GenBlog: Families: Reeder

Showing posts with label Families: Reeder. Show all posts

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Surname Saturday – REEDER (France / Georgia / Iowa / Illinois)

Mary Eva REEDER (or LASSER) is my second great-grandmother. I am not certain if Reeder or Lasser is her maiden name because each of the records I currently have list one or the other. I suppose it's possible that she was married once before and that one of the names could be a married name. Perhaps one day I will know the answer, but for now, I'm sticking with Reeder. This family has been difficult to research for many reasons, but mainly because they moved around the country several times. My direct line ancestors are in blue.

First Generation

Mary¹ Eva REEDER was born Cal 18 March 1849 in France and died on 26 October 1889 in Iowa, probably in Linn County. Mary married Phillip ROTTMAN before 1870, possibly in France. Phillip was born about 1835 in Bavaria, Germany, and died on 24 June 1885 in Golden, Jefferson, Colorado.

Children from this marriage were:

+ 2	i.	John² W ROTTMAN was born in July 1870 in Henry County, Georgia, and died before 11 October 1937 in Linn County, Iowa.
3	ii.	Louise ROTTMAN was born on 19 October 1871 in McDonough, Henry, Georgia, and was baptized on 27 May 1873 in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky. She likely died before June 1880.
4	iii.	Gottlieb ROTTMAN was born 14 January 1873 in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, was baptized on 27 May 1873 in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, and died on 10 July 1873 probably in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, where he is buried.
5	iv.	Anna E ROTTMAN was born in April 1874 in Missouri and died in 1964. Anna first married Joseph W ZARUB on 24 December 1896 in Marion, Linn, Iowa. Joseph was born in February 1874 in Iowa. Anna married second, Jacob M HOAG on 18 December 1912 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Jacob was born in 1871 in Illinois and died in 1949.
6	v.	Malissa Elizabeth ROTTMAN was born in 1875 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and died between 1896 and 1900. “Lizzie” married Joseph RUSHEK on 6 April 1896 in Big Grove, Johnson, Iowa. Joseph was born on 13 August 1874 in Solon, Johnson, Iowa.
7	vi.	Charles Henry ROTTMAN was born on 11 August 1877 in Ivanhoe, Linn, Iowa, and died on 11 February 1927 in Wilton, Muscatine, Iowa. Charles married Rosanna Elizabeth "Anna" BEATTY on 14 April 1899 in Cedar Rapids, Linn, Iowa. Rosanna was born on 25 November 1880 in Sugarcreek, Cedar, Iowa, and died on 24 July 1958 in Wilton, Muscatine, Iowa. They had 13 children.
8	vii.	Mabel Louise ROTTMAN was born on 28 September 1879 and died on 1 April 1961. Mabel married Paul Frederick William HAASE on 8 May 1901 in Solon, Johnson, Iowa. Paul was born on 3 May 1877 in Germany. They had two children.
+ 9	viii.	George ROTTMAN was born on 19 June 1882 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa, and died on 19 February 1946 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

Second Generation

John² W ROTTMAN (Mary¹ Eva Reeder) was born in July 1870 in Henry County, Georgia, and died before 11 October 1937 in Linn County, Iowa. John married Melvina E HORN, daughter of Samuel HORN and Mary A MARSHALL, on 31 December 1891 in Lisbon, Linn, Iowa. Melvina was born in October 1862 in Johnson County, Iowa, and died in 1944.

Children from this marriage were:

10	i.	Ethel³ Mary ROTTMAN was born on 29 May 1892 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa, and died on 17 November 1986 in Iowa. Ethel married George W COSTER, son of James COSTER and Alice F KING, on 21 September 1920 in Lisbon, Linn, Iowa. George was born on 8 September 1893 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa and died on 26 January 1954 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa.
11	ii.	Clarence Leo ROTTMAN was born on 20 September 1895 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa, and died on 6 November 1985 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa. Clarence married Marguerite Alma COSTER, daughter of James COSTER and Alice F KING, on 10 December 1919 in Lisbon, Linn, Iowa. Marguerite was born on 23 April 1899 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa, and died on 12 November 1978 in Iowa.

George² ROTTMAN (Mary¹ Eva Reeder) was born on 19 June 1882 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa, and died on 19 February 1946 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. George married Anna E STOFFEL, daughter of Carl "Charles" STOFFEL and Mary BRAUN, on 12 February 1914 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Anna was born on 19 January 1887 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, died on 12 June 1936 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. It is possible that George was married once prior to Anna (still working on this).

Children from this marriage were:

12	i.	Edward³ George ROTTMAN was born on 14 December 1915 in Illinois, and died on 10 January 1968 in Mundelein, Lake, Illinois. He served in the US Army during World War II. Edward married Helen –?– after 1940. Helen was born on 23 November 1920 and died on 23 December 1999 in Wisconsin.
13	ii.	Margaret Ann ROTTMAN was born on 28 January 1918 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 12 June 1999 in Round Lake, Saratoga, New York. Margaret married Lawrence Henry "Turk" COMERFORD, son of Nicholas D COMERFORD and Margaret A FREEMAN, on 22 July 1940 in Cook County, Illinois. Lawrence was born on 9 November 1916 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 9 September 1970 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.
14	iii.	Marie Ethel ROTTMAN was born on 29 April 1920 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 20 July 1989 in Bensenville, DuPage, Illinois. Marie married Harold Leslie MILLER, son of Emil Karl August MILLER and Alma Mary LEPPIN, on 6 July 1939 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Harold was born on 4 August 1918 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 15 June 1982 in Maywood, Cook, Illinois. Marie and Harold are my grandparents.

Disclaimer: Information is based on research completed as of 17 April 2013. Some details have been omitted to protect the privacy of living relatives.

Sources: Available upon request.

PDF Available: The content of this post is available as a PDF through Scribd and may updated periodically as new information is found.

Other Blog Posts: To see other posts about the Reeder family, click here. To see other Surname Saturday posts, click here.

Contact: If you would like more information about this family, or would like to share what you know, please contact me at genblogjulie@gmail.com.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Surname Saturday – Stoffel (Germany / Illinois)

The earliest known Stoffel in my line is Carl STOFFEL, who was born in or near Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany, on 16 September 1855. I believe that he and his wife Mary Braun, were married in Germany and arrived in the US together in 1884. They settled in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, where they had seven children. My direct line ancestors are in blue.

First Generation

Carl¹ "Charles" STOFFEL was born on 16 September 1855 in or near Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany, and died on 8 November 1902 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Carl married Mary BRAUN, about 1884. Mary was born on 19 November 1855 in or near Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany, and died on 9 August 1936 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

Children from this marriage were:

2	i.	Heinrich² "Henry" C STOFFEL was born on 28 October 1885 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 20 March 1919 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. He never married and had no children.
+ 3	ii.	Anna E STOFFEL was born on 19 January 1887 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 12 June 1936 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.
4	iii.	Margaret Elisa STOFFEL was born on 10 March 1889 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 21 July 1970 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.
5	iv.	Corporal Charles Louis STOFFEL was born on 30 August 1890 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died circa 12 April 1976 in Illinois.
6	v.	Marie "Elsie" A STOFFEL was born on 26 October 1892 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 10 July 1979 in Illinois. Elsie married Clarence Henry HAMMAN on 25 November 1922, in Cook County, Illinois. Clarence was born on 22 August 1899 in Indiana and died on 18 December 1979 in Illinois. Elsie and Clarence had two daughters.
7	vi.	William STOFFEL was born on 14 November 1894 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 6 February 1934 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. William married Elizabeth HARRELL on 12 November 1914 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Elizabeth was born in 1898 in Kentucky and died in 1989. William and Elizabeth had at least two children.
8	vii.	George STOFFEL was born on 1 October 1901 probably in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 3 September 1978 in Illinois. George married Marie DAHL on 10 June 1922 in Cook County, Illinois. Mabel was born on 9 April 1900 in Illinois and died on 7 January 1969 in Illinois. George and Marie had at least one daughter.

Second Generation

Anna E STOFFEL (Carl¹) was born on 19 January 1887 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 12 June 1936 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Anna married George ROTTMAN, son of Phillip ROTTMAN and Mary Eva REEDER, on 12 February 1914 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. George was born on 19 June 1882 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa, and died on 19 February 1946 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

Children from this marriage were:

9	i.	Edward George ROTTMAN was born on 14 December 1915 in Illinois, and died on 10 January 1968 in Mundelein, Lake, Illinois. He served in the US Army during World War II. Edward married Helen –?– after 1940. Helen was born on 23 November 1920 and died on 23 December 1999 in Wisconsin.
10	ii.	Margaret Ann ROTTMAN was born on 28 January 1918 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 12 June 1999 in Round Lake, Saratoga, New York. Margaret married Lawrence Henry "Turk" COMERFORD, son of Nicholas D COMERFORD and Margaret A FREEMAN, on 22 July 1940 in Cook County, Illinois. Lawrence was born on 9 November 1916 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 9 September 1970 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.
11	iii.	Marie Ethel ROTTMAN was born on 29 April 1920 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 20 July 1989 in Bensenville, DuPage, Illinois. Marie married Harold Leslie MILLER, son of Emil Karl August MILLER and Alma Mary LEPPIN, on 6 July 1939 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Harold was born on 4 August 1918 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 15 June 1982 in Maywood, Cook, Illinois. Marie and Harold are my grandparents.

Disclaimer: Information is based on research completed as of 27 February 2013. Some details have been omitted to protect the privacy of living relatives.

Sources: Available upon request.

PDF Available: The content of this post is available as a PDF through Scribd and may updated periodically as new information is found.

Other Blog Posts: To see other posts about the Stoffel family, click here. To see other Surname Saturday posts, click here.

Contact: If you would like more information about this family, or would like to share what you know, please contact me at genblogjulie@gmail.com.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Surname Saturday: Rottman (Bavaria / Georgia / Iowa / Illinois)

Ah, now we get to talk about my crazy ROTTMAN family. The earliest known ancestor is Philip ROTTMAN, my second great-grandfather. He apparently came to the US from Bavaria, Germany. This family has been difficult to research for many reasons, but mainly because they moved around the country several times. My direct line ancestors are in blue.

First Generation

Philip¹ ROTTMAN was born about 1835 in Bavaria, Germany and died on 24 June 1885 in Golden, Jefferson, Colorado. He married Mary Eva REEDER (or LASSER) before 1870 possibly in Germany or France. Eva was born cal. 18 March 1849 in France and died on 26 October 1889 in Iowa.

Children from this marriage were:

+ 2	i.	John² W ROTTMAN was born in July 1870 in Henry County, Georgia, and died before 11 October 1937 in Linn County, Iowa.
3	ii.	Louise ROTTMAN was born on 19 October 1871 in McDonough, Henry, Georgia, and was baptized on 27 May 1873 in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky. She likely died before June 1880.
4	iii.	Gottlieb ROTTMAN was born 14 January 1873 in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, was baptized on 27 May 1873 in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, and died on 10 July 1873 probably in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, where he is buried.
5	iv.	Anna E ROTTMAN was born in April 1874 in Missouri and died in 1964. Anna first married Joseph W ZARUB on 24 December 1896 in Marion, Linn, Iowa. Joseph was born in February 1874 in Iowa. Anna married second, Jacob M HOAG on 18 December 1912 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Jacob was born in 1871 in Illinois and died in 1949.
6	v.	Malissa Elizabeth ROTTMAN was born in 1875 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and died between 1896 and 1900. “Lizzie” married Joseph RUSHEK on 6 April 1896 in Big Grove, Johnson, Iowa. Joseph was born on 13 August 1874 in Solon, Johnson, Iowa.
7	vi.	Charles Henry ROTTMAN was born on 11 August 1877 in Ivanhoe, Linn, Iowa, and died on 11 February 1927 in Wilton, Muscatine, Iowa. Charles married Rosanna Elizabeth "Anna" BEATTY on 14 April 1899 in Cedar Rapids, Linn, Iowa. Rosanna was born on 25 November 1880 in Sugarcreek, Cedar, Iowa, and died on 24 July 1958 in Wilton, Muscatine, Iowa. They had 13 children.
8	vii.	Mabel Louise ROTTMAN was born on 28 September 1879 and died on 1 April 1961. Mabel married Paul Frederick William HAASE on 8 May 1901 in Solon, Johnson, Iowa. Paul was born on 3 May 1877 in Germany. They had two children.
+ 9	viii.	George ROTTMAN was born on 19 June 1882 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa, and died on 19 February 1946 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

Second Generation

John² W ROTTMAN (Phillip¹) was born in July 1870 in Henry County, Georgia, and died before 11 October 1937 in Linn County, Iowa. John married Melvina E HORN, daughter of Samuel HORN and Mary A MARSHALL, on 31 December 1891 in Lisbon, Linn, Iowa. Melvina was born in October 1862 in Johnson County, Iowa, and died in 1944.

Children from this marriage were:

10	i.	Ethel³ Mary ROTTMAN was born on 29 May 1892 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa, and died on 17 November 1986 in Iowa. Ethel married George W COSTER, son of James COSTER and Alice F KING, on 21 September 1920 in Lisbon, Linn, Iowa. George was born on 8 September 1893 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa and died on 26 January 1954 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa.
11	ii.	Clarence Leo ROTTMAN was born on 20 September 1895 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa, and died on 6 November 1985 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa. Clarence married Marguerite Alma COSTER, daughter of James COSTER and Alice F KING, on 10 December 1919 in Lisbon, Linn, Iowa. Marguerite was born on 23 April 1899 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa, and died on 12 November 1978 in Iowa.

George² ROTTMAN (Phillip¹) was born on 19 June 1882 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa, and died on 19 February 1946 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. George married Anna E STOFFEL, daughter of Carl "Charles" STOFFEL and Mary BRAUN, on 12 February 1914 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Anna was born on 19 January 1887 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, died on 12 June 1936 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. It is possible that George was married once prior to Anna (still working on this).

Children from this marriage were:

12	i.	Edward³ George ROTTMAN was born on 14 December 1915 in Illinois, and died on 10 January 1968 in Mundelein, Lake, Illinois. He served in the US Army during World War II. Edward married Helen –?– after 1940. Helen was born on 23 November 1920 and died on 23 December 1999 in Wisconsin.
13	ii.	Margaret Ann ROTTMAN was born on 28 January 1918 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 12 June 1999 in Round Lake, Saratoga, New York. Margaret married Lawrence Henry "Turk" COMERFORD, son of Nicholas D COMERFORD and Margaret A FREEMAN, on 22 July 1940 in Cook County, Illinois. Lawrence was born on 9 November 1916 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 9 September 1970 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.
14	iii.	Marie Ethel ROTTMAN was born on 29 April 1920 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 20 July 1989 in Bensenville, DuPage, Illinois. Marie married Harold Leslie MILLER, son of Emil Karl August MILLER and Alma Mary LEPPIN, on 6 July 1939 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Harold was born on 4 August 1918 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, and died on 15 June 1982 in Maywood, Cook, Illinois. Marie and Harold are my grandparents.

Disclaimer: Information is based on research completed as of 2 February 2013. Some details have been omitted to protect the privacy of living relatives.

Sources: Available upon request.

PDF Available: The content of this post is available as a PDF through Scribd and may updated periodically as new information is found.

Other Blog Posts: To see other posts about the Rottman family, click here. To see other Surname Saturday posts, click here.

Contact: If you would like more information about this family, or would like to share what you know, please contact me at genblogjulie@gmail.com .

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Fearless Females – Brick Walls

Back in 2010, in honor of Women’s History Month, Lisa Alzo created a list of writing prompts for each day during the month of March. I didn’t participate in 2010, so I’m going to take the opportunity to participate this year, since Lisa was kind enough to resurrect her prompts for 2012.

Is there a female ancestor who is your brick wall? Why? List possible sources for finding more information.

Three of the four second great-grandmothers on my mom’s side are “brick walls” simply because in order to determine their parents and siblings, requires studying others of the same surname in Chicago and/or “crossing the pond” to Germany. Here are some basic details on each of them:

Minnie (Hemfler) Leppin – According to her death certificate, Minnie Hemfler was born on 9 April 1871 in Germany. Minnie married Herman Leppin on 26 March 1894 in Chicago. Minnie died on 17 Mary 1945 in Chicago. Her death certificate does not name her parents. However, based on the correlation of a few sources, I’m fairly positive that she had a sister named Augusta, who married a Philip Zimmermann (you can read more about this in my post I Think She’s Related).

Mary Eva (Reeder) Rottman – This one is definitely a thorn in my side (I’m sure my cousin Barbara would agree!). I don’t really know that much about Eva, other than she was probably born about 18 March 1849 in France, married Philip Rottman likely before 1870, and died on 26 October 1899 in Iowa. The interesting twist is that of their six children’s records, sometimes her maiden name was listed as Reeder, while other times is was listed as Lasser. Is it possible that she was married briefly before she married Philip?

Mary (Braun) Stoffel – According to her death certificate, Mary was born on 19 November 1855 in Frankfurt, Germany. She married Carl “Charles” Stoffel about 1884. On 9 August 1936, Mary died in Chicago. As I was reviewing a wedding booklet for Mary’s daughter, Anna, I was able to identify all of the names, except two. After researching those two names, I’ve come to the conclusion that Mary had a sister (could also be a cousin, but there’s definitely a relationship), Anna, who married an Otto Beckard in Chicago in 1871.

Hopefully as my research on these ladies continues, I will be able to figure out who their parents and sibling were and where they came from, other than “Germany.”

Read all of my Fearless Females posts.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

SNGF - “Heritage Pie” Chart

This week’s challenge from Randy is:

List your 16 great-great-grandparents with their birth, death and marriage data (dates and places).
Determine the countries (or states) that these ancestors lived in at their birth and at their death.
For extra credit, go make a "Heritage Pie" chart for the country of origin (birth place) for these 16 ancestors. [Hint: you could use the chart generator from Kid Zone for this.] [Note: Thank you to Sheri Fenley for the "Heritage Pie" chart idea.]
Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a post on Facebook or google+.

Here’s mine:

graph

16. Thomas CAHILL - bap. 8 May 1860 in Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland; died 15 October 1929 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois; married Margareth MILLETT, 3 July 1887 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.

17. Margareth “Maggie” MILLETT – bap. 3 February 1863 in Old Grange, Kilkenny, Ireland; died 7 January 1945 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.

18. John SCHWARTZ – born 11 Arpil 1856 (cal.) in Luxembourg; died 20 January 1912 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois; married Margaretha KRAMER, 6 September 1888 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.

19. Margaretha “Margaret” KRAMER – born 31 October 1866 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg; died 14 January 1945 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.

20. Timothy McMAHON – born 14 May 1874 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois; died 14 October 1939 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois; married Sarah Jane WARD, 11 November 1899 in Lake County, Indiana.

21. Sarah Jane WARD – born 7 April 1875 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois; died 8 October 1956 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

22. James Manly GARRISON – born 26 December 1861 in Picton, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada; died 23 May 1909 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois; married, Sarah Jane MULLIGAN, 23 January 1893 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

23. Sarah Jane “Jennie” MULLIGAN – born 16 April 1870 in Flint, Genesee, Michigan; died 26 April 1947 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

24. Emil MILLER – born January 1864 in Germany; died after 1902, probably in Chicago, Cook, Illinois; married Hulda WACH, 8 August 1886 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

25. Hulda WACH – born 9 January 1869 in Germany; died probably between 1910 and 1920 in McHenry County, Illinois.

26. Herman LEPPIN – born 22 March 1873 in Germany; died 31 March 1948 in Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona; married Minnie HEMFLER, 26 March 1894 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

27. Minnie HEMFLER – born 9 April 1871 in Germany; died 17 May 1945 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

28. Philip ROTTMAN – born about 1835 in Bavaria, Germany; died between 1885 and 1889, probably in Linn Couny, Iowa; married Mary Eva REEDER before 1870, possible in France.

29. Mary Eva REEDER – born 18 March 1849 (cal.) in France; died 26 October 1889 in Iowa.

30. Carl “Charles” STOFFEL – born 16 September 1855 in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany; died 8 November 1902 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois; married Mary BRAUN, about 1884.

31. Mary BRAUN – born 19 November 1855 in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany; died 9 August 1936 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Saturday Night Challenge – 08/08/09

Randy’s challenge for this evening is as follows:

List your 16 great-grandparents in pedigree chart order. List their birth and death years and places.

Figure out the dominant ethnicity or nationality of each of them.

Calculate your ancestral ethnicity or nationality by adding them up for the 16 - 6.25% for each (obviously, this is approximate).

If you don't know all 16 of your great-grandparents, then do it for the last full generation you have.

Write your own blog post, or make a comment on Facebook or in this post.

Here’s mine:

pedigree

I have 10 German, 4 Irish, 1 Canadian, and 1 French. Further generations on Sarah MULLIGAN would also have English. But according to the way Randy asked us to figure this, I am: 63% German, 25% Irish, 6% Canadian, and 6% French.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

German Brick Walls

The topic for the 22nd edition of Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy is roadblocks and breakthrough encountered during your genealogy research.

I have actually had some breakthroughs with my German ancestors, although it’s all been through research here in the U.S. Now, they’ve become my German brick walls, as I am having a hard time finding information across the pond.

There are several reasons they are now brick walls:

In some cases, I don’t know where in Germany to start looking.
I don’t know enough about Germany to effectively search.
I don’t speak/read German, so when I do find something with potential, I can understand it (online translators do help).

So I am going to use this carnival topic to share what I have found so far on each of my direct-line German ancestors.

Emil MILLER & Hulda WACH – Emil and Hulda are my second great-grandparents. Alternate spellings I have come across for Miller are Muller and Mueller (with and without the ü). From the information I have gathered, I believe he was born in Germany around 1862. He and Hulda married on 8 August 1886 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. They had three children: Heinrich “Henry” Frederick, Emil Charles, and Ida (all born in Chicago). Except for their marriage, I cannot find Emil in the U.S. and suspect that he died before 1900 (I have yet to find a death certificate). As for Hulda, she remarried in 1901 to John Fred SEVERING, had another daughter, Lilian, and then I lose her after the 1910 census. I haven’t the slightest clue where to look for them in Germany.

Henry WACH & Amelia WIETZKE – Henry and Amelia are my third great-grandparents. This is a recent discovery. I’ve known of Amelia (also spelled Emillie) since I started my research, as she is found with her children in the U.S. up through the 1920 census. I had no idea who her husband was, nor her maiden name. A few months ago, I obtained her son Henry’s death certificate. Lo and behold, it listed his father’s name AND Amelia’s maiden name and confirmed that they were both born in Germany…jackpot!! Since Amelia remarried while in Germany, I suspect that Henry died in Germany. But again, I have no idea where to start looking for either of them. Henry and Amelia had three children: Hulda (mentioned above), Alvina, and Heinrich :Henry” Emil. Amelia married an unknown SCHULTZ and had another daughter, Mildred. All of the children were born in Germany.

Herman LEPPIN & Minnie HAEMFIFLER – Herman and Minnie are my second great-grandparents. Research indicates that they were both born in Germany. Herman was born on 22 March 1873 and died on 31 March 1948 in Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona. Family notes indicate that Minnie was born in 1872 and died in 1946. They were married on 26 March 1894 in Cook County, Illinois. Together they had four children: Alma Mary, Henry August, Herman Paul, and Charles F. all born in Cook County, Illinois. Nothing as of yet points to where to further my research in Germany.

Phillip ROTTMAN & Mary Eva REEDER – Phillip and Mary are my second great-grandparents. Family notes indicate that Phillip was born in Germany, while Mary was born in France. The notes also indicate that they were married in France. Research indicates that Phillip and Mary had six children: John W (born in Georgia), Anna E (born in Missouri), Malissa Elizabeth (born in Pennsylvania), Charles Henry (born in Iowa), Mabel Louise (born in Pennsylvania), and George (born in Iowa). Research also indicates that Phillip was born in Bavaria, so I guess this could be a place to start.

Charles STOFFEL & Mary BRAUN – Charles and Mary are my second great-grandparents. Of all the direct-line German ancestors, there is potential to finding information on the across the pond. Family papers indicated that they were born in Frankfurt, but I was able to confirm that at least Mary appears to have been born in Frankfurt as it is indicated on her death certificate (which I just recently obtained). I have not been able to find a marriage certificate for them in Illinois, so I suspect they may have been married in Germany. Charles and Mary had seven children, all born in Illinois: Henry C, Anna E, Margaret, Charles L, Elsie A, William, and George. I started to do a little digging when I confirmed that Mary was born in Frankfurt, but was unable to find anything relevant.

There you have it; my German brick walls. I hope to do a little digging on Charles STOFFEL and Mary BRAUN since they’re the only ones that I have some proof of where in Germany they came from. I am heading to SLC in September, and they are on my list.