Little girl dies of broken heart…

On October 5, 2016September 30, 2016 By jenbumannIn cain, UncategorizedLeave a comment

This was such a sad and touching story that I had to share it.

George Dennis Cain born in Oconto, Wisconsin in 1882, was the fourth child born to John and Carrie Cain. His middle name appears to be in honor of his great grandfather Dennis Connelly. Like the rest of his siblings he grew up in the City of Oconto. And when he was old enough he married a young women by the name of Estella ___ . Sometime about 1900 he moved his family to Forest County, Wisconsin (Leona / Soperton). Estella and George had at least three children together: Milton, Marion (Mae) and Pat, (This was apparently not Estella’s first marriage though, as she had an 8 year old son Thaddeus who lived with them in 1920.)

Unfortunately for George he inherited that CAIN family bad luck, which appeared when he developed stomach cancer in 1925 and by the end of the year it killed him. He was only 42 when he died, another young death for the CAIN line.

newspaper_caingeo_ocontocoreporterenterprise_enquireerv54n13_1_8_1925p1c3

His daughter Mae took his death very hard:

newspaper_cainmae_ocontocoreporterv54n38_1925_07_02

NOTE: I don’t know if the above article has the surviving child incorrect, or if it his obituary that is wrong, but something is amiss regarding the matter. In the 1920 census a child Thaddeus is listed as a stepson and Milton is the only child listed as George and Stella’s, so Marion and Pat must have been infants, 4-1 years of age, in 1925. I don’t know who George, jr. is.

Clarence John. Hero!

On March 27, 2016 By jenbumannIn clarence, John, UncategorizedLeave a comment

We are lucky in our family to have lots of bits and pieces from our John and Hamm families. One of the pretty cool items that was found in this treasure trove is this article:

newspaper_john_cf_saveswomen

I have been unable to track down exactly when this event happened, as it is most likely that the newspaper this article appeared in hasn’t been digitized yet. I am guessing that Clarence was in his late teens to about 2oish, as he is talked about as the son of Mrs. and Mr. V. H. John, which tends to make me think he is still a young man and not on his own yet.

Kelly Lake was, and still is, a hot spot for folks vacationing in Oconto County. The size of the lake makes it a great place to boat, fish, swim, all those summer activities that you think of when you hear someone saying they are ‘going up north.’

Screen Shot 2016-03-27 at 9.37.39 AM — The red pin on the map market the location of Kelly Lake, Gillett and Oconto are on the map so one can see its location in relation to the two cities.

I am glad that my grandfather was there that day to be a hero. As, I am sure, was the lady in distress.

Jury duty anecdotes…

On June 16, 2015July 28, 2015 By jenbumannIn Uncategorized2 Comments

3275124578_e9cfc514ed_o — FW John out in the woods.

While perusing the newspapers of Oconto County, (by the way thanks for the heads up on this Ron), I came across an amusing little story regarding F.W. John I thought I would share:

When Postmaster Frederick William John of Gillett visited Oconto a few weeks ago he was greeted by a bunch of old residents gathered at the Beyer House with:

“Frederick William John, by J____s!”

Many who heard the expression were astonished, but those who were present and who had lived here when Mr. John was a young man knew the full meaning of the greeting.

Mr. John is one of the pioneers of Oconto county, and a great many years ago was prominent among the then young men of the vicinity. He scarcely failed to be drawn on the jury at every term of the circuit court, and one time, as usual, he was summoned to appear at the county seat as a juror. He entered the court room, dressed in the garb of a lumberman, wearing a red sash tied around his waist, which in those days was considered essential to the efficient vocation of a lumberjack. He was in his shirt sleeves and wore high boots, and being tall, broad shouldered and as straight as an arrow, he presented a find specimen of physical manhood. On entering the court room he took a seat at the rear, and soon Richard Hall, who was then clerk of the court, began calling the roll.

Soon the clerk called, “Bill John.”

There was no response. Again the clark called:

“Bill John.”

And again there was no response. For the third time the clerk called in a loud voice:

“Bill John!”

Still there was no response, and Judge Cotton, who at that time presided in this circuit, inquired of Clerk Hall whether Bill John was in the court room.

“Yes, your honor,” replied Mr. Hall, “there he sits in the rear of the hall–that big fellow wearing a red sash.”

“Is your name Bill John?’ thundered the judge, pointing straight at him with his finger.

“No, sir,” replied Mr. John indignantly, “my name is not Bill John. My name is Frederick William John, by J___s!”

“Well Mr. Frederick William John by J___s, you will take your seat in front with the rest of the jurors.” commanded the judge, suppressing a smile.

Some of the old residents were reminded of the incident when Mr. John entered the hotel.1

tt-82 — A lumberjack in dress most similar to what FW John would have been wearing.

Now if only there were more stories about Johanna that were to be found.

1 The Lena Enterprise, volume1, issue 21, page 1 column 4, 1903-10-30.

Enjoying living relatives…

On June 9, 2015July 28, 2015 By jenbumannIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

One of the fun results of researching ones ancestors is finding living relatives that you never knew existed and then meeting them and sharing stories, pictures, research, or just plain having fun.

This last weekend Dale and I decided to take the time to visit, and catch up with, my John side cousin Ron and his wife Nancy down in southern Wisconsin. The day was almost perfect (I can always do with a little bit warmer). It was warmish, sunnyish and downright nice. So we had good food, lots of laughs and even got to feed a crane. Well I did. Our next visit will not be 9 years in the future.

Nancy shared her abundance of rhubarb with us and I made some of my luscious rhubarb muffins.

We will be seeing them again this September in Gillett, when the Gillett Area Historical Society has their cemetery walk, two of our ancestors will be represented, FW John and Cal John. Ron will be pretending to be Cal, with the aid of a high platform. Cal was 6’6 or so. Ron, not so much : )