Grandpa John Metzner was shot

Found an interesting tidbit while searching through old newspapers, the fact that in 1872 my grandpa John Metzner was shot. 



Portland Commercial, Portland, Indiana, May 2, 1872, page 2

The case of the State vs. John A. Bergman for shooting John Metzner was tried last week.  The Jury returned a verdict of guilty of an assault and battery, and accordingly fined him $26.

Question is, which grandpa John?  Was it my 2nd-great grandfather John Adam Metzner (1840-1895), or his father John Metzner (1805-1888)?  Will have to go to the Jay County courthouse to sort this out, though I am leaning on the victim being the younger John, a Civil War veteran.  However, there is the fact that he was often referred to by his middle name "Adam", and the article clearly states the victim was John.

Unfortunately, I've been unable to find any other mention of the incident in the local newspapers that have survived.

Who was John A. Bergman?  I believe he was the husband of Caroline H. Metzner, daughter of John (b. 1805).  This would mean that Mr. Bergman shot either his brother-in-law or his father-in-law.  Either way, this must have made for an interesting family dynamic

Caroline Metzner (b. 1852) and John A. Burgman were married March 11, 1869 in Jay County, Indiana.  The image of their marriage license was located at Familysearch.  Indexed as Burgman, his surname is spelled both Bergman and Burgman in the same document.



"Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V6RG-H1P : accessed 04 Jan 2014), John A Burgman and Caroline Metzner, 1869.

In the 1870 census, I've located John and Caroline (Metzner) Bergman living in Bearcreek Township, Jay County, Indiana, with their 5 month old son, George W.  John A. Bergman was working in a saw mill.  Bearcreek Township is where several Metzner families lived.

 I know that Caroline married again in Jay County, Indiana on January 1, 1874 to James W. Huston, and that they had a daughter, Della.  So John and Caroline must have divorced sometime between 1870 and 1874 in Jay County, another avenue for me to research.  A good guess would be that the divorce occurred shortly after he shot John Metzner.

By the 1880 census, John A. Bergman was listed as a 38 year old divorced male living in the village of Bellfountaine, Noble Township, Jay County, Indiana, still listed as a sawmill worker.  I've found no other record other than the 1870 census for son George W. Bergman.  A search of Mt. Zion cemetery records at FindAGrave did not locate a memorial.

Once the weather improves and I can get up to Jay County, will definitely be researching this court case to see what all of the particulars were.  Sounds like an interesting family feud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The search for John Metzner's (1805-1888) cause of death

A message from cousin Paula at Linnea's Legacy prompted me to search my files to see if I had any information regarding the cause of death of our common relative, John Metzner (1805-1888) of Jay County, Indiana.  John was a brother of Paula's ancestor, William Metzner.

John was my paternal 3rd great-grandfather, an immigrant from Saxony who showed up in Licking County, Ohio in 1839 where he married another immigrant from Alsace, Catherine Young (1819-1910).  They moved between 1848-1850 to Noble Township, Jay County, Indiana where they raised their 11 children. 

Eventually, I fully intend to do a working analysis of John's information, but right now I have his date of death as January 10, 1888 in Jay County, Indiana, aged 82.  My Rootsmagic database shows two sources cited for his death, one a family group sheet from Paula, the other is Jay County, Indiana Death Records, Book H-1, page 67.

I have searched through my digital files and cannot locate where I have ever requested a copy of his death certificate from the Jay County Health Department.  So there is one avenue of research that will be on my "to-do" list for 2014.

Using my subscription to Newspaperarchive.com, I decided to see what newspapers they might have for this time period.  Early Jay County, Indiana newspapers are not always extant.  I was able to find some editions of the early Portland Commercial, but none for the month of January 1888, when John died.

I did find mention of grandpa John in the December 22, 1887 edition of the Portland Commercial.  On page one, under the social happenings of the Fair Haven area, is stated :

Mr. John Metzner, who lives north east from this place is seriously sick.

So while this doesn't give an exact cause of death, it does at least put him on the sick roll at the time shortly before his demise.  Now I will need to follow up with a trek to the Jay County Health Department for a copy of the official record.

I'm also not familiar with the neighborhood of Fair Haven, so am unsure what the connection to the Metzner clan.  I had always known them to be around the Westchester area of Jay County.

Wondering also if John might have been suffering from the flu, though that may just be because in 2014 I'm stuck at home doing the same.

Exploratory Data Analysis: James Louis Pierce (1931-2002)

James Louis Pierce (1931-2002) was my maternal great-granduncle.  What follows is an exploratory analysis of the biographical data I have discovered about him.

1. Vital Records

       1.1. Birth Certificate

          James was born September 10, 1931, probably in Madison County, Indiana, according to my database.  I do not yet have a copy of his birth certificate.  Will add this to my list of "to-do" items for my next research trip.

          1.1.1. Birth Notice in Newspaper

                    Will need to search contemporary newspaper accounts to see if mention was made of James' birth.  Will add this to my list of "to-do" items for my next research trip.

          1.1.2. Bible Record

                    I am not aware of any Pierce family Bible.  Will continue to reach out to extended family members in hopes that one does exist.

          1.1.3. Baptismal Record

                    I am not aware of any baptismal record for James.  The Pierce family were members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

          1.1.4. Adoption Record

                    There is no indication that James was adopted.

     1.2. Marriage License

          I do not have any details yet on James' marriage, though I do know that he was divorced from his death record in North Carolina. Will continue to search for record of his marriage.

          1.2.1 Marriage Notice in Newspaper

                   Once I have a date range to search for James' marriage, will be able to search contemporary newspaper accounts for mention of it.
            1.2.2. Anniversary Notice

              Will need to search contemporary newspaper accounts for mention of any anniversary celebrations once I've determined the date of marriage.

          1.2.3. Divorce Decree

                   Although I know that James was divorced from his death record, I do not know when or where the divorce was granted.  Will need to continue to search for documentation of the event.

       1.3. Death Certificate

          James died January 19, 2002 in Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina.  My source for this data is from email with a correspondent. The cause of death was not listed on the record I was provided.  Will need to request a copy and add this to my "to-do" list.

          1.3.1. Obituary in Newspaper

               Will need to search contemporary newspapers to see if mention was made of James' death.  Will add this to my list of "to-do" items.

          1.3.2. Funeral Home Records

               Once I've obtained the obituary information, will contact the funeral home that handled the arrangements to see if they can provide any additional information.

          1.3.3. Tombstone Photograph

               James' tombstone in the Maplewood Cemetery, Anderson, Madison County, Indiana¹, has been photographed. 

               A link to his memorial page is here.

2. Census Records

     2.1. Federal Census Records

          2.1.1. 1940 Federal Census

               On May 3, 1940, James was enumerated in the William Pierce household in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana², as James Pierce, son, age 8.  He had attended school within the year, his residence in 1935 was the same place. He was born in Indiana.  Note : the line for education indicated "C-3", which according to the instructions would have been 3 years of college, based on his age, assuming that the enumerator meant that James had completed the third grade.

     2.2. State Census Records

          The State of Indiana conducted state census in 1853, 1857, 1871, 1877, 1883, 1889, 1901, 1913, 1919 and 1931.  These, however, were merely for the purposes of legislative apportionment.

     2.3. Agricultural Census Records

          I have not yet investigated these types of records to see what light they might shed on the Pierce family farm.

3. Military Records

     3.1. Draft Registration

          I have not been able to locate any draft records for James.

     3.2. Pension Records

          I do not yet know if James received a pension for his service in the U.S. Air Force.

     3.3. Service Records

          According to his tombstone, James served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War.  I have not yet investigated his military service.  Will add this to my list of "to-do" items.

4. Land Records

     4.1. Deed Records

          Deed records need to be thoroughly searched in Madison County, Indiana and Forsyth County, North Carolina, to see what records might mention James.  Will add this to my list of "to-do" items for my next research trip.

     4.2. Plat map / county map

          Madison County published a plat map in 1880, 1891, 1893, 1901, 1910, 1915, 1921, 1923, 1931 and 1940 that might be relevant for my research for the Pierce family.
          5. Supplemental Records

     Supplemental records available to search for James include city/county directories, court records and will and probate records.  Will add this to my list of "to-do" items for my next research trip.

Sources:

1. FindAGrave Inc., FindAGrave  (www.findagrave.com: accessed 31 December 2013), James Pierce tombstone.
2. 1940 U.S. census, Madison County, Indiana, population schedule, Monroe Township, ED 48-58, SD 11, sheet 8B, dwelling 166; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed 12 December 2013); National Archives, Washington, D.C.


This post was developed as part of the series relating to Building My 2011 Research Template, an attempt to systematically document and source the details of my ancestors' lives. Comments regarding this template and the conclusions drawn in this article are welcomed.