52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 14 Prompt - It's Complicated

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 14

Prompt – It's Complicated

In the past several months I have been updating my maternal grandmother's siblings and families.   It really was all straight forward if not tedious to fill in.  In the past week I decided to do the same thing but on my father's side.  That is I am looking into his mother's family, Elisabeth Dueck and her siblings.

Elisabeth Dueck was the 9^th child of 15 children born to Johann Leonhard and Helena Dueck (Nee Peters).  Johann and Helena were born in Mennonite colonies in South Russia.  They married there on Sep 2, 1866.  Their first 5 children were born in Russia.  They immigrated to Canada leaving Hamburg on July 2, 1875 and arrived in Quebec on July 19, 1875.  The two youngest Russian born children died on the same day 1 month after arriving in Canada.  Their 6^th child and first to be born in Canada was born two weeks after the death of its siblings.  Sadly this child also died one month later.

Their 12^th child died at 1 years of age.  Their 13^th child died at the age of 19.  What I am saying is that not all 15 children lived to adulthood.  None the less there is many siblings that I will work on.

I started with my grandmother's oldest sister, Helena Dueck born on May 12, 1848 in South Russia. Helena was 7 years old when she arrived in Manitoba, Canada with her family.

Helena's first marriage was to a man twice her age and on his 3^rd marriage.  They married on the 12 August 1888 in Rural Municipality of Rhineland, Manitoba, Canada.  Helena was 20 years old and Peter Braun was 41 years old.

In Peter Braun's first two marriages he outlived his wives.   I mention this because I presume Peter Braun's children from those two marriages would become Helena's concern.  Let's look into Peter Braun's first two marriages.

He married Anna Ginter on August 30^th, 1870. Their children are as follows:

1. Jacob Braun (1871- after 1903)

2. Peter Braun (1873-1873) XXXXX

3. Anna Braun (1875-1875) XXXXX

4. Peter Braun (1876-1945)

5. Anna Braun (1880-1926)

Anna Ginter died 5 months after Anna was born on Jun 23, 1880.

Peter Braun then married Anna Doerksen in 1881. Their children are:

1. Abram Braun (1882-Young) – before 1884 because name reused for next male baby. XXXXX

2. Katarina Braun (1883- about 1982)

3. Abram Braun (1884-1958)

4. Maria Braun (1885-1916)

Anna Doerksen died on July 1, 1888 in Rural Municipality of Rhineland, Manitoba.

Peter Braun then married Helena Dueck on August 12, 1888.  That is one 1/2 months after his 2^nd wife died.  As I figure it, Peter Braun brought 6 children into this marriage. Peter and Helena's children are:

1. Johann Braun (1889-1974)

2. Helena Braun (1890-1956)

3. Aganetha Braun (1892-1925)

4. Elisabeth Braun (1894-1979)

5. Margaretha Braun (1896-?)

6. Kornelius Braun (1897-1897) Twin XXXXX

7. Wilhelm Braun (1897-1897) Twin XXXXX

8. Agatha Braun (1898-?)

9. Justina Braun (1900-1979)

10. Wilhelm Braun (1902-1981)

11. Henry Braun (1904-1981)

12. Gerhard Braun (1906-1908)

13. Franz Braun (1908-1908) XXXXX

14. Gerhard Braun (1909-1966)

Peter Braun died on January 29, 1910. He fathered 23 children. 6 died soon after they were born.

 Helena Dueck then married Peter Klassen 5 months later on June 19 1910.  They had 1 child together:

1. Cornelius Klassen (1911-1985).

However Peter Klassen was married before marrying Helena Dueck. He was married to Helena Hildebrand in 1885.  Peter fathered 11 children with Helena Hildebrand.  Only 5 of these children survived infancy.

Helena Dueck had no more children.

Peter Klassen died on July 21, 1946.

Helena Dueck lived until March 17, 1951 and was 83 years old.

To say that this family is complicated might be an understatement.  It was the ultimate blended family situation.  The early years in Canada were rough and not only for infants and children but for the adults as well.   When a parent died it was expected that they would remarry soon after the death.

In my opinion, Helena Dueck, my Grand Aunt, was a super woman.  I cannot fathom the logistics of running a household this big.  Just imagine when her children married and had their own large families?

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 13 Prompt - First Cousin Once Removed.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

 Week 13 

Prompt – First Cousin Once Removed 

 

John Richard Krikau; born 1 Mar 1935 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. 

He is Mary McLaughlin's (my maternal grandmother) nephew. 

He is my mother's (Vivian Peters) cousin. 

He is my first cousin once removed. 

John Richard Krikau Circa 1940.

This is the gentleman who mailed my Grandmother McLaughlin asking for some history of her family that became a treasured 2 page oral report.  In February of 2007, I emailed him asking him if he had any other Krikau history or stories to share.   He was one of three relatives who had paid a genealogical researcher that traced our Krikau family back to 1723.   John Krikau also kindly shared all of this information with me.  At the end of his email he included a short paragraph of himself.

 “I am now retired and live with my wife Barbara in Florida during the winter months.   I taught chemistry at the high school level for many years in Elgin.  I have three children, two of whom are married. I now have seven grandchildren.” 

Circa 1999 - John and Barbara Krikau With 6 Grandchildren.

This was the extent of my knowledge of my first cousin once removed.  In recent weeks I have been  updating and sourcing all my information for my grandmother's siblings, their children and grandchildren.  That brought me to John Richard Krikau.  Most of the events that I have for him were school yearbooks hints from Ancestry.  I originally chose to ignore them and not include them in my tree.  However as I looked closer at them, I realized that they told a story of his life that otherwise I wouldn't have ever known. 

In 1950, John was a freshman (grade 9) in Thornton Township High School.  In the same year he was in the “freshman Senate”.  I have to think it is the same as student council 

In 1951 John attended the same high school.  He was a member of the freshman – sophomore football team.  His team had 4 wins, 1 loss and 1 tie.  John Krikau was also in the swimming club called “Merman”!

In 1952 he was in his junior year of the same high school.  He belonged to a group called The Hallguards.   He was on a successful Junior Varsity Squad for track. 

In his senior year of high school, John attended the same school.  He belonged to the Senior Hallguard group.  John was treasurer of The Letterman's Club.  Also he was on the Senior Varsity football club. 

In 1954 he becomes a freshman at Illinois State Normal University in Normal Illinois. Once again he joined the squad football team. 

In 1955 he was in his sophomore year of University. 

1955 - John Richard Krikau

In 1958 he entered his junior year at Illinois State Normal University. 

1958 - John Richard Krikau

In 1959 he entered his Senior University Year.  States his major was “physical science”.

According to the 1960 Elgin, Illinois City Directory, John Krikau is married and is employed as a teacher at Elgin High School. 

I next pick up John Krikau in the 1981 School Yearbooks where he is listed as a Science Teacher in Larkin High School in Elgin Illinois. 

1981 - John Krikau, Science Teacher

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the 1985, 1986 and 1988 School Yearbooks he is listed as a Assistant Principal at Larkin High School. 

1988 - John Krikau - Assistant Principal

I feel that I know so much more about John Krikau due to his school yearbooks.  He was athletic showing up on football, track and swimming teams.   He participated in school councils and Hallguards.  He participated in a religious club- Lutheran Club.  John Krikau was a Democrat, at least in his last two years of University.  He achieved a university degree and taught chemistry to high school students.  Later on in his career he was an assistant principal at a high school level.  His university was 2 hours from home and his schools where he taught were within 50 miles of where he grew up. 

Today he is 86 years old and I believe he is still alive.

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 12 Prompt - Loss

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 12

Prompt – Loss

My mother-in-law, Clara Hoffart has many photo albums.  She inherited two beautiful velvet covered photo albums from her mother, Ida Jahnke (Nee:Bachmann).  The photographs inside are studio portraits of “family”.   I love the photographs.  They are mostly taken around 1900.   They are from studios in Germany, Chicago, and Winnipeg according to the back of the photograph. 

The first time I looked through the photo album, I asked Clara to tell me who these people were.  She said to me that she wished she could tell me, but doesn't really know.  Her comment was; “Oh gee I wish I would have paid attention to my mother when she told me who they were!”

Like most of us, we did not have the time or patience to look at the photographs that our parents or grandparents lovingly put into their photo albums.  Sadly the loss is ours.  She has a photo album of exceptional studio photographs that may never be identified.  I know that if there was a studio photograph of my great grandparents, grand uncles or grand aunts that I would love to have them and keep them as the treasure they are.

These are just a few of the photographs that I find intriguing.

This is the first photograph in the album.  We are sure that this is August Bachmann.  Bill's great grandfather.  He is the one who immigrated to North America from Germany.

 

 

 

 Is this August Bachmann too?  He looks similar to the previous photo. Is that a military uniform? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have no clue who this relative is.  He does have an interesting beard.

Are the 3 men on the left the same men as the 3 below.  If they are then we know who they are.  The left photograph was taken in Germany and the photo below was taken in America.  

 

 

 

These are just a few photographs from the photo album of unknown ancestors.  Their identities are lost.  What a shame.

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 11 Prompt - Fortune

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 11

Prompt – Fortune

I am several weeks behind in the blog.  It happens and no I am not sick.  It has been my good fortune to stay in good health and away from COVID and it's Variants. (touch wood!).  Is fortune luck?  Or is fortune brought about by good external forces we have put in place?   It seems to me that luck is not within our control or it happens more by chance.   I think of luck as good and bad and fortune as only good.  Although it could be negative if it is “misfortune".  None the less, it has been my good fortune to get my first vaccine last week and for that I have been eternally grateful.

The more likely reason for my delay in blogs is that I recently got a new laptop for my genealogy.  There was really nothing wrong with the old one except it was slower and occasionally needed rebooting to help it remember.  Now doesn't that sound all too familiar?   I backed up my genealogy on a regular basis so I was rarely concerned about it.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My new laptop is smaller, lighter and is apparently a “kick ass” type of computer according to my husband who bought it for me for my birthday.  I am fortunate to have a husband who knows about computers and in fact has built them from components several times over the years.  It is not always a blessing.  His knowledge runs way beyond the everyday knowledge that most of us have and use on our computers.  Thus it was with great trepidation and anxiety that I allowed him to move all of my genealogy over to my new laptop.  Believe me when I tell you, I did lose some sleep over it.  There was several timeouts to regroup without tragedy.  I talked of thingies and cute icons while he talked about managing systems and other things that I chose not to listen to.  A couple of days later he had it all on my new laptop without a single loss of photos, accumulated family data or loss of life.

Seriously, I am fortunate and so grateful to have a computer genius in my life.

Wendy

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 10 Prompt - Names The Same

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 10

Prompt – Names The Same

My Cousin Once Removed (John Krikau) Family Tree for Our Krikau Family.

As I have mentioned many times before one side of my maternal line is the Krikau family.  The Krikau family can be traced back to the birth of Johan Georg Krikau born circa 1723 in Wolfenhausen, Vitrunkel County, Germany.   Johann was the first Krikau to immigrate to Russia.  In 1767 he was one of the 149 families that founded the German Lutheran Colony (Warenburg) in the Volga Region. Apparently it was called Gauter the first couple of years, however an edict dated 26 February 1768 gave the colony its official Russian name of Privolnoye.  Today what is left of the former German Volga Colony is called Privolnoye.

According to The Volga German Website and several other sites Warenburg goes by many names.

Privalnaja,

Privalnaya,

Priwalnoje,

Privalnoye,

Privolnoye,

Warenburg,

Varenburg,

Privol'noe.

Alt-Warenburg,

Gauter,

Priwalnoje,

Warenburg,

Warrenburg,

Альт-Варенбург,

Варенбург, Гаутер,

Привальное

It has been difficult to be consistent in naming their location.  And it really isn't any wonder seeing how many alternatives there are. The most prominent name used is Warenburg and therefore I have decided to use that as the Krikau village name. Warenburg is the place they immigrated to from Germany. Warrenburg was where several generation were born and died. And eventually they emigrated from Warenburg.

Further complicating factors is what follows Warenburg. These are some of them listed in my tree.

Warrenburg, Samara, Samara, Russia

Warenburg, Saratov, Volga, Russia

Warenburg, Privalnjoe, Samara, Russia

Warenburgh, Saratov, Russland

Warenburg, Privalnoje, Samara, Samara, Russia

Warenburg, Russia

Samara is a governate state within Russia which is an administrative division.  Samara is the city within this state and considered the seat of this state.  Samara is also on the same side of the Volga river as Warenburg.  Saratov was also a state with the city of Saratov at the seat of administration.  Saratov was the closest city to Warenburg.  Warenburg was about 50 miles downstream from Saratov and on the opposite side of the Volga River.   My grandmother often used Saratov when referring to her home in Russia.

My first cousin once removed, John Krikau uses Warenburg, Russia.  John Krikau was one of 3 cousins who hired a genealogist to trace our family tree back to 1723 and that is what was written for them.  I like simple. None the less I have decided to use Warenburg, Samara Province, Volga Valley, Russia.  It's all the same place with many names.

Wendy

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 9 Prompt - Multiple

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 9

Prompt – Multiple

 I find and use multiple sources for my ancestors in my tree.  However sometimes that can be more of an hindrance than help.  In the case of my maternal great grandmother, Maria Krikau, I have found several sources that were listed on Ancestry.com.  Ancestry often includes the image with the transcription of the record.  More than once I have to peruse the actual image to make out what is actually written and not what was transcribed by another person.   Although it could be transcribed correctly but the recorder of the event wrote down what he heard which does not translate to correct information or spelling.

I have included partial transcriptions from some of Maria Krikau's sources below.

Her name is Maria Katherine Krikau; nee: Kraft.  In the first 3 sources below she is transcribed as Maria Krikan.  I have blogged about this before and that is the written “u” looks very much like a “n”. By 1916 she is going by Marie and not the more formal Maria.  The 1921 Canadian Census transcribes her name as Mary Krikow and in the 1930 U.S. Census, she is Mary Krikaw.  The Naturalization source seems to have the most accurate information.   In the sources like Find a Grave and in her obituary she is listed as Maria Krikau Hartwig.  It was not until I first laid eyes on her obituary (60 years after the fact) that I knew she had remarried after Andreas Krikau died.

Maria Krikau seems to have a complicated nationality / race history.   To be fair, they were Germans living in Russia.  Her nationality is listed as German, Austrian, and Russian.  Her race is Russian.  In the two U.S. Census her race is listed as “white”.   Her “mother tongue” is listed as Russian.  This is an assumption one could make seeing how her birth place is Russia.  In fact her mother tongue would be German as listed in the 1930 US census.  As for speaking English, she could speak English in the 1916 Census and couldn't speak English in the 1921 Census.  In the 1930 Census she can speak English. Interestingly, the 1940 US Census the question of ability to speak English is not included.

The question of schooling is interesting too. In the 1916 and 1921 Canadian Census and 1930 US Census, she is able to read and write. I am sure that she could in her German language.  In the 1930 and 1940 Census it says she did not attend school.  But then the 1940 Census goes on to say that her highest grade completed is Grade 8 in elementary school.   How does that work?

Maria Krikau Hartwig's birth date is somewhat inconsistent as well.  In most of the sources it asks for a estimate of birth year.  It is listed as 1879 or 1880.  Her naturalization papers list her correct birth date as August 27, 1879.  It was not until this past week while working on sourcing Maria Krikau's birth date that I noticed the discrepancy of her birth dates.  In both her obituary and Find a Grave her birth date is listed as August 27, 1878 ! 

Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935

Maria Krikan

Birth Year--------------1879

New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957

Maria Krikan

Birth Date----------------1879

Ethnicity/ Nationality----German

U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1825-1960 (1913)

Maria Krikan

1916 Canada Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta

Marie Krikan

Birth Year---------------------------1880

Racial or Tribal Origin------------Russian

Nationality--------------------------Austrian

Can Speak English-----------------Yes

Can Speak French------------------No

Mother Tongue----------------------Russian

Can Read-----------------------------Yes

Can Write-----------------------------Yes

  

1921 Census of Canada

Mary Krikow

Racial or Tribal Origin------------------Russian

Nationality--------------------------------Russia

Birth Year---------------------------------1880

Birth Place--------------------------------North Russia

Can Speak English?----------------------No

Can Speak French?-----------------------No

Other Language---------------------------Russian

Can Read?---------------------------------Yes

Can Write?---------------------------------Yes

 

1930 United States Federal Census 

 

Mary Krikaw

Birth Year-------------------------------1880

Race-------------------------------------White

Birthplace-------------------------------Russia

Attended School-----------------------No

Able to Read and Write---------------Yes

Language Spoken----------------------German

Able to Speak English-----------------Yes 

 

1940 United States Federal Census

Mary Krikan

Estimated Birth Year------------------1880

Birthplace-------------------------------Russia

Race-------------------------------------White

Attended School or College----------No

Highest Grade Completed------------Elementary school, 8th grade 

 

Illinois, Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991

 

Maria Krikau

Birth Date---------------------------------27 Aug 1879

Birth Place-------------------------------Privalnoje, Russia 

 

U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Name--------------------------------Maria Krikau Hartwig

Birth Date---------------------------27 Aug 1878

Birth Place--------------------------Russia

Death Date--------------------------21 Jul 1953

Obituary of Maria Krikau Hartwig

Multiple sources are recommended for our ancestors in our trees.  In the case of my great grandmother, Maria Krikau, that involves multiple interpretations of her events and the facts that lay within them. 

 

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 8 Prompt - Power

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 8

Prompt – Power

Horse Power.

In the early 20^th century, farming was accomplished using horses.

 

 

 

 

 Jake Peters (1917 - 1983)

 

Theses two photos were taken (circa 1930s) of my father on their family farm.  He would have been in his teen years.  This is a side of my father that I can not imagine.   My meek mannered and quiet father on top of a hay stack controlling the two horses pulling them.  Look at his size compared to the two horses.  I believe they were Clydesdale and I understand that they are the work horses on a farm.   Personally horses of any kind scare the be-jeepers out of me.

 

 

Below is Arthur Johann Jahnke (1894 - 1979). Bill's Grandfather on a horse drawn binder in 1922.

What the heck is a binder? Wikipedia defined it as this:

“Early binders were horse-drawn, their cutting and tying-mechanisms powered by a bull-wheel, that through the traction of being pulled forward creates rotational forces to operate the mechanical components of the machine. Later models were tractor-drawn and some were tractor-powered. “

The earliest binders used wire to tie up the bundles.  Later on the farmers used twine.  Arthur Jahnke had several of their notebooks.  They were given out as an advertisement for their special binder twine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a family story that my maternal grandmother spent sometime in the mid to late 1920's in the Calgary region working with horses.  My dear sweet 5 foot 2 inch grandmother apparently once brought a run away wagon attached to either 4 or 6 horses under control.  I am in awe of her if it is true otherwise it is one of those family tall tales that are lovingly passed on from generation to generation.  

The power of the farm work horse can not be underestimated in its role that it played in the breaking of our ancestors homesteads.  They allowed our ancestors to realize their dream of owning and living off the land.

Wendy