Monday, July 27, 2009

Obituary: Mathias Miller (1861-1936)

Contacted the reference section of the Willard Library in Evansville, Indiana and requested a copy of the obituary for Corinne's maternal great-great grandfather, Mathias Miller.

Mathias "Mat" Miller, 74, retired stove moulder, of 719 N. Fifth-av, died Wednesday night in Deaconess Hospital. He leaves: the widow, Lillie; daughters, Mrs. Sadie Hoover, Mrs. S.E. Deyer and Misses Helen and Anna Miller; sons, Arthur, Fred, Lawrence and William; sisters, Mrs. George L. Miller, Mrs. Henry Mossberg and Mrs. Anna Kreipke, and nine grandchildren. Rev. Clyde H. Koehler, St. John's Evangelical Church, will officiate at funeral services at 10 a.m. Saturday in Ziemer's Funeral Home. Burial in Locust Hill Cemetery.

They did not indicate which newspaper the obituary was located in, but believe it was the Evansville Press. I will have to verify this in order to cite the record.

I have posted a memorial for Mathias Miller (1861-1936) at FindAGrave, but volunteers have been unable to locate a tombstone or even a record of his burial. Perhaps the obituary was in error.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

LeMaster - Haley marriage: Jay County, Indiana

My paternal grandparents' application for a marriage license in Jay County, Indiana is below. There are a lot of interesting facts you can learn from a marriage license application, provided that the informants know their mother's maiden name, etc.
My grandfather listed his occupation as a farmer, my grandmother as a domestic. Both were born in Jay County, Indiana. Her birthdate of April 12, 1911 contradicts other information I have in my database, where I showed her as born on April 11. Will have to investigate that discrepancy.
Although I already knew the information, I appreciate the fact that this application gave the names and places of birth for their parents. Grandpa's parents, Luman C. LeMaster and (Barbara) Isabelle Wehrly were both born in Jay County, while grandma's parents, Eli W. Haley was born in Erie County, Ohio and Cora Belle Metzner was born in Jay County, Indiana. At the time of the marriage, great-grandmother LeMaster was deceased, she having died in 1930.
I find it interesting to look at their signatures on the application. Although the name is spelled LeMaster with a capital 'm' throughout the application, the signature shows that grandfather signed his name Lemaster with a lower case 'm' in this case.
The marriage was performed on February 20, 1932 by Ruth's brother-in-law, Eugene Kunce, who had married her sister, Clara Elnora Haley.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Trip throughout Ohio

Source: Tipton Tribune, Tipton, Indiana, Thursday, August 12, 1915, page 7.

Mr. and Mrs. Omer Whisler and daughter Edna and son Harry, and Mr. and Mrs. Charley Lambertson, of Cicero, left last Thursday morning in the former's machine for a trip through Ohio, they returned Tuesday and traveled three hundred and fifty-five miles without a single mishap and had fine weather and roads. They visited in Dayton, also went to the soldiers home at that place and visited at Middletown, Germantown and Eaton. They reported a hail storm in some parts of Ohio on Sunday afternoon and much rain. Mr. and Mrs. Lambertson, of Elwood, parents of Mrs. Whisler looked after the home of Mr. and Mrs. Whisler during their absence.

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Fisher and son Ralph of near Cicero, spent Friday with Mr. and Mrs. Lambertson at the Whisler home.

Comment: A trip that we might take for granted today must have been quite an experience in 1915. Sounds like they were visiting Lambertson relatives back in Ohio. Nelson J. Lambertson, a great-uncle to Charles Lambertson and Lola (Lambertson) Whisler, was a resident of the National Military Home in Dayton. He was a Civil War veteran. The towns of Middletown and Germantown were areas where Lambertson members were known to have resided.