Cemetery Photograph

One of my favorite photographs of our ancestors is one taken at Lakeside Memorial Cemetery in Waupaca, Wisconsin. The photo shows my 3rd great grandfather, Robert Hales, and two of his daughters, Kate and Sarah. In the original photo the name "Elizabeth" (Robert's wife) can be read on the marker next to Robert. Elizabeth died in March of 1890.

Kate, Robert and Sarah Hales c. 1892

Kate Hales Miner and Sarah Hales Scott both married men of the same age as their father. Selden Miner (1814-1891) and Robert Scott (1820-1891) died within two weeks of each other in the spring of 1891. Robert Hales passed away in September of 1893.

This photo provides both questions and answers. The Hales family lived four miles north of Waupaca, and the cemetery was located south of town. They would have had to travel by buggy to town and arrange for a photographer to join them at the cemetery. Why? 

Sarah Hales Scott

Kate Hales Miner

The surroundings look more like autumn than spring, so the guess is the photo was taken in the late fall of 1891 or 1892--after the spouses passed away and before Robert himself died. It's interesting to be able to date the photograph based on research information.


*52 Ancestors: "Favorite Photo"

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"