My Search for the Past | Sharing my genealogical research into my family and my husband's family including Biermann, Schatz, Lindner, Maier, Hartley, Sigmund, Brown and allied surnames.

Curt Gröschel – Finding Family in Saxony – 52 Ancestors 2015 #45

Posted by Cheryl Biermann Hartley on December 4, 2015 in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 45 of 52 Ancestors had no theme. We were free to write on any topic. It’s the perfect time for this as I made a huge discovery. I think it was right in front of my nose all along. This has been a great year for researching my Lindner family. The addition of the collection of Dresden births and deaths to Ancestry.com brought lots of new information. I lost an entire branch of my family tree in Buchholz, when I discovered that my great-grandfather had a different mother than his siblings. I also found out that my great-grandmother had a son who was illegitimate. Perhaps her husband was more forgiving since he himself probably endured the same status as Marie’s child.

For years I have wondered about living relatives in Dresden. I knew that there were relatives, because my grandfather had spoken of them. Of course, I remembered almost nothing of what was said. They were, of course, the descendants of Clara Pauline Minna Lindner. I wrote about her here and mentioned her daughters, Elisabeth and Else. Minna’s brother Gus, had no children. He left his estate to his nieces in Germany and I wrote about that here.

Sometimes we get distracted when working on our family history. I get distracted fairly easily. I have to admit that I am a genealogical opportunist. If a great lead will comes along on someone that I’m not currently researching, I’m off to the races, dropping what I previously may have been working on, I don’t know why I forgot about the letter, but I did.

Ahhh, I haven’t mentioned the letter yet. About eight or nine years ago I came into possession of a letter from a cousin in Germany written to my grandfather in 1981. Somewhere along the line, I misplaced it. It is probably in one of the two filing cabinet drawers of genealogy material that I have. Sadly, it isn’t filed under Lindner. What the heck did I do with it? I had half-heartedly looked for the letter in the past, but I admit that it hadn’t been a priority. Then, a funny thing happened. I was moving files from an old hard drive and I found the letter – not the original – but my transcribed version. I had forgotten that I typed out the German transcription in Word so that I could attempt a translation using an online translator. What a find!

I will include what I typed for this post asking my German-speaking friends to forgive the errors I may have made in my transcription and the odd translation that comes from using the auto translator. Rereading what I have here, it occurs to me that I must not have completed my transcription task. There must have been a closing to the letter. I hope I find the original. Here is the text that I have with the translation in parentheses in blue:

Irene Renner and Family
Sandgrabenstr. 6
8924 Steingaden/ Obb.

Am 6.Juni 1981

Du wirst sicher sehr erstaunt sein, von mir Post zu bekommen! Ob Du Dich überhaupt noch an mich und uns erinnern kannst? Ich bin Elisabeths Tochter Irene, mein Bruder ist Horst Gröschel, mit seiner großen Familie (6 kinder) noch in Dresden wohnend und als Pfarrer am Diakonissenhaus in Dresden-Neustadt tätig.

(You will be surely very surprised to get a post from me! Whether you can still remember at all me and us? I am Elizabeth’s daughter Irene, my brother is Horst Gröschel, with his large family (6 children) living in Dresden and as a minister at the deacon eating house in Dresden-Neustadt actively.)

Neulich besuchten wir mal Alice Mennigke in Senden b. Ulm. Wir weilten bei unserem ältesten Sohn, der in der Nähe von Alice wohnt. Da haben wir endlich mal einen besuch wahrgemacht, den wir schon so lange geplant hatten. Alice fühlt sich oft sehr einsam, der viel jüngere Mann ist ja noch in Beruf und sehr viel unterwegs, die Tochter Susanne, die wohl in diesem Jahr auch bei Dir war, hat jetzt ihre Prüfungen mit Erfolg hinter sich gebracht und wartet auf eine Anstellung.

(Recently we visited Alice Mennigke in Senden by Ulm. We stayed with our oldest son, who lives in the proximity of Alice. There we have finally times one visit true-made, which we had already so for a long time planned. Alice feels often very lonely, the much younger man is still in occupation and very much on the way, the daughter Susanne, which probably was in this year also with you, now its examinations with success behind itself brought and waits for an employment.)

Fortsetzung am 29.9.81
Nun ist mein Brief vom Juni immer noch nicht weggegangen! Das ist sehr schlimm und ich muß um Verzeihung bitten. Wir hatten sehr viel Besuch den ganzen Sommer über, auch aus der DDR immer wieder einmal. Mitte Mai sind wir auch in Dresden gewesen für ein paar Tage.

(Now my letter did not leave from June yet! That is very bad and I must for pardon ask. We had very much attendance the whole summer over, also from the GDR again and again once. In the middle of May are been we also in Dresden for a few days.)

Wir hatten nach 40 Jahren ein Klassentreffen und ich wollte dabei auch Horst und seine große Familie wiedersehen, denn sie können ja nicht zu uns in die BRD kommen. Ob du Dich noch ein bißchen an mich erinnern kannst? Mit meine Mutter und Tante Else standest Du ja immer in Verbindung.

(We had after 40 years a class meeting and I wanted thereby also Horst and its large family to see again, because they cannot come to us into the FRG. Whether you can remember still another little me? With my mother and aunt Else you always stood in connection.)

Ich heiratete 1957 in Kasendorf bei Bayreuth in Oberfranken einen Pfarrer, der verwitwet und Vater von 5 Kindern in Alter von 3 bis zu 14 Jahren war. Wir haben denn noch weitere 3 Kinder bekommen und auch diese sind nun schon erwachsen, der Jüngste ist 20 und studiert Medizen, Barbara ist 21 und wird Leherin, Michael ist 22 und studiert Sport und Theologie (er will auch in Lehrfach).

(I married 1957 in Kasendorf with Bayreuth in Upper Franconia a minister, who was widowed and father of 5 children in age from 3 to 14 years. We got still further 3 children and also these arose, the youngest one are now already 20 and study Medizen, Barbara are 21 and teacher, Michael are 22 and study sport and theology (it wants also in training subject).)

Und wie geht es Dir? Du hast ein sehr schönes Alter erreichen dürfen, und wie mir Alice erzählte, hat Susi Euch besucht. Susi hat unterdessen eineAnstellung beim Staat bekommen. Alice und ihr Mann haben ein Haus gekauft, da sie nächstes Jahr aus ihrer Wohnung ausziehen müssen.

(And how are you? You were allowed to achieve a very beautiful age, and how Alice told me, Susi visited you. Susi got meanwhile employment of one at the state. Alice and their man bought a house, since they must take next year off from their dwelling.)

Ich bekam im diesen Tagen einem Brief aus Dänemark von einem Herrn Viggo Bertram (Egebaeksvej 10 A DK 2100 Kopenhagen) Er forscht nacht seiner Familie und fand nun im Lutherbuch v. on 1960 den namen Bertram, der ja auch in unseren Stammbaum vorkommt. Er wollte nun wissen, ob seine Familie, aus die Nordhausen stammt, mit der unseren, die aus Sondershausen kommt, verwandt ist. Leider weiß ich darauf keine Antwort und habe auch keinerlei Unterlagen. Ob Du noch irgendwelche Sachen darüber hast oder weißt?

(I got night of its family in these days the letter from Denmark of a Mr. Viggo Bertram (Egebaeksvej 10 A DK 2100 Kopenhagen) it research and found now in the Luther book v. on 1960 the name Bertram, which occurs also into our family tree. He wanted to now know, whether its family originates, from the north living, with whom ours, which comes from special living, is related. Unfortunately I know to it no answer and have also no documents. Whether you have still any things over it or know?)

If anyone would like to improve on the translation, feel free to leave me a message at the bottom of the post.

There are wonderful clues in this letter. First, I recognize the name Gröschel as the married name for cousin Elisabeth. I knew she married Curt Gröschel, a minister, because I have a postcard showing a church where he was pastor.

Curt Groschel’s church. Mittelsaida, Erzgeb. – “Wehrkirchen” Sachsens (Ende des 14. Jahrhunderts)

Curt Gröschel during World War I

Naturally, the first thing that I did was Goolge the name “Horst Gröschel” to see what I could find. I was surprised when it led me to Google Books and an online incomplete version of “Die Nachkommen des Reformators: Nachkommen Martin Luthers und Katharina von Boras” by Alfred Jacobsen and Hans Peter Werner (BoD – Books on Demand, Jul 29, 2015, pp. 185-187, retrieved Dec. 4 2015). The book can be viewed here.

This book is more up to date than previous references that I have given that documents Luther’s descendants. My generation is not mentioned for my immediate family, but my mom and my aunt are named here. There are descendants of Minna Lindner listed all they way through children who were born in the 1990’s.

I tried to find e-mail address for a few of the Gröschels who are from my generation. I only found one. Although I sent an e-mail, I’m sorry to say that I have not had a response. It appears that some of the family may still reside in Dresden, but others are located in other places. Irene Renner, after all, was residing in Steingaden in Bavaria back in 1981 when she wrote my grandfather.

I hope this post will catch the attention of my relatives in Germany. I know that one is a Lutheran minister named Horst Winfried Gröschel; he has 5 brothers and sisters. These are the grandchildren of Irene’s brother, Horst:

Christiane Renate Gröschel
Angelika Gröschel
Horst Winfried Gröschel
Reinhart Gröschel
Curt Michael Gröschel
Dorothee Gröschel

Irene Renner had these grandchildren:

Michael Martin Renner
Barbara Elisabeth Renner

If anyone knows how I can reach any of my cousins, please send me a message, or let them know about this blog and perhaps they will contact me. That would be another great moment for my blog!

Tags: descendants of Martin Luther the Reformer, Dresden, Groeschel, Gröschel, Hache, Lindner, Luther Permalink

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Edward Thomas Whipple – Large Family (of Girls) – 52 Ancestors 2015 #37

Posted by Cheryl Biermann Hartley on November 23, 2015 in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Biermann

I am doing my posts for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2015 out of order; this one should have been done is September. I have been traveling back and forth, to and from Pennsylvania to look after elderly family and blogging has had to take a back seat to family responsibilities. One of the themes I was stuck on was “Large Family.” I really don’t have any unusually large families in my tree

Recently, I have been looking closely at my extended Whipple (Wippel) family from Beaver County, PA, as I try to figure out the background of an adopted cousin. I am not going into that subject here, but along the way, I noticed something about the family of Edward Thomas Whipple. It isn’t that his family was exceptionally large, it is simply that it consisted mostly of girls.

Edward Whipple married Bertha Pauline Frankenstein on 7 July 1903 in Mahoning County, Ohio. Their first daughter came along in December of that year and they named her Orpha Ferdilia Whipple. Just a little over two years later the couple was blessed with their second daughter, Bertha Gail Whipple, who was born in January 1906. Esther Pearl Whipple was the third daughter and she was born in January 1910. Another two years passed and Eddie and Bertha saw the arrival of Goldie Cerilda Whipple in March 1912.

Now that they had four girls, you have to imagine that the parents might have been wishing for a boy. If they were, they were disappointed; Isabell Mary Whipple was delivered as a Christmas gift on 25 December 1914. Was it really possible that the next pregnancy would result in adding another girl to the Whipple household? It was indeed. Beatrice Gayle Whipple became the sixth female child in February 1917. Was the family running out of names for girls? This is the only time that one of the names, Gayle, repeated itself as a middle name.

The 1920 Federal census for New Sewickley in Beaver County, PA, showed the Edward Whipple household to have been comprised of seven daughters. Vivian Emogene Whipple had been born in late October of 1919. The girls ranged in age from 3 months to 16 years of age. Edward Whipple was an electrician in a steel mill.

The Edward Thomas Whipple Family. Year: 1920; Census Place: New Sewickley, Beaver, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1532; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 61; Image: 480.

Did Edward Whipple yearn to have a son? My family became estranged from our Whipple relatives, so I don’t know the answer to that question. If he did, the next child was an eighth daughter. Thelma Eileen Whipple was a summer baby who showed up at the end of July in 1922.

You might think that eight would be enough as the book title turned TV series suggests – not for the Whipples, though. Onalee Rae Whipple was born in January 1926. If you’ve lost count, that’s nine female children.

The incredible thing is that Edward and Bertha kept going. Maybe they were hoping to set a record for the most daughters. Finally, though, on 12 March 1928 a son was added to the Whipple family. He became Edward John Whipple – Edward for his father and John for his grandfather. There were no more children after Edward, Jr.

All ten Whipple children survived to surpass 63 years of age – most even longer than that. Edward John appears not to have married. One can speculate that growing up with 9 older sisters he may have had enough female influence in his life without adding a wife.

Tags: Beaver County, Whipple, Wippel Permalink

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Gustav Richard Max Lindner – “Gefallen” – 52 Ancestors 2015 #44

Posted by Cheryl Biermann Hartley on November 6, 2015 in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Lindner

This past weekend was Halloween and the theme for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks was “Frightening.” Unfortunately, no tales of the supernatural come to mind, so I will take a different route. I am probably more frightened of war than of ghosts, witches, zombies and vampires. War is about the most horrible thing I can imagine. We think of military heroes and revere them for defending our country, but how does one emotionally come to terms with a relative who was killed fighting for the other side?

Gustav Richard Max Lindner, “Max,” was my grandfather’s older brother. He was born 01 July 1888 in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, to Emil Heinrich Max Lindner and Anna Marie Lindner, born Kessler.

Max became a botanist and a teacher, which was different for my Lindner family. They were mostly in the trades for at least a few generations. He was just 26 when he died and he was unmarried.

Just like my mother told me about my Luther family, and about the death of her grandmother during the fire-bombing of Dresden, she would also tell me that my grandpa’s brother was killed during World War I. Yes, he was fighting for Germany. And what was really sad was that the family never knew what happened to him. They had tried very hard to learn, but they never found out anything. I heard this tale many times. I grew up believing that Uncle Max had just disappeared and was the equivalent of M.I.A. (missing in action). The idea that someone would be killed in battle and no one would know what happened to them was a frightening concept to me as a child, and it is still a frightening concept to me today.

Naively I had asked, “Why did Uncle Max fight for Germany?” ” Because, he had no choice,” was my mother’s answer. My grandpa probably would have had to fight too, if he hadn’t come to the United States before World War I broke out. Maybe he would have been killed, too.

For years I took this story of Max’s death very literally. He was killed in the war and nothing else was known. A few years ago, I decided to see if I could find out any more about his military service. I didn’t learn much, but what I did learn was that Max didn’t just disappear. He had a specific date of death and a location. The World War I Casualty Lists for Germany, 1914-1917, did indeed have a listing for him. He died on 10 September 1914 in Coole, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. His title was noted as an “Unteroffizier,” which is the equivalent of a non-commissioned officer. His status was listed as “gefallen,” which indicates killed in battle. I began to think that surely his family must have know this, since it was published in an official military casualty list.

As I prepared to write this blog entry, I did a search of Ancestry.com to see if I had missed anything else. I was surprised to find a copy of Max Lindner’s death record among Dresden deaths. His death was reported by his father. It had one discrepancy from what I found. It showed his place of death as Coole, Belgium, instead of France. As near as I can tell, there is no Coole, Belgium. Since the information was reported by Emil Heinrich Max Lindner, I now know that Max’s family was aware of where and when he died. The death record also shows that Max was “gefallen.”

I think that when my family said they never knew what had happened to Max, they probably meant that they were never able to recover his body to bring him home for burial in Dresden. World War I was responsible for massive casualties. Germany deployed about 11,000,000 men and is reported to have lost 1,773,700 in battle. A complete list of casualties from “The Great War” can be found here.

Did Max have a choice about fighting? Probably not. But, would he have avoided service if he had the option? I doubt we will ever know. All I know that the loss of Max was a terrible tragedy for the Lindner family. He was a bright young man with a promising future. The incredible waste of human life when nations take up arms is truly frightening.

Tags: Dresden, Lindner Permalink

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Hans Luder (Luther) – An Ancestor with a Drive to Succeed – 52 Ancestors 2015 # 42

Posted by Cheryl Biermann Hartley on November 4, 2015 in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Lindner

The theme for week 42 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is “Proud” and it left me reflecting on what it means to be proud. I realized that it is difficult for me to feel proud of an ancestor, even if they have done great things. After all, I had nothing to do with their actions – just as I do not feel guilt over an ancestor’s bad behavior. Of course, if I were going to be proud of an ancestor, certainly it should be my 11th great grandfather, Martin Luther the Reformer. But I have already written about him, and I have been genuinely astonished at how many people regularly search for information about Martin Luther’s living descendants and find my blog. My original blog entry is here.

So, if I am not proud, I can say that I am genuinely admiring of Martin Luther. I will add the caveat that I am well aware of his faults, particularly regarding prejudice. He was, after all, the product of a 15th century upbringing. I don’t agree with his attitudes or excuse them, but I do understand the environment in which they grew.

I realize that I come from a family of individuals who have a long history of being ambitious, and I am to some degree proud of this triat in my family. My husband and I have always said that everything we have, we earned, and no one handed us anything. I am proud to be able to say that, and I am proud that I can identify this trait in the Luther family.

No one seems to epitomize the ambitious, self-made man more than Hans Luder (Ludher) the father of Martin Luther, the Reformer, and my 12th great-grandfather. Hans was born in Möhra, Wartburgkreis, Thüringen, Germany around 1459 to Heine Luder and his wife, Anna Margaretha Ziegler. He was from a peasant family that engaged in farming, but I was surprised to learn that his family was fairly well off. This was a new concept to me. I had supposed that being a peasant meant poverty, but apparently not.

Hans chose to go into copper mining to make a living, evidently because it was more lucrative than farming, but also because he was not in line to inherit the farm. His family’s holding belonged to a property class called “Erbbauernhof.” From what I understand, his family didn’t own land in the sense that we know it, but held it collectively as was the custom of the time. Any inheritance for Hans would not have included his father’s farm, since land was not usually divided among heirs. Contrary to what I would have expected, the law mandated that the farm go to a younger male child; this left Hans to make his own way in world. He may or may not have had some money from his father to get started in the mining business.

Martin Luther was born on 10 November 1483 in Eisleben, the first child born to Hans and Margarete. Shortly after Martin’s birth, Hans moved the family from Eisleben to Mansfeld to pursue better opportunities in mining. Hans Luther was not just a miner, though. He was able to lease a mine and up to five small smelting plants, having moderate success in raising his social status through entrepreneurism.

We know a bit about Martin’s parents from his own words. Martin Luther said this about his them: “My father was a poor miner; my mother carried in all the wood upon her back; they worked the flesh off their bones to bring us up; no one nowadays would ever have such endurance.”

But, some researchers question the characterization of Luther’s family as being poor peasants. Trash excavated from the Luther childhood home indicates that the family ate well. Björn Schlenker, archaeologist of Landesdenkmalamt Saxony-Anhalt, described the finds: “We have found more than 7,000 animal bones. The majority originate from swine – young, which tasted very good.” There was also a lot of poultry, especially geese, young chicken, sometimes ducks and doves, and even songbirds. Fish were on the menu and included carp, perch, eel and sea fish, such as herring and cod. There were remnants of a toy crossbow and a belt buckle in the shape of the letter “D,” possibly for Luther’s sister Dorothea (Michel, K, 2008).

Hans had chosen his wife well. Margarete Lindemann was not of the peasant class, but came from a bourgeois family of Eisenach. She brought him both business and social connections that he probably would not otherwise have had. In time, Hans Luder had earned enough respect to earn a spot as a representative to the town council in Mansfeld. By the time he died he left a small estate, estimated to be equivalent to $18,000 by 1950’s standards (Schwiebert, p. 109). Using a dollar inflation calculator, it appears that would be about $178,000 in 2015.

Hans Luder had his heart set on Martin becoming a lawyer. This was one of the few ways to continue to elevate the family’s social status. Martin was provided with the necessary schooling to take up the study of law, but his religious passion took him in a different direction. After a spiritual crisis, he entered the Observant Augustinian Monastery in 1505, and Hans Luther expressed strong objection to his son’s decision. As a monk, Martin would not be in a position to look after his parents in their old age. He would also not give them any grandchildren. For some time Hans and Martin saw little of one another.

Fortunately for me and thousands of other Luther descendants through the years, Martin Luther renounced the Catholic Church, left the monastic life, and eventually married Katharina Von Bora, an escaped nun. Martin’s renunciation of celibacy for clergy changed the world and pleased his father.

Did Martin Luther exaggerate when he said he came from the stock of poor peasants? Probably not. It seems logical that Hans was poor when he was just getting started in his own business, but, over time, he became more prosperous. Erick H. Erikson said this:
To call Hans Luder a peasant, therefore, shows either sentimentality or contempt. He was an early small industrialist and capitalist, first working to earn enough to invest, and then guarding his investment with a kind of dignified ferocity. When he died he left a house in town and 1250 goldgulden (p. 53).

There is only one likeness that I know of for Hans Luder. He and his wife were painted by the famous German painter Lucas Cranach the Elder.

He was a man who had a strong drive to succeed and with it, helped to pave the way for his son, Martin Luther, to have remarkable intellectual and spiritual influence.
*I have relied heavily on a paper, “Luther as Son and Father,” by Richard W. Grunze (1983) for my insights on Hans Luder. He has conducted a nice overview of the literature on Luther and was able to give me a deeper understanding of my well-known family.

Resources:
Erickson, Erik H., Young Man Luther: A Study in Psychoanalysis and History, W. W. Norton & Company, 1993

Grunze, Richard W., “Luther as Son and Father”; Essay presented to the Pastor-Teacher Conference of the Southeastern Wisconsin District, June 7-8, 1983. (Retrieved from www.wlsessays.net/files/GrunzeLuther.rtf on November 3, 2015)

Michel, Kie, “Der Müll des Reformators”; Zeit Online, 28 October 2008. (Retrieved from http://www.zeit.de/2008/45/Luther on November 3, 2015)

Schwiebert, E. G., Luther and His Times, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1950

Tags: descendants of Martin Luther the Reformer the Reformer, Hans Luder, Luder, Luther, Margarete Lindemann Permalink

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Hempe Maria Dierksen – Oops! How Old Was She? – 52 Ancestors 2015 # 43

Posted by Cheryl Biermann Hartley on October 29, 2015 in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Biermann

Oops! Finally, a theme I can relate to, if you will pardon the pun. This week Amy Johnson Crow suggested that we write about “An ancestor who made an ‘oops,’ or one that you made while researching one of them.”

Hempe Maria Dierksen (Dirksen, Dirxen) is my presumed 4th great-grandmother. She was born to Joannes Gerhardus Dierksen and Tobe Hüntelmann on 3 January 1740 in Lorup by Sögel in Lower Saxony. She married Johann Schulte(gerdts) on 14 February 1786 in Lorup at the Catholic Church Maria Himmelfahrt. I say presumed 4th great-grandmother, because some of the data seems to defy the dictates of science. I received help on my Schulte family from a researcher friend in Germany. I am very grateful for her assistance, but I would be more comfortable if I had copies of the original records to examine. Here is the detail of the report on the children of Hempe Maria Dierkesen and Johann Schulte(gerdts):

As one can readily see, Hempe Maria had her first child at age 47. That, of course, is possible, although not very common. The amazing thing is that she continued to have children well into her fifties. According to this report, she gave birth to her last child at the age of 59.

This seemed so improbable that I asked my researcher friend to take another look. I thought perhaps there may have been another Hempe Maria Dierksen in the same family. Sometimes a given name would be reused if an earlier child of that name died. My friend went back and reviewed the records again. Her conclusion was the same – the original report accurately reflects what she found in the records.

Did Hempe Maria Dierksen Schulte(gerdts) really give birth to five children from ages 47 to 59? Today, fertility drugs and other advances in medical technology allow women to have children in their 50’s and even their 60’s. It is difficult to confirm instances of natural conception in women over the age of 50 in prior centuries. The Guinness Book of World Records documents the currently acknowledged oldest mom to have a child conceived naturally as Dawn Brooke. “On 20 August 1997, Dawn Brooke (UK) became the oldest natural mother when she gave birth to a son by Caesarian section at the age of 59 years. She conceived accidentally, having managed to ovulate past her last period.” (GuinessBookofWorldRecords.com, retrieved October 27, 2015).

Of course, it is known that sometimes older couples have claimed a grandchild as one that was born to them. They do this to save the family embarrassment when the child is really the offspring of an unwed daughter. This doesn’t seem to be the case with Hempe Maria, since all of the children were born beyond the usual age of motherhood. I am assuming that there were no unusual notes about these children in the church records or my friend would have noted it.

Either I have a major error here in the research, or an amazing example of a woman who conceived and successfully gave birth to a child at an age that could vie for a world record. At any rate, the last child, Wilhelmus, seems like an “oops.” He was born a full five years after the previous child. I suppose that my next step needs to be to make a request to the Catholic Archives for copies of these records. Maybe I can still set this “oops” straight or confirm that I have an incredible ancestress.

Does anyone else out there have an ancestress who gave birth at a really advanced age?

Tags: Dierksen, Dirksen, Dirxen, Lorup, Schulte Permalink

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Ormonde J. Merz and Ohio Caverns – How a Colorful Landmark Led to Bad Blood – 52 Ancestors 2015 #41

Posted by Cheryl Biermann Hartley on October 21, 2015 in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Biermann

The theme suggested for week 41 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks was “Colorful.” I have already written about a number of colorful ancestors, so I needed to get even more creative than ever with the theme. I remembered a family story about Ohio Caverns in West Liberty, Ohio, and there is a fit. The caverns, which have been a popular tourist destination for nearly a century, were once nicknamed “America’s Most Colorful Caverns.”

Ohio Caverns Postcard 1930s or 1940s – “Tichnor Quality Views,” Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Made Only by Tichnor Bros., Inc., Boston, Mass., Public domain

Here is the version of the story as told to me by my father. At one time, the caverns were owned by Ormonde J. Merz, who was my father’s uncle by marriage. He was married to my grandmother’s sister, Frieda Schatz. They had just one child together, Ormonde, Jr. My father and Orm, Jr., were first cousins and quite close growing up. According to my dad, Ormonde, Sr., borrowed some of the money to purchase Ohio Caverns from his father, John Biermann, Jr., who was Ormonde’s brother-in-law. This ended up being a very unfortunate circumstance because the purchase was made before the Great Depression. Ormonde Merz was unable to make a financial go of it. He was forced to sell the property at a loss and he never paid my grandfather back. This made for bad blood between John and Ormonde. Hostility toward the elder Ormonde was exacerbated, because the 14-year marriage to Frieda failed. I think that this rift caused my family to over zealously remind me, “Neither a borrower, nor a lender be.”

I wondered how much of this story could be corroborated. I found Ormonde Merz with Frieda and their son in the 1930 U.S. census for Salem Township in Champaign County, Ohio. Ormonde’s occupation is listed as “manager and president” of Ohio Caverns. I decided to dig deeper. I would head to the various newspaper archives to see what more I could find.

According to the following news account, Ohio Caverns was sold to Merz & Back, Cincinnati investment brokers, on December 5, 1928, for $375,000.

Sale of Ohio Caverns Massillon Evening Independent, December 6, 1928

This wasn’t exactly what I expected to find. First, I had no idea that the caverns carried such a heavy price. Also, the transaction sounded much more professional than I had expected. In fact, the next information that I uncovered was a stock offering for the Ohio Caverns published in the Cincinnati Enquirer on January 17, 1929. Seven thousand shares of non-callable stock was being offered to the public for $27.75 per share. According to the newspaper notice the income statement of the former owners had been certified by George W. Byers, Certified Public Accountant, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Ohio Caverns Stock Offering, Cincinnati Enquirer, January 17, 1929

On October 24, 1929, the stock market crashed. In the context of a stock offering, the failure of Ormonde’s business seems like a foregone conclusion. With depressed stock prices and, undoubtedly, diminished revenues, Ormonde Merz was unable to pay the note on the caverns. By February of 1931, the previous owners, who held the note on the property, foreclosed and forced a sheriff’s sale. The property was sold for $175,000. less than half of the original price. The only bidder was one of the original owners.

Foreclosure Sale of Ohio Caverns; Cincinnati Enquirer, March 1, 1931, page 32

By April of 1932, Frieda had filed for divorce. She cited neglect as her cause. Perhaps this contributed to Ormonde Merz’s disinclination to repay my grandfather, or could it be that John Biermann actually held stock, which at this point would have been nearly worthless.

Frieda Schatz Divorce from Ormonde Merz: The Cincinnati Enquirer, April 15, 1932, Page 16

At any rate, my grandfather had his revenge, but it affected Frieda rather than Ormonde. When my great-grandfather, Henry Schatz, died in 1939, John Biermann was appointed as executor of the will. My dad says that his father took the money that was owed to him by Ormonde from the estate. He said that Frieda was very unhappy about this, but that according to my grandfather, it was only fair that he be paid; the debt was Frieda’s obligation as much as it was Ormonde’s.

Ormonde Merz remarried, but it seems that Ormonde, Jr., was his only child. Ormonde, Sr., died 30 July 1954. Ormonde Merz had an extensive obituary that makes it sound as though he went on to be a very successful businessman. I can’t say that I blame my grandfather for wanting the debt repaid.

: Ormonde J Merz Obituary; Cincinnati Enquirer, July 31, 1953, Page 28

Tragically, Ormonde, Jr. died in a car crash at the age of 34 in 1956. I can still remember how devastated my father was when he learned the news.

Tags: Biermann, Cincinnati, Merz, Ohio Caverns, Schatz Permalink

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Anna Schulte Beermann- Celebrating an October Birthday – 52 Ancestors 2015 #40

Posted by Cheryl Biermann Hartley on October 16, 2015 in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Biermann

Week 40 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is broadly themed “October.” I went back through my ancestors looking for the first October date for someone I have not yet written about. Anna Schulte Beermann came up first.

Anne Schulte Biermann

You would think that I would know a lot about my great-grandmother. She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on 22 October 1861 and died there in 1931; my dad knew her until he was nine. Some years ago, I asked him what his grandmother was like. He responded, “I don’t know. I don’t think I ever heard her say two words.” I said, surely that couldn’t be true. Dad answered that “she probably talked with the women when they were all together in the kitchen,” but that he didn’t remember her saying anything around him. Often I have seen her name as Anne, so that is how I will mostly refer to her.

Anne Schulte Biermann and John F. Biermann (Baier Farm, Illinois)

I don’t really know if his recollections were just poor, or if Anne was a simply and extremely shy woman. Years ago, probably sometime in the 1970’s, my grandfather Biermann made a cassette recording of his memories. I don’t know what became of it, but I am hoping that it may turn up in my father’s things. I imagine he would have spoken about his mother and father, so I would really like to locate that tape.

So, what do I know about Anne? Her father was Johann Heinrich Schulte from Lorup by Sögel in Lower Saxony, Germany, and her mother was Christena Ostendorf of Ibbenbüren in Westphalia. Christena, only 36 years old, died suddenly (probably of a stroke) in February of 1878 when Anne was 16 years old. Her brother Henry was just 10 and her little sister Minnie had just turned 6 at the time of their mother’s death.

Death of Christena Schulte - Thursday February 28 1878 Cincinnati Daily Gazette

Cincinnati Daily Gazette, February 28, 1878, Page: 4

From the family story, Anne’s life couldn’t have been too pleasant. We don’t know when their father became a drunkard, but the children were often summoned to come get their father to bring him home because he was inebriated on the street. On 6 June 1880, at the age of 18, Anne married John F. Beermann on his birthday. Anne and Minnie are supposed to have gone through Christena’s clothes and personal items to make a trousseau for Anne. Although a cigar maker by trade, John Schulte purchased a saloon with his son-in-law, who was a carpenter. This was probably not the best investment for either man as the business did not last.

Anne and John had five children, Clifford, Hilda, Anna, Mae and John, Jr. Here is a photo of the entire family with their spouses.

Biermann Family - (left to right: John J. Biermann, Jr., Henry Schatz, John F Biermann, Gustie Schatz, Anne Schulte Biermann, Clifford Biermann, Bessie Kemp Biermann, Mae Biermann Sieter, Hilda Biermann Reinerman, Ed Reinerman, Anna Biermann (Frank)

Biermann Family – (left to right: John J. Biermann, Jr., Henry Schatz, John F Biermann, Gustie Schatz, Anne Schulte Biermann, Clifford Biermann, Bessie Lavin Biermann, Mae Biermann Sieter, Hilda Biermann Reinerman, Ed Reinerman, Anna Biermann (Frank), Katherine Schatz Biermann.

I am grateful to have photos of Anna with her family. It helps me feels as though I know her a little. She was a petite woman and, from what I have seen, she and her sister Minnie closely resembled one another. I am under the impression that Anne had a good life with her husband and children. She died on 27 March 1931 of arteriosclerosis at the age of 69. Her husband survived her by seven years.

Tags: Beermann, Biermann, Cincinnati, Schulte Permalink

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Clara Pauline Minna Lindner Hache – She Lived in Two Dresdens – 52 Ancestors 2015 #38

Posted by Cheryl Biermann Hartley on October 9, 2015 in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Lindner

Since I have fallen behind on my blog entries for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, I am giving myself permission to address the optional themes in the order that suits my research. I have half-evolved essays for the other themes that I haven’t completed. Sometimes the research just doesn’t cooperate.

The theme for week 38 is “Favorite Place.” After a lot of thought, I realized that I have never been to my favorite place and, in a way, I never will be. It vanished before I was born. My fondness for my grandfather Lindner and his family as he described them to me, coupled with my imagination, make the Dresden of his childhood my favorite place. He would often tell me about it when I was a girl. It was an exquisitely beautiful city of lush gardens, fountains, fine art and impressive architecture, all enhanced by its location on the scenic Elbe River. There were some postcards and photos that contributed to my mental image of Dresden during this time.

As you may know, lovely Dresden was nearly obliterated from the face of the earth on February 13 and 14, 1945, when the Allied Forces fire-bombed the city. Reduced to rubble, the civilian population of Dresden endured one of the most horrific bombing raids of the war; it is also one of the most controversial. Reasonable estimates of the number who died range between 22,000 and 25,000. The debate about whether or not the bombing was necessary militarily will probably never be resolved. This is how my great-grandmother died; however, her sister-in law and her family survived.

Born 24 May 1863, Clara Pauline Minna Lindner was the second child and only daughter of Emil Heinrich Max Lindner and Christiane Charlotte Püschel Lindner. She had one older full sibling, Gustav, and a half-sibling, the eldest son, Max, who was my great-grandfather. Learning that my great-grandfather was not the son of Charlotte Püschel was a surprise to me and recounted in an earlier blog entry. Minna also had a younger brother, Heinrich, who died around the age of 12. Minna was married in Dresden on 16 October 1891 to Friedrich August Hache, and the marriage registration tells us that the bride was born in the Striesen district of Dresden. Indeed, upon checking a map, I immediately pinpointed Glashütterstrasse, the street where my great-grandfather operated a ratskeller. I have been lucky that Ancestry.com has provided images for births, marriages and deaths in Dresden and I found many of my family here. (As most people know, this resource requires a subscription to Ancestry.com.)

Minna and August Hache had three children, but only the two daughters survived to adulthood. Antonie Dora Elisabeth Hache was born 31 January 1895 in Dresden and married Franz Kurt Gröschel on 13 August 1921. The second daughter was Marie Else Hache and she was born on 28 January 1897. She married Carl Huffner, who according to an unsourced tree on Family Search, was born in 1878. If this is true, he would have been quite a bit older than Else. I know very little about the Huffners. Perhaps Else’s husband was the Karl Ost. Hüffner who was listed in 1943 Dresden directory as a “Küchenchef,” or Chef de Cuisine.

My grandfather’s last, and only visit to Dresden after he emigrated, was in May 1937 for his parent’s golden wedding anniversary. Minna and Gus were both there to help Max and Marie Lindner celebrate. Among the postcards and family photos that came to me is a tourism magazine for Dresden and the surrounding area. Adolph Hitler had already become Chancellor and President by this time. This promotional piece on Dresden bears a swastika on the front cover and Hitler’s image in the inside cover. It is inscribed to “Richard,” which is probably my grandfather (his full name was Richard Max Otto Lindner), but the presentation was made by Rolf, and I have no idea who that would have been. Perhaps, it was a friend from an earlier time.

One other helpful source for Dresden genealogy are the historical directories from SLUB (a collaboration between the Municipal Libraries Dresden and the Dresden City Archive). According to the Dresden city directory for 1921, August and Minna Hache lived on Gabelsbergerstrasse (Historische Adressbücher, Dresden, 1921; retrieved 10 October 2015 from http://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/72499/316/). In November 1922, August Hache passed away. Minna Lindner Hache is listed as a widow in the in the city directory for 1924-1925. That same year, the Gröschels can be found at Torbogenstrasse 6 and in the 1940’s at Torbogenstrasse 5. This is the address given for Minna on her death certificate. She died 22 January 1947.

Minna Lindner Hache Death Record; Dresden, Germany, Deaths, 1876-1951; Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015 Publisher Location Provo, UT, USA

It isn’t certain if Minna was present in Dresden during the air raids. If so, how did she survive? It is interesting that the three Lindner siblings died with 24 months of one another, two in Germany and one in the United States. Max died in Dresden in 1945 a month before the attacks, Gus died in Cincinnati in 1946, and Minna died in Dresden in 1947. Gus’ obituary cited worry over family in Germany as a contributing factor in his death.

Minna Lindner Hache lived in two distinct Dresdens and they were worlds apart. One was refined and cultured and the other was marked by deprivation and loss. The Hache daughters would see even more changes during decades of Soviet occupation. Because of the Cold War, my grandfather was never able to return to Dresden since he was a naturalized U.S. citizen. I don’t know if his brother Kurt did, but I wonder if there was much reason for the Lindner brothers to return. With the exception of Minna’s daughters Elisabeth and Else, I don’t think there was anyone close left in Dresden. The following photographic postcard of Dresden was sent by Kurt to my grandfather from Sweden in 1970.

Somewhere along the way, our family in the U.S. lost touch with the Hache daughters. I know that my grandfather mourned the loss of family and his beloved Dresden. He spoke of it wistfully and blamed Hitler for the destruction. He probably didn’t have access to much information about what was happening in East Germany. Dresden was cloaked in secrecy behind the Berlin Wall. On Sunday, February 13, 1966, the Cincinnati Pictorial Enquirer ran a piece about Dresden to commemorate the bombing. My grandfather kept one yellowed page of this article. The photo reproduced below shows ruins that were still visible 20 years after the bombing.

On a more positive note, Dresden has undergone extensive restoration of significant landmarks since the reunification of Germany. It is my dream to visit and see what I can of what my family used to know.

Tags: Anna Marie Kessler Lindner, Dresden, Lindner, Max Lindner, Minna Hache Permalink

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Johan Jacob Elsässer – “Die Schulmeister” – 52 Ancestors 2015 #35

Posted by Cheryl Biermann Hartley on September 14, 2015 in Uncategorized

I am behind with my posts because we were traveling. A nice visit to Montreal and Quebec City definitely got in the way of writing. The theme for week 35 was “School Days,” and I am focusing on Johann Jacob Elsässer who was my 4th great-grandfather and a teacher. He was also the father of Peter Elsässer, who also became a teacher in Vinningen in the Südwestpfalz. The occupation of both father and son is frequently referenced in Latin in the relevant church records as “ludimagister.” A German transcription of those records gave Johan Jacob Elsässer’s title as “schulmeister”; this can be translated as “schoolmaster” – an elegant way of saying that he was a teacher.

I found myself wondering what being an educator was like for a village teacher in the Pfalz. But first, let me provide some background on Johann Jacob Elsässer. He is one of the more recent additions to my family tree, so I consider him a work in progress. I had traced his son, Peter, backwards from Vinningen to Massweiler, but found that he was born in Wiesbach near Homburg. Peter’s baptism record showed his parents to be Joannis Jacobi Elsässer and Anna Elisabetha Ganter. I found a significant presence for Jacob in both Massweiler and Wiesbach; he was married three times and had five sons and six daughters between 1771 and 1795. What was missing, however, was a christening record for Jacob in Wiesbach; and could I not find any indication that he married his first wife, Catharina Peréchon, there. The first mention of Jacob Elsasser in Wiesbach is in January of 1793 when he married Anna Elisabetha Hemmer. The marriage record pronounced that the groom was the widower of the deceased Catharina Peréchon. I descend, however, from Jacob’s third wife, Elisabetha Catharina Ganter, daugther of Christian Ganter. They were married on 16 June 1778, when she was probably about 19.

Note: There is some question in my mind about whether I have identified the correct Elisabetha Catharina Ganter. In the baptismal records for Massweiler, she seems to be called just “Elisabetha.” Did the priest make an error? She would be the only child in her family without two given names.

Baptism of Elisabeth Ganter; Kirchenbuch, 1729-1937; Katholische Kirche Maßweiler (BA. ZweibrückenTaufen 1729-1798; Family History Library; Film 351905

Since I had combed the Wiesbach Catholic church records pretty thoroughly for Jacob Elsasser prior to 1773 and found neither him nor other family, I concluded that he must have come to Wiesbach from elsewhere. Where was his hometown? I thought I may not find his birth place for years, but decided to hunt for him a different way. I searched Ancestry.com, instead, for Catharina Peréchon. Low and behold, I had a hit in a public family tree for Maria Catharina Peréchon who was married to Johann Jacob Elsaesser. I had probably been searching using the Latin variation of his name. (Mental head slap – remember to search both ways!) The date of death in this tree is incorrect, because it shows Jacob Elsasser as dying in 1779. Further investigation located a 1771 marriage record for Jacob and Catharina in Contwig near Zweibrucken.

I have mentioned before that writing these blog entries is often a big boost to my research. The intense examination of a person on subject almost always leads to new information. Reviewing the images that I saved for Elsässer baptisms led to the realization that the godmother of Anna Elisabetha Elsaässer, is Jacob’s sister, Anna Elisabetha Kiefer(in) of Contwig. I love when everything fall into place like this. The presence of Anna Elisabetha Kiefer in a Wiesbach christening record gives me reassurance that Jacob was, indeed, from Contwig.

Taufen, Heiraten, Tote 1778-1798 Jahre teilweise nicht in Reihenfolge; Kirchenbuch, 1744-1961; Katholische Kirche Wiesbach (BA. Homburg) Family History Library; Film 247677

So, what was teaching like in the late 18th century? I have found little written in English, but have discovered through sources in German that this was a transitional period for education. I was surprised to learn that education became compulsory in Bavaria by 1806. As early as 1802, education was placed under the responsibility of the state rather than the church. Argument has been made that education was compulsory much earlier than the nineteenth century. There were “school rules” from 1659 (renewed in 1682 and 1738) that can be interpreted as making school attendance “compulsory.” Further, the Bavarian Schulmandat (school mandate) in 1770 and the Education Ordinance of 1795 are also described as being mandates for compulsory education. Of course, there were many exceptions and it would take nearly a hundred years before education was truly universal in Bavaria. (“1806 – 2006: Vom neuen zum modernen Bayern- Schule im Spiegel der Zeit”; Liedtke, Max; Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg; June 2006; Retrieved 9 September 2015 from https://www.km.bayern.de/download/1838_km_li_200jahre_schule_060710.pdf (This meant that Johann Jacob Elsasser probably instructed many of the younger boys in the village, although children of wealthier families were not likely to have attended school, taking their lessons from private tutors at home. We are familiar with one room schoolhouses in the United States, and Jacob’s school was probably something like this. Some communities didn’t have a school building at all and were obliged to rent the space. Education had been the purview of the Catholic Church for centuries and it would be a long time before its influence subsided. Religious instruction, plus reading, writing and arithmetic were the main focus of lessons.

It is doubtful that Jacob Elsasser received any specialized training for teaching and most likely had not attended university. Some teachers had other occupations, which they practiced at concurrently; however, there is no indication that Jacob was one of these. As regulations for attendance became more strict, it is possible that a shortage of teachers followed. This may be why Jacob’s son, Peter, took up teaching as a profession. Teachers are described as often not reading or writing well themselves (Liedke, op. cit.). Something that I noted from the church records is that Jacob Elsasser signed his name with a fair hand. He often appears as a witness to marriages in Wiesbach, although sometimes his signature seems to be quite different.

Signature of Johan Jacob Elsässer

Jacob seems to have taught for at least thirty years. As I mentioned earlier, his son Peter also became a teacher, and he had a grandson who taught music in New Orleans for a while. I am not sure exactly when or where Jacob died.

Tags: Contwig, Elsaesser, Elsasser, Ganter, Massweiler, Vinningen, Wiesbach Permalink

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Thomas and Adam Whipple – Here a Cow, There a Swine: An Investigation into Non-population Schedules of the U.S. Censuses – 52 Ancestors 2015 #34

Posted by Cheryl Biermann Hartley on August 27, 2015 in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Biermann

This week Nancy Johnson Crow suggested that we investigate our ancestors in the non-population schedules of the U.S. federal census as our theme for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. I have to admit that it is getting harder and harder to find ancestors who meet the theme. I have done most of my male ancestors for four generations, and my goal is to do a different person each week. This week’s entry put me at 86 mini-bios since I started this blog in January 2014.

I have only found a couple of ancestors in the special schedules. Just a few of my German immigrants were farmers, at least here in the United States. Most practiced one of the trades; they were coopers and blacksmiths and carpenters. Yest none were large enough to be enumerated in the manufacturing schedules either.

I knew I was going to have to dig deep this week. Ancestry.com does not have non-population schedules for Pennsylvania online, which was another complication. Eventually, I found the Pennsylvania schedules for 1850 and 1880 online at the website of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. They are not indexed, so it helped me to revisit the original censuses to confirm which township I needed before browsing through the images.

I decided that I would look for two of my third great-grandfather’s brothers, Adam and Thomas Whipple (Wippel). I had written about their father, my fourth great-grandfather, in week 25 – “Christopher Whipple (Wippel) – Had a Farm.” I knew that the farm had been taken over by the youngest son, Adam, before Christoff’s will was written. I wondered, what could I find out about the Whipple farm from the special schedules; also, what could I learn about Thomas Whipple’s farm?

I did locate three census schedules that were applicable to the Whipple family – one for Christoff in 1850 and one each for Adam and Thomas in 1880. I am not going to go into the minutia of what was grown in what quantities. I will reproduce the schedules here and hope that they are readable. I learned that Christoff’s farm was moderately prosperous; his farm was fairly average compared to his neighbors’ in most ways. I had a few minor surprises. One was that he was one of the few local farmers who had no land that wasn’t in cultivation. He also had one of the higher values on his farm equipment. I don’t know if there was a relationship between these two facts. Did have more or better farm equipment allow Christoff to farm more of his land, or did he owe money on the equipment and need to farm every square inch of his property?

Part One of Christoff Whipple’s Entry in the 1880 Agricultural Schedule. (From the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission)

When it came time to look at the 1880 agricultural schedule, I decided to fill in a blank census form the two brothers. Even though the forms are intended to be completed separately for each township, I combined them on one. This allowed me analyze side-by-side how the two farms were performing. It appears that Thomas was able to produce more than his younger brother and he cited the value of his farm as being significantly higher than that of his brother. Thomas gave the value of his farm as $6000 compared with just $1295 for Adam’s farm. That is a significant difference for two farms that in other ways appear to be fairly comparable on paper. I realize that there are a lot of variables that go into farming, but it is rather a surprise that Thomas’ 30 chickens could lay 870 dozen eggs, while Adam’s 50 chickens could only lay 200 dozen eggs.

Adam and Thomas Whipple Agricultural Schedule for the 1880 Census (transcribed).

Adam and Thomas Whipple Agricultural Census p 1

Adam and Thomas Whipple Agricultural Schedule for the 1880 Census (transcribed).

Milk Cows Per Farm 1880 – Tabulated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

One other interesting find is that the numbers for the Pennsylvania agricultural schedules have been sampled and some statistical data has been mapped as a result. These maps are available on the website of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. This one demonstrates that both Thomas and Adam owned more than the average number of cows.

Was Thomas really a bigger success at farming than Adam? I don’t know. The census is, after all, self-reporting. But it is interesting to contemplate the background behind the numbers.

Tags: Wippel; Whipple; Beaver County Permalink

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Ohio Caverns Postcard 1930s or 1940s – “Tichnor Quality Views,” Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Made Only by Tichnor Bros., Inc., Boston, Mass., Public domain

Sale of Ohio Caverns Massillon Evening Independent, December 6, 1928

Ohio Caverns Stock Offering, Cincinnati Enquirer, January 17, 1929

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