Heartland Genealogy

Pauline Mentzer and the Class of 1913 Sometimes the most interesting genealogy finds aren't vital records, census records, or deeds. Sometimes they are the little pieces of everyday life that help us picture an ancestor at a particular moment in time. This week's digging takes me back to the school days of my grandmother, Pauline Mentzer . Among the family materials I have is a program for the Coffey County Rural School Commencement , held in Burlington, Kansas, on May 31, 1913, at 2 p.m. The program lists the members of the county's Class of 1913 , organized by rural school district. And there, among the graduates, is my grandmother: District No. 9 Hattie Carroll Glenn James Pauline Mentzer Teacher: Bertha Werts A County-Wide Commencement The program is interesting because it wasn't simply a graduation program for one school. It brought together graduates from rural school districts scattered across Coffey County. The long list of students and teachers gives us a gl...

A Crandall Public School Souvenir Did your grandparents save mementos from their childhood? Perhaps an old report card, a class photograph, or a school program? My maternal grandmother, Pauline Mentzer, saved a small souvenir booklet from Crandall Public School in Coffey County, Kansas. Although the booklet is undated, it provides a glimpse into her childhood and the school she attended with her siblings. Dating the Souvenir Booklet Unfortunately, the booklet does not include a date. However, the teacher's name, the ages of the Mentzer children, and the family's movements suggest that it was likely created sometime between 1912 and 1915. In 1910, the Charles Mentzer family was living in Liberty Township, Coffey County, Kansas. According to the Burlington Independent of Burlington, Kansas, Charles Mentzer rented the H. Harreld farm near Crandall in January 1912. By 1915, the family was still living in the Crandall area, where the Kansas state census recorded them in Neosho Towns...