Not My Frank Lee – Take 2

In the midst of potty training & the holidays, I finally got a little piece of exciting mail. I received a letter from the Mayes County (OK) Genealogy Society yesterday. A copy of the following obit & a sticky note saying they “finally got the obit”. So here reads the blurry obit…

“Frank Lee, School Land Donor, Die; Funeral Thursday

(there is no date… nice of them huh? but math says it in 1976’ish)

Frank Lee, 81, pioneer resident of Lee Square community, eleven miles

southeast of Nowata ,died Monday at 4:00 p.m. after an extended illness.

Mr. Lee came from Indian Territory in 1895 from Springfield, MO.

He was well known throughout this area, and donated the acre of land

for the building of Lee Square school, which also served as a community center

for many year. He was active in and enjoyed the local singing conventions,

many of which were held at Lee Square.

Funeral services will be conducted Thursday at 2 p.m. in the Benjamin Funeral Home,

with Rev. Harvey Hardin, pastor of First Christian Church in Chelsea, officiating.

Interment will be in the Ball Cemetery.

Survivors include the wife, Mrs. Ella Lee, of the home, three sons,

Tony Lee, Springfield, MO, Florance Lee, Beneca, MO, and Frank Lee, Bartlesville;

five daughters, Mrs. Jim McMatin, Cody’s Bluff, Mrs. Paul Milam, Bartlesville,

Mrs. F. C. Myers, MIdland, TX, Mrs. T.O. Mason, Manhattan, KS, and Mrs. Edna Grant, Wollard, MO;

one sister, Mrs. J.C. Weaver, San Gabriel, CA, and one half-brother, Guy Murray.

Casket bearers include Louis Nitters [?], Lonnie Allison, Mayden Marney,

Georger Frauenberger, Bob Cox, and Lon Myers.”

Well, I can say this is NOT our Frank Lee. Good news is that this little piece of paper saves me a lot of endless unproductive research. The above Frank Lee, buried at Ball Cemetery with his first wife Maude P[auline] Lee. The above Frank has a son Frank of Bartlesville, OK in 1976’ish who was born 1922,… our Frank Lee was born 1900 & was definitely not living in Bartlesville, OK in 1976’ish. Our times lines don’t match up at all!

The 1895 date out of “Indian Territory” jumped out at me, but they came from Springfield, MO. That isn’t what we have known to this date.

The truth is that our Neuhaus family connection moved from Milwaukee, WI to Chicago, IL, at the same time that their mysterious “daughter” would have been pregnant with our Frank Lee b. 1900. They would have had to have met in Milwaukee or Chicago before any move to OK.

My research now turns to the old-fashioned way of requesting death records from the Cook County Clerk. Both daughters & the wife of Emil Neuhaus died before him. There has to be a record of something somewhere… and a lot of Chicago papers to search. I also need to track down the correct marriage for our Herman Neuhaus & see if there is any living cousins that can give us a helpful hint :)

I am going to work this Lee year to the very end :D

3rd Neuhaus Child Review

I’ve been back & forth on whether or not there’s indeed a third Neuhaus child & if indeed it was a female. So here’s my process:

(As noted by a fellow genealogist over at “Are My Roots Showing?” … I might be less in need of this blog if I kept research notes… LOL!)

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On the 1895 Wisconsin State Census, for Milwaukee, Emil Neuhaus is clearly listed as having a total of 5 family members: 3 white females & 2 white males…all native born in the US.

We clearly know their nativity is false due to further censuses stating immigration in 1885, all listed as German born on each consecutive one… And we’ve located his naturalization record also stating he was an immigrant on “1-20-1885″…

Knowing he’s a household of 5, not 4… Look at this immigration manifest again:

Who is the eldest daughter? Who!?

If you look super closely, the numbers are listed consecutively 1…2…3…4…. Clara, Henricks, Marie, & Herman.

Also the manifest is September 1884. That wasn’t a red flag for me since the boat arrived at New York, & then they made their way to Wisconsin, which probably took months…add holidays & winter weather,… & they probably didn’t think they were truly here, as “arrived” until they reached their final destination.

However, I wasted some quality hours trying to locate another possible manifest match, wondering if I jumped too quickly (I hate second questing myself)…which nothing added up like this one. (Again, yet another point clearly made if I’d only kept research notes!)

But only 4 vs. 5 caught my eye… Possibilities?

1- Clara immigrated pregnant… Had child in US… Maybe also aiding in the months it took to travel to Wisconsin… (which would make this child a very young match for our Frank Lee)…about 15-16 yoa.

2 – The extra child was a “grandchild”, a “niece”, or a “sister”….

Well, I went back to the 1900 census to see what I might have forgotten or overlooked… Apparently Clara is listed as having 3 children in which 3 are living. However, as you can see below, only the son is living at home. Where are both the girls then in 1900?

A German Printer in Chicago, IL

So we can clearly & reasonably deduct that there is indeed a third Neuhaus child & SHE is female. We can make a safe assumption she’s roughly 15-16 years of age at time of Frank Herbert Lee’s birth in 1900. We will refer to her as “Gladys” Neuhaus as listed on Frank Herbert’s marriage record in 1920.

Now to locate Gladys Neuhaus…& her untold short story…

The Folds of Time

You have to be kidding me! Is this really possible? I’m pretty sure it’s illegal in some natural set of laws!!

After much clicking & back clicking & redefining my search perimeters… I find an immigration document for…wait for it… No…wait…are you ready?

 

Who is the third child? Who!?

Clara Neuhaus,… Herman, & Marie… but who is the one in the middle… in the folds?

On my photo editing software & some manipulation of my computer screen I tried to see whatever I could see, but I still can’t make out much of anything other than there is another person with them… uggh! To me it appears to be… Heinrichs Emil…. The father? This is definitely not “Gladys”… Is the third child lost in the folds & age of time?

What’s your opinion? Think there’s another lost in the folds of time?

The 1900 Census said 3 children were all still living… Who is #3?

In 1884 even the eldest child would have still been too young to be left behind in Germany,… And it appears to be a single number, possibly “9”. Thats definitely not Emil’s age….

The manifest was folded & looks to have been very well weathered, so the crease of the fold is dark & can’t be opened completely, thus the scanned microfilmed image lends no help ;Q

Many families experienced what we call “chain immigration” where a family member comes first, or a few come, then a few more, or the rest of the family until they are all immigrated to their new homeland. However, Emil & his family were able to travel together.

You’re probably wondering why Clara is listed as head of household & not Emil, huh? Clara on many records is 10 years Emil’s senior, making her the eldest family member. Usually when making a list of persons they were listed in age/birth order.

Emil & his family arrive in New York on the 18th of October in 1884. [sic: Emil claims he came to America in 1885 on both his census & January 1885 on his naturalization card…which I presume is when he reached Wisconsin.) The family is said to have originated for this trip from Saxony (Kingdom State). They departed from Bremen, Germany, where the ship came up a large river & then made its way back down this channel to the open sea setting sail for their new homeland… America of freedom & riches.

They made a stop at Southampton, England before making it to New York. They embarked with 874 passengers on board to make about a 19 day journey aboard a steam liner with 4 masts. Can you imagine?

Why did they end up in Wisconsin? What lead them to America in 1884, besides the obvious world wide wave of propaganda? Was there more family in America that they met up with? So many questions… And when does this get us back to Frank Lee & his family?

Always A Little Proof In The Pudding

After finding Marie Neuhaus Tuttle’s death certificate, I finally had a clue as to her parents & her family prior to the Lee or Tuttle connections.

The family story held Frank Herbert Lee was raised by “family” in Chicago, IL…on his mother’s side. They were “German” & were “printers” there in Chicago. Remember, every family story is like a good game of “operator” or “telephone”, but there are always hidden facts in the story :)

With Emil Neuhaus, wife Clara, from Marie’s death record, I went hunting!

 

A German Printer in Chicago, IL

TADA! The 1900 US Federal Census shows that Emil Neuhaus was living in Chicago, IL with his wife, Clara, and one son, Herman. They were all born in Germany! And the men are working as printers!!

It also notes that Clara was the mother of 3 children in which all 3 are living in 1900. Three? Well Marie is one, Herman is two, … who is number three? Is that our mysterious “Gladys” on Frank Herbert Lee’s (1900) marriage record to Mardell Beamer?

After further research I find a 1895 Census for the Sate of Wisconsin with Emil Neuhause & 2 males & 3 females living in Milwaukee, WI! So the other child is a female, this has to be our “Gladys”, biological mother of Frank Herbert Lee? And in Milwaukee? Could it be that Frank Lee & Gladys actually meet in Milwaukee & married, then went to OK, where they had their son in Pryor Creek, OK?

So how did Clara Marie Neuhause get on Frank’s delayed birth certificate? I am “hypothesizing” that it was twisted with Wilbert Tuttle. A man in his 80’s at the time of the affidavit, was probably a little confused. Having met & married Marie Neuahaus with Frank already in her care, to him she was always his mother. She was most likely born Clara Marie, named after her mother. To keep the name confusion to a minium she went solely by Marie Neuhaus. Marie was indeed born in 1882. These are all facts that were hidden in the family story line.

Now to try & find the Neuhause immigration & migration to the US, WI, & IL. Where is the missing child? Is she “Gladys”? Where in Germany are they from? Why did they come to America? And how did they get to Wisconsin & then to IL to become printers?

A Time Line In Their History – Part I

Your ancestors had an entire life that not only predicted their lifestyle, but also tells you so much about the person they were & had became.

A collection of records merely give you small scopes of a moment in their life…just a day… A day in which they were born. A day in which the census taker stopped in & gathered their information. A day in which they were married. A day in which they were buried. All just snapshots of a day in their whole life.

When it’s time to create a bigger picture, much like a puzzle board, you have to take into account of their location’s history. (Again, this is where time lines really come in handy!) This is where a general “family historian” crosses over from an amateur to a “genealogist” going professional.

“Aunt Susie” who keeps the family stories, photos & some records (maybe even every record) may have never considered much more to the family’s time line other than the dates on the paper. However, a time line on locations & events, with history, can totally alter what “Aunt Susie’s” stories have been repeating all these years… especially in Native American Research, where specific locality as everything to do with a specific time :)

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My elusive Frank Herbert Lee was at one time, at least at the birth of his son in 1900, living in Pryor Creek, OK. His life & his story remain a mystery. So these last few days I wanted to look into his time line more.

Based on family stories & what little facts , here is what we have:

Abt. 1875 BIRTH: [Milwaukee, Milwaukee], WI – male, unknown date, Frank Herbert or Herbert Frank Lee.

1880 CENSUS: unknown

1890 CENSUS: if wasn’t lost in fire, unknown

Abt 1900: Okmuglee, OK – Family story holds he met & married Clara [Gladys] Marie Nuahause [Newhause, Nayhouse, Newhouse, etc] about this time in OK…

1900 CENSUS: unknown

1900 CHILD: Pryor Creek, , OK; male, 22 September [1899] 1900, Frank Herbert Lee

DEATH: Unknown – But family story says he probably died in OK & buried in Pryor Creek, OK…

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This is a great way to also keep your notes in your genealogy software program. It will give you a very helpful quick reference not only to the records you are missing, but to the information you need to still gather with the dates & locations! It is like a locations & evidence time line all-in-one! Many individuals over look this step because they think it is redundant or unnecessary. However, this is where the truth starts to build & take shape. It’s VERY IMPORTANT to keep notes.

Follow along over the next few weeks to see how this time line shapes up & more examples and information on how to keep some good notes!

So it is time to fill in some blanks….

Operator! Operator? Can You Understand Me?

So I have searched a bunch of records in the last few nights. I’m pretty sure I can honestly say a million since some searches have produced over 400,000 results & I’ve searched most of the results :) Research Overload!

I’ve found every Frank Lee or Herbert Lee I can muster up in OK. Seen just about every Clara Lee possible in OK & quit a few in IL. It’s resulted in a few Frank & Clara Lee unions. None of which are good matches…

Mostly because children don’t match, date of record doesn’t match, the birth locations of anyone doesn’t match, race doesn’t match,… You name it, I’ve dismissed it. A few were lucky enough to be saved for later or printed for a possibility.

Then tonight it dawned on me, as I was on page 50-something results produced from a search on the LDS (Latter Day Saints) FamilySearch site, that I probably need to back up a generation. A marriage record (without image) was transcribed for Frank Herbert Lee & Mardell Beamer. This is the son of Frank & Clara Lee. An besides an obvious transcription detail, the first question that come up was, “do I have all I can on Frank Lee, the son?”

This is a rookie mistake! Yes, and I made it big time! ;(

In the past I had worked on Frank Lee, that’s how I got his delayed birth certificate & his Rail Road records. But do I have his life events documented? I’m sure I’d remember a marriage liscence that said his mother was “Gladys Newhaus”!

First “Gladys” is clearly not Clara! Clara Brown is the bride’s (Mardell’s) mother! And Newhouse, from my experience, is definitely German or of German regional relation. Now we are getting somewhere :D

Are you following? Can you see it? A generation playing a game of “operator” or “telephone” very poorly… It happens :)

So my handy dandy Internet search with Google & there it is! Clear as day… Newhouse in native tongue is often pronounced to sound more like Nayhouse, Nyus, Niehause, Neuhause,…

Big picture: Operator error due to dialect & accents! So my next step is actually backwards a generation to Frank & Mardell (Beamer) Lee. Let’s finish a complete documentation work up :D