John married Susan on May 24, 1873. To this union, ten children were born. Five died in infancy, Nora, Mary, Florence, Virgil, and Dela.

John William Wakenight

Born: 2 MAY 1852 in Dayton, Greene County, Ohio

Father: Robert Chesney Wakenight (1824 to 1895)
Mother: Mary Ann Elizabeth Lorentz (1828 to 1884)

Spouse: Susan Rebecca Strock (1853 to 1931)

Married: 24 MAY 1873 in Ogle County, Illinois

Children:

Nora E Wakenight (5 NOV 1873 to 5 NOV 1873)
Harry Norman Wakenight (5 NOV 1873 to 3 JAN 1929)
Ida Elizabeth Wakenight (5 OCT 1876 to 17 OCT 1918)
Sadie Bell Wakenight (27 JAN 1879 to 5 MAY 1964)
Mary Wakenight (1882 to Unknown)
Sylvester McCosh Wakenight (1 AUG 1884 to 24 DEC 1979)
Goldie Wanda Wakenight (9 AUG 1887 to 25 FEB 1939)
Florence Wakenight (1889 to Unknown)
Virgil Wakenight (1891 to Unknown)
Dela Wakenight (1893 to Unknown)

Died: 10 FEB 1923 Mount Morris, Ogle County, Illinois

Burial: Plainview Cemetery

Death Certificate (Transcription):

John Wakenight
A resident of Mt. Morris, Illinois
Date of death: February 10, 1923
Cause of death: pneumonia
Date of birth: May 2, 1852
Place of Birth: Dayton, Ohio
Occupation: retired laborer
Father: Robert Wakenight, born in Maryland
Mother: E. Jones (?)
Informant: Sylvester Wakenight

Transcript courtesy of Sharon Strow. She notes that the mother’s name is not correct.

Obituary:

Died in his home in Mt. Morris on 2-10-1923, at age 70 yrs, 9 mths, and 8 days. The family emigrated to Polo, IL in 1856, when he was but four yrs old. He has lived in Ogle Co. every since.

He was united in marriage to Susan R. Strock on 5-24-1873. To this union nine children were born, of whom four died in infancy, Mary, Florence, Virgil, and Dela; another daughter, Mrs. Wm. Drumheller died about four years ago.

Those who are left to mourn are his wife (Susan), Harry Wakenight of Oregon, Mrs. Chas. Drumheller of Mt. Morris, S. M. Wakenight of Pine Creek, and Mrs. Goldie Paul of Mt. Morris. Three Brothers also survive him. Theo Wakenight of Omaha NE, Ed Wakenight of Sioux City IA, and Oscar Wakenight of Omaha NE, together with 20 Grandchildren and 5 Great Grandchildren.

The family wishes to thank the Friends for their kindness and sympathy in their hour of sorrow. The funeral services were held at the home of Mr. Wakenight’s daughter, Mrs. Jesse Paul, Monday afternoon at 2 o’clock, conducted by Rev. F. E. McCune. Burial was made in the old Cemetery.

Obituary courtesy of Sharon Strow.

Timeline:

1860 Polo, Ogle County, Illinois
1863 Death of brother, Martin
1870 Polo, Ogle County, Illinois
1873 Marriage to Susan
1873 Birth of twins, Nora and Harry
1873 Death of daughter, Nora
1876 Birth of daughter, Ida
1879 Birth of daughter, Sadie
1880 Rockvale, Ogle County, Illinois
1882 Birth of daughter, Mary
1884 Birth of son, Sylvester
1884 Death of mother, Mary Ann
1887 Birth of daughter, Goldie
1889 Birth of daughter, Florence
1890 Unknown (the 1890 Census was destroyed in a major fire)
1891 Birth of son, Virgil
1893 Birth of daughter, Dela
1895 Death of father, Robert
1900 Mt Morris, Ogle County, Illinois
1910 Mt Morris, Ogle County, Illinois
1918 Death of daughter, Ida
1920 Mt Morris, Ogle County, Illinois
1923 Death and burial

Occupation: laborer (1880), day laborer (1900), laborer odd jobs (1910)

Records:

1860 to 1880, 1900 to 1920 US Census Records
Illinois Marriages, 1851-1900
Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947
The U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Variations of Surname: Wakeknight

Spouse:

Susan Rebecca Strock was born on 5 NOV 1853 in Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland. She died on 25 NOV 1931 in Mt Morris, Ogle County, Illinois.

Susan’s father was Michael F Strock. He was born on 16 SEP 1821 in Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland. He died on 22 MAR 1889 in Polo, Ogle County, Illinois.

Michael was married three times before his death.

His first marriage was to Mary A Stevenson around 1843. Mary was born around 1825 in Maryland. She died sometime between 1854 and 1859 in Washington County, Maryland.

Susan had six brothers and sisters, all born in Washington County, Maryland:

James W Strock (1843)
Eliza J Strock (1845)
Allen Strock(1848)
Barbara Ann Strock (1849)
Alvin Strock (1851)
Laura Strock (1854)

After Mary’s death, Michael married Mary A Barr nee Cross (1828 to 1873). Mary was listed as a “surrogate” on the 1860 US census.

From this marriage, Susan had one half-sister, Alice Strock, born in 1861 in Washington County, Maryland.

After Mary’s death in 1873, Michael married Anna E Good in 1875 in Ogle County, Illinois.

Susan had two half-brothers and two half-sisters from this marriage, all born in Ogle County, Illinois.

Leslie B Strock (1877)
Leroy Strock (1879)
Liliah Strock (1881)
Minnie Strock (1883)

Michael Strock’s obituary from the Sterling Daily Gazette:

Daughters:

Nora E Wakenight:

Nora was the twin sister of Harry Norman Wakenight. She was born on 5 NOV 1873 in Mt Morris, Ogle County, Illinois. She died at birth.

Ida Elizabeth Wakenight:

Ida was born on 5 OCT 1876 in Polo, Ogle County, Illinois. She died on 17 OCT 1918 in Mt Morris, Ogle County, Illinois.

Ida and Sadie had a double wedding.

Ida married William Franklin Drumheller, brother of Charles Francis Drumheller, on 22 Dec 1897 in Mt Morris, Ogle County, Illinois. Five known children were born to this marriage, all in Ogle County, Illinois:

Eva Marie Drumheller (1902 to 1918)
Hughling Sylvester Drumheller (1905 to 1950)
Dorothy June Drumheller (1908 to 1964)
Viola Wanda Drumheller (1912 to Unknown)
Florence Drumheller (1915 to Unknown)

William Franklin Drumheller was born on 3 APR 1870 in Adeline, Ogle County, Illinois. He died on 1 AUG 1952 in Mt Morris, Ogle County, Illinois.

Sadie Bell Wakenight:

Sadie was born on 27 JAN 1879 in Rockvale, Ogle County, Illinois. She died on 5 MAY 1964 in Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois.

Sadie and Ida had a double wedding.

Sadie married Charles Francis Drumheller, brother of William Franklin Drumheller, on 22 Dec 1897 in Mt Morris, Ogle County, Illinois. Four known children were born to this marriage, all in Ogle County, Illinois:

Ruth Faye Drumheller (1900 to 1942)
Lillian E Drumheller (1905 to 1969)
Gladys Pearl Drumheller (1910 to 1983)
Kenneth G Drumheller (1914 to 1993)

Charles Francis Drumheller was born on 6 JUN 1866 in Leaf River, Ogle County, Illinois. He died in 1943 in Mt Morris, Ogle County, Illinois.

Sadie’s obituary:

Mt. Morris Times, May 7, 1964:

Mrs. Sadie B. Drumheller, 414 W. Brayton Rd., died early Tuesday morning, May 5th at Warmolts clinic, Oregon, following a short illness.

Born in Rockvale township on January 27, 1879, she was the daughter of John Wakenight. At the time of her death, she was 85 years, three months, and eight days old.

She was united in marriage with Charles Drumheller on December 22, 1897, in Mt. Morris and lived most of her life in this community. Her husband preceded her in death in 1943.

She is survived by two daughters, Lillian Drumheller of Mt. Morris and Mrs. Gladys Smice of Oregon; two sons, Kenneth Drumheller of Mt. Morris and Floyd Drumheller of Oregon; 23 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren; and one brother, Dexter Wakenight of Mt. Morris.

Services are being held today, Thursday, at 2 p.m. in the Finch funeral home with the Rev. Warren Hoover, pastor of the church of the Brethren, officiating. Burial will be held in the Plainview Cemetery.

Goldie Wanda Wakenight:

Goldie was born on 9 AUG 1887 in Mt Morris, Ogle County, Illinois. She died on 25 FEB 1939 in Mt Morris, Ogle County, Illinois.

Goldie married Alfred Chauncey Paul in 1904 in Ogle County, Illinois. Four known children were born to this marriage, all born in Mt Morris, Ogle County, Illinois:

Ralph Victor Paul (1904 to 1950)
Pearl Viola Paul (1910 to 2005)
Alice Jeanette Paul (1912 to 1991)
Bessie Garner Paul (1915 to 1981)

Alfred Chauncey Paul was born on 6 FEB 1879 in Pine Creek, Ogle County, Illinois. He died on 11 SEP 1925 in East Moline, Rock Island County, Illinois.

After Alfred’s death and before the enumeration of the 1930 US Census, Goldie married William Dever Reed. No children were born to this marriage.

William Dever Reed was born on 24 FEB 1878 in Ottawa, Franklin County, Kansas. He died in 1963 in Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois.

William had previously married Minnie Elizabeth Coy in 1905 in Ogle County, Illinois. Three known children were born to this marriage, all born in Ogle County, Illinois:

Myrtle P Reed (1905)
Clarence L Reed (1906)
Virgie M Reed (1911)

Minnie Elizabeth Coy was born on 11 APR 1887 in Pine Creek, Ogle County, Illinois. She died on 12 DEC 1922 in Ogle County, Illinois. As shown in her obituary, she died of Typhoid Fever.

Notes:

For more information on this part of the Wakenight family, please visit Sharon Strow’s website, “Descendants of Daniel Wakenight.”

Creating Your Family Tree

Interested in building a great family tree? Remember these important steps:

Look in your photo albums. You may have old pictures that your parents or grandparents gave you. Or, ask them for copies of photos that they have in their possession. Many people will write names and dates on the backs of photographs. Letters, diaries, and family bibles are also excellent sources for births, marriages, and deaths.

Talk to your older relatives to find out about your ancestry. They may relate stories about an ancestor that you can add to your family tree. Family history is usually not found in newspapers. It is more of a verbal memory that is passed down from generation to generation.

Find the right family tree builder that suits your needs. You can choose one that has a paid subscription like Ancestry.com. There are also free sites like FamilySearch.org.

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If you have a unique surname, like Wakenight, you may find databases on the internet that are useful in your search. I use SurnameDB.com for my English surnames. There are many others on the internet for other countries like Ireland, Italy, and Germany.

Genealogy is the study of a person’s “line of descent.” As you create your family tree, you would typically start with one individual and go “back into time.” You would add their parents, grandparents and so on. There are also family trees that go “forward into time.” Many of these family trees start with a famous person, such as a president or royalty, and move forward into the present time. The purpose of this type of pedigree is to establish a person’s bloodline to that famous person.

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