I found it interesting that both Elvera and Myrtle married men of Germanic descent. Through census records, I discovered that the men’s grandparents were born in Prussia.
Robert Edward Wakenight married Cecelia Viola King in 1912 in Beatrice, Gage County, Nebraska. Two daughters were born to this marriage.
Elvera was born on 16 FEB 1914 in Beatrice, Gage County, Nebraska. She died on 5 APR 1996 in Beatrice, Gage County, Nebraska.
Elvera married Clarence Conrad Wunnenberg on 19 DEC 1931 in Hiawatha, Brown County, Kansas. Five children were born to this marriage, all in Nebraska:
Shirley May Wunnenberg (1932)
Richard A Wunnenberg (1935)
Delores Anne Wunnenberg (1937)
Vyerl Jean Wunnenberg (1941)
Robert Leroy Wunnenberg (1944)
Clarence Conrad Wunnenberg was born on 10 JUN 1908 in Plymouth, Jefferson County, Nebraska. He died on 7 MAR 1991 in Beatrice, Gage County, Nebraska.
His father was George Wunnenberg. He was born on 4 MAR 1872 in Canada. He died on 14 OCT 1954 in Plymouth, Jefferson County, Nebraska.
His mother was Ernestine Strube. She was born on 24 MAR 1872 in Wisconsin. She died on 24 JUL 1949 in Beatrice, Gage County, Nebraska.
Elvera’s Obituary:
Elvera Wunnenberg, daughter of Robert and Celecia (King) Wakenight, was born February 16, 1914, at Beatrice, Nebraska. She was baptized in 1926 and confirmed at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Plymouth, Nebraska in 1932. She fell asleep in Jesus on Friday, April 5, 1996, at the age of 82 years, 1 month, 18 days.
She was a graduate of Beatrice High School. She married Clarence Wunnenberg on December 19, 1931, at Hiawatha, Kansas. She was a foster grandparent for 15 years at Beatrice State Developmental Center and a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Beatrice.
She is survived by daughters, Shirley Fenn, and husband, Jack, of El Dorado, Kansas, Jean Hohbein, and husband, Ron, of Lincoln, and Delores Wunnenburg of Lincoln; son Richard Wunnenberg, and wife, Alice, of Wichita, Kansas; daughter-in-law, Millie Wunnenberg of Ocean Springs, Mississippi; sister, Myrtle Schultz of Beatrice; brother-in-law, Harlan Wunnenberg, and wife, Ruth, of Beatrice; sisters-in-law, Virginia Wunnenberg of Florida and Viola Spilker, and husband, Ernest, of Fairbury; nine grandchildren; great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Cecelia (King) Wakenight; husband, Clarence; and son, Robert.
Interment was in Evergreen Home Cemetery, Beatrice, Nebraska.
Obituary courtesy of Sharon Strow.
Myrtle was born on 12 SEP 1917 in Beatrice, Gage County, Nebraska. She died on 11 MAR 1998 in Beatrice, Gage County, Nebraska.
Myrtle married Willard Frederick Schultze before 1945. One child was born to this marriage:
James W Schultze (1945 Gage County, Nebraska)
Willard Frederick Schultze was born on 24 JAN 1918 in Burr, Otoe County, Nebraska. He died on 19 JUN 1977 in Beatrice, Gage County, Nebraska.
His father was Frederick Hans Schultze. He was born in 1882 in Nebraska. He died in 1968 in De Witt, Saline County, Nebraska.
His mother was Margaret A Neumann. She was born in 1882 in Nebraska. She died in 1949 in De Witt, Saline County, Nebraska.
Willard had seven brothers and sisters, all born in Nebraska:
Fred Schultze (1907)
Margaret Schultze (1909)
Alfred Schultze (1911)
Wilma Schultze (1914)
Lenora Schultze (1916)
Otis Edwin Schultze (1921)
Marie L Schultze (1924)
Notes on Myrtle and Willard:
From Willard’s obituary, I discovered that he and Myrtle must have separated or divorced. As you can see, Arlene Rulla is named as his fiance.
I could not find an obituary for Myrtle, but from Elvera’s obituary above, it does not list Myrtle’s husband.
“She is survived by . . . sister, Myrtle Schultz of Beatrice.”
Willard’s obituary also lists a daughter named Lee Ann. I do not know if Myrtle is her mother.
Notes:
For more information on this part of the Wakenight family, please visit Sharon Strow’s website, “Descendants of Daniel Wakenight.”
From Sharon’s website, we know the Wakenight family emigrated from Germany. What I found interesting was that both Elvera and Myrtle married men of Germanic descent. Through the US census records, I discovered that both the men’s grandparents were born in Prussia.
The town of Beatrice, Gage County, Nebraska, drew many people after the enaction of the Homestead Act of 1862. Many German American’s moved to Beatrice to start a new life. Most were farmers who bought and tilled the land.
And, most Germans held to the Lutheran faith. It could be that Elvera and Myrtle met their husbands through their church.
If you are a family historian and are researching the Wunnenberg and Schultze families, I would love to hear from you. You can leave a message on the Comments Section of this page or send an email to dlwakenight@yahoo.com.
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.
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