Gerlach residence, Papsdorf Windmill, Saxony

Monday, October 24, 2011

Fredrick Ernest Gerlach (Friedrich Ernst) - marriage and death

Fredrick Ernest (Friedrich Ernst) Gerlach, son of Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Gerlach and Christiane Wilhelmine Stuhr, was married to Anna Fischer on 27 March 1893 at California, Moniteau, Missouri.  

Gerlach - Fischer marriage certificate

Fredrick died on 13 June 1950 at Jamestown, Moniteau, Missouri at age 85 years. 

Fredrick Ernest Gerlach death certificate


Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Gerlach - First Immigration

Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Gerlach immigrated for the first time to the U.S.A. in 1881.  He came with the Fiedler family, his sister Pauline and brother-in-law Julius (Ida Gerlach's cousin was Sidonie Fiedler Schafer).  They departed Hamburg on 12 Mar 1881 for Hull, England on the English ship Empress enroute to America via Liverpool.  A story passed down from Ida Gerlach says that her father Wilhelm Gerlach was teased upon arriving in America, because his style of pants had no pockets. 



Here's the names from the ship's list:
all from Marschwitz, Saxony to California (California, Missouri)

Julius Fiedler, 42, Seiler (rope maker)
Pauline Fiedler, 41
Martha Fiedler, 10
Toni Fiedler, 9 (this is probably Sedonia)
Oskar Fiedler, 6
Theodor Fiedler, 4
Artur Fiedler, 3
Wilhelm Gerlach, 43, Zimmermann (carpenter)


Wilhelm Gerlach returned to Saxony and immigrated with his own family in 1882. See separate post here:
http://gerlachsachsen.blogspot.com/2011/06/gerlach-immigration-ships-list.html

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Site of the Papsdorf Windmill - home of Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Gerlach

Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Gerlach and his family were residents of the farm and mill that used to stand just northwest of the village of Papsdorf. 

Here is a map of the area from around 1839. The yellow square indicates where the Papsdorf Windmill once stood. 


Below is an old photograph of the farm and windmill.



The farm house still stands today, however the windmill is gone.  Google maps has aerial views that show the property today. 





Here is a description of the Papsdorf Windmill, in German. 


Friday, July 15, 2011

Zschoppach Church - place of marriage for JFW Gerlach and Christiane Wilhelmine Stuhr

Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Gerlach and Christiane Wilhelmine Stuhr were married on 18 Jan 1863 at the Zschoppach church.  The Stuhr family lived nearby in Draschwitz.

The famous theologian and Augustinian Vicar, Johann von Staupitz, was born nearby in Motterwitz.  He was baptized in the Zschoppach church in 1465.  Staupitz is known for his influence on Martin Luther regarding Grace and Salavtion through the Blood of Christ, while Luther struggled with forgiveness while serving at the Augustinian Monastery in Erfurt.

Collmen Church, place of worship for the Albert and Fischer families

Collmen is a village just east of the castle town of Colditz, Saxony.  The Collmen church was the place of worship for the Albert and Fischer families at least back to the 1770s.  Both families lived in Skoplau, a smaller village further east.  Johann Gottlob Albert was an elder of the church around the 1830s. 

The church was built upon much older ruins from the 1190s, where a monastery chapel once stood. 

In November 1735, Johann Sebastian Bach visited the church to attend a wedding between the Kriegel and Wendt families. 

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Gerlach Family

Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Gerlach & Christiane Wilhelmine Stuhr had the following children:
(The parentage of these children is proven by Missouri Death Certificates)

1. Friedrich Ernst Gerlach, b. 1 Oct 1864, Sachsen; d. 13 Jun 1950, Moniteau County, MO; married Annie Fischer

2. Ida Franziska Gerlach, b. 15 Nov 1866, Marschwitz, Sachsen; d. 10 Oct 1959, Alexandria, MN; married Gottlieb Beutler

3. Anna Hulda Gerlach, b. 3 Nov 1868; Marschwitz, Sachsen; d. 6 Sep 1948, Moniteau County, MO; married John G. Burger

4. Anna Martha "Annie" Gerlach, b. 18 Apr 1870, Germany; d. 29 Apr 1935, Moniteau County, MO; married Wilhelm F. Ziebold.

Gottlob Fleischer & Sophie Lippert had the following children:
1. Bertha Fleischer, b. 1874, married Dietrich Hofmockel. (She immigrated with mother in 1882)
2. female - stayed in Saxony; married A. Helwig, lived in Grimma in 1913.

JFW Gerlach and Sophie Lippert (widow Fleischer) remarried after their spouses died.  They married between Christiane Gerlach's death on 3 Nov 1879 and their emigration on 12 Jul 1882.  I am not aware of any children born to JFW Gerlach & Sophie Lippert Fleischer.

Sophie Lippert's sister, Wilhelmine Lippert, married Hermann Becher.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Friedrich Ernst Gerlach - immigration record

Friedrich Ernst Gerlach (Fredrick Ernest), the son of Johann Friedrich Wilhelm and Christiane Wilhelmine Gerlach also immigrated to the USA.   He came with Louis Jahn on 31 May 1882 through Baltimore, Maryland, on the ship Wieland.    

Sophie Gerlach

Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Gerlach's second wife was Johanna Sophie Lippert.  She married J.F. Wilhelm Gerlach between November 1879 and July 1882, possibly at Pöhsig, Saxony.  She was born 29 Dec 1833 in Saxony, Germany to Carl Lippert and Christina Radd. She died on 2 Jul 1926, in Cole County, Missouri. 

This was also her second marriage, her first was to Gottlob Fleischer.  They had the following children:
  • Bertha came with her mother and step-father to Moniteau County, Missouri in 1882.  She was born about 1874. On February 2, 1898, she married Dietrich Hofmockel at Trinity Lutheran Church, Russellville, Cole County, Missouri. 
  • In 1913, Bertha visited her sister, Mrs. A. Helwig, who lived at Weberstrasse 18, Grimma, Saxony. 
Sophie Gerlach had a sister, Wilhelmine Lippert, who also came to Missouri.  She was born on 11 Mar 1842, and died on 19 Apr 1908.  Wilhelmine married Hermann Becher.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Gerlach Immigration - ship's list

The Wilhelm Gerlach family immigrated into the United States on 26 Jul 1882 at New York City on the ship Wieland, of the Hamburg America Line.  Below is the ship's manifest listing the Wilhelm Gerlach family of Pöhsig, Sachsen (the next village north of the Papsdorf Windmill). 
 
Wilhelm, 55
Sophia, 43
Ida, 19
Hulda, 12
Anna, 9
Bertha, 8

They traveled with the Wilhelm Jahn family, who are also shown below.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

McGirk Cemetery, Moniteau County, Missouri

Both Johann Frederick Wilhelm (F. William) Gerlach and his second wife Sophie are buried at the McGirk Cemetery in Moniteau County, Missouri. 

F. William Gerlach, born 20 Jul 1837, died 10 Oct 1905
Sophie Gerlach, born 29 Dec 1833, died 2 Jul 1926



Photo Credit: Alan Sparks. 
A listing of the burials in the McGirk Cemetery, Montieau County, Missouri can be found here:
http://www.moniteau.net/cemetery/mcgirk/mcgirk.htm

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Map of Ancestral Villages, Saxony, Germany


This map shows the villages from which the ancestors of Ida Franziska Gerlach lived.  This area of Saxony, Germany is between Leipzig and Chemnitz, just east of the town of Grimma.




Ancestry of Ida Franziska Gerlach

First Generation

      1. Ida Franziska (Francis) Gerlach.  She was born on 15 Nov 1866 in Marschwitz, Sachsen, Germany.  She lived at Mühle Papsdorf, before immigrating with her father into the United States on 26 Jul 1882 at New York City on the ship Wieland, of the Hamburg America Line.  She died on 10 Oct 1959 in Alexandria, Douglas, Minnesota, USA.  She was buried in the Rose City Cemetery, Miltona, Minnesota, USA.

         Ida married Gottlieb Beutler, son of Niklaus Beutler and Rosina Andres on 5 Dec 1889 in California, Moniteau, Missouri.  Gottlieb Beutler was born on 9 Jun 1849 in Heimberg, Bern, Switzerland. He was christened on 29 Jun 1849 in Steffisburg, Bern, Switzerland. He died on 12 May 1917 in Guthrie, McHenry, North Dakota.  He was buried in the Guthrie Cemetery, Guthrie, McHenry, North Dakota, USA.   

More on the family of Gottlieb Beutler can be found here:

Second Generation

      2. Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Gerlach.  He was born on 20 Jul 1837 in Wiesenthal, Sachsen, Germany. He died on 10 Oct 1905 in McGirk, Moniteau, Missouri.  He married Christiane Wilhelmina Stuhr on 18 Jan 1863 in Zschoppach, Sachsen, Germany.

Johann was employed as a gardener and carpenter (Gärtner und Zimmermann) at Marschwitz.  He lived at Mühle Papsdorf, before immigrating to the United States with his daughter Ida. 

      3. Christiane Wilhelmina Stuhr.  She was born on 13 Feb 1831 in Draschwitz, Sachsen, Germany.  She died on 3 Nov 1879 (at Papsdorf?), Sachsen, Germany.   She was from Draschwitz, where she was the foster daughter (Pflegetochter) of her landlord (Hausbesizter), Christian Heinrich Lippert. 

Third Generation

      4. Johann Gottfried Gerlach.  He was born on 5 Sep 1799 in Toepeln, Sachsen, Germany. He married Hanna Magdalena Albert on 22 Jan 1837 in Collmen, Sachsen, Germany.  He was a cottager and carpenter (Hausherr und Zimmermann) at Wiesenthal. He died about 1871, possibly at Marschwitz.

      5. Hanna Magdalena Albert. She was born on 11 Feb 1813 in Schkoplau (now Skoplau), Sachsen, Germany. She was christened 12 Feb 1813, at Collmen.  She died in 1880, possibly at Pöhsig. 

      6. Johann Traugott Stuhr.  He married Johanne Christiane Steier.  He was a servant (Dienstknecht) from Muschau.   

      7. Johanne Christiane Steier.  She was from Draschwitz. 

Fourth Generation

      8. Johann Gottlieb Gerlach.  He married Johanne Christiane Wittig.  He was a shepherd (Hutmann) from Töpeln. 

      9. Johanne Christiane Wittig.  She was probably from Wiesenthal or Töpeln.

    10. Johann Gottlob Albert .  He was born on 28 May 1773 in Schkoplau, Sachsen, Germany. He was christened 30 May 1773, at Collmen.  He married Anna Rosina Fischer on 17 Nov 1796 in Collmen, Sachsen, Germany.  He was a gardener and church elder (Gärtner und Kirchvater) at Schkoplau (Skoplau). 

    11. Anna Rosina Fischer .  She was born on 15 Aug 1774 in Schkoplau (Skoplau), Sachsen, Germany.  She was christened 17 Aug 1774 at Collmen. 

    14. Johann Andreas Steier.  He was a cottager and carpenter (Häusler und Zimmermann) at Draschwitz.

Fifth Generation

    20. Johann Gottlob Albert.  He married Anna Christina Lehmann.  He was a gardener at Schkoplau (Skoplau). 

    21. Anna Christina Lehmann.  She was from Commichau, Sachsen, Germany.

    22. Andreas Fischer.  He married Maria Elisabeth Gatsch.  He was a cottager (Häusler) at Schkoplau (Skoplau). 

    23. Maria Elisabeth Gatsch.  She was from Brösen, Sachsen, Germany.