Marjorie Strelesky Journal, Part 6 of 6

Our mother’s [Ernestine (Sanders) Strelesky] body was sent to Dubuque for burial. I went with Aunt Norma – our mother’s wish. Our dad [Jack Strelesky] and Eunice, Alice and Herb went to Grandma Sanders [Josephine (Uhlrich) Sanders]. The flu epidemic was so bad everything was closed – schools, churches, department stores and all public buildings…

Marjorie Strelesky Journal, Part 5 of 6

When the family moved from Dubuque to Omaha our mother [Ernestine (Sanders) Strelesky] was very homesick and lonely for the Sanders family. Grandma Sanders [Josephine (Uhlrich) Sanders], her mother, sent Aunt Norma to Omaha to keep our mother company. As a young adult she was quite different from the person she later became. She was…

Marjorie Strelesky Journal, Part 4 of 6

The Final Story of Shep, the dog This is a story my dad told me when the family lived in Omaha.  Eunice and I weren’t born yet. The family had a collie dog called “Shep.” Poor Shep, as all living things do, left this world. Our dad [Jack Strelesky] told our mother he would get…

Marjorie Strelesky Journal, Part 3 of 6

One Christmas Aunt Norma spent with us. There were a lot of letters going back and forth between Alice Strelesky and Dubuque, so Alice knew Aunt Norma was there. When her box was opened there was a present for Grandma, Irene, Eunice and me but nothing for Aunt Norma. A.N. cried. In the early years…

Marjorie Strelesky Journal, Part 2 of 6

Before Vatican II the day before Christmas was a day of fast and abstance [sic, abstinence]so Christmas Eve for supper we had oyster stew. Then came Christmas Eve. The sheet was taken down between the living room (parlor as it was called) and dining room and we saw the Christmas tree for the first time….

Marjorie Strelesky Journal, Part 1 of 6

This is part one of six journal entries that I have for Marjorie Strelesky, the sister of my paternal grandmother Eunice (Strelesky) Lightcap. —— Feb. 26, 1993 Today is my 74th birthday and I think this is a good time to start this journal. It will be about my thoughts, perhaps opinions, and memories –…

Obituary: Alvin E. Sanders

Alvin Sanders, brother of my great-grandmother Ernestine (Sanders) Strelesky, was born on March 12, 1896, in Dubuque, Dubuque Co, Iowa. His parents were Ernest Vincent Sanders and Mary Francis Josephine Uhlrich. Alvin married Genevieve M Duccini about 1928. They had six children: Alvin, Richard, Thomas, Mary Margaret, Alice, and John. Alvin died August 25, 1956,…

Funeral: Josephine (Uhlrich) Sanders

Mary Francis Josephine (Uhlrich) Sanders, my gg-grandmother,  died in Dubuque, Iowa, on January 12, 1935.  Josephine, born September 28, 1859 in Rock Island, Illinois, was the oldest of eight children.  Her parents were Francis Joseph and Theresa (Heid) Uhlrich. Josephine married Ernest Vincent Sanders on October 28, 1886, in Jo Daviess County, Illinois.  They had…

Death: Ernestine (Sanders) Strelesky

My great-grandmother, Ernestine (Sanders) Strelesky, died of pneumonia, following an attack of influenza, during the Spanish flu pandemic. She was pregnant when she died in Sheridan, Wyoming, on February 5, 1920.  She was 32.  Ernestine is buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Dubuque, Iowa. Ernestine was born in Galena, Jo Daviess co, Illinois, on November…

Frank and Fannie (Hainey) Strelesky Family Chart

I’ve been working identifying the family of my great-grandfather, John Joseph “Jack” Strelesky, for quite some time.  To say it’s been challenging is to put it mildly.  Jack was one of eight children born to Francis Strelesky and Frances Hainey.  He was the oldest boy.  His siblings, in order from oldest to youngest:  Agnes, Rose,…

Marriage: John Joseph Strelesky and Ernestine Bertha Sanders

My great-grandparents, John Joseph Strelesky and Ernestine Bertha Sanders, were married September 19, 1906, by a Catholic priest in Dubuque, Iowa.  They had four children: Herb, Alice, Eunice and Marjorie.  In 1920, Ernestine and her unborn child died of influenza in Sheridan, Wyoming, during the Spanish Flu pandemic.

Obituary: Sarah (Sanders) Hansing

Sarah Sanders was the sister of my great-great grandfather, Ernest Vincent Sanders.  She was born about 1860 in Galena, Illinois, and died on Christmas Eve 1937 in California. Her obituary was published in the Freeport Journal-Standard on December 31, 1937. Transcription of obituary: Mrs. Sarah Hansing, Galena Galena, Ill., Dec. 31 – Funeral services for…

Obituary: Catherine (Fuch) Sanders

Catherine (Fuch) Sanders was my g-g-g grandmother.  She was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany in Feb 1823 and immigrated to the United States about 1846.  She married A.F.E. Sanders, who died in 1891.  Interment was made in Greenwood Cemetery, but I do not know the location of her grave. The 1900 U.S. Federal Census lists her…

Obituary: A.F.E. Sanders

My ggg grandfather was Adam Frederick Ernest Sanders.  I was recently back in Galena Illinois and was able to find his obituary that was published in the Galena Daily Gazette on 9 Oct 1891.  I also went to the Galena courthouse, but there is no death certificate on file.  His wife Catherine (Fuch) is buried…