One More Rung on the ProGen Ladder

Today was the January chat for my ProGen 3 peer group. The topic was evidence analysis. The assignment was to collect and analyze the records you have for an upcoming proof argument. It's a future assignment. All we had to do this time was list the records, talk about their validity, credibility, etc. This was a good lesson for separating the puzzle pieces and analyzing each one.

My records have to do with a research issue I plan on using for my own proof argument down the road.

My great-grandmother's death certificate says she was born in 1892 in Chicago, Illinois, and that her father was H. H. Baerecke, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My issue: trying to find the identity of H. H.

I have found documentation of a Harry Baerecke that fits this age range and location. I have numerous city directories that show Harry Baerecke/Barecke/Barrecke in Milwaukee and/or Chicago. Harry is never in both directories at the same time, except for 1891, the year he supposedly got married. I have a marriage date (1891) and death date (1896) by Ancestry.com index only. I have a couple newspaper clippings about an H. Baerecke. The occupations in both Chicago and Milwaukee records say "electrician" or something related.

Here's the deal: in my own research, I feel very strongly that my H.H. and this Harry are the same person. So much so that I dropped the cash for his father's military pension file. Harry isn't in it because he died before the document was filed. He's not listed as living descendant of Max. BUT he's listed in the 1897 Milwaukee directory as deceased, and part of the Clara Baerecke house. Clara is the daughter of Max.

Here's the other deal: for a proof argument, these records are weak sauce. Hunches and gut feelings don't fly. There is a gap between my H.H. Baerecke and the Harry Baerecke in all the records. The 70 year-old baby book I have that says H.H. is Harry Baerecke won't cut it, because the lady that filled it out never met the Baerecke family. I need more, better, stronger information and some vital records would help, too. This is one of those cases where the 1890 census--if it was available--would have really come in handy.

I'm still trying to get marriage and death records for Harry. The films are on order. Apparently Harry is buried in the Baerecke family plot in Milwaukee, but the person that told me that says the cemetery is not in a good area. Sooooo.....I need to find someone who doesn't mind an inner-city adventure and is willing to take a picture for me.

I don't know if I will have a case for my proof argument. I have a lot of indirect evidence, which is like a bunch of puzzle pieces that fit together nicely along the outside, but the whole center portion is still missing.

And that, folks, is the status of my ProGen day.