Wordless Wednesday - God Bless the Cheese Makers!

Romand Kuehl 3rd from left (back row)

My husband's grandfather, Romand Kuehl.  He knew many trades, and cheese making was one of them!  Gosh I love cheese...

Tuesday's Tip - The Obituaries Aren't Always Right!

Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, 24MAY1927

The Campbellsport News
26OCT1922

So I visited the Wisconsin Historical Society in June.  It was a long day and I was so absorbed in my research that I forgot to eat or drink the entire time I was there (fellow genealogists can understand this completely) and by 4:00pm my head and stomach were starting to hurt so it was time to start the 2-1/2 hour drive back to Green Bay (construction...yuck!).  By the time I got back, my head was a little better, but I couldn't bring myself to look at any of my finds until the next morning.

Now maybe I'm wrong to not be looking at my finds as I get them, but honestly I don't.  I get to the WHS once, maybe twice, a year if I'm lucky and by then I've got tons to look up.  In fact, I didn't get through everything I wanted to yesterday, but I did get through 3/4 of it.  Saturday morning as I sat down with my coffee and my printouts I showed my mother-in-law the obituaries for her great grandparents, William and Katherine Boegel nee Melzer.  I was bummed about the fact that Katherine's was scanned from a newspaper that was apparently bound and her obit was on the inside edge so part of it is unreadable, but we enjoyed looking at them, and then I noticed it....

The Campbellsport News
26MAY1927

In both Katherine and William's obituaries it states that they were preceded in death by their spouse.  Did I have the wrong Katherine or William?  I was confused and concerned.  I pulled both obituaries with dates that I had from their tombstone and they were on the same tombstone!  I found it hard to believe that there were two Katherine or William Boegels that died on the same day in the same town.  I then compared the rest of the obituary.  Same kids.  Same wedding date.  The newspaper had made a mistake.  I'm sure Katherine must have been delighted when reading her husband's obituary that she died years before.  She may have felt like it at the time, but I assure you she was quite alive.

I know those of us that have been researching our families (or other families) for more than a hot second, already know that obituaries, death certificates, etc can have mistakes in them, but the death of a spouse in the obituary is certainly something that many of us might have used to at least narrow down a date of death for the other if it was still unknown.

Taking a line from The X-Files, "The truth is out there," we just need to figure it out amidst the details that may be leading us astray.

Amanuensis Monday - Always Searching for Bessie

Saint Gabriel's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Hazleton, PA

I always come back to Bessie.  She's more than just a brick wall she's an obsession at times.  Bessie isn't a direct line ancestor.  She's my 2nd great aunt, but of all the children that her parents had, she and my great grandfather (Edward Quirk) were the only ones to marry and the only ones to have children.  It's like the Quirks were dying out...


Edward had 2 children.  The first was my grandmother and the second child died...along with his wife/my great grandmother Alice Quirk nee Blanchfield.

Bessie's one child (that she died shortly after giving birth to) disappeared.  She most likely died.  I've posted previously about my efforts to track down Bessie's child (turns out her name is Betty...another Elizabeth.  I suppose her husband, Dennis, name the child after her when she died).  I want to know what happened to her.  To be certain of what happened to her and if she has died, where is she?  Her story needs to be told.

I've got a couple leads, but I think that I'll be trying to track her grave down in Bethlehem when I head home to Pennsylvania someday.  See if she's buried in the same cemetery as her father.  It may be a long shot, but it also may be the only shot I've got.

"Mrs. Dennis Dugan.

Unk Hazleton newspaper

Mr. (sic) Dennis Dugan of Bethlehem, died at the state hospital, this city, on Saturday at 11:25 o'clock, following a Caesarian operation for the birth of a daughter who is alive and well.

The deceased, prior to her marriage a year ago last September, was Miss Bessie Quirk, of Jeanesville.  She held the position of postmistress of that town for several years and was one of the Hazleton region's most estimable young women.  After her marriage, the deceased located at Bethlehem, where her husband has been located for some time.  Besides her husband, the deceased is survived by the following brothers and sisters:  Edward, William, Ella, a Hazle township school teacher, Catherine and Mary, all of Jeanesville.

The funeral will take place from the family home in Jeanesville on Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock, with interment private in St. Gabriel's cemetery."

[There are two dates hand-written in on the obituary, December 17 and December 14, 1918.  The 17th would be the date of burial and the 14th the date of death]

Sunday's Obituary - William Boegel

The Campbellsport News 26OCT1922

"Old Settler Called By Death

William Boegel, aged 73 years, died at the home of his son Raymond, in town of Ashford, last Saturday evening, after an illness of four weeks with diabetes.

Deceased was born near St. Lawrence, Wis., on December 21, 1848, and resided there until three years of age when he moved to the farm in town Ashford where he has since resided.  On October 13, 1874, he was married to Miss Kathryn Melzer, who preceded him in death.  He is survived by seven children, (all of whom, except William were at his deathbed) they are: William and Peter of Kewaskum, Mrs. Gerhard Strobel of Milwaukee, John, Mrs. Joe Bonlender, Raymond and Theresa living in town of Ashford.  He is also survived by two sisters, Mrs. Anna Majerus of Campbellsport and Mrs. Lizzie LaBelle of Stanley.

The funeral was held Wednesday morning at 10 o'clock from St. Killian's church, Rev. Father Reechel officiating and interment taking place in the adjoining cemetery.  The pallbearers were his six grandsons, Edgar, Erwin, Raymond and Reynold Bonlender and Roman and Oscar Boegel.

The deceased was one of our oldest settler and one of our highly respected citizens."

William Boegel is my husband's great great grandfather.  The obituary didn't tell me anything shocking there.  I knew that.  Just like I knew the names of his children and that he had at least 3 siblings.  The obituary lets me know that his sister Johanna obviously went by "Anna" and Elizabeth was obviously "Lizzie".

What I didn't know was that Anna was married to a man with the surname "Majerus".  I had her married to a John Altenhofen, and guess what?  I had no sources to support that!  I really need to get back to verifying my tree like I had started oh so long ago!  Now that doesn't mean that she wasn't married to a John Altenhofen, but it does mean that I'm got some researching to do to either verify a first marriage or rule him out.

Something else not in this obituary that I would have liked to see?  His parents' names.  I need to confirm them and it would have been helpful.  Time to order a death certificate (among other things). Back to work!

Wordless Wednesday - Aunt Mary and Aunt Kay Quirk

Mary and Catherine "Kay" Quirk.

Sunday's Obituary - Raymond Bonlender

"Mr. Bonlender

Raymond J. Bonlender, 77, of St. Kilian, retired farmer, died Monday, June 23, 1980, at Hope Nursing Home, Lomira, where he resided for 1 1/2 years.

He was born April 20, 1903, in the Town of Wayne, Washington County, a son of the late Joseph and Kathrine Boegel Bonlender.  He married Josephine Weiglein at LeRoy, and she died Jan. 22, 1976. [Handwritten "Married May 1929"]


Mr. Bonlender was a member of the Holy Name Society of St. Kilian Catholic Church and Catholic Knights.

Survivors include three sons, Elroy Schrauth of rural Campbellsport, Alton Schrauth of rural Allenton and Lloyd Bonleder of Watertown; two daughter, Mrs. Orville (Lila Jean) Kreilkamp of Rubicon and Mrs. Robert (Diane) Flasch of rural Allenton; 26 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.

Also surviving are two sisters, Mrs. Paul (Rose) Just of Milwaukee and Mrs. Alvira Wettstein of West Bend; and two brothers, Reynold of St. Kilian and Othmer of Milwaukee.  Two brothers and a sister preceded him in death.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Miller's Funeral Home, Kewaskum, and at 11 a.m. at St. Kilian Church, St. Kilian.  The Rev. Joseph McDonald will officiate, and burial will follow in the parish cemetery.

Visitation for Mr. Bonlender will be after 4 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home."

Raymond Bonlender is my husband's 1st cousin twice removed.  According to my mother-in-law the marriage date was May 4, 1929 and I have Josephine's maiden name as "Werglein".  Supporting documentation is still needed.  Time to add that to my research calendar!

[Newspaper clipping was passed on to me by family in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  There was no publication information on this clipping]

Wordless Wednesday - The Wedding of Eli and Florence Cayemberg

Eli Cayemberg and Florence Villers - April 24, 1886  

Thank you, Lisa Cochrane, for sending me this awesome picture!

Happy Birthday, Jeff

Happy Birthday to my dear cousin John Jeffrey Ryan, Jr.  You would have been 41 today and are still as missed today as you were when we lost you over 11 years ago.  I know you watch over us all, but I miss my cousin.