Yet Another Cousin

VERLIE SMITH m Ted Michaelsen > Judy > Joe

I had waited a long time to take a DNA test, but I ended up taking two. Ancestry.com and 23andMe. In the first, I discovered a second cousin, whose mother was the child of one of my great uncles and was given up for adoption. That was a little mind-blowing.

The Willows, Kansas City

Then, I got my 23andme results and danged if I didn't run across a heretofore unknown first cousin. I shared a large first cousin-sized bit of DNA with him and immediately contacted him. He hadn't really been interested in seeking out any bio family, because his adoptive parents provided him and his sister a wonderful home and life. But...maybe he had siblings. He had been talked into doing the test.

I contacted the three first cousins I gained last year who were most assuredly his siblings and they are waiting for the results of a DNA test of their own to confirm the connection. I really have no doubt since Joe, our newest cousin, comes complete with a court record with his birthmother's last name.

I think, based solely on the results of my family, that there must be a lot of mind-blowing going on all over the country over other people's own results. Many secrets are being revealed. Some might cause additional heartache - some may be joyful news. The way I look at it, I'm glad to have a new family member and hope he has a chance to join us for our next reunion.

He's a storyteller, and you know I love that.

Hang Down Your Head, Frank Doole

I have been digging away at various pieces and parts, hither and yon, and took a second look at this fellow who had married three times - two of those times into families that are connected to me.  He seems like less than a pleasant character, but a character for sure.

Lydia Hinmon

Francis Doole was born 20 Jun 1823 in Antrim, Northern Ireland. His wife, Martha Shaw, born in 1825 in Ireland, traveled with him to the United States, arriving 25 Dec 1843 in New York City. They moved to Ware, Massachusetts, where they became US citizens in November of 1854.

Their daughter, Mary Jane, was born in Ware, but by the time the first of their three sons came along in 1854, the family was in Floyd County, Iowa, which is a hop and a skip from both Bremer and Butler counties.

Martha died in 1879 and Frank remarried to Lydia Hinmon Stuck Harshman.

Lydia was born about 1839 to George Richard Hinmon and Anna Lewis in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Her first husband, William Stuck, died during the Civil War. They had been married in 1855 and he died in late 1863. They had one son. She married George Harshman next, in 1866, and it appears that marriage ended in divorce. George seems to have moved on from Iowa, where several Hinmon's had settled and headed West to Nebraska. Lydia then married Francis Doole, widower, on 05 Jun 1880 in Floyd County.

The 1880 Agrigultural Schedule 2 of the Census indicated Doole was fairly successful. He owned 130 acres of farmland in Floyd township and his farm was valued at over $5,000. Just looking at the record, it seemed all was pretty normal.

Things changed - he had fractious relations with his children which culminated in the following event involving the desecration of wife Martha's grave:

I have not discovered whether Lydia died or they divorced, but Doole married my 2xGG William Custer Smith's sister Sarah Jane, a long-time spinster who had spent many years living with her mentally disabled brother and mother and big brother WC Smith and his wife Mary Ann. That marriage occurred in 1887. In 1888, Frank made the news again:

"A "Blind Pig" which has been successfully operated the past two years at Floyd by Frances Doole, was raided and a large quantity of beer and whiskey seized. Doole is in jail at Charles City.

Atlantic Daily Telegraph, Dec 26, 1888, pg 4 Atlantic, IA"

I wasn't able to find out what happened to this case, but perhaps it led to the divorce that followed between Aunt Sarah and Doole. It was a sad situation for Sarah, who had been cared for by her relatives her entire life. She was left without a place to go after the divorce, and ended up residing in the Bremer County Poor Farm and Asylum for the rest of her life, dying there in 1924.

Doole most likely died prior to 1900, since there is no record of him in the 1900 census.

What's a blind pig? In the Midwest, Blind Pigs started in the 1880s and were quite a problem, according to the anti-alcohol crowd. It got it's name because some wily proprietor would sell tickets to a back room to see a "blind pig," and the ticket price included a drink.

Mystery Muddle: Ancestry DNA and Me

I just had to. So, for Christmas this year, we all got DNA tests done. Mine had some surprising results
that I haven't quite figured out since my research has not indicated much of it to be true. The Scandinavian results was 61% and Iberian Peninsula was my next big group at 11%. Based on my work with the family tree, I expected a lot more English and German and I have no idea where the Iberian Peninsula thing came from. So, it will be fun figuring it all out.

One of the features of Ancestry DNA is the matching they do between you and others who share some DNA. Some are closer relatives, but most are distant - 4th to 6th cousins or more. The results of this was not surprising for the most part. People I'd been in contact with over the past few years are confirmed as actually being DNA-connected as well. If there were ever any doubt, my dad can be assured that he is in fact the child of his known parents!

What was a big surprise was this close cousin (1st/2nd) that popped up that I'd never heard of before. I couldn't figure out from what I could learn, how we were related. I contacted her and she told me her tale. Her mother had been adopted. She had traced her birthmother's family (Simmons) and a likely birthmother but had no clue on the birthfather.

The process of research on the detective trail is the fun part for me. First, I needed to establish that I was not related to her on "Sue's" mom's birthmother's side. That was borne out rather quickly. That meant that I might find the key to solving the puzzle.

Then, I took the shared DNA connections and used them to exclude possibilities based on the year of birth of the mother and age of the birthmother - two estimated things we knew.

The solution was found in the Smith-Smull line. The only Smith-Smull crossovers were with Jennie Elnora Smull and Kate Smull, who both married Smith men from our line. Jennie's boys were ruled out as were two of Kate's boys. Then, that left one Smith boy. I feel fairly confident that we have located the birthfather of her mother.

I absolutely live to work on puzzles like this. And, I got a new close cousin out of the deal. Pretty cool.

Things and Other Things that Are Coming Up with Love

What we work on, in our genealogical research, is discovering what the lives and loves of our ancestors were like in whatever small way we can, without a big book of family stories to read from. Filling in those blanks has brought me great pleasure this past three years. I've taken trips of exploration, interviewed distant relatives, researched parts of family I never knew I had, and met with others in my own far-flung family who share my interests in-person from time-to-time (shout out to my cousin in Clarksville!)

This past several months have been most busy. Hopefully making memories that won't be quite as hard to unearth for future generations.  I am blessed to be the mother of three children, all brought into my life and heart through adoption. They are all well-adjusted and amazing kids and I couldn't be more proud of them and their accomplishments thus far in life. They are all grown now and settling into adult lives of their own making. My oldest is married and has a two-year-old child of his own. To see him with her would warm the coldest of hearts. You can read a little bit about my youngest two's start in life here. They are doing far beyond early predictions. All three are the greatest joy of my life.

Recently, I've been trying to put together pieces of the family trees of all three of them. Fortunately, two will share the same information or it might have gotten a little crazy. In discussing doing the work on this with them, they, who have generally shown little or no interest in their biological families, are indeed most interesting in hearing about the people who came in generations before.

What I've discovered thus far is compelling and fascinating. The two stories are about as different as they could be from one another as it relates to the path of immigration, but each story is very rich. And, both stories end up in the north-central Midwest.

I don't have the resources with their research I've had with my own biological family. I can't ask a cousin to ask a cousin if I can come up and talk to them. Most of their relatives don't even know they exist. It could be a bit shocking to make those calls! They all had open adoptions, so talking to at least one birth parent is not a problem, but, what we find out from that adventure, we have yet to discover. It's one I'm looking forward to doing what I am able to do and providing it to my children to help them in their own quest for self-identity.

The Catholics: O'Connors of Black Hawk County

The O'Connors are the paternal line of my first cousin's husband. Unlike most of our Protestant, atheist/agnostic crew, this family and the ones it married into were all Catholic and settled in primarily Catholic Gilbertville, IA area, Washburn, and Waterloo, which all had heavy Catholic presence.

John J. O'Connor was reportedly from Tipperary, County Cork, Ireland, according to a great-great grandson. He was born on 07 Jun 1813. He married Bridget Carlin (many variations in various records), who was born on 24 Jun 1823 in Ireland. Bridget and John were married 08 Jan 1844 in Friendsville, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. They settled in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, where they had their first three children, Thomas, John Jr., and Peter between 1844 and 1849.  By 1852, they were in Illinois, where Mary was born. They are reported to be in Black Hawk County later in 1852 and their next child was born in Black Hawk County in 1854 with six more to follow through 1874.

The O'Connor family quickly became well-known in the region and had grain, lumber, and grocery interests as a family. They belong to St Mary's Catholic Church in Gilbertville.

John died on 13 Dec 1897 in Cedar Township, Black Hawk County, Iowa and was buried in Poyner Township. Bridget lasted five more years. Both had been early and productive pioneers of the area.

WASHBURN LADY DIES
Mrs John (Listed as Richard) O'Connor Passed Away at Home There This Morning
Washburn, Jan 2 - Special to Reporter: Mrs John (listed as Richard) O'Connor, one of the oldest ladies in this part, of the county, died at her home in this place this morning at 3 o'clock. Old age was the primary cause of death, the woman having reached the fourth year beyond the four score mark, although also had been a constant sufferer for more than one year from hemorrhage of the lungs. Her illness  from this was very severe at times, and her death had been expected for several months.

Mrs John O'Connor leaves a large family of children They are: Peter, Westgate, Iowa; John, Raymond, Ia; James, Sumner, Ia; Richards, Jr., Washburn, Ia, who is engaged in buying grain at that place; Victor, Boyd, Iowa; Mrs Michael Nugent, Washburn, Ia; Mrs Frank Youngblut, Washburn; Mrs O'Connor had made her home with her daughter, Mrs Nugent, at this place, since the death of her husband which occurred five years ago. The familly has resided in this community for many years and are known by a large number of people. Deceased was a member of St Mary's Catholic church at Gilbertville, and the funeral will be held in that church, but the full arrangements have not yet been made.
Semi Weekly Reporter
Tuesday, January 3, 1905, Waterloo, Iowa

The Catholics: Youngblut, Simmerl, Hottua, & More

Diekirch and Esch-Sur-Alzette

My first cousin is married to a fella' quite different from the rest of our Protestant or atheist/agnostic family. His family on all sides came from completely Catholic roots. Additionally, his forefathers came from Ireland and surprisingly, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, a small country in Western Europe abutting Belgium, Germany, and France.  Today, I want to talk a little about the Hottua's and Simmerls, of Luxembourg.

Oberfeulen, Diekirch, Luxembourg is a village of about 300 souls in the commune of Feulen and Canton of Diekrich.  This village was a rural, agricultural one. ANGELA HOTTUA was the daughter of Petrus Hottua (the name was Hothoi until this generation) and Catherine Glesener and was born in on 16 Feb 1806. Petrus and his family were blacksmiths.

She married Theodore Simmerl on 14 Feb 1827 in Oberfeulen. Theodore was born on 26 Sep 1797 in Oberfuelen and  was the son of Joseph Simmerl JR and Marie-Jeanne Gilson.

Theodore was a teacher from 1825 to 1830. In 1848, he took up being a "white painter," which was a painter who painted house facades with white chalk, a common practice of the era. Theodore died in 1855 after he and Angela had 12 children.

Daughter Susan, born 02 Apr 1831 in Oberfeulen, had a child out of wedlock of an unknown father at age 25, according to church records, was baptized and born on 30 Dec 1856, and listed as "Filia naturalis," meaning she was illegitimate.  In the 1852 and 1855 censuses she is listed as maid in the Jean Manderscheid household in Oberfeulen.  We can only guess who the father might have been.
Susan, and her unmarried brother, Peter, went to America, arriving in May 1857 in New York. They moved on to Luxemburg, Liberty Township, Dubuque County from there. They had left Susan's daughter Barbara with grandmother Angela in Luxembourg (along with her three sisters).

Liberty Township was first settled between 1838-1851 by English, Irish, Luxembourg, and German immigrants. By the mid-1850s, about 60 families requested a Catholic church, and the first frame structure was built in 1861 and dedicated in 1865.

Susan Simmerl & Frank Youngblut

After six months, Susan married recent immigrant Frank Jungblut/Youngblut in Dec 1857.  The couple began farming outside Gilbertville, in Black Hawk County and would have 9 children of their own; seven of whom survived to adulthood. They retired to Gilbertville in their old age.

Frank, too, hailed from Luxembourg, having been born in Aspelt, Esch-Sur-Alzett, near France.  In Luxembourg, he had been a farm worker. He emigrated in 1852 through New Orleans, making his way up the Mississippi River until he arrived in Dubuque County and then on to Black Hawk County. He worked as a farm hand in Black Hawk County for a few years until he could purchase his own land at a whopping $9 per acre. He took part in the community and was an active Catholic. According to records, he aided in building the slabs of the first Catholic Church in Gilbertville, Immaculate Conception.

Peter Simmerl sent for mother Angela and niece Barbara, and they settled Granville, Sioux County, Iowa.  Angela died in 1897, after living some time with son Peter. Barbara married in 1876 to Henry Bunkers, and they lived in Granville during their lifetimes and raised 11 children.

Frank died on 11 May 1892 in Gilbertville. Susan survived an additional 15 years, having lived with daughter Anna Youngblut Wendling in Independence and then with son John.

Mrs Youngblut died at the home of her son John in Fox township Sunday evening at 6:00 o'clock, after a lingering illness of several months. Deceased has lived here for many years on the farm now occupied by her son Frank H, having come here with her husband in the forties. Her husband preceded her in death about 15 years ago. Mrs Youngblut lived in Washburn several years and until last winter when she started to visit with her daughter, Mrs J Wendling, near Independence, where she became sick, but was removed at her request to the home of her son John some time ago. She will be buried tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10:00 o'clock in the Catholic cemetery here. She leaves seven children to mourn her death - John of Fox township, FH of Cedar township, Josephine of Indiana, Anna near Independence, and Mary at Marion, Sophie at Washburn and Susie, Boyd, Iowa all of whom are married.

Semi Weekly Reporter Friday, May 25, 1906, Waterloo, Iowa

SIDEROAD: Peter Mesch

Peter Mesch & Katie Heber

FERDINAND MESCH > PETER MESCH m (1) Catherine "Katie" Heber (2) Lavina Theresa Alexander

Peter Mesch was the oldest child of Ferdinand Mesch and Margaret Duehr, born in Feb 1874 in Dubuque County, Iowa. There were a total of 13 children of this union.

Peter was a good looking fella'. He married Catherine "Katie" Heber on 21 Sep 1897 in Dubuque County. In 1900, they were living with her mother and several of her siblings on their farm near Balltown. He was doing farm labor there and by then had had their first two children: Elizabeth and Nicholas. In 1902, Margaret came along and in 1904, they had an infant daughter who died shortly after birth.

On 20 Feb 1905, Katie died after a terrible accident the previous week, where she had taken a fall. She left her husband and three children to mourn her. She was only 32 years old.

Peter married relatively quickly, the following year on 30 Oct 1906 to Lavina Theresa Alexander, who was born 06 Aug 1878 in Washington Mills, Dubuque County. They began their family in 1907 and would ultimately have eight children. Peter moved to Delaware County near Manchester and farmed on a rented property.

Lavina also died young.  On 24 Jul 1931, she died in Milo Township of stomach cancer. She had suffered for some 18 months prior to her death.

Peter lived until 18 Sep 1962 and died in Manchester. Eight of his 12 children survived him.

Besides the infant who died in 1904, three other children predeceased him. On 26 Apr 1926, his daughter Margaret, who had married Walter Salzsiedler, on 16 Apr 1925 in Campbell County, South Dakota, died just a year after her marriage in Mound City, South Dakota, with no children.

Daughter Mary Mabel, only 13 years old, died at the Dittmer hospital on 18 Apr 1928. She had a tumor on her spleen that was inoperable.

And, in 1920, Peter and Lavina lost their infant daughter Martha Luella.

Caption on photo reads: Top Row: Joseph Mesch, Catherine (Kate), Albert, John, Rachel
and Nicholas. Bottom row: Peter, Mary, Catherine Arend