52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Archives - Zalewski Family Genealogy

2017 Project Zalewski

Grandpa Z

Posted on 28 July 2017by Brian Zalewski

Ok, back to it. The tenth ancestor in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2017 project is my paternal grandfather, Richard ZALEWSKI. I noticed after updating a handful of biographies and sources over at WikiTree recently that I haven’t really written much about my close ancestors, besides my maternal great-grandfather and my maternal grandfather’s war biography. He is related to me through my father â†’ his father (Richard ZALEWSKI).

My grandfather was part of the reason I started on this genealogical journey over the last 18 years (wow, 18 years.) When he passed away in April 1999, it coincided with the launch of FamilySearch’s first website. One thing led to another, and here we are.

Richard was born on 9 Dec 1921 (one day after my son’s birthday) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Joseph & Emily (TROKA) ZALEWSKI. He was the 2nd child of three after his older sister Irene and before his younger brother Robert. He was also a middle child, like me and my father, and his father. The family was living at 826 Bremen St in Milwaukee at the time. His middle name was actually Melvin at birth (not sure where that came from), but it was changed to Joseph a bit later on.

US Navy

In October 1940, Richard joined the US Navy. He was stationed in Pensacola, Florida in Spring 1941 as an Aviation Support Equipment Technician when his mother suddenly passed away on 1 May 1941 of a stroke. The story goes that he could not afford the trip home for her funeral and just happened to find a $20 bill on the ground that he was able to use for his ride home. I have a few letters that his mother wrote to him in April 1941, so these would be the last words he had from her, which is probably why he kept them.

During most of World War II, Richard was stationed with the US Navy in Hilo, Hawaii where he was a Aviation Machinist’s Mate, 3rd Class. They were responsible for “maintaining aircraft engines and their related systems, including the induction, cooling, fuel, oil, compression, combustion, turbine, gas turbine compressor, exhaust and propeller systems“ and many other things.

Milwaukee

When Richard returned from the war, a young woman named Mary Jane CORRIGAN was living with her aunt and uncle, Edy & Ethel (CORRIGAN) STRELKA in Milwaukee. Edy Strelka was Richard’s first cousin, so Richard and Mary Jane met and after some time were married on 11 October 1947 at St. Gall’s Church in Milwaukee.

The family lived in Milwaukee where their first two children were born, including my father. In about 1955, the family moved north to the “suburbs” in Cedarburg, Ozaukee, Wisconsin where they lived for the rest of their lives and had one more child.

Richard worked with the US Postal Service in Milwaukee for many years, retiring in 1978. On 18 April 1999, Richard passed away from a quick bout with Pancreatic Cancer. His death was my first loss of a grandparent and it hit me a bit hard at the time, which I’ve written about a few times. Every year since his death and the beginning of my journey into genealogy, his Zalewski line was, and is still, my most difficult line to research. I’ve only recently pushed back one more generation. He is buried at St. Francis Borgia Cemetery in Cedarburg.

In terms of DNA, I definitely share DNA with him. Probably 25% based on how DNA recombines. My father and my paternal cousin has also tested, so I can see a lot of the DNA I know I got from them.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Technology Tips & Tricks

Updating The Single Family Tree

Posted on 26 July 2017by Brian Zalewski

I spent some time these last few days updating a lot of my ancestor’s profiles on WikiTree. WikiTree is constantly an amazing source for genealogy information. They consistently add really helpful new features and trying to make one big family tree is a big project. Features like the DNA connections, the genealogical relationships, and especially the community and the hundreds of helpful groups. It’s like one big family working on creating one big family.

One of the really cool parts of the WikiTree profiles is the biography area. By default, it just adds a little sentence to a profile when you add it, nothing too helpful. I did a bit with the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” projects over the years (I know, I need to get back to it this year.) I thought to myself, why not copy some of those posts over to my WikiTree profiles as biographies. I could interlink everything and source a lot of it and it would definitely help people who are not aware of my site. So, that’s what I’ve been doing. For example, the profile of my 3rd-great-grandfather, Johann Last. I’ve also done a lot of work, though not only recently, on my other great-great-grandfather Frank Zalewski’s profile over the years.

I’m still working my way through my 2014 52 Ancestors posts and as I post more for 2017’s project, I will try to add those. If you’re not using WikiTree, you really should look into it.

2017 Project

Major William Vaughan

Posted on 22 March 2017by Brian Zalewski

The ninth ancestor in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2017 project is Major William VAUGHAN. He is my wife’s maternal 9th-great-grandfather. I was interested in this line since supposedly up within William’s ancestry is a connection to the royal lines of England. I’ve spent some time recently trying to confirm my wife’s connection to Mr. Vaughan. I’m pretty confident that he is her ancestor, it’s confirming everything beyond him to the royal lines that is getting difficult.

She is related to William through her mother â†’ her mother â†’ her mother (Marie R SHANNON) â†’ her father (George Washington SHANNON) â†’ his father (Nathanial SHANNON [1]) â†’ his father (Nathaniel SHANNON [2]) â†’ his father (Nathaniel SHANNON [3]) â†’ his father (Nathanial SHANNON [4]) â†’ his father (Nathaniel SHANNON [5]) â†’ his mother (Abigail VAUGHAN) â†’ her father (Major William VAUGHAN). You’re not going crazy, there are a lot of Nathaniels in a row. There are actually two more, Abigail’s husband was Nathaniel and his father is also a Nathaniel, making eight in a row.

Major Vaughan seemed like a pretty prominent man in the New England area in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Information says he was born in around 1640. Some info says he was born in Wales and some says he was born in Sussex in England, son of George and Mary (Boxall) Vaughan. His grandfather was Sir Roger Vaughan. He was in London to be educated in the mercantile profession by a man named Sir Josiah Child. He came to the new world from London in about 1664 settling in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

William was named one of the Royal Councillors of New Hampshire in 1681 and a Major, commanding the militia of the province. Soon after, he was imprisoned for nine months by what looks to be the (some say oppressive) new Governor of New Hampshire. It seems he had different views than the previous leader of the province. Under the new Lieutenant-Governor, he again commanded the Militia in 1690 and was reappointed to the Council in 1692. It looks like he also held the positions of Treasurer of the Province (1696-1698) and Register of Deeds (1697-1702). He was President of the Council from 1706-1715.

He married my wife’s ancestor, Margaret CUTT(S), in December 1668. Her grandfather was Hon. Richard Cutt of Bath in Essex County, England. He was a member of Cromwell’s Parliament.

Major Vaughan passed away at Portsmouth on 12 November 1719, at the age of 78. His large stone is located at Old Point Cemetery in Portsmouth.

In terms of DNA, I have yet to find Shannon matches in my wife’s DNA match lists. Though, I know there are some there as she has a lot of maternal matches.

2017 Project Belgian Dutch

Jacobus Van Parijs (1810-1848)

Posted on 25 February 2017by Brian Zalewski

The eighth ancestor in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project for 2017 is my maternal 4th-great-grandfather, Jacobus Bernardus VAN PARIJS. I am related to him through my mother â†’ her mother (Marjorie DeBROUX) â†’ her mother (Mildred VAN PRICE) â†’ her father (Peter VAN PRICE/VAN PARIJS) â†’ his father (Charles VAN PARIJS) â†’ his father (Jacobus VAN PARIJS).

The Van Parijs line was one that was difficult to find until I found it, if that makes sense. I started with my great-grandmother’s maiden name of Van Price and that’s all I had for years. I could never find more information. Then one day I ran across a forum posting somewhere that stated that Price and Parijs are interchangeable since they have the same sound. Once I starting searching for Van Parijs, everything fell into place. Van Parijs roughly translates to “of Paris” which makes me assume the line originates somewhere in France, which makes sense since the the line is found in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Jacobus Bernardus Van Parijs was born circa 1810 in Watervliet, East Flanders, Belgium which is adjacent to the Dutch border. His parents were Phillipus and Anna (JUNIS) VAN PARIJS. On 21 May 1835, he married Janneke DEES in the IJzendijke, Zeeland, Netherlands which is on the southern side of the province. Their son, my 3rd-great-grandfather, Charles, was born in July 1846, the last of their 5 children.

Jacobus died not too longer after Charles’ birth on 1 January 1848 at the age of 38. I have no specifics on his death besides the record of it, so I don’t know what took him that young. In 1848, there were many diseases or accidents that could have happened. His son Charles is my main Dutch connection and my immigrant ancestor who took his family to America in around 1874.

In terms of DNA, I have not found any direct connections that descend from this line specifically, so it is unknown.

Photo: IJzendijke, central square. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 by Michielverbeek.

2017 Project

George Henry Cleveland (1871-1924)

Posted on 19 February 2017by Brian Zalewski

The seventh ancestor in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is my wife’s maternal great-great-grandfather, George Henry CLEVELAND. The relationship line is my wife â†’ her mother â†’ her father (Lloyd GYRION) â†’ his mother (Luella May CLEVELAND) â†’ her father (George Henry CLEVELAND).

George was born on 12 July 1871 in Berlin, Waupaca, Wisconsin to Edward CLEVELAND and Nancy WHIPPLE. In 1880, the family was located in West DePere in Brown County. It seems George’s father may left the family or his parents separated sometime between 1871 and 1880 as his mother is now married to a Daniel MOON. In George’s obituary in 1924, it mentions his father, Edmund Cleveland, residing in California.

On the 4th of July in 1891, George married Harriet Adeline LANT (also known as Nettie) in Waupaca, Wisconsin. Between 1892 and 1914, they had a total of 7 children. My wife’s great-grandmother, Luella, was the second born in 1892. The family lived in Waupaca throughout George’s life until he passed away there on 3 December 1924.

He is buried with his wife at Lakeside Cemetery in Waupaca.

2017 Project

Eva SoÅ„efeld: Ancestor 6 of 52

Posted on 14 February 2017by Brian Zalewski

The sixth ancestor is my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks for 2017 is my paternal 3rd-great-grandmother, Eva SOÅƒEFELD. I am related to her via my father â†’ his father (Richard ZALEWSKI) â†’ his father (Joseph ZALEWSKI) â†’ his mother (Anna LINDNER) â†’ her mother (Eva SOÅƒEFELD).

Early in my research, I met another Zalewski researcher/cousin who was also researching the Frank & Anna (Lindner) Zalewski family. He had done some leg work and had guessed that Anna’s parents were John Lindner and Eva Zemfeld. He also mentioned that her surname may possibly be Jewish. Two things I found during my research on these lines, her surname was close to what he had and she’s probably not Jewish (at least my DNA thinks that.) Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get in contact with him in many years. He was having some issues with his sight and I thought some other health issues, so I’m assuming the worst (but I can’t confirm that, either.)

I found Eva’s name when I found the baptism record for their daughter, my great-great-grandmother, Anna Lindner in the church records of Schwenten, West Prussia in 1865.

Moving my way back from there, I also ran across Johann and Eva’s marriage record on 2 Mar 1862, also in Schwenten. From there I was able to get their ages and I worked my way back to around that time and found her baptism record in December 1842. This record, as with Anna’s, listed Eva’s parents as August SoÅ„efeld and Catharina Zielinska.

There wasn’t much in the Eva news up until very recently when doing research of Anna’s siblings I ran across a passenger list for her brother, John and posted about it. Listed along with John and his family was an Eva Lindner close to the same age as Eva would have been in 1908. So, now I know she probably arrived in New York in 1908, but that’s where the trail ends. She’s not listed in any 1910 Census Record that I can find and I’ve seen no death record. I’m not sure if she ever made it to Milwaukee with her family.

As for DNA results related to Eva, I’m not sure. I have a lot of paternal matches, but nothing yet solidly linked to the Lindner line. There is probably one in there somewhere, but I need to track it down. The Lindner line is pretty deep which may only show up in distant matches.

2017 Project

Nepomucena

Posted on 6 February 2017by Brian Zalewski

The fifth ancestor in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is my 3rd-great-grandmother, Nepomucena (Ne-po-moo-see-nah) Susanna (SYLDATK) SZULTA. I am related to her via my father â†’ his father (Richard ZALEWSKI) â†’ his mother (Emily TROKA) â†’ her mother (Clara SZULTA) â†’ her mother (Nepomucena SYLDATK).

Nepomuk

Based on records, she was normally known as “Annie.” According to a few name definition websites, her name is derived from the name Nepomuk. It was usually given in honor of the medieval saint John of Nepomuk (c. 1345-1393). There is some confusion as to what exactly the name means outside of the saint. All in all, there is some uncertainty and ambiguity surrounding the etymology of Nepomuk. The only thing that we can truly say for certain, is that the name is of Czech (and therefore Slavic) origin.

Some sources claim that Nepomuk literally means “from Pomuk” or “born in Pomuk” in Czech, but this is probably incorrect, as “from” is z in Czech and “born” is narozenÃ½ in Czech. Instead, Nepomuk probably literally means “not Pomuk” in Czech, derived from ne meaning “not” or “no” and Pomuk meaning “Pomuk”.
Source

The SYLDATK surname roughly translates to “woman soldier” in Russian.

Poland

Ignatz & Nepomucena Szulta, unknown date

According to the church records of the area, she was born on 7 August 1853 in what is now Gowidlino, Sierakowice, Kartuzy County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Kashubia, Poland. She was baptized a week later on 14 August 1853. Not much is known about her early life in the area, but on 3 February 1875, she married Ignatz Peter SZULTA (Shool-tuh) in nearby SulÄ™czyno Parish.

Their first three children, including my great-great-grandmother, Clara, were born in the SulÄ™czyno area. It seems Ignatz emigrated first, spending some time in the Milwaukee area before the rest of the family, Nepomucena and her three children, arrived in November 1881. It looks like they lived on Sobieski Avenue in the highly-Polish Riverwest area of Milwaukee for the first few years.

Milwaukee

There are few details about Nepomucena’s life besides that standard records like the census. They had at least six more children born in Milwaukee for a total of nine. It notes that in 1910, at the age of 57, she was doing housework for another family. The photo above (on the post) is of Nepomucena and some of her descendants. She is on the bottom row, 2nd from the left. Clara, her daughter and my 2nd-great-grandmother is to the left of her and my great-grandmother and her her granddaughter, Emily TROKA, is above Clara. The only other one I know off of the top of my head is her son John, in the middle back.

Three days before Christmas in 1925, Nepomucena passes away. She is buried next to her husband at Holy Cross Cemetery in Milwaukee.

2017 Project DeBroux

The Union Man

Posted on 28 January 2017by Brian Zalewski

The fourth ancestor in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project this year is my maternal great-grandfather, Leon Joseph DeBROUX. I’m related to Leon via my mother â†’ her mother (Marjorie DeBROUX) â†’ her father (Leon DeBROUX).

Leon was born on 2 November 1901 in the small town of Phlox, Langlade County, Wisconsin, which is very much the near center of the state. His parents were Joseph & Mary Philomene (LAURENT) DeBROUX. He had 5 brothers all with the middle name of Joseph and 2 sisters all with the middle name of Margaret.

Leon’s father passed away in 1918 in Phlox. Sometime between then and 1920, the family moved to DePere near Green Bay in Brown County to live with Leon’s aunt and uncle. About a year later, Leon was back in Phlox, this time marrying a local girl, Mildred Vida VAN PRICE. At the time, he was listed as being a “cheese maker” which is a standard Wisconsin job that every boy must do*. It may have been a rushed wedding, who knows, but the couple did have a child in September 1921. Sadly, the child did not make it. Two years later in 1923, their first son, Norbert, was born. He was better know later as “Dee Bee.” In 1927, my grandmother, Marjorie, was born after the family had moved south to Port Washington in Ozaukee County, where they would stay.

*May or may not be true.

Union Organizer

In 1940, Leon was listed as a laborer at the local chair factory, the Wisconsin Chair Company. By the 1950s, Leon was making a living as an AFL-CIO union organizer. I see his name mentioned many times in local stories about helping workers around the area. In an article from the Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press in June 1953, it mentions Leon:

PORT WASHINGTON — Employees of the Harnischfeger Corporation, houses division, N. Spring St., Port Washington, voted recently to become affiliated with the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (AFL). Their vote was 92 for joining, 16 against, according to Leon DeBroux of Port Washington, union organizer who started on this project in May.

Hospital

One big thing that Leon was part of in Ozaukee County was getting the local hospital built. At the time, in 1938, there was no local hospital. Discussions were started after an accident in the area that cost the lives of five people because they had to go to outside hospitals. A few people, including Leon, met at his house in 1938 to figure out how to get a hospital built. In 1939, all of the planning came together and the building of a hospital was approved with the cornerstone being laid on November 3rd, 1940. St. Alphonsus Hosptial opened on May 1, 1941.

I find it quite interesting that this hospital weaves its way through my maternal family. My great-grandfather helped get it built. My mother worked there for many, many years. I was born there, as was my younger brother. Once the hospital moved to a larger facility to the south in 1990s (I think) they converted it into assisted living apartments and a nursing home. My grandmother, Leon’s daughter, would end up living there. She also sadly passed away there in 2015. I had no idea how connected our family was until I found the article about how Leon helped get it built.

Faint Memories

I was alive while Leon was alive, until I was almost three years old. I have this strange memory of him. Sometimes you think you have memories of someone you barely knew, but it was just from a family photo or something similar. I remember being on the ground by my great-grandfather’s feet at his house in Port Washington and he was using them to play around with me. I can see it pretty clearly in my mind, the chair, his feet, the living room, everything. There is no photo of a moment like this. It may be one of those early childhood memories that sneaks its way into adulthood, instead of getting forgotten like most of them. I do cherish it.

On 15 September 1982, Leon had a heart attack and passed away in Port Washington at the same hospital he helped build. He is buried in Port Washington at St. Mary’s Cemetery overlooking the rural fields of Ozaukee County.

In terms of DNA, I still definitely have DNA passed down from Leon. His mother, a LAURENT, connects me to my French-Canadian ancestry and is my connection to large family lines like the Cloutier line. I have a lot of matches on Ancestry, 23andMe, and GedMatch that I can tell are from that line.

2017 Project

Crossing The Streams

Posted on 21 January 2017by Brian Zalewski

The third “ancestor” in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project this year is (in one direction) my first cousin, twice removed, Edward John “Edy” STRELKA. I say, “in one direction” because that is how I’m related to him through my paternal grandfather. If I go through my maternal grandmother, he is my great-great-grandaunt’s husband. I ran a relationship report on Edy for myself and found the 1C2R relationship through my grandfather. I ran it again on one of his children, and I am also a first cousin, twice removed to them, though through my grandmother’s line. Genealogy can be weird sometimes when people cross the streams.

My first connection to Edy is through my father â†’ his father (Richard ZALEWSKI) â†’ his father (Joseph ZALEWSKI) â†’ his sister (Martha ZALEWSKI) â†’ her son (Edy STRELKA). The second connection is through my father â†’ his mother (Mary Jane CORRIGAN) â†’ her father (Maurice CORRIGAN) â†’ his sister (Ethel CORRIGAN) â†’ her husband (Edy STRELKA).

Milwaukee

Edy was born 19 September 1909 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to John & Martha (ZALEWSKI) STRELKA. Martha is my paternal great-grandfather’s older sister. Martha passed away in 1930 at the age of 45 when Edy was 21. In July 1933, Edy married Ethel CORRIGAN, my maternal great-grandfather’s sister. It is actually due to this marriage that my grandmother meets my grandfather, so in turn, partly why I exist today. Ethel was living in Milwaukee in 1930 with her mother and a few other siblings. Her mother had re-married after my great-great-grandfather died in 1915. I’m told my grandmother was down in Milwaukee working when she met my grandfather.

I do actually have video of Edy, along with many of the other Corrigan family. I put it on YouTube a few years back. There is no sound, but I did put some quiet music over it. Edy was found and bookmarked in a few places, thanks to my first cousin twice removed, Jackie. You can view the video here. To view Edy’s clips, just browse to the description and click on the timestamps. It will take you there automatically.

The Grocery Business

Edy ran a grocery store in Milwaukee in 1940s/1950s called “Edy’s Food Market.” I found it listed in the 1950 Milwaukee City Directory. It was the earliest year I could find it. The directories they had from the 1940s were missing a lot of pages. It was located at 2900 N 7th St. Today that location is still a food store called 7th Street Foods, though the area may be a bit different. It’s also shown a bit in the video I mentioned above and linked in the video description. Before that, in 1937, it looks like Edy worked for the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company as a Yard Clerk according to railroad employment records. According to his obituary, he also ran a place called “Edy’s Recreation” on E. Clarke St.

Edy and Ethel had two daughters. I don’t have a lot of information on the family after the 1940s, but at some point I think they moved north to Random Lake in Sheboygan County. Edy passed away on 2 May 1990 in Milwaukee at the age of 80. They are now buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Random Lake. They were originally interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Milwaukee. I know this because of the information I had and when I went to take photos a few years ago, I could not find them. The person working there told me they were moved to Random Lake. I’m not sure why.

DNA

In terms of DNA, I probably share some with Edy. Though, I do not have any known connections that descend from him. Since we both came from the Zalewski family, it’s very possible. We don’t share Y-DNA, since his connection to Frank & Anna Zalewski is through his mother. His mtDNA would be up through Anna’s line and then through her mother, Eva Sonefeld. I do have at least one known connection with the Zalewski line, though it matches one generation back before my great-great-grandparents.

Doing this post does give me a few things to do. I’m going to try to contact Edy & Ethel’s daughters, or grandchildren, to see if they may have any photos of Edy’s mother Martha and beyond.

2017 Project

You Can Call Me Charles

Posted on 14 January 2017by Brian Zalewski

The second ancestor in my 52 Ancestors project this year is my maternal great-great-grandfather, Carl Friedrich Herman LAST, also known as Charles. I’m related to Charles via my mother â†’ her father (LeRoy THIELKE) â†’ his mother (Madora LAST) â†’ her father (Carl LAST).

Germany

From the information we have, Charles was born in the small town of Döringshagen, Naugard, Pommern, Germany on 26 September 1851. This area is now known as Wo?owiec, Zachodniopomorskie, Poland. He was the second child, and first son, of Johann & Charlotte (STRASSMAN) LAST. Even though I’ve found the baptism and marriage records for both of his parents, I have yet to find his baptismal record in the Germany/Prussia/Pomerania church records available online.

When Charles was 5 years old, his family left Germany and traveled to the United States from Hamburg to New York, arriving on 14 September 1857. From there they made there way to southeastern Wisconsin, settling in the town of Grafton in Ozaukee County.

Wisconsin

Charles and his family lived in the Grafton area from 1860 through the 1880 census records. On February 25, 1883, Charles marries another German girl, Augusta LUEDTKE in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I have yet to figure out why they were married 25 miles south in Milwaukee. It is possible that Charles was temporarily living there. I think Augusta lived there at the time, but I have no proof of that as she immigrated in 1881, just after the census record.

I think Charles and his family ended up taking over his parent’s farm as it seems they were in the same area in the 1900, 1910 and 1920 census records.

On June 5, 1926, Charles passed away at the age of 74, of what they labeled as “Apoplexy.” Today, they would probably call that a stroke. It is said to have been caused partly by senile dementia. He is buried nearby at Union Cemetery in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

DNA

I do actually have some info on the DNA I possibly received from Carl and his wife. I have a DNA match that is related to me through Carl and his wife Augusta, through one of their daughters (my great-grandmother’s sister.) I actually received a few photos of Carl and his family from them.

Chromosome 15: 50 – 60
Chromosome 23: 118 – 134 & 146 – 155

There are a few other matches that overlap this area, but I have yet to confirm anything with them.

2017 Project

Polly Thompson: 52 Ancestors, 2017

Posted on 7 January 2017by Brian Zalewski

I decided to start up the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project again. I last did it in 2014, even though I didn’t make it all the way through. Even if I don’t again this year, it still allows me to dig deeper into specific ancestors. As always, you can view all of the 52 ancestors here, updated as I post.

The first ancestor of 2017 is my paternal 3rd-great-grandmother, Pauline Henrietta (THOMPSON) FIRMENICH, also known as Polly. I’m related to her via my father â†’ his mother (Mary Jane CORRIGAN) â†’ her father (Maurice CORRIGAN) â†’ his mother (Emma Jane FIRMENICH) â†’ her mother (Polly THOMPSON).

Granville

Polly Thompson was born on 5 May 1849 in the town of Granville, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. She first shows up in the 1850 Census for Granville at one year old with her parents William and Frances THOMPSON and siblings. Granville is still mentioned today, though more of as an area of Milwaukee than an incorporated location. It is on the north side of Milwaukee County near today’s Brown Deer and Menomonee Falls.

By the time the 1860 Census rolls around, Polly and her family have moved north on to the town of Morrison, Brown County, Wisconsin presumably with the Firmenich family who also lived in Granville. On February 11th, 1867, Polly marries one of the Firmenich men by the name of Mathias FIRMENICH. According to the Wisconsin Marriage Certificate, the marriage took place in the nearby town of Holland and the witnesses were Chas F Cross and Polly’s sister, Emilia Thompson.

Their first child, Albert, is born in nearby Wrightstown in March 1868. Two more followed before the birth of my great-great-grandmother, Emma Jane, in June 1873. When all was said and done, they had a total of 13 children. According to the obituary of Emma Jane in 1941, the Firmenich family moved from Wrightstown in 1882, finally settling way in the north of Wisconsin into the forests of Ashland County.

Outbreak

Tragedy struck in early September 1885 when an outbreak of Diphtheria plagued the family. Within only a few days, the disease took the lives of at least three of their children, though probably four, including Hattie (6), Edmond (4), Sarah (2), and possibly Anna (8). Adding to the chaos was the fact that Polly was pregnant during this time as their daughter Rose was born there on September 20th, 1885.

Polly shows up again in the 1900 Census and 1905 Wisconsin State Census in Ashland. In 1910, Polly passes away. I have no exact date, just the date from her headstone at Saint Agnes Cemetery in Ashland where she is buried near the children she lost in 1885. She is not listed in the 1910 Census, Mathias being listed a “Widowed.” The Census for their home was taken on April 30th, 1910, so we can assume she passed away sometime before then.

I have only one photo of Polly, which is the from the family photo on this post. I estimate the photo was taken sometime around 1895 based on the ages of the children and (not joking) Mathias’ beard length.

Something new I’d like to add to these posts this year is determining if and how DNA may play a role in my relationship. I have yet to find any proven DNA that I share directly with Polly. I do have matches from that side of the tree that share Polly as an ancestor with me, but we don’t yet know where those chromosomes or positions may be.