This week's prompt is called "At the Courthouse." I have to admit, courthouses are somewhat intimidating to me. Anywhere official like that is intimidating. The last time I visited an actual courthouse for research was back in 2015. I had written a journal entry about that experience, so I decided I would just type that up and share it. So here is my last experience "At the Courthouse":
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October 8, 2015
It has been a good couple of days for research. I will attempt to explain it all clearly without jumping around. I get excited and lose focus on what I'm writing about. First, I finally made a trip downtown to the civil courts building to get probate records and divorce records. I was so nervous because parking downtown is not easy. Luckily, I found a spot diagonally from the building.
First stop was the 3rd floor for divorce records. The lady told me I didn't have to come down, that I could have called. I told her I did and was told I had to come in. Well, now I know. She took down the information and told me I will receive notification in the mail whether they find something or not. She also told me they weren't going to charge me. BONUS! So they are looking up divorce info on Grandpa Les Wheeler and his first wife, Ruth Pirtel; Grandma Ruth Ilg and her first husband, Joseph Valdes; Aunt Ruth Buer and her first husband, Joseph Mrazek; and Oma Mae Dennis and her first husband, Edward Buer. Hopefully I will have some information in hand in a couple of days.
Second stop was the 10th floor: Probate Records. I spoke with Jeanie; a real nice lady who is also a genealogist. So she was extra helpful. She got me the probate records of Pauline Ilg, Leona Ilg, Edward J. Buer, and Maggie Helfrich. The only one who didn't have a will was Edward J. Buer. The probate record I was really looking forward to looking at was Maggie Helfrich. I was hoping there would be some listing that could lead me to the Helfrich family or back to Tennessee. Sadly, no. Jacob Helfrich wasn't even listed. As of right now, two things stood out. One: where her signature should be, it had an 'X' and written by it was, "Her Mark." It confirmed what I found in the census records. She could not read or write. Even my daughter was like, "That's so sad." Two: where it listed who got everything, her daughter, named Oma Caldwell, (new married name) was listed as receiving only one dollar ($1.00). I asked Jeanie about this and she explained in order to keep family from contesting the will for not receiving anything, they would only give them $1.00. Oma had practically abandoned her daughters, so Maggie raised them. Honey and Auntie got everything. Honey is Maggie Ilg and Auntie is Ruth Kelley. I didn't get copies of every document, but got what seemed important. I don't see much else that is noteworthy at the moment, but will continue to look over everything.
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There was more to that entry, but that was all that had to do with my courthouse visit. A few days after this entry, I received two envelopes in the mail with information about the divorce records I was looking for. They could not find anything on Joseph Valdes and Ruth Ilg, nor could they find anything on Joseph Mrazek and Ruth Buer. But they did find information on Les Wheeler and Ruth Pirtel as well as Edward Buer and Oma Mae Dennis. That was exciting to go through. It really answered a few more questions.
It wouldn't be until the next year that I locate the divorce record for Ruth Ilg and Joseph Valdes. That record was at the St. Louis County Court house. I had been looking at the city. Believe it or not, St. Louis is divided up into two parts: St. Louis City and St. Louis County. And then in the county it is divided up into smaller towns. So depending on where your ancestor lived, the records you are looking for might either be in the City Courts or County Courts. At the end of this blog will be a few website links explaining the split and what people call "The Great Divorce".
While this was a few years ago, it is still my most successful visit to a courthouse that I can remember. Traveling downtown these days isn't always feasible for me, although I do need to plan another trip at some point. I made sure to keep all the notes I took about visiting the courthouse so I would remember what I need to do for next time, so my visit is just as smooth.
The Great Divorce
https://mohistory.org/blog/the-great-divorcehttps://www.stltoday.com/news/local/aug-how-the-great-divorce-of-st-louis-city-and/article_3e93fa29-7d01-570d-94f2-31eca08a9378.html
https://www.slcl.org/content/1876-st-louis-city-county-split-and-its-effect-research
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