Year: 2009

CategoriesWeekly History

Weekly History: August 30th – Sept 5th

Posted on 30 August 2009by Brian Zalewski

August 30th

1866 – Born – Margaret K STEARNS – Margaret is my great-great-grandmother on my father’s side. She was born in Württemberg, Germany. In 1891, she married Frank F BRAATZ, Sr. She passed away in 1943 in Ashland, Ashland Co., Wisconsin.

September 1st

1832 – Died – Phillipus Jacobus Bernardus van PARIJS – Phillipus is my 5th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born on 10 Sep 1784 at Watervliet, East Flanders, Belgium. He married Anne Theresia JUNIS in 1809 and passed away at Schoondijke, Netherlands.

1857 – Born – Wilomene C RATHKE – Wilomene, also known as Minnie, is my great-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born in Pommerania, Prussia. She married Johann THIELKE in 1891 in Milwaukee Co., Wisconsin. She passed away on 26 Jun 1929 in Wisconsin and is buried at St. Peter’s Cemetery in Grafton, Ozaukee Co., Wisconsin.

September 3rd

1639 – Born – Marguerite LANGLOIS – Marguerite is my 10th-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born at Quebec, Canada. She married Paul VACHON in 1653 and had 12 children including my ancestor, Louise VACHON. She passed away on 25 Sep 1697 at Beauport, Montmorency, Canada.

September 4th

1858 – Born – Frank J ZALEWSKI, Sr – Frank is my great-great-grandfather on my father’s side. He was born 4 Sep 1858 in Prussia. He married Anna LINDNER in 1883 and immigrated to America in 1889. He worked as a City Laborer most of his life, mainly in the Parks department. He passed away in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 8 Aug 1941 and is buried there at Holy Cross Cemetery.

1964 – Died – Arthur Frederick THIELKE – Arthur is my great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born 10 Apr 1892 in Grafton, Ozaukee Co., Wisconsin. (As far as I know) the only child of Johann and Minnie (RATHKE) THIELKE. He married Madora LAST in 1919 and passed away at West Bend, Washington Co., Wisconsin. He is buried at St. Paul’s Cemetery in Grafton, Ozaukee Co., Wisconsin.

CategoriesWeekly History

Weekly History: August 23rd-29th

Posted on 23 August 2009by Brian Zalewski

Another slow week and another selection of French-Canadians, except one.

August 23rd

1785 – Born – Catherine CLOUTIER – Catherine is my 5th-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born at Baie-du-Febvre, Yamaska, Quebec, Canada. She married Antoine Robidas MANSEAU in 1805 and had 10 children, including my ancestor Marie DesAnges MANSEAU. She passed away in about 1850 in Little Chute, Outagamie Co., Wisconsin.

August 27th

1779 – Died – Pierre François QUINET – Pierre is my 7th-great-grandfather on my father’s side. He was born 17 Dec 1725 in Contréglise, Haute-Saône, France. He married Thérèse DARD in 1751. He had 7 children including my ancestor, Antoine QUINET. He passed away at Contréglise, Haute-Saône, France.

August 29th

1723 – Died – Jacques DURET – Jacques is my 8th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born about 1658 in Bournezeau, Vendee, France. He married Catherine JAMIN in 1687. He passed away at Quebec, Canada.


CategoriesTell Me Thursday

Tell Me Thursday: Maurice and sisters

Posted on 20 August 2009by Brian Zalewski

Wordless Wednesday
This is a photo of my great-grandfather, Maurice Corrigan, with three of his sisters. From left to right (as it is noted): Lenore, Clarice, Ethel and Sadie. It also looks like my grandfather, Richard Zalewski, in the back on the bench. I’m not sure what year this is, but it seems to be sometime in the 1950s.

CategoriesWeekly History

Weekly History: August 16th-22nd

Posted on 16 August 2009by Brian Zalewski

This is a slow week in my family history. Mostly just French-Canadian history and only on three of the days.

August 17th

1715 – Died – Julien Lesieur dit DUHAIME – Julien is my 8th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born about 1679. He married Simone BLANCHET in 1701. He passed away at Louisville, Canada.

August 19th

1672 – Born – Catherine JAMIN – Catherine is my 8th-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born in Quebec, Canada. In 1687 she married Jacuqes DURET. She passed away on 12 Apr 1755 at Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

1688 – Died – Adrian SENECAL – Adrian is my 10th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born in Rouen, France. He married Jeanne LECOMTE and passed away at Boucherville, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

August 20th

1741 – Died – Jacques Robidas dit MANSEAU – Jacques is my 8th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born abotu 1656 in St. Nicolas, Le Mans, France. He married Louise DEGUITRE in 1692 and had 10 children, including my ancestor Gabriel. He passed away at Baie-du-Febvre, Yamaska, Quebec, Canada. Apparently he was a soldier in the French war against the Iroquois, and one of the early landowners in the Montreal area.

CategoriesSurname Saturday

Surname Saturday: THOMPSON

Posted on 14 August 2009by Brian Zalewski

THOMPSON is probably the most common surname in my ancestry. When I say “most common” I don’t mean that it shows up the most. I mean that’s the most “common” surname. Trying to search for THOMPSON is much more difficult than searching for ZALEWSKI due to the amount of names I get in return. I always assumed that searching for more uncommon names was more difficult, but I was wrong. So what if you only get a few results, at least you can look through them fast. Just try searching for “William THOMPSON” without knowing an exact birthdate or coutry or origin and tell me how fun that is.

The top THOMPSON in my tree is William Henry THOMPSON. The census records show a fuzzy picture. The 1870 census shows him as being born about 1810 in England. The 1860 census and his headstone show him as being born in about 1813 in Ireland. The 1880 census shows him as being born about 1816 in Ireland. The 1850 census and the 1900 census (as birthplace of the father of his daughter) shows him as being born in 1816 in Scotland. So, I at least know that he is from the United Kingdom, but beyond that I’m not sure. I am leaning more towards Ireland due to the fact that it’s on his headstone, but we know those aren’t always 100% accurate. Also, it usually lists his parents as being born in Ireland in his census entries.

I know that William married his wife, Claude-Françoise “Francesca” Quinet, in New York state in about 1839 according to multiple sources. Some sources note it as Syracuse, Onondaga Co., New York, but I’ve not found any useful information in that area. I do know that sometime between 1839 and 1841 William and his wife moved to Granville, Milwaukee Co., Wisconsin since they are listed in the 1842 Wisconsin State census and their first child, Mary, was born in about 1841. This would also match up with the Quinet family as they traveled to Wisconsin about the same time.

The family lived and grew in Granville until they moved up north to the small town of Morrison in Brown County, Wisconsin. Their last child Charles was born in Morrison. I assume Francesca and William lived the rest of their lives in this area as they are listed as passing away in nearby Wrightstown and are both buried at St. Paul’s Cemetery in Wrightstown. I posted about my trip up there last year and finding their headstones.

I’m not sure where I got this, since I probably copied it early in my genealogy research, but I have William’s mother listed as Isabella.

Does anybody have any tips on searching for a common name like William Henry THOMPSON or maybe some more research items for that area of New York besides the GenWeb sites? I’d really like to trace William back to Europe.