“There are some ancestors who seem to hide in darkness, whose stories are hard to tease out. There are also people who “live in the shadow” of someone else. This week, shine some light on one of those ancestors. Feel free to post your links and stories in the comments.” prompt by Amy Johnson Crow for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.
I think the women in my and my husband’s family are often hiding in the shadows. My husband’s great grandmother is one of the shadows I am having trouble bringing into the light. His grandmother was Bertha Hartje (1900-1994). This fact I am sure is true. Maybe if I write it all down for this post it will be a little more clear. I began looking in North Dakota as we knew Bertha had lived in ND for as long as my husband’s family could remember. This was one of the first records I found.
Please note how Mrs Abraham was added to the Census in 1915. Mrs T? who does that? This is how women become shadows in genealogy. At the time I first found this I didn’t know the rule, if they are listed last on the page always look at the next page. I went back later and found this.
It may seem irrelevant now as Herman has a different last name but it will make more sense later. The man listed below Herman was a worker on their farm. I kept looking and found the 1910 Census which thankfully gave me more information. Mrs Theodore Abraham now has a name! Emma A! She was born in Wisconsin. Emma is 40 years old, she’s been married 10 years and has had 7 children, 4 are still living.
I was able to find the marriage for Theodore Abraham and Emma A. They were married 22 Nov 1899 in Pembina County, North Dakota. On the wedding certificate Emma’s last name is Kettner. Does the name Kettner ring any bells. Some times it will say on the marriage information if it is a first or second marriage, I wasn’t able to find any further information. Since Emma is 29 and may have a five year old son named Herman, I am guessing she was previously married to someone with the last name of Kettner or Kittner.
So, I still don’t know Emma’s maiden name at this point.
I discovered that loss was to come again into Emma’s life. Her daughter Celia must have died soon after the 1910 Census. We found her gravestone when we went to North Dakota last summer. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to lose one child let alone 4. My heart breaks for this family. Celia was only 5 years old.
I already showed you the 1915 Census so now we are up to 1920. Theodore is 53, Emma is 48, Bertha is 19 and William is 13. Herman Kettner is now the head of his own household at 25. He is the next one on the Census. Herman and Theodore are both farmers.
Theodore died 25 Nov 1923 according to Find A Grave. He is buried in Grand Forks, ND in Calvary Cemetery. We didn’t make it to that Cemetery on our trip but someone else has added a photo on Find A Grave. Writing these posts helps me realize gaps in my research. I hadn’t requested Theodore or Emma’s death certificates yet. Just sent for them!
In 1925 54 year old Emma Abraham is living with 18 year old William Abraham. Bertha has married and moved out on her own. I tried mapping their home in 1930. Emma and William are in a house in Grand Rapids. It looks like that house was probably torn down and is now a duplex. Emma is 59 and William is 23 and it looks like William does something with the radio. We both think it might say radio music. I’ll have to try to find out more about that.
William gets married in in 1934 to Emily Heller. He has a son in 1936. Emma passes away in 1939 in Grand Forks, North Dakota. So we just traveled through the entire life of Emma without knowing her maiden name.
Good news though, I did find her name. Several of her children’s death certificates have her name including Herman Kettner. Herman’s father was also named Herman Kettner and his mother was Emma Sommer. I’ve been searching for a marriage for Herman (the father) and Emma but so far no luck. Bertha Abraham’s father was Theodore Abraham and her mother was Emma Sommer. Emma’s own death certificate says her father was Albert Sommer and her mother was Marie Kettner!
So now it is on to Wisconsin for further research. I find it interesting that Herman has the same last name as Emma’s mom. I do think I may have found her parents in Wisconsin, but not positive yet. My husband has some DNA matches with a couple of people through that family so I guess I am on the right track. It’s so nice to be able to bring Emma out of the shadows and learn her name.
We found a tombstone for Emma Abraham when we were in North Dakota last summer. The date of her death is correct but the birth is 20 years later than my Emma. I thought she would be buried in Grand Forks like her husband but according to her death certificate she was buried in St Thomas Cemetery. We took this photo in St Thomas Cemetery. This is where we found the stone for Celia, Emma’s 5 year old daughter, so maybe she wanted to be buried near her. Do you think it could be off by that many years? So even though the birth date is off by 20 years I think this is Emma’s tombstone.
Here is hoping you don’t have many relatives who are hiding in the shadows but if you do may you find them with ease and lot’s of documents.
My Tree in the Forest 