52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 50

This week’s writing prompt is Naughty. Today’s post is about someone who might be on Santa’s Naughty List. My paternal 2nd great-aunt Matilda (Tillie) Boegel would definitely fall into that category. She was born 18 May 1872 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the fifth child of Johann (known as John) and Sophia (Suhre) Boegel. Her siblings were Johann born in 1861, William born in 1864, Emma born in 1868, Louisa (my great-grandmother) born in 1870, John born in 1874, and Charles born in 1877.

At first blush it appears that Tillie led a pretty benign life. On paper, she never married or had any children. She lived with her parents until her mid-late twenties, working as a tailoress in Cincinnati. That was also the occupation of my great-grandmother, her sister Louisa.

By the 1900 Cincinnati census she was boarding at 219 Odeon with Mary Lambert, a widow with a 14 year old son and a 12 year old daughter. Tillie’s occupation was still listed as tailoress. In the 1901 Cincinnati Directory she was a tailoress residing at 1562 Linn St.

In the early 1900s, Matilda’s life took an interesting twist as she hooked up with her cousin’s husband. The cousin, Sophia Saatkamp, was born in Cincinnati in March of 1870 to Henry and Richie (Suhre) Saatkamp. She married William H. Niederhelman on 22 August 1888. William was a jeweler, who at one point owned a jewelry store. They had two sons: Albert born in 1889, and William born in 1896. Sophia divorced William as she felt he was paying too much attention to her cousin, Tillie. Around 1904 or 1905, William and Tillie left Cincinnati together, and set up a home in Terre Haute, Indiana. There are conflicting reports as to whether the divorce of Sophia and William occurred before or after they took off.

The couple lived in Terre Haute several years, and though she was often referred to as his wife, there is no record of a marriage between William and Tillie. She left him just before Christmas of 1909 to go and live with her brother John Boegel, his wife Luella, and their three sons in Connersville, Indiana. By that time, according to a newspaper account, she was blind, deaf, and suffered from paralysis of the left side.

William Niederhelman's death

William, now going by the name of William Helman, met up with a woman named Effie Sellsbury at a hotel in Terre Haute on Christmas Day in 1909. Effie then met with William again around 8 January 1910 in Chicago. They had dinner together, and she was registered at a hotel as his wife. They departed on the same train out of Chicago on 9 January. He left the train in Terre Haute, and the next morning, Monday, 10 January, William was found dead in bed, a supposed victim of poisoning. He left a note accusing the Sellsbury woman of giving him the poison. He also alleged she had stolen from him, and that she was engaged in white slavery.

Effie, in the meantime, had continued on the train in the company of a man named Henry Corcoran. When they arrived in New Orleans they were arrested and charged in connection with the death of William. They vehemently denied the charges, and stated William was fine when he got off the train in Terre Haute.

Police believed that William had committed suicide because he was despondent that Effie would not stay with him, and the coroner sent the body to the State University at Bloomington for examination. It was determined the William had committed suicide by taking 53 grains of cyanide potassium. Chemists confirmed that this amount would have caused instant death, so Effie could not have given him the poison in Chicago 12 hours before he died. Effie and her male companion were released after spending a couple of days in a New Orlean's jail.

In light of William’s death, Tillie’s brother John petitioned to take care of William’s estate, but in the end he could not prove that William and Tillie ever married, despite the fact that they had lived together as husband and wife. The estate was thought to be worth $5,000. William carried two life insurance policies, each with a death benefit of $500. One was payable to his estate and the other to “Mrs. Mathilda Helman, Cincinnati.”

But someone else was also interested in William’s estate - his ex-wife Sophia. She traveled to Terre Haute with her son Albert to petition the court to be appointed administratrix of the estate. Ultimately, co-administrators were appointed, one for each of the so-called wives of William.

In another odd twist the Cincinnati Enquirer, in covering the sordid tale of the 1910 death of William. reported that about two yeas ago a liveryman committed suicide. It is alleged that he ended his life when his wife learned that he had an “engagement with the woman know as Mrs. Helman No. 2.” That would be Tillie.

Tillie died 16 September 1910 in Connersville, Indiana at the age of 38. The cause of death was listed as “Exhaustion”, having a duration of one year. It must have been exhausting to live a life of betrayal, deception, infidelity and ostracism from your family. But one has to wonder if something else contributed to her debilitating illness. Syphilis can cause blindness, hearing loss and neurological issues. It bears consideration.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 48

As November is the next-to-last month in the year, Next to Last is the writing prompt this week.  For this prompt I will be writing about my paternal great-grandmother, Louisa A. Boegel. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in July of 1870, Louisa was the fourth of seven children born to Johann Heinrich Boegel and his wife, Sophie Elizabeth (Suhre) Boegel. Johann had emigrated from Prussia, arriving in Baltimore on 20 July 1858. On 26 November 1858, he married Sophie Suhre in Cincinnati. In later years he owned a saloon on the northwest corner of Ninth and Elm Streets.

In the 22 June 1882 edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer, an article appeared on page 8 entitled "Good Pupils" with the subtitle "Who Have Been Tried and Passed". The article went on to list the names and average percentage of all the pupils of Grade D who were examined for admission to the Intermediate Schools and received a score of at least 70%. Under the Third Intermediate School, Sixth District appears the name Louisa Boegel, with a percentage of 70.3. There was one student who scored 70%, making Louisa the next to last student in the class.

Louisa Boegel

On 18 January 1891, Louisa married Henry Kubler at St. Gabriel’s Church in Connersville, Indiana. Together they had two children: Joseph (my grandfather), born in 1891 and Ethel, born in 1894 and died in 1895. Louisa was listed in various city directories as being a seamstress.

Henry was only 33 when he died on 11 February 1902, and on 9 November 1903 Louisa married Charles Fredrick Brinkman. They had a son Charles, born 6 January 1907. Louisa died 17 October 1913 at the age of 43, when her son Charles was only 6 years old.

Louisa may have been next to last in her class when she was 12 in 1882, but without her I wouldn’t be here. And we all know what the person who graduated last in the class in medical school is called - Doctor.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 3

Longevity is the prompt for Week 3 of the writing challenge. This prompted me to dig into my family tree to find the ancestor who far exceeded the average life expectancy at the time of death. So while I have ancestors who were older when they died, and in fact have aunts who are still living in their 90s, I am intrigued by my paternal second great-grandfather, Johann Heinrich Berhard Boegel. He was 83 when he died in 1920, but according to a study from the University of California - Berkeley, the average life expectancy for a male in the United States in 1920 was 53.6 years. He exceeded the average by nearly 30 years!

Teutoburg Forest

Johann (sometimes going by Henry, other times as John) was born on 1 March 1837 in Lengerich, in the Kingdom of Prussia to Frederich and Christine Boegel. The area became part of Germany in 1871. Established in 1147, Lengerich is located about 30 km northeast of Münster in North Rhine-Westphalia, and is small community situated on the southern slope of the Teutoburg Forest. When he was 21, Johann traveled alone to Bremen, a distance of 139 km, where he boarded the SS Auguste for passage to America. The Auguste was built for the Bremen shipping company E.C. Shramm and Co., and was launched on 2 November 1850. The ship could carry 358 people.

typical 1850s sailing vessel

The Auguste was most likely a sailing ship as it was not until around 1865 that more emigrants traveled by steamship than sailing vessels. The average length of the voyage would have been around six weeks. The ship's master on Johann's journey was Henry Ehrichs of Bremen, who guided the ship into the port of Baltimore on 20 July 1858.

Johann indicated on the ship's passenger list that he was a farmer, and his intended destination in the United States was Cincinnati. Despite traveling over six weeks from his home in Lengerich to Baltimore, he still had to navigate his way from Baltimore to Cincinnati. That is a distance of over 500 miles, which he most likely accomplished by train.

Lienen Evangelical
Church

On 26 November 1858, Johann married Sophia Elizabeth Suhre. Sophia was born 26 March 1837 in Lienen, Westphalia, a small village located only 9.7 km away from Lengerich. Did the young couple know each other back in Prussia? It certainly seems interesting that less than four months after his arrival in Cincinnati, Johann was getting married. The wedding ceremony was performed by F.M. Raschig, pastor of St. Matthaeus, a German Evangelical church located on Elm Street between 15th and Liberty Streets. This part of Cincinnati was referred to as Over the Rhine due to the huge influx of German immigrants settling in the area.

The couple resided in the 500 block of Elm, and Johann quickly established himself as a grocer. By the 1880 census, he listed his occupation as "grocery and saloon". Johann and Sophia had the following children: Johann Heinrich (Henry), William, Emma, Louisa (my great-grandmother), Matilda, John Henry (John), and Charles.

Sophia died on 4 December 1891 of chronic bronchitis. She was 54 years old. In the 1910 census, Johann was living with his daughter Emma and her husband, and at 73 years of age he was working as a porter in a saloon. The record also indicates that he became a naturalized citizen in 1865.

By the time the 1920 census was taken in January, Johann resided at the Hamilton County Home. Two months later, on 19 March 1920, he died at the age of 83 of prostate enlargement. Today the diagnosis likely would read pancreatic cancer. He was buried 22 March 1920 in Raschig Cemetery, today also known as Baltimore Pike Cemetery.

What was it about Johann that enabled him to live such a long life? He had been widowed for 29 years at the time he died, and five of his children predeceased him. Hopefully it wasn't the fact that he was widowed that kept him going! Was it owning his business for so many years? Continuing to work into his 70s? Even more intriguing - if he hadn't developed a problem with his prostate, could he have reached the age of 90?

Family History Writing Challenge Day 12

Father Rudolph

At the age of 22, four years after the death of his father Joseph, Henry Kubler (my great-grandfather) married 20-year-old Louisa Boegel. On 18 January 1891, Father Rudolph joined the couple in Holy Matrimony at St. Gabriel's Church in Connersville. The priest offered a "dispensation from the impediment of mixed religion", as the bride was not Catholic. Louisa was born in Cincinnati in July of 1871 to Johann Boegel and Sophie (Suhre) Boegel, who were both from Westfalen, Prussia. Louisa was the 4th of 7 children born to Johann and Sophie.

Louisa was employed as a tailoress in Cincinnati when she and Henry met. It would be interesting to know how they met as Henry was working as a wood carver - a trade he no doubt learned from his father - in Connersville. He and Louisa not only married in Connersville, but they also set up their household in that community of around 4,500 people. Perhaps it was because Louisa was expecting when they got married. Their son Joseph Henry Kubler was born in Connersville on 22 July 1891. He was joined in August of 1894 by a sister named Ethel. Unfortunately, Ethel died on 3 June 1895 in Indianapolis.

Later in 1895 the family of 3 had settled in Cincinnati. His mother was married to her second husband and had a small child, so Henry must have felt comfortable leaving her behind. His two brothers were still in the area to look after her in the case she needed anything. Henry continued his occupation as a wood carver in Cincinnati, and then became a painter. Louisa was again working as a tailoress.

Henry Kubler's stone

On 11 February 1902, Henry died of an abscess of lung complicated by lobar pneumonia. He was just 34 years old. His burial preparations were handled by a funeral home in Connersville, and he was buried at City Cemetery there in the Kubler plot alongside his father and younger brother Alfred.

At the age of 31, Louisa found herself a widow with a 10-year-old son to care for on her own. It wasn't long before she found a help-mate in Charles Brinkman, and they were married on 9 November 1903 in Cincinnati. A son, Charles, was born to the couple on 6 January 1907.

Family History Writing Challenge Day 11

On Sunday morning, 19 September 1886, Joseph and his family attended Mass at St. Gabriel's Church. It was there that Joseph dropped dead of a heart attack. His obituary stated that he seemed to be in the best of health and spirits that morning, and that the sudden death of this prominent citizen was a shock to the whole community. It further elaborated that Mr. Kubler was a man of many good qualities; always kind and agreeable to his neighbors, and a kind husband and father.

Joseph Kubler stone

Joseph was only 38 years old, coincidentally the same age as Josephine's mother when she died. Josephine became a widow at 34 and their sons were the following ages: Henry, 18; William, 16; and John, 13.

The Indianapolis News reported on 12 December 1887 that Mrs. Josephine Kubler of Connersville sued Herman Jones for $10,000 damages for an alleged rape committed the last July. The defendant was fined $400 for the rape.

On 20 October 1889, three years and one month after the death of Joseph, Josephine married John Frederick. Father Rudolph of St. Gabriel's again officiated the ceremony. The couple welcomed a son, Claude, to the family on 19 November 1892 when Josephine was 40. Sometime before 13 July 1899, John Frederick either died or the couple was divorced. Because on that date Josephine married Francis Ashton in St. Joseph, Michigan. It was the first marriage for Francis, who was 10 years younger than Josephine. St. Joseph is 230 miles away from Connersville where Josephine and Francis were both living, so that is an interesting choice as they were married there by a Justice of the Peace.

Joseph and Josephine's son Henry (my great-grandfather) married Louis Boegel in Connersville in 1891, son William married Nellie Young in Connersville in 1894, and son John married Elenora Michael in 1896 also in Connersville. More details on the boys will be covered in the next post.

Josephine wrote up her will on 21 November 1902. In it, she left her money and possessions to each of her surviving children and grandchildren, as well as the sum of $4,000 to her 3rd husband. Additionally, she specified that $1,000 and all her diamonds and jewelry were to go to her son, Claude, who was a minor of 10 when his mother had the will drawn up. Josephine nominated her son John to be the guardian of the person and estate of Claude until he arrived at the age of 21. Son William was named the executor. She had quite a nice estate, a portion of which may have come from her previous marriages. But she was also part of the Hillenbrand family from Batesville, Indiana who had built quite an industry from the land and forests in the area. It is quite possible that she had some family money as well. Or did she end up getting the $10,000 rape settlement?

She died before May of 1905 as that is when her husband Francis filed papers with the Fayette County Circuit Court renouncing  and waiving all of his rights as surviving husband of the deceased Josephine Ashton beyond what Josephine had outlined in her will in 1902. Did Josephine enact an early prenuptial agreement with husband number 3?