Sunday's Obituary - Katherine Boegel

Catherine (Melzer) and William Boegel

I posted previously on how information can be wrong in obituaries and Catherine and her husband, William, were the examples I used.  I figured that it was about time to transcribe Catherine's two obituaries.  One is short, sweet and to the point (and lacking in genealogical excitement) and the other is certainly longer and filled with more detailed information.  Sadly, you can see what the obituary looks like for this longer one.  The newspaper must have been bound and when they microfilmed it the left side of the obit was a casualty.  Catherine's obituary was on the front page of the paper and on the far left side.  She was apparently important enough to have her passing make front page news, but the image doesn't do it justice.

As luck would have it the majority of the information that isn't visible in the crease is relative easy to make out, especially when comparing some things between both obituaries.  I'm a bit bummed about the name of the city/region in Austria that she was born in was lost in the microfilming process.  I haven't done any searching to recover the lost information, but at least I've got a good bit of it.  It should help (unless, of course, the information is wrong!).

Catherine and William are my husband's 2nd great grandparents.

Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter,  24MAY1927

"Expires at St. Kilian

Mrs. William Boegel Dies Today at Home of Son, Raymond

Although confined to her bed by illness for 10 days Mrs. William Boegel died unexpectantly at 7:50 a.m. today at the home of her son, Raymond Boegel, at St. Kilian, passing away in her sleep.  Surviving the deceased are seven children.  William of Kewaskum, John and Ray of St Kilian, Peter of St. Bridget, Mrs Catherine Bonleder of St. Kilian, Theresa at home and Mrs. Gebhart Strobel of Milwaukee.  The funeral will be held at 9 a.m. Friday from the Catholic church at St. Kilian.  Burial will be in the church cemetery."

The Campbellsport News,
26MAY1927

"Mrs. Catherine Boegel

Mrs. Catherine Boegel, age 80, passed away at the home of her son Raymond in St. Killian at 7:50 o'clock Tuesday morning following a (unk) years' illness.

Mrs. Boegel was born in Bischof (unk), Austria, December 12, 1846, and immigrated to this country at the age of 22 years settling at St. Kilian where she has since resided.  She was united in marriage to William Boegel on October 13, 1874, at St. Kilian.  Her husband preceded her in death four years ago.

She leaves to mourn four sons and three daughters namely:  William of Kewaskum; Kate (Mrs. Joseph Bonlender), John and Raymond of St. Kilian; Peter of Kewaskum; Mary (Mrs. Gebhard Strobel) of Milwaukee; and Theresa at home.  Two sisters and three brothers also preceded her in death.  She is also survived by 20 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

The funeral will be held Friday morning at St. Kilian's Catholic Church with burial in the adjoining cemetery.  The pallbearers are: Or(unk) Strobel of Milwaukee, Adelbert and Roman Boegel, Reynold and Oth(unk) Bonlender or St. Kilian and Ar(unk) Boegel of Theresa.  Rosemarie (Boegel) and Elvira Bonlender are the (unk) girls."

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!

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]

Sunday's Obituary - John Boegel

John and Bertha Boegel nee Rosbeck (sitting)

John Boegel is my husband's great grandfather.  He was the fourth son of eight born to William and Katherine Boegel nee Melzer.  William and Katherine's children were:

Unknown newspaper

William Boegel Jr (b. 25JUL1875 / d. 09AUG1939)
Maria Boegel (b. abt 1876)
Katherine Bonlender nee Boegel (b. 21FEB1877 / d. 29NOV1956)
John Boegel (b. 12NOV1878 / d. 02MAR1935)
Peter Aloysius Boegel (b. 07FEB1881 / d. 19SEP1945)
Raymond Boegel (b. 29SEP1883 / d. 10JAN1946)
Mary Strabel nee Boegel (b. 29JAN1886 / d. 20JAN1947)
Theresa Boegel (b. 08OCT1888 / d. 04JUL1949)

John married Bertha Rosbeck on April 24th, 1900 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their children are all accounted for in the obituary below.  Their daughter, Leona, was my husband's grandmother.

The obituary is pretty standard.  Of course some of the women were merely listed as Mrs "so-and-so", but his daughter's name was actually listed with her husband.  Very interesting.  I was also impressed by the last paragraph.  It's evident that John was well respected in the community.  I wish I knew more about him!

"John Boegel

John Boegel, age 56 years, 3 months, and 10 days, a resident of the vicinity of St. Kilian, passed away at his home there at 5 a. m.  on Saturday, Mar. 2, after an illness of about a year due to a complication of diseases.

Mr. Boegel was born in the town of Ashford, Fond du Lac county, on Nov. 12, 1878.  Growing to manhood, he married Miss Bertha Rosbeck, who survives, on April 24, 1900, the couple coming to their present home 30 years ago.  Four children were born to the couple, three of whom survive their father as follows:  Roman at home, Leona (Mrs. Romand Kuehl) of St. Michaels, and Clarence of St. Kilian.  A son, Rudolph, predeceased his father 10 years ago.  Deceased also leaves one granddaughter, three sisters, and three brothers.  The brothers and sisters are William of Jackson, Peter of St. Bridget, Mrs. Gebbardt Strobel of Milwaukee, and Raymond, Mrs. Joseph Bolander, and Theresa of St. Kilian.

Funeral services for Mr. Boegel were held at 10 a. m. on Tuesday, Mar. 5, from the Miller funeral home at Kewaskum to St. Kilian's Catholic church, the Rev. John Reichl officiating.  Interment was in the parish cemetery.

Mr. Boegel was a man who filled his station in life with credit to himself, always giving the best that was in him to his family, his community, and his country.  His righteousness and sincerity gained for him the esteem of his fellow citizens and his family requited his devotion with love.  The memory of him will be kept alive by those who knew him best, the memory of a noble soul and a life that was worth living. The News extends its sympathy to the bereaved survivors."

[The clipping was hand-dated with John Boegel's date of death.  The newspaper's name and date of publication is unknown]

Tombstone Tuesday - Theresa Boegel

St. Kilian Cemetery, Fond du Lac County, WI

Theresa Boegel was the daughter of William and Katherine Boegel nee Melzer.  She was born on October 8, 1888 and died July 4, 1949.  She was the youngest of eight known children and never married.  Her siblings included:

William Jr (married to Mary Zwaska)
Maria (unknown if ever married)
Katherine (Mrs. Joseph Bonlender)
John (married to Bertha Rosbeck and is my husband's great grandfather)
Peter Aloysius (married to Elise Marten)
Raymond (married to Catherine Schrauth)
Mary (Mrs. Gebhardt Strabel)

Since Theresa never married and has no children to pass on her legacy, I will remember you today and always in our family history. Second great aunt to my husband.  Third great aunt to my children.  Your memory lives on.

Tombstone Tuesday - William and Katherina Boegel

The autumn is always a crazy time of year.  School is back in session and Cub Scouts starts anew.  It usually means that I've got to put genealogy aside to complete the obligations I have in Scouting and PTA.  And although this year seems to be running much more smoothly than last year, I still have found myself hard-pressed for time.  I really wanted to get the 1890 census form up tonight, but reality and wishful thinking are two very different things.  Instead of not posting anything at all, however, I decided to get up a reasonably quick post with a beautiful family tombstone.  I simply have too much family data to not post something.  I'm always hoping to run across those distant cousins researching the same lines!

This tombstone always caught my attention when visiting St. Kilian's in Wisconsin.  It's just so huge.  This is my husband's side of the tree.  My side, well, I have yet to come across something so grand!  It's beautiful.

William and Katherina Boegel nee Melzer are my husband's 2nd great grandparents.  They were the parents of at least 8 children (that I've found so far), William Jr., Maria, Katherine (Mrs. Joseph Bonlender), John, Peter, Raymond, Mary (Mrs. Gebhardt Strabel), and Theresa.  John was my husband's great grandfather.

William Boegel Sr was born on December 21st 1848 in Wisconsin.  The son of Henry Boegel and Herietta (maiden name unknown), he married Katherine Melzer around 1875 (still working on that marriage certificate) and died on October 21st, 1922.  Katherine was born on December 12th 1846 in Germany (I know...that doesn't narrow it down by much) she died on May 24th 1927.  I don't know who her parents were yet.

What I do know is that St. Kilian's cemetery in Wisconsin has been completely recorded online, and while I may have over-looked the other Melzers in there when I passed through in genealogical bliss several years back, I can easily reference the interments by going to the Campbellsport, Wisconsin website.  And hey...writing this quick post did make me realize that finding relatives of Katherina (nee Melzer) may not be too difficult after all.  At least I have some names as leads now.

Well, time to jump in bed and prepare for a PTA-filled day tomorrow.  I need all the rest I can get for it!  Have fun tending those roots!

NOTE:  And after posting this and jumping to the wonderful Wisconsin Historical Society website I found the image numbers for a marriage of William Boegel and Katherine Meker.  I love their website!  It's now in my research calendar and when I get up to Wisconsin for Christmas I'll be copying that record!

Funeral Card Friday - Joseph Batzler

”Joseph Batzler, Others Pass On (hand-written, 1981 - unknown Wisconsin newspaper clipping)

Joseph "Tom" Batzler, 76, a lifelong resident of the St. Kilian area, died early Tueday morning, June 30, at St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac after a brief illness.

He was born in St. Kilian on March 27, 1905, to the late Jacob and Victoria Bonlender Batzler.  He was a retired farmer and truck driver for Baker Canning Co. in Theresa, and a member of St. Kilian Catholic Church in St. Kilian.

On June 7, 1932, he married Marcella Hurth in St. Kilian Catholic Church at St. Kilian.

Survivors include his wife; one son Gerald (Grace) of R. 3, Campbellsport; two daughters, Joann (Raymond) Sippel of R. 3, Campbellsport, and Susan at home.  He is further survived by eight grandchildren; one brother, Oscar, of Lomira; one sister, Miss Anna Batzler, of St. Kilian; many in-laws, other relatives and friends.  One brother, one sister and one grandchild preceded him in death.

Visitation at Miller's Funeral Home in Kewaskum will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday with a prayer vigil at 8 p.m.  Services will be held Friday, at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home and at 11:00 a.m. at St. Kilian Catholic Church in St. Kilian.  The Revs. Joseph McDonald and Arthur Kalinski will officiate and burial will be in the church cemetery.”

Wednesday's Child - Rudolph Boegel

"St. Kilian Boy Killed While Out Hunting (Dec 7, 1924 - hand-dated)

The home of Mr. and Mrs. John Boegel, a farmer residing about a mile and a half east of St. Kilian, was thrown into extreme sorrow, last Sunday night, December 7th, 1924, when their sixteen-year-old son Rudolph was almost instantly killed, while out hunting skunks in company with his brother Clarence, aged 19, Leonard Schmitt, aged 16, and Peter Dieringer, aged 15.  The latter three are neighbors of the deceased.  The accident happened at about 11 o'clock Sunday night, in the old M.E. church located on County Trunk F in the town of Ashford, the church has been deserted for about twenty years and is falling into ruin.  The four boys had torn up a section of the floor of the church when the dog which accompanied them ran across the gun which had been laid on the floor, and knocked it into the hole.  It was discharged by the fall, according to the story given out by the boys, and the full charge entered Rudolph's body just below the heart, and took an upward course toward his right shoulder, inflicting a wound about an inch in diameter and about seven inches long, killing him almost instantly.  Just how the gun could be discharged from the fall will probably remain a mystery, as the boys stated when questioned by Coroner Joseph E. Murray of Fond du Lac, who arrived on the scene at about 12:30 a.m. that the hammer had not been cocked.

Besides his grief stricken parents, deceased leaves to mourn his sudden and untimely death, two brothers Clarence and Roman, and one sister Leona, all at home.

Rudolph, who was born on March 31, 1909, was well liked by his companions, among whom he was a leader.  He was a bright and faithful young lad and very active.  His tragic death came as a great shock to his many friends, who join in extending heartfelt sympathy to the surviving relatives in this their hour of deep affliction.  The funeral was held on Wednesday morning at 10 o'clock with services in the St. Kilian Catholic church.  Rev. J. B. Reichel officiated.  Interment was made in the adjoining cemetery.

The pall bearers were:  Reinhold Ottmar and Raymond Bonlender, Roman Kuehl, Arnold and Roman Boegel.  Many relatives from Milwaukee, New Fane, Kewaskum, Theresa, LeRoy, Lomira, Ashford and Campbellsport attended the funeral."

NOTE: Under Pallbearers "Roman Kuehl" should be "Romand Kuehl".  He would later marry Rudolph's sister, Leona.

News clippings were passed on to me by my mother-in-law, Dolores Cayemberg nee Kuehl.  It is unknown, which newspaper the clipping was from, but it is most likely from a newspaper in Brown or Fond du Lac county.  The clippings were collected by her mother Leona Kuehl nee Boegel.)