One thing that has given me some thought is Catherine's signature with an "x" on every paper she has signed. The conclusion I have come up with is she could not write or that she had somethingwrong with her hand. As you look at her pictures, her right hand is either covered or she hides it behind her dress. Catherine has been known as a dominant person who was head of the household. The picture of John and Catherine shows John as a very relaxed person. Catherine's anger was also shown in her Last Will and Testament towards her son Louis, where she allows only $10.00 dollars. Reasons may be because after his first wife (Sophia Beil) died, he left his two children with her family and left Illinois. Other stories are that he was borrowing money from his brothers for certain ventures. One was to start a bakery in Witt, Ill. His son's birth certificate in 1900 shows Louis' occupation as a baker in Chicago. It is said he was not able to pay back the borrowed money.

Sources

1. 1920 United States Federal Census; Name: Catherine Schwartz; Age: 78; Birth Year: abt 1842; Birthplace: Germany; Home in 1920: Witt, Montgomery, Illinois; Race: White; Gender: Female; Immigration Year: 1865; Relation to Head of House: Head; Marital Status: Widowed; Father's Birthplace: Germany; Mother's Birthplace: Germany; Home owned: Own; Able to read: No; Able to Write: No.
2. Illinois, Probate Records, 1819-1970; Name: Catherine M. Schwartz; Date: 10 Apr, 1920.
3. Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947; Name: Catherine Schwartz; Death Date: 24 May 1920; Death Place: Witt, Montgomery Co., Illinois; Gender: Female; Age: 78; Estimated Birth Year: 1842; Birthplace: Germany; Father: Unknown; Father's Birth Place: Unknown; Mother: Unknown; Mother's Birth Place: Unknown; Occupation: Housewife; Residence: Witt Township; Spouse: John Schwartz; Burial Date: 26 May 1920; Burial Place: Witt, Ill.; Cemetery: Calvary Cemetery; Digital Folder Number: 4008099; Image Number: 1996; Film Number: 1562484; Volume/Page/Certificate Number: cn 17.