The Hyphen Family Lineage

William's birthplace is in some amount of question; on census records as an adult, he very consistently reported it as Wisconsin, while in the 1880 US Census for his parents' household, he was listed as German-born. (His WWI draft card also gives him as a native-born U.S. citizen.) He was the only one of the children in the household not listed as born in Wisconsin, which leads me to wonder if this was an error on the census-taker's part, or if he really was the only German-born child of Frederich and Louisa. Finding their marriage date and location would help answer the question of his birthplace.

As with his younger brother Herman, I have some small concern as to whether I've chosen the "right" William from the later records, as there were quite a few men named William Schwantes in Wisconsin at that time. Unlike his brother, though, the other men of the appropriate age range and named William Schwantes were more scattered around the state - FindaGrave.com lists only one buried in Dodge Cty, with the others buried several counties away. I've not yet found his marriage record nor his wife's maiden name, and I believe they had only one child (daughter Irene, who married Edwin Stark).

Oddly, Irene is listed in the index for the 1910 US Census as "employee," and not as their daughter. I haven't reviewed the physical census record as of yet, but I think this is either a mistake on the record, in the index, or possibly an indication that she was an adopted daughter and not born to William and Margaretha. A visual inspection might show if the note said something illegible or corrected that might have led to the index label that is currently there for her.

ADDENDUM: The 1900 US Census record for his parents' household gives their immigration year as 1874, and their time in the country as twenty-six years. This would put their arrival in 1874, the year William was born. I would find it quite possible that he was born just after the family's arrival, though it's also possible that he was born in Germany and the family decided to make his life "easier" by claiming he was a native-born citizen. Finding the family's actual immigration record may help clear this up.

SECOND ADDENDUM: I finally found the marriage record for William Schwantes and Margaretha Spath, and in it William's parents are named August Schwantes and Emilie Schultz. This would indicate that everything I've attributed to the William in our family tree up to this point that comes after the 1880 US Census listing for his parents' household is for the wrong William. At this point, the only thing I know for certain is his placement in his parents' house in 1880, and that he is named a survivor in his father's obituary in 1911 (and resident in Neosho). I've since removed all the records and references that belong to William son of August and Emilie, along with that man's family and descendants.