I’ve been researching my Duer line lately with the idea that
I’ll write a Kinship Determination from where my line begins, with Maria Duer,
my great great grandmother, to my gateway ancestor, Thomas Stone Duer.
I’ve blogged previously about the serendipitous events and
detailed how history repeats itself (see Circular Migration Patterns-How History RepeatsItself, 30 May 2015). After discovering the
connection, I’ve become more determined to learn about the Duer Family.
Maria left some wonderful records, however, they initially
led me to a wrong conclusion. Years ago,
I had found her obituary through the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center
Obituary Index[1] but
I couldn’t decipher it as it was in German and used Gothic script. Her daughter Emma’s death certificate stated
Maria was born in Germany.[2]
The obit and the daughter’s death
certificate led me to believe that Maria was of German descent. By just looking at the surface, those two
records reinforced what I already knew about my father’s long line of German ancestry;
I had Leininger, Bollenbacher, Kuhn, Kable, and Kettering surnames sprinkled
everywhere in my tree and all of them were German immigrants. No surprise that Maria Duer would have also
been German. How wrong I was!
Maria was born in Mahoning, Ohio on 2 September 1833.[3] Adam Kuhn, Maria’s son with whom she resided
at the time of her death and who was the neighbor of his sister, Emma, had served
as Emma’s death certificate informant. It
is understandable that Adam most likely identified himself with his father
Henry Kuhn’s German heritage. German
born Henry Kuhn was a prosperous citizen in Mercer County, Ohio and maintained
a close connection with others who had immigrated from Germany. Henry and Maria had been married for 55 years
so she, too, would have been known in the German community so her obituary in a
German newspaper makes sense. After
having the obituary translated, I learned that it never stated she was German
but it did mention her German born husband.
Daughter Emma died at age 50 after suffering long term physical abuse
from her ex-husband of 25 years. Adam
likely recalled his father’s birth place instead of his mother’s when he
provided Emma’s death certificate information.
In grief, he probably just made an error.
Census records, a second obituary in English, and a mug
sheet entry all confirm Maria was born in Ohio and connect her to her parents,
John and Mary Jane (Morrison) Duer. Maria
Duer was once a brickwall ancestor but no longer! What a great lesson in making sure a
reasonably exhaustive search was performed AND analysis of all the found
records was done.
[1] “Maria Duer Kuhn,” obituary,
Die Minter [Ohio] Post, 1 August 1913, page 1, col. 3.
[2] Ohio, Bureau of Vital
Statistics, death certificate, “Emma Landfair,” number 12296 (stamped, 21
February 1914.
[3] 1850 U.S. census,
Killbuck, Holmes County, Ohio, population schedule, page 245 (handwritten)
dwelling 557, family 572, Maria Duer; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 16 October 2016); citing NARA
microfilm publications M432_696.
1860 U.S. census, Liberty, Mercer County, Ohio, population
schedule, page 141 (handwritten), dwelling 1008, family 1013, Henry and Maria
Coon Jr.; Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 16 October 2016); citing NARA
microfilm publications M653_1009.
1870 U.S. census, Liberty, Mercer County, Ohio,
population schedule, page 15 (handwritten) dwelling 55, family 58, Maria Kuhn;
digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 16 October 2016); citing NARA
microfilm publications M593.
1880 U.S. census, Liberty, Mercer County, Ohio,
population schedule, page 7 (handwritten) dwelling 55, family 58, Maria Kuhn; Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 16 October 2016); citing FHL
microfilm 1255048; citing NARA microfilm publications T9_1048.
1900 U.S. census, Liberty, Mercer, Ohio, population
schedule, sheet 9 (handwritten) dwelling141, family176, Meriah Kuhn; digital
image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 16 October 2016); citing NARA with
no further information provided.
1910 U.S. census, Liberty, Mercer County, Ohio,
population schedule, sheet 9 (handwritten) dwelling 320, family 278, Miria
Kuhn; digital image Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 16 October 2016); citing NARA
microfilm publication T624_1214.
Ohio, Department of Health Division of Vital
Statistics, death certificate, “Maria Kuhn,” state file number 41826, 22 July
1913.
“Marie Kuhn,” The Grim Reaper, The Celina [Ohio] Democrat,
25 July 1913, page 1, col. 4.
Compilers, A
Portrait and Biographical Record of Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio
(Chicago,IL: A. W. Bowen & Co.,
1896) 400-401; digital image, Google
Books (https://books.google.com: accessed 16 October 2016).
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