Surname Saturday – Kremer (Luxembourg / Illinois)

François KREMER (variant KRAMER or KREAMER) is my fourth great-grandfather. He and his wife, Catharina MÜLLER, had several children. So far, I have discovered that two of their children emigrated from Luxembourg to the United States, as did a granddaughter, who is my second great-grandmother.  My direct line ancestors are in blue.

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Generation A

1.

FrançoisA (a.k.a. Franz) KREMER was born circa 18 November 1798 and died on 1 February 1864 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg. François married Catharina MÜLLER. Catharina was born on 20 December 1800 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg, and died on 7 June 1871 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg. Children from this marriage were:

+ 2	i.	Johanna KREMER was born on 23 February 1824 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg.
3	ii.	Guillaumea (a.k.a. Wilhelm) KREMER was born on 6 December 1826 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg.
4	iii.	Johannesa KREMER was born on 24 May 1829 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg.
+ 5	iv.	Pierrea-1 "Peter" KREMER was born on 17 September 1831 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg, and died on 26 January 1910 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.
6	v.	Margarethaa KREMER was born on 27 February 1834 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg. Margaretha married Nicolas PROMMENSCHENKEL on 22 January 1868 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg.
7	vi.	Regnarda KREMER was born on 12 June 1836 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg, and died on 21 March 1839 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg.
8	vii.	Elisabetha KREMER was born on 10 June 1839 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg, and died on 2 January 1893 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg. Elisabeth married Michel LASCHETTE on 22 June 1864 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg.
9	viii.	Franza KREMER (twin) was born on 19 January 1842 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg, and died on 19 January 1842 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg.
10	ix.	Johanna KREMER (twin) was born on 19 January 1842 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg, and died on 19 January 1842 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg.
+ 11	x.	Johann a-1 "John" D KREMER was born on 8 August 1843 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg, and died on 27 January 1914 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.

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Generation 1

2.

Johanna KREMER (FrançoisA) was born on 23 February 1824 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg. Johann married Catharina TERRES, daughter of Mathias TERRES and Anna Maria SINNEN, on 11 January 1857 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg. Catharina was born on 18 August 1825 in Rosport, Echternach, Luxembourg. Children from this marriage were:

12	i.	Johannb KREMER was born on 16 November 1857 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg. Johann married Margaretha KNEVLER on 30 December 1884 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg. They had at least one child.
13	ii.	Catharinab KREMER was born on 10 June 1859 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg. Catharina married Michel CONRAD on 3 February 1885 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg.
14	iii.	Mathiasb KREMER was born on 19 October 1861 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg.
15	iv.	Guillaumeb (a.k.a.) Wilhelm KREMER was born on 4 July 1864 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg.
+ 16	v.	Margaretheb-1 "Margaret" KREMER was born on 31 October 1866 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg, and died on 14 January 1945 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.
17	vi.	Michelb KREMER was born on 20 November 1870 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg.

5.

Pierrea-1 "Peter" KREMER (FrançoisA) was born on 17 September 1831 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg, and died on 26 January 1910 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Pierre married Madelaine Magdalena WELTER, daughter of Johann WELTER and Susanna MICHEL, on 6 August 1862 in Nommern, Mersch, Luxembourg. Madelaine was born on 26 February 1841 in Nommern, Mersch, Luxembourg, and died on 16 July 1927 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Children from this marriage were:

+ 18	i.	Johannb-2 H "John" KREMER was born on 6 August 1865 in Nommern, Mersch, Luxembourg and died Probably 7 October 1943 in Multnomah County, Oregon.
19	ii.	Maryb-2 KREMER was born on 18 July 1867 in Luxembourg, died on 8 January 1922 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and was buried on 12 January 1922 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.
20	iii.	Nicholas2 P "Pat" KREMER was born on 4 October 1870 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 15 July 1940 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Nicholas married Mary A HAPP. Mary was born on 22 February 1875 in Sturgeon Bay, Door, Wisconsin, and died on 14 March 1944 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.
21	iv.	Catherine2 KREMER was born circa 1875 in Illinois.
22	v.	Peter2 KREMER was born on 12 November 1877 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 22 November 1927 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. He never married and had no children.
23	vi.	John2 P KREMER was born on 8 August 1881 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 18 April 1937 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.
24	vii.	Henry2 KREMER was born on 30 August 1883 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 20 February 1939 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, Illinois. He never married and had no children.
25	viii.	William2 KREMER was born in February 1887 in Illinois.

11.

Johanna-1 "John" D KREMER (FrançoisA) was born on 8 August 1843 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg, and died on 27 January 1914 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Johann married Catharina WAGENER. Catharina was born in June 1842 in Luxembourg and died between 1900 and 1910. Children from this marriage were:

+ 26	i.	Nicholas2 D KREMER was born on 29 June 1870 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 4 August 1916 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.
+ 27	ii.	Peter L KREMER was born on 29 November 1868 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 4 July 1941 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.
+ 28	iii.	John Peter KREMER was born on 12 November 1874 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 6 July 1945 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.
+ 29	iv.	Lena KREMER was born on 19 January 1877 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 7 June 1931 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.
30	v.	Susan KREMER was born in August 1879 in Illinois and died before 5 August 1916.
31	vi.	Katherine "Kate" KREMER was born in February 1882 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois and died after 1941. Katherine married Martin SCHWEISTHAL on 28 November 1900 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Martin was born on 18 August 1875 in Germany and died after 1930.
+ 32	vii.	Mary KREMER was born on 25 March 1884 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 18 October 1930 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.
33	viii.	Anna KREMER was born on 24 February 1887 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 21 October 1918 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Anna married Peter John LINDEN between 1 April 1910 and 5 August 1916.
34	ix.	Frank KREMER was born in March 1890 in Illinois.

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Generation 2

16.

Margaretheb-2 F KREMER (Johanna, FrançoisA) was born on 31 October 1866 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg, and died on 14 January 1945 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Margarethe married Johann "John" SCHWARTZ, son of Ferdinand SCHWARTZ and Angelique "Angela" WAGENER, on 6 September 1888 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Johann was born on 19 April 1856 in Echternach, Echternach, Luxembourg, and died on 20 January 1912 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Children from this marriage were:

35	i.	Henry3 Ferdinand SCHWARTZ was born on 28 June 1889 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, died on 23 September 1945 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and was buried on 26 September 1945 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. He never married and had no children.
36	ii.	John J SCHWARTZ was born on 11 January 1892 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois and died after 1917. By 1946, it was reported in his mother’s probate, that he had not been heard from in 24 years.
37	iii.	Magdalena SCHWARTZ was born circa 1893 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 16 February 1895 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.
+ 38	iv.	Catherine M SCHWARTZ was born on 16 April 1894 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 26 January 1925 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.
39	v.	Mary J SCHWARTZ was born on 6 December 1896 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 31 October 1984 in Illinois. Mary married Michael John WATGEN about 1924. Michael was born on 18 December 1897 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died between 1948 and 1952. To my knowledge, they did not have any children.
40	vi.	Theresa K SCHWARTZ was born on 22 January 1899 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, died on 18 July 1942 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and was buried on 22 July 1942. She never married and had no children.
41	vii.	Infant SCHWARTZ was born between 1900 and 1910 and died between 1900 and 1910.
42	viii.	Margaret SCHWARTZ was born circa April 1901, and died on 22 April 1901 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.
43	ix.	Herman J SCHWARTZ was born in 1904 in Illinois and died in 1960. I am not sure if he ever married or had any children.

18.

Johannb-2 H KREMER (Pierrea-1, FrançoisA) was born on 6 August 1865 in Nommern, Mersch, Luxembourg and died Probably 7 October 1943 in Multnomah Co., OR. Johann married Mary SCHILTZ on 30 October 1888 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Mary was born in September 1867 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Children from this marriage were:

44

i.

Lillian3 KREMER was born in September 1889 in Illinois.

26.

Nicholas2 D KREMER (Johanna-1D, FrançoisA) was born on 29 June 1870 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 4 August 1916 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Nicholas married Anna WAGENER on 24 November 1898 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Anna was born in June 1875 in Mersch, Luxembourg and died after 1930. Children from this marriage were:

45	i.	John3 J KREMER was born circa 1902 in Illinois.
46	ii.	Peter V KREMER was born circa 1907 in Illinois.
47	iii.	Joseph KREMER was born Cir 1916 (before 5 Aug 1916) in Illinois.

27.	Peter2 L KREMER (Johanna-1D, FrançoisA) was born on 29 November 1868 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 4 July 1941 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Peter married Anna MILLER on 18 January 1898 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Anna was born in January 1872 in Luxembourg. Children from this marriage were:

48	i.	William3 P KREMER was born in December 1898 in Illinois.
49	ii.	Katherine KREMER was born circa 1901 in Illinois. Katherine married --?-- DE BILECK.
50	iii.	Margaret KREMER was born circa 1903 in Illinois. Margaret married --?--GOETTNER.
51	iv.	John KREMER was born circa 1905 in Illinois.
52	v.	Lena or Helen KREMER was born circa 1909 in Illinois.
53	vi.	Ralph T KREMER was born circa 1911 in Illinois.
54	vii.	Matilda KREMER was born circa 1914 in Illinois. Matilda married –?-- HAGERMAN.
55	viii.	Marie KREMER was born circa 1916 in Illinois and died before July 1941.
56	ix.	Frances KREMER was born circa 1918 in Illinois.
57	x.	--?-- KREMER died before July 1941.

28.	John2 Peter KREMER (Johanna-1D, FrançoisA) was born on 12 November 1874 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 6 July 1945 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. John married Emily WAGNER on 28 November 1900 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Emily was born circa 1875 in Germany. Children from this marriage were:

58	i.	Mary3 A KREMER was born circa 1905 in Illinois. Mary married Nicholas B HEIN after 1930.
59	ii.	Martin C KREMER Sr was born on 11 March 1907 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 23 March 1963 in Saint Charles, Kane, Illinois. Martin married Marie FAYFAR; they had at least seven children.
60	iii.	Nicholas A KREMER was born circa 1909 in Illinois.
61	iv.	Corporal Arthur J KREMER was born circa 1912 in Illinois.

29.

Lena2 KREMER (Johanna-1D, FrançoisA) was born on 19 January 1877 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 7 June 1931 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Lena married John Peter REUTER on 14 January 1896 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. John was born on 15 August 1873 in Ourscamp, Oise, France, and died on 21 June 1937 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Children from this marriage were:

62	i.	Catherine3 REUTER was born circa 1897 in Illinois. Catherine married Charles RAUSCH between 1 January 1920 and 15 April 1921. Charles was born circa 1893 in Illinois.
63	ii.	Mary REUTER was born circa 1898 in Illinois. Mary married Lloyd MILLER.
64	iii.	John Edward REUTER was born on 3 May 1901 in Illinois, and died on 15 April 1921 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.
65	iv.	Philip REUTER was born circa 1904 in Illinois.
66	v.	Julius REUTER was born circa 1907 in Illinois and died in June 1971.

32.

Mary2 KREMER (Johanna-1D, FrançoisA) was born on 25 March 1884 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 18 October 1930 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Mary married John Esidore J ROTH circa 1907. John was born on 8 April 1882 in Mendota, LaSalle, Illinois and died in April 1973. Children from this marriage were:

67	i.	Mary3 Frances ROTH was born circa 1909 in Illinois.
68	ii.	Ralph E ROTH was born circa 1911 in Illinois.
69	iii.	Mary K ROTH was born circa 1917 in Illinois.
70	iv.	Clarence ROTH was born in 1921 in Illinois.

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Generation 3

16.

Catherine3 F SCHWARTZ (Margaretheb-2 Kremer, Johanna, FrançoisA) was born on 16 April 1894 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and died on 26 January 1925 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. Catherine married John F CAHILL, son of Thomas Robert CAHILL and Margareth MILLETT, on 25 April 1916 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. John was born on 22 May 1895 in Illinois, and died on 16 January 1967 in Sturgis, Saint Joseph, Michigan. Children from this marriage were:

71	i.	Raymond4 J CAHILL was born on 8 February 1918 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois and died on 21 June 1987 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. He married Ruth HARVEY and may have been married once prior to that marriage. Ray had three sons.
72	ii.	Marcella Marion CAHILL was born on 22 February 1920 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois and died on 2 October 2010 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois. She married Leo SCHAG. They had three children.
73	iii.	John "Jack" Francis CAHILL was born on 12 June 1922 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois and died on 16 September 1984 in Addison, DuPage, Illinois. He married Joan McMAHON, and their only son, Joseph, was my father.

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Disclaimer: Information is based on research completed as of 14 March 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 Kremer/Kramer 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.

One Leaf on the Tree

I haven’t done a Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge in awhile, but I love a good game of roulette.  This week, Randy Seaver has set the following challenge, Ancestor Name Roulette:

1. What year was one of your great-grandfathers born?  Divide this number by 50 and round the number off to a whole number. This is your "roulette number."
2. Use your pedigree charts or your family tree genealogy software program to find the person with that number in your ancestral name list (some people call it an "ahnentafel"). Who is that person, and what are his/her vital information?
3. Tell us three facts about that person in your ancestral name list with the "roulette number."
4. Write about it in a blog post on your own blog, in a Facebook status or a Google Stream post, or as a comment on this blog post.
5. If you do not have a person's name for your "roulette number" then spin the wheel again - pick a great-grandmother, a grandparent, a parent, a favorite aunt or cousin, yourself, or even your children!

I went with my great-grandfather John Ward McMAHON (1902-1962) and came up with the number 38, which led me to Johann KREMER, my third great-grandfather. 

Vital Stats

Here's what I know about Johann KREMER.  He was born 2 February 1824 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg, son of François / Franz KREMER (1798-1864) and Catharina MÜLLER (1800-1871).  Johann married Catharina TERRES 11 January 1857 in Consdorf, Echternach, Luxembourg.  Catharina, the daughter of Mathias TERRES and Maria SINNEN, was born 18 August 1825 in Rosport, Echternach, Luxembourg.  At this time, I have no idea when or where Johann or Catharina died.

3 Facts

Johann had nine known siblings.  At least two of those siblings left Luxembourg and settled in Aurora, Kane County, Illinois.  Three of his siblings shared his given name; one died in infancy, but the other two lived into adulthood.

Johann and Catharina had at least six children.  Only the fate of one daughter, Margaret, is known at this time.  She is my second great-grandmother, who also immigrated to America and settled in Aurora like her uncles.

According to birth records for his children and Luxembourg censuses, Johann was a “charpentier” (carpenter).

Good thing Randy didn’t ask for more facts because this is about all I know!

Peculiar, With a Side of “Huh?”

A few months back, I posted about finding the birth record for Margarethe Kremer, my second great-grandmother.  The record was found in FamilySearch’s Luxembourg Civil Registrations record collection.  Periodically, over the last few months, I’ve  continued to review more of these records, working mainly on the line of Margarethe’s husband Johann Schwatrz.  Research was going well, even though I can’t read German (or even French, which started to appear the further back I went).  I can get the gist of the records since they follow a pre-printed register, and therefore, a (usually) predictable pattern.  While I had much success with the Schwartz family (going back two more generations than previously known), I can’t say the same for the Kremer side.  To illustrate the research path I took and ultimately present my predicament, I will outline what I did, step by step.

1. It all started with the information found on the marriage license for John Schwartz and Margarethe Kremer (Kane County, Illinois; 1888).  Margarethe’s parents were listed as John Kremer and Magdalena Terres, and her place of birth was “Konsdorf,” Luxembourg.  This information, coupled with an alleged date of birth from Margarethe’s death certificate (Kane County, Illinois; 1945), gave me a place to start while looking at the Luxembourg birth records.  And there is was, in the right place, the same birth date, and the correct (sort of) parents.  The birth record (Consdorf, 1866) listed the parents as Johann Kremer and Catharina Terres.  Well, I though, everything else is spot-on, so perhaps someone in one of the records goofed. 
2. I continued looking though the birth records and found five more births in Consdorf (from 1857 to 1870), where the parents were listed as Johann Kremer and Catharina Terres.  A marriage record (Consdorf, 1857) confirmed this union and listed their parents respectively as Franz Kremer and Catharina Muller, and Mathias Terres and Maria Sinnen.
3. I then began to search for the birth records for Johann Kremer and Catharina Terres.  There are two possibilities for Johann, one in 1824 and one in 1829, both born to Franz Kremer and Catharina Muller (later research did not find a death for a Johann to these parents from 1824 to 1829 to suggest the reuse of the name due to death of an earlier child, so I’m not really sure what’s going on here—but that’s another mystery for another time).  I noticed that there were never any records for the surname Terres and thought perhaps Catharina was from another location.  I went back to their marriage record and realized that she was from the neighboring town of  Rosport.  So off to the birth records in that area.  Starting in 1820, I found the birth of Catharina Terres in 1825, daughter of Mathias Terres and Maria Sinnen.  Perfect!  (I also realized, if I’m reading the German and handwriting correctly, that their ages at marriage were 32 and 31, making the Johann born in 1824 the likely suspect.)
4. Eventually, I moved on to the death records for Consdorf, from 1821 to 1890.  In 1860, I found the death of Catharina Terres (they record women with their maiden name), born in Rosport, daughter of Mathias Terres and Maria Sinnen.  Not even thinking about it (note to self, don’t do serious research when you’re in a bad mood), I recorded the death in my database.  This was yesterday.  Today, with a slightly clearer head, I noticed that something didn’t seem right.  Catharina, who apparently died in 1860, had four more children between 1860 and 1870.  Huh???
5. I’ve gone back over the records several times and cannot figure out what happened here.  Each of the children born between 1860 and 1870 all say Catharina “Theres,” which is a variant (especially when the surname never appears in this location, ever from what I can tell).  Catharina’s marriage record ties her to her birth record, both in turn seemingly connecting her to this death record.  But what if I’m reading the death record wrong?  I can see the parents names, but I’m having a hard time deciphering the rest of the record.  In neighboring towns, if the female was married, they would list her parents, as well as her spouse (deceased or not).  This record also contains the name Pierre Kremer, which may be the person who reported the death (if the death records follow the same pattern as the birth record).  I’m also having a hard time reading the age at death of Catharina.  I don’t get it.  Name matches, parents are the same across all records, all three records indicate a birth in Rosport…again, I say, “huh?”

To say I’m confused would be an understatement.  Perhaps I’ve screwed up somewhere.  Perhaps Mathias and Maria had two daughters names Catharina (odd, but you never know, there appear to be two Johanns in the Kremer family, with two more born in later years, with at least one of the previous, my ancestor, living).  And remember, my second great-grandmother listed a completely different first name (Magdalena) for her mother when she applied for a marriage license.  While all of the other records so far would indicate that her mother’s name was Catharina, maybe the name Magdalena means something and is some sort of clue.  Who knows.

At this point, my first step has got to be getting the 1860 death record for Catharine Terres translated.  It’s the only way I can know for sure (I hope) that they either are, or are not, the same person.  If anyone wants to take a stab, I’ve inserted the death record below, but a larger version can be viewed on the FamilySearch website by clicking here (record no. 30, top left).  Any help at this point would be welcomed!!