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.

Clemens Schreiber - The Genealogist

Map of Germany 1815 - The same year my immigrant ancestor Johannes Blum was born in Ahlersbach. Hessen Kassel is in the center in brown

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On December 10, 2012, I received an email from Sue Foster. She emailed me to let me know that at the end of November our mutual friend Clem Schreiber had had some major heart problems with resulting surgeries.

I came to know of Sue through searching the Internet for information on Kreis (county) Schluechtern. I my search, I found some pages that Sue had put up about her family in Oberkalbach. Find the pages here http://ursula.foster.cc/   She also has a a CD with the marriages of the Kreis of Schluechtern from 1718-1873 found here http://ursula.foster.cc/page73.html

Sue was born in Germany and immigrated to the USA after World War II. Her mother's family was from Oberkalbach which is included in the area of Schluechtern that I was searching.

My immigrant ancestor Johannes Blum came from Ahlersbach in the Kreis of Schluechtern. I contacted  Sue hoping that she could help me in my search for information about my ancestors via her Schluechtern marriage CD. She checked her CD for the marriage of Johannes Blum and Anna Catharina but was unable to find anything. She then referred me to Clemens Schreiber for further help in my genealogical pursuits on the Blum family because the church books for this area are only found in Germany. She gave me his address in Germany and I wrote to him. Present day Ahlersbach is now incorporated into the city of Schluechtern.

Ahlersbach 

Clem lives in the city of Schluechtern and is a native of Germany. He is in his 80's and does not use email but prefers the traditional route of postal service. Lucky for me, he does speak/read English - so the letter writing worked just great.

Clem is amazing! He is a great genealogists with wonderful attention to detail. He has all of the Evangelische (Lutheran) records for the Schluechtern area at his disposal. Most of which he has transcribed and ready for use. He enjoys genealogy and had worked for years helping many people with their own family research. He only charged me $7 per family that he found - which is very inexpensive. Most genealogists charge you much, much more.

I corresponded with Clem for maybe 9 or 10 months in gathering all of my families from Kreis Schluechtern and a few families found beyond this area. He found over 600 people from my family that I did not know about. I learned from Clem and as a result became a better researcher. I can't thank Clem enough for all of the research he did on my behalf. I wish him the best in his return to good health. He truly has been a heavenly aid to many people. There are still good people!

Next time: Part 2 - the story before Clem - Heaven Intervenes.

Bigler Historical Monument

Hannah Bigler

A few weeks ago while reading the LDS Church News, I found an article about the Bigler family from    Harrison County, (West)Virginia. This peaked my interest because I am related to the Bigler family through my grandfather Dean Secrist. My 3rd great grandmother is Hannah Bigler born 24 June 1820 Clarksburg, Harrison, (West) Virginia. Of course I put "west" in parentheses because West Virginia did not exist when Hannah was born. Hannah's father Jacob Jr. and his brother Mark both joined the LDS Church in (West) Virginia and came west to Nauvoo, Illinois.


An attorney Tom O'Neill residing in Clarksburg, West Virginia became interested in the Bigler family, through the well known LDS Relief Society President Bathsheba Bigler (Hannah's cousin), who married George A. Smith. Mr. O'Neill decided that there should be a monument recognizing the Bigler family homestead in Harrison County. He researched the old land records, used modern software to convert the metes and bounds and ultimately found a large portion of the original Bigler property still in one piece in Enterprise, West Virginia. It is a tear drop piece of land near a bridge. Mr. O'Neill then used his resources and had a historical marker placed on the main road about a mile from the original Bigler Homestead. If you want to read the article go here http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/63004/Historical-marker-honors-Bathsheba-Smith.html#

The Bigler family were early settlers of Harrison County with the father Jacob Bigler, Sr. marrying in Pennsylvania, then moving to Harrison County and raising his family there. There are many interesting stories in the Bigler family. I will dedicate future posts to those stories. They were right in the thick of many happenings after joining the LDS Church.

Jacob Bigler, Sr. grave marker Enterprise, West Virginia

I appreciate the efforts of Tom O'Neill in placing the historical marker in remembrance of the Bigler's. When I get all the way to the east coast (which I will), I will be sure to make a stop in Enterprise, West Virginia, take a photo and of course write about it.
I appreciate the efforts of Tom O'Neill in placing this historical marker. When I get all the way to the east coast, I will visit this family marker and of course, write about it.

Part 2 - Neustadt an der Haardt, A Place of Meeting

Neustadt an der Haardt

Maria Carolina Margaretha Werner was born in this city that is nestled up against the Haardt Mountains. Thus the name, Neustadt an der Haardt. This is a place of grape growing and wine making - much like the surrounding area where I grew up. It is also a place of immigrants. People coming from other villages, towns and cities. There were the farmers, growing grapes but there was also the city life including a wide range of craftsmen. My male relations from Neustadt are a linen merchant, three bakers, and a potter.

I encountered several challenges in Neustadt. First, was the intermarriage between those of differing religious backgrounds. Having to check back and forth between the Lutheran and Reformed church records to make sure I didn't miss anyone. Second, was that as I began to trace the family of Carolina Werner, I found that her father and maternal grandparents did not count Neustadt as their place of birth. Requiring more figuring and more work looking for their towns of origin.

Evangelische Kirche (Lutheran) Neustadt built 1400

This is were the "Burgerbuchs" come into play. Most towns that I have researched in Germany have a very slim record selection to search. Usually there are the church records and limited civil records that were microfilmed. Neustadt, on the other hand, has many different kinds of records that were microfilmed. Lucky me! I sort of stumbled onto the Burgerbuchs.

Burgerbuchs are citizenship books. Citizenship books kept a record of those requiring citizenship in the desired town by "foreigners" (those not born in the desired town) and by natives. In each entry is recorded personal information about the person desiring citizenship and the monetary fee that was paid. Each male was assessed a fee and each married woman was assessed a fee as well. I am still trying to get more information on town citizenship's and how they worked - the various fees, various appointed accounts the fees went to, who paid and why and what the money went to, what age/marital status - especially of natives citizenship fees. I think this will be something I will have to study as I finish my degree.

I did find the citizenship record of Carolina Werner's father Johann Georg Werner. He was from Kaiserslautern, a city found 23 miles to the west and a bit north. I also found the citizenship records for Carolina Werner's grandfather Martin Brenner. He came from the Elsass Lothringen area, an area that is now apart of France. The town he came from is Hordt. As a frame of reference, it is just outside of Strassburg. Hordt is about 61 miles southwest of Neustadt. Martin Brenner's second wife Susanna Maria Uberweg - the grandmother of Carolina Werner also had a citizenship record because she was from the neighboring town of Bochingen, 10 miles away. So, a fee had to be paid in her behalf. Of course, she did not have the same citizenship rights allotted to her husband, as she was a woman.

Georg Werner's citizenship record Neustadt

Martin Brenner's citizenship record Neustadt 3rd entry

Susanna Maria Uberweg's citizenship record Neustadt bottom right entry

page 2 of Susanna Maria Uberweg's citizenship record Neustadt top left

(I know that I should take the time to crop these records but my attention is needed elsewhere now.)

As it turns out Susanna Maria Uberweg's father Johann Jacob was born in Neustadt but married, worked and raised his family in Bochingen. But, on the story goes, as Johann Jacob's father was not born in Neustadt but somewhere else entirely. (I am currently deciphering the place name - only recorded once - no Burgerbuchs that early.) As the title of my post says: Neustadt and der Haardt - A Place of Meeting.

Part 1 - Maria Carolina Margaretha Werner

Last spring I began researching my Doll family from Edenkoben, Germany, which I posted about awhile back. They emigrated to the US in 1846 and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The father Wilhelm Doll came to Milwaukee with his married children, their spouses and children, as well as his unmarried children. He was close to 70 years old when he decided to leave behind all that he knew and head for America. What a spirit of adventure. Many people of his time period had already died by the time they were 70 and he decided to start a new life as a farmer in Wisconsin, even though he had worked his whole life as a baker. Back then there was no such thing as retirement. Just work, and more work.

It is tiny to read. But it says christened Anna Barbara, daughter of Johann Wilhelm Doll, master baker and his wife Carolina Werner. Then it goes on to state the witnesses for the christening.This is their 10th and final child.

I have set up the background - now on to the real reason for the post. Carolina Werner, the wife of Wilhelm Doll died in 1844 in Edenkoben. She has been a real mystery for as long as I have been doing genealogy (19 years). No one could ever seem to find her parents because they could not find her marriage record to Wilhelm. Well, I decided to do some careful checking of all of the records that I could find her apart of. I started slowly going through her children's christening records.

I found 3 christening records with Werner's as the witnesses. Carolina's first child born was Johann Georg b-1802 in Edenkoben. The witnesses for his christening were J. Georg Werner and his wife Catharina from Neustadt. Here is the entry below. (One of the Werner's for another christening was Carolina's sister Margaretha).

This entry is in table format. Most all of the entries are in paragraph form like the first image and give a bit more information.

It began searching the church books of Neustadt. There are Lutheran, Reformed and Catholic church books. I began with Reformed because that was the religion of Wilhelm Doll. I did not have much luck at first, so I switched to the Lutheran records. I found Carolina's birth and christening entry.

After many days of searching, I finally realized that Georg Werner and his wife Catharina Brenner each came from different religious backgrounds. Georg was from the Reformed church and Catharina was from the Lutheran church. So, they struck a deal with each other. All of their daughters were christened in the Lutheran church and all of their sons were christened in the Reformed church. This seems normal enough but this was the first time I had come across this mixing of religions. All the other German people I have researched all married within their religion. The Reformed religion were Calvinist. This southwestern part of Germany had many towns with Reformed churches, where other areas of Germany did not have any. Later the Reformed and Lutheran churches were forced to merge.

Carolina Werner was the seventh of nine children. Her father Geog Werner was a master baker in Neustadt an der Haardt which is about 61/2 miles from Edenkoben. Neustadt was one of the larger cities in the area. Many people came from different towns to work there(based on the Burgerbuchs). Wilhelm must of went there to apprentice as a baker and met Georg. Then meeting and later marrying Georg's daughter Carolina. Wilhelm eventually set up shop as a baker in his hometown of Edenkoben where our story began.

I will begin part 2 of the story next time.

Where in the World is My Dad's House?

During our adventures in Iowa, we went through Cedar Rapids looking for the house that my dad grew up in. I texted my mom and asked what the address was and they texted it back as 1601 East Ave......then 1601 E Ave........then 1601 E Ave NE. The memories were coming back. My dad remember that all the streets in Cedar Rapids end in some direction, such as, NW or SE.

I was excited. I now had an address to work with. I typed the address into my phone and attempted to find my way through the streets of Cedar Rapids. For those of you who might not know, there are many rivers, creeks and streams in Iowa. One of those rivers is the Cedar River that runs through the city of Cedar Rapids. It is a large river that serves as a natural break creating sections of the city.

We dutifully followed the directions provided by my phone. We arrived at the single story, cream colored house and I snapped several pictures. Here is one.

I later texted my mom and realized that this is actually not my dad's childhood home. Wrong house! My dad grew up in a 2 story home on a corner. The home was supposedly built in the 1800's. As you can see this is not the home. So, what happened with my "made to order" directions found on my phone? As it turns out, the house pictured above is located at 1601 E Ave NW, not the correct 1601 E Ave NE. 

The one and only time I have traveled to Cedar Rapids, I don't find the right house. Such are the hazards of the GPS. You never know where you will end up. This is not the first and I am sure not the last time I will end up in the wrong place holding my wonderful GPS in hand. Below is the correct home. It is the light colored one on the left corner. I know, not the same as my own picture. Google Earth did not have a street image of the house, only an aerial image. 

Since we are on the topic of my dad's childhood.  Here are a few pictures of  the school's that my dad attended. First is a picture of Franklin Middle School.

Next is Washington High School.

Okay dad. The middle school looks like it is still the same but I don't know about the high school. I did see on wikipedia that it was built in 1956. So maybe you attended your sophomore, junior and senior years at this particular high school?