Review of 2014, did I meet my goals

Well it's the end of the year, time for goal reviewing and setting.

My professional goals:
1. Attend 20 sessions of #genchat
        I attended 22
2. Do 2 webinars or videos for genealogy education
        I can't remember that I did any so need to do better at this
3. Go to 2 genealogy conferences
        Done
4. Blog twice a month or 24 times a year, and blog about 12 ancestors this year
     I think this makes blog #25, and I did blog about 12 ancestors, done

My volunteer goals:
1. Finish cemetery directory by Memorial day
        Done on the Tuesday before Memorial day
2. Finish photographing one cemetery and add photos to another on Findagrave
        Done taking the photos in one, and made progress on the other
3. Start indexing marriage licenses and put online
         Done with surnames A, and they are online
4. Update my US GenWeb site
         I did some of this, so made progress

My personal goals:
1. Finish husband's Mayflower application
        Made progress, sent an email asking how I'm doing, and ready to order another record
2. Go to Family History Center to research
         No, didn't do this one, so maybe next year
3. Continue working on research
          Yes, did some so progress made
4. Continue regular backups
          Did some so progress made, not sure about the "regular" part
5. Do timelines for all my ancestors
            I did 2 in the year, so progress made, and I probably bit off more than I could chew in saying "all" my ancestors, I probably should've limited it to 12

So overall not too bad, especially considering I have 2 young children (one school age and a toddler), a husband, and a part time job. So I have to keep the house running too, maybe when I'm retirement age and my kids are adults I will be able to take on more.

With my goal setting, I feel it helps to separate them like this, put them in an Excel file where I can regularly look it up and keep track. Stay tuned in the next few days when I hope to blog about my 2015 goals. Happy New Year's Eve!

December Ancestor: William F. Foster

My ancestor for this month is from my dad's side, William F. Foster. From me, he is my third great grandfather: me, my father, my grandmother, my great grandfather, my 2nd great grandfather, then my 3rd great grandfather William F. Foster.

I have William F. Foster was born in Fleming county, Kentucky 27 Jun 1813 to Samuel Foster and Mary Powell. I don't know much about his early life.
He married Jane Kirkpatrick in Ohio (likely Adams county or the next county over) in 1847. William and Jane become the parents of a number of children (3 sons and 4 daughters), namely Hiram Irving (born 1848), Nathan Miller (born 1850), Mary Margaret (born 1853), Elizabeth Louisa (born 1857), Alexander Douglas (born 1860), Martha Ann (born 1862) and Sarah E. (born 1864). From 1850 to 1880 I find William and Jane living in Liberty Township, Adams county, Ohio.
William F. Foster dies in Adams county, Ohio 17 Aug 1893, and he is buried 2 days later in Hopewell Cemetery. My efforts to request a gravestone photo have not yielded one, so I assume he has an unmarked grave.

Likely no birth records exist back that far, so a baptism or church record is probably what I need to look for. I have not located a marriage record either as I am not sure what county they were married in, but I could try Adams county. I have found him in the US Federal census from 1850 to 1880. I don't have a death record either, as I have just not put as much money into records for this line.

I do not have any photos of him. There is a Foster reunion held in Eastern Illinois held and attended by many of his descendants in Ford county. I had the pleasure of attending that reunion one time many years ago with my parents before my father passed away. I really would like to go back and see if anyone has any photos or documents that I don't.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Dear Genea-Santa

Well tonight is Saturday night so Randy Seaver proposed we write our letter to Genea-Santa. Well we don't teach our kids to believe in Santa. When the clerk in a store told my kids and I that Santa was there, my son responded that he's not real. But in case anyone wants to know what's on a genealogist's list, this is mine.

Dear Genea-Santa:

I tried very hard to be a good genealogy girl this year. I have worked hard doing a few presentations: two at Family History Expos and one for the Northeast Library group. I met with my local genealogy friends, attended many sessions of #genchat on Twitter, attended 2 genealogy conferences, am planning a genealogy conference, tried to write 24 blog posts, indexed marriage records and put online, took many cemetery photos and put online, and worked some on my own family as well as my husband's and a few clients'.

Thank you (and my husband) for last year's gifts. I liked all the genealogy books I received but I haven't had time to look at and read them all. You know that job I have now and my 2 kids and life makes it hard to get much reading done.

Well you know everyone always asks for WAY too much, like my son wants all the toys in the catalogs, so here goes.

1. Genealogy books from my Amazon wish list, I would say "Mapping and Documenting Cemeteries" would be near the top, and "Digging for Ancestors: In-Depth Guide to Land Records"

2. Organization of my genea-piles, so send an organization fairy please

3. Break throughs on my brick walls: Williams Lindsey's parents and my Irish ancestors, more on my Dacy family

4. More digitized records everywhere! And not just so we have easier access but to preserve them in case another courthouse burns down (or floods, or tornado, or some natural disaster).

That's pretty much it. Yes I'd like Windows to get a decent operating system figured out so I could get a new laptop, and while my camera is fine, now they have cameras with GPS.

Oh, and world peace.
Merry Christmas all!

November Ancestor: George Sickmon

Happy Thanksgiving and Black Friday! Well November should mean I focus on a war veteran ancestor because of Veteran's day this month, right? Or perhaps focus on a Mayflower ancestor because of Thanksgiving? Well this is what happens when you make up your blogging schedule in January. Neither of those is my focus ancestor for November. Maybe next year....stay tuned

George Sickmon is my ancestor for November. George was born in Erie county, New York on January 11, 1819, the son of Henry Sickmon and Susan Francis. According to Roy Regnier (George's grandson, and my great-grandfather), Roy thinks George's father (Henry) died when George was young and the responsibility of raising the children fell to him. I have that George was the oldest of 5 boys born to Henry and Susan, so that could possibly be true. I also have that his father died in 1835 in New York, and I believe it was some sort of work accident. So if he died in 1835, that would leave George as being about 15 or 16 years old. Other people have he died as the result of drowing in a creek in Erie county, New York while building a dam. They also have he died in 1852 which seems too late to follow was Roy has about him. George's obituary has that he was the 4th of 12 children so I am missing some of his siblings. George's obituary also has that his father died when he was quite young, although it was the age of 11.

In September 1842 George Sickmon married Sarah Greene at her home in New York. Two years later, they moved to Warren county, Illinois. They settled on a farm 2 miles southeast of Monmouth. George and Sarah had 6 children, 4 girls and 2 boys, namely Sallie M, Susan E, Winfield S, Anna E, Eliza J. and Charles. The Sickmons raised their family on the farm for some time, then moved into town for a short while, back out to the farm, and then retired in town. Dates are a little fuzzy here.

He served several roles while in Warren county, Illinois including city alderman, on the board of supervisors, church deacon, and church elder. He was a member of the Christian church.

George passed away at the age of 89 on May 28, 1908 in Warren county, Illinois. He is buried in the Monmouth city cemetery in the Sickmon plot. I have visited his grave in person several years ago.

I have the photo above labeled as Sickmon family, but I don't think it is George and Sarah and their children as they had 4 girls and 2 boys, not 4 boys and 2 girls. So I am thinking this is Henry and Susan (seated) and some of the children standing. If anyone knows more about this photo, please let me know. I can't remember where I got this photo, probably from the internet unless it was from my great-aunt's stash.

Meanwhile I found this photo on my drive while looking for his gravestone photo. Here it is:

Sickmon gravestone, Monmouth cemetery

So the documents I have for George include the following: US Federal census for 1850, 1880 and 1900, a cemetery photo and his obituary. So I could look for his marriage license and earlier documents. Thanks for reading. 

October Ancestor: Jesse Fields

Okay yes October is over (yesterday if I get this done today) but I'm running slightly behind.
Time to blog about my October ancestor: Jesse Fields
Jesse comes from my paternal side of my tree.
He was born in England about December 16, 1828, the son of Isaac Fields and Jemima Porter. Some records have him born around 1830. I don't know much about his early life. Thanks to a distant cousin, I have a copy of his marriage license. Jesse married Caroline Sealey in England on February 16, 1852 at the Parish church in the parish of Lympsham in the county of Somerset. He is listed as a bachelor, and she a "spinster". His occupation is a miner and his father is listed as Isaac Fields who was a laborer. Emmanuel Field and Jemima Field are listed as witnesses. Jemima is his mother, not sure who Emmanuel is but I would guess a brother.
She was already the mother of one child, and I have presumed he was the father. However this could be wrong. It would be good to see a birth certificate from England, if one exists, or a baptism record. Perhaps this is why she is called a "spinster".
In June 1852 they immigrate to the United States from Bristol, England to New York. Their ship is called the Queen of the Ocean. They are in New York at least for a couple years as their next daughter is born there in December 1853.
Then by 1855 they move to Wisconsin. They are in Wisconsin for many years, at least until 1870 and maybe a few years more. Generally they are in the Beaver Dam area in Dodge county, 1870 census finds them in the town of Fountain Prairie which is in Columbia county, the next county to the east. Fountain Prairie is listed to have post office at Fall River, Wisconsin so it must be near there. While in Wisconsin on March 27, 1865 Jesse enlists for the Civil War as a private in Company A in the 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry. He mustered out on July 29th of that same year.
By 1880, they have moved to Madison county, Nebraska near the town of Tilden. Jesse and his wife live in the Tilden area, mostly on the Madison county side until their death.
In all, I have found 8 daughters were born to this union. Of course the first may not be his, as mentioned above. No sons were born. The daughters are Angeline "Annie", Martha E., Sarah J., Emeline, Mary A., Bertha Matilda, Hattie, and Clara.
Jesse's daughter Martha married Charles Hanks in Wisconsin in 1872. Emeline Fields married Walter Elley at her father (Jesse's) home on 25 December 1884 in Madison county, Nebraska. A few other daughters also got married in Madison county. I have a land deed describing land that Jesse bought in the fall of 1884 from the United States.
A few of Jesse's descendants live in the Tilden/Norfolk area for many years, up until this decade. I remember meeting one of them who was from Norfolk with my parents a few years ago.
Jesse Fields passes away on January 31, 1918 at the age of 89 in Tilden, Nebraska. He is buried in the IOOF Tilden city cemetery in Madison county, Nebraska. He has a military gravestone.

copyright Beth (Jorgensen) Sparrow

For records I have on Jesse, I have a copy of his marriage certificate, two land deeds, US Federal census from 1860 to 1910, death certificate and gravestone photo, and I found him on the passenger list for his immigration. So the part I am mostly missing is his early life in England. 

Husband's DNA

Happy October to all of you! I can't believe it's 80 in the house and we have the windows open to cool it down. Ancestry.com had a DNA sale and my husband agreed to spit in the tube so I ordered one for him and the results came back a day or two ago. This weekend was busy with a genealogy society board meeting and a day of conference.

So did his DNA turn out as expected? And how does it compare to mine?

Here is his DNA:

47% Scandinavian
19% Great Britain
14% Italy/Greece
11% Ireland
5% Iberian Peninsula
3% Europe West
<1% Europe East

Is this what we expected? Well no.
The Scandinavian?? Where did that come from? And 47%?? Way too much. We have found Patterson and Thompson surnames on his mother's side and yes they are fairly close relatives to him, but I supposedly traced the Thompsons back to Scotland. So maybe that's not right??
Great Britain: Yes that seems right and probably about the right amount. The Sparrow surname is British (English).
Italy/Greece: Nope haven't found any of that in his lines.
Ireland: Yes this makes sense as certainly his McCash surname is probably Irish.
Iberian Peninsula: Nope haven't found any of this yet either.
And where is his German?? He should be quite a bit German, as I have traced one of his great-grandmothers' ancestry all back to Germany. Surely that's more than 1%!
So this was worth it and interesting to see what comes up. I do have some more work to do, but some of my husband's line have been in the United States for quite some time.
And yes, he is totally European (Caucasian/white). No Native American or African American for us.

And look how this compares to mine:
48% Scandinavian
22% Ireland
17% Europe West
5% Great Britain
6% Europe East
1% Iberian Peninsula
<1% Italy/Greece

Look at that! I'm totally European (Caucasian/white) too! And our top one is the same with almost exact percentage. So it will be interesting to see if the web site matches us up as cousins, which we are but you have to go back to colonial New England, at least 12 generations. So it's nothing for me to be concerned about.

DNA certainly is interesting to see where we've been. I have more work to do on my husband's side to trace some of his lines back to their originating country.

September Ancestor: Johann Heinrich (John Henry) Seggerman

Happy Fall! School is in session so it must be September. In fact just a few more days left of September so I better blog about my September ancestor, Johann Heinrich (John Henry) Seggerman.

Johann Heinrich Seggerman was born in Leer, Ostfriesland, Germany 29 July 1838. He came to America in 1857. He enlisted for the Civil War for the Union side in August 1862; he served in Company K of the 108th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was honorably discharged in 1865.
He married Mary Junker in December 1866 in Woodford county, Illinois. They were the parents of 9 children: Greetje "Grace" Seggerman, Laura Seggerman, Rena Seggerman, Sarah Ann Seggerman, Henry Seggerman, Harry Seggerman, Herman Seggerman, Richard "Dick" Seggerman, and Mary Seggerman. Grace the oldest passed away in Illinois in 1889.
The family moves from Woodford county, Illinois to Jefferson county, Nebraska in 1894 and lived on a farm 4 miles west of Fairbury. Six months later his wife becomes ill and passes away. (Note she passes away March 1894 according to her gravestone so possibly they moved in 1893.)
In 1895 or 1896 he is united in marriage to Mrs. Katharina (Eisenhouer) Taddiken in Jefferson county, Nebraska. She already has a son Philip (and maybe others). One child is born to John Henry and Katharina, and he or she dies in infancy in 1896.
John Henry works as a farmer according to the 1880 and 1900 census. He retires from farming in 1895 and lives in Gladstone for 5 years. Then he moves to Fairbury in December 1909 (or should this be 1900?)
In October 1909 he suffers a stroke of paralysis from which he does not recover. In February 1910 he has another stroke, and end of July suffers a third which seems to do him in. He passes away Sunday morning August 7, 1910 at 11 a.m. in Fairbury, Jefferson county, Nebraska.
The funeral service was conducted from his home Wednesday (August 10) by the pastor of the Baptist church. There was a public service conducted at Zion Lutheran Church of Gladstone. He is buried west of town at Pleasant Hill cemetery. His other 8 children are still alive at the time of his passing.

For documentation I have found him in the 1880, 1900 and 1910 US Federal censuses, I have a cemetery photo and an obituary, and I think I have a copy of his marriage license to his second wife.

His gravestone in Pleasant Hill Cemetery (not my best photo)

One Lovely Blog Award: Thanks & Passing It On

Yesterday I was nominated for the One Lovely Blog award by Cheri Hudson Passey of Carolina Girl Genealogy http://carolinagirlgenealogy.blogspot.com/
Thank you Cheri. I'm in some good company in that list.

So now the rules of the award:
1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Nominate 15 bloggers you admire or however many you can come up with
4. Contact those bloggers to let them know you nominated them.

7 Things about me:
1. My name is Beth, not Elizabeth
2. I am the mother of 2 kids, a boy age 6 1/2 and girl 2 1/2. I am under 50 and not a grandmother yet.
3. I was born in Nebraska and have always lived in the Husker state. GO BIG RED!!
4. I began researching my family about 12 years ago, when I was in my late 20's.
5. I now work part time as a receptionist in a dental office. I love the hours as I still get to do genealogy, and like my co-workers.
6. I like to relax by doing various genealogy tasks on the computer: adding photos to Findagrave or transcribing.
7. My parents were both teachers. I have a degree in education, my grandmother was a teacher. On my mom's side of the family at one time, we could probably open a school with all the teachers in our family.

Blogs I admire and nominate for the award:
1. Hack Genealogy Blog by Thomas MacEntee http://hackgenealogy.com/category/blog/ If it has to do with technology or social media, he is ALL over it
2. Ancestral Breezes Blog by Jen Baldwin http://ancestralbreezes.blogspot.com/ She is also our host of #genchat two Friday evenings a month
3. 4 Your Family Story blog by Caroline Pointer  http://www.4yourfamilystory.com/blog#.VCF_zMRDv8c  She always has tips about what genealogy things you NEED to know
4. Genealogy's Star by James Tanner http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/
5. Rootdig by Michael John Neill  http://rootdig.blogspot.com/
6. You Go Genealogy Girls Blog by Ruby Coleman & Cheri Hopkins  http://yougogenealogygirls.blogspot.com/
7. AnceStories by Miriam J. Robbins http://ancestories1.blogspot.com/
8. Nutfield Genealogy by Heather Wilkinson Rojo http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/
9. Genea-Musings by Randy Seaver  http://www.geneamusings.com/  He does Saturday night genealogy fun
10. Long Lost Relatives by Susan Petersen http://longlostrelatives-smp.blogspot.com/

Okay I came up with 10. I am sure there are tons more and I think a couple of these have already been nominated, but I must admit I don't read as many as I should. Okay, hopefully people will see these and now I have to contact them.

August ancestor: Lena M. (Nelson) Jorgensen

August is almost over so I am blogging about my August ancestor. She has been one of my hardest to trace, but luckily I have found a few records about her.
Emeline "Lena" Maria Nelson was born in Denmark (probably in or near Thingstrup) on December 10, 1848. Her parents were Nels C. Jensen and Inger Katrina Euwalden (or something like that).
I do not know much about her early life in Denmark. She at least had a relationship with an Anders Brogoard Christensen and became with child. She had a daughter Inger Katrina Nelson, known as "Katie". Katie was born in 1873.
In 1884, Lena and her daughter Katie immigrated to the United States from Denmark. I do not know what they did for the next 10 years or where they lived. Without the 1890 census I haven't found them. Even with it, they would be hard to trace. I have searched state censuses and come up empty handed, just lots of Maria Nelsons which may or may not be right.
Somehow Katie meets my great-grandfather and they get married in 1897 in Kearney county, Nebraska.
Ten years later in 1907, Katie's mother Lena marries Katie's father-in-law Lars Jorgensen. So Katie's father-in-law becomes her stepfather. This marriage takes place in Kearney county, Nebraska.
I then can find Lena and Lars Jorgensen listed in the 1910 census living next door to Lars' son Rasmus and his wife Ricka and two doors away from their children Chris and Katie in Cheyenne county, Nebraska.
I then have Lena's death certificate that says she passed away 13 Jan 1914 in Minden, Kearney county, Nebraska. She is buried in the Jorgensen family plot in the Fredricksburg cemetery, but a photo request has not yielded a photo of her gravestone. I have implied from this that she is in an unmarked plot.
I have no photos of Lena, just a marriage and death certificates. Perhaps some perusing in the Cheyenne or Kearney county newspapers could yield more information on my great-great-grandmother. A trip west might be in order for that.

July's Ancestor: Felix Regnier

Okay I'm a little behind in blogging about my ancestors. July was busy.

My featured ancestor for July is Felix Regnier (1840-1926).
Felix was born July 29, 1840 in Harmar, Washington County, Ohio to Dr. Felix Modeste Regnier and Elizabeth Barber. He had 2 brothers and one half brother, and one half sister who passed away before he was born. He grew up in Washington County, Ohio. His mother passed away in 1859 when he was about 19 years old. He attended school at Marietta College, in Washington County, Ohio in the early 1860's.

A quote from a document written by a Regnier family member "About the commencement of war, he (Felix) joined his brother Austin in the purchase of the steamer Lizzie Martin. They made a few trips between Pittsburgh and Louisville before they and their boat were pressed into government service where he remained until he became sick and their boat was worn out. He then sold the engines and returned to Harmar." After the close of the war, Felix moves to Monmouth, Illinois to farm and be engaged in the grain business. (Clearly this is in 1863 he moves to Monmouth, rather in 1865 which is usually regarded as the "close of the war".)

On December 22, 1863 he married Sallie Sickmon in Monmouth, Warren County, Illinois. They continue living in Warren county, Illinois through 1870 and 1880 raising their children, as indicated by the censuses. Felix is listed as a farmer in these censuses, living quite close to his in-laws in 1870.
Felix and Sallie had 11 children. Ten of their children live into adulthood, the oldest 5 are girls and the youngest 5 boys. In order of birth, their ten children are Elizabeth "Libby", Carrie, Iva "Ivy", Fannie R., Sarah, and George Felix, William L, Roy, John B. and Louis. Carrie and Ivy never marry or have children.

On 2 September 1887, Felix's wife, Sallie passes away. Her funeral was held on the 4th at the Christian church, and she is buried at the Monmouth Cemetery. She seemed to pass away quite suddenly at the age of 44 years old.
In December 1891, his father Felix M. Regnier (Sr.) passes away when he is hit by a train while walking along the train tracks. The elder Dr. Felix is nearly blind and partly deaf at this time, and just had his 91st birthday. This accident is well covered in the news.
Then in 1897, Felix has a run-in with another man. Simon Frandsen was working for Felix, and was quite enamored of his daughter, although she did not care for him. On September 13, Regnier was driving to town and met Frandsen. Frandsen shot at him. Felix went home and got his shot gun and took his son Roy with him. Felix was going to report this to the sheriff, but again he met Frandsen who shot at him. Felix shot back and killed Frandsen. The jury did not convict Regnier.

By 1900, Felix has moved to Baca county, Colorado with his daughter Carrie, and his sons William, John B. and Louis. Roy Regnier and family are also living in that county by 1903. He stays there through 1920 per the censuses.
On July 1, 1926 Felix Regnier passes away at  Clayton, Union county, New Mexico. He is just short of having his 86th birthday. His body is taken to Denver, Colorado for cremation and his ashes are interred in the family lot at Monmouth, Illinois, beside his wife.

I feel like I've written a book on this man. I do know quite a bit about this man and his life and family. I am thankful for my great-grandfather Roy who wrote some of it down as well as others, and that it got passed down to me so I could get copies. Along with the federal censuses, I have information from the Regnier book partly written by Felix in 1888 (although not certain if that is Sr. or Jr.), and from the Regniers in North America book, photos, Felix and Sallie's marriage license, Felix's death certificate, Sallie's death certificate and photos of their gravestones and a few newspaper articles.

Felix Regnier Jr. (don't know when this was taken)

One Week Left! Conferences to Attend!

Only ONE week left to register at the early bird rate for the Midwest Family History Expos in Kearney coming September 12-13, 2014. I will be speaking on Findagrave.com and on the US GenWeb. Other noted speakers include Ruby Coleman from North Platte, and flying in James Tanner and Arlene Eakle. Please go to the following web site for more information and to register NOW!
https://www.familyhistoryexpos.com/viewevent/index/72


Also I am happy to announce the Nebraska State Genealogical Society annual conference will be in Grand Island April 24-25, 2015. We will be having George Morgan as our featured speaker. He is a nationally known speaker and author. He will be speaking on some great topics, including the agricultural census and newspapers. We also plan to have a genealogy program panel. If you plan to attend and are well versed in a genealogy program please contact me. Please plan now to attend. Stay tuned to our web site: http://nesgs.org/

I hope to see you at one of these genealogy events in Nebraska.

And remember Who Do You Think You Are? started up again last night, so tune in to TLC Wednesday nights and join us on Twitter using the hashtag #WDYTYA to talk about the show! Sometimes the celebrity joins in the tweet; last night it was great to have producers Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucantinsky joining us.

Stay tuned for more!

Beth

June's Ancestor: Charles William Hanks

Okay, I'm going to get June's ancestor done in the nick of time as today is June 30. Today I am blogging about my ancestor, Charles William Hanks from my father's side.
Charles William Hanks was born in Germany June 10, 1851. His parents were Fred Hanks and Augusta Wilhelmina "Minnie" Groft. His father seemed to pass away in Germany while he was quite young, about 9 years old. So his mother remarried to Frederich Wilhelm Johann "John" Eichberg.
Charles then immigrated to the United States with his mother, stepfather and about seven siblings about 1867. Some of those might be half siblings or step siblings as they are all listed with the last name Eichberg even though I think some were her children with Fred.
Charles (sometimes called Carl or C.W.) married Martha Fields November 1872 (or 1871) in Wisconsin, probably in Dodge county. I just ordered their marriage license, so crossing my fingers there is one.
They had 5 children: Mable Clara born in 1873, Edith Adel born 1875, Albert C. born 1876, Jessie born 1879, and Maude J. born 1883. The first 4 children were born in Wisconsin and Maude was born in Nebraska.
They are living in Madison county, Nebraska in the 1880 census, and look to be in the same place in the 1900 census, but then in the 1910 census either they moved or the counties changed boundaries. In 1910 they are in Antelope county, Nebraska.
Charles William Hanks then passes away May 12, 1915 in Tilden, Antelope county, Nebraska. He is buried in the Tilden cemetery which was named as an IOOF cemetery. I have his death certificate and a gravestone photo.

Charles W. Hanks & Martha Fields wedding photo as found in the Tilden Centennial Journey book. 

I believe I also have his obituary, but I need to find it. Many years ago, I took a trip to Tilden, Nebraska and looked up information at the library. This photo was one thing I found. 

So here I am finishing this post on July 4th. I am thankful for independence this day and every day. I am thankful and proud of my ancestors for what they endured. 

May's Ancestor: Stientje Peters (Freise) Junker

Well I know June is nearly over, so I need to blog on my June ancestor. Then yesterday I checked, and lo and behold, I hadn't blogged on my May ancestor. Oops, May and June have been busy months.

My May ancestor is Stientje Peters (Freise) Junker.
I have that she was born October 28, 1817 in Ihrenefeld, Germany. I do not have a birth or baptism record for her. So I have this information by calculation of her date of death off her gravestone.
I do not know who her parents are, but I have a guess her mother's maiden name may have been Peters. As many children were named after their mother's maiden name, and I have found her middle name as Peters which seems odd for a woman. I don't know anything else about her early life in Germany.

She married Hidde Harms Junker on August 24, 1839 in Ihrhove, Germany. I do not have a marriage record either. She and Hidde were the parents of many children. I have noted the following children but I think I could be missing a few: Sara H. born in 1841, Harm H. born in 1842, Peter born in 1846, Mary born in 1852, Henry H. born in 1855, Anna born in 1858 and Margaretha Ella born in 1860.
I think they immigrated to America around 1862 from Germany. I have found one immigration record that might be their family.

I may have found them in the 1870 census, and definitely found them in 1880 living in Iowa. By 1880, they are in their mid 60's and their children are grown. I'm not sure when they moved to Jefferson county, Nebraska but they and many of their children resided in Jefferson county, Nebraska at the time of their passing. Stientje and Hidde are listed in the 1885 Nebraska state census, so they must have moved to Jefferson county, Nebraska some time between 1880 and 1885. From 1885 until her passing in 1899, she resided in Jefferson county, Nebraska.

Stientje passes away November 1, 1899 in Jefferson county, Nebraska. She is buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, northwest of Fairbury, Nebraska. She was a few days over the age of 80 at her passing. Her gravestone seems to have her at 82 years and 4 days at her passing, so I may have her date of birth slightly off. I looked for her obituary, but I don't think I found it. I do have a gravestone photo, and I have found another photo of them, which came from another descendant. Thanks to L. Bohlke for the following photo:

And of course, if you are related, please feel free to contact me. I descend from their daughter Mary, but I know they had about 100 descendants at the time of Hidde's passing. 

What to Do When the Genealogy Sites are Down

Oh what to do? Findagrave and Ancestry have been down off and on yesterday and today, as well as a few other of Ancestry's sites. So here are a few suggestions of what you can do while you wait:

Non-genealogy related:
1. Clean your house
2. Do laundry
3. Update your finances
4. Watch a favorite movie
5. Do some online shopping

Genealogy-related:
1. Catch up on reading blogs
2. Write your own blog post
3. Read a genealogy book or magazine
4. Organize your genealogy, go through what you already have on someone and list what you need to find
5. Watch a webinar
6. Back up your data
7. Scan your photos
8. Plan your next family reunion
9. Make a photo book on Shutterfly or other photo site
10. Stop complaining and posting about it every hour on Facebook!

Thanks. Have a good day! I recommend Thomas MacEntee's geneabloggers site to stay up to date:
http://geneabloggers.com/ancestrycom-distributed-denial-service-attack-neutralized/

PS: That last one is meant to be a joke so don't be offended.

Oh and I forgot to include go to a cemetery, courthouse or library. But as my child is napping during my prime genealogy time, those aren't usually options for me.

Polk county Nebraska Veterans Honor Roll

Here is the rest of the story: More of the list of veterans from Polk county Nebraska
Osceola Cemetery, Imanuel, Lindale and Laclede and Shelby (Graceland cemetery)
Also check http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nepolk/

Transcribed by Beth Sparrow

The Polk County News, Thrusday, May 22, 2008 page 16

Memorial Day, May 26, 2008

Roll Call of Deceased Polk County Veterans of the U. S. Armed Forces

Osceola Legion Post #91

Civil War

J. H. Anderson

John E. Baker

J. P. Beal

Theodore Beebe

L. A. Beltser

H. W. Bixby

Theodore Blake

B. F. Brown

M. J. Brown

H. L. Bond

John T. Byers

B. C. Campbell

J. F. Campbell

W. H. Carson

A. J. Combs

Wm. J. Conklyn

Theodore Cowan

S. W. Crabill

William Crisp

R. O. D. Cummings

Charlotte Cummings (Army Nurse)

V. P. Davis

W. B. Daymude

J. W. Detweiler

J. D. Ennis

Joshus Finecy

David Foy

G. W. Gregg

A. L. Gushee

John Hartman

E. W. Heffelbower

Chas. Heinemeyer

B. B. Hills

J. D. Housersheldt

Henry Hilderbrand

Henry Hughes

Jacob Jones

J. H. Jones

James M. Joy

Soloman H. Joy

L. Kelley

W. H. Kennard

Milon Kinney

G. H. Kinyon

Thomas Klassey

S. Leatherbury

G. E. Lybarer

B. F. Martin

John H. Mickey

Samuel L. Miller

H. M. Mills

J. B. Mitchell

William McBeth

John Peterson

L. M. Pratt

I. D. Reed

J. G. Rhodes

Fredrich Schmoker

H. P. Shore

E. Smelser

James Stewart

Christopher Timm

Frederick Timm

L. S. VanHoosen

William VanHoosen

E. Vincent

William Welch

S. O. Whaley

A. M. White

J. W. Wilson

Spanish American War

Chas. E. Beltzer

Easton Hartel

E. J. Howland

Austin Jeffrey

William Lewis

Frank D. Mills

Bert Smith

Mexican Border Service

Elmus Coleman Brown

Wilbur Jackson

Arthur VanHoosen

World War I

Hubert F. Alt

C. Guy Anderson

Martin R. Anderson

Guy F. Ball

Frank C. Banks

Goldy Birchfield

John Paul Bittner

L. Fred Branting

Earl Brazee

Harry Brazee

Hilbert Buchta

J. W. Buchta

Ellis D. Buffington

Phil Campbell

W. Alvin Campbell

Arvid Carlson

Julius Cerny Sr.

Russell Clark

Kenneth Cornish

John A. Craven

Ralph E. DeLand

Emannel V. F. Ornander

Nanno Gerdes

Roy Gilbert

Arvid Gustafson

John Harbour

Homer H. Hastings

Julius P. Herrmann

Floyd M. Hartson

Wilbur I. Hotchkiss

Glen H. Jacobsen

Dr. Charles Jeffrey

Verner Johansen

T. J. Jones

Dr. Leo Karrer

W. R. Kepner

Elton Koehler

George Loft

Russell Mace

John Malek

Vance Marquis

Leonard J. Matheson

Clinton O. McBeth

Lester McCormick

Delmar McFadden

Leon M. Merrick

John Mickey

Frederick Mills

Olaf H. Nelson

Otto B. Nelson

William H. Norton

William W. Norton

W. L. Ogden

Otto Olson

Wilbur Olson

Dr. C. R. Peterson

Tom Reece

LeRoy Rhodes

Gilbert L. Roslund

Ben Schmoker

Edward A. Schnasse

Fred W. Schuman

Glenn Schelmadine

Dewey Sigler

Sidney Lynn Snider

John Staroscik

Wallace D. Stoner

Albert L. Timm

Claude Timm

Logan VanHoosen

Roy VanHoosen

Sheridan VanHoosen

Benj. Windham

William Wolfe

Ben T. Zedicher

World War II

Carl O. Anderson

C. Edgar Anderson

C. Lester Anderson

Clarence Clyde Anderson

Calmer Boden

Ray Bennett

Lloyd Boden

Howard Boden

Ivan K. Bond

Sheldon Bond

Bentley Brown

Ellis D. Buffington

Don R. Byers

Eugene Carman

Alvin J. Cerny

Milo E. Cochran

Vernon Cole

W. Keith Cox

John A. Craven

Larry P. Davis

Ralph E. Deland

Harold H. Denery

Victor N. Doremus

Dale D. Dunn

Gerald Engel

Henry Erdmann

Simeon E. Everitt

Earl Fansler

Norman Fintel

Robert R. Fischer

Glenn C. Fonda

Arthur L. Gabriel

Henry A. Galus

Milton Garbart

Rolland Gissler

William A. Grossnicklaus

Carl G. Gustafson

Ervin J. Gustafson

Robel V. Gustafson

John Hahn

Lowell Hanson

John Harbour

Raymond Hastings

C. Wilbur Haxton

Donald Hayes

Robert Heindryckx

Owen G. Horst

D. C. Hunter

Morris Ienn

Glen J. Jacobsen

Eugene Johansen

Vernon D. Johnson

Edgar Klein

Albin Koziel

Allan L. Kresha

Eugene Kuchera

Wilbert G. LeSuer

William "Jack" Mason Jr.

Leonard J. Matheson

Howard Jay McDonald

Harlan McKeag

Robert McMeekin Jr.

Arthur McVeigh

Robert D. Miller

Robert L. Mills

Webster Mills Jr.

Kenneth R. Monson

Rubert M. Moore

Harold E. Nelson

William H. Norton

Phil Nyberg

Stanley T. Olson

Harold Osantowski

Joseph Ricci

Alva K. Richards

Ivan Eugene Richards

Orville D. Rodene

Dwane Sanderson

T. Duane Schmoker

Everette W. Smith

Mairon Snider

Mike Snodgrass

Lester Soll

Eugene V. Sterup

Mervin R. Stromberg

Harold D. Thayer

Max Thelen

John Thompson Jr.

Carl Timm

Murl Timm

Jack H. Tindall

Fred Topil

Donald Udey

William L. Umstead

Francis Urban

Raymond Wagner

Raymond O. Walgreen

Harold G. Wieseman

Robert E. Wieseman

Oscar Wieser

David Winslow

Lawrence Winslow

Harold Wurst

Richard A. Wyman

Bill Zedicher

Buried at Sea or on Foreign Soil World War II

Bruce L. Anthony

Edgar Backlund

John Benjamin Carlson

Theron A. Dreier

James W. Johnston

Leonard T. Lisko

John J. Liskovec

Richard Matheson

Donald Prell

Conrad Robak

Verner C. Timm

Korean Conflict

Joseph Alt

Vernon Boden

Warren Campbell

Leonard L. Coffin

Dr. Clarence Davis

Leroy Graham

George J. Inness II

Donald Jensen

Leonard Loeffler

Thomas H. Mace

Richard Matusek

Bobby Lee Mickey

Richard Miller

Robert W. Need

Russell M. Reese

Harold Schomaker

John W. Scott

Kenneth Scott

George G. Shepard

Robert Sigler

Sidney M. Sigler

Wayne L. Stallings

Logan VanHoosen

Stanley VanHoosen

Maurice Watts Jr.

Edward E. Watts

Burdette Williams

Donald A. Yungdahl

Vietnam

Myron H. Carlson

Ernest H. Gleim (lost at sea)

Gary Gustafson

David Hill (Granada)

Richard Iwan

Larry Larson

Donald Rose

Michael W. Wieseman

Immanuel Cemetery

Carl Blase

Ervin Blase

Henry Dittmer

Donald Driewer

Walter O. Hopp

Ernest Joseph

Julius Kerker

William Meyer

Willard Richardson

Arild Swanson

Maria Ziegelbein

Laclede Cemetery

Edwin Drewel

Archie W. Johnson

Bessie L. Johnson

Harold Lindburg

John Malek

Edward L. McHenry

Wm. H. Miller

Lindale Cemetery

William Erickson

Elmer Hanquist

Larry Jones

Martin Jones

Laymon Lampshire

Philip Meline

Enoch Peterson

John Richardson

LeVar Sandell

Joseph Spires

Shelby - Frank McMillen Post #296

Civil War

Kellogg C. Bartlett

S. L. Burlingame

Edward Burrill

G. W. Chase

H. A. Cowles

B. F. L. Currie

Celestin Delaet

John T. Dunning

John Fox

Frantz Haerrig

William Hanshew

William Leonard

Jonathan Miller

Joseph Nelsen

Isiah Paisley

B. F. Pointer

Jacob Schmid

Sebastian Schmid

John T. Tarbel

H. M. Vanderbilt

Peter Weiser

Spanish American War

John Bahr

John Brownlee

Edward Petts

Fred J. Strain

World War I

Oswald Alt

Herman Bahm

H. H. Beebe

Emmett Beebe

Henry Beebe

Fred Bernt

Otto Bernt

John J. Birkel

Benjamin H. Blevins

Lynn Brigham

Charles Dexter

Charles Dunning

Frank Eberly

Frank Gabel

William Glatter

Nickie Gondringer

Edward Green

Hjallmar Gustafson

Thomas Hamilton

Fred Henggeler

Ralph Houdersheldt

David Humiston

John Jaax

Fador Kerneen

Wallace E. Kinney

Otto Kumph

Vernie Kuntzelman

Justus H. LaMunyon

Alvie Lewis

John Lucas

Gertrude Madson

Owen McClung

James McMeekin

Jesse McMillen

Frank J. McMillen

Fred Miller

Thomas Morrow

Louis Mueller

Louis Nicolas Sr.

Floyd Pettys

Arthur Scott

Paul Smith

Bryan Stamm

Victor Sterup

Herman Thelen

Frank Vanek

Walter West

Walter White

John Willard

World War II

LaVern Abbott

Roland Abbott

Donald Aden

Sherman Adkins

Francis Alt

Clarence Armagost

Robert Armagost

Robert Bahr

Neal Bahr

Roland Beebe

Louis Benda

Carl Benda

Don Benda

Kenneth M. Bernt

Robert W. Bland

Norman Blevins

Harold Blevins

Phillip Brazee

Chet Buchholz

Weston Burgess

William Burritt

Dale Carter

Edward J. Clough

Wayne Coffin

Donald Cohagan

Perry L. Davis

Dale Davis

Emil Debates

Allan Derrick

Paul Dobias

Arthur Dolner

Carl Dornan

Dale Ernst

William Funkhouser

Clarence Funkhouser

Ronald Globes

Glen Gondringer

Raymond Hamilton

Glen Hegi

Willard Heimer

Marian Hess

Fred Hopwood

Robert D. Ingalls

Tom Jauch

Milford Johansen

George Kindler

Sylvester Kobza

Bernard Korger

Leo Kosch

Harold Kosch

Albert Krumbach

Francis Krumbach

William Kubicek

Marlin Kumpf

Willard Kumpf

Willard Larson

Leonard Leffler

Melvin Linda

August Lockard

Francis Lux

Raymond Marrow

Grant Marsden

Wayne McClung

Francis McGimpsey

Nean McKeag

Dale McMeekin

Keith McMeekin

Marian McMeekin

Marie MaMeekin

Phillip Micek

Paul Mecek

William Morgan

Robert Neihart

Louis Nicolas Jr.

Eldon Oades

Theadore Pandorf

Willard Perry

C. W. Pierce

Tony Pokorney

Donald Prell

Paul Reisdorff

Leo Richter

Edward Richter

John Rongish

Edward Schaf

Julius Schlesinger

Ernie Schnieder

John Scholz

Fredrick Scow

Joe Seberger

Carl Seberger

Ray Sedlak

Max Simonsen

Lloyd Dean Smith

John Smith Jr.

Edward Sobieszy

Wendell Spalding

Robert Sterup

Elmer Stewart

Olen Suddarth

Gordon Sundberg

Glen Thomazin

Carl Thompson

George Tiaden

James Treadway

Rexford Trout

Robert Voss

Walter Wagner

Dick Waite

Rose West

Ray Whitmore

Willis Wills

Roy Wyman

Korean War

Billie Albers

Jack Alt

Joe H. Alt

Donald Alt

Maurice Alt

Gregor Andreason

Delmar Augustine

Ross Braithwait

Tom Brigham

Weston E. Burgess

Bernard Cemper

Leonard Coffin

Donald Funkhouser

David Lee Funkhouser

Jerome A. Gabriel

Richard Glatter

Adam Grindel

Mervin Hiemer

Stanley Hoffer

Jerome Korger

Eugene Kosch

Raymond Kresha

Robert Logan

Wayne W. Logan

Robert Lux

Van T. Perry

Robert Peterson

Arthur Ransom

Dale Rosenberry

Richard Suddarth

Richard Vrbka

Ben Wagner

Vietnam

Gregg Abbott

John Baker

Gary Hernbloom

Mick Kuhnel

Lavern Kuhnel

Robert Poppe

Dennis Schneider

Charles Severt

Gary Svoboda

Allen Thingstad

Louis Willson

Panama-Persian Gulf

Russell Cermak

Billy Siffring

Operation Joint Guardian

Blake Kelly