Going deeper into online records

As promised, I’ll share some records I’ve found recently that aren’t found doing a standard search.

First, I ordered 3 records from the Waukesha County register of deeds. Their turnaround was wonderfully fast! Each record search costs $20 and is non-refundable even if a record isn’t found, so there’s a bit of risk involved, especially if you don’t have a lot of the information they need.

The first was easiest: Frank & Mary’s marriage certificate. I knew they were married in April 1901 in Lannon, WI so this helped.

click to view larger

There isn’t much that is a surprise here although it’s nice to see who the witnesses were at their wedding. But as I mentioned before, this was the first record to tell us the name of Frank Struck’s father, a valuable clue. The marriage index (which is online, unlike this certificate) gave us this info. There’s one interesting item: Frank says he was born in “Vierh of Pommern”. A quick search finds a village called Vierhof (now Wierzchy) no more than 5km north of Minten/Mietno, the village listed on Frank’s immigration records) and Glietzig/Glicko which his brother Carl listed.

The next record was a bit more of a chance… I had to estimate the year and location for the wedding of Frank’s sister Ida to Bernhard Joecks. Thankfully, the registrar found this too.

There’s quite a bit of new information here! We have Bernhard’s full name and parents if we’d like to research this line further. We know the date and location of their marriage now. We see that Ida’s brother is a witness to her marriage. Unfortunately we don’t have a birthplace for Ida (just Pommern) but we do have some rather confusing information… she lists her parents as Karl Struck and Wilhelmina Ziemann. At this point my only theory is that this is related to the German tradition of giving children 3+ names, so perhaps Frank & Ida’s father is Karl August Struck or August Karl Struck? Interestingly the two oldest siblings carry the same names, another common tradition.

Finally, I requested the death certificate for Albertina Ziemann (Frank’s aunt). This was very much a chance, as I had a very vague guess as to when & where she may have passed away. And yet! The registrar once again came through for me.

What a treasure this is! We have dates of birth and death, location where she was living (the witness “B. Joecks” must be her niece Ida’s husband Bernhard) and best of all, we have the names of her parents, including her mother’s maiden name! This is a wealth of information to aid us in continuing to research the family line. Overall I’m quite pleased I ordered the certificates. Even if an online index exists (such as Frank & Mary’s wedding certificate), it is worthwhile to study the actual record when we can.

Church Books on FamilySearch.org

Accessing records via their catalog is not a task for the faint of heart! There are many, many records that have been scanned in the vast archives of LDS library but have not been indexed or transcribed. These involve scrolling through hundreds and hundreds of images in each collection, looking for a familar surname like Struck or Bloedel.

Only 200 some pages to look through… this is a *small* collection!

I don’t recommend trying to view this on a smartphone (use a PC); the images are difficult to resize with your fingers and the experience can easily frustrate you. Be prepared to spend many, many hours of scrolling and squinting. There’s no easy way to bookmark your progress, so if you take a break be sure to note down which image number you ended with so you can resume your research more easily.

And the pages are not easy to read. The handwriting varies widely, is sometimes faded, and it’s often in German.

A good example

Is it worth it? Yes. A search of St. Paul’s Evangelical church in Menomonee Falls (the source of the images above) finds quite a few treasures:

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From top left, we have Mary Bloedel’s confirmation on March 29, 1896. Her date of birth is listed, a piece of information that would be invaluable if we didn’t already know it. Second is Frank & Mary Struck’s wedding in the church register. Again, these records tell us the names of the bride & groom’s parents and their birthplace, as well as possible clues in the list of witnesses if you see familiar surnames. We see the baptismal record for Carl & Alvina Struck’s daughter in 1894, which finally yields Alvina’s maiden name (Wegner) for our research and lists not just the date of baptism but the date of birth. And we see the baptism of Wilhelmina Struck-Birkholz’s son Ernst in 1898, although the error listing him in 1896 is confusing to me.

I used these as examples because they are familiar names for us. But there are plenty of intriguing mysteries like the death record of Wilhelmina Struck in 1914 found in the same church register (this is NOT Frank’s sister):

The first word after her name “wittwe” might actually be “witwe” meaning widow. I believe the information stated here (I don’t speak German except the few swear words my great-grandma taught me): This person was born May 10th 1823 in Germany (Deutschland) and died December 16, 1914 in the Menomonee Township. She was buried in Union Cemetery in Milwaukee. At her death was was 91 years old, 7 months and 6 days. I’m not sure what it says about someone with the surname Kuhn; this may be the pastor who performed the funeral?

The only Strucks who lived in Menomonee Falls and were born in the 1820s-30s were Frank’s mother and her sister. We know their dates of death were 1921, not 1914. Nor do we know of any other Strucks buried in Milwaukee (most were interred in Sunnyside Cemetery).

Church registers marked all the major events in a person’s life – birth, baptism, confirmation, marriage and death – and are well worth a look when you have some time and patience to scan the images! And blessings to the person who recorded indexes in some of these books, like St. John’s UCC church in Merton!

The last available censuses for the Struck family

“Just the facts, ma’am.” Courtesy US Census Bureau

Fun trivia question for you: Do you know why the name plate on my apartment door says “Blahrfingahr”? Hint: it’s related to the US census.

It’s exciting to know that the 1950 census will be released in just 2 years (at least this is exciting news for a research nerd like me). I’m looking forward to seeing those records! For now, let’s dive into the last censuses publicly available to us.

1930 US Census

America is just entering the Great Depression at this time. Sadly, the 1930 census also documents the end of a generation for our Struck ancestors. Only Frank and Mary are still raising young children (their final child Franz was born in 1929), whereas his siblings already have grandchildren. Frank’s mother Carolina has passed away (in 1921) as has his sister Wilhelmina (1926) and her husband August Birkholz (1929).

This reminds me of previous conversations with the cousins as we wondered why the descendants of these siblings didn’t stay in touch? Our grandpa Frank was very much the baby brother, a late-in-life baby. His brother Carl was 12 years his senior and would have been starting his own family while little Frank was still galloping around in lederhosen.* _{*not necessarily true}

It’s great that each census asks different questions. We see here that Carl Struck owns a home in the village of Sussex on Highway 64 valued at $5500, but it states “no” to the question of whether or not it is a farm, which is confusing. Did they add a second home to the land as Carl & Alvina aged, or sell the family farm outright? Daughter Hattie is still living with them and working as a labeler at the canning factory. I haven’t yet done a search for all of Carl’s adult children; it would take some sleuthing to find out the names of married daughters for example. This census also notes Carl & Alvina’s age when they married (25 & 26 respectively). Interestingly, the census taker noted that the family doesn’t own a radio, which makes one wonder how they occupied themselves in the evening?

Bernhard Joecks is continuing to farm in Lisbon. The census taker failed to note the value of their property, but did note they own a radio. Their youngest daughter is still living with them as well as 3-year-old granddaughter Audrey. Since Linda is just 16 now, this must be the child of another of Linda’s siblings? It’s interesting to see how often Aunt Ida housed her relatives’ children alongside her own.

The Birkholz Family

As mentioned above, August & Wilhelmina had both passed away before this census. Despite numerous searches it’s been difficult to find out what happened to their children so my impression has been that most of them left the area. I had previously posted some finds related to this family in this blog post.

As I mentioned, Frank and Mary have continued growing their family. They own their home on Highway 74 in the village of Lannon now (value $3500) and Frank is the proprietor of a shoe shop. They own a radio, though I wonder how well it was heard with 10 children in the house?

The census notes that Frank was 30 – Mary 21 – when they married. This is yet again incorrect information and shows what kind of caution we need to take in researching. If I had assumed this was correct information, I wouldn’t likely have found their 1901 marriage license.

On to 1940

Thankfully we’ve survived the Depression, although war is looming on the horizon (psst! WWI & WWII draft records are another great source for researchers). This next census asked many questions about a person’s education and employment, including how many hours worked, wages earned, etc. There was also a random “supplement” questionnaire for two persons per page; we’ll take a look at that later.

Carl Struck passed away in 1930 but his widow Alvina and daughter Hattie continue to live together on Waukesha Avenue in the village of Sussex; the house is valued at $4000 now. Both completed an 8th grade education and neither is working. It’s uncertain where their income comes from; it does say “yes” they have income of more than $50 per year from a source other than wages.

Bernhard & Ida Joecks continue to farm in Lisbon and their youngest daughter Linda still lives with them. Their farm is valued at $2000; it makes me wonder how the property was valued for this census? Everyone in the household also has an 8th grade education.

One notable item: Bernhard says he works 95 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. That is significant work for a 70-year-old man, especially in a time before our modern farming equipment!

Frank & Mary’s home in Lannon Village is listed at a value of $4000. He is the proprietor of a confectionary store, working 72 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. His income isn’t reported unfortunately. One item to be noted: it says that Frank had just 6 years of schooling and Mary 2 (!?!). It appears Margie had 1 year of high school and Kurt left after 6th grade unlike his twin Dorothy who has obtained 8 years of schooling. I’m curious if the cousins have different information?

Just 3 doors down we find their son Gerhardt and his family. Anita is just 3.

Gerhardt’s home is valued at $3500; you may recall he built a Sears home around the corner from his parents. He’s working 42 hours a week at the canning factory for an annual wage of $1250.

Their daughter Esther appeared in an unexpected place: the Deaconess Hospital in Milwaukee, where she is training as a student nurse, working 48 hours a week for an annual wage of $0.00. She reports completing 4 years of high school.

Newlyweds Walter and Esther Struck are renting a home at 142 S. Fond du Lac Ave. in the village of Menomonee Falls for $22 a month. Unfortunately mapping has changed in the years since so this address is no longer valid. Walter reports 4 years of high school and Esther just one. Wally is working 40 hours a week for an electric welding company for an annual salary of $1777.

I mentioned before that there was a random supplemental questionnaire on the 1940 census, and Walter just happened be one of those persons.

You’ll note that Walter says his native tongue is German, corroborating his stories of the family speaking German in the home. His wife Esther said her parents switched to German when they didn’t want the children to understand; Frank & Mary had no such luxury. Wally has a social security number but isn’t paying into a pension fund. “PW” on this chart means Private Worker incidentally, distinguishing from those were employed in government work or self-employed.

Bonus Content

As mentioned before, all of the men who emigrated applied for citizenship soon after coming to America. I’ve found indexes listing when and where the applications were recorded, but actually finding the petitions involves scrolling through hundreds and hundreds of pages of old, faded documents that were scanned in no particular order. This research is in process BUT Frank Struck’s application was recently located so I’ll share it with you here.

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There are more documents to find yet but we can see that Frank applied quickly after arriving in America. At the time of his application, he had not yet married Mary. His brother Carl came with him on this day, and had the same witnesses to his petition. Brothers-in-law Bernhard Joecks and August Birkholz went together in 1906 to file their own petitions. Locating the rest of the citizenship papers may give us some more clues as they often list additional details about relatives.

Summary, and A Request

Before we move on to studying historic records for the Bloedel family, I want to note what is still needed. First, we have a wealth of information available about Struck families who lived in the homeland of our ancestors BUT we don’t yet know the common ancestor (Frank’s father) to tie into that history. I think we’ll find it though. Frank’s marriage license stated his father’s name was August Struck. We know that Prussian families had several names and they would vary usage a bit (similar to how Wilhelmina Struck’s German-born husband August Friedrich Birkholz is sometimes registered as August, sometimes Friedrich, and sometimes plain old Fred) so we need to find his full name, when & where he was born, and when & where he died. Immigration and naturalization records about his wife and children may yield more clues. There’s also a wealth of information available online in the form of Pommern parish records, but there’s a significant language barrier to accessing them. Raise your hand if you’re up for that challenge!

There is intriguing evidence that the Strucks lived in the Kreis Naugard area of Prussia for centuries, and may have been chosen as skilled tradespersons to follow bishops from Saxony to those lands way back in the times of knights and castles. In fact there’s a Struck Island off the Baltic Sea with ties to Vikings, though it notes that struck means shrub. It’s exciting to think of what information may yet be uncovered about our ancestors! _{(insert vision of Struck farmers in lederhosen raiding the German coast).}

We also need to update information about the family descended from our immigrant ancestors. Aunt Dawn published Die Familie Struck in 1983 and there have been many changes since then.

We’ve made a survey for this purpose. Please know that any identifying information (birthdates, places of residence) will be kept private. We need your help updating our family tree! Please take a few moments to fill out this form. Thank you for your help!

Census review, continued

1940 census interview courtesy of US Census Bureau

In 1905, Wisconsin again conducted a census. This is truly a bonus for family tree researchers, because quite a lot can happen in a family in the decade between federal censuses.

Let’s start with Carl Struck again.

There’s a few developments: Carl has bought a farm in the town of Lisbon and holds a mortgage on it. His two oldest sons are farming with him. This is quite an accomplishment for an immigrant who came to this country just seven years before!

They’ve also added another child to the family (their 8th); Frank Struck was born in 1900. Note another census error: all of the Struck children are listed as being born in Wisconsin, when we’ve already established that the first 5 (Albert, Ernst, Hattie, Anna and Helen) emigrated with their parents in 1893.

How are the Joecks doing?

Bernhard and Ida are living nearby and Bernhard has also given up quarry labor to farm, although he is yet renting. The child listed as their oldest son Carl Joecks is a surprise… he is born around 1890, seven years before Bernhard & Ida were married, and 5 years before Ida emigrated as a single woman. Could it be that Bernhard was married before, and Carl is from this first marriage? Could it be that Carl is the same “Carl Struck” listed as living with them as a boarder 5 years earlier, and if so, did they adopt him? Note that they are the same age. It seems we need to do more research on the Joecks family!

Aunt Tina Ziemann is living with her niece Ida now instead of the Birkholzes and her sister. There are also two children added to the family: Margaret and Anna. Again we see a transcription error: Walter was born in America like his younger sisters.

And the Birkholz family?

The family is still renting a home in Menomonee Township. We can assume August is still working as a quarry laborer. Grandma Caroline is still living with them. The only substantial change is that the family has added 3 more children: Franz, Otto and Ruth. And once again Wilhelmina and her two oldest daughters are incorrectly listed as Wisconsin-born. Oddly, it says Wilhelmina’s mother was born in Wisconsin even though we see her listed as German-born just a few lines below.

You might also notice that their daughter Helen is not listed. I suspect this is her, listed as a servant in the household of saloonkeeper W.H. Muzzy. The age certainly fits.

Who’s this living down the street?

And here we have newlyweds Frank and Mary Struck renting a house in Menomonee Township. Their firstborn son Art is born. Frank’s occupation is listed as laborer; I’ve cropped off the neighbor’s listing above that the “ditto marks” refer to.

5 Years Later…

Less errors in 1910… is it because the family is speaking English more clearly, or is the census taker more precise? Oldest son Albert is no longer living at home (understandably as he’s 28 years old now and married himself). Son Ernst is working as a laborer, perhaps on the family farm or perhaps at the quarry? The two oldest daughters are working as servants in private homes. Two notations are confusing: why is 9-year-old Frank not listed as being able to read & write? And why is son Ernst marked as a survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy?

Bernhard & Ida have bought their own farm with a mortgage in Lisbon Township. Two more children have been born, Elsie and Gertrude. The child that has been so confusing in past censuses, Carl, is not listed. Note that the census lists 7 children were born to the family, but 5 are living. Since there are 5 children living with “Barney” and Ida, and we knew previously that they’d lost one child, does this imply that Carl has passed? He would be about 20 years old so it’s just as possible he’s living elsewhere. There’s a distinct lack of records for him to date.

Aunt Tina Ziemann is also not listed, nor is she found with other known family. In 1910 she would have been 70 years old. No record of her obituary or burial place has been found to date.

Mother Carolina is still living with the Birkholz family. She speaks only German. It is now listed that she has 4 children, all living, instead of 5/4 as previously. August too has taken out a mortgage to buy his own farm. He has learned to speak English though his wife Wilhelmina Struck has not. The family is listed as having 6 children, all living, although we see their son Otto is no longer listed; he would have been about 8 years old now. Their daughter Helen is working as a domestic servant for a private family (perhaps still working for the Muzzy household?). There is again a confusing notation besides her name as a “survivor of war”. Perhaps someone made unrelated marks in this column later, during a tally?

Frank is now working as a night watchman at the quarry, and he’s taken out a mortgage to buy a house for his growing family in Menomonee township. Daughters Irene and Marie have been born; the child who has passed was son Franz Waldemar born in 1904, though there is no accounting of the stillborn twins that the family has recorded as born in 1903. Frank and Mary are both able to speak English. And once again, Frank has notations in the “war survivor” category that seem unrelated.

1920 US Census

We’re jumping forward a full decade this time since there are no more Wisconsin censuses. Unfortunately the 1920 census – particularly in the Waukesha county area – is the most poorly archived. The text is often very faded, which also leads to indexing problems that complicate searches. But we’ve found our Struck family, so let’s dive in…

The biggest news: Carl reports that he has achieved citizenship in 1907. He and son Frank are working on their dairy farm, and Carl has paid off the mortgage. Just 3 of their eight children are still living at home now.

Bernhard Joecks has also achieved citizenship in 1907 and paid off his farm in Lisbon township. His oldest son Walter is working as a section-hand for the railroad. Two children are “missing”: Margaret, who would be about 18 years old, and Gertrude, who’d be about 10. But two more children have been born also: Bernard (Jr.) and Linda.

Also notable: their nephew Walter Struck, age 7, is living with Bernhard and Ida. Who is this? Walter C. Struck was born on June 2nd 1912 (Frank & Mary’s son Walter K. was born just 2-1/2 years later, making this very confusing). But we’re not yet clear whose son this is. Based on his age, he’s likely to be a grandson of Carl Struck, either his son Albert or Ernst.

Also, how confusing was it to have two Walters living under the same roof?

Interestingly, the Birkholz family are living just three doors down from Carl Struck’s family. Like his brothers-in-law, August has paid off his farm and received his citizenship in 1906. Their two oldest daughters, Helen and Emma, are not listed and presumably have married. Son Charles is working as a machinist at a gas station. Ernst is working for the railroad, and Frank is helping on the farm. Grandma Carolina is still living with them, aged 88.

Frank and Mary have also paid off their mortgage, and received citizenship in 1900. Frank is still working for the railroad. Gerhardt, Walter, Frances and Esther have joined the family though they have sadly lost Marie and Carl. Their son Art is working at the quarry.

In summary…

We still have the 1930 & 1940 censuses to review (and the Bloedel family to research!) but first I’d love to know what conclusions you’ve reached so far. We’ve followed these families over a span of 25 years, from the moment they left their homeland through the years when they settled in a new place, obtained jobs, learned a new language, obtained American citizenship, bought homes and raised families. Do you feel closer to our common ancestors as you’ve followed their lives through the timeline? Was there anything that surprised you? Did you notice any common themes among the families? Was there incomplete information that left you wanting to learn more about a person or a place? Please comment below with your thoughts and impressions!

Gleaning Details from census records

_{The Census Taker by Rose Cecil O’Neill (Kewpie creator & illustrator) courtesy US Census Bureau}

I thought I’d walk through the vast treasure of information we have about our immigrant Struck ancestors thanks to US census records. These are especially useful because they are a “primary source”, meaning they were recorded at the moment instead of being “secondary” or recorded after the fact. There is still a margin of error though, both because of census taker errors (I imagine our Struck relatives had a very thick Prussian accent at the time) and the fact that there were no rules regarding which person in the household gave the information to the census taker. In fact, there’s anecdotal evidence that our immigrant ancestors spoke primarily German so it’s possible one of their children served as translator!

Oftentimes these census records also lead to MORE mysteries as they offer puzzling clues to previously unknown information. I’m going to share the available censuses for the Struck family below and show you a few examples of this.

Our first available record is the Wisconsin 1895 census. Only oldest brother Carl Struck had arrived in America in time to be recorded:

Click on any image to view it larger

Here’s our first transcription mistake: the census taker forgot to add in the nativity (birthplace) for 7 of the 8 household members. This record also offers a mystery fact: an unknown relative. If we look at the makeup of the family, we know from their Ellis Island passenger record that the 3 males are Carl and his sons Albert & Ernst. The five females would be mother Alvina with daughters Hedwig (Hattie), Anna, Helen and…?

Thankfully the 1900 US Census listed all household members by name:

Thus a mystery is solved: the last female on the previous census was baby Bertha, born during the census year AND the first Struck child to be born in America! The family has another new addition in the five years – son Carl Jr.

What else can we learn about Carl from these censuses? First, the 1895 census took place in Menomonee Township. In 1900 the family is living in the town of Lisbon. Did they move or were new territory lines drawn? A quick glance of the neighbors on the censuses shows completely different surnames, so they did indeed move to a new home.

The 1900 census also has much more detail, so very useful in family tree research! We know now the birth month and year of each family member, we see that Carl and Alvina have been married for 18 years (useful in searching marriage records), that they have 7 children (and all are thankfully living), that they emigrated in 1893 (this helped me find the ship records), that Carl has applied for citizenship (the PA notation) but hasn’t yet been naturalized, that he’s working as a farmer but doesn’t own the land, and that his oldest son Albert at 17 has left school to help his father work on the farm.

Now let’s take a look at Aunt Ida:

5 years after arriving in America, Ida is already married with children. In fact we can see that she was married just 2 years in! It makes you wonder how she met Bernhard Joecks? She and her family are living in the village of Menomonee Falls in a rented house, and her husband is working as a laborer at a local Lannon quarry. Like his brother-in-law Carl, Bernhard is in the process of applying for citizenship. Sadly we see that Ida has had 3 children but only 2 are living. Little Walter Joecks is just 2 months old. But where is their other child? And who is “boarder” Charles Struck age 10? We already know that he can’t be her brother Carl’s child, and Frank Struck has no children yet. Even more interestingly, it says little Charles came to America in 1891, several years before the arrival of the Struck relatives that we know of. This is a mystery that will need further investigation…

The Birkholz/Frank Struck family in 1900:

Older sister Wilhelmina, you’ll recall, was already married when the family came to America 5 years before. It appears the family is still living together and renting a house in Menomonee Falls near sister Ida, although it appears likely they are on the opposite side of the village (Joecks are residence #15, Birholzes are residence #260), depending on the path that the census taker took. Wilhelmina’s husband is also working at the quarry and hasn’t yet applied for citizenship (AL means alien on the record). The couple has been married 11 years and the census says all 4 children are living, the two youngest born in Wisconsin. However, this contradicts the immigration record which lists their oldest child as son Carl Birkholz, born in 1891. Son Charles was born in 1896, after they came to America.

What happened to their firstborn? It’s likely their son passed away sometime in the 5 years between their arrival in America and this census, and it was an error of record that lists just 4 children here. The next step would be to locate the birth/baptism record in Pommern church records and a death record (probably in Wisconsin) but since I’m an armchair genealogist this will have to be left as a footnote for further research someday.

Also on the census…

Young Frank Struck has not yet married Mary Bloedel, though it is soon to come. He’s working at the quarry with his brothers-in-law, no doubt saving his funds for his future family. There’s family legend from another branch of my family tree that spoke about how dangerous it was to work at the quarry, especially with frequent blasts of dynamite that shot tiny fragments of rock through the air. Frank has applied for citizenship at this point; it’s a cue to seek his application for naturalization as this can also provide some valuable clues.

Mother Carolina Struck and her sister Albertina Ziemann are living with the Birkholzes as well. Carolina is widowed (which we knew) but states she has had 5 children, though only 4 are living (Carl, Wilhelmina, Ida and Frank). Her sister Tina has never married.

I’ll post more census records for the Struck family in the future; I hope this was enlightening for my cousins!

Searching for Great-Grandma Struck

Caroline Ziemann-Struck: immigration passenger list 1895

Once we discovered more about our earliest-known Struck ancestor, I asked Walter Struck if he remembered his grandmother (he was only 6-1/2 when she passed away). He said he didn’t; he remembered several older relatives who spoke only German but no one specific.

Unfortunately we don’t know much about her. But the facts we do have allow us to imagine that she was a woman of courage, to uproot herself from everything she’d ever known to come to a new country where she didn’t know the language or the customs at the age of 64. This act also implies she was a woman who valued family, in that she followed her children and grand-children to these new and unknown lands. It’s very likely she had friends and relatives in her homeland who would have invited her to stay if she’d chosen the safety of the village she’d always known.

When the family left the village in 1895, train service had still not arrived in the region. It allows us to imagine the family may have packed in for a ride on the back of a haywagon, clutching their possessions and watching to make sure her little grandchildren didn’t fall off.

I wonder what it was like for her to get on a big ship and sail across the ocean? Was she overwhelmed when she arrived at the enormous processing building on Ellis Island?

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  Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island
  courtesy Wikimedia public domain

And how did they get to Lannon, Wisconsin? Did they ride a train all the way from New York? Did her son Carl (who’d arrived a few years earlier) wire funds or sponsor the family?

Thanks to state and federal censuses, we are able to follow Caroline’s life in America a bit. She lived with her older daughter Wilhelmina in Lannon for the remainder of her life according to the censuses taken at the time.

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  1900 US Census (click to enlarge)

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  1905 WI state census (click to enlarge)

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  1910 US Census (click to enlarge)

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  1920 US Census (click to enlarge)

Note that her son-in-law had bought a farm by 1910 (good for him!). Carolina states in 1900 that she had 5 children, 4 yet living (Carl, Wilhelmina, Ida, Frank). In 1910 she says 4 children. Variations in census information like this are common and call for further research.

So where was she laid to rest?

Waukesha Freeman obituary 1921

Despite many attempts to locate her headstone in Sunnyside Cemetery, we were unsuccessful. This week I spoke to someone from the cemetery association and he said Carolina’s name is on a list of about 20 people who are “location unknown”. Unfortunately they didn’t keep good records back then, he added.

He remarked that there “sure are a lot of Strucks buried in Sunnyside”. No surprise to the descendants of Frank & Mary’s big family haha!

Next spring will mark 100 years since her passing. I hope my cousins are willing to join together to purchase a memorial to our shared great-grandmother? We have to determine a few things yet: what that memorial will be, where it will be placed, and what it will cost. The association representative said they’d be happy to work with us if we pursue this idea.

Struck Memorials in Sunnyside Cemetery, Lannon Wis.

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  There is a large monument next to her oldest son Carl’s headstone. It could perhaps be carved with her memorial. (It’s blank on the back.)

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  Oldest son Carl and his family lie next to the Struck monument.

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  Her older daughter Wilhelmina Struck-Birkholz took care of her mother; there is space beside her headstone to add a memorial.

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  Headstone for Carolina’s younger daughter Ida Struck-Joecks.

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  Carolina’s younger son Frank and his wife Mary.

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  Frank & Mary’s headstone lies next to the marker for their son Frank Jr.

What happened to our great-aunt?

As I mentioned earlier, I’d once asked Walter Struck if he remembered his grandmother. Although he didn’t, he remembered several older relatives who spoke only German including a “Tante Tina”. I’ve wondered if that was his great aunt/Carolina’s younger sister Albertina Ziemann who came to America with the family in 1895?

However, she disappears from the census records between 1900 and 1905, long before Walter was born. Did she pass away? Did she move in with other relatives? She was in her 60’s at this point so it’s unlikely she got married or sought a new career. To date we haven’t found any census records after 1900 that show her living elsewhere, nor have we found a burial record or obituary. The search continues….

What happened to Carolina’s husband, our great-grandfather?

Frank & Mary Struck’s wedding certificate gives his father’s name as August. We know that Carolina is listed as a widow when she came to America in 1895. Nothing else is known about Frank’s father yet.

There is some indication that gravestones in their homeland were destroyed during and after World War II when the region was handed over to Poland and German residents were expelled (some claim the headstones were tossed in Lake Naugard and can still be seen when the water levels are low). Some residents have been placing memorials at churches, including a church in the family village of Minten. You can see it here.

Someone has also posted images online of historic structures in the village as well, including a now-abandoned Berg family manor house called Rittergut (The Good Knight?) and the church (now a Roman Catholic church called Sacred Heart of Jesus).

Images of the homeland

Even now, our family homeland near Minten and Glietzig remain very rural and agricultural as viewed on Google Maps:

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  Region north of Naugard

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  Minten, now Mietno

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  Glietzig, now Glicko

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  Google Street View is not yet available north of the city

I’ll conclude with some historic photos of Naugard that have been posted on Pinterest, Flickr, and sites like this and this. This would have been the nearest and largest town, and thus a place the family was likely to have visited.

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  Swimming at Lake Naugard

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  A potato processing (starch production) factory in 1912

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  A panormaic view of Naugard

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  Another panoramic view

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  The market square in 1921, with statue of Otto von Bismarck watching over activity

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  Naugard prison in 1898; hopefully our family members never visited!

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  Waldfriede Sanatorium 1919

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  Fragments of Naugard city walls photographed in 1967

Addendum: What Not To Do

Here’s a few haphazard memorials added to headstones in Sunnyside.

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These are not relations, just interesting memorial “additions” I’ve noticed on past visits. I’ve often wondered what stories lay behind these modifications.

The Cousin Zoom Meet-Up

On May 4th 2020 we had more than a dozen cousins log in to a Zoom meeting from across the country (and even Mexico!). Some great stories were shared, which are transcribed here.

We’ll be meeting again on June 8th this year, so please comment below if you don’t have the link and want to join.

The family stories began with a remembrance of Grandma & Grandpa Struck’s ice cream and sweets shop. There is a newspaper article from the Waukesha Freeman dated July 27, 1955 describing a robbery at their shop/home.

The cousins were asked if anyone knew more about Frank’s siblings and their families (Carl Struck, Wilhelmina Birkholz & Ida Joecks). No one is sure why Frank’s family has not kept in touch with their cousins. Charlie remembered that Dorothy used to work on Uncle Carl’s farm when she was a girl.

Ralph shared a memory from a time when they were living with Grandma and Grandpa (Frank & Mary) while his parents were building their house in Granville. He said they had a sort of apartment upstairs, and they’d come downstairs in the evening to visit. He remembers Grandpa Struck was always smoking, whether it was a pipe or a cigar. One night they heard a loud BAROOMPH noise that shook the whole house. They ran outside to see that two kids had dropped a firecracker into the old underground refueling tank for their gas pumps, causing the gas fumes to ignite. Gael asked if that caused the attic fire in Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Ralph said no, but he and Butch were playing up in the attic around that time and were (unfairly?) blamed for the fire. Ralph was reminded that the statute of limitations has expired but he still declined to confess any involvement in the incident.

Ralph and Frank remembered helping Uncle Wally and Uncle Gerhardt with their business Deluxe Minnows and the “spuds” (ice picks) they fabricated. They recall helping to pack up items and that Uncle Wally had a whole conveyor system set up in the garage of his Pewaukee home.

Sandy remembers that Frank Jr. shot his sister Margie right next to her eye with a BB gun when they were young. Margie was shaking a rug out of the second story window and called Frank to shoot at her, so he did.

Margie had a newspaper delivery route when she was young. One day she forgot about a pet turkey who lived along the route and hated the color red. She wore red socks that day and the turkey chased her all the way home.

Margie almost died when a drunk driver hit her while she was playing in the driveway. She said she was bedridden for a long time.

During World War II, Frank and Mary had almost 20 people living in their home, and Mary fed them every day. The family isn’t sure if they were relatives or boarders. Edited to add: I wonder if they were German POWs? There were about 40,000 in Wisconsin during this time, including camps in nearby Merton and Hartford. Link to article and some evidence of their presence in the area found in a book called Stalag Wisconsin:

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Ralph remembers that Mary baked bread every morning on a woodburning stove in the kitchen. She would take the hot loaf from the oven, wrap it in a towel and carry it under her arm as she walked around the kitchen table, slicing off pieces with a butcher knife and dropping them on everyone’s plate

Dawn remembers hearing that Grandma Mary baked angel food cake in her woodburning stove, which was a tremendous skill as it’s very difficult to keep the temperature steady. The family agreed she was an excellent cook.

Sandy remembers that Grandma Mary would make homemade noodles and would lay them across the beds to dry. She said everyone came to eat when noodles were being served because they were a family favorite.

The family remembers that Frank and Mary didn’t get indoor plumbing in their home until about 1953-54.

Uncle Wally saved up to buy ice skates for his sister Margie when she was young. Even though they gave her blisters on her feet, Margie wore them all the time.

The family remembers that Aunt Frances helped to take care of the younger kids often.

Charlie remembered a story about a time when Frances was teaching Dorothy to drive. They ran over some chickens in the road, and they were worried that the farmer would insist that they pay for them. The farmer came out and said “Well, there’s dinner for tonight”.

Charlie also remembered a time when Frances and Dorothy were driving to downtown Milwaukee to go to Schuster’s famous department store, and a man jumped into their car and insisted that they drive him to Milwaukee, terrifying them.

Uncle Kurt once forgot to pick up his kids after school, so Butch and Rick had to walk a long ways to Grandma Mary’s house. When Uncle Kurt arrived, Mary gave him an earful for forgetting.

Gael remembers that Margie and Violet saw a gypsy to have their fortunes read (tea leaves or palm reading). The gypsy told Violet she wouldn’t live to be old and Margie would have 3 husbands. Both predictions proved true.

Several family members have heard the legend that Hiroko poisoned her fiance (an arranged marriage) in order to marry Uncle Frank, who was stationed in Japan during the war. Several people have shared paintings done by Hiroko, who also taught Violet to paint (Paul has a landscape scene from Violet and Margie has a painting of a fruit bowl). Hiroko painted many murals including some for businesses and Hollywood celebrities, but the family is unsure where they are located. Dawn and Margie have some beautiful dishes that Hiroko brought from Japan.

The family talked about the Struck family memorials in Sunnyside Cemetery in Lannon. Wally Struck hadn’t remembered where the twins were buried (who passed at birth in 1904) but knew it wasn’t there. Margie believes they were buried in the backyard of the Struck family home. The obituary for Great-Grandma Carolina Struck (from 1930) says she is buried at Sunnyside Cemetery but there is no headstone there now; a plot of the cemetery may help find where she is.

There is a photo of Margie and Dorothy in uniform; Margie isn’t sure when this was taken or why they are wearing uniforms. Dorothy also had the only known photo of her sister Marie taken while she was alive; the family isn’t sure who has this photo now.

The family chat concluded by agreeing that they would invite more cousins to future chats (Dawn will send a Zoom invitation to all) and they will also help to update information for the Struck family tree book. Dawn and Morgan will be sending around a survey for this purpose.

Struck Family Reunion Goes Online

Frank & Mary Struck in 1951 (50th Wedding Anniversary)

Thank goodness for technology! As we are navigating the devastating effects of the global pandemic right now, connecting with our loved ones across the country has been possible thanks to online video chat technology.

The upcoming “Cousin Zoom” meeting is expanding the recent conversations that Gael Struck and the Druecke family have been having about researching our Struck ancestors. We toured the Sunnyside Cemetery last winter where most of the memorials are located, and where I’d been happily involved cleaning family headstones before I relocated for work. Below I’m going to share some of the information and photos I have to date. I hope it generates some further sharing of our collective archive of memories!

One caveat: this information is VERY imperfect so please don’t assume it’s 100% correct. Instead, these are some rough guidelines to future research in hopes this information can be verified or mistakes fixed.

We’ll start with a breakdown of the family tree as we know it:

Struck Family Origins

The Struck family originated in a small village called Minten in what was then Pomerania (Prussia). You can read more about their homeland in this blog post.

The first relative we’ve found immigrating to Wisconsin was the eldest son Carl (with his wife Alvina and children) in 1893. They settled in the Sussex-Lannon area of Wisconsin.

Here’s a neat memory piece about the Carl Struck Farm published in 1998:

Click on each image to view it larger

Two years later, his family followed, including his widowed mother, his aunt, two sisters (one married with a family) and his brother Frank – our direct ancestor.

Unfortunately we don’t have any photos of Frank’s mother or siblings except for this one photo of his sister Ida Struck – Joecks.

The Bloedel Family

A newly widowed and pregnant Elizabeth boarded a ship to America in 1888 with 3 young children in tow. Her fourth child was born during the journey. It appears her father-in-law came on the journey as well. You can read more about their origins in this blog post.

We don’t have photos of Mary Bloedel – Struck or her immediate family before her wedding photo from 1901 (she’s just 18 years old).

We do have a rather sweet letter written by Mary to her relatives when she was just 10 years old.

“Dear Grandpa, aunts and uncles. I will write my first letter to you. I’m back to ma* and we all go to school. I’m ten years old. and we are all well yet and I hope the same with you. Now today we had our May Queen (an?) to off my play mates and I stood up. We are all learning well. How is all my cousins. We have thirty-two little chickens and 24 little geese. But our black dog named Pearly eat thirteen of them. I thin(k) you must have forgot us. Is Jenni going to school. I thin(k) she must be pretty big. We had a run away and a man got killed. Is Jossie going to school or is she working at home. I send my best love to you. So I close my letter and say Good-Bye. Your loving girl Mary. Write Back.”

*Mary told her children that she spent time in an orphanage after they arrived in America; her letter seems to imply that she has returned from living elsewhere.

The Ziemann Family

We don’t know enough about this branch to build a family tree. Frank’s mother’s maiden name was Ziemann, and her sister (or sister-in-law?) came to America with them, though all traces of her after arriving in America have yet to be found.

Our biggest clue is that Frank & Mary Struck accompanied their son Walter and his new bride on their honeymoon trip to Omemee, North Dakota in 1938 to visit “cousins”. Omemee is now a ghost town. You can read more about the Ziemann connection here.

1st Generation of American Strucks

Frank and Mary settled in Lannon, WI where they raised 17(!) children. Mary was 19 years old when her first was born, and 47 when her last child was born. They supported themselves at home, where Frank worked as a shoe cobbler and together they operated a small ice cream parlor/sweets shop in the front room. At some point it appears they had a gas station too.

Esther Heling-Struck (Frank & Mary’s daughter-in-law) on the porch of the Struck home.

Frank & Mary Struck with their children in 1955

The extended Struck family in 1955

Frank & Mary’s grandchildren circa 1951-1952

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  Esther, Frances, Violet & Delores Struck with Esther Schmoller

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  Gerhardt, Esther & Wally at 1932 Chicago World’s Fair

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  Walter with sisters

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  Irene’s confirmation

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  Frank’s confirmation

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  Delores

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  Frank & Wally

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  Walter

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  Irene’s wedding to Art Marks

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  Wedding shower for Delores

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  Walter Struck

We have some early photos of the Struck siblings courtesy of Walter & Sharon Struck… click the images to view them larger.

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  Walter, Margie, Frances, Dorothy, Irene, Art & Kurt

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  Gerhardt, Wally, Kurt, Esther, Dorothy & Frances

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  Dorothy, Frances, Walter, Margie & Esther

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  Frank, Frances, Esther (Heling), Hiroka

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  Esther, Wally & his wife, Harold Kampin

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  Irene & husband Art at Pelican Lake 1950

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  Dorothy, Dawn & Harold Kampin

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  Esther celebrating Wally’s 90th birthday

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  Walter Struck with family

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  Painting of Violet by Hiroka (Frank’s wife)

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  Dorothy, Wally & Margie

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  Wally and Dorothy

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  Violet Struck

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  Hiroka and Frank with Esther Heling-Struck, Wally’s wife

Here’s a few more recent photos of the Struck siblings.

My personal favorite photo…

There have been a few Struck reunions over the years… and hopefully more to come!

Before leaving, there are a few photos in Walter Struck’s family photo albums that have not been identified. Do you recognize these people? If so, please comment below.

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  #1 – from the 1932 Chicago World’s Fair?

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  #2 – Chapman Studio

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  #3

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  #4

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  #5 – Walter on right

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  #6 – Walter on right

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  #7

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Click on each image to enlarge it.

Family Submissions

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  Frank & Mary painted by Hiroka 1953 courtesy of Paul Druecke

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  Photo of Frank & Mary Struck from Dawn

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  Walter Struck’s confirmation from Dawn Struck-Brenner

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  Cover for Walter’s confirmation from Dawn Struck-Brenner

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  Frank Struck’s naturalization papers from Dawn Struck-Brenner

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  Frank Struck courtesy of Sandy

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  Mary Struck pumping gas for Larry Carlson courtesy of Sandy

Dawn also supplied a copy of Die Familie Struck book she wrote in 1983; click the link below to download it as a PDF.

dawn book 1983Download

Using records to reinforce family stories, part 2

As I mentioned in my last post, one of my most memorable genealogical finds is in regards to newspaper accounts that verified some old family stories that have been passed around the kitchen table for years. A lot of times these stories can sound pretty far-fetched or unlikely, or have been too vague to seem possible.  But when I start digging around in old newspaper accounts and searching for records on these family members who lived long ago, I’m sometimes surprised by what I find.

Wally Struck often told his grandchildren this story about a tragic drowning, and a psychic who helped find the lost soul buried deep in the Lannon quarry. He said that a boy was swimming there and drowned, but even though they sent divers down and dredged the lake, no one could find the body.  Then they sent to Milwaukee for a famous psychic, and he came to the small village of Lannon to help.  Grandpa mentioned that they called the man Doctor even though he wasn’t truly one, although he couldn’t remember the man’s last name.  He went on to tell us that when the “Doctor” came to the quarry, he pointed to one area of the lake and told the people they would find the body there, and that it hadn’t surfaced yet because it had been caught under a ledge.  According to his story, divers found the body exactly where the psychic had told them to look.

By chance one day I was scanning the old Waukesha Freeman newspaper, and found this article in an edition dated November 13, 1924:

“Mrs. Wilhelmina Busse, aged 69 years, who disappeared from the home of her daughter, Mrs. Herman Joecks, Lannon, on Nov. 5, was found dead on Sunday, in a quarry pond east of Lannon.  Mrs. Busse, who suffered from attacks of extreme nervousness, used to take long walks when the attacks came and it is believed that she took the wrong road when it became dark and by mistake walked the road leading to the quarry and accidentally was drowned.  The pond was dragged for three days before the body was recovered.  Dr. Roberts, Milwaukee, a spiritualist, was consulted.  He told the family the mother would be found in the quarry pond.  Sunday morning Dr. Roberts came to Lannon and told the searchers just where to locate her body.  It wasn’t long before the body was brought to the surface.  Coroner Lee was called and the remains were removed to this village.  Funeral services were held on Tuesday from the Herman Joecks residence in Lannon and thereafter in St. John’s Lutheran church.  Interment took place in Sunnyside cemetery.  The deceased is survived by one son, C.A. Busse, Sussex, two daughters, Mrs. Joecks, Lannon, and Mrs. Ryan, of Arizona.”

There are so many facts in this article that match Grandpa’s story, that it can’t possibly be coincidence.  The only real difference is the age and sex of the person who drowned, although this can be explained when you remember that Grandpa was only 9 years old when it happened and would understandably have forgotten some details.  But it is quite intriguing just how much information he DID remember.

What I also find very interesting is that it turns out that the drowned person, Wilhelmina Busse, was in fact related to the Struck family by marriage – Grandpa Struck’s aunt Ida had married into the Joecks family.  So this sad tale is interesting to our family on several levels.

Using records to reinforce family stories, part 1

One of my most memorable genealogical finds is in regards to newspaper accounts that verified some old family stories that have been passed around the kitchen table for years. My grandparents Wally & Esther Struck each had a story they loved to tell. Each story was later reinforced by a newspaper account I happened to stumble across during my family tree research. Finding the newsclippings was such a neat “a-ha!” moment, because they established a point of time and some relevant facts that only served to reinforce the tellings.

Esther’s story was about a cousin who was beheaded by a train. According to the story, which was passed down from her mother (Ida Krueger-Heling), the cousin was walking along the railroad tracks and, guessing he was either drunk or had fallen on the tracks, was hit by the train and killed instantly.   The part of the story that always fascinated us children was that she said because his head was crushed by the train, and the tradition in those days was to hold an open casket viewing in the front parlor, they replaced his missing head with a large ball of cotton.

Esther’s grandmother was a Moede, and it was while researching her family line that I came across this story from February 7, 1907:

“Paul Moede Killed: Head Severed From His Body By Railway Train”
    “Paul Moede’s body was found on the Central Railway track near the crossing of the Milwaukee Railway east of this city on Sunday, the head being entirely severed and lying some distance from the trunk.  He was an employe of the Central Ry. Co., and when last seen alive was at work on the track near the crossing.  The body was discovered by the crew of a freight train and Coroner Chas. E. Hill was at once notified.  He caused a jury to be summoned and an adjournment was taken to this Thursday when evidence will be taken and a verdict returned.  
The deceased was 29 years of age.”

Paul’s father, Carl F.W. Moede, was brother to Hulda Moede-Heling, Esther’s grandmother – thus, Paul was a first cousin to Esther’s mother Ida, who originally told her this story.  I don’t know that we’ll ever be able to prove that the family used a ball of cotton in place of his head at the funeral, but the evidence is certainly compelling.

Why does this find matter? It connects the family, both by identifying the subject of the family story as well as connecting future generations to the events that mattered in their ancestors’ lives. This story, as it has been passed down, captures attention because it is gruesome, and tragic, and at the same time holds a bit of dark humor in the image of the cottonball in the casket. Who doesn’t wonder how they would react if they attended a funeral such as this?

What is particularly tragic about this story is that Paul’s brother Herman had committed suicide less than 5 years before this.  Could it be that their mother, in her grief over losing two sons at such a young age, made the unusual decision to hold an open-casket funeral despite Paul’s missing head?

That, incidentally, corroborates another Heling family story, told by Grandma’s brother Rudy – he said he had been riding beside his father in a wagon after taking their crops to market, and while passing a cemetery he noticed a headstone set apart from the others and bearing the familiar family surname.  Rudy’s father explained that because Herman had taken his own life, he was not allowed to be buried in the same cemetery as his family.  He added that the family did not speak of him any longer.

Herman Moede’s lonely marker remains to this day in a small cemetery on the outskirts of Sussex, while the remainder of the Moede family are buried in Pilgrim’s Rest Cemetery in Pewaukee. His headstone contains his name and dates of birth and death, as well as the statement “Simply to thy cross I cling”.

Trick photography

Just a short, fun one today:

My great-great uncle William Krueger had this photo taken of himself pre- and post- shave shaking his own hand. From what I’ve read, trick photography like this was a popular idea since cameras were first invented. William was born in 1881, so I would estimate that this was taken right around the turn of the last century.

William seems like he would have been a fun guy to know.