John (F) DALE & Wilhelmine

[Mitch in Notts]

John DALE was born Wolverhampton 1842-1843 to Henry DALE & Mary Anne ROWLANDS. I have him on the 1851 & 1861(as a Locksmith) census at home with his parent(s). I had nothing further until an Ancestry hint yesterday which appears correct!

Marriage 28 Sep 1895 German Presbyterian Church, Elmora, New Jersey, USA:
John F DALE, 53, born Wolverhampton, England, Son of Henry DALE & Mary A ROLAND.
and Wilhelmine BRECKLE, nee SCHWARZ, 56 - born Bietigheim, Germany.

So where was Henry from 1861 to 1895? And where was he after 1895?
I have Wilhelmine's birth(04 Jan 1839), baptism, first marriage and subsequent arrival in USA in 1890. She arrived with her daughter Pauline - born 1873, but left her first husband behind in Germany where he died in Feb 1895.
Likewise I cannot find Wilhelmine after her marriage to John in 1895.
Any suggestions as to their whereabouts anyone?

Thanks

Mitch

[Megan Roberts]

There is a Wolverhampton marriage in 1862 to either a Sarah Bishton or Harriet Hicks that could be him.

Ancestry have a deserter record from the Coldstream Guards on 12 May 1862. They only have a summary. The actual record us on Fold3.

There is a 1910 census record in Michigan for a widower who arrived in the US in 1882.

If you know his actual birth date then I would check the American death records because their certificates include the birth date and if known the parents names. It's how I eventually solved a long standing mystery.

[Mitch in Notts]

Thanks - There are a couple of John Dale's in Staffordshire around that time annoyingly and yes the Fold3 record is equally annoying!

The Michigan record is a good one - can't see a suitable John Dale in the Michigan death records though. I find USA BMD records so difficult to use with them indexed by state!

[Megan Roberts]

The Michigan record is a good one - can't see a suitable John Dale in the Michigan death records though. I find USA BMD records so difficult to use with them indexed by state!

Unfortunately not all states are on Ancestry, so that's why it pays to go back and recheck every so often.

[helachau]

The New York Herald, 14 Nov 1897, carries a report of Wilhelmina Dale committing bigamy with a John E Eckhardt, first husband John F Dale.

? - don't know what happened there but laptop threw a wobbly before I completed post and reply sent. Intended to include -
Fulton Newspapers - https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html

Put wilhelmina dale in Search field and ensure field below is set to "the exact phrase" (might show Boolean). Returns 2 hits.

[Mitch in Notts]

Thanks for that helachau - unbelievable what some people got up to! Seems they separated after just a month of marriage so she decided to remarry bigamously......!

[helachau]

I was intrigued reading that she didn't speak English, he didn't speak German but they quarrelled!!

I did wonder if she continued as Wilelmina Eckhardt - a real horror story. But Wilhelmina Beckle's age doesn't appear to fit the killer midwife.

[Mitch in Notts]

And intriguingly the newspaper article describes her as a young woman in 1897 and her new husband nearly 40 years her senior. But she was born Jan 1839 so was 58 - that would make her new husband nearly 98 and yet he was still working......

[Jomot1]

And intriguingly the newspaper article describes her as a young woman in 1897 and her new husband nearly 40 years her senior. But she was born Jan 1839 so was 58 - that would make her new husband nearly 98 and yet he was still working......

From the New Jersey death records a Christina Eckhardt died in Elizabeth 18 Jun 1896 (1897 per the state records, 1896 per ancestry), aged 70. Probate (as Christine Eckhart) granted to John Eckhart, so I'm assuming that this was the first wife and that John must have been a similar age. Also mentioned is a sister in New York named Sophie Baumann

[Mitch in Notts]

From the New Jersey death records a Christina Eckhardt died in Elizabeth 18 Jun 1896 (1897 per the state records, 1896 per ancestry), aged 70. Probate (as Christine Eckhart) granted to John Eckhart, so I'm assuming that this was the first wife and that John must have been a similar age. Also mentioned is a sister in New York named Sophie Baumann

Ah, Thanks ..... The 1895 census for Elizabeth has a John & Margaret ECKHARDT and a John & Elizabeth ECKHARDT but no addresses are given. The 1895 street directory for Elizabeth has two John ECKHARDT - one at 123 Miller, Retired - which corresponds with the 1897 address given in the newspaper article and another at 433 Marshall, a Porter. SO where does Christina/e come in to it?