8776 from 1912 to 1956

License plate of J. L. Goldenstein,
made from an image posted on  Ebay of a
United Press 1956 photograph

A few days ago I wrote about a picture of my uncle that appeared in several newspapers across the United States ("Non-Famous People in the Newspaper-Your Genealogy Plate May Be Full"). The newspaper entry was obtained on  GenealogyBank, but that's not where I first discovered the item existed.

It was on  Ebay.

A search for the last name of Goldenstein located the image, a United Press "telephoto" that an Ebay seller had put up for sale.

My theory was that if the picture was the United Press, it should have been published in a newspaper somewhere. And a quick search for "Goldenstein" in 1956 in the newspapers on located the item on  GenealogyBank that was referenced in the blog post. There were not many J. L. Goldensteins living in Golden, Illinois and I was pretty certain when I purchased the photograph that J. L. was the brother of my great-grandmother, Tjode (Goldenstein) Habben. His identity in the newspaper image (and later the photograph) was confirmed by my mother who had met him several times. There were no other J. L. Goldensteins living in Golden at least through 1940 (based upon United States census records).

I have the actual picture from United Press--it arrived quickly from the Ebay seller. I've decided not to post the photograph on the blog due to potential copyright issues. It's probably not a problem to post a scan of the photograph, but we've decided not to do it. The scan of the newspaper item was put on the blog post largely because that was already published and it was not of very high quality---not like an actual photograph.

Non-Famous People in the Newspaper-Your Genealogy Plate May Be Full

It's not just the rich and famous who appear in newspapers across the country. This 1956 item captures the license plate display of J. L. Goldenstein of Golden, Illinois. This item was in the San Diego Union, published a distance from Golden, Illinois. It didn't take much searching to determine that J. L. Goldenstein was the John Goldenstein--my great-grandma Habben's brother.

Don't assume that your "non-famous" people won't be in the newspaper.

You just never now. This item was obtained on GenealogyBank.

We'll have an interesting announcement regarding this picture in a future blog post.

Exhausting Those Homesteaders Who Regularly Attend Church in Nebraska

Genealogists talk about "exhaustive search" and what it entails. Generally speaking, it means look at all material that could reasonably answer the question at hand. I understand the concept of "exhaustive search," it does serve a purpose. And I do "get" why it is important--largely because there are people who only research one or two documents and declare themselves done.

Not me. 

I prefer to use "brute force" research. Get everything you can. Everything. And then keep looking and realize that there may always be something you have yet to uncover. But really, you never know what a record will say until you have seen it. Records that contain affidavits are particularly rich in "who knows what they'll put in there."  Such is the case with the homestead application of Jurgen Ehmen in Dawson County, Nebraska.

Renke Kaiser is one of the witnesses in Ehmen's claim from the 1880s.

Where We've Lived Before

Kaiser documents in his affidavit where Ehmen lived before settling in Nebraska, beginning with Ehmen living in Illinois in the 1860s. Kaiser states that he has known Ehmen for over twenty years, apparently since they were living in Illinois.  One of the neighbors mentioned in Kaiser's statement is Focke Goldenstein--actually a relative of Ehmen and the great-grandfather of yours truly.

Testimony of Renke Kaiser, 23 November 1887, Completed Homestead application of Jurgen  Ehmen, Dawson County, Nebraska, Township 11 North-24 West, section 18; digital image,  Fold3.com.

Kaiser indicates the Illinois counties in which Ehmen lived. This was a significant clue as the ethnic group (Ostfriesen) of which all these men were members settled heavily in Adams County, Illinois, and Dawson County, Nebraska. But Knox County, Illinois? That was an unusual place for an Ostfriesen to live and a place that warrants research as to why Ehmen was there (supposition is that he worked for the railroad).

Going to Church

Kaiser even states that he seens Ehmen regularly at church on Sunday and that the church was "near there."  One doesn't always think of homestead records as providing clues as to church attendance. But there it was.

Testimony of Renke Kaiser, 23 November 1887, Completed Homestead application of Jurgen  Ehmen, Dawson County, Nebraska, Township 11 North-24 West, section 18; digital image,  Fold3.com

Ehmen's other witness Eime Friesenborg also indicates in a statement from the same date as Kaiser's that he also sees Ehmen at church every Sunday. His statement includes similar statements about Ehmen's residences before he lived in Nebraska and that he had known Ehmen for twenty years.

Of course, Goldenstein probably attended the same church as the other men. And the reason why Goldenstein did not testify in Ehmens claim: relatives were not supposed to appear as witnesses in these claims.

Brute force with some finesse and some time spent reading. It may be just what your research needs.

Newspapers Do Not Always Get it Right--But They Do Get It

This reference to a 1914 partition suit reminds us that newspapers may supplement what is in court records and may be all that exists if records have been misfiled or destroyed.

Quincy Daily Journal, 3 June 1914, page 12--digital image  on  http://www.quincylibrary.org 

Of course, newspapers also get details incorrect. The paper states that "Heipke Dirks, Lena Janssen, and Anna Goldenstein, all of Palmyra, Mo., are children of Bernard Dirks..."

Minor error there--actually two.

• Heipke Dirks was the wife of Bernard Dirks not his child.
• Dirks, Janssen, and Goldenstein did not live in Palmyra, Missouri. All were Adams County, Illinois, residents. Another daughter--unnamed in this newspaper account--lived in Palmyra.

Newspapers don't always get it right. But...if I had not been aware of this court case, the newspaper reference would have been a big help.

Was He Focke or Fokke?

What name to "use" for an immigrant ancestor is often a dilemma for the genealogist. It can be made worse when the ancestor is a native of an area whose names are not readily "translatable" or for ancestors who decided not to change of Anglicize their names.

Such is the case with Focke J. Goldenstein. Sometimes he is Fokke, Focke, or Foche, and other times he is Frank. What name should be used as his actual name? Once in a while, we are told by our ancestors what they prefer to be called.

In an affidavit made in his 1880 era homestead application file for parcel of land in Dawson County, Nebraska, Fokke's preference is clear: Focke. 

The image above is part of an affidavit made by Focke J. Goldenstein in his homestead application for property located in Dawson County, Nebraska. Not all applications contain such statements, but there were irregularities in the transcribed names for Goldenstein in several of the documents and this affidavit was made in response to those inconsistent spellings. It is not often that affidavits clearly spell out exactly the name that our ancestor preferred. I'll have to go back and see exactly what is on his tombstone.

Of course, when transcribing documents the spelling on the document is used. One does not "correct" records when transcribing them. Notations or comments can discuss any irregularities on the document in regards to names.

I once had a genealogist tell me I was spelling "Focke" wrong and that  I should use "Fokke" instead. Based upon this record, I'm using Focke.

The Goldenstein Trunk

I've written about this trunk before and have actually had it for over ten years. It's not a new acquisition, but I decided to revisit it after Genealogy Tip of the Day readers suggested it.

The trunk belonged to Altje Goldenstein and is likely the trunk she had with her when she immigrated to the United States sometime before her August 1870 marriage in Adams County, Illinois, to Hinrich Schuster. Altje has never been located on any ship manifest, but quite a bit is known about her life and her family. Altje was born in Wrisse, Ostfriesland, Germany, the daughter of Johann Luken Jurgens Ehmen Goldenstein and his wife Tjode Anna Focken Tammen. She was a part of a much larger chain of migration to Adams and Hancock Counties in Illinois that included all but two of her siblings, an aunt, an uncle, and numerous cousins. Even if she arrived alone on the boat there was family waiting for her in Keokuk Junction--her destination which is stamped on the trunk. 

 

Keokuk Junction was a railroad train stop in northeastern Adams County, Illinois, and today is known as Golden. It was home to a large contingent of Ostfriesen immigrants. 

Altje was a sister to Fokke Goldenstein, my great-great-grandfather. That is how the trunk came to my possession. In the days before blogs, I posted much of my family tree on my website. The antiques dealer who purchased this trunk from an estate sale, told me that the trunk was originally wrapped in canvas and that after removing the canvas and cleaning it up, she decided to perform some internet searches for the name on the trunk. 

Fortunately my website was one of the results. The antiques dealer emailed me, we agreed to a price, and the trunk is now in my possession.

Altje died in 1907 in Hancock County, Illinois, and is buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery near Basco. The trunk probably never left the immediate area as the dealer who purchased it was based in Keokuk, Iowa. 

Apparently it was used for a toybox at one point in time because it is painted bright red inside and wheels were attached to it at one time. The dealer was unable to tell me where she bought the trunk. She did not live far from the area, so my supposition is that the trunk was in someone's attic, garage, or barn until the dealer purchased it. 

I also have her brother's trunk that he used on a return trip to visit Germany in the early 1900s. His trunk does not have his name stamped on it, so I'll have to take Grandma's word for it that it was his trunk. 

Buying A Rice Farm in 1905?

It always boils down to context in one way or another. 

Newspapers can provide details one would not expect about your ancestor's life. There are two articles in Quincy, Illinois, newspapers from 1905 that reference my ancestor Frank/Fokke Goldenstein.

The first one describes my ancestor selling his farm  of 100 acres for $110 an acre. The article implies that the prices are high in the area of the county where the ancestor's farm was located. I knew the ancestor in question farmed, but had never gone to the trouble to locate land deeds for him. This was done largely because I was easily able to document his life, wife, and children with other records. 

Searching a little bit further in the newspaper indicated that Goldenstein might have been looking to spend his  money by investing it in rice land in Arkansas. 

Goldenstein did in fact purchase rice land in Arkansas which is son farmed for a time. In all honesty, I've never looked into obtaining the records of the purchase--for one reason: I was not exactly certain where the farm was located and locating property records requires a knowledge of at least the county where the farm was located.

Family tradition has it that Goldenstein purchased rice land, but the location was not one of those details that was passed on. Locating more information on the son who farmed the land may help to determine the county in which it was located. Here's the problem: the son who farmed the ground died of the flu in 1918 after he had been farming it a very short time. This son was only married 10 days and had no children. I'll need to pinpoint information on him and work from there.

Goldenstein's wife Anna died in the early 1930s and records of her estate settlement may provide a legal description of the land and discuss the disposition of it--if she owned the rice land at her death.

What Does It Mean That He Voted?

In July of 1888, Focke Goldenstein made his final affidavit in order to complete his homestead claim in Dawson County, Nebraska.

One of the questions he was asked was about whether he had voted in the last election and where he had voted.

Goldenstein indicated that he had voted in the precinct in which his land was located and that he voted last fall.

The homestead papers indicate elsewhere when Goldenstein began living on the property. This question also told me that he was a citizen in the fall of 1887, when he voted. If I had not known he was a citizen, this would have been a clue. As readers may know, only citizens could complete the homestead process, so Focke already had documentation about his citizenship in his application file. However, that still doesn't detract from the necessity of analyzing every statement for "hidden" clues that are underlying the actual statement.

Goldenstein's claim is digitized in The Nebraska Homestead Records on Fold3.com. 

The Neighbor's Incomplete Claim

I've been using the Bureau of Land Management Tract Books that have recently been made available in digital form on the FamilySearch website. Those who completed the homestead process and actually obtained land are somewhat easier to locate records on because there will be local land records in the county in which the land was located.

The individual who completed the homestead process received a patent (first deed) for the land that would have been recorded in the county land records office. There also may be a deed where the homestead sold the land or where it was transferred to his heirs. There may also be real property tax records providing more information about the land or it may be mentioned in probate or estate settlement records.

That's not the case with homestead claims that were cancelled or were not successfully completed by the homesteader. There will be no local land records because the person who did not complete the claim did not get the land.

But there will be records of that cancelled claim.

The image in this post is part of the Bureau of Land Management Tract Book for township 14-11 in Dawson County, Nebraska. The entries are for various parts of section 25. The legal descriptions have been clipped from the image--as have details about whether the claim was finally patented or cancelled .The two claimant names that I have underlined in red were never completed.

And yet they are of interest to me. I'm not certain who the two women are, but I have a good hunch.

These records are not indexed by name. You have to know where the property is located.

I found these two women while looking for my great-great-grandfather Focke Goldenstein who also homesteaded in this same township. Two of Goldenstein's cousins (Willm and Jurgen Ehmen) also initiated claims in the same township. Goldenstein and the Ehmens had an aunt whose husband's last name was Albers.

When the records arrive from my contact at the National Archives, we will have an update.

There are not as many records in an incomplete claim, but there may be some materials in the cancelled claim that will help me to determine who these two woman are.

Another Clipping--this one with a date

This obituary was split over different parts of the newspaper as well. Fortunately this time the item of interest was located near the date of the paper, so that information was preserved.

This is actually something I have never taken the time to translate and I actually should. It is a letter written from F. J. Goldenstein (of Golden, Illinois) to the Ostfriesische Nachrichten in 1913. The newspaper was dated 20 March 1913 and in it Goldenstein writes of the death of his father-in-law Bernard Dirks, who died in Coatsburg, Adams County, Illinois, on 2 March 1913.

Goldenstein was to die himself in Golden, Adams County, Illinois, on 29 March 1913, just over a week after this letter was published. This had to be difficult on his wife Anna Goldenstein who lost her father and husband in the same month.

There are other clues in the letter as well. Goldenstein mentions Fritz Gerdes and Heinrich Dirks coming to the funeral of Bernard Dirks.

Foche and Anna Goldenstein are my great-great-grandparents.

United States Marine Corps Muster Rolls 1798-1940

Ancestry.com has added U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1940 to their list of searchable databases. I actually think they have updated this offering as I remember searching it before.

The first image shown is for Chris Goldenstein, shown as a Corporal in November of 1927. This listing gives his hometown of Golden, Illinois. This would have been helpful if there had been several Chris Goldensteins who were in the Marines. Fortunately there were not. And the town of Golden, Illinois, was not named for his family in case anyone was wondering.

Not all the listings provide the name of the "home." Searchers will have to search every muster listing to ferret out all possible clues. Mr. Goldenstein's listing from December of 1931 does not provide as much information. Uncle Chris was not a career marine. His brother, Jurgen was.

Two of the muster listings for Jurgen are included here in this blog post. There are numerous muster listings for Jurgen given the amoutn of time he was enlisted in the marines.

The first shows Jurgen at Quantico and the second shows him stationed in China.

The U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1940 can be searched at Ancestry.com.

1870 era immigrant trunk

I've had this trunk for a while and am still trying to locate Altje on the passenger manifest when she immigrated.

Altje was born in 1848 in Wrisse, Ostfriesland, Germany, the daughter of Johann Luken Jurgens Goldenstein and his wife Tjode Anna Focken Tammen.

Altje Goldenstein was married to Hinrich Schuster on 28 August 1870 in Adams County, Illinois.





She has not been located on the 1870 census, but Hinrich is apparently enumerated in 1870 in Northeast Township, working as a hired man in the household of Habbe Osterman. It is possible that Altje immigrated after the date of the census and married Hinrich upon her arrival.

The destination listed on the trunk is "Keokuk Junction. Ills"---a reference to the town now known as Golden, Illinois.

Altje was a sister to Foche (Frank) Goldenstein, my great-great-grandfather

1885 Colorado Census

I've found my 3rd great-grandfather's sister living with her son and his family in Denver, Arapahoe County, Colorado, in the 1880 census.

L. U. Albers is listed as a merchant in the image shown here which is a partial copy from the 1880 Census (page 157A of Enumeration District 7). The family had only lived in Colorado a few years as all the children, including the youngest who was two years old, were listed as being born in Illinois.

Antje Albers, shown in the second image, is listed as L. U.'s 69 year old mother. Antje's maiden name was Antje Ehmen, born in 1811 in Wrisse, Ostfriesland, Germany. Her brother Johann Goldenstein (1814-1891) was my third great-grandfather. He remained in Wrisse and did not emigrate.

Historykat has released the 1885 census for Colorado and my next goal is to try and find her in that record.

1921 Murder or Suicide in Kansas City?

My great-uncle, Henry Goldenstein, died on 7 July 1921 in Kansas City, Missouri. I had never bothered to get a copy of his death certificate until recently when the Missouri Death Index came online at the Missouri State Archives.



The death certificate indicates he died at the Midwest Hotel in Kansas City and that the cause of death was suicide.
The family back home in Illinois was convinced that he was robbed and murdered. Tradition has it that an inquest was held into his death when his body was returned to Illinois for burial.
My goal is to learn more about this inquest. There are several things I am going to do as a part of this search:

• Attempt to obtain coroner's records for Jackson County, Kansas, where the death took place.
• Attempt to obtain corner's records for Adams County, Illinois, where the body was sent to and where the burial took place.
• Attempt to locate newspaper accounts of this event in newspapers in the Kansas City, Missouri, area as well as in Quincy, Illinois (the Adams County, Illinois county seat) and Golden, Illinois (where the burial took place).

I'll keep you posted and suggestions are welcomed.