Jacob was the twin brother of Robert Edward Wakenight. They were born on 20 JUN 1890 in Pickrell, Nebraska. Robert remained in Beatrice, Nebraska, while Jacob moved 100 miles away to Omaha, Nebraska.

Jacob William Wakenight

Born: 20 JUN 1890 in Pickrell, Gage County, Nebraska

Father: Jonas Theodore Wakenight (1853 to 1931)
Mother: Frances Jane Nicewonger (1858 to 1950)

First Spouse: Margaret Ida Weaver (1895 to 1985)

Married: 12 JAN 1911 in Gage County, Nebraska

Children:

Nettie Mae Wakenight (18 NOV 1911 to 5 MAY 1981)
Theodore David Wakenight (27 OCT 1913 to 5 JAN 2004)

Second Spouse: Mary Anschutz (1897 to 1949)

Married: 3 SEP 1919 in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska

Children:

Marie Frances Wakenight (18 JUN 1920 to 28 SEP 2005)
William Edward Wakenight (27 FEB 1922 to 1962)

Died: 21 DEC 1972 in Verdel, Knox County, Nebraska

Burial:  Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska

Timeline:

1890 Unknown (the 1890 Census was destroyed in a major fire)
1900 Holt, Gage County, Nebraska
1910 Holt, Gage County, Nebraska
1911 Marriage to Margaret
1911 Birth of daughter, Nettie
1913 Birth of son, Theodore
1918 Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska
1919 Marriage to Mary
1920 Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska
1920 Birth of daughter, Marie
1922 Birth of son, William
1922 Death of brother, Daniel
1930 Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska
1931 Death of father, Jonas
1935 Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska
1940 Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska
1945 Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska
1949 Death of wife, Mary
1949 Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska
1950 Death of mother, Frances
1962 Death of son, William
1962 Death of sister, Anna
1969 Death of sister, Lillian
1972 Death and burial

Occupation: farm laborer (1910), a truck driver (1920), engine room oiler (1930 and 1940)

Records:

1900 to 1940 US Census Records
World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 (Beta)
U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
Social Security Death Index
The U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Variations of Surname: None

First Spouse:

Margaret Ida Weaver:

Margaret was born on 5 JAN 1895 in London, Laurel County, Kentucky. She died on 3 DEC 1985 in Riverside, Riverside County, California.

Margaret’s father was David Weaver. He was born in 1865 in Kentucky. Her mother was Susan Barnard. She was born in 1874 in Kentucky.

Margaret’s Many Marriages:

From my research, I discovered that Margaret was married at least four times.

1.)  Margaret’s first marriage, on 12 JAN 1911, was to Jacob William Wakenight:

I found their marriage date on a PDF file shared by another Ancestry.com member. To make this document accessible to other family genealogists, I created a page on WikiTree.com. It is called Neuenschwander Family Tree compiled by George Beers Nicewonger, 1946. These pages were a preliminary manuscript for a book he published entitled “Neuenschwander Family History”. Jacob’s information is on page 28.

2.)  Margaret then married a man named Roberts between 1913 and 1923:

On Margaret’s marriage record to Paul Peterson, shown below, you can see her married name was recorded at Roberts.

3.)  Margaret’s third marriage, on 19 JUL 1923, was to Paul Peterson:

This document indicated that this is Margaret’s third marriage.

Margaret Ida Weaver Roberts and Paul Peterson 1923 Marriage Record

4.)  Margaret’s fourth marriage, before 1940, was to William Kremlick:

They appear on the 1940 US census living in Houston, Harris County, Texas.

Margaret’s Husbands:

Jacob William Wakenight (1890 to 1972)

Roberts (no information)

Paul Albert Peterson:

Paul was born on 19 AUG 1899 in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska. He died on 19 MAR 1985 in Los Angeles County, California.

His father was Nels Peterson, who was born in 1859 in Sweden.

His mother was Mary Agnes Tyrell. She was born on 16 AUG 1868 in Morris, Grundy County, Illinois. She died on 1 APRIL 1948 in Galveston, Galveston County, Texas.

Paul and Margaret divorced sometime before 1933.

Paul then married Madeline H Buggy. She was born on 24 JUN 1904 in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska. She died on 4 JAN 1986 in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska.

Paul and Madeline had three known children, all born in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska:

Bernard Eugene Peterson (1933)
Ronald Paul Peterson (1935)
Daniel J Peterson (1940)

William Ferdinand Kremlick:

William was born on 10 MAY 1910 in New York. He died on 19 MAR 1971 in Beaumont, Riverside County, California.

William’s parents were John Kremlick (1874) and Anna (1880). They were born in Bohemia, a region in the Czech Republic.

Second Spouse:

Mary Anschutz:

Mary was born on 18 AUG 1897 in Ripley, Butler County, Iowa. She died on 13 JAN 1949 in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska.

Her father was Ludwig Anschutz. He was born on 21 APR 1851 in Neunkirchen, Landkreis Neunkirchen, Saarland, Germany. He died on 31 JAN 1937 in Rippey, Greene County, Iowa.

Her mother was Mary Eisenbeis. She was born on 25 JAN 1864 in Neunkirchen, Landkreis Neunkirchen, Saarland, Germany. She died on 13 MAR 1938 in Rippey, Greene County, Iowa.

Mary had previously been married to a man named Long. Two children were born to this marriage, both in Iowa:

Pauline Long (1915)
Robert Long (1918)

Daughters:

Nettie Mae Wakenight:

Nettie was born on 18 NOV 1911 in Pickrell, Gage County, Nebraska. She died on 5 MAY 1981 in Imperial County, California.

Nettie was married five times:

1.)  On 25 APR 1929, Nettie married Frederick Andrew Peterson(*) in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa.

(*) The 1929 marriage record shows that Frederick changed his surname from Petralia to Peterson. Petralia is an Italian surname. In the late 19th Century, there was an Anti-Italian movement in the United States.

Frederick Andrew Petralia was born on 5 AUG 1904 in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri. He died on 19 MAR 1976 in Orange County, California.

On 19 JUN 1941, Frederick married Marjorie M (Sinton) Hardy in Clark County, Washington. No known children were born to this marriage.

2.)  On 23 NOV 1936, Nettie married Cecil Colbert Smith in Yuma County, Arizona.

Cecil Colbert Smith was born on 8 JUN 1917 in Ringling, Jefferson, Oklahoma. He died on 7 MAY 1962 in Imperial County, California.

On 9 AUG 1938, Cecil married Ruby Jewel Patrick in Harmon County, Oklahoma. One known child was born to this marriage:

Steve Smith (1939)

3.)  Before 1940, Nettie married Ralph Benjamin Landers.

Ralph Benjamin Landers was born on 7 FEB 1920 in Oklahoma. He died on 15 JAN 1980 in Houston, Harris County, Texas.

On 25 JUL 1941, Ralph married Josephine Florence LaPerna in Harris County, Texas. Four known children were born to this marriage, all born in Harris County, Texas:

Ralph B Landers (1942)
James P Landers (1943)
Jo R Landers (1952)
Joan Landers (1953)

4.)  On 14 AUG 1942, Nettie married Robert L Kasson in Harris County, Texas.

I could find no information on Robert.

5.)  Before 1957, Nettie married William Joseph Couchman.

William Joseph Couchman was born on 13 FEB 1908 in Boonville, Cooper County, Missouri. He died on 25 JUL 1974 in Riverside County, California. No known children were born to this marriage.

I could find no evidence that William had previously been married.

Marie Frances Wakenight:

Marie was born on 18 JUN 1920 in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska. She died on 28 SEP 2005 in Norfolk, Madison County, Nebraska.

Marie married Hershel William Dickey on 15 NOV 1942 in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska.

Hershel William Dickey was born on 17 AUG 1903 in Verdel, Knox County, Nebraska. He died on 13 JUN 1969 in Niobrara, Knox County, Nebraska.

Hershel had previously married Ida T Raybold on 18 APR 1922 in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Three known children were born to this marriage, all born in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska:

Eleanor May Dickey (1922)
Frances Patricia Dickey (1923)
William John Dickey (1925)

After Hershel died, Marie married Gary James Slechta on 14 AUG 1972 in Nebraska.

Gary James Slechta was born on24 JUN 1938 in Verdel, Knox County, Nebraska. He died on 31 MAY 2002 in Niobrara, Knox County, Nebraska.

Notes on Daughters:

No known children were born to either daughter.

Notes:

Jacob was the twin brother of Robert Edward Wakenight. They were born on 20 JUN 1890 in Pickrell, Nebraska. Robert remained in Beatrice, Nebraska, while Jacob moved 100 miles away to Omaha, Nebraska.

From census records and directory listings, I created a list of occupations that Jacob worked during his lifetime:

1917 Laborer, City of Omaha
1918 Foreman, City of Omaha
1920 Truck Driver, Paxton & Gallagher Company
1930 Oiler, Meat Packing Plant
1935 Engineer, Armour & Company
1940 Oiler, Engine Room, Meat Packing Plant
1942 Armour & Company
1945 Laborer, Armour & Company
1949 Oiler, Armour & Company

At age 26, he worked for the city of Omaha. By age 30, he was driving a truck for Paxton & Gallagher, a well-known grocery chain. By age 40, he worked as an oiler in the engine room of a meatpacking plant.

He worked for the Armour Meat Packing Plant for over 20 years. It may have been longer, but the records cut off by 1949.

The Social Security Death Index shows that Jacob last resided in Verdel, Knox County, Nebraska. I believe he had gone to live with his daughter, Marie.

In 1972, four months before Jacob died, Marie wed Gary Slechta. A document from the Chicago & North Western Railroad shows that in 1960 Gary lived in Verdel. It could be that Marie and Gary were still residing in Verdel in 1972.

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.

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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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