Paulina (Gersbacher) Schneider's 140th Birthday

Paulina Gersbacher, 1895

140 years ago today, on 13 August 1876, my great-grandmother Paulina (Gersbacher) Schneider was born in Niederwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany.

Matrilineal Monday: Maria Bär

My 3rd-great-grandmother Maria Bär was born on 10 September 1818 in Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany. She was the daughter of Jacob Bär and Magdalena Kaiser.

Birth record, Maria Bär, 10 September 1818. Staatsarchiv Freiburg L 10 Nr. 5711, Bild 94. Permalink: http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-497910-94. Standesbücher / 1810-1870 > Waldshut; Amtsgericht > Görwihl WT; Katholische Gemeinde: Geburtenbuch 1810-1869.

She married her first cousin Fridolin Gerspacher on 4 November 1839 in Görwihl.

Staatsarchiv Freiburg L 10 Nr. 5712, Bild 88 Permalink: http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-497911-88 Standesbücher / 1810-1870 > Waldshut; Amtsgericht > Görwihl WT; Katholische Gemeinde: Heiratsbuch 1810-1869 / 1810-1869.

They had the following children:

Joseph, born 4 February 1841.
Johann (my 2nd-great-grandfather, later known as John), born 2 September 1843
Fridolin, born 19 October 1845
Bertha, born 28 March 1848
Wilhelmine, born 1 November 1851
Maria, born 25 September 1857

Maria's husband Fridolin died on 23 February 1865. Her son Joseph died on 3 August 1870. Johann immigrated to the United States in the early 1880s.

Maria died on 18 August 1888.

Franco-Prussian War

Franco-Prussian War map of 1870. Cambridge Modern History Atlas. Edited by A. W. Ward, G. W. Prothero, and Stanley Leathes. London: Cambridge University Press, 1912. Public domain. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

The Franco-Prussian War began on 19 July 1870, when France declared war on Prussia. The German states united against France and raised an army of about 400,000 men.

The French won a skirmish in Saarbrucken on 2 August 1870. The first major battle took place at Wissembourg on 4 August 1870. The Germans were victorious. They also won battles at Spicheren on August 5-6, 1870 and at Wörth on 6 August 1870. On 16 August 1870, the Germans again defeated the French at Mars-la-Tour.

The largest battle of the war took place at Gravelotte on 18 August 1870. The German army lost more than 20,000 troops, and the French army lost more than 12,000 troops.

The French were defeated at the Battle of Sedan on 1 September 1870, and Napoleon III surrendered to the Germans the next day. The Siege of Paris began on 19 September 1870. The Armistice of Versailles ended the fighting on 28 January 1871, and the war ended when the Treaty of Frankfurt was signed on 10 May 1871.

My 2nd-great-grandfather's brother Joseph Gerspacher died in Rastatt, Baden on 3 August 1870. The cause of death was Kriegsfolgen (consequences of war). Rastatt was a main supply base for east of the Rhine River during the Franco-Prussian War.

References
CFB Baden Soellingen Remembered: Crossroad
Faller, Helmut. Familiengeschichte der Gemeinde Görwihl. Bad Säckingen : H. Faller, 2000.
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco Prussian War

13 July 1809

On 13 July 1809, my 3rd-great-grandfather Fridolin Gerspacher (or Gersbacher) was born in Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden.

Faller, Helmut. Familiengeschichte der Gemeinde Görwihl. Bad Säckingen: H. Faller, 2000.

He was the last child of his parents Johann Gerspacher and Magdalena Bär. Magdalena died on the day of his birth.

Faller, Helmut. Familiengeschichte der Gemeinde Görwihl. Bad Säckingen: H. Faller, 2000.

Fridolin never knew his mother, but he knew her family. On 14 November 1839, he married his first cousin Maria Bär. Maria was the daughter of Jacob Bär, Magdalena's brother.

Staatsarchiv Freiburg L 10 Nr. 5712, Bild 88 Permalink: http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-497911-88 Standesbücher / 1810-1870 > Waldshut; Amtsgericht > Görwihl WT; Katholische Gemeinde: Heiratsbuch 1810-1869 / 1810-1869.

Matrilineal Monday: Franziska Schäuble

My 3rd-great-grandmother Franziska Schäuble was born on 24 September 1821 in Niederwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany. She was the daughter of Johann Schäuble (or Scheuble) and Maria Anna Albiez. Her father was a farmer (Landwirt), a cotton manufacturer (Baumwollfabrikant), and the proprietor of the Stag Inn (Hirschenwirt).

Birth record, Franziska Schäuble, 24 September 1821. Staatsarchiv Freiburg L 10 Nr. 5775, Bild 35. Permalink: http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-498376-35. Standesbücher / 1810-1870 > Waldshut; Amtsgericht > Niederwihl, Görwihl WT; Katholische Gemeinde: Geburtenbuch 1810-1869.

On 24 February 1846, Franziska gave birth to my 2nd-great-grandmother Kunigunde Dreier. Kunigunde's father was Jakob Dreier, a blacksmith (Schmied).

Franziska lost two family members in 1847. Her mother Maria Anna Albiez died on 20 March 1847, and her younger sister Katharina Schäuble died on 28 November 1847 at age 20.

On 3 February 1848, almost two years after the birth of their daughter, Franziska and Jakob married in Niederwihl.

Marriage record, Jakob Dreier and Franziska Schäuble, 1848. Staatsarchiv Freiburg L 10 Nr. 5776, Bild 81. Permalink: http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-498377-81. Standesbücher / 1810-1870 > Waldshut; Amtsgericht > Niederwihl, Görwihl WT; Katholische Gemeinde: Heiratsbuch 1810-1869.

A little more than 4 months after their marriage, on 17 June 1848, their daughter Magdalena was born. Sadly, Magdalena died on 25 February 1849, one day after Kunigunde's third birthday.

Franziska lost her one remaining parent in 1851; her father Johann Schäuble died on 26 February. Later that year, on 3 June, she gave birth to her daughter Sophie. She had another daughter, Agnes, on 10 September 1852.

In 1854, Franziska's youngest sister, Sekunda Schäuble, applied for permission to emigrate from Germany and settle in the United States.

Franziska and Jakob's only son, Julius, was born on 20 March 1855. Their last child, Emilie, was born on 19 November 1857. Emilie died on 5 July 1859.

Franziska lost three of her siblings in the 1860s. Her sister Sophia died on 23 June 1862, her sister Theres died on 11 April 1865, and her sister Agatha died on 17 April 1866.

Franziska experienced more losses in the 1870s. Her husband Jakob Dreier died on 18 September 1870, her son Julius Dreier died on 3 May 1874, and her sister Magdalena Schäuble died on 28 September 1876. But there were happier moments too, such as the birth of her grandchildren. Her daughter Kunigunde married Johann Gerspacher on 16 February 1871, and gave birth to five children in the 1870s: Friedrich/Fridolin, born 15 May 1871; Hermann, born 30 May 1873; Pauline, born 13 August 1876; Hermann, born 26 September 1877; and Joseph, born 8 May 1879. Sadly, both Hermanns died, the first on 24 August 1873, and the second on 18 December 1878. Kunigunde gave birth to one more child during Franziska's lifetime: daughter Augusta, born 29 January 1881.

Franziska died on 21 May 1882.

Surname Saturday: Gersbacher, Gerspacher, Gerspach

The maps below show the absolute distribution and relative distribution (considering population density) of the surname variants Gersbacher, Gerspacher, and Gerspach in Germany. They were created using Christoph Stöpel's Geogen 3.0 surname mapping site, which uses data from German telephone directories.Geogen 4.0 is the latest version.

Absolute distribution (Gersbacher)

©Christoph Stöpel. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DE (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/de/deed.en). http://legacy.stoepel.net/de/MapGateway.aspx?name=Gersbacher&target=DE&renderer=EN_US&mode=abs

Relative distribution (Gersbacher)

©Christoph Stöpel. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DE (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/de/deed.en). http://legacy.stoepel.net/de/MapGateway.aspx?name=Gersbacher&target=DE&renderer=EN_US&mode=rel

 The maps show the highest concentration of the surname in Landkreis Lörrach.

Absolute distribution (Gerspacher)

©Christoph Stöpel. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DE (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/de/deed.en). http://legacy.stoepel.net/de/MapGateway.aspx?name=Gerspacher&target=DE&renderer=EN_US&mode=abs

Relative distribution (Gerspacher)

©Christoph Stöpel. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DE (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/de/deed.en). http://legacy.stoepel.net/de/MapGateway.aspx?name=Gerspacher&target=DE&renderer=EN_US&mode=rel

The maps show the highest concentration of the surname in Landkreis Lörrach. The next highest concentration of the surname is in Landkreis Waldshut.

Absolute distribution (Gerspach)

©Christoph Stöpel. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DE (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/de/deed.en). http://legacy.stoepel.net/de/MapGateway.aspx?name=Gerspach&target=DE&renderer=EN_US&mode=abs

Relative distribution (Gerspach)

©Christoph Stöpel. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DE (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/de/deed.en). http://legacy.stoepel.net/de/MapGateway.aspx?name=Gerspach&target=DE&renderer=EN_US&mode=rel

The maps show the highest concentration of the surname in Landkreis Waldshut. The next highest concentration of the surname is in Landkreis Lörrach.

These maps helped me to pinpoint the area of Baden that my Gersbacher/Gerspacher ancestors came from. I suspected that they were from Landkreis Lörrach or Landkreis Waldshut. When I identified the location, it turned out to be in Landkreis Waldshut.

My known Gersbacher/Gerspacher/Gerspach ancestors are:

great-grandmother: Paulina Gersbacher/Pauline Gerspacher
born 13 August 1876, Niederwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany.
married John (Johann) Schneider  23 July 1902, St. Louis, Missouri
died 1 December 1966, St. Louis, Missouri

2nd-great-grandfather: John Gersbacher/Johann Gerspacher
born 2 September 1843, Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany
married Kunigunde Dreier (my 2nd-great-grandmother) 16 February 1871
married Theresa Vollmer 26 March 1900, Belleville, St. Clair County, Illinois
died 8 February 1914, St. Louis, Missouri

3rd-great-grandfather: Fridolin Gerspacher
born 13 July 1809, Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany
married Maria Bär 14 November 1839, Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany
died 23 February 1865, Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany

4th-great-grandfather: Johann Gerspacher
born 29 October 1766, Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany
married Magdelena Bär (my 4th-great-grandmother) 25 October 1796, Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany
married Theresia Wassmer 27 November 1809, Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany
died 10 January 1841, Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany

5th-great-grandfather: Fridolin Gerspacher
born 28 May 1739, Strittmatt, Waldshut, Baden, Germany
married  Catharina Adler 13 January 1766, Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany

6th-great-grandfather: Joseph Gerspach
born 21 June 1701, Strittmatt, Waldshut, Baden, Germany
married Clara Schlageter 15 August 1734

7th-great-grandfather: Fridolin Gerspach
married Anna Schupp
died 23 May 1744, Strittmatt, Waldshut, Baden, Germany

52 Ancestors: Week 27 "Independent": Augusta Marie "Gussie" Gersbacher

My great-grandmother's sister Augusta Marie "Gussie" Gersbacher strikes me as an independent woman. My aunt Joan said that Gussie was something of a career woman and always had a job, unlike many women of her generation. Her marriages were brief, she never had children, and she moved halfway across the country. There is also an interesting family story about her!

Gussie was born on 29 January 1881 in Niederwihl (now part of Görwihl), Waldshut, Baden, Germany. She was the daughter of Johann/John Gersbacher and Kunigunde Dreier. When she was only two years old, she and her mother and siblings left Germany to join her father in St. Louis, Missouri. They sailed from Bremen, Germany on the Braunschweig and arrived in Baltimore, Maryland on 26 July 1883.

Gerspacher family, Braunschweig passenger list. Baltimore, Maryland. Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Baltimore, Maryland, 1820-1891. Microfilm Publication M255. RG 36. 50 rolls. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Available from Ancestry.com. Baltimore, Passenger Lists, 1820-1964 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. 

After her mother died in 1893, her father abandoned the family. Gussie went to work as a laundress. Although the feminine form of her occupation was used in her 1900 United States census enumeration, she was incorrectly enumerated as a male!

1900 United States census, St. Louis City, Missouri, Ward 6, population schedule, enumeration district 88, sheet no. 5A. Available from Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. 

Gussie married Emil Glaser, the son of immigrants from Baden, in 1903.

Marriage license, Emil H. Glaser and Gusta Gersbacker, 9 May 1903, St. Louis County, Missouri. Available from Ancestry.com. Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.Original data: Missouri Marriage Records. Jefferson City, MO, USA: Missouri State Archives. Microfilm.

Gussie and Emil separated by 1908, when Gussie was listed on the St. Louis city directory at a different address than Emil.

Gould's St. Louis Directory for 1908. St. Louis, MO: Gould Directory Co. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

In 1910, Gussie ran a rooming house and lived with her younger sister Annie.

1910 United States census, St. Louis City, Missouri, Ward 7, population schedule, enumeration district 111, sheet no. 5A. Available from Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. 

Emil Glaser died on 12 August 1912. Although they were separated, his obituary stated that he was the "beloved husband of Gussie Glaser." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 14 August 1912, page 12.) Gussie remained in St. Louis until at least 1913.

Gould's St. Louis Directory for 1913. St. Louis, MO: Gould Directory Co. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. 

On 1 June 1916, Gussie married Roy Lee Parker in Santa Ana, Orange County, California. Her marriage record stated that she was a resident of San Francisco, California and that Roy was a resident of Denver, Colorado.

Marriage license and return, Roy L. Parker and Augusta D. Glaser, 1 June 1916. California, County Marriages, 1850-1952, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8DJ-XRB);  citing Orange, California, United States, county courthouses, California; FHL microfilm 1,290,107.

By 1918, Roy was living in Salt Lake City, Utah, and on his World War I draft registration card, he listed his mother as his nearest relative. Gussie remained in California. In 1920, she was working as a seamstress in Los Angeles.

1920 United States census, Los Angeles precinct 175, population schedule, enumeration district 433, sheet no. 15A. Available from Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

In 1921, Gussie was a clerk in the Argonaut Hotel.

Los Angeles Directory Co.'s Los Angeles City Directory, Including San Pedro, Wilmington, Palms, Van Nuys and Owensmouth. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Directory Company, 1921. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. 

By 1927, Gussie lived in Pasadena and was working as a hotel waiter. She worked at the Hotel Vista Del Arroyo at that time, but later worked for the Huntington Hotel and the Maryland Hotel. She worked as a waiter at least through 1949.

Thurston's Pasadena (California) City Directory 1927, Including Altadena and Lamanda Park. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Directory Co. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. 

 Thurston's Pasadena (California) City Directory 1934, Including Altadena, Lamanda Park, and San Marino. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Directory Co. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Augusta Marie Gersbacher Parker, SS no. 552-10-1611, 27 November 1936, Application for Account Number (Form SS-5), Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland.

1940 United States census, Pasadena, Los Angeles, California, population schedule, Assembly District 47, enumeration district 19-472, sheet 2B. Available from Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Gussie died on  22 February 1969 at the Palm Grove Sanitarium in Duarte, Los Angeles County, California.

Augusta M. Parker death certificate. State of California, Department of Public Health. 22 February 1969.

Pasadena Star-News, 28 February 1969, page B-6.

Gussie was entombed at the Pasadena Mausoleum. However, that was not her final resting place. Her body was brought back to St. Louis, Missouri, and she was buried in the Gersbacher family plot (section 010K, lot 0024E) in Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery on 22 December 1972. Her grave is unmarked.

Gussie Gersbacher

Tombstone Tuesday: Philipp Gerspacher

While visiting St. Bartholomäus Catholic Church in Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, I came across the grave of Philipp Gerspacher (1929-2010) in the church's cemetery. My Gerspacher ancestors were from Görwihl. Philipp could be my distant cousin.

Church Record Sunday: Südbadische Standesbücher

Church records from southern Baden are available online at http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/web/49484. The records, which are held by Staatsarchiv Freiburg, cover the years 1810-1870, although the full date range may not be available for every locality.

I have ancestors from southern Baden, so I was very excited when I learned that these records are available online. I have been looking at Catholic church records from Görwihl and Niederwihl.

I found the birth record for my 3rd-great-grandmother Maria Bär in the Görwihl Catholic church records:

Birth record, Maria Bär, 10 September 1818. Staatsarchiv Freiburg L 10 Nr. 5711, Bild 94. Permalink: http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-497910-94. Standesbücher / 1810-1870 > Waldshut; Amtsgericht > Görwihl WT; Katholische Gemeinde: Geburtenbuch 1810-1869.

I found the marriage record for my 3rd-great-grandparents Jakob Dreier and Franziska Schäuble in the Niederwihl Catholic church records:

Marriage record, Jakob Dreier and Franziska Schäuble, 1848. Staatsarchiv Freiburg L 10 Nr. 5776, Bild 81. Permalink: http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-498377-81. Standesbücher / 1810-1870 > Waldshut; Amtsgericht > Niederwihl, Görwihl WT; Katholische Gemeinde: Heiratsbuch 1810-1869.

I found the death record for my 4th-great-grandmother Eva Stäuble in the Niederwihl Catholic church records:

Death record, Eva Stäuble, 21 December 1858. Staatsarchiv Freiburg L 10 Nr. 5777, Bild 174. Permalink: http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-498378-174. Standesbücher / 1810-1870 > Waldshut; Amtsgericht > Niederwihl, Görwihl WT; Katholische Gemeinde: Sterbebuch 1810-1869.

I found the death record for my 3rd-great-grandfather Fridolin Gersbacher (also known as Fridolin Gerspacher) in the Görwihl Catholic church records:

Death record, Fridolin Gersbacher, 23 February 1865. Staatsarchiv Freiburg L 10 Nr. 5713, Bild 221.
Permalink: http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-497912-221. Standesbücher / 1810-1870 > Waldshut; Amtsgericht > Görwihl WT; Katholische Gemeinde: Sterbebuch 1810-1869.

Mappy Monday: Rhine River (Fluss Rhein)

Rhein-Karte. Map by Daniel Ullrich (Threedots) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

This map shows the Rhine River (Fluss Rhein). The Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein come together in Switzerland. The Hochrhein (High Rhine) flows to the west from Lake Constance to Basel, Switzerland. The Oberrhein (Upper Rhine) flows from Basel to Bingen, Germany. This section of the Rhine flows through Switzerland, France (Alsace), and the German states of Baden-Württemburg, Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), and Hesse. The Mittelrhein (Middle Rhine) flows from Bingen to Bonn. The Niederrhein (Lower Rhine) begins in Bonn. After it enters the Netherlands, it splits into branches, including Waal, Merwede, Nieuwe Maas, and Nederrijn, and flows out to the North Sea.

My German ancestors lived by the Rhine River. My Schneider ancestors were from Erpel and Remagen. My Nagel ancestors lived in Bonn for a while. They were originally from Hürth (Hermülheim, Kendenich), which is near the Rhine. My Gersbacher/Gerspacher ancestors were from the Hotzenwald region in Baden, in Görwihl and Niederwihl (now part of Görwihl). My Dreier ancestors were from Niederwihl. Görwihl is at the edge of the river Alb, which is a tributary of the Rhine.

52 Ancestors: #31 Paulina Gersbacher

My great-grandmother Paulina Gersbacher (Pauline Gerspacher) was born on 13 August 1876 in Niederwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany. She was the daughter of John (Johann) Gersbacher and Kunigunde Dreier. She came to the United States in 1883 with her mother and siblings; they sailed from Bremen, Germany on the Braunschweig and arrived in Baltimore, Maryland on 26 July 1883. They then went to St. Louis, Missouri and joined her father, who had left Germany earlier.

Paulina's older brother Fridolin died on 30 May 1892, and her mother died on 6 January 1893. Her father then abandoned the family. Paulina, the oldest living child, was only 16 years old. She began working as a servant. Her sister Gussie worked in a laundry, and her brother Joe went with Gussie. But there was no one else to take care of the youngest child, Ann. Paulina did her best to try to take care of Ann. She had to resort to hiding Ann in her room and sneaking food up to her. Eventually, she was caught and was fired from her job. She then began working for A. W. and Adele Schulenberg. Ann went to live with an old woman in a wheel chair. Paulina visited Ann every week on her day off, but because the old woman stayed in the room with Ann and Paulina, it took Paulina some time to find out that the woman often hit Ann with her cane.

The Schulenberg's milkman tried to talk Paulina into going out, but she was turned off to the idea of men and marriage because of her father. Eventually the milkman brought John Schneider to meet Paulina. She could not believe that a man could be so nice. They were married on 23 July 1902 at Sts.Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St. Louis.

Their first child, Christina Maria, was born on 20 April 1903. Their only son, Carl Joseph, was born on 2 June 1905. Sadly, Christina died of meningitis on 27 April 1909. Their daughter Margaret Ann, my maternal grandmother, was born on 16 March 1911. Their youngest child, Paula Christina, was born on 27 January 1913.

After her father died on 8 February 1914, Paulina went to the funeral home to make the funeral arrangements for him, even though he had treated the family so badly. She and her husband are probably the ones that had the tombstone erected on the Gersbacher family plot at Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery. When Paulina's sister-in-law Marie (Schneider) Illig was sick with influenza in 1918, Paulina brought food to her when others were afraid to go anywhere near her.

Paulina died on 1 December 1966. She was buried in Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery in St. Louis.

The information about Paulina's life after her mother died and before her marriage was obtained from a letter that my grandmother Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe wrote to her youngest son in 1976.

Paulina, age 19

Paulina

Paulina, 1918

Paulina, 1936

Paulina and John Schneider

Paulina with her children Margaret, Carl, and Paula Schneider on her 85th birthday, 13 August 1961

Mappy Monday: Hotzenwald

Karte der Region Hotzenwald im südlichen Schwarzwald (Map of the Hotzenwald region in southern Black Forest, Germany). Map by Thoroe (Thomas Römer)/OpenStreetMap data [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

The Hotzenwald is the southernmost part of the Black Forest. This map shows the Hotzenwald region and the elevation (in meters) of the land in and around the area. It includes information about mountains and their height.

My great-great-grandfather John Gersbacher (Johann Gerspacher) was from Görwihl, which is located in the Hotzenwald and is shown on this map. My great-great-grandmother Kunigunde Dreier was from nearby Niederwihl; the couple lived there before immigrating to the United States, and their German-born children were born there. Niederwihl became part of Görwihl in 1975.

52 Ancestors: #26 John Gersbacher, "Street Angel, House Devil"

My great-great-grandfather John Gersbacher was born Johann Gerspacher on 2 September 1843 in Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany. He was the son of Fridolin Gerspacher and Maria Bär. His parents, first cousins, were the grandchildren of Joseph Bähr and Magdelena Huber; Fridolin was the son of Johann Gerspacher and Magdalena Bär, and Maria was the daughter of Jacob Bär and Magdalena Kaiser.

On 16 February 1871, Johann married Kunigunde Dreier, and they lived in Niederwihl (now part of Görwihl). Their son Friedrich (later known as Fridolin) was born three months later, on 15 May 1871. Another son, Hermann, was born on 30 May 1873, and died on 24 August 1873. The next child, my great-grandmother Paulina, was born on 13 August 1876. Another son named Hermann was born on 26 September 1877 and died on 18 December 1878. On 8 May 1879, son Josef (later known as Joseph John) was born. Daughter Augusta was born on 29 January 1881, and son Edward was born on 26 November 1882.

Johann left Germany for the United States when Kunigunde was pregnant with Edward, and changed his name to John Gersbacher. Kunigunde and the children arrived in the United States to join him in St. Louis, Missouri on 26 July 1883, and son Edward died in St. Louis on 10 August 1883. Three more children were born in the United States: Anna Maria was born on 25 August 1886, Emma Louisa was born on 15 May 1888 and 1 August 1888, and Rosa Louisa was born on 17 December 1890 and died on 13 July 1891. John's oldest son Fridolin died on 30 May 1892, and his wife Kunigunde died on 6 January 1893.

According to a letter written by my grandmother Margaret (Schneider) Boe (the daughter of Paulina Gersbacher), John Gersbacher was "a mean drunken carpenter who ruled his wife and kids with an iron hand" and that he was called "a street angel and a house devil!" After Kunigunde died, John abandoned his family. When their mother died, Paulina was 16, Joseph John was 13, Augusta was almost 12, and Anna was 6.

On 26 March 1900 in Belleville, St. Clair County, Illinois, John married Theresa Vollmer. Both were residents of St. Louis. When he filled out the marriage return, John answered many questions untruthfully. He said that his father was John and that his mother was Kunigunde Dreher (his first wife!) Since he already owned the family burial plot, maybe he wanted  to claim that the woman buried there was his mother, not his wife. He claimed that the marriage would be his first. He said that he had been born in St. Louis (he was not even a United States citizen at that time). He also took 7 years off his age. Theresa Vollmer probably did not know about his children at that time, and she may have thought that she was going to gain United States citizenship by marrying him. John became a citizen later that year, on 8 October 1900.

John died in St. Louis on 8 February 1914 and was buried on 10 February 1914 at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery in St. Louis.

Johann Gerspacher baptismal record, 2 September 1843. Katholische Kirche Görwihl. Kirchenbuch, 1648-1900.

Faller, Helmut. Familiengeschichte der Gemeinde Görwihl. Bad Säckingen : H. Faller, 2000. Johann is listed as the second child of Fridolin Gerspacher and Maria Bär, and the date of his marriage is given.

Faller, Helmut. Familiengeschichte der Gemeinde Görwihl. Bad Säckingen : H. Faller, 2000. Kunigunde and the children actually left in 1883.

Illinois State Board of Health. Marriage return, John Gersbacher and Theresa Vollmer, 26 March 1900. Note the numerous incorrect answers given by John Gersbacher.

John Gersbacher naturalization record, 8 October 1900. St. Louis City Court of Criminal Corrections. Second, Soldiers and Minors Papers. Naturalization Cards. St. Louis City. Reel no. C 25793, vol. 17, page 135. Apparently he was able to convince the court that he had conducted himself as a man of good moral character!

John Gersbacher death certificate, 8 February 1914. Missouri State Board of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Note that the maiden name of his mother is incorrect; his first wife's name was given!

Record of funeral, John Gersbacher. Wm. Schuhmacher Funeral Home, St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis County Library, Special Collections Department. Funeral Home Records, microfilm reel 17.

Gersbacher tombstone, Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri. The stone is inscribed with the names and dates of John, Kunigunde, and their oldest son Fred. Fred's death date and Kunigunde's death date are off by a year, so the stone was probably erected after John Gersbacher's death, most likely by John and Paulina (Gersbacher) Schneider.