A Teacher's Contract - Mary (Miars) Best - 1943-1944

Here is a wonderful document I found in the papers of my great aunt, Mary (Miars) Best.  She was a career teacher in small, rural schools in Peoria County, Illinois.  She spent most of her teaching years in 3rd-5th grade.  She did not drive so she would have had to get transportation to her school in the days when ride-sharing services could not have been imagined.

She graduated from Brimfield High School in the mid 1920s and then attended Illinois State Teachers College (known today as Illinois State University) in Normal, Illinois.  She likely started her teaching career in the early 1930s.

We know that she taught in Sipp School (Richwoods Township, Peoria County, Illinois) which was located at what is today the corner of Glen and University in Peoria, Illinois (a Chili's restaurant is there last time I was there).  In the 1950's she was at Edwards Grade School in Edwards, Peoria County, Illinois. We have some class photos from that time. She also spent some years at the school that my parents, my siblings and I attended - Brimfield Grade School (Peoria County, Illinois).

But it is not exactly clear what years those were.  It seems to be likely that she was there in the 1930s and/or 1940s.  Here is a photo with her class that we believe was from her time at BGS.

(On my list of to-do's is to figure out who all of the children are in this photo.)

Recently though I came across this document that may help answer the question of when she taught at Brimfield.  It is a teacher's contract from the "School Directors of District No. 15, County of Peoria and State of Illinois, and Mary Best". This is the back side of the legal-sized document.  The front side has no writing on it and is not helpful. (It is included below.)

Teacher's Contract - see citation [1] below.

No where in the contract does it specify the name of the school district or the community that it was in.  It says though that it is for "District No. 15, County of Peoria and State of Illinois".  District 15 appears to be for the Brimfield school district. [2]  It has a different district number today.

Now for the important information - salary.  The contract indicates that it begins on 1 September 1943 and runs for nine months (1943-1944 school year.)  The monthly salary is $105.  That would be $945 total for the duration of the school year.  Image working long and hard hours for nine months and getting less that $1000 for your time.

The contract also has a clause regarding termination which can be invoked for "gross immorality, incompetency, or any violation of this Contract, or shall have h[er] Certificate annulled or revoked by the County or State Superintendent she shall not be entitled to receive any compensation from and after such annulment or dismissal."  This clause seems very favorable to the District with little to no recource by the teacher.

There are three "directors" named at the beginning of the contract and also who's signatures and included at the bottom.  They are "R.D. Savage, Karl Christian, C.F. Dungan."  Mr. Savage appears to be Rudolph D. Savage (1891-1961).  He and his wife, Erma (Catton) Savage, are buried in the Brimfield Cemetery. [3]  There are several "Karl" Christians in the Brimfield/Jubilee/Kickapoo Township areas so I am not sure exactly which of them was a school director in the mid 1940s.  Mr. Dungan is Charles F. "Ted" Dungan.  He and his wife, Elva (Marks) Dungan, are also buried in the Brimfield Cemetery. [4]

At least two of these three men would have been well known to Mary Best as they were long time members of the Brimfield community.  She would have known them or known of them outside her work as a school teacher.

There are only three signatures on this contract.  They are those of the Directors of School District 15.  No where is the signature of the teacher, Mary Best.  The very top of the document has the word "Original".  Did Mary sign this contract and teach at Brimfield for the 1943-1944 school year?  This document alone does not answer that question.  I am also curious as to why she hung on to this contract and not others.  At least no other teaching contracts for her have come down to me.

During the war years, Aunt Mary's husband, Robert J Best was in the Army and landed in Europe in the weeks after D-Day 1944.  She and Uncle Bob made their home in the upstairs apartment of M.R. and Lorena (Reed) Clark about 1-2 blocks from the Brimfield Grade School.  She did not drive so working so close to home would have been very easy.

More research is certainly needed.  To start with, I need to contact the Peoria County Schools to see what if any employment records they have to fill in the blanks of where she taught and when.  Until then I will enjoy this document and the information it does provide and the glimpse into small, rural schools in Peoria County during the 1940s.

Enlarged sections -

Front page of the contract -

Related Blog Posts -
Mary Best Miars (1906-1986) - Happy 113th Birthday!
A Teacher's Teacher - Lulu (Petty) Eicher

Bibliography -
[1] Citation for the document - Teacher's contract for Peoria County (Illinois) District no. 15 between "Mary Best" and school directors "R.D. Savage, Karl Christian and C.F. Dungan" starting 1 Sep 1943 for nine months, from the Mary (Miars) Best collection; privately held by Jana Minor, Aurora, Illinois.  This "original" contract is unsigned by Mary so it is unclear if she accepted it or worked in a different district for year 1943-1944.
[2] "Brimfield School District #15," database, Peoria County One Room Schools (https://web.archive.org/web/20110816052903/http:/www.peoriacountyoneroomschools.com/Brimfieldtownship.html/ : accessed 11 Jan 2019); citing Internet Archive Wayback Machine.  The original website is not longer on the internet.  It was found on Wayback Machine as an archived website.  Thank you to Katherine Wilson for finding this for me!.
[3] Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19253858/rudolph-d_-savage : accessed 11 January 2020), memorial page for Rudolph D. Savage (13 Aug 1891–1961), memorial no. 19253858, cemetery marker in Brimfield Township Cemetery, Brimfield, Peoria County, Illinois, USA, maintained by "Barb," contributor no. 46903283.
[4] Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/62522787/charles-f-dungan#source : accessed 11 Jan 2020), memorial page for Charles F "Ted" Dungan (13 Jul 1900-25 May 1984), memorial no. 62522787, cemetery marker in Brimfield Township Cemetery, Brimfield, Peoria County, Illinois, USA, maintained by "Stephen Cantrell," contributor 48212706.

Christmas Card from Mama & Papa

'Tis the Season....

Among my grandmother's collection of cards and letters there were a number of Christmas cards.  Many of them are from the 1930s and her work friends or Kickapoo people.  They are all wonderful to look through and then try to figure out the context under which they were sent.

Then I came across this card and I realized I had a real treasure.

Christmas card from "Mama & Papa," undated. Sender is likely Joseph and Lucy (Loescher) Stenger to their daughter Clementine (Stenger) Miars.

Christmas card from "Mama & Papa," undated. Sender is likely Joseph and Lucy (Loescher) Stenger to their daughter Clementine (Stenger) Miars.

It is signed "Mama & Papa" with no date or recipient noted.  However, I recognized the handwriting as that of my great grandmother, Lucy (Loescher) Stenger.  The "Papa" would be her husband, Joseph L Stenger.  I believe that this card was sent or given to their daughter and my grandmother, Clementine (Stenger) Miars.  It was likely sent in the 1930s or 1940s.

The scene of the card is that of an old-fashion Christmas eve.  The cover is an outdoor winter scene with snow and a house with a traditional Christmas wreath on the door.  The inside has an inviting fireplace and a tree beside it.  The card itself reminds me of Christmases when I was growing up.  

But then the signature and the handwriting take me back to memories of my great grandparents.  Grandpa Stenger died in 1966 and Grandma in 1985 so it's been a few decades since they have been gone.  How wonderful it is to have this card and remember them at this time of year.  

I am so grateful to my grandmother for keeping all of these treasures throughout her whole life!  They are simply priceless!

Merry Christmas!

50th Wedding Anniversary photo of Joseph L and Lucy (Loescher) Stenger, ca. May 1955.

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

Christmas Card - Mary Stenger to Mrs. Frank [Elizabeth "Lizzie" Stenger] Schlink 23 Dec 1918

Now that the Christmas season is in full swing for 2019 I can pull out of our little family archive some of the seasonal cards that have been passed down to us.  First up this Christmastide is one I've shared before on Facebook but it's a goodie and is worth repeating. 

It is a Christmas postcard dated 23 December 1918 and postmarked from Madison, Nebraska.  The sender is "Mary Stenger" and the recipient is "Mrs. Frank Schlink" at 1610 Smith Street in Peoria, Illinois. [1]

See below for transcription.

There are several "Mary Stenger"s in my maternal grandmother's (Clementine Stenger Miars) family tree but after a process of elimination using the postmark and the recipient's address I believe that the sender is Mary (Stenger) Borer.  Mary is a first cousin of Clem's (my first cousin twice removed) and is a descendant of Frank and Catherine (Van Dyke) Stenger.  Frank Stenger is an older brother of my great grandfather, Joseph L Stenger.  Frank was born and raised in Kickapoo, Illinois and moved to Platte and Madison Counties in Nebraska as a young adult.  There he married and raised his large family of twelve children.  Our "Mary Stenger", the author of this card was his oldest child, born in 1901.  She would have been 17 at the time she sent this holiday greeting.  Mary went on to wed Anton S Borer in 1926.  They lived most of their married life in Minnesota and raised a large family of their own.

The recipient, "Mrs. Frank Schlink", is Elizabeth "Lizzie" Stenger and would be an older sister of Frank and Joseph L Stenger and an aunt of Mary (Stenger) Borer.  Aunt Lizzie is my great-great aunt.  She and her husband, Frank had no children and lived their lives in Peoria County, Illinois.  Lizzie and Frank Schlink lived at 1620 Smith Street in Peoria for the last couple of decades of their lives.  I've written about this couple before.  See the "Related Blog Posts" section below for the link to that article.

It is very likely that Mary (Stenger) Borer came to Kickapoo and Peoria from Nebraska to visit her family while she was growing up.  We know that the Nebraska and Kickapoo members of the Stenger family went back and forth over the years to visit and spend time together.  Mary no doubt got to know her Aunt Lizzie through those trips and other letters that the families exchanged.

This card is interesting also for what it says about a historical event that was happening at the time it was written - the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918.  It is one of the first items that Mary writes about so it must have been a concern of her Illinois family that she wanted to respond to.

Why did Clem have this card?  The sender and recipient are not her direct ancestors so there is not a direct generational hand off that would have occurred for this card.  I really do not know why Clem had it.  Aunt Lizzie had no children and died in 1949.  Maybe Joseph L Stenger got it when his sister died and then it came to Clem after that.  The why and how of when this card ended up in my grandmother's possession is unclear but how glad I am that it did.

For me the card is a connection to extended family that I never knew or met.  What a great way to start the Christmas season - remembering family with a 100 year old card.

Mary (Stenger) Borer

Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Stenger) Schlink

Transcription of back of postcard - Written by Mary Stenger
Madison Nebr.
Dec 23 1918
Dear Aunt [Lizzy]
Ho are you[??], we are
all well did not have
the flu yet.  the weather          Mrs. Frank Schlink
is rather cold now                   1610 Smith St.
it rain Thursday &                  Peoria
Friday and tried                      Ill.
to snow but couldnt
it froze awful hard
we all wish you's a
Merry Xmas and
a happy New Year.
Your Niece
Mary Stenger

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

Bibliography -
[1] "Mary Stenger" to "Mrs. Frank Schlink," Christmas post card, 22 Dec 1918; from the Clementine (Stenger) Miars collection, privately held by the author.

20 Years Ago - The Passing of Robert T Miars (1915-1999)

Today it has been twenty years since my grandfather, Robert T Miars passed away.  The anniversary comes up each year just before Thanksgiving and it takes me back to the months and weeks before he passed.  It takes me back to the visits and conversations I had with him during that time.  I remember the last time I saw him, just a few days before he died. I remember lots of things about that time but that is really not how I want o remember him now.

I would like to remember him when he was young and growing up.  When he was was healthy and happy and life was just beginning for him. Before he had a wife, children and a business to run.  Back to the days when he was just a kid.

Here is one of the earliest pictures of him that I have seen.  It is probably from about 1918 when he was two or three years old.  But where was it taken?  My grandfather was born on 5 Jun 1915 in Elm Grove Township, Tazewell County, Illinois. [1]  He was the youngest of nine children born to Frank and Katie (Saltonstall) Miars.  The farm he was born on had been in his family just a few years less than 100.  Is that where this picture was taken?

Robert T Miars, ca. 1918, location unknown.

Robert was not to live in Elm Grove for long.  Although all of his older siblings had been born and raised there, life was changing for his parents.  The Miars homestead was being sold just a few years after Grandpa was born and the whole family moved to a new farm in Jubilee Township, Peoria County, Illinois.  The big moved happened around 1917 or 1918.  Maybe this picture of him was taken at the new place.

Robert T Miars, about 1920, location unknown.

Here is another photo from his younger years.  This is probably from about 1920 and most likely was taken in Jubilee Township, Peoria County, Illinois.  Maybe it was for first day of school?  Whatever the occasion was he is dressed up and ready to go.  The property that his parents owned is now part of the Jubilee State Park.  I need to do more research to figure just which area of the park belonged to my great grandparents.

Robert T Miars school photo, ca. 1925.  He is at the far right on second row.

Grandpa would have attended the local school in Jubilee.  This class photo has him standing at the right end of the second row and next to his lifelong friend, Tom Flynn.  I need to go through his high school yearbook to see if I can identify any others from this photo.  Many of them would have gone to high school with Grandpa.  I am not for sure where this school was located.  It may have been the school that used to stand at what is now the entrance to the Park off of Route 150 (down the hill from the old dairy and rock garden).  More research needed on this point also.  He likely was the only one from his family that was in this school.  His next older brother Albert "Dutch" would have been high school age by the time this photo was likely taken around 1925.

Robert T Miars, senior class photo, Brimfield High School class of 1933

Finally, this is one of my favorite pictures of him from throughout his life.  It is his senior class picture and was likely taken in 1933 or 1932.  By now though, life is getting serious for Grandpa.  His father (Frank) died in 1932 the year before Grandpa's high school graduation from Brimfield High school. [2]  The farm in Jubilee is sold and he and his mother move into town.  Now he knows he needs to get a job.

But somewhere in this photo of him I see in his eyes the young man that is just starting out in life.  He seems to be looking forward to what life has to bring and to the family that he would be raising in Brimfield.  In this photo, all of that is yet to come.

So for today, this is how I will remember my Grandpa....twenty years after he passed.

Related Blog Posts -
Clara (Miars) Barker - 123rd Birthday
Mary (Miars) Best
Pearl (Walkington) Miars
Robert Miars and Bessie Purcell
Lulu Eicher - A Teacher's Teacher

Bibliography -
[1] Tazewell, Illinois, amended birth certificate, local file no. unknown, 1915 (issued 24 Sep 1940), Robert Thomas Miars, formerly "Miars"; Tazewell County Clerk, Pekin.
[2] Peoria County, Illinois, death certificate no. 14669  (3 Feb 1932), Frank Miars, Peoria County Clerk, Peoria.

Sunday's With Grandma Stenger

I found this picture recently among my grandmother's "stash of stuff" and it brought back a flood of memories about growing up and family.  Specifically, it reminds me of Sundays with my grandmothers.  The other noteworthy item about this photo is that it contains four generations of my maternal family line (lots of mitochondrial DNA here!).

This is a photo taken about 1973 or 1974 at the home of my maternal grandparents, Robert and Clementine (Stenger) Miars in Brimfield, Illinois. (I really didn't remember that my hair was ever that long in my youth but evidently it was!) Many times on Sundays we had our big meal at their house after church with pot roast or fried chicken on the menu.  Sometimes there were guests.  On those occasions there was nobody more special in attendance then Clem's mother (my great grandmother), Lucy (Loescher) Stenger.  Her husband, Joseph L Stenger, passed away in the mid 1960s. so my memories are really only of her.

Back Row L-R: Jana, Diane, Lucy (Loescher) Stenger, Clementine (Stenger) Miars.
Front Row L-R:  Michael, David, Jean
ca. 1973, Brimfield, Illinois

In this photo I think Lucy would have been in her mid to late 80s.  Always in my memories, she had white hair fashioned as it is in the photo.  I remember that for most of my school years at home we took every opportunity possible to see her and visit with her because of her advanced age.  That included having her come for Sunday dinner.  After all when somebody is about 88 years old how many more years could they have left?

Well...turns out more than decade!  My great grandmother, Lucy (Loescher) Stenger lived to be 100 years old and died in 1985 just days after achieving that milestone.  My grandmother, Clem Miars, would go on to live to be 103.  Amazing...simply amazing.

When Lucy was still living independently, in her own home, she would likely bring food to these dinners.  She was famous for so many delicious baked goods.  Included in this long list were her dinner rolls, coconut creme pies and cinnamon roles.  Sometimes, we would stop to visit her on Saturdays on our way to the grocery store and I remember very well the marvelous smells of all of this baking in her home.  So at our Sunday dinners not only did we get the benefit of Clem's wonderful meal but many times we had great additions from Lucy's kitchen also.

The location of this photo is the living room of Clem's house in Brimfield, IL.  My grandfather or dad would have likely taken the picture.  Another thought that I had when first looking at this photo was about the drapes.  I remember when Clem picked them out and had them installed.  It was a big deal for her to have custom made drapes and we were not to touch them.  Sticky fingers or dirty hands were not allowed anywhere near them.  They were a source of pride for her for years to come.  Also, everybody in the photo except for Lucy has nice smiles.  Well...maybe David's is a bit mischievous but there are no unhappy faces.  Our tummies and hearts were full of great food and fellowship.  We couldn't want for anything else (except maybe a nap!).

Why was this photo taken with Lucy on that particular visit?  Who knows.  But thankfully it was.  Four generations together.  Another Sunday with Grandmother Stenger.

Friends and Family or Family and Friends?

Which is it?  Friends and Family or Family and Friends?  Sometimes they are two distinct groups of people.  Sometimes one is greater or more important or in greater numbers than the other.  But sometimes in our family tree we have a line where the roles of family and friends are blurred.  Sometimes our family and friends are both.

For my maternal grandmother, Clementine (Stenger) Miars this is indeed the case.  She was born in August 1913 on the family farm in Kickapoo, Illinois.  Her immediate family was large with 7 children in all.  But it is her extended family that was very large.  One time I counted and she had over 90 first cousins.  As a point of reference...I have five.  That means both her parents had very large families.  It also means that her second and third cousins numbered in the hundreds.  Many of them lived in Kickapoo just like Clem.

She went to school with her extended family at St Mary's School in Kickappo.  Most of them would have also attended St Mary's Catholic Church with their families.  She grew up not just with her siblings but her extended family in close proximity.  Her siblings and many of her cousins and their families were to be lifelong friends as well.

I recently came across this photo from Clem's "stash of stuff" that I think illustrates this situation very well.

L-R:  Wilma (Schmitt) Johnson, Clementine (Stenger) Miars, Flossie (Gilles) O'Toole, Rose (Stenger) Inskeep, Mary (Stenger) Carman; ca. mid 1930s

L-R:  Wilma (Schmitt) Johnson, Clementine (Stenger) Miars, Flossie (Gilles) O'Toole, Rose (Stenger) Inskeep, Mary (Stenger) Carman

The five women in this photo that I think is from the mid 1930s were all raised together in Kickapoo and attended the same school and church.  Their families were connected by blood in multiple ways.  They played baseball together as kids and young adults.  They were friends and family and also family and friends.  Who's to say which bond was the stronger between them.  The reality is that it changed over the years.

Their family bonds are complex.  Clem, Rose and Mary were sisters.  Wilma was a both a second and third cousin to the Stenger siblings through her parents, Albert and Cecilia (Stenger) Schmitt and Clem's dad, Joseph L Stenger.  Cecilia (Stenger) Schmitt and Joseph L Stenger were 1st cousins.  Albert Schmitt and Joseph L Stenger were 2nd cousins.  (Does your brain hurt yet??)

Flossie (Gilles) O'Toole was a 2nd cousin of the Stenger siblings through their mothers.  To make matters more confusing both Flossie and the Stenger sisters had mothers with the name Lucy.  Flossie's mother is Lucy (Brutcher) Gilles and Clem, Rose and Mary's mother was Lucy (Loescher) Stenger.  The two Lucy's are first cousins.  Lucky for us though I do not think that Wilma and Flossie were related.

But just as importantly, these five young women pictured above were friends and had known each other all of their lives while growing up.  Yet even after they married some of these bonds of friendship were to continue.

Wilma, Flossie and Clem, all found themselves married and living in Brimfield, Illinois during the 1940s and 1950s.  It was not far from Kickapoo.  These three women had children who also went to the same schools and church together and had lots of social activities together.  Their lives continued more as friends and neighbors than anything during this time.  Each of them had a daughter that would be in the same class (1959) at Brimfield High School and would remain close as they married.  It has continued on into the third generation of these three women when some of their grandchildren found themselves in the same class at school and attending the same church in Brimfield in addition to social activities.

Wilma was the first to pass in 1964 as a young grandmother.  Mary Carman was gone in 1973.  Rose, Clem and Flossie lived to be old women into their 90s and beyond.  Clem and Flossie remained good friends and neighbors until Flossie passed in 2005.

I have said this before that Clem kept so much stuff.  At times it is overwhelming how much there is to sort through, identify and preserve.  But it is when I find these gems that I am so grateful that she did. What a blessing this is!  I had no idea growing up that some of my friends were also my cousins and that our grandmothers had been friends  in decades long past. This is truly a great gift to see this photo and reminisce about their lives growing up, as young mothers and now about the connections their grandchildren have made.

The Picture -
The picture above was cropped so that we could see the faces better of these five women.  But here is the uncropped version for more context.

Does anybody know where this was taken or the occasion? What about the guitar that Flossie (Gilles) O'Toole is holding?  Did she play?  Please let me know if you know any more details about this.

The reason I knew who all of the people were in the photo is that somebody had written on the back of the photo who everybody was (Thank you whoever you are!!!!).  Once I read the names and then looked at the faces in the photo again I recognized them all.  All five of them have daughters that today resemble their mothers which made it easier to confirm the names on the back.

Wilma (Schmitt) Johnson, Clementine (Stenger) Miars, Flossie (Gilles) O'Toole, Rose (Stenger) Inskeep, Mary (Stenger) Carman, photo, ca. mid 1930s, location unknown; digital image 2019, from the Clementine (Stenger) Miars collection, original privately held by Jana (Miars) Minor.

Ewald Pruschwitz (1814-1895) - Happy 205th Birthday and Happy Arrival Anniversary!

Ewald Pruschwitz is another of my 3rd great grandparents on my Minor line.  Today is his 205th birthday!  In pulling together the information for this post I realized it is also the anniversary of his arrival in the US as well. Two anniversaries on one day!

Relationship to me:  me > my dad > William Minor Sr > John R Minor (1880 - 1937) > Pauline (Pruschwitz) Minor (1856-1939) > Ewald Pruschwitz (1814-1895).

Ewald was born on 3 November 1814 in Ligenitz.  This village in southwest Poland is now called Legnica. [1]  In census records Ewald lists his birthplace as "Prussia". [2] At the time of his birth what we know today as Poland was part of Prussia. It was very exciting to figure this out because he is my only ancestor (so far) from eastern Europe.

At some point prior to 1850, he married Caroline Buffee in Prussia. [3] In 1855, Ewald, Caroline and their two children, Augusta and Wilhelm packed up their belongs and set out for America.  They boarded the ship D Kohlmann in Breman, Germany. [4] They arrived at the Port of New Orleans on 3 Nov 1855. [4]  Ewald was 41 years old on the day of his arrival into the New World.  How cool is that!

"New Orleans, Passenger Lists, 1813-1963" This family starts on row 122.

The passenger list record indicates they were headed to Illinois to settle. [4]  Did my ancestors have family or friends in central Illinois that they were coming to be close to?  History would tell us that is a likely supposition.  Many new immigrants came over with other families that they were going to settle with or they met up with family and friends from home that had already settled in a particular place.  There are other passengers on the ship's manifest going to Illinois so both of these ideas are possible.

From New Orleans the Ewald Pruschwitz family would take a boat up the Mississippi to St Louis, Missouri.  If their initial destination was Peoria, Illinois where they were living in 1860 [5] they may have taken a second boat up the Illinois River.

By 1860 Ewald and Caroline are settled in Peoria, Illinois with their family. [5]  My great-great grandmother, Pauline (Pruschwitz) Minor was born there on 15 or 16 May 1856; less than a year after their arrival in the US. [6]   By 1860 also it appears that their son, Wilhelm has died as he is not listed on the census for that year.

In the passenger list, Ewald lists his profession as "joiner". [4] Wikipedia defines this term as "an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ship, etc." [7]  He seems to have carried on this trade in Peoria because in the census records for 1860, 1870 and 1880 his occupation is listed as carpenter or cabinet maker. [8]  I wonder if he made cabinets for some of the big homes on the east and west bluffs?  What older buildings in town still have cabinetry items made by great-great-great grandfather?

Both census and city directories also indicate that Ewald and Caroline lived on Jefferson in Peoria from at least 1860 until Ewald's death in 1895.  Starting in 1875, the city directory identifies their specific address as 106 West Jefferson. [9]  This is just a couple of blocks up from the river.  Also, this address is just a few blocks from where my Nufer ancestors were living.  Did they know each other?

Ewald died on 24 Mar 1895 in Peoria. [10] Caroline lived on a few more years.  They are buried together in Springdale Cemetery in Peoria. [1]  They both lived long enough to see their two daughters married and their grandchildren all born.  I now realize that my great-grandfather, John Minor (1880-1937) would have known them both.  He was a teenager when his grandfather Ewald died and a young adult when his grandmother passed.

Entry for Ewald is on record 170 at the bottom.

This sketch was a good deal of fun to do.  It is so nice when our ancestors are found where they are supposed to be and doing what we expect them to be doing!  So it was with Ewald and Caroline.  They came to Peoria very soon after arriving in New Orleans and pretty much stayed in the same location until their deaths.  They left a number of records which made it easy to find and trace them.

Next step....see if they can be found in records over in Poland or Germany!

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

Bibliography -
[1] For birthday see: Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 03 November 2019), memorial page for Ewald Pruschwitz (3 Nov 1814–24 Mar 1895), memorial no. 119510306, cemetery marker in Springdale Cemetery and Mausoleum, Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois, USA; maintained by "Stephen Cantrell," contributor no. 48212706. Also see: Peoria County, Illinois, death records register, database and images, book 2 (26 Jan 1889 - 1 Nov 1899), p. 38, Peoria County Clerk (http://www.peoriacounty.org/documentcenter/index/1858 : accessed 3 Nov 2019), entry for Ewald Pruschwitz, 24 Mar 1895, entry no. 170.  For birth location see: "New Orleans, Passenger Lists, 1813-1963," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com  : accessed 3 Nov 2019), entry for Edwald Pruschwitz, 3 Nov 1855, Port of New Orleans; citing "Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1820-1902," NARA, Washington, D.C., NAI no. 2824927, record group 85.
[2] 1860 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Peoria Ward 2, p. 106 (penned), line 5, household 818, family 840, Ewald Pruscewitz; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Nov 2019), citing National Archives microfilm publication T653, roll M653_216,  FHL microfilm 803216.  Also see: 1870 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Peoria Ward 1, p. 3 (penned), p. 228 (stamped), line 15, dwelling 18, family 18, Purshwitz Ewalt; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Nov 2019), citing National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll M593_267, FHL film 545766.
[3] This couple's oldest known child, Augusta (Pruschwitz) Schader's birth day is listed on a death index as 17 Jun 1850 in "Ligmitts, Germany".  Ewald and Caroline would likely have married prior to that year.  See "Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947," database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : 14 Apr 2019), Augusta Schader, 19 Nov 1922; citing "Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916–1947," index, FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2010.
[4] "New Orleans, Passenger Lists, 1813-1963," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com  : accessed 3 Nov 2019), entry for Edwald Pruschwitz, 3 Nov 1855, Port of New Orleans; citing "Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1820-1902," NARA, Washington, D.C., NAI no. 2824927, record group 85.
[5] 1860 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Peoria Ward 2, p. 106 (penned), line 5, household 818, family 840, Ewald Pruscewitz; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Nov 2019), citing National Archives microfilm publication T653, roll M653_216,  FHL microfilm 803216.
[6] Peoria County, Illinois, death certificate no. 30714 (27 Nov 1939), Pauline Minor, Peoria County Clerk, Peoria.  Also see for conflicting date: "Mrs. Pauline Minor," Brimfield (Illinos) News, 30 Nov 1939; microfilm, Brimfield Public Library, 2007.
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joiner
[8] See [5].  See also: 1870 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Peoria Ward 1, p. 3 (penned), p. 228 (stamped), line 15, dwelling 18, family 18, Purshwitz Ewalt; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Nov 2019), citing National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll M593_267, FHL film 545766. Also: 1880 U.S. census, Peoria County, Illinois, population schedule, Peoria, Enumeration District (ED) 203, p. 10-D (penned), p. 28-C (stamped), line 42, dwelling 100, family 113, Awalt Brushwick [Ewalk Pruschwitz]; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Nov 2019), citing National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 240.
[9] O. E. Root, compiler, Root’s Peoria City Directory 1875  (Peoria, Illinois:  O. E. Root, Publisher, 1875), p. 179, entry for "Pruschwitz Ewald"; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Nov2019), "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995," Illinois > Peoria > 1875 > Peoria,Illinois, City Directory, 1875.  See also: Franks Peoria Directory Co., compiler, Franks Peoria City Directory for 1892 (Peoria, Illinois:  Franks Peoria Directory Co., Publishers, 1892), p. 520, entry for "Pruschwitz Ewald G."; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Nov 2019), " U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995," Illinois > Peoria > 1892 > Peoria,Illinois,City Directory, 1892.
[10] Peoria County, Illinois, death records register, database and images, book 2 (26 Jan 1889 - 1 Nov 1899), p. 38, Peoria County Clerk (http://www.peoriacounty.org/documentcenter/index/1858 : accessed 3 Nov 2019), entry for Ewald Pruschwitz, 24 Mar 1895, entry no. 170.