MY BIG FIND AT THE FHL- Part 2 ~ What else was I able to turn up once I had John Doller’s original name?

John & Bertha - about 1935

If you read my blog yesterday, then you know that I made a pretty huge find (with help from library staff), while I was attending Rootstech.  You can read about it here WHAT A FIND - John Doller's real name was Johann Tolarowski - my husband's great grandfather.

In the 15+ years I’ve been researching mine and my husband’s family, I was never able to find some of the records I wanted to for John Doller and his wife, Bertha Keller. 

Now I know why!
If you enter John Doller in the search criteria on a website, you aren’t likely to come up with hits for Johann Tolarowski.
 
Once I learned John’s birth name, in German records, I was able to locate more information.

The first thing I found was his German passenger record.  He traveled from Germany to the U.S. with his wife, Bertha, son, Erwin and infant daughter, Ida.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)
 

They traveled on the ship Columbia from Hamburg, leaving on 3 Jul 1890.
 
Here’s the index for this record.  His occupation, Maurer, means Mason.  Family lore says that one child died on the ship.  We know it wasn’t Erwin, so it had to be little Ida.  More on that in a minute.

Name:	John Talarowski
Gender:	männlich (Male)
Departure Age:	32
Occupation:	Maurer
Birth Date:	abt 1858
Residence:	Dahlwin, Westpreußen
Departure Date:	3 Jul 1890
Port of Departure:	Hamburg
Port of Arrival:	New York (New York City (All Boroughs))
Ship Name:	Columbia
Captain:	Vogelgesang
Shipping Clerk:	Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft
Shipping line:	Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft
Ship Type:	Dampfschiff
Ship Flag:	Deutschland
Accommodation:	Zwischendeck
Volume:	373-7 I, VIII A 1 Band 068 A
Household Members:	Name Age John Talarowski 32 Bertha Talarowski 26 Erwin Talarowski 4 Ida Talarowski 8 Monate

The New York Passenger record I located has the family arriving in New York harbor on 11 Jul 1890.  There is an entry in the column title “Date and Cause of Death” across from Ida’s name.  What do the numbers 12-18 mean?



I have searched every way I can think of for information on the numbers 12-18 in the date/cause of death column for Ida.  There are ICD codes for causes of death on many death certificates, but 12-18 isn’t one of those codes.  I tried looking at the beginning of the microfilm series for any indication of what the numbers in that column could mean.  No luck.  I welcome any input from others who may have an answer.  Were they able to take baby Ida off the ship?  Is there a death record for her in the U.S.? Is she buried in New York?
 

 The next record I located for this family was the 1892 New York state census.  On 16 Feb 1892, the Talurowski family is enumerated in the second district, Buffalo, Erie, New York.  This was the first U.S. record I located with the family still using the name Talurowski.  This is 19 months after their arrival and Ida is not named with them.  Further indication of her death.

John Talurowski, male, age 33, born in Germany, alien, working as a Mason, Bertha Talurowski, female, age 26, born in Germany, alien, Erwin Talurowski, male, age 6, born in Germany, alien.



We can see that John had not yet applied for citizenship, nor was he using the surname, Doller.  According to the 1920 census, he was naturalized in 1902.  I had searched naturalization record listings at the FHL, but they did not have 1902.  I would really like to find this record.

I’ve mentioned time and time again, on this blog and in classes I’ve taught, that social media can be one of our greatest resources for genealogy.  Especially Facebook groups.  I belong to many of them, not only in the U.S., but for other countries as well.  I wrote a blog post about this subject back in 2014 and it still holds true today FACEBOOK – HOW IT CAN BE VERY USEFUL IN YOUR RESEARCH

I decided to ask for assistance on the Western New York Genealogical Society group, to which I’ve belonged for some time. I thought perhaps someone in the group would have some tips specifically related to obtaining naturalization records from the Buffalo area.
 
Here is my query: Posted on 10 Mar 2018 at 10:37 a.m.

ADVICE needed.
Hello everyone. I wonder if you could tell me if anyone has experience in retrieving naturalization records? I have been looking for years for the papers for a particular person in the Buffalo area. A HUGE find at the FHL was that the last name was not Doller, but Tolarowski. It would appear that he arrived and kept the name Tolarowski for a few years. I believe he may have changed it when he was naturalized. Which gives me even more reason to want the record. From census records he was naturalized in 1902. The family lived in Buffalo from 1890 until his death in 1935.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

Within minutes I began receiving responses.  I continued to check back as I wrote yesterday’s blog post.  About an hour after I first posted, I checked back only to find that one of the members had located the information I needed on Family Search.  I, of course, know about and use Family Search daily, but hadn’t had a chance to look through their records since learning of John Doller’s German name.  Not only did the member, Kasia, tell me that the record was on Family Search, she posted images of the various records she found.



Now that I have this information I should be able to request his naturalization papers.  I’ve got a volume number and a page number.  I’m doing my genie dance again!
 
After the loss of two young daughters and one son, John and Bertha did go on to have one more daughter, Freada Emma Meta Doller (my husband’s grandmother), born in Buffalo, Erie, New York on 24 Aug 1895.  Freada married Heinrich “Henry” August Fink and they had four children.  She died at the age of 85 in San Diego, California.  Her older brother, Erwin went on to marry Lena Boskat and they had 6 sons.  Erwin lived to the age of 77 and died in Buffalo, New York.

John and Bertha continued living in Buffalo until their deaths.  John died 15 Dec 1935 and is buried in Buffalo Cemetery, Cheektowaga, Erie, New York.  You may visit his memorial here #80147013 and Bertha died 6 Oct 1950 and is buried in the same cemetery #80147168.

This has been a great story to write and I hope to learn more if and when I locate John’s naturalization papers.

Please contact me if you are related to this family, I’d love to hear from you.
 
To read more about the Doller family please see the following blog posts.  There are several more photos included in these posts.

ANALYZING EVIDENCE - JOHN DOLLER & BERTHA KELLER–WHO WERE THEY?

SEPIA SATURDAY ~ The Doller Family of Buffalo, New York, early 1900’s

AMANUENSIS MONDAY – BIRTH RECORDS - WHAT INFORMATION DO THEY REVEAL?

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

WHAT A FIND ~ JOHN DOLLER’S REAL NAME WAS JOHANN TOLAROWSKI–My husband’s great grandfather

During my trip to Rootstech this year, I allowed a few days for research at the Family History Library (FHL).  Read about my preparation for my trip and all the fun I had in these two posts:

Rootstech Preparation - My First Time Attending and Rootstech is Over but We Had Fun

If you’ve been to the FHL you know that not every day will be a bonanza of finds (although we’d like that to be the case).  I’ve been fortunate to have been there 3 times now and my luck has varied from day to day. 

On Saturday afternoon, my friend Pam and I had done all we could at the Rootstech conference and decided to spend the last couple of hours of the day at the FHL.  We were on the 3rd floor (books) and I wasn’t having much luck with my ancestors, so, on a whim, I decided to go down to one of the International floors of the building.  I’d had some good luck with German records on a visit in 2015.  Why not try again?  So down to B1 I went.

I asked one of the volunteers if there was anyone available to help with German records.  I was directed to Elder Kirk. 

My question – Is it possible, with very little information to find any records for John Doller and his wife Bertha Keller?  These are my husband’s great grandparents.  I knew they’d immigrated from Germany to New York about 1890. 

Here’s what I had: 

John Doller born 25 Dec 1859 possibly in Dansig, Germany, immigrated about 1890, died 15 Dec 1935 in Buffalo, Erie, New York.  He married about 1884 in Germany, Bertha Keller, born 28 Jun 1865 in Berlin, Germany, died 6 Oct 1950 in Buffalo, Erie, New York.  I had 3 unknown children born to this couple, based on how many children were listed for Bertha in the 1900 census.  I had two known children, Irven/Erwin born 1885 in Germany and Freada born 1895 in New York.  Not much to go on.  I had no idea if the locations in Germany were correct or not.

Elder Kirk first asks if I knew the religion of this couple.  Were they Catholic or Protestant?  I said I didn’t think they were Catholic (based on the church attendance of descendants).  He begins pulling up sites on the internet that I had no knowledge existed.  My experience in German research is very limited.  Elder Kirk first tells me that the name Doller probably was the Americanized version of the surname.  We weren’t having any luck with John’s name so we switched to Bertha Keller, which Elder Kirk thought was a name that would not have changed. 

NOTE:  It was 4:30 and the FHL closes at 5 on Saturday.  We kept hearing the announcement over the loud speaker “the library will close in 30 minutes, the library will close in 15 minutes.”  So, both Elder Kirk and I knew our time was short and that on Sunday, the next day, the library is closed.

He told me that the area called Danzig was Eastern Pomerania formerly part of West Prussia and located along the Baltic Sea.  Here is a link to more about the area The Polish Corridor.  And here is a map.

Now Elder Kirk took me to the PTG Pomorskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne (Pomeranian Genealogical Association) website.  Searching this site for Bertha Keller LOOK WHAT CAME UP!!!!

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

Remember those 3 unknown children that I said I had for Bertha Keller?  They would have been born between 1884 and their 1890 departure to America.  Their names were listed as Unknown 1,2 & 3 in my Legacy database.  Here they are!  Elder Kirk said that Tallarowski would easily have been John/Johann’s actual surname.  That when pronounced the first part of the name is very similar to Doller. 

The children are:

Laura Ida born in 1886 in Sobowidz

Otto Johannes born in 1888 in Sobowidz

Ida Bertha born in 1889 in Sobowidz

Next we went to another website that told us about Sobowidz/Sobbowitz.  Here’s the screenshot I took of that.  I only brought my iPad down to level B1 when I went so I was happy to be able to photograph these websites.

Time was running short for us so Elder Kirk pulled up the list of microfilms for the parish records, in hope we could locate both the births/baptisms of the children and the marriage of Johann and Bertha.

TAUFEN is a German word for Baptism and HEIRATEN is a German word for Marriage. We were off to pull film numbers 245765 and 245767. Wish us luck, the clock was ticking and the library would soon be closing.  Elder Kirk was so kind.  He said, you take one film and I’ll take the other.  We set up the film on adjoining microfilm readers and off we went.

It didn’t take long.  He had the film with the baptisms and was able to quickly locate records for all 3 children, Laura, Otto and Ida.  I had the marriage film and with some help from Elder Kirk we located the marriage record for Johann and Bertha.  THESE WERE SUCH HUGE FINDS!  The records were all in German.  I asked Elder Kirk what a particular word was, listed on the marriage record and low and behold, it translated to Mason.  If I wasn’t certain before this, that was the point where I wanted to hug Elder Kirk.  John Doller had been a Mason in every record I found for him in the US records. 

With 5 minutes to go until the library closed, I had to take pictures of the microfilm finds as quickly as I could.  I would normally have taken a picture of the beginning of the film, the number etc.  But, I can always do that on my next trip.

Here’s an image of the marriage record for Johann Tolarowski (spelled many different ways in various records) and Bertha Keller on 7 Sep 1884.

The baptism and death record for Laura Ida.

The baptism and death record for Otto Johannes.

The baptism Ida Bertha.  There is no death date because she died either on the ship or in New York.

This is what I like to see on an Family View in Legacy.  Filled in information.  At this point we are missing or only have partial names of Johann and Bertha’s parents, but I’m hoping I can locate them.

The discovery of John’s German name has lead to me finding more information about this family.  I need to stop writing before this gets too much longer.  Don’t stay away, more on this story coming very soon.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

CHURCH RECORD SUNDAY ~ The confirmation of Elwood, Dorothy & Delphine Fink–1926 & 1933 in Buffalo, Yew York

Front of confirmation program - Elwood Fink & Dorothy B. Fink

Church confirmations.  We don’t hear as much about this subject today as we did when I was young.  Of course it depends on the denomination or religious group your family was associated with.  Different groups, different traditions.

The confirmation record I have featured today is for my husband’s mother, Dorothy B. Fink and her oldest brother, Elwood “Al” Fink.  The two names were already circled when we located this record among Dorothy's belongings, after her death. 

The two siblings, who were one year apart in age, Al being the oldest, were confirmed on 28 March 1926.  That would have made them 13 and 12 at the time of their confirmation.  The confirmation program states that Rev. Paul Langhorst was the Pastor of the church.

I have a lovely picture Al & Dorothy on the day of their confirmation.

 

I don’t have any record of the confirmation of the two younger Fink siblings, Willard & Delphine.  I should ask cousins Tammy or Tracy if they have those records.

UPDATE - After I had already finished this post, I did hear from cousins Tracy and Tammy.  Tracy was able to provide the confirmation program and certificate for Dorothy & Al's little sister, Delphine "Honey" Fink.  She was confirmed at the same church, by the same Pastor on Palm Sunday, 9 Apr 1933. 

Of note: There are two other family names on the list of children being confirmed on the same day as Delphine.  Elmer Ernst & Robert Henry Doller.  These boys were 1st cousins to Al, Dorothy & Delphine.

Here is the program front & list of names

And, here is the certificate for Delphine

I do know that Uncle Al, whom I met in his later years, was a Christian man, who followed his faith.  Dorothy and her husband, Gordon, joined a Methodist church in San Diego in 1956.  I have Dorothy’s Bible here at our house.  Delphine's Bible resides with her family.

 

A little bit about Rev. Paul H. Langhorst.  He was born 27 Jul 1881 in Ohio.  His parents are both stated to be born in Germany (several census records give that place).  According to his World War I draft registration card he was tall, with a slender build, brown hair and eyes.  He married a woman named Emma before 1910 and they had several children.  He was President of the New York District of the Evangelical Synod of North America.  He was installed as the Pastor of the Bethlehem United Evangelical Church in Buffalo, New York on 22 Jun 1925.  He died, according to a death notice published in The Newark Advocate, on 22 Feb 1945.

• Do you have church records for your ancestors?  What do they tell you about their lives? 
• I wonder, did the whole Fink family go to church every Sunday? 
• As members of a church, would their be baptismal records available for all of the Fink children?  I need to follow up on this.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

CHURCH RECORDS - How they can help you with your research

Treasure Chest Thursday - The 1748 church record for the marriage of Jeremiah Hall & Elizabeth Bailey

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SEPIA SATURDAY ~ The Doller Family of Buffalo, New York, early 1900’s

I’ve always loved this photo that was found among my mother-in-law, Dorothy’s many pictures.  According to a piece of paper attached to the back of the photo this is Dorothy Fink’s Uncle, mother and grandmother and two unidentified men.

Here is the actual note from the back of the photo.  I believe (cousin Tammy, correct me if I’m wrong), this is Dorothy’s writing.  I don’t think the writing belongs to Dorothy’s sister, Delphine.

In this photo, left to right are: Irven Dollar, Sr., Bertha Keller Dollar, Freada Doller Fink and two unknowns

Irven J. Doller, Sr. born 2 Sep 1885 in Germany, died 22 Jan 1963 in Buffalo, Erie, New York.  Married Lena M. Boskat and had 6 sons, four of whom served in World War II. 

Bertha A. Keller, born 28 Jun 1865 in Berlin, Germany, died 6 Oct 1950 in Buffalo, Erie, New York.  Married John Doller about 1884 in Germany.  It’s believed the couple had four children born in Germany, but only Irven survived. Their daughter, Freada was born in Buffalo.

Freada Emma Meta Doller, born 24 Aug 1895 in Buffalo, Erie, New York, died 1 Mar 1981 in San Diego, San Diego Co., California.  She married Heinrich “Henry” August Fink  8 Oct 1911 in Fort Erie, Welland, Ontario, Canada.  They had two sons and two daughters.

The note says that this photo was taken in a bar on Genesee St., owned by “my grandparents.”  That would mean the bar was owned by John Doller and his wife, Bertha.  I’ve checked city directories to try and locate this bar and have not yet had any luck.  The directories I do find coincide with other records I have for John Doller, listing his occupation as Mason, or Stonemason. 

I do find references to John Doller and his wife living at 1728 Genesee Street in Buffalo in the 1920 federal census, the 1923 Buffalo city directory, 1925 New York state census, 1930 census and the 1933 Buffalo city directory. 

Here’s the photo in black & white, perhaps it’s more clear?

If you can provide any additional information about this photo, the bar on Genesee or the identification of the two unknown men, please contact me.

I’ve written other posts about the Doller family and you may access them with these links:

Analyzing Evidence - John Doller & Bertha Keller - Who Were They?

Amaneunsis Monday - Birth Records featuring Mita Freda Doller

Sunday's Obituary - Irven J. Doller, Sr. 1885-1963

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017 Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FRIDAY FINDS ~ Baptismal record for Heinrich August Fink–1893–Buffalo, New York

Heinrich August Fink is my husband’s maternal grandfather.  He was known throughout his life as Henry August Fink.

This discovery came today when I did a search on Ancestry, from my tree, for Henry August Fink.  This is something I do on a regular basis.  I’ve made lots of great finds this way and today was no exception.

I discovered the record collection U.S. Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940.  This collection is new to me and I wonder if I’ll find other records contained in it?

What I found was this indexed record:

Name:    Heinrich August Fink
Event Type:    Baptism
Birth Date:    14 Jan 1893
Baptism Date:    24 Jun 1893
Baptism Place:    Buffalo, New York
Father:    Geo Fink
Mother:    Barbara Ludwig
Church Name:    Grace
Church Location: Buffalo, New York

I did a little genealogy happy dance and then proceeded to download the image, save it to my computer and then source & enter it into Legacy.

I had already located, some time ago, a birth record for “Baby Fink” born 14 Jan 1893 to George & Barbara Fink.  I was fairly certain this was our Henry, but not 100% sure.



If you look at the baptismal record you will see that the birth date is exactly the same, 14 Jan 1893, as that of the Baby Fink birth record.  The parents must have waited until the baptism to name the baby.  The baptism took place 6 months later.

Here is a close up of the entry on the baptismal record



Combining the birth record, baptismal record and death certificate (which lists Henry’s birthdate), I have the 3 records I always like to have to conclude that the date is correct.

Heinrich “Henry” August Fink was born in Buffalo, Erie, New York to George August Fink and Barbara Ludwig.  He grew up in Buffalo and I have him enumerated in the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 census records. Note to me:  find him in the 1940 census.

On 8 Oct 1911 Henry married Freada Emma Meta Doller in Fort Erie, Welland, Ontario, Canada.  To this couple were born two sons and two daughters: Elwood Reynolds (1912-1997), Dorothy Beatrice (1913-1993), Willard Henry A. (1916-2008 and Delphine Irene “Honey” (1919-2011.

Here are the four Fink siblings in 1936. 

Willard & Elwood are standing in the back and Dorothy and Delphine are kneeling

I had the pleasure of knowing all four of those children, as adults.  They were my husband’s mother and her siblings.
 
In 1935, Henry moved his wife and children to San Diego, California.  They all went to work at General Dynamics/Consolidated Aircraft, becoming the largest family group to work there.  An article was written in the San Diego Union about this family group.  A photo was included in the newspaper article.  I don’t have the article, but I do have the photo (below).

Left to right are: Floyd “Ted” Brown (first husband of Dorothy Fink), George Brown (brother of Floyd), Willard A. Fink, Elwood R. Fink, Dorothy Fink Brown, Delphine Fink Long and Henry Fink.



Henry Fink died on January 17, 1954, at the age of 61.  He left a loving family to grieve his loss.
 
Henry is buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery in San Diego, California.  You may visit his memorial on findagrave #31820256.  (The FindAGrave website is down right now and I cannot create a link to his memorial).

If you think you might be related to anyone mentioned in this blog post, please contact me.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

SURNAME SATURDAY – FINK

VITAL RECORDS - How to Request Them and Keep Track of Those Requests

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SUNDAY’S OBITUARY–Irven J. Doller, Sr. 1885-1963

Irven Doller, Sr. was born in Germany on 21 Sep 1885 to parents John Doller and Bertha Keller.  He and his parents immigrated to the United States sometime around 1890.  I’m still looking for the records to verify the date.  All I have at this point are the census records stating when they arrived.  His younger sister, Freada Meta Doller was born 24 Aug 1895 in Buffalo, Erie, New York.

Irven’s father, John was a bricklayer/mason and Irven also worked in that field.  Irven married Magdalena “Lena” BOSKAT.  I have not located the marriage record for them.  
They had 6 sons beginning in 1916.  One of the sons, Reynold died in infancy. 

Irven lived his entire life in Buffalo, New York.  Four of his sons, Irven Jr., Elmer, Robert and Henry all served in World War II.

Irven died on 20 Jan 1963, survived by his wife, several sons and a loving family.  He is buried at Acacia Park Cemetery, North Tonawanda, Niagara, New York.  His memorial on FindAGrave can be found here #149436143.

PLEASE contact me if you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

ANALYZING EVIDENCE - John Doller & Bertha Keller - Who Were They?

SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - Grace Hunter Fenner Jenkins

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

CHURCH RECORD SUNDAY–Dorothy Fink Baptismal Record

Dorothy with her older brother Al

Dorothy circa 1954

 

Dorothy Beatrice Fink, born 7 Nov 1913 in Buffalo, Erie, New York

Baptized on 17 May 1914 

Daughter of Henry August Fink & Freada E. Doller

Married Gordon Charles Hall on 22 Aug 1948, San Diego, San Diego Co., California

Mother of one son, still living

Died 6 Oct 1993, San Diego, San Diego Co., California

Yesterday as I was going through a metal box that had belonged to my husband's mother, I found a treasure that was folded up at the bottom.  You just never know what you will find and I certainly didn't expect this to be at the bottom of the box with old bank records and deeds.  

Here's the box.  One more note.  If you'll notice the name of the baking company from Buffalo - it's HALL Baking Company.  Funny, because after Dorothy moved to San Diego she married Gordon Hall.

An old metal box with many treasures

And what was the treasure I found?

Dorothy's baptismal certificate from May 1914

I just love finding items like this.  I’m going to frame this one and hang it in my office with other special documents.

Happy hunting and I hope you too find lots of precious keepsakes,

Michigan Girl

Copyright © 2014 Diane Gould Hall

ANALYZING EVIDENCE - JOHN DOLLER & BERTHA KELLER–WHO WERE THEY?

Bertha & John Doller - 1935, Buffalo, New York

Today I want to write about my husband’s side of the family.  I know quite a bit about the Hall side (his paternal side).  However, on his maternal side, there is less information.  Maybe it’s because the Hall side can be traced back to 1668 in Massachusetts. And, this particular line on his mother’s side only goes back to the late 1800’s when they immigrated from Germany.  I don’t know.  But, I do know that I’d like to learn more about this part of the family.   

My husband’s mother, Dorothy Beatrice Fink and her siblings were all born in Erie County, New York.  Three of them in Buffalo and one in Ebenezer.  

Going back one more generation are Dorothy Fink’s parents Henry August Fink & Freada Emma Meta Doller, both born in Buffalo, Erie, New York.

Let’s concentrate on Freada’s parents.  They are John Doller & Bertha A. Keller.  They are my husband’s great grandparents on his mother’s side.

Bertha Keller Doller with her nieces & nephews and her daughter, Freada (standing far right)

Here is the family view for John & Bertha, from my Legacy database. 


You can clearly see that I have information on them, but nothing on their parents and two children that are unknown.  

What type of sources do I have for this couple?

Here is what I have for Bertha Keller Doller and I can tell you that I have the same sources for John Doller.



1.  How do I rate these sources?  Not very well.
2.  Am I confident in the information?  Sort of.
3.  Do I need more?  Absolutely!

Census records can certainly be wonderful sources for information.  If you get information that matches up (or closely matches) from census to census, then you have a fair idea that the information is correct or close to correct.  HOWEVER, the data on the census is only as good as the person who gave it to the enumerator and only as good as what the enumerator wrote.  Since we don’t know who in the household (or even if someone in the household) gave the information to the enumerator, we have to be cautious.  I consider census data to be a lead for me to gather real evidence of events, such as births, marriages, divorces, deaths etc.

Let’s look at the other source for this couple – “Info taken from hand written document written by Delphine Fink Long.”  While I know it may not be standard practice for citing a Master Source, it’s a method I use when I have something like a handwritten document that gives me names & dates.  At least that way I am noting/sourcing where my information came from, until I can get verifying data.  By the way, Delphine Fink Long is the granddaughter of John & Bertha.

And lastly for the marriage of John Doller & Bertha Keller, I have noted that it is a “guess based on the age of first child and date of immigration to the U.S.”  Again, it’s not a “real” source, but tells me where the information came from and gives me a starting point.  And, now that I am re reading that statement.  I don't really know if Irven Doller, Sr., was a first child or not, since so many of the children died. 

DO I HAVE A LOT MORE RESEARCH WORK TO DO ON THIS COUPLE.  YES!!

Here is a list of the documents I need for this couple.

• Birth records from Germany, possibly from a church parish or government record.
• Immigration records.  How about a passenger record?  I haven’t found one yet, but I’m still looking.  The 1900 census gives an immigration date of 1890 and lists John Doller as “na” meaning naturalized.  Naturalization papers can give parents names, exact places of birth and many other vital facts.  FYI – I have never obtained a naturalization record for any of my ancestors.  Do I want to?  Yes.
• Marriage record.   This couple probably married in Germany, since their son, Irven Doller, Sr. was born there in 1885.  I don’t know where and when the other children were born, except for Freada, who was born in Buffalo, New York.
• Death certificates.  New York is not known for having very many online records and has pretty much been a black hole for me on many ancestors.  However, I have just recently read about thousands more New York records coming online.  I am anxious for that.  The only other way I can obtain records is by getting microfilm from the FHL (Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah) and having it sent to our local FHC (Family History Center), or checking with our local center to see if they might already have the films on file.

Here are the burial records I obtained from the cemetery and pictures of John & Bertha’s headstone.  

Headstone for John & Bertha Doller - courtesy of Sandra Hudson

Burial cards for John & Bertha Doller - courtesy of Buffalo Cemetery, Cheektowaga, Erie, New York

What have I learned today from reviewing this couple?

I always like to ask myself that question.  Here is what I’ve learned today in just a very quick review of this couple, my husband’s great grandparents.

• That I need to go back to sites I have searched before, such as Ancestry.com or Family Search and see if new records have come online.
• That I should go to the FHL catalog and find out which microfilms contain the naturalization and/or death records I need.  Once I know the numbers, I can call or visit our local family history center.
• That in reviewing the 1900 census I had missed the notation that Bertha was the mother of 6 children, and only 2 were living when the census was taken.  If you look at the family view of this couple, I only have 5 children for them. 
• Look again for passenger records for this couple.  I’ll use Ancestry.com and Steve Morse’s site.  His site is a combination of several sites for passenger records.
• Look into obtaining naturalization records for John Doller.  Was Bertha also naturalized?  For this I’ll need to go to the National Archives & Records Administration site (NARA).  I’ll also check with the FHL catalog to see what they have.

I’m sure there are more things to do, and things I’ve missed. I will continue to review once I publish this post.

TIP:  Going over your information for either a couple or just one person, can certainly shed new light on where you are in your research.  It can give you new ideas and take you in directions you may have missed when you last visited.  Making a list of what you need to do is also a useful tool.

ATTENTION ANY DOLLER, KELLER OR FINK DESCENDANTS –  If you read this post and would like to share/exchange with me, I am greatly interested.  

Happy hunting and wish me luck,

Michigan girl,

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall