Thanks to detective work by Barbara (Levart) Matchett, we had final, conclusive proof that William Becker, son of Frederick William Becker Sr and Rosella (Kelley) Becker is the same William Becker who had four children with Mildred L Nickens. Now all I have to do is to for several cohesive paragraphs from what is a complex story. This finishes the six offspring of Fred and Rosella unless it turns out that Dora Becker is also a child of Fred.

Almost forgot. Yesterday I got a phonecall from Gary Wehner, son of Arthur Julius Wehner and Sylvia Jane Cashion, grandson of William Wehner and Henrietta Burgsmüller, and great grandson of Lorenz and Flora. He provided some information on the descendants of Arthur Julius and Sylvia, and I mailed him my latest draft of the chapter on William and Henrietta for his review.

I have gone about as far as I can with Melvin L. Becker Sr., although I may be able to add more if I make contact with some descendants. Right now I have the following:

Melvin L. Becker Sr.

In 1923 or 1924, Melvin was born to Rosella and Fred Becker in Michigan. He moved with his parents to Chicago and continued living there with his mother following her divorce. On 13 February 1942, Melvin wed Clara Lumpp in a civil service in Chicago.

Clara was one of at least ten children of Chicagoans Joseph John and Meta Marie (Hofsaes) Lumpp. Joseph and Meta were wed in Chicago 18 September 1909, and Clara one of the last born children, was born in 1924 or 1925.

Clara and Melvin had four children: Melvin Louis Jr., Timothy, Charlotte, and Meta, the latter named after her grandmother. Timothy and Melvin are deceased, Melvin Jr. only recently (on 29 November 2010).

If I have some facts wrong, please contact me. Now, on to William Becker.

I continue to work slowly through the descendants of Rosella Kelley with her two husbands, Frederick William (Fred W.) Becker Sr. and Edward Becker (who may have been born as Edward Ingstrom (or Engstrom). I have, more or less, finished with Bernard Frederick Becker (wife Ruby Croney), Clarence E. Becker (wife Dorothy ?), James Herbert Becker (wife Alice Belle Davis), and Frederick William Becker Jr. (wife Hortense Brown). I am now working on the next in line, Melvin L. Becker and then to the most difficult of all, William Becker. At that point I will switch to the children of Rosella and Edward, about whom I know little. If anyone has any information on the clan, please contact me.

I'm still working on the descendants of Amalia (formerly "Amelia") Wehner daughter of Lorenz and Flora Wehner (and niece of Nicholas Wehner). After some thought I decided to change the name from the Anglicized "Amelia" to the Germanic "Amalia" because that appears to be the spelling used by Lorenz and by Amalia's children. "Amelia" appears only in two censuses, taken by enumerators who may not have known the family. Actually, Amalia really used almost solely the name "Mollie." At present I am working on her grandchild Frederick William Becker Jr., who married Hortense Brown. Hortense's life is a little difficult to unravel, but I am making progress. Her mother and father, Harold Brown and Ary Leaman apparently divorced when Hortense was quite young. She then went to live with her Leaman grandparents and later on with a Thomas and Mary Ryan. I believe that Mary Ryan and Are Leaman may be one and the same, but I am having difficulty proving this. (Help would be appreciated.) Hortense married a "Hull" (first name?) and ended up working in East St. Louis where she met Fred Becker when they were both working for Sears. Hull apparently died and Hortense and Fred married. From then on things get easy though I do not have much information. Fred and Hortense ended up in Florida (possibly upon retirement) and they died there, Hortense on 28 Dec 1986 and Fred on 22 Feb 2002.

Thanks to the help of a descendant of Amelia Wehner, I have been able to add quite a bit on Amelia Wehner's children, particularly Frederick William Becker Sr. and his descendants. It's beginning to look like I might be able to finish this Albatross hanging from my neck - the Wehner book, Bier und Brot.

I was very lucky in being contacted today by a great granddaughter of Amelia Wehner and William F. Becker. I sent her a copy of the draft pages from my book on the Beckers so that we can discuss the Becker history. Otherwise the book is coming aloong slowly. It is entirely written, but is being continually updated, corrected, and expanded as I edit. At some point I need to stop. Today I am working on the descendants of William Wehner and Henrietta Burgsmüller. William, Lorenz's only son, moved to Crystal City, a town with more opportunities. Though William continued working as a blacksmith, most of his children went to work with (or married employees of) Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG) and most of his descendants are still in the area. Though there are still some questions, William's family has been relatively easy to trace.