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  • What The Census Suggests

    Adolph Scholz was my husband’s Great Grandfather. He appeared in the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 census. His birth country was always given as Austria. Adolph is always in the top row.

    1900 Census

    1910 Census

    1920 Census

    1930 Census

    I have even have Adolph’s arrival record in New York. It also said Austria. He had travelled with his friend Hermann Klinke.

    His death certificate also said that he was born in Austria

    You would think by now that he was born in that country. I believed it for a very long time, until one day it occurred to me that he was born in Schlesien (Silesia) which has nothing to do with Austria at all. We always knew his birth town, which was Schönwiese Kreis Leobschütz.

    There are lots of villages called Schönwiese in Germany as well as Austria, may be even Switzerland. Europe was always unstable, many wars with lots of border changes, so I thought, may be Schönwiese was in Germany and then became part of Austria or the other way around. The answer has always been no.

    Schönwiese is in the famous Meyers Gazetteer which tried to list every town and village in the German Empire (1871-1918). Meyers Gazetteer was published in 1912. The link for Schönwiese is here. There are twenty different Schönwiese listed in the Gazetteer.

    I also have a copy of a postcard from Schönwiese which should have given me a clue a long time ago.

    The description says Schönwiese Kreis Leobschütz, Oberschlesien which stands for Upper Silesia. Upper Silesia used to be in Germany.

    Adolph’s wife came from the town of Hof in Moravia, Austria. The census was always correct.

    Let’s look at a current map of where Schönwiese, which is now called Krasne Pole, is located.

    Krasne Pole on the right located in Poland, which back in the day was Prussia, and on the left side is Cesko or Czech Republic which used to be Austria. Schönwiese was literally just a couple of miles away from the Austrian border.

    Adolph’s future wife Rosina Mücke grew up only about a 45 minute drive from him in Hof, Moravia, Austria now called Dvorce u Bruntalv.

    My husband and I are planning on visiting both villages eventually.

    So what is the moral of the story. Don’t trust census records? Not really! Instead gather all your facts and locations you have for an ancestor. Try to figure out where they came from. Geography is a very important part and history as well. The problem can be a language barrier, however these days google and other translators can help with that.

    The only question I have, why did Adolph lie? May be he was afraid that the German Empire would come after him, so he decided to just say that he was from Austria.

    Adolph’s naturalization and passport application are not online. Those can be very helpful in researching the birth locations. He went back to Europe to visit his family in Schönwiese in 1910.

    Adolph with his Mother, Franziska, and some of his siblings.

    Do you trust the census? Have you found a discrepancy in your research?

    Please leave a comment below!

  • Favorite Picture

    I have lots of favorite picture. Here is one of them taken by me in 1974.

    The picture is of my Grandmother Maria, her son Karl, sitting next to her, who was my Dad and her oldest son Willi who was my uncle. I took it on my Dad’s 50th birthday in our apartment in Düsseldorf, where I grew up. I guess back in 1974 no one smiled for the camera. Everyone already had their beer and Schnaps. Coffee and cake would have been in the afternoon.

    In Germany when you have a birthday, you invite your family. You serve coffee and homemade cakes around three o’clock. In the evening you serve a cold dinner like homemade potato and pasta salads and cold cuts together with beer, whine and juice for the little ones. The birthday person will receive small gifts and/or flowers from the guests.

    Back to the picture, starting with my Dad. His name was Karl Franz Wilhelm Krings. He was born 25 January 1924 in Düsseldorf, married my Mom there in 1946 and died 21 May 2006 in Bad-Neuenahr where he had lived after his retirement as flower whole saler. He came to visit me here in the United States four times and loved every moment.

    My uncle’s name was Wilhelm Joseph Hubert Krings. He was the oldest of his siblings and he was born 30 October 1907 in Düsseldorf. He married his wife, Ellie, in 1945 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and died there 13 June 1981. Uncle Willi had moved to Garmisch early on because of his severe asthma. I remember him always wheezing when we would go for walks. He was a funny and happy guy. He drove an American car and he was so proud of that. No one else in the family had one. When he would visit Düsseldorf, he always requested that my Mom would make him this special lima bean dish. He couldn’t get in Garmisch. One year when he drove down to come to my first communion, he entered the Autobahn (freeway) the wrong way. He had with him my maternal aunt and my two cousins whom he had picked up in Munich. They were very lucky that nothing happened. The police did impound his car and my Dad had to go rescue them.

    My Grandma’s name was Maria Johanna Becker. She was born 12 July 1885 in Hamminkeln, near Wesel. She married my Grandfather, Wilhelm Krings in 1907 in Wesel and died in 1975 in Willich, near Viersen not far from Düsseldorf. She had her first child, uncle Willi in 1907 and the last one, uncle Richard in 1929, eight children altogether. During WW1, her husband and my Grandfather fought in France and Russia and survived and came back. In 1943 in WW2 she lost one of her sons, Josef, in a Russian battle. In 1948 another son, Hans, who also had fought in WW2, died. During WW2 three of her apartments were destroyed during aerial raids by the British. In 1952 her husband and my Grandfather, died suddenly at home. Grandma was always calm and loved her family. She faithfully went to church every Sunday.

    So why is this one of my favorite pictures? First of all I took it. I was already a budding photographer back then. My Dad had a camera and we used it a lot. I spent a lot of time with my Grandmother. We picked her up every church after Sunday and walked to our apartment for lunch. From about 1970 to 1980 summer vacations were spent in Garmisch where we would go and visit Uncle Willi and his family. Nothing but good memories. Looking at this picture I still miss my Dad and I am glad I took this snapshot back in 1974.

    Do you have a favorite picture. Please leave a comment below.

  • The Appel Family

    My husband’s Grandfather, Bob Scholz, had told me a long time ago that there were lots of Appels in the family. I didn’t know what that meant at the time, not until I started genealogy. Grandpa who was born in 1906, in the state of Washington, was the youngest of ten children. All the other siblings were born in Tennessee. The oldest one was his sister Fannie who was born 20 February 1889 in Oliver Springs. Fannie married Oswald Appel 7 November 1906 in Colfax, Washington.

    I was surprised to find out that Oswald was from Russia. His father’s name was Johann or John. His mother’s name was Elizabeth Kraft. These names were German. The German word for apple is Apfel. In some parts of Germany you say “Appel”. So where did the Appels family come from?

    Back in the day when German families started to immigrate to the colonies or the Americas, some of them went to Russia instead. They were promised religious freedom and land by Catherine the Great and they settled in the Russian Volga River region. Oscar’s family lived in that region for about 100 years. They kept their German language and traditions. That all changed in the 19th century, when land purchases were limited, mandatory military service and they had to speak Russian. There was also a famine in that area. So, Oscar and his extended family left for America. Some of the neighbors went to Canada, South America and other countries.

    Someone did the research and found out where the Appels came from in Germany. It’s a village in Hessen, called Nidda. Oscar’s 4th Great Grandfather, Peter Appel was born there in 1717 and died in 1759. Oscar was born in the town of Holstein, Russia now called Verkhnyaya Kulalinka. With the Russian name I was able to look it up on google map. It’s quite a distances from Nidda, about 3400 km or 2100 miles.

    There is a great website called The Volga Germans about the settlements.

    Oswald was only 5 years old when he immigrated to America in 1888 with his parents. He and Fannie had seven children, Frances, Harold, Donald, Calvin, Dorothy, Eugene and Wilma. They had lots of grandchildren. Frances had 5, Harold 2, Donald 9, Calvin 5, Dorothy 5, Eugene 4 and Wilma had 4. That’s a grand total of 34! Oswald also had six siblings, Leopold, Rosa, Eigen (Eugene), Marie, Rosalie and John. Leopold had 9 children, Rosa 6, Eugene 2, Marie 6 and John had 4.

    So, there are lots of Appels to go around with deep German roots!

    Do you have Volga German ancestors? Please leave a comment below!

  • Joannes Petrus Wilhelmus Götzen 1783-1816

    A week before Christmas, Düsseldorf City Archives released digital copies of birth, marriage and death certificates starting as early as 1798. I was thrilled to see that, however I didn’t have time to dig right into the records with the holidays coming up so fast. I started with Heerdt which was an independent village until it became part of Düsseldorf in 1909. You know by know that I can identify records in Latin and German. The beginning of these records until about 1812 were in French. One good thing that came out of the French occupation was that they introduced civil registration. I studied French in school for a few years, so it’s fairly easy for me to understand the records, as long as I can read the writing. The only other problem I had was dealing with the French Julian Calendar. The dates made no sense to me so I had google figure out the Gregorian dates for me. I finished going through the marriage records until 1899 and started with the death records.

    A couple of days ago I found the record for my 3rd Great Grandfather, Joannes Petrus Wilhelmus Götzen. He died 1 September 1816 in Heerdt.

    The record is in German and gives his first and last name, his wife’s name, Helene Mühlensieb, his parents, Heinrich Götzen and Anna Catharina Böckers, and his profession as a day laborer. Johann was only 32 years old.

    I now have a complete set of records for my 3rd Great Grandfather. His baptism from 1783 in Heerdt in Latin.

    His marriage to my 3rd Great Grandmother, Helene Catharina Mühlensieb, 13 April 1809 in Düsseldorf also in Latin.

    I also have his death entry into the church book in Heerdt in Latin.

    My goal is to have a complete set of records for my direct ancestor if it’s available.

    Johannes and Helene had only three children together, Henri born in 1810, Maria Agnes in 1813 and Anna Catharina in 1816. Maria Agnes was my 2nd Great Grandmother. She married Andreas Krings and they they had four children and Anna Catharina was married to Joseph Sturm. I only found two children for them.

    Johanne’s parents were Heinrich Götzen and Anna Catharina Böckers. Johannes was the oldest of six children. His siblings were Maria Magdena, born in 1785, Wilhelmus Balthasar born in 1788, married to Maria Margareth Hamacher, they had seven children. Maria Christina born in 1791, she was married to Johann Mathias Fleur. Johannes Henricus born in 1794 and the last one, Michael Anton was born in 1802.

    The catholic church in Heerdt, St.Benedictus, where Johanne’s was baptized.

    The catholic church, St. Dreifaltigkeit, in Düsseldorf where he got married.

    Both postcards are from before WW2 and the churches still exist, just the surrounding areas look quite different.

    I have my work cut out for me, looking through all the birth, marriage and death certificates. Some of the books have indexes which makes it a lot easier to find what I am looking for.

    Have you found all the records for your direct ancestors?

    Please leave a comment below!

  • Records That Add Color

    I am participating once again in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks challenge. This week’s headline is A Record That Adds Color.

    I do have lots of birth, marriage and death records for my ancestors and their extended families. Each record is unique and it is nice to have a copy of the original ones. Indexed records for example on the Family Search Website, will only give you dates, however you won’t find witnesses, signatures and professions. So I decided to look at all the jobs my ancestors and their extended families had starting with my paternal line.

    My Dad had his own flower wholesale business. He would pick the cut flowers up in the early morning at the auction house and then deliver them all over Düsseldorf.

    My Grandfather also had his own business. He had an upholsterer and decoration shop. His business was advertised in the 1926 Düsseldorf directory.

    My Great Grandfather was a gardener. All those beautiful parks in Düsseldorf had to be maintained.

    His name and profession were in the 1881 Düsseldorf directory. It is the second Wilhelm.

    My 2x Great Grandfather was a shoemaker and his wife, my 2x Great Grandmother had her own grocery shop. They were both in the 1855 Düsseldorf directory.

    Moving on to my parternal maternal line, my Great Grandfather, Becker, first worked for the railroad station in Hamminkeln outside of Wesel in Prussia.

    Later on he moved to Wesel and became a police officer. My 2x Grandfather Becker also worked at the rail road station in Hamminkeln. My 3x Great Grandfather Becker was a farmer in a tiny village called Messinghausen.

    Moving onto my maternal line. My Great Grandfather Sevenich also worked for the railroad, most likely in Heerdt and Neuss. Great Grandfather Schneider was a locksmith and he moved around a lot. One of my research friends had suggested that he might have helped built the world famous suspension railway in Wuppertal where he had lived.

    My 2x Great Grandfather Schneider lived in Berlin and was a master goldsmith. My 3x Great Grandfather Büttner was a sugar boiler from Steinwitz living in Berlin.

    My 2x Great Grandfather Ontrup was a damask weaver from Sandhagen living in Gadderbaum near Bielefeld and my 3rd Great Grandfather Hagemann was a shoemaker in Gütersloh.

    How do you like the variety of my ancestors professions? I absolutely love it. What jobs did your ancestors have?

    Please leave a comment below!

  • An Ancestor I admire

    For the year 2026 I am participating in Amy Johnson Johnson’s Crow 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks.

    I didn’t have to look far for the ancestor I admire, it’s my paternal Grandmother, Maria Becker Krings nee Becker. Maria was born in Hamminkeln just about 5km outside of the city of Wesel. Her parents were the policeman Johann Heinrich Becker and his wife Gertruda Johanna Görtzen. Somehow, I always thought my Grandmother came from a big family, because she had eight children herself. So far I have only been a able to find a brother and a sister. More possible birth and baptisms records are not in the public domain yet.

    My Grandmother was always calm, she always smiled and she participated in whatever her large family was up to. I never heard any unkind words from here. She attended church every Sunday.

    Grandma lived through WW1 and WW2. She married my Grandfather, Wilhelm Krings in 1907 in Wesel in the Catholic Sankt Martini Church.

    Martinikirche

    And the inside of the church

    My Grandmother was also baptized in the church and her parents got married there. Unfortunately the church was destroyed during WW2 during British Air Raids.

    My Grandparents raised their family in Düsseldorf were my Grandfather grew up. The first four children, Wilhelm, Trude, Johann and Josef were born from 1907-1914.

    Wilhelm Krings & Maria Becker With Their First Born Son Wilhelm

    My Grandfather apparently served in WW1 in France and Russia according to a document I found online. It didn’t say where exactly. Unfortunately most military records were destroyed in WW2. My Grandfather came back from WW1 but many men did not. Four more children, Mathilde, Karl (my Dad), Richard and Ursula were born between 1919 and 1929.

    My Grandmother with two of her youngest children, Ursula walking and Richard in the pram circa 1929 in Düsseldorf.

    Life was good in 1929, their family was complete. My Grandfather had his own upholstery and decoration shop and the family had a nice apartment.

    Fast forward to Christmas 1938. A picture of my Grandmother with most of her children and the first grandchild sitting on her lap.

    Life was still good in this picture before WW2 broke out in the spring of 1939. My Grandmother in the middle, her oldest daughter, Trude and her husband Heinz on the right side. The two youngest, Ursula, smiling and Richard being held by the oldest. My Grandfather on the left side was cut off. My father, Karl, directly behind my Grandmother and behind him his older sister, Mathilde. I don’t know who the young man is behind her. One of my uncles who died after the war is on the right smoking a cigarette and holding a guitar. Two sons are missing, one was Wilhelm who had to move to the mountains because of his asthma and the other one was Josef who had moved to Berlin and later was killed in Russia.

    My Dad and his younger siblings wanted to join the Hitler Youth Groups. Children and teenagers did not have to go to Saturday school if they joined. Thankfully my Grandmother didn’t allow it, otherwise her own children would have spied on her and my Grandfather. It was a very dangerous time in 1938. Freedom of speech didn’t exist.

    In 1943 my Grandmother’s Father, Heinrich Becker, was killed in an air raid in Wesel. His body probably was never recovered. His death certificate was not issued until 10 years later. The same year, one of my Grandmother’s son, Josef was killed during a battle in July in Korowina, Russia.

    Josef with his son circa 1942, location unknown

    Also in 1943 her son Karl, my Dad, was drafted into military service. He had no choice in the matter, all the young men had to serve. My Dad was sent to Russia twice, however he kept getting sick and he had an injury on his leg, they released him from military service. He was one of the lucky ones.

    During the war in Düsseldorf my Grandmother and her family were bombed out three times. I don’t know how they managed to find shelter or food, after all they lived in the city and not in the country. There were 243 air raids on Düsseldorf. I can’t even imaging what that was like. My Grandmother lived through it with her family. Even after the war was over, the city was pretty much destroyed. Food was scarce, disease was rampant.

    In 1948 she lost another son, Johann. He died in Düsseldorf. In 1952 she came home to find my Grandfather deceased at the kitchen table.

    My Grandmother had her faith, I think this is what got her through the terrible times and she had her large family which kept growing after the war. She had 17 grandchildren. She attended all their baptisms, first communions and weddings. Her family had a big celebration for her 80th and 85th birthday.

    Grandma with her oldest son Willi and my Dad on his 50th birthday in 1974.

    Grandma and me circa 1973 at home in Düsseldorf

    When I grew up, none of the adults would talk about the war. I never even heard my Grandma talk about her parents or siblings, at least not that I can remember.

    Grandma died in 1975. All the surviving children and all her grandchildren attended her funeral. Her grave was a simple one, just like she would have liked it.

    Despite all the hardship she had to endure, she kept going and she stayed positive. I still miss her and I wished I could talk to her about her family and the war.

    Do you have an ancestor you admire? Please leave a comment below!

  • Merry Christmas

    Long before I got into genealogy, I collected postcards. It started when I was a little girl. When relatives or neighbors would go on vacation they would send me or my parents a postcard. I have quite a collection from people who are not with us anymore. About 10 years ago I started collecting images from my hometown, Düsseldorf, Germany. I have two binders full organized by publishing dates. The oldest one I believe was posted in 1896. A few years ago I saw a Christmas postcard and started to collect those. Those images are rare and hard to come by. Here are three from my Düsseldorf Christmas collection.

    I love this postcard, it shows an angel hovering over the new bridge spanning over the river Rhein. It was mailed 23 December 1900 to the Netherlands.

    This image is of Santa on the Graf Adolf Street. This image is from circa 1906. The street looks totally different today, as most of it was destroyed during WW2. The postcard was not mailed.

    This image is of the Marien Church and the Franciscan Monastery. The postcard was mailed 23 December 1905, 120 years ago. It’s hard to imagine all the things which happened during that time.

    I do hope you enjoyed these Christmas images. I wish all my readers a

    Very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year

  • St. Nikolaus Day

    Last month I wrote about St. Martin’s Day, which we celebrated as children in Germany. Today I will be writing about the holidays season and St. Nikolaus.

    The first of advent which is always on a Sunday starts the official Christmas season in Germany. At home everyone had an Aventskranz (advent wreath).

    We would light the first candle on the first day of advent and the rest of the candles the following three Sundays. Children received an Advendskalender (advent calendar) on December 1st. The calendar had 24 little doors with hidden chocolates. Each day you had to find the door with the corresponding number and open it.

    The calendar would have different characters from Christmas or from fairy tales. My Mother would take me to the store and I could choose one.

    On of the most exciting days in December for us children was St. Nikolaus Day which is always on December 6th.

    The night before, on December 5th, we put our slippers outside of our room and the next morning they were filled with chocolates, nuts and mandarins and small toys. If we had not behaved, St. Nikolaus would leave behind only twigs. In school we would recite poems and sing songs.

    When I grew up I believed in the Christkind, roughly translated the christ child, which has nothing to with Jesus. She was more like an imaginary angel which would bring the gifts on Christmas.

    When we had beautiful sunsets with red skies my Mother would tell me that this was a sign that the Christkind was baking. Every evening until Christmas I would look outside and wait for the sky to turn red again.

    In the city where I grew up, we would go and look at all the Christmas displays in the store windows.

    At the Christmas market we bought roasted nuts and chestnuts.

    On Christmas eve my Mother shut the living room door and the magic happened while I was sleeping. The Christmas tree went up, be decorated and the Christkind brought the gifts. The next morning, bright and early, I was allowed back into the room filled with lots of presents under the tree.

    The Christmas season in Germany goes through January 6th and ends with Epiphany or Three Kings Day. Children from our church dressed up as kings, roamed through the apartment houses, sang and asked for donations.

    I have wonderful memories of the Christmas season in Germany. My Mother always kept the tree up way past the 6th of January.

    How did you spend the holiday season in your childhood? Please leave a comment below.

  • Every Photo Deserves A Home Charles Kays & Almina Whitworth

    The holidays are approaching fast, so I am trying to reunite more photos with descendants. I found this couple at the Antique Trove in Roseville, California.

    This photo is of Charles Kays and his bride Almena Whitworth, probably taken on their wedding day, 28 March 1899, in Genesee, Idaho. I found the date in the Western States Marriage index on ancestry. The index itself is available for free here.

    Charles was born in Kansas and Almena in Alabama. In the 1900 Census, the couple lived together with her parents in Moscow, Idaho. By 1910 Charles and Almena had moved to Brawley, California and had three children by the names of Byron 9, Shirley 3 and Katherine 1 years old. In 1920 the family lived in Los Angeles, California together with four children. The youngest one, Virginia was born in 1911.

    The oldest child, Byron, was married by 1930 and lived in Los Angeles with his wife Marion. The 1940 Census shows one child, Barbara 7 years old. Byron’s Father, died suddenly in 1945 of a heart attack.

    Chino Champion

    Chino, California • Fri, Jan 19, 1945Page 1

    The obituary mentioned Byron, his sister Mrs. Edward Hays, Mrs. C.S. Connors and the youngest sibling Charles all living in the Los Angeles area. No mention of Byron’s mother. She must have died earlier.

    Byron’s only daughter, Barbara was born in 1933. I have not been able to find much more information about her, plus I do try to protect the privacy of descendants.

    Byron’s younger brother Charles Shirley Kays was born in 1907 in Arizona and died 1971 in Eureka, California. He was married twice. I found one daughter on Find A Grave.

    Byron’s sister Catherine Victoria was born 1908 in Oregon and died 1962 in California. I found her and her husband Edward Hays in the 1940 and 1950 Census with no children.

    The youngest sibling Almina Victoria was born 1910 in California. She died young just liker her sister in 1964. She was married to Cornelius Connors. I found one son in the 1950 census.

    I have found a few online family trees which I will contact first to see if they are interested in the photo.

    I have been successful with my first two attempts of trying to return photos.

    Every Photo Deservers A Home Minnie & Rose Middlebrook

    I wrote about three sisters a few months ago.

    Have you ever had the privilege of returning a photo or other mementos to strangers rather than your own family?

    Please leave comment below!

    Thank you for reading my blog and I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving which we are celebrating this Thursday here in the United States.

  • Every Photo Deservers A Home Minnie & Rose Middlebrook

    A few months ago I started a new series within my blog to find descendants for orphaned photos I find at antique malls, flea markets and thrift stores. The first one about photos of three sisters in July was successful. You can read about it here.

    Today I am trying to find a home for the siblings Minnie and Rose Middlebrook.

    The picture was taken in Galesburg, Illinois.

    The 1880 Census shows the sisters and their family living in North Henderson, Mercer County, Illinois.

    Their parents Frederick and Elizabeth, 47 and 46 years old, were born in England. Their older sister, Harriet 18 years old, was also born in England. Brother George, 9 years old, was born in the state of New York. Rosa, 4 years old and her sister Minnie 7.5 months old, were both born in Illinois. Their nephew, Marvin, was 1 year old. We now have the birth years for the sisters. Rosa was born in 1876 and Minnie in 1879.

    Rosa married Thomas J Wallace 14 January 1897 in the United Presbyterian Church, in Clayton, Illinois.

    In the 1900 census, Rose and Thomas lived in Clayton together with their 3 months old daughter, Minnie. In the 1910 census they live together on a farm in Council Grove, Oklahoma with their children Edo Minnie 10, Edward 9, and Shannon 6 years old. In the 1920 Census the family lives together in Garber, Garfield, Oklahoma. The children being 20, 19 and 16 years old.

    Starting with the oldest, Edo Minnie, she married G H Barnes in 1920 in Enid, Oklahoma.

    In the 1930 Census, Harold and Minnie Wallace, live together with their three children, Lulu R 8 and Edo 5 years old, in Cameron, Texas. Harold works for a service station. In 1940 the family lived still together in the same town. Lula Rose was 18 and Edo May 15 years old.

    Lula Rose married Otis Schleyer, 5 March 1944 in Kilgore, Texas. The newspaper had announced their wedding.

    Source: The Austin American

    Austin, Texas · Tuesday, March 14, 1944

    Lula Rose had at least 2 children and one grandchild.

    Edo May, Lulu’s sister was born 1925 in Oklahoma. She married twice, had one son, one adopted son and step children.

    Rosa Middlebrook’s second child, Edward George Wallace was born 1901 in Illinois and died 1963 in Brownsville Texas. He was married, had two sons, two daughters and 12 grandchildren. I found his obituary online as well as his death certificate.

    Source: Valley Morning Star

    Harlingen, Texas · Tuesday, July 02, 1963

    The youngest child of Rosa Middlebrook, Thomas Shannon Wallace, was born 1906 in Missouri. He married Ruth Bryant in 1940 in Oklahoma, Texas.

    The couple had at least two daughters. One them got married, however I don’t know if they had children.

    Now let’s take a look if I can find descendants of Minnie Middlebrook. She married Edward C Smith 15 February 1899 in Mercer County, Illinois. In the 1910 Census, the couple lived in Avena, Fayette, Illinois with their two children George E Smith 8 and Gladys 6 years old.

    I found George’s obituary from 1970. He married Bessie Shirkey 22 June 1921 in Libertry, Indiana. They had a daughter named Janet who married Chris Schweiger. They had three children.

    The Belleville News-Democrat

    Belleville, Illinois • Wed, Feb 18, 1970Page 2

    George’s sister Gladys was born 21 January 1904 in Illinois and married Harry Nicholson 3 February 1923 in Indiana. I found her obituary as well. Gladys died in 1983. They had three daughters, Juanita, Alice and Opal, seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

    Palladium-Item

    Richmond, Indiana • Wed, Oct 5, 1983Page 8

    Minnie and Rose Middlebrook both have lots of descendants. Hopefully I will make contact with one of them soon, so the girls can be returned to their family.

    Have you ever returned old photos or other mementos to strangers?

    Please leave a comment below!

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