Sunday, July 26, 2015

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Most Census Records for an Ancestor

“Saturday Night Genealogy Fun”  is a feature of Randy Seaver’s Genea-Musings blog.  I’m participating in this week’s challenge, which is:

"1) Do you know which of your ancestors appears the most times in the Federal Census records?  How many years?  Are there duplicate entries?

2)  Describe that ancestor’s entries in the records in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, or on Facebook or Goggle+." 

Without a doubt, my ancestor listed the most times in the Federal Census was Eliza (Knapp) Menke, who lived to be 102 years old.  I’ve found her in every Federal census from 1850 to 1940.

1850 – District #133, Vernon Township, Scioto County, Ohio.  The household is listed as: (Head) Henry Knapp, age 44, Laborer; (Mother) Caroline, age 37; (son) Fredrick, age 14; (son) Lewis, age 9; (daughter) Eliza, age 7; (son) Henry, age 8; (daughter) Mary.  On the next page but included in this household was Wendel Stop, age 30, Laborer.   All of these people were born in Germany except the youngest – Mary.

1860 – Elizabeth Township, Lawrence County, Ohio.   The household (Dwelling #1546, Family #1505) is listed as:  (Head) Henry, age 52, Miner, Personal Estate $800, born in Hanover, can’t read or write; (Mother) Caroline, age 47, born Hanover, can’t read or write; (son) Lewis, age 19, occupation is difficult to read,  born Hanover; (daughter) Louisa, age 17, Servant, born Hanover; (son) Henry, age 14, born Hanover; (daughter) Mary, age 11, born Hanover; (daughter) Hannah, age 9, born Ohio; (son) August, age 7, born Ohio; (son) George, age 3, born Ohio.

1870 – Decatur Township, Lawrence County, Ohio.  Dwelling #161, Family #158.  Listed as:  (Head) Mink, Henry, age 34, Iron ore miner, born Hanover, Citizen; (Mother) Eliza, age 27, born Hanover; (son) John, age 11, born Ohio; (son) Henry, age 8, born Ohio; (daughter) Elizabeth, age 6, born Ohio; (daughter) Caroline, age 2, born Ohio; (daughter) Mary, age 8/12, born Ohio.  Everyone’s parents were both of foreign birth.  Both parents are able to read and write.  The children are not marked as attending school, but on the entire census page there are no marks that I can see under that column.

1880 – Clatonia, Gage County, Nebraska.  Family #96;  The household is listed as:  (Head) Menke, Henry, age 47, Farmer, born Prussia;  (Mother) Louise, age 38, born Prussia; (son) Fredrick, age 21, school teacher, born Prussia; (son) Henry, age 18, Farmer, born Ohio; (daughter) Caroline, age 12, born Ohio; (daughter) Mary, age 10, born Ohio; (daughter) Mathilda, age 8, born Ohio; (daughter) Katherine, age 6, born Ohio; (daughter) Luise, age 2, born Ohio; (daughter) Rosa, age 1, born Ohio.  Almost everyone on this census page has a mark under the columns “Cannot Read” and “Cannot Write”, but I think the enumerator crossed off the “not” part of “Cannot”.   Caroline, Mary and Mathilda attended school.

1890 – If this Federal census record existed it should show Eliza still married to Henry Menke, living in Clatonia, Nebraska, with three more children – George Edward, age 9; Nettie, age 7; and Charles Albert, age 4.

1900 – Clatonia, Gage County, Nebraska.  Dwelling #109, Family #110.  (Head) Henry Menke, born DEC, 1832; age 67, married 33 years, born Germany, Immigrated in 1859, 41 years in US, Farmer, can read & write, Owns Farm mortgage free, Farm #114; (Mother) Lisa, born MAY 1843, age 57, 8 children, 7 living, born Germany, Immigrated in 1859, 41 years in US, can read & write; (daughter) Rosa, born JAN 1879, age 21, single, born Ohio; (son) Edward, born APR 1881, age 19, single, born Nebraska; (daughter) Nettie, born APR 1883, age 17, single, born Nebraska; (son) Albert, born NOV 1887, age 12, born Nebraska.  Ancestry has this family’s last name indexed as “Schenke”.

1910 – Clatonia, Gage County, Nebraska.  Dwelling #122, Family #124.  The household is listed as:  (Head) Menke, Henry, age 77, married twice, 43 years, born Germany, Immigrated in 1853, Naturalized, able to read and write, Owns house;  (Wife) Eliza, age 67, married once, 43 years, 11 children, 8 living, born Germany.  Their youngest son, Albert is living next door to them.

1920 – Clatonia, Gage County, Nebraska.  Dwelling #124, Family #127.  (Head) C Albert Menke, Rents, age 33, parents born Germany, Farmer; (Wife) Charlotte I, age 32, parents born New York; (son) Harold W, age 12; (son) Victor L, age 10; (son) Willis H, age 8; (son) Cecil H, age 7; (daughter) Elsie A, age 5; (son) Raymond E, age 4; (son) Kenneth K, age 2; (daughter) Irene I, age 4/12; Louise K, Mother, age 78, Widow, Immigrated 1860, Naturalized 1865, born Germany; Albert C Wayman, Boarder, age 23, single.  Everyone other than Louise was born in Nebraska. 

1930 – Clatonia, Gage County, Nebraska.  Dwelling #15, Family #15.  (Head) Eliza Menke, Owns farm, lives on farm, age 87, Widow, married at 24, able to read and write, Immigrated in 1865.  She is living alone.  Ancestry has her indexed as “Manke”.

1940 – Clatonia, Gage County, Nebraska.  Household #19, Owns, Value of home $1000, lives on farm, (Head) Eliza Menke, age 98, Widow, highest grade of school is 0, born Ohio, unable to work, received income of $50 or more from sources other than money wages or salary.; (daughter) Eliza Kiene, age 62, Divorced, highest grade of school is 8th, born Ohio, doing Home work, received income of $50 or more from sources other than money wages or salary. 




I get 9 not counting the non-existent 1890 census.  Eliza stayed on her farm until about 1942 and died in the Anna Rohe Nursing home in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1944.



Saturday, July 18, 2015

Newspaper Clippings - Shelton, Nebraska, 1895


In 1873, the village of Wood River Center became known as Shelton, Nebraska.  It sits 18 miles east of Kearney along the Union Pacific railroad line.  The population was just over 1000 in 2010.  Shelton is mostly in Buffalo county, but sits just inside the Hall county line.  If your search for Shelton ancestors doesn't bring results in Buffalo county, you should try Hall county.  A few years of the Shelton Clipper are available on microfilm at the Grand Island Library.   



Shelton Clipper, February 1, 1895

Column 1
Do You Need Shoes?
If so we have some-
thing that will interest 
you.  We have established
the reputation of hand-
ling the Largest Assort-
ment, the Best Goods and
for selling them at the
Lowest Prices of anyone
in town. Especially is 
this manifested in our 
shoe department.  We 
have just received in ad-
dition to our present 
stock several different 
lines that can't help but 
merit your attention.  We 
will not pretend to give 
much of an idea of the 
MANY BARGAINS
We have to offer but
 we know that seeing will
 be believing that we have
the Biggest Bargains Ever
Shown in Shelton.  We
also have a few Odds and
 Ends in this line that you
 can buy at Almost Your
 Own Price.
We are also making
 some Sweeping Reduc-
tions in the Dry Goods
Department to make room
 for new goods.
Now is the time and this is the place to buy goods cheap.  Come in and see us for bargains.
Your Anxious to Please,
McCREARY, PECK & CO.



Column 2

SHELTON CLIPPER

Friday, February 1, 1895

TOWN AND COUNTRY

See A. N. Murphy for insurance
See A. N. Murphy for farm loans.
The persistent advertiser gets the trade.
The weather report today is fair and warmer.
Pants made to order from $6. - Skelton, the tailor.
Go to S. E. Smith for good clean Rock Springs coal.
H. H. Skelton, the tailor, makes pants to order from $6 up.
Call at Lucy's photographic studio when you want good photos.
THE CLIPPER and the Chicago Weekly Inter-Ocean both one year for $1.85.
The sale of the Stansberry stock has been postponed till next Wednesday. 
The five months old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George B. Frasell died last Saturday.
The weather bureau announced a cold wave yesterday and it arrived on schedule time.
A six or seven months old child of Jacob Brown, who lives three miles west of town, died yesterday.
Dr. Sumner Davis, eye and ear surgeon of Omaha, will be in Grand Island, at Palmer house, every Tuesday.
The dancing club held another of their regular entertainments Wednesday evening and had the usual pleasant time.
George Silvernail of Gibbon, who has been an inmate of the insane asylum at Lincoln for some months past, has been discharged.
Persons should see that their horses are blanketed these days when they drive them to town and hitch them out in the cold.
Both the First National and the Shelton bank were closed yesterday in respect for the late George Smith, who was one of the directors of the former bank.
A car of corn belonging to W. T. Keyes of the place while standing...  


Column 3
Death of George Smith.
George Smith, one of the oldest and best known residents of Buffalo county, died at this home in Shelton Tuesday afternoon, his death being caused by Bright's disease, from which he had been a sufferer for several years.  The funeral services were held in the Presbyterian church yesterday afternoon, being conducted by Rev. C. F. Graves, and in spite of the severe storm which was raging the church was crowded, so highly esteemed was the deceased among his neighbors.
The deceased was sixty-one years of age, having been born in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, April 24, 1833.  He lived with his parents until the California gold excitement in 1840, when like many other young men he emigrated to the new eldorado and engaged in mining for three or four years, returning to Pennsylvania and remaining there until the fall of 1871 when he came to Nebraska and located on a farm northwest of Shelton, where he resided until about three years ago when he discontinued active farming and moved to Shelton.  He was married first in 1850, and to his second wife, who survives him, in 1872.  He had five children, all by his first wife, and all of whom are living - William J. of this place, Andrew E. of Lamar, Colorado, Joseph of this place, Mrs. George Barrett of this place, and Mrs. Chris Anderson of this place.  He was a brother of J. P. and Philip Smith, who also live here.
Mr. Smith was a member of the Baptist church, was in every way a most exemplary citizen, a loving husband and a kind father, and being of a very retiring disposition he had no enemies and hosts of friends.  By his indomitable energy he acquired quite a large amount of property, and at the time of his death he was a stockholder and one of the directors in the First National Bank of this place.  He had been in poor health for several years past, but was able to be about until a few weeks ago, when he became worse and died as above stated.  
The bereaved relatives have the sympathy of a large circle of friends in their sad affliction.



Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Wedding Wednesday - Marriages in Bureau Co., IL 1868


Bureau County Republican, March 5, 1868


Marriages for February.

Thomas S. Dexter and Emily F. Anthony
Sherman Stetson and Altie Bundy
James E. Burrow and Sarah J. Walker
Jacob Statler and Katy Albright
Martin V. Hants and Elizabeth A. Stout
Lyman Hazelton and Celestine Decker
John Barney and Martha Humphrey
Mons Ekdahl and Ann C. Mortensen
Henry Linderbland and Christine Pierson
Abm. Hetherington and Agnes E. Bonnell
Franklin Emire and Angeline Anson
Miles Masters and L. A. Rhodes
Havier Berger and Henrietta Guhe
W. A. Sisson and M. C. Foster
Geo. W. Griswold and Hetty Chase
John Schmuck and Anna Kemp
H. P. Brainard and Annie P. Dexter
Henry Eatinger and Orcelia Pelton
Charles Hassler and Philapena Scholl
Wm E. Brown and Hattie C. Booth
George Lee and Christina Berkstresser
John Johnson and Mary L. McElroy
Chas. A. Kellogg and Kate Weeks
John A. Bloom and Hannah A. Peterson
George Burgess and Mary Gaskill
John Ferreter and Jane Doran
Joseph Joder and Mary Zerlein
Albert Bumphery and Elizabeth Parks
Philip Steimle and Catharine Joder