To read part one: An Analysis of Magdlena’s Life Events – Part 1

Children of Magdlena:

Conrad Stinogle was born in Germany (Bayron) in 1847.

Eva Stinogle was born in Germany (Baden) in 1849.

Mary Stinogle was born in Germany (Bayron or Byron) in 1851.

Marriage:

Although no written records of marriages have been found, there is a high probability – based on customs – that Magdlena was married to the fathers of her children. Since marriage records have not been found, I will use other documents to prove the relationships between Magdlena and her children’s fathers. I will begin with the death certificates of Conrad and Mary, two of Magdlena’s children.

The death certificate of Conrad Stinogle names John Joseph Stinogle as Conrad’s father and Magdelena Friend as his mother. The death certificate of Mary Stinogle Sharrow names Conrad Stenogale as Mary’s father and Magdeline Cripps as her mother. From these facts of familial relationships, several questions arise.

Questions to be Answered

First, did the informants (providers of information) for the death certificates accurately name the parents of Conrad and Mary? Was Stenogale a typo, or did the informant erroneously give this family name? If Stenogale is inaccurate and the correct spelling is Stinogle, then did Magdlena marry two men with the family name Stinogle? Finally, with the family names of both sets of parents being different I ask, are Mary and Conrad related?

Conrad and Mary, siblings?

Let’s begin with answering are Mary and Conrad siblings? Many sources taken together seem to support this relationship. The first source, the 1860 U.S. Federal Census, shows the following people living in the same household in Baldwin Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania:

Philip Slicker, age 45, born Germany

Magdlena Slicker, age 46, born Germany

Conrad Slicker, age 15, born Germany

Eva Slicker, age ?, born Germany

Mary Slicker, age 10, born Germany

Johny Slicker, age 4, born Germany

The fact they are living together suggests a family unit. You may have noticed everyone has the family name Slicker. Where is the family name Stinogle? The answer: record keepers were not always accurate. Also, recordkeepers had to rely on the accuracy of the person providing the information. All family members were born in Germany.

The 1870 U.S. Federal Census, shows the following people living together in Forward Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania:

Conrad Steinogle, age 23, born Germany

Martha Steinogle, age 49, born Germany

John Steinogle, age 13, born Pennsylvania

Conrad was listed as head of the household. It may explain why his mother and John was listed with the family name Steinogle and not Slicker.

In 1872, Conrad Stinogle and John Slicker purchased property together in Webster, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

In April 1878, using quitclaim deeds, Conrad Stinogle and John Slicker divided the ownership of the property they purchased together in 1872.

In January 1880, John Slicker sold his property in Webster to Mary Stinogle. This same year Mary married Abraham Sharrow. The 1880 census shows Mary’s mother, Magdlena Slicker, is living with Mary and Abraham. Mary’s son, John W., age 7 is also living with her. Magdlena’s name was spelled Marthalena, similarly to the spelling in the 1870 census.

The 1900 U.S. Federal Census shows the following people living in the same household in Webster, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania:

Henry Hedge, head, age 48, born 1851 in England

Mary Hedge, Wife, age 49, born 1851 in Germany, immigration date 1854

Mago Hedge, daughter, age 17, born 1883, in the state of Indiana

Sam Sharrow, step-son, age 16, born 1883, in Pennsylvania

James T. Sharrow, step-son, age 10, born in 1889, in Pennsylvania

February 9^th, 1905, the Daily Independent of Monessen, Pennsylvania reported that Sam Sharrow was visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hedge.

Thursday, April 25, 1907, the Daily Independent of Monessen, Pennsylvania reported that Henry Hedge left his home on Tuesday and did not say where he was going. This was the last time anyone had seen Hedge. He never returned.

August 7, 1905 the Daily Independent of Monessen, Pennsylvania reported that Miss Bessie Sharrow had spent a couple of days at the home of her aunt Mrs. Henry Hedge.

In 1911 Mary Stinogle, now a Hedge, mourned the death of her eldest son, William J. Slicker. Mary was the informant for her son’s death certificate. She listed Mary Stinogle as John’s mother. She signed her name as Mrs. Mary Hedge and listed Webster, Pa. as her place of residence.

In 1921, Conrad Stinogle passed away. Mrs. Mary Hedge provided the familial information for Conrad’s death certificate. In the certificate, Mary named Webster, Pa. as her place of residence.

The 1930 U.S. Federal Census, shows the following people living together in Butler, Hancock County, West Virgina:

James T. Sharrow, head, age 40, born Pennsylvania

Mabel Sharrow, his wife, age 33, born Pennsylvania

James Sharrow, son, age 10, born Pennsylvania

Mary W. Sharrow, mother, age 79, born Germany, immigration date 1853

June 18, 1942 Mary W. Sharrow’s obituary appeared in the Weirton Daily Times. The obituary reported that Mary had lived with her son James T. Sharrow since 1927 when she came to this city (Marland Heights, West Virginia) from Webster, Pa. The obituary stated Mary was the wife of the late Abraham Sharrow.

Conclusion – Conrad and Mary, Siblings?

If we were to view each source above separately, we would find it difficult to show a sibling relationship between Conrad and Mary. But as we consider the facts in all the records given above, we can build a case for a sibling relationship between Conrad and Mary. Many of the records mentioned above help to show that Mary Stinogle, Mary Sharrow and Mary Hedge are the same person. Mary Stinogle while Mary Hedge, was the informant for Conrad Stinogle’s death certificate. As is still true today, informants for death certificates were usually family members.

Mary’s Family Name – Stinogle or Stenogale?

Next I will address the family name Stenogale by looking at two death certificates. When Mary died in 1942, her son, James T. Sharrow was the informant for Mary’s death certificate. James reported Conrad Stenogale as Mary’s father. Mary’s father disappeared from the family story in the 1850’s. James was born in 1889. He had never known his grandfather. How could he be certain of his grandfather’s name?

In 1911, Mary’s eldest son, William J. Slicker – research has shown William to have been born out-of-wedlock – passed away. Mary, then Mrs. Henry Hedge, was the informant for William’s death certificate. For his death certificate, Mary reported herself as mother of William – William appeared in the 1880 census as John W. –  and her family name as Stinogle. Now I ask, who is more likely to know Mary’s family name, Mary or her son, James? Mary, of course. Thus, it is almost certain that James, perhaps suffering from a memory lapse, erroneously reported Stenogale as Mary’s family name on Mary’s death certificate.

Before moving on, it is interesting to note that the U.S. Federal Censuses show that James Sharrow lived in Webster, PA in 1900 and 1910. We can conclude from these two records that James lived in Webster for at least these ten years. Records for his uncle Conrad Stinogle show that Conrad lived in Webster starting around 1872 until his death in 1921. Point being, James most likely knew his uncle; and therefore, it seems he would have known his mother’s family name was Stinogle.

Furthermore, in his mother’s death certificate, James reported his mother’s birthplace as Berlin, Germany. Berlin is near the northwest border of Germany – near the border with Poland. It has already been established in other posts that Mary, her mother and her siblings were from the southwestern region of Germany – near the border of France, far from Berlin. Mary died during World War II. Did James, known his mother was born in Germany, just add Berlin to her birth place due to hearing the name in the news? Although I would never want to – without sufficient evidence – rule out the information that James provided in his mother’s death certificate, for now, I choose to go with the information his mother has provided as being the more solid facts. These facts support Stinogle as Mary’s family name.

The Father’s First Name – John or Conrad?

Now I have established that Mary’s family name is Stinogle, and Conrad and Mary are siblings, it is time to decide on a first name for their father.

Mary, as the informant of Conrad’s death certificate, reported their father’s name as John Joseph. James T. Sharrow, as the informant for his mother’s death certificate, reported his grandfather’s name as Conrad. Since it is more likely that Mary would know the name of her father better than her son, James, and I have already shown reasons the information James provided may not be reliable, I choose to use John Joseph Stinogle as the name of Mary’s, Conrad’s and Eva’s father.

Summary of Marriage Events

Magdlena married John Joseph Stinogle about 1846-47. They were the parents of Conrad, Eva and Mary. John disappeared from his family’s life somewhere between the Fall of 1853 – after the conception of Mary Stinogle – and about June 1856 – before the conception of John Slicker. Since divorce was rare in the nineteenth century, it is highly probable John died.

Magdlena then married Philip Slicker sometime during the same period in which John Stinogle disappeared from Magdlena’s life. The son of Philip and Magdlena, John Slicker, was born March 17^th, 1857.

Date and Place of Death:

Magdlena Slicker died January 7, 1892. She is buried next to her daughter, Eva Vogel, in the St. Mary’s Cemetery in Monongahela, Pennsylvania. The dates on the grave marker are the only records of Magdlena’s birth and death that my mother and I have found. We found Magdlena’s place of burial by understanding the custom that people are often buried near other family members. Thus, we followed Conrad’s life right to his burial-place in the Monongahela city cemetery, but Magdlena was not there. Little did we know, we were just a little more than a stone’s throw from her burial-place. We then followed Mary Stinogle all the way to the St. Paul’s Cemetery in Weirton Heights, West Virginia, but still no Magdlena. Finally, we followed the life of Eva. We found her death date and ordered or death certificate. From her death certificate, we learned Eva was buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Monongahela, Washington County, Pennsylvania. After learning this cemetery was next to and overtaken by the Monongahela city cemetery, my mother and I headed back to Monongahela. And there we found, Magdlena Slicker buried next to her daughter, Eva and just a little more than a stone’s throw from her son, Conrad Stinogle.

Magdlena’s place of death is unknown. However, from our research it seems Magdlena lived in Webster from around 1872 until her death in 1892. In the nineteenth century, it was common for people to die in their homes. Thus, it is highly likely Magdlena died in her home in Webster, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

© 2017, Robin Slicker. All Rights Reserved.