DNA Discoveries: Finding Anna Eleonore (Schalin) Skale (or Skalay)

I first learned about Eleonore Schalin in a book by Lucille (Fillenberg) Effa entitled Our Schalin Family, 1770-2003. She was the youngest of eight known children of Johann "Samuel" Schalin and Anna Dorothea Rosno or Rosnian, who were my three times great grandparents. Eleonore was born in Maliniec, Kolo, Wilkopolskie, Poland on 9 February 1844. She married Gottlieb Skale in 1860 in Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr, Ukraine.

The Master Pedigree Database maintained by the Society of German Genealogy in Eastern Europe (SGGEE), included information about that marriage and three known children:

1. Anna Justine Skale born 4 June 1866
2. Gustav Skale born 1 Sepember 1879 in Kostopil, Rivne, Ukraine (in the colony of Maschtscha/Marzelinhof)
3. Henriette Skale born 3 January 1885 in Kostophil, Rivne, Ukraine (in the colony of Maschtscha/Marzelinhof)

What I learned through one of Mom's DNA matches was there was at least one other child: William (probably born Wilhelm) E. Skale.

Eleonore (Schalin) Skale in family tree of a DNA match; image courtesy of
Ancestory.com

After a lot of research, I was able to prove that Eleonore Schalin and Anna Lenore Schalin were the same person. 

Eleonore (Schalin) Skale first appeared in U.S. records as Annie Skaley and lived with her son William E. Skaley and his family at 1135 Broadway in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Annie said she immigrated in 1900 and had two children who were still living. (This is the only bit of information that gives me pause.) She died on 23 March 1913 of organic heart failure at her son's home and was interred at Crystal Springs Cemetery in the same city. Her daughter, Henriette (Skale/Skaley) Hoffman was the informant on her death certificate. 

1910 U.S. Federal Census for the William E. Skaley family, including his
mother; image courtesy of Ancestry.com

I have not found the passenger manifests for Anna Eleonore (Schalin) Skaley or her children Anna Justine, Gustav, or Henriette. In fact I have found no trace of Anna Justine except for her entry in the SGGEE master pedigree database. Perhaps she died young. I believe Gottleib Skale was likely deceased when his wife immigrated to the U.S. 

Gottlieb and Anna Eleonore (Schalin) Skale's children:

1. Anna Justine Skale
2. Gustav Skale (also known as Gustav Skalay or Skaley) born 1 Septement 1879 in Kostopil, Rivne, Ukraine; died 19 March 1939 in Benton Harbor; married 1) Mary Schultz about 1902 and 2) Bertha (Krause) Schonert on 31 March 1923 in St. Joseph, Michigan. He and Mary had eight known children.
3. Wilhelm Skale (also known as William E. Skalay) born 17 May 1882; died 30 Jun 1959 in St. Joseph; married Paulina Tober on 5 May 1903 in Bainbridge, Michigan. They had eight known children.
4. Henriette Skale (also known as Henrietta "Hattie" Skalay) born 3 Jan 1885 in Kostopil, Rivne, Ukraine; died on an unknown date[1]; married Rudolph Leopold Hoffman on 23 December 1905 in St. Joseph. They had eight known children. Leopold died in 1960 and I suspect Henrietta married again and was interred with that husband, which may explain why there is no death date for her on Leopold's headstone. She filed a life claim in November 1960 with the Social Security Administration a few months after her husband died and listed her birth date as 1 January 1887, which is different than the date listed in the SGGEE database. 

The death certificates for Gustav and Wilhelm/William list some version of Schalin as their mother's maiden name. Neither informant knew the name of their father, which I believe supports my theory that he died when they were young and still living in what was then Russia. However, both of their marriage registrations listed Gottlieb Skale (or some version) as their father.

Meningitis Epidemic Kills Soldier

Charlie H. Chandler was born on 4 November 1883 in Owsley County, Kentucky, to William F. Chandler and Lavina "Vinnie" Baker. He first appeared in documents when the 1900 census was enumerated living with his parents and six siblings on the family farm which his father owned in the Cow Creek precinct of the county. His mother had eleven children by that time and eight were still living. In 1910 Charlie was 26 years old and continued to live with his parents and siblings on the family farm. He worked on other farms as a laborer.

In late 1911 he marred Nellie Banks, the daughter of Lansford "Lance" Banks and Harriet Delither Hunter, and my cousin's husband's first cousin twice removed. On 4 January 1912 Charlie enlisted in the U.S. He was described in the enlistment register as being 5 foot 9-1/2 inches tall with brown hair and eyes. He was assigned to Company L, 4th Infantry. Eight months after he enlisted his wife, Nellie, had their only child, Oma Mae Chandler born on 17 August 1912.

Trouble with Mexico caused the regiment to be stationed at the border. On 1 January 1914 they were transferred to Galveston and assigned to 5th Brigade, 2nd Division which had been in Galveston for nearly a year. On 24 April 1914 Charlie's regiment boarded USAT Sumter bound for Veracruz, Mexico. They arrived on 28 April and relieved Navy occupation forces. The soldiers camped at Los Cocos Station.

Charlie, and perhaps his entire regiment was back in Galveston by late 1914. He died on 4 December at the Port of Embarkation Hospital of cerebrospinal meningitis. According to his death certificate it was an epidemic among the Army soldiers. A history of the Public Health Service in Texas confirmed there had been a meningitis epidemic in the city during the war.

Charlie H. Chandler Death Certificate; courtesy of Ancestry.com

Meningitis may be caused by bacteria or a virus, but I have to wonder if Galveston was a healthy place. "The city built its first sewer in 1899 with a central pumping station that pushed the sewage across the bayous. There it was forced through filter beds nearly five miles outside of town. The heavy matter stayed in the beds until workmen with rakes removed it. The remaining sewage was filtered through various layers and the final effluent entered Buffalo Bayou via an open canal." Six years later, in 1915, the year after Charlie died, the sewer "filters were only processing half the city's waste and the system was not working properly."[1] That sounded like a breeding ground for bacteria!

Charlie's widow applied for a military pension on 24 December 1914. She continued to receive it until she married again. Beginning on 18 August 1917 Charlie's mother received his pension and on 11 July 1921 his daughter Oma Mae got the pension. I wonder if Charlie ever had the opportunity to meet her.

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[1] Margaret Swet Henson (preparer). History of Galveston Resource Utilization, publication GBNEP-39, January 1993.