Forebear Friday – Marx Seemann

Marx Christian Seemann was born 15 Nov 1868 in Jackson county, Iowa, the son of Detlef and Elizabeth (Petersen) Seemann, and among the first generation of the family born in the United States. 
Marx operated a tourist bus on the route between Seattle and Vancouver, but had the misfortune to drop a tire jack on his foot, an accident that eventually resulted in gangrene and amputation of his leg in 1923.  He then moved back to Jackson county, Iowa, to the home of his brother Henry.  Henry died five years later, and Marx then went to Green Island, also in Jackson county, where he purchased a small farm.  After his retirement, he moved to Bellevue, Iowa.  He had “arteriosclerosis of the brain”, and became violent to the point of having to be sent to the State Hospital for the Insane at Independence, Iowa.  He died there, just a few weeks after his arrival.
His obituary, from the Sabula (Iowa) Gazette of Thursday, May 31, 1951:
FUNERAL SERVICES HELD FOR GREEN ISLAND MAN
Funeral services were held at a Bellevue funeral home Monday afternoon for Marx C. Seeman, 81, who passed away at 6:15 p.m. Friday at Independence.  The Rev. Laurence Nelson officiated and burial took place in the Reeseville cemetery.
Mr. Seeman was a son of the late Detlef and Elizabeth Petersen Seeman and was born in Jackson county Nov. 15, 1869.  He had lived in the Green Island community for many years.  He is survived by one sister.  Preceding him in death were his parents; a brother, Carl, and a sister, Mrs. William Roe.

Forebear Friday – Detlef Seemann

Detlef Seemann and his brother Hans left their native Germany in 1853, looking for a place to relocate their family.  The brothers settled in Clinton county, Iowa, and the following year, their parents and siblings followed, as well as Detlef and Hans’ fiancees, sisters Maria and Elizabeth Petersen.  The extended family lived together for a few years, with Detlef and Elizabeth eventually buying land in Jackson county, just to the north, in Washington township.

Detlef died of “heart trouble” in 1899, and Elizabeth lived another 9 years, passing away in 1908 in Haileyville, Oklahoma.   She was initially buried there, but was moved to Reeseville cemetery in Jackson county, Iowa to be buried with her husband and other family members.  I do not know, at this time, why she was in Oklahoma.  Thomas B. Schultz, a descendant, wrote an excellent history of this family in 1990, entitled, “The American Descendants of Gottfried and Maria Schultz of Schleswig-Holstein Germany”.
Detlef and Elizabeth were the parents of nine children: John Henry, Anna Maria, Mary “Lena”, Peter, Louisa, Marx, Carl G. “Charlie”, Sarah Elizabeth, and Roseltha.

On a trip to Jackson and Clinton counties of Iowa, we located Reeseville cemetery, which sits on top of a hill, with a beautiful view of the surrounding country.  Except for the occasional sound of a passing vehicle on the road below, it’s an exceptionally peaceful and serene location.  Detlef and Elizabeth’s son Marx is also buried here, as well as other Seemanns whose connection is not yet certain.

Wordless Wednesday – Halloween, 1958

Genealogy Societies – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I don’t know about most people, but I have a limited amount of money to spend on society memberships, so I’m constantly having to evaluate benefit vs. cost.  I’d love to join many more, but I need to be selective.

I recently discovered the website for an historical society in an area of genealogical interest – close enough geographically that I could utilize their library and even attend meetings from time to time.  I liked that their website had a detailed listing of resources.  They had a current events widget.  Looked great – I just needed to know about their membership fees, journals published, publications for sale, benefits for members, etc.  But none of this information was on their website.

They did have a link to email them, which I did.  I received an automated reply stating that if I didn’t hear from anyone in 2 weeks, to call them.  Really??

I checked their blog, hoping for more information, but it had only one entry and had not been updated in 7 weeks, except by spammers publishing links to questionable websites.  Apparently no one at the society reads the comments of their visitors, legitimate or not.  It was a disappointment, and needless to say, that particular society has been crossed off my list for membership.  The porch light appears to be on, but nobody’s home.

This experience got me thinking about what I, as both a potential new member and a former society volunteer, value in a genealogical or historical society.

1) I love to see an informative, attractive, easily navigated website.  Especially one that’s kept up-to-date with current happenings – it shows me that the society is alive and well.  Things are happening there.

2) Current members should have easy online access to the information they need.  Potential new members should be given good reasons to join – membership fees and benefits are important; contact information and queries that are attended to promptly is imperative. Show me why joining your society would be a great decision. If I didn’t already have an interest, I wouldn’t be at your website.

3) Societies should publish the best journal possible, and publish it regularly.  I appreciate getting what I paid for.

4) On a society’s website, I enjoy a short narrative on the history of the area, or some articles on historical local topics – I want to see how interested and excited a society is about their mission.  An anemic society isn’t going to excite potential or existing members much either.

5) Are there volunteer opportunities – proofreading, formatting, transcribing, etc. - that can be done from a distance.  I’d like to get involved despite the fact that I don’t live in the area.  Is there some way that I can help you help us?

6) I love indexes!  I’m elated to find an index with an easy way to get the original.  For a small fee, payable quickly and easily by PayPal, the society will print and mail a photocopy of the record I need.  I can order it, and get it in the mail a few days later.  Awesome!  And very forward-thinking!

7) A big bonus is a “Members Only” section of the website, where I can access selected library materials or search more detailed indexes.   What a boon to members who live a great distance away, and a great reason to join the society, even if I can’t get to the research library in person.

These are just a handful of things that are most important to me.  How do *you* feel about it?

Forebear Friday - Marrying the Enemy? Thomas Nickerson & Mary Bangs

Perhaps it was a bit of a Romeo and Juliet story.  But at the least it might have made for some interesting family reunions.  The union of Thomas Nickerson and Mary Bangs (my 8th great-grandparents) in 1696 had the potential to cause quite a stir among their families.  Thomas was the grandson of immigrant William Nickerson, and Mary was the granddaughter of Plymouth colonist Edward Bangs.
The problem goes back to land, and their grandfathers.  As a member of Plymouth colony, Edward Bangs was among those who had the first rights, given by the Court, for purchasing reserved land from the Indians.  William Nickerson, who sought to acquire land and create a settlement, purchased a great deal of this reserved land himself, illegally, a move said to have greatly angered the colonists.  Nickerson claimed ignorance of the law, and the matter was in court for many years.  While the land was granted to others, Nickerson eventually re-purchased much of it from the grantees, and so started the settlement of Monomoit (Chatham, Massachusetts) as he wished.
I wonder what the reaction of Edward Bangs and William Nickerson might have been to their grandchildren marrying, had they lived to see it...

Forebear Friday – Henry O. Van Brocklin

Stephenson county, Illinois was in Henry Orville Van Brocklin’s blood.  The last child of Florence township pioneers Conrad and Harriet (Searle) Van Brocklin, he was born on 24 Feb 1846 in Freeport.

As a young man, he taught several terms of school, and joined his father in farming the 375 acre home farm.  And like his father before him, he held Florence township offices.  He took over the farm entirely when his father died in 1877.
He married Mary D. Woolheiser, daughter of Emanuel and Amanda (Crosby) Woolheiser, a native of New York, in 1871.  They had five children – a son and a daughter who died in infancy; Inez (born 1875); Iva (b. 1879); and Arthur (born 1881).  Inez married Horatio Stevens; Arthur married Mabel Rampenthal; and Iva married Ellis Goodsell, and their sons Wilber and Lowell appear to have ownership of the farm in the late 1950s.
Henry Orville Van Brocklin left this world in the same place he entered it – the city of Freeport – on 6 December 1915, at the age of 69.  His wife died some 30 years later.   Like so many others of Henry’s family, they was buried in Ellis-Van Brocklin cemetery, immediately across the creek from the family farm.

Sources:

Van Brocklin, H. O. & Mary (Woolheiser).  Photograph. ca. 1910.  Digital image.  Privately held by Christine Martin [address for private use].  2008. 

Van Brocklin, H. O. & Mary (Woolheiser) headstone.  Photograph, Ellis-Van Brocklin cemetery, Section 17, Florence township, Stephenson county, Illinois.  Digital image.  Privately held by Gary and Karen Seeman [address for private use].  2006. 

Portrait & Biographical Album of Stephenson County, Illinois.  Chicago: Chapman Brothers.  1888

Forebear Friday – John Q. Adams

John Quincy Adams had a successful and adventurous life, but then, his family had already established a culture of adventure.  His great- grandfather was a founder of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, he and wife Submit being the first settlers.  John’s grandfather, Martin Adams with his brother, were among the founders of Newport (then Duncansborough), Vermont, and Martin was a Revolutionary War patriot.
John Q., the son of Abial Adams and Irene Gray, was born 12 Jul 1831 in Newport, Vermont, the sixth of sixteen children.  At the age of 16, he moved himself to Burlington, Vermont, to attend college, supporting himself and paying tuition by teaching school.  He did this for two years, and then returned to the house of his father.  The following year, in 1851, he made his way to Stephenson County, Illinois, and decided to try his luck in the California Gold Rush, heading west in 1853.  He spent five years there, after which he returned to Stephenson county with $1,000 and purchased a 240 acre farm in Florence township.  He married Julia Van Brocklin, daughter of Florence township pioneers Conrad and Harriet Van Brocklin.   About 1900, he was engaged as a store keeper,  but otherwise farmed and worked as a carpenter. 
He sold his farm in 1901, and relocated to Sutherland, O’Brien County, Iowa.  His wife died in 1905, and he in 1907.  They were both buried at Waterman Cemetery, just outside of Sutherland.