My grandfather Walter Anthony Dreffs had an older brother named Vincent. At least, sometimes he was referred to as Vincent. His name changed more often than my mind did while shopping for my wedding dress. It’s like a never-ending treasure hunt for his family throughout the years. He keeps my research interesting.
This is the timeline of research for Vincent’s life, and my discovery of his many alternate names.
Vincent Joseph Dreffs was born January 15, 1892 in Gaylord, Otsego County, Michigan. His birth name is clearly listed in the Otsego County birth records in Michigan. His parents, like that of my grandfather Walter, were Joseph Dreffs (1866-1941) and Anna Kozminska (1867-1926).
The 1900 US Census lists him as Nicck Dreffs and his entry is indexed as “Wecck Dreffe.” Unfortunately for us researchers, I think this is just a really bad case of horrible handwriting on the part of the census taker. His job was really difficult. I know for certain I would never be able to write that much if my life depended on it. It took me a few years of research to discover that Nicck and Vincent were the same boy. For a long time, I had listed them both as children in the family.
The 1910 US Census index lists Vincent as “Vetsak Drafts.” I think this is another case of bad handwriting, or perhaps reflective of the family’s strong Polish accent. He is living with his parents Joseph and Annie along with his siblings Mary, Frank, Walter (my grandfather), Paul (slaughtered as “Rowel”), Andrew and Kasimer (whose nickname was Carl). This census was enumerated in Gaylord, Otsego County, Michigan on May 8-9, 1910.
The story gets really interesting when you realize that Vincent and his father Joseph are actually listed in two different 1910 US Censuses. There is the first one I already mentioned where he was living with his family. Two weeks prior, he and his father Joseph are listed in the 1910 US Census as boarders in Saginaw, Saginaw County, Michigan with the family of Felix Kausfllo. Vincent is listed on this census as “Vicenty Dress” with an alternate name of “Drefs.” This census was enumerated on April 19, 1910.
This makes perfect sense to me because the two of them were known to be moving around to find employment. The Saginaw census shows Joseph as being out of work for 20 weeks during the past year. I know the family was living in Gaylord for Joseph’s naturalization on September 19, 1906. I also know that Joseph and Anna had moved to Saginaw by 1915 because they are listed in Polk’s Saginaw City Directory. Vincent remained a resident of Gaylord for the rest of his life.
Then, the hunt gets really fun. Vincent is listed on his marriage record to Rose Tomaski as Walter Joseph Dreffs, married on April 18, 1911. This one really threw me for a loop, considering his brother’s (my grandfather’s) name is Walter. The birth date matches for Vincent, and one of the witnesses was his brother Martin, so I’m confident this record really is for Vincent. it is possible that the transcriber wrote the name wrong. I have not requested the original record for this marriage.
The next time we see a record for Vincent and Rose Dreffs is for their daughter Isabelle “Lizzie” Dreffs . She was born on June 9, 1914 and passed away on June 19, 1914 after just ten short days of life. I found this record by accident while searching on FamilySearch.org. They have so many new records that have been scanned and indexed; it is truly amazing what you can find when you’re not looking for it.
The World War I Draft Card for Vincent Dreffs is surprisingly correct. The birth date matches and the draft location of Gaylord is expected. The card shows he had a wife and two children, which makes sense. The draft card was submitted on June 5, 1917.
We get a little more relief in the 1920 US Census where Vincent Dreffs is listed and indexed correctly. He can be found living with his wife Rose and their children Stanley, Bennie and Agnes (Aggie).
The 1930 US Census throws us another wrench with the listing of William J. Dreffs along with his wife Rose and his children Stanley J, Bennie, Aggie, John, Edward and a boarder named Leo Pinkoski, age 60. The number of years of marriage match for Vincent and Rose. The children’s names match. The ages years match. William is listed as age 37, first married at age 18. His wife Rose is 39, first married at age 20. Nineteen years prior to this census was 1911, the correct year for the wedding of Walter Joseph Dreffs and Rose Tomaski. I’m fairly confident this is our Vincent.
I’ve tried hard, but have not been able to locate an obituary or death record for our friend Vincent Dreffs. In fact, I basically lost track of him after 1930 until I found his grave on Find A Grave. The submitter transferred management of the grave to me as I am the closest relative that has come knocking. I would love to fill out the rest of the details. Vincent is buried at Saint Mary Cemetery in Gaylord next to his wife, Rose. I think my next step is to call the cemetery office and see if they have any further information.
Good luck in all of your research! If you have any tips for me, I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below.
You may also wish to check out my Ancestry Family Tree for Vincent Joseph Dreffs.
Obituary for Charles Barkley
Obituary for my great-great-grandfather, John Charles Barkley published in the Vidette-Messenger in Valparaiso, Indiana on October 3, 1964.
CHARLES BARKLEY Charles Barkley, 80, 7 Pine, died Friday in Porter Memorial hospital after an extended illness. Born Aug 2, 1884 in Kingman, Kan., he was the son of John and Isabel (Moffitt) Barkley. He married Eda [Ida] E. Weddle who preceded him in death in 1928. He later married Maude Collins who also preceded him in death. A retired contractor, Barkley was a resident of Valparaiso most of his life. He was a member of the Baptist church. Surviving are two sons, the Rev. Milton E. Barkley, Russiaville, Ind. and Harold, Valparaiso; two daughters, Mrs. Agnes Cole and Mrs. Vern (Ruth) Piper, both of Valparaiso; 26 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren, two brothers, R. Jett Barkley, Seattle and Richard Barkley, residing in Florida and one sister, Bertha. He was preceded in death by two sons, Allen and Ralph; one daughter, Mrs. Thelma Jankowski, and one brother and one sister. Services will be held at 2 p. m. Monday in the Bartholomew Funeral home with the Rev. John White, Calvary Baptist church, officiating. Burial will be in Kimball cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 7 p. m. today.
See the grave of John Charles Barkley at Find A Grave.
Check out my Ancestry Family Tree for John Charles Barkley.
This week we take a look at the lineage of the Sheets surname as it pertains to my family’s history.
Earliest Known Ancestor
Sylvester Clark Sheets, my 3rd great-grandfather, was born 29 Dec 1840 in Tiffin, Ohio. He married Louisa Margaret Schofield on 27 Oct 1864 in Porter County, Indiana. Sylvester was a Union soldier in the Civil War and served as a private in Company B, 151st Regiment, Indiana Infantry. He died 16 Nov 1898 in Valparaiso, Porter, Indiana.
Sheets Family Lineage
Lineage
Jessica Marie Cole > Douglass Lyal Cole > Duane Lyal Cole (1929 – 1994) > Lyal Newton Cole (1908 – 1955) > Wilhimena Isabelle Sheets (1886 – 1953) > Sylvester Clark Sheets (1840 – 1898)
Additional Information
Many of our Dominik and Fisher family members are buried in Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery including Andrew J. Dominik and his wife Malvina (Golkowski) Dominik,their son Raymond Dominik and his wife Sophie (Fisher) Dominik, her parents Leopold Fisher and Berniece (Jedzejczyk) Fisher.
Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery Map
Are you looking for a grave location in Greenwood Memory Lawn? Do you have a plot number for your ancestor’s burial site but don’t know where to look? For your convenience, I have posted a high resolution plot map for you to download. The map is from 2002 and includes grounds for the entire cemetery and mortuary. The various gardens are listed:
Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery & Mortuary is located at 719 North 27th Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona 85009. This cemetery is also known as Forest Lawn Cemetery.
You can view over 15,000 interments for this cemetery on the Find A Grave website.
You may also wish to visit the website for Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery.
Obituary for Lyal Newton Cole
Obituary for my great-grandfather, Lyal Newton Cole. Published in the Vidette-Messenger newspaper in Valparaiso, Indiana on August 8, 1955.
DEATHS LYAL N. COLE Lyal N. (Newt) Cole, 46, of 551 Factory, died at 3:15 p. m., Sunday in Porter Memorial hospital. He had been ill several months, suffering from a heart condition. A native of Porter county, he was born June 21, 1909, the son of Newton and Minnie (Sheets) Cole. He married Agnes Barkley Feb. 23, 1929. His father and widow are among the survivors. A prominent member of the Valparaiso Loyal Order of Moose, he was employed, before his illness, in the McGill Manufacturing company bearing division. He was custodian of the Billy club, 76 Lincolnway. Surviving are his widow, his father; five sons, Duane of Grand Rapids, Mich., Wayne, now serving with the armed forces in Germany, Blaine, Laine and Zane of Valparaiso; five daughters, Mrs. Eugene Berg, Mrs. Olen Collins, Elaine, Marlaine and Arlaine; three sisters and three brothers, all of Valparaiso. His mother and three brothers preceded him in death. Services will be held at 1 p. m. Wednesday in LePell Funeral home. The Rev. L. F. Myers, First Church of the Nazarene, will officiate, and burial will be in Kimball cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 2 p. m. Tuesday until services.
DEATHS
LYAL N. COLE Lyal N. (Newt) Cole, 46, of 551 Factory, died at 3:15 p. m., Sunday in Porter Memorial hospital. He had been ill several months, suffering from a heart condition. A native of Porter county, he was born June 21, 1909, the son of Newton and Minnie (Sheets) Cole. He married Agnes Barkley Feb. 23, 1929. His father and widow are among the survivors. A prominent member of the Valparaiso Loyal Order of Moose, he was employed, before his illness, in the McGill Manufacturing company bearing division. He was custodian of the Billy club, 76 Lincolnway. Surviving are his widow, his father; five sons, Duane of Grand Rapids, Mich., Wayne, now serving with the armed forces in Germany, Blaine, Laine and Zane of Valparaiso; five daughters, Mrs. Eugene Berg, Mrs. Olen Collins, Elaine, Marlaine and Arlaine; three sisters and three brothers, all of Valparaiso. His mother and three brothers preceded him in death. Services will be held at 1 p. m. Wednesday in LePell Funeral home. The Rev. L. F. Myers, First Church of the Nazarene, will officiate, and burial will be in Kimball cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 2 p. m. Tuesday until services.
See the grave of Lyal Newton Cole on Find a Grave.
Check out my Ancestry Family Tree for Lyal Newton Cole.
This is the first post in a series of more than 40 Surname Saturday posts, each one featuring a different surname in my genealogical and family history research.
This week we take a look at the lineage of the Cole surname as it pertains to my family’s history.
In Memory of James Cole
James Cole is my 10th great grandfather. He was born 25 Jul 1600 in Highgate, London, England. He arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1633 with his wife Mary Tibbes, sons Hugh, John and James, and his daughter Mary. James and his sons Hugh and James were innkeepers on Cole’s Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts. As entreprenuers, the Cole men understood the concept of supply and demand very well. We believe James died around 1688 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
The plaque at the top of Cole’s Hill in Plymouth reads:
IN MEMORY OF JAMES COLE BORN LONDON ENGLAND 1600 DIED PLYMOUTH MASS 1692 FIRST SETTLER OF COLE’S HILL 1633 A SOLDIER IN THE PEQUOT INDIAN WAR 1637 THIS TABLET ERECTED BY HIS DESCENDANTS 1917
My Cole Lineage
Jessica Marie Cole > Douglass Lyal Cole > Duane Lyal Cole > Lyal Newton Cole > Newton Leroy Cole > Christopher Columbus Cole > Edward Payne Cole > David Cole > Bethuel Cole >Â Israel Cole > Benjamin Cole > Hugh Cole > James Cole
Standing atop Cole's Hill (2000)
Items of Interest
Family Notes
Cole is my maiden name and it has always been near and dear to my heart. My father Douglass has been researching the Cole line since 1981. We have worked in conjunction with J. Timothy Cole of Chesterton, Indiana for many years. The Cole family has been very heavily documented over the years.
Andrew J. Dominik, circa 1915
Andrew Jędrzej Dominik is the great-grandfather and namesake of my husband, Andrew Green. I have been researching the Dominik family for many years, although I am just now starting to get more serious about the original record searches. This week, I received the Declaration of Intention and Petition for Naturalization for Andrew J. Dominik from the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. It was the best $18.44 I have spent on a genealogical record request in a long time. I would like to share the information I received by attempting to retrace his journey to the United States.
Andrew JÄ™drzej Dominik was born on July 26, 1886 in the Galacia region of Poland in a town called Gorlice while it was under the rule of Franz Joseph I of Austria. This is important to understand since his records often show “Poland” but sometimes show “Austria” as a birth location. Andrew was part of a mass emigration with several hundred thousand people who emigrated from the region for a better life in the USA from the 1880’s through the early 1900’s.
In order to get to America, Andrew had his work cut out for him. Gorlice, Poland is a long way from New York City. My best estimate as that he left his home in early May 1909. He likely would have taken a carriage from Gorlice to Kraków, Poland which is approximately 90 miles. From there, he probably boarded a railway train in Kraków to make the 550 mile journey to Hamburg Central Station in Hamburg, Germany which opened in 1907. So far, he would have been traveling for approximately 5-7 days.
The President Lincoln
Andrew bought his ticket and climbed aboard the President Lincoln on May 14, 1909. This beautiful new German steamer was built in 1907, just two years before Andrew made his trip across the Atlantic. It weighed just over 18 tons, held 3,828 passengers and had a cruising speed of 14.5 knots. It was built for transatlantic passenger travel from Germany to America. The ship was seized by the US in 1914, taken from Germany and repurposed into a US Navy Cruiser in 1917. Germany had the last laugh though, and torpedoed the ship with the submarine U-90 in May 1918. It sank quickly as a casualty of World War I.
Certificate of Marriage between Andrew Dominik and Malvina Golkowski
The trip from Hamburg, Germany to Ellis Island, New York took 21 days, stopping in the port of Cuxhaven along the way. Andrew reached America on June 4, 1909. His journey from Golice took an entire month. I have not been able to trace his whereabouts from the time he disembarked until his wedding to Malvina Golkowski on February 17, 1914 in Ramey, Minnesota. The couple settled in Chicago, Illinois and had their only known child, Raymond Dominik, in Chicago on February 10, 1915. Andrew is listed in the 1916 City Directory for Chicago as a photographer. His home address was 1055 N Wood, while his portrait photography studio was located less than half a mile away at 923 Milwaukee Avenue.
I wish I knew how long the trip from Golice actually took Andrew. I would love to know how much the ticket cost him to ride aboard the President Lincoln. I wonder what he was feeling along the way; why did he leave Gorlice? What did he do upon arrival in Ellis Island? Where did he go? Did he make any friends along the way?
If I were to journey to Gorlice from Arizona today, I would ride in a car for 30 minutes to the Phoenix International Airport. The airplane ride would cost me about $1,000 round trip and take me from Phoenix through Chicago and Munich, Germany onto Krakow, Poland in about 17 hours with layovers. From there, I would hop in a rental car and drive the remaining 2 hours to Golice. The same trip would take me approximately 24 hours of travel time.
Times sure have changed, haven’t they? 102 years makes a big difference in international travel.
Read more about Andrew J. Dominik in my Ancestry Family Tree.
See the grave of Andrew J. Dominik on Find A Grave.
Read more about the U.S.S. President Lincoln at Wikipedia and uBoat.net.
This week I visited the Mesa Regional Family History Center for information about the Jarrell family of North Carolina and Kentucky. This part of the family is on my paternal grandmother’s side. They originated in Craven County, North Carolina and moved to Kentucky around 1800, where they lived in Elliot, Floyd, Morgan and Pike Counties during the early 1800’s.
Here are the items of interest that I found during the visit:
In an effort to keep track of all the research correspondence I am currently engaged in, I have captured this list of items I am sending away for.
Fitzgerald Family
Green Family
Civil War Service Record for Abner O. Green
New York State Archives, Civil War Service Record Request for Abner Oakes Green, a Union soldier, a private in Company C, 4th Heavy Artillery. Sent request on 1/31/2011 ($3). Received response on 2/20/2011. Learned exact enlistment, mustered-in and mustered-out dates and locations. Record #2198.
My dear friend Sarah and I have been helping each other with genealogical roadblocks. Thanks to her, I have discovered so many new things about my family, and a ton of great links that I want to capture for future use.
I will add more links here as I find more places that are useful.
