52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #14 - Polycarpus Stocklin

This is #14 in a Genealogy Blog Challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow over on her blog "No Story Too Small." The challenge is to write 52 blog posts on 52 ancestors throughout 2014

*NOTE* I am out of the country this weekend. This post was written and scheduled to post in advance.

Temptation!

When I was first on Ancestry, I became quickly seduced and addicted to those little fluttering green leaves. You know the ones.


I was a novice genealogist. I quickly got addicted to the high of adding more names to my tree! So I started to click and add and click and add and click and add....without independent verification.

I am now going through the process of independently verifying everything in my tree, which brings us to Polycarpus Stocklin.


According to those seductive, addicting, fluttering green leaves, Polycarpus Stocklin was born in 1651 in Basel, Switzerland and he died in 1728 in Basel Switzerland.

No, I have not independently verified him yet.  I'm still doing the verification on ancestors living in the late 1800s / early 1900s! 

So why write about Polycarpus? Take a look at the following list.

Johann Georg Stocklin (b. 1827) was the son of Johann Heinrich Stocklin.

Johann Heinrich Stocklin (b. about 1795) was the son of Johann Heinrich Stocklin

Johann Heinrich Stocklin (b. 1762) was the son of Heinrich Stocklin

Heinrich Stocklin (b. 1731) was the son of Hans Heinrich Stocklin

Hans Heinrich Stocklin (b. 1689) was the son of Polycarpus Stocklin

Polycarpus Stocklin (b. 1651) was the son of Hans Jacob Stocklin

Hans Jacob Stocklin (b. 1626) was the son of Jacob Stocklin

Jacob Stocklin (b. 1595) was the son of Jacob Stocklin

Jacob Stocklin (b. 1568) was the son of Peter August Stocklin

Peter August Stocklin (b. 1525) was the last fluttering green leaf I clicked before I came to my senses and thought "How do I know for SURE these guys are my ancestors?"

Look at this list of strong family names.  Jacob. Hans. Heinrich. Good, solid, Christian names. Names that could conceivably be passed down to children today.

Where in the hell did they come up with a name like Polycarpus?

My aunt, a nurse with a background in Latin, told me that Polycarpus means something like "many bodies."  Google Translate (yes, Google Translate will do Latin!) says it means "many wrists."  Someone else said it means "big body."  

Regardless.  Where did the name Polycarpus come from?

THAT's why I chose to write about him.

Maybe someday soon, I'll be able to follow that line and gather all the paperwork and independently verify that the fluttering green leaves were right. I really hope I can. Who wouldn't want an ancestor with the name of Polycarpus sitting in their tree! I can also only imagine what a man with that name could possibly be like! Was he constantly teased? Was it a nickname and not his given name?

What's the strangest name you've come across in your genealogy work?

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #13 - Mapping Relationships

This is #13 in a Genealogy Blog Challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow over on her blog "No Story Too Small." The challenge is to write 52 blog posts on 52 ancestors throughout 2014.

*NOTE: I am actually out of the country right now. This post was written in advanced and pre-scheduled which is why it isn't about a specific ancestor.

I am in the process of trying to verify a certain familial relationship between my 3rd great-grandmother Anna Slezinska (Wife of Anton Rossman) and a man named August Slezinska in the hopes that it will lead me back to Prussia and to Anna's parents. August and Anna both lived in Chicago and at one point attended the same church.

I was able to go through the church records for St. Joseph's Parish on Familysearch.org as they have the records available online. As they are not indexed, what I did was go through the records one by one from a few years before Anton and Anna moved to the US through the time of Anton's death in 1934. I looked at baptismal records specifically and examined both the parents' names as well as the names of the god parents.  I then drew a chart and drew lines to show me relationships through the church. 

Relationship Chart.  Red lines = godparents / god-children
dotted lines = descendents not verified

It really looks like a mess of spaghetti. While it still doesn't prove that August and Anna Slezinska were siblings, it shows me that there was SOME relationship there. Anna was the godmother to August's daughter, while August was godparent to one of Anna's grandsons.  It also shows just how tightly knit the whole extended family was. 

This exercise is also more proof that you can't stick with your direct lines, you sometimes HAVE to investigate siblings, cousins, and even farther out along the branches if you want to get any farther back.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #12 - Anton Rossman

This is #12 in a Genealogy Blog Challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow over on her blog "No Story Too Small." The challenge is to write 52 blog posts on 52 ancestors throughout 2014

Anton Rossman was born on the 25th of September, 1850 in Putzig, Prussia - known now as Puck, Poland.  As with many of my ancestors who emigrated to the United States, I do not know much about Anton's life in Prussia.

The Circassia

Sometime prior to 1880, Anton Rossman met  Anna Slezinska. They were married in 1878- 1879. Their first child, Julianna Maria Rossman was born on the 14th of May, 1879 in or around Putzig.

At that time, Anton and Anna made a decision to move  their new family to the United States. They boarded the Cumberland, in Hamburg, Germany and headed for Leith (now just outside of Edinburgh, Scotland. From Leith, they traveled to Glasgow, Scotland where they boarded the Circassia for New York.  They left Hamburg, Germany on the 19th of March, 1880, and arrived in New York on the 12 of April, 1880.

Shortly after arriving in New York, the Rossman family moved to Chicago. Six more children followed Juliana very quickly.  Marciana (Maggie), born 1882; Rose Josephine, born 1885; Frank, born 1887;  Apollonia (Polly), born 1889; Sarafine, born 1892; and possibly Elzbieta and Hedwigis, both born in 1894, though I have not been able to verify the last two.

While the 1890 census was destroyed by a fire in the 1920s, and I cannot rely on that for information about the family, it is evident that Anton Rossman was active in his community, and in particular, his church. 

Anton and family attended the Catholic parish of St. Joseph's in Chicago. In 1895 a very strongly worded letter was published in the Dziennik Chicagoski - a Polish Language Newspaper.  The Newberry Library has a translation of the article available in their Foreign Language Press Survey collection. There was apparently a horrible scandal surrounding the priest of St. Joseph's at the time, the Reverand M. Pyplatz, and Anton was part of a group of men who were made "an addition to the board of trustees" to take inventory of the parish's financial status and investigate the charges that were brought up against the priest. They found nothing untoward. It is well worth reading the entirety of the letter, but I'm only going to include the first and last paragraphs here:

 Dear Editor: Perhaps hell itself has poured out its ire during the past few days so that the respectable name of our pastor and all peace-loving parishioners have been defiled by the surreptitious stories that have been conveyed to the reading public through the medium of the local American press. This campaign of lies has been going on for some time....

...The more dastardly lies have been exposed and presented for the general public to judge. Let the opinion of the honest sons of Poland pass its judgement. The sowers of these lies have brought infamy to our parish, rent many brotherly hearts, and they should be despised by every Pole and adjudged by the justice of God.

Other Polish papers are requested to reprint this article.

[Signed]:
Andrew Ciudaj, Anthony Rus, Andrew Skonieczaj, Joseph
Jankowski, Joseph Rusch, John Wiza, Michael Andrzejewski,
Anthony Rossman and Stanislaus Goniakowski.

In 1900, Anton and family were living at 4812 Marshfield Avenue in Chicago's notorious Back-of-the-Yards neighborhood. Still at home were Maggie (age 18), Rose (age 15), Frank (age 13), Polly (age 11) and Sarafina (age 8). Anna was staying at home with the two youngest, but Anton, Maggie, Rose and Frank were all working in the Stockyards.  Anton as a general laborer, Maggie and Rose as Meat Trimmers, and Frank as a Butcher. If you want to know a little more about their work at the yards check out this link from the Chicago History Museum. Their daughter, Juliana had married and moved out in 1897 and was living a few blocks away.

By 1910, Anton and Anna and family had moved to 4814 Marshfield Ave in Chicago. Anton would remain at this address for the rest of his life as they owned their home instead of simply renting. All the residents of the home, from Rose down to Sarafina were working at the Stockyards or in packing houses. Rose was a Trimmer, Frank a Laborer, Polly was a "can-wrapper" and Sarah was a "sausage packer."

Anton Rossman
ca. 1915

In 1913, tragedy struck the Rossman family. Shortly prior, Anton's daughter Maggie, her husband, Anthony, and their 4 children moved back in with Anton. Maggie then died on the 29 of April, 1913 of Tuberculosis. Maggie's husband, Anthony Krause died on the 9th of September, 1913 (cause of death unknown), and Anton's grandson Henry Krause died in November that same year of Pneumonia. These three deaths left Maggie's infant son, John, and two older children (Joseph, age 8, and Rose, age 6) orphans.

Six years later, on the 24th of October, 1919, Anton's beloved wife, Ana, died at age 66.

Anton wasn't lonely though. The 1920 census showed that Anton had a full house. His daughter Polly's family (husband John Miotke, and children, Gertrude and Floryan) were living with him. Also in residence was his daughter Rose, her husband Frank Paluch, and their daughter Evalyn. Anton was also caring for Joseph and John Krause. (I am not sure where Rose Krause went at this time.) His son Frank was living a few doors down. Juliana and her family were a block away.

Anton's Obituary
Published in a Polish
Language Newspaper

At the age of 69, Anton was still working at the stock yards, though other members of his family appeared to have found employment in other sectors, with box-makers, woodworkers, and general laborers listed on the Census.

In 1929, Anton's daughter, Juliana passed away. 

In 1930, it appears that Anton transferred ownership of 4814 Marshfield to his daughter Rose and her husband as they are listed as the owners of the property and Anton, at age 78, is a "Lodger." The Miotke's and Joseph Krause had moved out, though John was still living with Anton.

At the age of 83, Anton passed away on the 28th of April, 1934. He died in his home, 4814 So. Marshfield Ave. He was buried in Resurrection Cemetery, in Justice, IL. 

As evidenced by the census records, Anton Rossman was a dedicated family man. He was a man of faith and active in his church.

Anton Rossman is my 3rd Great-grandfather on my father's side.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #11 - Edward Donnelly

or: How many tries does it take for an Irish Bartender to get his American Citizenship?

In Chicago, we celebrate St. Patrick's Day by dying
a river green. Since Chicago was where Edward chose
to move, I thought it a fitting picture.

 This is #11 in a Genealogy Blog Challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow over on her blog "No Story Too Small." The challenge is to write 52 blog posts on 52 ancestors throughout 2014.

The timing couldn't be better. My family is preparing to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and our Irish heritage this week. Why not spend some time with an Irish ancestor?

Edward Michael Donnelly was born on the 27th of April, 1882 just outside the town of Pomeroy, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. His birth certificate specifically says Sluggan, which isn't a town, but a road. (Click here for a street-view) His mother was Ann O'Neill (profiled here) and his father was Daniel Donnelly.

The Cymric

In 1903, at the age of 21, Edward immigrated from Ireland to the United States. He traveled on the ship Cymric and landed in New York on August 24, 1903. On the ship's passenger list, Edward's occupation is listed as "Student."  He is also supposedly traveling to Chicago to visit his "Cousin Michael Montague: 360 S. Clarke St., Chicago."  Who is Michael Montague? 

Fast forward 7 years, and Edward is living as a lodger at the
home of a family named Schneider at 729 E. 40th street, in Chicago. At the time of the 1910 census, Edward was listed as being a bartender. Unfortunately, he had been "out of work" for 8 weeks. What does an out of work bartender do?

Edward and Mae's Marriage License

In 1914, Edward married Mae Hazel Follett (profiled here). They were married on the 31st of January, 1914 at the Church of the Holy Angels in Chicago, just a block from where Edward was living. For those interested, the church is still at 615 E. Oakwood Blvd, Chicago, IL. (Google Streetview here - though the building looks decidedly newer.) 

Edward and Mae quickly started building their family with their sons Edward, Gordon and Francis being born before the 1920 census.  By 1920, Edward and family were living at 7843 Constance Avenue on the city's south side.  Edward was the proprietor of a "Buffet." However family stories say that Edward was still practicing the craft of Bar-tending, just with a more Prohibition friendly job description.

Edward made his first attempt at Naturalization, filing petition # 43255 on October 14, 1920 in the Circuit Court of Illinois. In with some old family papers we found a transcript of the proceedings. His occupation in October of 1920 was listed as "Shoe Dealer."  His petition was denied.

ORDER OF COURT DENYING PETITION

 Upon consideration of the petition of Edward Michael Donnelly and the motion of Mackay for the United States in Open Court January 21, 1921 it appearing that he violated the law as to selling liquors.

 -H. Sterling Pomeroy

Judge

Edward took his petition to the Illinois Superior Court of Cook County. It was denied for the same reason: He could not "prove good moral character."

In 1925, Edward and Mae had a daughter, Dorothy, and by 1930 were living at 7948 Oglesby Avenue in Chicago.  According to the census, Edward had apparently given up the trade of Buffet Proprietor / Bartender and had moved on to a much more respectable job as a Real Estate Broker - a job which apparently didn't last very long.

Edward Michael Donnelly
October 1937
Picture from his Certificate of Citizenship

In 1936, Edward's wife, Mae, filed for citizenship. According to her documentation, the family was living at 7822 Constance Ave. Though a natural born citizen, by a quirk in the law, she lost her U.S. Citizenship upon marrying Edward. Her petition was granted. 

The next year, Edward tried again for his citizenship. His petition, dated February 3, 1937, states that he's Irish and a bartender. It lists his wife and four children, indicates when he immigrated, and also details his previous applications and failures. "I was unable to prove good moral character."


On October 6, 1937, the Irish Bartender, who had previously been denied citizenship because he was plying the trade that came naturally to him, was finally granted citizenship. His citizenship certificate remained in the family's possession, obviously a very important piece of paper to him. 

In 1937, the family was living at 7924 S. Escanaba Ave, in Chicago, but by the 1940 census, they had moved to 8035 Bennett Ave, Chicago. Edward was working as a Bartender in a Tavern. By this time, are we surprised?

Edward died on the 31st of October, 1951 of a sudden Coronary Occlusion. At the time of his death, he was still working as a bartender. Edward was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Worth, IL.  .

Edward Michael Donnelly was my great-grandfather on my mother's side.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #10 - Nora Sullivan

This is #10 in a Genealogy Blog Challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow over on her blog "No Story Too Small." The challenge is to write 52 blog posts on 52 ancestors throughout 2014.

Nora Sullivan (or O'Sullivan depending on the documents) was born around 1867 in Ireland somewhere.  Her father's name was Daniel Sullivan and her mother's name was Julia Connor, according to the information provided by her daughter on Nora's death certificate.

At some point in her life, Nora traveled to the United States, eventually landing in Chicago, IL before marrying Charles Follett (profiled here).  They were married on the 13th of November, 1890 at St. Malachy's church in Chicago. Theirs was a mixed marriage. One was Catholic, the other wasn't. As of this time, I don't know who was which though I can harbor a guess. The paperwork and information that we currently have hints that Charles was from England where most likely he was Anglican / Church of England.  Nora, from Ireland, has a much stronger chance of being Catholic.

Charles and Nora lived at 2301 Prairie Ave, in Chicago for many years. Their two oldest daughters, Sarah Ellen and Mae Hazel were born there in 1891 and 1893 respectively.

UK Incoming Passenger List

UK Outgoing Passenger List

Interestingly, their third daughter, Catherine (Kitty) was born in Ireland in October of 1897. For a long time, I was unable to reconcile that. However, I think I may have found some evidence for this. Nora and two children are listed on a UK Incoming passenger list arriving in Southampton, England on the 27th of May, 1897. Later, there is a Nora Follett with three children (two children, one infant) on a UK Outward Passenger list leaving Queenstown, Ireland for New York on the 27th of March 1898.  The only hesitation is that both times, one of the children is listed as either being "John" or "Jacob."  However, the other names, and ages, match up.

I wish that I had birth information other than a Census record for Catherine. Knowing where she was born would help me locate Nora's family in Ireland. 

8 months after Nora and the children returned from Ireland, Charles Follett died, leaving Nora to raise three girls alone. As far as I have been able to tell, Nora and Charles had no family in Chicago.  I am unable to tell how Nora provided for her family until some of the later census records.

In 1910, Nora is not working. Her daughter Sarah is a stenographer in a law-office, and Mae is a hair-dresser.  They are living at 3100 E. 31st street in the South Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago. A 1913 Chicago directory has Nora and family living at 3732 Cottage Grove Ave in the Bronzeville neighborhood.  By 1920, Nora is living as a servant in the home of a man named James Esson in Wilmette, IL.

Nora died on the 18th of August, 1921 at the home of her daughter, Catherine.  Her job with the Esson's having not apparently lasted very long as Nora's occupation is listed as being a "housewife."  She was buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.

My husband and I made a trip there to find her grave. Her gravestone had sunk below the level of the ground and we had to pull away a thick mat of grass in order to find it.


Nora is a 2nd great grandmother on my mother's side.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #9 - Click to Add

This is #9 in a Genealogy Blog Challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow over on her blog "No Story Too Small." The challenge is to write 52 blog posts on 52 ancestors throughout 2014.

This post is a week late due to the fact that I was down and sick with the flu and sinus infection.  It is not dedicated to any particular person.  More towards that desire to "fill in all the blanks."

 Click to Add

You sit there

at the end of all my branches,

taunting me,

teasing me 

with my ignorance.

How many years now?

You're a good researcher,

you should know,

you should be able to click

and get rid of me.

That's the thing though,

No matter how much I click,

my triumph is short lived,

you aren't gone,

simply moved back a generation.

Taunting me yet again.

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #8 - Vilma what? Feher? Schmidt? Furez?

This is #8 in a Genealogy Blog Challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow over on her blog "No Story Too Small." The challenge is to write 52 blog posts on 52 ancestors throughout 2014.

Graf Waldersee Hamburg Passenger List

 Vilma? Wilma? Wilhelmina?

She went by a few names in her life, but we don't know her birth name, or the name she died with.

Whoever she was, she was the father of Josef Schmidt (profiled here) and was born in approximately 1874 in Pankota, Austrio-Hungary.

The earliest record that we have of her is a passenger list.  Thirty-three year old Vilma was traveling from Hamburg to New York with her two children; Josef, aged 15, and Vilma, aged 11.  Departing on the 27th of April 1907, they were third class passengers and their ethnicity was listed as "Hungarian."

The Schmidt family arrived in New York two weeks later on the 11th of May, 1907. The New York Passenger list includes much more detail. She was listed as being married and her "calling or occupation" was listed as "wife."  She was able to read and write, and her final destination was Philadelphia. She already had the ticket to the final destination and her ticket was paid for by her "brother-in-law."  She had $8.00 to her name. Her brother-in-law is listed as "Johann Feher, Philadelphia PA., N Amerikaan St 8." She was in good health, not crippled, 5 feet, 1 inch tall, fair complexion, fair hair, brown eyes, and no "Marks of Identification". Her birthplace is listed as Pankota. I have not been able to locate this Johann Feher and have no idea whether he was married to her sister, or if he was related to her husband.

The Graf Waldersee

My grandmother, who was Vilma's grand-daughter, wrote to me once that:

"Any time I would ask my grandmother about my grandfather, she would mutter something in Hungarian and then spit." 

Needless to say, we don't have any information about her husband.

Vilma and her children did make it to Philadelphia, PA.  Sometime in 1910, prior to the census (so before April) Vilma married a man named Joseph Furesz. On the marriage index, her name is listed as "Wilhelmina." I have not obtained the marriage license yet so I do not know the exact date. According to the 1910 census taken in April, he was seven years younger than Wilhelmina. Listed with the newlywed Joseph and Wilhelmina is their 4 month old daughter, Margaret H. The census indicates that this was Wilhelmina's 2nd marriage and that by this time, she spoke English as well as German.

The next time that Vilma / Wilhelmina shows up is in the 1930 census - with the name "Wilma". She had moved to Chicago and was living with her 19 year old daughter, Margaret at 5724 Drexel Avenue. By 1930, Wilma was widowed. The 1930 census shows that she had naturalized, but I have never even found an index card for her, much less any other documents. She was working as a cook in a Steel Plant's restaurant and just so happened to have one of the Steel Plant's Foremen (and wife) rooming with her. She owned a Radio.

The last time Vilma / Wilhelmina / Wilma shows up in any documents, it is the 1940 census when she was 66 years old.  She was living at 6315 Harper Ave, in Chicago. She was living alone and still working as a cook in the Steel Mills making $1025 that year.  She had a 6th grade education.

We don't know when she died or where she was buried. I have not been able to find her death records anywhere in Illinois or even back in Pennsylvania. I have searched under Vilma Furez, Vilma Schmidt, Vilma Feher, Wilhelmina Furez, Wilhelmina Schmidt, Wilhelmina Feher, Wilma Furez, Wilma Schmidt, and Wilma Feher. (The Feher last name is based off the "brother-in-law" mentioned earlier.)

Vilma, Wilma, Wilhelmina is my 2nd great-grandmother on my mother's side.






  

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #7 Charles Follett

This is #7 in a Genealogy Blog Challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow over on her blog "No Story Too Small." The challenge is to write 52 blog posts on 52 ancestors throughout 2014.

 Charles Follett is one of the ancestors of whom I have been trying to learn more about for years. He is one of my "brick walls."  Many of the typical tools that are used for genealogy just don't work very well. I don't think I have a lot of information about him, and I certainly don't know where he came from.

Photocopy of Grandma Rose's genealogy notes.

The first record I have of Charles, comes from some family group records that my grandmother filled out many years ago. In it, she indicates that Charles was Mae's father, that he was buried in Oakwoods Cemetery. She included a note that Charles Follett died on 11/1/1933 and was buried on 11/3/1933, however this note is followed by a question mark. This note stymied my research for years as it turned out to be a false lead - and a lesson in being willing to let go of what "I already know."

This false lead made me doubt Charles's devotion to his family as he wasn't present in the 1900, 1910, 1920, or 1930 censuses at all! Did I have an absentee father on my hands? In those census records, the "father's nationality" for Charles's daughters is listed as either "Ireland" or "England" depending on the year. The 1890 Census was destroyed in a fire in the National Archives in 1921, so they aren't available to search, and my Charles does not show up in the 1880 census (there are some other Charles Folletts - one born in Aurora IL and one born in Iowa, but I traced them through the census records to their own families in other places - ruling them out).

Naturalization Index Card for Charles Follett

My next step was to look for Naturalization documents. The index did have a card for him, and the address lined up with an address I had for Nora Sullivan, his wife, from the early 1900s. While the card did lend some intriguing information - he went to the Criminal Courts to be naturalized - it did not provide the date of arrival like several other cards that I've found.  However, since he was naturalized, there should be 3 documents connected to this naturalization: his Declaration of Intent to naturalize, his Petition for Naturalization, and then the official Naturalization Oath.

Seeing as how I live in the Chicago area, I took the opportunity about 4 years ago to go in person to the Circuit Court Archives in Chicago, located in Daley plaza. I handed over my copy of the index card and the lady disappeared into the back. The results? I now have his Declaration of Intent and his Final Oath. His Petition is missing. The gal said that it was fairly common as people did not have to go to the same courts to file all three papers and that sometimes they never filed a petition. (I'm not so sure of the accuracy of that statement). As of yet, I have not found his petition.

Charles Follett's Declaration of Intent

 Why is this a problem?

The Declaration of Intent, is simply that, and people did not have to live in the United States for any set amount of time in order to declare their intent to become citizens. It states "I Charles Follett do solemnly declare on oath... that it is BONA FIDE my intention to become a citizen..."  It is then signed by Charles (though in this case, the signature looks suspiciously like the clerk's handwriting), dated and signed by the clerk of the court. Charles made his declaration on the 13th of October, 1890 in the Cook County Courts.

Charles Follett's Final Naturalization Oath
note: Charles's signature at the bottom right

The actual Naturalization document doesn't provide much more information. In this case, Charles had to bring someone who knew him and who could swear that he was a man of "good moral character." The person he brought along was John Orr. Who this man was, I'm not sure. A friend? A co-worker? A neighbor? Charles was naturalized on the 29th of October, 1892 in the Criminal Court of Cook County.


What does a petition have that's different? Most petitions included parents names, dates of entry into the United States, what ship they took, any children's names, wife's names, what city / country they were born in, birth date, etc.

So while this doesn't give me any concrete information, it does tell me that he immigrated to the U.S. at least 5 years prior to when he took his final oath - or prior to 1887.

Charles and Nora's Marriage License

I then decided to search for Charles and Nora's marriage information. I not only found a copy of their marriage license on familysearch.org (now no longer available due to an agreement between familysearch.org and Cook County), but the information on the marriage license led me to some other interesting tidbits of information. Charles and Nora were married on the 13th of October, 1890 the same day that Charles filed his Declaration of Intent! I guess that saved a trip to the courthouse. Charles was also 29 years old at the time of his marriage.  That gives me an approximate birth year of 1861.


The person who performed their marriage was from St. Malachy's church in Chicago. Familysearch.org has a lot of church records scanned in and available online for Chicago Catholic Churches, so I thought I'd go there to see if there were any other records about Nora or Charles...maybe other possible relatives listed as witnesses or such. While the names of witnesses don't look familiar - I'm not aware of any Rourke's or Corbt in the family - there is an interesting note on the side of the entry. "Disp. Mixtae Relig. ob." Meaning: One person was Catholic, one was not.

Now that I had an approximate year of birth, my next move was to check passenger lists, Ellis Island, and Castle Garden for Charles's immigration.

CastleGarden has a Charles Follett arriving in 1877 as an infant. 13 year old children could not declare for Naturalization until they were 18, and my Charles was born 16 years earlier.

Ellis Island only has records AFTER 1892. (Castle Garden was where immigrants were processed prior to Ellis Island opening.)

Ancestry.com has quite a selection of passenger lists, so going through them was time consuming.  First, I knew he came from the U.K. (England or Ireland). Secondly, he had to have arrived prior to 1887, and third, his birth was around 1861. Only one C. Follett matches those three requirements.  However, his ethnicity is listed as "American." I've put that record into a "shoebox" so I can revisit it if necessary. I don't know if it's him or not.

Interestingly, I found a Chicago Voter Registration List from 1892. Charles had registered to vote on October 25, 1892. (4 days before he actually was Naturalized). Coincidentally, this was the week before a major election. I think there was a big voter registration push at that time. I would need to research the context, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was something or someone controversial on the ballot.

1892 Voter Registration List. Charles Follett highlighted

This voter registration paper has some interesting information on it. His naturalization information is listed as "Date not known, court not known." (Of course it's not known... he hadn't actually naturalized yet!) However, according the rolls, Charles, living at 2031 Prairie Ave, had lived in the precinct for 1.5 years, in the County for 10 years, and the State for 10 years. His place of Nativity is listed as "England." This means that he immigrated at the latest 1882! This still didn't help me find anything in passenger lists though.


From there, I revisited the records that I have for his children. Charles and Nora had three daughters.  Sarah, Mae, and Catherine. Sarah was born on July 5th, 1891. She was born at home (2031 Prairie Ave. Chicago)  On her birth return, Charles is listed as "American," he is 31 years old (making his birth year 1860) and his occupation is a "coachman." On this return, their last name is spelled Follet.

Mae, the middle child, (profiled here) was born on the 25th of January, 1893. She was also born at home (2031 Prairie Ave., Chicago). On her birth return, Charles is listed as "Irish," is 33 years old, and is still working as a Coachman." This time, their last name is spelled Follett.

Catherine (or Kitty) is unique. She was actually born in Ireland on the 1st of October, 1897!  Apparently, Charles's wife, Nora, and children had gone back to Ireland for a visit, leaving Charles behind. I wonder if Nora knew she was pregnant when she started her travels.

Charles Follett's Death information

The last document I found was an Undertaker's Report of Death for Charles. He died at 3007 So. Canal Street on the 1st of November 1898.  I'm confident that this is my Charles due to the close proximity to their address on Praire, his occupation is listed as Coachman, and it indicates that his burial was at Oakwood Cemetery (which matches my grandmother's original information). He was 39 when he died, making his birth year approx 1859. He was also listed as having been born in England.

When Charles died, he left behind his wife Nora and three young children, the oldest, Sarah, was only 7 years old, and the youngest was still an infant.

I followed up on the date from my grandmother's information and yes, there was a Charles Follett who died on that date. However his birth year was all wrong, his naturalization wasn't there and things just didn't mesh.

I went out to Oak Woods Cemetery - located at 1035 E 67th Street, Chicago, with my husband a few years ago. Charles Follett is buried in section 02, one of the oldest sections. There is no headstone for him or really for anyone in that section.

Regardless, a man that I "know nothing about" still has a lot of information about him. I still hope that I will find that key that will help me learn about where he came from before he got to America. Who were his parents? Where did he grow up? Why did he come to the US? 

I've started trying to find Charles in England or Ireland, which is difficult without concrete information about where he was born or when he immigrated. A census search of the 1881 Census in England and Northern Ireland brings back about 4 potential Charles Folletts. A couple I have ruled out as being far too old or too young. (+/- 10 years is a bit much). However there are two that are possibilities. One is a young man working as a groom at an estate, and another is an orphan. I'm leaning towards the groom as it wouldn't be that big of a jump from groom (working on horses) to coachman (driving coaches and working on horses). Who knows what I'll find?

Charles Follett is my great-great-grandfather on my mother's side.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #6 John Baptiste Genotte

This is #6 in a Genealogy Blog Challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow over on her blog "No Story Too Small." The challenge is to write 52 blog posts on 52 ancestors throughout 2014.

Location of Huppaye, Belgium
in comparison to Brussels

John Baptiste Genotte was born on the 16th of October, 1840, the oldest of three (known) children to Jean Joseph Genot and Desireé Martin in the small town of Huppaye, Brabant, Belgium.

John had two sisters; Marie Therese Genotte (b.1843) and Clemence Genotte (b. 1853).

In 1866, on the 27th of February, John Baptiste Genotte married Hortense Marlaire. Two children were born shortly after; Mary Aurelia (b. 1867) and Joseph Marcelin (b. 1869).

In 1870, John, Hortense, Mary and Joseph immigrated to the United States and settled in the Clifton, IL area, 15 miles south of Kankakee, IL.  There, one more son was born to John and Hortense; Joseph Leon Genotte (b. 1872). John was naturalized on the 6th of November, 1876.  I have been unable to get his petition for Naturalization, so I do not know the exact date of his immigration, nor the ship he came over on.

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church,
L'Erable, IL (Original Source here)

John was a farmer and attended St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in L'Erable, IL, currently an unincorporated town just east of Ashkum, IL.  All that exists in L'Erable now is a cemetery, the church, a restaurant, and a smattering of houses, and it is considered to be part of Clifton, IL.


In 1880, tragedy struck when his wife, Hortense, passed away on the 15th of February. April of that year, when the 1880 census was taken, John was working as a farmer. His 12 year old daughter, Mary Aurelia was at home, caring for the house.  His two sons, Joseph Marcelin (age 9) and Joseph Leon (age 7) were listed as being "at school." Along with having to provide for his children, John had the additional burden of caring for his 82 year old father-in-law, Henry Marlaire who was also living with them. His brother-in-law, Frank, aged 36, was a shoe-maker, and you'd think he'd be able to help provide, but he had been unemployed for 11 months and was also living with John and his family.  

Apparently, John was not one to linger in his grief. Less than a year later, he married Adophine Mathy (b.1849), a widow with a son of her own, Cornell Mathy (b. 1876). They had a daughter, Julia (b. 1888).

Clifton Advocate, Feb 17, 1921, Page 1

He was renting his farm in 1900 in Chebanse Township, Iroquois county. While he was already 60 years old by this time, he was still working as a farmer, though he did have a hired man to help with the work around the farm. His step-son, Cornell lived next door. 

By 1910, John and Adolphine had their 22 year old daughter living with them. Julia was noticeably absent from the census records ten years prior.  Where was 12 year old Julia? John was still renting his farm, though this time, he was 20 miles away from L'Erable, in the tiny town of Milk's Grove, IL. John is no longer listed as being a "farmer" for his occupation. By now, he is a "studman." 

John continued to farm in the Clifton / L'Erable area for many years and eventually retired. In 1920, John and Adolphine were living in Kankakee with his step-son Cornell's family. 

Clifton Advocate, February 24, 1921 Page 1

He passed away on the 16th of February 1921 in Kankakee, IL. His obituary in the Clifton Advocate newspaper, on the front page, indicated that John was as "well-known former resident of the community."

Five days later, a longer obituary was printed in the same paper, again on page 1.  This obituary indicated that John had been a resident and farmer in the area for fifty years and that the "floral tributes were numerous and beautiful." It also included more details about his family members and history.

He was well known enough that 40 years later, the same newspaper chose to re-print his obituary in their "this day in history" column.  I would love to know how or why he was so well known.

He was buried in the L'Erable cemetery. I visted there a few years ago and was unable to find his grave or a gravestone. I was also unable to find anyone who might know where his grave is. 

Interestingly, many of John's relatives from Belgium immigrated and settled in the same area as he and attended the same church, and many are also buried in the L'Erable cemetery. This includes his sister Clemence and her husband, as well as many of Hortense's family. Coincidentally, one of John's great grandsons married the great-granddaughter of Hortense's brother Francois - though I don't think either were aware of this at the time!


John Baptiste Genotte is my 3rd great grandfather on my mother's side. As far as I am aware, no picture of him exists.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #5 - Rosa Maria Gutterau

Rosa Gutterau Eggelsmann
ca. 1919

This is #5 in a Genealogy Blog Challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow over on her blog "No Story Too Small." The challenge is to write 52 blog posts on 52 ancestors throughout 2014.

Rosa Maria Gutterau (or Hatteran, Gutteran, Hutterau, or any other way of spelling) was born on the 13th of August, 1857 in Nordhaussen, Germany.  Not much is known about her life before she moved to the United States.

Even her immigration is still shrouded in a little mystery.  Census records show that she immigrated to the United States in 1882. I even found her on a passenger list, or I think I found her.  If this is my Rosa Gutterau, she arrived in Baltimore, Maryland on the 14th of July, 1882. She was carrying a 1 year old baby girl also named Rosa Gutterau.  Baby Rosa is a mystery.  There are no records within family documents talking about her, and I have not yet found any death records for her.

From Baltimore, Rosa traveled to Chicago, Il. Three days after arriving in the United States, she and Wilhelm Eggelsmann were married at the 1st Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chicago. I have yet to be able to get to the church records to see if there is any mention of Baby Rosa, or if they continued to attend there.

Four months after her arrival in the United States, and after their marriage, on the 19th of November, Ida Mae Eggelsmann was born.

Rosa Gutterau Eggelsmann
ca. 1885

Rosa and Wilhelm went on to have 4 more daughters; Elena (b. 1884), Lizette (b. 1886), Gertrude (b. 1887), and Cille (b. 1890).

All through this time, while Wilhelm was working as a laborer, Rosa also was a working mother.  She was known in the neighborhood, and listed in Chicago directories, as a midwife. How many children did she help to bring into this world?

In 1920, Rosa and Wilhelm moved to Flossmoor, IL to live near their daughter Ida.  It is unknown whether Rosa continued her midwifery.

She and Wilhelm were married for 50 years when she passed away on the 27th of April, 1937.

Rosa is my 3rd great-grandmother on my mom's side.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #4 - Anne O'Neill

This is #4 in a Genealogy Blog Challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow over on her blog "No Story Too Small." The challenge is to write 52 blog posts on 52 ancestors throughout 2014.

Picture from:
http://irishecho.com/2012/02/time-to-restore-the-quiet-man-cottage/

I have long been stymied by genealogy research of my Irish Ancestors; knowing only names from their children's death certificates here in the states or a random birth certificate, and being unable to find more. I thought, just from everything I'd learned, that my ancestors were most likely poor farmers, hence why they immigrated. I'd also always romantically hoped they lived in a stereotypical "thatched Irish Cottage" much like the one from "The Quiet Man" movie.  Aaah, Hollywood!

Which made a recent discovery even more incredible to me.

Anne O'Neill is my 2nd great-grandmother.  For over the entire 15 years I've worked on genealogy, all I knew about her was that she was married to Daniel Donnelly, they lived in Sluggan, County Tyrone, Ireland, and that she had at least 4 boys.  The names of her boys I got from my 1st great-grandfather's obituary (Edward Michael Donnelly - to be profiled later in the year).

Selection from Edward Donnelly's Birth Record

Her name came from a birth certificate that my mother's cousin had requested. This cousin was trying for the dual citizenship program that Ireland offered (I don't know if it still offers it) to descendants of Irish immigrants and needed the birth record. He gave a copy to my mom.

Recently, though, I attempted a technique that I had employed to great success on another branch of my family - and that was to research siblings.  I knew that Edward had a brother who had stayed in Ireland, also named Daniel Donnelly.  I wondered what had happened to him after his older brother Edward immigrated to America.  Lo and behold, I found census records from 1901 and 1911.

Excerpt from 1901 Census

These records were incredibly detailed! It wasn't just a list of names like found in the US census, but it was a record documenting not only the people who were in her house on the day the census was taken, but her property and the number of buildings on it were also included.

Here's what I now know about Anne.  In 1901, she 54, and a widow. She owned a farm in Sluggan, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. She called herself "Annie" and had 4 children living with her: Daniel, 26, John, 20, Rose, 18, and Peter, 16. All her children, except for John were listed as "Farmer's son / daughter." John was a "Scholar." She was a farmer and lived in a 3 room thatched cottage in the vicinity of other Donnelly's and O'Neill's. (I have not yet connected them together, but I hope I will be able to soon!) The family identified as Roman Catholic and everyone knew how to read and write.
 
By 1911, she was 64 and Daniel and Peter were still living with her, but John and Rose are absent from the record. I suspect they had married or moved on.  Daniel and Peter's occupations were upgraded from "Farmer's son" to "Farm labourer."  Most interesting to me, is the fact that there was a visitor staying with them by the name of Michael O'Neill.  Michael was 10 years older than Annie.  An older brother, perhaps?

Her farm seemed to be quite successful as by then; Annie had a servant. The thatched cottage had 4 rooms, and had been upgraded in the census from a 3rd class house to a 2nd class house - there now being 4 rooms with 3 windows facing the street.  The farm itself hadn't changed much, building wise, from 1901 to 1911, there still being a barn, two cow sheds, a stable and a shed.

Excerpt from 1911 Census

Anne made an error on the census record, to my benefit. When filling out the marriage information, she first wrote "married," and then included how many years she had been married.  She and her husband Daniel had been married for 39 years when he died.  I know that he was dead before the 1901 census, and that she was born sometime around 1843. Even if he died in early 1901, that put the date of their marriage prior to 1862, when she was around 19.  I should be able to use that information to find her marriage in the church records - once I figure out what church she attended.

She also included information about children.  She gave birth to 8 children, but only had 6 children still alive.  Now I have more people to find. Her son Edward's obituary, where I found his brother's names, only had a total of 4 people listed. This means relatives that Edward's family didn't know existed!

I don't think I have ever been as excited about finding a census record like this ever. After over half hour of looking at all of the images that were available online, I finally made another connection in my head.  Unlike the American Census records, which are lists of families all written by an Enumerator, some of these records were the forms that the families filled out themselves.  So all the writing on the Census return, was Anne's own handwriting.

Anne's signature from the 1901 Census

Seeing her handwriting, knowing more about her successes and the fact she was able to run a successful farm, has made me feel closer to her in a way. I may not have a picture of her, but I know that she was a strong woman, who not only survived the death of her husband and two children; but who was able make enough of a success of her farm that she could not only afford to add on to the house; she could also hire a servant.  Anne O'Neill Donnelly made a mark in the world, even if it was on a humble census form.

When starting this blog post, I thought that it would be incredibly short. How much can you write about a person based off of 1 or 2 census records?  I'm honestly surprised by how much I was able to find out.

There is still a lot of information that I do not know about her.  What was her birthday? When did she and Daniel get married?  What are the names of all of her children?  Who were her parents?  Her siblings?  When did she die?  I have hope though.  I now know for sure where she lived and that she was Roman Catholic.  With this information, I should be able to find the church where she attended, and from there identify the records. As of this very minute, I'm not sure if those records are available online or if I will have to order them on micro-film, but I suspect that I may have more to add to this story in the future!

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #3 - Joseph Smith

This is #3 in a Genealogy Blog Challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow over on her blog "No Story Too Small." The challenge is to write 52 blog posts on 52 ancestors throughout 2014.

When coming across a name in a family tree like Joseph Smith, most genealogists I know will roll their eyes and sigh. Trying to narrow down all the Joseph Smiths that are out there to the one you are related to can sometimes be difficult.  Just try searching the white pages for "Joseph Smith" to see how many are around now!

In a way, though, I had it a little easier. I already knew that Joseph Smith was my great-grandfather.  I had information on his birthday and death day.  I knew that he was related to me.  I even had an idea about his mother's name - Vilma Purez (or Furez or Feher) Smith. My grandmother, Joseph's second daughter, Rose, started working on genealogy when I was still a child.  She shared a story with me in a letter I have kept about her grandmother, Vilma.

"Any time I would ask my grandmother about my grandfather, she would mutter something in Hungarian and then spit."

 I don't think their relationship was a good one. 

"Buda Bowling League 1920 Champions"
Joseph Smith is on the Bottom Left.
All other men, unknown.

Joseph Smith was born as Josef Schmidt on 21 Jan 1892 in Pankota, Austria / Hungary.  In May of 1907, he, his mother Vilma (age 33), and his younger sister, also named Vilma (age 11), sailed from Bremen, Germany to New York on the Graf Waldersee. They arrived in New York on the 11th of May, 1907.  Though he was only 15, his occupation is listed on the passenger manifest as "Blacksmith."

Their destination, as declared on the manifest, was Philadelphia, PA where they would be meeting up with a "brother-in-law" named Johann Feher who lived at "N. Amerikaan St. 8" in Philadelphia.  Google maps shows that this is the location of Christ Church Neighborhood House. Who Johann Feher was, where he lived, and how he was related to the Schmidts is still a mystery.

Sometime between arriving in New York, and 1916, he moved to Chicago, but for all I can tell, his mother and sister did not. I have not been able to find them in any census records yet.

Joseph, his wife Florence,
and his mother-in-law Ida -
photo most likely taken at Ida's farm in
Kalamazoo, MI

In the 1910 Census, there are two Joseph Smiths who were born in Austria / Hungary and who immigrated to the US in 1907. One, who lived on N. Kimball Ave in Chicago's 27th ward is listed as being 16 years old and working in a Bakery.  This residence is one block away from where Joseph's then future wife Florence Genotte was living.  Because of this coincidence, I think that this is the right Joseph. I wonder how they met. 

On 26 November in 1916, Joseph and Florence Genotte were married and lived in Harvey, IL. They subsequently had three children: Florence, b. 1918; Rose, b. 1920; and Harry, b. 1924.

Joseph filed his Declaration of Intent on 26 March 1917. He then filed his petition on the 25th of January 1921. One of the witnesses for his petition was his father-in-law Leon Genotte. He was finally Naturalized on the 23rd of March 1922. At the time of his naturalization, his name was officially changed from Joseph Schmidt to Joseph Smith.

We actually found his Naturalization certificate in old family papers that my mother had in the attic, along with a receipt for $5 for the judge who married Joseph and Florence.

Florence and Joseph Smith
with their grandsons
Phillip and Dennis Donnelly
ca. 1944

Throughout the remainder of his life, Joseph worked as a laborer in various industries. In 1920, Joseph, Florence and their first daughter, Florence were living with Joseph's in-laws on the Dixie Highway in Flossmoor.  At this time, it appears that Joseph was working either as a Farmer or as a Farm Laborer. But in 1921, they had moved to Harvey, IL where he was working as a machinist. 1930 found Joseph's little family renting a house on Douglas Ave in Flossmoor, IL. During this time in his life, he was a building contractor. By 1940, he, Florence, and their two youngest were living in an apartment on East 62nd street in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. At the time, he was working as a tool and dye maker for a Refrigeration company. He continued to work as a tool and dye machinist until his death in 1955.

He had eight grandchildren; five from his daughter, Rose, and three from his son, Harry.

Joseph died on the 13th of January, 1955. He is buried in St. Lucas Cemetery in Chicago with his wife, Florence and their children Florence (d. 1960) and Harry (d.1952).

Joseph is my great-grandfather. His daughter, Rose, is my maternal grandmother.

Joseph Smith ca. 1950s

*This post was edited to indicate when his name was changed.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #2 - Wilhelm Eggelsmann

This is #2 in a Genealogy Blog Challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow over on her blog "No Story Too Small." The challenge is to write 52 blog posts on 52 ancestors throughout 2014.

Wilhelm Eggelsmann
ca. 1870-1880

Wilhelm Eggelsmann was born in Brunswick, Lower Saxony, Germany.  He was born on EITHER 23 December 1855 OR 10 Dec 1856.  (Two different "official" documents with two different birthdays!) He arrived in 1860 and quickly settled in Chicago where he married Rosa Hutterau (or Gutteran) on the 17th of July in 1882.

Wilhelm Eggelsmann
ca. 1930s

4 months later, his daughter Ida was born. Ida was quickly followed by Elena in 1884, Lizette in 1886, and Gertrude in 1887.  By 1888, Wilhelm and his family was living on Mowhawk Ave between Clybourn and North Ave in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood (as it is currently known).

In 1886, Wilhelm filed his Declaration of Intent to become a citizen.  By 1890, he took his Final Oath and became a citizen of the United States. This act gave his wife citizenship also. 

Newspaper clipping from 1932
Newspaper unknown

Twelve years later, in 1900, Wilhelm, Rosa and their daughters Elena and Lizette were living on Christiana Ave, just north of Diversey in the Logan Square neighborhood. Coincidentally, Wilhelm's daughter Ida and her husband were living next door, with some other in-laws living just down the street.

Wilhelm and Rosa remained in Chicago for another 20 years living near their daughters and their families until Ida and her husband moved to Flossmoor, IL.  Wilhelm and Rosa packed up house, moved to the "country" and lived along the Dixie Highway. 

Wilhelm and Rosa celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in style, even having a small feature in a local paper in 1932. Their celebrations were short lived though, as Rosa passed away that same year.

Wilhelm continued to live with his daughter Ida and her family in Flossmoor, IL. He was a loving grandfather, as evidenced by the photos that have been handed down through the family.

Wilhelm passed away on the 21st of January 1937.  He is buried in St. Lucas Cemetery in Chicago next to his wife.

Wilhelm is one of my 3rd great-grandfather on my mother's side.

Wilhelm Eggelsmann with three of his grand-daughters
(Left to Right) Florence Genotte, Violet Reiner,
Rose Marie Genotte  (Photo ca. 1905-1906)