Wolterman Genealogy - Week 26

Joseph Rieger, my husband’s 3rd great-grandfather, was born 9 February 1786 in Dewangen, Jagstkreis, Wuerttemberg, Germany. He was one of 5 sons born to Joseph Vincent and Catharina (Appinn) Rieger. He was baptized in the Catholic faith on 10 February 1786.

On 19 February 1817, when he was 31, Joseph married 17-year-old Ursula Strobel at the Catholic church in Huettlingen. This town was a distance of 7.5 km from Dewangen. They had the following children: Veronica born 1818; Maria Anna born 1820; Joseph born 1822; Anton born 1824; Caspar born 1828; Maria Theresia born 1829; Johannnes born 1832; and Victoria born 1837. All of the children were born in Germany.

As I mentioned in the last post, I have not been able to find the passenger list for this family, but I believe they came to the United States after 1850. I can’t find them in the 1850 federal census. I found one reference to a Joseph Rieger arriving in Philadelphia in 1852, but it is just an index so I can’t be certain it is the correct person.

Joseph died on 5 January 1858 in Cambria, Pennsylvania. He was 71 years old. Ursula lived to be 83, passing on 14 February 1883 in Carrolltown, Cambria, Pennsylvania.

Wolterman Genealogy - Week 25

John Reger (spelled Rieger in Germany), father of Joseph Reger about whom I wrote last week, was born 1 July 1832 in Huettlingen, Jagstkreis, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. Johannes, as he was baptized, was the 7th of 8 children born to Joseph and Ursula (Strobel) Reger.

The 1910 census record indicates that John emigrated to the United States in 1853 when he was about 21 years old. I haven’t found immigration information on him, so I am not sure if he came over with his entire family or not. But his parents and surviving siblings did settle in the same area as him, which was Carroll Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania.

In 1858, John married Josephine Fehrenbacher in Carrolltown, Cambria County. He was 26 and she was 19. They had the following 13 children: Anna born and died 1859; Katrina born 1862; Joseph born 1863; Bertha born 1864; Ellen born 1865; Rinehart born 1868; Phimemina born 1869; Josephine born 1871; Mary born 1873; Johanna born 1874; Ann born 1876; Emma born 1878; and Charles born 1879. The first 4 children were born in Pennsylvania, and the remainder in Norfolk, Renville County, Minnesota.

John made his living as a farmer, and the on the 1900 census he indicated that he owned his farm. Josephine died at the age of 61 on 3 August 1901 in Park Rapids, Hubbard County, Minnesota.  She was buried at Straight River Township Cemetery.

Josephine Fehrenbacher Reger's stone

John Reger;s stone

John later moved to North Dakota, where the 1910 census showed him to be living with his daughter Anna and her family in Ellsbury, which is located in Barnes County. He died at the age of 90 on 3 November 1922. He is buried in the Page Cemetery which is located in Cass County, North Dakota.

Wolterman Genealogy - Week 24

Joseph C. Reger, my husband’s maternal great-grandfather, was born 12 August 1863 in Carroll Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania. He was the 3rd of 13 children born to John and Josephine (Fehrenbacher) Reger.

Carroll township is located north of the center part of Cambria County, which is about 80 miles east of Pittsburgh. In 1880 the township had a population of 1,295. The main town in the township is Carrollton, and when the Reger family lived in the area it was surrounded by many prosperous farms. There were also saw mills, horse breeders, a couple of flour mills, a blacksmith who also manufactured buggies and wagons, and many livestock operations.

When Joseph was about 2 years old, his family moved to Norfolk Township, Renville County, Minnesota. By the 1880 census, 18-year-old Joseph was working on the farm of Michael Nell in Elk River Township, Sherburne County, Minnesota. This was about 120 miles from where his dad farmed, which makes one wonder why he left the area. As the oldest son, it would seem his father would need his help on the family farm.

While I have not located a marriage record for Joseph, the 1900 census indicates he married Catherine Duffy in 1885. The Duffy family also farmed in Renville County, but in neighboring Birch Cooley Township. Joseph and Catherine had the following children: Mary Francis born 1886; James Patrick born 1890; Alfred Clement born 1891; John Edward born 1893; Christina Agnes born 1895; Catherine Regina born 1897; Joseph Lawrence born 1898; Gertrude Helen born 1900; and William Francis born 1902.

By the 1930 census, Joseph, Catherine and Gertrude owned a home at 3005 Queen Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Joseph was employed as a watchman at a garbage plant. Looking at Google maps, it appears that their house as well as a couple of others, was torn down to make way for new houses. By 1940, only Joseph and Gertrude were living in a home owned by Joseph at 3009 Queen Avenue. He indicated that they had lived there in 1935 as well. This house has also been torn down.

Catherine died 15 June 1934 in Minneapolis. She was 72 years old. Joseph was 91 when he passed on 27 May 1955 in Hennepin County, Minnesota.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 34

Non-population is this week’s writing prompt, which is probably confusing if you are not involved in genealogy. Most people in the United States are aware of census records, in which the federal government attempts to locate all the people living in this country at a given point in time. Less familiar are the non-population schedules, which were used to identify and quantify resources and needs. Agriculture, mortality, and social statistics schedules were taken in 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Manufacturing/industrial schedules were taken in 1820, 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. And the delinquent, defective, and dependent schedule was a supplemental schedule taken only in 1880. These schedules are helpful to genealogists not only because some of them contain names not found on any other records, but also because they add additional information about our ancestors and the communities in which they lived.

Agricultural Schedules recorded statistics on farms, plantations and market gardens, listing the names of owners, agents and managers. The type of statistics recorded included the total acreage of land, the value of the farm, machinery and livestock, amount of staples (wool, cotton, grain, etc.) produced, and the value of animals slaughtered, etc.

Mortality Schedules included anyone who died in the year prior to the record being taken. In addition to the name, also listed were the age, sex, marital status, state or country of birth, month of death, occupation, cause of death, and the length of the final illness.

Social Statistics Schedules contained information about cemeteries listed within the city boundaries, trade societies, churches, and a list of schools, colleges, libraries, and newspapers, among other things.

Manufacturing/Industrial Schedules identified any manufacturing, mining, fishing, mercantile, and trading businesses which had an annual gross product of $500 or more.

On the 1880 census, if a person was noted as blind, deaf and dumb, idiotic, insane, or maimed, crippled, bedridden, or otherwise disabled, or was enumerated in a prison, orphanage or poorhouse, a supplemental schedule called the Dependent, Defective and Delinquent Classes was included. The schedule included different forms to enumerate the following classes of individuals:

blind
deaf and dumb
idiotic
insane
homeless children (in institutions)
inhabitants in prison
pauper and indigent inhabitants (in institutions)

To date I have only located a non-population schedule for one of my ancestors - Samuel Moorhead. To be honest, I really hadn’t taken any time to study the schedule until this writing prompt came along. Samuel is my paternal 4th great-grandfather, and he was born about 1799 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. This county is located east of Pittsburgh. At some point before 1826, Samuel moved from Pennsylvania to Cincinnati, where he married Elizabeth Carnes. Together they had seven children.

1855 Cincinnati map

The Industrial Schedule for the 8th Ward of Cincinnati was taken 1 June 1850. It showed that Samuel Moorhead had a business making bricks, with a capital investment in real and personal estate of $300. Samuel listed that he used wood and clay in the process of making the bricks, placing a value of $450 on the wood and $125 on the clay. He had 5 employees making bricks by hand and horse power. His average monthly cost for labor was $135. Annually they made 500,000 bricks, which were valued at $2,000. In the 8th Ward alone there were 41 brick makers shown on the schedule!

In the 1850 census, which was enumerated on 23 July 1850, Samuel and Elizabeth were living in the 8th Ward of Cincinnati with their children Josiah, John, Samuel, Elizabeth, Angeline, William, and Oliver. Samuel was employed as a brick maker, as were sons John and Samuel. That accounts for 3 of the 5 employees Samuel listed on the Industrial Schedule.

The 1860 census shows the family living in the 16th Ward in Cincinnati, with the two youngest children still at home. Though he was in his 60s, Samuel was still employed but now he worked as a moulder (someone who makes moulds for casting). The value of his real estate was listed as $800. By the 1870 census, Samuel was a widow as Elizabeth had died 6 August 1866. He was living with his daughter Angeline and her family in 1870 on a farm in Union Township, which is located in Highland County, Ohio about 70 miles northeast of Cincinnati. When he died on 30 January 1879, his body was brought back to Cincinnati for burial in Spring Grove Cemetery next to his wife.

While the normal census records would have let me know that my 4th great-grandfather was a brick maker, without the non-population schedule of 1850 I would have had no idea that he had ever owned a brick making company. Hopefully I will come across more of these schedules so that I can gain a better understanding of my ancestor’s lives.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 27

Since we celebrated the 4th of July this week, the writing prompt was Independence. My mind immediately went to 1776. To date I have identified one relative who served in the American Revolution. My 6 times great-grandfather Jacob Christopher Kern was born in 1742 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest child of Johann Georg Kern and Catharine Elisabeth (Fraudhueger) Kern, who were married in Niedersteinbach in 1723. Niedersteinbach is in Northeastern France near the border of Germany.

About 1770, Jacob married Catherine Elizabeth Utt in Northampton, a Pennsylvania county that was carved off of Bucks County in 1752. Jacob and Elizabeth went on to have 8 children, two of whom were born prior to the Revolutionary War.

As Bucks County was very near Philadelphia, Jacob would have been at ground zero when the first and second Continental Congresses took place in 1774 and 1775. The second Continental Congress formed the Continental Army by resolution on 14 June 1775 to coordinate the military efforts of the thirteen colonies in their revolt against Great Britain. It is no wonder that he ended up serving in the war.

Jacob was commissioned by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Spyker, who commanded the 2nd & 6th Philadelphia battalions. Jacob was a 2nd Lieutenant under Captain Phillip Hetrick’s company from Berks County in 1776. He then served as a 1st Lieutenant in Captain Henry Shepler’s company, also in Berks County. As 1st Lieutenant, his job duties may have included teaching the soldiers discipline, order and fearlessness. As most men had no military experience prior to enlisting, he would have taught them military formations and how to be soldiers. In the event of the captain’s death, Jacob would have stepped in to take over the company. The last information I could find on Jacob indicated that he was a Corporal under Captain Philip Hahn in the New Hanover township company as of December, 1778.

It is written in military articles that Corporals were not often with their regiments as they were off performing other duties, which perhaps explains how Jacob and his wife had a daughter who was born in December of 1778. Five more children followed, the last of whom was born in Pennsylvania in 1792.  By 1793, the family had moved to Hamilton County, Ohio. Jacob died shortly after the move, leaving Catherine on her own with the eight children.