Harry was my great-grandfather. He died when a tree fell on him and broke his neck. He was part of a crew cutting timber on former Governor Frank O Lowden’s Sinnissippi Farm.
Harry Norman Wakenight
Born: 5 NOV 1873 in Mount Morris, Ogle County, Illinois
Father: John William Wakenight (1852 to 1923)
Mother: Susan Rebecca Strock (1853 to 1931)
First Spouse: Margaret Louise Hill (25 SEP 1880 to 6 NOV 1918)
Married: 1904 in Ogle County, Illinois
Children:
Floyd Wakenight (15 MAR 1905 to 7 MAY 1961)
Merel H Wakenight (9 OCT 1909 to 13 JAN 1978)
Leroy A Wakenight (20 DEC 1911 to 24 FEB 1989)
Edna Margaret Wakenight (17 JUN 1914 to 24 JUN 1994)
Raymond L Wakenight (15 MAY 1916 to 1 OCT 2000)
Second Spouse: Ethel Bell Andrew (8 JUL 1904 to 18 DEC 1975)
Married: 1927 in Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois
Child:
Roland A Wakenight (29 MAY 1928 to 26 OCT 1951)
Accident Death:
Died: 3 JAN 1929 in Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois
Burial: Plainview Cemetery, Mt Morris, Ogle County, Illinois
Timeline:
1880 Rockvale, Ogle County, Illinois
1890 Unknown (the 1890 Census was destroyed in a major fire)
1904 Marriage to Margaret
1910 Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois
1918 Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois
1918 Death of wife, Margaret
1920 Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois
1923 Death of father, John
1928 Birth of son, Roland
1929 Death and burial
Occupation: general laborer
Records:
1880, 1910 and 1920 US Census Records
Illinois, County Marriage Records, 1800-1940
World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947
The U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
Variations of Surname: none
First Spouse:
Margaret Louise Hill:
Margaret was born on 25 SEP 1880 in Rockvale, Ogle Couty, Illinois. She died on 6 NOV 1918 in Oregon, Ogle Couty, Illinois.
Margaret’s father was David Hill. He was born on 23 DEC 1832 in Washington County, Maryland. He died on 22 MAR 1901 in Leaf River, Ogle County, Illinois.
Margaret’s mother was Mary A Thomas. She was born on 12 MAR 1841 in Washington County, Maryland. She died on 11 MAR 1904 in Mount Morris, Ogle County, Illinois.
When Margaret died in 1918, I immediately thought that she died from the Spanish Flu. The United States was hit hard in the last three months of that year. Wikipedia notes:
“October 1918 was the month with the highest fatality rate of the whole pandemic. In the United States, 292,000 deaths were reported between September and December 1918.”
Daughter:
Edna Margaret Wakenight:
Edna was born on 17 JUN 1914 in Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois. She died on 24 JUN 1994 in Dixon, Lee County, Illinois.
Edna married Stanley Webster Dusing in 1952 in Dixon, Lee County, Illinois. One known child was born to this marriage:
Margaret Susann Dusing (28 OCT 1953 to 16 JUL 2005)
Stanley Webster Dusing was born on 9 MAR 1883 in Myersville, Frederick County, Maryland. He died on 22 NOV 1964 in Dixon, Lee County, Illinois.
Stanley had previously been married to Blanche F Green. They married around 1903 in Maryland. Five known children were born to this marriage, the first three in Maryland, the last two in Illinois.
Waynard S Dusing (1905)
Marlow W Dusing (1907)
Mabel B Dusing (1909)
Donald T Dusing (1920)
Eugene Edwood Dusing (1931)
Blanche F Green was born in 1885 in Maryland. She died in 1937 in Pine Creek, Ogle County, Illinois.
Special Notes:
Sharon Strow spoke to many of our Wakenight relatives as she was building her family tree. Pauline, my grandfather’s second wife, gave her details on what happened to the two youngest children. Here is what Sharon wrote:
“Edna’s mother, Margaret (Maggie) Hill Wakenight, died in the flu epidemic of 1918. Ray was about 2, Edna about 4. They then went to live with Annie Hill Slifer, Maggie’s sister. (They) lived there until Ray was about 9 when Annie died. They then went to live with 2 of her daughters . . .”
In 1925, Edna went to live with Annie’s daughter, Ellie (Clarence) McKim. Edna stayed with the McKim’s until going to Chicago in her teens. She then came back and lived with Annie’s daughter, Carrie (Clifford) Snyder.
In 1925, Ray went to live with Annie’s daughter, Carrie (Clifford) Snyder. Ray lived with the Snyder’s until he was 11 years old. In 1927, Raymond lived with Annie’s daughter, Mabel (Martin) Schryver.
Sharon Strow also recalls the story of how her grandmother, Edna, met her grandfather:
“Edna had lived with Stanley Dusing to help him care for the house and children. One night, awhile after Stanley’s wife had passed away, Stanley had asked Edna not to (go) out on her date and stay with him instead. Soon after they were married and had my mother Margaret Dusing.”
Second Spouse:
Ethel Bell Andrew:
Ethel was born on 8 JUL 1904 in Chana, Ogle County, Illinois. She died on 18 DEC 1975 in Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois.
Ethel’s father was Daniel Jeremiah Andrew. He was born on 1 APR 1875 in Washington County, Maryland. He died on 9 MAY 1931 in Chana, Ogle County, Illinois.
Ethel’s mother was Myrtle Cole. She was born on 13 JUN 1883 in Sherman County, Nebraska. She died on 21 MAY 1916 in Rochelle, Ogle County, Illinois.
Ethel had previously been married to Everett William Messenger on 26 May 1923 in Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois. One known child was born to this marriage:
Priscilla Neva Messenger (1923 to 2007)
Everett William Messenger was born in 1903 in Oregon, Ogle County, Illinois. He died in 1985 in Daysville, Ogle County, Illinois.
Ethel and Everett must have divorced before 1928. The 1930 US census shows that Everett married his second wife, Cleatis, in 1928.
Everett and Cleatis had five children, all born in Ogle County, Illinois:
Everett (1928)
William (1929)
Patricia (1931)
Richard (1935)
Yvonne (1938)
Cleatis Adele Harmon was born in 1908 in Odell, Livingston County, Illinois. She died in 1978 in Daysville, Ogle County, Illinois.
Ethel’s Third Marriage:
After Harry’s tragic death, Sharon explains:
“. . . Ethel married his oldest son, Floyd, and together they raised Pricilla and Roland.”
Floyd’s obituary confirms that he married Ethel.
No children were born to this marriage.
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 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!
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