Court Records from McHenry Co., IL on Mary Ann Dummruff

Hello everyone, It has been awhile since I have posted anything. The court records have come in, and to my surprise, it was not what I excpeted. I received 85 pages or more becasue some of them was printed on the backside. I started sitting down to transcribe the documents and I was a little confuse with the information that I was finding in the records. I know for a fact that Johannah Zeigler and George Zeigler mention in the records are my Anna Mary Dummruff's mother and stepfather. The records kept on metioning a Mary Ann Dummruff who was a minor in 1873. I though, wait a minute, my Anna Mary Dummroff was a grown married woman who married Johann Schmitt she is no minor she was 35 years old in 1873. I thought this was to be around 1879. I keep transcribing and the story unfolds. When I first saw the write up in the circiut court records under common law in the newspaper for May 1879. I thought for sure this would be about the young man who was listed in the 1900 census with Anna Mary Schmitt as a son named Henry Schmitt born May 1879. This would be four years after Anna Mary Dummruff's husband had passaway. In this case it was not. This is about Anna Mary's sister Mary Ann also known as "Annie." In 1873 she became pregnant by Lawrence Rineck who was a neighboor about 13 families from their family in the 1880 census of Hampshire township, Kane County, Illinois. Johannah Zeigler on the behalf of her minor daughter Anna Mary, Anna Mary will be 18 on Oct 28, 1873. Johannah said her daughter did not need a man she needs the money. Before it was all said and done they was awarded $500 dollars in 1873. The years went by and Lawrence had not paid anything. They took him back to court in 1879, this time he had to pay interest on the $500 which came to be $677.08 it was 6% since November 1873. I did find out that Johannah first husband was not alive in 1873. And Johannah had lived in Kane County for 11 years from 1879. My clustering still contiunes to find more information on Johann Schmitt

County Court Circuit Clerk

Update information, after finding many articles on Mary Ann Dumruff in the McHenry County, Illinois, Woodstock newspaper and her mother Johanna Zeigler, who was helping her to sue Lawrence and John Rineck in McHenry County, under the common Law.

I sent an email to the county circuit court clerk, to check for any files that might exist. An email came back saying they did find a case number, now I am waiting hoping the Archive department and find some paper work. Being 142 years, mostly likely these court records are not on microfilm, I can only hope they are well kept through out the years.

I will still keep doing the cluster research, until I find my answers about Johann Schmitt.

Will keep you posted on what the Archives find.

Dumruff's in the Newspaper

As you are following my blog, you will  get to see when I find new evidence for the first tiem. Just recently I came across some more clues. I have to keep in mind what am I looking for. I am looking for evidence where Johann Schmitt came from and who where his siblings and parents. Also remember this piece of information could end up in the strangest places, never assume that you know what is in a document, you could very will be missing something. How I am trying to find this evidence is by using the FAN club method. So, never leave a rock unturn.

The Schmitt's lived in Grafton twp, McHenry Co., Illinois. The birth certificate of the first son Joseph was in 1866 born in Buffalo Grove, Lake county, Illinois, mentions a witness named Joseph Dumderauf. Pretty sure this is Ann Mary Dumerauf Schmitt's brother. And this could be why Ann named her first child and son Joseph after her brother. 

I started looking in Newspapers.com with the surname Dumruff and all the other various spellings I have gather. I did a search for the surname Dumruff in McHenry County, Illinois in the town of Woodstock between the years of 1867 - 1910. And two articles came up that I had never seen before. 

The Woodstock Sentinel Woodstock, Illinois
9 May 1878 Thursday. 

This is the first article, at the top of the column it says McHenry Co. Circuit Court, subtitle  "Common Law." 

John and Ann Mary Schmitt lived in McHenry County.  But wait a minute something does not add up. John died in 1875 this article was printed in MAY of 1878. Why did Ann change her name to Mary Ann Dumruff, using her maiden name.  I know her mother had married a Zeilger. But I did not understand the term "use of". Someone explained it to me that Mary Ann's mother was not happy at what happen and she was going to sue someone on the behalf of her daughter. Here is the next article that pop up. 

The Woodstock Sentinel, Woodstock, Illinois
17 Oct 1878 on a Thursday.
Circuit Court Chronicles Common Law

I was even more curious about what could of happen. I tried searching the first name Johanna, nothing then, Zeilger nothing. Then I tried Mary Ann, had to scan through a few newspapers until I came across more articles. Sometimes you have to think about which terms to put to my more results. 

Proceedings of the May Term of the McHenry County Circuit Court

Common Law
The Woodstock Sentinel
Woodstock, Illinois
6 Jun 1878           

The Woodstock Sentinel
Woodstock, Illinois
Thursday January 9, 1879
Court Document
Common Law

With these last two articles, Mary Ann's name was spelled as "Damruff" this search did not bring up any results. I had also search using the names spelling of Damruff, with not results.  I now know the name of the Firm Botsford & Barry that took care of the case.

The Woodstock Sentinel, Woodstock, Illinois
18 Sept 1879 on a Thursday.
Court Document
Common Law

The Woodstock Sentinel
Woodstock, Illinois
October 09, 1879
Court Docket
Common Law

$675 is equivalent to $17,306.60 today in 2020

When it these articles where explained to what they good mean, me a light bulb went off.  I went back to the 1900 census in Grafton twp, McHenry Co., Illinois where Mary Schmitt was living on the same with her late husband. 

1900 Census Grafton twp, McHenry Co., IL 18 & 19 June 1900

Street:
House number in cities and towns:
1. Number of household in order of visitations: 210
2. Number of family in order of visitations: 213
3. Name of each person whose place of adobe on June 1, 1900, was in this family, Enter name firs, then      the given name and middle initial if any. Include every person living on June 1, 1900. Omit children born since June 1, 1900:
Schmitt, Mary
Schmitt, Andrew
Schmitt, John
Schmitt, Henry
4. Realtion – Relationship of each person to the head of the family:
Head
Son
Son
Son (Note this is correct)
5. Color of Race:
W
W
W
W
6. Sex:
F
M
M
M
7. Personal Description - Date of Birth Month and Year:
Jan 1840
April 1870
April 1875
May 1878 (Note this child born after Johann Schmitt died)
8. Personal Description- Age at last birthday:
60
30
25
22
9. Personal Description – Whether single, married, widowed, or divorced:
W
S
S
S
10. Personal Description – Number of years of present marriage:
35 (This was probably mark out because she is a widow)
11. Personal Description – Mother of how many children:
5 (Henry was not include in this count. Included Joseph, Adam,  Andrew,  Michael and John)
12. Personal Description – Number of these children living:
5 (Henry was not include in this count. Included Joseph, Adam, Andrew, Michael and John)
Nativity – Place of birth of each person and parents of each person enumberted. If born in United States, give state or territory, If foregin birth, give the country.
13. Place of Birth:
Germany
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
14. Place of birth of Father of this person:
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
15. Place of birth of Mother of this person:
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
16. Citizenship – Year of Imingration to the US:
1866
17. Citizenship – Number of years in the U.S.:
34
18. Citizenship – Naturaltization
Left Blank
19. Occupation, Trade or Profession of each person Ten years of age and over,
Occupation:
Blank
Farm Hand
Farm Hand
Farm Hand

20. Occupation, Trade or Profession of each person Ten years of age and over,
Occupation – Months not employed
Blank
0
0
0
21. Education – Attended School (in months)
All Blank
22. Education- Can Read
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
23. Education – Can Write
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

24. Education – Can speak English
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

25. Ownership of Home – Owned or Rented
O

26. Ownership of Home – Owned free or mortgaged
F

27. Ownership of Home – Farm or House
F

28. Ownershlip of Home – Number of farm Schedule

52 (this would be interesting to know what they raised or grew on their farm)

Conclusion: Henry Schmitt listed in this census as being born in MAY 1878. That is the same year that Johanna Zeigler was suing too men Lawrence and John  Renwick / Reinick / Renick / Renich / Rineck.   I could come up with my story, I will never know what it was all about until I am able to view the Court records in McHenry County.  I started a census search for these men in McHenry County, and then I started broadening my search for just in Illinois with the name Lawrence Renich and I found a family with a son named Lawrence and John in the 1870 census of Hampshire, Kane County., Ill. The only family I found a Lawrence and a John  in. Then this rises another question. How did 

The spelling of the surname was listed as Rinick

I knew that Mary Ann Dumruff Schmitt had a brother named Adam Damerauf living in Elgin, Kane Co., IL in 1880. Could Mary Ann  wen to Elgin with her five young boys to see her brother.  It is still a mystery how she might of met up with the Rineck men. 

The I look up Mary Ann Dumruff's mother in the census. She was living with her husband George Zigler in the 1880 cnesus Hampshire, Kane Co., IL page 26 D

On page 25 C or stamp page 403 is the family John Reinick and his wife Margarett along with the children George, John, Michael, Mary, this is the page before George & Johanna Zeigler. They are twelve families apart. Now, we are getting somewhere, These two men must of went to Mary Ann's place to help her out, since the case is being filed in McHenry Co., IL

HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE
WRITTEN IN 1893 BY GERTRUDE HAWLEY

Transcribed and contributed to Illinois Genealogy Trails by Laurie Selpien, ©2005

RINECK
Mr. and Mrs. John Rineck, Sr., arrived here from Germany in 1854. They settled on the farm now owned by their son George. They are both yet living. Their oldest son, Lawrence, lives at Lowville, Minn. George married Emma Maushak and carries on the family farm. John married Caroline Maushak and is a proprietor of the Commercial hotel here. Michael was in the hotel with his brother several years but is now in the livery business in Chicago. His wife was Miss. Kate Schutz. Mary married Henry Leitner and they now live in Elgin.

This is the Rineck family that I am tracing down. I could not find what had happen to Lawrence Rineck, Now I have questions, did he moved to Lowville, because of what happen in McHenry county back in 1878. And there is no wife mentioning in the above article. He had maried Josephine Smith in 1875, did she leave him?

12 July 1895 Township of Lowville, Murray County, Minnesota Territorial and Sate Census. 

This census tells me that Lawrence has been a resident of Minnesota since 1886 and had only been in Lowville for eight months and I see no wife with him.  My next step will be find more Minnesota Territorial census .