Those Places Thursday - Coffeyville, Kansas

The first place I associated with the Deller family was Coffeyville, Kansas.  We didn't have a lot of information, but what we did know was that Charles Joseph Deller had grown up there.

As I searched online, I found that Coffeyville was located in the southeast corner of Kansas, in Montgomery County.  It was established in 1869, originally as an Indian Trading post by Col. James A. Coffey.  In 1871 the railroad came through and the city was laid out and incorporated in 1873.

In October 1892, in what might be the cities most famous incident, the Dalton gang tried to rob two banks at one time.  The plan didn't work, and four of the gang were killed, with only Emmett Dalton surviving (with 23 bullet wounds).  Four citizens of Coffeyville, including a U.S. Marshall were killed in defending the city.[1][2]  There is a Dalton Museum now, and every October they celebrate "Dalton Defender Days", a  remembrance of those who lost their lives defending the city.[3]

Dalton Museum, Coffeyville, Kansas,
Digital Image February 2010, A.B. Deller © 2014

Coffeyville had many natural resources, including natural gas, and by the early 1900's there were ten glass factories in operation as well as brick companies.[4]

These prospects for jobs were probably what brought Peter Deller and his family (including Charles Joseph) to Coffeyville from McKean County, Pennsylvania.  His brother, Nickolas "Nick" Deller was already there by 1910.[5] 

They attended the local Catholic church, and may have even helped in it's building, since it wasn't completed until 1916.[6][7]

Holy Name Catholic Church, Coffeyville, Kansas,
Digital Image February 2010, A.B. Deller © 2014

Peter and his family initially rented a house on Delaware Street[8], but by 1930 owned that same house[9].

Coffeyville was a good place for the Deller family.  Both Peter and Carrie raised their children and lived out the rest of their lives there.

[1] Coffeyville, Kansas, Wikipedia, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeyville,_Kansas], accessed 23 Feb 2011.
[2] Coffeyville History, Coffeyville Kansas website, [http://www.coffeyville.com/History.htm], accessed 23 Feb 2011.
[3]  Dalton Defenders, Coffeyville Chamber of Commerce website,[http://www.coffeyvillechamber.org/Dalton-Defenders-35840.asp], accessed 23 Feb 2011.
[4] Brick and Glass, Coffeyville Chamber of Commerce website, [http://www.coffeyvillechamber.org/Brick-and-Glass-35900.asp], accessed 23 Feb 2011.
[5]  FamilySearch.org, 1910 United States Federal Census, Year: 1910; Census Place: Coffeyville Ward 2, Montgomery, Kansas; family 1, page 1.  Accessed 23 Feb 2011.
[6] Parish Records, Holy Name Catholic Church, Coffeyville, Kansas
[7] History, Holy Name Catholic Church website, [http://www.holynamecoffeyville.org/History.html]. Accessed 23 Feb 2011.
[8] Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Coffeyville Ward 5, Montgomery, Kansas; Roll: T625_541; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 180; Image: 1088.
[9] Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Coffeyville, Montgomery, Kansas; Roll: 712; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 22; Image: 546.0.

52 Ancestors Challenge: 1 - Charles Joseph Deller

I read about Amy Johnson's 52 Ancestors Challenge at Ancestry.com and at her blog site. She said, "My goals with No Story Too Small have been to remind myself that it's alright to blog about just a portion of someone's life..."  I have been trying to start writing a family history, but I've gotten easily overwhelmed and discouraged wondering when and where to start.  So, while the research will never really be complete, this has encouraged me to start writing about what we have found.

1 - Charles Joseph Deller

Charles Joseph Deller, or Charlie, was born in Kane, McKean County, Pennsylvania on 21 July 1905 to Peter and Carrie Deller.[1]  His family had  moved there from Norristown, Pennsylvania after 1900,[2]  possibly following his uncle Charles Deller, who had moved to Kane with his family before 1900 along with his Uncle Nicholas and new wife.[3]  In 1910 his family lived in Wetmore, a little village outside of Kane, and had grown by two, twins, Joseph and Josephine.[4]  In 1911 Peter and Carrie moved their family to Coffeyville, Kansas.[14]

In 1920 at the time of the census, he was 14 years old and living with his parents in Coffeyville.[5]  Sometime between 1918 and 1920 a new family moved to their neighborhood, Bill and Nora Asbell, with their daughter, Mable, who was only a year younger than he was.[6,7]  Mable probably went to school with and was friends with the Charlie's sisters (Margerite and Josephine were about her age). Both Bill and Peter loved to fish, and Nora and Carrie were hard working housewives.  Families with a lot in common, just the kind of situation that would encourage two young people.  Charlie and Mable were married in Coffeyville, Kansas on 16 February 1924 with his parents permission.[8]

On 23 January 1925, little Charles Joseph Deller Jr. was born in Picher, Oklahoma,[9] where Charlie was probably already working in the local mines.  We have his workers identification card dated November 1928; he was working at the Picher 26 Mine as a machine helper.[10]  By 1930 the little family was renting a little house on Maple Street in Coffeyville, Kansas, and Charlie was working as a painter in a machine shop.[11] 


After Charlie Jr. was born, the family stories say that Mable had a nervous breakdown; and at some point she had a bad car accident. We don't have any records of this (except for a picture of the smashed up car), but whatever happened probably contributed to the breakup of their marriage. We haven't found a record of their divorce, but we do know that Mable remarried around 1931 and are assuming they divorced before then.

Charlie married Thelma (unknown last name) on 12 July 1933. The next record we find is a petition for divorce dated 7 October 1937 in the Montgomery County Court system. This document stated they had no children, no property, and that Thelma had been guilty of "gross neglect of duty and extreme cruelty."  Then, on 1 November 1937, Charles submitted an "Order of Dismissal" to stop the divorce proceedings.[12]  At the time of his death, in 1939, he was still married to Thelma.[13]

The next record we have for Charlie is a letter, dated 11 July 1939, sent to his son Charles in Dallas, Texas (who was visiting his mother and step-father). He told him that he had a night job outside the Corden Building in Tulsa, Oklahoma and would have all day to spend with him. He also told him that he had a new boat trailer and outboard motor.[13]

Four days later, 15 July 1939, Charlie died as the result of an accidental drowning.  His obituary, printed in the Coffeyville newspaper, reported that he had taken his boat to Ketchum, Oklahoma to spend the weekend fishing. "Persons on the bank said that immediately after Mr. Deller started the motorboat, it whirled around several times and he plunged into the water."[14, 15]

 He was buried on 17 July 1939 at Fairview Cemetery in Coffeyville, Kansas.[15, 16]

[1] County, MCKEAN COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA McKean County PA Early Births 1893 - 1905, Diller, not named.
[2]  Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census, Year: 1900; Census Place: Norristown, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Roll: T623_1444; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 245.
[3] FamilySearch.org, 1900 United States Federal Census, Year: 1900; Census Place:Kane , McKean, Pennsylvania;  Enumeration District: 0112, Sheet Number 13A, Household id: 264, GSU Film Number 1241439.
[4]  Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census, Year: 1910; Census Place: Wetmore, McKean, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1374; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 140; Image: 557.
[5] Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Coffeyville Ward 5, Montgomery, Kansas; Roll: T625_541; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 180; Image: 1088.
[6] Marriage Certificate for William F Asbell & Norah Roark.
[7] Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Coffeyville Ward 5, Montgomery, Kansas; Roll: T625_541; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 180; Image: 1085.
[8] Montgomery Kansas, Marriage License, 11464, 16 February 1924.
[9] Charles J. Deller Jr., birth certificate no. Reg. Dist. 58254, Primary Dist No. 8315, Reg. No. 89 (1925), Oklahoma State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Oklahoma City, Okla.
[10] U.S. Bureau of Mines ID Card for Chas. Deler.
[11] Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Coffeyville, Montgomery, Kansas; Roll: 712; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 22; Image: 553.0.
[12] District Court of Montgomery County Kansas, Independence, Kansas, Microfiche, C.J. Deller vs Thelma Deller.
[13] Letter from Charles Joseph Deller to Charles Franklin Deller, 11 Jul 1939.
[14] Coffeyville Daily Journal, 17 July 1939.
[15]Charles J Deller, Ketchum, Mayes, OK death certificate 12310 (15 July 1939).
[16] Gravestone for Charles Joseph Deller, 1906 - 1939, Fairview Cemetery, Coffeyville, Kansas.
 
Other blog posts about Charles Joseph Deller:
Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday - Charles Joseph Deller
Amanuensis Monday - The Last Letter from Charles Joseph Deller
Sunday's Obituary - Charles Joseph Deller
Tombstone Tuesday - Charles Joseph Deller

Peter and Carrie Deller

[Picture Left: Grandpa Pete & Pawpaw Bill Asbell.
Picture Right: Maybe a Deller son with Carrie Miller Deller.]

Peter & Carrie Deller are my husbands great-grandparents. From a relative, we had a little information about him; his name, place of birth (Germany), and where he had lived (Coffeyville, Kansas).

Both Peter and Carrie arrived after the 1880 Federal Census, and there is no 1890 Federal Census (to speak of), but I did find a listing in the 1890 & 1891 Norristown City Directory (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), for Peter, whose occupation was listed as glass-maker. This would fit with the census records of 1910, which lists his occupation as 'gatherer' in a glass factory.

I'm still searching for them in the 1900 census, so the 1910 Federal Census, is the first Federal record I've found with Peter & Carrie Deller listed. According to this census: they lived in a rented house in Wetmore Township, McKean County, Pennsylvania, both they and their parents were born in Germany, and spoke German in the home. Peter immigrated in 1885, and Carrie in 1883, and Peter nad been naturalized. It also indicates that Peter could read and write, but Carrie could read, but not write.

They had been married 18 years, and Carrie had borne 10 children, 9 of which were living. Nine children were listed in their household: Jennie - 17, Sophia M. - 15, Mary - 13, Pauline - 10 (or 18), George M. - 8 Margarette (Marguerite) - 5, Charlie (Charles) J. - 4, Joseph - 2, and Josephine - 2 (these last two may have been twins).

By the 1920 Federal Census, Peter and Carrie had moved, and were living in a rented house at 907 Delaware Street, Coffeyville, Kansas. In this census, Peter's immigration was 1882, and naturalization in 1891. Carrie's immigration date was 1883, and this record marks her naturalized in 1891. Peter's birth place is listed as Alsace-Loraine, Germany, where he spoke German in his home. His parents were born in Bavaria and spoke German in their homes. Carrie's birth place was listed as Bavaria, where she spoke German; her father was from Bavaria, where he spoke German, and her mother was from France and spoke French. [This may be the French grandmother who loved to dance!] Peter worked as a laborer at a Rail Road Shop, and Carrie worked in the home.

The children listed in the household are: George M. - 17, Marguerite - 16, Charles J. - 14, Josephine - 12, and Theodore - 5. All of the children were unemployed, except for Marguerite, who was a sales girl in a Notions Shop. All of the children were born in Pennsylvania, except the youngest, Theodore, who was born in Kansas.

From the 1930 Federal Census I learned that Peter and Carrie still lived at the house in Coffeyville, Kansas, except now they owned it, AND they owned a Radio too (one of those strange questions asked). Peter was 23 when he first married, and Carrie was 18. This Census records both their immigration years the same, 1882, and lists both them and their parents as all born in Germany speaking German in the home. Peter is still working as a laborer, but now he's working in a Foundry, and Carrie still works at home.

Theodore - 16, and George - 28, are living in the home with them and George is working as a paper hanger. Their daughter Sophia - 35, is also living with them, with her husband, Charles H. Jackson, daughter Lillian - 18, and son Keith - 22 months.

Other than these Federal Census records, I've found Peter in the Coffeyville City Directories in: 1937, 1939, & 1941. We have a family picture of the double grave stone, Carrie, 1874-1945, and Peter, 1869-1944. We're assuming these graves are in Coffeyville, Kansas, but we don't have proof of that.

Things I'm still looking for: immigration records, 1900 Federal Census record, death and burial records - and any living family connections. We don't have any family information about Peter's or Carrie's parents, except what was found in the Census. I found a limited gedcom at FamilySearch.org that included Peter as a brother to Charles, Nickolas Joseph, Margaret and Catherine, children of Carl and Catherine Deller - BUT - there were no sources for this, and I can't find anything that either refutes it or supports it. This is one of those time when I REALLY wish I were near a library and could refer to the Germans to America reference books. The web is good - but all the records aren't there yet.

So from all that I can say, with a little certainty, that Peter Deller was born in 1869 in Alsace-Lorraine, Germany, and died in 1944, probably in Coffeyville, Kansas. He immigrated from Germany in either 1882 or 1885, and was naturalized in 1891. He married Carrie about 1892, probably in Pennsylvania, and together they had 11 children. Peter worked primarily in the Glass Industry, and Carrie worked in the home. In 1891, they lived in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and by 1910 were living in McKean County, Pennsylvania. Theodore was born about 1915 in Kansas, so that would date their move to Kansas between 1910 and 1915. They continued living in Coffeyville, Kansas until at least 1941, but most likely until their deaths.

So until next time... I'll keep searching.