Photos of other Drexlers' graves. These are the parents, brother and sister of Theresa (nee Drexler) Potter. These graves are on Cedar Street in Riverside Cemetery, southeast of the Potter family plot which is just west of the corner of Cedar and St. John's.

Frank Drexler, brother of Theresa Potter

Mary Drexler, sister of Theresa Potter

Mary Drexler, mother of Theresa Potter

Pancratius Drexler, father of Theresa Potter

Photos from yesterday's Potter Family Cemetery Scavenger Hunt. These are photos from Riverside Cemetery, Oshkosh. I will post photos from other cemeteries as I receive them from other relatives.

Potter family plot

Donald Potter, Sr. grave

Alfred and Theresa Potter grave

Mary Ann Potter grave

Monsignor Bastian and his nieces graves

Monsignor Schorn grave

Theodore and Anna (Meisinger) Drexler graves,  Brother of Theresa Potter

Theodore and Anna (Meisinger) Drexler graves location

Esslinger family monument

Frank (Franz) Esslinger grave, grandfather of Lucille Felker

Mary Esslinger grave, grandmother of Lucille Felker

Rose Esslinger, aunt of Lucille Felker

Joseph Esslinger, uncle of Lucille Felker

Esslinger family monument location (Potter family plot is in back center of photo)

John and Lucille Felker graves

George and Catherine Felker (parents of John Felker) graves

Conrad and Katherine (Katie Felker, sister of John Felker) graves

John and Elizabeth (Lizzie Felker, sister of John Felker) graves

Peter Felker, brother of John Felker, unmarked grave in Potter's Field Riverside Cemetery

Pre-cemetery scavenger hunt event at Jim and Tracy Potter's

I found a newspaper photo of Grandpa Potter from the Oshkosh Daily Tuesday, March 22, 1955, Page 11

I was also able to finally determine who was Caroline Drexler, Grandma Potter's sister. I knew that a Caroline Drexler was listed in census reports, but I wasn't sure what happened to her.  I was able to get to the Oshkosh Public Library and found Caroline Baier's obituary from 1947 that listed Grandma as her sister. It took a while because the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern papers from 1941-1951 aren't available online.

 Some new photos of Dad and his sister, Mary Ann Potter from 1935-? Thanks to my brother Mike for loaning them to me to scan and include in the blog.

Dad, Mary Ann and Tommy (cat) 1935

Aunt Mary Ann 1935

Dad and Mary Ann

Dad and Mary Ann

Slide 79 from Orphan Train to Oshkosh

Four Photos from Orphan Train to Oshkosh

These four photos were part of the presentation Orphan Train to Oshkosh that hadn't been previously posted. If there are any others that family members would like posted that aren't on this website, please let me know.

Alfred Potter Orphan Train Route (August 19-20, 1894)

I finally took some time and mapped out Grandpa's orphan train route. It has a few extra objects, but without leaving blank white spaces, I couldn't erase some of the map buttons.

Drexler family photos

I spent an enjoyable evening at the home of Anne and Gary Glisch.  Anne is my second cousin. I met many of my relatives for the first time. These relatives are all part of the Dembowiak part of the Drexler family. Anne's mother (Clara?) was a Drexler before marrying Stan Dembowiak.  There are several entries in Grandpa's diary about this family.
 I'm also posting some photos from the Drexler part of the family. Pancratius (1848-1887) and Mary (Schwarz?) Drexler had eight children: Joseph (1869-1908), Frank M. (1871-1894), Mary (1872-1955) John (1875-1939), Caroline (1877-?) [Note: I know Pancratius and Mary had three daughters and Caroline is listed in the 1900 census as one of them.], Theodore (1879-1930), Anna (1882-1965) and Theresa, my grandmother (1886-1961). I know that there's also Ottillie Drexler, but I'm not sure how she's related to the Drexlers.  [Note: Found out who she is. Ottillia Bleckinger Drexler findagrave.com  She was Joe Drexler's wife.]
If you read Grandpa's diary entries from January 1935 you will see some of the Drexler names including Ottillie.  http://potterclanhistory.blogspot.com/2014/06/diary-of-alfred-e-potter-january-1935.html

Pancratius Drexler (Theresa Drexler's father)

 Mary Drexler (Theresa Drexler's mother)

Frank Drexler (Theresa Drexler's brother)

John Drexler (Theresa Drexler's brother)

Theodore Drexler (Theresa Drexler's brother)

Lena Baier, Theresa (Drexler) Potter, Annie (Drexler) and Joe Weisheipl
Theresa and Annie are sisters.

Reply/research from New York Historical Society

I received a letter this week from the New York Historical Society in response to my inquiry about records that they had from the New York Foundling Asylum about Grandpa Potter. Here's the response. There are a few new facts that I hadn't know. (We would have been Episcopalians?)

A. E. Potter & Theresa Drexler wedding photo August 8, 1911

Left to Right: Mary Bauer (Mrs. Louis Mauritz), Louis Mauritz, Alfred Potter (groom), Theresa Drexler (bride), Anton Pable, Charlotte Heinzl (Mrs. Frank Regal) (Note: Priest who performed the ceremony was Rev. Wibbert, the same priest who arranged for my grandfather to be placed in the Jarosch home in Oshkosh after riding the orphan train from New York in 1894.)

Letter from Rev. Wibbert to Foundling Asylum March 24, 1909

Here is a copy of a letter from Rev. Wibbert at St. Vincent's in Oshkosh to Sister Vincent at the New york Foundling Asylum. My grandfather's foster father had died ten days before and my grandfather now wanted his baptismal record so that he could revert to his original name. the number 21087 is his case number.

Grandpa's baptismal record

Here's Grandpa's baptismal record. Even though it states that he was baptized at St. Vincent Ferrer's Catholic church, he was probably baptized in the chapel at the New York Foundling Asylum like many of the other orphans, This also proves that by the time he was three weeks old, he was already at the Foundling Asylum. The photo is Rev. Sheehan from Google books The Catholic Church in the United States of America, Vol. 3 Plimpton Press (c) 1914  pg 372.

New York Foundling Asylum Certificate of Indenture August 20, 1894

I've been meaning to post my grandfather's certificate of indenture from the New York Foundling Asylum, dated August 20, 1894. It shows that his birth name was Alfred Potter and is signed by the founder of the foundling home, Sister Irene. I've been told by a few orphan train authorities that none of them have ever seen a certificate signed by her.