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!

 

 

 

Sep 13

Tombstone Tuesday–Rosina Büchner

 

Rosina Buchner, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio

This is the tombstone of Rosina Büchner, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The grave stone is inscribed: Hierr ruhet Rosina, ehefrau des Adam Büchner. Geboren in K. R. Würtemberg. Gest 11 Feb 1861, Alter 22 Yahr, 4 Mon, 4 Tag. When translated the marker reads: Here rests Rosina, wife of Adam Büchner, Born in the Kingdom of Württemberg, Died 11 February 1861, Age 22 years, 4 months and 4 days.

Margaretha “Rosina” Grund married Adam Büchner 9 September 1858 at Zion Lutheran Church, Schumm. (source: records of Zion Lutheran Church, Schumm, Book I, 1847-1869: 73)

Adam and Rosina Büchner had 2 children:

Johann Jakob Martin Büchner was born 30 May 1859 and baptized 2 June 1859 at home. The sponsors at his baptism were Johann Büchner and his wife, Jakob Bienz and his wife, and Martin Gaier and his wife. (source: records of Zion Lutheran, Schumm, Book I: 57)  

Their second child was Johann Friedrich Büchner, born 12 December 1860 and baptized 14 December 1860 in the church. The sponsors at his baptism were Friedrich Schumm and his wife and Johann Hoffmann and his wife. (source: records of Zion Lutheran, Schumm, Book I : 58)

Rosina Büchner died 11 February 1861 after getting chilled while taking a bath. (source: records of Zion Lutheran, Schumm, Book I: 85)

On 17 September 1861 Rosina’s widower husband Adam Büchner married widow Anna Barbara (Pflueger) Schumm. (source: records of Zion Lutheran, Schumm, Book I: 73) Anna Barbara’s husband, Ludwig “Louis” Schumm, had died 22 Aug 1855, leaving Anna Barbara with eight children, seven of whom were living at the time of her marriage to Adam Büchner. Louis and Anna Barbara Schumm were my second and third great-grandparents.

Sep 09

My Great-Great-Grandparents

Frederick, Elizabeth (Schumm) and Clara Schinnerer

I got this idea from another blogger and I thought it would be an interesting list to make. Below is a list of my sixteen great-great-grandparents with their birth, death, and marriage dates and where those events occurred.

  1.  Johann Müller, b. 19 Jan 1816, Gerhardsbrunn, Pfalz, Bayern; d. 14 Oct 1870, Bierbach, Bavaria; m. 2 Oct 1838, Walsheim, Bavaria.
  2. Marie Kessler, b. 8 Dec 1811, Germany; d. 26 May 1886, Mercer County, Ohio; m. 2 Oct 1838, Walsheim, Bavaria.
  3. Jacob Rueck, b. 24 Dec 1828, Appensee, Oberamt Crailsheim, Württemberg; d. 23 Jan 1918, Oregon; m. 19 Jun 1855, Germany.
  4. Maria Regina Gross, b. 22 Jul 1833, Germany; d. 8 Feb 1889, Oregon; m. 19 Jun 1855, Germany.
  5. Daniel M. Brewster, b. 13 Sep 1845, Fayette County, Pennsylvania; d. 2 May 1917, Adams County, Indiana; m. 19 Mar 1867, Mercer County, Ohio.
  6. Sarah Ann Fetters, b. 12 Oct 1849, Indiana; d. 4 Nov 1877, Adams County, Indiana; m. 19 Mar 1867, Mercer County, Ohio.
  7. William W. Reid, b. 2 Feb 1855, Indiana; d. 9 Feb 1905, Jay County, Indiana; m. 30 Jun 1878, Jay County, Indiana.
  8. Emily Bryan, b. 8 May 1856, Jay County, Indiana; d. 24 Jun 1940, Jay County, Indiana; m. 30 Jun 1878, Jay County, Indiana.
  9. Johann Ludwig Schumm, b. 4 Mar 1817, Ruppertshofen, Württemberg; d. 22 Aug 1855, Van Wert County, Ohio; m. 1 Nov 1840, Holmes County, Ohio.
  10. Maria Barbara Pflüger, b. 28 Dec 1822, Schrozberg, Oberamt Gerebronn, Württemberg; d. 13 Nov 1908, Van Wert County, Ohio; m. 1 Nov 1840, Holmes County, Ohio.
  11. Louis Frederick Peter Breuninger, b. 15 Dec 1819, Bachlngen, Württemberg; d. 5 Nov 1890, Van Wert County, Ohio; m. 6 Feb 1851, Green Bay, Wisconsin.
  12. Maria A. Seckel, b. 13 Apr 1827, Württemberg; d. 19 Jun 1910, Van Wert County, Ohio; m. 6 Feb 1851, Green Bay, Wisconsin.
  13. Johann Scarr, b. 20 Apr 1829, Hesse-Darmstadt or Bavaria; d. 16 Nov 1894, Allen County, Indiana; m. 1 Mar 1860, Stark County, Ohio.
  14. Katherine Emrick, b. 11 Sep 1825, Hesse-Darmstadt or Bavaria; d. 17 Dec 1886, Allen County, Indiana; m.  1 Mar 1860, Stark County, Ohio.
  15. Frederick Schinnerer, b. 8 May 1824, Windsheim, Bavaria; d. 5 Feb 1905, Van Wert County, Ohio; m. 12 Jun 1862, Van Wert County, Ohio.
  16. Elizabeth Schumm, b. 17 Nov 1841, Van Wert County, Ohio; d. 11 Jul 1917, Van Wert County, Ohio; m. 12 Jun 1862, Van Wert County, Ohio.

Twelve of my sixteen great-great-grandparents are definitely of German heritage. I’m not sure of the heritage of the other four, although it appears they are probably Scotch/Irish with possibly some English thrown in. So, it looks like I am 75% German. No surprise there with names like Müller, Schumm, Pflüger, Breuninger, and Schinnerer in my family tree.

It is also interesting to note that eleven of my great-great-grandparents were born somewhere in what is now Germany, three were born in Indiana, one was born in Pennsylvania, and one in Ohio.

This makes an interesting list of my ancestors. I’ll do this sometime with Joe’s great-great-grandparents, too.