The Stielows and their ‘Surviving Children’

Black and white cover of a 1911 Mortality Statistics scheme from the Bureau of the Census.
Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Mortality Statistics 1911, PDF of government publication (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1913), p. 22; imaged, Census.gov (www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1910/bulletins/demographics/112-mortality-statistics.pdf : accessed 29 July 2026).

This research began with a grim-sounding comment in a family history scrapbook.1 The Johnson family was joined in marriage to the Stielow family in Saginaw, Saginaw, Michigan, more than a century ago, in 1923. The scrapbook featured a range of photos, including one showing a Stielow couple and their two children around 1917 or 1918. Beside the pleasant family photo, the caption read:

Wilhelmina Schwann Stielow and her husband Herman Stielow with 2 of their surviving children – Arvilla Marie Stielow and Etta Stielow.”

Sepia-toned photo of a Saginaw, Michigan, family around 1917 or 1918. The Stielow family from left, Arvilla, Minnie, Etta and Herman. By February 1917, Herman and Minnie Stielow had lost their sixth child in a row. They lost a seventh in July 1918. Johnson family photo; photographer unknown.
The Stielow family about 1917-1918, from left, Arvilla, Minnie, Etta and Herman. By February 1917, Herman and Minnie Stielow had lost their sixth child in a row. They lost a seventh in July 1918. Johnson family photo; photographer unknown.

The phrase “surviving children” called out for more research. How many children did Herman and Wilhelmina Stielow have and what happened to them?

Promising Beginnings in America, 1878-1906

Herman Julius Stielow was born 2 January 1878.2 About three months before Herman’s third birthday, his parents Carl and Sofia appeared to have left the small Pomeranian village of Dolitz for the city of Hamburg. There, on 3 October 1880, they boarded a steamer bound for Antwerp, bringing Herman and his older brothers August and William.3 Like many immigrants destined to the United States at the time, they would have likely boarded a larger, cross-Atlantic ship, then spent 7-10 days at sea on their way to New York. Research was unable to find the Carl Stielow family arriving in New York.4 However, by the end of 1881, Carl and eldest son August appeared in directories in Saginaw, Saginaw, Michigan.5 Carl, noted in the record as Charles, worked as a laborer and August as a baker.

Little is known about Herman’s early life in Saginaw. He started appearing as an individual in Saginaw directories in 1895.6 That year, he was listed as a machine hand boarding with father Charles (Carl F.) Stielow at 120 Marquette. Herman’s uncle August lived not far away at 423 Elm. August worked as a laborer. Herman’s paternal grandmother, Wilhemina Stielow (“wid Michael”), lived in that household.

Excerpt from an 1895-1896 Saginaw, Michigan, city directory featuring several members of the Stielow family living at two different addresses.

R.L. Polk & Co.’s Saginaw Directory 1895-96, Vol. XIV (Detroit and Saginaw, Michigan: R.L. Polk & Co., 1895), p. 645, Stielow August, laborer, res 423 Elm, w s.; Stielow Charles F, laborer, res 120 Marquette, w s.; Stielow Herman, machine hand, bds 120 Marquette, w s.; Stielow Wilhelmina (wid Michael), bds 423 Elm, w s.; Stielow Wm R, laborer, bds 423 Elm, w s.

Neither Carl or Herman appeared to have been enumerated in the 1900 U.S. census in Saginaw.7 They did, however, appear in the 1900 Saginaw directory at the same 120 Marquette address.8

Herman J. Stielow married Wilhelmina “Minnie” Schwan on 8 December 1901.9 Herman would turn 24 about three weeks later, and Minnie was almost 22. By 1902, Herman and Minnie appeared to have established their own household, 126 Marquette, near or next door to his father’s home.10 It is a home they would live in for decades.

On 22 March 1903, the young couple welcomed their first child, Etta Alma Stielow.11 Herman later that year took his oath of allegiance on 3 October 1903, becoming a U.S. citizen.12 Building on the promise of the Stielows’ adopted country, Herman and Minnie welcomed their second child, a daughter, Arvilla Marie Stielow on 18 May 1905.13 By then, Herman appeared to work as a foreman for the Herzog Table Co.14

Sorrow After Sorrow, 1907 and On

Herman and Minnie settle into married life and set about building their family, efforts that would bring repeated tragedies for the next decade.

The couple welcomed Herman C. F. Stielow on 20 August 1907.15 A birth announcement ran in the next day’s edition of The Saginaw Evening News.16 The elder Herman was 29 and Minnie was 27.

Birth certificate for a child named Herman Carl Frederick Stielow, b. 20 August 1907. State of Michigan, Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Birth, Certificate no. 500 (1907), Registered no. 507, Saginaw, Herman Carl Frederick Stielow, 20 August 1907.

State of Michigan, Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Birth, Certificate no. 500 (1907), Registered no. 507, Saginaw, Herman Carl Frederick Stielow, 20 August 1907.

Setting a trend of loss that would plague the couple for years, baby Herman died from pneumonia on 10 May 1908.17 As with Herman Jr.’s birth, his death received a notice in The Saginaw Evening News.18 “Herman C. F., infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Stielow, died at their home, 126 Marquette street …” the newspaper reported. Herman Jr. was 8 months and 20 days old. The family hosted his funeral at home, then made the solemn trek to Oakwood Cemetery for interment.

Obituary for Herman C.F. Stielow from a local Saginaw, Michigan, newspaper. “Stielow--Herman C. F., infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Stielow, died at their home, 126 Marquette street …,” The Saginaw [Michigan] Evening News, 11 May 1908, p. 5, col. 2.
“Stielow–Herman C. F., infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Stielow, died at their home, 126 Marquette street …,” The Saginaw [Michigan] Evening News, 11 May 1908, p. 5, col. 2.

Minnie gave birth to Vera Stielow just seven months later.19 The birth certificate noted that it was Minnie’s fourth child, with three still living. Days later, Herman turned 31 and Minnie turned 29 (their birthdays being three days apart).

The family of five lasted just 14 months. On 9 March 1910, Vera — full name Adeline Myrtle Vera Stielow — died, also of pneumonia.20 The same day, The Saginaw Evening News reported the death.21 For a second time, the family went to Oakwood Cemetery to bury a child. Herman was 32 and Minnie 30.

The following month, on 29 April 1910, the family was enumerated on the 1910 census, again at 126 Marquette with Herman’s parents Carl and Sofia Stielow living at 120 Marquette.22 The couple had been married for nine years. They had born four children at this point — Etta, Arvilla, Herman and Vera — with just two surviving, but reported two children born and two surviving. Herman still worked as a “foreman” for a “table factory.”

Excerpt from the 1910 U.S. Census showing two Stielow households enumerated next to one another. 1910 U.S. Census, Saginaw County, Michigan, population schedule, City of Saginaw, Ward 19, Enumeration District 68, sheet 19A, lines 7-10, dwelling 414, family 418, Herman Stielow household. Answers highlighted in columns detailing the children born to the enumerated mother, and children surviving. Records show at this point Minnie had born four children, not two.
1910 U.S. Census, Saginaw County, Michigan, population schedule, City of Saginaw, Ward 19, Enumeration District 68, sheet 19A, lines 7-10, dwelling 414, family 418, Herman Stielow household. Answers highlighted in columns detailing the children born to the enumerated mother, and children surviving. Records show at this point Minnie had given birth to four children, not two.

Minnie gave birth to their fifth child on 14 August 1910.23 This child, a daughter, was born prematurely and did not survive.24 Once again, the family had to bury a child in Oakwood Cemetery, with the interment happening the following day, 15 August 1910.

Just three weeks later, 6 September 1910, Herman’s mother Sofia Ristow Stielow died of apoplexy.25 The family made the familiar trek to Oakwood Cemetery. Herman was 32.

Minnie gave birth to the couple’s sixth child on 20 March 1912.26 This child, a male, was also stillborn. The following day, 21 March 1912, the family buried a fourth child in Oakwood Cemetery.

A few years later, on 8 May 1914, Minnie had another premature birth, her seventh child.27 Son Russel Clarence Stielow lived just two hours, dying the same day.28 The next day, the family again went to Oakwood Cemetery, burying a fifth child in a row. Herman was 36 and Minnie was 34.

The Stielow’s eighth child, a boy, was born 4 February 1917.29 He died of a bowel obstruction three days later, on 7 February 1917. His death garnered a brief mention in The Saginaw Daily News later that day: “Obituary … Stielow—The three-day-old child of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Stielow, 126 Marquette street, died Wednesday morning. Burial will be Thursday in Oakwood cemetery.”30 Herman was 39 and Minnie was 37.

Barely 14 months later, on 2 April 1918, Minnie’s father Frederick C. Schwann passed away.31 He joined other members of the family in Oakwood Cemetery. Minnie was 38.

That summer, on 2 July 1918, Herman and Minnie Stielow’s ninth — and last known — child was born.32 The child, a male, went unnamed on the death certificate. He was born prematurely, and survived two days, until 4 July 1918. He was interred in Oakwood Cemetery on 8 July 1918.

Death certificate for "Unnamed" Stielow, 4 July 1918. Michigan Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, State File no. 937, Registered no. 442 (1918), Saginaw, Unnamed Stielow, 4 July 1918. The final child born to this Stielow family went unnamed.
Michigan Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, State File no. 937, Registered no. 442 (1918), Saginaw, Unnamed Stielow, 4 July 1918. The final child born to this Stielow family went unnamed.

‘First finger off at 1 joint on Right Hand’

A few months later, Herman J. Stielow registered for the WWI draft on 12 September 1918.33 The family still lived at 126 Marquette. Herman, then 40, worked for Herzog Art Furniture. He was described as being medium height and build, with blue eyes and light hair, but a “little balt” with the “First finger off at 1 joint on Right Hand.” It was perhaps a grim badge of Herman’s work at the furniture factory.

The following summer, 13 August 1919, Herman’s father Carl Stielow died at age 81.34 He death was reported the following day, 14 August 1919, in The Saginaw News Courier35. The family hosted the funeral the following Saturday morning, officiated by Rev. J. H. Westendorf, with burial following at Oakwood Cemetery.

The cold 1920 census punctuated this sad chapter of the Stielow family. Herman Stielow, now working for a company called Sonora (potentially a successor company to Herzog), was enumerated with his family of four on 11 January 1920: Herman, Minnie, Etta and Arvilla.36 It was the same makeup the family had since Arvilla was born in 1905, despite seven more children born to the couple.

Excerpt from the 1920 U.S. Census showing the Herman Stielow household. 1920 U.S. Census, Saginaw County, Michigan, population schedule, City of Saginaw, Ward 19, Enumeration District 68, sheet 11B, lines 86-89, dwelling 236, family 246, Herman Stielow household.
1920 U.S. Census, Saginaw County, Michigan, population schedule, City of Saginaw, Ward 19, Enumeration District 68, sheet 11B, lines 86-89, dwelling 236, family 246, Herman Stielow household.

Research found nine children born to Herman J. Stielow and Wilhelmina Schwan Stielow, but only two survived. Two died of pneumonia. Three were premature. One was listed as stillborn. One died of a bowel obstruction.

In the United States in 1910, of every 1,000 infants born, about 113 did not see their first birthday.37 How much difference did more than a century of medical advances make? By 2024, the U.S. had reduced that to just 6 infant deaths for every 1,000 born.38 One can only imagine the joy and legacy modern medicine would have given this Stielow family.

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  1. Johnson family genealogy, assembled by Harold L. Johnson and Alice Hirsch Johnson, p. 10, gifted to Harold’s niece c. 1990 “so that she will know her paternal heritage”; copy provided to researcher Jeremy Verdusco (a Johnson descendant), and held in personal collection, V Squared Services LLC, 200 W. 2nd St., #756, Royal Oak, Michigan 48068. ↩︎
  2. Michigan Department of Health-Bureau of Records and Statistics, Certificate of Death, State File no. 17321928, Local File no. 764 (1942), Saginaw County, Herman Stielow, 26 August 1942; imaged, “Death Certificates, 1897-1952,” Michiganology (www.michiganology.org : accessed 14 March 2025), search term “Stielow” in Saginaw County. ↩︎
  3. “Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1068/records/4627327 : accessed 12 December 2024), image 180 of 622, entry “Stielow, Carl,” passenger list for steamship Minerva, Hamburg to Antwerp, 3 October 1880; citing Staatsarchiv Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany. ↩︎
  4. Searched incoming ship manifests on Ancestry and FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/1849782 and www.ancestry.com/search/categories/img_passlists : 5 November 2025), with nil relevant results. Searched for “Stielow” in manifests for ships incoming during late October and November 1880 on both sites. ↩︎
  5. East Saginaw and Saginaw Directory, 1881-1882 (Detroit, Mich.: R.L. Polk & Co., 1881), p. 395, “Stielow, Charles F, lab, res n e cor S Division and Lynn, S C.” and “Stielow, August F, baker, bds Charles F Stielow, S C.”; imaged, Public Libraries of Saginaw (archive.saginawlibrary.org/repositories/2/archival_objects/20343 : accessed 7 December 2025) > East Saginaw City Directory, 1881-1882, image 396 of 540, search term: “Stielow.” ↩︎
  6. R.L. Polk & Co.’s Saginaw Directory 1895-96, Vol. XIV (Detroit and Saginaw, Michigan: R.L. Polk & Co., 1895), p. 645, Stielow August, laborer, res 423 Elm, w s.; Stielow Charles F, laborer, res 120 Marquette, w s.; Stielow Herman, machine hand, bds 120 Marquette, w s.; Stielow Wilhelmina (wid Michael), bds 423 Elm, w s.; Stielow Wm R, laborer, bds 423 Elm, w s.; imaged, “Saginaw City Directories,” Public Libraries of Saginaw (archive.saginawlibrary.org/repositories/2/archival_objects/20416 : accessed 7 December 2025) > image 638 of 834, search term: “Stielow.” ↩︎
  7. 1900 U.S. Census, database with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/1325221 : accessed 10 December 2025); searches for “Stielow” in Saginaw County, Michigan (17 results), “H Stielow”* statewide in Michigan (52 results), and “C* Stielow” statewide in Michigan (59 results) yielded no entries consistent with the profiles of research targets Carl (“Charles”) Stielow or Herman J. Stielow. ↩︎
  8. R.L. Polk & Co.’s Saginaw Directory 1900, Vol. XII (Detroit and Saginaw, Michigan: R.L. Polk & Co., 1900), p. 707, Stielow Charles F, lab, res 120 Marquette.; Stielow Herman J, lab, bds 120 Marquette.; Stielow Wm F R, mach hd, res 621 Greenwich; imaged, “Saginaw City Directories,” Public Libraries of Saginaw (archive.saginawlibrary.org/repositories/2/archival_objects/20414 : accessed 8 December 2025) > image 720 of 947, search term: “Stielow.” ↩︎
  9. State of Michigan, Record of Marriages, 1895-1902, vol. J, p. 321, County of Saginaw, Record No. 10728, Herman Stelow/Minnie Schwan marriage license, 7 December 1901; imaged, “Michigan, County Marriages, 1820-1941,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-2M9Z-8S : accessed 15 December 2024), image 688 of 716; citing various archives, Michigan. ↩︎
  10. R.L. Polk & Co.’s Saginaw Directory 1902, Vol. XIX (Detroit and Saginaw, Michigan: R.L. Polk & Co., 1902), p. 834, Stielow August, laborer, res 423 Elm.; Stielow Charles F, res 120 Marquette.; Stielow Herman J, mach hd, res 126 Marquette.; Stielow Wm F, mach hd Saginaw Mnfg Co, res 619 Greenwich.; imaged, “Saginaw City Directories,” Public Libraries of Saginaw (archive.saginawlibrary.org/repositories/2/archival_objects/20411 : accessed 8 December 2025) > image 848 of 1,121, search term: “Stielow.” ↩︎
  11. Michigan Secretary of State, Record of Births in the County of Saginaw, p. 81, No. 1021, Etta Alma Stielow, name “corrected in Lansing 4-21-64,” city of Saginaw, 22 March 1903; imaged, “Michigan Births, 1867-1917,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBZF-1CS : accessed 18 December 2024), image 8 of 424; citing various county courts, Michigan. ↩︎
  12. Saginaw County Circuit Court, Naturalization Records, Journals (Oaths & Declarations of Intention), RG 89-77, microfilm roll 8059, vol. 47 (“Journals, minors, 2”), 1903–1906, p. 61, naturalization oath for Herman Stielow, sworn 3 October 1904, witnessed by Leopold Pearson, attested by Clerk E. P. Whaley; accessed and imaged by researcher Jeremy Verdusco, 15 November 2025, Archives of Michigan, 702 W. Kalamazoo St., Lansing, Michigan. ↩︎
  13. Michigan Secretary of State, Record of Births in the County of Saginaw, p. 350, No. 1037, Arvilla M. Stielow, city of Saginaw, 18 May 1905; imaged, “Michigan Births, 1867-1917,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-LBZF-1SP : accessed 18 December 2024), image 358 of 424; citing various county courts, Michigan. ↩︎
  14. R.L. Polk & Co.’s Saginaw Directory 1905, Vol. XXII (Detroit and Saginaw, Michigan: R.L. Polk & Co., 1905), p. 779, Stielow August, bds 423 Elm.; Stielow Carl, lab, res 120 Marquette.; Stielow Herman J, foreman Herzog Table Co, res 126 Marquette.; Stielow Wm F, bartndr N Johnson, res 621 Greenwich.; imaged, “Saginaw City Directories,” Public Libraries of Saginaw (archive.saginawlibrary.org/repositories/2/archival_objects/20353 : accessed 8 December 2025) > image 782 of 1,060, search term: “Stielow.” ↩︎
  15. State of Michigan, Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Birth, Certificate no. 500 (1907), Registered no. 507, Saginaw, Herman Carl Frederick Stielow, 20 August 1907; imaged, “Michigan, U.S., Birth Records, 1867-1914,” Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62374/images/62374_302022005611_0397-00249 : accessed 5 December 2025) > 1907 > Saginaw > 281-560, image 248 of 316. ↩︎
  16. “City Chat … Born to Mr. and Mrs. Herman Steilow [sic], 126 Marquette avenue, Aug. 20, a son.,” The Saginaw [Michigan] Evening News, 21 August 1907, p. 7, col. 2; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image-view/1077228761 : accessed 6 December 2025), search “Steilow” in Saginaw, 1907. ↩︎
  17. Michigan Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, Registered No. 292 (1908), Saginaw, City of Saginaw, Herman C. F. Stielow, 10 May 1908, parents Herman Julius Stielow and Minnie Johana Schwan; imaged, “Death Certificates, 1897-1952,” Michiganology (www.michiganology.org : accessed 25 April 2025), search terms: “Stielow” and “Saginaw.” ↩︎
  18. “Stielow–Herman C. F., infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Stielow, died at their home, 126 Marquette street …,” The Saginaw [Michigan] Evening News, 11 May 1908, p. 5, col. 2; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image-view/1077123832 : accessed 5 December 2025), search “Stielow” in Saginaw, May 1908. ↩︎
  19. State of Michigan, Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Birth, Certificate no. 1004 (1908), Registered no. 1028, Saginaw, Vera Stielow, 31 December 1908; imaged, “Michigan, U.S., Birth Records, 1867-1914,” Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62374/images/62374_259b5880_0139-00285 : accessed 5 December 2025) > 1908 > Saginaw > 751-1032, image 285 of 316. ↩︎
  20. State of Michigan, Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, Registered no. 159 (1910), Saginaw, Adeline Myrtle Vera Stielow, 9 March 1910; imaged, “Death Certificates, 1897-1952,” Michiganology (www.michiganology.org : accessed 27 April 2025), search term “Adeline Steeton” in Saginaw County. ↩︎
  21. “Stielow–Adeline Myrtle Vera, year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Stielow, died at 6:45 o’clock Wednesday morning the family home, 126 Marquette avenue, from pneumonia. … ,” The Saginaw [Michigan] Evening News, 9 March 1910, p. 9, col. 5; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image-view/1077158156 : accessed 5 December 2025), search “Stielow,” in Saginaw, 1907-1918. ↩︎
  22. 1910 U.S. Census, Saginaw County, Michigan, population schedule, City of Saginaw, Ward 19, Enumeration District 68, sheet 19A, lines 7-10, dwelling 414, family 418, Herman Stielow household; imaged, “United States, Census, 1910,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RJP-WX9 : accessed 21 December 2024) > Michigan > Saginaw > Saginaw Ward 19 > ED 68, image 37 of 46; citing National Archives and Records Administration. ↩︎
  23. State of Michigan, Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Birth, Certificate no. 173 630 (1910), Registered no. 625, Saginaw, [Unnamed] Stielow, 14 August 1910; imaged, “Michigan, U.S., Birth Records, 1867-1914,” Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62374/images/62374_62889e81_0271-00147 : accessed 5 December 2025) > 1910 > Saginaw > 501-750, image 147 of 275. ↩︎
  24. Michigan Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, Registered no. 465 (1910), Saginaw, Unnamed Stielow, 14 August 1910; imaged, “Death Certificates, 1897-1952,” Michiganology (www.michiganology.org : accessed 25 April 2025), search “unnamed” deaths for 14 August 1910 in Saginaw County. ↩︎
  25. Michigan Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, Registered no. 519 (1910), Saginaw, Sofia Stielow, 5 September 1910; imaged, “Death Certificates, 1897-1952,” Michiganology (www.michiganology.org : accessed 25 April 2025), search term “Stietow” in Saginaw County. ↩︎
  26. Michigan Department of State, Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate and Record of Death, Registered No. 194 (1912), Saginaw, Stillborn [Stielow], 20 March 1912; imaged, “Death Certificates, 1897 – 1952,” Michiganology.com (www.michiganology.org : accessed 1 May 2025), search terms: father’s name “Stielow” in year 1912 in Saginaw. ↩︎
  27. State of Michigan, Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Birth, Certificate no. 173 431 (1914), Registered no. 429, Saginaw, Russell Clarence Stielow, 8 May 1914; imaged, “Michigan, U.S., Birth Records, 1867-1914,” Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62374/images/62374_62889e81_0625-00210 : accessed 5 December 2025) > 1914 > Saginaw > 251-500, image 210 of 284. ↩︎
  28. Michigan Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, Registered No. 306 (1914), Saginaw, Russell Clarence Stielow, 8 May 1914; imaged, “Death Certificates, 1897-1952,” Michiganology (www.michiganology.org : accessed 14 December 2024), search terms: “Stielow” in Saginaw County. ↩︎
  29. Michigan Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, State File no. 583, Registered No. 120 (1917), Saginaw, (Unnamed) Stielow, 7 February 1917; imaged, “Michigan, U.S., Death Records, 1867-1952,” Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60872/images/44471_354890-01071 : accessed 27 May 2025) > Certificates, 1897-1920 > 245: Ottawa-St Clair, 1917. ↩︎
  30. “Obituary … Stielow–The three-day-old child of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Stielow, 126 Marquette street, died Wednesday morning …,” The Saginaw [Michigan] Daily News, 7 February 1917, p. 11, col. 4; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image-view/1077238553 : accessed 5 December 2025), search “Stielow” in Saginaw, February 1917. ↩︎
  31. Michigan Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, Registered No. 238 (1918), Saginaw, City of Saginaw, Fredk C Schwan, 1 April 1918; imaged, “Death Certificates, 1897-1952,” Michiganology (www.michiganology.org : accessed 16 December 2024), search terms: “Schwan” and “Saginaw.” ↩︎
  32. Michigan Department of State-Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, State File no. 937, Registered no. 442 (1918), Saginaw, Unnamed Stielow, 4 July 1918; imaged, “Death Certificates, 1897-1952,” Michiganology (www.michiganology.org : accessed 30 April 2025), search terms “unnamed” given name with father’s given name “Herman” in Saginaw in 1918. ↩︎
  33. World War I Draft Registration Card for Herman Julius Stielow, serial no. 1456, registered 12 September 1918, Local Board for Division No. 2, City of Saginaw, Michigan; National Archives microfilm publication M1509, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918: Michigan (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration); imaged, “United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6X2-944 : accessed 29 December 2021). ↩︎
  34. Michigan Department of State-Division for Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, Registered No. 12 (1919), Swan Creek Township, Saginaw, Carl Stielow, 13 August 1919; imaged, “Death Certificates, 1897-1952,” Michiganology (www.michiganology.org : accessed 14 December 2024), search terms: “Stielow” and “Saginaw.” ↩︎
  35. “MORTUARY … Carl Stietow …,” The Saginaw [Michigan] News Courier, 14 August 1919, p. 12, col. 5; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/1077109161 : accessed 12 December 2024), search terms “Carl Stietow.” ↩︎
  36. 1920 U.S. Census, Saginaw County, Michigan, population schedule, City of Saginaw, Ward 19, Enumeration District 68, sheet 11B, lines 86-89, dwelling 236, family 246, Herman Stielow household; imaged, “United States, Census, 1920,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRFW-J3V : accessed 3 December 2025) > Michigan > Saginaw > Saginaw Ward 19 > ED 207, image 22 of 30; citing National Archives and Records Administration. ↩︎
  37. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Mortality Statistics 1911, PDF of government publication (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1913), p. 22; imaged, Census.gov (www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1910/bulletins/demographics/112-mortality-statistics.pdf : accessed 29 July 2026). ↩︎
  38. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Infant Mortality (www.cdc.gov/maternal-infant-health/infant-mortality/index.html : accessed 29 July 2026). ↩︎