Sunday's Obituary - Joseph Straub

Gosh, I really dislike obituaries that only refer to the women as "Mrs So-and-So".  Can't change the past, but how disappointing!  This is one of those clippings that were passed on to me and there's no publication information.  There's only the date "1959" written at the bottom as well as the 2 names "Alfred and Leander".

So if we look at the date of birth and his age at death, 1959 would certainly be around the year he would have died.  Additionally, I found by looking in the Wisconsin Death Index, 1959-1997 that Joseph died in Marathon County, Wisconsin on September 1, 1959.

I was able to find Joseph and Catherine "Kate" Straub in the censuses from 1900 though 1930, but it was in the 1920 census that I found Leander, who was 6 years old at the time.  Alfred was found in the 1910 census and was 5 years old.  I don't quite know why they weren't mentioned in the article, but it was apparent that whoever clipped it knew they were missing.  Leander didn't die until January 20, 1982 and Alfred didn't die until March 24, 1984.  Perhaps being left out was a mistake, or perhaps there was a falling out (one would hope not).

While I can't tell which daughters married which gentlemen listed, I did find out their first names:  Edna, Irene, Mary, Armelia, and Florence.  Perhaps they were listed by age (as I did here).

"Attend Funeral Tuesday of Relative

Mrs. Marie Strachota, Mr. and Mrs. John Kleinhans, Mr. and Mrs. Hugo Straub attended the funeral of Joseph C. Straub, 87, at Edgar Thursday morning at St. John the Baptist Catholic church.  Solemn Requiem High Mass was conducted by Rev. Donald Berg of Camp Douglas, a grandson of the deceased, celebrant; Rev. Oscar Cramer, deacon, and Rev. Arthur Cramer, sub deacon.

The deceased was born in St. Kilian in 1872, son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Jos. Straub, Sr.  He married Catherine Schedlo in 1897 and they farmed near St. Kiian [sic] until 1915 when they moved to the Town of Wein.  In 1935 they retired from farming, moving to Edgar where Mrs. Straub died in 1940.

Seven sons survive:  Ben, Herbert, Tony of Edgar; Roman of Marshfield; Wilmer of Spencer; five daughters, Mrs. Oscar Berg, Mrs. Robt Martin of Edgar; Mrs. Alex King, Schofield; Mrs. Theo. Meidlein, Spencer; Miss Florence Straub, Chippewa Falls; 58 grand chilldren [sic], 73 great grandchilldren [sic]."

Funeral Card Friday - Rosemarie Amerling

"In Loving Memory Of 

Rosemarie T. Amerling 

Born September 7, 1917

Died October 18, 1989"

I decided to post this funeral card today because it had been one heck of a week and my blog was being neglected.  I wanted to get something...anything up tonight.  I didn't start by looking at my family tree, like I usually do (and like I should do).  I did a search for Rose Amerling but didn't find a whole bunch that this card wouldn't tell me.

There was a link to FindAGrave where I could see that her husband was Edwin and when he died, but nothing that helped me with her maiden name.  Amerling isn't a very familiar name in regards to my family, in that it isn't a direct line ancestor so I've heard it before, but that's about it.  So I did what I should have done in the first place and got onto my family tree and there she was.

Rosemary (which is what I had her as) Amerling nee Boegel and Edwin had four known children (which I won't mention by name since they may still be living).  The point is, that she's a Boegel.  My mother-in-law's side of the family and Boegel is a direct line surname for my husband and sons.

So, yes, I had her in my tree and I had this card, but until I put it in my blog I didn't make the connection.  No huge break-throughs, but a little connection is better than nothing at all.

(Rosemarie Amerling nee Boegel is my husband's 1st cousin twice removed).

Sunday's Obituary - Mrs. Wilbert Dart

While trolling through my files this evening I came across the obituary for Mr and Mrs Wilbert Dart.  I decided to post the one about Mrs Wilbert Dart first, since she died first (so you'll have to wait until next week for Wilbert's obituary).

I had previously posted a photo clipped from a newspaper about their golden wedding anniversary and in that I made the guess that the hand-written date on the clipping more likely referred to the actual date of their anniversary rather than the publication date in the newspaper.  Well, according to this obituary, they were married on December 30th 1919.  We all know that obituaries are only as good as the person submitting the information so this isn't conclusive proof of a wedding date, but it did narrow it down a bit.

The obituary was published in the Green Bay Press-Gazette on Thursday, December 16th, 1976 (page B9).  Alice died on Wednesday, December 16th, 1976.  Just shy of their 57th anniversary.

I do tend to cringe a bit when I see obituaries that say "Mrs So-And-So" died, but this obituary was well written.  Even when it mentions her daughter and granddaughter it inserts their given names.  Great tips for researchers in obituaries like this.

Alice was my husband great, grand aunt.

"Mrs. Wilbert Dart

Mrs. Wilbert (Alice) Dart, 83, Rt. 3, Luxemburg, died unexpectedly Wednesday evening at her home.  The former Alice Delveaux was born June 4, 1893 in Duval, Wis.  On Dec. 30, 1919, she married Mr. Dart at Duval.  She was a member of the St. Elizabeth Society of St. Amand Church and a member of the World War I Veterans Auxillary.

Survivors are her husband; one daughter, Mrs. Sylvester (Bertha) Gaedtke, Rt. 3, Luxemburg; one granddaughter, Mrs. Randy (Jill) Bosman, Rt. 3, Luxemburg; two great-grandchildren.  She was preceded in death by one infant son, four sisters and three brothers.

Friends may call at McMahon Funeral Home, Luxemburg, after 7 tonight and after 2 p.m. Friday.  Rosary at 8 this evening by the St. Elizabeth Society  Wake service 8 p.m. Friday.  Funeral 10 a.m. Saturday, at St. Amand Church, Walhain, with the Rev. Sebastian Schalk officiating. Entombment in the Shrine of the Good Shepherd Mausoleum."

Family Recipe Friday - Wontons

My mother was the General Manager at the local Holiday Inn when I was little and as such she had a restaurant to oversee. I fondly remember helping dye Easter eggs for the restaurant when I was little. Talk about a kid's dream! Hundreds upon hundreds of eggs that needed dying and me and my sisters to do it.

I remember the summers when my mom was at work and we would call the number for the "Time and Temperature" repeatedly because we weren't allowed to swim unless it was 80 degrees outside.  Then we'd call my mom at work and ask for her to come and get us so we could go to the pool.

I remember the arcade that was in the hallway of the main building with the candy vending machine that we would always bug our mom for money for, and the Ms PacMan game that we would all play (and my sister, Aimee, would kick everyone's butts at....including the adults!)

While I have those memories one of the things that I remember so fondly (but didn't know it was even connected to my mom's time at the Holiday Inn) were her wontons.  Yummy, yummy, wontons!

My mother taught me how to make these wontons when I was a teenager.  It was after I went to live with her so that would be sometime in the Fall of 1989 or later.  I asked her how she learned to make wontons and she told me that she was taught during her time at the Holiday Inn.

These little hors d'eouvres are very addictive and are great hot or cold (I love them cold, personally). My mother used to get the powdered chinese mustard, mix up some of it and dip them in, but you can use regular mustard, you just won't get the spicy kick.

Normally, I follow recipes by precise measurements.  That's more of a baker's habit and I know that in cooking you need to be able to estimate.  I'm not really the best estimator and I still like my measurements, but I'm getting better at simply cooking from memory.  This recipe has some estimations, and some of them are quite odd, but you'll get the hang of it quick enough.

WONTONS


1 lb ground pork
1 egg
8 scallions, chopped
Soy sauce
1 pkg wonton wrappers

In a bowl add the ground pork, egg, and scallions.  Generously shake soy sauce over the ingredients in the bowl.  When the ingredients look lightly coated, mix it all together with your hands.  Now here's the odd part...smell the mixture...if it has a pretty good soy sauce smell, you've put in enough.  Otherwise, add more and mix again.

Put some water in a small bowl and place your wonton wrappers on a small plate.  Grab a wrapper and place it on your plate so it looks like diamond (not a square) then place a small amount of the meat mixture (it's about 1/3 of a teaspoon...the kind you use for coffee, not for measuring) in the center of the wrapper.  Dip your finger in the water and wet the top left and right corners of the wrapper.  Bring the bottom half of the diamond over the meat and seal the edges by pressing down.  Wet the bottom corner of the wonton and wrap both bottom edges around your finger, pressing to seal.  Fold down the tip of the top of the wonton and then place on a dish (my explanation is rubbish so check out the pictures and video below).

Heat canola oil in a large pan.  Deep fry the wontons until golden brown, attempting to turn once during the cooking.  Wontons will float a few seconds after placing them in the oil.  If they don't use a slotted metal spoon or tongs to dislodge them from the bottom of the pan so they don't burn.  Once they are golden, remove to a plate or bowl with paper towels to drain.

OK, now I said, "attempting to turn once" and there's a reason.  If there's any air in your wonton when you wrapped it, you're not going to be able to turn it.  It'll just flop back over.  Don't worry though.  The wontons will still cook, they just won't look as pretty.  I've been making these for over 20 years and I still get wontons in every batch that have air in them.

I don't really know what the temperature of the oil is when I deep fry the wontons.  I heat the oil over medium-high heat and I wet my hand and flick a drop of water in the pan [gasp].  I do stand back when I do it (and all throughout the deep frying), but this was how my mom taught me to tell if the oil was hot enough.

Also, if you put too much meat in the wonton it will bust open when you try to fold it.  It still happens to me, I just squeeze the meat mixture out back into the bowl and start with another wrapper.  Wonton wrappers will dry out so don't let them sit out until you're ready to use them!

It all sounds complicated, but it really isn't and they are so yummy!  Whenever I make them for a party they disappear FAST.

Good luck trying them and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!

The Unknown Collection - The Final Class Photo

At least it's the final class photo in my collection.  Who knows what may be uncovered years from now. Again, I know little except that it's from my Quirk family of the Hazleton, PA area.  Again, I don't recognize anyone in the photo, but I maintain that keeping a class photo has some significance.  Sure you keep portraits of friends and family, but you don't usually keep random class photos of some friend's kid or even another relative.  I think it was someone from the immediate family, but who?

I'm rotten at dating photos too, so if anyone has any ideas about around when it looks like it was taken, I'd love the input!

Tombstone Tuesday - Serendipity in a Cemetery

Mountain View Cemetery, West Hazleton, PA

I was preparing to post on the 1930 census with another census form, but weeding, mulching and trying to avoid being eaten by fire ants occupied the majority of my day so the census form wasn't completed. At least it's almost done so it should go up next week.  The trials and tribulations of trying to get a home in order to be put on the market!

I like sharing tombstone photos on my blog, as well as on other sites like FindAGrave.com because I know how important they can be in research, so it was only natural for me to do a Tombstone Tuesday post, but on who?

In the end I decided to do one on someone that wasn't even a member of my family.  Her name was Jane Rich, but she was known to my mom, aunt and uncle, as "Aunt Jane".  At some point, Jane began living with my great aunt Marian Brown so "Aunt Jane" she became and she outlived my great aunt Marian by about 13 years.

I didn't even know where "Aunt Jane" was buried when my mom and I went cemetery hopping this summer.  I had grabbed some flowers from the local Lowe's to put by the tombstones and we were off to Mountain View Cemetery in West Hazleton, PA to place flowers by my grandparents, Clarence and Florence Tabor nee Bronsavage's, grave.  The conversation in the car was about Aunt Marian and "Aunt Jane".  I was seeking clarification on who exactly Jane Rich was and as my mom was talking about her we looked to the right of the road and saw a tall family marker with "Rich" on it.  We stopped the car and got out and wouldn't you know we were standing there looking at Jane's gravesite.  I, naturally, had to take a picture or her stone (as well as the stones nearby).

I don't know much about "Aunt Jane" but a quick search tells me that she was the daughter to J. William and Edith Rich nee Morris.  She was the oldest of three known children of William and Edith, a younger brother named Harry (who was in the 1920 census, but missing from the 1930 census and may have died) and a sister, Harriett who would have been born a year or two after Harry was born. Her tombstone tells me that she was born in 1908 and died in 1965.

Other information that I discovered (and I will have to verify this when I get back home in reach of additional resources and records) is that Jane most likely studied at Pennsylvania State University and majored in Home Economics.  She was a member of the Chi Omega sorority (both details I discovered in Penn State's 1930 yearbook "La Vie") 

We think that after Aunt Marian died that "Aunt Jane"  ended up with most if not all of Aunt Marian's belongings.  Oh how we'd love to have some of those photos that are most likely never to be found!  One in particular was of Aunt Marian in a beautiful dress leaning against a piano.  It would be a happy day in my family if we ever found that photo!  Here's hoping that someday we'll be able to track down that photo!

Amanuensis Monday (Sort of) - Just a Little Neat Information

I was feeling a bit lazy this afternoon.  I had just finished reading a great book (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo...very good but NOT for kids!) and didn't really have the motivation to get moving on a blog post. I decided to check my files for something military-flavored for a Military Monday post.  In doing so I grabbed the obituary for my cousin Monsignor Aloysius McElwee.  Msgr McElwee had been a Brigadier General in the Army and had led quite a full life (you can read more about him in his obituary here).

Even though I had already posted his obituary and didn't have any new information on him, I became curious as to whether or not I could easily find a picture of him online (preferably in his uniform).  No such luck.  I skulked back to Ancestry.com and was about to look at family trees to see if anyone had him in there with a picture that I could beg to use when I came across a passenger list with him in it.

Extract of the S.S. Manhattan Passenger List from Ancestry.com

Apparently he was a passenger on the S.S. Manhattan that left Genoa, Italy on June 2nd 1940 and was heading back to America with an arrival of June 10th.  It also gave his address which I will have to look for his family there in the 1940 census now!

Why do I find this neat information?  Well it said in his obituary that he "...took his preparation for the priesthood at the Collegio Brignole Sale Negroni, Genoa, Italy, and was ordained by the Most Rev. Francesco Canessa, D.D., in Genoa on May 18, 1940."

So Aloysius was on his way back to America, a newly ordained priest.  To me that's fairly neat!

Now to find a picture....