Maternal

Tombstone Tuesday – Martin and Elizabeth Witt

joelowry1982 Maternal, Tombstone, Witt
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene…

In Mount Carmel Cemetery in Verona, Pennsylvania is the headstone of my third great grandparents, Martin and Elizabeth Kreher Witt. Martin was born in 1830 in Gernsheim, Gross-Gerau, Hessen, Germany and arrived in the United States when he was just two years old. His wife Elizabeth Kreher was born in Herman, Butler, Pennsylvania in 1840. Finding Herman took some doing as today it’s nothing more than the intersection of Herman Road and Bonniebrook Road. Aside from the volunteer fire department, a convenience store, cemetery and school, you wouldn’t think much of it. The Witt’s spent most of their lives in western Pennsylvania and their final years in Pittsburgh.

Mary Mathewson photo, from Find A Grave.com
I can’t in the least take credit for this image. As I’ve mentioned before, the genealogy community is awesome in that sometimes total strangers offer something great that you couldn’t retrieve yourself. In this case, I posted a request on FindAGrave.com (yes, that’s a real site – with 107 MILLION grave records) for someone to post a photo of the headstone for Martin and Elizabeth. A few months later, Mary Mathewson posted this photo. A quick email exchange and we discovered we are researching the same ancestors and shared information and family photos. It’s this kind of sharing and collaboration that make genealogy so much fun!

Source:
Find A Grave, Inc. Find A Grave.com, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com: accessed 15 October 2013), photograph, gravestone for Martin (1830 – 1921) and Elizabeth (1840 – 1930) Witt, Verona, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.

Happy Blogoversary to Me!

joelowry1982 Maternal, Paternal
It was a year ago today that I first created this blog as a tool to help me capture my family history. I’ve posted around 80 different articles including photos, documents, and stories. My first real post was the wedding announcement of my grandparents Chuck and Jean Lowry. I’ve since added several stories to that post, provided by my uncle Chuck Lowry. You can read it here.
My sincere thanks to the 5,300+ visits this site has received in the past year. Most of those visits have been from automated, internet-searching bots, but I thank the few hundred visits that family and friends have added to that number.
Here’s to many more years of tracing my family history!

Census Sunday – 1940 Census of Francis and Helen Witt

joelowry1982 1940s, Census Sunday, Maternal, Witt
It’s hard not to think of our grandparents how we most often saw them – as grown adults, perhaps even elderly. I think of my great grandfather as a man in his 90’s, sitting in a chair in his house on Osborn Avenue and waving his cane at me. Documents such as census records make it easier to imagine them in a different time in their lives. In 1940, the Witt family lived at 24 Osborn Avenue, just north of Mahoning Avenue. When a census enumerator visited the house, my great grandfather Francis was 41 years old, and my grandfather Howard just a boy of 11.

Relationship to me:
Francis John Witt (1899 – 1992)
father of:
Howard David Witt (1929 – 2001)
father of:
Rebecca Ann Witt
mother of:
Joseph Patrick Lowry

State: Ohio
County: Mahoning
City: Youngstown

Ward: 4
Block: 506
Sheet: 12A
Enumeration District: 96-76
Enumerated by: Anne S Williams, Enumerator
Address: 24 N Osborn Ave (map)

Francis Witt, head, male, white, 41 years old, married, has not attended school since March 1, 1939, attended school through 8th grade, born in Ohio, on April 1, 1935 lived in same place, was at work for pay the week of March 24-30, 1940. Works 40 hours a week as a business agent in a repair shop, worked 26 weeks in 1939. Earned $800 wages in 1939, with no wages from another source.

Helen         ” , wife, female, white, age 41, married, has not attended school since March 1, 1939, attended school through 8th grade, born in Ohio, on April 1, 1935 lived in same place (not a farm), did not work or seek work.
M. Governor    ” , son, male, white, age 20, single, born in Ohio, on April 1, 1935 lived in same place, has attended school since March 1, 1939, attended school through C-2 (College, 2 years), in school for 52 weeks; wages of $450. No job listed.
Francis        ” , son, male, white, age 19,  single, has not attended school since March 1, 1939, attended school through 12th grade, born in Ohio, on April 1, 1935 lived in same place, was seeking work. Duration of unemployment up to March 30, 1940—in weeks: 20 weeks. Otherwise works as an order clerk at a steel mill. In 1939, worked 12 for $300 in wages.
William        ” , son, male, white, age 17,  single, has attended school since March 1, 1939, attended school through 11th grade, born in Ohio, on April 1, 1935 lived in same place, did not work or seek work.
Fred             ” , son, male, white, age 15, single, has attended school since March 1, 1939, attended school through 8th grade, born in Ohio, on April 1, 1935 lived in same place, did not work or seek work.
Howard        ” , son, male, white, age 11, single, has attended school since March 1, 1939, attended school through 4th grade, born in Ohio, on April 1, 1935 lived in same place, did not work or seek work.
Helen K.       ” , daughter, female, white, age 6, single, has not attended school since March 1, 1939, born in Ohio, on April 1, 1935 lived in same place, did not work or seek work.
Sources:
1940 U.S. Federal Census, Mahoning County, Youngstown, population schedule, Enumeration District 96-76, Sheet 12A, Dwelling 229,. Francis Witt; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 July 2013), citing National Archives microfilm publication Roll T627_3270.

Petro, Diane. (Spring 2012). Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? The 1940 Census: Employment and Income. Prologue Magazine. Volume 44 (Issue 1). Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2012/spring/1940.html. Accessed 28 July 2013.

Tombstone Tuesday – Michael Schulmeister

joelowry1982 1930s, Maternal, Schulmeister
My 3rd great grandfather Michael Schulmeister was born in Russia about May 1856. Arriving in New York City with his wife Anna Maria (Mary) Kotterin Schulmeister on April 17 1886, they quickly set down roots in Topeka, Kansas where a large congregation of Volga Germans had settled. There they had at least five children, three girls and two boys. The oldest is my 2nd great grandmother Elizabeth Schulmeister Porubsky.
Photo from FindAGrave.com by Oz.
Michael died in 1937 in Topeka at age 81. He is buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Topeka.

Matrilineal Monday – Caroline Porubsky at Age 19

joelowry1982 Maternal, Porubsky
My great grandmother at age 19. This photo is stamped ‘Jan 20 1929’ while below is hand written ‘I was 19 years old’ ‘grand(sic?)’. 
I rarely scan the back of photos. Obviously, they are blank most of the time but I loved that this one included a very specific date. Imagine Caroline in her house at 1015 N Madison bundling up for the Topeka winter and heading to a photo studio. Perhaps this is a school photo? For a church directory? Maybe my grandmother has an answer…
Photo from a family collection.

Census Sunday – 1850 U.S. Census of Mathias and Godfrey Wolford

joelowry1982 Census Sunday, Maternal
One of the fun and fascinating things about family history is tracking where your ancestors lived. Within my family, we always think of the Wolford’s as being a clan from Topeka, but if you trace them back far enough, you find that they didn’t live that far from Youngstown. The 1850 U.S. Census shows several Wolford families living in Jefferson Township, Coshocton County, Ohio.
The 1850 Census was the first to list each member of the household. Previous census records only listed the heads of the household and the number of people living there. With the additional names, it’s much easier to track family lineage. The 1850 Census shows two Wolford families farming side by side. My 4th great grandfather Mathias Wolford and his family owned $500 worth of land while his brother Godfrey Wolford lived next door on a much larger plot, valued at $1000.
In 1850, Jefferson Township was becoming a very suitable place to live, as the newly built Walhonding Canal provided a link to the larger Ohio and Erie Canal and eventually, the Great Lakes. For farmers and 3rd generation Americans Mathias and Godfrey, the canal system would have provided a relatively inexpensive means of transporting goods to market and returning farming equipment to the homestead.
Relationship to me:
Mathias Wolford (1821 – 1876) and Godfrey Wolford (1812 – 1880)
father of and uncle of:
James Mathias Wolford (1846 – 1905)
father of:
Stanton M. Wolford (1864 – 1946)
father of:
Raymond Hudson Wolford (1909 – 1970)
father of:
Barbara Jean Wolford
mother of:
Rebecca Ann Witt
mother of:
Joseph Patrick Lowry

State: Ohio
County: Coshocton

Township: Jefferson Twp.
Enumeration District: 26
Enumerated by: T. Hutchinson, Asst. Marshal

Dwelling No 16
Mathias Wolford, age 29, Male, Farmer, $500 (value of real estate), born in Ohio, not married within the year, did not attend school within the year, not a person over 20 years of age who cannot read or write
Eliza.          ”      , age 25, Female, born in Ohio, not married within the year, did not attend school within the year, not a person over 20 years of age who cannot read or write
James M.   ”      , age 3, Male, born in Ohio, not married within the year, did not attend school within the year, not a person over 20 years of age who cannot read or write
Derinda      ”      , age 2, Female, born in Ohio, not married within the year, did not attend school within the year, not a person over 20 years of age who cannot read or write
Francis M  ”      , age 2/12, Male, born in Ohio, not married within the year, did not attend school within the year, not a person over 20 years of age who cannot read or write
Dwelling No 17
Godfery Wolford, age 37, Male, Farmer, $1000 (value of real estate), born in Ohio, not married within the year, did not attend school within the year, not a person over 20 years of age who cannot read or write
Susanna.  ”      , age 30, Female, born in Pennsylvania, not married within the year, did not attend school within the year, not a person over 20 years of age who cannot read or write
Eliza.       ”      , age 11, Female, born in Ohio, not married within the year, did attend school within the year, not a person over 20 years of age who cannot read or write
William    ”      , age 10, Male, born in Ohio, not married within the year, did attend school within the year, not a person over 20 years of age who cannot read or write
Mathias   ”      , age 8, Male, born in Ohio, not married within the year, did attend school within the year, not a person over 20 years of age who cannot read or write
Mary      ”      , age 6, Female, born in Ohio, not married within the year, did attend school within the year, not a person over 20 years of age who cannot read or write
Wilson   ”      , age 3, Male, born in Ohio, not married within the year, did not attend school within the year, not a person over 20 years of age who cannot read or write
Isaac    ”      , age 1, Male, born in Ohio, not married within the year, did not attend school within the year, not a person over 20 years of age who cannot read or write
Source:

Mathias Wolford household, 1850 U.S. census, Coshocton County, Ohio, population schedule, Jefferson township, page 327, dwelling 16, family 16; National Archives micropublication M432_670. Ancestry.com; Page: 164A; Image: 333. Link. Accessed 13 Jun 2013.

Funeral Card Friday – Caroline B. Wolford

joelowry1982 Funeral Card Friday, Maternal, Porubsky
I have a small collection of funeral cards. It seems that whenever a family member dies, I don’t take one funeral card. I take seven or eight. Thus, I have a lot of funeral cards for just a few relatives. My great grandmother Caroline lived to be 93 years old. I didn’t go to her funeral as I was closing out the first semester of my senior year of college in Cleveland and the funeral was 900 miles away in Topeka. I think my mom brought this back for me. A lovely quotation from the Prayer of Saint Francis is on the card.

Military Monday – World War I Draft Registration of Carl Porubsky

joelowry1982 Document, Maternal, Porubsky
In 1918 America was deeply involved in World War I and men were needed by the thousands to serve in the United States Army. The Selective Service Act of 1917 authorized the government to conscript men into service to fight overseas. On September 12, 1918, the pool was increased requiring all men 21-45 to register. 
With wife Lizzie and daughter Caroline at home in Little Russia 33-year old Carl Porubsky, my great great grandfather, went to the local registration office and was registered for possible conscription into Uncle Sam’s Army.
Interestingly, this draft card lists his name as Charles. I’m certain it’s for Carl. The date of birth, wife’s name, and address all align with other sources I have for Carl. Perhaps the woman transcribing it, Besse Buechner, heard ‘Charles’ in Carl’s heavy accent?