Hello again!

 Hi everyone! Oh my goodness, where has the time gone?  I truly want to apologize for my long absence.  I am going to try really hard to start writing and sharing some more stories on my various family members.  Please feel free to reach out at anytime!!  

Melanie

#52 Ancestors #7: William Fairchild Drackley

Greetings everyone!  I hope spring has sprung where you are living.  The weather here in Colorado is beautiful today -- mid 60s, but a little breezy.  Usually March is our snowiest month, but we have been pretty snow free so far.  I have fallen a little behind on my 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks challenge but I am hoping to catch up this week.  We will see!  Today I am posting about one of my great-great grandfather's in a line I have not written about yet.  Please feel free to send any comments to my email:  mel9711@yahoo.com or send a tweet @MelTafaro  For some reason people can't leave comments on the blog.  Have a great day!!

  

              William Fairchild Drackley was my great-great grandfather.  I am uncertain of his birth date – his obituary states he was born on 15 February 1867, his biography says he was born in February of 1870, but according to the 1870 United States Census he was born in March of 1870.  Most of the censuses after that seem to argue for an 1870 date but I am still uncertain of it.  William was born in Seneca, LaSalle, Illinois to Richard Drackley and Abigail Fairchild.  William was the fourth of six children born to Richard and Abigail.  Richard was a farmer.

                According to his biography, in 1893 he became the manager of a 1,100 acre cattle ranch owned by Standard Coal Company in Seneca.  William married Mary Alice Wilmerth on 1 September 1897, in Morris, Grundy, Illinois.  Mary Alice was born on 27 April 1872, in Mexico, Oswego, New York.  She lived there until 1892 when she moved to Seneca.  In 1899, their first child, Alma Irene was born.  The 1900 United States census shows the family living in Vienna township, Grundy, Illinois.  Shortly after, the family made their way to Radcliffe, Hardin, Iowa.  There their next five children were born (including my great grandmother). 

                In 1911, William purchased eighty acres of land for $4,800 in Richfield, Wood, Wisconsin.  He moved the family there in 1912.  While there, he was mentioned in the newspaper for having a flock of domesticated wild mallards.  In 1913 he had two hatchings – one with fourteen ducks and the other with seventeen.  He said they were much easier to raise compared to regular ducks, very hardy and just as big.  That year also brought the death of his mother who was living in Iowa.  According to the newspaper he left right away and took the train to be at her funeral. 

                According to his biography, William did not hold on to that property for long.  He purchased a new eighty acres for $5,000, also in Richfield, in 1914 and moved the family there.  By now the family was complete as their last child, Elizabeth, was born in 1913.  Along with farming, the family also raised sheep.  According to her daughter, Clara often told of eating mutton growing up -- it must have been often if she remembered it!  In 1917, family and friends gathered as William and Mary Alice celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary.  According to a newspaper item, they received a one hundred piece set of china along with other matching pieces.   In his biography which appeared in the Marshfield History Books, while living in Richfield he was a town assessor and a clerk for the school district. 

                The 1920 census finds the family farming on their land in Richfield.  Living with William, Mary Alice, and their seven children is Mary Alice’s brother Francis.  Alma, the eldest child, is working outside of the home as a saleslady in a general merchandise store.  On 31 May 1926, Mary Alice passed away.  Though it states her health had been declining during the previous months, her cause of death was listed as apoplexy or stroke.  Less than a year later, William sold the farm to the Old Line Life Insurance.  He would spend the rest of his time staying with his children a few months at a time.  His granddaughter, Mary Ann remembers him staying at her house.  They would sit on the front porch and watch the cars go by.  She said he smoked a pipe, was very smart, and loved raisins and lima beans (though probably not together!). 

                In 1930 William was staying with his daughter, Alma, and her family.  William is a laborer on a farm – presumably the family farm.  The next year, William has several letters to the editor posted to the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune.  One grouping of letters was regarding prohibition (he was for it) and the second grouping was about prices that farmers got for their crops and dairy goods (he wanted the best price and thought farmers were being taken advantage of). 

                According to his obituary, William spent seven years living in Fresno, California.  Daughter Olive and her family were living in California, so he was probably staying with them.  He returned to Marshfield, Wisconsin, in 1939, and was staying with his daughter Elizabeth and her family.  His health had been declining for close to a year when he passed away on 1 September 1939.   William Fairchild Drackley is buried, along with Mary Alice, in the Richfield cemetery.  

52 Ancestors #6: Dora Lamere Specht

Hello again!  Here's the bio on my great great grandmother!  She passed away when I was nine days old.  Wish I could have known her!

                Christ and Anna (Couture) Lamere’s eldest child was Dora Rosalea Lamere.  She was born on 20 February 1881, in Marshfield, Wood, Wisconsin.  She grew up on the family farm in the town of Lincoln and she received her education in Marshfield.  Dora is my 2^nd great grandmother.

                On 1 July 1902, Dora married Peter Herman Specht at St. John’s Catholic Church in Marshfield.  After their marriage, the couple moved to Stevens Point, Portage, Wisconsin, where Peter was employed as a furniture carver.  By 1905, their family included sons Albert, Harold, and LeRoy (my great grandfather).  The 1905 Wisconsin state census also shows that Dora’s sister Eva is living with the family.  Eva and Dora’s mother, Anna Couture Lamere, passed away in 1898 when Eva was only four years old.  After Dora was married and established, Eva came to live with her.  In 1906, a daughter, Leone was born.  This was followed by a son, Roman Frank, in December of 1907.  Tragically, Roman passed away after only seven weeks.  Daughter Lucille was born in 1909.  In 1910, daughter Germaine was born, but she passed away after only twelve days.   The last child, a son Eugene, was born in 1917.

                The 1920 Census has the family living in the township of Richfield in Wood County, Wisconsin.  Peter is farming; Dora is taking care of the family.  Five of the six kids are old enough to be in school.  Dora’s sister Eva married in 1913 and has moved.  However, after selling his farm in 1914, Dora’s father Christ has moved in with the family. 

                Dora’s father passed away in 1923.  Dora and Peter owned their eighty acres in Richfield until at least 1928.  However, the 1930 United States census shows the family living in Tacoma, Pierce, Washington.  Only son Eugene made the move with his parents.  Peter is working as a wood carver.  They stayed in Washington until at least 1935 before moving again, this time to Wildwood Township, Koochiching, Minnesota.  Eugene is still living with his parents.  According to the 1940 United States census, Peter is back to farming and Eugene works for the Civilian Conservation Corps. 

                After moving back to Marshfield in 1950, Peter and Dora celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary.  This occasion was also special because it was the first time in over twenty-five years, that all of Peter’s siblings were together again.  A celebration with over seventy people occurred which included a lot of visiting and a picnic lunch.  Also attending were three of their children. 

                The year 1961 brought two celebrations for Dora.  She celebrated her 80^th birthday and her 59^th wedding anniversary.   Dora celebrated the birthday with three parties spread out over a week.  The anniversary brought another party where their remaining five children were in attendance.  By this time the family includes 25 grandchildren and 61 great-grandchildren.  According to the article, Dora enjoyed crocheting and knitting.  She was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church and their Christian Mother Society.

                Peter passed away on 6 July 1964, after being in ill health for about three years.  He had been in the hospital for a month.  He is buried at the Gate of Heaven cemetery in Marshfield.  After his death, Dora made her home with her son LeRoy and his wife Clara before she had to enter the nursing home.  Dora passed away on 8 June 1975.  At the time of her death she had 25 grandchildren; 80 great-grandchildren; and 22 great-great-grandchildren (including me – I was 9 days old when she passed away).  She is also buried at Gate of Heaven cemetery in Marshfield.

52 Ancestors #5: Christ Lamere

Hi all!  This is the family line I am writing about for the Family History Writing Challenge.  I figured I could take some of that and put it into this!  Hope you enjoy!  

  

              Christ Lemieux was born on 14 March 1845, in Trois-Rivieres (Three Rivers), Quebec, Canada, to Louis Lemieux and Julie Marose.   Sometime after moving to the United States, he changed his last name to Lamere.  Christ is my 3^rd great-grandfather.

                Not much is known about the Lemieux family when Christ and his siblings were children.  According to his obituary, Christ came to the United States after the Civil War.  He first went to Illinois before making his way to Wisconsin.  The 1910 United States census states that Christ came to the US in 1866.  While living in Illinois, Christ worked in the lumber industry.  Again, according to his obituary, he would make trips down the Mississippi to St. Louis with rafts of logs each spring. 

                When he came to Marshfield, it was little more than a wilderness.  However, with other settlers like Louis Rivers and “Curley” Couture, efforts were made to establish a settlement.

                Christ established a general store in Marshfield.  When the settlement decided they needed a place for the children to have lessons, the front room over this store was used. 

                In May of 1878, Christ married Anna Couture.  She was the sister of his friend Curley Couture.  Christ and Anna sold the store and moved to Mannville – which at the time was a much larger town than Marshfield.  Before moving again in 1887 to a farm in Lincoln township, Christ and Anna had four children.  Born in 1881 was Dora, in 1883 was Joseph, in 1884 was Archie, and in 1886 was Walter.  Following the move three more children were born:  an unnamed child who was born and passed away in 1890, Ray in 1891, and Eva in 1894. 

                Tragedy struck in 1898 when Anna passed away.   In 1900, Christ’s sister moved in.  The US Census for 1900, the Wisconsin state census for 1905, and the US Census for 1910 all show Salome Landry, who is listed as Christ’s sister, living with the family.  She is a widow, who according to the 1910 Census had four children though none survived.  She was working as a servant.  One may guess that she came to help her brother after his wife passed away.  Christ still had four children at home between the ages of four and fourteen. 

                After selling the farm in 1914, Christ moved in with his daughter Dora and her husband Peter Herman Specht.  Chris LaMere passed away on Thursday, 18 October 1923.  According to his obituary his death was without warning and was caused by a “stroke of paralysis the second in a year”.  At the time he was visiting his son, Ray.  Wednesday evening he said he was suffering for a slight stomach ache so the next morning he walked up to the clinic for treatment.  He passed away that night. 

                He is buried next to Anna at the Hillside Cemetery in Marshfield, Wood, Wisconsin. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #4: William Davis Farnsworth

Hi everyone.  Hope you are doing well.  Here is this weeks installment for the 52 Ancestors challenge.  I hope you are enjoying them!

                My third great-grandfather, William Davis Farnsworth was born on 28 March 1853 in Jasper, Newton County, Arkansas.  His father was William W. Farnsworth and his mother was Martha Emiline Henderson.  William W. was born in Pennsylvania and Martha in Tennessee.  The couple was married in Missouri before moving to and settling in Arkansas.  William Davis was the fifth of nine children born to the couple.  William Davis’s father was a school teacher and the postmaster in Jasper.  People say that is because he was the only male in Jasper who could read and write. 

                When the Civil War broke out the Farnsworth family found themselves in a serious situation.  Arkansas is a southern state and William W. was a Union sympathizer.  Soon it was no longer safe for William W. to stay in Jasper.  Bushwackers, who killed all males, young or old, if they did not support the Confederacy were quickly on to William W.  So William W. left for Columbia County, Wisconsin, where his brother lived.  Martha soon followed with the nine children, their cattle and all the possessions.  Along the way, much of their possessions were stolen by the Bushwackers.  Also, along the way tragedy struck when Martha and one of her daughters died in Savannah, Illinois, of diphtheria.  The remainder of the children including William Davis continued on by themselves to Wisconsin. 

                By the time of the 1870 United States census, William Davis had already been though a lot.  In 1870 he was a sixteen year old working on a farm in Caledonia, Columbia, Wisconsin.  In the early 1870s, he went to visit his sister, Mary, in Iowa.  There he met Catherine McDonald, daughter of John and Catherine Ann McDonald.  William Davis and Catherine were married on 18 June 1874 in Delhi, Delaware, Iowa.  After they were married, they settled in Caledonia, Wisconsin, and to this union, twelve children were born – eight boys and four girls.  According to the census records, William was a farmer while in Caledonia.  All of the children seemed to have been raised on the family farm.

                On 10 June 1905, at the age of forty-nine, Catherine passed away following a short illness.  At the time there were still six children living at home – the youngest was five years old.  In 1921, son Ira passed away from a burst appendix.  By 1930, William was seventy-three, retired and living with his youngest two children.  On 4 March 1931, William passed away at his home in Caledonia.  According to the newspaper he had been in failing health the last few years of his life, however was well on the day of his death.  William and Catherine are both buried at the Welsh Cemetery in Portage, Columbia County, Wisconsin. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #3: Felix Nelles

Hello everyone!  I hope you are well.  As promised, today is the biography about Felix Nelles, my father's paternal grandfather.  He was one of the great-grandparents I did not know.  I hope you enjoy!

                Felix was born on 20 June 1906 in Quincy, Grant, Washington.  His parents were Matt and Beata (Hoffman) Nelles.  Felix was the second of six children and the only one born in the state of Washington.  Early on the family seemed to move quite a bit:  Felix’s sister was born in Minnesota in 1905, Felix in Washington in 1906, sister Melitta was born in Minnesota in 1908, in 1910 they were enumerated in the United States census in Washington, in 1912 back to Minnesota where brother Clarence was born.  In 1919, the family went to Texas but did not stay long.  The land they invested in was worthless, Beata could not adjust to the climate, and it is possible that Felix had a brush with rheumatic fever.  Finally when the 1920s came around, they settled in Wisconsin and stayed there.  One more brother, Max, was born in Wisconsin in 1923.

                On 10 May 1927 Felix married Esther Michels who was the daughter of Nickolaus and Tillie (Michaelis) Michels.  They were married at Corpus Christi Catholic church in the town where they both resided.  The 1930 United States Census for Lincoln Township, Wood, Wisconsin, shows the family quickly growing.  Felix and Esther are joined by sons Harold and Dwaine.  Also living close by are Esther’s parents and grandparents.  Felix and Esther are renting their home for $12.  He is working as a blacksmith.   The home that they rented was an apartment above the blacksmith shop where Felix worked.  The owner of the shop was Esther’s father, Nick. 

                The 1930s kept Felix and Esther busy as three more children joined the family:  Edward (my grandfather) in 1931, June in 1933, and Ethel in 1935.  Felix became known as one of the best mechanics in the area – he could diagnose the problem a car was having just by listening to it drive up the road.  Unfortunately, he also suffered from a heart ailment possibly brought on by his brush with rheumatic fever.  My grandfather said they called it a leaking heart back that.  He would easily get tired and have to rest often. 

                Tragedy struck the family when in 1939 Dwaine got an ear infection which quickly turned into mastoiditis.  Before antibiotics became more common in 1942, this was one of the leading causes of death in children.  Unfortunately for Felix and Esther, it claimed their son in January of 1940 shortly after his tenth birthday.  The 1940 US Census finds the family still in Lincoln Township.  Felix is now listed as a trucker for an ice and fuel yard.  Under the employment section he does state that for a time in the last year he was unable to work presumably due to health issues.   Children Ethel and Edward remember their father being sick quite often and hospitalized.  If work required him to go up and down stairs, he would get winded fast and have to take time off.  According to Edward, Felix also had to make regular trips to Milwaukee via bus to the draft board.  They would not take his doctor’s word that he had a heart ailment, so would have to go for a physical every thirty days in order to not get drafted into World War II.

                On 3 December 1943, Felix was admitted to the hospital.  Edward remembered him getting pneumonia from having to walk to a doctor’s appointment in the rain.  Apparently construction was being done on the road and he was not able to drive on it.  I do not know if this is what led to his hospitalization or if this was earlier on.  Felix passed away on 13 December 1943 in Marshfield, Wood, Wisconsin, at age 37.  He was survived by his wife and five children:  Harold, Edward, June, Ethel, and newest addition, Jerry who was only eleven months when his dad passed.  Felix is buried in Bakerville, Wood, Wisconsin, at the Corpus Christi Catholic cemetery. 

                

52 Ancestors #2: Blanche Ethel Wittke

Hello again!  As many of you know, I was fortunate enough to know six of my eight great-grandparents.  The two I did not know will be the subjects of the next two biographies.  I hope you enjoy and as always, look forward to your comments.  Thanks!

            One of only two great-grandparents I never met was Blanche Ethel Wittke.  She was my mother’s maternal grandmother.  Blanche was born on 10 January 1908, in Clark County, Wisconsin to August Wittke, Junior and Ethel Schummel.  August was born in Illinois and Ethel in Wisconsin.  In the 1910 United States census, August, Ethel and Blanche were living in Pine Valley, Clark, Wisconsin, where August was a farmer.  

            The 1920s saw a lot of change in Blanche’s life.  The 1920 US census shows her and her family living in Levis, Clark, Wisconsin.  Blanche is twelve years old and is now joined by two year old sister Olga.  On 14 May 1924, at age sixteen, Blanche married my great-grandfather, Carl Heinrich Sternitzky who was twenty-eight years old.  They were married at the Mapleworks Lutheran Church in Granton, Clark, Wisconsin.  Less than a year later, their first son, Duane, was born.  Two more children were born in the 1920s – Arlene in 1926 and Shirley in 1929.

            According to the 1930 census, Carl and Blanche were living in the township of Lynn, Clark, Wisconsin.  Carl was a farmer while Blanche took care of the children.  The addition of three more children kept the household busy:  Douglas was born in 1931, Patty (my grandmother) in 1936, and finally, Donald in 1937.   However, about six months after Donald was born, Blanche left the family.  Though I do not know for sure, Blanche may have suffered from postpartum depression.  She did say she was overwhelmed having six children so young – she was not yet thirty when Donald was born. 

            According to her obituary, she moved to Rochester, Olmsted, Minnesota, in 1938 where she was employed by a hospital.  According to my mother, Blanche worked in the dietary department.  She remained employed there until her retirement in 1970.  The 1940 US census shows Blanche living in Rochester with her new husband, Irving Payne.  He is forty-nine years old (compared to her thirty-two years) and he works in construction.  According to the census, Blanche is a maid in a private home.  I do not know if she had this maid job before working in the hospital or if she held both jobs for awhile. 

            I do not know much about Blanche’s life after the 1940 census.  I know she was married to Irving until his death in 1962, but they had no children of their own.  After her retirement in 1970 she moved to Neillsville, Clark, Wisconsin.  She married Arnold Sternitzky on 10 January 1972 and in 1974 they moved to Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.  Blanche lived there until her death on 10 July 1979 from an apparent heart attack.  She is buried in Rochester with Irving.

            I do know that after leaving Carl, she sued for custody of her two youngest children, but Carl retained custody of all of the children.  She did reach out to her children while they were growing up.  The younger ones were more receptive but maybe that is because she brought them candy!  She was not always invited to family occasions, in consideration to Carl, but as years went on, and grandchildren were added to the mix, she was included more.  The grandchildren referred to her as Grandma Payne.

           

            

52 Ancestors: Albert Carl Sternitzky

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!  One of my New Year's resolution is to do more writing.  So I want to tackle the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge again and try to do a better job.  Hopefully I will get fifty-two biographies done this year.  The first one I am posting is about Albert Carl Sternitzky.  I hope you enjoy and I look forward to your feedback!

                My great-great-grandfather Albert Carl Sternitzky was born on 10 March 1862 in Lynn, Clark, Wisconsin.  He was a first generation American – his grandfather, grandmother, and their children emigrated from Silesia, Prussia, in 1840.  The family spent a winter in Buffalo, New York, before traveling through the Great Lakes and settling in Milwaukee.  In 1856, after securing land farther north in Clark County, the family left Milwaukee.  The Sternitzky family was one of the pioneering families in that part of the county. 

                Albert was the first born child to Charles Friedrich Sternitzky and Catherine Miller.  He was born on the family farm in 1862.  He would later be joined by brother Wilhelm (William) and sisters Anna and Phoebe.   In the 1870 United States census, Albert is eight years old and living with his family on the farm in Lynn, Clark, Wisconsin.  His father is a farmer with real estate valued at $800.  They are surrounded by family – there are many Sternitzkys on that same page and all through the township of Lynn.  The 1880 US census shows Albert at eighteen years of age, living with his family in the Town of Lynn.  His father is still farming, his mother is keeping house, and Albert is in school along with his three siblings.  I assume all of this information is correct as Albert’s father, Charles, was the enumerator. 

                On 27 May 1885, Albert married Louise Ernestine Garbisch, daughter of John and Dorothea Garbisch.  Louise was born in Lynn on 7 May 1864.  Albert and Louise were married at the Zion Lutheran “Mapleworks” church in Lynn.  Albert and Louise had six children:  Oscar, Arthur, Louis, Alvin, Carl (my great grandfather) and Rudolph.  All of the boys, except Arthur, lived to adulthood.

                The 1895 Wisconsin, 1900 US, 1905 Wisconsin, 1910 US and 1920 US census all show a familiar pattern.  The children grow up and move out and by 1920 it is just Albert, Louise and son Rudolph still on the farm.  Albert continues to farm, but he also has an apple orchard and he also produced maple syrup.  Somewhere along the line, he built and operated a tavern/store called Orchard Inn (the building no long exists).     

                The 1920s were a little difficult for Albert.  On 12 January 1921, Louise passed away.  According to the newspaper, the cause of death was trichinosis, an illness caused by eating undercooked pork.  In 1923, it was reported in a local newspaper that Albert was seriously injured when he was driving into his yard in a milk wagon and was hit by “an automobile at a terrific rate”.  The accident caused Albert to fly out of the wagon and into a ditch.  According to the paper he was a “large, heavy man and it is believed he is injured internally”.  He did break an arm in four places, but the paper doesn’t report any other serious injuries.  Albert was taken to the hospital and luckily someone reported the license plate of the driver. 

                The 1930 US census shows Albert living alone on his farm in Lynn.  It does seem that his son Carl is living close as he is the next family listed.  Albert passed away on 21 September 1931 at his home in Lynn.  He was 69 years old. 

Dr. Abraham Lincoln Farnsworth

Hello everyone!  I hope you are enjoying your fall.  It has been awhile since my last post and I hope to post more in the future.  As always, please feel free to leave comments (or suggestions as to where to take my research!).

            Abraham Lincoln Farnsworth was born on 28 May 1866 in the Caledonia Township of Columbia County, Wisconsin.  He was the eldest of John Robert Farnsworth and Christina Scherf’s ten children. Abraham is my first cousin five times removed – meaning his father, John Robert, and my four times great grandfather, William W. Farnsworth were brothers.  Now you may be wondering why I am researching such a distant relative?  Well my grandmother was given a newspaper article about a Dr. Farnsworth (no first name mentioned) at a recent family reunion.  It was one of those “100 years ago today” write ups – Dr. Farnsworth had reported seeing a black bear while on his way home.  My grandmother gave it to me and asked me to figure out who this Dr. Farnsworth was (and I was property bribed with homemade tapioca pudding!!!)

             So here is what I found and reported back to Grandma.  Through the 1880 United States Census, Abraham is living at home with his parents.  He is attending school and working on the farm.  According to his biography in the Sauk County history book, he graduated from the Milwaukee Medical college (now Marquette University) in 1900.  The 1900 census shows him living in Baraboo, Sauk, Wisconsin, alone, where he is a doctor.  He sees the previously mentioned bear in 1908.  In the 1910 US Census for Baraboo, Sauk, Wisconsin, he is 43, married and still working as a doctor.  Here’s where we hit a little road bump.  It states he has been married for four years and it is his second wife. 

            I knew that Abraham had married Elsie Poppe – a family member who also did genealogy shared that information with me, but we had the year as 1907.  That information was stated in a Sauk County history book.  No other place had that Abraham had been married before so I checked the Wisconsin Historical Society and they had two marriage licenses for Abraham with two different ladies.  I ordered both (along with his obituary) and continued my search. 

            The 1910 Baraboo City Directory had three listings for Abraham.  He was listed as the county’s health officer for the Board of Health.  He had a personal listing which also mentioned Elsie (though they had it as Essie), and their two daughters, Ida and Ruth.  The third was the listing for his practice. 

            Continuing with census research I found the family listed in the 1920 US Census still in Baraboo.  Not much has changed except they have added two sons to the family:  Beech and John.  The 1930 census still finds them in Baraboo except the daughters, Ida and Ruth, have moved out.  Beech and John remain at home.  The 1940 census threw me for a loop.  I had the information that Abraham had died in April, but there he was listed in the 1940 census which was taken on 2 May!  I figured my death date information must be wrong – and then I noticed there was a lot of writing on the census form by the column that normally just says list name here.  Upon closer inspection, the column states to list everyone in the household as of 1 April 1940. 

            According to the obituary I received from the Wisconsin Historical Society, Abraham died on 20 April 1940 and was buried at Tucker Cemetery in Sauk County, Wisconsin.  He was a member of the state medical society, the county medical society, the American Medical Association, Odd Fellows and the Mystic Workers of the World.  The obituary states that he had a part in bringing into the world 2,310 babies and performed or assisted in 1,500 operations.  The obituary also lists his survivors – his wife and five children.  Five children? 

            This takes me back to the two marriage licenses I requested.  The first was from 20 January 1904 between Abraham L. Farnsworth and Emma Farnsworth.  The details about Abraham match what I have – parents, occupation, birth place, but who is Emma (and why does it say her name previous to marriage is Farnsworth??)?  The second marriage is to Elsie Poppe and takes place on 19 October 1905. 

            I did a quick search in the 1910 census to see if maybe Emma and Abraham had divorced and I could find Emma living on her own or with her parents.  And I found her with her parents, listed as Emma Neuman.  She was back in her hometown – but listed at the bottom of the household was a Florence Farnsworth – granddaughter.   Emma is listed as single with one child.  So I went back to the obituary – all the daughters are listed as Mrs. Husband’s Name so I plugged those names into Ancestry.com and the 1940 census.  And there was Florence.  So while Florence is not mentioned in the biography written about Abraham Lincoln Farnsworth in the history of Sauk County, she is mentioned in the obituary. 

            I did search familysearch.org and they had a 3 March 1897 marriage listed for Emma Newmann and Abraham Lincoln Farnsworth.  Florence was born in August of 1897.  So this leaves me with more questions!  Were Abraham and Emma married in 1897?  Why didn’t the Wisconsin Historical Society have that record in the pre-1907 database?  Why did Abraham state in the 1900 census he was single?  Did they split up and then reconcile in 1904 only to split up again?  Were Abraham and his daughter Florence close?  Do any of Florence’s descendents alive today know any of these answers??  I can’t wait to see what I find……..

            

#52 Ancestors: My great grandfather Carl Sternitzky

Hello everyone!  I am back!!!  Sorry for the long delay in posts -- things have been crazy around here.  Awhile ago I had read a post or a tweet about great grandparents and it got me thinking.  I was so lucky to know six of my eight grandparents.  My younger cousins aren't as lucky and so I wanted to pass to them and future generations some of the fun memories that my parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and I have of them.  So I set off gathering stories -- and it was so much fun.  People say they don't have any good stories, but with a few prompts or questions, they are off to the races.  So without further ado, my first story infused biography on my great grandfather Carl Heinrich Sternitzky.....

            My great-grandfather, Carl Heinrich Sternitzky, was born on 13 January 1896 in the town of Lynn in Clark County, Wisconsin.  He was the fifth of six sons born to Albert Carl Sternitzky and Louise Garbisch.  

            Carl attended school in Clark County and finished the seventh grade.  His family farmed and Carl followed suit.  The 1920 United States Census for Lynn, Clark, Wisconsin, shows Carl living by himself on his own farm.  He had struck out on his own by 23. 

            On 14 May 1924, Carl married Blanche Ethel Wittke at the Mapleworks Lutheran Church in Granton, Clark, Wisconsin.  Blanche’s family thought Carl would be a successful match for Blanche as he had his own farm.  Between 1925 and 1937, Carl and Blanche had six children:  Duane, Arlene, Shirley, Douglas, Patty (my grandmother), and Donald.  A few months after Donald was born, Blanche left the family.  Probably suffering from post-partum depression, she said she was just overwhelmed being so young with six children – she was not yet 30 years old. 

            The 1940 U.S. Census has Carl living in Lynn, Clark, Wisconsin.  He is divorced (he filed and received custody of the children – Blanche did seek custody of the two youngest, but did not receive it).  He lists his occupation as a farmer.  According to daughter Patty (Sternitzky) Farnsworth, not long after she was born in 1936, Carl also began selling insurance for Lynn Mutual (a company his grandfather founded).  She said that he rode with the milkman to sell his first policy which was for life insurance.  Listed in the household are the four oldest children, but the two youngest (including my grandmother) were missing.  I asked my grandmother about this and she said that maybe they were hiding.  Apparently when anyone official-looking came to the house, the younger children would hide because they were afraid they would be taken away from their father.  However, after a little more searching, I did find the two younger children staying with their maternal grandparents (they would sometimes visit for a week or two at a time). 

            My grandmother said that her father made sure his children went to school and church.  Even if the kids were out the night before, they were expected to be up for church and Sunday school every weekend.  Though they didn’t have much money when she was little (late 1930s-early 1940s), he always made sure they had new clothes for school and for the church Christmas program.  He instilled in them the importance of family and they spent nearly every weekend with his brothers and their children. 

            After the kids were grown, Carl remarried in 1962.  He and his new wife Elizabeth Buchsteiner had no children together.

            As part of this biography and the others of my great grandparents, I wanted to speak with my aunts, uncles, parents, etc to get stories and recollections about their grandparents.  Everyone I spoke to remembered Carl as a kind, gentle man who loved his family dearly.  He didn’t yell at people and he didn’t talk poorly of anyone.  Everyone talked about how he would take anyone who wanted to a Milwaukee Braves/Brewers game.  He would buy everyone tickets and once everyone got there, he would buy whatever snacks you wanted.  He loved Leinenkugel’s beer in bottles (which he told me was root beer), Copenhagen (which he would tell his grandchildren was candy), and telling stories.  He had an amazing memory for not only people’s names but also for stories and poems.  My uncle remembers him telling stories in German when they were camping and everyone remembers him reciting a clock poem (which has been recorded).  All of his children would come together every year for his birthday and enjoy his favorite dishes:  oyster stew, potato dumplings and poppy seed dumplings (or as they are known in our family:  zee zee zee zee zum zums).  My mom said that every Christmas Eve, after they finished their church program, they would take a present out to their grandpa.  He always had oranges, peanuts, candy and money for the kids.  Carl never wore blue jeans instead opting for slacks, a button up shirt, tie, jacket and a nice hat.  Religion was very important to him.  My aunt remembers her and her mom taking Carl to a special church service that was conducted in German.  He remembered all the old German songs and prayers and he really enjoyed that. 

            Carl Heinrich Sternitzky passed away on 24 January 1985 at Neillsville Memorial Hospital in Neillsville, Clark, Wisconsin.  His cause of death was a stroke.  He was buried in Neillsville.  I think my great grandpa would be proud that a lot of what he instilled in his children has passed down to my generation and beyond.  Our family is our number one priority, we try to be compassionate, hard working people, and we contribute to our communities…..and just like Great Grandpa Carl we love to tell stories, laugh, and eat a lot of potato dumplings. 

           

            

#52 Ancestors: The Sad Fate of Adam Specht

Hello everyone!  Life sure has been crazy and once again I have fallen behind on the #52 Ancestors challenge.  Today's post is about Adam Specht, my first cousin 4x removed.  I found the story that I am telling after the Marshfield (WI) Public Library finished a name index of all the local papers.  I used the online index to find all my surnames and when I was home, I went to the library and printed every article I could find -- family or not.  Hope you enjoy reading this story and as always, I welcome your comments.

            Adam Specht was born 4 August 1870 in Liberty, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, to Jacob and Margaret (Ketter) Specht.  He was the third child out of eleven.  The Spechts were farmers who had immigrated to the United States from Prussia in the 1850s.  In 1870, the family had real estate valued at $3,000 and their home was also home to three boarders – two from Prussia and one from Hesse-Darmstadt.  By 1880, the family had moved to Marshfield, Wood, Wisconsin, where they continued to farm. 

            The 1900 United States Census shows Adam living in the City of Marshfield.  He has been married for five years to Mary Matejowitz.  They have a four year old “boarder” listed also.  I believe that it is possible that this boarder is in fact a child the couple adopted.  Adam is listed as a lumber man.

            Unfortunately, fate intervened on 17 July 1901, when Adam was killed in a logging train accident.  The description given by the Marshfield News on 18 July 1901 (page 1, column 2) was like one I had never read.  I am including it here:

            Adam Specht left his home on North Depot street yesterday morning at six o'clock to go out as brakeman on the Upham logging train and was brought back one hour and a half later with both legs crushed and in a dying condition.

            The sad accident occurred at Romeo and was witnessed by but one person, Engineer Frank Luckenbach.  Specht stood on the pilot as the engine pulled out of a spur and was thrown head foremost between the rails by a violent jar, which after investigation was found to have been caused by a defective "blind" switch.  The engineer saw him fall and speedily brought the engine to a standstill but not before the unfortunate man had received fatal injuries.  He was rolled over and over in front of the pilot and when the train crew reached him the lower portion of his body was under the engine between the pilot and the forward wheels.  Both limbs to the knees were crushed to a shapeless mass.  The injured man was carried to the caboose and strong cords wound tightly above the bruised portion of the limbs to check the flow of blood, after which a lightning trip was made to Marshfield.

            E.E. Finney, of the Upham Co., had received a telephone message and was on hand with a conveyance and physicians.  When Specht was taken from the train at the depot here he was suffering intensely but bore up with great fortitude.  Several friends stepped forward and sympathetically pressed his hand.  To one, Officer Griffin, Specht remarked "hard luck, eh Mike?"  He said he realized death was near and requested the driver to turn up North Depot street that he might look upon his home for the last time.  When the house was reached and his gaze rested upon the happy home he had left less than two hours before tears welled to his eyes.  Before reaching St. Joseph's hospital the injured man gave evidence that his fife was ebbing fast.  He complained that he was becoming deathly cold and asked that the horses be urged to all possible speed. 

            At the hospital the heartbroken parents, wife, brothers and sisters of the young man gathered about his bedside.  It was a most pathetic scene which will never fade from the memories of those who were present.  The only person he recognized was John Gauger, a fellow brakeman for many years on the logging train, who stood head bowed, with tears coursing down his cheeks, and brushed back the hair from his dying comrade's forehead.  Adam Specht breathed his last about 8:30 o'clock a.m.  The crushed limbs were not amputated as the attending physicians realized there was no hope of saving his life.

            The deceased was one of eleven children of ex-Supervisor Jacob Specht, an old and highly respected resident of this city.  The family settled on a farm in the town of Marshfield twenty-one years ago and in 1891 moved to this city.  Adam was 30 years of age and had been employed as brakeman on the logging train for the past twelve years.  The officers of the Upham Co. state that he was one of the most faithful and conscientious men in their employ.  Seven years ago he was married to Miss Mary Mattowitz.  They have no children, but adopted a girl several years ago.  His brothers and sisters are:  Mrs. Michael Noonan of Tomahawk, J.M. Specht of Cornielle, Neb., Philip, George, Henry, Joseph, Jacob and Miss Rosa Specht of this city.  Deceased was a member of the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin and carried a life insurance policy of $1000 in the order.  The funeral will be held tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock from St. John's Catholic church.  The C.K. of W. lodge will attend in a body.  The bereaved family and relatives have the sympathy of the entire community in their bereavement.

#52 Ancestors: Father Felix Nelles, Missionary to the Indian Reservations

Hello everyone!  This week I decided to post the story of John Nelles, who later became Father Felix Nelles.  I hope you enjoy his story.....

            John Nelles was born on 12 October 1870 in Long Prairie, Todd, Minnesota to Peter and Mathilda (May) Nelles.  He was the second of fourteen children and the eldest son.  He was my second great grand uncle. 

            When John was a teenager, he left his family to go to St. John’s College in Collegeville, Minnesota.  He was going there to study to become a priest.  While at the school, the students and monks completed a chapel on an island in 1889.  The following summer, work was being done on the landscaping.  John and a young monk named Anslem Barholomy, were bringing a boatload of sod to the chapel when the boat sprung a leak and sank.  Both men could swim, but because of his heavy, water soaked robes Anselm was pulled under.  He tried to save himself by grabbing on to John but ended up pulling him under as well.  John freed himself but was unable to rescue his friend.  Anselm’s body was recovered the next day.

            John joined the Benedictine Order in 1893.  He was ordained on 20 June 1898 as Father Felix Nelles.  His first mission was to assist the priest in the Indian Missions at Red Lake.  Thus began his life among the Chippewa or Ojibway Indians.  A year later he was sent to the White Earth Reservation where he spent twenty five years.  Over the years he served at least eighteen different missions up to 140 miles away. 

            On his visits to the different missions, he would carry all of his clothing and supplies on his back.  He traveled through all kinds of weather, walking many of the miles.  He made the most of his time while visiting the Indian homes – baptizing, instructing on Holy Communion, giving Last Rites, and burying the dead.  It is said that over the years, Father Felix baptized at least 1,600 Indians and 1,400 white people.  During the 1918 flu epidemic, the Protestant minister refused to visit the sick because he was afraid of spreading it to his family.  Father Felix stepped in and took over the visits (and ended up baptizing thirty of the Protestants!)

            Father Felix had a great respect of the Indians and their culture.  He took the time to listen to them and learn about them – including their language.  He protested to the government about how the Indians were being swindled out of their land. 

            Father Felix was regarded as the best Indian missionary the Catholic Church had in Minnesota.  He sacrificed his health and well-being to serve the Indians – sometimes showing up in the middle of the night, half frozen from the long walk in order to perform Last Rites.  Father Felix realized they were all God’s Children and he wanted them to have “happy” deaths.  Another thing that worked in Father Felix’s favor, according to Father Thomas Borgerding, was he could eat Indian food.  In fact, Father Thomas said Father Felix could eat anything! 

            By the late 1920s Father Felix was starting to suffer ill health.  He was assigned to a parish in Minneapolis and after a few years he was appointed the chaplain at the St. Joseph Home in St. Cloud.  By 1939 his palsy (Parkinson’s Disease) forced his retirement to St. John’s Abbey.  He died on 9 March 1945 at St. John’s Abbey and is buried there.

#52 Ancestors Charles Friedrich Sternitzky

For this next post, I thought I would keep it in the Sternitzky line and write about Charles Sternitzky, Friedrich's son and my 3rd great grandfather!  Thank you for taking the time to read this & please feel free to leave a comment!

            Charles Friedrich Sternitzky, my 3^rd great grandfather, was born 5 May 1832 in Klein Ujeschitz, Silesia, Germany.  He was the first born child of Friedrich and Helena (Vietz or Dietz) Sternitzky.  At the age of eight, his family (which now included three more siblings) came to America and settled in Buffalo, New York.  After spending a year there, the family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Charles received his education at the Milwaukee German School.

            The family spent fifteen years in Milwaukee before making the long voyage to Clark County, Wisconsin.  They were one of the first settlers in the area.  In his biography he noted that in order to get wheat seed they had to go 65 miles away!  Charles was twenty-four when they moved.  He purchased the 280 acres in the Lynn Township that the family settled on.  After a couple years, Charles struck out on his own and purchased 80 acres of his own land.  According to one biography, he would work in the pineries in the winters and in the summer he would work on his farm.  Eventually he expanded his farm to 120 acres. 

            On 25 February 1861 Charles married Kate Miller.  They had four children:  Albert, Wilhelm, Anna, and Phoebe. 

            Charles continued to farm until an opportunity to open a business presented itself in 1889.  That year Charles entered into the general merchandise business with the Ure brothers.  After a year Charles bought out the brothers and kept the business up on his own.  

            Charles also served the public in many ways.  According to his biography he served on the school board, was Town Clerk, served on Town Board – as president and as treasurer, was the Assessor, Notary Public, he served as Postmaster for nineteen years, and was the Justice of the Peace since the town was organized.  He was also an enumerator for the 1880 census.  He was also an organizer of the Lynn Mutual Fire Insurance Company in 1878.  Charles also served on the Clark County Agricultural Society. 

            On 12 January 1900, Charles was in Neillsville (the county seat of Clark County) attending a session of the county board.  That morning he complained of not feeling well.  After breakfast, he wasn’t getting any better so doctors were summoned along with his family.  Later that evening he passed away.  He had long suffered from heart issues.  He was 67 years old.  His obituary in the Clark County Republican Press stated: “The substantial independence and uprightness of his character stand as a perpetual lesson for younger generations and it will be many years before his influence in affairs of his neighborhood is lost.” Charles was buried in the Lynn Cemetery.

#52 Ancestors Friedrich Sternitzky

Hi everyone!  Now that I am over the flu and a cold I need to catch up on my #52 Ancestors writing!!  I hope this finds you all doing well.  This posting is about my fourth great grandfather Friedrich Sternitzky.  He was the first of this line to come to the United States!  As always, I hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave me any comments!

            My fourth great-grandfather Friedrich Sternitzky was born on 26 October 1806 in Klein Ujeschuetz, Silesia, Germany.  His father died when Friedrich was young.  According to one biography he did serve in the military.  In 1831 he married Helena Vietz (or Dietz) in Klein Ujeschuetz. 

            They stayed in Germany until 1840 before coming to America.  Joining Friedrich and Helena were their children:  Charles, Susanna, Gottlieb (James), and Wilhelm.  On 16 September 1840, they arrived in the Port of New York aboard the Bark Washington.  They made their way to Buffalo, New York, before settling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  While in Milwaukee their family added another six children:  Johan, Ernest, Johanna, Julius, Edward and Albert. 

            In 1844, Friedrich declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States.  The family stayed in the Milwaukee area until 1856 when they, along with a couple other families, decided to go north to central Wisconsin and settle in Clark County.  According to the History of Clark County which was published in 1918, it took the family three weeks to make the journey and for the last three miles they had to cut through thick forest to make their way to their land.  Son Charles had purchased two hundred acres for the family from the government.  For his family, Friedrich built a two room, 18 foot by 28 foot log home.  Their nearest neighbor was two miles away.  Friedrich farmed the land until his son Henry (Julius’s nickname) took over. 

            Friedrich was a German Lutheran and when he got to Clark County church services were often held in his home.  Later on, he helped to establish a German Lutheran church in town. 

            The last eight years of Friedrich’s life were confined to bed.  Friedrich died on 25 October 1901 – one day shy of his 95^th birthday.  He outlived four of his children and his wife.  He was a well respected member of the community and beloved by his large family.  At the time, his funeral was the largest the community had ever seen.  Over sixty of his descendants were there and friends came from miles around.  Friedrich Sternitzky is buried next to his wife at the Zion American Lutheran Cemetery in Granton, Clark, Wisconsin.

#52 Ancestors #4: John Clifton Connors

Hello everyone!  I am behind on my #52Ancestors postings!  I have been sick the past few weeks, but wanted to try to catch up a little.  Here's a little biography on my husband's grandfather:

John Clifton Connors was born on 28 March 1917 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts to Patrick James Connors and Isabelle McDonald.   He was the second of nine children, but was one of only two children born in the United States.  Patrick and Isabelle came to the US for a time but then decided to go back to their hometown of St. John’s, Newfoundland. 

            John joined the British Army during World War II.  He went overseas to England and in Dunkirk he was injured by shrapnel in his back.  After his tour with the British Army he received his Order to Report for Induction to the United States Army.  He was to report to Fort Pepperrell in St. John’s.  This started his twenty-two year career as a member of the Army Air Corps. 

            In 1947, John received word from The Foreign Service of the United States that the application submitted in his case had been approved and that he was repatriated back to the U.S. 

            On 18 January 1948 while stationed at Fort Pepperrell Air Force Base in St. John’s Newfoundland, John married Rita Fitzgerald.  They had three daughters:  Mary Rosalind, Monica Isabelle, and Agnes Anne. 

            John loved being in the military and was stationed at many different places.  They were stationed in Newfoundland, Alaska, Maine, Montana, and New York.  He rose to the rank of Master Sergeant and at his time of retirement he had received many awards including the Good Conduct Medal with bronze clasp and five bronze loops.  He took a lot of pride in his work and had many letters of appreciation and commendation in his file.  He constantly strove to improve himself by taking classes in everything from American History to Intelligence Operations Training. 

            Heart problems forced him to retire in October 1967 while he was stationed on Dow Air Force Base in Bangor, Maine.  He retired on disability and was not able to work again.  The family lived in Maine until the harsh winters forced them to move a little farther south to New Jersey.  John loved to garden and according to his daughter Agnes, he planted his gardens so there were always flowers blooming.  He also loved to work in his woodshop in the garage. 

            John passed away on 5 September 1984 while he and Rita were living with daughter Agnes and her family.  He is buried in Annville, Pennsylvania. 

Looking at a document with fresh eyes -- #genchat homework

Hello everyone from snowy Colorado!

This weekend while my husband was at work I decided to tackle my homework assignment from Friday night's #genchat discussion.  The task was this:  go back to an old document that you thought you had all the information from and look at it again -- try to find new information that was maybe missed.  I decided to do that with the ship manifest records that I have found in regards to my husband's Foglio family (see my previous post about Antoinette Foglio).  

I pulled all the ship manifests I had that chronicled the back and forth travels of this family between the US and Italy between 1913 and 1932.  First thing I did was put them in date order.  The next thing I did was to make an Excel spreadsheet detailing all the information from these manifests -- I thought this would be the easiest way for me to see patterns and compare info from one manifest to the other.  

Then I delved into the records and looked at every line of information and that is when the magic happened!!!  The first thing was that one of the children was born in Italy and not the US as I had originally thought -- and it gave me the town he was born in.  I also found my husband's great grandmother's name which when I originally found the record, I skimmed over for whatever reason but I found it this time!  Another item I keyed in on was Immigration Visa numbers....a lead I want to follow up on and see what kind of application they had to fill out, if any, in order to obtain this.  Finally, making out the Excel spreadsheet -- while I know was probably very nerdy -- gave me a much tighter timeline of when this family unit was in the US and when they were in Italy. 

I was so excited about all these finds I did some serious happy dancing!  Of course as it seems to happen with me, I have more questions now!  I think I will be taking some serious time each time I pull out an ancestor's file to look over what I have already to see what I may have missed on the first pass.  I know not every record will yield these kind of results, but I have a feeling I will find more than not!  I hope you will take the time to look over what you have already collected!  Let me know in the comment section if you made any discoveries while looking at a document for the second time....or third......

Happy hunting!!

#52Ancestors #3: Lelah Beryl Stone

Hello again!  I am slowing catching up on my #52Ancestors postings!  I just have to do one more by Tuesday and I'm caught up!  This biography is a little different from the other two.  This one is about my great grandma.  I was fortunate to know six of my eight great grandparents.  So this bio has a few more stories in it -- it still has fact but my family and I have so many wonderful memories of my great grandma, I wanted to put those in too.  I hope you enjoy and as always, feel free to comment below!

            My great grandmother, Lelah Beryl Stone, was born 22 September 1908 in Marcellon Township, Columbia, Wisconsin to Frank Ethan Stone and Frances Leila Mason (Lawson) Stone.  She was the fourth of eight children. 

            Lelah graduated from Randolph High School in 1926.  She attended Columbia County (Wisconsin) Normal School and graduated in 1927.  At the time a person attended Normal School for one year and received a degree to teach in a rural school.  Lelah graduated with a class of 29 – including her future sister-in-law.  After graduation, she taught at Pinewood School, which was in a joint district of Randolph and Fox Lake townships.  She taught students from first through eighth grade.  In 1928, she taught 21 students.  One story I always remember that great grandma told us about her teaching days was this:  she arrived at the school to get it ready for the students to arrive.  While she was getting prepared she happened to look up and out the window and a Native American was outside her window in full regalia, on horseback, looking at her!  They looked at each other for a moment, and he continued on his way.  I remember asking her if she was afraid and she said “oh no”. 

            In 1930, Lelah married Erwin Julius Farnsworth at her parents’ home in Randolph, Columbia, Wisconsin.  Her sister Maysel and her brother Vernon were the attendants.  Lelah wore a white soft silk dress.  After the ceremony, there was a dinner held for the immediate family.  After their honeymoon, a reception was held in their honor for over two hundred people.  After the wedding, they moved to Erwin’s farm in Fremont, Clark, Wisconsin.  Lelah only taught for two years, but she remained involved with education through her involvement with school boards.

            Lelah and Erwin had two sons:  Darryl Erwin (my grandfather) was born in 1935 and Darwyn Lee was born in 1940.  The family lived on 168 acres in the township of Fremont. The farm is where the boys grew up and the grandchildren came to visit often.  My mom, aunt, and uncles would always tell stories of going to Grandma and Grandpa’s farm.  They would swing from ropes in the barn and land in the hay.  They would help Grandma by going to get the eggs, helping her wash and weigh each one so Grandma could sell them.  My mom would say it was a job that would take her grandma twenty minutes to do, but with the “help” of the grandkids it lasted at least an hour (and sometimes involved a few broken eggs!).  Grandma never minded how long it took or if a few eggs got broken along the way.

            My mom and her grandma would get the fair books every year and decide on which categories they would enter.  Then they would use the same recipe and the same ingredients and make their entries.  They would both enter the same things, but sometimes Mom would get first place and her grandma would get second or vice versa.  But they always enjoyed doing that together.  My grandma – Darryl’s wife – credits Lelah for teaching her much about being a wife and a mother.

            Lelah was an amazing cook and baker.  Whenever you went to her house, you could smell fresh baked breads or cookies.  She literally won thousands of ribbons over the course of all the county fairs she entered.  But it wasn’t just baking she excelled at – she also entered canned goods, sewing, and various forms of needlework.  One undated newspaper article noted that in one year she won 127 ribbons at one fair and 130 ribbons at another!  She was featured in various local newspaper articles talking about her skills.  Often times those articles contained her tried and true recipes. 

            In 1970, Lelah and Erwin decided to sell the farm and move into town.  The list price on the 168 acres was $30,000. 

            In 1980, Lelah and Erwin celebrated their golden wedding anniversary with a dinner and open house.  Over 100 friends and family attended (including a five year old me!) and enjoyed a program of singing, poetry, story-telling, and of course, food. 

            Lelah was a member of the Fremont Grange, the local homemakers club, and the United Methodist Church.  She loved to garden and had beautiful flowers.  She seemingly could grow anything including a rare yellow peonia.

            Lelah stayed in the house after Erwin passed away in 1983.  However, it became too much for her alone, so she moved into a nursing home.  She passed away 5 February 1998.  She is buried next to Erwin at the Windfall Cemetery in Granton, Clark, Wisconsin.  She is missed by everyone, but every time we get together we tell stories of our time with great grandma and grandpa and of course still enjoy the recipes she shared with us. 

#52 Ancestors #2: Antoinette Foglio

Hello again!  I am a few weeks behind on the #52 Ancestors challenge, but I have another bio ready and wanted to post it.  I hope you are all doing well.  Here is a little information about my husband's grandmother:  Antoinette Foglio.  Please let me know your thoughts!  Have a great rest of your week!  Melanie

            Antoinette Foglio was born in South Manchester, Hartford, Connecticut on 15 February 1918 to Giovanni (John) Foglio and his wife Theresa.  She was the youngest of four children and the only girl.  Her brothers’ names were:  Emilio, Salvatore, and Michael. 

            The story of Antoinette’s childhood is somewhat tragic.  When she was very little, her family’s house burned down.  Her father decided it was best that they go back to Italy.  Son Emilio hated Italy, so he came back to the States in 1927.  According to the ship manifest, he was accompanied by his parents who intended to return to Italy within six months.  They went to visit Giovanni’s brother Bartolomeo, who lived in South Manchester, Connecticut. 

            While living in Italy, Giovanni was murdered.  The family decided to stay in Italy.  However in 1933, the family decided to come back to America after learning that Salvatore, who was 18, would be drafted into the Italian Army.  Antoinette was only 15 years old.  Theresa came back first in order to secure a home and the three children arrived from Naples on 10 July 1933.  They moved to Newark, Essex, New Jersey, where their mom found a place to live.  At first Antoinette struggled as English was no longer her first language and her accent was very strong.   

            In the 1940 census, Antoinette was living in Newark, New Jersey with her mom and step-father.  She was working as an operator at a tailor shop.  Antoinette married William Anthony Tafaro, Sr., on 23 March 1941 at St. Rocco’s Church in Newark.  They had three sons:  Stephen, John and William Jr. (my father-in-law).  They stayed in New Jersey the rest of their lives – staying in the Newark area for a good portion of the time. According to his obituary, William Sr. was an artist for the U.S. Postal Service in Newark.  He was a gifted artist – his paintings hung on many of the walls in their West Orange home (and now one is proudly displayed in our home).  Antoinette worked for twenty-two years at a local tennis shop, retiring in 1998. 

            William passed away on 12 November 1978.  Antoinette passed away 24 June 2008 in Madison, New Jersey.  She and William are buried in Summit, New Jersey.  

#52Ancestors challenge week 1

What do you do with a problem like Salome?

            I have a genealogical conundrum….at least for me it is.  It all started with a picture sent to me by my great aunt Mary Ann.  The picture is labeled by my great aunt and I knew who all the people were except for one she had listed as Aunt Salome.  I had never heard this name.  I called my grandma (my great aunt’s sister) and she was unsure so I called my great aunt.  She didn’t know anything about her.  She just had made the copy of the picture for me and had labeled it just as it had been labeled in her collection.

            Well now the race was on, but I was stymied because I didn’t know anything about her at all!  So I did what I had been told to do – look at her siblings.  Her brother was Chris LaMere who is my 3^rd great grandfather on my father’s side.  All I really know about Chris’s early life is that he was born in Quebec province and he may have changed his name from Lemieux (might as well be Smith!).  I started looking at the info I had about Chris and I got a clue about Salome.  She was living with Chris and his sons in Wisconsin in 1905.  She is listed as Salome Landry, a widow.  In the 1910 US census she is also there, but she is not with her brother in the 1900 US census.  No good leads popped up in the other census in Wisconsin so I knew she must be somewhere else, but where?  I banged my head against the wall for a bit but then thought “maybe there is something in Chris’s brother’s obit”.  And sure enough, it says Mrs. Salome Landry of Worcester, MA survives him. 

            Using that information I was able to find quite a few census records for Salome, but one note stuck out to me.  She stated in the 1900 census that she was a widow, had four children but none survived.  I had come across a record from the Druin Collection that placed her birth in 1860.  So by the age of 40 she had come to the US, married, had four children and suffered the loss of her husband and her children.   With my great aunt’s not so gentle prodding, I set out to find her husband’s name, wedding date, and what happened after that.  I found a marriage register for Lawrence, Essex, Massachusetts, that matches the information I have pretty closely.  The age is a little off, but her occupation, residence, parents names all match.  That was on 31 December 1879. 

            I cannot find them on the 1880 census.  The next time Salome shows up is the 1891 Lawrence, MA directory.  She is a boarder, no husband listed.  From there on out she is living as a boarder or with a sibling until she ends up at the St. Francis Home for the Aged in Worcester, MA.  As far as I can tell she lived her days out there until her death in 1951. 

            IF my records are all the same person, the question still remains:  what happened to Salome’s husband Augustus Landry (Laundry, Landy? I have seen it spelled various ways) and to their children?  The search continues……

Hello!

Hi everyone!  I decided to start this blog after getting interested in writing about my ancestors through the #52Ancestors challenge on twitter.  I was lucky enough to have someone offer me a spot to guest blog on their blog, but then I decided to go ahead and start my own!  I hope to post my own ancestor's stories and if you'll allow me, some of your's too!  And I hope to post interesting genealogical tidbits!  So I am going to repost my first week's #52Ancestors write up and then catch up with week two.  Please feel free to leave me any comments on how to make this better....I'm just learning about blogging, so please be patient!  Thanks!