Tag Archives: Louise Schroeder

Could Louise Be the Key?

Posted on by under Family History, Genealogy, Marriage, Reese Family, Research Process, Schröder Family, Schroeder Family

I still haven’t been able to figure out how or if Heinrich Ludwig Wilhelm Schröder is related to Frederick Ludwig Schroeder.  I have been trying to collect as much information on Heinrich as I possibly can, which is difficult because he has so many names and most of his records are in German.  Finally, I came across a marriage record for him and Louise Wilhelmine Reese.  According to my grandma’s pedigree chart, Heinrich did marry a Louise Reese.

Louise Wilhelmine Reese was born on July 18, 1858 in Lemgo, Lippe, Germany.2  Her parents were Heinrich August Reese and Dorothe Henriette Catharine Sasse.1,2  She was christened on August 8, 1858 at Sankt Nicolai Evangelisch in Lemgo.1  Louise married Heinrich Ludwig Wilhelm Schröder on January 26, 1882, also at Sankt Nicolai Evangelisch.2

I began to try a different tactic and looked for birth and baptism records containing Louise Reese Schröder.  My hope was that I would find her children.  So far, I’ve had no luck.  I will keep up the search for them, as well as immigration records for Heinrich and Louise after January 1882.  I have ordered the microfilm for these church records from Salt Lake City, to see if there is more information than the indexes yielded.

This information has been somewhat helpful in providing me clues and ideas to continue my search.  More importantly, if I can ever connect Heinrich and Frederick, I now have the names of Louise Reese’s parents, which I did not have before.  I’d call this attempt a moderate success.

Sources

  1. “Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898,” database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N68C-67S : accessed 12 January 2016), Louise Wilhelmine Reese, 08 Aug 1858; citing ; FHL microfilm 582,486.

  2. “Deutschland Heiraten, 1558-1929,” database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JHNN-FNS : accessed 12 January 2016), Heinrich Ludwig Wilhelm Schroeder and Luise Wilhelmine Reese, 26 Jan 1882; citing Sankt Nicolai Evangelisch, Lemgo, Lippe, Germany; FHL microfilm 582,486.

 

Louise Minnie Gehring: The Dressmaker and the Machinist (52 Ancestors #48)

Posted on by under 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, Family History, Gehring Family, Genealogy, Photographs, Schröder Family, Schroeder Family

I decided to research another collateral this time.  She’s my great great aunt by marriage.  As I was going through my grandparents’ boxes one day, I came across a copy of a photograph, which someone had labeled “Minnie Gehring.”  Gehring is not a surname with which I am familiar, so naturally, I had to find out why we had a copy of this photograph.

A preliminary search turned up a marriage record for Louise M. Gehring and Henry F. Schroeder, who was the son of Frederick and Louise (Reisenberg) Schroeder.  A connection!  But I still had to make sure that Louise M. and Minnie were the same person.  Thankfully, the 1920 Census gave her full name, Louise Minnie Schroeder.

Gehring, Louisa Minnie

Louise Minnie Gehring Schroeder

Louise Minnie Gehring was born on April 23, 1886, in Ontario, Canada.  Her parents, Frederick and Wilhelmina Gehring had immigrated from Germany in 1883.1,2,3  Frederick was a laborer at the brick works.  Minnie also had a job as a laborer at the woolen mills.  She was fourteen years old.1

By 1910, the Gehrings had moved to Flint, Genesee County, Michigan.  Minnie was now a forelady at a skirt factory, while her father was a foreman at the electric plant.2

Minnie married Henry Frederick Schroeder on June 22, 1911, in Flint, Michigan.3  Henry was the son of Frederick and Louise (Reisenberg) Schroeder.  He was born on June 8, 1887, in Clay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio.3,4  At the time of their marriage, Henry was a machinist and Minnie was a dressmaker.3   Shortly thereafter, Henry became a woodworker and Minnie quit working to run the household.5,6  Minnie and Henry had two children:  Wilfred Gerald (born circa 1913) and Dorothy Louise (born circa 1915).7,10

By 1920, Henry had gotten a job as a janitor at Homedale School.7  He worked there until at least 1941, with his title changing to engineer around 1925.8,9,10,11,12,13,14

homedale elementary school, 1940

Homedale Elementary School, 1940. Photo Courtesy of Flint Expatriates.

After leaving the school, Henry began a lawn mower repair service.  It was still in business in 1954.15

Minnie died in 1961.16  Henry died on November 16, 1980.16,17,18  They are both buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Grand Blanc, Michigan.16

Sources

  1. Ancestry.com. 1901 Census of Canada [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.  Year: 1901; Census Place: Waterloo, Waterloo (north/nord), Ontario; Page: 5; Family No: 44.
  2. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.  Year: 1910; Census Place: Flint Ward 5, Genesee, Michigan; Roll: T624_643; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 0029; FHL microfilm: 1374656.
  3. “Michigan Marriages, 1868-1925,” database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3KD-CZY : accessed 28 February 2015), Henry F. Schroeder and Louise M. Gehring, 22 Jun 1911; citing Flint, Genesee, Michigan, v 2 p 335 rn 9890, Department of Vital Records, Lansing; FHL microfilm 2,342,692.
  4. Ancestry.com. Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.  “Ohio Births and Christenings, 1821-1962.” Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2011. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.
  5. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.  Year: 1914.
  6. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.  Year: 1915.
  7. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1920; Census Place: Flint Ward 2, Genesee, Michigan; Roll: T625_765; Page: 4B; Enumeration District:28; Image: 168.
  8. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.  Year: 1921.
  9. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.  Year: 1925.
  10. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.  Year: 1930; Census Place: Flint, Genesee, Michigan; Roll: 985; Page: 3A and 3B; Enumeration District: 0027; Image:138.0; FHL microfilm: 2340720.
  11. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.  Year: 1930.
  12. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.  Year: 1932.
  13. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012Year: 1940; Census Place: Flint, Genesee, Michigan; Roll: T627_1894; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 85-73.
  14. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.  Year: 1941.
  15. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.  Year: 1954.
  16. “Louise M Schroeder (1886 – 1961).” FindAGrave.com. Ellinda, 02 May 2011. Web. 28 Nov. 2015. Find A Grave Memorial# 69254346.
  17. Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.Number: 379-30-2839; Issue State: Michigan; Issue Date: Before 1951.
  18. Michigan Department of Vital and Health Records. Michigan, Deaths, 1971-1996 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1998.

 

Charlotte Poppa: Are You My Great Great Great Grandmother? (52 Ancestors #32)

Posted on by under 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, Family History, Genealogy, Poppa Family, Reisenberg Family, Research Process

Charlotte “Lottie” Poppa is one of the ancestors that I’ve always been curious about.  Most of what I “know” about her is unproven.  When my grandma gave me a copy of her pedigree chart, she pointed Lottie out to me and said, “I couldn’t read the writing on the record, so it could be Poppa, Pappa, or Puppa.”

I don’t know what record she was referring to, she never named it or showed it to me.  I’m hoping a copy is still somewhere in one of the many fruit boxes containing all of my grandparents’ research.  I have been trying to research Lottie on my own, and she’s proven to be very difficult to locate.  According to the chart, Lottie was the mother of Louise Reisenberg.  Since Reisenberg is misspelled in a plethora of different ways, soundex search doesn’t always work.

Again, according to grandma’s chart, Lottie was married to Friedrich Reisenberg.  She was born on November 4, 1823 in Germany and died on October 20, 1907.  Presumably, Grandma got this information from the document(s) she mentioned to me.  Since I try very hard to only chart information for which I have sources, and pedigree charts don’t count, I use this as a guide for my research rather than proven dates.

I entered Charlotte Poppa into the form on FamilySearch.org and retried the search with various pieces of information each time.  I thought maybe I would come across a marriage record.  Surprisingly, Lottie Riesenburg turned up in the 1900 Census in Steuben County, Indiana.  She was living with her son-in-law, Kasper Shotts, and daughter, Amelia Shotts.  Fred Riesenburg was also listed.

I was surprised by this because I had heard the story of how Louise had come to America on her own.  I had never heard that her parents came over.  I looked at the immigration column and Fred and Lottie arrived in 1883, about a year after Louise.  I also looked at Lottie’s birth information to try to verify her birth.  She was born in November of 1823 in Germany.  The only trouble I have with this census information is that it says she has only one child.  She is living with her daughter, Amelia, so how then could Louise be her daughter?  To add more confusion, Amelia had a daughter named Bertha, and Louise had a daughter named Bertha Amelia.  I have seen in the census before where a person gave the number of children living with them instead of her actual number of children.  Perhaps this is a similar scenario, or, perhaps I simply have the wrong branch attached to my family tree.

I tried looking for the passenger list, but the only information that seemed to match did not have an original image attached.  I don’t trust indexes.  I may eventually end up ordering the film for this one.

My next step was to continue looking for census records.  She came over after 1880, there is no 1890, and I have her in 1900, so I moved on to 1910.  I couldn’t find her, so I switched tactics and looked for Fred.  I found him with Casper and Amelia Schott in Ottawa County, Ohio.  He is widowed.  This doesn’t give me much useful information for Lottie, but I now know she died between 1900 and 1910, so 1907 does fit.

At this point, I had enough information to search on Find A Grave.  I know she died between 1900 and 1910 in either Indiana or Ohio, but I still had to check all possible spellings of Reisenberg.  I finally found Charlotte Risenberg buried in Harris-Elmore Union Cemetery in Elmore, Ottawa County, Ohio.  She is linked to Friedrich Risenberg and Amelia Schott, so I know this is the one I was looking for.  Unfortunately, there is no photo and no other information.  I put in a photo request, but since no dates are listed, I’m guessing there either isn’t a stone or the stone is unreadable.

I did a search on Ancestry.com for family trees and also checked with some distant cousins, but nobody seems to have any information on Louise’s parents.  I am fairly certain Lottie is the person I’m looking for because Grandma was pretty meticulous when it came to genealogy, though not meticulous enough to cite sources, but I will continue to search for the link between Lottie and Louise.  In the meantime, this search has yielded a confirmation of Lottie’s birth information, an immigration year, and a lead on her death information.  I still want to know more, but at least I know more than I did a week ago.

Louise Reisenberg: A Leap of Faith (52 Ancestors #17)

Posted on by under 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, Family History, Genealogy, Photographs, Reisenberg Family, Schroeder Family, Stories

I am fortunate to have a family full of storytellers with long memories. What this means for me, though, is that my genealogical research primarily entails proving or disproving these stories. One story, on which I am currently working, is about my great great grandmother, Louise Reisenberg (or Risenburg).

Louise (Reisenberg) Schroeder, circa 1900.

Louise (Reisenberg) Schroeder, circa 1905.

Louise’s story, if I remember right, is as follows. One day, a sixteen year old Louise was working in the field on her family’s farm, she heard God tell her to leave her home and her family and go to America. She went back to the house and told her parents what God had told her to do. Her parents believed that she should do as God commanded and sold a cow to buy her passage to America. Louise didn’t speak a word of English, so she found a German family on the boat who were heading to Toledo, Ohio and she went with them. In Toledo, she got a job to support herself and married Frederick Schroeder.

Proving the story has been difficult, but I do believe that it is true based on what I have found so far.

Louise Reisenberg was born in Germany in November of 1860.1,5,6,8,10,11  She came to America in 1882, and arrived in Baltimore, Maryland on the Hermann on April 19th of that year, at the age of 21.1,5,6,8  From Maryland, she went on to Ohio, where she met Frederick Schroeder.  Fred and Louise married on May 8, 1882 in Lucas County, Ohio.2  Louise was a carpet weaver.5  Fred and Louise had six children:  Emma W., born circa 1883; Elizabeth A., born January 1885; Henry F., born circa 1887; Bertha Amelia, born March 30, 1890; John F., born October 1892; and George Herman, born September 21, 1896.3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Fred died sometime between 1896 and 1900.3,4,5  By 1900, Louise had been naturalized and could speak English.5  By 1930, she was living with her daughter, Bertha, and her son-in-law, Lloyd Bersticker.  She lived with them until she died in 1955.10,11

Most of the story couldn’t be directly proven with facts, but I feel that the facts support it.  A sixteen year old Louise could have heard God, and her parents could have sold the cow.  It may have taken some few years between the initial voice of God and setting off for America.  It also would have taken about a month for the actual voyage.  It seems likely to me that a non-English speaking young lady would have found a family to travel with that spoke her language.  I also have to wonder if maybe this family had connections to the Schroeders in Toledo.  Louise arrived in Maryland on April 19th and married Fred on May 8th, so maybe the family arranged it or suggested it.  Louise certainly did have a job as a carpet weaver.

Louise Reisenberg Schroeder is one of my ancestors about whom I am dying to know more.  She’s always been a bit of a mystery and I’m glad to have uncovered what I have so far.

Sources

1.  Baltimore, Maryland Passenger Lists Index, 1820-1897, FamilySearch.org.

2.  Lucas County, Ohio Marriages, 1789-1997, Vol. 3, p.379, FamilySearch.org.

3.  Ottawa County, Ohio Births, 1841-2003, Vol. 1, p.324, no. 94, FamilySearch.org.

4.  Ottawa County, Ohio Births 1891-1908, Vol. 2, p.245, no. 382, FamilySearch.org.

5.  1900 U.S. Federal Census, Benton, Ottawa, Ohio, p.12B, Ancestry.com.

6.  1910 U.S. Federal Census, Toledo, Lucas, Ohio, p.9A, Ancestry.com.

7.  Genesee County, Michigan Marriages, 1868-1925, Vol. 2, p.335, FamilySearch.org.

8.  1920 U.S. Federal Census, Toledo, Lucas, Ohio, p.4A, Ancestry.com.

9.  Lucas County, Ohio Marriages 1920, Vol. 39, p.483, FamilySearch.org.

10.  1930 U.S. Federal Census, Toledo, Lucas, Ohio, p.12B, Ancestry.com.

11.  1940 U.S. Federal Census, Toledo, Lucas, Ohio, p.7B, Ancestry.com.

12.  The Blade Correspondent (Toledo), 5 October 1964, Obituary, Emma Damschroeder, found a copy in my grandparents’ box not cited.

Louise Von Allmen: Jovial and Social (52 Ancestors #12)

Posted on by under 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, Family History, Genealogy, Photographs, Stories, Von Allmen Family

Louise Marie Von Allmen was born on August 5, 1903 to parents Edward and Louise (Seewer) Von Allmen.  Louise was the first of eight children.  She married George Herman Schroeder, who was from Ohio.  They had three children.  Louise (Von Allmen) Schroeder died on June 26, 1977.

The Von Allmen children. Back row (left to right): Frederick, Theodore Adrian, John Edward, Louise Marie. Front row: Victor Emmanuel, Robert Alfred, Margaret Elizabeth, Lena Mae. Photo courtesy of Angela Grant, Ancestry.com

The Von Allmen children.
Back row (left to right): Frederick, Theodore Adrian, John Edward, Louise Marie.
Front row: Victor Emmanuel, Robert Alfred, Margaret Elizabeth, Lena Mae.
Photo courtesy of Angela Grant, Ancestry.com

I never knew my great grandmother Louise.  She died before I was born.  I had seen photos and my grandpa said she liked to talk.  That was really all I knew about her.  I was named for her and my other great grandmother, Marie Neider, so any time I have the opportunity to learn more about her, I’m more than happy to do so.

From the handful of  photos I have seen of Louise to this point, I feel that I resemble her somewhat, especially when I put my hair up when I dress as Mrs. Butterfield (our library’s first librarian).

George and Louise (Von Allmen) Schroeder
Melissa Wiseheart dressed as Olivia Butterfield, October 2013.

In July of 2011, I was visiting with a new friend, Viola Toby.  She lives on a farm neighboring Louise’s parents’ farm.  I didn’t know until that day that she had known the Von Allmens.  That day in July, Viola complimented me on the dark color of my hair.  I thanked her and said it must be the Swiss, from the Von Allmens.  It prompted this:

The Von Allmens… they used to live right here on the corner, you know.  They were such wonderful singers. They used to have parties on the 4th of July and they’d go all night. They really knew how to celebrate, I tell you. They’d sing and dance and Ed would play the… what’s that called you play and squeeze between your hands… the accordion. Ed used to play the accordion. He played so well, it was really beautiful. And they’d just go all night. One time, they had all the neighbors over for a dance. Can you imagine? They had a dance in their house and Ed played the accordion. You don’t see anyone play the accordion anymore.

She went on to talk about Lena Mae, whom she knew best of the bunch.  I was very excited to hear this from Viola because it’s one thing to hear from the family stories that have been passed down, but it’s another thing to hear how your family was perceived by members of their community.

As I was preparing to write about Louise, I talked with my dad.  He said he and his family used to visit with George and Louise every Sunday after church at their house on Renn Road.  Louise always had soda and candy for the kids.  He said that Louise was a very social, very jovial person.  She liked parties and dancing, she liked food and conversation.  Dad also said that she liked to debate.

Hearing this description, my first thought was that she and my other namesake probably would’ve gotten along well had they ever met.  My second thought was that I’m more like Louise than I originally thought.  I don’t really care for dancing, but I’d say I have a fair amount of the rest of it.

Louise Marie Von Allmen

Louise Marie Von Allmen (1919)