Category: Weekly

CategoriesWeekly History

Weekly History: Nov 22nd – 28th

Posted on 22 November 2009by Brian Zalewski

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

Posted on 15 November 2009by Brian Zalewski

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: Nov 8th-14th

Posted on 8 November 2009by Brian Zalewski

November 11

1630 – Born – Jean CUSSON-CALLIOU – Jean is my 10th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born at St. Marguerite-sur-Durclair, Rouen, Normandie, France. He married Marie FOUBERT in 1656.  He passed away on 8 Apr 1718 at St. Sulpice, Quebec, Canada.

1719 – Born – Josephte CHEVREFILS-BELISLE – Josephte is my 7th-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born at Montreal, Ile de Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She married Antoine LAFOND in 1750. She passed away on 13 Jun 1774 at Baie-du-Febvre, Yamaska, Quebec, Canada.

My younger brother, Joel, also calls November 11th his birthday. Happy 25th birthday!

November 12

1934 – Died – Ida SCHAVANDIE – Ida is my 3rd-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born on 6 Sep 1852 in Prussia. She married Peter MUHM in 1870 and had 3 daughters, including my ancestor Minnie MUHM. She passed away at Antigo, Langlade Co., Wisconsin and is buried there at Elmwood Cemetery.

November 14

1848 – Married – William CORRIGAN & Mary McCANN – William and Mary are my 3rd-great-grandparents on my father’s side. Both were born in Ireland in the 1820s (though stories also say William was born in New York) and immigrated with their families, settling in Ontario, Canada. They had 12 children, including my great-great-grandfather, Thomas CORRIGAN. William passed away first in 1876 and Mary in 1884. I assume they’re both buried in the Uptergrove, Ontario, Canada area.

CategoriesTell Me ThursdayThielke

Tell Me Thursday: Wedding

Posted on 5 November 2009by Brian Zalewski
Click for larger
Click for larger

This is a photo from my grandparent’s wedding on August 28, 1948 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Port Washington, Wisconsin. The church is known for it’s large decorations and ceiling. It’s also frequently painted along with downtown Port Washington as it sits on a high hill overlooking the downtown area. You can see it in the third photo down on this page.

CategoriesWeekly History

Weekly History: Nov 1st-7th

Posted on 2 November 2009by Brian Zalewski

Happy Día de los Muertos! Ok, I’m back. I didn’t have any time for genealogy research, so I fell behind on everything.

November 2

1901 – Born – Leon Joseph DEBROUX – Leon is my great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born in Phlox, Langlade Co., Wisconsin to Joseph & Mary Philomene (LAURENT) DEBROUX. He married Mildred VAN PRICE in 1921. He passed away on 15 Sep 1982 in Port Washington, Ozaukee Co., Wisconsin and is buried there at St. Mary’s Cemetery.

1976 – Died – Frank Edward Zalewski, Jr. – Frank, Jr is my great-great-uncle on my father’s side. He was born October 1899 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Not much is known about Frank, Jr. He seemed to have never married and is buried with his parents at Holy Cross Cemetery in Milwaukee. I have heard that he may have had a drinking problem, which may have made his life difficult.

November 5

1806 – Born – Marie DesAnges MANSEAU – Marie is my 4th-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born at Baie-du-Febvre, Yamaska, Quebec, Canada to Antoine & Catharine (CLOUTIER) MANSEAU. She married Ephraim Gadious dit ST. LOUIS in 1831. She passed away on 16 Oct 1895 at Florence, Florence Co., Wisconsin.

CategoriesFeaturedNon-GenealogySaturday Genealogy Fun

SNGF: Your All-time Favorite Song

Posted on 28 September 2009by Brian Zalewski

Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings posted his Saturday Night Genealogy Fun and I’m going to do it on a Monday. Why? Because I can.

1. What is your all-time favorite song? Yep, number 1. It’s hard to choose sometimes. If you made your favorite all-time Top 40 music selections, what would be #1?

2. Tell us about it. Why is it a favorite? Do you have special memories attached to this song?

My favorite song of all-time is a pretty simple choice. It’s something I have thought about in the past. It seems I’m constantly trying to figure out my favorite musicians and songs. Overall, it’s a tough thing to choose, but my Top 1 or 2 are usually pretty well cemented. My taste in music is probably a lot heavier than most of the genealogy community, but even though my favorite band is pretty heavy, the song is not.

My all-time favorite song is “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica. Metallica has been my favorite band since I started to enjoy music. I remember listening to them on my older brother’s cassette tapes in the 1980s. When I came into my own musically at about 11 or 12, it was some of the first music I bought.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Metallica? So this must be some heavy metal song about worshiping the devil or something, right? Not even close. Due to the fact that Metallica has very few songs mentioning the devil and none of those actually say anything about worshiping him, that’s unlikely. “Nothing Else Matters” is actually a very slow and melodic song. According to Wikipedia, “some say it meant that “no matter how far” away he [singer, James Hetfield] was, he was still “so close” with the heart.”

I originally enjoyed the song because I liked how it sounded and I liked the lyrics. It felt like it had a lot of emotion behind it. When I heard it on the radio in April of 1999, the song gained new meaning. I was sitting in my father’s truck on a chilly, rainy April morning outside of St. Francis-Borgia church in Cedarburg. I was waiting for my grandfather’s funeral procession and the song came on the radio. I felt I was holding my emotions pretty steady for most of the day, but that song seemed to force me to let it all out.

I bet some of you would even enjoy the song. I even have a link that will allow you to listen to it, so you can make your own assessment. Who knows? Maybe you’ll even like it. Listen to it here.

CategoriesWeekly History

Weekly History: Sept 20th – 26th

Posted on 20 September 2009by Brian Zalewski

September 21st

1750 – Married – Antoine LAFOND & Josephte CHEVREFILS-BELISLE – Antoine and Josephte are my 7th-great-grandparents. They were married in St. Antoine de la Baie-du-Febrve, Yamaska, Quebec, Canada.

September 22nd

1962 – Died – Pieter Franciscus VAN PARIJS – Pieter is my great-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born 21 Jan 1874 in IJzendijke, Zeeland, Netherlands. Right after he was born, his family emigrated to the United States, settling in northern Wisconsin. The family also Americanized their names, making him Peter Van Price. He married Minnie M MUHM in 1895 and passed away at Port Washington, Ozaukee Co., Wisconsin. He is buried there at Union Cemetery.

September 23rd

1781 – Died – Paulus VAN CREYBECK – Paulus is my 7th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born 12 Jul 1720 in Genk, Limburg, Belgium. He married Maria TRUIJEN in 1748. He passed away at Genk, Limburg, Belgium.

September 24th

1697 – Died – Marguerite LANGLOIS – Marguerite is my 10th-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born 3 Sep 1639 in Quebec, Canada. She married Paul VACHON in 1653. They had 12 children including my ancestor, Louise VACHON. She passed away at Beauport, Montmorency, Canada.

September 26th

1851 – Born – Charles Carl F H LAST – Carl is my great-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born at Doeringshagen, Pommerania which is now in modern-day Poland. He married August Johanna LUEDTKE in 1883 and together had an amazing 16 children including my ancestor, Madora Martha Louise LAST. He passed away on 5 Jun 1926 at Port Washington, Ozaukee Co., Wisconsin and is buried there at Union Cemetery.

1931 – Died – Mathias Balthazar FIRMENICH – Mathis is my 3rd-great-grandfather on my father’s side. He was born in 11 February 1840 in Cologne, Germany. He immigrated to Wisconsin with his family in 1847. He married Paulina Henrietta THOMPSON on 11 Feb 1867 and had 13 children including my ancestor, Emma Jane FIRMENICH. He passed away at Ashland, Ashland Co., Wisconsin and is buried there at St. Agnes Cemetery.