Sunday, May 24, 2020

John Weinert 1859-1925

Beth Weinert:
"John Weinert was the first boy born to August and Fredericka, and also the first boy born in the Arago community along the Missouri River, November 4, 1859. Since that was the year recorded they arrived in the area it is assumed that dear Fredericka had quite a rough trip! John's first home was the hillside dugout. 

"He grew up in the southeastern part of Nebraska and, with his brothers, helped his father in building houses and barns.

"In 1885 John married Anna Kaiser who had moved from Dundee, Illinois with her parents, Christopher and Elisa Kaiser. They made their home in the Preston area on a farm where their first four children were born: Rosa, Henry, Edna and Arthur. They were to have three more children: Luella, Theophilus and Lawrence. (John was a trustee in the Zion Evangelical from 1904 - 1909. In fact he held Youth Parents Association meetings in his home in 1916.) They attended the Preston Evangelical Church.

John made a good living farming in the community and in 1919 he and Anna and Edna took a trip to the West Coast to visit the families who had moved out that way some years before. They traveled by train in December and postcard messages tell of the "unwanted" snow that Portland had when they visited his sister Fannie's house. (They also visited George Scholl in California who was John's nephew. See photo below.)

"There was a concern in John's heart that his children would get a good education so after much consideration they sold the farm just east of the Zion Cemetery and in 1920 moved to Naperville, Illinois where the Evangelical church had a college and seminary. There they opened their home for boarding and later rooming, for students. In order to meet the needs of their new situation they raised a big garden, having already learned the rigors of hard work back in Nebraska. Records show that they enjoyed their work. 

"In the fall of 1925 John came down with pneumonia and passed away the 17th of October, 1925. Anna and daughter, Edna, continued on with the "club" as they called it. Anna suffered a slight stroke which affected her right side but was still able to help with the work, particularly the kitchen work, which was their livelihood. Then on July 9th, 1938, thirteen years after John died, Anna went to be with those "who had gone before." John and Anna are buried in a very beautiful cemetery called "Heritage" Cemetery in Naperville, Illinois. Later Edna was laid to rest there, as well." (Source: Beth Weinert)


John raised potatoes, was a Church trustee and steward at Zion Church,  held youth church meetings in his home, raised sheep, had two orchards, was deputy assessor for Jefferson Township, ran a dairy, and made predictions on what would happen in the commodities market. Upon retirement at 61 he ran a boarding house in Naperville. John had the same energy and drive John saw in his own father. 

The Weinert's lived at 104 S Wright Street, Naperville, DuPage, Illinois. A note of interest surrounds the house. In 1959 when Edna had to sell it the selling price was $25,000.00 and in 1996 when it was sold it commanded the price of $425,000.00! The home is located in the "historic" area of Naperville just on the edge of Chicago: 

What happened to John and Anna Kaiser's children?
1 Rosa Weinert b 1886 - 1972. Rosa married Christian Bletscher 7
     Feb 1907.  They had 5 children in Jefferson Precinct. Christian was         a dairyman  and raised produce. Christian's father emigrated from
     Baden. Rosa died at 85 in Falls City. Her services were held in 
     Bethel United Methodist, Falls City.  Internment in Zion Cemetery
     next to her grandparents. Rosa's obit mentions that Rosa ended up 
     living in Redwood City, CA. The obit also says Edwin and Milton
     both lived in Falls City in 1972. 
2.  Henry Christopher Weinert 1889 - 1963 Henry was born 19 
     March 1889. He married Martha Marie Bletcher 1913. They  
     had four children one of which was Henry Weinert  who had a
     son named David Weinert who married Beth, famous genealogists.
     She produced most of the Weinert history. Henry Christopher was a 
     farmer in Jefferson Precinct, NE
3.  Melinda Edna Weinert b 5 March 1891-1964 Melina died in
     Naperville, unmarried. 
4.  Arthur Weinert b 13 May1893-May 1969 Arthur married Hilda
     Liesemer 18 June 1925 Detroit, Michigan. Arthur was a minister.
5.  Luella E.Weinert b 10 October 1895 -13 Apr 1948.  She married 
     F. E. Wendland
6.  Theophilus Franklin b 2 Nov 1898- Theophilus married Zeta
      Bernice Shumaker 14 Sep 1924 in IL. On 29 Apr 1979 he died in Palo
      Alto, CA Two children. Theophilus was a doctor in the U.S. Navy 
      in Hawaii during WWII., and in 1930 he was a doctor in Indianapolis, 
      Indiana for the military.
7.  Lawrence J. Weinert b1901 - 1977 Lawrence married Gladys E ?. 
     He was a clergyman in Illinois in 1930. In 1940 he was a minister in
     Iowa. Lawrence was a minister for over 50 years. In 1972 they were
     living in Leucadia, CA. Gladys E. died in Laguna, CA at 75.  She
     came from Greenwood BC Canada. 


Documents related to John Weinert:



1860 Nebraska Territory Census


1880 US Census Arago 
1885 Nebraska Census



1885 Anna Kaiser Weinert
marriage photograph

1885 John and Anna marriage certificate
in German

1885John and Anna Weinert marriage certificate
in English

1900 Jefferson Precinct Federal Census


1906 Falls City Tribune John Weinert

1906 Nov 2, Falls City Trib John Weinert

1907 Feb 18, Fall CityTribune Weinert

1907 Jan 4 Falls City Tribune
 John Weinert

1907 Jan 25, Falls City Trib John Weinert


1907 May 3 Falls City Tribune John Weinert

1908 Feb 14, Falls City
John Weinert


1910 Federal Census, Jefferson Precinct, NE

John Weinert's family lived on 200 acres
 3 miles north of Preston, NE
John had 5 barns, 2 orchards
and a home on his property.



John Weinert, early 1900s,
Jefferson Township, NE

Iowa Indian reservation is one
mile south of John's property in Jefferson
Township, Richardson, NE
Edna before 1919
John was a dairy farmer or dairyman


John and Anna Weinert
1904 John and Anna Weinert family, Falls City, NE
LtR Back row, Arthur, Rosa, Henry, Edna
front row: Luella, John, Lawrence, Anna Toph
1908 Portland, OR Anna is 3rd from left.
Flip side of the card
above
1916 Weinert home interior
YPA stands for Youth Parents Association

Let’s see who we recognize in the photo above:
1.  Edna Weinert is John Weinert's daughter
2.  Henry Weinert another son and Martha, his wife
3.  Lena Bletscher and Henry Bletscher, Martha's sister and brother
4.  Luella John Weinert's daughter
5.  Lawrence John Weinert's son
6.  Theophilus aka Tophy another of John Weinert's sons
7.  Harold Weinert, Paul Weinert’s father, he is also Charles Weinert's son
8.  Alma, Carl, and Albert Weinert, Harold Weinert's sister and brothers, or
     Charles Weinert's children
9.  Herman Oberst who was brother to Carl Oberst, who was best friends with
     George Scholl their whole lives including when they move to CA.
10. Irving Wiltse is Clarence and Louise Weinert’s son
11. Gertrude Wiltse Clarence and Louise Wiltse's daughter

John Weinert, church trustee
at Zion's Evangelical Church

John Weinert church steward at
Zions Evangelical Church
John Weinert was a Trustee and Steward in the Zion Evangelical Church in Arago from 1904 - 1909. This is the same church August and Fredericka went to. The Weinert’s were very religious people. These records came from the Tabor Church, Arago, NE in 2010.  Column and titles translated from German:

Top center: Verzeichniss der = Registry of  ( the next page is actually part of this and would give us the answer for what this registry is, and the columns there most likely go with all of these entries.

From left to right:
Name der Beamtern = Name of the Officers
Amt = Office
Wann erwählt = When elected
Wann abgetreten = When stepped down


John Weinert, church officer


1915 John Weinert, dairyman

This is the church John's family attended.

1880-1881 John Weinert's name
on the church rolls next to his sister
and his parents. 




 John began attending Zion Church in 1880. This was a bit of a drive for John
and his family but he was able to attend with his parents. His children also attended: Lawrence, Theophilus, Luella, Arthur, Edna and his wife Anna. All put in "letters" and left in 1920 for Naperville. A "letter"  meant they were moving and resigning from the congregation. John's dedication to his religion can be seen
in his son Lawrence who served as a minister for over 50 years. Arthur was also
a minister.




Zion Evangelical Church, date unknown


1919 LtR John Weinert, Anna Kaiser, Emma Scholl, Audrey Scholl,
George Scholl,  Southern California

 1930 Federal Census, Naperville, IL

John and Anna Weinert
104 S Wright Street, Naperville

1931 Naperville


Burial: Naperville CemeteryNaperville, DuPage County, Illinois, USA, Plot: Sec 6 Row 3 Lot 32