52 Ancestors - Week 5: Surprises in the Census

Fritz Hintz (1827-1907) was my paternal great-great grandfather, Karl’s Dad.

He also went by Fred, while his birth name was Johann Friederich Heinrich. His son, Karl (aka Charles, birth name Karl Heinrich Johann) was born to Minnie Hintz, the former Wilhelmina Ernestine Kroll (1844-1921). The Wisconsin State marriage records from 1873 confirm this information.

The 1880 census (Freedom, Outagamie County, WI) also supports this information. Although there is an entry for a woman named Maria Brun listed as Fritz’ mother-in-law that is confusing – Minnie’s Mom? But the last names don’t match. And then there is 14-year-old son, William Hintz. Who is he?

1880 US Census, Freedom, Outagamie, Wisconsin

Imagine my surprise, when I discovered Fred with an entirely different family in the 1870 census (Greenville, Outagamie County, WI).

1870 US Census, Greenville, Outagamie, Wisconsin

In this family, 42-year-old Fred Hintz has a wife Sophie and children Fred, Sophia, John, Mary and William. Ah, William – right age in both census documents. And before the marriage in 1873 to Minnie Kroll. There’s a second family! Things are starting to make sense now. William is from his first marriage which happened in Mecklenburg, Germany where all these children were born. Minnie’s birth in Prussia, now makes more sense. They met in the US. And the new family are all born in Wisconsin.

Many questions, of course, remain. What happened to Sophie? I haven't yet uncovered any death records for her. Where are the rest of Fritz' children from this first marriage? How did Fritz end up in Greenville?

One day out of the blue, I got a phone call from Jeanette Hintz of Warren, Ohio. She had seen my online family tree. As a descendant of Fritz’ first family, she was able to fill in some of the missing pieces. Long story short, she sent me a photo of Fritz (posted at the beginning of this article) and of his family at his funeral (below). Clearly, the children all knew each other. That discovery more than doubled the number of ancestors in this one branch of the family. Whew!

Further research uncovered the family’s ship manifest (1867) and Maria Brun’s name as a traveling companion when the family emigrated from Mecklenburg. And LDS microfilm has allowed me to trace the family to its German roots in Domsuehl, Mecklenburg, Germany.

Ship manifest listing Fritz Hintz family, 1867

 

Census documents are notoriously inaccurate and leave many questions unanswered and many people missed. But they often provide clues that can help us stitch together the lives of our ancestors. This is one case where the clues helped solve a family mystery, although generating as many questions as they answered. Isn't that the way it goes in genealogical research?