California : Research State by State

www.googleimages

Have some family ties in California?  There are a few websites mentioned by Family Tree Magazine.

California Digital Newspaper Collection  cdnc.ucr.edu

This site, a project by the University of California at Riverside, has newspapers that cover 1846 through the present.  They have a search feature, so I decided to use it.  Looking for my great uncle and information on his career as a stunt man in western films.

I didn't find him, or his son, Carl.  Better luck next time.

I did a search for Reagan....guess what....over 12,000 hits.  Go figure.

California Genealogical Society and Library  californiaancestors.org

This site seems more promising to me.  It talks about membership, research, look ups, libraries, etc.

I used the California Names Index.  Just as before, after entering the surname of my great uncle, no results appeared.

There is a free manuscript database, so once again I looked for the surname.  No luck.

In the Members section, there are many databases to explore.  I am not a member, but there seems to be a sizable list of subjects to browse :

Church membership listings
Baptisms
Marriage listings for Brides and Grooms
Vital Records listed in the San Francisco Newspapers
Enrollment of the Association of Territorial Pioneers
Archives of the CGS news and The California Nugget

Under the tab Research, you can find how to hire a researcher, tip for researching in California, Name Look ups for $10, upcoming classes and events.

Under the tab Library, you can find many recommended links for further research in California.
Links to libraries, newspapers, societies and groups are plentiful.  I might spend a bit more time in this section of this site.

Under the tab Publications, you can find about a dozen or so books that are for sale.  Of course, members get a better deal than non members.  Seems to be quite a variety here, so take a look and there might be something that you want to order.

There is a lot more to this site than I have just mentioned.  I think that this could be a very good resource for those who have an interest in the history of California.

State by State Research : Alaska

Last week I mentioned the Family Tree Magazine  listing of state archive websites for genealogy and historical research.  The state of Alaska is one of their entries, and I'd like to review it for you.

The Alaska Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums, found at www.lam.alaska.gov , is just what one needs when researching historical Alaska.  Databases include newspapers, naturalization and probate records, in addition to a gold rush pioneer index.

How many glaciers are in Alaska?  I don't know for sure, but there is a section in the Alaska State Library tab that shows the location of each glacier, it's common name and it's elevation .  The Library also mentions the newspapers that are featured in full-text, most of which are pre 1923.

Alaska free clip art is also a feature of this library.  Much too many topics to mention here.

In the Genealogy section of this site is Finding Your Gold Rush Relatives.   Links to repositories, societies, resources, books, cemeteries, etc. are plentiful.  Your could sit all day and still never cover every one of these.

Alaska and Yukon Vital Records are in PDF form, and volumes cover 1898 through 1936.

The digital archives include collections of the State Library and the various campuses of the University of Alaska, in addition to several museums.

Researchers can be employed if you don't have the time to do it yourself.  Just ask.

Although I don't have any family members who lived in Alaska, this is a site that I'd like to revisit simply because the history of Alaska is just so different from  the other 49 states.  I hope that you, too, will take some time to see what this site has to offer.

State By State Research : Alabama

I want to tell you how wonderfully the writers of Family Tree Magazine fill their pages with such useful information.  For those of us who need that extra help with researching the archives of individual states, they have published a listing of websites that can be the portals to helping you with your historical and genealogical research.  I am going to review each of their picks by state.

Let's start with Alabama.

The Alabama Department of Archives and History  archives.state.al.us

This site has a search feature to look for names in the Civil War service cards.  It also has a search feature for the 1867 voter registrations.

Interested in microfilmed newspapers?  Well, they are listed in the catalogs, and some are available through interlibrary loan.

There are also links to find church records, local and county records and maps.

The Alabama History Timeline is quite fascinating.  It has quips of what was in the vicinity of Alabama going back to 10,000-7,000 BC.,,featuring information on Russell Cave in Jackson County which is a fine example of prehistoric geology.  Going forward, several Spanish explorers made their mark in the area, and the development of the Native American Creek Nation, along with other tribes formed from the earlier Mississippian peoples. There is information on schools, cities, forts, legislature, et. al.  Truly a go to spot for Alabama history.

Multi Media is not lacking on this website.  You Tube videos are abundant and cover a wide range of subjects.

This is certainly a website that I will bookmark, and I hope you do, too.

The Last Will and Testament of Gottfried Hechtner : Does Eliza Get Snubbed?

Last year I was researching a line in my husband's family tree, The Hechtner Family.  With today's technology, I was able to make a digital copy of the last will of Gottfried Hechtner.  He is the 3rd great grandfather of my husband.

Gottfried was born about the year 1800 in Prussia.  He came to America in the springtime of 1854, with his wife, Mary, and 6 children.  He made his home in Bureau County, Illinois.

Elizabeth Hechtner, fifth child of Gottfried and Mary, married Gottlieb Hessler in Bureau County on May 31, 1860.  Mr. Hessler was a boot and shoe cobbler by trade.  Elizabeth (Eliza on many documents) and Gottlieb became my husband's 2nd great grandparents.  They lived comfortable enough to be listed on several Illinois County Tax Enumeration Lists (1870 and 1880).

Eliza had siblings : Frederick, Mary, Henrietta, Sophia and John.  Their mother, Mary (Kittendorf) Hechtner, passed away in 1862.  Gottfried moved into the home of his son, John Hechtner, in 1861, and lived there until his death.

At the age of 72, Gottfried filed his Last Will and Testament in Bureau County, Illinois. It was dated and filed on May 20. 1872.  He died in June of 1873.

Here is a digital copy of the hand-written will :

State of Illinois, County of Bureau, Illinois State Archives, accessed 2012 5 May.

As I reviewed the document, there appears to be somewhat of a mystery.  Every child, except Eliza Hessler, was to receive one hundred dollars.  Eliza was to receive five dollars.  Why?

Son, John Hechtner, was also to receive whatever worldly goods and belongings were left, due to his kindness in furnishing his father a home in his later years.  

So let's look at what the lives of Eliza and her siblings were like about 1870.  Eliza and her husband, Gottlieb Hessler were living in Sterling, Whiteside County, in Illinois.  As stated before, this couple had an income where they were listed on tax lists, instituted to help pay for the Civil War, which was very costly to the nation.  They had 2 daughters in 1870, Eliza and Emma.

Frederick, oldest of the Hechtner siblings, was living in Muscatine County, Iowa in 1870. He and his wife, Sophia, had 5 children.  He was a farmer and two farm hands were living with the family. According to the US Census data, his land was worth $800 and personal property total estimate was $2000.  He was a Civil War veteran.

Mary, oldest daughter of Godfried, was living in Bureau County, Illinois, with her husband, August Schultz, and their two chilcren, John and Henrietta.  August was a farmer, and his personal property estimate was about $450.  Not doing as well as her brother, Frederick, Mary was still closeby her father's residence.

John, second son of Godfried, was living in Bureau County, Illinois, with his wife, Elizabeth, and their 4 children :  Mary, Emily, John and Eliza.  John was a farmer, and his land was valued at $9,600, with a personal property estimate of $2500.  He seems to be doing quite well for a man of his age. His farm was located 5 miles Northwest of Princeton, IL.

Daughter, Henrietta, was living with her husband, Francis Frank in Bureau County, IL with their three children, according to the 1865 Illinois State Census.  No value of land or personal property was listed on this census.  Francis was a boot and shoe cobbler who worked alongside his brother-in-law, Gottlieb Hessler in Whiteside County, IL in 1860.  His real estate was estimated at $1500 and personal property valued at $500. Gottleib's personal property was worth only $25 in 1860.

Something happens to dissolve the marriage of Henrietta and Francis, as she remarries in 1872 in Rock Island County, Illinois, to Frederick Worth. In 1873, they were living in Iowa for the birth of their son. The Iowa census does make note that Frederick had been out of work for 4 months, due to a physical ailment.  

Sophia, youngest daughter, was married to Frederick Deadrick in 1861 in Bureau County, Illinois.  By 1870, they were living in Iowa. Frederick became a farmer in Poweshiek County, Iowa, with a land value of $2000, and personal property value of $500. They had four children at that time.  

So, with these financial comparisons between the Hechtner siblings, I guess that Eliza and her husband, Gottlieb Hessler were doing a bit better than the others.  Although her brother, John, cared for his father in the latter years of his life, he did have a greater value of property than the rest of the siblings. Eliza and Gottlieb had moved to Otoe, Nebraska before the turn of the century.  Their daughter, Eliza Hessler had married Henry Reif in 1885, son of Georg and Fredricka Reif of Stephenson County, Illinois.  Henry became a baker, and by 1890 they were living in Nebraska.  Eliza and Gottlieb Hessler probably moved that same year with their daughter, son in law and new granddaughter, Hazel Reif.  They lived out the last years of their lives there in Nebraska, Eliza passing away in 1908 and Gottlieb passing away in 1907.  

My guesses as to why Eliza inherited 5 dollars in contrast to the 100 dollars to each of her siblings :

Godfried Hechtner maybe felt that Eliza was well taken care of with Gottlieb's Shoe and Boot business, OR

God forbid....there was a falling out between Eliza/Gottleib and her father for some reason.  Remember that the first husband of Henrietta Hecktner, Francis Frank, was in business with Gottlieb in Sterling, Illinois, in the cobbler trade.  And then there was another marriage for Henrietta, without a reasonable explanation of what happened to Mr. Frank.  Henrietta had those children to take care of.  There could have been something that put a wedge between father and daughter that left hard feelings.  Who knows?  

My next step : browse newspapers, business papers, other records to see what may have occurred in the Frank family that caused a split.  Let's hope there is not a dark side to this story.

All data listed in this article was retrieved from www.ancestry.com  ,  www.familysearch.org , http://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases/home.html  , www.mocavo.com

Ancestral Hometown Cousins : They Share Your Ancestral History

I belong to a group of persons that share my ancestral history....the Termini-Imerese genealogy research group.

Around 2003, I received an email message from a cousin that I had never met before that time.  The message explained that they had seen a post that I placed on a genealogy website, asking if anyone had information about the history of my family.  It invited me to view a website that focused on the ancestry and civil records of my ancestral hometown.

www.termini-imerese.org was started by a distant cousin.  They had begun to transcribe civil records which had been photographed by the Latter Day Saints and placed on microfilm to save for all posterity.  The LDS does this for almost every state, county, town, village and church where they are allowed to photograph records.  Their family history library in Salt Lake City holds filmed and published records of all kinds.  The best part is that these can be viewed for free at www.familysearch.org.

Since that day in 2003, I have been able to take my family history search back to the 1700s.  But, most importantly, I have met so many persons that share my ancestry.  Our families connect back to the town of Termini-Imerese, in the Palermo province on the island of Sicily.  We are all cousins to varying degrees.  We are family.

Every year this growing group of relatives meet in a venue hosted by one of more of the club members.  We share our newly found records, compare our family trees, find family connections to each other and share a few meals.  Most places have an area where Italian immigrants had established themselves.  We visit their businesses and restaurants.  We visit their libraries and museums.  We connect with the community and the people.  It's just four days of meeting and greeting.  And, it's our time of reaffirming our friendships  and family connections.

I want to encourage everyone to learn about your family before you leave this earth.  It is a very humbling task.  You will learn about the people who paved the way for you to live your life.  They worked, suffered, loved, lived and died.  Their stories become a part of you.  Imagine yourself living in the past.  Would you have made the same decisions that they did?  Would you have been able to navigate the uncertainty in their lives?  As you learn about these ancestors, you will formulate their stories.  It's not fiction.  It's real.

Share your stories with your family members.  They will be listening to every word, just as if you were reading them a storybook.  Somehow, it makes a person stand up straighter and have some pride in who they are.  Ancestors have a way of doing that to you.

The Civil War Pension Papers of Owen Young of Schuyler County

Several months ago, I wrote about Gilmer Young, who died in the Battle of Wilson's Creek in Missouri during the Civil War.  Recently, I stumbled upon the pension papers of his brother, Owen Young, who also served his country during the Civil War.  Unfortunately, Owen, like his brother Gilmer, did not return home alive.  He passed away in a military hospital camp in Brownsville, Texas.

Owen's  pension packet consists of about 34 pages. There are some very good pieces of information about Owen and his family in this packet.  www.Fold3.com has many pension packets digitized on their website.

What can you find in a pension packet?  Well, for one thing, if a soldier was married, there would be some proof of that marriage in the packet contents.  Here's the certificate of marriage for Owen and his wife, Mandana Blodget, along with a certification from the Clerk of the County, which was officiated by Peter Vance, J.P. of Schuyler County :

certification of  marriage for Owen Young WC122477 Page 11 Civil War Widows Pensions at Fold3.com

State of Illinois Marriage Certificate included in the pension packet for Owen Young, Fold3.com

There is a statement from the commanding officer of Owen Young's unit, Company K, 28th Illinois Volunteers.  It was written at the Army offices in St. Louis, Missouri, stating the circumstances of Private Young's illness and death.  Apparently he suffered from Flux and Typhoid, which was hindered by his home sickness.....being hospitalized in the military hospital in Texas where he eventually passed away....

Page 21 Owen Young, Civil War Widows Pension File, Fold3.com

There is also a short note from the Surgeon General that testifies that Owen Young, of the Illinois Volunteers,  passed away on the 29th of August, 1865 in Brownsville, Texas, of Flux and Typhoid.

War Department, Surgeon General, Owen Young Civil War Pension File, page 8, Fold3.com

additional note from the Adjutant General's Office, Washington, D.C., 1866, states that Owen died on Sept. 1.

Paging further into the packet contents, I find notes about the only surviving heirs to Owen Young...two children.  What happened to his wife, Mandana?  She passed away in1866, less than a year after her husband, Owen, left this earth.  So sad.  So, what happens to the children?  Well, apparently their grandfather, Harvey Blodget (father of Mandana) assumed responsibility for the tots.  He was appointed the guardian for the children.  Read on to see what papers had to be filed for these children to receive some monetary assistance from their father's military pension....

Declaration of Minor Children for Pension, filed by Harvey Blodget, Owen Young Civil War Pension file, page 5

Now this is even more interesting....note that Harvey states that Owen died in August of 1865, which has already been established, and further states that his wife is no longer living....but added in the lines "again married George Whitehead in March 1866" and she died on the 17th of June, 1866.  She probably never received a widow's pension....maybe she applied, but instead was remarried.  How sad that she died only months after being married to Mr. Whitehead.  

A statement from Dr. Benjamin Walton accounts  for his assistance with the birth of her children, Lovina and Thomas B. Young, and that he is aware of the death of Owen, and the appointment of Harvey Blodget as the guardian of the children.

The children are identified as being the only legitimate offspring of Owen, and their vital information is stated as follows : Lovina Young,  born on the 13th day of March 1858, and Thomas B. Young, born on the 24th day of October 1860, Harvey also concurs that the parents of these children were married on the 3rd of April 1857 in Schuyler County, by Peter Vance, JP.  He also replied that he did not aid or abet the rebellion of the United States.  Two witnesses, John Phelps and Hiram Geer, signed off on the document as being "intimate acquaintances for the last ten years"  of Owen Young, the deceased soldier, and know of no other children belonging to him.

Claim for Minor Pension, Owen Young Civil War Pension File, page 3, Fold3.com

I am not sure why Quincy is hand written at the top of the page, but perhaps that was the closest Army Pension office at the time.  Nevertheless, the children were approved for support from their father's pension.  Lovina Young and Thomas B. Young were to receive Two Dollars per month, until they each reach the age of 16 years.  Lovina's benefit will last her until March 12 of 1874.  Thomas B. will collect his benefit until October 23 of 1876.  The above document restates all of the evidence previously submitted to support the claim for pension assistance.  Harvey Blodget will be issued the usual Eight Dollars per month, covering Sept. 2, 1865 until October 23, 1876, as was the common widow's claim amount, and the children's pension would also be paid out to Harvey, commencing July 23, 1866,  so that he may look after his grandchildren until their 16th birthdays.  

Well, there you  have it.  Quite a story, sad as it is.  A father goes to war, gets ill while in  the service of his country, and dies.  His widow, left with two children ages 7 years and 5 years, remarries just 6 months later, and then she dies three months after that.  Her two school-aged children are taken in by their grandfather.  He applies for the pension benefits of his son-in-law to support the children.  Pension benefits only last until the 16th birthday of each child.  Hopefully they lived happily with their grandfather.  And, hopefully, they heard of their father's bravery and sacrifice during the Civil War, which took the lives of so many husbands and fathers.  

I think I will do a bit more research, and find out what Lovina and Thomas did with their lives.  

Meanwhile, if you have any family members that were participants in the Civil War, I hope that I have inspired you to look into their service and pension files.  Discover the family stories that aren't told in vital records alone. 

The Iroquois Theatre Tragedy of 1903 : Over 600 Victims Perish

Can you imagine holding tickets to a well advertised theatre production in 1903 in Chicago....So many people did expect to see a wonderful program.  The theatre was advertised as being FIRE PROOF.  They even installed an asbestos curtain on the stage to keep the audience from harm in the event there was a fire on stage during a production.

Mr. Blue Beard was billed at the Iroquois Theatre starting the week of December 28, 1903.  Children were out of school for the holiday season.  Families made plans to gallop about town during the winter season to visit the various  family friendly venues in Chicago.  Most of the tickets for the matinee scheduled on December 30, 1903 were  purchased by women and children.  It promised to be an exciting outing.  After all, the theatre had only been open for 5 weeks prior.  What could go wrong?

The horrific scenes that ensued after a fire spread throughout the theatre were etched in the minds of the police and firefighters.  It is said that the fire was started by a spark of a faulty spot light in the stage during the production.  But, that was not confirmed by every fire inspection report.

How could such an ordinary looking spotlight cause the death of over 600 persons?  Impossible?

Newspapers across the nation reported on the horrible news of the massive carnage.  Lists of those who lost their lives were published, as well as those who were not expected to live after their injuries proved to be too much for them to survive.

There are so many graves of the lost from this tragedy strewn across the Chicago area and suburbs.  The Bartlett family lost three of their family members on that fateful day.  They are laid to rest in the Bronswood Cemetery in Oak Brook, Illinois.

In the aftermath of this theatre fire, the fire departments across the nation began to review the building fire codes that were in place. As a result, most of the large city building fire codes were upgraded substantially.  Lessons were learned, and hopes were high that extreme numbers of persons will not lose their lives in tragedies such as this ever again.

Names of the identified victims of the Iroquois Theatre fire can be found at : www.eastlandmemorial.org/iroquois  

Find A Grave has a virtual cemetery which lists 150 memorials of some of the victims, which can be viewed at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcsr&GSvcid=387875

Newspapers across the nation filed their reports of the horrific story.  Search for their stories on Chronicling America at www.chroniclingamerica.org

Murder - Suicide of 1919 in a sleepy Chicago suburb

In a local cemetery, there stands a monument dedicated to the memory of a family.  All four of those persons interred there were taken from this earth on the same day....April 15, 1919.  The Marwitz family, of Hinsdale, were murdered by the head of the family.  He then took his own life. No given names or dates are etched on the stone.  Nothing to give the identity of those laid to rest in this plot.   Here stands the monument in this quiet, peaceful burial ground of Bronswood Cemetery :

Marwitz family monument, Bronswood Cemetery, Oak Brook, Illinois, Section I, photo taken by S. Reif 2009

After searching the burial log for Bronswood Cemetery, found at the Oak Brook Historical Society's website www.oakbrookhistory.com, I find the names of the four individuals laid to rest here :

     William J., Clara K., Marguerite and Kenneth

On April, 16, 1919, newspapers across  the nation printed the horrific news of this tragedy.  The Chicago Daily Tribune posted the story in their issue, with images of the slain family :

16 April 1919 Chicago Daily Tribune

The article written by the reporter, tells of the sad story.  A wife and two children were shot by the head of the household, William Marwitz.  One can only imagine the shock felt by the relatives and friends of the Marwitz family.

16 April 1919, Chicago Daily Tribune

William Marwitz, assistant postmaster, killed his two children, his wife and then himself.  He learned that his wife, ill from a botched dental surgery, had a limited time to live.  Thinking that he could not raise his children without the help of his wife, he decided that they all should leave this earth together, and spare himself and his children the burden of living life without Clara, his wife.  

continuation of article 16 April 1919

With the illness of his wife, and mounting financial problems, William Marwitz became depressed.  It appears that he was burning his candle at both ends.  Things must have seemed hopeless.  

continuation of 16 April 1919 article

The Chicago Daily Tribune article continues on....telling of the events which lead  to the end of life for Mrs. Marwitz and her two small children.  Clearly, William Marwitz was suffering from mental issues and stresses of his life.  Miss Lehmann, a relative of Mrs. Marwitz, was staying at the home as a household aide.  She witnessed the mental state of William as he carried out the demise of his family and himself.

last article piece, 16 April 1919 Chicago Daily Tribune

After killing his family, Mr. Marwitz telephoned his mother to tell what he had done, and added that he would join his family by his own hand.  He hung up the telephone and then took his own life.

The Chicago Daily Tribune had reported the most complete article about the incident.  Many other papers received the news and published their own shortened versions of the story.  Elkhart, Indiana...Tampa, Florida...Trenton, New Jersey... Sheboygan, Wisconsin...Bridgeport, Connecticut...Logansport and Connorsville, Indiana...Kansas City, Kansas...Twin Falls, Idaho...Butte, Montana...Harrisburg, Pennsylvania...and the list goes on as the story reaches the cities across the nation.  

The headline for each of the articles in the various newspapers were very similar.  Most printed something on the lines of : 

By far the worst headline that I have found regarding this tragic story simply read :

CLEANED UP THE WHOLE FAMILY...which I found in a small Indiana newspaper.....so heartless.

Newspaper articles regarding this news incident were found at the following websites:

Genealogybank  www.genealogybank.com

Newspaper Archive  www.newspaperarchive.com

Newspapers  www.newspapers.com

Chronicling America  www.chroniclingamerica.org

Using Linkpendium to Reach Your Research Goals

Linkpendium (www.linkpendium.com)  is one of those websites that clusters many links of research sources. It will help to find information to plug those holes of missing information in your family trees.

At first look, the Linkpendium home page appears to be very generic.  You might even be a bit skeptical, as there are no flashy designs or exotic colors in its design.  Don't let that fool you.  Look on...  It boldly states that it covers over 10 million genealogy links.  Is that enough for you? Or, do you need more?

Every state in the United States has it's own link, with sub-links that take you even farther into your research.  There are statewide links, county links and even some city/town links.  Further on, you'll see links to Church records, Cemeteries, Bible records, Newspapers, Directories, Court Records, etc.  The list is quite extensive.  

I will tell you that it does NOT contain every research link that you could ever need. There is a note at the end of most compiled link pages....Please, add your favorite Website(s) to this page!
yes, you can add a link to the list!!! How neat is that?  A collaborative effort!  

Linkpendium Logo

Researching in European records?  No problem if your interests include the United Kingdom and Ireland.  There are over 10 thousand links to resources in England, Ireland, The Isle of Man, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, etc.  Once again there are specific links for each parish and county, and also for directories, vital, church, court and institution records.  

Lastly there are links to Surnames, worldwide.  I took the leap...and looked up the link to my maiden name : Bognar.....very Hungarian.  There I find many links regarding the surname : findagrave, wikitree, Rootsweb message boards, gazetteers, maps and newspapers.  Wow.  I will have to do some clicking on some of these to see what has been posted by others on the boards and trees, and also find out the distribution of the family name.  It appears there are mentions of the name in their lists of Indiana, Illinois and Ohio newspapers, too.  

1918 St. Louis City Directory, Bognar listings
found from the link to www.Fold3.com

As with the other pages, on the bottom you can click and add a link for a surname database.  If you have a website that is dedicated to your family/family name, don't hesitate to add it to the surname list of links.  It just might steer someone to your family site and you could make a connection to a cousin with additional information that you can't get anywhere else.  

Have I convinced you to visit Linkpendium?  Try it out, and pass on the goodies that you might collect.

1956 Tragedy : Four family members die in plane crash

Section H Lot 24  Ward family of four, all deceased 2 January 1956

I have taken photos of over 10,000 graves for the Bronswood Cemetery here in Oak Brook, Illinois.  Today I was adding grave photos to the FindaGrave website ( www.findagrave.com ) for this cemetery.  When I came upon a family of four, I paused and looked at my notes that I had transcribed from the original burial log, which is held in the cemetery office in a vault.  The owners of the cemetery had allowed myself and my assistants to view these logs in the past, and we made careful notes from what we could glean from the records.

The Ward family, buried in Section H Lot 24, holds the remains of six persons.  Four of them passed on the same day....January 2, 1956.

Bronswood Cemetery Burial Index, Oak Brook Historical Society website, www.oakbrookhistory.com

  As I gazed at my notes, I read "family plane crash".  My curiosity got the best of me.  I finished adding photos for the burials of Section H, then headed on-line to discover what I could about this unfortunate family disaster.

I use several on-line websites to discover old newspaper articles.  My most profitable search came from My Heritage ( www.myheritage.com ),  There I found several articles about this family and the terrible incident that took their lives.  Newspapers from across the nation had reported on this tragedy.

Rockford Morning Star, Rockford, IL, 1956 Jan 3, page 1

Racine Journal Times, Racine, WI, 1956 Jan 3, page 1

The four members of the Ward family were visiting relatives in  St. Louis, Missouri, during the holiday season.  They were in a small Cessna 170, headed back to the Chicago suburbs, when it crashed in a farm field before the family could reach their home destination.  Reports reveal that the fog was thick that day.  Paul Ward, his wife Harriet and daughters Barbara and Sharon were killed when the plane burst into flames after crashing into a field.

Such is a sad story to come upon when recording the burial records in a cemetery.  To know that this family was killed after visiting relatives during the holiday season is very sad.  They are laid to rest with two other family members,  Ruby and Orie Ward.  Both passed away within 8 to 9 years of their younger relatives.  It must have been a very sad day for them to bury four of their family members on the same day in the dead of winter in 1956. Who could have predicted this sorrowful end?

The next time I get a chance to visit Bronswood Cemetery, I'll be sure to stop by the  Ward family plot and say hello to the entire family.  It was a pleasure to take time to learn about their story, even though it was a tragic end for them.  To leave this earth together must have been something that they did not expect.

Ward Family stone, Bronswood Cemetery, Oak Brook, IL

My Father's Life Story : What Can On-line Research Tell Me That I Didn't Know About Him

I knew my Father, Frank J. Bognar, Jr.,  for almost 46 years before he passed away in the early Spring of 2002.  He was a major influence in my life.  Thinking that I knew everything about him, I decided  to find further information about him on the Internet.

As with most people searching for their heritage, I did a very basic and wide search on Ancestry.com at www.ancestry.com .  The first two results were the 1930 and the 1940 U.S. Census.

No new or surprising information was revealed from these two census listings.  In 1930, the home address was mentioned as 1940 Burd Avenue.  In the 1940 census, the home address was listed at 812 Salisbury Street. Neither home is currently standing.  

Next, I searched on Fold3 at www.fold3.com .  His name appeared in the WWII U. S. Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949.  He was aboard the U.S.S. Takanis Bay CVE89.  This page shows the date of his transfer from the escort carrier to the USN Hospital in Seattle, Washington,  This is something that I did not know...just having his date of transfer from ship to hospital is something that I can add to my research, and reference that date when searching for his medical records while in the U.S. Navy. He is listed on line 7, as a Machinist Mate 2nd Class, along with his service number

Fold3 has the muster rolls for the U.S.S. Takanis Bay CVE89 from 1944 through 1946.  Dad's name appears on each muster prior to his transfer to the USN hospital.  

Next, I used Mocavo at www.mocavo.com , a free website for researching genealogy.  They show the Social Security Death Index listing for my Father.  They also mention that there is a memorial listing for him on Find A Grave at www.findagrave.com . No new information for me here.

Family Search at www.familysearch.org  also has the same SSDI and 1940 Census return that the previous websites have in their search results.

My Heritage at www.myheritage,com  repeats the previous results : 1930 and 1940 U. S. Census returns, Find A Grave memorial, and SSDI listing.

GenealogyBank at www.genealogybank.com has the obituary for my Dad from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 2 and 4, 2002 issues.  I do have several copies of this in my family records.

I turned to the Veterans Administration Grave Locator at http://www.cem.va.gov/, and found that Dad was listed correctly with their database, which simply repeats what was in the search results from previous websites.

In addition, the St. Louis Archdiocese http://archstl.org/cemeteries/ has a grave location search engine that helps to find the location of each burial in the cemeteries of the archdiocese, and the ability to reveal what persons share the same burial plot as the deceased.  Here, both of my parents are listed being interred in Section 17A Lot 0129, along with their dates of burial.  

Both People Finders at www.peoplefinders.com and People Smart at www.peoplesmart.com have correctly listed Dad as being deceased, and both mention my Mother as being related, as well as his last location of residence.

World Vital Records at www.worldvitalrecords.com shows a database search result from their public records index.  Showing the last three addresses where my Dad lived, it also includes phone numbers, and naming my Mother as his relative. Of course, there is no new information for me here.

Tribal Pages at www.tribalpages.com doesn't result in any new information on my Dad's life, however, it does show a listing for my grandfather, Frank Bognar, Sr., and his first wife, Anna Springer.  This is a new avenue for my research into that family lineage. But that is for another time.

Conclusion  for now :  The transfer date of my Father from the U.S.S. Takanis Bay to the USN hospital in Seattle, Washington, has been the only new piece of information that I have found during this attempt to update my Dad's story.

Ancestry and it's affiliates are having some server problems this week.  Unfortunately, it has interrupted my on-line searches with additional websites that I wanted to feature here.  There might be a lack of research and browsing this week due to this problem.  With a little luck on their end, this could be resolved shortly.  In the meantime, making good use of other history sources and libraries may prove to be beneficial.  Happy searching to all.

The Life of an Inventor : Lavonious Kenworthy Wynn, OR Don't Believe Every Family Story to be Correct

In some families, there is usually a child that is named for an ancestor; be it a parent, grandparent, great grandparent, or other person that family wished to remember and honor.  My late father-in-law was named Kenworthy Henry Reif.  I knew that his grandfather was Henry Jacob Reif, so there is the repeated "Henry".  But, I did not know where "Kenworthy" had it's origin...was there someone of that name in the family?

After months of working on my husband's family history, I decided to do what I do best....think outside of the box, and work outside of the crate.  This type of research never fails me.  I always come up with something, and indeed, this time I uncovered someone with the name of Kenworthy.

I knew that great grandmother Eliza Hessler Reif had a sister, Emma.  But that was as far as I had gotten into the Hessler family.  Searching  the Illinois State Marriage Index Database, I came across the marriage of Lavonious K. Wynn - Emma Hessler in 1888.  Hmmm.  And the marriage occurred in northern Illinois, in Whiteside County.  Hmmm.  Well, this certainly looks like it could be interesting.  Now I have yet another name to research. But, this wasn't just any person.  It was THE person that I needed to follow through the many records available on-line.

http://www.ilsos.gov/isavital/marriageSearch.do

Sterling Gazette, 1888

Taking this information, I searched on Ancestry.com for Mr. Wynn.  The first result came from the Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947.  

http://search.ancestry.com/

Lavonious Wynn was born in Ohio, and died and was buried in Sterling, Illinois.  He was a widower in 1946 at the time of his death.  His occupation is listed as President of a Laundry Company.  This is little more information than I had before, but what I found on the rest of the page made me jump.  There were a few suggested records that Ancestry.com thought might match this gentleman :

Do you see what I see?  L. KENWORTHY Wynn...... Here is the Kenworthy in this family that I was looking for, listed in the 1910 U.S. Federal Census.  I clicked the link, and BINGO, Lavonious Kenworthy Wynn was married to Emma, living in Sterling, Illinois.

Apparently, my father-in-law was named after his great uncle, brother-in-law of his grandmother, Eliza Hessler Reif.  He must have been an important person in the family to be honored over everyone else in the family when it came to naming my father-in-law.  Now that I found him, I needed to discover what made him so special.  Back to the list of on-line databases that I frequent, I diligently searched for Mr. Wynn.

Lavonious was too young to serve in the military in the Civil War, but he may have served in later years. I searched Fold3.com to uncover more data results.There were no military records, but he was listed in a Cleveland directory of 1880, salesman for F. Bassett Company.  Mr. Wynn did appear in city directories of Des Moines, Iowa from 1892 to 1904.  He resided at The Iliad Hotel, which is no longer standing.

In addition, the name of  L. K. Wynn in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, in the 1914 September 7 edition, page 13, volume 38, number 113.  A full page is dedicated to the proof of business prosperity in America, with highlighted comments by leading business men in the United States.

http://www.fold3.com/image/257361646/

My Goodness....it appears Mr. Wynn was a business owner in Sterling, Illinois in 1914...Black Silk Stove Polish Works.  More to research.  How did he get from being in Des Moines in 1904 to Sterling in 1914 as a business owner?

Newspapers are my favorite resource for researching into past lives.  I usually find very interesting information that is not noted in vital records.  ChroniclingAmerica.loc.gov, NewspaperArchive.com, Genealogybank.com and Newspapers.com are my favorite websites for newspaper research.  There are so many others, far too many to name.  For ephemera, I search Mocavo.com.  Additional searching may include Archive.com and InternetArchives at archive.org.

According to a 1963 obit of a nephew of L. K. Wynn, Lewis Wynn,  brother of L. K. invented the polish, but L. K. operated the company, as he had much more experience in sales and marketing. Lewis Wynn passed away of cancer at his home in October of 1904.


Many ads for the Black Silk Stove Polish product were found in so many newspapers.  Here are a few from 1910 posted in the Bemidji Daily Pioneer, Bemidji, Minnesota :

The trademark for the Black Silk Stove Polish was first used on October 9, 1909.  On November 23, 1909 a U. S. Federal Trademark registration was filed for the logo pictured here :

 trademark serial number of 71046083,  currently expired

Note the trademark had been renewed in 1950, as Mr. Wynn passed away in 1946.  Mr. Prescott took over the Black Silk Stove Polish Works in Sterling, Illinois. This trademark became expired on November 3, 1992.

In the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents for the Year 1903, Mr. Wynn is listed as having applied for a patent on a cabinet : 

 Friday, January 1, 1904  

Publication: Serial Set Vol. No.4607;  

A patent application was noted in Google.com/patents for Mr. Wynn.  It included an image, dated January 25, 1927, patent number 1,615,319,  of the container product sketch which was submitted for the patent : 

An article from  the Rockford Daily Gazette featured L. K. Wynn and his Black Silk Polish :

Date: Saturday, September 23, 1911  

Paper: Daily Register Gazette (Rockford, IL)  

Page: 11

In other articles, Mr. Wynn was listed as a member of the Executive Committee of the Illinois Elks Association in 1916. The Sterling Illinois Industrial Association, organized in 1907, selected L. K. Wynn as chairman of the committee on Home and Foreign Industries. 

My husband had repeated a story to me, to the best of his recollection, years ago.  It was something about a grandfather or great grandfather who had invented a "shoe black", or black shoe polish, and that a patent had been obtained for the product.  I had dabbled a bit into his ancestors' lives, and found that there were a few German shoemakers, German carpenters, German house painters and German farmers. But, I found no record of a patent for black shoe polish with a connection to this family.

I guess the story became skewed, and the black shoe polish was actually Black Silk Stove Polish.  And, it was not invented by Lavonious Kenworthy Wynn, a great uncle....not a great grandfather, but his brother, Lewis Wynn.  Nevertheless, it is an interesting story, to say the least.