Joseph L Stenger – Kickapoo, Illinois

My great grandfather, Joseph L Stenger turned 138 on August 25, 2016. (1) I only have very faint memories of him as he died when I was just four years old.  My maternal grandmother would take me with her to visit him in the nursing home and I would share my candy with him.  Wonder if he remembers that too?

He was born in a farm just south of Kickapoo, Illinois to Frank and Anna Maria Schmitt Stenger. (1)  He was a first generation immigrant whose parents had both come to the United States from Germany separately as children.  Joe was their eighth of nine children and their youngest son.  He would have grown up with not just his siblings but many cousins as well.  The Stenger and Schmitt families in Kickapoo were prolific and he would have found his school and church filled with many close and extended family members.

Figure 1 - Joseph L Stenger - First Communion

Lucy Loescher would have moved to Kickapoo from Peoria, Illinois with her parents in 1886 when Joseph L was about seven years old.  She was an infant at the time of her arrival in town.  Lucy’s parents ran several businesses in the area.  They both would have attended church and school at St Mary’s in Kickapoo so they certainly knew each other and their families well. 

Joe and Lucy married at St Mary’s Church in Kickapoo on 23 May 1905. (2) This was a “double ring” ceremony as Lucy’s older sister Mame married Bernard “Ben” Heinz on the same day.  In many families, the youngest son would normally be looking for a job or farm to live on away from their parents.  The older sons in the family tended to take on their father’s farms.  But in the Frank Stenger family, the older boys made their homes away from Kickapoo.  The oldest son went to Mendota, Illinois and then two others (along with a sister and brother in law) moved to Platte County, Nebraska in the 1890’s.

Figure 2 - Left to Right - Lucy Loescher, Joseph L Stenger, Mame Loescher, Bernard "Ben" Heinz on their wedding day

Joe’s remaining local brother Henry and his wife Emma took over their father’s farm while Joe and Lucy made their home just down the lane.  Today this is on the north side of the Kickapoo-Edwards exit on Interstate 74 in Illinois.  Lucy had seven children and one still born infant – Frank, Monica, Mary, Clementine, Joseph S, Rose and Florence.  Joe and Lucy’s children would walk to school about a mile each way into Kickapoo along with their Henry Stenger cousins.  It must have been wonderful when the weather was nice but the winters would have been hard.

Joe was not yet middle age by the time that both of his parents had died.  He was 32 years old when his mother died in 1910 and 40 when his father passed in 1918.  But, his mother-in-law, Rose Nufer Loescher was still going strong!  She was a seemingly larger than life figure in Kickapoo and especially in the lives of her children and grandchildren.  (See the end of this article for links to related blog posts about the Loeschers.)  In 1927 Rose Loescher had a will drawn up for herself.  There is nothing unusual about that as she had quite a bit of property and personal effects that would need to be disposed of when she died.  What is unusual I think is who she named to manage her estate and be responsible for the probate process.  Rose had eight children.  Her oldest and only son, Frank A Loescher would have been the natural choice as her executor.  But she went down a different path.  Her will names two executors – her son Frank A and her son-in-law, Joseph L Stenger (3). 

This designation is interesting to me in a couple of ways.  First there is the issue of a mother publicly indicating in her will that her oldest and only son was likely not up to the task of settling his mother’s estate without help.  But given that she felt the need to provide some assistance to her son in the role of executor why did Rose select Joe Stenger?  She had six son-in-laws at the time she drafted her will.  (One son-in-law was deceased.)  Joe Stenger was not the son-in-law with the most money or property nor did he live the closest to Rose.  Maybe he got along the best with Frank A?  Maybe it was done because her son lived in Peoria and Joe was local?  Or, maybe Joe was the son-in-law she had the most trust in.  Isn’t that a highly valued trait when looking for an executor of your will?  Or maybe….it was all of these factors.

I asked my great aunt (daughter of Joe and Lucy) about why her father would have been named as executor in his mother-in-law’s will.  Aunt “F” was not surprised to hear about this.  She indicated that Joe and Lucy were both very close to Rose and that Rose relied on them and trusted them in many things.  When Rose passed in 1938 Joe would have spent many hours in court proceedings, managing the businesses Rose had at the time of her death (including a farm) and selling her property.  This would not have been easy given he had his own farm to tend to and family to feed.

What of Joe’s relationship with his own siblings especially after his parents had passed? His next oldest brother Henry lived very close by and the two families would have seen a good deal of each other as they went about working on their respective farms and through school and church.  The oldest Stenger brother, Jacob, made his life in Mendota, Illinois and would come to visit periodically.  But four of the Stenger siblings went to Nebraska at various times in the 1890’s and raised their families on the Great Plains. 

No doubt there was a great deal of correspondence that went back and forth between Kickapoo and the various Nebraska counties that the Stenger siblings settled in.  But we also know they visited.  We know that the Nebraska siblings and their children made trips back to Kickapoo and later on when automobile travel became common we see the Kickapoo family visiting in Nebraska also.  Yes….Joe and Lucy actually made it out of the state of Illinois to visit Stenger family in Nebraska.  My mom recalls that Joe and Lucy would have family gathers which included the Peoria County based siblings of Joe’s also.  The Svymbersky’s of Peoria and the Schlink’s and Volz’s no doubt were in attendance.

My mother remembers that her grandfather made wine.  I assume this is a skill that Joe would have learned growing up from him immigrant parents.  We can suppose that the knowledge for this must have come over with his parents from Germany.  On special occasions Joe would bring out his small tray of small classes with his latest batch of wine for his guests to sample.

In May 1955, Joe and Lucy celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary.  Mame and Ben Heinz were also both alive and a very large and multi-day celebration took place at Silver Lead just east of Kickapoo for this “double” anniversary party.  My mother recalls that there was a lot of preparation for this big event and that it was the talk of the family for some time to come.

Figure 3- Lucy and Joseph L Stenger - 50th Wedding Anniversary

Eventually, Joe and Lucy decided it was time to retire from the farm and move into Kickapoo.  They sold their farm as none of their children were interested in working it.  They moved to a very small house just down the street from the Loescher saloon (where Lucy grew up).  There was a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and a small basement.  Although not very big that did not stop them from hosting family gatherings.  There was a long table in the basement for the men to eat and the kids would find spots where ever they could find room.  The women would eat in the kitchen and living room after everyone else had been tended to.

Their retirement years were no doubt lean (as their young family life had been) but they always seemed to get by.  In the early 1960’s Joe had a stroke and although Lucy tried to care for him at home it was just to much.  He spent his last few years in a nursing home in Peoria.  Joe died on 31 December 1966 and is buried in St Patrick’s Cemetery in Kickapoo just a few yards away from his parents and grandparents. (4)  He was a kind and gentle spirit that lives on today in his remaining daughters.  We recently had a family reunion in Kickapoo of the descendants of Joe and Lucy Loescher Stenger and it is obvious that Joe’s gentle spirit lives on in them as well.

Copyright ©2016 – Diane Minor – All Rights Reserved.

Related Posts - 

Frank A Loescher

The Loescher Saloon

Rose Loescher - The Mystery of Her Birth

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(1) Baptismal Register of St. Mary's Church, Kickapoo, Illinois, digital image, (Peora, Illinois:  Catholic Diocese of Peoria), 15 Sep 1878, "Lawrence Joseph Stenger".

(2) Peoria County, Illinois, marriage certificate, Joseph L Stenger and Lucy Loescher, 23 May 1905, Peoria County Clerk, Peoria.

(3) Peoria County Circuit Court, Peoria County, Illinois, probate file no. J788, Rose Loescher; Peoria County Circuit Clerk.

(4) Peoria County, Illinois, death certificate no. 93688 (31 Dec 1966), Joseph L Stenger, Peoria County Clerk, Peoria.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – “Mary’s” With No Last Name

Randy Seaver in his “Genea-Musings” blog posts a weekly challenge for digging deeper into our family history.

This week’s post is about analyzing our female ancestors to find any with the first name of “Mary” but who’s last name (maiden) is unknown.  The link to his post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/08/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-how-many_20.html  .

Here’s my analysis.

Yes!  I have some Mary’s in my genealogy database program with an unknown maiden name. 

I found twelve women named “Mary” or “Maria” who’s maiden name is unknown.  Additionally, I am going to add one more for a baker’s dozen of thirteen.  My third great grandmother, Maria Nufer’s maiden name is not nailed down yet.  Of these thirteen unknown Mary’s only three are in my direct line.

I use 5 underscores (_____) to denote that a name is unknown rather than the word.

Direct Line - 

1.  Maria Margaretha _____ - this is my 7^th great grandmother through my Stenger line.  She is the wife of Johann Reubert who likely lived in Wasserlos, Germany.

2.  Maria _____ - this is my 6^th great grandmother through my Stenger/Pfeifer line.  She is the wife of Nikolaus Griesing from Germany.

3.  Maria _____ - My third great grandmother through my Loescher line.  Her married name is Nufer.  Possible maiden names include “Lehnifger”, “Cotchie” and “Schnitzer”. 

More research is needed to figure out who these women are to give them back their names!

Tags –SNGF, Nufer, Stenger, Reubert, Dempsey, Pfeifer, Loescher, Griesing, Lehnifger, Cotchie, Schnitzer

Copyright ©2016 – Diane Minor – All Rights Reserved.

Frank A Loescher – The Oldest and Only Son

Growing up I heard many stories about the Loescher sisters and their families.  My great grandmother, Lucy Loescher Stenger was the third oldest in a family of 8.  I knew about her 6 sisters and her many cousins.  But I really did not understand that the family of Francois and Rose Nufer Loesher (my great great grandparents) actually started with a boy.  Their oldest child was the only boy in a sea of girls and he was named after his father – Frank Loesher.

Some of my ancestors are easier than others in trying put together who they were as people and what their place was in their own family.  Frank Loescher Jr., my great great uncle, was not one of the easy ones.  It’s not clear to me if he was misunderstood in his life or made things more difficult for himself and his wives.  Or, maybe he was always taken care of by his mother and sisters and later his wives and never learned how to be mature in his dealings with the world.  But what I have learned about him so far does not paint a picture of a happy man.  When that unhappiness began is not known but it would not be a surprise to find out it was in his childhood.

Frank Anthony Loescher (I will refer to him as “Frank A” going forward to distinguish him from his father) was born at 131 Irving Street, Peoria, Illinois on 10 Aug 1881. (1) (2) He was the first born of his parents.  His mother came from a family of seven daughters so there must have been great excitement when her firstborn turned out to be a boy.  Francois also must have been happy on this occasion.  He had only been in the US about ten years at the time of his only son’s birth and this must have been great news to pass onto his family back in Alsace. (3)

We can trace the Loescher family around Peoria in city directories until 1886 when in the spring of that year they moved to the rural town of Kickapoo, Illinois.  While only about 13 miles on today’s roads and highways, back in 1886 the distance between the two locations was the better part of a day’s journey in a horse and wagon.  At the time of the move to Kickapoo, the family consisted of Francois and Rose along with Frank A and his sisters Mame and Lucy (my great grandmother).  Being about five years old at the time of the move, Frank A might have had some memories of his early years in Peoria.  But surely the move to Kickapoo had a significant impact on his life both then and for the remainder of his days.

After the move to Kickapoo, the family built a new two story home (including a saloon and overnight accommodations) as well as a livery, farm buildings, rental hall and an ice house.  This family understood the concept of having “multiple income streams” quite well!  No doubt Frank A was a part of these endeavors from the beginning.  Especially as the family grew to be father, mother, son and 7 sisters!

The next big change in Frank A’s young life happened on 1 May 1902.  He was just a few months shy of his 22^nd birthday when his father died from a skull fracture received after falling down the basement stairs.  No doubt he and his family would never be the same again.  But the degree to which his life was shaped by his father’s untimely passing can only be speculated on.  Rose Loescher was left with 8 children ranging in age from 21 down to 4 ½ and several businesses that needed to be carried on if they were to eat, keep their home and stay together as a family.  She certainly would have counted on a great deal of help from her now adult son.  But is that what Frank A wanted?  Did he have the skills and initiative to pick up for his father?  Family stories seem to indicate that Frank A either did not want to stay in Kickapoo or was not good at working his parents’ businesses.  My bet is that there was some degree of both at play.

Figure 1 - Frank Anthony Loescher

Four years later in November 1906, Frank A Loescher married Etta (Henrietta) Brutcher in Henry, Illinois. (4)  I find the location of this wedding rather odd.  Both the bride and groom were living in the Kickapoo area so why not get married at the local Catholic Church?  Why go many miles over bumpy roads in winter to be married at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Henry when there is a local Catholic church down the street? 

Frank A and Etta Brutcher Loescher set up housekeeping in Peoria.  He evidently had all of the saloon/livery/hall rental/farming businesses he wanted because he started a landscaping and lawn care businesses in Peoria.  They never had any children.  My grandmother remembers Etta as being a very kind woman and thought she was a good wife for Frank.  However, it seems that as an adult Frank may have used his mother as a bank.  There is a sense from family members that I have asked about him that he came to see his mother and family in Kickapoo when he wanted something and usually that was money.  These views on Frank A are based on family remembrances that are decades old.  Memories can fade and become distorted or selective so they may not be entirely accurate.

Much more telling for me in trying to understand Frank A is the will that his mother made in August 1927. (5)  As with many wills of the twentieth century an administrator and maybe an alternate for that position is named.  But Rose Loescher’s will is a bit different in that she names two Executors to administrate her estate.  The first is her son Frank A.  This could be expected as he is her oldest and only son.  But additionally, she names a second executor.  The second person is not to be an alternate but to serve alongside her son.  This second person is her son-in-law and my great grandfather, Joseph L Stenger.  How I wish I had been able to talk to him about this turn of events!

What did Frank A know about how his mother’s will when it was created?  What were his feelings about having his brother-in-law named to settle his mother’s estate with him?  These are the kind of stories I wish I could learn more about!

The next major event in Frank A’s life comes in July 1937 when his 49 year old wife dies. (6) Etta Loescher suffered with peritonitis at a time before antibiotics were available.  It must have been a very painful death and it must have been felt most deeply by her husband.  Frank A’s next year of life was a year of significant changes.  His wife dies.  His mother becomes ill and eventually dies in the early fall of 1938. 

But maybe the event that made a bigger impact on his life was his marriage to his second wife in August 1938. (7) He married Ruby Winters at St Joseph’s Church in Brimfield, Illinois just a few weeks before the death of his mother.  I have so many questions about his actions and decisions during this period of time.  The first is about the location of this wedding.  Why did he go to Brimfield to be married?  He and Ruby both were living in Peoria and had been there for many years.  Why not go to one of the much closed Catholic churches in Peoria or why not even his childhood church in Kickapoo?  There is story about this that is lost now.

What did his mother think about her son’s choice of a second wife?  This also is lost in time.  But, we do have recollections from Frank A’s nieces.  They have related to me that Ruby was somebody who did not have Frank A’s best interests at heart.  They indicate that Frank A’s sisters did not like their new sister-in-law.  From this and what I know about them I can infer that the sisters were likely not very welcoming or nice to the new family member.

Oh my….what a hard time he likely had in those couple of years.  But with the death of his mother he had no rest either.  He was one of the executor’s of his mother’s estate.  She had quite a bit of property in Kickapoo to be accounted for and disposed of.  In those times in Illinois, probate cases required court appears and meetings with attorneys.  I cannot image that he enjoyed this or wanted to do this and may have leaned hard on his brother-in-law in getting the estate settled. 

Rose’s probate file also tells us that her estate collected $455.81 from Frank as payment for a “note due [the] estate”.  Something tells me he had a hard time coming up with this large sum of money around 1940.  Maybe he had to sell his own possessions or his business to get this cash.  But in the end he got $150.00 as payment for being an Executor and then his portion of his mother’s estate of $677.21.  He had borrowed additional money over the years which had not been paid back and was deducted from his share of the estate.

Now here is where the recollections of his nieces are quite strong.  The belief is that Ruby knew Frank A would come into some money which was her motivation for the marriage.  Once he came into his settlement money then she wanted nothing more to do with him.  Also, Frank A’s health began to deteriorate badly in the early 1940’s.  The family stories continue to say that Ruby brought her sick husband out from Peoria to Kickapoo and “dumped” him with his sisters for them to nurse and care for him.

Frank A Loescher died on 8 Aug 1944. (8) He is buried in Parkview Cemetery in Peoria, Illinois next to his first wife Etta.  He died poor and without the comfort of a wife.  He died with his sisters resentful of him and his choices in life.  He died without his mother who surely was an enabler of him for a good portion of his life.  How sad.  How very very sad.

Figure 2 - Cemetery Marker - Parkview Cemetery, Peoria, Illinois - Frank A Loescher

Tags – Stenger, Loescher, Kickapoo, Illinois, Peoria, Nufer, Brimfield, Brutcher

Copyright ©2016 – Diane Minor – All Rights Reserved.

Links to related posts - 
Rose Loescher - The Mystery of Her Birth
Loescher Saloon

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[1] Peoria County, Illinois, birth certificate no. not stated (10 Aug no year), Frank Anthony Loescher; Peoria County Clerk, Peoria, Illinois.

[2] "World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Oct 2014), serial no. 2249,  order no. 374, entry for Frank Anthony Loescher, Peoria County, Illinois, roll 1614439; citing "United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, M1509, 4,582 rolls."

[3] 1900 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Kickapoo, Enumeration District (ED) 0078, sheet 12-A, line 37, dwelling 231, family 232, Frank Loascher; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jun 2014), citing National Archives microfilm publication T623, roll 333, FHL microfilm 1240333.

[4] Marshall County, Illinois, marriage certificate, Frank A Loescher and Etta Brutcher, 29 Nov 1906, Marshall County Clerk, Lacon, Illinois.

[5] Peoria County Circuit Court, Peoria County, Illinois, probate file no. J788, Rose Loescher; Peoria County Circuit Clerk.

[6] Peoria County, Illinois, death certificate no. 25813 (8 Jul 1938), Henrietta M Loescher, Peoria County Clerk, Peoria.
[7] Peoria County, Illinois, marriage certificate, Frank A. Loescher and Ruby F. Winters, 6 Aug 1938, Peoria County Clerk, Peoria.

[8] Peoria County, Illinois, death certificate no. 839 (8 Aug 1944), Frank A Loescher, Peoria County Clerk, Peoria.

The Loescher Saloon

Another frequent story I have heard over the years is about the Loescher Saloon in Kickapoo, Illinois.  My great great grandparents, Frank and Rose Nufer Loescher were the proprietors of the saloon.  Frank and Rose started out their married life in Peoria, Illinois.  Rose Nufer had spent most of her growing up years in what is now the south side of Peoria.  Back in the mid to late 19^th century this was the home of a large German immigrant population.  Rose’s parents had come to this country in the early 1850’s (I think!).

Frank Loescher (baptized “Francoise” in Alsace) came to the United States in the early 1870’s and settled in the German section of Peoria.  He and Rose Nufer were married on 2 Nov 1879 at St Joseph’s Church in Peoria. (1) From the Peoria city directories we can trace the early years of their marriage from one Peoria residence to another.  They likely were renting.  Frank worked in different breweries and distilleries in town.  Peoria was then known as the “Distillery Capital of the World” and that may have been what brought him to town. 

According to the oral history that their daughter Lucy Loescher Stenger (and my great grandmother) gave to the Peoria Bicentennial Commission in 1977, she and her family moved to Kickapoo in the spring of 1886. (2) They likely lived in other locations around the small village of Kickapoo for a time but they acquired property on the west side of town and built a house.

Figure 1 - Loescher Saloon, Kickapoo, Illinois.  Frank A Loescher standing in front.  Circa 1904.

Eventually, their property included not just a home but also a livery, farming buildings, a hall for party rental and ice house.  Frank and Rose’s family expanded also.  Their first three children, Frank A., Mary (Mame) and Lucy, were born in Peoria.  After moving to Kickapoo, their family grew to include, Frances, Antoinette (Nettie), Cecilia, Rosella and Veronica (Fronie).

Frank and Rose opened a saloon in the front part of their new home as soon as it was built.  It was a large room that seems to have gone the width of the house.  From a picture we have they had a large bar area, pool table and comfortable chairs for visiting.  According to my maternal grandmother (granddaughter of Frank and Rose Loescher), children were not allowed into the bar during business hours.  Only after hours when the saloon was closed or on Sunday’s when it was closed all day were the kids allowed in.  Grandma also remembers that there was a slot machine that sat on the bar.  She said that when she would get a nickel for birthdays or Christmas she would sometimes have her dad lift her up to slot machine so she could try her luck!

Figure 2 - Interior of Loescher Saloon with Frank A Loescher behind the bar.

Behind the bar against the mirror is a mantel clock.  I remember that clock as a child sitting in the living room of Lucy Loescher Stenger’s house.  She lived just  down the street from the Loescher saloon when I was growing up.  Lucy is my great grandmother and I remember liking that clock even before I knew where it had come from or how old it was.  Today that clock is still in our extended family and very treasured.

In addition to the saloon in the family home, Frank and Rose also had overnight accommodations for travelers.  Kickapoo was on the main road between Peoria and Galesburg, Illinois.  Before the automobile made travel faster, the distance between the two cities was more than a day’s journey by horse and wagon.  I have thought many times how crowded in that house it must have been with 2 adults, 8 children and even just one overnight guest.

In 1902, Frank Loescher died from injuries he sustained from a fall down the basement stairs.  He was only 53 years old. At the time of their father’s death the Loescher children ranged in age from 21 to 4 or 5 years old.  Rose Loescher had to keep going after the death of her husband in the only way she knew how – as proprietor of the saloon, livery, farm and ice house.  Otherwise her family would not have any income.

Rose Loescher became quite a business woman in her own right after 1902.  She has a reputation in the area as being a “formidable woman”.  My grandma would say that you didn’t want to mess with Grandma Loescher.  She developed business relationships with suppliers in Peoria and men in both Kickapoo and Peoria to help her acquire goods and services when it was unseemly for women to do so themselves. 

As the years went on the various Loescher businesses changed also.  First the livery ended when the automobile came into being.  Then when prohibition went into effect, the saloon was closed.  But Rose was able to get by with rentals on the hall and the crops from the farm.

Today, the Loescher saloon and family home is all that remains of their property and businesses.  Over the years it has been made into apartments and came to be known as the “Honeymoon Hotel.”  Many newlyweds in the area have lived there and made it one of their first homes.  The road in front of the house has crept up closer to the front porch but the side porch is still there.

Figure 3 - Loescher Saloon in 2007

Whenever I am in the area I always drive by and look at the house.  It is a tangible sign of the life Frank and Rose Loescher lived and of the family the raised.  And….it is a link to the past….my ancestors’ past. 

Loescher Family – Do your children and grandchildren know about the Loescher Saloon?  I hope after reading this that you will be able to tell them more about it and Frank and Rose.

Copyright ©2016 – Diane Minor – All Rights Reserved.

(1)  Peoria County, Illinois, marriage certificate, Frank Loescher and Rosa Nufer, date of marriage 2 Nov 1879, Peoria County Clerk, Peoria.

(2)  Lucy Loescher Stenger, Peoria County, Illinois, interview by Peg Kronenberg for the Peoria County Bicentenial Commission, 31 May 1977; transcript of interview, tape 46, copy privately held by Diane Minor, 2007.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – Male Ancestors Age at Death

Randy Seaver in his Genea-Musings blog posts a weekly challenge for digging deeper into our family history.

This week’s post is about analyzing our male ancestors and their age at their deaths.  The link to his post is : http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/08/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-male.html  . 

Here’s my analysis.  I have used the ahnentafel numbering in this list.

Father -

2.  Father – I am blessed to still have my father .

Grandfathers -

4.  W. Minor – 88 years

6.  Robert T Miars – (1915 – 1999) 84 years.  He missed the millennial celebrations by just a couple of weeks which is something he was really wanting to see.

Great Grandfathers -

8.  John R Minor – (1880 – 1937) 57 years.

10. R. K. Fristoe – (1892 – 1965) 73 years.

12.  Frank Miars – (1870 – 1932) 61 years.

14.  Joseph L Stenger  - (1878 – 1966) 88 years.

2^nd Great Grandfathers -

16.  Francis Grant Minor – (1852 – 1918) 65 years.

18.  William Dempsey – (1842 – 1911) 68 years.

20.  J C Fristoe – (1852 – 1927) 73 years.

22.  G W Craft – (1855 – 1939) 84 years.

24.  William Miars – (1943 – 1916) 73 years.

26.  Thompson J Saltonstall – (1848 - ??) Death date unknown.  This is one of my brickwalls!!

28.  Frank Stenger – (1837 – 1918) 81 years.

30.  Francoise Loescher – (1848 – 1902) 53 years.

3^rd Great Grandfathers -

32.  John Minor – (1819 – 1885) 65 years.

34.  Ewald Pruschwitz – (?? - ??) Unknown.

36.  Peter Dempsey – (1800 - ??) Unknown.

38.  John G Kellar – (1791 – 1849) 58 years.

40.  _____ Fristoe – Unknown.

42.  _____ Craft – Unknown.

44. Martin Miars – (1801 – 1885) 84 years.

50. Amos Hodgson – (1810 – 1866) 56 years.

52.  Alexander Hamilton Saltonstall – (1817 – 1856) 39 years.

54.  Peter Ringenberger – (1810 – 1892) 82 years.

56.  Franz Stenger – (1806 – 1890) 84 years.

58.  Jakob Schmitt – (1806 – 1883) 76 years.

60. Antoine Loescher – (1815 - ??) Unknown.

62. Martin Nufer – (1823 – 1873) 76 years.

In the four generations (grandfathers through 3^rd great grandfathers), the average age is 71.3 years old at the time of death.  There is a tie for oldest as my paternal grandfather was 88 when he died and my great – grandfather Joseph L Stenger was as well.  The youngest at their death was a 3^rd great grandfather, Alexander Hamilton Saltonstall who died at 39 years.  I do not know the whole story on his early death.  More research is needed here.

Copyright ©2016 – Diane Minor – All Rights Reserved.

Where Did Martin Nufer Die?

This is not the subject I thought I would be penning for this post.  My original plan was an article about the search for my great great grandmother, Rose Nufer Loescher’s sisters.  That will now be done in another post.  But as part of my document review for that original post I decided I needed to transcribe the probate files for Rose’s parents, Martin Nufer and Maria Nufer.  I acquired these documents from the Illinois Regional Archive Depository in Macomb, Illinois about a decade ago.  So I decided that I needed to refresh my memory of what was included in them and what pieces of information they contained.

Now, transcription is not something I have previously found to be interesting or worth my limited research time.  I had convinced myself that a “careful” reading of the document and in many cases multiple readings was good enough.  What else could transcription possibly identify?  My answer to that question up to this point has been “not much”.

Well….turns out possibly a great deal in the case of the probate records for my third great grandfather, Martin Nufer.

Because I have not heretofore done much transcription I did a review of the principles of transcription from the book “Professional Genealogy” edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills. (1)  I then spent some time creating a transcription of Martin’s probate file.

No problem, right?  Not so fast!  As I was reading the document through while creating the transcription I found myself reading a section that was quite surprising.

In the Petition for Letters of Administration is where I found myself questioning whether what I was seeing was really what was written.  This particular Letters of Administration was for Martin’s wife Maria Nufer going to the Peoria County Court on 1 May 1877 requesting that the court grant her the right to administer the estate of her deceased husband who she said died in March 1873 without a “Will and Testament”. (2)

Fig. 1 - Petition for Letters of Administration - Martin Nufer

But it was the location of death that caught my attention.  All of the boiler-plate language indicating a death location in Peoria County was deliberately crossed out.  Handwritten in the location of death are two words – “in Texas”.  This can’t be.  What?  Texas?  I seriously questioned my need for stronger glasses when reading this.  My belief was that he had lived his life in the US in Central Illinois.

I had recorded in my database management program that he died in Peoria County, Illinois.  According to this document that information item was very wrong.  Not only was I wrong about the location of death but now I was finding that my views on transcription needed to change dramatically also.  Wow.

Now the Martin and Maria Nufer family has to this point been quite elusive to me.  There are several important questions about their lives that have eluded me so far and now I find that the questions I have about this family have grown.  Where in Texas did he die?  What day in March 1873 did he die?  What was he doing in Texas to begin with?  Was he there alone or was his family with him?  Oh My Gosh!

I will just add these questions to the list I already have for Martin and Maria.  What is the city name that they came from in Baden Germany?  When did they emigrate from Baden?  When did they take up residence in Peoria, Illinois where I finally pick up their trail around 1860.

Martin’s death has been a mystery also.  I had been unable to find any record of a funeral at any of the Catholic churches in Peoria, Illinois.  He also was not listed in the burial records for St Joseph’s Cemetery in West Peoria, Illinois even though there is a cemetery marker there. 

Maybe now I know why!!!  One possibility is that if he really died in Texas then maybe he was not brought back to Peoria for burial.  I don’t know.  All I have to go on is what is in this probate record – he died in March 1873 in Texas.

Because of all of the previous questions I have about this family I knew that I really needed to spend some serious time in Peoria looking for information in any extant newspapers, especially any Germany language publications.  That activity seems to be even more important now.

Well…I have learned many things in this transcription effort.  First, I am not infallible.  My belief that I have been reviewing and reading these documents carefully and completely, especially those complicated and long probate files, is just plain wrong.  I need to start spending more time reading and transcribing.  It is in this process that I will no doubt find inaccuracies I have documented previously and new information that I had missed.

Secondly, transcription is VERY important and very much worth my time and effort.  That means my to-do list has grown substantially but the results I know now are worth it.

Lessons learned!

(1) Elizabeth Shown Mills, editor, “Professional Genealogy,” (Maryland, Baltimore:  Genealogical Publishing Company, 2001).

(2) Peoria County, Illinois, probate case files, no. 2097, Martin Nufer (1877);  Illinois Regional Archives Depository System, Western Illinois University, Macomb.

Copyright ©2016 – Diane Minor – All Rights Reserved.

Rose Loescher – The Mystery of Her Birth

I have heard about Grandma Rose Loescher as long as I can remember.  She was seemingly a larger than life figure in my maternal grandmother’s life.  My Grandmother Clem’s stories about her maternal grandmother Rose included how she raised a large family and managed her various businesses after her husband died from an untimely accident in the spring of 1902 and what a tough but loving and caring person she was.  These were oft repeated stories which my grandma liked to tell.

I spent most of 2015 researching not just Rose Nufer Loescher’s family and children but her parents and siblings lives as well.  It was during this time that I came upon a mystery that is not fully solved yet.  It is really a very basic and common genealogy question – where was Rose Nufer born and what was the date of her birth?  Many times this is the first question that is researched when trying to learn more about an ancestor’s life and times.  During the process of trying to sort out the issues related to her birth I learned a great deal more about the family history research process and also more about my own grandmother as well.

I began looking at the various pieces of information I had acquired over time about my great great grandmother’s birth.  These included the census records, vital records such as her marriage license and death certificate but also a picture I had taken of her cemetery marker in St Patrick’s Cemetery, Kickapoo,  Illinois where she and my great great grandfather Frank Loescher are buried. 

Something did not add up when I reviewed the information I had about her birth date and location.  The birth date given on her death certificate said “Aug  1^st 1856” and the birthplace is “Groveland, Illinois”. [i] The informant was her only son, Frank A Loescher.    

Death Certificate for Rosa Loescher

Her cemetery marker gives only a birth year and that is “1856”.[ii] These two information items are the same as they both list the year of birth as 1856. I also have an obituary for her but it is the same information that is on her death certificate. However, I suspect that the same information source was used for the death certificate, the cemetery marker and her obituary – her son Frank A. Loescher.  Therefore all of them are consistent but I believe they are likely incorrect.

Frank & Rose Loescher Cemetery Marker - St Patrick's Cemetery, Kickapoo, IL

Other information items I have for Rose Nufer Loescher lead to a different birth year and the location of birth is a source of confusion also.  First when Rose Nufer and her fiancé, Frank Loescher obtained their marriage license[iii] her age is listed as “20 years”.  Their license was obtained on “27^th day of October A.D. 1879.  That indicates a birth year of 1859.  Not 1856.

Marriage License - Frank Loescher and Rosa Nufer - Peoria County, Illinois

What about census records?  They are mostly consistent.  The first census she appears in is 1860 where she is listed as “10/12” months old.  This is probably the most accurate indication of her age in the census records and indicates a birth month and year of August 1859. Her mother or father was the most likely informants of that information and her mother at least would have firsthand knowledge of that event. The rest of the census records that she appears in all have a derived birth year of 1858 or 1859 with one outlier (1900) which has “Aug 1861”.

None of the census records she appears in points to a birth year of 1856.

Census Year	Age Listed	Birth Location	Comments
1860[iv]	10/12 months	Illinois	Rosa is listed in her father’s (Martin Nufer) home.  The census page has an enumeration date of June 10, 1860. An age of 10 months would make a birth month and year of August, 1859.
1870[v]	11 years	Illinois	Rose is listed her father’s home. Her birth year is estimated at 1859.
1880[vi]	20 years at last birthdate	Illinois	Rose is listed in her husband’s home on Washington Street in Peoria, Illinois.  Her birth year is estimated at 1859.
1890			Not Available
1900[vii]	38 years; birth month and year listed are “Aug 1861”	Illinois	Rose and Frank Loescher are now living in Kickapoo, Illinois.  Her birth year is given as 1861.
1910[viii]	51 years at last birthdate.	Illinois	Rose is a widow now and living in Kickapoo, Illinois.  Her birth year is estimated as 1858.
1920[ix]	61 years at last birthdate	Illinois	Rose is living alone now in Kickapoo, Illinois.  Her birth year is estimated as 1858.
1930[x]	71 years at last birthdate	Illinois	Rose is living in Kickapoo, Illinois and this is the last time she appears in a census as she dies in 1938.  Her birth year is estimated as 1858.

What about civil birth records?  The location of Rose’s birth is in conflict also.  Her marriage license says she was born in Peoria, Illinois but her death certificate indicates Groveland, Illinois.  Peoria County did not start collecting birth records until 1877 and Tazewell County (county for Groveland) does not have birth records prior to 1876.  Therefore no civil birth records were created.

That leaves church records.  Rose Nufer’s family were members of St Joseph Catholic Church in Peoria, Illinois while they resided in Peoria.  But if she was born in Groveland, Illinois then there would likely not be a baptismal record for her in Peoria, Illinois.  But, as luck would have it there was such a record!!  I was able to obtain a copy and translation from the Office of Archives of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria.  I was expecting this baptismal record to provide the definitive answer on her birth date and location.  But I was to be disappointed because what I got back was just more conflicting evidence and more questions. 

Rose Nufer was baptized at St Joseph’s Church in Peoria, Illinois but according to the register it took place more than one year after her birth.[xi]  The record says she was born on 20 August 1859 (no location given) and was baptized on 22 October 1860.  While this month and year of birth are consistent with her age listed in the 1860 census, the date of her birth is not the same as what is listed on her death certificate.  This record though does support my theory that her date of birth on her death certificate and the year of death on her cemetery marker are incorrect.

But this baptismal record does support the assertion in her death certificate and obituary that she was born outside of Peoria.  If she was born in Groveland as the birth location supplied for her death certificate says then that would explain why there was a gap of 14 months between the time of birth and her baptism in Peoria.  There may not have been a Catholic priest available for sacraments in rural Tazewell County or the records did not survive.

Baptismal Record for Rose Nufer

Where does this leave my quest to answer my initial research question of “When and where was Rose Nufer Loescher born?”  I feel more confident now in my theory that her year of birth was not 1856 as her death certificate, obituary and cemetery marker state.  But, I am still left with the date of her birth (August 1 or August 20) and the location as outstanding questions.

The mystery continues and more research is needed.  Isn’t that usually the case??  I need to spend time digging through any business or newspaper records that may exist for Groveland, Illinois.  I want to see if I can find evidence that Martin Nufer and his young family were living there when Rose was born in August 1859.  Tazewell County, Illinois…..here I come!!!

Copyright ©2016 – Diane Minor – All Rights Reserved.

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[i] Peoria County, Illinois, death certificate no. 28291 (15 Sep 1938), Rosa Loescher, Peoria County Clerk, Peoria.

[ii] St Patrick's Cemetery (Kickapoo, Peoria, Illinois, US), Frank and Rose Nufer Loescher marker, photograph taken by Diane Minor, 2006.

[iii] Peoria County, Illinois, marriage certificate, Frank Loescher and Rosa Nufer, date of marriage 2 Nov 1879, Peoria County Clerk, Peoria.

[iv] 1860 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Peoria Ward 1, Enumeration District (ED) 134, p. 40, line 10, household 301, family 324, Rosina Nufar; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed  3 Dec 2014), citing National Archives microfilm publication T653, roll M653_216, FHL microfilm 803216.

[v] 1870 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Peoria Ward 6, p.109, line 27, dwelling 765, family 765, Rose Nufer; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed date 3 Dec 2014), citing National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll M593_267, page 466A, image 506, FHL 545766.

[vi] 1880 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Peoria, Enumeration District (ED) 223, p. 345B, line 16, dwelling 77, family 82, Rosa Larcher; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed  3 Dec 2014), citing National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 241, image 0352, FHL 1254241.

[vii] 1900 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Kickapoo, Enumeration District (ED) 0078, sheet 12-A, line 38, dwelling 231, family 232, Rosa N Loascher; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jun 2014), citing National Archives microfilm publication T623, roll 333, FHL microfilm 1240333.

[viii] 1910 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Kickapoo, Enumeration District (ED) 0058, sheet 6-A, line 5, dwelling 86, family 86, Rosa Loescher; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed  3 Jun 2014), citing National Archives microfilm publication T624, roll T624_317, FHL microfilm 1374330.

[ix] 1920 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Kickapoo, Enumeration District (ED) 55, p. 55, line 37, dwelling 290, family 293, Rosa Locher; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 Dec 2014), citing National Archives microfilm publication T625, roll T625_398, image 843.

[x] 1930 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Kickapoo, Enumeration District (ED) 13, sheet 12-A, line 32, dwelling 228, family 228, Rose Loesher; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Jul 2014), citing National Archives microfilm publication T626, roll 547, image 252.0, FHL microfilm 2340282.

[xi] Baptismal Register of St. Joseph Church, Peoria, Illinois, digital image, (Peoria, Illinois:  The Catholic Diocese of Peoria Illinois), record no. 159, 22 Oct 1860, baptism of Rose Nufer.