Valentine (#7 of 52)

This post is based on Amy Johnson Crow's "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge. This week's theme is: Valentine.

On Valentine's Day 1896, Louisa (Heuszel) Werther gave birth to her 11th child, a son. She and her husband, Emil Werther, named their son Walter Valentine Werther. [Emil's sister, Guntherine (Werther) Peters, was my great, great grandmother.]

Three photos from his life:

Signature from WWII draft card at Ancestry.com.
The "i" in Valentine appears to be dotted with a heart!

Photo labeled "Children of Frederick August Emil and Louise Matilda (Heuszel) Werther,
Date Unknown" from files of Beulah (Peters) Brewer. Unfortunately, the siblings are not labeled.

Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 15 February 2018); Record Walter V Werther (1896-1974), Memorial No. 19333284, Records of Woodland Cemetery, Cleveland, Pawnee County, Oklahoma, photo posted by OkieBran. Walter served in WWI.

(Tip: Look at the front pages of FHL microfilms!) Finding My 3x Great Grandfather's German Baptismal Record

Evidence suggested that my great, great, great grandfather, Gunther Werther, was born in 1819 in Berka in present-day Germany. However, locating his baptism on an FHL film proved quite difficult. The film covered dozens of villages and included baptisms, marriages, and death records.

Yesterday, I returned to search the film for the second time. This time, I decided to start at the beginning. I saw a typed listing of what appeared to be villages. And, on the next few pages, I saw handwritten, numbered lists of what also appeared to be village names. Did one of these lists show the order the church registers appeared on the film?

The librarian suggested the handwritten list probably indicated the order the villages were shown on the film. We were fairly certain that the 11th entry on the second grouping appeared to be Berka. As I scrolled through the pages, each village church's records had a title page, but I was rarely able to read the name of the village. In fact, the first one I recognized was #7 on this list. And then, two churches later, I recognized #9. It looked like this list did, in fact, show the order of the churches on the film!

Kirchenbuchduplikat [church book duplicate], 1813-1846, Berka, page 1, item 2, Geboren und Getauft [born and baptized], record for August Gunther Werther; FamilySearch microfilm #1194309. [left side]

When I got to Berka, the first section was the baptisms. And, there on the first page, listed as the second baptism, was my ancestor: August Günther Werther! 

From past research, I was pretty sure the next column was the father's name, but the only word I could read was the second word of the second line: Werther. [If you haven't done German research before, you can probably see how difficult it is to read this old German script!]

A very exciting discovery was the next column which says something about the 8th of February, 1815. Could this possibly be his parent's wedding date? If so, could I find their marriage record!

Kirchenbuchduplikat [church book duplicate], 1813-1846, Berka, page 1, item 2, Geboren und Getauft m Jahre 1819 [born and baptized in the year 1819], record for August Gunther Werther; FamilySearch microfilm #1194309. [right side]

When I got home from the library, I posted the two images to the Genealogy Translations Facebook group. They are incredible! When I woke up this morning, I was thrilled to see two women had transcribed and translated this record. And, not only was the 1815 date his parent's wedding date, but the record also said he was their 3rd child. So, I also will be able to look for at least two siblings for Günther.

Here's the translation with a special thanks to Facebook volunteers Brigitte Eggerstedt and Monica Wuestefeld: 

• Day and hour of birth: 17th May 1819 at 5 a.m.
• Day and place of baptism: May 20, at home
• Name of the baptized: August Gunther Werther
• The father, whose status and residence: Johann Friedrich August Werther, resident here, [probably] farmer of a full-sized farm or horse groom of an estate
• Marriage and number of children: 8th February 1815, 3rd child, first marriage
• Mother, her origin and number of her children: Johanna Wilhelmine Friedericka born Hahn, 3rd child, first marriage
• Witnesses of baptism: "Anspanner" August Gunther Bohnhardt

Are we related? Do you have any questions, comments, or corrections? I'd love to talk. Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

My Top 10 Genealogy Finds in 2016

As I did in 2014, I'd like to share my "top 10 genealogy find" for 2016...

Number 10: Finding myself in several newspaper articles as a young child was lots of fun! One article was about a city-wide contest where I won 3rd place in jumping rope. Another article was about a trip I took as a Campfire Girl where I fell off a statue and got a nasty bump on my forehead. (I think this picture is pretty pathetic, but it's the only one I could find with this injury!)

St. Joseph (German) Catholic Church,
Detroit, Michigan (Wikipedia image)

Number 9: Years ago, I received a copy of a torn 1895 wedding photo of my great grandparents, Frank & Anna (Adam) Kaechle. With some help from a Facebook group, I was able to locate the church where they were married. I also hired someone to look up their church marriage record!

Marriage record for Frank & Francisca (Holthoefer) Adam (Ancestry)

Number 8: Just a few weeks ago, I discovered the 1858 church marriage record for Anna (Adam) Kaechle's parents. Anna's parents, Frank & Francisca (Holthoefer) Adam, were married at St. Mary's Church in Detroit.

Henry W Wingert & others on a bandwagon

Number 7: Although the person in the photo isn't a direct ancestor, I absolutely loved receiving a copy of this photo of Henry W. Wingert who was a band leader on a bandwagon! What an incredible photo!

Me in Clinton County with a business card of A. L. Merrill (June 2016)

Number 6: On a trip to Pennsylvania this past summer, I was thrilled to find an actual business card for my great, great grandfather, A. L. Merrill, who was a candidate for County Commissioner! And, yes, he did actually serve as county commissioner. I also found a photo of him as commissioner, but I still need to get permission to post it.

Papers received from the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society
in regards to the Michael Kline family

Number 5: I "discovered" I had Mennonite ancestors, only to find out they weren't Mennonites after all! But, the information I received from Pennsylvania's Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society provided me with a lot of information about Michael Kline and his 14 children.

Number 4: Through work I did in Melinde Lutz Byrne's "Practicum in Genealogical Research," I determined that John M Boyers was likely the father of Eliza Ann (Boyers) Dickson. More research is still needed, but I made a lot of progress!

Me and two cousins at the tombstone of Robert & Frances (Quigley) Stewart
Clinton County, Pennsylvania (June 2016)

Number 3: One of the "genealogy" highlights of my year was meeting quite a few of my dad's Pennsylvania cousins that I had never met. Three of them went with me to Clinton County, Pennsylvania, where we spent a day visiting several cemeteries and the library. This is a photo of me with two of them standing next to the headstone of Robert and Frances (Quigley) Stewart's massive headstone. Robert and Frances are my 4th great grandparents and represent the furthest we've been able to trace our Stewart line.

Birth certificate showing my Werther family came from Berka

Number 2: Although I didn't know it, I actually had digital copies of the paperwork which showed where my Werther family had emigrated from in Germany! My Great Aunt Beulah, who got me interested in genealogy in 1998, had these papers in her files and I had copied them a couple of years ago while visiting an aunt and uncle.

Map made by JRS showing the immigration voyage of my Peters' family

Number 1: And, the top find for 2016 was locating the origins of my Peters family who emigrated from Germany in 1859. Though I wrote quite a few posts as I shared the steps to this discovery almost in real time on my blog, a summary can be found on my post titled "How I Traced My Immigrant Family to Germany."

Photo of Joachim Peters that belongs to my family, alongside a painting
of the photo that got handed down in a cousin's family.

BONUS: I can't believe I left this out of my "top 10" list! This year, I discovered my dad has hundreds of photos that I had never seen before! He has been emailing them to me, and we are working together to fill in the details. I have also received photos from other cousins. It's always exciting to find photos of the people we are researching! So, this is definitely one of my "top 10 genealogy finds" of 2016!

How I Discovered the Origins of 6 of My German Immigrant Families

With a lot of help, I now know the German villages of six of my ancestral families. I "discovered" their origins in a variety of ways.

Map showing the origins of six of my "German" families created by Jon R Stewart, Sr.

In Order of Discovery:

March 2014
Kaechle/Köchle family, maternal side, immigrated from Grißheim, Baden, July 1851

Germany, Select Marriages, 1558-1929 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Germany, Marriages, 1558-1929. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. 

This breakthrough came with Ancestry's "Germany, Select Marriages" index which showed that Thaddae Koechle married Katharina Kern on August 22nd, 1836, in a catholic church in Grissheim, Freiburg, Baden. I ordered FHL film #873353, and discovered many other records for both sides of the family going back to a baptism in 1616. An online site, Ortsfamilienbuch-Datenbank Grissheim, which had transcribed the church records proved invaluable as these old German records were very difficult to read.

May 2014
Karbach/Körbach family, maternal side, immigrated from Ediger, Rhineland-Palatinate, circa 1853

Anton Koerbach and Mary Reuter Marriage Certificate, attached to Anton Koerbach (1818-1886) on Hiltz Web Site on MyHeritage Family Trees, Charles Willke site manager, www.myheritage.com (accessed 20 December 2016).

Finding a marriage record for "Antonius Kehrbach" and Maria Anna Reuter on a distant cousin's My Heritage tree led to discovering the family had once lived in Ediger. It appears the church records for Ediger have only been micofilmed through the late 1700's, so I need to contact this church in writing and ask if they have additional records.

Nov 2015
Franceska Holthoefer, maternal side, immigrated from Serkenrode, Westphalia, September 1856

Five Holthoefer Siblings, circa 1900, Detroit, Michigan
(back row left to right) Franceska (Holthoefer) Adam, Caspar J. Holthoefer, Marianna (Holthoefer) Petri 
(front row left to right) Elisabeth (Holthoefer) Keine, Anna (Holthoefer) Rolf
(Photo courtesy of Mildred Hunt Collection, by Robert Yagley)

In March of 2015, a distant cousin, Robert "Bob" Yagley, contacted me with a correction to my Ancestry tree. In July of that year, he asked me to join him and three other cousins who were writing a book about our Holthoefer family. The cousins were descendants of Franceska's siblings who had also immigrated to America. Bob had traced our Holthoefer's back to Germany and kept their origin a secret until the book was published last November. It was exciting to see not only the information about where the family had come from, but to also see this photo of Franceska and four of her five siblings who had immigrated to America.

Nov 2015
Frank Adam, maternal side, immigrated from Olpe, Westphalia, circa 1845

Michigan, County Marriages, 1822-1940 (Lehi: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016), online database, marriage record of Frank Adam and Francisca Holdhofer [Holthoefer], 4 November 1858, St. Mary's Church, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, page 636 (accessed 20 December 2016).

Bob Yagley had also discovered the village of origin for Franceska Holthoefer's future husband, Frank Adam, my direct line. Located only about 30 km from Serkenrode, Frank's baptismal record was found in Olpe, Westphalia. [pg 343]

Oct 2016
Peters family, paternal side, immigrated from Bellin, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, July 1859

Evangelisch Kirche [Evangelical Church] Bellin, Kirchenbuch [Church Book], 1650-1873, page 154, item 10, taufen [baptism] of Friedchen Elise Johanna Peters; FamilySearch mircofilm #68993. Cropped. [See original post for the other page of this baptismal record.]

I only recently realized the Peters' family's Hamburg passenger list indicated they came from Bellin. Using Meyers Gazetteer to locate Bellin, I then ordered an FHL microfilm and found the baptismal record of the family's youngest child. Although the family moved around quite a bit, it appears they immigrated to America from Bellin.

Nov 2016
Werther family, paternal side, immigrated from Berka, Thuringia (or Schwarzburg-Sondershausen), May 1869

Although the Hamburg passenger list appeared to say Bergau or Bergan, I couldn't find an appropriate location in Meyers Gazetteer. But, then I realized my great aunt had actually written the church in Berka in the 1990's and had baptismal records from Berka!

CONCLUSION

There are many ways to trace your immigrant ancestors back to their country of origin. I believe I have now traced all of my ancestors who came over in the mid-1800's - these six from Germany plus the Eastwood family from England. While writing this post, I realized there is still a lot I need to do on several of these lines. I am currently awaiting several FHL microfilms, and I need to write to two churches!

Do we share common ancestors? Do you have any additional information on any of these families? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net.

Finding ANOTHER Family's German Roots

I decided to see if I could trace another branch of my family back to Germany: the Werthers. They arrived in July of 1869 on the Carolina. Through Ancestry.com, I have both their New York and Hamburg passenger lists. As I found out while researching my Peters immigrant family, the Hamburg passenger list gives information about the previous residence. In this case, it appears the family came from Bergan or Bergau in Sondershausen. [See middle columns.] Unfortunately, when I go to Meyers Gazeteer, there is not a place called Bergan or Bergau in Sondershausen.

"Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 December 2016), entry for Joh C Werther and family, line 60, aboard Caroline, Hamburg to New York, departed Hamburg 26 May 1869; citing microfilm K_1714.

I looked at the tree my great aunt gave me when I started genealogy, and she said the family was from Berka in Sondershausen. I do not know where she got that, but perhaps the information had been passed down in the family. I looked on Meyers Gazeteer for a Berka in Sondershausen, and it DOES exist. Berka is actually a village outside of Sondershausen.

Baptism transcription for Auguste Wilhelmine Friederike Werther born on 8 May 1861 in
Berka to Johann Günther Werther and Marie Dorothea Reinhardt. Paper in collection of
Beulah (Peters) Brewer now in possession of Jim Stewart of Kansas. 

Next, I decided to look through the documents and photos I had photographed at my uncle's house two years ago. Though I've looked through the documents many times, I haven't studied all of them. As I looked through them, I found 6 documents: a faded 3-page typed letter, a darker 2-page transcription of the letter with some words translated, and a document titled "Auszug aus dem Taufregister" which translates to "from the baptismal register." This last document was a transcription of the baptism of Auguste Wilhelmine Friederike Werther, the youngest daughter of our immigrant couple. And, the place of the baptism was the St. Viti Evangelical Lutheran Church in "Berka/Wipper!"

Image of St. Viti Evangelical Lutheran Church in Berka, Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:St._Viti_(Berka)

So, now I know my Werther family came from Berka, a village outside of Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen in the present day state of Thuringia! The letter also included transcriptions of the baptismal records for two of the other children who were born in 1848 and 1855. With 7 known children born between 1847 and 1861, it is unclear why the other baptismal records were not found.

Unfortunately, it appears that the records microfilmed for St. Viti of Berka only went through 1846, though none of the children in this family were born until 1847! However, the years the parents were born are included. My next steps are to order those two microfilms, and to write the church to see if I can get actual copies of the baptism records for the Werther children. Hopefully, they'll find the records for the four children that were not found when my great aunt evidently wrote for these records! It's exciting to know where another branch of my German family once lived!

Doing Time for Manufacturing & Selling "Intoxicating Liquor" During Prohibition

August Heuszel, my great, great grandmother's brother-in-law, served time in the Texas State Penitentiary for "manufacturing" and "selling intoxicating liquor." The year was 1922. This was near the start of prohibition which lasted from 1920 to 1933.  

Texas Convict and Conduct Registers, 1875-1945, Huntsville, B 047021-052020
accessed at www.ancestry.com

The photos above show August's record in the "Texas Convict and Conduct Register." The columns tell us more about August Heuszel:

Registered #: 18037
Name: A. Heuszel
Age: 65
Height: 5-3 5/8
Weight: 128
Complexion: W [white] M-Fair
Eyes: W Maroon [maroon eyes? but there are others listed as maroon]
Hair: Blk & Gray
Marks on Person: 2-vac scrs [some type of scars?] upper L arm; outer [hard to read] & upper teeth all out; circ cut se[?] L lit[tle] finger over 2nd [joint] outer; N---[?] operation sc[a]rs back neck outer & center; NO CHURCH; Shoe #6 1/2
Marital Relations: yes
Use of Tobacco: yes
Habits: Temp[erance]
Education: choices appear to be fair, poor, none, or com... his marked "Com" [unknown meaning]
Able to Read: yes
Able to Write: yes
No. of Years in School: 4 [this ranged from none to 12]
Date of Birth: 1857
Birthplace: Ill
Birthplace of Father: Germany
Ex Service Man (handwritten & unclear): blank
Birthplace of Mother: Germany
Occupation: farming
Time of Conviction: June 8, 1922
Offense: Manufacturing intoxicating liquor - Selling intoxicating Liquor
Term of Imprisonment: (1 + 1 - c[???]; 2 years
County: Polk
Residence: Livingston
Plea: 1st Not; 2nd Quilty [so plead not guilty to manufacturing, but guilty to selling]
When Received: July 12, 1922
Expiration of Sentence: Finger Prints; June 8, 1924
Remarks: Disc. Dec 13th, 1923

Some interesting items from the page:

• Of the 20 inmates, only 3 of them are for liquor related charges. The rest are burglary/theft, rape, forgery, and two for murder. 
• The "remarks" column usually lists when an inmate is discharged, paroled, or pardoned. But, there is one who died - he was only 17 and serving 2 years for burglary. 
• Also found in the "remarks" column are 3 inmates who escaped! Of the three, one was serving 5 to 25 years for murder; a second was serving 15 years for robbery/burglary; and the third was serving 5 years for robbery. 
• All 3 escaped prisoners were evidently eventually caught as they all have "finger print" dates listed years after their escape. The convicted murderer escaped in 1929 and was fingerprinted 18 years later in 1947!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

My Top 10 Genealogy Finds in 2014

2014 has been an amazing year for me and my genealogy research. With increased knowledge, time, and resources available, I've uncovered some amazing discoveries! I had thought about making a "top 10" booklet for my family as Christmas gifts, but didn't get around to it. Maybe I will still do that but give it to them for Valentine's Day. But, for now, I thought I'd highlight my top 10 finds of the year.

1839 Marriage Record - Parish of Prestwich, Lancaster County, England from Ancestry.com

#10 - I didn't start blogging until March of this year, so my first "find" is actually from the end of 2013. It was huge! In November, I made my first "jump across the pond" when I found my 3rd great grandparent's (James Eastwood & Sarah Hall) 1839 marriage record from Lancaster, England! After finding this location, I was able to find birth, marriage, and death records and go back another generation.

Gov. LaFollette of Wisconsin addressing Chautauqua assembly, Decatur, Ill. c.1905
(image from Wikipedia)

#9 - This is a more distant relative and I didn't blog about it, but I found out my 2nd cousin, 5 times removed was Bishop John Heyl Vincent. Bishop J. H. Vincent was one of the two founders of Chautauqua - an adult education movement in the late 1800's & early 1900's. I found many newspaper articles about him including one that starts with this... "General Grant once introduced Bishop J. H. Vincent to President Lincoln and said: 'Dr. Vincent was my pastor at Galena, Ill., and I do not think that I missed one of his sermons while I lived there.'" The next paragraph said, "This same Bishop Vincent, of good old Pennsylvania stock and for many years a resident of Pennsylvania, was the founder of the Chautauqua assembly, next only to the public school system in bringing to the masses of the people some share of their inheritance in the world's great creations in art and literature." [Today in Pennsylvania History, Altoona Mirror, Altoona, Pennsylvania, 09 May 1924, page 11, column 1, digital image newspapers.com, accessed 08 Dec 2014.]

Barbara Grozinger's 1616 baptism record found on FHL film

#8 - After finding my English ancestors, I made another huge discovery when I found the place of origin of one of my German families: the Kaechle's. I first found a marriage record (index only) of my 3rd great grandparents (Thaddeus Kaechle & Katharina Kern) which gave the names of Thaddeus' parents (Anton Koechle/Kaechle & Anna Diringer). From there, I found a site where someone had indexed hundreds of years of church records (Ortsfamilienbuch fur Grissheim) at the church where Thaddeus was born! His ancestors had attended that church for centuries. The oldest record I found was the 1616 baptism of my 8th great grandmother, Barbara Grozinger. That's almost 400 years old! (The location was Grissheim in Baden-Wurttemberg.)

U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records from Selected States, 1660-1926
Marriage record; date: Aug 12, 1710
found on ancestry.com

#7 - Several years ago I discovered I had French Huguenot ancestors (surnames Doremus & Vincent/Van Sant) who had escaped to The Netherlands before coming to America in the late 1600's. But, just recently I found my first document that shows my 8th great grandfather, Cornelis Cornelisse Doremus, was born in The Netherlands! The record is his 1710 marriage record to my 8th great grandmother, Rachel Pietersen. It says he was born in Middleburg, Zeeland, which is part of The Netherlands!

1847 marriage record of Anton Kehrbach & Maria Anna Reuter

#6 - I traced another family back to Germany this year (so, my 3rd location in Europe!) when I located a distant cousin on My Heritage. He had an 1847 marriage record for my 3rd great grandparents, Anton Kehrbach (Korback) & Maria Anna Reuter. Not only did this record show where this family had come from (Ediger which is a small village in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate), but it also gave the names of both of their parents!

#5 - I busted through a brick wall by uncovering my 4th great grandfather's father! Andrew McClintock/McClintic was born in August of 1804 in Pennsylvania. I'd been stuck at this generation for many years. This information came from a researcher I'd hired in Pennsylvania. (The same one who helped me with the Stiver's in #9.) She had transcribed some church records and had the baptism of Andrew McClintock listing his father, John McClintock.

Headstone of Jacob T Dickson, Confederate soldier

#4 - The Civil War Questionnaire of Jacob Tipton Dickson, my great, great grandfather's younger brother. The questionnaire was sent out to Civil War soldiers who were still alive in 1920.  Besides verifying their mother's maiden name, Sally McCage, I love the language of this man from Tennessee and can only imagine that my great, great grandfather would have talked (& spelled words!) the same way. Here are a few of the questions:

...Remarks on Ancestry... my grate parance was from Orolan [?]  and they Died while I were small and I dident never know them

...If you owned land... Now I diden owen any thing I were stayen at home

...Did you parents own slaves?... My father Owen 6 Slaves

I will definitely blog more about this document as I think it is priceless and a wonderful 'find'!

Her Death is Cause for Four Being Held, Springfield Republican, Springfield, Missouri, 01 Nov 1911,
page 1, column 4, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 30 Oct 2014

#3 - I uncovered not one, but two MURDERS in my family this year! That's just crazy! This first one was the murder of my 3rd great grandfather's granddaughter. Her name was Ollie Werther and she married Roy Crockett in about 1909 or 1910. The marriage lasted maybe a year and then, after quarreling, Ollie went home to her dad and told him she had proof that her husband had committed arson on one of their houses to collect the insurance money. They turned this information over to the authorities and Roy was arrested. Allegedly, Roy's sister, brother, cousin & a friend poisoned Ollie with morphine to keep her from testifying against Roy! I found articles acquitting the two females of their murder charges, but have yet to find anything about the two males. As for Roy, he was "surrendered to his bondsman" a few years later, but also started another family, an oil business, and became both a judge and  mayor in Texas!

Ephraim P Bennett's Missouri State Penitentiary Records from the Missouri State Archives

#2 - The other murder I uncovered was actually one that had been passed down in my family, though I hadn't heard the story. I first discovered it after finding my great, great grandmother's brother in the state penitentiary in the 1900 census. From there, I ordered prison records and then found newspaper articles about the murder. 

Ephraim Bennett's brother-in-law, Nathan L Buchanan, was physically abusing his wife, Louisa Jane, Ephraim's sister. At one point, Nathan hit her on the head with a log from the fire and she ended up having to go to an asylum for awhile. Ephraim loaned Nathan the money he needed to commit her, but then one day came out into the field where Nathan was working and shot and killed him. He then turned himself in to the authorities. There most be more to the story as, that night, a lynch mob of somewhere between 50 to 200 men came to hang Ephraim! The family story that was passed down made Ephraim sound like a hero. But, the lynch mob makes me wonder what really happened. I hope to find out more! (I wrote quite a few posts about this murder as I uncovered the story.)

My grandmother & her best friend, circa 1925 (original at my aunt & uncle's in Kansas)

#1 - My biggest "find" of 2014 was the absolutely amazing amount of family photos & memorabilia that my aunt & uncle have at their house. Not only do they have at least 100 old photos, they have baby books, report cards, journals, poems written by family members, land records, newspaper clippings, and so much more! They inherited the work of my Grand Aunt, Beulah Brewer, who started me on this journey back in 1998. Their friend, Cheryl, is a retired librarian who has spent several years putting all of the records both in binders and in a genealogy program. I visited them in Kansas back in October and came home with over 900 images! Wow!!! Some of my favorite photos are those of my grandmother as a young girl.

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Great Gift Idea: A Newspaper Clipping Mug

I was 'making' mugs on Shutterfly this morning while thinking about last minute gift ideas. (You can still order them today and get them in time for Christmas with 2-day shipping!) I decided to use some of my heritage photos to see how they looked.

I accidentally clicked on an obituary for my 2nd great grandmother's brother, Emil Werther. While it's kind of creepy to have a mug with an obituary, I think it looks really neat!

Mug sample created with Shutterfly

So, while you probably don't want to order an obituary mug for your loved one, how about using another clipping? I think a wedding announcement mug for a 50th anniversary would be wonderful! Or, in honor of the Christmas season, do you have an old "Dear Santa" clipping? Or even a present day birth announcement mug for new parents?

The mugs also come in black so you might play with both and see which works better. Please let me know if you end up making a newspaper clipping mug!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

The Name on Her Death Certificate is "Will Hall Minnie." Huh?

Among the hundreds of records I received from my family in Kansas a few weeks ago was a death certificate for my great, great grandmother's sister. They were both born in Germany in the mid-1800's and immigrated to the United States in 1869 at the ages of 23 (my 2x great grandmother) and 10 (her youngest sister).

Wilhelminia (Werther) Heuszel's death certificate
.

The sister's name was Wilhelmina Fredericka Augusta Werther, but she went by Minnie. The name recorded on her death certificate as reported by her son, Frank, threw me for a minute... and then I understood. She's listed as "Will Hall Minnie" Heuzel (her married surname). I guess that Frank said "Wilhelmina" and the registrar wasn't sure how to spell it!

Also, Wilhelmina's mother's maiden name was "Molly" (Rheinhard) Werther, but her maiden name is listed as "Will Hall Werther". I guess Frank got confused and gave HIS mother's maiden name by accident! There are other errors on this document and I believe the notes under it were recorded by my grand aunt, Beulah Brewer.

A good reminder that you can't always trust a single document!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Tip: Why It's Helpful to Fill Out Family Group Sheets by Hand

Today I'm continuing to work on a major genealogy organization project starting with just one surname. When I visited family in Kansas last month, I printed out Family Group Sheets from my RootsMagic program. But, I really didn't like the format. So, today I've been filling one out the old fashioned way - by hand.

I started by filling out the details for my 3x great grandfather, Johann Charles/Carl Guenther Werther:
BORN: 17 May 1819 n in Berka, Sonderhausen, Prussia (Germany)
RELIGION: Protestant
MARRIED: about 1845, probably in Berka
DIED: 19 Apr 1899
CAUSE OF DEATH: dropsy (from obituary)
BURIED: Forest Cemetery, Circleville, Pickaway County, Ohio
DATE WILL WRITTEN/PROVED: (BLANK)

The question about the will got me thinking.... have I ever looked for Guenther's will? Is it possibly online?

My first stop was FamilySearch. I went to "search" & then "records" & clicked on the United States on the map. Then I scrolled down to "Ohio" and, after clicking that, clicked on "start researching in Ohio."At the bottom of the page is a section called "Probate & Court" and I went into "Ohio, Probate Records, 1789-1996." Then it's time to browse through almost 7 million records!

In Pickaway, there are a lot of files to search through. I started with "Administration Dockets" but found Charles Guenther Werther in quite a few of the volumes. Some were just indexes and others just stated that the case was ongoing. But, I eventually found Guenther's will!

I knew that Guenther lived with his married daughter, Lena (Werther) Webbe, at the time of his death. It was kind of frustrating to see that he left all his "personal property and real estate" to Lena and her heirs. He had at least 4 (possibly 5) other children still alive at this point.

And, here's a couple of questions:

This will is from the Pickaway County, Ohio, will book so it was evidently copied by a secretary (or whoever would copy them). But, for Guenther's name, the handwriting is very different! Does anyone have an idea of how this would have got in the book? Did the 'secretary' try to copy his signature? Or could his daughter have written it?

Also, I'd really love to get a copy of the original will.... something I haven't really learned how to do yet. Any hints on how to find it?

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

My First Canadian Records

I've continued to look into the family of C. R. Viney who was a son-in-law of my 3x great grandfather, Guenther Werther. C. R. married Guenther's daughter, Augusta "Gussie" Werther. Yesterday I discovered that C. R., who was born in Canada, served on a steamboat in the Civil War. 

As I tried to learn more about C. R.'s story, my research at newspapers.com helped me to uncover several siblings. Through these siblings I was able to trace C. R. back to his roots in Canada using the 1851 and 1861 censuses. These records revealed his parents names, Joseph & Jane, and two more siblings.

C. R.'s father, Joseph, was born about 1808 in England and his mother, Jane, was born a few years later in Ireland. I show Joseph & Jane Viney had the following children: Joseph H (1832-1918), Charles R "C. R." (1839-1902), George A (1842-1931), Catharine "Kate" L (1847-1927), William (1848-1887), and Cecil E (1857-?, a female).

Royal Canadian Regiment cap badge
posted on Wikipedia

In the 1851 census, Joseph's occupation is listed as "RCR," the Royal Canadian Regiment, which I think is pretty neat! The family is living in St. George's Ward, Lincoln County, Ontario which is part of "Canada West" (though Canada isn't a country at this time).  This area is located on Lake Ontario near Niagara Falls.

"Fort Malden exhibits building and restored barracks"
posted by Dwight Burdette (his own work) at wikipedia

In 1861, the family is in Amherstburg, Essex County, Ontario which is just across the border from Detroit. Joseph, the father, is listed as a "pensioner." Interestingly, every adult on the page was born in either England, Scotland or Ireland and most of the men are listed as "pensioners." I decided to do a little digging...

First of all I discovered that Amherstburg was the site of Fort Malden which was abandoned by the British and Canadians to the Americans in 1813 during the War of 1812. Wikipedia also says that the fort lasted until 1851 when "it was garrisoned by members of The Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment until it was finally de-militarized." Perhaps that is both why there are so many "pensioners" living in the area and why they Viney family is living here, too. 

1851 Census (source at end of post)
Oldest son, Charles, born "Giberalres"? Possibly moved to Upper
Canada between birth of 13 year old Charles & 8 year old George (so, 1838-1843)

The Viney family must have moved to Canada around 1840 (see caption on census record above). I read a little about the "Great Migration to Canada." Wikipedia says over 800,000 people immigrated to Canada between 1815 and 1850, the time period when the Viney family arrived. The primary reason for the mass migration was the relatively low number of jobs available because of populaiton growth. That is probably why the Viney family moved from Ireland to England to Ontario. (Canada didn't become a country until 1867.)

I also found it interesting that the town of Amherstburg that they lived in, which was just across the border from Detroit, was a major terminal settlement in Canada for the Underground Railroad!

One more thing... on these Canadian censuses, the column where the names are listed is titled "names of inmates." Both The Legal Genealogist and I talked about the many uses of the term "inmate" just a couple of months ago!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Sources:

1851 Census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Niagara, Lincoln County, Canada West (Ontario): Schedule A; Roll C 11736: Page 63; Line 29; Joseph Viney household; digital image, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed 04 Nov 2014)

1861 Census of Canada West, Amherstburg, Essex County, Canada West (Ontario); page 37; line 29; Joseph Vinie household; digital image, Ancestry.com; http://www.ancestry.com (accessed 04 Nov 2014)

Finding A Sailor on a Mississippi River Steamboat in the Civil War

Last week I read "Shiloh" by James Reasoner about the Battle of Shiloh in the Civil War. I was particularly interested in this book of the series because one of my relatives fought as a Confederate soldier in this battle. This book of historical fiction, however, focused on a character who fought in the battle from a steamboat.

Yes, my history background is weak, though I am actively making it stronger. But, I didn't know that steamboats played a part in the Civil War. As I read about the character's experience on the steamboat and then fighting in the battle, I wished that I had a relative who'd worked on a steamboat on the Mississippi River.

Lookout Steamer on the Tennessee River ca. 1860-1865
public domain image by Mathew Brady found on Wikipedia

That was only days ago, and today I stumbled upon a newspaper article that ties my family not only to a steamboat, but to a steamboat which was an 'active participant' in the Battle of Shiloh! How amazing!

According to "Tennessee Online," the "Union Naval Fleet deployed to the Battle of Shiloh was the largest assembled and said to exceed the Spanish Armada in number. It included 14 armed river boats and 153 steamboats."

C. R. Viney was married to Augusta "Gussie" Viney who was a daughter of my great, great, great grandfather, Guenther Werther. Gussie was born in Germany and came to America as a young girl. (Her brother, Kenny, is the father of Ollie (Werther) Crockett whose murder I wrote about in my last post.)

According to his obituary in The Wichita Beacon dated March 15, 1902, "Mr. Viney was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1839. He moved to the United States when still a young man and secured a position as a sailor on a Mississippi river steamboat.... When the civil war broke out, the boat on which [he was] working was purchased by the government for a dispatch boat and [he] remained with it throughout the war. The vessel took an active part in the battles of Vicksburg and Shilo and in several others of historical importance."

I can't wait to uncover more of C. R.'s interesting life! I am looking for his military records and seeing if I can find any more newspaper clippings. Newspapers.com is my favorite genealogical tool lately. You never know what you'll discover!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Source:
Another Pioneer, The Wichita Beacon, 15 Mar 1902, page 5, column 1, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com; accessed 30 Oct 2014)

Murdered by Family Members to Stop Her from Testifying Against Her Husband (Allegedly)

I've written posts about Ephraim Bennett (my great, great grandmother's brother) killing his abusive brother-in-law, Nathan Buchanan. A few days ago, I uncovered another murder in my family tree. This time some in-laws allegedly killed my 3rd great grandfather's granddaughter (so she's my first cousin, three times removed) to prevent her from testifying against her husband!

Her Death is Cause for Four Being Held, Springfield Republican, Springfield, Missouri, 01 Nov 1911,
page 1, column 4, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 30 Oct 2014

Ollie Werther's father, Guenther "Kenny" Werther, immigrated from Germany with his family when he was 15 years old. Her mother, Lucy Jones, had a Cherokee father and a "white" mother. Lucy received her allotment from the Cherokees and brought her land and a house into the marriage.

Ollie married Roy Crockett in 1909 or 1910. In a 1910 census taken on April 28th, the newlyweds are living with Roy's family in New Mexico. But, on a census dated June 1st, they are listed as living with Ollie's family in the town where she grew up: Nowata in Nowata County, Oklahoma.

According to newspaper accounts, the couple lived for a short time in her home which had been a wedding present from her family. But "soon after the wedding - at the request of Werther - the couple went to his house to live. Last August (1910) their deserted home burned and Crockett collected $400 insurance..." [The Coffeyville Daily Journal, 20 Nov 1911]

The newspaper accounts go on to say that Ollie quarreled with her husband and eventually went home and talked with her dad who had an "implacable hatred of his son-in-law." Ollie told her dad that she had proof that her husband had burned down the house for the insurance money. Ollie and her father, Kenny, Kenny and Ollie gave this information to the state insurance officials and Roy was arrested for arson.

Since a wife can't testify against her husband, it is alleged that Roy's sister, his brother, his cousin & a friend came up with a plan to kill Ollie. Allegedly Roy's sister, Dora Gaines, and the friend, Maude Warner, "induced (Ollie) to visit them on the pretext of their trying to effect a reconciliation between the estranged couple. It has been established that Ollie Crockett left the home of her father and, coming to Nowata, took up her residence at the Valley hotel. On October 12 [1911] she became ill and soon after being taken sick she died. Physicians declared they detected symptoms of morphine poisoning and State Chemist DeBar testified that he found four grains of morphine in her viscera and more than enough unassimilated in her stomach to kill a healthy person." [The Wichita Daily Eagle, 12 Sep 1912]

I have found newspaper articles showing that the two women, Dora Gaines and Maude Warner, were acquitted of the murder. But, I haven't found anything on the trials of the two males, Orville and George Crockett. As for Roy Crockett, I found a clipping from 1914 saying he'd been "surrendered by his bondsmen."

Ollie Werther's headstone buried under maiden name & burial paid for by father
Nowata Memorial Cemetery, Nowata, Nowata County, Oklahoma
image by Will Babb posted on Find A Grave

Ollie (Werther) Crockett was only 20 years old when she was allegedly murdered on October 13th, 1911. But, what happened to her husband outside of the arson charges? He remarried less than 6 months later to Blanche Hubbert and had at least 3 children with her. He later started Crockett Oil Company in Texas and became both a judge and a mayor.

I found over a dozen articles about the arson and murder on newspapers.com. Here are a few of them:

• Crockett Murder Case to Go Over Until February?, The Coffeyville Daily Journal, Coffeyville, Kansas, 20 Nov 1911, page 1, column 1, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 30 Oct 2014 
• Freed of Charge of Killing Her Sister-in-Law, The Wichita Daily Eagle, Wichita, Kansas, 12 Sep 1912, page 1, column 2, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 30 Oct 2014 
• Roy Crockett charged with Arson, The Coffeyville Daily Journal, Coffeyville, Kansas, 03 Feb 1914, page 1, column 6, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 30 Oct 2014

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

An Ancestor's Poem: "Actions Speak Louder Than Words"

I'm busy looking through the small town paper where my family has lived since the early 1870's. I lived there when I was young and have many relatives still in the area. These small papers are full of interesting articles!

One article I found this morning said that my second great grand uncle, or the brother of my second great grandmother, had "entertained those present [at a 'big dinner'] by reciting one of his German poems." Oh, how I wish I could read that poem!

But, then I found one published in the newspaper! (And maybe there are more?) It was published about 6 months before this gathering. How wonderful to actually find one of his poems! And, yes, the family was German, but this poem is in English. I'm not sure if they called his other poem "German" because he was German (this is the generation that immigrated), or if he actually wrote it in German. But, I'm thrilled to have this poem written in English!

Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Arkansas City Daily Traveler, Arkansas City, Kansas, 15 Dec 1908, page 6, column 4;
digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 03 Oct  2014)

In preaching 'Peace on earth and to man good will'
While having a pistol in your pocket concealed,
And building fleets and guns with intent to kill,
Is your deceitful sham revealed.
                                - Emil Werther (1854 in Germany - 1942 in Kansas)

Note: This poem could actually be written by Emil's son, Emil Jr (1882-1917), but I think the poems are by the father.

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net