Wednesday’s child

The mystery of the Clutters

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Children

This marker caught my eye when I visited Cass Cemetery in Darien, Illinois.

Nearby is the marker for Irene Clutter, wife of William Clutter. And there’s also a marker for William. But I have spent time on HeritageQuest and cannot find this couple on any census. I’ve tried combinations of their names, looked for anything (not just Illinois) and even tried using Hazel as her name, since I found a family history that mentioned a Hazel Irene. No dice.

So, a mystery and a sad stone for Vertie May

Beautiful marker for Ann Knight – Cave Hill Cemetery

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Perpetual mourners

I took this photo a few years ago, so I looked to see what I could find out about Ann Knight. This is such a beautiful marker (and it was the perfect Fall color when I was in Louisville). I wasn’t able to find that much about her, though.

The 1850 census shows her married to physician Joseph W. Knight, and their household shows children and other family members. The 1830 and 1840 censuses didn’t show her at all. However, I’ve been learning more about those censuses and it seems you can find male persons listed, but then only numbers for how many people (and no names).

So then, I went down a rabbit hole a bit because I looked for information about her husband, Joseph. And I found some interesting details. Per the Kentucky Historical Society, there is information: “Owned four enslaved persons in Shelbyville in 1830. Physician in Louisville in 1850. Owned seven enslaved persons in Louisville in 1850. Physician in Louisville in 1859. Physician in Louisville in 1860. Owned seven enslaved persons in Louisville in 1860.” And I also found information on Newspapers.com, which shows an article about him in which someone wrote “This good and useful man, though far advanced in years, we are happy to say still looks well and vigorous. There is no man in this city or community who presents a better and purer record than Dr. Joseph W. Knight. He has lived, struggled and in fact consecrated his life and energies to the relief of suffering humanity.” No mention of his wife.

I looked up their residence as listed in the different city directories for Louisville, but 702 West Jefferson has no houses; it’s all office buildings and parking lots.

While I didn’t find much on her with my quick skim of information, this beautiful perpetual mourner makes me believe she was loved by her husband and family.

Wednesday’s Child

Kaster family marker – Allouez Cemetery, Green Bay, WI

Now that I’m rediscovering my blog again, I’m having a lot of fun looking through my photos. This is a marker from Allouez Cemetery in Green Bay, Wisconsin for the Kaster family.

Looking up information on FindaGrave, the family is listed as Castor Kaster (1831-1915), Adriana “Anna” Verchragen (1829-1902) and Anna (1865-1890). I started by looking through some census information to see what I could find out about the family. They don’t show on the 1860 census, but they do show on the 1870 census.

On the 1870 census, it lists Caster Caster (age 39), birthplace of Prussia and an occupation of merchant tailor. Also listed are his spouse, Annie (born in Holland) and children Frank, Joseph, John and Anna. By the 1880 census, he shows as Casper Kaster (Castor Kaster), born in Germany, living on Cherry Street in Green Bay, married to Anna and with an occupation of tailor. All of the children are still listed, with Frank (21) and Joseph (18) also shown as tailors.

In the 1900 census, it shows the family living on 408 HowaRoad (?) — which I later saw in a city directory as 408 Martin, in Green Bay. Here, they are listed as Castor Kaster, custom tailor, married to “Adruna” Kaster. The record shows the household of Castor, Adruna, Frank (aged 41) and a servant, Barbara Wehr.

I kept looking in the census, there were more Kasters — even an Annie Kaster who appears to be married to Joseph Kaster. There is still a connection with parents born in Holland and Germany. On the 1910 census, this couple is listed as having 6 children! And, Joseph Kaster (looks like this is Castor Kaster’s son) is listed as having an occupation as a merchant in the church yard industry. They lived at 644 S. Quincy Street in Green Bay, Wisconsin:

It looks like the family, once they got to Green Bay, Wisconsin, stayed in that area.

Wednesday’s child

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Children, Wednesday's Child

Lizzie Russo, Green Ridge Cemetery in Kenosha, Wisconsin

Wednesday’s Child

Cass Cemetery in Darien, Illinois.

A Mausoleum (and mourner) for Monday

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Mausoleum, Perpetual mourners

Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago has so many beautiful markers! I’m grateful for my digital camera when I’m in places like this so I can take loads of photos. And yes, I posted about this same mausoleum in 2013. But this was a great opportunity to update with more info that I found.

This is the mausoleum for Louis M. Stumer, born in 1870 and died on July 14, 1919. It is found in Section Y at Rosehill Cemetery.

There is a short article from the Chicago Tribune that I found that states: “Louis M. Stumer, joint owner of the North American building and one of Chicago’s leading business men, died suddenly yesterday at New London, Conn., where he was visiting with his family. Acute indigestion was the cause.” This notes that he was the vice president of the Public Drug company, vice president of the Red Book magazine and part owner of a number of women’s garment and “millinery concerns.” If you’d like to learn more about him, there’s a lovely blog post from his great-granddaughter.

The really stunning element of this mausoleum is the perpetual mourner on the front. If you’re visiting on a cloudy day, she can be tricky to see:

But get closer and you’re rewarded with a beautiful mourner.

I found great info on Adventures in Cemetery Hopping about this mausoleum (and the Schaaf mausoleum, too) and they state that “The young woman on the front was sculpted by Czech-American artist Mario Korbel.” Per their post, “She was sculpted by Czech-American artist Mario Joseph Korbel (1882-1954), a native of Osik, Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic).” Definitely check that link if you would like more info and different photos than my own.

Getting back to the blog — 2024

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figures, Iowa

I haven’t blogged in . . . well, a really long time. But I’ve continued traveling and taking photos, so my resolution for 2024 was to get back to this blog. I don’t know if anyone will notice, but I’m just going to have fun with it. And there are so many cool photos and people to research!

This photo is from Woodlawn Cemetery in Des Moines, Iowa. Unfortunately, nothing remains that indicates who this marker is for. And no idea where the head went . . . 

Mr. Miller and his Egyptian Revival mausoleum

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Illinois, Mausolusm

This striking mausoleum is found at Rosehill Cemetery in Illinois. A beautiful example of Egyptian Revival architecture, it features a winged scarab above the doors and the detailed columns with papyrus leaves at the tops.  

Note the beautiful details on the doors, which have colored beautifully over the years.  So who was Darius Miller? Born on April 3, 1859, Darius Miller was president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and Colorado and Southern Railway. Starting his railroad career as a stenographer at the age of 18, Miller worked quite hard and was promoted into several positions before being appointed president of the CB&Q and Colorado and Southern Railways. On August 22, 1914, while on vacation in Montana, he collapsed with was what revealed to be appendicitis. His surgery was noted in the New York Times on Sunday, August 23, 1914 — and said “the patient is said to have stood the shock well.”  Unfortunately, he passed away on August 24, 1914.

There is a fantastic post with more information on Gravely Speaking, if you would like to learn more about Mr. Miller and this mausoluem.