Sunday's Obituary - Does Alfred Kuehl Belong in my Tree?

The Luxembourg News,
Thurs 13OCT1949, pg1

You look for an obituary to try to see if someone fits into your family tree. You're looking for parental acknowledgement to help determine a connection and then you see that none was given in the obituary.

It's terribly frustrating to see "He was born in...on..." and then nothing significant following. One assumption is that the names of the parents wasn't known, but I'm doubtful that was the case here. Alfred married in his twenties so unless his parents died and he never mentioned them to his surviving wife, they should be known.

Another possibility is that there was a rift in the family and they were intentionally omitted. I hope no one finding this post thinks I'm making that assertion. I'm just throwing out possibilities. Maybe they just didn't think that listing parents long gone was significant. Not everyone writes an obituary to please a genealogist. If only...

Doing a quick search in the Wisconsin Birth Index I easily found him. Alfred W. Kuehl; Birth Date - Dec 1887; Birth place - Kewaunee, Wisconsin, USA; Reel 0098; Record 001987. I'm fairly certain that I pulled this record during one of my trips to see about a connection, but being enrolled in school full time and having a pile of documents to sort through for genealogy isn't helpful.

Another hit I got with the information provided in the obituary was from the Wisconsin, Births and Christenings database. You don't get to see an actual document. It's just an index, but it's still useful information.

Name: Alfred W H Kuehl
Birth Date: 1 Dec 1887
Birth Place: Kewaunee, Kewaunee, Wisconsin
Gender: Male
Race: White
Father's name: Fred Kuehl
Father' Birth Place: Kammrin, Mecklemburg (sic), Germany
Mother's name: Friederike Strahl
Mother's Birth Place: Tessin, Mecklemburg (sic), Germany
FHL Film Number: 1302886

Apparently the transcriber never heard of Mecklenburg, but those m's and n's can blur together when transcribing, so I'm not going to be too picky. I do have a Frederich Kuehl in my tree and he was from Mecklenburg, Germany. His wife's name in the census records was Wilhelmina not Friederike.

I have census records for my Frederich and Wilhelmina Kuehl and they were born around 1842. I easily found this Alfred in the 1900 census and his parents were born around 1857. That's a fairly big discrepancy. So as of right now I can't put Alfred into my family tree. I can't rule him out completely either. My Fred and Mina Kuehl may have been his uncle and aunt. I don't know. They are the beginning of that branch of my tree. To find out I'll have to work past them. I'll put Alfred away for now and see if he comes in to play in the future. At least in my research I was able to rule him out (for now), and I was able to add his obituary to his FindAGrave memorial for others to benefit from. Sharing is caring and I hope that this post at least helps another Kuehl to place Alfred.

"Illness Fatal To Alfred Kuehl, 61

Kewaunee - Alfred Kuehl, 61, died at his home here Saturday after a several months illness.

The funeral service was held Tuesday afternoon in the Duescher Funeral home with the Rev. Leonard A. Spooner officiating. Burial was in Riverview cemetery. Pallbearers were Tom Rank, Jule Neumann, William Trakel, Othmar H. Lietz, John Vanderbloemen and Edw. J. Stika.

He was born in Kewaunee Dec. 1, 1887 and lived in Kewaunee all his life. He was a plumber by trade and for a number of years was associated with Wencel Selner as Kuehl & Selner. Later he entered business alone, and after working at the shipyard during the war entered the employ of Jerry Libal, Luxemburg plumber.

He was a former chief of the Kewaunee fire department, and served with the department for many years.

Surviving are his wife, the former Emma F. Landt whom he married in Kewaunee Feb. 20, 1912; three daughters, Mrs. Alfred (Alyce) Kasal, Kewaunee; Miss Hazel, Manitowoc; Mrs Robert (Marion) Goen, Long Beach, Calif.; two sons, Earl and Eben. Kewaunee; and three grandchildren. Other survivors include two brothers, William of Marshfield, Otto of Aledo, Ill., and one sister, Mrs. Hattie Zimmer of Manitowoc."

Sunday's Obituary - Lorraine Ryan nee Kuehl

I posted a couple years back when my husband's, Aunt Lorraine was killed in a car accident. A man than never should have been behind the wheel of a car due to previous drunk driving convictions was driving. He wasn't drunk. He was on his phone and crossed the center line. Aunt Lorraine was killed and a sister that was in the passenger seat was seriously injured.

I didn't realize until recently that I had never actually posted her obituary. I want to remember her and I want others to remember her. She was a sweet, sweet woman and is missed by her family.

"Lorraine B. Ryan, 79, of Eden went to her heavenly home on Sat. May 19, 2012 at Theda Clark Hospital in Neenah. She was born November 26, 1932 in Barton, the daughter of the late Romand and Leona Boegel Kuehl. On May 24, 1952, she married Vincent Ryan at St. Kilian Catholic Church, St. Kilian. They farmed together in the town of Eden and she also worked at Mammoth Springs Canning Company in Eden. Lorraine was a member of Shepherd of the Hills Catholic Church and St. Mary's Christian Women. She worked at many of the parish's chicken dinners and enjoyed playing cards with her sisters. Most of all she enjoyed spending time with her family, especially her children and grandchildren. Survivors include her children, Diane (Richard) Blackmore of Eden, Mary (Charles) Kraft of Fond du Lac, Kathy (James) Uelmen of Kewaskum, Michael (Lori) Ryan of Eden, Patty (Mark) Watters of Fond du Lac and Joanne (Jim) Binder of Plymouth, her grandchildren, Ryan and Marissa Blackmore, Joshua, Katie, Kelly and Karissa Uelmen, Jennifer, Michelle, Matthew and Megan Ryan, Jasmine Watters and Julie and Josie Binder, her sister, Alice Wood of Eden, Helen Beisbier of Kewaskum and Dolores Cayemberg of Green Bay, other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband Vincent on June 13, 2000. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 7:00 PM, Tuesday, May 22nd at Shepherd of the Hills Catholic Church W1562 Hwy B Eden. Rev. Joseph Juknialis will officiate and burial will be Wednesday, May 23rd at 10:00 AM at St. Mary's Cemetery, Eden. Visitation will be at the church from 3:00 PM until time of Mass. Twohig Funeral Home, Fond du Lac, is serving the family with online guestbook and condolences at www.twohigfuneral.com"

Happy Veterans Day to All Those Who Served

(This is a repost from previous years to thank those that have served in the military and to remember those veterans in my family as well. New to the annual post is my step-father, James Trunzo!)

I want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has served honorably in our Armed Forces.  Without our service members past and present our country would not be where it is today. We would not have gained our independence, we would not have unified a divided country, we would not have stopped the atrocities of 2 World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. There are many conflicts not mentioned which do not make light of the sacrifices that servicemen and women made in them. Sometimes the sacrifice was in time away from family and long hours. At times it was witnessing the horrors of those wars or even succumbing valiantly to them.

Not everyone serves their country as a Veteran does and not everyone can or should. You are unique, respected and given a burden that many would not be able to bear. Whether you served many months or many years in our Armed Forces makes no difference. You served. Thank you!

I'd like to now pay tribute to my family members who have served (I hope I didn't miss any!).

SGT James E Trunzo - USA

  

Sunday's Obituary - SGT Lester V Kuehl, part 2

Last Sunday I posted the first two clippings of what would be considered Lester Kuehl's obituary.  The first two announced his death as a Soldier in World War II in France.  His remains were interred in France and in 1948 they were finally brought home to Wisconsin for his family to bury.

"The casketed remains of Sergeant Lester V. Kuehl arrived at Kewaskum aboard the 9:48 p.m. northbound Chicago & North Western train yesterday (Wednesday evening) accompanied by a uniformed escort from the Chicago distribution center, American Graves Registration service.  The sergeant was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Kuehl, Kewaskum.

The members of the American Legion post of Kewaskum met the casket at the depot and escorted it to the Miller Funeral home, Kewaskum.

Funeral services will be held today (Thursday) at 1:30 p.m. at the funeral home, and at 2 p.m. at Salem Reformed church, Wayne Center, where the Rev. Carl Flueckinger will preside.  Members of the Kewaskum legion post will attend services in a body and proved military rites at the graveside.  The officers of Salem church will also attend the funeral in a group.

Sergeant Kuehl was killed in action Aug. 9, 1944, at Les-Monta Borme, France, while serving with Company A, 112th Infantry regiment, 28th Infantry division.  The remains had been interred in the United States Military cemetery at LeChene-Guerin, France, and were returned to this country aboard the army transport Carroll Victory which docked in New York on Oct. 6.

He was born Aug. 25, 1920, in the town of Wayne, and was employed on his father's farm before entering the army on September 29, 1942 with the largest group of inductees from this county.

He received training at Camp Livingston, La., and Camp Pickett, Va., before going overseas in October of 1943.  Stationed in England until July, 1944, he then went to France with his outfit where he lost his life.  He attained the age of 24 years.

Survivors are his parents, a sister Winonea (Mrs. LeRoy Strean) of Sheboygan; three brothers, Romand of St. Kilian, Marvin of the town of Wayne, Elmer on the homestead near St. Kilian; his grandmother, Mrs. Emilia Kuehl, 12 nieces and nephews."

When I first looked at the obituary I had thought the handwritten year was in error because I knew he had died in 1944.  Why was this dated four years later?  I knew service members were buried overseas, but what I hadn't realized was that didn't mean they stayed buried overseas.  I had no idea who determined if they stayed or if they came back.  It just was something that happened.  I had no urge to find out the whys until seeing this clipping.

And for your cliff-hanger I'm not going to tell you the whys right now.  I'm actually still doing some research on it all and I want to get a clearer picture before I share.  I'm also trying to find out what exactly was going on around the day that Lester was killed.  I've read some on it, but nothing conclusive.  I'll share it all in a future post though.  Until then, "To Be Continued..."

(This clipping was passed on to me by my mother-in-law.  I don't know which Wisconsin newspaper the clipping came from)

Sunday's Obituary - SGT Lester Kuehl, part 1

There's quite a lot of information on my husband's great uncle, Lester V. Kuehl, who was Killed In Action (KIA) in France during WWII so I'm splitting up his obituaries.  The first two newspaper articles (which I'm posting today) announce his death and memorial service.  That's memorial service, not burial.  Lester was initially buried overseas in the United States Military cemetery at LeChene-Guerin, France.  This was in 1944.  His remains eventually came home in 1948.  I'll post that article on a future Sunday.

"St. Kilian Sergeant Killed

Another inductee who left for service on the same date, Sept. 29, 1942, Sgt. Lester V. Kuehl, 24, of St. Kilian, was killed in France Aug. 9.  His parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Kuehl, St. Kilian, were informed by the war department on Friday, their son's birthday.

Sgt. Kuehl had been overseas since September, 1943, and is believed to have been in France the last month, after being stationed in England for nine months. Before going overseas he was stationed at Camp Livingston, La., Camp Gordon Johnson, Fla., and Camp Pickett, Va.

Besides his parents, Sgt. Kuehl, who was born Aug. 25, 1920, in St. Kilian, leaves three brothers, Roman (sic) and Elmer, St. Kilian, and Marvin, town of Wayne, and a sister, Mrs. Leona Strean, Sheboygan Falls.  Sgt. Kuehl was a member of the Reformed church of the town of Wayne, where memorial services will be held Sunday afternoon, Sept. 3, at 2 p.m., the Rev. Carl Flueckinger officiating."

"The community was shocked greatly on Saturday owning when the news was circulated of the casualty of Lester Kuehl, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Kuehl, which took place in France Aug. 9; this is the first casualty from town Wayne as well as from the Ev. Salem Reformed church here.  Sgt. Kuehl had arrived in England Oct. 1, 1943 and went with his company to France in July. Memorial services will be held here on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 3, at 2 o'clock at the Ev. Salem Reformed church by Rev. Carl Flueckinger."

(The newspaper clippings and dates of publication are unknown.  The articles were passed on to me by my mother-in-law)

Remembering the Veterans in my Family

(A follow up post from previous Veterans Days with the addition of my cousin the Brigadier General and priest since I finally got a picture of him, and the  promotion of my cousin, JoAnn.  Congrats on your promotion!)

I want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has served honorably in our Armed Forces.  Without our service members past and present our country would not be where it is today. We would not have gained our independence, we would not have unified a divided country, we would not have stopped the atrocities of 2 World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. There are many conflicts not mentioned which do not make light of the sacrifices that servicemen and women made in them. Sometimes the sacrifice was in time away from family and long hours. At times it was witnessing the horrors of those wars or even succumbing valiantly to them.

Not everyone serves their country as a Veteran does and not everyone can or should. You are unique, respected and given a burden that many would not be able to bear. Whether you served many months or many years in our Armed Forces makes no difference. You served. Thank you!

I'd like to now pay tribute to my family members who have served (I hope I didn't miss any!).

  

Wordless Wednesday - God Bless the Cheese Makers!

Romand Kuehl 3rd from left (back row)

My husband's grandfather, Romand Kuehl.  He knew many trades, and cheese making was one of them!  Gosh I love cheese...

Sunday's Obituary - Roman Boegel

Eleanor (Delling) and Roman Boegel

Roman was the oldest of four known children born to John and Bertha Boegel nee Rosbeck.

Roman was my husband's great uncle.

"Roman Boegel

Roman W. Boegel, 78, of 445 E. Main St., Kewaskum, died Monday, March 31, 1980, at St. Agnes Hospital where he was a patient for three days.

He was born Sept. 16, 1901, in Milwaukee, a son of the late John and Bertha Rosbeck Boegel.  On May 20, 1930, he married Eleanor Delling at St. Michaels.

Mr. Boegel was a retired Town of Theresa, Dodge County, farmer before moving to Kewaskum 16-1/2 years ago.

Surviving are his wife; a son, Paul of rural Kewaskum; a grandchild; and a sister, Mrs. Romand (Leona) Kuehl of St. Kilian.  Two brothers preceded him in death.

Funeral services will be held at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Miller's Funeral Home, Kewaskum, and at 8:30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Kewaskum.  The Rev. John T. Budde will officiate, and interment will take place in Shrine of Rest Chapel Mausoleum, Ledgeview Memorial Park Cemetery.

Friends of Mr. Boegel may call after 3 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home."

Wordless Wednesday - The Kuehl Sisters

Lorraine, Helen, Dolores and Alice Kuehl

My mother-in-law (Dolores) and her sisters.  Rest in peace, Aunt Lorraine.

Rest in Peace, Aunt Lorraine

We lost our Aunt Lorraine Ryan nee Kuehl earlier today.  She was hit head on by a man that was driving with a revoked license, without insurance and was reaching for his cell phone when he crossed the center line and hit her car head on.  Lorraine was not the only one in the car.  Her sister, Alice, was also in the car at the time of the accident, but Lorraine was driving so she took the majority of the impact.  She held on for over two weeks with injuries that I can't begin to comprehend.  She was a strong and caring woman and she will be remembered and loved always.

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]

Remembering Veterans & Veterans Within My Family

(A follow up post from last year with the addition of a new-found cousin who serves our country.  Thank you for your service, JoAnn!)

I want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has served honorably in our Armed Forces. Without our service members past and present our country would not be where it is today. We would not have gained our independence, we would not have unified a divided country, we would not have stopped the atrocities of 2 World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. There are many conflicts not mentioned which do not make light of the sacrifices that servicemen and women made in them. Sometimes the sacrifice was in time away from family and long hours. At times it was witnessing the horrors of those wars or even succumbing valiantly to them.

Not everyone serves their country as a Veteran does and not everyone can or should. You are unique, respected and given a burden that many would not be able to bear. Whether you served many months or many years in our Armed Forces makes no difference. You served. Thank you!

I'd like to now pay tribute to my family members who have served (I hope I didn't miss any!).