Treasure Chest Thursday - Carl Gustav Märten

This photo was sent to me in 2008, several months after my great-grandmother, Sylvia (Martin) Flemming passed away. This is of her grandfather, my 3rd-great-grandfather, Carl Gustav Märten.

Carl Gustav was born 23 Aug 1846 in a very tiny village that you won't find on any map, named Töpperkuthen. It was incorporated into a larger village nearby named Berneuchen. They were located in Kreis Landsberg, Brandenburg, Germany.

You can notice on the image, that Carl Gustav is a decorated veteran. His 1934 obituary states that he was a "Franco-German war veteran". After finding this out, I scoured records trying to find his military information. I located him serving in Lieb-Grenadier Regiment Nr. 8 (1. Brandenburg) in the 4th Company (1st Battalion). This Regiment was part of the 5th Division of the Prussian/German army. It was also a famous regiment which distinguished itself in all three of the Wars of Unification. During the Franco-Prussian war the division saw action in the battles of:

Spicheren (August 6, 1870)

Vionville-Mars la Tour (August 18, 1870)

Gravelotte-St. Privat (August 18, 1870)

The Siege of Metz (August 19 to October 27, 1870)

Bellevue (October 7, 1870)

Provenchères (November 6, 1870)

Bretenay (November 7, 1870)

Beaune-la-Rolande (November 28, 1870)

Orléans (December 3-4, 1870)

Revoy (December 7, 1870)

Gien und Briare (December 8, 1870)

Azay-Mazange (January 6, 1871)

Le Mans (January 10-12, 1871)

He received the Iron Cross for his service in this war, along with two other medals I haven't been able to identify yet. Any ideas?

He was married twice: first to a woman named Henrietta Kurth, who passed in 1876 and secondly to my 3rd-great-grandmother Louise Friederike "Auguste" Lübke. They were married on 15 Jun 1876 in Gross Schönfeld, in Kreis Greifenhagen, Pommern, Germany. They had total of six children: Otto (1877), Carl (1880), Gustav (1882), William (1883), Alvina (1885) and Anna (date unknown). The family immigrated to America, migrating through Bremen and landing in Baltimore, Maryland on 18 Apr 1883, aboard the S.S. Hohenzollern.

The family immediately settled in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, presumably with relatives. On 10 Jun 1891, he purchased 80 acres of land in Polar Township, Langlade County, Wisconsin, at Section 14, Township 31N, Range 12E. This land continued to be held in the family until the 1960's.

Carl Gustav and his wife Auguste lived in Polar til their deaths, in the 1930's. Carl Gustav passed on 12 mar 1934 and Auguste on 19 Oct 1938. The entire family is buried in St. John's Cemetery in Polar.

Wordless Wednesday - 23 Dec 2009

Elaine (my grandmother) and Eunice Stuempges

My Genealogy Goals for 2010

I liked Elyse's blog post about her goals for 2010, so I thought I would give it a shot. Here are some of my goals I wish to complete for this upcoming year. Be warned, it's going to be a lot. I'm a very driven and persistent researcher, I'll get most of it done... hopefully!

1. Continue with my Hungarian Marriages Project. As of right now, I have the marriages for the Reformed churches of Tiszadob and Taktaszada complete, and I'm 95% done with Tiszadada. I also have a portion of marriages for District I of Budapest complete as well. At the moment, I have these other parishes at hand to begin indexing: Büdszentmihály (1737-1852), Tiszalök (1761-1852), Tiszaszederkény (1753-1895) and Kesznyéten (1760-1895).

2. Prove my descendancy from Revolutionary War Captain, Samuel Martin. Born 26 Mar 1732 in Ireland and died 18 Nov 1836 in Dallas, Lincoln Co, NC. My 3rd-great-grandfather was William S. (probably Samuel) Martin. He was born about 1804, probably in Lincoln Co, NC. He is the grandson of Captain Samuel Martin. I'm just unsure who his father was.

3. Find actual documents including information on my noble Hungarian ancestors from these families: Berzeviczy de Berzevicze, Fekete, Horváth de Perlak, Izdenczy de Komlós, Kottány de Kothan, Miskolczy, Széky, Szük and Tóth.

4. Research my Posen roots: the families of Domagala/Domagalski, Gadacz, Gotowa/Gotowy and Lesniewski. They came from these two areas: Birkenfelde, Kreis Znin, Posen, Prussia, now Brzyskorzystew (Żnin), Bydgoszcz, Poland, and Gluschin, Posen, Prussia, now Głuszyna, Poznan, Poland (part of Poznan).

5. Break down my Costilow brick-wall. James Costilow, whom I know nothing about, was married to Mary Bethia Hopkins in Adams County, Mississippi in 1818. Mary Bethia is a descendant of English and French royalty from the 1300-1400's.

6. Document my descendancy from the English and French royalty from the 1300-1400's. I descend from them through my 4th-great-grandmother Mary Bethia Hopkins Costilow Bell.

7. Learn anything I possibly can about my 3rd-great-grandmother, Martha A. Miller. She was the wife of Civil War veteran James Andrew J. Costilow. She was born 18 Nov 1836, possibly in Alabama and died 19 Dec 1877 in either Holmes or Yazoo county, Mississippi. They were married on 25 Jul 1855, place unknown. Her dates were taken out of a Costilow family bible, that seems to have disappeared.

8. Learn more about my earliest Rodgers ancestor: James Rodgers. He emigrated Ireland in 1718 and came to America, going to Pennsylvania before he finally settleding in the Shenandoah valley of Virginia in the mid-1700's. James died not long before 22 May 1760 in Augusta County, Virginia. He left behind a widow, Ann, and two sons: James (married Margaret) and Thomas (married Elizabeth White). There was a possible third son named John.

9. Continue the research on my Black Forest ancestors. My research in Gutach is near completion (after nearly 10 years). And I now need to move onto Hoheweg (Beilarz's), Reichenbach (Schondelmaier's), Sankt Georgen (Schultheiss) and Kirnbach (Summ's).

10. Continue my research on my Bohemian ancestors in the Czech parish records available on RecordSearch. These are the main families: Grundmann, Heller, Kasper, Matzken, Müller, Munzig, Paschant, Reichelt, Reichenbach, Sandrich, Schicketantz, Schneller, Tietze/Tieze, Vogel, Weishaupt and Wenzel. They are from Graber, Litomerice, Bohemia (now Kravaře, Litoměřice, Czech Republic) and also neighboring Johnsdorf, Litomerice, Bohemia (now Janovice, Litoměřice, Czech Republi). I'm also researching in the towns Dörfel (now Víska), Littnitz (now Litice), Schönau (now Křenov), Schönborn(now Stráž u České Lípy) and Waltersdorf (now Valterice).

11. Begin research on my Sprengling and Mai families from Weinolsheim, Kreis Oppenheim, Hesse, Germany. I know very little on this family.

Black Sheep Sunday - Hiram Howell

Not much is known about my 5th-great-grandfather's early life and family.. or his immediate family, for that matter.

I do know this: His name was Hiram Howell. He was born about 1790 in South Carolina and died in 1853 in Tippah County, Mississippi, from very curious circumstances. He was shot and killed, by his probable son-in-law, Lindsey Slaughter. How ironic is Lindsey's surname?!

Anyway, Hiram was married to a woman named Rachel. Her surname and past is unknown, but I do know she was born about 1794 in Georgia. She died sometime between 1853 and 1860 in Mississippi. According to various state and federal census records, they may have had a total of up to eight children. Three are definite: a daughter who's name is unknown (that married Lindsey Slaughter), a daughter Temperance Howell (who married George Vance) and a son Joel Howell (that married a woman named Rebecca).

As I said, Hiram was listed in several various state and federal census records. Here's a list of the records:

• 1820 Federal Census: Lincoln Co, TN; Also listed are a David, Joel, Jonathan, Reas (Reece), and Samuel
• 1840 Federal Census: Fayette Co, TN
  
• 1845 State Census: Tippah Co, MS
• 1850 Federal Census: Tippah Co, MS

Hiram also served in the War of 1812. He was a Corporal in Cocke's 2nd Regiment, Western Tennessee Militia.

Now for the interesting tid-bits. Hiram Howell, along with his two sons-in-law George Vance and Lindsey Slaughter, are found numerous times in the Tippah County, MS court records. One of the three was usually posting bond to get one of the others out of jail. Certain unknown circumstances lead to the death of Hiram Howell, by Lindsey Slaughter. Did Lindsey shoot him accidentally? Was it intentional? Did the men have a quarrel about money or about other no-good men in the area?

In hopes that further research will help settle these questions, I have a feeling I will never know the truth about what happened to my ancestor.

Was he flat-out murdered.....?!

My Brick Wall - The Costilow Family

When I first began my research and connected with extended cousin from Mississippi, they gave me the initial information on the Costilow's to begin my research.

My 3rd-great-grandfather is a James Andrew J. Costilow, born 25 Dec 1833 in Yazoo County, Mississippi. He died 22 Feb 1923 in Montgomery County, Mississippi. The family originally believed him to be the son of Christopher Costilow and Mary Reeder from Harrison/Barbour counties, Virginia (now West Virginia). Christopher and Mary Costilow did indeed have a son named James A. Costilow, born 10 Nov 1831 in Harrison County, Virginia, but he is not our James. James from Virginia, was married to an Eliza Robison in 1859 and could later be found in Barbour County, West Virginia in the 1870 census.

After finding that census and marriage information, I was positive that we did NOT connect in with the Virginia Costilow's. I soon found a 17 year old "James Costilough" in the 1850 census in Yazoo County, Mississippi. He was listed in the household of John Z. Bell and his wife Bertha. Also listed was a "Henry Costilough" at the age of 15, a probably brother to James.

I later found a marriage for a John Z. Bell to a Mrs. Mary B. Castlow on 14 Apr 1848 in Yazoo County, Mississippi. So this Mary Bertha Castlow/Costilough Bell is obviously the widowed mother of James and Henry. More in-depth research into Mississippi marriages finds a marriage for James Castilow to a Berthia Hopkins on 17 Sep 1818 in Adams County, Mississippi.

So now we know that James and Henry Costilow are the sons of James Costilow and Mary Bertha/Berthia Hopkins. A simple google book search brought up a title called "The David Hopkins family of New Jersey, 1696-2006", by Mildred Hopkins Pretzer and Dwayne Lewis Pretzer. The book listed a Bethia Hopkins, wife of James Costelow/Castillow, as the daughter of Gideon Hopkins and Sara "Sally" Luce/Luse. Both were originally from Morris County, New Jersey and resettled in Adams County, Mississippi sometime about 1796, when Gideon and Sally were married.

So, the ancestry of Mary Bethia Hopkins Costilow Bell is well documented, with her ancestors going back to the early English and French kings. As for her husband, James Costilow/Costelow/Castilow/Castillow, nothing is known prior to their marriage in 1818.

James appears in the 1818 MS State census for Adams County, as "James Costilow" and with only 1 male over 21 years of age in the household. So this was obviously before they married. He also appears in the 1820 and 1830 Federal census for Adams County. In 1820 he is listed as "James Costlow" and in 1830 he is listed as "Jas. Costeloe".

I am seeking any information on James Costilow. Anything of his parentage, siblings or any kin in general is appreciated, or even where he came from. Also seeking any death and probate information for him sometime between 1840 and 1848 in either Yazoo or Holmes counties, Mississippi.

The Complexity Of My Heritage

I thought it would be interesting to pick apart my ancestry and analyze all the individual ethnicities of my heritage. The more and more I research my family tree, the more and more I realize that my heritage is far more complex than it appears.

Let's start with my father's family. In the beginning, when I first started my research, all I knew was that he was strictly Hungarian and Polish. And now it appears that he's a mixture of six different ethnicities: Hungarian, Hungarian-Transdanubian, Hungarian-Transylvanian, Kashubian, Polish and Swedish.

The bedrock of our Hungarian ancestry is obvious. Alex Gombás married Eszter Tóth in Hungary and they came to America with their children. But looking more deeper into their ancestry opens up new things. Let's start with the Gombás branch. The Gombás family is obviously Hungarian.. Gombás being a Hungarian word meaning 'mushroom'. Alex's paternal grandmother, Erzsébet Sajti, was more than just Hungarian. Her mother's family, the Ráduly Kovács's, were a family originally from Transylvania. Radu and Radul are a predominately Romanian (past-day Transylvania) male first name meaning 'the happy one'. Erzsébet's maternal grandmother was a Mária Sveda. I only learned this today by translating, but Sveda is a Hungarian surname meaning 'Swede' or 'Swedish'. So it seems that Erzsébet's maternal grandparents were a Hungarian of Transylvania extraction that married a Hungarian of Swedish extraction.

Eszter Tóth's family is a little more.. common.. I guess you can say, for Hungarians coming from North-East Hungary. Eszter's family is predominately Hungarian, although she does have a few Slovakian lines. The Tóth name for example, which is one of the most commonly used surnames in Hungary, means 'slovak' in Hungarian. Eszter descends from 2, possibly 3, entirely un-connected Tóth families. Eszter's paternal great-great-grandmother's family certainly is a very curious case. Her name was Erzsébet Handa. I know very little on the Handa family, other than that there was possibly two Handa families in all of Hungary.. maybe three. My Handa's resided in Szabolcs megye, in North-East Hungary. There were a few other Handa's in North-East Hungary that I have yet to research, but I am positive they are related. There is also a Handa family that lived in the area of Tamási and Kecsegepuszta in Györ megye, in Western Hungary. They were Roman Catholic and mine were Reformed, but they still may be related somewhere down the line. Other researchers have told me that the surname hails from India in Asia. A google search of the surname brings up thousands of results not only for India, but Japan, China and other Asian countries as well. One thing is for sure, it's definitely not a Hungarian or Slovakian surname.

As for my father's Polish family, they came from three different areas in Poland. Two of my branches came from towns in Southern Poland near the borders of Slovakia, but there is no doubt they were Polish. Another branch came from the Poznan area of Poland, which of course is Polish. Then my last branch comes from the Puck (then called Putzig) area of Poland. This town was right on the coast of the Baltic sea, in Northern Poland. My family from this area belonged to an ethnic group within Poland called the Kashubians. They are descended from the Slavic Pomeranian tribes and date as far back as 1238.

My mother's family is quite the mixture as well. My grandfather was from Mississippi and had old colonial roots in America. He's a mixture of English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh.. and possibly Italian, Native American and/or Spanish. My grandmother is three quarters German. Her paternal grandmother, Anna Weishaupt, was Bohemian.

My grandpa Thomas Rodgers descends quite a mixture of old colonial families. The Rodgers had come to America in 1718 from Ireland, and before that they had went from Scotland to Ireland in the 1500's due to religious persecutions. We theorize they were originally Scottish. If not, they were then definitely Irish.. and descendants and relatives of the MacRory family of Ireland. Most of his ancestor's surname were predominately English, like Bennett, Blaylock, Hopkins Scott, and Wilson. But there's also Vance which is probably Irish and then the Howell family, which came from Wales. My grandpa's mother's family were the Martin's and Costilow's. Samuel Martin came from Ireland in the mid-1700's and was a big Revolutionary War captain. The Costilow's are a curious case. We originally thought they came from VA and before that Ireland, but I proved that wrong. From what I've concluded, they could be of Spanish or Italian ancestry. Finding any information on the early Costilow's of Mississippi is proving extremely difficult. The area they lived in at the end of the 1700's was then the Spanish territory of Mississippi. There is of course, the obvious Irish spelling of Costello.. but taking into consideration the area and time they lived in Mississippi we have to consider the Spanish spelling of Castillo. There's also an Italian variation much similiar. Somewhere in the Costilow heritage is believed to be Native American blood as well. It could come through Martha A. Miller, the wife of James A. J. Costilow, whom we know nothing about.. other than her birth and death date.

My grandmother, Elaine Stuempges, has 4 different lines to look at.. three of them being German. Her ancestry is very simple, the majority of it simply being German but coming from different areas in Germany. The Stuempges, or Stümpges as it was spelt in Germany, were from Western Germany in an area called Rhineland very close to the border with France and The Netherlands. Anna Weishaupt, her paternal grandmother, was born in Bohemia, which is the present day Czech Republic. Grandma Elaine's maternal ancestors came from two areas. The Martin's came from Western Prussian and the Brandenburg area of Germany. And then the Summ's came from Baden, deep in the Black Forest.. which was only about an hour from the French border.

So all in all, these are the different ethnicities that comprise my ancestry:

Bohemian

English

German

Hungarian

Hungarian - Transdanubian

Irish

Kashubian

Polish

Scottish

Slovak

Swedish

Transylvanian

Welsh

Possible:

Costilow (Italian, Native American, Spanish)

Hungarian Marriages

I've been contemplating the idea lately of a Hungarian Marriage project, much similar to the Poznan Project. I would like this project to cover the entire area of the Kingdom of Hungary during the 19th century. The aftermath of WWII brought on the Treaty of Trianon, which resulted in a massive loss of Hungarian territory. Hungary lost about 72% of it's land. The lost lands were then merged or created into these new lands: Austria, Czechoslovakia, Galicia, Romania and Yugoslavia.

I already have two towns complete: Tiszadob and Taktaszada. With the great advances of records being put online by FamilySearch, I've been able to start the HUGE undertaking of the marriage records for Budapest. I haven't even made a dent yet.. but it's going.

I'm interested in any ideas or suggestions anyone and everyone may have. I'm also looking for volunteers to help index the marriages. I do already have an Excel spreadsheet layout created, which I've been using. Contact me at nickmgombash@yahoo.com if you're interested.