Joseph Valentine Angst &
Mary Ann (Marion) Van Lanen

Joseph Valentine ANGST was born on Valentine's Day (hence his middle name) February 14, 1895, in Polo (near the present town of Orient), South Dakota. He was the first child born of John ANGST ( 1850-1916) and Mary Forena Jaggli (1864 - 1920) see (John Angst Family History).  As was common practice he was baptized into the Catholic church as soon as arrangement could be made and a priest became available, on the 17th of July, 1895. His sponsors were Joseph and Veronica Bucher ( informal certificate, notarized baptismal certificate).  Joseph and his family moved to the town of Marshfield, Wisconsin in 1900, where his father worked as a custodian for the Blodgett Hotel. Joseph attended school in Marshfield (Joseph is seated in the fifth row, second from the right).  In Marshfield he also received his First Holy Communion and attended school until he finished the eighth grade.

At the age of 14, Joseph was employed in an excelsior plant in Marshfield. While working there, he smashed his thumb leaving the nail permanently disfigured, and being  under age for that type of work they moved him to work on mattresses, and later to the hammock shop.  The 1910 U.S. Census states that  "Joseph, age 15, was living at home and employed in a hammock factory."  Joseph left home at age sixteen, and found employment in Sheboygan Wisconsin, were he took a job at "Feeney's" as an upholsterer.  . While working at Feeney's Joseph took ill with an abscessed hip.  His parents John and mary moved to Sheboygan to care for him.  he eventually recovered and when back at Feeney's he made the acquaintance of a co-worker, Albert Van Lanen who eventually introduced him to his future bride.  After his father's death in 1916, Joseph left Sheboygan and moved to Green bay, Wisconsin were he opened his own business "Green Bay Upholstery". 

Mary Ann (Marion) VAN LANEN was born in the Town of Scott (just northeast of Green Bay), Wisconsin on April 17th, 1896,  She was the ninth child of Godfrey VAN LANEN (1854 - 1939) and Hannah HERMANS (1858-1899) see (Godfrey Van Lanen Family History). She was christened at Holy Cross Church (baptismal certificate) in Bay Settlement on April 18, 1896 and her sponsors were Albert and Anna Maria Hermans. She's pictured below at the age of three, and again at her First Holy Communion. Mary Ann attended school until the eighth grade and then worked as a maid /housekeeper (picture at 17) until marrying Joseph Valentine ANGST.

          Mary Ann (Marion) Age 3                          First Holy Communion

Joseph Valentine ANGST and Mary Ann VAN LANEN were married in St. Boniface church, in DePere, Wisconsin on October 23rd, 1922 (marriage certificate, marriage license). The wedding party is shown to the left, Joe Angst (right), Mary Ann Van Lanen Angst (front-middle)  and attendants Mayme Callahan (back-left) and Albert Van Lanen (back-middle) are pictured below.   After their marriage the couple resided at 619 Grove Street and Joseph continued to grow his upholstery business.

On September 3rd, 1923, the couple gave birth to their first child - Alice Hannah who married Elton (Mike) VAN SCHYNDLE. The couple had six children (Mike Van Schyndle Family History*).

Joe and Mary Ann's second child, Grace Mary, was born on September 15th, 1925.  She married Gall Anton (Tony) BALZA and had five children (G. Tony Balza Family History).

In 1926 the growing family moved to a new residence at 1413 Day Street in Green Bay.  The couple's first son, James Godfrey was born there on June 28th, 1927.  He later married Eunice Marie IVERSEN and they had four children (James Angst Family History*).

March 7th, 1929 hailed the birth of another daughter, Joyce Antoinette.  Joyce married Loren Francis SCHEER and had four children (Loren Scheer Family History*).

On May 7th, 1930, Joe and Mary Ann gave birth to their second son, Roland Joseph.  Roland married Joyce Marie RABIDEAU and the couple had two children (Roland Angst Family History).

Their third son John William was born on February 5th, 1933, and married Virginia Rose BIELMEIER.  John and Ginny had three children (John William Angst Family History).

Angst Family February 1950

  Joseph & Mary Ann Angst (1960)

Joe and Mary Ann's last child, Roger Valentine, was born on September 22nd, 1936.  he married Barbara MANNEBACH.  Roger and Barbara had four sons (Roger Angst Family History*).

Joseph owned and managed  "Green Bay Upholstery" for 39 years from 1921 until 1960 when he turned the business to his son's James and John.  Joe and Mary Ann are pictured on the left at that time.

On August 5th, 1965 Joseph, Mary Ann, and Joe's sister Anna were on vacation traveling through Canada.  Just outside Chatham, Ontario while going through a highway construction zone their car was hit head-on by a truck in which the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and crossed the center line (newspaper account "Suicide Strip" Kills U.S. Man).  Joseph was killed instantly, while Mary Ann and Anna suffered bruises, contusions, and Anna's left leg was broken.

Mary Ann died on May 6th, 1972 after suffering an acute coronary occlusion (death certificate). After her death the house on Day street was purchased by Dennis Santy and his wife Mary Van Schyndle (Joe and Mary Ann's granddaughter).

* Family histories are available upon request (see contact below).

Memories:  Richard M. Balza (grandson), Christine Lynn Van Schyndle Perry (grand daughter), Barbara Angst Clark (grand daughter)

ANGST Ancestry 

The ANGST (literally "fear" in german) surname appears to originate in Wil, Canton Zurich, Switzerland.  The earliest identified Angst ancestor in our research is John Joseph ANGST who married (Mary) Anna WIDMER (1819 - ?).  This family is the current focus of our research, and very little is known about them (John Joseph Angst Family History).  They did, however, have at least one child John ANGST (1850 - 1916) who married Mary Forena JAGGLI (1864 - 1920).  They were blessed with three children (John Angst Family History) the first of which was Joseph Valentine ANGST (1895 - 1965) who married Mary Ann (Marion) VAN LANEN the family described above.

JAGGLI Ancestry 

Little is known about the Jaggli (Jaeggli) ancestry.  The name is Germanic from either Germany or Switzerland.  The only known Jaggli ancestor at this time is Mary Forena JAGGLI (1864 - 1920, parents unknown) who married John ANGST (1850 - 1916). John and Mary raised three children (John Angst Family History) the first of who is Joseph Valentine ANGST who married Mary Ann (Marion) VAN LANEN the family described above.

VAN LANEN Ancestry 

The VAN LANEN surname originates in the towns of Boekel and Uden, Noord Brabant, Holland and means "from the lanes".  The earliest Van Lanen identified to date is Peter VAN LAANEN who was married to Wilhelmina VAN DEN ANKER.  This couple had at least one son Gerardus VAN LANEN (1788 - <1870) who married Johanna Adriaan Giele VAN DER HEIJDEN (1790 - <1870).  Gerardus and Johanna had at least 7 and possibly as many as 11 children (Gerardus Van Lanen Family History) who immigrated to Green Bay, Brown County Wisconsin in 1849.  Of the 7 children who survived the trip to the United States, our direct ancestor was Peter VAN LANEN (1817 - 1881) who was married to Wilhelmina JANSENS (1819 - ?).  Peter and Wilhelmina were blessed with six children  (Peter Van Lanen Family History) the forth born was Godfrey VAN LANEN (1854 - 1939).  Godfrey married Hannah HERMANS (1858 - 1899) and they had ten children (Godfrey Van Lanen Family History).  Godfrey and Hannah's ninth child was Mary Ann (Marion) VAN LANEN (1896 - 1972) who married Joseph Valentine ANGST (1895 - 1965) the family described above.

HERMANS Ancestry 

The HERMANS surname is German in origin.  At this point its not clear how they came to live in Holland.  Currently the earliest known Dutch Hermans ancestor is Batholeous (Martin) HERMANS who married Anna BARTEN.  Martin and Annie (Martin Hermans Family History) had at least one child Albert (Lambertus) HERMANS (1819 - 1911).  Albert married Maria Anna KUSTERS  (1823 - 1892) and the couple had nine children (Albert Hermans Family History). Hannah HERMANS (1858 - 1899) their fifth child married Godfrey VAN LANEN (1854 - 1939) and they had ten children (Godfrey Van Lanen Family History).  Their ninth child was Mary Ann (Marion) VAN LANEN (1896 - 1972) who married Joseph Valentine ANGST (1895 - 1965) the family described above.

INDICES:  Surnames, People

Last updated: November 10th, 2020
Copyright 1999 to 2020, Richard M. Balza
To make corrections or obtain more information contact: Richard M. Balza