Last week, I learned that my 2nd great-grandfather Michael Daniel Cain had a sister named Anna.  Their mother, Margaret Anna (Donlan or Donelon) Cain, brought Anna (about 12 years old), Michael Daniel (about 2 years old), and another son, with her when she traveled from Cloonacat, Glenamaddy, Galway, Ireland, to Madison, Indiana in late 1864 or 1865.  Until I found Margaret’s obituary in the February 9, 1916, Madison Daily Herald newspaper last week on NewspaperArchive.com, nobody in our family had known that Michael Daniel had a sister.  The obituary said that Margaret had moved to Mead, Kansas, to live with Anna and her family, about 11 years earlier, which would have been about 1905.

So I have set about finding out what I can about Anna Cain Wehrle and her descendants, to determine whether there might be some living cousins.  Perhaps some of them have pictures or more knowledge about Margaret’s background.

The death of Anna’s husband, Frank Wehrle, was noted in the May 21, 1917, edition of the Madison Daily Herald in Madison, Indiana:

 

Anna’s obituary was published on January 25, 1943, in Hutchison News Herald in Hutchison, Kansas:

From their obituaries and other sources, I learned their children’s names and have tracked down each one to see whether they may have living descendants.   Following is what I have found about Frank and Anna Wehrle’s descendants.

John Daniel Wehrle was born August 28, 1876, in Indianapolis, Indiana.  He married Jessie E Lamkin after the 1900 census, and their son, John Paul Wehrle (called Paul) was born in Mead, Kansas, on December 12, 1906.  The 1910 census has John D, Jessie, and John Paul living in Centerville, Saguache county, Colorado.  Frank’s 1917 obituary indicates that John D and Paul were living in Boulder, Colorado.  The 1925 city directory for Denver, Colorado includes John D (an attorney) and Jessie.  The 1930 census has the family in Saguache county, Colorado.  The 1940 census indicates they were living in San Diego in 1935 and in Los Angeles in 1940.  In 1940, Paul registered for the young men’s draft, indicating that he lived in Colorado.  Apparently, John Paul Wehrle was the only child of John Daniel Wehrle.  John Paul Wehrle died single and without children June 30,1970.

Frank Cain Wehrle was born July 24, 1878, in Indianapolis, Indiana.  He died March 2, 1941, in St. Louis.  His death record indicates that he was divorced from Anna May, and the informant was his daughter Mildred Wehrle.  Mildred was also mentioned in the 1917 obituary for Frank’s father, Frank.  Mildred B. Wehrle, born March 27, 1911, was living with both of her parents in the 1920 census and with her mother alone in the 1930 and 1940 censuses.  According to her obituary, Mildred married Raymond L Breitenbach (who died in 1987) and she died April 6, 2008 in St. Louis, Missouri.  According to her obituary, Mildred had one son, Richard, and Richard had three children:  Matthew, Eric, and Kathrine.  I have found Matt and Karen (Mazur) Breitenbach, as well as Eric and Loryl Breitenbach on Facebook and have contacted them.

Edward J Wehrle was born July 22, 1880, in Madison, Indiana. He married Nelda Wissel about 1918 and they had a son, Edward John Wehrle, born June 7, 1919, in Chicago.  Edward Jr. died January 29, 1987, in Pasadena, California.  So far, I have been unable to find an obituary or any  indication of whether he married or had children.

Anna Wehrle was born Christmas Eve, 1882, in Madison, Indiana, and died on February 8, 1883.

Charles S Wehrle was born March 27, 1884, in Madison, Indiana.  He married Helen Herford on April 24, 1912, in Kane county, Illinois.  They were together in the 1920 census, but she was listed as divorced and a patient in the mental hospital in Elgin, Illinois, in the 1930 and 1940 censuses.  In 1942 and 1943, he was living in Remer, Minnesota, and he died in 1972 while visiting in Vancouver, British Columbia.  I do not believe he and Helen had children, nor did he marry again.

Agnes H Wehrle was born July 22, 1886, in Indiana.  She married R F Todd sometime about 1925, according to the 1930 census, when Agnes was nearly 40 years old.  No children were shown with them in the 1930 or 1940 censuses.

George W Wehrle was born January 22, 1893, in Mead, Kansas.  He married a woman named Louise in about 1935, according to the 1940 census.  There were no children listed with them, and he died January 24, 1941.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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