Saturday, September 30, 2017

Grace Elizabeth Tapp Wenkel Part 2 1930 - 1973


Part 2, Grace's married life


1930-1932

married August Paul Wenkel
moved to Beloit, Rock Wisconsin
Location of Beloit in Rock County, Wisconsin.
Map of Wisconsin, and Beloit, "the gateway to Wisconsin"
Wikipedia
Again, I wonder how they met?  I think they moved to Beloit because the Wenkel clan lived near there?


Vintage WWI Red Cross Postcard


1932

Birth of daughter Laura Grace Wenkel, and son Laurence Paul Wenkel (twins) 25 February 1932, Beloit, Rock, Wisconsin


1933

birth of son Howard Wenkel,




1933 Chicago World's Fair


Historical Insight from Ancestry.com
General Motors constructed a working model of its assembly line for spectators to view at its pavilion. 1933, Chicago, Illinois. Credit: Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago/Archive Photos/Getty Images





1933 Historical insight -- The End of Prohibition



From Ancestry.com
 
The 21st Amendment left alcohol prohibition for the states to decide, and Mississippi remained a “dry” state until 1966. December 5, 1933, New York, New York. Credit: Imagno/Hulton Archive/Getty Images


Franklin Delano Roosevelt elected President

FDR 1944 Color Portrait.tif
Wikipedia

1934  ad for King Kong
Marshfield News-Herald (Marshfield, Wisconsin) January 1934
from Newspapers.com




1935

birth and death of child Infant Wenkel











1936

Credit: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Historical Insight -- The 1936 North American Heat Wave

Throughout the summer of 1936, the United States experienced one of the most devastating heatwaves in the nation’s history.



1939

Birth of son Lester R. Wenkel, 2 August 1939, Woodstock, McHenry, Illinois

Vintage-Baby-Bonnet-Image-2-GraphicsFairy

1940

Birth of daughter Ruth Wenkel

1943

Birth of daughter Nancy Irene Wenkel, 28 January 1943, Woodstock, McHenry Illinois


1945

Harry S. Truman elected President
Harry S Truman, bw half-length photo portrait, facing front, 1945.jpg
Wikipedia

1950s

The last photo taken of all the Tapp children together. Back left to right Olive Tapp Woods, Harold A Tapp, Glenn Tapp, Harry Bushrod Tapp Front left to right Grace Tapp Wenkel, Helen A Tapp, Sadie Tapp Wilson, Clara Tapp Peterson
1950s The Tapp Children
Children of Joseph and Laura Swope Tapp.
Grace is the first one on the front row



1953

Dwight D. Eisenhower elected President
Dwight D. Eisenhower, official photo portrait, May 29, 1959.jpg
Wikipedia



1954 Dresses,
The News Herald December 1954
from Newspapers.com

1954

death of mother Laura Grant Swope Tapp, 18 March 1954, Beloit, Rock, Wisconsin





1961

John F. Kennedy elected PResident
John F. Kennedy, White House photo portrait, looking up.jpg
Wikipedia

1962

Death of brother Harry Bushrod Tapp, 1 September 1962, Peoria, Illinois
harry tapp
Ancestry.com


1963

Lyndon B. Johnson assumes presidency

37 Lyndon Johnson 3x4.jpg
Wikipedia

1966

My dad took this photo.  But, I don't think anybody noticed the third person hiding.  Wonder who she is?


"A Couple of Hams"
Grace Tapp Wenkel with Ruth Wenkel Vidunas
1966 photo by Bill Vidunas
Grace Elizabeth Tapp Wenkel
Grace Tapp Wenkel 1966
photo by Bill Vidunas































This photo below is the Wenkel Clan in 1966, including Laurence and Joan Indelicato Wenkel, Grace Tapp Wenkel, Laura Wenkel Saturday, and a bunch of the Wenkel Grandchildren.

Wenkel Clan, Wonder Lake Illinois
Wenkel Clan, 1966
photo by Bill Vidunas


Olive, Sadie, Helen, Clara with Grace Tapp Wenkel on the far right, 1966
The SistersClara Tapp Woods; Elizabeth Tapp Wenkel 1 (2)
The Wenkel Sisters, 1966
photo taken by Bill Vidunas




Grace Tapp Wenkel, Shelley and J'Anette Vidunas
Grace Tapp Wenkel with a couple of granddaughters
1966 photo by Bill Vidunas





1969

Richard M. Nixon elected president

Richard M. Nixon, ca. 1935 - 1982 - NARA - 530679.jpg
from Wikipedia

1973

Death of husband August Paul Wenkel, 24 July 1973, Wauconda, Lake Illinois
August P Wenkel
August Paul Wenkel gravestone

1973

Death, 23 October 1973, Hialeah, Miami-Dade, Florida
buried Woodstock, McHenry County Illinois

Grace Wenekel obituary
hard copy in possession of granddaughter J'Anette

Grace Tapp Wenkel gravestone
from FindaGrave memorial # 32745355






McHenry County Memorial Park
Woodstock, McHenry County Illinois
from FindaGrave memorial # 32745355











Saturday, September 23, 2017

Grace Tapp Wenkel part 1.3, 1920-1930

from 1920 - 1930, age 21-31


  • 1920 Census, Alden Twp, McHenry Illinois
  • 1921, Warren G. Harding President
  • 1923, Calvin Coolidge President
  • 1924, death of father Joseph Ware Tapp
  • 1925, Tri State Tornado
  • 1929, Herbert Hoover President
  • 1930 Census, New Trier, Cook Illinois
  • Historical Insight -- Ship Building on the Great Lakes

1920 Census, age 21

living with family on a rented farm at Alden Township, McHenry County Illinois


1920 Census, Alden, McHenry Illinois

Line 76 starts the Tapp Family Farm in Alden Township, McHenry County Illinois
  • Grace E. Tapp, age 20, attending school, able to read and write.  born in Illinois.  no occupation, living with her family.
I wonder what school she attended at the age of 20?  It was unusual for girls to continue school for that long, I think.  




Warren G Harding-Harris & Ewing.jpg
Warren G. Harding
from Wikipedia

1921, age 22

Warren Gamaliel Harding, 29th President




Calvin Coolidge, bw head and shoulders photo portrait seated, 1919.jpg
Calvin Coolidge
from Wikipedia

1923, age 24

Calvin Coolidge, 30th President








1924, age 25

Death of father, Joseph Ware Tapp, 21 September 1924, Elgin, Kane County, Illinois

1925, age 26

Historical Insight -- Tri-State Tornado
President Hoover portrait.tif
Herbert Hoover
from Wikipedia

1929, age 30

Herbert Clark Hoover, 31st President





1930 Census, age 31

living at 455 Washington Avenue, New Trier, Cook, Illinois.

Grace Tapp, 1930 Census

This area is today known as Glencoe.  Then it was the Village of Glencoe, New Trier Township, Cook County Illinois.  We find her on line 88, living as a servant with the Carson Family at 455 Washington Avenue.

  • She is a white female, age 30, single, did not attend school, is able to read and write.  She and her parents were born in Illinois.  The State code is 61 -- I'll have to research what this means.  She speaks English, works as a nursemaid for this private family.  The office code in the next column is 9596, which I'll have to research as well.  She was a worker, and does not seem to have been unemployed.
  • The family, Samuel and Camille Carsen have three children, two boys ages 11 and 10, then daughter Margaret age 4 0/12.  It must be Margeret that Grace was taking care of.  The Mr. was an Executive of a Dry Goods something.  It looks like there were a lot of families with servants in this neighborhood.
The house as it looks today:

Grace Tapp, 1930 Census, standard view
Google Maps
Grace Tapp, 455 Washington Avenue
New Trier, Cook, Illinois
Google Maps Satellite View

Grace Tapp, 455 Washington Avenue
New Trier, Cook, Illinois
Google Street View

This is the description of the house, according to Zillow:

455 Washington Ave, Glencoe, IL is a single family home that contains 3,872 sq ft and was built in 1915. It contains 6 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. 
Because it was built in 1915, it must have looked pretty much the same today as it did in Grace's time of living there in 1930.


Historical Insight -- Shipbuilding on the Great Lakes

1930s, Historical Insight -- The Great Depression

from Ancestry.com



Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain



The workers who built ships in Great Lakes ports from the 1890s to the 1950s were highly skilled laborers. The production of large steel-hulled ships required the talents of steel workers, blacksmiths, carpenters, painters, and engineers. The American Steel Barge Company of West Superior, Wisconsin, had one of the largest dry docks on the lakes in the 1890s. Employing up to 1,500 workers, the company could have 12 ships in production at the same time. The Chicago Shipbuilding Company produced the first steel-hulled ship on Lake Michigan in 1890 and became a world leader by 1899. The Great Lakes shipbuilding industry was vital to the success of the Midwestern economy throughout the early 20th century. World War II submarines were produced in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and by the 1950s, the American Ship Building Company in Cleveland, Ohio, had the largest shipyard in the region.



Media Gallery




 
Opened in 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway aided the Canadian industry, but the U.S. shipbuilding industry on the lakes was stagnating. 1906, Ecorse, Michigan. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
 





By the 1960s, the age of the steam freighter had given way to new diesel-powered ships that were cheaper to build. 1899, Cleveland, Ohio. Credit: J.B. Mansfield/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
 


Saturday, September 16, 2017

Grace Elizabeth Tapp part 1.2 1910-1919

from 1910 to 1919, ages 11 - 21


  • 1910 Census Randolph, McLean County, Illinois
  • 1912 School Exams, Bloomington Illinois
  • 1913 Grace graduates;  Woodrow Wilson president
  • 1917 America enters World War I
  • 1919 Women allowed to vote


1910, Census age 11

Randolph, McLean, Illinois


1910 Census
Randolph, McLean, Illinois


The family starts with Joseph on line 65, on a Farm where he works as a Farm Manager.  Grace is found on line 68, age 11, attending school.

Location in McLean County
Randolph Township (in red) within McLean County Illinois
from Wikipedia


McLean County's location in Illinois
McLean County within Illinois
from Wikipedia



Randolph County History
Randolph Township History
Gardner Randolph settled here in 1823, the year following the Dawson-Hendrix settlement at Blooming Grove. Randolph spent his later life and died in California. Other settlers who joined Randolph in the 30's were Jesse Funk, Capt. John Karr of Revolutionary fame, the Rust family, the Nobles, Stewarts, the Wakefields and VanOrdstrands.Many mills were set up in this township along the Kickapoo creek. Michael Dickerson, William Hampton and Martin L. Bishop were early millers.Population of the township is 2,075. ["Official souvenir program, McLean County Centennial, Aug. 27, 28, 30, 1930" by: McLean County Illinois Centennial Souvenir Program Committee, Harold Lang and Eugene Funk (Transcribed by: Teri Moncelle Colglazier)]

HeyworthThe village of Heyworth [Randolph Township] was laid out by Campbell Wakefield in 1858 and incorporated in 1869.The town has become one of the best in the county, with paved streets, many business houses, excellent schools, churches and lodges. It has one newspaper, The Star, and a post of the American Legion.["Official souvenir program, McLean County Centennial, Aug. 27, 28, 30, 1930" by: McLean County Illinois Centennial Souvenir Program Committee, Harold Lang and Eugene Funk]Principal shipping point for the grain, stock, poultry and dairy farms in the south end of the county, the incorporated village of Heyworth today has a population of 1,072.It is situated on the Illinois Central and the Illinois Terminal railroads and on US 51. The village contains numerous retail stores, automobile and other service establishments, a postoffice, banking facilities and several tall grain elevators.Heyworth was founded in 1856 by Campbell Wakefield, early settler of the area. It was named after an English director of the Illinois Central Railroad, which had been built one year before the village was platted.Today, Heyworth is the principal community of Randolph Township, which has a total population of 2,022.First to settle in the township was Gardner Randolph, a second cousin of John Randolph of Roanoke. He came in 1823.[This is McLean County, Illinois by: John Drury, The Loree Co., Chicago, Illinois (1955)]


LytlevilleJohn Baldwin was founder of the village of Lytleville [in Randolph Township], which once aspired to be the county seat. When the Illinois Central railroad was built, Heyworth arose and Lytleville declined. ["Official souvenir program, McLean County Centennial, Aug. 27, 28, 30, 1930" by: McLean County Illinois Centennial Souvenir Program Committee, Harold Lang and Eugene Funk (Transcribed by: Teri Moncelle Colglazier)]

The Real Thing ad, 1910
The Des Moine Register, Des Moines Iowa
from Newspapers.com

RandolphJust north of Heyworth is located the small village of Randolph, with a population of twenty. An early resident of the village was John Moore, state legislator, colonel in the Mexican War and state treasurer; of Illinois in the early 1850's. [This is McLean County, Illinois by: John Drury, The Loree Co., Chicago, Illinois (1955) (Transcribed by: Teri Moncelle Colglazier)]
from Randolph Township History, McLean County Illinois,  http://genealogytrails.com/ill/mclean/history_randolphtwp.html 









Grace Tapp passes seventh and eighth grade exams
The Pantagraph (Bloomington Illinois)
April 1912
from Newspapers.com

1912, age 13, Bloomington Illinois

Grace and her sister Olive passed seventh and eighth grade exams.  They lived in Bloomington.


If they lived in the north part of Randolph Township, the school in Bloomington would be about 4-5 miles away from home.


















Grace in Graduation Ceremony
The Pantagraph (Bloomington Illinois)
May 1913, from Newspapers.com

1913, age 14

Grace and Olive in McLean County School Commencement on Normal campus.  They followed with a Picnic dinner at noon, a spelling contest and athletic events.





















President Wilson 1919.jpg
Woodrow Wilson
from Wikipedia
Woodrow Wilson is elected as the 28th President
















Miss Grace Tapp of Randolph
The Pantagraph, Bloomington Illinois
July 1914, from Newspapers.com


1914, age 15, Randolph Illinois
Miss Grace Tapp is a guest at the Diamond Grove Women's Club













1916 LeReveduBlesse

1917, age 17

America Enters World War I










1919, age 20

Historical Insight -- Women Gain the Constitutional Right to Vote



from Ancestry.com

Ratification of the 19th Amendment in August 1920 was the culmination of several decades of work by woman suffrage organizations.


Credit: Underwood Archives/Archive Photos/Getty Images

(I have to say, look at the ladies' faces, then check out the face on the man on the left.  What is that look?)

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” To gain this brief addition to the U.S. Constitution in August 1920woman suffrage movement leaders had met for 72 years to discuss their goal of gaining full voting rights throughout the United States. There were victories during this quest. Wyoming granted full suffrage to women in 1869, and every state from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast had extended full voting rights to women before 1920. When the 19th Amendment was ratified, only seven states remained where women had no voting rights at all. In the 1920 election, women did not vote as a political bloc, and a New York Times report estimated that one-third of the eligible female voters in the state cast ballots in the presidential election.

Media Gallery





 
On June 10, 1919, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan became the first states to ratify the amendment. 1920, District of Columbia, United States. Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/UIG via Getty Images
 




The House of Representatives exceeded by 42 votes the number needed to pass the suffrage bill in May 1919. June 25, 1919, Washington, D.C.. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
 





 
Susan B. Anthony began to publish a women’s rights newspaper called The Revolution in 1868 with Elizabeth Cady Stanton. 1855, New York, New York. Credit: G.E. Perine & Co./Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
 





 
Alice Paul shifted from suffrage to general equal rights as she led the National Woman’s Party for half a century. September 3, 1920, United States. Credit: Harris & Ewing, Inc./Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
 


Saturday, September 9, 2017

Grace Elizabeth Tapp Part 1.1 1899-1909

About Grace Tapp before her marriage to August Paul Wenkel sometime between 1930 and 1933.

  • 1899, birth; William McKinley is president
  • 1900 Census LaPrairie, Marshall County, Illinois
  • 1901, birth of twins; brother Harold Alfred Tapp and sister Helen Alice Tapp
  • 1905, birth of brother Glen Reyburn Tapp, Iowa

1899 - 1909, ages 0-10


Grace Elizabeth Tapp mini pedigree
from Ancestry.com



1899, age 0

Grace was the fifth child born to Joseph and Laura Grant Swope Tapp
born 20 April 1899 in Wyoming, Stark County, Illinois.


Wyoming, Stark County, Illinois
in relation to Chicago
Google Maps


Mckinley.jpg
President William McKinley
from Wikipedia

William McKinley is the 25th President at the time.












Aspirin, Felix Hoffman, a German Chemist who worked for Bayer, investigated using a new acetylsalicylic acid as a less-irritating replacement for standard common salicylate medicines and together with other chemists created Aspirin for pain relief. Aspirin has been replaced by paracetamol and ibuprofen over recent years for pain relief but is widely used as a preventive treatment for heart attacks and strokes. -- http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1890to1899.html#1899

1900, Census, age 1

Farm, La Prairie, Marshall Illinois


1900 Census, LaPrairie, Marshall Illinois


Line 14.  Tapp family farm in Marshall County Illinois.

  • Joseph W. Tapp, head, white male, born May 1857.  Age 43, married for 10 years.  Born in Illinois, parents born in Virginia.  Occupation is Farmer working on his own account, able to read, write, speak English.  Renting the home.
  • Laura G. Tapp, wife, white female.  Born August 1866, age 35.  married for 10 years, 5 children born, all still living.  Born in Illinois, father born Virginia, mother born in Illinois.  able to read, write, speak English.  
  • Sadie E. Tapp, born February 1891, age 9.  Born Illinois.  At school, able to read, write, speak English.  
  • Harry B. Tapp, son, born May 1822, age 8, born Illinois.  at school, able to read, write, speak English.  
  • Clara E. Tapp, daughter, born July 1894, age 5, born Illinois.  
  • Olive E. Tapp, born November 1895, age 4, born Illinois.  
  • Grace E. Tapp, born April 1899 age 1, born Illinois.  



La Prairie Township, Marshall County, Illinois

It is important to note the proximity to Wyoming, and to Toulon.




La Prairie Twp, Marshall Co Illinois

I've looked at every land owner before I realized something.  The reason you won't find a Tapp name is because Joseph Tapp was a Tenant Farmer.  He rented the farm from someone who is on this plat.  So far as I can tell, I cannot find out who he rented from, therefore, this is as close to finding the farm as I can get.  If you have some idea, let me know.

1901, age 2

Birth of brother Harold Alfred Tapp and sister Helen Alice Tapp (twins) 24 August 1901, LaPraire, Marshall Illinois

Antique Baby Carriage
from GraphicsFairy


President Roosevelt - Pach Bros.tif
Theodore Roosevelt
from Wikipedia

Theodore Roosevelt, is elected as the 26th President










1901-1905, age 2-5

moved to Iowa sometime in this timeframe.  This is over 430 miles away.  Why did they move?  What incentive did they have to go that far away?  I know they were farmers, was there a natural disaster?  How did they get there?  Probably not by car, perhaps by wagon with horses or by train? How long did that trip take them?  Traveling in modern cars on modern roads is still a long trip, over 6 hours.

Trip from Randolph Illinois to Albert City Iowa
Google Maps 2017 


Boy Reading
AntiqueClipArt

1905 age 5

Birth of brother Glenn Reyburn Tapp, 2 January 1905, Albert City, Buena Vista, Iowa

Albert City Iowa
Google Maps 2017


Below is the Census index and page for Grace Tapp living in Albert City.  These are the Iowa State Census for 1905





1908  ad
The Levenworth Times,
 Levenworth KS, January 1908
from Newspapers.com



1905-1910, age 5-11

moved to Randolph, McLean County Illinois












William Howard Taft 1909b.jpg
William Howard Taft
from Wikipedia

1909 age 10

William Howard Taft is elected as the 27th President