My family drove up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan last Friday -- to my father's log home in the big woods along the shores of a beautiful lake.
We wanted to spend time with my father for Easter and to celebrate his birthday.
The route we took was along I-39 and stretched the length of central Wisconsin for nearly 400 miles.
Some of the towns and cities along I-39 are important in the stories of my ancestors.
My parents met in Madison where my father attended the University of Wisconsin and taught ROTC classes. Both of their families had lived in several towns in Wisconsin. My father's family had lived in a few differnent places in northern Wisconsin.
Central Wisconsin is where my mother's family once lived. There are still a lot of farms in Portage and Waushara Counties which seem to stretch for miles in all directions. The huge irritation equipment is in place and some of the fields are plowed and perhaps planted with this year's crops.
North of Madison are the towns of Lodi, Westfield, and Plainfield where my maternal ancestors had settled at various times.
In fact, my maternal grandparents (Fred and Helene) met in Plainfield (Waushara County). My grandmother used to send notes to her beau, Fred Osterhaus, with his older sister. Helene and Lu were best friends in the small rural school they attended and remained for over 60 years.
Fred and Lu lived with their parents, Wessel Marcus Osterhaus and his wife, Addie Beatrice (nee Anglemire). Wessel was suffering from consumption (tuberculous). Wessel and Addie had tried living in Los Angeles, California for a couple of years but later moved to Wisconsin. I suspect they were trying to escape the polluted air of the cities. Some time before 1910, Wessel had bought the farm and moved his family there from Chicago.
Wessel would die in Plainfield of his ailments in June 1913. He was buried in Naperville Cemetery in Naperville, Illinois.
After my grandparents married, they had a farm near Plainfield. This is where my aunt and uncle were born. Fred and Helene eventually sold that farm and bought another one in Portage County.
The farm in Portage County is where they lived when my mother was born. Helene gave birth to this little girl so close to midnight that the family always wondered which side of the stroke of twelve heard Barbara's first cries. The doctor was late arriving but a faithful and experienced mother-in-law helped Helene through the labor and then bathed and clothed her granddaughter.
The 1920 U.S. Federal Census documents Fred Osterhaus and his family living on that same property. It wasn't a large farm but they owned several dairy cows and raised some crops.
While we drove along I-39, thoughts of my mother and her family filled my heart and mind.
We'll be going back north to visit Dad again in June. I hope that we can arrange a stop in Plainfield. My mother has relatives still living near Plainfield but most of her cousins have passed away now.
One of the things on my "to do list" is to visit the rural cemetery there in Plainfield. Some of our relatives are buried there -- including my maternal great-grandmother, Mary Emily (nee Ousley) Davidson. She died in April 1927 but it took me over fifteen years of research to discover where and when she was buried.
While there is no headstone on the grave for Mary Emily, this situation can be easily rectified and I hope to do so this coming year.
The family was probably too poor to spend money on headstones. The economy of the 1920s was especially hard on farming communities. Even before the Great Depression, the farmers and their communities had been suffering and losing their farms.
In fact, Grandpa Fred had lost his farm in Plover Township, Portage County several years earlier. He wasn't the only farmer to have this challenge. The local newspapers reveal the farm was sold already when Fred was advertising his six dairy cows were for sale.
As we passed through the farmlands, I remembered my heritage and the many family stories I have heard and uncovered over the years.
It doesn't seem to matter that these dear family members have been gone for so many years. They still play an important part in my life as I research their lives in public and family records. They are certainly remembered with love and fondness. I am grateful for them, especially their courage as they faced the challenges of their times.
