52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 12

When I saw the writing prompt for this week, misfortune, I immediately thought about my paternal great-grandfather, Albert Hungler. Born in Covington, Kentucky on 17 October 1869 to John Hungler and Anna (Hightower) Hungler, Albert was the oldest of two boys born to this couple. (Anna died fairly young, and John went on to marry Mary Elizabeth Carver in 1892. They had twelve additional children.)

Catherine Cramer ~1887

Albert married Catherine Cramer on 3 July 1894 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Catherine, daughter of Michael Cramer and Anna (Williard) Cramer, was born in 1877 in Cincinnati. Albert was 24 and Catherine 17 when they married. Their daughter Lillian, my grandmother, was born in 1895, son Corry in 1897, and twins Alice and Albert in 1898. Unfortunately, Albert died at birth.

Catherine contracted tuberculosis and died 16 April 1900. She was just 22 years old. At the turn of the century, tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in the United States. It was also referred to as TB, consumption, phthisis, and the white plague. Cincinnati had the first publicly funded tuberculosis sanatorium in the country. Between 1900-1903, 1,253 residents of Cincinnati died from TB. Sadly, Catherine and Albert’s son Corry also succumbed to tuberculosis on 10 October 1900. He died at the age of 3, just six months after his mother passed away.

Albert was no doubt still grieving the death of his wife when his only living son was also taken from him. One can only imagine what it would have been like to lose two important family members in such a short time period. I’m certain that Albert never imagined himself a widower at age 30 trying to adjust to the death of a wife and child while attempting to deal with his two remaining grief-stricken children. Lillian was only 5 and Alice just 2 at the time. That was a whole lot of misfortune for a young man to deal with on his own.

Family History Writing Challenge Day 11

Kenton County Public Library

In May of 2016 I traveled to the Kenton County Public Library in Covington in search of additional information about Thompson Hightower. Or any of the Hightowers, for that matter. I was cautiously optimistic as I had learned that the library had a "file" on the Hightower name.

I discussed my dilemma on finding Thompson's parents with the librarian, and she reiterated what I already knew - there would be no birth or death record for Thompson. She pulled the Hightower file for me. I noticed that it was painfully thin as she handed it to me.

Hightower file

Inside was a two page letter dated 1989 from a woman in Sacramento, California who was researching Austin Hightower, and his father George Hightower. She had written to the Kenton County Library inquiring as to whether the library had “a Family Surname File that contains the surname Hightower”. How ironic that I should be in the library 27 years later asking for the same information, only to find said Surname File containing her letter. Unfortunately that is all that the file contained, except for the library’s letter in response listing Hightower marriages in Campbell County. Those marriage records are now readily available online.

A review of early Kenton County history books yielded no new information about my Hightower family. Basically what the librarian said to me is, it is obvious that Thompson Hightower lived in this area along with George and other Hightower families as they appear in tax and census records as well as some will indexes. She felt that undoubtedly they were all related. But how? Therein lies the rub.

Family History Writing Challenge Day 5

Today I want to recap my lineage back to Thompson Hightower.

Kimberly Kubler to my father, LeRoy C. Kubler. Source: my birth certificate

LeRoy C. Kubler to his mother, Lillian Hungler. Sources: LeRoy’s birth certificate; marriage certificate; death certificate; 1920 and 1930 censuses; his father’s death notice

Lillian Hungler to her father, Albert M. Hungler. Sources: Lillian’s birth record and marriage record; 1900 census

Albert M. Hungler to his mother, Anna Hightower. Sources: Albert’s marriage record to second wife Matilda Stritzinger in 1906; 1870 and 1880 censuses; Albert’s death certificate

Anna Hightower to her father, Thompson Hightower. Sources: 1850 and 1860 censuses

A working theory is that Thompson Hightower, b. 1815, was the youngest son of George Hightower, Jr. and Frances Ann (Hall) Hightower. There are literally hundreds of family trees online that have Thompson placed in this family, along with Mary Polly b. 1797, Austin b. 1799, Rolla b. 1802, Richard b. 1812, and Archibald b. 1814.

The problem is that each of these family trees lists only one source linking Thompson to George Hightower. The source is a Find A Grave memorial for George, who was buried in the Denson Pioneer Cemetery in Ursa, Adams County, Illinois. The Find A Grave website is totally volunteer-driven. People upload information and photos from graves they have visited. The man who originally set up the memorial for George is now deceased, so I have no way of knowing how he came up with the information he listed for George. The online memorial gives quite a bio on George and his wife, Frances Ann. It further indicates that the couple had the following children: Polly b. 3 September 1797, Austin b. 15 December 1799, Rawleigh b. 1802, Richard born 6 August 1812, Archibald b. about 1814, and Thompson b. about 1815.

George and Frances Ann stones in Denson Pioneer Cemetery

The Hightower online memorial is a very tenuous tie, at best. My future posts will illustrate the steps I have taken to prove and/or disprove Thompson’s parentage.

Family History Writing Challenge Day 4

ferry from Covington to Cincinnati

Anna (Hightower) Hungler was covered in yesterday’s post. Moving up the family tree, today her parents will be discussed. Her father, Thompson Hightower was born about 1815, most likely in Campbell County, Kentucky - potentially in Covington. Researching in this particular time period gets a little tricky for several different reasons. Covington was first populated in 1814 and was incorporated as a town in 1815. It was named for General Leonard Wales Covington, a fallen general of the War of 1812. At that time it was part of Campbell County. The population in 1830 was 715 but it began to grow, in large part because of the influx of German immigrants.

By 1834 Covington was raised to a city status, and by 1840 had a population of 2,026. Residents began asking for a new county, and in 1840 Kenton County was formed from part of Campbell County. Named after early pioneer Simon Kenton, the new county contained 163 square miles. The original Kenton county seat was in Independence, a rural area located a good distance from Covington. County officials decided to establish a second county seat in Covington.

Campbell County Courthouse

Thus early records (prior to 1840) are held at the Campbell County Courthouse in Alexandria - or perhaps at the original Campbell County Courthouse in Newport. Records from 1840 forward are in Kenton County - at one of the two county courthouses in Covington or Independence. You begin to see the challenge of researching in this part of Kentucky.

The first record of Thompson Hightower appears in the book Campbell County Marriages 1836-1945. The book lists the bond date, the marriage date, and the name of the bondsman. The entry for Thompson is:
Dec 10 1838 (BD) Thompson HIGHTOWER to Elizabeth HOPPER (niece of J G Piner) MD—20 Dec; married by William HUME.

Further in the book Marriages of Campbell, Boone and Kenton Counties, Kentucky, 1795-1850, the following is listed:
HIGHTOWER, Thompson & Elizabeth HOPPER, 20 Dec. 1838, m by WH, c by Elizabeth's uncle J.P. Piner, bondsman [with whom she lived since about the age of six years], on behalf of her [unnamed] father, Campbell Co., KY.

Another listing appears in Campbell County Marriages:
HIGHTOWER, Thompson to Elizabeth HOPPER- married 20 Dec 1838, bond 10 December 1838, and consent by Elizabeth's uncle, J P Piner, with whom she lived since about the age of six years, on behalf of her father (unnamed) – OK.

A marriage bond can be viewed as an intention to marry. A man who had proposed went to the courthouse with a bondsman, who was often the father or brother of the prospective bride. A bond was posted indicating the man’s intention to marry the woman. The bond was an amount of money (in this case fifty pounds) that the prospective groom would have to pay if the marriage did not take place.

Campbell County Clerk's office

Upon visiting the Campbell County Clerk's office in Alexandria last year, I was able to photograph the actual bond. It provided an important piece of information. Up until that point I had assumed that both of Elizabeth Hopper’s parents were deceased since she was raised by her uncle. But the bond actually indicates that her father gave permission for her to marry. Now I know he was still alive in 1838. Being able to see the actual document as opposed to just an index or summary of the document can be critical.

Hightower-Hopper Marriage Bond

Unfortunately I have been unable to get any further information on Elizabeth’s parentage. Although I know J P Piner is her uncle, I don’t know the relationship. He could have been married to a sister of her mother, or possibly a sister of her father. Without names, and only initials for J P, that remains a mystery. A clue is that in the 1850 census, the household next to the Hightower family is that of James Piner. As there are other Hoppers listed along with James’ family, these may be siblings of Elizabeth. It is a clue that I can continue to work on.

1850 Kenton County Census

The children born from the marriage of Thompson and Anna were discussed in the previous post, which can be found here. In the 1850 census, Thompson’s occupation is listed as “Miller”, and in 1860 he is a “lath sawyer”.

During the Civil War, the vast majority of Kenton County residents remained loyal to the Union. To protect Cincinnati from Southern invasion, a string of fortifications was built in the county. The two major military installations were Fort Mitchell and Fort Wright. To gather additional manpower, 162 companies of Home Guards, State Guards and militia were called into service in Kentucky. Their principal duty was guarding railroads, bridges, locks, etc. There were 60 men in Captain Leonard’s Company Home Guard, and one of them was 47-year-old Thompson Hightower. He enlisted as a Private for the Union on 1 September 1862, and mustered out on 1 October 1862.

In September of 1862, Confederate General Henry Heth led more than 8,000 soldiers into Northern Kentucky in an attempt to capture Cincinnati, a major producer of supplies for the Union war effort, and gain control of the Ohio River valley. Within days, these volunteer Union troops built protective earthworks throughout the Northern Kentucky hills. When the Confederates saw the ring of 12 miles of forts and rifle pits, they withdrew.

Linden Grove Cemetery

In May of 1866 cholera entered New York City, and a national epidemic followed. There was speculation that the trains, with their ability to move people rapidly, caused the epidemic to spread across the nation. Cincinnati reported 2,028 deaths, and considered a focal point of the outbreak to be Newport Barracks. Newport was located right next to Covington. In August of 1866, Thompson died of cholera. He was about 50 years old at the time of his death. He was buried in Linden Grove Cemetery in the same plot as his daughter, Marjorie Frances, who had died in 1865. I visited the cemetery and spoke with the caretaker, and there is no Hightower stone.

Family History Writing Challenge Day 3

In yesterday's post I identified Albert M. Hungler's parents as John Hungler and Anna (Hightower) Hungler. Because I am focusing on the Hightower line, today's post will be about Anna. She was born about 1849 in Covington, Kentucky to Thompson Hightower and Elizabeth (Hopper) Hightower. Anna was the 4th of 8 children born to Thompson and Elizabeth. An older, unnamed sister appeared as a female child under the age of 5 on the 1840 census, but apparently died young as she was not listed on the 1850 census. Marjorie Frances (also known as Missouri) was born about 1842, James R. about 1845, Rolla about 1850, an unknown female was born on 22 November 1852, Alice about 1854, and Belle about 1858. Marjorie died of typhoid fever when she was 23 and James was around 19 when he succumbed to typhoid fever in 1863 while serving in the Union army. No death information on Alice has been located, but she was living with her sister Anna and her family in the 1880 census.

Around 1869 Anna married John Hungler. John was born 20 December 1850 in Cincinnati to Andrew Hungler and Malinda (Harcourt) Hungler. They had two sons, Albert M. and John P., who were covered in the previous post, which can be found here.

In the 1870 census 21-year-old John and 19-year-old Anna were living in Covington with their infant son Albert. But also in the household are the following children: Richard age 14, Annie age 10, Laura age 7, Lucilla age 4. These four children are John’s siblings. His father Andrew died on 3 May 1869 in Covington. Perhaps his mother Malinda was too overcome with grief to take care of her children at that time. But one can only imagine what it must have been like for John and Anna to take on the responsibility of these additional children while dealing with a relatively new marriage and their own child, who was just 7 months old when the census was taken.

By the 1880 census John and Anna are living in Covington with their two boys, Albert and John. Anna’s sister Alice Hightower resides with the family as well.

By 1884, Anna was deceased. She would have been no more than 35 years old. John married Mary Elizabeth Carver, and they went on to have 12 children.

Family History Writing Challenge Day 2

As mentioned in the previous post, Lillian (Hungler) Kubler’s father was Albert M. Hungler. He was born 17 October 1869 in Covington, Kentucky to John Hungler and Anna (Hightower) Hungler. His death certificate lists 17 October 1870 as his year of birth, but as he appears on the July 1870 census in Covington, that date is obviously incorrect. His brother John P. Hungler was born in Covington on 2 November 1876.

Roebling Suspension Bridge

Located across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Covington had a population of just over 24,500 people in 1870. The first successful bridge connecting the two cities was opened in 1866, enabling citizens on both sides of the river to travel without having to be ferried across the river.

Before Albert was 14 years old, sometime between 1880 and 1884, his mother Anna died. No information on her death or burial dates has been located so far, but John Hungler remarried in 1884. John and his second wife, Mary Elizabeth (Carver) Hungler, went on to have an additional 12 children, one of whom was stillborn.

Albert was 24 when he married Catherine Cramer in Cincinnati on 3 July 1894. They were married by John Schornhorft, a Catholic priest, and set up their household in Cincinnati. The children from this union were outlined in the previous post, which can be found here. After Catherine died in 1900, Albert married Matilda Stritzinger and they had 8 children together.

In the 1910 census Albert is listed as being a hostler in a livery barn. A hostler was a barn man responsible for the care of horses in a livery stable. Historically, a livery stable was a place where horses, teams, buggies and wagons were for hire. Horses could also be boarded for short periods of time.

By 1920 his occupation was listed as a chauffeur for a delivery company, and by 1930 he worked for the City of Cincinnati in the street department doing repairs. He was still working at the age of 71 in the 1940 census.

Albert was 83 when he died in Cincinnati of pneumonia and heart disease on 9 February 1953. He is buried in Old St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Section 36, Lot 848, Grave 1. His second wife Matilda is buried next to him in Grave 2.