Leonard worked as a streetcar operator from 1938 to 1944. He may have suffered an illness or injury in 1945. He died a year later.

Leonard James Wakenight

Born: 13 MAR 1907 in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska

Father: James Oscar Wakenight (1863 to 1939)
Mother: Susan Regina Baier (1871 to 1934)

Spouse: Emma Wolf (1910 to 1984)

Married: 1933 (based on directory listing)

Child:

Elaine Wakenight (1938 to Unknown)

Died: 1946 in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska

Burial: Bohemian Cemetery

Timeline:

1910 Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska
1917 Death of sister, Nettie
1920 Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska
1921 Death of brother, Robert
1930 Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska
1934 Death of mother, Susan
1934 Marriage to Emma
1938 Birth of daughter, Elaine
1939 Death of father, James
1940 Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska
1945 Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska
1946 Death and burial

Occupation: coal truck driver (1930), streetcar operator (1938, 1940, 1942)

Records:

1910 to 1930 US Census Records
The U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 (Beta)
U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
The U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Variations of Surname: None

Notes on Leonard:

In 1930, Leonard started his career as a truck driver for a coal company. By 1938, he became a streetcar operator for the Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway. A year before Leonard’s death, he must have become ill or incapacitated. A directory listing for 1945 shows them living at 4216 Marcy Street. No occupation is listed on this entry.

Leonard died at age 39 from illness or injury. His sister, Nettie, died at age 20. His brother, Robert, at age 22. I do not know the cause of death for these three individuals. Although, it seems odd that two of them died in their twenties.

Spouse:

Emma Wolf:

Emma was born on 15 DEC 1910 in Adams, Colfax County, Nebraska. She died on 15 JUN 1984 in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska.

Emma’s father was Josef Wolf. He was born in 1860 in Bohemia, Czechoslovakia. He died in 1926 in Clarkson, Colfax County, Nebraska.

Emma’s mother was Frantiska Rybensky. She was born in 1865 in Bohemia, Czechoslovakia. She died in 1919 in Clarkson, Colfax County, Nebraska.

Emma had four brothers and sisters, all born in Bohemia, Czechoslovakia:

Joseph Wolf (1890)
Charlie Wolf (1893)
Frances Wolf (1895)
Anna Wolf (1903)

Emma’s Marriages:

Emma and Leonard were married around 1933. There is an Omaha City directory listing for 1934 that showed them living at 4205 D Street.

After Leonard’s death, Emma married a man named Richard Rathe around 1950. Another directory listing for 1949 lists Emma as the widow of Leonard. One known child was born to this marriage:

Robert J Rathe (1950)

Emma and Richard Rathe must have divorced or Richard died. Emma’s obituary shows that she married Raymond Kaspar in 1957. No known children were born to this marriage.

Raymond Kaspar was born on 25 SEP 1913 in Nebraska. He died on 13 AUG 1998 in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska.

Raymond had previously married Rose Eret on 17 JAN 1939 in Prague, Saunders County, Nebraska. From Raymond’s obituary, two known children were born to this marriage, ages unknown:

Kenneth Kaspar
Jean or Carol Kaspar (*)

(*) Their daughter is named Jean in Raymond’s obituary, but Rose’s obituary has her name as Carol. These could be two different people.

Rose Eret was born on 1 OCT 1919 in Prague, Saunders County, Nebraska. She died in 1952 in Malmo, Saunders County, Nebraska.

Emma’s Obituary:

Notes:

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

Sharon listed only one child, James William Wakenight, on her website that was born to James and Susan. Yet, US census records confirm that they had at least seven children.

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 an excellent source 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.

When you start building your family tree, add documentation to your ancestor’s profile. The records can include birth, marriage, death, census, military, city, and county directory listings. Any information that you can find will help create a life story about your ancestor.

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.

There is no limit on how big your family tree can grow. The blank canvas is there for you to use. Cherish your family history, and it will be there for generations to come!