Researching Uncle Gus Plus Mary Turns 50!

Gustav Adolph Blum may or may not be my great uncle. His mother was Mathilda Johanna Mueller Strunk Blum Schumacher who may or may not have been my great grandmother Johanna Wehmeier Pahlke's mother.

I have three very thin pieces of evidence that Johanna and Gus were siblings.

1. My grandfather, Johanna's son William Pahlke, told my mother that Mathilda was his grandmother.

2. Mathilda's obituary refers to Johanna as Matilda's daughter.

3. When Gus committed suicide and murdered his two children Johanna is referred to as his 'half sister'.

Since I could not prove Johanna was Mathilda's daughter I decided to do some 'sideway' research. My hope was that by finding more information about Gustav I would learn more about Johanna and Mathilda.

Gustav left Barrington Illinois sometime in April of 1900. His mother, Mathilda posted this notice:

Barrington Review - April 28, 1900

Notice
Barrington, April 23, 1900
Notice is hereby given that as my son, Gustav Blum, has left my house and home and his whereabouts is unknown to me. I hereby give notice that after this date I will not be responsible for any debt that he may contract on my account, as he is not of age.

Matilda Schumacher
___

According to his military records Gustav enlisted in the Navy on April 19, 1900 in Chicago. I obtained Gustav's military records but the only family relationships mentioned were that Mathilda was his mother.

From Gustav's obituary I knew he was married. I also knew that he and his children died on December 12, 1916 and where they were buried. From the marriage and death certificates I started to put together his wife Elsa's family tree. But, alas no more information about Gustav's family.

Gustav married Elsa Haag on July 19, 1905. Elsa's parents John and Caroline Haag had five children: Johanna, Philip, Emma, Marie and Elsa. All but Johanna immigrated to the United States in the 1890's.

The Haag family lived at 93 Sands Street in Brooklyn. From the census records it seems that the family ran a boarding house and possibly a restaurant.

Emma married a gentleman with the last name of Neul and was a witness at Gus and Elsa's wedding. Marie's married name was Bratley and had the sad task of claiming the bodies and arranging the funeral for Gustav and her nephew John and niece Elsie.

Gustav's obituary said that his wife Elsa was in an asylum and he was depressed because his children were living with relatives. I did confirm that Elsa was living in an asylum in Dutchess County, New York in the 1930 Federal Census.

Through all of this I have not found any additional information on Gustav's family relationships. I have, however, begun to put together the story of the Haag family.

I want to find out why Elsa was committed. I would like to find descendents of Marie, Emma, Philip or Johanna to see if there are pictures of Gustav and Elsa or what family stories they may have of this tragic couple. I have posted messages on many Rootsweb message boards and mailing lists. Hopefully I will be able find some answers and whether or not Gustav Blum is my great uncle!

Happy Birthday Mary!!!

It hardly seems possible that it was fifty years ago (yesterday) my sister Mary was born. Since there is a nine year age difference we both consider ourselves 'only children'. While I whined about her getting a new bike (mine was used) and a car (I had to use mom's) it gave me great material for years.

I would post a more current picture, but I only have permission to use pictures of her before the age of 5!

Happy Birthday Mary!!

Take Care,

Pattie

A Box of Old Pictures, Chicago Dogs and Evergreen Cemetery

A Research Trip Home

Last week I made a trip home to Illinois. While my ancestors came from the northwest suburb of Barrington, I grew up in the neighboring town of Fox River Grove.

My mom had recently mentioned she found an old box of pictures under the living room sofa so i was anxious to go look through them. My sister Mary and I try to scan pictures as soon as we can. Mom has a habit of cutting the originals up for her collage.

There were about 80 pictures we had not seen or scanned before so Mary scanned them as TIFFS and then I cut and saved another set as JPEGS.

One amazing thing was some actually had names and dates on them! This is my favorite. It is of my dad and is sibling from 1940. It is the earliest one I have seen of the three of them. I am very happy that we were able to rescue these pictures and document them.

Chicago Dogs and Evergreen Cemetery

Every time I make a trip home I have to visit Evergreen Cemetery. Over the years it has become more than a cemetery. Folks jog, walk and push strollers through the wooded rows of headstones. I like to eat lunch there. There is nothing better than a Chicago Dog and Fries from Kookers to give me the energy and motivation for an afternoon of locating, photographing and cleaning headstones.

On this trip I needed to take pictures of some memorials I had adopted on Findagrave.com. Unfortunately when I found them I could not photograph them until the 'bird droppings' had been removed. With a jug of water and some gentle rubbing the stones were ready for their close up.

Of course it rained soon after, so the 'bird droppings' would have been handled naturally if I had waited a day!

The last stop was to decorate my Grandparents, William and Florence Schwemm Pahlke's headstone. Lilacs for Grandma and American Flags for Grandpa, a World War I veteran.

Reminder

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Spring Cleaning can be a genealogist's break through moment or nightmare. I hate to think of how many folks might have pictures under a couch or in the back of a closet. You never know what you will find or what may get thrown out.

Take Care,
Pattie

Harry Potter, Genealogy and eReaders

Harry Potter

It was a year late, but Tori finally got to Harry Potter! She and Chuck road the rides while I made sure we had pictures and souvenirs. Tori decided to try Cornish Pasties at Harry Potters which she said were good, but not as good as Nan's. We all tried the ButterBeer but after one sip Chuck and Tori decided they needed a soda - I was the only one who liked it!

It was a good day.

Catching Up on My Genealogy

Since Clayton moved out I have been transitioning the bedroom into an office for myself and a bedroom for Tori's visits. The easy part is rearranging and buying furniture. The hard part is gathering up all the genealogy paperwork that I have not transcribed and filed for two years!

What I had not realized is that even though I had been doing genealogy research while Clayton was living here I had not kept up with my filing and transcribing. I kept finding folders and envelopes and notes that I thought I had entered into my database but had not.

While I was in the midst of all of this filing and data entry I realized that I also had to update many Findagrave.com memorials! Oh and then if there were newspaper articles to transcribe they also had to be sent to the Barrington Rootweb.com group!

The deadline for all of this is Wednesday when I leave to visit mom. The data entry and posting to the various websites will be done, the filing may not...

eReaders and Me

I have been struggling with which eReader to use and frankly what to use it for! That may sound strange but it has been quite a struggle. I have written an entire article on my Everyday Genealogy blog,but the bottom line is I like the Kindle best.

Take Care,
Pattie

Barrington, Beacon Hill and Family Stories

I grew up listening to family stories. I remember sitting around our kitchen table listening to my mother,her sisters and brothers talking about 'up home'. 'Up home' referred to Beacon Hill in Upper Michigan. Many of my mom's brother and sisters lived in or around Fox River Grove Illinois while I was growing up. There were always lots of laughter and stories.

My grandfather William Pahlke was retired and lived in Barrington just a couple of miles away. He would come to visit my mother during the week and tell her stories about family and friends. The one phrase I remember him using a lot was 'the big one', his reference to World War I.

Before I was born Grandpa Pahlke took mom on a tour of Barrington, his home town, and pointed out not only the houses various family members had lived in, but even their tombstones! What I would not give for a video of that day.

It is so important to record these family stories. They not only tell the history of our family but also of the communities that they settled in. The Barrington Area Library
has started an initiative to record the stories of the people of Barrington. The stories can be written or recorded, but the main thing is to collect them. I have listened to a few and I am so sorry I never recorded the breakfasts I would have with my Dad and Uncle Newt. I have written down the stories, but recordings would be so cool.

Last night I told mom she needed to take a break from writing about her childhood growing up on Lake Superior. I asked her to focus her writing about moving to Barrington and the various jobs and people she encountered.

I know we all think our parents have a special story, but hers is quite unique. In the late 1940's businesses in Barrington were advertising in Upper Michigan for "Clean, Hardworking Finnish Girls". Mom's sister Bunnie had answered one of these ads and found employment in Barrington. Soon after mom followed her lead and moved to Barrington. She also met dad...

This year make a point of starting to record your family stories. It may be a story that you have heard 100 times, but have your written it down? These family stories are more precious than any birth certificate or immigration record you will find.

Take Care,
Pattie

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