During World War II, the Merchant Marine became an auxiliary to the United States Navy and delivered military personnel and war materials. Ships sailed through minefields and dodged submarines and bombers to deliver invaluable cargo everywhere from Arctic Russia to the Persian Gulf. Working sometimes without escort and with only modest firepower aboard, these slow …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 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 made artisans jobless. Improvements in medical care led to a reduced death rate …
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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Wedding
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Wedding Ida Jaeger, the oldest surviving daughter of Henry and Alvine Jaeger, was born August 3, 1895. She married Adolph Wilhelm Pietz (1885-1963) on September 12, 1917 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, and they had one child, Emmett. Several years ago, I found a picture of Ida’s wedding dress on a …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Popular
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Popular While scanning and organizing old photos and letters, I uncovered a postcard mailed from Ida Jaeger in Burton to her Aunt Emma Tonn in Galveston. The postcard, stamped January 30, 1913, reads Dear Aunt Emma, I guess you know this bunch, we were out for a walk when we …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Light a Candle
Born November 20, 1847 in Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany, Marie Lisette Witte joined her parents Anna Marie and Victor, baby sister Helen, and Anna Marie's brother Ferdinand on their voyage to America in 1850. After many weeks aboard the Neptune with other German immigrants, the family at last arrived in Galveston on June 13, 1850. Not …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Curious
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 …
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 …