Dorothy Jorgensen: a sad story of a young lady

Well I feel compelled to blog about this lady, who is a relative of mine. After you read this story, you will probably understand why. She is my first cousin, 2 times removed. So her grandfather is my 2nd great grandfather.

Dorothy Maxine Jorgensen was born in Nebraska to Rasmus K. Jorgensen and Frederica Anderson on September 3, 1919. In 1920 her family was living at 1816 5th Avenue in Kearney, Buffalo county, Nebraska. She had 4 older sisters and 1 older brother. Her father dies when she is a young girl, in 1924. In 1928 her mother Fredericka remarries to George Kroeger. I cannot find them in the 1930 census. Probably I'll find them after I post this.

At any rate, in 1938 Dorothy is living in San Francisco, California with her sister and near her mother and stepfather. She is engaged to be married at the age of 18. She is a beauty queen, being selected as the queen of the 8th annual fiesta of the Eureka Valley Citizen's Association.

On June 22, 1938 Dorothy is walking from her and her sister's house and is struck by a car, driven by Melvin Gaston. Police said it was a hit-and-run, and the driver was SO intoxicated he could scarcely stand or talk. (So what the heck was he doing driving a car?!) Miss Jorgensen was crossing an intersection when his car struck her; she was knocked 40 feet through the air. She was literally knocked out of her shoes, as they were found 25 feet from her unconscious body. The driver sped away, BUT there was a witness. Mr. K. A. Heime was driving the car behind Gaston's and saw the whole thing. He then followed Gaston, stopping briefly at a gas station to yell to an attendant to call the police. Gaston's car was parked in front of his house; Hieme identified him to police who took him into custody.

Miss Jorgensen was taken to Park Emergency Hospital where she suffered a fractured skull, internal injuries and other hurts. She died a few hours after she was admitted. The record of the funeral home shows her cause of death as shock and hemorrhage from following depressed fracture of the skull. She was buried at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park cemetery, in Colma, San Mateo county, California. You can see her Findagrave memorial here:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Jorgensen&GSfn=Dorothy&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=6&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=87747734&df=all&


She left many to mourn her death: her fiance Harold Bush, her sister Judith (June?) Lewis with whom she lived, her mother Frederica (Anderson) Jorgensen Kroeger and stepfather George Kroeger, She also left a brother, Arnold Jorgensen, and 3 more sisters Alta, Aleta, and Gladys.

I found most of this story in the San Francisco Chronicle, Thursday June 23, 1938 page 5 which I found thanks to genealogybank.com. If I could I would thank Mr. K. A. Heime for his efforts to bring justice, and give a hearty talking-to to Mr. Gaston about the dangers of driving drunk.

Rest in peace Dorothy, and I hope justice was served.

Nebraska State Genealogy Conference

Warning: This may read like an advertisement.

Pack a bag, grab a pen and your tablet or smart phone, and join us in Grand Island, Nebraska on April 24-25, 2015 for a great genealogy conference! The Nebraska State Genealogical Society is hosting its annual conference featuring national speaker and author, George G. Morgan. George is from Aha Seminars, and you may have heard him on The Genealogy Guys Podcast.

George will give 3 presentations on Friday and 2 on Saturday. Topics include maps, newspapers, obituaries, the agricultural census schedules, and one more! We are honored and excited to have him.

Other presentations include a forum on genealogy programs, a forum on genealogy societies, and a presentation about how to engage the younger generation. Plus we have 3 evening activities planned, so attendees may choose one of the following: beginning genealogy, "Tools on the Farm" which will be an entertaining presentation given by Stuhr Museum staff, or a trip to the Edith Abbott library where attendees can see what holdings are offered and have some time to research or just talk and connect with other genealogists.

This should be a great conference in central Nebraska. So now I know you're wondering "How do I get registered?" Well you can go to our new and improved web site www.nsgs.org. At the left click on "Annual Conference" Then under that is listed the Conference Registration page. Want to join the Nebraska State Genealogy Society? You can do that at the same time!

Oh did I mention there will be door prizes and vendors?! We have some great door prizes lined up, including a free genealogy program, free access to a genealogy web site for a few months, a book, t-shirt, and more! Do I have to take all this home with me? Register now!

Disclaimer: I am the conference coordinator for this conference, and for the Nebraska State Genealogy Society. I am not being paid to put this on my blog, but because of my position, am using it. So by the same token, if you have questions, you know who to contact (me). So leave a comment or send me a message.

Ancestor of the Month, February: Johann "John" Michels

We're over halfway through February, and it's my day off work so maybe I should work on my ancestor of the month. Happy Birthday to my ancestor Johann "John" Michels, as he was born in February. Okay well I started this post in February, but then I got distracted. So here it is middle of March, and I should finish it.

Johann "John" Michels was born in Spekendorf, Germany on 3 February 1842. I have his parents as Marten Michels and Altjen Janssen Saathoff. Now I have not been to Germany (but I would LOVE to go), so I am not sure of this information. I have this information thanks to some distant cousins.
I don't know much more about his childhood, so the next information I have is his marriage.
On 27 August 1864 at the age of 22, he marries Anke Margaretha "Anna" Wessels in Middels, Germany. They become the parents of 8 children, 7 of them born in Germany.

In 1886 John and Anna and some of their children immigrate from Germany to the United States. In 1900 they are living in Harlan county, Nebraska indexed as Mitchell instead of Michels with 5 of their kids. In 1910 they are still in Harlan county, just living with one son Martin. In 1920 John is widowed as his wife passed in 1917, so he is living with his daughter and her family in Jefferson county, Nebraska. John then passes away February 3, 1925 in Fairbury, Jefferson county, Nebraska. He is laid to rest beside his wife in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery just northwest of Fairbury.

The one picture I have of him looks A LOT like my grandfather.

John Michels

This is my grandparents, Pamelia & Lester Seggerman. So you can compare Lester on the right, with his maternal grandfather above. I think they look quite a bit alike. How about you?

I have a cemetery photo for John Michels, and I have found him in the 1900, 1910 and 1920 censuses as I previously stated. Early information is hard for me to find since I live in the USA and that information would probably be found in Germany.