Category: Born In

Howard Wegley

Howard Wegley was born on April 26, 1903, in Kane, Pennsylvania. He was my great-granduncle.

Howard J. Wegley died at the age of 33 from a fatal bout of pneumonia. His date of death was January 17, 1937. You’ll see in his obituary which was posted on January 18th that it said he died “yesterday” making his death the 17th. This was printed in The Kane Republican, on page six.

We also know his date of death from his death certificate.

It was from this that we learned at the time of his death he lived at 22 Mission East Parkway, in Pittsburgh, PA. We also know that he first reported having symptoms on January 10th and admitted for care on January 14th. He died a few days later on January 17, 1937, at 12:50 am at Allegheny General Hospital.

His obituary says he was survived by his wife but his death certificate says he was divorce. His wife was Olive Rush Hooks. She would go on to remarry in 1948 – a man by the name of William Macaluso.

Howard Wegley and Olive Rush Hooks were married on. They had one child together, a boy named Leroy G. Wegley. He was born on September 16, 1930 (he died on June 19, 2014).

Howard Wegley was sentenced on March 11, 1935, to the Allegheny County Workhouse (Prisoner # 39227.

The Allegheny County Workhouse was a prison that was located adjacent to the town of Blawnox, Pennsylvania. Its full name was “Allegheny County Workhouse and Inebriate Asylum”. The first inmates were received in 1869, and the facility closed in 1971. The prison housed mostly inmates convicted of minor offenses. Many of those prisoners maintained a farm of about 1100 acres (445 ha), which contained apple orchards as well as many other crops and many different types of farm animals.

It was in this record we learned a little more about what Howard looked like.  He was 5’7″, and weighed 113 pounds when he entered and 122 when he left.

I’m not quite sure what crime he was convicted of. It’s listed (see image below) but I can’t read what the word is.

Maybe you’ll have better luck. I’ve included his crime listed below next to the others, to give you some sort of context.

 

Euphrosina Wilhelmina Wageli

My current fascination is with Euphrosina Wilhelmina Wageli who was born on March 14, 1716, in Lampertheim, Bergstrasse, Hessen, Germany.

Her parents were Han Philipp Wegerle and Barbara Kessler (Barbara Keßler). She is their youngest child.

Euphrosina is my 7th great-aunt, not exactly in my direct line but her name utterly fascinates me. I don’t know what it is, I guess just because Euphrosina is so unique, it just stands out. Anyway, that’s why I spent some time looking into her life.

Now keep in mind when it comes to her last name, you’ll often find MANY variations including the most common being Waegerle,  Wegerle, Wageli, and Wägeli but here are some other German variations.

  • Wegerlin
  • Wegelin
  • Wägerlin
  • Wegerlein
  • Wägele
  • Wägeli
  • Waegerlen
  • Waegerlin
  • Weckherlin
  • Weekerlin
  • Wegerle
  • Weggerly
  • Weikhelin
  • Wiegerlin
  • Wigerli
  • Wigerlin
  • Waeckherlin
  • Wuekherlin

I actually went as far as to hire someone from Germany who does translations to ask him who you even pronounce the name Wägeli. Was it why-gull or wu-ghel-ly or something different altogether? He ended up telling me that the “ä” has a sound that is unique, there is no way to write it correctly for an English speaker but if you had to sound it out like why-gull, he said the closest would be the one that you said “wu-ghe-ly” but it’s only close and not the right way.

Here is a recording of his saying it so you can hear it said in his nature German tongue. 🙂

PLEASE NOTE: I am taking you on a journey of research to show you how things you are sure are true, later turn out not to be. Please make sure you read all the way through this document before confirming any facts in your own family tree. As you get to the bottom you find out right about here I make a mistake in my research. I keep it in here to share with you how I confirmed and discredited documented “facts” from others.

There is a record called the ‘Germany, Select Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898 (Deutschland, ausgewählte Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898)‘ and that tells us her full name is Euphrosina Wilhelmina Waegerle and that she married Ludwig Gottlieb Siber and they had a daughter named Rosina Barbara Sieber. Rosina was born on October 26, 1859.

Euphrosina WegerleWe have another similar document showing us that they had a second daughter named Wilhelmina Barbara Sieber. She was born on May 20, 1858.

Ludwig Gottlieb F Sieber, her husband appears to have emigrated to Russia in March of 1862. It says he was born in Grossingersheim, Germany. His children were still very young, so we can assume that his wife Euphrosina went with him and that is where she died.

On other of Wilhelmine Barbara Sieber’s baptism records, her name is spelled “Euphemia Wilhelmine Sieber”. However, that’s very easily a translation error as you can see from the original below it’s not easy to read.

On Rosina Barbara Sieber’s other baptism records, they also misspell Euphrosina’s name. Again a common thing when it comes to translation of texts. This is why you always need multiple records to confirm the same fact – as no one source is every truly definitive.

Now we come to a stump in the road. There is another out there who goes by the name Euphrosyne Wilhelmine Wagerle [Euphrosyne Wilhelmine Waegerle].  She was born on August 6, 1819, and when she was 37 she married a Ludwig Gottlieb Siber.

However, there is a 103-year difference between our Euphrosina and this Euphrosyne. This later Euphrosyne’s parents are …

Father: Johann Christian Waegerle
Mother: Rosine Catharine Enderle

So now let’s go back to our Euphrosina who was born in 1716. That’s when I realized her two daughters couldn’t possibly be her two daughters because that would mean she would have been like 142 years old when she gave birth.

How do we know she belongs on the Han Phillip Wegerle and Barbara Kessler tree?

We know that Hans Philip Wegerle (Hanß Philip Wegerle) married Barbara Keßler (Barbara Kessler) on June 19, 1691. They were married in Lampertheim, Bergstrasse, Hessen, Germany. This is a documented fact. This also is where all the other Wegley’s from my tree have been from so it all matches up so far.

 

 

Orville Jack Wegley

Orville Wegley (went by Jack) was born on October 26, 1920 and he died on July 4, 1995. He was born and died in Williston, North Dakota where he and his family lived all of their lives and his father Joseph Wegley served as the town’s mayor.

He is the youngest child of Joseph Wegley and Tena (Olson) Wegley.

Orville (Jack) Wegley served in the United States Army from June 2, 1939, to April 10, 1944. This means he served during World War II which took place from Sep 1, 1939 – Sep 2, 1945.

On February 10, 1941, he shows to have enlisted in the National Guard in the infantry branch. I’m not sure how that works since at the time he was already in the Army.

As soon as he was discharged from the military he married Nadine Melland on May 29, 1944.

Joseph Wegley


Joseph Wegley is the son of Jonathan George Wegley and Sarah Circle. He was born on March 29, 1866, and died on January 5, 1946, in his hometown of Williston, North Dakota. Joseph is my 1st cousin 3x removed.

Joseph Wegley married his wife Tena Olson, who was 14 years younger than him. He first married her when he was 28 and that means she would have been 14. Yes, that is the correct spelling of her first name. I verified the spelling with multiple sources.

Together they had at least 9 children.

  • Cloyd J. 
  • Joe A.
  • Howard Joseph 
  • Edna Josephine
  • Theodore J.
  • Lester J.
  • Charles Joe
  • Dora V. 
  • Orville Jack

There was some confusing information about their children. I had to do a lot of digging and cross-referencing to get their children’s name down right.  In the 1920 US Census, we can see all of their children listed minus their youngest, Orville who wasn’t born yet.

If you have any children (aother than the 9 from above) listed for Joseph and Tena Wegley then you are mistaken and need to re-verify your information.

They lived at 211 East 2nd Street in 1911. right down the street from his brother Fred and his wife Alice, who lied at 223 East 2nd Street. We know this from the town directory which the local paper published from time to time.

Thanks to the US Census records we know that he owned his home and it was valued at $1,500. It was a farm, and he owned a radio (like us having a TV today). He did not go to school but he can read and write.  

 

 

‘Grand Forks Herald’, Grand Forks, North Dakota.  8 Nov 1907

Williston, N. D., Nov. 7 – A warrant has been issued for Fred Wegley, a brother of the mayor, the charge being the illegal sale of intoxicating liquors in what is commonly known as “Wegley’s Pig,” the joint in the lower regions of the concrete building on East Broadway.  The warrant was issued this morning and is now in the hands of the sheriff, who will serve it as soon as the defendant can be found, the understanding being that he has left the city temporarily.

‘Grand Forks Herald’, Grand Forks, North Dakota.  10 June 1909

Williston, N. D., June 9 – Fred Wegley has been acquitted.  The jury in the case was out just three minutes this morning when it returned a verdict of not guilty.  This case has attracted attention for the last year and a half on account of the accused being a brother of Former Mayor Joseph Wegley, who has the reputation of being the man who cleared Williston of blind pigs, and it was asserted that the mayor was protecting his brother and allowing him an exclusive righty to conduct a “pig”.

  The accused was tried three times before justices of the peace and each time found not guilty, and then was indicted by the grand jury, on which indictment he was just found not guilty.

  The outcome of the case convinces Wegley’s friends that the case was only a piece of spite work on the part of those opposed to Mayor Wegley to throw suspicion on the sincerity of his administration.

Here’s a crazy story about how he became mayor in the first place.

Fact: First North Dakota mayor accused of horse rustling

 

 

Williston’s first mayor, William Denny, did a lot to make it the state’s fastest-growing city during the first decade of the 20th century, growing from 763 people in 1900 to 3,124 in 1910, a rate of more than 300 percent. Denny was also suspected of being the ringleader of a large horse-rustling organization.
 
Denny established the first bank in Williston when he arrived in February 1899. He also had a large ranch on which he raised horses and Hereford cattle. He had connections in Montana where large numbers of horses were brought to his ranch and sold to him at $10 to $30 a head. Because northwestern North Dakota was rapidly filling up with homesteaders, Denny was able to sell each of the horses to the settlers for $150. Initially, most Williston residents considered Denny a shrewd businessman.
 
In June 1904, Denny was elected mayor and went to work to provide electricity and running water for the residents. He ran unopposed for re-election in 1905, and later that year, Denny was arrested, convicted and sentenced to prison for being the fence of a large horse-stealing enterprise in Montana. He appealed to the North Dakota Supreme Court for a retrial, which was granted to him since key pieces of evidence against him had disappeared. With the major evidence missing, a new trial never occurred, and Denny was set free.
 
William Henry Denny Jr. was born in New Auburn, Minn., on March 17, 1870, to William Sr. and Marian (Joslyn/Josline) Denny. William Sr. was a gunsmith, and the family moved to the larger town of Glencoe soon after William Jr.’s birth. In 1885, William Jr. attended Anoka Business College and after graduating two years later, “worked at various stores in St. Cloud.” In the fall of 1889, he traveled to Montana and found work as a ranch hand on the Diamond G Ranch, which was owned by J. D. “Dad” Williams. Also working for Williams was “Dutch Henry” Jauch (pronounced Yaw), who later organized “the largest horse stealing operation in eastern Montana.”

Williams found Denny to be trustworthy and asked the youngster to drive horses to central North Dakota to be sold. On his drives, Denny established friendships in Benson County, and he developed a romantic interest in Kate Huffnail, a school teacher in Minnewaukan. He moved to Minnewaukan in 1897 and, in July, went to work for the Benson County State Bank.

After working for a couple of years, learning how to operate a bank, Denny began exploring new opportunities. Seeing that the Great Northern Railway had reached Williston in 1898 and that it was about to establish branch lines from there to towns in the northwestern part of the state, he knew that settlers were soon to follow. Williston did not have a bank, and the town was ideally located, near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers.

In 1898, Denny contacted Charles Hilton Davidson, a wealthy Canadian real estate dealer, and Thomas L. Beisaker, a Fessenden banker, who also owned a number of other banks in North Dakota and Minnesota, and the two men agreed to finance the establishment of a bank in Williston. When the Williams County State Bank opened on Feb. 19, 1899, Denny was named cashier and manager. Feeling financially secure, he married Kate on March 8.

From the money Denny was making at the bank, he began purchasing land, between Williston and the Montana border, on which to raise cattle and horses. His plan was to buy horses brought in from Montana and sell them to the homesteaders who were coming into northwestern North Dakota. Denny also began selling real estate and, in 1903, established the town of Trenton on his property.

On Feb. 3, 1904, Williston was incorporated as a city, and four months later, the newly elected councilmen chose Denny as mayor. According to Joseph Wegley, Denny’s successor as mayor, Williston was a wild-west town. Wegley wrote, “There were eleven saloons or blind pigs on Main Street and lots of them in the alleys … blind pigs prevailed and ruled the city.” Wegley also pointed out that Denny was in support of the saloons.

In 1905, Denny was re-elected, and he sent out bid proposals for the construction of city waterworks and an electrical plant. Besides serving as mayor, he also was kept busy buying and selling horses. On Oct. 26, law officers from Montana went to Denny’s ranch and discovered stolen horses. Denny and Art McGahey, the man who delivered the stolen horses, were arrested. Denny’s lawyers pointed out that the lawmen had presented insufficient evidence, and the arrest was rescinded.

Suspicion that Denny was the fence and possibly the kingpin of a large horse-rustling organization surfaced in September when Jack Teal, a Montana lawman, and George Hall, the stock inspector for the Montana Stockmen’s Association, arrested a horse thief. When the thief tried to escape, he was shot and killed. Teal and Hall went through the dead man’s belongings and discovered a letter that named Denny as the “chief fence” for stolen horses.

This information was corroborated by George Miller, a saloon owner whose establishment had recently been robbed by horse thieves. He told Hall and Sheriff William Griffith about an incident in which Tom Ryan, who had injured his writing hand, had Miller write a letter to Denny. “Ryan was the major rustler in eastern Montana now that Jauch had disappeared.” The letter stated that Ryan was having McGahey deliver horses to Denny.

Miller agreed to work with the lawmen. To make certain that the horses had been delivered, he went to the mayor’s ranch, posing as Ryan’s friend. Denny confirmed to Miller that the horses had arrived and had been sold. Denny also told Miller to tell Ryan to stop visiting his bank because “Montana authorities were breathing down his neck.”

Armed with this additional evidence, law officials returned to Denny’s ranch in mid-November to arrest him, but he was gone. He had been tipped off and fled to Benson County. The lawmen located Denny in Churchs Ferry and arrested him, but they were unable to take him into custody because the district judge, John Cowan, issued a habeas corpus decree declaring Denny needed to appear in court before he could be detained.

A trial was scheduled for August 1906, but Montana authorities did not believe justice would be served. In December 1905, Montana’s governor, Joseph Toole, made a request to Elmore Sarles, governor of North Dakota, that Denny be extradited, and Sarles agreed. However, Denny’s lawyers were able to get the extradition order rescinded.

At his trial on Aug. 9, 1906, Denny was found guilty of selling stolen horses and sentenced to three years in prison. However, Denny’s lawyers appealed to the North Dakota Supreme Court for a retrial. The letters showing Denny’s involvement disappeared, before the court met on Oct. 11, 1908, and the court ordered a retrial. Since the prosecution no longer had their most important evidence, a new trial never occurred, and Denny no longer feared conviction.

Although Denny was basically free, “he was a broken man and he never recovered.” He resigned his positions at the bank and as mayor. Denny remained in Williston and sold real estate until the 1930s, when he lived in Montana and California for short periods of time. He returned to Williston where he died on July 9, 1936.

Olive Alta Wegley

Olive Alta Wegley is the youngest child of Jonathan George Wegley and his wife

She was born on February 2, 1884, in Washington, Ohio and died on August 25, 1960.

Her grave shows her name as Olive A., however, the Ohio Births and Christenings Index (1774-1973) shows her name as Alta Olive Wegley. It’s most likely just a mistake in transcription but I did want to make my readers aware of this.

Olive married her husband Pearl Cloyd Rasor on December 25, 1901, when she was just 17 years old. Together they had at least two children, a son, and a daughter.

  • Herman James (March 21, 1905 – December 13, 1985)
  • Dorothy Miriam (February 25, 1908 – September 8, 1996)

In the 1930 US Census, we learned that her husband ran a grocery store and she worked as a saleswoman in the store (Unpaid worker, member of the family).

When her husband passed away, she remarried (she was 66 at the time). The marriage to her 2nd husband (Charles Trushel) took place on November 9, 1951.

 

Minnie Marie Hoag

Minnie Marie Hoag was born on January 9, 1925, in Monessen, PA. She died on February 10, 2000, which she was 75 years old.

Her mother is Emma Marie Assel, and her father is Robert Thomas Hoag.

Here we have Minnie in the 1930 US census when she was just about five years old. She is living with her parents, her baby sister Elsie Jane Hoag and someone named James. This is not her youngest brother Robert Thomas Hoag Junior, since he wasn’t born yet.

James is probably her uncle James William Hoag (1894-1940) – brother of Robert Thomas Hoag (Minnie’s father).

Minnie Marie Hoag married Samuel Caruso, and they had at least two children, Samuel Caruso Junior and Paula Marie Caruso.

She died on February 10, 2000, in Bridgeton, New Jersey.

 

Robert Thomas Hoag

Robert Thomas Hoag was born on March 3, 1900, in Fayette City, PA. We can verify this is his date of birth thanks to his World War 1 Draft Registration Card.

Robert Thomas Hoag married Emma Marie Assel on May 20, 1924, in Monessen, PA.

Together they had four children, only three of which who lived, Minni Marie Hoag, Elsie Jane Hoag, and Robert Thomas Hoag Junior.

Here is a death certificate issue for a stillborn child, born on October 23, 1931. This means the child would have been younger than Elsie and older than Robert Thomas.

He died on November 13, 1961. we know this because we have a copy of his death certificate.

This document also confirms for us that his father’s name is Walter Hoag. When Robert Thomas Hoag died he was living at 1614 Maple Avenue, in Monessen, PA. It’s a small 2 bedroom house that is still around to this day. (Directions)

His death certificate also tells us that he died of pancreatic cancer, something of which he was diagnosed with just two months prior to his death.

 

 

Emma Marie Assel

Emma Marie Assel was born on April 18, 1905, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. She died on May 16, 1988, in Bridgeton, New Jersey.

Emma Marie June 1986

Emma Marie Assel is the wife of Robert Thomas Hoag. Together they had four children, only three of which who lived, Minni Marie Hoag, Elsie Jane Hoag, and Robert Thomas Hoag Junior.

Here is a death certificate issue for a stillborn child, born on October 23, 1931. This means the child would have been younger than Elsie and older than Robert Thomas.

The death certificate didn’t list the sex of the child but did bury him (or her) at the Grandview Cemetery in Monessen, PA.

This death certificate is important because it verifies other facts for us such as the fact that Robert Hoag was born in Fayette City, PA and that Emma Assel was born in Pittsburg, PA and they were the parents. It also tells us that on the date of the child’s death they were living at 105 Reed Ave., in Monessen, PA (directions) –  a house that still exists to this day.

It’s a small 2 bedroom house

 

Theophilus Richardson

Theophilus Richardson was born on December 22, 1633, and died on December 28, 1674. He was born in Woburn, Mass and also died there.

In 1890 a man by the name of Edward Francis Johnson published a  book called “Births, Deaths, and Marriages of Woburn, Mass from 1640 to 1873.” It’s this book that we are able to document so many in our family tree from that time period.

It’s thanks to this document we know that Theophilus and his wife had 8 children with his wife.

  • Ezekiel (Oct 28, 1655)
  • Mary (Jan 15, 1658)
  • Sarah (April 23, 1660)
  • Abigail (Oct 21, 1662)
  • Hannah (Apr 6, 1665)
  • John (Jan 16, 1668)
  • Hesther (Jun 25, 1670)
  • Ruth (Aug 31, 1673)

Woburn, Mass records of births, deaths, and marriages
Woburn, Mass records of births, deaths, and marriages

Some say that Bridget Richardson born March 17, 1674, is also Theophilus’s daughter, but she wasn’t listed in the Woburn book.

However, I found a document called “Massachusetts Town Birth Records – Vital Records of Chelmsford” which states that she was born on March 17, 1674, in Chelmsford and that he father is James, not Theophilus.

Theophilus Richardson is the son of my 11th great-uncle, Ezekiel Richardson. Theophilus’s grandfather is Thomas Richardson of Standon, my 12th great-grandfather. So while he’s not in my direct line, he’s still a blood relative that lived in the same small town that my other family members did. For reference … here’s my direct family line.

Thomas Richardson of Standon had 7 children, one of which was Ezekiel (Theophilus’s father) and the other being Samuel, which is my family line. These 7 children would be the last generation born in England. From there the kids would all move to America and have children of their own, who will become the first generation of American born Richardson’s.

Elizabeth Jane Richardson

Elizabeth Jane Richardson was the daughter of Thomas Richardson of Standon. She was baptized on January 13, 1593. She was buried on June 22, 1630.

** Source: England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.

She was the eldest child of Thomas Richardson and Katherine Duxford. Elizabeth Richardson is my 12th great-aunt.

Elizabeth would go on to marry Francis Wyman on May 2, 1617, and together they had five children.

  • Thomas (Baptized April 5, 1618)
  • Francis (Baptized February 24, 1619)
  • John (Baptized February 3, 1621)
  • Richard (Baptized March 14, 1623)
  • William (Baptized August 31, 1628 – Buried July 3, 1630)

** Sources, Boston Transcript. Volume 1, page 67: N.E.H.G. Reg. Volume 50, Page 45.

She was born and lived in West Mill her entire life.

This Elizabeth Richardson is not the same that died on September 4, 1630, who was buried in Middlesex, England. Our Elizabeth died in Westmill, England and was buried at St. Mary the Virgin in Westmill – St Albans, St Albans District, Hertfordshire, England.