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Trying To Find Parents of Mary Kurtz

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  • Trying To Find Parents of Mary Kurtz

    Hello everybody I'm trying to find the parents of Mary Kurtz. Thanks in advance for reading the post. I have lots of information regarding Mary. I have an idea on some potential siblings for Mary. Mary was born in 1798 in Pennsylvania. She did marry three different times and moved around a bit. Mary died on May 16 1870 in Knox, Indiana, United States. Mary Kurtz first married Heman Barrows in 1811. Heman and Mary had a child named Herman Battese Barrows, who was born on July 25 1823 and died on March 31 1889. Heman Sr. was born in 1788 in Massachusetts. and died in 1828. Heman and Mary lived in Edwards, Illinois in 1820 and 1825.

    Here is the FS profile for Mary https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pe...tails/MT68-743. I have had help with this brick wall before. The familysearch profiles have the sources and documents for these people. There is a biography for Mary's son Heman. Image 413/915 has the biography. The biography mentions Mary was attending a boarding school, where girls were supposed to have very delicate appetites. Which she escaped from in 1811 and married Heman Barrows.



    After Heman's death Mary married a man named John Brown who died before 1838. She married John on May 1st 1830 in Gallatin, Illinois, United States. She had a child named George W Brown who was born on July 3 1831 who died September 9 1909. His deth certificate gives his mothers name. George Brown had a will who listed two sisters Caroline Hooper and Elizabeth Buck. Those last names are the married names of Caroline and Elizabeth. Caroline and Elizabeth are children from Mary's third marriage.

    Mary's third and final marriage was to Ernest Germeck on Novemeber 26th 1838 in Knox, Indiana. She had two children with Him Mary Elizabeth and Caroline. Mary Elizabeth married Abraham Buck. Caroline married William Hooper. I noticed that Mary moved from Pennsylvania to Illinois then to Indiana. Now why did Mary move to all these places? From research I have done with somebody else we think Mary had family in Indiana. There is a place holder father for Mary and the potential siblings I foubd

    The first potential sibling is John K Kurtz a Merchant who lived in Knox, Indiana. Articles can be found about him http://knoxcounty.advantage-preservation.com/ . John K Kurtz married Isabell M Hannah on June 10th 1830. He lived in Knox in 1830 and 1840. John died in 1841 and here is his Will https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61...3Q9M-C9R7-23YD . The will mentions he has a daughter named Eunice.

    The second potential sibling is William Kurtz who was born April 3rd 1818 in Lancaster, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. William died on July 16th 1889 in Patoka Township, Gibson, Indiana, United States. William married Elizabeth Abruthnot on Jun 1st 1843 in Gibson, Indiana. I have found William on other family trees saying he is a son of Christopher Kurtz but I can't find records to prove that.

    I began searching the Kurtz families who lived in the town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I found a will for a Jacob Kurtz https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer...ue&pId=1648151. This will took place in 1828. The will mentions that Jacob has a brother named John K Kurtz, who was absent from the state. John K Kurtz was living in Indiana by 1830. There is also a will of a Christopher Kurtz that was written in 1832 it mentions he has a son named Jacob who is deceased. Here is the will https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer...ue&pId=1679048. This means Jon K Kurtz came from Lancaster and is the son of Christopher Kurtz and a brother of Jacob and George Kurtz along with other children of Christopher.

    That is all the information I have, Thanks for reading this. All helping out ill be appreciated.

  • #2
    Hi,

    I'm not very familiar with American marriage records but do any of them name the parents of the bride or groom at all?

    Here in the UK our marriage certs show the father of the bride and groom.. and very very recently they have now said [The govt] that mothers names can now be added to marriage certs. [as of May 2021]
    Julie
    They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

    .......I find dead people

    Comment


    • #3
      Darksecretz Early 1800s marriage records I have found in the U.S. so far don't include parent names. When marriages were recorded it depends on the state itself as different states and places recorded records at different times.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by KristleyBrickWall View Post
        Darksecretz Early 1800s marriage records I have found in the U.S. so far don't include parent names. When marriages were recorded it depends on the state itself as different states and places recorded records at different times.
        oh that's a shame, most of my US lot moved from UK and then had families in Connecticut.
        Julie
        They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

        .......I find dead people

        Comment


        • #5
          Darksecretz It is a shame though as so many brick walls of mine would have been broken if the marriages included parents names.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by KristleyBrickWall View Post
            Darksecretz It is a shame though as so many brick walls of mine would have been broken if the marriages included parents names.
            oh yes! definitely.. with me I have a few missing family members but I have had a few good brickwalls smashed to bits since lockdown. The fabulous help on here that made it possible, we have some great super sleuths.
            Julie
            They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

            .......I find dead people

            Comment


            • #7
              Have you looked for/found Mary's DC? Looked for her obit in 1870? Figured out what newspapers published in Knox at the time, and, if any survive, who has them or has their image?

              It may also be possible to find wedding announcements in newspapers. Her first marriage may be especially useful.

              Parents' names on Marriage certs in the US varied by state, perhaps even by county. My peeps marrying in Indiana did not have parents' names listed. OTH, I think Indiana started adding parents' names to DCs fairly early, but 1870...my ancestors who died about then don't seem to have DCs. I have an Indiana DC from 1910 with names of parents.

              Comment


              • #8
                PhotoFamily I have not found her obit. But newspapers about her husband mention her death.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by KristleyBrickWall View Post
                  PhotoFamily I have not found her obit. But newspapers about her husband mention her death.
                  so...what newspapers did you find that her obit wasn't listed in?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    contact the tree owner - his name is William Kurtz



                    https://gw.geneanet.org/wmkurtz?n=ku...&p=christopher

                    good luck
                    Allan ......... researching oakes/anyon/standish/collins/hartley/barker/collins-cheshire
                    oakes/tipping/ellis/jones/schacht/...garston, liverpool
                    adams-shropshire/roberts-welshpool
                    merrick/lewis/stringham/nicolls-herefordshire
                    coxon/williamson/kay/weaver-glossop/stockport/walker-gorton

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      My experience with the County Histories that were published in the latter 1800s - they need to be taken with a grain of salt. Their purpose was to sell books (make money), in some places the future buyer paid to get their bio in the book, and there wasn't much fact-checking nor proof-reading by the publisher. As examples, I've had such books provide good, accurate detail about one ancestor - and a terribly botched record about another, attributing his second wife's children to him (they were children from her first marriage).

                      From the Knox/Jo Daviess entry for Herman Barrows there's this:
                      HERMAN B. BARROWS was born in Albion, Ill., in 1823. His parents, Herman and Mary (Kurtz) Barrows, were born in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania in 1788 and 1798, respectively. The mother, at the time of her marriage in 1811, was attending a boarding school, where girls were supposed to have very delicate appetites. Though only thirteen years of age, she contrived to make her escape, and married our subject's father. They soon after came to Evansville, Ind...

                      To me, there are details given here that I would keep an open mind about. Marrying at age 13 may have been possible - but then their child was born in 1823? Two suppositions seem to be made from the account that has been given - that they married at the time she escaped from the boarding school, and that she/they had no children until 12 years after their presumed marriage. The account does not say that the two married immediately after her escape. It does not say that Herman was their first child.


                      I would also observe - when you are trying to leap over a gap (i.e., Mary to her suspected parents or sibs), genetic genealogy may provide confirmations of suspicions/theories.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        PhotoFamily Its likely Mary and Heman had other children besides Heman that died in childhood. its possible the author forgot about the others. I have yet to get a dna test since I'm under 18 it might be more difficult for me to get one.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          @gastronite I,ll go contact that William Kurtz.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            There is a tree on Ancestry that points at this marriage of Heman Barrows - but I agree with Ancestry that the bride is Phila Andrews



                            NamePhila Andrews
                            Event TypeMarriage
                            Marriage Date17 Mar 1811
                            Marriage PlaceWare, Massachusetts
                            Spouse NameWoman Barrows

                            It's also possible that the author missed the details that happened between escaping from school and Heman/Herman's birth. If indeed the above marriage belongs to you ancestor, it's possible he had a first marriage, which the author confused with the marriage to Mary. I'm not saying any one of these possibilities is the correct one, just advocating for an open mind, keeping all the possibilities open.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by KristleyBrickWall View Post
                              PhotoFamilyI have yet to get a dna test since I'm under 18 it might be more difficult for me to get one.
                              Each generation only receives half of the DNA that their mother had, and receives another half of their father's DNA. When possible (and of course, it is not always possible!), obtaining a sample from a descendant that is the closest generation to the target ancestor will give the best DNA matches.

                              Yes, I think you will have to wait - unless you can persuade a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle (or ?) to test.

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                So, the marriage record posted before took place in Ware and says that Heman was from Hardwick [Massachusetts] and the bride from Ware. It appears that the marriage was also recorded in Hardwick. Oh - not born (necessarily) in those places, just that they were resiing there at the time of the marriage.

                                https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer...ue&pId=1279817

                                It also lists several other marriages for other people of the Barrows surname - they may be sibs or cousins of Heman

                                Comment


                                • #17
                                  Look up needed,
                                  Mary E. Bvok
                                  Female
                                  71
                                  abt 1838
                                  Alexandria, Ind.
                                  20 Jun 1909
                                  21 Jun 1909
                                  Muncie, Indiana, USA
                                  S. H. Buck
                                  Henry Buck
                                  Begin your discovery today by exploring the world's largest online family history resource!

                                  Oh, I haven't checked to see if these are in trees.

                                  KBW - Elizabeth's DC indicates that her full name was Mary Elizabeth, and that her mother was Mary E. Kurtz. Can't be certain, but it seems possible that she was also a Mary Elizabeth. Could be useful if you find a baptismal record. Do you have an Ancestry sub?

                                  Comment


                                  • #18
                                    I don't know if anyone has looked it up already, but there may be a bio for William Hooper, h/o Caroline Germeck, in one of the county history books. He's in the index in this book, and the original book would need to be found
                                    https://www.familysearch.org/library...ture&o=&n=0&q=

                                    p 101
                                    there's also a reference to George Germeck, but it's probably the write up we already know about.

                                    I've had write ups about the spouse's parents in one of my ancestor's bios. Leave no stone unturned.

                                    Also, lots of trees with these peeps there, and I haven't investigated many of them. The Buck family was quite prolific, and there are a bunch of trees for them.

                                    Comment


                                    • #19
                                      PhotoFamily The Mary Elizabeth Buck in my post married Abraham Buck on October 15th 1860 and she died in 1923.I also have an ancestry subscription. The Buck families had lots of kids making it too adulthood in Indiana so lots of Descedants. Abraham Buck and Mary Geremck had the 13 children themselves all making it too adulthood. I do have a great great aunt who is still alive and doesn't live too far from me. I'm not sure if i'd be able to convince her but she has a little bit of interest in family history. Thanks for bringing that bio to my attention.

                                      Comment


                                      • #20
                                        My other thought is land records - they're frequently the only way to track an ancestor's movement. I wonder if John Brown had a farm, and his widow was working it when Germeck came along.

                                        Another thought is to try to determine more about Heman Barrows. He's the right YOB for his father to have been involved in the RevWar - that and the fact that he came out of Massachusetts makes me wonder if there is a Barrows family history/genealogy book somewhere. Sometimes those types of books kept track of several generations. My mother's did so all the way into the late 1800s (written in 1890).

                                        My mother's paternal line also landed in Indiana, and came out of New England, NY and PA - westward expansion, and opportunity for younger sons to establish their own means.

                                        More later.

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