Sunday’s Obituary: Charles Francis Turner

Note: Further research has revealed that this Charles Francis Turner is not the same as the one who was a child of Richard Stebbens Turner and Lily Filby after all, and therefore is not related to me. However, this post may still be of interest to people who are actually related to him.

 

Although my very first blog post told a part of the story of this side of my family, it has been a while since I have again visited it. (My Luxembourg source project takes up most of my blog time lately.) And, although I would love to again present a well-researched narrative, that takes quite a while to prepare, and I am presently impatient. So I am taking advantage of the Sunday’s Obituary prompt at Geneabloggers to transcribe a more or less random obituary from the English branch of my family. I have also added a Descendancy Report for my 3great-grandfather John Filby, to clarify the relationship of the subject of the obituary to my family.

The subject of the obituary is Charles Francis Turner, a somewhat distant relation. In fact, he is my second cousin twice removed, being the grandson of my great-great-grandmother’s brother.

St. Mary the Virgin, the parish church at which the funeral took place.
Lynda Poulter [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

THEYDON BOIS

THE LATE MR. C. F. TURNER. -- The funeral took place at the Parish Church on Monday of Mr. Charles Francis Turner, who died at the residence of his son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. C. Rose, at Coppice Row, at the age of 65. He was very well known in the district, to which he came in 1902, starting a hairdressing business at Epping For four years he was licensee of the Wheatsheaf, Theydon Bois, and later the Carpenters’ Arms, Thornwood. for nine years. During the war he worked at a munition factory. He leaves a widow, one son, and one daughter. The funeral was conducted by the Rev. M. W. Smith, vicar of Chigwell. The immediate mourners were: Mrs. Turner, widow; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Turner, son and daughter-in-law; Mr. and Mrs. C. Rose, son-in-law and daughter; Miss Betty Rose, granddaughter; Mrs. W. Gloyn, sister; Mr. Ralph Turner, brother; Mrs. J. Luck, sister-in-law; Mr. S. Thake, brother-in-law; and Mr. and Mrs. R. West.

  Other Theydon Bois News on Page Five.

The parents of Charles Francis Turner, though not mentioned in his obituary, were Richard Stebbens Turner and Lily Filby. Lily Filby was, in turn, a daughter of William Filby, my great-great-grandmother Elizabeth Filby’s brother. [Note: these parental relations are in error, as noted above.]

Source:

“Theydon Bois,” The Chelmsford Chronicle, 19 July 1935, p. 12, col. 2; digital images, British Newspaper Archive (http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ : accessed 2 Jan 2014).

Amanuensis Monday: Barbara THINES’ death certificate

On 9 June 1890, Peter STROESSER, accompanied by his neighbor Johann PUNSCH, appeared before the Burgermeister for the sad task of reporting the death of his wife. Barbara THINES had passed away the previous evening, leaving Peter alone to raise their six children, ranging in age from five to sixteen.

This image has been trimmed from the original at FamilySearch.

Transcription (the italicized parts were handwritten on the record):

Im Jahre tausend acht hundert neunzig den neunten

des Monats Juni um fünf Uhr vor mittags sind vor Uns

Glesener Michel, Bürgermeister, Beamten des Civilstandes

der Gemeinde Folscheid , im Kanton Redingen , Großherzog=

thum Luxemburg, erschienen Stroesser Peter, Eisenhändler,

alt fünfzig fünf Jahre, Ehemann der Verstorbenen,

wohnhaft zu Schwiedelbruch

und Punsch Johann, , alt vierzig fünf Jahre,

Handarbeiter, wohnhaft zu Schwiedelbruch,

Nachbar der Verstorbenen.

Diese haben Uns erklärt, daß Thinnes Barbara

alt vierzig fünf Jahre, Haushälterin,

geboren zu Helzingen , wohnhaft zu Schwiedel=

bruch; Ehefrau des Erst=deklaranten Stroesser

Peter;

verschieden ist gestern um acht Uhr nach mittags,

zu Schwiedelbruch,

und haben beide Anzeiger gegenwärtige Urkunde, nachdem sie ihnen vorgelesen worden,

mit Uns unterschrieben.

Line by line Translation:

In the Year one thousand eight hundred ninety, the ninth

of the Month of June at five o’clock before noon have before Us

Glesener Michel, Burgermeister, Officials of the Civil State

of the Commune of Folschette , in the Canton Redange , Grand-

duchy of Luxembourg, appeared Stroesser Peter, Ironmonger,

aged fifty five Years, Husband of the Deceased,

residing in Schwiedelbrouch

and Punsch Johann, , aged forty five Years,

Manual Laborer residing in Schwiedelbrouch,

Neighbor of the Deceased.

This has been declared to Us, that Thinnes Barbara

aged forty five Years, Housekeeper,

born in Hachiville , residing in Schwiedel-

brouch; Wife of the First-declarer Stroesser

Peter;

deceased is yesterday at eight o’clock after noon,

in Schwiedelbrouch,

and have both Informants the present deed, having been read to them,

with Us signed.

Source:

Folschette, Redange, Luxembourg, death certificate no. 28 (1890), Barbara Thinnes; digital image #135 of 142, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, "Décès 1879-1889," FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 21 Nov 2014).

Amanuensis Monday: Peter STROESSER and Barbara THINES’ marriage certificate

Helzerklaus, the hermitage chapel
Johnny Chicago at lb.wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

Not far outside the village of Hachiville stands a little hermitage chapel dedicated to St. Thomas. The ancient whitewashed building, known to the locals as Helzer Klaus, is tucked snugly among the trees, and a mineral spring ripples narby. Since the Middle Ages it has stood in its grove and witnessed pilgrimages, processions, and a few less pious rituals. For through the years curious young people surely have attempted to divine the identity of their future mates by following the dictates of tradition: thrice circling the hermitage unseen, twice beating their heads against a birch, then jumping barefoot into the stream. Following this interesting formula, popular belief claims the young person could hear the name of their spouse in the bubbling of the brook.

If during her young maidenhood Barbara THINES ever slipped away to that lonely grove and performed the magic rites, and if they were successful, the name she would have heard the creek whisper was “Peter.”

She and Peter STROESSER, a blacksmith living in Heispelt, were married on 4 Aug 1871, when Peter was 37 and Barbara was 27.

This image has been trimmed from the original at FamilySearch.

Transcription (the italicized parts were handwritten on the record):

Im Jahre tausend achthundert ein und siebenzig, den neunten des Monats August

um Drei Uhr Nach mittags, sind vor Uns Wilhelm Jacques

Bürgermeister Beamten des Civilstandes der Gemeinde Wahl

im Kanton Redingen im Großherzogthum Luxemburg, erschienen Stroesser

Peter Huffschmied, alt dreißig sieben Jahre, geboren zu

Ettelbruck, den vierten Juni achtzehn hundert

vier und dreißig wohnhaft zu Heispelt im Dieser

Gemeinde. groß jähriger Sohn des zu gesagten Heispelt am

zehnten April, achtzehn hundart sechzig, verschiedenen Peter Stroesser und

der hier gegenwärtig und in diese Heirath einwilligenden Anna Maria

Mertz Haushalterin wohnhaft zu Heispelt einer=Vorstehendes erhellt

aus beiliegendem Aus zug aus dem Civilregister der Gemeinde Ettelbruck

und aus dem Civil=Register dieser Gemeinde

und Barbara Thines, ohne Stand, alt zwanzig sieben Jahre

geboren zu Heltzingen den

fünften Mai achtzehn hundert vier und vierzig wohnhaft

– groß jährige Zochter

der hier gegenwartigen und in diese Heirath einwilligenden

Michel Thines und Anna Maria Schmidt, Ehe= und Ackersleute

wohnhaft zu Heltzingen andrerseits. Vorstehendes Geburts=Daten

erhellt aus beiliegendem Aus zug aus dem Civil=Register Per Geburts=

Urkunden der Gemeinde Heltzingen

Welche uns ersucht haben, zu der unter ihnen übereingekommenen Vollziehung ihrer Heirath zu schreiten und dere Verkündigungen vor

den Gemein den Häusern von Wahl und Heltzingen ein den

Sonntagen neunten und sechzehnten des verflossenen Monats

Juli um die Mittagsstunde

Statt gehabt haben.

Da und kein Widerspruch gegen gedachte Heirath verkündet worden ist, so lassen wir ihrem Begehren Recht widerfahren; und nachdem wir alle

obenerwähnten Akten und das 6. Kapitel des Civil=Gesetzbuches, von der Heirath betitelt, vorgelesen, haben wir den Bräutigam und die Braut

gefragt, ob sie sich zum Mann und zur Frau nehmen wollen; de beide, jedes besonders und bejahend, geantwortet haben, so erklären wir im Namen

des Gesetzes, daß Peter Stroesser und Barbara Thines

durch die Heirath vereinigt sind

Von allem diesem haben wir diese Urkunde errichtet, und zwar in Gegenwart des Jacques

Nicolas Ackerer alt zwanzig sieben Jahre,

wohnhaft zu Wahl, nicht verwandt,

Des Jacques Franz, Ackerer alt sechzig ein Jahre,

wohnhaft zu Arsdorff, nicht verwandt

Des Jacques Falentin Ackerer alt sechzig Jahre,

wohnhaft zu Wahl, nicht verwandt,

Und des Becker Leonard, Schuster alt dreißig zwei Jahre,

wohnhaft zu Wahl, nicht verwandt

Welche, nachdem sie ihnen vorgelesen worden ist, dieselbe mit uns unterschrieben haben. Mit—

Aus nich ein der Mutter der Braut und der, des Bräutigams

die sich ein Schreiben (erklärt) lese, unerfahren erklärt haben.

Line by line Translation:

In the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy one, the ninth of the Month of August

at Three O’Clock After noon, before Us Wilhelm Jacques

Burgermeister Officials of the Civil State of the Commune of Wahl

in the Canton of Redange in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, appeared Stroesser

Peter Blacksmith, age thirty seven Years, born in

Ettelbruck, on the fourth of June eighteen hundred

thirty four residing in Heispelt in This

Commune of age Son of the aforesaid Heispelt on the

tenth of April, eighteen hundred sixty, distinct Peter Stroesser and

the currently present and in this Marriage consenting Anna Maria

Mertz Housekeeper residing in Heispelt single-Above evident

from enclosed extract from the Civil Registry of the Commune of Ettelbruck

and of the Civil-Register of this Commune

and Barbara Thines, without Occupation, age twenty seven Years

born in Hachiville on the

fifth of May eighteen hundred forty four residing

– of age Daughter

the currently present and in this Marriage consenting

Michel Thines and Anna Maria Schmidt, Married- and Farmer couple

residing in Hachiville on the other hand. The foregoing Birth-Dates

evident from the enclosed extract of the Civil-Register By Birth-

Deeds of the Commune of Hachiville

Which have requested us, to proceed to the Completion of their Marriage and particular Announcements as agreed among them before

the Common Houses of Wahl and Hachiville on the

Sundays the ninth and sixteenth of the past Month

July at Noon

Have been held.

Since no contradiction to the intended marriage has been announced, we can honor their desire; and after we all

the above document and the 6^th chapter of the Civil Code, of the Marriage titled, read, we have the Groom and the Bride

questioned, whether it be that they want to take one another for Man and Wife; because both, each particularly and affirming, have responded, as we explained in the Name

of the Law, that Peter Stroesser and Barbara Thines

are united in Marriage.

From all this we have made this Certificate, and in the Presence of Jacques

Nicolas Farmer age twenty seven Years,

residing in Wahl, not related,

Of Jacques Franz, Farmer age sixty one Years,

residing in Arsdorf, not related

Of Jacques Falentin Farmer age sixty Years,

residing in Wahl, not related,

And of Becker Leonard, Cobbler age thirty two Years,

residing in Wahl, not related

Who, after having it read to them, have undersigned. With—

Not from the Mother of the Bride and which, the Groom

which a letter (declared) reading, have declared inexperienced.

(Those last couple of handwritten lines have proved confusing to me; the clumsy translation above is the best I have been able to manage. If you have a better understanding of what is being said, please enlighten me!)

This marriage produced eight children, whose vital records—or at least the ones produced in Luxembourg—have already been presented:

1. Michel “Mike” STROESSER (1873-1937)

m. Regina STOMP (1898)

2. Baltasar STROESSER (1875-1939)

m. Anna KAYSER (1907)

3. Anna STROESSER (1876-1946)

m. Peter HEYMANS (1898)

4. Johann “Harry” STROESSER (1878-1964)

m. Mary Josephine CRAIG (1915)

5. Johann-Nicolas “Nick” STROESSER (1880-?)

m. Rosa FRANKS (1915)

6. Johann STROESSER (1881-1882)

7. Catharina STROESSER (1883-1884)

8. Clara STROESSER (1885-1921)

m. Nicholas FANCK (1905)

Sources:

“Hachiville, Paroisse Et Ancienne Commune.” Luxroots. Web. Accessed 29 Oct 2012. (In French.)

“Luxemburg: Volksglauben International.” Wandermagazin. W&A Marketing & Verlag GmbH, Mar.-Apr. 2008. Web. Accessed 29 Oct 2012. (In German.)

Wahl, Redange, Luxembourg marriage certificate (1871), Stroesser-Thines; digital image #1145 of 1475, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, “Naissances 1867-1890 Mariages 1796-1797, 1800-1804, 1805-1823, 1796-1803, 1805-1890 Décès 1797-1803, 1805-1828,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 14 Apr 2011).

Thoughts on John Stephen Craig

Not long after my grandparents’, Rose Stroesser and Jack Hoyt’s, marriage they moved from the midst of their families in the Omaha, Nebraska/Council Bluffs, Iowa area halfway across the country to Oregon. Therefore, they raised their children with the knowledge of a multitude of cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, but with little actual contact with that extended family.

So when we learned that a Stroesser cousin was coming to visit and wanted to meet her Hoyt cousins, we (Rose and Jack’s children and grandchildren) swooped down upon her, voracious for kinship. I was present for an evening’s potluck with the family, during which our “new” cousin posed the question: “Did you ever hear that Grandma was supposed to ride on the Titanic?”

The Titanic at the docks
See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

We all eagerly assented to our having heard that rumor before. And that set me on a course of thought which finally led to a breakthrough.

Every seasoned genealogist has heard that well-known rumor of an ancestor who was supposed to ride the Titanic but luckily didn’t—and we have all been taught to scoff at such wishful oral history. But oral history quite often contains a kernel of truth, and the trick is to tease that truth out into the open. Quite some time ago I believed I had discovered the truth of my family’s Titanic story: I found a ship’s passenger list containing two people who appeared to be my great-grandmother Mary Craig and her father John Craig. And how did this tie to the Titanic? The ship they were riding on was the Mauretania, which turned out to be the sister ship of the Lusitania. If you recall high school history class, you may remember that the sinking of the Lusitania was an impetus for the U.S. becoming involved in World War I. And if you have any understanding of human nature, you can easily see how one famous sunken ship could become confused with another when retelling an imperfectly remembered tale.

The Mauretania and the Lusitania passing one another
By UnknownAquitania at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

You will notice I said “I believed I had discovered” and “who appeared to be my great-grandmother.” I had not been able to prove to myself that the John and Mary Craig on the passenger list were my John and Mary Craig. The evidence on the list inclined me to think that they probably were, but there just wasn’t enough information to be sure. But I had long ago laid this question aside to focus on other research objectives, and filed away my conclusions as an interesting sidenote.

However, this turned out to be a very opportune time to return my thoughts to the passenger list. My experience with the 1907 passenger list of Nicholas Stroesser revealing my great-grandfather’s pre-Omaha residence was still fairly fresh in my mind, and it struck me that perhaps like that manifest the Mauretania’s had a second page. I returned to the image on Ancestry to check. Sure enough, it had. And it contained not only the certainty I was seeking, but another much-needed piece of John Craig’s puzzle.

And now, before I address the aforementioned much-needed piece of the puzzle, I need to back up a little. John Craig is, of course, my great-great-grandfather who was an unsolved murder in Omaha. My knowledge of his life is scanty despite a number of sources: apart from those articles I have already shared concerning his death, I had some other articles (which I will undoubtedly share sometime, for they paint a portrait of a very... ornery man), some city directories, a couple censuses, and a marriage record.

However, he seemed to have fallen out of the sky to marry Martha Robbenult, because I had been utterly unable to confirm any record prior to that. Although the marriage record conveniently identified his parents and said he was born in Scotland, try looking for a James and Margaret Craig with their son John in Scotland! And then expand the search to all of England as well, because some sources give his birthplace as England. Even narrowing it down to only those of the right age, there are far too many to choose from. I needed more information.

But there, on the second page of the portion of the Mauretania’s manifest applying to John Craig, was a birthplace listed. The first one I had ever seen that specified not only the country of his birth, but the town as well: Whitehaven, England.

The Old Quay at Whitehaven
Humphrey Bolton [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

So naturally the first thing I did was to google Whitehaven. I learned that it is situated in the county of Cumberland, in the far north of England, bordering Scotland. That geographical location could explain why John Craig is sometimes described as Scottish. The next thing I did was to plug this new information into what I already knew about John Craig and search for a census record. The result was almost immediate: a household popped up in the 1881 census, and I read the list of names. There were James and Margaret—the former born in Ireland, the latter in Scotland—there was John himself, slightly older than expected but in the right range and born in Whitehaven. As my eye ran farther down the list chills ran up my spine. The next two names were Matthew and Mary, siblings here but familiar to me as the names of two of John’s own children. Perhaps these were those children’s namesakes.

I was able to locate this family in three other census years as well. Although I haven’t found the proverbial smoking gun to confirm beyond a doubt that these are indeed my 3great-grandparents, all the evidence thus far tends to support that conclusion. (When I find evidence that this Margaret’s maiden name is Mury or Murray I will finally rest easy.) In a future post I will lay out all the evidence in detail, but this post is already long enough.

Sources:

1861 census of England, Cumberland, Whitehaven registration district, Egremont ecclesiastical district, Egremont parish, folio 73, page 30-31, Household of James Craig; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Apr 2015); citing PRO RG 9/3952.

1871 census of England, Cumberland, Egremont civil parish, folio 66, page 8-9, Household of Janes Crag; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Apr 2015); citing PRO RG 10/5262.

1881 census of England, Cumberland, Cleator Moor, civil parish of Cleator, folio 117, page 48, Household of James Craig; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Apr 2015); citing PRO RG 11/5191.

1891 census of England, Cumberland, Cleator Moor, civil parish of Cleator, Egremont parliamentary division, ecclesiastical parish of St. Johns, folio 91, page 19, Household of James Craig; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Apr 2015); citing PRO RG 12/4317.

FamilySearch, “Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934,” database, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 5 May 2013), entry for John Stephen Craig and M. M.Robbenult’s 1886 marriage; citing Crawford, Iowa, United States, county courthouses, Iowa; Reference ID: p 60, GS Film Number: 1035129, Digital Folder Number: 004311125.

“New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” online images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Feb 2010), manifest, S.S. Mauretania, 10 Mar 1911, list 6, lines 18-19, John Craig and Mary Craig; citing Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957, Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls; Records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36; National Archives at Washington, D.C; Microfilm Roll: Roll 1637; Line: 19; Page Number: 68.