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 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!
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.