Simmons-Truax-Godbout-Ames Family Tree
Notes
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1 | A newspaper clipping from the Waukegan paper mentions that Peter Goodbout Jr. had been battling an illness for one year. | Goodbout, Peter C. (I24)
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2 | Alice, along with her husband William and son Joseph, perished in the harsh conditions after sailing to Plymouth via the Mayflower in 1620. They died within months, leaving daughter Priscilla an orphan. | Atwood, Alice (I144)
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3 | Andrew Nelson Truax’ Story… Andrew Nelson’s first marriage was to Anna (Annie) Hefti. All my notes from my grandmother indicated that her name was Anna “Prohaska” and that she was from Iowa, so the recent discovery of this new last name “Hefti” was a surprise. Anna (Annie) Prohaska was born in 1865 in Iowa – her father was Adam Prohaska (born in Czechoslovakia) and her mother was Elizabeth Straitor (“Strator” in another record), born in Austria. Annie had a first marriage prior to marrying Andrew Nelson Truax. I found a marriage record for David Hefti and Anna (Annie) Prohaska on July 27, 1882, in Iowa. With more searching, I discovered that Annie Hefti was in the 1885 Iowa State Census living with David Hefti and a 1-year old boy Frankie. Annie Hefti and Andrew Nelson Truax were married on June 30, 1890, Iowa City, IA. The record notes that the spouse’s (Annie’s) father’s name is Adam Prohaska and mother’s name is Elizabeth Strator (“Straitor” in another record). I don’t know what happened to Annie Hefti between 1885 and her second marriage to Andrew Nelson Truax in 1890 – perhaps her husband David Hefti and young son Frankie both died? That is the most logical conclusion I have. After Annie married Andrew Truax in 1890, she had 6 children: Lulu May, William Andrew, Aubrey Nelson, Charles Abram, Philip Roemer and Werdna Belle (“Belle”). However, their marriage would be cut short by Annie’s death in 1907. After Annie died, Andrew Nelson sent 2 of his sons to an orphanage in Lake Bluff, Illinois; 1 other son went to live with the Kretchmer family in South Dakota (not sure who these people but perhaps they were distant family) and the other was old enough to go to work and lived as a boarder in a home in Waukegan. Lulu Truax was already an adult at the time of her mother’s death and she lived on her own. On March 19, 1910, Andrew Nelson married Emma Bockus; their marriage is recorded in Indiana, in Lake County. And following that, there is a 1910 U.S. Census record showing Andrew Nelson and Emma Truax living in Waukegan at 807 Grand Avenue. The record shows Belle Truax living with them, as well as a daughter Etta Bockus from her previous marriage. The new couple also takes in young Werdna Belle Truax to create a new blended family with the 2 daughters. In the 1920 U.S. Census, Andrew Nelson Truax is still living in Waukegan, working as a carpenter; it is just he and Emma Truax living in the household. In a 1919 Antioch News newspaper archive, there is a blurb “Mrs. Andrew Truax spent this week in Chicago and Indiana, attending the wedding of her son Ray Barkus (a typo, should be “Bockus”) in Chicago.” Emma had an older son Ray, who was an adult in 1910 and did not move in with his new blended family in Waukegan. I do not know if Andrew ever saw any of his older children again. Andrew and his son Phil both lived in Waukegan area in the early 1920s. Waukegan was a very small town then, and I wonder if there was any contact, even just incidental? Andrew Nelson Truax’ death certificate indicates that he died in Matoon, Illinois, and had lived there a little more than 3 years prior to his passing. | Truax, Andrew Nelson (I52)
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4 | Another source lists Nicolas's birth as Caen, France. | Godbout, Nicolas (I485)
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5 | Antoinette (Antosie) Gust was born in Lithuania in 1862, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1893, per 1910 U.S. Census. | Gust, Antoinette (I304)
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6 | Baptism name: Alphonse Eleazor | Mador, Alphonse (I289)
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7 | Baptism Name: Charles Alen Ferdinand | Mador, Ferdinand (I454)
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8 | Baptism name: Joseph Edouard | Mador, Edward (I288)
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9 | Baptism name: M. Eleonore Virginia | Mador, Virginia (I286)
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10 | Baptism name: Marie Caroline Balsamie | Mador, Caroline (I287)
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11 | Baptism name: Marie Sophie Tharsile | Mador, Tarcile (I23)
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12 | Baptism name: Pierre Alfred | Mador, Alfred (I290)
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13 | Baptism name: Sophie Celina Elizabeth | Mador, Celina (I285)
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14 | Baptism name: Tharsile Caroline Josephine | Mador, Josephine (I284)
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15 | Baptism record is 3 Oct, 1826, St. Roch Church in Quebec City, Quebec. | Mador, Edouard (I29)
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16 | Caroline's birth year is deduced from the 1861 Canada Census. Despite the plethora of baptism records for all the other Quebec relatives, I cannot find her baptism; only her marriage document. | Tranquille, Caroline (I30)
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17 | Carrie Parker’s Story… Carrie Parker was born in Frankfort, Illinois, in Will County. She spent her childhood in Frankfort and came to Waukegan as a young woman, where she lived with her widowed mother, Electa Barney Parker, and widowed grandmother, Electa Morton Barney (yes, there were two generations of women named "Electa!"). She and her sister, Viola, were recorded in the 1880 census in the Barney/Morton household. Carrie had 2 brothers, Andrew and William, and it appears that William died in infancy. Carrie’s father, Thomas Packard Parker, died fighting in the U.S. Civil War in 1863, leaving her mother Electa widowed with very young children. Eventually, the family came to Waukegan where Carrie would finish high school and marry Peter Rouse (“P.R.”) Simmons. Carrie lived in a home that would eventually become the site of the Genesee theater in the Waukegan downtown area. Carrie taught at the Blanchard school on North Sheridan Rd. She married Peter Rouse Simmons at the home of her mother and grandmother on April 2, 1885. They had 5 children, 3 of whom preceded them in death: Milton died at the age of 1 year, Chester (“Chet”) died at age 32, and Ethel died at age 43. Loren Thomas Simmons, my grandfather, and Roscoe Elijah Simmons were the other 2 sons, who would live into their 80s. I have Carrie’s personal bible that was handed down to me from my grandmother; in it are numerous clippings and mementoes related to the local Baptist Church, where she was an active member. My parents used to tell me that my grandmother Celia was not immediately embraced by her future mother-in-law because Celia was of the Roman Catholic faith. They also told me that Carrie forbade alcohol, but clearly my grandfather and great-uncle ignored that teaching as both were known to enjoy their beer (with a sprinkle of salt) and on occasion, a shot of whiskey. This is a story I would have loved to have known more about; I’m betting there were some interesting conversations about Loren and Celia’s marriage, given how important religion was to Carrie. And I wonder if Carrie lectured her sons on the evils of an occasional drink?! There are many photos of Carrie, including a couple where she is wearing a necklace that was passed down to me. I love the idea of looking at an image that is 100 years old and seeing a piece of jewelry that I still wear today! By all accounts, Carrie was involved in many Simmons family occasions and outings. There are several pictures of her with my father as an infant and toddler, as well as group family photos at picnics and other celebrations. A running family joke with my parents was that Carrie always looked SO stern; she rarely smiled in photos and often looked meaner and older than she was. My father and his sister Virginia used to say that their grandmother Carrie was very strict, and from a child’s perspective, kind of mean. This seems unfortunate given how clearly Carrie loved family history and the relationships with relatives now gone. | Parker, Carrie Amelia (I9)
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18 | Casimer Gust was born in Russia in 1862 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1891. Casimer and family were recorded in the 1910 U.S. Census as living at 1323 Sheridan Road, Waukegan, IL. | Gust, Casimer (I303)
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19 | Celia Goodbout's Story... My paternal grandmother, Celia, was perhaps the kindest, most generous woman I have ever known. She loved to spend time with her family and she was constantly giving us grandkids small gifts or money. I remember how she used to come up to me, give me a hug, and press money into my hand and say, "go have a hamburger on me" or "go fill up your gas tank on me." She loved these small gestures and it was never about the money; it was about that sparkle in her eye and the warmth of her hugs. I always loved my Grandma's attic. She would take me up there and show me all the wonderful mementos from her past. I was transfixed by it all, which always gave her a good chuckle. She would giggle and say, "I don't know why you love all these old things but I'll tell you all about them." She showed me clothing from her wedding day, clothes and handbags from her mother, family jewelry and bibles, and photos of family and friends long gone. I still have all of these amazing treasures. I loved hearing stories about the past; I came to know my ancestors as real people through her words. She was so amused by my fascination that she gave me many family heirlooms at a young age. I think she sensed early on that I would cherish and protect them to hand down. When you only know someone in the context of being "elderly," it is often difficult to imagine his or her life in their youth. While Grandma often told stories of how she met my Grandfather, Loren Thomas (they both worked at Cyclone Fence in Waukegan), I never really envisioned what they were like as young adults. They didn't have many older photos displayed in their house but there were many, many photos tucked away in that attic. Before we moved to California, my Grandma gave my mother her "Memory Book," which was filled with photos from her youth. I was so touched by the love in the photos of my Grandma and Grandpa; they were full of tenderness, knowing glances, and lightheartedness. There were coy poses of Celia gazing up at the camera and my Grandpa who stood behind it. There were many poses of my Grandpa, obviously at the direction of my Grandma. It conveyed a sense of joy and fun that they shared, a romantic spirit that faded with age. There were so many photos of friends on camping trips, beach outings, picnics, and other organized events during their courtship. In an era when cameras were not at all mainstream, my grandmother was clearly in love with the art of taking photos. My grandma had a running joke that she had "never worn pants," that she had always worn dresses. Well, I found several pictures of her in pants! True, she had never worn pants in her older years; she always wore dresses, “stockings” with a girdle, and matching jewelry. On one of her visits to California, my sister and I took her shopping and talked her into buying a skirt with a matching jacket. She had never owned a matching suit and it was a beautiful raspberry color. Every time she wore it while visiting, she commented on how much she loved it. I wish I had been more into baking when I was younger so I could have gotten some tips from my Grandma. She made wonderful pies and regularly baked her own bread. There was nothing like a slice of Grandma's bread with butter. She also made a scrumptious “Sunshine Cake,” lovely jam cookies, and her wonderful molasses cookies are still a favorite of mine at Christmas. As children, we always went to Grandma's house each Saturday. My dad did projects around the house, mowed the grass, and did small repairs as needed. We almost always had the same lunch as a family on these Saturdays: hamburgers. There was a small grocery store right across the street from their house and my Grandma always said that, "they had the best meat." I can tell you that those were the best hamburgers I have ever had. I didn't know my Grandpa that well; his eyesight was quite poor and therefore he mostly sat in a big comfy armchair during our family gatherings. But before his sight was completely impaired, he did enjoy a rousing game of cards when I was a kid, and we would all gather around the table after dinner to play. Grandpa loved to watch the Chicago Cubs and we would often watch games as a family on those Saturdays at their house. He always seemed like the typical patriarch for that era as my Grandma did all that she could for him in his ailing years. But as I look at those old photos, I sense that he once had a tender and very playful spirit. I think much of what Celia and Loren Thomas (“Whitey” as he was known in his youth for his ultra-blonde hair) shared in their youth will remain their own private secret; I am left to my own interpretation through their heartfelt photos. I loved my Grandma – her sweet disposition was the core of who she was. She never said an unkind word about anyone. My mother used to tell me that she never had a single cross word with her mother-in-law Celia in the 40+ years they knew each other. Most of all, I love my Grandma Celia for sharing all those hours with me in her attic, in her basement, and looking at old photos as I asked questions. She laid all this foundation for much of what I have in this website, and I am forever grateful. | Goodbout, Cecelia Aberdeen (I6)
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20 | Celia's mother Tarcile was actually baptized “Tharsile” in Ile-d’Orleans, Quebec, Canada (modern-day Quebec City). As was common with many immigrants, Tharsile’s name was misspelled often, and it shows up in many forms: Tarcil, Tarcile, Tarceil, Tarsil, Tarcella, Theresa … among others. Her grave marker says “Tarcile” so that is what I chose for her name here on this site. Tarcile was married to Pierre Godbout. Pierre was known as “Peter” and his last name was changed to “Goodbout” upon immigrating to the U.S. The Goodbouts resided at 219 Lake Street when they were raising their family. The building is still standing; Zillow lists the home’s “date built” as the early 1900s. However now it is a multifamily dwelling. I wonder if the lack of language skills from Tarcile is one of the reasons that my Grandma never seemed to know a lot of proper French? My mother once told me that Tarcile did not know how to read/write in French or English, that she had to sign her name with an “X.” Her death certificate says her highest grade of schooling was elementary school so it’s possible that she never attended any formal school in Canada, and that she might not have learned to read or write in French. I remember when I started studying French in high school, my Grandma would ask me to help translate letters from various French Canadian relatives. Perhaps this is how “tourtiere” became “Touquere" in our family upbringing?” For decades we all enjoyed "touquere," a homemade meat pie dish served around the Christmas holidays. My grandmother made them, as did my parents. And then I happened to be talking with a good friend of mine who is originally from Quebec and I was recounting this dish, and how we were pretty sure it was not the true name. Voila, my friend filled me in on the traditional French Canadian "tourtiere." That gave my family a good laugh! I recently learned from my cousins that Pierre/Peter Goodbout had his name tattooed on his arm because he could not read or write English. His obituary says he worked at the Douglas Boatworks as a shipbuilder, so I’m not sure how much English he knew; certainly enough to have remained employed for his adult years while raising a large family. After Pierre/Peter died, Tarcile lived with Celia and her husband Loren in the multifamily home they shared with her brother Albert Goodbout and his wife, at 310 Cory Avenue. My grandmother would take care of Tarcile in the family home until her death in 1947. | Mador, Tarcile (I23)
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21 | Charles Hake & Angeline Conrad marriage is referenced separately with just name and year in Ancestry.com records. | Family F15
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22 | Charles, son of Charles H. Fournier and Celina Mador Fournier, is listed on the 1900 U.S. Census as living in the Fournier household, age 18, with 4 other brothers. This record shows his birth year as 1882. There is death record for "Charles A. Fournier" that states he died on 28 Jul 1908, and was buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Chicago. Even though Ancestry didn't connect these 2 records, I'm going to assume that the younger Charles is the son of Charles and Celina. Three of the other 4 brothers are buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, as are many of the Mador family members. My grandmother Celia also told me that Celina and Charles had 4 sons; if the younger Charles died in 1908, it would make sense that my Grandmother might not be aware of that sibling, as she was still a teenager at that time. | Fournier, Charles (I449)
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23 | Compiled from my grandmother Celia's notes on her mother's siblings and their offspring, as well as U.S. Census records through Ancestry.com. | Mador, Caroline (I287)
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24 | Death date is sourced from an Illinois Probate & Wills document. Note that Hamilton E. Ames does appear in the 1870 U.S. Census; this is likely due to the timing of the census-takers well in advance of finalizing the numbers. | Ames, Hamilton E. (I47)
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25 | Died in infancy. | Parker, William (I297)
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26 | At least one living or private individual is linked to this note - Details withheld. | Hotchkiss, S. (I19)
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27 | At least one living or private individual is linked to this note - Details withheld. | Simmons, Cory A. (I2)
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28 | Elizabeth Alden is the daughter of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, both of whom sailed on the Mayflower in 1620. Priscilla Mullins was joined by her parents, William and Alice Mullins and a brother; all of them would die in 1621 due to the harsh conditions they encountered. | Alden, Elizabeth (I115)
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29 | Emma Hake’s Story… Emma Hake was first married to Wendell Pulver, and had 2 children, George and Grace. Emma then married Edgar Mortimer Ames, and they would live on a farm in what is now Wadsworth, IL. Emma and Edgar would have 8 children, 1 of whom was stillborn (Blanche), and 1 other that would die at age 13 (Margaret). The other 6 children lived into adulthood and remained in the general area of Lake County, IL. My Bada and mother always spoke with such fondness for Emma. I only wish I had more photos of her. | Hake, Emma Caroline (I34)
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30 | From the following genealogy website:http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/godbout/36/ | Godbout, Michel (I487)
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31 | Gerrie Truax’ Story… Gerrie was the only child of Madesse Ames and Phil Truax. She was born at Victory Hospital in Waukegan, IL, and she grew up in the house that Phil built for them at 914 McAree Rd. Gerrie and her mother were very close and had a special relationship their whole lives; this was especially true after Madesse and Phil divorced. Gerrie had many hobbies and talents as a young girl – she loved dancing, including tap dancing, and she was involved in music and singing clubs, Girl Scouts, and high school theater at Waukegan Township High School. She started dating Loren Simmons in the spring of her freshman year, and the rest, as they say, is history. Loren was a senior and after their first date, they were immediately smitten. Although she was unofficially betrothed to Loren, who was off at college, Gerrie attended the University of Illinois for her freshman year. Then she and Loren wed in August of 1946. My mother Gerrie encouraged my love of genealogy at an early age, and we would often go through antique family photos together, retelling stories handed down. We didn’t talk very much about her father’s Truax family roots, and later I would find out how her father had been sent to an orphanage after his mother died. In the year leading up to my mother’s death in 2004, she asked me to find out more information for her on Phil Truax’ ancestry. It was one of the last fun times we would have that year, as her health started to decline. But she was so excited that I found out more about the Truax family than she had known growing up. My parents decided to leave Illinois in 1979 – my father got a promotion and we headed to the Monterey Bay area of California. Looking back, I’m sure it must have been a hard decision to leave, with aging parents and having to say goodbye to so many lifelong friends. But despite the emotion of leaving, Gerrie and Loren embraced their new adventure in California, quickly getting involved in a new way of life… without those harsh Midwest winters! My mother branched out in cooking and baking, taking full advantage of the bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables that the Salinas Valley offered. No more canned or frozen items (we were all glad about that). My mother and father always had a love of entertaining and they continued this tradition in all the places they lived, meeting new neighbors and making lots of new friends along the way. Gerrie and Loren enjoyed visits from lots of family and lifelong friends, playing tour guides all over the Monterey Peninsula; they loved bringing the beauty of California anyone who visited. And in each house that they lived in, they continued the tradition of placing all our antique family photos on a wall, to always remember our roots. I carry on this same tradition, with all my beloved photos in a room. Sometimes I like to just sit and look at all of the familiar faces, and realize how lucky I am to have all this amazing family history. So much of that is from my mother Gerrie. | Truax, Geraldine Ann (I1)
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32 | Given name likely was Kazimer -- and this is the name on the headstone I found for Kazimer Gust at St. Mary's Cemetery. | Gust, Casimer (I303)
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33 | I always loved the name “Electa” as a little girl – I used to say if I ever had a daughter, that was going to be her name. And Electa Barney’s mother was also named Electa (Morton), but I didn’t find that out until I was in my forties, when technology greatly aided me in my genealogy research. Electa Parker lived as a widow much of her adult life; her husband Thomas Packard Parker died in 1863 in the U.S. Civil War, and she died in Waukegan in 1907. At one point, both Electa Parker and her mother Electa Barney, were widowed and living with daughters Carrie and Viola Parker in Waukegan, according to U.S. Census records. I’m thrilled to have Electa’s personal bible – her name is stamped in it, and there is a handwritten note: “Mrs. E. Parker’s book, presented to her by her sister, A. S. Marshall, 1876.” I was also excited to find many more photos of Electa online, posted by other genealogy enthusiasts. One of these photos (the profile photo used here) was a physical photo we had in our family keepsakes growing up -- I don't know what happened to our physical copy but the moment I saw it online I remembered it. I was also able to find photos of her parents, Electa Morton Barney and Persus Barney.This included a picture of her parents, Persus and Electa Morton Barney. | Barney, Electa (I60)
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34 | I have always been fascinated with my ancestor Rouse Simmons. His name was so unique and it conveyed a sense of strength and integrity. When I first became interested in genealogy as a child, I was in awe of Rouse because he was the oldest known Simmons ancestor based on the notes my family had. In 1980 my father, Loren, compiled notes from his mother and his uncle and took it to the Latter Day Saints Library in Utah. From the notes my father had on Rouse, he was able to trace the Simmons lineage back to 1570. My father returned home with stacks of paper from the library (I still have them) and it was that original library research that enabled me to compile my first version of this website back in 2003. For me, Rouse Simmons was simply an intriguing ancestor. But “Rouse Simmons” has a whole other history that we did not discover until 2004. My father was reading a newsletter and in it, there was a story about the “Rouse Simmons, Christmas Tree Ship.” Apparently, there was a schooner named Rouse Simmons and it became famous in 1912 for sinking in an ice storm in Lake Michigan. If you Google "Rouse Simmons,” you will be bombarded with information on this famous shipwreck. The schooner Rouse Simmons had been hauling cargo between Chicago and Michigan. Its captain decided to expand the schooner’s capability and use it to haul Christmas trees from Michigan back to Chicago families. The captain and the ship became wildly popular in the years that followed, but in 1912 the captain made an ill-fated decision to start back Chicago in heavy winds and snow. The ship sunk off Two Rivers, Wisconsin and its wreckage was not discovered until 1971. The anchor of the Rouse Simmons is currently on display in the Milwaukee Yacht Club. The ship was built in Milwaukee in 1868 by Allen, McClelland & Company. Research indicates that the ship was named for a wealthy Kenosha [Wisconsin] resident who financed the ship's construction. The ship was named for the younger Rouse Simmons – the grandson of my ancestor Rouse Simmons. My ancestor, the elder Rouse Simmons, was born in Rhode Island in 1775, and he first married Mary Potter and had a son Ezra (one of 5 children). Ezra Simmons ended up in Oneida County, NY, and married Maria Gilbert – they had 2 sons, Zalmon (born 1828) and Rouse (born 1832). In 1843 Ezra and Maria moved the family to what is now Kenosha, Wisconsin. Many historical articles focus on Zalmon Simmons, who gained fame and fortune in many business ventures, including founding the Simmons Mattress Company, whose name still thrives today for its brand recognition. Note that the Simmons family no longer owns and operates the mattress company, it is now a public company. Zalmon’s brother Rouse Simmons was also a prominent businessman in the Kenosha community, and Zalmon decided to name a schooner after him. The elder Rouse Simmons was widowed, and was married again, to Eleanor Bacte. This is my family lineage. They had 1 son, Elijah Thomas Simmons, and a daughter Harriet. I am descended from Elijah Simmons. | Simmons, Rouse (I63)
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35 | I have the original marriage certificate of Electa Barney and Thomas P. Parker that took place on 12 Oct 1854, in DuPage, IL. Witnesses were Hugh Stewart, Charles Welch, and Helen M. Barney. In 1863, Thomas P. Parker died fighting in the Battle of Chickamauga, in Georgia, during the U.S. Civil War. Thomas served as a medical assistant for the 100th Regiment of the Illinois Infantry. I discovered a Civil War photo of him, and I have tintype of him (with note written on back by Carrie that says “My Father.”) You can definitely see the resemblance in my tintype and the Civil War image. Thomas Parker’s mother, Belinda Ingersoll, was widowed at a relatively young age – her first husband Silas died at age 42. Belinda remarried Rollin C. Marshall; I have tintype of Belinda that has notes on the back, “Grandma Parker Marshall.” | Parker, Thomas Packard (I59)
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36 | I received this photo of Caroline Godbout from a Tardif ancestor. I was so grateful that they reached out and provided it. They were surprised to learn that so many of the other Godbout siblings had migrated to the Chicago area. Caroline stayed in Quebec, where she married Telesphore Tardif in 1883 (that date was also provided to me by her ancestor). | Godbout, Caroline (I467)
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37 | I recently found out that "Werdna" was named for her father Andrew - because "Werdna" is Andrew spelled backwards! My mother's half sister, Philip Truax' daughter, filled me in on this detail. I found it very interesting. I had always assumed that it was a just very old fashioned name that I had not heard of. Fun to know the back story! | Truax, Werdna Belle (I57)
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38 | In a biography of Sally Lowry's husband, Elijah T. Simmons, it mentions his marriage to Sally Lowry and that her father's name was Abram Lowry, from New York. | Lowry, Abram (I357)
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39 | In my grandmother Celia (Goodbout) Simmons handwritten notes, she outlined her mother Tarcil Mador's siblings, one of whom was Alphonse. I then discovered a photo from my grandmother's collection that said "Uncle Al." I was able to corroborate his wife Nellie through further documentation in Ancestry.com. | Mador, Alphonse (I289)
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40 | Jane Arno was born in Canada in 1840 – this is documented in several U.S. Census records, listing Canada as her birthplace as well as the birthplace of her mother and father. Her parents, Genevieve & John Arno, are living in Newport, Lake County, Illinois, in the 1880 U.S. Census. Jane married Hamilton E. Ames in 1856, and was widowed with 4 young children in 1868. Jane remarried John Jeanmene in 1870 and had another child, Leopold Ferdinand Jeanmene. She would find herself a widow once again and she married a third time to John Nemry. She had another son, John Eugene. | Arno, Jane B. (I48)
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41 | Jane Arno's second husband was Joseph Jeanmenne, and they had one son, Leopold Ferdinand. My mother Gerrie remembers that her Uncle Leo was a fun and kind man. In her childhood scrapbook, she kept Valentine cards given to her by Uncle Leo. | Jeanmene, Leo Ferdinand (I271)
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42 | Jane Arno's third husband was John Nemry (his first name is an assumption for now, FYI) and although Jane died before my mother was born, Jane was always known through others in the Ames family as "Grandma Nemry." They had one child, John Eugene. His name is confirmed by WWI and WWII registration cards as documented through Ancestry.com I also remember my grandmother, Madesse Ames, telling me that a street in Waukegan was named after the Nemery family. "Nemery Court" was right near our pool club, Brentwood. The spelling is slightly different, but the last name sometimes appears as "Nemery" and as "Nemry." Jane's headstone says "Nemry." | Nemry, John (I272)
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43 | John Alden appears to have originated from an Alden family residing in Harwich, Essex, England, that was related by marriage to the Mayflower's master Christopher Jones. He was about 21 years old when he was hired to be the cooper, or barrel-maker, for the Mayflower's voyage to America. He was given the option to stay in America, or return to England; he decided to stay. At Plymouth, he quickly rose up from his common seaman status to become a prominent member of the Colony. About 1622 or 1623, he married Priscilla Mullins, the orphaned daughter of William and Alice Mullins. They had their first child, Elizabeth, around 1624, and would have nine more children over the next twenty years. John Alden was one of the earliest freemen in the Colony, and was elected as an assistant to the governor and Plymouth Court as early as 1631, and he was regularly re-elected throughout the 1630s. He also became involved in administering the trading activities of the Colony on the Kennebec River. Alden, and several other families, including the Miles Standish family, founded the town of Duxbury, MA, in the 1630s. They took up residence there, with John Alden serving as Duxbury’s deputy to the Plymouth Court throughout the 1640s. Alden also served as colony treasurer in the 1650s, and he built the house that still stands today (see media, below). By the 1660s, Alden was given several land and cash grants by the Plymouth Court to assist him in providing for his wife and 10 children. Throughout the 1670s, Alden began distributing his land holdings to his surviving sons. He died in 1687 at the age of 89, one of the last surviving Mayflower passengers. | Alden, John (I67)
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44 | Joseph, along with his parents William and Alice, perished in the harsh conditions after sailing to Plymouth via the Mayflower in 1620. They died within months, leaving Priscilla an orphan. | Mullins, Joseph (I145)
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45 | Last name may be "Mowet" -- similar record comes up on Ancestry with Anna Mowet, same birthdate, living with family of origin in Chicago. | Moot, Annie (I455)
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46 | Loren A. Simmons’ Story… When Loren was nearly sixty years old, he was about to travel outside the U.S. on business and needed his birth certificate. When he received his copy, he was in for a big surprise: his legal name was Albert Loren, NOT Loren Albert. And his birth date was a few days off the December 8th date he'd always known. When he queried his mother, Celia, regarding this, she giggled and said, "why that can't be!" Well, when the explanations became convoluted and started to contradict each other, she finally came clean. “Loren” was not a Biblical name, a requirement that Roman Catholics had when naming a child. But her family expected them to name their first-born son after his father. Loren Thomas Simmons was from a Baptist family and he never really participated in organized religion. So...she did some creative altering on his birth certificate. She officially named my father “Albert” but raised him as “Loren.” Well, my dad corrected the situation by legally changing his name to “Loren Albert” in the early 1980s. But we sure had fun teasing him, calling him “Big Al” for a while! Loren met Geraldine (“Gerrie”) Truax in high school – he was a senior and she was a freshman. He noticed Gerrie from afar and asked a mutual friend, “Who that long, tall drink of water" was. Gerrie was typically one of the tallest girls in her class throughout her childhood. At 14 years old, she stood 5 feet, 10 inches tall and apparently, her stature won Loren's attention quite handily. Their first date was on May 22, 1942 when they met after the senior play. They proceeded to a popular malt shop, The “W Shop,” for a milkshake and french fries. Loren was also known to drop in to Gerrie's homeroom class periodically, to simply catch a glimpse of her. Gerrie participated in drama productions and she continued her dancing. Loren was a champion swimmer in high school and went to the state finals his senior year. His swimming skills would come in handy, teaching each of his three children to swim. I especially enjoyed this during my childhood summers. After high school, Loren headed for the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. After only 1 year he joined the V12 program with the U.S. Marine Corps. This would take him to Notre Dame University to study engineering, through boot camp at Parris Island and then on to pre-Officers Candidate School at Camp Lejeune. Also, he would most notably find himself stationed in Nagasaki, Japan, for 10 months after the atomic bomb was dropped. He was in the Engineering Battalion and their mission was to repair roads and construct maps of the bombed-out area. We still have many pictures of Loren taken in the aftermath of the bomb’s devastation. Upon his return home, Loren was offered a sales engineer position with Cyclone Fence, the company his father worked for all his life. As was customary in the post-war economic expansion, Loren took the job without finishing his college degree. He and Gerrie got married on August 30, 1946, and proceeded to move first to Cleveland and then to Pittsburgh with his new job. But the Korean conflict called Loren back into the Marines for 2 years. While attending amphibious warfare training at Quantico, Virginia, he would sit right next to John Glenn. Yes, as in John Glenn the astronaut, the first man to orbit the Earth. My father tells a story of how John Glenn was trying to persuade him to go into a flight program. He also buddied up to Loren and wanted him to join him on a weekend 'boys’' getaway to Chicago. However, Gerrie wanted him home and my father declined. When he returned from the Korean conflict, he worked for the Simmons Flour & Feed business that his grandfather, Peter Rouse Simmons, and his uncle, Roscoe Simmons, had established in the Waukegan area. Loren had his sights set on inheriting the business from his Uncle Roscoe, who had no children of his own; Loren speculated that this could be a good business opportunity. Unfortunately, there wasn't a substantial future in place and Loren realized after 5 years that this not a real opportunity. He went back to Cyclone Fence and then, briefly, to Alloy Wire Belt. He finally landed at Ashworth Brothers, where he was a sales engineer in the Midwestern territory. As young kids, we often accompanied my parents on my father’s summer business trips – a mini vacation if you will, traveling through Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota. Ashworth Brothers would eventually promote Loren to a management position in California in 1979. I remember how hard I fought my parents’ desire to uproot me from my hometown. However, I could see how excited they were at chasing their dreams in California, and after our move, we embarked on a thrilling new chapter. We loved the California life and after the initial upheaval of moving, we all embraced it fully. Loren has a significant place in the Simmons family history: after 4 generations in northern Illinois, Loren migrated his family westward. Loren and Gerrie lived in the Monterey Bay area of Northern California from 1979 until their deaths; Gerrie passed away in 2004 and Loren passed away in 2013. | Simmons, Loren Albert (I0)
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47 | Madesse Ames' Story... She was named "Maudess" based on her wedding invitation and a census record from 1910 but somewhere she must have changed the spelling to "Madesse." If I know my grandmother, she likely changed it because everyone mispronounced her name – to this day, I’ve never heard of anyone else named “Madesse.” Madesse had a few nicknames, including “Dess” which went back to her youth, and “Mo,” which many of her work colleagues called her in her later years. She asked her grandchildren to call her "Bada," a word we believe she simply made up, instead of the traditional monikers for grandmothers. She always wanted to be different and it didn't seem fitting to call her "Grandma" because believe me, she did not embody the spirit of a traditional grandmother. One word can sum up our Bada: FUN. She loved to sing songs, play cards, tell old family stories, reinvent traditional fairy tales ("Little Red Riding Hood had to stop at the Quonset for some pizza and beer"), tell dirty jokes, and just "have a few laughs." Her favorite beer was Schlitz and it was the only alcohol I ever saw her drink. It was always fun to go visit Bada, no matter what the occasion. One 4th of July, she took us grandkids aside and asked us to help her fill water balloons. She squealed with delight as we surprised some of our other party guests from a landing above the entryway. Of course, she launched the first attack with her raucous laugh and that gleam in her eye. Madesse met Philip (Phil) Truax in Wadsworth and theirs was a very passionate romance. Phil and Madesse married in 1923 and moved to Waukegan where they rented a room in a home owned by the Bradbury family. The Bradburys were more than just landlords; one of the children was Ray Bradbury, who would become a very famous science fiction author. Madesse used to baby-sit Ray for the Bradbury family and decades later, she was thrilled to get a return letter from him after sending him a note. She had written about how happy her time was living with his family. Phil proceeded to build the house at 914 McAree Road, Waukegan, where their daughter, Geraldine (“Gerrie”) was born. The family lived in Waukegan until Gerrie graduated from high school in 1945, after which Phil asked Madesse for a divorce. Phil and Madesse had a stormy relationship, often arguing loudly when Gerrie was a young girl; Phil had fallen in love with another woman and he would relocate to Florida shortly after the divorce. Madesse was a modern woman well before her time. She worked outside the home when most women did not and she clearly valued her ability to financially contribute to the household. She worked at the Waukegan Dry Goods store in the 1920s and 1930s, and then she spent many years at Hein’s, a fashionable department store in downtown Waukegan. I think she enjoyed her work and the friendships she developed from it. I can also guess that her work was probably a constructive escape from an obviously unhappy marriage to Philip Truax, and then over the years it also brought her financial independence. She was determined to provide for her only daughter, Gerrie, and her extra income during the Great Depression gave the Truax family a boost. My mother once told me that in grammar school in the 1930s, many of her classmates attended school in tattered, dirty clothes, often showing up to school without shoes. With both her mother and father working during the Depression, Gerrie’s family always had enough food on their table, and enough money for school clothes and other necessities. They were quite fortunate at a time when so many others were struggling. There was an underlying fierceness in Madesse’s strive for autonomy that probably stemmed from the breakdown of her marriage to Phil. I think she had so much resentment about the divorce that she decided to move forward in life with fun and laughter. She never seemed to look back, though she did keep love letters Philip had written her when they were courting -- my mother Gerrie was surprised to find them among her possessions after Madesse passed away in 1990. Perhaps Madesse kept them so Gerrie would have a reminder of how much she and Phil loved each other, how much they loved her. We will never know her motivation. Madesse remarried Alex Gust in the late 1940s. Alex was a widower with three younger children, and Madesse eagerly filled her role as stepmother. Alex eventually became our "Papa" and Alex' children and grandchildren became our extended family. We maintained the closest relationship with Alex' son, and their children. They lived close to us and we always enjoyed summers together swimming at Brentwood, as well as spending every Christmas Eve together. As he neared his final years, Papa frequently acknowledged how much he appreciated my mother and our family, as we appreciated him. My Bada was a true fashion and style guru, with lots of color and flair in her wardrobe. I used to love to play dress up in her closet, with all the vibrant colors and neatly stacked shoeboxes. After all, she worked at Hein’s department store, so she always had the latest clothes. Bada and I also had a running joke about how much I loved onions; even as a very little girl, I ate raw onions on just about everything! Whenever we were having a cookout with hamburgers and hot dogs, we would sing in unison "bring out the big onion." My Bada taught me how to play many word games, including Crossword Cubes, of which the modern version, Boggle, remains a favorite of mine. Sometimes I spent the night with her and we would play cards all evening, staying up well past my bedtime. I also learned rhymes for pegging while playing cribbage from her – “Fifteen two, fifteen four… and the rest won’t score” and “Fifteen two and the rest won’t do.” I loved Bada’s spaghetti, even though it was not homemade but a doctored version of the bottled Ragu brand sauce. To this day, I always smile when I see a Pepperidge Farm coconut cream layer cake as she frequently had one for me during our visits. Bada also took care of me on days when I was sick and my mom had to work. Her pet names for me were "little-little" and "baby," reflecting my youngest position in my family. Bada was wise and strong and offered me sage advice whenever I needed it. I loved her dearly. I remember one of her favorite songs was "We Just Couldn't Say Good-bye" and as a young girl, I used to beg her to sing it because she would always sing with such character, adding facial expressions and ad-libbing the lyrics every once in a while. Bada would explain to me that while it was a funny song on the surface, it was really about true love. It was the perfect song for a woman who loved with such passion while always bringing laughter into her world. Here are the lyrics: We thought that love was over, that we were really through I said I didn't love her; that we'd begun anew And you can all believe it, we sure intended to But we just couldn't say good-bye The chair and then the table broke right down and cried The curtains started waving for me to come inside And you can all believe it, the tears were hard to hide But we just couldn't say good-bye The clock was striking twelve o'clock, it smiled on us below With folded hands it seemed to say, “I’ll miss you if you go." So I went back and kissed her and then we looked around The room was singing love songs and dancing up and down Now we're both so happy because at last we found That we just couldn't say good-bye | Ames, Madesse Angeline (I32)
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48 | Marriage document in 1816 for Charles Tranquille and second wife Marie Ann Dupras indicates that Charles was a widower. | Gobert, Marie Anne (I458)
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49 | My grandfather Loren Thomas told my father that Elijah died when he fell out of a cherry tree. Somehow, knowing the Simmons men, it doesn't surprise me that Elijah was climbing a tree at the ripe old age of eighty! My own father was still climbing ladders into his eighties, and would probably have attempted to climb a tree if necessary, with no real fear. I have a feeling Elijah had that signature mix of Simmons spark and stubbornness that I saw in my own father! | Simmons, Elijah Thomas (I14)
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50 | My grandmother Celia Goodbout's notes said that her father had a brother "Phil" and 1871 Canada Census records show "Phileas" and "Philias." Phil Godbout was a tailor in Chicago, Cook County, IL. | Godbout, Phileas (I337)
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