Cousins are different flowers from the same garden, Part 2

This is Part 2, if you would like to read Part 1 first, Click Here



I really enjoyed putting together the chart for my 3rd great-grandparents children and grandchildren on the previous post, that I wanted to see how they differed from my other set of "great-grandparents" on my Mendenhall side.

Originally, I was going to write a post about my 3rd great-grandparents, since I did the same on the Jeckering side, but that would be Richard Mendenhall (1852-1924) and his wife Margaret Frances Pierron (1851-1923) and they only had 2 children, so I'm writing about my 4th great-grandparents instead. 

My 4th great-grandparents were Aaron Mendenhall (1828-1894) and Christena M. Spielman (1835-1920). Neither one were immigrants like my Jeckering side. In fact, Aaron Mendenhall's 4th great-grandfather John Mendenhall (1659-1743) (my 10th great-grandfather) immigrated to America from England in December of 1685. Aaron was a farmer in Darke County, Ohio and unlike his Quaker ancestors, served in the military. In the civil war, he served as a Corporal of Company F, 152nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. 

Aaron and Christena had 10 children, let's see how many grandchildren they had! 


Aaron and Christena Mendenhall's children & number of children:
              

1. Richard Mendenhall (1852-1924)

            -Wife- Margaret F. Pierron (1851-1923); 2 children.

2. Mary Ann Mendenhall (1854-1929)

            -Husband- Robert G. Brandon (1845-1912); 10 children.

3. Sarah L. Mendenhall (1856-1930)

            -Husband- John Vankey (1851-1932); 5 children.

4. David Mendenhall (1857-1894)

            -Wife- Lucinda Belle Wellbaum (1865-1952); 5 children.

5. Rachel Olive Mendenhall (1858-1927)

            -Husband- John Straker (1855-1930); 10 children.

6. Jacob Mendenhall (1862-1914)

            -Wife- Elizabeth Jane Kairchner (1864-1932); 2 children.

7. Edward Mendenhall (1864-1866) (died at 1 year old)

8. Laura B. Mendenhall (1867-1885) (died at 18 years old)

9. Julietta Mendenhall (1870-1920)

            -Husband- Edward William Butts (1868-1941); 2 children.

10. John W. Mendenhall (1877-1894) (died at 17 years old)

 Aaron and Christena had 10 children and even though 3 children never had children (2 died young),  they still had 36 grandchildren.

Grandchildren in order of Birth: 

(If you see a 👶 (baby) symbol, it means the child died before adulthood)

Date	Month	Child	Parent
1872	August	Penina Brandon	Mary Ann
1873	July	Marion Richard Mendenhall	Richard
	October	Webster Pearson Brandon	Mary Ann
1875	April	Mary Lydia Mendenhall	Richard
	November	David Clement Brandon	Mary Ann
1877	August	Alfred Elliott Brandon	Mary Ann
1878	May	Edward F. Straker	Rachel
1879	March	Sarah Etta “Sadie” Brandon	Mary Ann
1880	January	Jacob D. Straker	Rachel
1881	September	Alice Belle Brandon  👶	Mary Ann
	October	Henry Harley Straker	Rachel
	December	Christina Belle Vankey	Sarah
1883	September	Bessie L. Vankey	Sarah
1884	January	Jesse Clifford Mendenhall	Jacob
	March	Lettie E. Brandon  👶	Mary Ann
	March	Chesta B. Straker	Rachel
	August	Ida Belle Mendenhall  👶	David
1886	January	Thomas Brandon	Mary Ann
	May	James B. Mendenhall	David
	October	Lucy Etta Vankey	Sarah
1887	February	Richard Ervin Straker	Rachel
1888	June	Basil Brandon	Mary Ann
	August	Hazel D. Mendenhall	David
1889	June	John Roma Straker	Rachel
1890	August	Plumma Brandon  👶	Mary Ann
	October	William Otto Vankey	Sarah
1891	January	Earnest Leroy Mendenhall	David
	August	Manley Leonard Straker	Rachel
	August	Stanley Glenard Straker	Rachel
	December	Corwin Guy Mendenhall	Jacob
1893	July	Harry Mendenhall  👶	David
1894	?	Samuel L. Vankey  👶	Sarah
1897	November	James Asher Straker	Rachel
	?	Clure G. Butts	Julietta
1899	April	Balma Robert Straker	Rachel
1908	September	Elizabeth Virginia Butts	Julietta

                       

Out of 36 grandchildren, only 6 died before adulthood. It's hard to say "only" because that's a child lost, but when child death was common, I'd say 6 out of 36 isn't bad! Either way, this family had a lot of love. 💗

Try this with one of your "big family" ancestors and see what number you come up with! 

Cousins are different flowers from the same garden, Part 1

Cousins! Now, of course, we all have a ton of "cousins"...but in this post, I'm strickly referring to 1st cousins. And, unless you're from a very small family, most people have a couple of cousins. Some, on the other hand, have a lot! I, for instance, have 27. This is both paternal and maternal. That 27 came from 7 aunts and uncles on my dad's side (2 never had children) and then 3 aunts and uncles on my mom's side.

I have two children of my own and they are babies compared to their cousins. Out of 5 siblings (2 are step), there are 18 cousins. I know that when my daughter was born, she was number 17 and my mom didn't seem too thrilled...almost like "oh, another grandchild". This got me thinking about really big families. I can't help but wonder if the grandparents were like "oh, another grandchild...number 25" LOL or "...number 35". 

My 3rd Great-Grandfather, Gerhard J. Jeckering "George" (1829-1898) immigrated to America from Germany about 1855. In Germany, he was a carpenter but when he moved to America, he opened "Jeckering Grocery: Four & Feed". He was married to Maria Elisabeth Kluneman "Elizabeth" (1830-1912) and they had 7 children. He, his wife and 7 children (9 people) lived in the apartment above the grocery store. I have no idea how many bedrooms or bathrooms this home had, wish I knew!!!


(Here is a picture of Gerhard J. Jeckering "George")

With 7 children, let's see how many grandchildren they had! 

George and Elizabeth Jeckering's children & number of children:
              

1. John F. Jeckering (1855-1941)

            -Wife- Katherine Feldman (1855-1924); 3 children.

2. Mary Jeckering (1857-1892)

            -Husband- Herman Schuer; 2 children.

3. Mary Wilhelmina Jeckering “Wilhelmina” (1860-1913)

            -Husband- John Adam Heider (1858-1911); 11 children.

4. Elizabeth Jeckering (1861-1957)

            -Husband- Louis H. Brinkman (1866-1922); 11 children.

5. Clara M. Jeckering (1863-1957)

            -Husband- Francis X. Heider (1860-1951); 10 children.

6. Joseph Herman Jeckering (1870-1931)

            -Wife- Rose A. Horn (1872-1933); 7 children.

7. Rose Margaret Jeckering (1874-1936)

            -Husband- Frank J. Raab (1876-1956); 4 sons.              

With 7 children, the 3 middle daughters had a ton of children, giving the total to 48 grandchildren! 

Grandchildren in order of Birth: 

(If you see a 👶 (baby) symbol, it means the child died before adulthood)

Date	Month	Child	Parent
1886	April	Louis Gerhard Brinkman	Elizabeth
	July	Joseph Gerhard Jeckering	John F.
	December	Mary Wilhelmina Heider	Clara
1887	December	Marie Margaret Brinkman	Elizabeth
1888	March	Emma Marie Jeckering	John F.
	July	Anna Josephine Heider	Clara
	December	Rose Marie Heider	Wilhelmina
1889	March	Harry John Brinkman	Elizabeth
1890	February	John Aloysius Heider	Wilhelmina
	June	Lawrence John Brinkman	Elizabeth
1891	January	Mary Schuer  👶	Mary
	October	Frank Joseph Heider	Wilhelmina
1892	January	Beatrice Catherine Heider	Clara
	February	Mary Schuer  👶	Mary
	February	Anna Elizabeth Brinkman	Elizabeth
1893	January	Clarence Leo Heider	Wilhelmina
	December	Helen Rose Brinkman	Elizabeth
1894	January	Carl Herman Heider	Clara
	March	Albert Vincent Heider  👶	Wilhelmina
1895	July	Wilhelmina Heine 👶Heider	Wilhelmina
	October	Joseph Henry Brinkman	Elizabeth
1896	January	Marie Claire Heider	Clara
1897	May	Clara Brinkman  👶	Elizabeth
	July	Victoria Elizabeth Heider	Wilhelmina
	August	Irene Marie Jeckering  👶	John F.
	October	Frank J. Heider	Clara
1898	Unknown	Gerhard Brinkman  👶	Elizabeth
1899	September	Anna Isabelle Heider	Wilhelmina
	December	Louis Gerhart Heider	Clara
1900	March	Urban Lawrence Brinkman	Elizabeth
	July	Gerhard Cletus Jeckering	Joseph
1901	January	Frances Gertrude Heider	Wilhelmina
1902	January	Cecilia Christine Brinkman	Elizabeth
	January	Charles Adam Heider	Clara
	April	Mary Julia Heider	Wilhelmina
	August	Cletus J. Jeckering	Joseph
1903	August	George Victor Heider	Wilhelmina
1906	May	Martha E. Jeckering	Wilhelmina
	November	Ellen E. Heider	Clara
1908	August	Norbert John Jeckering	Joseph
	Unknown	Gertrude C. Heider	Clara
1909	Unknown	Albert J. Raab	Rose
1910	April	Elizabeth Martha Jeckering	Joseph
1911	June	Leonard Raab  👶	Rose
1912	April	Infant Daughter  Jeckering   👶	Joseph
1913	May	Irene Jeckering  👶	Joseph
1914	April	Paul Henry Raab  👶	Rose
1917	February	Victor John Raab	Rose

             

                       

I really like this chart. Even though it was a lot of work to put together, it really shows how many children were born to this big family each year. And, with the "baby" symbol, you can really visualize how many grandchildren they lost- 11/48 grandchildren never made it to adulthood. This family only had 2 more than my immediate family...I suppose my mom should be happy that she only has 18 grandchildren and not 48! 😄

Try this with one of your "big family" ancestors and see what number you come up with! 

To see Part 2 of this post, Click Here