Christina Hentschel Hübsch, from Prussia to America (52 Ancestors #11)

This is another article for the series in which I'm participating, "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks", a challenge by Amy Johnson Crow on No Story Too Small.

Great-great grandmother Christina Hentschel Hübsch is another mystery woman in my family tree.  Cousin L and I have focused our search for her burial location for years.  But there’s more we don’t know.  Here’s a snapshot of Christina:

Christina Hentschel was born in Schlesien*, Prussia on 13 Nov 1843 according to her death certificate.  She married John Ernest Hübsch about 1861 in Prussia.  Their children were William C. (my great-grandfather), Caroline E., Charles, Herman A., John E. and Henry.

Christina and John emigrated to America in the early 1870s which I wrote about in the 52 Ancestors story about John Ernest Hübsch.

1910 Los Angeles, California City Directory
Source: Ancestry.com

After John’s death in 1909, Christina lived at 1343 E 48th Place, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.  Those wonderful city directories are a font of information.  Additional clues emerged in the 1910 edition shown here (click images to enlarge).  The Aha! finding was her middle initial which may lend credence to the emigration record where I think she was identified as "Caroline".  Other information in the directory helped to support what I already knew - that she was the widow of Ernest -- and that she lived in an (h) house that was owned, and her son Herman was a renter employed as a laborer.

Google map location of the neighborhood in 2014 

Google street view of 1343 E 48th Place in 2014
Los Angeles, California

A couple years later she moved across town to a house at 4433 E 1st.  Note the spelling of the surname and that Charles, a teamster, owned the house.  I don't know if Charles F and Charles H are related to my family.  Christina was also listed as the widow of Ernst.  It's curious that the surname and first name of her late husband have a distinctive German slant making me wonder who provided the information for the directory.  I wasn't too surprised to find that this address is now located at a freeway underpass.

1913 Los Angeles City Directory
Source: Ancestry.com

Google map showing address in 2014

Google map 2014, street view, 4433 E 1st, Los Angeles, California

The remaining information I have about Christina came from her obituary and death certificate:

• Moved to Arlington Heights [Chicago], Cook, Illinois to live with her brother William Henschel
• Resided in Illinois for nine years
• Lived in an Arlington Heights Old People’s Home for 15 months prior to death
• Died on 21 Jan 1916
• Buried in Arlington Heights, Cook, Illinois on 24 Jan 1916

If you did the math like me, you found that the timelines in the death certificate, obituary and city directories don't match.  That would be too easy!

I wasn't able to locate the Old People’s Home when I searched a couple years ago.  Nor have I found Christina’s burial location.  Cousin L learned about some historic burials near a runway at Chicago O’Hare Airport that were slated to be relocated.  We tried to find out if she was there but never received responses to our inquiries.

Might be time to revisit these brickwalls, eh?.

*Silesia, Polish Śląsk, Czech Slezsko, German Schlesien, historical region that is now in southwestern Poland. Silesia was originally a Polish province that became a possession of the Bohemian crown in 1335, passed with that crown to the Austrian Habsburgs in 1526, was taken by Prussia in 1742, and was returned to Poland in 1945. Silesia consists largely of the basin of the upper and middle Oder River, which flows from southeast to northwest. From Encyclopedia Britannica

Sources
Surname Hentschel from 1885 marriage record of daughter Caroline Ernestine Heubsch
California residences from Los Angeles City Directories on Ancestry.com
Place of birth from obituary
Date of Birth, death and Illinois residence from death certificate

Note:  the use of surname spellings in this article is based on the earliest records I have and is intended cousin-catcher.

Ida May Brown Kendall, my Mystery Woman (52 Ancestors #10)

This is another article for the series in which I'm participating, "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks", a challenge by Amy Johnson Crow on No Story Too Small.

Ida May Brown Kendall

My great-grandmother Ida May Brown was born on 9 Jul 1869 in Missouri.  Her parents were Thomas Brown and Jane Clark.   She had two siblings: Joseph D. and Hannah E.  She married Henry Martin Kendall on 26 Jul 1886 in Council Grove, Morris, Kansas.  They moved to Los Nietos [now Whittier], Los Angeles, California in 1890.  They relocated one more time in 1905 to Irwindale in the San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles, California.

Six children were born to Henry and Ida:  Charles P., Celia M., Henry W., Joseph L., Ethel M.,[my grandmother] and Thomas A.  Two children predeceased their parents:  Celia in childbirth and Henry during the 1918 flu epidemic.

Ida was a mother and ranch wife.  She tended to the children, animals and the house while Henry ran the orange orchard - Valencia and Washington Navels.   Henry was also a blacksmith by trade which ensured a steady income.  She was a member of the Baptist church, enjoyed entertaining family at the ranch and visiting their homes on occasion.  Grandma Ethel’s most amusing quote about her mother was that she was “better with the farm animals than with kids”.  But that’s a story for another time.

Ida died on 16 May 1955 near the ranch where she lived for so many decades.

This short bio has lots of information in it but is short of hard evidence, such as:

Birth - I think she was born in Missouri because her father said in his Civil War pension record they were in Missouri during this time. The pension record also said her birth date was 1870 (one mention) and 1869 (two mentions) in two separate documents dated 1898.  I have little hope of finding a birth record.

Why Missouri?  The Browns and Clarks were always in southwestern Ohio according to the records I have found.  After multiple searches of the 1870 Worth County, Missouri census, an encouraging lead surfaced.  I found some Clarks from Adams County, Ohio, where Jane was born.   More research to follow.

Girlhood days – Ida’s parents were divorced in 1873 but it’s not clear that she was raised by her father.  Her sister Hannah was adopted by their mother’s brother Mahlon Clark.  Joseph remained with his father and second wife Rebecca Edwards Brown.  Who raised Ida? More mysteries.

Why Kansas?  How did Ida come to be in Kansas and connect with Henry?  Maybe another Clark descendant lived there.  Where’s my research plan...

My quest for answers will continue but if there's a cousin out there that could shed some light on these questions, I'd sure be appreciative. Pretty please?

Cephas A. Eisenman 1874-1946, Lifelong Minnesotan (52 Ancestors #9)

This is another article for the series in which I'm participating, "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks", a challenge by Amy Johnson Crow on No Story Too Small.

Imagine a clear blue sky and a temperature outside barely above zero[1] on Thursday, 17 December 1874[2].  Inside the farmhouse, a nervous father-to-be only hears the crackles from the fire in the hearth – and then the cry of a newborn baby in the next room.  His first child, my great-grandfather, Cephas Adolph Eisenman was born on this day.  I don’t really know what the day was like or what time he was born but I can pretend.

Fillmore County, Minnesota
Source: FamilySearch Wiki

Cephas was born in Sumner Township (Twp), Fillmore County, Minnesota.   His father, John Robert Eisenman, was born in Pennsylvania.  His mother, Frances Sarah Schananche, was born in Alsace-Lorraine, France.  His parents came to Minnesota from Pennsylvania possibly just before Cephas made his appearance.  Cephas was the oldest of his siblings: Clara L., John C.[3], Frank, Charles, Laura, Rosa, Lilly and William.[4]

By 1895, Cephas was about 20 years old.  He must have been on his own since he wasn't listed in his father’s household in the 1895 Minnesota State Census for Sumner Twp.  So where was he?  I found “? A Eiseman” in the 1895 Wisconsin State Census for Bellevue, Brown County.  This town is about 270 miles from Fillmore County, MN according to Google maps.  Seems quite a distance from home so why would he be there?  The first letter in the name was obscured by the fold in spine of the digitized census book so I can’t be certain it’s a “C” for Cephas.  There were three household members (1 male, 2 female) recorded.  Who were they?  I just don’t have a lot of confidence that this “Eiseman” was my ancestor.

I picked up his trail again on June 1, 1900 in the U.S. Federal Census for Sumner Twp, Fillmore, MN.  “Sephas Eisenmann” was working for Charlie Hale, a farmer with five employees.  His relationship to Mr. Hale was servant and his occupation was farm laborer.  The other four employees were described the same way.  Finding a dual relationship/occupation was a first for me.  Servant and farm laborer conjure up different roles but perhaps the enumerator’s instructions required specific terminology for describing “relationship to head of household” and “occupation”.

Marriage

Cephas A. Eisenman & Lillie Schunke
Source: Prgrage Family Tree

The love bug bit this tall, black-haired[5] 30 year old in 1905 when he married 17 year old Lillie C. Schunke on March 22^nd in Wykoff, Fillmore, Minnesota.   Lillie (nee Lillian) was born in Minnesota in 1888.  They lived in Sumner Twp on a farm located on Rural Route 4, Spring Valley.[6]  Their first child, Bernice Irene Helen Eisenman, was born the following year on 15 Dec 1906.  My grandmother!  She was the oldest of her four full siblings:  Ruth, Frances, Sadie and Howard.  In April 1910[7], Cephas and Lillie had moved to a rented farm in Frankford Twp, Mower County, Minnesota.  Cephas had one hired hand from Russia to help him on the farm. 

Tragedy Then Happiness

Sadly, Lillie died of acute nephritis in February 1914 at age 26.  They had been married for nine years.  Cephas, now 39, was left alone to care for his five children 7 to 13 years of age.  I imagine he relied heavily on my Grandma Bernice since she was the oldest child.  I don’t recall her ever talking about this period in her life and too bad it never occurred to me to ask about her girlhood days.  Cephas was married again in December 1915 to Margaret Ann McNaughton Marks.  Looks like they became a “his, hers and ours” family.  She already had three children and a couple years later, the new family welcomed twins Ralph and Alice.

Source: Find A Grave
Memorial #11839422

Minnesotan Through and Through
This hard-working farmer seemed to have lived his entire life in Minnesota and nearly all of it in Sumner Twp.  He even lived on the same farm at Rural Route 4 for decades.  Cephas had a heart attack and died on 24 Jun 1946 in Sumner Twp.  He was 72 years old.  He moved again to Mower County next to Fillmore County  - that's where he was buried - at the Frankford Cemetery. 

I’d like to know more about the life of Cephas Adolph Eisenman.  What kind of man was he?  What type of farming did he do?  Why did he live in Mower County for awhile?  And so on.  Descendants are out there -- we just need to connect.

---

[1] Predicted weather based on Saint Paul, MN report 17 Dec 1874, about 120 miles north of Sumner, MN.  Daily Bulletin of Simultaneous Weather Reports: Signal Service, United States Army, with the Synopses, Indications, and Facts [with Maps].  Page 103. http://books.google.com/books?id=LWvnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PT4#v=onepage&q&f=false

[2] SSDI and 1918 WW I Draft Registration Card

[3] "United States Census, 1880," index and images, FamilySearch , Cephas A. Eisenmann in household of John Eisenmann, Sumner, Fillmore, Minnesota, United States; citing sheet 424D, family 2, NARA microfilm publication T9-0619

[4] Cephas’s mother may have died between 1892 and 1895.  William was born in March 1892.  The 1895 Minnesota State Census recorded Ann as John Robert Eisenman’s wife.

[5] 1918 WW I Draft Registration Card

[6] 1905 Minnesota State Census 26 Jun 1905 recorded Ceppas and Lila C.  Ancestry.com. Minnesota, Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905 [database on-line].

[7] 1910 U.S. Federal Census 1910; Frankford, Mower, Minnesota; Roll: T624_712; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 0085; FHL microfilm: 1374725.

Thomas Brown, Native of Ohio 1843-1927 (52 Ancestors #8)

Thomas Brown was my great-great-grandfather on my Grandma Ethel's side.  His parents and siblings are unknown at this stage of my research.  However, there are hints of a father or brother named James, mother Sarah and a Van Pelt line.

Thomas was a husband, father, farmer and Civil War veteran.  He was also Ohio through and through.  With two exceptions discovered so far, he resided there all of his life beginning on June 3, 1843 until his death on April 7, 1927 at almost the age of 84.  Thomas lived in at least three counties:

• Highland (Jackson Township)
• Clinton (Wilson Township and Blanchester)
• Warren (Lebanon, Harlan Township and Morrow)

Civil War Service
From 1862 to 1865 he mustered in and out of the Civil War at Camp Chase and Camp Dennison in Hamilton County, Ohio.  His service took him about 46 miles away from home using a current day map.  He was only 19 years old.   Thomas's first tour of duty was with Company D, 85th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on July 2, 1862.  His second tour was with the 24th Ohio Light Artillery [Hill's Independent. Battery] on July 27, 1863.

About 1881 when he was 38 or so, Thomas filed his initial Civil War pension claim on the basis of the effects of measles he acquired during his service.  His claim would be approved eventually.  For the next 45 years until his death, he continued to file claims for pension increases.  Documents obtained in his pension file revealed several medical affidavits and notarized testimony of his health from personal friends.  Following his death, his widow, Rebecca Edwards Brown, filed and was approved for a widow's pension.

Marriage and Family
On January 30, 1866 Thomas married Jane Clark of Adams County, Ohio.  They had three children:

• Joseph Daniel Brown born 1867
• Ida May Brown born 1868 or 1869
• Hannah Ellen Brown born 1872

Ida May Brown was my Grandma Ethel's mother.  Ida was born in Worth County, Missouri according to her marriage and death records.  However, no other evidence supports that claim.  Perhaps a relative or neighbor of the Browns and Clarks lived in Worth County who drew the family there.  Some evidence suggests that Joseph and Hannah were born in Ohio.  Clues to follow-up on!

On January 10, 1880, a divorce notice appeared in the local newspaper.  Thomas had filed for divorce from Jane based on her "wilful absence for more than three years last past".  The divorce was granted on February 20, 1880 due to her non-response.  The children were not mentioned in the decree.  Census records indicated that Joseph remained with his father and Hannah became the 'adopted' daughter of Mahlon and Margaret Clark, Jane's brother.  The mystery remains as to who raised Ida, my great-grandmother.  She never spoke about her childhood so I'm currently piecing together her life through photos and newspaper articles when she moved to California hoping for hints related to the people with whom she interacted.

 On February 22, 1880, Thomas married Rebecca Edwards.  They had four children:

• Emma Blanche Brown born 1880
• Frank Leslie Brown born 1882
• Ollie Agnes Brown born 1885
• Murta Alma Brown born 1889

The life of Jane Clark Brown took a far different path.  In December 1881 she was committed to the Athens Insane Asylum in Athens, Ohio.  She remained there for the rest of her life, her brother Mahlon Clark serving as her guardian. 

I'm fortunate to be in touch with a descendant of a child of Thomas and Rebecca who is also interested in genealogy.  With our combined efforts we hope to learn more about the lives of the Browns, Clarks and Edwards.  Based on family stories and information in the pension record, Thomas Brown lived a quiet life, worked when possible despite various infirmities and was a respected, god-faring man.

Note: This is another article for the series in which I'm participating, "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks", a challenge by Amy Johnson Crow on No Story Too Small.  The story was originally posted on June 17, 2013.

Comings and Goings of Adam Clark, 1842-1926 (52 Ancestors #7)

Editor's Note:  this is another article for the series in which I'm participating, "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks", a challenge by Amy Johnson Crow on No Story Too Small.

“Uncle Doc” would show up at the ranch, stay for awhile, then leave.  That was the story Uncle B’s mother told him but not much else.  He figured Uncle Doc was related to either Henry or Ida Kendall.

I found this newspaper story that lent support to the comings and goings of this guy.

Covina Argus Newspaper 1910
Newspapers.com

Ah, nicknames.  Not a researcher’s friend.  

What could “Doc” refer to?  A physician or medic?  Maybe the nickname was “Dock” referring to boating, waterway, mariner?  It was futile to put too much effort into guessing.

Miraculously, a newspaper clipping surfaced from a box of memorabilia that solved the mystery of who Uncle Doc was.  

Adam Clark obituary from unknown newspaper.
Click to enlarge.

Uncle Doc was Adam Clark, my great-grandmother Ida May Brown Kendall’s uncle and her mother, Jane Clark Brown’s older brother.  He was born about 1842 in Adams County, Ohio to Daniel Benjamin Clark and Hannah Carrigan Clark.  He served in the Civil War and according to his obituary, he came west in 1868 to work in mining and was a resident of the Soldier’s Home at Sawtelle, California from 1900 until his death in 1926.  In current day calculation using Google maps, the driving distance from Sawtelle to the Kendall ranch is about 37 miles.  Uncle Doc probably came by train. 

This is the extent to which I know Uncle Doc.  It sure would be nice to have more details about his life and how about that town he founded? And I still don't know where the nickname came from.

Sources:

• Uncle B’s recollections and memorabilia collection
• Obituary from unidentified newspaper

Charles P. Kendall - the Newspaper Interview (52 Ancestors #6)

Editor's Note:  this is another article for the series in which I'm participating, "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks", a challenge by Amy Johnson Crow on No Story Too Small.

Uncle Charlie was probably seated at his kitchen table with the reporter from the Progress Edition of the Covina Citizen Newspaper sitting across from him listening intently while rapidly scribbling in his notebook.  The interview may have included a tour of the orchard and the barn. The story would run in the June 12, 1936 edition. 

Article Title in Progress Edition Covina Citizen Newspaper

 Oh, to have all of the reporter’s notes, oh if only there had been photos (since none accompanied the story).  But really, I am grateful that the small town newspaper where my California ancestors lived was digitized by NewpaperArchive.com.  The digitized versions of the Covina Argus and its successor, the Covina Citizen are available at the Covina Public Library or on NewspaperArchive.com.[1]



Washington Navel
Monrovia.com plant catalog

I found this gem of an article in 2013 during an ancestor newspaper mining expedition.  The article was bursting at the columns with information about my great-grandfather Henry Martin Kendall and his son, my great-uncle, Charles Pirl Kendall.  Henry, 1864-1937, was born in Rowan County, Kentucky.  Charles (1888-1972), his oldest and first-born son, was born in Kansas.

For this week’s 52 Ancestor challenge, I decided to put this article under the magnifier to learn just how many rich details were in this story.  The list will serve as the beginnings of a research plan.

1. Size of orchard - 35 acre orange grove[2]
2. How it began – 2 gallons of orange seed
3. Cost - $8 per gallon
4. When, who, where, how – in 1909 Charles carried the seed by horse back from Alhambra to the Baldwin Park area [California][3]
5. Orchard address – 541 E. Ramona Blvd, Baldwin Park[4] [can it get any better?]
6. Status of orchard in 1936 – where the grove now thrives
7. Who planted the seeds – Charles and his father H.M. Kendall [Henry Martin Kendall]
8. Why plant the seeds – to start a nursery, bud the trees then start their own orchards
9. When the orchard was started – 1912
10. Stats for acreage – H.M. Kendall had a 25 acre tract bought in 1905 for $2,300.  Chas. P. Kendall had a 10 acre tract bought in 1911 for $3,000.  [yep, more better]
11. Type of oranges – 2/3 Washington navel; 1/3 Valencia
12. When they came to the area - came to Azusa, California in 1889 from near Council Grove, Kansas
13. Local landmark - Santa Fe depot there was being used as an orange packing house with “Chinamen” employed to wash and pack the fruit
14. Uniquely California? – the Kendalls had never seen the “golden fruit”
15. Age – H. M. Kendall was past 70 when the story was written
16. Self-employed – Charles did most of the work on his grove
17. Tools used – Charles reported that his father sawed wood by hand to avoid an attack of rheumatism; Charles preferred the power saw to avoid an attack of rheumatism [Uncle Charlie the techie?]

    

    Sears catalog 1920
    from Ancestry.com

18. Other income – Charles was also in the domestic pump and water system business and installed many systems on ranches throughout the valley

WOW!  I hope you’re using newspapers in your research and are as fortunate as I am with my ancestor’s hometown newspaper.

---

[1] Digitized versions of these newspapers are Copyright 2008 Heritage Microfilm, Inc. and Newspaperarchive.com

[2] How big is 35 acres? From Ask.com: If a person has 35 acres of land, it is considered to be a pretty big amount of land to many different people. If you put together 26 American football fields together, it would be equal to about 35 acres of land. One acre of land is equal to 4046.86 square meters or 660 feet. Most people that would have this much land would live in an area that is considered to be in the country. The land is probably used as farmland or used for hunting.  http://www.ask.com/question/how-big-is-35-acres

[3] Walking distance calculated with current day Google map is about 12 miles or nearly 4 hours one-way.

[4] Benlow, Bob and Lorraine O’Brien. Baldwin Park Images of America.  Arcadia Publisher, 2011. Print.  From the back cover:  “Known as the “Hub of the San Gabriel Valley” due to its location as the geographical center of the valley, Baldwin Park formerly consisted of cattle-grazing  lands for the San Gabriel Mission.  Known as Vineland by 1880, and renamed after legendary investor and landowner Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin in 1906, the city incorporated in 1956.  Baldwin Park evolved as a diverse community along the San Gabriel River, where Ramona Boulevard and Maine Avenue became major thoroughfares. ..”

Cecil Everett Hibsch, Happy Birthday (52 Ancestors #5)

Happy Birthday Great Uncle Cecil!

Cecil Everett Hibsch
7 Feb 1902 - 15 Jun 1981
Native Californian