Saturday Mourning

Wenceslaus (Wenzel) Hartl Wenzel Hartl residing in Adler's Addition, who has been ill for the past several months, died last Sunday. The funeral took place at St. John's church at 9:30 Wednesday and was attended by a large number of relatives and friends of the deceased who leaves surviving him his wife and two daughters, … Continue reading Saturday Mourning

Stories from Squaw Creek Homestead

The Voyage Passenger List for the SS Elbe arriving in New York 22 September 1883 On 7 September 1883, the S.S.Elbe left the harbor of Bremen sailing for America.  Anna Ertl Bohman, her brother Joseph, her mother Dorothea Masanetz Ertl, and her four small children (Anna, Margaret, George, and Maria) were aboard the steamship. Anna … Continue reading Stories from Squaw Creek Homestead

Family Lore: Fact vs Fiction

William Johann Carl Hell Every family has stories passed down from generation to generation. Over time the details can become fuzzy, and factual information gets replaced with fiction. The story is not necessarily altered on purpose. Like the game of Telephone, when messages get passed through multiple tellings, things get left out and added due … Continue reading Family Lore: Fact vs Fiction

Kroenings and St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

St Paul's is a tiny white country church like you see on old postcards or in the background for modern wedding photo shoots. It is tucked away on a quiet gravel road between Rozellville and Stratford in Marathon County Wisconsin. I have known for several years that I had some family buried in the churchyard … Continue reading Kroenings and St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church