Friday, October 30, 2015

Who, What, When Where?

Much about the life of William Miller Frantz can be found through the censuses. He was found in the 1870, 1880, 1900, and 1910 U.S. Censuses. All of them had him living in Berwick, Columbia, Pennsylvania. He was recorded as being an Engineer. Frantz was also recorded as a native to Pennsylvania. In both the 1900 and 1910 U.S. Censuses (the last of his life) he was recorded as having 9 children although only 7 of them lived to be adults. The 1900 Census supported his birthdate of June 1856 and it also gives us an estimation of a marriage year because it said he had been married for 26 years in the 1900 Census. A lot of information can be found in these censuses to help with the research about the life of William Miller Frantz.

1870 U.S. Census
1870 U.S. Census, Allentown, Lehigh, Pennsylvania, United States, pop. sch., , 344, William Miller Frantz; digital image, Ancestry.com (ancestry.com : accessed 25 February 2015).




1880 U.S. Census
1880 U.S. Census, Berwick, Columbia, Pennsylvania, pop. sch., , enumeration district (ED) 164, 2, 19, William Miller Frantz; digital images, Ancestry.com (ancestry.com : accessed 24 February 2015).



1900 U.S. Census
1900 U.S. Census, Berwick Ward, Columbia, Pennsylvania, United States, pop. sch., , enumeration district (ED) 7, 151, 327, William Miller Frantz; digital image, Ancestry.com (ancestry.com : accessed 25 February 2015).



1910 U.S. Census, Berwick, Columbia, Pennsylvania, United States, pop. sch., , enumeration district (ED) 6, 231, William Miller Frantz; digital images, Ancestry.com (ancestry.com : accessed 24 February 2015).


Thursday, October 29, 2015

Casper Frantz

Today as I was going through the folders on the Frantz family that I found in my aunt's stack of genealogy, I had the privilege of learning more about Casper Frantz. Casper Frantz was William Miller Frantz's uncle on his paternal side. He was a well known figure in Berwick, Columbia, Pennsylvania where all of the Frantz children lived and raised their families after they emigrated from Germany. He was born on 10 January 1823 and he died on 8 October 1911. His obituary talks about his role in the Berwick township. It turns out he had his own butchering business and raised his children there. The children we know about were Lewis Frantz (b. 1856), Annie Frantz (b. 1858), Fannie Frantz (b. 1863), Frank Frantz (b. 1867), Margaret Frantz (b. 1871), and Frederick Wanamaker Frantz (b. 1876). Below are his obituary and death certificate.


Casper Frantz, death certificate (V.S. No. 5--50M 8-22-11) 0193185 (8 October 1911), Commonweatlh of Pennsylvania, Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics, Pennsylvannia.




Berwick Death, The Morning Press, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, 9 October 1911, page 12.


The Death of William Miller Frantz

I found this gem today in my Aunt's files, it is the death certificate for William Miller Frantz. Apparently he was born in Berwick, Columbia, Pennsylvania on 16 November 1913. He was still married at the time and according to the record he was 57 years, 5 months, and 12 days old. His birthdate is recorded as 4 January 1856. He was born in Pennsylvania to Jane Roody (Born in Pennsylvania) and Michael Frantz (Born in Germany). The death certificate also says he worked as an engineer. His son Theodore Frantz of Berwick Pennsylvania was the informant on the record. It says he died of Septicemia.


William Miller Frantz, death certificate (V.S. No. 5--50M 8-22-11) 10040 (16 November 1913), Commonweatlh of Pennsylvania, Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics, Pennsylvannia.

A Son's Memory

This week I found a really neat paper with the History of Harrison Brandon Frantz written on it. It was written by Harrison's son Albert about his father. Part of this history I actually recorded on my podcast. It's a sad story, mostly about how he remembers his father getting older and older and eventually passing away due to illness. But there are also some pretty neat memories recorded as well. Albert remembers his dad being able to cross the entire gym with gymnastics rings. He also wrote about his father fishing and hiking in the summers. Even the ending about Harrison's death is touching, despite it being so sad. The written history is below. However if for some reason you can't download it or see it very well, comment with your email and I'd be happy to email or mail you a copy.



Document Source:Wilma Vawdrey, Family Photographs, Atkinson Family Collection; supplied by Maurnie Smith
                                (Aunt), Lehi, UT 84043, 2015; Family Group Folder for the Family of William Miller Frantz and                                         Frances Helen Brandon. Given by Grandmother.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Frantz Marriages Part 2

For week two I have the marriage records for Virginia Frantz, Della Frantz, and Theodore Frantz. Loyd Frantz who was born directly after Harrison in 1882 only lived one year. In between Della and Theodore, William and Ella had a daughter Mary Alice who's marriage certificate I am still trying to track down. However we do know that at some point she married a George Bynoth Bird as she is recorded as married to him in several of the U.S. Censuses (1).

Virginia Frantz married Lester Gearhart on 26 August 1902 in Berwick, Columbia, Pennsylvania. They applied for the marriage on the same day and in the same place. They were both residents of Berwick and although the record doesn't say how old Lester was, Virginia was 19 years and 6 months when she married him. Both had no previous marriages (2).



Della Frantz who was born right after Virginia, married Augustus Switzer on 5 February 1903 in Berwick, Columbia, Pennsylvania. They applied for the marriage on 3 February 1903 and both were residents of Berwick as well. Augustus was 21 and Della was 17 when the marriage occurred. Della Frantz because she was a minor received consent from her father William Miller Frantz to marry Augustus. Augustus worked in a Smith shop and both were single with no previous marriages when they wed (3).


Theodore Frantz, the youngest of the Frantz children, married Maude Ginsel on 9 April 1910 in Berwick, Columbia, Pennsylvania. Both also resided there before they were married. Theodore was 18 as was Maude when they were married. Since they were both minors Ella Frantz (his mother) and A.B. Ginsel (her father) gave their permission. Theodore was a fireman. They were also both single and had never been married before marrying each other (4).




1. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS], "New FamilySearch," database, FamilySearch (familysearch.org : accessed 17 March 2015), William Miller Frantz; submission Barbara Goodwin and FamilySearch.
2. Columbia, Pennsylvania, United States, Marriage License, no.5129, Virginia Frantz, 26 August 1902; Orphans' Court of Columbia County, Columbia.
3. Columbia, Pennsylvania, United States, Marriage License, no.5320, Della Frantz, 5 February 1903; Orphans' Court of Columbia County, Columbia.
4. Columbia, Pennsylvania, United States, Marriage License, no.7941, Theodore Frantz, 9 April 1910; Orphans' Court of Columbia County, Columbia.

Friday, October 2, 2015

Frantz Marriages Part 1

William Miller Frantz and his wife Frances Helen Brandon (also known as Ella) had nine children. Their oldest child Michael D. Frantz and their fifth child Loyd E. Frantz both passed away before they grew to adulthood. However their other seven children were married and I have five of the seven marriage certificates. The documents and the extracted information are as follows (the records for each child are according to birth order). Part 1 includes the marriages of Marie Etta Frantz, Hattie Frantz, and Harrison Brandon Frantz. Part 2 next week will include the marriages of the younger three children (1).

Marie Etta Frantz married Edward F. Averill on 30 September 1900. They went on 29 September 1900 to get the marriage approved by F. R. Kitchens. They were married in the Borough of Berwick in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. Edward was 25 years of age and Marie Etta was 23. They were also both residents of Berwick, Columbia, Pennsylvania at the time. Edward's occupation was an ice man and Marie Etta was just a stay at home wife. Also this was the first marriage for both of them (2).



Next was the marriage of Hattie Frantz to O.R. Delong. They were married on 15 March 1895. They filed the marriage on 13 March 1895. They were both residents of the Borough of Berwick, Columbia, Pennsylvania. O.R. was age 24 and Hattie was 17 when they were married. Hattie needed and was given consent by her father to be married since she was a minor. Neither had previous relationships or marriages before they married each other. Also O.R.'s occupation was listed as a laborer (3).




I also have a marriage index found on FamilySearch for Harrison Brandon Frantz (also known as Harry) who moved out to Utah where he met and married his wife Mary Alice Pace. The index information says that Harrison B. Frantz was born in 1880 and was married when he was 24. His spouse's name is Mary A. Pace who was born in 1886 and married Harry at age 18. They were married in Coalville, Summit, Utah the 30 July 1904 (4).

1. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS], "New FamilySearch," database, FamilySearch (familysearch.org : accessed 17 March 2015), William Miller Frantz; submission Barbara Goodwin and FamilySearch.
2. Columbia, Pennsylvania, United States, Marriage License, no.4472, Marie Etta Frantz, 30 September; Orphans' Court of Columbia County, Columbia.
3. Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States, Marriage License, no. 2716, Hattie Frantz and O.R. Delong, 15 March 1895; Orphans' Court of Columbia County.
4. "Utah, County Marriages, 1887-1937," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XL9K-CN1 :accessed 4 February 2015), Harry B Frantz and Miss Mary A Pace, 30 Jul 1904; citing Summit, Utah, United States, book ,county courthouses, Utah; FHL microfilm 480,880.




Monday, September 28, 2015

Starting With the Basics

This last week I went and visited my aunt Maurnie Smith who has been working on our family history for quite some time. She gave me all sorts of records for the Frantz family. Starting with my great grandmother Wilma Devoe Frantz and going all the way back to her great great grandfather Michael Frantz who came to the United States from Germany with his family in the early 1800s. I now have death records, wills, marriage records, newspaper clippings, and memories for the Frantz family. Over the next few weeks I will do my best to post those and inform you of all the information that I can glean from the records and pictures that I have. This week as I began looking through the piles of gold my aunt gave me I found this picture of the brother and grandchildren of Francis Helen Brandon who married William Frantz around 1874. On the left is Arthur Brandon who is the half brother of Francis Helen Brandon Frantz. He is the oldest child of George Denison Brandon and his second wife Fanny Mellick. Next to him are Harrison and Jack Gearhart. They are the sons of Virginia Frantz Gearhart. Virginia is the sixth child of William Miller and Francis Helen Brandon Frantz.

Photograph Source:         Wilma Vawdrey, Family Photographs, Atkinson Family Collection; supplied by Maurnie Smith
                                (Aunt), Lehi, UT 84043, 2015; Family Group Folder for the Family of William Miller Frantz and                                         Frances Helen Brandon. Given by Grandmother.