A Few Snippets about Henry Nelson

I guess this could be part of the Lunch with Grandma Behnke series. I am going to talk about some of the combined stories about Henry Nelson as told to me by my mother and great grandmother, and even a few quickies from my grandmother's brother. From what I have heard, I have already stated that the correct spelling of his surname is Nielsen. My mother told me that Ruth Prudence Finney Nelson, wife of Charles Nelson told her that the reason for him changing the spelling of his surname is that when first residing in Illinois, there were many Nielsens living in the town or block and would receive other people's mail or they would receive his mail.
Henry came to the United States with a brother. My mother thinks that the brother's name may have been Thomas. Henry was about sixteen years old, his brother about eighteen. Now here is where things get fuzzy; Supposedly the reason for the young men to travel to the New World is that the brother was about to be drafted into the military, had they stayed in Denmark. My mother has said that Grandma Behnke told her that when arriving in New York the two brother's became separated in the crowd. Not being able to speak English at the time, it was difficult for them to be able to ask the people around for help finding each other. Grandma Behnke also told me this story.
Yet, Ruth Nelson told my mother that the two brothers did to make it to Illinois together. Once in Illinois they had a falling out. Supposedly the brother wanted to "Go West Young Man!". For whatever reasons, Henry wanted to stay in Illinois.
I would love to find descendants of this brother, who may also be doing research on the family and see if they have been able to trace family information in Denmark. Like I had mentioned, the father of Henry Nelson was Niels Powelson. I am not sure of his mother's name, as Henry did not report her name on his and Lizzie Kallis' marriage license, from April 21, 1890. I wondered why and asked out loud to my mother. She said that Grandma Behnke told her that Henry's mother died when he was a small child. He had a step-mother that he did not like. Without knowing the mother's name, the search into Denmark becomes rather difficult as there were probably many Niels Powelsons in Denmark who had a son named Henry. As for Henry's brother, he could have changed his surname to Nelson, kept the Nielsen spelling or even another possibility is using the father's surname of Powelson.

While in Illinois Henry worked as a dreyman where he would have a team of horses, pick up freight at the train depot. From there he would deliver the items to the local merchants. He had also done some beer delivery. Supposedly, he had been asked by Anheuser-Busch to drive for them, like those horses ya see on the Budweiser commercials at Christmastime. Henry declined the offer, as he chose to keep the family living in Illinois.
Henry's wife, Elizabeth, had been suffering from TB in 1909. This was in the days that people with TB were told that the best thing was to get fresh air. When Elizabeth wasn't feeling well Henry would call up Elizabeth's sister, Emma Kallis, who was a cook at a hotel in Braidwood, where she would come into Wilmington to look after the kids, so that he could take Elizabeth for a buggy ride and go on a picnic. Elizabeth eventually passed away in June of 1909. Henry seemed to have taken this hard. He would spend much time at the saloon.
After Emma Nelson, oldest daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Kallis Nelson, married Donald Shenk in 1911 in Illinois, the family moved into the Shenk farm in Illinois. At some point, Donald Shenk bought a farm in Durand, Michigan. Eventually the Nelson followed them and they moved to Durand in 1914.

I had talked to one of my grandmother's brothers. He remembered his grandfather fondly. Henry lived at the Shenk farm the entire time he lived in Durand. I guess Henry still had a bit of an accent. So growing up the kids would try to get him to say thirty-third. Which from Henry sounded like "tirdy-turd." He also recalled that Henry loved his beer and Limburger cheese. Henry had the cheese in a barrel in the basement of the Shenk farm. He was not allowed to eat it upstairs, as it was very pungent.
Henry passed away in Durand, Michigan on April 15, 1929. He is buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Wilmington, Illinois, Lot 43.

Sand Ridge in Grundy County

A couple posts ago I mentioned that Joseph Kallis, uncle to Dorothy Nelson Reimel Behnke, was buried in Sand Ridge. According to email exchanges with someone from Coal City Library she mentioned that there was a Sand Ridge in southern Illinois, but had not heard of a Sand Ridge in that area. In an unrelated search, I Googled "Towns in Grundy County." A search result showed a website that named the towns in Grundy County. One of the towns listed was Sand Ridge. I thought this may be a mistake, since I was told that Sand Ridge is in another county. So I Googled some more, "Sand Ridge in Grundy County Illinois." I found a map of Sand Ridge. It is located between Morris and Minooka, on the way to Joliet. I emailed the contact in Coal City, to give her the good news, and she gave me the email adress to someone at the Morris Library. Of course I have emailed this person. Praying to receive a positive answer with information about Frank Kallis and/or Lena Selinger.
According to Wikipedia Sand Ridge is unincorporated, and is in Aux Sable Township. It looks like there is not a cemetery called Sand Ridge Cemetery. The cemeteries listed are Aux Sable, Dresden and Saint Mary's. Details here.
I also put up a message on Ancestry.com asking about Sand Ridge. I received a reply. The messager says that there is a transcript of Aux Sable Cemetery available at Morris Library. I am not putting up all my bets on Frank and Lena being buried in Sand Ridge or the area. But this may look like a good lead, until I can find a yea or nay on this angle.

Calling up a Few Funeral Homes and Contacting Catholic Churches

Since the Kallis family was Catholic I emailed to someone at the Diocese of Joliet, in Illinois, who has to do with funerals and burials. I asked if they could tell me how I might be able to find information on burials of Catholic ancestors. He emailed back with a few phone numbers for funeral homes that would have been around at the time of Frank Kallis' death. He said that they sometimes have records dating back many generations.
I am also going to check to see if I can find info on Lena/Ellen/Helena Selinger/Seliger, since she was listed in the 1880 census with the Kallis family in Wilmington, Illinois. She was the mother Elizabether Selinger Kallis. Frank passed away on December 25, 1880. I am guessing that Lena would have passed away soon after Frank. I also assume that she passed away in Illinois. The majority of the family, minus Emma Kallis, Elizabeth Kallis (daughter) and Joseph Kallis moved to the Dakota Territories in about 1885. This was the year that Mary Kallis married Mortimer Powell. I doubt that they would have brought an old woman in her 80's out there with them back in those days.

I had asked the person that I contacted at the Coal City Library about how to find Catholic records. She said that I should try to contact some of the Catholic Churches in the area. She gave me link info to the Catholic church in Wilmington, Illinois. I am going to do all this stuff tomorrow, and through much prayer, I hope to find the information I need. Especially on Lena Selinger, her being the oldest ancestor on this side. She is the link to Bohemia.

Sand Ridge Cemetery/Burial Place of Joseph Kallis

Sorry I have not kept the blog updated on my research. I am still trying to find info on the deaths of Frank Kallis and Lena Selinger. I have come across information via Coal City public Library on the burial of Joseph Kallis, oldest uncle of my great grandmother Dorothy Nelson Reimel Behnke. From an email exchange from one of reference librarians;

The Kallis in the Necrology of Will County Pioneers 1902-1907 is Joseph Kallis.
His listing is under December 28, 1902 as follows:
Joseph Kallis, of Wilmington, aged 46 years. He was a native here.

We have a Will County Death Index book here that shows Joseph Kallis's place of death as Wilmington and cemetery location as Sand Ridge. The certificate number for this record is 10365 book # 176. These records should be available from the courthouse.

Another email exchange;

As for Sand Ridge, nobody around here recognizes that as being anwhere nearby. There seems to be a town named Sand Ridge in southern Illinois, but I do not know if that is what the record is referring to. Therefore, I don't know of any contacts to find out if Frank Kallis or other relatives are buried there as well. Again, the courthouse may have more information in that area.

My Mitochondrial Family

I have been away from this blog for a while. I hope many of you have kept up with me over on Michigan Redneck II over on Wordpress. I have decided to continue with politics and news on the other site and use this site for ancestry and sewing updates.

For the title of the post. What is Mitochondrial DNA? Wikipedia has this;

Mitochondrial inheritance

[edit] Female inheritance

In sexually reproducing organisms, mitochondria are normally inherited exclusively from the mother. The mitochondria in mammalian sperm are usually destroyed by the egg cell after fertilization. Also, most mitochondria are present at the base of the sperm's tail, which is used for propelling the sperm cells. Sometimes the tail is lost during fertilization. In 1999 it was reported that paternal sperm mitochondria (containing mtDNA) are marked with ubiquitin to select them for later destruction inside the embryo.^[10] Some in vitro fertilization techniques, particularly injecting a sperm into an oocyte, may interfere with this.

The fact that mitochondrial DNA is maternally inherited enables researchers to trace maternal lineage far back in time. (Y chromosomal DNA, paternally inherited, is used in an analogous way to trace the agnate lineage.) This is accomplished in humans by sequencing one or more of the hypervariable control regions (HVR1 or HVR2) of the mitochondrial DNA. HVR1 consists of about 440 base pairs. These 440 base pairs are then compared to the control regions of other individuals (either specific people or subjects in a database) to determine maternal lineage. Most often, the comparison is made to the revised. Vilà et al have published studies tracing the matrilineal descent of domestic dogs to wolves.^[11] The concept of the Mitochondrial Eve is based on the same type of analysis, attempting to discover the origin of humanity by tracking the lineage back in time.

Because mtDNA is not highly conserved and has a rapid mutation rate, it is useful for studying the evolutionary relationships - phylogeny - of organisms. Biologists can determine and then compare mtDNA sequences among different species and use the comparisons to build an evolutionary tree for the species examined.

more here, with all the scientific stuff

Specific for my research in layman terms, I am studying from my mother to her mother to her mother and beyond.

Here is what I know. I will leave out names of living persons. So I will not mention my mother or maternal grandmother. Let's start with my maternal grandmother's mother was Dorothy (Nelson) Reimel Behnke.

Dorothy Nelson was born on July 26, 1900 in Wilmington, Illinois to Henry and Elizabeth Kallis Nelson. She married William Reimel, son of Michael and Katherine (Catherine) Shoemaker Reimel, on April 3, 1918 in Owosso. Officiating was Reverend D. Gale. Marriage information has been taken form marriage license. After becoming a widow, she married Edwin Behnke, of Durand in 1955.

Henry Nelson was probably born on April, 8 1861 in Denmark. Coming to the US sometime during the 1880s. The possible birthday deduced according to info on his death certificate and his stated age on his youngest son's (Carl) birth certificate. According to Henry's and Elizabeth's marriage certificate, Henry's father was Niels Powelson. In the early days, Danish surnames were decided by the given name of the person's father. That is why Henry's surname is Nelson. Technically according to this theory, his true surname is Nielsen; meaning Niel's son. But Nelson is the Americanized version of the name.
Elizabeth Kallis was born to Frank and Elizabeth Selinger Kallis in Diamond, Illinois on January 5, 1864. Possible birthday deduced according to information on her death certificate and youngest son's (Carl) birth certificate.
Henry and Elizabeth Nelson were married on April 21, 1890 at the First Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Illinois. Officiating the ceremony was Reverend Thomas S. Anderson. Information according marriage certificate.

Frank Kallis was born sometime during 1826 in Bohemia (current day Czech Republic). According to a distant cousin in South Dakota, Frank came from a town called Nosálov. He had a brother named Joseph, possible spelling Josef.
Elizabeth Selinger was born on May 5, 1835 in Bohemia, possibly in a town called Mšeno. According to Henry and Elizabeth Nelson's marriage certificate, "mother's maiden name Seliger." She did have a brother named Wenzel. Wenzel's address was Nassa del#11 Mšeno region Mělnik Bohemia. Possible parents' names were Wenzel and Lena.
Lena lived with Kallis family, in the 1880 census. According to the census info, spelling of given and surnames as Ellen Selezer. She was widowed at the time. I have found an immigration record of a Helena Seliger who was about the same age as my gggg grandmother. She arrived in 1863. Yet, in the 1870 census I can not find her.

Dorothy Nelson Reimel Behnke passed away on July 5, 1995 of a stroke at Owosso General Hostpital in Owosso Michigan. She is buried with both husbands, William Reimel and Edwin Behnke, in the cemetery in Vernon, Michigan. This is family information.
Henry Nelson passed away April 15, 1929 from obstruction of bowel in Durand, Michigan. He is buried with wife and sister-in-law, Emma Kallis at Oakwood Cemetery in Wilmington, Illinois Lot 42. Information taken from Henry's death certificate and family information.
Elizabeth Kallis Nelson passed away on June 20, 1909. Immediate cause was heart failure. She had suffered from Pulmonary Tuberculosis for 6 months. Attending physician was Wm. B. Welch. She is buried with husband and sister at Oakwood Cemetery in Wilmington, Illinois. Information taken from death certificate and family information.
Frank Kallis passed away on December 25, 1880 of unknown causes. He is buried somewhere in Illinois, possibly at a Catholic cemetery. Taken from family information.
Elizabeth Selinger Kallis passed away on April 4, 1918 in Wessington Springs, South Dakota. She is buried in Hope Cemetery in South Dakota. Taken from family information.
Lena/Ellen Selinger most likely passed away in Illinois and would most likely be buried in Illinois. Just an educated guess.

Busy with Genealogy Stuff

I wrote this over at Michigan Redneck II;

Ahoj kamarady/Hi friends,

I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but I always get a melancholy feeling in regards to family, those living and those who have passed on. Y’all know I am into searching my Bohemian genealogy. On a complete fluke I found an answer to an inquiry I made to the town office of Mšeno, Czech Republic, one of my ancestor’s hometown. I was expecting an answer via email. When I did not receive an email, I gave up. I did not know that there was a q & a page. I found the q & a page while searching for something else. Right now, I need to do some translating, a few things that I need to follow up and talk to some contacts (such as write to my pen-pal in CR and re-initiate contact with cousins in CR). I am going to get back to writing and updating at the original Michigan Redneck about family, genealogy, cooking, sewing and other girly stuff. Don’t worry, I will continue to write here (at Michigan Redneck II) about politics, Czech news of interest to readers and other news of importance. Just right now, I feel there is something that I am searching for, just don’t know what it is. When I do know, I will let y’all know.

Na shledanou/See ya later

Some of the tags below are not words not mentioned in the post, but are relevant to the post about my genealogy.

I intend to write up a post here soon, detailing some of my genealogy searching and spotlighting different ancestors with pictures when possible. If not today, in a few days.