Meet Bernard Wichmann. His parents Meta Wenke Wichmann, Henry Wichmann migrated to Guiderock, Nebraska. They had three other children besides Bernard, Katie, Bertha and Karl. He would have been 14 when our George D. died, so maybe a little older then he appears in this photograph.
Bernard was born June 15, 1887 in Guiderock, Nebraska. The 1930 census lists him as an assistant cashier at a bank and we have a photo taken with his sister Katie which confirms this. I’m not sure when he and his wife Tressie married, as I can find no marriage date. We had photos of Bernard and Tressie, and I made a blog post from them on January 30, 2022 if you want to go back and see their photos. Records show that they had 2 children, Kathleen born about 1919 and Francis “Bud” born September 8, 1927.
Bernard died September 6, 1966 and Tressie died December 12, 1996. They are buried in the Burr Oak Cemetery in Jewell County, Kansas. Jewell is just 17 miles straight south from Guiderock. Some day I want to go pay my respects to Bernard and the other Nebraska Wichmann’s until then I will be content with honoring them here.
Don’t you just love getting mail. I think that today so little people send mail that it’s special when we receive some. I hoard my handwritten letters and cards keeping them in my desk too look back on.
Here we have a postcard that Uncle John Wenke sent to his sister Rena in 1919. The postmark is September 13, 1919 in Yellowstone, Wyoming. It is addressed to her at the family home they shared in Peoria at the corner of Rohman and Sterling Avenues. It appears that John also put that the house had a Rural Route address.
Yellowstone was established as the nations first National Park on March 1, 1872. Signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant, America’s first national park was set aside to preserve and protect the scenery, cultural heritage, wildlife, geologic and ecological systems and processes in their natural condition for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. Yellowstone encompasses 3,472 square miles (2,221,766 acres) which makes it larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.
While Uncle John got to see the Teton’s and wonders of Yellowstone in person, I’m glad Rena saved it so that we have this record of his trip. To me it’s just as beautiful as the park is.
This is as close to deciphering Uncle John’s penmanship as I could get. It’s faded in spots and he used very little punctuation. Uncle John writes on 9-11-1919: Well I am at Old Faithful Hotel now. Having a fine time will write a letter after I get through the park for I’d not have any time here with go all the time. John
It bothered me that I could not find a photo of George. When I posted about his death several weeks ago, I felt that there should be a photo of him somewhere. I felt for sure, with his stellar archeology career, that there should be a photo of him somewhere. But I could not find anything online, just of his wife. For now, I thought there would be no photographic record of George Schoenbeck.
Then, on Valentine’s Day, I was trying to find a baseball photograph among my photos, and when I pulled up the information, I found a photo of Uncle John with his baseball team, The Keller Baseball Club; imagine my surprise when I saw the name George Schoenbeck right there next to our Uncle John. I enjoy baseball and am amazed at how much this family does as well. So, even though it’s not what I might have wanted as a photo of George, I’m so thankful to have this record of him.
Today while many of the nation is preparing for the Super Bowl showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, I found myself what it must have been like to have been born when football was in it’s infancy. Walter Camp is credited with altering the rules of rugby and coming up with what we today call Football. I’ve never attended a rugby match or learned the rules of play for that sport but can see the similarities between the two sports.
The sport of American football itself was relatively new when Frank and Leo were born to Peter and Emma Bourscheidt. Frank was born November 25, 1891 and Leo on January 14, 1894. Football had seen the first intercollegiate football game played just 20 years perviously when Princeton played Rutgers. By the 1880’s most athletic clubs had a football team. Competition was fiercce and each team wanted to win. In 1892 the first players were openly paid to play in games making professional football.
There are only two charter teams from 1920 when the American Professional Football league was made. The Arizona Cardinals, which when founded had been called the Chicago Cardinals and then the St. Louis Cardinals along with the Chicago Bears, which when founded were called the Decatur Stanley’s are the two charter members still in existence. The Green Bay Packers were founded in 1919, but did not begin play until 1921.
While I can’t imagine our Frank playing football, I know it would have been an amazing thing to be there as these teams and the sport began. While football has changed over the 104 years it’s been around, it sure can be fun to watch. Hope you all have a Happy Super Bowl Sunday.
Sometimes, when you’re looking through family papers, you come across things that you never thought you’d see. The first time I saw this, all I could think of was, “Who in the world is George Schoenbeck?” Who was Geoge Schoenbeck? I’m very happy that I can tell you exactly who he was.
George was born on December 21, 1885, to Johanna G Wenke and Richard Schoenbeck. He is the grandson of our Johann Wenke and Katherina Munderloh. His mother, Johanna Wenke Schoenbeck, and our George D Wenke were brother and sister. That meant that George and his siblings were cousins to our Anna Wenke Burd. George married Ethel Lovilla Power on June 10, 1913. They had two sons, Fredrick born in 1914 and Richard born in 1916.
Ethel and George led exciting lives. At least to me. They were Archeologists! Maybe they didn’t go to exciting places like Egypt or South America but there was plenty in Illinois to keep them busy.
For most of their life, the Schoenbecks lived in Peoria. That area was made their particular field of study with other neighboring counties. They collected thousands of potsherds, arrowheads, stone and copper axes, beads, pipes, and all sorts of prehistoric tools and carefully recorded where they were found.
The site now known archaeologically as the Clear Lake Village on the Illinois River was most frequently visited by the Schoenbecks. They got most of their material from this site. Their findings represent many of the known prehistoric Indian cultures of Illinois. Little would be known of this aboriginal Indian village of Clear Lake if it hadn’t been for the perseverance of the Schoenbecks. They recovered 24,000 pottery shards from the site representing every potter type found in Central Illinois. The Illinois State Museum received all artifacts recovered by the Schoenbecks. Clear Lake has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Other sites the Schoenbecks explore are Stuben Village near Peoria and the Sisters Creek site in Fulton County.
That tells you who George Schoenbeck was. Now, let’s talk about how he died. According to the Peoria Journal Stars morning edition, George suffered from a heart attack and was found dead in his son’s driveway on December 14, 1955. After knowing all the wonderful and amazing things that he and Ethel had done in their lives I feel that this article did not do justice to honoring his memory. I really wanted to find a photo of George, but I keep coming up empty handed in that regard. I have several of Ethel, but none of George. Hopefully some day, we will find some of him. This is why it’s so important to put names to all your photographs.
I started out thinking I’d write about all the deaths on this page of the paper (Reverend Brown in the right corner of the photograph), or even more about how George died, but it quickly turned into more for me when I started looking at who he was. His work in bringing to light the aboriginal history of the general Peoria region and the important artifacts he either found himself or assisted in finding was a great gift and value to the people of Peoria and Illinois.
If you have not subscribed to this page, I’d love for. you to join the mailing list so you don’t miss out on any postings.
Today’s subject had me turning to the Bourscheidt book that our Uncle Fred Bourscheidt compiled. In it, I found our ancestor, Franz Carl Bourscheidt. Fred wrote that Franz was a master furrier and foreman in C Theodor F Konig’s cap and fur business. After Mr Konig died, Franz married his widow, Christina J Mirbach, who was 11 years his senior. Their union resulted in the Konig business prospering. While married to C Theodor F Konig, Christina gave birth to 11 children. We do not know how many lived, their names, or their status. After her marriage to Franz, Christina gave birth to three more children, Franz Carl II in 1851, Maria in 1853, and our Peter Josef in 1855.
Franz Carl II, later became Dr Frank Bourscheidt and was the father to Frank Jr and Jean Bourscheidt. They were cousins of our Frank Burd.
Here we have Elisabeth Koenig. Peter wrote that she was his step-sister, but a better term would have been half-sister. She was the firstborn child of Christina and C Theodor F Konig; Peter wrote on the back of this photograph that Elisabeth was his mother’s first child; he was number 14. He also wrote that she died in 1931 at the age of 97. By my estimation, that would mean she had been born in 1834 when her mother was 22 years old. Elisabeth was 21 years older than our Peter. I was curious to see how old Peter was when he died; he was 79 years old. I’m not sure if Elisabeth lived a healthier life or one that was less stressful, but she definitely lived a longer life than her younger sibling.
She is amazing. This photograph came from Germany, possibly with Peter when he came to America, and now resides with Aunt Ruth, which is incredible. Based on the style of her bodice and skirt, I would estimate this photograph to be from the mid to late 1860s. She has earrings, but I can’t tell based on her hair. Her eyes appear fair, and if I had to guess, I’d say they were blue. Elisabeth exhibits such a simple smile that it’s not really present. I’m sure she had to be still for a bit to get this photograph, which could have resulted in a simple facial expression.
Elisabeth’s bodice appears to be made out of a velvet fabric. It appears dense and strong, unlike her skirt, which appears to be wool or linen. Adorning her bodice is a row of button-like embellishments around the cuffs, collar, and down the middle of the bodice. Often, the bodice would have different fastenings, such as hook and eye fasteners, when the buttons are so close together. She has placed a broach at her neck, and a necklace of some length finishes her look. A knot or ball joins the necklace into one chain, which continues and looks to be attached to the chatelaine. Her what? A chatelaine was a decorative belt or hook worn at the waist with a series of chains suspended. Each chain would be mounted with useful household appendages such as scissors, thimbles, watches, keys, or smelling salts. Sometimes, women would attach small books and pencils to ensure they had paper for notetaking on their chatelaine. I can’t tell you how excited I am to see that one of our ancestors used one. It makes my costume-researching heart so very happy.
I was interested in what is said in German on the back of the photograph. Google Translate has been my friend for many things that I find when searching genealogy documents. I translated what it said and it reads as follows;
Price – Medal
The international photographic exhibition to Berlin 1865
Photographic Institution
No 19 Hochstrasse
Cathedral monastery, opposite the West portal
Yep, I typed it many times, and Domkloster was the result each time. In English, that means cathedral monastery. And it’s THE cathedral: the Cologne Catholic Cathedral, the Church of Saint Peter. Peter would tell that he’d been baptized in this church, as I’m sure all of his family had been as well. On my bucket list is a trip to Germany to find the records to prove this assumption.
I want to tell you more about Elisabeth, but I do not know anything more than what Peter wrote on the back of this photograph. I do not currently subscribe to the part of Ancestry.com, in which you can access European records, so I have placed the names of C Theodor F Konig, Christina J Mirbach, and Elisabeth Konig on my list to research when I can plan a day at the library. I’m unsure why Fred did not include Peter’s half-siblings, as he included many in-laws in the Bourschedit book. I’m very thankful for the information he compiled for us and future generations of the Bourscheidt lineage. While I could go on and on with all that Fred wrote in this book, I think I will save that for another time. Until that time or when I can report more about lovely Elisabeth here, I will be forever searching to increase our knowledge of our German-born Bourscheidts.
Last week, on the other blog pages, I wrote about grandparents, my father’s mother, and my husband’s great-grandmother. Today, I’m writing about our Bill and Jean Jorden. Parents first, wonderful grandparents, and outstanding great-grandparents.
When I found this photo all I could do was sit and stare at it. I didn’t remember ever seeing a photo taken with both my grandparents and just my brother Mark and myself. There were always other people in any photo taken with the Jorden’s. Not that it is a bad thing at all! There are a lot of us, so to find this photo of just the four of us amazed me.
Bill was the only grandfather I ever “knew”. My paternal grandfather had died when I was 3 years old and I have few memories of him. Bill received all my grandpa hugs, all my grandpa jokes, all my grandpa laughs. To me he was the inventor of the family. As large as life itself and just as great. Able to appreciate the birds and trees and teach us all how to filet a fish. I’ll never forget when he told me I hadn’t hit the fish hard enough on the head. I miss his fried fish.
I could go on and on about what made Bill Jorden an amazing grandfather, but I’d be preaching to the choir. They tell me that he was also amazing on the job, but to me, Bill shined with his family.
When I was 10, I asked my parents if I could be called Shelly. I knew a girl in school with that name and thought it would be cool and easier to spell. My mom said if I had wanted you called Shelly I would have named you that. So, no fun names for me. But Bill, he had a nickname for me. He’d always called me ’Chell. He made me feel special. To date, there have been only three people to call me that: my grandfather, my brother, and my husband. The last time I saw him, he couldn’t hear very well, but once he figured out it was me, he’d pat me on the cheek and say ” ‘Chell’s here.” Still large as life to me and just as special.
My grandmother made everyone feel unique and seen. I don’t know how she did it with 12 grandchildren, but she did. While she would share news of my cousins when she visited, or we were there, she’d always ensure her focus was on you. She knew what we all liked and would ensure we’d have that to do with her. I’ve never met anyone equal to her in games, especially cards. And words, too. Jean excelled at any game, puzzle, or teaser that had words in it. While I enjoy boggle, I still have memories of her finding so many more words than I do that it’s hard for me to play.
I know that my family feels the same as I do, that we’d love one more opportunity to be in Bill and Jean’s presence. For now, our memories and photos will have to do. Until that day, we are once more reunited, and we can tell them thank you for making us all feel so loved.
If you haven’t yet subscribed, I’d love for you to do so.
Anna Wenke Burd was born on February 26, 1891 in Guiderock, Nebraska. She was the youngest child of George D. Wenke and Marie Beutel. Her father died when she was 19 months old and her family returned to Peoria as the farm in Nebraska was too much for her mother and siblings to maintain independently.
Anna and Frank were married in Chicago July 26, 1916. They had known each other from Peoria and were both 25 years old at their marriage. They remained in Chicago until shortly after Jean was born in 1920.
According to Jean, her mother came from a German family. Jean called Anna’s personality “high-strung”. Anna had high expectations for herself and others, and she could be mean when they did not live up to those expectations. Anna had attended Miss Hydes sewing school and was a seamstress by trade. Anna made all of Jean’s clothing. She was also a very good pianist. Jean talked of remembering whenever she was ill that she would lay on the sofa and ask Anna to play the piano. THE BURNING OF ROME was one of the songs that she would play. Jean thought it sounded a lot like the songs they’d play at the silent movies.
Anna was very disciplined and talented and made good use of her time. Throughout Jean’s life, Anna did specific tasks on specific days. The laundry was done on Mondays, but Anna would iron it all on Tuesdays. Jean also stated that Anna was very thoughtful and did not understand when others were not as thoughtful as she. She enjoyed making cookies and cakes at Christmas time and then would take them around to elderly relations. She would also make coffee cake every Friday night for breakfast on Saturday mornings.
At election time Anna Burd served on her local precinct committee. She would help out on election day, getting people checked in to vote, assisting with voting if needed and then counting the ballots. She was also very active in the Peoria Republican Party.
Anna died Wednesday January 17, 1962. Based on family stories I do not believe the union of Frank and Anna was a love match. However, for whatever reason they chose to remain married and made their marriage work for 45 years. They would visit Jean and the grandchildren daily often together. While they had not shared a bedroom, on the last night of her life they did. I wonder if it brought peace to Frank that they had spent this last time together?
In honor of Anna Wenke Burd and because I was curious to hear what it sounded like and thought you might be too, I’ve included a recording of THE BURNING OF ROME. May you listen to it and think fondly of our Jean and her mother.
Hello! I have not seen you in so long. While you might not have missed the photos and ramblings, I feel that I owe you an explanation for my absence.
The past several years have been hard for many of us. Covid, at times, has hit us hard, and while no one I personally know has lost their life to the virus, it has definitely shaped how we act. In the midst of the pandemic my husband and I became grandparents. Our grandson has been a blessing and a joy to be around. And when his sister arrived in May of 2022, things got real busy. The time that I spent researching photos and writing my blogs was now spent with them.
I felt that was faced with letting these pages go or needing to do something with them. So I did. I looked to the videos I had made last with my yearly reviews and went from there. My goal is to be with you every week through the blogs AND my new adventure of a podcast.
While I might be late reviewing these postings, I felt they deserved acknowledgment. So sit right back and enjoy this short (and I do mean SHORT) video, looking back on the postings from 2021 and 2022.
If you haven’t subscribed yet please do so! And feel free to follow me on Facebook and Instagram – I can’t link them here due to Facebook restrictions, but you can find me at mandersongenealogy on both sites! Hope to see you all there.
Hope this finds you well on the eve of 2024! 2023 has not been super good to me but I’ve been healing from my total knee replacement and hopefully 2024 will be amazing. One of the great things I’ve been working on is getting my blogs back up and going. It was a lot of work, but that’s a story for another day :-). I also have a surprise and hope that you all will like it.
Please take the opportunity to subscribe to the blogs. This way, I won’t have to send the postings to you. They will just show up in your inbox when I publish them. Hopefully, it will save me some time, which seems to be in short supply here lately.
While 2023 did not turn out the way I had hoped (they did not use vibranium in my knee replacement – sad day for me and Black Panther), my hope is that 2024 will be great for all of us.
