Patricia Hatten's maternal line: Kuchenmeister, Borrell, Panian, Mihelič, Haberkorn, Lang

Research for Notable connections, 7 October 2026. The subject is Patricia (Hatten) Dwyer (1940-2009), through her mother Margaret Mary Kuchenmeister (1915-2015). Nothing in the archive was changed. Archive page IDs are given in code.

Evidence tiers: [D] documented (a record made at the time), [C] compiled (a county history, register or index made later from records or informants), [I] inferred, [T] tradition.

Summary

• The pedigree is much stronger than the Ancestry tree's "possible". Contemporary sources now cover every step from Margaret back to her great-grandparents, and on the Slovenian side to her 3rd-great-grandparents:
  • The History of Barron County (Curtiss-Wedge, 1922) has biographies of Joseph Kuchenmeister, his father Frank, and George Panian. Between them they name every parent in the archive except Theresia Lang's.
  • The Delano, Minnesota, newspaper of the 1890s confirms that Joe, son of Frank, is the Joseph who left for Wisconsin in 1899.
  • The Stari trg ob Kolpi parish registers on Matricula (free to view) prove the Panian, Mihelič and Schneller generations. I read the baptisms of 1827, 1828 and 1851, the marriage of 1849 and the death of 1856.
  • The 1979 National Register nomination for the Haberkorn farm, with the 1894 Dubuque County biography, supports the Haberkorn generations.
• Things in the archive to correct or flag:
  • George Panian died 30 September 1921 in a St. Paul hospital, not 30 October.
  • Georg Panian (1827) married on 12 Feb 1849, not c. 1850. He was a widower then, and he died 9 Oct 1856, not 20 Sep.
  • Frank Kuchenmeister was born 1844, not 1848. He had a first wife, Barbara Blatz, and four children with her.
  • The Kuchenmeisters were in Minnesota by about 1865, not 1869.
  • Johann Kuchenmeister was 73 at his death in 1896, so born about 1822/3, not 1818.
  • "Marjeta Sneler" is Margaretha Schneller of the parish. Her birth at Dol pri Borovnici is almost certainly a namesake's.
  • The 1894 Dubuque biography says Adam and Eve Haberkorn never left Germany. The National Register nomination contradicts it.
• Theresa's mother: "Anna Maria" and "Mary" are the same woman. Every 1894-1922 source calls her Mary.
• Theresa's death: 8 May or 7 February 1966. Still unsettled; nothing free was found.
• Notable ancestors (rich material):
  • George Panian: immigrant peddler, Zell storekeeper and postmaster, "one of the founders of Almena", organizer of the Almena State Bank.
  • Joseph Kuchenmeister: Almena postmaster 1908-1934, furniture dealer and funeral director.
  • Johann Kuchenmeister: builder of the first Catholic church at Delano, on St. Peter's building committee in 1874.
  • Frank Kuchenmeister: Minnesota pioneer by ox team.
  • Adam and George Haberkorn: stonemason, brewer and lead miner; co-organizer of the Sherrill's Mound parish in 1852; builders of the 1870 stone farmhouse, now on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Famous kin: none found. Every famous namesake checked is unlinked; see section 5.
• Small world (not kin): Almena was founded by relatives of the St. Paul brewer Theodore Hamm. The town is named for his daughter Wilhelmina and her husband Albert Koehler. S. W. Sparlin, another of those founders, was Joseph Kuchenmeister's business partner.

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1. Pedigree findings, link by link

1.1 Patricia Hatten → Margaret Mary Kuchenmeister (Patricia Hatten → Margaret Mary Kuchenmeister)

I did not re-examine this step; it is family knowledge and the tree's.

• Rating: probable, as the archive has it.
• To settle: Patricia's 1940 Washington birth record, or Margaret and Jack Hatten's marriage record (see section 4).

1.2 Margaret → Joseph George Kuchenmeister and Theresa M. Panian (Joseph George Kuchenmeister, Theresa M. Panian)

• [C] History of Barron County, Wisconsin (F. Curtiss-Wedge, 1922), p. 384, Joseph Kuchenmeister's biography: "Mr. and Mrs. Kuchenmeister have six children: Joseph, Laura, Norbert, Emil, Leo and Margaret." The same list is on p. 386, in George Panian's biography: "Theresa is now Mrs. Joseph Kuchenmeister, of Almena and has six children as follows: Joseph, Laura, Norbert, Emil, Leo and Margaret." https://archive.org/details/wi-barron-1922-curtiss-wedge-1
• [D] The 1920-1940 censuses the tree attaches (not re-seen here).
• Rating: probable, close to proven. Margaret's 1915 Wisconsin birth record would make it proven.

1.3 Joseph George Kuchenmeister (1874-1952) → Franz (Frank) Kuchenmeister and Margaret Borrell (Franz Kuchenmeister, Margaret Borrell)

The archive rates this link possible. Upgrade to probable.

• [C] Barron County history, p. 384. Joseph was "born on a farm in Wright County, near Delano, Minn., Feb. 7, 1874, the son of Frank and Margaret (Borrell) Kuchenmeister, natives of Bavaria, and pioneers of Minnesota … attended … the parochial schools of Winsted and Delano, and the Delano High School. In 1899 he came to Barron County, and entered the store of George Panian as a clerk."
• [C] Same book, p. 385, Frank's own biography: "By his present wife, Margaret Borrell, he has four children: Joseph, Katherine, Louis and Edward."
• [D] The Delano weekly, on archive.org as "Buffalo Gazette Newspaper 1891-1901 Delano, MN"; the mastheads read "Delano, Wright County, Minnesota". https://archive.org/details/delano-mn-buffalo-gazette-newspaper
  • 3 June 1892: "Joe son of Frank Kuchenmeister while engaged in grubbing on his father's farm four miles west of town met with a serious accident … throwing his foot in the way of his father's ax … His father says an instant later he would have struck Joe in the head instead of in the foot."
  • 1893-1895: Joseph Kuchenmeister appears in the Delano school class lists. In spring 1895 he played a violin solo, "Selection from Martha", and the part of Mr. Roberts in the farce "A Masterpiece of Diplomacy": "The violin solo by Mr. Kuchenmeister was encored, Joe acknowledging the honor by a neat little bow."
  • 17 Feb 1899: "a dance in honor of Joe Kuchenmeister" and "Joe Kuchenmeister left for Adrian [sic, for Almena] Wis., Wednesday morning."
  • 29 Dec 1899: "Joseph Kuchenmeister and wife, of Wis., came up yesterday morning for a visit with Delano friends and relatives."
• [I] These items tie the Almena postmaster to Frank's son Joe of Delano.
• Mother: two independent statements in the 1922 book [C]. The 1875 Minnesota state census or the 1880 census would show Margaret in the household (section 4).

Conflict, Frank's first marriage. The archive gives Frank one wife. The 1922 biography (p. 385) says "By his first wife, Barbara Blatz, he has four children: Frank (deceased), Jacob, Ben and John."

• [D] The 1870 census of Franklin Township, Wright County, as transcribed on WikiTree (Kuchenmeister-1; FamilySearch MDHN-KQL) has "Frank Kokenmeister 25, Farmer, Bavaria; Barbara 30, Baden; Jacob 4, Minnesota; Bernhart 7 months, Minnesota". So Barbara was alive in 1870.
• Joseph was born in February 1874 to Margaret, so Barbara died, or the marriage ended, between 1870 and 1873.
• WikiTree (Blatz-127, unsourced: an Ancestry share link) gives Barbara a death in 1921 at Middleville Township. That cannot fit "his present wife, Margaret Borrell" in 1922 unless they separated. Treat it as unproven.
• Barbara's children are half-siblings of Joseph. They are missing from the archive.

1.4 Frank Kuchenmeister: birth and arrival

• Birth.
  • The archive has 25 Nov 1848.
  • [C] The 1922 biography (p. 385) has "born in Bavaria, Germany, Nov. 26, 1844".
  • WikiTree (Kuchenmeister-62) has 25 Nov 1844.
  • [D] He is 25 in the 1870 census.
  • 1844 is right. With 1848 he would have been 17 at his son Jacob's birth in July 1866.
• Death. 3 Sep 1938: at Rice Lake in the tree, at Almena on WikiTree. In 1922 he lived "on the outskirts of Almena Village".
• Arrival.
  • [C] The 1922 biography says the family came in 1869.
  • [D]/[C] Two things contradict it. His son Jacob was born in Minnesota about 1866: the 1870 census, and WikiTree's 24 Jul 1866 at St. Bonifacius. And "John Kuchenmeister" was among the men who "erected the first Catholic church building on our cemetery" near Delano, a church completed in 1865 (section 2.4).
  • [I] The same biography says "With them was the family of Andrus Orlin". An Andrew Oehrlein is named among those same 1865 church builders.
  • The family was therefore in Wright County by about 1865.

1.5 Frank → Johann Kuchenmeister and Magdalena Schmidt (Johann Kuchenmeister, Magdalena Schmidt)

Rating: probable (the archive has possible).

• [C] 1922 biography, p. 385: Frank was "the son of John and Magdalina (Schmidt) Kuchenmeister, who … came to America with their five children, Frank, Jacob, Valentine, Barbara and Dorothy. They made the trip by sailing boat, and were on the water for 46 days … they reached St. Paul, Minn., and from there drove with ox teams to a farm in Wright County, near the present site of Delano … The Kuchenmeister family erected a log cabin … There the parents remained for the remainder of their lives."
• [D] Delano paper, 13 Mar 1896: "In Franklin, on Tuesday, March 10, John Kuchenmeister, age 73 years … Mr. Kuchenmeister was one of the early settlers in Delano, but has been living on his farm four miles south of town for several years past. He leaves a wife and several grown children and numerous grand children to mourn his loss. He was buried Thursday from the Catholic church in Delano, his remains being laid at rest in the Catholic burying ground ½ mile south of town."
• [I] Delano paper, December 1896: "B. Kuchenmister recently married to Miss Caroline Kunkel … They will reside with his grandmother for the present." Ben was Frank's son. His grandmother was probably the widowed Magdalena, though a Blatz grandmother is possible.
• [D] "Val. Kuchenmeister", one of the five children above, was a pew-holder at St. Peter's in Delano (Wright County history, 1915).
• Conflict. The death date, 10 Mar 1896, matches the archive. But "age 73" means a birth about 1822-23, against the tree's 18 Aug 1818 at Würzburg.
• Magdalena's 1819 Munich birth and 1909 Delano death were not checked.

1.6 Margaret Borrell → Jacob Borrell and Elizabeth Bower (Jacob Borrell, Elizabeth Bower)

Rating: probable.

• [C] History of Wright County, Minnesota (Curtiss-Wedge, 1915), vol. II, p. 1068: "Louis Borell, an early settler, was born February 22, 1844, in Bavaria, Germany, son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Bower) Borell. Of the eleven children in the family, there were four, Louisa, Margaret, Joseph, and Louis, who came to the United States. Joseph was the first, He came to New York state in 1853. Louis came to Milwaukee in 1862 … [in 1865] came to Wright county and secured 160 acres in section 6, Woodland township." https://archive.org/details/historyofwrightc02curt
• [I] The only Margaret Borell in Wright County named as Louis's sister fits Frank's wife: same surname, same county, born in Bavaria in the 1840s. This is evidently where the tree's parents come from.
• To make it proven: Margaret's Minnesota marriage record or her death record naming her parents.
• Side note, [C] from WikiTree: Frank's son Jacob (by Barbara Blatz) married Mary Borrell, born 1868, likely Louis's eldest daughter Mary.

1.7 Theresa Panian → George (Jurji) Panian and Anna Maria (Mary) Haberkorn (Jurji Panian, Anna Maria Haberkorn)

Rating: proven.

• [C] Barron County history, p. 384: Theresa was "born in Westphalia, Iowa, Feb. 26, 1878, the daughter of George and Mary (Haberkon) Panian".
• [C] Same book, p. 386: George's children, with Theresa named.
• [D] The 1900 census (via the tree) has her in their household.
• [T]/[C] The family history page in the Gallery.

Birth date: 25 Feb 1878 in the archive and on the family page; Feb. 26 in the 1922 book. The difference is small.

Her mother's name (to-decide item 2): settled as one woman. She was baptized or entered as Anna Maria, and every source of 1894-1922 calls her Mary:

• [C] Joseph's 1922 biography has "Mary (Haberkon)".
• [C] George's 1922 biography has "Mart [Mary] Haberkorn, who was born in Dubuque, Iowa, Aug. 14, 1864 [sic, 1854], the daughter of George and Theresa (Lang) Haberkorn".
• [C] The 1894 Dubuque biography of George Haberkorn lists his eldest child as "Mary"; see 1.12.
• [T] The family page has "Mary Habercorn".
• [T] The Zell photograph's caption has "Anna Haberkorn Panian", and the tree has "Anna Maria 'Mary'".

Suggested wording: Anna Maria (Mary) Haberkorn. The lookup that would close it is her 1854 baptism at SS. Peter and Paul, Sherrill.

Her death: 16 Dec 1919 in the tree; a duplicate tree entry has 6 Dec 1919. Not checked.

Theresa's own death (to-decide item 1): not settled.

• No free record was found. Chronicling America (loc.gov) is behind a Cloudflare check from this environment.
• The family page's detail that she died on her husband's birthday fits Joseph's 7 February birth (1922 book), but that is internal consistency, not proof.
• Lookups are in section 4.

The Panian children, reconciled. The 1922 biography lists nine: "Theresa, George J., Rosa, Julia, Joseph, Anna, John, Mary (deceased) and Frank (deceased)." The archive has no Joseph, and it has "Frank Joseph" (1886-1938) and "Gregory Frank" (17-28 Nov 1890). [I] These fit if the book's "Joseph", living at home in 1921, is Frank Joseph, born 1886, and its "Frank (deceased)" is the infant Gregory Frank. That also gives "the second of nine children" on the family page.

The move to Zell. The family page has Royalton in 1881 and Zell "one year later". The Gallery caption has "about 1882". The 1922 book has Royalton in 1881, clerking "for a year", then Zell. Rose was born in Minnesota in March 1883 (Rose Panian), so [I] the move was 1883 at the earliest. The 1922 book also has a stay in Cherokee County, Iowa, in 1880-81 that the archive lacks.

1.8 George (Jurji) Panian (1851-1921)

Identity: proven.

• [D] Stari trg ob Kolpi (German Altenmarkt), baptism register 1838-1857, Matricula SI-LNSA 02374, image 75, fol. 74, entry 21: born and baptized 25 March 1851, Altenmarkt house 29, Georg, legitimate son of Georg Panian, ⅜ Hübler [smallholder], and Marina Mihelizh. Godparents Georg Sterbenz and Kath. Mihelizh. Baptized by L. Gestrin, cooperator. https://data.matricula-online.eu/en/slovenia/ljubljana/stari-trg-ob-kolpi/02374/?pg=75
• [C] 1922 biography, p. 385: "born in Austria, March 25, 1851, one of the three children of George and Mary (Mitchell) Panian. He lost his father when he was five years old, and was reared by his mother and his step-father, Michael Perse." His father died in October 1856, when he was 5½ (1.9). Everything matches: the date, the parents' names (Mitchell for Mihelič), and the house number 29 that the tree also has.

Death: conflict with the archive. The archive and tree have 30 Oct 1921 at Almena, citing Find a Grave. The sources here say 30 Sept, in St. Paul:

• [C] 1922 biography, p. 386: "he died Sept. 30, 1921 … On Oct. 4, 1921, the date that Mr. Panian was buried …"
• [D] The Duluth Herald, Tuesday 4 Oct 1921: "Barron, Wis., Oct. 4. — (Special to The Herald.) — George Panian, one time postmaster-merchant and highly respected citizen of Almena, died at a St. Paul hospital Sept. 30." https://archive.org/details/duluthherald10311921unse

Correct to 30 Sep 1921, St. Paul, Minnesota; buried Sacred Heart, Almena, 4 Oct 1921. A Minnesota death certificate should exist for Ramsey County, 1921.

Marriage. The tree has 12 Apr 1875 at Dubuque. The 1922 book has "April 12, 1876". Their daughter Mary was born 24 Jan 1876, so 1875 is right.

Records the tree attaches to him that cannot be his:

• The WWI draft card. Men born before 1873 were not registered.
• The Social Security application. He died in 1921. It is probably a child's application naming him as father, which is good evidence for the child but is not his record.
• Probably the Army Transport Service list of 1910-39. It more likely belongs to George J. Panian, born 1880, or a grandson.
• The tree also attaches to his family a marriage of 7 Feb 1935 at Delta, Colorado. It is unrelated.

1.9 Jurji (Georg) Panian (1827-1856) and Marija Mihelič (Jurji Panian, Marija Mihelič)

Rating: proven.

• [D] Baptism register 1819-1837 (Matricula 02373, image 6, pp. 7-8; this register is arranged by village): 23 July 1827, Altenmarkt 29, Georg, son of Georg Panian and Marg. Schnellar. Godparents Jos. Panian and Marg. Kanbanz (?). https://data.matricula-online.eu/en/slovenia/ljubljana/stari-trg-ob-kolpi/02373/?pg=6
• [D] Marriage register 1816-1883 (02380, image 73, p. 81): 12 February 1849.
  • Groom: Georg Panian, Altenmarkt 29, ¼ Hübler, aged 21, a widower. His parents are given as Georg Panian, ¼ Hübler, deceased, and Margaret Schneller.
  • Bride: Maria Mihelizh, Schöpfenlag (Sodevci) 12, daughter of a ⅜ Hübler, aged 21, single. Her parents are given as Johan Mihelizh, ⅜ Hübler, and Catharina Spreitzer, deceased.
  • Witnesses: Georg Sterbenz and Mikael Kapsch (?).
  • The remarks seem to record the father's consent for the minor bride.
  • https://data.matricula-online.eu/en/slovenia/ljubljana/stari-trg-ob-kolpi/02380/?pg=73
• [D] Death register 1838-1857 (02377, image 117): died 9 October 1856, buried 11 October, Altenmarkt 29, "Georg Panian, ¼ Hübler", aged 29. Cause: "Verblutung in Folge erlittener …wunde", that is, bled to death from a wound; the kind of wound is not clearly legible. The next column appears to read "nicht versehen" (not given the last rites). Signed Johann … , cooperator. https://data.matricula-online.eu/en/slovenia/ljubljana/stari-trg-ob-kolpi/02377/?pg=117
• [D] Marija's own baptism (02373, image 56, pp. 122-123, under the village Schöpfenlag): 16 March 1828, Schöpfenlag 12, Maria, daughter of Joh. Mihellitsch and Kath. Spreitzer. https://data.matricula-online.eu/en/slovenia/ljubljana/stari-trg-ob-kolpi/02373/?pg=56

Corrections:

• Jurji Panian:
  • Marriage "c. 1850" → 12 Feb 1849.
  • Death 20 Sep 1856 → 9 Oct 1856.
  • Add that he was a widower at 21. His first wife is unknown; her marriage would be about 1847-48 in register 02380.
• Marija Mihelič:
  • Birth confirmed.
  • The register's village name for her home is Schöpfenlag. The tree's "Sodevci 12" is evidently the same place under its Slovene name.
• Her remarriage to Michael Perše (per the 1922 book) was not found in a quick scan of Nov 1856-Feb 1858 (02380, images 91-93). Her death of 11 Apr 1870 was not checked; it would be in register 04193.

1.10 Georg Panian (c.1803) and Margaretha Schneller (Jurji Panian, Marjeta Sneler)

Parentage of Georg (1827): proven (1.9). The 1849 marriage marks Georg Sr. as a ¼ Hübler of Altenmarkt 29, deceased.

Conflict. The tree places "Marjeta Sneler" at Dol pri Borovnici (near Ljubljana, about 90 km away), born 4 Feb 1805, and her death at "Stari Trg, Slovenj Gradec", a different Stari Trg, in Styria.

• Schneller was a local surname in this parish: a Martin Schneller marries in 1849, and Margaretha Schneller is a mother in 1851. The Ljubljana-area birth is almost certainly an Ancestry hint for a namesake.
• Her death was before Feb 1849, and the 1836 date fits.
• To settle: the death register 1819-1836 (02376) and her marriage (02380, c. 1825-26).

Georg Sr.'s birth (13 Apr 1803) and death (1836), and his parents Peter Panian and Maria Perše, were not checked. Note that the stepfather of 1856 was also a Perše.

1.11 Johann Mihelič and Katharina Spreitzer (Johan Mihelič, Katarina Spracjer)

Both are named as Marija's parents in the 1828 baptism and the 1849 marriage [D].

• He was a ⅜ Hübler of Schöpfenlag 12 and living in 1849.
• She was deceased by 1849. Her surname is Spreitzer; "Spracjer" in the tree is a misreading.
• Rating: proven as parents. Their own dates were not checked.

1.12 Anna Maria Haberkorn → George Haberkorn and Theresia Lang (George Haberkorn, Theresia Lang)

Rating: probable.

• [C] Barron County history, p. 386: "daughter of George and Theresa (Lang) Haberkorn".
• [C] Portrait and Biographical Record of Dubuque, Jones and Clayton Counties, Iowa (Chapman, 1894), pp. 510-511. George Haberkorn was "born in Babaron [Bavaria] August 13, 1827, and is the son of Adam and Eve (Renbener) Haberkorn"; he was married "October 4, 1852 … [to] Theresia Lang, and by her marriage has had ten children, namely: Mary, Adolph, Julia, Rose, George, Joseph, John, Aloys, Theresia and Frank." https://archive.org/details/portraitbiograph00chap_9
• [T] The Zell caption names "Juliana Haberkorn Banwarth", that is, the "Julia" of the 1894 list, as a sister.
• Small conflict: his birth is 16 Aug 1827 in the tree and 13 Aug in 1894. The marriage date of 4 Oct 1852 is new to the archive.

1.13 George Haberkorn → Adam Haberkorn and Eve Rubner (Adam Haberkorn, Eve Rubner)

Rating: probable.

• [C] 1894 biography: "son of Adam and Eve (Renbener) Haberkorn". The 1894 text adds that they "spent their entire lives in the Fatherland", and that George came alone at seventeen on the sailing vessel "Schiller" to Baltimore.
• [C] The 1979 National Register nomination (M. H. Bowers, Iowa Division of Historic Preservation; NRHP no. 80001449) contradicts that. It draws on family typescripts and Dubuque Telegraph-Herald articles of 7 Jul 1927 and 23 Aug 1960. It says the house "was built in 1870 by George Haberkorn and his father, Adam, the latter a stonemason and brewer who came with his family to the Dubuque area from Bavaria in 1844 … Adam Haberkorn died in 1890, his son George in 1906." https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/80001449_text
• [C] Oldt's History of Dubuque County (1911), p. 877, names "Adam Haberkoen" among the early members of SS. Peter and Paul, Sherrill's Mound, organized 28 March 1852.
• [I] George's sons in 1894 include no Adam. So the 1852 Adam is George's father or a brother. The 1844 arrival agrees with George emigrating at 17. The National Register account is likelier, and the 1894 sentence is probably a biographer's error.

Conflicts:

• Adam's death: 13 Apr 1889 in the tree, 1890 in the nomination.
• The tree's birthplace for Adam, "Wald, Altötting" in Upper Bavaria, sits oddly with a father at Obertresenfeld (Vohenstrauß) and a son born at Waldthurn in the Upper Palatinate. It looks like a mis-standardized place name.
• Adam and Eve are both given the identical birth date, 24 Dec 1799. That suggests copying.

1.14 Theresia Lang → Alois Lang and Catherine Hahn

Nothing found. Rating: possible.

The tree's Alois, born about 1818 in Baden, would have been 18 at Theresia's birth on 11 Jun 1836. It should be checked.

1.15 Deeper Haberkorns (Kaspar, Andreas, Leonard, Johann Wolfgang, back to Andreas, 1599)

Not examined; they are held in the archive.

Flag: the tree's Leonard Haberkorn, born 1715 at Vohenstrauß, has a death at Schweigern, Boxberg, in Baden-Württemberg. That is about 250 km away and probably a namesake.

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2. Notable-ancestor material

2.1 George Panian (1851-1921), Patricia's great-grandfather: peddler, prairie postmaster, a founder of Almena

The crossing. From the History of Barron County (1922), pp. 385-386:

"From Austria in 1866, he went to Germany, and in 1871 he came to the United States on the steamer 'Germania', the trip taking eighteen days … He was robbed of 100 Napoleons aboard ship, and landed in New York with no money but a gold piece which he had secreted in his shoe and which was worth about $5.50 … The agent handed out six cents in change, but he did not dare pick it up from the ticket ledge, as he was afraid that it was a trick to test his honesty … He was laughed at when he attempted to buy bread with his three cents …"

Peddler and storekeeper. Same source:

"Soon he found financial backers, and bought a pack of goods weighing about 190 pounds, with which he set out on foot toward Dubuque, Sept. 14 … Subsequently he continued as a peddler until 1875. Then, with $2,800 which he had saved, he started a store at Westphalia, Iowa."

Westphalia village had been platted only on 22 June 1874 (Biographical History of Shelby and Audubon Counties, 1889, "Village of Westphalia", p. 287).

Zell, Dakota Territory. Same source: "built a store, and engaged in the general mercantile business. The postoffice was kept in his store, and he was made the postmaster." Contemporary corroboration:

• [D] Polk's Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Montana Gazetteer 1888-89, Dakota section, p. 1539, under Zell: "Population, 100. George Panian, postmaster." The same entry lists "Banworth Wm & Co (Wm Banworth, Gustav Schoenhard), wagonmakers". That is evidently the wheelwright's shop in the 1885 Zell photograph, where William Banwarth stands; he was husband of Anna's sister Juliana. https://archive.org/details/minnesotanorthso63unse
• [D] Official Register of the United States. 1895, vol. 2: "Zell … Faulk … George Panian … 116.53" (pay in dollars). He is already listed among the Dakota postmasters on 1 July 1885, the year the Zell post office opened (Wikipedia, "Zell, South Dakota"). https://archive.org/details/sim_united-states-official-register-of-the-united-states_1895-07_2
• [C] William Benworth [Banwarth] was among the first township officers of Zell. History of Faulk County (Ellis, 1909), pp. 157-160.

Almena.

• From the 1922 book, p. 384: "George Panian, pioneer merchant and one of the founders of Almena, was a man who left his name indelibly impressed on the history of his vicinity … His advice was often sought on important matters, his influence was far reaching, and his death left a vacancy in the community which will not soon be filled."
• From its chapter on Almena, p. 1133: Sparlin, the first postmaster, was succeeded by "George Panian, who was also a store keeper. Mr. Panian had charge of the mails until June, 1908."
• p. 1134: "Almena State Bank was organized Oct. 19, 1908, by C. C. Coe, M. C. Howard, George Panian and Charles Kaemmer", and he was a first director.
• [D] Official Register 1905: "Almena … Barron … George Panian … 285.54".
• p. 386: "one of the great desires of Mr. Panian's heart was to have a great grand child. On Oct. 4, 1921, the date that Mr. Panian was buried, Mrs. Mary (Wiess) Wizback … gave birth to a child."

[I] Context, worth a sentence but not a claim about him. The 1827-1851 registers write the parish's villages under German names (Schöpfenlag, Radenze, Thal), the speech of the Gottschee German-language area beside the Kolpa. Itinerant peddling was a long-standing trade of that region.

2.2 Joseph G. Kuchenmeister (1874-1952), Patricia's grandfather: Almena postmaster for 26 years

• 1922 book, p. 384: "Joseph Kuchenmeister, postmaster at Almena, furniture dealer and funeral director … In 1908 he was made postmaster, which position he still retains. Since 1913 he has devoted his business attention to a good furniture store, in connection with which he has undertaking parlors. He is one of the popular men of the village."
• He had run George Panian's store with S. W. Sparlin and George Panian Jr. as the Panian Mercantile Co., then with Sparlin alone as the Almena Mercantile Co.
• [D] Congressional Record: his nomination as postmaster in 1922, with the office raised to the presidential class; reappointments in 1926 and 1930; and in January 1935 "Joseph A. Kumhera to be postmaster at Almena, Wis., in place of Joseph Kuchenmeister. [Incumbent's commission] expired June 2, 1934." So he was postmaster from June 1908 to 1934. https://archive.org/details/sim_congressional-record-proceedings-and-debates_january-03-29-1935_79
• [D] Delano paper, 1895: the encored violin solo and the school farce (1.3).
• The Gallery family page already has Theresa's role: "she managed the post office for some time while he worked in another position."

2.3 Frank Kuchenmeister (1844-1938), Patricia's great-grandfather: pioneer of Franklin Township, Minnesota

1922 book, p. 385:

"The nearest village in the early days was Greenwood, Watertown was the next. From these two places provisions were brought in afoot, while grist was taken there with the ox team. The subject of this sketch was reared amid pioneer conditions … secured 80 acres of his own. Here he first erected a log cabin, which he later replaced with a good set of frame buildings."

He retired to Delano in 1902 and moved to Almena in 1907, to "17 acres on the outskirts of Almena".

[D] Delano paper, April 1892: overseer of road district no. 5 in the town of Franklin. 1894: "A lively runaway took place … Frank Kuchenmeister's team tried to beat a switch engine."

2.4 Johann (John) Kuchenmeister (c. 1822/3-1896), Patricia's 2nd-great-grandfather: a builder of Delano's first Catholic church

From Rev. Mathias Savs, "The Catholic Church in Wright County", in History of Wright County (1915), vol. II, pp. 963-966:

"Joseph Matter and his neighbors were in the Civil war. Returning in 1865 they made up their minds to build a church … Joseph Matter, with his brothers … and Mathias Schaust, Joseph Baumann, Andrew Oehrlein, John Kuchenmeister, John Muckenhirn, Joseph Stolz and Mike Brenner, started with the work and erected the first Catholic church building on our cemetery. In 1869 they bought a bell, paying $200 for it."

And for the town church:

"On March 1, 1874, a meeting was called in the store of Val. Eppel … adding to them Charles Eppel, William Dunn, Charles Stein, John Borsch, Joseph Craemer and John Kuchenmeister as a building committee."

The cornerstone of St. Peter's, Delano was laid on 15 June 1874. "Val. Kuchenmeister", Johann's son, was still a pew-holder in 1915. His 1896 death notice (1.5) calls him "one of the early settlers in Delano".

[I] Identity: John Kuchenmeister of the Delano parish is taken to be Frank's father. The name, the place and the period all fit, and the Oehrlein family appear both here and in the family's own biography.

2.5 The Borells of Woodland Township (great-granduncle Louis Borell)

History of Wright County, vol. II, p. 1068:

"Mr. Borell was a prominent man and served as supervisor of the town. For a time he was president of the Co-Operative Creamery at Waverly. He was one of the builders of the first Catholic church in the township."

Louis is the brother of Patricia's great-grandmother Margaret. This belongs on her page, or Louis deserves a page as a relative.

2.6 Adam and George Haberkorn: stone house, brewery and parish at Sherrill's Mound, Iowa

Adam Haberkorn, Patricia's 3rd-great-grandfather:

• National Register nomination (1979): "a stonemason and brewer who came with his family to the Dubuque area from Bavaria in 1844. Adam worked in the area lead mines, but the family income was augmented by a small brewery (which according to family tradition dates from soon after Adam's arrival in this area) and the sale of bread baked by Eve Haberkorn in the stone oven near the farmhouse. Once the stone house was finished, its front room became a local tavern, and was also for many years during the 19th century the polling place for area residents."
• The parish. Msgr. Edgar Kurt, "Parish Profile #20: Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Sherrill", The Witness, 19 Apr 1987 (Loras College digital collections): "Bernard Clauss and Adam Haberkorn were the leaders in organizing the parish … thirty-two of these faithful Catholics met on March 28, 1852, to form a parish … build a log church dedicated to Saint William. The total cost was $96.93." https://digitalcollections.loras.edu/items/show/6285
• The same parish appears in Oldt (1911), p. 877.

George Haberkorn (1827-1906), Patricia's 2nd-great-grandfather. The 1894 Portrait and Biographical Record, pp. 510-511:

"Leaving his native land on the sailing-vessel 'Schiller,' he was landed in Baltimore … For four years he was in the employ of a Mr. Steigers, after which he worked for Mr. Sherrill … was enabled to enter a quarter-section from the Government … The first brewery in Jefferson Township was built and operated by Mr. Haberkorn … He looks with pride on the old log cabin that marked his introduction into Iowa and declares he has been a Democrat and a Catholic ever since that time. Although often petitioned to accept public office he has steadily refused to do so."

The house. The Haberkorn House and Farmstead, west of Sherrill, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places: 25 Jan 1980, no. 80001449. It has a Wikipedia article.

• It is a 2½-storey rock-faced limestone house with a jerkinhead roof.
• Above the main door is a stone incised "G. HABERKORN. 1870." It shows in the nomination photo, taken by Alan Spensley in June 1979.
• A brewery cellar is set in a natural cave in the bluff.
• The farm was still held by descendants in 1979.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haberkorn_House_and_Farmstead
• Photos: https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/af7973cc-3e01-4bfc-9f9e-1ea1ffac54e6

[I] The Haberkorn house is probably the strongest single "notable ancestor" item on this side: a listed building by 2nd- and 3rd-great-grandfathers.

2.7 Georg Panian (1827-1856), Patricia's 2nd-great-grandfather

A smallholder (¼ Hübler) of Altenmarkt 29. He was already widowed at 21. He died at 29, "bled to death following a wound" (death register, 1856), leaving the five-year-old George. A sober line for his page, not a "notable" item.

2.8 Lead: a Pfarrer Panian at Altenmarkt, c. 1826-1830

In the 1827-1830 baptisms the officiating priest repeatedly signs "Panian Pfarrer", that is, a parish priest named Panian (register 02373, images 6 and 56). A Panian, Jos. Panian, also stands godparent at Georg's 1827 baptism.

A kinsman is quite possible, but no link has been shown. The Catalogus cleri dioecesis Labacensis on dLib.si would give his name and dates.

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3. Famous kin

None found. No Wikipedia-level or otherwise clearly public figure was linked by evidence to any ancestor of Margaret Kuchenmeister. Section 5 lists what was checked.

Small world (not kin; suggested for Small world). Almena, Wisconsin, Patricia's mother's birthplace, was founded by relatives of Theodore Hamm (1825-1903), the St. Paul brewer (Wikipedia: "Theodore Hamm"; "Hamm's Brewery").

• From the 1922 book, p. 1133: "In that year [1887] Theodore Hamm of St. Paul … persuaded his relatives, Albert H. Koehler and S. W. Sparlin, to spy out the land and clear up a townsite."
• The name joined "Al" and "Mena", for Albert Koehler and his wife Wilhelmina. She was Hamm's daughter: Saint Paul Historical, "Dayton's Bluff: Hamm's Heritage" (Steve Trimble): Albert Koehler "married Wilhemina Hamm, the daughter of Theodore and Louise Hamm".
• Sparlin, the other founder, was the first postmaster, preceding George Panian, and Joseph Kuchenmeister's partner in the Panian and Almena Mercantile companies.
• Sources:
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Hamm
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almena,_Wisconsin
  • https://saintpaulhistorical.com/tours/show/7
• Suggested category: small world (public / business).

A curiosity only, not a connection: Wikipedia's article on Zell notes that the town appears in Tillie Olsen's novel Yonnondio, where the fictional Holbrook family become tenant farmers there.

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4. Lookups needing Ancestry, FamilySearch or other access

Each item says what it would settle.

1. Theresa (Panian) Kuchenmeister's death (to-decide item 1). Settles 8 May vs 7 Feb 1966.
   • Wisconsin death certificate, 1966 (Wisconsin Vital Records Office; Ancestry's Wisconsin Death Index 1959-1997).
   • Obituary in the Rice Lake Chronotype or Barron News-Shield (WHS microfilm; newspapers.com).
   • Find a Grave, Sacred Heart Cemetery, Almena.
2. George Panian's Minnesota death certificate, Ramsey County, Sept 1921. MNHS People Records Search is free but JavaScript-only, so it could not be read from here. Also Find a Grave 108111738, to see where "30 Oct" came from. Settles 30 Sep vs 30 Oct and the place.
3. Anna Maria (Mary) Haberkorn's baptism, SS. Peter and Paul, Sherrill, Aug 1854 (Archdiocese of Dubuque, or FamilySearch). Settles the name.
4. Frank Kuchenmeister's household, 1870/1875/1880 (FamilySearch). Proves Margaret as Joseph's mother and dates Barbara (Blatz)'s death or departure.
5. Frank and Margaret's marriage, c. 1872-73, Wright or Hennepin County. The Minnesota Official Marriage System (MOMS) is free online but interactive.
6. Johann Kuchenmeister's family on arrival: the passenger list, possibly 1850s-1865, and their Würzburg-area origin. Also Magdalena's 1909 Minnesota death certificate (MNHS), for her age and parents.
7. Adam Haberkorn's death and grave (1889 or 1890), Sherrill; the 1850/1856/1860 censuses of Jefferson Township; the 1844 "Schiller" arrival at Baltimore. Settles the 1894 "never left Germany" conflict.
8. The Zell postmaster appointment (NARA M841, Faulk County; Ancestry "Appointments of U.S. Postmasters"). Settles whether George Panian was Zell's first postmaster in 1885.
9. Matricula, free, only needs page-reading.
   • Marija (Mihelič) Panian's remarriage to Michael Perše (02380, c. 1857-60).
   • Her death, 11 Apr 1870 (04193).
   • Georg Panian Sr.'s death, c. 1836 (02376).
   • Georg Jr.'s first marriage, c. 1847-48 (02380).
   • The Pfarrer Panian.
10. Washington records: Patricia's 1940 Seattle birth record; Margaret and Jack Hatten's marriage. These would raise the first two links to proven.

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5. Checked and ruled out (namesakes with no linking evidence)

• Küchenmeister notables (Wikipedia "Küchenmeister"): Friedrich Küchenmeister, the Dresden parasitologist; Heinrich J. Küchenmeister, the sound-film inventor; Michael Küchenmeister, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order; and the writers Walter, Claus and Wera Küchenmeister. All are German namesakes, unrelated.
• Kuechenmeister of Clark County, Wisconsin (obituaries on wiclarkcountyhistory.org), and the Kuchenmeisters of Cleveland, of Mecklenburg and of South Australia on WikiTree. Unrelated.
• Haberkorn notables: Todd Haberkorn, the voice actor; Charles Haberkorn, the tug-of-war athlete, born in Germany; Ludwig, Werner, Federico and Leonardo Haberkorn; the Haberkorn Engine Co. of Fort Wayne. None linked to Sherrill.
• Banwarth notables from Dubuque: Kayla Banwarth, born 1989 in Dubuque, an Olympic volleyball bronze medallist in 2016; and Francine Banwarth, the haiku poet. Banwarth is a common Dubuque County name. Kin to Patricia only through a descendant of Juliana (Haberkorn) Banwarth, and no such descent is shown. Not a connection.
• Slovene Panjans (sl.wikipedia lists): Peter Panjan, physicist, born 1957; Leopold Panjan (1955-2006); Martin Panjan, a delegate to the 1943 Kočevje assembly; Anton and Jože Panjan. Same surname and region, no line traced.
• John Panian of Harlan, Iowa, born 10 May 1852 in Austria, son of John and Mary (Skoli) Panian. Biographical History of Shelby and Audubon Counties (1889), pp. 392-393. He lived seven months in Westphalia Township. Possibly a kinsman of George, but not notable and not linked. It could be tested in the Stari trg baptisms of 1852.
• The Wikipedia lists of notable people for Stari Trg ob Kolpi and Črnomelj (Oton Župančič, Miran Jarc, Olga Haring): none linked.
• Not kin:
  • Theodore Hamm (section 3).
  • Archbishop John Ireland, who visited the early Delano Catholics (Savs, p. 965).
  • Henry Swansen of Almena, the snowmobile pioneer.

What was searched:

• Full text (archive.org):
  • The Wright County history (1915, both volumes).
  • The Barron County history (1922).
  • The Dubuque County histories of 1880, 1894 and 1911.
  • Faulk County (1909).
  • Shelby County (1889; 1915 vol. 2).
  • Morrison and Todd Counties (1915).
  • Polk's Dakota gazetteer of 1888-89.
  • The Official Registers of 1885, 1895 and 1905.
  • The Congressional Record.
  • The Duluth Herald for October 1921.
  • The Delano paper, 1891-1901.
• archive.org full-text search for Panian, Kuchenmeister and Haberkorn.
• Matricula, Stari trg ob Kolpi.
• WikiTree (API and profiles).
• Wikipedia, English and Slovene.
• IAGenWeb Dubuque.
• The National Register nomination.
• Loras College digital collections.
• Chronicling America could not be reached (Cloudflare check). Find a Grave, Ancestry and FamilySearch were not used.

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Suggested archive edits (as proposed; what was done is in Questions to decide)

Page	Field	Now	Suggested	Basis
Jurji Panian	died	30 Oct 1921, Almena	30 Sep 1921, a St. Paul hospital; buried Almena 4 Oct	Barron 1922, p. 386; Duluth Herald, 4 Oct 1921
Jurji Panian	father/mother	compiled, possible	documented, proven	baptism, 25 Mar 1851
Jurji Panian	married	c. 1850	12 Feb 1849 (a widower)	marriage register 02380
Jurji Panian	died	20 Sep 1856	9 Oct 1856, aged 29	death register 02377
Jurji Panian	parents	possible	proven (Georg Panian; Margaretha Schneller)	baptism 1827; marriage 1849
Marija Mihelič	parents	possible	proven	baptism 1828; marriage 1849
Marjeta Sneler	name; birth/death places	Sneler; Dol pri Borovnici; Slovenj Gradec	Margaretha Schneller; leave out the places (namesake); died before Feb 1849	marriage 1849
Katarina Spracjer	name	Spracjer	Spreitzer; died before Feb 1849	1828, 1849
Franz Kuchenmeister	born	25 Nov 1848	25/26 Nov 1844	1870 census; Barron 1922
Franz Kuchenmeister	spouses	Margaret Borrell	add Barbara Blatz (first wife; children Frank, Jacob 1866, Ben c.1869, John)	Barron 1922, p. 385; 1870 census
Johann Kuchenmeister	born	18 Aug 1818	flag: aged 73 at death → c. 1822/3	Delano paper, 13 Mar 1896
Joseph George Kuchenmeister	father/mother	possible	probable	Barron 1922; Delano paper 1892-99
Margaret Borrell	father/mother	possible	probable	Wright County 1915, p. 1068
Anna Maria Haberkorn	name	aka Mary Habercorn	"Anna Maria (Mary)": the same woman	1894, 1922
George Haberkorn	born; married	16 Aug 1827; —	13 Aug 1827 (1894); married Theresia Lang 4 Oct 1852	1894, pp. 510-511
Adam Haberkorn	died	13 Apr 1889	1889 or 1890 (the nomination has 1890); came 1844	NRHP 80001449
Theresa M. Panian, Gallery captions	move to Zell	1882	1883 or after (Rose born in Minnesota, Mar 1883)	Rose Panian