52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Ancestor # 2: Myrle Piper Puncochar

As announced by Amy Johnson Crow in No Story Too Small, there is a 2015 edition of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. I may not make 52 but I am going to post whenever time permits to share what I have learned with my family as suggested by Michael J. Leclerc in his blog. In this blog entry, I am sharing information about my grandmother.

Myrle Eva PIPER  was born on Jan 25, 1901 at Bertha, Todd, MN. She had an older sister, Althia, and an older brother, Leon. In 1903, when Myrle was less than three years old, her mother, Julia Alice Riggs Piper, passed away.

Myrle appeared on the census of Jun 5, 1905 in the household of her father, George Edwin PIPER at Bertha, Todd, MN. Her father met and married Florence Draper, born in Rhode Island, in 1906 in Todd County, MN. George filed on a land claim in Scranton, Bowman County, ND. He had attempted a land claim earlier, in 1901, but failed when he and his family had to return to Minnesota due to his wife's health.

Myrle appeared on the census of May 6, 1910 in the household of George Edwin PIPER at Scranton, Bowman, ND. By this time her stepmother, Florence Draper Piper, was no longer with the family. Florence Piper was found in the Lamm household, in Deuel County, SD, in the 1910 census. She was the housekeeper for the family and had twins, Constance and George E. Piper, born in 1909. Family lore indicates Florence couldn’t handle the isolation of the land claim in North Dakota.

Myrle appeared on the state census of 1915 in the household of George Edwin PIPER at Scranton, Bowman, ND. By that time, Myrle’s father married again, this time to Estelle, last name unknown.

In 1915 and 1916, Myrle’s father sent her to a Sacred Heart Academy, a Catholic boarding school in Fargo, ND. The family wasn’t Catholic so it’s bit of a puzzle as to why she was sent there. She returned to Scranton to continue her high school career there. By this time, Myrle's father had married a fourth time, to Saxie Piatt Eisinger.

But Myrle didn’t graduate high school. In those days, a student could enter nursing school after her junior high school year.

Myrle attended St. Luke’s Nursing School in Aberdeen, Brown Co., SD and graduated in 1922. She remembered going to Pierre, SD, to take the nursing exam for her license and passing with flying colors.

Myrle married Francis Paul (Frank) PUNCOCHAR , son of John J. PUNCOCHAR and Anna PAVLIK, on Jun 16, 1925 at Aberdeen, Brown, SD. Due to Frank's job, the family moved frequently: 

• They moved circa Mar, 1926 to Watertown, Codington, SD where her first son was born.
• They lived in 1926 at Palace Apartments, 311 E. Kemp, Watertown, Codington, SD where they were listed in the directory.
• They lived at 216 9th Ave SE, Aberdeen, Brown, SD in 1929 and 1930 as listed in city directories. 
• They appeared on the census of Apr 3, 1930 at 216 9th Avenue SE, Aberdeen, Brown, SD. 
• They appeared on the census of 1935 at 715 S 4th Street, Aberdeen, Brown, SD. 
• They lived in 1936 at 816 w. 22nd Street, Sioux Falls, Minnehaha, SD, in the Sioux Falls directory.
• They lived in 1937 at 816 W. 22nd Street, Sioux Falls, Minnehaha, SD, in the Sioux Falls directory.
• Frank died Mar 22, 1940 at home at 1320 S. 1st Street, Aberdeen, Brown, SD. 
• Myrle appeared on the census of Apr 10, 1940 at the same address: 1320 S. 1st Street, Aberdeen, Brown, SD. 
• The family moved to Miller, Hand Co., SD shortly after Frank's death, probably 1940-1941.  An article in 1948 indicates Myrle had been the public health nurse for Hand County for eight years. She remained the public health nurse until her retirement.

Myrle liked to keep contact with her sister and friends via letters and saved many of them. She enjoyed playing and teaching piano to young students. 

Myrle Eva Piper Puncochar passed away Oct 19, 1990 in Hennepin Co., MN and is buried at St. Timothy's Cemetery, Maple Lake, Wright, MN, next to her husband, Frank.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Ancestor # 1: Frank Puncochar

As announced by Amy Johnson Crow in No Story Too Small, there is a 2015 edition of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. I may not make 52 but I am going to post whenever time permits to share what I have learned with my family as suggested by Michael J. Leclerc in his blog. I am starting with my grandfather.

I never met my paternal grandfather as he died when my father was not quite 15 years old. But I have enjoyed learning about him over the last 25 years as I researched my family history.

Francis Paul PUNCOCHAR  was born on Oct 2, 1898 at Maple Lake, Wright, MN, and died on March 22, 1940 in Aberdeen, Brown, South Dakota at the age of 41.

He appeared on the census of Jun 20, 1900 in the household of John J. PUNCOCHAR and Anna PAVLIK at Maple Lake, Wright, MN. His father was born in Bohemia, came to America in 1883 and was a farmer. His mother, Anna Pavlik was born in Illinois to Bohemian parents, and died on November 14, 1903.

He appeared as Frank PUNCOCHAR on the census of Jun 5, 1905 in the household of John J. PUNCOCHAR and his second wife, Frances PIRAM, at Maple Lake, Wright, MN. 


He appeared on the census of May 5, 1910 in the household of John J. PUNCOCHAR and Frances PIRAM  at Maple Lake, Wright, MN. 

According to his obituary, he attended business college in Minneapolis. He was bookkeeper on Sep 10, 1918 at McLaughlin Gormley King Co, 1715 5th Street SE, Minneapolis, Hennepin, MN, when he filed for WWI draft. His draft registration shows that he was short, of slender build and had blue eyes and brown hair.

He was clerk at McLaughlin Gormley King Company in 1919 at Minneapolis, Hennepin, MN, where he lived at 1609 Stevens Avenue, Minneapolis, Hennepin, MN when he appeared in the Minneapolis directory. This address now appears to be where the Minneapolis Convention Center is now located.

He appeared on the census of Jan, 1920 at 1609 Stevens Avenue, Minneapolis, Hennepin, MN. His occupation was listed as drug salesman. McLaughlin Gormley King Company dealt with importing spices and herbs when it was first formed in the early 1900's. It now deals with pest control.


He was a manager in 1923 at J. I. Case Threshing Machine Co. in Aberdeen, Brown, SD, when he was listed in the Aberdeen Directory. 

He married Myrle Eva PIPER, daughter of George Edwin PIPER and Julia Alice RIGGS, on Jun 16, 1925 at Aberdeen, Brown, SD. 

He and Myrle Eva PIPER  moved to Watertown, Coddington, SD circa Mar, 1926 and lived  at Palace Apartments, 311 E. Kemp when he was listed in the Watertown directory.


He and Myrle Eva PIPER lived at 216 9th Ave SE, Aberdeen, Brown, SD when they appeared on the census of Apr 3, 1930 

He and Myrle Eva PIPER appeared on the South Dakota state census of 1935 at 715 S 4th Street, Aberdeen, Brown, SD. He and Myrle Eva PIPER lived in 1936 at 816 w. 22nd Street, Sioux Falls, Minnehaha, SD according to the directory listing.

Frank suffered from a long illness before he died. He was seen at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for his illness but they were unable to determine a cure.

From the Obituary of Frank Puncochar: Long Illness Fatal to Frank Puncochar

Frank Paul Puncochar, 41, died Friday evening in his home at 1320 1st St. S., after an illiness of a year and a half duration.

Mr. Puncochar had been with the J. I. Case Co here for 20 years. He was a member of the Blue Lodge of the Masonic Order in Aberdeen.

Mr. Puncochar was born in Maple Lake, Minn, Oct 2, 1898, and graduated from high school there. He later attended business college in Minneapolis. 

Survivors besides the widow are two sons, Robert, 14, and Glenn Allan, 7, his father, John Puncochar of Maple Lake, three brothers, Ernest and Joseph of Maple Lake, and William in St, Paul; a sister, Mrs. Edwin Blizil of Buffalo, MN.

Services will be in Huebl Chapel at 4 p.m. Saturday with the Rev. Arthur Atack of the Methodist church officiating. The body will be taken to Maple Lake where another service will be conducted at 2 p.m. Monday and where burial will take place. 

My Professional Genealogy Goals

I expect to retire from my current profession within the next few years. Even though I don't anticipate taking fee-paying clients, I won't rule it out at this time. I do want to lend authenticity to my work, volunteer in a genealogy society, and teach genealogy; and so I would like to become a certified genealogist. ProGenStudy offers a 19-month study course with a mentor. I have signed up for the waiting list and am excited to study with others who have the same goal.

In the application process for the ProGenStudy group, I included the following genealogy goals:

– to attain one or more credentials in professional genealogy, lecturing and/or instructing.
– to complete eight professional quality family studies for my own family: one for each of my children's great-grandparents.
– to work and/or volunteer in one or more of our local historical societies: the Minnesota Historical Society, the Minnesota Genealogical Society and the Dakota County (MN) Historical Society are all nearby.
– to teach and/or lecture especially to those who are just beginning their family research, either through a local society or through community education classes.
– to continue to visit local, national and international libraries and research centers.

I will add one more:

- to build a genealogy reference library with print and ebooks to support my learning and research. 

I list them here because I have found that keeping my goals visible inspires me to work toward them.

The reference library has been difficult to research as there seems to be no single point of reference for high-quality genealogy reference books by topic or locality that I can find. So I have been using bibliographies, blog posts, and other finding aids to determine which books will be helpful to my research.

I'm not sure which certification I will work for, but I anticipate that the study group will help guide me in the right direction. I hope to use this blog to document my progress when I am accepted into the GenProStudy group.

Any comments guiding me toward a certification decision are certainly welcome!

Serendipity in Genealogy, Part II

In my previous article, Serendipity in Genealogy, Part I,  I gave the background information for the discovery of my mother-in-law's maternal family.

After discovering the Kline name in an excerpt of the Bill Holm book, "The Heart Can Be Filled Anywhere on Earth," I made the very short journey to the Minnesota Historical Society, in St. Paul, Minnesota.

I admit it, I am lucky, the Minnesota Historical Society is less than 12 miles from my home. So I used the clues from the excerpt to find her death record and then, her obituary. Her obituary indicated she was survived by a sister in Robbinsdale, Anna Hughes, and then I knew I had found the family. I almost heard that brick wall fall. With the new information, I spent the rest of the afternoon, searching the state census records and church records and building the family tree forward.

The original excerpt had explained that as a young boy, Bill Holm accompanied his parents when they visited the town of Minneota on Saturday evenings. Sara Kline was always on the sidewalk near the spot they always parked their car.  There, before he was allowed to run off with friends, his parents instructed him to greet her by "...shaking her hand, greeting her courteously in Icelandic, and, worst of all, bending down to kiss her on the cheek." His mother had short conversations with her in Icelandic, also.

So my husband's maternal grandmother was Icelandic? Why didn't my husband know that? Why didn't my mother-in-law, Anna's daughter, know that? Anna Hughes, Sara Kline's sister, died in 1971 at the age of 88. My husband would have been almost 23 years old. Surely Anna must have spoken about her Icelandic heritage the same way my grandparents spoke of their Norwegian heritage.

But when I queried my mother-in-law on our Christmas visit her response indicated otherwise.

"Was your mother's family Icelandic?" I asked.

"Well, maybe a little," she replied, after some thought.

Hmmm, my research indicated that Anna Kline Hughes' parents and older siblings arrived from Iceland three years before she was born. For whatever reason, my mother-in-law never talked about her Icelandic heritage even after I explained that her mother was 100% Icelandic. She also couldn't remember if the women with whom her mother often visited were aunts, cousins or just friends.

Apparently her mother was raised by another family after her father died. The family that raised her, the Christiansen's, may have been related but I have not yet found that family link.

After buying Bill Holm's book, "The Heart Can be Filled Anywhere on Earth," and re-reading the entire chapter that mentioned Sara Kline, I felt I needed to write to him. He had written that Sara Kline had "no family to sit in the mourner's pew." I wanted him to know that she did have family, and now, 45 years later, to thank him for singing at her funeral.

However, I was a little intimidated to write the letter as I knew he was a college professor at Southwest State University in Marshall, Minnesota which is not far from Minneota. I wrote and re-wrote that letter until I thought it was acceptable to send to someone who teaches writing at the college level. It was a painful experience - I almost felt like I was going to get a grade at the end, which I almost did.

Bill Holm replied with a postcard greeting and did acknowledge my feeble attempts at writing.

The postcard reads:

Dear Lynn, You deserve a longer reply to that magnificently written letter on Sara Kline. Darren G. is trying to dig up some more facts for you, but I am only stunned with admiration for your detective work. Come to Minneota in spring. You honor Sara with your prose!

Best, Bill


I wish that I could say I took him up on his offer and went to visit him in Minneota. I sincerely regret that I didn't although I intended to. Life got in the way and I thought I might have more time after retirement. Sadly, Bill Holm passed away in February of 2009.

Serendipity In Genealogy, Part I

There are entire books written about serendipitous discoveries made in genealogical research.  I'm not sure if "serendipity" is the proper term, perhaps it is the gentle prodding of our ancestors that push us in the right direction. Nevertheless, here is my story. First the background information:

In the early 1990's, I became a college student, somewhat late-in-life, as I was already married with three children. I attended an English class at the local community college and one of our assignments was to read the book, "Coming Home Crazy", written by a Minnesota author named Bill Holm. I had never heard of Bill Holm although he had written several books by then.

"Coming Home Crazy" was a series of essays about Bill Holm's experiences while teaching in China.The book was interesting to me, as my husband and I had visited China in the mid-1980's. Perhaps because of my own China experience, or perhaps because our assignment included journaling while reading, the book left an impression on me.

At this time, genealogy was also beginning to take hold on me. One of my daughter's 7th grade classroom assignment, in 1990, included documenting a family tree. That's when I discovered that my husband's mother knew very little about either side of her family. Or perhaps she just didn't want to share. But either way, there was no information about any of her grandparents except for the name of her paternal grandfather, Samuel Hughes.

What my mother-in-law did know was that her mother's name was Anna Kline, born in Minnesota in 1883, married in 1916 to her father, Harry Hughes.

I graduated in December of 1994 and was then able to use my "spare" time to work on genealogy. My mother-in-law's maternal family was a total brick wall. I could find no record of Anna Kline anywhere. Of course, the records weren't quite as easy to search as they are now. I knew that her mother grew up in the area of Minneota, Minnesota but was unable to find anything else.

Now for the serendipitous story.

Sometime late in November or early December in the year 2000, I was reading the Minneapolis Star Tribune Sunday paper. As is my habit, I started on the front page of the first section, and went page by page through each section. On the front page of the Entertainment section there was an excerpt of Bill Holm's latest book, "The Heart Can be Filled Anywhere on Earth."

I normally wouldn't read such a long article, but it attracted my attention because Bill Holm was the author and I remembered my college class with his book. In his new book, he wrote about his hometown, Minneota, Minnesota. At some point, the name "Sara Kline" jumped out at me.  I read the article again, this time more closely, scrutinizing the details about Sara and her story.

It was not pretty.

The fifth chapter of the book, entitled "Glad Poverty," told the story of Sara Kline, whom Bill Holm called the "bag lady of Minneota." He described her as "small, shriveled, hunched over... stringy, greasy hair... stale smell of unwashed damp rags, sweat, urine-soaked underwear, rotting food in rotted teeth, old cigarettes, the fetor that rises off a mattress that should have been thrown out decades ago.."

This was not exactly the family I was looking for. However, I couldn't ignore the fact that she lived in Minneota and her last name was Kline. So I thought about it for a while. And then I wrote down every fact in the article that I might be able to find in records.

Stay tuned for Serendipity in Genealogy, Part II.

You Can Never Have Too Many Books!

Last fall I wrote about the treasures found at AbeBooks.com. Another resource I use for books is Google Books.

Often, I use the two resources together. I tend to search for books by state and county: Brookings, South Dakota, for example. Then I look at the listings and read descriptions to find books that I am interested in. Other interesting searches can be done using terms like "norwegian immigration" or "icelandic immigrants."

If I find a book on AbeBooks.com that I want to buy, I check first to make sure it is not already available at Google Books.

There are some excellent resources available for free on Google Books. Many can be downloaded and saved locally for future reference. But once the books have been downloaded they can't be searched as easily. The books can still be searched online however.

In order to find free books, first perform a search. On the results page, choose "Search tools" from the menu across the top of the results page. From "Any books" drop down menu choose "Free Google ebooks."

The resulting list will show books that are generally available for download. There are many family history books, local history books, or books that have information about immigration and emigration.


Why are only some of the books free? According to Google Books, "If the book is out of copyright, or the publisher has given us permission, you'll be able to see a preview of the book, and in some cases the entire text. If it's in the public domain, you're free to download a PDF copy."

Where does Google Books get the books? There are two projects listed:

"The Library Project's aim is simple: make it easier for people to find relevant books – specifically, books they wouldn't find any other way such as those that are out of print – while carefully respecting authors' and publishers' copyrights. Our ultimate goal is to work with publishers and libraries to create a comprehensive, searchable, virtual card catalog of all books in all languages that helps users discover new books and publishers discover new readers."

"The Google Books Partner Program is a free marketing program that enables publishers and authors to promote their books online, through Google Books. By submitting a digital or physical copy of your book to be displayed online, you'll make it discoverable to Google users from around the world."


Note that information in italics is taken directly from Google's website describing Google Books and the two projects listed.

Getting "Unstuck"

Have you ever had that "don't know what to do next" feeling? I actually have research going on so many lines that sometimes it is hard to concentrate on just one family. Or sometimes I get stuck on a family and make no progress for a while.

When I want to become "unstuck" I use a piece of software that looks at my genealogy database and tells me what's missing. GenSmarts2 is described by their website as "... a utility that uses artificial intelligence to analyze your existing genealogy file and produce research recommendations." I call it magic.

After a little bit of setup, including identifying your genealogy software, adding subscription sites, etc. GenSmarts2 will look at your genealogy database and give you research suggestions. I just ran it against my database and it came up with several suggestions. Actually, it came up with 32,484 suggestions.

Now that is a bit overwhelming! However there are lots of ways to make it more manageable. One way is to ask GemSmarts2 just to show you only suggestions about a certain person or a certain research location.

I am currently out of town and wanted to bring some research ideas with me. So I asked for just those suggestions that I could find at the Minnesota State Archives Website. That whittled that very large number down to 375 suggestions. It seems like a reasonable number to take along on vacation. I printed out the suggestions, one line per suggestion, and brought the nine pages along with me. I could have saved the file electronically and reviewed it that way, but I like to have it beside me as I go through the list.

There are other printing options, too. You can print:

• all of the ToDo's that you have highlighted.
• only those marked "Plan to Search."
• only those marked "Searched and Found."
• all displayed."

You have choices on the detail as well:

• To Do List - One line per To Do
• Moderate - Multiple To Do's per page
• Full - One Page Per To Do
• Worksheet - Combination of Info + Input Form
• Research Pack - Collated set of To Do's and People

I would strongly suggest that you review the documents before you print them. Anything with more than one line per To Do on a limited number of suggestions could get very lengthy very fast.

Another feature is the "Available Online" button. As you highlight a suggestion, if the suggestion points to an online resource, you can click the button and GenSmarts will not only bring you to the website but will also auto-fill the search form with the name for you. Now, that's helpful!

GenSmarts2 currently works with the following genealogy programs:

• RootsMagic (including RootsMagic 5)
• Family Tree Maker (including FTM 2012)
• PAF 5
• The Master Genealogist
• Legacy
• Ancestral Quest
• Ancestry Family Tree
• Brother's Keeper (Version 6)
• Ultimate Family Tree
• Family Trees Quick and Easy (contact us for info)
• Heritage Family Tree Deluxe (contact us for info)
• Gedcom

I have not come close to describing all of the features of the software so visit the GenSmarts2  website to get more information. The $29.95 USD pricing seems very reasonable for all of the help that it gives me. One piece of information that is not on their website: Even though GenSmarts2  is PC only software, it runs fine on my Mac with Parallels. I've been using it for several years without a problem.

Very often, as I am working on a list of suggestions, I find a piece of information that leads to a breakthrough and more research on that particular individual. GenSmarts2 never fails to get me restarted.