Velda

I've never been much for genealogy research and family tree compilation, but lately a few things have occurred to me about my ancestors.  

I've always been annoyed when a newspaper article states Name Comma Age, as if the "Comma Age" says everything about a person.  But, it really does say a lot.  When we look at what we did at a certain age, it can soften judgements of one another, by asking "what would I have said at that age?".  Gary A. Guetzlaff, 21 was quite a different person from Gary A. Guetzlaff, 72. 

And so, I started collecting data on an Excel, finding every relative in sight, and using FindAGrave.com and other sources to turn up names and dates of long-lost relatives, Then the data is collected into a master time line.  

And then there was my cousin, Bob Pagel, who with his wife Sue dug up some old photos and information about the family.  Couldn't have proceeded without that.  And the photos are priceless. 

An example of what I'm working on is my grandpa's first marriage.  

Velda Hunsicker

Velda was born in Hortonville, Wisconsin. Hortonville was a booming town at the time.  Population of Hortonville had doubled in the ten years leading up to Velda's birth.   Her father was 28, and her mother was 24.  Velda was the second child; her sister was 2 years old at the time. 

In another part of Hortonville, Lionel Kuhn was born when Velda was four.  Since the Hunsickers and the Kuhns both belonged to the same church (Bethlehem Lutheran), one could almost assume that Velda and Lionel grew up together. 

When Velda was 8, her father, 36, died, leaving Clara, his wife, a widow at the age of 32.

Velda was 25 when she married Lionel, who was 21. Velda's mother was 49 at the time. 

After only 8 years of marriage, Velda was hospitalized for surgery on August 24, 1929. Various reports say it was childbirth-related.   Eight days later, she died at the age of 33.  Her husband Lionel was 29 years old.      

Velda's funeral took place at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, and she was buried at the Lutheran Cemetery in Hortonville.

 

Lionel and Velda wedding in 1921

Lionel Kuhn and Velda Hunsicker, 1921

Velda Hunsicker and Lionel Kuhn, 1921

Photos courtesy of Bob and Sue Pagel.