This is my great-grandmother, Emily (TROKA) ZALEWSKI along with her first two children: my grandfather, Richard ZALEWSKI and Irene (ZALEWSKI) LUTZENBERGER. I’m not exactly sure on the year, but it looks as though my Grandpa is around 1 or 2 years old, so it’s probably in about 1922-23.
I know it’s a day late. I was oot and aboot yesterday so I didn’t get a chance to write it. I went to Milwaukee’s Germanfest because I heard they have a nice area of family history stuff. They did, but unfortunately, they didn’t have any info on my family. It didn’t hurt to try.
THIELKE is one of the four big surnames in my family tree along with ZALEWSKI, DEBROUX and CORRIGAN. Just like ZALEWSKI, I usually find a lot of THIELKEs when searching, even in this area, but they’re never connected as far as I know. Here is what I have so far.
The furthest THIELKE I have is Henry Peter THIELKE: b. Oct 1813 in Mecklenberg, Germany. Sometime (I assume) before 1840, he married Marie D C SPECHT in Germany. They immigrated to Wisconsin sometime between 1854 and 1856 since Charles “Fritz” THIELKE was born in Germany in 1854 and then Herman THIELKE was born 1856 in Wisconsin, according to the 1860/1870 census records.
That’s about all I have on Peter and Marie THIELKE. There isn’t much more on their headstones and I can’t find any vital records for them at the Wisconsin Historical Society. I did find their burial records at the Ozaukee County Historical Society, but that just gives death dates and causes.
I have more information on their son Johann or Hans, who is my great-great-grandfather. He was born 26 Oct 1843 at Schwerin, Mecklenberg, Germany, which narrows down a location. Now, I don’t have a record of Johann being married until he marries my gg-grandmother, Wilomene C RATHKE on 21 Jun 1891. This would make Johann almost 50-years-old at the time. It’s not far-fetched that it’s his first marriage, but it seems strange. Wilomene was previously married to a Franz HOLZ before she married Johann.
Johann and Minnie lived in the Grafton, Ozaukee Co. Wisconsin area where my great-grandfather, Arthur Frederick THIELKE was born. Arthur is the only child I have found for Johann and Minnie, but I have yet to talk to my grandfather about this. He may know more.
My next steps will be to do some more direct research in the Schwerin, Germany area. Searching for THIELKE is almost as hard as finding ZALEWSKI. Here are all of the ways Johann’s name is spelled just in the census records.
Johann THIELKE, John TILKIE, John TISLKE, Hans J M THIELK (marriage certificate), Joachim THIELK, John THIELKE, and Johann TIELKE. I also found Peter and Henry Peter and their last name as TILKE.
Looks like today may be a THIELKE research day, since I’ve now dusted off all of the information.
July 26th
1751 – Married – Pierre François QUINET & Thérèse DARD – Pierre and Thérèse are my 7th-great-grandparents on my father’s side. They were married in Menoux, Haute-Saône, France. I am related to them through their son Antoine QUINET, who was born in 1757.
1919 – Married – Arthur Frederick THIELKE & Madora Martha Louise LAST – Arthur and Madora are my great-grandparents on my mother’s side. They married marred in Port Washington, Ozaukee Co., Wisconsin. They had four children, including my grandfather, LeRoy. Arthur passed away in 1964 and Madora remarried. She passed away in 1979. They are both buried at St. Paul’s Cemetery in Grafton, Ozaukee Co., Wisconsin.
July 28th
1900 – Died – Henry STEARNS – Henry is my 3rd-great-grandfather on my father’s side. He was born 19 Apr 1835 in Württemberg, Germany. He married Margaret SCHUMACHER in 1862. He immigrated with his famiyl to Wisconsin in about 1873 where he lived until he passed away.
July 29th
1734 – Died – Genevieve PAILLARD – Genevieve is my 8th-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born 10 Dec 1685 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She married Louis CHEVREFILS-BELISLE in 1705. She passed away in Montral, Quebec, Canada.
July 31st
1758 – Born – Mary Marguerite BOILLAGEON – Mary is my 6th-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born at Laperade, Quebec, Canada. She married Charles Francois CLOUTIER in 1782.
1886 – Died – Jean-Baptiste LAURENT – Jean-Baptiste is my 3rd-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born 18 Jan 1825 in Biez, Chaumont-Gistoux, Wallon Brabant, Belgium. He married Olivine Marie ST. LOUIS on 7 Sep 1857 at Little Chute, Outagamie Co., Wisconsin. He passed away at Phlox, Langlade Co., Wisconsin and is buried at St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery in Norwood, Langlade Co., Wisconsin.
This is a headstone photo I found in my grandmother’s photo album. It’s the headstone from my great-grandmother, Emily (TROKA) ZALEWSKI in 1959 at Holy Cross Cemetery in Milwaukee. It’s unique because this current headstone no longer exists. My great-grandfather, Joseph ZALEWSKI, remarried later on and his new wife is now buried in that plot also. A new, flatter headstone is now in it’s place.
July 19th
1959 – Died – Clara (SZULTA) TROKA – Clara is my great-great-grandmother on my father’s side. She was born 6 Jan 1876 in Poland and immigrated to Milwaukee with her parents in 1881. She married Joseph TROKA in 1894. She passed away in Milwaukee three years before her husband.
July 20th
1817 – Born – Charlotte (STRASSMAN) LAST – Charlotte is my 3rd-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born in Germany. She married Johann LAST in Germany before immigrating to Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. She passed away on 20 Apr 1900 in Grafton, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. She is buried at Union Cemetery in Port Washington, Wisconsin.
July 22nd
1845 – Died – Leonardus CRAYBECK – Leonardus is my 5th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born 25 Oct 1782 in Genk, Limburg, Belgium. He married Florentina Francisca KNUDDE in about 1812. He passed away at Hoofdplaat, Zeeland, Netherlands.
July 23rd
1737 – Died – Francois GRIGNAC – Francois is my 9th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born about 1657 in France. In 1688, he married Marie Anne Carignan DUCLOS. He passed away at Cap Sante, Port Neuf, Quebec, Canada.
July 25th
1634 – Married – Noel LANGLOIS and Francoise GRENIER – Noel and Francoise are my 11th-great-grandparents on my mother’s side. They were married at Quebec, Canada.
1915 – Died – Thomas J CORRIGAN – Thomas is my great-great-grandfather on my father’s side. He was born 3 Mar 1855 in Orillia, Ontario, Canada. He married my great-great-grandmother, his second wife, on 18 Apr 1892 in Sanborn, Ashland Co., Wisconsin. There is a story going around about the day Thomas died. The rumor is that when he was having a stroke, the doctor was riding by on his horse to deliver a baby. One of Thomas’ children ran out a started waving their arms at the doctor, but thinking it was just a friendly wave, he just waved back and kept on going. Who knows if this is true. What is true is that his wife, Emma Jane, was at the hospital getting ready to have their last child, Sadie, when Thomas died.
This is a photo of Jacob HUIZEL (middle) and two unknown women. Jacob is my wife’s great-great uncle. The reason for the “One-Arm” title is that we found an earlier photo of Jacob and on the back it just said “Uncle Jake” and under it was written “(one arm)”. There are a few photos like this one, but it’s always hard to tell if he does only have one arm. If I would take a guess, it would be his right arm since you can see his left one. Family mysteries, huh?
Here is another generic cemetery image. I took this one a few years back on my first trip to Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee. It is probably one of the most interesting and beautiful cemeteries I’ve seen yet. This one came out nice in the fall. I wish I could find my originals. These copies aren’t of very good quality.
I did a basic post on Forest Home Cemetery as my first post of the Graveyard Rabbit of Southeastern Wisconsin site.
July 12th
1879 – Born – Minnie M (MUHM) VAN PRICE – Minnie is my great-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born in Wisconsin. She married Peter VAN PRICE in about 1895 and had 6 children, including my great-grandmother, Mildred (VAN PRICE) DEBROUX. She died on 6 Jul 1959 at Port Washington, Ozaukee Co., Wisconsin and is buried at Union Cemetery.
July 13th
1627 – Married – Guillaume TRAHAN & Francoise CHARBONNEAU – Guillaume and Francoise are my 10th-great-grandparents on my mother’s side. They were married at St. Etienne, Chinon, France. They immigrated to Canada and passed away at Port Royal, Arcadia, Canada.
1720 – Born – Paulus VAN CRAYBECK – Paulus is my 7th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born at Genk, Limburg, Belgium. In about 1748, he married my 7th-great-grandmother, Maria TRUIJEN. He died 23 Sep 1781 at Genk.
1876 – Died – William “Curly Bill” CORRIGAN – William is my 3rd-great-grandfather on my father’s side. He was born either in New York or on the trip from Ireland. I’ve seen both. On 14 Nov 1848, he married Mary MCCANN. He passed away in Mara Township, Brenchin, Ontario, Canada.
July 14th
1963 – Died – Augusta (LUEDTKE) LAST – Augusta is my great-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born 3 Jul 1863 in Storkow, Pommerania, which located in the western part of today’s Poland. She married Carl LAST in 1883 and had 16 children. She died just 2 weeks after her 100th birthday in 1963.
July 15th
1610 – Born – Herman VAN CREIJBECK – Herman is my 10th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born in Hasselt, Limburg, Belgium. In 1632, he married Joanna PANSARS at St. Lambertus, Herck, Belgium. He passed away on 13 Dec 1649 at St. Lambertus.
July 16th
1810 – Born – Ephraim Gadiou dit ST. LOUIS – Ephraim is my 4th-great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born in Yamachiche, St. Maurice, Quebec, Canada. In 1831, he married Marie DesAnges MANSEAU. He later moved to Phlox, Langlade Co., Wisconsin where he passed away on 27 Mar 1892.
July 17th
1920 – Born – Irene (ZALEWSKI) LUTZENBERGER – Irene is my great aunt on my father’s side. She was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Joseph ZALEWSKI and Emily TROKA. She passed away in June 1996 and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Milwaukee.
July 18th
1965 – Died – Frances (ZALEWSKI) CYBELA – Frances is my great-great-aunt on my father’s side. She was born 15 Apr 1895 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Frank ZALEWSKI and Anna LINDNER. She married Edwin CYBELA in 1916. She passed away in Milwaukee at the age of 70.
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This is a photo of the 3 youngest daughters of Mathias & Pauline (THOMPSON) FIRMENICH; Ida, Edna, and Claire. As it is noted, I’m assuming this photo was taken in the Summer of 1912, which would be two years after the death of their mother, Pauline. It was probably taken in the Ashland/Sanborn, Wisconsin area since they are located there in the 1905 Wisconsin Census.
