Laziness and Mysteries

Wow, I have been lazy. No posts since August? Really? I have become good at chasing rabbits and not staying on one trail.  I have not made much progress on Harry Applegate. I have learned from another family member that his wife's 2nd husband, whom she married 7 years after Harry's murder, was rumored to also be involved, whether in the "business", the ongoing feud, or the murder of Harry, I do not know.

I have several rabbits I have been chasing involving several members throughout my family.  As usual, chasing one rabbit leads to another rabbit, and so on, and so on.  So, I think I will begin to focus myself by first listing my rabbits, in no particular order, and pick one at a time, chase it till there's nothing left to be found, then move on - and I need to get better and taking notes about where I have been and where I think I want to go next.

So, here is my current list of Rabbits:

1a. Jacob Jahns - which ship did he come in on? and from where?  I have recently found his Declaration of Intention and his Naturalization documents, and of course they are not fully filled out, but at least I now have a better idea of the when.  Now its just a matter of digging through the passenger lists to find him.

1b. Jacob Jahns - where/when did he die?  He is listed on the 1880 census in Marine, Madison Co, Illinois, and then his wife Caroline is listed in the 1887 St. Louis Directory as "widow of  Jacob".  I have been unable to find him listed in the cemeteries of Madison Co, the Illinois Death Index, or the Missouri Digital Archives in the death records.

2. How did my grandparents meet? My grandpa, Elmer Adolph Nevala, was from Michigan, stationed in Alabama/Virginia/ New Guinea during the war, and Grandma, Mary Louise Applegate Mcwhorter (1st Marriage - have not found divorce record yet)  was from Arkansas, working at the ammunition plant in North Little Rock.  The rumor was they met at a USO, but where?  It's not like Alabama is next door to Arkansas. I do know that her step-father was also in the army, stationed at Camp Robinson, also North Little Rock, but so far research shows that all those units went to Europe.

Well, those are the rabbits.  Hopefully I can at least get to the point where I have exhausted current leads, and then move on to something else.  With time, more info may show up.

Charles Jahns

As we learned in the last post, Charles (my Great-Great Grandfather) was born in December of 1849 in Hanover, Germany, and immigrated to the U.S. with his parents and siblings in 1866.  He married his wife, Mary Krauck (born January 1851 in St. Clair County, Illinois), on March 20, 1873 (Lic# 00000088) in Caseyville, St. Clair Co., Illinois.  There then followed at least 8 children: Carolina born March 18, 1876; Charles born May 11, 1878; Frederick born 1880; William born March 23,1884; George born November 15,1886; Louis born March 9, 1889; Charlotte born October 1891; and then finally Matilda born October 1894.
The 1880 Census shows the family (along with Charles' younger brother William) living in Pin Oak Twp, Madison County, Illinois.

The Ag Schedule for this year shows he owns 120 acres. One item I have yet to figure out is why there is a black line drawn through the row of their son, Charles.  I have not looked into him yet; I wonder if it means he had recently died. The family is also listed on the 1882 Patron List of PinOak.
At some point, the family picks up and moves to Caseyville, St. Clair Co., Illinois, for this is where we find them living on the 1900 Census.

Something of note is that it is stated that Mary bore 11 children, 6 of whom are living. I can maybe account for possibly 3 miscarriages or stillbirths if you look at the 3 and 4 year gaps in between some of the children. Since the 5 youngest are listed with the family, that means 1 of the oldest 3 has moved off on their own, and the other 2 must have passed away. Not having the 1890 Census once again makes research difficult.
The 1910 Census shows that not much has changed for the family as they are still in Caseyville. Their son William (my Great-Grandfather) has married and is living just down the road from them.

Sadly 1910 is the year in which Charles passes away; I have not been able to locate a death record for him yet.

Mary, along with her 2 youngest daughters and her son George, are listed in the 1916 Caseyville Directory, living on S. Second. The girls are listed with "CKM" as their occupation, but I have yet to figure that out; George is listed as a "Laborer".
The 1920 Census finds that Charlotte has married George Neutzel (also of Caseyville) and that Mary is now living with them.

George has followed his brother William and family out to Denver, Colorado and is enumerated there; Matilda's whereabouts are unknown at this time.
The 1930 Census still has the family in Caseyville.

This is Mary's last appearance on the Census rolls, as she passed away on August 8, 1937.
So, that's the quick rundown of this generation; next post I will deal with William, my Great-Grandfather.