52 Ancestors: #42 John Schneider

My great-grandfather John Schneider was born Johann Schneider on 6 December 1878 in Remagen, Ahrweiler, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. He was the first child of Carl Joseph Schneider and Christina Nagel.

In 1892, according to a family photo, he received the sacrament of Holy Communion in the Catholic Church. The family attended St. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Remagen. That same year, he left Remagen with his parents and siblings, and the family settled in St. Louis, Missouri, where his uncle was living. In St. Louis, the family attended a different Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church. By 1895, John was working as a tailor like his father. The entire family became citizens of the United States on 18 February 1898 when John's father naturalized.

On 23 July 1902, John married Paulina Gersbacher at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St. Louis. On 20 April 1903, their daughter Christina Maria was born, and on 2 June 1905, their son Carl Joseph was born. Christina died of meningitis on 27 April 1909. Their daughter Margaret Ann (my maternal grandmother) was born on 16 March 1911, and their daughter Paula Christina was born on 27 January 1913. He bought a home at 2024 Russell Boulevard, St. Louis.

By 1918, John was working as a manager for Modern Woodmen of America. In 1921, he graduated from City College of Law and Finance in St. Louis with a degree in law. After his graduation, he began working as a lawyer.

John hated Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal. He refused to take a Roosevelt dime; when receiving change, he insisted on nickels or pennies instead of a dime.

John was a member of the Men's Sodality of Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Knights of Columbus Lafayette Council No. 1940, Modern Woodmen of America, and the Bar Association. He was director of Jefferson-Gravois Bank.

John died on 11 June 1955 and was buried on 15 June 1955 in Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.

Communion, 1892, Remagen, Germany

Gould's St. Louis Directory for 1895. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Although many John Schneiders were listed, I could identify mine by his address (1804 Geyer Av.) and occupation (tailor).

 

 John Schneider draft registration card, 12 September 1918. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm. 

Graduation program, City College of Law and Finance, St. Louis, Missouri, 1921

Paulina and John Schneider

John Schneider death certificate, no. 20389. 11 June 1955. Division of Health of Missouri.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 14 June 1955

Follow Friday: Nashville History

Debie Oeser Cox has a great blog, Nashville History (http://nashvillehistory.blogspot.com/). She worked at the Metropolitan Government Archives in Nashville, Tennessee, but is now retired.  It is a great resource for learning about the history of Nashville. In July she posted an excerpt from History of Nashville Tennessee by H. W. Crew (1890): Turnpikes and bridges in Davidson County, Tennessee. She also shares her memories of life in Nashville.

She also sometimes posts records that are useful to genealogists. I found my 3rd-great-grandmother Mary (maiden name unknown) on a transcribed list of Nashville building permits, 1892. She was listed as Mrs. Cox (her second husband was John Cox). I was able to identify her because her address was given. On 19 May 1892, she was granted a building permit for a fence. Another post that was helpful to me is Original Lots, Nashville, 1784. A map of the plan of Nashville, showing the lots, is included, and there is a link to a table (also created by Debie Oeser Cox), which provides information about each lot, including the grantor and grantee. My 6th-great-grandfather Andrew Lucas was the grantee for Lot 34; he received it on 30 July 1784.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Carl Joseph Schneider's Naturalization Documents

My aunt has my great-great-grandfather Carl Joseph Schneider's naturalization documents, and I have scanned copies of them. He declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States on 16 October 1894 at the St. Louis Court of Criminal Correction. He renounced his allegiance to the Emperor of Germany.

On 18 February 1898 at the St. Louis Court of Criminal Correction, he became a citizen of the United States. When he became a citizen, his wife and children also became citizens.

Wednesday's Child: Rosa Louisa Gersbacher

Rosa Louisa Gersbacher burial certificate, 14 July 1891. Ancestry.com. Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008. Original data: Missouri Death Records. Jefferson City, MO, USA: Missouri State Archives. Microfilm.

 

 

Rosa Louisa Gersbacher. Register of Deaths in the City of St. Louis, July 1891.  Ancestry.com. Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008. Original data: Missouri Death Records. Jefferson City, MO, USA: Missouri State Archives. Microfilm.

Rosa Louisa Gersbacher was born in St. Louis, Missouri on 17 December 1890. She was the daughter of  my great-great-grandparents John Gersbacher and Kunigunde Dreier. She was baptized at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church on 16 January 1891. She died of gastroenteritis on 13 July 1891 and was buried on 14 July 1891 in Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery in St. Louis, Section 009S, Lot 00PG, Row 54.

Tombstone Tuesday: John Joseph Berberick

John Joseph Berberick was born in New York on 18 November 1890. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1908, and served for twenty years. He was a Pharmacist's Mate, and saw action in World War I. He married my great-grandmother's sister Margaret Tarkington. They lived in Buffalo, New York at first, and then moved to Cedarville, Herkimer County, New York after he retired from the Navy. He was fire chief of the Litchfield-Columbia Fire District. Margaret died in 1929, and in 1936 he married her daughter Louise Margaret (Gray) Plaumann. He died on 2 October 1939 in Cedarville and was buried in Cedarville Cemetery.

Mappy Monday: Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany

Map of Landkreis Waldshut, Baden, Germany, showing the town of Görwihl. By Hagar66 [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0), CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0), CC0, Public domain, FAL or Attribution]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

This map shows the location of Görwihl in Kreis Waldshut, Baden, Germany. My Gersbacher ancestors were from Görwihl, and then went to Niederwihl (now part of Görwihl), where my Dreier ancestors lived.

52 Ancestors: #41 Mary Nevins

Since October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, it is a good time to write about my 3rd-great-grandmother Mary Nevins. Mary was born in Ireland, about 1835-1837. She was in the United States by January 1855; she and William Dow Gatlin obtained a marriage license in Davidson County, Tennessee on 2 January 1855, and were married by Rev. C. C. Mayhew on 3 January 1855.

Davidson County, Tennessee Original Marriage Bonds. William D. Gatlin to Mary Nevins. Nashville, Tennessee: Metropolitan Government Archives.

Davidson County, Tennessee Marriage License. William D. Gatlin to Mary Nevins. Nashville, Tennessee: Metropolitan Government Archives.

William and Mary's first child, their daughter Mary Florence Gatlin, was born about 1857. Their next child, my great-great-grandfather John William Morton Gatlin, was born on 23 October 1859 in Nashville, Tennessee. (He is listed as John W M Gatlin in the 1860 United States census; subsequent records list him as William M. Gatlin, William Morton Gatlin, or William Gatlin.) Another son, Clarence Bateman Gatlin, was born in Nashville on 23 December 1862. Their daughter Ida Lee Gatlin was born about 1864. Their son Lee Gatlin was born in December 1867, but died on 7 October 1868. Two more daughters were born: Lillie May Gatlin on 10 November 1868, and Mattie Gertrude Gatlin in February 1870.

In 1874, Mary's husband William was tried for murder. Samuel Haslam had been a boarder in the family's home. It is likely that he and Mary were having an affair. At the very least, he was a good friend to her at a time when she needed one. An article from the Nashville Union and American, 15 September 1874, indicates that Mary was abused by her husband and that Samuel Haslam was going to go with Mary to file for divorce.

 Nashville Union and American, 15 September 1874. Available from Chronicling America.

Nashville Union and American, 15 September 1874. Available from Chronicling America.

Nashville Union and American, 15 September 1874. Available from Chronicling America.

Mary had been hit and kicked by her husband. The next morning, William and Mary's son Clarence found Samuel Haslam lying in a pool of blood. He had been struck with an ax. Clarence ran to get his mother. Mary found her friend and probable lover bleeding to death. She tried to get him to tell her what had happened, but he could not speak, and he died shortly afterward.

William was acquitted due to insufficient evidence, but I believe that he was guilty. He had means, motive, and opportunity.

Mary remained married to her husband for the rest of her life. She was listed as head of household in the 1877 and 1878 Nashville city directories; in 1878, she was listed as widowed. I do not know where William was for those two years. Knowing what he was capable of, I would not be surprised if he was in prison for another crime.

 

Directory of Nashville, Edgefield, and Adjacent Towns in Tennessee, for 1877. Compiled by T. M. Haddock. Nashville, Tennessee: Tavel, Eastman & Howell. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Note: William Gatlin, bookbinder, is Mary's son (my great-great-grandfather). Mary's husband William was a brick mason.

Nashville and Edgefield City Directory for 1878. Nashville, Tennessee: Tavel, Eastman & Howell. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

By 1879, William was once again listed in the Nashville city directory, and the entire family was enumerated together in the 1880 United States census. Mary was probably too afraid to try to leave her husband again, knowing that he had committed murder and had gotten away with it. She may have feared that she would end up like Samuel.

Mary suffered another loss in May 1881, when her daughter Florence died in the 24th year of her age. On 9 September 1888, Mary died of dysentery. Only in death could she escape her husband. She was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville. When her husband died, he was buried beside her. Their graves are unmarked.

Mary Gatlin death record, 1888. Tennessee State Library and Archives; Nashville, Tennessee; Tennessee Death Records, 1908-1959; Roll #: M-2. Available from Ancestry.com. Tennessee, City Death Records, 1872-1923 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

 

Daily American, 10 September 1888