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