Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Another Great Great Grandfather.

Jumping on the success of finding GG Grandfather, Ellis Shaul, I thought I would just hunt and peck for anyone else's obituary that I could find.   Well, there popped up the obituary of GG GRandfather, Ezra Peter Koontz:

Ligonier Leader, 31 January 1907

Obituary -- Ezra P. Koontz

Ezra Peter Koontz was born at Navarre, Ohio, May 15, 1832.  He came to Indiana in 1846, walking from Ft.Wayne to Ligonier where he was engaged in manufacturing of chairs for a year or more.  He went to Markle, Ind., where he was married to Mary Ann Allen April 11, 1853.   To this union was born four children: Ephraim R., who died in infancy; Casmear P. of Columbus, O., Harriet H. J. Smith of Port Clinton, O.,  Orrin D. of Glenville, Minn,

In 1863 he moved to Huntington, Ind., remaining there a year.   He then moved to Ft. Wayne, Ind. where on Sept 7, 1864, the wife and mother answered the devine summons from this life here to a life of the blessed, beyond this world of pain.  After the death of his wife he removed to Navarre, O., leaving the motherless children with their grandmother.  He soon returned to Indiana, settling in Ligonier in the spring of 1865, where he engaged in the manufacture of furniture for thirty years.

He was married to Mary Anna Sibert in Ligonier, Ind., Dec 29, 1867.   To this union there were three children born:  Phineas H., who died at the age of six years; Ezra B. E. of Savage, Neb, Geo D. of Chicago, Ill.

The children were all present the funeral except one, who arrived later.

Mr. Koontz answered the roll call on Monday morning at 4 o'clock, Jan 21, 1907, aged 74 years, 8 months, and 6 days.   The lamp of this temporal life went out, but to be relighted on the shores of God's eternal bliss.

Those present from a distance were:  Mr. and Mrs. C. P. Koontz, Columbus, O.; Dr. Sirvenius [Sylvanis] Koontz, Roanoke, Ind.; Mr. Wm. Koontz, Roanoke, Ind.; Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Koontz, Milford, Ind.; Mr. and Mrs. Tuff and daughter, Gladys, Kendallville, Ind.; Messrs Harry and Herman Smith, Port Clinton, O.

Card of Thanks

We desire to than the friends and neighbors who so kindly assisted us during the sickness and death of husband and father.

Mrs. E. P. Koontz and Children


OK, most of this is old news.  BUT, WHO ARE:

  • Dr. Sirvenius [Sylvanis] Koontz, Roanoke, Ind.; 
  • Mr. Wm. Koontz, Roanoke, Ind.; 
  • Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Koontz, Milford, Ind.;
  • Mr. and Mrs. Tuff and daughter, Gladys, Kendallville, Ind. 
They have never appeared anywhere before.     Another door has opened.   More research. 

#Obituaries #Genealogy #Koontz #GenealogyDoOver

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Ellis Shaul --

OK,  now here is why you cannot take all of those trees on Ancestry.com as the absolute truth:

Member TreeNameParents
LA_Wilds Family Tree
Public Member Tree 
1 source  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer, United States
Marriage:  18 Jun 1882 - Madison, MI(Michigan)
Spouse:  Catharine Dagan
F: (Name Unknown)
M: (Name Unknown)


Moore-Mereness-Reuter Tree
Public Member Tree
Unsourced
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  05 Nov 1855 (5 Nov 1855) - Herkimer
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Wyatt Family Tree
Public Member Tree 
1 source  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Bailey Family Tree
Public Member Tree
4 attached records, 5 sources  
Charles Ellis Shaul
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer, United States
Death:  Iron, Michigan, USA
Marriage:  18 Jun 1882 - Madison, MI(Michigan)
Spouse:  Catherine (Kate) Dagen
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Al Coney FTM
Public Member Tree 
Unsourced
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  1855
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Laurie Edwards Family Tree
Public Member Tree
1 attached record, 2 sources  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer, USA
Death:  Iron, Michigan, USA
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Carter Family Tree
Public Member Tree 
1 attached record, 2 sources  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer, USA
Death:  Iron, Michigan, USA
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
LMBrown
Public Member Tree
1 source  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  05 Nov 1855 (5 Nov 1855) - Herkimer, USA
Marriage:  18 Jun 1882 - Ludington, MI(Michigan)
Spouse:  Catharine Dagan
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Shaul Descendants & their Ancestors
Public Member Tree 
1 attached record, 1 source  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  05 Nov 1855 (5 Nov 1855) - Herkimer, USA
Marriage:  18 Jun 1882 - Madison, MI(Michigan)
Spouse:  Catharine Dagan
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Wyatt Family Tree
Public Member Tree
1 source  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  1855 - Herkimer
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Zachary's Tree
Public Member Tree 
1 source  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer, United States
Death:  Iron, Michigan, United States
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Obenauf Family Tree
Public Member Tree
2 attached records, 3 sources  
Charles Ellis Shaul
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer
Death:  Iron, Michigan, United States
Marriage:  18 Jan 1882 - Madison, MI(Michigan)
Spouse:  Catherine (Kate) Dagen
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Faye Brady Family Tree 1st GEDCOM-can't open
Public Member Tree 
1 source  
Ellis Shaul 
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer, USA
Death:  Iron, Michigan, USA
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Faye Brady Family Tree 2nd
Public Member Tree
2 sources  
Ellis Shaul 
Birth:  05 Nov 1855 (5 Nov 1855) - Herkimer, USA
Death:  Iron, Michigan, USA
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Faye Brady Family Tree 3rd
Public Member Tree 
1 source  
Ellis Shaul 
Birth:  05 Nov 1855 (5 Nov 1855) - Herkimer, USA
Death:  Iron, Michigan, USA
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Notice -- everyone claims Ellis died in Iron [County], Michigan.   No one has a guess as to date.   No one has a source of this information.   But, this was the only death information that existed on Ancestry.com.   [This is not a problem with Ancestry -- they are just reporting what data others have supplied].

I found this claim hard to believe for a number of reasons:

  1. Ellis' family lived in the South West portion of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.
  2. Iron County is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
  3. Kate, his widow continued to live in the Ludington area after the city directories noted she was a widow.
  4. There was no record of Ellis' death or burial in Iron County or anywhere else in Michigan.
So, I just kept knocking at the brick wall.

I was 'googling' for information about on of my wife's relatives when I was shifted to Newspapers.com.   Given the opportunity for a free 7 day subscription, I pulled up the articles about her relative.   Then, as was my habit where ever I research, I plugged in Ellis' name.   BINGO.   Newspaper accounts about a refinery explosion in Findlay, Ohio in 1904.  Ellis did not survive.   The family was so poor, they could not bring him back to Michigan and his coworkers chipped in and paid for his burial in Ohio.  The wonderful researchers at the Findlay-Hancock Library provided me with even more news articles about the event and I know have a full picture of my great grandfather's demise.  

To complicate the searches, Ellis' surname was reported as Shaul [the correct spelling], Schaull, Shaw, and Shawl, all within a 3 day reporting period.   

So, continue to ask the question of any tree you find anywhere on the internet:  Where did you get this information?   Be sure you can retrace the steps.   

#Evidence #BrickWall #Genealogy #Update