Jacob Buchholtz 1840 - 1917

This card reminds me of a commercial, I once saw.  A woman justifies a purchase by saying, “It spoke to me.”  My earliest intentions were to only report on funeral cards located and define a  time and place that an interested family historian could trace an important document.  Herr Jacob Buchholtz’s funeral card became the exception … he spoke to me so I purchased the card.  There maybe a family tree submission of Jacob, however, I was not able to locate such with my arm-chair genealogy research tactics. Below are a few initial details about him.

Jacob Buchholtz was born 4 Mar 1840 in Luxembourg.  By 1864, at the age of 24, Jacob and possibly his brother Peter had made their way to the United States.  Two years later, he meets his lovely, Katherina and marries her.   Katherina was also of Luxembourg and came to the United States at the age of 8.  By 1870, Jacob is residing in Escanaba, Michigan and listed as a laborer with his young wife and family, Anna and Willie.  In the following census, Jacob Buchholtz tells the census enumerator that he is “keeping a saloon.”  His family has grown with the addition of Hannah and Jacob Jr.
Delta County Genealogical Society of Michigan has a treasure trove of genealogy material and many specific details of Jacob's life emerge from service of the historians of his county.  Jacob voted in 1881 and was not yet a citizen of the U.S.  From the 1884, Proceedings of the Council of the City of Escanaba, I learn that his bond to deal liquor had been approved and again later in 1887. On 31 March 1888, he files his declaration of intent, then follows up with his petition for naturalization in July 1909 and becomes a U.S. citizen.
There is so much to explore, so I have requested additional records to learn more about Luxembourg and Delta County, Michigan life events of Mr. Buchholtz.  Stay tuned for Part II.