Frank and Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Stenger) Schlink

My great grandfather, Joseph L Stenger was the second youngest in a family of nine children.  His second oldest sibling was Elizabeth "Liz or Lizzie" (Stenger) Schlink.  Sometimes couples with no children in a family group get somewhat overlooked because of the lack of descendants and so it is I think with this couple.

Relationship to me:  me > my mom > Clementine (Stenger) Miars > Joseph L Stenger.  Elizabeth is the older sister of Joseph L Stenger.

Elizabeth Stenger was born on 16 Feb 1867 on the family farm in Kickapoo, Illinois (1).  She was the second child and daughter of her parents, Frank and Ann Maria (Schmitt) Stenger.  Eventually she would have 8 other siblings so it was a busy childhood for her which included lots of household, child care and farm chores each day.

Frank Schlink was born on 9 Dec 1860 in Rosefield Township, Peoria County, Illinois. (2).  He is the son of John and Mary (Schular) Schlink who were Germany immigrants to Peoria County. On 30 April 1889 at St Mary's Church in Kickapoo, Illinois he married Lizzie Stenger. (3)

From the Arlene (Stenger) Callear collection.

Farming was to be Frank's life work. (4)  The 1910 census lists the couple as living on Southport Road in Kickapoo Township farming the land. (4)  By 1920 the couple seem to have retired and moved to Peoria Ward 6 living in a home at 1610 Smith Street. (5)  Here they lived for the rest of their married life.  Lizzie's obituary lists this address as her home at the time of her death in 1949. (6)

Frank and Lizzie were frequent visitors in the home of her brother, Joseph L and Lucy (Stenger) Loescher.  They seemed to be present for family gatherings and celebrations over the years. One such gathering occured in the mid 1940s (after Frank had passed) when Joseph L and Lucy's son-in-law, Theodore "Ted" Inskeep returned from his service in WW II. There was a big celebration for his return at his in-law's home in rural Kickapoo.

My mother recalls that a significant snow storm happened while the party was happening and it prevented some people from returning home.  My mother and grandparents as well as Aunt Lizzie and others were forced to stay until the next day.  Evidently it was quite crowded at Joe and Lucy's that night and bed space was quite limited with everybody sharing anyplace they could find.  My mom, though, because she was quite young and small got to share a bed with Aunt Lizzie!

Aunt Lizzie was also present at the wedding of her niece, Rose Stenger to Theodore (Ted) Inskeep on 22 Apr 1939.  Not sure if Frank was in attendance also as we were not able to identify him in this picture.

Frank died first on 25 Oct 1940 from stomach cancer. (2).  Aunt Lizzie had a stroke and passed away on 26 Aug 1949. (1).  They are buried in St Patrick's Cemetery, Kickapoo, Illinois close to many other family members and friends. (7)

They have no children and descendants to remember them but they are not forgotten.

Related Blog Posts -
Anna Maria (Schmitt) Stenger - 177nd Birthday 14 October 1842
Joseph L Stenger - Kickapoo, Illinois


Bibliography -
(1) Peoria County, Illinois, death certificate no. 51925 (26 Aug 1949), Elizabeth Schlink, Peoria County Clerk.
(2) Peoria County, Illinois, death certificate no. 32635 (25 Oct 1940), Frank Schlink, Peoria County Clerk.
(3) Peoria County, Illinois, marriage license no. 188 (30 Apr 1889), Frank Schlink and Lizzie Stenger; Peoria County Clerk.
(4) 1900 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Kickapoo, Enumeration District (ED) 0078, sheet 10-B (penned), p. 131-B (stamped), line 77, dwelling 194, family 195, Frank Schlink; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 29 May 2014), citing National Archives microfilm publication T623, roll T623_333.  See also: 1910 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Kickapoo, Enumeration District (ED) 0058, sheet 9-A (penned), p. 28-A (stamped), line 35, dwelling 134, family 135, Frank Schlink; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Mar 2016), citing National Archives microfilm publication T624, roll T624_317, FHL microfilm 1374330.
(5) 1920 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Peoria Ward 6, Enumeration District (ED) 116, sheet 12-A (penned), p. 125-A (stamped), line 27, dwelling 285, family 288, Frank Schlink; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed  13 Jul 2014), citing National Archives microfilm publication T624,  roll T625_399, image 254.
(6) "Mrs. Schlink," obituary, Peoria (Illinois) Journal Star, 29 Aug 1949, page D-7; microfilm, Peoria Public Library, Peoria, Illinois.
(7) St Patrick's Cemetery (Kickapoo, Peoria, Illinois, US), Frank and Elizabeth Schlink marker; photograph taken by Diane Minor, 2007.  Also see: Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 19 October 2019), memorial page for Elizabeth “Lizzie” Stenger Schlink (16 Feb 1867–26 Aug 1949), memorial no. 55210056, cemetery marker in Saint Patricks Cemetery, Kickapoo (Oak Hill), Peoria County, Illinois, USA; maintained by "Stephen Cantrell," contributor no. 48212706.

John Minor (1819 or 1820 - 1885) - Happy 200th (or maybe 199th) Birthday!

John Minor of Peoria, Illinois is my 3rd great grandfather.  Today is either his 200th birthday or his 199th.

Relationship to me:  me > my dad > William Minor Sr > John R Minor (1880 - 1937) > Francis Grant Minor > John Minor.

Details about John Minor's actual birthday are sketchy at best.  His Civil War draft registration entry lists his birthday as 19 Oct 1919 (1).  However, his cemetery marker list his birth year as 1820. (2)  More research is needed on this important item to figure out which is correct.  He was born in Pennsylvania and likely in Greene or Washington County, the son of John Updike and Rebecca (Maxwell) Minor.

At some point in the 1840s he married Martha Neal who was also born in Pennsylvania.  They appear in the 1850 census in Wood County, Virginia.  Today this is part of West Virginia.  But their oldest son and second child, Francis Grant Minor, was born in Peoria County in 1852. They must have made the trip west to central Illinois in the early 1950s.

Springdale Cemetery (3014 N. Prospect Road, Peoria, Illinois), John Minor marker; photograph taken by Diane Minor, 2007.

Census records indicate they lived in Woodford County, Illinois for a short time before returning to Peoria where they seem to have stayed for the rest of their days.  This couple had five or six children.  Their oldest may have died as a young child.  Louise, Francis Grant, Margaret (Minor) Miles, California (Callie) (Minor) Tripp and Edna are all buried in Springdale Cemetery with or close to their parents. (3)

John died in 1885 but the exact date is not known to me yet. (2)  The state did not require death records until 1916 so death records are very few in Peoria at this time.  I did check the online index that the County has put online and his name is not listed.  I'll have to check Peoria papers for an obituary next time I'm there.

Much more research is need on this man and his family to fill in all of the details of his life.

Related Blog Posts -
Francis Grant Minor (1852 - 1918)

Bibliography -
(1). "U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 Oct 2014), entry for John Minor, residence 2nd Ward, Peoria, Illinois; citing "Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records," entry 172, record group 110, NAI 4213514, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
(2). Springdale Cemetery (3014 N. Prospect Road, Peoria, Illinois), John Minor marker; photograph taken by Diane Minor, 2007.
(3).  Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 17 October 2019), memorial page for John Minor (1820–1885), memorial no. 68667130, cemetery marker in Springdale Cemetery and Mausoleum, Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois, USA; maintained by "Denise Parsons," contributor no. 47102203.

Copyright 2019.  All Rights Reserved.  Do not use photos or narrative without the express written consent of the author. 

Francis Grant Minor (1852 - 1918) - Happy 167th Birthday

Francis Grant Minor is my great-great grandfather; my grandpa's grandpa. Today is his 167th birthday!  He is part of my deep roots in the city of Peoria, Illinois, born on 18 Oct 1852 (1), the only son of John and Martha (Neel) Minor.  John and Martha had just come to Peoria around 1850 from what is now West Virginia.

His relationship to me is as follows:  me > my dad > William Minor > John  Minor > Francis Grant.

F.G. started out his long and varied working career on 11 December 1871 in a clerk position at the Mechanics' National Bank (later the Merchants' National Bank) in his hometown.(2)  He was with the bank through November, 1888 when he became Clerk of Peoria County, Illinois which is an elected position.(3)  He served one 4 year term in this position.  After this he became involved in some private enterprises including a coal business with the Peoria Mayor, Philo B. Miles. (4)

But in our family he is known as "The Sheriff" being elected this Peoria County position in November 1910. (5)  It appears he only served one term in office before retiring to him home and farm in Millbrook Township, Peoria, Illinois.

"Minor, Former Sheriff, Is Dead," obituary, 29 May, 1918, Peoria (Illinois) Journal, p. 1.

On New Year's Day, January, 1879, he married Pauline Pruschwitz, the daughter of Polish immigrants, in Peoria.(6).  He was 26 and she was 22.  They raised three boys - John, Ewalt (Walt) and Francis Grant, Jr.  I am descended from their son John who is my grandfather's dad.  Francis Grant, Jr. would go on to be elected to the office of Peoria County Sheriff also.  John was a rural postal carrier and Walt was a farmer in Millbrook Township.

F.G. passed away on 28 May 1918 on his farm in Millbrook Township after a long illness. (7)  He and Pauline are buried in Springdale Cemetery (8) in Peoria along with his parents, sisters (Louise, Margaret (Minor) Miles, California "Callie" (Minor) Tripp and Edna.  His sons John and Francis Grant, Jr are also buried in Springdale.

Unfortunately, I did not know much of this story until after my grandfather passed.  He was only 3 years old when F.G. passed so he did not remember him but he knew about him being a sheriff.  He would very much have enjoyed learning about all of these details and remembering his grandparents through these stories.

Related Posts -
John Minor (1819 or 1820 - 1885) Happy 200th (or maybe 199th) Birthday!

Bibliography -
(1) Peoria County, Illinois, death certificate no. 3 (28 May 1918), Francis G Minor, Peoria County Clerk.  Also see "Death of F. G. Minor," obituary, Brimfield (Illinois) News, 6 Jun 1918, p. 1, col. 4; digital image, Brimfield Public Library digital newspaper collection (http://brimfield.advantage-preservation.com : accessed 14 Oct 2019).
(2) James Montgomery Rice, 1842-1912. Peoria City And County, Illinois: a Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress And Achievement (La Crosse, Wisconsin: Brookhaven Press, 2001), p. 276-277; digital image, Hathi Trust Digital Library (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89077938587&view=1up&seq=288 : accessed 14 Oct 2019).
(3) Ibid.
(4) Ibid.
(5) Ibid.  Also, see (2) above.  Also, Franks Peoria Directory Co., compiler, Franks Peoria City Directory 1913:  volume XXXI (Peoria, Illinois:  Franks Peoria Directory Co. Publishers, 1913), 714, entry for "Francis Grant and Pauline Minor"; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 Oct 2014).
(6). Peoria County, Illinois, marriage certificate, no number given, Francis G Minor and Pauline Pruschwitz, 1 Jan 1879, Peoria County Clerk.
(7). Peoria County, Illinois, death certificate, no number given (28 May 1918), Francis G Minor, Peoria County Clerk.
(8). Springdale Cemetery (3014 N. Prospect Road, Peoria, Illinois), John Minor marker; photograph taken by Diane Minor, 2007.  Also, Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 October 2019), memorial page for Francis Grant Minor (1852–1915), memorial no. 68667142, cemetery marker in Springdale Cemetery and Mausoleum, Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois, USA; maintained by "Denise Parsons," contributor no. 47102203.

Copyright 2019.  All Rights Reserved.  Do not use photos or narrative without the express written consent of the author. 

Robert Miars and Bessie Purcell - Breaking Down Barriers to Justice

Well...maybe not so much justice but they were thrown together by chance in the 1940s. My grandmother, Clementine (Stenger) Miars kept a lot of stuff.  Included in her stash of cards, letters, newspaper clippings and pictures was an article that caught my eye.

It seems as though my maternal grandfather served on a "New-Style" of grand jury in Peoria County.  The "New-Style" is that for the first time in county history, women were included on a Grand Jury panel.  Robert Miars is seated in the front row of this photo second from the right.

When did this occur?  Well....good question.  The clipping above is undated so I'm left to "guestimate".  I would say it was early to mid 1940s given how young he looks.  I also think this momentous event occurred after he was married in 1940.

Glancing through the names of the other jurors I noticed another person identified as being from Brimfield, Illinois - Bessie Purcell. In the picture above she is in the back row third from the left. That name was not familiar to me so I went to my "go-to" sources for Brimfield people to try to figure out if I knew her....Find A Grave or the Brimfield News.

As usual Find A Grave comes through again.  Bessie E. Marvin Purcell (1885 - 1970) is buried in the Brimfield Township Cemetery next to her husband, Walter (1879-1924). (1)  But neither her maiden name nor her husband's name were familiar to me.  But...never fear....Find A Grave has her three children attached to her memorial as well.  The first is a daughter that died as a toddler.  The second was a daughter Margaret Purcell Heinz who's husband was Carl. Although the Heinz name is familiar I don't think I really remember this couple.  And...finally....Bessie's third child was Bernice Purcell Johnson who is the wife of L. Ivan Johnson.

Bingo!!  Now I know Bessie.  She is the mother of a a very nice woman I knew growing up as Mrs. Johnson.  Bessie's grandson was a childhood friend of my dad and was in my parents wedding!

So now mystery solved....My grandfather, Robert Miars served on the first grand jury in Peoria County, Illinois that included women along with one from the Brimfield area, Bessie (Marvin) Purcell.

Now...more questions.  When was this exactly?  How long was his grand jury service for?  How often did the grand jury meet?  Did he and Bessie ride to Peoria together?  What did he think about serving with women on this jury?  Did they have any interesting cases?

More answers likely gone with the wind!


Bibliography -
(1) Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 October 2019), memorial page for Bessie E. Marvin Purcell (16 Oct 1885–29 Nov 1970), memorial no. 58250907, cemetery marker in Brimfield Township Cemetery, Brimfield, Peoria County, Illinois, USA; maintained by "MBrouch," contributor no. 47343722.

Newspaper clipping - "First of New-Style Grand Juries in Session," newspaper clipping mentioning Robert Miars of Brimfield, unknown newspaper and date; digital image 2019, from the Clementine (Stenger) Miars collection; privately held by  Jana (Miars) Minor, Aurora, Illinois, 2019.  Newspaper is likely the Peoria (Illinois) Journal or Peoria Star. Likely from the 1940s.

Copyright 2019.  All Rights Reserved.  Do not use photos or narrative without the express written consent of the author. 

Anna Maria (Schmitt) Stenger - 177nd Birthday - 14 October 1842

My great great grandmother, Anna Maria (Schmitt) Stenger is 177 years old today.

Relationship to me: me > mom > Clementine (Stemger) Miars > Joseph L Stenger > Anna Maria <Schmitt> Stenger.

Anna Maria Schmitt was born in Dromersheim, Germany to Jakob and Maria Juliana Pfeifer Schmitt.  She was their second living child and oldest daughter. She was baptized at Sts Peter and Paul Church in Dromersheim the next day.

Baptismal Font - Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Dromersheim Germany

In early 1852, when she was about 9 years old, she and her family left Dromersheim and started their very long journey to America.  They made their way to England where they boarded the ship, Northumberland, bound for the US. The Schmitt family arrived at Castle Garden in New York City on 1 April 1952.  From there they made their way to Kickapoo, Illinois where other families from Dromersheim were living.

It was in Kickapoo that she met another immigrant from Germany, Frank Stenger.  They were married on 26 January 1862 there.  Their farm was south of town and it was here that they raised their 9 children.  Today the property is at the northeast corner of the Kickapoo exit off of Interstate 74.

Frank and Anna Maria Schmitt Family
Back row - Joseph L, Elizabeth, Henry, Barbara, Michael, Anna, Frank Jr.
Front row - Jacob, Frank, Sr., Anna Maria, Julia
From the Arlene (Stenger) Callear collection.

Anna Maria watched three of her children move to Nebraska in the 1890s to live and raise their families.  That must have been very difficult. The Nebraska family did come back to Kickapoo from time to time for visits. Frank and Anna continued to live on their farm until the end of their days.  Their son, Henry, took over the day-to-day running of their family business and he and his wife Emma and their children lived in the home with Anna Maria and Frank.

Frank and Anna Maria (Schmitt) Stenger home
L-R: Anna (Stenger) Volz, Anna Maria (Schmitt) Stenger, Frank Stenger, Joseph L Stenger
From the Arlene (Stenger) Callear collection.

Anna Maria died on 10 May 1910 from an abdominal aortic aneurysm.  She is buried next to her husband in the churchyard cemetery of St Patrick's Catholic Church in Kickapoo, IL.

St Patrick's churchyard in Kickapoo, Illinois

Memorial window in St Mary's Catholic Church, Kickapoo, IL for Frank and Anna Maria (Schmitt) Stenger

Copyright 2019 - All rights reserved.  Do not use photos or narrative without the express consent of the author.

Clara (Miars) Barker - 123rd Birthday - October 12, 1896

My maternal grandfather's oldest sister is celebrating her 123rd birthday today!  Aunt Clara is remembered very fondly in our family for her many visits to her family home when her nieces and nephews were growing up.

Relationship to me: Clara is a brother of my grandfather, Robert T. Miars.

Clara Mable Miars was born on 12 Oct 1896 in Elm Grove Township, Tazewell County, Illinois.  She was the third child and oldest daughter of Frank and Katie (Saltonstall) Miars.  Her home for all of her growing up years was the Miars homestead and farm.  By the time Clara was born her grandparents and great grandparents had lived there for more than 70 years.  There were to be nine total children in her family so no doubt her days were filled with chores in and out of the house.

Miars Sisters about  mid 1920s

When she was about 21 years old, her family moved to Jubilee Township, Peoria County, Illinois.  Clara seems to have made the move also but during the 1920s she was to return to Pekin and Tazewell County to live and work off and on.

On 30 June 1927, in Pekin, Illinois, Clara married Virgil Barker.  They made their married home with her husband's parents at 707 Summer Street in Pekin.  This was to be their home for the rest of their lives.  They had no children.  Virgil worked for the Peoria, Pekin Union Railroad as an engineer.

Virgil and Clara (Miars) Barker  - ca. 1940s

Later on, around the 1940s, she started a catering business with her friend, Mary Lohnes.  This was to be a business partnership for over 20 years.  They catered countless weddings and parties of all kinds.  She also catered some events for Senator Everett Dirksen as well.

Aunt Clara would come to the Brimfield and Elmwood homes of her parents and siblings for visits a few times each year.  My mom recalls that each August at about the time that school was starting a package would arrive from her that contained school supplies for her and her sisters.

She was a tall woman her walked rather stately.  She had very beautiful white hair as I recall.  There was an air of regalness about her too.

She retired from her catering business around 1967 or 1968.  Her health started to give way in the early 1970s and she died on 28 July 1975.

I was 13 years old when she died and went to both the visitation/viewing and also to the funeral.  I remember there was a disagreement between her husband who wanted her to be buried with her wedding rings and her sisters wanted them removed before the burial and given to her nieces.  The rings went with her to the grave.

Happy Birthday, Aunt Clara!

Copyright 2019 - All rights reserved.  Do not use photos or narrative without express consent from the author.

New Year's Scan-A-Thon

After a recent trip to Illinois to visit my parents for Christmas I came home with a number of family artifacts that my Mom has acquired over the years as her mother downsized, moved and eventually passed away.  She and I spent Christmas morning going through some of my maternal grandmother’s collection.  I was amazed at what she had acquired in her long life and there was so much to go through. It really was very overwhelming.  My grandmother, Clem Stenger Miars had seemingly kept every card ever sent to her.  She had clipped and saved every obituary she ever read and every funeral card from every wake she attended.  I had seen some of these items before and had already brought home from previous trips quite a bit of stuff that still needs to be scanned, cataloged and preserved.  How would this ever get done and when??  I’m not sure if I scanned all day every day I would ever get it completed.

There was no time for a reflective look at each artifact that we came upon.  I had to make a very quick decision about what I was going to bring home with me on this trip and what would have to wait for later.  I remembered the other family history related items that I had at home still waiting to be processed so I tried hard to temper my need to bring everything with me now.  It was very exciting to come home with some new finds and a renewed feeling of trying to get these artifacts preserved and cataloged.

This past weekend I decided to have a “scan-a-thon” day where all I would do is scan and wait to do the citations and file name adjustments until later.  The priority for this scanning day was anything I had brought home that my Mom wanted back.  That went pretty well and I was very happy with the progress I made.  Now I am trying to work on citations and fixing file names for everything from the “scan-a-thon”.  When I opened up the first file in order to create a citation for it I found in the scanned documents folder my maternal grandfather’s high school diploma.  I do not recall seeing this before so I was very excited to be working on it.  It tells me that Robert Miars graduated from Brimfield Township High School on 26 May 1933.

On the back of that diploma was a list of all 19 members of his high school class of 1933.  I recognized some of the surnames and tried to image what their plans were on that important date.  My grandfather had lost his father the year before his graduation so I would think he was very lucky to be graduating at all. 

This made me realize that I really know very little about my grandfather’s life between the time he graduated from high school in May 1933 and when he married in May 1941.  My to-do list for researching his life has grown because of seeing this diploma.  Where did he live?  How did he make a living? These are just a couple of questions that come quickly to mind.  I will need to create more focused research questions and then follow the normal process to get them answered.

The next document that I came upon in my scanned folder was a “Memorial Record” booklet for my great grandfather, Frank Miars.  In reviewing this I found a photo of him that I do not think I had seen before.  The booklet seems to have been created by one person based on the handwriting.  There are pages in this booklet for names of family members, memorial donations, flowers that had been sent, pall bearers, etc.  I need to review each of these names to see if I know all of them and if not add them to my To Do list for future research.

One of my concerns when I brought home more family artifacts to scan and preserve is the impact on my very limited research time.  I do not have a great deal of time while working full time to do all the research I would like.  I can see now though that putting on my “family archivist” hat for a while is really another facet of my overall research activities and should be included in my research plans.  There is no need to see this work as not contributing to moving my traditional family history research forward.  After looking at just two items I have found holes in my research or new avenues to research for two members of my direct line.  Reviewing these family artifacts is just another facet of this work for me.

So…now what? I have done three or four of my new scanned files and dozens more to do.  Well….I am going to continue to get all of these artifacts scanned, citations crafted and source labels (digital) created for them.  I also want to start a catalog of these artifacts.  I have already found a small scrapbook that I scanned previously but never did anything with after that.  I brought it home again this trip when I did not need to.  Preservation of these original materials needs to happen too.

I was very overwhelmed on Christmas day to find all of these items.  But now I have the outline of a plan for processing them and managing them.  I can also see that they will make my traditional family history research more robust than just vital records or census records.  I can do this….one scan at a time…one artifact to process.

2018 - I am starting out right!  Bring it on!

#52ancestors

Copyright ©2018 – Diane Minor – All Rights Reserved.