Saturday, June 1, 2013

Barking up the wrong tree...

Identified by Ruth Wellens, niece of Mary and Louise Marxer

The other day I logged onto Ancestry.com and was scrolling through recent activity when I came across this photo, posted by a distant cousin. "Aunt Louise" ie Louise Marxer; except I don't think it is Louise. I contacted my cousin and told her that I had this same photo and it was labeled "Mary Marxer". Mary and Louise were sisters and my grandfather, Edward Marxer, was their little brother.

I went digging through photo albums and boxes and found my copy of the photo so I could post it and my reasoning to my cousin. I also fished out other photos of Mary and posted them, as well. Then the wheels started turning and I began to remember snippets from research that I'd done years ago. More digging revealed photos of Louise and the story of how she and my grandmother, Marie Marxer (wife to Edward) where good friends. In fact, Louise was Marie's maid-of-honor and I had photos of that event. These are the only photos I've seen of Louise.

Identified by Marie Marxer, sister-in-law to Mary and Louise Marxer
Given that Grandma Marie Marxer was such good friends with Louise and later became sister-in-law to both Mary and Louise, I have to believe that she knew the identity of the person in the photograph. The neice, Ruth, knew them as well, but was much  younger and may have confused the two. I'll post more pics of both women and let you be the judge.

Now for the "barking up the wrong tree" end of this tale. The photo prompted me to delve into the family of Louise and I found her married to Harold B. Hobbs. But my Harold and my cousin's Harold were not the same person. So I went looking for more proof and found their marriage record on Familysearch.org. This was the proof I needed to confirm that I had the right Harold, afterall. I could have to easily been lead down the wrong path, tracing a line that was not related in any way, shape or form. I've posted all my findings on Ancestry and am happy to note that my cousin is making corrections, as I would have done, had the table turned the other way. Its not about being right, its about recording what is true and accurate.

Ok, now for more pics of Mary and Louise Marxer.

Louise Marxer 1935
Louise Marxer 1935
Louise Marxer 1935
Louise Marxer 1935


Mary Marxer
Mary Marxer





Mary Marxer
Mary Marxer