Dance Hall, McHenry Illinois

This might by my August Wenkel, since the area is the same, McHenry Illinois.  I never knew that August and Grace Wenkel had a dance hall, and that they had a license to serve alcohol.   Wonder where this dance hall was?  What was it called?

The McHenry Plaindealer (McHenry, Illinois) ·  Thu, Apr 26, 1934 ·  Page 11
downloaded February 2017 from Newspapers.com

The McHenry Plaindealer (McHenry, Illinois)
Apr 23, 1936 ·  Page 11
downloaded March 2017 from
Newspapers.com

I've done several searches for dance hall in McHenry Illinois with and without the name Wenkel in the search field.  I've found several German results, some in Texas, but none that I've been able to find.  If you know the whereabouts of this business, please let me know.  I'm sure I am not the only one curious.

August Ten Wenkel #Not My Wenkel

Death of Mrs August F. Wenkel, April 1914
Arlington Heights Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois)
Thu, Apr 8, 1954 ·  Page 25
downloaded February 2017 from
Newspapers.com

I don't know who this might be.  My information from Ancestry.com is that Sophia Rohrsen Wenkel died in 1948 in Standish Michigan.  MyHeritage.com shows a death date of February or August 1948.  

If this is your August F. Wenkel whose wife died in Arlington Heights Illinois in April of 1914, this clipping's for you!

Arlington Heights Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois)
Thu, Apr 8, 1954 ·  Page 25
downloaded March 2017 from
Newspapers.com

An unusual name, if this entry is correct.  August Ten Wenkel of Minneapolis Minnesota invented a concentrator of some kind.  Wonder what it concentrated?  Is there a way to find out?  Anyway, this is not a relative of my Wenkel Clan.

#NotMyWenkel

UPDATED to add --
my lawyer friend who looks at patents for a living searched this one for me.  She found the patent, and it looks like a separator for dirt or rocks.  His name is Ten Wenkel, and it sounds Dutch, similar to Corrie Ten Boom.  

August and Sophia Wenkel family, photos and miscellany

August and Sophia Rohrsen Wenkel family, about 1910
permission granted from Christi Adams

August and Sophia Rohrsen Wenkel family
Standish Michigan, original photo

August and Sophia Rohrsen Wenkel Family about 1900
used with permission from Christi Adams

Original photo

August and Sophia Rohrsen Wenkel, about 1920?
used with permission from Christi Adams

1947 August and Sophia Wenkel family reunion

1929 Ship manifest including August Wenkel

I don't know if this August Wenkel is my August Wenkel.  Historically, German immigrants often made several trips back to the homeland, but this seems a bit late for my August.  so, #NotMyWenkel

Alvena Wenkel Schetzer 1889-1975 part 1

Alvena Marie Wenkel Schnetzer

Part 1, up to age 20

Mini Pedigree from Ancestry.com

 

My Great Aunt, sister of my Grandfather.  Two photos are from Dora's granddaughter, Christi Adams, which I share with her permission.  Alvena was 9 years old when my grandfather August was born.

Alvena Wenkel detail from photo of two sisters
about 1920 about age 30
courtesy of Christi Adams, used with permission

1900, age 11

1900 Gibson Michigan Census part 1

Line 50, Alvena Wenkel, age 11, living with her parents, born April 1889

Newspaper Wednesday -- Charles Wenkel 1867

Charles Wenkel, in a German Newspaper

Minnesota Staats-Zeitung (Saint Paul, Minnesota) ·  Sat, Jul 6, 1867 ·  Page 7Downloaded on Mar 2, 2017 from Newspapers.com

Charles Wenkel 1867.  
I found this as I spent several weeks data-mining for anything Wenkel-related.

Is this YOUR Wenkel?

Wedding Wednesday -- William and Dora Wenkel Hohlfelder

3 generation pedigree Dora Wenkel Hohlfelder
from Ancestry.com

Dora Wenkel was the sixth child born to August and Sophia Rohrsen Wenkel.  Sixth child, fourth daughter.  She was born in February 1893 in Standish Michigan, and was 27 years old when she married William Hohlfelder.

William and Dora Wenkel Hohlfelder wedding
June 1920, Standish Michigan
photo used by permission of Christi Adams

Above is the clan gathered at their wedding.  I would love to be able to identify everyone else, because my grandfather must be included.  After all, he would have been a young man of 22.

June 1920 Marriage Record
William and Dora Wenkel Hohlfelder

Notice, if you will, William's occupation as Dairyman.  When August P. Wenkel was drafted in 1918 for World War I, he listed his occupation as a Milk Hauler for Bay Buttery.  Perhaps these two young men were friends, and August introduced William to his older sister?

1920 Marriage Record, Arenac County

William and Dora Wenkel Hohlfelder Wedding party
1920, Standish Michigan
photo used by permission of Christi Adams

Miscellaneous Monday -- August F.A. Wenkel died 100 years ago

On this day in history!

1917 ad for John Deer Corn Planter
Franklin County Tribune (Union, Missouri)
Fri, May 4, 1917 ·  Page 1
Downloaded on Mar 13, 2017
from Newspapers.com

According to my Legacy Software program -- on which I keep my personal family tree -- August F.A. Wenkel died 100 years ago.
Wow, that was a long time.

30 May 1917

August Friederich Andreas Wenkel [657] died 100 years ago

Memorial Monday -- Wenkel Family on Facebook

Wenkel Family on Facebook
The Wenkel Family reunion will be August 2018 somewhere near Standish Michigan.  Contact the Facebook page to join and to ask questions.

You would not believe the quilt somebody made, it is a fantastic rainbow, with each child and descendants assigned a colour.

These quilt photos are used with permission of the owner, Kevin Smith, Grandson of Fred Wenkel.  Thank you, Kevin, for your generosity.

The lettering is difficult to see in the lighter-coloured outer segments, but two women put in a lot of hard work on this piece of historical art.  Bertha Wenkel Peppel (daughter of August and Sophia Wenkel) and Eileen Wenkel Partlo (daughter of Fred Wenkel) worked on this big boy.  It is, according to Kevin, 7 feet tall and 6 feet wide.

There will actually be a reunion in Standish Michigan in 2018.  If you are a cousin, plan to go!  You can contact them through the Facebook link above, or contact me using the form to the right.

Enjoy, and don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss any delicious posts in the future.

• Karoline (Lena) Wenkel Peppel 1886-1975
• Carolyn, 1911-1998
• William 1912-1964
• Herbert John 1915-1966
• Elinor Peppel Welton 1917-2007
• Geraldine Peppel Rhine 1920-1991

Lena, children, grandchildren

• Fred Felix Wenkel 1887-1969
• Velinda Wenkel Boetefuer 1918-2007
• Hershal Wenkel 1920-1929
• Doris Wenkel 1921-1983
• Esther Wenkel Eland 1922-1978
• Eileen Wenkel Partlo
• Clarence Wenkel 1930-2013
• Ernest Wenkel
• Robert Wenkel

Fred, children and grandchildren

• Alvena Wenkel Schnetzer 1889-1975
• Norman Schnetzer 1928-1989
• Arnold Schnetzer 1931-2008
• Anna Wenkel Straub 1891-1972

Anna and Alvena, children and grandchildren

• Dora Wenkel Hohlfelder 1893-1981
• Ellen Hohlfelder 1921-2011
• William Hohlfelder II 1923-2011
• Ronald Hohlfelder 1926-2014
• Marilyn Hohlfelder

Dora, children and grandchildren

• Bertha Wenkel Peppel 1894-1990
• Lucille Peppel 1920-1994
• Otto Lee Peppel 1921-2003
• Marshall O. Peppel 1923-2001
• Elizabeth Peppel Marlow Butterfield 1924-1999
• Priscilla Peppel LeMire 1926-2013
• Barbara R. Peppel 1926-2013
• Martha Lou Peppel

Bertha, children and Grandchildren

• Frieda Wenkel Jost 1896-1978
• Benjamin Jost 1920-1920
• Esther Jost 1921-2013
• Kenneth W. Jost 1922-2004
• Wallace A. Jost 1924-2008
• Edward Roy Jost 
• Evelyn Elizabeth Jost 1928-1993
• Gladys M. Jost

Frieda, children and grandchildren

• Celia Wenkel Schinler Loesch 1897-1997
• Rosemary Schinler 1922-1922
• Helen Schinler Ehrler 1923-2007
• Raymond Schinler 1926-2000

• 
  August Paul Wenkel 1898-1973
• Laurence P. Wenkel I 1932-1999
• Laura Grace Wenkel 1932-1991
• Lester Wenkel
• Ruth Wenkel
• Nancy Irene Wenkel 1943-2005
• Andrew Wenkel 1900-1979

August and part of Andrew, children and grandchildren

• Sophia Wenkel Hoder 1901-1983
• William J. Hoder 1921-1988

Sophia, children, grandchildren

General overview

Mystery Monday -- Lachlan and Gladys Stewart

I have a headache of a dilemma.  I have Gladys Jost Stewart living at a home two years BEFORE she was born.

As I have been going down each line of descendants for Andreas and Sophia Rohrsen Wenkel, I found something that is very confusing for me.

I got to Gladys Jost Stewart, who married Lachlan Stewart.  Gladys is the daughter of Roy and Frieda Wenkel Jost, the Granddaughter of immigrants August F.A. and Sophia Rohrsen Wenkel.

From Ancestry.com

But, as I research and confirm the records of residence and dates of birth and census records, I have Gladys living with Lachlan two years BEFORE she is born!

Okay, so I thought "This will straighten itself out in the end."  I figured that more research will reveal a typographical error, or a transcriptional error.  But no!  I have a headache now, because it gets more and more confusing.

The only scenario that makes sense is if Lachlan A. Stewart and Gladys Stewart (who were both 41 at the 1940 Census was the FIRST set of Lachlan/Gladys couple.

Note that in the 1940 Census, they have a son, Lachlan Jr.  I suspect THIS Lachlan is the husband of my Gladys Marie Jost.

I have to research this some more, and I will update as I find out the solution to this mystery.  Sometimes, I have to come up with (I am a nurse, so I think in terms of nursing) a working diagnosis.  This means that I have a hypothesis (there are TWO sets of Lachlan/Gladys units) and now I must see if my research supports my working hypothesis.  I may be wrong, of course.


UPDATE -- My working diagnosis was correct.  My Lachlan/Gladys unit was Lachlan III and Gladys M. Jost Stewart.  His parents were Lachlan II and Gladys A. Stewart.  And, yet, there is a third Lachlan Stewart who is the immigrant from Scotland.

From Ancestry.com

And it all began with a headache.  Headache is now resolved with application of the right treatment!

Census Sunday -- August and Sophia Wenkel 1910

August and Sophia Wenkel mini pedigree
from Ancestry.com

1910 Census, Gibson Township, Bay, Michigan
from Ancestry.com

This image of the 1910 census for Gibson Township in Bay County, Michigan shows the not-so-little Wenkel family on their farm.  This was information obtained for 30 April 1910.

On line 57 we start with August (FA) Wenkel.  I'll transcribe the census in a moment, but lets take a look at some things first, shall we?

The Wenkels are the 138th family visited.  There is no street and no house number, indicating this is farm country.  Most of this community were either Germans themselves, or descendants of Germans.  Most likely they spoke German fluently.  

{Whoa, nellie.  This census lists only 10 children.  August Jr (the first), Lena, and Barbara are missing.  August, we know, died while still an infant in Germany.  Lena was most likely working as a domestic.  Barbara died as an infant in 1895.  I wonder why she did not include her two dead children in the count?  I cannot believe she'd forgotten about them.  But, why were they not included in her children?}

It looks like the enumerator got the order of the children mixed up, if we look at the ages.  One thing to remember...just because the wife is listed as having no job, that does not mean she didn't take in laundry, sell eggs, sew clothing or anything else to earn a penny or three.

57.  August Wenkel, Head, white male.  Age 49, first marriage, married for 25 years.  Born Germany, parents born Germany.  Immigrated 1876 and is naturalized.  Speaks English.  Occupation Farmer on General Farm.   Able to read/write, does not attend school.  

58.  Sophia Wenkel, wife, white female.  Age 46, first marriage, married 25 years, 12 children born, 12 still living {see note above}.    Born Germany, parents born Germany.  Immigrated 1876.  Speaks English.  No occupation.  Able to read/write, does not attend school.  

59.  Fred Wenkel, son, white male.  age 23, single, born Michigan.  Speaks English.  Farmer on Home Land.  Able to read/write, does not attend school.  

60.  Anna, daughter, white female.  Age 19, single, born Michigan.  Speaks English.   Clerk in General Store.  Able to read/write, does not attend school.  

61.  Vena, daughter, white female.  age 21, single, born Michigan.  Speaks English.   Domestic with Housework.  Able to read/write, does not attend school.  

62.  Bertha, daughter, white female.  Age 16, single, born Michigan.  Speaks English.  None.  Able to read/write, attends school.  

63.  Dora, daughter, white female.  Age 17, single, born Michigan.  Speaks English.  Domestic, Housework.  Able to read/write, does not attend school.  

64.  Frieda, daughter, white female.  Age 14, single, born Michigan.  Speaks English.  None.  Able to read/write, does attend school.  

65.  Celia, daughter, white female..  Age 13, single, born Michigan.  Speaks English.  None.  Able to read/write, does attend school.  

66.  August, son, white male.  Age 11, single, born Michigan.  Speaks English.  None.  Able to read/write, does attend school.  

67.  Andrew, son, white male.  age 10, single, born Michigan.  Speaks English.  None.  Able to read/write, does attend school.  

68.  Sophia, daughter, white female.  Age 7, single, born Michigan.  Speaks English.  None.  Able to read/write, does attend school.  

69.  William, son, white male.  Age 6, single, born Michigan.  None.  Able to read/not write, does attend school.

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

Military Monday -- August Paul Wenkel 1898-1973

August Paul Wenkel and siblings 3 generation pedigree
from Ancestry.com

1918 World War 1 Draft Registration Card
August Paul Wenkel

August P Wenkel, born 14 June 1898 is 20 years old when he registered for the Draft in World War I.  He was living at Rural Route #2 in Standish Michigan.  He is white, native born, with blue eyes and brown hair and of medium build.  He worked for a buttery hauling milk.  He lists his nearest relative as August Wenkel (August F.A. Wenkel, his father), with the same address.  This looks like it may be his own signature.  Interestingly, he signs as August Wenkel Jr.

Update -- 5/16/2017.
There has been some wonderment that this may not be the proper August Wenkel.  I'd been fooled once before, but as I re-analyze this WWI draft card, I can explain why I am sure this is the correct August Wenkel, my grandfather.

• Line 1 -- the name is August P. Wenkel, Jr.  While technically my grandfather was not actually a Junior (he had a different middle name) for all intents and purposes he was August Jr, the son of August.
• Line 2 -- RR#2, Standish, Arenac, Michigan.  I believe but cannot prove right now that the RR#2 is an address I've seen before, but I CAN say that Standish is the hometown of my August Wenkel family.
• Line 3 and 4 -- the birth date is spot on, and his age is 20 years old.  The math works out.
• Line 5 and 10 -- he is a white native-born male.
• Line 19 and 20 -- his nearest relative is listed as August Wenkel, presumably the Senior above, with the exact same address.  It was not uncommon for young men to live with their families at the age of 20.

I am confident this is the draft card for my grandfather, August Paul Wenkel.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Census Sunday -- Lena Wenkel, found

Wenkel, Lena line 17

When I posted about August Frederick Andreas Wenkel, I was missing daughter Lena's name on the 1900 census.

I found her.  Here she is, line 17, in Lincoln, Arenac County, Michigan

She was working in Lincoln Township, Arenac, Michigan as a domestic.  She was 14 years old, and she lived and worked for the Kraus family, who were also immigrants from Germany.  I wonder, did these two families know each other in the old country?  The Kraus family had three daughters, one of whom married Lena's brother Fred in 1915.

Is this your Wenkel?  

Wedding Wednesday -- Squire F.W. Wenkel marries a couple in Missouri

#NotMyWenkel

I found a blog post in which Squire F.W. Wenkel performs a marriage ceremony in Missouri.  Check it out here.  The blog was posted in 2010.  If anybody else is related to this Missouri Wenkel family, let me know if this was of any help.

http://kleager-klaeger-klager.blogspot.com/2010/12/frank-and-sophie-get-married.html

Update as of 5 May 2017

I have found another resource for this same marriage from Family Search.  In it, we find out a little bit more information, such as that they were married by Justice Wenkel because Sophie was Lutheran and Frank was Catholic.

Frank August Kleager and Sophie Drewel wedding picture

https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/29457244

#NotMyWenkel August Wenkel Naturalization

August Friederic Andreas Wenkel arrived from Prussia about 1869.  There was no Germany at that time.  Germany was created about 1949 per Wikipedia.

 At first,  it looked like August became naturalized quite early in his American life.  I found his name in a Michigan naturalization index.  August Wuenkel.  I've seen Winkel, Wankel and Wenkel, but never Wuenkel.  This is why one must sometimes scroll through that long list of names to find the target name.

I spoke too soon.  His last name was spelled correctly here.  This is what the index looked like, sort of:

Last Name First Name Middle Name First Paper Second Paper

 Wenkel August  First Paper only -- V9, P551

Wednesday, December 26, 2007 Page 1410 of 1474

Oakland County Naturalization Index Order copies of records by calling (517) 373-1408

Archives of Michigan

Home page: www.michigan.gov/archivesofmi

E-mail: archives@michigan.gov

Unfortunately, I had to pay 10$ to get a copy of his record.

August Wenkel Naturalization
Stearns County Minnesota

What I always like to see is the signature.  I believe this is August Wenkel's personal signature.  But note:  he signed it as Winkel.  Also of interest is that he had his first papers drawn up in Minnesota.  I don't see (yet) any finalization papers.















Well, silly me.  When I put the naturalization image and date into Ancestry.com, I see that August would have been 8 years old.  This is not my August.  Let this be a lesson to you, to be careful of which August Wenkel you choose, it is not always what it appears.  I will leave this naturalization information here so perhaps another Wenkel descendant can make use of it.  If you do, please let me know so I can "close the loop" as they say.

Wonderful Resources

I found a few wonderful resources in my research.  I will list them here for two reasons.  First is a selfish one -- I want to be able to quickly find them to use them again.  Second is to share with you, my fellow family historian.  I will add more as I find them.

1. Historic Map Works -- the subtitle is residential genealogy.  I have only searched two surnames and one residence and I like what I see.
2. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps -- I used this when researching my Vidunas clan in Pennsylvania.  I could really see how close they lived to the mines, the new school built of bricks and that they were within walking distance of their church.
3. Gjenvick Passenger Lists of Ellis Island -- I found my Vidunas immigrants using this site
4. The Map search of land ownership from the Library of Congress.  It can be a bit tricky to use, but you can search by state then by county.  Once you get the "slideshow" up, typically you have to click on the words on the slide from which you can find and search for your desired county.
5. A place to purchase maps.  You can download a small resolution map for 5$, or a printable version for 20$.  I don't know about you, but that seems very expensive.  Especially when your purchased item comes with their watermark all over it.  What I did was I found the map here on their searchable engine, then I went to the Library of Congress site (above) to pinpoint the map I wanted.
6. Some other websites I've not been able to fully explore but plan to include
1. Farm Ownership guide from Archives.gov
2. The Plat Plotter app which is supposed to work as an overlay with Google maps.  Should be useful when searching for present day locations for historical places
3. Students of Descent either have their own app or they list other ways of finding genealogically significant locations
4. Google Earth Hacks sounds cool, doesn't it?
5. Searching for Townships.  Need to try this one out
6. Heaven for Genealogists.  Well, I could use a little Heaven about now
7. A YouTube video I thought was important enough to include here
8. Another YouTube video I thought was important

Wenkel Introduction

GDJ. (2015, November 9). Heart Germany. 

Retrieved from openclipart: 

https://openclipart.org/detail

/231972/heart-germany

This blog is about the Wenkel surname.  This name -- at least my family's name -- is a good German name.  I have gotten lost in the many names I've collected, since each family had many children.  But, as I fumble around, collecting relatives, I have had to learn how to become more organized, and how to arrange this information in a way my children and grandchildren could appreciate.  Because family is important, don't you know.

BBC. (2017). Germany country profile. 

Retrieved from Europe: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17299607

There is no timeline for this series.  I will add information as I have it, as I can arrange and write it, and as my interest piques.  I make no apologies for the staccato nature this blog will invariably show, but I want you, the reader, to enjoy the information, and the pictures.  I also wish for you to add to the story as you can.  Because one person canNOT complete the story herself.

Studying in Germany. (n.d.). 15 Reasons Why You Should Learn German Language. 

Retrieved from Studying in Germany: http://www.studying-in-germany.org/

reasons-why-you-should-learn-german-language/

So much for the introduction.  Next post is the real meal deal.