Cousin Bait: Francis W. Schoffman and Mary Lenertz

I am looking for information on Francis W. Schoffman and Mary Lenertz as well as their children. My genealogical connection is to Mary Lenertz. She was an older sister of my great-great grandfather, John Benjamin Lenertz.

John moved away from Minnesota and his siblings. He died in 1919 and I don't have a lot of information on the other Lenertz brothers and sisters. I do have vital statistics, but I would like to learn more about their lives which is why I wrote this post.

Here's what I do know:

Mary Lenertz
born 12 August 1859 in Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa
died 9 March 1940 in Mankato, Blue Earth, Minnesota

married in January 1875 in Mankato to:

Francis W. "Frank" Schoffman
born November 1847 in Wisconsin
died 13 July 1936 in Watonwan County, Minnesota

Mary and Frank had the following children:

William Francis Schoffman (17 October 1875-21 November 1918)

George Ambrose Schoffman (15 June 1879-8 January 1924)

John Roland "Rollie" Schoffman (12 February 1882- ?)

Sadie May Schoffman Movius (16 December 1890-15 May 1897)

Rose Katherine Schoffman Heiertz (31 March 1893-17 June 1986)

Like I said, these folks are cousins to me and my connection is through the Lenertz line. I would like to know more about their lives and maybe see a photo or two.

I am hoping someone somewhere does an Internet search for their Schoffman ancestors and lands on this blog post. I am hoping after reading this that they reach out and connect with me.

I do have some information on the other Lenertz siblings, as well as Mary's parents, that I am happy to share.

Thank you for reading this far. Hopefully casting this line will help me reel in some cousins. I'm not a crazy online stalker person, I promise. I'm just trying to bolster this Lenertz / Schoffman branch on my family tree.


October 8, 2012 UPDATE! Blog reader Eric Henderson commented below regarding a video about the Schoffman family. In the video, Eric plays George Schoffman, who is listed above. Very cool!

Tribute to the 1925 Iowa State Census

The world is full of beautiful things! Autumn leaves, rainbows, waterfalls and more. Guess what else is beautiful?

The 1925 Iowa census.

Why the appreciation all of a sudden? Well, my own ancestors came to Iowa from Luxembourg in the 1850's. Apparently, they weren't cold enough in the winter so they bailed for Minnesota after a few years. That's all the Iowa research I got to explore until now.

I am doing a project for another person that's all Iowa all the time. Iowa censuses play a prominent role in all lines of the family tree.

If you've never explored the 1925 Iowa census, here's why it's so special:

1. It's a bridge between the 1920 and 1930 federal censuses. I love all states that have their own censuses for this reason. Minnesota gets a nod here, too. The extra information can help narrow down a death date for someone who passed, or include a child who lived and died between federal censuses. The mid-decade census also narrows down location and marriage timelines for ancestors.

2. It provides detailed information on a subject's education. You will know if an adult attended a rural school, grade school, high school or college--and the highest grade completed. Details like these help shape portraits of your ancestors' lives.

3. It includes the names and birthplaces of a subject's parents, including women's maiden names. Oh, it's a lovely thing I tell ya. In doing this genealogy project, I've become very spoiled by the ease with which I can move back generations and use these details to secure birth, marriage, death records and more.

4. It includes the birthplaces and marriage location of a subject's parents. Not only do you get the names, you also learn where they were born. If it says Iowa in that column, you're free to look in the 1925 Iowa census for the subject's parents. If you find them, then the parents' parents will be listed as well.

My most magical experience so far with the 1925 census was the location of a 96 year-old woman in it. You bet it had her parents' names right there. Happy dances all around.

Surname Saturday: Lenertz

Saturday posts are rare at the ol' blog because I like to take the day off. However, my blog friends are starting to post the surnames in their trees on Saturdays (hence the theme Surname Saturday) and I thought I'd play along.

My first surname for a Saturday is the one that started it all: Lenertz. It's rather uncommon and one of the reasons I started blogging in the first place. I wanted to learn more about it and meet others who had an interest in the name's history and genealogy.

Here's what I know so far about my Lenertz line. My ancestor came from Luxembourg to Iowa, perhaps in the 1850's. He later moved to Minnesota.

There are other pockets of Lenertz folk out there. I've been browsing late 19th century census records. So far, I've found a clump (is that a proper genealogical term?) in Iowa, one in Minnesota and one in North Dakota (later Montana). In the 20th century, Lenertz families spread out to other states. I don't know if they're connected, but I've been doing an informal one-name study to see if that's the case.

If you are a Lenertz, or have an interest in your family tree, please contact me so we can compare notes.

[Edit] I forgot to mention that there's a group of Lenertz folk in Australia. It seems that from Luxembourg, some went to America and some to Australia. So far, I've found no connection, but I'd like to keep tabs on the Lenertz name Down Under as well.

Not Many of Me

I have played with How Many of Me? before, but never in a genealogical perspective. Randy Seaver's mention of the site on his Genea-Musings blog, has led me to look at it again.

There are 427 people in the U.S. named Lenertz. Statistically, it is the 58869th most popular last name.

My Lenertz branch has been a tough nut to crack. I've come across very little information about the Lenertz family in America. What I have indicates many were connected in Iowa and Minnesota in the 1850's and 1860's. I joked about contacting other Lenertz people out of the blue and asking about their ancestors because there was a decent chance we were related. Judging from these numbers, that could be true.