Finding Lenertz Genealogy Gold in City Directories

Have I told you how much I love city directories? Yes. Have I done so lately? No. This is a friendly reminder how much I love city directories.

Here is an example of why:

These Lenertz folk in this city directory clipping are my ancestors in 1908 Mankato, Minnesota. Alexander, Henry, Michael and William are the brothers of my great-great grandfather, John Benjamin Lenertz (Robert is Michael's son). John left Minnesota for greener pastures in Oklahoma. Everyone else stayed in Mankato. I've been using city directories to track their lives, occupations and locations.

Check out this city directory. Not only does it tell where everyone lived and worked, it also lists a death date for Henry Lenertz. I used this date to order an obituary. He died of typhoid fever.

But wait...look what it says about William Lenertz. He moved! And it tells me where he moved to. This makes me very happy, because I was having trouble tracking William. I now know he eventually died in Wisconsin, but this city directory he helping me fill in the events of his life.

No shocking revelations here, just happy to be building strong timelines for my Lenertz ancestors...and city directories are helping me do so.

Why I Blog: Cousin Bait Reels in a Big One

Back in June 2012, I posted a little "cousin bait" for the Francis Schoffman family. He married my great-great grandfather's sister, Mary Lenertz.

On that post, I listed the names of the Schoffman children (including married names) and birth/death dates.

It wasn't the most exciting post, but it had a purpose. I hoped that at some point, someone somewhere would poke around the Internet for the Schoffman family. Maybe one of the people I mentioned was their ancestor. And maybe they'd have some information to share with me.

These types of posts are called "cousin bait" because you're fishing for cousins so you can compare information for your respective family trees.

Four months later, I'm happy to say that I snagged a big one on the Schoffman family trotline. Kind blog reader Eric recently left a comment on the original post and a link to a cemetery walk video featuring the story of George Schoffman, my first cousin three times removed.

Eric was also kind enough to send me ten images of obituaries and news articles, as well as a 5-page outline of Schoffman family history and facts.

Here's what I reeled in:

That fabulous 5-page outline as a Word document.
A newspaper photo of a 1914 picnic given by Schoffman
Photos of the William and Mary Schoffman residence
A 1926 invoice from Schoffman Brothers general merchandise
Article about Frank and Mary Schoffman's family's historic homes
Obituary for Frank Schoffman
Obituary for William F. Schoffman
Obituary for (with photo) Mary Lenertz Schoffman - SCORE!
Obituary for Rose Schoffman Heiertz
Obituary for George Schoffman
Obituary for Nellie Griebel Schoffman (George's wife)
Obituary for Mildred Lake Schoffman (William's wife)

Not bad day o' fishing, huh?

So you see folks, this is why I blog. It has been an essential tool in furthering my own family history research.

There are those who don't like the concept of blogging. It's not professional like *real* genealogical writing. There are also those that think that blogging is too hard (it's not), or not worth the effort.

To all y'all I ask this question, pulled from a classic award-winning movie:

Do you like apples?

Well thanks to this genealogy blog, I just scored a photo of my great-great grandfather's sister. How do you like them apples?

Blogging gets results, people.

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!

My Ancestral Ties to the Civil War

Battle of Calcasieu Pass Civil War Memorial

Cameron Parish Courthouse, Louisiana

This week marks the sesquicentennial of the start of the Civil War. Many genealogy bloggers are writing profiles of their ancestors who fought. I've enjoyed reading these.

Though I don't have the time to write profiles of my own, I thought that the 1.5 family members who read my blog might be interested in knowing who in their family tree participated in the Civil War.

Union

Maximillian Baerecke 1827-1904 ( Max > Harry > Gertrude > Buster )
Max Baerecke was a German immigrant living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served in the 26th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, Company I. A book called The Sigel Regiment by James S. Pula (affiliate link) was written about this group and their experiences including Gettysburg. Max is in there. He also served in the Mexican War. [Note to family: I own this book if you ever want to borrow it. --Amy]

Joseph Smith 1826-1903 ( Joseph > Mary > John A > Buster )
Joseph Smith (also Schmidt) was a German immigrant living in Kilkenny, Minnesota. He served in the 2nd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, Company I. His pension file doesn't say much about his experiences and I haven't investigated further yet. Joseph also served in the Mexican War.

Confederate

John Laurens Williamson 1811-1862 (John > William > Sam > Doris )
I haven't researched this person's service too much. Confederate records are more challenging to search, plus there are a few John Williamsons out there. I did read in an unsourced book, that John was injured in his leg in the War. He died at home in Pope County, Arkansas, but his injuries may have contributed to his passing.

Richard M. Jones 1828-1864 ( Richard > Frank > Frankie > Doris )
The photo at the top of this post is a memorial that has Richard's name on it as "Sgt. R.M. Jones." This is the only ancestor I know of so far that died in battle. You can read about the Battle of Calcasieu Pass at this website.

All of these men are my great-great-great grandfathers. There may be more ancestors out there who served in the Civil War. I just haven't found them yet.

So, dear family, when you see stories about the Civil War on television, know that you have roots on both sides of the battle. Also, there will be a quiz on this at Christmas.
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The Cousins We Will Never Know

I use Google Alerts to track a few of my less common surnames. Any time one of these names is mentioned online, I get an email notice and a link to the piece.

Today I received a Lenertz alert in my mailbox. On top of the list was an obituary from Minnesota, where my Lenertz came from and left 100 years ago. I didn't have to check my database to know there was a connection because I recognized some of the names in the obituary.

The person in question was my third cousin, once removed. I'm not going to put his name here out respect for the family, as well as to keep the search engines away. I do not know this person or his family. I just know how we are connected.

Our common ancestor was Alexander Lenertz (1826-1879) who had many children including sons Michael and John. Michael spent his entire life in Mankato, Minnesota while John left for Oklahoma.

I read this obituary and compared our different paths in life. The subject of the obit descends from Michael, who stayed in Minnesota and worked in the quarry. I descend from John, who took his geological knowledge to Oklahoma and built a life there.

The deceased in the obituary and I experienced completely different lives in different parts of the country because of the decisions of two brothers over 100 years ago. Our paths never crossed (or did they?) but we have these people in common.

Where am I going with this? I have no idea, but I'm just fascinated with all the connections we have to people we will never know. 

One fact I did find interesting from the obituary was that the subject loved to make homemade beef jerky. My dad (his third cousin) does, too. Must be a Lenertz thing.

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Paging Joseph Smith of Kilkenny, Le Sueur, Minnesota

I spent the weekend poking around my Smith family line. Fate dealt me a cruel genealogical blow: a set of third great-grandparents named Joseph and Mary Smith.

For months, I just put that research on the shelf. It was preferable to study a different (easier) line with a less common surname. Have you ever tried to research Joseph Smith? It is really frustrating. To make matters worse, I believe mine is German, so I have to look at Schmidt and Schmitz, too.

Well, this weekend I decided to bite the bullet. My Joseph and Mary Smith are found living in Kilkenny Township, Le Sueur County, Minnesota in decades' worth of censuses. I think they had at least 12 children, including my great-great grandmother Mary.

The research I was doing this weekend was more like fishing. I just surveyed what was out there for Joseph Smith. One of the records I found was a cemetery transcription for a Joseph Smith (9 Aug 1826 - 4 Dec 1903), of Kilkenny, Le Sueur, Minnesota. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery with the following notation (according to the record):

VET. CO I 2 REGT. MN. SP. MARGARET DALHEIM. BORN IN BLANKENHELM, GERMANY.

Hmmm.....sounds promising. I located this particular Joseph Smith in the Civil War pension index at Footnote. Is this my Joseph Smith?

I have a trip coming up to Salt Lake City later this month. On my to-do list is to research and sort out all those Smiths in Kilkenny, Minnesota. If all the records and numbers add up during that time, I'll consider ordering the pension file for this particular Joseph Smith. I have a good feeling about this hunch.


[Note to my family. Joseph and Mary (poss. Margaret) Smith had a daughter Mary Ann Smith in 1865. She married John B. Lenertz. That particular John and Mary Lenertz are Buster's grandparents.]

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.

Alex Lenertz in the 1880 Mortality Schedule

Mortality schedules were included in the federal censuses for 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Questions were asked regarding people who died in the last 12 months prior to enumeration. Information on these schedules includes a person's name, age, sex, color, marital status, place of birth of subject/father/mother, profession, month of death and cause of death.

My great-great-great grandfather, Alex Lenertz (indexed as Alexr Lenertz), is listed in the 1880 mortality schedule for Mankato, Minnesota:




Here is his name (Lenertz, Alex), age (56), sex (M) and color (W). Place of birth for Alex and his parents is blank. He was actually born in Luxembourg.

His occupation is listed as "stone mason." The quotes indicate he died in the same month as the person above him on the list, which was August (meaning August 1879). Cause of death is "gangrene."

At the time of Alex's death, six of his nine children were minors, ranging in age from about 17 to 3 years of age. John Lenertz, my great-great grandfather, is listed as 19 in the 1880 census, likely assuming the role of man of the house for his widowed mother.

I accessed this mortality schedule page via Ancestry.com. If you have a subscription go to the search page and follow the path: Search > Census > U.S. Census > U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 > Minnesota > Blue Earth > Mankato Ward 3 and 4.

(Cliff's notes for my family readers who need help keeping all these people straight: Alex Lenertz > John B. > John A. > Buster)

Christmas in March

I received a package in the mail last week. It contained two notebooks full of Lenertz genealogy information. I cannot even describe how much this bolsters my Lenertz research. Mine is a small branch, with a very uncommon name, removed from the rest of the group when my ancestor went to Oklahoma. To have these details, two notebooks full...it's better than presents.

But wait, it gets better. My great-great grandfather had 9 siblings. There was one elusive sister about which I knew next to nothing. She was in a couple of censuses as a child and then she was gone. These notebooks came from someone married to a descendant of that mystery sister. She's not a mystery anymore! She went on to get married and have many children.

And...it gets even better! These notebooks include articles and obituaries of Lenertz ancestors from Minnesota newspapers. They are about my great-great grandfather's siblings and offspring. There are even some newspaper photos.

Thanks to the generosity of Dan in Minnesota, the pieces of my Lenertz puzzle are starting to fit together and reveal the picture of a family history about which I used to know nothing.

Share and Share Alike: The Will of Alexander Lenertz

Below is the will of Alexander Lenertz (d. 1879). It can be accessed or copied from the Blue Earth County Historical Society, file #588.

In the name of God, amen. Alexander Lenertz, of the city of Mankato, in the County of Blue Earth, + State of Minnesota, of the age 51 years, being of sound mind + memory + considering the uncertainty of this frail + transitory life, do therefore make, ordain, publish + declare, this to be my last will + testament: That is to say, first, after all my lawful debts are paid + discharged, the residue of my estate, real + personal, I give, bequeath, devise + dispose of as follows, to wit:

First, to my daughter Catharine I give + bequeath five dollars.

Second, to my beloved wife Margaret Lenertz, I give, bequeath + devise all the residue of my estate, both real + personal, to have to her use during the time of her natural life, + after her death the same to be divided between my children, John, Michael, Joseph, Alexander, William, Henry, Frank, Mary + Margaret equally, share + share alike; provided however, if my said wife shall marry after my decease, then + in that case, she shall have only such share of my said estate as is or shall at the time of my death be allowed to her by the laws of this State, + the balance shall then, at the time of her marriage, be divided between my said children, John, Michael, Joseph, Alexander, William, Henry, Frank, Mary + Margaret, share + share alike.

Likewise I make, constitute and appoint my wife Margaret Lenertz sole executrix of this my last will and testament, hereby revoking all former wills by me made.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name + affixed my seal the 23d day of September in the year of our lord, one thousand eight hundred + seventy eight –

Alexander Lenertz (seal)

The above written instrument was subscribed by the said Alexander Lenertz in our presence + acknowledged by him to each of us: and he at the same time published + declared the above instrument so subscribed to be his last will + testament; and we at the testators request, + in his presence, have signed our names as witnesses hereto, and written opposite our names our respective places of residence.

Qui-inus [Quivinus? Or Quirinus?] Leonard, of the city of Mankato
County of Blue Earth, State of Minnesota
Henry Willesheim, of the city of Mankato
County of Blue Earth, State of
Minnesota

Filed Sept 9th 1879
J. E. Porter
Probate Judge

My Lenertz Cup Runneth Over

This past weekend I had TWO different people contact me about the Lenertz line. I still can't believe it. I've been emailing strangers for months, asking for Lenertz information while trying not to appear stalkerish. This effort had a zero percent success rate.

Then Saturday I wake up to an email from someone connected to Michael Lenertz. Woo hoo! That's John's brother. John is my great-great grandfather.

I still wasn't finished being giddy about the email when on Sunday another person contacted me. He says he has information on Alexander's eldest daughter, which--if it's who I think it is--is great because I have almost no information on her. She would be John's sister.

The Sunday email also provided a bit of a surprise: Alexander's wife Margaret may be two people. He married two women named Margaret. The first Margaret died and he took the second one pretty quickly. On census records, you can't even tell there was a wife change. The few documents I have tend to support this two-Margaret theory, but I didn't notice it until the possibility was pointed out by my new friend.

Now I have correspondence with two other people interested in the Lenertz name. This is so great.

AND...as if this wasn't enough...I received Alexander Lenertz's will in the mail yesterday. It is very easy to read. I will transcribe it here shortly. The information contained within also supports the two Margarets theory. I am also thrilled to have this document because it lists John as being a child of Alexander. Since John doesn't have a death certificate, the only other records I have are census page copies of John being in the family. Next stop, an attempt to locate church records for the Alexander Lenertz family.

Adequate Will Hunting

Did you see what I did there? (Points to the title)

I ventured to the web site for the Blue Earth County Historical Society the other day. In their search box, I entered the name "Lenertz," like I do with every search box on every genealogy/records web site. Normally, I get a "no results found" during this practice.

However, at BECHS, I got results! This is a good thing because my Lenertz line was all over Blue Earth County once upon a time.

One of the search items was a will for Alexander Lenertz. Hmmm...could that be my great-great-great grandfather? The 1879 date on the will sounds promising because that's the year he died.

I emailed the society and got a quote for the cost of recieving a copy of document. $13.00 and a request are on their way to Blue Earth County Historical Society this very day.

My Lenertz line is so difficult. I've yet to find anyone searching the same line as vigorously as I am. I feel like to lone U.S. Lenertz historian. I don't want to put any hopes on this record, but I could really use a breakthrough here.

I'll let you know how it goes...

We're Big in Luxembourg

The Bootcamp for GeneaBloggers blog has a great link to a site called PublicProfiler/worldnames. You can enter a surname and find its origin and prevalence.

With every database, web site, or anything searchable in regard to genealogy, I always use Lenertz as my test surname. There aren't many Lenertz's to begin with and I know where they are. The results I get for Lenertz genealogy in any given search aid tell me how good the product is. I have to say, this time the end result was pretty close.

Here's what I learned:

Luxembourg is a Lenertz hub. There are 93.52 people named Lenertz or every million people there.

There are 1.88 people per million named Lenertz in the United States.

Minot, North Dakota and Mankato, Minnesota are the top U.S. cities for the name Lenertz. My Lenertz line hailed from Mankato, and originally came from Luxembourg. I knew there was a Lenertz pocket in North Dakota, but didn't realize it was so big. Also, I'm surprised Iowa didn't make the list.

Guess that settles that. Lenertz people are truly one in a million.

Lenertz Record Shopping

Today I contacted the Blue Earth County Historical Society in Mankato, Minnesota. They have a copy of a will for Alexander Lenertz that was filed October 4, 1879. My ggg grandfather Alexander Lenertz died in August of 1879. I'm hoping this is his will.

I also ordered 6 death certificates from the Minnesota Historical Society. The web site is set up like Amazon: just put the records in your shopping cart and go. I wish all out-of-state repositories were this easy.

These death certificates are (hopefully) for six of Alexander Lenertz's 10 children. If I'm lucky, one or more of these records will give a hint to where the family came from in Luxembourg.

John Benjamin Lenertz was Alexander's third child and eldest son. He was my great-great grandfather. He's buried in Oklahoma, but the state can find no death certificate for him. John left Minnesota and raised two kids in Oklahoma. The family got smaller with the next generation and moved father away. Now there is no current connection to Minnesota and I've been trying to piece the Lenertz puzzle blindfolded. That's why I'm hanging my hopes on these coming Minnesota death certificates.

Minnesota: Land of 10,000 Relatives

Recently, I've been working on the pesky Lenertz side of my family tree. The Lenertz crew has always been a challenge because I've had to go and hunt down the information on my own. There aren't a bunch of cousins with stories, photographs and gossip like one might find with other family tree branches. If I don't find it regarding the Lenertz family, it won't be found.

For a while, I could not locate documentation of my great-great grandfather as a child. It was as if John Benjamin Lenertz (1862-1919) fell from the sky at age 38, in time to be recorded in the 1900 census. Then I noticed that in one census, John was living next to a Joseph J. Lenertz and family. Were they brothers? Ten years later, Joseph J. Lenertz was living next to Frank Lenertz and family.

So I did a little searching and found that the three were brothers. John Benjamin Lenertz did not fall from the sky as an adult. He had been a child with at least nine siblings. His parents were Alexander and Margaret.

I could not have learned any of this without the wonderful records available for the state of Minnesota. Along with the federal censuses every 10 years (minus 1890), there exists a Minnesota state census that runs every 10 years on the fives for 1849-1905.

Armed with the information I learned from the censuses, I've started looking at the individual descendants for each sibling of John Benjamin Lenertz. Though the last federal census available is 1930, the Minnesota Birth Index goes from 1935-2002. The Minnesota Marriage Collection runs from 1958-2001. The Minnesota Divorce Index covers 1970-1995. The dearly departed are recorded in the Minnesota Death Index from 1908-2002. (All of these files were accessed via Ancestry.com)

This is one case where it pays to search in Minnesota. Not all states have so many records available to the public. Though the last federal census released to the public is 1930, I can use these MN state records to continue to follow the trail.

That path has led me to become familiar with many smaller branches of my Lenertz-based tree. Through public records, I've traveled to the 1940's and 50's and watched children be born. I've found recordings of their marriages in the 1960's and the birth of their own children (my age) in the 1970's. I've now found those 70's children got married in the 1990's and now have children the age of my own.

What I have concluded thus far is that I am related to a lot of people in Minnesota. Most are not named Lenertz, but they are distant cousins all the same. It's very strange to have this information and know I am connected to living people, wondering if they would even care.

On a side note, John Benjamin Lenertz had a niece who moved from Minnesota to Orange County, California. She passed away in 1986. My grandfather, who was an only child, had been living a hour away from his dad's first cousin for decades. Family is everywhere.

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.

I've Got Mail

My paternal grandfather's birth certificate came in the mail today. I had no expectations when I sent for it. I just wanted the record in my files, and maybe a suggestion for my great-grandmother's official name. She went by a lot of names.

Here's what the birth certificate told me:

1. My great-grandfather Lenertz was born in Waseca, Minnesota. His death certificate says "Branscato," which I've always assumed meant Mankato.

2. Barecke appears to be the maiden name of my great-grandmother. I've also seen Barake and Bareke. Sometimes she went by Hayward, using her stepfather's name.

3. This Oklahoma birth certificate requires the signature of an attending physician, midwife, parent or relative. This document was signed by Mary Elizabeth Coffey, and she says she's the aunt of my grandfather.

Could this be the "Aunt Beth" other family members refer to? I had her name as Elizabeth M. Lenertz, born about 1890, in my records. That's all I knew.

Even better, she gave her address on this birth certificate for her nephew (my grandfather) and it was a St. Louis, Missouri location. That state is one of the few that digitized their death certificates for online viewing. I searched through the Mary Coffeys and found what I was looking for. Mary Elizabeth Coffey is Aunt Beth.

She died at 57 years of age of "terminal pneumonia." She was buried in Lawton, Oklahoma. (Her parents are buried there, too.)

I order a birth certificate expecting to know all that's on there, and this little official signature adds a small but important piece to the puzzle.

Edited to add: I looked more carefully at my grandfather's birth certificate. It is a delayed copy, filed January 15, 1942. My grandfather (born in 1914) must have applied for it. His parents were dead by then and he was an only child, so Mary E. Coffey was the nearest relative who could verify his birth. The notary was out of Los Angeles County, California. This is where my grandfather lived at the time. Mary Coffey lived in St. Louis. They must have handled this birth certificate business during a family visit.

There is also a signature for "Affidavit of non-relative having knowledge of this birth." This is signed by Mrs. E. E. Murray. The notary was out of Washington County, Oklahoma.

If it wasn't for this delayed certificate of birth, I don't know when I would have found the married name of Aunt Beth: Mary Elizabeth Coffey.