Zalewski Family Genealogy

Ida (Schavandie) Muhm

Posted on 19 August 2014by Brian Zalewski

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.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Pennsylvania Dutch

Posted on 11 August 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twenty-fifth ancestor in my 52-week challenge is my wife’s 4th-great-grandfather, Henry LINT. This time I just seemingly picked an ancestor at random. I know very little about Mr. Lint and what I do have in the database may not be 100% correct, but that’s what these posts are for, right?

We have the birth of Henry Lint on 11 April 1810 in York, York County, Pennsylvania. According to Wikipedia, this area of Pennsylvania was a big area for the Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants from many areas of Germany, including the Palatinate of the German Rhine. From the little research I did do on Henry Lint, I do remember seeing some Pennsylvania Dutch information.

In 1833, Henry married Eleanor “Ellen” Murphey in Holmes County, Ohio. On a related note, Holmes County is home to the largest Amish community in the country and a lot of the Amish descend from Pennsylvania Dutch, which ties Holmes County back to York County.

In Ohio in 1842, Henry and Ellen gave birth to my wife’s ancestor, Mary Jane LINT. At some point, the family must have settled in southwestern Wisconsin, as Henry is buried there.

Henry died on 7 January 1893 and, just found his entry now, is buried at Bowen Cemetery in Richland Center, Richland County, Wisconsin.

This post is 25 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

Photo: Sunset over Amish Farm by Alvin Trusty on Flickr

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The French-Canadian Connection

Posted on 4 August 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twenty-fourth ancestor in my 52 week challenge is my maternal 4th-great-grandmother, Marie DesAnges (MANSEAU) ST. LOUIS.

Marie was born sometime in 1806 in Yamaska, Quebec, Canada to Antoine MANSEAU and Catharine CLOUTIER. Her mother Catherine is my connection to the so-called French-Canadian “super ancestor” Zacharie Cloutier. Through him, I share a connection to a bunch of celebrities and other famous people like Celine Dion, Robert Goulet, and BeyoncÃ©.

Sometime around 1831, Marie married Ephraim ST. LOUIS in Quebec. In 1834, my ancestor, Olivine Marie ST. LOUIS was born in Quebec. The family left Canada and settled in central Wisconsin around 1837 or 1838.

To the right is the only photo I have seen of Marie. She looks like a hard, tough woman, which is to be expected while living in rural Wisconsin the 19th century.

I have written down that Marie passed away on 16 October 1895 in Florence County, Wisconsin and is buried there, but I have no documented source for this entry. This is something I probably added early in my research when I wasn’t the smartest genealogist. My guess is that it’s probably close to the real date, but can’t confirm.

This post is 24 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Wearer of Hats

Posted on 28 July 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twenty-third ancestor in my 52-week challenge is my wife’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Gustave Ferdinand Joseph GYRION.

Gustave was born 24 January 1858 in the village of Warisoulx in the Walloon region of the Namur Province of Belgium. His parents were Casimir GYRION and Desiree CALONNE. Sometime around 1877 or 1879, he left Belgium and settled in Wisconsin. His first marriage was to a woman named Millie DeWitte in about 1880. Millie died not long after the marriage and Gustave married Josephine FRANCOIS in about 1889 in Outagamie County, Wisconsin.

According to the note attached to the photo at the right, that is Gustave and his wife, Josephine, year unknown. It is also not known if Gustave always wore his hats on the side of his head, or if it was just a windy day.

Throughout his life, Gustave worked in the paper industry as did a lot of other men in this area of central Wisconsin. In 1900 and 1905, he is listed as a general laborer at a paper mill. In 1910, he is listed as an Engineer, but no note of where he did this. In 1920, he is listed as an Oiler. According to Wikipedia, an oiler is a worker whose main job is to oil machinery. So, this was more than likely still related to the paper mill.

On 25 August 1934, Gustave passed away in Plover, Wisconsin, leaving his wife Josephine. He is buried nearby at the Plover Cemetery.

This post is 23 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Henry Stearns to Georg Heinrich Stiern

Posted on 20 July 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twenty-second ancestor in my 52-week challenge is my paternal 3rd-great-grandfather, Georg Heinrich STIERN (also known as Henry STEARNS.)

I had him in my database a Henry Stearns for a long time. He was my great-grandmother’s grandfather and my information ended with him. After my paternal grandmother passed away, we found some old documents in her boxes of old family stuff. One such document was an old German booklet. It turns out that this was Henry’s passport from when his family left Germany and came to the US in 1888.

You can see the title page from the document at the right. It turns out his full name is Georg Heinrich Steirn. On another page in the booklet, it lists his current family members, including his wife Katherina SCHUMACHER.

With this information, I was able to track his family down using some of FamilySearch’s German baptism and marriage records. So, now I have names a few generations back from both Henry and his wife back into the Baden-WÃ¼rttemberg area of Germany.

Henry passed away on 28 July 1900 somewhere is Wisconsin, most likely Waupaca County where he is noted to be buried at Oakwood Cemetery.

This post is 22 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Anna Lindner

Posted on 13 July 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twenty-first ancestor in my 52 week challenge is my great-great-grandmother, Anna (LINDNER) ZALEWSKI. I didn’t get a post up last week since I was out for the holidays and didn’t get a chance to write it. Anna is the husband of who I like to call my “primary” ancestor, Frank ZALEWSKI. Frank, and his family, are the ancestors that I spend a lot of my research time on. I want to figure out where Frank came from. It’s probably mostly due to the fact that this is my surname line.

Anna (left) and two unknown individuals.

Anna was born 15 August 1865 in what was Schwenten in Graudenz, Westpruessen, Germany at the time. The town is now called ÅšwiÄ™te in GrudziÄ…dz County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. Her parents are Johann and Eva (SoÅ„efeld) Lindner. I found their names at the same time that I finally tracked down the marriage of Anna and Frank. Anna and her family were from Schwenten, but unfortunately Frank was not.

Anna married Frank Zalewski (or Salewski in the record) on 2 Nov 1884 in Schwenten. Their first three children, Martha, Angeline, and Elisabeth were born in Schwenten before the family made the long, hard trip to America in 1889. They made their way from Balitmore to Milwaukee and are recorded there in 1892. My ancestor, and their first son, Joseph was born in Milwaukee in 1893.

Anna’s parents had more children and a lot of them also settled in Milwaukee according to Milwaukee church records. This is a helpful line of research since they may have traveled together.

On 11 Apr 1939, Anna passed away in Milwaukee at the age of 73. She is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery with her husband Frank and her youngest son, Frank, Jr.

This post is 21 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

The End of the mtDNA Line

Posted on 30 June 2014by Brian Zalewski

The twentieth ancestor on my 52 week challenge is my wife’s 4th-great-grandmother, Susan (SKINNER) WARNER.

Susan is also the furthest back we have documented on my wife’s mtDNA line (mother’s mother’s mother, etc.) Her mtDNA/maternal haplogroup is HV0, which is very heavy in Europe, especially in the British Isles and Scandinavia.

What we do have on Susan Skinner is that she about born sometime around 1813 in Connecticut. We don’t know her parent’s names, but we do know that she married Seth WARNER on 13 September 1832 in Chautauqua, New York. Sometime between 1836 and 1838, the family moved to Waupaca County in central Wisconsin. Here my wife’s ancestor, Helen Marion WARNER, was born.

Susan passed away on 9 August 1865 in Waupaca County and is buried at Lind Center Cemetery in that county.

This post is 20 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Herman Rathke

Posted on 23 June 2014by Brian Zalewski

The nineteenth ancestor in my 52 week challenge is my 3rd-great-grandfather, Herman RATHKE.

According to vital records and his headstone, Herman was born 22 February 1831. Though, the place of birth is somewhat more of a mystery as I have only been able to track it to “Germany” which could mean almost anywhere in central Europe at the time. Herman’s parents are unknown to me at this time, also.

At some point, he married Fredericke C HENKE. On 1 September 1857, my ancestor, and their first child (as far as I can tell) Wilomene “Minnie” RATHKE was born. Her birthplace has been documented as “Pommerania, Prussia” which could also mean many different locations. According to other records, including census records, Herman and Fredericke had 3 more sons, Fred, Math, and Carl.

In February 1887, the Rathke family, along with Minnie and her first husband, Frederick Holz, emigrated to the United States. They settled in Grafton, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin.

Herman is never actually listed in any of the census records as he passed away in February 1898. He is buried at Union Cemetery in Port Washington, Wisconsin, which is quite near Grafton.

This post is 19 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

From Virginia to Wisconsin

Posted on 15 June 2014by Brian Zalewski

The eighteenth ancestor in my 52 week challenge is my wife’s paternal 4th-great-grandfather, Peyton H WEY.

Peyton was probably born on 31 October 1805 in Fauquier County, Virginia. His parents are documented as Henry & Molly (CRUPPER) WEY.

On 12 November 1829, he married Rachel MINK in Lovettsville, Loudoun County, Virginia, which is adjacent to Farquier County. All of their children are noted to have been born in Virginia. Sometime after these children were born, the family moved to Preble County, Ohio. They lived there for a few years. Their daughter, and my wife’s ancestor, Mary married there in 1851.

Not long after that marriage, the families traveled from Ohio to Wisconsin, as they are in the 1860 Census for Crawford County, Wisconsin. There is a note for Peyton in my database, though I seem to have not noted where it came from that says:

The family came in covered wagons from Ohio to Wisconsin. Mary (daughter) was married in Ohio and drove one of the wagons. Peyton Wey was a basket maker and also a school teacher. He also had a “sugar camp”. Alfred Johnson, quoting his grandmother Margaret, said Peyton had a very bad temper. The oldest son (Thomas) ran away before they moved to Wisconsin.

Peyton’s wife Rachel passed away in December 1870, and he married again in 1874 to a Mary Dawson. He passed away not long after this on 4 May 1882. He is buried in West Fork Cemetery in the small township of Richwood in Richland County, Wisconsin.

This post is 18 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Curly Bill

Posted on 10 June 2014by Brian Zalewski

Not William Corrigan, but his brother, Patrick. I have no photo of William, but I assume he looked similar.

The seventeenth ancestor in my 52 week challenge is my paternal 3rd-great-grandfather, William “Curly Bill” CORRIGAN.

I don’t know exactly how he got the nickname Curly Bill, though I can only assume it was hair-related, but here’s hoping it was some other crazy reason.

There is some uncertain information on the birthplace of William. All of the information says he was born in 1823, but it is tough to pinpoint him. Many different records mention many different places, though most are in the same general vicinity. William was born not long after his parents, Michael John & Rose (NUGENT) CORRIGAN immigrated from Northern Ireland in about 1821. He is listed as having been born in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and just the general United States. There is also some info that says that William was born during their voyage to North America. If he was born after the trip, my money is on either New York or Pennsylvania as history points to the Corrigan family possibly working on the Erie Canal as it was being built during this time and they used a lot of Irish workers. According to Wikipedia, “many of the laborers working on the canal were Scots Irish, who had recently come to the United States as a group of about 5,000 from Northern Ireland.” Sometime after William was born his family settled in the small town of Mara in Ontario, Canada.

William married Mary McCANN in November 1848 in Ontario. It is documented that they had about 12 children, their 3rd child being my great-great-grandfather, Thomas J CORRIGAN. Canadian census records indicate that William was mainly a farmer and lived in a 1-story, log home in 1861. The family was also Roman Catholic.

William passed away on 13 July 1876 in the Mara township. I am assuming he is buried in same cemetery in Uptergrove in that area along with a lot of the other Corrigan family members, but I have yet to find his headstone.

This post is 17 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Emma Lucretia Douglas

Posted on 3 June 2014by Brian Zalewski

The sixteenth ancestor in my 52 week challenge is Emma Lucretia (DOUGLAS) LANT. She is my wife’s maternal 3rd-great-grandmother.

She is said to be born 16 October 1845 in New York City according to census records and her entry at Find-A-Grave. Her parents are Randolph & Sarah Emma (MOORE) DOUGLAS. New York City is known to have pretty good records, so I should be able to do some more deep research of Emma and her family.

At some point she ended up in Wisconsin. I’m not sure if her whole family came with because I don’t have a lot more information on her parents. In about 1865 she married George William LANT somewhere in Wisconsin. They settled in Almond, Portage County, Wisconsin as their first 6 children (out of 8) were born there, including my wife’s ancestor, Nettie Adalin LANT, in 1873.

I always thought her middle name of Lucretia was interesting. It’s a name that isn’t seen all too often. A quick search indicates that the name is best known as “the name of a Roman matron who committed suicide in public protest against dishonor.” She may have been named after her maternal grandmother, who we have documented as Lucretia RYON. I don’t remember doing a lot of research of that family line, so I don’t know much more.

Emma passed away on 9 September 1909 in Waupaca, Waupaca County, Wisconsin. She is buried back in Almond at the Almond Village Cemetery.

This post is 16 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.