The Proeger Family

Where Frank Silva Sr’s parents married

The parish is now known. Frank Silva Sr was baptised at Santa Bárbara (Cedros), Faial, on 9 June 1862, son of José Francisco da Silva, a farmer native of Pedro Miguel, and Florência Luiza S1228, and he married Anna Luiza there in 1886 S1232. Both entries were read from the archive images on 4 October 2026. The next step back is his parents’ marriage, which would name both sets of grandparents from the record itself. It is Not found in the Cedros marriages of August 1839 to November 1842. Their elder son was born about 1843 S1229, so the wedding was probably about 1838–43. ⚠️ The 1886 marriage calls the mother Florencia Constancia, the baptism and her 1880 burial Florencia Luiza S1230: the same woman under two second names.

What would close it — the Cedros marriage register for 1842–44, whose images are already saved and unread; failing that, the earlier Cedros years (1835–39) and then Pedro Miguel, the groom’s parish.

The Coffman generations above David Carl

This used to be the least secure stretch of Earl's side. On 5 October 2026 the records moved it two generations. Samuel Coffman, David Carl’s father, is the son of Martin Coffman (Kaufman) of the Hawksbill Confirmed: an 1833 Page County chancery bill says Samuel and Jacob held land “devised from their father Martin Kaufman” S1338, and the 1846 Judd suit ties that Samuel to David C. Coffman S1339. Martin’s will of 1809, Will Book H, pp. 338–339, is exactly where the 1940 book said it was S1337. The typed abstract “dr of David, son of Geo.” of the 12 February 1799 bond S664 was an abstracter’s slip: on the original bond “Geo.” is the witness, George Hoffman S1343. Samuel died between 1833 and February 1837, not in 1814.

Above Martin is David Coffman, on the Hawksbill from 1741 and dead before March 1779 Probable: two 1779 grants and a 1783 deed make Martin his heir at law S1345S1346S1344, and his widow Nancy, by then Mrs Harshbarger, swore to it S1349. Nothing yet joins that Martin to the Martin of the 1809 will in a single record.

The line has not reached Europe. David’s father is Probable confirm or correct →: Michael Kauffman, the immigrant of about 1726 who settled at Massanutten and died about 1734, which makes David a brother of Martin Kauffman (d. 1749) and of the preacher Michael Kauffman (1714–1788). Martin Coffman’s male line falls in the FTDNA project’s group for that Michael S1390, David and Michael signed the 1749 bond for Martin Kauffman’s widow S1388, and the 1754 grant for Martin’s orphans lies on Dry Run, where David asked for land S1393. No record seen names David’s father; the parentage rests on a 2020 article not yet seen S1392. The “Pioneer Michael” Coffman (d. 1717) of Lancaster County, whom online trees make his father, is contradicted: the 1737 patent names his children as John and Elizabeth only S1351, and John’s heirs in 1759 include no David S1391. The Swiss origin online trees give, Steffisburg in Bern, is contradicted by the Y-DNA; this line’s cluster is German, and the places its neighbours report are Possible only.

What would close it. (1) The Shenandoah County land tax books, 1782–1815, following “Martin Coffman, Hawksbill” and his acreage to his estate and to Jacob; that joins David’s heir to the 1809 testator. (2) Martin’s estate settlement, after 1815, and the 1789 grant for the 191 acres he gave Christian. (3) A Hershberger–Coffman marriage in a Frederick County or Hawksbill church register of about 1755–68, which might give Nancy’s maiden name. (4) For David’s parentage, D. Martin’s 2020 article in Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage 43:3 and W. Kauffman’s in Mennonite Family History, July 2018, through the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society: the records behind “Michael, d. about 1734, sons Martin, Christian, Michael and David”, and the German parish S1392. (5) Orange County Deed Book 1, the sales of early 1737 from Ludwig Stein, read from the images: was the buyer Michael or Martin Coffman, and “of Pennsylvania”? (6) The 1754 Dry Run grant itself in the Northern Neck grant books S1393. (7) a Big Y-700 upgrade on the Hawksbill FTDNA kit, the Hawksbill Martin line, now 1 step in 37 from the group’s Big Y kit S1390; a SNP match would confirm the male line. David is Possible as the David Kauffman of the 1749 Massanutten will and bond S1387S1388. ⚠️ The Page County vital registers index this family as KAUFMAN, the censuses as COFFMAN; one spelling alone returns nothing and looks like proof of absence.

Who joins Charles Caffey to the Caffeys above him

The lower join is proven. On 11 March 1868 Charles Caffey’s administrator swore that “H. V. Caffey” was one of his nine heirs at law Confirmed S663, so Hooper Van Caffey was Charles’s son. The 1821 will is now read from the original will book (28 September 2026). It divides John Caffey Sr’s estate among “my Seven Children”, one of them Charles Caffey, and names his wife as Sarah S848. In 1850 Charles, 61, lived two doors from Thomas and Michael Caffey, two more of the seven S484. That makes Charles’s descent from John Caffey Sr (1751–1826) Probable confirm or correct → and strong, but no record yet says the Charles of the will is the Charles of Montgomery County. Above John, Michael Caffey (d. 1754, Dorchester County, Maryland) as his father rests on one SAR application Unsupported; the “John Caffey born 1690 in Ulster” on the online family tree has no record at all behind it (checked 26 September 2026).

What would close it — John Sr’s estate settlement in Montgomery County, 1826 and after: a distribution or sale paying Charles as an heir joins the two Charleses. Then the 1785 Guilford County estate for Michael and John.

The Walker generations between Daniel Jonah and 1737

Daniel Jonah Walker (b. 1890) and his mother Nancy Jane Higginbotham are Confirmed. William Bernard Walker (1857–1914) S787 is now Confirmed as Nancy Jane’s husband: her 1953 obituary says she “later married William Bernard Walker” at Waco and that he died in June 1914 S1305 (read 5 October 2026). As Daniel Jonah’s father he stays Probable, though a strong probable: Daniel is in his parents' house at Palacios in 1910 S406, but no record yet names William as his father. Above William, Daniel Green Walker × Mary Jane Bross are now his probable parents Probable confirm or correct →: William's own 1914 death certificate names them S787, his mother lived with him in 1900 as Mary J. Daniels S808, and his brother Edgar's certificate gives Daniel's middle name S809. The online tree's joins back through South Carolina to Thomas Walker (1737–1802) of Lunenburg, Virginia have no source. So Thomas Walker hangs above an unproven gap, and everything above him is already quarantined as contradicted.

What would close it, in order — (1) the 1900 census household of William B. Walker is found, in Jackson County, not McLennan or Bosque: it has a son Jackson J., born March 1890, Daniel Jonah's month and year, but not his name S808, so a Texas birth or school record for Daniel Jonah is still wanted; (2) the 1860 or 1870 census of Daniel G. and Mary J. Walker at Columbia, California, with a son William B. His certificate gives his birth there on 11 April 1857; the birthplace line reads “Columbia, Calif.” (re-read from the image on 27 September 2026) S787, and the online tree puts Daniel Green's 1873 death at Columbia, Tuolumne County. An earlier version of this plan looked for the family at Columbia, Brazoria County, Texas; no record here supports that. Each is a single index search and one image; the 1870 search for Daniel Green's household found nothing (checked 26 September 2026); by 1880 he was dead and his widow was Mary Dannels in Angelina County, Texas S809, and in 1900 Mary J. Daniels in William's household S808. A Texas death index entry for Willie Bernard Walker has no birthplace column, so it cannot settle this.

Who Mr. Jerkins was

One surname sits on both sides of the Walker couple-swap. Nettie Ellen Cleveland, Daniel Jonah Walker’s first wife, married at Denton in 1940 as “Mrs. Nettie E. Jerkins” S558, and Daniel Jonah’s second wife was Ida Sophie Hillmer Jerkins Walker. A family statement of 5 October 2026 says J. D. and Nettie each remarried into “a couple they knew”: J. D. married Ida, and Nettie married Ida’s husband, who died soon after S1315 Probable confirm or correct →. So a Mr. Jerkins, Ida’s first husband, was probably Nettie’s second, and was gone before March 1940. His name is now found: Ida’s first husband was James Norman Jerkins, a farmer born at Thomaston, Texas, spelled Jerkins in the 1910 and 1920 censuses and on their son’s certificate, which Ida swore in 1942 S1447 S1448 S1449. That he was also Nettie’s husband is still Probable confirm or correct →.

What would close it — the Nettie × Jerkins marriage record, about 1930–39, in Jackson, Calhoun or Denton County, under James Norman or J. N. Jerkins. It names him, and his own death certificate or divorce follows from his name. Search both spellings.

How Mons Selland got from Røldal to Dakota

The parish is settled. Four entries in the Røldal church books carry the line Confirmed. Mons was born 9 May 1868 and baptised 21 June 1868, son of the farmer Thore Thoresen Selland and Ingeborg Ivarsdatter S74; the out-migration register enters him in 1889 for "Dakota, Amerika" S75. His father's 1820 baptism S76 and both parents' burials in 1912 S77 close the two generations above him. Selland is the farm, not the family.

What is still open — the crossing itself. A church out-migration entry names no ship, port or sailing date; that needs an emigrant-ship index or a US arrival record, then his naturalisation and the move to Clear Lake, Deuel County. Julia is narrower now: the 1889 out-migration register has a Gyri Lone, born 1870, on the same page as Mons, and the Røldal baptisms have a Gyri born at Lone on 22 January 1870, daughter of Ole Nilsen Lone and Sigrid Larsdatter (read 4 October 2026). Mons married Julia Lone S819, born 1870, so Julia = Gyri is Probable confirm or correct →, but no US record yet ties Julia to Røldal. The Deuel County marriage record of Mons and Julia would settle it, and may name her parents.

John H. Timberman's father, Samuel

John H. Timberman (c. 1826) is Confirmed — his son's 1919 death certificate S93 and the 1858 Upper Alloways Creek birth return S374 both name him. His 1857 Swedesboro marriage return calls him "son of Samuel Timberman", so Samuel is Probable on one record. John's mother is not named anywhere, and the 1850 New Jersey index has no matching Timberman household. Samuel's own 1859 death return S1261 gives his age, 81, and his father, William, but names no wife or children.

What closes it — a Samuel Timberman household in the 1830, 1840 or 1850 census of Gloucester or Salem County, New Jersey (or across the river in Pennsylvania), with a boy of John's age; or Samuel's will or estate in Gloucester County.

Peter Hines Martin's parents

Peter Hines Martin (1793–1849), a shoe-store keeper at Gallatin, Tennessee, is on records, and his 1849 will S172 puts his son Joseph D. Martin in the children's division. His own parents, John and Sarah Martin, are named on his grave S105 and nowhere else.

What closes it — a Virginia record of about 1793 for a John and Sarah Martin with a son Peter: a will, an estate division, or a tax list that follows the family to Davidson or Sumner County, Tennessee, where Peter married Jane Bell in 1818 S106.

Whether James Brock Senr is James Brock's father

James Brock Senr is on the same 1830 Harlan County, Kentucky census page as James Brock (b. about 1804), aged 50–60 S462. That is the whole case Probable, and a thin one: neighbours sharing a name are not proof of father and son. James and Betsy (Howard?) Brock themselves rest on their daughter Elizabeth Hoskins's 1911 death certificate S454.

What closes it — Harlan County, Kentucky tax lists of the 1820s–30s, which list "Sr" and "Jr" side by side, or a deed or will of James Brock Senr naming his children.

Henry S. Roberts's parents

Henry S. Roberts (b. Nov 1854, West Virginia), a Wheeling glass blower, is confirmed as Anna Blanche Roberts's father. His parents were both born in Ohio, per the 1900 census, and are not named anywhere yet.

What closes it — his own death certificate (Ohio or West Virginia), which names parents; failing that, the 1860 census, which may show the family on either side of the river, since West Virginia was part of Virginia until 1863.

Antone Rose's island of origin

The 1900 and 1910 censuses say only "Portugal" for Antone Rose (b. Feb 1840); the 1920 census says Azores S314 but names no island. He died between April 1910 and January 1920. If he was also from Faial, like Frank Silva Sr, the Silva–Rose case for one island community strengthens; if not, it weakens.

What closes it — his naturalization file. An index puts it at El Dorado County, 24 October 1868 (seen 4 October 2026, file not yet pulled); an 1868 El Dorado register says only “Portugal”. Failing that, his Alameda County death record of 1910–20.

Mildred Rose's second marriage

Her death is found — 7 October 1960, Alameda County, as Mildred A Springer S316 — so she remarried after Frank Silva Jr died in 1924. Her granddaughter Patricia (Proeger) Collins names him William Springer (1 October 2026), and the 1950 census finds Mildred and William Springer, both born in California, in Oakland. The Springer marriage itself has not been seen.

What closes it — the Alameda County marriage record. The 1927 "Mildred Silva b. abt 1898" and 1930 "Mildred A. Rose" index candidates need checking against the images.

The 1981 divorce

Bill Proeger and Nancy Coffman's 1964 marriage is now on a record; the 1981 divorce still rests on the family obituary alone. It is not in the Texas Divorce Index 1968–2011.

What closes it — the decree at the Travis County District Clerk, if it was filed there.

Margaretha Bullinger's baptism

Margaretha Bullinger of Eichenau married Johann Caspar Pröger at Triensbach on 12 March 1737 S599; the register does not name her parents. One candidate baptism exists — an Anna Margaretha Bullinger, 12 September 1712 at Lendsiedel — but that entry calls her family alhier (of Lendsiedel), not of Eichenau, so it is held, not attached. The Bullingers at Triensbach turned out to be a different family, from Oberspeltach. Her age at death in 1762, which would have tested the candidate, is illegible on the burial entry.

What closes it — a page-by-page read of the Lendsiedel baptisms c. 1708–18 for an Eichenau Bullinger, and the Lendsiedel banns entry for March 1737, which may name her father.

Hanß Pröger’s wife

Hanß Pröger, farmer at Seibotenberg in Michelbach an der Heide parish, is named as the groom’s father in the 1704 marriage S607. His dates, his parents and his marriage are now found. The Michelbach register of 1627–1678, read page by page from the Archion images, has his baptism in August 1641 and his burial on 4 April 1710, calls him the son of the late Hans (Johannes) Pröger in 1661, 1664 and 1669, and has him marry on 18 May 1669 a daughter of Andreas Neber(?), a farmer at Kleinbrettheim. She is probably the Barbara named as his wife at the baptisms of 1670 and 1674 Probable confirm or correct →; what is weak is that the scribe left out the bride’s first name, and her surname could also be read Nober or Steber. Her family and her burial are still unknown; he was a widower by November 1699 S666. Three other Pröger households farm at Seibotenberg between 1709 and 1726 S610; which of them come from him and which from his brothers is not yet sorted.

What closes it — the Michelbach burials of 1679–1721 (Archion, not yet read), for Barbara, and a second reading of the bride’s surname in the 1669 marriage entry. The Archion pass runs to 3 November 2026.

What became of Georg Melchior Julius's brothers

Georg Melchior Julius Prüger had a full brother, Johann Michael (b. 15 April 1797), and a half-brother, Georg Friedrich, born 27 February 1807, ten weeks after their father's death. Both baptisms are read from the register images. Nothing is known of either man after childhood.

What closes it — the Triensbach and Kirchberg marriages and burials of about 1815–45, and the Württemberg emigration index under both names. Low value to the main line; worth doing only for cousins.

The Peters and Hermann generations in Mecklenburg

The 1910 census of Vernon, Kay County, Oklahoma, read from the image on 26 September 2026, puts Benjamin LaRoy Peters, aged 4, in the household of Benjamin and Edna B. Peters S659, and the 1903 marriage return names Benjamin's parents as John Peters and Sophia Hermann. What is still open is Mecklenburg: John C. J. Peters's birth in 1834 at Müritz, and his parents Gottlieb Peters and Catharina Schumacher at Kirch Grubenhagen, rest on the online tree alone.

A lead, not yet a link: the Hamburg passenger list of 16 October 1861 (ship Electric) carries a Joachim Peters, 27, of Satow, and a Herrmann family of Grammentin with a Sophia, 17 (read 26 September 2026). The age fits John C. J. Peters, but nothing yet ties the two together. The same ship reached New York on 14 December 1861 with Sophia Hermann, 17, travelling with J. Hermann, 44, Maria, 44, and Friedrich, 16 (probably her parents and brother) S1532.

What closes it — the Satow church book for a Joachim Peters born 26 October 1834; failing that, Kirch Grubenhagen and Moltzow, where the online tree puts him. The Iowa state census of 1885 or 1895 for John and Sophia with Benjamin at home would add a second record naming them together.

Mary Bradley's first husband

The family remembers four marriages for Catherine Mary (Walker) Bradley (1923–1998), two of them to Bradleys S1315. Three are now on records, read 5 October 2026. Robert Sidney “Sid” Bradley (1913–1969) Confirmed S1326. Loyd Robert Boydstun, married June 1971 and divorced 29 June 1973 Confirmed S1327S1328; the county book says 9 June and the state index 2 June. Mack C. Bradley (1921–1984), married 1973 Probable S1329. The first husband, before about 1947, is Not found, and so is the date of the Sid Bradley marriage.

What would close it — her obituary in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram of 25 June 1998 S1324; only the index has been read, and the page image is on Newspapers.com. Obituaries of that date usually list the husbands who died before her.

Thomas Alan Caffey's death certificate

A theoretical gap rather than a real one. No single government document names both his parents: Texas death records after 2000 are in no free index. The 1950 census and two obituaries name them instead, three times over.

What closes it — the Travis County certificate from Texas DSHS, about $20. Low priority. Better value: ask Kristin, who will have photographs and can probably name the Wimberley house in a sentence.

Which William Thornhill?

An 1839 Rappahannock County chancery suit names the ten children of Thomas Thornhill Sr., who died on 28 June 1839; a William is the first S1555. William Thornhill, born about 1787, lived with his daughter Emily and David C. Coffman in Page County in 1850 and 1860. The 1839 suit does not itself show they are the same man, so Thomas is marked Probable as his father. The suit gives its William no age, wife or home; whether another William Thornhill lived in Rappahannock in 1840 or 1850 has not been checked; and a different William Thornhill of Fauquier County was dead by 1825. Thomas’s wife is not named.

Read on 8 October 2026: Rappahannock chancery cause 1855-007. Its William Thornhill had a son Richard and an unmarried daughter Rachael, lost his movable property in 1845 and conveyed his land in 1850 S1557. That fits our William, who had a Rachael Thornhill, 47, in his household in 1860, so the two are now marked as probably one man. The suit does not mention Thomas Sr. The rest of that file, two later Rappahannock suits brought by Richard Thornhill (1871-021 and 1872-016) and the decrees of Rachel A. Thornhill’s Page County suit (1879-019, dismissed on 24 April 1884) were read the same day. None gives William’s age or wife or names any other kin. A transcription of the 1850 Rappahannock census has Richard Thornhill, 38, with a Rachel Thornhill, 33, in his house and no grown William in the county S1560; the page itself is not yet read.

What closes it — a deed selling lot 1 of Thomas’s land; the 1840 and 1850 Rappahannock censuses (William’s age, and whether there were two men of the name); Richard Thornhill’s and Rachael’s own death records, which may name their parents. Page County chancery cause 1879-019 was opened: it is Rachel A. Thornhill’s suit as a creditor, and its first pages name no kin.

Louise's grave

Her 2008 obituary states interment at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery, Houston, where her husband lies in Section 27 Lakeview Gardens. No memorial exists for her there. All sixteen Coffman memorials at that cemetery were checked, under Coffman and under Timberman.

What closes it — cemetery office records, or creating the memorial. ⚠️ A Thelma "Sissy" Bradford Coffman (1906–1995) is buried in the same section; her relationship is unknown, and she should not be assumed to be a second wife — Louise's obituary says she and Robert were married fifty years, to his death.

What is left on the Portal to Texas History

The Portal sweep of 13 September 2026 is finished and its pages are written up in the Documents section. Portal search is behind an ALTCHA human-attestation check-box again; ocr.txt and metadata.untl.xml still answer. Ticking the box asserts that a person is present, so it is not automated around: it needs one click by a person.

Earl's side. Whether Robert W. Coffman got the Pasadena acting-superintendent job: in August 1961 he was one of two deputy superintendents named as candidates S78; a Pasadena or Houston paper from the first two weeks of September 1961 settles it.

Kristin's side. Narrower Kretschmar queries — Willie Frank Kretschmar, Hattie "Liessi" Ladusch (her gravestone reads Elizabeth), Lucille Lorine Kretschmar. The bare surname returns 842 results, and the 62 pages already captured are an unrelated New Ulm, Sealy and Bellville family.