The Day That Changed The Ilg's Lives Forever-100 years later

     The day is the 20th of December. It's almost Christmas time. What are you doing? Are you wrapping presents? Are you working? Are you finishing up some last minute shopping? Are you volunteering? Whatever you are doing, you are anticipating the Christmas holiday that is approaching. It's a time of celebration... for most everyone. But to my 2nd great grandma, this would be one of the worst days of her life.
     This year marks the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, also known as the Great War. The end of the war came with an Armistice that occurred on November 11, 1918. Soon, the boys would be coming home to their families. It was also a time of celebration. This would be the first Christmas after the war. I can imagine my Great Great Grandma Pauline Ilg waiting with great anticipation for news about when her son, William Ilg, would be coming home. Unfortunately, the news she received was not what she was expecting.
     On this day, 100 years ago, Great Great Grandma Pauline learned that her son, Willie, would not be coming home. She would learn that he had been killed in action just three days before the end of the war. How devastating. She would not be able to hug her son again. She would not be able to celebrate Christmas with him. All her dreams of seeing him again were just dashed. Her life would never be the same again. Here is one of the newspaper announcements about his death:

     We all get so caught up in how things don't always go the way we had hoped or planned. Well, maybe this Christmas, we remember that things aren't as bad as they could be. Maybe this Christmas we remember to pray for those who are hurting and are not able celebrate with family. Maybe we hug our family a little tighter this Christmas and be grateful for the time we do have with them. Maybe this Christmas we remember the sacrifices of our ancestors so we are able to celebrate Christmas.

     To my 2nd Great Uncle who gave his life for my freedom, I wish you a Merry Christmas and thank you for your sacrifice. To my 2nd Great Grandma who lost her son right before Christmas, I will never forget your sacrifice as well or the pain you went through. 

Merry Christmas Friends & Family

     Hello my friends and family! Hope this year has been a great one for you! This year sure started out with a mixture of excitement and frustration for us. Through it all, we have been blessed. God has been with us every step of the way. We ended last year moving out of our apartment and into our new home in Union. Sadly, we were also involved in an accident five days after we closed on the house. We all gratefully walked away from the collision. Things were rough in the beginning, but we are pretty settled now. The house is so much better than the apartment for sure. God is so good!
     If you have never been to my blog before, welcome! This is where I share my genealogy discoveries and some helpful tips as well. If you have some time, take a few minutes and check out some of the entries I have made about family. Genealogy has become my passion. I love playing detective, trying to solve mysteries and put the pieces together. I've found I have a real knack for it. Let me share some discoveries I've made over the past year.
     Starting with my 3rd great grandma, Maggie Helfrich. That name probably sounds familiar to some of you. She is traced up on Grandma Ruth Wheeler's side. I've had a hard time trying to find more information about her as she came from Tennessee; born during the Civil War. This year brought great discoveries. I was able to locate her divorce record from her first husband, Logan Dennis, and her marriage record to her second husband, Jacob Helfrich. In the divorce record, I came across some very shocking news about her relationship to her daughter Oma Mae. If you would like to read about it, click here: The Search for Maggie Molten continues. Through all this though, I have not been able to trace back any farther than Maggie. I may need to actually take a trip to the Archives in Nashville, Tennessee to see if I can find anything.
     As I stated above, we moved into our new house end of last year. One thing this house has is a dedicated Laundry Room. I was beyond ecstatic. I decided to dedicate that Laundry Room to Grandma & Grandpa Wheeler. Mom told me the story that they met while working together at White Line Laundry located on Chippewa. I loved the story as it related to my own with my husband. We met while working together at a bookstore 17 years ago. To read the story about While Line Laundry and to see the decorations, click here: White Line Laundry.
     I hope you are enjoying the stories so far. My journey through genealogy research has not only taken me through the United States, but overseas as well. With some help from some Facebook groups I am a member of, I was able to trace Grandma Ruth Wheeler's Ilg Family back into Germany for a few more generations. I have copies of the original church records written in German. Those were fun to read haha! Google Translate became my friend. I'm familiar with many French and German words, but reading the old writing was difficult. But I was able to go back to my 5th Great Grandfather & Grandmother from Seitingen, Tuttlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Read the story here: The Ilg's have been located.
     I know it seems like I've only researched my side of the family this year, but I promise you I've been researching Mark's as well. In the past, a lot of time has been spent on finding his family. Here is a video I made about that research.


     One big discovery I made this past year on Mark's family was he had family that came from Silverton, Colorado! We lived in Delta, Colorado for a few years and had even visited Silverton before we knew he had family that lived there and was buried there. Talk about small world! Read about this story here: Relatives in Silverton, Colorado?!
     And the final family member I have been researching has been the most interesting of the year. This year marked the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. I remembered we had a family member that fought and died in World War I, so I dedicated some time to getting to know him and all about his sacrifice. William Ilg is the brother of Great Grandpa Joseph Ilg (Grandma Ruth Wheeler's father). He died three days before the end of World War I. That fact alone caused me to want to find out more. Read his story here: William Ilg, the gone but not forgotten Uncle. I am not done researching him yet. There is still something I need to try to finish. It's a surprise!
     Like I said, this blog was started to share my journey through Genealogy. I've taken a few research trips over the years and have taken lots of photos. It's hard to share all of them through the blog itself so something else that I decided to do was to create my own YouTube Channel. I take the photos and videos I capture, and create small interesting videos to share. It really brings everything to life. As time goes on, I am hoping to take more trips, and once I do I will be making and uploading more videos. I will also be uploading family videos so they are preserved for years to come. Please take some time and visit my YouTube Channel & take a second to subscribe so you don't miss any uploads.
     I know I've shared quite a bit of information with you. If anyone has any questions about the research I have done, or wants copies, or anything, please let me know. I am happy to share all my research with you, my family. My family is also your family. Love you all and I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Thankful & Blessed

     Thanksgiving has now passed here in the United States. We were able to spend time with wonderful friends and family... and eat lots of turkey haha! Since we have a bigger house now, we are able to host Thanksgiving. Although, our small apartment couldn't stop me from hosting before. But it is nice to have room for everyone without tripping over each other and the dog. Oh and a dishwasher! How I am so thankful for us now having a dishwasher! It's the little things I tell ya!

     One tradition we started a few years ago is our Thankful Tree. I got the idea from Pinterest. Every day, each one of us takes a leaf, writes what we are thankful for on a piece of paper, attaches that to the leaf, then hangs it on the tree. Everyone participates, including guests who come over for dinner during the month of November. Every year, the tree looks different. I create it using sticks from our yard; arranging them in a vase.

     My daughter, who is almost 15, loves doing this. She makes sure we don't forget to do our leaves by reminding us after dinner every night. I love seeing the things that she is most thankful for. They range from the normal teenager things like "YouTube", "Wi-Fi", "Dr. Pepper", etc. to the more heartwarming ones like, "Hugs from Mom", "Time with family", "My home", "Warm food to eat", etc. I am so thankful she is appreciating many things in life that can't be bought.
     We still have two days left of doing our leaves, and because we've had many people come through our home this month, we have almost run out of leaves. While I was worried at first, I took it as a positive thing. That mean, we all have so many things to be thankful for. So many, that we are running out of leaves to write them on. I look at our tree, and it's so full, the leaves are falling off. I can definitely say, my heart is full this Holiday season. We are beyond blessed in so many ways.
     So, what am I thankful for this year? I'm thankful for another year full of blessings. I'm thankful for my Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm thankful for my friends and family. I'm thankful for where my journey through genealogy has taken me. And I'm thankful for all of you.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thanksgiving Menu

     The Thanksgiving holiday is almost here. Just a few days until we get to stuff ourselves with Turkey, Dressing, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Green Bean Casserole, different styles of vegetables, Cranberries, and then of course pie (Pumpkin, Apple, Pecan, etc.) Although many households have a mixture of different menu items, these are usually some of the basic staples that are included. That got me thinking: Was it always this way? How has the Thanksgiving Menu changed over the years? So I did a quick search to find out what was commonly served for Thanksgiving started back in the early 1900s.

These are two examples of typical menus from 1905. These copies are from the "Fannie Farmer's Cookbook, 'What To Have For Dinner' ". The first thing that cause my eye was the Oyster Stew on the first menu. Then on the second menu, the Clam soup and Halibut Rolls. What stands out to you?

Now onto a 1920s Thanksgiving Menu:

This menu still looks pretty similar to the menu above, maybe with a few differences. Again with the Oysters. Can you tell, I'm not a big fan of them. You can find this menu here.

Now, let's jump ahead to a 1938 Menu:

I see some difference in this one. Got some Cream of French Tomato Soup and Oxtail Soup. My dad loves Oxtail soup. Lobster Thermidor? Fascinating. But the main section is pretty close to what we have for our Thanksgiving. I can't imagine making all this food from scratch just for one meal. 

Ok let's look at a 1942 Thanksgiving Menu:

There is considerably less food listed on this menu. Don't forget this is when the war started, so rations would be put in place. As the war went on, food was rationed even more. Items included Sugar, Butter, Meat, etc. People would have to get creative with their cooking. 

Moving on to after the war, to a 1952 thanksgiving:

These menus are based on your size kitchen. Never seen that before. This is also the first menu where oysters were not served. Coffee was always served. Years ago, it was just as popular as soda is today. Wait, what is molded mincemeat salad? I'm afraid to ask. 

Ok onto 1961. Let's see what they are serving for Thanksgiving:

Not too much is different. Some of the more exotic (at least to me) items are not here anymore. Looking at the different varieties of the sides really makes me feel plain. Most we do these days is open a can of vegetables and heat them up. I haven't seen a mushroom green bean casserole anywhere yet. hmmm....

Ok moving on to 1970s. I was having troubles coming up with some menus for that time, but I found this one from Amtrak:

From here on, I couldn't find any particular menus for the 1980s on. I was born in 1982 and I remember my Thanksgivings including Turkey, Stuffing, Carrots, Peas, Cauliflower with cheese, sliced pears with cherry cream cheese, cranberries, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes & gravy and pies.

As you can see, some menu items have been passed down through the years. Some have disappeared while others have been added. Whatever you decide to serve for Thanksgiving, may you be surrounded by friends and family that bring you much joy and happiness.

Happy Thanksgiving from Auntie Jen!

William Ilg eligible for a medal?

     You read that title right! If you have been following along with my research recently, you will see I've been trying to put together the story of my 2nd Great Uncle, William Ilg. Since the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I was coming, I decided to find out as much as I can about him. He was killed in action three days before the end of the war. So we were also remembering the day he gave the ultimate sacrifice for his country. I spent a good couple of weeks learning everything I could about his life from beginning to end.

     Sadly, his military record was destroyed in the 1973 fire at the St. Louis National Records office along with millions of other soldier's records. So, I've also been working hard to recreate his military file. My research has taken me down a path of discovery for sure. Yet, even with all I have uncovered, I have not found a picture of him. All I have is his headstone. The headstone was provided by the government since he was a veteran of World War I. I've been able to collect records from Ancestry, Family Search, Fold3, the Missouri State Archives and the National Records office in St. Louis. I was able to copy his burial case file from the National Records office. That file contained more information than I ever thought I would find. His burial information during and after the war, information about his body, his service, etc. There is still information I can look up the next time I go back in regards to rosters and such.
     For Veteran's day, I was able to visit his grave at Mount Olive Cemetery to put flowers down. I also visited the World War I memorial at Jefferson Barracks, also known as the Gold Star Court of Honor memorial. Here is a short video I made about the day:


     Now, I told you all this information first to lead up to the big news. While we were at Jefferson Barracks, I was talking with my husband and friends about the Purple Heart Memorial that was right next to the Gold Star Court of Honor Memorial. I was under the impression that only those that were wounded during war received the medal. I did not know those who were killed in war were also eligible. I have no clue if William's mother, Pauline Ilg, ever received a Purple Heart for her son since his record was destroyed. But now, I'm curious.
     I talked with a friend of my dad's who is in the local VFW. He explained to me the process of trying to get copies of medals for a soldier that has passed on. It sounds like a pretty easy process, but I know anything having to do with the government is not easy. But I am sure going to try. So as of right now, I do not know if I will receive a copy of a medal for him or not. I will definitely update as soon as I know. So check back later... we may have a huge event to celebrate.