Saturday, October 31, 2015

October ancestor: Augusta "Minnie" Groft Hanks Eichenburg

October is family history month, and it's surely proven to be a busy month for me.
My October ancestor is Augusta "Minnie" (Groft) Hanks Eichenburg. Augusta "Minnie" is my third great-grandmother on my father's side.
She was born about 1821 in Germany, probably in the region formerly known as Neumark in Prussia (eastern Germany). I do not know who her parents were, or much about her early life there. (This could be a short post, as I really don't know much about her, so PLEASE contact me if you have more information.)
She married Fred Hanks in Germany about 1843. I'm not sure how many children they had, at least one but probably as many as four. Their son Charles William Hanks was my ancestor. They probably also had another son August born about 1844, 2 daughters Caroline born about 1850 and Amelia born about 1855.
Fred Hanks passed away in Germany before 1860, leaving Augusta with small children.
About 1858 Augusta remarries to Fredrich Wilhelm Johann "John" Eichberg. They have at least 3 children together. For sure they have a son named Herman and a daughter named Wilhelmine (Minnie); there is another child in this family named Frank that could be hers with either husband, or could be her second husband's child from a previous marriage. In 1867 they all immigrate from Germany to the United States through New York aboard the John Lawrence ship. They are headed for Wisconsin. In the 1870 census they are living in Dodge county, Wisconsin farming. In the 1880 census they are still living in Dodge county, Wisconsin farming. I haven't found anything about her death, but she probably died in Wisconsin some time after 1880, after the age of 60.
For records on her, I have found her in the 1870 and 1880 US Federal census, and the immigration record from 1867. I would love to find more records and information about her.
Thanks for reading. Please contact me if you are related.

Friday, October 2, 2015

September Ancestor: John Piatt Foresman

Oops, September must have gotten away from me. Here it is the second day of October.
For September, I am blogging about one of my husband's ancestors John Piatt Foresman. I have been working on this family this month, in fact I've been tracing several of his descendants.

John Piatt Foresman was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania on June 15, 1826 to John Foresman and Mary Elizabeth Piatt. He grew up in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. He marries Anna Filbert August 17, 1848 probably in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. They become parents to 9 (or 10) children, 2 (or 3) boys and 7 girls. Between 1855 and 1857, they move from Lycoming County, Pennsylvania to McDonough county, Illinois with 4 of their children. The younger 5 children are then born in McDonough county, Illinois. The children are named the following: Mary Regina, Lydia Ann, Ludwig Henry, Sarah Elizabeth, Almira Louise, Martha Colwell, Laura Catherine, Harriet L., and James Piatt. Another possible child I have listed is Charles P. but I don't find him in the 1880 census or any other information about him, so I am doubting his existence or if he belonged to a different family.

My husband descends from the youngest child James Piatt Foresman. Interestingly enough (to me), Mary Regina Foresman married Robert A. Buchanan; they were the parents of 5 children, and at least 2 (and possibly 3) of those children moved to Nebraska and are buried in the next county from where we live! I went to the cemetery and found those 2 children's gravestones, and I think there is a good possibility another one is buried there but she possibly has an unmarked grave.

But back to John Piatt Foresman: In 1860 I find him listed as a farmer in McDonough county, Illinois where the value of his personal estate is listed as 175. So I'm not sure if that's $175 worth of farm land, or 175 acres. In the 1870 census, he is a farmer in McDonough county, Illinois with value listed of 830. By 1880 the Foresman family moves to Hancock county, Illinois where he is a farmer. He remains in Hancock county for the rest of his life until December 1, 1891 when he passes away. He is buried in Harris Cemetery, outside of Dallas City, in Hancock County, Illinois.