The Short Life of Harry Baerecke

Yesterday I discussed how I was using city directories to put together a timeline of the short life of my great-great grandfather, Harry Baerecke. I thought my family might be interested in said timeline, so I'll post it here.

1868 - Age 0: Born in Granville, Wisconsin

1870 - Age 2: Living with family in Granville, Wisconsin

1880 - Age 12: Living with family at 416 State St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1883 - Age 15: A clerk living at 327 State St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1884 - Age 16: A clerk living at 327 State St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1885 - Age 17: A clerk living at 327 State St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1886 - Age 18: A locksmith living at 430 5th St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1887 - Age 19: A machinist living at 430 5th St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1888 - Age 20: A lineman living at 430 5th St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1889 - Age 21: A lineman living at 430 5th St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1890 - Age 22: An electrician living at 430 5th St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1891 - Age 23: Married Amelie Schmitz (aka Mollie Sutherland) in Milwaukee. Working as an electrician, living at 19 Armitage Ct., Chicago, Illinois.

1892 - Age 24: Only child Gertrude (aka Buster's mom) is born. Working as an electrician, living at 19 Armitage Ct., Chicago, Illinois

1893 - Age 25: Can't find him in the Chicago or Milwaukee directories

1894 - Age 26: An electrician living at 1106 N. Kedzie, Chicago, Illinois

1895 - Age 27: Can't find him in the Chicago or Milwaukee directories

1896 - Age 28: Died of pulmonary tuberculosis in Milwaukee. Buried there in Union Cemetery.

These snippets were pulled from censuses, city directories, marriage records and death records. I have digital images of the marriage and death records. Everything else can be found online at Ancestry.com. Let me know if you want anything or have trouble finding these records online.

Harry Baerecke had one child who went on to have one child. That means that the only known living descendants of this man are my dad and his siblings (3 people), their children (6 people) and their grandchildren (8 people so far). Seventeen people. That's not too many.

Well, there's my ancestor's life in just a few lines of text. There's more to explore in the property records, associations, newspapers and wills, but that will have to wait for another time.

Genealogy as Therapy

I find great solace in genealogy. When life presents challenges and difficulties, our ancestors are always there, waiting to be studied.

The past week was full of said challenges for me. Several days strung together of illness, bad luck, various disappointments and a blizzard that kept my husband from coming home.

Suddenly my weekend calendar was free. I used the time to work on my own genealogy for a change. The activities weren't very exciting. I entered some city directory information into my RootsMagic database. Find the fact at Ancestry.com, apply it to the corresponding person in RootsMagic and enter the citation that connects the two.

It's not everyone's idea of a good time, but I enjoyed the solace...and it was good to see my ancestors again.

Las Vegas, New Mexico, circa 1916

My great-great grandmother Marie Schmitz (standing), her daughter Violet Hayward (kneeling), her daughter / my-great grandmother Gertrude Baerecke (seated), my grandfather Jack Lenertz (toddler)

In day-to-day life, when others cut you off, overcharge, are rude, write checks in the express line, give excuses in stead of results, and generally muck up your day...ancestors just sit patiently waiting for discovery.

Genealogy is good therapy for me. Dies anyone else feel that way? Through life's ups and downs, family history is a constant that provides comfort. 

The Hypothetical Ancestor Trade-Off

In my previous Genealogy is Unfair post, I whined about the challenges in my own family tree, as opposed to those of my husband or clients. Others seem to have it easy.

This started a fun dialogue in my comments section. Wendy decided we should start a club. The Shy Genealogist took it even further and jokingly proposed a "Trade an Ancestor" event. This got me thinking...

Do you have an ancestor who is a challenge to research? Would you like to hand him or her off to another genealogist for a couple weeks and let someone else worry about it? 

Tell us which one and why.

Here's mine:

1940

This is my great-great grandmother: Marie Magdalena "Mollie" Schmidt/Schmitz Baerecke Hayward Sutherland. Yeah. Now you see part of the problem.

She landed on this earth as an adult with no parents. I have no idea where to go with her.

First of all Schmidt/Schmitz is just Smith with a fancy accent. There's another problem. Also the documents I possess list four different places of birth: Belgium, London, France and Alsace-Lorraine. 

When she was first widowed in the 1890's, Mollie moved from Chicago to Las Vegas, New Mexico. Why? She had to have known someone there. You don't just up and move to the middle of nowhere with your young daughter.

I did visit Las Vegas, New Mexico a few years back. It's still the middle of nowhere. I visited a cemetery where I found several Schmitt/Schmidt graves including one for Asmus Christian Schmidt. He is buried next to Mollie's second husband. I do not think this is a coincidence.

Is he the reason Mollie went to New Mexico? Is this her father or uncle?

Obviously the next step would be to research this guy and the other Schmidts in this tiny town. However I can't do that because New Mexico is one of those difficult states when it comes to records access. 

When I visited the San Miguel County courthouse, it was gutted for remodeling. I found the temporary courthouse records department in a strip mall and they told me all the records were back at the gutted courthouse. Huh? It was gutted. The building didn't even have windows.

All New Mexico/San Miguel County films I've tried to order from the Family History Library are labeled "restricted" and I'm denied access to them. I have no idea why 100+ year-old records are so controversial. 

So I'm stuck. I can't figure out the possible link between Mollie and Asmus. I haven't had any luck researching the name Schmidt in immigration records. Therefore, I've tabled the little Mollie project here in pursuit of greener research pastures. Hers is the ancestor file I'd like to trade for a couple weeks. Let someone else figure her out.

What about you? Whose file would you like to ship elsewhere in the hypothetical ancestor trade-off?

(Special thanks to The Shy Genealogist and my other great readers for once again turning the comments into great subjects for discussion. --A)

Success at the Family History Center

Yesterday, I went to my Family History Center to see the films I ordered. What did I find? A marriage record for my great-great grandparents.

Even better, it has information on their parents (including maiden names) and birthplaces.

Though I had clues to this information via an email from someone else, I did not have the record for myself.

The names of the groom's parents I knew. The groom's father is the subject of my Military Pension series.

The names of the bride's parents (my third great grandparents) are new to me: Joseph Schmitz and Elisabeth Reichsdorf.

The birthplace of the bride is new to me as well. I always joke that she is the lady with many names (Marie, Mollie, Mary, Amalie and last names Schmitz, Baerecke, Hayward and Sutherland) and many birthplaces (London, Belgium, France, Germany, Alsace-Lorraine). This record is the most official one I have (the others are secondary with the info provided by family members). Therefore, I'll list Rachen, Prussia as her birthplace and make notes of all the others.

Naturally, this document that answers so many questions also raises some big ones: where is the Schmitz family in America? Surely my great-great grandmother didn't come here by herself.

I also was hoping to get a death record for the groom. He died five years after this wedding. However, the film went to September 1896 and he died in October 1896. Story of my genealogy life. Time to order another film.

I an really happy to have this marriage record. Now I need to get the citation straight so I can add it to my 100% sourced database. Yay me.

Viva Las Vegas, part 3

In Viva Las Vegas, part 1, I shared some views of the masonic cemetery in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Part 2 featured the photos of the Hayward grave stones I came to see.

The reason there is a part 3 to this tale is because right next to the Hayward stones, there is this one for Asmus Christian Schmidt.


Hmm...my great-great grandmother's death certificate says her maiden name is Schmitz. Robert Hayward, her second husband, is buried next to this Schmidt. Could it be a coincidence?

One of the questions I have about my great-great grandmother was how she went from a married mother of one in 1892 Chicago to being married to another person in 1900 New Mexico. What happened to her first husband, and what brought her out west?

If she was widowed young in Chicago and had Schmidt/Schmitz family in Las Vegas, that's a good reason for relocation. What are the chances of two unrelated families named Schmidt/Schmitz in 1900's Las Vegas, New Mexico?

The math also adds up, so this could possibly be her father (and my ggg grandfather):

On the back of the memorial is another on for Louise E. Schmidt. I think this may be a second (or even third) wife for A. C. Schmidt, as the wagonmaker was known in Las Vegas.

Buried next to A.C. and Louise is George Schmitt. Again, the math fits. This could be A.C.'s son, and even my great-great grandmother's brother.

Carolina Schmitt could be George's wife.

Further investigation is needed to determine if these Schmidts are any connection to my Schmitz. I just think there are too many coincidences.

I have begun the slow process of ordering and perusing Las Vegas & San Miguel county microfilms at the Family History Center.

Never in a million years would I have thought I had so many roots in New Mexico, yet here I am digging them up.

Viva Las Vegas, part 1

In March I went to New Mexico for a conference. I came in a day early to do some research and see where my great-great grandmother's second husband was buried. This is the photo essay of that trip.

Welcome to the Masonic Cemetery in Las Vegas, New Mexico:



This is the view of the cemetery facing the entrance.

It was very cold and windy the day of my visit.

I don't think it's rained there since the Eisenhower administration.

Stay tuned for part 2, where I poke around some headstones looking for anything Hayward.

Mystery in New Mexico

Today I requested the 1908 guardianship file for Violet Hayward (1901-1991) from the New Mexico State Archives.

I am hoping the file will have information on her mother, Marie Schmitz, who is also my great-great grandmother.

I have a lot of questions about this whole situation and all the players in it.

Violet's dad (Marie's second husband) died in 1905. Marie is listed as a widow in the 1910 census, and Violet is listed as 8 years old. Why is there a guardianship file dated 1908 and who initiated it?

I have a theory, but I'm not telling.

I also ordered some records at the Family History Center today. Hopefully, I can piece this puzzle together. Never in a million pre-genealogy years would I have expected my ancestors to have such deep roots in New Mexico. Why did they go there? Why did they stay so long? And why did they leave?

Also, is it just a coincidence that Asmus Schmitt is buried in Las Vegas, New Mexico next to the second husband of Marie Schmitz? Is he my great-great-great grandfather? These are the questions I want answered. Hopefully, the records hold the answers.

Tombstone Tuesday: Let This Be a Lesson to You

In the past 20 years, I've attended dozens of Laker games, Kings games, concerts and even a monster truck rally at the Fabulous Forum. Only within the last 12 months did I discover that my great-great grandmother is buried across the street from the arena.

This, folks, is why you should take the steps to learn your family's history.





[Notes for the family: me > dad > Buster > Gertrude > Marie Magdalena Schmitz Baerecke Hayward Sutherland.]

The Schmitz / Schmidt Puzzle

I don't know a whole lot about my great-great grandmother, Marie Magdalena Schmitz (1865-1947) except that she died on my birthday. Based on records, she was either born in France, London, Germany, Belgium or none of the above. She had three husbands and two daughters. Her eldest child, Gertrude, is my great-grandmother.

Gertrude's death certificate says she was born in Chicago in 1892. Her parents were H. H. Barecke and Marie Schmitz. If this record is accurate, then Marie is in Chicago in 1892.

Fast forward to 1900, the census has Marie now married to R. Hayward and living in Las Vegas, San Miguel, New Mexico. What happened to her first husband in Chicago and why did she come to New Mexico? I have yet to find the answers to those questions.

In the 1910 census, Marie is still living in Las Vegas, this time as a widow with two children. I know from a local newspaper obit that her second husband, Robert Hayward, died in 1905.

Local cemetery headstone transcriptions published online list Robert Hayward as being buried in the Masonic cemetery in town. Based on the web site, he is buried in Section N, row 4.

But guess who else is buried in Section N, row 4, right next to Robert Hayward? Asmus Christian Schmidt and Louise E. Schmidt. Could they be related to my great-great grandmother Marie Schmitz? Or is the Schmitz/Schmidt name just a coincidence?

If Marie was a young widow with a child in pre-1900 Chicago, and she had family in New Mexico, it would make sense that she would travel there to be with them. It’s the only reason I can think of for her relocation there.

I’ll be in New Mexico for a conference later this week. I’m going to try to go to the San Miguel County Courthouse and see if I can find a will for Asmus Schmidt or Louise Schmidt. Maybe there’s a connection. Then again, maybe not. I’ve learned not to get too excited. This tree is full of curveballs.

[Note to my family readers: Marie Schmitz is also Mollie Sutherland. She is Violet’s mom. She is Buster’s grandmother. Buster’s mom and Violet had the same mom but different dads. Marie/Mollie is the one buried in Inglewood.]