Rose Peshek-Jolley (1882-1957)

My 2nd great-grandmother Rose Peshek-Jolley was raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, by her mother Mary along with one younger sister, Jessie Ida.  The Appleton Post-Crescent lists her marriage announcement to Alex Perrodin.  

Wedding Announcement in the Appleton Post-Crescent, June 9th, 1900

On the wedding register, Rose lists her name as Rose Peshek Jolley, but lists her father as Frank Joseph Jolley.  Peshek is not her mother's maiden name, Woodruff is her mother's name.  So where does the name Peshek come from?

Wisconsin Marriage Index, from the Wisconsin Historical Society

            Later, in the 1910 Census of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, two nieces are listed as living with Rose and Alex; Blanche Gegay, 17, and Ruby Gegay, age 16.  Who are the Gegays?  They are not the daughters of  Rose's sister Jessie, because she never had children.  Alex had two sisters, but neither one married a Gegay.

1910 Census of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, page 4A.

After some digging I found some Gegays, also spelled Geguire, living in Marinette, WI in the 1905 state census.  Blanche and Ruby are the right age and listed as daughters to Charles and Mary Geguire, hotel keepers.  And who is this brother-in-law living with them?  Robert J Peshek, of Bohemia.  Could this be a relative of our Rose Peshek-Jolley?

Now we have two siblings, Robert and Mary Peshek living in Marinette, Wisconsin, north of Green Bay and Appleton, where Rose grew up.  If  Blanche and Ruby are Rose's nieces, then Robert and Mary are Rose's siblings.  Perhaps they are half-siblings?   

  

The marriage register for Robert J Peshek(above) and his death certificate(left) both list his father as Frank Peshek and his mother as Mary Woodruff, Rose and Jessie's mother!  There is family lore from my grandmother that Rose was adopted.  So it could be that Rose's mother was previously married to a Mr. Peshek and remarried to Frank Joseph Jolley, who then adopted Rose.  Rose was born in 1882 and wouldn't show up in the 1880 census.  Unfortunately, the 1890 census was destroyed in a fire.  The only census we have before 1900, is the state census of 1895, which lists her mother's name, M Jolley living in Appleton with two daughters, no husband.  So, Frank Joseph Jolley must have died sometime between 1888 when Jessie is born and the 1895 census.  And what of her first husband, Frank Peshek?  I'm guessing they divorced and the older children stayed with Frank Peshek, because otherwise Frank Joseph Jolley would have adopted Mary's other children as well, Mary and Robert Peshek.