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Sunday's Obituary: Mary Frances Wimmers Tumbush

10/11/2014

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Mary Frances Wimmers Tumbush, who went by Frances her entire life, was my husband's great-grandmother through his maternal line. She was born 9 Mar 1872 in Granville Township, Mercer County, Ohio, the only daughter of German Catholic immigrants John Wimmers and Mary A. Hummler. In January 1893*, she married Henry Tumbusch (surname spelling later changed to Tumbush). Between 1895 and 1919, they had eleven children, nine of whom survived into adulthood. Her youngest son, Frank (1914-1997), was my husband's maternal grandfather. She was widowed in 1942. She passed away 14 November 1955 in Rockford, Ohio and is buried 17 November 1955 in St. Henry Cemetery in Mercer County.

*Date of marriage based on obituary of husband, Henry Tumbush, published 4 September 1942 in The Minster Post

I have located two separate obituaries for Frances. This first one was published in The Lima News on 16 November 1955:
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The second obituary was published 18 November 1955 in The Coldwater Chronicle:

"Funeral services for Mrs. Frances Tumbush, 83, were held yesterday (Thursday) at St. Henry Catholic Church. Rev. Valentine Fleckenstein officiated and burial followed in the church cemetery. Death occurred Monday at the Colonial Rest Home in Rockford, following an illness of one year. She had been confined to her bed for the last eight weeks. Born in St. Henry March 9, 1872, a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Henry* Wimmers, she was married to Henry Tumbush, who preceded her in death 12 years ago. Two sons are also deceased. She was a member of the St. Henry Catholic Church and the Christian Mothers sodality. Surviving are the following sons and daughters: valentine of Valley City; Edward of St. Marys; Leo of Celina; Albert , Anthony and Frank, all of St. Henry; Julius of Coldwater; Mrs. Isadore Steinke of Montezuma and Sister M. Iedephonse of Dayton. There are also 26 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren, and a brother, Bernard Wimmers, of St. Henry."


I placed an asterisk after her father's first name, because it is incorrect - it should be John. John Wimmers passed away due to an accident in 1882, when Frances was only ten years old, so it is understandable that younger family members who wrote this obituary may not have known his first name.

Just this past week, I was able to obtain the Frances's death certificate from the Ohio History Connection (formerly the Ohio Historical Society). They recently acquired 1954-1963 death certificates from the Ohio Department of Health, and charge the public a small fraction of what the Office of Vital Statistics was previously charging for them.
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Ohio Death Certificate for Frances Wimmers Tumbush
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Sunday's Obituary: Henry Tumbusch

4/5/2014

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Henry Tumbusch was my husband's great-grandfather on his mother's side of the family.  He passed away September 1, 1942.  Here is his obituary, as published in the September 4, 1942 issue of The Minster Post (page 1).
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Henry was the son of Theodor Tumbusch and Anna Rasing, German immigrants who came to America in 1861.  Unfortunately, Theodor passed away when Henry was only about seven years old. His mother never remarried, but ran the small family farm and raised Henry and his three younger siblings by herself.  She lived until 1918.

As stated in the obituary, Henry married Mary Frances Wimmers in 1893.  (Here in this obituary, she is listed as 'Mary,' which is also her named stated in the Mercer County birth probate record; however, in every census and in her obituaries, she went by 'Frances.')  Henry and Frances had eleven children, nine of whom are listed in the obituary.  One son, Ferdinand, passed away in 1907 at the age of ten months, and another son, Joseph, was born stillborn in 1917.

Henry spent his entire life in Mercer County, Ohio, near the village of St. Henry.  He attended St. Henry Catholic Church and is buried in that cemetery.  According to his death certificate (below), he had suffered from bronchiectasis for a couple of years preceding his death.
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Ohio Death Certificate of Henry Tumbusch, 1942
Death Certificate Source: "Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X83R-8YJ : accessed 05 Apr 2014), Henry Timbush, 01 Sep 1942; citing Granville Twp., Mercer, Ohio, reference fn 63127; FHL microfilm 2024037.

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Wedding Wednesday: Tumbush - Brunswick Marriage Record

1/28/2014

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This past Sunday on the blog, I shared a 1940 census schedule listing my husband's maternal grandmother, Rita Brunswick.  At this point in her life, Rita was living with and working for a minister's family in Fort Recovery, Ohio.  Two years later, Rita married Frank Tumbush at St. Paul Church in Sharpsburg, Mercer County, Ohio.  Below is a copy of their marriage license application (top) and marriage certificate (bottom), as kept within the Mercer County Probate Records. (Click on image for larger view.)
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Mercer County, Ohio Probate Marriage Record for Frank Tumbush and Rita Brunswick, 1942.
Here is a short description of the wedding service from the November 27, 1942 issue of The Minster Post.  Alvera Wimmers is Frank 's first cousin and Melvin Brunswick is Rita's older brother.
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The Minster Post, 27 Nov 1942, Page 4, Column 3
Below is a photo of St. Paul's Catholic Church.  Like many of the older Catholic churches in this area of Ohio, St. Paul's is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.   The building was designed by Anton DeCurtins, a Swiss immigrant who helped design and build many Gothic-style churches in Mercer County.  Those who are not from this area of western Ohio or who have never visited are often surprised to learn about the area's many beautiful Gothic-revival churches that were erected in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  It is often called the "Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches."
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St. Paul Catholic Church, Sharpsburg, Ohio (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Census Sunday: The Tumbusch Family, 1870-1880

10/5/2013

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This week, my census post is about the family of Theodor Tumbusch, one of my husband's great-great-grandfathers.  Theodor arrived in the U.S. in June 1861.  He came over on the same ship as Anna Rasing, who he married in Mercer County, Ohio in August 1861.  It is most likely that they emigrated from Germany together, with the intention of marrying in the States, but, who knows, maybe it was a 'ship romance,' instead.  The first U.S. census in which they appear the 1870 census (click for larger image):
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Tumbusch Family, 1870 Census
By 1870, Theodor and Anna have five children: Elizabeth (Lizzie), Henry, Mary, Bernard (Barney), and Herman.  They live in Butler Township in Mercer County.  Because Theodor is a farmer, I also tried to find him in the 1870 U.S. Agriculture Census, but, unfortunately, individual farms are not listed for Mercer County - just a summary for each township.  So, I don't really have any more information on what was produced on the farm.  The 'value of real estate' listed on this form is only $200. Compared with some of the other real estate values for farmers in this township, it appears as if the Tumbusch farm was likely quite small.

Unfortunately, Theodor would not live to see 1871.  He passed away on December 10, 1870 at the age of 36.  I have not been able to find his death record, but I imagine the death was a sudden one. His will is not located in the microfilmed probate records of Mercer County, and, in fact, the index states that no papers have been located for the probate file number.  In the end, Anna was left to run the farm alone with five young children to care for.

This is one of those times in which I had more information about a person and family.  Anna never remarried.  How did she run a farm, especially in the years immediately following Theodor's death? I'm sure she had help from her church and community, but there is no doubt that her children must have had to 'grow up' quickly and help with the chores and farming.  In the 1880 census, she is listed as head of household living with her four children, Henry, Mary, Bernard, and Herman.  (I am unsure as to whether Elizabeth had died or simply got married; she would have been about 18 in 1880, so it's possible.)  The family is also no longer living in Butler Township, but have instead relocated to Marion Township.

Next to Bernard and Herman's name, who are ages 12 and 10 respectively, there is a check for 'Attended school within the census year.'  Being a widow with no other live-in farmhands, Anna could have very easily justified keeping her two youngest sons home from school at this age.  But she didn't, and I think it's admirable that she allowed them to get an education, especially when it may have made her life a bit harder.
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Tumbusch Family, 1880 Census
Fortunately, I WAS able to find Anna and her farm in the 1880 U.S. Agriculture Census.  As suspected, they have a very small 30-acre farm with only a few cows and a handful of pigs.  It was probably very much just a subsistence farm and the family was probably quite poor.
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Anna Tumbusch, 1880 U.S. Agriculture Census
©2013, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Surname Saturday: Tumbusch

1/19/2013

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Theodor Tumbusch, one of my husband's gg-grandfathers on his mom's side, immigrated to America from Germany in 1861.  His ship manifest is below.  He was about 27 years old and his last residence is listed as Koesfeld (proper spelling is Coesfeld). Listed beneath him in the manifest is Anna Rasing, who was either already his wife, or who would soon become his wife upon arrival in America (I still need to figure that out.)  They arrived in Baltimore and eventually made their way to western Ohio, where they settled on a farm in Mercer County.  Unfortunately, Theodor died rather young in 1870; Anna lived until 1918.
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Theodor Tumbusch and Anna Rasing Ship Manifest
I've done some research on the surname 'Tumbusch,' and it's difficult to determine what the name means or indicates.  'Busch' in German simply means 'bush' in English and 'tum' might refer to several meanings.  The English word 'tumble' has roots in German - the German verb 'taumeln' means to fall, drop, or stagger, and the verb 'tummeln' means 'to romp.'  The German noun 'tumben' means 'tomb.'  The German noun 'tumult' has essentially the same meaning as the same English world and the noun 'tumultant' refers to a rioter.  So, maybe my husband had an ancestor who fell in bushes or who was buried in bushes or who caused some sort of commotion or uproar in bushes.  Your guess is as good as mine.

Theodor Tumbush had three sons, Henry, Bernard, and Herman, all of whom lived into adulthood and had sons of their own to carry on the family name.  It appears that most of Henry's children chose to change the spelling of the name to 'Tumbush' - their birth records indicate the original spelling, while military, marriage, residential, and death records are most often without the 'c.'  As far as I can tell from the records, the children and grandchildren of Bernard and Herman kept the original spelling. 

If you're not one of my in-laws and have never heard the name 'Tumbusch' before, you're not alone.  It's not a common name.  The Worldnames Public Profiler maps surnames for 26 countries around the world using recent telephone directories and voter registries.  It is not scientific or completely comprehensive, but it still gives you a good idea of relative popularity of a name in different places.  In the U.S, the frequency per million (FPM) for the name Tumbusch is only 0.41 (The Tumbush spelling is 0.25).  By comparison, my surname, Kowalski, which is basically the Polish equivalent of Smith, has a FPM of 81.56.  And
Tumbusch is actually MORE common in the U.S. than in Germany, where the FPM is only 0.09.
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Relative frequency of surname Tumbusch - World
Zooming into Europe:  It is a little difficult to see, but the only area in which 'Tumbusch' is found is the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is where Theodor's hometown of Coesfeld is located.
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Relative frequency of surname Tumbusch - Europe
Breaking down the United States: Tumbusch on the left and Tumbush on the right.  Not surprisingly, both spellings are relatively common in Ohio compared with other states.
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Tumbusch
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Tumbush
And, finally, Ohio by county, Tumbusch on the left and Tumbush on the right.  That county in western Ohio in the darkest shade of blue is Mercer County, where Theodor and Anna orginally settled.  Notice the small concentration of Tumbush near Cleveland.  One of my husband's great uncles moved to the Cleveland area to work on the railroads in the early 20th century and I am willing to bet that some of his descendants still live in the area.
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Tumbusch
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Tumbush
Based on the rarity of the name, it is probable that many people with the surname Tumbusch or Tumbush in the United States today are descendants of Theodor Tumbusch.  And if there are any Tumbusch's out there who AREN'T of his lineage, it would be interesting to try to trace back their ancestors to Germany to try to find the common ancestor. That may have to be one of my longer-term goals for the future.  In the meantime, I'm adding Coesfeld, Germany to my list of must-visit places whenever my husband and I get a chance to take our genealogy trip to Germany.

Tumbus(c)h family documents can be viewed and downloaded at this website: http://schroeder-tumbush.weebly.com/tumbush.html
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Gravehunting

7/31/2012

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PictureSt. Francis Cemetery, Phoenix, Arizona
Most people don't generally view cemeteries as pleasant places; some even consider them creepy or unlucky places.  For a genealogist, cemeteries and the gravestones within them are invaluable sources of information about people and communities of the past.  The information inscribed on gravestones - names, dates of birth and death, relation words such as "wife, "mother," or "son" - can serve as an important starting point in discovering when and where our ancestors lived.  Gravestones can also help validate information about ancestors that may have been located in other sources or passed down verbally through the generations.

There is a free website called
FindAGrave.com that is essentially a catalog of interments from cemeteries all over the world.  It is completely run by volunteers who set up memorial pages for friends, relatives, or even complete strangers who have passed on.  Once a memorial is posted, anyone can "request a photo" of any particular grave.  Volunteers receive photo requests via email from cemeteries located near their homes, and then go out to the cemeteries, search for the grave(s), take photos of them, and post it on website.  I found a photo of my great-grandfather's grave on the site, which was helpful to me, because he is buried in Arizona (where none of my family lives).  It was taken by a complete stranger who assists in cataloguing cemeteries for the website, and she even managed to track down and post his death certificate as well.

I became a volunteer grave photographer a couple of months ago.  I like to take photos, and it gives me something different to do with the kids outdoors.  Sometimes, I actually think they enjoy walking around the big old gravestones and large trees that are often in the older cemeteries we visit.  One day, I tracked down an older grave for a woman living in Kentucky.  She sent me a very kind 'thank you' email that was so, so appreciative, it just made my day.  She told me the story of how, in the post-Civil War era, her great-great-grandfather enlisted the help of his brother-in-law in discovering the fates of his southern family members.  She was trying to find where this brother-in-law ended up and my photograph of his gravestone confirmed the location of his final resting place and seemed to give her some sort of peace.  I felt like I had really made a difference in this woman's life. 

Most of the photo requests I search for, I cannot find.  This is especially true of people buried pre-1900.  Weathering renders many stones unreadable and, oftentimes, broken stones are not replaced and graves simply become unmarked.  Sometimes, it saddens me when I have to tell a person that I could not find the graves of their ancestors.  Nobody wants to hear that a family member, even one from generations ago, has been forgotten or neglected, even in death.  But still, most people thank me for going to the cemetery and looking, even if it was unsuccessful.

Just the other day, I received three emails saying that three of MY grave photo requests had been fulfilled.  A volunteer in western Ohio visited three separate cemeteries in Mercer County and photographed graves of Tony's ancestors.
 

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St. Johns Catholic Church, Maria Stein, Ohio
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St. Marys Cemetery, Philothea, Ohio
What I LOVE about these gravestones is that they are inscribed in German.  Through my research, I already knew both of these men were German immigrants, but these stones give me a sense of the culture of the region at the time of death.  Andreas Brunswick (first photo) immigrated to America in 1853.  He lived for 45 years in western Ohio, yet his gravestone is written in German.  So obviously, some communities in the region were still speaking German (or German/English hybrids), even as late 1898.  The second photo is the grave of Tony's great-great grandfather, Theodor Tumbusch, who arrived in America in 1861.  Unfortunately, he died quite young in 1870, so the only real what I call "life" documents relating back to Theodor are his immigrant ship roster and the 1870 U.S. Census.  The gravestone has helped me confirm the spelling of his name and his dates of birth and death.

©2012, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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    Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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