Houston County, Minnesota—history

This post is a stub, subject to frequent updates. First publication [not published]. © Thomas G. Kohn, 2013.

Figure 16. Fur trading in Canada, 1777.

When, by the early 18th Century, the French fur traders from Canada (Figure 16) made their way to the Root River Valley, they made little or no change in the life style or sense of possession of the land.[18] If anything, they chose to adapt rather than change the Native American way. The less trouble, the more furs they could send back to Canada. However, the French claim to the area by right of discovery and first use was tenuous at best.

The Louisiana Purchase

Figure 17. Area of the Louisiana Purchase.

The end of the French and Indian War in 1763 saw the transfer of French influence to England in the north and French land claims west of the Mississippi River to Spain. For 35 years the rulers of Spain did little or nothing with the destiny of the region. Spain owned the Mississippi River valley by right of discovery, even though they had possession of only the lands west of the river. In 1800, France regained control of the area, but Napoleon’s grand campaigns in Europe drew attentions away from America. By this time, the United States gained control of the lands ceded them at the end of the Revolutionary War. Citizens settled the Ohio River Valley and explored the Mississippi River down to the Gulf of Mexico. Understanding that Napoleon needed to finance his empire’s expansion, the United States made overtures to the French about selling. Fifteen million dollars was a windfall to Napoleon, and the deal was concluded. The United States took possession of New Orleans and the west bank of the Mississippi in 1803 (Figure 17).

Figure 18. USA states and territories, 1850.

Meanwhile, the French and English fur traders followed their trade. The Native Americans took advantage of the trade goods, but ignored the more abstract idea of land ownership. Population growth in the more settled East and demand for land resulted in an American presence in the upper Mississippi River Valley. With the granting of statehood to Iowa in 1846 and Wisconsin in 1848, the Indian lands on the upper reaches of the Mississippi River grew more attractive. Congress on 3 March 1849 created the Minnesota Territory, which included lands all the way west to the Missouri River and north to Canada.

Only a small portion of the lands had been ceded to the United States by the resident Native Americans. Everything else was tribal land and not yet open for settlement. The Dakota and Ojibwe to the north and the Sauk and Fox to the south made incursions into the area that would soon be Houston county, but none really controlled it.

Figure 19. Iowa: the Neutral Ground and other lands ceded by
native tribes.

In hopes to avoid conflict, in 1825 the United States established a line across northern Iowa below which the Dakota were not to hunt. However, the line was indeterminate, and no one, least of all the Native Americans, knew exactly where the southern border was. The border was further confused in 1830 by the establishment of the “Neutral Ground,” a swath of land 20 miles north and south of the 1825 hunting grounds line (Figure 19). In 1832, the north half of the Neutral Ground was ceded to the Winnebago as they were being pushed out of Wisconsin. The Native Americans used the land with little change, since they little cared about the strange idea of “owning” land. On the other hand, the Native Americans understood the fur traders and their harvested pelts, and the trade was left undisturbed.

Territory of Minnesota

Figure 20. The Minnesota Territory, 1857.
Today’s border is the same on the eastern side and on the eas-
tern parts of the north and south sides. Houston county is in
the extreme southeast corner.

With the establishment of the territory in 1849 (Figure 20) came a need for governmental structure, counties, and townships. The territorial legislature created nine counties by October 1849. One was Wabasha county that encompassed the southern portion of the territory, with the Iowa state line as its south border. The county included lands claimed by Native Americans, and these areas were closed to settlement. Nonetheless, white men were squatting in what would become Houston county. Despite the county’s closure for settlement, the Census of 1850 lists six or eight people living in what is now Houston county. Some were timber cutters who worked the Mississippi River bottoms and the Root River valley, cutting trees in winter and floating them downstream during the spring thaw. Though timber poaching was illegal, the Iowa sawmill operators could claim the timber was from areas that were open for logging.

The Winnebago and Dakota ceded their rights gradually. After a treaty ceded the land, the United States ratified the agreement, then opened the land for settlement, and established a land office. Brownsville, in 1854, became the site of the first land office in southeastern Minnesota. The office soon had a booming business with the rush of settlers and speculators. The office was relocated to Chatfield in 1866, as more western land was opened for settlement.

On 5 March 1853, the county of Fillmore was created from the southeastern portion of Wabasha county. Four months later, the Fillmore county commissioners created the first subdivision, the Root River voting precinct. The precinct was bounded by the Root River on the south, and it extended west to the county line. Another month later, the commissioners created the second voting precinct, which encompassed all the land south of the Root River.

On 24 February 1854, Houston county was set off from the eastern half of Fillmore county. Three county commissioners were elected on 4 April 1854. Convening in Brownsville, the new county seat, on 26 May 1854, the county commission identified five voting precincts: Brownsville, Caledonia, Pine Creek, Root River, and Spring Grove.

The villages of Brownsville and Houston were platted in 1854; Caledonia, Hokah, and Spring Grove followed in 1855, and La Crescent in 1856.[19] Eitzen was also platted about this same time. Numerous other villages were platted in the county by optimistic entrepreneurs. Some existed on paper only, others had a business or two and a post office for a time, and a few are still in existence today with larger populations than any time in the past. The county seat was the village of Houston for a few years, but the county commissioners moved the official records to Caledonia for safe storage in the cabin of Commissioner Samuel McPhail. The first court hearings were held in that cabin, and a one-story courthouse and jail was built in Caledonia in 1857.

Minnesota Statehood

Figure 21. Map of Houston county, Minnesota, 2001.

Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd state on 11 May 1858. A month before, in anticipation of statehood, the county commission established 15 townships, and on 13 August 1858 the state legislature confirmed them: Hamilton (later renamed Money Creek) in the northwest corner, Yucatan, and Spring Grove at the west and in Range 7; Houston, Sheldon, Caledonia, and Wilmington in Range 6; Union, Mayville, and Winnebago in Range 5; and La Crescent, Hokah, Brownsville, Crooked Creek, and Jefferson at the east border of the county and generally in Range 4. Mound Prairie and Black Hammer townships were created in 1858 and 1859 (Figure 21) from land once part of surrounding townships.

At first the villages operated as part of the township that surrounded the village. Gradually seven villages each were granted legal status as incorporations separate from the township. Brownsville, Caledonia, Eitzen, Hokah, Houston, La Crescent, and Spring Grove were later upgraded to cities by an act of the legislature. These seven cities and 17 townships form the local level of government in Houston County in existence today.

Turmoil over the county seat continued, a two-story building was built in Caledonia in 1867, and several referenda allowed Caledonia to prevail as the county seat by 1874. From that point on, Caledonia prospered, and Houston slowly diminished. The only other area of prominence was La Crescent, which benefited from its connection to La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Immigration Waves

Soon after the region was open to settlement, agents published stories of the verdant land and new opportunities.[20] “The earliest settlers were largely Irish. Norwegians settled in the western and southwestern parts of the county near Spring Grove. Germans settled near Eitzen and the northern part of the county. Luxemburgers [sic] settled around Caledonia and Freeburg.” Among the settlers from Luxembourg—the Palens from Harlange and Schwindens from Kaundorf[21]—were German families from the Trier area, including the Reinerts from Igel, the Arnoldy families from Kaschenbach, and Konzems from Temmels and Igel (or other towns).

Several immigrant families set up as shop keepers, but the majority became farmers. The University of Minnesota documented how farming developed in the county.

Farming in Houston county has passed through several periods in which different systems of farming were tried and abandoned. During the pioneer period, nearly all products were consumed at home. In the mid 1860s, wheat growing became profitable because of the rapid development of farm machinery and the increased demand for food stimulated by the Civil War.(13) For several years wheat was the only crop grown on some farms. During this time Brownsville was an important shipping center, receiving wheat from as far as 50 miles inland. Wheat growing was nearly discontinued by the end of the 1880s due to crop losses from disease and insect damage.

After the decline of wheat as a main crop, hog raising became the major farming enterprise. Corn grown in large fields was not well suited to the highly erodible sloping soils. Corn growing during this period involved intensive tilling of the soil to prepare a seedbed and many cultivations to control weeds.(10) The resulting loss of organic matter, poor soil tilth, and large fields of exposed soil led to severe gully erosion. Erosion was so severe that some fields were abandoned.

Dairy farming began in the 1890s but did not become important until about 1910. Dairying and beef production are well suited to the sloping to very steep topography. Dairying largely utilizes the more productive soils on the summits and upper side slopes of the ridge tops. Forage crops are fed in large amount to dairy cattle. These crops are very productive on the silty soils; at the same time forage crops provide a cover of sod that protects the soil from erosion. Relatively large areas are too steep for cropland but are suitable for pasture that supports beef cattle enterprises.

Today’s system of livestock farming is basically in harmony with the climatic and soil conditions in the county. Since 1935, conservation practices have been applied to most farms. Most ridge top farms have contour strips. Gullies have been filled, shaped, and seeded to grassed waterway. Terraces are also used on some farms. These practices, along with diversions and dams that have been built, help reduce flooding in the valleys.
Corn and hay are presently the most important crops grown in Houston county. In 1977, 66,000 acres of corn was planted to grain or silage, 57,300 to hay, 16,400 acres to small grain, and 2,800 acres to soybeans.

Livestock numbers have been increasing steadily in Houston county. In 1977, 91,600 head of cattle and calves were in the county, of which 17,600 were dairy cows. Additionally, there were 140,000 hogs, 55,000 chickens, and 500 sheep.

In 1977, there were 1,395 farms in the county. The average farm was 237 acres. Approximately 165,000 acres were used as crop land.(17)[22]

Neill provided notes on the development of religious congregations from about 1840 to 1880. He documented these communities of religions in the county.[23]

• Catholic in Brownsville, Caledonia, Crooked Creek, Hokah, Houston, Jefferson, La Crescent, and Wilmington
• Evangelical Lutheran in Brownsville, Crooked Creek, Hokah, Houston, Mound Prairie, Sheldon, Spring Grove, Union, Wilmington, and Winnebago
• Episcopal in Caledonia and Houston
• Presbyterian and Congregational in Brownsville, Caledonia, Hokah, Houston, La Crescent, Sheldon, and Yucatan
• Methodist in Brownsville, Caledonia, Crooked Creek, Hokah, Houston, La Crescent, Money Creek, Sheldon, Union, Wilmington, and Winnebago
• Baptist in Houston, Money Creek, and Winnebago
• German Reformed in Mound Prairie, Union, and Winnebago
• United Brethren in Christ in Houston
• Disciples in Union
• Christian in Brownsville
• Non-denominational in Black Hammer

Catholic churches remain today in La Crescent, Hokah, and Brownsville. However, only two rectories are occupied by resident priests.

Previous sections: Background for family history,  Parish, Local Development
Next sections: Reinert History in the Area, Travel to Kansas in 1872, Tipton KS, Seguin KS, La Crosse WI

Notes

18

The historical notes in this section are derived from an essay by the Houston County Historical Society, accessed 2013.10.19. Some corrections were made based on information in Neill.

19

Neill, p. 274.

20

How did agents receive information about the county? Do advertisement schemes exist that document the agents’ work? These simple questions might require a great deal of research.

21

The source of these two assertions is not clear. Perhaps from a Reinart researcher, .

22

Soil survey of Houston County, Minnesota, Robert A. Lueth, United States. Soil Conservation Service, University of Minnesota. Agricultural Experiment Station. Pages 2-3. Accessed 2013.10.19. Internal citations to 10: Marvin Simon, 1965 Pioneers forever, Whiting Press, pp 101 and 102; 13: Soil Survey USDA 1929, p 36; and 17: USDA MN Crop and livestock reporting.

23

Neill, pp. 327 (Black Hammer), 340 (Brownsville), 359-361 (Caledonia), 382 (Crooked Creek), 393-394 (Hokah), 408-410 (Houston), 420 (Jefferson), 429-430 (La Crescent), 439 (Money Creek), 450 (Mound Prairie), 455-456 (Sheldon), 467-469 (Spring Grove), 485-486 (Union), 491-492 (Wilmington), 501-503 (Winnebago), and 510 (Yucatan).

Houston County, Minnesota—Reinert history in the area

This post is a stub, subject to frequent updates. First publication [not published]. © Thomas G. Kohn, 2013.

Although the Reinert family lived in Houston county only five years, their life should have left these records, which require further research.

• School attendance for Nicholas (age 16 through perhaps 18), Peter (ages 14 through perhaps 18), Mary (ages 7 to 12), and Gertrude (ages 6 to 8)
• Burial of John Reinert
• Confirmations of Nicholas and Peter, possibly Mary and Gertrude
• Lease agreements for the farm property
• Tax forms for 1868 through 1872
• Auction notices and receipts for the small property that could not fit in a wagon

A news item and advertisement in the Houston County Journal of 25 June 1872[24] received some attention.

Buffalo Land.

We are in receipt of this new and most agreeable volume of over 500 pages from the press of E. Hannaford & Co., (Publishers of First Class Subscription Books, Cincinnati and Chicago) The author is Hon. W. E. Webb, of Topeka, Kansas, long and widely known from his connection with the interests of emigration, and a strikingly original and jocular humorist.

He describes the wealth and wonders, the mysteries and marvels of the boundless West—that wild region so much talked about, yet as little understood, whose growth and development seem like a tale of Eastern magic. It is superbly illustrated, containing no less than fifty-three original and striking engravings, from actual photographs and designs by Prof. Henry Worrall, and executed (the enterprising publishers assure us) at a total cost of over $2,800.

In a short review like this, it is, of course, impossible to convey a perfect idea of this admirable work. To any one who has the least touch of “the Western fever,” it must prove really invaluable; and for all classes of readers, without execution, it is the liveliest and most laugh-provoking book we have seen for many a day. It abounds with valuable information, the reliability of which is vouched for by Governor Harvey, of Kansas, and others. It fairly brims over with wit and humor, and many of its chapters rival Mark Twain’s happiest style.

“Buffalo Land” embraces a wide and varied range of topics, among them the following:

Details of great interest and importance concerning the natural features, vast resources, rapid development, and almost incredible progress of the far Western States and Territories, with glimpses of their mighty future;

Curious and interesting facts connected with the climatic and other changes consequent upon the settlement and denser population of the newly-reclaimed Western lands;

Fresh and authentic information, from official sources, respecting the supply of fuel and lumber available for use on the Great Plains: the cost of a farm, what the emigrant should bring with him, stock-raising at the West, &c.

A full summary of the Homestead and Preemption laws and regulations, prepared by a former Register of the U.S. Land Office.

Full and accurate descriptions of the habits, characteristics, etc., of the savage red man, buffalo, elk, antelope, etc., as found in their native wilds and on the out-skirts of civilization;

Graphic and thrilling narratives of hunting adventures, stalking the bison, encounters with Indians, etc.;

Vivid pictures of life on the frontiers; the past and present of the Great Plains; the vast inland sea, and the marvelous animal life with which it once teemed;

Highly interesting accounts of the geological wonders of the West, antiquarian and scientific researches, etc.

The publishers desire agents for t everywhere, allowing exclusive territory and the most liberal commissions. The firm is a prompt and reliable one. We give their address in full: E. Hannaford & Co., 192 West Madison Street, Chicago, Ills. Many of our readers will want this book, and agents will make money rapidly in its sale.

The book created excitement among residents of the county. A couple residents travelled to Kansas and returned to verify many of the claims made in Buffalo Land. In September 1872, Nicholas Arnoldy liquidated his business, and with his brothers Michael, Peter, and Chris formed a wagon train, and Katherine decided to join Peter Jacobs, Franz Mergen, Matt Ellenz, William Schwinden, Nick Gasper, Philip Schroeder, John Beck, John Elser, Mike Cordel, and John Cordel—about a dozen families who left for Tipton, Kansas.[25]

Previous sections: Background for family history,  Parish, Local Development, History
Next sections: Travel to Kansas in 1872, Tipton KS, Seguin KS, LaCrosse WI

Notes

24

Volume VII, number 32, page 2. The book Buffalo Land is available in a Kindle edition.

25

 Dreiling, Michael P., A Brief History of the Saint Boniface Parish, (Saint Boniface Church, Tipton; 1937). Section XI: The Parishioners.

26

27

28

29

30

Houston County, Minnesota—background for family history

First publication 2013.11.13. © Thomas G. Kohn, 2013.

John Reinert and his wife Katherine Blasius-Reinert arrived in the U.S. around March of 1867. To date, no ship’s passenger list has been found to document their exact arrival.[1] The Prussian commander of the militia signed a permit for emigration on 9 February 1867. If the family left Germany soon afterward, travel to Le Havre, France might require a week, and ship passage about three weeks. Thus, it is likely they arrived in March.

The family traveled with five children aged 19 (Susanna), 16 (Nicholas), 14 (Peter), 7 (Maria), and 3 (Gertrude). Their most likely port of arrival was New York City, and they may have been processed through Castle Clinton (also called Castle Garden).[2] However, it is possible their ship landed in Hoboken NJ. The family stayed some time with one or more of Katherine’s siblings. Her brother Nicholas Blasius lived in New Trier township, Cook county, Illinois; her sister Anna Catharina Blasius-Schmitz-Simon also in New Trier township or the nearby town of Wilmette; and her brother Johann Blasius lived in Chicago.

Figure 1. Caledonia township, Houston county MN, 1871

An informal family history holds that they had settled near Caldedonia in or after 1867. By the Ninth U.S. Federal Census of 1 June 1870, John Reinert and his family lived in Houston county, Minnesota. Their home in Minnesota was a farm about one and one-half miles north and three to four miles west (red square in Figure 1) of the village of Caledonia (red polygon). The farm might have included crops like flax, which the father John Reinert had experience with in Germany. No deed exists to show ownership, so it is likely they leased the farm.

Figure 2. John Reinert Household entry, U.S. Federal Census 1870

The enumeration of household 127 in the 1870 census (Figure 2)[3] identifies John Reinert as “John Rinerd” (age 50, farmer with real estate valued at $1700 and personal estate valued at $400) and his family as Catherine (46, keeping house), Susanna (22), Nicholas (19), Peter (17), Mary (10), and Gertrude (5).

Other families enumerated before and after the Reinerts include these households.

• William Paddock (dwelling 118, household 112, in section 10)
• James Mulligan (dwelling 119, household 113, in section 10)
• Delmer Irvin (dwelling 120, household 114, section 10)
• Michael Lorig (dwelling 121, household 115, not found as an identified land owner)
• James Lochead (dwelling 122, household 116, “Lockard” in section 3)
• John Schmitt (dwelling 123, household 117, in section 3)
• Gunder Knudson (dwelling 124, household 118, in section 3)
• Edmund Powell (dwelling 125, household 119, in section 3)
• Jacob P. Bakin (dwelling 126, household 120, “Becker” in section 3)
• Dwelling 127, household 121 is the John Reinert family
• Daniel McCarty (dwelling 128, household 122, in section 3)
• Michael Allen (dwelling 129, household 123, “M. Ellings” in section 9)
• Patrick Jennings (dwelling 130, household 124, in section 9)
• Catherine McGloughlin (dwelling 131, household 125, “Laughlin” in section 9)
• Michael Jennings (dwelling 132, household 126, perhaps occupant of “P.Jennings” in section 4)
• John Hashite (dwelling 134, household 128, “M.Hastings” in section 4?)
• Nicholas Pirrotte (dwelling 135, household 129, in sections 9 and 10)
• Frank Wis (dwelling 136, household 130, not found as an identified land owner)
• Anna Shields (dwelling 137, household 131, not found as an identified land owner)

Figure 3. Neighboring households to John Reinert, Caledonia twp

The household locations are shown as numbers in Figure 3. Two small squares indicate dwellings that are not enumerated with a family. They are possible locations for the John Reinert family.

It is likely that John swore his intention to become a citizen at the District Court of Minnesota in Caledonia on 23 October 1867. However, the signature could be read as “John Reinart,” who was a different immigrant who lived in Houston county at the same time.

John Reinert died from throat or neck cancer in March of 1871. The parish registers do not include burials of 1871,[4] and his grave is not recorded in the Caledonia parish cemetery. Katherine and the children kept the farm running for about a year.

Geography

The land features of Houston county, and for that matter, much of Minnesota and Wisconsin along the upper Mississippi River, resemble those of the middle Mosel River. Meandering tributaries feed the broadly flowing Mississippi, which is bounded by the bluffs that rise above the river.

Figure 4. Map of Houston county, Minnesota, 2003

The Root River flows east through the north third of Houston county and beside the towns of Houston and Hokah. Tributaries of the Root River from the north are Storer, Silver, and Money Creeks. North of Houston on Money Creek, a tributary of the Root River, is the unincorporated village of Money Creek. Also north of the Root River are Pine Creek (unincorporated) and the largest town of the county, La Crescent, which overlooks the Mississippi floodplain across from La Crosse, Wisconsin. South along the Mississippi are the towns of Brownsville and Reno (unincorporated).

The southern three-fourths of the county rise as much as 500 feet above the Mississippi, and most of the climb occurs in the bluffs above the western bank of the river. Tributaries of the Root River from the south are, in westward order, Thompson Creek (formerly also known as Indian Spring Creek), Crystal Creek, and Badger, Beaver, and Riceford Creeks. Thompson Creek was named in honor of Edward Thompson and his brother, Clark W. Thompson, the principal founders of Hokah. Caledonia sits in the center of the broad plateau above the rivers, among gently rolling hills that might have reminded John Reinert and his family of the plateaus above Wasserbillig and Igel. The land is fertile but often steeply sloped. The farming typical to the area includes raising soy beans, corn, and livestock feed crops. The area is not populated very heavily today, with the average town size of about 700 residents. The other towns on the plateau are a combination of unincorporated areas (Yucatan, Sheldon, Black Hammer, Riceford, Newhouse, Wilmington, and Freeburg) and incorporated villages (Spring Grove and Eitzen).

Next sections: Parish, Local Development, History, Reinert History in the Area, Travel in 1872, Tipton KS, Seguin KS, La Crosse WI

Notes

1

Several online sources provide transcripts of ship manifests, including an index of arrivals by year,  (an index of departures by port, including Le Havre, a searchable database of NARA records, and the Dayton and Montgomery County Library has most volumes from Germans to America: Lists of Passengers Arriving at US Ports 1850-1897 (Ira A. Glazier and P. William Filby (the correct volume to search is Vol. 19).

2

On August 3, 1855, Castle Garden opened as an immigrant landing depot. The creation of Castle Garden represented a country at a crossroads, signaling a change in American immigration policy, and in the ways through which immigrants became Americans. Two out of every three immigrants to the United States in this period passed through the Castle Garden. It was closed on April 18, 1890 and immigrant processing was moved to Ellis Island.

3

Ninth U.S. Federal Census of Houston county, Minnesota; page 18, dwelling 127, household 121, lines 10 through 16.

4

Email of Oct 17, 2013 “Re: Parish records from 1871” from Maria Keefe (stmaryschurch@acegroup.cc) “Unfortunately, we have very few records dating as far back as 1871. Of the few we have, I was not able to locate any burial records for John Reinert.”

Who's missing in my background data?

Note: This post is an excerpt from ongoing research that I've made available at scribd.com. Updated on 2013.11.08 to include research on the Kansas state census of 1895. © Thomas G. Kohn, 2013.

The Reinert family had a drive to succeed in a country that was composed of other immigrants. John and his children adapted their farming to a landscape that challenged them to tend larger fields and grapple with varied arability.

Our family arrived as immigrants at the ports in New York City, New York and Hoboken, New Jersey. The Blasius branch of the family spent significant time in Chicago, Illinois and nearby New Trier township. The Reinert branch spent significant time in these locations.

• Houston county and Caledonia, Minnesota
• La Crosse, Wisconsin
• St. Donatus, Iowa
• Osborne county and Mitchell county, Kansas, to include the towns of Tipton, Osborne, and Cawker City
• Sheridan county, Gove county, Logan county, and Thomas county, Kansas, to include the towns of Seguin, Oakley, Grinnell, Grainfield, Park, Quinter, Colby, Hoxie, Selden, and Dresden

Little other than the marriage location is known about the origins of many spouses of the Reinert family members. This lack in historical background is a topic for future research.

Sons- and daughters-in-law to John and Katherine Reinert

• John M. Kohn (1839-1919, husband of Susanna Reinert) came from Wasserliesch, Germany and settled first in or near La Crosse, Wisconsin.
• Maria Simeon (1861-1960, wife of Nicholas Reinert) came from St. Donatus, Iowa, her birthplace in 1861. The family’s European origin is documented by other researchers as Mettendorf, Germay, which is 42 km (about 30 mi) northwest of Trier, Germany. The family is not mentioned in Early Day Couples of Tipton, Kansas (EDC). [Richardson, Joyce et al, The People Came: In their prairie schooners, through the waves of the seas of grass, and stayed (TPC). Osborne County Genealogical and Historical Society, 1977; p. 53] In the 1895 census, her age, birthplace, and previous residence are given as “34” (thus 1864), “Germany,” and “Iowa.”
• Catherine Schwinden (1860-1940, wife of Peter Reinert) came from Houston county, Minnesota. Other researchers give her family’s European origin as Mettendorf, Rheinland-Pfalz. The family is not mentioned in EDC or TPC. [Refer to http://www.oocities.org/heartland/bluffs/8479/reinart.html (Gehling family), http://pages.suddenlink.net/mack/histories/MathiasReinart.htm (Carroll Biographies), http://pages.suddenlink.net/mack/familytrees/database/b127.htm (Paul Mack), http://reinart.ancestry.angelfire.com/family-trees.html (Reinart Family Ancestry) for parallel research. In the 1895 census, her age and birthplace are given as “34” (thus 1861) and “Minnesota.”]
• Michael Gillen (1854-1913, husband of Maria Reinert) was born in “Cruchten, Rhine Province, Germany” in 1854. [EDC, p. 49 mentions no other residences in America, but the biographical sketch for Michael’s cousin, Nicholas Carl on p.42, might indicate a short residence in Houston county, Minnesota. The cited “Cruchten” might be modern-day Kruchten, Rheinland-Pfalz, which is 24 mi (39 km) northwest of Trier or perhaps Cruchten, Nommern, Luxembourg, which is 57 km west from Trier and 16 mi (26 km) north of the city of Luxembourg.]
• Stephen Schandler (1861?-1938, husband of Gertrude Reinert) was likely born in Pratz, Luxembourg and likely resided in Dubuque, Iowa or Useldinger (perhaps Luxembourg) before settling in the Tipton area. [EDC, p. 55 cites Pratz in a biographical sketch for Stephen’s brother, Peter Schandler. TPC p. 54 states the Schandler “family had first moved to Useldinger where they operated a grocery store before coming to America. He ran the Tipton Telephone Exchange with Gertrude. After Gertrude died, he married a Konzem and sometime later moved to Lincoln, and then moved again to Wichita,.” In the 1895 census, his age and birthplace are given as “33” (thus 1862) and “Germany.”]

Sons- and daughters-in-law to John M. and Susanna Kohn

• Elizabeth Ottley (1880-1947, wife of Peter Kohn) was born in Osborne county. Her parents were born in Luxembourg, Martin Ottley in 1842 and Mary Huberty in 1855. The exact locations are unknown. [EDC, p. 37. In the 1895 census, their birthplaces are given as “Germany.” Her age is 15 and birthplace is Kansas.]
• Louise Ohnsat (1875-1959, wife of Mike Kohn) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and her family settled in Osborne county in 1878. Her father emigrated from Grüben, Ostpreußen (modern-day Grabin, Poland); her mother emigrated from Breisach-am-Rhein, Germany. [EDC, p. 20. The European origins are the result of my own research into this family line.]
• Phillip Gasper (1877-1964, husband of Katherine Kohn) was born in Osborne county. One of his brothers was born in “Schlertweiler bei Trier Germany” in 1873. [EDC, p. 1. This may refer to modern-day Zemmer-Schleidweiler, Germany (postal code 54313), which is 13 mi (21 km) from the center of Trier. See also TPC, pp. 39-41, which provide more exact locations of their homes in Bloom township.]
• Frank Streit (1882-1956, husband of Annie Kohn) was born in Osborne county. His brother John came to America as a small child in 1877, and the family came from Trier around 1877. [EDC, p. 7; TPC, p. 58 includes a biographical sketch of Henry Streit, Sr. that cites the birthplaces as Trier, Germany for him and Schleidtweiler, Germany for his wife Anna Maria Schmitt. In the 1895 census, Frank’s age and birthplace are given as “14” (thus 1881) and “Kansas.” His father Henry (age 44) and mother Mary (age 46) were both born in Germany.]
• Barbara Streit (1887-1974, wife of Ben Kohn) was born in Osborne county. She is a sister to Frank Streit. [EDC, p. 7; TPC, p. 58 includes a biographical sketch of Henry Streit, Sr. that cites the birthplaces as Trier, Germany for him and Schleidtweiler, Germany for his wife Anna Maria Schmitt. In the 1895 census, Barbara’s age and birthplace are given as “7” (thus 1888) and “Kansas.” His father Henry (age 44) and mother Mary (age 46) were both born in Germany.]

Sons- and daughters-in-law to Nicholas and Maria Reinert

• Barbara Boden (1883-1969, wife of Peter Anton Reinert) was born in Osborne county. The family’s European origin is unknown.[EDC, p. 12. The Boden biographical sketches in TPC (p. 36) do not name a European location, but a passing reference on p. 39 might indicate Franz Boden came from Schleidtweiler, Germany. In the 1895 census, her age and birthplace are given as “12” (thus 1883) and “Kansas.” Her father was 50 from Germany, a woman Mary (age 30 born in Iowas and from Nebraska) was in the household.]
• Mary Rohlman (1885-1971, wife of John Peter Reinert) likely was born near Willowdale, Kansas. [EDC, p. 58.] The family’s European origin is unknown. The family is not mentioned in EDC or TPC.
• Annie E. Rohlman (1889-1918, wife of Nicklous B. Reinert) likely was born near Willowdale, Kansas. The family’s European origin is unknown. The family is not mentioned in EDC or TPC.
• Maggie Bach (1881-1955, wife of Nicklous B. Reinert) was born in Osborne county. Her father was born in “Province, Germany” in 1837 and first settled in Wisconsin; her mother in “Hargartin, Rhine Province, Germany” in 1848. [TPC, p. 35. In the 1895 census, Maggie’s age and birthplace are given as “14” (thus 1881) and “Kansas.” Her father John (age 57) and mother Mary (age 43) were both born in Germany.]
• Elizabeth A. Boberg (1897-1964, wife of Joseph S.H. Reinert) was born in Wallenhorst, Germany, and her family lived in Delphos, Kansas and Glen Elder, Kansas for short times. [EDC, p. 69. Wallenhorst is in Niedersachsen, Germany.]
• Emma Reinert (Sr. Borgia), Bertha Reinert (Sr. Lambertine), Anton A. Reinert, and Mary Reinert did not marry.

Sons- and daughters-in-law to Peter and Catherine Reinert

I assume that most of the spouses lived in the area of Seguin, Kansas, and that—with the exception of Thomas Thummel—they had no connection to the Tipton, Kansas area.

• Barbara Deges (1888-1966, wife of William Joseph Reinert) has no information on birthplace or family origins.
• Thomas Thummel (1877-1942, husband of Mary Catherine Reinert) was born in Ishpeming, Michigan. [EDC, p. 19. In the 1895 census, his age and birthplace are given as “17” (thus 1876) and “Mishgan.” His father B. (age 53) and mother Fannie (age 43) were born in Germany and Wisconsin, respectively.] No specific information on his European origin is available.
• Mathias Schuetz (1883-1968, husband to Elizabeth Susanna Reinert) has no information on birthplace or family origins.
• Bertha Holdforth (1890-1968, wife of Carl Mathias Reinert) has no information on birthplace or family origins.
• Anna Catherine Arendt (1896-1946, wife of Henry Nicholas Reinert) has no information on birthplace or family origins.
• Anton George Feldt (1890-1973, husband of Anna Catherine Reinert) has no information on birthplace or family origins.
• William Schwinden (1890?-1945?, husband of Anna Catherine Reinert) has no information on birthplace or family origins.
• Florentz Henry Neff (1899-1981, husband of Margaret Cleophas Reinert) has no information on birthplace or family origins.
• Anna Geerdes (1904-2007, wife of Theodore Mathias Reinert) was born in Leoti, Kansas but has no information on family origins.
• Ruth Adeline Smith (1912-1995?, wife of Gervase Thomas Reinert) has no information on birthplace or family origins.
• Gertrude Hubertine Reinert and Alex Gregory Reinert did not marry.

Sons- and daughters-in-law to Michael and Maria Gillen

• John Tucker (1900?-1965?, husband of Catherine Gillen) has no information on birthplace or family origins.
• Gertrude L. Gillen, John Gillen, and Margaret E. Gillen did not marry.

Sons- and daughters-in-law to Stephen and Gertrude Schandler

• Henry Mindrup (no dates, husband of Mary Schandler) has no information on birthplace or family origins. [See EDC, p. 55 for a biographical sketch of Catherine Mindrup and her husband Peter Schandler. Perhaps the Mindrup family is the same. Catherine’s home is given as New Almelo, Norton county, Kansas. Catherine’s son, Joseph Schandler is documented in the same sketch as the husband of Delorose Steichen and a farmer east of New Almelo.]
• Bernice Shore (no dates, wife of Arthur Schandler) has no information on birthplace or family origins.
• Gertrude Govreau (no dates, wife of Edward Schandler) has no information on birthplace or family origins.
• Arthur Steinke (no dates, husband of Loretta Schandler) has no information on birthplace or family origins.
• Delorosa Schandler and Grace Schandler did not marry.

Pioneers who Resettled from Caledonia MN to Tipton KS

© Thomas G. Kohn, 2013.

Although the John Reinert family lived in Houston county, Minnesota only five years (1867 to 1872), their life there should have left some records. I've begun further research for these items.

• School attendance for Nicholas (age 16 through perhaps 18), Peter (ages 14 through perhaps 18), Mary (ages 7 to 12), and Gertrude (ages 6 to 8)
• Burial of Johann Reinert
• Confirmations of Nicholas and Peter, possibly Mary and Gertrude
• Lease agreements for the farm property
• Tax forms for 1868 through 1872
• Auction notices and receipts for the small property that could not fit in a wagon

I found a news item and advertisement in the Houston County Journal of 25 June 1872 that must have piqued their interest.

Buffalo Land.
We are in receipt of this new and most agreeable volume of over 500 pages from the press of E. Hannaford & Co., (Publishers of First Class Subscription Books, Cincinnati and Chicago) The author is Hon. W. E. Webb, of Topeka, Kansas, long and widely known from his connection with the interests of emigration, and a strikingly original and jocular humorist.

He describes the wealth and wonders, the mysteries and marvels of the boundless West—that wild region so much talked about, yet as little understood, whose growth and development seem like a tale of Eastern magic. It is superbly illustrated, containing no less than fifty-three original and striking engravings, from actual photographs and designs by Prof. Henry Worrall, and executed (the enterprising publishers assure us) at a total cost of over $2,800.
In a short review like this, it is, of course, impossible to convey a perfect idea of this admirable work. To any one who has the least touch of “the Western fever,” it must prove really invaluable; and for all classes of readers, without execution, it is the liveliest and most laugh-provoking book we have seen for many a day. It abounds with valuable information, the reliability of which is vouched for by Governor Harvey, of Kansas, and others. It fairly brims over with wit and humor, and many of its chapters rival Mark Twain’s happiest style.
“Buffalo Land” embraces a wide and varied range of topics, among them the following:
Details of great interest and importance concerning the natural features, vast resources, rapid development, and almost incredible progress of the far Western States and Territories, with glimpses of their mighty future;
Curious and interesting facts connected with the climatic and other changes consequent upon the settlement and denser population of the newly-reclaimed Western lands;
Fresh and authentic information, from official sources, respecting the supply of fuel and lumber available for use on the Great Plains: the cost of a farm, what the emigrant should bring with him, stock-raising at the West, &c.
A full summary of the Homestead and Preemption laws and regulations, prepared by a former Register of the U.S. Land Office.
Full and accurate descriptions of the habits, characteristics, etc., of the savage red man, buffalo, elk, antelope, etc., as found in their native wilds and on the out-skirts of civilization;
Graphic and thrilling narratives of hunting adventures, stalking the bison, encounters with Indians, etc.;
Vivid pictures of life on the frontiers; the past and present of the Great Plains; the vast inland sea, and the marvelous animal life with which it once teemed;
Highly interesting accounts of the geological wonders of the West, antiquarian and scientific researches, etc.
The publishers desire agents for everywhere, allowing exclusive territory and the most liberal commissions. The firm is a prompt and reliable one. We give their address in full: E. Hannaford & Co., 192 West Madison Street, Chicago, Ills. Many of our readers will want this book, and agents will make money rapidly in its sale.The book created excitement among residents of the county.

A couple Houston county residents travelled to Kansas and returned to verify many of the claims made in Buffalo Land. In September 1872, Nicholas Arnoldy liquidated his business, and with his brothers Michael, Peter, and Chris formed a wagon train. Katherine decided to join about a dozen other families who left for Tipton KS. These families included the Schwinden and Palen families, among others.

Katherine Reinert and her family of five children (Susanna, Nicholas, Peter, Gertrude, and Maria) arrived in Tipton after a trip of 600 miles or more. Although a family document asserts the travel was by wagon, travel on the Mississippi River seems more logical to some landing down river. St. Donatus, Davenport, or Burlington in Iowa or Hannibal or St. Louis in Missouri are possible locations for the transition to a wagon, . Their arrival in Tipton is indirectly documented in the parish history of St. Boniface.

They came from Caledonia, Minnesota, in the fall of 1872. The names of those families are: Nick Arnoldy, Sr., Peter Jacobs, Franz Jergen [tgk correction: Mergen], Matt Ellenz, William Swinden, Nick Gasper (single), Philip Schroeder, John Beck, John Elser, Mike Cordel, John Cordel, and Mrs. Catherine Reinert. Before the families arrived, Mr. Peter Jacobs had been sent, earlier in the same year, to inspect the territory. These families were followed by many others, and by 1879 the number of families had increased to seventy. "

 The St. Boniface history lists the family names, though it doesn't clarify that all had come from Caledonia:

H. Konzem
F. Mergen
P. Jacobs
J. P. Cordel
M.J. Arnoldy
Mrs. Catherine Reinert
Michael Cordel
Frank Cordel
Nicolaus Gasper
Anton Gasper
August Richter
Frank Boden
Peter Arnoldy
Nicolaus Arnoldy, Jr.
Conrad Arnoldy
John S. Arnoldy
Peter Gengler
Peter Krier
Philip Schroeder
Henry Streit
Theodor Arens
John Arnoldy, Sr.
Ignatz Hake
John Bach
Bernard Thummel
Dominic Schulte
John Scheer
Carl Henneboehle
John Beck
Carl Braun
John Stroh
Joseph Fischer
Jacob Pauly
Matthias Ellenz
Matthias Eck
John Endres
William Fueser

Relevant Links

• Means of travel from Caledonia to Tipton
• Description of the Reinert home in Europe. 
• The Kirchenbuch of Igel, 1818-1908
• The Familienbuch of Igel, 1706-1899

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.

Translated Phrases in Latin Parish Registers

Many parish registers of Germany and the United States contain entries written in Latin. The true difficulty arises in deciphering the handwriting itself. In German records, the handwriting may use a writing style called Sütterlin. Tough the letters are uniformly written, they are very distinct from the letters of other styles.

The prospect of translating the Latin should not be daunting, since each priest typically used a formulated entry for a birth, marriage, or burial. Here are typical Latin entries and their translations to English and German.

Birth and Baptism

Marriage

Death and Burial

© Thomas G. Kohn, 2013.

Latin Marriage Entries in Parish Registers

This post is a stub entry, and it will be added to as more information is available.

Sample 1

Five consecutive entries from the Kirchenbuch Wasserliesch 1752-1797, microfilm 560,289, no.1, page 1. This priest used a very minimized text for marriage records.

Latin

Anno 1752

11ma January Petrus Weber filius legitimus Philippi Weber et Elisabethae conjugum ex Oberbillig et Helena Meyer vidua Joannis Frank ex Reinich

13ma January Mathias Greif filius legitimus Petri Greif et Conjugis Seick [?] ex Waweren et Anna Barbara Turck filia legitima Pauli Turck p: m: et Susannae Conjugis sua ex Lursch 

1ma February Henricus Seiler filius legitimus Joannis Georgii Seiler p:m: et Elisabethae Conjugis sua ex Contz et Susanna Werrel filia legitima Ludovici Werrel et Barbara Conjugum ex Lursch

3tia February Joannes Bröser filius legitimus Huberti Bröser et Clarae conjugum ex Lursch et Anna Maria Lambert vidua Mathia Scharfbillig ex Reinig

29ma Junii Nicolaus Braun viduus ex Lursch et Anna Schuman vidua Mathia Reis ex Lürsch subscriptis Graf in fidem JBadamy Cur: in Waßerlursch

English

Year 1752
11th January Peter Weber legitimate son of Philip Weber and Elisabeth married couple from Oberbillig and Helena Meyer widow of Johann Frank from Reinich

13th January Mathias Greif legitimate son of Peter Greif and married wife Seick from Wawern and Barbara Turk legitimate daughter of Paul Turk predeceased and Susanna his married wife from Lursch (modern: Wasserliesch)

1st February Heinrich Seiler legitimate son of Johann Georg Seiler predeceased and Elisabeth his wife from Konz and Susanna Werrel legitimate daughter of Ludwig Werrel and Barbara married couple from Lursch

3rd February Johann Breser legitimate son of Hubert Breser and Clara married couple from Lursch and Anna Maria Lambert widow of Mathias Scharfbilllig from Reinig

29th June Nicolaus Braun widower from Lursch and Anna Schuman widow of Mathias Reis from Lursch undersigned [testified] by the Count in faith J. Badamy curate in Wasserliesch

• Note that none of the marriage entries state specifically that the marriage was solemnized. That fact is inferred by the title of the volume, Heiratsregister.

Common terms

anno (year)
conjugum (married couple), conjugis (married wife)
et (and)
ex (from, indicating a place of residence)filius legitimus (legitimate son), filia legitima (legitimate daughter)
-ma (suffix indicating an ordinal number)
vidua (widow), viduus (widower)

Sample 2

Two consecutive entries from the Kirchenbuch Wasserliesch 1752-1797, microfilm 560,289, no.1, page 19. With more information comes more variety. I provide several pages of examples.

Latin

1780 December

Die vigestima parochia hujus ego infrascriptus pastor copulavi matrimonialiter in ecclesia [ejusda] formam conistia [Tredertium] honestos adolescentes Theobaldinam sponsoram fi-
lium legitimum Joannis Schum et Joanna Bastian conjugum ex Waßerlirsch et Annam filiam legitimam Christophori Lisch et Eva Barbara conjugum ex Wawe-
ren, [estpot] dimißam, majoranem, habito etiam [utisper] Sponsi consenses libero, consentiamtiam stiam parentibus sponsi prsati, factis quoque in utrius rectoris proclamationibus prasentes erant testes
Sponsus Tehobaldi Dahm, Marnsus von Waßerlirsch.
Sponsa Anna Lusch + Grandztefan von Waweren
Pater Joannes Schu, von Waßerlirsch
Testis Joannes Lusch + frater sponsae von Waweren
Bernard Fischer B F munsur vom Temmels Grandztefan
testor Joan Kranz Parochus in Waßerlirsch.

1781 Januarius
[to be added]

Latin Burial Entries in Parish Registers

This post is a stub entry, and it will be added to as more information is available.

Latin Baptism Entries in Parish Registers

This post is a stub entry, and it will be added to as more information is available.

Installment 2: The Family of John Reinert (1822-1871) in Europe and America from 1812 to 1985

This post has been revised for announcing the second installment. © Thomas G. Kohn, 2013.

I've been working several years on a large genealogy project that corrects and expands a descendants list of my second great grandparents, John Reinert (1822-1871) and Katherine Blasius-Reinert (1824-1891). Finally, now that I'm semi-retired, I have time to devote to completing the project.

I released the second installment of about 50 pages yesterday, 5 November. I just released the first installment of about 20 pages on 27 July for comment by family members. I placed it at a publishing site for easy access: Installment 01. If you read any of it, please send comments to me at mailto:tgkohn@aol.com—that is the price of the document! As a teaser, here's the revised planned contents of the full document.


Research Objectives

Background on Sources

Towns near the Mosel River 7

Background on Geography

• Towns near the Mosel River
• Hamm-Filzen, Germany 
• Geography
• Parish
• Local Development
• History
• Wasserbillig, Luxembourg
• Geography
• Parish
• Local Development
• History
• Igel, Germany
• Geography
• Parish
• Local Development
• History 
• Reinert History in the Area

• Areas in the United States

• Houston County, Minnesota
• Geography
• Parish
• Local Development
• History 
• Reinert History in the Area 

[Complete to this point]

• Near Tipton, Kansas
• La Crosse, Wisconsin
• Sheridan County, Kansas

Research Techniques

• Church Registers
• Using a Logical Search Order
• Searching From a Known Birth
• Searching From a Known Marriage
• Using the Burial Registers to Corroborate Lives
• Estimating Dates and Broadening the Search
• U.S. Church Registers
• European church registers
• Researching the Reinert and Blasius Marriages
• Researching the John Reinert Birth
• Familienbücher
• European civil registers
• Standesamt Trier-Land
• Peter Blasius I death
• John Reinert and Katherine Blasius marriage
• Standesamt Trier-Saarburg
• Landeshauptarchiv Koblenz
• Registre Communale de Mertert-Wasserbillig
• U.S. Censuses
• Deed Registers
• Plat maps

Conclusions

• Research Goal 1
• Research Goal 2
• Research Goal 3
• Research Goal 4
• Research Goal 5
• Research Goal 6
• Research Goal 7

Future Research

Critical Descriptions of Documents

• Reinert and Simeon Family, 1985

• Physical Description
• Critical Analysis
• Detailed Analysis

• About Our Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother in the Kohn Family, 1974 
• History of the Nicholas Reinert Family, 1983 
• History of the Peter Reinert Family, 1983
• History of the Maria Gillen Family, 1985
• History of the Gertrude Schandler Family, 1984 
• The Kirchenbuch of Igel, 1818-1908

• Baptismal Entries 
• Selection of the Godparents 
• Marriage Entries 
• Burial Entries

• The Familienbuch of Igel, 1706-1899
• Civil Registers from Wasserbillig/Grevenmacher 
• Civil Registers from Konz 
• Amerikaauswanderungen aus dem Landkreise Trier Rheinland 1855-1910, Mergen 1952 
• Other Kirchenbücher from Parishes Surrounding Igel 
• Parish Registers of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wilmette Illinois 
• Baptism 1862-1908 123
• Baptism 1909-1915 124
• U.S. Federal Censuses 
• State Censuses 
• County Registers 
• Plat Maps
• U.S. Parish Registers
• Letter from Peter Irsch

• A Brief History of the Saint Boniface Parish 245

• Section I—Introduction
• Section II—Church Sites
• Section III—Church Structures
• Section IV—Early History
• Section IV—The Pastors
• Section VI—The Rectories
• Section VII—School and School Structures
• Section IX—Cemeteries
• Section X—Records
• Section XI—The Parishioners
• Section XII—Parochial Organizations—Vacation Schools

Pedigree Chart Indexes

The Trade of Leinweber 281

Geographical Catalog of Towns in the Igel and Wasserbillig Area

Maps

• Preußen, 1871
• Germany, 2004
• Rheinland-Pfalz, 2004
• Kreis Trier-Land, 2004
• Igel from the air, about 1985
• Chicago and surrounding states.
• Chicago and inner suburbs, 2004.
• Central Chicago neighborhoods, 2004

Glossary

Index

Bibliography

Using the International Genealogical Index (IGI)

I consider the International Genealogical Index (IGI) to be a first step that likely points to the best direction for your research. For the best success, you need a person's full name, a reliable location for the person, and a reasonable date for the person's birth, death, or marriage.

The IGI, as its website says, is "a family history database that lists several hundred million names of deceased persons from throughout the world. Names in the IGI came from 1) community contributed information submitted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) and 2) community indexed records from the early 1500s to 1885."

• The "community contributed information" comes from members of the LDS who believe they have found ancestors who are part of their family. The LDS belief system says that these ancestors can be baptized into the LDS posthumously, if a family link is established. Some members are superb genealogists; relatively more may make rash assumptions and produce faulty genealogical study.
• The "community indexed records" comes from contributors (not only LDS members) who reviewed original sources, extracted names and dates, and submitted the information for compilation into an index. The LDS maintains microfilms of the original sources in its Historical Records system, which is cataloged in the Family History Library's Published Collection.

Note that much extraction focused on only a part of a source. For example, the extracted information from the Wasserliesch parish registers consists of baptisms from 1779 to 1797—only 18 years, though one of the microfilmed Wasserliesch registers covers 1752 to 1797—a total of 45 years. The citation recommended for a search that results in information from the extracted Wasserliesch data suggests the source name "Deutschland, Geburten und Taufen 1558-1898."

Note also that the IGI results depend on very skilled review, name extraction, and compilation into the index. Any errors in transcription may result in missing a name that has been misspelled.

Finally, note that the absence of an expected result means little more than the indexing or record selection of the IGI can never hope to be complete.

I'll continue to add to this post, giving examples of where I found successful results and where the expected results were absent.

Success: Corroborating Kohn Ancestors

One primary area of research has been my patrilineal ancestors. I know my great grandfather emigrated from Wasserliesch, Kreis Trier-Land, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. I also know that the parish registers exist from about 1750 to the present, and that the LDS has microfilmed the registers from 1750 to 1899. The Community Indexed Records include baptisms and marriages over an 18-year span.

First I searched on the family name for a baptism. One name was the result: Joannes Kohn (result page at the right).

The name "Joannes" is the Latin form of Johann. The registers for the Roman Catholic parish of St. Aper are handwritten in Latin throughout.

Johann was baptized (christening is the term LDS uses) on October 28, 1780. The record also identifies the record (in German) as Catholic, in Wasserliesch, Rheinland (the contemporary name of the Bundesland that is today Rheinland-Pfalz), and Prussia (the name of a part of Germany that existed in various forms from 1451 to 1947—this town was not ruled by Prussia until about 1871).

Though a birth date is given, my experience with the parish register leads me to distrust IGI entries for this information. Typically only a good knowledge of Latin—and the original source text—allow you to understand whether the baptism occurred on the birth date.

The names of the father and mother are very important. Though both are linked entries, they return you to the same IGI record. However, the names can become important as you research the original source. There, you can find several other children that haven't been included in the IGI index.

The Batch Number is also important, as it can supply the names of about 300 other baptisms in the same span of 18 years.

The GS Film Number provides a catalog number for the microfilm that was indexed.

© Thomas G. Kohn, 2013.

Ortsfamilienbuch of Wasserliesch Germany, 2nd edition

I just uploaded the 2nd edition of the Ortsfamilienbuch Wasserliesch, which includes lots of new introductory material and a clearer format for the entries. It is available as a PDF download for less than $5 US.

For several years, I've been transcribing the Ortsfamilienbuch into a PDF with linked entries. This includes all families documented in the parish registers from 1752 to 1899, plus supplementary information from the civil records.

The original Ortsfamilienbuch was prepared by Peter Kohns and completed around 1985. I've sought to maintain his information faithfully. He performed a valuable service to all researchers, and his work is much more conscientious than others who have prepared similar documents for other German towns.

My first work has focused on transcribing the full entries for my direct ancestors and the extended families that were formed by the siblings of my ancestors. The publication linked here is that state of the transcription.

I'm currently expanding the introductory material and also expanding the transcription to include the husband, wife, and children of each marriage listed in the original document. Unfortunately, I have not included much more than their names. I don't have a guess on when the expanded transcription will be available.

Please leave a comment if you would like to see a specific family in the next edition. (I moderate all comments, so am guaranteed to see what you need.)

© Thomas G. Kohn, 2013.

Using a Familienbuch

A Familienbuch is the informal name for a summary of records for a location. More formal names include Dorfssippenbuch, Ortsfamilienbuch, Ortssippenbuch, and One-place study. Since about 1990, the term Familienbuch has come to mean, in exact German usage, a single-family study. The discussion here is based on my experience with Ortsfamilienbücher (the proper German plural) as they are prepared for Roman Catholic parishes in the Mosel River valley of Rheinland-Pfalz. An Ortsfamilienbuch from another area or from an Evangelic community may have different details.

How an Ortsfamilienbuch is Developed

Few American researchers have much experience with the Ortsfamilienbuch, which has become a standard secondary resource among German genealogists. The Ortsfamilienbuch seeks to summarize another detailed document, a series of documents, or several related documents. The most common summary is of a set of Kirchenbuecher from a single parish. Some very concientious researchers combine references to any extant Standesamtsregister or other civil records. Such is the case with the Familienbuch of Wasserliesch. I have found this particular Ortsfamilienbuch to be exemplary among others of the region.

The illustration contains one page from the Familienbuch of Igel, which was prepared by Franziska Kandel. Her document results from using only the church registers.

The author of the Familienbuch of Wasserliesch was Peter Kohns (perhaps born in1881 to Matthias Kohns and Maria Reinert). I surmise his process followed these steps:

1. First review the marriage entries. Place each married couple identified in the marriage records on an index card, and record the volume, page, and entry number of the marriage.
2. Review the baptismal entries, and add each child’s information on the card prepared for the parents' marriage. Record the volume, page, and entry number of the baptism on this card. Ignore any information provided on birth date and time.
3. When a baptismal entry identify parents who were not listed in the marriage entries, make a new index card for them, and add the child to this card. (This new card may require further research in the civil records.)
4. Review the burial entries, and assign burial information to persons listed on the index cards, and record the volume, page, and entry number of the burial.
5. When the burial entries identify single persons or surviving widows or widowers who are not already on index cards, create a new index card for the person or couple.
6. Arrange all index cards in alphabetic order, by the name of the male head of the household. If several males have the same name, place them in chronolgical order.
7. Use Standesamt registers to fill in gaps and to verify questionable entries.
8. Assign numbers to each family, in strict sequence through the alphabetic listing.

Example

Here is the first complete family listing (numbered family 3) in the Familienbuch of Wasserliesch:

3
ACKVA Nikolaus (Bodenmeister-Aspirant aus Hetzerath wohn. in Karthaus  x 05.09.1854)
oo 16.05.1889 KB 9,102,9
GRUBERT Maria (T.v. Peter u. Katharina KRING [Nr. 402] aus Wasserliersch x 08.06.1861)
x 16.09.1890 Anna Katharina KB 9,42,30 oo 1920 Fried. Wilh. VOHRATH in Karthaus
Paten aus : Hetzerath

From this entry we know the following.

• The husband Nikoalus Ackva is named first, followed by his occupation (Bodenmeister-Aspirant) and town of origin (Hetzerath). The note "wohn. in Karthaus" means that he resided in Karthaus at the time of the record. Most records of the husband would also identify his parents (with "S.v. [son of] Johann u. Maria GIWER" for example), but this man was 35 years old at this marriage, and a well-established journeyman. Perhaps his parents had died already, or were unable to attend the wedding. The note "x 05.09.1854" means that he was born or baptized on the 5th of September, 1854. (German dates are always in the order of day, month, year; they still are in modern Germany.) Most records would include the husband’s death date as "+ 31.12.1900" if the death was documented in the Kirchenbuch or the Standesamtsregister.
• The marriage (the oo symbol) occurred on 15 May, 1889. The marriage was recorded in Kirchenbuch volume 9, page 102, entry 9.
• The bride was Maria Grubert. She was the daughter of  (T.v. means "Tochter von") Peter Grubert and Katharina Kring. Married women are always identified with their birth name, except in the burial records. The burial records may use a married name or birth name, according to the practices of the priest who entered the record. In square brackets is a PDF link to the marriage entry for Maria’s parents. Maria came from "Wasserliersch" as the town name was spelled in 1889. The compiler was scrupulous in recording names exactly as written, or as read in the actual record. Thus one will see four or five variants of the name that is now Wasserliesch, as well as variants on family names and other towns. Maria was baptised on 8 June 1861. No death information is provided.
• The couple had one child who was baptised at St. Aper: Anna Katharina on 16 September 1890, recorded in Kirchenbuch volume 9, page 42, record 30. She married Friedrich Wilhelm Vohrath in 1920 in Karthaus.
• The absence of death information may allow the reader to arrive at two possible conclusions: 1) either the husband and wife had not died by the time of Peter Kohns’ work, or 2) the family had moved from the Wasserliesch parish and Konz Standesamt before their deaths. With the presence of a single child’s birth information, it is possible the family moved before a second child or any later children were born.
• At least one baptismal sponsor (Pate, Paten) at the baptism came from Hetzerath.

Go to the Original Source

If your research has found an Ortsfamilienbuch, don't stop there with your research. Go to the original source! Even the most conscientious researcher can make errors, and even typographic errors can distort important information. For example, I found many errors related to my ancestors in the Igel Familienbuch.

Lists of Familienbücher

You need to know first of all the town where your ancestor was born or married. Only then can your research for a Ortsfamilienbuch be productive. Some websites try to list several—but not all—Ortsfamilienbücher of an area. For example:

• First, search for a community's documents at the LDS Family History Library.
• From the Verein für Computergenealogie, a superb collection of information that has a few pages translated to English
• Another listing from the same organization, under the name GenWiki.
• Author submissions at GoBookee.net.
• A listing of documents prepared by members of Oldenburgische Familienkunde.
• Listing of books prepared by members of die Maus. 
• Listing of books prepared by the Sudetendeutscher Familienforscher.
• An announced start of an Ortsfamilienbuch as a city's communal work for Mülhausen and as work for Scheeßel and Westervesede ...
• Listing by ahnenforschung.net.
• List by Volkmar Weiss. 
• List of OFBs for some towns near Cochem/Zell.
• List of OFBs for some towns in Austria.
• List of OFBs for some towns in Schlesien (Silesia, Ostpreußen, present-day southern Poland).
• Another list of OFBs for Schlesien.
• A list of listing websites! 
• Listing of OFBs self-published on the web and Familienbücher. (One example of many publishing sites.)
• Listing of books for sale on Amazon. (Buyer beware!)
• Listing of books for sale on Ebay. (Buyer beware!)
• Note: also use Google.com or another search engine with the search terms "Ortsfamilienbuch" or "Ortssippenbuch" or "Familienbuch" or "One-place study" plus the town name.

Further Information

• German-language description of an Ortsfamilienbuch.
• Guide to writing an Ortsfamilienbuch.
• A downloadable program to build your own OFB.

© Thomas G. Kohn, 2013.