Every so often, we come across mysteries while working on genealogy projects. Details are lost to time and there is no way to know what really happened. Such is the case with Armin and Bertha Witte, whose son I wrote about in my previous post. Armin was the eighth child of Victor and Anna Marie …
Category: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Gone Too Soon
On December 5th, 1883, Bertha Witte, age 20, gave birth to a son. It was Bertha and her husband Armin's first child. Sadly, the boy was stillborn. His headstone simply reads, "Infant Son of A & B Witte." If he was given a name, it is lost to history. Stillbirths were all too common in …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: I Can Identify
While going through old pictures, I discovered this picture of Peter and Regina Jaeger and their family. If we can assume their approximate ages based on appearance and clothing, it appears this picture was taken in approximately 1912. It isn't clear where the picture was taken, but likely was at the Peter and Regina Jaeger …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Out of Place
In the Mayer Cemetery in Washington County, Texas, there is a headstone located towards the edge of the property, approximately 75 feet away from other graves. It is a common design, multi-tiered and topped by a spherical finial. The writing is in German and reads: Hier ruht meine Schwester Die blume pranat und fällt dann …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Steps
My mother describes her Aunt Emmie as someone who loved to talk and who was often stubborn. Emmie was the third oldest sister in the Neumann family and was eight years older than Granny. Emmie was a “Christmas baby,” having been born on December 26, 1904, to Theodore and Mary Neumann. She was baptized and …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Overlooked
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Overlooked The Connersville Primitive Baptist Church African American Cemetery is located in Round Top, Texas. Situated behind the Richter Cemetery, this burial site was dedicated as a historic Texas cemetery in 2018. The Connersville Cemetery is of particular interest because it was used by slaveowners long before the abolition of …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Road Trip
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Road Trip: Finding the van den Heuvels Bluebonnet Genealogy is home to an extensive database of individuals buried in Washington County cemeteries. Volunteers spent countless hours researching and compiling the information into something easily accessible to the general public. When the Jaeger Witte Heritage Cemetery Association was formed in 2014, …
Where There’s a Will
Where There’s a Will From 1820 to 1870, a second wave of German immigrants landed on the shores of Galveston Bay, seeking a new life. The collapse of the old agricultural society and the dawn of the industrial age displaced peasants, and artisans found themselves jobless. Improvements in medical care led to a reduced death …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Working
When you were in middle school or high school, did you have a summer job? What was it? How much of your day was spent at work? Could you quit if you wanted to? Well, children growing up on family farms did not have the luxury of calling in sick or quitting if they found …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Blended Family
The following entry is about the Stork family. They were one of the first pioneer families to settle in the Washington County area. Barry Graul, great-grandson of the Reverend Doctor Jacob Graul (a neighbor of Peter Jaeger), and I have been in contact for nearly five years. Barry has visited his ancestors’ farms and became …