Researching German-Americans in Milwaukee? You'll have to create the resources yourself ...

15 years ago I made a rare find in the German papers for a relative: an authentic, but unlikely obituary for a poor, old, insignificant German immigrant named Agnes Schumacher (née Hamacher). She died in the County Asylum in 1884, and is officially recorded as buried there.

Agnes' step-son, Peter Schumacher, claimed her remains, and took steps to have an obituary published by the Seebote. She was buried from St. Anthony Catholic Church, at Holy Trinity Cemetery, recorded in the parish register, but where? Burial records were destroyed in a fire in 1909.

Last winter, I flipped over a toppled marker in Section 1 at Holy Trinity Cemetery & experienced a thrill: here was my step-3rd-great-grandmother Agnes! She was not buried with family in her daughter's Esser family plot in Block 3 as I had presumed, but buried in the St. Anthony parish section of single adult graves: it's called "Section 1", just east of the entirely separate Block 1.

Sadly, this is how we have to research Milwaukee's "working class" families. Need a resource? You might have to create it yourself. I wouldn't have known anything about Agnes without randomly browsing the German papers, then creating a huge index to help others.

I've done that twice for Milwaukee: first with the German-American papers. After collecting secondary resources for 20 years, I've used the data as an imperfect substitute for burial records lost by this cemetery. Most are now found as online Memorials at Find-a-Grave, where I've been blocked from creating or editing my work.

A family's Memorial for Anna Heinl

 

Two Milwaukee death notices for Anna Heinl: one from a German language paper and the other from one an English language daily. It's reminiscent of Catholic funeral card Memorials.

There was no separate obituary in either paper.

The information is similar, but not identical. One is clearly a family memorial to a loved one, published by the family. The other is a helpful, but perfunctory piece of information about funeral arrangements, and adequate for the data collectors.

Family memorials to WWI soldier Private Eugene Griepentrog, 1918-1930

Pvt. Eugene Griepentrog died in the WWI conflict in France on 28 May 1918. His friend Pvt. August Beckmann, and another Milwaukeean, Herbert Schmidt, also died that week. They were members of Co. K of the 28th Infantry Regiment. I also learned in this research that Eugene was also a surviving twin.

The local German-American papers published articles and photos in 1918, but the Griepentrog family published a memorial on the anniversary of Eugene's death in 1919 and 1920. When his remains were brought back to Milwaukee for reburial in 1921 his parents published death notices and a public thanks, and then a memorial for him every year after that until 1930.

Niemand zum Leid, Gerechtigkeit für Alle. (© The Inter-Racial Council)

The USA failed miserably & elected a weak and malicious bully to placate seditious evangelicals. Will the next election years produce intelligent voting for the public good? or will it be ignorant voting for selfish interests. US Secular Democracy hangs in the balance.

This was the quandary for US citizens in the 1920s when this was published in Milwaukee's remaining daily German language newspaper by The Inter-Racial Council©.

Milwaukee's English or German language clippings? it's your choice.

Mrs. Catherine Dorothy Zach's death notice found in the Milwaukee Journal has been digitized into TOTAL illegibility, but legible on library microfilm. The notice provides information about the arrangements, but only makes limited mention of the family: her daughters are identified by their husbands' names.

The German language death notice is not only more comprehensive, but progressive too. It sets the scene for us: during her long illness she was provided with the Last Rights. It includes Mrs. Zach's maiden name (Golner); provides her daughters' given names separately from their husbands' names; names her daughter-in-law; and even references Mrs. Zach's siblings. It's a research and German-American cultural gem!

This is the family's paid death notice for Mrs. Zach; there was no separate obituary article written by the newspaper.

This difference between competing papers isn't always the case but it needs be understood by the family researcher looking through Milwaukee's German, English, or Polish language newspapers.

Mysterious bones found in 2024 explained by the "Milwaukee Herold" in April 1887 ...

"Where the Prospect and Maryland Avenues meet in Ward 1, a new school building under the direction of Contractor Danischefski is being built. It is not a flat surface, but a large, grassy place in which an infinite number of depressions can be seen; namely graves, which were once raised above the surface, but now have sunk down.
The site was used for more than twenty years as a burial ground, and funerals were held there in 1863. Twenty-five years ago, it was covered with gravestones and monuments.
Although a sanctified place, it was always neglected, as most of the bodies entrusted to the earth were those of "paupers"* and dying homeless, upon whom the tears of a loving mother had earlier fallen." [*The cemetery served the 2 orphanages across the street.]

Joseph Schlitz' farewell: a poignant moment in the brewer's story.

Farewell. A heartfelt farewell to my friends and acquaintances whom I did not have the opportunity to see before my trip to Germany.
Jos. Schlitz

When Joseph Schlitz notified the community that he was traveling to Germany in spring 1875, he didn't know it would be his last trip. These public announcements were an occasional practice in Milwaukee's German papers, and indexed in this project.

His Lebewohl (literally, Live Well!) is one of the more poignant items I've indexed; even more so than the tributes that followed from his, and other Milwaukeeans', tragic loss during their return voyage, 7 May 1875.