Nov 16

1918 Letter from Regina to Christine Rueck Miller

Jacob and Regina (Rueck) Rueck. Regina wrote the letter below in 1918.

One of the best things about blogging about family and local history is being contacted by distant relatives, old  acquaintances, former area inhabitants and others researching the same surnames.

Recently I was contacted by another Rueck researcher, Onno Rueck, from Switzerland. Onno seems to have an extensive database of Ruecks from all around the world but we have not determined if our Rueck families connect somewhere down the line.

I am afraid that I was not much help to him but he was a great help to me. Onno can read old German Script! After reading in one of my blog posts that I have many Rueck letters written in the old script, he kindly offered to translate one for me. I was amazed at how quickly Onno was able to translate the letter.

The collection of letters I have is from the Ruecks that moved to Oregon and were written to my great-grandmother Christine (Rueck) Miller. My great-great-grandparents, Jacob and Regina (Gross) Rueck, as well as several of their children moved to Oregon in the late 1800s. Their children that accompanied them to Oregon were George, Jacob, Catherina, David, Regina and Carl.

Two of Jacob and Regina’s children did not go to Oregon with the rest of the family. My great-grandmother Christine (Rueck) Miller stayed in Ohio and Frederick Ruck moved to Oklahoma.

Christine (Rueck) Miller, sister of Regina.

The letter I sent to Onno to translate was one of the oldest letters I have from Oregon. I could tell from the 1918 postmark that it was probably a letter telling of the death of the father, Jacob Rueck, who died on 23 January 1918. Jacob’s wife Regina passed away in 1889.The letter was written by Regina (Rueck) Rueck, sister of my great-grandmother  Christine (Rueck) Miller. Regina married her first cousin, Jacob Rueck.

Letter from Regina to her sister Christine (Rueck) Miller, 1918.

Below is the translation and transcription of the letter, which Onno translated literally. I took the liberty of making the sentences sound more like today’s English since German sentences usually have the subject, object and verb in a different order than we are used to. For example the first sentence literally reads, “Your kind letter have we last Wednesday received.” There were a couple sentences that I did not quite know what was meant and so I left them in the literal translation.

Aurora, Ore., Jan. 27, 1918
Dear Sister, Brother-in-law and Children,

We received your kind letter last Wednesday. Unfortunately our dear father could no more read himself. He was still alive this evening. At ¾ to nine [his] soul died at age 89 years and 1 month. He was in bed the last 6 days although he was still up almost constantly the whole day. He also had bladder problems almost the whole winter. We had to take the water part of the nights most of the time. He died of weakness of old age, so to say. His powers and his strength became obviously weaker the whole winter. God be praised that he did not have much pain or suffering. 

Dear Sister, it was very hard to lose him. He has however left behind the good power. He is by mother in heaven. He prayed very much all the time and said his goodbyes to us. Taken you will surely his goodbyes send and you falls [?] him to forgive that his unjust was done and he was complete ready to leave us. We have seen David once again. He was here 3 weeks in November on a visit.

Dear sister, it was a very burdened and troublesome winter for us. On 10 November Karl became ill and on the 13th we brought him to the hospital in Portland where he was operated on that same day. There was a tumor and appendicitis. He was in the hospital 4 weeks. Already since the start of December every night we stayed awake by father as Karl was away. It was rather hard for Jake. He and us alone in the morning with father were constantly afraid he would not see Karl again. He has come out of the hospital 2 weeks before. He is still really weak. I did not want to write you all earlier and worries make me write you now. Sister Katja has enough worries, too. Her oldest does not have his papers yet for moving. She day by day

We had an unusually mild winter. I…a plucked a few flowers off father’s grave. The grave was completely covered with beautiful flowers. The pastor had a very beautiful burial service and corpse [burial] text.  Now will I close.

Dear sister, May you have a solemn heart and find the peace/rest. [maybe dear little sister/pet name?] greets you all wholeheartedly. Sister, Brothers, Brother-in-law, Children

Regina

Many thanks to Onno for translating this letter for me.

 

 

Nov 13

Tombstone Tuesday–Michael J. & Margaret Kallenberger

Mike & Maggie Kallenberger, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio.

This is the tombstone of Michael J. and Margaret “Maggie” Kallenberger, located in row 10 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

KALLENBERGER
Margaret 1879-1962
Michael J. 1871-1952

Johann Michael Kallenberger was born in Blackcreek Township, Mercer County, Ohio, on 16 March 1871, the son of Andrew and Elisabeth (Burkhart) Kallenberger. He was baptized 14 May 1871 and confirmed 17 May 1885 at Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga.

Maggie Rueck was born 26 March 1879, according to her confirmation record at Zion. She was confirmed 9 April 1893. Maggie was born in Germany [probably Württemberg] to Christine Rueck. Maggie, her mother and her mother’s family immigrated to America about 1879, [1] but I have not located them on a passenger list. Maggie was my grandaunt and it appears that she was adopted by Jacob Miller after he and Christine Rueck married.

Mike and Maggie were married on 30 September 1897 at Zion. They lived on the Kallenberger farm, Section 17 of Blackcreek Township, Rockford West Road, until Mike died. After that Maggie turned the farm over to their son John and Maggie moved across from the Vernon Caffee farm on State Route 49, about 1 1/2 miles north of Chatt.

Relatives that remember Maggie have told me that Mike and Maggie were considered fairly well-off. They owned a refrigerator that was run by kerosene and they had a Delco System that worked like a generator and supplied their electricity.  My Aunt Ruth remembers that Maggie popped a lot of popcorn.

Mike and Maggie adopted two children, George Wesley, born May 1906, baptized 30 May 1909 at Zion, Chatt, and Ardella, born 7 January 1908, baptized 30 May 1909 at Zion. One child was born to them, Johann Andres Kallenberger, born 5 October 1910, baptized 6 November 1910.

Ardella, Mike, Wesley, Maggie and John Kallenberger.

Mike and Maggie also raised Bob and Merlin Miller, sons of her half brother John Miller and his wife Frona (Dull). And they raised their grandson Max Kallenberger, Wesley’s son, after his mother died and Wesley was drafted into the Army during WWII, leaving no one to care for the young children.

Mike and Maggie were baptismal sponsors for Vernon Caffee in 1915 and Maggie was the sponsor for several other nieces and nephews.

 

Mike and Maggie Rueck Miller Kallenberger.

Obituaries:

County Native Passes Away
Michael J. Kallenberger, 80, passed away at 11:40 a.m. Sunday at his home one and one-half miles north of Chattanooga. He had been in failing health the past two years and was confined to his bed for two weeks.

A native of Blackcreek Township, he was born March 16, 1871, the son of Andrew and Elizabeth Brookhart Kallenberger.

On Sept. 30, 1990 [sic] he was married to Maggie Miller in the Lutheran parsonage, Chattanooga. His widow survives with three children, Wesley G., Decatur, Ind.; Mrs. James Hamrick, Wren, and John A., Willlshire; and 18 grand-children. He was the last of his family of four children.

Services will be conducted in the Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, of which he was a member, at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Rev. W.E. Byers will officiate followed by burial in the church cemetery.

The body, cared for by Yager’s funeral home, Berne, Ind., will be returned to the residence, where friends and relatives may call after 6 p.m. today. [2]

M. Kallenberger
Decatur–Mrs. Margaret Kallenberger, 84, resident of Blackcreek Township, Mercer County, died Sunday in Van Rue Geriatric Center in Van Wert, following an illness of two years. She was born near Willshire and her husband, Michael J. Kallenberger died in 1952. Rites were held Tuesday afternoon in Zwick Funeral Home in Decatur and the Rev. Arnold J. Green was in charge. Burial was made in Zion Lutheran Cemetery, at Chattanooga. Survivors include one son, a foster son, a daughter, two brothers, two sisters, 21 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.  [3]

Maggie Rueck Miller Kallenberger

 

[1] 1900 U.S. Census, Blackcreek Township, Mercer County, Ohio, ED 0074, p. 11A, Family/dwelling No. 215, Maggie Callenburger; digital image by subscription,  Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 November 2012); FHL microfilm 1241303, from National Archives microfilm T623, roll 1303.

[2] The Daily Standard, Celina, Ohio, 3 March 1952, p. 1.

[3] The Daily Standard, Celina, Ohio, 31 Oct 1962, p. 8.

Nov 09

WWII Letter from Germany

Herbert M. Miller, WWII.

He grew up during the Great Depression. He was a security guard, electrician and farmer and could fix just about anything. He was a good, honest man, one of the Greatest Generation and a US Army Veteran. And he was my dad.

In remembrance of Veterans Day I have transcribed a letter that my dad, Herbert Miller, wrote to his sister and her husband while he was serving his country in Germany during World War II.  He volunteered for the draft and ended up serving in the 84th Division, 333rd Company, Army Infantry, also known as the Railsplitters. He was very proud to have been a member of the Railsplitters.

My Aunt Ruth gave me the following letter this past summer. I am grateful that she saved the letter all these years and passed it on to me.

The Railsplitters Emblem.

PFC Herbert M. Miller
A.S.N. 35845400
Hq. 84 Div. Post. Sect.
A.P.O. 84. c/o PM. N.Y., N.Y.
30 Oct 1945
Weinheim, Germany

Dear Ruth & Bob,

This letter isn’t going to be very interesting, but you wanted me to tell about some of my experience. I don’t care too much to write or talk about it. I’d rather be friendly with everybody.

I went to Ft. Meade, Md. & from there went to Camp Miles Standish, Mass. on Dec. 11. My co boarded the USS Wakefield- “the old Manhatten” luxury liner. We sailed on the 12th & on the 19th we landed in England. We got on a train right away & rode across England to the channel. On the 21st we crossed the channel & loaded ”LST” to land at Le Harve, & landed the same day. I spent that nite in La Harve. The 22nd & 23rd I spent by riding in box cars across France. On the evening of the 23rd we came to JeVaie[?], France, up along the Belgian border. That nite the Jerries bombed & strafed the town & it was reported that the German spearhead was only 13 miles away.

The next day they issued us 03 because they were out of M-1 rifles. [end of p.1]

That afternoon (Christmas Day) we moved to a Repple Depple just set up in the woods. There they split up the outfit into the different Div. Some went to arm’d Div. But most went to Infantry Div. I went up to the 84th that evening and we came down from Div. To Regt. There I spent the nite. On the 25th I & three of my buddies moved up to third Battalion. On the 26th we were assigned to our companies. I was the only one out of the four of us that went to “l” Co. I joined the Co. at Hotton Belgium. They just came back out of Verdenne & were on a rest. We were shelled every night. Then on New Year’s Eve the order came down for us to dig in around the town. They thought the Jerries were going to attack and we were to be secondary defense. All nite there were tracers & shells coming everywhere. The next evening we moved out & they told us were going to go into the offensive instead of defensive. So we moved into a town that the second armored had taken a couple of hrs. before. We were the front lines & no one was in front of us except Jerries. The next morning we were shelled for about an hour & there was a counter-attack. It didn’t last long, thanks to the second arm’d. Then at 1:00 we moved [end of p.2] out in the attack. It was a little once 7 days until we pulled back to where we could have our first warm meals, warm drinks, dry clothes, or sleep anywhere except in the fox holes. It was a barn full of hay & the best sleep I ever had. We were there 1 ½ days & moved up on line again. There wasn’t anybody in front of the infantry. The tanks were behind us, the engineers. The next attack lasted about 7 days. And another 2 days rest. Then the third attack lasted almost 6 days.

We then went to Holland after the Bulge was licked. We were in Holland 5 days & on a beautiful rest. We had houses to live in & hot water.

Then we started back. Some of the guys started [?] for a lot of us we were going for our first time into Germany. On the third of Feb. we walked to Brachelen & relieved the 102 Div. We were ready & waiting to cross the Ruhr[?]. The Germans blew the dams flooded the valley. We moved back to high ground & waited until the 28th when the 1st Btn. 334 crossed [end of p.3] the Ruhr[?] & 335 followed, then the 333rd regt. & some days later we came to Rheinhausen, across from Essen, Dosenheim[?] & Düsseldorf.

A couple of weeks later we crossed the Rhine in the British Bridgehead. Then we came to the Elbe. All the time from Dec 24 until May 12 we were under shellfire or within range every nite. That stuff is really hard on your nerves.

There is a heck of a lot that I left out & I could write 1000 pages on it but it isn’t worth it.

All we could think about is that as soon as the war is over here & in Japan we’ll go home right away. If a guy knew he’d be here this long he’d have had a different feeling.

Must close,
Love, Herbie

Herbert M. Miller

We owe all of our veterans a big Thank You for their service to our country. Remember to thank a veteran this Sunday and think of those that are no longer with us.

Nov 06

Tombstone Tuesday–Andrew M. and Elisabeth Kallenberger

Andrew M. & Elisabeth Kallenberger, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Ohio.

This is the tombstone of Andrew M. and Elisabeth Kallenberger located in row 1 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Father & Mother
Andrew M.
Feb. 22, 1830-Nov. 7, 1914
Elisabeth his wife
Dec. 21, 1841- Apr. 16, 1935
KALLENBERGER

Andreas Michael Kallenberger was born 22 February 1830 and christened 24 February 1830 at the Evangelical Church in Kleiningersheim, Neckarkreis, Württemberg. His parents were Ludwig and Christina Margaretha (Buerkle) Kallenberger.  [1]

Andrew married Elisabeth (Burkhart) on 24 February 1870 in Mercer County, Ohio.  [2] According to the records of Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, Andrew Kallenberger died of old age on 7 November 1914. He was 84 years, 8 months and 16 days old. Andrew was buried on the 10th and Rev. Gahre officiated at his burial. Survivors included his widow, 3 daughters, 1 son and 16 grandchildren.

Elisabeth (Burkhart) Kallenberger was born 21 December 1841 in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, according to Zion’s records and her tombstone. She was the daughter of George Michael and Marguerite Burkhart.

Obituary:

Aged Woman Dies of Heart Trouble—Mrs. Elizabeth Kallenberger, 93 years of age, died at 8:30 o’clock Tuesday morning at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Wm. Hoehammer, about four miles south and one mile east of Willshire, of heart trouble. She had been ill only a short time.

Mrs. Kallenberger is survived by three daughters, Mrs. Fred Allmandinger of Ohio City; Mrs. Nicholas Huber of St. Marys and Mrs. W. Hoehammer, where she made her home; one son, Mike Kallenberger, four miles south of Willshire, and many relatives and friends.

Funeral will be held Thursday afternoon at 2:00 o’clock in the Zion Lutheran Church in Chattanooga. [3]

Andrew M. & Elisabeth (Burkhart) Kallenberger.

Andrew and Elizabeth had three children: Johann Michael, born 16 March 1871, married Maggie Rueck Miller; Elisabeth Margaretha, born 10 January 1874, married William Hoehammer; Anna Catharine, born 14 November 1875, married Friedrich Allmandinger.

West Window, Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, Ohio.

The beautiful stained glass window on the west wall of Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, was donated in memory of Andrew and Elizabeth Kallenberger. The church was built in 1916.

West Window, Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, Ohio.

Elisabeth Burkhart was the second wife of Andrew Kallenberger. Andrew was first married to Margaretha Kessler, the daughter of Christian and Margaretha (Kable) Kessler.  Margaretha was born 29 September 1842 in Fechingen, Rhein-Prussia. Andrew and Margaretha married 25 March 1865 in Mercer County. [4] She died 10 August 1868 at the age of 26 years, 4 months and 21 days. One child born to Andrew and Margaretha was listed in Zion’s church records, Christina Barbara Kallenberger, born 25 January 1866 and baptized 6 May 1866. Christina married Nicholas Huber on 26 January 1896 at Zion. Although Margaretha Kallenberger’s death and burial was recorded in the church records, her tombstone cannot be located in the church cemetery.

Interesting, because I am related to the Kesslers, so Margaretha (Kessler) Kallenberger was my first cousin three times removed.  Her father and my great-great-grandmother  (Marie, mother of Jacob Miller) were brother and sister. There is another connection to my family. Maggie (Rueck Miller) Kallenberger was my grandaunt. Maggie was Jacob Miller’s step-daughter.

 

[1] Germany, Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V41C-442 : accessed 05 Nov 2012), Andreas Michael Kallenberger, 22 Feb 1830; citing reference 2:1SHVRHV, FHL microfilm 1184931.

[2] Mercer County Marriage Book Vol 3: 246, Probate Office, Celina, Ohio.

[3] The Willshire Herald, Willshire, Ohio, 18 April 1935, page 1.

[4] Mercer County Marriage Book Vol 3:82, Probate Office, Celina.

Nov 02

New Research Series From the DAR Library

Last week The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) released information about a new resource to aid those researching the Revolutionary War period. The DAR Library has begun publication of a new series that focuses on research in each of the original states during the Revolutionary War era. Each edition of the series will be offered as a downloadable PDF document only, not as printed volume.

The series promises to provide information about manuscripts, archival material and published historical and genealogical studies that are available for each of the original states during this time period, one volume for each state.

New York in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians is the first publication in the series to be offered. It was compiled by DAR Library Director Eric G. Grundset and is available now as a PDF download through the DAR Store Online. The New York PDF is more than 700 pages including a table of contents, text pages, map pages, and an index to the text.

You can browse the index for the New York publication at http://www.dar.org/library/publication.cfm. The index is 14 pages long and shows that there are 18 chapters. Some of the chapters that caught my eye: Chapter 2, Major Research Centers in New York State and Elsewhere with Revolutionary War Collections. Chapter 9, New York Land Records. The largest chapter, with about 250 pages, is Chapter 15, Regions, Counties and Localities in New York State. Chapter 18 is a list of about 90 Prominent New Yorkers of the Revolutionary era. The publication ends with maps and an index.

The cost of the New York PDF is $25. Considering that the publication is more than 700 pages that seems like a reasonable price. It would be a large volume if it were in print. You do not have to be a DAR member to order the PDF publication.

The next two states in the series are scheduled to be South Carolina and Virginia. All the original state guides should be available within the next two years.

This should be a useful and valuable research aid for anyone researching during the Revolutionary era, whether you have a Revolutionary War patriot in your family or not.

I did not order this New York publication because, to my knowledge, I do not have any ancestors from New York. However, I am looking forward to the Pennsylvania and Maryland guides, where my Revolutionary War connections are.