amelia MORRELL (b. abt 1809 in Canada, d. 1881)

98. Elnathan MORRELL (b. 2 Jul 1771 in Peekskill, Westchester Co., NY, m. 14 Feb 1799 in Springfield, Kings Co., New Brunswick, Canada, d. 1851 in Springfield, Kings Co., New Brunswick, Canada)

99. Mary GUNTER (20 Mar 1781 in Peekskill, Westchester Co., NY, d. 7 Jun 1849 in Springfield, Kings Co., New Brunswick, Canada)

196. Thomas MORRELL (b. 1735 in Newton, Livingston Co., NY, m. 1767 in Peekskill, Westchester Co., NY, d. 1819 in Springfield, Kings Co., New Brunswick, Canada)

197. Alchey GARRISON (b. 1750 in Peekskill, Westchester Co., NY, d. aft. 1791)

392. Samuel MORRELL (b. 1709 in Queens, Livingston Co., NY, m. 12 Jun 1728 in Newton, Queens Co., NY, d. 18 Nov 1742 in Newton, Livingston Co., NY)

393. Phebe BAILEY (b. 1710 in ?, d. ? in ?)

784. Samuel MORRELL (b. 1664 in Long Island City, Queens Co. NY, m. 1698 in Long Island City, Queens Co. NY, d. 18 Nov 172 in Long Island City, Queens Co. NY)

785. Susannah SALYER (b. 1668 in  NY, d. 14 Aug 1774 in Newton, Livingston Co., NY)

1568. Thomas MORRELL (b. Apr 1628 in Queens Livingston Co., NY, m. 1660 in Newton, Livingston Co., NY, d. 1704 in Newton, Livingston Co., NY)

1569. Hannah GLEANE (b. 1644 in Long Island City, Queens Co. NY, d. Apr 1676 in Long Island City, Queens Co. NY)

3136. Thomas MORRELL (b. 1590 in Devon, England, m. ? in ?, d. ? in ?)

3137. Joan SEARLE (b. 1593 in England, d. ? in Newton Livingston Co., NY)

That goes back quite a way, doesn’t it?  To my ninth-great-grandfather, if it can be believed.  Everything back from Frances Amelia was gathered by my brother from on-line family trees on Ancestry.com.  No sources, no documentation.  Some of it is highly suspect; especially the info for the last Thomas Morrell who supposedly died in England, yet his son Thomas was born in New York.  I guess it’s possible he stayed in England and died there while his pregnant wife crossed the Atlantic and gave birth to her son in New York.  It seems highly unlikely to me.

I’m also surprised that we have much more detailed vital statistics for Frances Amelia’s father than we do for her.

It does appear that the Morrells were a long established family in New York who went to New Brunswick as Loyalists after America won its freedom.  That’s probably true of a lot of my Canadian ancestral lines.  We’ll see when we get to Robert Ogden’s mother, #99 Mary Clark.

Mother's Day

Here is a picture of my mother when she had been a mom for just a week.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Surname Saturday - 45: Nolaurd?

That's right -- "Nolaurd." How's that for a typical Irish surname. Yet that's what it states on the microfilmed transcription of the Clinton Co., Iowa death register for John KENNEDY, one of my Irish great-great-grandfathers.  Maiden Name of Mother: Nolaurd.

I'm not sure what to make of that. It's like breaking through a brick wall and finding...another brick wall. 

The informant was John Sheppard. He is the husband of Anne (Kennedy) Sheppard. John Kennedy was living with the Sheppards when he died. In the 1900 US Census, he is listed in their household as "Uncle." I believe he's Anne's uncle, the brother of her mother, Mary (Kennedy) Lawler Kennedy. In the 1910 US Census he is listed in the Sheppard household as a boarder.

It's possible that John Sheppard got the information about his wife's grandmother's maiden name wrong. I know that information about my wife (Lynch and Kuntz), but stuff like that is important to me. Maybe John Sheppard wasn't all that interested in genealogy. I don't put much trust in the information he provided.

The other possibility is that it's a transcription error.  Maybe it's "Nolan" or something more common in the original death records. A trip to the Clinton County courthouse is in my plans. That will be on my list of things to look into.

Of course, if it is "Nolaurd" that will be a real break. An uncommon name will make it more likely when I find someone that they are the person I'm looking for.  Not like Kennedy. 

May 2011, week 1: Birth of John HUIGENS

This month I'm starting on documenting the lives of my great-grandparents. The first is my father's paternal grandfather.

John HUIGENS was born on 15 Jun 1862 near Henry, Marshall Co., IL. His parents were Evert/Edward and Catherine (Toemmes) HEUIGEN. The two main sources of information on him are from biographies in "Compendium of history, reminiscence, and biography of Nebraska," (1) which is availabe on-line here, and "100 years of progress, Creighton, Nebraska, 1874-1974. (2) I also have his NE death certificate which provides the same information on his parents, date and place of birth as the bios do. His eldest son, Bernard, provided the info for his death certificate. I don't know who provided the info for the 1974 bio.

If the parents followed the standard German and Dutch naming patterns, John, as the second male child, was named after his mother's father, Johann TOEMMES.  John most likely never met his grandfather.  His grandmother brought her children to America in 1853, all by herself.

John's father died in 1864, when he was 2 years old.  His mother married Nicholas WEND sometime before 1869, when their first child was born.

John's parents' farm was in the north half of the northeast quarter of Section 10 of Hopewell Twp. in Marshall Co., IL, east of Henry. That's where he was born, if he was born at home, which seems very probable. Here is an 1890 plat map when the farm was owned by John's brother-in-law, Joseph ROTH. I have also seen an 1873 plat map that shows the same piece of land owned by John's step-father, who would have assumed ownership of the farm when he married John's mother.

My great-grandfather John was born during the US Civil War and lived to the age of 86, when he died in 1949. He lived through the US Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II.  Several of his grandchildren served in WWII. His life covered quite a span of US history.

Further lines of research are to look for a baptism record from St. Mary's Catholic Church in Henry and to find an obituary to see if  that has any inconsistent information.  I checked the newspaper archives at the Henry Library in Sept. 2006 hoping to find a birth announcement, but their microfilmed copies of the local newspaper do not go as far back as 1862.

1. Alden Publishing Co. 1912. Compendium of history, reminiscence, and biography of Nebraska: containing a history of the state of Nebraska ... also a compendium of reminiscence and biography containing biographical sketches of hundreds of prominent old settlers and representative citizens of Nebraska. John Huigens entry, 497, Chicago: Alden pub. co.

 

2. 100 years of progress, Creighton, Nebraska, 1874-1974. 1974. [Creighton, Neb.?]: Centennial Book Committee.

Apr. 2011, week 4: Misc. info re Esther (JOHNSON) OGDEN

This is the last post on my maternal grandmother, covering all of the miscellaneous info I have on her.

According to my mother, her mother’s family moved from Gordon, Sheridan Co., NE to Henning, Otter Tail Co., MN the summer before my grandmother’s senior year in high school. That would be the summer of 1920, since the Johnsons are in Gordon for the 1920 census and my grandmother was born in 1902. Because the high school in Minnesota would not accept all of her Nebraska high school credits, she would have had to go two years there in order to graduate. So she dropped out. It’s a shame she claim so close to graduating.

Also according to my mother, her parents met when my grandmother was back in Nebraska visiting some of her cousins. My grandfather was dating one of these cousins and dropped her because he was smitten by my grandmother. He must have made a good choice because they were married for 55 years.

The move from Gordon to Henning was at least the third move her family made while she was growing up. They went from Milan, Rock Island Co., IL to Winside, Wayne Co., NE probably in 1904 when she was two. They are in Winside in the 1910 US Census and her obituary says they moved when she was 2. Sometime between 1910 and 1920 they moved to Gordon. Her obituary says 1920, but that is the year they went to Minnesota. If she attended high school in Gordon, they probably arrived there before 1918. The latest date is probably Oct 1919, when her grandmother, Christina JOHNSON, died in Gordon, assuming that she was living with her son’s family when she died. I need to figure out which of her other children were living near Gordon when she died.

After she married my grandfather, my grandmother did a lot of moving around with him between southwestern SD and Sheridan Co., NE. The Ogden’s don’t seem to like staying in one place for very long.

Finally here are some pictures of my grandmother with her sisters, Ruth and Elsie.

ca. 1920

ca. Oct 1971

ca. Aug 1972

Next month I start on the lives of my eight great-grandparents.

Ohio Marriage of Samuel Howard and Sarah Bolton

My mother informed me that one of her cousin's daughter had some info on our English Howard line. The information I received from my second cousin was that she had a marriage record for Samuel Howard and Sarah Balton from Hamilton Co., Ohio from 30 Nov 1824. That sent me looking on-line to see what I could find. The first thing I found was an entry on the marriage in a DAR book from 1941, "Marriage records, Hamilton County, Ohio." (1)  That confirmed the place and date.

Next I went to Family Search and found the following image. (2)

This looks like the record from which the DAR info was abstracted. The original source for this image is explained here.  Looks like I need to see if they have the original license at the courthouse.  Even better, maybe my second cousin has a copy of the original and not what I found on-line.  I'm hopeful that the original has birthplaces, ages, parents' names.  That'd make things so much easier.

1) Ancestry.com. Marriage records, Hamilton County, Ohio [database on-line]. Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005. Original data: Marriage records, Hamilton County, Ohio. Cincinnati, Ohio: Cincinnati Chapter, D.A.R., 1941.  Accessed 26 Apr 2011. Entry for Sarah Balton and Samuel Howard, p. 28.


2) "Ohio, County Marriages, 1790-1950." database and images, FamilySearch: accessed 26 April 2011. entry for Samuel Howard and Sarah Balton, married 30 Nov 1824; citing Marriage Records, FHL film 344451; Hamilton County Courthouse, Cincinnatti, Ohio.

Jacob Eidelbusch in the 1900 US Census

Yesterday, I posted about learning that my 3rd-great-grandfather, John Jacob Adelbush, had died in 1901 in the Sheboygan Co. Insane Asylum. I also wrote that should make it easy to find his 1900 US Census record.  Mission Accomplished.

I began by searching for all the Johns and Jacobs in Sheboygan Co. That didn't find him. Then I tried looking for "Inmate" and "Patient" in Sheboygan Co. He wasn't there either. So I looked for all Sheboygan Co. males born in Germany in 1817.  There he was, misindexed as "Josep Eidelbarch" in the list of Insane Asylum inmates without any value in the "Relationship" column where I had expected "Inmate" or "Patient." One more thing crossed off the To-Do List.

Two new records

This week I received two records I had ordered online from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. They were a Washington Co. marriage record for John Frederick Herren and Julia Ann Adelbush and a Sheboygan Co. death record for Julia Ann's father, John Jacob Adelbusch.

These records were indexed under the names T.T. Herren and Juliane Edenbusch for the marriage record and Jacob Etelbuseh for the death record. As you can imagine, it took a little doing to find them using the society's online genealogy index. I basically ended up scrolling through all the records of a given type for a county for a given year. Luckily I had enough information about the events that I could find these sources.

These records were created at the state level from records forwarded by the counties starting in 1852. I'd consider these to be derivative sources. These records have then been indexed by the society. Finding them was made difficult because of errors made during the abstraction at the county level or transcribing them at the state level (e.g., "Edenbusch") and errors introduced during the indexing ("Eitelbuseh").

The main thing I was hoping to learn from the marriage record was the maiden name of Julia Ann's mother. No such luck. As you can see, they listed her with her married name: Gertrude Edelbusch. Brickwall: 1, Kevin: 0. The game goes on.

The puzzle raised by this source is the birthplace for John Frederick. This source has it as "Hanover." In all the US Census records 1850 to 1900, his birthplace is "Wisconsin." There is a Hanover in Rock Co., WI so maybe that's what is meant and not Hannover, Germany, where his father was born. It's a headscratcher.

The big stunner for John Jacob Adelbush is his place of death: the Sheboygan Co. Insane Asylum. That's the second of my ancestors to have died in an insane asylum. The cause of death is listed as Senile Debility. I'm assuming he was there because he was suffering from dementia or perhaps Alzheimer's and not because of some other mental illness.  He died at the age of 84 in 1901 and the record says he was there for 2 to 3 years. That explains why I haven't been able to find him in the 1900 US Census.  Now I know where to look.

Here's how I'd cite these two sources. I'd appreciate any feedback on how to improve these citations. I generated these using The Master Genealogist's templates.

State-level record of Washington Co., WI marriage record for TT Herren and Jualiane Edenbusch, 1:319, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 816 State St., Madison, WI 53708.

Jacob Eitelbusch entry, State-level records of Sheboygan Co., WI death records, 4:6, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 816 State St., Madison, WI 53708. Hereinafter cited as JJA Death Record.

Apr. 2011, week 3: Esther (JOHNSON) OGDEN's Death

Only a day late. That’s not too bad, is it? I spent a large part of yesterday finishing up some of the organizing tasks from Dear Myrtle’s Jan. Organizing Checklist for weeks 2 and 3. So I didn’t have time to work on my blog. I wonder if I’ll finish Week 4 of January’s checklist before May. Probably not. Sigh.

My Grandma Ogden died on 24 Mar 1984 in the Black Hills Rehabilitation Hospital, Rapid City, Pennington Co., SD. She was 82 years old.  She and my grandfather spent the last 10 years of their lives in various nursing homes in Rapid City, where my mother, their oldest daughter, lived. My grandfather died a month after his wife.  They are buried together in Fairview Cemetery in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE.

My sources for this information, aside from personal knowledge, are this obituary, her grave marker, the SSDI and her funeral card. On my To Do list are to order her SD death certificate and to look into the records at Morse Memorial Methodist Church in Rushville, NE where her funeral was held.

The Civil War

150 years ago today the Civil War started. I may seem a little late for the Civil War Genealogy Challenge, but actually I was way ahead of schedule. I've already posted about my only Civil War veteran ancestor in "Keokuk Civil War Hospital Cornerstone" many, many months ago. 

Abraham Strayer may not have distinguished himself in battle (he may never have actually seen any fighting), but he did volunteer and he did pay with his health in service to his country. 

Apr. 2011, week 2: Esther (JOHNSON) OGDEN's Children

A day late because I was too busy yesterday at my grand-nephew's first birthday party. Living family members come before ancestry.

Since most of my mother's brothers and sisters are still alive, I can't give too many details on my maternal grandmother's children.

1. Ardis Rosemary OGDEN, b. 20 Sep 1930 in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE, d. 22 Sep 1930 in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE (This was my grandparent's first child. She would have been my mother's older sister, if she had lived. She is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Rushville NE near her parents.
2. Shirley Ann OGDEN, my mother. She was born in Minnesota because, after losing her firstborn, my grandmother Esther went to be with her parents when it was time for my mom to be born.
3. Son.
4. Daughter.

5. William Johnson OGDEN, b. 28 Sept 1938 in Gordon, Sheridan Co., NE, d. 2 Oct 1988 in Los Angeles, CA. This is a picture of his memorial stone in Fairview Cemetery, near his parents.  He is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery in Phoenix, Maricopa Co., AZ.
6. Daughter.
7. Daughter.
8. Daughter.

Here is my mother and her brothers and sisters and a later one with the whole family.

Apr. 2011, Week 1: Birth of Esther Louise JOHNSON

Back on schedule in April. We'll see how long this lasts.

My maternal grandmother, Esther Louise JOHNSON, was born on 23 Feb 1902 in Milan, Rock Island Co., SD, USA. Her parents were Gustaf Adolph JOHNSON and Rosabel STRAYER.

My sources for her birth date are her grave marker, her obituary, a funeral card, and the SSDI. For the location, I have her obituary and my mother's 1945 SD Census card. I still need to get her Rock Island Co. birth record, any church baptism records, her Pennington Co., SD death record, her SS-5 application and newspaper birth announcements. To find the exact location where her parents were living when she was born, I need to check Rock Island Co. land records and county or Milan city directories for 1902. According to the 1900 US Census, Gust and Rose were renting a house in Milan. That may be the same place they were living when their first child was born two years later.

Surname Saturday: 39 Peters

Stop me if you've heard this before: So I went into ancestry.com and there was this little leaf. Yup, I went last night to gather info for a post on another German line of ancestors and I found several family trees with birth, death and parent information for my ancestor Jakob Wilhelm PETERS. I incorporated the info for now. It will all have to be verified and properly sourced someday, but for now I'll post it with the caveat that it is unverified data.

1. Kevin Joseph HUIGENS

2. Joseph Anthony HUIGENS
3. Shirley Ann OGDEN

4. Joseph Andrew HUIGENS (b. 9 Mar 1891 near Creighton, Knox Co., NE, m. 18 Feb 1914 at St. Ludgers Catholic Church in Creighton, Knox Co., NE, d. 8 Nov 1957 in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE)
5. Mary Julia KAIN (b. 19 May 1896 in Knox Co., NE, d. 29 Apr 1979 in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE)

8. John Edward HUIGENS (b. 15 Jun 1862 near Henry, Marshall Co., m. 28 Jan 1884 at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Henry, Marshall Co., IL, d. 12 Apr 1949 in Creighton, Knox Co., NE)
9. Mary FITZLER (b. 22 Feb 1866 in Marshall Co., IL, d. 6 Feb 1949 in Creighton, Knox Co., NE)

18. Johan Wimer "Wymer" FITZLER (b. 23 Jul 1832 in Wolperath, Rhein Province, Prussia, m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church, LaSalle, LaSalle Co., IL, d. abt 1888 in Marshall Co., IL)
19. Anna Helene SCHMITT (b. 17 Aug 1833 in Eischeid, Rhein Province, Prussia, d. 20 May 1904 in Creighton, Knox Co., NE)

38. Johannes SCHMITT (b. 28 Feb 1790 in Eischeid, Palatinate, HRE, m. 24 Feb 1821 in Neunkirchen, Siegkreis, Prussia, d. ? in ?)
39. Anna Helene PETERS (b. 20 Jan 1799 in Niederwennersheid, Palatinate, HRE, d. ? in ?)

78. Jakob Wilhelm PETERS (b. 12 Aug 1746 in Hoff, Siegkreis, Rheinland, Prussia, m. 1780 in ???, d. 15 Mar 1817, Niederwennerscheid, Palatinate, HRE)
79. Anna Maria Kuepper (b. 01 Nov 1762 in Germany, d. 13 Dec 1824 in Niederwennerscheid, Palatinate, HRE)

156. Johann Wilhelm PETERS (b. ??? in Hoff, Siegkreis, Rheinland, Prussia, m. 14 Feb 1735 in Neunkirchen, Siegkreis, Prussia, d. ??? in ???)
157. Eva Maria ORTH (b. 15 MAR 1714 in Niederwennersheid, Palatinate, HRE, d. 6 May 1754 in Hoff, Siegkreis, Rheinland, Prussia) 

I will need to go back through my notes on this area of Germany and the history of its geopolitics; when did it go from the Holy Roman Empire to Prussia, etc. I like listing the historical place details rather than the current ones. In my mind, my ancestors were not born in Germany or North Rhein-Westphalia. Those geopolitical entities did not exist during their lives. Anyway, I put the locations in italics to indicate that they may not be accurate.  One more thing for my genealogy to do list: create a timeline of the geopolitics of the regions where my German/Prussian ancestors lived.

Mar. 2011, Weeks 1-4: Emery Julius OGDEN

Just under the wire (it is still March, at least for a few more hours), here is the information on my maternal grandfather that I planned to post on the four Sundays in March.

Week 1: Birth

Emery Julius OGDEN was born 9-Sept-1896 most likely in Union Co., SD. South Dakota did not start keeping birth records until 1905. According to a database of pre-1905 births that the SD Dept. of Health put together here, my grandfather was born in Union Co. I don’t know who provided that information to them or when. On his 1918 WWI draft registration form, Clay Co., SD is his place of birth. His 1929 marriage license lists Spink in Union Co., SD as his birthplace. On his children’s 1945 SD Census cards, someone listed Elk Point, Spink Co., SD as their father’s birthplace. However Elk Point is in Union Co., not Spink Co. In his obituary and on his funeral card, his birthplace is given as Elk Point, Union Co., SD.

His parents were William Frederick OGDEN and Mary Elizabeth HERREN. My grandfather was most likely born at home on his parent’s farm. Further research to pinpoint his birthplace will involve tracking down the location of the farm in 1896 using land records and any county directories that may exist. I can also try looking for a birth announcement in area newspapers.

Week 2: Marriage

Emery OGDEN married Esther Louise JOHNSON at the Morse Memorial Methodist church in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE on 19-Mar-1929. My sources for that information are their obituaries and a Rushville newspaper clipping from 22-Mar-1929. I wish I had gotten their marriage records 30-40 years ago when my aunt was the County Clerk for Sheridan Co. She could have helped me locate so many records that I could use now.

Week 3: Death

My Grandpa Ogden died on 8-Apr-1984 in the Bennett County Memorial Hospital in Martin, SD. I don’t have the cause of death. He is buried in Fairview Cemetery, east of Rushville, NE. I have two obituaries for him, a funeral card and pictures of his grave marker from when I was last there in 1995. I still need to order the death certificate from the SD Dept. of Health, just to be thorough.

Week 4: Misc.

My grandfather was a merchant. He owned stores in Pine Ridge, SD and Martin, SD that I know of. I remember the clothing store in Martin. His son-in-law, my Uncle Dennis GREGG, took over and ran it after my grandfather retired. He also owned a garage in either Rushville or Gordon.

My grandfather was a roamer. He was born in south-eastern SD and lived in Union Co., Charles Mix Co., Tripp Co. Mellette Co., Todd Co., Shannon Co., Bennett Co. and Pennington Co., all in SD. He also lived in Sheridan Co., NE in both Rushville and Gordon at various times. I’m working on figuring out a timeline of where he was when. I need some input from my mother and to look into land records, county directories and newspapers. I’ve got point-in-time locations from US and SD censuses and other sources, but there are some discrepancies and I don’t know exactly when he moved between the various records.

According to the SD Census records, my grandfather graduated the 6th grade. The 1910 US Census states he had attended school sometime since 1-Sept-1909, when he was about to turn 14. That’s too old for 6th grade, so I think he may have gone beyond the 6th grade but didn’t make it all the way through 8th grade. He most likely went to public schools in Charles Mix Co., SD. I have no ideas what school records still exist from back then.

Emery OGDEN registered for the WWI draft on 5-Jun-1918. He enlisted in the US Army in Sept-1918. He served at Camp Funston in Kansas, the epicenter for the Spanish Flu epidemic. The first cases appeared there in March 1918 and by the time my grandfather arrived word had begun to leak out to the press of the huge number of flu-related deaths at the camp. It must have been a very frightening ordeal for my grandfather. He served as a cook. According to his obituaries, he was discharged in 1919. I’m still working on trying to piece together his service record.

Feb. 2011, Weeks 1-4: Mary Julia (KAIN) HUIGENS

Last week we pretended it was the last week in Jan. so I could wrap up what were supposed to be four weekly posts on my paternal grandfather, Joseph Andrew HUIGENS. This week my procrastinating self is going to cover the four planned Sunday blog posts for February in one day. Here then is the info on my paternal grandmother, Mary Julia (KAIN) HUIGENS.

Week 1: Birth

My Grandma Julia was born 19-May-1894 near Creighton in Knox Co., NE. This is supported by her marriage license, SS-5 application, the SSDI, her grave marker, obituary and funeral card. It also corresponds to the US Census for 1900 through 1930. My notes say she was born in Bazille Mills, a small setlement north of Creghton. I cannot locate any source to support that. That assertion may have come from my mother’s genealogy research and may come directly from my grandmother. County directories and land records may reveal exactly where the Kain family was living in 1894. My grandmother may also have filed a delayed birth certificate in order to apply for her Social Security card. That would only provide secondary information, but it may be the best I can get.

Week 2: Children

I covered her marriage to my grandfather here. So for the women’s second week, I’ll cover their children.

1. Paul Joseph HUIGENS, b. 26-Nov-1914 in Knox Co., NE, d. 28-Nov-1914 in Knox Co., NE. He is buried in St. Ludger’s Cemetery.
2. Arnold Francis HUIGENS, b. 4-Apr-1916 in Knox Co., NE, d. 9-Oct-1993 in Newton, Harvey Co., KS.
3. Lawrence John “Bud” HUIGENS, b. 31-May-1917 in Knox Co., NE, d. 15-Sept-1996 in Strasburg, Adams Co., CO.
4. Rita M. “Sis” HUIGENS, b. 1-Aug-1918 in Knox Co., NE, d. 1-Aug-1991 in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE.
5. Frances Rosalie “Toots” HUIGENS, b. 2-Sep-1919 in Knox Co., NE, d. 16-Sep-1976 in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE. She was married to Willard LAHAYE. I remember attending her funeral in Rushville. She is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Rushville along with my grandparents and my Aunt Sis.
6. Berneice [sic] Margaret “Babe” HUIGENS, b. 21-Jun-1921 in Knox Co., NE, d. 26-Apr-2008 in O’Neill, Knox Co., NE. She was married to Lewis COKER. She was the last of my dad’s siblings to die.
7. Joseph Anthony HUIGENS, b. 12-Feb-1927 in Sheridan Co., NE. This is my dad.

Week 3: Death

My grandmother died on 29-Apr-1979 at Parkview Nursing Home, Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE. I don’t have the cause of death. For that I need to order her death certificate. I have the funeral card, an obituary and photos of her grave marker. I remember visiting her at the nursing home when I was home from college for Christmas break in 1978. She died a few months later. I was not able to make it back for her funeral. She is buried next to her husband in St. Mary’s Cemetery. I visit their graves on those rare occasions I get back to western SD where I grew up.

Week 4: Misc.

I previously wrote about the uncertainty of her name. The only other detail on her life that I’d like to know is her schooling. I have the same questions and research plans as I have for my grandfather. Did she go to public school or the Catholic school at St. Ludger’s in Creighton? How far did she make it in school? I’ll need to investigate any existing Nebraska school censuses and St. Ludger’s school records to answer these questions.

Jan. 2011, Week 4: Misc. info regarding Joseph Andrew HUIGENS

I was supposed to do this blog post on the last weekend in January. Wonder which ancestor I inherited procrastination from? It would be nice to have someone to blame. So let’s pretend that it’s still the middle of winter and February is right around the corner.

Aside from birth, marriage and death facts, what else do I know about my paternal grandfather?

According to the 1920 Atlas of Knox County, he owned 160 acres in section 9 of Logan Township, Knox County, NE. I covered what I know and don’t know about his land ownership and movement here.

He registered for the World War I draft on 5 Jun 1917, but never served. From the registration form, we know he was tall, of medium build and had brown hair and brown eyes.

I’d like to know about his schooling. Did he go to public school or the Catholic school at St. Ludgers in Creighton? How far did he make it in school? I’ll need to investigate any existing Nebraska school censuses and St. Ludgers school records to answer these questions.

Jan. 2011, Weeks 2 and 3: Marriage and death of Joseph Andrew HUIGENS

I was too busy last weekend to create a post on my grandparents' wedding.  This week I'm playing catch up by doubling up.

 Joe obtained a license to marry Miss Julia KAIN from the county judge of Knox Co., NE on Fri., 13 Feb 1914.  The name of the judge was D.C. Laird.

The wedding took place on Wed., 18 Feb 1914.  It most likely took place at St. Ludger's Catholic Church in Creighton, NE since the pastor, Fr. William Windolph officiated.  The witnesses on the  marriage certificate were Richard Kain, brother of the bride, and Emily Huigens, sister of the groom.

My grandfather died on 8 Nov 1957, when I was 6 months old.  He was 66.  He died at his home in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE.  The cause of death on the death certificate is Uremia.  Basically his kidneys failed due to chronic Glomerulonephritis, inflammation of the glomeruli, or small blood vessels in the kidneys.  He was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Rushville.

 This is a picture of my grandparents taken a few months before his death.

I wish I had had a chance to know my grandfather.  Next week I'll have some miscellaneous info on him.

Surname Saturday: 37 Felder

More of my German ancestors from before there was a Germany.

1. Kevin Joseph HUIGENS

2. Joseph Anthony HUIGENS
3. Shirley Ann OGDEN

4. Joseph Andrew HUIGENS (b. 9 Mar 1891 near Creighton, Knox Co., NE, m. 18 Feb 1914 at St. Ludgers Catholic Church in Creighton, Knox Co., NE, d. 8 Nov 1957 in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE)
5. Mary Julia KAIN (b. 19 May 1896 in Knox Co., NE, d. 29 Apr 1979 in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE)

8. John Edward HUIGENS (b. 15 Jun 1862 near Henry, Marshall Co., m. 28 Jan 1884 at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Henry, Marshall Co., IL, d. 12 Apr 1949 in Creighton, Knox Co., NE)
9. Mary FITZLER (b. 22 Feb 1866 in Marshall Co., IL, d. 6 Feb 1949 in Creighton, Knox Co., NE)

18. Johan Wimer "Wymer" FITZLER (b. 23 Jul 1832 in Wolperath, Rhein Province, Prussia, m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church, LaSalle, LaSalle Co., IL, d. abt 1888 in Marshall Co., IL)
19. Anna Helene SCHMITT (b. 17 Aug 1833 in Eischeid, Rhein Province, Prussia, d. 20 May 1904 in Creighton, Knox Co., NE)

36. Wimar FITZLER (b. 29 Dec 1774 in Wolperath, Palatinate, HRE, m. 25 Aug 1820 in Neunkirchen, Juelich-Cleves-Berg Province, Prussia, d. after 1834 in Prussia)
37. Anna Margaretha FELDER (b. 9 Apr 1798 in Wiescheid, Palatinate, HRE, d. after 1834 in Prussia)

74. Heinrich FELDER (b. Niederhorbach, Germany)
75. Anna Christina JACOBS

Not sure what the political situation of Niederhorbach was in the time frame when Hienrich was born.  Today it is a municipality with about 500 inhabitants located in the Südliche Weinstrasse district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.  It is part of the Bad Bergzabern Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality").

Surname Saturday - 35: Schmitt

This week I'm starting on the maiden names of my great-great-great-grandmothers.  At least those that I know. #33 would be next after last week's posting of #31, but I don't know the name of Evert Huigens's mother. Her first name is likely Maria; that's all I've got.

So I'm moving on to my great-great-grandmother's mother.

1. Kevin Joseph HUIGENS

2. Joseph Anthony HUIGENS
3. Shirley Ann OGDEN

4. Joseph Andrew HUIGENS (b. 9 Mar 1891 near Creighton, Knox Co., NE, m. 18 Feb 1914 at St. Ludgers Catholic Church in Creighton, Knox Co., NE, d. 8 Nov 1957 in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE)
5. Mary Julia KAIN (b. 19 May 1896 in Knox Co., NE, d. 29 Apr 1979 in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE)

8. John Edward HUIGENS (b. 15 Jun 1862 near Henry, Marshall Co., m. 28 Jan 1884 at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Henry, Marshall Co., IL, d. 12 Apr 1949 in Creighton, Knox Co., NE)
9. Mary FITZLER (b. 22 Feb 1866 in Marshall Co., IL, d. 6 Feb 1949 in Creighton, Knox Co., NE)

16. Evert HUIGEN (b. 6 Dec 1827 in Holland, Netherlands, m. ? in ?, d. 27 Feb 1864 in Marshall Co., IL)
17. Catherine TOEMMES (b. 6 Jan 1827 in Trassem, Kreis Saarburg, Prussia, d. 22 Feb 1899 in Morgan Co., IL)

34. Johann TOEMMES (b. 1790 in Trassem, Kreis Saarburg, Prussia, m. 1815 at St. Hubertus Catholic Church in Trassem, Kreis Saarburg, Prussia, d. ? in ?)
35. Maria SCHMITT (b. 29 Sept 1796 in Trassem, Kreis Saarburg, Prussia, d. 4 Nov 1869 in Marshall Co., IL)

As I posted before, the genealogy of this line comes from on-line an alphabetical listing of births and marriages extracted from the book Zwischen Saar und Leuk 1675-1900 [Between Saar and Leuk]. This book is a compilation of area church records.  I have not taken the time to track down Maria Schmitt's parents.

This is the second of my Schmitt lines.  This first is from the area around Neunkirchen-Seelscheid in the south of North Rhein-Westphalia, Germany.  This line comes from near Trier in Rhineland-Palitinate.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Ancestral Name List Roulette

This week's assignment:

1. How old is one of your grandfathers now, or how old would he be if he had lived? Divide this number by 4 and round the number off to a whole number. This is your "roulette number."
2. Use your pedigree charts or your family tree genealogy software program to find the person with that number in your ancestral name list (some people call it an "ahnentafel"). Who is that person?
3. Tell us three facts about that person in your ancestral name list with the "roulette number."

I'm going with my maternal grandfather, Emery OGDEN. He would be 114 if he were still alive. 114 divided by 4 is 28.5. Rounded up that'd be 29. Person number 29 in my ancestral name list is Christina Lotta Jönsdotter, my maternal grandmother's paternal grandmother. Or to make it even more complicated: the mother of Emery's father-in-law.

The facts about Stina:

1. She was born on the 4th of July. That was in 1839 in Slottsbäcken, Locknevi, Kalmar, Småland, Sweden.
2. She arrived in NYC with her husband and children on 25 Apr 1881 aboard the "City of Paris."
3. She died on 10 Oct 1919 in Gordon, Sheridan Co., NE.

Myster Monday: My grandmother's "real" name

We called my paternal grandmother "Grandma Julia." When my mother started doing genealogy, she listed her maiden name as "Mary Julia KAIN." She is listed in every US Census record as "Julia." In the Social Security Death Index, she appears as "Julia Huigens." On her SS-5 application for Social Security, she listed her name as "Mary Julia." Our assumption has always been that, in typical Irish fashion, she used her middle name insted of the ubiquitous "Mary."

But on my father's birth certificate her maiden name is listed as "Julia Marian KAIN." Where did that come from? How am I supposed to assess that evidence? Did someone other than my grandmother provide the information for my dad's birth certificate? Did my grandmother unofficially change her name for some reason? What counts as an "official" name in the days before registered births?

My research plans for resolving this mystery consist of looking for a delayed birth certificate and baptism records from St. Ludger's Catholic Church in Creighton. I'd consider a baptism certificate to be more primary than any of the other documents. If a person starts using a different name than the one they were given at birth, does that then become their "official" name? I'm sure they would think so.

In any case, she will always be "Grandma Julia" to me.

Jan. 2011, Week 1: Birth of Joseph Andrew HUIGENS

My blogging plan for 2011 revolves around the fact that I have twelve grandparents and great-grandparents. That works out nicely for covering one a month.  Each month has four weeks, more or less.  In the first three weeks I'll cover the basics of birth, marriage and death.  In the fourth week I'll cover miscellaneous topics like residence, land, immigration, naturalization, etc.

To begin, my paternal grandfather, Joseph Andrew HUIGENS, was born on 9-Mar-1891 near Creighton, Knox Co., NE.  The sources for the date are his WWI draft registration card, his marriage license, his obituary, his NE death record and his grave marker.  The years are confirmed by US Census records for 1900 through 1930.  He was born before births were registered in Nebraska.  It's possible that he has a delayed birth record filed.  The best hope for a primary, direct and original source is baptism records at St. Ludger's Catholic Church in Creighton.

The exact location of his birth is most likely the family farm, about 10 miles west of Creighton on the family farm in Logan Township, in the south half of section 3.  All the known records list his birthplace as Creighton, which is the closest town.

His parents were John HUIGENS and Mary FITZLER, who moved to Knox County in the spring of 1884.  Joseph was their fourth child and third son.  He was named after his uncle Joseph WEND, his father's half-brother.

My grandfather is standing on the far right in the picture below.  This is the earliest picture I have of him.

Next week, Joseph's marriage to Julia KAIN.