Exploring the 1940 Census

On Monday, April 2, 2012, the National Archives released the 1940 US Federal Population Census after a 72 year embargo. I have spent the last month pouring through the many pages looking for familiar names. How lucky am I that both Mom and Dad lived in small rural areas that year making it easy to find them!

Mom was really easy since I knew the ED for Linn Township in 1930 and could use the Stephen Morse One-Step Website to identify the ED for Linn Township in 1940. A couple of clicks (6 actually) and there they were, the entire Van Dyke family complete with middle names of all the kids. And extra special, Mom was one of the 5% who had extra questions asked. Did I learn anything I didn't know before looking at this census, no..., but it was still exciting to see the family living in the house I remember so well. That one page of the 1940 census was a windfall of family content as I found Uncle Frank and family, including Pat & Pearl with Irene; then there was Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Van Dyke, with Aunt Clara living next door with Ellis Mott.

Dad was a little tricky to find since the family had moved from Peoria to Washington sometime during the 1930s but Washington turned out to only have 1 ED and was quickly located within a few clicks of a mouse. Again, nothing new was learned that wasn't already known.

I have found a number of other relatives but still have a way to go. I have found the Henry Ringels in Peoria, Peter Schlentz in Cicero, the Lazzaronis in Kenosha, and am still looking for the rest of the Schlentz families, the Larisons, the Trinkos, and the Hutchersons.

Remembering Winter

Thanks to Mary Ann, I thought this wonderful image would bring back memories of days gone by. Taken from the Van Dyke property facing north, we have a look at the state park.

Eastland Disaster

Many people have heard about the Titanic but not many have heard of the Eastland. However, if you live in Chicago or Cicero, you certainly have heard of the Eastland. The Eastland was a ship built to sail the Great Lakes. In July 1915, it was hired to transport employees of the Western Electric Company to Michigan City, IN for the annual employee picnic.

On the morning of July 24, 1915, as the Eastland was loading passengers, it began listing, first to one side and then the other, until it finally tipped over into the Chicago River. Over 840 people were killed in this disaster including Ella Schlentz, daughter of Peter and Gabriele (Meyer) Schlentz.

My grandmother Eva Ann was a young girl of 8 when her oldest sister was killed in this disaster that affected almost every family living in Cicero. What was the significance of this disaster, other than the loss of a family member to the Schlentz family? Peter became convinced that if his daughter Ella knew how to swim, she might have survived and he decided that the rest of his children would learn to swim. The family began to take vacations to various lakes so that the family could learn to swim and finally, after a number of trips to Cedar Lake, IN, Peter learned of a place in Lake Geneva, WI where he could rent tents for his family to camp on property owned by a family with access to the lake. The Schlentz's began to camp at the Campgrounds of the Van Dyke's on the south shore of Geneva Lake. Over the next few years, the oldest Van Dyke child fell in love with the youngest Schlentz child.

Schlentz Family

Not sure what the date is on this photo of the Schlentz family bu it is definitely after 1915. That is Gabriele (Meyer) and Peter in the front surrounded by their surviving children: Hattie, Wally, Agnes, Harry, and Eva.

Can anyone figure out who is who?

Ezra Button and the Civil War

I remember Grandpa Van Dyke telling the story of his great-uncle Ezra being a soldier in the Civil War. The story went like this:

The Civil War was raging and the Union was losing soldiers quickly. There was a request of the government that states in the Union should volunteer men to help with the war. In Wisconsin, an abolitionist state, the call went out far and wide and every county was asked to provide draftees. The recommendation was that the eldest son in each family should be the volunteer. In the Button family, the eldest son was Alexander Henry, but he was married and had two small children so Ezra, Alexander's youngest brother, answered the call. Ezra left to fight in the Civil War and returned at the end to marry Alexander's wife's sister Martha Barker.

A simple story to be sure but was there more. Did Ezra really go and fight in the Civil War? If he did, where did he fight? Was he injured? What else is there about Ezra besides this simple story?

I started looking for evidence that Ezra actually existed. I found him in the Federal Census from 1860 through 1900 living in Bloomfield. I learned that Bloomfield could be either Bloomfield Township or Genoa City. I found that he did indeed marry Martha Barker and lived with her parents through the end of their lives and then took over running the Barker farm after their deaths.

I read the diaries of Alexander Henry Button and learned that these brothers wrote a lot of letters to each other during the beginning months of Ezra's tour of duty. Unfortunately, the letters are gone but wouldn't it be interesting to know what sort of things these brothers said to each other during this dangerous period? I did notice that the letter writing dropped to nothing during the early months of 1863 with no mention as to why and then suddenly Ezra is home visiting his family for 2 weeks. This was a perplexing dilemma. Why would two brothers write letters almost daily, then completely stop for more than 2 months and then surprise, the one brother shows up at home?

Where were the answers? What was the reason for this strange occurrence? What did I learn that makes this story all the more interesting?

It seems that Ezra fought in a number of battles and one resulted in his capture by the Confederate army. He was sent to Libby Prison, a Confederate prisoner of war camp in Richmond, Virginia. See the roster listing of Ezra Button. I also found a website that tells the story of Wisconsin Regiment Infantry Histories, just scroll down to the 22nd Regiment Infantry and read about Ezra's experience during the Civil War. And to answer the question as to why Ezra showed up back home in 1863, there was an exchange of prisoners on May 5 and he was allowed to go home for a couple of weeks before the regiment was reorganized.

Hiram Barker's Last Will and Testament

This is the last will and testament of Hiram Barker, father of Terissa Ann Barker Button. Hiram and his family lived in what is now Genoa City, but at the time this will was written, it was known as Genoa Junction. It says:

I, Hiram Barker of the town of Bloomfield County of Walworth and state of Wisconsin do make this my last will and testament revoking all other wills. I give and bequeath to My daughter Martha A. Button the real estate known as Littlefield Place situated within the Village of Genoa Junction County of Walworth and State of Wisconsin. I give and bequeath to Terissa A. Button one dollar and I give and bequeath to my daughter Percila Ann Powell one dollar and I give and bequeath to my son Hiram A. Barker one dollar. I give and bequeath to my son Merril Barker one dollar. Dated this first day of December 1882 at Genoa Junction and signed and sealed in the presence of the following witnesses.

Hiram Barker

B. J. Bill

D. B. Maine

Welcome to my Blog

I have developed this blog as a means for sharing information about my family with other members of this extended family. My goal is to try and fill in the gaps within the family and try and collect stories that have passed through time to various members of the family. Please jump in and add any stories or memories you have of any of our relatives as they will provide the substance and humanity to a family history of names and dates.