Me, My Father, His Father, and the Father Before

Parents

My parents were Matthew Robert Kohn (1901-1971) from the farm area 9 miles southwest of Tipton KS and Louise Josephine Deneke-Kohn (1913-1990) from a farm east of Beloit KS. They married on my mother's 34th birthday, 1947.02.13—Dad was then 46 years old. The witnesses to their marriage at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church were her brother Leo Deneke and friend Margaret M. Heger, both of Beloit. The officiant was Monsignor William J Butzer.

Math Kohn (1901-1971) in 1942

Before they met, Dad lived and worked on his parents' farm about 9 miles southwest of Tipton (the southwest quarter of section 33 (T8S R11W) or section 8-south (T9S R11W), in Bloom township, Osborne county KS). It's not clear to me if the farm was only ranch land, but the homestead was at the eastern end of about 300 acres of hilly and rocky pasture land, on which grazed a hundred or so cattle. It seems likely that the family rented other land for feed crops (alfalfa, milo, sorghum, and other small grains) to sustain the cattle during the winter.

Although Dad was already 40 years old by Pearl Harbor, he was still not exempt from the peacetime draft that was enacted in 1940. He enlisted or was drafted on 4 November 1942, and he was inducted into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Benning GA. However, he served only four months and was discharged on 5 March 1943 from Fort Belvoir VA. I believe that the short enlistment resulted from a change in the age range for conscription from 21 through 45 to 18 through 38, which became effective after December 5, 1942. Dad returned to Kansas and took a job as a mechanic at Voss Motors in Downs.

Louise Deneke-Kohn (1913-1990) in 1939

Meanwhile, Mom saw her oldest sister Mary Agnes marry Peter Braun of Tipton in 1931 and die in childbirth in 1936. Her brother Pete married Nora Long of New Almelo KS in 1938 and began growing his family to four children by 1946. Her next-younger sister Cecilia entered the novitiate in 1938 and took final vows in the Congregation of St. Joseph in 1941, after which she took the name Sister Mary Henrita Deneke.

Mom began to attend nursing school at St. Margaret's Hospital in 1938, and she was awarded a diploma in 1944. A portion of that time was spent as a nursing assistant at a munitions factory near Kansas City KS. With her freshly awarded diploma, she returned to Beloit and worked at Community Hospital. Aunt Nora once said that Mom confided in her about a fear of remaining unmarried and had asked Nora, "Should I marry just for the security of it, if someone comes along, whether I love him or not?" 

Jimmy and Tommy Kohn, early 1952

Aunt Nora offered no insight on how they met, but Mom and Dad did marry in early 1947. Mom and Dad first lived in Downs KS, near where Dad worked. Mom commuted 25 miles each way to Beloit Community Hospital. My brother Jimmy was born in November 1948, and that was likely a reason for Mom to become a full-time housewife and mother. They purchased 160 acres in Jewell County (Ionia township (T4S R9W) section 13), about 5 miles northwest of Ionia and about ten miles south of Esbon. I was born in August 1951, and I once discovered that Mom and Dad had begun the process of adopting a child before Mom was pregnant with me.

The farm included a two-story frame house, granary, equipment shed, barn, and a small pond east of the barn. The livestock included at various times about 15 cattle, 10 hogs, 25 sheep, 20 laying hens, usually 2 dogs, several cats, and one pony "Goldie." A small wood of locust trees provided a wind break from the north, and osage and large junipers provided wind breaks west and south of the house. As we grew, Jimmy and I learned some chores, including gathering eggs, feeding and milking cows, shearing sheep, and slopping hogs. We were both too small to help much in the fields, which included alfalfa and small grains as well as pasture. I guess that Dad also rented nearby land for wheat farming, though I don't remember wheat harvest on the farm. A nearby land owner was Frank Kissinger, whose name I vaguely associate with wheat crops. Our nearest neighbors were the Thomas and Dietz families, about a mile to the west.

Jimmy went to the Ionia public school for first through third grades, from autumn 1953 through spring 1956. (The Kansas school system for rural children did not include kindergarten.) When I began school in 1956, we were bused along with neighbor kids to Esbon's public schools. The Ionia school attendance was small enough to place three grades in one classroom of 24 pupils, and the Esbon school placed grades 1 and 2 together for a classroom of about 20 pupils. My first teacher was "Miss Dolores" Holleran.

Mom resumed nursing at Community Hospital after both Jim and I were in school. I remember summers when Dad would take us to the public swimming pool in Beloit, and then we would pick up Mom at the end of her 7 a.m.-to-3 p.m. shift at the hospital. I also remember a couple of winters when she got stuck in snow drifts on the way home from work. It turned out that the 30-mile commute to Beloit was too strenuous, and Mom and Dad decided to forsake their farm life for "the city." They arranged for an auction of the whole farm to occur in summer 1959. The house sold separately, and it was lifted from its foundation and moved to Ionia. (I found the house there in 2001, long uninhabited and rotted through with a termite infestation. A return visit in 2014 found the same property empty, and the town itself deserted but for a dozen families.)

We moved to Beloit in time to enroll Jimmy and me in St. John's Catholic School for Jim's 7th grade and my 4th grade. My class was one of the largest for many years—33 classmates, give or take a few each year. I don't remember my 4th-grade teacher, but Mrs. Golda Poelma taught 5th grade. Each school day began with assembly for Mass in the large, stone parish church. I had begun to develop a deep religiosity, and this likely resulted from —or furthered— an estrangement from my new classmates. My mother and at least the two aunts who were nuns in the Congretation of St. Joseph (Sisters Henrita (Cecilia) Deneke and Edna Louise (Isabella) Kohn) encouraged this religiosity. I'm sure they would have regretted it had they seen me "celebrating Mass" alone at home in vestments pieced together from sheets and comforters with hand-pressed "hosts" and Coca-Cola "wine." These feelings increased as I was encouraged to learn to serve as an altar boy and subtly shunned from recess team games in which my coordination and strength were insubstantial. Near the end of eighth grade, I asked Monsignor Fraser if he would recommend me for entry to pre-seminary school at St. Fidelis Friary, but he suggested I continue study at the parish high school.

Grandparents

Mike Kohn and Louise Ohnsat,
married 1900.08.13 at St. Boniface, Tipton.

My father's parents lived most of their lives in the Tipton KS area, and as youngsters they lived on farms about a mile apart. Mike Kohn married at 21, and his bride Louise Ohnsat was almost 25. They married 13 August 1900 at St. Boniface in Tipton. Their witnesses were Louise's brother Bernard Ohnsat and Mike's sister Katherine Kohn.

Mike Kohn, age 71.

John Michael Kohn (1879-1965) was born March 18th at his parents' homestead north of Tipton (Carr Creek township, T7S R10W section 25 in Mitchell county). He was their third child, and the second son to survive infancy. He was usually called Mike because his father also had the first name of John.

Sometime between the 1880 census and the birth of Mike's first sister in January 1881, the family moved to La Crosse WI. His uncle Mathias Kohn (1829-1888) had lived there since 1855, and he operated a saloon that included boarding rooms and a restaurant. The Mathias Kohn family had grown to nine children by the time that the John M. Kohn family arrived, another two children came through 1885, and two orphaned children were adopted as well in the 1890s.

Mike's father John M. had a dairy at the eastern edge of La Crosse, and he delivered milk daily to customers in town. I suppose that Mike and his older brother Pete (1877-1941) helped in the barn and herded the milk cows to and from pasture. Mike and Pete likely attended school in La Crosse, and it's possible they attended a Catholic parish school. The family lived in La Crosse until 1887 or 1888, when they moved back to the Tipton, after their mother died from heat stroke in August 1887. Her mother and sister had come from Tipton to help John M with his five children (Peter, age ten; Mike, age eight; Katie, age six; Annie, almost five; and Ben, just turning three). They persuaded John M. that Tipton would make a better home for them, with plenty of land available for ranching and several families of in-laws to help establish a homestead for the family.

Louise Ohnsat-Kohn, age 75.

Louise Ohnsat-Kohn (1875-1959) was born 2 December 1875 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By 1878, the Ohnsat family resettled in Osborne county, about ten miles west of Tipton.

Mike Kohn and Louise Kohn,
50th wedding anniversary (1950) at their Tipton home.

Great Grandparents

John Mathew (John M., Johann Mathias) Kohn (1839-1919)

John M. Kohn, seated right

Susanna Reinert-Kohn, seated left

John M. Kohn family, about 1895, on their ranch farm southwest
of Tipton in Bloom twp, Osborne county KS. l to r: Ben (age 11),
Annie (13), Kate (14), Mike (16), John M (56); Peter (18) is likely
behind the camera.

Susanna Reinert (1848-1887)

The John M. Kohn family photos

Yesterday, I received two family photos from my 3rd cousin-once-removed Barbara Schuh. Her father Robert Schuh received them from his godmother Marie Irsch.

The family is the John M. Kohn family, my great grandfather. He was born 1839 in Wasserliesch, Germany; his wife is Susanna Reinert, who was born 1848 in Igel, Germany. These two towns are across from each other on the Mosel River, a few miles upstream from Trier. The couple likely knew each other in Germany before they emigrated—he in 1865 and she in 1867, and they lived 30 miles from each other in Minnesota and Wisconsin from 1867-1872. John M. followed Susanna when she moved with her mother and siblings to Kansas. They married at Waconda, Kansas in 1874.

This photo was taken about September 1881 to June 1882. Susanna likely was pregnant with her 5th child (the 4th child to live through infancy). The children in the front row are Mike J. (born 1879), Peter (born 1877), and Katie (born 1881) . The family had moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin in late 1880--the couple and two sons were in the June 1880 census of Kansas, their daughter Katie was born January 1881 in La Crosse.

This photo was taken about 1887-1889. The children (left to right: Katie (born 1881), Mike J. (born 1879). Ben (seated, born 1884), Peter (born 1877), and Annie (born 1882)) have recently experienced the death of their youngest brother Joseph (born March 1886, died November 1886) and mother (died August 1887). John M. and family moved to a farm near Cawker City, Kansas in 1887 or 1888.









 

Only a guess, but this photo comes from about 1890, when Katie was about nine years old. Annie was eight in that year, so the other girl seems a bit small to be Annie.

This photo must come from about 1904. The family moved to a livestock farm in Bloom township, Osborne county, Kansas after they resettled from La Crosse. The youngest boy, Ben (left) was born 1884 and appears to be ten to twelve years old here. The two sisters Katie and Annie would be about twelve to sixteen. The older boy, either Peter or Mike J., would be in his late teens. The photographer is likely the other older boy. The father John M. (1839-1919) lived on the farm until his death at age 80.



Other researchers also document some of the family.

• Peter Kohn (1875-1941) married Elizabeth Ottley (1880-1947) and had a family of 7 children (a sixth child did not survive infancy).
• Mike J. Kohn (1879-1965) married Louise Ohnsat (1875-1959) and had a family of 8 children (two others did not survive infancy).
• Katie Kohn (1881-1955) married Phillip Gasper (1877-1964) and had a family of 8 children (a 9th child did not survive infancy).
• Annie Kohn (1882-1956) married Frank Streit (1881-1951) and had a family of 10 (an 11th did not survive to childhood).
• Ben Kohn (1884-1955) married Barbara Streit (1887-1974) and had a family of 9.

• The two deceased infants were John Nicholas (1875-1875) and Joseph (1886-1886).

Installment 2: The Family of John Reinert (1822-1871) in Europe and America from 1812 to 1985

This post has been revised for announcing the second installment. © Thomas G. Kohn, 2013.

I've been working several years on a large genealogy project that corrects and expands a descendants list of my second great grandparents, John Reinert (1822-1871) and Katherine Blasius-Reinert (1824-1891). Finally, now that I'm semi-retired, I have time to devote to completing the project.

I released the second installment of about 50 pages yesterday, 5 November. I just released the first installment of about 20 pages on 27 July for comment by family members. I placed it at a publishing site for easy access: Installment 01. If you read any of it, please send comments to me at mailto:tgkohn@aol.com—that is the price of the document! As a teaser, here's the revised planned contents of the full document.


Research Objectives

Background on Sources

Towns near the Mosel River 7

Background on Geography

• Towns near the Mosel River
• Hamm-Filzen, Germany 
• Geography
• Parish
• Local Development
• History
• Wasserbillig, Luxembourg
• Geography
• Parish
• Local Development
• History
• Igel, Germany
• Geography
• Parish
• Local Development
• History 
• Reinert History in the Area

• Areas in the United States

• Houston County, Minnesota
• Geography
• Parish
• Local Development
• History 
• Reinert History in the Area 

[Complete to this point]

• Near Tipton, Kansas
• La Crosse, Wisconsin
• Sheridan County, Kansas

Research Techniques

• Church Registers
• Using a Logical Search Order
• Searching From a Known Birth
• Searching From a Known Marriage
• Using the Burial Registers to Corroborate Lives
• Estimating Dates and Broadening the Search
• U.S. Church Registers
• European church registers
• Researching the Reinert and Blasius Marriages
• Researching the John Reinert Birth
• Familienbücher
• European civil registers
• Standesamt Trier-Land
• Peter Blasius I death
• John Reinert and Katherine Blasius marriage
• Standesamt Trier-Saarburg
• Landeshauptarchiv Koblenz
• Registre Communale de Mertert-Wasserbillig
• U.S. Censuses
• Deed Registers
• Plat maps

Conclusions

• Research Goal 1
• Research Goal 2
• Research Goal 3
• Research Goal 4
• Research Goal 5
• Research Goal 6
• Research Goal 7

Future Research

Critical Descriptions of Documents

• Reinert and Simeon Family, 1985

• Physical Description
• Critical Analysis
• Detailed Analysis

• About Our Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother in the Kohn Family, 1974 
• History of the Nicholas Reinert Family, 1983 
• History of the Peter Reinert Family, 1983
• History of the Maria Gillen Family, 1985
• History of the Gertrude Schandler Family, 1984 
• The Kirchenbuch of Igel, 1818-1908

• Baptismal Entries 
• Selection of the Godparents 
• Marriage Entries 
• Burial Entries

• The Familienbuch of Igel, 1706-1899
• Civil Registers from Wasserbillig/Grevenmacher 
• Civil Registers from Konz 
• Amerikaauswanderungen aus dem Landkreise Trier Rheinland 1855-1910, Mergen 1952 
• Other Kirchenbücher from Parishes Surrounding Igel 
• Parish Registers of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wilmette Illinois 
• Baptism 1862-1908 123
• Baptism 1909-1915 124
• U.S. Federal Censuses 
• State Censuses 
• County Registers 
• Plat Maps
• U.S. Parish Registers
• Letter from Peter Irsch

• A Brief History of the Saint Boniface Parish 245

• Section I—Introduction
• Section II—Church Sites
• Section III—Church Structures
• Section IV—Early History
• Section IV—The Pastors
• Section VI—The Rectories
• Section VII—School and School Structures
• Section IX—Cemeteries
• Section X—Records
• Section XI—The Parishioners
• Section XII—Parochial Organizations—Vacation Schools

Pedigree Chart Indexes

The Trade of Leinweber 281

Geographical Catalog of Towns in the Igel and Wasserbillig Area

Maps

• Preußen, 1871
• Germany, 2004
• Rheinland-Pfalz, 2004
• Kreis Trier-Land, 2004
• Igel from the air, about 1985
• Chicago and surrounding states.
• Chicago and inner suburbs, 2004.
• Central Chicago neighborhoods, 2004

Glossary

Index

Bibliography

Information about Mathias Kohn 1829-1888

One of my great grand-uncles led two brothers in emigrating from Waaerliesch, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. He settled in La Crosse WI as that town was first developing, and he became a notable businessman in the community. His success attracted his two brothers who emigrated in 1865 (John M. Kohn, my great-grandfather) and 1871 (Michael). Both John M. and Michael lived some time in La Crosse, but both also resettled to Kansas

I know these facts about Mathias Kohn.

• 1829.08.16, he was baptized at St. Aper Catholic Church, Wasserlisch, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. The godparents were Mathias Hoffman of Wasserliesch and Christina Sturm-Kohn of the upper mill (about 2km west of Wasserliesch).
• 1849.04.25, he was confirmed at St. Aper Catholic Church, Wasserlisch, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. No sponsor is identified.
• Before 1855, he emigrated from Germany to the U.S. No information is available on the exact date or ship.
• 1856.05.18, he purchased patent land identified as Section 23, Town 15, Range 5, documented in volume 89. The full description is SW 1/4 NE 1/4 S 23 T 15N R 5W and NE 1/4 NW 1/4 S 23 T 15N R 5W in the actual patent, dated 10 August 1858. The payment certificate for the same 80 acres was issued on 15 May 1856. The parcels are located in the extreme southeast corner of La Crosse county.
• 1859.11.14, he sold land by warranty deed to Martin Voegele—the same 80 acres at SW 1/4 NE 1/4 S23 T15N R5W and NE 1/4 NW 1/4 S23 T15N R5W for payment of $200. Recorded 1862.09.25.11:00.
• 1860.06.08, he was recorded in the U.S. Federal Census.
• 1862.09.25, the deed transfer was recorded, in which Mathias sold 80 acres at SW 1/4 NE 1/4 S23 T15N R5W and NE 1/4 NW 1/4 S 23 T 15N R 5W . Certificates 13274 and 13276 United States for the certified register deposited in the General Land Office by Matthias Kohn. Recorded 1862.09.25.11:00.
• 1865.09.18, he married Josephine Becker at St. Mary Catholic Church, La Crosse WI.
• 1866, he was a saloon keeper and restaurateur, beginning before or in 1866. The saloon and restaurant had several locations, the first of which was on Pearl Street between Second and Third Streets. (Articles from The La Crosse Tribune and Nord Stern for the following news items: - "Matth Kohn & Jak. Ricker ...  Bier-Saloon ... [Pearl Street]" 30 Dec 1865. - "Neue Salon-Firma -- Hr. John Walter ... u. Kohn werden jetzt den Salon an der Pearl Straße" 20 Jan 1866.
• 1866, he resided at the same address as his saloon and restaurant, on the north side of Pearl between Second and Third.
• 1866.08.01, he owned land N 20 feet Lot 7 Block 19 in the city of La Crosse WI. (Agreement on 1868.08.01 between Philipp Koth and Mathias Kohn. Owner P.K. of middle 20 feet Lot 7 Block 19 of original plat of La Crosse and owner M.K. of N 20 feet Lot 7 Block 19 have built in equal share a wall on the line between the two parcels. P.K. desires to raise the wall of a two-story structure on that line, and M.K. agrees to pay 1/2 of the cost of that wall when he desires to build a structure using the same line. Recorded 1869.04.16.)
• 1870, he was a saloon keeper, and was noted as sole owner beginning this year.
• 1870, he and his family should be in the U.S. Federal Census.
• 1875.06.01, he was recorded in the Wisconsin State Census. The entry at the bottom of page 21 reads "Mat. Kohn 4 white males, 3 white females." The members of the household that are accounted for: Mathias, Josephine, Ferdinand, Katherine, Frank J., Matt (Jr), and Clara Elizabeth. The five heads of household before and after his listing are John Bauer (4, 2), John Willing (4, 4), Ole Wanger (5, 0), Mrs. A.B. Osborn (0, 2), Phill Knoth (1, 4); Mat. Kohn; [page 22] Ryland Partier (7, 3), J.C. Durbough (2,5), T.J. Gile (1, 0), Sivace Wilson (7, 3), George Feathirter (1, 0).
• 1880, he and his family were recorded in the U.S. Federal Census.
• 1881.01.30, he was godfather for the baptism of Catherine Josephine Kohn, daughter of John M. Kohn and Susanna Reinert.
• 1883, his business was included in city directories for several years through 1888 with Mathias the proprietor and statements that his residence was the same address, 111 North Third Street.
• 1885.06.20, he and his family were recorded in the Wisconsin State Census.
• 1888.10.15, he died within one day of a probable stroke that caused paralysis.
• 1888.10.18, he was buried in La Crosse, Catholic Cemetery.

His children were

• Katherine (1866-1949), not married, no known children.
• Frank J. (1868-1920), not married, no  known children .
• Matt (1870-1899), not married, no  known children .
• John (1872-1940), not married, no  known children .
• Clara Elizabeth (1874-1932), not married, no  known children.
• Helen (1876-1929), married George Johnson, no known children.
• Josephine M. (1877-1962), not married, no  known children. 
• Herman J. (1879-1922), married Della Petrick before 1908, three known children (Charlotte, Archie, Bernice).
• Charlotte (1881-1958), not married, no  known children 
• Ferdinand (1883-1940), married Julia Louise Euler, one known child (Georgia L.). Ferdinand died in Los Angeles CA in November 1940. His daughter married John Lewis Harley (1910-1996), and they had one daughter.
• George (1885-1940), married, childen may be Richard Walrath and an unnamed daughter.
• Helen V. DeFrance (1889-1960?) (by adoption).
• Carl DeFrance (1893-1940?) (by adoption).

The descendants who I know are from the children of Herman J. Kohn and Della Petrick-Kohn, Charlotte and Archie. Charlotte married Vincent Troyanek in Winona WI, and they had four known children. I am in contact with their grand-daughter. Archie married Leona [family name unknown], and they had three known children. However, I have not made contact with this family.

Helen Kohn married George Johnson (about 1870-1930), but any children are unknown.

Ferdinand Kohn married Julia Euler, and they had at least one daughter Georgia, who married John Lewis Harley. The family of Ferdinand lived in Los Angeles CA, and the Harley family lived in Union City CA. Any later descendants are unknown.

George Kohn married Matilda [family name unknown], and a stepson Richard Walrath came from another marriage and an unnamed daughter married Merlin P. VanDyke.

Any corrections or additions are welcome. Please write a comment!

© Thomas G. Kohn, 2013.

A Kohn family: lost, found, lost, found, and repeat

The Familienbuch 1 Pfarrei St. Aper Wasserliesch 1752-1899 (the first family book for the St. Aper parish in Wasserliesch, Germany) has a similar notation beside the baptism entries for Matthias Kohn (b. 1829.08.16), Johann Matthias Kohn (b. 1839.01.10), and Michael Kohn (b. 1844.07.19) that reads "nach Nord-Amerika ausgewandert." Before reading this, I had known only of my great-grandfather Johann Matthias as the emigré from Germany. Afterwards, I knew I had two other emigrés to account for.

With a bit more research, I found that in addition to my great-grandfather's emigration in 1865 were Matthias Kohn's emigration around 1855 and Michael Kohn's in 1871. Because of information from Irene Streit-Keller, I found evidence of Matthias Kohn's life in La Crosse, Wisconsin quickly. He owned a saloon, which he operated as a restaurant and hotel. He married Josephine Becker, the "oldest settler of La Crosse," (as reported in the La Crosse obituary for her) and had 11 children and adopted 2 children who had been orphaned by a family friend. I found a descendant of Matthias, Cindy Bistodeau, who supplied ever increasing detail about the family and introduced me to the last Kohn family member still living in La Crosse, her grandmother Charlotte Kohn-Troyanek.

But Michael Kohn was apparently lost.

With more detailed research, I found Michael Kohn in La Crosse. He had been a Schreiner in Germany, and he continued his trade as a carpenter in La Crosse. I believe he worked at first for a furnniture maker, but he had a business listing as a cabinet maker in the city directory of 1876-1877. The only other evidence of his life in La Crosse was a marriage in 1874 to Theresa Loerscher, who was born about 1854. And their names were not in the 1880 census of La Crosse.

Again, lost.

Then I happened to find a Michael "Cohen" in the 1880 census. In Beloit, Kansas. So much matched correctly: age 36, occupation carpenter, born in Prussia, parents born in Prussia, wife "Tressa." Her age was given as 27, and they had 3 boys: Theodore age 5, Matt age 3, and Mike age 2. I felt enough matched to have confidence that I had found the Michael Kohn family again.

I asked the Mitchell County Historical Society to request a search of the church records for any baptisms for children of Michael and Theresa Kohn through the next ten years. Nothing. I asked also for a search of city directories and tax records for the next few years. Nothing.

Again, the family seemed to be lost.

Then I searched the 1900 census nationwide for Michael Kohn and his family. There seemed to be matches in Leavenworth, Kansas. I wrote a query on the Leavenworth county message board hosted by Ancestry.com. Within a day, a fellow researcher provided summaries for the state and federal censuses of 1885, 1895, 1900, and 1905. Found again!

But the family seems to have little presence there after 1905. Are they lost again?

Update, 27 June 2013.

Further online research suggests these facts:

• Wife Theresa Loerscher-Kohn died in Leavenworth on 22 Nov 1891 (age 37).
• Daughter Gertrude Kohn married Arthur Wales on 26 Dec 1900 (ages 20 and 35). They had at least one child, Millie T, born in 1903.
• Son John R. Kohn died in Leavenworth on 24 Jul 1905 (age 21).
• Son Mike Kohn died in Leavenworth on 4 Sep 1905 (age 27).
• Husband Michael Kohn died in Leavenworth in 1905 (age 61).
• Son Theodore Kohn died 29 Sep 1924 and was buried at the Ft. Leavenworth National Cemetery.
• Children Matt, Peter, Leo, and Annie are not accounted for. 

Update, 8 May 2014.

Further online research in the census databases available from the Family History Library suggests these facts:

• 
  Gertrude Kohn-Wales and her husband Arthur and child Millie are enumerated in the 1910 census. Their address is in Ward 4 (ward locations are not known, not identified in 1878 and 1903 plat maps of the county and city). I note the transcription error "Anthin" for "Arthur.
  
• It's unclear whether the Kansas censuses of 1915, 1925, and 1935 exist or whether the enumeration included city residents.
• 
  Gertrude remarried to a BROWN, who is not enumerated with her and daughter Millie Wales in the 1920 census. Their address is in Ward 1. A changed family name implies that Arthur Wales was divorced from Gertrude or deceased. The name "Brown" could be a transcription error, since no husband is enumerated. I presently feel trying to uncover further linkages is not worth the return.

• Neither Gertrude nor Millie appears in the 1930 or 1940 censuses.

I have planned a research stop in Leavenworth for May 29-30. At the city library, I will review and photograph entries in the City Directories and their databases of births, marriages, tax returns, school records, and deaths. I plan to visit the Mt. Calvary cemetery to see if more burials are there than the seven reported in the county database of burials. I will take a bike or auto tour of the city's historical locations and the six locations of family homes. Finally, I'll visit St. Joseph Catholic Church and request scans of their sacramental registers for known family dates.

Chronology of the Leavenworth Kohn Family

© Thomas G. Kohn, 2013, 2014.