Hello, fellow family tree detectives! My name is Ron Zemke and I have been using Family Tree Maker since 1998. It has been both fun and enriching to find the pieces that fit this great big genealogical puzzle called my family tree.
Here is some of what I have found and where I am going...
*Primary surnames I'm researching on my side of the family:
ZEMKE, GUSKE, GRAEF, HOMEIER, TAUSCH, SCHEIBELICH, KREITZ, SHANLEY, McNICHOLS, DOHNEY, MADISON, GAYNOR and GAGNON.
*Primary surnames I'm researching on my wife's side of the family:
HANSEN, FLECKENSTEIN, TOLLAKSON, FAIRCLOTH, BOONE, RATHBONE, SCHLACHTER and FURRY.
*Immigration data:
1844 - Johann Friedrich TAUSCH came to Texas from Prussia/Germany. (Charlottenburg, near Berlin)
1844 - The KREITZ family came to Texas from Germany. (Roetgen, near Aachen)
1865 - The GAYNOR/GAGNON family came to Michigan from Canada.
1881 - The GUSKE and ZEMKE families came to Chicago, Illinois, from Prussia. (Pomerania region, now part of Poland)
1882 - The HOMEIER family came to Texas from Germany.
Although we don't yet know the dates of immigration, census records show that my MADISON ancestors were born in Canada, while my DOHNEY, McNICHOLS and SHANLEY ancestors were all born in Ireland. (The MADISON family may be hard to trace, however, as they supposedly changed the name from MAXIM to MAXWELL to MADISON.)
*A few interesting facts that I already know, but would like to know more about:
My paternal 3rd great-grandfather, Johann Friedrich TAUSCH, was one of the founding fathers of New Braunfels, Texas, in 1845. (Considering that Friedrich and his wife Anna KREITZ had twelve children, if you are a Tausch from the San Antonio area, well, we could be related!)
Another paternal 3rd great-grandfather, Carl Wilhelm Friedrich SCHEIBELICH, was a secretary in the Prussian government in the mid-1800's. (It is said that he was also a former mayor of Potsdam, Germany. I haven't verified this yet.)
My maternal great-grandmother, Sarah Irene McNICHOLS SHANLEY, was born on October 9, 1871, in Chicago, Illinois, during the Great Chicago Fire!
*One thing (among many things) that I'd really like to know:
Who is the mysterious Emil SCHEIBELICH? Was he an older brother of my great-great-grandmother, Wilhelmine SCHEIBELICH TAUSCH? And if so, why didn't he come to Texas with his mother and two sisters?
Well... enjoy your genealogical pursuits! Let me know if you think you're related to me!
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