52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 2

The Wikitree 52 Ancestors challenge continues with week 2 theme of Generations.

I have figured out how to add my photos to Wikitree profiles and to the challenge pages. Because not everyone in the photo below had a Wikitree profile, I had to add a couple: Heinrich Muhs and Johanna Cornilsen Muhs. They were the parents of Frieda Muhs Korn, who was the mother of Florence Korn Burrell, who was the mother of Janice Burrell Snyder, who was my mom.

(Side note: I don't use mother's maiden name as a security hint.)

Four generations: Florence Korn Burrell, Frieda Muhs Korn, Johanna (Hannah) Cornilsen Muhs, Janice Burrell Snyder. Probably about 1950 or so.
Florence Korn Burrell, Frieda Muhs Korn, Johanna (Hannah) Cornilsen Muhs, Janice Burrell Snyder. Probably about 1950 or so.
Same generations as above, in different order. Florence Korn Burrell, Johanna (Hannah) Cornilsen Muhs, Frieda Muhs Korn, Janice Burrell Snyder (in front). Taken around 1940, according to the note written on the back of the photo by Janice.
Same generations as above, in different order. Florence Korn Burrell, Johanna (Hannah) Cornilsen Muhs, Frieda Muhs Korn, Janice Burrell Snyder (in front). Taken around 1940, according to the note written on the back of the photo by Janice.
Writing on the back of the photo by Janice Burrell Snyder.
Writing on the back of the photo by Janice Burrell Snyder.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 1

I'm coming to this slightly late, but hope it still counts. The Wikitree 52 Ancestors challenge begins here.

This is a photo of my mom, Janice Burrell Snyder, as a baby. I'm guessing she was about a year old in this photo, which would make it 1939.

Janice Burrell Snyder about 1 year old. She's standing on grass next to a house.

The Case of the Missing Sister

Augusta Hermanie Meyn Burrell was my great-grandmother. I am descended from her son, Arthur Burrell, who married Florence Korn. My mother was their oldest daughter. (No, I don't use mother's maiden name for passwords or login information.) But there is a family story that she had a sister who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. And each branch of the family has a different version. I was told that the sister would spend the night with the childless neighbors and one night they packed up and left, taking her with them. Another branch of the family heard that she was abducted by gypsies. But the latest version is that she was adopted out. This came after one cousin was contacted by an adoptee who is a cousin match on MyHeritage.com. Here's what I can document: Herman (Augusta's father) and Katie, Johan and Carl all died of diphtheria in late 1879. In the 1880 census, Anna (her mother) has two daughters, Bertha and Augusta. What happened to Bertha? I have no clue. Also, Anna Meyn's obit says she was survived by four children. One was Augusta. She was living with her son (Heinrich Sohl, from her first marriage) at the time of her death. There is also a marriage record for an Anna Sohl, who I think is her daughter from her first marriage. At any rate, that's 3. So I don't know if Bertha is counted, or if there was another child. There were other people named Meyn in that part of Iowa at that time, but they could be related in other ways (maybe Herman had siblings or cousins there), or not related at all. Herman died Dec. 7, 1879. Katie died Dec. 9, 1879. The notice in the paper lists those two, then says he left behind a widow and four children. Johann died Dec. 17, 1879 (so he was still alive when that newspaper was printed). Bertha and Augusta were alive in 1880, so Johann, Bertha and Augusta would be 3 of the four surviving children. I don't know if the paper would count Anna's children from her first marriage in Herman's death notice (especially since it appears there were at least 2 of them). My to-do list:
  • Try to determine how many children Anna had with Peter Sohl and with Herman Meyn.
  • Try to find Herman and Anna's family on a ship's passenger list, and see who traveled with them. Carl was born on the ship when they crossed (1871). But hopefully, Anna's children by her marriage to Peter Sohl would have traveled with her and would be listed.
  • Try to determine which of Anna's children survived her in 1910 (sure about Heinrich Sohl and Augusta Meyn Burrell, not sure about Anna Sohl Kruger, and there was one more child, which may or may not be Bertha Meyn).
  • Try to determine what happened to Bertha Meyn.
I'm sure there's more, but I'll have to figure it out as I go.

Franklin Francis Lutz

A hint on FamilySearch.org about an obituary for Cleva Florene Lutz Burrell led me in roundabout ways to this gem about her father. I downloaded the PDF, but here is the transcription.

History of Fort Dodge and Webster County Iowa
Volume II
Chicago
The Pioneer Publishing Company
1913

http://iagenweb.org/webster/history-ft-dodge/historyoffortdod02prat.pdf
PDF pages 179-180

Francis Franklin Lutz
Francis F. Lutz follows the trade of tiling in Duncombe, Iowa, and also conducts a pool hall in that city. His career has come to final success after a long period of vicissitudes and the prosperity which he has attained in a credit to his native sagacity and industry. He was born in New York city, December 25, 1858, and was left an orphan when only four years of age, being too young to remember even the names of his parents. He was put in the Soldiers' Home in his native city and after a short time was adopted by George Gilmore, of Brownstown, Illinois, who for five years reared and educated his charge. At the end of that time Mr. Lutz was taken from his guardian by the Illinois courts on account of the latter's cruelty. He then entered the home of Frank Steinhowe, a farmer and brewer of Vandalia, Illinois, and here he remained for fourteen years. He was seized with yellow fever and was ordered to another climate, going eventually to the Black hills of South Dakota. Here he learned ditching and when he had fully recovered his health went to Clinton, Illinois, where he resided for eight years, following railroading the greater portion of the time. Subsequently in 1895, he came to Duncombe, where he worked at his trade of tiling, in which he has been successful in all for twenty-five years. In the last year he had laid eight hundred rods of tile upon the farms around Duncombe and expects to continue this business after the harvest of 1912. In 1905 he opened a pool hall in the city in which he resides and this he has since conducted successfully.
On January 10, 1886, Mr. Lutz was united in marriage to Miss Anna G. Brown, a daughter of Miles and Mary Etta Brown, natives of Harristown, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Lutz became the parents of fifteen children, olf whom the following are deceased, Roy, Minnie Belle, Walter E., Lily and Lincoln. Those who survive are, Arthur, Mary, Earl, Printhia, Bea, Libby, Anna Rose, Miles, Robert and Franklin.
In his political views Mr. Lutz is republican and has served as marshal of Duncombe for five years. He belongs to the Methodist church, and is a member of the local lodge of Modern Woodmen of America. He has a comfortable home in the city where he has resided for seventeen years, gaining the respect and esteem of his friends by reason of a life which has been made successful through his own efforts and by reason of straightforward principles which have been retained through unusual hardships.

New Family Search collection

Family Search has released Iowa, Death Records, 1921-1940, index and images of death records from the State Historical Society of Iowa. As the description says, the images are included. It's a short time frame, however. But I looked up the two people I knew off-hand who died in that time period: Lydia Carr Caylor Burrell Baxter (my great-great-grandmother) and her third husband, John Baxter. I found them both and downloaded the images of their death certificates and also attached them to my family tree. I try to always download images because I have found that sometimes the images may not be available later. And attaching them to the family tree is a good way to source information. It's always good to be able to point to a document to say "this is where I got the information." And the death certificates are interesting. Lydia died of lobar pneumonia with myocarditis as a secondary factor. John died of uremic coma with nephritic pneumonia as a secondary factor.John Baxter death certificate baxter_lydia_deathcert                               I'll be checking for more relatives in this database. Save

Don’t fence me in

I called Dad for Father's Day and ended up talking to Michele for 30 minutes of the 35-minute call because Dad can't hear well. I mentioned that Mary Greeley Medical Center is trying to get people who were born there, together on Aug. 7 for an attempt at a world record. I was born there because Dad was attending Iowa State University.
A view of Pammel Court, married housing area in Ames.

A view of Pammel Court, married housing area in Ames.

We lived in Pammel Court, which was the married housing area. At the time, it was mostly quonset huts, I believe. My earliest memory is like a fuzzy black and white photo. We're in front of a quonset hut at night. There's a light over the door. There are several people standing is sort of a circle (probably talking). Someone is holding me. Michele reminded me of a story from that time period. I don't remember this, but do remember being told about it. I must have been 2 or 3 years old. It would have been spring or summer. Dad built a fence to keep me in the yard. A neighbor remarked that it wouldn't hold me. Dad said, sure it will. And then I climbed right over it. More about Pammel Court, with links to more pages with photos. Save Save

Anna Sohl

While doing research last week, I came across marriage information for Anna M. Sohl and John J. Kruger. I think that Anna Sohl is the daughter of Peter Sohl and Anna Rush - the same Anna Rush who married Herman Meyn. Anna_Sohl_marriage_1888-copy The marriage information gives us this: Groom: John J. Kruger Parents: Christian Kruger, None (?) Lorhalt (It looks like None and is indexed that way. Maybe pronounced Nona?). Born in Germany (Holland was written in and crossed out), white, farmer, lived in Sioux County, Iowa. Affadavit given by Henry Sohl. Age: 24 or 34 (I'm not sure - it's kind of scribbly). Bride: Anna M. Sohl Parents: Peter Sohl, Anna Rush Born in Germany, white, lived in Sioux County, Iowa. Age 24 Married at bridegroom's residents on 9 Sep. 1888. Witnesses were Henry Sohl and John Rohder. Married by M. (or N.) Baetke, minister License date: 12 Jul 1888 License returned: 20 Sept. 1888 When Herman Meyn died in 1879, the newspaper notice stated he was survived by four children. When Anna Meyn died in 1910, the newspaper notice stated she was survived by four children. But right after Herman died (7 Dec 1879), their son Johann died (17 Dec 1879), so he would be one of Herman's surviving children but not one of Anna's. Anna was married to Peter Sohl before her marriage to Herman Meyn (according to her obituary). At the time she died, she had been living with her son Heinrich Sohl. It's quite possible that she had another child with Peter Sohl, and that could be this Anna Sohl. In the previous blog post, Diphtheria, I talk about the deaths of Herman and three kids: Katharina, Carl and Johann. The names of all of Herman's and Anna's children, and Peter's and Anna's children are still not all known.

Diptheria

In November and December of 1879, there was a diphtheria epidemic in Sioux County, Iowa. Below is the U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedule for Sioux County. USFedCensusMortalitySchedules-1880-MEYN-Herman Four members of the Herman Meyn family died in a brief period: Herman, Katie, Carl (Charles in the document) and Johan (John in the document). c084_meyn_h_id473338 The gravestone lists the dates of death of Herman and their three children who died of diptheria, and Anna, who died in 1910. 107007882 A newspaper notice (above) mentions that Herman Meyn died of diphtheria, and he was the second member of his family to die from that disease. The newspaper notice below only listed Herman and Katie. Third column from left, near the bottom. Under Sheridan (something that looks like Glab) Box. The notice states that he left a widow and four children. Johann died after Herman, so that leaves three. 108056029 The Evangelical Lutheran Church records all four funerals at the top of this page: Evangelical-Lutheran-funerals In the 1880 census, Anna Meyn is listed as a housekeeper with daughters Agusta, age 2, and Bertha, age 4. 1880-census-Meyne-Annie In 1900, Anna lived with her daughter Augusta and her family: 1900 census Anna Meyn Anna never remarried. Her obituary on Dec. 3, 1910, states she was living with a son, Heinrich Sohl (this would be from her first marriage), and she was survived by four children. Heinrich Sohl, Augusta Meyn Burrell and possibly Bertha Meyn would be three. I don't know who the fourth child was. The 1880 census is the only mention I have of Bertha Meyn, so I'm not sure if she was one of the surviving children. (Obit is at the top of the fifth column from the left, under Death Toll for a Week.) Since the newspaper notice about Herman's death states he left a widow and four children, but Johann died after Herman, that left three. Anna's obit states she had four surviving children. I'm guessing that her son Heinrich (from her first marriage) was not one of the four mentioned by Herman's notice. 158862441 This is not all that I have on this family, but I'm not clear on everything yet. Who is the other child of Herman and Anna Meyn? What happened to Bertha Meyn? Did Anna have any other children by her first marriage? Thinking this over again, I remembered that Katie and Johann died after Herman. They may have been two of the four listed as surviving him (even though not by much). That would indicate that two of Anna's surviving children were from her first marriage. There is also a family story of Augusta's sister (unknown if it was Bertha or another sister) being abducted by neighbors or gypsies.

Henry J. Korn

I found a new tidbit on Ancestry today. The obituary for Henry J. Korn (my great-grandfather), who died in October 1962. KORN_Henry_J-obit-Oct-1962It lists survivors: his wife, Frieda, children Florence Burrell and Arthur Korn, his mother Anna Dengg, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild. That would be me. Three of his grandchildren have died: Janice (my mom), Diane and Nancy, all children of Florence. As far as I know, Arthur's children are still living, so I won't mention them by name. It's always exciting to find these items, even if there is no new information. But it really makes a connection when you see yourself mentioned, however obliquely. Source information: Ancestry.com. Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. The Chicago Tribune. Chicago, IL, USA: The Chicago Tribune, 1850-1985.

A few live ones

In the course of doing research on David Caylor and his family, I discovered that there are a few lively characters in our family tree. David is the first son of Lydia Carr. She was married to a Caylor, but I don't know if her husband's name was David or John. I've seen both in various public trees. She married William Burrell and had William, Walter, Bertha, Blanche and Lulu. She divorced William for abandonment (I got this info from Jack Webb) and married John Baxter in 1895. She died in 1924 and John Baxter died in 1925. They are buried in Oakland Cemetery, Fort Dodge. David was married twice. I think his first wife's name was Sarah Catherine Hurley. There's a Sarah C. on the Caylor stone at Oakland Cemetery, and when their daughter Lavona was married, Catherine Hurley was listed as the maiden name of the mother of the bride. David had died by then, so Lavona would have given the information. David's wife is mentioned (Mrs. Dave Caylor) in a couple of articles that make her sound rather excitable. Family Troubles in Court (she got into an argument with Mrs. John Grell in front of John Gill's grocery store) and Women Terrorize an Officer. These incidents may be why David moved the family from Fort Dodge to Cherokee in May 1899, but the family was back in Fort Dodge in May 1900, when his wife died. Their son Ruel Seth died in April 1901. (Side note: I just found a Ruel S. Hurley in the 1908 Fort Dodge city directory. Sarah Catherine's father? That would mean that Ruel Caylor was named after his maternal grandfather. More research is needed. A Ruel Hurley left Fort Dodge in July 1901 to move to Poulsbo, Washington. Did they come back? Yes, apparently. Also, in 1890, a daughter was born and a dog was killed.) Later in 1901, David was charged with being drunk and disorderly and fined $7.10. David fought the city over property rights in 1906. His house was in an area that a railroad wanted, and he was one of a group of homeowners in the court case. The article mentions the Newton and Northwestern Railroad. I think it was later the Chicago Great Western, as that railroad had tracks along Central Avenue to 12th Street, where the depot stood. But David was still living there later that year when he remarried. David remarried on Oct. 10, 1906, to Minnie Gentry. She had been married before and had a son, Roy. I don't know whether she was divorced or widowed - more research is needed. They had a son Lloyd and a daughter Fay. Fay lived only 3 days. In 1907, his house was struck by lightning. The article mentions that the house was struck by lightning two years previous, and that another house was struck by lightning - that of Walter Burrell. Walter is David's half-brother, from Lydia Carr's second marriage. What a coincidence. David died in 1912 and some time before 1920, Minnie married John Paap. He had children from a previous marriage. The 1920 lists his three sons and Roy and Lloyd. Lloyd Caylor had perfect attendance in the first semester of the 1921-22 school year. Roy married Lillian Long in 1923 in Humboldt, Iowa. Her parents were Diamond Long and Rose Hodson. There are mentions in the Humboldt paper around 1925-26 of Roy and Diamond being charged with bootlegging and Roy charged with driving with no lights (probably related to the bootlegging). The links are all from Fort Dodge newspapers that were digitized. I didn't link the Humboldt newspaper articles because you have to sign in to read them, but I did download them. I did several searches, including Ruel Caylor. I left off here: http://fortdodge.advantage-preservation.com/search/site/ruel%2520caylor?page=25. More research is needed. This is just a bit of what I've found over several hours. I have attached some of the information to my tree on Family Search. I need to add it to Ancestry and probably WikiTree as well. So many ancestors, so little time!