Post 4, What ever happened to Mary Stamm Koontz?

First, I would like to express disappointment--- I have heard from others that they have not been able to access my blog to leave a message. This is critical to me because I would love to answer any of your questions, if I know the answer. I also, hope to have information added that I may be missing.

I need to let you know that I deeply miss cousin Dennis Boulger, since his death last year on 6 Sept 2013. He and I kept contact over many years as he too had a deep interest in his genealogy roots. He has found some of the things that I share with you besides keeping me going. Just needed to acknowledge him:) 

So, with that and hope that the above problem can be taken care of soon----I will jump into this weeks subject Mary (Stamm) Koontz. She was the wife of John Andrew Koontz and mother to Samuel. See picture from last week. (Samuel is the one that brought us into the Blancett family).

This is what I know:

Mary was born either in 1846 or 47 per census records. She was born in Pennsylvania. She and John had 3 children, Samuel, Irma and Cora. The last that I know of her is that she was on the 1880 census in Fremont County District 50, in Colorado, I believe in the Canon City/Arkansas River area with John and family. In 1881 Grandpa John married Emaline Kitchen in Colorado Springs and they had 1 child, John Andrew Koontz, Jr. I had assumed that Mary had died. But, have not been able to find any death records for her. I did find Irma's daughter, Muriel Fulton and her daughter--who contacted me. I was told by them that it was a hush hush situation that no one would talk about, but the rumor was there was some problems in the marriage between Mary and John, and that the children had been sent to Pennsylvania during this time. This is all they knew. I have not found a divorce record between John and Mary. I did find a marriage of a Mrs. Mary Koonts to a Wm A Sheeler at Beaver Creek in Fremont County on April 20, 1882. There are no 1890 census as those records were all burned. 

I don't have a marriage record for our grandparents as well. I find our grandfather, John-- in Douglas County Nebraska as a single man in 1856--this was on his journey out west from PA. The next record is 1864, when Samuel was born in Littleton, Arapaioe, Colorado. Then they are back in Douglas county. They were both from Pennsylvania so don't know when they met. If he sent for her or found her out west. There are a couple of Stamm families in the area.

I have found much information on the Stamms in Pennsylvania, so hopefully we can connect to them some day.

"Stamm-"trunk or stem" All the Stamms seem to have come from a common root at one time in the Palatinate along the Rhine river, an area that belonged to Rhinish Bavaria. Official records prove that the family centered first in the Palatinate and slowly spread from there southward with the Rhine River to the east, the Moselle on the North and west to some extent and the Saar on the South."  "Generally, the early Stamms were Lutheran. But about 1700 many of those in the Palatinate and Switzerland area became Mennonites as such soon became persecuted. This along with the fact that the homeland became a battleground of many nations brought about the first great movement to America. From 1730 to 1775 official records show a constant flow through Rotterdam to Eastern Pennsylvania."

I have pictures and documents to send with this blog, but my scanner is stuck so hopefully will have it up and going later--computer issues, they are so great but can be so exasperating.

I will probably be sprinkling in a couple more stories (humorous) of our Blancetts next week. As we further enjoy their adventures out west with the Indians.