52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 16 "Should Be a Movie"

I think that a good screenplay could be developed around the life of my 2xgreat-grandmoteher Anna Helena (Schmitt) Fitzler.

In May of 1858, at the age of 24, she set sail from Antwerp, Belgium on the ship "Charles Cooper." Sailing with her were her future sister-in-law Anna Christina Fitzler and Anna Christina's 5-year-old son Wimar. They landed in New York City on 25 June 1858.

The Charles Cooper

Two weeks later at St. Patrick Catholic Church in LaSalle, Illinois, Anna Helena married Johann Wimar "Wymer" Fitzler in a joint ceremony with Anna Christina Fitzler and Johann Schloesser, most likely the father of Wimar, who became Wimar Schloesser. 

St. Patrick Catholic Church, LaSalle, IL

Anna Helena and her husband settled in Marshall County, Illinois, near the town of Henry, where her two brothers, Peter and Michael were already living. 

Wymer bought a farm in Hopewell Township. Over the years he was forced to take out several mortgages on it. His lack of success may have been a result of alcoholism The progression of the disease and its effects on those around the alcoholic always make for good drama in a film.

On 13 October 1885, Wymer fell to his death from the bridge over the Illinois River outside of Henry. He was returning home after a couple of days in Henry, where he spent at least the last day drinking. 

The climax of the film would be when the authorities come to her door to tell her about her husband's death Anyone who has ever cared about an alcoholic has imagined what that would feel like. I wonder what she felt? Grief. Anger. Relief. Shame. Guilt.  

There was probably an element of guilt since she quickly moved her family to Knox County, Nebraska where she had two married daughters living. She died there many years later in 1904. According to one of her obituaries, she was "known universally as Grandma Fitzler" and had a "kindly nature."

Her life may have been a rocky road, but I think she had a smooth ending. At least I hope she did.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 13 "Light a Candle"

Both my paternal and maternal grandparents lost their first child only two days after they were born. With this blog post, I am lighting two candles in memory of my aunt and uncle.

Paul Joseph Huigens

My Uncle Paul was born in 1914 in Knox County, Nebraska, most likely on his parent's farm in Logan Township. 

He is not forgotten.

Ardis Rosemary Ogden

My Aunt Ardis was born in 1930 in Sheridan County, Nebraska, most likely at her parent's home in Rushville. 

She is not forgotten.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 6 "Social Media"

 I need to get caught up with the 52 Ancestors prompts. I plan to do several this week until I can get caught up. We'll see how this goes.

Social media. I thought I'd share a few items from the social media of its day: Newspapers. When I found the on-line archives of the Creighton News from Creighton, Knox County, Nebraska, I spent several hours playing around in it. So much to look for between my Huigens, Kain, and Fitzler paternal ancestors who settled there, and some Kennedy relatives, too. Like most small town newspapers there was a lot of local news about the goings and comings of locals and visitors. 

One of the interesting things I found was several mentions of my dad, Joseph Huigens, Jr. Shortly before he was born, his parents moved their family from Know County to Sheridan County on the other side of state. Nevertheless, news of his birth on 12 February 1927 was published in Creighton for his parents' friends in the area.

Creighton News, 24 February 1927

In the news about visitors, I was able to track many of the times  that my dad went back to visit his many grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. 

Creighton News, 10 Jan 1929

My almost 2-year-old dad would have been among those "and children."

Creighton News, 16 October 1930

A few month later my dad, then 3 years old, went with his mother to visit her parents and then to visit her in-laws. That was the last time my grandmother would see her father, He died later that year in December.

Creighton News, 19 November 1931

My dad, now 4 years old would most likely have been the "and son," He was the only one of his brothers and sisters too young to have been in school at that time. 

Creighton News, 3 December 1931

The recovery of my grandmother's mother did not last long--she died five days after my dad and his mother returned home. I'm glad my grandmother got to spend some time with her mother before she passed. 

Creighton News, 8 February 1934

Here is news of a visit on a happier occasion. At almost 7 years old my dad finally gets a mention by name. 

These are all the Creighton News articles that mention my dad that I have found so far. It's fun to think of this little boy going across Nebraska to visit his grandparents and other relatives. I wish I had found these when my dad was still alive. I would have liked to know what he remembered about any of these trips. 

Joseph Anthony Huigens (1927-2013)

Obit for Mrs. Helena Fitzler

Last night I was looking for Nebraska newspaper archives to see where I might be able to get access to news papers for Knox County or the town of Creighton. I came across the Nebraska's Newspapers site. This is a joint venture of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the Nebraska State Historical Society. I clicked on the Browse link and a map of Nebraska appeared with seven cities indicated. One of them was Norfolk, which is near Creighton, so I clicked on it. They had digitized images of issues from 1899 to 1912. A quick check in ancestry.com showed me that my great-great-grandmother Anna Helena (Schmitt) Fitzler died on 20 May 1904. So, I went looking for the issue of the Norfolk Weekly News-Journal for that week. Lo and behold, in the upper left hand corner of page 2 for the issue of 27 May 1904 was the headline "North Nebraska Deaths" and there it was.

NORTH NEBRASKA DEATHS

---

"GRANDMA" FITZLER OF CREIGHT-
TON PASSES AWAY

---

.
.
.
    Creighton, Neb. May 21.-- Special
to The News:  Mrs. Helena Fitzler of
Creighton died here yesterday after-
noon at 3 o'clock of old age.  She was
seventy-two years old and was born 
in Germany.  She came to this coun-
try with her parents, locating in Hen-
ry, Ill.  After the death of her hus-
band, Mrs. Fitzler moved to Creighton
and has made this her home for the 
past twelve years.  She owned prop-
erty in Illinois and owned her home 
in Creighton.
    She leaves six daughters and one 
son, John Fitzler, who is unmarried, 
and who is employed in the store of
Loeble & Son, of Creighton.  Maggie
Rublow, Mary Higgons, Lizzie Bloom,
of Knox county;  Mr. and Mrs. Peter
John of Sheldon, Ia., Helen Boisbors
of Mendota, Ill, Kate Schubert of 
Manson, Ia., were all here at the bed-
side of Mrs. Fitzler when the end 
came.
    The funeral will be held Sunday af-
ternoon at 3 o'clock from the Catholic
church, Rev. Father Windols in
charge.
    Helena Fitzler was a good old lady
and will be greatly missed by the cit-
izens and people of Creighton.  She
was known universally as "Grandma" 
Fitzler and her kindly nature had
made for her friends in every corner
of Knox county.

 Lots of great information! First, a more accurate date for her husband's death. I had been assuming it was between his appearance in the 1880 US Census and the 1900 US Census when Helena was listed alone in Creighton. This narrows that range down to sometime around 1892, twelve years before Helena's death. Awesome! Second, I now have the married names of all her daughters, even though the spelling on some is horribly butchered (it's Richling, Boisdorf and Huigens). These are my Grandpa Joe's aunts on his mother's side. Wunderbar!

However, I don't believe she came to America with her parents. I have her a on passenger list for the Charles Cooper with her future sister-in-law. I'll check the list for other Schmitt's but I'll be surprised if I find any. On the other hand, they would have been the grandparents for these seven children. If one of the daughters was the informant for this article, they probably knew better than me. On the third hand, on her death certificate, Helena's parents are listed as "Mr. Smith" and "Mrs. Helena Schmitt." If they knew their grandparents, why didn't they know their grandfather's name?

Several questions answered and a new one raised.

Looking for relatives in LofC Newspapers

Watching the Jerome Bettis article on WDYTYA tonight reminded me about the Library of Congress newspaper archive, Chronicling America. I went back tonight and searched for "Huigens" in Nebraska starting in 1884. I found four hits.

The first is from The Norfolk [NE] Weekly News-Journal, September 27, 1907, Page 3. It mentions my great-grandparents, John and Mary Huigens of Creighton, NE as visitors to Norfolk on the previous Sat. No idea who they would have been visiting.

The second is in a column called "Thursday Tidings" from the 19-Feb 1909 edition of the same paper. BJ Huigens would be my dad's uncle, Bernard Joseph (Barney) Huigens. He would have been about 25 years old.

Barney also shows up in the next item from the same paper 21-Apr-1911. It appears he won an election to the village board of Herrick, Gregory Co., SD as a "wet" candidate, meaning he opposed Prohibition.

The last item mentions a Huigens from Sioux Co., IA in the Omaha Daily Bee of 9-Jun-1890. The column title is "Iowa Items." I'm not sure how or if we are related to the Sioux Co. IA Huigenses. I've got a couple of census of records, but so far have not been able to tie them to the Creighton, NE line. I guess I'll have to search the newspapers for Huigens in Iowa. I'll let you know what I find.

Tombstone Tuesday: John and Mary Huigens

This week I'm posting a picture of the grave marker for my great-grandparents. John Huigens was born in Illinois during the Civil War and died after World War II. That's quite a span of history.

Mystery Monday: The death of Mary Huigens

Where did my great-grandmother, Mary (Fitzler) Huigens die in Feb. 1949? I 'm not really sure. I sent away for a Nebraska death certificate because she lived in Creighton, NE for all of her adult life and is buried there with my great-grandfather. To my surprise, no Nebraska death record was found. I've checked the South Dakota death records on ancestry.com that cover this time period and she's not there either. That seemed a possibility because Creighton is close to the SD border.

As far as I know, all of her children lived in NE at that time. All I have to go on is a vague rumor that she died in Iowa and some of my dad's cousins remember something about a problem getting her body back on the train because of the blizzard of 1949.

The next step is to include her in a big order of Iowa death records when I've got the time and the money.

Wordless Wednesday: Huigens Siblings 1950s

This is a picture of my Grandpa Joe with his brothers and sisters. It was probably taken some time after their parents had died in 1949. Probably some time in the 1950s and probably in Creighton, NE where they were born and grew up. The men in the back row are Bernard Huigens, Joseph Huigens, Henry Huigens and Edward Huigens. In the front row are Julia (Huigens) Tharnish, Anna Huigens, and then either Margaret (Huigens) King and Emily (Huigens) Mattern or vice versa. I cannot lay my hands on my notes as to who is who right now.

Tombstone Tuesday: Julia T. (Huigens) and Ernest P. Tharnish

This is a picture of the grave marker for my father's aunt and uncle, Julia T. (Huigens) and Ernest P. Tharnish. It's located in St. Ludger Cemetery in Creighton, Knox Co., NE. This was taken before Julia's death.

The grave marker was made when Julia's husband died in 1983. She was then 85 years old. They went ahead and chiseled in the "19" for the start of her death date. She asked them "What if I live past the turn of the century?" They pointed out that was in seventeen years and she'd turn 103 in 2000, so it didn't seem like they were taking much of a risk.

Julia died in 2007, a week after her 110th birthday. At the time of her death, she was the oldest living person in Nebraska. In the end, she was right and they had to put a plaque on the marker to cover up their mistake. She sure showed them.

There's a lesson in there somewhere.

February 2012: Status of research on Mary Julia Kain

Here is the status of my research on my paternal grandmother. Currently all of this information is in a Google doc document file. I'm playing around with Evernote and am considering moving each of these to a note in an Evernote notebook. I'll let you know how that works out.

5. Mary Julia KAIN
What was her full name?
        Mary Julia KAIN: SS-5, delayed birth record w/reference to baptism certificate
        Julia M: 1900, 1920 US Census record

Julia: 1910, 1930 US Census record

Miss Julia KAIN: Marriage License

Julia Marian KAIN: JAH2 Birth Certificate 1927

Julia HUIGENS: NE state death record

To do: St. Ludger baptism record, newspapers, children’s vital records

Who were her parents?

Francis Joseph KAIN and Margaret KENNEDY: SS-5

Frank KAIN and Margaret KENNEDY: delayed birth record

Frank J and Margaret H KAIN: 1900 US Census

Frank J and Margaret KAIN: marriage license

Frank and Margaret KAIN: obit, 1910 US Census

Frank KAIN and Mary KENNEDY: NE state death record

To-do: St. Ludger baptism record, newspapers, parents’ obituaries

When was she born?

19-May-1894: Grave marker, obituary, funeral card, SSDI, marriage license, SS-5, NE state death record, delayed birth record

May 1894: 1900 US Census record (Age 6)

1894: 1910 (Age 15 before her 1910 birthday), 1920 (Age 25 before her 1920 birthday) US Census records

1896: 1930 US Census record (Age 34 after her 1930 birthday)

To-do: St. Ludger baptism record, newspapers

Where was she born?
        Creighton: Obituary

Creighton, NE: SS-5, delayed birth record

NE:1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 US Census records

In 1903, Kain farm house was SW of Bazile Mills and NW of Creighton (Closer to Bazile Mills  than to Creighton), NW corner of SW quarter of section 8 of Creighton Twp. : 1903 Knox County Atlas

http://beta.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/103214/Creighton+Township++Bazile+Mills

/Knox+County+1903/Nebraska/

To-do: find location of family in 1894 in land records, county directory, newspapers, children’s census records

Where did she go to school?
        To-do: NE school census, St. Ludger school records
How long did she go to school?

At school: 1900 US Census, attended 3 months in the previous year (she would have been 5 or 6 years old)

1910 US Census states she had attended school sometime since 1-Sept-1909, when she was 15

        To-do: NE school census, St. Ludger school records
Where did she live?
Rushville, NE in Mar. 1947: SS-5

See father’s and husband’s info

When did she move across the street in Rushville?
To-do: check land records at Sheridan Co. courthouse, Rushville city directories
When did she die?
        29-Apr-1979: Obituary, grave marker, NE state death record

24-Apr-1979: Funeral card

Apr-1979: SSDI

To-do: Rushville Immaculate Conception records, probate records

Where did she die?
        Parkview Nursing Home, Rushville: Obituary
Parkview Lodge N. H.: NE state death record

To-do: Nothing

What was the cause of death?
Pneumonia, Debilitation, Lymphocytic leukemia: NE state death record
        To-do: Nothing
Where is she buried?
        St. Mary’s Cemetery: funeral card, grave marker photo, NE state death record
To do: Nothing

The only important question is where here parents were living when she was born. Her birthplace is given as Creighton, NE, but, if she was born at home, they were closer to Bazile Mills, which currently has about 29 residents. My desire for detail leads me to want to know exactly where my ancestors were born. Since I can seldom know exactly where a mother was when a child was born, I should probably limit myself to the county rather than trying to pinpoint the exact location of a farm and where the house was on that farm.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy: Week 7 – Historical Documents

Week 7 – Historical Documents: Which historical document in your possession are you happy to have? How did you acquire this item? What does it reveal about your ancestors?

This one has me stumped. I don't actually have any historical documents in my possession. I have copies of a bunch of things and printouts of microfilmed records, but no actual documents.

Of what I have, my favorite would be the delayed birth certificate for my paternal grandmother.

This document is important to me because it resolved, once and for all, the issue of her "official" name.

SNGF: Two Degrees of Separation

1) Using your ancestral lines, how far back in time can you go with two degrees of separation? That means "you knew an ancestor, who knew another ancestor." When was that second ancestor born?

All of my great-grandparents had died before I was born. So the middle person will have to be one of my grandparents. Here are the earliest born ancestors that each of my grandparents may have known.

Joseph Andrew Huigens (1891-1957) had to have known his grandmother, Anna Helena (Schmitt) Fitzler (1833-1904). They both lived near Creighton, NE according to the 1900 US Census. He would have been 13 when she died. It's possible he also met his other grandmother, Katherine (Toemmes) Huigens Wend (1827-1899). She died in 1899, when he was eight. In 1895 she was living in Iowa with her daughter's family. She died four years later in a mental hospital in Illinois.

Mary Julia (Kain) Huigens (1894-1979) only had one grandparent who did not die before she was born, her maternal grandfather, John Kennedy (1826-1913). She would have been 19 when he died. I have no idea if she ever made the trip to Clinton, IA to meet him, if he ever came out west to Nebraska or if they met somewhere in the middle in Iowa for a family gathering at her aunt's.

Emery Julius Huigens (1896-1984) probably knew all of his grandparents. He was 14 when the first of them died. They all lived near each other in south-eastern South Dakota. His paternal grandfather, James Robert Ogden (1836-1910), was the oldest and the first to die. Emery would have been 14 then. It's also possible but unlikely that he met his great-grandfather, John Jacob Adlebusch (1817-1901). He lived in Sheboygan Co., WI and was almost 80 when my grandfather was born. I doubt that my grandfather was taken to Wisconsin or that my great-great-great-grandfather made the trip to SD at his age.

Esther Louise (Johnson) Ogden (1902-1984) probably knew all three of her grandparents who were alive when she was born. The oldest of them was Harriet Alice (Howard) Strayer (1829-1914). They all lived in the Quad City area in Iowa and Illinois where my grandmother was born.

So I'm pretty sure the farthest back I can go is Esther Louise Johnson to her maternal grandmother, Harriet Alice Howard, born in 1829. There are two other definite possibilities in 1826 and 1827 with a very, very slim chance of 1817.

Thanks, Randy, for another great topic.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy: Weeks 2 & 3: Online Tools

It's two, two, two weeks in one!

Week 2: Paid Genealogy Tools
My favorite paid genealogy tool? Ancestry.com hands down. It has been the source of tons of research and discoveries, mostly through the census records. It has also been where we have built our family tree.

By we, I mean my brother Ross and me. In fact, it's his subscription that he generously shares with me. That is what I am most grateful for. He did a tremendous job getting our tree started. I just add twigs and leaves to the trunk and branches he first built.

Week 3: Free Online Genealogy Tools
This one is a lot tougher. I am grateful for familysearch.org and also for the USGenWeb collection of sites. I guess I'll go with the USGenWeb sites because I'm grateful for the hundreds of volunteers that built these sites and keep them running. I'll especially mention Marshall County, IL, Knox County, NE and Clinton County, IA. These were a great help in working on my paternal family lines. My dad's Irish ancestors settled in Clinton Co., the German ones in Marshall Co. Both sets of his grandparents settled in Knox Co., where his parents met.

January 2012: Status of research on Joseph Andrew Huigens

New year, new try at blogging more. Last year's plan to post weekly about one of my grandparents or great-grandparents each month did not go so well. This year I'll try one post a month on them that shares the current status of my research. I've been organizing my research as a series of questions about each person. I then list all the various answers along with the sources and a to-do list of other possible sources. This helps me to identify what I know for sure and what I think I know but don't have a good source for. It also helps me organize research plans. I also plan to use it to add source citations to my TMG database where everything is sourced. This is currently a very small database, unfortunately.

I'll start with my paternal grandfather.

4. Joseph Andrew HUIGENS

What was his full name?

Joseph A HUIGENS: WWI draft registration, 1920 US Census, 1930 US Census, wife’s obituary, grave marker

Joe Andrew HUIGENS: NE state death record

Joseph Andrew HUIGENS: JAH2 birth certificate, SS-5, delayed birth record

To-do: St. Ludger baptism record, newspapers, children’s vital records

Who were his parents?

John HUIGENS and Mary FITZLER: marriage license, NE state death record, “100 years of progress, Creighton, Nebraska, 1874-1974.”, 1912 Nebraska history, SS-5

John HUIGENS and Mary F FITZLER: delayed birth record

John and Mary HUIGENS: 1900 US Census

John and Mary HIGGINS: 1910 US Census

To-do: St. Ludger baptism record, newspapers, parents’ obituaries
When was he born?

9-Mar-1891: Grave marker, obituary, WWI draft registration, marriage license, NE state death record, SS-5, delayed birth record

Mar-1891: 1900 (Age 9) US Census record

1891: 1910 (Age 19), 1920 (Age 28 before 1910 birthday), 1930 (Age 39) US Census records

To-do: St. Ludger baptism record, newspapers

Where was he born?

Creighton, NE: obituary, WWI draft registration, NE state death record, SS-5, delayed birth record

NE: 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 US census records

Section 3 in Logan Twp., Knox Co., NE (10 miles west of Creighton) on family farm if born at home: 1903 Knox County plat map

To-do: find exact location of family in 1891 in land records, newspapers

Where did he go to school?

1912 father’s bio says he is attending the Catholic parochial school

To-do: NE school census, St. Ludger school records

How long did he go to school?

1900 US Census shows he was in school for 8 month in the previous year

1910 US Census states he had attended school sometime since 1-Sept-1909, when he was 18

1912 father’s bio says he is attending the Catholic parochial school, but would have been about 21 years old (How long before publication was the interview done?)

        To-do: NE school census, St. Ludger school records
When did he marry?

18-Feb-1914: his obituary, hand-written note on wedding picture, marriage license

18-Feb-1910: Julia’s obituary (contradicted by 1910 US Census which shows them both single and with their families)

abt 1913 or 1915: Married at ages 22 and 19 according to 1930 US Census [matches  their ages on the 18 Feb 1914 wedding date]

        To-do: St. Ludger marriage record, newspapers
Where did he marry?
        St. Ludger Catholic Church, Creighton: obituary, marriage license
        To-do: St. Ludger marriage record, newspapers
Where did he farm in Knox Co.

His father left the farm in Nov-1904 according to bio, but he was only 13 then

        Section 9 of 1920 Logan Twp. map says “John Parkhurst, Jos Huigens (contract)”

“P. O. Walnut, R. 1. O. 160 ac., sec. 9; R. 160 ac., sec. 11; R. 320 ac., sec. 3.” : Farmer's Directory of Logan Precinct 1920 Atlas  (O= owns R = rents)

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/knox/1920atlas/logan.htm

To-do: Knox County land records, county directories

When did he move his family to Sheridan Co.?
      Before Jan. 1926: Obituary
Before 12-Feb-1927: My dad’s birth date

To-do: Knox Co. land records, Sheridan Co. land records, County directories, newspapers from both counties

Why did he move west?
        To-do: Knox Co. land records, newspapers from both counties
Where was the farm in Sheridan Co.? Who owned it?

        Rushville Precinct: 1930 US Census

Logan C. Musser owned it: notes of 7 Mar 2010 conversation with 

Mom

NW of Rushville, within walking distance: 2011 emails with Mom

Box 514, Rushville, NE in Oct. 1942: SS-5

        To-do: Sheridan Co. land records, county directories, ask Mom
When did he retire to Rushville?
To-do: ask Mom, Sheridan Co. directories and land records, 

newspapers
What did he do for a living?
Farmer: WWI draft registration card, 1920 US Census, 1930 US 

Census
Worked for Consumers Oil & Refining Co., Rawlins, WY in Oct. 

1942: SS-5
To-do: Directories
When did he die?
        8-Nov-1957: Obituary, grave marker, NE state death record
        To-do: Rushville Immaculate Conception church records, probate records; died before the  

SSDI started
Where did he die?

At home: Obituary

At his home in the city [Rushville]: NE state death record

To-do: Nothing

What was the cause of death?
        Lingering illness: Obituary
        Uremia due to Chronic Glomerulonephritis: NE state death record
To-do: Nothing

Where is he buried?
        St. Mary’s Cemetery: Obit, grave marker photo

To-do: Nothing

The purple marked questions are the extra, nice to have that's more family history than genealogy. I haven't decided yet which I want to be when I grow up--family historian or genealogist.

The yellow marked questions are where I have a doubt about the exact right answer to the common Birth/Marriage/Death where and when questions. In this case, I think I know where the family was living when my grandfather was born, but I don't have enough info to make an unquestionable claim.

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, 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.