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: 2 - Mable Allie Roark

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.

2 - Mable Allie Roark

Mable Allie Roark was born 10 February 1906 in Galena, Kansas to George T. Roark and Elnora Hussong, where George was working as a miner.[1]   By March 1907, her brother Roy had joined the family,[2]  and in the 1910 Federal Census, Mable and Roy were living with their parents in Webb City, along with their Uncle Tunny and Aunt Minnie Roark.  Webb City was then a suburb of Joplin, Missouri, surrounded by mines, and both Mable's father and her uncle worked in those mines; George as a powder-man and Tunny as a Machine-man.[3, 4]

On  27 February 1914, Mable's father, George Thomas Roark died from Pulmonary Tuberculosis attributed to working in the mines.[5]  It was probably difficult for a young widow with two young children, but Mable's mother was a hard working woman; we know that later in life she took in laundry and grew a garden to make ends meet. Her family and Tunny and other members of the Roark family may have helped her as well.  There was also a suggestion that the mining companies paid some type of benefit to the deceased miner's family, and if that was the case, I'm sure it would have been very welcome.

Four years later, on 8 March 1918, Mable's mother, Elnora, married William "Bill" Franklin Asbell in Joplin, Missouri.[6]  They continued living in the Joplin area, at least until 9 February 1919, when Mable's little brother, Roy, died from pneumonia.[7]  He was buried next to his father in an unmarked grave at Fairview Cemetery in Joplin.

By January 1920, Mable was 13 years old and the new Asbell family was living in Coffeyville, Kansas, on Dakota Street; just one street away from the Deller family.[8]  In June she welcomed a little brother, William Franklin Asbell, Jr.[9] Then four years later, on 16 February 1924, right after she'd turned 18, she married Charles Joseph Deller.[10] 



 
In 1924, Nora and Bill Asbell, along with some others, made a trip to California. It is thought that they went in search of jobs.  They camped out along the way and took various photos.  There is one that seems to show Charles and Mable on the first night they made camp. We don't have any hard evidence for this trip, other than family stories and a few photos, but it certainly brings history a little closer to home.

In January of 1925, the young family was living in Picher, Oklahoma, and Mable had her first child, Charles Joseph Deller Jr.[11]  Mable had, what was then called, a nervous breakdown after little Charles was born, and her mother, Nora, took care of her and the baby at home.[12]  By 1930 Charles, Mable and little Charles were living in a rented house on Maple Street in Coffeyville, Kansas.[13]

Mable's illness and an auto accident probably added stress to this young marriage, and it couldn't withstand it.  We don't have records for a divorce, but believe they obtained one in 1931 before Mable remarried. She later moved to Tulsa and began working in a drug store. On her lunch hour one day, she walked to a department store to pay on a lay-a-way, and Rudy (Adolfo R. Valdez) saw her. He followed her back to the drug store and asked the proprietor to introduce them.  On 10 June 1932 in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma the two were married.[14, 15] 

This happened during the Depression.  Their oldest daughter remembers, "...there were no jobs, they moved in with his family for awhile. One of the stories goes that Dad would get up early, in time for the milk man to deliver other peoples milk and he would go up to the porches and steal the milk so I would have milk to drink. Another story was he would have a cup of coffee for breakfast, then walk approximately 10 miles , work all day for the WPA and then walk back home. I think their supper was a bowl of beans. They had a very hard time of it, I think that is why Charles [Mable's son] lived with his grandmother, as she had pigs, chickens and a vegetable garden, so they always had plenty of food.[16]

In November 1933, Mable and Rudy had their first little girl and in March of 1935, they had a second daughter.[17]

In 1939 young Charles had moved to live with his mother and step-father in Dallas, when he received a letter from his father.[18]  Four days later, Charles Joseph Deller, Mable's first husband, died from an accidental drowning. Their son attended the funeral with his grandmother Nora.[19]

Mable, Rudy and the two girls traveled all over the south, as Rudy worked different construction jobs.  I've not been able to find the family in the U.S. 1940 Federal Census, probably because of this. Their oldest daughter shared, "[We] were always the new kids in class. One year we attended seven different grade schools. It was terribly hard to keep good grades.  Mother was a good trouper, she never complained about all the traveling but when I was starting high school, she put her foot down and said the gypsy days were over. They bought a duplex in Dallas and settled down. If he [Rudy] had work out of town, he went alone."  This would probably have been after World War II, between 1947 and 1949, when their oldest daughter was about 15 years old.[20]

On 2 December 1950, Mable attended the wedding of her son Charles, to Carolyn Jones in San Antonio, Texas,[21] and in 1953 and 1955 she attended the weddings of her daughters.[22]

During the 50's and 60's, family photos show that Mable and Rudy visited her son Charles and his family in Owasso and Tulsa, Oklahoma, her daughters and family and also her mother Nora, who was then living with her son Bill Asbell Jr.[23]

There are family pictures of Mable and Rudy in various places, indicating that they traveled a bit after the children were married.  Mable's mother Nora came to live with them in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and later moved with them to Dallas, Texas.   Nora died 26 March 1965 of cancer. [24, 25]

On 15 June 1979, Rudy died in Dallas, Texas.  After his death, Mable lived with her oldest daughter until her death on 17 December 1988.  She is buried at Laural Lane Cemetery in Dallas, Texas, next to her husband, Rudy Valdez.[26, 27]

At some point, Mable changed her name, from Mable Allie to Mable Alice. Her oldest daughter said that she never knew where "Allie" had come from, and hated it.[28]  And, from all the descriptions that I've heard, that sounds just like something that Mable would do. She was an independent, opinionated and sometimes a coarse woman, but she loved her family and grandchildren, and they meant the world to her.[29, 30]

[1] ROARK, F, first child, Cherokee County Birth Records 1903-1911 birth certificate (1906).
[2] Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census, Year: 1910; Census Place: Webb Ward 2, Jasper, Missouri; Roll: T624_791; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 61; Image: 852.
[3] Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census, Year: 1910; Census Place: Webb Ward 2, Jasper, Missouri; Roll: T624_791; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 61; Image: 852.
[4] "Mining Artifacts & History." Article. Mining Artifacts. http://www.miningartifacts.org : 2014.
[5] George T Roark, death certificate no. Registration District No. 411, File No. 5118, Primary Reg Dist No 2002, Registered No. 75 (1914), Missouri State Board of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics Certificate of Death, St Louis, MO.
[6] Marriage Certificate for William F Asbell & Norah Roark.
[7] Ancestry.com, Missouri Death Records, 1834-1931, Death Certificate - Roy Roark.
[8] 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.
[9] Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index, Number: 446-10-1910; Issue State: Oklahoma; Issue Date: Before 1951.

[10] Montgomery Kansas, Marriage License, 11464, 16 February 1924.
[11] 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.
[12] E.D. Valdez, "nora=mable=deller," email to A.B. Deller, 3 May 2013.
[13] Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Coffeyville, Montgomery, Kansas; Roll: 712; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 22; Image: 553.0.
[14] Society, Oklahoma Historical. "Marriage Records." Database. Research Center. www.okhistory.org/research: 2014.
[15] E.D. Valdez, "Mable-Deller ltr," email to A.B. Deller, 17 October 2009.
[16] Valdez, "Mable-Deller ltr," email to A.B. Deller, 17 October 2009.
[17] Personal knowledge of the author, E. D. Valdez.
[18] Letter from Charles Joseph Deller to Charles Franklin Deller, 11 Jul 1939.
[19] Charles J. Deller, notice, unidentified clipping, Newspaper Clipping - Funeral Service for Charles Joseph Deller.
[20] E.D. Valdez, "Mable-Deller ltr," email to A.B. Deller, 17 October 2009.
[21] Charles F. Deller and Carolyn Jones Wedding, Reception, digital image.
[22] Personal knowledge of the author, E. D. Valdez.
[23] Multiple photos of Mable & Rudy Valdez with Deller and childrens families, digital images.
[24] E.D. Valdez, "nora=mable=deller," email to A.B. Deller, 3 May 2013.
[25] Nora Asbell, Dallas, Dallas Texas death certificate 14242 (1965).
[26] Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index, Number: 457-16-6260; Issue State: Texas; Issue Date: Before 1951.
[27] Gravestone for Mable A. Valdez, 1909 - 1988, Laural Land Cemetery, Dallas, Texas.
[28] E.D. Valdez, telephone interview, 16 April 2010.
[29] E.D. Valdez, "Mable-Deller ltr," email to A.B. Deller, 17 October 2009.
[30] D.C. Deller, interview, 14 January 2014.


Other posts about Mable Roark:
Wordless Wednesday - Roy & Mable Roark
10 February - Happy Birthday Granny Mable!
Happy Birthday George T. Roark
Share Your Memories
Tombstone Tuesday - George Roark
Tombstone Tuesday - Mable Alice Roark Deller Valdez
Wordless Wednesday - Roy & Mable Roark, 1910

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

In Praise of Hometown Libraries

Since I last wrote, I've had little time for any research at all, but yesterday I was able to take a long awaited road trip to a town the Deller's lived in for years, Coffeyville, Kansas.

More than once during my library visit, I said to the librarian, "I love this library!" She replied, "That's only because you've found something." And she was right, in a way. Even when I don't find information, I love being in libraries, but yesterday I found something because they are repository for the local newspaper, The Coffeyville Journal. And the local historical society had also taken the time to create at least a dozen books of obituaries from that newspaper, making it even easier to find obituaries.

Yes, I WAS a happy camper, to find obituaries and news articles that linked family members and introduced me to new family I didn't even know were there. I will be returning, there was just too much to absorb in one visit; and I'm looking forward to that just as much as I did to yesterday's visit

I know it'd difficult for many people to make trips like this (it's taken me more than six months to be in the right place at the right time), but if and when you get a chance to visit, don't pass it up. Those libraries hold gems for the mining.

Saints & Sinners Sunday - Elnora 'Nora' Hussong

Saints and Sinners. What do I mean by that? Well, I use the word 'Saint' as described by the Merriam Webster dictionary: "one eminent for piety or virtue, or an illustrious predecessor." And 'Sinner'? Well, the dictionary doesn't give much of a definition, just "one that sins." But the synonyms given are much more descriptive, "reprobate, scamp." So, I'd say the odds are better that an ancestor is more likely to be a combination of the two, since no one is ALL saint or sinner. But I'd have to say, that in the research I've done thus far, Nora is more saint than sinner.

Elnora Hussong, or Nora as she was known to her family, was born May Day [May 1st], 1888, in Galena, Cherokee County, Kansas, the sixth child to George W. Hussong and Elizabeth A. Gilbert. George and Elizabeth probably married in Illinois, and then moved to Kansas early in their marriage where they had ten children. George made a living in the zinc mines, as did many others of his day; and although by the 1910 census he owned the home they lived in, we can still assume that life was difficult for them. Nora told one of her grandchildren, that when she was small, she was hired out to another family as a servant, and left with them when her family moved away.

Nora was listed as living with her parents in Galena, Kansas in the 1895 Kansas Census and in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census. My husband and I only know the very basics of this family story, and if the census records are to be believed, I'm not sure how her story fits in with them. But whatever the case, Nora's story told of an unhappy childhood, and in 1904, at the age of 16, she lied about her age and married George Thomas Roark. Within 5 years, they'd had two children, Roy and Mable. And then in February, 1914, her young husband died. The cause of death was Pulmonary Tuberculosis, worsened by working in the mines.

In 1919 her son, Roy, died from influenza and pneumonia, and by 1920, Nora had married William 'Bill' Franklin Asbell, and delivered her third child, Bill Jr. Bill Sr. was not known to be a 'gentle' man, and it's generally understood that Nora was a long suffering wife. Records show that they lived in Coffeyville, Kansas and Neosho, Missouri; and when her daughter Mable divorced her husband, their child, Charles Deller, joined her in Neosho.

Nora outlived two husbands, raised three of her own children and a grandchild, and lived a long, full life. She died in Dallas, Texas, March 26, 1965 at the age of 76, while visiting with her daughter, and was buried by her second husband, Bill Sr., at Wichita Cemetery in Wichita, Kansas.

Update 10/6/2010:  Original picture was incorrectly assumed to be Nora; and replaced with correct picture. 

Top Photo:  Portrait of Elnora Hussong. Personal photo in collection of D. Bell, Forney, Texas.
Bottom Photo: Great-grandma Nora with M. Deller. Personal photo in collection of D. Deller, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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.