Visit to Langenaubach and Breitscheid

The names of the villages of our German ancestors were passed down in family stories, and one of the Durrant cousins hired a researcher in Langenaubach to locate information. He shared the results with cousins in the Waupaca County area. His initial efforts made locating the correct microfilms much easier.

Films of church records from both Langenaubach and Breitscheid were available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, and I also ordered those films at various Family History Centers where we lived or traveled. The old German handwriting was difficult to read at first, but the names and dates stood out in the films.

When we had an opportunity to travel to Germany in 2007, I emailed a contact that I had corresponded with regarding one of the family surnames. He connected me with his sister Rita, who still lived in Breitscheid. She was willing to host us for a day and made arrangements to visit the former church in Langenaubach (now a museum) and the church in Breitscheid. She also invited us for a "typical German lunch." 

700 year anniversary of Langenaubach; church/museum 

Rita contacted the museum director in Langenaubach who met us for a tour. Unfortunately, we had no time to use the volumes of information that the museum held. The building was lovely and well preserved. 

Church in Breitscheid

The church in Breitscheid was restored; the frescoes behind the altar were discovered during the process. Rita asked the pastor to meet us there and we learned that three villages attended services in Breitscheid. This explained how a man from a nearby village married into the family.


Some of the members of the Schmitt family from Breitscheid (the female line in our ancestry) were potters, and the museum in that village had paintings of the pottery from that time.

Our final stop of the day was at the home of the "village historian" who had prepared charts and information about the Schmitt family. The big surprise of the visit: Hans Henn and I were cousins!

Learning I was visiting a cousin!

*52 Ancestors: "Road Trip"

Edwin Leuthold's Diary

Marianne shared a translated copy of the diary kept by Edwin Leuthold (1858-1942) during a two-year visit to the United States. It is extremely valuable to a family historian because he relates many details about his journey from Oberrieden via Basel, Paris, Havre and New York.

His father and sister traveled with him by steamboat to Zurich and then by train to Basel where he deposited his "handluggage" at the immigration agency. They toured the city, returning for the luggage before the 5 p.m. train to Paris. That journey took Edwin from Basel via Porrentruit to Delle, where he crossed the French border. 

Edwin arrived in Paris at 11:00 in the morning and was able to spend the rest of the day touring the city. At 9:00 p.m. fourteen people were driven to the station where they took another train to Havre--arriving the next morning. They were able to watch the "Hammonia" arrive; they boarded later in the evening of July 28, 1886.

He thoroughly describes the voyage, including the ship, its sleeping quarters, meals, the weather, sea sickness, fellow passengers and the process of arriving in Hoboken on August 7, where they had to open luggage for customs officers. After inspection they took a small river steamer across to Castle Garden where immigrants' information was recorded.

The funeral of General Ulysses Grant was taking place the day of their arrival and Edwin describes the street decorations and the parade, which included a large military formation at the end. He also mentions that the Brooklyn Bridge had been completed four years earlier and they paid 2 cents to walk across.

The "emigrant's train" cost $1 to travel from New York to Nevada, Ohio (his first destination), but he could have gone to Chicago for the same fare. Edwin visited and worked on farms of acquaintances from Switzerland in Wyandot County, Ohio, Livingston County, Illinois and Nemaha County, Kansas. He also visited friends in Chicago, Illinois, before finally arriving at the Leuthold farm in Waupaca County, Wisconsin. He mentions many names of Swiss immigrants who had agreed to host him and describes the work at each of the farms.

After spending 1887 with J. H. Leuthold, Edwin left in December for California, providing a detailed story of that train trip. He worked in Napa for two months before receiving a message that his father was very ill. He left immediately to return to Switzerland, intending to return to America. However, his father had recovered during Edwin's return voyage and convinced him to stay in Oberreiden to run the family sawmill.


*52 Ancestors: "Adventure"

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

I have been participating occasionally in a writing challenge initiated by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow. She provides a "prompt" each week to encourage followers to write about their ancestors. The posts from 2019 on my blog all refer to one of those prompts. Since I call myself an "occasional" participant, my responses to the prompts are not necessarily in the order they were suggested. 

Since I've been able to post twice as many writings this year as in the past three, the challenge has worked for me!

I will indicate the prompt I used for each post.

Marianne Keller-Kolliker 1933-2018

Our friend and fellow genealogist, Marianne Keller-Kolliker passed away in September last year. She was related to the Leuthold family through her husband and always felt a connection to the Waupaca County area. We will miss her.

Staub Reunion in 2005

Discussing Ancestors

Visiting Marianne in Basel

When we traveled with the Jacksons in 2014, we spent a few days in Basel before the Rhine cruise. Marianne was a wonderful host, showing us many of her favorite spots in Basel. She also invited us to a special dinner at her home.


*52 Ancestors: "So Far Away"

1918 Newspaper Article

I noticed this article when we were searching for obituaries at the Wisconsin Historical Society last month. How many of our maternal German ancestors were frightened by a similar notice? I found it interesting that only women were required to register, although men may have had to do the same at a previous time.

The article explains the notice I found many years ago placed by Katherine Schmidt/Smith Nickel, Great-great-grandfather John Henry Smith's sister, explaining that she would now be writing her name "Nicol, as that was the original spelling and would seem more American." Interestingly, her announcement appeared in the same issue of the paper as this article. Had she heard about this new requirement prior to placing her notice?

The Schmidt family did come from Germany; the spelling of their name was changed by the time they purchased land in Waupaca County.

Not only was that NOT the original spelling, her husband Daniel Nickel was from Ireland, even though the surname could be seen as "German." Why was she concerned? When I rechecked the 1910 census, it states that her husband was not a citizen; therefore, neither was she. He had passed away in 1912 without becoming naturalized; she would have automatically become a citizen if he had completed that process.


*52 Ancestors: "In the Paper"

Peter DeCramer 1833-1911

Peter DeCramer was an ancestor from Belgium on Dick's maternal side. Early in our family research Dick happened to Google his name and learned there was information about Peter at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

We had to satisfy our curiosity and went to Milwaukee to visit the Golda Meir Library. What a discovery! 

First, some background. Peter DeCramer immigrated from Belgium in 1855 and settled in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. Peter enlisted as a private in Company D, 1st Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry on 17 Sep 1861 and was discharged on 14 Oct 1864. He re-enlisted as a private in Company C, 46th Regiment on 10 Feb 1865 and was discharged 27 Sep 1865. There was a notation in the record that he was entitled to $100 bounty. The record also stated that he had grey eyes, brown hair, light complexion and was 5 ' 3½" tall. He was a carpenter from the 5th Ward of Oshkosh. 

Peter DeCramer

Peter DeCramer kept a diary during the entire time of his Civil War service. Another of Peter's descendants donated the diary to the university. It was written in French; we would never have been able to read it except that a university student had translated the diary as part of a project for his French class. We were able to obtain a copy of the English translation. Dick also photocopied the original first page in order to have a representation of his handwriting.

We found a Civil War history that we used to follow Peter's account of his Civil War service. Many parts of his story told about mundane daily events such as marching in the rain, but these details were also part of the history. It was most interesting to read his report of Lincoln's assassination. 

Google your ancestors' names!


*52 Ancestors: "Dear Diary"

Shiloh National Military Park

Pension records for John Henry Smith indicated that he participated in the Battle of Shiloh (also known as Pittsburg Landing) during his Civil War service.  

From the History of Waupaca County: "After the breaking out of the Civil War, Mr. Smith, prompted by a spirit of patriotism, enlisted December 1, 1861 in Company F, Eighteenth Wis., V.I., commanded by Capt. Roberts.  At Milwaukee he joined his regiment which soon afterward went to the front and took part in its first battle at Pittsburg Landing.  He also participated in the battle of Corinth and several skirmishes, after which he was taken ill with fever, and being unfitted for further service was honorably discharged in December, 1862." 

Marker for the 18th Wisconsin Infantry

Wisconsin State Monument at Shiloh

In 2008 we were able to visit Shiloh and Corinth in Tennessee. Shiloh is located just north of the Tennessee/Mississippi border. We used information at the visitor center to find where the Wisconsin 18th took part in the battle.


*52 Ancestors: "Military"

Ancestors' Churches

We were fortunate to be able to travel to the villages in Germany and Switzerland where our ancestors were born. We visited churches in Langenaubach, Breitscheid, Thalwil and Horgen. 

The church in Langenaubach is now the town museum; our friend Rita arranged for a tour when we were there in 2008. We met the curator and talked about the archives. In Breitscheid the church had been restored, and the pastor related how they discovered the paintings in the chapel.

Langenaubach, Germany

Breitscheid, Germany

Chapel in Breitscheid church

We had arranged a family reunion in Switzerland in 2008 during the same trip to Europe. Our group visited the churches in Thalwil and Oberrieden/Horgen, villages where the Staub and Leuthold families lived. We could imagine baptisms and marriages taking place in these churches even if they had been restored since the mid 1800s.  

Church in Horgen, Switzerland

Inside the chapel in Horgen

*52 Ancestors: "At Worship"

Apple Trees

A couple of years ago I learned from Peg that a young man in Waupaca County had begun a mission to save old varieties of apple trees. He has done an amazing amount of research to learn what varieties might have been in existence during the late 1800s and has been contacting residents to find out whether any old trees are still growing on farms in the county. He then visits to cut scions from the old varieties to replant.

The oldest orchard on our farm (located west of the buildings) was supposedly planted by A.D. "Appletree" Barnes, so we did some research into that name. 

First orchard on the farm

From his obituary we learned that "in 1887 Mr Barnes disposed of his interests in Fond du Lac County and came to Waupaca County, where he purchased a farm adjoining the city limits of Waupaca City and established the Arctic nursery. For a number of years he lectured at various places in Wisconsin for the farmers’ institutes and was a member of the State Horticultural Society."

From another source we learned the origin of his nickname.

Why are you called A.D. Appletree, Mr. Barnes was asked.

"Why, some years ago I was appointed one of the first institute lecturers for the horticultural society; later my brother was appointed and he lectured on small fruits and I talked on apple trees, till finally to designate one from the other I was called 'Appletree' Barnes and my brother 'Strawberry' Barnes.

I found the name 'Appletree' rather caught the public and I have used it ever since as a trade mark. It has been a winner. Not long ago a letter was addressed to Appletree Barnes, Appleton, and the postmaster knowing that it was for me sent it right along. The name has been a winner for me."


Most interesting for our family history is an item that appeared in one of his catalogues that is in an archive at the University of Stevens Point. "Mrs. J. Henry Smith planted the seed in a flower pot and when it germinated she planted it in the front yard of the house. It is now a lively tree. Keeps until June without rotting; it is a beautiful reddish brown mottled fair sized apple. 1 mile away from the Granite Quarry."


*52 Ancestors: "Nature"

Serendipity in Stavanger

Our cruise ship was about to visit Stavenger, Norway, back in July 2011. The onboard library had a tourist guide for the city that showed the local Norwegian state archives was located just a few steps from where our ship would dock. Since both Larry and I had ancestors from Norway, we decided to visit the archives before we walked around the city proper.

The research room was on the second floor of the building, and almost the first thing I saw on one of the tables in the room was a pamphlet called "Norwegian Pastor to Portage and Waupaca." Olaus Fredrik Duus was the pastor of the Lutheran Church in Scandinavia, Wisconsin from 1854-1857. He wrote letters "home" to Norway during that time that were saved until being published in 2007.

The pamphlet has two parts. The first is called "Historical Background and Ethnic Information" and is a brief history of Wisconsin's settlement followed by a section telling about the first Norwegian settlers in the area. The second part of the pamphlet contains the letters written by Pastor Duus during the years 1855-1858. 

Who would have imagined finding a booklet containing letters written from a pastor in Scandinavia during the time our Rowe family may have been attending the church in a Stavenger research library?


*52 Ancestors: "Out Of Place"

Katherine Staub Wilcox 1930-2018

Katherine Staub Wilcox passed away in December and we will miss one of our most enthusiastic family historians. It was always a pleasure to visit the Wilcox home, located on land that's been in the Staub family since the 1870s. Katherine and her family hosted three different reunion gatherings at the Wilcox place.

Looking at photos

When we went to see Kathy, she would have a collection of items ready for review on the kitchen table. (I don't know if it is a Swiss trait or a Staub trait, but everything related to family was worth saving!) We looked at photos, photo albums, newspaper clippings, family letters and postcards. My favorite piece of Staub family history was Jacob's record of letters sent and received--to relatives still in Switzerland, his sisters in California and other scattered acquaintances. 

Discussing ancestors

We spent much time trying to solve family mysteries, such as Mina's two marriages to Ivar Bentzel and Rudolf Aeberle, the cryptic letter received from Regula Bentzel after they returned to Switzerland and whether the Laager families located in the U.S. were family connections. After a visit with Kathy, I would always have new ideas for continued research.  


*52 Ancestors: "Love"

Davinity Rutherford 1853-1929

The name Davinity seemed quite unusual to me, and it confused other researchers: their decision to label this child a female caused problems in many family trees! At the time of the 1860 census in Indiana, it was stated clearly that he was a male child. Davinity used "David" most of his life, although he gave his first son in a second marriage the same name.

Davinity first married Olive Petty in Stearns County, Minnesota. Not too long after the birth of their sixth child in 1866, she passed away of consumption. Their son Jesse was my cousin's grandfather.

David married for a second time about 1896. He and Etta Blake, his second wife, became the parents of eleven children.  


*52 Ancestors: "Unusual Name"

Clementina Barbara Zajchowska 1894-1978

One of the brick walls in the family research has always been the grandparents from Lithuania and Poland: Dominic and Clementina Zajchowska Churas.

When we visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City in 2015 I was able to consult with Maria, who is the Polish research expert on the International floor. She spent quite some time accessing online records before admitting there was no information available for the Zajchowski family. There was also no microfilm for that area of Poland.

Maria did have a friend in Poland who was willing look for church or civil records. Clementina's baptismal record stated the parish was Niewodna, although an address from her sister Olympia who corresponded with Grandma Churas was Grodzisko. 

Mieczyslaw spent several weeks visiting different parishes and record offices in the Wisniowa area. Ultimately, he was able to locate four birth records of children born to the same parents. 

Clementina, born 7 Feb 1894                                                    

Jozef, born 10 Sep 1896
Olympia, born 4 Apr 1901, died 18 Jan 1979
Andreas, born 7 May 1904, died 8 Nov 1908

All four were children of Adalbertus Zajchowski, son of Jozef and Agatha Seremet Zajchowski and Francisca Cierpial, daughter of Casimirus and Marianna Gruszczynska Cierpial.

After 20 years of wondering about Grandma Churas' family, we finally had two generations of ancestors!


*52 Ancestors: "Brick Wall"

Four Generations

It was more common in past generations to mark the arrival of a "fourth" generation baby with a photograph. Our collection includes several of these photos. The span of years between the dates of birth of the eldest and youngest person in the photo is similar: 80, 78 and 77 years. Has the idea of a four-generation photo fallen out of fashion? Or have other factors, such as marrying later in life or distance between families, been of more importance?

Helene Colrue, Bendicka Rowe, Leonard Rowe, Elaine

Bendicka Rowe, Hazel Smith, Russell Smith, Annette

E. W. Smith, Art Smith, Russell Smith, Allen

*52 Ancestors: "12"

John Colrue 1860-1931

John Colrue received his naturalization papers on 23 January 1891 in Waupaca County. He also filed to homestead 148 acres on 7 December 1896. More research will determine where that land parcel was located. He can be found in Helvetia Township in the 1889 plat book in the NW 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of Section 34.

Locating John Colrue beyond the articles in the Waupaca newspapers was difficult. He has not been found in the 1880 census (searching under John or J. M. Swanson or Colrue), the 1900, 1910 or 1930 censuses. In 1920 John is living on Kimbark Avenue in Chicago and is employed as a salesman for a medical instruments manufacturer. 

He also appears in several of the Chicago city directories, for example in 1898 he is boarding at 464 West Congress and in 1904 and 1908 he is living at 744 W. Adams.

As more information becomes available online, we might be able to locate more records for John Colrue.



*52 Ancestors: "Bachelor Uncle"

At the Courthouse

When we first began researching the families who immigrated to Waupaca County, we spent many hours checking the various vital record indexes at the Waupaca County Courthouse. We followed up by reading the actual records for births, marriages and deaths and copying the relevant information. The indexes for land records were also available in the same room. 

However, there was one surprising book that we discovered accidentally. During the second decade of the 1900s the local farmers began recording a name for their farms. It was quite interesting to see that the Smiths and Rowes registered the names "White Star Stock Farm" and "Elm Valley Farm" at the courthouse to make them official.



*52 Ancestors: "At the Courthouse"

Lars and Kari Rowe Photograph

In 2006 my cousin Peg was contacted by a member of WAGS, the local genealogy club. Gail from Annapolis, MD had a photo that was connected to Waupaca. Gail and a friend were visiting local garage sales hunting for picture frames. Gail's story of finding the picture follows:

"Last year after Hurricane Katrina, a family who fled the storm

moved in across the street from me.  Having lived in New Orleans myself, I quickly became friends with them.  When they moved here in the fall, they had nothing.  Few clothes, no furniture, etc.  They bought new furniture. And as part of decorating, the wife found the Rowe picture in a trash pile on our street.  It adorned her walls until they returned home to New Orleans.  She had a garage sale, which is how I acquired the picture just a week ago." 

As they were crossing the street with the picture a note dropped from the back of the photo.

"Lars Raae and wife, sons David (my grandfather) and Andrew taken probably in Waupaca Wisconsin about 1880."

Lars and Kari Rowe

Gail repaired the corners of the frame before sending it to Peg and it now hangs in Peg's home in Elm Valley.



*52 Ancestors: "Family Photograph"


It is so satisfying to find another piece of the puzzle. While researching the David Rowe family on the FamilySearch Family Tree, I located records that showed his granddaughter Loretta Irene Rowe lived in Annapolis, Maryland, with her husband Irving Wasserman. She has to be the person who wrote "David, my grandfather," on the note found with the photograph.

Bertha Christensdtr Oleson 1804-deceased

We have been spending time during the past year or so adding and correcting information on the FamilySearch Family Tree, thinking that if our ancestors are going to be represented on their "one world tree" we might as well assist in making sure the facts are correct.

One great advantage to participating turns out to be corresponding with others who are working on the same family lines. Last month I wrote to someone who was adding information to Bertha's page to ask about collaborating. I learned that Bertha and her husband Ole Jensen, who married 8 January 1833 in Gausdal, Oppland, Norway, immigrated to America. My correspondent informed me that they lived in Alden, Polk, Wisconsin. I was able to locate Bertha and Ole in Polk County on the 1880 census.

I wonder whether Matthias Colrue knew that his mother was living in Wisconsin about 200 miles away from him!




*52 Ancestors: "Surprise"