How much did this stone cost in 1904?

This tombstone was purchased in 1904 under the directions of Barbara Haase's will and with the approval of the court. Any guesses on how much it cost when it was purchased in Warsaw, Illinois?

Subpoenas Spell the Names

The 2 April 1902 will of Barbara Haase includes the names of two witnesses. One was written in English and the other was written in German. I didn't do too bad of a job reading them, but wish I had read the entire set of documents from Barbara's probate before I did.

The subpoena from 12 July 1903 provides another rendering of the names of the witnesses to the will of Barbara Haase. The signatures are not all that difficult to read, but researchers should be aware that there may be additional records in the probate file that provides the names of the witnesses in a handwriting that may be easier to read.

Names of witnesses are always potential clues. The names are easier to use if they have been read and interpreted correctly.

Yet another reason for copying or scanning the entire file. These scans were made from microfilm of records at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

Google them All...

Honestly, I have not been in the habit of "googling" each and every relative, especially those who have probably been dead twenty or more years.

I am slowly (very slowly) working on the descendants of Barbara Haase (died 1903 Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois). One granddaughter, Ruth Haase Hillberry was born ca. 1894 and lived in Michigan in the 1950s. On a whim I did a Google search for ruth haase hillberry and one of the results was a webpage hosted by Albion College's Special Collections Department that contained names of College alumni. One alumni was apparently Ruth Hillberry--see Ruth Haase. I contacted the college to see if they have any information on Mrs. Hillberry.

Just goes to show what you might locate when you google. I think I've got some more work to do.

Checking out those multiple marriages

I had the date and place of the marriage from an index, but I had never seen the original document. I obtained a copy during my last trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake.

The first image on this post is a copy of the marriage record of Conrad Haas and Barbara Haas in Ft. Madison, Lee County, Iowa in June of 1882 (Marriage record volume 5, page 470). The record gives the ages of Conrad and Barbara. Nowhere is it indicated that this was the Haase's second marriage (they were divorced this time, too....).

It is always good to obtain marriage records for marriages of your ancestor besides the one from which you descend. Sometimes records of these additional records may contain significant clues. And in my case the divorce records contained other clues as well.

And of course, while at the Family History Library, I scanned the records from the microfilm, including the "title page" so I knew where the document was from.

A $31.44 Inheritance

In the 1950s, my grandmother inherited $31.44 from a relative, Anna Haase. The estate settlement of Miss Haase points to the importance of tracking down such records for relatives who die with enough property to probate and no descendants of their own. The article I wrote on the estate settlement and estate records in general may be worth a look if the only wills/probates you have searched for have been for your own direct line ancestors.

A $31.44 Inheritance explains how Grandma's $31.44 inheritance was determined and how intestate probate cases in these situations usually work.