Theodore Christ Elling

Theodore Christ Elling was born on December 15, 1898 in Freedom Township. Known as "Ted," he was our grandfather Albert's third brother, ten years younger.

In the 1910 census, Ted was still at home on the farm with his parents. On September 12, 1918, at the age of nineteen, he registered for the WW I draft as Theodore Christ Elling. He filled out the application, describing himself of medium build with blue eyes and light brown hair. His occupation was farming for his father, Fred Elling. (I found no evidence that he ever was in the military.)

By the 1920 census, he was 21 years old...old enough to be hired out to work. He was living with George W. F. Rohrs, 42, and his wife Anna, 37, and their children Alvera, Harold, Mildred, Edna, Ida and Marie on Infirmary Road, Napoleon Township. Mr. Rohrs farmed a rented farm and Ted was described as a hired man.

On April 29, 1926, he married Martha Krauss who was 24 at the time. Ted was 27. You can really see the 1920's "flapper" influence in Martha's dress in the wedding photo. In the 1930 census, Ted and Martha lived in Swan Creek Township in Fulton County. He farmed and they had one son, Leon, who was 3 8/12.

At the time of their deaths, they were living in Delta. Leon died young in an auto accident, and I know they had a daughter, Unabelle, but I am unsure if there were other children. This is really the only great uncle that I can recall visiting, usually when my family took a ride to the dairy bar in Delta. Ted died in September 1975 and Martha in September 1982.

This post originally appeared on February 18, 2009 on a previous blog, Elling Family News.

Herman Henry Elling

Hermann Heinrich Wilhelm Elling, known as Harmon, was the fourth child of nine and the brother closest in age to our grandfather Albert. Harmon was born on October 17, 1891, in Freedom Township, Henry County, Ohio.
In the 1910 census, the census taker visited on April 15th and found Harmon living at home with his parents and helping out on the home farm.

On January 25, 1914, Harmon, at 22, married Helen S. Gerken who was 18. By the 1920 census, they were renting a home in Ridgeville Township, Henry County, Ohio. Harmon farmed and three children had been born - Lorence, Martin and Fredrick. (Census taker's spelling) 

 

  On June 5 in either 1917 or 1918, Herman registered for the WW I draft. He reported then that he had a wife and family and was farming. He gave his name as Herman and noted that he was of slender build with blue eyes and brown hair. Strangely, he wrote his birthdate as October 17, 1889 (the year his sister Kate was born) instead of 1891.

In the 1930 census for Monroe Township in Henry County, Herman, 38, and Helen, 34, were renting again and farming. Added to their family were Freddie, Eldor and Hildegarde.

At the age of 50 in 1942, Herman registered for the WW II draft, giving his address as Route 1, Napoleon. He said he was a self-employed farmer and gave his birthdate as October 17, 1891. He was a part of the "Old Man's Draft" and was really not expected to have to serve.

Helen died in 1991 and Herman in 1978. Together they had seven children: Lorenz, Martin, Fred, Eldor, Hildegarde, Leona and Richard.

"HERMAN H. ELLING

NAPOLEON - Herman H. Elling, 86, Route 1, Napoleon, a retired farmer, died early Saturday in Heller Memorial Hospital, where he had been a patient one day.

He was born Oct. 17, 1891 in Freedom Twp., Henry County to Frederick and Marie (Rohrs) Elling and married Helen Gerken on January 25, 1914.  They were residents of Henry County all their married lives.  He was a member of St. John Lutheran Church, Freedom Twp., and was a former elder of the church. 

Surviving are his wife, Helen; five sons, Lorenz, Route 1, Swanton; Martin, Route 3, Napoleon; Freddie, Holgate; Eldor, Route 1, Liberty Center; and Richard, Ocala, Fla.; two daughters, Mrs. Derald (Hildegard) Sindel, Monroe, Mich, and Mrs. Arnold Ehlers, Route 2, Defiance; two brothers, Henry, Delphos, and Fred, Napoleon; a sister, Mrs. Minnie Miller, Defiance; 35 grandchildren and 54 great-grandchildren.

Friends may call in the Wesche Funeral Home 2-4 and 7-9 today.  Services will be at 2:30 p.m.today, Tuesday, in St. John Lutheran Church, Rev. A. M. Bickel officiating, and burial will be in the church cemetery  Memorials are preferred to the St. John Lutheran Church building fund or the Filling Memorial Home of Mercy."

St. John Lutheran Church Cemetery

 Helen lived to be 94 years old, passing away in 1991.  Her obituary appeared also in the Defiance Crescent-News:

"HELEN ELLING

Helen S. Elling, 94, Freedom Township, Henry County, died at 5:15 a.m. Thursday in Northcrest Nursing Home.  

She was born Oct. 9, 1896, in Freedom Township, Henry County, the daughter of George and Emma (Meyer) Gerken.  On Jan. 25, 1914, she married Herman H. Elling, who died Aug. 5, 1978.  She was a member of St. John Lutheran Church and its Ladies Aid.

Surviving are five sons, Lorenz of Swanton, Martin and Freddie, both of the Napoleon area, Eldor, Route 1, Liberty Center, and Richard Wild Wood, Fla.; two daughters Hildegarde Sindel, of Toledo, and Mrs. Arnold (Leona) Ehlers, Route 2; 30 grandchildren, four step-grandchildren, 54 great-grandchildren, 21 great step-grandchildren, 19 great-great grandchildren, and a sister, Emma VonDeylen, Napoleon.

Also preceding her in death were two sisters, Mary and Rufina Gerken; a brother, Ernest; and three grandchildren.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in St. John Lutheran Church with Rev. Kenneth Schroeder officiating.  Burial will be in the church cemetery.  Visitation will be 2-9 p.m. today at the Wesche Funeral Home.

Preferred memorials are to the church's general fund, Filling Memorial Home of Mercy or the donor's choice."

 

This post originally appeared on a former blog, Elling Family News, on February 16, 2009.   

Minnie Elling Miller

Grandfather Albert's "baby" sister was Minnie, born on December 13, 1900, twelve years younger than he was.

The younger Minnie and the older Minnie

Minnie married Arthur Miller in November 24, 1921. Living in Defiance, she worked at some area nursing homes, while her husband worked in Defiance at Defiance Milk Products.

I wonder what the fox is all about in the lower left.

Minnie and Arthur Miller had four children: Melvin, Tillie, Harold and Murlan.

Arthur passed away first on March 14, 1972 in Defiance Hospital.  The Defiance Crescent-News ran his obituary on March 14, 1972, p. 10:

"ARTHUR F. MILLER

Arthur F. Miller, 75, 1220 Washington, died in Defiance Hospital at 6:50 a.m. today.  He had been admitted Monday afternoon.

Born in Henry Co., March 9, 1897, he was a son of William and Anna (Gerken) Miller.  He and Minnie Elling were married Nov. 24, 1921.

Surviving are the widow; a daughter, Mrs. Herman (Matilda) Schroeder, 842 Kentner; three sons, Melvin Miller, 22 Oscela; Harold Miller, 1887 Riverview, and Murlan Miller, 908 Wilhelm, seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren.  Preceding him in death was a sister, Eleanor Kleinhen.

He lived in Defiance since 1931 and was an employee of Defiance Milk Products for 29 years, retiring 10 years ago.  

He served as a private in the U. S. Army from Sept. 4, 1918 to Jan. 10, 1919.

He was a member of St. John's Lutheran Church; the Men's Club; American Legion Post 454, Ridgeville, and Disabled American Veterans.

Friends may call in the Mast and Mock Funeral Home after 7 p.m. Wednesday until noon Friday and then in St. John's Lutheran Church for an hour prior to the 2 p.m. services.  The Rev. David R. Koenig will officiate and burial will be in Riverview Memory Gardens.  Memorials may be made to the Sunday Morning Broadcast or Morning Meditations."

Minnie lived on until the age of 92, passing away on June 28, 1993, the last of Albert's brothers and sisters.  (An obituary for her was not readily available.)

She was buried with Arthur in Riverview Memory Gardens.

www.findagrave.com

 

Elling Family Reunion, 1996

The post originally appeared on the Elling Family News on January 11, 2009, as we were planning a big 2009 reunion.

Can you believe our last reunion was August 10, 1996? It was at the American Legion in Napoleon, site of our upcoming 2009 get-together. From this photo and from attending, I KNOW that everyone had a great time, so I hope you are saving the date - SATURDAY, AUGUST 8 - to come join us this year.

Also let's take a moment to remember those in this photo who are no longer with us. In loving memory of Hildegarde, Judy and Keith - all sadly missed.

And now we must add Uncle Alfred, Uncle Ron, Aunt Alma, Brooks and Jason to that memorial list.

Click on the photo for a larger version.
 

Albert Elling's family

 
First Row: L to R - Emma, Mary, Fritz, Albert
Second Row: Minnie, Ted, Harmon, Kate, Henry, Anna, Freddie

Elling Brothers - L to R: Albert, Freddie and Ted

Albert Louis Johann Elling (1888 - 1969) was the first son and second child of the nine children of Heinrich Friedrich ("Fritz") Elling and his wife Maria ("Mary") Rohrs. Albert was born in Freedom Township, as were most of his brothers and sisters.

His eldest sister, Emma Catharine Marie Anna ("Emma") was born just two years before him on June 6, 1886. She eventually married John Scheele in 1906 and died in Napoleon in 1967.

His sister, Catharina Dorothe Anna Emma ("Kate") was born just a year after him on August 25, 1889. She married Henry Buenger and lived near Hamler.

Finally a brother, Hermann Heinrich Wilhelm ("Harmon") arrived in 1891. He was married to Helen Gerken and he died in 1978.

Another brother, Heinrich Carl ("Henry") was born in 1893. He married Ida Huner and died in 1980.

A sister Anna came along in 1895. She married Ed Koppenhofer and she died in 1974.

Brother Theodore ("Ted") was born in 1898. He married Martha Krauss and lived in Delta, dying in 1975.

I was able in interview his sister Minnie once and she gave great information for family research, along with a few photos. Minna E. was born in 1900 and died in 1993. She was married to Arthur Miller and lived in Defiance.

The youngest brother was Frederick H. ("Freddie") who married Nora Prigge and died in 1987.

This post originally appeared on the Elling Family News blog 
on January 6, 2009.

Ida and Minnie

In this photo, the woman on the right was identified as Ida (Huner) Elling, wife of Henry. The other woman is unidentified, but in comparing her face with the photo of the Elling family, I am almost sure this is Minnie Elling, Grandpa Albert's youngest sister.

Ida and Minnie were very close in age. Ida was born on April 14, 1901, and Minnie on Dec. 13, 1900. Maybe these girls were friends. Maybe that's how Henry met Ida. Maybe?

Compare photos for yourself. Do you agree this is Minnie Elling?

This post appeared originally on January 2,2009, on the Elling Family News blog.

Fred H. Elling, aka "Freddie"

Albert Elling's youngest brother was Fred H. Elling, born August 12, 1903. 

 I couldn't find Freddie in the 1920 census, as he was not residing at home at that time. My best guess is that he was, at 17, a hired hand on a farm somewhere. I found his future wife, Nora Prigge, in the 1920 census. She was 13 and living with her 45 year old widowed mother and her siblings Dellia, Caroline, William and Fredie on a farm.

Freddie and Nora Prigge married on February 10, 1929. In the 1930 census, they lived with their children, Hildegarde and Marvin.  Freddie was engaged in farming.

The 1940 census revealed much about Freddie and Nora, including the fact that Freddie, like most farm boys of the time, finished 6th grade, while Nora finished 7th grade.  They lived in Harrison Township in Henry County and farmed there.  After 1953, they resided in Napoleon, Ohio.

Their children were Hildegarde, Marvin, Walter and Marie. Marie has done a great deal of research on the Elling family and has generously shared some photos and information with me. Thanks again, Marie!

Freddie died on Aug. 24, 1987, and was buried at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Napoleon.

Defiance Crescent-News, August 25, 1987

 Nora died on January 11, 1993, at the age of 86 years, 11 months and 9 days, and was buried with Freddie at Forest Hill Cemetery.

Heinrich Carl Elling and wife, Ida Huner

  
Grandfather Albert Elling's younger brother , Heinrich Carl, was born on December 23, 1893. 
 Henry, as he was known, married Ida Huner in February 1920, when he was 27 and she was 20.
  
In his WW I Draft Registration in 1917-18, Henry was single and helping George Rohrs as a farmhand. On the registration, taken on June 5, 1917, in Henry County, Henry described himself as of medium height and stout build, with brown eyes and dark brown hair.  He claimed exemption from the draft because of lung trouble and bad hearing.  No evidence could be found that he served in the military.

In the 1930 Census, Henry lived with Ida and their four children in York Township, Fulton County, Ohio.  Henry was 36 and Ida M., 29, and with them were children Pauline, Laura, Martha, and Henry Jr.. The family rented a house, had no radio, and Henry worked as a farm laborer. 

Henry and Ida left the farm in 1935 and moved to Hamler on Marion Street where they rented a house. He reported to the census enumerator in 1940, that he  was the proprietor of a restaurant, working 52 weeks a year, 72 hours a week.  At 46, he still had three children at home - Henry Jr., 12; Donald, 6; Luther, 1. With them lived his mother, Marie (Rohrs) Elling, 77, a widow born in Germany.  The family had also taken in a lodger, Charles Bergstedt, 48, divorced who was seeking work.

A big gap in time existed between 1940 and the next information found on Henry and Ida in 1970.  The article below would fill in a few gaps.
The Delphos Daily Journal ran a report of Henry and Ida's 50th wedding anniversary part on February 14, 1970.

Ida Huner Elling, born April 14, 1901, passed away on November 25, 1976, in Lima.

Henry died on June 4, 1980, at the age of 86.

Walnut Grove Cemetery, Delphos, Ohio

One of the great things about family research is that you meet so many nice people. One of Dad's cousins, whom I met only one time, gave me the originals of the photos above and a few others. I'm thankful for this blog so they can be shared.

Albert's Older Sister, Emma Elling Scheele

 


Our grandfather Albert had one older sister, Emma Catherine Marie Anna Elling, known as "Emma." She was just two years older than Albert, born June 6, 1886 in Freedom Township, Henry County. At the age of 20, she married John Scheele, who was 23 at the time, on November 15, 1906. In the wedding photo above, she looked very petite ... or John was quite tall.

It's always fun to follow the family through the available census documents. In 1910, John, 26, and "Emmie," 23, lived with their son Otto, 2, in Bartlow Twp., Henry county. John was farmed and Albert Meyers, 19, a hired hand, lived with them.

In the 1920 census, the family was still in Bartlow Twp. and John owned his farm which was mortgaged. He and Emma had five children listed: Otto, 12; Lerena (Lorena,) 6; Alvena 4; Ella (Elta,) 2; and Martha 2/12. John's occupation was Laborer, Hay Baling.

By 1930, the family had moved to Liberty Township in Henry County, and John was farmed there. Still at home was Otto, 22, who was listed as a Laborer, as well as the other children mention previously. Two children were added to the family: Marie, 8, and Arnold 2 7/12.

Daughter Lorena was missing from the family home in 1930, but at 16, she was the right age to be working for someone else and so she was. A closer examination of the census found Lorena (Sheeley) living with the Thomas Quinn family in Napoleon as a private family servant. Thomas Quinn was a medical doctor born in Michigan,but his parents were born in Ireland. His family in 1930 consisted of his wife, Mary, and nine year old son, Thomas.

An Aside...

Around the late 1950's or early 1960's, I remember that my Dad farmed some ground for "Doc Quinn." The farm was east of our farm on the Henry-Fulton County Line and many times my mom would drive (illegally, as she didn't have a license until much later) down to the farm to bring Dad lunch or dinner.

Back to Emma and John Scheele. John died on November 8, 1953, and Emma died on December 14, 1967. Their children were: Otto, Lorena, Alvena, Elta, Martha, Marie, Letha, Arnold. I didn't find Letha on the census, but she was named in notes from Marie Schnitkey.

The Scheeles were buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, Wauseon, Fulton County, Ohio

In February, 2009, this post appeared on my previous blog, Elling Family News.

Katie Elling Buenger

Just about 1 1/2 years younger than our grandfather Albert, Catharina Dorothe Anna Emma Elling was often called "Katie." Katie was born August 25, 1889, in Freedom Township, Henry County. At the age of 26, she married Henry Buenger, who was then 32, on April 21, 1915. Katie looked rather tall in her wedding photo ... or Henry was a little short.

In the 1910 census, Katie was 20 years old and still living at home with her family in Swan Creek Township in Fulton County. Albert, 22, was also still at home, along with Harmon, 18; Henry, 16; Anna, 13; Theodore, 11; Minnie, 9; and Fred, 6. This census helpfully told us that Katie's father, Fred, was naturalized in 1860, and that he was farming with Harmon and Henry also listed as farm laborers on the home farm. Albert, however, was listed as a house carpenter.

After their marriage, the Buengers lived in Marion Township near Hamler, Ohio in Henry County when the 1920 census enumerator came around. There they owned their home, which was mortgaged, and had two children, Hilda, 3 and 9/12, and Luella, 1 and 4/12. (This census taker was VERY precise about ages!) Also living with them was Henry's mother, Catherine Buenger, 69, and widowed. Born in Hanover, Germany, she had immigrated in 1880 and was naturalized in 1886.

Henry Buenger, 47, and Catherine, 40, were found still in Marion Township in the 1930 census and this census kindly told us that they owned a radio. Their children living with them at this time were: Hilda, 14; Luella, 12; Esther, 9; Fredrick, 7; Martin 4 and 11/12; Arnold 2 and 2/12 and Mildred 9/12. BUT best of all, I found our great-grandmother living here with Katie and her husband: Marie Elling, Mother-in-Law, 67, and widowed, born in Germany. The census taker had written Na for Naturalized and then crossed it out, replacing it was Al for Alien, immigrated in 1876. More on that in a later post.

One more child would be born to Henry and Catherine - Edmund - making a total of eight. Henry died on August 14, 1966, and Katie on February 2, 1972, at the age of 82.

Defiance Crescent-News

 

Anna Elling Koppenhofer

Anna Elling was the sixth child of nine brothers and sisters. Seven years younger than our grandfather Albert, Anna was born on July 16, 1896.

In the 1920 census, Anna was 21 years old and working as a private family servant for William Campbell, a widowed lawyer in Napoleon, Ohio. William was 66 and listed as the Head of the Household which also consisted of his son Bancroft, 26, and his wife, Isabel, 18, as well as William's other son, William, 14.
 

By September 22, 1920, Anna would marry Edwin Koppenhofer.  On the same page of the 1920 census, just down the road or around the corner, lived Anna Elling's brother, Albert, and his wife Ida and children, Paul and Alma! Do you think brother Albert gave any help as a matchmaker for his sister Anna?

Anna and Edwin had four children: Madeleine, Luella, Lucille and Alton. Anna died in 1956 and and Edwin in 1972.  They are buried at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, near Okolona, Defiance County, Ohio.

Fritz Elling's Memorial Photo, 1927

This photo was taken to memorialize the death of Albert Elling's father, Frederick "Fritz" Elling. A copy of this photo was given to me by one of my dad's cousins who remembered it hanging on the wall during her childhood. Having a postmortem photo or a memorial photo of a deceased family member was most popular in the nineteenth century, but the practice carried on among some cultural groups into the early twentieth century and it appeared that our group of German ancestors thought it important.

Fritz Elling died on July 9, 1927, and he and wife Mary were buried in the cemetery by St. Luke Lutheran Church, Wauseon, which is located along Rt. 108 heading into Wauseon from Napoleon. 

 His photo in the picture was cropped by the photographer from the family picture presented earlier on this blog. Of significance in the photo are the clock with hands showing the time of death - 6:20; the German phrase beneath the photo - "Rest in Peace"; and the white lilies along the bottom of the photo signifying the Resurrection. The banner, "Father," was prominently displayed and it appeared that some flower arrangements from the casket were arranged here, as well.

The story appeared first on my previous blog, Elling Family News, on March 1, 2009.

Fritz Elling's Story

Fred Elling and Mary Rohrs Marriage License Application

Freedom Twp. 1875 Atlas showing Fred Elling's land
My great-grandfather, Heinrich Friedrich Elling, (called both Fritz and Fred), came to America with his parents in 1859. Albert's sister, Minnie, stated that her father often spoke of coming to America with his parents in a boat with sails. In the 1860 census, he was seven years old and living with his parents and three siblings in Napoleon Township, Henry County, Ohio.

The family was VERY difficult to find in the 1870 census because the enumerator phonetically spelled "Elling" as "Allenge." In this census, Fred was 17 and was at home with his parents and younger sister, Annie, 10, in Freedom Township.

Fritz's father died in 1871.

 In the 1880 census, Fritz was still in Freedom Township, living with his mother Mary and a Henry Elling, working as a farm laborer. I have not been able to identify Henry for sure. He may be a nephew of Fritz's. I have that mystery to solve. If you look at the 1875 atlas photo of Freedom Township above, you can see the location of Fred's 40 acre farm. I have shaded it slightly, so it may be more visible if you click on the photo to enlarge it.

In 1884, Fred applied for a license to wed Mary Rohrs on August 26 and on August 28th, they were married by Pastor Louis Dammann. It is neat to view Fred's signature on the application above. (Again, enlarge the photo.)

In the communion records for St. Paul Lutheran Church, Napoleon Township, 1885 - 1891, Fritz and Marie (Mary) Elling were named along with another Marie Elling. This had to be Fritz's mother as the couple did not have children old enough for communion at this time. On the same page, were their fellow church-goers - the Drewes, the Eggers, the Freytags and the Gerkens.

Little of the 1890 census survived a Washington D.C. fire way back when, so the next time we could look up the Fritz Elling family was in 1900. By then, they had moved to Richfield Township in Henry County, and they had seven children, our grandfather, Albert, being one of them. They reported that they have been married for 15 years and that seven children were born to the mother and seven children survived. Their immigration dates are given (hallelujah...maybe...more on that later) and Fritz reported that they owned their farm, which was mortgaged. For each child in school, it was reported if he or she could read, write and speak English. At this time, Albert was 12 and the census said that neither he nor Katie, 10, could speak English and Albert couldn't write either.

A big change occurred in 1910 when the family moved to Swan Creek Township in Fulton County. Now nine children have been born and nine have survived. Fritz was farming with the help of Harmon and Henry, while Albert worked as a house carpenter.

By 1920, Fred and Mary were still in Swan Creek Township with only Henry, who is 26, left at home to help on the farm. Fritz reported that he was 67 years old. On July 9, 1927, Fritz died after a long life of farming.

This story originally appeared on Elling Family News on March 7, 2009.

The Plot Thickens, My Dear Catherina Kirchoff Rohrs Witte Haase

, 20

Wednesday was just the day for a road trip, so I decided to hit the library and courthouse in Napoleon, looking for more clues to the life of my great-great grandmother - Catherine Kirchoff Rohrs (Witte) Haase. Yes, you do see an additional name there!

I first went searching in the probate court for the marriage license of Catharina Rohrs and Christ/ Christian (census name) Haase. Instead, I find that Christ./Christopher Haase married Catharina Witte on August 15, 1893. Hmmmm??? Further searching found the marriage record for Catharine Rohrs and Wilhelm Witte on October 13, 1883. Those marriages were also found in the St. John Lutheran Church , Freedom Township church records.

Wilhelm Witte died on Feb. 22, 1893 and was buried in St. John Lutheran Cemetery, Freedom Township in Row 4, not far from Christopher Haase, 1833 - 1914, in Row 8.

* If you look again at the 1875 Freedom Twp. plat map previously on this blog, you will be able to see W. Witte's 20 acres just to the right of Fred Elling's, in Sec. 29.

So did Catharine married Christ. Haase in August 1893, after the death of second husband, Witte, in February? It would seem so. A search in the probate records found no wills for either of the two men, so I would have to search the journals for any probate activity after their deaths.

I found a Catharina Haase buried in Freedom Township in the Kline's U.B. Cemetery in Row 11. The dates match our Catharina - 1842-1916, but why she would be buried in that cemetery is a mystery.

 I have come to the conclusion that since Catherine could not speak English, her husband probably reported for her on the census and frankly, neither one of them could be completely depended upon for correct numbers!

Now I have to guess that Catherine immigrated between the time Mary came in Sept. 1876 and Oct. 1883 when Catherine married W. Witte. In looking through Vol. 33 of Germans to America, Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports, Oct. 1876 - Sept. 1878, I have found a likely Catharina Roehrs who may be our ancestor arriving in Oct. 1876, but I can't be sure yet. So far, she is the ONLY candidate of the correct age with that name coming from Bremen during the time period given.

After going through each page of the Freedom Township census, I still couldn't find her in the 1880 census. Finding her there would help in narrowing down an immigration date. Apparently, I will have to look through each page of other townships to see if she is there. I noticed that the census enumerator was quite creative with spellings in Freedom Township - Norten was probably Norden, Ickhof was probably Eichoff and Glonce was probably Glanz, for example. So Rohrs could be spelled in a very creative way that I have not yet tried.

A last discovery was a very short death notice in the Henry County Signal, July 30, 1914 for Christopher Haase:

"Christopher Haase, an old resident of Freedom township, died Tuesday, July 21, and the funeral services were held Friday morning at St. John's church, Freedom township, Rev. Thun officiated."

This post originally appeared on a previous blog, Elling Family News, on March 11, 2009.

09.

Mary Rohrs Elling

Mary Rohrs Elling and her immigration record

My great-grandmother, Mary (Marie, Maria) Rohrs Elling, the daughter of Wilhelm Rohrs and Catherine Kirchoff, was born on December 9, 1862, in Germany. I do not know the village of her birth at this point. According to her daughter, Minnie, her mother talked about life in Germany and her departure from Bremen to America alone when she was thirteen. Mary spoke of dancing on the boat as the steamer crossed the ocean. Mary was an only child, according to Minnie, and her first job in America was as a housekeeper for the Demaline family.

Finding Mary's immigration record was complicated by the fact that Mary, or whoever talked to the census enumerator, reported several different dates on the census records. In the 1900 census, Mary's immigration date was given as 1868 which didn't fit Minnie's story of her mother coming to America at age 13. In 1868, Mary would have been 6 years old. In 1920, the immigration question was asked again and Mary or someone in the family reported 1875 as the immigration date. That seemed much more likely!

I found the only immigration record for a Mary Rohrs that fits all the criteria and that was in September of 1876. She was 13 (her birthday was in Dec.) and she departed from the port of Bremen, Germany, on the ship, the Rhein, arriving in New York City on September 23, 1876, having traveled in steerage to the U.S. Steerage was the cheapest passenger accommodations, usually at the bottom of the ship and near the rudder. She probably traveled with someone or a family, but it is really not possible to tell who from the ship's list. Her name on the ship's list above is #4, indicated by the arrow.

I could find no Demaline family in Henry County by the 1880 census, but I did find a seventeen year old Mary Rohrs working as a servant for the Charles and Mary Cochran family who lived on Superior Street in Toledo. Dr. Cochran was a retired physician. It is likely that she worked as a domestic until her marriage.

Mary was 21 years old when she married the 31 year old Fritz Elling. They lived many years in Freedom Township, Henry County, and were members of the St. Paul Lutheran Church, Napoleon Township, during this time. Later they moved to a farm near Deshler and Westhope and finally to a farm about four miles north of Liberty Center and then east for a short distance into Fulton County. After Fritz's death, Mary sold the farm and lived around with her children.

Mary Rohrs Elling died on March 8, 1947, the immediate cause of death being pulmonary edema due to mitral stenosis. She was apparently living at the home of Henry Elling at the time of her death as that is the place of death and he reported for the death certificate.

Her obituary appeared in a March 1947 edition of the Northwest Signal:

" MRS. MARY ELLING DIES

Mrs. Mary Elling, age 84, passed away at Holgate at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 8th, following a heart ailment. Her body was removed to the A. F. Wesche and Son Funeral Home.

She leaves five sons, four daughters, 50 grandchildren and 47 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services, conducted by Rev. John Melchert, were held on Tuesday, March 11th, 1:30 p.m., at the Henry Elling residence in Holgate and 2:00 p.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church in Holgate. Interment was made in St. Luke's cemetery in Clinton township."

This post originally appeared on a previous blog, Elling Family News, on March 8, 2009.

Catherine Kirchoff Rohrs (Haase) - Mother of Mary Rohrs

I've just recently started looking further into the life of my great-great grandmother, Catherine Kirchoff Rohrs Haase and the research has been a challenge. Catherine Kirchoff was married to Wilhelm Rohrs in Germany (somewhere to be determined) and together they had one child, Maria/Mary Rohrs. The couple sent their only child to America at the age of thirteen. Why? I wish I knew.
Minnie Elling remembered that her grandmother came to America after the death of her first husband, Wilhelm. Also she gave me the clue that Catherine had married a Haase once in America and the couple had lived in a log house in Freedom Township, often visiting in their horse and buggy. So...that's what I had to begin the task of learning about Catherine.

I knew she was not in the 1880 census and again, without the 1890 census, the first time I found Catherine is in 1900 where she is the wife of Christian Haase, living on a rented farm in Freedom Township. Christian was able to speak English, while Catherine did not, it was reported. The census confirmed that she had given birth to just one child and that child was living. Christian's age was given as 66 and Mary's age was 57; however, her birth date was reported as 1841. The census said that she has been in America for 7 years and Christian for 15 years, making her immigration date in 1893, which seems unlikely, as she would have been separated from her daughter over 15 years at that point. Christian's immigration date was given as 1886 and hers was left blank, unfortunately.

The 1910 census found the couple still in Freedom Township on a rented farm, with Christian now at 76 years of age and Catherine at 67. She was still not a speaker of English. This census noted that they had been married 15 years and gave Catherine's immigration date as 1887. The 1900 census said they were married for 7 years at that point, so the range for their marriage date is 1893 - 1895.

Christian died in Henry County on July 22, 1914, and Catherine died in Fulton County on December 8, 1916. One could assume that perhaps she went to live with her only daughter Mary and husband after Christian's death.
So I have much to discover about Catherine yet. Her immigration record eludes me. No record seems to fit her profile - did she use an alias? (Just kidding.) I need a trip to the Henry County courthouse to find a marriage record and maybe a naturalization record, if it exists. Maybe I can find some obituaries to help. Wilhelm Rohrs, who never came to America, will be a real challenge. The name Rohrs is much more common than Kirchoff and with not much to go on, finding information on our great-great-grandfather would probably include hiring a German researcher.

Remember When it Was SOOOOO Hot!

I don't want to whine about how hot it is.
I really don't.
Because I dislike bitter cold so much more.
But, after so many days of 90-100+ temperatures,
I do have to consciously put a lid on my
tendency to complain about the heat.

It always does me some good to think back to
younger days and the ways we beat the heat...or tried to do so.

*In our old farmhouse, all the bedrooms were upstairs and very hot in the summer. So as soon as this over-the-top heat and humidity hit every summer, we would sleep downstairs on the living room floor at night.
We'd grab a quilt to plant on, direct a fan our way, and snooze away.  It's a wonder we did get any sleep with four kids in close quarters on the floor, but I guess we were used to it.  We also were probably exhausted from playing outside.

*I remember well eating watermelon slices under our big, shady maple tree.  That's where the lawn chairs sat all summer.  Watermelon was a wonderful, cool treat on a summer's afternoon and letting the seeds fly was fun, too.

*Sweet corn and tomato slices, along with any other garden produce in season, were the evening meal day after day in the summer, and we liked it that way.  Mom had a huge pot that she would boil water in and then load with sweet corn ears for a quick boil.  The kids would often be the ones cleaning the ears before cooking, and we each ate lots of ears!  And we never tired of big, red tomato slices with a little sugar sprinkled on top.

*Do you remember the days we could play in the sun all day, no matter the temperature?  We didn't know what sunscreen was, or if our parents did, they didn't think it was important.  We'd come in to eat and then go right back outside.  Sometimes we'd take a drink directly from the outside pump or the hose. 

*Mom used to hang all the laundry outside - every piece.  And later on, I had that job.  I still love the smell of sheets dried outside in the sun, and I can "feel" the scratchiness of the towels, too.

*We went barefoot all summer at home.  We walked on the driveway stones gingerly, but confidently.  We watched for bees so we didn't get a sting.  We rode bikes with no shoes on, walked in the fields, and through the mud puddles.

Pretty good memories, eh?

This post originally appeared on the Elling Family News blog on July 21, 2011.