Tracking the Family of Catherine Murphy to Ireland

I'm traveling for work and have a day off in a town I'm really not interested in exploring so what better to do than to dig into whatever genealogy I can work on from my laptop. I went back to an email I received from a distant cousin regarding my great-great-grandmother, Catherine Murphy and what appeared to be the baptismal record for her child, one I already know about named Michael Dee Kelly. These are Irish records that can be found at http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/. I've known about the page for a little while but I didn't realize that they actually have some of the church records available on the web site. Had I realized this, I would have been digging into this information a long time ago.

Here is the evidence and where it led:

The Doran Property - Using Property Records

I got a question from a Miller cousin who asked about Patrick Anthony Miller, the brother of my father who died when he was about two years old. There is some confusion regarding how he died. The Bixenman Family History book notes that he drowned in a pond on the family property. My mother and at least one of my cousins thought that he died of an illness. I decided to see what I could find out about his death.

First, here is his headstone in the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Fort Madison, Lee County, Iowa. He is buried close to his parents and grandparents. 

T. Patrick Headstone in Sacred Heart Cemetery, Fort Madison, Lee County, Iowa

A Couple of Tricks to Find All Ancestors in a Given Census

I encourage all genealogists to do their best to find all of their direct ancestors in every available census. The only way to do this is go have a plan and go at it systematically. Ancestry.com has the 1880 and 1940 US Federal Censuses available to everyone for free. There's no reason not to be sure you have the census images for all the ancestors you can.

What I did was decided I was going to work on the 1880 Census. I pulled up my family tree in pedigree view. This showed me all ancestors back to and including all of my great-great-grandparents. I started a the top of the chart (the direct male line) and figured out which of them would have been alive at the time of the 1880 census and where they were living at the time. If I didn't already have the images of them in the census, I went to Ancestry, brought up the 1880 census and, on the right side of the page, browsed down to the town I expected them to be in.

Moriz Panther Biography

Moriz Panther, my great-great-grandfather, was born in Stadelhofen, A. Achern Ortenaukreis, Baden. His parents, Franz Joseph Panther and Genovefa Schindler, moved the family from Stadelhofen to Mösbach some time after the children were born.

Moriz Panther Baptismal Record

Links to My Family History Pages

Here's a listing of all the web links I have regarding family history research I'm working on:

My main blog page (this page): http://matthewkmiller.blogspot.com. Be sure to bookmark it if you haven't already.

My main link page that links to all the other pages I have going. If you save only one Favorite or Bookmark, make it this one:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~matthewkmiller/

My full family tree on RootsWeb: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=mattmiller

My Lulu storefront selling all family history books I've made available: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/matthewkmiller

Here are the individual books that are available:
Moriz Panther and Elizabeth Birk - Their Descendants and Ancestors: http://www.lulu.com/shop/matthew-k-miller/moriz-panther-and-elizabeth-birk-their-descendants-and-ancestors/hardcover/product-20362436.html

The Bixenman Family - Volume 1 - By Sister Catherine Seemann: http://www.lulu.com/shop/sister-catherine-seemann/the-bixenman-family-volume-1/hardcover/product-20477261.html

Bixenman Family Tree - Volume 2 - By Sister Catherine Seemann: http://www.lulu.com/shop/sister-catherine-seemann/bixenman-family-tree-volume-2/hardcover/product-21234754.html

My YouTube Channel - Most of the videos aren't family history related. They are videos of things I've recorded that I found interesting but should I record anything family history related, it will be here: https://www.youtube.com/user/matthewmille

German Church Record Basics - Part 2 - Latin Records

This is Part 2 of German Church Record Basics - Latin Records. The church record books in Germany prior to about 1800 were typically written in Latin. After about 1800, they were written in German. The part covering the church book records in the German language can be found here: http://matthewkmiller.blogspot.com/2013/12/german-church-record-basics-part-1.html .

Here are a few sample German Church records in Latin:

Latin Birth/Baptismal (Natus/Baptizatus) Record

Latin Marriage (Matrimonius) Record

Latin Death (Mortus) Record

Latin Birth/Baptism (Natus/Baptizatus) Record - The key words you're looking for are:

German Church Record Basics - Part 1 - German Records

All of my Panther family tree information was found in the church records of a few villages in Germany. So, let's say you know what town your family is from in Germany. You have found microfilm of the church records in the LDS archives. You order the film or are viewing the images online. How do you read them? You might recognize your ancestors' names written on the pages but that's all you can figure out. How do you know what they say?

First, you need to know what language the records are written in. The later records, from about 1800 and later, are typically written in German. Earlier than this, they're typically in Latin. This is part one of two, the German records. Part two covers the Latin records and can be found here: http://matthewkmiller.blogspot.com/2014/01/german-church-record-basics-part-2.html

Then comes the hand writing. Some of the writing is in very elaborate script that can make it difficult to read. Some is in clear handwriting which makes it quite easy. Some seems close to a scribble that sometimes can be nearly impossible to read.

Here is a sample of each of the types of German church book records:

2013 - Most Popular Posts of the Blog's First Year

I'm trying to come up with a good subject for my next blog post but nothing is inspiring me, so... I'll give you the most popular posts on my blog this year.

The most popular post this year, narrowly beating the second place entry is "What Constitutes Proof?" This post is a rundown of everything I know about Elizabeth "Lizzie" Juliana Dunzinger, my great-grandmother. I've found quite a bit of circumstantial evidence pointing to Andreas/Andrew and Fanny Dunzinger of New York and Wemding Bavaria to make me believe they are her parents. I'm hoping to find concrete proof of this. It got quite a few of the visits due to it being mentioned in the Genealogy Guys and the Genealogy Gems podcasts.

Coming in second is my post titled "Who Finds Who?" It tells the story of the discovery of my great-great-great-grandfather's grave and it's near discovery by my cousin's son, who had literally tripped over it but still didn't find it. As another one of my cousins described it, "unbelievable, awesome, spooky and hilarious all rolled in to one!"

Coming in at a solid third was the report of my initial discovery of Elizabeth Dunzinger, "Elizabeth Dunzinger Possibly Found", describing how I found her and what I found, along with follow-ups on some research in Wemding.

Have a subject you think will make a good blog post? Do you have a research question you'd like an answer to? A research technique to let people know about? A branch of our shared family tree you'd like posted? Drop me a message!

--Matt

Indiana Marriage Records - Bixenmans - Family Search Newsletter

First, thank you all for getting me to 2000 page views! It took 6 months to get to the first 1000 hits and only 3 months for the next 1000. Thank you!

Next, I've mentioned this tip before but I'm going to mention it again because I have another example of why it's a good thing to do. The tip is this: Create a free account on familysearch.org, then sign up for the Family Search Newsletter. The Family Search Newsletter is sent out by familysearch.org, which is the LDS Family History Center. These are the people that have all the microfilm that you can order and have delivered to your local family history center. They are in the middle of a huge project to digitize and index all their microfilm rolls so, in the future, you won't have to order them and view them at your local family history center. You can just look at them online...for free!

The Ancestors of Julia Cecelia Doran

Ancestors of Julia Cecelia Doran

My Grandmother

First Generation

1.       Julia Cecelia Doran, daughter of Thomas F. Doran and Mary Ann Kelly, was born on 1 Mar 1891 in New Boston, Lee County, Iowa, died on 10 May 1968 in Fort Madison, Lee County, Iowa at age 77, and was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery, Fort Madison, Lee County, Iowa.

Julia was one of thirteen children born to Thomas Doran and Mary Ann Kelly. She was one of six that survived all the serious childhood epidemics of the time. They moved from New Boston to Fort Madison, Iowa and lived at 1543 Division Street (now Avenue L). She attended Sacred Heart Catholic School and later found a job as a telephone operator. She worked for Northwestern Bell Telephone Company advancing to supervisor and was made chief operator in 1923. During WWII the "new" Bell Telephone Company called Julia back to work part-time until the war was over, which she did feeling rather proud and patriotic. She was a member of the Daughters of Isabella, past president of the Catholic Ladies Auxiliary of St. Mary's and a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engineers Auxiliary. Of their home life, their daughter Cecelia wrote:

"Our lives at home were mostly happy times, always busy with school work, music lessons and playing neighborhood ball. Dad was always busy going to work at the Santa Fe. Our train rides, though not excessive, were fun when we were growing up, as that was a Santa Fe privilege to travel with a pass."

 

Leo Miller and Julia Doran on their Wedding Day

The Miller/Müller Family

I got a message from a cousin on my Miller side, asking for what is currently known about the Miller family. Of course, that makes a perfect blog post.

The Müller Family

First Generation

1.  It is unknown who the parents of the Müller siblings are. It is believed they lived and died in Germany. Where they lived and when they were born and died is unknown.

Their children were:

  +         2   M        i.         Charles E. Miller was born on 7 Oct 1852 in Germany, died on 21 Oct 1923 in Fort Madison, Lee, Iowa at age 71, and was buried in Fort Madison, Lee, Iowa.

  +         3   M       ii.         Gottlieb Müller was born on 29 May 1868 in Germany.

  +         4   F       iii.         Annie Müller.

              5   M     iv.         Unknown first name Müller.

  +         6   F        v.         Sophia Müller was born about 1871 in Germany.

  +         7   F       vi.         Rika Müller.

Not sure of order but Charles E. Miller appears to be in the front center. The rest are Gottlieb Miller, Annie Miller Quenzer, Sophia Miller Schmalzl, Rika Miller Susenberger

Read all the known details by clicking the Read More link:

It's a Small World

When it comes to genealogy, it really is a small world. I'm well aware of the fact that the further back you research, the more people you're related to. My mother always says, "If you go back far enough, we're all related." These things are true but it's interesting when you actually start seeing connections you wouldn't expect to find. Here are a few things I've found in my years of genealogy research that show just how small a world it is. I found a couple of these just in the past month when I was given the opportunity to read "Groene Family History - Kasper Groene & Adelaide Menke" when at the house of a lifelong friend of my mother's.

1. Professional baseball players on both sides of the family -

I've known for several years that my third cousin once removed on my mother's side of the family, Jim Panther, was a baseball player. He spent most of his career in the minors but he did play for a short time in the majors. He was on the roster for the 1973 Braves, the 1972 Rangers and the 1971 Oakland A's.

My fourth cousin on my father's side of the family is a world famous pitcher and record holder. Darold Knowles is the only pitcher to pitch all seven games of a World Series. He did this while on the roster for the Oakland A's. He played on the Oakland A's from 1971 until 1974. He played on the same team at the same time as Jim Panther.

What Constitutes Proof?

Lizzie Dunzinger as a young lady.

An updated article has been posted here.

As anyone who has been aware of my genealogy research knows, my big mystery is my great-grandmother, Elizabeth Dunzinger. I've put a lot of time and effort into finding her, as you'll see in the evidence collected below.

I am going to list all the documentation we have on Lizzie (as she was known most of her life). I'm interested in your opinion. Does all this together consistute proof that we've found her parents? If not, where do we go from here to prove it? Please comment below or email me your thoughts. Thank you!

The family story passed down through the years says that Lizzie was born in New York in either 1854 or 1856. Her grandparents brought her to Burlington, Des Moines County, Iowa to live with relatives after her parents died when she was about three years old.

In this list, I will talk about only facts about the documentation and facts about what we know, not my beliefs on what is true.

Trip to Southeast Iowa

I drove my mother to southeast Iowa last weekend so she could visit her sisters and old friends. While she was busy, I got busy with genealogy research.

I took photos at St. James cemetery in St. Paul, Lee County, Iowa. I took a list of graves from Find-A-Grave that didn't have photos posted. I started near the back of the cemetery, going grave by grave, checking the list to see if a photo was needed. If so, I took the picture and moved to the next. Once I got home, I added those I needed (most of them - I'm related to 40% of the people in this cemetery) to my database and posted them all to Find-A-Grave. The percent photographed showed 24% when I started. It now shows 42% photographed.

While taking the photos, I set up my GoPro Hero3 camera to take time-lapse photos of the clouds and sunset. I think the video is pretty stunning:



The thing I was most excited about on this trip was my visit to Sts. John and Paul Church in Burlington. They allowed me to page through the old books.

The Passing of Elmer Steffensmeier

I got word today that my Uncle Elmer Steffensmeier died early this morning after being diagnosed with lung cancer a few months ago. He was three days shy of his 87th birthday and will be buried on his 87th birthday. Cake and ice cream will be served at the reception!

 

Here is his obituary:
http://www.kinglynk.com/obituaries.aspx?turl=http%3A%2F%2Fhosting-3269.tributes.com%2Fshow%2FElmer-Steffensmeier-96535768

Elmer Steffensmeier

• BORN: October 15, 1926
• DIED: October 12, 2013
• LOCATION: Fort Madison, Iowa

Elmer Lloyd Steffensmeier, 86, of Fort Madison, IA, passed away on Saturday, October 12, 2013 at 2:19 a.m. at his home. He was born on October 15, 1926 in Fort Madison, IA to Leonard & Caroline Rippenkroeger Steffensmeier. He married Rita F. Panther on June 12, 1948 in Houghton, IA. He was an engineer for the Santa Fe Railroad for 40 years, retiring in 1987. He served in the U.S. Navy during WWII and was a member of Ss. Mary & Joseph Church and the Knights of Columbus. He was the former president of the BLF & E.

Elmer is survived by: his wife: Rita Steffensmeier of Fort Madison, IA; 3-daughters: Marilyn (Vince) Brinkschroeder of Fort Madison, IA, Anne Steffensmeier of Cedar Rapids, IA & Carole (Richard) Grayson of Chicago, IL; 4-grandchildren: Sheila (Tony) Huls, Eric (DeAnn) Brinkschroeder, Michael (Heather) Brinkschroeder & Elizabeth Steffensmeier; 5-great grandchildren: Jacob, Megan & Owen Huls, Andrew & Isabella Brinkschroeder and 1-brother: Vernon Steffensmeier. He was preceded in death by: his parents, 1-daughter, Ellen, 2-brothers & 1-sister.

Friends may call after 2:00 p.m. on Monday, October 14, 2013 with the family to receive friends from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. with a wake service to be held at 6:15 p.m. all at King-Lynk Funeral Home & Crematory. The funeral mass will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 15, 2013 at Ss. Mary & Joseph Church with Rev. David Wilkening officiating. Burial will be held at Gethsemane Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established for Lee County Hospice or the Gethsemane Cemetery Foundation. Online condolences to Elmer's family may be left at the King-Lynk Funeral Home & Crematory website: www.kinglynk.com.

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While I don't put as much effort into collateral lines of the family such as Elmer, I do log the information when I find it so I do have a bit of a family tree for him. Here is a chart of his ancestors:

My mother and I had a good trip to southeast Iowa last weekend. I'm glad we were able to see Elmer one last time. I've been busy going through all the information I gathered while there and will post it soon. In the meantime, here is a time-lapse video of the clouds and sunset while I visited St. James Cemetery in St. Paul, Lee County, Iowa.