Jul 26

Family Reunion Time Once Again

We have two family reunions coming up very soon, my paternal and maternal family reunions. Many families do not have reunions anymore, but both sides of my family, the Millers and the Schumms, have reunions regularly. How special is that. 

The Miller reunion is this weekend and the Schumm reunion is the following weekend.

The Miller reunion is the smaller of the two reunions, attended by the descendants of my paternal grandparents, Carl and Gertrude (Brewster) Miller, both born in 1896. About 45-50 people attend and it is the same weekend every year. It is basically an unstructured, but enjoyable, reunion. We gather for a pot-luck noon meal, overeat the delicious food, and spend the afternoon visiting, sometimes looking at old photos and taking new family photos. The first families to show up set up tables and chairs and the last to leave do a little clean up and put the tables and chairs back. Not a whole lot of planning is involved.

Miller reunion, c1958.

We have had a Miller reunion for about as long as I can remember, probably at least 65 years. In the early years the Miller reunion revolved around the Brewster reunion. My Aunt Ruth’s family would come from Pennsylvania and stay a whole week and attended both reunions. My cousin Linda would stay with my mom and dad and me. That was back in the late 50s. At first the Millers gathered at grandpa and grandma Miller’s house, then sometimes at Aunt Kate’s or at Aunt Em’s, then many years at the park at Berne, then the park at Willshire, and now we meet at a fellowship hall at a church in Berne.      

We have had at least 65 Millers reunions.

In that respect, the Miller reunion beats the Schumm reunion.

This year’s Schumm reunion will their 45th. The first Schumm reunion was held 10 August 1924, making this year the 100th year anniversary of the reunion. With a few exceptions, the Schumm reunion is held every other year and that is why they have had fewer reunions.

The first Schumm Reunion, 1924, at the Schumm homestead.

The Schumm reunion is for the descendants of John George Schumm (1777-1846) who immigrated to America in 1833. Their reunion goes back much farther than the Miller reunion and because of that, the Schumm reunion is much larger.

The first Schumm reunion was held at the original Schumm homestead, west of the church, and was held there for many years, until the old Schumm barn was razed. After that, their reunions were held at the farm across the road from the church, which at that time was the Ned Alspaugh farm. Now reunions are held at the pavilion at the church. 

Usually about 150-200 family members attend the Schumm reunion. Their reunion is held the same weekend every-other year. The day begins with a church service, followed by a delicious carry-in dinner, followed by a program, business meeting, some singing, and a reunion photo is taken.

This all takes a lot of planning. The reunion committee meets 4-5 times in the months before the reunion, planning many details. It is advertised on various media. Tables and chairs have to be carried out to the pavilion and set up. The PA system is set up. There is a carry-in meal, ice cream, beverages, activities for the children, a program and business meeting, a self-guided cemetery walk, and a reunion photo. An event this well-organized takes a lot of time and work from many volunteers.

2016 Schumm Reunion (2016 photo by Karen)

The Schumm reunions are also well documented. Reunion officers, including president, secretary, and treasurer, are elected. Minutes are recorded and there is a treasurer’s report. A schedule of the afternoon program is printed and distributed. Programs, minutes, announcements, and newspaper clippings from past reunion have been saved for the past 100 years.

Since this is the 100-year reunion anniversary of the Schumm reunion, the reunion committee is planning a 2-day event. Saturday’s events include an ice cream social, speaker, tour of Wyneken House near Decatur, and a Fort Wayne Tin Caps ball game in the evening. Sunday’s activities will be the usual reunion events (church, meal, program). Special monogrammed Schumm items, donated for the event, are given to attendees. It is a special reunion.  

2018 Schumm reunion

This year we have an updated Schumm history/genealogy book and I’m going to give a brief talk about some of our Schumm family members, past and present.  

Yes, there are differences between the two reunions, but both have the two important ingredients of a family reunion–visiting with family, some you don’t see very often, and lots of good food.

It’s all about family.  

Jul 23

Tombstone Tuesday-Jacob Jr & Elizabeth Linn

Jacob & Elizabeth Linn, UCC Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio.

This is the tombstone of Jacob Linn Jr and Elizabeth Germann/Garman, located in row 5 of St. Paul UCC Cemetery, Liberty Township Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Jacob
1865-1927
Elizabeth
1872-1943
LINN

Jacob Linn Jr was born June 1866 in Bavaria, the son of Jacob Linn Sr and Katharina Mueller. Jacob Jr, age 7, arrived in America with his parents and two brothers, Philip, 4, Henry, 9 months, on 28 May 1872, sailing on the ship Hanover. [1] The family settled in Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, where Jacob Jr and his five brothers grew up. Jacob Jr’s mother was the sister of my great-grandfather Jacob Mueller/Miller.

Jacob Linn Jr married Elizabeth G. (aka Lizzie) Germann/Garman on 2 April 1891 in Mercer County, Ohio, married by Rev. Karl Moeller. [2] Elizabeth was born in December 1871. [3]

Elizabeth’s name was Germann on her marriage record but Find A Grave.com shows her name as Garman. The 1900 census indicates she was born December 1871 in Germany and immigrated in 1888. There was a Jacob German, born in Germany in 1876, and his aunt, Hermelia (Mrs. Peter) Alt, and both lived in Liberty Township in the early 1900s. I do not know if Elizabeth was related to these two individuals or not.

By 1900, Jacob Linn Jr, 34, and his wife Elizabeth, 28, had four children, Peter [sic] (per the 1900 census; was actually Otto), 6; Louise, 4; Caroline, 2; and Peter, 2 mo. This enumeration indicates that Jacob Jr and Lizzie had been married 9 years and that 4 of their 6 children were living. Both parents were born in Germany and their children were born in Ohio. Jacob Jr immigrated in 1872 and Lizzie in 1888. Jacob was a farmer. [3]

By 1910, Jacob and Elizabeth had five children. The Jacob Linn Jr family in 1910: Jacob, 44; Elizabeth, 37; Otto, 16; Lucy, 14; Caroline, 12; Peter, 10; Philip, 3 mo. The couple had been married 19 years and 5 of their 10 children were living, according to his enumeration. If this information was correct, they lost three more children between 1900-1910. [4]

Elizabeth Linn was admitted to the Toledo State Hospital for a year and a half in January 1905 and again in September 1913. [5] 

The 1916 Mercer County Directory shows the following: Jacob Linn Jr, wife Elizabeth, 5 children, farmer, owned 120 acres, 8 horses, and 18 cows, lived at Route 1 Celina, Liberty 48, Indiana telephone. [6]

Jacob Linn, 54, and his children in 1920: Jacob, 54, daughters Louisa, 25, and Caroline, 22, and sons Peter, 19, and Philip, 9. [7] Elizabeth Linn, married, born in Germany, was again a patient at Toledo State Hospital, as shown in the 1920 and 1930 censuses, . [8] [9]  

Jacob Linn died in 1927.

By 1940 Elizabeth was back in Mercer County, living with her son Otto Linn and his family: Otto, 46; Norah G, 44; Ethel L, 21; Herman R, 15; Gene G, 13; Alice J, 11; Janet, 9; Paul K, 6; Robert G, 2; Philip Linn, 30, brother; and Elizabeth Linn, 80, mother.

Elizabeth Linn died 25 April 1943 in Mercer County.

Jacob Linn Jr and Elizabeth (Germann/Garman) had the following children:
Infant son (1891-1891)
Otto Linn (1893-1960), married Norah Gladys Stover
Infant son (1894-1894)
Lucy/Louisa Linn (c1896-?)
Caroline Linn (1897-1983), not married
Peter Linn (1900-1976), married Iola Ione Kanorr 
Philip Linn (1910-1994), never married

[1] Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, NY, 1820-1897, Records of the U.S. Customs Service, RG: 36, National Archives, Washington DC, NAID: M237, Ship Hanover, 28 May 1872; Ancestry.com.

[2] Ohio U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993, Mercer, Vol. 1887-1904, p.260, Jacob Linn & Lizzie Germann, 2 Apr 1891; Ancestry.com.

[3] 1900 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 85, p.8, dwelling 149, family 154, Jacob J Sinn [sic]; Ancestry.com.

[4] 1910 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 119, p.16a, dwelling 349, family 310, Jacob Linn; Ancestry.com.

[5] The Celina Democrat, Celina, Ohio, 19 Sep 1913; NewspaperArchive.com.

[6] The Farm Journal Illustrated Directory of Mercer County, 1916, Wilmer Atkinson Co, Philadelphia: 1915, p.108.

[7] 1920 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 140, p4B. dwelling, 83, family 86, Jacob Linn; Ancestry.com.

[8] 1920 U.S. Census, Ohio, Lucas, Toledo Ward 13, ED 139, p.17A, line 35, Elizabeth Linn; Ancestry.com.

[9] 1930 U.S. Census, Ohio, Lucas, Toledo, Ed 116, p.23A, line 20, Elizabeth Linn; Ancestry.com.

[10] 1940 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Black Creek, ED 54-1, p.7A, household 146, Otto Linn; Ancestry.com.

[11] Ohio Death Index, 1908-1932, Mercer, p.980, Elizabeth G Linn, 25 Apr 1943; FamilySearch.org.

Jul 19

North to Alaska

Warning: Non-genealogy blog post.

Even though genealogy research is my favorite pastime, I do not spend all of my time at the computer researching family history. Occasionally we travel.

This past May we took back-to-back cruises in Alaska. We flew to Vancouver, boarded the Grand Princess, sailed to Whittier, sailed back to Vancouver, and flew home. Sixteen days total. These were actually 2 separate 7-day cruises that we combined into one. We got to visit the three ports twice (Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway), and we got to visit Glacier Bay twice. It was a fantastic cruise that exceeded our expectations. We saw all we had hoped to see and more.

Our goal was to see whales and beautiful scenery, and we certainly did. We saw humpback whales, a black bear, moose, mountain goats, deer, otter, mink, sea lions, starfish, king crabs, lots of bald eagles and other waterfowl, several glaciers, glacier calving, and the northern lights. And, the  White Pass steam engine passed right by us on the tracks, a rare sight.  

I took a couple thousand photos, using my phone camera and my Sony point and shoot. My goal was to enjoy the moment and not stress and fuss over getting the perfect shot. Plus, I did not want to lug around a lot of camera gear. My phone and small camera worked pretty well.

Here are a few of the photos I took, showing the beauty of Alaska.

Portage Glacier area

Our ship, the Grand Princess

 

Creek Street, Skagway

Moose grazing along the highway near Anchorage

Glacier

Joe holding a King Crab

Totem Bite State Historical Park

Harvard Glacier

The next photo is the perfect photo-a humpback whale diving with Mendenhall Glacier in the background.

Whale with Mendenhall Glacier

You can see the whale and the whale spout in the next photo. We would hear the spout before we saw the whale.

Humbpack whale with whale spout

Seeing glacier calving was exciting. We would hear the “white thunder” before a large chunk of ice broke off and fell into the water.

Harvard Glacier calving

Chugach National Forest

Haines

Haines

The beautiful drive along Turnagain Arm.

Turnagain Arm

Turnagain Arm

Turnagain Arm

Totem in Juneau

Whale sculpture in Juneau

Glacier Bay area

Northern Lights & moon

Ketchikan

At Whittier, a train had just come through the 2.5 mile Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, the only way to get to Whittier by land.

Whittier

Eagle

We hiked about a mile to Nugget Falls. You can just barely see Mendenhall Glacier in the background on the left.

Nugget Falls with Mendenhall Glacier in background, Juneau

Mendenhall Glacier is more visible in the photo below. Nugget Falls looks small, on the right.

Mendenhall Glacier with Nugget Falls on the right, Juneau

A belated 50th Anniversary photo.

Ship photo

What wonderful memories from our Alaskan cruise.

 

Jul 12

Finding a Spouse Close to Home

I have been working on a big project all year long and I finished it just this week. The project, an updated Schumm family genealogy and history book, is now at the printer and is probably being printed as I write this. I hope.

My great-great-great-grandfather, John George Schumm, immigrated with five of his children in 1833 and today there are thousands of his descendants in the U.S. Not all of them are mentioned in the book, but the book is still quite substantial, about 570 pages. That’s a big book!

As hubby Joe was proofreading some of the material, he noticed something about my branch of the family, the children of John George Schumm’s son George “Ludwig” (1817-1855).

Ludwig Schumm and his wife Maria Barbara Pflueger had nine children and seven of them lived to adulthood. Of those seven, four married Schinnerers, two married Breuningers, and one married a Germann. These four families all lived near Schumm.  

This is a perfect example showing that couples in the mid-late 1800s usually did not venture far from home to find a marriage partner. They usually found a mate within about three miles of their home. Plus, all but one of these families attended the same church, a very good place to meet a spouse.

Below are Ludwig and Maria Barbara (Pflueger) Schumm’s children and their marriage partners.

Elizabeth Schumm (1841-1917) married Frederick Schinnerer (1824-1905) in 1862.

Elizabeth (Schumm) Schinnerer (1841-1917)

Friedrich Schinnerer (1824-1905)

Henry Schumm, aka River Henry, (1844-1922) married Rosina Schinnerer (1854-1890) in 1872. Rosina was the daughter of the above Frederick Schinnerer, from his first marriage. I guess Elizabeth was Rosina’s step-mother and sister-in-law at the same time.

Schumm, Henry “River Henry” (1844-1922)

Rosina (Schinnerer) Schumm (1854-1890)

Mary Schumm (1842-1870) married Martin J. Schinnerer (1934-1930) in 1860. Martin J. and Frederick Schinnerer were brothers. Mary (Schumm) Schinnerer died in 1870 and:

Rosina Schumm (1848-1909) married widower Martin J. Schinnerer (1834-1930) in 1871. Rosina and the late Mary (Schumm) Schinnerer, Martin’s first wife, were sisters.

Breaking the family tradition of marrying a Schinnerer, Hannah Schumm (1853 -1926) married Carl “Charles” F. Germann (1849-1932) in 1872. Carl was from Harrison Township and attended St. Thomas Church there. Hannah was quite the rebel! 

Hannah (Schumm) Germann (1853-1926)

Charles Germann (1849-1932)

Then a new family settled in the area. The Louis Breuninger family, from Wisconsin. A family with 4 young daughters. After several Schumm-Schinnerer marriages, the two youngest Schumm brothers decided to get brides from a different family. Two of the Schumm brothers married two of the Breuninger sisters.

John Christian Schumm (1849-1926) married Wilhelmina “Minnie” Breuninger (1860-1899) in 1880.

John C. Schumm (1849-1926)

Minnie (Breuninger) Schumm (1860-1899)

Louis J. Schumm (1851-1938) married Sarah Breuninger (1861-1921) in 1883.

Louis J Schumm (1851-1938)

Sarah (Breuninger) Schumm (1861-1921)

Minnie and Sarah Breuninger were sisters.

I wonder if the Schumm-Breuninger couples knew they were second cousins? We call that Pedigree Collapse now.

It happened. Probably more than we think. Here is how that happened in the case:  

Maria Barbara Pflueger (1822-1908), Ludwig Schumm’s wife, and Maria A. Seckel (1827-1910), Louis Breuninger’s wife, were first cousins.  

Maria Barbara (Pflueger) Schumm’s mother, Anna Barbara (Seckel) Pflueger (1791-1846), was the sister of Maria A. (Seckel) Breuninger’s father, Georg Andreas Seckel (1798-1830).

Anna Barbara Seckel married Christian Pflueger (1781-1877) and they lived near Schumm. That could be the reason the Louis and Maria (Seckel) Breuninger moved from Wisconsin to Willshire Township. To be near Maria’s cousins, the Pfluegers.

How do I fit in? Louis J. Schumm and Sarah Breuninger were my great-grandparents. Their son Cornelius was my grandfather.

And as a side note, of the thousands of given names in our Schumm family, there is only one Cornelius Schumm.

Jul 04

Happy Independence Day!

Happy July 4th! America’s Independence Day. Today we celebrate the birthday of our great nation, the day the Continental Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring that the thirteen colonies were no longer part of Great Britain, but independent sovereign states that were part of a new nation.

Today, as we proudly fly our country’s flag, watch parades and fireworks, and have cookouts, it is also a time think about the principles of freedom and liberty upon which our country was founded and strive to preserve the type of government our forefathers envisioned, as set forth in the historic documents they created.

Independence Day