Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Trust, But Verify

When I was a treetrack'n newbie I knew that Charles Trogg's parents were Ernst and Julia (Nehring) Trogg. Julia was the informant on Charles' death certificate1. Case closed. "This genealogy stuff is easy" said my innocent newbie self. 





I started to doubt my nice tidy facts when I found Ernst and Julia's marriage certificate2. Hold on! They married in 1879 when Charles was 7 years old. And Julia is listed as Mrs JuliaTiedt. Nuts!



I couldn't find a marriage certificate for Julia's previous marriage but I did find one for Ernst3. He married Miss Mathilde Duesing on Sep 15, 1872 when Charles was 7 months old.




The final document I looked at was the July 17, 1872 New York passenger list for Mathilde4. She is listed as Mathe Düsing and is traveling with son Carl Düsing, Now I know his mother was Mathilde. Is his father Ernst? They married 2 months after Mathilde immigrated. Or did she leave Germany and the father behind looking for a new start in America? Maybe it was an arranged marriage. Maybe, what if, could it be? 




See what I mean? Trust, but verify. And keep looking for Charles' father.




1Cook, Illinois, (Cook County Courthouse, Chicago),death certificate no. 24019 (1915),  Charles W Trogg; FHL microfilm 1,287,530.
2Cook, Illinois, (Cook County Courthouse, Chicago), marriage certificate no. 39618 (1879), Ernst Trogg-Julie Tiedt; FHL microfilm 1,030,108.
3Cook, Illinois, (Cook County Courthouse, Chicago), marriage certificate no. 5182 (1872), Ernst Troch-Matilda Duesing; FHL microfilm 1,030,079.
4"Records of the U.S. Customs Service and Immigration and Naturalization," online images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed Mar 11, 2010), manifest, Westphalia, Jul 17, 1872, Mathe Diesing.

Once more with feeling!





I don't remember where I first heard that phrase. It may have been during a piano lesson when my teacher was particularly exasperated with me. She felt that way a lot.

Beginning bloggers all seem to have the best of intentions. I should know. I have started and abandoned 3 different blogs over the years. I hope this one will be a keeper.

I will be focusing on family stories and mysteries, genealogy how-I-do-its, and other items I find interesting. You'll forgive me if I throw in a few pictures of the grandkids from time to time, won't you?