52 Ancestors Week 31: A Day in the Life

 

52 Ancestors Week 31: A Day in the Life

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 31:

The theme for Week 31 is “A Day in the Life.” Our ancestors were more than just names and dates. This week, explore an ancestor whose daily life you know something about (or that you wish you knew something about).

A DAY IN THE LIFE

The Stone and the Seed: September 14, 1910

You know how sometimes you're staring at a photograph that you stumbled across in your endless search for your family in a newspaper or a local archive, and you just know there's a story there? That happened to me with the photo of the dedication of the Pratt County Court House on 14 September 1910 in Pratt, Pratt County, Kansas. The building was draped with red, white and blue bunting for the occasion.  A large crowd of people had gathered in front of the courthouse steps to hear the speeches from the local dignitaries.  Horse drawn carriages and newly purchased motorcars were parked behind the crowd. 

Pratt County Courthouse Dedication 14 Sept 1910 Photo Courtesy of Library of Congress, Colorized via Gemini Nano Banana

I have no idea for sure if my great-grandparents Lafayette "Fay" Coffman and his wife Zelma, with two daughters, Vera and Florence were in attendance, as their farm was in McClellen Township, Pratt, Kansas, which was about 12-15 miles away.  But here's the thing (and this is what got me hooked): my great-grandparents and their two young children (and one on the way) would have witnessed the construction of this massive building for the year leading up to this day, do you think they would have missed the “grand-opening” of this grand building in their community?  I think not!!  I’m sure they would have made a very concerted effort to witness this most auspicious occasion.  Something that would shape their community for the next hundred years.

The Journey That Almost Didn't Happen

September 14, 1910. The weather records I dug up tell us it was a gorgeous Kansas autumn morning: 55°F with a gentle northwest breeze. Perfect weather for a journey, right? Except this wasn't just a pleasant drive.

McClellan Township sat about twelve miles southeast of Pratt. Now, twelve miles doesn't sound like much to us, but in 1910, in a horse-drawn wagon? We're talking three to four hours. What is known from the records is that Fay was renting his farm and so he may not have had the means to own a fancy “Surry with the fringe on top” type carriage to carry his family into town in style, so a typical farm wagon may have had to do. I can just picture Fay in the early morning light, hitching up the team, being extra careful about everything. And here's why: Zelma was six months pregnant with their third child—my great-grand uncle Milton Henry Coffman.

Can you imagine? Six months pregnant, bumping along dirt roads for hours. I have the feeling Fay must have padded that wagon seat with every quilt they owned. Every rut in that road—and trust me, there were plenty—would have been felt. But they likely went anyway. That tells you something about how important this day was to them.

A Temple Rising from the Prairie

So, what were they traveling to see? The dedication of the new Pratt County Courthouse—and oh my goodness, what a building it was!! Designed by the renowned George P. Washburn.

This wasn't just any courthouse. This was a "Temple of Justice" built in gleaming Bedford limestone. The whole thing cost $101,000 (a fortune in 1910!) and they built it in just one year. One year! For people like Fay and Zelma, who spent their days fighting the unpredictable Kansas soil, watching dust storms roll across their fields, wondering if the crops would make it—this courthouse represented something they'd never had before: permanence.  The Coffman family would have seen the advertisement in the newspaper about this momentous event happening in their community and would be aware of the importance of it to the community. 

The Pratt Union Newspaper 8 September 1910        www.newspapers.com

When they arrived with thousands of other people that day, they weren't just seeing a new building. They were seeing proof that their county was no longer some rough frontier outpost. They had arrived. They belonged to something real, something that would last.

The Real Heart of the Day (A Picnic, Obviously)

Now, there were probably speeches. Lots of them. Long ones. But I'll bet you anything that for the Coffman Family, the best part of the day wasn't the dedication ceremony—it was the picnic afterward.

I can picture Zelma's "basket dinner". She likely would have packed cold fried chicken, salt-risen bread, and—my favorite detail from the research—vinegar pie. Yep, vinegar pie! That's what farm wives made when lemons were a luxury they couldn't afford. Talk about making do with what you had.  I can just imagine the care that she took to gather all the ingredients and get the recipe just right for this occasion.

And the clothes! This was their chance to dress up in their “Sunday Best”. Fay likely wore his only nice suit (which must have been uncomfortable in the September heat, but you know he wore it anyway because it was important. Zelma in an Empire-waist lingerie dress—chosen not just because it was fashionable, but because it accommodated her growing belly. They were dressed as citizens, not just settlers. They belonged.

The Passenger No One Could See

Here's what gets me every single time I think about this day: As the sun started to set and the celebration wound down, as that beautiful limestone courthouse stood silhouetted against the purple Kansas sky, the Coffman Family loaded up their wagon for the long trip home. They may have made a quick stop at the local mercantile on Main Street on their way out of town to stock up on provisions since this may have been their weekly or monthly jaunt into town.  Fay drove slowly (bless him), probably even more carefully than the trip out. The wagon was heavy now—supplies from the general store, two exhausted toddlers asleep in the straw.

And beside him, Zelma's hand rested on her apron, feeling the movements of the baby who would be born on December 2, 1910. Milton Henry Coffman—my great-granduncle—was there that day. He was the "unseen passenger" of the dedication, the first of their children who would be born into this new era of Pratt County. The first who would never remember a time before that courthouse stood watch over their community.

(I should mention—because I can never resist a good ironic twist—that the courthouse burned in a devastating fire just thirteen years later. But on that September day in 1910, it was perfect and pristine and full of promise. And that's how Fay and Zelma would have remembered it.)

Why This Story Matters to Me

Look, I know my family probably thinks I'm crazy for spending weeks tracking down weather records and researching Edwardian fashion and calculating wagon travel times. My kids have made the "there she goes again" face more than once when I start talking about my ancestors.

But when I document a day like this—when I can piece together what Zelma may have packed for lunch and how Fay likely hitched the horses and what the temperature was that morning—I'm doing more than just recording dates and names. I'm honoring the quiet strength of a mother who traveled miles while six months pregnant because it mattered. I'm celebrating the diligence of a father who made sure his family was part of their community's most important day. I'm remembering the hope of people who saw their own future reflected in the rising stone of a courthouse that would outlive them.

That's why I keep chipping away at these brick walls. That's why I'll keep searching through census records and weather archives and architectural histories. Because these people deserve to be remembered not just as names on a page, but as real human beings who lived full, complicated, beautiful lives.

And who knows? Maybe Milton Henry, resting in his mother's womb that day, somehow absorbed the significance of it all. Maybe that's why he grew up to be the man he was.

But that's a story for another day!

---

Research Notes:

This narrative is based on the 1910 Federal Census for McClellan Township, Pratt County, Kansas; climatological records for September 14, 1910; architectural histories of the Pratt County Courthouse and George P. Washburn's work; contemporary accounts of the courthouse dedication; and research into Edwardian fashion, food customs, and transportation methods. All the facts are there—I just added the heart.

The Silence After the Dance

A Chronicle of Lafayette Coffman

Lafayette "Fay" Coffman knew loss before he knew much of anything else. His early childhood was marked by it; he lost his mother at age 3, and two sisters and a half-brother by age 10. His father died in his early adulthood. Born in the mountainous terrain of Virginia in 1879, he was part of a generation defined by movement—a restless migration westward that carried him to the open, wind-swept plains of Kansas.[1]

The 1900 census shows him living with a family he may have known from his childhood, the Russell family.[2] They had lived in the Shenandoah Valley in1880, but with the loss of the 1890 census, the details of their migration to Kansas are unknown.[3] Whether they were family or if he was just a hired hand, we can only guess, as the records don’t reveal his relationship. But it was in 1906, when he married Zelma Alethia Davis, that his life truly began to take root in the soil of McClellan Township.[4]

Building a Farm, Building A Community

When Fay and Zelma established their home in Pratt County, they were stepping into a landscape that demanded everything a young couple could give. The "Great American Desert," as early mapmakers had called it, was being transformed into the "Golden Belt" of wheat, but the transformation was grueling.

Farmer Harvesting Wheat circa 1910, https://openart.ai/image/create

McClellan Township was a grid of section lines and dirt roads, where the distance between neighbors was measured in miles. Records show that the Coffman family rented their farm, as many of their neighbors did, placing them in the square yellow section above the railroad line on the map below.[5] The exact location of the farm is unknown to this author, but there are many mentions of the family in the “Cullison Let’s Go” newspaper, so they may have lived close to this small farming community.  For a young family in the first decade of the 20th century, this farm was not merely a place of work; it was a self-contained universe.

                       Outline Map-Pratt County 1922              www.kansasmemory.org Kansas State Historical Society- “Copy and                         Reuse Restrictions Apply” [5]

To survive this isolation, Fay and Zelma built more than just a farm; they built a social hub. The local newspapers from this era paint a picture of a household that refused to be quiet. They were not merely residents of the township; they were its hosts. The Coffman home became the designated site of regular dance parties—events that were critical to the mental health of the rural community.

Pratt Co. Court House Dedication [6]  https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2024688160/   Public Domain

They were also present for the milestones that defined the wider community. On September 14, 1910, the family likely traveled the 12 to 14 miles by horse and wagon into town for the dedication of the new Pratt County Court House.[6] It was a monumental day of civic pride, a declaration that this community on the plains was built to last, mirroring Fay’s own commitment to the land. Zelma was six months pregnant with Milton, their first son, who would be born that December.[7] This event, much like the dances they hosted, was a way to weave their lives into the fabric of the county.

A Horse Man in a Changing World

The years between 1910 and 1920 were a time of technological revolution for Kansas farmers. Fay stood with one foot in the old world and one in the new. He was a "horse man" by trade and inclination. In 1915, his reputation for handling stock was significant enough that he sold a team of horses to the City of Pratt to pull their fire wagon. [8] This transaction, noted in the public record, was a mark of status. To breed and train horses capable of the speed and discipline required for fire service meant Fay was a skilled stockman, not just a dirt farmer.[9]

Fire Wagon-Pratt, Kansas Sept 1910 [9]  Pratt County Historical Museum https://prattcountymuseum.org/   Used with permission.

Yet, around him, the world was mechanizing. The high wheat prices of World War I—when the government slogan was "Food Will Win the War"—encouraged farmers to "plow up more acres." The native old grasses were turned under to make way for grain, and the tractor began to replace the horse.[10] Fay likely participated in this era of prosperity, expanding his operations as the prices soared. It was a time of optimism, where the hard work of the previous decade seemed to be paying off in tangible stability.

  Breaking Sod with Tractor-Kansas circa 1920-1930 [10]   www.kansasmemory.org    Kansas Historical Society “Copy and Reuse Restrictions Apply”

The household grew alongside the crops. Fay and Zelma raised a large family—Vera, Florence, Milton, Chester, Loren (my grandfather), and Elmer—who were woven tightly into the local fabric. The children were not just dependents; they were a workforce. In the 1910s, 1920s and well into the 1930s a farm child’s life was defined by chores: gathering eggs, milking cows before dawn, and helping with the harvest when the threshing crews arrived. The "Social Notes" columns of the time frequently mentioned the Coffman children helping neighbors, a testament to the code of the West: you help your neighbor because, eventually, you will need them to help you.[11,12]

The Silence That Followed

But the prosperity of the war years was fragile. As the 1920s progressed, the agricultural economy began to crack long before the stock market crash of 1929. Wheat prices plummeted, and the land, stripped of its native grass, began to show signs of exhaustion. It was against this backdrop of looming economic hardship that the noise of the dances and the bustle of the growing family came to a sudden, shattering halt.

In August 1925, the Coffman home was struck by a double tragedy that would alter the trajectory of the family forever. Zelma, only forty-three years old, underwent surgery for gallbladder issues and appendicitis. She did not survive.[13] Her obituary revealed a heartbreak that had been kept quieter than the dances: the mention of "Baby Anna," a daughter who had "preceded her mother to the better world." The historical record is sparse regarding Anna—no birth or death certificate has been definitively located, and she does not appear in the 1920 census—suggesting she may have been born and died in the interval between census counts, a "shadow child" whose loss was a private grief amidst the public life they led.

Suddenly, at age forty-five, Fay was a widower with six surviving children ranging from eight to eighteen years old. The silence that descended on the farm must have been deafening. The community, which had so often gathered at the Coffman house for joy, now gathered for mourning. A "Card of Thanks" published in the newspaper expressed the family's gratitude: "We wish to express our sincere and heartfelt thanks to all our friends and neighbors for their many acts of kindness during the illness and death of our beloved wife and mother. Fay Coffman and Family."[14]

The phrase "acts of kindness" in a rural context carried specific weight. It meant neighbors bringing casseroles so the family could eat, men coming over to milk the cows because Fay was at the funeral home, and women helping to wash the clothes of the motherless children. It was the community repaying the years of hospitality Fay and Zelma had provided.

The Years of Endurance

After that card appeared, a distinct shift occurred in the historical record. The dance announcements stopped. The stories of social gatherings vanished. Fay retreated from the role of community host to the role of survivor. The late 1920s and early 1930s were brutal years to be a widower in Kansas. The Great Depression arrived, bringing with it the environmental catastrophe of the Dust Bowl. The very soil Fay had plowed began to blow away in "black blizzards" that darkened the sky at noon.[15]

While many of his neighbors packed up their Model T Fords and headed for California, Oregon and Arizona, Fay stayed. The 1930 U.S. Census shows him still in McClellan Township, head of a household that included his four sons and a 52-year-old widowed housekeeper. This was a different kind of heroism than selling fire horses; this was the heroism of endurance. With the help of his older children, he kept the farm running when the economy collapsed. With the two older daughters, Vera & Florence, already married and out of the home, he watched his sons marry one by one—Loren in 1932[16] and Chester ("Chic") in 1933,[17] Milton and Elmer between 1935 and 1940—celebrating these beginnings during the bleakest economic years in American history.

A Second Chance

A city directory entry from 1937 places Fay in the town of Pratt, suggesting a brief period where he may have stepped away from the daily grind of the township farm, perhaps because his children had moved on or due to financial hardship.[18] But he did not remain alone. Sometime between 1937 and 1940, Fay’s life shifted again. He did not look at his old social circle for a new partner. Instead, he married Quizzie Passmore Hayes, a woman born in Missouri who had been living in Clinton, Oklahoma.[19]

Quizzie was a match for Fay’s resilience. Born Quizzie Christine Kahler in 1886, she had weathered her own storms. She had raised five children with her first husband, Roll Passmore, before he died after a long illness. She was only thirty-five at the time. A second marriage had been brief and unsuccessful. She understood that a marriage in later life is not about dances and parties; it is about companionship and shared history.

By the 1940 Census, Fay and Quizzie were living together on another farm, along with Quizzie’s teenage daughter, a hired hand, and a lodger.[20] Newspaper accounts from as early as 1924 indicated Fay was having issues with his eyes, seeking consultation in Wichita.[21] It is likely his eyesight was failing, and he needed the help to manage the daily chores. As the decades rolled along, the 1950s found Fay and Quizzie living in Wright County, Missouri, closer to Quizzie’s extended family, both listed as unable to work.[22]

A Quiet Peace

Fay Coffman died in November of 1973 in Clinton, Oklahoma, at the age of 94. Quizzie followed him in death only eight months later in July of 1974, she was 88. They are buried together at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens in Springfield, Missouri.[23] Fay survived the silence. He never returned to the high-visibility social life of his first marriage; the days of the Coffman farm being the party center of McClellan Township were gone, buried with Zelma. But he remained on the land, witness to the transformation of the prairie from the horse-drawn days of his youth to the mechanized modern world.

In the end, even after marrying a second time, his devotion to his first love remained visible. An inscription on Fay and Quizzie’s shared headstone reads: “Zelma A Coffman, 1883-1925”. He had weathered the storms of nature and the storms of life, finding a quiet, steady peace to see him through his final decades.

---

Endnotes

[1] Virginia, Birth Registers, 1853-1911, entry for Lafayette Coffman; Library of Virginia, Richmond.

[2] 1900 U.S. census, Stafford County, Kansas, population schedule, Seward Township, p. 9 (penned), enumeration district (ED) 305, sheet 9, dwelling [No.], family [No.], Lafayette Coffman in Russell household; NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 501.

[3] 1880 U.S. census, Page County, Virginia, population schedule, Shenandoah, p. 344A (penned), ED 061, Russell household; NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 1383.

[4] Lafayette Coffman and Zelma A. Davis, marriage certificate, 11 April 1906; Coffman-Hicks Family Papers, privately held by Marcia Coffman Hicks, Oregon; certified copy provided by District Court of Barton County, Kansas, 13 May 2016.

[5] "Pratt County, Kansas, Standard Atlas of Pratt County, Kansas : digital image, Kansas Memory Catalog (https://www.kansasmemory.org) accessed 26 January 2026); and "Outline Map of Pratt County Kansas, pg. 7" created by Geo. A. Ogle & Co, 1922).

[6] “Pratt County Court House Dedication 14 Sept 1910,” photograph, 1910; digital image, Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (https://www.loc.gov/ : accessed 26 January 2026).

[7] “Milton Henry Coffman,” U.S. World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 January 2026); citing NARA Record Group 147.

[8] "Fay Coffman Closes Deal," The Pratt (Kansas) Republican, 24 June 1915, p. 7; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 January 2026).

[9] “Fire Wagon-Pratt Kansas, Pratt Kansas Historical Museum, digital photo, dated 14 Sept 1910, https://prattcountymuseum.org/ ; accessed 25 January 2026.

[10] “Breaking sod with a tractor, Greeley County, Kansas,” image at the website Kansas Memory, https://www.kansasmemory.gov/item/315113, used with permission.

[11] "History of Kansas," Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Kansas : accessed 26 January 2026); and "Kansas Agriculture," AgManager (https://agmanager.info : accessed 26 January 2026).

[12] "Cullison Locals," Cullison (Kansas) Let's Go, 30 July 1924, p. 6; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 28 January 2026).

[13] “Zelma Alethia Davis,” obituary, Cullison (Kansas) Let's Go, 9 September 1925, p. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 28 January 2026).

[14] "Card of Thanks," Cullison (Kansas) Let's Go, 9 September 1925, p. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 28 January 2026).

[15] 1930 U.S. census, Pratt County, Kansas, population schedule, McClellan Township, ED [No.], sheet [No.], dwelling [No.], family [No.], Lafayette Coffman; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 January 2026); and "The Great Depression," Drought Risk Management Research Center (https://drought.unl.edu/dustbowl/ : accessed 26 January 2026).

[16] Loren Davis Coffman and Martha Richardson, marriage certificate, 30 January 1932; Coffman-Hicks Family Papers, privately held by Marcia Coffman Hicks, Oregon; certified copy provided by State of Kansas, Dept. of Vital Statistics.

[17] 1940 U.S. census, Multnomah County, Oregon, population schedule, Eastwood, p. 2A, ED 26-23, Chester Coffman household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 January 2026).

[18] 1937 Pratt City Directory (Pratt, Kansas: n.p., 1937), listing for Lafayette Coffman.

[19] 1930 U.S. census, Custer County, Oklahoma, population schedule, Clinton, ED [No.], sheet [No.], dwelling [No.], family [No.], Quizzie Passmore household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 January 2026).

[20] 1940 U.S. census, Pratt County, Kansas, population schedule, McClellan Township, ED [No.], sheet [No.], dwelling [No.], family [No.], Lafayette Coffman household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 January 2026).

[21] "Cullison Locals," Cullison (Kansas) Let's Go, 19 November 1924, p. 6; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 1 February 2026).

[22] 1950 U.S. census, Wright County, Missouri, population schedule, Gasconade, p. 17, ED 115-12, dwelling [No.], family [No.], Lafayette Coffman household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 January 2026).

[23] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/92633512/lafayette-coffman: accessed February 10, 2026), memorial page for Lafayette “Fay” Coffman (15 Dec 1879–22 Nov 1973), {{FindAGrave|92633512}}, citing Greenlawn Memorial Gardens, Springfield, Greene County, Missouri, USA; Maintained by Marcia Coffman Page Hicks (contributor 48495172).

 Author Bio:

I'm Marcia Coffman Hicks, a family historian/genealogist born in California, living in Oregon and the great-granddaughter of Lafayette (Fay) Coffman and his 1st wife Zelma Alethia Davis. They lived all their adult lives in Kansas.  I wrote this story to preserve a piece of our family's past and help future generations understand and relate to our shared ancestry.

Author’s Note
I wrote The Silence After the Dance: A Chronicle of Lafayette Coffman to preserve my family’s history and to share it with the generations who come after me. In drafting this narrative, I used AI language models (Claude Opus 4.5 and Gemini Pro 3) as a writing aid to help generate early drafts and explore phrasing. Every paragraph was then reviewed, edited, and refined by me, and the final voice, interpretations, and conclusions are my own.

Because this is a work of family history, I have tried to follow genealogical standards: the key facts and claims in this story are grounded in documentary evidence and are accompanied by source citations so readers can evaluate the information for themselves. Even with careful research and review, mistakes are always possible. Any errors or interpretations are my responsibility, and I welcome corrections or additional documentation that can strengthen this record.

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks--Jumping in on Week #2

WEEK #2--FAVORITE PHOTO

Well I've decided to jump on the bandwagon and join Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge again this year!  Last year was not a good year for writing about my family history as life got in the way and I was only able to get two blog posts completed.  This year the goal is to do as many as I can and not beat myself up if I miss one or two weeks or like last year 50!!

Hester Lee (Junken) Schneider, Charles Howard Schneider, 

Marcia Coffman Page Hicks, Harry Raymond "Shorty" Schneider, Gregory Coffman

Coffman-Hicks Family Archive

This family photo was taken at my grandparents home in Phoenix, Maricopa Co, AZ in the summer of 1958-1959 as the photo is unmarked.  The reason it is my favorite photo is that it is the only known photo of me and my Grandpa "Shorty".  He is holding me in his arms and I am approximately 2-3 years old.  My grandpa would be gone before my 4th birthday.

Harry Raymond Schneider was born 27 August 1897 in Milwaukie, Milwaukie, WI to Philip Schneider and Daisy Irene (Manhardt) Schneider.  Tragedy struck the Schneider household when his mother died when he was 13 and he went to live with an uncle soon after.  Harry enlisted into the US Army on 3 Feb 1915, six months prior to his 18th birthday!  He served with General Pershing both in the US and abroad during WWI and earned a Purple Heart for being injured in action.  

He married Hester Lee Junken on 23 July 1930 in Phoenix, Maricopa, AZ.  At the time he was working as a Cab/Limousine driver in the city of Phoenix.  They had two children, Charles Howard Schneider, b .July 1931 and Helen Lorraine Schneider b. Sept 1932.

Growing up I always heard stories about my grandfather that he was a cab driver and that all his friends called him "Shorty" as he only stood 5'6" tall.  He enjoyed the outdoors and went hunting and fishing with my uncle Charlie frequently.  

Fate would have it that my grandfather did not have a long life.  He died on 21 Oct 1959

chronic kidney disease.  I am sorry that I never got the opportunity of knowing him.  I have the feeling we would have been great friends!!

What Do We Think of When We Hear The Word: CHALLENGE?

The Cambridge Dictionary defines the word challenge as: "The situation of being faced with something that needs great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully and therefore tests a person's ability".1 

When I started researching my family history approximately 10 years ago or so, I knew some of the names of my ancestors, but as I dug deeper, the "hunt" became much more challenging and therefore more interesting.  Some lines "opened" up and flowed more easily and the next thing I knew I was back in the "old country" in the early 1600's and on other lines, I had barely made it out of the 1900's and I found myself smack up against the proverbial "brick wall".  With the discoveries I was making, the door to discovery was opening and I was "hooked" as they say on genealogy!  

As I shared some of these finding with family members, I found myself facing another "challenge"-one of indifference.  I was finding out all of these interesting people in our family and they were like, "so what, these people are all dead and they have nothing to do with us"!  "Why are you spending SO much time researching these people"!!  I couldn't understand why they were not interested in our relatives!!  So I had to come to terms with the fact that I was the only "genealogist" in the family and move on.

When I discovered that I might be eligible to join the Daughters of the American Revolution, I was over the moon!  I suspected that we might have an ancestor who fought in the Revolution when I discovered that many of my paternal ancestors settled in Massachusetts in the late 1600's and early 1700's.  Having early New England ancestors usually indicates that you have Revolutionary ancestors and the challenge would be to prove it.  I embarked on the challenge to find my Revolutionary ancestor.  It just so happened that a cousin emailed me when she came across an enquiry that I had sent to the library that she was volunteering for.  I had requested an obituary for one of our shared ancestors.  Well thru our correspondence we discovered that we shared a common ancestor that was a Revolutionary War Veteran!!  Talk about serendipity!  Yes, genealogy can be challenging, but it can be really fun!!  It turned out that I had already found my initial Revolutionary War Veteran, but this cousin had found another ancestor who fought in the war.  So far I have found 12 ancestors who fought in the war!!

Every time  I sit down to work on my genealogy I am challenged.  It is part of the fun.  If it was not challenging, I don't think I would do it.  It's the challenge that makes it interesting!!

SOURCES

1.  The Cambridge Dictionary Online, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/challenge, accessed 1-8-2019.

The "First" To Come to America From Mom's Family

As we start this new year, I am challenged to be a part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge" that Amy Johnson Crow is doing again this year.  This first weeks challenge is "First".  I am highlighting the first immigrant ancestors on my maternal side of the family.  This side of the family tree has been a challenge to say the least, whereas I have come up against several brick walls in my research, but I keep chipping away at the mortar hoping to get at the nuggets! 


I can only imagine what my 2 times great grandparents must have felt like coming to a country they were totally unfamiliar with with maybe only a few possessions (my 2X great grandfather's obituary said he only had $2 to his pocket!) and just their hopes for a better future for their family.  This is what I know (so far) of their story.

Their names are Michael and Catherine Schneider.1  Michael Schneider was born in Drachenbrun,

The small red region shows the Alsace/Lorraine region of France circa: 1837.

Alsace-Lorraine, France in 1837.2   Catherine was born in Neiderretteren, Alsace-Lorraine, France in 1832.  They were married in Drachenbronn, Alsace-Lorraine, France in 1865.  

In July of 1870 the Franco-Prussian war between France and Germany began with France being defeated in May of 1871.  With 90% of Alsace and 1/4 of the Lorraine region being ceded to the Germans, the "new Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine was under the sole authority of the Kaiser, administered directly by the imperial government in Berlin". Between 100.000and 130,000 people chose to remain French and to leave Alsace-Lorraine rather than become German, and Michael and Catherine were two who decided to emigrate to America.3      

Michael and Catherine arrived in the United States aboard the ship 

SS Palmyra-Cunard Line Steamship

S S Palmyra in Boston, Massachusetts, on 20 November 1871, with their daughter Catherine, age 8, and their two sons, Phillip, age 5 (my great-grandfather) and his younger brother Charles, age 3.3 With the war having ended in May 1871 and the family arriving in November,  Michael didn't waste any time getting his family out of what was now Germany.  The trip could have taken anywhere from 6-14 weeks depending on the weather conditions during the voyage.  The family traveled in steerage as this was the most economical for a family of five at this time and place. The manifest shows my 2 time great-grandfather as being a mechanic as his occupation,4 but it was known that his occupation was actually a tailor.  This is documented on his wedding certificate and in other family documents. 

By 1880 they have found themselves in Dorr, McHenry Co., Illinois with fourth child George has joined the family, shown being born 1871.5 It is entirely possible that Catherine was pregnant with George during the journey across the Atlantic, but since I don't have an exact birth date for George, we can only surmise.6  Tragedy had struck the family earlier as George was listed in the 1880 Federal Census as idiotic.  Upon further research I discovered that he was listed as George Snyder (spelled phonetically) in the 1880 Schedule of Defective, Dependent and Delinquent Classes.7  The description under his name stated that George fell on a stone and sustained a head injury-no date was entered as to when the injury occurred.  George died at the age of 18.9

Michael and Catherine lived their entire lives in and around Dorr and Woodstock, McHenry, Illinois.  Michael worked as a tailor8 all of his life and they were active in the German Presbyterian Church in Woodstock, Illinois.9

SOURCES

1.  The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1820-1891; Record Group Title: Records of the U.S. Customs Service; Record Group Number: 36, Ancestry.com, 2006, Provo, UT, USA, accessed 11/12/2016.

2.  Birth Certificate for Michael Schneider

3. Wikipedia contributors, "History of Alsace," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? =History_of_Alsace&oldid=856077932 (accessed January 1, 2019).

4.  Ibid: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1820-1891

5.  1880; Census Place: Dorr, McHenry, Illinois; Roll: 228; Family History Film: 1254228;    Page: 102A; Enumeration District: 135; Image: 0458

6.  Ibid: 1880 Federal Census 

7.  U.S. Federal Census - 1880 Schedules of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent        Classes

8. 1900; Census Place: Dorr, McHenry, Illinois; Roll: 321; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0153; FHL microfilm: 1240321

9.  Obituary for Michael Schneider, The Woodstock American, Woodstock, IL, p.3, col. 4-5, 17 Jan 1919