Monday, September 19, 2016

100 Bucks for Fred and Ernestine

Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Mecan, WI (known by some as the Big Mecan church) celebrated their 150th anniversary this past Sunday (September 18, 2016). It was a good day. Beautiful weather. Excellent worship service. Fellowship lunch. Well done all the way around.

So over the past weeks and months we've been poking around the cemetery. Dad Mateske knew that his great grandparents were out there somewhere, and so we went looking for them. Pretty easy to find, although the grave marker is getting harder and harder to read and has some of the usual old gravestone growth on it. Johann Friedrich (Fred) Mateske and his Frau, Ernestine Wilhelmine Theresia Mateske nee Pockrandt are the only Mateske names in Big Mecan cemetary. (*see note at end)

Dad wanted to make a special anniversary offering for  the special day and so $100 was given in honor of  his great grandparents. That's worth a blog post. And that gift gave me my title.
    
               

From the picture below you can see the location in relation to the back of  the church. The grave is just south of the road that goes through the middle of the  cemetery. You can't miss it.

The Johann is left off Friedrich's name, and he was know just as Fred. One early census must have had a real 'Merican enumerator as he spelled the last name Mateskey. That's no doubt what he heard. 
Ernestine's engraving is a bit less weathered, and it's a good thing she didn't want her whole name put on there. They would have needed a bigger monument!

  

So  what's their story. Fred and Ernestine came from the old country in the late 1860s from two little towns in Posen, Prussia, Germany. That is in the northwestern part of what is now Poland. They came via the port of Quebec, Canada. They had four children: Rudolph (that's our branch), Richard, Gustoph and Emma. He was a farmer according to all the census reports. However, one other person who  has done some research on the Mateske/Pockrandt name also said that he was a carpenter and later a blacksmith. Don't know about that, or where that came form, but I suppose he could have been all three.

Fortunately somebody saved Ernestine's obituary, and that is as good a way as there is to tell you about them. So let's just let that do the talking. It will tell you something about their life and their faith. It's still hard, but good stuff.

Cleaning  up old gravestones can be tricky business and a rubbing should probably be made of the engraving before it disappears all together. We'll get on that. And I don't know where  the Mateske homestead is exactly. We'll have to check that out too.

Anyway, next time you get out to Mecan, look them up.

* About the asterick - There is another Mateske out there but she is in the Dahlke plot and the Mateske name is not on the marker. Bertha Mateske married a Dahlke. She is a niece of Fred and Ernestine.


Hey! Who's Got a Birthday This Week!?!?!?

It's September - the birthday month, as I like to call it.
And who's got a birthday this week?
That's right ......... Aunt Norma!

You thought I was going to shamelessly toot my own horn and solicit birthday greetings (no gifts, please!Really.) It is my birthday  this week - number 64. But look at my picture for this post. I'm not the only one who's in the center of the picture. I'm not the only one cutting  the cake.

Late 1950s at 4711 20th Avenue

Norma Sylvia Haubrich was born on September 22, 1908 in Kenosha, WI. That makes her the oldest child of both my grandparents and thus the oldest of my aunts and uncles. As it turned out, she is the first of that group to die, and the  youngest. In July of 1969, she was almost 61! Cancer.

Aunt Norma was the first to be born and the first to die, but by my way of thinking, she was more than that. I have a theory that she was, in a sense, the glue, the center, the mover and  the shaker of our little extended family that often gathered at 4711 20th Avenue in Kenosha.

Maybe that's part of  the explanation. 4711 20th Avenue was where the Haubrichs lived for decades, since early in the 20th century. Pa Haubrich bought that house when it was still called Lyman Avenue (in 1926 Kenosha changed the street names to street numbers). He raised a family there. He died there, and before that he arranged for Gramma and him to live there in a renovated upstairs apartment while Norma and her family (Uncle Kelly and cousin Carol) lived downstairs and turned 4711 into the gathering place I remember.

Maybe along with that, it was the fact that Norma was the oldest and it would be natural for her to assume some kind of leadership role. But it was more. I remember my Aunt Norma as the energizer bunny - she was always in motion and the apron that she so often seemed to be wearing was her "uniform." She was chatty (and, for better or worse, was very much part of the Haubrich Information Bureau (aka gossip). She had a laugh that could fill the room. Although she was not your stereotypical huggin' and kissin' aunt, I always felt loved and welcomed by her.

Norma was social. She liked to enjoy family and friends and was a joiner of social/service groups at church and in the community. She liked to go out and have a good time. When fairly recently, I saw for the first time pictures from her youth, courting, and young married years, you could see that she was always like that - whether with her sidekick cousin and best friend, Hilda Wegner, or with Kelly and their mutual friends.

A couple of stories are worth  sharing, although the details are fuzzy. Forgive me if don't get everything exactly right.

My Dad told me once that Aunt Norma saved their marriage. Before Mom and Dad were married, Dad was in the Navy and serving on the east coast and in the Atlantic at the time. For one reason or another (he described it as some kind of schmaltzy you can do better than me/I'm probably not coming home logic), he wrote a letter to Mom at 4711. In those days the mail came through the mail slot on the front porch and dropped on a little bench that was there. Norma saw the letter and had a feeling. She did the unthinkable (but for all the right reasons, I think). She opened it and saw the "Dear Doris" message. She didn't give  the letter to Mom. She got  on the phone and somehow (to his dying day Daddy said it was a miracle that she was able to get through and find him) got a hold of Dad and pleaded with him not to do this to Doris. He would break her  heart. He agreed and she got rid of  the letter. Amazing! But that was Aunt Norma.

The other story is about her daughter Carol. Since Carol is still with us, she may have to straighten me out and give some more details. (But she did confirm the jist of this story with me). Carol was in the market for  a husband (or her  Mom was), and somehow  and for some reason I don't recall, a notice was put on the bulletin  board at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Thiensville (Mequon). Basically, the message introduced Carol and was "trolling" for interested eligible bachelors. It so happened that a guy by  the name of Warren Henrich answered the call, and, well, the rest is  history. Again, it sounds amazing, but that was my Aunt Norma.

Granted, I was going on 17 when Norma died, and I only knew her as a boy growing  up and somewhat from a distance. But my memories are good! I miss her. And I will stick with my theory that when Aunt Norma died - so much changed. You could argue that times were changing anyway, we were all changing, and that it was inevitable. But again, I  think it was more than that. Uncle Kelly was never the same after the  summer  of 1969 and he died in 1973. Gramma already was moved out of 4711 and moved  in with us in Zion. The house was sold. And that was that. Pictures and memories are all that's left.

I'm glad I share a birthday week with my Aunt Norma, and I can honestly say that when my birthday comes around every year, I have, at least, a little thought for her.

Gramma Haubrich with  Her Girls
Lilah and Mom in the  back; Norma (as I  remember her  best) and Lucille in front
1960

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Home Sweet Home - I Just Wish I Could Remember

We were in Milwaukee a couple of weeks ago and had reason to go through an old neighborhood and see this house at 4700 50th. I took a picture. The genealogical spirits are moving me to tell you about it. So here it is.
from 50th looking northeast
This was my first home! The only problem is that I have no "real" memory of it. That's too bad. I know the place, but only through pictures I've seen and stories I've heard. BUT ... although I don't "remember" it, I have to tell you (call me crazy if you must), that every time I have driven by this house and through this neighborhood (I have done that more than once), I get a funny and familiar feeling. I do feel that I have been here before!

Same Porch, Old Railing and Door. I'm 2.
It was only for a short time - Fall of 1952 to sometime in 1954. We actually lived here a few years before 1952, but that was before my time. My first actual memories are in Zion when we lived near the lake (that's a story that needs to be told too!).These are my lost years (my earliest lost years, I should say), the years before my actual memories. This was home for such a short time - I realize that - but so much happened here, important stuff, fun stuff. The first two years of my life happened here.

I'd tell you all about it if I could, but like I said, I don't remember. So I'll have to let the pictures do the talking. So take a good close look at the 2016 photo above and come along with me to compare and remember.

So I guess I was at this house before I was born too, with Mom lugging me around in the winter, spring, and summer of 1952. I love my Mom - she took her hymnal to church every Sunday already back then. And the hat! That's Judy Conklin with her. As you will see, the Conklins lived in the "cottage" in the back yard. They were good friends.

This is where I came home from the hospital and got my first meals. Mom looks really excited about me, doesn't she? Notice the bay window behind us and then look at the 2016 picture and you can see that the widow is still there. To me it is one of the identifiable characteristics of this house, and it was the backdrop for many a picture - inside and out.


Had a baptism party here too. Aunt Lilah and Uncle George were my sponsors. This picture and the one above are two of only a few pictures of me as baby. I didn't get one of those new baby portfolios like David and Mary. (But that's okay. I don't mind. Really, I'm okay with that.) Say what you want about George, but he was a snappy dresser.



Naturally, my first Christmas happened here. Looks like we had a good time. I think Mom got new pajamas - ya think? With footies even. Daddy probably picked that out. Lilah was there too. Mary was still working on hair. David, were you in charge of tree selection?! And there's the window.


We had some nice birthdays at this house, and it was a busy, homey kitchen. You can tell that from these and other pictures I have. That's Pa Haubrich in the second picture below. I also  have very few memories of him. But he knew me, I guess! David is 9 years old here and Mary 3. I'm _____?


L to R: George, Lilah, Mary, Carol (still Greening then), Pa and Gramma Haubrich, David and Me.
It sure looks like we had plenty of family gatherings in those few years at this house. What good times we had! Aunts and uncles, George and Lilah, Marv and Ev, Kelly and Norma, and cousin Carol were there a lot. Both set of grandparents were there quite a bit too. I guessing  (hoping) that they finally got this pose right. Some great looks here. I must have taken the picture. Kidding. Otherwise, why would I get left out? Okay, maybe Uncle George took the picture. We're the only two not in it. I wonder what everyone is looking at. Maybe me. Young seminarian, Warren Henrich, was there this time. And there's that window again.
Back: Carol, Gramma and Pa Haubrich, Norma and Kelly.
Front: Warren, Evelyn and Marv, Mom, Lilah and Mary. Daddy and David in foreground.

Looks like we spent quite a bit of time outside, and it also looks like we had fun - and there were other kids in neighborhood too. See the fence going across the driveway in the first picture (looking toward the street.) Daddy told me that he built that. Probably to keep us in the back yard. You see where the Conklins lived in the second picture.
Mary, the Conklin Girl (what's here name, Mary?), Me
See the fence? I remember that car from Zion

Me and Mary in the Pool (See the cottage?)
Today this neighborhood has become a little bit sketchy and you probably don't go out a lot at night. Not a problem back in the 50s. Brother David handled security back then, as you see.



The first picture of David above must have been 1951. Mary's baby picture portfolio (Did I mention that I didn't get one) is on the mantle. See the bookshelves. There were two. David has one now and Aaron the other. There are many more great pictures we have of 4700 50th. Can't show 'em all here though. Wish I could. Lot's of good stories.

So that was home for a few years in Milwaukee - my first home. I just wish I could remember. But I can't! At least I have plenty of pictures.

Friday, September 9, 2016

I Remember the Apples


I'm thinking apples today. 

Fall is a lot of  things - things I like - and that includes apples. We found out that the usual apple supplier (a Walters connection near Packwaukee) lost most of their crop when blossoms froze in early spring. So no apples. But sister Mary may have provided a solution, now that she is living on an ... APPLE ORCHARD. Might be headin' south soon!

A Much Younger "Papa" Checkin Out  this Late 1980s Crop

There was a time - not that long ago - when we had o go no further than the back yard at 286 E. Montello Street. Remember that, anyone. I do. There were at least two trees that I remember, maybe more. We had apples.
Notice the  Boards  Holding  Up  the Overloaded Branches

BOY - DID WE HAVE APPLES!! The branches were so full they were almost touching he ground. The trees are gone now, as is the garden nearby, and although there is talk about getting at least one new one - well, we'll see.

In the meantime, I'll just have to enjoy the  memory!

Jeffy Dolan Haulin' In A Load for a Puzzled Looking Mom and Auntie Gail


Thursday, September 8, 2016

It's Tough Being Mary Dolan


I've learned a lot about our family and its history over the years. I've learned some things I didn't know, and confirmed many things I did know. I have discovered some things that nobody knew. I've come across many things that make me happy and bring a smile to my face. On the other  hand there are some stories that are tragic and make me sad. This story would be one of them.

I have come to the conclusion that it's tough to be Mary Dolan! 

First of all, let me be clear. When I say that it's tough being Mary Dolan, I do not have in mind the present day, currently living versions of Mary Dolan. However, in their own way, and maybe with a lot  of tongue in check,  I'm sure that my sister, Mary Beth and my sister-in-law, Mary Lou will be nodding their heads and responding to this with a "no kidding - tell me about it!" 

There are a couple of other Mary Dolans that I do want to tell you about, and a two others that could make a case as well. The first two Mary Dolans were half sisters (kind of). They shared a father (William James Dolan), and  they shared the same decade (1888 - 1896). But they never had a chance to meet. The first Mary was a Scot, born in Newmilns, Ayrshire, Scotland, and the second Mary was a Swede who ended up living in Newmilns. They now rest together just across the path from each other in the cemetery on the hill overlooking the town of Newmilns.
1993 - John Dolan with his two "helpers"
Cemetery in Newmilns, Scotland
The Two Marys rest not far from the monument in back left.
Mary Ann Dolan was born in the early  hours  (5:20am) of September 22nd, 1888. She was the first child of the recently married Scottish couple, William Dolan and the teenager (17) Catherine (Boyd). She was born at home on Isle Street, Newmilns. Her stay on this earth was to be a short one, however, and she was the victim of one  of  the  tragedies I mentioned above. Somehow, and no details are known, at 4:05 in the afternoon on October 2nd, 1890, the 2 year old must have somehow gotten away and drowned "in the Noral (sp) Burn near her father's house in Isle Street." (quote from official death record.) A "burn" is a Gaelic word for a small stream with a current - sometimes called a "millstream" or a "millrace"when connected to or associated with a water-powered mill nearby. It is also known as a "lade" which is a channel constructed for carrying water to and from a mill. To this day I can still hear my Gramma Dolan's voice as she told me about this, "she drowned in the lade, you know!" 
from Pictorial History of Newmilns (in JD library.) Read the caption .
The Noral Burn is in the right foreground.
Isle Street is right and out of the picture.
The River Irvine flows through the town of Newmilns, and very close to the town  green and the Dolan  cottage on Isle Street. I crossed this river myself with  Daddy in 1993, and walked the area pictured above as we tried to locate the place where Mary lost her life. There was an official "investigation", as you might  expect. "The following report of result of a precognition has been received touching the death of Mary Ann Dolan under Entry Number 79 in the Register Book of Deaths for the year 1890." (Procurator Fiscal's Office, Kilmarnock, 27 October 1890, J. Pollock Stevenson, Procurator Fiscal. At Newmilns 28 October 1890, Allan Jackson, Assistant Registrar. Register of Corrected Enties, Volume 5, Page 80, Parish of Loudoun, County of Ayrshire.) A "precognition" is the examination of witnesses and other parties to decide whether  there are grounds for a trial. A "procurator fiscal" is a public prosecutor, who, despite  the tile, has little to do with fiscal issues. There was no trial as far as I can tell - just a sad accident. Official cause of death was "asphyxia by drowning."

Mary Ann was buried in the cemetery on the hill, grave C135. Also buried in this plot is wee Mary's grandmother and namesake, Mary Ann (Smith) Dolan (died 1898), and a baby boy who would have been a step-cousin, William Axel Dolan, infant son of Axel (Allan) and Kate Dolan (died 1906.)

1993 Harry and John Dolan
Grave C135
The story of the second Mary Dolan is not as dramatic, but just as sad. Mary (or Mari in some Swedish records) was born on March 16, 1894 in Goteborg, Sweden, the first child of the re-marriage of the widower, William James Dolan and the widow, Augusta (Jonsson) Ljungberg. She joined her five Swedish half siblings (Evelyn, Allan, Carrie, Bruno, and our Grampa Ernie)  in this now blended family. Another sister (Ellen) and a brother (William) would be added before in 1896 when the Dolans left Sweden and returned to Scotland. Mary would have been just over two years old.

The Dolans began their new life back in Newmilns, where three more children (Harry, Joe, and Lily) were eventually added to what must have been a full house! Although only six years old, Mary witnessed the turn of the century. But for this Mary too, life would be short. The Advertiser (local newspaper) had this brief announcement: "31 May 1901 - at 2 Greenside, Newmilns, MARY DOLAN, age 7 years, 2 month, beloved daughter of William and Augusta Dolan; sadly missed." 

Mary died at home on May 25th at 11:45pm. She  had been sick for two months or so, and died of tubercular meningitis. She too was buried in the  cemetery on  the  hill on May 28th in grave A51. Her father had purchased graves A51 and A52. She  is  the only one buried in these two sites. It is against  the wall and just across the path not far from the other Mary Dolan.
1993 - Harry and John Dolan
Graves A51 and A52
I mentioned Grandma Mary Ann (Smith) Dolan before, the mother of William James Dolan, and said that she too could make a case for "it's tough  being Mary Dolan."  Although she lived into adulthood, her 60 year long life was plenty full. Born in Ireland in 1838 (she survived the great Irish Potato Famine of 1845-1852 - look it up), she married Felix Dolan, and raised a family of 10 herself (as far as I've been able to tell.) That would be challenging enough, but note the birthplaces of those children: Ireland, Scotland, England, Ireland again, India, New Zealand, India, and Scotland one more time. Whew!! You see, husband Felix was a "career soldier" (21st Regiment of Foot, Royal Scots Fusiliers), and apparently, where he went she and the kids went along. Can't imagine that. No wonder she only lived to be 60! But  she outlived Felix by 17  years. Felix died young - age 44. Mom Mary Ann would have lived  through the death of the previous two Marys, granddaughters, no doubt named after her. She lived in Sterling, Scotland, where Felix mustered out of  the military, then Perth, and finally lived with her daughter Ellen in Newmilns, where  she died at 7 Union Street (I walked down that street also in 1993) on August 22, 1898. She had been ill for  few months and cause of death  is given as "chronic bronchitis and cardiac dilatation with oedema. (enlarged heart and water in the heart.). She is buried in grave C135 (see above.)

I believe with some certainty (educated guess) that this is Mary Ann (Smith) Dolan
But wait - one more Mary. She too is Mary Ann and the first-born of Felix and Mary Ann (smith) Dolan. This Mary was born in 1855 in Londonderry, Ireland. The "It's Tough to be Mary Dolan" case she could make is that she was the oldest and no doubt had to take care of her younger siblings as they grew up as army brats all over the world - in the 19th century at that! She too married a soldier, William Parker, while in India, in March of 1871, in Bengal, India. She had a son and they named him William James (go figure!) born in England in 1875, and a daughter born in Kildare, Ireland in 1879. They named her ... wait for it ... Mary Ann. The Parkers also ended up in Newmilns at the turn of the century, and where William Parker was an army reservist drill instructor.

Mary Ann (Dolan) Parker with husband William Henry,
son William James, and daughter Mary Ann
All of this may have gotten a little confusing and you almost need a scorecard (or genealogical chart) to keep your Mary and William Dolans straight. But I think you can see why I say, "It's Tough being Mary Dolan.

Monday, September 5, 2016

Deja Vu All Over Again


Here's a fun post - just for a change of pace. It's short and takes little explanation. Just enjoy! :)

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago - Yesterday's Main Street Arcade Studio - 1960s and 1970s.

Just happened to be going through a box of unsorted pictures and found the late 1970s photo and I remembered the one from the early 1960s. Just had to compare.

What a hoot! (And who let Tim drive?!?!?)


The Dolans
Mary Beth, John, David
Doris and Harry


The Dolans
David, Doris, Mary Lou
Johannah, Rachel, Paul, Timothy
Harry
Tell me what YOU see!

EUREKA! ("I Found It - I Mean, Her!)

"Eureka," or so said Archimedes when he made his exciting discovery (look it up.) 

I told you I had hit a family history brick wall - a mystery I couldn't figure out. I told you that I would solve it sooner or later. Well, it was sooner, I guess. And I told you that you'd be the first to know. So here it is - the end of the story of Catherine Broadfoot (Boyd) Dolan, who had just disappeared on me from the Dolan/Sweden story. But she has been found. 

Catherine (Boyd) Dolan
The Year Before Her Death
WHO IS SHE?
The relationship calculator on my Family Tree Maker software says that officially she is "the wife of husband of great grandmother." Mmmm ... okay, that's not too helpful. Try this. She is the first wife of William James Dolan, my step great grandfather who remarried Augusta (Jonsson) Ljungberg, my great grandmother. So Catherine is related, but not really by blood. But she is an interesting story, if not a sad one. And she has been a thorn in my genealogical side for more than 20 years.

Catherine was born in Irvine, Ayrshire Scotland. It is an industrial town on the west coast of Scotland, in North Ayrshire some 26 miles from Glasgow. That makes sense as her father made his living as a fisherman. One census reports that the Boyds live on the Quay. A quay is like a pier or wharf on the water, a place for loading and unloading ships. When she got married Catherine and family were living on Harbor Street.
Catherine was one of 7 or 8 children of this fisherman and his wife, Margaret (Findley). As the calendar was about to turn from 1887 to 1888 Catherine got married to William James Dolan. She was 17 years old. He was 30! The how and when and other circumstances of how they met and decided to get married I don't know. She was living in Irvine and he was a lace weaver in Newmilns (some 14 miles away.) Both her parents were dead, and she was living with relatives. But don't judge too harshly. You can't look at 19th century circumstances in a different culture with 21st century American eyes. It was what it was. But look at the picture below, taken probably at the time of this marriage, and you will see this young gal who became the first Mrs. William James Dolan.

Catherine at the time of her marriage in 1887.
SO WHAT WAS MY MYSTERIOUS PROBLEM?
Follow the chronology of these events:
1) 22 September 1888, William and Catherine have a child, Mary Ann Dolan, in Newmilns..
2) 02 October 1890,wee Mary Ann dies in a drowning accident. (That's another story!) 
3) Sometime in 1891, the Dolans move to Goteberg, Sweden.
4) 02 February 1893, William James Dolan marries the Swedish widow, Augusta Ljungberg.

As I asked in a previous blog story (19th Century Faves - Sweden Edition), "what happened to Catherine?" I checked census and death records in Scotland. She didn't return home to live, and there is no record of her death in Scotland. I assumed that something happened to her in Sweden and she died, but all attempts to find her proved fruitless and so I had no proof. And that's the way it stayed for many years - a gap or unanswered question in the Dolan family story.

But for some reason or another, I decided to try again. With the help of a new friend (see below!) who was not hindered by the language barrier and who knows the Swedish genealogical resources in and out, the missing Catherine Dolan was found, and I had my proof. The entry below, in a parish record of deaths for 1892, states that Catherine Dolan, wife of William Dolan, British subject from Scotland, died on August 3rd and was buried four days later on the 7th. The record goes on to say that the cause of death was tuberculosis.

Death Record of Catherine Dolan - 1892 - Goteberg, Sweden
POOR CATHERINE
The poets might call them star-crossed. Call it whatever you like, but the Catherine and William match just was not to be. In five short years a 17 year old orphan goes from becoming a teenage bride, to a new mother, to a grieving immigrant, and finally falls victim to a fatal disease at age 22. In less than a decade, William marries, buries, immigrates, buries again, marries again, goes from being childless to being a step father of five and birth father of three more. He returns home and before long buries his mother and then another child. (That too is another story.) With the 20th century being just over two years old, William and new wife Augusta have three more children. And you thought you were busy!
Catherine and William Dolan - 1891 - in Sweden
MISLEADING TITLE
My title for this post is misleading. Eureka means "I" found it, but that's not entirely true in this case. I did get help. Meet my new Swedish friend, Yvonne Hendriksson. She lives in Sweden and lives for family history. By chance I came upon her website (www.swedenroots.se)  and it looked interesting. I explained to her my Catherine problem and she looked into it. The information I first gave her led her to the same place I had been for years - no Catherine. But I was persistent, and she got interested. I gave her more information and sent the pictures, and well, Eureka. Yvonne finally found Catherine Dolan. As it turns out my search for Catherine, my pictures of Catherine and William, and my picture will find their way onto Yvonne's website. That's fun! Thank you, Yvonne!