Sunday's Obituary - Charles Dart

Algoma Record-Herald, 21JUN1935, pg1

I had to do a double-take when I read his obituary and went to verify it with my family tree. This is my Charles. I looked up his obituary to get more information, but I had his wife down as "Kate" in the family tree. Do you know what else? His wife's name is Kate.

She's Kate on their tombstone. She's Kate in every stinking census record. I also have Kate's obituary (which I'll post later) that confirms it, although it lists her husband's death as June 10th not the 11th. Kate's maiden name was Jadin, so why she's listed as Desira is beyond me. Perhaps I'll figure that out one day.

As for Charles he was born on November 10, 1874 in Tonet to Eugene and Josephine Dart nee Hermans. He was the second oldest of 12 children. He was married on September 12, 1900 to Catherine Jadin (I've got the marriage certificate to prove it), and died June 11, 1935. He is my husband's great, great uncle.

"Charles Dart, Tonet Farmer, Dies of Cancer

TONET - Charles Dart, 61 years of age, a resident of Tonet, died Tuesday, June 11, after an illness of about eight months. Cancer of the liver was given as the immediate cause of death.

The funeral services for Mr. Dart were held from the St. Martin's church in Tonet at 10 o'clock last Thursday. The Rev. L. A. Dobblesteen conducted the services and interment was made at the Tonet cemetery.

Born in Tonet, Charles Dart resided there all his life. He died on his Tonet farm which was being rented and operated by his son, Fred, and family.

Deceased was married to Desira Jadin at the St. Martin's church in Tonet.

Surviving are: One son, Fred, living on the Dart farm in Tonet; one daughter, Mrs. John (Libbie) Mandarin, Lincoln; five brothers, August, John, William, all of Tonet, Eli, Bay Settlement, and Wilbur, Walhain, and three sisters, Mrs. Victor Laurent, Mrs. Louis Vandenhouten, both of Tonet, and Mrs. Mathy, Michigan. Three grandchildren also remain."

Funeral Card Friday - Eli Dart

Memorial Card - Eli J. Dart (reverse)

Memorial Card - Eli J. Dart

Eli Dart was the 11th of 12 children born to Eugene and Josephine Dart nee Hermans. He was born on September 21, 1894 and passed on February 21, 1982. He married Edith (maiden name unknown) on November 11, 1919 in Tonet, Kewaunee County, Wisconsin.

Eli passed away in Luxemburg, Kewaunee, Wisconsin according to the SSDI, but is buried in Green Bay, Brown County in The Shrine of the Good Shepherd Mausoleum in Nicolet Memorial Gardens.

Since I don't know his wife's maiden name I'll be pulling Eli and Edith's obituaries when I go home unless I happen to find it hidden away in my files before then. I've seen someone list Edith's maiden name as Laurent on a family tree on Ancestry, com, but there is no supporting documentation. I'm not willing to run with that on someone's word, but I'll find out if it's true or not when I check the newspapers.

Rest in peace, Eli.

Wedding Wednesday - Cayemberg/Villers Golden Wedding Anniversary

Golden Wedding Anniversary of Eli and Florence Cayemberg nee Villers

Eli Cayemberg and Florence Villers were married on April 24th 1886 in Rosiere, Wisconsin. Their 50th anniversary would have been in 1936. Eli would pass on three years later. Together they had 14 known children Emily, Eugenia, Frank, John, Martin Joseph, Henry, Lucy, Louis Felix, Alice, Ella, Wilfred, Anastasia, Patrick, and Walter. Eli and Florence were my husband's great grandparents.

A very special thank you to Wendy Cayemberg and Fern Gouin nee Cayemberg for allowing me to post this photo!

Tombstone Tuesday - Sylvester and Bertha Gaedtke nee Dart

Marker for Sylvester and Bertha Gaedtke nee Dart in the Shrine of the
Good Shepherd Mausoleum, Green Bay, Wisconsin

I took this photo of the Gaedtke marker in the Shrine of the Good Shepherd Mausoleum in Nicolet Gardens, Green Bay, Wisconsin well over 5 years ago. It was before my father-in-law passed and I was walking through the mausoleum with my in-laws and they were pointing out to me family markers. Gaedtke didn't mean anything to me at that time although I'm sure he explained who Bertha was. It was all sensory overload though so I didn't retain it. Too much information at once.

Then Bertha passed away in 2010 five days after my father-in-law. I saw in her obituary that her maiden name was Dart and I finally recalled the connection.

As I mentioned in a post about her parents, Bertha passed away on May 20, 2010. Her husband died on November 3, 2009. This photo was taken before either had passed so there are no death dates on it. I'll have to see about stopping by the mausoleum sometime and getting a new picture. I'm sure by now they've been added.

Rest in peace, Sylvester and Bertha.

Sunday's Obituary - Wilbert Dart

Green Bay Press-Gazette
12JUN1984, pg C-6

Ha! Did I say I needed to pull Wilbert Dart's obituary the next time I was home? I take it back. I pulled it right out of my "Dart" file. It was just sitting there waiting for me to enter it into my blog and family tree. Done! This is one of the main reasons I'm slowly going through my files trying to sort it all and into my tree properly! Not only will my tree be sourced properly and with all the research I've already done, but it will actually make my research more effective because I won't be wasting time looking for things I already have!

"Wilbert Dart

Wilbert Dart, 87, Rt. 4, Luxemburg, died Monday evening at a Kewaunee nursing home. He was born Feb. 18, 1897 in Tonet to the late Eugene and Josephine (Hermans) Dart.

He served with the United States Army during World War I and married Alice Delveaux Dec. 30, 1920 at St. Francis Church, Duval.

His wife preceded him in death Dec. 15, 1976.

He operated a farm at Walhain until his retirement 22 years ago. Mr. Dart was a member of the World War I Barrack No. 3240 Kewaunee and the American Legion, Ralph Kline Post 262 of Luxembourg. He served 18 years on the Walhain school board.

He is survived by one daughter and son-in-law, Bertha and Sylvester Gaedtke, Rt. 4, Luxemburg; one granddaughter and grandson-in-law, Jill and Randy Bosman, Rt. 4, Luxemburg; two great grandsons, Barry and Bradley Bosman, Rt. 4, Luxemburg, and one sister-in-law, Mrs. Lucy Delveaux, Algoma.

He was preceded in death by one infant son, six brothers, and six sisters.

Friends may call at the McMahon Funeral Home, Luxemburg, from 2 to 9 p.m. Wednesday. World War I Barracks Memorial service at 4 p.m. Wednesday. American Legion memorial service 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Rosary 8 p.m. Wednesday. Wake service at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Funeral 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Amand Church, Walhain, with the Rev. Christian O'Brien officiating. Entombment in The Shrine of the Good Shepherd Mausoleum.

American Legion military rites will follow services at the church."

The obituary for his wife, Alice Dart nee Delveaux, was posted previously.

Funeral Card Friday - Wilbert W Dart

Memorial Card - Wilbert W Dart (reverse)

Memorial Card - Wilbert W Dart

So far I've only found a handful of Dart memorial cards in my collection. Wilbert was already in my family tree with a good amount of source materials and research already done. What I don't have is an obituary for Wilbert but this memorial card is one of the places I can get a date of death from.

Wilbert is buried in the Shrine of the Good Shepherd Mausoleum in Nicolet Memorial Gardens, Green Bay, Wisconsin (FindAGrave memorial). The best place for me to look is going to be in the Green Bay Press-Gazette because he's being buried in Green Bay so he must have had family (or a reason) to choose Green Bay. According to the SSDI and the Wisconsin Death Index he died in Luxemburg, Kewaunee County, so if I don't find anything in the Press-Gazette I know where to check next.

Wilbert was a veteran of World War I. I'd love to have a distant cousin contact me and be willing to share a photo of him in uniform or a better photo in general than the two I have. One is from this memorial card and the other is from a newspaper clipping of his Golden Anniversary. With a photo of him in uniform or just a better one I'd be able to put him in my annual Veterans Day tribute. A gal can dream.

So Wilbert has a WWI Draft Registration Card on Ancestry.com, but that doesn't mean he served. What tells me he served was the BIRLS Death File entry that gives his dates of service from August 8, 1918 to September 2, 1919 and that he served in the Army (wish I had a rank too).

I have one child for Wilbert and Alice Dart nee Delveaux in my tree and her name is Bertha who passed away May 20, 2010.

Wedding Wednesday - Mr and Mrs Larry Laurent

I have Villers in my family tree and I have Laurents in my family tree, so when I came across a clipping in our family scrapbook that had a Villers-Laurent wedding I just had to share.

I'm still trying to work through and shore-up my family tree. Back 15+ years ago when I started doing this I'd throw things in there without much evidence. I stopped doing that as I grew as a genealogist and researcher, but I never had the time to go back and check on everything. It's one of the things I do when I'm not in school. I'm just too busy during school. So I wasn't overly surprised to not have Larry Cletus Laurent in my family tree or Ruthann Irene Villers. I don't have Ruthann's parents in there either, but I do have a Norman Laurent in my family tree. My assumption is that they are one and the same Norman. Mostly because he is my husband's great uncle and my hubby's uncle, Wayne Cayemberg, is a part of the wedding party. This Laurent wouldn't be far removed from his line.

I don't have a wife for Norman though and because of the way the article is written I still don't have a name for her. Let's research....

I find my Norman Laurent living with his parents, Victor and Mary Laurent nee Dart, in the 1920, 1930, and 1940 censuses. In that 1940 census he's still listed as single so it looks like the census records won't be helping me to find a wife for Norman. A family tree did have a memorial card for a Norman Laurent that they linked to Victor and Mary. That doesn't make it right, but the card had this Norman's death as October 24, 1982. So my next step is going to be to pull that obituary and see if he's the father of Larry Cletus Laurent.

The last thing I did was searched for Ruthann and Larry on Ancestry.com. The first hit I got was for Larry Cletus Laurent with an obituary. He died on May 16, 2009 and his parents are listed as Norman and Mae Laurent nee Romuald. Larry has a FindAGrave memorial as well. Searching for Ruthann didn't give me anything. In Larry's obituary a daughter predeceased him. Her name was Tamara and I shared a clipping of her death previously. Her obituary tells me the father of Ernest Villers (listed in the wedding announcement below) is Fred....who is also not in my family tree.

So now I have a tentative name for Norman's wife as "Mae" and once I get the obituary pulled for Norman I'll be able to see more. Not all research can be done online so I'll have to have patience!

"Villers-Laurent

(handwritten Aug 31, 1963)

A wedding trip to Mackinac Island is the honeymoon planned by Mr. and Mrs. Larry Cletus Laurent, who were married at 10 o'clock Saturday morning, Aug. 31, in St. Martin Catholic Church, Tonet. The bride is the former Ruthann Irene Villers, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Villers, Algoma, Rt. 2, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Laurent, Luxembourg, Rt. 3, are parents of the bride-groom.

Maid of honor was Mrs. Wayne Cayemberg, with Miss Shirley Degrave and Miss Mary Ann Malcore as bridesmaids. Wayne Cayemberg was best man, with Dale Romvald and James Romvald as attendants. Ushers were Harvey Villers and Francis Queoff.

The newlyweds will return to Luxembourg, Rt. 2, after their honeymoon."

Tombstone Tuesday - William and Maggie Dart nee Jadin

Tombstone of William and Margaret Dart nee Jadin at Allouez Catholic Cemetery and Chapel Mausoleum,
Green Bay, Wisconsin*

To accompany last Friday's Funeral Card this is the tombstone for William and Margaret Dart nee Jadin. Margaret was born in 1897 and died on August 6th, 1961 in Kewaunee County. While her full death date isn't on the tombstone I was able to find it in the Wisconsin Death Index. I've already covered William's information in my Friday post.

I still need to pull both of their obituaries to add to my files.

*Thank you so much to Jeanne Biebel for submitting the photo to FindAGrave and graciously permitting me to post it on my blog.

Mystery Monday - Is This the Same Person?

I need a sanity check here because I really think that these two obituaries are for the same person. I shouldn't assume anything, but what are the chances of two Hermans men with the initials "J. B. " dying around the same time, in the same place, of the same ailment, and were buried in the same cemetery? Here's what I was looking at:

I printed his death certificate from the Wisconsin Historical Society. So John (Jean) Baptiste Hermans was 47 when he died, a farmer, from Belgium, married to Antoinette Dart, and his parents' names were Charles Antoin Hermans and Josephine Landvick (her name has been spelled differently in so many places, but they're all similar). You can also see that he died of apoplexy in Martinsville on October 30, 1892. It all seems pretty straight forward, right? I thought so too so based on his death I went to two local papers at the society to look for death notices around that time. Normally pre-1900 newspapers are the bane of my existence, but in this case I not only found one clipping, but two. I don't know which one I located first, but both were brief. I spent the time looking for another clipping in the off-chance that another would yield more information.

The Kewaunee Enterprise, 04NOV1892, pg8

The first news clipping is from The Kewaunee Enterprise on Friday, November 4th, 1892:

"-Died of apoplexy, on Oct. 30, 1892, Mr. J. B. Hermans, of Tonet, town of Luxembourg: His remains were interred in the Catholic church cemetery at Martinsville on Wednesday, Nov. 2nd, Rev. Father Van Huyter officiating. Deceased was about 45 years old and leaves a wife and about 8 children, besides his aged mother, a brother and two sisters, to mourn his loss."

This is obviously the John Baptiste Hermans in the death certificate even though they got the age wrong at least they said "about 45 years old" and I'd say 47 is "about" 45. I did like the fact that this clipping told me that he had one brother, two sisters, and (about) eight children. I'm trying to round out and firm up this part of my tree and I only had one sister for him and she's my hubby's ancestor. Even though there isn't a ton of information via the name department in here I do see dates for his death and even burial which is more than I've come to expect from most of these really old clippings. So here, I'm certain I have the right guy. Then there's this article:

The New Era, 09NOV1892, pg1

"Mr. Joseph B. Hermans, one of the most prominsnt (sic) farmers in Red River died last Sunday from a stroke of apoplexy. He was well up to a few moments of his death, and died almost without warning. He was 47 years old, and a highly respected man. He was buried on Tuesday from the Catholic church at Walhain, Rev. Fr. Van Huyster officiating. He was a native of Belgium, and leaves a wife and a large family of children."

Here his name is listed as "Joseph" which I could ignore if everything else was the same. The New Era is another Kewaunee County newspaper and this clipping was in the Wednesday, November 9th, 1892 edition. He made the front page even though the article was brief. The rest of the information is just slightly "off." First the name was wrong then we see Red River and Walhain mentioned not Tonet and Luxemburg. This doesn't bother me much because they're all in the same general area. In fact Wisconsin sometimes breaks areas down to unincorporated communities so while one newspaper may have just given the nearest town the other may have given the community name. The age is different than the other article, but here it's the correct age. Here it says he was buried on Tuesday. In 1892 November 8th was a Tuesday and November 1st was as well. The first article said he was buried November 2nd which was a Wednesday. Not the same burial dates, but this could be a mistake in either article. This article says he died last Sunday. My guy did die on a Sunday, but it was Sunday, October 30th not Sunday, November 6th. When they said Sunday could they have meant the one before? He's buried in the same place and I think eight children is a pretty large family even back when lots of kids was common.

So if the only thing that was different was the first name I could get over that, but there's enough different in this second article that even though logic and instinct tell me that it's the same person I begin to wonder. No it doesn't make a huge difference. I have a clipping for my guy and the second article doesn't change that, but I wonder if I should be looking for another Hermans dying around the same time as well. A search on the Wisconsin Historical Society's page turns up nothing for the Hermans I'm looking for in death records...not even the death certificate that I originally pulled. They've "updated" their search engine and it's crap and I've voiced that opinion to them. Just because the terrible search results didn't give me a Joseph Hermans doesn't mean much since the results also didn't give me John Baptiste Hermans. So should I waste time in the society when I get the next opportunity to scan the Kewaunee County death records to see if there are two or is this the same person? Thoughts?

Sunday's Obituary - Joseph Nellis

This clipping for Joseph Nellis was in a family scrapbook I have. I've been sharing some of the Nellis clippings that I have trying to reason out why they were saved. So far this Joseph Nellis doesn't mean anything to me although Dalebroux is a name in my family tree. Donald Dalebroux is not though.

Joseph has a memorial on FindAGrave. A quick search on Ancestry.com doesn't yield much. He married in 1944 so there's no census data with his wife, but you can see him in the 1920, 1930, and 1940 censuses at home with his parents. And in the 1940 census he's a beer truck driver. What a job! I had no joy finding him in the 1910 census with a quick search.

He doesn't look like he should be in my tree yet, but as I go through the other Nellis and eventually the Dalebroux items I have maybe who he is will become a bit clearer.

"(Handwritten April 26, 1964)

Joseph Nellis

LUXEMBURG - Joseph Nellis, 54, Luxemburg, died Sunday morning in a Green Bay hospital after an extended illness. He was born Dec. 4, 1909 in Dyckesville, and married Josephine Friex Sept. 23, 1944.

Survivors include his wife; three daughters, Mrs. James (Muriel) Charles, Green Bay; Mrs. Donald (Laverne) Dalebroux, Torrance, Calif., Miss Carol, at home; nine grandchildren; one sister, Mrs. James McKenzie, Milwaukee; one brother, Cyril, Luxembourg.

At McMahon Funeral Home, Luxemburg, after 7 tonight. Rosary 8 tonight and Tuesday evening. Funeral 10 a.m. Wednesday, St. Amand's Church, Walhain, the Rev. G. G. Claridge officiating. Burial in the church cemetery."

Funeral Card Friday - William (Bill) Dart

I wanted to post some of the Dart memorial cards that I have, but I didn't know which one to start with. So far I've found four in the box of memorial cards and all are in my family tree. I decided to start with William because I didn't have a death date for him. It would be an opportunity to cite that in my tree as I get on with the post. Getting back into the funeral cards I have in my possession was a great reminder that they are not merely decorative memorials. They are a valuable source of information.

William was the 10th of 12 children born to Eugene and Josephine Dart nee Hermans. He married Margaret Jadin on May 26, 1914 and they had five children: Irene, Mame, Marcelle, Verna, and Clifford. William is my husband's 2nd great uncle.

He can be found in the 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 censuses and he has a memorial on FindAGrave. I've got him down for an obit-pull in my research calendar. I already have some information on his descendants in my family tree from an online obituary for his son, Clifford, who died in 2005.

Rest in peace, Bill.

Wedding Wednesday - Golden Anniversary for Mr. and Mrs. John Nellis

"Golden Wedding - Mr. and Mrs. John W. Nellis, 1521 Smith St., celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary recently. They have two daughters, 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren."

I love seeing people married for this long, but I don't miss the days when they wouldn't give the woman's first name. I don't know who they are or why this clipping was in my family's scrapbook. I can make an educated guess based on cities/towns that my husband's family lived in. Doing that I found a John Nellis in the SSDI that could be a match. He died in Luxemburg, Kewaunee County and was born in 1901 which certainly makes him old enough to have married in 1920. I could look him up in census records, but I wouldn't know if I was on the right track. Rather than wasting that time on a "maybe" I've put the John Nellis from the SSDI in my research calendar and I'll pull his obituary when I get back to Wisconsin. I'll let the obit tell me if I have the right person.

Amanuensis Monday - The Obituary of William Nellis

Another Nellis clipping from my family scrapbook, but it doesn't really get me too much closer to whether they belong in my tree. There are Hermans in my tree but that line is poorly developed. Perhaps this obituary will come in handy in the future. Who knows?

"(Handwritten Oct 24, 1971)

William Nellis

William Nellis, 83, Dyckesville, died at home Sunday morning after a short illness. The son of the late Oliver and Emily Nellis married Katherine Bodart oct. 2, 1912. The couple farmed in Dyckesville until retirement about 15 years ago. Mr. Nellis was clerk for the Martinsville School from 1935 to 1955. He was preceded in death by one brother, Jule, and three sisters, Adele Hermans, Mary Prevost, and Odile Hermans.

Survivors are his wife; one son, Donald, Green Bay; four daughters, Mrs. Walter (Odile) Ducat, and Mrs. Edwin (Evelyn) Legois, both of Champion; Mrs. Marvin (Caroline) Jonet, Bay Settlement; Mrs. Wilfred (Virgil) Jonet, Dyckesville; 16 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; three brothers, Antone and John, both of Green Bay; Goldie, Forestville; one sister, Mrs. Norman (Laura) Robson, Algoma.

At Malcore Funeral Home after 7 this evening. Rosary each evening at 8, Tuesday by the Rev. Damian Wieber. Funeral 10 a.m. Wednesday, St. Joseph Catholic Church, Champion. Burial in church cemetery."

So the obituary did mention a Donald Nellis. The bigger question is if this is the Donald Nellis I blogged about earlier?

Sunday's Obituary - Leonard Lewis Tabor

Leonard Lewis Tabor, Hazleton High School
Senior Class Picture

My uncle passed away about two and a half years ago. I was in and out of my blog around that time and I never got to memorialize him with more than just a photo. Fortunately my godparents sent me a copy of his obituary back in November 2012. As I was going through items that needed to be sorted I came across it and decided that it was long past time to memorialize him.

"Leonard L. Tabor

Nov. 12, 2012

Leonard L. Tabor, 68, of Hazleton passed away Monday at Mountain City Nursing and Rehabilitation Center; Hazle Township.

Born in Scranton on March 10, 1944, he was the son of the late Clarence and Florence (Bronsaviage) (sic) Tabor. He was a 1962 graduate of Hazleton High School and spent all of his life in Hazleton.

Hazleton Standard Speaker - 26NOV2012, A2

Leonard was employed as a truck driver for Central Penn Transit and was a member of St. John the Baptist Polish National Catholic Church, Hazleton. He served with the U.S. Army Reserves, Hazleton; was an avid hunter, fisherman, and fan of NASCAR and the Chicago Bears. Surviving are his brother, Paul, West Hazleton; nieces, Michele Ranzan, Saylorsburg; Cherie Cayemburg (sic), Colorado; and Aimee Inama, Iowa; an aunt, Lillian Rominski, Scranton; and cousins, Carolyn Smith, Lillian Hasenzahl, and Shirley Leach, all of Scranton; Barbara Holtzman, Lake Ariel; Stanley Rominski, Clark Summit; Barbara Bronsavage, Ewing, N.J.; and Mary Ann Billig, Hazleton.

A Memorial Mass will be held at a later date in St. John the Baptist Polish National Catholic Church, 748 N. Church St., Hazleton. The Rev. Bogdan Janiec will celebrate the Mass. Interment took place privately in Mountain View Cemetery, West Hazleton, where the Rev. Janiec gave the final blessing.

Harman Funeral Homes and Crematory Inc. (West), 1265 Rock Glen Road, Rock Glen, assisted the family with the arrangements. Online condolences can be entered and more information is available at www.harmanfuneral.com."

A pretty poor obituary and my uncle deserved better. I got to call and say good-bye to him just days before he passed. He couldn't talk anymore. Just listen, but my boys and I got to tell him that we loved him one last time. He was such a good man. I loved my uncle very much. Seeing his obituary just made me ask so many questions and make so many snarky comments. Snarky in that Bronsavage was spelled wrong in regards to his mother's maiden name, but correctly for his cousin. My surname spelled incorrectly as well. Did no one proof-read this article before it was run? Questions regarding his military service...as in...really he served? I've never seen a photo of him in uniform. I've never heard it discussed. The statement that he served in the Army Reserves with no rank or when he served is a big thing to overlook as far as this veteran is concerned.

Maybe I'm just being grumpy. You see the whole "private" interment that took place was nonsense. The obituary was published in the Hazleton Standard Speaker on November 26th 2012. So none of his nieces knew he died until he was buried. My uncle had the surviving family mentioned in the obituary, but they didn't see him regularly. Were they called and given the opportunity to go to the interment? He lived in Pennsylvania almost his entire life. Plenty of people never escape that city. Would people he went to high school with have wanted to attend? Would coworkers from Penn Transit have wanted to? Whether they would have gone or not will always be a mystery because his brother decided to make the burial "private."

I guess there's no use crying over dysfunctional family members. At least I've been able to visit his grave. I go each time I return home. My uncle is "on my rounds" for placing flowers. He's next to his mom and dad and I see that the gravestone has room for my dad when he goes too. I've created a FindAGrave memorial for him too so others that may be interested in saying goodbye to this loving man can do just that.

I hope to find a picture of him in uniform someday, but I'm not overly hopeful. Maybe someone will come across this blog that served with him and be able to share one so I can put him in my Veterans Day post properly. Although until I know details about his enlistment it won't really be properly noted.

Nothing makes a genealogist/family historian grumpier than a dysfunctional family with a poorly written obituary.

Tabor tombstone at Mountain View Cemetery, West Hazleton, PA

Funeral Card Friday - Peter Colle

Funeral Card - Peter B Colle (reverse)

Funeral Card - Peter B Colle

Last week I shared a memorial card for Terry Delveaux and in my search to discover who he was and if he belonged in my tree I came across the name Peter Colle. Peter Colle was Terry's step-mother's second husband. So no relation to Terry, but I also had Peter's card so I thought it would be a good time to share it.

Peter Bernard Colle was born on June 7, 1923 and died on February 18, 1989. You can find him on Ancestry.com in the SSDI and the Wisconsin Death Index. There is even a memorial created for him on FindAGrave. I can see by the memorial not only was he Joyce's second husband, but she was his second wife. I'll be pulling his obituary to get more information. I'm not silly enough to simply take the word of a FindAGrave family link, but it gives me something to search for.

Rest in peace, Peter.

Wedding Wednesday - Donald Nellis

As I was looking to match up the funeral card of Terry Delveaux to someone in my family tree I came across the obituaries for his father, Richard Delveaux, and his step-mother, Joyce Colle-Delveaux nee Cravillion. Joyce and Richard were already in my tree so the obituaries helped to figure out who Terry was. One thing that caught my eye was that I had Joyce married three times in my tree, but when I looked at her obituary there were only two husbands mentioned, Peter Colle and Richard Delveaux, both of whom predeceased her. In my tree her first husband was Donald Nellis and they are listed as having divorced. It's telling that he wasn't mentioned in her obituary especially since they had a daughter together. In fact as far as I can tell it was the only child Joyce had, but her father was omitted from the obituary.

The information on this line in my family tree originally came from the family tree that was compiled and distributed by the Cayemberg-Villers Family Reunion. So I was fairly certain it was accurate as the information on family members in it isn't the result of research but of first-hand knowledge. I still get supporting documents for these members as I go through. Dates can be transcribed wrong and names can be misspelled. Pulling the obituaries mentioned above actually helped to add some sources by their names in my family tree. If someone were to be researching this line though without access to our family tree, Donald could be easily over-looked and placing her daughter with the correct father (or any father) could become challenging. My assumption is that Donald was persona non grata after their divorce. Not too surprising. We're human and it happens.

The fact he wasn't mentioned in the obituary was certainly enough to pique my interest, but that wasn't the only thing. I've seen that surname before. I couldn't remember where though. A quick search of my memorial cards and I couldn't find it. Looking at Richard's obituary I saw that his mother's name was Nellis and while that was incredibly interesting it wasn't where I had seen the name before. So I pulled out the scrapbooks and inside there were several clippings concerning the Nellis family. I'll be diving into them in the future.

So far nothing showing Donald and Joyce's wedding. What I could find on Donald was that he died in  1995. The Wisconsin Death Index and the SSDI give his birth and death information and FindAGrave has a memorial for him (without a tombstone photo). I'll be pulling his obituary from the Green Bay Press-Gazette when I get back to Wisconsin.

I went back and reread the information in Joyce's obituary and saw it. The bit of information that would help me confirm the marriage...Judith, Joyce and Donald's daughter, died before her mom. I searched Ancestry and found in the SSDI that Judith died in Green Bay on March 29, 2008 and was born on February 20, 1942. The birth date matches the one in my family tree which helps confirm I have the right person. There was also a memorial for her on FindAGrave. The memorial has a transcription of her obituary which lists her father as Donald Nellis. More it says, "to Donald and Joyce (Cravillion) Nellis," which is the obituary's way of showing the marriage. Judith's obituary is also still posted on Proko-Wall Funeral Home's website.

Even though I found Donald and confirmed he belongs in my tree I'll still pull his obituary. I want to see if Joyce is mentioned in his obituary with perhaps a date that they married. If I find that I can pull a wedding notice out of the paper (if there was one). In my family tree I only have that they married in 1942. Of course I don't know where they were married. Perhaps in Pulaski where Joyce was originally from. I could try to search records there for January and February of 1942 to see if anything was put in before Judith's birth. My guess would be that if the marriage did happen in 1942 that it most likely happened before Judith was born, but I could be wrong. Either way I've made the connection and that's enough for right now.