Categories52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Ida (Schavandie) Muhm

The twenty-sixth ancestor (and half-way point) in my 52-week challenge is my maternal 3rd-great-grandmother Ida (SCHAVANDIE) MUHM. Her last name has been recorded in so many different ways, I don’t know which one to settle on anymore. It has been recorded as Schavandie, Schwendie, Swinty, Schwinta, Schwandie, Sivinty, and for some reason Kalahan in the marriage record on one of her daughters.

Two census records state that Ida was born in Wisconsin in September 1852, but other census records and vital records state that she was born in Germany. The 1910 Census from when she was living in Oregon states that she immigrated in 1910, which also points to a non-US birth. Her parents, on her marriage record, are listed as Lawrence SCHAVANDIE and Anna RASCH. Ida is also part of my mtDNA (or direct maternal) line. Her mother, Anna, is as far as mine goes. This makes her maternal haplogroup H11a, part of the H haplogroup.

On 18 April 1870, Ida married Peter MUHM in Germantown, Washington, Wisconsin, not far from where I live now. Somewhere in the early 1900s, I lose the Peter & Ida family. On a lucky break, I ran across an article about the Muhm family in the Antigo (Wisconsin) Daily Journal mentioning that the family had moved to Portland, Oregon in about 1902. Peter died there in 1905 after falling from some scaffolding. Ida lived in Portland for sixteen more years before coming back to Wisconsin.

Three years after moving to Portland, Mr. Muhm died as the result of a fall he suffered when a scaffold collapsed. Mrs. Muhm continued to live there for sixteen years, then returned here to make her home with her daughters, Mrs. Joe Narlow, and Mrs. Fred Van Atter. Another daughter, Mrs. Peter Van Price lives in Port Washington; a son Edward in San Francisco, and an older son, George, in Portland, Oregon.

Ida passed away on 12 November 1934 in Antigo and is buried there at Elmwood Cemetery, though Peter is buried in Portland.

This post is 26 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

CategoriesTombstone Tuesday

Tombstone Tuesday: Where Did He Go?

For years I had lost track of my 3rd-great-grandfather, Peter MUHM. He and his wife, Ida (SCHAVANDIE) MUHM, lived in Wisconsin for many years. I tracked Ida to Langlade County, Wisconsin in 1934 where she finally rests at Elmwood Cemetery in Antigo. Where was Peter? Good question. I also couldn’t find them in the 1900 Census records.

After some deep searching, I ran across an newspaper article in the Antigo (Wisconsin) Daily Journal from May 1933 about Mr. and Mrs. MUHM. It says:

For five years Mr. and Mrs. Muhm farmed with only a grub hoe, pitchfork, and hoe. Grain and hay were carried from the field to the barn on the pitchfork. Sometime after beginning their clearing, a cow and a few chickens were bought, and with other additions, little by little, they soon had a prosperous little farm. At the beginning fish, wild game, and deer afforded the only meat the family had. Mr. Muhm had shot 99 deer before he sold his farm in 1902 and went to Portland, Oregon. As a pioneer he built many of the first houses and barns in the county, and also made coffins for the dead.

Three years after moving to Portland, Mr. Muhm died as the result of a fall he suffered when a scaffold collapsed. Mrs. Muhm continued to live there for sixteen years, then returned here to make her home with her daughters, Mrs. Joe Narlow, and Mrs. Fred Van Atter. Another daughter, Mrs. Peter Van Price lives in Port Washington; a son Edward in San Francisco, and an older son, George, in Portland, Oregon.

(Full Transcribed Article Text on my wiki)

Tada! There is the information I needed. Peter and his wife moved to Portland, Oregon (reasons still unknown) and he died after falling from a scaffold in 1905. I also had found an “Ida MUHM” in the 1910 Census in Oregon that now made sense. Then, on a whim, I ran “MUHM” through the Find-A-Grave search system in Oregon and what do you know, I found his headstone located in Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery in Portland. A nice volunteer by the name of VDR had photographed it sometime in late 2010. Aren’t volunteers wonderful? She was very nice and transferred ownership of the memorial to me so I can now update it and add it to my list.

Peter Muhm
Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery, Portland, Oregon
CategoriesWeekly History

Weekly History: July 11th – 17th

Minnie (Muhm) Van Price, 3rd from left.

I seemed the have missed last week’s post, probably due to July 4th throwing everything off.

July 12th

1811 – Died – Philemon SUTHERLAND – Philemon is my wife’s 7th-great-grandfather on her father’s side. He was born about 1718 in Prince Edward Co., Virginia. He married Mildred ARCHER. He passed away in Franklin Co., Virginia.

1849 – Died- Francois Eugene LOOD – Francois is my 4th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born on 6 Nov 1786 in Piétrebais, Walloon Brabant, Belgium. In 1812, he married Marie Catherien DUPONT. He passed away in Piétrebais, Walloon Brabant, Belgium.

1879 – Born – Minnie M MUHM – Minnie is my great-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born in Norwood Township, Langlade Co., Wisconsin to Peter & Ida MUHM. She married Pieter Franciscus VAN PARIJS (Peter VAN PRICE) in 1895 and had 6 children. She passed away on 6 Jul 1959 in Port Washington, Ozaukee Co., Wisconsin and is buried there at Union Cemetery.

July 13th

1876 – Died – William CORRIGAN – William, known as Curly Bill, is my 3rd-great-grandfather on my father’s side. He was born in about 1823 on either the voyage to America or somewhere in New York State. He married Mary MCCANN in 1848 and had 12 children, including my ancestor Thomas J CORRIGAN. He passed away at Mara Township, Brechin, Ontario, Canada.

July 14th

1963 – Died – Augusta Johanna LUEDTKE – Augusta is my great-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born 3 Jul 1863 in Storkow, Pommerania. She married Carl F H LAST in 1883 and had 16 children. She passed away 2 weeks after her 100th birthday in Grafton, Ozaukee Co., Wisconsin and is buried in Port Washington at Union Cemetery.

July 16th

1810 – Born – Ephraim Gadious dit ST. LOUIS – Ephraim is my 4th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born in Yamachiche, St. Maurice, Quebec, Canada. He married Marie DesAnges MANSEAU in 1831 and later settled in Wisconsin. He passed away on 27 Mar 1891 in Phlox, Langlade Co., Wisconsin.

CategoriesWeekly History

Weekly History: May 16th – 22nd

The history of my family for this week. As always, you can find this information anytime on the Dates & Anniversaries page.

May 16th

1842 – Born – John HUIZEL – John is my wife’s great-great-grandfather on her father’s side. He was born in Bohemia, Czechoslovakia. He married Barbara REINDL in about 1864 and they had 5 children, all of them before emigration to the US. He passed away on 19 Mar 1903 in Iowa and is buried at Bohemian Cemetery in Plymouth, Cerro Gordo Co., Iowa.

May 17th

1809 – Married – Constant Joseph LAURENT & Marie Josèphe BERO – Constant and Marie are my 4th-great-grandparents on my mother’s side. They were married at Piétrebais, Walloon Brabant, Wallonia, Belgium. Together, they had 4 children including my ancestor Jean-Baptiste LAURENT. They both passed away at Biez, Chaumont-Gistoux, Walloon Brabant, Belgium, Constant in 1841 and Marie in 1853.

May 18th

1848 – Born – Peter MUHM – Peter is my 3rd-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born at Palatine, Montgomery Co., New York. He married Ida SCHAVANDIE in about 1870. They had 4 children born in Wisconsin. Peter passed away at 39 on 6 May 1888 in Langlade Co., Wisconsin. His wife lived almost 50 more years when she passed away in 1934.

May 19th

1872 – Died – Dorothea (COOK) MORAN – Dorothea is my wife’s 3rd-great-grandmother on her father’s side. She was born 8 May 1825 in Cork County, Ireland. In 1845 she married Robert MORAN. Together they had 9 children on their travels from Quebec, Canada to Wisconsin. Dorothea died in Grant Co., Wisconsin and is supposedly buried at Old Rock Church in Livingston, Grant Co., Wisconsin.

May 20th

1920 – Died – Olivine (ST. LOUIS) LAURENT – Olivine is my 3rd-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born 17 Sep 1835 in Yamachiche, St. Maurice, Quebec, Canada. In 1857 she married Jean-Baptiste LAURENT (son of Constant and Marie above.) They had 9 children including my ancestor, Mary Philomene LAURENT. According to my notes, Olivine was the first school teacher in Phlox, Wisconsin. Note write up on the History of Outagamie County regarding the early days at Phlox, Wisconsin. The school is now torn down. Olivine passed away in Phlox, Langlade Co., Wisconsin and is buried at St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery in the nearby Norwood Township.

May 21st

1838 – Died – Lawrence MINKLawrence is my wife’s 5th-great-grandfather on her father’s side. He was born 8 Nov 1773 in Fredericktown, Maryland. He married Mary Elizabeth LOWRY in about 1795. He passed away in Preble Co., Ohio.

CategoriesGenetic GenealogySaturday Genealogy Fun

SNGF: Matrilineal Line

For Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post, he asks:

  1. List your matrilineal line – your mother, her mother, etc. back to the first identifiable mother. Note: this line is how your mitochondrial DNA was passed to you!
  2. Tell us if you have had your mitochondrial DNA tested, and if so, which Haplogroup you are in.
  3. Post your responses on your own blog post.

I’ve already done this since, yes, I have had my mDNA tested. I had it done for the National Geographic’s Genographic Project.

  1. Me, Brian ZALEWSKI
  2. Sharon THIELKE (Living) married John ZALEWSKI
  3. Marjorie DeBROUX (Living)  married LeRoy THIELKE
  4. Mildred Vida VAN PRICE (1903 Mattoon, WI – 1994 Port Washington, WI) married Leon DeBROUX
  5. Minnie M MUHM (1879 Norwood Twsp, WI – 1959 Port Washington, WI) married Pieter Franciscus VAN PARIJS
  6. Ida SCHAVANDIE (1852 Wisconsin or Germany – 1934 Antigo, WI) married Peter MUHM
  7. Anna RASCH (? Germany – ?) married Lawrence SCHAVANDIE

So, Anna RASCH is as far back as I’ve traced so far. When I took the test, I only had up to Ida and not much info about her, so I am making progress. Pieter VAN PARIJS changed his name to Peter VAN PRICE, which is why the name changes during that generation. That caused me some headache until I figured it out.

According to my DNA test, my Mitochondrial line hapolgroup is H. According to the Haplogroup H Wikipedia entry,  it is the most common mtDNA haplogroup in Europe.  About one half of Europeans are of mtDNA haplogroup H. That does back up the German heritage of my line.

CategoriesWeekly History

Weekly History: January 24th – 30th

January 24th

1789 – Died – Maria TRUIJEN – Maria is my 7th-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born 12 May 1725 in Genk, Limburg, Belgium. She married Paulus VAN CREYBECK in 1748. She passed away at Genk, Limburg, Belgium.

1850 – Died – Friedrich Ernest MUHM – Friedrich is my 5th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. Friedrich was born 22 Nov 1774 in Schwbendorf, Landkreis, Maurburg, Hessen, Germany. He married Gertrude OPPERMAN in 1795. He passed away at Schwbendorf, Landkreis, Maurburg, Hessen, Germany.

January 29th

1894 – Married – Joseph TROKA & Clara SZULTA – Joseph and Clara are my great-great-grandparents on my father’s side. They were married at St. Hedwig’s church on the east side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin by C. ROGOZINSKI. They had 4 children, including my great-grandmother, Emily TROKA. Clara passed away in 1959 and Joe passed away in 1962. They are buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Milwaukee.

CategoriesWeekly History

Weekly History: Nov 22nd – 28th

November 22nd

1774 – Born – Friedrich Ernest MUHM – Friedrich is my 5th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born in Schwbendorf, Landkreis, Maurburg, Hessen, Germany. He married Gertrude OPPERMAN in 1795. He passed away on 24 Jan 1850 in Schwbendorf, Landkreis, Maurburg, Hessen, Germany.

November 23rd

1869 – Died – Sophia Elizabeth STRASSMAN – Sophia is my 4th-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born on 23 Jun 1809 in Wahmbeck, Hanover, Germany. In 1844, she married Friedrich MUHM and settled in Washington County, Wisconsin. She passed away at Germantown, Washington Co., Wisconsin and is buried nearby at Christ Evangelical Cemetery in the small town of Dhiensville.

1930 – Died – Martha ZALEWSKI – Martha is my great-great-aunt on my father’s side. She was born 10 Sep 1885 in German Poland/Prussia. She immigrated with her family to Milwaukee in 1889. She married John STRELKA and passed away in Milwaukee. She is buried near her family at Holy Cross Cemetery in Milwaukee.

November 25th

1835 – Died – Joseph LAURENT – Joseph is my 5th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He married Marie Catherine MOUREAU and passed away at Biez, Chaumont-Gistoux, Wallon Brabant, Belgium.

November 26th

1756 – Died – Georges QUINET – Georges is my 8th-great-grandfather on my father’s side. He was born about 1689 and married Catherine GENAVOIS in 1711. Together, they had 9 children, including my ancestor Pierre Francois QUINET. Georges passed away at Haute-Saône, Franche-Comté, France.

November 28th

1841 – Died – Constant Joseph LAURENT – Constant is my 4th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He married Marie Josephe BERO in 1809 and had 4 children, including my ancestor Jean-Baptiste LAURENT. He passed away at Biez, Chaumont-Gistoux, Wallon Brabant, Belgium.

CategoriesWeekly History

Weekly History: Nov 15th – 21st

Joseph Troka and his wife, Clara.
Joseph Troka and his wife, Clara.

November 17th

1853 – Died – Marie Josephe BERO – Marie is my 4th-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was presumably born in Belgium, but her info is unknown. She married Constant Joseph LAURENT in 1809 and had 4 children, including my ancestor Jean-Baptiste LAURENT. She passed away at Biez, Chaumont-Gistoux, Wallon Brabant, Belgium.

1871 – Born – Joseph TROKA – Joseph is my 3rd-great-grandfather on my father’s side. He was born in Poland/Prussia and immigrated to America in 1888 or 1889 settling in Milwaukee. He married Clara SZULTA at St. Hedwig’s Church in Milwaukee on 29 Jan 1894. Joseph was tragically hit and killed by a drunk driver on his way to church on New Year’s morning 1962. You can see a partial transcription of the story on his family page.

November 18th

1872 – Died – Johann Peter FIRMENICH – Peter is my 4th-great-grandfather on my father’s side. He was born about 7 Jul 1794 in Koeln, Rheinland, Prussia. He immigrated to America with his family in 1847 settling just north of Milwaukee. He passed away at Brown Co., Wisconsin.

November 19th

1863 – Died – Friedrich MUHM – Friedrich is my 4th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born on 20 Feb 1801 in Schwbendorf, Landkreis, Maurburg, Hessen, Germany. He married Sophia Elizabeth STRASSMAN in 1844. They moved to the Germantown, Washington Co., Wisconsin area where Friedrich passed away.

1903 – Died – Janneke DEES – Janneke is my 4th-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born about 1817 at Biervliet, Zeeland, Netherlands. She married Jacobus Bernardus VAN PARIJS in 1835 and had 5 children, including my ancestor Charles Ludovicus VAN PARIJS. She passed away in IJzendijke, Zeeland, Netherlands.

November 20th

1818 – Died – Gertrude OPPERMAN – Gertrude is my 5th-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born about 1782 in Germany. She married Friedrich Ernest MUHM and had 2 children. She passed away in Schwbendorf, Landkreis, Maurburg, Hessen, Germany.

CategoriesWeekly History

Weekly History: Welcome Back

Sorry. Been busy doing other things and due to my short attention span, sometimes I get involved in other things and lose interest in the other stuff quickly. Though, that does mean I come back into genealogy more often and usually with a lot of interest. Here’s is my family history for the week of May 3 – 9.

May 3

1905 – Born – Clarice CORRIGAN – Clarice is my great-great aunt on my father’s side. She was born in Sanborn, Ashland Co., Wisconsin where most of the other Corrigan children were born, including my great-grandfather. She passed away in July 1995 in Iron Mountain, Dickinson Co., Michigan.

May 5

1849 РBorn РPaulina Henrietta (THOMPSON) FIRMENICH РPaulina is my great-great-great grandmother. She was born in Granville, Milwaukee Co. Wisconsin which is part of the Brown Deer area now (not far from where I live.) Her parents were William Henry THOMPSON and Claude-Fran̤oise QUINET. She married Mathis Balthazar FIRMENICH on 11 Feb 1867 (his birthday) in Holland, Brown Co., Wisconsin. She passed away 3 Jun 1910 in Morrison, Brown Co., Wisconsin. She is buried with her husband in Ashland, Ashland Co., Wisconsin where he lived the rest of his life.

May 6

1888 – Died – Peter MUHM – Peter is my 3rd-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born 18 May 1848 in Hanover, Germany to Friedrich MUHM and Sophia Elizabeth STRASSMAN. He married Ida SCHAVANDIE on 18 Apr 1870 in Germantown, Washington Co., Wisconsin. He passed away at the young age of 40 in Langlade Co., Wisconsin.

May 9

1860 – Died – Mary (CRONIN) MCCANN – Mary is my 4thg-great-grandmother on my father’s side. She was born in 1797 in Ireland, parents unknown. She married Thomas MCCANN, with whom she had 4 children before emigrating to Ontario, Canada.