SOLVING THE "ESTHER" MYSTERY

Esther McCann Reuther was my Grandma Theresa Nebgen Sherlock's cousin but exactly how were they related?  I discussed the first part of my research on Esther in a previous post but hadn't found the connection.  I did find Esther in the Minnesota Birth Index.  She was born on October 30, 1898.  Her father's name was William Frances McCann and her mother was Annie Simon.  Grandma Theresa's maternal grandmother was Anna Maria Simon so "Simon" must be the connection but where in the Simon tree is the connection?

After months of searching, I did find out that Grandma Theresa's grandmother Anna Simon had an older brother Phillip Simon who was just a year older) who was born in Germany in 1845 but died in Ramsey, Minnesota on 31 Jan. 1910.  Phillip had a daughter named Annie.  I have yet to find out the name of Phillip's spouse and Annie's mother.  I will just put it on my "to do" list.  The good news is, however, that I now know that Esther is my 2nd cousin twice removed.

TRYING TO SOLVE A "COUSIN" MYSTERY

I remember my Grandma Theresa (Nebgen Sherlock) having a cousin Esther who I met several times in the early 1970's.  Esther was married to a man named Atus Reuther (although she was a widow most of the time that I knew her) and she was related to my Grandmother (or so the story goes!)  I also remembered that  Atus was an attorney and that they lived in San Fernando, California.  So, with this information, it should be pretty easy to research her, right?

Well, I found Atus (actual name Liberatus Peter Adelbert Reuther) in the California Death Index.  He died in 1969.  So far, so good!  I found Atus and Esther in the 1940 census which said they were living in Los Angeles at the time (El Cerrito).  It also said that Esther's birthplace was Minnesota. What???  We never had any relatives in Minnesota or did we?  

Then I found Esther and Atus in the Illinois Marriage Index.  It said that they were married in Chicago.  Okay, now that is sounding more realistic to me.  Grandma Theresa was born in Chicago.   But how did Esther and Atus get from Minnesota to Chicago?  I think I need to do a timeline for Esther.

1898 -- Esther was born in Minnesota
1900 -- Esther was living in Chicago
1910 -- Esther was still living in Chicago with her parents and siblings
1920 -- Esther was living in Chicago with her parents and siblings
1921 -- Esther married Atus Reuther in Chicago
1930 -- Esther is living in Minnesota with Atus, 2 kids and her widowed father
1940 -- Esther is living in Los Angeles with Atus and her three children

So now that I have her timeline, I have one more big question -- How is Esther related to Grandma Theresa?  Where do the trees intersect?

Note: in the above photo, Esther is the woman 3rd from the left.  My Little Grannie (Lillian Stachowiak) is sitting to her left.  I tell stories about Little Grannie on my other blog -- MyPolishRoots.blogspot.com