Marriage License of Charles Scheel and Margaret Platts

With all the images coming online - especially on familysearch.org - I have more things to post; hopefully this will keep up for a while!

First up is the Marriage License of Charles Scheel and Margaret Platts in 1927.  Double-click on the picture to embiggen.  I think I have some pictures of the happy couple on their wedding day, and I'll try to post them.

New York State Department of Health
Division of Vital Statistics
Marriage License

Place of Registry:  State of New York, County of Niagara, City of Niagara Falls

Registered No. 11778

Know all Men by this Certificate, that any person authorized by law to perform marriage ceremonies within the State of New York to whom this may come, he, not knowing any lawful impediment thereto, is hereby authorized and empowered to solemnize the rites of matrimony between

Charles E. Scheel 
of Niagara Falls in the county of Niagara and the state of New York

and

Margaret D. Platts 
of Niagara Falls in the county of Niagara and the state of New York
and to certify the same to be said parties or either of them under his hand and seal in his ministerial or official capacity and thereupon he is required to return his certificate in the form hereto annexed.  The statements endorsed hereon or annexed hereto, by me subscribed, contain a full and true abstract of all the facts concerning such parties disclosed by their affidavits or verified statements presented to me upon the application for this license.

In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of said City of Niagara Falls this Twenty-ninth day of September nineteen hundred and Twenty-seven.

[Signature]
Clerk

The following is a full and true abstract of all the facts disclosed by the above-named applicants in their verified statements presented to me upon their applications for the above license:

                    From the Groom:                                             From the Bride:

Full Name:  Charles E. Scheel                                           Margaret D. Platts
Color:          white                                                               white
Place of
Residence:   2222-21st St., Niagara Falls, NY                  1728 Center Ave., Niagara Falls, NY
Age:             28                                                                    25
Occupation: Shipper                                                           Clerk
Place of
Birth:            Buffalo, NY                                                    Lockport, NY
Name of
Father:          Edward C. Scheel                                          Albert John Platts
Country of
Birth:            Buffalo, NY                                                    Lockport, NY
Maiden
name of
mother:          Mary Culver                                                 Margaret McCulligan
Country of
Birth:             Buffalo, NY                                                   Lockport, NY
Number
of marriage:   First                                                                 First

The Family of Frank Culver and Margaret Burke

Frank Culver (abt 1828-1891) married Margaret Burke (1837-??) on 9 Sept 1862 (see previous blog).

They had the following children:

James Edward Culver (dates unknown, b. Canada)

William H. Culver (abt. 1868 - ??, b. New York)

George Culver (Nov. 1869 - ??, b. New York)

Mary C. Culver (22 Jan. 1874 - 16 Apr. 1939)
--- married to Edward C. Scheel (b. 1874); see previous blog

Who's Who -- the family of Edward Scheel (b. 1874)

In the previous blog, we looked at the marriage of Edward Christian Scheel (15 Dec 1874 - 3 Aug 1937) and Mary Culver (22 Jan 1874 - 16 Apr 1939).

In keeping with the Who's Who, they had the following children:

Charles Edward Scheel (17 Nov 1898 - 2 Oct 1954)
Walter Francis Scheel (2 Jul 1907 - 26 Jun 1967)
Margaret Elizabeth Scheel (b. 1912)

Charles is mentioned in the previous Who's Who, and his WWI registration is also posted.

The Marriage of Edward Scheel and Mary Culver

. .

Transcription of above certificate:

.

Left-hand Column:

.

Date of Marriage: January 26, 1898

Groom's Full Name: Edward C. Scheel

Residence of Groom: 627 Elm St. [Buffalo, NY]

Age: Twenty-three

Color: White

Occupation: Art Imporium [?]

Single or Widowed: Single

Birthplace of Groom: Buffalo, NY

Father's Name: Charles H. Scheel

Mother's Name: Elizabeth Klien

Number of Groom's Marriage: One

Bride's Full Name: Mary Culver

Residence of Bride: 37 East Ferry St. [Buffalo, NY]

Age: 26

Color: White

Single or Widowed: [widowed crossed out]

Maiden Name if widowed: [blank]

Birthplace of Bride: City [meaning Buffalo, NY]

Father's Name: Frank

Mother's Maiden Name: Burk

Number of Bride's Marriage: [Ink scribble]

Name of Person performing Ceremony: Albert W. Allen

Residence: 594 W. Ferry St. [Buffalo, NY]

.

Right-sided Column:

.

State of New York

County of Erie

Certificate and Record of Marriage

City of Buffalo -- Bureau of Vital Statistics

I hereby certified that Edward E. Scheel and Mary Culver were joined in Marriage

by me in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, at 37 East Ferry

this 26th day of January 1898

Signature of Witnesses in Marriage: Henry Robinson, Robert Brown

Signature of Person performing ceremony: Albert W. Allen

This marriage certificate contains a lot of wonderful information for genealogical purposes. First, by listing the parents, it provides a link between generations, and a confirmation of parentage. Next, the addresses are a huge bonus -- they are important when you are trying to establish the bloodlines and there are many common names. Since Charles and Edward are quite common, and Scheel was not an uncommon name in Buffalo at the turn of the century, I can match up families by the address on this certificate with those on the census records, and confirm families. Lastly, I have the bride's maiden name which allows me to open a new branch in the family tree.

Charles Scheel WWI Draft Registration

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Ancestry.com has now digitized and made available the WWI draft registration cards. I was able to find several members of my family. From the Scheel family, I was able to locate the one for Charles Scheel, whose birth certificate I posted in the previous blog, and his father, Edward Scheel. I will post the one for Edward Scheel in the next blog.

Because these uploads come out so small, and this particular card isn't that clear to begin with, I'll transcribe it below. The front of the card is on the left and back on the right.


Front of Card:


Serial Number: 1150 (upper left corner)
Order Number: 1419 (upper right corner)
Name: Charles Edward Scheel
Address: 2619 North Avenue, Niagara Falls, Niagara (County), NY
Age in Years: 19
Date of Birth: November 17th, 1898
Race: White (box checked)
US Citizen: Native Born (box checked)
Present Occupation: Shipper
Employer's Name: American Sales Book Co, Ltd.
Place of Employment: Highland Ave, Niagara Falls, Niagara, NY
Nearest Relative:
Name: Mary Scheel (mother)
Address: 2619 North Ave, Niagara Falls, Niagara, NY
Signature affirming above answers: Charles Edward Scheel


Back of Card:


Height: Tall (box checked)
Build: Medium (box checked)
Color of Eyes: Blue
Color of Hair: Brown
Obvious Physical Impairment: No

Signature of Registrar: Frank H. O'Neill
Date of Registration: Sept. 12th, 1918




Besides being a document that my ancestor filled out, this registration card gives us a physical description of my grandfather at age 19, an address where he lived in Niagara, and employment information.

Shameless plug for Ancestry.com since they have provided a lot of what I'm posting: It's my favorite pay-for-access site and has proven to be worth every penny. I find a lot of stuff on there, and they are adding more all the time. My local Family History Center (another great place!) has a membership and you can access Ancestry.com for free from them. I like my membership since I can access it from anywhere I have a computer and at any time.

Charles Scheel Birth Certificate

First, let me apologize for the pink in the middle of the document. Evidentially red ink is part of the colored paper they use to stop forgeries. It's suppose to turn up as the word "VOID" printed multiple times if xeroxed. Unfortunately, if the document gets wet, like this did in transit, the red masses into these pink blobs.

This is the birth certificate of my husband's grandfather, Charles Scheel, from the City of Buffalo, Bureau of Vital Statistics. This means that Charles was born within the city limits of Buffalo. Otherwise it would have come from the county offices.

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In case you can't read the image or the writing:

.

Name of Child: Charles Scheel

Sex: Male

Color: White

Date of Birth: Nov. 17, 1898

Place of Birth: 37 E. Ferry St.

Father's Name: Edward C. Scheel

If out of wedlock, write OW: (blank)

Father's Residence: 37 E. Ferry St.

Father's Birthplace: U.S.

Age: 24

Occupation: Merchant

Mother's Name: Mary Culver

Mother's Name before Marriage: (ditto marks)

Mother's Residence: 37 E. Ferry St.

Mother's Birthplace: U.S.

Age: 25 years

No. of Mother's previous Children: 0

How many now living: (blank)

Date of Report: Nov. 18, 1898

.

Besides giving me Charles' birthdate, this document gives us very important other information. First, it verifies his mother's maiden name. Prior to my receiving this document, I had guessed it was Culver from 1900 Census when Mary's mother was living with them. However, there were often re-marriages, so Mary's mother could have had a different last name than Mary's maiden name.

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Next, it tells me he was born at home, and the address of that house. If I get inspired, I can actually look at purchase records, the mortgage info and title information for the house. In addition, since families often lived at the same residences for more than one generation, it's possible to find other ancestors or relatives using just the address.