Tombstone Tuesday: Karoline

One of the many disappearing grave stones in the Merrill Cemetery (Lincoln county, WI)

"Karoline." Digital Image. Undated. Copyright (c) Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski. 2011

Tombstone Tuesday: Alonzo B. Polar

Alonzo B. Polar is my reminder that when researching, one should never ever assume that an unfamiliar name in vital record index is not related to your family line. That statement bears repeating as I have fallen into this trap on more than one occasion but I'll spare you the repetition. (I've come to the conclusion that the definition of the word assume is where the term "taking a wild a$$ guess" is derived, both resulting in the same conclusion.)


A number of years ago, I discovered that my great-great grandfather, Rancellor Polar, for a period of time, lived in neighboring Waupaca County, which is a lovely place to research. Waupaca is the heart of the Chain Of Lakes, the perfect setting for a day spent searching for records with a break for lunch at a favorite lakeside restaurant.


My Polar family research would be incomplete if it weren't for the efforts of a second cousin who began his research long before Ancestry and Footnote; writing letters, filling out family sheets in longhand, keeping copious and meticulous notes. Additionally I consider it a blessing for my family history that my mother paid attention when her mother and Aunt Leona talked about their Polar family history.


Going through the records at the Waupaca County court house, Mom and I were aware of the children of Rancellor Polar and Mary Jane Carson: Charles Finley Polar, father of Alma & Leona; their Uncle Giles and Aunt Adelia; Uncle Clarence who was deaf; Uncle Warren and sister Aunt Alice who married siblings of the Jones side of the family; Aunt Emma who married a brother of the Clarke relation; Aunt Phebe affectionately known as Aunt Pheb. Land records yielded an array of additional Polar's giving us several clues to possible siblings of Rancellor.


Alonzo Polar. "Mom, do you recall Gram or Aunt Leona mentioning an Alonzo Polar?"


Nope ... can't be our Polar. Alonzo is defiantly not one of our family names.


Fast forward a few years and a wiser family researcher who resists the temptation to assume. Suffice it to say that, yes, Alonzo belongs in the Rancellor Polar family. While he is not in my direct family line, as an avid and enthusiastic believer in Cluster or Whole Family Genealogy, every now and then, Alonzo gets my undivided attention.


Alonzo B. Polar as born 1812, in the state of New York. The oldest child of Simeon Polar and Charlotte Pooler/Poler? eight known children. The name Benjamin appears in several of the family lines leading me to surmise that the B stands for Benjamin.


In October 1843 Simeon and Charlotte Poler of Royalton, Niagara, New York purchased 320 acres of land from Joseph and Betsy Compton. In October 1844 Simeon and Charlotte sold 40 acres to their son Alonzo Poler; the remaining 280 acres was sold to their son George W. Poler in December 1844. The addresses of all parties is recorded as Leslie, Ingram, Michigan. This is the last recorded land record found listing Simeon and Charlotte.


Records indicate that at the time of Alonzo's death, he was a resident at the Wisconsin Veterans Home in the town of King, Waupaca county, WI. A request of these records provided very little family information as I had hoped, but they indicated that when he became a resident of  the veterans home he brought with him his wife Cordelia.


Alonzo served the state of Wisconsin during the Civil War and is found listed in Ancestry's database including American Civil War Soldiers which indicates Alonzo was a residence of Wautoma, Waushara County, WI. He enlisted as a private on January 20, 1862, in 8th Light Artillery Brigade and received a disability discharge on January 21, 1863.


Also found on Ancestry is a listing for Alonz[o] B. Polar in Headstones Provided for Deceased Civil War Veterans, 1879-1903, confirming that he is buried  at the Wisconsin Veterans Cemetery. 






A lovely afternoon spent strolling the cemetery grounds yielded the grave of Alonzo Polar with wife Cordelia's grave located in the vicinity.




On their application to the WI Veterans Home, they indicate that Cordelia was born March 21, 1828, in Ohio. She does not list her maiden name, they have no children and were married in October 1873 in Kilbourneville, Racine County, WI. Cordelia's death certificate does not list her parents names, probably due to the fact that they are not listed on her entry application. Cordelia died on March 14, 1908.


Cordelia was not Alonzo's first marriage, thanks to cousin Harold, we know that Alonzo's first marriage was to Mary Ellen Palmer on May 6, 1840 in Rochester, Monroe County, NY. Mary Ellen was born September 29, 1823, in Rochester. They had one child, Mary Helen Palmer, born July 7, 1841, in Rochester. Harold indicated that Mary Helen married Nicholas Scharding on September 20, 1858, in Yolo County, CA, but I have not been able to document this fact. 


Alonzo and Mary Ellen parted ways sometime between 1841 and 1850. Mary Ellen married George W. Brown and is found living with Mary Ellen Polar in Somerset Township, Hillsdale County, Michigan in the 1850 Federal Census.


But was there another Mrs. Alonzo Polar in addition to Mary Ellen and Cordelia?


Listed in Wisconsin Marriages, Pre-1907 is Alonso B. Polar,  married on February 23, 1894, in Columbia County. This record indicates a marriage 21-years after the date given by Alonzo and Cordelia as their marriage date and comes only three years prior to Alonzo's death in 1897.

What about the family of A. B. Polar found living in Dakota Township, Waushara , WI?


Or is there another Alonzo B. Polar?


Well I'm sure that he can't be related to my line of Polars.

Tombstone Tuesday: Matilda Besoni

Matilda Besoni, second wife of my great-grand uncle Alvin Stone. The marriage record of Alvin and Matilda states she and Alvin were married June 19, 1905 in Lac du Flambeau, Vilas, WI. Her death certificate states she was born in March 1894 in Peroza (?) Italy.


While she and Alvin had no children, someone cared enough to create a marker for her grave in the Lac du Flambeau cemetery.

"Tombstone Tuesday: Matilda Besoni." Digital Image. Undated.

Copyright (c) Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski. 2011

Tombstone Tuesday: Willard Ackley

There is saying attributed to Lois Wyse that says in part, "A good friend is a connection to life, a tie to the past, a road to the future ..." As I've researched my ancestors and widened the research net to include the siblings, cousins, uncles and aunts, I am reminded every now and then that there are others who shared their lives - those we call friends. My selection for today's Tombstone Tuesday, Willard Ackley, falls into that category.


Willard Ackley was among the first white settlers in what is now Langlade County, Wisconsin, and appears in concert on several documents (including land and marriage records) with my maternal great-great-grandfather Isaac Stone. Rounding out the third of my family's version of the Three Amigos is John Hogarty, another early settler in this part of the state.


According to his death certificate Willard was born William in 1818 in England. His family immigrated and settled in Chenango County, New York, his last known place of residence prior to his arrival in northeast central Wisconsin. 


Oral history and legend states that the original spelling of the surname was ACLY, but a feud with his family, who remained in the east, caused Willard to adopt the spelling ACKLEY.  As the story goes, this separation of the Acly/Ackley family was said to be due to Willard's marriage to Ma-Dwa-Ji-Was-No-Quay of the Ojibwe band of Native Americans. A common theory but unsubstantiated.


Ackley, Hogarty and Stone all appear to have been actively logging in this area around 1850 and all three worked at one time or another for Charles Hazeltine in Kelly in Marathon County.


Ackley built a cabin and homesteaded on what is now part of the Riverview Golf Club outside of Antigo, WI. Ackley also had a logging camp along with the cabin site on the 1851 government survey map. The camp was listed as Ackley and "Hoyaroy" farms which I believe is a misspelling of Hogarty. Hogarty, Ackley and Stone, as stated earlier, were close friends and at one time or another, business partners. All three men had trading posts and had supplies brought in from Stevens Point at the same time.


During the time that Ackley, Hogarty and Stone were engaged in logging, the venture wasn't very profitable as the price for pine was so low it barely paid for the supplies. When the men first arrived, the logs were hauled to the Eau Claire River on a travois pulled by oxen; a distance of about a half mile. Later, horses were used and the logs were hauled two or three miles in winter to streams. Logs were floated down the river to Kelly, then Schofield at the mouth of the Wisconsin River.


Each camp had their own logs marked so when they reached their destination, they could be sorted out. Records indicate that Ackley preferred to release his logs ahead of the other loggers to avoid mixing them with those sent down the river by Isaac Stone and Jesse Boyington, another early settler.


Willard Ackley and John Hogarty shared more than business ventures: they also shared wedding anniversary. A family history told by a granddaughter of Ackley recounts that Ackley and Hogarty married women from the Sokaogan Chippewa tribe near Post Lake. The men first walked to Post Lake to the home of their brides and then the two couples walked to Wausau where they were married by a Justice of the Peace. Witness to the marriages? None other than Isaac Stone.


Willard Ackley's wife was the daughter of the chief of the Sokaogan tribe of the Chippewa, Me-gee-see, known as Great Eagle. He lived a very interesting life which must have been evident to everyone he met: he lost his nose and one eye during of the many battles he had taken part in between the Ojibwe and the Sioux. A treaty signed in 1825 bears his signature.


By all accounts, the Ackley's were very kind to the early pioneers of Langlade County. Many of the early settlers lived with the Ackley's until their homes could be built and much has been written of Willard's generosity and willingness to help his neighbors. One settler wrote of Willard "[he] was a prince among men." 


Willard's wife, who took the name Mary following her marriage, was also generous to her neighbors. It is noted she never turned down a call for help in case of illness, using her knowledge of medicinal herbs and acted as mid-wife, helping to bring many of the pioneer children into the world.


Willard was small in stature, weighing approximately 130 pounds but he is said to have had a booming voice. Hearing him speak, people expected to see a man "... who weighed 400 pounds."  The Chippewa called Ackley "the little man with the big voice."


On the tax rolls, Willard paid the highest in the area. He owned more horses and buggies than his neighbors and kept two or three canoes on the Eau Claire River but never went farther than one and a half miles from Hogarty in Shawano County. 


Willard Ackley's death is recorded in the Langlade County Death Records, Volume 1, Page 44: Wm. L. Ackley; white male; page 76; farmer; born in England; date of death Nov. 25, 6:00 a.m. 1894.


His obituary in the Antigo News reads, "The first of the week, Willard L. Ackley, undoubtedly the oldest settler in Langlade County, died at his home, about four miles west of Antigo, at the age of 77 years. Very little is known of the early life of the deceased, but the memory of man in this section runneth not to the time when he was not located on the bank of the Eau Claire River. As near as we can learn, he lived there fifty years, most of the time with no other companions than the Indians. He lived with them and was one of those erratic individuals, who for some unknown reason, preferred their company to that of the whites. He was a familiar figure among old residents and those who lumbered on the Eau Claire."


Mary Ackley died on March 8, 1899. Her death certificate states she was 97-years old at the time of her death placing her year of birth 1802. Her maiden name is listed as Mary White Eagle; father Great Eagle and mother Roaring Water.


Willard, Mary and a granddaughter, Lillian McDonald, are buried in the Antigo Cemetery in Lot 1, Block 9; just south of the main gate.

The name of Willard Ackley isn't found listed in my family tree but I've discovered he was someone my great-great-grandfather called a friend, earning him a place of importance in my family history.

Digital Images. Undated. Copyright (c) Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski. 2011

Tombstone Tuesday: Charles and Gertrude Jones

The progenitor of my Jones family line is Charles Jones, born June 1802 in Lancashire, England. Charles's known marriages were to (i) Jane and (ii) Gertrude. My family line descends from James H. Jones, the oldest son of Charles and Jane.

Charles and Jane are found in the 1841 census UK (England), living on School Lane in Rochdale, Lancashire, England. Their listing in this census is one of the few lucky happen-stances; the family immigrated to the United States in 1842 and, to date, I have been unable to find them in any of the federal census records until 1860 when the family is found living in Winchester, Winnebago, WI. 


The listing in the 1841 census confirms Charles' wife as Jane and confirms that their youngest child is daughter Jane.


Listed in the New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 list on Ancestry.com, is the family of Charles Jones age 40,"Mrs [ditto]"age 40, James age 20, Susan age 17, Joseph age 9, Edward age 6, Abraham age 4 and Jane age 1. The family arrived in New York City on July 1, 1842, on board the ship The Importer.


The next record documenting Charles Jones doesn't occur until the 1860 federal census when Charles Jones is found living in Winchester, Winnebago, WI, with wife (ii) Gertrude, and children Charles, Alice and John.


While there has been a lot of speculation about the migration of the family from the time they disembarked The Importer, there is no documentation as to where the family spent those 20 years. A popular theory written and published by other Jones family researchers is that this family line settled in Worcester County, MA, near the family of Thomas Ashworth.


Edward Jones, brother to Charles, formed a business partnership with Thomas Ashworth. While there is a collateral connection, there is no documentation that the family of Charles Jones spent time living in the area or working at the Ashworth & Jones woolen mill.


A clue may be found in the listing of New York as the place of birth of John Jones, youngest son of Charles Jones. However, I believe there is an error in this census, recording Gertrude's place of birth as England when other sources cite her place of birth as New York. Could it be that John's place of birth is in error as well?


Charles and Gertrude continued to make their home in Winchester for another 20-years until Charles's death on March 17, 1885. According to his obituary in the March 18, 1885, issue of the Neenah Times: Mr. Jones, of Winchester, and father of Receiver Jones of Menasha, died yesterday from the effects of a fall from a sleigh. His age was 84-years. He was well known and highly respected in this county. The funeral is on Friday morning."


Gertrude survived her husband for almost 4-1/2 years; she died on August 8, 1889. Both Charles and Gertrude are buried in the Winchester Cemetery, also known as the Jones Cemetery, on Grandview Road in Winchester Township.

Copyright (c) Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski. 2011

Tombstone Tuesday: Olive Space Kesler

Olive Mabel Space, born 26 March 1878, in Merrill, Lincoln, WI; the only child of Zephaniah Allen Space (1826-1902) and Harriet Armanda Fryer (1854-1940).


Zephaniah and his first wife, Margaretta Ann Shankle were one of the early pioneers who immigrated to Wisconsin's northwoods "pinery" in the mid 1840's prior to Wisconsin's admission as the 30th state in the union. They established one of the first hotels in Jenny, now Merrill, WI; the couple divorced in 1877.

Harriet Fryer was the third of Francis Fryer (1829-1907) and Lucinda Hart's (1831-1912) eight children. Francis and Lucinda were married in Frankfort, KY, in 1850. The couple came to Wisconsin, settling in Oshkosh before immigrating to Minnesota before the family settled in Langlade county. Harriet married Stephen Dunbar in 1873; the couple had one child, Royal Ainsley Dunbar born 14 May 1875 in New London, Waupaca, WI. Following his mother's marriage to Zephaniah, Royal was adopted by Zephaniah and he took the Space surname. It is unclear if the adoption was part of any official process as no documentation has been located.


Zephaniah, Harriet, Roy and Olive settled in the township of Morley in Langlade county. Morley's modest beginnings were as a log building built by Edward and Jean Morley in 1881. The two brothers operated a post office, stage stop and store. The "Morley Territory" was located in what is now the Town of Vilas and the western portion of the Town of Peck and a small portion of the Town of Ackley. It was also a part of the Town of Pine River, Lincoln county. Still later, it became a part of Ackley, Langlade county before finally being subdivided into the towns of Vilas and Peck. (A nightmare for genealogists researching their family connections in this part of the county!)


Like her father, Olive taught school and was interested in historical events and served as the "custodian of the Historical Society Museum" in Antigo.


Olive was married to Willard Lloyd (1869-1906) in 1897, the couple had two children, the youngest was 16 months old at the time of Willard's death. Olive married Lafayette Kesler (1866-1937) in 1915 and had two children including a daughter, Harriet Lethe Kesler named for Olive's mother.

Olive Space Lloyd Kesler died at the Langlade Memorial Hospital on Sunday, 28 January 1968 and is buried in the Antigo Cemetery.

"Tombstone: Olive M. Kesler." Digital image. Undated. Original photograph

privately held by Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski as part of the Space Family Papers.

Tombstone Tuesday: Milton R. Black, 1924-1945

You won't find the name Milton R. Black listed among the branches of my family tree however, our families share a common denominator: that being the loss of a family member in service to our country.

Like all family historians, I am drawn to cemeteries. Unlike my second cousin who finds my interest rather ghoulish, a stop to 'visit the relatives' brings a sense of peace and having taken on the responsibility of being my family's "Keeper of Everything," I can't help but feel joy having had the chance to get to know them. So it was with Milton beginning the day I convinced my husband to stop at the small cemetery on the outskirts of Kempster in Langlade county, Wisconsin.

Kempster, a small community of less than 1,700, is home to many of my paternal grandfather's nieces and nephews and their families. Both my grandmother Alma Polar Space and great-aunt Leona Polar Belott, taught in the Kempster schools at one time or another during their long teaching careers. Kempster is also one my favorite 'back way' trips to Elcho during our summertime ice cream road trips. My acquaintance with Milton Black began with a stop at the cemetery on one of these return trip from the Elcho Ice Cream Shop. The cemetery, located north of the intersection of county roads J and B with a view of pretty Sunfish Lake, has always been on my to-visit list but as any genealogist will tell you, making a request for a cemetery visit when traveling with family members, timing is everything. On this day, my husband was agreeable to a stop to wander among the stones. Success!

Set apart from the rest of the markers stands a red granite monument with a large Flag of the USA. While the cement mortar is need of repair, the artificial flowers and flag show recent visits to this particular marker. The placque reads:

In Memoriam

Milton Black

August 27, 1924

January 23, 1945 

The dates are similar to those of my uncle Earle Bergeron and I surmise that they more than likely knew each other as they would have attended Antigo High School, Earle being two years ahead of Milton. Earle, born in June 25, 1922, enlisted in the Army Air Corps in July 1940 immediately following graduation and became one of the Flying Sergeants who flew "The Hump" in the China Burma India theater during WWII. He died on April 23, 1943, when the C-47 he piloted crashed on take-off.

 Looking at the dates we wonder if Milton died during the Battle of the Bulge. I take a couple of photographs of the memorial and file it away as the perfect post for an upcoming Tombstone Tuesday.

It isn't until weeks later, sitting at the film reader at the Antigo Public Library looking at Milton's obituary in the March 5, 1945 edition of the Antigo Daily Journal that I learn how much he and Uncle Earle had in common :

     Sgt. Milton R. Black, 19, son of Robert R. Black, of Kempster, was killed in action Jan. 23 over Burma, the war department has notified his father.
     Sgt. Black was an aerial engineer for a troop carrier squadron of the 10th air force which operates against the Japanese throughout the India-Burma theater. He had been  credited with 25 combat missions and 275 combat hours, and had been awarded the air  medal for meritorious achievement in aerial flight.
     The Kempster airman was born Aug. 27, 1925 in Green Bay. He attended the Kempster school and was graduated from Antigo high school in 1942. Enlisting in the service in December 1942, Sgt. Black received his training at St. Petersburg, Fla., Gulfport, Miss., Buffalo, N.Y., Kansas City, Mo., and Love field, Tex. He went overseas June 19, 1944.
     Sgt. Black's mother died April 28, 1942. Besides his father, he is survived by two brothers, Maurice of Kempster, and Pvt. Milo Black, who is stationed at Amarillo field, Tex., and one sister, Mrs. Vernon Keen, Koepenick.


Three days later a photo of Milton Black with a revised reprint of the complete obituary was run on the front page of the Journal; ironically, adjacent to the photo is a sub-headline: "Success Reported Against Japanese On Many Fronts."

A search of Ancestry.com listing of WWI, WWII, and Korean War Casualty Listings shows the family indicated their wish to have Milton buried in Honolulu, Hawaii in the National Memorial Cemetery of Pacific, Territory of Hawaii; resting in Plot P, Row O, Grave 800. This record reveals Milton served with the 9th Squadron, 3rd Combat Cargo Group. His list of awards includes the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Purple Heart.

A further check of Ancestry.com U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 shows Milton enlisted on December 10, 1942, in Milwaukee, WI. His enlistment record lists his civil occupation as "semiskilled mechanics and repair[men]". His height was recorded as 65 and weight 145.

I locate the obituary of Milton's mother Ida Sievert Black in the April 29, 1943, issue of the Antigo Daily Journal and discover another sibling, Robert, who died in 1928 at the age of six months.

I find myself thinking about how much these two young men had in common and the stories and experiences they would have shared had Earle and Milton lived to attend a high school reunion.

I think about how young they were when they went off to war, never to return, and am reminded of the quote by Henry David Thoreau: The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday: Margaretta Shankle Space

Second great-grandmother, Margaretta Ann Shankle, was a pioneer in every sense of the word.

The second child of the eleven known children of Jacob Shankle and Rachel Click, Margaretta (aka Margaret) was born 17 April 1828 in Pennsylvania. The family is known to have been living in New Bethlehem, Clarion county, PA, by 1842. Margaret married Zephaniah Space on 19 Nov 1847 and by the early 1850's Margaret and Zeph emigrated to northern Wisconsin with their two children, Allen Zephaniah and Sarah Etta, settling in the village of Jenny on the shores of the Wisconsin River.

Zephaniah and Margaret ran one of the early boarding houses before building one of the first hotels which they named "The Clarion House." For unknown reasons, the name was changed afterwards to "The Eagle House." Land and court documents show the couple preferred to sign their names as 'Z. Space" and "M.A. Space." As the logging industry began to expand in this area of the state, relatives on both sides of the the family relocated to Jenny, now known as the city of Merrill. While some remained for a short time or a 'season', many put down roots and settled in what eventually became Lincoln county. Two of Margaret's sisters, Catherine and Sarah, both called Jenny home but only Sarah remained a resident. Catherine's daughter, Sarah Etta Frazier, and two nephews, Oscar Luzerne Frazier and William Marvin Andrew Frazier all made Jenny their permanent home.

Margaret and Zephaniah were granted a divorce on 16 April 1877, the day before Margaret's 49th birthday after almost 30 years of marriage. As part of the settlement, Margaret became the sole owner of The Eagle House as well as the title to a number of land purchases she had made over the years; enough to have a subdivision named "M.A. Space" as well as prime land along the Wisconsin River. Following the death of her daughter in 1903, Margaret amended her will to include the directive that upon her death, the land along the Wisconsin River would be sold and given to her granddaughters as they would need to have money of their own "apart from their husbands."

Money Margaret had received as part of her inheritance from her father was used to purchase land in north central Iowa, where Margaret, son Allen and his family relocated in the late 1880's until 1894 when the family returned to northern Wisconsin. While Margaret no longer had a home in Merrill, she divided her time between her two nephews, Allen and Nancy's home in Langlade county, as well as numerous trips to visit daughter Sarah Etta McCord, now living in the territory of Arizona, as well as lengthy trips back to Clarion county, PA.

Margaret died at the home of Allen and Nancy on 27 Nov 1904.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday: Random Act of Cemetery Kindness

Soon to be brought to the attention of the Langlade County Genealogial Society as a project for a "Random Act of Cemetery Kindness."

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday: Elizabeth Maines Space

Elizabeth Maines, 1783 - 30 Jul 1853. Wife of Manus Space (1775-1852); married 20 Aug 1800 in Sussex County, NJ. Buried in Sussex County, NJ. Manus was the son of Peter Space (c 1744-1849) and (ii) Katherine. Peter was the brother of John Space who is the progenitor of my Space family line.

Photograph in the possession of Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski. Space Family Papers

Tombstone Tuesday: Frances Facer and Cyrus Little

Today's edition of Tombstone Tuesday chronicles my paternal great-grandparents, Cyrus Austin Little and Frances Dazie Facer. They are buried in the Aniwa Cemetery located off of Hwy 45 in the township of Aniwa, Shawano county, Wisconsin.

Cyrus Austin Little was the son of Andrew Little and Mary Ann Gallagher; my Irish ancestors who remain my favorite brick wall. Cyrus was born 22 Feb 1856 in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. The youngest of Andrew and Mary Ann's eleven known children who immigrated to the United States prior to the 1880 census where the family is found living in Port Huron, St Clair, Michigan. It is here Cyrus married Francis Dazie Facer on 15 June 1892.

Francis was born 8 Feb 1875 to William D. Facer and Elisabeth Hornby in Port Huron. Francis Dazie was the third of William and Elisabeth's seven children; all of whom, with the exception of Frances's brother Burton Wellington Facer, died during the numerous epidemics during the 1870s and early 1880s.

Around 1892, Cyrus and Frances Dazie have immigrated to Aniwa, Wisconsin. Accompanying the couple are Frances's brother Burton, Frances and Burton's father (a widow for the third time) William D. Facer, Cyrus's sister Elizabeth and her husband George Goldrick and bachelor siblings Robert Little and Mary Little (affectionately referred to as Crazy Aunt Mary). Land and tax records lead me to conclude that George Goldrick was responsible for the Facer and Little family exodus from Michigan as he began purchasing land for logging purposes and is found paying taxes to show he and Elizabeth were residents of the area.

Cyrus and Frances Dazie would not begin their family until the birth of their first known child, William D. Little in 1893; my grandmother, Mildred Eileen, in 1899 and her sister Florence Elizabeth in 1907.

Cyrus died at the age of 77 in 1933; Frances was 73-years old at the time of her death in 1948. Their graves are adjacent to the Goldrick and Bergeron family plots.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday: Forest View Sewing Circle

Located in the northeast corner of the Town of Peck cemetery in Langlade county, WI, this flower planter sits as a monument to the Forest View Sewing Circle. The group, like so many other rural traditions is becoming a thing of the past.

The Town of Peck cemetery was formerly known as Badger Cemetery; originally the site of the Badger School. Situated at the corner of several boundaries, as the boundaries of the townships changed, Badger school and later Badger cemetery can be found listed in the townships of Ackley, Peck and Vilas.

My maternal grandmother, Alma Polar Space, was a long-time member of the Forest View Sewing Circle. How I wish I had the chance to ask Gram about the Sewing Circle. Fortunately I was able to glean some information from Gram's sister Leona. The group met usually once a month and worked on a sewing project; during the war they made the usual clothing items for the soldiers. There was always a social hour; sometimes an afternoon of visiting and then lunch was served.

While making the traditional Memorial Day visits to the area cemeteries, this year someone placed a floral memorial in the Forest View monument urn. I'm certain I heard my grandmother laugh.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday: Margaretta Shankle Space

Margaretta Ann Space, otherwise known as Margaret Ann and as M.A. Space, was my second great grandmother.

Born 17 April 1828, possibly in Union County, PA, she was the oldest known daughter of Jacob Shankle and Rachel Click.

Margaretta married Zephaniah Allen Space on 19 Nov 1847 in Armstrong County, PA. The couple had two children: Allen Zephaniah (my great-grandfather) born in 1848 and Sarah Etta in 1853. Both children were born in New Bethlehem, Clarion County, PA.

Shortly after Allen's birth, Zeph traveled to northern Wisconsin to Jenny Bull Falls; a new settlement where investors from Clarion county were beginning to harvest the huge tracts of pine. Zeph and Margaret immigrated to the area shortly after the birth of Sarah Etta. Zeph and Margaret were employed at one of the early hotels but it wasn't long before they established their own hotel. Initially called The Clarion they later changed the name to The Eagle House. The couple played an important role in helping to establish Jenny as one of the important places along the Wisconsin River.

The couple divorced in 1877 after almost 30 years of marriage. Margaret continued to run The Eagle House with the assistance of Allen, who was now married to Nancy Ann Stone. Sarah Etta had married prominent businessman and politician Myron Hawley McCord. Zeph relocated to an area of the county that was just beginning to be settled, eventually starting a new life with his second wife, Harriet Fryer, and eventually another daughter, Olive.

Margaret proved to be a shrewd businesswoman in her own right. At the time of her death in November 1904, among her holdings, she owned all the property along the Wisconsin River in the city of Merrill. Margaret's will indicated her wish that upon her death, this property was to be sold and given to her granddaughters.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday: Just Me!

Prepartions for our traditional Memorial Day cemetery visits this year included: bug spray (check), grass clippers (check), flowers (check), scissors (check) and in prepartion for this week's Tombstone Tuesday, camera (check, check and doubl check).

My contribution to Tombstone Tuesday is the grave of Stanley "Pete" Gunderson (1913-1993) located in the Hogarty Cemetery in the village of Hogarty, Marathon county, WI. For as long as I have been a regular visit to the Hogarty Cemetery, the grave of Stanley Gunderson has fascinated me. The top photo is a close up of Mr. Gunderson's grave; the bottom photo is an overall view.

Next week I'll post the adjacent grave who I assume is the spouse of Stanley Gunderson as it has a similiar theme. Note to self: check out the Gunderson families in the surrounding area just to satisfy my curiosity!

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday: William D. Facer

Today's edition of Tombstone Tuesday features my paternal great-great-grandfather, William D. Facer. Born in Port Huron, St Clair, MI, between 1827-1833, depending on what census record or document you access, William was the fourth known child of Lewis Facer Sr. and Susan B. Baker's nine children.

Naming patterns in the Facer family have helped identify and link family members, which is helpful given the fact the surname of Facer has many variants, which I have referenced in past posts. Adding to the frustration is having to wade through the family legends surrounding my grandmother's maternal family line and prove these claims. Like most oral stories, these have been embellished along the way and in the face of documentation that discredits the stories, makes this genealogist a real kill-joy in the family circle.

Family legend claims William Facer's name was originally pronounced Frazarie. While given a french sounding twist to the name, I've located William's father, Lewis, with other variants but not Frazarie (no matter how impressive it may sound.) Consistent documentation shows Lewis's birth occurred in Ohio but probably during the time when Ohio was a part of Virginia. Another family legend states William was studying to become a priest but was never ordained. "When he discovered how badly the children were treated in the orphanages, he left the priesthood just short of his ordination."

I cannot document this claim - what is recorded is William was married three times, outliving all three of his wives, including my great-great-grandmother Elisabeth Hornby (1854-1894). William fathered 10 children with two of his three wives, but only three of these children survived infancy. The rest were victims of several influenza and diphtheria epidemics. What is of interest is a reference in a letter, author unknown, but in the possession of William and Elisabeth's daughter, Frances Facer Little, which were accidentally destroyed. The letter was written to either a family friend or another member of the family and referencing what sounds like some type of abuse. My speculation is that whatever occurred within the Facer family morphed into the family legend of William's discovery of children being treated badly in an orphanage.

William, a carpenter and painter by trade, immigrated from Port Huron with his daughter Frances, her husband Cyrus Austin Little, Frances's brother Burton Wellington and several of Cyrus's siblings including Elizabeth Little and her husband George Goldrick.

One of the Facer family legends that I have been able to document is that William was deaf. Whether this was a lifelong condition or one that occurred later on in his life is unknown; due to the fact there is no reference to his being deaf (cannot hear) on the 1880 census leads me to believe he lost his hearing after 1880.

William's death certificate, filed in the Oneida County Court House (Wisconsin), states W[illiam] D. Facer died on 10 July 1907 as a result of "an accident (railway) drowning." There was nothing in the obituary index for that day or any other time in 1907; a page by page search of the newspaper resulted in yet one more variation of the Facer surname:

Aniwa Man Killed At Rhinelander

Rhinelander, Wis., July 10 - Andrew Fisher, age 50, a carpenter and painter, was struck by Soo passenger train, No. 85, west bound this morning and knocked off a bridge into the Wisconsin river. The body was taken out a short distance below the bridge. His neck had been broken. His home was in Aniwa, Shawano County.

Buried with Willam Facer in the Aniwa Cemetery, Aniwa, Shawano County, WI, is A. C. Little and W. B. Little, the infant son of Cyrus and Frances Facer Little.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday: John P. Little

Today's edition of Tombstone Tuesday In My Life, highlights my great-grand uncle, John P. Little. The fifth of Andrew Little (1800-1888) and Mary Ann Gallagher (1812-1984) 11 children, John P. was born about 1847 in probably New York State.


Family lore is that John ran away from the family home in Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada, and enlisted in the Union Army. Documentation proves John's enlistment in the Union Army on February 28, 1863, in Rochester, NY, where he was assigned to Co. E, 19th Regiment of the U.S. Infantry; whether he ran away or not will always be up for debate.


John's military career was short-lived; seven months after his enlistment, John was captured by the Confederate Army on September 29, 1863, during the Battle of Chickamauga on the final day of the battle. He was confined in Richmond, VA, from September 29th to December 12th when he was transferred to Andersonville Prison. On June 30, 1864 John was admitted to the prison hospital where he died on July 2nd of Dysentery.

Found among the treasures that make up the Little Family Papers, were letters written by John Little to his family prior to his capture and imprisionment. Letters written to his parents told of life on the march through Tennessee, mentioning the beauty of the area, the comradarie of being with his fellow soldiers and how well he was doing. During this same period of time, letters to his brother told of the desolation: trees riddled with grapeshot and the soldiers having to forage for anything they could find to eat and the distrust the men had for their superiors. All that is left of these letters are less than desireable photocopies. The letters were in the possession of my aunt who thought she was keeping them safe between the pages of a Montgomery Ward catalog. It wasn't until my mother and I invested in archival safe storage and brought them to my aunt's home that we discovered she had disposed of the catalogs, not realizing they held John's letters along with several other Little and Facer family papers.

Included in these papers was a handwritten note from the commanding officer of John's company that read: Upon reference to our records, I find the following sad record regarding John Little Co. E 19th, U.S. Regulars. The record is ' J. Little Private Co E. 19th Regulars died in Prison Hospital at Andersonville, Ga. on the 2nd day of July 1864 of Dysentery, and was buried in grave No. 2774.' The above is all we know of him. (sign) H. Holbrook

My grandmother, Mildred Eileen Little, recalled her father Cyrus Austin Little's memory of Mary Ann Gallagher Little's final months in which she was consumed with memories of her son's imprisionment, repeating how she wished she could have given John a crust to bread.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday

Buried in the Merrill Memorial Cemetery located in Merrill, Lincoln county, Wisconsin, this is one of the old tombstones that time and the elements have begun to wear away.

Copyright Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski 2009

Tombstone Tuesday

John Clare Bergeron, stillborn son of Carol Arleen Bergeron; 9 Sept 1948. Buried in Aniwa Cemetery, Aniwa Township, Shawano Co, WI. Rest in Peace.

Copyright 2009 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday: Goldrick - Little

To continue the celebration of my Irish/English heritage, this edition of Tombstone Tuesday features my Great Grand Aunt and Uncle, George H. and Elizabeth Little Goldrick. The couple are buried in the Aniwa Cemetery, Aniwa Township, Shawano Co, Wisconsin.






Elizabeth Little was born 20 Aug 1856 in Pickering, Ontario, Canada, the youngest daughter of Andrew and Mary Ann Gallagher Little. Elizabeth married George H. Goldrick on 29 March 1879 in Port Huron, St Clair Co, Michigan. Elizabeth died at her home in Aniwa on 6 March 1927.




George H. Goldrick was born 9 Jun 1851 in Michigan to Edward and Sarah Brunnell Goldrick. Edward's place of birth is listed as Ireland, Sarah's place of birth is listed as England. George died in Aniwa on 13 June 1918.

Prior to 1900, George Goldrick purchased land that had been cleared of timber in Shawano county, Wisconsin. The couple left Michigan and settled in the village of Aniwa along with several of Elizabeth's siblings including her brother and sister-in-law, Cyrus Austin and Frances Dazie Facer Little; Frances' brother Burton Wellington Facer and father W.D. Facer were also included in this migration. Cyrus and Frances Dazie are my paternal great grandparents.

The couple quickly became very successful thanks to shrewd land transactions that afforded the childless couple to spend their money on nieces and nephews, travel as well as building a large home.

Copyright © 2009 by Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday - John Crump Hogarty 1825-1904

Grave marker of John Crump Hogarty and his family located in the Riverside Cemetery in Hogarty, Marathon County, Wisconsin. John Hogarty, Willard Ackley, Benjamin Gilham and my great-great grandfather, Isaac Stone, were among the early settlers in what is now Marathon, Lincoln and Langlade counties.





John Hogarty, born in Virginia, came to the area known as Marathon county around 1844 and along with Ackley and Isaac Stone settled aong the banks of the Eau Claire River. When Marathon County was created in 1850, the area was occupied by the Ojibwe. The Eau Claire, navigable by canoe, was important to the area due to the presence of large tracts of virgin timber, known simply as "The Pinery."


Hogarty set up a trading post halfway up the Eau Claire; records show the principal trade was pork, flour, salt, a few 'groceries', dry goods, hardware and crockery. Isaac Stone also set up a post with similiar goods; both Hogarty and Stone bartered for furs, maple syrup and timber. Hogarty and Stone engaged in cutting and floating pine logs down the Eau Claire River with Willard Ackley, who operated a post at the forks of the east and west branches of the Eau Claire, ten miles upstream of Hogarty.


All of these men married into the Ojibwe, marrage records show the men served as witnesses at these ceremonies. Unfortunatley, no record has been found to document Isaac's marriage. However, documents do show that in 1855, following the birth of their third known child, Isaac Stone's wife died and was buried at Hogarty's Trading Post. Eventually this site became the Riverview cemetery.



The back of the marker reads:

"An Irish-Chippewa Family of Wisconsin"

John C. Hogarty of Irish ancestry, born in Virginia in 1825, came to Marathon County about 1844 and died in 1904. He was a farmer, lumberman and Civil War Veteran. He married Set-Os-Na-Qua, daughter of Swa-Juan-A-Qua and Nit-Wen-Osk and grand-daughter of Chief Great Eagle, after her death he married Moke-Gesick-Co-Qua, daugther of Sak-a-See-Do-Qua and ay-May-Way-Con

Copyright © 2009 by Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski