Tuesday, May 12, 2020

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 18 "Where there's a Will..."


There can be other documents as well!

My Great-grandfather Hermann Burbach died 12 April 1896 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His probate packet No 25610-25638 [1] is 21 pages and describes several land transactions that took place in the years preceding his death.

The cover page indicates that this is re: Certificate of Survivor ship. This is a new term to me, so I consulted Google for a definition: “A certificate of survivor-ship is used to establish the descent of property after someone has died. Laws regarding certificates of survivorship vary by jurisdiction.”[2] 

Aside from the cover page, the contents of the packet deal with several land purchases made by Herman Burbach and his wife Eva Burbach, nee Schmitz. In 1892, Hermann and Eva purchased land from Philip Schmitz and Sophia Schmitz, his wife, for the “sum of one dollar and other valuable considerations.” There were two separate transactions in February between the Schmitz and Burbachs. In another land purchase Hermann and Eve purchased property from his brother John Burbach and John’s wife Stephanie in August of 1895.

When Hermann died in April of 1896, Eve became sole owner of all three of the deeds. In November of 1908, Eva, who had since remarried, sold all three properties to Mathias and John Becker.

In a hearing on 30 November 1908, Eva, now Eva Mueller, testified as to her marriage to Hermann, his death, the land purchases, and her desire to sell the property under discussion to Mathias and John Becker. The purpose of the hearing was to establish the clear succession of ownership and Eva’s survivor rights. In a question and answer session Eva testified that she was seventeen when she married Hermann Burbach on 8 May 1876 and remained married to him until he died 16 April 1896, and that he never sold any of the properties after he had purchased them. She also testified to her re-marriage to Charles Meuller in1898.

The hearing ends with the sale of the properties by Eva Mueller to Mathias Becker and John Becker in November 1908 and the sworn statement of the official court reporter.


[1] Wisconsin. County Court (Milwaukee County); Probate Place: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Ancestry.com. Wisconsin, Wills and Probate Records, 1800-1987 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2015., accessed 11 May 2020;Original data: Wisconsin County, District and Probate Courts.
[2] U S Legal,com, google, accessed 11 May 2020.