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.”

Happy Saint Patrick's Day from the Muppets

A friend of mine shared this clip on Facebook (through YouTube, of course!).  Such a sad song, but it made me smile.  Here's the Muppet's version of "Danny Boy" starring the Swedish Chef, Animal and Beaker!

Thriller Thursday - Some People Just Can't Be Good, Part III

The Plain Speaker, afternoon edition, August 16, 1950

Here it is!  The last installment of "Some People Just Can't Be Good".

"Betty Bronsavage Shot And Killed In West Hazleton Cafe; Slayer Suicide; Woman Figured In Freeland Death

Double Shooting Occurred at 12:40am - Couple Had Quarreled

Mrs. Betty Bronsavage, 33, of this city, who was acquitted of murder in the shotgun slaying of her common-law husband in Freeland on May 1, 1949, was shot to death early this morning in Beltz' Cafe, West Hazleton.

Her slayer, who police said was Andrew Harvilla, 60, a retired miner of Tresckow, then killed himself.

The murder and suicide is believed, police authorities said, to have been the result of a separation and quarrel between the two, who had been going together the past several months.

Deputy Coroner John Salvator, Jr. and Cpl. Frank Burtner, of the Hazleton detail, State Police, said that Mrs. Bronsavage, whose full name is Helen Elizabeth Bronsavage, entered the cafe alone.  Harvilla came in shortly after, and, with both standing at the bar, asked if he could buy her a drink.

Woman Refused Drink

Police said she was reported as having refused the drink, but that she asked Harvilla to call a taxi, after which she walked to a table and sat down on a chair.

Harvilla, after calling a cab, then walked to where she was sitting, pulled a .38-calibre revolver from his pocket, and fired one shot at her head, according to authorities.

As the victim sprawled into a grotesque position, apparently killed instantly, Harvilla walked away about eight feet, put the revolver to his head and fired again.

Autopsies on both bodies were performed this morning at the State Hospital by Dr. Jules Foldes, staff pathologist.

Results Of Autopsies

Deputy Salvator in releasing details of the autopsies, said Mrs. Bronsavage's death, a homicide, was due to a .38-calibre bullet severing the jugular vein and carotid artery.  It entered on her left cheek and left the body on the right side of the neck.  Harvilla's death, called a suicide by the coroner, was due to a bullet of the same calibre, which entered the head at the right temple and lodged in the brain, where it was found at the autopsy.

Mrs. Bronsavage, was the center of a sensational case last year.  Louis Broton, 30, of Harleigh, with whom she had lived for seven months, was found dead, the victim of a shotgun blast, on the early morning of May 1, 1949, in a small two-room house on Butler Terrace, west of Freeland, which the two had rented only a few hours earlier.

The woman told state police that Broton had committed suicide, but after continued questioning, allegedly admitted that she shot him in his sleep.  She told police Broton had threatened to kill her several times and that night had brought the shotgun home.  In fear of her life, because of the threats, she killed him.

Was Acquitted Nov.1

She was indicted for murder by Luzerne County Grand Jury August 31, 1949 and was brought to trial.  The jury, believing her story of self defense, acquitted her on Nov. 1

After her acquittal she lived in McAdoo and the moved to Hazleton, residing in several boarding houses here.

Harvilla Was Retired

Harvilla who retired from mining work several years ago, had worked in Jeanesville.  He was born in Europe but came to this country as a young man and resided in this section ever since.  His wife died about two years ago.  There are no survivors in this country, but (unk) people said he had two brothers and two sisters living in Europe.

Police said this morning that Harvilla sold his home several months ago, and had been seen in the shooting, which occurred at approximately 12:40 o'clock.

Mrs. Bronsavage is survived by her husband, a crippled miner, from whom she was separated; a daughter, and several brothers and sisters.

Coroner Salvator released Harvilla's body to the Jupina funeral establishment in McAdoo.  The funeral will be held at a time to be announced later.

Up to press time, no one had claimed the body of Mrs. Bronsavage."

"2 Victims of Tragedy Were Buried Yesterday

The two victims of a tragedy, a murder and sucide [sic] at a West Hazleton cafe at an early hour on Wednesday morning, went to their final rest yesterday afternoon.

Andrew Harvilla, 60-year-old Tresckow widower, who fired the shot that killed Mrs. Betty Bronsavage, 33, and then turned the gun on himself, was buried in the Mount Laurel cemetery.  The body had been at the Jupina funeral home in McAdoo.  Mrs. Bronsavage was laid to rest in Calvary cemetery at Drums.  The body was at the Conahan Funeral Home on North Vine street after the Catholic Charities had directed that such provision be made.  As the body was laid to rest in unconsecrated ground.  Rev. A. P. Malony intoned a final blessing."

Anthony Bronsavage Jr

She abandoned her family leaving a husband, severely disabled from a mining accident to care for their small child. Anthony Bronsavage Jr did have some help from family to care for their daughter, but their abandonment is inexcusable.  Perhaps ironically she was in turn abandoned...by her religion.  While Catholic Charities appeared to have claimed the body, she was buried in unconsecrated ground.  This is no doubt a result of her sensational trial from the previous year as well as her habitual infidelity.

Why was she buried in unconsecrated ground?  Now I was always taught that if you were naughty, you were buried in unconsecrated ground, but no additional explanation of what unconsecrated meant was ever given.  I did some research and found a pretty good explanation as to who did not have a right to a "Christian burial" on www.newadvent.org.  It went on to state in a particularly long article on burials, "notorious sinners who die without repentance, those who have openly held the sacraments in contempt... and who showed no signs of sorrow..." were not entitled to Christian burial.  OK...very naughty.

Anyway, enough of that.  So what is the significance of consecrated ground vs. unconsecrated?  Something that has been consecrated takes on a new significance and now falls under "Divine protection".  Consecration is permanent and is only performed once (unless something becomes desecrated), while a blessing is not and may be done over and over again.  

What does this essentially mean? There are many details about the Catholic faith, dying in mortal sin instead of in a state of grace, and the determination of heaven and hell to briefly state the significance.  However, I would think that the blessing was done out of the belief to pray for the dead even though it was probably the belief that her soul was lost.  I will actually have to talk to my priest about this one!  Acquitted of murder, abandonment of her husband and child while sleazing around...I don't think they thought much of her soul, but prayed for it none the less.

Too bad little miss Betty just couldn't be good...

Wordless Wednesday - Turnbach Family Photo

This photo was originally passed on to me by William Turnbach, Jr.  He sent me the key on a floppy disk back in 2001, but the file wouldn't open.  Since then Bill's passed away, but other cousins that I've found in that line have helped name some of the people in the picture.  I have high hopes that someday all of them will have names!

Tuesday's Tip - Killing Two Birds

Anyone that's followed my blog even for a brief period of time knows that I love transcribing information.  I do a lot of "Amanuensis Mondays", "Sunday's Obituaries", and anything else that gives me a chance to transcribe information.  One of the reasons I do this is that when you transcribe information from newspapers, vital records, etc into your blog, you make information available to others researching the same line.

What I've realized recently (and I'm sure many of you already do this) is that when I'm transcribing an obituary, death record, etc I can quite easily open another tab or window to FindAGrave.com and create a memorial, if one doesn't already exist for the person.  It's a great time to check against information already on there and if you're creating a new memorial then it's a great way to contribute to a wonderful genealogical site and help others that may be looking for the same people.  Another bonus for creating a memorial is that if you didn't already have a picture of the gravestone, you can request one after you create it! 

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - The Case of the Mysterious Spots

Week 11 - Illness and Injury - Describe your childhood illnesses or injuries.  Who took care of you?  Did you recuperate in your own bed, on the couch in front of the television, or somewhere else?

The mysterious red spots and the hammer up the nose...and these were the days of my life!  Those "mysterious red spots".  Seriously, that's what we referred to them as.  I already had chicken pox and a decent case of them so it wasn't a recurrence.  It turned out that what those spots were was a case of the German measles (rubella), but I wasn't actually told that until I was older.  We just kept calling them "mysterious red spots".  As if it isn't hard enough being a kid, but to think that you've got some odd disease! :)


So there I am the kid with the mysterious cooties, and my clumsy Irish side comes out.  I'm around 7 or 8 years old and I'm at my neighbor (and godparents') house.  Their son was hammering nails into a step and removing them with the back of the hammer.  So of course, I had to see what was going on "up close and personal".  So there was a trip to the emergency room (one of my only as a child...my dad was a cheap-skate and you'd have to be dying to go to an emergency room), because I got a hammer claw up my nose.  It wasn't broken, but it was bleeding something horrible.  I guess a life lesson learned is to not be so close to the claw of a hammer and a 7 year old when he's practicing his mad hammer skills.

Apart from that I don't know of any other illnesses that I had.  My sisters and I all had chicken pox at the same time, but nothing exciting.  I haven't found anyone in my family that succumbed to the Great Influenza pandemic of 1918 (and I looked!  I suppose we were very lucky).  I did find out that my uncle had polio when he was a little boy.  If I remember the story correctly (and my memory has never been what it should be), he was walking home and dragging his leg awkwardly.  He (obviously) recovered from it and went on to become a doctor, a great husband, and wonderful father!  I need more details on that story because it sounded like a good one at that!

Sunday's Obituary - Johannes Hermann August Kuehl

Unknown Wisconsin newspaper

Oh how I love that name! Gut und German!  He wasn't born in Germany, nor was his father, but a fine German name he was given, and to a ripe old age he lived!  He was going by "John" at the time of his death so that's what's seen in his obituary.  John Kuehl is my husband's great-grandfather.

June 6-1974 - handwritten (unknown which Wisconsin newspaper clipping was published in)

"John Kuehl

John Kuehl, 90, of Route 3, Campbellsport, formerly of Kewaskum, died Thursday evening at St. Joseph's Community Hospital, West Bend.

He was born Sept. 14, 1883, near Theresa.  He married Dora Herman on Nov. 6 1906, at St. Jacob's Church in the Town of Theresa.

Mr. Kuehl was a retired farmer and carpenter.  He farmed in the Town of Wayne for 30 years, in 1947 he moved to Kewaskum where he resided until 1970 and the past four years with a son, Elmer at Route 3, Campbellsport.

Survivors include three sons, Roman and Elmer of Route 3, Campbelsport, [sic] and Marvin of West Bend; a daughter, Mrs. Leroy Stean [sic] of Sheboygan Falls; 13 grandchildren; 40 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and three brothers, William of Milwaukee, Paul of West Bend and Rudy of Minneapolis, Minn.

He was preceded in death by his wife of Feb. 22, 1958, by a son, Lester, during World War II, and a son in infancy.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Salem United Church of Christ at Wayne.  The Rev. Timothy Prasad will officiate and burial will follow in the church cemetery.

Visitation for Mr. Kuehl will be from 4 p.m. Saturday and until 11 a.m. Sunday at Miller's Funeral Home, Kewaskum, and at the church from noon Sunday until the time of services."

John's daughter is listed as Mrs. Leroy Stean, and the surname should be Strean.