Mary Smith and William Hight

I keep feeling like I should write a few posts about my great grandfather Fred R. Smith's siblings. The Smith family seemed to be a close family. They lived near each other for many years in Chicago and then later when some of the siblings began to branch out and leave Chicago, others followed.

Mary the oldest child of Mary Carbine and William H. Smith was called May by her family. When her brother Fred was asked during the probate proceedings of his father William H. Smith if her name was Mary or May, he said, "May." But throughout her father's probate record and years later in her mother's probate record, she is referred to officially as Mary. She is also referred to as Mary in all US Census records but she is named as May in her marriage record. So, goes the official name verses the nickname. Of course, I can easily see why her family called her May, since her mother's name was Mary, as well. Trying to make things less confusing.

Mary was born 12 April 1873 Chicago, Illinois. She was baptized (christened) 20 April 1873 at St. Mary's Catholic Church on Michigan Ave in Chicago. Her baptismal sponsors were Owen J McMahan and Kitty Carbine and the priest was P. M. Noonan - the same priest that married her parents, William H Smith and Mary Carbine.

Mary was married to William M. Hight by a Justice of the Peace in Chicago 21 January 1895. They were not married by a Catholic Priest but chose instead for middle ground with the Justice of the Peace to unite them as husband and wife.

Mary A Smith and William M Hight 1895 Marriage Chicago

The Hight family came to Illinois from Pennsylvania. His father was Henry A. Hight Sr. and his mother was Mary A. Paynter. All of William's siblings - Mary Virginia 1843; Henry A Jr. 1845; and Ida 1850 - were born in Pennsylvania except for William, who was born in Illinois April 1864. William was a Civil War baby. His father Henry A. Hight Sr. served in the 155th Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry as a private. His regiment even fought in the famous battle of Gettysburg. Henry was apparently discharged in the later part of 1863, thus enabling William to be born in April 1864.

The Hight family had an interest in the "arts". William's father Henry was a wagon or coach maker by profession but in the 1870 US Census he is listed as an actor along with his daughter Jessie (which must be also known as Ida) is listed as an actress. And in the 1880 Census, William's brother Henry Jr. is listed as a traveling actor.

William also had an interest in the arts but with a different slant. He was listed in the 1900 and 1910 US Census as an advertising agent. And in the 1920 US Census, William is listed as providing publicity for motion pictures and Mary is working as a lecturer in a studio. This was 1920, so film or motion pictures as it was called was in its early stages of development - certainly from what we now know movies to be.

Mary and William's home 1910

Mary and William's home 1920

Mary and William never were able to have any children together. So I am sure that Mary had some time available to pursue some of her interests and talents. I do not know what she was lecturing about in 1920 nor do I know what kind of studio she lectured at. I have a feeling that Mary had many personal skills that she developed. I wish I had a clearer picture of Mary's life in Chicago.

I have not been able to find Mary and William in the 1930 or 1940 US Census. I do know that Mary was still alive in 1934 when her sister Adelyn died. Mary is listed in Adelyn's obituary as a surviving sibling. I don't know why I can't find her?? I also know that when her brother Fred died in 1953 that Mary had passed away. Roberta was the only sibling left after Fred died.

Okay - I have now uncovered all sorts of information about Mary Smith Hight. Please refer to my post about her.

Frederick R. Smith

My great grandfather Fred R. Smith was the third child and at least the only surviving son born to Mary  A. Carbine and William H. Smith. I do not know the sex of the second child born to Mary and William, so I can not say positively that Fred was their only son. The second child died at four weeks. I gained knowledge of the deceased second child from William H. Smith's probate record.

Fred was questioned under oath about all the legal heirs of his father's estate. Fred related that the second child died at four weeks but that he did not know the name of this child - nor did he give the sex of this child. I have not been able to find a birth, death, obituary or baptismal record for this child. But something might surface in the future. Still plenty of hope.

Fred's birth record has errors in it. The midwife who delivered Fred was apparently of German decent - based on her name, as well as, the people that Mary and William were living near on Third Ave. Fred's surname was written as Schmidt instead of Smith but his father's surname was recorded as Smith. His mother's name was recorded as Maria Carbine Smith. Of course, Maria is the German version of Mary. This would not be the last time Fred felt the German influence in his life.

first part of Fred's birth record

second part of Fred's birth record

In the 1900 census, Fred was listed as a traveling salesman for a starch company. Fred would end up working a variety of jobs throughout his life, such as, traveling salesman (several times), saloon owner, caretaker for his wife's father's resort in Wisconsin, and apartment manager. These are the occupations that I know about but he certainly could of branched out into other areas of employment. Although, he never did get involved in the newspaper business, like his father.

1900 US Census Chicago Fred 4th person listed

In 1910, Fred was 32 years old and still single, operating his own saloon and still living with his mother and two of his sisters, Adele and Roberta. He was living at the 1262 Glenlake Ave house. Fred was slow to find love but soon after this census, he did find love to the north in cool Wisconsin when he married Olga Marie Adams of Wisconsin 4 January 1911 in his home city of Chicago.

1910 US Census Fred 2nd person listed

Fred Smith and Olga Adams Marriage 1911

The story goes that Fred decided to go up to Vilas County, WI, to work at one of the resorts for the summer. Probably to escape the heat and humidity of Chicago and make some money at the same time. Apparently at some point, Fred met Olga and sparks flew. Their differences must of been interesting and appealing to each other. Olga was short and petite and Fred was tall and stout. Olga being German, Reformed Lutheran. Fred was Irish Catholic. One area of common ground that they shared was they were both born by the Great Lake of Michigan. Olga being born in Milwaukee, WI and Fred in Chicago, IL.

Fred returned to Chicago at the end of the summer season. I am sure there was some discussion by both families before January, when Olga came down to Chicago to marry her tall, stout Catholic Irishman. I wonder if someone came with Olga to Chicago or if she made her way alone. They were married in the Lutheran Church by John E. Traeger, a Reformed Pastor.



I do not have any pictures of Fred - sad. I do have one picture of Olga which I will post when I do her individual post. The description I have of Fred is taken from his WWI Draft Registration Card. He is tall and stout with black eyes and brown hair.

WWI Draft Registration Card - Fred R Smith

After Fred and Olga married, Fred continued to run his saloon at 4936 Broadway in Chicago. They lived at 1049 Balmoral, which was only .9 mile from their saloon and 1.2 mile from Fred's mother Mary's house on Glenlake Ave. Fred's mother Mary was hopeful to see her only son make his way in life and loaned him money. After Mary's death, his siblings eventually forgave his debt to his mother or his mother's estate.

Fred and Olga's home Chicago 

Location of Fred's saloon Chicago

His son, my grandfather Bill Smith reported that they moved up to Canada for a few years around 1920 when prohibition came about and he could no longer operate his saloon in Chicago. This move to Canada didn't last long and they soon ended up in Vilas County, Wisconsin working for William Adams, Olga's father at his resort on Big Twin Lake. They remained at Big Twin for some time under the generosity of Olga's family. At some point, probably after the death of Olga's mother in 1931, when the estate of William Adams and Augusta Liederbach was divided up among their six children - they moved to Iowa.

Olga and Fred each took their turn living among each others German and Irish families, respectively. I don't doubt that there were differences in style between the two families but they nonetheless found common ground and made their lives together work.

In 1935 they were living in Des Moines, Iowa, along with their younger son Fred A. Smith.

Their older son William or Bill, my grandfather, had married my grandmother, a brown haired, browned eyed girl - half German and probably half English, named Yoland Whitney in 1934.

By 1940, Fred R., Olga and their younger son Fred A. were all living in Cedar Rapids, IA where my grandfather Bill was married and living with his family. Fred R. was working as a salesman of paper products and his son Fred A. was working as an insurance salesman after completing 5 years of college. Fred R and Olga had both completed the 8th grade.

By 1947, Fred and Olga had moved far from their familiar Mid-West and followed their son Fred A. to San Francisco, CA. Fred R would died in San Francisco 9 October 1953 of heart disease in Notre Dame Hospital (Catholic Hospital). Olga respected Fred's generational Irish Catholic heritage by admitting him to a Catholic hospital where his religious right and rituals would be present - an element that is important to the dying.

Fred and Olga's apartment building San Francisco

I have a picture of Notre Dame Hospital circa 1952 but it is copyrighted, so I don't feel that I can post it here in a public setting. So, you can use your imagination...The hospital was white with multiple stories. It was run by The Sisters of Mercy and was closed down in the late 1970's. The building is now used for low income senior housing.

At the time of his death in 1953, Fred was employed as an apartment manager on Geary St. in San Francisco. He and Olga resided at 837 Geary St. apartment #206 Fred was buried just outside of San Francisco in Colma at the Cypress Lawn Cemetery.

Fred's death record 1953 San Francisco

Fred's Obituary 1953 San Francisco Chronicle

Fred's youngest sister Roberta was the only sibling left alive in 1953 when Fred passed away. Roberta was a widow, her husband Clyde Ford had died in 1951. Roberta would live long past her siblings - dying in 1975.

Fred's final resting place

Chicago - Home Sweet Home

Okay - I have been getting a little bogged down with gathering information to include in my blog posts about the William H and Mary A Carbine Smith Family. I wanted to post something sooner but I continued to find things that were interesting to put in my posts. I have now decided that the blog posts must go on, so....


William H. Smith and Mary A. Carbine were married 6 July 1872, less than a year after "The Great Chicago Fire" of 1871. They were married by a Catholic priest P.M. Noonan. The priests name is hard to read because the writing at the bottom of the copy that I printed and then scanned is faint. Also, you will notice that Carbine is spelled Carbiney. A little extra letter to spice it up.

Smith and Carbine 1872 Marriage

Mary and William both lived through the Great Chicago Fire. In fact, the fire went right through where the Carbine's had settled in Chicago, north of the river. So much had been lost to the great fire. There had been a drought that summer with only an 1 1/2 of rain since the 4th of July. There was wood everywhere - 57 miles of wood paved streets and 561 miles of wooden sidewalks. Much of the business district was lost and then rebuilt.

William and Mary lived at 109 3d Av in February 1878 when their son and my great grandfather - Frederick R. Smith was born. 3rd Ave doesn't seem to exist anymore. I can't find it on Google Earth. I can see it on the 1870 Chicago map, running north and south through the 2nd and 3rd Wards.

Third Av in 1870 Chicago

In the 1870 Chicago City Directory, I found W H Smith working as a clerk for the Tribune Office and residing at 48th 4th Av.

I also found a W H Smith living at 139 3d Av in the Chicago City Directory in 1874. He was a carrier for the Post Office.

In the 1877 Chicago City Directory, William H Smith was working as a night clerk for the Tribune and living at 108 3d Av. This is the same address that was listed on his son, Frederick's birth record in February1878. But, later in 1878 in the city directory he and Mary have moved north and are living at 124 Indiana and still working as a clerk for the Tribune.

By 1882, the Smith family is living at 215 Illinois St and William is still working as a clerk for the Tribune. They stay at this residence until 1892 when they move to 263 and 265 Illinois St., where the family lived until William died in September 1903. At the time of William's death the entire family was living together. It states in William's probate record that Mary Hight, their oldest daughter was living with the family on Illinios St but this seems doubtful, as Mary Hight was living with her husband William Hight at 27 Delaware Place Chicago in the 1900 US Census. And Mary and William always lived on their own in each of the following censuses.

Smith Family Home 215 Illinois St Chicago

Smith Family Home 263/265 Illinois St Chicago 

263/265 Illinois St is now the location of a Nordstrom's. Things change especially in downtown Chicago. But it is good to see a nice department store like Nordstrom's in place of my great great grandfather's home. Nordstrom's keepin' up the old home with good style.


Sometime after William's death, Mary decided to move away from the city center to a home at 1262 Glenlake Ave. I am unsure whether Mary had the home built or if she bought it from a previous owner. By 1917, Adelyn Ford - Mary and William's daughter had bought the home and moved in with her husband Zachary Ford and their children. Mary was listed in the 1917 Chicago City Directory as living at 1207 Glenlake Ave with her other daughters, Adele and Roberta.

1262 Glenlake Ave - Mary's home after William died

1207 Glenlake Ave 1917 Residence Mary, Adele and Roberta Smith

Mary finished out her life at St. Ann's in Techny, Cook, Illinois - 10 miles north of Chicago. St. Ann's Home for the Aged was run by Sister Missionaries. Mary died 18 December 1918. She was buried at the Calvary Cemetery in Evanston, Cook, Illinois along with William, her daughter Catherine, her "name unknown" child, and all of her Carbine family.

St. Ann's Home for the Aged (1919 postcard) - Where Mary died

Calvary Cemetery - William, Mary, Catherine and baby's resting place

Mary's Obituary in the Chicago Daily News Dec 1918

Adele and Roberta both married after their mother died. Adele to John J Deegan and Roberta to Clyde Ford, the half brother of Zachary Ford - Adelyn's husband.

Mary A. Carbine - Daughter of Irish Immigrants

Mary A. Carbine is the oldest daughter and second child born to Michael Carbine and Catherine Clarke. She was the first child in her family to be born in the United States. Her brother Patrick Carbine was born in County Mayo, Ireland around 1846. Mary was born in Syracuse, New York in September  1849.  I have yet to verify this birth date with a birth or baptism record. Although all sources that state a month of birth indicate September as the month of her birth.

I have several sources that put her birth year at either 1849, 1850 or 1851. At this point, I personally think that the best source to follow is the 1850 census that states her as being 1 year old in 1850. The census was taken 30 September 1850.

1850 US Census Michael Carbine Family

The census lists two Carbine families. First, the Patrick Carbine family and then the Michael Carbine family. Patrick was either a brother or a cousin to Michael and eventually settled in Dubuque County, Iowa. I have done a little research on the Patrick Carbine family but I need to look further.

1900 US Census Smith Family Chicago

Mary is listed as born September 1851 and her husband William as born November 1851. I have seen a flexibility in dates when it comes to my Irish ancestors. I can not find the Smith family in the 1880 census and neither could my cousin Barbara Ford. I have searched them many times and many ways but they just don't seem to be in the census.

Here in the 1900 US Census, we find William Smith age 48; Mary A. Smith age 48; Adele Smith age 24; Frederick R. Smith age 22; Adelyn Smith age 18;  Roberta Smith age 5; Michael Carbine (brother in law) age 45. Michael Carbine is Mary's brother who was a widower. This is another story for another blog post.

In this census we also learn that Mary had 7 children with 5 currently living. Their oldest daughter
Mary or May is married, so is not listed with the family in 1900. Their daughter Catherine died at the age of 3 in 1890 of Scarlet Fever. The remaining child's name and sex is unknown to me at this time. According to Fred R. Smith's testimony in court for the estate of his father William Henry Smith, the second child born to Mary and William died at the age of 4 weeks. Fred does not state the sex or name of the baby. I have not found a birth record, death record or obituary for this baby.  I need some good karma, so I can find this baby.

The final document that gives birth information for Mary is her death certificate. The informant for her death certificate was George Carbine. George is Mary's nephew, her brother John's son. He stated Mary's birth date and place as 24 September 1850 New York.

Mary's death record

I will post another article about Mary Carbine Smith after I receive her probate record. I am waiting for this record to come in from an off site facility in Chicago. I will see what I might or might not find...

Probate Record: William Henry Smith

This is my second blog post about my great great grandfather William Henry Smith. I recently listened to a well known genealogy speaker who shared his daughter's blog, with us - his listeners. The speaker shared with us how his daughter has written multiple blog posts with digital sources for each of her direct ancestors (going back probably 4 or more generations). This inspired me to do the same.

Previously, I have written posts about random people and places - which is fine because lots of people are in the queue but I just want to focus myself for a bit and write at least one article for each of my direct line of ancestors. I will include my grandparents and go on several generations from there. This is a good way for me to focus. Focusing or narrowing down can be hard because I always want to include everyone in my family tree - because: 1) they are my family; 2) my direct ancestors of course did not live in isolation - their sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, etc were their family.

In February 2012, I checked out the website www.genlighten.com  It is a genealogy site that links up people who are living in a certain part of the US that are interested in offering their research services in specific areas, such as: birth, death, marriage records, or cemetery look ups, etc. I found Kim Stankiewicz of Chicago, Illinois. Her services included Chicago probate records. So, I emailed her my request for the probate record of William H. Smith.

Well, luck was on my side and she was able to find "my" William H. Smith who died 21 September 1903 Chicago, Illinois. She digitally copied 79 pages of his probate record. There were more pages that included receipts for his business but nothing of substantial importance. She did a wonderful job. I was and still am very happy to have worked with her.

Now, onto the probate record. But, first I need to give you some background on William. He came to Chicago from Brooklyn, New York and became involved in newspaper circulation for several of the Chicago newspapers. He made his living for 20 years distributing newspapers to many of the citizens of Chicago.

After circulating for 20 years, he decided to make a career change. He purchased a lease on part of a three story building that was located at 292 E. Erie St. in Chicago, Illinois (which is at the corner of Erie and State St). He then proceeded to open a saloon (as they called it back then) at the said address. He ran this saloon until he died in 1903. This is the reason for the extra pages of receipts in his probate record.

This is a current look at the corner of Erie and State Streets in Chicago. The saloon was sold to G. A. Nagel 29 February 1904 for $2,500. G. A. Nagel purchased the lease on the building where the saloon was located, the furniture, stock and fixtures, etc. A side note - Fred R. Smith, his son later purchased and operated different saloon at 4936 Broadway in Chicago.

purchase of W. H. Smith saloon

One of the interesting things about this probate record is that after assessing William's assets (excluding the value of several lots he owned in Chicago) the sum total of his worth was $35,593.04. This is not his total value because as I said he owned several lots that I never saw a value recorded for. This is a fair amount of money for someone who came from Brooklyn and seems to have made his way on his own in Chicago.

I did find a website that listed what $35,000 dollars in 1903 would be worth today in 2013. $35,000 would be worth $921,052.63 dollars. Adding the fact that William was only 56 years old when he died, it appears that he worked hard and made good use of his time in making a good life for himself and his family. I was rather surprised by his monetary worth but I didn't know William, so I guess if I had known him - I wouldn't of been surprised.

The value of W. H. Smith and his adult children (Roberta is a child, so no signature)

Three lots that W H Smith owned. 

These three lots were not given a monetary value in the probate record. They were mentioned in relation to deeds, taxes and city assessments but not given a value otherwise. The amount of $33.11 is the taxes paid on the three lots in the Given and Gilberts Subdivision.

There is much more contained in William's probate record but I will close this post with the information I have thus given. I will be adding more information from this probate record to my future posts about his wife Mary A. Carbine Smith, as well as his children.

William Henry Smith - When and with whom did he arrive in Chicago?

My dad's great grandfather and my great great grandfather, William Henry Smith, or William H. Smith or W. H. Smith or just William Smith depending on what record you find him in, was born in Brooklyn, New York. His place of birth was noted as Brooklyn in his death record and in his obituary it is noted that he came from Brooklyn. Other records including his children's birth records stated that he was born in New York City. My Smith line stops with William. I do hope to make more progress.

William H. Smith's death record

Now to figure out when William H. Smith arrived in Chicago, Illinois. I do not know if he came to Chicago with his parents or as a single person or maybe with some other people he knew from Brooklyn. At this point it is hard to know what the correct circumstances of his arrival were. I have 3 clues as to when he arrived in Chicago. The clues I am referring to are the Chicago Voter Registration Records of 1888, 1890 and 1892. I have been able to determine the correct W. H. Smith by his street address 215 and 265 Illinois St. I have this addresses from multiple sources, such as: the birth record of his daughter Adelyn (Adaleine) in 1881; the birth record of his daughter Roberta in 1894; the 1900 Chicago, Cook, Illinois census; his 1903 death record; the address is also listed in other children's birth records.

W. H. Smith 1888 Chicago Voter Registration 215 Illinois St.

In the far right columns you can see three sets of years listed. These are the "Term of Residence." The first is 3 years living in this precinct; the second is 30 years living in Cook County; the third is 30 years living in the state of Illinois. On the far left are three sets of numbers as well.
The second column indicates that he was living in the 24th Ward of Chicago and the third column tells us that he was living in the 15th precinct.

Wm. H. Smith 1890 Chicago Voter Registration 215 Illinois St.

He is still living in the 24th ward and the 15th precinct. In the far right 3 columns he reports: 30 years in this precinct (15th); 30 years living in Cook County; 30 years living in the state of Illinois.

Two years have passed between these two voter registration records but the dates of living in Cook County and the state of Illinois are the same. Obviously the dates are an approximation and not exact. The precinct date is interesting with 3 years and then 30 years. Well, I am thinking that a mistake was listed on the first voter registration record because on William's daughter Adelyn's (Adaleine's) 1881 birth certificate it states that the family residence as 215 Illinois St.

W. H. Smith 1892 Chicago Voter Registration 265 Illinois St.

This record places the Smith family at a slightly different address of 265 Illinois St. rather than the 215 Illinois St. of the previous two records. They are still are living in the 24th ward and 15th precinct. "Term of Residence" states they have been living in the precinct for 35 years; Cook County for 35 years; 35 years in the state of Illinois. Again the years of residence seem to be approximate rather than exact.

So, somewhere between 1857 and 1860 - William Henry Smith arrived in Chicago, Illinois. Of course these dates could vary by a year or so, as well. I have struggled to find him before he married Mary Carbine. The joys of an uncommon surname like Carbine is a very happy thing.

I do have several people that could potentially be my William H. Smith in the 1870 census but it is hard to tell at this point. I need more clues, more information pointing me in the correct direction. I will continue to search until I feel satisfied. Wish me lots of luck.

The Dream

About three weeks before Anna was born, I had a dream. My disclaimer: I am not a vivid dreamer. I usually don't even remember my dreams. Occasionally I do remember and this was that occasion. I woke up and remembered.

In my dream, I walked up to a house. I was greeted at the door and entered the home of a German couple. I knew right away that they were German because they spoke to me in English with a German accent. Of course, if they spoke to me in German, I would not of understood a word. I can read German vital records but this is the extent of my German skills.

I went into the German couples kitchen and we shared a conversation together. It went something like this - I said, "Oh, you are from Germany. I have ancestors from Germany. I have been searching for many years for their hometowns, but I have not been able to find them thus far. I have birth dates and I know the area that they came from."

I continued, "Where are you from?"

The woman said, "We are from Kurhessen."

I said, "Oh! Kurhessen! That is where my ancestors are from. But I have not been able to locate the hometowns, so no luck."

She said, "I know where those records are. I know where you can find them."

I said, "You do!?"

Then the dream ended. I woke up and somehow knew that this dream was special and that I should write it down, so I did. I recorded the dream in my journal, so I wouldn't forget it.

The dream was unusual but it also was unusual because I had not even been thinking of my family history at the time. I was in baby mode. I was cleaning the house, gathering newborn baby stuff, trying to sleep through the night with pain radiating down my legs at night. It was the furthest thing from my mind at the moment.

I went on to have Anna three weeks later. She was healthy and well. She brought excitement to our house and still does.

Genealogy slowly began to creep back into my thoughts after I got Anna through her first year of life. As I considered where I should turn my focus, I thought Johannes Blum, my Kurhessen ancestor. The thought that came to my mind was that I should take the time to research each of his children; he had fifteen children.

Johannes had first married Anna Catharina (possible surname of Ire, Ayre, etc) somewhere in the Hessen-Kassel area, but not in the county of Schluechtern, or at least no marriage record was found in Kreis Schluechtern. In 1846, Johannes, Catharina and their two children immigrated to America. I am sure it was a difficult experience to leave their homeland and travel with their two very young children (ages two and four) all the way to America. Catharina was eight months pregnant when they arrived in America in August of 1846. The trip across the Atlantic must of been something that Catharina would never forget. But some how they all survived their journey and settled in Pennsylvania among fellow Germans.

As the records indicate, Johannes had a total of 7 children with Catharina before she died in Pennsylvania. He then remarried a woman much younger than he. Her name was Maria Anna Henkel, who is my ancestor. They had 8 children together. their youngest child Anna is my dad's grandmother.

As I searched out each of Johannes Blum's children and their families, I found "the record" I was looking for. The super amazing record was the 1920 census for Minnie Blum Piquet - which listed her parents exact places of birth. (Johannes Blum's oldest daughter from his second marriage to Maria Anna Henkel). Minnie was born Elizabeth Blum 12 June 1862 in Erie Co., PA.

Minnie had married Joseph Piquet and they had 5 children together - with their baby daughter Maude dying at 9 months old. As time moved on, Minnie provided a place in her home for her mother Maria Anna Henkel Blum to reside in the final years of her life.

This situation provided the opportunity to remember the past together. Maria Anna died 19 Sept 1913 in Lansing, Iowa at the home of her daughter Minnie.

With this background, it is understandable why Minnie decided to provide the exact names of the hometowns of her parents on the 1920 census, instead of the country of origin (Germany). In the years of research I have done - I have only seen a hometown listed on a census record a handful of  times. It is highly unusual but one can never say never. There is and always will be - the exception. So check, always check every record for every person connected to your immigrant ancestor. Luck might be on your side.

The story goes on from here. I happened to visit with an employee at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, who is from Kurhessen/Hessen Kassel and is a 30 year veteran of German research. She gave me some information on who to contact for research in this area of Germany. The LDS Church has not filmed the records for Wickers (Maria Anna Henkel) and Ahlersbach (Johannes Blum).

So, the story comes full circle - I did contacted Clemens Schreiber for Ahlersbach and all other towns in Kreis Schluechtern and Marion Wolfurt for Wickers, parish of Hilders. I have much more research to be completed in Wickers but I will continue to wait until the records become available for a fee online through the collaboration of some of the German archives.

As for Catharina, well... I have not been able to locate where she and Johannes Blum were married. They were not married in the Kreis of Schluechtern, too bad for me. Must of been a neighboring county where they married and christened their first 2 children. Catharina's story is yet to be discovered. I might need another dream.