• Jessica VanHove sent in IMMIGRATION DATA for Nicolaus Hetzel - 1873 Weser - Bremen> NYC. Thanks!
• A few weeks ago, I started corresponding with Dottie Buchholz regarding her research in the Polar, Langlade County area -- and she kindly offered to share some of her Shawano family info with us -- what a pleasant & wonderful surprise! DORAN FAMILY PAGE

And I'm working on some church anniversary booklets (thanks Jackie!) and obits and confirmation photos... hopefully we'll have these up soon!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS!!!  And I'm back to making homemade caramels... and here's to a White Christmas!
Anne
 

• Two cemeteries have been added -- ELM GROVE - LANEY CEMETERY and HILLSIDE CEMETERY in Zachow, Angelica Twp.
• Sally Cantwell Basting sent in some MARVELOUS pics of her Cantwell - Hayter lines.  We've made a page for them and if you have any information or pictures you would like to add to it, please email me.
• SURNAMES: Reetz & Schlueter from the Leopolis area -- thanks Clark Reetz.
• And many thanks to everyone who responded to help the gentleman in Sweden locate John Emil SJOGREN & Agnes BAUMGARTNER.  The rest of the story... Agnes & their son Lewis J. remain in Belle Plaine Twp. -- Agnes marries Clyde CLAYTON.  Agnes dies in April 1993.  If anyone knows what happened to Lewis J. (Sjogren) Clayton, I'm sure his family in Sweden would love to hear from him.
• And BE SURE to check out the Michigan Marriages 1868 - 1925  page -- I have heard awesome things from people who have found their missing relatives' marriage data in there -- I found several of mine, including Wilhelmina Strei - Baehr's son Albert...
• And until next time -- stay warm & enjoy the holiday seasons... next update I'm hoping to have MOST of the Wittenberg Wittonian yearbook up... cool project.

• Michigan Marriages 1868 - 1925 -- now WHY would we have this page in the Shawano site?  SIMPLE -- To Wisconsinites, Michigan was the new "Gretna Green" so to speak... couples eloped to Michigan primarily as it offered a lower marriage age (Wisconsin was 21) and it also kept down the wedding costs, especially if the bride or groom had been previously married... be sure to check this one out if you are having problems locating a marriage for Shawano Co. residents but you just can't find it...
• Many thanks to Ken Kupsky for sharing a GREAT pic of Ferdinand & Augusta Kupsky's family with us.  And we've added other bits of info to the page as well.
• And, thanks to Matthew Otto for sending this in -- we now have "just cause" to make that Apple Kuchen this weekend!!
  
  For generations, German Americans have contributed to our Nation's identity, culture, and prosperity. On German-American Day, we recognize the many Americans with German ancestry who helped make our country great, and we celebrate our strong friendship with Germany.

  The people of Germany and the United States share important family and cultural ties, and millions of American citizens are of German descent. Some of their forebears were among the first to settle Jamestown, and they and many others like them helped lay the foundation for our country, which has become the most prominent symbol of freedom in the world. Many German Americans have shaped our way of life and added to our country's rich heritage.

  In celebrating German-American Day, we honor generations of German Americans who came to our shores with dreams of opportunity and contributed to the greatness of our country.

  NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 6, 2008, as German-American Day. I encourage all Americans to celebrate the many contributions German Americans have made to our Nation's liberty and prosperity.

  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

  GEORGE W. BUSH

• APPLE KUCHEN WITH CREAM CHEESE FILLING
  
  2 cups Bisquick baking mix
  2/3 cup milk
  1/4 cup sugar
  2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  1 egg
  
  FOR THE FILLING:
  1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  1/4 cup sugar
  1 egg
  1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1 1/2 cups peeled apples, thinly sliced
  
  FOR THE TOPPING:
  3 tablespoons sugar
  1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
  Combine Bisquick, milk, sugar, oil and egg; mix well. Pour into greased and floured 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
  
  Combine softened cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla, mixing until well blended. Spread cream cheese mixture over batter; top with apples.
  
  Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over apples.
  
  Bake at 350 degree F for 35 to 40 minutes.
  
  Servings: 12
  (I KNOW... Grandma didn't have Bisquick!! But then Grandma spent most of the day baking, too!!! lol..)

This update has a few items of interest:

• Kindred Spirit Paul has again been generous to the Shawano site -- gorgeous classroom photos of St. James Lutheran.  If your ancestor's attended St. James, do take a look and see if you can help identify the pics -- you find your ancestor, that will help us establish a date range.
• SURNAMES added: BARTELT, DRIESTLER, LUEPKE/LUPKE -- thanks Denise!
• SURNAME BRZEZINSKI -- thanks Kathy!
• SURNAMES KWAPISZEWSKI, SPAKOWICZ, BANASZYNSKI, ZACHARIASZ (also spelled Zacharias, Zacharyasz, Zaharris throughout the years.) -- thanks Jill!
• SURNAMES HAUGEN/HOGAN, OLSEN/OLSON, GUNDERSON/GUNDERSEN -- thanks Jane!
• Be sure to check out the MESSAGE BOARD for the latest obits and queries posted by other researchers.  Mega thanks to Tasha for keeping up on the Shawano Leader and ALL OF YOU for posting/sharing your family obits!  AWESOME, AWESOME JOB!
• Remember to check out the FAMILYSEARCH.ORG PILOT program -- this is where you can scan ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS as well as INDEXED DOCUMENTS that are available FREE ONLINE.  You didn't hear it here, BUT, this pilot program site will some day rival ancestry.com in my opinion.  They add new items almost weekly... and it's FREE!  Currently they have the 1855, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895 and 1905 WISCONSIN CENSUSES for FREE!  I worked with these folks on the 1880 census about 10 years back and they have added to this program tremendously -- once you get up into that site, you will get trapped there for hours looking at all their new items!  ENJOY!!!
• And last but not certainly not least, it is always a deep loss when we lose one of our own -- a tremendous loss for their families, but also a loss for the genealogical community.  We are deeply saddened at the passing of Mari Modlin, the WI GenWeb CC for Crawford & Dane Counties.  God speed, Mari -- you have touched many people through sharing your time & talents and you will be missed!

• Paul sent in a REALLY COOL 1911 Confirmation Class Photo from St. James... and there are a LARGE and even LARGER image scans so that you can easily see faces & features to try to identify these people.  Email me with the names and we'll update the page!
• I received my History of Belle Plaine Twp Book in the mail and I AM IMPRESSED! It is very nicely done, very detailed and VERY INTERESTING!  If your families came from this are in Shawano County it is well worth the $15 (+ postage) they are asking for it!  I received mine through the courthouse - County Clerk's Office or there are other places in the area to order through the mail -- Belle Plaine Cheese Factory AND they can ship CHEESE CURDS!  Toll free phone number is 1-866-245-5924 or at Belle Plaine Cheese, N3473 Wisconsin Avenue, Shawano, WI 54166 -- hey, my father used to buy his cheese curds there so that makes it genealogy related, right??? Right.
• SURNAMES: KEUPS, EWERT, TETTING, ALLENDER, and DRAKES by Patricia (Keup) Oinas and BLOCHOWIAK, KUROWSKI & LISS by Pam K.
• This week I rec'd an email regarding an obit I posted to the Message Board -- if you subscribe to the Shawano List, you'll see I post random Shawano County related obits and on some days, they can really add up...when I was looking for obits online, I ran across a very touching one & I knew I had to post it (it wasn't Shawano or Florence related) to the proper county board in Michigan.  I didn't know Stanley Galuszka but from reading his obit, he seemed like a very special person who should be remembered permanently online.  Stanley passed in 2002 and I posted this about a month back -- last week his granddaughter emailed me and told me she had searched for YEARS for Stanley and now she finally found him -- she contacted his caretakers to fill in the blanks of his life that she knew nothing about.  I get emails similar to this all the time but nothing as dramatic & touching as this story.  And the timing was perfect as I didn't get the impression she had every googled his name before and I doubt she is into genealogy.  Moral of the story: POST THOSE OBITS! You never know when you or someone else will find the missing piece to the puzzle!  It only takes 1 person with 1 item you are looking for... AND if your family member doesn't have a "formal" obit -- write one up yourself!  You read obits, you know the basic format... born, married, lived and died... and you can elaborate from there... it doesn't need to be flowery or fancy -- just anything is better than nothing.  And you can always tweak it!
• Til next time... Anne

New this week:

• Paul, the archivist from St. James, has sent in more "cool stuff" for the St. James Lutheran in Shawano Page.  This week we finished up the History Page and added the 1907 Dedication scans... pretty cool to see pics of the actual booklet that is over 100 years old.  The first pages are written in German & the latter pages are in English.
• And, if I seemed to be a little slow in updating, we have had a new arrival -- a bouncing 10 pound little Dobie Pup named Emma, after my grandmother Emma Blaese Laedtke (we're sure she's pleased for the name-sake -- lol)...  The adjacent pic is Liebie, our 3½ year old Dobie and little Emmie.  Yep, she's a handful!
• Til next week...

• Finishing up on the Elias Lutheran Cemetery -- mega thanks Matthew for your patience & proof-reading to get this right!  Nicely done!
• And we finished our Canadian French Word List -- enjoy!
• And last but not least, mega thanks to all of you for your contributions to the Shawano Message Board -- we passed the (drum-roll please!) 14,000th posting last week... one by one they add up!! And do consider posting queries or obits there -- networking is the name of the game!
• HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

• Nancy & Steve Dorsey sent in a DORSEY-WILSDON DESCENDANCY PAGE-- thanks so much and hope other researchers make contact with you regarding the Dorsey line.
• Gloria Schroeder sent in the Shawano High Junior Prom 1939 Booklet pictures... scroll to the middle of the page for the links... Many thanks, Gloria!
• Paul, the archivist from St. James added a nother item to the St. James Lutheran in Shawano --  a 1924 School Diploma.  Thanks, Paul!
• Matthew Otto has taken Elias Lutheran Cemetery under his wing and has done a GREAT job of photographing and updating the Elias page.   And for the hard-to-read-headstones, Matthew went back and retook the pics using an enhancing medium... We're still working on this and hopefully it'll be done shortly -- meanwhile, pardon the construction dust!  Mega thanks, Matthew!

And that's about it for this time... Anne

• Paul, the archivist at St. James Lutheran in Shawano has been very generous and has been scanning in items for the site.  The page is under construction at present but you can preview it while it takes form.  Again, MEGA THANKS to Paul for the history and items -- I've learned quite a bit from this excellent resource at St. James!
• Old Time Diseases and Illnesses...When reading obituaries and death certificates, we occasionally encounter a disease or cause of death that is referred to as something else present day... like "consumption" is actually tuberculosis, "lagrippe" is influenza, etc.
• SURNAME - Heidtke has been added -- thanks Cheri Hietpas.  Cheri is the great grand daughter of Ethel Heidtke Peterson - daughter of Susan and Henry Heidtke. 
• Our Research Language Helps page now has Czechoslovakian added to the German & Norwegian Helps Lists... Swedish & Polish to follow soon...
• Alexandra Goldberg sent this in an email to me -- it was another request I had made while looking for some records, but the resource MIGHT be something someone else can use... GREAT RESOURCE as they did a super job! 
  www.italiangen.org/. This group indexed all (not just the Italian) vital records for Brooklyn and Manhattan from 1891-1948 and they have other interesting databases for NYC. Another good resource is www.jgsny.org and www.jewishgen.org. JewishGen hosts the Austria-Chech SIG and Romania SIG, if they want help in researching the old country.
• And here's the challenge for YOU this next month... I know how busy we all get and I also know how we spend time looking for a certain tidbit of genealogy info and how THRILLED we are when we find it online. Hence, the popularity of the Shawano GenWeb site.  The challenge for each of our visitors this next month (July) is: contribute an obituary or a Family Group Record to the site.  Obits are pretty easy and you can send them to the Message Boards or to me for posting.  Family Group Records OR a Pedigree Chart will help others locate you and the lines you are researching.  Not feeling particularly generous with the family info?  You don't need to send it ALL in... just 1 family on a Family Group Record... and it doesn't have to be the main line you are researching... just 1 family in your genealogy... your grandfather's brother or sister would be GREAT!... Visit the Family Records Page to see how easy it is!

Til next time... and HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!
 

OK, back to business here -- NEW this week are the following:

• More unidentified photos... email me if you know who they might be.
• Elm Lawn Cemetery in Maple Grove has been added...
• A while back I made a German Genealogical Cheat Sheet online... this week I've added a Norwegian one and I'm working on Swedish, Canadian French & Czech... hopefully they'll be done soon... and someday, even a Polish one... see, with a last name like Czaplewski, I can say this and still be politically correct!  LOL... my knowledge of Polish is considerably less than German but I get requests all the time to read Polish documents -- I have GREAT CHEAT SHEETS!

And, I'm also looking for information on the Gresham Alexian Brothers Novitiate... I have seen the newspaper copies up at Wisconsin Historical but if anyone has additional info as far as history & use prior to 1974, etc. email me -- I'd love to post it.

Til next week...
 

• New "old photos" of Bonduel added to the BCA web page.
• And another one of our latest finds was a 1948 TIGER YEARBOOK  from Tigerton High School... great history of Tigerton compiled by one of the students.
• Updates on the Surname Page and please check to see if your surnames are listed and that your email is correct & current.  Also added: PAISER -- Thanks Michael!
• VORPAHL headstones added to St. Martin's Cemetery, Belle Plaine -- Thanks, Andrea Rai
• Updated CEMETERIES: John Stacy Memorial aka Native American in Wittenberg and Elm Lawn in Maple Grove Twp - Rose Lawn.
• The  Henry Siebert/Clara Culver Siebert Family Reunion will be held at the city park in Gillett on July 26th, 2008. We meet at noon for a potluck dinner.  Bring your own drinks and eating utensils.  Coffee is provided.  If you have any questions contact Karen Hoffman Craig at  rcraig@tds.net
• A while back when I worked at the genealogy library, one of my staff gave this to me...

  Genealogists Anonymous
  Twelve Steps to Recovery

  1. Admit that you are powerless over genealogy and that your life has become impossible since you cannot remember the names of your spouse and/or children.

  2. Honor thy parents TODAY only.

  3. Honor thy grandparents ONLY if they're still trout fishing, reading whodunits or baking cookies.

  4. Read no obituaries but thine own.

  5. Answer no queries about your ancestry. (You may, however, swing into appropriate action if someone calls you an unkind name.)

  6. Live each day one day at a time.

  7. Rid your premises of calendars, diaries, newspapers, histories, AND THAT FAMILY BIBLE.

  8.Promise you will NEVER AGAIN thumb through phone directories in strange towns looking for the maiden names of your mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, great grandmother, etc.

  9. When approached by someone asking if you have a cousin in Podunk, RUN, DO NOT WALK, TO THE NEAREST EXIT.

  10. Promise never to approach within one mile of any computer which has been loaded with P.A.F.

  11. Take up yoga or the piccolo.

  12. Resolve to offer help and encouragement through Genealogists Anonymous whenever you recognize in your friends that characteristically glassy microfiche stare.

AND, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

If you are going to be in the Shawano area on June 22, here's a link to BRUNCH ON THE FARM.  If you scroll down the page, you will see that the various counties all over the state promote a breakfast on the farm day...

And to pay tribute to all those Shawano County Farms, I've added the 1960 Shawano Plat Maps.  I truly enjoyed working with these and I know you will as well.  These were not published by the Rockford Map Co. and are not covered by their copyright-- I have Rockford's 1960 map book as well.

New this time:

• Jade sent in info to update Colin & Clorie Angie Mayville's home page -- also, she sent in 2 GREAT Shawano High School Basketball pics from 1918 - 1919 -- and we are looking for the NAMES of the team members... nice good looking group of young men -- they just need to be identified... quite possibly they are your fathers or grandfathers!
• A few days back, I was bidding on an eBay item and I was outbid -- I asked the winner if he would send a scan in for the Shawano site and he graciously did.  Many thanks to Allen J. Post for being a "kindred spirit" to the Shawano GenWeb site... it's one of the nicest detailed pics of the Wittenberg Academy INSIDE that I have seen.
• Cute Joke of the Day... 
  Old Photos...
       Curious when I found two black-and-white negatives in a drawer, I had them made into prints. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were of a younger, slimmer me, taken on one of my first dates with my husband.
       When I showed him the photos, his face lit up. "Wow, look at that!" he said with appreciation. "It's my old Plymouth!"
• A new arrival to the internet genealogy scene -- http://www.gumshoegenealogy.com/ Not much up there yet but that might very well have been said of ancestry.com "In the beginning..." If you run across any other favorites or new sites, let us know!

Til next time... Anne
 

"Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure"
-Abraham Lincoln

Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed each year to commemorate American servicemen and women who died in battle. It was established by General John Logan, the head of the organization Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). Logan designated Memorial Day (then called Decoration Day) for decorating and caring for the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers. It is speculated that he choose to observe Memorial Day at the end of May because flowers are in bloom all over the country.

New this week is the 1902 - 1903 PRE-1907 Marriage Index -- about 800+ names...

SURNAME: Added SINGER - researched by Debra Singer-Hanson

And from the Shawano Leader this week... we'd like to pay tribute to the LIVING TREASURES as well...

Six seniors honored as treasures

By Joan Sousek, Leader Correspondent

They might not hear well or walk quickly, but their volunteer spirits shine brightly. They are the 2008 Living Treasures of Shawano County: Robert and Lois Kroenke, Joan Allen, Fred Bowersock, Cecile Engel and Wallace Heling.

On Tuesday as part of Older Americans Month, the county recognized them at an awards ceremony.

In her welcome, Shawano County Aging and Disability Resource director Bonnie Weyers said, “They are rich in experience and most deserving of our respect.”

About 40 friends, family, staff members and former honorees attended the seventh annual Living Treasures event.

Weyers noted 5,760 hours of volunteer service were logged to support Shawano County programs for seniors and people with disabilities in 2007. The six honorees were among those who gave generously of their time.

For the first time, a couple was honored because they had been a “team all their married life,” the program noted.

Robert and Lois Kroenke

The Kroenkes grew up in rural Shawano. After running a successful carpentry business, they served as Lutheran missionaries from 1965 to 1971, mostly teaching people in New Guinea how to build structures. Later, they traveled the United States building churches with Laborers for Christ. On the road, they wrote “Letters from New Guinea.” They also helped build a church in Haiti, then retired for a second time returning to Shawano in 2001. Here, they have been involved with Habitat for Humanity and spent 900 hours helping to build the new St. Jakobi Church.

Wallace Heling

Heling is active in AARP Chapter 186, organizing card parties for many years. Until his osteoporosis became debilitating, he and his wife, Charlene, sang at nursing homes. They also are active at St. John, Hermansfort. Wally serves on the steering committee for the Wolf River Lutheran High School and is a member of the Senior Citizens Commission. They say they are sometimes tired, but never bored and keep busy raising toy poodles and keep busy raising toy poodles and staying involved with family and friends.

Wally, a two-time cancer survivor, said, “I just enjoy doing things for others. I didn’t expect to get recognized. You get the best feeling helping others.”

Fred Bowersock

Bowersock thought it was a joke when he received a call about the honor.

“I thought my kids were playing a prank on me,” he said.

He grew up poor in Ohio, graduating from high school and then working in the railroad industry for 32 years. After retiring in 1996, he and his wife, Lucy, who is from north of Bowler, moved to Gresham. He volunteers regularly at Gresham School where he has been a guest reader, basketball coach, and volleyball supporter. But it doesn’t end there, his daughter Christy said. “If there is a need, he is there.”

Joan Allen

Much of Allen’s volunteer work has been with AARP and St. John Episcopal Church. During the mid 1970s, she drove the first bus for seniors and for many years helped deliver meals to the elderly, taking a personal interest in their welfare. For over 20 years, she has worked at the Civic Center still putting in a full, five-day week, even after funding for her position was cut. She is known for her vast knowledge of the community and ability to remember every senior’s name and personal history.

Cecile Engel

For 26 years, Engel has been helping with funeral meals at her church and is involved in quilting for missions at St. James. Very active in AARP, she served two terms on the board of directors, works on the chapter newsletter and at card parties and membership meetings. She’s been a volunteer at the Civic Center for 20 years, served on the Senior Citizens Commission and on the city election board. She lives at Elizabeth Manor, where she serves on the tenants’ council, helps her neighbors and plays sheephead with special tenants. She also belongs to three card clubs.

“I’m just an old lady trying to stay out of a rocking chair,” she quipped.

Have a SAFE weekend!
Til next time... Anne

• Kolinda D. Jetty-Guerin sent in a beautiful collection of CRAW FAMILY photos which includes a lovely 1908 Wedding Invitation.  Many thanks!
• Rick Raasch sent in a booklet from 1926 Peterson School in Navarino -- very nice addition to the site!
• Kathy F. sent in two MARVELOUS COMMENCEMENT PROGRAMS!  So we made a page for ALL local commencement programs, etc. -- this, too is a great addition to the site and we look forward to adding more of these as they are found & sent in.
• I recently found access to look-ups in the Chicago Tribune -- current to way, way back.  So if your email box seemed bombarded this past weekend, my apologies -- but I "make hay while the sun shines" so I found as many as I could and posted them.  I was very much surprised as to the amount of obits that reflect back to Shawano County from Chgo.  They are all posted on the Shawano Message Board.
• I rec'd this email from Joe with the Shawano County Volunteers Project -- as some of you may remember, Darlene Heller was very instrumental with the Bonduel Community Archives and has now been asked to work on the Shawano Historical Society project... and they can use VOLUNTEERS in the Shawano County area...Great chance to work with some great folks on a great project!  The contact info is at the bottom of the note.
  
  Shawano County Historical Society is looking for volunteers who wish to help us preserve and display the historical roots of Shawano County.  Located on the channel between Shawano Lake and the Wolf River,  Heritage Park houses the Historical Research Center, the Kast House, a log  building, school house and other buildings which display examples of Shawano's history. 
  
  We need volunteers year round with skills or interests in archive work, public relations, fundraising, gardening, building and ground maintenance.  We also need volunteers who could give tours and presentations to the public. We need volunteers with enthusiasm and creativity to make our museum and research/archive area come alive with history! 
  
  We need gardeners and docents immediately to get ready for our summer season.
  
  Contact Darlene Heller or Rich Hoffman at 526 3323 for more information
  Heritage Park is located at 524 N. Franklin St. Shawano, WI  54166

Stockbridge-Munsee Page updated - thanks for letting me know the links weren't working!

NEW ADDRESS:  A few weeks back, I posted a note that we were going to a new domain.  Wisconsin GenWeb now has its own domain and the Shawano website is making the move there.  The new address will be

http://wigenweb.org/shawano/

Meanwhile, we will keep the old page up and running where it is and HOPEFULLY we'll just be updating this page with the new info at the above address shortly.  So update your book marks!  THANKS!

*** HELP! I made every effort to SMOOTHLY move the web pages to the new site but occasionally I run across a glitch.  If you see a page or graphic that didn't make the move to the new domain, email me and let me know which page it was so I can correct the problem.  Mega Thanks!

NEW COLLECTION at the Bonduel Archives... I spoke last weekend with Marge at the Archive and she mentioned a NEW ADDITION -- a collection of old glass negatives was located in an attic in the Bonduel area.  These belonged to Waldo Krueger, an area photographer.  The collection has been printed and the 500+ photographs consist of weddings, children portraits and even family portraits from approx. 1908 - 1912.  About 75% have been identified and all are on display at the Bonduel Community Archives.  I'm personally hoping for just one Blaese photo to be in the collection!  If you are in the area, this Archive is what I call "one of Shawano County's Best Kept Secrets"!  Be sure to check it out!

Received:  
My wife (who is a Wagli descendent) and I are searching for information on the Wagli's who settled in Milwaukee and Shawano Co., Wis.  In particular we believe that Hans Wagli died in Shawano Co. In September 1853, he emigrated with his unmarried children, Anna Maria, Anna, Catharina and Christian to North America eventually ending up in WI.  Have information on the Swiss family as well.  
Thank you   Lyndon Gabriel Vancouver, WA 

And HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Anne

Dorene Lemke Boettcher has identified one of the 1931 Cecil Volunteer Fire Dept. Training -- #6 is Ruben Schmidt -- thanks!

Lois Jensen sent in an updated DESCENDANTS OF CARL OTTO -- thanks again for a well documented chart!

SURNAMES: Falk, Kohn, Erdmann, Borchardt & Kempford by Ann Hayworth ;
NYKIEL & SIWEK by Colleen Dobrzynski

Casey Arrowood sent in 2 marvelous photos of what possibly might be baby pictures Dora Kroening Klosterman -- Casey would appreciate anyone familiar with the Kroening or Klosterman families to take a look and see if these are indeed Baby Dora.  Thanks Casey for the beautiful baby pics!

Jade sent in two photos of her ancestor's Colin & Clorie Angie Mayville's home... we're hoping that someone can identify WHERE it is and if it is still standing today.

And we have another UNKNOWN WEDDING PHOTO -- Lisa was kind enough to send this in as a welcomed addition to the Shawano site... and be sure to check out the bride's very detailed wedding dress!

Til next time...

Anne

SURNAMES: Towle in Birnamwood 1885 - 1950s / Suehring (Suhring), Kraemer, Steinke and Wolff

A while back, I found a TERRIFIC POSTCARD of the 1931 Cecil Volunteer Fire Dept. Training at Camp Tivoli in the Cecil / Shawano Lake area.  I enlarged the photo scan and I'm hoping with some keen expert eyes from the Cecil area, that we'll be able to identify the men in the picture.   These quite possibly might be fathers & older brothers of some of our Cecil area elders.  What caught my interest, besides the very cool picture, was that it was mailed to my Mother's cousin while he was away in the military.

And, also a while back, Darren Mueller sent in 3 old photos from RPPC's.  He's researched one and has concluded it may be Jake & Mary Pettibone and the other two are area post offices.  If you can help identify these pics, we'd greatly appreciate it!  And thanks again Darren for the great addition to the site.

Til next time...
Anne

THANKS! J. T. Sobiesczyk has indexed the 1920 Seneca Twp Plat Map...

And on a sad note, we'd like to extend to Barb Brady our deepest sympathies at the loss of her husband Don earlier this week.  Barb has been a great friend to all of us at Shawano GenWeb and has helped hundreds of people with look-ups and providing obituaries, etc. for the Shawano site.  Barb, take care & our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Til next time...
Anne

And here's the latest updates:

• Wisconsin Formation Map -- thanks Brian for the great link.  You can see the order in which the Wisconsin Counties were organized.
• Gary Wegner sent in Bertha WEGNER nee Maas -- beautiful portrait of Bertha, daughter of William Maas.  Thanks, Gary!
• THANKS! J. T. Sobiesczyk has indexed the 1920 Grant Twp Plat Map... Many thanks because indexing these maps makes it possible for people to locate their families using the Pico Search Engine in the site.  Without indexing, the search engine sees the map as a picture without names.  (And we have plenty that still need someone to index!)
• And we're adding PASSENGER SHIP PICTURES to our Immigration Page.  Even if your ancestors are not listed on the page, but you would like a picture of the ship on the page, just email me...
• And, we updated the SURNAME  Page as well...
• Milton Binon has been identified on our 1935 Pulcifer School Photo Page -- Many Thanks!! Just 4 more to go!!!

Til next time...
Anne

Started a new page about immigration -- this is SHAWANO COUNTY PASSPORT INDEX.  I tripped across this data while searching for another lead I was working on and thought it would be nice to put in the site -- just another form of record that might exist on your ancestor.

And HAPPY EASTER!!!
Anne

IMMIGRATION PAGE has been updated to add a few more names and also, I'm working on adding the actual images of the Passenger Lists that these folks are listed on...and we'll be adding photographs of the Passenger Ships as well.

Til next time... and Happy St. Paddy's Day!
Anne

BEVERSDORF - KRUEGER Photos ( Richmond-Belle Plaine) were sent in by Tom Strauss.

Surnames HAUGEN (HOGAN) & BENJAMINSEN (BENSON) and their immigration data from Norway was added to our IMMIGRATION DATA PAGE by Jane Rollin.

The Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University in Provo has a LARGE DIGITAL ARCHIVE that is online and searchable... You type in "Shawano" in the search engine in the BYU site and every book that has been scanned that has the WORD Shawano in it appears -- and then the next screen will take you to the exact pages... Absolutely WONDERFUL!!!  There are quite a few books up their pertaining to Shawano County, including awesome biographies of the early Norwegian settlers in the Landstad area... The Mormon church is making every effort to get as much of their materials online and FREE for researchers worldwide--i.e. the FamilySearchIndexing Project.  Last week when I spoke to Salt Lake FHL, they were THRILLED they had set an all-time 1 day record of 24,000+ SHEETS of data transcribed on one specific day -- eventually, they will have these documents indexed, and when you type in "Frank TAYLOR" not only will you see the index, but the ACTUAL SCANNED in document, too!  Will keep you posted as to how the projects are progressing...  It would be AWESOME to have Shawano researchers actually transcribing the Shawano 1900 Census.  We'd be sure to get those old German surnames spelled correctly!!!  The site is currently on Marinette County indexing... just a couple counties to go til we do Shawano!

Hope your Labor Day weekend is going great -- weather here is spectacular!!!

Til next time -- Drive careful this weekend! -- Anne

If you have been following the BAEHR (or BAHR) 1891 newspaper clipping, we've found out additional info, thanks to Barb, our local genealogy P.I.  -- she's VERY GOOD -- did I ever mention she is VERY GOOD???? (grin).  Wilhelmina BAEHR is released on a Governor's Pardon for a crime she did not commit in 1907, the murder of Mr. BAEHR's ex-father-in-law, Michael SELL or ZELL.  Shortly afterwards, she marries the widower Christof DRUCKREY of Pulcifer.  We are currently trying to put the pieces of the story together -- she had one son with Mr. BAEHR that survived -  Albert.  Still looking for the BAEHR children from Mr. BAEHR's first marriage.  If you have any additional info, please contact me.  Thanks in advance.

And be sure to post your QUERIES, OBITUARIES, PENSION FILES, WILLS, etc. to our Message Board -- if you prefer, you can send them to me and I can post them for you.  Mega thanks to Tasha for her daily updates to the Message Board with local obits -- we're now at 12,660 individual messages! (This is where I go when I'm looking for more info on Shawano ancestors...)

Working on a family history and not sure how to get it online and to preserve it for safe-keeping?  Send us a copy and we'll put it online -- that way, if your computer crashes, etc., it's tucked away safely on the Shawano site.

Well, til next time...
Anne

• While I was browsing the web the other night looking for stray obits, I came across an article that caught my eye in the Trenton Evening Times -- the article about a Shawano resident made the national newspaper wires -- I transcribed it from the newspaper and posted it to the Shawano Message Board -- if anyone knows "the rest of the story", I'd love to add it.  I'm curious as to what eventually happened to Wilhelmina & her child...
  
  Trenton Evening Times -- Trenton, New Jersey
  September 9, 1907
   
  Child-Wife’s Life is Spoiled by Greed of Her Aged Husband
   
  Madison, Wisconsin September 9 -- After serving 16 years in State's prison one half of her life, Mrs. Wilhelmina Baehr is at liberty by the pardon of the governor.
   
  She entered prison of girl wife ignorant of the law - unable to speak English.  She left it a broken faded woman.  Half of her life had been sacrificed to the greed of a husband old enough to have been her grandfather.
   
  In 1891 Wilhelmina came to Wisconsin from Germany.  She was then scarcely 15 years old.  Her parents took a farm in the woods in Shawano County and a few months afterward she married a widower named Baehr because her parents told her to.
   
  Baehr was 25 or 30 years her senior and had children older than she.  He was known as a grasping man willing to do anything to get money. Wilhelmina became his household drudge.
   
  One night a traveler Michael Sells stopped at the Baehr home for the night.  Apparently he had money.  The greed of the old man Baehr was excited and he resolved to put Sells out of the way.  Accordingly he told Wilhelmina to put poison in the food she gave Sells for supper and he died the next day.  Baehr put the whole blame on his child wife and she was arrested.  When her trial was called, her husband advised her to plead guilty telling her that if she did so she would escape with a light sentence in jail.
   
  The girl did as she was told.  Instead of giving her a light jail sentence the judge sentenced her to State’s prison for life.  Even then she did not realize how great her punishment was to be and on that day that she was taken to prison she told her friends she would be back in seven months.
   
  Soon after she entered the State penitentiary her husband committed suicide driven to it,  it is claimed by remorse for his act in compelling his wife to poison Sells.
   
  After Baehr’s death, the case of the girl-wife and the State penitentiary was forgotten and she was left without friends.  Two weeks ago several wealthy and influential citizens of Oconto County interested themselves in her behalf and a petition for her pardon reciting the facts of the case, was laid before Governor Davidson.  He investigated for himself and became convinced that justice had been satisfied.  Hence her pardon.
   
  Transcriber’s note: the 1900 Federal Census and the 1905 State Census lists Wilhelmina BAEHR as an inmate/convict at the Waupun Prison in Dodge County.  The 1900 census says that she was born Sept. 1865 and was a widow – she had been married only 2 ½ years, but it lists her as having had 2 children with 1 living in 1900… her maiden name is possible BREHMER, daughter of Carl & Wilhelmine but this is just an assumption….
• Remember to add your surnames to our SURNAME PAGE -- and if yours are already there, remember to UPDATE your email address if it changed recently, allowing other researchers with the same family name to be able to connect with you.
• Added a page that explains the BONDUEL COMMUNITY ARCHIVES resource.  Not the official BCA page, but it does give a little more information about what I consider to be one of Shawano's Best Kept Secrets for genealogists!  And it's just not BONDUEL records -- they cover Advance, Briarton, Cecil, Landstad, Navarino, Zachow, and surrounding areas. They also offer some GREAT BOOKS in their bookstore that are available at the BCA or can be purchased through the mail!  See the site for the list in pdf form.
• I recently came across a 1935 Pulcifer Graded School Picture - Grades 1-4 -- Miss Mabel Koske's class.  Miss Koske meticulously numbered each child and then added the names to the corresponding numbers.  There are 4 children that the complete name is missing so if you can identify them, email me so we can update the page.

Til next time...
Anne
 

Have a great summer!
Anne

Thanks to Tasha's keen eye (and willingness to start driving to local church buildings) to help identify our UNIDENTIFIED STEEPLE RAISING -- the church is St. John's UCC in Cecil -- across the street from my grandparent's house!!!  Tasha found it on her first stop!  If you compare it to the pic on the St. John's UCC page, it is definitely the same building, MINUS the steeple in the picture.

Tom and Mary Strauss have added the following new surnames to our SURNAME PAGE:

Gary Lloyd Pegelow sent in a detailed Family Record - Ancestors of AUGUST MELCHERT and Descendants of August Melchert -- thanks, Gary!

And thanks to Sue Ebert for the great addition to the church histories.  St. Paul Lutheran in Bonduel is building a new church adjacent to the school -- the new church is almost completed and in honor of the cherished old building, the church members put together a History of St. Paul Lutheran booklet.  I've added a webpage for it and hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!  It lists the different changes made to the church itself -- it consists of 16 very well-written pages, my only comment is that I wish they would have had made it 100 pages instead!!

Til next time... Anne

Received the following emails from researchers:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"The information provided below is certainly subject to revision by person or persons wiser than myself and certainly by those who know better.

My grandfather, Magnus Albert Benjaminsen (son) later to be known as Benson, was born 6 April, 1862 in Bronnoysund Parish (Velfjord), Nordland, Norway.
He immigrated to Waukechon Township, Shawano, Wisconsin on  or about 28 July 1888.  IN ALL LIKELIHOOD HIS TICKET AND THAT OF HIS WIFE Julie STFFENSDATTER AND THEIR CHILD (CHILDREN) WAS PAID FOR BY A GENTLEMAN NAMED PAULSON WHO WAS MARRIED TO MY GRANDFATHERS OLDER SISTER.  Julie died on 9 March, 1891 at Lunds is Shawano.  On 3 FEB. 1894 MY GRANDFATHER (with child/children) married HERMINA JOSEPHINE IVERSON on 3 FEBRUARY 1894.

Shortly thereafter they moved to Pensaukee? and then Peshtigo.  My father, Dewey P. Benson was born in Peshtigo and he married my mother, Lilian L. Oseth, who was born in Marinette, Wisconsin.

I hope this is of some small help and I hope that some of your readers may be able to clarify some of this little information that I have on my family.

Thank you for all that you do,
Best wishes,
Ken Benson"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Surnames being researched by Colleen Dobrzynski are SWITEK, NICHOL, NYKIEL, NICKLE, NICKEL and SKOMRA from the Angelica Twp area -- 1900 - 1930.

• 1930 Federal Census for Angelica Township - (1500+ names)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And here's where I need your expertise this week... A few years back, I collected some postcards from the Bonduel area.  Some had names on them, some did not.  Having attended St. Paul's in Bonduel my entire childhood, I was 100% sure I had a post card of St. Paul Lutheran in Bonduel -- their steeple raising about 1915/1916 -- up until I saw a booklet of St. Paul's History that a dear friend sent me... Now, I'm wondering what church is on the postcard!  I'm attaching the link below and I'm hoping one of our building experts out there can solve the mystery.  It is not Frieden's Slab City -- any suggestions are GREATLY appreciated!

UNIDENTIFIED STEEPLE RAISING

Til next time,
Anne

Latest additions:

• 1910 Indian Census - Ho-Chunk (1200+names)
  Census of the Winnebago Indians of the Wittenberg Agency taken on June 30  1910 by E. J. Bost  Superintendent
• 1930 Federal Census - Maple Grove Twp. (1400+names)
• Looking for NATURALIZATION or CITIZENSHIP RECORDS for Shawano County?  The original Shawano County records are housed at the Cofrin Library at UWGB -- they are not in Shawano County any more.  Cofrin Library at UWGB is the Area Research Center for Northeastern Wisconsin which houses these documents for Shawano County 1858 - 1949.  They will search their records and send you a copy of the documents they have for $5.00.  Hey, $5.00 doesn't even get you a meal at McDonald's anymore...lol... I personally prefer this avenue to obtaining the records as the archivists are very thorough and you know that they won't come back to you with additional postage and copying charges or try to sell you other services that you might not need or cannot afford.  This is quick and easy -- fill out the form, send the $5 for each person you are requesting records for and they will mail the results to you... doesn't get any better than this folks!  This is where I found my ancestor's immigration papers several years back... The following is a pdf form that you can print, fill out and mail.  TIP: If the surname is spelled several ways, you can include that information to help the Archivists find your documents.  i.e. LAEDTKE was spelled Ludtke, Ledtke, Ladke, etc.

  CITIZENSHIP RECORD SEARCH AND COPY REQUEST FORM

  Til next time -- stay cool...

  Anne

• Old World Naming Patterns lists naming patterns that were used by our ancestors in choosing names for their children.  Some families followed these, other's improvised... but if you are at a dead end with trying to locate family, this might be of interest...
• We are VERY fortunate to have a copy of the St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Church in Hofa Park (Maple Grove Twp.) Diamond Jubilee Book -- sent in by Mary Schelm.  This is a GREAT history of the Hofa Park area and has an EXCELLENT plat map of Hofa Park.  Thanks, Mary!!!
• And, we have a old KRUEGER FAMILY GERMAN BIBLE looking for a new home with its rightful owners... The Bible belonged to Frank & Minnie (dau. of Ed. KORTH & Anna KLUG) KRUEGER...the couple married just before 1900 in the Embarrass area and later family members resided in Richmond Twp.  The couple had 5 children: Leonard, Emil, Paul, Franklin and Alma.  If this is your family -- you are in luck!! Email me with the information identifying this as your family.  The Bible is in an Archive right now and will remain there until the proper owners can be found.

And have a HAPPY and SAFE 4th of JULY!!
Til next time.. Anne

This week we've "launched" a new page for IMMIGRATION... "They Came in Ships" includes 2 pages -- the first has hints and tips on Passenger Lists, Emigration and Immigration Research and the second page is where you can add your surnames and immigration information -- and thanks to the "pioneers" who have already sent in their data!  Since county borders changed over the years and people moved freely from the neighbouring counties in/out of Shawano, we've extended the database to include the neighbouring counties as well.

Til next time... Anne

• Updated CHURCH PHOTO PAGE... be sure to send in a pic in of your church if we don't already have it online!
• Paul, from St. James in Shawano sent the following info in:
  Note from Paul (5/2007):
  Our earliest records (St. James) go back to 1873 and before.  The original baptismal and marriage records for the very first years of the congregation have been transcribed and reside at the Bonduel Archive thanks to Darlene Heller and her crew. 
  Thanks for the update, Paul!
• Added 2 new pages to our POSTCARD PAGE
• SURNAMES ADDED: WIRTZ, WILT, RADES
• Gary Pegelow has updated his BONNIN FAMILY PAGE... Gary has done a most thorough job and if you have BONNIN connections, be sure to check it out.
• Calyn Akstulewicz sent in more AWESOME pictures of VINTAGE LEOPOLIS -- many thanks, Calyn!  And some could use your expertise to help identify them for Calyn.
• Did some "routine housekeeping" on the Cemeteries page -- linked the Jung Cemetery in Herman Twp (thanks, Dave) and also St. Lawrence in Navarino Twp.  And thanks Eugene for the email regarding it.

NEW PAGE STARTING -- I've been "tossing this one around" (bad pun!) for about 2 years now... one of the best attended classes/seminars I used to teach was "They Came in Ships" and seeing that most of our Shawano County ancestors did come in ships, I'm working on a page that will list hints and tips, as well as WHERE SOME OF OUR ANCESTORS CAME FROM... and for this part, I need your input.  If your ancestors immigrated to the US and settled in Shawano County, drop me an email with the following:

• FIRST and LAST NAME
• WHERE THEY CAME FROM (if they came from Germany, Norway, etc. and if you know the province or town, GREAT! Otherwise, Germany, Norway, etc. will suffice)
• YEAR THEY ARRIVED
• SHIP'S NAME (if you know it)
• EXAMPLE:
  Carl & Henrietta BLAESE and their family immigrated to North America from Pommern, Germany.  They were onboard the SS Frisia 26 March 1884 Hamburg, Germany to NYC.
• Send the email to me at: czaplewska@aol.com

And until next time ..... Anne
 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  While the official start of summer and Opening Day with the BBQ Grill is important and let's not forget the Indy 500, let's take a few minutes to remember the real reason for Memorial Day.  Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves.  I received a great email late last night from a VFW member from the Gresham area and I just wanted to post a few good links to help bring Memorial Day back into this three day weekend.

• HELP RESTORE MEMORIAL DAY
• Veterans of Foreign Wars
• Wisconsin: Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865
• World War II Registry Online -- here you can view/search names and also add your WWII veteran's name and hometown, etc.
• THE POPPY STORY
• Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs Memorial Day Page

And here's a page that we had completed but the search engine did not locate.. thanks Eugene for calling this to our attention...

• Immanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery, Caroline, Wisconsin - est. 1864. -- thanks Mark & Eugene!

New this update are:

• DESCENDANTS OF CARL OTTO was sent in by Lois Jansen.  Lois has done a great job with sending in a beautiful wedding photo, the wedding invitation, the land patent of Carl Otto and a detailed DESCENDANCY CHART of Carl OTTO & his bride Dorothea APPLE -- the family resided in Herman Twp. in the Gresham area -- thanks so very much, Lois!  Lois also cleaned up the 1911 Red Springs/Herman Twp. Plat Map for us (VERY NICELY DONE!) and has included the following link to a very interesting article: Lois writes: The article "Lyndhurst and the Coming of the Railroad" by my cousin Vicki Buettner is online.
• LOOK-UP OFFER: Determined to use my subscription to the max up at ancestry.com, I'm offering to do look-ups in the 1895 and 1905 STATE census -- the 1895 just lists the head of household, but the 1905 lists EVERYONE... email me at czaplewska@aol.com with your wish list...
• SUCCESS IN IDENTIFYING OLD PHOTOS -- I received this great email from Audrey: 
  
  I find the most useful information from the obituaries my grandmother saved, which is filled with family background or I would have no other way of knowing. As far as the photos, #1 by A. F. Andrews - Jonathan Waite Curtis, who married Lydia Jane Lake in 1852.  They had three children, Henry Adelbert (my great-grandfather), Myrtle May (Yvonne's grandmother) and Clinton D. Curtis. Photo #3 - Yvonne is correct in the assumption it is her grandmother, Myrtle Curtis Gjermundson, in the middle.  Her brother, Henry Adelbert Curtis is on the right and his wife (my great-grandmother) Eoline Calhoun Curtis. I don't know the next two photos although I believe I have copies of them also.  The photo of the six children are from the family of Ray and Grace (Buck) Curtis.  Ray is the son of H. A. and Eoline Curtis, along with a brother Don and sisters, Maude Curtis Fink and Roberta Curtis Christensen (my grandmother). I believe the children to be the first of 13 children born to Ray and Grace; namely, Muriel, Duane (Wayne), Clifford, Kenneth, Beatrice and Laverne. I cannot identify anyone in the final photo either. I do have much more information on the Curtis family but would not know where to start with the history. I would like to hear from Yvonne, if possible, since I remember her and her brother, Billy, from when we were children, and her lovely mother, Delilah, and father, Sprague, who I remember as being an artist. If you need more information, I will try to provide it to you. 
  Sincerely, Audrey Christensen Nelson
• Donna Lipper is researching BOMKE and SCHEIL in Belle Plaine Twp and sent the following information on church records:

  The 1911 & 1920 Plat maps for Belle Plaine, in section 16 indicate a church.  The old church was near the current Friendship Rd and Hwy 22.  I found out that the church was called Friedens Lutheran Church and that the old church records were transferred to Christus Lutheran Church, 120 N. Main St., Clintonville, Wi.  54929.  The original records are in a safe, but they have photocopies that they will let you search through.
  Hope this helps,
  Donna

And thanks so much for the feedback on the pdf file question -- since MOST people can access it easily and "It's a good thing", I'll be posting data in pdf files when possible.  I will also try to post the same info in jpeg or gif (what we currently do) because some of the feedback from dial-up researchers commented that larger pdf's cause their systems to lock-up or freeze.  If you have any problems viewing any of the Shawano pages, just email me and I'll try to help!  I try to make the website USER FRIENDLY and EASILY ACCESSIBLE and if there is a problem, I'd like to know so I can address the issue.

Again, thanks and HAPPY MOM'S DAY!!!
Anne

• Surname HAYES is being researched by Margaret Kennedy -- Specifically Julius Hayes. The area of Hutchins from about 1880-1925.
• PRE-1907 MARRIAGE INDEX is online and complete for years 1904 & 1905.  This is an ongoing project and earlier years will be added...
• Calyn Akstulewicz sent in some AWESOME pictures of VINTAGE LEOPOLIS -- many thanks, Calyn!
• ASCENSION LUTHERAN CEMETERY in Navarino Twp. has finally made the site...

• History of Pulaski from newspaper clippings
• BOMKE CEMETERY - aka BELLE PLAINE CEMETERY updated by Donna Lipper -- Thanks, Donna!
• PRE-1907 MARRIAGE INDEX is online and complete for years 1906 & 1907.  This is an ongoing project and earlier years will be added...
• HAVE A FAMILY REUNION PLANNED FOR THIS SUMMER?  Send us an email with the specifics and we'll post it to the site!!!

A while back, I made some queries to the Shawano Mailing List as to your comments regarding the Circuit Court Indexes.  I had rec'd an email that prompted the query as to your opinions on the addition.  I value your opinions -- each and every one -- and when all were read, the consensus was to keep the webpage up just as it is and that it was an appropriate and valuable addition to the site.  My offer to modify an entry that pertains to your ancestors that you would prefer not to be online, still stands.  I can easily do this and would appreciate you contacting me DIRECTLY at czaplewska@aol.com with your request. 

And I just wanted to say THANKS again for all the thoughtful emails and e-cards that were sent this past week in regards to my Dad's passing -- I truly appreciate each and every one of them.

CLARIFICATION: The Shawano GenWeb Project is not directly affiliated with the Shawano Family History Center.  We refer researchers to the FHC as a resource for their research and thank the staff at the FHC (both past & present) for their contributions to the Shawano GenWeb Project, as we thank ALL the contributors & volunteers to the Shawano GenWeb site.

Thanks again! Anne

• WWII ARMY ENLISTMENTS FROM SHAWANO COUNTY -- 1000+ names
• PRE-1907 DEATH INDEX is online and complete -- 2900+ Names
• PRE-1907 BIRTH INDEX is completed -- 8200+ Names

And remember to post your queries and obits to our MESSAGE BOARD -- and thanks Tasha for updating our Shawano Leader obits daily!

Surname DAMP has been added to our SURNAME page by Dianne Hedervare.  Orville Damp was a physician in Birnamwood about 1930.

PRE-1907 BIRTH INDEX is online for surnames A - H... please note that the spellings are not always correct so you will need to search for variations.  Also, MOST Shawano County Births for this time period were HOME BIRTHS and many did not get reported.

Researcher Tom sent in EXCELLENT information about St. John UCC in Cecil...  I've updated the cemetery page and also we created a page for St. John's UCC -- very interesting church history and again THANKS Tom for a job well done!

1920 PLAT MAP for HUTCHINS TWP is indexed... and we have a few more plats up there that could use volunteer's with some free time to index...

And, several months ago I purchased a 1963 Shawano City Directory on eBay... we posted it in two different ways.  The EXACT page scans are online but, because a page scan is seen as a picture, the search engines will not read the text names that are on the pages.  To allow our search engine to locate the individual names, you either retype or OCR scan the image in -- I opt to OCR (grin).  Optical Character Recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is a type of computer software designed to translate images of typewritten text (usually captured by a scanner) into machine-editable text -- GREAT INVENTION but... it's not 100% and it does have problems with recognizing symbols, etc.  The City Directory pages do have the OCR feature, but it also has mistakes... mostly of symbols.  What I have done is to list the actual scanned page image first and then the text after for each page.  Hence, if you see your surname, go back UP the page to the link (marked with apples!) that will take you to the exact image with the correct entry.  Hard to explain, but once you get to the page, you will understand what I mean... The actual CITY of Shawano is done and online, consisting of about 87 page scans.  The Shawano RURAL ROUTE directory is on deck.  Also, I loved just browsing through the pages and "walking down memory lane"... Senior pics at Trapp Studios, Bilmay Restaurant, Mason's Flower / Greenhouse, shopping at Chaimson's, Spurgeon's, Lauerman's...  ENJOY!

Til next time... Anne

The last few weeks I have been working on a project SHAWANO COURT CASE INDEX.... I debated about adding this large database (approx. 10,000 names) to the site... the PROS: lists mortgage fulfillments, divorces, etc. that is of help in locating ancestors and providing leads to other records.. the CONS: lists a multitude of charges & crimes, etc.  This info is not new to the web -- I actually found it all online -- it is ALL PUBLIC RECORD.  And some of the charges that were made THEN wouldn't cause a person to bat an eye NOW.  Please also keep in mind that divorce in Wisconsin back then required FAULT -- you had to have CAUSE and there were only a handful of acceptable CAUSES -- this seems a little odd to us when we are used to NO FAULT but back then, you had to list the cause.   I opted to list the files with the NOTATION: If you find ANY ENTRY about your ancestor that you would like deleted from the Shawano Court Index page, email me and we'll try to accommodate you.  I can't delete the entry from other databases online nor can I change ANYTHING associated with the case.. this is just an index of cases that were filed DECADES ago... and do keep in mind this is an INDEX OF CASES THAT ARE PUBLIC RECORD -- this does not reflect how the case was resolved or who won the case... it is merely an INDEX.

And, this is an ongoing project -- I just have a few of the pages up and running at present...

If the page has been of benefit to you, email me as I would like to know this in determining if we'll keep the pages online.

ALSO, additional illustrations pages have been added to the 1898 PLAT MAP...

Thanks,  Anne

1912 Class of Lake May School, Town of Hutchins was prepared and sent in by Karolyn Roberts -- her nicely done home page is at:
http://members.surfbest.net/krob/mansson1.htm

Linda sent in some great pictures -- and some are not identified.. yet.  We're hoping you can help with this!
STOGBAUER, FISH, VERNIER, WESTCOTT, & McCORKLE from the Aniwa/ Birnamwood area

SURNAME ADDED: Amber Mehlberg is researching the Surname Bohr.  They immigrated to Shawano County and lived in Waukechon Township in 1881. 

CEMETERY UPDATE: Jenny Hoffman, aka jensearch, has been photographing cemeteries.  Jenny regularly posts these to the www.findagrave.com site and sent us the update on Pella Evangelical Cemetery, now known as Riverbank Cemetery.  We've updated the page and MANY THANKS Jenny for the great job! 

PLAT MAP INDEXED: 1920 Maple Grove -- thanks Mary Schelm.  This truly is a big help as you know, Maple Grove had quite a few Polish surnames... and the plat map had quite a few misspellings...

Til next time.... stay warm!  Anne

Leland Fischer, aka Antigo Genealogy Gopher, compiled a chart of Historical Schools in Shawano County -- we've updated our SCHOOLS page and if you know of the NAMES of these schools, please email me so we can complete the chart.  Thanks Leland for a job well-done!

And, we've also updated the 1930 census project to include an index for PELLA TOWNSHIP -- it'll be online shortly.

Thanks again for all your help and support in making this a great resource for Shawano genealogy researchers...

HAVE A SAFE & HAPPY 2007!

Anne

A BIG THANKS go out to all of the researchers who posted to our MESSAGE BOARD -- we now are over 11,000+ -- BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE.  I rec'd an email from Dave Maas regarding this and I do believe the Shawano Message Board has hit a record in the county boards for Wisconsin!! Thanks to all of you!!! (Quick note for any newcomers -- you must go to the Message Board and search for the name -- the Pico Search in this site DOES NOT search the boards.)  And thanks to Tasha for her patience with posting the Shawano Leader obits to the board -- it was down for a while a few weeks back...

1920 Germania Plat Map has now been indexed by Mary Schelm -- thanks Mary for a great job!!

1920 Bartelme Plat Map is indexed and up & running -- we had a AOL crash here and so I lost the email of the person who sent it in -- please contact me if you sent this!!!

And yes, AOL problems again (sigh!) -- if you sent any emails in the last few months and have not heard back from me, please resend them!!!

Now, back to writing the family newsletter and addressing Christmas cards!!!  Happy Holidays to you and yours!!!

Til next year!!! -- Anne

A BIG THANK YOU to Mikki for all her help with the various look-ups and projects over the past few years (including the 1947 City Directory).  Mikki is taking time off to spend with her family and if you need items looked up at the Shawano Public Library, please visit their direct link for their policies and fees.

The past month has been busy with updating our MAP collection.  The 1898 plats are complete and we've been busy adding photos and the extra little tidbits that are included in the 1898 plats.

And, we've added the following maps:

• 1878 Shawano County Township Map
• 1884 Shawano County Map
• 1889 Shawano County Map
• 1899 Shawano County Railroad Map
• 1904 Shawano County Map

Although they do not show property/ownership (these are not plat maps), they do show the then ever-changing borders with Shawano's neighbouring counties, as well as a few of the town names that no longer exist.

If you haven't checked out the MESSAGE BOARDS recently, do stop up there for a quick check on your surnames.  Tasha keeps us up to date on the current Shawano Leader obits (many thanks Tasha!) and there is plenty of room up there to post YOUR OBITS and QUERIES.  With the thousands of visitors each month to the site, this greatly improves your chances of someone else working on your same lines!  Great opportunity so do take advantage of it.

Til next time...
Anne

We have more unidentified photos -- and gorgeous ones at that!! Please check out Yvonne's CURTIS - GJERMUNDSON Family Page to view them all -- thanks Yvonne for the lovely photos.

Our SHAWANO COUNT MARRIAGE PAGE is being updated with 1939 Marriage Licenses... it's ongoing and we hope to have most of 1939 completed soon.

SURNAME LIST UPDATES:

Chris Lewis Gaffron sent in the following:
Surname: Reiland, Dora 1880-1905, Shawano area Surname: Cleveland, Loal 1880-1905, Shawano area

Lisa Broder sent in:
Surname: BRODER - Shawano Area

Ken Benson sent in:
Benson (Benjaminsen) and Iverson (Everson)  This is my fathers parents who came from Velfjord and Sømna in Nordland, Norway in the late 1800s to Waukechon township, Shawano.

Til next time....

We rec'd the following questions -- if you can help, just email me and we'll post the answer in the next update!

RESEARCHER QUERY: My relatives and I own the building that used to be the Bluebird School House. I am wondering if anyone would have a picture of it when it was the school. (We had several relatives attend there).

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RESEARCHER QUERY:  I am trying to make contact with a descendant of Frank and Effie (CLEVELAND) HITZKE of Shawano Co., WI.  They had the following children:

Louis b. 1890 m. Myrtle FULSHER
Ida b. 1891 m. Walter BERKHAHN
Mark b. 1893 m. Lillian HOPPE
Ethel b. 1895 m. Henry GERONDALE
Hazel b. 1897
Crystal b. 1899

Effie (CLEVELAND) HITZKE was my g.g.grandmother's half-sister.  I would be very interested in sharing and swapping information.

I appreciate any help you can offer!

Karla
inthepastlane@bellsouth.net

Til next time -- Anne

And, I just rec'd this email today regarding Shawano research:
Please post the following question on the Shawano site:  I am looking for relatives of Robert Menning that many have information regarding the marriage of Olga  Gatz Menning  to Charles Archibald.  At the time of Olga's death in 1945 she was living in Minneapolis, MN.  I am also working on information regarding the Gatz/Papke and Matz/Eickstaedt lines.  Both the Gatz's and Matz's lived just outside of Birnamwood, WI.  Relatives of both families still currently live in the Birnamwood and Shawano area.  Pat Menard email:garymenard@earthlink.net

Donna Hance sent in a sketched map of the layout of the Forest Home Cemetery to add to our site -- THANKS, DONNA!  The map is basic but shows where the new graves are as opposed to the older graves, etc.  A nice addition!

SPECIAL THANKS to Myke Rachu for indexing the 1920 Pella Twp. Plat Map for us!! Job well done!!  And we still have more plats available for volunteers to index.

Jenny Hoffman sent in an update to the Roosevelt Cemetery in Gresham -- this was the former LDS Cemetery on the corner of Roosevelt & Campground Roads.  There is also a link on the website to www.findagrave.com where there are pictures of individual headstones for this cemetery -- very nicely done, Jenny!

REUNION!  Rec'd this in the emails and sent it out to the lists but wanted to post it here, too:
There is a Jeske/Rusch reunion June 25, 2006 11:00 a.m. to dark.  It is held at the Shawano athletic park by the children's play equipment.  Bring a dish to pass; coffee, iced tea and water provided.  Bring your own soda and beer; no glass bottles. Plates, napkins and plastic cutlery is also provided.  We eat at noon.  There are books for each family to add info re: births, deaths, address changes, marriages, etc.   I can be reached at 715-623-6329  or email me at nordar@dwave.net.  Thanks. Darlene Schreiber
Good luck, Darlene!

QUESTION:
Is there anyone on this list who lives in Shawano County who might be able to check a local calendar for me?

I understand that the little Norwegian Lutheran Church out in Navarino has a special service once a year around the beginning of July.  My great-grandfather (Rasmus Paulson) was a woodworker who built the steeple, baptismal font & communion rail in the church and is buried in the little cemetery there.  I would like to find out exactly when the service will be taking place as that little church is apparently opened only on this one day during the year.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks...   Linda  geniemamma@yahoo.com

And, last but not least, we've finally got our SUCCESS PAGE up and running.  The page is an opportunity to post some of the GREAT emails I read to the site for the other volunteers as well as other researchers to read.  This will allow you to share your success stories and tips/hints with other researchers allowing them to get fresh ideas and new motivation -- we all need new approaches and ideas to some of our literal DEAD ENDS.  We appreciate our volunteers and this is a great way to let them know what materials/look-ups helped you and how...just email me as usual and let me know you'd like it posted to the SUCCESS PAGE.

Again, til next time... Anne 

Many thanks to Karen (Schlemmer) Baker, Sue & Arlene Ebert for sending in the 1964 - 1965 class photo from St. Paul's in Bonduel.  We have not posted the identities of each person due to privacy issues but have added the pic to our site.  If you have any old class pictures, send them on in and we'd LOVE to post them!!!

WWI Draft Registration Index -- this is an INDEX only for Shawano County.  The actual documents are available online, through microfilm or if your wish list is short, I'll be happy to help out with look-ups.

Not sure what the WWI Draft Registration Index is?  On 6 April 1917, the United States declared war on Germany and officially entered the Great War. Six weeks later, on 18 May 1917, the Selective Service Act was passed, which authorized President Woodrow Wilson to increase the military establishment of the United States during the war. As a result, every male living within the United States between the ages of eighteen and forty-five was required to register for the draft.  Each card lists information regarding the person's birth date, birthplace, citizenship status, personal features (Height/Build/Eyes) and includes the person's signature.  The person did not have to serve in the War in order to be listed and have his information in the Index Cards.

And last but not least, another tip for searching military records: CIVIL WAR records are available from the National Archives.  Here's a link to search for your ancestor: http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/index.html

And if you wish a copy of these records, there are TWO types available -- the service record and the pension record.  The service record tracks the movement of the soldier and his regiment during the war -- the REAL GENEALOGY is in the PENSION RECORD -- here's where you will find marriage and death info of the soldier and/or his spouse/dependents as it pertained to his government pension.

NARA-Great Lakes Region (Chicago), 7358 South Pulaski Rd., Chicago, IL 60629-5898.
Phone: 773-948-9000.

State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 816 State St., Madison, WI 53706. Phone: 608-264-6400.

ENJOY and stay safe til next time!  Anne

Warm welcome to our 2 latest volunteers Tracy and Tammie -- both will be helping out with postings and transcribing items for the Shawano GenWeb site -- WELCOME ABOARD!

NOTE: Shawano GenWeb Project is a non-profit website -- all of our time is volunteered.  We have a VOLUNTEER LOOK-UP PAGE for FREE HELP -- our awesome VOLUNTEER LOOK-UP staff donate their time and we greatly appreciate EACH AND EVERY ONE of them! Occasionally, we notice mass advertisements on the mailing lists/message board for products and/or services that are in violation of this core belief.  If you have encountered ANY violations of this policy on our website or message boards, please contact me immediately so that appropriate action can and will be taken. 

And let's keep MEMORY a big part of MEMORIAL DAY!  HAVE A SAFE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!!!

Til next time.... Anne

Thanks Shawano FHC for the photo of Adam Dingeldein and family.  I've also included some genealogy on the family and if you can add to it, just email me.

And... the PRE 1907 MARRIAGES have been added to the Wisconsin Historical Society -- Pre-1907 Wisconsin Vital Records Index -- this is SUPER COOL as it has the PRE-1907 Marriages for SHAWANO COUNTY!! Prior to this, ancestry.com didn't even have the early Shawano marriages available on their system... Be sure to check it out!!

Bay Area Genealogical Society now has a website.  The GraveSiteSearch feature has been activated. For free you can see if a person is buried in any of the Brown County, WI cemeteries. This is a site that does have a subscribe feature, but the index and some dates are FREE -- and one of the cemeteries just over the county line from Shawano is St. Mary's Cemetery - Assumption BVM.

The Slab City Night Club 1897 photo -- Slab City is located just south of Bonduel on Hwy 47 -- years ago it had a gravel pit, lime kiln, Frieden's Ev. Church and Cemetery.... and "establishments"... including 4 taverns and 1 brothel... yes, in Shawano County...

Just finished adding some more pages scans to 1947 Shawano City Directory, sent in by Mikki.  Originally I was retyping the pages so the names would be searchable in our Pico Search Engine.  We've modified our aspirations somewhat and have posted the actual scanned pages for you to use in your research while we are working on retyping the scans.  The City Directory is pretty cool -- it lists the occupants of the houses -- head of household plus minor age children... occupations and it even lists businesses.  The residential names are alphabetical and also street by street...

Stacy & Leslie have photographed 3 cemeteries in the Gresham area -- we've updated the cemetery web pages to show the links.  I also have the photographs of headstones done by Jenny Hoffman for St. Francis Solanus in Gresham that we'll be adding as we get time, along with St. Mary's in Leopolis.

And, if you have a photo of a headstone in Shawano County, we'd love to add it to the site.  I know that I have pics of grandparents' headstones but never photographed the ENTIRE cemetery.. no worries, we'll add a photo at a time... just send them to czaplewska@aol.com -- jpeg, gif or bitmap and the larger the pic the better!

And relatively NEW from the Wisconsin Historical Society -- Pre-1907 Wisconsin Vital Records Index -- They began the index with nearly 1 million birth records and are excited to announce the addition of nearly 400,000 Wisconsin death records.  Check it out at: www.wisconsinhistory.org/vitalrecords

And.. be sure to check out our MESSAGE BOARD for obits & queries.  We have over 10,000 pages of obits up there and it grows by the day!!! Every day obits are added and if you have obits you would like to share, just go to the Message Board and add yours!  It's easy!  And many thanks to Tasha who diligently keeps adding the Shawano newspaper obits online...

One of the programs I work with is RAOGK -- Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness.  The theory behind it is that if you ask a favour (look-up) then you are to make yourself available to do a look-up for someone else...so, in keeping with the program, I'm offering look-ups in the WWI Military Draft Registrations for Shawano County.  If you have a name you would like checked out, just email me and I'll see what I can find.

Looking for several people to help enter data from scanned documents to the Shawano site.  What's cool about volunteering is that you work when you have some free time and there's little pressure!  Since the GenWeb Projects are done solely by VOLUNTEERS, we know first-hand that you have work, families and other commitments, too.  We're happy to have whatever free time you can spare!  And these projects can be emailed ANYWHERE -- you don't have to be in the Shawano area... Just email me if you are interested. 

Til next time... ATCz

The more recent updates include:

1884 German Confirmation Hermann BULL -- Pella Opening Lutheran Church.  Aimee in PA ran across this GREAT document and is trying to find the family it belongs to and return it.  I've posted it and any clues or tips would be GREATLY appreciated.  Thanks again, Aimee!  We LOVE these old documents and if anyone else has some to post to the site, WE'LL MAKE A PLACE FOR THEM!!!

St. Peter Lutheran Cemetery, Pella Opening has been added -- thanks to the Shawano FHC and my daughter Cobi for graphics' help.

Til next time!  Anne

Family Pages have been added for POULSON from Pulcifer area by Robin Paine, as well as BRUMM from the Birnamwood area by Jessica VanHove.  Jessica also sent in Family Group Records, too.  Deb Walsh has sent in two photos of the SPERBERG's from Red River that she needs your help putting names to the faces.  Karen Hansen sent in photos of the Kielman - Parmer family...all these are linked on our PHOTOS page.

Paul Wollangk posted some old histories of St. James Lutheran Church and School in Shawano, Wisconsin on the church's web site.  The address is www.stjameslutheranchurch.com.  Click on meet the staff then click on "From the Archives". -- also, there is information about their sister parish St. Jakobi there also.  NICE WEBSITE, Paul, and thanks for the link!

After 30+ years of great, dedicated service, Marge Stoehr retired last fall from her calling as Director of the Shawano Family History Center.  Marge has done an excellent job and I personally would like to give her a BIG THANK-YOU HUG for all the countless hours she has given to making the FHC one of THE best in the country -- I've been to quite a few, worked as Asst. Director in the largest one in New England and nothing compares to the Shawano FHC.  The new director, Pat Stephenson, has been working on organizing the FOUR long drawers of family group records.  If you haven't been to the FHC lately, it is well worth the trip as they have extensive data and microfilm resources.  Our best wishes to Pat in her new calling and MEGA HUGS to Marge for a job well-done!  We love you!!!

Til next time!! -- Anne

Jan P. Tonnessen from Norway sent in a gorgeous portrait to post for the Peter Hanson Family of Green Valley Twp. -- the photo was unidentified until recently and Jan would appreciate any additional info on this family.

Surname page has some new additions...

SWEDBERG FUNERAL HOME now has obituaries online!  These are current ones and some have photos -- good job!!!

CASTLE GARDEN, the NYC ship port (1855 - 1890) that served as one of the largest immigration processing centers, prior to Ellis Island has an online database.  Thanks for sending this tip in!

2 PAGES of Penny Postcards added to the PHOTO page.

Descendants of Friedrich Ludwig Pegelow sent in by Gary Lloyd Pegelow -- again, thanks Gary for a very nice job!

Gail Lane is researching the SCHATTL Family that was living in Mattoon, Shawano County in the early 1900's -- she sent in some photos and hopefully someone researching this family will be in contact with her.

Margaret Prehn Nielsen, grand-daughter of Adelaide Walker Magee, sent in various photos of the MAGEE family -- thanks Margaret and she would love to hear from anyone researching the MAGEE family.

Until next time.... Anne

The 1930 Federal Census is another on-going project of mine... it started when I was searching for family SCHMIDT in Hartland Twp. and found every variation of the name you could imagine in the indexes... so I put our own online and SCHMIDT is spelled SCHMIDT.  To date, we have Hartland Twp., Almon Twp., Village of Eland, Village of Bonduel, Seneca Twp., and part of the Menominee Reservation.  The Reservation was part of Shawano County in 1930 and as we get quite a few questions about it, I thought we would include it in our site for the 1930's.  And I'll update the pages as I make them...

Stacy Kreuser and her niece Leslie Blom recently walked the Red Springs Twp Cemetery and the Old Stockbridge Orthodox Cemetery near Morgan Siding -- and I hear pictures are on the way, too!

And we are busy indexing the 1920 plat, thanks to the kind help of the Shawano researchers -- YOU!  And if you are looking for something to do to help out, and you can even do this from Outer Mongolia (Ü) -- we still have 1920 plat maps that are online but not indexed!

And be sure to check those surnames on the MESSAGE BOARD -- Tasha keeps us up to date on the Shawano Leader obits....my "goal" is to have 10,000 entries up on the Message Board by the end of the year!!! And we're about 1000 shy... so if you have obits or queries, etc. POST them as I get emails all the time of people connecting with the missing link that someone inadvertently mentions in their query.  MESSAGE BOARDS WORK!

I've recently started to SCAN in the actual obituary or newspaper clipping to the MESSAGE BOARDS... this is faster for me to post more obits in the same amount of time, PLUS the researcher gets the actual clipping to print or store in their files.  When you go into the actual site, there will be a link that says "Actual obit, etc" -- just click on that link and you'll see the scanned obituary.  If you would like to PRINT the obit or SAVE TO FILE, just right click and follow the directions.  ALSO, I get asked occasionally HOW to PRINT the plat maps on one page, etc.  The easiest way is to right click on the image, save to YOUR hard drive and then open in a GRAPHICS EDITOR on your computer.  This can be ADOBE, PAINT, etc.  Then resize it to fit your paper and print.  REMEMBER, these are for your PERSONAL USE ONLY -- don't place these online or in a book you are publishing... this isn't allowed and is against the copyright policy of the website.  I have left these available to right-click copy for your PERSONAL USE...most of my other sites are NO RIGHT CLICK, meaning that function has been taken off the site... so I don't expect to see any of this site's material in another website or book, right? Right... The volunteers and myself spend our funds & time to make this available to you for FREE...

And, drum roll please!, we hit 100,000 visitors to the Shawano site!!!! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!!! 100,000 means a lot to our volunteers and myself -- our efforts are not going to waste!

Til next time!!! And have a SAFE 4th of July...
Anne

Quite a LONG time ago, Mikki from the Shawano Library sent in the scanned pages of the 1947 Shawano City Directory.  I started working on the project and, after 3 major computer crashes (yes, Windows operating systems!) I finally found them!!  So, instead of waiting til the project is done to upload, I've started uploading them as I work on them (Hopefully, Rootsweb won't lose them once they are up!!! lol... they back up their files better than me, but I'm learning!)

1920 Plat Map - Lessor Twp indexed by Tasha Treptow

World War II page -- I thought I had already done one of these, but couldn't locate it when I needed it .. so we now have one.  In the past, these pages have been for people who lost their lives in the wars -- this page, I would like to include anyone that served in WWII, either home or abroad.  The page lists the individuals that are listed in the National Archives -- I'd like to extend the page and need YOUR HELP.  If you have an ancestor that served in WWII and you would like to add his/her name, email me, won't you?

Have you been keeping up with the obituary/message board?  We have about 8200 entries with this board growing daily!!!

And, I need your help to keep me up to date on "links not working" in the Shawano GenWeb site -- if you hit on a non-working link, email me and let me know the page, etc. -- otherwise, if I don't visit there, I don't always know the links failed.  THANKS!

>>> www.ancestry.com has added Wisconsin Marriage Indexes for 1973 - 1997. BTW, they also have Minnesota Birth Indexes for 1935 - 2002. <<< If you need a look-up for either of these and haven't made the costly plunge into the ancestry.com network, let me know and I'll gladly check it... they do have the market on genealogy but the fee keeps going up! up! up!... but if you use it a lot, it does pay off.

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, Bonduel
Peace Lutheran Cemetery, Tilleda
1898 Aniwa Plat Map

Arthur Peterson has indexed the 1920 Navarino Plat Map -- thanks much for a job well-done!

Leland's www.AntigoGenealogyGopher.com site in Antigo has great info if you are looking for ancestors from the NW corner of the county.  The indexes are free but if you want copies of obits, etc. there is a charge.  I generally don't pass on info from pay sites, but because there is a wealth of info free, I'm passing it on..

Pat Adams Michael sent in the following great link -- (I've used it for years and I know you'll enjoy it, too):

"This link will take you to All Newspapers in Wisconsin.  I have this one bookmarked and check various papers often looking for family news and obits.   Perhaps others might find this page useful as well." -- thanks Pat!

Gary Tonn sent in some obituaries and two nice photos to share online.  There's a 1929 Navarino class photo  that turned out excellent and the clarity is there -- now we just need the student's names... Thanks, Gary!

1934-1935 Confirmation Class - St. Paul Lutheran of Bowler was sent in by Randy Fuhrman... he's identified some of the folks, but could use your help putting names to the rest of the faces. -- thanks, Randy for the very nice picture!

If you have any other Confirmation class photos, etc. we'd love to post them as there are descendants of these folks who might not have access to family pictures -- and they would love to see them!!

Surnames have been updated....check to see if yours has been added.  If not, send me a gentle reminder that I slipped up...

St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery, Bonduel - completed
Pella Evangelical Church Cemetery, Pella - completed

Also, Tom Davis has indexed the 1920 Green Valley Plat Map -- thanks much for a job well-done!

This was sent in some time ago -- if this is your family, let us know!
"Back awhile ago someone came in with a family bible they purchased at a rummage sale. They gave it to the FHC in case someone from this family was ever looking for it.  Here are the names of the owners and their family members as we have listed from the records kept in the book along with what could be put together from our researching. 

Fred Kohn
Born 4 Nov 1859 in Watertown, Jefferson Co. WI
Married 8 Jan 1886 - Died Mar 1919
His father Christ Kohn 

Ernestine Brede
Born 9 Feb 1868 in Pommern
Died 18 Mar 1924 - Her Father Carl Brede

Children were:
Otto 3 Oct 1886; Alma 3 Nov 1888; Anna Hermine 21 Sep 1890; Adolph 13 Jul 1894; Frank 10 Apr 1897; Emil 10 Jan 1899; Eldon 18 Dec 1901; Clara (Lora) Angelina 16 Jul 1904; Eloise 9 Sep 1906; Walter 5 Jul 1909"

Keep warm!!! and if you have some free time while you are snowed in, the 1920 Plats are calling you!!!
Til next time,
Anne

P.S. OK, I usually can refrain from jokes on the website, but this one was very cute -- reminded me of driving out on Shawano lake during the ice fishing season... Nothing against blondes, you can feel free to substitute redheads in there instead of blonde...<big grin> and thanks BB for the chuckle!

   A blonde decided she needed something new and different for a winter hobby.  She went to the bookstore and bought every book she could find on ice fishing.
   For weeks she read and studied every book, hoping to become an expert in the field. Finally she decided she knew enough, and out she went for her first ice fishing trip.
   She carefully gathered up and packed all the tools and equipment needed for the excursion. Each piece of equipment had its own special place in her kit. When she got to the ice, she found a quiet little area, placed her padded stool, and carefully laid out her tools.
   Just as she was about to make her first cut into the ice, a booming voice from the sky bellowed, "There are no fish under the ice!"
   Startled, the blonde grabbed up all her belongings, moved further along the ice, poured some hot chocolate from her thermos, and started to cut a new hole. Again the voice from above bellowed, "There are no fish under the ice!"
   Amazed, the blonde wasn't quite sure what to do, as this certainly wasn't covered in any of her books. She packed up her gear and moved to the far side of the ice Once there, she stopped for a few moments to regain her calm. Then she was extremely careful to set everything up perfectly; tools in the right place, chair positioned just so, everything. Just as she was about to cut this new hole, the voice came again, "There are no fish under the ice!" 
   Petrified, the blonde looked skyward and asked "Is that you,
Lord?"
   The voice boomed back, "No, this is the manager of the skating rink!"

This is our latest project and I can use volunteers to complete it -- and since it is all online, you don't need to be in the Shawano area!  I occasionally get offers from out-of-staters to help with the website, so this is your opportunity!  Kris Pinkerton completely surprised us with the 1920 Plat Maps for Shawano County.  She scanned and sent them in and I'm in the process of putting the images online.  The problem is: the Pico Search Engine only sees the map as a picture, and will not be able to read any of the names for the pages.  If we can get volunteers to index a plat map each, we can get the index online along with the map and make it "searchable".  I know how much you enjoy the plat maps, as I do, too!  I'm not looking for 1 person to do all of them -- several volunteers to take a township each.  The original pdf maps are available in case you want the original scan to transcribe from...email me with your favorite plat township, and if it's available, it's yours.  THANKS IN ADVANCE!! and in Zachow even!! (a little Shawano County humor there... very little...)

Til next time... and many thanks to Kris for the plats!
Anne

My two pet projects, cemeteries & obituaries, are still being worked on....we add hundreds of obits each month to the message board.  Tasha is doing a great job on the Shawano Leader obits and I try to take care of the Appleton Post-Crescent & Green Bay Press Gazette obits every morning.  The Shawano FHC has me well stocked for the winter months with cemeteries.  I'm currently working on one that is close to my heart, St. Paul's Lutheran in Bonduel.  Although this page will load, it is not completely done yet so if your family is from that area, do check back when it is done, also.

Thanks for your patience & the emails! and have a great holiday and a super 2005...  Anne

First, a GREAT BIG THANKS! to Donna Hance for all her time & efforts on clipping Shawano obits for us for YEARS!  Donna will continue on with the Wittenberg/Birnamwood area obits and she's done an awesome job of finding the older obits from that area of the county -- she keeps me BUSY!  And Tasha Treptow has taken on the Shawano Leader obits, plus she continues on with Peshtigo Times and other various papers she encounters that deal with Shawano ancestors.  And we are almost at 7500 obits/queries on our message board -- YES!!! And thanks to everyone who keeps that project going!  When I run across a new surname in the families I work on, I check out the obits there first as I usually find the surname somewhere in various family obits -- I can't say enough about obits!  A good one will have at least 3 generations mentioned -- and sometimes this is the only place you will find married names of the women...

CEMETERIES: The first one up is St. John's Evangelical Lutheran, Town of Washington.  It's just west of Hwy 117 south of Cecil -- almost kitty-corner to St. Paul's Lutheran church on County Hwy E.  The next one on deck will be Jerusalem Lutheran, Waukechon Twp -- this one is AWESOME as it has a lot of info about the individuals -- someone worked hard on this project!

Over the summer, I've added new SURNAMES as they come in the emails -- remember to recheck there for your family surnames and make sure your email addresses are up-to-date.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!
Anne

And thanks for your patience -- I've received numerous items that will get posted shortly.  Keep the great work coming!

And have a happy and safe 4th of July!
Til next time, Anne

If you have mystery pics you'd like us to post online, just let me know!  And if you know who they are, GREAT!

This was my pet-project a few months ago and I lost track of it.  I had purchased a box of old pictures on Ebay that were from the Wittenberg area, LIESCH & BLOECHER seem to be on a few of the pics.  I've scanned 18 of them online and if you can identify ANY of them, I'd love to know the names to add to the pictures.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY -- everyone is IRISH on St. Paddy's Day! Remember to keep checking the Message Board because we are adding HUNDREDS of obits every month -- thanks to Donna & other volunteers.  And just because you don't find the one you're looking for up there, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist!  We post them as we locate them!  Again, much thanks to Donna & the other volunteers -- they keep Shawano GenWeb looking good!

A couple of GREAT research sites online that I have been "playing" in lately:
Wisconsin Death Records
The Wisconsin State death databases are comprised of entries 1959-1979 displayed in graphic presentation form. Specifically years 1959-1979 is a virtual-fiche database. Years segment 1820-1907 is a link to Ancestry.com ~ this fiche system takes a while to get used to, but it is well worth the perseverance!

1900 Shawano County, Wisconsin (ED 159) Federal Census is online in the WIGenWeb Archives.  Thanks to Lisa Gerving!

Schmidt & Schulta Funeral Home (Wittenberg & Birnamwood, as well as Bevent, Bowler, Aniwa, Hatley, Mattoon, Tigerton, Galloway, Elderon, Eland, Easton, Ringle and surrounding areas in Langlade, Marathon, Portage and Shawano Counties) has recent online obituaries and condolences.  They have done an awesome job, with most obits having PHOTOS!  I sincerely hope the other Shawano County Funeral Homes follow their lead!!!  When you click on "obituaries" you'll see the past few months...the search engine on the right of the screen will allow you to search for the past 25 YEARS!!! and they are linked to obituaries of people mentioned!  REALLY, REALLY COOL!!!  Definite two thumbs up &  5 stars!!

And, while you are spring-cleaning, keep us in mind! We are always looking for older year-books, annuals, newspaper clippings, high school graduation programs, church centennial booklets, etc. to post to the site.  All we need is a good clear xerox or scanned copy... Til next time -- Anne

This update has 1898 Lessor Twp. PLAT MAP -- thanks again to our "ANGELS" at the Shawano FHC that make this project and so many of our other ones possible!  Can't say enough good things about the GREAT work they do -- if you live in the area and have a few hours a month to volunteer, I'm SURE Marge will find a nitch for you there -- EXCELLENT way to LEARN GENEALOGY RESEARCH!! You don't need to have all the answers to volunteer, just a willingness to learn and help out!!!

We're trying to start a new project (yes! yet another one!) of early Shawano County School Censuses.  We have a few online, but I'd like to try to place as many as possible online, just like the cemeteries.  In some instances, these folks didn't have birth certificates issued, so the early 1900 censuses can be used to establish age.  They are currently stored in the Register of Deeds office -- if you are in the area and have a few hours, let me know as we would love to have copies of these -- even if you can just copy 1 school for 1 year -- every little bit helps!  This site is proof of that!

New this time are 1898 Fairbanks Twp. PLAT MAP & a 1912 TEACHER'S CONTRACT for Maple Grove Twp. sent in by Ella POWELL'S granddaughter Mary Russell -Thanks Mary!

When I enter the cemetery data, if I locate a death date from SSDI, I put it in as a note...IF you ever find someone LIVING that I entered a SSDI date for, PLEASE tell me!!! It has happened.........

Til next time......Anne

P.S. Just added the 1898 Plat Map for PART of Richmond Twp -- there are two separate maps for Richmond.

1900 Shawano County census for Angelica Twp. has been placed in the Wisconsin GenWeb Archives by Lisa Gerving --

Barb Brady just emailed me this morning and has had the "feared & dreaded happen" -- her computer crashed and with it, all the correspondence and emails that she was working on for you Shawano researchers........I live in fear that will happen to me, too .... 

Anyway, if Barb is working on an assignment for you, please email her at bfbrady@frontiernet.net with the specifics and information again.  Barb is one of our awesome volunteers & we can't say THANKS enough to her for her willingness to help in so many ways!!!

THANKS!!! and I LOVE your emails & comments!!!

Thanks to Pat Adams Michael, we have an explanation of the Origins of Town Names.

THANKS to Carol, we now have a great picture and some early membership data for Frieden's or Peace Lutheran in the Belle Plaine Twp.

And thanks to Donna, who keeps us supplied with current SL obits...they will get posted, too!

Postcards were added for 1900 Tigerton Railroad Crew; Aniwa - 1910; 1910 Main Street - Shawano; Jolly Jester Minstral Show - Wittenberg; 1916 Tigerton Lumber Co.; 1919 Franklin St. - Shawano; 1962 Cecil Bird's Eye; 1910 Birnamwood High School; Bonduel downtown; Caroline, WI postcard; Lincoln High School - 1930; Lyndhurst Trainwreck 1912; 1950's Main Street - Shawano; 1913 - Murdock House - Shawano; 1915 - Mattoon School; 1910 Shawano High School - Shawano; Shawano Main Street; Zion Evangelical Church, Bonduel; Zilesch Homecoming - Tigerton; Residence Street - Wittenberg; Government Indian School - Wittenberg; 1947 Wittenberg Public Library; 1925 Wittenberg High School; Netzel & Van Dree's Store - Wittenberg; 1911 Wittenberg Street;

Barb BRADY sent in this cool link:
Pearl Harbor Casualty List - DECEMBER 7, 1941

New surnames this week are for ZIEMER, SPLINTER and WATTERS by Dan Rovinski.

And, a cool site I use for computer translation is http://www.freetranslation.com/...now, remember it is only computer generated, so it won't be perfect -- but you should get the general gist of a phrase or website.  Hey, it's free and it's quick!

One of my earliest "springtime" memories of growing up in Shawano County was Fritz Bartelt and maple sugaring.  Fritz was the father-in-law of my mother's cousin -- took me YEARS to figure that one out!  Anyway, Fritz was about 65 years old and had his "sugar camp" in the woods just south of Bonduel in Waukechon Twp.  Visiting Fritz in the woods was an annual event for us and we knew it was time when Mom would send us to the cellar to bring up the glass gallon A & W jugs to take to Fritz.  Now, Fritz I don't think heard about the "40 gallons of sap = 1 gallon maple syrup" rule.  His syrup was THICK, like molasses and a beautiful dark amber color...cooked out in the woods under the stars, over a wood fire.  Half of the thrill was trekking out in the woods and then sitting by the open fire to warm up and visiting with Fritz -- the other half was finally getting the syrup home, and dunking strips of homemade bread into it -- we didn't wait for pancakes! <grin> One of my treasures that I have of my Mother's is a 1 quart mason jar of Fritz's Maple Syrup from the early 1970's.  We found this on a shelf in the cellar when the farm was sold and I have carried it on every move we have made since.  My uncle in Ireland says it's like a fine wine, improves with age and to open it up some Christmas morning and enjoy with homemade waffles..and he wants to be here.  I'd miss the memories it brings when I see it on the shelf, all deep amber colored. And, hey, my kids were raised on Mrs. Butterworth...they probably wouldn't appreciate Fritz's work and labor that went into that 1 quart of maple syrup, from clearing the path to the sugar camp, to tapping all those old maples, gathering the 40+ gallons of sap in buckets in the snow, and then the all-night cooking of the sap, until he had the BEST maple syrup!

Business directory for the 1898 plat maps has been completed -- Pulcifer to Whitcomb are finished.  1898 Plat maps have been added for Morris Township and Pella Township.  Pella isn't a "township" any more, but was in 1898 -- kinda nifty to see!

And HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Donna Hance sent in the GREATEST tip I have heard of lately -- she is printing some of our "unidentified photos" and taking them to a local elderly housing/home and THEY ARE IDENTIFYING THEM!!  These senior citizen's can be our BEST resource out there!!  You might want to try this hint for your own unidentified pics--there's nursing homes and senior centers throughout the county.  If you need an address to the town nearest your homestead, just email me.  Not only is this a great help for US, it keeps THEIR minds young and most will tell you a great story that goes with the pic!! THIS IS JUST AWSOME!! GOOD JOB, Donna!

And, remember GRANDPARENTS on Valentine's Day, too!!

Our latest endeavor here online is the 1898 Shawano County Plat Maps.  Barb emailed me this past week and sent in Almon Twp. and so we are back on top of this project.  The two townships that are done for this week are Navarino Twp. & Seneca Twp. with Pella on deck for next week.  The maps for 1898 are not like 1911 -- these use numbers and grids.  Basic format of 36 sections to the township is the same, but once you see the pages, you'll understand the differences.  I did create an index on the bottom of the individual pages, allowing our browser to access the names -- but remember to check for spelling variations as there are MANY. 

Also, if you find any links that do not work on the website, please email me with the page & details -- makes my job easier!!!

Enjoy!!! Anne

A dear friend of mine sent this in...I was fascinated as I thought there were no surviving Civil War widows
Just as an aside, and of some genealogical interest, the Los Angeles Times has reported that the last surviving widow of a Civil War Union veteran has died at the age of 93. She was Gertrude Janeway, who married, at age 18, to
John Janeway in 1927, who was 81 at the time. He died 10 years later. Mrs. Janeway had been receiving a $70 per month pension from the Veterans Administration. Her death, according to the Times, leaves only Alberta 
Martin of Alabama, age 95, as a widow of any Civil War veteran. Her husband was in the Confederate Army. It is difficult to believe that widows of veterans of a war that ended nearly 140 years ago could still survive, but
when they married as teenagers to elderly veterans, it could - and has - happened.

Back to trying to stay warm!!! Anne