John B. and Anna Kurt appear to be my great-great-grandparents (through their daughter Mary), and I can add a little more. You may know much of this, but I'll try to be complete so you don't have questions.
The St. Mary's Catholic Church cemetery in Cascade has birth and death information on both John B. and Anna Kurt, as well as other Kurts and Curts.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadubuqu/cemeteries/smcem_h-l.htmlThe cemetary indicates that Anna Kurt was born October 11, 1922 and died June 11, 1843. John B. Kurt was born in 1884 and died in 1840. They are buried near each other, along with what appears to be John's mother, Mary Misenbur (born 1807, died March 25, 1865).
The 1880 census records for John B. and Anna (attached and on Ancestry.com) indicate that they both were born in Luxembourg, as well as their parents. (You need to search under "John B." and not necessarily "John".) The records indicate that Anna may have gone by "Annie". It lists the following children:
Frederick, age 17 (cemetary says born 1861, died February 22, 1917)
Annie, age 16
John, age 13 (cemetary says born April 27, 1867, died March 24, 1947)
Mary, age 11 (cemetary says born October 5, 1868, died February 10, 1958)
Margeret, age 9
Peter, age 8 (cemetary says born 1872, died July 8, 1939)
Francis, age 7
Nicholas, age 1
Jacob, age 2 (cemetary says born April 3, 1877, died July 24, 1933)
Verbal history in my family (my Grandmother Lucille (Kelchen) Till, widow of Joseph Till, Mary's son) adds two more names:
Carrie
Mike (cemetary says born October 16, 1883 and died February 18, 1962)
That's seven boys, four girls, which seems to be confirmed by the newspaper account below.
There apparently is a reference to John B. Kurt's death in the Luxembourg Gazette (kept at Loras College). Someone posted it online. On p.5 of the August 19, 1889 edition, it was written:
Am Montag, den 4. d. M. starb zu Cascade fast plötzlich John B. KURT. Derselbe war zu Hesperingen gebürtig, wanderte 1852 nach den Vereinigten Staaten aus, kam direct nach Iowa und ließ sich gleich in Cascade Township, Dubuque Co., Iowa, nieder. KURT hinterläßt eine trauernde Wittwe und elf Kinder, 7 Knaben und 4 Mädchen, in guten Umständen. Kurt war ein fleißiger, sparsamer Mann. Seine sterblichen Ueberreste wurden auf dem Gottesacker der Gemeinde beigesetzt. Möge er ruhen in Frieden!
I couldn't find an online translator for the Luxembourgian (sp?) language, but German is about in the same area code, so I tried that. Here's a rough translation, enough to get the gist:
On Monday, the 4th d. MS. John B died to Cascade almost suddenly. KURT. The same one was native to Hesperingen, emigrated 1852 after the United States, came direct after Iowa and let itself immediately in Cascade Township, Dubuque Co., Iowa, down. KURT leaves behind a mourning Wittwe and eleven children, 7 lads and 4 girls, in good circumstances. Kurt was a diligent, thrifty man. Its mortal remnants became beigesetzt on the Gods sacks of the community. It may rest in peace!
(August 4, 1884 was a Monday; I've checked. So that must be John B.'s date of death.)
Finally, one more nugget. An 1860 census (attached and on Ancestry.com) places a Fred Turnis (age 55) in the area, along with his wife Mary (age 48) and his children Jacob (age 18), Anna (age 16) and Ann (age 11). The Anna listed in this record seems to be a match for our Anna, making Fred and Mary likely her parents.
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