Single Life to Benedict - Part 10 - 1941 & 1942

It has been a while since I posted anything on Alfred's story.  There was a two week vacation, including a trip to Indiana, and then a return trip a couple of weeks later to attend a funeral. Have just had a hard time getting back into a rhythm.  The story is up to 1941 as Alfred continues:

"My father died on Easter Sunday 1941.  Seemed like 1941 a lot of things happened.  Harold was called to Allison's for a job.  Later that year Avery also got a job there – the boys were making a bigger salary than I was.  Late that summer Mom had surgery and Aunt Ruth again came to our assistance and took care of household duties.  It was a miserable hot summer that year. 

Jane graduated in 1942 and that fall went to Central Business College.  We took her up there on Labor Day.  It is to be remembered that World War II started for the U.S.A. with the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941 and of course our anxieties grew from day to day as we knew our boys would soon have to serve with the millions of young men being called.  I think it was in 1942 that Harold enlisted in the Navy.  I took him to Bedford to enlist and was thinking seriously of enlisting myself for I had information that mail clerks were needed and had a chance of getting an Ensign commission, however I found out for the first time I was “color blind.”

Jane finished school and got a fair job with the Capitol Paper Co.  Shortly after that Avery was drafted into the Army.  Mom recovered from surgery quickly and was doing a good job on our Farm Program.  She bought another cow and was raising veal calves, buying baby calves and letting them have practically all the milk – She raised as 3 calves with our cow and the calves brot from 30⁰⁰ to 40⁰⁰ each.  She also had a big flock of chickens that did real well in egg production.  Tunney was doing real well playing basketball and was one of the main stays on a better than average team for 3 years.  The war years were critical; we were allotted stamps for certain foods, gas, tires, etc. but we did not suffer.  In the mean time Jane got a better job with American Railway Express and was making a good salary."

Alfred just briefly mentioned the death of his father, Frederick August Henry Moehlmann, on 13 April 1941. There had not been much contact over the years.  But I do know that Alfred and his family they made the trip up to Indianapolis for the funeral, because my aunt who was fairly young at the time remembers the train ride to Indianapolis.  I did find an obituary that someone had saved but I don't know what paper it was from: 

Alfred's father, at the time of his death, was living in the same Indianapolis neighborhood where Alfred had grown up.  He never remarried and had lived with his widowed brother Lewis, a widowed sister-in-law, Minnie and spinster sister Matilda. The obituary says he had retired from the railroad 15 years previously.  The 1930 census listed his occupation as caretaker in a private residence.  In the 1940 census it was recorded that Fred was unable to work. The only picture I have of him is his wedding photo which you can see here. Alfred doesn't say much about his father, but one of his children relayed to me that they had gone to Indianapolis by train to see their grandfather who was very ill.  He died before they had gotten back to Linton.  So they left the next day and went back to his funeral.

Headstone at Concordia Cemetery
Indianapolis, Indiana

Alfred's son Avery graduates from Linton Stockton High School on 3 June 1941 and then goes to work at Allison's in Indianapolis, joining his older brother Harold.

1941 Commencement Exercise program from Linton Stockton High School
June 3, 1941, Avery Moehlmann's name is outlined.

The attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on Dec. 7, 1941 and Alfred is worried about his sons having to go to war.

Alfred and Helen's daughter Esther Jane graduated in 1942. and went to the same Business College that her father had attended in Indianapolis.

    

#52 Ancestors Week 34 - Benjamin Franklin Wood

Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small has a weekly challenge to write the stories of your ancestors. This is week #34 and the suggested theme is find an ancestor on a Non Population Census Schedule.  I'm sure I have lot of Indiana farmers on the agricultural census. Unfortunately the Indiana schedules are not digitized.  So I have highlighting one of my husband's ancestor, Benjamin Franklin Wood.

Benjamin was born in 1810 in North Carolina. His father had been born in Maryland but by 1793 was in North Carolina.  He sold his property there in 1809 and went to Tennessee. His family joined him shortly after that. 

Not a lot is know about Benjamin. Most of his children were born in Alabama.  He is in the 1850 census in DeKalb County, Alabama.  DeKalb was created in 1836 just 10 days after the signing of the Treaty of New Echota where the federal government paid five million dollars for the Cherokee land which opened that land up for new settlers.In 1839 he received $6 as an heir of his father's will.  I have seen trees that show he was in Texas and participated in the Mexican American War. His daughter and son-in-law lived in Texas.  The 1850 census, court records in Cannon County, TN where he is disputing his father's will are two of the three documents I have for Benjamin.

The third is the 1860 Mortality Schedule in DeKalb County, Alabama.

Benjamin is listed on line 32:

Benjamin F. Wood, age 49, born in North Carolina, died in March, occupation was painter, died of typhoid pneumonia and had been ill for 15.

There is still much to learn about Benjamin. I do not know who he married.  Due to the age of his wife in the 1850 and the children listed, I believe he was married more than one. I believe he had eleven children, but have not had much luck finding information on most of them.  So the search is ongoing.

#52 Ancestors Week 29 - Musical - Houchins Band

Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small has a weekly challenge to write the stories of your ancestors. This is week #29 and the suggested theme is Musical.  


I was on vacation and did not post this during the musical week.  However, I have this great photograph that I want to share.  

Houchins Coronet Band, Greenville, W.Va. c. 1897 - sons of Rufus and Clayton Houchins

Rufus and Clayton Houchins are brothers and their sons make up the Houchin Coronet Band. Rufus and Clayton are by 3rd cousins 3X removed. I just love this photo.

The Houchins Coronet Band was formed about 1897-98 in Monroe county,WV. It was started by nine members of the Houchins family there and included the sons of brothers Rufus, (born in 1829) and Clayton M.Houchins (born 1839). The band did not stay together very long but they did put on concerts that paid for the instruments.

I'm not aware of any other musical ancestors in my Houchin line. However, I do have a grandson that plays the tuba in the high school marching band.

#52 Weeks - Defective, Dependent & Deliquent - Henry Sargent

Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small has a weekly challenge to write the stories of your ancestors. This is week #33 and the suggested theme is Defective, Dependent & Delinquent. The suggestion is referring to the 1880 special schedule that enumerated the blind, deaf, paupers, homeless children, prisoners, insane, and idiotic.

The 1880 DDD Schedule for Indiana is not online that I could find.  I did look at the 1880 census and found that my 2X great grandfather, Jacob Sargent, was listed with his wife and three youngest children.  Jacob’s 20 year old son, Henry, is shown as having consumption under the health question #15 which asks:

Is the person [on the day of the Enumerator’s visit] sick or temporarily disabled, so as to be unable to attend to ordinary business or duties?

If so, what is the sickness or disability?

This is going to have to be my defective listing. Consumption was the terminology at the time for tuberculosis. Henry died just five years later at the age of 25, in December of 1895. His brother Everett dies in 1889 at the age of 23. Jacob and his wife Nancy Jane had six children, only three married, and all died by age 41.

1880 Census for Jacob Sargent, McCameron Township, Martin Co., Indiana

You might have noticed that there is another disability listed on this page under James Sargent, several lines above Jacob. James is a brother of Jacob and he has “piles”, today known as hemorrhoids.

I decided to see what other disabilities were listed in Jacob's township. Of they 1111 people enumerated, I found the following:

Measles (8 children in two families), disease of heart, cholera (2), neuralgia (2), pleurisy, rheumatism, kidney disease, malaria (2), fever (3), ruptured, scrofula in eyes, gunshot, consumption (2), piles, phthisic (asthma).

In addition there were 4 that were blind, 2 idiotic, 2 insane, and 12 maimed. 

I was drawn in by the gunshot that was listed and I had to see if I could find out more about that.  The name was Joseph Smiley and I found the following newspaper clipping:

The only other info I could find on 24 year old Smiley was that he was married in January that same year to 19 year old Barbara Huff. Joseph Huff from the article must be some relation to her. 

I'm so easily led astray, but I enjoy the search!

#52 Ancestors - 32 - Well Almost

Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small has a weekly challenge to write the stories of your ancestors. This is week #32 and the suggested theme is also 32. The suggestion was to highlight one of your 32 third great grandparents.
The generation of my third great grandparents was a challenge when I first began my genealogy journey.  Today I am happy to say that all but one has been identified.  Here are all the surnames:

Moehllmann, Wesserhuhn, Krentler, Rauscherbush, Tendick, Hollman, Kuches, Manglemann, Schmidt, Kueppers, Heitman, Memering, Ramacher, Hochwar, Sargent, Waggoner, Skeen, Percyfield, Adkins, Mahan, Williams, McBride, Houchin, Clifford, Smith, Davis, Mason, McClannahan, Ring.

As I mentioned, there is one "unknown" - Polly the wife of George Smith - has not yet been identified.  But were you counting the names? There are only 29 rather than 31.  So today I am going to introduce you to Heinrich Kuches or Kukes and Matilda Mangelmann.

Heinrich was born in 1810 in Kaldenhausen, Germany and Matilda Mangelmann was born in nearby Baerl about the same time. They married about 1830 as their first child, a son Diedrick, was born 23 December 1832 in Dusseldorph, Kries Moers, Rhineland, Germany. He was followed by a sister Katrina on 12 Aug 1838.  It is assumed that the mother died shortly afterwards as Heinrich remarried in September of the following year.

Much of what we know about Diedrick and Kathrina and their family comes from their grandson Alfred Moehlmann. He writes:

"Kathrina's father was a prosperous man and had a small farm.  She was heir to about 20 acres of land at Hochstrasse near Neukirchen and all her children were born there."

Katrina had married Peter Tendick on 14 Jan 1858 in Neukirchen. Katrina and Peter had nine children and in 1889 immigrated to the United States with seven of the children and settled in Greene County, Indiana.

Alfred writes the following about his grandfather Diedrick:

"Diedrick was a full brother to my Grandmother - Katrina Kukes (or Kukas) Tendick. Their father was Henry Kukes and they were born in Rhineland Province of Germany, near Dusseldorf, Kries Moers, Germany.  Now most of the details are those that I remember from my grandmother.  As far as I know, they were the only children.  I don't know what Diedrick was learning to be, but he was an apprentice to a man named Bovenschen.  Evidently later on he was drafted into the Prussian Army.  We do know that they conscripted for military service at that time. The camp or barracks he was serving in had to be close to their house, for my Grandmother said that their father would send her to camp with a basket of food at times.  She always mentioned one item for sure; that was light bread.  Now light bread was a delicacy there at that time - about the same as cake or pie was when we were kids.  Rye bread was their staple food.  Now Diedrick didn't like the military life or the Prussian system and he deserted the Army.  In order to leave Germany he had to get out on an assumed name to emigrate to America. He took the name of the craftsman he worked for - Bovenschen and kept it his entire life and raised his family by that name."

So Diedrick  had immigrated to the US in 1854 at the age of 21 and settled in Greene County, Indiana,where his sister and her family later joined him.  In 1862 he married Margaretha Schmidt and they had twelve children.

Matilda was the daughter of Katrina and Peter Tendick and married Frederick Moehlmann and had a son Alfred.. Diedrick and Margaretha had a son William who married Gesena Heitman and they had a daughter Helen.

Helen Bovennschen and Alfred Moehlamnn, my grandparents, married in 1921.  Helen and Alfred were second cousins. As a result the number of 3rd great grandparents are reduced by two to 30. Of course that number increases with each generation you go back. Five more generations back and I only need to research 960 people rather that 1024, assuming there are no other cousin marriages.