Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible music here) is to:
1) Who is your current favorite ancestor to research and why? [Thank you to Linda Stufflebean for suggesting topics!]
Who is my favorite ancestor to research?
Why, JAMES CRAWFORD, of course!
The word cloud created by the categories I assign to my blog posts gives away the fact that I have written much more about my CRAWFORD research than any other topic.
One might ask, which JAMES CRAWFORD? and I would have to reply any/all of the five who seem to get ‘tangled up’ with each other in early Kentucky.
Rev. James Crawford of Lexington, KY
James and wife, Sarah VanZandt of Fleming County, KY
James and wife, Rebecca Anderson on Garrard County, KY and Jefferson County, IN
James and wife Martha Knight of Garrard County, KY, Preble County OH and Warren County, IN
and then there’s my line: James and wife Sally Smith Duggins or Garrard County, KY and Preble County OH
651 Milan Edward Strahm 652 Harold Wayne Hodges 653 Kenneth Morris McBratney 654 Jack Eberly Noble 655 John Willis Slocum 656 Earl Samuel Bennett 657 Nathan William Grimm 658 Donald Emerson Cordon 659 Frederick Merle Whaner 660 Louis W Meyer 661 Raymond Albert Hasenkamp 662 George Bernard Hunninghake 663 Ralph William Robinson 664 Virgil Everett Nightingale 665 Robert John Mitchell 666 Raymond Joseph Olberding 667 George Arlie Kuykendall Jr 668 Benedict Ferdinand Steinlage 669 Phillo Fredrick Metzger 670 Hubert Charles Huerter 671 Paul Henry Heideman 672 Everette Kyle Noble 673 Rubard Francis Moorhead 674 Ian Robert Wisslor 675 Silverius Nicholas Schmitz 676 Virgil Milton Ralston 677 George Donald White 678 Albert Henry Meyer 679 Marvin Dwight Johnson 680 Floyd Henry most 681 James Frazier Lawrence Jr 682 Russell Frederick Allen 683 Gale William King 684 Edwin Henry Holthaus 685 Fred William Meyer 686 Walter Roland Gabbert 687 Lyle William Myrick 688 Lawrence John Shump 689 William Hubert Dandliker 690 Raymond Roy Ruse 691 Lawrence Burton Labbe 692 Lawrence John Holthaus 693 Joseph William Koch 694 Chester Amos Kinsey 695 Jacob John Heinen 696 Keith Alton Gregsby 697 Theodore J. Thompson 698 Homer Kenneth Burns 699 John Allen Shetlar 700 Reuben Edelman
I found another unrelated WELLS obituary in my files that I don’t believe connects to my tree.
FATAL INJURY TO A PUMPER Oil Field Worker Struck by Crowbar Reached the Brain Heavy Instrument Crushed Right Temple Clarence Wells Died in a Motor Car as It Passed East lola on Way to Hospital Clarence Wells, aged about 35, a drilling rig workman employed on an oil lease near Neosho Falls, died late yesterday evening in an automobile in which he was being taken to St. John’s hospital for surgical treatment. As the motor car passed through East Iola Wells’ life flickered out. Dr. Hering of Leroy was accompanying the patient in the hope of reaching the hospital in time to resort to heroic surgical measures as a final effort to save the man’s life. Mr. Wells was struck in the right temple by a crowbar. The heavy iron had crushed in the skull and penetrated the brain. The accident occurred according to information received here while Wells was attempting to crank up a gas engine. It seems that the machine being out of repair, caused Wells to attempt to throw in the clutch with the crowbar. When the engine fired, the bar was kicked back against Mr. Wells, striking him in the right temple. Mrs. Wells, accompanied by relatives were expected to arrive here this afternoon to take charge of the body and take it back to Leroy where funeral services will be held. Mr. Wells was a pumper and had been employed in the field around Neosho Falls and Leroy for some time.
The Iola Daily Register (Iola, Kansas) Wednesday Evening, Mary 8, 1922, page 1 column 1.
Since I transcribed this death notice from newspaper microfilm at the Kansas State Historical Society, I did not obtain an image of the article. However, I was able to find this article and several copies of it on Newspapers.com.
This Iola Register article was also published in the Chanute Daily Tribune and the Chanute Weekly Tribune.
Chanute Daily Tribune (Chanute, Kansas) 9 March 1922, page 5. available on Newspapers.com
Chanute Weekly Tribune (Chanute, KS) 10 March 1922, page 1. available on Newspapers.com
An abbreviated version of the article was also published in The Coffeyville Daily Journal and The Fredonia Daily Herald.
The Coffeyville Daily Journal (Coffeyville, Kansas) 10 March 1922, page 4. available on Newspapers.com
The Fredonia Daily Herald (Fredonia, Kansas) 10 March 1922, page 1. available on Newspapers.com
While trying to figure out whether Clarence Wells was related to my WELLS line, I was only able to find a memorial for him on Find a Grave. I have not been able to locate this Clarence Wells on an Ancestry Tree or on FamilySearch. Nor, have I been able to locate him in the 1920 census in Coffey or any adjoining county in Kansas. Thus, it is a mystery who Clarence’s family is.
Do you remember genealogy research before the days of the Internet and digital images? As I’m going thru my (old) sources for John Minnick, I encountered a couple of citations to some of those ‘old’ sources. These ‘old’ sources are either handwritten notes or photocopies from books. Yes, we used to use books!
As I was reviewing my old citations, I found both transcriptions and photocopies. The transcription is notes taken from LDS microfilm #1435942.
The photocopy is from the book, Marriage Records Henry County, IL Book B 5 Jan 1869 through 5 May 1878.
Since these Henry County Illinois marriage records have been digitized and made available on the FamilySearch site, I can not only recheck the index but also locate the marriage records.
When I recorded my old handwritten notes, I recorded a volume number and a page number for each license. In reality, the page number is NOT given. Instead the index has the license number. As I located each of these marriage records, I discovered that these license numbers start over for each year. Thus, I could browse thru Volume B on film 1435944 to locate the year and then the license number.
Following this process, I was able to locate the marriage license for John Minnick and his second wife, Phebe Tripp.
Working my way thru these records, I was able to locate licenses for Wilson J., Emliline and Barbara E Minnick, children of John and Elizabeth Minnick. In addition, I located marriage records for some of the children of John’s brother, Peter. One of those records helped me to clarify a name for one of Peter’s sons since the record identified the parents.
In 1885, a Gilbert A Minnick married Susan E Patterson in Henry County, Illinois. The marriage record identifies Gilbert’s parents as Peter Minnick and Mary A Geyer.
While I could have just accepted my old ‘analog’ records, going thru the efforts to locate the ‘digital’ images not only helped me improve my sourcing but it helped me verify a relationship that I had previously questioned.
My first genealogy mentor was Ruth Keys Clark. Ruth was the ‘tour guide’ for research trips to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. These trips were sponsored by the Kansas Council of Genealogists. Ruth’s leadership on the two trips I took got me more involved in genealogy organizations.
As computers and the Internet became widely available my involvement in genealogy organizations and my actual time to do research took a back seat to my job implementing all of those computers and the Internet into our local high school.
When retirement approached, I knew that I wanted to pick up my genealogy research. By that time, Facebook and Twitter had become the dominant social media platforms – and genealogists were active on both. Thus, I started friending/following other genealogists and joining the various genealogy groups. While I have not personally met the vast majority of these new ‘friends’, they have helped me grow my genealogy skills. Thus, this world of genealogy ‘friends’ have become my mentors.
Currently, one of those Facebook friends is becoming a mentor in a way outside of genealogy. I’ve been following Randy Seaver thru his blog, Genea-Musings and as a guest on the Mondays with Myrt video chat with DearMyrtle for quite some time. Randy has shared his love of Padres baseball and his love for Linda, his daughters and his grandchildren thru his blog and his Facebook posts.
However, it is Randy’s posts about his heart troubles that I am particularly grateful for. All of his Facebook ‘friends’ were able to follow along as he learned that he needed various tests of his heart, including an angiogram and then ultimately the need for bypass surgery. Those posts have continued as Randy recovered from his surgery and is now in his post-op recovery stage at home.
Those posts have become important to me because I appear to be walking a similar path. I had a stress test of my heart about two weeks ago. When this post is published, I will be having an angiogram to see what may be wrong with my heart. I’m praying that my following Randy’s mentorship stops at that point. Even if it doesn’t, Randy has proven to be a good role model for walking this particular path.
Do you ever use deeds to confirm a second wife? In John Minnick’s case, his sale of land in Henry County, Illinois does support his having two wives. His first wife, Elizabeth, is indentified when John and Elizabeth sell land in block 2 of lot 11 in Kewanee which John had previously purchased from James Hutchins and his wife, Elizabeth. (See post Deeds Block 11)
In 1876 and 1879, John again sells land. This time, his wife is identified as Phebe. This is consistent with the death of Elizabeth Minnick in 1869 and John’s remarriage to Phebe Tripp in 1870. The first deed, in 1876, was for lot 8 in block 23 of Kewanee.
This Indenture Witnesseth, that the grantor John Minnick and Phebia Minnick his wife of the town of Kewanee in the County of Henry and State of Illinois for and in consideration of one thousand dollars in hand paid, covey and warrant to Stephen M. Hurd of the town of Kewanee County of Henry and State of Illinois all interest in the following described real estate, to-wit
Lot number eight (8) in block number twenty three (23) in the town of Kewanee
situated in the County of Henry in the State of Illinois, hereby releasing and waiving all rights under and by virtue of the Homestead Exemption Laws of this state Dated this Tenth day of February A.D. 1876 Witness Wm Hamilton
John Minnick (seal) Mrs Phebe M Minnick (Seal)
State of Illinois County of Henry I, William Hamilton, a Justice of the Peach in and for the said County in the State aforesaid, do hereby certify that John Minnick and Phebe M. Minnick his wife personally known to me to be the same person whose names are subscribed to the foregoing instrument appeared before me this day in person and acknowledged that they signed, sealed and delivered the said instrument as their free and voluntary act, for the uses and purposes therein set forth, including the release and waiver of the right of Homestead. given under my hand and seal, this tenth day of February AD. 1876 William Hamilton (seal) Justice of the Peace
Filed for Record this 18th day of February 1876, at 4 P.M.
Illinois, Henry. Deeds, 1818-1912; indexes, 1836-1903. Film #1255602 Item 2. John Minnick, 10 Feb 1876 Vol. 134: page 199; digital images, FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org : viewed online 17 July 2022.
Then in 1879, John and Phebe sell land in block 22.
This Indenture Witnesseth, that the Grantors John Minnick and Phebe M Minnick his wife of the town (now village) of Kewanee County of Henry and State of Illinois for in hand paid, convey and warrant to Louisa Winter of the Town of Ne[fronset] County of Bureau and State of Illinois all interest in the following described real estate, to with: the west twenty five (25) feet of the east fifty (50) feet of lot number ten (10) in Block number twenty two (22) original town of Kewanee, also the middle one third (1/3) of the East half of the North half of lot number nine (9) in Block number twenty two in the original town of Kewanee situated in the County of Henry in the State of Illinois, hereby releasing and waiving all rights under and by virtue of the Homestead Exemption Laws of this State Dated this Ninth (9th) day of January A.D. 1879
John Minnick (seal) Phebe M Minnick (seal)
State of Illinois County of Henry I, William Hamilton a Justice of the Peace in and for the said County, in the State aforesaid, do hereby certify that John Minnick and Phebe M Minnick his wife who are each personally known to me to be the same persons whose names are subscribed to the foregoing instrument, appeared before me this day in person, and acknowledged that they signed, sealed and delivered the said instrument, as their free and voluntary act, for the uses and purposes therein set forth, including the release and waiver of the right of homestead. Given under my hand and seal, this Ninth (9th) day of January A.D. 1879 William Hamilton Justice of the Peace
Filed for record this 1st day of March 1880 at 1 P.M.
Illinois, Henry. Deeds, 1818-1912; indexes, 1836-1903. Film #1435921 DGS 8576157. John Minnice, 9 Jan 1979 Vol 147: page 295; digital images, FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org : viewed online 17 July 2022.
While not definitive proof of a second marriage, these deeds support John Minnick being married to a Phebe.
Having sold his land in block 11, John Minnick now moves to block 23. Fortunately, Sanborn maps help place these parcels of land within the town. Below is an 1885 Sanborn map for Kewanee.
In May of 1862, John Minnick purchases lot number 8 in block number 23 of Kewanee.
This Indenture made this 20th day of May in the year of our lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty two Between W H Blish, Hannah Blish, Chas c Blish, Elizabeth P Blish of the County of Henry and State of Illinois and Thomas Blish Wealthy A Blish & George C Blish of the County of Jo Davies and State aforesaid by heir attorney Charles C Blish of the first part and John Minnick of the County of Henry and Sate of Illinois of the second part. Witnesseth that the said parties of the first part for and in consideration of the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars lawful money of he United States of America to them in hand paid by the said party of the second part, the receipt of which is being acknowledged do by these presents grants bargain and sell unto the said party of the second part his heirs and
page 45 assigns a certain tract or parcel of land described as follows to wit Lot No Eight (8) in Block No Twenty Three (23) in the Town of Kewanee in the county of Henry and State of Illinois. Together with all and singular the hereditaments and appurtenances thereunto belonging or in anywise appertaining to have and to hold the said premises as above described with the appurtenances unto the said party of the second part his heirs and assigns forever. And the said Grantors for themselves & their heirs executors and administrators do hereby execute to and with the said party of the second part his heirs and assigns that they are lawfully seized of the above granted premises in fee simple and have good to sell and convey the same in manner and form aforesaid, and that they are free from all incum- -brances and the said grantors for themselves heirs executors and administrators the above bargained premises in the quit and peaceable possession of the said party of the second part his heirs and assigns against all and every person or persons lawfully claiming or to claim the whole or any part thereof shall and will warrant and forever Defend In witness whereof the said parties of the first part have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year first above written Signed sealed and delivered in presence of J. A. Pratt
Wm H Blish (seal) Hannah Blish (seal) Charles C Blish (seal) Elizabeth P Blish (seal) Thomas Blish (seal) Wealthy A Blish (seal) George C Blish (seal) By their attorney Charles C Blish
State of Illinois Henry County I, Julius A Pratt Police Magistrate of the town of Kewanee in the said County do certify that on this day personally appeared before me Wm H Blish & Chas C Blish and Chas C Blish as Attorney for Thomas Blish, Wealthy A Blish & George C Blish whose names appear subscribed to the foregoing Deed of Conveyance as having executed the same who are personally known to me to be the persons in whose names the acknowledgment is proposed to be made and acknowledged the execution as their voluntary act and deed fro the uses and purposes therein expressed Ad Hannah Blish and Elizabeth P Blish wives of the said Wm H Blish and Chas C Blish having been by me made acquainted with the contents of said Deed and by me examined separate and apart from the said husbands, whether they had executed the same and relinquished their dower to the lands and tenements therein mentioned acknowledged that they had done so voluntarily and freely, and without compulsion of their said husband and do not seek to retract Given under my hand and seal of Office at Kewanee this 20th day of May AD 1862 Julius A Pratt (Seal)
Illinois, Henry. Deeds, 1818-1912; indexes, 1836-1903. Film #1255581 Items 2-4 DGS 8565922. John Minnick, 20 May 1862 v 61: page 44; digital images, FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org : viewed online 17 July 2022.
Then in October of 1863, John Minnick purchases lot number 9 in block 23.
This Indenture, made this twenty fourth day of October in the year of our Lord, One thousand Eight Hundred and sixty three between George Blackstock and Esther Blackstock his wife of the County of Henry and State of Illinois party of the first part, and John Minnick of the same place party of the second part, Witnesseth, that the said party of the first part, for and in consideration of the sum of four hundred and fifteen dollars paid by the said party of the second part, (the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged,) Do by these presents, grant bargain and sell unto the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns, the following described tract or parcel of land, situated in the county of Henry and State of Illinois, known and described as follows, to wit: Lot number nine (9) in Block Number Twenty three (23) in the town of Kewanee Henry county Illinois Together with all and singular the hereditaments and appurtenances thereunto belonging or in anywise appertaining; and the said party of the first part hereby expressly waive and release any and all right, benefit, privilege, advantage and exemption under or by virtue of any and all Statutes of the State of Illinois providing for the exemption of homesteads from sale on execu- tion or otherwise, especially under the act entitled “An Ace to exempt Homesteads from sale on execution,” passed by the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, A.D. 1851, and approved February 11, A.D. 1851, and an act entitled “An Act to amend ‘An Act to exempt Homesteads from sale on execution,’” passed by said Assembly A.D. 1857, and approved February 17,
1857 To Have and To Hold the said premises as above described, with the appurtenances, unto the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns forever. And the said party of the first part, for them and their heirs, executors and administrators, do hereby covenant, to and with the said party of the second part, estate in fee simple, and ha good right to sell and convey the same in manner and form as aforesaid; that they are free from all incumbrances; and that the above bargained premises in the quiet and peaceable possession of the said party of the second part, his heirs or assigns, against the claim of all persons whomsoever, they will warrant and forever defend. In Testimony whereof, the said party of the first part have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year first above written. George Blackstock (seal) Esther Blackstock (seal)
State of Illinois Henry County On this 24th day of October A.D. 1863 personally appeared before me J. R. Preston a Notary Public in and for said County Geo Blackstock & Esther Blackstock to me personally known to be the persons whose names are subscribed to the above Deed, as having executed the same, and acknowledged that they had freely executed the same for the uses and purposes therein expressed; and expressly waived and released all right, claim, benefit, privilege, advantage and exemption under any and all Homestead Exemption Laws, so called. And Esther Blackstock wife of the said Geo Blackstock to me personally known to be the person whose name is subscribed to the same Deed, also appeared before me, and was by me made acquainted with the contents of the same, and also her right under the Homestead law of this State, and examined separate and apart from her said husband, whether she executed the said Deed, and relinquished heer dower to the lands and tenements therein mentioned, voluntarily, freely and without compulsion of her said husband; and acknowledged that she had executed the same, and relinquished her dower to the lands and tenements therein mentioned, voluntarily and freely, and expressly waived and released all right, claim, benefit privilege, advantage and exemption under any and all Homestead Exemption Laws, so called, without the compulsion of her said husband. Given under my hand and Notarial seal the day and year aforesaid James R Preston (seal) Notary Public
Filed for record the 8 day of Dec 1865 at 4 o’clock P.M.
Illinois, Henry. Deeds, 1818-1912; indexes, 1836-1903. Film #1255582 Item 1 DGS 8565928. John Minnick, 24 Oct 1863 V 63: page 456; digital images, FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org : viewed online 17 July 2022.
Then in 1867, John and his wife, Elizabeth, sell lot nine in block 23
Revenue Stamps to the amount of $.50 on this instrument
This Indenture, made this fourth day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and Sixty Seven between John Minnick [A] and Elizabeth Minnick his wife of the first part and Jacob Smith of the second part Witnesseth, that the said party of the first part, for and in consideration of the sum of four hundred dollars in hand paid by the said party of the second part, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, has granted, bargained and sold, and by these presents do grant bargain and sell, unto the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns, all of the following described lot, piece or parcel of land, situated in Kewanee, in the County of Henry and State of Illinois, to wit: Lot number nine (9) in block number twenty three (23) in the town of Kewanee Henry County Illinois Together with all and singular the hereditaments and appurtenances thereunto belonging, or in anywise appertaining, and the reversion and reversions, remainder and remainders, rents, issues and profits thereof; and all the estate, rite, title, interest, claim and demand whatsoever of the said party of the first part, either in law or equity of, in and to the above bargained premises, with the hereditaments and appurtenances; To Have and to Hold the said premises above bargained and described, with the appurtenances, unto the said party of the second party his heirs and assigns Forever. And the said John Minnick and Elizabeth Minnick his wife parties of the first part, hereby expressly waive, release and relinquish unto said party of the second part, his heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, all right, title, claim, interest and benefit whatever in and to the above described premises, and each and every part thereof, which is given by or results from all laws of this State pertaining to the exemption of homesteads And the said John Minnick and Elizabeth Minnick his wife party of the first part, for their heirs, executors and administrators, do covenant, grant, bargain and agree, to and with the said party of the second part heirs and assigns, that at the time of the ensealing and delivery of these presents, they are well seized of the premises above conveyed, as of a good , sure, perfect absolute and indefeasable estate of inheritance in law, and in fee simple, and have good right, full power and lawful authority to grant, bargain, sell and convey the same in manner and form aforesaid, and that the same are free and clear from all former and other grants, bargains, sales, liens, taxes, assessments and encumbrances, of what kind or nature soever, and the above bar- gained premises, in the quiet and peaceable possession of the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns, against all and every person or persons lawfully claiming or to claim the whole or any part thereof, the said party of the firt part shall and will warrant and forever defend. In testimony whereof,, the said parties of the first part have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year first above written. John Minnick (seal) Elizabeth Minnick (seal)
Sate of Illinois Henry County I< Erastus Austin, a Justice of the peace in and for said County, int he State aforesaid, do hereby certify that John Minnick and Elizabeth Minnick personally known to me as the same persons whose names are subscribed to the annexed Deed, appeared before me this day in person and acknowledged that they signed and delivered the said instrument in writing as their free and voluntary at, for the uses and purposes herin set forth. And the said Elizabeth Minnick wife of the said John Minnick having been by me examined, separate and apart, and out of the hearing of her husband, and the contents and meaning of the said instrument of writing having been by me fully made known and explained to her and she also by me being fully informed of her rights under the Homestead Laws of this state, acknowledged that she had freely and voluntarily executed the same and relinquished her dower to the land and tenements therein mentioned, and also all her rights and advantages under and by virtue of all Laws of this State relating to the Exeraption of Homesteads, Given under my hand and my seal, this fourth day of June A.D. 1867 Erasus Austion (SS) Justice of the Peace
Illinois, Henry. Deeds, 1818-1912; indexes, 1836-1903. Film #1255589 item 2, DGS 8566959. John Minnick, 4 Jun 1867 vol. 85: page 13; digital images, FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org : viewed online 17 July 2022.
Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible music here) is to:
1) What is the best or important image or document that you have recently found online? [Thank you to Linda Stufflebean for suggesting topics!]
Well it is early Sunday morning as I’m writing this.
While going back thru my research of Ozias Wells I’ve been trying to verify two statements in biographies of his son, Benjamin Franklin Wells.
His father, Oziah Wells, was a native of Massachusetts and died at Princeton, N. J., his being the first pronounced death of that malignant disease, cholera, in the United States.
Durant, Samuel W., History of Ingham and Eaton County Michigan (: , 1880), p. 492
The father was a farmer in Madison County, N. Y where he engaged in agricultural pursuit, for some years and then removed to Princeton, N. J., where he worked for an uncle as overseer in the digging of the canal.
Portrait and Biographical Album of Barry and Eaton Counties, Michigan (Chicago: Chapman Bros., 1891), p. 278-279; digital images, Archive.org, http://www.archive.org viewed online 22 June 2022.
Thus, I started researching canals in New Jersey around 1832. That research led me to the Delaware and Rariton Canal and Canvass White. As I continued searching I uncovered my best recent find. This ‘find’ is a pdf document titled, Along the Delaware and Raritan Canal: A History & Resources Database. Within that 134 page document is a paragraph about Cholera that includes quotes from newspaper articles.
Later in the article is a biography of Canvass White.
Since Ozias’ mother was Abigail WHITE, I was intrigued about a possible relationship between Ozias Wells and Canvass White. Curious about a possible relationship, I looked up Canvass White on FamilySearch and found that he descends from Elder John White.
When I looked up Abigail White, Ozias Wells’ mother, I found that FamilySearch has her lineage also going back to Elder John White.
And this led to another wonderful find this morning: Canvass White in the book, Memorials of Elder John White one of The First Settlers of Hartford, Conn. and of His Descendants by Allyn S. Kellogg. (on Google Books and Archive.org)
And there on pages 70 and 71, I find my ancestor, Oliver White and his daughter, Abigail who married Green Wells.
Although I’m still looking for more information about Ozias’ work on the canal and his death, finding the list of resources for the Delaware and Rariton Canal helped me unearth this White Genealogy.
600 Marvin Wilmer Broadbent 601 Vincent Joseph Kohake 602 Lester Meyer 603 Bernard August Glissman 604 Earl Christian Yarger 605 Elmer Donald Cordill 606 Morris Molineux 607 Gehling John Huber 608 Charles Nelson Alley 609 Paul Marion Porter 610 August Henry Buessing 611 Leonard Herman Hammes 612 Charles Lloyd Holland 616 Galen [Bernie?] Stoldt 617 Gordon Alvis Jr 618 Francis Leroy Wesley 619 Arthur Charles Thompson 620 Clarence Hubert Hasenkamp 621 Robert Louis Rawlins 622 Urbin Charles Holsapple 623 William LaVere Stephens 624 Carroll Robert Woolsoncroft 625 George Burtiss Shaffer Jr 626 John Milford She[tl]en 627 William Eberhard Wempe 628 Edgar Evan Munsel 629 Sylvester John Heinen 630 Lawrence C Engenman 631 Donald Lee Brown 632 Albert Bernard Tanking 633 Fred Earnest Walters 634 Willard Bertram Alcorn 635 John Wenzel Sack 636 Dale Lurand Edwards 637 George William Mergenmeier 638 Clyde Henry Meacham 639 Benedict Rottinghaus 640 Charles Mathias Mueller 641 Paul Bernard Rottinghaus 642 Ernest Joseph Hutfles 643 Erwin Richard Wendt 644 Samuel Dale Fund 645 Lawrence John Swart 646 William B. Carroll 647 John Menold 648 Albert Joseph Rilinger 649 Vernon Van Cleve Houts 650 Kenneth Cloyd Wempe
OK, I have to admit it. I have another unrelated obituary in my file. This time, it is for Jess Wells who was killed during World War I from the Iola Daily Register. I do have a Jesse Wells in my tree who lived in Woodson County, Kansas and served during World War I. However, the Jesse Wells in my tree did not die in 1918. Thus, this obituary is for a different Jesse Wells.
Deaths and Funerals The body of Jess Wells, who died in overseas service, arrived in Colony Saturday night and was brought to Iola by Adams and Hesser where funeral arrangements were made. Wells was a Geneva boy, so members of the Leslie J. Campbell Post No. 15, American Legion, accompanied the body to Geneva today to perform the military portion of the funeral service. Captain Hill of the Salvation Army, overseas veteran, made the funeral address and interment was made in the Geneva cemetery.
The Iola Daily Register (Iola, Kansas) Tuesday evening, May 31, 1921, page 5 col. 5
I obtained the above obituary by reading microfilm at the Kansas State Historical Society. At the time, I simply transcribed the information and did not obtain a copy. Thanks to the digitization projects in Kansas, many of the Iola newspapers are on Newspapers.com. Thus, I was able to locate this particular paper to get an image of the notice.
In addition, I located a notice in the 27 May 1921 issue of The Iola Register regarding the return on the body of Jess Wells to Kansas
Miss Blanche Ponsler, secretary for the Allen County red Cross has notice that the body of Jess Wells, who died in France in 1917, will arrive in Geneva soon for burial. A brother, Chas. Wells, resides in Geneva, and the father lives in Henrietta, Okla. Glen Bean, Legion Post Commander, will take proper action for arranging the services when the body arrives.
The Iola Register (Iola, Kansas) 27 May 1921, page 3, available on Newspapers.com.
Since the earlier notice indicated that Jess Wells died in 1917, I tried to locate a notice of his death. When I couldn’t find a 1917 notice, I decided to check Find a Grave to see what it had for the death date. On Find a Grave, I found Jess Wells died in 1918. The memorial includes a transcription of a death notice from the 21 Nov 1918 issue of the Iola Register.
Mrs. Frank Mabie received the news of the death of her brother, Jess Wells last week. He was killed in action –another soldier laid down his life for his country. Jess used to reside in this community. We extend our sympathy to his parents and sisters and brothers in their loss.
Iola Register Nov. 21 1918
I was able to locate this death notice on Newspapers.com.
Curious as to whether this Jess Wells was related to my WELLS research in the area of Woodson and Allen counties, I located him on FamilySearch.
Unfortunately, his tree shows no connection to my WELLS line. Thus, another unrelated obituary in my files.
Heartland Genealogy 