Johni Cerny, founder of Lineages, Inc., is the Lead Genealogist for the upcoming 10-week series, “Finding Your Roots”. The series will begin airing on March 25, 2012 at 7/8:00 p.m. EST.  This new and exciting series includes captivating stories about ancestors in the family trees of Kevin Bacon, Harry Connick, Jr., Maggie Gyllenhaal, Samuel L. Jackson, John Legend, Branford Marsalis, Kyra Sedgwick, Martha Stewart, Wanda Sykes,  Barbara Walters and many other well known people.

Johni was also the lead genealogist in the PBS series “Faces of America”, which aired in 2010.  Famous Americans featured in this series were Elizabeth Alexander, Mario Batali, Stephen Colbert, Louise Erdrich, Malcom Gladwell, Eva Longoria, yo-Yo Ma,Queen Noor, Mike Nichols, Dr. Nehmet Oz, Meryl Streep and Kristi Yamaguchi.

She did the research for the two-part series of “African American Lives”, which aired in 2005 and 2006. She worked closely with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Kuhnhardt Productions to profile the ancestry of nine famous African Americans in part I; including Dr. Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones, Chris Tucker, Dr. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Dr. Ben Carson, Whoopi  Goldberg, and Dr. Mae Jemison.  Part II featured the ancestry of Don Cheadle, Chris Rock, Tom Joyner, the late Rev. Peter Gomes, Maya Angelou, Morgan Freeman, Tina turner and Linda Johnson Rice.

The first three series are available for purchased on DVD or through various movie rental or streaming vendors.

William Andrew West, youngest son of William Wesley West and Eliza Wilhite, was born posthumously on 5 Mar 1849 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois. His parents had lived across the state line in Montgomery County, Indiana and the family was enumerated in both places when the 1850 census was taken.

Life was not easy for Andy West. He was a simple man with a limited education and skills that locked him into farming to support a large family. Old photos reveal a weary man who looks older than his years. Of course it’s hard to say if the somber looks on his face are real or the result of how people were posed for photos in those days. Andy married Laura Stewart on 25 Jul 1874 in Fort Scott, Bourbon County, Kansas. They had eleven children:

1. Ida Jane West, born 8 Nov 1879 in Berlin, Bourbon County, Kansas; died 12 May 1970 in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri
2. Joseph West, born Apr 1882 in Berlin, Bourbon County, Kansas.
3. Lillian May West, born Nov 1884 in Moran, Allen County, Kansas; died 1917 in Kansas.
4. Grover Cleveland West, born 18 Feb 1885 in Moran, Allen County, Kansas; died 22 Nov 1953 in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri; married Bertha Ruth Smith on 30 Apr 1912 in Vinita, Craig County, Oklahoma.
5. Charles Henry West, born 27 Feb 1887 in Moran, Allen County, Kansas; died 12 May 1978 in Claremore, Rogers County, Oklahoma.
6. Mabel Laurel West, born 18 Dec 1890 in Moran, Allen County, Kansas; died 20 Sep 1981 in Iola, Allen County, Kansas.
7. Earnest Oscar West, born 11 Mar 1892 in Moran, Allen County, Kansas; died 20 May 19957 in Costa Mesa, Orange, California.
8. Nell West, born 1894 in Moran, Allen County Kansas; died 1898 in Kincaid, Allen County, Kansas.
9. Elmer West, born 1898 in Kincaid, Allen County, Kansas; died 1898 in Kincaid, Allen County, Kansas.
10. Emma West, born 1898 in Kincaid, Allen County, Kansas; died 1898 in Kincaid, Allen County, Kansas.
11. Clyde Ellsworth West, born 12 Mar 1900 in Kincaid, Allen County, Kansas.

Influenza epidemics devastated the West family in 1898 when their three youngest children died within a few days of one another. Then daughter Lillian died from the Spanish flu in 1917.  Their eldest son left home about 1902 and was never heard from again. When asked why Joseph West lost contact with the family, Grover Cleveland West said Joe hated farming, but that didn’t seem to matter to their parents.  Joe left to get some training and they thought he went to Kansas City, Missouri.  It was rumored that Joe was drafted during World War I and never returned from France.  Grover was sure that no one heard from Joe again.

What happened to Joseph West?

John Teschner and Carolina Kätz married in Germany and immigrated to the United States with at least three of their six children.  The names of two of those children have yet to be determined.  The 1900 census says that the family arrived in 1878, but none of them have been found in the 1880 census.  John was a blacksmith and his name appears in a Chicago City Directory for the first time in 1890 as the owner of Hundt & Teschner at 4513 Wentworth Street and living at 4505 Wentworth in Chicago.  Three others named Teschner lived on Wentworth in 1890–John’s son Otto Teschner (barber), who also lived at 4505 Wentwoth, Gustavus Teschner (molder) who lived at 4521 Wentworth and Herman Teschner (wagon maker) at 4517 Wentworth.

There are many unanswered questions about John Teschner–questions our blog readers may be able to answer.

1. Where did John Teschner and his family live before immigrating to the United States?

2. Where did the family live between 1878 and 1890?

3. Were Gustavus and Herman Teschner children of John Teschner and his wife, Carolina Kätz?

Name: John Teschner

Sex: Male
Birth: 8 July 1846 in Germany
Death: 29 Jan 1910 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Buried: 1 Feb 1910 at Oakwood Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois

Father: Gottfried Teschner
Mother:

Spouse: Carolina Kätz
Daughter of Gottlieb Kätz
Born: 31 Mar 1830 in Germany
Died: 21 Aug 1915 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Buried: 25 Aug 1915 at Oakwood Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois
Married: about 1866 in Germany

1. Johanna Teschner, born 12 Apr 1868 in Germany; died 11 Jun 1922 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois; buried 14 Jun 1922 at Oakwood Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois; married William Beilfuss on 7 Jul 1888 in Lake, Cook County, Illinois.
2. Otto H. Teschner, born 21 Oct 1871 in Germany; died 9 Jan 1929 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.
3. Gottfried Teschner, born 23 May 1876 in Germany; died from typhoid fever on 23 Jul 1899 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois; buried at Oakwood Cemetery; last known residence 240 W 46th Street.
4. Edward Teschner, born 20 Aug 1883 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois; died from pulmonary tuberculosis on 9 Oct 1906 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois while residing at 242 W. 46th Street in Chicago; buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Chicago.

Death Certificate of John Teschner (click to enlarge)

On the 30^th day of March, 1909, Mary Zahorec arrived at the Port of New York aboard the ship Potsdam that had sailed from Rotterdam, Holland.  She didn’t apply for American citizenship until thirty-one years later.  Her naturalization records are filled with facts about her life. She lived at 10308 Parkview Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio when Declaration of Intent No. 73213 was filed on the 13^th day of March, 1940 with the Clerk of the U.S. District Court at Cleveland, Ohio.  She had a light complexion, blonde hair, brown eyes, weighed 165 pounds and stood five feet two and one-half inches tall.  Mary had been born on the 7^th day of May, 1888 in Nemsova, Trencin, Czechoslovakia and was a widow. (Photo from Naturalization Record)

Petition for Naturalization No. 93277 states that Mary Zahorec , widow of Joseph Zahorec, married him on the 15^th day of May, 1907 in Nemsova, Trencin, Czechoslovakia.  The document also says that Joseph died on the 5^th day of April, 1926 in Cleveland, Ohio. It lists all of the children, their birth dates, and where they were living on the 27^th day of January, 1943.  Mary Zahorec had six children, all natives of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio:

1. Joseph Zahorec, born 26 Jan 1910; resided in Cleveland, Ohio in 1943.
2. Mary Zahorec, born 11 Apr 1913; resided in Washington, D.C. in 1943.
3. Julia Zahorec, born 8 Sep 1915; resided in Cleveland, Ohio in 1943.
4. Frank Zahorec, born 23 Mar 1919; resided in Cleveland, Ohio in 1943.
5. Margaret Zahorec, born 28 Jun 1923; resided in Boston, Massachusetts in 1943.
6. Agnes Zahorec (twin), born 28 Jun 1923; resided in Boston, Massachusetts in 1943.

Mary’s baptism is recorded in the Catholic Church Books of Nemšová, Trenčin, Slovakia, which was part of Czechoslovakia when Mary became a citizen.  At the time of her birth, the town had belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  Centuries before being part of that Empire, Slovakia was part of Hungary. Her baptism record states that Mary Chudo was the legitimate daughter of Mathias Chudo and Catharina Palo who lived in House No. 6 in Nemšová.  Mary’s godparents were Josef Knársek and Maria Bobosh.

Mary Chudo Zahorec died on the 8^th day of August, 1962 in Cleveland.  We’d like to know more about the lives of the Zahorec children.  Please tell us about them by leaving a response to this posting.

After his death, the court ordered that an inventory and appraisal of the property belonging to the estate of William Small, late of St. James Santee, Charleston District, South Carolina be made and returned to the court in Charleston County, South Carolina.  That document, dated the 24th day of 26 June, 1834, names the following Negro slaves:

Jerrett, $500; Mary, $400; Sam, $300; Peter, $500; Sam, $350; Fortune, $300; Hester, $300; Mira, $250; John, $200; Mary, $150; Betty, $400; Ned, $500; Bess, $350; July, $500; Scipio, $500; Peggy, $350; Hannah, $200; Sylvia, $400; Charles, $200; Hannah, $200; Scipio, $100; Robin, $350; Beck, $350; Binah, $350; Anthony, $500; Bella, $250; Bess, $400; Hannah, $400; Stephen, $300; Gabrie, $250; Tommy, $250; Bella, $100; Judy, $100, Jacob, $250; Peggy, $200; Flora, $300; Lucy, $300; Daniel, $300; William, $250; Dolly, $200; L[ittle] Jenny, $50; Lucy, $400; Mary, $400; Venus, $400; Mingo, $350; Moody, $50; Clarinda, $200; Jinncy, $400; Phillis, $400; Elsey, $100; Simon, now a runaway 2 years going on three, a very prime fellow, under the above consideration & the doubt of getting him appraised, valued $100.  Total Value of Slaves: $15,200.00

Email blogdocs@lineages.com for a digital image of this document.

After his death, the court ordered that an inventory and appraisal of the property belonging to the estate of Robert Dorrill late of Christ Church Parish, Charleston District, South Carolina be made and returned to the court in Charleston County, South Carolina. That document, dated the 3rd day of May, 1834, names the following Negro slaves:

Joshua, $450; Martha, $350; Catherine, $400; Clarinda, $200

Email blogdocs@lineages.com for a digital image of this document.

After her death, the court ordered that an inventory and appraisal of the property belonging to the estate of Mrs. Frances L. Maxcey of James Island, St. Andrews Parish, Charleston District, South Carolina be made and returned to the court in Charleston County, South Carolina.  That document, dated the 14th day of March, 1834, names the following forty Negro slaves:

Mingo, Sarah, Simon, Peg & child, Mary, Mingo, Jr., Cinda, (8) $2,000
Charles, Peg, Willis, Ellen, Baby, (5) $1,200
July, Flavia, Sarah, Richard, Cyrus, July, Jr., Ben, (7) $1,800
Sally, Kate, Amy (3) $550
Bess, Phoebe, Hester, Isaac, Joe, Judy (6) $1,400
Mole, Amey, Bristol, Flora, Laura (5) $2,000
Ben, Solomon, Ellen (3) $600
Frank, Jenny, Rose (3) $600
Total Value of Slaves: $10,150

Email blogdocs@lineages.com for a ditital copy of this document.

After his death, the court ordered that an inventory and appraisal of the property belonging to the estate of Henry W. FIindley, late of Christ Chruch Parish, Charleston, South Carolina be made and returned to the court in Charleston County, South Carolina.  That document, dated the 23rd day of May, 1834, names the following Negro slaves:

Sally, $100; Mary Ann, $125.

Email blogdocs@lineages.com for a digital image of this document.

After his death, the court ordered that an inventory and appraisal of the property belonging to the estate of Elias Couturier of St. John’s Berkley, Charleston Parish, South Carolina be made and returned to the court in Charleston County, South Carolina.  That document, dated the 29th day of April 1834, names the following Negro slaves:

Big Willia, $300; Betty, $200; Lewis, $500; Nancy, $400; Aleck, $400; Phoebe, $300; L. William, $500; Sye, $500; Ben, $450; November, $1; Maria, $225; Phillis, $150; Grace, $300; Statira, $250; Adonis, $500; Minus, $500; Kitty, $275; Julianna, $250; Elvira, $175; Sally, $325; Harriet, $175; Priscilla, $400; Moses, $100; Dianna, $400; Pino, $500; Anthony, $200; Coly, $150; Prince, $100; Dublin, $1; Abram, $1; Randall, $500; Lucy, $400; Jimmy, $125; Hannah, $50.  Total Value of Slaves: 9,603.00

Email blogdocs@lineages.com for a digital image of this document.

After her death, the court ordered that an inventory and appraisal of the property belonging to the estate of Mary Coates, South Carolina be made and returned to the court in Charleston County, South Carolina.  That document, dated the 23rd day of June, 1834, names the following Negro slaves:

Dacius & Emma, $450