The Spiraling Chains - The Spiraling Chains: Schroeder - Tumbush Family Trees

A 70th Wedding Anniversary

8/26/2014

Today, my husband's paternal grandparents, Walter and Naomi (Grilliot) Schroeder are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary. They were married 26 Aug 1944 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McCartyville, Shelby County, Ohio. Both the bride and groom were 19 years old.

The following is an account of the ceremony from the September 1st issue of The Minster Post:

The matron of honor listed, Mrs. Lawrence Jones, was Norma Mary Schroeder, Walter's sister. The maid of honor was Naomi's sister Ruth, and Norma's husband was the best man. (Walter, who had acquired the nickname 'Chub,' didn't have any brothers.) Here is a photo; it's a copy of a copy, so the quality isn't great, but I love using the descriptions in the newspaper article to get a better mental image of the clothing and flowers.

The weather nerd that I am, I went to the National Climatic Data Center online and looked up what the weather was like at the nearest observation location, which was just north of Sidney, Ohio. It looks like it was a relatively "cool" day for late August; The high temperature was 74F and the low temperature was all the way down to 44F, which makes me believe that it was likely mostly clear and sunny. There was no rain.

Walter and Naomi have lived in Sidney, Ohio during their entire marriage. They have six children; five girls and one boy. Grandpa is a WWII Army veteran and Grandma still makes the best cookies and enjoys crocheting blankets for her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

They probably won't see this blog post, but I just wanted to let the world know that all of us in the family feel blessed to be a part of the family that they started 70 years ago.

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Wedding Wednesday: Pierre Francois Burtcher and Marie Celestine Voisinet

6/17/2014

This past Sunday, I posted the 1850 U.S. Census of Pierre François and Marie Celestine (Voisinet) Burtcher (also spelled Bultechert), my husband's 4x great-grandparents. Today, I am posted their marriage record. They were married on 12 May 1846 in Évette, Belfort, France. (Click images for larger views.)

Civil Marriage Record, Pierre Francois Burtcher and Marie Celestine Voisinet, May 1846

Pierre François was the son of Joseph Burtcher and Anne Claire Jardot. Marie Celestine was the daughter of Georges Voisinet and Marie Rose Jardot. Both fathers were farmers. Six months (yep!) after the wedding, the couple welcomed their first child into the world. Marie Rose Julie Burtcher was born 13 Nov 1846 in Évette. She was the couple's only child that was not born in America. They came to America shortly after she was born.

Civil Birth Record, Marie Rose Julie Burtcher, Nov 1846

For reference, the village of Évette is located near the larger city of Belfort, which is located in northeast France in the Territoire de Belfort.

Marriage and Birth Record Source: http://www.archives.cg90.fr/?id=etat_civil
Évette, Births, Deaths, Marriages 1803-1869

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

Wedding Wednesday: Joseph Bodziony and Sophia Golonka

6/3/2014

During my recent trip to the Family History Library, I was able to find some family records for part of the Polish side of my family. The image below shows a marriage record for Joseph Bodziony and Sophia Golonka, who were my great-grandfather Michael's parents. They were married 22 Sep 1863 in the village of Brzezna, which was also Sophia's place of birth. (Click for larger image.)

Marriage Record of Joseph Bodziony and Sophia Golonka, parents of Michael Bodziony

The record lists the name of the bride and groom, as well as the names of their parents, including their mothers' maiden names. (Can't ask for much more as a genealogist!) The groom, Joseph Bodziony, age 31, was the son of Vincent Bodziony and Marianna Janor. The bride, Sophia Golonka, age 18, was the daughter of Joseph Golonka and Anna Bawotek. In the last column, the record states that the male witnesses were Joannes (Jan in Polish or John in English) Mordarski and Mattheus (Matthew) Iwanski.

As you can see, there is Polish writing underneath the names. Notes like these were not present in every marriage record on the microfilm, so I naturally wondered what it meant. I posted the image in the 'Polish Genealogy' group on Facebook, and asked if anyone could help me read and translate it. A very kind member did so, and I learned that the statement is basically the father of the bride, Joseph Golonka, consenting to the marriage. I also learned from one of the translators that the age of consent in Galicia in the 1860s was 21 years, so Sophia was too young to formally consent on her own.

Below is a map showing the location of Brzezna, in what is now southern Poland. After their wedding, Joseph and Sophia went to live in the nearby town of Swiniarsko, which is where all of their children, including my great-grandfather, Michael, were born.

As a quick but related aside, when I first started researching this line of my family a few years ago, the only thing I knew about my great-grandfather was his name, Michael Bodziony. Through naturalization papers and his immigration ship manifest, I was able to trace his birth back to Swiniarsko. Thanks to these highly informative baptism records listing both parents AND grandparents, I've been able to trace this line back a couple more generations. I am VERY thankful for the Family History Library's microfilmed records, and even MORE grateful for some of the indexing they have done on these records. If not for the indexing, I would have had to look through records for all the little towns and villages around Swiniarsko one-by-one; BUT, because they were indexed, I was able to find Joseph Bodziony and Sophia Golonka right away in Brzezna. Thank you, indexers!

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

Wedding Wednesday: Grilliot-Drees Wedding

2/25/2014

Frances M. Drees and Bernard O. Grilliot

Bernard Otto Grilliot and Frances Marie Drees were married on May 31, 1921 in Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McCartyville, Ohio. They are the parents of my husband's paternal grandmother, Naomi Grilliot. Here is a wedding photo and below is the description of the wedding from one of the local newspapers, The Minster Post. (Click on images for larger view.)

The female attendants are Eleanor Drees, the bride's sister, and Ursula Hilgefort, who was the daughter of Frances's much-older half-sister, Katherine. Even though Ursula was technically her niece, she and Frances were nearly the exact same age, so they were probably more like sisters. Cletus and Magloire Grilliot were Bernard's younger brothers.

During this time, the family used the 'Grillio' spelling of the surname instead of 'Grilliot,' because that made it easier for people to pronounce it correctly. Bernard's father, Nicholas, ran a local general store as well as a farm implement business. Bernard started his own farm implement business in the 1930s.

Bernard and Frances had ten children - seven girls and three boys. They were married for 58 years. Bernard passed away in 1980 and Frances in 1988.

Bernard and Frances were married by Fr. Edward Lehman, a familiar name to Catholics in the area even to this day. The main Catholic high school that serves the area around Sidney and Piqua, Ohio was named after Fr. Lehman in 1970.

Wedding Wednesday: Jean Nicholas Grillot and Marie Anne Aubry

2/19/2014

This is the Darke County, Ohio probate record of the marriage of Jean Nicholas Grilliot and Marie Anne Aubry, my husband's 3x great-grandparents through his paternal grandmother's line. Jean Nicholas and Marie Anne were both French immigrants whose families had immigrated to western Ohio in 1838 and 1840, respectively. Even though their birth villages were only a couple of kilometers apart in northeastern France, Jean Nicholas and Marie Anne probably did not know each other before settling in Darke County. At the time of the marriage, Jean Nicholas was 28 years old and Marie Anne was 18 years old.

Darke County, Ohio Probate Marriage Record for Jean Nicholas Grillot and Marie Anne Aubry

Jean Nicholas' surname is spelled 'Grillot,' which is indeed his birth name spelling. Somewhere along the way, an extra 'i' was added, making it 'Grilliot,' which is how it is spelled in his will. Marie Anne's surname at birth was spelled 'Aubry,' but 'Obry' is seen in many of her family's American records.

This marriage record, as well as a couple of other other Grillot marriage records from 1852 to early 1853, state that the marriage was solemnized by a Justice of the Peace, NOT a Catholic priest. In fact, simply paging through the probate marriage records for these couple of years, it seems that the mention of a solemnization by a Catholic priest is rare, even for couples who are definitely French (and definitely Catholic). I am guessing that the small French community in the area had to go through longer periods without the presence of an ordained priest - perhaps they shared a priest with another community that was quite some distance away? Perhaps if that one priest suddenly passed away, they would have to wait even longer for a replacement. Whatever the case, the next step for me is to try to track down (if they exist) Catholic church records from the small parishes in this area of Darke County, to see if there ever was a church marriage for these couples who were 'officially' married by a Justice of the Peace.

Darke County, Ohio Marriage Records can be at FamilySearch.org at this link.

Wedding Wednesday: Tumbush - Brunswick Marriage Record

1/28/2014

This past Sunday on the blog, I shared a 1940 census schedule listing my husband's maternal grandmother, Rita Brunswick. At this point in her life, Rita was living with and working for a minister's family in Fort Recovery, Ohio. Two years later, Rita married Frank Tumbush at St. Paul Church in Sharpsburg, Mercer County, Ohio. Below is a copy of their marriage license application (top) and marriage certificate (bottom), as kept within the Mercer County Probate Records. (Click on image for larger view.)

Mercer County, Ohio Probate Marriage Record for Frank Tumbush and Rita Brunswick, 1942

Here is a short description of the wedding service from the November 27, 1942 issue of The Minster Post. Alvera Wimmers is Frank 's first cousin and Melvin Brunswick is Rita's older brother.

The Minster Post, 27 Nov 1942, Page 4, Column 3

Below is a photo of St. Paul's Catholic Church. Like many of the older Catholic churches in this area of Ohio, St. Paul's is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was designed by Anton DeCurtins, a Swiss immigrant who helped design and build many Gothic-style churches in Mercer County. Those who are not from this area of western Ohio or who have never visited are often surprised to learn about the area's many beautiful Gothic-revival churches that were erected in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is often called the "Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches."

St. Paul Catholic Church, Sharpsburg, Ohio (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Happy 40th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

9/1/2013

My parents, Terry and Jennifer (Bellan) Kowalski were married on September 1, 1973 at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Parma, Ohio. To commemorate the day, I've created a special online photo album of their wedding pictures. The album can be found at this link: http://kowalski-bellan.weebly.com/kowalski-bellan-wedding-album.html

The one "story" we (the kids) always hear about that day is how HOT it was. The church was not air-conditioned - it wasn't even air-conditioned after it was turned into our school gymnasium in the 1980s - BUT the reception hall thankfully was air-conditioned. Since I know the places in which to obtain historical weather information, I decided to look up the weather details of that day. I found two Cleveland observation stations not too far from Parma. Here are their temperature observations for September 1:

The average high temperature for September 1st in Cleveland is around 79F, so yes, that's pretty warm, and it was likely quite humid, too. Several observations stations mostly east of Parma recorded some precipitation for the day, likely due to smaller "pop-up" thunderstorms. (The second column shows rainfall for September 1, in inches.)

Wedding Wednesday: Bellan - Licciardi Wedding

1/23/2013

My maternal grandparents, William Bellan and Dina Licciardi were married on September 27, 1947 at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Cleveland, Ohio. I am fortunate to have a nice collection of wedding photos from the event, some of which are posted below. Click on each photo to see a larger image.

Getting Ready...

Great-Grandma Adele with Dina.

Grandpa in front of mirror.

With Flower Girl, Linda DeRigo.

Ceremony and Immediately Afterwards...

Exchanging rings.

A deluge of rice...

A kiss!

...after the rice.

Formal Pics...

With the Wedding Party

With Parents: George Bellan (left); Adele and Louis Licciardi (right)

Reception: Euclid Ballroom at the Hotel Statler, Cleveland, Ohio

On the Practicality of Marriage

9/16/2012

Earlier this past week, I read an article on NPR.org entitled "Can Marriage Save Single Mothers From Poverty." The big statistic (as gathered from recent census data) is that a "third of families headed by single mothers is in poverty and they are four times more likely than married-couple families to be poor." My initial reaction was "Well...duh." Of course there is a better chance for a family to earn more money and be above the poverty level if there are two able-bodied workers in the home. I read a few more articles from other news outlets and "traditional" family-oriented organizations that discussed the same statistic. Not surprisingly, the more conservative, traditional family organizations hailed the institution of marriage as the obvious answer to solving the woes of families in poverty. And, of course, that got the online comment and debate boards rolling.

In modern society, it's absolutely ridiculous to tell a single mom (or dad) to get married, or stay married in an unhealthy relationship, just to avoid poverty. (This is my opinion, but I think a lot of you would agree with me.) And many of the online comments reflected how extreme this option seems in the 21st century. How could you marry someone without being in love with them? Why would you take vows to stay with a person forever just because it will help you economically? And in today's world, it does sound absurd, BUT until relatively recently this WAS how single-parent families, especially those with young children, DID stay out of poverty.

Let's go back, say, 150 years. You live in a small rural farming community. How did you meet your first husband? At church? Or maybe you attended the local schoolhouse together? Perhaps your fathers farmed land adjacent to one another. Considering how slow and difficult traveling long distances was at that time, most people tended to stay near their towns and most definitely within their home counties for their entire lives.

The image below is a map of land owners in Wabash Twp, Darke County, Ohio in 1875. My husband's great-great-great-grandparents were John Nicolas (J.N.) Grilliot and Mary Anne Aubry. Just by looking at the map, you can see how (and why) the marriage came about. ("S. Aubry" is Mary Anne's brother, Stephen, who inherited the land from their father when he died in 1873. Stephen actually married one of John Nicolas's sisters.)

Portion of 1875 Wabash Twp, Darke Co, Ohio Land Ownership Map.

Marriages initiated by local neighborhood proximity were commonplace and even expected well into the 20th century, and not just in the rural areas. The addresses of my grandparents on their 1939 Cleveland, Ohio marriage license are literally right around the corner from each other. Of course, people still fall in love with and marry people they grew up with, but that phenomena is much less common than it used to be.

Ok, so you are, say, 34 years old, living with your husband on your farm (which you may own outright or on which you may be paying a mortgage) and you have 6-7 kids. What happens to your family should you or your husband suddenly die? In a time when good hygiene and antibiotics didn't exist, disease and infection were all-too-common parts of life. In the mid 19th century, women were 40 times more likely to die from childbirth-related complications than they are today. Work-related accidents, whether on the farm or in a factory, took many parents'
lives as well. Life insurance did not exist and many families only scraped by as it was, so there was no savings to draw from. There were no government-sponsored welfare programs; any assistance to families in distress originated from local neighbors and churches.

Widows and widowers with small children usually found it necessary to remarry in order to keep their families intact and to keep food on the table. There were no such things as day care centers to watch the kids while mom or dad worked 12-14 hour days. Occasionally, neighbors or extended family members could help, but nearly everyone had their own families to support and sometimes they could not handle that extra burden. A struggling single parent would often be forced to send several of his/her children, some as young as nine years old, to live and work for other families as farmhands or house servants. Even if they were able to stay at home, other children would be forced to quit school in order to work on the homestead or find a job in the community.

The death of a parent forced my grandfather's family to split up temporarily. My great-grandmother, a Polish immigrant, died suddenly of appendicitis in 1919 at the age of 29, leaving my great-grandfather with four sons between the ages of ten and five. In the 1920 census, my great-grandfather and the two oldest boys are living with a cousin and the third boy is living with another family. I cannot find my grandfather, the youngest, in this census, so I don't know where or with whom he was living. My great-grandfather remarried in 1921, at which point I know the brothers were reunited.

Did all of these widows and widowers marry because they fell in love, or was it more because of the need to take care of their families? Old marriage certificates can't tell us that, so we'll never know for sure. It's unrealistic to expect single parents to do so today, but, if I ever did find out that one (or more) of my ancestors' marriages were for more practical reasons other than for love, I would not judge them or think less of them. They did what they had to do for their families and their livelihoods.

©2012. copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder