Michigan death certificate for Anna (Wensorski) Schulz

I received the 1937 death certificate for Anna Schulz (view/download PDF) one day after I received her husband August’s (1906). Again, another certified copy from Michigan’s vital records so that I could see and interpret every detail for myself. This time there were some typewritten elements, though most of the form was still handwritten.

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I was hoping to document Anna’s birth date, birth city, mother’s maiden name, and cause of death. Here’s what I found, with important facts highlighted in the image above:

• Birth date: July 12, 1877 (score!)
• Birthplace: Danzig, Germany. BIG score! I was hoping that she was from the same area where her first daughter was born. That significantly narrows the scope of my search for German records.
• Name and birthplace of father: Antoni Wensorski, born in Germany (no city/state listed). This is further evidence that her maiden name was spelled with the extra S, so I’m changing it in my records. However… my other records indicate that Mr. Wensorski’s first name was Josef. Hmm.
• Maiden name and birthplace of mother: Josephine Munski, born in Germany (no city/state listed). Houston, we have a problem. My other records show that Anna’s mother’s name was Franciska Stahl and that August’s mother’s name was Josephine Munski (though her maiden name is inconveniently NOT listed on August’s death certificate). I’m going to have to verify that Anna’s parental information listed on her death certificate is incorrect. Once I do that, however, I feel good about using this kerfuffle as evidence that August’s mother’s maiden name is Munski.
• Cause of death: Hypertensive heart disease / Cerebral thrombosis (blod clot that likely resulted in a stroke).
• Age at time of death: 59 years, 5 months, 18 days. She was under the care of the reporting physician for the 10 days leading up to her death on January 9, 1937 at 7:40am. I wonder if that means she had a stroke on December 31, 1936? What a way to ring in the new year.
• Place of death: 6136 Horatio, Detroit. See map and more info below.
• Length of residence in city or town where death occurred: 36 years. I’m not sure how this is possible since she immigrated in 1903, not 1901. At least I can be confident that she did move directly to Detroit after immigration and stayed there.
• How long in U.S., if of foreign birth: 36 years. Again, I think this information is a little off.
• Occupation: House-wife.
• Marital status: married to Paul Schulz. I don’t have documentation yet, but my family has told me that he was August’s brother. That’s a story I’m very interested in learning more about!
• Number of children: Not even on the form! I’m going to have to look for other sources of information to find out if she had a child who died in infancy between 1900 and 1906.

Aside from the problems created by some iffy information (her parents’ names and the length of residence in the U.S.), there are some positive facts here that will help me move forward with researching her family in the Danzig area.

Documenting her home address is a good step forward, too, especially because Horatio Street intersects with Wesson Avenue, the listed residence for August (and presumably Anna) in 1906. On top of that, my great-grandmother and her husband bought a house nearby on Perkins Street in the 1930s. I believe that Hedwig would have wanted to stay in the same neighborhood as her mother. It’s nice to have an address to pinpoint the probable setting of the many backyard photos I have from the 1920s and 1930s!

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Further evidence that the Schulz family was firmly rooted in this western area of Detroit is that Anna and August were both buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, just Southwest of where they lived. I also marked it on this map.

I should mention that obtaining these two death certificates would have been difficult if my grandmother had not kept the burial cards that her mother had passed on to her. Having the date of burial was key, especially for August since I couldn’t find any other information to go on. More on burial cards in a future post!