VISITORS AND QUERIES
BY KAREN HANSEN
Bob and Marilyn Thomas from Garden City, Missouri came in for help finding the grave at the Layton Township Cemetery of the parents of Wilhelmina FISCHER MUELLER, Heinrich and Maria Fischer.
Janice Brandt of Coon Rapids, Iowa stopped in again to use our resources.
Jesse and Kristine Moore of Cherokee, Iowa visited, seeking information on her family, Vera Lamer Anderson McFerran BOOTH, Estelle (Stella) LAMER, Yvon Jeanine MCFERRAN, and David MCFERRAN. Many members of her family are buried at the Monroe Methodist Church Cemetery north of Walnut. I was able to help find obituaries for James “David” McFerran, Yvon McFerran Tucker, Dave Lamer, Eldon and Bonnie “Jean” DAMGAARD. They plan to contact another Lamer researcher, Renee Pence, and to return to Walnut in March. Vera Lamer was married to Virgil ANDERSON in the 1925 Census and was in Montgomery County, Iowa. How did she meet and marry Eugene McFerran, whom she is listed with in the 1930 Census in Oklahoma? They hope to answer this question.
After reading the ROSSMANN family history in our October 2012 Antique City Roots, Jack Rossmann of St. Paul, Minnesota requested information on his grandparents Eugene and Lenore MICKEL. They are buried at the Layton Township Cemetery. We sent their obituaries, as well as a short one for Effie, Eugene’s first wife.
Margaret Peters from Houston, Texas was interested in contacting the people who spent time in the George and Vernie NEFF home. I talked to JoJane and Don Walter, WGS members who lived next door to the Neffs and Mattie Skow for many years. They have many stories to share.
Earlier this year, Jim had taken photos for findagrave of the stones of these ALFF family members: Amelia, Annie, Eloise, 2 Herman’s, Max, Laura Alff HOOVER, Arlene Alff NIEMAN and Richard NIEMAN. The request was made by Amelia Alff’s great-granddaughter Dee Morey of Coquille, Oregon. Coincidentally, Annie Willms Alff was a cousin to my grandmother Nora Glissmann.
Dee did not realize that I was the one who had posted the photos, when she sent me an email after receiving my address from Norma Miller from the Anita Library. In the email, Dee requested obituaries for Reinhold Edward ALFF, who died March 8, 1964 and for Florence (Edna) PING ALFF, who died April 30, 1994. They are both buried in Belknap Cemetery, southwest of Oakland, and are on findagrave. Dee found that they had lived many places; I found them in Walnut in the 1940 Census.
Although, Reinhold Alff was living in Council Bluffs when he died, his obituary was in The Walnut Bureau. Edna passed away in 1994 at the Exira Care Center. By knowing her date of death, I was able to find obituaries for her from 3 different newspapers. Her name was Florence Edna PITT, not ALFF, which is on her stone. Her maiden name was PING; her first husband was Reinhold ALFF and her second was Levi PITT. I found Levi Pitt at findagrave; he is buried in the Valley View Cemetery at Persia. KH