Sunday's Obituary - Nicholas Thill and Daughter-in-Law Die Same Day

How very unusual...and no date of publication (handwritten "Nov 1964").

"Double Rites At Lomira Are Planned

Nicholas Thill, 94, Daughter-In-Law Die Same Day

Double funeral services for Nicholas Thill, 94, a resident of the county home, and his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Anna Thill, 66, of Lomira, both of whom died Monday, have been scheduled for Friday morning at the Kletzer Funeral home, Lomira, and St. Martin's Catholic church, Ashford.

Mr. Thill, who died Monday afternoon at the county home, was born Nov. 9, 1870, in the Town of Ashford, a son of Nick and Mary Threweler Thill.  He married Anna Steinmetz, who preceded him in death.

Brief Illness

Mrs. Thill, who died Monday night at St. Agnes hospital after a brief illness, was born Feb 28, 1898, a daughter of Paul and Mary Miller Wolf.  She was married to Joe Thill, son of Nicholas, on Sept. 28, 1921, at Holy Hill church.

Services for the two will be held at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the Kletzer Funeral home, followed by 10 a.m. rites at St. Martin's church, the Rev. Joseph Conley officiating.  Burial will be in the church cemetery.  Friends may call at the funeral home after 3 p.m. Thursday.

Survivors Listed

Surviving Mr Thill are three sons, Joe and Paul of Lomira and Lawrence of Kiel; four daughters, Mrs. Julie Schaefer, city, and Mrs. Dorothy Murphy, Mrs. Rosella Whalen, and Mrs. Anna Eilbes, all of Milwaukee; 32 grandchildren; 67 great-grandchildren; one brother, Henry, Marathon City; and one sister, Mrs. Margaret Mand, Oshkosh.

In addition to his wife, three sons and a daughter preceded him in death.

Surviving Mrs. Thill are the widower; two sisters, Mrs. Alice Schraufnagel, Marshall, and Mrs. Peter Biesbier, Milwaukee; four brothers, Tony Wolf of Rio, Herbert of Barton, Roman, Beaver Dam, and Art of Randolph; and several nieces and nephews."

I always enjoy transcribing these clippings!  Lots of great genealogical information out there for someone (and most likely for my tree as well, but no connection yet...lots of names I recognize though!).  Made sure I checked on FindAGrave to see if this grave was on there.  A little information for Nicholas and Anna was, but no pictures.  Requested...hopefully someone can get a picture when all that snow melts!

Have fun tending those roots!

Treasure Chest Thursday - A New Family Heirloom

Memory bracelet

It's special when you know that you have something new that it will be worth passing on to your children and grandchildren.  That it will be cherished forever.  Your engagement and/or wedding rings, a baptism gown for your children, etc.  The other week when my mother-in-law and nephew were visiting they brought me a new family heirloom.  One that makes me sad sometimes, but also one that I cherish deeply and I know my children will as well.

It's a bracelet that was made from some of the flowers that were sent when my father-in-law's passed away.  It hasn't been a year yet since we lost dad, and even writing about it brings tears to my eyes, but wearing this bracelet is a beautiful reminder of someone very dear to my heart. 

Keeping mementos of someone that you lost is, I'm sure, as old as time.  People used to take pictures of the dearly departed (and in some cultures still do).  Now, there is jewelry like the bracelet my sisters/mother-in-law and I have, there are pieces of jewelry that can be made with a bit of ash, and some people keep a lock of hair.

We got our bracelets from A Lacy Creation and to be sure it will be passed on for generations, although I'm sure the sentiment will feel somewhat different in decades to come.  While it can still be a sad memento for me, it reminds me of someone I love...for my descendants, it will no doubt be representative of someone dear to them, they were blessed, as we were, to have known.

Wordless Wednesday - Repaired Tin Types

Before

After

I don't know who's in these tin types.  They were from an album that was most likely my great-great aunt Ella Quirk's.  I figured that for the next several "Wordless Wednesdays" I'd fix up the pictures (not all are tin types). My finished product isn't perfect, but not bad for my level of photo repair!

Tuesday's Tip - Pet Peeving on Message Boards

I've been wanting to write a "Tip" on Message Board posts, pretty much since starting my blog, but never got around to it because I always had something else to blog about that caught my attention.  As I went through my Google Reader today, I realized it was time.  Not because I think anyone reading my blog needs tips...it's more that I needed a bit of a rant.

When posting on a message board, make the subject line of the post something that draws people in and makes them want to read it.  Now I'm not suggesting that you post anything completely unrelated like "Ancestor busted as prostitute" and then in the post, "...now that I've got your attention..."  That will irritate and most likely get you flagged or removed.  Of course, if you actually have an ancestor busted as a prostitute and are seeking more information, then that's a completely satisfactory subject line!  What I'm trying to illustrate is not to expect to get very many responses when your title says something like:

"Trying to find my grandfather" 

(not enough info, especially if on a common surname message board), or

"Brown family", or

"Lee genealogy", or

"Looking for connections"

Those subjects don't tell anyone anything and I usually don't bother to read them.  I've got quite a few posts to read through each day, either as blogs, message board alerts, or news and I just don't have time.  If I see a subject like that, I just say to myself, "Well, they aren't really serious about this, or they would have said more".

Seriously, if you're researching someone with a common last name, you've GOT to put more detail in the subject (and, of course, the post).  Those boards have so many messages posted daily that people are looking for what pertains to them.  Such a general subject line will more often than not be ignored.  A better title for a common name would be "Lee family of the Hazleton, PA area", or "Brown family moved to Elmira, NY from PA".  That narrows it down considerably and would tend to get better responses.

One last peeve, and then I'll stop, because I so could go on, is content of the post.  Don't say, "I'm looking for the parents of Joe-schmo Hermann who moved to the US from Germany. Please help".  Again, pretty common last name, and it's not saying where they moved to....Wisconsin?  Texas?  Maine?  Where?  I would venture a guess that the majority of Hermanns in the United States came from Germany...can I have a time period?  A location before and after immigration, if you have one?  Tell the people reading the post all the details you have!  Let them know if there are details that you believe to be true, but haven't verified yet.  Something is better than a generalization.

OK...I feel a little better now.  I know some people are new to genealogy and jump right in and that's awesome, but a lot of this is common sense.  And sadly, I don't think that some of these ridiculous posts/titles are only from those new to genealogy.  Ah well...

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)!

Sunday's Obituary - All Gave Some, Some Gave All

Add caption

SGT Lester Bader was a handsome young man whose life was cut short while serving in World War II.  His obituary is extremely interesting.  He was apparently a very brave and intelligent young man that had quite the military career.  I'd love to know more about those "secret duties"!

Rest in peace, SGT Bader.  You died while defending a monastery.  I'm sure you scored lots of points with the Big Guy for that one!  Your memory will always live on.

"SGT Lester Bader

Sgt. Bader's Body Arriving Wednesday

The body of Sgt. Lester Bader, 25, Luxemburg, route 2, son of Mrs. Mary Bader, Luxemburg, who was killed in action on Christmas day, 1943, in Italy, will arrive on the Milwaukee road at 9:45 Wednesday evening, and will be met by the Ralph Kline American Legion post, Luxemburg, who will escort it to the Dupont-Malcore Funeral home.

Sgt. Bader was killed while defending a monastery on Mount Defoncha, Casino, Italy.  He was born in Red River and before his enlistment the day after Pearl Harbor, he operated a farm with his brothers, and served as auction clerk in company with a brother's auctioneering business.  He attended East High school in Green Bay.

After training at Fort Riley, Kan., and El Paso, Tex., the soldier entered the secret service and took special training at Norfolk, W. Va.  He was on secret duty in Attu, Alaska, and in Africa before being transferred to the European theater of war.

Besides his mother, he is survived by three brothers, Mose and Ralph, on the home farm, and Edward, Green Bay; and three sisters, Mrs. Martin Williams, New Franken, Mrs. Joseph Coel, Edgewater Beach, and Mrs. Jerry Baier, Green Bay.

The Holy Name society of St. Louis church, Dyckesville, of which he was a member, will say the rosary at 8 o'clock Wednesday evening at the funeral home, with the Rev. Ludolph Jacobs, O. Praem.

Funeral services will be held at 10 o'clock Friday morning in St. Louis church, Dyckesville, with Father Jacobs offering the requiem mass.  Burial will be in the church cemetery. The Ralph Kline American Legion post will conduct the military rites."

No publication information was written with the newspaper clipping I have.  It would most likely be from one of the local Wisconsin newspapers, perhaps the Green Bay Press-Gazette since he attended high school in Green Bay.

Follow Friday - An Easy Blog Improvement!

I was checking the Geneablogger roll up on Monday and saw that Find My Ancestor had a series of posts on Mobile Monday about making your blog easier to read in  "Making Your Blog Mobile Friendly".  I was certainly interested in what A.C. Ivory had to say.  I read blog posts on my computer through my Google Reader, but when I'm out and about and have time to kill, I whip out my iPhone and scroll through with my MobileRSS app.

So occasionally I've noticed that the whole blog doesn't feed into the Mobile Reader or maybe I want to comment on someone's blog, so I go to the blogsite on my iPhone. It tends to take longer to load and then you have to expand the screen to be able to actually read the small type on the blog.  It's not an impossible feat, but what if it were easier to read on a mobile phone?  Ever go to Wikipedia or a news page and the information fits your screen perfectly?  They configured their pages so that they are easier to read on mobile phones!  Did you know that it's super easy for you to do with your blog?  I found out it was when I clicked through A.C.'s posts and now my blog is mobile-friendly!

The Find My Ancestor blog not only tells you how to do this with a Blogger account, but also with WordPress.  The link to A.C.'s "Mobile Monday" series will take you to all of his "Mobile Monday" blog posts, so scroll down if a new post has been made!  He's got a short video that shows how to do it.  I'm not going to go into explaining it here, because he did such a wonderful job!

Sure loyal fans will visit your blog regardless of whether you make it mobile-friendly or not, but why not be cutting-edge and make it easier on them!  They may come back more frequently!

I'm sure there's got to be a way to do this with websites.  If anyone knows how, let me know!  Mine's still under construction, but I'll certainly be wanting to make it mobile-friendly as soon as it's up and running!

Happy blogging!