I Jumped the Tracks

(This post originally appeared on Elling Family News on May 9, 2009).



Never assume...

In an earlier post about the Elling immigrants coming to Henry County from Toledo, I stated that no trains were in the area at the time. But in thinking about the death of Henry Elling, Johann's Friedrich's son in a train accident...well, you have to have a train to have a train accident. They immigrated in 1859 and he died in 1862, so some railroad line had to be in the area. I had researched the B & O and some others, but should have read more. I was narrow-minded in my thinking, as I thought of trains moving from the east to the west.

BUT one railroad company of that time moved from west to east - The Wabash. In 1853, a railroad line was running from near Springfield, IL eastward just in Illinois and it was known as the Great Western Railroad. The folks in Indiana and Ohio were excited about the prospect of connecting the Great Lakes with the Mississippi River for economic purposes, and by 1852 the Lake Erie, Wabash and St. Louis Railroad had also been formed and would connect with that Illinois line going through Indiana into Ohio. By the summer of 1856, the Great Western and the Lake Erie, Wabash and St. Louis companies merged into the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railroad.

The Wabash Railroad History online states, "The Toledo, Wabash and Western, with lines running west and southwest from Toledo, enjoyed a better situation in 1859 than any other railroad in the area. The lines crossed Indiana and Illinois and connected the lake port of Toledo with the Mississippi River ports just above St. Louis and St. Charles."
http://home.comcast.net/~wabashrr/wabhist.html

The Henry and Fulton County history has several references to the Wabash line going through Napoleon. So now we have a train and an accident, but no details.

I'm going to have to find some newspaper with a report of Henry's accident and not too many have survived since 1862. I've checked Napoleon's papers with no luck, so next I'll try Defiance. Could Henry have left home at the young age of 16 to work for the railroad? It seems he might have been needed for farm work. Where did the accident occur? What happened?
The search goes on...

The Children of the Immigrants - Next, Henry Elling

The first son and second child of Johann Friedrich Elling was Johann Heinrich Friedrich Elling, called Henry. In an earlier post, I noted that there were two Henry Ellings of near the same age in the New Hanover Church records.

In this German church record of his birth and baptism, it states:

Elling, Titlingen

Johann Heinrich Friedrich Elling, born 10 January, baptized 23 January. Father - Friedrich Elling of Tietlingen. Mother - Marie born Fuhrhop. Godparents - Johann von Hofe, Heinrich Helmann, Heinrich MacKenthau, Heinrich Fuhrhop.

It was my conclusion that Henry may have died around the age of 16, as noted in the New Hanover church records. Well, amazingly, I found the source to help support that notion. (If you dig long enough, it will come.) In the family history notes of the Mueller family - (Dora Elling,Henry's sister) - it stated:

"Dorothy had brothers Fred Jr of Napoleon and Henry who died in a train accident at age 17, and sisters Mary and Anna."

Now...what train? Where? Was he working or traveling? Lots of things to figure out still for proof certain.

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.

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.

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.

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.