_John Charles BALIS ___+
| (1848 - 1887) m 1872
_Franklin Thomas BALIS __|
| (1873 - 1944) |
| |_Mary Lorinda DERRICK _+
| (1853 - 1886) m 1872
|
|--Thomas Allison BALIS
| (1894 - 1970)
| _______________________
| |
|_Florence Sarah ALLISON _|
|
|_______________________
[6443] per Clark 17 Mar 2004: Ivy was the daughter of Byron Gates and Mary Hagadone
_____________________
|
_Peter William GAWNE ____|
| (1807 - 1877) |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--John Franklin GAWNE
| (1849 - 1929)
| _Thomas MARTINDALE __
| | (1759 - 1843) m 1792
|_Electa Joan MARTINDALE _|
(1806 - 1864) |
|_Lucy BENNETT _______
(1772 - ....) m 1792
_____________________
|
_Hiram Lemuel INGALLS _____|
| (1848 - 1923) m 1867 |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Laura Eliza INGALLS
| (1868 - ....)
| _Loren WOODWARD _____
| |
|_Sarah Elizabeth WOODWARD _|
(1846 - ....) m 1867 |
|_Lydia Eliza GOULD __+
(1822 - 1895)
[8830]
Laura Eliza was named for her two grandmothers.
In "Little House in the Big Woods" Laura tells about a family get-together where there are two Lauras. This is the 2nd Laura.
__
|
_John George NICKLAS ___|
| (1806 - 1884) m 1833 |
| |__
|
|
|--George NICKLAS
| (1845 - 1867)
| __
| |
|_Anna Catharine BETSCH _|
(1809 - 1889) m 1833 |
|__
[746] John and Anna Nicklas's sixth child was George Nicklas, born 10 October 1845 in Monroe County, Illinois. George was a private in Co. K of the 47th Wisconsin infantry in the Civil War. He died of Tuberculosis several years after the war ended. Many Civil War soldiers suffered from TB. Over 6,000 died during the war and countless others, including George and his brother Jacob, succombed after they returned home.
Line 34
George Nicklas age 54 Farmer real value $3000 personal $725 b. Hesse Darmstadt
Catharine 52 "
John 21 IL
Catherine 18 "
George, Jr 16 "
William 16 "
Caroline 12 WI
Jacob8"
Geo. Nicklas age 44 b. Ger
Catharine " 42 "
Peter " 16 Penn
Elizabeth " 14 "
John " 11 Ill
Catharine " 8 "
Geo. " 6 "
Wm. " 4 "
Caroline " 2 Wisc
__
|
_L.H. SCHLUCKE ______|
| |
| |__
|
|
|--Doratha L. Harriet SCHLUCKE
| (1841 - 1929)
| __
| |
|_Christianna THIES __|
(1818 - 1880) |
|__
[530]
The Dorothy Schlucke Story
1841-1929
March 30, 2007
Dear Children
Tonight I want to tell you the story of our ancestor Dorothy Schlucke.
Dorothy was born in the village of Salzhemmendorf, Hanover, Germany in 1841. She and her sister Carrie and their mother, Christiana Thies, had to work very hard to earn their daily bread. Dorothy's mother was a seamstress and Dorothy was a goose girl. In Germany at that time life was not arranged like it is on American farms of today. Most people lived in villages rather than on separate farms. In order for the animals to graze the herders would come around in the morning and pick them up from each household and return them in the evening and they were usually paid by the village treasury. So every morning little Dorothy had to go to each home and collect the geese and remember which goose belonged to which house and lead them out into a meadow to feed and she had to watch them all day to see that they didn't get lost or eaten by another creature. On wash day women would dry their sheets on the grass beside the river and Dorothy had to be very careful her geese did not walk on the drying sheets. In the evening she took each goose back to its proper home. It was a very important job. And it paid well.
In those days there were no child labor laws like we have today in America. Children could be made to go to work as soon as it was humanly possible and they often were. Dorothy was born in 1841 and her mother was married in Wisconsin in 1848 so Dorothy did this important job before she was even seven years old!
We don't know anything more about Dorothy until she turned 18 and married Peter Nicklas. It's probably a good thing Dorothy learned to work hard when she was very young because for most of her married life she helped Peter earn the living. On the 1860 census she and Peter are shown working for and living with two separate families less than a year after their marriage. Dorothy is working for a family in Cassville as a nursemaid, probably caring for the family's small children. Peter is working for a farmer nearby. He worked as a farmer most of his life in Georgetown where his parents were. Nana and Cousin Sophia Driskill both said that Peter didn't have a good head for business and wasn't the greatest farmer and that his wife, Dorothy, earned most of the family's living by sewing. They both said she was a wonderful seamstress.
Peter and Dorothy had three children in Georgetown, Grant County, Wisconsin; George Leonard born in 1862, Evelyn in 1866, and Anna Adelaide in 1871. The 1910 census says Dorothy has birthed 4 children so one baby must have died. It also says only 2 are still living but that is wrong as all three were alive and well in 1910. Sophia said they, Peter and his family, lived with his parents. Perhaps they did at one time. I didn't find that arrangement on the census record. They show up on their own place in Grant County in 1870 and 1880 and Peter is farming. In 1900 they are living in Rush Illinois with their daughter Addie and husband. Peter died in 1904 and on the 1910 and 1920 census Dorothy is living with her daughter Evelyn in Platteville. She died there in 1929 just short of 90 years of age.
Besides the historical record we find in things like censuses, marriage, and death records, we have information on Dorothy from three people who knew her personally. They are her granddaughters, Nana and Aunt Dorothy White, and her cousin, Sophia Driskill. They all told that Dorothy's parents were't married. That fact was quite important and shocking to that generation. Here are a few of the other things they said:
From Aunt Dorothy, Letter 3, "Grandma Nicklas' name was Henrietta Dorthea. Part of the relationship called her Henrietta and part Dorthea. This grandmother was a dear little lady. . . As I remember it, she had a red-headed ... sister." And from Letter 4, "Grandma Nicklas and Aunt Eva got their drinking water from their cistern in Platteville, Wisconsin. I remember that you could taste smoke in the water. Grandma said, ' You'd get used to it.' Evidentally it didn't hurt her, for she didn't die until her 90th year."
From Cousin Sophia, Letter A, "Sorry I could not get Uncle Peter's wife's maiden name. She was ... a very nice, small, nervous lady. She was a lovely seamstress and very neat. She and uncle spent a winter with us so I got to know them quite well. She was a goose herder in Germany. I saw an article in a Magazine about the German goose herders. It was considered a very good job. . . . Evelyn (Peter and Dorothy's daughter) spent the winter with us at the time. She was a wonderful seamstress also. They (Peter and Dorothy) lived with grandparents quite a while. They are buried in Jamestown without a marker. Father often said he would like to place a marker but no one seemed interested. Uncle (Peter) was a very poor businessman. She (Dorothy) made a living by sewing. " And from Letter M, "We always called his (Peter's) wife Harriet. One of her middle initials is H. Guess we went by Harriet."
Dorothy's name has been a puzzle. As you can see above, for her first name she went by Dorothy, Dorthea, Henrietta, or Harriet. In the historical record she is sometimes Doratha as well., and once Amelia! Her maiden name was Schlucke on her marriage record, Thies on her death record, and Tiece on her mother's marriage record. Her married name Nicklas appears also as Nicholes and Nicholas. All these spellings make research a bit challenging. It's a good thing I had first person accounts to lead me.
Here is a little about Dorothy and Peter's other children:
Dorothy and Peter Nicklas's first child was George Leonard Nicklas born in 1862. He married Carrie Jane Straw in 1891. George and Carrie had one child, Richard Straw Nicklas, in 1893. George became a physician practicing in Platteville until 1915. In his early 50's George suffered from early senility and had to give up his medical practice. His wife was unable to care for him, so he was sent to the county Asylum in Lascaster where he died in 1935. Their son Richard was a college woodworking teacher in Colorado.
Dorothy and Peter Nicklas's second child was Evelyn Nicklas born in 1866. Evelyn grew up to be a bright and lovely young woman. Her parents tried to send her to college in Platteville but she became too homesick. She went home and became a seamstress and dressmaker with her mother. The dressmaker at the turn of the century was a very highly skilled craftsperson. A single bodice could have as many as 78 pieces. And the pattern pieces, all printed on top of one another on a single sheet, made a maze to make a spider weep. Evelyn never married. She cared for her parents when they were old. She was careful with her money and saved enough to be able to help her niece, Helen White (Nana), with college expenses at UW-Platteville.
Dorothy and Peter Nicklas's third child was Anna Adelaide Nicklas born in 1871. She's our ancestor, so, more about her later.
So this is the story of Dorothy Schlucke. She had the misfortune to be born out of wedlock and had to work very hard her whole life. Even as a child before the advent of child labor laws, she labored as a goose herder. As an adult she supported her family with her sewing skills which she passed on to her daughter. She was born in Hanover and died in Wisconsin. She was a good sweet loyal hardworking woman.
Here's how we are related to Dorothy Dorothea Doratha Henrietta Harriet Amelia Shlucke Tiece Thies Nicholes Nicholas Nicklas. Dorthy the seamstress had Anna Adelaide the farmer's wife. Anna Adelaide had Helen Frances the schoolteacher. Helen Frances had Paul Robert the computer scientist. Paul Robert had Dawne Irene the engineer and teacher. Dawne Irene had . . . Sarah, Hannah, Timmy, and Becky!
So Horray for Dorothy Dorothea Doratha Henrietta Harriet Amelia Shlucke Tiece Thies Nicholes Nicholas Nicklas!
Love,
Granny
Line 1
Nicholes, Peter age 45 Farmer b. Penn f.b. Hesse Darmstadt m. b. Hesse Darmstadt
Dorothy 39 wife Hanover Hanover Hanover
George L. 17 son - works on farm WI PA "
Evlina 13 dau" " "
Anna 8 dau" " "
Census, Federal - 1900 - Jo Daviess Co., Illinois, Rush Twsp, ED 41, Ancestry p. 14 of 19.
"line 84 dwelling house # 151 family # 182
White, Wesley, head 36 occupation farmer
White, Addie wife 27
White, Wilbur son 8/12 (should be 3/12)
line 87 dwelling #151 family # 183
Nicklas, Peter head 65 occupation retired
Nicklas, Dorthea wife 58
Nicklas, Evilina dau 33."
Line 99 - 520 Division Street - dwelling # 146, family # 154
Nicklas, Doratha age 68 birthed 4 children, 2 still living - occupation house keeping
Eva 43 dressmaker working on own account
Line 26
Nicholas, Peter B. age 36 Farmer personal estate $400 b. Penn.
Dorothy 28 Keeping House Hanover
George 8 at home WI
Lena4 " WI
Line 1
Amelia Nicklas 18 Nurse b. Bavaria
[540] This entry shows "Amelia" living with family of John Geiger, a merchant. I believe it is our Harriet because it's the only female "Nicklas" of right age in 2 counties. Her husband Peter is living and working with a family in LaFayette County.
Line 62
Nicklas, Dorothy Head own free age 78 widow Imm: 1855 GER GER GER
Evaline Dau 55 S WI PA GER OCC: Dressmaker - at home - wages
_Thomas STEVENS ______+
| (1758 - 1812)
_William STEVENS ____|
| (1785 - 1869) m 1810|
| |_Nancy Agnes ELLIOTT _+
| (1758 - 1838)
|
|--Rachel STEVENS
| (1819 - ....)
| _Philip HIGGINS ______+
| | (1753 - 1845) m 1777
|_Hannah HIGGINS _____|
(1787 - 1869) m 1810|
|_Mary CROWELL ________+
(1756 - 1833) m 1777