Military Monday - The Cousin I Never Met Was Closer Than I Ever Expected!

Hazleton Standard Speaker, 30NOV1967, pg1

I posted information on Michael Paul Brown previously.  I had his tombstone but no obituary.  During my trip home I made sure to get a copy of his obituary.  I made some very interesting discoveries upon reading it as well.  More on that in a bit.  First his obit:

"Local Soldier War Casualty In S. Vietnam

A 22-year-old Hazleton man died from a gunshot wound in South Vietnam on Sunday after his military vehicle had been hit by a hostile rocket, according to word received yesterday by his parents.

Specialist Five Michael P. Brown, son of Mr and Mrs. Neil Brown of 644 N. Wyoming St., thus became the area's fourth casualty of the war in Southeast Asia.

The 1964 graduate of Hazleton High School was killed by a bullet when the vehicle in which he was returning from a forward base camp was hit by rocket fire, a telegram from Washington related to his parents.  Earlier in the day, an Army sergeant broke the news to the Browns.

The telegram did not specify where in Vietnam the action took place.  Brown was a linguist with the 335th R.R.C.

No ward has been received yet on when the body will be shipped here.

He enlisted in the Army on Oct. 26, 1965, took basic training at Fort Dix, N.J., completed language training as a specialist in Vietnamese at the U.S. Army Language School in the Presidio of Monterey, Calif., and arrived in Vietnam in February 1967.

Before his enlistment, Brown worked for Home Delivery Pizzeria.

Born in Hazleton, he was the son of Neil and Dorothy (Gillespie) Brown.  His father is employed at Hazleton Brick Co.

Brown was a member of St. Gabriel's R. C. Church.

Surviving are his parents; three brothers, Neil Jr., Dennis, and Timothy and a sister, Patricia, all at home; and his maternal grandfather, Frank Gillespie, Hazleton.

Three other area young men have died in action in Vietnam."

As I mentioned before, Michael was my 2nd cousin once removed.  I knew from his military gravestone that he was a member of a Radio Research Company (R.R.C.) which I assumed to be some kind of signals and intelligence unit.  I was a military intelligence Soldier so I always felt drawn to Michael because I believed his military occupation would have been reasonably similar to mine.  Holy cow, did I underestimate the similarity!

He wasn't just an intel Soldier, but a linguist like I was.  He graduated from the "U.S. Army Language School in the Presidio of Monterey, Calif", which is the language school I graduated from although the name had changed when I went through to the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center.  Granted he studied Vietnamese and I studied Russian, but different times call for different languages and I came in as the Cold War was winding down.

Even though Michael was born a generation before me, we were from the same hometown so there were many similarities.  He graduated from Hazleton High School.  I moved during my senior year so while I didn't graduate from Hazleton High School, I did go there for 2 of 3 years.  Saint Gabriel's was his church.  It's a family church for us.  Our ancestors were there from the beginning and were active members.  For me, I was the last person in my line baptized there.  Then my mom moved to a different part of town and we went to another Catholic church a couple blocks away.

I hate the fact that my cousin died so young, but I'm incredibly proud of his military service.  Michael was not the only Soldier that died that day in Vietnam.  I looked up a webpage for his old unit, the 335th Radio Research Company, Army Security Agency, 9th Infantry Division.  One of the pages gave a history of the 335th and part of it mentions that day in November 1967:

"While in Vietnam, the 335th Radio Research Company suffered the loss of four men killed in action, all during the first year in country. SFC John F. Stirling was killed on 8 March 1967 during a mortar attach at the detachment at Tan An.  On 26 November 1967, SFC Robert D. Taylor, SGT Diego Ramierez, Jr., and SP5 Michael P. Brown were killed on Highway 4 in the vicinity of Xom Dua when the 1/4 ton vehicle in which they were traveling was hit by an enemy B40 recoilless round at close range."

It was the first year the unit and Michael were in country and three in one day.  I still have to request that military record for Michael.  I never noticed it before, but on his military marker it has "Vietnam PH"  I'm assuming that means he was awarded the Purple Heart.  I should hope he was. Hopefully I can find out more about his time at DLI.  Was there anywhere on post that they remembered former students that were killed in action?  You'd think I'd know this having been stationed there as a trainee and as a Drill Sergeant, but nope...I'm clueless there.  Fortunately, I've got friends that still float in and out of there.  I'm sure I can find someone to help discover more about Michael and preserve his memory.

Sunday's Obituary - The Inexhaustable Marian Brown

Janus yearbook 1948

I always knew when my great Aunt Marian Veronica Brown died.  I've visited and placed flowers at her grave over the years.  I've heard many stories about Aunt Marian, but I've never read her obituary and all I can say is WOW!

"Marian Brown, HHS Teacher, Dies

Miss Marian V. Brown, director of dramatics at Hazleton High School and well known throughout the region for her readings and direction of the local Thespian troupe, died at 5:45 o'clock this morning at the St. Joseph Hospital.  She had been admitted as a medical patient a week ago.  A lifelong resident of this city, she resided at 505 West Broad street.

She was a daughter of the late Thomas and Mary Barrett Brown.

A graduate of Bloomsburg State Teachers College, she received a bachelor of arts degree from Marywood College and her masters from New York University.

Miss Brown taught English at the H. F. Grebey Memorial Junior High School before being transferred to Hazleton High School about 1935.  She was named director of dramatics and public speaking instructor at HHS about 1939.  For the past two years she also taught Latin.  She has always taken charge of the high school's commencement activities, play and program, and directed numerous faculty plays.

The Plain Speaker, 09AUG1956, pg 12

Sponsored Thespian Troupe

She was sponsor of National Thespian Troupe No. 257 at HHS and this past June chaperoned a group from the local troupe to a summer dramatic workshop at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.

For the past several years, she aided the scholarship fund of Hazleton branch, American Association of University Women, by producing a benefit play.  Last year the branch named its scholarship the Marian V. Brown Scholarship.

She was a member of St. Gabriel's church and of the Altar and Rosary Society of the parish.  Other memberships included the Hazleton Teachers Association, Pennsylvania State Education Association and the National Education Association.

Taught Many Adults

She participated in the adult education program of the city by conducting speaking classes.

Surviving are three brothers, Edward, vice principal of H. F. Grebey Memorial Junior High School; Walter, teacher in Philadelphia; and Thomas, of Elmira, N.Y.

The funeral will be held from the Boyle funeral home Monday at 9 a. m. with solemn requiem high mass in St. Gabriel's church at 9:30.  Interment will be in the parish cemetery."

The Plain Speaker, 13AUG1956, pg 20

"Miss Marian V. Brown, Hazleton High School teacher who died Thursday, was buried this morning from the Boyle funeral home.  Solemn requiem high mass was celebrated in St. Gabriel's Church by Msgr. Dennis J. Kane, with Rev. Edward Haggerty as deacon and Rev. Eugene Moran as subdeacon.  Seated in the sanctuary were Rev. William Ward, chaplain at the St. Joseph Hospital, Rev. Frank and Rev. Cane, both of the Lady of Victory Church, Harvey's Lake.  Msgr. Kane gave the blessing in the parish cemetery.  Pallbearers were James Malatack, William McLaughlin, John Senko, Robbert Sacco, Frank Serany, Jr., and Herbert Skuba."

Aunt Marian was one of those people that my mom, aunt and uncle always talked about.  I can understand why when I see the obituary.  She did so much.  She was so active and obviously loved.  I mean to have the priests from the Harvey's Lake church and the hospital come to her funeral is really saying something.  The family took trips to Harvey's Lake in the summer.  It's not like they were there year-round!  And the pallbearers...they weren't family.  I can only imagine they were educators and friends that wanted to take part in remembering this great lady.  There were certainly family members that could have been pallbearers.

She attended and graduated from three colleges/universities!?!?  She had a scholarship named after her!?!?!  I find this amazing!  I also found out from my mom she paid her own way through school.  No help from her parents.  Her father, Thomas Brown, was a very loving man but he didn't believe that college was for women.  She was determined and obviously succeeded.  I don't know if she got any grants, scholarships, or worked her way through, but she did it.

Janus yearbook.  Year unknown.

She is also responsible for my grandfather, Edward Brown Sr, and great Uncle, Walter Brown Sr, going to college.  She paid their way!

She supported those organizations that she was apart of and she bought special presents for her nieces and nephews.  My mom tells me that Aunt Marian had great taste and bought the most beautiful presents.  When she died, she had no money left.  This wasn't due to frivolous spending on her part, but she believed in enjoying her life and used her money appropriately.  She wasn't married, had no kids, and knew that you can't take it with you!  She lived her life well and spent her money accordingly.

As for why Aunt Marian never married.  My mom tells me that there was talk of a man that she was in love with that was killed in World War II (name unknown).  There are also rumors of an affair with the novelist John O'Hara.  Frankly if you read about John O'Hara's life, affairs and him go hand in hand.  Does that make it true.  No...still a family legend.  But he was from the region and did reside in New York (one of the places Marian went to school).  Possible, but not confirmed.  Allegedly in one of his novels a character he created...a drama teacher...is based on Aunt Marian.  Since John O'Hara would change the names of people and cities, I'll most likely never know.  I just got one of his books and hope to see if anything sounds close to Aunt Marian as I read through it!  I'll keep you posted!

Sadly, I can find no mention of Marian's scholarship still being in existence.  Additionally the webpage for the Hazleton AAUW is pathetic...it's blank.  I'm not hopeful, but won't give up.

She obviously was a magnificent woman.  She achieved so much.  I wish I could have known her personally.  I wish I could have the opportunity to hear people she taught speak of her and find out what they thought of this obviously wonderful lady.

Follow Friday - This is Why We Subscribe to Blogs!

Seriously.  It never ceases to amaze me the number of fantastic blogs/posts that are out there.  There is simply no way to share them all, but each is worth it's weight in gold.  We all have various experiences and our collective knowledge base...wow.  No matter your experience level in genealogy and family history, you can always learn from others.  You just need to allow yourself to!

Here are just a few of the fantastic posts that I've wanted to share from the past few weeks.  I hope you head on over and check them out.  I'm sure you'll enjoy them as much as I did!

Lynn Palermo at The Armchair Genealogist has a rockin' series on Family Reunions.  I'm a family reunion ignoramus having only ever been to one and I rather young at the time...and bored to tears.  That was the Tabor family reunion in the late 70s/early 80s.  We never went to another, which was a shame.  I'm sure there would have been a point when I started enjoying them!  June 2012 is a big event in the Cayemberg Family.  The 75th Cayemberg Family reunion will be held in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  I've been married for almost 12 years now and I've never gone to the annual reunion.  It's not from a lack of desire, but the military has kept us so far away.  Next summer, come hell or high water, we will depart Texas for the trip to Wisconsin.  There's no way I'm missing this one!  Reading Lynn's posts got me so incredibly excited.  I hope we do some of the neat stuff she suggested...and a Facebook page for the event...FANTASTIC idea!  Check out "Family Reunions - Part 2 - Fundraising and Genealogy"...you'll be hooked and going after all the previous posts!

Genealogy Gems brought some exciting news about the 1940 census (who isn't extremely excited about this!).  The census won't be indexed when it first comes out so to search you'll need to do it by address which means that you need to know the enumeration district for the people you're looking for!  NARA has uploaded the maps to their website and Steve Morse has created a search form to help you find the E.D. easier.  Links at Lisa Louise Cook's Genealogy Gems blog!

Got Belgian ancestors?  My husband does and I've got to say, I was delighted to discover the Belgian Laces publication and the "What's New in Belgian Genealogical Research" blog.  I don't tend to hear about Belgian research often so it's great when you find blogs and societies that specialize in them.  Get out there and look.  You'll be surprised at what you find!

Trying to find ancestors that fought in the Civil War?  Lisa Swanson Ellam's (The Faces of My Family) post "Military Monday:  How to Find Possible Civil War Soldiers in Your Tree".  She explains a filtering process she learned at Fort Wayne's Ancestry Days from Anne Gillespie Mitchell of Ancestry.com.  It will narrow down the list of people you have in your tree to those most likely to have served during the Civil War.  I have to adapt it to the filters in my genealogy program, but the concept should still be the same.

At Onward to Our Past, Scott has another tip for "Real World" genealogists about saving and organizing your family trees, photos, documents, etc.  I always love his tips.  Practical for us all!

That's all for now.  There is so much more to share though.  So many impressive blogs...so little time!

Treasure Chest Thursday - Share a Treasured Family Album...with EVERYONE in the Family

Quirk Album/Scrapbook recreated digitally for sharing

Lorine McGinnis Schulze from "Olive Tree Genealogy" inspired this post with her "Shutterfly: I'm Loving It!" post.  I'm also a fan of Shutterfly.  I love that you can create calendars, mugs, and photo albums through their website.  It's truly a wonderful way to create a family treasure!

In May 2002 as my family and I were preparing to depart Hawaii which had been our home for the past three years and head to our new duty station in Monterey, California, we were blessed to be able to stay with my aunt and uncle in Kailua.  My aunt shared with me some wonderful family photos and a very old family scrapbook from the Quirk side of the family.  We knew little about the album apart from the fact that it was a Quirk family album.  It had belonged to my grandmother, Mary Ann Brown nee Quirk, and had most likely been put together by one of her aunts and given to her. 

None of the pictures were labeled so no one was identified.  Bummer.  We were able to make out one of the people in the album for sure...Mary Ann, and she was in at least half of the pictures.  Score! The album was beginning to fall apart.  Mary Ann was born in 1913 and this obviously was from that era.  I made sure that when I scanned the images (600 dpi) that I scanned and saved them in order.  I fact, after I cropped the photos from each page, I saved them by page number (pg 1a, pg 1b, etc).  I wanted to keep the photos in context.  They were obviously put in the scrapbook in that order for a reason...even if that reason was the chronology of events.  It would undoubtedly give clues.

So after this week of being in family history heaven we moved on to our next duty station.  I became a Drill Sergeant and life got busy.  The pictures sat for almost 8 years and then I finally discovered Shutterfly albums and decided to do something meaningful with them.

I couldn't think of what to get for my mom for her birthday/Mother's Day (the both are always close) so it dawned on me to put together a copy of the album for her.  It's not exact but at least the photos are in the right order.  I even made the album pages black like the original album and added pictures of photo corners (something I wish the original had!).  I had shown the scanned images to my mom on previous trips home, trying to figure out who the people were.  Even though we hadn't solved many of the mysteries knowing our family history I was able to add at least some text with each page even if it asked a question, "Who were they?"  "Could it be this person/event?"

I created a pedigree chart for my mom and placed a picture of a coal breaker in the background (coal mining family here!).  I printed it on a mailing label (a 8-1/2x11 sized giant sticker), and placed it on the inside back cover.  I just gave it to my mom during this trip home.  It took awhile for me to get everything the way I wanted it.  She loves it and seeing how much she loves it meant so much more than I could possibly say.

There have been some benefits already.  My mom's memory was jogged a bit more.  I mislabeled a photo of people standing in front of a "Jeanesville, PA" sign as possibly being at a train station.  My mom reminded me as to how small that city was and that it was unlikely to have had it's own train station.  That Elizabeth Quirk was the postmistress for Jeanesville and this was most likely on the house since the post would have gone through there.  The album is saved on my Shutterfly logon and can easily be changed for the next person that gets a copy!

Shutterfly puts little orange triangles by pictures that may not print well or text that may have spelling mistakes

Wedding Wednesday - Edward and Mary Ann Brown nee Quirk

The Plain Speaker, 18JUN1940, pg 28

"Brown-Quirk.

Miss Mary Ann Quirk, daughter of Edward J. Quirk of Jeanesville, and Edward J. Brown, son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Brown, of West Broad street, this city, were married this morning at 8 o'clock at St. Gabriel's church by Very Rev. Monsignor Dennis J. Kane, who also celebrated the nuptial mass which followed the ceremony.

The bride wore a gown of white marquisheer made with a high neckline, short sleeves and a full ruffled skirt.  Her finger-tip veil of illusion was held in place by a cap of orange blossoms, and she carried an old fashioned bouquet of white roses, larkspur and sweet peas.

Miss Anna Turnbach, cousin of the bride, was bridesmaid and carrying out the all-white theme, wore a gown of white marquisheer similar to the bride's.  She wore a doll hat of white maline trimmed with small white flowers, and her old fashioned bouquet of mixed flowers.

Walter H. Brown, brother of the bridegroom, was best man.  The ushers were Eugene McElwee, cousin of the bridegroom, and Edward J. Corcoran.

Miss Margaret Flynn presided at the organ, and Patrick McHugh sang during the mass.

Immediately following the mass, a wedding breakfast was served at the Catholic Women's Club, after which the couple left on a motor trip through the New England States.

The bride is a graduate of West Chester State Teachers' College and is assistant music supervisor in the Hazle township schools.  The bridegroom is a graduate of Villanova and is a member of the Green-Vine Junior High School faculty."

This is the wedding announcement for my grandmother and grandfather.  I'm hoping that someday I'll be able to see a picture of the bride and groom.  The descriptions of the dresses were fantastic!  I'm told by my mom that it should be familiar...that she wore the same dress at her wedding, which  I remember trying that on when I was in high school!  It fit in my skinnier days, but it zipped on the side from the waist to the underarm.  Very awkward to try to get off.  I almost got stuck!

Some things that were not mentioned in the article:

1) The groom's parents, Thomas and Mary Brown Sr nee Barrett, were also married on June 18th in 1901 so it was their 39th anniversary that day!

2) It was the bride's 27th birthday on her wedding day!

3) Mary Ann's mother is not mentioned in the article.  Her name was Alice Quirk nee Blanchfield and she died on September 23, 1915 in (or shortly after) childbirth when Mary Ann was only 2 years old.  The child (gender unknown) died as well (or was stillborn).

4) The bride (as previously mentioned) was 27 and the groom was 31 when they married.  A bit older than we would normally see for this period.  I'm sure the fact that they were both college graduates had something to do with that!

Tuesday's Tip - Inputting Data on the 1850 Census, Schedule 2

1850 U.S. Federal Census, Schedule 2

Last week I posted the Schedule 1 for the 1850 census which for the first time only collected data on free inhabitants of the United States.  This is the first census where slaves were counted in a completely separate schedule, so we've got to have a separate inputtable form to go with it right here!

Whether we are researching our own genealogy as descendants of slaves or slave owners or researching someone else's, it is certainly convenient to have a form that you can transcribe to and save!

At this point in my blog post, I would normal start directing you to websites such as www.1930census.com or the site for the U.S. Census Bureau.  While those sites are worth checking out as I mentioned in last week's census post, they are rather lacking with details on the Slave Schedules.  Perhaps I missed something.

I have previously glossed over the information on Ancestry's website, not because there isn't information worth sharing, but it's like beating a dead horse.  Been there, done that, everyone's used their site before.  In this instance, however, I do defer to quite a well-written source explanation that they posted from William Dollarhide's, The Census Book: A Genealogist's Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes (affiliate link) and Loretto Dennis Szucs', "Research in Census Records." in The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy (affiliate link). Check out the excerpt on Ancestry's 1850 Slave Schedule census page for some great information before diving in.

Some good general information on census research on FreedomCenter.org.  One page of stuff that we pretty much already know, but it's always a good to be reminded of some things!

Netplaces.com has a sweet little article written by Kimberly Powell on jewels we can find in all the special census schedules.  If you haven't worked with any of the special schedules yet, this article will get you ready to jump in.

Perhaps my favorite site so far for Schedule 2 is an essay written by David E. Paterson on Afrigeneas which points out that the schedules were controversial and rewritten specifically to exclude the names of the individual slaves, places of birth, etc.  It's really a very interesting essay, but be warned it may get your blood going when you have to read through the prejudice of the past.

As always, if you have any trouble viewing or downloading the spreadsheet, just comment or send me an email and I'll see what I can do to fix it.  So far there hasn't been any trouble since the very first sheet I posted.

When you view the census through Google documents it does appear as if it were 3 pages, but rest assured that when downloaded it looks like the image at the top of the blog and in one simple page.  The sheet is locked so you can't accidentally erase the headers and you can only input in the blanks.

One word of warning.  I couldn't figure out how to wrap the text so the cells would fill in the entire left side of the form and then start again in the right column.  So right now when you hit "tab" it will move across the entire row before wrapping around.  I've been trying to look up ways to assign cell order, but so far, no good.  Just keep your eyes on where you're typing!

Let me know if there are any mistakes as well.  I'm sure you can imagine my eyes were starting to go crossed by the time I was done with this form!  Corrections and suggestions are always welcome!

Next week I'll be traveling back home to Texas so we'll see if I can get the next schedule out and ready to go before then!  Until next time, have fun tending those roots!

Military Monday - Martin Joseph Cayemberg

MJ Cayemberg awarded Purple Heart

 "Martin Cayemberg [sic], 875 Shawano avenue, was awarded the Purple Heart, United States Army medal for meritorious service in the World war, during the Memorial day program at the Columbus club Friday morning.  Cayemberg [sic] served with Co. A, 38th infantry, Third division.  H. J. Menard, master of ceremonies for the Memorial day observance, is pictured above pinning the medal on Cayemberg [sic] who is at the left."

MJ Cayemberg w/WWII Soldiers at DAV

"Nurse's Aide Miss Marianne Van Drisse is shown serving lunch to Privates Paul M. Albert, Jack Stricker, and Robert Davis with Martin J. Cayemberg, commander of the local D.A.V. after they donated blood to the American Red Cross mobile unit Monday evening.  The unit will complete a five day engagement here Friday afternoon."






Some newspaper clippings I came across in a scrapbook of articles that was passed on to me.  I had found the below article on him being "slightly wounded" during World War I in the Washington Post, but hadn't seen the articles on him being awarded the purple heart until I began scanning those albums!

Washington Post 11FEB1919 pg 8

Thanks to that fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973, this was the only information NPRC could/would release to me.  Can anyone explain to me why it's on a Freedom of Information Act form?

Without these newspaper articles an important part of Martin's life and military story would not have been told.

Sunday's Obituary - Thomas Joseph Brown Sr

Thomas Brown Sr and Catherine Ryan nee Brown

 
"Thos. J. Brown Taken In Death

Thomas J. Brown, of 505 West Broad street, one of Hazleton's most prominent citizens, died this morning at 7:10 o'clock at St. Joseph Hospital.  Ill for a time, he had entered the hospital a month ago.

At last night's banquet of Hazleton Council 442, Knights of Columbus, at the Altamont, he was mentioned as one of the honorary life-member of that order who had been associated with the council for more than fifty years and to whom tribute was paid.

A son of Neil and Nancy McCoy Brown, he was born in this city, where he had spent his entire life.

Prior to his retirement ten years ago, he had been engaged as engineer by the G. B. Markle Coal Co. and the Jeddo-Highland Coal Co. for 42 years.

A devout Roman Catholic, he was a member of St. Gabriel's church and the Holy Name Society.

Mr. Brown was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Barrett Brown, ten years ago.

Surviving are these children:  Marian V. Brown, member of the HHS faculty and dramatic director for many years; Edward a member of the Grebey Jr. High School teaching staff; Thomas, of Elmira, N. Y., and Walter, and instructor in the public schools of Philadelphia.  There are five grandchildren.  Two nephews, Rev. John Brown, of Pinehurst, N. C., and Rev. Aloysius McElwee, for any years a chaplain in the United States Army, and recently assigned to a post in Mississippi, also survive.

The funeral will be held from the Boyle funeral home on Friday morning at 9 o'clock.  Solemn high mass will be offered up in St. Gabriel's church at 9:30 and burial will be in the parish cemetery.

Friends may call at the funeral home on Wednesday and Thursday from 2 to 4, and 7 to 10 p. m."

"Today's Funerals

Thomas J. Brown of 505 West Broad street, retired engineer for the Jeddo-Highland Coal Co. who died Tuesday at St. Joseph Hospital, was buried this morning from the Boyle funeral home.  Rev. Aloysius McElwee, Chaplain-Major of the United States Army at Fort Devens, Mass., and a nephew of the deceased, was celebrant of a solemn high mass in St. Gabriel's church.  Assisting at the mass were Rev. Eugene R. Moran, deacon, Rev. Paul J. Purcell, sub-deacon.  Rt. Rev. Monsignor Dennis J. Kane, and Rev. Gerald Conahan, the latter of Scranton, were seated in the sanctuary.  Burial was in St. Gabriel's cemetery with Father McElwee, assisted by Father Moran, giving the blessing at the grave.  Pallbearers were John Gallagher, William Halton, Peter McCoy, Daniel Meehan, Connie McHugh and James McKelvey."

Thomas Brown Sr was my great grandfather.  The articles certainly have enough wonderful clues to help further my research.  Was Peter McCoy a cousin?  It was his mother's maiden name and getting past her is one of my brick walls!  I'll have to see what I can do able using this information to scale it in the near future!

Family Recipe Friday - Ravioli...The Way My Irish Mom Used To Make!

So my mom's 100% Irish, but she loved cooking all kinds of food...except Irish food.  Maybe I should make her my Guinness Stew over Colcannon while I'm home!

Anyway, this is my mom's recipe for ravioli.  She made the dough from scratch, but if you're in a hurry you can always cheat by using wonton wrappers (shhh!  Don't tell mom I said that!)


Basic Noodle Dough

4 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
6 tbsp cold water

In a bowl combine the flour and salt, making a well in the center.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing the ingredients lightly with a fork or your fingers as the dough begins to come together.  After all eggs are incorporated, gradually add the cold water.  Mix well.  Knead for several minutes.

Ravioli

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 lbs ground beef (no idea what fat/lean ratio it would be today)
1/2 c Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp dried oregano

Saute the onion in the olive oil.  When the onion is just about done (almost clear) add the garlic and continue sauteing until the onion is clear.  Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the meat to the hot pan and brown, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.  Drain the fat from the pan.  Return the onion and garlic to the pan and combine.  Add the cheese, oregano and egg.

To assemble the ravioli

Roll the dough out on a floured surface.  It should be very thin but not falling apart.  Cut into squares, circles or whatever shape you want the ravioli to be (When my mom would roll the dough it was more round than a rectangle so they weren't all perfect squares, but that just made them special!).  Place some meat mixture on one half of the dough.  Dip your finger into some egg wash (beaten egg mixed with water) and put on the edges of the dough.  Fold the dough over the meat and press to seal.  After all ravioli are made use a fork to crimp the edges closed.

Bring water to a boil and drop ravioli in batches into the boiling water.  They don't need to cook long because the meat is already cooked.  You're just warming them up!  Serve with your favorite pasta sauce or pesto.  Mom always topped with her spaghetti sauce.  That'll be another Family Recipe Friday!

If you'd like to save the uncooked ravioli for cooking at a later date, just place them in one layer on cookie sheets and freeze for a few hours.  If you don't have a big freezer and you need to stack the ravioli, remember to put waxed paper between layers.

I love mom's ravioli.  Just typing this makes me want to run into the kitchen and start making them.  I'm going to be bad (mom may throw something at me when she reads this), but I'm going to make a little change to the recipe and see how it turns out.  Because the meat in this recipe is already cooked completely it seems to just roll out of the center of the ravioli after that first bite.  The egg binder never really kept everything together.  So I'm going to not cook...or maybe par-cook the meat.  It'll cook when boiling, it's just you'll have to cook longer.  I'll have to post an update after I try it...if mom lets me live long enough to try it!

I'll be sure to post pictures too!

Wedding Wednesday - Patrick and Laura Cayemberg nee Laurent

Patrick and Laura Cayemberg

Patrick and Laura's wedding picture

"Society News

Miss Laura Laurent Weds P.H. Cayemberg

The marriage of Miss Laura Mary Laurent, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Laurent of Tonet, to Patrick Henry Cayemberg, Green Bay, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eli Cayemberg of Pulaski, took place Thursday morning at St. Martin's church at Tonet the Rev. L. A. Dobbelsteen officiating.  The bride wore a gown of salmon-pink georgette, made in Colonial fashion, and trimmed with lace and rhinestones.  A sash of blue, orchid and yellow was worn and a silver lace hat trimmed with rhinestones and silver slippers completed the costume.  She carried an arm bouquet of white chrysanthemums with silver streamers.  Little Joyce Marie Cravillion was flower girl.  She wore a frock of peach crepe de chine with ruffles, and blue and peach streamers and a band of pearls and rhinestones around her head.  She carried a basket of sweet peas and roses.  Miss Anna Laurent was maid of honor, her gown being blue georgette made in Colonial style.  She carried baby chrysanthemums.  Walter Cayemberg was best man, Joseph Hermans and Wallace Guilette, groomsmen, and Hubert Guilette and Louis Lemens, ushers.  The home of the parents of the bride was decorated with streamers of peach, salmon, blue, orchids and yellow and there was a wedding bell in the center of the ceiling of each room.  Dinner and supper were served to 420 guests.  A wedding dance was held in the evening at Jonet's hall, music being furnished by the Bohemian brass band."

Patrick and Laura were my husband's paternal grandparents.  They lived right behind his house when he was growing up.  As I blogged before, they died within days of each other.

Tuesday's Tip - Inputting Data on the 1850 U.S. Census, Schedule 1

1850 U.S. Federal Census, Schedule 1

A little break from census forms as I drove from Texas to Pennsylvania, but time has now permitted me to continue with another form to share.  This week I created an inputtable form for the 1850 census.  It was easier than in some of the past censuses I did.  It's not that there's not a lot of good information on the form, there is.  Rather they became a little smarter with how they recorded that information, leaving room for more detail (in my opinion).  Still it's not all the information we data-hungry genealogists would like to have, but it's better than a sharp stick in the eye!

For the first time we've got the names of everyone in the household and not just the head of the household.  Major improvement.  No relationships are listed, but we know if they lived under the same roof and what their names were.  Make sure you don't go into making hard and fast conclusions just because they lived in the same household.  You need to verify relationships.  Sometimes people brought in lodgers and there was no relationship!

Also recording people by age range rather than putting their exact age.  Gone.  We've got a spot for occupation, but only recorded for those aged 15 and up.  I don't know about you, but I've got plenty of ancestors that were working in the coal mines well before the age of 15!

Sadly, no marital status, but if they were married within the past year, ya got lucky...there'll be notice of that!  There's also a column to be marked if the person was, "Deaf and dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper, or convict."  So obviously we'll know the name of the unfortunate person, however my smart-aleck side says that there's a huge difference between all of those groups and we won't even go into political correctness!

This is also the first census I can use in my family tree.  Experience level.  Still low.  Only one ancestor came over by 1850 on my side of the family and a couple on my hubby's side.

As before the people who bring you 1930census.com have some good information.  A map of the US at the time and the US is certainly starting to look a bit more like what we know today.  The western states are still fewer, but there more boundary lines.  A good history for the decade is included.  California became a state in September 1850.  Even though the census date was set for June 1, 1850 they were included in it.

The US Census Bureau's website has lots of yummy information as well.  For example:

"The Seventh Census of the United States: 1850. Embracing a statistical view of each of the States and Territories, arranged by counties, towns, etc...with an introduction, embracing the aggregate tables for the United States compared with every previous census since 1790..."

There are also mortality statistics as well for you to check out.  All of this can be reached through their 1850 census page.

Remember that there were 6 schedules of data collected for this census and the form is only for Schedule 1:

Schedule 1 - Population
Schedule 2 - Slaves
Schedule 3 - Mortality
Schedule 4 - Agriculture
Schedule 5 - Industrial
Schedule 6 - Social Statistics

As always, if you have any trouble viewing or downloading the spreadsheet, just comment or send me an email and I'll see what I can do to fix it.  So far there hasn't been any trouble since the very first sheet I posted.  I'll cross my fingers!

When you view the census through Google documents it does appear as if it were 3 pages, but rest assured that when downloaded it looks like the image at the top of the blog and in one simple page.

Let me know if there are any mistakes as well.  I'm sure you can imagine my eyes were starting to go crossed by the time I was done with this form!  Corrections and suggestions are always welcome!

To access the form simply click on the image at the top of the page or click on anywhere it says "1850 census".


Next week I'll post an inputtable Slave Schedule for 1850.  Until next time, have fun tending those roots!

Military Monday - SGT Van Pee Dies in Italy

"Sgt. Van Pee Dies in Italy

Soldier [sic] Suffered Skull Fracture in Motorcycle Accident, Parents Told

Staff Sgt. Clifford C. Van Pee, 25, died Jan. 17 in Italy as the result of a skull fracture received in a motorcycle crash, according to a wire from the War department to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry (Shorty) Van Pee, route 1.

In V-mail letters written Jan. 14 and 15 to his parents and sister, he said he hoped to come home in two months as his name was in for rotation, and 12 of the boys were leaving for the States that day.

18 Months Overseas

Sgt. Van Pee used a motorcycle often as his work on the civilian and military payrolls necessitated his traveling between various offices and bases.

He celebrated his 25th birthday and his anniversary of 18 months overseas service on the same day, Jan. 13, when his officers gave him a free day and he observed the occasion at a party given by Italian friends.

Before he went into Army service April 17, 1941, Sgt. Van Pee worked on the silver fox farm and in the tavern which his parents operate.  He was a graduate of Holy Cross school, Bay Settlement, and East High school.

He went to England in July, 1942, and was sent to North Africa with the first invasion in November, 1942.  He was later sent to Sicily and then to Italy for payroll and personnel duties.

Requiem Mass Monday

Survivors in addition to his parents include two sisters, Mrs. Clarence Gerlikowski and Mrs. Harold Spielbauer; his grandmother, Mrs. Emily Van Pee, who celebrates her 80th birthday today, and Miss Shirley Corsten, his fiancee, all of Green Bay.

A requiem mass will be said at 9 o'clock Monday morning in Holy Cross church, Bay Settlement, by the Rev. J. W. De Vries.

Sunday's Obituary - Florence Cayemberg nee Villers

Eli and Florence Cayemberg nee Villers

I found this obituary in that wonderful scrapbook of newspaper clippings that was handed down to me.  I always had known when Florence died.  I didn't think that her obituary would bring me any news or leads.  Sometimes I can be incredibly dim...

"Mother of 10 Dies at 86

Florence Cayemberg Passes at Pulaski; Rites on Wednesday

{Handwritten - Dec 22, 1956}

Special to Press-Gazette

PULASKI, Wis. - Mrs. Florence Cayemberg, 86, Pulaski, Rt. 2 died at the home of her son, Walter, there Saturday following a lingering illness.  Mrs. Cayemberg, the former Florence Villers, was a survivor of the fire which destroyed Rosiere, the area near Rosiere, Door County, At the same time of the Peshtigo fire.  Saved from the burning home of her parents by a 12-year-old boy, she was less than two years old at the time.

Born at Rosiere Jan. 6, 1870 she moved with her parents to Algoma when she was nine years old.  She married Eli Cayemberg April 24, 1886. The couple operated a store, cheese factory and black smith shop there until 1910, when they move to Pulaski.  Her husband died in 1939.

..Survivors Are Listed

Survivors include three daughters, Mrs. Lucy Anderson and Mrs. Anastasia Moreaux, Green Bay; Mrs. Ella Cravillion [sic], Luxemburg; seven sons, Frank, Martin J. and Patrick, all of Green Bay; Henry and Wilfred of Manitowoc; Felix, Ensign, Mich., and Walter, Pulaski.  A daughter, Mrs. Emily Guilette, died in 1923.

Other survivors include two sisters, Mrs. Mary LaJoi, Jamestown N. D., and Mrs. Agnes Tardiff, Edmond, Wash.; and one brother, Lewis Villers, Green Bay; 44 grandchildren, and 56 great grandchildren.

She was a member of St. Theresa Society and the Rosary Society of SS Edward and Isidore Church, Flintville, and the DAV Auxiliary, Green Bay.  The body is at the Marnocha Funeral Home, Pulaski, where the Rosary will be recited tonight and Tuesday at 8 o'clock.  Funeral rites will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday in SS. Edward and Isidore Church with the Rev. Casmimir Krauklis officiating.  Burial will be in the church cemetery."

So what was new.  Well, first off it gave the locations and names of her siblings.  Sure I've located most of them already in census records but this was a supporting piece of evidence.  I didn't know that her sister, Agnes' married name was Tardiff.  Nor did I know that she had moved out to Washington state.  This was fairly significant, because the majority of the family stayed in Wisconsin or the closely neighboring states.

I knew that Eli and Florence had owned and operated a store.  I've posted pictures of it.  I didn't know that it included a cheese factory and black smith shop.  Super cool.

Lastly, and perhaps most significant if it is correct, is the reference to the fire she survived.  Family lore always said that she survived the Peshtigo Fire, and technically this is true.  The fire that burned the entire region became known as the Great Peshtigo Fire because Peshtigo and a large portion of it's population were wiped off the map.  As it turns out she wasn't actually in Peshtigo, but Rosiere which was also apparently severely damaged by the great fire.  I knew about the 12 year old that saved her, but again it was location that was wrong.  I think some people made assumptions instead of asking proper questions.  I had this past year been informed that the family was "visiting Peshtigo" when the fire broke out.  Wrong.  Still Florence was in danger and was saved, but I'd prefer to get the story right.  Wouldn't you?

Follow Friday - So Much to Do So Little Time!

It's another Friday and I finally got to my mom's house on Thursday evening.  It's good to be with family, but there are never enough hours in the day.  Tomorrow I'll be spending the day relaxing and heading to the theater to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and I'll be seeing it twice.  A matinee and once in the evening after my sister gets off work.  And yes...I'm excited about seeing it twice in one day!  I'm a bit of a Harry Potter dork.

So if you're not heading out to see this epic finale (and it better be good!) then check out some of the posts that caught my attention.  If you are heading out, well, enjoy the day and squeeze these in anyway!

Jenn Woods at Climbing My Family Tree One Branch at a Time just keeps turning out those wonderful genealogy worksheets for kids!  Two additional worksheets since the last time I blogged about her Genealogy for Kids series (unless I blinked and there's a third addition!).  One of the new worksheets is called "My Family History Interview".  A very simple concept...get the kids to write down some questions that they want to ask grandma, grandpa, etc and then send them in!  Jen's got the psyops down in getting through to those difficult family members.  Send in the cute kiddos!  I love it!  Her other worksheet is "My Ancestors in the Civil War".  Jen has a very rich family history with ancestors that fought on both sides.  I'm insanely jealous.  I haven't found one direct line ancestor that participated in the Civil War.  The sheet is a wonderful way for the kids to put on paper a bit of what they know about their Civil War ancestors.  There is room for their name, state they were from and an interesting fact on each.  With the 150th anniversary this is a great time to use her Civil War sheet!

Scott at Onward To Our Past is giving tips on "real world" genealogy and I like it!  All the tips we see everyone sharing are fabulous, but Scott has shown some pretty practical thinking in this series and I would expect that we could all learn something from his ingenuity!  I won't spoil the post, but let's just say that he's got a new use for that ice scraper you aren't using much this time of year!  Sound intriguing?  Head on over and check it out!

Got an invite to Google+ yet?  I'm still stumbling around it, but am forever grateful to Genealogy Tip of the Day's Michael John Neill for sending an invite so I could finally get on Google+.  Since I've been traveling I haven't been able to get on as much as I'd like, but I'll be playing around now that I'm not in a car for 4-10 hours a day.  Still stumbling around it too?  Want to find people on Google+  that share your interests?  Randymajors.com created a search tool to help you find just that!  It's called GPlusSearch.  Give it a whirl!

Thanks to Dick Eastman and Joan Miller for directing me to a very interesting article in PC World called "9 Reasons to Switch from Facebook to Google+"  I can't say that I'm going to "switch".  I have too many friends on Facebook that may not want to head on over so I can see myself trying to straddle both, but hey, we're genealogists...we embrace technology, right!?!?!  The article illustrates some pretty significant differences/improvements that Google+ has.  If nothing else, I'm sure Facebook is going to have to do some pretty fancy footwork if they want to keep up and not fall to the wayside like MySpace.  Time will tell. 

So much more to follow, but it's getting late and it simply won't do to be falling asleep during HP7 so off to bed I must go.  Enjoy these posts and all the other wonderful ones out there.  Until next time, have fun tending those roots!

Those Places Thursday - Family Vacations at Virginia Beach

Sunrise at Virginia Beach, July 2011

When I was growing up I really thought that everyone took vacations to places like Virginia Beach, VA.  I loved going to Virginia Beach (referred to from here on simply as "the Beach").  Each year we would start asking my father if we were going to be going on vacation sometime around March.  The answer was always the same..."Maybe".  That was good enough as a "Yes" to a kid and I was a planner so I'd start packing...in April.  

Aimee and Cherie Tabor playing on Virginia Beach

Packing..you know...the things that a 5 or 6 or 7 year old would pack for a trip.  My sisters and I couldn't contain our excitement about going.  What we didn't realize at the time was that it was always a matter of money as to whether or not we could go.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, my father was (to put it kindly) employment-challenged for the majority of my life, but little kids don't really understand that.  When we would go, most times, it was because my mom was the general manager at the local Holiday Inn and either got the hotel room for free or a really discounted price.

My mom, Alice, with Aimee and me at VA Beach

The hotel room was always right on the beach and had a balcony over-looking the ocean.  It was heaven to me.  To be able to go out onto the balcony in the dark and not be able to see the ocean but to listen to it.  Listening to the waves crashing  close by, but just far enough out to not really be able to see them was so cool.  It's a peaceful sound to me.  Probably because it brings back some happy childhood memories.  Back when my mom and dad were still married and my family unit was still whole.  That's not to say that my life wasn't happy after that, but divorce makes an impression on a child and children are generally that casualties of those types of war and "war" was a pretty apt term for what happened.  That's another post, however, and this is a much more happy memory.

Benjamin and Daniel Cayemberg collecting shells at VA Beach

We would wake up in the mornings and my mom would make breakfast.  It was a requirement for the hotel room to have a kitchenette so she could cook and we could save money.  Then we'd go to the beach and play in the sand or in the water and then head back to the hotel room for my mom to make lunch.  Dinner was the one meal that was at a restaurant.  This was a big deal for us because there wasn't much restaurant eating for us during the year and I was an incredibly picky eater.  This was irritating for my father.  He'd take us to a wonderful seafood restaurant at the beach and I would get a hamburger.  We'd go to an Italian restaurant and I'd get a hamburger.  We'd go to any restaurant and I would get a hamburger.  He hated that.

My husband and kids at VA Beach

Why wouldn't I try crab legs?  Shrimp? Lobster?  To me I would think, "Why would I want to eat something that looks fairly close to what it looked like when it was still crawling around?"  My older and younger sisters enjoyed that stuff, but you couldn't get me to touch it with a 10 foot pole!  And my burger...yeah...well-done, baby.  It had been sent back a number of times by my mom who would sarcastically tell the waiter to have them burn it.  She enjoyed her meat pink...not me...pink meant blood.  I've grown out of that.  I eat my beef medium and try new things...as my waistline unfortunately has started to show since I said good-bye to the Army and people whipping my butt into shape!

Rick and Danny on VA Beach at sunrise

Still, even with the craziness of my awful eating habits it was the height of the year for me.  We would get inflatable rafts and ride the waves in.  They call it body surfing now, I suppose, and I had so much fun doing it.  It was hard to get my little sister, Aimee, and I out of the water to do anything else and my dad would body surf with us.  Great fun.

My other favorite thing to do was to visit the souvenir shops along the beach.  Yeah, I can appreciate today that they are pretty much filled with crap, but to a kid it was awesome crap!  We never got to buy too much, but every now and then, when my dad had an employed year, we'd be able to get some souvenirs.  I remember a wind up dolphin that would float in the bathtub and swim around.  It lasted a couple weeks before it died.  They still make them by the way!

I will always have fond memories of the Beach although as an adult I can look back and understand that it wasn't perfect.  What is?  But the memories are perfect.  Pure joy.  Pure innocence as a child oblivious to all the difficulties of the world.  Just having fun.

I wanted my two boys to share in those experiences, so this year as we drove from Texas to Pennsylvania to see my family, the Beach was one of those places we had to stop at.  It looked the same.  The hotels, the shops, the beach.  Not much changed.  People still plucking jellyfish out of the water and poking them.  Sitting on towels and kids playing in the sand.  No body surfing for my 5 year old, but my 10 year old and husband did enjoy riding some waves sans raft/board.  The little one and I contented ourselves with jumping over the waves and staying cool.

The sunrise over the Atlantic

We had fun, but I realized that it wasn't the same type of fun my husband had when he was a kid.  His family lived in Wisconsin and would go camping.  We shared childhood memories of vacations and I realized that we both looked back on our different experiences with such fondness...both had somewhat different ideas of what a family vacation was, but we managed to give our kids a taste of both his childhood and mine.  I wonder what they'll think of our family vacations when they are grown and have children of their own.  Hopefully, we've given them some great experiences.

Thanks for reminiscing with me.

Wedding Wednesday - Patrick Cayemberg Jr & Dolores Kuehl

 

This is the wedding announcement for my husband's mom and dad with some of the wedding pictures.  I love my in-laws!

Unknown Wisconsin Newspaper

"Pat Cayemberg, Jr. Takes Miss Dolores [sic] Kuehl For Bride

{hand-written May 14, 1960}

St. Killian's Church New Franken was the scene of the May 14th [sic] wedding of Miss Dolores [sic] Kuehl, daughter of the Romand [sic] Kuehl's [sic] Campbellsport [sic] and M. Patrick Cayemberg Jr. son of the Senior Patrick Cayembergs [sic], 2023 Willow St.  The Rev. Fr. J. B. Reickel, officiated.

The newlyweds will reside in Green Bay following a honeymoon to the Western States.

Honeymooning in the Western states are Patrick Cayemberg Jr. and his bride, the former Miss Dolores [sic] Kuehl.  They were married Saturday morning, May 14th [sic], at St. Kilian's Church, New Franken, with the Rev. J. B. Reickel officiating.  Mr. Cayemberg is the son of the senior Patrick Cayembergs of Green Bay, and the bride's parents are Mr. and Mrs. Romand Kuehl, Campbellsport, Rt. 3.

The bride was escorted to the front of the church by her father, and was attended by Mrs. Vincent Ryan, matron of honor; along with Mrs. Richard List, Mrs. Rolland Cayemberg, Mrs. Darold Cayemberg, Miss Margie Rousseau and Miss Marie-Jo Hensch as bridal aides.

Wayne Cayemberg performed the duties of best man for the bridegroom, while Richard List, Glen Cayemberg, Darold Cayemberg, Rolland Cayemberg and Vincent Ryan were groomsmen.  Guests were ushered by Larry Laurent and Alois Beisbier.

A bridal dinner was served at Krueger's Hotel in Theresa, followed by a reception and dance at West Park Ballroom in West Bend.  When they return from their honeymoon trip, the Cayembergs will make their home in Green Bay."

Was that article disjointed or what?  So many spelling errors...I mean misspelling the bride's name, although at least they misspelled it consistently throughout the article!  I had to get through transcribing the whole thing before I could convince myself that it wasn't two different articles pasted together.  I had cut and pasted it together because the original was in some lopsided pieces in a scrapbook, but I really began questioning myself.  Of course all the misspellings and the date of the wedding being wrong should have been big flags that it wasn't my cut and paste job but the lack of an editor with any real skills. 

Leona Kuehl nee Boegel helping her daughter Dolores

The Kuehls on the left and the Cayembergs on the right

The wedding party