Highlights 2009

September
Department Highlights
- Virginia Aldridge of Evansville, IN, a descendant of the Beeler Family, visited the Genealogy Department to do some family history research and donated an update of the Beeler Family history which consisted of 95 pages. This information will be placed in the Beeler family file.

- Cindy Frueh donated two photos of Dover School and a student listing for the school term 1900-1901. Doris Jones donated a 1908 Dover School souvenir graduation list of 24 students the teacher for this class was Edith Jack

- The Genealogy Department received a letter from Mr. Paul Gaylord offering information on Geraldine Satterly. Information includes: an index of newspaper obits from Donnellson review (1916-1970); an index of newspaper obits from the Montrose Journal (1916-1929); Newspaper obits (1972-1977) from Tri-County News, Farmington, IA; Sharon Presbyterian Church Directory 1985 with photos; and family,
marriage, death records (1851-1856) of Zion Mennonite Church, Donnellson, IA and a list of members of West Point Mennonite Congregation (about 1855). Diane Kruse telephoned Mr. Gaylord and an appointment was set for Thursday, September 10 at 1 P.M. to review the material.

- Seven rural school registers for students and teachers (donator unknown) were discovered in the Genealogy Department. The years range from1886-1924. Since no school name was attached to the records, research will need to be done to determine the name of the rural school and township based on names of teachers and students. The information will be reported in a future issue so that patrons can use them as research tools. Volunteers would like to thank the donor(s) since rural school information is harder to find than a needle in a haystack.

- The Genealogy Department acquired a copy of the story of the delicious apple and its historical significance. The 27-page story, compiled by the Madison County Iowa Historical Society, is on file for our readers.

- The Department received a note from Joyce E. Young along with a picture that her mother had. The picture is Brush College, 1937, with Martha Sprenger holding Silver Young; Nancy Sue Sprenger, and Joy Paschall. Joyce included two copies of plat maps given to her by Ray Miner and requested to be added to the mailing list for the library newsletter.


August
Department Highlights
The Donnellson Library Genealogy Department continues to expand its obituary holdings for Lee County, contiguous counties and local Illinois and Missouri. In the past couple of months, the largest concentration of work by the volunteers was on Van Buren County obituaries.

Erma DeRosear’s column continues to be dedicated to keeping Iowa history alive. If patrons wish to keep a particular issue alive, please forward interests with specific details so that appropriate research can be done if needed to add more information.

The Department continues to receive photos and materials of historic interest and all items will be filed appropriately. We wish to thank our patrons and look forward to continued donations.

- Moriah Norris from Fairview, NC requested had a query as to whether Donnellson ever had a movie theatre. Diane Kruse found the answer to her question and sent the following reply: “Although there was never a movie theatre in Donnellson like we have today, there is reference in the Donnellson, Iowa 1981-1991 Centennial book to a building, known as the Dickey Building, where movies were shown. On page 21 of the centennial book it states “during the 1920s and 1930s, the Orpheum Theatre, located on the second floor, was showing movies. Lester Wagner was the pianist and Ray Schmitt, the projectionist. Admission was adults 25 cents, and children 12 and under, 10 cents.”

- A research request that was sent by Barnie Graeber from Apache Junction, AZ is still pending. He requested further information on the location of the
Zimner School Cemetery. Information is on file regarding this cemetery and school and will be forwarded when all information has been found. Sharon Merierotto, who is a descendant of the Graeber family, also will forward information she has on George Frederick and his wife Katherina (Kleiber) Graeber burial information.

- Beth Roth donated photos of businesses in Donnellson as well as other pictures around town dating back to 1944. Photos have a written description on the back and if people are included, they are identified. The photos will become a part of the Donnellson history picture albums.

- Roberta Krehbiel is researching obituaries and identifying photos acquired from Delmar Frueh. Old photos that appeared in old Donnellson Reviews were donated from this collection for the library files. The “Guess Who” pictures will appear in some future issues of the newsletter, beginning with this month.

Roberta also received a telephone call from Alaska requesting information on Richard Proenneke. John Branson, the editor of “More Readings from One Man’s Wilderness” is an employee of the Lake Clark National Park Service and Preserve. He is also an historian for the national park and in 2001 was asked by his supervisor to edit the Proenneke journals for publication. Mr. Branson has done previous historical editing and was a long time friend with Richard. In addition to the journal information, he was looking for other information about Richard while he was growing up.

Mr. Branson is also editing earlier journals about the building of the Proenneke cabin in Alaska and plans combine all the information in a book he plans to publish in September 2010.

- Joan Farris Hemingway from Missouri visited the Genealogy Department to share information on her grandfather and grandmother, Mr. Irwin Harry and Mrs. Clara Fett Hentzel. Information included a copy of their marriage certificate and obituaries. Joan brought her grandmother’s wedding veil (from 1906) and other items from the wedding. Photos of those items were taken and will be placed in the Hentzel file. Joan’s mother, Irvina Miriam, was the youngest of three children.

- Two photos of the 1908 cyclone that went through New Boston were anonymously donated and placed in the New Boston file.


July
Department Highlights
- Received a call from John McKeehan, who resides in Texas, asking for information on the McKeehan Family in Lee Co. Pat Morrison is working on this request.

- Received a call from Amy Thomas of Dallas City, IL asking for information on the Viele School in Lee County and the Oakridge School in Henry County. In addition to the two schools, Diane Kruse will pursue research on Viele and the Old Faeth Barn.

- JoAnn Alderton Augspurger and her husband, who live in Bloomfield, IA, visited the Genealogy Department and asked for information on the Augspurger family that came to Lee County in the 1840’s. JoAnn mentioned that the family was connected with the Amish or Mennonite Church. Research continues on the family as well as the Amish settlement in Lee County.

- Thomas Finnegan of Comstock, MN requested information on his great grandparents William Henry and Theresa Ellen Howe Finnegan for the timeframe 1870-1880. He sent a donation of $25 for this research.

- Dot Sprenger of Boone, IA requested two copies of maps for Franklin and Charleston Townships.

- Diane Kruse is doing research for Donna Hollingsworth, the present owner of The Stumble Inn. Donna and her husband wish to renovate the building inside and give the front a facelift to look like the old storefronts when Donnellson was incorporated. Presently, the abstract has been reviewed as well as finding information in obituaries and the Donnellson, Iowa 1981-1991 Centennial book on file in the Genealogy Department. Donna and her husband wish to apply for grants to complete this work.

- John Stuekerjuergen forwarded a copy of a paper entitled “The Place Names of Lee County, IA” by T.J. Fitzpatrick from the University of NE. The paper was taken from the Annuals of Iowa 1929.

- Fay Harness of Donnellson donated various directories and pamphlets on subjects of interest to the Genealogy Department. Material included 1878 historical atlases from Clark and Schuyler Counties as well as plat books from Scotland and Clark Counties in Missouri, information on the Keokuk dam, Battle of Athens, and Minerville. All information was organized and filed.

- Julie Morgan from Colorado visited the Genealogy Department to research information on her great grandfather, Albert Bonnell. Information was found in the Bonnell file and family album and over 100 pages were copied. Julie bought copies of the 1874 and 1897 Franklin maps and loaned information on “Elm Wood” to copy for our files.
 

June
Department Highlights
- Several descendants of the Hentzel family loaned more photos for conclusion of the Hentzel Story. Interviews with Henry Charles Hentzel, Melody Kragenbrink and Inez Koch provided information for an interesting story ending. The Genealogy Department is continuing to receive information and photos to add to the family’s history.

- Erma DeRosear contributed photos of former Primrose residents as well as Primrose school pictures for our records.

- The obituary card file is bursting at the seams with hundreds of new obits. The process of cutting, organizing and pasting has become a smooth operation now that volunteers have had months of practice. Thanks to Sharon Meierotto, Erma DeRosear, Helen Jones, Doris Jones, Roberta Krehbiel, Norma Heines, Carole Elston and Diane Kruse. Beth Roth continues to paste and file Lee County obits and marriages.

- John Stuekerjuergen continues to write and submit historical articles to the Bee/Star on the Cruikshank family. These articles are cut and filed in the Genealogy Department family file.

- Donna Hollingsworth requested information on what is now the Stumble Inn. She and her husband John are the new proprietors and would like to obtain a grant to refurbish the façade and the interior to the “old town” look but need historic information to file the papers. The abstract and files will be researched to help in this endeavor.

- The Genealogy Department participated in the annual Donnellson yard sale day and raised $111.20. These funds will be added to the department account to help purchase items for their “new space”. Thanks to all who contributed to the cause and helped set up for the sale.
 

May
Department Highlights
The Genealogy Department's local history and photo collection has grown tremendously over the last year. The Department looks forward to continued donations from our patrons in the form of scrapbooks, photos, family histories, and copies of old family abstracts. The Department wishes to thank our patrons for their continued generous contributions to help preserve the history of Lee County.

- Henry Charles Hentzel of Ft. Madison loaned the Genealogy Department Hentzel memorabilia, photo albums, and a family photo for the Hentzel story; Dwight H. Krebill of Donnellson also loaned family information and photos as well. Because of these additions, the Hentzel file will contain a wealth of information for researchers.

- Two envelopes of old letters, newspaper clippings, and invoices of historical interest were received by the library associated with the name A.D. Staff of Wever, IA. The Department does not know who to thank since there was no return address on the envelope. Information will be reviewed, sorted and filed as research material.

- The obituary card file continues to grow with hundreds of new obits added during the last month. The drawer containing the contiguous county obits is filled to capacity and a second drawer will be added to make room for all the new obits reviewed, sorted, and pasted by the Department volunteers. Thanks to Sharon Meierotto, Doris Jones, Erma DeRosear, Roberta Krehbiel, Helen Jones, Norma Heines, Carole Elston, and Diane Kruse for making this happen. Beth Roth continues to paste and file Lee County obits.

- John Stuekerjuergen continues to send in historical articles about Clay's Grove. His most recent article on Alex Cruikshank, Jr. will be printed in the Bee/Star this month in two installments. The complete article will be filed in the Cruikshank file in the Genealogy Department for reference purposes.

- The Genealogy Department received a request for information on the Daughters family that was living in Lee County in 1850. Family names include: Willi Daughters 27 b. MA; Elizabeth 25 b. IA; Hiram 9 b. IA; Benjamin 3 b. IA; Sarah 2 b. IA. The request noted that this family was living with Hannah Harding 78 b. KY; Nancy 45 b. KY; William 25 b. KY.
 

April
Department Highlights
The Genealogy Department continues to be very busy with several genealogy projects. The obituary project continues to be the largest with the rural school information organization and photo collection organization not far behind. Volunteer members consistently donate more than 40 hours a week to ensure that information and files are up to date and easily found by patrons for their research.

March
Department Highlights
Thank you to our patrons who continue to send their generous donations to help with the newsletter and for research as well as photos and materials to help build our historical photo collection and historical holdings.    Pictures are being sorted and indexed and some are being set aside for upcoming Mystery Photo articles in the newsletter and local newspaper.    Scrapbooks are being copied and reviewed for obituaries in order to update our present holdings. 

Volunteers continue to be very busy and donate their time on Thursday afternoons and at home updating obituary and other files.  Norma Heins cut, pasted, and delivered over 300 Henry County obituaries in February to help update our holdings.  Since the beginning of this year, over 800 have been added by Norma and other volunteers.

Several requests for research have been received and are being researched by Roberta Krehbiel and Diane Kruse.    Requests are for information on the Reuben Neff Family in Jefferson County with possible connections to the Neffs in Lee County; a Henry H. Hardin, Harden or Harding Family in Lee County; a request on William Huckle, who was associated with the early Review newspaper in Donnellson in the early 1900s; and a walk-in request from Betty Fuller of Salem, IA for information on the Byerly Family ship information from Germany to America in the late 1830s.  All requests are still being researched.

Donations
- Mrs. Richard Bentzinger donated $100 to the Genealogy Department to help with newsletter postage and materials
- Mary Davis sent a donation of $20 for the newsletter postage and materials
- Sharon Meiertto brought in a newspaper article from the Des Moines Register, dated 22 Feb 2009 entitled “Annie Wittenmyer Civil War Heroine.”  This article will be added to update our file
-  Carole Elston donated a copy of a picture of John Adam Hopp.  This picture was placed in the Hopp Family Album
- Pat Morrison donated copies of registered deaths from the Franklin Funeral Home March 1895-August 1933.  Sharon Meirotto assembled and labeled the book which was placed on the obituary shelf
- Randy Johnson donated two books about Henry County abandoned towns and cemeteries.  The books are entitled Looking Back – Abandoned Towns of Henry County, Iowa and Henry County, Iowa Cemeteries
- Delmar Hirschler loaned photos of rural schools, historical buildings and sites as well as local families.  Photos will be scanned, sorted, and filed appropriately.
- Betty Jury donated rural school teacher’s contracts and Teacher’s Term Reports from the Benton School.  The contracts date back to 1891 and the reports dated back to 1903.  The Benton School was located in Harrison Township in Lee County, IA.  The information will be reviewed for a follow-up story in the April newsletter.

February
Department Highlights
This year has been very busy for all volunteer members of the Genealogy Department. Department volunteers added thousands of names to the huge obituary project as well as adding three more projects that will benefit our patrons. These projects are the Mary Alma Powers Kay project, the Bickel
File Collection, and identification of mystery photos via newspaper articles and library website listing.

The Mary Alma Powers Kay project added a total of 65,000 names to Department files. All text files have been successfully converted and all relevant files have been printed and are on file for public viewing. Patrons are able to access the files by viewing the three volumes of indexes. The digital data has been converted to an up-to-date format thanks to Roberta Krehbiel, Steven Halbasch and Brenda Anderson. Information is now on file and available to our patrons. Patrons are able to view their family trees as well as add and update the information. Brenda Anderson will continue to feature a family from this project in the monthly newsletter.

The Bickel File Collection, which contains 33 volumes, contains a gold mine of historical information on various topics from Lee County history. Each volume is appropriately marked and has an index for easy retrieval of specific information. All 33 volumes were copied in record time in order to make them available to our patrons. A historical article will be placed in each monthly newsletter for 2009 to show what type of information can be found on file.

Our department historian, Erma DeRosear, continued to research and write monthly historical pieces for the newsletter. Erma will begin the New Year with another series of Lee County history articles. Several of the articles brought back memories to readers; one reader sent her memories of the Dover School after reading about the school’s restoration.

January
Department Highlights
The Genealogy Department volunteers wish to thank all the patrons who have donated photos in 2008 to help us expand our department holdings.   Volunteers continue to sort all the photos that were donated into identified and unidentified stacks.  The photos that have been identified will be filed in appropriate files and an index made as to where those photos can be found.  The unidentified photos will be kept separate and will become part of the mystery photo article in the newsletter and newspaper articles until they are identified.  For those photos on loan to the department, Diane Kruse is scanning the photos so the originals can be returned to their owners.

This month’s newsletter has two mystery photos; if you know the identities please contact the Genealogy Department.  One such photo was identified in January and has been filed appropriately.   

In addition to the photo donations, scrapbooks and other historical information have come to our attention.  Obits continue to be sorted, cut, pasted and filed.  Since the Thursday afternoon library day does not provide enough time to tackle what needs to be accomplished, volunteers continue to dedicate many hours at home during the week. 

Erma DeRosear’s “Keeping Iowa History Alive” column has been a very popular addition to the newsletter.  Our patrons are requesting more history articles so this month the number of articles has increased.  If there are any topics you would like to see in the newsletter, send us your request.

John Stuekerjuergen, a historian on Lee County, contacted Erma DeRosear and forwarded several stories on Clay’s Grove, the Cruickshank Family, and La Crew.  One of his stories will be highlighted in the newsletter each month. 

Sally Youngquist has updated the site of the Local Family History Department on RootsWeb.    All the different categories of research available to our patrons have been improved and revised. See for yourself at http://homepages.rootsweb.ancesry.com/~donnlibr/index.htm.  

Don and Aletta Hardin visited the Genealogy Department to inquire about the Mary Alma Powers Kay project.  After an explanation, they requested information on a family member; they also asked to be placed on the newsletter mailing list and gave a donation of $5.

Donations
- Charlie Buford loaned pictures and a family album for the Rauscher Family
 - Doris Jones loaned family scrapbooks for copying.  Scrapbooks contain obits and other local history information
- Kathy Kult sent a request and a donation of $25 to research the family of her great grandfather Leonard Kult.  Research continues.
- Roberta Krehbiel loaned several school pictures to enhance the schoolhouse album as well as several family pictures in addition to some family articles translated from German.