Emma L BAUMGARTEN 1896-1970 married William F ZIELKE

   ZIELKE
William F. Zielke, veteran of World War 1, June 10 [1966], beloved husband of Emma, nee Baumgarten; dear father of the late Gilbert; fond grandfather of Mark;... read the rest of his obituary in the Chicago Tribune, 11 June 1966 on Newspapers.com.
   ZIELKE
Emma Zielke, nee Baumgarten, of Brighton Park, beloved wife of the late William; loving mother of the late Gilbert; dearest grandmother of Mark; dear sister of Walter (Emily) Baumgarten and Marie (William) Schrader;... read the rest of her obituary in the Chicago Triune, 10 December 1970 on Newspapers.com.

Emma L Baumgarten is my second cousin two times removed. I do not like the expression "removed." but that is the technical wording. The whole Baumgarten family has been a series of twists and turns. It appears that each generation has the same names recycled over and over again. Emma presented a different problem. Beside Emma L, I also have Emma Emelie in the same generation. Now back to Emma L and my confusion with her family. Emma was born 9 July 1896 in Lockport, Will County, Illinois. In 1919 according to the Cook County marriage index, Emma married William F. Zielke of Chicago. This should be simple, just find an Emma and William about their age in the U.S. census in Chicago.

Who would have planned for two different Emma's marring two different William's. Naturally, I only found one in the beginning in the 1930 census, so attached the wrong census to my family. My family was married in 1919, the other Emma and William were married in 1911.One family, the one I wrongly added to my tree, had five children. The correct family had only one son, Gilbert.
It has taken several full days of research to finally correct my mistake. I was able to find Zeilke obituaries on Newspapers.com. What are the odds of two Emma and William Zeilke would be raising families in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois at the same time.

My lesson is to always look for more than one source for information. Question my own research. Do NOT believe trees or census, these are only hints. AND apologize to the Zielke family for adding the wrong people to my Baumgarten tree. If it were not a question from a cousin, I would not have found this mistake. We all need to work together!!! Any suggestions for my tree, see Roots Digger family tree (under construction) on Ancestry.com. happy tree climbing and roots digging, Selma

Caroline Dunham (1834-1887), case study or do NOT assume relationships

LaSalle County, Illinois

Who is Caroline Dunham? Who belongs in her family and what are their relationships? Are there more than one Caroline's? Every search offers more research questions. This article happens to involve my elusive Dunham family in LaSalle County, Illinois. A quick look down my list of Caroline's reveals Caroline born 1822, Caroline born 1834, Caroline born 1890 and Caroline R. This can be confusing enough, but add in the 1850-70 U.S. census without relationships.

My example draws on the 1850-1870 U.S. census for LaSalle County, Illinois. The point to remember is that these early census records do NOT provide a relationship between listed household members. The following census information is from Ancestry.com.

The 1850 census for Brown County, Ohio lists the following Dunham names for family number 1184: Elizabeth age 60, Sophia age 32, John age 21, George age 19 and Caroline age 16. [Year: 1850; Census Place: Byrd, Brown, Ohio; Roll: M432_662; Page: 78A; Image: 597]

The 1860 census for Eagle, LaSalle County, Illinois list the following Dunham names for dwelling number 4379 and family number 4387 and 4388: Asa age 41, Elizabeth age 69, Sophia age 43, Caroline age 25 and Newton age 22. [Year: 1860; Census Place: Eagle, LaSalle, Illinois; Roll: M653_197; Page: 1217; Image: 562; Family History Library Film: 803197]

The 1870 census for Richland, LaSalle County, Illinois list the following Dunham names for dwelling 32 and family 29: Asa age 51, Sophia age 52, Caroline age 35 and John R age 24. [Year: 1870; Census Place: Richland, LaSalle, Illinois; Roll: M593_244; Page: 673A; Image: 136824; Family History Library Film: 545743] The previous household and family are also Dunham.

Remember, no relationship, finally the 1880 census so we can connect these people! Richland, LaSalle County, Illinois dwelling 92 family105 lists the following Dunham names: Asa age 61, Sophia age 63, Caroline age 45. Wait! Where is the important relationship information? It is missing for this family. The Dunham neighbor is complete. So again, the relationship is not known. [Year: 1880; Census Place: Richland, LaSalle, Illinois; Roll: 224; Family History Film: 1254224; Page: 664A; Enumeration District: 087; Image: 0049]

Thanks to the LaSalle County Genealogical Guild, the following obituary solved the mystery. "Miss Caroline Dunham died at the home of her brother Asa Dunham, in Rutland, on Tuesday, the 21st...." "Tonica News." 1887 June 25. Vol. XIV. Number 17. Page 4. microfilm. Caroline's parents are Samuel and Elizabeth, her siblings are Asa, John Lee and Sophia. Many gaps remain between children, more research. The only known relationship from this brief search is Asa and Caroline. Article goal, DO NOT assume relationships from census records!!!