In August of 2003 the DuPage County Genealogical Society re printed and published in The DCGS Review the following essay that I wrote for the West Chicago (Illinois) Press for the 20 September 1984 issue of the Press. This is the first of a two part blog post, click here for part 2.
A young boy jumps quickly out of his bed and into his clothes, fighting the cold draft in his room. Once dressed, he slowly makes his way through a foot of snow to the warmth of the barn where he begins milking the cows and cleaning the mangers.
Frank Schlick is shown (first person on left) in this photograph with (second person to Frank’s right) his mother Susan (Daleiden) Schlick, father Casper Schlick, aunt Katherine (Schlick) Armbrust and his uncle John Armbrust. This photo was taken at the home of Christopher Daleiden on Church Street in Winfield Illinois. Here is a photo of Gary’s Mill School along Gary’s Mill Road in West Chicago. Note the DuPage River runs along the east west side of the school and is shown in this photo. This slide and photos is courtesy of the West Chicago Historical Society. ( Link: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5400b8f0e4b040ba034d5c68/t/5a2aee6a085229769d8eb67e/1512763020666/Railroad+History+-+Indian+Knoll.pdf)
After his chores , he eats breakfast and joins his frends as they skate up the DuPage River north to Gary’s Mills School.
The Casper and Susan Schlick family circa 1920 shown on their Mack Road farm and home in Winfield Township just a few miles southwest of the Village of Winfield Illinois.(Photo: Frank J. and Mae C. Schlick Estate Photo Archive).
What sounds like an episode from the television program Little House on the Prairie was just another day for my grandfather Francis “Frank” Joseph Schlick, on his father Casper Francis Schlick’s farm in DuPage County in the early 1900’s.
The Ingalls Family based upon the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House book series for children. This is the cast of the Ingalls family from the TV program Little House on the Prairie.(Photo credit: Celebrity Archives)
The Schlick farm was located along Mack Road near the West Branch of the DuPage River, a quarter mile east of Illinois Route 59 on what is now the DuPage County Forest Preserve District’s Blackwell Forest Preserve. The only sign of the farm remaining are a few evergreen trees and flowering bushes.
Schlick farm circa late 1960s. Mack Road is seen on the far right of this photo following the road being straighten near the Schlick farm.
He vividly recalled his days on the farm one Sunday afternoon.
How any days a week do you go to the food store? One, perhaps two times a week? He remembered trips to the store in nearby West Chicago only once a month. Most of their food was homegrown. The corn, hay, oats, barley were used to feed the pigs, cows.
The Hereford beef cattle, for instance, were slaughtered – one half was given to the neighboring farm and the other kept by the family. Lard from the meat was used for cooking so no one piece of the animal was wasted. The dairy cattle provided the family with milk to make cottage cheese, cheese, and butter.
The meat from the pigs was prepared with salt and cured over a hickory chip fire in the smokehouse. There were no fancy wrappings around the food; it came directly from the barn to the plate via the family’s hard labor.
Grandfather Schlick also remembered threshing days, when five to twenty men would pool their resources and spend two to three days on a neighboring farm. “To feed these people,” he explained, “two to three Rhode Island Red roosters were killed, plucked and then cooked, or a $3.00 pot roast was purchased from the West Chicago meat market.”
Threshing crew in action. Note the long belt connecting the steam engine with the threshing wagon and equipement.
The vegetables came from the family garden. “My mother [Susan (Daleiden) Schlick] had the most wonderful garden just near the east side of the barn,” he recalled. “It was the most fertile piece of land we had because of all the fertilizer we put on it.”
The Schlick family garden produced dozens of varieties of vegetables and hardly any were purchased at the store. Nearby was a “nice strawberry patch with watermelons and muskmelons, too!”. The vegetables, which did not go immediately to the dinner table, were often canned and stored in the cellar. Carrots were covered with dirt or sand to keep them cool and fresh in the root cellar.
This is an aerial view of the Casper Schlick Farm. Note the large garden along the west side of the house along the Mack Roadway. If you look closely you are able to see Agnes Schlick (wife of John Schlick) bending down in the garden. (Photo: Vintage Aerial website store at https://vintageaerial.com.)
The first Schlick family member to immigrate to DuPage County for my direct family line was Casper (Caspar) Schlick. See my previous post on Casper at this link.
On the passenger list his town of origin is recorded as “Eckersbach“. My wife wrote back in April of 1991 to the Chicago Office of the German National Tourist Office. They responded with this information:
14 May 1991
Dear Mrs. Davis,
Eckersbach is a very small village (population of 170!) in the upper Franconian District/Region of Bavaria, not far from Schlusselfeld (population 5,100) which is 19 miles from Bamberg. . . .
Here is the ship immigration passenger list:
The Bremen to New York Immigration Passenger List dated 19 May 1852. The last lines list Casper Schlick (Age 32) and Margarethe Wendinger (Age 31). They note that they are headed to St. Louis in America. Note: They are not yet married. (Source: Family Search
Eckesbach to Bremen (Port of Bremenhaven) a main port of departure for many Germans immigrating to America.
We all take many things for granted in our lives. We take for granted that many of us own a car or take public transportion to travel to work and to run our errands each day. Our ancestors up until around 1900 and 1920 primarily used horses and buggies to get around town. In reviewing several photos of our Schlicks second generation in American we see photos of their automobiles pulled up behind them as if they are part of the family just like the family dog.
This photo of the Joseph Schlick home was taken circa 1906 in Burlington Illinois. Note the car pulled up near the north facing side porch. (Photo: Frank J. and Mae C. Schlick Estate Archive).
A young Casper Schlick sitting in his buggy ready to travel to town. This photo was taken in Burlington on the Joseph Schlick Farm circa early 1900s. (Photo: Frank J. and MaeC. Schlick Estate Archive).
Roads were important. Researching the development of roadways is facinating. Most major roads we travel today in Winfield Township began as Native American paths radiating out of the City of Chicago to the shores of Lake Michigan: Ogden Ave (Illinois Route 34) and Butterfield Road (Illinois Route 56) are but two examples. One of the main road traveled by the Schlicks and Daleidens was Winfield Road. In my research this was known as the Winfield to Naperville Road. It was used as a mail route and stage coach route between the two cities of Winfield and Naperville prior to the building of the Burlington Northern Railroad route from Chicago to Naperville in 1864. The coach would make stops in Warrenville and at Col. Warren’s Tavern.
The Warren Tavern today (2022) is located on 2nd Street west of Winfield Road. This photo shows the Tavern today. Originally this building was located at the corning or Winfield and Warrenville Road. (Source: Warren Tavern website)
Mack Road (shown in blue above) was one of the original east-west roadways providing area farmers access to their farms and the Village of Winfield to the north and Warrenville and Naperville to the south. Mack Rd. intersected Winfield Road just north of creek that ran through Winfield Road.
Casper and Susan Schlick’s home on Mack Road. This is the front parlor door just off the front porch that faced Mack Road. This photo is circa 1920s. (Photo: Frank J. and Mae C. Schlick Estate Photo Archives.).
In her 1982 book titled In and Around Historic Warrenville Leone Schmidt, the City Historian for Warrenville Illinois, writes about the history of Mack Road. (This Excerpt is taken from pages 116 -117 of this book):
“THE ROAD BORDERING THE NORTHERN edge of Mack’s [Edward Packer Mack] land grant was not built in a day — not even hundreds of days. First surveyed in the summer of 1851 upon application of 27 local farmers, the road was laid out beginning at Winfield Road westward to [the current Illinois] Route 59, but for some reason construction stopped at Mack’s house. For 26 years, Mack had to travel east to Winfield Road no matter what direction he wanted to take. At last, in 1877 [Note: This is circa one decade after Michael purchase the adjourning farm located to the east of Mack’s farm.] a group of farmers, began an attempt to get the western section of the road completed.
This time the stumbling block was Mack’s neice, Sarah Maria Mather. She objected — strenously — to the road being routed through the 14-acre peice of her father’s land [Israel Mather] she had inherited after his death in 1869. Through several months of hearings and appeals before the commissioners and before a jury (she was represented by Elbert Gary and the road commissioners by William Manning) she remained adamant, refusing the $400 she had been offered for damages.
How was a bunch of farmers to deal with a stubborn worman? Uncle Ed found a way. He and his good neighbor, James Fairbanks, whose land lay at the western end of the proposed road, negotiated an argreement with the road supervisor. These two men would cut the timber, clear the surface, grade and build the road and the ford across the river [The West Branch of the DuPage River], and keep the road in proper repair for one year — all at their own expense; and Sarah Mather did sign the release of damages in the amount of $400, in March 1878.
The farmers put up with fording the river for about 15 years; then in 1893 they put pressure on the [Winfield] township road commissioners to build the bridge. The township could not afford the cost, they said, but maybe they would “go halves.”
The county and township agreed to undertake the project jointly, going ahead with plans for a bridge just like the one which had been constructed at Gary’s Mill [Located north of Mack Road], with completion date of October 15, 1893. The bill for a wrought-iron truss bridge with oak flooring and a wall of Naperville [lime]stone, with approached, was estimated to come to $ 2,200. Their estimate was way off, however. The contracts awarded to R.D. Wheaton for the superstructure and Hartman Brothers for the abutments totaled only $1,692.
The Mack Road bridge that spans the West Branch of the DuPage River. This photo was taken by Mae C. [Nee Hodous] Schlick my grandmother in 1932 The people in the photo may be Eleanor Hudera. Eleanor was a relative of the Hodous family. (Photo: Frank J. and Mae C. Schlick Estate Photo Archive).
THE IRON BRIDGE [See photo below] WAS replaced in 1954 [68 years old in 2022 !] with a pre-cast concrete bridge built by the Advance Construction Company of Chicago. . . . “
Another photo of the Mack Road Bridge. This bridge was replaced in 1956. Photo was taken the same day at the photo above in 1932. (Photo: Frank J. and Mae C. Schlick Estate Archive).
Circa 2000 map of Mack Road and the surrounding area. Note that Mack Road goes through and connects in the west with Illinois Route 59.
In this third posting on the Schlicks and Schneiders of Burlington we will get a glimpse at the families as reported and covered in the Hampshire Illinois Register newspaper.
One great source of information for family historians are newspapers printed and distributed when our ancestors lived. Our relatives lived at a time prior to the invention of the internet, cell phones, Instagram, Facebook, excetera there were printed newspapers.
In Hampshire Illinois the Hampshire Register was an important communication tool for residents of the area, including the people of Burlington, Illinois located four miles to the south of Hampshire Illinois in rural Kane County.
The distance in time and miles if one walked from Burlington to Hampshire was 1 hr 19 min (4.0 mi) via French Rd in Burlington Township Kane County Illinois.
The first issue of the Register was dated Mar. 5, 1885 (Volume 1 Number 1) and continued in publication in one form or another until 1988. In my research which I began back in 1988 I reviewed the “Burlington News” section of each issue starting with the year 1885 through to the end of 1910. In 1988 I used a microfilm reel copy of the Register. I recently visited the Hampshire Public Library (The Ella Johnson Memorial Public Library) online during the past two years of the COVID -19 Pandemic and noticed the Library has now digitized issues of the Registerfor the years 1884 through 2009. Via this format and platform one can now perform a keyword search for people and access the paper online.
What follows are key Burlington News notes that allowed me to follow my relatives during their daily lives. Each excerpt begins with the date of publication followed by the text of the news item. I have added in brackets some notes and other dates to provide context of the entry.
19 August 1904: The marriage of Wm. Umbdenstock and Miss Emma Schlick, both well known of Burlington Young people, was solemnized at the Catholic Church [St. Charles Borromeo in Hampshire] Wednesday morning [17 August 1904] at 9 am. Rev. Fr. Huth performed the ceremony.
16 September 1904: Mr. & Mrs. P. Schneider and son Henry, Mrs. Mary Schneider and son Carl, Mr. & Mrs. K.W. Schneider and son George, Mrs. C Schultz and daughter Misses Carrie, Mary, and Rosa, Lizzie, and Delia spent Sunday wiht Mr. & Mrs. Adam Schneider of Glen Ellyn.
23 September 1904: Joseph Schlick will represent Burlington on the Grand Jury for the November term of the Circuit Court [located in Geneva Illinois].
27 January 1905: Mrs. Mary Schneider had been down to see her daughter Mrs. August Rudinger, who has been stuggling with the grip [the flu]. All her children have been sick.
21 April 1905: Frank Schneider had his blacksmith shop completed and went to work at his trade Saturday.
10 November 1905: The 55th wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Schneider was celebrated Sunday October 29th at Wheaton and was attended by relatives from this vicinity. This annual affair is looked forward to with inceasing interest by the relatives as well it should 55 years of life together is deserving of all recognition.
8 December 1905: Jos. Schlick this week purchased the Maurier property in the Village [Burlington]. He will build a new home in the spring [1906] and move in next fall.
Joseph and Mary Anne Schlick at their new home in Burlington, circa 1906.[Frank J. and Mae C. Schlick Estate Photo Archives]
18 September 1907: Joseph Schlick had been choosen to represent Burlington at the November term of the Grand Jury.
17 January 1908: Miss Anna Schlick entertained the young ladies club at her home Tuesday afternoon.
7 February 1908: [There is a front page story regarding the building of the new St. Charles Borromeo Church in Hampshire]
13 March 1908: Several car loads of Chicago Brick and Joliet Stone have arrived for the new Catholic Church.
Old Joliet Illinois limestone quarry.
12 June 1908: [Front page contained news of the laying of the cornerstone for St. Charles Borromeo Church in Hampshire. Cost for the Church is listed as $25,000.]
9 October 1908: Mrs. Joseph Schlick and father [Martin Armbrust] are visiting in Wheaton this week.
16 October 1908: Mrs. August Rudinger and sisters Misses Margaret and Laura Schneider entertained 25 guests last Thursday in honor of the birthday anniversary of their mother Mrs. Mary (Schlick) Schneider. A very fine 6:00 o’clock dinner was the featured event.
11 September 1908: A new trolley line will tap the region north of Wheaton, Illinois and will connect the Aurora, Elgin, and Chicago electric road with West Chicago has just been incorporated under the Chicago, Wheaton and Western R.R.. The new line, on which work already has started, will bring rural residents in DuPage County into more intimate relations with Chicago. The co. is capitalized at $10,000 and the general offices will be located in Chicago. [This news note proves to me that you never know what you will find about other cities (Wheaton and West Chicago) in a newspaper in another town in another county (Kane). The Schlick family would have been interested in this new transporation development. Another way perhaps to visit their extended families in (Winfield and Wheaton)].
This map of the new Geneva Branch of the Aurora, Chicago and Elgin would connect Wheaton, West Chicago, Geneva, and St. Charles (along the Fox River). (Map Credit Great Third Rail website link: http://www.greatthirdrail.org/routes/geneva.html)
9 October 1908: Mrs. Joseph Schlick and Father [Martin Armbrust] are visiting in Wheaton this week.
16 October 1908: Mrs. August Rudinger and sisters Misses Margaret and Laura Schneider entertained 25 guests last Thursday in honor of the birthday anniversary of their mother Mr. Mary [Schlick] Schneider. A very fine 6:00 o’clock dinner was the feature.
4 December 1908: Mrs. Joseph Schlick and daughter Anna were Elgin shoppers Friday.
2 April 1909: Ralph Schneider was home to spend Sunday.
2 April 1909: C.P. Schneider has an ad in another column that solicits patronage in his line of busi-ness that of a restaurant and confectionary store, etc. Ad text from newspaper:
C.P. SCHNEIDER RESTAURANT AND CONFECTIONARY. Baked goods, candies, fruits, cigars and tobacco, soft drinks, ice cream in season. Shortorder meals a specialty and served at all hours. Give me a call I will be pleased to serve you. C.P. Schneider, Successor to D.W. Sholes.
14 May 1909: Mr. & Mrs. Jos. Schlick entertained relatives from Minnesota last week.
28 May 1909: Mr. & Mrs. Wm. Umbdenstocks infant child is ill.
25 June 1909: Messrs. Jos. Schlick and Elvan Godfrey have the contract for building a new cement sidewalk in the Village [Burlington].
23 July1909: Misses Minnie Pingston, Anna Schlick and Sophia Peterson spent Monday in Elgin and attended “The Texas Ranger” in Hampshire in the evening.
Downtown Elgin Illinois in Kane County on Grove Street Circa 1910. Elgin was a major city for busineses, industry and entertainment for Kane County residents including the Schlicks. Take note of the automobiles and the dress of the people.[Photo Credit: Elgin History Museum]
23 July 1909. Frank Schneider who purchased the house of Mrs. Nina Hood has moved it to the Village [Burlington] on his lot and is having its interior rearranged more conveniently and is nearly completed.
30 July 1909: Mrs. Jos. Schlick had been very ill. Dr. John Nesbitt of Sycamore was called on the case.
24 September 1909: On account of the bad weather the Barn Dance which was to have been given in Joseph Schlick’s Barn 1.5 miles west of Burlington Wednesday evening Sept. 22 was postponed and will be held this week, Saturday evening, Sept. 25. Everybody is cordially invited to attend. Music by Pfingsten’s four piece orchestra. This is a fine large barn with a good floor and dancing space of 120′ by 36′. Dance tickets are 50 cents. Schlick and Anderson, managers.
24 September 1909: A son was born to Mr. & Mrs. M. Umbdenstock last week Tuesday [September 20th].
1 October 1909: Another dance will be given Wednesday evening October 6th in Jos. Schlick’s barn 1.5 miles west of Burlington and everybody is cordially invited music by Pfingstein’s orchestra. This is a fine large barn with a good floor and dancing space 120′ x 36 feet. Dance tickets, 50 cents, Schlick and Anderson, Managers.
1 October 1909. Two of our popular yonng people to the marriage vow Thursday Morning at a wedding at the Catholic Church in Hampshire [St. Charles Borromeo]. The contracting parties being Miss Marie Victoria Haderer and Frank J. Schneider. The Groom is a son of Mrs. Mary Schneider and is an enterprising young man engaged in blacksmith business here. The young couple will soon commence housekeeping in the home prepared by the Groom. Their many friends extend congratulations.
CASPER AND SUSAN SCHLICK: The Family Saga Continues . . .
The next three entries below (***) document the movement of my Great Grandparents Casper and Susan (nee Daleiden) Schlick from the Joseph Schlick, Sr. farm near Burlington in Kane County to their new farm on Mack Road in Winfield Township DuPage County Illinois. This property was originally purchased by Michael Daleiden and later became Christopher Daleiden’s farmstead. Christopher had moved into his in town home in the Village of Winfield Illinois. Christopher was Casper’s father-in-law and Susan’s father.
Casper and Susan [Nee Daleiden] Schlick on their wedding day. (Photo: Frank J. and Mae C. Schlick Estate Photo Archive).
Susan and Casper Schlick had been married in Winfield on 10 October 1906. On 20 February 1909 Casper and Susan gave birth at 12:10 a.m. on their Burlington Farm to a daughter named Mary Schlick. Unforunately the infant died and lived only thirty minutes and was buried at St. Charles Borromeo Church Cemetery in Hampshire. The Register briefly mentions Mary’s death in the 12 March 1909 issue: “Mr and Mrs. Casper Schlick lost an infant child last week.”
Mary Schlick infant daughter and first born of Casper and Susan Schlick. Death Certificate.(Kane County Clerk Office Records.).
Casper and Susan Schlick on their Wedding Day 10 October 1906. This was taken on the front steps of Christopher Daleiden house on John St. (now Church Street) in the Village of Winfield Winfield Township DuPage County Illinois. (Photo: Frank J and Mae C. Schlick Estate Archive.)
*** 15 October 1909. About fifty of Mr. & Mrs. Casper Schlick’s friends gave then a farewell surprise party Tuesday evening at the Schlick farm. The evening was very pleasantly spent dancing in the barn. A fine supper, provided by the guests, was served at midnight.
*** 15 October 1909. The Schlick brothers, who have been carrying on their father’s farm, will quit farming and have an auction sale next Tuesday. Casper will move to the farm which he purchased in Wheaton [Mack Road Farm in Winfield Township]. While Martin expects to go west in teh spring. Louis Sester will move to the Schlick farm in the spring [1910].
*** 29 October 1909: Mr. and Mrs. Casper Schlick moved Wednesday to their farm in Wheaton [Mack Road farmstead in Winfield Township Dupage County Illinois the former farm of Michael and Christopher Daleiden orginally purchased circa 1865-1866].
Casper and Susan Schlick on their Mack Road Farm (former the Christopher Daleiden property) in Winfield Township Dupage County Illinois. This photo was taken circa 1920s. (Photo: Frank J. and Mae C. Schlick Estate Archive.)
To fast forward one year on what happened next for Casper and Susan Schlick: The 1910 U.S. Census records Casper (age 40) and Susan (age 41) were living on Mack Road on 1 May 1910 the date the Census Enumerator recorded their names on the Census. Joseph L. Schlick, Jr. (age 23), Casper’s younger brother was also living in their household most likely helping with the farm chores. On 4 May 1910 mortgage deed note was signed by Casper and Susan with Christopher and Margaret Daleiden for purchase of the Daleiden farm on Mack Road in Winfield Township DuPage County Illinois. The amount recorded in Margaret’s DuPage County Probate file is $8,000 (6 years 4% interest rate). On July 22, 1910 Susan’s father Christopher Daleiden died and was buried at St. Johns Cemetery in Winfield Illinois.
22 October 1909: Mr. & Mrs. Schneider returned from their wedding trip last Friday [ 15 October ].
10 December 1909: Ralph Schneider [son of Mary Schneider] is making his mark as a traveling salesman for the International Harvester Company. Having recently been offered a five year contract by that concern to go to Europe as a salesman. He has decided to accept and will leave soon after Janaury 1st.
Historical side bar or note: In 1902 the McCormick Reaper Manufactory Co. and Deering Harvester Company and three smaller manufactures: Milwaukee; Plano; and Warder, Bushnell, and Glessner (manufacturers of Champion brand) merged to form the International Harvester Co.
MCCORMICK REAPER MANUFACTORY II (1872-1962) Chicago Illinois southside Western and Blue Island avenues
Ralph Schneider is an example of the upward mobility of the middle class at this time and the movement of people to cities. Between 1880 and 1900, cities in the United States grew at a dramatic rate. Owing most of their population growth to the expansion of industry, U.S. cities grew by about 15 million people in the two decades before 1900. Many of those who helped account for the population growth of cities were immigrants arriving from around the world. A steady stream of people from rural America also migrated to the cities during this period. Between 1880 and 1890, almost 40 percent of the townships in the United States lost population because of migration. Many were moving off farms and or other manual occupations (such as blacksmithing) and taking white collar jobs in Cities like Chicago and in this case Europe. In historical perspective within three generations of Schlick family members 1852 (Casper Schlick, Sr. the first generation German immigrant) to 1909 (Maria (Schlick) Schneider) had seen great progress in their personal achievements and in their upward mobility.
24 December 1909: R.[Ralph]F. Schneider will leave here Sunday evening on his way to Europe where he will put in a year traveling for the International Harvester Company. He will visit several of the companies eastern branches in this country and will sail from New York in about 2 weeks. Hamburg Germany will be his headquarters and he will visit most of the principle countries of Europe.
31 December 1909: Miss Margaret Schneider had been very ill with pneumonia.
31 December 1909: Martin and Miss Emma Schlick left here this week to spend the week wiht relatives in Wisconsin.
25 February 1910: Louis Sester will move to the Joseph Schlick Farm
25 February 1910: Miss Anna Schlick who has been spending the winter with relatives in Wisconsin came home last week.
25 March 1910: Joseph Schlick is building an addition to his home. [This is most likely his home in downtown Burlington at the corner of Main and Water Street.
22 April 1910: Joseph Umbdenstock elected School District for thw Walker District.
29 April 1910: Martin Schlick and Tony Seyller left here Tuesday evening for a trip through South Dakota.
29 April 1910: Vernon Wood and Joseph Seyller left Tuesday evening for Montana where they expect to remain indefinitely.
15 July 1910: Ralph Schneider who is a traveling salesman for International Harvester Co. in Germany has been in a hospital there for three weeks on account of blood poisoning but has recovered.
In researching the Schlick and Daleidens family lines in DuPage and Kane County we begin to see strong patterns and interconnectedness of these people and how certain town names keep appearing in this research: Winfield Illinois in DuPage County and Hampshire and Burlington in Kane County Illinois.
I will focus in this blog about the subject of places, “distance” and factors that affected these families and their interactions with each other.
The Schlicks and Daleidens were devote Roman Catholics. To travel to their nearest Catholic Church they had two choices. They could attend mass at St. Raphaels (Now St. Peter and Paul) Church in downtown Naperville Illinois or they could travel to the Mission Church of St. Stephens located at Gretna Illinois. St. Johns in Winfield would not be built until 1867. This involved the Daleidens and or Schlicks walking, riding a horse and or driving a horse and carriage to get to the church in time for mass.
There were no paved nor gravel roads at the time. There were primarily dirt paths or dirt roadways that were subject to water events (snow and rain) that made the pathways at times impassable. No such thing as county money back then. The Township governments would assist via tax with some road repairs but at times farmers would band together out of practicality to repair or fix the paths or road beds so they could do their daily work and most importantly to get their products to market and to neighboring towns or to train depots connecting them to Chicago and towns between Turner Junction (West Chicago and Chicago).
I can recall a discussion with my grandfather Frank Schlick during an oral history interview in 1982. He recalled having to go to the bridge across Winfield Road south of Mack Road and having to help his father and other farmers place the log base of the brigde back together that went over the creek. The logs had washed away following a spring thaw and rain. They needed to reopen the road connecting Naperville, Warrenville and Winfield Illinois to the train station in Winfield and the Chicago and Galena Railroad (now the Union Pacific Chicago and Northwestern Metra Westline) depot.
Our relatives spent a greater amount of their day traveling (on foot, riding a horse or via horse and wagon or buggy). This took time out of their day and added time taken up on top of the daily (and it was six to seven days a week) chores on their farms. There was a great deal of cooperation amongst the people back then who would often pool their time and resources together to get things done and to save time and resources. One perfect example would be the threshing crews who would move from farm to farm to harvest the fields on farms in the area in the late summer and fall seasons. Weather was a very important factor for everyone one but primarily the farmers.
Daleiden / Schlick Farm on Mack Road Distance to Winfield Illinois: 4 min (1.9 mi) via Winfield Rd. via auto. 38 Minutes via walking.
WINFIELD ILLINOIS in WINFIELDTOWNSHIP DUPAGE COUNTY ILLINOIS.
Winfield was extremely important to the Daleidens and Schlicks. This was a train stop on the Chicago west line between Chicago and West Chicago Illinois. It contained a blacksmith shop that was vital not only for horse shoes but also for tool and equipment repairs. The Village contained several stores and a meat market. Many local farmers would bring their cattle to the Schmidt Meat Market to be slaughter and processed for home. The stores primarily the Baum and Sanders Higgins Store, the coal and material yard. They could weigh their wheat or produce at the Higgins Store prior to being placed on a train to ship it for sale in Chicago. St Johns the Baptist Catholic Church and the St. Johns School were the vital center for the new German immigrants, many still speaking primarily German in their homes, in the Schools and during the Catholic Mass. The St Johns Catholic Cemetery was located i Winfield. This is where relatives were laid to rest. Among people laid to rest at St. Johns Cemetery include: Christopher and Margaret Daleiden, Michael and Susan Daleiden, William T. Daleiden, Katherine Daleiden and Christopher Armbrust, Casper and Susan Schlick and Agnes and John Schlick.
St Johns the Baptist Caholic Church in Winfield Illinois.
Winfield Illinois to Hampshire Illinois: 46 min (31.9 mi) via Illinois Rte 59 N and US-20 W via auto. 8 to 10 hours via walking.
HAMPSHIRE in HAMPSHIRETOWNSHIP KANE COUNTY ILLINOIS.
The town of Hampshire in Kane County was a vital merchantile center for the Schlicks for two or more generations. This was the town where their family’s Catholic Church was located St. Charles Borromeo (corner of Jefferson and Warner Street). Many religious milestones were marked at the church: Baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, Marriages, and Funerals. Hampshire is also the location where many of the Schlicks have been laid to rest. Amongst family members buried at the St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery: Emma Schlick Umbdenstock. Odelia Schlick Reiser, Joseph Schlick Sr., Joseph Schick Jr., Anne Schlick Seyller and Rose Schlick Weberpal.
St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Hampshire Illinois.
Winfield Illinois to Burlington Illinois distance: 40 min (25.9 mi) via IL-38 W and Burlington Rd via auto. 8 to 9 hours via walking.
BURLINGTON in BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP KANE COUNTYILLINOIS
The Village of Burlington was a key center of Schlick family work, social visits and activities. The Schlicks lived in this community and area beginning in the 1880s and continued up through the first half of 2022. Joseph and Mary Anne Schlick’s home at Main and Water Street that they built and moved into at the turn of the twentieth century still remains standing today. The Joseph Schlick Farmstead is also still standing outside of Burlington. The large barn on this property was known to hold large barn dances when the Schlicks lived on the property. Joseph was Mayor of the Village. He with others built sidewalks, roadways, and also the current Village Hall facility in the Village. The Village at one time hosted a Creamery and Dairy facility owned by the Ira J. Mix Dairy Co. Joseph L. Schlick, Jr. worked for a period of time for this Creamery.
WHEATON in MILTON TOWNSHIP DUPAGECOUNTY ILLINOIS
The City of Wheaton is the County seat for DuPage County. The former court house is still standing albeit it is now renovated into luxury condos. The DuPage County Agricultural Fair was held in Wheaton Illinois. The DuPage County Alms Farm House was once located on County Farm Road. Many of the Daleidens and Schlicks visited Wheaton many times either for business or pleasure. It is also where they filed many legal documents (such as probate records), attended court hearings surrounding estate settlements, in the filing of Naturalization Papers (Christopher Daleiden’s papers for naturalization are in the Court Archives) and were required to file birth, marriage and death certificates.
The Armbrusts owned businesses and properties in Wheaton. The family remains in the area today. They plated the subdivision of Pleasant Hill near the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Electrical Interurban Line. They are intermarried with the Schlick and the Daleiden families going back to the early 1850s. The Schlicks and Armbrust families were part of a group that founded St. Michael Catholic Church in Wheaton Illinois. Schlicks and Armbrusts are laid to rest in the St. Michael Cemetery in Wheaton. Amongst many of the family members buried in the Cemetery: Casper and Margaret Schlick and Martin Armbrust. This is the first generation of Schlick family members in America and DuPage County.
The old DuPage County Court House.
9 Minutes via 3.7 miles Winfield to Wheaton via auto. 1 hour via walking.
GRETNA in MILTON TOWNSHIP DUPAGE COUNTY ILLINOIS
Mack Road in Winfield Township to St Stephens Mission Church in Gretna illinois (now Carol Stream Illinois). Walking distance of 2 hr 16 min (6.8 mi) via Winfield Rd and Jewell Rd.
The now ‘ghost‘ town of Gretna Illinois was once a farming community first of Irish immigrants and later German Immigrants. The religious centerpiece of this community was the Chicago Archdiocese Mission Church of St. Stephens. This church served per a Joliet Diocese website: “. . . the vast German Catholic parish of central DuPage County from Roosevelt Road north to the county line near Schaumburg. In 1867 St. John the Baptist Catholic Church was opened in Winfield to serve that growing area. The bishop ordered Saint Stephen closed, except for special services, with families transferred to St. John’s for worship.” Many of the German families living in the Winfield area attended this Mission Church so it is important for our family members in the Schlick and Daleiden family lines.
St Stephen’s Cemetery is still located near the former site of the Church building. The Milton Township Government and a volunteer group is in charge of preserving the Cemetery. It is a very interesting site to visit and is accessible off of the Chicago and Great Western Railroad former road bed now a walking and biking path that crosses Schmale Road in Carol Stream.
ST JOHN CATHOLIC CHURCH WINFIELD in WINFIELD TOWNSHIP DUPAGE COUNTY ILLINOIS
Daleiden and Schlick family trip to St. Johns Catholic Church in Winfield Illinois from their Mack Road farmstead via walking: 48 min (2.4 mi) via Winfield Rd
The path from the Daleiden and Schlick Families from their Mack Road Farmstead to SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Naperille Illinois walking distance and time is 1 hr 59 min (5.9 mi) via Winfield Rd and N Mill St.
This post will provide a brief genealogy of the Joseph and Mary Anne Schlick children. In part three I will primarily be using Hampshire Register newspaper extracts to reveal more about this family. Some of this information was from Loretta Schlick Herrmann. Her father was Joseph L. Schlick, Jr. Loretta was a great help in providing to me copies way back in the late 1980s of many vintage photos in her collection. I am greatful for her help. She and her husband George were always hospitable when I visited with them in their home in Hampshire, Illinois.
The Joseph Schlick family – Children. [Photo: Frank J. and Mae C. Schlick Family Archives].
Joseph and Mary Anne (nee Armbrust) were the parents of the following children:
Casper Francis Schlick. Casper is my great great Grandfather. he was born on 17 August 1878 in Burlington Illinois. He died 6 February 1970 in Warrenville Winfield Township DuPage County Illinois on his Mack Road Farm. Casper will have own separate blog posting in the future.
Frank Schlick born in August 1880. We have little information thus far on this second born son of Joseph and Mary Anne. More digging will be required.
Odelia Schlick was born on 8 January 1881. She married John Reiser. The purchased a farm about four miles west of Hampshire Illinois along what is now Illinois Route 72. This farm was later purchased by the Weberpal family. John unfortnately died of a sudden heart attack while feeding cattle. John was born in 1877 and died in 1919. Odelia remarried. She married Frank Wallace. Odelia never had any children. She passed away on 28 October 1964. Her funeral was held at the Catholic Church in Hampshire with arrangements being made by the undertaker at the Frederick Funeral home in Hampshire Illinois.
Martin Schlick was born on 16 January 1883. He was perhaps the most influential person in the life of my Great Grandfather Casper Schlick. They were, what I would call, “farming buddies” as they both worked together for some time on two farmsteads. First in Burlington and then on Mack Road in Winfield Township DuPage County. Martin will also have a separate post on this blog.
Emma Schlick was born on 16 November 1884. She married William Umbdenstock on 17 August 1904. They lived on the Umbdenstock home farm northwest of Burlington. It was to this farm that William’s father, Michael I , moved his family in 1866. William was the son of Michael Umbdenstock I, who came from Asace Lorraine and Mary Ansel Umdenstock of Naperville, Illinois. They celebrated their fiftieth Wedding Anniversary in 1954 on 17 August.
Emma and her husband had eight children: Caroline was born in 1905 and died in 1968. It is reported that Caroline was disabled. A second daughter Florence died in infancy in 1906. Lorena the third child married William Helt. They had four children: Robert, Evelyn, Phyllis, and Gerald. The first and eldest son William II married Margaret Miller. The second born son was Raymond who married Lorraine Brown. They had one child Lois. Their third son, Anthony, married Elvira Klemm. They had ten children. Maurice, their fourth and final son, married Marian Schramer. They had six children. Bertha, their last child born, married Joseph Gorenz. Joseph and Bertha had five children.
Joseph L. Schlick, Jr. 11 November 1886. Joseph Louis, son of Joseph and Mary Ann Schlick, was named after his father Joseph Schlick I.
Joseph married Mary Klein, a daughter of Mathias and Josephine Hamschmitt Klein of Winfield Winfield Township DuPage County Illinois. The Kleins owned much farmland in Winfield Township. They were very well known.
Mary Klein was born in Winfield Illinois on 7 January 1890 and Joseph who was born 6 November 1886 had met in 1910 at St. John Church in Winfield Illinois and were married a year later at St. Johns on 5 September 1911. They lived in Burlington Illinois. Joseph worked for the Ira J. Mix Milk Factory in Burlington. In 1913 they moved to the Schlick Farm northwest of Burlington where Joseph and his brother Martin farmed together. About 1920 Martin and his family moved to DuPage County to a farm located along Washington Street near what is now the former General Mills Plant in West Chicago, Illinois. Joseph moved and purchased his own farm southwest of Burlington Illinois. Joseph Schlick and Mary had five children.
Annie M. Schlick was born on 29 September 1888. She married Anthony Seyller on 27 June 1912. Anthony’s parents were Michael and Katherine Hoffman Seyller. His paternal grandfather was John, from Alsace Lorraine, and his grandmother from Switzerland. Their first home was next door to Anne’s parents in Burlington, Illinois. They then became farmers and farmed in the Burlington area all their lives. Annie and Anthony had five children.
Rosa C. Schlick 23 May 1900. She married Adam Weberpal on 25 June 1924. Adam was the son of John Weberpal from Lahn, Germany and Kunigunda Oppal Weberpal was from Bavaria, who came to the United States in 1906. Adam was born in 1893 and died in 1948. Adam was a brother to Margaret Weberpal who married Rose’s brother, Martin Schlick.
This three part posting will provide details of the Joseph Schlick and his sister Maria Schlick Schneider life, work, farming activities, civic contributions, and connections to the Village of Burlington in Burlington Township, Kane County Illinois. Both the Schlicks and the Schneiders contributed to the growth of the community of Burlington, Illinois. As we will see, Joseph Schlick became a leader in the community. Joseph served both as the Mayor of the Village of Burlington and also served terms on the local Burlington School Board.
Joseph Schlick and his wife Mary Anne (nee Armbrust) Schlick in a photograph (date unknown) most likely taken in a photo studio with a background of a back of a train way car.
Grave of Mary Anne (nee Armbrust) and Joseph Schlick at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Cemetery in Hampshire Hampshire Township Kane County Illinois. (Source: Findagrave website link: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141325035/joseph-schlick)
Joseph and Mary Anne Schlick taken at their home in Burlington circa 1906. [Photo: Frank J. and Mae C. Schlick Estate Photo Archive].
Headstone and grave of George and Maria Schneider at the St. Charles Barromeo Catholic Church Cemetery in Hampshire Hampshire Township Kane County Illinois. (Source: Findagrave Websie link: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83504386/maria-schneider)
The first Schlick to move into Burlington was Maria (nee Schlick) Schneider. Maria was the daughter of Casper Schlick. She married George M. Schneider.
George and Maria Schneider of Burlington Burlington Township Kane County Illinois on their wedding day.
George M. Schneider learned his trade as a Blacksmith in Prospect Park (now Glen Ellyn) Illinois. George served on the School Board as a Director for School District 2 in Burlington for eight years and a Trustee for five years. He also served as a Juror for the courts in Geneva. He was also a Banker and member of the Kane Camp No. 471 Modern Woodman of American in the Burlington. He was a Democract in his politics. The Modern Woodmen is a tax-exempt fraternal benefit society. The membership organization sells life insurance, annuity and investment products to help fund member benefits and social, educational and volunteer programs that meet community needs.
Maria (nee Schlick) Schneider, Maria and George emigrated to Burlington in 1880 from DuPage County. They had married on 6 April 1880 at St. Johns Catholic Church in Winfield Illinois by Father John Weiderhold. George purchased a blacksmith shop and a residence and continued his blacksmith business until his death 27 October 1893. The Schneiders and the Schlicks were devote Catholics. They had six children: Annie E, Frank J., George P., Margaret K., Laura Mary, and Carl Michael.
Maria was a widower for thirty-five years. George died in 1893. It must have been a very challenging situation to raise six children following her husband’s death. Maria was extremely active in the St. Charles Catholic Church in Hampshire Illinois. She was a member of the Ladies of the Maccabees Burlington Hive. The Ladies of the Maccabees was a fraternal organization formed in the 1800s exclusively for women an auxilary organization of the Knights of the Maccabees. The Maccabees paid insurance benefits and the ladies were active in local community benefical activities. Maria was also caretaker of her father Casper Schlick who lived in her home for the final eight years of his life (circa 1887 to 1895). Her father Casper was an early settler in 1852 of DuPage County Illinois.
First Church building for the St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church of Hampshire Illinois. A new church (still in use today in 2022) was dedicated in June 1908. (Source of photo: St Charles Borromeo Church Hampshire Illinois link: https://www.scbparish.org/parish-history)
Joseph Schlick was the son of Casper Schlick. He was born in Prospect Park (now Glen Ellyn) Illinois in 1 December 1855. Married October 1, 1878 to Mary Anne Armbrust by Father John Weiderhold of St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Winfield Illinois. They migrated to Burlington Illinois in 1878. The Schlicks owned over 170 acres of land straddling Burlington and Hampshire Townships in Kane County Illinois. Burlington was located not too far from there farm. It was an ideal location for a family farm. Plenty of natural woodlands, rich dark Illinois soil, close to rail transportion depots in the Villages of Hampshire and Burlington.
1904 Kane County Atlasshowing Burlington Township Kane County Illinois. Joseph Schlick’s farm property is marked with two blue color dots in upper left hand corner of Township. His property also continued north overlapping into Hampshire Township. (Source Illinois Genweb Site link: https://kane.illinoisgenweb.org/)
The Hampshire (Illinois) Register is a major source of information on the Schlicks and their family. In a review of several decades of the newspaper I located the following obituary on Joseph Schlick and details regarding his funeral published on the front page and first column of the Hampshire (Illinois) Register for 1 May 1924.
Burlington Loses Prominent Citizen
Joseph Schlick Answers Call After Several Month’s Illness
Joseph Schlick, Sr. for more than forty-five years a citizen of this community died at his home at Burlington, Saturday morning, April 25 at six thirty o’clock following a serious illness of several months.
Joseph Schlick son of Casper and Margaret Schlick was born December 1, 1855 at Glenn Ellyn. On October 1, 1878, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Anne Armbrust at Wheaton.
On November 4, 1878 he moved to Burlington on the farm he purchased and lived there until December 10, 1906, when with his family, he moved to the residence he built in the village of Burlington.
Mr. Schlick was a man loyal in friendship, bigh hearted and liked by everyone for his sterling qualities. The community will greatly miss him.
Surviving him are his wife, three sons, Casper and Martin of West Chicago and Joseph Jr. of Burlington and four daughters, Mrs. Odelia Reiser, Mrs. William Umbdenstock, Mrs. Anthony Seyller and Mr. Miss Rosa Schlick of Burlington and twenty-three grandchildren. One sister Mrs. Mary Schneider of Elgin was unable to attend the funeral services due to illness.
Services were conducted at St. Charles Catholic Church by Rev. F. J. Brummel on Thursday morning at ten o’clock at Hampshire. Pallbearers were John Grollerman, Jos. Umbdenstock, Wm. Dumoulin, Sr., Victor Haderer, John Waughan and George Haderer. The body was laid to rest in the Catholic cemetery at that place.
The following from out of town attended the funeral: Mrs. Jos. Lehrer, Mr. Jos. Zink and Miss Marie Reith of South Kanekauna, Wisconsin, Louis Armbrust of Chicago, Mr and Mrs Frank Armbrust, Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Armbrust and son Clarence, Mr. and Mrs. Kanns, J. Armbrust, J. Kuhn, Peter, Frank, and Ed Sittler, Helen, Lucy and Marie Sittler of Wheaton; Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Stark of Cloverdale, Mr. and Mrs. John Weberpal, Mrs. Andrew Weberpal and Adam Weberpal of West Chicago: Mrs. Matt Kline, son John and daughter Tillie, Chris Armbrust and Mrs. John Holbach, and son Robert of Winfield; Mrs. Anna Endinger, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Langerstrom, Mrs. Louis Sester, Albert Davis and Geo. Conro of Elgin; Mr. and Mrs. Jos. Vogel of Gilberts, and Mr. and Mrs. J.R. Kieman and Mrs. S.H. Mateson and son Harvey of Genoa.
In part two of this post we will look at the family and children of Joseph and Mary Anne Schlick and their life in Burlington.
The Schlick (and former Daleiden) Farmstead on Mack Road in Winfield Township on Mack Road.
I can still remember as a child when I was still in elementary school in Winfield visiting my great- great Grandfather Casper Schlick’s home and farm on Mack Road.
From my recollections, to the best of my current memory, my family would visit Casper’s home at least once a month. My father had purchased our family home (27W359 Beecher in Winfield, Illinois) from Casper. My dad would each month drop off the mortgage payment check to Casper.
Casper Schlick and his Grandson Fred Schlick outside the dairy barn on the Mack Road Farm in Winfield Township DuPage County Illinois. This photo is dated late 1950s. (Photo: Frank J. and Mae C. Schlick Estate Photo Archive.).
I can still remember Grandpa Casper sitting in his bedroom in the back of the house off the old main parlor (or living room) of the farmhouse. I learned on a visit and tour of the Klein Family house on Klein Creek Farm Forest Preserve, that the back bedroom was reserved for the grandparents on a farm after they had turned over the farm to their son and or grandkids. Casper I recalled was always wearing his Sears and Roebuck bib overalls on under which was a blue denim workshirt. His head was bald with strands and whisps of gray hair grasping the air. His hands were greatly weathered and large with signs of arthritis. Hands can tell a lot about a person and what type of work they do or had done in their lifetime. Casper’s hands were worn from years of milking several dairy cows by hand for days on end twice a day in his lifetime.
The farm on Mack Road when I was a child was owned by my Mother’s Uncle John and Aunt Agnes Schlick. They had a son Fred and two daughters Pauline and Barbara. My mother would keep in touch with Agnes and the two girls via phone and or cards and letters. I liked going onto the farm to see the cows and the farm house. If one would like to get an idea of what the inside of the Schlick home looked like the closest I have come to experiencing this is to visit the Kline Creek Farm (part of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County Illinois) in Winfield Illinois.
I vividly remember that the home was very old. It was interesting from the viewpoint of a young boy visiting this farm. I remember the kitchen. This was perhaps the only room of the home that I can remember. I remember in the kitchen above the table was a long piece of tape that was sticky that was used to catch flies. The back door overlooked the barn yard and from the kitchen table one could see the barn and barn door banked entrance doors to the grain and hay storage area.
One story or memory I have that is very vivid in my memory is concerning our family dropping off kittens at the Mack Road Farm. My family had a mother tabby cat named Nipper. This mother cat from my young mind was either just gettting done having a litter of kittens or was always having a litter of kittens. My parents never had this cat fixed for some reason. One reason may have been due to the cost of the procedure. Growing up in a family of six people with four kids other needs can take a priority. On occasions we would drop off some of the kittens at Uncle John’s farm and put them in the Mack Road Dairy barn to catch mice. On one occasion one of the poor kittens had fall asleep in the cow barn under the hay in the manger to stay warm. Well, one time one of the cows laid down on the hay and also on top of the unsuspecting kitten and unfortunately the cat was smothered. I remember my mom telling me what had happened to “our kitten” and was upset. Such is the life of an innocent and naive kitten that moved from a city home to the farm.
I remember that Aunt Agnes Schlick had a hugh vegetable and flower garden near the east side of the house near the driveway. She was always growing something. I loved and can still hear her sing songy voice that would rise and fall as she spoke. My Sister Mary and Brother Robert still get a kick when I attempt to recreate or imitate her voice ( I do so of course respectfully). Agnes and Uncle John were fun people and were funny they seemed to be very easy going and enjoyed life. Uncle John and for that matter my Grandfather Frank were always joking around or joshing or teasing each other or us grandkids. I think this is where I derive my sense of humor.
Aerial view of the Casper and Susan Schlick farm circa late 1950s. (Credit: Vintage Aerial website store at https://vintageaerial.com/.)
A reminder to anyone reading this blog to remember to write down your memories and share as part of your family’s history.
This week I visited the Kane County Clerks Office and their Vital Records Department. I needed the Death Certificates for Michael Daleiden and his wife Susan (nee Kurns) Daleiden. I was curious to find out what were the circumstances of their deaths. I was also curious as to what other information the Certificates may contain. Michael is the brother of Christopher Daleiden and is the core family that first immigrated to Winfield Township in DuPage County Illinois.
Susan Kurns died in North Aurora (Aurora Township Kane County Illinois) on 6 June 1933. Her address is noted as “North Lake [street]” in North Aurora. Her Doctor J.E. Pritchard of Aurora Illinois attended to her from 1 June 1933 through 7 June 1933. She passed away at 9:00 p.m. on June 6th. She had contracted “bronchitis” on June 1st. Susan per the Death certificate recorded other “contributory causes of importance” as follows, “Cardiac weakness (myocarditis) Arterio sclerosis”. Per the Mayo Clinic health website: “Severe myocarditis weakens the heart so that the rest of the body doesn’t get enough blood. Clots can form in the heart, leading to a stroke or heart attack“.
Michael Daleiden the brother of Christopher Daleiden purchased this property and then built a home in 1913. This is the home where Susan Kurns Daleiden spent the final years of her life with her daughter Barbara. (Photo Credit: North Aurora 1834 – 1940. Wynette A. Edwards and Jim Edwards. Acadia Publishing. 2006.)
Susan’s Death Certificate also records the following information. Barbara Daleiden of Aurora Illinois was the “informant” for information recorded on the Certificate. Barbara was her daughter. Susan was buried at St. Johns Cemetery in Winfield Winfield Township DuPage County Illinois on 9 June 1933. The undertaker was “P. M. Daleiden”. There is still a Daleiden Funeral Home or Mortuary in Aurora Illinois.
Map of the Town of Ernzen in Germany
Susan’s father’s name was John Kurns. Susan was born in the town of Ernzen in Germany. The mothers maiden name and place of birth is recorded by Barbara as “unknown”. It is interesting to note that Ernzen is near Tier where a majority of the German Immigrants to Winfield Illinois originated. Susan’s occupation was “Housewife” and it is recorded that the last time she was working as a housewife was 1925. The timeframe of being a housewife is “Life“.
Susan’s race is listed as “white” and she is a “widow” as her husband Michael had passed away in 15 February 1916. He age at time of death is 92 years, 3 months and 25 days old. Her date of birth was 11 February 1841.
Barbara Daleiden the daughter of Susan (Kurns) Daleiden and Michael Daleiden. Barbara is holding the hands of a young neighbor Doris Frieders while they stand in the water of the Fox River in North Aurora Illinois. Barbara would marry Frank Kones. Frank and Barbara lived on the east side of Lake Street (Lincolnway) near the now former site of the North Aurora School. Frank was a border in the home of Susan and Barbara in 1930 prior to their marriage. This photo was taken in 1926. Barbara lived with her mother and is listed on the Death Certificate. (Photo Credit: North Aurora 1834 – 1940. Wynette A. Edwards and Jim Edwards. Acadia Publishing. 2006.)
Michael Daleiden. I went to the Aurora Public Library Santori Main Library in downtown Aurora Illinois via an email inquiry with their Local History Librarian. They emailed to me two scanned death notices and information on what happened to Michael Daleiden. An Obituary had been published on page 5 of the Aurora (Illinois) Beacon News for 15 February 1916:
Michael Daleiden
Michael Daleiden aged 81 years, died today at 1:30 o’clock at his home in North Aurora. He is survived by his wife, Susie, whi is 75 years old, two sons Mathew of Montana and John of St. Charles, and a daughter, Barbara, at home, and two grandchildren.
The decedant was born in Germany and came to this country in 1866, settling in Winfield.
The Aurora Beacon News for 16 February 1916 provided this account as a funeral notice the following day:
Michael Daleiden Funeral
The funeral of Michael Daleiden will be held tomorrow morning, the cortege leaving the North Aurora home on the 7:30 a.m. North-Western train [nearest depot was in Geneva Illinois]. Services will be held at 8 o’clock in the Catholic church in Winfield. Interment will be at Winfield [St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Cemetery Gary’s Mill and Summit Avenue in Winfield Winfield Township DuPage County Ilinois].
Michael’s Death Certificate provides the following information. His race is “white” and he is “married”. The birthdate is reported as “10 April”, but the year is not fully written or recorded. there is a “1” and then what appears to be the start of the number “8” only the top part of the loop for an 8 is recorded, but no second digit for the birth year. Someone must have gotten distracted? See the photo of the headstone. We will assume the year of birth as 1835. Note the birth date discepancy as being 8 April and not 10 of April 1935 per Death Certificate. Not unusual for this to happen when data is recorded. One thing I notice is that Michael’s headstone is not as elaborate then that of his brother Christopher Daleiden.
Christopher Daleiden’s (Michael brother) grave headstone. This headstone appears more elaborately decorative and made of a better material than his brothers. Michaels is made of what appears to be limestone? Christophers is a polished granite headstone.Location is in St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Cemetery in Winfield, Winfield Township, DuPage County Illinois.
Other information as recorded on Michael’s Death Certificate includes the following. Place of burial is listed as Winfield. Date of burial is 7 [?17th?] February 1916. The Undertake is “P. Daleiden” of Aurora Illinois. Death was recorded on 16 February 1916 per G.B. Schwachgen, M.D. The attending physician was a “J.E. Pritchard”. Pritchard attended to Michael from February 1, 1916 to February 15, 1916. Dr. last saw Michael alive on 14 February 1916. The death occurred at 1:30 p.m. The “CAUSE OF DEATH” was recorded as “Old Age mitral regurgitation (heart)”. This condition was recorded as being “1 month” on the Cerificate. Pritchard signed the Certificate on 17 February 1916 and his telephone numbere in Aurora was 1261 R.
Michael’s birthplace is listed simply as “Germany“. His father’s name is listed as “Mathias Dalieden” and Mathias’ birthplace is listed as Germany and no specific city in Germany is named on the Certificate. The Find A Grave entry on line has the following town in Germany listed: “Ralingen, Landkreis Trier-Saarburg, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany”. The location of the town where he originate from is the same area where a majority of the German immigrants to Winfield came from to America. Michaels age at the time of his death is “80 years, 10 months and 7 days”.
From this post one can conclude that Death Certificates can be a great source of information for genealogists and family historians. They can provide confirmation of facts about the deceased decendent. I can also conclude that much incorrect information may also be recorded on the Certificate that must be corroborated with other primary sources of information.
I just received this book yesterday in the mail. It offers a great overview of German immigration to America and in particular during the nineteenth century when the Schlicks and Daleidens immigrated to the country. I will post my reading notes and add to this blog in the future about new things I learned in reading this book.
Here is what the publisher says about this books:
“This book offers a fresh look at the Germans—the largest and perhaps the most diverse foreign-language group in 19th century America. Drawing upon the latest findings from both sides of the Atlantic, emphasizing history from the bottom up and drawing heavily upon examples from immigrant letters, this work presents a number of surprising new insights. Particular attention is given to the German-American institutional network, which because of the size and diversity of the immigrant group was especially strong. Not just parochial schools, but public elementary schools in dozens of cities offered instruction in the mother tongue. Only after 1900 was there a slow transition to the English language in most German churches. Still, the anti-German hysteria of World War I brought not so much a sudden end to cultural preservation as an acceleration of a decline that had already begun beforehand. It is from this point on that the largest American ethnic group also became the least visible, but especially in rural enclaves, traces of the German culture and language persisted to the end of the twentieth century.” (Source: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers website.)
Schlick Daleiden Family DuPage/Kane Co. Blog 