Mom called me to tell me that she was confused about my original posting about our great grandmother, Emma (Reece).  There was something in my posting that just didn’t add up, because she remembered a great-aunt, Elizabeth Hartnett.  Well, it’s possible and I know it will shock you all, but I appear to have made a mistake.

 

In fairness to me, it was my first trip down the Ancestry rabbit hole, and I have learned a lot in the last 2 weeks about how to manage the system.

So – we’re not Swiss or Danish. 

 

Emma’s parents were George and Anna or Annie.  They were not in Deerfield.  George was born in New York to German parents, though I don’t know anything else about that.  Annie / Anna (it appears as both in various places) was born – get this – in MENDOTA ILLINOIS!  I knew it, we were always meant to be there.  Her father was Joseph Clark from Roscommon, Ireland.  If that town sounds familiar, it’s because that’s where the McDonough family was from as well.  Small world.  Her mother was Elizabeth Datcher from Dublin. 

 

Emma was the second youngest of eight children; Frank, Charles, Mary, Elizabeth, Joseph, Margaret and Leo.  They lived at 5705 Sangamon in Chicago.  George was a Conductor for the city railway.  In the 1910 census, all the children over age 16 were working; Emma was still a student at 11 years old. 

 

I’m working on details of the siblings, but did find that Elizabeth, 1892-1958, married George Hartnett.  They had a son, Martin, who according to Mom was “adopted”.  I put that in quotes because evidently it was never legal, and when he was a teenager, his birth mom showed up and wanted him back, but he wisely chose to stay with George & Elizabeth.  Nana Pat was great friends with Martin.

 

I apologize for the error, and will do my best to never let it happen again…

 

More to come-

DMT

 

 

This weekend’s research project centered around the Spitalniak family, which really means it also centered on the Obiala family, as you’ll see.

 

Albert J. Spitalniak was born in 1860 in Potarzyca, Poland. His father was Martinus and his mother was Helena, but other than their being born in 1821 and 1829, respectively, I don’t really have any detail on them. Albert married Margaret (Margaretha) Wosiek, daughter of Carolus and Anastasia, also from Potarzyca, in about 1881 or 1882, when she was 17 or 18 and he was 21 or 22. They had at least 3 children in Poland, but in 1890, Albert left his young pregnant wife and children in Poland and emigrated to Wisconsin. He set up a farm near Stevens Point and within 2 years, Margaret and her three young children were on a boat to join them.

Margaret, Jan (John), Marianna and Antonia, ages 4, 3 and 11 months, sailed out of Bremen and arrived at Ellis Island on April 22, 1892. They had 6 more children that I can find; 5 girls and 1 boy, Catherine, April 2, 1896, Anna, early 1897?, Celia, 1899, Helen, 1901, Frank, 1902, and Agnes, 1903. Mom has a memory of Catherine (known to us as Nana Obi) telling her that there were something closer to a dozen children, but that none of the boys made it to adult-hood. I can only find the two boys, Jan and Frank. Jan died at age 18 in 1904, and Frank died at age 21 in 1923. I don’t have any detail on those two other than that.

Albert & Margaret established a farm. One story goes that the house was falling apart, and that Albert had saved enough money to build a new barn. Margaret told him she wanted a house for all these children, and Albert refused, noting the need for a barn. So Margaret did the enterprising thing and burned the house to the ground so that the money had to go to that. Tough to say if that’s true, but I’d like to believe it.

Margaret died in 1924 in Wisconsin; Albert lived until 1947.

With the exception of Anna, who died young at about age 20 in 1916, the daughters all lived to be old women. Here’s what I know about them:

Marianna

Marianna was born August 6, 1887 in Poland. Nice birthday J   At age 4, she boarded a boat in Bremen with her mother, brother and younger sister and sailed across the ocean. What an adventure that must have been! She was the oldest of the daughters, and married Joseph Dix in 1907. It appears they had just 1 child, James, born in 1922 when she was 35 years old. She and Joseph stayed in Wisconsin their whole lives, and lived on a farm in Portage not far from her parents. She died in 1968 in Stevens Point and is buried there. Her husband had died just 3 years earlier, and James lived in the general Portage, WI area his whole life as well, and died in 2002.

 

Antionette & Andrew

Antoinette was also born in Poland, and was an infant when they sailed to the US. Her name is often listed as Tena or Teenie on family records, and mom remembers he being referred to as Aunt Teenie. Antoinette married Andrew Obiala in 1908 when she was 18 years old.

Andrew was born November 23, 1879 in Kalus, Poland. He arrived on January 26, 1903, though I don’t have info on his boat or port of arrival. He made his way to Chicago, and by 1910, he and Antoinette were living at 4440 Honore in Chicago. His occupation was listed as a Beef Boner in a Packing House. That means he was essentially a character in the book we all read in high school; Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. Hardly a nice lifestyle. By 1910, Andrew and Antoinette had a third member of the household, Andrew’s brother, Michael. We’ll get to him in a minute.

Antoinette and Andrew had trouble having children, and in 1917 they adopted their only child, Adeline. By the 1920 census, they were living at 5277 S. Lincoln St and he’s listed as a chauffeur. Michael is no longer living with them, but they do have a “lodger”. They do show as owning the home, so the 1910’s must have been pretty good for Andrew and Antoinette to have gone from the meat packing plant to owning a home.

By 1930, they own a home at 5224 Justine, worth $7,500, but Andrew is back at the stock yards as a laborer. I wonder what happened to bring him back there?

In 1942, Andrew completed a WWII draft card. They’re still living on Justine St, but now his occupation is listed as “In Business” I wonder what that meant?

I don’t have a date that Andrew died, but Antoinette lived until 1976, and Adeline died in 1991.

 

Anna

There is a 4 or 5 year gap of kids being born between Antoinette and Anna. Part of that has to do with the fact that Albert was in Wisconsin and Margaret in Poland, but perhaps that explains the missing brothers as well? At any rate, Anna was born in 1895 in Wisconsin. I have very few details on her, but she married Hiram Noppensphger in 1915 in Michigan, and died less than a year later. No details on how she died, and no details on what happened to Hiram.

 

Catherine & Michael

Next up is our Nana Obi. Catherine was born in Wisconsin on April 2, 1896. No real detail on her childhood, but on June 24, 1913, she married her brother-in-law’s brother, Michael Obiala.

Michael was born on September 12, 1885 in Warsaw. His older brother, Andrew, came to the US in 1903, and in 1907, Michael sailed on the SS Professor Woermann from Bremen, arriving in Baltimore. As we know, he lived with Antoinette and Andrew on Honore St. He & Catherine were married on June 24, 1913 in Junction City, Wisconsin.

Their first child, Helen, was born March 24, 1914, which cuts it awfully close to 9 months from the wedding! In fact, it’s 9 months on the nose… On August 28, 1915, they had a daughter, Olgina, who lived only about 6 weeks and died in mid October of the same year. On May 16, 1917, their first son, Edmund was born. On December 19, 1920, Daniel Michael Obiala was born, and finally on May 7, 1923, Dolores.

In the 1920 census, they are listed as living at 5210 Wood St, which they own mortgage free. Michael is a Teamster for what appears to be “Morris Slate” or something along those lines. 5210 Wood St is a vacant lot according to Google Maps, but the house at 5212 looks like it was built pre-1920’s, so if you want to google map it, you’ll get a feel for what it might have looked like.

By the 1930 census, they own the home at 5601 S Winchester. You can google map it; this building may be post-war, so it may not be the house the lived in. Perhaps mom knows?

In 1930, both Michael and Catherine list their occupation is “Store.” Did they have a little shop?

Michael died on November 16, 1930 at only age 45. I don’t know how he died, again perhaps mom does?

By 1940, Catherine had moved to 2908 W. 40^th. I can’t tell if it’s 40^th Street or 40^th Place; if it’s 40^th St it’s now a vacant lot. If it’s 40^th Place, it’s a classic Chicago 2-flat. You can google that one too. Helen is working at Sears Mail Order House, Ed is a butcher who owns the store, and Catherine is a clerk at the butcher shop. Dan and Deloris are listed as students.

Some time in the early 40’s the family moved to 7047 S. Justine. That house is gone now, too, and it is not a nice neighborhood any more. On November 20, 1944, the Chicago Tribune reported that Dan, a pharmacists mate 1^st class had been wounded. Evidently Maureen McFadden is working on finding out more about that, hopefully she can.

I won’t focus much on the rest of the story of the Obiala family, as I think it’s pretty well known. Once I get through the older generations I’ll come back to this crew some more. As we all know, Nana Obi died in 1983. I was thinking the other day about the day of her funeral. Nana & Grandpa came to stay with me & Sara, but the rest of the kids went to the funeral. Donnie Carlson & I missed the bus on Juniper Rd, and Mr. Carlson drove us to school. On the way in to the parking lot, I opened the door of his BMW before it had come to a stop and he yelled at me. I was so upset about that, and about being late for school, that I stopped in the alley way between St John’s and Mt Vernon and was crying. Sister Marie walked by and saw me and took me in to Ms. Tralmer’s class. Strange memory.

 

Celia

Celia Spitalniak was born in 1899 in Wisconsin. She married Frank Polasky, who was from the same area in Wisconsin, but by the 1920 census they were living at 5243 S. Hermitage in Chicago. They had 2 sons, Edward, born in 1919, and Harold, born in 1920. By 1930, the family was living in Milwaukee. I don’t have a lot of detail about the boys, but they both lived in Milwaukee until at least the 1980’s. Harold died in 1988, I don’t have a death date for Edward.

Celia died in 1975 in Wauk, Wisconsin.

Helen

Helen Spitalniak was born in 1901 in Wisconsin. She married Edward Pasterski, and their children were Edward, Ruth, Ronald and James, born 1921, 1922, 1927 and 1932 respectively. They appear to have lived in Milwaukee all of their lives, and by 1940 Albert was living with them.

Of the children, Edward stayed in Milwaukee as well, and died in 2006. No record of a spouse. Ruth may still be living, as there’s no record of her death. She’d be 96 if she is. Ronald lived in Racine, married a woman named Gladys and died in 1989. Gladys just died in 2013. No record of children. James was living in Mukwanago, WI as recently as 1999, but I don’t have any other detail on him.

Edward Sr died in 1977, Helen lived until 1990 and died in Wisconsin.

Agnes

Agnes was the youngest of the sisters, born in 1903. She married John Koleska in 1923 and had 3 daughters, Deloris in 1924, Corrine in 1927 and Mary Ellen in 1932.   In 1930, Agnes & John lived at 5649 S. Wood St. John was a switchman for the railroad. I don’t have a lot of detail about the daughters, but they have all died within the last 15 years or so.

John died in 1957, and according to mom this was the Aunt Agnes who worked at Danny’s Dandy Burgers. Maybe she knows where the key is to lock the door on Christmas day?

Agnes died in 1985 in Chicago.

 

So that’s a big family. I’ve attached a number of pictures, but my favorite is the one of the 6 sisters in 1959. They look like they had a pretty good time…

 

So I’ve done a little more digging in to Frank Tropp (sr)’s family. As I mentioned last weekend, he was one of 12 children. I’ve tried to dig a little more in to the lives of the 12 children and their offspring. Here’s what I’ve got so far…

 

Anna

The oldest child was Anna, born 12/26/1884 in Chicago. She married Conrad Pszolinski in 1907, and they lived on Cortez St for a while, but by the 1920 Census they were at 715 Uhland St, which is now Schiller Ave. Conrad and Anna had 4 children; Margaret in 1909 and John in 1910, then Loretta and Anna in 1924 and 1926.

Conrad worked as a chauffeur for the Wholesale Candy Company.

There’s not a lot of detail about the 4 children. Margaret was an order picker at Marshall Field’s in the 1930 census, but still lived at home with Conrad and Anna. In 1930, John was an assistant chauffeur for Wholesale Candy Company with his dad. I can’t find any additional info about Margaret, other than a mention in Loretta’s obituary that she had pre-deceased her, and her last name is listed as Vick.

John married Norene Judge in July, 1940, but the trail goes cold on them as well.

Loretta married Aloysius Rehm, and lived in Morton Grove most of her life. She died in 2012 at age 87. She never had children.

Young Anna died in 1934 at age 8, I can’t find a cause.

So here’s the weird part about the Pszolinski’s. Some time in the 1930’s, they changed their last name to Meyer. All of them. Conrad, Anna, the kids, all changed the last name. It really makes it hard to track down the descendants as a result, since Meyer is a pretty common name and so it starts to get confusing. Strange.

Conrad did in 1942, but Anna lived until 1987, 102 years old.

 

John

John Tropp was born in 1886, and died at age 8 in 1894. No other detail available.

 

Frank P Tropp

I already gave some detail on Frank P Tropp I, although the only thing I’ll add is that his middle name was Paulus, according to his birth certificate…

 

Mathilda

Mathilda Tropp was born May 13, 1890, in Chicago. In the 1900 census, her father records her name as “Tillie”, and it seems clear that she was called Tillie most of her life. She married August Boss in 1913. August was a Chicago native, and was also listed as a Teamster. They lived at 811 S Keeler when he filled out his WWI draft card, and they stayed mostly around that near south side until the 1930 census.

August and Tillie had three children; Joseph Conrad Boss, 1914-1970, William August Boss, 1919-2012, and Regina Elizabeth Boss, 1924-2003. William would have only been a year older than his cousin, Frank P. I wonder if they were buddies as kids?

August died in 1936, Tillie lived until 1977.

It’s really hard to get a lot of detail about the 3 children; Ancestry is great for the 1880-1930 time span, but it loses a lot of its capability once you get past WWII. It does appear that Joseph was never married, as he is buried with his mother and father. William had a daughter, Mary, according to his obituary. He died at age 92, but there’s no mention of grandchildren, so perhaps Mary never had kids. I can’t find anything on her. Regina went by Jean, and married Donald Becker. They had four children, William, Joseph, Michael and Ann Marie. They lived in Niles their whole lives. Ann Marie is the easiest to find, her husband is Dr Michael Caughron, in Glenview. I reached out to her over facebook but no response yet.

 

George

George was born August 4, 1892. He worked for the family business, never married, and died at age 31 in 1923. No knowledge on how he died.

Joseph

Joseph Benedick Tropp was born on February 10, 1894. He married Theresa Stutzke on June 7, 1919, and worked in the family business. It does not appear that he and Theresa had any children, and they both died young; Joseph in 1936 at age 42, Theresa in 1939 at age 43.

Dorothy

Dorothy Elizabeth Tropp was born on February 18, 1896. She was called Dora most of her life. She never left home, and never married. She died on October 31, 1970. In the 1940 census, she listed no occupation. I can’t find anything else on her.

Anton Jr.

Anton S. Tropp Jr was born October 2, 1897. He married Mary Stancel on May 6, 1922, and they had one child, Robert (Bob), born on Cortez St on April 1, 1923.

Anton worked for the family business, and it would appear that they either sold or closed the business some time during the depression, as by the 1940 census he called himself a “Bundler” and day laborer. They lived on Cortez until some time in the 30’s, when they moved to Wellington St in the Lincoln Park area.

Bob looks remarkably like his cousin Frank P. Follow this link to his obituary site from last year and you’ll see the picture. https://www.modelldarien.com/obituaries/obituary-listings?obId=2729761

Bob attended Schurz High School and married Margaret. He lived in the Western suburbs most of his life, and had 5 children; Bob Jr, James, Kathryn, Peter and Clare. There were a bunch of grandchildren as well. I’ve tried to connect with a couple of them, but have not gotten any responses back. Again, with being so close in age to Frank P, and having lived in the house next door until Frank P was 8, I’m sure they were good buddies as kids. I wonder why we never really heard about him?

 

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Tropp was born on July 8, 1899. At the 1920 census she was still living at home. She married Charles Kaplan some time before the 1930 census, and had one child, Deloris, born in 1931. She and Charles lived in Kankakee, IL in 1959, which is where the trail runs cold. I can’t find any info on Deloris, except that she may have married a man named Lyle Schroeder. Hard to tell, again because the trail kind of runs cold.

 

Arthur

Arthur F. Tropp was born on May 12, 1901. He also worked in the family business, and like his brother-in-law Conrad Psolinski / Meyer, became a chauffeur for the Wholesale Candy Company in the 1930’s. He married Louise some time in the 20’s, and in In the 30’s they lived on Damen Ave, but I can’t see the exact address. It does not appear that they had any children, but again that could be just bad data. She died in 1963, he lived until 1973 in Lake Zurich, IL.

Marie

Marie Tropp was born on February 17, 1903. She married Charles Schmidt on May 29, 1924. They had two children, Charles Jr, born in 1925, and Rita, born in 1931. Charles Sr was an engineer, and the family lived at 3919 N. Nordica Ave in Chicago, which is essentially at Harlem & Irving Park. Charles Jr died in 2004 in Bolingbrook, IL. His obituary mentions children William, John, Dee and James and several grandchildren.

Rita married Bud Peterson, but I can’t find any detail on them.

Charles Sr died in Winfield, IL in 1969, Marie in 1977.

Conrad

Not to be confused with Anna’s husband, Conrad, the last of Anton & Regina’s children was Conrad, born October 29, 1904. Conrad was still living at home with Regina in 1930, and listed his occupation as a barber. By 1940, he and his wife, Hariet, are renting a room at 2448 Cortez, the house that Frank and Sadie had lived in a few years earlier. He lists himself as a laborer at a tannery. Eventually, Conrad and Hariet had two children, Agnes and Paul. Agnes is still living, though I have no detail on her, she never married. Paul died about a 11 years ago; his middle daughter, Lisa, and I have traded a few notes and she helped fill in some of the picture. She lives in Bartlett, IL and has two daughters.

Conrad died in 1983, and was living in Niles at the time.

 

Alright, so that’s what I’ve learned about the Tropp family. There are dozens of grandchildren and great grandchildren, many with the Tropp last name, running around Skokie, Niles, and the western suburbs. Pretty crazy! Perhaps one of us will have a chance encounter some day, but in the mean time it’s nice to know they’re out there I guess.

 

So as I mentioned, this week’s research centered around the Tropp family. As it turns out, there’s a great deal that we didn’t know about this very large family, so I intend to break this review up in to a couple of installments. This post is about Anton and Regina, what I’ve learned about them and about their children. Next installment will be more about their children and grandchildren, some of whom I’ve made initial contact with, which is kind of cool.

 

So anyway, Anton Tropp was born on July 17, 1859, in Pilsen. Pilsen today, spelled Plzen locally, is now in the Czech Republic. It’s the city that Pilsner beer is named after, which should be a source of pride for all of us.

In 1859, Pilsen was still part of the Autro-Hungarian Empire, and was always a bit of a border town. The people in Pilsen, to this day, identify more as Austrian than as Czech. Anton himself used “Bohemian” a number of times on various census, immigration and registration documents. Much of ancient Pilsen still stands intact, as it was out of range for allied bombers in WWII, and when Patton’s army liberated the city in May, 1945, Hitler was already dead, the war was basically over and they met very little resistance. I’d love to go see it, and intend to get there at some point in the years to come.

Anton’s father was Martin. No detail about him or Anton’s mother. It does not appear that they came to the US, as they don’t appear on any census logs or passenger manifests.

Anton sailed on the Leipzig out of Bremen, Germany, arriving in Baltimore on April 30, 1881, age 22. He traveled with a man whose last name is Markem, but I can’t read the first name on the manifest and never saw his name in anything again. They were from the same hometown, and must have been friends enough to make the trip together. How he got from Baltimore to Chicago is unclear, but why he chose Chicago is not really a surprise. In the 1860’s, Chicago was THE destination for German Catholics, and they essentially settled the northwest side of Chicago. He likely had relatives, friends, or at least the knowledge that he’d find a welcome in Chicago.

We’ll get back to Anton in a minute.

Andrew Grzecza was born in December, 1817 in the tiny Prussian town of Waldowko. Prussia in 1817 had just recovered from the Napoleonic era and was in a state of continual expansion. They controlled what is modern day Poland, most of Ukraine, and part of Denmark. Waldowko is now part of Poland, but just like Pilsen, you really have to look at how the people identified themselves. Andrew lists himself as German on his immigration papers.

Within 50 years, Bismark would unify Germany under the rule of the King of Prussia, launching us on a path to WWI and eventually WWII. Andrew and his wife, Regina (maiden name Sass) were married in 1843 in Waldowko. Regina’s father was Martin Sass, 1793-1857, but I know nothing else about the other 3 parents of these two.

Andrew and Regina were busy. From 1844 to 1864, they had 10 children – Justina, died in infancy; Maryanna, died in infancy; Anna, 1847-1914; Johann, died at age 2; Frank, 1855-1931; Gertrude, 1859-1913; Anton, died in infancy; Rosalia, died in infancy; Regina, 1865-1948.

In 1871, the entire family emigrated to Chicago. I don’t have any detail on their boat or port of arrival, but their naturalization forms show an 1871 arrival. I don’t know where in Chicago they lived at first, but more to come on that. What is clear is that the name was changed to Gretz. Very common for that to have happened; both the desire of the immigrant to simplify the name for the English tongue, and of the immigration officers just writing down whatever they wanted.

On January 29, 1884, Regina Gretz and Anton Tropp were married in Old St Joseph’s church in Chicago. Old St Joseph’s is now merged with Immaculate Conception Parish at 1100 N Orleans in Chicago, but I don’t know where it was located at the time. It could have been there, but more likely it was further west. Regina and Anton had a massive family, and they got to work right away.

Their children were Anna, 1884-1987 (103 years old!); John, 1886-1894; Frank P, 1888-1928; Mathilda, called Tilly, 1890-1977; George, 1892-1923; Joseph, 1894-1936; Dorothy, 1896-1970; Anton Jr, 1897-1964; Elizabeth, 1899-1988; Arthur, 1901-1973; Marie, 1903-1977; Conrad, 1904-1983. I’ll do more on what I’ve learned about the descendants of these people later on.

In 1889, Anton is listed in the Chicago City Directory as living at 698 Humboldt Ave as a Moulder. 698 Humboldt is no longer an address; the entire city was re-numbered in the late 1890’s, so it’s hard to say exactly where that was, but it’s safe to assume it was in the area of North & Humboldt now.

In the 1900, 1910 and 1920 census, the family lived at 2458 W Cortez St. Right next door at 2454 was the Frank Gretz family, Regina’s brother. Regina’s mother had died in the 1890’s, but Andrew was still living with Frank at the time.

2458 W. Cortez is now a vacant lot, and 2454 was clearly knocked down and rebuilt within the last 20 years. Later on, Frank and Sadie lived at 2448 Cortez, which is also a new building now. Tommy and I have a memory of being driven past a house that had been jacked up on stilts with a new story built underneath it 2 or 3 times; Frank P told us that it was the house he had been born in. I remember it being on North Ave, so maybe he couldn’t find it and just picked one out for us, or maybe my memory is faded on it. Hard to say.

What is clear is that the growing Tropp family did not go far from Cortez Street.

Anton was a Milk Merchant. We’ve all heard parts of stories about the dairy that they would ride out to each morning to pick up milk and deliver along a route. Clearly Frank, George, Joseph and Anton Jr were in the business; their occupations listed as Teamsters, which would make sense if they were actually driving the milk routes. In the 1913 City Directory, Anton is listed as a Depot operator for the National Milk Company. It seems from what I can gather that they had a delivery route for National Milk Co, as sort of a franchise operator. National Milk would supply the milk at their depot and the Tropp’s would buy it from them and then resell it on their route.

Frank Tropp married Sadie (Sarah) O’Connor at St Catherine’s Church on August 29, 1914. I would love to know the story of how they met, as the rest of the Tropp brothers and sisters all married people of German descent. I’ll do more on the O’Connor family later on.

Sadie and Frank, as we know, had 5 children; Richard, 1915-1982; Regina (Ginny Morley), 1918-2012; Frank P, 1920-2006; Mary Ellen, 1921-1979; Margaret (Marge McGuigan); 1925-2001. They lived, as I mentioned at 2448 Cortez. Frank signed his WWI draft card on June 5, 1917. I think that must have been the big draft card date, since that’s when Howard Reece signed his too.

I will do a deeper dive on all the cousins who lived on Cortez St later, but our Frank P would not have been lonely. Anton Jr had a son, Robert, born just a couple years after Frank P, and there would have been kids all over the street. As a preview, though, Robert had 4 kids in the Hinsdale area, and only died last year. I’ve reached out to a grandson of his, Joshua, to see if I can learn more about that family. Will keep you posted.

As we know, Frank Sr died in 1928; the story is that he scraped his finger on a rusty nail, developed lockjaw and died. I can’t verify that, but I can verify that he definitely did die in 1928. He is buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, the same place that all of our grandparents are buried.

By the 1930 census, Sadie and the kids are living at 6829 S. Honore. Sadie owns the house, worth $5,000. In addition to the 5 kids, her mother Margaret, sisters Mary and Helen, cousin Michael and Thomas Morley (age 23 and 25) are living with them. Here’s a link to the Google street view of the house: https://www.google.com/maps/place/6829+S+Honore+St,+Chicago,+IL+60636/@41.7694085,-87.6700201,3a,75y,89.15h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNeXgtAfWFgLe3TMZK4TO6Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x880e2fb04d359723:0xe1ab1b336bef34af!8m2!3d41.7694117!4d-87.6697293

She’s in the same house in the 1940 census, and lists her occupation as “Interior Decorator”. I think that’s kind of funny. By 1940, the occupants of the house include 4 of the kids, Ginny is out by now, her mother and 2 sisters, and the Cassidy family; Frank, Kathleen, Jacqueline, Donald, Patricia & Margaret who are listed as boarders.

Sadie died on May 9, 1952 at age 58, she’s also buried in Holy Sepulchre. Again, I’ll do more on the O’Connors, including Sadie, next time.

Alright, that’s all for now.

So today I’ve been doing a little research about the McDonough clan. Clan’s a good word for it; these folks took the Catholic Church teaching on accepting children as a gift from God seriously.

 

Bartley was born on February 2, 1890 in Ballaghaderreen, Roscommon, Ireland. His father’s name was Thomas, and it gets a little confusing because it appears that his father spelled his name McDonagh. The problem with this is that there was another Thomas McDonagh with a son named Bartley in Roscommon at the same time. So there’s some detail on this family that may be inter-mingled with the other McDonagh family. I think I worked through it, but take some of this info with a grain of salt. I’ll get to those guys in a minute; first more about Bartley.

 

So this part is a little confusing; he definitely sailed on the SS Carmania, which left Queenstown on April 20, 1913. This is almost exactly a year after the Titanic, so I can imagine they spent a lot of time watching for icebergs…   What’s confusing is that he’s also listed on a manifest from 2 years earlier, with Michael (he did have a brother named Michael) on the SS Mauretania. I suppose it’s possible that he and Michael came over for a while, he may have gone back and then come over again? Seems odd, since he did not bring anyone back with him in 1913. It’s also possible that this is the other Bartley McDonough in his early 20’s with a brother named Michael. I’m still digging there, but the records aren’t great.

 

But for the rest of his life, on draft cards, naturalization papers, etc, he listed his arrival as April 1913 on the Carmania. So let’s go with that. The Carmania was one of the largest ships in the Cunard line, ultimately saw action in WWI and was scrapped in the early 1930’s. Queenstown, his port of embarkation, is now known as Cobh, in County Cork, Ireland. It was the usual spot for Irish Immigrants to embark to head to New York. The ship likely left Liverpool first, and then picked up hundreds of immigrants in Queenstown before sailing to New York. The journey from Roscommon to Queenstown would not have been easy in its own right; likely a train to Galway, then down through Limerick to Cork. You have to picture Bartley leaving his mother and father, knowing that he’d never see them again. How hard must life have been in Ireland to decide to do that at age 23 or 24?

 

On June 5, 1917 ( so 30 years before his first Grandson was born…) he completed his World War I draft card. He is listed as single, living at 3100 W Polk in Chicago, his occupation as a Street Car Conductor out of the Kedzie Ave Barn. On November 11, 1919 (another pretty important date in world history – Armistice Day ending World War I, now Veterans Day), he received his Naturalization Certificate making him a US Citizen. He now lists his address as 3215 W. Polk in Chicago. 3215 Polk appears to be a parking lot now.

 

I don’t have a wedding date for Bartley and Mary, but I do have detail on her. Mary Ann Gallagher was born in County Mayo, Ireland on September 20, 1894. Her mother was Bridget, age 24, her father was Michael, age 40! They had at least 9, possibly 10 children over an 18 year span. Michael died in 1915, Bridget died in 1926, both still in Ireland.

 

It appears that she arrived in 1914 on the SS Baltic, arriving in New York on July 16, 1914. She seems to have traveled alone; there are no other people listed as traveling with her, but if she was with anyone other than a sibling, there’s no reason they would have been listed together. Perhaps she came with a friend or a cousin?

 

The oldest of her siblings was John, born in 1885. It seems as though John never left Ireland, but it also seems as though the rest of the children eventually did. William was the oldest of the Gallagher’s to go to Chicago, and was the first one to arrive. William emigrated in 1905 from Queensland, and became a Chicago police officer. William was shot and killed on September 26, 1929, in the line of duty, while investigating a kidnapping. https://www.odmp.org/officer/5231-patrolman-william-gallagher

Perhaps Bill McDonough was named after him a few years later?

 

In the 1930 census, the McDonough’s are listed as living at 4864 Concord Place in Chicago, with their daughters Mary, age 6 and Eileen, age 4. Also living with them was Teresa Gallagher, age 31. By the 1940 census, they’re at the same address, Bill and Loretta have arrived, and they are now living with Nellie Gallagher, age 42. The birth records show a Bridget Theresa Gallagher who would fit the age of Teresa / Nellie – I suppose that must be her?

 

4864 Concord Place is a bungalow essentially at North and Cicero; from the picture on Google Maps, I think we can assume it’s the same house.

 

As we all know Mary Gallagher McDonough died on December 23, 1944; Bartley (by now an insurance agent), died on January 27, 1946.

 

Going back to Ireland; Mary Ann Gallagher’s parents were Michael Gallagher, 1854-1915, and Bridget Gallagher, 1869-1926. Yes, her maiden name was Gallagher. Maybe we’re inbred? Bridget’s parents were Eneas Gallagher and Mary Fadian. Eneas lived from 1844-1923, always in Achill, County Mayo, Ireland. Mary Fadian was born in 1843, her death date is unknown, and her parents were Peter Fadian and “Bridget” (no maiden name available). Peter lived from about 1813 to April, 1888. Bridget is listed as 1818-1888, though again no real detail on her.

 

On the Michael Gallagher side, Michael was born in 1854 in Carrowvaneen, County Mayo. He died in Knockmore, County Mayo in 1915. His parents were Michael Gallagher and Bridget Ormsby, both born around 1818, but no other detail available on them.

 

Bartley’s father, Thomas, as mentioned above, was born August 28, 1857 in Roscommon. His parents were Thomas and Margaret, but nothing is known about either of them. Bartley’s mother was Mary Lowry, born 1861 in Roscommon, died June 21, 1918 in Roscommon. Her parents were John and Ellen Lowry. No detail on them other than that John was born in 1821 in Roscommon.

 

Overall, not surprising that there’s not as many generations on the Irish side. The Irish didn’t do a great job of keeping records; the literacy rate in Ireland was about the lowest in the Western Hemisphere until the late 1800’s, so unless the priest came to record a birth in the family bible, it usually didn’t happen. Still, some cool stuff there. I’m most intrigued by William Gallagher, the murdered police officer. You can google around on him; there’s a few sites dedicated to the memory of fallen officers. There’s a link above.

 

OK enjoy!

Tonight’s lesson is about everyone’s favorite family chain, Howard Reece.  We all know that Howard was a complicated guy with a complicated ancestry.  I’ll start at the beginning (as far as I can find it) and work my way to Howard.

 

 

Lord Gryfford Ap Rhys was born in 1594 in Wales.  Details on his lineage are confusing, and really can’t be relied upon, but it seems possible that he was a descendant of Richard of Tyddon, a “king” of Wales in the 1100’s.  Not a lot of confidence in that position, but let’s just go with it anyway because it makes us part of the British Royal Family and therefore eligible to inherit the throne of England if a lot of other people die (like 250,000 or so).  Anyway…

 

Lord Gryfford’s first son was Davyd (welsh spelling).  Davyd lived 97 years, from 1612-1709, which is really remarkable at that time.  Lord Davyd’s eldest son was Thomas, his second son was Reverend David Ap Rees.  Thomas died in 1663, leaving the baronet to his younger brother David.  However, at some point during his lifetime, David emigrated to the Pennsylvania colony with wife Gwendolyn Konan, a descendant of Griffith Konan, who was known as “King of Wales” in his own right.  So we’ve got it from both sides.  David and Gwendolyn settled on a farm north of Philadelphia, in what is now Bucks County, about 60 miles from where we live today.

 

Their son, David Ap Reese, born in Wales in 1680, found his way to Cecil, Maryland.  David’s son, David Tasker Reece (sometimes spelled with an S), had also been born in Wales in 1709, which means the family, or at least this family, did not emigrate until after 1709.  Both were Presbyterian ministers of some renown.

 

David Tasker Reece married Susan Ruth Polk in 1738 in North Carolina.  Susan was born in Maryland in 1719 to Robert Bruce Polk, Jr.  Robert Bruce Polk Jr was born in Maryland on September 18, 1672, and his father, Robert Bruce Polk, Sr had been born in 1625 in Donegal, Ireland. 

 

David Tasker Reece and Susan Ruth Polk, married in 1738 in North Carolina.  They have 9 children, the first of whom was Solomon.  David Tasker Reece died in Charlotte, NC at age 78 on August 11, 1787.  Solomon unfortunately died in 1757 at age 27. Before he died, though, he had married Sarah “Sally” Boone.  Sally Boone, also from Surry, North Carolina, was the daughter of Benjamin Boone of Devon, England.  Benjamin’s older brother was Squire Boone, whose son Daniel would go on to international fame for his opening of the west through the Cumberland Gap.  Yes, you read that right, we are related to Daniel Boone.

 

So back to the Reece’s.  Solomon & Sally had only one child, Abraham.  Abraham was born in 1750.  There is a theory that he was actually the illegitimate child of Daniel Boone and a young Quaker girl from Pennsylvania, and another theory is that his father was actually Thomas Reece, a brother of his grandfather David Tasker Reece.  There’s really no reason that these articles / theories make any sense at this point in the research, but it’s an interesting little side note anyway.  He definitely served in the Revolution as a Forge Maker, based on the application of one of his great-great-grandsons for the Sons of the American Revolution.  No details on his unit or any service record, though.  He married Mary Huff or Hough in 1771, and among their sons was Eli. Abraham lived a long life; he died in 1822 in Charlotte, NC.  Notably, in 1817, he became a Quaker.

 

Eli was born in 1775 in Deep Creek, North Carolina.  He married Elizabeth Wells in 1795, and had 5 children between 1796 and 1812.  Among these children was George Whitfield Reece.  Elizabeth died in 1817, and Eli re-married a few months later to Sarah Crommel.  They had 2 more children together. Eli was a farmer, and though there is no record of it available, you have to wonder if he had slaves.  In North Carolina at the time, the crop would have been converting to tobacco, which required significant field hands.  If he stayed a Quaker, we should assume he did not hold slaves, but if he went back to Presbyterianism, or if he was the convert to Catholicism (which has to happen at some point, right?) then all bets are off.  On the plus side, Eli is a War of 1812 Veteran, fighting with the North Carolina Volunteers in the Battle of New Orleans under Andrew Jackson.  Unclear of his rank.

 

Their son George Whitfield Reece was born on August 12, 1806 in Surrey, NC.  In the 1850 Census he is listed as a Blacksmith, with his wife Jane, and 5 children.  Their son Adam is listed as a blacksmith as well, his son William as a mail carrier.  Julius is only 14 at the time of the 1850 census.  Not much is known about George’s wife, Larthna, other than that she was born in 1829.  I think we should have named Mary after Great Grandma Larthna.

 

George died on December 27, 1861, a few months after the start of hostilities in the Civil War.  As a native of North Carolina, we can assume where his loyalties lay.  In fact, at least 2 of his sons, William and Julian, fought for the North Carolina Cavalry in the Civil War.  William L Reece had quite an experience.  On February 14, 1864, he was executed by a Confederate Court Martial for murdering a man named GW Chambers while William was trying to desert.  While it’s hard to imagine the stress and fright that must have been involved in being a soldier in the Civil War, let’s remember at this point that he was fighting for the continuation of slavery, and though he was our great-grandfather’s grandfather’s brother, we don’t need to mourn him too severely for this.

 

Julian has an undistinguished war record.  At one point I had detail that made it appear that he had died at the battle of Petersburg, but that seems to be another Julian Reece from North Carolina.  I know – small world.  Anyway, Julian married Sarah Hall and had one son, Albert R Reece, on July 8, 1860.  What a time to have a kid in the south!  After the war, but before the 1870 census, Julian, Sarah and young Albert moved to South Bend, Indiana.  He listed his occupation as a farmer, and by the time of the 1880 census, Albert was listed as a 20 year old farmer himself.  Julian and Sarah’s death dates are unknown.

 

Albert married Maggie Fields on May 4, 1886 in Goshen, Indiana.  There’s no information on Maggie’s family.  Their children were as follows  – George, born 1889; Mary, born 1892; Howard, born July 14, 1895; and Francis, born 1899.  All four were born in St Joseph County, Indiana (South Bend).  But in the 1900 census, they are located in the City of Chicago.  The handwriting on the census form is terrible, and it’s unclear that George lists as his profession.  He does state he was born in Virginia on the document, though, which is an interesting change from 1880 and 1890 where he lists his birth place as North Carolina.  By the 1910 census, he lists himself as an Assistant Foreman for a Rail Road, with an address of 5515 S Emerald.  Howard is 15 years old in 1910, but the census form lists him as 13.  5515 S Emerald in Chicago, which would have been a fairly nice neighborhood at the time.

 

Albert died on February 13, 1913 in Chicago, and was buried in South Bend.  Howard would have been about 18 years old.  I don’t have the exact date that he and Emma were married, but by the time of the 1920 census, they are both listed as living with his mother, Maggie, at the same Emerald address.  Nana was born on September 12, 1922.  By the time of the 1930 census, they had moved to Mishawaka, Indiana.  By 1935, they were back at 8143 S. Elizabeth St. in Chicago.  You can google all of these addresses and at least see what they look like now.  I think the Elizabeth St address is probably the same house.

 

As an aside, at times, Nana appears as Patricia Anne Reece, and at other times as Patricia Eleanor Reece.  Interesting.

 

So, long story short; Howard was a descendant of Welsh kings, Scots-Irish ministers, Quakers, confederates, his great uncle was shot for desertion, and his great grandfather likely owned slaves.  What a legacy we all get to take on. 

 

This stuff is fascinating.  It will be a few days before I can dig in on the next one due to some travel, but I’ll let you know what I find next…

 

 

 

On Oct 22, 2018, at 8:42 AM, Dan Tropp <dan_tropp@ajg.com> wrote:

So I found myself chasing down a rabbit hole last night, and finally signed up for a membership to ancestry.com.  I have not done the DNA thing (yet?) but was able to begin building out a fascinating family tree.  There are so many paths to follow that it could literally take months or years to explore the whole thing, but I thought I’d share a couple of highlights.  I figure as I explore more, if any of you are interested, I’ll shoot out a bit of what I learn.

 

The track I spent the most time following last night, for one reason or another, was up the chain of Emma Weibel.  Emma was Nana Pat’s mother.  She was born in Deerfield, IL in March, 1899.  In the 1900 US Census, their address was listed as 9 Central Ave., Deerfield, IL.  9 Central Ave no longer exists as an address, but the best I can figure is that this would have been the corner of present-day Waukegan Rd and Central Ave.  There’s a restaurant there now, which seems fitting.

 

Emma had 2 brothers and 2 sisters; Theodore (1902-1941), Ruth (born 1904), Roy (1905-1982) and Francis (born 1908).  I had trouble finding any detail on Theodore, other than that he died in Washington State in 1941, or Ruth.  Roy was married to a woman named Dorothy.  By the 1940 census they were living in Denver, but listed no children.  He died in 1982, she lived until 1997; no record of children.  There’s also virtually no information about Francis.

 

Emma’s parents were Edward, born April 9, 1866 in Rapperswil, Switzerland and Minnie Schmidt, born July, 1877 in Chicago.  Edward emigrated with his parents at age 4 in 1870 to Monticello, Iowa.  He was one of 9 children; Mary, Christian, Eliza, Rosa, Ernest, Johanna, Emma and William were his siblings.  In 1880 they ranged in age from 22 to 3.  The children over the age of 16 were all listed as “Servant” for their occupation, the younger ones showing as “At Home” or “At School.”  By the time of the 1880 census, they were living on Fullerton Ave in Chicago.  His father, Christian, listed his occupation as a Milkman.

 

Minnie Schmidt’s father was William Schmidt, born in 1843 in Prussia.  Very little detail about him, her mother or family.  Edward’s death date is unknown, Minnie died in Chicago in 1943.

 

Following the Weibel line up from Edward, Christian, his father, was born in Aarberg, Switzerland on December 12, 1831.  He was about 39 when they emigrated to Iowa.  At some point after that 1880 census where he was on Fullerton, he relocated to Wanatah, Indiana.  He died on November 18, 1898 and is buried in Hanna, Indiana.  A picture of his and Elizabeth’s grave stone is attached. <Weibel gravestone.jpg>

 

Elizabeth was also born in Switzerland, maiden name was wither Nydegger or Niedegger.  The trail runs cold at her great, great, great grandfather, Benedick Nydegger, born in 1675.

 

Christian (so, if you’re following along, Nana Pat’s great grandfather) has a much deeper line of names we can follow.  His father was Johannes, 1800-1869.  Johannes’s father was also Johannes, 1771-1854.  His mother was Anne Michelsen, born in Denmark in 1743.  Her father was Michael, born 1702.  His mother Johanne lived from 1666 – 1762.  Stick with me here.  Her father Michel, 1647-1700. 

 

At this point the last names begin to change because in Denmark there weren’t surnames, you simply became “father’s first name’s son.”  So Johanne’s “last name” growing up was Michelsen (or possible Michelsdotter), since her father’s name was Michel Rasmussen, since his father’s name was Rasmus Mikkelsen, since his father’s name was Mikkel Sorensen, since his father’s name was Soren Mikkelsen, since his father’s name was Mikkel Oveson, since his father’s name was Ove Mikkelsen since his father’s name was Mikkel Oveson since his father’s name was Ove Mikkelsen.  And that’s where the trail runs cold.  Ove Mikkelsen, born – get this, in 1440 in Mesing, Denmark.

 

1440. 

 

Something tells me I’ll be wasting unknown hours on this in the coming weeks.  If you want to stay on this list with updates as I learn them, please let me know. 

 

Cool stuff-

 

Go Denmark!

DMT