The lives behind
the family names.
The Brownells and Loeffelholzes, told through the places they knew, the work they did, and the records they left behind.
A place in the family storyModern photograph: Pbergerd · CC0.
A history that reaches much farther.
Ordinary lives.
Remarkable traces.
A father named in a census, a working mother, a basketball evening above a garage. Small pieces of evidence open onto much larger lives.
The Brownells and the work of care
An older Platteville house and a named Galena nursing home preserve William and Lelia’s working lives.
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Charlie and the age of the motorcar
Blacksmithing, Ford cars, and a growing garage changed the work of the Loeffelholz family.
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George, a soldier in New Guinea
A named wartime photograph opens a view of George’s service and the campaign’s difficult supply conditions.
Read the storyThree generations
under one roof.
Elizabeth Loeffelholz was the head of the household. Her daughter Florette, son-in-law George, and two young grandchildren were living with her. The original census brings the family’s two lines together.
Step inside the householdWhere the branches meet.
George and Florette joined a Brownell history of care and hospitality with a Loeffelholz history of trade, enterprise, and community.
Follow the years.
Find the connections.
Fords downstairs. Films upstairs.
Delivery journeys, automobile advertisements, and a lively Auditorium reveal the business beyond the workshop.
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A new life for old buildings
A nursing home and a former federal hospital connect the Brownells with Galena’s architectural history.
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Elizabeth’s family circle
An immigrant father, a working mother, and a schoolgirl appear in the records around Florette.
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