The Joliet Connection: George David Willig and Anna Mary Willig

Background

      Initially, I intended to research Carl Heinrich Willig next. He is listed in several Ancestry trees as the brother of John Willig and the father of John C. Willig. But there were a number of items that did not fit well. In addition, he was from the north side of Chicago and there did not appear to be a lot of overlap with known Willig relatives.
      On the other hand, there are 2 Willigs, George David Willig and Anna Mary Willig that I have stumbled across several times when investigating known Willig relatives. In addition, they both had a connection with Joliet, Illinois, where George Willig, attendee at John Willig's 90th birthday party, was born.

      In this post, I have 2 goals:

1. Investigate the relationship between George David Willig and Anna Mary Willig. I believe they are brother and sister.
2. Investigate the relationship between George and Anna Mary Willig and the currently known Willig relatives in that generation, John Willig and Frederick Willig. I believe they may all be siblings or possibly cousins.

Early Hints About George David Willig

      In 1914, a Christina Willig, widow of George, was living in Hammond, Indiana. Dan's great-grandfather, John C. Willig, was also living in Hammond with his wife Minnie, daughter Anna and daughter Louise. In addition, John C. Willig's son, Carl Willig, was living in Hammond with his wife Irene... Christina is living about 3 miles from John C. Willig and about 2 miles from Carl Willig.  

Ancestry; U.S. City Directories; 1914; Hammond Indiana.

   
      In 1917, Christina Willig, widow of George, was again living in Hammond, Indiana. Dan's great-grandfather, John C. Willig, was also living in Hammond with his wife Minnie, daughter Anna and daughter Louise. Christina is living within 2 miles of John C. Willig. George Willig, son of the immigrant Fred Willig, is working in Hammond, but living in Hegewisch.

Ancestry; U.S. City Directories; 1917; Hammond Indiana.

   
      Christina's husband George died in 1904. Her daughter, Rhoda Mary Willig Strom, died in 1911 in Hammond, Indiana. Christina may have initially moved to Hammond to be closer to her daughter. However, her son-in-law, Charles Strom, does not appear in either the 1914 or 1917 city directory, so he may have moved away after Rhoda's death.

      By itself, these entries do not tie Christina and George Willig to John C. Willig, but it is an initial clue.

George David Willig: Early Life

      George Willig was born about June 1844 in Germany, according to the 1900 census. According to this same census, he immigrated in 1866. However, according to the 1880 census, he was born in 1845 (or even 1846).

George David Willig: Marriage to Rhoda Stewart

      George must have married Rhoda Stewart in about 1872. They had 4 children together: Byrum/Byron (b. 1873), Cora Elizabeth (1876), Frederick Charles (1878) and George (1880). In 1880, the family was living in Lockhart in Pike County, Indiana. George is working as a farmer and Byrum is attending school. All the children are listed as born in Indiana.  

      Byrum appears to have run away from home as a young boy. (See Life in Joliet below.) He was married to Mary Ann Schwartz for about 12 years and they had at least 2 children together.   They divorced in 1908 and I have no further record of him.

      When Cora was about 10 years old, it appears that she was criminally assaulted and a South Side Chinaman was sentenced to 3 years in prison for the offense. Cora married Fred Bishop in 1902 in Kankakee, but they did not appear to have any children. In 1910, 3 of Cora's brothers were living with them: Fred, George and Ferdinand. The Bishop family moved to Nevada. Later, Cora and Fred divorced and Cora lived with her brother Fred.

Newspapers.com; The Inter Ocean (Chicago), 21 Oct 1886, Page 8.

       Fred Willig married Marie Matz in 1901 and they appeared to have 1 son together (Corliss) before Marie died in 1908. He moved out to Nevada with his siblings, Cora and Ferdinand. He died in 1958 in Stanislaus County, California. 

      In 1900, George Willig lived with his family in Chicago Heights and was a laborer in a mill. In 1910, he was living with his sister Cora and 2 of his brothers, but no occupation was listed. He later lived in Hammond, Indiana, probably with his stepmother. He died in 1917, aged 36, in the Indiana Village for Epileptics.   

      Rhoda died on February 11, 1884, and was buried in Selvin Cemetery in Selvin, Warrick County, Indiana, about 10 miles from Lockhart, Indiana. 

George David Willig: Marriage to Christina Baum

      George Willig married Christina Baum on November 15, 1884, in Spencer County, Indiana, after obtaining a marriage licence on that same day.

Ancestry; Indiana Marriages 1810-2001; George Welleg.

Another marriage record gave his mother as A. Henstein, but there appeared to be a number of errors in that record.

      George Willig and Christina Baum had 2 children together: Rhoda Mary Willig and Ferdinand Wilson Willig. Rhoda was born on December 22, 1885, in Indiana. She married Charles Strom in Kankakee on April 14, 1904. The Strom family lived in Chicago Heights for a while and then in Hammond, Indiana. Rhoda died in Hammond on March 5, 1911. George's son, Ferdinand Wilson Willig, was born in Morgan Park, Illinois, on June 13, 1895. He lived in Harvey, Illinois, but later lived in Nebraska, Nevada and California. He married Inez Eckerd, with whom he had 2 children. He died in 1958 in San Joaquin, California.

George David Willig: Life in Joliet, Illinois

      After the birth of his daughter Rhoda in 1885, the family must have moved to Joliet, Illinois! According to city directories for Joliet, George Willig worked at J. I. & B. F. Company in 1888. (I believe this may be Joliet Iron and Blast Furnaces.) Joliet Iron and Steel Works was once the second largest steel mill in the U. S., but in 1889, it was acquired by Illinois Steel Company. This may explain, why in 1889, George Willig worked as a shoemaker.

NOTE: Initially, I had assumed that the George Willig in Joliet in 1888 and 1889 was actually the George Willig that was the son of Frederick Willig, immigrant! I thought that because George (son of Fred) had been born in Joliet. Even though this latter George's family had moved to Russell County, Kansas, I assumed that he had returned to Joliet to work before getting married in Hegewisch, Illinois, in 1894.

Ancestry; U.S. City Directories 1822-1995; Joliet Illinois 1888; George Willig.

Ancestry; U.S. City Directories 1822-1995; Joliet Illinois 1889; George Willig.

      There are 2 documents, however, that are fairly convincing for the George in Joliet actually being George David Willig!
      First, there is the naturalization record of 1892. This document states that George Willig, born in Germany, was naturalized January 22, 1892, in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Furthermore, John Willig was a witness! I believe this is the John Willig that had the 90th birthday party in Blue Island. The back of the index card, under 'other facts of record' seems to provide the date October 27, 1888, although the date is difficult to read, and references the Circuit Court in Will County at Joliet, Illinois. So, George declared his intention to become a citizen in Joliet in 1888, and then became a citizen in 1892 in Chicago... Since George Willig (son of Fred) was born in this country, the naturalization record must be for George David Willig!

Ancestry; U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes 1791-1992; George Willig (front). 

Ancestry; U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes 1791-1992; George Willig (back). 

      Second, there is a notice in the Chicago Tribune paper of Barum Willig being lost since October 30, 1888 (for about 8 days) in Joliet, Illinois. George David Willig's eldest son was Byron A. Willig and he would have been 15 years old at the time. Although the facts are not exact, I am convinced that this is George David's son! Byron must have been found because he went on to have a family. I am guessing that he ran away from home. His mother died in February 1884 and his father married a second time in November 1884.

Newspapers.com; Chicago Tribune 07 Nov 1888, Page 10, Column 2. 

      So George David Willig came to Joliet some time between 1886 and 1887. He had probably moved away by 1892, when he was naturalized in Cook County.
      We know that Fred Willig lived in Joliet from at least 1867, when his son George was born. He stayed until at least 1877. Sometime between 1877 and 1880, he moved to Russell County, Kansas.
      So at this time, it is not clear what took George David Willig to Joliet! Were there other relatives still living in Joliet? Did several Willigs live in Joliet very early?

George David Willig: Life in Chicago Heights, Illinois

      In 1900, the only census in which George Willig appears with his second wife, George is living in Chicago Heights Village with wife Christina, 4 of his children and a boarder named John Clayton. Cora (23) and George (19) are from his first marriage and Roda (14) and Ferdinand (4) are from his second marriage to Christina. George's listed occupation is running a boarding house.

      George Willig died on May 17, 1904, in Kankakee, Illinois. He was probably visiting Kankakee since his daughter got married in Kankakee on April 14 of that same year. He did not leave a will and his wife petitioned to have Ellis G. Klingler of Chicago Heights, most likely a neighbor, be named administrator.

Early Hints About Anna Mary Willig

      When researching Friedrich Willig, I found the passenger list below! Friedrich departed from Bremen, Germany, and arrived in New York City on the bark, 'Columbus' on September 12, 1862. He was 21 years old, born in Hessen, worked as a carpenter and listed his destination as Chicago. Also listed is a Marie Willich, age 24, born in Hessen and destined for Chicago. Even though the last name is spelled differently, I believe this is Fred's sister! 

Ancestry.com;  New York, passenger Lists, 1820-1957;  Fried. Willig.  

      Furthermore, this date is consistent with the 1863 immigration date reported for Anna Mary Willig in the 1900 census. Ancestry actually transcribed the immigration date as September 12, 1863, but when I viewed the document, it looked like September 12, 1862.
      There is also a passenger list record for Anna Willig, 17 years old, from Hesse, sailing from Le Havre, France, to New York City, on the E. D. Peters, arriving in New York City on May 28, 1857. At this time, though, I think the above record is a better fit!

Life of Anna Mary Willig

      Anna M. Willig was born January 12, 1839 in Germany. Her birthplace is given as 'Fre.man, Germany' and the birthplace of both parents is given as 'Breeman, Germany'. I am not sure how to interpret this! Were they actually born in Bremen or is this a reflection of the fact that when they came to the United States, they departed from Bremen!  However, Fred's obituary states he was born in Bremen, Germany!
      According to her death certificate, her parents were Conrad Willig and Dorothea Amonstern.  As noted above, George David Willig's parents were given as Conrad Welleg and D. Anstein. I believe this fairly conclusively identifies Anna Mary Willig and George David Willig as brother and sister.

Ancestry; 'Cook County, Illinois, Deaths Index, 1878-1922'; Anna M. Vebele.

      Anna married her husband, George Uebele, in about 1864, according to the 1900 census. George was born in 1839 in Switzerland, immigrated in 1856, and was naturalized in 1860. In 1865, G. D. Uebele is on a U. S. IRS Tax Assessment List for Joliet, Illinois. He is listed as a butcher and is assessed $10. Based on this, it appears that Anna M. Willig was probably living in Joliet, Illinois, when she met and married George D. Uebele! Fred Willig, with whom Anna appears to have come to the United States, was living in Joliet in 1867, when his son George was born!

Ancestry; U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists; G D Yebele.

      George may have, though, actually been a resident of Chicago, with some business in Joliet. In the 1864 city directory for Chicago, he is a butcher, living at 168 Harrison. In 1875 and 1878, he owns a market at 82 W. Van Buren. By 1900, he owned his home at 9201 Commercial Avenue, in Hyde Park Township, free of a mortgage and was working as a saloon keeper.

      The 1900 census also states that Annie had had 1 child, but 0 were living. At the same time, there is a George D. Uebele, age 16, living at the same address. George Jr. was born in February 1884, perhaps in Kansas, perhaps in Indiana. I think the likeliest explanation is that they had a child who died and later adopted this George D. Uebele, Jr. I say this because in the Oak Hill Cemetery, there are 3 Uebele's: Anna, George D. Sr. and a third entry that was probably an infant... At the same time, George Uebele Jr. does claim George D. Uebele Sr. and Anna M. Willig as his parents in the record for his marriage to Clara Louise W. Behrens. George Jr. married 3 different times: to Florence Irene Hart in 1904, to Clara Louisa Wilhelmine Behrens in 1909, and to Estelle E. Kraus. George Jr. has numerous articles written about him due to dramas surrounding his marriages and he is described as a wealthy Chicago merchant, son of a millionaire real estate man and son of wealthy South Chicago parents.

      Anna died on August 6, 1919, in Chicago, Illinois. She was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Hammond, Indiana, 3 days later.

      In 1920, Anna's husband George is still living at 9201 Commercial Avenue, with a Hungarian-born married housekeeper. George's occupation is listed as retired butcher!

      George died on July 29, 1925, in Cook County and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery with his wife. George Sr. is listed as a retired merchant, living at 9747 Commercial Avenue.

      There is one item that perplexes me. George D. Uebele Sr. appears to have been a butcher and may have owned a market at one point. Is this really the George D. Uebele who was a wealthy real estate man?!   
    

Summary

      I believe that George David Willig is related to other known immigrant Willig relatives in his generation as follows:

1. I believe that George David Willig is related to John Willig (1841) because John Willig is a witness at his naturalization hearing on January 22, 1892, in Cook County.
2. I suspect that George David Willig is related to Fred Willig (1843) because they both lived in Joliet, Illinois, although admittedly not at the same time! Fred Willig appears to have left Joliet between 1877 and 1880 to go to Russell County, Kansas. George came to Joliet about 1886-1887... George named his second son Fred and Fred named his eldest son George.
3. I suspect that George David Willig is related to John C. Willig (1860) because George's widow lives about 2-3 miles from John C. Willig in Hammond, Indiana... John C. Willig named his youngest son John Fred.   

      I believe that Anna Mary Willig is related to other known immigrant Willig relatives in her generation as follows:

1. I strongly believe that Anna Mary Willig is related to Fred and believe she is probably his sister! Anna and Fred came over on the same ship, both were born in Bremen and both appeared to live in Joliet, Illinois, about 1865.

      I believe that Anna Mary Willig and George David Willig are brother and sister because both have a father, Conrad Willig. Anna's mother is given as Dorothea Amonstern and George David Willig's mother is listed as D. Anstein.

      In summary, my best guess at this point is that Fred Willig, Anna Mary Willig and George David Willig are all siblings! 

Willig Overviews

I have created 2 pages on this blog to help layout the relationship between the early Willigs in the Chicago area. 

1. Early Willigs in Chicago Area, Diagram.
2. 4 Willig Immigrants, born about 1840.  

Sources

1. Ancestry, www.ancestry.com 
2. www.newspapers.com

John Willig's Tragic Demise

John Willig, 1906, photo courtesy of 'alyseb1'.

Introduction

      My Willig research really got launched when I found the newspaper article in the Southtown Economist, 25 Aug 1931, that listed the attendees of John Willig's 90th birthday bash in Calumet Grove in the Chicago area. When I researched those attendees, I discovered that all of them were descended from one of 4 immigrant Willigs: John Willig, Wilhelmina (Willig) Steinhart, Johann Conrad Willig (aka John C. Willig) and Fred Willig. (See May 20, 2016 post.)

      In subsequent posts I determined that Wilhelmina (Willig) Steinhart was John C. Willig's sister and Fred Willig was probably John C.'s uncle.
 
      The purpose of this post is to explore the life of John Willig and determine how he might be related to John C. Willig, my husband's great-grandfather. I am wondering if he might be another one of John's uncles.

Current evidence for a relationship

1. Dan, a great-grandson of John C. Willig is a DNA match to "SB", who according to her Ancestry Tree, is a 4-great granddaughter of John Willig. (The predicted relationship is 5th to 8th cousins, with "moderate" confidence.)
2. Three of John C. Willig's children attended John Willig's 90th birthday party on August 16, 1931. 
3. John C. Willig and John Willig were both born in Kassel, Germany. 

Life of John Willig

      John Willig was born on August 13, 1841, in Kassel, Germany, in the state of Hessen. He married Karoline Branholz in Hessen in 1861 or 1862. Their 2 eldest children were born in Hessen: August on December 19, 1862, and Elizabeth Catherine on September 23, 1864.  

      John Willig is listed on the passenger list of the ship 'Hansa', that departed from Bremen, Germany, and arrived in New York City on July 11, 1865. He is listed as Johannes Willig, passenger 164, age 27, occupation 'taylor', from Hessia. He appears to have resided in the 'Between Deck' area. I believe he would only have been 23 years old, and I do not see his family, but I still believe this is the likeliest immigration record! Tailor is not that common of an occupation and his daughter Elizabeth's obituary states that she came to the U. S. when she was about a year old. I scanned the passenger list several times, but do not see his wife and 2 children, even though the handwriting was very good and all passengers appeared to be listed, regardless of age. Perhaps his family came on a later ship.

Ancestry, 'New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957', Johannes Willig.

      John came to the Chicago area where 6 additional children were born. Lena was born October 19, 1866. Louisa was born March 20, 1869. William F. was born January 18, 1871. Charles F. was born January 27, 1874, in Morgan Park. Johann Friedrich Wilhelm was born December 24, 1875. Anna Addie was born July 21, 1881. All 8 of their children reached adulthood.

      The earliest evidence of residence for John is in the 1869 city directory for Chicago. He was living at 11 Liberty, where he also worked as a tailor. By the 1870's, he must have lived in Morgan Park, a community just north of Blue Island. On October 11, 1872, he was naturalized in the criminal court of Cook County, Illinois. In 1880, the census lists his residence as Morgan Park, Town of Calumet, and John is working as a farmer!

Ancestry, 1880 US census, Morgan Park/Cook/Illinois, pg. 29, John Willig.

      By 1890, John Willig was one of 3 Commissioners of Highways of the town of Calumet. He was active as a commissioner for 27 years. He was also active in the community in other ways and in 1892 appears to have been one of 3 judges for the polling in District 2 of Calumet. In 1897, John was drawn as a  member of the September grand jury.

Newspapers.com, 'The Inter Ocean', 13 Apr 1890, p. 13. 

      On April 21, 1904, John's wife Carolina died. Less than a year later, his daughter, Lena Kipp, died on January 20, 1905. So, at the time the above picture was taken, he had suffered 2 significant losses. 

      In 1910, John is living at 11701 Morgan Street in Morgan Park. He is retired and owns his home free of a mortgage. His son William is living with him, with his wife Minnie and children Florence, Ethel and Ruth. (William works as a brick maker.) In addition, 3 members of the Heinie family are living with them: John (30), Frieda (26) and Leroy (2). John Heinie works as a gas fitter. (I am not aware of any relationship between John Willig and the Heinie family.) In March 1911, John transferred transferred real estate on Vincennes Road to his son William. This appears to be the same house that was formerly listed on Morgan Street!  

      In 1920, he is 79 years old and still living with William Willig and his family. William is working as a brick maker and his 16-year old daughter is working as a stenographer in an office. In addition, a young family with one child (Stuart Keehan) is living at the same address and renting.

      In 1930, he is living at the same address, 11701 Vincennes Avenue, with son William, daughter-in-law Minnie and granddaughters Florence and Ruth. In addition, William and Mildred Danner are renting from them for $25 per month. Mildred is another one of John's granddaughters, daughter of John's son John!

Ancestry, 1930 US census, Chicago/Cook/Illinois, p. 4B, William Willig.

      On August 24, 1930, John Willig celebrated his 89th birthday at a family reunion picnic at Saurbler's Grove in Blue Island. Five generations were represented. John had 8 children, 62 grandchildren, 54 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great-grandchildren! I did find several relatives that did not attend the later 90th birthday party, but this party appears to have just represented the descendants of John Willig himself!
 

Newspapers.com, Suburbanite Economist, 2 Sep 1930, page 3.

      Six of his children attended his 90th birthday party on August 16, 1931. The only children not attending were Lena, who was deceased, and Anna Addie, who was living in San Diego. This was an even bigger birthday bash than the 89th birthday part and included descendants of John Conrad Willig, John C.'s sister Wilhelmina Willig Steinhart and Fred Willig. In the birthday announcement, it said that John Willig spent a lot of time gardening after he retired. He was also a member of the Tracey Masonic Lodge and a member of Odd Fellows, Local Harmonize No. 2.

      John Willig died in the same year of his 90th birthday celebration, on November 21, 1931, in Lockport Township, Will County, Illinois. Months later, he was buried in Mount Greenwood Cemetery (Lot 262, Section 23) in Worth, Illinois, next to his wife.

Find A Grave, #47269888, John Willig, photo by William Kazupski.

      Initially, I assumed that he went to Lockport to stay with a child or grandchild, perhaps due to ill health. But the story is significantly more complicated! Anticipating a visit to Mt. Greenwood Cemetery on a trip to the Chicago area this month, I called the cemetery sexton. According to the burial permit, cause of death was drowning by suicide! I wondered why he had died in Lockport if he lived in Blue Island. The sexton said that Lockport was on a canal and he had died in the Sanitary Ship canal. Sure enough, when I checked in Google maps, both Blue Island and Lockport were on the Calumet-Sag canal. So he jumped into the canal in the Blue Island area and it probably took months for them to find his body.

Chicago Tribune;  November 22, 1931;  page 1.

Summary

      John C. Willig and John Willig are clearly related, based on a DNA match. I currently suspect that John Willig may be an uncle of John C. Willig. The intersection points of their lives are as follows:

1. Both were born in the state of Hessen in Germany, and probably, both were born in the town of Kassel within Hessen... John C.'s passenger list states that he was from Hessen and family tradition says he was from Kassel... John Willig is identified as being from Hessen on his passenger list, in the 1920 census and in a newspaper article on his 89th birthday. Several Ancestry members state that John Willig was born in Kassel, but I do  not know the source of the information.  
2. Three of John C. Willig's children attended John Willig's 90th birthday party on August 16, 1931. (The 3 children were Mary Littman, Louisa Collins and Roy Willig, all from Hammond, Indiana.)    
3. They lived about 10 miles apart. John C. Willlig lived in Hegewisch, Illinois, and Hammond, Indiana, and John Willig lived in Blue Island, Illinois.  

      At the same time, they came to this country at different times. John C. Willig immigrated in 1882, whereas John Willig immigrated in 1865,  when John C. was about 5 years old!

Next Steps

      While researching other Ancestry trees, I noted that several members identified John Willig as having a brother Karl Heinrich Willig (1839 - 1901)! Since Willig is an unusual name, I want to explore the other Willigs in the Chicago area in the late 1800's to look for other possible relatives. 

      Soon, though, I will need to look for original records in Kassel. Preliminary explorations, however, make me think that records may be difficult to locate.

Sources

1. Ancestry, www.ancestry.com.
2. Find A Grave, www.findagrave.com.
3. Newspapers.com.
4. Chicago Tribune, Archives, http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1931/11/22/page/1/article/father-92-leaps-in-canal-before-eyes-of-son-70.

John Willig's 90th Birthday Bash

John Willig, 1906, photo courtesy of 'alyseb1'.

Southtown Economist, 25 Aug 1931, Page 3.  

Newspaper Article

      On August 16, 1931, John Willig celebrated his 90th birthday. His actual birth date was August 13 or 14, but the celebration was held on the subsequent Sunday. His extended family organized  a reunion in his honor in Calumet Grove, Illinois. This was the seventh reunion for the Willig family.

      One hundred and thirty relatives and friends attended, although everyone listed was a relative! Five generations were represented at the birthday party. (I only see 4 generations.) Most, if not all, appeared to live locally, including Calumet City, Blue Island, Tinley Park and Hegewisch, Illinois, and Hammond, Indiana. After significant research and verification, it appears that the named attendees are all descendants of 4 different immigrant Willig ancestors or the immigrant ancestors themselves! The 4 immigrants are John Willig, Wilhelmina (Willig) Steinhart, John Conrad Willig and Fred Willig. Currently, the relationship between these 4 immigrants is not totally clear, but they are definitely related! Living descendants of the first 3 immigrants are a DNA match to each other. 

      I am listing the party attendees in terms of how they relate to one of the 4 immigrant ancestors. If the person is within parentheses, they did not attend, but are listed in order to clarify the relationship with the immigrant. These are NOT the only descendants of these immigrants, simply those listed as attending the party. The number in parentheses represents their estimated age.

Party Attendees, John Willig Family.

1)     John Willig, 11701 Vincennes Ave.

                  a)   August Willig (69) married Elizabeth Schmidt (63).  Blue Island.

i)     Theresa Josephine Willig (43) married (William Rick) and then Emil Jacob Feddeler (41). 10224 Eggleston Ave

(1)   Ruth Ann Rick (6), d/o Theresa and William.

(2)   Emil Feddeler Jr. (9), s/o Emil with earlier wife.

ii)    Caroline Willig  (41) married (Edward Fehsel) and Fred Schink (43).  Blue Island,

(1)   Lucille May Fehsel (20), d/o Caroline and Edward.

iii)  Anna C. S. Willig (38) married Jacob Louis Mager (43).  Blue Island.

(1)   Russell Mager (18).

(2)   Earl Mager (14).

(3)   Lloyd Mager (11).

(4)   LaVerne Mager (7).

(5)   Norman Mager (2).

iv)   William Willig (36) married Myrtle Louise Ely (35).  Blue Island.

(1)   Mary Dorothea Willig (9).

(2)   William Willig (4).

(3)   Catherine Willig (2).

v)     Edward John Frederick Willig (34) married Sadie Taylor (25).  Blue Island.

(1)   Betty Grace Willig (1).

vi)    Mabel Anna Clara Willig (31) married William Paul Rhode (33).  Blue Island.
                        

          b)  (Elizabeth Catherine Willig married Carsten Albinus Thedens.)

i)      (Elise Thedens married) Carl Vogt (52). Elise died in 1929. Tinley Park.     

(1)   Johanna Vogt (20) married Harold Bormet (26).

(2)   Laura Vogt (12).

(3)   Mildred Vogt (8).

          c) Louisa Willig (62) (married Claus Reuss).  Blue Island.

i)      William Reuss (42) married Bessie Brough (38).  Blue Island.

(1)   William Reuss, Jr. (16)

(2)   Lois Reuss (14).

(3)   Emery Reuss (8).

ii)    Charles Reuss (38).  Lives with mother Louisa.
iii)   Charlotte C. Reuss (34) married Raymond Mulligan (33).  11826 Woodland Ave.

(1)   Norma Jean Mulligan (8).

(2)   Raymond Mulligan, Jr.(6).

iv)   Clarence Reuss (28) married Elsie M. Yeo (25). Blue Island.             

(1)   Clarence Reuss, Jr. (5).

(2)   Gayle Reuss (3).

v)     Grace Reuss (25).  Lives with mother Louisa.

vi)    Louise C. J. Reuss (23) married Roy Ostendorf (29).  Blue Island.

vii)  Wilbert Reuss (19).  Lives with mother Louisa.

                  

          d) William Willig (60) married Minnie Witdorp (55).  11701 Vincennes Ave.  

i)       Florence Willig (34) married Henry Schwaar (42).  9031 Paulina Street.             

ii)      Ethel Willig (28) married Ernest Graf (30).  9515 Hamilton Avenue.     

(1)   Shirley Graf (4).

(2)   Winifred Graf (2).

iii)    Ruth Willig (21), 11701 Vincennes Ave, later married George Frandsen (20), 10022 Malta Street.

          e) Charles Willig (57) married Anna Witdorp (51).  1520 W. 99^th Street.

i)       Emil Willig (26) married Genevieve Bannis (22).  11729 Church Street.

(1)   Raymond Willig (6).

ii)      Margaret Willig (21) married John Aldous Jr. (23). 1528 W. 99^th Street. 
 (1)  Shirley Ann Aldous. 

 (2)   NOTE: Mother of John Aldous Jr. (49) also attended.  7831 Ellis Ave.

          f)      John F. Willig (56) married Ida Mary Feddeler (52).  11831 Woodland Ave.

i)      Myrtle Willig (31) married John Vanderwall (34).  11709 Vincennes Ave.

(1)   Gordon Vanderwall (9).

(2)   Evelyn Vanderwall (6).

(3)   John Vanderwall, Jr. (2).

ii)    Gladys Willig (27) married Raymond Heckler (31).  12504 Maple Ave. [mistakenly identified as John]

(1)   Howard Heckler (7).

(2)   Gerald Heckler (4).

iii)    Herbert Willig (24) married Mabel (21).  7105 Stewart Ave.

iv)    Mildred Willig (19) married William Danner (24).  11701 Vincennes Ave.

 Party Attendees, Wilhelmina (Willig) Steinhart Family.

2)     Wilhelmina Willig (68) (aka Anna Mina Willig) (married Fidel Steinhart).  Blue Island.

           a)    Amalia Steinhart (41) married Leonard Ames (42).  Blue Island.

i)       Leonard Melvin Ames. (19)

ii)      Mildred Ames. (14)

iii)    Irene Ames. (13)

           b)     (Oscar Steinhart married) Ada Yates (34).  Lived with mother-in-law Minnie. 

i)       Victor Steinhart (13).

           c)    Fidel Steinhart (37) married Anna Gebanes (37).  Blue Island.

i)       Dorothy Steinhart (12).

ii)      Jack Steinhart (5).

            d)  Amanda Erma Steinhart (34) married Cornelius “Nick” Buis (37).  (Evergreen Park)

 i)       John Buis (16), son of Cornelius by first marriage.

 ii)      Peter Buis (13), son of Cornelius by first marriage.

 iii)    Richard Buis (10), son of Cornelius by first marriage.

             e)    Arthur Steinhart (32) married Minnie (about 26). Lived with mother Minnie.

 i)       Joan Steinhart (10).

 ii)      Georgette Steinhart (7).

 iii)    Loydine Steinhart (6).

 iv)    Ardeth Steinhart (2).

             f)   Erwin Steinhart (28) married Mary Marshall (26).  Lived with mother Minnie.

 i)       Shirley Steinhart (7).

 ii)      Merle Steinhart (5).

             g)     Harold Steinhart (25).  Blue Island.

Party Attendees, Johann Conrad Willig Family.

3)     (Johann Conrad Willig (71) married Wilhelmina Reinhardt (68).)

           a)     Mary Willig (43) married August Littman (45).  Hammond.           

i)       Marie Littman (19).

ii)      Paul Littman (17).

iii)    Edward Littman (12).

iv)    Erwin Littman (11).

            b)   Louisa Willig (36) married Orville John Collins (35).  Hammond.

            c)    Roy Willig (27) married Margaret Ann Byrd (25).  Hammond.

 i)       Mary Lou Willig (3).

Party Attendees, Fred/George Willig Family.

4)     (Fred Willig married Elizabeth.)

                     a)   George Willig (64) (married Carolilne Moeller).  Hegewisch.  
                i) Annie Willig (27) married Albert Conrad (31).  Hegewisch.

Short Bio of John Willig

      John Willig was born on August 13 or 14, 1841, in Kassel, Germany, in the state of Hesse. He married Karoline Branholz in Hesse and their 2 eldest children were born in Hesse. In about 1864, they emigrated and came to Chicago. Six additional children were born in Illinois and all 8 of their children reached adulthood. John worked as a tailor and later became a road commissioner. His wife Karoline died in 1904 and one of his daughters, Lena, died in 1905. So, at the time the above picture was taken, he had suffered 2 significant losses. Six of his children attended his birthday party. The only children not attending were Lena, who was deceased, and Anna Addie, who was living in San Diego. John Willig died in the same year of his birthday celebration, on November 21, 1931, in Lockport Township, Will County, Illinois. Months later, he was buried in Mount Greenwood Cemetery in Worth, Illinois, next to his wife.


Identification of Party Attendees

      As with any newspaper article, there are errors introduced during the publication. Since there was a logical order to the listing of party attendees, I believe I could determine who was intended, when there was no ready match. On the other hand, I could have introduced errors of my own.
      For example, the article lists Mr. and Mrs. Williams, Mary, William, and Catherine. This entry is immediately after the entry for August Willig, eldest child of John Willig. August Willig had a son William, who had children Mary Dorothea, William and Catherine, so this is who I assumed was intended.
      A second instance is the mention of George Willig of Hegewisch. I am quite certain this would be the George Willig working in Hammond as a machinist.  In addition, he is buried in the same cemetery as Johann Conrad Willig. His likely father Fred came to the U. S. in 1862 and was mustered into service in the Civil War from Chicago. He later moved to Kansas City, Kansas, where he died. His son George evidently returned to Chicago. This narrative, however, needs more exploration.  
      Initially, I thought that Mr. and Mrs. Albert Conrad were actually Johann Conrad Willig and his wife, but I have since determined that Albert Conrad married George Willig's daughter Annie! This makes more sense, since Albert is listed immediately after George. But this does raise the question, "Why didn't Johann Conrad Willig and his wife Wilhelmina attend the party?". They were 71 years old and 68 years old respectively.


Observations

      Finding this article was like hitting the mother lode! The celebration/reunion is a testament of the importance of family to the Willig clan. Some of the value placed on family may be related to the immigrant experience. The records of births, marriages and deaths recorded by the Lutheran church in the Chicago area were recorded in German! Many years later, in 1988, Great Aunt Annie and her son convened another Willig Family reunion in the Chicago area, keeping an old tradition in play.
      Having the celebration recorded in the local newspaper was an amazing legacy to leave to future descendants! Clearly, these people are related to each other. They share the Willig name, 3 of the immigrant ancestors were born in Kassel, Germany, and they all ended up in the Chicago area, attending the same party. The icing on the cake is that living descendants of John Willig, Wilhelmina (Willig) Steinhart and Johan Conrad Willig are DNA matches to each other!



Sources

1. Southtown Economist (aka Suburbanite Economist), 25 Aug 1931, page 3, column 1, “Willig Is Feted By Relatives”.
2. Photo of John Willig, taken in 1906, provided by Ancestry User “alyseb1”.
3. Ancestry, www.ancestry.com.
4. Family Search, www.familysearch.org.
5. Find A Grave, www.findagrave.com.