Summary of my great-grandparents

Originally posted 2011.04.15
Updated 2014.11.21

This post updates my genealogic work, espcially to note where my work is now for each of my great grandparents and their ancestors.
John M. Kohn (1839-1917)

Rheinland-Pfalz state in western Germany,
place of origin for Reinert and Kohn families
Stickpin at Wasserliesch

Baptized as Johann Matthias on 10 January, the same day as his birth, by the parish priest of St. Aper in Wasserliesch (now in Kreis Trier-Land, Rheinland-Pfalz, Deutschland), with godparents Matthias Mergerner and Maria Hoffman also of Wasserliesch. I have added a numeric identifier VIII (8) to his name, since several men in the Kohn family have the same name. His parents are Johann Matthias Kohn V (1804-1877) and Katharina Dahm (1803-1868).

• John M. was confirmed in 1855.
• He emigrated from Germany on 30 June 1865. The ship records of his passage to and arrival in the United States have not been discovered.
• His residence from 1865 to 1874 is unknown, but it is presumed to be in the area of LaCrosse, Wisconsin. His elder brother Matthias, who emigrated before 1855, lived in LaCrosse county, Wisconsin from 1855 to his death in 1888. His younger brother Michael, who emigrated in 1872, worked as a carpenter and cabinet maker in LaCrosse at least in 1874 through 1876. John M. may have lived in LaCrosse and worked with his brothers; however, I have not found contemporaneous records of John M. Kohn in LaCrosse.
• He married Susanna Reinert on 5 September 1874 at Waconda, Mitchell county, Kansas. From 1875 through 1879, they had 3 children born in the area of Tipton Kansas. They lived on a quarter section about 8 miles northeast of Tipton. From 1881 through 1886, they had 4 children born in LaCrosse Wisconsin, including the youngest, Joseph, who died at 8 or 9 months.
• He was identified in the 1880 U.S. Census as a farmer and resident of Kansas, Mitchell county, Carr Creek township.
• He was identified as a dairyman in the 1884 City Directory of LaCrosse WI and as a milk man in the 1886 City Directory; he owned 5 lots in the city of LaCrosse; his residence in LaCrosse was at 115 South 19th Street.
• He bought land in Bloom township, Osborne county, Kansas in March 1891; he is listed in the 1900 and 1910 U.S. Censuses of Bloom township.
• I have documented information of ancestors through his 2nd great grandparents in Wasserliesch.
• I am in contact with relatives who live in Wasserliesch today.

Susanna Reinert (1846-1887)

Middle Mosel River
from Grevenmacher Luxembourg (left) to Trier (right)
Stickpins at Wasserliesch, Igel, and Filzen

Susanna was baptized on 8 January 1848, the same day as her birth, by the parish priest of St. Dionysus in Igel (now in Kreis Trier-Land, Rheinland-Pfalz, Deutschland), with godparents Susanna Blasius of Igel and Paulus Reinert of Wasserbillig, Luxembourg. Her parents are Johann Reinert (1822-1871) and Catharina Blasius (1824-1891).

• Susanna was the godmother of her cousin Peter Blasius on 12 June 1865 and his brother Andreas on 22 December 1866, who were both baptized in Igel.
• She emigrated from Germany with her parents and siblings on 9 February 1867. A family history implies they arrived in the New York City NY area, which could include Hoboken NJ. The same family history gives 1864 as the year of immigration, and its information says the family resided a while in Chicago with Blasius relatives, with an implied year of 1865. However, any dates in that family history are suspect, due to the documented application for emigration and the two baptisms in which Susanna was godmother.
• She was the eldest daughter among the family enumerated in the 1870 U.S. Census of Caledonia, Houston county, Minnesota. She had 2 brothers (Nicholas and Peter) and 2 sisters (Maria and Gertrude). Her father Johann died in 1871 of throat cancer in Houston county.
• The family history says that the family moved to Kansas in 1872, and this year is corroborated by the St. Boniface parish history written by Michael Dreiling, S.T.B.
• Susanna married John M. Kohn on 5 September 1874 at Waconda, Mitchell county, Kansas.
• From 1875 through 1879, she bore 3 children in the area of Tipton Kansas.
• She was identified in the 1880 U.S. Census as a housekeeper and resident of Kansas, Mitchell county, Carr Creek township.
• From 1881 through 1886, she bore 4 children in LaCrosse Wisconsin, including the youngest, Joseph, who died at 8 or 9 months.
• She died of heat stroke on 4 August 1887 in LaCrosse Wisconsin. She is buried in the Catholic cemetery there, next to her infant son Joseph.
• I have documented information of ancestors through her 3rd great grandparents in Filzen, Germany. Her father was born in Wasserbillig, Luxembourg, where his parents lived at the time. However, the Reinert family's origins are in Filzen and Hamm-Saarburg in Germany, and the Blasius family's origin is Igel, through at least 1722.
• I am in contact with Reinert and Blasius relatives who live in Igel and with Blasius relatives who live in Wilmette Illinois and Washington.

John Robert Ohnsat (1835-1897)

Present-day Poland, with Grüben at pin marker

Baptized as Johann Robert Ohnsatt [sic] on 20 September 1835, two days after his birth, by the parish priest in Grüben, Kreis Falkenberg, Schlesien, Ostpreußen (as it was named then; it is now Grabin, county of Niemodlin, state of Opole, Poland), with godparents Joseph Drabantz, Jacob Hittel, and Catharine Presner from Grüben. His parents are Franz Ohnsat (1803-unknown) and Catherina Scholz (1806-unknown).

•  Robert was the second born of 6 brothers (Franz Joseph, Franz Anton, Joseph August, Carl Anton, and Johann Heinrich) and 1 sister (Maria Caroline).

• 

  Grüben, shown between Neisse and Niemodlin

  He married Leopoldine Salinger on 26 November 1872 in St. Michael Catholic church in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. The marriage record includes the parents of the bride and groom: "Robert Ohnsat; age 37; son of Franz Ohnsat and Kath: Shulz of Prussia married to Anna M. L. Salinger; age 33; daughter of Georgius Salinger and Kath: Vogel of Baden. Witnesses: Joseph Ohnsat, Jacob Müller. Father Fredericus"
• He was naturalized as a U.S. citizen on 7 February  1873. This date implies an immigration before early 1872. He is enumerated in the 1872 city directory of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, with an address of 135 Nineteenth, East Birmingham.
• Two of his children were born in Pittsburgh: Frank in 1873 and Louise Katherine in 1875.
• A grand-daughter of his claimed he was a butcher by trade, and the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania city directories corroborate this assertion with listings in the 1872-1873, 1876-1877, and 1877-1878 editions.
• He resided on Brownsville Road, Mount Oliver, a neighborhood south of Pittsburgh in 1877. In the same city directory is a listing for "Ohnest Joseph, butcher, Larimer av, n Broad, e e [East End]." I presume this is his brother Joseph August.
• His third child, Bernard O., was born in the Tipton Kansas area in 1878.
• He was enumerated as the head of the household in the 1880 U.S. federal census of Osborne county, Kansas. (The name was transcribed as "Robert OHNSOL".)
• He died 14 September 1897 from being kicked by a horse or from a hernia.
• I am in touch with a descendant of a son of great granduncle Joseph August Ohnsat. Joseph Augst Ohnsat died in 1880 and left a wife and three children. His widow remarried Matthew Elliott Jr (1820-1914), and at least her son Charles John Ohnsat (1873-1910) then took the Elliott family name.

Anna Maria Leopoldina Salinger (1839-1919)

Present-day Germany, Poland, and Czech Republic
Stickpins locate Breisach and Grüben

Baptized at 10 o'clock in the morning as "Maria Anna Leopoldina Salinger" on 30 May 1839, one day after her birth at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, she was the daughter of the office clerk Georg Salinger and Katharina Vogel, who were citizens of Rastatt, Germany. The baptism occurred in Breisach am Rhein, Baden, Germany, which indicates that the family resided in Breisach at the time of the baptism. Leopoldine's sponsors were Gervas Uhlmann (citizen and grape horticulturist) and Maria Anna Sitter (30-year old daughter of the citizen and ox handler Joseph Sitter). In addition, another witness was Ignatz Jörgen Zunftmeister (a baker). Leopoldine had at least 2 brothers (Carl Julius and Anton Herrman) and 1 sister (Maria Anna Josefa).

Bresiach am Rhein

• Alternate birth in Neisse, Ostpreußen is now discounted as hearsay information from a grand-daughter.
• Alternate birth in "Frankfurt" is now discounted as hearsay information from a grand-daughter.
• No certain records of the Salinger family occur in the 1872 through 1878 city directories of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.
• She married Robert Ohnsat on 26 November 1872 in St. Michael Catholic church in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. The marriage record includes the parents of the bride and groom: "Robert Ohnsat; age 37; son of Franz Ohnsat and Kath: Shulz of Prussia married to Anna M. L. Salinger; age 33; daughter of Georgius Salinger and Kath: Vogel of Baden. Witnesses: Joseph Ohnsat, Jacob Müller. Father Fredericus"
  
• A grand-daughter reported that Leopoldine was a nurse in an insane asylum. "She made her children promise not to allow their children to become nurses, because she had had such bad experiences in that profession." -Catherine Bulthaup
• Two of her children were born in Pittsburgh: Frank in 1873 and Louise Katherine in 1875.
• She resided on Brownsville Road, Mount Oliver, a neighborhood south of Pittsburgh in 1877.
• Her third child, Bernard O., was born in the Tipton Kansas area in 1878.
• She was enumerated as a housekeeper in the 1880 U.S. federal census of Osborne county, Kansas. (The name was transcribed as "OHNSOL".)
• A grand-daughter remembered that Leopoldine was guarded about her savings in old age, and worried that her children vied for the inheritance.
• She died 23 July 1919 from dropsy, which may mean "edema due to congestive heart failure."

Anton Deneke (1836-1897)

Brakel in Kreis Höxter

Born on 23 April 1836 in Brakel, Kreis Höxter, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany and baptized as Franz Anton on 24 April by the priest of St. Michael-Kirche,with a single godparent Ludwig Zune [handwriting not clear for the family name]. His parents are Anton Deneke, a day laborer, and Maria Anna Franke of Brakel. Anton had a brother (Franz Joseph) and a sister (Sophia), who both died in 1843. He also had an older step-sister (Ferdinandine) and step-brother (Thomas) from his father's first marriage that ended with the death of his wife Anna Theodora Wiethase in 1832.

• Anton immigrated in 1872 to Ohio.
• He was enumerated in the city directories of Cincinnati Ohio at 355 Cutter in 1876 and 1877.
• He married Maria Anna Stephan on 15 February 1876 at St. Bonaventure church in Cincinnati. The church was is in use until about 2010, at 1798 Queen City Avenue. (The church has been demolished, though a Catholic school still exists on the property.)
• Two children born in Cincinnati were baptized at St. Joseph church that was at the corner of Linn and Laurel Streets. The street designations are now Linn Street and Ezzard Charles Drive. A Catholic church has been rebuilt at the same location, and it incorporates some of the stained glass windows of St. Joseph.
• The family moved to a farm near Beloit, Kansas in 1879.
• Seven children were born on the farm near Beloit, Kansas.
• An eleventh child was raised as their son, but was likely the son of the eldest daughter.
• Anton died on 5 March 1897 from asthma.

Maria Anna Stephan (1849-1924)

Königheim in sourthern Germany

Born on 1 February 1849 and baptized the next day by the parish priest, as recorded in the Kirchenbuch Königheim. The handwriting is hard to decipher, but the names of her parents appear to be Franz Jakob Stephan and Maria Anna [Baur?], and her father was a forest ranger of the 16th region in [Glatten?] [Welmlingen or Welzheim?]. The witnesses of the baptism were Georg Joseph [Lanaur?] and Franz Xavier [Grinn?]. The identities of any brothers or sisters are not known.

• Maria emigrated in 1873 from Königheim.

• 

  Königheim bei Tauberbischofheim

  Perhaps identified as "434/8 Stephan Marie Königheim/Tauberb. Amerika 1873" in a summarized list of emigration cards from Baden-Württemberg. Possibly a relative is identified as "434/14 Stefan, Franz Anton Königheim/Tauberb. Amerika 1879."
• She married Anton Deneke on 15 February 1876 at St. Bonaventure church in Cincinnati. The church was at 1798 Queen City Avenue.
• Two children born in Cincinnati were baptized at St. Joseph church that was at the corner of Linn and Laurel Streets. The street designations are now Linn Street and Ezzard Charles Drive.
• The family moved to a farm near Beloit, Kansas in 1879.
• Seven children were born on the farm near Beloit, Kansas.
• She was active in celebrating the weddings of her children, and was featured as the hostess in local news reports of the 1912 wedding of Anthony Deneke and Minnie Stark and the 1917 wedding of Teresa Deneke and Francis Marksman.
• An eleventh child was raised as their son, but was likely the son of the eldest daughter.
• Maria died on 28 November 1924 from unknown cause. She was 75 years old.

Richard Butler (1836-1915)

Thomastown in county Kilkenny

Richard A. Butler was baptized on 7 December 1836 in Thomastown, county Kilkenny, Ireland. The baptismal record indicates his parents are "John Butler & Mary Kenedy" and his godparents are "Duiis Gorg & Betty Kenedy Newhouse," but it provides no additional information. Existing family information from other researchers shows that Richard had two older brothers (Martin and Thomas) and two sisters (Ann and Catherine).

• His parents immigrated to Syracuse, Onondaga county, New York by 7 February 1837. 
• The family moved to a farm near Waunakee, Dane county, Wisconsin after 7 December 1852. John and his sons built a limestone block home that is in use today.
  
• His father deeded a farm to Richard in 1857.
• Richard married Mary Ellen Cummings on 2 February 1863, likely at St. Mary of the Lake church that is about 8 miles southeast of Waunakee.
• Richard and Mary Ellen had four children between 1864 and 1869, of whom Mary Ann, Margaret, and John survived to 1870.
  
• The family was enumerated in the U.S. Census on 24 August 1870, and the household included Mary (age 26), Mary (4), Margaret (3), John (1), Flinn James (40) a farm laborer, and Commons Mary (59) a domestic servant.
• Six more children were born from 1870 to 1879, of whom Catherine B., Ellen Cecelia, Anastasia L., Margaret, and Agnes survived to 1880. The child John died in 1875.
• The family moved to a farm near Glasco, Cloud county, Kansas after Richard sold his Waunakee farm in 1878. Richard's brothers Martin and Thomas had moved to the Glasco area before 1878.
  
• Four more children were born from 1880 to 1885, of whom Sadie, James Thomas, and Elizabeth Gertrude survived.
• Richard continued to farm and raise cattle through 1913.
• He died at his home on 10 September 1915 of pneumonia with a possible hemorrhage into the abdominal cavity.
  

Mary E Cummings (1846-1921)
Mary Ellen Cummings was born in Ireland. Various sources give her birthplace as "Plaberstown" and "Cass" or "Kass." Only a community with a similar name—Pleberstown—exists in county Kilkenny, Ireland today. The community is near Thomastown. Towns with names similar to Cass or Kass are unlikely because of their locations distant from Thomastown. Her birthdate is in dispute, given as 30 October 1841, 31 October 1843, 1 October 1844, 31 October 1844, and 31 October 1846. Statements of age in the U.S. Censuses are not sufficiently reliable to select a likely date. Her parents are Dennis Cummings and Margaret Walsh. She had at least one sister, Margaret.

• She immigrated with her parents to Massachusetts in 1852.
• The family resided in Madison, Dane county, Wisconsin in 1854.
• The family was enumerated in the U.S. Census on 21 June 1860 in Westport township, Dane county, Wisconsin.
• Mary Ellen married Richard Butler on 2 February 1863, likely at St. Mary of the Lake church that is about 8 miles southeast of Waunakee.
• Richard and Mary Ellen had four children between 1864 and 1869, of whom Mary Ann, Margaret, and John survived to 1870.
  
• The family was enumerated in the U.S. Census on 24 August 1870, and the household included Mary (age 26), Mary (4), Margaret (3), John (1), Flinn James (40) a farm laborer, and Commons Mary (59) a domestic servant.
• Six more children were born from 1870 to 1879, of whom Catherine B., Ellen Cecelia, Anastasia L., Margaret, and Agnes survived to 1880. The child John died in 1875.
• The family moved to a farm near Glasco, Cloud county, Kansas after Richard sold his farm in 1878. Richard's brothers Martin and Thomas had moved to the Glasco area before 1878.
  
• Four more children were born from 1880 to 1885, of whom Sadie, James Thomas, and Elizabeth Gertrude survived.
• Mary Ellen died on 17 December 1921 at her home near Glasco.