Family Chronology

Glinda writes (3rd Draft--April 10, 2008):

I have often found that the conventional reporting of family history, while interesting at some level, lacks spirit and life. Somehow, the heartbeat of the people and their times is missing. So I have done my best to honor and report the spirit and life of my family members in as much as I am able to do so. This Chronology is just 1 piece of that puzzle. And it is in draft form.

When we explore our family’s histories in the conventional way, we focus on specific standard events in their lives as if they lived in isolation from other kin. Plus, we tend to erase the context of the world around them. Consequently, we do not see how their lives and contexts flow and interweave together, just as ours do today. The information in such reports is essential. We get a simpler view and omit a far richer text.

I put together the following chronology of important family dates for the Brenz-Hart-South-Cragg families. My Grandparents Fred Albert Brenz and Lottie Hart (Brenz) are focal points. They are parents of Thelma Louise Brenz (Wells Glassburner), Ruth Irene Brenz (Griffin), and Dorothy Ione Brenz (Bloskovich). Thelma Louise, Ruth Irene, and Dorothy Ione are our Sisters, Mothers, Grandmothers, Great Grandmothers, Aunts, and Great Aunts.

So where did I find this information? I didn’t do it alone. I started with Mother’s (Dorothy’s) records and my own. Cousin Russ Wells shared what he had from his own and his Mother’s (Thelma Louise’s) files. This includes published accounts in local press, correspondence, writings (especially Thelma Louise, Ruthie, and Dorothy’s Round Robin Letters), plus oral stories. [You could consider this a call for any relevant information that other family members might have. We each have our pieces of the puzzle!]

When I list information, I will do my best to give sources. You will note that some sources will need to be completed as I did not have this wonderful idea until a little later in the process.

In consultation with Cousin Russ, we decided to include exact dates where available. In some cases, exact years cannot be determined, but approximate years can. For example, if Aunt Louise describes a certain event which happened when Dorothy was 1 and her birth date is October 4, 1922, does that mean 1923 or 24? In cases of approximation, I have listed the date as 1924ca. I believe we would be very close.

Sometimes sources list inconsistencies in data. The Reader will need to determine what to do here. Some pieces may remain forever a mystery. Others may be resolved over time. At the very least, we will be encouraged to list significant facts in our own lives for those Nancy Drews and Sherlock Holmes in our own family line who follow us in the future.

So what about these Chronologies reported as “drafts”? I am posting the latest drafts on the Blog to encourage family participation as fully as possible. Please do not consider this as final version. Read carefully as you may have other data to add or inconsistencies to report.

The data reported in this draft is mostly complete on the Brenz side. A brief overview of the names in this family would include: Fred Gottlob Brenz and Matilda Waibel Brenz had 4 surviving children: Louis Edward (Sr.), Fred Albert, Clara Alice and Della Emma. The Hart-South-Cragg families are on Grandmother Lottie’s side. We have a few introductory pieces here.

For my family members and me, this Chronology is like our very own movie. Stay tuned because more is unfolding…

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1853: Matilda Waibel (Brenz) is born to Abraham and Mary (Marquette) Waibel, August 24, in Bethel, Missouri. (Matilda’s obituary and funeral program)

1871: Fred Gottlob Brenz and Matilda Waibel marry, May 24. (Matilda’s obituary)

1877: Harl Samuel Wiles was born, the son of Jacob Marion and Sallie Miller Parcels Wiles, at Kirksville, February 25. (Harl’s obituary)

1878: Fred Albert Brenz is born at 422 W. Burton St., Kirksville, to Fred Gottlob and Matilda Waibel Brenz, July 19. (Fred’s obituary)

1879: “At the time of the cyclone in Kirksville there were only two other houses in the northwest part of town and the Brenz home was destroyed and the entire family separated over the northwest part of town.” (Matilda’s obituary) Although the house was leveled by the tornado, the baby Fred Albert was found in his cradle in the family potato patch. (Family story, Louise’s Round Robin Letter) I assume this to be the cyclone on May 30, 1879, which was “the most severe storm prior to the great cyclone of April 27, 1899”, reportedly hitting the northwest part of Kirksville (Violette’s The History of Adair County, 1911, page 374).

1880: Margaret Ann MacDonald (Brenz) was born April 5. (Margaret’s funeral program)

1881: Clara A. Wiles was born in Kirksville, August 29, the daughter of Fred Gottlob and Matilda (Waibel) Brenz. (Clara’s obituary)

1883: Hattie Louella (“Lula”) Myers ( Hart) is born to Joseph A. and Alice Carder Myers in Adair County, September 21. (Lula’s Obituary)

1884: Lottie D. Hart is born near Greentop, September 18, to Robert Nelson and Louisa (South) Hart. (Lottie’s obituary)

1886: Della Emma Brenz is born to Fred Gottlob and Matilda (Waibel) Brenz, August 24. (Della’s obituary)

1887: Matilda Waibel Brenz becomes a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Kirksville, September 7. (Matilda’s obituary)

1896: Fred Gottlob Brenz died November 26 of jaundice. (Matilda’s obituary and family story)

1897(ca): At 14, Lula Myers (Hart) is united with the New Prospect Baptist Church, remaining a member there throughout her life. (Lula’s obituary)

1900: Lula Myers and Jessie Hart marry, June 1. She is 16 years old. (Lula’s obituary)

1902: Dr. Harl Samuel Wiles graduates from the American School of Osteopathy at Kirksville, June 26. (Harls’ obituary) After graduating from the American School of Osteopathy, Dr. Louis Edward Brenz opens practice in Arkansas City, Kansas. (Louis’ announcement of rites for Doctor, 82)

1906: Della Brenz graduates from the Kirksville Normal School. (Della’s obituary)

1909: Lottie Hart graduates from the Richard Wagner Conservatory of Music and Languages in Kirksville. Clara Alice Brenz marries Dr. Harl S. Wiles, August 5. (Clara’s obituary) Lottie’s maternal grandparents Isaac and Catherine (Powell) South celebrate 55 years of marriage.

1910: Catherine Powell South dies. Dr. Harl and Clara Brenz Wiles move to Kansas. (Harl’s obituary)

1911: Lottie Hart and Fred A. Brenz marry, November 15, east of Greentop (Lottie’s obituary) at the home of her parents. “The groom has a home already furnished for his bride and they will be at home to their many friends after Dec. 1, at 422 West Burton avenue [sic], Kirksville.” (Brenz-Hart wedding article) (Note: 422 was the address of Fred Albert’s parents and so is in error. Mother believes the house was actually to the east of her Grandmother’s house.)

1912: Isaac South dies. Lottie’s parents Robert Nelson and Louisa Hart move to town, near her maternal grandparents (Isaac and Catherine South) home and the Matilda Waibel Brenz family home. These houses are along the same street and within the same block. Dr. Harl and Clara Brenz Wiles move to Neodesha where he practices until his death. (Clara’s obituary)

1913: Lottie’s paternal grandmother Elizabeth Cragg Hart dies. Lottie’s father Robert Nelson Hart takes poison by mistake and dies. Russell Trigg Wells was born to R. B. “Ben” and Rosa Silvers Wells, March 2. (Russell’s obituary)

1914: Lottie and Fred Brenz welcome the birth of their 1st daughter: Thelma Louise. (Thelma Louise’s obituary) World War I, the “war to end all wars,” begins.

1917: Lottie’s Mother Louisa Mariah South Hart dies.

1918: World War I ends. Influenza (Spanish flu) pandemic begins lasting until 1920. 50-100 million died with many victims being healthy young adults. “During the influenza epidemic in 1918, Dr. (Louis) Brenz didn’t have a minutes’ rest for three days and three nights, when there were only five doctors left in Arkansas City due to World War I demands.” (Louis’ obituary).

1919: Lottie and Fred’s 2nd daughter, Ruthirene, is born.

1922: Lottie and Fred’s 3rd daughter, Dorothy Ione, is born.

1923(ca): Lottie is seriously injured in a farm accident. She does not walk for 4-5 months. She suffers effects of this accident throughout her life. (Source: Louise’s Round Robin Letter)

1927: Lottie and Fred move from the Porter School community to Kirksville. (Lottie’s obituary)

1931: Lula and Jessie Hart’s daughter Freeda marries Lester Lindquist January 21.

1933: Thelma Louise Brenz graduates from Kirksville Senior High School. (Louise’s obituary)

1937: Thelma Louise Brenz and Russell T. Wells marry December 11. (Louise’s obituary)

1939: Jessie Hart dies December 23. (Lula’s obituary) Louise and Russell T. Wells have a son Russell Douglas Wells, Jr., September 9.

1940: Lottie’s brother-in-law Dr. Harl Samuel Wiles, 63, dies in June in Kansas after a 3 year heart ailment. (Harl’s obituary) Dorothy graduates from Kirksville High School.

1941: Daughter Ruth marries Albert A.Griffin. War is declared with the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7.

1942: Daughter Dorothy marries Jack Felix Bloskovich January 10. Sons-in-law Jack and Albert leave for active duty service.

1944: Fred is injured at home (406 W. Michigan) from a gas explosion, May 25. (Article: Fred Brenz Suffers Burns in Explosion, May 26, 1944) He dies 3 weeks later, June 12. He was 68 years old. He was an employee of the International Shoe Factory. (Fred’s obituary)

1945: Matilda Waibel Brenz, 91, died January 6, at her home, 422 W. Burton Street, where she had lived for 67 years. At the time of her death, she held the oldest membership in the Presbyterian Church with 57 years. (Matilda’s obituary and funeral program) Albert Griffin returns home from the Pacific to a hospital in Iowa. With the ending of World War II, Jack Bloskovich returns home from service in the Signal Corps in North Africa and Italy. Jack and Dorothy, Albert and Ruth, and Lottie share a house at 510 W. Pierce. They are lucky to find a house to rent with all the boys returning from the war. Albert enrolls in Osteopathic school to complete training as a physician.

1948: Lula (and Jessie) Hart’s daughter Freeda dies April 25th. Both Lula and Lottie advise the pregnant sisters (Ruth and Dorothy) not to come to the funeral. As was custom in those times, many believed that such associations with someone who had passed would leave a “mark” on the baby. Dorothy and Jack have Glinda (9/7) and Ruth and Albert have Susan (9/24).

1949: Albert completes medical school. He, Ruth, and Susan pack their car to head to Yakima, Washington where Dr. Griffin will intern. With Albert, Ruth and Susan’s move, Aunt Lula Hart moves in with Dorothy, Jack, Glinda, and Lottie.

1950: Lottie dies at age 66, December 17, at 510 W. Pierce, in Kirksville. (Lottie’s obituary) Russell T. Wells, Sr., becomes a member in the Collie Club. (Russell’s obituary)

1951: Jack, Dorothy and Glinda move into the house that Jack built at 211 N. Ely.

1953: Russell Trigg and Thelma Louise Brenz Wells with son Russell Douglas, Jr., move to the farm east of Sublette. (Russell’s obituary) Glinda Bloskovich goes to Kindergarten.

1954: Jack and Dorothy Brenz Bloskovich welcome a son Brian Bloskovich, April 5. His Mother is very vigilant because at the time, polio outbreak is rampant; his doctor advises limiting activity of babies and small children especially during the hot summer when polio is believed to spread.

1957: Della Brenz moves to make her home with her sister, Clara A. Wiles, in Neodesha, Kansas. (Della’s obituary)

1964: Margaret Ann MacDonald Brenz dies January 24. (Margaret’s funeral program)

1968: Lula Myers Hart moves to the Baptist Home For the Aged in Ironton, Missouri. (Lula’s obituary) Ironton is a long way from Adair County. Clara Alice Brenz Wiles died on Saturday, July 13, at the age of 86 years. (Clara’s obituary and funeral program) Della Emma Brenz, 81, dies on Monday, July 15, in Neodesha, Kansas. (Della’s obituary)

1970: Russell Trigg Wells retires in March from 17 years at Producers Creamery due to ill health. (Russell’s obituary)

1971: Dr. Louis E. Brenz Jr., 57, 403 S. Second St., a lifetime resident and prominent osteopathic physician and surgeon, died. Louis was the son of Dr. Louis E. Brenz and Margaret Ann McDonald Brenz. (Louis’ obituary)

1976: Russell T. Wells, 63, dies, October 21. (Russell’s obituary)

1982: Lula Myers Hart dies, April 23. (Lula’s obituary) Thelma Louise Wells marries Earl W. Glassburner, October 15. (Louise’s obituary)

1989: Earl W. Glassburner dies, March 12. (Louise’s obituary)

1991: Thelma Louise Brenz Wells Glassburner dies at 76, August 25. (Louise’s obituary)