52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Archives - Page 3 of 5

Jean Baptiste

Posted on 23 September 2014by Brian Zalewski

The thirtieth ancestor in my 52-week challenge is my maternal 3rd-great-grandfather, Jean [John] Baptiste LAURENT.

He was born in 1825 on January 18th. A birthday he shares with another famous person. Me. He was born at the small town of Biez in the Chaumont-Gistoux municipality in Walloon Brabant, Belgium. Chaumont-Gistoux is located on the KW-line, which was a defensive line built during World War II to help prevent the German invasion. His parents were Constant Joseph & Marie Josephe (Bero) Laurent.

I have noted that he emigrated from Belgium in June 1856 through Detroit, Michigan, but I have no source attached, so I don’t know how true that is. I’ll need to confirm that.

In September 1856, he married Olivine Marie ST. LOUIS in Little Chute, Outagamie, Wisconsin, daughter of Ephraim and Marie DesAnges (Manseau) St. Louis. I wrote about Marie earlier in this challenge.

Together, they had nine children, including my ancestor, Mary Philomene (Laurent) DeBroux in December 1865. They lived and farmed in the same general area in central Wisconsin throughout these years. Jean passed away on 31 July 1886 in Phlox, Langlade, Wisconsin and is buried at St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery in nearby Norwood Township.

This post is 30 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The Siege of Yorktown

Posted on 14 September 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twenty-ninth ancestor in my 52-week challenge is my wife’s paternal 5th-great-grandfather, Carey TONEY. There are a few birth dates listed, but most are usually either in October 1757 or 1763 in Buckingham County, Virginia.

According to a newspaper article about Mr. Toney:

He joined the American army in the revolution; passed through several campaigns; was present and took an active part in the siege of Yorktown; was an eye witness to the surrender of Lord Cornwallis in 1781; saw General Washington and Lafayette a great number of times during the siege; recollects and describes the personal appearance of Lord Cornwallis, his staff, etc.
He stated he had seen and conversed with General George Washington at various times – described his dress, personal appearance, etc. – that he was a large man, rather rough featured, etc., but that he was the most kind and noble-hearted man he ever knew.

In August 1782, he married Elizabeth DOREN of Bedford County, Virginia. In 1819, the family left Virginia and settled in Preble County, Ohio. He lived to be 101 years old, passing away in September 1859, which probably puts his birth year at 1757. Carey and his wife were married “for the period of 76 years – had 10 children, nine sons and one daughter – and now living 60 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.”

Another unique thing from his newspaper article is that it mentions that he has voted in every presidential election from the beginning of the republic.

He informed us he had voted for the following persons for president of the United States to-wit: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, James Madison, John Q. Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Harrison, Henrey Clay, Zachary Taylor, Franklin Pierce, and J. C. Fremont.

He is buried with his wife at the small Railsback Cemetery in Union County, Indiana, which is right across the border from Preble County, Ohio.

This post is 29 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The Last Thielke

Posted on 31 August 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twenty-eighth ancestor in my 52-week challenge is my maternal 3rd-great-grandfather, Henry Peter THIELKE. He is the last ancestor that I have information for in my Thielke line. I am hoping to find more information about him back in Germany to expand my Thielke line.

The most documented date of birth for Peter, as he usually went by, is October 1813 in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern area of Germany. His parents are unknown. He was assumed to have been married sometime before 1840 in this area to Marie D SPECHT. They had 6 documented children, their first was Sophie, born in about 1840. My ancestory, Johann, was born next in 1843. Another one of their children was Minnie, whom I wrote about previously in this challenge.

Their immigration happened sometime between 1854 and 1856 as their son Frederick was born in Germany in 1854 and their next child, Herman, was born in Wisconsin in 1856. Between 1860 and 1880, the family lived in the Grafton/Port Washington area of Ozaukee County, Wisconsin.

There is a closely named individual in the 1817 Schwerin, Mecklenburg census that matches up closely with Peter, but without any more information about his parents or siblings, I can’t verify that it is him. But, I’ve kept that record tagged so I can always go back to it.

Peter was listed as a farmer for all of his life and passed away of 13 February 1899 of bronchitis along with what was then called Bright’s disease. He is buried, I think, next to his wife (stone is very worn) at Union Cemetery in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

This post is 28 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Boston to the West Indies

Posted on 25 August 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twenty-seventh ancestor in my 52-week challenge is my wife’s maternal 8th-great-grandfather, Nathaniel SHANNON. Nathaniel is one of seven Nathaniel Shannon’s in a row in my wife’s ancestry, starting with this Nathaniel’s father, born in Ireland in circa 1655 all the way through to her 3rd-great-grandfather, born in New Hampshire in 1816. He also had a son named Nathaniel, but my wife did not descend from him.

This Nathaniel was noted to be born on 9 December 1689 in Boston, British America (or today’s Boston, Massachusetts) to Nathaniel and Elizabeth Shannon. It also states that he was baptized at the famous Old South Church in Boston on 22 December 1689, but I don’t seem to have a source for that (Shame on me.)

Sometime in late 1714, he married Abigail VAUGHAN, daughter of Major William VAUGHAN and Margaret CUTTS. Abigail’s line through her father is my wife’s connection to British Royalty. It’s a bit unconfirmed at the moment from this end, but I am slowly working on sourcing all of the connections.

His occupation is listed as Merchant Seaman, so he was probably not home all that much as he traveled the oceans. His death is recorded in Barbados in the West Indies when he was 34 years old. I’d love to confirm this or get more information on it. While it sounds adventurous and fascinating, it was probably due to disease or injury and, sadly, not fighting pirates (or being a pirate.)

This post is 27 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Ida (Schavandie) Muhm

Posted on 19 August 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twenty-sixth ancestor (and half-way point) in my 52-week challenge is my maternal 3rd-great-grandmother Ida (SCHAVANDIE) MUHM. Her last name has been recorded in so many different ways, I don’t know which one to settle on anymore. It has been recorded as Schavandie, Schwendie, Swinty, Schwinta, Schwandie, Sivinty, and for some reason Kalahan in the marriage record on one of her daughters.

Two census records state that Ida was born in Wisconsin in September 1852, but other census records and vital records state that she was born in Germany. The 1910 Census from when she was living in Oregon states that she immigrated in 1910, which also points to a non-US birth. Her parents, on her marriage record, are listed as Lawrence SCHAVANDIE and Anna RASCH. Ida is also part of my mtDNA (or direct maternal) line. Her mother, Anna, is as far as mine goes. This makes her maternal haplogroup H11a, part of the H haplogroup.

On 18 April 1870, Ida married Peter MUHM in Germantown, Washington, Wisconsin, not far from where I live now. Somewhere in the early 1900s, I lose the Peter & Ida family. On a lucky break, I ran across an article about the Muhm family in the Antigo (Wisconsin) Daily Journal mentioning that the family had moved to Portland, Oregon in about 1902. Peter died there in 1905 after falling from some scaffolding. Ida lived in Portland for sixteen more years before coming back to Wisconsin.

Three years after moving to Portland, Mr. Muhm died as the result of a fall he suffered when a scaffold collapsed. Mrs. Muhm continued to live there for sixteen years, then returned here to make her home with her daughters, Mrs. Joe Narlow, and Mrs. Fred Van Atter. Another daughter, Mrs. Peter Van Price lives in Port Washington; a son Edward in San Francisco, and an older son, George, in Portland, Oregon.

Ida passed away on 12 November 1934 in Antigo and is buried there at Elmwood Cemetery, though Peter is buried in Portland.

This post is 26 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Pennsylvania Dutch

Posted on 11 August 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twenty-fifth ancestor in my 52-week challenge is my wife’s 4th-great-grandfather, Henry LINT. This time I just seemingly picked an ancestor at random. I know very little about Mr. Lint and what I do have in the database may not be 100% correct, but that’s what these posts are for, right?

We have the birth of Henry Lint on 11 April 1810 in York, York County, Pennsylvania. According to Wikipedia, this area of Pennsylvania was a big area for the Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants from many areas of Germany, including the Palatinate of the German Rhine. From the little research I did do on Henry Lint, I do remember seeing some Pennsylvania Dutch information.

In 1833, Henry married Eleanor “Ellen” Murphey in Holmes County, Ohio. On a related note, Holmes County is home to the largest Amish community in the country and a lot of the Amish descend from Pennsylvania Dutch, which ties Holmes County back to York County.

In Ohio in 1842, Henry and Ellen gave birth to my wife’s ancestor, Mary Jane LINT. At some point, the family must have settled in southwestern Wisconsin, as Henry is buried there.

Henry died on 7 January 1893 and, just found his entry now, is buried at Bowen Cemetery in Richland Center, Richland County, Wisconsin.

This post is 25 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

Photo: Sunset over Amish Farm by Alvin Trusty on Flickr

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The French-Canadian Connection

Posted on 4 August 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twenty-fourth ancestor in my 52 week challenge is my maternal 4th-great-grandmother, Marie DesAnges (MANSEAU) ST. LOUIS.

Marie was born sometime in 1806 in Yamaska, Quebec, Canada to Antoine MANSEAU and Catharine CLOUTIER. Her mother Catherine is my connection to the so-called French-Canadian “super ancestor” Zacharie Cloutier. Through him, I share a connection to a bunch of celebrities and other famous people like Celine Dion, Robert Goulet, and BeyoncÃ©.

Sometime around 1831, Marie married Ephraim ST. LOUIS in Quebec. In 1834, my ancestor, Olivine Marie ST. LOUIS was born in Quebec. The family left Canada and settled in central Wisconsin around 1837 or 1838.

To the right is the only photo I have seen of Marie. She looks like a hard, tough woman, which is to be expected while living in rural Wisconsin the 19th century.

I have written down that Marie passed away on 16 October 1895 in Florence County, Wisconsin and is buried there, but I have no documented source for this entry. This is something I probably added early in my research when I wasn’t the smartest genealogist. My guess is that it’s probably close to the real date, but can’t confirm.

This post is 24 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Wearer of Hats

Posted on 28 July 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twenty-third ancestor in my 52-week challenge is my wife’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Gustave Ferdinand Joseph GYRION.

Gustave was born 24 January 1858 in the village of Warisoulx in the Walloon region of the Namur Province of Belgium. His parents were Casimir GYRION and Desiree CALONNE. Sometime around 1877 or 1879, he left Belgium and settled in Wisconsin. His first marriage was to a woman named Millie DeWitte in about 1880. Millie died not long after the marriage and Gustave married Josephine FRANCOIS in about 1889 in Outagamie County, Wisconsin.

According to the note attached to the photo at the right, that is Gustave and his wife, Josephine, year unknown. It is also not known if Gustave always wore his hats on the side of his head, or if it was just a windy day.

Throughout his life, Gustave worked in the paper industry as did a lot of other men in this area of central Wisconsin. In 1900 and 1905, he is listed as a general laborer at a paper mill. In 1910, he is listed as an Engineer, but no note of where he did this. In 1920, he is listed as an Oiler. According to Wikipedia, an oiler is a worker whose main job is to oil machinery. So, this was more than likely still related to the paper mill.

On 25 August 1934, Gustave passed away in Plover, Wisconsin, leaving his wife Josephine. He is buried nearby at the Plover Cemetery.

This post is 23 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Henry Stearns to Georg Heinrich Stiern

Posted on 20 July 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twenty-second ancestor in my 52-week challenge is my paternal 3rd-great-grandfather, Georg Heinrich STIERN (also known as Henry STEARNS.)

I had him in my database a Henry Stearns for a long time. He was my great-grandmother’s grandfather and my information ended with him. After my paternal grandmother passed away, we found some old documents in her boxes of old family stuff. One such document was an old German booklet. It turns out that this was Henry’s passport from when his family left Germany and came to the US in 1888.

You can see the title page from the document at the right. It turns out his full name is Georg Heinrich Steirn. On another page in the booklet, it lists his current family members, including his wife Katherina SCHUMACHER.

With this information, I was able to track his family down using some of FamilySearch’s German baptism and marriage records. So, now I have names a few generations back from both Henry and his wife back into the Baden-WÃ¼rttemberg area of Germany.

Henry passed away on 28 July 1900 somewhere is Wisconsin, most likely Waupaca County where he is noted to be buried at Oakwood Cemetery.

This post is 22 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Anna Lindner

Posted on 13 July 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twenty-first ancestor in my 52 week challenge is my great-great-grandmother, Anna (LINDNER) ZALEWSKI. I didn’t get a post up last week since I was out for the holidays and didn’t get a chance to write it. Anna is the husband of who I like to call my “primary” ancestor, Frank ZALEWSKI. Frank, and his family, are the ancestors that I spend a lot of my research time on. I want to figure out where Frank came from. It’s probably mostly due to the fact that this is my surname line.

Anna (left) and two unknown individuals.

Anna was born 15 August 1865 in what was Schwenten in Graudenz, Westpruessen, Germany at the time. The town is now called ÅšwiÄ™te in GrudziÄ…dz County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. Her parents are Johann and Eva (SoÅ„efeld) Lindner. I found their names at the same time that I finally tracked down the marriage of Anna and Frank. Anna and her family were from Schwenten, but unfortunately Frank was not.

Anna married Frank Zalewski (or Salewski in the record) on 2 Nov 1884 in Schwenten. Their first three children, Martha, Angeline, and Elisabeth were born in Schwenten before the family made the long, hard trip to America in 1889. They made their way from Balitmore to Milwaukee and are recorded there in 1892. My ancestor, and their first son, Joseph was born in Milwaukee in 1893.

Anna’s parents had more children and a lot of them also settled in Milwaukee according to Milwaukee church records. This is a helpful line of research since they may have traveled together.

On 11 Apr 1939, Anna passed away in Milwaukee at the age of 73. She is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery with her husband Frank and her youngest son, Frank, Jr.

This post is 21 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The End of the mtDNA Line

Posted on 30 June 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twentieth ancestor on my 52 week challenge is my wife’s 4th-great-grandmother, Susan (SKINNER) WARNER.

Susan is also the furthest back we have documented on my wife’s mtDNA line (mother’s mother’s mother, etc.) Her mtDNA/maternal haplogroup is HV0, which is very heavy in Europe, especially in the British Isles and Scandinavia.

What we do have on Susan Skinner is that she about born sometime around 1813 in Connecticut. We don’t know her parent’s names, but we do know that she married Seth WARNER on 13 September 1832 in Chautauqua, New York. Sometime between 1836 and 1838, the family moved to Waupaca County in central Wisconsin. Here my wife’s ancestor, Helen Marion WARNER, was born.

Susan passed away on 9 August 1865 in Waupaca County and is buried at Lind Center Cemetery in that county.

This post is 20 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.