Online registers of 19th-C in south-western Baden

I've found that registers of 19th-Century births, marriages, and deaths are online for the southern parts of Baden. These are from Standesämter that are in the Freiburg adminstrative district. The Freiburg distict includes the purple Kriese in the map provided.

Use these steps to find online records for your ancestors:

1. Use one of these links:

• Magenta (red) area on the map Staatsarchiv Karlsruhe for a list of - 28 Amtsgerichte (Area Registrars)
• Violet area on the map Staatsarchiv Freiburg - 35 Amtsgerichte
• Aqua (green) area Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg - undefined
• Blue area Staatsarchiv Sigmarinen - undefined

1. Select an Amtsgericht from the list in the left column, A listing of its first 20 books of registry then appears in the right column.
2. Select ALLE (above the slide bar on the right) to list the books that are online from the Amtsgericht.
3. Find your town of interest. Several different register books may be available.

Great-grandmother Leopoldina Salinger (1839-1919)

My great-grandmother Leopoldina Salinger was born in Breisach am Rhein in 1839. Her birth on 29 May 1839 is documented in the civil registers of the city. The record is available through this online source,as well as those of her siblings Carl Julius (1833-1833), Anton Herrmann (1836-), Maria Anna Josepha (1838-), and Maria Anna (1843-).

The records of Breisach am Rhein are available in several volumes with the following groupings of years:

• 1810-1818
• 1819-1826
• 1827-1834
• 1835-1840
• 1841-1847
• 1848-1854
• 1855-1858
• 1859-1864
• 1865-1870

I have reviewed only the first and second volumes in any great detail. It is likely that records of marriages and deaths for family members after 1842 will not be in this town. Both her father Georg Salinger and mother Katherina Vogel-Salinger were born in the first decade of the 19th C, and I expect they might have deaths reported at age 65 or younger. If the siblings survived and remained in Breisach, any of their marriages would be reported at age 40 or younger.

I am pursuing further research in similar online sources for Rastatt, Ettlingen, Karlsruhe/Durlach, and Kònigheim, cities in Baden where other ancestors came from.

The Salinger Family

Revisions on 3 April 2019 update this section with more recent research.

My great-grandmother Leopoldina Salinger-Ohnsat (1839-1919) emigrated from Baden-Württemberg in 1871. Her family lived in Breisach from about 1832 to about 1842, while her father worked as an Amtsdiener. Another family headed by Georg Selinger lived in the outlying and smaller settlement of Hochstetten at least from 1835. Leopoldine's family name was spelled "Salinger" and occasionally "Selinger" in Germany, and its spelling "Sallinger" occurred sometime during immigration, naturalization, or resettlement.

Her parents were Georg Salinger (1803-1856) and Katherina Vogel (about 1810-1862). Georg was identified as an Amtsdiener in several birth documents for his children. This occupation is an honorific today or a ceremonial duty that is given as a political award. In the 19th Century, an Amtsdiener could have performed a wide variety of clerical tasks in a registrar's office or could have been little more than a manager of visitors to the office (asking citizens to wait in the lobby and escorting them to the registrar's desk when the clerk was ready to take their information). In older German usage, there may have been distinctions in the function of an Amtsdiener, a Büttel, a Fronbote, a Gerichtsdiener, and a Saaldiener; however, modern German usage does not imply great differences, except that a Gerichtsdiener is associated with civil and criminal courts. Simple translations could be among these: an "usher," a "beadle," or a "messenger" of a municipal court. The Zedler Universal-Lexikon (1731-1754) has this definition:

Amts-Knecht, Amts-Diener, ist ein geschworner Bote, welcher das, was vor Gerichte geschen soll,  durch des Amtmanns Befehl denen Partheben überbringen und ankundigen muß. Wie er denn auch die Amts-Delinquenten einbringen, und dem Nachrichter überlieffern muß. [Band I (A-AM), p. 898, bottom of column 1817]

That is,

Official servant is a sworn messenger who must, at the bailiff's command, deliver to those taking part in the proceedings those charged persons who must be tried before a court of law. In the court proceedings, the Amtsdiener announces the availability of those charged. He must also bring in the charged parties and leave them with the reporter.

Rastatt (left), Ettlingen, and Durlach (right, top) in the
Karlsruhe region along the Rhein River

Leopoldine's father came from Rastatt, and her mother from Durlach or Ettlingen, about 80 and 90 miles north of Breisach. Both Durlach and Ettlingen are within Karlsruhe Kreis, and Rastatt is a historically important city along the middle Rhein. Georg Salinger married Katharina Vogel on 3 December 1829 in St. Peter and Paul Catholic church in Durlach, and two children were born there: Carolina Christina in 1830 and Barbara Luise in 1831.

Although movement from one town to another within a few miles was fairly common, the distance to Breisach seems unusual. I suspected that Georg Salinger had performed the work of Amtsdiener in Rastatt and was recommended for the post in Breisach. However, the marriage record for the couple states that he was "sergeant/junior officer with the Guards Cavalry Regiment at Gottsau." It's possible that he left military service and worked in a governmental bureau before the family moved to Breisach.

I have only preliminary research for the generation of these 2nd-great-grandparents. I have found documentation of their marriage in the registers of Durlach and Rastatt. The Rastatt register entry is a certified copy of the Durlach register:

Marriage registry of Georg Sallinger and Katharina Vogel,
Rastatt, Germany (two consecutive pages in the image)

Abschrift: Auszug aus dem Trauungsbuche der katholischen Stadtpfarrei Durlach, S. 38, §5

Im Jahre tausend acht hundert neun und zwanzig den dritten Dezember nachmnittags halb zwei Uhr nach vorhergegangenen zweimaligen Aufgebothen, welche am vier und zwanzigsten Sonntag nach Pfingsten und ersten Sonntag im Advent zu Durlach und Karlsruhe geschehen sind, nach erhaltener Entlassung des Bräutigams von großherzoglich katholischen Stadtpfarramte zu Karlsruhe und nicht erhobenen Einspruche; sind von Unterzeichneten getraut und eingeseegnet worden: Georg Sallinger von Rastatt /: neuangehender Bürger von Rastatt:/, Unteroffizier vom Garde Cavallerie Regiment zu Gottsau, ehelicher Sohn des verstorbenen Sallinger Leopold von Rastatt, mit der ledigen Katharina Vogel von Ettlingen, Tochter der Katharina Vogel von hier, Ehegattin des Marand Würzburger, Schutzbürger und Leistschneider [= Leistenschneider] dahier.

Zeugen waren: die beiden Unteroffiziere: Carl Oehlwang von Karlsruhe und Stephan Bischof von Kisselbronn [= Kieselbronn] bei Pforzheim.
Durlach d. 3. Decemb. 1829. V Baumann, Pfarrer.

gegeben Durlach d. 7t. Dezember 1829 In fidem extractus: V. Baumann, Pfarrer
Zur Beglaubigung der treuen Abschrift
Rastatt d. 20t Dezember 1829
Schung, Dekan und Stadtpfarrer

Translation:

Copy: Extract from the marriage book of the Durlach Catholic town parish. Page 38, paragraph 5.

Marriage registry of Georg Sallinger and Katharina Vogel,
Durlach, Germany

In the year 1829 on December 3 at 1:30 in the afternoon, after the announcement of two marriage banns that occurred on the 24th Sunday after Pentecost and the 1st Sunday of Advent in Durlach and in Karlsruhe; after receiving the release of the groom from the grand ducal Catholic town parish office in Karlsruhe, with no objections raised; were married and blessed by the undersigned: Georg Sallinger from Rastatt (prospective citizen from Rastatt.), sergeant/junior officer with the Guards Cavalry Regiment at Gottsau, legitimate son of the deceased Sallinger, Leopold from Rastatt; with the unmarried Katharina Vogel from Ettlingen, daughter of Katharina Vogel from here[ [Durlach], wife of the Würzburger Marand, legal/protected citizen and last maker here.

Witnesses were: both sergeants/junior officers Carl Oehlwang from Karlsruhe and Stephan Bischof from Kisselbronn [= Kieselbronn] near Pforzheim.Durlach,
December 3, 1829. V. Baumann, Clergyman.

Written in Durlach on December 7, 1829 Faithfully extracted: V. Baumann, Clergyman
In certification of a true/accurate copy.
Rastatt, December 20, 1829
Schung, Deacon and Town Clergyman.

Typically ages of the bride and groom are given in a marriage record, especially if they are young adults. Since the ages are not given, I presume that neither is of younger age. I guess that Georg was then about 30 years old, and that Katharina was perhaps younger than 25. So I estimated their births to be 1799 and 1807 (plus or minus 5 years), respectively. These dates establish a search range for their birth or baptism records. Recently I found Georg's birth-baptism record in Rastatt: 21 February 1803.

Officers' dress uniforms of the Rastatt regimental cavalry.

Georg Salinger's home of origin in the marriage entry is of some interest. He is given a "prospective" citizenship in Durlach; he was "release" from the "grand ducal Catholic town parish office in Karlsruhe," and his father Leopold is from Rastatt. Likely, then, Georg was born in Rastatt at the end of the 18th Century, then a city of 3000 residents. Until 1771, Rastatt was the residence of the margrave of Baden-Baden, with a large palace at the center of the city. The residence of the margrave moved in the late 18th Century to another city, but a military garrison remained in Rastatt. Perhaps the young Georg began his military service in Rastatt and was moved then to Karlsruhe to serve the grand duke. (The city was the location for peace negotiations between France, Prussia, and Austria in the last years of the 18th Century, known as the Congrès de Rastatt. However, the negotiations had only one catastrophic result: the murder of two French diplomats and the serious wounding of a third.) I presume Georg was intending to live in Durlach, as evidenced by the parenthetical description of neuangehender Bürger von Rastatt, "prospective citizen from Rastatt."

Katharina Vogel's home of origin in the marriage entry is also of interest. Her mother's residence is given as Durlach, but the bride's residence is given as Ettlingen. Of additional interest for research is the identity of her mother's husband as "the Würzburger Marand, legal/protected citizen and last maker here [in Durlach]."

The Georg Salinger family returned to Durlach in time for the birth of their seventh child, Maria Anna, on 29 August 1843. Because Katharina would have reached 40 soon after then, it's unlikely that more children came to the family. Georg Salinger died on 4 January 1856 in Tauberbischofsheim. 

I continue research for the birth, reason for living in Ettlingen, and death of Katharina Vogel—and for information about her parents.

Leopoldine's paternal grandfather was named in her parents' marriage record: Leopold Sallinger from Rastatt. I have found the marriage of Leopold Salinger to Margaretha Mayer on 11 January 1802 in Rastatt and his death on 12 July 1821. I estimate his birth to be around 1767; similarly, I estimate Margaretha Mayer's birth to be about 1775 and her death to have been about 1850. Her paternal great-grandparents may be Joseph Salinger (about 1745-1800) and Franziska Idamann (about 1740-1800) and Georg Mayer (about 1740-1800) married 8 August 1768 to Maria Anna Maisch (about 1760-1800).


Leopoldine's maternal grandmother was identified as Katharina Vogel from Karlsruhe-Durlach, who was married to "the Würzburger Marand, legal/protected citizen and last maker [in Durlach]." I believe this indicates that Marand is a step-parent who came originally from Würzburg. The mother Katharina married Morand Würzburger on 30 May 1814 in Durlach. I estimate the elder Katharina married an unknown Vogel before 1807 in Durlach, and that she was born before 1780, probably in Durlach. However, it is possible that the younger Katharina Vogel was a birth outside of marriage (once called illegitimate). Leopoldine's maternal great grandparents may be Martin Vogel and Margaretha Wagner.

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.
  

Letter to an elderly cousin

About ten years ago, I visited a distant cousin Alice to tell her of my research in her ancestry. She lived in a quiet neighborhood of Anaheim CA. Orange trees shielded the view of her neighbors' homes. I visited her when she was about 89 years old, shortly after her husband Leo had suffered a stroke. He seemed to be doing pretty well, considering, but he was not very lively.

On the other hand, Alice was very active. Every question I had resulted in her finding another box of family pictures, grade cards, school year books, or other treasures of their life and children's growth.

The visit rekindled my research in her family, and I documented it with a long letter.

I hope my letter finds you well and enjoying the season of Christmas and the New Year, and I hope that 2005 will be a year of joy. It has been two years since my last contacts with you, and I have been fairly successful in my research of the Ohnsat family, both in America and in our ancestors’ European home. 

I believe you told me—or perhaps it was your sister Catherine who told me—that a member of your family once traveled to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in hopes of finding more information about the Ohnsat family. But that there was no luck in the endeavor. Well, I made a short trip to Pittsburgh this past September, and found baptismal and marriage records that helped greatly in finding the European origins of the Ohnsat family and Salinger family. There are also other researchers I have been in touch with who provide information about your mother’s Streit family.

Let me summarize the information I had for you in October 2002: 

• My aunt, Sister Edna Louise Kohn, who now lives at the Nazareth Motherhouse in Concordia, remembered that her grandfather Ohnsat was from “Neisse” or “Silesia.” She remembered that her grandmother Salinger-Ohnsat was from “Frankfurt.” Your sister Catherine Bulthaup remembered that her grandfather was a butcher and her grandmother worked as a nurse, but that she had such a bad experience with nursing that she worked to prevent any of her grandchildren from going into nursing.

• Sister Edna also provided the following birth and death information:
• 
  John Robert Ohnsat born 18 Sep 1835 in “Neisse” or “Silesia,” died 14 Sep 1897 near Tipton, Kansas.
• 
  Leopoldine Salinger born 29 May 1839 in “Frankfort, Germany,” died 23 Jul 1919 from dropsy at the home of her daughter near Tipton, Kansas.
• They came to Kansas in 1878 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. These dates were corroborated by information from notes provided by my aunt Katherine Cooper, and from information on tombstones, and in published obituaries.

• City directories of Pittsburgh and its area, dated between 1874 and 1879 locate our family in Pittsburgh residences. The directory of 1876-77 has “Ohnsat Jos, lab [laborer], 16 Twenty-seventh, s s [South Side]” (p. 475). This Joseph Ohnsat is a brother to your grandfather Robert Ohnsat. The directory of 1877-78 has “Ohnest Joseph, butcher, Larimer av, n Broad, e e [East End].” along with “Ohnsat Robert, butcher, Brownsville road, Mt. Oliver, 27th ward.” (p. 464). I believe the name “Ohnest” is a typographic error. 

• The Naturalization Docket Common Pleas No. 1 - Allegheny County, page 328 includes: “[applicant] Ohnsat Robert [no voucher listed] [no date of naturalization listed] [date of declaration] Feby 7, 1873.” The entry probably indicates that Robert Ohnsat was a resident of Allegheny county since about 1871, since the declaration may occur after two years of residency.

Continuing my research based on what I knew, I used the residences of Larimer Street in South Side, North Broad Street in East End, and Brownsville Road in Mount Oliver in a search for Catholic Churches in these neighborhoods. Then I applied to the Diocesan Archives of Pittsburgh for transcripts of any baptism and marriage records for the Ohnsat family. They responded with the following information:

• From the St. Michael (South Side) Marriage Records 1849-1878, p. 318: “26 Nov 1872. 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.”
  
  St. Michael Catholic church was at 21 Pius Street. It was deconsecrated and demolished about 1960 

• From the St. Michael (South Side) Baptismal Records 1866-1878, p. 136, 2nd section: “Franz Joseph, born 19 Oct 1873; baptized 2 Nov 1873; father: Robertus Ohnsaat; mother: Leopoline Sallinger; sponsors: Joseph Weizenhefer, Josephine Höbel. Father Ignatius.” 

• From the St. Joseph (Mount Oliver) Baptismal Records 1870-1880, p. 145: “Louisam Cath., born 2 Dec 1875; baptized 12 Dec 1875; father: Roberto Ohnsent, Prussia; mother: Leopoldino Sollenger, Baden; sponsors: Joseph Heirenhäfer, Maria Sherene.”
  
  St. Joseph Catholic church was at 438 Ormsby Avenue. It was deconsecrated and demolished in the late 20th Century. 

• No record of the marriage of Joseph Ohnsat or of his children's baptisms at St. Michael, St. Joseph (Mt. Oliver), Sts Peter & Paul (East End), or St. Philomena. The only record found was a baptism for Catherine in 1899. Since she was identified as Lutheran prior to conversion, it is most likely that her parents’ marriage did not take place in a Catholic parish. From the St. Philomena (Pittsburgh) Baptismal Records 1895-1908, p. 97: “Catharinam Christinam Dorothea, born 15 Jul 1879; baptized 16 Apr 1899; father: Josepho Onshat, Grüben Falkenberg, Prussia; mother: Elizabeth Rothamel, Grossalmerade, Hessen-Cassell; sponsor: Rosa Crenner. Note in record: newly converted from Lutheranismo, conditional baptismal. Step-father's name Elliott.”

Since this letter, I've been contacted by another descendant of the Elliott family. This contact provided a great deal of fresh information about Joseph Ohnsat, who died in Pittsburgh PA in 1880.

The letter continued...

From the two marriage records, I gleaned the location of Grüben Falkenberg, Prussia for the Ohnsat family and of Baden for the Salinger family. Using catalogs made available on the internet by the Church of Latter Day Saints, I found Church Registers of Grüben in Kreis (county) Falkenberg, a county in the Schlesien district of Ostpreußen (East Prussia). 

The photo shows typical “Sunday clothes” of 19th-Century Schlesien.

Grüben is a small town of about 500 residents today. It is within about 30 miles of the town of Neisse, and within ten miles of the Neisse River. Since the Prussian empire broke up in the early Twentieth Century, and since the eastern borders of Germany were changed numerous times around WW II, the area now is in the south-central part of Poland. The town is named Grabin in Polish, and its county seat is now named Niemodlin. It is in the Polish state of Opole.

I have reviewed the Church Registers of Grüben, and the handwriting in the volumes is very hard to read. With the help of a transcription service, I have identified my 2nd great grandparents (and your great grandparents) : Franz Ohnsat (b. about Jan 1803) and Catharina Scholz (b. about Aug 1806). Catharina’s family name may have been “Schotz,” since the handwriting in the Church Register is somewhat illegible. Franz and Catharina were married in Grüben on 15 Nov 1831. They had seven children I know of: Franz Josef (b. 13 Mar 1833), Johann Robert (b.18 Sep 1835), Franz Anton (b. 10 Dec 1837), Maria Caroline (b. 8 Jul 1840), Joseph August (b. 3 Jul 1842), Carl Anton (b. 13 Oct 1844), and Johann Heinrich (b. 2 Apr 1847). I have not researched the Church Registers for marriages or deaths of these children, so I cannot guess whether only your grandfather and one grand uncle emigrated to the U.S.

Also according to the Church Registers, the father of Franz Ohnsat was Joseph Ohnsat, who had died by the date of Franz’ wedding to Catharina Scholz. Catharina’s father was Johann Scholz, a farmer. Both families were from Grüben, as were the unrelated witnesses to the marriage of Franz and Catharina. By their stated occupations, Johann Scholz owned a fair amount of farmland, but Joseph Ohnsat owned a smaller parcel.

I was contacted recently by a researcher whose 3rd Great Grandmother Johanna Juliana Scholz is a sister to my 2nd Great Grandmother Catharina Scholz. This researcher lives near Heidelberg Germany, and they are familiar with the area of Grüben, as well as other areas of Germany where I pursue research.

At least with online phone directories, there are no German families with the name Ohnsat today. The family name has several variant spellings in the Church Registers, including Ohnsatt, Ohnsath, and Ohnesat. Other variant spellings may include Ohnezeit and Ohneseit, which are more common names in today’s Germany than the spelling Ohnsat. I have contacted several researchers with the names Ohneseit and Ohnezeit, but they have not returned e-mails to date.

I found the European home of your grandmother also: Breisach am Rhein, in Kreis Breisgau-Hochscwarzwald, in the state of Baden (today Baden-Württemberg).
Breisach am Rhein is on the eastern bank of the Rhein River, at the extreme southwestern corner of today’s Germany. The county that surrounds the town shares borders with France and Switzerland. The county population is about 243.000 residents, and the town itself has 8,644 residents.

I have reviewed the Church Registers of Breisach am Rhein, and the handwriting in the volumes is a bit easier to read than the Grüben records. I have identified my 2nd great grandparents : Georg Salinger and Katherina Vogel. I have not found their marriage record yet, but I have found four of their children: Carl Julius (b. 26 Mar 1833), Anton Herrmann (b.21 Jun 1836), Maria Anna Josepha (b. 21 Mar 1838), and Anna Maria Leopoldina (b. 30 May 1839). I have not researched the Church Registers for marriages or deaths of these children, so I cannot guess whether only your grandmother emigrated to the U.S.

I have researched the Ohnsat family in the U.S. by reviewing censuses of the last twenty years of the 19th Century.

• In the U.S. Census of 23 Jun 1880, the Robert Ohnsat family lived in Bloom township of Osborne county, Kansas. Robert gave his age as 45 and said he was born in Prussia. His wife Leopoldina gave her age as 34 and said she was born in Baden. Their children’s ages were given as 6 for Frank, 4 for Louiza or Louise, and 2 for Barney. Their neighbors then included the families of Nicholas ARNOLDY, Peter SIMEON, John ARNOLDY, Philip SCHROEDER, Martin OTTLEY, Peter REINERT, Franz RIEDEL, Frank BORDEN, Nicholas RHEINHART, and Nick GASPER. 

• In the Kansas Census of 1 Mar 1885, the family reported ages of 49 for Robert, 45 for Leopoldina, 11 for Francis, 9 for Louisa, and 6 for Barney. None of the children had attended school within the year, but none were reported as illiterate either. Robert reported owning 320 acres, which were fully in use as farmland, with a value of $1200 for the land and $70 for farm implements and machinery. 50 acres were sown in wheat, 11 in corn, 8 in oats, 0.5 in Irish potatoes, and 1 in millet. He had 150 bushels of corn on hand and 200 bushels of wheat. He had cut 9 tons of prairie hay in 1884.He had sold $5 worth of eggs the previous year, and had made 200 pounds of butter. His livestock included 4 horses, 6 milk cows, 13 other cattle, and 13 swine with a total value of $24. He had 112 peach trees and 6 cherry trees. He had one dog. 

• The U.S. Census of 1890 was lost due to a fire in a storage area, which was destroyed in 1921. Of the millions of detailed questionnaires completed for the Eleventh Census of the United States, taken in June 1890, only a fragment of the general population schedules and an incomplete set of special schedules enumerating Union veterans and widows are available today. All the records of Kansas were lost. 

• In the Kansas Census of 1 Mar 1895, the family reported ages of 59 for Robert, 56 for Leopolina, 21 for Francis, 19 for Louisa, and 16 for Bernhart. Only “Bernhart” had attended school within the year, but none were reported as illiterate either. Robert reported owning 320 acres, all “under fence,” of which 100 acres were in cultivation, with a value of $3000 for the land and $75 for farm implements and machinery. 25 acres were sown in wheat, 50 in corn, 5 in oats, 1 in Irish potatoes, and 1 in sorghum for forage or seed. His plans for the next year were 40 acres wheat, 100 acres corn, 8 acres oats, 2 acres Irish potatoes, 5 acres millet, and 1 acre Kaffir corn. He had 200 bushels of wheat on hand. He had cut 25 tons of prairie hay in 1884.He had sold $12 worth of eggs the previous year, and had made 200 pounds of butter. His livestock included 9 horses, 4 milk cows, 60 other cattle, and 53 swine with a total value of $366. He had 2 apple trees and 1 peach tree, and 0.25 acre vineyards; artificial forested area was 1 acre honey locust and 9 acres other varieties. He had one dog.

I have relatively little information about two of the three children of John Robert and Leopoldina Ohnsat. Could you review the information here for you and your brothers and sisters, and help me fill in the missing data?

The letter continued for another four pages, filled with information about Alice's parents, uncles, and aunts. Since they lived into the 20th C, I will provide the information only by private email to family members.

© Thomas G. Kohn, 2013.

Scanning my files

We recently bought a printer-copier-scanner that has a sheet feeder, and that is my opportunity to digitize the huge amount of paper records I have. Especially the photocopied Kirchenbücher (German term for Parish Registers) for the German towns that my ancestors called home.

The Igeler-säule, a monument
to a textile trading family of the
Roman era in Igel, Germany. The
monument stands next to the
hotel owned and operated by
my cousin Oskar Blasius.

I've begun with the full set of early Kirchenbücher from Igel in Rheinland-Pfalz that were microfilmed into the Bistums-Archiv Trier and the Latter Day Saints Family History Library (FHL) as film 0585855. This film includes several large divisions that are called "Items" in the FHL catalog. The Items contain the Kirchenbücher in these groupings:

• Item 1. Hüffelsheim. (registers of Hüffelsheim, not photocopied)
• Item 2. Gemeinde Hümmel, Dekanat Adenau, Regierung Bezirk Koblenz. (registers of Hümmel, not photocopied)
• Item 3. Gemeinde Hümmel, Dekanat Adenau, Regierung Bezirk Koblenz. (not photocopied)
• Item 4. Gemeinde Hümmel, Dekanat Adenau, Regierung Bezirk Koblenz. (not photocopied)
• Item 5. Gemeinde Hümmel, Dekanat Adenau, Regierung Bezirk Koblenz. (not photocopied)
• Item 6. Gemeinde Hümmel, Dekanat Adenau, Regierung Bezirk Koblenz. (not photocopied)
• Item 7. Gemeinde Igel, Dekanat Konz, Regierung Bezirk Trier. KB1.
• Taufen (baptisms) 1706-1713, 1720-1732, 1738-1778. 
• Einzelne (various)1794, 1800, 1804, 1806. 
• Heiraten (matrimonies) 1706-1713, 1748-1778 (sehr Lückenhaft). 
• Sterbefälle (deaths) 1706-1722, 1749-1778. 
• Einzelne 1790-1796.
• 9951 [Contents page] Taufen 1706-1713 (p. 4); 1720-1732 (p. 11); 1738-1778 (p. 35); 
• Einzelne 1794, 1800, 1804, 1806 (p. 122). 
• Heiraten 1706-1713 (p. 125); 1748-1778 (sehr Lückenhaft) (p. 127). 
• Sterbefälle 1706-1722 (p. 141); 1749-1778 (p. 142); 
• Einzelne 1790-1796 (p. 161). 
• Spirituale testamentum pro vita et morte. Verschiedene Nachträge 1732-1754 (p. 166).

The old St. Dionysius church of Igel, built in 1759. Note the
Igeler-Säule in the foreground right. The church became a
chapel with the building of a new church along 

• Item 8. Gemeinde Igel, Dekanat Konz, Regierung Bezirk Trier. KB2.
• Taufen 1752-1759, 1784-1794, 1797. 
• Sterbefälle 1790/92.
• 3913 [Contents page] Taufen 1752-1759 (p. 1); 1784-1794 (p. 19); 1797 (p. 88). 
• Sterbefälle 1790/92 (p. 89).
• Item 9. Gemeinde Igel, Dekanat Konz, Regierung Bezirk Trier. KB3.
• Heiraten 1753-1761, 1784-1795.
• 3914 [Contents page] Heiraten 1753-1761 (p. 1); 1784-1795 (p. 5). 1752: no matrimonies performed. 
• Item 10. Gemeinde Igel, Dekanat Konz, Regierung Bezirk Trier. KB4.
• T. H. St. (baptisms, matrimonies, deaths) 1779-1783 (1779, 1781, 1782, 1783) Doppel.
• Taufen 1794, 1797-1800. 

Stairway to the chapel

• Heiraten 1797-1798. 
• Sterbefälle 1797, 1792/3.
• 3915 [Contents page] T.H.St. 1779-1783 (p. 1); 1779, 1781, 1782, 1783 Doppel (p. 57). 
• Taufen 1784 (p. 119); 1797-1800 (p. 119). 
• Heiraten 1797-1798 (p. 133). 
• Sterbefälle 1797, 1792/3 (p. 137).
• Item 11.Gemeinde Igel, Dekanat Konz, Regierung Bezirk Trier. KB5 through KB 13.
• T.H.St. 1784-1793.
• 3916 [Contents page] T.H.St. 1784. 
• 3917 T.H.St. 1785-1786. 
• 3918 T.H.St. 1787. 
• 3919 T.H.St. 1788. 
• 3920 T.H.St. 1789. 
• 3921 T.H.St. 1790. 
• 3922 T.H.St. 1791. 
• 3923 T.H.St. 1792. 
• 3924 T.H.St. 1793. 

View of Igel from the old Reinig neighborhood
of Wasserliesch, across the Mosel River. My
great-grandmother Susanna Reinert was born
in Igel, and my great-grandfather John M. Kohn
was born in Wasserliesch.

It has taken about two days to scan each group of 35 pages into one PDF file after another. The resulting 17 files range from about 60 to 275 MB, generally depending on the number of pages. Using Adobe Acrobat, I slim down the file size to the range of 7 to 20 MB and rotate pages as needed, if the photocopies changed orientation at some point. Then I merge each packet of 35 pages back into a single file that represents the full Item.

But the work isn't quite done with these steps. I still must go through each file, add PDF bookmarks to ease navigation, and add comments where I have had post-it notes that contain translations, summaries, orother information.

Update 2013.06.23: All the Igel documents are completely scanned.

For future work, I have digitizing for these locations:

• USA KS Mitchell county 19th-C censuses
• USA KS Mitchell county research trip in 2001
• USA KS Mitchell county maps, church registers, cemetery canvasses, deeds, news articles
• USA KS Osborne county maps, deeds, censuses
• USA MN Houston county maps, deeds, censuses related to families Arnoldy, Gillen, Reinert, Schandler, and Schwinden
• USA OH family documents for Brandon, Cosiano, Coscignano, Deneke, Derry, Flauto, Gast, Hoon, Iacano, LoPiccolo, Maxwell, Morton, Nanik, Pounds, and Ventura
• USA PA Allegheny county documents for families Elliott, Ohnsat, Rahenkamp, and Rothamel
• USA WI Dane county documents for families Butler, Kennedy, and Ryan
• USA WI La Crosse county documents for familes Bauer, Becker, Beranek, King, Kohn, Petrick, and Troyanek

• 

  Igel from above, about 2001
  

  
  

  DEU (Germany) B-W (Baden-Wurttemberg) Breisach documents for families Salinger and Vogel
• DEU B-W Main-Tauber-Kreis Königheim documents for Stephan family, primarily Kirchenbücher 
• DEU N-W (Nordthein-Westfalen) Kr. Höxter Brakel documents for Deneke, Franke, and Wiethase families, primarily Kirchenbücher 
• DEU R-P (Rheinland-Pfalz) general documents, some from Landesarchiv that includes Entlaßungserkundigunge (Permits to emigrate)
• DEU R-P Amerikaauswangerungen aus dem Landkreise Trier Rheinland 1855-1900 by Josef Mergen (Update 2013.06.23: scanning complete)
• DEU R-P Krieg am Westwall by Khristoffel
• DEU R-P Kr. Saarburg Saarburg-Filzen Kirchenbücher 
• DEU R-P Kr. Saarburg Wasserliesch Kirchenbücher 1752-1797
• DEU R-P Kr. Saarburg Wasserliesch Kirchenbücher 1752-1907
• DEU R-P Kr. Saarburg Wasserliesch Familienbuch monograph by Peter Kohns
• DEU R-P Kr. Trier-Land marriage extracts from Kirchenbücher  near Igel, 1840-1870 (Update 2013.06.23: scanning complete)
• DEU R-P Kr. Trier-Land Igel Kirchenbücher 1818-1908 (Update 2013.06.23: scanning complete)
• DEU R-P Kr. Trier-Land "Familienbuch" monograph by Franziska Kandel (Update 2013.06.23: scanning complete)
• DEU R-P Kr. Trier-Land Langsur Kirchenbücher 1758-1900 (Update 2013.06.23: scanning complete)
• DEU SCSN (Schlesien, a part of former Ostpreußen) Kr. Falkenburg Grüben extracted records from Kirchenbücher
• LUX (Luxembourg) Canton Fôret/Grevenmacher Wasserbillig Registres Paroissiaux

If you, my reader, have a special interest in the digitized or photocopied records, please leave a comment on this posting.

© Thomas G. Kohn, 2013.

Summary of my 2nd great grandparents

My 2GGP are...

Kohn—Dahm
Johann Matthias Kohn V (1804-1877) †
married 1825 in Wasserliesch, Kreis Trier-Land, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany €
Katharina Dahm (1803-1868)

• Johann Matthias was the first child born to Peter Kohn and Eva Lorig, and he was baptized 8 January 1804 in Wasserliesch, the same day as his birth. 
• Katharina Dahm was the fifth child born to Johann Matthias Dahm and Maria Elisabeth Fischer, and she was baptized 7 November 1803 in Wasserliesch, the same day as her birth. 
• During their lives, the town name was written variously as Waßerliesch, Waßerliersch, and Waßerlirs.
• Johann Matthias and Katharina married on 12 January 1825 in Wasserliesch, witnessed by his brother Nicholas Kohn from the Albach mill and her maternal uncle Nicholas Fischer from Igel.
• Johann Matthias' mother and both of Katharina's parents were deceased by the time Johann Matthias and Katharina married.
• The couple had 10 children: 
• Peter (born 1825)
• Nicholas (born 1827)
• Matthias (born before 1829)
• Barbara (born 1831)
• Johann (born 1834)
• Maria (born 1836 and died 1839)
• Johann Matthias (John M., born 1839)
• Katharina (born 1841)
• Michael (born 1844)
• Matthias (born and died 1847)

• The baptismal records of their children note that Johann Matthias was a farmer. 
• Notable events for the family:

•  12 January 1825 in Wasserliesch: Johann Matthias Kohn V marries Katharina Dahm
• 9 December 1825: son Peter was born and baptized.
• 20 November 1827: son Nicholas was born and baptized the next day.
• 16 August 1829: son Matthias was baptized and born on this date or before.
• 21 April 1831: daughter Barbara was born and baptized.
• 1 June 1834: son Johann was born and baptized the next day.
• 10 July 1836: daughter Maria III was born and baptized the next day.
• 10 Jan 1839: son Johann Matthias VIII (John M.) was born and baptized.
• 5 July 1839: daughter Maria died and was buried on 9 July.
• 14 Sep 1841: daughter Katharina was born and baptized.
• 19 Jul 1844: son Michael was born and baptized two days later.
• 30 Apr 1847: the son Matthias was born, baptized, and died.
• 25 April 1849 in Wasserliesch:  the sons Matthias and John and daughter Barbara were confirmed.
• 4 August 1849:  Johann Matthias' father Peter died in Wasserliesch.
• before 1855: the son Matthias emigrated to America.
• 17 September 1855: the son Johann Matthias and the daughter Katharina were confirmed.
• 2 October 1860: the son Michael was confirmed.
• 3 February 1861: the son Nicholas married Maria Müller of Konz.
• 10 February 1863: the daughter Barbara married Johann Schuh of Wasserliesch.
• 31 July 1864: the son Peter was the godfather to his nephew Peter, the son of Nicholas Kohn and Maria Müller
• around 30 June 1865: the son Johann Matthias emigrated to America.
• 18 September 1865 in LaCrosse Wisconsin (USA): the son Matthias married Josephine Baker. 
• 19 Apr 1866: the son John applied for emigration to America. It is uncertain if he did indeed travel to America, since he married Anna Hild in Wasserliesch on 20 February 1873, and they had several children baptized there.
• 10 May 1868: Katharina died and was buried on 12 May in Wasserliesch.
• around 17 June 1871: the son Michael emigrated to America.
• 20 February 1873 in Wasserliesch: the son Johann married Anna Hild of Porz. 
• 21 April 1874 in LaCrosse Wisconsin (USA): the son Michael married Theresia Loarscher [spelling uncertain].
• 5 September 1874 in Waconda Kansas (USA): the son Johann Matthias married Susanna Reinert of Igel.
• 10 April 1877: Johann Matthias V died and was buried on 12 April in Wasserliesch.

Reinert—Blasius
Johann Reinert (1822-1871)
married 1847 in Igel, Kreis Trier-Land, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Catharina Blasius III (1824-1891) †

• Johann was the sixth child born to Paul Reiner and Anna Maria Weis, and he was born 12 June 1822 in Wasserbillig, Luxembourg.
• Catharina was the third child born to Peter Blasius II and Susanna Giwer, and she was born 20 March 1824 and baptized the same day in Igel.
• Johann and Catharina married on 5 March 1847 in Igel. No sacramental register entry in Igel or any neighboring village documents the wedding, but the civil marriage registers (Standesamtsregister of Landkreis Trier) give the date and hour of 11 o'clock in the morning. 
• According to the marriage register, Johann was a linen weaver, which often meant a year-round business of flax growing, harvesting, and treating, after which a weaver would spin the flax into thread, and then manufacture rope and cloth.
• Catharina's father was deceased at the time of their marriage.
• The couple had five children:
• Susanna (born 1848)
• Nicholas Matthias (born 1851)
• Peter (born 1853)
• Maria (born 1860)
• Gertrude (born 1864)
• Notable events for the family:
• 8 January 1848: the daughter Susanna was born and baptized.
• 8 January 1851: the son Nicholas Matthias was born and baptized.
• 17 May 1853: the son Peter was born and baptized.
• 27 January 1860: the daughter Maria was born and baptized.
• 19 March 1864: Johann was the godfather of Elisabeth Blasius, his wife's niece.
• 9 December 1864: the daughter Gertrude was born and baptized the next day.
• 9 February 1867: Johann applied for emigration.
• 22 October 1867: Johann signed a letter of intent to naturalize in the United States.
• 7 June 1870: the family was enumerated in the U.S. Federal Census of Houston County (Caledonia) Minnesota (USA).
• 10 March 1871: Johann died of cancer of the neck near Caledonia Minnesota (USA).
• 1872: Catharina moved with her five children to Tipton Kansas (USA). The family was part of a group of 12 relocating families.
• 1872 in Bloom township, Osborne county Kansas (USA): Catharina purchased 160 acres of farmland.
• 5 September 1874 in Waconda Kansas (USA): the daughter Susanna married Johann Matthias Kohn from Wasserliesch.
• 8 September 1879 in Mitchell County Kansas: the son Nicholas Matthias married Maria Simeon.
• 8 September 1879 in Mitchell County Kansas: the son Peter married Catherine Schwinden from Caledonia Minnesota.
• 26 January 1887 in Mitchell County Kansas: the daughter Gertrude married Stephen Schandler from Luxembourg. 
• 24 April 1887 in Mitchell County Kansas: the daughter Maria married Michael Gillen from Kruchten, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
• 4 August 1887 in LaCrosse Wisconsin: the daughter Susanna died of heatstroke.
• Late 1887: the widowed husband of Susanna, John M. Kohn, moved from LaCrosse Wisconsin with his five surviving children to live with his mother-in-law Catharina.
• 8 February 1891: Catharina died near Tipton Kansas.

Ohnsat—Scholz
Franz Ohnsat (calc 1803-est 1870) ¶
married 1831 in Grabin, Niemodlin, Opole, Poland
Catherina Scholz (calc 1806-est 1870) ¶

• Franz was one of at least three children born to Joseph Ohnsat and an unnamed mother, and he was born 15 January 1803 in Grüben, Kreis Falkenberg, Schlesien, Ostpreußen (as named at that time) or Grabin, Niemodlin, Opole, Poland (modern name).
• Catharina was one of at least three children born to Johann Scholtz and an unnamed mother, and she was born 15 August 1806 in Grüben, Kreis Falkenberg, Schlesien, Ostpreußen (as named at that time) or Grabin, Niemodlin, Opole, Poland (modern name).
• Franz and Catharina married on 15 November 1831 in  Grabin.
• According to the marriage register, Franz was a land owner.
• As of today, no further research has identified the parents' birth and death dates.
• The couple had seven children:
• Franz Joseph (born 1833)
• Johann Robert (born 1835)
• Franz Anton (born 1837)
• Maria Caroline (born 1840)
• Joseph August (born 1842)
• Carl Anton (born 1844)
• Johann Heinrich (born 1847)
• Notable events for the family:
• 13 March 1833: the son Franz Joseph was born and baptized the next day.
• 18 September 1835: the son Johann Robert was born and then baptized on 20 September.
• 10 December 1837: the son Franz Anton was born and then baptized on 12 December.
• 8 July 1840: the daughter Maria Caroline was born and then baptized on 14 July.
• 3 July 1842: the son Joseph August was born and baptized the next day.
• 13 October 1844: the son Carl Anton was born and then baptized on 17 October.
• 2 April 1847: the son Johann Heinrich was born and then baptized on 4 April.
• I estimate that the parents died around 1870, based on typical lifespans of that time.

Salinger—Vogel
Georgius Salinger (est 1800-est 1870) ¶
married 03 Dec 1829 in Durlach, Baden, Germany
Katherina Vogel (est 1815-est 1870) ¶

• Georgius (also Georg) was born around 1800, presumably in the Baden region of what is now Germany. His father was Leopold Sallinger; his mother's name is not known.
• Catharina was born around 1815, presumably in the Baden region of what is now Germany. Her mother was Katharina Vogel; her father's name is not known.
• The parents were cited in the 26 Nov 1872 marriage of Robert Ohnsat to Anna M. L. Salinger, as recorded by Father Fredericus of St. Michael parish in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• As of today, no further research has identified birth and death dates for Georg Salinger and Katherina Vogel.
• The couple had four known children:
• Carl Julius (born 1833)
• Anton Hermann (born 1836)
• Maria Anna Josepha  (born 1838)
• Anna Maria Louisa (born 1839)
• Notable events for the family:
• 26 March 1833: the son Carl Julius was born and two days later baptized in the catholic parish of Breisach, Kreis Freiburg, Baden (today named Breisach am Rhein).
• 16 Apr 1833 : the son Carl Julius died.
• 20 June 1836: the son Anton Herrmann was born and one day later baptized in the catholic parish of Breisach, Kreis Freiburg, Baden (today named Breisach am Rhein).
• 21 March 1838: the daughter Maria Anna Josepha was baptized in the catholic parish of Breisach, Kreis Freiburg, Baden (today named Breisach am Rhein).
• 30 May 1839: the daughter Maria Anna Leopoldina was baptized in the catholic parish of Breisach, Kreis Freiburg, Baden (today named Breisach am Rhein).
• I estimate that the parents died around 1870, based on typical lifespans of that time.

Deneke—Wiethase 
Deneke—Franke
Franz Anton Deneke (calc 1793-abt 1875) ¶married 1823 in Brakel, Kreis Höxter, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Anna Theodora Wiethase (calc 1791-1832)
married 1833 in Brakel, Kreis Höxter, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Anna Maria Franke (calc 1798-est 1860) ¶

• Franz Anton was born around 1793, in Brakel, of what is now Kreis Höxter, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
• Anna Theodora was born around 1789, presumably in Brakel, of what is now Kreis Höxter, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Her father's name was Ludwig.
• Franz Anton married Anna Theodora Wiethase on 11 Feb 1823 in the catholic St. Michael parish of Brakel, Kreis Höxter, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
• The couple had four known children:
• Anna Maria Elisabetha (born 1823)
• Ferdinandine (born 1825)
• Thomas  (born 1827)
• Friedrich Lorenz (born 1830)
• Anna Theodora Wiethase died 28 December 1832.
• Anna Maria was born around 1798, presumably in Brakel, of what is now Kreis Höxter, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
• Franz Anton married Anna Maria Franke on 19 February 1833 in the catholic St. Michael parish of Brakel, Kreis Höxter, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
• The couple had three known children:
• Anton (born 1836)
• Franz Joseph (born 1838)
• Sophia (born 1842)
• Notable events for the family:
• 28 Nov 1823: the daughter Anna Maria Elisabeth was born and two days later baptized.
• 5 June 1824: the daughter Anna Maria Elisabeth died.
• 11 Mar 1825: the son Ferdinandine was born and one day later baptized.
• 28 Jul 1827: the son Thomas was born and one day later baptized.
• 14 Mar 1830: the son Friedrich Lorenz was born and baptized.
• 2 Aug 1830: the son Friedrich Lorenz died.
• 28 December 1832: the mother Anna Theodora Wiethase died.
• 23 Apr 1836: the son Anton was born and baptized.
• 21 Dec 1838: the son Franz Joseph was born and three days later baptized.
• 30 Jan 1842: the daughter Sophia was born and three days later baptized.
• 18 Jan 1843: the daughter Sophia died.
• 15 Mar 1843: the son Franz Joseph died.
• 1872: the son Anton emigrates to America.

Stephan—Baur [spelling uncertain]
Franz Jakob Stephan (1812-1898) ¶
married bef 1849 in Königheim, Main-Tauber-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Maria Anna [Baur? Rauch?] (est 1825-est 1885) ¶

Butler—Kennedy
John Butler (1801-abt 1875) ¶
married 1824 in Thomastown, county Kilkenny, Ireland
Mary Kennedy (1797-1893)

Cummings—Walsh
Dennis Cummings (1806-1888)
married abt 1840 in Ireland
Margaret Walsh (1800-1896)

† The appended Roman numerals specify individuals who share the same name with other members of the family. The numerals were applied by me and are not used by other researchers of the family history.

€ Modern designations are used for locations. Local names are used, except for the country.

¶ The abbreviations used in the list have these meanings.
abt—The date or year was estimated by using a known event. For example, a person's death occurred before the surviving family moved.
aft—The date or year establishes the first possible time for the event. For example, a person's baptism happens after a birth.
bef—The date or year establishes the last possible time for the event. For example, a person's birth  happens before a baptism.
calc—The date or year was calculated from a known date and age. For example, a stated age in a wedding document provides a calculation of that person's birth.
est—The date or year was estimated by using average longevity and average age for marriage. For example, average longevity ranges from 60 years in the 19th Century to 75 years in the 20th Century. The average age for marriage in 19th C. Germany is 22 for women and 26 for men.