Tombstone Tuesday: Brown's in Cedar Bluff Cemetery in Rockford, IL

Mabel E. Brown nee Peterson (May 13m 1877-April 21, 1921)

Cedar Bluff Cemetery

Rockford, McHenry, Illinois

*picture posted with permission of Alva, http://www.findagrave.com/ photo volunteer

Here's how Mabel is related to my Brown's:

Richard George Brown (my great great great grandfather)
+Frances E (Kizer) Brown (my great great great grandmother)
----Welcome Asle Brown (4th great uncle)
      +Mabel E (Peterson) Brown (13 May 1877-21 April 1921) (4th great aunt)
----Clarence Brown (buried at Queen of Heaven, my great great grandfather)
      +Elizabeth Galligan (buried at Queen of Heaven, my great great grandmother)
--------------Ruth M Brown (buried at Queen of heaven, my great grandma)
                    +Raymond Mason Peterson, Jr (left the family during great depression, and Ruth and son took on maiden name Brown)
------------------------My grandfather
                                    +My grandmother
------------------------------------My dad
                                                     +My mom
-----------------------------------------------Me

Treasure Chest Thursday: Civil War Ancestor: Richard G. Brown

I can hardly contain my excitement!  I just discovered that my great great grandfather, Richard George Brown, fought in the Civil War.  With a popular surname like Brown, how did I determine it was him?

Through his death certificate, I was able to determine that Richard Brown was buried in Cedar Bluff Cemetery in Rockford, Illinois.  I posted his information on Findagrave, and hoped that someone would take a picture of his tombstone for me.  Good luck and bad luck....someone claimed my photo request...but there was no tombstone marker....but.....Richard is listed in the cemetery record book as: Richard G Brown, buried Block 21, Lot 2, Grave 24, buried March 13, 1920, age 72 years old, Notes: G.A.R.

Richard was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R)!  I did some searching on ancestry.com and found his record.

Richard enlisted on February 1, 1864 at the age of 18.  He served for the Union for the state of Illinois.  He enlisted as a Private in Company E, 95th Infantry Regiment, Illinois and was transferred out of Company E on August 17, 1865, and transferred into Company E, 47th Infantry Regiment, Illinois.  He mustered out on January 21, 1866 at Selma, Alabama.

Now, I'm going to do some searching on his two regiments to discover more about his life as a Union Soldier.

Tombstone Tuesday: Thomas and Martha Tutland

Pictured below is the tombstone of Thomas and Martha Tutland.  While we are not certain if these Tutlands were related to Brenden's ancestors, the Tuntlands, this couple often causes confusion in ancestry records.  Brenden's ancestors, Thomas and Martha Tuntland were born 20 years earlier than this couple and also lived in the same location, Sandwich, Illinois.  We haven't found the tombstone of his Tuntlands.

Inscription:

Tutland
Thomas
1849 - 1932
Wife
Martha
1853-1826

Tombstone located in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Kendall County, Sandwich, Illinois

Picture taken by me, 2010

Tombstone Tuesday: Darius and Maria Finch

Brenden's ancestors: Darius and Maria Finch.

Inscription:
Finch
Darius Finch
Apr 8, 1815 - May 19, 1867

Maria Finch-Miller
his wife
Feb 10, 1816 - Feb 8, 1900

Tombstone found in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Sandwich, Illinois, and is also posted on Findagrave.

Pictures taken by me, 2010

Thanks for the Memories: Grandma Mildred "Millie" and Grandpa Nunzio Vitraelli

Thanks for the memories

This post is dedicated to my maternal grandparents, Mildred "Millie" P. Vitraelli nee Malouf/Gardos and Nunzio "Nick" Vitraelli.  Mildred "Grandma" and Nunzio "Grandpa" lived most of their lives in Addison, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). The last few years of their lives were spent in Schaumburg, Illinois (another suburb of Chicago).

Mildred, born in 1927 in New York, was the daughter of Marie Cicero and Eugene Gardos (please see previous posts for information about Eugene Gardos). Marie was born in Castelbuono, Palermo, Italy and Eugene was born in Hungary. The family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where Mildred's brother was born. Eugene passed away in 1935, and Marie married John Malouf. The two kids were adopted by John Malouf, and the kids took on the surname Malouf.

  

Nunzio, born in 1925 in Chicago, Illinois, was the son of Leonard Vitraelli (aka Vittorelli, Vitorelli, Vittoreli, and Vederelli) and Lucy D'Orazio. Leonard was born in San Marco La Catola, Foggia, Apulia, Italy.  Family story is that the Vitraelli's had a vineyard in Italy, and one of Leonard's brothers/family members died from eating an unripe olive.  Lucy was born in Alfadena, L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy.

Foggia, Apulia Italy:

Pictures courtesy of wikipedia.com

My mom and her sister and brothers have shared some stories with me about the early lives of Nunzio and Mildred, although I am hoping to learn more. Nunzio owned a fruit and vegetable cart which he ran on Maxwell St in Chicago. Nunzio's brother, Michael, was drafted for World War II, and was killed in action in the Phillapines. Nunzio and Mildred liked to dance, in fact that's how they met each other. They had five children together, my mom was one of them.

My favorite memories of my grandparents are my family's weekly Friday visits to their house where we'd watch Wheel of Fortune and "TGIF" with grandma.

Grandpa loved to bowl and loved to talk about bowling. Grandpa worked at Dominick's as a produce manager.

Grandma worked odd jobs at the factory (my mom said she'd bring home a box of items and she'd have to put screws in them.  The family would sit around the kitchen table putting the little screws in the different items).  

I remember going shopping with Grandma at Straford Mall. She always picked out Alfred Dunner brand clothing.  Whenever I see Alfred Dunner clothing, I think of her. 
She taught me how to play pinnochle, and we played Scrabble on a regular basis. Grandma was unbeatable at Scrabble! I remember when she called all her friends to tell them that I had finally beaten her at Scrabble.

Grandma was a big fan of Notre Dame football, and wanted one of her grandchildren to attend.  There's still a couple of grandchildren left to fulfill her dream (ACT scores and money kept me from attending).  Grandma also loved the food channel. We used to tease her that chef Graham Kerr was her boyfriend.  I remember making Christmas cookies with her, especially the candy cane cookies, where we had to "roll snakes" of red and white dough together.

I remember visiting her on the holidays at her old house in Addison and playing on the piano in the living room and playing detectives in her "scary" basement.  I remember the time when I was finally taller than Grandma, she was only about 4'10" (so it wasn't too hard to do...). 

Grandma was a truly loving person, although her heart was as loving to her.  She had many heart attacks and bypass surgeries.  Grandma passed away in 1995.                                                                           I need to do some file organization, because I cannot find Grandma's obituary...it's here somewhere... I have created a memorial page for her on Findagrave .

I remember when Grandpa took me shopping for my birthday after my grandma passed away and bought me a jean jacket vest. He took me to McDonalds where we had hamburgers. My grandpa would always stick his french fries in the top of his hamburger so they were standing up...a hamburger castle. 

Grandpa would have coffee with Cocoa Puffs in the morning. Grandpa called me and my sisters the "three rozzes (sp?)".  Grandpa always held his lips in a scrunched up position that my mom and her siblings called the "funge face".  I remember visiting him in the hospital right before he passed away.  His face had turned yellow from jaundice and he was hallucinating.  He told my cousin there was soccer balls on the ceiling (my cousin loved soccer at the time).  Grandpa passed away shortly after our visit in 1996 (cause of death: cancer).

Grandpa's obituary from the Daily Herald:

Prayers for Nunzio "Nick" Vitraelli, 70, a resident of Schaumburg and formerly of Addison, will be held at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, April 3 at Ahlgrim & Sons Funeral Home, 330 W. Golf Road, Schaumburg, going to St. Marcelline Church for 10 a.m. Mass.
He was born June 21, 1925, in Chicago. Burial will be in St. Michael the Archangel Cemetery, Palatine. He died Sunday, March 31 at Alexian Brothers Medical Center. Mr. Vitraelli was a produce manager for Dominick's Finer Foods, and retired after 30 years of service. He was the husband of the late Mildred; father of Richard (Joyce), Eugene (Halina), Donna (Richard) Swanson, Karen (Rick) Brown, and Lynn Vitraelli; brother of Connie Hayford, Mary Vitraelli, and the late Joseph and Michael, and grandfather of Victoria, Richard II, and Michael Vitraelli, Dawn and Ryan Swanson, Melissa, Christina, and Diana Brown, and Anthony and Dominick Censotti. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society or Masses appreciated. Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) Date: April 2, 1996

I also created a memorial for Grandpa at Findagrave.

I miss them both everyday. Thank you for the wonderful memories.

Graveyard Rabbits Carnival: All items found for Scavenger Hunt

This is my first blog contribution to a blog carnival.

Today's post is for The Graveyard Rabbit's Scavenger Hunt Carnival.

"Like a traditional scavenger hunt, the object is to find as many items as you can from the list below. In our case, those “items” are to be found in the cemetery"

To make my entry creative and special, all of the below images are either of Brenden or my ancestors...no random graves.  All pictures taken by me between May and June 2010.


The first image is my great great grandfather's gravestone.  Clarence Clifton Brown (1882-1962).  His grave is located in Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois.  Three items from the scavenger hunt: Cross (there's actually two...bonus points...lol), Heart, and Hand (two hands too...)

The next picture is my great grandmother's gravestone (daughter of Clarence Clifton Brown).  Ruth Margaret Brown (1908-1992).  On this gravestone you'll find flowers and a cross. Her grave is located in Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois.

This picture is the gravestone of Brenden's great grandmother, Bertha A. Wagner Myers Minnick (1881-1954).  On this grave you'll find one of the scavenger list items, a star, as Bertha was a member of the Order of Eastern Star. This grave is located at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery, Oswego, Kane/Kendall County, Illinois.

The next picture is the grave of Brenden's great grandmother, Peter Buchanan Morrison. Peter was a freemason, and on his grave you'll find the next scavenger hunt item, a fraternal symbol...the symbol of the masons.This grave is located at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery, Oswego, Kane/Kendall County, Illinois.

The next picture is the grave of my third great uncle, Joseph McCarron.  Joseph McCarron was in the US Navy in World War II, and you'll find the next item, a military grave.  This gravestone was found in Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois

The next grave is that of Brenden's great uncle, Israel Rogers.  Israel was the first bishop of the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints in Kendall County, Illinois.  There is a monument in Pine Mound Cemetery in Sandwich, Kendall County, Illinois, for him, the next scavenger hunt item.

The grave of Dominick Censotti, my cousin, who's life was tragically ended in a car accident just short of his 17th birthday, contains the next scavenger hunt item, a bird.  His grave was found at St. Michael the Archangel Cemetery in Palatine, Cook County, Illinois.

The next is my second cousin, Brett Humphries, who's life was ended due to a genetic disease.  His gravestone contains the next items: Angel and 4-legged animal. His grave is located in St. Michael the Archangel cemetery, Palatine, Cook County, Illinois. 

Ok, so if a beanie baby doesn't count as a 4-legged animal, the next picture is that of my grandmother, Mildred P. Vitraelli.  My grandma's grave contains a lamb, a 4-legged animal.  Her grave is located in St. Michael the Archangel cemetery, Palatine, Cook County, Illinois.

Only a couple more to go....
The next image is from the Mausoleum at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois. (At the bottom, center) Lucy and Leonard Vitraelli are my great grandparents.

The next image contains trees, the next item.  These trees were located in Mount Carmel Cemetery near the graves of my ancestors.  I hope this isn't cheating....I couldn't find an image of a tree on any of the gravestones...

Another grave from Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois, is the my great great grandparents, Maria and Nunziato D'Orazio.  Their gravestone contains photos.

And last....the hardest one to find for my family, is the grave of Jennie Weldon Hall, Brenden's great great (add more greats) grandma....an obelisk....well kind of.  This grave was found at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Sandwich, Kendall County, Illinois.

And that's all of them! :)

Adding one more item to the list.....grave with the most amount of names.  Below is the grave of the Quinn family.  Not blood related, but married into the family.  The grave contains 8 names, the most of the one's I've seen so far.  This grave is located at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinios

Touchdown Thursday: Brother Trouble? Finding Ancestors on Land Ownership Maps

Today's Touchdown Thursday post is about two touchdowns I made this week using one of the latest and greatest indexes available through Ancestry, the "U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918".

Using Ancestry's searchable index, I was able to locate where some of my ancestors owned land in Illinois.

Chemung Township, McHenry, Illinois in 1872

Highlighted orange in the map above is the land owned by M. Kizer (aka Morris Kizer). Morris Kizer is my fourth great grandfather on my paternal side. He was born about 1811 in New Jersey and migrated to Illinois with his brothers, Warren, Jacob, and Morgan. Jacob's land is depicted in green, and Warren's land is depicted in blue.

Morris and his wife, Maria, were the parents of my third great grandma, Frances Kizer, who married Richard George Brown. There are many Brown's that owned land in Chemung Township. Richard and his father, Joseph Brown, owned land in Chemung, although I have not determined if any of the Browns on this map are my Browns.

I wonder why Morris Kizer's land is so much further away from his two brothers?

Papineau, Iroquois County, Illinois in 1904

Pictured above (in orange) is the land of G. Rubensam (aka Gottfried Rubensam or Ruebensam). Gottfried is the brother of my third great grandfather, August Ruebensam (aka Ruebenson). Gottfried and August immigrated to the U.S. from Germany on the same ship in 1873. Gottfried migrated to Iroquois County, while his brother, August, migrated to Cook County.

I wonder why August and Gottfried went their separate ways?

Looks like there could be some brother trouble in my past. Guess I should be glad I have two sisters, instead of brothers...lol

Source of maps:
Ancestry.com. U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
Original data: Various publishers of County Land Ownership Atlases. Microfilmed by the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Tombstone Tuesday: The Browns, Galligans, RAOGK, and Findagrave

In yesterday's post I described my search for Raymond Peterson, husband of Ruth Margaret Brown. Today I'll continue with that family line and post pictures of Ruth Margaret Brown's grave as well as her parents, Clarence Clifton Brown (no, not the ice cream sundae guy...) and Elizabeth Brown (nee Galligan).

All three are interred at the beautiful Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, Cook County, Illinois, and are also posted on Findagrave. Luckily, Queen of Heaven and a couple of other Catholic cemeteries in Chicago have a computer kiosk in which you can search for your ancestor and get a print out of the exact location where he or she is buried.

Ruth Margaret Brown 1908-1992

Whenever I go to a cemetery, I not only take photos of the graves I am looking for, but also a couple (ok...more than a couple) graves nearby. I post them on findagrave, and hopefully, others who are searching for their family, can find them. I am thankful for all of the contributers and volunteers at findagrave. I've received pictures of graves located in different states across the country.

When I'm not searching for family or posting on findagrave, I also volunteer through Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK) to take pictures of tombstones from Queen of Heaven and Mount Carmel Cemetery and do free obituary look-ups in the Historical Chicago Tribune Database. If you live in Chicago or a suburb of Chicago and have access to a library card, you may also have access to this rich source of information. I can access it free from the comfort of my home through my local library's website. The database contains obits from the mid-1800's to 1989. A quick call or visit to your local library or its website to determine if you can access the database may help end your search for that elusive ancestor.




Elizabeth Brown nee Galligan 1886-1954









Clarence Clifton Brown 1882-1962

Note: All three pictures taken by me, April 2010, Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois

Madness Monday: Run-away father, Raymond Mason Peterson

A BIG thank you to Thomas MacEntee from GeneaBloggers who highlighted my blog in his Saturday blog post. Another BIG welcome and thank you to all of you who took the time to click the link and check out my blog. I welcome any comments and suggestions.

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My grandfather's father, Raymond Mason Peterson, left the family soon after my grandpa was born. His maternal grandparents, Clarence and Elizabeth Brown (nee Galligan) adopted him as his birth mother, Ruth Margaret Brown was having trouble raising him alone during the great depression. My grandpa was an only child. After he was adopted, my grandpa took on the Brown name (maiden name of his birthmom). Although my grandpa is still alive, bringing up the past is difficult for him, and getting family stories or history from him is worse than pulling teeth.

Raymond and Ruth, August 1925, Chicago, IL

I've been able to locate a lot of information on the Brown side of the family, as well as the Galligan family, but I have not been able to find Raymond Peterson or his family.

Raymond and Ruth, September 1925, Chicago, IL

Here's what I know:

• Raymond Mason Peterson was born around 1908
• Raymond's nickname was "Ray"
• Raymond and Ruth Margaret Brown were married in Chicago, IL, between 1924-1929
• In August and September 1925, Raymond and Ruth are together in a picture in front of a building, address: 2634 W 15th Place, Chicago, IL
• Raymond and Ruth's first and only child was born in 1930 (*details left off, as son is still living)
• Raymond and Ruth were divorced between 1930-1937
• Raymond's brother owned the Peterson Funeral Home in Chicago, IL
• Raymond owned a tent and awning shop in Chicago, IL
  
  

Raymond and Ruth, August 1925, Chicago, IL

I don't know when he died, if he moved, or if he remarried, or his exact date of birth

Here's where I've looked:

• Chicago City Directories. I've found many Raymond or Ray Peterson's but are they my Raymond?
• Obituaries from Chicago Tribune....found over 20 with the name Raymond or Ray Peterson. I've been able to narrow it down to a couple, due to ages
• I've contacted the Peterson Funeral Home in Chicago via email to request information---no return email.
• Social Security Death Index (SSDI)--found a couple, best match shows he died in Arizona.

My plans:

• Request a copy of Raymond and Ruth's marriage and divorce record
• Re-contact Peterson Funeral Home via phone

Any other suggestions? Please let me know.

Pictures courtesy of Ruth Margaret Brown's family photo album

Touchdown Thursday: Finding tombstone of Paul K Joyce

I'm creating a new daily genealogy blog theme, Touchdown Thursday.

Touchdown Thursday is dedicated to those yay! and hooray! moments in my family history search....those ancestors that seem to hide from me but somehow I find....those brick walls that I can finally take down....

I'd love for you to join me on Thursdays, and tell me how you managed to tear down a brick wall, find a missing piece, hit a homerun, or score a touchdown.


This week's touchdown moment was finally finding the grave for Brenden's uncle, Paul Keith Joyce.

From his obituary and family attending his funeral, I knew he was buried in Spring Lake Cemetery in Aurora, Illinois.

• I left messages on the cemetery's voicemail 5 times (office only open a couple hours during the week) and never got a call back.
• I searched Kane County's cemetery index online and found a liitle more info....he was buried in the RG section. I took a ride to the cemetery and found all the sections marked... Except for RG section. The other sections were marked east and west, so where was this mysterious section?
• I checked online for a map, no luck.
• I tried the cemetry office, closed.
• I found an internet posting saying that RG stands for Rear Grotto. So, I took another trip to the cemetery and went to the rear. The rear of the cemetery was being renovated and there were dirt piles everywhere, I got upset thinking they had dug up Brenden's uncle!
• Brenden was also upset so he called his dad. His dad told us we were looking in the wrong section...sigh of relief....he was near the front of the cemetery about 100 yards from the fence.
• We got excited and went to take a look, it just happened to be Memorial Day weekend and Paul was a veteran.
  

Paul Joyce wasn't 100 yards from the fence near the front, as his dad had promised, he was in the middle of the cemetery in the Rose Garden (RG).

The only reason we finally found him was by searching for graves with American flags in unmarked sections of the cemetery. A lot of searching, but it finally paid off!

Touchdown, score one for me, I found Paul Keith Joyce!

Picture by Melissa Brown, May 30, 2010, Spring Lake Cemetery, Aurora, Kane, Illinois, Section: Rose Garden (RG)