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.

Family Reunion Friday - Cayemberg Family 1953

I've been having fun with this year's Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories and I hope you've enjoyed reading what I've shared as much as I enjoyed sharing it. It's time to get back to another Family Reunion Friday though. Family reunions are so important to genealogists and I don't want to lose focus on that so today I'm transcribing the next clipping for our Cayemberg reunion. It was the 16th and while attendance was down to 83 from the previous year's 131 the Cayembergs continued on.

I love the fact that the clippings not only acknowledged who won prizes, but they also marked the births of the newest members of the family. Do you mention the new births in your reunion articles?  Even if they aren't in newspapers (which they should be in my humble opinion), do you put them in a newsletter so everyone is kept abreast of the latest additions to their family? Do you list who was lost since the last reunion? I'd bet the immediate family of those that lost someone would appreciate the touching tribute.

Ensuring that new family members or new losses are mentioned in writing is important. Just saying something before dinner or before adjourning simply isn't enough. What if someone isn't in the room? What if a family had to leave early or arrived late? What if some people couldn't attend? Publishing it in a newspaper or a newsletter if your paper doesn't include such things lets everyone know about these significant changes. It is a record for the ages. Isn't that one of the reasons we do it?

"Mrs. Eli Cayemberg Is Guest of Honor At Family Reunion

(Handwritten '16th' and '1953')

Special to Press-Gazette

PULASKI, Wis. - Mrs. Eli Cayemberg, 83, of Pulaski, route 2, was guest of honor at the 16th family reunion at Pamperin park Sunday.  A total of 146 persons attended.

Prizes in games were won by Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Cayemberg, Mrs. Joseph Corrigan, Menasha; Mrs. Harold Christenson, Sturgeon Bay; and Mrs. Lloyd Dravillion (sic), Luxemburg.

Harvey Houreau (sic), Mrs. Cyril Blohowiak and Mrs. Donald Nellis were in charge of the arrangements.

It was noted that five babies were born since the last gathering.  They included Dale, son of the Roland Cayembergs, Green Bay; Linda, daughter of the Lloyd Cravillions, New Franken; Michael, son of the Joseph Lorrigans, Menasha; Sharon, daughter of the Walter Cayembergs, Pulaski, and Roland Edward, son of the Albert Govins (sic), Green Bay.

Mrs. Harvey Moureau was elected treasurer and Pat Cayemberg trustee.  The next reunion will be held June 6, 1954, again at Pamperin park.  Mr. and Mrs. Felix Cayemberg of Ensign, Mich., and Mrs. Moureau will make the arrangements.

Guests came from Sturgeon Bay, Casco, Algoma, Tonet, New Franken, Rio Creek, Luxemburg, Two Rivers, Manitowoc, Menasha, Pulaski, Anston, Kunesh, Ensign and Iron River, Mich.; San Francisco, Calif., and Bark River Falls, Mich."

The clipping was taken from a scrapbook handed down to me by my mother in law.  No newspaper name was given, but other reunion articles were from the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Family Reunion Friday - Cayemberg Family 1951

Florence Cayemberg nee Villers with her 7 sons and 3 daughters at the
Cayemberg 14th reunion

Do my eyes deceive me? The "missing" reunion clipping. And by "missing" I mean I must have been tired and missed it because it was a post in my queue waiting to be edited.

This was a pretty significant reunion for me to "miss" in my tired-stupor to prep a post. It wasn't the 15th reunion...just the 14th, but what made it special was that all of Florence's seven sons and three daughters were there and they even got a group photo! Doesn't Florence look like one happy mom!?!?

The clipping is short and sweet, but it gives us a copy of the photo and that is incredibly special. It also says when Florence's husband, Eli, passed away. That's information I already had, but someone else might not have. It also helps to illustrate that Eli was only alive for about two of the reunions. It does make me wonder if they perhaps continued to have them to help Florence deal with his passing. They had been together for so long and perhaps the family getting together each year was a source of showing their love and remembering their parents. No doubt they loved the both to have had it continue for over 75 years!

Do you take pictures at your family reunions? Is one person in charge of taking candid shots? Do you schedule a group photo each reunion? Photos are a great way to remember the event and to show others that may have missed the reunion how much fun everyone had. If your attendance is taking a turn for the worse, make sure that you're having fun events and get pictures taken! You can post them on social media or email them out.** If you let those that missed the current year's reunion see all the fun that they missed perhaps they'll make more of an effort to get there the following year.

Taking pictures is also a great way to keep a history of the event. Create a "Family Reunion Scrapbook." It could be filled with only a few pictures each year and then you continue to add to the scrapbook year after year, or you can have a scrapbook for each year complete with a group photo, candid shots, attendance rosters and news clippings to display at future reunions.

And never forget the opportunity to take a group photo! When you send out your invitations to the reunion make sure that you state where and at what time the group photo will be taken. People like to come and go as they please. Stating when the photo will be taken will result in maximum participation. You don't want the time to be a surprise to attendees who might have other engagements earlier or later in the day that they have to be at. Family members missing a group photo because the information wasn't given to them is a sure fire way to stir up some bad feelings!

**When posting photos to social media make sure that you have permission if the site is open to the public. You especially want to avoid sharing photos of children in a public forum. There are plenty of social media sites that can be invitation only so that the general public cannot see the photos. This may seem unnecessary to many, but most parents will get quite upset about a picture of their child being in the public domain without permission. If you wish to give the local newspaper a copy of the group photo, take two. Get a group photo with everyone present and then let them know that you'll be submitting it to the newspaper and if anyone would like to not be in that photo to please step out while the second photo is taken. Easy solution!

Picture caption reads:  "Mrs. Eli Cayemberg, center in the front row, had her seven sons and three daughters with her recently when the family celebrated its 14th annual reunion in Pamperin park.  Other in the front row, from left, are:  Wilfred, Felix, Henry and Walter.  In the back row, same order, are the rest of the children:  Patrick, Mrs. Harvey Moureau, Mrs. Eli Cravillion, Mrs. Russell Anderson, Frank and Joseph."

Main article:

"Cayemberg Family Has 14th Reunion (handwritten 1951)

When the Cayemberg family reunion was held Sunday in Pamperin park, the seven sons and three daughters of Mrs. Eli Cayemberg of Pulaski were all present.  Grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and other relatives and friends brought the total number of guests at the dinner to 131.

This is the 14th annual reunion of the Cayembergs, who choose several members each year to take charge of the affair.  This year's committee consisted of Wallace Guillette of Tonet, chairman, Mrs. Loyde (sic) Cravillion, Luxemburg, and Mrs. Roland Cayemberg of Green Bay.  The affair is held the first Sunday in June each year.

The seven sons of Mrs Cayemberg are Frank, Joseph and Patrick Cayemberg of Green Bay, Henry and Wilfred, Manitowoc, Felix, Ensign, Mich., and Walter, on the family homestead in Pulaski, where Mrs. Cayemberg, who is 81, makes her home.

The daughters are Mrs. Russell Anderson and Mrs. Harvey Moureau of Green Bay, and Mrs, Eli Cravillion of Tonet.  Mr. Cayemberg died 12 years ago and a daughter, Mrs. Hubert Guillette, 30 years ago.

Eight new grandchildren, all born since the last reunion, were present at the celebration this year.  It is planned to hold it in Pamperin park again next year (sic)."

The clipping was taken from a scrapbook handed down to me by my mother in law.  No newspaper name was given, but other reunion articles were from the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Sunday's Obituary - Florence Cayemberg nee Villers

Eli and Florence Cayemberg nee Villers

I found this obituary in that wonderful scrapbook of newspaper clippings that was handed down to me.  I always had known when Florence died.  I didn't think that her obituary would bring me any news or leads.  Sometimes I can be incredibly dim...

"Mother of 10 Dies at 86

Florence Cayemberg Passes at Pulaski; Rites on Wednesday

{Handwritten - Dec 22, 1956}

Special to Press-Gazette

PULASKI, Wis. - Mrs. Florence Cayemberg, 86, Pulaski, Rt. 2 died at the home of her son, Walter, there Saturday following a lingering illness.  Mrs. Cayemberg, the former Florence Villers, was a survivor of the fire which destroyed Rosiere, the area near Rosiere, Door County, At the same time of the Peshtigo fire.  Saved from the burning home of her parents by a 12-year-old boy, she was less than two years old at the time.

Born at Rosiere Jan. 6, 1870 she moved with her parents to Algoma when she was nine years old.  She married Eli Cayemberg April 24, 1886. The couple operated a store, cheese factory and black smith shop there until 1910, when they move to Pulaski.  Her husband died in 1939.

..Survivors Are Listed

Survivors include three daughters, Mrs. Lucy Anderson and Mrs. Anastasia Moreaux, Green Bay; Mrs. Ella Cravillion [sic], Luxemburg; seven sons, Frank, Martin J. and Patrick, all of Green Bay; Henry and Wilfred of Manitowoc; Felix, Ensign, Mich., and Walter, Pulaski.  A daughter, Mrs. Emily Guilette, died in 1923.

Other survivors include two sisters, Mrs. Mary LaJoi, Jamestown N. D., and Mrs. Agnes Tardiff, Edmond, Wash.; and one brother, Lewis Villers, Green Bay; 44 grandchildren, and 56 great grandchildren.

She was a member of St. Theresa Society and the Rosary Society of SS Edward and Isidore Church, Flintville, and the DAV Auxiliary, Green Bay.  The body is at the Marnocha Funeral Home, Pulaski, where the Rosary will be recited tonight and Tuesday at 8 o'clock.  Funeral rites will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday in SS. Edward and Isidore Church with the Rev. Casmimir Krauklis officiating.  Burial will be in the church cemetery."

So what was new.  Well, first off it gave the locations and names of her siblings.  Sure I've located most of them already in census records but this was a supporting piece of evidence.  I didn't know that her sister, Agnes' married name was Tardiff.  Nor did I know that she had moved out to Washington state.  This was fairly significant, because the majority of the family stayed in Wisconsin or the closely neighboring states.

I knew that Eli and Florence had owned and operated a store.  I've posted pictures of it.  I didn't know that it included a cheese factory and black smith shop.  Super cool.

Lastly, and perhaps most significant if it is correct, is the reference to the fire she survived.  Family lore always said that she survived the Peshtigo Fire, and technically this is true.  The fire that burned the entire region became known as the Great Peshtigo Fire because Peshtigo and a large portion of it's population were wiped off the map.  As it turns out she wasn't actually in Peshtigo, but Rosiere which was also apparently severely damaged by the great fire.  I knew about the 12 year old that saved her, but again it was location that was wrong.  I think some people made assumptions instead of asking proper questions.  I had this past year been informed that the family was "visiting Peshtigo" when the fire broke out.  Wrong.  Still Florence was in danger and was saved, but I'd prefer to get the story right.  Wouldn't you?

Sunday's Obituary - Eli Cayemberg

Eli and Florence Cayemberg nee Villers

 

"ELI CAYEMBERG, 77, IS DEAD AT PULASKI

Resident for 30 Years Succumbs to Heart Attack.

(Special to Press-Gazette)

PULASKI, Wis. - Eli Cayemberg, 77 Pulaski, died suddenly Monday night after a heart attack at his home here where he had lived the last 30 years.

Born in Rosiere July 1, 1861, he had operated a general store, a cheese factory and a blacksmith shop here.  He was treasurer for 12 years of Lincoln school.  Mr. and Mrs. Cayemberg had been married 53 years on April 24.

Surviving are his widow, nee Florence Villers; seven sons, Frank and Walter, Pulaski; Martin, Green Bay; Henry, Manitowoc; Felix, Ensign, Mich.; Wilfred, Manitowoc; and Pat, Green Bay; three daughters, Mrs. Russel Anderson and Mrs. Harvey Moureau, Green Bay, and Mrs. Eli Cravillion, Luxemburg; 31 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 10 o'clock Friday morning at St. Edward and Isadore church in Flintville. Burial will be beside the body of his daughter, Mrs. Emily Guillette, in the Flintville cemetery."

[There is no date on the article, but Eli Cayemberg died on 08MAY1939.  The article appears to have been published in the Green Bay Press-Gazette]

 

Florence and Eli Cayemberg

Amanuensis Monday - The Rosiere Store

From the "Record-Herald", unknown date.

"THE ROSIERE STORE, owned by the late Eli and Florence (Villers) Cayemberg, is pictured in this photo believed to have been taken in the year, 1907.

Florence and Eli unk date

The picture was loaned the Record-Herald by Mrs. Lewis Lemens.  It belonged to her parents, Hubert and Emily (Cayemberg) Guillette.

Eli and Florence Cayemberg are standing in front of the store with their family.  Mrs. Cayemberg holds daughter, Anastasia, who later became Mrs. Harvey Moureau.  She, too, is deceased.

From left: Frank (deceased), Mr. and Mrs. Cayemberg, Emily (who became Mrs. Hubert Guillette and is deceased), Martin Joseph, Henry (deceased), Lucy (who became Mrs. Russell Anderson), Ella (who became Mrs. Eli Cravillion), Felix and Wilfred.  Two other children, Patrick and Walter, were born after the picture was taken.

Seated on the porch are Charles DeVillers, Emil Naze, Willie DeVillers and Mike Wautlet."

I would imagine that the "Record-Herald" mentioned in the article refers to the Algoma Record-Herald, which is a local newspaper, but that is just a guess.  No information was written on the clipping I have, which happens more often than not, but it's good to have the article anyway.  I would love to know when it was published in the paper and why.  Every year the descendants of Eli and Florence Cayemberg nee Villers have a family reunion and it's published in the local paper, complete with the names of all the attendees.  Perhaps this was published around one of the reunions.

Our family's copy of the picture "The Rosiere Store"

I was able to scan a copy of this photograph from my mother-in-law this past Christmas.  I suppose it's a picture that most, if not all, of Eli and Florence's descendants have.  My husband and children are descendants of Patrick, mentioned in the photo, but not in it.  It's still a precious photo even without him in it.

"The Rosiere Store" today (well, about 2002-ish)

During one of my first trips to Wisconsin, visiting with family, my father-in-law took me around to important family points of interest.  Dad was interested in passing on family history, and I cherish the times we spent with him going through cemeteries, hearing stories, and seeing family sites.  One of the places we went on that first trip was to see Eli and Florence's store in Rosiere, Wisconsin.  So, of course, I took a picture.

I took a picture from the van we were riding in.  The next time I'm in Wisconsin (which should be this Christmas) I will be getting my butt out of the car and getting it a bit cold to get a proper picture, or two.

I don't know who owns the building now, but it would be wonderful to have it in the family again someday (if it ever left)!

Military Monday - Edward Charles Cayemberg

Green Bay Press-Gazette

"Conduct Rites for Lt. E. Cayemberg, Korean War Victim

Special to Press-Gazette

NAHMA, Mich. - Final rites for Lt. Edward Cayemberg, Korean war victim, were held recently at the St. Andrews Catholic church here.  The Rev. O'Neil Durmore performed the rites, assisted by Father Melicam and Father Saciotte, and burial was in the Ensign cemetery.

Lt. Cayemberg was born May 4, 1929, in Pulaski and later moved to ensign with his parents.  He was killed in action in Korea on July 29, 1950, while serving as a navigator on a B-26.

Sgt. Robert Cayemberg flew from Germany to escort his brother's body home and another brother, Sgt. Earl Cayemberg, has returned from Korea for the rites and is visiting a sister, Mrs. Albert Gouin, 817 E. Walnut street, Green Bay.

Among those attending the rites was the 82-year-old grandmother of the deceased, Mrs. Eli Cayemberg of Pulaski, who came with Walter Cayemberg, also of Pulaski.  Attending from Tonet were Mrs. Eli Cravillion and Elmer Guillette.

From Green Bay were Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Cayemberg, Frank Cayemberg, Mr. and Mrs. Pat Cayemberg, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Moureau and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Moureau, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Fellows, Mrs. Russell Anderson, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Gouin and Mr. and Mrs. Frank Gouin.  Mr. and Mrs. William Kranzuoch of Appleton also attended.”

Hand-dated, July 29, 1950, Green Bay Press-Gazette