Sep 30

Jacob Muller Sails to America

The Bremen (1858). Jacob Muller sailed to America on this ship. Original painting in Focke-Museum, Bremen, used by permission from Focke-Museum.

Last week I detailed how I found Jacob Muller’s immigration information in the Germans to America index at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne. That index showed that Jacob traveled on the ship Bremen and arrived in New York on 15 June 1871.

With that information I headed to the library’s microfilm cabinets to look through the passenger lists of immigrants arriving in New York.  Once I knew the ship’s arrival date it did not take long to find the images of the Bremen’s passenger list.

There it was, on roll M237_344: The Manifest List of all passengers taken on board the Bremen, Captain W. Ladewig, Master. It was exciting to see Jacob’s name on the ship’s list. He was 28 years old and his occupation was a farmer. He was from Germany and was traveling to the U.S.

Jacob Muller on Bremen manifest.

Jacob boarded the ship Bremen and sailed from the port of Bremen, Germany, on 31 May 1871. From Bremen they sailed to Southampton, England, and departed from there on 3 June. They docked at the port of New York on 15 June 1871. The voyage took 16 days.

It was not an easy way to travel. Many immigrants had to sell their property and most of their possessions to pay for the voyage to the new land. They put the few possessions they had in a large wooden box, which was their traveling trunk. Most of the German emigrants traveled in steerage and so did Jacob Muller. Their quarters were in the lowest levels of the ship where it was very crowded. There were no facilities down there either.  Many passengers were overcome with seasickness during the voyage. Passengers were allowed to go up on deck for fresh air if the weather was nice.

The Bremen was a steamship built by Caird & Company of Scotland. It was owned by Norddeutscher Lloyd and was the first of five passenger steamships with the name Bremen. It was constructed of iron, weighed about 2,550 tons and was 321′ x 39′. It had a clipper stem, one funnel, and 3 masts rigged for sail. It could travel at a speed of 10-11 knots. The Bremen could accommodate 160 passengers in first class, 110 passengers in second class, 400 passengers in steerage, and a crew of between 102 and 118. The ship had a freight capacity of 1,000 tons.

The Bremen was launched on 1 February 1858. The ship’s maiden voyage was from Bremen to New York on 19 June 1858. The ship carried 115 passengers and 150 tons of freight. The Bremen’s last voyage was 5 November 1873 from Bremen to New York via Southampton.

Some voyages of the Bremen:

1.  Captain Meyer, 336 passengers and merchandise, sailed from Bremen to New York via Southampton on 22 November 1863, left Southampton on 25 November, and arrived at New York on 10 December 1863. Captain Meyer.

2.  Captain Meyer, 702 passengers and merchandise, sailed from Bremen to New York via Southampton on 18 November 1865, left Southampton on 22 November, arrived at New York on 6 December 1865. It was “a very boisterous passage.”

3.  Captain Ladewig, sailed from Bremen to New York via Southampton on 31 May 1871, left Southampton on 3 June, arrived at New York on 15 June, 1871.

Ship Bremen's Manifest. Arrived in New York 15 June 1871.

In 1874 the Bremen was sold to E. Bates & Co. of Liverpool and was converted to a sail ship. On 16 October 1882 the ship was carrying a cargo of coal and whiskey when it ran ashore on the Farallon Islands. It wrecked under the light house in a dense fog 27 miles from San Francisco. The cargo of coal and whiskey was insured but the ship was not.  Small craft waited for the cargo of whiskey to float to the surface, but it never did. In 1929 some proposed trying to raise the whiskey but the US government prevented it. (sources of Bremen ship information: Palmer List of Merchant Vessels website and  North Atlantic Seaway, by N.R.P. Bonsor, 1978, Vol. 2: 544)

Thanks to the Focke Museum in Bremen, Germany, for giving me permission to post a copy of the oil painting of the Bremen. It was painted and signed by Fritz Müller, 1858, and is in their museum. The Palmer List of Merchant Vessels website shows a couple more paintings of the ship Bremen (1858).

Because of digitization, indexing  and the Internet we can now view Jacob Muller’s name on the Bremen’s passenger list on Ancestry.com, although I believe the immigration collection is a paid subscription on their website. Their immigration collection is very good and it is nice to be able to search their indexes and images from home.

Jacob Muller may have been traveling with Christian Kessler since they are listed next to each other on the passenger list. Ancestry’s index shows his name as Christian Kepler. The double “s” was written in the old style and could look like a “p” if you didn’t know the surname. Christian was also from Bierbach.

More questions arise:  Was Christian Kessler related to Jacob? Was this the same Christian Kessler that had already settled in Liberty Township several years before? Perhaps Christian sailed back to Germany and brought Jacob back to America with him? Hopefully some day I will figure it all out.

Sep 27

Tombstone Tuesday–Barbara A. Schinnerer

Tombstone of Barbara A. Schinnerer, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio.

This is the tombstone of Barbara A. Schinnerer, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The tombstone is inscribed Hier Ruhe Barbara A. Tochter von F. und E. Schinnerer, Gest. Den 14 Marz 1897, Alter 33 y, 11m, 20t. The translation: Here rests Barbara A., Daughter of F. and E. Schinnerer, Died on 14 March 1897, age 33 years, 11 months, 20 days. Schinnerer is inscribed in large letters at the base of the monument.

Catharina Elisabeth “Barbara” Schinnerer was the first child born to Frederick and Elisabeth (Schumm) Schinnerer. According to the church records she was born 24 March 1863 in Dublin Township, Mercer County, Ohio. She was baptized at home on 29 March 1863. Sponsors at her baptism were Catharina Schumm, Mrs. Elisabeth Bienz, and Mrs. Barbara Büchner. (source: Church records, Zion Lutheran Schumm, Book 1:61) “Barbara Anna” Schinnerer died of epilepsy on 14 March 1897 and was buried on the 16th, aged about 34 years. Her burial text was Psalm 16:6. (source: Church records, Zion Lutheran Schumm, Book 3:238) Barbara never married.

The death notice of Barbara Schinnerer was combined with that of Magdalena (Meier) Schumm :

Mrs. Fred Schinnerer [sic; should be Schumm] an aged and most estimable lady was interred in the Schumm cemetery Thursday. She leaves a large circle of friends, relatives and a devoted family of grown children to mourn her absence from the fireside. Especially is this true in the case of Miss Barbara, who has been her constant attendant.

Died, March 14, 1897, Miss Barbara, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Shinnerer (sic) aged 34 years.  She had been an invalid from her second year and while the ever loving, patient mother, the kind father and the sisters and brother sorely miss her, they should rejoice that the frail body is at rest.

“It must be true that far away
The spirit into new life springs,
That somewhere in a boundless clime,
Beyond the misty shores of time
We’ll reach the golden gates of peace,
And weary hand will somewhere rest.” 

Mrs. Lizzie Scaer, Mr.[sic] Hoffman and Mrs. Hannah Scaer, of Monroeville, Ind., were here this week attending the funeral of their sister, Barbara, and visiting with their father, Fred Shinnerer, who is very sick.    (source: Van Wert Times Bulletin, 19 March 1897)

Magdalena Schumm died the day after Barbara passed away and their death records are on the same page in the Schumm church records. Magdalena was the wife of Frederick Schumm, who was the son of John Georg Schumm. Frederick Schumm immigrated to America in 1833 with his father and four siblings.

Barbara Schinnerer was enumerated in only two censuses. In 1870 the Frederick Schinnerer family was still living in Dublin Township, Mercer County, Ohio, with a Shane’s Crossing address. Their name was spelled “Shiner” in that census. The family consisted of 8 children and Lewis Schumm, 19, my great-grandfather! Lewis was my grandpa Schumm’s father and his occupation in that census was “farm laborer”. He was probably working for Fred Schinnerer. Frederick and Elizabeth Schinnerer’s youngest child at that time was Elizabeth, aged 1 month. Elizabeth was my grandma Schumm’s mother. Interesting.

By 1880 the Frederick Schinnerer family had moved his family and they were living in Willshire Township, Van Wert County, Ohio. His daughter Barbara was 17 years old and she and her mother were both listed as maimed, crippled, bedridden or otherwise disabled.

Barbara Anna Schinnerer (1863-1897) d/o Frederick & Elizabeth (Schumm) Schinnerer.

I received this photo of Barbara Schinnerer from the late Mildred (Schumm) Franz. My mother and I visited Mildred at her home in Decatur, Indiana, in 1999 and Mildred copied a number of photos from an old photo album that she had. Mildred was my second cousin once and twice removed and my third cousin once removed. Barbara was my great-grand aunt and my first cousin twice removed.

 

 

 

Sep 23

Thank You, Jacob Miller!

Jacob Miller (1843-1918) Photo c1900

Nearly two decades ago, when I first seriously started researching my family history, I wanted to find immigration information about my great-grandfather Jacob Miller. On what ship did he travel? When and where did he arrive? I knew he immigrated sometime in the last half of the 19th century but I didn’t know the exact details.

Today many original records and indexes are available on the Internet and we can do a lot (but not all) of our research without ever leaving our home. But back in the early 1990s genealogy research on the World Wide Web was basically nonexistent. The Internet was just in its infancy. Back then I researched the old-fashioned way–by going to a library and looking through indexes, volumes of books, and reels of microfilm.

I knew a few details about Jacob Miller. I knew that he was born in 1843 and that he came from the town of Bierbach in Germany, which was actually the Kingdom of Bavaria at that time. These things I learned from our church records. I knew his mother’s maiden name was Marie Kessler and I knew from his naturalization records that he immigrated in about 1871.

With that information, I headed off to the best genealogy library around, the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I was all set to search through many volumes of passenger indexes which hopefully would lead me to the drawers of passenger lists on microfilm.

At the library I found a set of Germans to America, edited by Glazier and Filby. This multi-volume set of books (now up to Volume 60) contains an index of passengers arriving at US ports during various years. The books contain lists of names, ages, occupations, sometimes places of origin, and destinations for many German immigrants. It also lists the ship name, port, and the date of the passenger ship list. I zeroed in on Volume 25, 2 Jan 1871-30 Sep 1871.

My first challenge was to consider the possible spelling variations of the Miller surname. How did Jacob spell his name when he immigrated? Was it Mueller, Muller, or Miller? I would have to search through them all.

In addition, Miller is a very common surname. According to several Internet sources, Miller is the most common surname in Germany and the 6th most common surname in the United States! Having a less common surname is usually an advantage in genealogy. Finding immigration information about my Schinnerers or Pflügers shirley would have a lot been easier.

If those two things weren’t enough of a problem, the name Jacob was a very common given name. Jacob Mueller. Do you realize how many Jacob Mueller/Muller/Millers immigrated to the United States in the late 1800s? I can only tell you that the Jacob Muellers were leaving the Germanic Kingdoms in droves back then! How was I ever going to find my great-grandfather in an index? Would I ever learn where and when he arrived in America and on what ship he traveled?

I got real lucky. As I mentioned before, each volume lists passenger information that may include the province or country of origin, village of origin and destination. The column for that information was in code and the code for the village of origin for most of the immigrants was ZZZZ, which meant that the city or village of origin was unknown. But behind Jacob Mueller’s name was the code AAMB. According to the book’s key AAMB was the code for Bierbach! My great-grandfather, my very thoughtful and wise-beyond-his-years great-grandfather, told someone during his immigration process that he was from Bierbach. That tiny bit of information set him apart from all the other Jacob Muellers that immigrated in 1871.

The name of this little German town enabled me to find the information I was looking for. From Volume 25, page 235 I learned that Jacob Mueller left from the port of Bremen and later Southampton on the ship Bremen and arrived in New York on 15 June 1871. He was 28 years old, male, a farmer, from Bierbach, and his destination was Indiana. It all fit in with what I knew.

Germans to America, Vol. 25:235

Jacob may not have been traveling alone on his voyage to America. Next to him on the passenger list was Christian Kessler, 25, a farmer from Bierbach, destination was also Indiana. Jacob’s mother was a Kessler and Jacob’s uncle, Christian Kessler had been living in Mercer County for about 20 years already. I’m not sure who this young traveling Christian Kessler was, but I bet that he and Jacob were related in some way.

I found a copy of the Bremen’s passenger list that same day at the library and saw Jacob Mueller’s name written on it. That was exciting.

Perhaps Jacob Miller somehow sensed that one day his great-granddaughter would search for his name on a passenger list. So he decided to make it a little easier for her by detailing some vital information along the way.

Dankeschon, Jacob Mueller!

Sep 20

Tombstone Tuesday–Marie (Kessler) Mueller

Marie (Kessler) Mueller (1811-1886) St. Paul's UCC Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio

This is the tombstone of Marie (Kessler) Mueller, located in row 1 of St. Paul’s UCC Cemetery. The cemetery is on the corner of Wabash and Oregon Roads in Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The gravestone is inscribed Marie Mueller, geb. Kesler, Ehefrau von Johann Mueller, Geb. 9 Dec 1811, Gest. 26 May 1886, Alter 75 j, 4 m, 15 t.  When translated the marker reads: Marie Mueller, born Kesler, wife of Johann Mueller, born 9 Dec 1811, died 26 May 1886, aged 75 years, 4 months, 15 days. It is so very helpful when a woman’s maiden name is inscribed on the tombstone.

Marie Kessler Mueller was my great-great-grandmother. I descend from her son Johann “Jacob” Mueller/Miller and his wife Christina Rueck.

Marie Kessler was born in Walsheim, Kingdom of Bavaria, to Johann Georg Kessler and Catharina Schwarz. She married Johann Mueller on 2 October 1838 in Walsheim. Johann and Marie had three known children: Katherine (1839-1913), Johann Jacob (1843-1918), and Margaret (1847-1924). Katherine married Jacob Linn (1838-1919) and Margaret married his brother Philip Linn (1841-1920).

Marie’s husband Johann Mueller died in 1870 and she immigrated to America with her two daughters and their families in 1872. They sailed on the ship Hannover and arrived in New York on 28 May 1872. Her son Jacob had immigrated to America in 1871 and was already residing in Mercer County in 1872.

It was probably no coincidence that the Muellers and Linns came to Mercer County to live. Marie’s brother Christian Kessler and his family came to America in 1849 with the Christian Kable family. The Kesslers and Kables settled in Liberty Township, near Chattanooga.

According to the 1880 US census, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, Marie Kessler Mueller was living with Philip & Margaret Linn, her daughter and son-in-law. She was a widow, aged 68.

I was able to trace my Kessler ancestors back to the early 1600s in Bavaria by using microfilmed records that I ordered at the local Family History Center. I traced the family back as far as Ludwig Kessler and his son Zacharias Kessler (c1687-1777).

It is interesting to note that Marie Kessler’s birth record and the birth records of some of her siblings were recorded in civil records that were written in French. That part of Bavaria was under Napoleon’s rule in the early 1800s. My French Dictionary came in very handy for that project!   (sources of information available upon request)

Sep 16

FGS 2011 in the Land of Lincoln

Inside Lincoln's Tomb, Springfield, Illinois

Last week I was in Springfield, Illinois, for the 2011 Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) annual conference. It had been four years since I attended a national conference and it sure was fun to attend one again. Over 2000 people from 48 states and five countries attended the conference.

It was the 35th Anniversary of FGS and we celebrated that milestone at Friday evening’s banquet. The conference planners and volunteers did a great job to make this conference a success. Thanks to all of them!

Miriam and I had a very busy schedule during the week. We attended luncheons, banquets, receptions and learning sessions. We shopped in the Exhibit Hall, visited with old friends and made new ones.

We went sight-seeing in Springfield on Wednesday, visiting as many Lincoln attractions as we could fit in that day. We visited Lincoln’s tomb, the Abraham Lincoln Museum, the Lincoln Presidential Library, the Lincoln home, the Old State Capitol and the Lincoln pew in the First Presbyterian Church. It is very easy to get around Springfield and the attractions are worth a trip there. We especially enjoyed the Lincoln Museum. It is about five years old and is a state-of-the-art museum. Their movies, Ghosts of the Library and Lincoln’s Eyes, are simply wonderful.

Abraham Lincoln Museum, Springfield, Illinois

The conference officially began on Thursday. Some sessions I enjoyed and some things I learned:

  • Curt Witcher, manager of the Genealogical Center of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, identified many places to research in Indiana.
  • Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers shared tips on blogging and starting a blog.
  • I got some ideas for Civil War and WWII research.
  • Look for the 1940 census to be available April 2012. The 1940 census will show where individuals were living in April 1940 as well as their location in April 1935. Great information!
  • Censuses are on-line at several websites but the spelling of names in the indexes may vary. Search several on-line indexes for a name you cannot find.
  • I learned some tips for using some of my favorite tools—GenSmarts, Evernote, and Dropbox.

Roots Magic in Exhibit Hall. FGS 2011.

There were many things to look at and learn about in the Exhibit Hall:

  • AncestorSync, the program that promises to synchronize your genealogy information between devices and on-line, plans to be up and running by RootsTech in February 2012.
  • I made contact with someone who will translate German documents. (Maybe I can get some of those old German letters translated.)
  • And of course I purchased a few books. I just had to purchase Shaking the Family Tree by Buzzy Jackson. At one luncheon I sat by Pat Richards, who helped and encouraged the author to write this book. Pat is mentioned in the second sentence of the book.

FamilySearch in Exhibit Hall. FGS 2011.

FamilySearch was a Platinum Sponsor for the conference. They are doing so much for the world of on-line genealogy. They have microfilmed billions of records throughout the world and are now digitizing them and putting them on-line. Their website is free. Their on-line records have been indexed in the past, but in an effort to get more records on-line quickly, they are now putting un-indexed records on-line, too. They call this “Field Express”. This is a great idea. Searching these records would not be any different than looking through a roll of microfilm, the way we used to search records. The FamilySearch people are always looking for people willing to index records from their home computers. They also have an informative Wiki and Civil War records on their website.

FGS has a new project, “Preserve the Pensions”. This is a project to digitize the War of 1812 pension application files. They have digitized over 71,000 pension documents but are less than 1% complete. You can learn more about this project and make a contribution at FGS Preserve the Pensions. A $25 donation will digitize 50 images. The digitized images are on-line at Fold3 (formerly Footnote.com).

FGS Preserve the Pensions project. FGS 2011.

At the conclusion of the conference we met with the Dick Eastman group on Saturday evening for a nice dinner on the 29th floor of our hotel. The view was beautiful from up there and we had a very enjoyable evening.

Everyone has a great time at Maia's Books. FGS 2011.

It was a fun but tiring week. I loved it! Now I have to switch hats. I’ll be attending the Ohio Dental Association Annual Session this weekend in Columbus. (Just between you and me, the genealogical conferences are a lot more fun!)

The next national genealogical conference will be the National Genealogical Society Conference, The Ohio River-Gateway to the Western Frontier. It will be held in Cincinnati, 9-12  May 2012. See you there!