Sep 17

Tombstone Tuesday–Esther A.E. Sauer

Esther A.E. Sauer, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Esther A. E. Sauer, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Esther A. E. Sauer
Mar. 15, 1908
Mar. 9, 1994

Esther A. E. Sauer was born 15 March 1908 in Monroeville, Allen County, Indiana, the daughter of Henry and Justine (Pflueger) Sauer. [1] The family probably attended church in or near Monroeville because there is no record of her baptism in the records of Zion Lutheran, Schumm.

In 1910 the Henry Sauer family lived in Monroe Township, Allen County, Indiana: Henry, 26; Justine RM, 20; Esther AE, 2; and Paul EJ, 8 months. [2] 

Esther’s mother, Justine (Pflueger) Sauer, died from LaGrippe on 12 March 1918 in Van Wert County, Ohio. She was only 28 years old and left 5 underage children behind. She is buried in row 11 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm. Her husband Henry never remarried.

The Henry Sauer family in 1920, residing in Willshire Township: Henry, 35, widow; Esther AE, 11; Paul AJ, 10; Reinhold F, 8; Herman E, 6; and Lena N, 3. [3]

In 1930 Henry Sauer, 46, farmed and lived in Adams County, Indiana, with his two daughters, Esther, 22, and Lina, 13. [4]

In 1940 Esther Sauer was a lodger in the home of Freda Lancaster at 2313 North Anthony, Fort Wayne, Indiana: Freda Lancaster, 45, head; Emma Lancaster, 71, mother, widow; Nellie Fetters, 68, lodger; and Esther Sauer, 32, lodger. All in the household were born in Indiana. The writing is difficult to read, but it appears that Esther worked as a maid in a priest’s house. Freda Lancaster, the head of the household, was the principal at a public school. [5]   

In 1940 Esther’s father Henry Sauer, 56, lived by himself at 229 First Street in Decatur. [6] Henry died 3 June 1948 at the Richmond State Hospital, Wayne County, Indiana, at the age of 64. [7] Henry was brought back to Zion Schumm’s cemetery and was laid to rest in row 3. 

Esther A.E. Sauer, aged 85, died of a heart attack on 9 March 1994 at the Woodview Health Care Center, Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana. She was buried on 12 March, buried very near her father. [1]

Esther never married.

Henry and Justina (Pflueger) Sauer had the following children, including Esther and her siblings:
Esther A.E. (1908-1994), never married
Paul A. John (1909-1988), married Clara Alena Stump
Reinhold Ferdinand (1911-1993), married Helen M. Fritzinger
Herman Edgar (1913-1986), married Dorothy Alice Featherer
Lena Paula Emelia (1916-2013), married Russell E. Fleming

[1] Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Indiana State Board of Health, Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011, 1994, roll 4, Esther Sauer, 9 Mar 1994; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com.  

[2] 1910 U.S. Census, Monroe Allen, Indiana, ED 17, p.2B, dwelling & family 21, Henry Sauer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1910uscenindex/ : viewed 2 Sep 2019). 

[3] 1920 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, ED 146, p.3B, dwelling 63, family 64, Henry Souer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com  (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1920usfedcen/ : viewed 2 Sep 2019).

[4] 1930 U.S. Census, Root, Adams, Indiana, ED 14, p.9B, dwelling & family 212, Henry Sauer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1930usfedcen/ : viewed 2 Sep 2019).

[5] 1940 U.S. Census, Fort Wayne, Allen, Indiana, ED 94-5A, p.60A, lines 5, 18, 23, Freda Lancaster, Esther Sauer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1940usfedcen/ : viewed 16 Sep 2019).

[6] 1940 U.S. Census, Decatur, Adams, Indiana, ED 1-12, p.2B, line 41, Henry Sauers; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1940usfedcen/ : viewed 2 Sep 2019).

[7] Indiana Death Certificates, 1948, roll 7, Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Henry Sauer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com.

Sep 13

The Miller Brothers in the Oklahoma Oil Fields, c1910-13

Today, as I continue the saga of the Miller brothers in the western oil fields, I am posting the last of the picture postcards the two young men sent home to their parents in rural Mercer County, Ohio.

Half-brothers Chris Miller and Jacob Miller Jr were my great-uncles. Chris (1880-1911) was the son of Jacob Miller and his second wife Margaretha Strabel. Jacob Jr (1885-1913) was the son of Jacob Miller and his third wife Christena Rueck. My grandfather Carl Miller (1896-1973) was a full brother to Jacob Jr.

Jacob Miller (1880-1911) by oil drums

The past couple weeks I have posted images of the picture postcards the Miller brothers sent from the oil boom towns in Kern County and Fresno County, California, between 1910-1911. I am assuming they sent postcards from the places where they worked or stayed at. That’s what people usually do.

Unfortunately, most of these postcards have no postmark and have nothing written on the back. I have two theories about this. I believe they could have put several picture postcards in an envelope and sent them home. Or, another possibility is that Chris and Jacob Jr collected these postcards and had them among their personal effects and the family acquired them after their deaths. That would explain why there are so many postcards with no postmarks or writing.  

I do not know when the brothers went out west, but they were in Kern, California by 1910. Chris died in Texas in 1911 and Jacob Jr died in Oklahoma in 1913.

The last picture postcards I have to show are from Oklahoma. Both brothers worked in the Oklahoma oil fields at one time or another.

Below is the only postcard that has something written on the back. It is from Preston, Oklahoma, has no postmark, and is addressed to their father Jacob Miller, RR#1, Willshire, Ohio.

The message on the back is short: Dear Folks, We landed all right.

“A drilling well in Operation, Preston, OK,” c1910-13

Preston, Oklahoma, postcard, from Chris or Jacob Jr Miller.

We–Does that mean the two brothers or one/both of the brothers and someone else? Landed—That sounds like they were traveling by boat or air, but neither of those I am pretty sure. They likely traveled by rail. There was a depot right in Willshire and trains went through most western oil towns.

Travel by train was popular and two of the postcards shown below show train depots.

Chris Miller died in Texas in October of 1911. Jacob Jr died in Drumright, Oklahoma, in 1913. This Oklahoma postcard could have been sent shortly before Jacob Jr died. According to his obituary he had only been in Oklahoma about six days before he was killed. He had been living in California before that.    

Preston, Oklahoma, c1910-13

Tulsa Special, Kiefer, Oklahoma, c1910-13

Note the oil well behind the train depot in the above photo.

Near Sapulpa, Oklahoma, c1910-13

I am not quite sure what the above postcard shows. Possibly a mine?

The Oklahoma towns mentioned on these postcards are relatively close together. Sapulpa is 5 miles north of Kiefer and Keifer is 20 miles north of Preston. Jacob was killed in Drumright, which is 28 miles west of Sapulpa. They were all oil towns. 

Next week, my timeline of the Miller brothers’ journey while they were out west.

Sep 10

Tombstone Tuesday–Justina R.M. (Pflueger) Sauer

Justina R.M. (Pflueger) Sauer, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Justina Rosine Magdalena (Pflueger) Sauer, located in row 11 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

SAUER
Hier Ruhet in Gott
Justina R.M.
Ehefr. Von H. Sauer
Geb. Den 12, Dez. 1889
Gest. Den 12, Marz 1918
Alter 28 J. 3 M.

SAUER. Here rests in God Justin R.M., wife of H. Sauer, born on 12 December 1889, died on 12 March 1918, aged 28 years, 3 months.

Justine “Justina“  Rosine Magdalena Pflueger was born 12 December 1889 in Willshire Township, the daughter of Abraham and Elisabeth (Hofmann) Pflueger. She was baptized at home on 22 December 1889, with Rosine Schumm, Magdalena Geier, and Magdalena Geissler as her sponsors.  

In 1900, 10 year-old Justina Pflueger lived with her parents and siblings in Van Wert County: Abraham Pflueger, 48; Elizabeth, 43; Ferdinand, 15; Henry, 12; Justina, 10; Martha, 7; Willie, 4; and Louis, 1. Her father was a farmer and Justina attended school. [1]  

Justina Pflueger married Henry Sauer in Zion Schumm’s parsonage on 26 December 1907. They were married by Rev. C.W. Giese and the church records indicate that both the bride and the groom were from Zion Schumm’s parish. Henry Sauer (1884-1948) was the son of John and Anna C. (Meisinger) Sauer.

In 1910 the Henry Sauer family lived in Monroe Township, Allen County, Indiana: Henry, 26; Justine RM, 20; Esther AE, 2; and Paul EJ, 8 months. This enumeration indicates that Henry was born in Germany and immigrated in 1890. [2] 

Justina (Pflueger) Sauer died in Van Wert County, Ohio, on 12 March 1918, at the age of 28 years and 3 months. She was buried on the 13th. She left behind her husband, 5 underage children, her father, 4 brothers, and 2 sisters. She was buried on the 14th in Zion Schumm’s cemetery. [3]

Justina suffered with LaGrippe [influenza] for 7 days before the disease took her life. She died during the 1918-19 Influenza Pandemic and may have been a victim of the Spanish Flu which took millions of lives during that time.  

Justina’s husband Henry never remarried and he died in 1948. Henry is buried in row 3 of Zion Schumm’s cemetery.

Henry and Justina (Pflueger) Sauer had the following children:
Esther (1908-1994), never married
Paul A. John (1909-1988), married Clara Alena Stump
Reinhold Ferdinand (1911-1993), married Helen M. Fritzinger
Herman Edgar (1913-1986), married Dorothy Alice Featherer
Lena Paula Emelia (1916-2013), married Russell E. Fleming

[1] 1900 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, ED 97, p.9, dwelling 183, family 197, Abraham Pflueger; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1900usfedcen/ : viewed 8 Sep 2019.)

[2] 1910 U.S. Census, Monroe Allen, Indiana, ED 17, p.2B, dwelling & family 21, Henry Sauer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1910uscenindex/ : viewed 2 Sep 2019). 

[3] “Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953,” Willshire Twp, Van Wert, Justina Sauer, 12 Mar 1918; database with images, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9PJ1-3218?i=213&cc=1307272&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AX8VN-Y24 : viewed 8 Sep 2019). 

 

Sep 06

Miller Brothers in the California Oil Fields, c1911

Today, a few more picture postcards from California that half-brothers Chris Miller and Jacob Miller Jr sent home to their parents. Chris and Jacob Jr left their farm in northern Mercer County, Ohio, sometime before 1910 and traveled out west to work in the oil fields. Oil had been found in several western states around the turn of the century and the two young men went west to work in the oil fields, but they never returned home. 

Chris and Jacob Jr were my great-uncles. Chris Miller (1880-1911) was the son of Jacob Miller and his second wife Margaretha Strabel. Jacob Jr (1885-1913) was the son of Jacob Miller and his third wife Christena Rueck. My grandfather Carl Miller (1896-1973) was a full brother to Jacob Jr.

Chris Miller, in the oil fields out west, unknown date.

Unfortunately, most of the postcards the brothers sent home had no postmark and had nothing written on the back. Evidently they put several picture postcards in an envelope and sent them home.

Still, I am trying to map their journey as they worked in the oil fields and make a timeline as best as I can. They were out west just a short time, when Chris died of typhoid fever and Jacob Jr was killed by pieces from a falling oil derrick.

Jacob Miller Jr was living in Kern County, California, in 1910. He was 24 years old, born in Ohio, working as a tool dresser in the oil fields. He was single and one of nine boarders living in the family household of Orr Whitehall. [1] I have not located his half-brother Chris in the 1910 census.

In March 1911 they were in Oil Center, Kern County, California, according to the large panoramic photo I showed a couple weeks ago. The first oil wells were drilled in Kern County in 1877 and the oil boom continued in California into the early 1900s.   

Below are some more picture postcards that show a few more locations the two brothers worked in or passed through during their time in the western oil fields. I am assuming they sent the postcards from places that they had been in.

Last week I showed postcards that were sent from Coalinga, Fresno County, California, a town where oil was struck in the late 1800s. One of the postcards is labeled 10-11 May 1912 Coalinga Fiesta. Chris Miller died of typhoid fever in late 1911, so Jacob Jr would have sent the Coalinga postcards home in 1912.

1912 Coalinga Fiesta, Coalinga, California.

I believe the photo below is also from Coalinga, California. Nichols, the photographer, was also the photographer of another Coalinga postcard that I posted last week.  

Shops, Section 27, Nichols photographer. Possibly Coalinga, CA.

The photo postcard below is labeled Standard 36, Taft, Cal. Taft, in Kern County, California, is about 90 miles south of Coalinga. Oil was found in Taft in the late 1800s and early-mid 1900s. Standard Oil employed many workers there in the early 1900s. I am guessing that the Standard 36 is the size of the pipe.   

Standard 36, Taft, CA.

The photo below is from the oil fields in Bakersfield, Kern County, California:

Bakersfield, CA, oilfields.

Bakersfield, the county seat of Kern County, is about 100 miles southeast of Coalinga and is about 30 miles northeast of Taft. 

Gold was discovered in the Bakersfield area in 1853 and the gold rush started soon after. In 1853 Col. Thomas Baker settled on what became the town of Bakersfield. In 1868 the first post office was established and by 1876 the Southern Pacific Railroad ran there. In 1898 the first regular passenger train went to Bakersfield, so the Miller brothers could have traveled by rail to their destinations. In 1899 the Kern Oil Field was discovered and in 1900 the Midway Oil Field was discovered. Standard Oil built its first oil pipeline in the county in 1901, going from the Kern River Field near Bakersfield to Point Richmond near San Francisco. The Buena Vista Oil Field was discovered in 1909 and the Bellridge Oil Field in 1911. [2]

Chris Miller was also in San Francisco at one time, as shown on the undated postcard below.

Chris Miller, standing on the right in back. Pacific Sightseeing Co, San Francisco, unknown date.

There would have been plenty of work for the ambitious Miller brothers in the western oil fields. As well as a little time for sight-seeing.

[1] 1910 U.S. Census, Township 6, Kern, California, ED 30, p.16B, dwelling 227, family 239, Jacob Miller; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1910uscenindex/ : viewed 29 Aug 2019). Census taken 7 May 1910.

[2] Bakersfield.com, “Timeline: 150 Years of Kern County History,” (https://www.bakersfield.com/special/150-years/timeline-years-of-kern-county-history/article_3b1dbe9c-ece6-50d6-8b44-88fb09a8507a.html : viewed 5 Sep 2019).

Sep 03

Tombstone Tuesday–Henry Sauer

Henry Sauer, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Henry Sauer, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Henry Sauer
1884-1948

Henry Sauer was born in Germany on 2 March 1884 [1], the son of John and Anna C. (Meisinger) Sauer.

According to the 1900 census the Sauer family immigrated in 1895. In 1900 Henry lived with his parents and his siblings in Willshire Township: John Sauer, 47; Anna C, 45; Leonard, 24; Eva, 22; Anna C, 20; John Jr, 18; Henry, 16; Mary, 14; Aaron, 13; Phillip, 9; and Ludwig, 6. According to that enumeration, 9 of the 10 Sauer children were living. [2]

Henry Sauer married “Justine” Rosine Magdalene Pflueger in Zion Schumm’s parsonage on 26 Dec 1907, married by Rev. C.W. Giese. The church records indicate both the bride and groom were from Zion Schumm’s parish. Justine (1889-1918) was the daughter of Abraham and Elisabeth (Hofmann) Pflueger.

In 1910 the Henry Sauer family lived in Monroe, Allen County, Indiana: Henry, 26; Justine R M, 20; Esther A E, 2; and Paul E J, 8 months. This enumeration indicates that Henry was born in Germany and immigrated in 1890. [3] 

Henry’s wife Justine died from lagrippe on 12 March 1918 in Van Wert County, Ohio. She was only 28 years old and left 5 underage children behind. She was buried on the 14th in Zion Schumm’s cemetery. Henry never remarried.

In 1920 widower Henry Sauer lived in Willshire Township with his 5 children: Henry, 35; Esther A E, 11; Paul A J, 10; Reinhold F, 8; Herman E, 6; and Lena N, 3. [4]

In 1930 Henry Sauer farmed and lived in Adams County with his two daughters: Henry, 46; Esther, 22; and Lina 13. [5]

Henry Sauer, age 56, lived by himself at 229 First Street in Decatur in 1940. He rented his home and worked as a laborer. [6]

Henry Sauer died of cerebral arteriosclerosis on 3 June 1948 at the Richmond State Hospital, Wayne County, Indiana. He was 64 years old. [7] Neither his death nor burial are recorded in Zion Schumm’s records. He was brought back to Zion Schumm’s cemetery and laid to rest near his wife Justine.  

Henry and Justina (Pflueger) Sauer had the following children:
Esther (1908-1994), never married
Paul A. John (1909-1988), married Clara Alena Stump
Reinhold Ferdinand (1911-1993), married Helen M. Fritzinger
Herman Edgar (1913-1986), married Dorothy Alice Featherer
Lena Paula Emelia (1916-2013), married Russell E. Fleming

To make this research just a little more challenging, there was another Henry Sauer, the son of Adam and Magdalena (Dietrich) Sauer, born near Schumm in 1889, who was baptized at Zion Schumm that same year. He and his wife Erna lived in Fort Wayne and they are both buried in Concordia Cemetery there.

[1] “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” Van Wert Marriages, Vol. 12:540, Henry Sauer & Justina Pflueger, 26 Dec 1907; database with images, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-S5QH-DL?i=302&cc=1614804&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AXD2K-N64 : viewed 2 Sep 2019).

[2] 1900 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, Ed 98, p.13, dwelling 246, family 252, John Sauer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1900usfedcen/ : viewed 2 Sep 2019).

[3] 1910 U.S. Census, Monroe Allen, Indiana, ED 17, p.2B, dwelling & family 21, Henry Sauer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1910uscenindex/ : viewed 2 Sep 2019). 

[4] 1920 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, ED 146, p.3B, dwelling 63, family 64, Henry Souer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1920usfedcen/ : viewed 2 Sep 2019).

[5] 1930 U.S. Census, Root, Adams, Indiana, ED 14, p.9B, dwelling & family 212, Henry Sauer; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1930usfedcen/ : viewed 2 Sep 2019).

[6] 1940 U.S. Census, Decatur, Adams, Indiana, ED 1-12, p.2B, line 41, Henry Sauers; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1940usfedcen/ : viewed 2 Sep 2019).

[7] Indiana Death Certificates, 1948, roll 7, Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Henry Sauer, 3 Jun 1948; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com.