Jun 122023
 
Family
Joseph Voisin, wife Mary, and children, c. 1907

The childhood of my great-grandfather, Joseph Voisin (1855-1916), remained a stubborn mystery after many years of genealogy research. In other essays I described the known facts and many hypotheses. I explored genetic genealogy and used DNA testing to identify numerous distant cousins. However the lack of traditional genealogical evidence like birth, marriage, and census records did not shed light on Joseph’s birth or who his parents were.

Until now. While analyzing my DNA test results, I noticed several distant matches who did not fit my known family tree. I had to determine their lineages based on scant information. Next I found matches we shared in common and I determined their lineages too. I began to identify more and more distant cousins who descend from one man, Theobald Koebel.1

Signature
Signature of Theobald Köbel, 1830
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Dec 112022
 

When my great-grandfather Joseph Voisin (1858-1916) was 17 he wrote a whimsical poem in his journal. He signed his name and indicated he was at Netherby, Ontario on November 19, 1875. I’ve yet to discover who his parents were so here I explore the former village of Netherby for clues.

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Jul 272021
 
Capitol

As a history buff I’ve seen hundreds of photos of death and destruction and often thought how people at the time could let that happen. This photo is almost as overwhelmingly visceral to me and I fear it will define my era. On the right is a portrait of Charles Sumner, an abolitionist nearly killed on the Senate floor after making an anti-slavery speech. On the left is a portrait of John Calhoun, a staunch advocate of slavery who helped craft the South’s insurrection. In the middle is Kevin Seefried, 51 years old, of Laurel, Delaware. After 156 years, he succeeded in flying this symbol of racist rebellion in the Capitol of the United States of America. More than 430,000 men died to help prevent what Kevin Seefried did in one afternoon, with little effort.

In another 156 years, if there is an America, will they see this photo and say how could I let that happen? To the future I say, I’m sorry. When my fellow citizens made innocuous comments about rigged elections and conspiracy theories, I remained silent, because after all they are entitled to their opinion. But my silence perpetuated the lies, and they snowballed to the point they became their truth. What becomes the truth about an era may not have started as the truth.

But what can one person do to change the course of history as it is happening? Nothing but a thousand little things said and done, here and there. None, or maybe one of these, may ever effect change. I guarantee there were people back then who said, how can this be happening. I cannot hear their voices now, but the truth they thought nobody heard eventually prevailed, at least in some form. And certain of those who will see this photo in a dusty old archive will understand that too. So to the future I also say, thank you. Thank you for not judging me too harshly. If not truth, then the spirit of truth, will survive eventually.

Sep 052020
 
Colt

Is there a proverbial horse thief in your family tree? If you’re related to John Stewart (1821-1908), the answer is yes. John’s father was Major James Stewart, a well-respected member of the community, who served in the militia over forty years and was an elder of his church. He was also school director, tax collector, assessor, overseer of the poor, and justice of the peace. 1, 2

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Jul 142020
 

Russell Thomas Stewart was born September 16, 1889 in Buffington Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. He was a son of John Galbreath Stewart and Mary (McKee) Stewart. He was probably born on, or near, the Stewart homestead, a farm originally settled by his great great-grandparents, John and Margaret (McFarland) Stewart about 1796. When Russell was five years old his father died, and his mother moved the family to Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh.

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May 252019
 
Russell T. Stewart

This is a Memorial Day tribute to Pfc. Russell T. Stewart, my mother’s uncle, who was killed in action in the woods northwest of Imécourt, France early on the morning of November 2, 1918. He served in Company M, 3rd Battalion, 319th Infantry, 160th Brigade, 80th Division. The Division earned the motto, “Only Moves Forward,” having fought in all three phases of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, from September through November, 1918.

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Nov 152018
 

Gone With the WindA motion picture is a series of still photographs displayed in rapid succession. You probably know the line spoken just before the photograph at left was taken. That’s because you already saw Gone With the Wind. If you hadn’t, I could show you more and more still photos until eventually the scene came to life.

A historical photograph is an instant in time. Like a single frame from a movie, it provides limited information. When you can add additional photographs taken about the same time, you get a better perspective and therefore a greater appreciation.

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Mar 282018
 

Henry Joseph Voisin and Anne Marie (Ditner) Voisin are not listed in the 1871 census of Willoughby Township, Welland County, Ontario. They do appear in the census for 1842, 1851, and 1861. Joseph also appears with his second wife, Elizabeth (Ellesworth) Voisin, in the 1881 census. The fact they are listed at the same place both before and after 1871 implies they were skipped by the census taker in 1871.

They owned 55 acres of land in Concession 2, Lot 14. It so happens the 1871 census has additional schedules that detail agricultural data. The entry for Concession 2, Lot 14 indicates the Voisins should appear on census page 18, line 1. However the family listed there is Thomas and June Hill, both 25, with their son William G., age 3.

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Mar 282018
 

The family farm of Peter Joseph Voisin and Catherine (Meyer) Voisin is detailed in the 1871 census of Wellesley Township, Waterloo County, Ontario. They had 1 dwelling house and 1 barn. They owned 3 carriages or sleighs, 3 cars, wagons or sleds, 3 plows or cultivators, 1 reaper or mower, 1 horse rake, 1 thrashing machine and 1 fanning mill to winnow grain.

They owned 143 acres situated in Concession 8, Lot 1. Of that, 120 acres were improved, 14 acres were pasture, and 3 acres were gardens or orchards. They planted wheat on 30 acres and harvested 150 bushels of spring wheat and 250 bushels of fall wheat. They produced 400 bushels of oats, 100 bushels of peas, and 300 bushels of turnips. They had 5 acres devoted to potatoes and produced 100 bushels. They had 14 acres of hay that yielded 18 tons. They also produced 6 ½ bushels of grass or clover seed, 70 bushels of apples, 2 bushels of pears, plums or other fruit, 200 pounds of maple sugar, and 15 cords of fire wood.

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Dec 262017
 

I am related to Peter Joseph Voisin (1807-1892), the patriarch of the Voisin families of Waterloo County, Ontario, near Kitchener. This was proven by a Y-chromosome DNA match between me and a known descendant of the Kitchener Voisins, Clifton Voisin. I also determined Peter Joseph’s sister Maria Anne Voisin (1798-1879) immigrated to Waterloo county. The next piece of the puzzle was a family connection to Buffalo, New York. That’s where I found a third sibling, Henry Joseph Voisin (1801-?) and his family, in Welland County, Ontario, just across the Niagara River from Buffalo.

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Dec 172017
 

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Magdalena Voisin. She helped me find Joseph and Anne Voisin, who were my ancestors, and quite possibly my great great-grandparents. She provided such a big clue for a little girl only eleven years old. You see, she was born about 1841.

The Buffalo Connection

Magdalena was listed in the 1851 Canadian census 1 for Waterloo County in the household of Peter Joseph Voisin (1807-1892), the patriarch of all the Voisin families near Kitchener, Ontario.  (The family is listed as “Wisong” in that census.)  She was probably not his daughter however. Instead her usual residence was “Buffalo.” She was probably visiting the family and was from Buffalo, New York. This fits with another clue from the obituary of one of Peter Joseph’s sons, Anthony. It indicates his parents walked to Buffalo annually to visit relatives. 2

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May 302017
 

Families of emigrants camped at the port of Le Havre, 1843 [efn_note]New York Public Library Digital Gallery, Digital Image ID #833602 (http://digitalgallery.nypl.org).[/efn_note]

Johann Fuchs (1777-1847) and his wife Anna Maria (Schüller) Fuchs (1788-1860) immigrated to America from Langenfeld, Germany in the fall of 1840.  They probably made their way via the Erie Canal to Buffalo, New York, where they spent the winter of 1840/1841.  Johann wrote several letters home to his grown children, and his relatives and neighbors.  In these glowing letters he espoused the abundance and virtues of America in hopes of persuading them to make the same journey.

In the 1930s, researcher Joseph Scheben solicited letters received by families in Germany from their relatives in America.  He studied several hundred such letters to trace the origin and final destination of German emigrants in America.  One community he studied was Westphalia, in Clinton County, Michigan just west of St. Johns.  It so happens Johann and Anna Maria Fuchs settled in Westphalia in the spring of 1841.  Scheben studied at least one letter by Johann Fuchs and found it so endearing that he transcribed it in his book about the community.  He calls Johann Fuchs the Father of Immigration.

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May 232017
 

In a previous essay I explored whether my great great-grandfather, Jacob P. Yuncker (1837-1905), served in the Civil War. Apparently he was drafted in August 1863, but I could find no record of him actually serving. I concluded he was probably granted an exemption to care for his sick wife Rosa. Or perhaps he had already left the area either coincidentally or to avoid the controversial draft. I have since discovered more of his story.

An 1855 plat map of Erie County, New York shows the house where Jacob’s parents lived, and no doubt where Jacob and his siblings grew up. 1  It is a nondescript community half way between Lancaster and Alden, just east of Buffalo, New York. The map indicates it is “Town Line” post office and it does straddle the boundary of both Lancaster and Alden townships.

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Apr 112017
 

Three Generations

Mary (Bittner) Pohl, her daughter Ida Stewart, and her daughter Ruth Voisin (standing)

“Glück Auf” has been the traditional greeting used by miners. No doubt my ancestors, who were coal miners, used this expression daily. In German, it means “good luck.” Not only did miners wish each other luck in finding and extracting the minerals they sought, but it was a wish that they also come back alive.

Pécsbánya is a coal-mining district about three miles northeast of Pécs, Hungary. The area was also called Pécsbányatelep. Literally translated they mean Pécs-mine and Pécs-mine-settlement. Pécs was known as Fünfkirchen by the Germans. For 250 years, more than 35 different coal mines operated at one time or another and 40 million tons of coal were produced here.

The Danube Steamship Company (Dunai Gőzhajó Társaság, or DGT) was a large consumer of coal. In 1852 it expanded into ownership of coal mines. To house workers for its growing operations, DGT started a “colony” in 1855, named Colonia. It was located on Gesztenyés hill ridge near the András (Andrew) mine. The first settlers there were Hungarians, Germans, Czech-Moravians, Slovakians, Bosnians and Slovenians.

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Mar 112017
 
Stewart Blockhouse

Western Pennsylvania and the vicinity of Pittsburgh was a wilderness frontier at the time of the Revolutionary War and for years afterward. The few settlers who ventured into this area not only endured the hardships of pioneer life, but they also had hostile encounters with Native Americans.

In his work, History of Indiana County Pennsylvania: 1745-1880, editor Walter F. Arms provides a map of the county. 1 He indicates the location of two blockhouses within Buffington Township.

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Jan 272017
 

Maria “Mary” Pohl, early 1940s

It happened again. This time Zsuzsanna Jácint contacted me with information about my ancestors. She lives in Hungary and it turns out we are distant cousins. My great-grandmother Mary (Bittner) Pohl (1867-1944) is the younger sister of her great great-grandmother, Julianna (Bittner) Szeidl (~1857-1916).

Zsuzsi even provided an image of the elusive marriage record of Mary to Albert Pohl, for which I’ve searched a long time. She provided Mary’s birth record too. There’s no doubt now about the parents of both Mary and Albert.

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Aug 212016
 

Ashby Williams

Lt. Col. Ashby Williams

I must admit I was not very familiar with World War I history.  I had studied it in school history classes, watched the old movies and read a couple books on the subject.  I never really appreciated the courage and bravery of those who served in that war until I investigated the life of my mother’s uncle, Private First Class Russell Stewart.  He served in Company M of the 319th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division.  He died at the battle of the Meuse-Argonne on November 2, 1918, just as the war was ending.

In reading the relevant regimental and divisional accounts of that battle, I found the most interesting and moving account of all.  It was written by Lieutenant Colonel Ashby Williams (1874-1944) 1 in his book, “Experiences of the Great War” (Roanoke, Virginia: The Stone Printing and Manufacturing Company, 1919).  He started out as commander of Company E, 320th Infantry and was promoted to battalion commander, with the rank of Major, over Companies A, B, C and D, of the 320th.  Although he was an officer, he endured only slightly better conditions than his men.  He describes in great detail the experience of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

The 320th and 319th were in the same brigade, the 160th, and undoubtedly shared the same locations, movements and conditions.  Therefore his is probably the closest description of what my granduncle experienced.  I have included here the most poignant and eloquent passages from Lt. Col. Williams’ book.  His words describe the indescribable horrors of existence and death in the trenches.  It is something the world often forgets, as I did, in my generation.  But now I remember.

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Aug 082016
 

Curtiss JennyMy great-granduncle John Yuncker was a piano sales manager in Los Angeles during the early 20th century. Here he participated in aviation history by taking one of the first-ever commercial passenger trips on August 30, 1919.  As I describe in a previous post, he flew from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara to close on the sale of a very expensive piano.

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Aug 082016
 

Model-T CoupeMy granduncle George Voisin was my grandfather’s younger brother. He apparently owned a Ford Model-T Coupe, which is pictured in a few old family photographs from the mid- to late-1920s. 1  It appears to be a 1924 or 1925 Coupe. Here it is along with a montage of an unrelated, restored 1925 Coupe. 2

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Aug 032016
 

Corp. Arthur Pollock

Cpl. Arthur Pollock

Corporal Arthur Nelan Pollock served in Company F, 320th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in World War I.  Amazingly, he kept a diary.  It so happens he got separated from his regiment and became attached to the 319th Infantry.  This was the same regiment in which my granduncle Russell Stewart served, as I describe in a previous post.

It is enlightening to read Corporal Pollock’s account of the battle.  Since both men were then in the same regiment, this is very likely what Russell Stewart also experienced.  Here is an excerpt of Corporal Pollock’s account from September 26 to October 2, 1918.  It was originally published in the Pittsburgh Press, April 20, 1919 and continued on May 18, 1919.  This excerpt was transcribed by Lynn Beatty and the full text is found at the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania USGenWeb. 1

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