6 Lessons from an Ancestry Message

She wasn't listening. A stranger, who contacted me through Ancestry.com and incorrectly claimed a branch of my husband's family as her own, brushed aside my explanation of why his Jacob & Mary couldn't be her Jacob & Mary. I deleted my knee-jerk response before sending it and instead waited and thought about it a little longer.

My exchange of messages with this woman, who I'll call Kate, began as frustrating but ended on a very positive note. I strongly believe in the importance of learning from each other. In this instance, Kate reminded me about being kind and patient when interacting with others, and I hope she picked up some tips that she can use again when searching for ancestors.

Since the purpose of this post is to share lessons and not to shame anyone, I'm changing the names of the family at the center of the Ancestry messages.

Kate contacted me about a Jacob & Mary Fortman in her family tree who she insisted were the same Fortman couple in my husband's tree. I had recorded Mary with a different maiden name, and Kate wanted to know how I came to that conclusion and why I hadn't included one of the couple's daughters, Helen Lucille. She was desperate to find this daughter in the 1900 census, since she didn't have any information about Helen's life prior to her marriage around 1905.

After reviewing the Fortman branch and confirming my sources, I took a look at Kate's tree and saw that she and quite a few other Ancestry members had made some mental errors when they added Fortman records to their trees. When I replied to Kate that our Jacobs were two different men and gave my reasons (which I thought were clearly presented!), her response was "I do think they are the same Jacob, dob and dod both match."

Rather than provide all of the details of my research after receiving that response, I'll just say that I spent many hours digging into Kate's family to try to get her on the right track. It was very challenging, and I never did find Helen in 1900, but this story provides several lessons:

1.  Start with what you know - Helen's obituary provided parent names, place of birth, and the married names of two sisters. Absolutely none of that tied into my husband's Jacob & Mary Fortman. It said Fortman was Mary's maiden name, not her married name. It said Helen was born in a county that was different than (and rather far from) where my husband's Fortmans lived. Yes, obituaries can be wrong and it's good to question, but they are a good starting point. I think Kate fell into the trap of copying records from other Ancestry trees and then let that misinformation cloud her view of the obituary right in front of her.

2.  Don't ignore location - The obituary said Helen was born in 1887 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Census records from 1910 to 1940 show that she lived in Bedford and Indiana counties. My husband's Fortman family lived and died in Washington County. This should have been a red flag that prompted Kate to do more digging before assuming she had the right Jacob & Mary.

3.  Consider all household names, not just the parents - Kate was determined to find a Jacob & Mary Fortman in Pennsylvania and chose to ignore their children's names. The two sisters in Helen's obituary were the key in this research. They were difficult to find since one was listed with a nickname (Mrs. Sadie Ward) and the other using her husband's name (Mrs. Charles Conner), but I eventually tracked them down and learned that both their given and married names weren't even close to the daughters of my husband's Fortmans.

They were Helen's half-sisters. It appears that Mary was single when Helen was born in 1887. She was working as a servant when she married Peter Harper in 1891. Mary gave birth to the two girls in 1892 and 1895, and then unfortunately died in 1898 when she was only 30 years old. In 1900, the two young sisters were living in Bedford County with their widowed father, but Helen (who would have been 13 and not the man's biological daughter) was not living with them. The sisters were named at the end of a list of survivors in Helen's obituary, but they were at the top of my list in showing the two Fortman families didn't match.

4.  You may never find a census record - I'm not sure that Kate will ever find Helen's 1900 census record. I tried wildcard searches to account for possible misspellings of her name, looked for matches with her middle name and possible nicknames, searched the entire county for girls her same age, looked at nearby counties, and even scanned numerous pages of the handwritten census for any possible match. I looked at the households of her grandparents, aunts, and uncles to see if she was taken in by one of them. I looked at every household with the same surname as the father named in her obituary. All were dead ends.

5.  Don't respond right away - Take a deep breath and think before sending your response to a fellow researcher. At first, I wanted to tell her why she was so very wrong. She insisted our Jacobs were the same man because all of the vital dates matched. I wanted to point out that they matched because every single record she included in her tree was for the Jacob Fortman in Washington County. After some time to reflect, I decided to stay away from listing her mistakes and take the time to actually help her. I decided to never mention my husband's family again and just get her to focus on the facts I was able to find for her family.

6.  Taking time to help others is extremely satisfying - I didn't know how Kate would respond to my research. Would she say thanks but no thanks and insist that I was still wrong? I had no idea. Well, I'm happy to report that she was very grateful! She wrote back three times to thank me and give me updates. I must say that, while I spent a lot of time on this family that had zero connections to my own, I found the whole experience to be very rewarding. Kate's positive reaction and genuine appreciation had a lot to do with that.

If you don't have time to help a less experienced family researcher, I would say be kind when responding and then move on. But if you can't pass up a challenge and have time to take a short break from your own tree, you may be surprised at how wonderful it can be for both of you.

A Lot Can Happen to Your Ancestor in a Decade

Population Record, 1890-92,
Western State Penitentiary

Murder, trial, and prison. If you looked at the life of Stewart Cherry based on census records alone, you'd never know that his life was turned upside down when he was 38. Stewart was born in Pennsylvania in 1853, and in the 1880s married Mary Jane Phillips and started a family. He would eventually become the father-in-law of my first cousin 3 times removed, when his daughter Rachel married Harry Monroe Dietz.

The census records seem to show that Stewart maintained a rather normal, routine life:

• 1900 - oil well driller living in McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania
• 1910 - oil driller living in McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania
• 1920 - driller for an oil well company in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania

Decade after decade, it looks like Stewart's life didn't change. And if the 1890 census had survived, it most likely would have showed again that Stewart was a well driller. I base this assumption on a different type of census record: the one shown at the right that was created by the Western State Penitentiary. It provides many details, including his occupation and his crime of murder. Yes, Stewart Cherry's life shows that a lot can happen in between censuses.

Newspapers from 1891 show that Stewart was arrested for murder, found guilty, and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He claimed self-defense. Stewart was released at the end of May 1900 after serving almost 9 years of his sentence (just a few days before the 1900 census was taken). His normal-looking life from census records turned out to be far from ordinary.

The Pittsburg Press, May 11, 1900
[CLICK TO VIEW LARGER]

You never know what interesting events and facts you may find about your ancestors.

Related Post:  In Pursuit of Pennsylvania Prisoners

Like Mother, Like Daughter in Marriage

I'm fascinated by family similarities. Some may be the result of a person's environment, such as a similar occupation or religious denomination. Others seem to be more of a personality trait, like the person who loves music and singing in the choir who then finds out that an ancestor also loved music and was a music teacher.

On my mother's side of the family, I found another interesting pattern. My 2nd great-uncle, Henry Jay, was married to Rachel Renner. Rachel had a niece, Bertha Renner, who was married at least 5 times. Bertha had a daughter, Gloretta Womack, who also was married at least 5 times. Fascinating.

Bertha Renner's father moved from Pennsylvania to Texas, got married, and then moved to Oklahoma where Bertha was born. By the time she was 18, she had married John Womack and had their first child, son John. Gloretta came along 2 years later. The first marriage didn't last and, when Gloretta was 6, her mother married Monte Heck and they were living in Los Angeles, California. Over the next 10 years, she had married a man with the surname Heird and then husband number four, Wilbur Morton. When she was in her 50s, Bertha got married one last time to Wesley Slayton who left her a widow.

Daughter Gloretta Womack not only married multiple times but lived in multiple states. She was born in Norman, Oklahoma, and then her family moved to Los Angeles. Gloretta married Hollis Thomas Grove at the age of 15, even though the record indicated she was 18. Perhaps the marriage was declared null when it was discovered what they had done, but that didn't stop Gloretta. She married again at 16 (but with her mother's consent), this time to Roy Keith Bruner and, four years later, they were living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At 24, she married Thomas H. Walker and, over the next 6 years, lived in Hollywood, Oklahoma City, and St. Louis. In her early 40s, she married husband Roland Ray Spencer back in Los Angeles. Three years after that wedding, she was using the married name of Gooding.

Were mother and daughter free spirits? Hopeless romantics who felt that each new man was "the one"? Or were they trying to fill a void in their lives? Whatever the reason, their marriage patterns were remarkably similar. Fascinating.

Mother of 17 Children, Mary DeTemple

Frank DeTemple, the husband of my great-aunt, was one of 17 children. At first I thought it might be a typo, but both the 1900 and 1910 censuses point out this fact.

Frank's mother, Mary Schmidt, married George DeTemple in Germany at the age of 18. That year of 1868 most likely was full of hope and plans to start a family. At some point over the next decade, George and Mary talked about moving their family to the U.S. and eventually made the journey. By 1882, they were living in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh).

By the age of 50 in 1900, Mary had given birth to 17 children. Sadly, 10 were no longer living by then. Unfortunately, it wasn't a typo on the 1900 census. The 1910 census says the same thing: 17 children, 7 still living. I haven't found any children deaths in Pittsburgh, so perhaps they all died in Germany.

Mary passed away at the age of 70 on June 4, 1920, and was buried in Pittsburgh's North Side Catholic Cemetery (now called Christ Our Redeemer). After spending decades without them, she finally was reunited with her children.

An Artist in the Family Tree

Seal of Viterbo University,
designed by Hildegarde "Imogene" Thiele

I recently reconnected with a 2nd cousin once removed, who shared some information that rekindled my interest in doing more research on her branch of the family tree. Her grandmother died at the age of 34 due to a brain tumor, leaving behind a husband and 3 young children.

My cousin's grandfather raised his children, and then remarried about 25 years later. I remember the couple's visits well; they were wonderful people. But I didn't know that this second wife had an art background.

Hildegarde Thiele Stern was a nun for decades before leaving that life behind and eventually marrying. A newspaper search helped me learn that she was known as Sr. Imogene, and then my cousin's information, a look at census records, and a simple Google search helped me create a timeline of her life:

1917 - Hildegarde Emma Thiele was born on January 13, 1917, in Mount Carmel, Carroll County, Iowa. Her parents were Frank & Anna Schulte Thiele.

1920 - Hildegarde and her family resided in Kniest Township, Carroll, Iowa. Her father was a farmer.

1930 - The family, consisting of three sons and five daughters, was living in Gilman Township, Osceola, Iowa. Her father Frank was still a farmer.

1940 - Hildegarde, now known as Sister Imogene was living with her Superior and two other Sisters in Lyndon Station, Juneau County, Wisconsin. At age 23, she was the youngest and worked as a teacher in a parochial school. The census indicates she was at the same place in 1935 as well.

1950s - In 1952, Sister Imogene graduated from Viterbo College in La Crosse, Wisconsin, with a B.A. in art. In 1958, she received a Master's degree in art from The University of Notre Dame in Indiana. The commencement program indicates that she was a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, which is a Roman Catholic order.

1960s - A newspaper article from 1961 mentioned that her work was part of an art exhibit shown at La Crosse Vocational School. It also said she conducted "an art lecture and review of the works" at the event. Sr. Imogene was in the art department of Viterbo University and even today is credited with the design of the school seal: "The original seal, which has twice been slightly modified, was created in the early 1960s by Imogene Thiele, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration (FSPA) and member of the art department."

Her mother's 1969 obituary in the Carroll Daily Times Herald (Carroll, Iowa) indicated that "Hilda" was now living in Pittsburgh.

1970s - By the mid-70s, Hildegarde was married. My mom says that my siblings and I attended the wedding, but I don't remember it. I was 7 or 8 at the time.

2000 - Hildegarde Thiele Stern passed away in 2000 at the age of 83, two months after her husband Albert died.

I think the only other artist in my family is my younger brother who graduated from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Do you have any artists in your family tree?

Lost Sisters

I have a great-grandmother on each side of my family who is somewhat of a mystery. Kunigunda Boser Stenglein arrived in the U.S. with her husband in 1891, and Alice Laubersheimer Huber arrived in 1899. I still haven't identified the parents for either woman.

In both cases, I was hoping that a sister connection would lead me to the information I was missing. Research siblings to learn more about their parents, right? In theory that should work, but it turns out that the sisters are lost in the records somewhere.

Kunigunda had a sister, Kathryn, who arrived in the U.S. eight years later and appeared in the 1900 census as a member of Kunigunda's household in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Because I can't find her after that, I'm assuming she got married...but I haven't located a marriage record. She could have died before the next census, but I haven't found a death record. Kathryn Boser might be spelled numerous ways, which could be a reason I'm not finding her in vital and census records.

Alice arrived in the U.S. with two women, Bertha & Marie, whom I'm assuming were her sisters. They were close in age, had the same surname, and all were going to meet an uncle in Pittsburgh. While Alice was in the 1900 census as a servant in a physician's household, I haven't found any signs of her sisters yet. Did they marry, or die, or even return to Germany?

These sisters of my two great-grandmothers are lost for the moment, but I'm sure they will be found. Until then, the search continues for them as well as their parents. Do you have any similar stories of unknown parents and vanishing siblings?

Where Did the Child Come From?

Image of Orphan's Home, 1914, Our
Presbyterian Educational Institutions

It's a question that's hard to answer, the one often asked by adopted children themselves. If a child appears in a census record but is old enough that he/she should have been in the previous census, it makes us wonder how that child became part of the family.

I have two different Andrew Kleins in my family tree who were living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and either adopted or became the guardians of children. Because of the children's ages in their first census record with the family, it isn't likely that they are the biological offspring of the parents.

Walter Klein was 16 in the 1920 census when he first appeared with parents, Andrew & Magdalena Koenig Klein. In the previous census, when Walter would have been about 6 years old, the couple was childless and in their late 40s. I'm assuming Walter was adopted, but I don't know for sure the circumstances of his arrival.

Andrew & Frances Theis Klein became the parents of two boys sometime between 1910 and 1920. Bernard and Albert Klein were ages 12 and 8 in 1920, but Bernard didn't appear with the family in the census ten years earlier. But the census enumerator seems to have made a mistake/assumption when he recorded the boys' surname as Klein. In later records, they appear with the Kleins as Bernard & Albert Golembiewski. After some digging, I learned that Frances Klein was their aunt. I haven't found a death certificate yet, so I don't know what happened to Maria Theis Golembiewski, but the boys' father Dominic clearly needed help caring for his children, which wouldn't have been unusual for a city laborer with no wife.

Although we may be unable to uncover all of the details, it's wonderful to see examples in our families where a couple is willing to open their homes and hearts to children who have experienced loss and need a family. Do you have any similar stories in your family tree?

A Problem with the Paff Brothers

There were at least seven Paff brothers in Pittsburgh, but the two giving me trouble are John and Thomas Paff. Thomas married my maternal grandfather's sister, Elizabeth, on January 7, 1930, and they divorced 12 years later in Florida. Although they both moved on and married again, they had 3 children together, so I'd love to know what happened to him.

It's not unusual for genealogy records to contain inaccurate information. Therefore, it's important to analyze each piece of the puzzle and separate fact from fiction. Two key facts that were causing me trouble were Thomas' name and his birth date. And I was hoping that, by determining when he was born, it might lead me to when he died.

Thomas and his older brother John first appeared in the 1910 census. "John P." was 4 years old (abt 1906) and "Thomas F." was 3 (abt 1907). They are listed in the 1920 census as well but with no initials this time, ages 14 (abt 1906) and 12 (abt 1908).

In Ancestry's collection, "Pennsylvania Birth Records, 1906-1908," I found the birth certificate for John Paff. The parents match the census records, so I know I have the right family. The birth is recorded as March 9, 1907. Although I tried other search techniques, I couldn't find Thomas in this database. I browsed the state birth indices, which is often necessary to do as I wrote in a previous post, but I found no other Paff born to mother Annie until another brother Francis came along in 1910. Thomas' birth record wasn't there.

In 1930, "Thomas J." was married to Elizabeth, and they were living with his parents in Library, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The census record shows his age as 23 (abt 1907). A blurb in a local newspaper about the 1930 wedding refers to him as Joseph Paff. So I assumed his full name was Thomas Joseph Paff.

In 1945, three years after his divorce from my great-aunt, "J. Thomas Paff" applied for another marriage license and provided a more specific birth date: November 9, 1907. But wait - I knew the year couldn't be right since his brother was born that same year more than six months earlier. So I still didn't know Thomas' birth date.

The key record for my research was when I obtained a copy of Thomas' first marriage license application from the Allegheny County Orphans' Court. As far as I know this record isn't online yet. And there it was. Date of birth? March 9, 1907. So the birth record I thought was for brother John Paff was actually for Thomas. It appears the J. stands for John and not Joseph, even though there was already a living child named John.

I still need to find out when and where Thomas died, but hopefully I'm a little closer to those answers now. It's interesting how members of our family tree can be difficult to track down even though their births and deaths are relatively recent.

A Clue that Nathan Isn't the Father?

Albert G. Lewis, my husband's 2nd great-grandfather, died on June 16, 1924, in Franklin, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. His death certificate shows that his parents were Nathan & Elizabeth Lewis. In the 1860 census, Albert appears in Nathan's household as a 14-year-old. At first glance, it all seems straight-forward, so it's no wonder that several Ancestry family trees display Nathan as the father of Albert.

But after looking a little more closely, something just doesn't seem right to me, and I'm not convinced of this father-son relationship. For instance:

• Albert was born in 1846 but doesn't appear in Nathan's household in the 1850 census. The year 1846 may be off, but every other census and his death certificate back up this year. 
• In the 1860 census, Nathan is 73 and Elizabeth is 65. If Elizabeth was Albert's mother, she would have been 51 years old when she gave birth to Albert and 57 years old at the birth of another little boy, Louis, who also appears in this census. Not impossible, but... 
• Finally, there's a 12-year gap between Albert and the next oldest child in the 1860 census.

Looking at Nathan's older children hasn't provided any answers so far; I haven't been able to find the youngest boy Louis Lewis in other records yet, and a newspaper search came up empty. If a will exists for Nathan in 1875, it may state his relationship with Albert, but Fayette County wills don't seem to be online, so I'm not sure yet if one exists. Orphan court records are available, but a look at Lewis surnames in guardian appointments did not mention an Albert. Church records may help, so I need to determine the family's religious affiliation.

I don't know how this will turn out, but as I've said before: Questioning can actually be a good thing and makes us better researchers. If you have any suggestions, or if you're a Lewis relative and have additional information to show that Nathan is indeed Albert's father, I'd love to hear from you!

Related Post: Be a Genealogy Skeptic

New to Kansas during the Civil War

Clipping from Wyandotte Gazette
(Kansas City, Kansas), August 29, 1863

After collecting typical information from census records, the Lee family seemed like any other ordinary family. Martha Jane Pollock was my husband's 3rd great-aunt. She married Orville A. Lee, and they had three daughters between the years 1850 and 1857 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. At some point between 1857 and 1865, the Lee family moved from Pennsylvania to Atchison County, Kansas. Over his 40 years in Kansas, Orville worked as a farmer, coal merchant, and owner of a feed store. His daughters were school teachers.

Nothing extraordinary about the Lee family, right? Well, while I'm not yet certain when they arrived in Kansas, it's very possible that they found themselves there during the Civil War. The 1865 state census shows that they were definitely there in the summer of '65, right after the war ended. So they could have just arrived, or they might have been there for several years. If they were there during the Civil War, it had to be scary to live in a strange, new state during such a volatile time.

Prior to the war, the Kansas territory was already a contentious area with respect to the issue of slavery. Violence between pro-slavery settlers and area abolitionists led to the territory being called "Bleeding Kansas." Then, during the war, citizens of Douglas County, Kansas became victims of Confederate guerillas during the Lawrence Massacre. This event, in which more than 150 men and boys were killed, had to have caused fear among their neighbors, including those living in nearby Atchison County. One can only imagine what the Lee family was thinking and feeling if they were new residents there.

This is just a reminder that it's important to find out what was happening in the country, state or town where your ancestor lived. Knowing the historical context of your ancestors' lives may cause you to look at them a little differently.

3 More Children in My Family Tree Identified

1910 Federal Census

Since the censuses of 1900 and 1910 asked how many children a woman had (and how many were living), we can tell if we are missing any names in our family tree. If a child was born and died in between censuses, this may be the first hint we have that they existed.

Looking at those two censuses, I was able to see that my Stenglein great-grandparents had a child who must have died young. In another branch of my family tree, these censuses showed that I had three Kiefer cousins I hadn't identified. As I mentioned in a previous post called The Kiefer Children Died Too Young, Peter and Philippina Klein Kiefer had a total of 8 children, but I only knew about five of them.

Since both of these Pittsburgh families were Catholic, I contacted the Diocese of Pittsburgh to see if the volunteer researchers could help. The general public can't access the sacramental records, so I filled out the research request form and patiently waited. While they couldn't provide all of the answers I wanted, I'm grateful for what they did provide:

• A burial record shows that my grandmother, Gertrude Stenglein, had a brother named John (the second brother with their father's name) who died on December 19, 1903, when he was only a day old and was buried in St. Michael's Cemetery on the same day;
• Baptismal records show that Anna Marcella Kiefer, who was the second daughter with this name (the first died two years before this one was born), was baptized on May 15, 1898 at St. Peter's Church on the South Side of Pittsburgh;
• Mary Catherine Kiefer was the name of another of the unidentified children; church baptismal records show she was born on September 11, 1900, and was baptized on September 23 of that same year; 
• The third Kiefer child is still unknown because no baptismal record was found. The death of this third Kiefer child, as well as the deaths of Anna Marcella and Mary Catherine, are unknown because there are no existing burial records for St. Peter's Parish from May 1899 through March 1920.

Church records are an invaluable resource when civil registrations of births and deaths are unavailable. 

Related Posts:

• Include All Information in Research Requests
• Consider Catholic Newspaper Archives

Charles Labbe of Ohio, Boot & Shoe Dealer

Charles Labbe lived his entire life in Canal Fulton, Stark County, Ohio. He was the brother-in-law of my 2nd great-uncle, Charles Eugene Huber of Akron.

Charles Labbe's father was an immigrant from Bavaria who settled in Canal Fulton in the 1850s and set up shop as a shoemaker. In 1870, Charles was working as a shoemaker apprentice, so it looks like he joined the family business. From the 1880 census to the 1920s, he was identified as a boot & shoe merchant. Charles had retired by 1930.

The Labbe family appeared in newspapers a few times. In 1898, Charles' son Cornelius was accidentally shot & killed at the age of 15 by a friend:

The Massillon Evening Item (Ohio), July 15, 1898

And in 1906, the Labbe family's house was struck by lightning:

Coshocton Daily Age (Ohio), August 1906

Charles Labbe died in September 1942 at the age of 85. His wife, Louise, was 95 years old when she died in 1955. They are buried in Saints Philip and James Church Cemetery in Canal Fulton, Ohio.

An interesting side note: When Charles' sister, my 2nd great-aunt Rachel, visited him in early 1942, it was mentioned in the local newspaper. However, it used her name from the first marriage, Rachel LaCroix, even though her first husband had died and she had been Mrs. Charles E. Huber since 1919.

Dig into Pennsylvania Farm Records

My husband's 3rd great-grandfather, Hamilton Stewart, was born on May 10, 1799, in McKeesport, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. I can see from census records that he spent at least 5 decades as a farmer in the nearby township of Versailles, but I want to know more than that.

To get a better picture of what Hamilton's life was like, I took a look at the agricultural census manuscripts that are available on the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission website. This is what I learned about his farm from 1850:

1850 Agricultural Census, Versailles - Hamilton Stewart Farm

• 80 improved acres of land
• 20 unimproved acres
• 4000 cash value of farm
• 5 horses
• 7 cows
• 5 other cattle
• 11 sheep
• 16 swine
• 423 value of live stock
• 188 bushels of wheat
• 200 bushels of Indian corn
• 400 bushels of oats
• 40 pounds of wool
• 260 pounds of butter
• 17 tons of hay
• 10 value of homemade manufacture
• 76 value of animals slaughtered

Agricultural census data for Pennsylvania is also available for 1880 and 1927, but Hamilton passed away before that. It would have been great to compare the 1850 data to a later decade to see if his farm grew.

If you have Pennsylvania farmers in your family tree, dig into these farm records to learn more about your ancestors.

Stable Boss Albert Parrish

Last week I wrote about my cousin Margaret Parrish, who appeared in a 1915 testimonial ad. This post is about her father, Albert, whose occupation was a stable boss for a coal mine.

According to Descriptions of Occupations: Mines and Mining, the "stable boss is in charge of the stables and of the horses and mules employed at a mine. He sees that the draft animals are properly fed and kept in good condition." The qualifications listed for this job are "[p]hysical strength; good eyesight; good hearing; ordinary ability. A knowledge of veterinary science is advantageous but not essential. He should have had experience as a driver and in the handling of horses."

Albert Parrish was working in Pittsburgh as a "laborer" in 1880, a "stable man (coal)" in 1900, and a "stable boss (coal co.)" in 1910. As the father of 11, he had a lot of children to feed, although four of them died before the age of 5.

There's a great photo on the Historic Pittsburgh website that shows a mule and his driver hauling a coal car from a mine in 1910. The description provides the following information:

"Mules were used exclusively to pull coal cars before mechanized vehicles, because Percherons and Clydesdale horses were too expensive and too large to maneuver in the tight quarters of the mine. Large mule stables or barns were built near the mine to accommodate the animals. Collieries with deep mines had mule stables below the surface where the mules were kept. Every mule driver was held strictly responsible for the safety of all animals in his custody. The mules received medical treatment and were also given frequent rubdowns with horse liniment. A great number of drivers pampered their animals by feeding them sweets such as candy, lump sugar, sweet apples, figs, dates, and cookies. Some drivers even taught the mules to chew tobacco. An Act of Legislature outlawed the underground mule stable in December 1965, making it illegal to house animals in mines."

At the age of 68, Albert was still working but was no longer employed in the mining industry. By 1920, he had moved on to steel. However, his family must have been proud of his former position since his 1924 death certificate shows that one of his daughters indicated his occupation was a stable foreman.

A Cousin Afflicted by Polio

I feel strongly that relatives in our family tree with no descendants deserve to be remembered. I am especially troubled by the young children who were born and died in between censuses. Their existence may be overlooked entirely. But for adults, too, who didn't marry and didn't have children of their own, I think it's important for us to find as much as we can about them as well. Their lives are worth remembering.

While researching my 3rd great-grandmother's brother, Andrew Steimer, I found something interesting in his 1902 will. It seems to indicate that his son, John, had some kind of accident and needed care from family members:

"I desire that my estate remain as it is as long as my wife survive [sic] me and at her decease I desire that my real estate and personal property of whatever kind and wherever found be divided equally among my three children namely Andrew, John and Barbara, the share of John to be in the care and custody of my executor herein after named and to be used only for the care and comfort of my son John and should my son Andrew and my daughter Barbara fail to care for my son John then I will that they receive one dollar each and all the rest and residue of my estate I give to my son John under an administrator appointed by the Court."

I looked at John's census records for 1900-1930 and didn't see any clues as to why he would need care, other than he did not work. He also could not read or write, but his siblings could, so he must have been kept home from school. Then I found his World War I draft registration card, which indicated he was 34 years old and an invalid.

Finally, his Pennsylvania death certificate from April 27, 1938, shows that he died at the age of 53 of a cerebral hemorrhage. In the occupation section, it indicated "None" and "Crippled." Most importantly, under "Other contributory causes of importance" related to his death, the doctor wrote: "Polio myelitis from early childhood. Invalid all his life."

At some point when he was a child, John Steimer was struck with polio. According to The College of Physicians of Philadelphia:

"Few diseases frightened parents more in the early part of the 20th century than polio did. Polio struck in the warm summer months, sweeping through towns in epidemics every few years. Though most people recovered quickly from polio, some suffered temporary or permanent paralysis and even death. Many polio survivors were disabled for life. They were a visible, painful reminder to society of the enormous toll this disease took on young lives."

The book, Passage through Crisis: Polio Victims and Their Families, which I found in the HathiTrust Digital Library, backs up this assessment: "A disease may be feared on account of its causing death, but a disease which permits the patient to live in an enfeebled condition is even more dreaded and its occurrence in a community makes a much deeper impression."

It's not surprising that John's father wanted to ensure that his son was cared for after his death. Both parents were gone by 1910, and I'm happy to report that John's siblings took care of him as their father wished. In the 1930 census, eight years before John's death, siblings Andrew and Barbara, as well as two additional brothers named Peter and William, were living with John. These four siblings, in their 50s and 60s, were single, so perhaps they sacrificed their chance at marrying and having children to take care of their brother.

All of these Steimers, with no descendants of their own, stuck together and definitely had lives that mattered.

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• Sadly, Research Doesn't Find All Answers
• More Pennsylvania Death Certificates Online 
• Family Birth: Alice Huber in 1905

Family Birth: Mary Klein, Unwed Mother

My 3rd great-aunt was born today in 1858. She was the first daughter of Peter & Barbara Steimer Klein, who had arrived in America three years earlier. By the time she was 20, she had lived in the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of McKeesport, Versailles, and Lower St. Clair.

Mary never married and died at the age of 57 of an intestinal obstruction due to ovarian cancer. For the last 10 years of her life, she lived with her brother Andrew and his wife Magdalena Koenig Klein. I can only imagine that she was a loving aunt to her young nephew Walter.

Hier Ruht In Gott (Here Rests in God) Mary Klein, 1858-1915

In the 1880 census, Mary wasn't living with her family. She didn't get married because she was with them again in 1900 and still used the Klein surname. Was she a servant in someone else's household? Though I can't be sure, I believe I found Mary in Mifflin Township. A Mary Klein with German parents who was the same age of 22 was among the list of patients at the Pittsburgh City Home Hospital and Insane Asylum.

Mary was single, her occupation was a domestic, and her "sickness" was birth confinement. I'm assuming that the children of unwed mothers were taken away for adoption. It's somewhat stunning to think I could have cousins out there who descended from Mary Klein's child. She most likely thought about her child for the rest of her life, wondering if he or she was happy and healthy. Now I will also wonder about that child.

Note: The headstone photo above was taken in St. Peter's Cemetery in the Mt. Oliver area of Pittsburgh and used with permission from Roseanne Kocinski-Fowler, Find A Grave contributor.

Related Post:

• Family Immigration: Peter Klein in 1854

Setting the Record Straight: Virginia Proctor Powell Florence

The original purpose of this post was to highlight a great Pittsburgher: Virginia Proctor Powell Florence. But as I looked at some of the summaries of her life, I found an opportunity to emphasize the importance of checking facts and the need to sometimes "set the record straight."

First, here's a little bit about the life of Virginia Proctor Powell Florence. Virginia was born in October 1897 in the Wilkinsburg area of Pittsburgh. Her life is notable because she was the first black female to receive a degree in library science. Virginia graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1919 and then applied to the Carnegie Library School (now the University of Pittsburgh's School of Library & Information Sciences). Her acceptance into the program was no small feat.

After her graduation in 1923, she went on to work in high schools located in Brooklyn, New York; Washington, DC; and Richmond, Virginia. Her husband, Charles Wilbur Florence, was also from Pittsburgh and received a master's degree in education, pursued a doctorate at Harvard, and was president of Lincoln University in Missouri. What a couple! The family papers of Charles & Virginia are located in the University of Pittsburgh Archives.

Wikipedia and other sources indicate that Virginia's parents both died in 1913 when she was a teenager and that she went to live with her aunt. After searching for her parents' death certificates on Ancestry.com to see what caused her to lose both parents in the same year, I discovered that the information was incorrect.

Virginia did go to live with her aunt (in her grandmother's household) since she can be found there in the 1920 census. But her widower father was still alive and living with his brother. Edward Powell lived until July 1945, and was buried in Homewood Cemetery. Virginia's signature appears on his death certificate as the informant.

I couldn't find his wife Caroline at all in the PA death certificates for 1906-1963. Since it makes sense that she might have been buried in the same cemetery as her husband, I searched Find A Grave for a Caroline Powell. There was a match in Homewood Cemetery with the death year of 1904. FamilySearch has Pittsburgh death registrations from 1870 to 1905, so I searched there and found a Carrie Powell who died in 1904. Her age, maiden name of Proctor, and Wilkinsburg residence matched. The record indicates that she died of pneumonia when Virginia was only 6 years old.

I'm not sure where the 1913 story came from, but I'm glad I checked the facts. It's important to get the story right, even though the dates of her parents' deaths are a small part in the life of a remarkable woman.

Did the Entire Family Disappear?

I'm sure we've all searched census records and had the experience where we couldn't find the person or family anywhere. I've browsed entire neighborhoods page by page, looking for someone and never finding them. Did they move? Were they away from home, or not want to share their information with the census taker? In some cases, there could be other reasons.

If you were looking for William McClease and his wife Isabelle in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, you would find them living in Upper St. Clair Township in 1870:

        William McClease, 37, Laborer, born in PA
        Isabelle, McClease, 34, born in PA
        John McClease, 12, born in PA
        William McClease, 6, born in PA

In the 1880 census, they would be missing.

The McClease family isn't part of my family tree, but I found them mentioned in a publication listed on the Library of Congress website when I searched for items related to Pittsburgh. Their story made me realize that anyone looking for them today would wonder why they couldn't find them. And then maybe they would give up and move on.

The publication is the Report of the Citizens' Executive Relief Committee of the Cities of Pittsburgh and Allegheny, for the Relief of the Sufferers by the Flood of July 26th, 1874. Beginning on page 18, it lists the names of more than 100 people who drowned. Multiple names from the same families can be seen on the list, including the McClease family:

        William McClease, aged 45 years; McLaughlin's Run; body found
        Mrs. Isabella McClease, aged 42 years; McLaughlin's Run; body found
        John G. McClease, aged 16 years; McLaughlin's Run; body found
        William McClease, aged 12 years; McLaughlin's Run; body found
        Rettie McClease, aged 4 years; McLaughlin's Run; body not found

Searching the Ancestry.com message boards would lead you to a post that states the family perished in the 1874 flood. But there are many more names in the publication that may not be found by doing an online surname search. By reading some of the historical books related to the town or city where your ancestors lived, you may find a mention that helps with your genealogy research.

Canadian Connection: My Ancestors in Ontario

Most of my ancestors seem to be from Germany and France so, because it's so different than the rest, one of the family branches that stands out for me is my Baker line. John Baker was born in England and Elizabeth Arthur was Irish. They both made their way to Canada and settled in Seneca, Haldimand County, Ontario. (I still don't know if they were already married and arrived together, or met in Canada.)

Six of their nine children, including my 2nd great-grandmother Mary Baker, were born in Canada:

Sushannah Baker, b. 1853
Mary Baker, b. 1855
Thomas Baker, b. 1857
George Baker, b. 1859
James Baker, b. 1861
Elizabeth Baker, b. 1864

From the 1861 Census, I learned that John belonged to the Church of England and his wife Elizabeth and the children were Catholic. Seneca Township is missing from the 1851 Census, so I was unable to use that source to find out if the couple was living there before their children were born.

Around 1866, they arrived in the U.S. and made their way to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the other three children were born. I can't be sure why they left Canada, but I found a short blurb that said families began to move away after one of the largest employers in Seneca Township, Grand River Navigation Company, went bankrupt in the 1860s.

I must say that having Canadian-born relatives has made my U.S. research much easier. Baker is such a common name but, when you can specify that the person was born in Canada, it certainly helps you find the Baker you're searching for. I still have a lot of research to do on John & Elizabeth since I don't know their parents' names and need more specifics on where they lived in England and Ireland, but it's fun to know I have a connection to Canada!

Note: You can see a photograph of two of the Bakers in my post about the mystery that was solved with James Baker's death certificate.

Consider Catholic Newspaper Archives

We know how important newspaper research is for learning more about our ancestors' lives. For those of you with Catholic relatives, there's a list compiled by the Catholic Research Resources Alliance that you may find helpful. It includes various Catholic newspapers from both the U.S. and Canada.

The Pittsburgh Catholic, February 20, 1913: "The management earnestly solicit
your interest and assistance in the cause of the homeless boys sheltered at the
Protectory. If in need of an office or errand boy, apply at the Institution."

My great-uncle Peter LaFianza, whom I was lucky to have met, married my grandfather's sister and eventually lived in the Bloomfield area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While researching his life, I learned that Uncle Pete was an orphan by the age of 14. He is listed in the 1920 Census as a resident of St. Joseph's Protectory for Homeless Boys.

I was curious to learn more about what life might have been like at this institution, so I searched The Pittsburgh Catholic newspaper archive. Here are two paragraphs from an article I found in the September 2, 1920 issue, which would have been the same time my great-uncle lived there:

"Twenty-five years ago when the Diocese of Pittsburgh celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its establishment some project was sought which would give public and lasting evidence of the grateful appreciation of the blessings of heaven bestowed during the half century of Catholic activity then drawing to a close. Realizing the urgent need of an institution to care for the army of homeless destitute and unprotected boys of the city of Pittsburgh and towns of the diocese, the erection of a home to save them from the temptations and sufferings of poverty and from the evil associations and perils of the street was strongly advocated. The project met with the hearty response and generous support of the clergy and faithful alike, and in 1895 St. Joseph's Protectory for Homeless Boys opened its doors to its first inmate. 

At the institution the boys, who must be 12 years of age to be admitted, are clothed, sheltered and educated. A day school is maintained and when a boy has reached his fourteenth year and is sufficiently advanced in his education, employment is sought for him with the business firms of the city. Every endeavor is made to place him where he can acquire the knowledge of a trade and where advancement is possible. Although employed such boys continue to make the Protectory their home, depart each morning for their place of business and return when their day's work is done. During the winter months the working boys attend night school at the institution."

Duquesne University maintains the digital collection of The Pittsburgh Catholic for the years 1844-2001. If you have Catholic ancestors from the Pittsburgh area or need to learn more about the city's past, you should definitely search this archive.