Author: FHadmin

Too Many Minnies

Posted on by FHadmin

Often newspaper articles, small mentions, and even advertisements have given me a lead to research, given some details in someone’s life, or helped bring a person to life.  However, in the case of Minnie (Kutzner) Helm, my mother-in-law’s mother, the newspaper not only led me to find new relatives that I didn’t even have on my radar, but it came to the rescue to tie very fragmented records together.

 

The Syracuse Journal Democrat, August 13, 1926

The Article

I was searching for articles in Nebraska sbout Minnie Kutzner when I came across the article shown.  I immediately wondered why Minnie had been traveling out of state with E. H. Johanns and his family.  This was not a name that had ever come to my attention.

 

Confusion #1

I was following the records and newspaper articles, but then I had second thoughts.  E. H. Johanns appeared to show up with the given name of Elbie, Eaven H., Ivan, Iva, and Elben Henry. I began to wonder if these records and newspaper articles were all of the same person. But, he was consistently with a wife Minnie and in many records with sons Elmer and Chris.  Thus, the pursuit was on.

 

Confusion #2

E. H. Johanns and his family lived just outside Syracuse, Nebraska.  However, the marriage record for Elbie Johanns showed that he married at the German Lutheran Church in Thayer County, Nebraska, about 100 miles southwest of Syracuse.  Again, I was wondering if it was the same man.  However, newspaper articles mentioned his wife visiting relatives in Dreshler, Nebraska, which is in Thayer County.

 

When I saw the name of his wife – “Wilhelmine Kutzner,”  I knew this had to be the same couple.  The name was spelled incorrectly and used a more formal version of “Minnie,” but it clearly must be another “Minnie Kutzner.” 

 

E.H.’s obituary, which was found well into the research, resolved the question as it said that he had lived in Syracuse where he married Minnie Reuter. Yes, another Minnie!  However, she died within a few years of their marriage.  Then, it said that he moved to Thayer County, where he married Wilhelmine “Minnie” Kutzner.

 

 

A Clue

But, what was the relationship between the two Minnies? Upon reviewing additional details of their marriage, I saw that Minnie Johanns’ father was “Herman Kutzner” and her mother was “Ernestine Stahlert.”  Herman Kutzner was the name of Minnie (Kutzner) Helm’s father, but I had never heard he had a wife besides Minnie (Kutzner) Helm’s mother, Minnie (Schmidt) Kutzner. Yes, far too many Minnies!

 

The Syracuse Journal-Democrat, December 25, 1958

More Digging

So, it was back to the records to determine exactly how this Herman Kutzner was related to Minnie (Kutzner) Helm.  No census records existed with Herman and Ernestine living in the same household. However, in 1880, both were living in Minerva, Iowa near where Minnie (Kutzner) Helm’s family lived. Herman, who was listed as married, was boarding with a family.  At the same time, Ernestine was listed in the same town with her parents and her daughter Wilhelmina.  Interestingly, Ernestine was listed as single and both her and her daughter were listed with Ernestine’s maiden name.

 

Additionally, the transcription of a marriage record was found, but it lists the wife as Annie, not Ernestine.  It seems given the timing of the marriage and the location that it must be the record of the marriage of Herman and Ernestine. 

 

Separate Ways

Another daughter, Caroline Mary “Maria,” was born to Herman and Ernestine in September of 1880.  Yet, by the beginning of 1883, Herman and Ernestine must have parted ways as Ernestine married August Meyer in Thayer County that January.  Two years later Minnie (Kutzner) Helm’s father Herman Kutzner married her mother Minnie (Schmidt) Kutzner. However, no divorce record has been found to date.

 

No Conclusions

It would seem that given

  • Multiple records of Ernestine and Herman being married
  • Ernestine and Herman being in the same small town close to where Minnie (Kutzner) Helm’s father later lived
  • The timing of additional marriages

that Minnie (Kutzner) Helm’s father was the same man that married Ernestine.  Yet, no records were found to conclusively prove that her father had married twice.

 

Newspaper To The Rescue

 

Despite the newspaper not being a primary source of information, it came to the rescue to pull these facts together.  One might think that Herman’s obituary would be useful.  However, despite Minnie (Kutzner) Johanns and her husband visiting him during his last illness, she was not mentioned in his obituary.  It only contained references to his family with his second wife.

 

Instead, it was the obituary for Minnie (Kutzner) Johanns that brought this story full circle.  The key was the mention of Minnie (Kutzner) Helm and her siblings as survivors of Minnie Johanns. Minnie (Kutzner) Helm’s brother Otto’s obituary also mentioned Minnie (Kutzner) Johanns and her sister.

 

As a result of a newspaper article about a car accident, I found that my mother-in-law had two half-aunts: Minnie (Kutzner) Johanns and Caroline Mary “Maria” (Kutzner) Aden. Additionally, she had eight “new” half-cousins and many more “new” distant cousins.

 

Questions Remain

 

The questions that remains are:

  • Why did Herman name a daughter Minnie when he already had a  wife and daughter that went by Minnie?
  • Why wasn’t Minnie (Kutzner) Johanns mentioned in her father’s obituary despite her visit with him during his battle with cancer?
  • Why didn’t my mother-in-law know about her half-aunts and their families?  After all, they lived in the same general area and it was clear that each branch of the family knew about the other.

 

Afterward

This story is a greatly abbreviated version of the research into this family.  It was complicated by the German names, which never seemed to be spelled the same way twice and the list of given names which seemed to be used interchangeably. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parallel Birthdays

Posted on by FHadmin

Lots of patterns exist in the birthdays in our families. Certain months have lots of birthdays. Situations where birthdays fall multiple days in a row exist.  And, many births, deaths, and marriages of distant relatives fall on the same month/day combination of those in my immediate family.  However, one of the most interesting are the parallels between my family and my dad’s cousin’s family.

 

Birthdays Abound

Dad was one of 11 kids. He and his siblings had 26 cousins in the McCracken family.  If the birthdays for the entire group were evenly distributed over the year, that would be about 3 per month.  Thus, it wouldn’t be unusual for two people to celebrate their birthday close together.   Matter of fact, 4 of his siblings had birthdays within 3 weeks of Dad’s birthday.  And, 3 of his cousins celebrated birthdays within that same 6 week time frame.

 

Dad and Neil

My dad and his cousin Neil celebrated their birthdays 7 days apart.  What was unusual is that they were actually born 7 days apart. Still, that wasn’t that unusual in a large growing family. 

 

Over time, the closeness of their birthdays became more meaningful.  Neil married first.  He and his wife had a daughter, but she only lived a few days.   Dad married a couple of months later.

 

The following year, Neil and his wife had a son 17 days after I was born.  Then, three years later both families welcomed baby girls.  They were born only two days apart.

 

None of it was planned, but it did cause some confusion with multiple McCracken babies being  born about the same time.

 

 

Cattle On The Lawn At Independence Hall

Posted on by FHadmin

Independence Hall in Philadelphia, also known as the Pennsylvania State House, is famous as the location of the formation of our country.  The Declaration of Independence was signed there and the Liberty Bell was rung to alert the people of Philadelphia that the delegation had reached agreement on the declaration. Many people from across the world have visited Independence Hall..  However, only a few were ever allowed to let their cattle graze on the lawn.

 

The Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) about 1776 . Image from the National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov

Living In The State House

When visiting Philadelphia, we were talking with park rangers and mentioned that some of Rod’s relatives had lived in the State House.  Before we could even tell them about the cattle that had grazed on the lawn, they assured us that no one had ever lived on the grounds.  However, we informed them that state congressional records indicated that not only did people live in the West Wing of the State House, but cattle had also once grazed on the south lawn.

 

The Act

I learned about this piece of history when I found  a record that stated that on March 29, 1788 the  Act to Exonerate Joseph Fry was passed by the state legislature.  Joseph was married to Martha Hurrie, who was a sister to Margaret (Hurrie) McGinley, Rod’s 6th great-grandmother.  Joseph had replaced his father-in-law William Hurrie, of Liberty Bell fame, as doorkeeper of the State House after William passed away.

 

All had been well until 1788 when the comptroller-general decided that Joseph should pay the government rent for his family living in the West Wing of the State House.  The comptroller-general had also requested Joseph pay fees for the “herbage of the [S]tate [H]ouse yard heretofore consumed by cattle for his use.”  Passage of the act freed him of any charges and stated that no rent or charges could be placed upon him for living in the apartment.

 

The Rationale

One of the arguments against charging Joseph Fry rent was that doorkeepers in the past had not been charged.  This implies that William Hurrie and Andrew McNair before him, likely both lived in the State House and may have had cattle on the south lawn as well.

 

Additionally, the act stated that maintaining a residence in the State House rent-free was “a reasonable allowance for extra services and the care of the [S]tate [H]ouse.”  This included caring for the facility during recess of the house.

 

Moving Out?

By the fall of 1790, it was determined that the United States’ House of Representatives, which shared Independence Hall with the Pennsylvania Legislature,  required more space in the West Wing.  This meant that various offices and Joseph Fry’s family would need to be relocated.

 

The committee researching the options for the impacted offices recommended moving offices to Carpenter Hall and other locations.  They found a house on Fifth Street between Market and Chestnut that they felt could be used by Joseph and his family.  No statement was made about rent or expenses to be charged to the family.

 

Staying At The State House

After reviewing the plan, John Beckley of the U.S. House of Representatives reported that after surveying the “apartments,” that he felt it was not necessary for Joseph Fry’s family to move out of the State House.  Instead, the family was to move into the space where the Land Office had been residing.

 

Afterward

Today, the National Park Service includes a statement on the website about Independence Hall indicating that early doorkeepers lived in the building.

 

Contact me if you would like access to the detailed records for Joseph Fry, William Hurrie, or John McGinley.

 

 

A True Outdoorsman

Posted on by FHadmin

I never met my father-in-law James Thomson, as he died when my husband was only six years old. However, I know that he was a very talented man. He sang in the church choir, performed in the play “Dinner Date,” and read an entire set of encyclopedias. If you knew that about him, you might not think of an outdoorsman who was a farmer at heart. But, that is exactly who he was.

 

A Farm Boy

 

James grew up on a 160-acre farm just southeast of Palmyra, Nebraska. The farm was complete with all the features needed for a farm family. It had a house, garage, barn, outhouse, corn cribs, a chicken coop, pig pen, fields for crops, a garden, and creek running through the property.

 

At the corner of the property was the long ago abandoned Pioneer Cemetery (a.k.a. Old Palmyra Cemetery), which was said to have been built upon two acres of land “on a hilltop surrounded by prairie with grass so tall it was claimed that a man could ride through it on horseback and not be seen.” ¹ It made for a great place for a young boy to explore. The old stones amongst the trees, weeds, and tall grasses made for eerie fun.

 

Grease was also a fun substance for a young James. At a family gathering one day, while dressed in their Sunday best, James and his cousin disappeared. No one noticed they were missing until it was too late. They had managed to grease every inch of the tractor. But, to the amazement of the older generation, their clothes remained clean with no grease spots to be found. How? No one knows.

 

It wasn’t, however, all fun and games. James and his brother helped his father grow corn, milo, and winter wheat along with raising cattle, pigs, and chickens. His chores included baling and storing hay, cutting wood for the stoves, and ridding the barn of pigeons by using them for target practice. Additionally, James hunted various animals, fished, and trapped muskrats. It was partially sport, but mostly to provide food for the family and protect the family’s livelihood.

 

In the garden, the family grew potatoes and asparagus among other things. The family ate the food from the garden, apples from their trees, rabbits, squirrels, and pheasants. In addition, during cold weather, the family butchered cattle and hung the carcass in the garage until it could be eaten as they had no other means of refrigeration.

 

Hunting

James usually hunted coyotes, pheasants, rabbits, squirrel and deer. However, on one occasion when he was out hunting with his boys, a snake ended up his target when it crossed his path. 

 

One coyote’s face became well known to the family when it was turned into a coyote mask. My husband remembers the mask, but it is his brother that  remembers wearing it for Halloween. His brother also remembers cleaning deer hides and making the hides into shammies to be used by the family.

 

The year before he died, James was very happy when he was able to purchase a new rifle for his hunting pursuits. He now hunted, not only on the family farm, but also made trips to Albion, Nebraska for hunting.

 

After James died, my husband learned that his dad apparently wanted to take him Kodiak bear hunting in Alaska. Was this a mom’s way to create a special memory for her son or had he really talked about taking his six-year-old bear hunting? In any case, some time after his father’s death, my husband discovered that he was quite good at target shooting. Perhaps a skill he inherited from his father. And, which he has now passed on to the next generation.

 

Fishing

 

Silver Creek coming off the Little Nemaha River made for good fishing for James and his family. His experience came in handy when as an adult he entered the Western Electric Sportsman’s Club’s fly casting competition. The year before he died, he took home the second place trophy in the competition.

 

At the time, he was the vice-president of the club, which sponsored various outdoor sporting events. Being the outdoorsman he was, James likely participated in as many club activities as he could. Although James’ activities with the club went undocumented, Western Electric’s Sportsman’s Clubs were known to have fishing tournaments, trap shooting events, archery competitions, canoe trips, and hold hunting safety courses. 

 

 

Farming

 

James lived and worked on the farm until he got married. However, he never farmed full time after he got married.  Instead, he worked as a messenger (1956) and later a supply clerk (1959) for the Department of Roads and Irrigation/State Department of Roads. By 1959, he was driving a Yellow Cab in Lincoln, Nebraska.

 

After his first son was born, he moved the family to Omaha, where he worked at Western Electric. After his father died in 1964 (and maybe before), James worked at his regular job during the week and farmed the family farm near Palmyra, Nebraska on the weekends. One memory my husband has from those farm days was him and his siblings riding in the back of a truck with corn pouring in as it was being harvested.

James talked about going back to farming full-time, but he never got the opportunity.

 

 

¹ Otoe County Genealogical Society, https://ocgsne.org/index.php/16-cemeteries/97-old-palmyra-cemetery

 

 

Slow To Change

Posted on by FHadmin

Living in rural Kansas, Grandma Nellie and Grandpa Joe had very few conveniences of modern life. Over the years, they raised a large family.  To do so, the family farmed, gardened, kept house, sewed clothes, cooked, and more without electricity, running water, or many mechanical devices.

Electricity

 

The family used gas and oil lamps for years, but lighting was one of the first things to be modernized in Nellie and Joe’s home.  They moved from “The Home Place” (a.k.a. Dewey’s house) to the “new” house (a.k.a. Ed’s house) in 1947 primarily so that they could have electricity as electricity became available west of highway 7 before it was available on the east side of the highway.  The house, of course, had no wiring, fuse box, or outlets. Thus, Ed became the resident electrician, installing everything needed to bring light into the home. Over the years this changed very little. 

 

Lantern owned by Joe and Nellie McCracken . Chimney is believed to be a replacement.

Heating, & Cooling

The entire two story house had  a single wood-burning stove in the middle of the house, Which means the house wasn’t really heated very well at all.  Nellie and Joe continued to have a single heating source even after they moved to their “new” house. Central heat or a secondary heat source was never added to the homes.  However, their sons did update the homes with a propane heater to eliminate the need for chopping wood or buying coal.

 

The cooking stove’s goal was not to heat the house.  However, it tended to heat the house at all the wrong times.  It always amazes me that food was even edible after being cooked on those old wood-fired stoves as getting the temperature just right must have been terribly difficult.  It does explain, however, why my dad liked many foods just a bit burnt.

 

Like heating, cooling came from a single source –  windows.  Electricity, which was the motivator for the move to the “new” house, allowed for the use of fans.  Later, electricity also came to the original home (a.k.a. The Home Place).  So, fans could be used there as well.  It was long after Nellie and Joe lived at Ed’s house that a window air conditioner was finally added.

 

Grandma’s Washboard

If you wanted ice to cool off, you better hope it was the middle of winter and the ponds and rivers were frozen over.  Then, you could cut as many blocks as you wanted.  The rest of the time, you had to purchase ice if you wanted to keep something colder than the  temperature of the cellar.

 

Clothes

Nellie, who preferred sewing to cooking, left much of the cooking to her daughters while she made or patched clothes.  She used whoever was home as a model including using Ed to be her model for his sister’s dresses when he was home from school sick.  Neither her equipment or materials were what most people would use today. The most advanced non-electric sewing machines were treadle-powered and many of the dresses were made out of flour sacks.

 

The clothes were cleaned with a washboard and steaming hot water.  Later, after Joe and Nellie got electricity, Nellie had a wringer washing machine.  After cleaning the clothes, they were ironed  with old fashioned irons that were heated to do the ironing.  Like the cooking stoves, it is amazing that these irons didn’t do more harm that good.

 

When Grandma was in her later years, she still had a basket of scrap cloth for patching clothes.  And, she still did it the old fashion way.  However, she washed her clothes at a fully electric laundromat and ironed them with an electric iron.

 

Running Water

Water for cooking, cleaning, or bathing meant a trip to the well.  Baths were taken in the kitchen and the water was used over and over.  Fortunately great-grandpa William J. Peelle had designed the kitchen in The Home Place so that water would all run to one corner where it could drain out of the house.

Eventually, both houses got water lines from the well to the kitchen.  However, it wasn’t until 1963 that Ed installed an indoor bathroom in his house. Then, about 1976, Ed and Dewey finally installed an indoor bathroom in The Homeplace.  Before that, the only toilet was an outhouse, which could be mighty cold in the winter. And, mighty scary in the middle of the night, especially with the shadows from the trees.

Communication

The family could connect with the outside world through newspapers and radio.  Nellie and Joe had a battery operated radio no later than the late 1930s as Joe listened to all the news and kept up to date on the war brewing in Europe.  However, the radio wasn’t too reliable.  If it was somewhat working, it might pick up stations that were far away.  Yet, at the same time, it didn’t always bring in the local stations.   They also had a telephone on a party line, but the quality was less than desirable, especially if someone was listening in or the call was long-distance. 

 

The radio and telephone improved over time.  By the late 1950s, Joe and Ed were watching Gunsmoke on the black and white television in the new house.  But, it wasn’t until around 1984 that Ed upgraded to a color television.  Until then he hadn’t seen a reason to get a color television, since the color in TVs wasn’t that good and black and white worked just fine. 

 

In 2006, a computer was added to the household.  However, internet didn’t come to the home until the end of 2021.  Like the old time radio, it was a bit flaky.  Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t.  The same could be said of cell phones.  Depending on the phone and the provider, it might work, might work sometimes, or might only work on rare occasions.

 

Stirrups in horsebarn
Very old stirrups hanging in the corner of the horse barn (2022)

Farm Work

Work on the farm was no easier than work in the home.  Everything was done by hand or with horses and mules.  Plowing fields was done with a walk behind plow pulled by horses.  The same for the harrow.  Haying was a very manual process and milking cows was as well. Some things, such as the brush cutter, did have engines to run them, but they were still plenty of work. 

 

The family didn’t have a tractor until in the 1950s.  After they got it, Joe very reluctantly sold his horses.  He didn’t want to, but he said that he couldn’t justify keeping them.  He must have thought about it a lot and discussed it with others as his quandary over his horses was mentioned in the newspaper.

 

Despite the sale of the horses in the 1950s, many pieces of equipment from the horse-drawn days remained at the new farm the rest of Ed’s life, including singletrees, doubletrees, wooden stirrups (likely Nellie’s for her horse Beauty), a horse collar, horse-drawn implements, and more.

 

And, Ed’s 1954 Ford tractor was still running nearly 70 years after it was built.  No fancy air conditioning. No power steering.  However, implements for farming did come along throughout the years – a rake, hay baler, an elevator, and more.  Again, nothing fancy and if they worked or could be fixed, they were never replaced.

 

So change did come to Nellie and Joe’s lives and the properties they owned.  But, it came slowly!