Funeral Card Friday - Eugene Dart

Thank you to Sally Marcelle for kind
permission to share this on my blog

I have a lot of memorial/funeral cards in my possession. As I was working on my family tree on Ancestry.com one of the hints that I was given was this memorial card. It was uploaded by Sally Marcelle to her family tree. Rather than just grabbing it and posting it here or attaching it to my tree I emailed her to ask permission to share it. She very kindly granted it.

Eugene Joseph Dart was the child of Jean Baptiste Dart Sr and Marie Josephe Podor. They had six or seven (I just potentially found a new one, but haven't confirmed it yet) children: Jean Baptiste Jr, Marie Julienne, (Ferdinande...maybe), Jules Joseph, Eugene Joseph, Marie Antoinette Josephine, and Desira. Eugene is my husband's great, great grandfather.

On April 29, 1871* in Robinsonville, Wisconsin Eugene married Josephine Hermans in the Robinsonville Chapel. Together they had 12 known children: Louisa, Charles Antone, Jean Baptiste, Odile, Adolphe, Jule, Desirea, Mary, August Joseph, William, Eli Joseph, and Wilbert. Their daughter, Mary, is my husband's great grandmother.

Eugene and Josephine are buried in St. Martin's Cemetery in Tonet, Wisconsin.

*According to Josephine's obituary the couple was married on 30APR1870. Eugene's has 30APR1871. The Wisconsin Marriage Index they were actually married 29APR1871. I'll have to see if I have a hard copy of that certificate in my possession or if I'll need to pull one over Christmas when I'm back in Wisconsin.

Funeral Card Friday - Edith Dart

Memorial Card - Edith Dart (reverse)

Memorial Card - Edith Dart

Last week I shared the memorial card for Eli Dart. Edith is Eli's wife, but I don't know her maiden name. As I mentioned I'll be pulling their obituaries whenever I get back to Wisconsin to check for a maiden name, but it's not always there. It's always frustrating to a genealogist to see someone listed in an obituary as "Mrs. Insert-Husband's-Full-Name-Here" and then no mention of who she was before she married him. I know it was how things were done, but it was stupid even back then (cue the righteously indignant). I'll stick with that though because people that may have known a woman in her childhood and didn't know who she married would have no idea that it was someone they wanted to pay their respects to when an obituary was posted in the newspaper. So I get that it was the norm for certain periods, but I'm going to exercise my right to grumble about it anyway.

Edith was born on July 10, 1899 and passed away on October 13, 1981 (FindAGrave memorial) about four months before her husband. They weren't separated for long. Rest in peace, Edith.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Funeral Card Friday - Terry Delveaux

Funeral Card - Terry Delveaux

Funeral Card - Terry Delveaux (reverse)

In my memorial card collection I have a funeral card for Terry Delveaux. In fact he's the only Delveaux in my collection, but not the only Delveaux in my family tree. There I have two...Richard Delveaux and Alice Dart nee Delveaux. Terry died relatively young. He was 44 years old. So it was likely that at least one of his parents survived him.

I did a search on Ancestry.com for Terry with his birth and death information included in the search and didn't come up with much. There were hits, but they were from the Wisconsin Death Index and the SSDI which confirmed the information on the memorial card. There was also a hit on the Wisconsin Marriage Index that shows Terry got married on September 15, 1973 to a woman with the surname of DeGrand. No first name is given (even when I performed a search on her). Of course it pays to not just read the transcription but to actually look at the record because when I look at the record Terry isn't married to a woman with the surname of "DeGrand." He's married to Rebecca Jean LaLuzerne. Even how old she was is off. Still none of it tells me who his parents were.

So I went to FindAGrave, but there was no memorial created for him. I then jumped on Google and did a search for "obituary Terry Delveaux" and hit gold. The first hit was an obituary for Joyce Colle-Delveaux. While she isn't one of the Delveauxs listed above she is in my family tree. Her maiden name was Cravillion and her mother was a Cayemberg. So it looks like Terry could go in my tree. The second hit was for Richard Delveaux who is one of the people in my tree...married to Joyce. As you can see by reading the obituaries (as long as the links remain active) that Terry is a child of Richard and his first wife, Lilian Massey, who died in 1989. So Terry was the step-son of Joyce. I'll still put him in my tree. I just need to link Richard to his first wife. I know plenty of people wouldn't because he's not blood related, but family isn't just about blood. Joyce is related and it was important enough that she include her step-son who predeceased her in her obituary. Her husband also predeceased her so he wasn't the one to put him in there. He was important to their family so he is important to me.

Of course we don't just put the important people in our trees (or obituaries). Sometimes important people are left out because of divorce, crimes, arguments, etc. I'll have an example of that one in the near future though.

Funeral Card Friday - Mary Melzer

Funeral card - Mary Melzer

Funeral card - Mary Melzer (reverse)

Mary Melzer nee Schweitzer (according to the memorial on FindAGrave and confirmed by an earlier obituary post I made on her son, Joseph) passed away on April 24th 1967. She was the wife of Frank Melzer who died in 1935. According to the Wisconsin Death Index she died in Dodge County, Wisconsin, but the SSDI has her as passing in Allenton, Washington County, Wisconsin. Whichever is correct she is buried in Saint Kilian's Catholic Cemetery in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. These differences don't deter me from knowing this is the right Mary since Saint Kilian is on the border of Fond du Lac and Washington counties and about 2 miles east of Dodge county. They're all right there next to each other.

I can find her in the 1940 US Census widowed and living with her son, Joseph, in Wayne, Washington County on that same farm that belonged to Mary and Frank as well as his parents before him (at least it would appear that way by using the Ancestry map feature linked in the census index).

I don't have much else on Mary. I'm researching if this Melzer line merges with mine somewhere in the 1800s and while I don't expect her obituary to help me make this connection I'll be pulling it anyway when I get the chance.

Funeral Card Friday - Frank Melzer

Frank Melzer funeral card

Frank Melzer is the son of Joseph and Katherine Melzer nee Wondra. He is listed as living at home with his parents in his father's obituary. That makes it sound like a kid that lives in his parents' basement, but it's more likely that Frank was the head of the household. This can be confirmed by looking in the 1920 US Federal Census with Frank listed as the head and his parents living with him in Wayne, Washington County, Wisconsin along with his wife (Mary), and two children (Herman and Sophia).

In the 1910 Census we can see all of the above players again, but Herman was "Joseph H." This isn't uncommon when parents gave their children a family (and usually very common) name. My mother's name is Mary, but she goes by her middle name, Alice, because her mother was also Mary. Joseph H may have been referred to as Herman when he was older for convenience so people knew which Joseph people were talking about around the household. Earlier references to him as Joseph instead of by his middle name could simply have been the family enumerating him by his legal name.*

Frank Melzer funeral card
(reverse side)

In fact Frank was the head of the household all the way back to the 1905 Wisconsin Census with his wife, Mary, and his parents living with him. Sophia wasn't born yet, but Joseph is there. Looking ahead to the 1930 census we see that Joseph would become the head of the household with his wife (Elizabeth) and parents (Frank and Mary) residing with him.

We can easily find Frank all the way back in the 1880 census as "Franz" living with Joseph and Katharina as well as his siblings: Margaretha, Barbara, and Katharina. In the 1900 Census he's still "Franz" living with his parents, but Margaretha and Barbara are gone. "Katie" is there as is a new sister, Julia. These five children of Joseph and Katherine match up with those listed in Joseph's obituary. Frank's mother lists in the 1900 Census that she had five children and five were still living so we can assume that there were no other siblings to Frank that may have died young. Frank taking over as head of the household five years after this census and his mother being in her late 50s in the 1900 Census lends further credibility to this assumption.

Frank is buried in the Saint Kilian Catholic Cemetery in Saint Kilian, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He has a memorial on FindAGrave created by John Uhlman. His wife, Mary, is buried with him.

*After setting this post to publish I came across a birth record that I had copied from the Wisconsin Historical Society regarding Frank and Mary's son Joseph...or Herman. While I can't post the entire birth certificate on here (WHS doesn't want that last I checked) I can share part of it.

Registration of Births, Washington County,
Wisconsin (WHS)

As you can see his name is listed on his birth certificate as Herman J. Melzer (although that last "e" does look like an "a" but if you look at the other "e" they all look that way). Just to show that this is the correct Melzer I made sure to crop it so you can see that this is the child of Franz Melzer and Mary (Maria here, but they are interchangeable most times) Schwiezer (missing the "t") born on August 23, 1902. Instead of editing the information above I chose to show the addition here, because the way people sometimes switch using their first and middle names is still good information for researchers to remember. In his obituary he it was switched to Joseph H. I'm fairly certain that no one bothered to go through the legal documents to actually change the name though. Don't get too hung up on names though. When you know it's the right person these variants don't matter too much. After all I'm legally "Cheryl" but I grew up thinking I was "Cherie" because my parents after naming me said I looked more like a Cherie than a Cheryl. They just never changed my birth certificate. It happens. Don't let it confuse you. Hopefully my descendants won't be too confused either!

(This funeral card was passed on to me by my mother-in-law with a large number of funeral cards that her family collected throughout their lives.)

Funeral Card Friday - Catherine Quirk

I've posted about Catherine Quirk a little before...or Aunt Kay as family called her.  My mom, aunt and uncle always spoke fondly of Aunt Kay.  Sadly, Catherine died 11 years before I was born.

Catherine (Katherine) was born on 24JUL1878 to William and Mary Quirk nee Lee.  She was the sixth of nine children, three of which died before reaching adulthood.  She never married, but lived most of her life with her parents and siblings.  She helped to raise my grandmother Mary A. Brown nee Quirk after her mother, Alice Quirk nee Blanchfield, died in 1915.

Even though my grandmother lost her mom when she was only 2 years old (was she really old enough to remember her?), it's heartening to know that her life was filled with love from her mother's Blanchfield side as well as from her father's Quirk side.  Catherine may not have had children of her own, but I'm sure she looked at her niece with the love and affection of a mother.

Rest in peace, Aunt Kay.

Funeral Card Friday - Adelbert W. Boegel

I was looking through funeral cards while waiting for a friend to arrive to brain-storm events for our Cub Scout Wolf Den and came across this card for Adelbert W. Boegel.  What struck me about this card and why I decided to share it today was because it had a piece of information on it that I rarely see on funeral cards.  It actually had which plot Adelbert was buried in!

"In Loving Memory Of

Adelbert W. Boegel

Born To Life

March 22, 1911

Born To Eternal Life

May 27, 1986

Services Sat. May 31, 1986

St. Boniface Church

Goldendale

Interment Holy Cross Cemetery

Blk. 18 Sec. 3 Lot 325 No. East

THE LORD'S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; they will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen."

According to the family tree my mother-in-law gave me, Adelbert was the son of Raymond Boegel and Catherine Schrauth and the grandson of William Boegel Sr and Katherine Melzer.

With just a quick search the family tree that was given to me can be verified through US Census records that show Adelbert with his parents, Raymond and Catherine, at the right age and in the right location.  I'm still working on verifying all the information in the handwritten tree they gave me, but for now I have no reason to believe that they would be wrong.

As to the burial information I did some checking online and St. Boniface Church is on Glendale Road in Washington County, Wisconsin, but their cemetery isn't Holy Cross.  It would appear that Holy Cross Cemetery is in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.  I began thinking that maybe the cemetery name had changed, but 1986 wasn't that long ago.  Then I had another thought...you know...the obvious kind...maybe he really was buried in a different cemetery.  So I checked directions on Google Maps and found that the church and this cemetery are only about 15 minutes apart.  Very feasible although I still don't know why he wouldn't be buried in the church cemetery unless Holy Cross was where the rest of his family was buried.

The fun of genealogy...there's always something else to look into!

Funeral Card Friday - While I'm Talking Blums...

I wanted to throw up a blog post tonight of something from my husband's side of the family tonight because I haven't in awhile and because I've spent quite a bit of time this week on Hazel and Maurice Blum (and I still have so much to do with that tangent I'm on).

So as I was looking through the stacks of memorial cards that were given to me from my Wisconsin family I came across this one for Rev. Leonard Blum.

Not the same family.  Different faiths as well (Maurice's Blums are Jewish), but the name caught me and I knew I wanted to share this one tonight.  So often Catholic clergy are forgotten.  After all they have no descendants so unless a nephew or niece remembers them, they risk being forgotten.

The memorial cards I have had meaning to my Wisconsin family and many times that can mean a possible link.  For this card I don't believe that's the case.  As a Catholic I know that if a priest (particularly one that had been in my parish a long time) died, I would keep the card.  So it is most likely that Rev. Blum was a family priest and/or friend.  Either way, the family wanted him remembered.

"Jesus!  Mary!  Joseph!
'Be you then also ready:  for at what hour you think not, the Son of man will come.' Luke 12, 40
In Memory of Rev. Leonard Blum,
Born September 5, 1845, at Treves, Archdiocese Cologne, Germany,
Ordained to the Priesthood December 27, 1872,
Died November 8, 1913, at Milwaukee, Wis.
Prayer.
O GOD, who among apostolle priests hast adorned Thy servant LEONARD with sacerdotal dignity, grant, we beseech Thee, that he may be associated with them in everlasting fellowship.  Through Christ, our Lord. Amen."

Funeral Card Friday - Pope John Paul II

I had a memorial card for Pope John Paul II after his death.  It used to sit to the table right next to my bed.  That and a picture of my grandmother Mary Brown nee Quirk.  We moved and I haven't found it since.  It's gotta be somewhere though, right?  I had wanted to share it on a Funeral Card Friday post, but it seemed like that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

Then I looked through a large box of memorial cards that my mother-in-law had passed on to me over Christmas and there were several memorial cards in there for John Paul II.  I was surprised that none of them were like mine.  I guess I shouldn't have been.  Obviously there were millions made so why just have one style?

I love the one at the top of this post.  That's how I think most Catholics remember our beloved John Paul II.  Kind and gentle.  The church isn't perfect, but I think it's safe to say that a vast majority of Catholics loved our pope.  Disagree with him at times...sure, but he was adored, loved and looked up to.  Not the same feeling with our newly retired pope (at least not for this Catholic).  No animosity toward him, but John Paul II was a tough act to follow.

I remember when Pope John Paul II died.  I was a Drill Sergeant at the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center.  Some of my colleagues were quite angry that the flag was ordered to half-staff for his death.  It certainly showed me that anti-Catholic feelings run deep in some people, but I tried to maintain my composure and pointed out that each Pope is the head of state for Vatican City and that the flag was being lowered to honor the head of state, not the religious leader.  I doubt it got through.  Hatred can do that to some people, but you can't change facts (or policy).

Another more amusing story from that day was when a Soldier said, "Pope down!"  He did some push ups (drop, Bruce!).





















Love him or not, Pope John Paul II was one of the longest serving popes in the history of Catholicism. He played an important part in the lived of Catholics from 1978 to 2005.  Karol Wojtyla....Pope John Paul II...rest in peace.

Funeral Card Friday - Praying for the Dead

Today, I'm not sharing one particular Funeral Card, but sharing/explaining something that many will see on Memorial and Funeral Cards, but may not understand. Indulgences.

Now, this isn't an "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Indulgences, But Were Afraid to Ask" post.  I'm not an expert on all the intricacies of indulgences nor do I feel that it is important to explain how the praying of an indulgence doesn't help every sin.  That's besides the point.  If you'd like to know more than what I'm presenting on indulgences you can check out more on "Catholic Answers".  What I want to do is explain why they are on these cards and why the living pray for the dead.

Catholics are taught that there is a Purgatory.  That when we die a soul goes to Purgatory until their sins are atoned for.  Purgatory is like jail for the soul.  If you are in Purgatory, you will eventually go to Heaven.  If you go to Hell, well, you go to Hell.  Sorry about your luck (but that really doesn't stop Catholics from praying for those either...forever hopeful).  We naturally like the thought of our loved ones getting to Heaven sooner, so we pray for them.  Does it help?  God only knows, but it couldn't hurt, right?

Card & indulgences in German

Catholics aren't the only ones to pray for the dead.  Other faiths have this practice as well, but Catholics may be the best known for it, because indulgences have been abused in the past as well as misunderstood by Catholics and non-Catholics alike.  The bottom line on the abuse of indulgences, or the "selling" of indulgences is that we don't really know that God will accept them.  A corrupt clergyman "selling" an indulgence...well, I could sell you a bridge in New York too and that would be about as worthless.

Indulgences went out of practice in the 1960s, but I'm told that the Catholic Church was bringing them back to some extent.  So you may notice them on cards up to and including the 1960s and then not in more recent cards, but don't be surprised if they start appearing again!

So on the back of many of the cards, when you see a certain number of "days of indulgence" are granted for praying the card's prayer or for saying so many "Hail Marys" or "Our Fathers" we are talking about a period of time lessened for the person that died.

Why does/did the Catholic Church encourage the praying of indulgences?  "...To spur them to works of devotion, penance and charity...", and that doesn't sound like a bad thing to me.

A "quarantine" is equal to 40 days

*Some interesting information in the comments below from someone a lot more familiar with the intricacies of Catholicism than this old Catholic! Check it out!

Funeral Card Friday - Rosemarie Amerling

"In Loving Memory Of 

Rosemarie T. Amerling 

Born September 7, 1917

Died October 18, 1989"

I decided to post this funeral card today because it had been one heck of a week and my blog was being neglected.  I wanted to get something...anything up tonight.  I didn't start by looking at my family tree, like I usually do (and like I should do).  I did a search for Rose Amerling but didn't find a whole bunch that this card wouldn't tell me.

There was a link to FindAGrave where I could see that her husband was Edwin and when he died, but nothing that helped me with her maiden name.  Amerling isn't a very familiar name in regards to my family, in that it isn't a direct line ancestor so I've heard it before, but that's about it.  So I did what I should have done in the first place and got onto my family tree and there she was.

Rosemary (which is what I had her as) Amerling nee Boegel and Edwin had four known children (which I won't mention by name since they may still be living).  The point is, that she's a Boegel.  My mother-in-law's side of the family and Boegel is a direct line surname for my husband and sons.

So, yes, I had her in my tree and I had this card, but until I put it in my blog I didn't make the connection.  No huge break-throughs, but a little connection is better than nothing at all.

(Rosemarie Amerling nee Boegel is my husband's 1st cousin twice removed).

Funeral Card Friday - Mother Alphons

Front and back of card for Mother M. Alfons

"Jesus! Mary! Joseph! 'We have loved her in life, let us not forget her in death.'

In Loving Memory of our venerable

Mother M. Alfons

Superior-General of St. Joseph's Convent Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Born Apr. 3, 1850  Died Apr. 5, 1929

'My Jesus pardon and mercy through the merits of Thy Sacred Wounds.'"

This is one of over 200 memorial cards that were passed on to me.  I don't know who Mother M. Alfons was to the family, but she meant something.  Was she a relative or a beloved nun?  Or both?  Some day I hope to find out.  "We have loved her in life, let us not forget her in death."  We will not.  Your memory be preserved, Mother Alfons.

I had hoped to do a "Follow Friday" post today, but the air conditioner died yesterday afternoon.  With temperatures still over 100 degrees here in Killeen, TX I've got to limit the time I spend on the computer so it doesn't overheat.  It's a chilly 80 degrees outside right now, so a quick post and then back to waiting for the repairman and hoping he has all the parts he needs.  It could be a long weekend.  How on earth did our ancestors do this?