Sunday's Obituary - Who Died Again?

Don't you hate it when you get a nice juicy obit to only find that the woman isn't properly defined (or any of the women)?  Sure for the time period she's properly defined...Mrs So-n-so.  That's all you need to know.  Yes, and my husband would be jokingly saying, of course that's all you need to know (I love his humor)!  Unfortunately for a genealogist it's not what we'd like to see.  Luckily, I already had this woman in my family tree and this is supplemental information, but what could I do if I didn't have her in my tree already?  What if I stumbled across this obituary in the scrapbook passed on to me or as I searched through old newspapers?  I saw it and said, "George and Margaret Thalen [sic] Rosbeck are in my tree, so who is this?"

Well, the obit states her birth date and parents names (as mentioned).  That's enough to get me a birth certificate (if they're available for that time).  Her wedding date is in there too, so I can get that record, and with the publication information/death date, I can get the death certificate.  The obituary even tells you what church she belonged to so that opens up baptismal, matrimony, and other sacramental records if they are still in existence.  The Catholic Church is great with record keeping so unless there was fire or disaster, I should be good.  There is most always a way around a not-so-perfect obituary.

So who was Mrs. William Pesch?  Her name was Anna Pesch nee Rosbeck and she was the third of 9 known children born to George and Margaretha Rosbeck nee Thelen:  Frances, Bertha, Anna, John, Hermann, Martin, Adolph, Alfred, and Mary.

Commonwealth Reporter, 28OCT1965

I was delighted when I came across this obituary because I didn't have the names of her children in my tree yet.  Now I do, although I need to keep in mind that there may be children missing that died young and weren't mentioned.  The obituary does mention others that predeceased  her, but anything is possible.  Remember that obituaries are written during a time of grief.

Anna Pesch nee Rosbeck is my husband's great great aunt.

“Mrs Pesch Of Kewaskum Expires at 81

St. Mathias Church Service Announced; Survivors Listed

Mrs. William Pesch, 81, Kewaskum, died today at St. Joseph’s Hospital, West Bend.

She was born in the Town of Auburn Nov. 18, 1884, the daughter of George and Margaret Thalen [sic] Rosbeck.  She was married to Mr. Pesch June 27, 1905, at St. Killian.  She was a member of St. Mathias Catholic Church, Town of Auburn, Ladies Altar Society and the Apostolate of the Suffering.

Survivors include a son, Elroy, Kewaskum, R. 1; three daughters, Mrs. Albert Gross, Campbellsport, R. 2, Mrs. Erwin Guldon, Kewaskum, and Mrs. Joe Hammes, West Bend; 14 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and five brothers, Herman, Knowles, John, Minneapolis, Martin, West Bend, Alfred, Mayville, and Adolph, Milwaukee.  She was preceded in death by her husband and three sisters.

Friends may call after 2 p.m. Friday at Miller’s Funeral Home, Kewaskum.  Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mathias Church, Rev. Walter Morgan officiating.  Burial will be in the parish cemetery.”

[Fond du Lac (Wisconsin) Commonwealth Reporter, Thursday, October 28, 1965, pg 30]

Many times the same obituary is published in various newspapers, but don't make assumptions.  See the difference another newspaper can make.  Here we've got her first name, the first names of the daughters that married, and when her husband died.  You never know until you look!

The Sheboygan Press, 28OCT1965

"Mrs. Anna Pesch

Mrs. Anna Pesch, 81, of Kewaskum, died early today at St. Joseph's Hospital, West Bend.

The former Anna Rosbeck was born in St. Kilion [sic], Wis., on Nov. 18, 1884, daughter of the late George and Margaret Thelen Rosbeck.

She was a member of St. Mathias Caholic Parish, Town of Auburn, and the Ladies Altar Society and the Apostolate of the Suffering.

She married William Pesch at St. Kilion [sic] on June 27, 1905.  He died on April 6, 1950.

Surviving are a son, Elroy, R. 1, Kewaskum; three daughters, Mrs Albert (Ceceila) Gross, R. 2, Campbellsport, Mrs. Ervin (Celesta) Golden, Kewaskum and Mrs. Joseph (Lorraine) Hammes, West Bend; 14 grandchildren; 16 great grandchildren; five brothers, Herman, Knowles, John, Minneapolis, Minn., Martin, West Bend, Alfred, Mayville, and Adolph, Milwaukee.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mathias Catholic Church, Town of Auburn, with the Rev. Walter Morgan, pastor, the celebrant of the Requiem Mass.  Burial will be in the Parish Cemetery.

Friends may call at the Miller's Funeral Home after 2 p.m. Friday."

[The Sheboygan Press, October 28, 1965, pg 8]

It was also incredibly helpful that in this case I had a funeral card passed on to me as well.

The Wreck of the Royal Charter

"The Royal Charter off Moelfre"
Image used with permission of E. D. Walker
http://www.edwalkermarine.com/

October 26, 2010 is the 151st anniversary of my great-great-great grandfather, Manus Maurice Boyle's, death in the shipwreck of the Royal Charter. He worked in the coal mines of northeastern Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Alice Monaghan, were both Irish immigrants and longed for a better life for their two daughters, Bridget Mary and Anna. He left Pennsylvania in September 1856 to go to Australia to mine for gold in hopes of a better future for his family. He was returning to his family from Australia in the autumn of 1859. The Royal Charter would have taken him back to Britain. No one knows what ship he was to board to return to America. No one knows what fortunes, if any, he was returning from Australia with. During the last leg of his journey to Liverpool a hurricane struck. There was no advanced warning. None existed prior to that date.

The winds that raged over 100 mph changed from East to North/Northeast and the bay (Moelfre Bay) which Captain Taylor had hoped would shelter them became the instrument of their demise. The anchors that had been weighed, snaped in the first hours of the morning of October 26th and the ship was repeatedly thrown against the rocks until it split and sank. Of more than 480 passengers and crew only 41 survived. No women or children were saved.

The valiant efforts of one of the crew, Joe Rogers, and the inhabitants of the Moelfre coast were what enabled even those 41 to be saved. The storm had caused damage to one of the Moelfre homes and as residents were repairing the roof in the early hours of the morning they saw the ship in peril. They woke the town and 28 local men made a human chain in the violent waters of the bay to attempt to rescue those aboard. Joe Rogers took a line from the ship and swam to shore, being turned back in the violent waves of the storm at least 3 times before reaching the men on shore. The rope was used in an attempt to bring those from the vessel ashore.

Sadly, many of the passengers on the ship jumped or were thrown overboard. The bulkiness of the clothes of the time coupled with the fact that many had money belts and pockets filled with gold inhibited their efforts to the deadliest of degrees. Had they abandoned their garments and treasure many more may have survived.

There was over 322,000 pounds (British monetary unit) of gold aboard the ship. This was the amount insured back in 1859 and does not include the gold the passengers kept on their persons. I do not know the equivalent in today's currency the gold would be valued at, but it would obviously be substantially higher. The large amount of money combined with the rumors of "good fortune" that surrounded the town after the wreck led to the shipwreck being called the Golden Wreck.

The village church of Saint Gallgo became the collection point for the bodies. The Reverends Stephen Roose Hughes and his brother Reverend Hugh Robert Hughes paid the local inhabitants to bring the bodies to the church, a difficult trek up the rocky shores to the church made monetary remuneration the only way to persuade the locals to take on the grim task. They saw to the burial of those killed and personally answered over 1000 letters they received begging a response regarding loved ones. The stress from this caused the Reverend Stephen Hughes' life to be cut short. He died a few years later.

The church at Saint Gallgo still exists today and each year remembers those lost in this tragedy. Monuments stand to remember those lost. A distant cousin of mine Debbie Fay Buch and her husband, Josh Buch, placed a memorial stone at Saint Gallgo Church in August 2004. It reads:

Manus Maurice Boyle
1833-1859
Never Recovered from the Royal Charter
Placed by the Fay Family
Hazleton, PA USA 2004

I don't sit around depressed over the fact that this is the anniversary of my ancestor's death. What would have happened had he come home with gold from Australia? My 2nd great grandmother, Anna Boyle, may never have met her husband, Martin Blanchfield, and I would never have been born. Sometimes good can come from tragedy. People's fortunes can improve or worsen causing them to make decisions that determine the outcome of their history and sometimes other people's histories. It does sadden me to know that Manus was never to hold his youngest daughter, Anna. She was born 2 months after he left for Australia. It saddens me to know that his last thoughts were most likely of a family that he would not see again in this world. Or perhaps his last thoughts were of a determination to survive and get back to them. A determination that was matched by the ferocity of the circumstances in which he found himself. It saddens me knowing that he did not die the "peaceful" death of drowning for the majority of those lost were broken on the rocks of the bay. The passengers and crew of the Royal Charter died so close to shore that even today the wreck can be seen below the surface of the waters from the bay's shoreline. Still there, resting peacefully below the water.

It is not everyone that can say their ancestor's demise was written about in books. I have read two that write of the Royal Charter. One by Alexander McKee, "The Golden Wreck: The Tragedy of the Royal Charter" is out of print, but it tells of the voyage from Australia to it's wreck, the recovery of the remains of the victims and the trial of the crew that survived. I have read the account of the shipwreck written by the great Charles Dickens (yes, I said Charles Dickens wrote about this tragedy!) in his book "The Uncommercial Traveller" (only about the first 20 or so pages of the book are dedicated to this wreck. It's a series of 34 books and this is in volume 24. The entire series tells of Dickens' travels as he IS the Uncommercial Traveller).

I take this time today to remember a man I never knew, but love nevertheless. As a genealogist it can be hard to convey to those that do not research their ancestry that while we may never have met these names that appear in our family trees, we feel a closeness that defies explanation.

Rest in Peace, Grandpa. You will be remembered by your many descendants.