One of the bigger family brick walls on my husband’s side tumbled last fall. Some of you may remember the post
The Proof is in the Documents from November 2013
. Those documents provided the answers I needed to finally solve that puzzle. Since then I have received questions about how I put it all together, and never one to disappoint, below is the 2 year journey that lead to the final discovery.
My husband’s paternal family gave me fits from day one. First there was the
Double Enumeration problem for two family members
. Then there is the ongoing issue that Bennett is not an uncommon name, and Bennett’s from Ireland are everywhere! However, the mystery concerning the parents of Augusta Jahnke always weighed on my mind. There was something just not right and I just couldn’t put my finger on it for a long time.
As with many beginning searches I started with the US Federal Census. The information I gleaned from the 1900-1930 censuses became the basis for my next steps in research. Augusta Jahnke and George Bennett were married in about 1895 and had two sons, George and Walter, in 1900.
They were both born in New York, and in their late 20s, with George Sr.’s parents coming from Ireland and Augusta’s parents from Germany.
By 1910 the family had grown to 5 children (George, Walter, Frank, Marie, and James) and now an Emil Jahnke, father-in-law, joined the family unit.
This was my first clue to what Augusta’s maiden name could have been. His description also showed he was a widower, 51 years old, born in Germany, and in 1875 he came to the US eventually becoming a naturalized citizen.
Look at all those clues!
I made a to-do list with the information I gathered and searched for records that might corroborate the facts.
FamilySearch.org was a great help with the New York City records. While they didn’t give me images to look at I did find the certificate numbers to the marriage and birth records that could help. However, money now was an issue. The
New York City Department of Records charges $15 per document, non-refundable, whether or not they find anything.
I decided to order the marriage certificate of Augusta and George first. Praying, with fingers and toes crossed, that I would get more detailed information from it to figure out which way I would go next.
The months of waiting was filled with more searches. I grabbed the name Emil and searched backwards for him. That is all I had, a name and an age. In New York City I knew I could be in trouble. However, I lucked out. Going back to the 19000 Census and checking forward and backward a few pages I found Emil. He lived in the next building over from his daughter and son-in-law.
In 1900 he was still listed as a widower
, but now I have another family member to add to the growing list. Mary Jahnke, daughter, aged 13 was also listed on the page.
At this point I did a shotgun approach to people and family groups that could possibly fit the profile I developed for this family unit. The one thing that kept pestering me were the dates. Augusta was born about 1872.
Emil immigrated to the US about 1875.
How do these two facts fit together?
Now, I knew that these were estimates on Census records. Most likely they would be close but not exactly correct. It could be that he traveled here several times, maybe got married and went back before he stayed. The one piece of the puzzle that was not working were the ages. If Emil was Augusta’s father, she was born when he was about 15. That seemed incredibly unlikely.
To make matters worse, the marriage certificate came in. There, in black and white, were the bride’s parents: Emil Jahnke and Mary Meyer.
I think I cussed out loud at this point. What was going on with this family? Clearly I needed to find the marriage record of Emil and Mary. Maybe then things would start to come together.
While I was at it, I ordered the marriage certificate for Mary, Augusta’s sister, using the information I found online.
On the off chance I might find something I also put in a request for the birth record of Augusta Jahnke. You never know right? I also tried to find them on the 1892 New York State Census. Augusta was about 20 so she might not appear, however her sister Mary should be about 5. That information, a cohesive family group, would add credence to the family unit developing.
No such luck on finding additional new information from those leads. Disappointed and frustrated was just the beginning. Emil and his wife Mary were on the 1892 census but no daughters.
Maybe they were with family somewhere else. Anything was possible. The trail was cold and all I had were a bunch of theories and about 3 different possible immigrant families Emil could have been a part of.
It was the marriage certificate for Mary and Emil that busted down those last remaining bricks and made it all come into perspective. Emil really was young, 26 when they were married. Mary (or Maria) was 31.
In addition, she was a widow. The second page of the marriage return showed a written declaration from the minster. In it he stated “I hereby certify that Emil Herman George Jahnke and Widow Maria Heinritz were joined in marriage.”
Bingo!
Maria/Mary’s maiden name was also listed as Meyer.
The pieces were locking together and I was on a roll. Augusta had to be from her first marriage! That really made the most sense and explained why New York had no records for Augusta Jahnke.
When this all came together I wrote about it on my blog and you can
read about it here.
Once I knew all the players it was much easier to find the correct people. First I found a likely candidate for the family on the 1880 US Census. Thankfully, there was Mary and Augusta but they were not alone. Listed as head was an A. Hennritz with wife Mary and daughters Gussie and Hattie.
Gussie was a common nickname for Augusta and likewise Hattie was a nickname for Harriett.
Searching online for records I found birth indexes for an Augusta
and a Henrietta
(close to Harriett) both born to Augustus Henritz and Maria/Mary Meyer. Unfortunately, even though I had the record numbers New York was not able to find the original birth records for either girl.
On the bright side, they did have the marriage record for Augustus and Maria. They were married in New York City 13 February 1871.
A full year before Augusta was born. Of course, the most incredible information was the listing of the places in Germany they were born and their parents’ names. My husband just happened to be home when I opened the mail. Let’s just say he was worried about his wife for a while as she whooped and hollered around the living room.
The search didn’t stop there. I am still working on filling out the families as best as I can. Oh, and that darn Irish Bennett family. However, I now have this fantastic tree:
PRESS RELEASE
