Momma, Meet Your Great Uncle, Gustav August Fabrizius

Dear Momma,

Remember that DNA test you took in 2013 and how we hoped it would help us learn more about your family? It has and I want to tell you about the latest discovery. We surmised from a Russian birth registration which included the patronymic middle names for your Schalin grandparents that your great grandfather's name was Wilhelm Fabrizicius. I think we were right! I'm waiting on all the DNA science mumbo jumbo to prove or disprove this. (see below)

But it brought us no closer to learning the name of Wilhelm's wife and the mother of your grandmother, Auguste (Fabrizius) Schalin. I found a new DNA match whose family tree included a man named Gustav August Fabrizius along with his parents, Wilhelm Fabrizius and Anna Holstein. Momma, I think Gustav was your grand uncle, a brother to your maternal grandmother.[1]

My pedigree chart on 1 January 2018; note the missing great great grandmother;
who was Auguste (Fabrizicus) Schalin's mother? Image courtesy of Ancestry.com

Gustav was born on 5 August 1868 in the Ruthenia[2] area of the Russian Empire to Wilhelm Fabrizius and Amalie Holstein. At the age of 19, he traveled to Bremerhaven, Germany, with his maternal aunt and uncle August and Marie Louise (Holstein) Linck, and boarded the North German Lloyd SS Eider. The ship stopped at Southampton, England, before arriving at New York on 17 December 1887. He was processed at Castle Garden at the tip of Manhattan, now part of Battery Park.

Gustav made his way to Iowa and married Maria "Mary" Freund, daughter of Hans Freund and Fredricke Toglitz on 21 June 1890 in Clinton County. Mary's mother had immigrated from Germany as a young girl. Gustav and Mary's first two children were in Clinton County. On 22 October 1894 Gustav became a naturalized United States citizen at the District courthouse in Clinton County.

By 1899, Gustav had moved his family his family to Muscatine, Iowa, which is located on the west bank of the upper Mississippi River. Gustav worked as a foreman at a pickle farm. The cucumbers were likely planted after the last frost in mid-May. Those cucumbers would generally be picked in July, which might make it possible to get two crops per year.

They rented a house on Fletcher Avenue in Muscatine across the street from Greenwood Cemetery, which had been open since 1843. At the time the city did not yet have a system for numbering houses to provide an exact address. By 1904 they moved a short distance to a house on Nyenhuis Street and then by 1907 to 1212 Henry Avenue, which no longer exists.

By 1910 Gustav and his family moved to Seventy-Six Township in Muscatine County, which was about 50 miles southwest of the city. Gustav rented a truck farm which he worked on his own account. They had a hired man, named George Peters, who lived with them and helped out on the farm.

Muscatine County Townships; courtesy of the University of Iowa

About 1918 Gustav moved his family back to the city of Muscatine and began working at the McKee Button Company as a button cutter. Muscatine was known as the pearl button capital of the world...at least according to their museum. The buttons were made from mussel shells and an an article on the Muscatine History and Industry Center website describes the work of a cutter:

"Shell cutters operated lathes with tubular saws made of hardened steel and used tongs to hold the shell in place. Jets of water sprayed on the saw during cutting to keep it cool and to control dust. The cutter produced blanks or circular pieces of shell with one rough side and one smooth side. Before the shell could be cut, it soaked in water for at least one week. Without proper soaking, the brittle shell splintered and caused extreme wear on cutting saws.

Working conditions in shell cutting shops were unpleasant at best. The water needed during the cutting drenched workers with building temperatures fluctuating. All workers experienced the discomfort of standing in the same position all day, but many also sustained injuries. While shell dust irritated the throat and lungs, flying shell particles caused eye injuries.

The average cutter could use up to 100 pounds of shell a day, resulting in about 25 gross, or 3,600 blanks. Since workers were paid by the piece, they wanted to produce as many blanks as possible. The cutting shop carefully weight the amount of shell given to each worker. The skill and careful attention of the cutter was required to obtain the optimal number of blanks per shell. Managers penalized workers for cutting imperfect, thin, or otherwise unusable blanks. Workers were also held responsible for excessive waste of shell."[3]

Button cutters at work; courtesy of the Muscatine History and Industrial Center

Three of Gustav's sons also worked at the button factory. Gustav worked at the McKee Button Company until 1936. 

By 1925 Gustav rented a home at 116 Clinton Avenue and paid his daughter, Esther, $16 per month in rent. She owned the home valued at $1,600 and her mortgage was $800. Gustav and Mary remained at 116 Clinton Avenue until Gustav died on 19 March 1939 of broncho-pneumonia and chronic myocarditis. The funeral was held at their home on 22 March and officiated by Rev. D. R. Anderson, pastor of the Mulford Congregational Church. Gustav was interred at Greenwood Cemetery.

116 Clinton Avenue, Muscatine, Iowa; courtesy Google Maps

When the 1940 census was enumerated Gustav's widow, Marry lived at 600 Liberty Street. She rented it for $15 a month. Living with her was her son, Henry, who never married; and daughter, Kathleen; Kathleen's daughter Deryth; and Mary's brother, Charlie. She continued to live in Muscatine at various addresses including 1011 Mill Street until her death on 16 May 1957. She was interred beside her husband at Greenwood Cemetery.

Like your grandmother, Auguste, and mother, Wilhelmina, Mary Fabrizius had nine children:

• Bertha Amelia Fabrizius born 14 Jun 1891 in Clinton County, Iowa; died 7 August 1971; married 1) Ralph Clarence Strohm in January 1917 in Rock Island County, Illinois, (divorced) and 2) Henry Jearold McEwen 28 January 1931 in Gretna, Louisiana. 
• Otto Albert Fabrizius born 28 September 1894 in Clinton County; died 17 March 1980 in Muscatine; married Verna Marie Schlipf on 12 September 1922 in Muscatine; World War I Veteran.
• William A. Fabrizius born 18 February 1897 in Muscatine; died 20 September 1968 in Muscatine; married Verna Minnie Bierman.
• Esther Alvena Fabrizius born 23 November 1899 in Muscatine; died 15 August 1987 in Cook County, Illinois; married widower, Arthur E. Kindler 26 April 1940 in Cook County.
• Henry Fabrizius born 21 October 1902 in Iowa; died 29 September 1966; never married
• Ruth A. Fabrizius bon about 1906 in Muscatine; died 18 July 1994 in Muscatine; married Hugo Frederick Braasch on 11 September 1924 in Muscatine.
• Kathleen Marie Fabrizius born on 28 February 1908 in Musatine; died 15 November 2000; married Albert Henry Benninger after 1940.
• Carl Herbert Fabrizius born 12 October 1910 in Seventy-six Township, Iowa; died in October 1970; married Vera Pauline Allensworth.
• George Arthur Fabrizius born 17 April 1913 in Muscatine; died in January 1983; married Odetta M. Farrier on 9 April 1938 (divorced).

Momma, remember how we speculated that Fabrizius might be a Russian name and that your grandmother, Auguste, may not have been of German heritage like her husband? We were wrong. In the 1920, Gustav indicated his native tongue was German. So I began researching the origins of the Fabrizius surname. It dates back to the 13th century and was first found in Bavaria. It was an occupation surname, used by an artist or craftsman, and was derived from the Latin word "faber," which means ingenious or skillful.

And the Fabrizius family was of the German Baptist faith as Gustav reported on the 1915 Iowa state census as were your maternal grandparents.  The federal census began asking people the birthplace of their parents in 1880. Gustav indicated his father was from Ruthenia Russia in 1920. This is now part of Ukraine and encompasses Kiev and the surrounding area. This would be east of where your Schalin ancestors lived.

Here's that science mumbo jumbo that makes your eyes glaze over:

DNA tests I manage with matches to people with the Fabrizius Surname in
their tree (centimorgans/segments); created using Microsoft Excel

Mom, since you died several of your nieces and nephews have also DNA tested and either shared their results with me or allowed me to manage their tests. As of today, we have three different people with the Fabrizius surname in their family trees who match with one or more of our relatives. Next, I need to ask the three Fabrizius testers if they would be willing to upload their results to GEDMATCH so I can compare the matching segments. Hopefully, I'll be able to make your eyes glaze over some more!

I love you and miss you every day.

Your loving daughter.

_______________
[1] Another relationship possibility is that the Wilhelm Fabrizius married to Amalie Holstein was a brother to Auguste (Fabrizius) Schalin named for his father Wilhelm. If this is the case, then I still do not know the name of my great great grandmother.
[2] Ruthenian Russia included Kiev and its surrounding areas now in Ukraine.
[3] Button Cutting, Muscatine History and Industrial Center (accessed 27 February 2018)

Has My Prussia Origins Theory Gone Up in Smoke?

My maternal grandparents, Gustav Lange and Wilhelmina Schalin, considered themselves German, wrote to their siblings in German, read a German Bible, and spoke German in their home until their eldest daughter came home from her first day of school in tears because she could not speak English. However, only Gustav Lange lived in Germany, briefly, for five years from 1906 through 1911 when he worked in Essen in order to send money home and save for his passage to Canada. At this time I do not know from where in Germany our Lange or Schalin ancestors originated

The Lange-Ludwig grandparents of my grandfather, Gustav Lange, were born near present day Lodz, Poland, in the 1840s and moved to the Volyn Oblast in Ukraine in the early 1880s. The paternal ancestors of my grandmother, Wilhelmina Schalin, lived in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, about halfway between Poznan and Lodz since at least the 1790s. They moved to the Volyn Oblast in Ukraine between 1861 and 1863. I know nothing of Wilhelmina Schalin's mother beyond her name.

Migrations of the Lange (red circles) and Schalin (green squares) families;
created using Google Maps

But from where did the Lange and Schalin families originate? I assumed Germany since Grandma and Grandpa Lange spoke German as their native language, but I wanted to know more. I spent a lot of time delving into the history of Poland and Ukraine. I learned the area of Poland where the Lange and Schalin families lived was known as South Prussia after 1793 and the Second Partition of Poland by Prussia and Russia. So perhaps they were from Prussia.

When Ancestry unveiled its genetic communities, I looked at them for all the Lange-Schalin DNA tests I administered.

Lange-Schalin relatives I have DNA tested (red outline); created
using Microsoft Powerpoint

On the day after genetic communities were launched, we all shared at least one genetic community and it was Northern Germans, which included Prussia. But as Ancestry has continued to refine the genetic communities, the picture has gotten muddier. As of 30 June 2017, the genetic communities are now:

Genetic communities of the Lange relatives' DNA tests; created using
Microsoft Excel

It appears as if some genetic communities were refined and some of my Lange relatives lost some or all of genetic communities and new ones were added.

Map of Northern Germans genetic community; courtesy of Ancestry.com

Northern Germans was the genetic community we all shared when Ancestry launched its genetic communities though it does not reflect the eastern migration of hundreds of thousands of Germans to current day Russia, Poland, and Ukraine.

Germans, Netherlanders, Belgians & Luxembourgians Ancestry genetic
community; courtesy of Ancestry.com

The Germans, Netherlanders, Belgians & and Luxembourgians was a new genetic community and likely a refinement. It has a great deal of overlap with Northern Germans but extends more westward, which does not support my Prussia origins theory.

Northern (yellow) and southern (red) origins of Germans in the Midwest
Ancestry genetic community; courtesy of Ancestry.com

Germans in the Midwest originated from both northern and southern Germany. So it could still support my Prussia theory.

And the problem...

German origins of the Germans from Baden-Wurttemberg in the Dakotas
Ancestry genetic community; courtesy of Ancestry.com

There is no way, Germans from Baden-Wurttemberg may be considered northern Germans from the area that was once Prussia. So at this point my thinking is the genetic communities are interesting but not helpful. Pretty much what I have found ethnicity estimates to be. Sometimes they make sense; sometimes they don't.

On the settings page of each DNA test is a privacy section. That section states the following about ethnicity:

"Show the participant's complete ethnicity profile to their DNA matches. This means the participant's DNA matches will see both the participant's full ethnicity estimate and all the Genetic Communities. (If left unselected, the participant's DNA matches will only see the portion of the participant's ethnicity estimate and the Genetic Communities they share in common.)"

I have not selected this for any of the tests I administer, but I changed this setting from my test and my mother's test to select it. Then went to Mom's match from the home page of my DNA test. I could see all of her ethnicity estimates but not her genetic communities. And I should have been able to see them. So there is still work for Ancestry to do in this area.

My BIG Brick Wall: Augusta Fabrizius

When I checked my Ancestor Score a couple of months ago, I knew 15 of my 16 great great grandparents. The reason I don't know all of them is my BIG brick wall is my great grandmother, Auguste Fabriske / Fabricius / Fabrizius, who I know next to nothing about.

My pedigree chart; image courtesy of Ancestry.com

I know from ship passenger manifests that she was born about 1861; that she married my great grandfather, Wilhelm Schalin, on 20 December 1881 (converted from Julian calendar); lived in an area of Tsarist Russian that is now Ukraine; had six children there before immigrating to Alberta, Canada; had three more children; and died on 12 February 1898. Other documents to support these facts include the registration of a daughter's birth, which provided the marriage date; a list of headstone transcriptions of the people buried in the cemetery of the First Baptist Church of Fredericksheim in Leduc, Canada; and a book written by Lucille Marion (Fillenberg) Effa, entitled Our Schalene Family: 1770-2003. Mrs. Effa was my second cousin once removed.

The birth registration of daughter, Wilhelmine Schalin, who was born in 1892, is in Russian. The document includes middle names for the parents -- Wilhelm Gottlieb Schalin and August Wilhelmowa Fabrizius. It is the only record which includes middle names for my great grandparents. My current belief is that they are not middle names but rather patronymics. Wilhelm's father was Gottlieb Schalin. If so, then Auguste's father's name was Wilhelm Fabrizius -- the only chip in my brick wall.

Most of this information was included Mrs Effa's book. I found the few documents I have about Auguste as I conducted by own research to verify and extend the information in the book. Late last year I hired professional researchers to assist me break through the brick wall that was Auguste Fabrizius. However, they found so many documents about the Schalin family in Poland, where they lived before moving to Russia/Ukraine, that we concentrated our search there. So I am saving the Ukrainian research for another day.

_______________
Ancestor Score and 500th Post
Deciphering Cyrillic: Finding Tuchyn
Fleeing a Tsar
Starvation Faced Fredericksheim
History of Fredericksheim
Fearless Females: Religion

52 Ancestors #32: The 32 Great Great Greats

It would have been so easy to reprise a 27 December 2013 post about Henry Crawford Tucker and his 32 children, but I will adhere more closely to the optional prompt and write about my 32 three-times great grandparents.

Fan chart of my family tree made several months ago using
TreeSeek.com  and my partialtree on FamilySearch.org

The two halves of my tree -- Dad's side and Mom's side -- could not be more dissimilar. On Dad's side, all but four of my 16 three-times great grandparents came from families that have been in what became the United States of America in Colonial times. I could keep the Colonial Dames (CDA), Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), United States Daughters of the War of 1812, and other lineage societies busy for years submitting applications. The 4 three-times great grandparents, who were "outliers," came from Scotland. Their children, James Muir and Margaret Semple, married in 1873 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1887.

Mom's side of my tree, on the other hand, is filled with unknowns. Mom considered herself to be 100 percent German yet no one has any idea from where in Germany her ancestors originated. Her mother's parents were German Baptists, who lived in the Russian Empire (it is now Ukraine), and immigrated to Canada in 1893 due to religious persecution. Previous to Russia, they lived in what is now Poland. I suspect there is some Polish blood thrown into the mix. What I know about my maternal grandmother's ancestors is due in large part to Lucille Marion (Fillenberg) Effa (1934-2015) and her 2003 book, Our Schalin Family. It proved to be an invaluable starting point for my research.

Lucille Marion (Fillenberg) Effa; courtesy of the
Vancouver Sun

Mom's Dad immigrated to Canada from the same region of Russia in 1911. His family was Lutheran but had a similar history. I know even less about them. My big breakthrough to date was learning the names of his four grandparents, which I never would have accomplished without joining the Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe (SGGEE). Such a small, small step forward in what will be a long journey.

Dad's Side

1. John William Jennings, Sr. -- born about 1777 in Amherst County, Virginia; married Anna Mariah Waldron, 1805; served in Captain William Flood's Company, 5th Infantry Regiment, Virginia Militia during the War of 1812; died 19 December 1858 in Amherst County
2. Anna Mariah Waldron -- born in 1782 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia; married John William Jennings, Sr., 1805; died 24 October 1868 in Amherst County
3. Thomas Jewell -- unknown birth date; died before 1833 when Jesse, James and Terisha Jewell were made guardians of orphaned Catherine Jewell in Amherst County
4. Unknown -- but may have been Sarah "Sally" Guilford, who would have also died before 1833; I am still working on proving this theory
5. James Harvey Beard -- born 7 September 1780 in Bedford County, Virginia; married Mary McMullen or McMullin, 1811; served in a Virginia Militia artillery battalion during the War of 1812; died 26 September 1781 in Bedford County
6. Mary McMullen or McMullin -- unknown birth date; married James Harvey Beard, 1811; died before 1850 when her husband married Rhoda Parker
7. Daniel Mitchell -- born about 1781 in Virginia; married Sarah "Sally" Wood, 1816; died after 1860
8. Sarah "Sally" Wood -- born 1792 in Virginia; married Daniel Mitchell, 1816; died after 1860
9. Robert Muir -- born about 1800 in Northern Ireland; married Henrietta Brown, 1828; died 20 April 1869 in Stonehouse, Lanarkshire, Scotland
10. Henrietta Brown -- unknown birth date; married Robert Muir, 1828; died before 1856 in Scotland
11. Peter Semple -- 5 May 1822 in Dalserf, Lanarkshire, Scotland; married Janet Torrance, 1844; died 29 March 1904 in Dalserf
12. Janet Torrance -- 27 July 1825 in Stonehouse; married Peter Semple, 1844; died 16 November 1896 in Dalserf
13. Alfred Riggin born about 1811 in Tennessee; married Sarah "Sally' Piper, 1833; died after 1850 
14. Sarah "Sally" Piper -- 7 March 1813 in Ohio; married Alfred Riggin, 1833; died 30 July 1887 in Troy, Madison, Illinois
15. James Wells -- born about 1808; married Mary Hearelson on an unknown date; died 19 July 1861 in Troy, Illinois
16. Mary Hearelson 8 November 1814 in North Carolina; married James Wells on an unknown date; died 12 December 1882 in Troy

Memorial monument for Peter Semple, which is located in the Dalserf
Parish Church Cemetery; photograph taken for me by Andrew Scorgie
in 2013 while in Dalserf photographing my ancestors' home town

Mom's Side

1. Unknown Lange -- father of Friedrich Lange, who died before 1866
2. Unknown -- mother of Friedrich Lange
3. Unknown Schenschke -- father of Wilhelmina Schenscke, who died before 1866
4. Unknown -- mother of Friedrich Lange
5. Unknown Ludwig -- father of Gottfried Ludwig
6. Unknown -- mother of Gottfried Ludwig
7. Unknown Irgang -- father of Ernestine Irgang, who died before 1866
8. Unknown -- mother of Ernestine Irgang
9. Johann Samuel Schalin born 26 August 1796 in Maliniec, Poland; married Anna Elisabeth Buech, 1822; died 2 December 1847 in Maliniec
10. Anna Elisabeth Buech -- born 18 April 1802 in Gross, Poland; married Johann Samuel Schalin, 1822; died on an unknown date
11. Johann Gottfried Zander born about 1796; married Susanne Wilde on an unknown date; died on an unknown date
12. Susanne Wilde born about 1805; married Johann Gottfried Zander on an unknown date; died on an unknown date
13. Unknown Fabriske -- paternal grandfather of Auguste Fabriske, my great grandmother
14. Unknown -- paternal grandmother of Auguste Fabriske
15. Unknown -- maternal grandfather of Auguste Fabriske
16. Unknown -- maternal grandmother of Auguste Fabriske

The registration of the marriage of Carl August Lange and Carolina Ludwig,
which gave me the names of their parents, my only breakthrough to date
on my maternal grandfather's side of the family; image courtesy of SGGEE

Mattias Steinke, of the German Genealogy Facebook Group, graciously transcribed the record for me:

nr 307 Lange, August residing in Ludwischin Schepple (Ludwiszyn-Szepiel), county of Luck, son of the deceased Friedrich Lange and his deceased wife Wilhelmine nee Schensche, born in Kamen, (russian) province of Petrikau with Caroline Ludwig, daughter of Gottfried Ludwig and his deceased wife Ernestine nee Irgang of Adnarka (?) county of Luzk, born in Grabina, province of Petrikau, bride of lutheran confession. Groom is unmarried and 25 years old. Bride is unmarried and 19 years old. The banns were at the 7th, 15th, and 22nd September. When and where the marriage were: the seventh October 1886 in the church of Rozyszcze by pastor Kerm.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge optional theme 32.

Differing Memories or Family Reunions Can Be Dangerous

My great grandfather, Wilhelm Schalin, had 18 children by two wives. His first wife, Auguste Fabriske, died in childbirth on 12 Feb 1898. My grandmother was four years old. Wilhelm remarried the next year to Louise Kabusch, who was only 18 years old at the time of their marriage. Wilhelm and Louise proceeded to create nine more children over the next 20 years.

My great grandfather, Wilhelm Schalin

My mother remembers her Mom, Wilhelmina Schalin, had a very unpleasant childhood because her step-mother was mean to her. When her father found out, he would take Wilhelmina into the fields with him to keep her away from his second wife. When my grandmother was nine years old, he sent her away to another family where she helped with the chores on the farm. Later she helped women after they had a baby.

My grandmother, Wilhelmina Schalin

The step-mother's youngest son, Milton, remembers his mother's stories. According to Milton, my grandmother was very mean to her young, inexperienced step-mother.

Family reunions sure can be interesting!

What we do know for sure is that Louise sold the farm in 1929 and moved Wilhelm into a small apartment in Leduc, Alberta. He died alone in 1952. She took the proceeds from the farm sale and bought land in the Reed Ranch area east of Olds, Alberta.  Only her children inherited that farm when Louise died in 1970.

We also know that Julia, Wilhelmina's older sister, and Martha, Wilhelmina's younger sister, were sent away from home at an early age to do domestic work in British Columbia.