Honeymooners Found Dead

I have been researching extended branches of my tree to find distant cousins. During this search, I stumbled upon Dawna Gay Mendenhall. She was my 6th cousin, 5x removed. I had researched information about her parents before, but had nothing on her except a name and birth date. So, the past couple of days, I decided to find more about Dawna and I found a TON.

Dawna was born on 03 Feb 1935 in Mapleton, Utah, Utah. She graduated from Springville High School, attended Brigham Young University and was working in Salt Lake City when she became betrothal to Marion Henry Cluff "Mario". Mario was the son of Spencer Marion Cluff (1903-1966) and Nina Hannah Porter (1909-1979). 

Dawna and Mario married 16 Sep 1955 in Salt Lake City, had a reception on 17 Sep and then left for their honeymoon to Yosemite park and San Francisco. During their trip, they stopped in Nevada at a motel called the Verdi Motel. This was a fairly new motel- within a year of just having been built. The heaters hadn't even been used yet. The couple checked in at 5 am and it must have been chilly because they turned on the heaters and went to sleep. The young couple never woke. They were found the next day by the motel owner- Lester Mylan. 

It was discovered later that there was no inspection on the new motel and that the gas from the heater did not release to the outside air, but rather, through a cinder block back into the room! This is so completely tragic and breaks my heart that this young married couple, who are just starting their lives together basically suffocated to death in their sleep. Dawna was only 20 years old and her husband of only 3 days was 22 years old. 

Three years later on 21 May 1958, it was announced in the Daily Herald (Utah County, Utah) that the parents of the young couple accepted an out-of-court settlement form the motel owners- Lester C. and Margaret E. Mylan. It didn't disclose the amount of the settlement, but that it was "substantial". 

Dawna Gay Mendenhall 
03 Feb 1935 Mapleton, Utah, Utah
19 Sep 1955 Verdi, Washoe, Nevada

& 

Marion Henry "Mario" Cluff 
07 Dec 1932 Provo, Utah, Utah
19 Sep 1955 Verdi, Washoe, Nevada


Dawna and Mario are buried in Provo City Cemetery in Provo, Utah, Utah- Block 8, Lot 71C. 

Here are several newspaper articles I found this tragic story from-- thanks to the Provo Library!

Today in my Family History- Week 13

 Monday, March 23, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Evelyn Mary Brinkman (1917-2010)
My 2nd Cousin, 2x Removed
She was BORN on March 23, 1917.
She would have been 98.

 Tuesday, March 24, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Louis Gerhard Brinkman (1886-1980)
My 1st Cousin, 3x Removed
He DIED on March 24, 1980.
He would have been 129!

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Mary Wilhelmina Jeckering (1860-1913)
My 2nd Great Grand Aunt
She was BORN on March 25, 1860.
She would have been 155! 

 Thursday, March 26, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Richard Louis Brinkman (1918-2004)
My 2nd Cousin, 2x Removed
He was BORN on March 26, 1918.
He would have been 97.

~Anna Catherina Lobker (1779-1929)
My 5th Great Grandmother
She DIED on March 26, 1829.
She would have been 236!!

 Friday, March 27, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Harry John Brinkman (1889-1977)
My 1st Cousin, 3x Removed
He was BORN on March 27, 1889.
He would have been 126!

~Jacob Mendenhall (1862-1914)
My 3rd Great Grand Uncle
He DIED on March 27, 1914.
He would have been 153!

 Saturday, March 28, 2015

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 Sunday, March 29, 2015

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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 45: Kent W. Gerst (1988-2012)

Kent W. Gerst- My 9th Cousin

Born: 06 Feb 1988 in O'Fallon, St. Charles, Missouri

Parents: Gerald Roger "Gary" Gerst & 
              Barbara Ann Siebel

Siblings: One brother- Matthew

High School- Fort Zumwalt West High School

Baseball Career: 
At age 18, in 2006, Kent was drafted by the Chicago White Sox. 

Baseball Stats: 
Position: Outfielder 
Bats: Left, Throws: Right
Height: 5'10", Weight: 170 lbs
Scouting Scores: 
~Speed- 82
~Contact- 51
~Patience- 52
~Batting- 52
~Power- 24

Death: 

Kent died on Sep 08, 2012 at the age of 24 from an accidental drowning from a fall. There was much speculation regarding his death- (see newspaper articles below). 

Newspaper articles regarding Death:


September 10, 2012 1:29pm- CBS St. Louis

What Happened to Kent Gerst? Former Ballplayer Found Dead Under Bridge

St. Louis (KMOX)-- Authorities are investigating the death of a former major league and semi-professional baseball player from St. Charles County whose body was found Sunday night under the Peruque Creek Bridge.
Kent Gerst, 24, a graduate of Fort Zumwalt West High School, was a 2006 draft pick by the Chicago White Sox, and more recently played for the semi-pro Gateway Grizzlies in 2011.
The O'Fallon Police Department says Gerst was reported missing around six o'clock Sunday night. He had not returned to his residence the night before. An investigation revealed he was last seen Saturday night around 10:15 in the area of West Terra Lane and Peruque Crossing Court.
Officers combed the area and found Gerst dead under the bridge around 10:41 p.m.
An autopsy is underway to determine the cause of death. The O'Fallon Police Department would not comment on any possible cause of death. Detectives are investigating Gerst's activities prior to his disappearance, a statement said.
Initial reports from the medical examiner indicated Gerst may have fallen from a bluff.




03 Jan 2013 7:27am- CBS St. Louis

Prosecutors Will Not Seek Charges in Kent Gerst's Death

O'Fallon, Mo. (AP)-- St. Charles County prosecutors will not file charges in the death of a former baseball player from Missouri.
Prosecutors told the family of 24-year-old Kent Gerst of O'Fallon on Wednesday that no charges will be filed in his death last September. 
Gerst's body was found in a creek in O'Fallon. Police said he died of an accidental fall and the medical examiner ruled the death an accidental drowning.
His family pressed for an investigation, saying witnesses told them Gerst was assaulted before he fell into the creek.
Gerst was a 2006 draft pick of the Chicago White Sox and made it to Triple-A before being released. He later signed with the Gateway Grizzlies, an independent minor-league team in Sauget, Illinois. 


Obituary: 
(From Legacy.com)
Gerst, Kent W. died suddenly Sat., Sept. 8, 2012. Beloved son of Gary and Barbara Gerst (nee Siebel); loving brother of Matthew Gerst; our dear nephew, cousin and friend. Kent was a professional baseball player drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2006. He had a love for baseball, his 36oz, and Spook his cat. Services: Funeral service 11 am Fri., Sept. 14, 2012 at Buchholz Math Hermann Mortuary & Cremation Center, 837 Mid Rivers Mall Dr. (between Mexico & Willott Rd.). Visitation Thurs. 3 pm-8pm. 


Funeral: 
14 Sep 2012 @ Buchholz Math Hermann Mortuary & Cremation Center in St. Louis, Missouri @ 11 am. 


Burial:

Findagrave.com states Kent's burial is "unknown"-- I'm thinking since his service was at a cremation center, that he was probably cremated. 


How I am related to Kent: 

On my mother's side-- his 4x great grandmother was Clarissa Mendenhall (1825-1893).

Today in my Family History- Week 12

Monday, March 16, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Alma L. Brinkman (1920-1970)

My 2nd Cousin, 2x Removed

She was BORN on March 16, 1920.

She would have been 95.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Happy St. Pattys Day!!

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Euphemia Maria Jeckering (1774-1813)

My 5th Great Grand Aunt

She was BORN on March 17, 1774.

She would have been 241!!!

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

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Thursday, March 19, 2015

A Very Happy Birthday to: 

~My Uncle- a "Living Mendenhall"-- 70 Years Old

~My 1st Cousin, 1x Removed- a "Living Schock"- 63 Years Old

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Cletus J Jeckering (1902-1996)

My Great Grand Uncle

He DIED on March 19, 1996.

He would have been 113!

~Susanna Jeckering (1724-1795)

My 6th Great Grand Aunt

She was BORN on March 19, 1724.

She would have been 291!!!

Friday, March 20, 2015

None 

Saturday, March 21, 2015

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Sunday, March 22, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Mary Wilhelmina Jeckering (1860-1913)

My 2nd Great Grand Aunt

She DIED on 22 Mar 1913.

She would have been 155!!!

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks- Week 44: Deidamia Hill (1775-1838)

Last week was a little busy for me so I didn't have time to do my weekly ancestor blog post, but I'm gonna catch up!

Deidamia Hill- my 6th great grandmother

Born: 1775 in Guilford County, North Carolina

Parents: Thomas Hill (1740-1798) & 
               Elizabeth McClellan (1735-1798)

Siblings:

1. Margaret Peggy (1761-1830)
2. John (1764-1849)
3. Winifred (1765-?)
4. William (1766-1849)
5. Francis (1768-1853)
6. Mary (1771-1849)
7. Richard (1775-?)

Family: 

Deidamia married Joseph Mendenhall before 1794. 

Joseph: b. 18 Dec 1770 Jamestown, Guilford, North Carolina
           d. Dec 1833 in Bethel Township, Miami, Ohio

Children:

1. Richard (1794-1871)
2. Thomas (1796-1865)
3. Aaron (1797-1799)
4. William (1799-1853)
5. Jane (1803-1875)
6. Benjamin (1803-1855)
7. Joseph (1805-1857)
8. John (1807-1869)
9. Levi (1811-1879)
10. Elizabeth (1813-bef 1820)
11. Nathaniel (1815-1863)
12. Isaac (1817-1852)
13. Mary Polly (1819-1888)
14. Deidamia (1822-1861)


Yes, that is a lot of children! And Joseph and Deidamia had an astonishing 72 (or more) grandchildren!!


Deidamia died on 05 June 1838 in Bethel Township, Miami County, Ohio. She is buried in Bethel Cemetery in Miami County, Ohio. 

Today in My Family History- Week 11- a day late :)

Monday, March 09, 2015

A Very Happy Birthday to: 

~My Mother-in-law- a "Living" Smith-- 71 Years Old

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Rita Irene Jeckering (1928-2015)

My Grand Aunt

She was BORN on March 10, 1928.

She would have been 87.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

A Very Happy Birthday to: 

~My 2nd Cousin, 2x Removed-

 a "Living Brinkman"- 91 Years old

Thursday, March 12, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Joseph Herman Jeckering (1870-1931)

My 2nd Great Grandfather.

He was BORN on March 12, 1870.

He would have been 145!!

Friday, March 13, 2015

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Saturday, March 14, 2015 

None

Sunday, March 15, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~John Potchik (1926-1988)

My Step Grandfather

He was BORN on March 15, 1988.

He would have been 89.

~Urban Lawrence Brinkman (1900-1982)

My 1st Cousin, 3x Removed

He was BORN on March 15, 1900.

He would have been 115! 

~Treva Delight Mendenhall (1898-1981)

My Great Grand Aunt

She was BORN on March 15, 1898.

She would have been 117!

Who is John Jeckering?

When searching through Findagrave.com, searching "Jeckering"- my maiden name, I came upon a name that I didn't have in my tree- 

John Jeckering (1919-1934)

Buried in Saint Rose Cemetery in Cadott, Chippewa, Wisconsin

So, of course, I had to research him! :) 

I started out with researching his name on Ancestry.com searching engine and looking into census records but there was some confusion with the date of birth-- here's what I found in two census records:

1920 U.S. Census: 19 Jan 1920

                             La Crosse, La Crosse, Wisconsin

        Mormon Coolie Rd.- St. Michael's Orphanage

        John Jackering- age 6, born 1914 Wisconsin

1930 U.S. Census: 03 Apr 1930

                             Waukesha, Waukesha, Wisconsin

         College Ave- Wisconsin Industrial School for Boys

         John Jeckering- age 16, born 1914 Wisconsin

You can read more about this school Here.

I kind of came to a dead end with the Census records, which makes sense because John died in 1934. So, I went to Ancestry.com's Member trees and I found SO many people who had John as the son of Gerhard Bernard Jackering (1845-1922) and Anna F. Houdick (1870-1933), which would make John my 4th cousin, 4x removed! 

I don't know why John was in an orphanage and then later a school for troubled boys, but I can only imagine he had some type of disability. 

John married Dorothy Elaine Comerford (1916-1990) before 1932 and they had a son- James John (1932-1989). John died in May 1934 and Dorothy remarried only two months later on 18 Jul 1934 to Perry Curtis Farmer (1903-1985). John's son- James John took his step-father's name- Farmer- James John Farmer.

James John Farmer (1932-1989) married Joan Elizabeth Schubert (1930-2012) in September, 1954 and they had 8 children. 

Just by finding out who this John Jeckering was, I found out that I had:

~Another 4th cousin, 4x removed

~A 5th cousin, 3x removed

~8 6th cousins, 2x removed

Pretty cool!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun- On a Sunday

On February 28, Randy from Genea-Musings suggested a challenge of: How Did You Meet Your Significant Other? So, here it goes!


My significant other is my husband, partner in crime and soul mate- Jim. We met on a boat one summer- he worked with my stepdad working on airplanes. I had absolutely no interest in Jim at the time so that's about as far as I can say about our first meeting. 

I officially met Jim when we went on our first date. I guess you could say it was a blind date- we knew of each other, it'd been FOREVER since we'd first met and I didn't really know anything about him except that we were in the same situation- we both were recently back in the dating pool. He'd been dating/engaged to a woman for the past 2 (?) years and then I'd been in a serious relationship for the past year. Needless to say, my stepdad was tired of Jim moping around at work and he was tired of me moping around at home.

Jim and I went on our first date on October 10, 2009. I had only been single for 2 weeks, but I desperately needed to get out of the house. That previous May, I had undergone a total hip replacement and by October, when I should have been fully healed, I was still recovering because of complications from the surgery. I walked very slow and with a cane. Jim was all to sweet about my situation and even though I know now that it didn't bother him, I was a little nervous about the whole date. Who would want to go out with a 25 year old with a hip replacement? LOL

Our first date was the best first date I'd ever been on. Any other first dates included dinner at a simple restaurant like Applebees and maybe a movie afterwards if you liked the person enough that you didn't want the date to end. Jim wasn't your typical date. We drove 24 miles up a winding road towards a small "ghost town" called Jerome in Arizona. We walked around the little shops and then went to the Asylum Restaurant in the Grand Hotel- Very expensive for a first date. I knew where we were going and I didn't want to seem like I expected him to pay for dinner, so I had originally brought my credit card, just in case! LOL

Even though the night was amazing and romantic, I wasn't even sure I wanted to date Jim, not because of anything about him, but because I was SO fresh out of a relationship and I wanted to be single for awhile. He understood that but he didn't give up. He became the friend that I so desperately needed at the time. He saved my life- both from boredom and a downward spiral of depression that had slowly started to spin out of control since the horrible surgery and broken relationship. Jim was patient and we remained friends until the end of November when I gave into the feelings and accepted him more than a friend-- the best decision I've ever made! 

Today in my Family History: Week 10

  Monday, March 2, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Albert Vincent Heider (1894-1897)

My 1st Cousin, 3x Removed

He was BORN on Mar 02, 1894.

He would have been 121!

~Carmlita Therese Trick (1928-1992)

My 2nd Cousin, 2x Removed

She DIED on Mar 02, 1992.

She would have been 87.

 Tuesday, March 3, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~John Aloysius Heider (1890-1941)

My 1st Cousin, 3x Removed

He DIED on March 03, 1941. 

He would have been 125!

~Elizabeth Jeckering (1861-1957)

My 2nd Great Grand Aunt

She DIED on March 03, 1957.

She would have been 154!

~Lawrence John Brinkman (1890-1970)

My 1st Cousin, 3x Removed.

He DIED on March 03, 1970. 

He wold have been 125!

 Wednesday, March 4, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Emma Marie Jeckering (1888-1975)

My 1st Cousin, 3x Removed.

She was BORN on March 04, 1888.

She would have been 127!

 Thursday, March 5, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~John F. Jeckering (1855-1941)

My 2nd Great Grand Uncle

He DIED on March 05, 1941.

He would have been 160!

~Catherine Feldman (1855-1924)

The Wife of my 2nd Great Grand Uncle

She DIED on March 05, 1924.

She would have been 160!

~Margaret Louise Brinkman (1911-2008)

My 2nd Cousin, 2x Removed.

She was BORN on March 05, 1911. 

She would have been 104!

~Ermina Biersack (1890-1956)

The Wife of my 1st Cousin, 3x Removed.

She DIED on March 05, 1956.

She would have been 125!

 Friday, March 6, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Robert Joseph Brinkman (1920-2005)

My 2nd Cousin, 2x Removed

He was BORN on March 06, 1920.

He would have been 95!

~Heinrich Jeckering (1764-1767)

My 5th Great Grand Uncle

He DIED on March 06, 1767.

He would have been 251!!

 Saturday, March 7, 2015

In Loving Memory- May they Rest in Peace:

~Gesina Jeckering (1779-1816)

My 5th Great Grand Aunt

She was BORN on March 07, 1779.

She would have been 236!!

 Sunday, March 8, 2015

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