On Dec 23 1839, Lorenz/Lawrence Sammetinger (b. 1815) married Rosina Frederika Schurr. Rosina had a sister, Maria/Mary who married Johann/John Engelhaupt. John immigrated to America in 1833 on the ship "Ulysses" which docked in Baltimore on October 13, 1833. He is listed as a weaver, age 19, from Eckhard [Germany].* Lorenz Sammetinger had a brother, Johann/John who married Catharine Tobias on 12/24/1844. In the Federal Census of 1850, Pusheta Twp, Auglaize Co, OH, John and Catharine Sammetinger are listed with their two children, Lawrence, age 2 and Catharine age 6 months. But also in their household is a John Tobias, weaver, age 58, b. in PA (Catharine's father), Kunigunda "Sumidinger," age 69 (John's mother) plus a Catharine Engelhaupt, age 4 and a Hannah Engelhaupt, age 1. The mystery, which is the subject of this blog, is "why were these Engelhaupt children in the care of John and Catharine (Tobias) Sammetinger in 1850?" Aren't you just a bit curious also?
The answer is found through a more thorough look at the Engelhaupt family that came to America. As was mentioned, John Engelhaupt came to America in 1833 along with Caspar Müller, but no other family members. I will designate him as John Engelhaupt II, for reasons that will soon become apparent. According to a caption of a photo in the Wapak paper written by Norma Lunz (date unknown), "John Engelhaupt Sr. and Maria Schurr. John was born August 12, 1814 in Germany, died Dec. 11, 1892 in Freyburg. He was the son of Joannes Engelhaupt and Eliza Cleinheing..., Submitted by Steve Kaeck."

The photo was of John Engelhaupt II and wife, Maria. His father was Johannes/John. Therefore I will designate him as John Engelhaupt I. This will just help in understanding how little Catharine and Hannah Engelhaupt ended up with the Sammetingers in 1850—remember them?

The Federal Census, Pusheta Twp, Allen (now Auglaize) Co, OH which shows the following info:
John Engelhaupt—2 males 20-30 years old; 1 male 50-60 years old and 1 female 15-20 years old.

Couple that with the 1850 Census for Auglaize County, which shows the following adult male Engelhaupts:

John Engelhaupt, age 66, b. in Germany, living with the Sammetingers in Pusheta Twp, as previously noted

John Engelhaupt, age 35, b. in Germany, living alone in Duchouquet Twp

Adam Engelhaupt, age 31, b. in Germany, with family, living in Pusheta Twp

While we know of John II's immigration to the US, apparently, at least two other Engelhaupts also immigrated  from Germany to the US around the same time. As you can see, the three male Engelhaupts in the 1850 census fit neatly into the age brackets of the Engelhaupt household in 1840. As to the 15-20 year old female in the 1840 census, I had little hope of identifying her, until I came across a marriage record for a Mary Engelhaupt who married George Frederick Roth on 4/7/1840 in Allen Co, OH. Keep in mind that Pusheta Twp was a part of Allen County until Auglaize County was formed in 1848.

While I cannot PROVE that the Engelhaupts mentioned here are all part of the same family, the fact that there were no other adult Engelhaupts known to be in the area, as per marriage, cemetery or census records, I feel confident that I could say that John Engelhaupt I had three children, John II (who married Maria Schurr), Adam and Mary.

Now, on to the second part of solving the riddle of why the Engelhaupt girls were living in the Sammetinger home in 1850. This involves a review of marriage records of Allen/Auglaize Co. There are four marriage records for the name John Engelhaupt. I will deal with the fourth one first, as it appears to be the marriage of John Engelhaupt III. Yes, that's right. Who would have guessed that the name John would be passed down to another generation of Engelhaupts? The 1860 census confirms that John II had a son, John, age 7 in 1860. On 6/27/1878, John Engelhaupt married Mary Link. According to Birth and Death Records, at least four children were born to them. Now let's examine the other three marriage records:

John Engelhaupt married Katharine Hartand, 6/1/1841, Allen Co, OH

John Engelhaupt married Hannah Tobias, 2/11/1846, Allen Co, OH

John Engelhaupt married Mary Ann Shore, [Schurr], 11/6/1850 (photo above)

My theory is that all three of these marriages are John II. If so, he married Katharine Hartand at age 26, Hannah Tobias at age age 31, and Mary Schurr at age 36. All very plausible. Now let's say that after he married Hannah Tobias in 1846, they had 2 daughters, one born in late 1846 and one born in mid 1849. Then Hannah dies, leaving 2 small children without a mother. Hannah's sister, Catharine (Tobias) Sammetinger takes them in. [end of conjecture] thus in 1850, Catharine and Hannah Engelhaupt are found with the Sammetingers and their father, John Engelhaupt II, is found living alone in Duchouquet Twp, just to the north at the same time. In November of 1850, however, John marries Mary Schurr, and can once again take care of his children.

In the 1860 Census, Pusheta Twp, Auglaize Co, OH bears this out:

John Engelhart, age 45, born in Bavaria, Germany

Mary Engelhart, age 29, born in Würtemburg, Germany

Hannah Engelhart, age 10

John Engelhart, age 7

William Engelhart, age 5

Henry Engelhart, age 4

Paulina Engelhart, age 1

John Tobias, age 67, born in Pa.

Fits very neatly. Explains the presence of Engelhaupts in the John Sammetinger household, which at first blush seemed to only have a relationship to them through John Sammetinger's brother's wife's sister's husband (if you follow me). And while that is true, the relationship is much closer, as Hannah and Catharine Engelhaupt are actually John and Catharine (Tobias) Sammetinger's nieces. And the girls' grandfather, John Tobias, is living with them, in 1850 at the Sammetingers and with Hannah in 1860 at her father and step-mother's home.

Which brings up another question that I must leave YOU to solve, since I have been unable to: What happen to Hannah's sister, Catharine. She is not living with Hannah in 1860. Did she die? If so, where is her cemetery record? Was she put to work as a domestic or indentured? If so, why doesn't she show up in a census in the area? There is no record of a Catharine Engelhaupt marrying in the Auglaize County area, either, in case you are wondering.

As to Hannah Engelhaupt's subsequent life, it appears that she married a Jacob Roode. I have found birth and/or death records for the following children attributed to Jacob and Hannah Engelhaupt Roode: John Adam Roode (b. 1875), Katharina Flora Roode (b. 1882), Louisa Mary Roode (b. ca 1874), George Benjamin Roode (b. 1878). But as for a marriage record, I can only find a marriage for Jacob Roode to an Anna M. Engelhaupt, 11/19/1872, Auglaize Co, OH. Could "Anna M." be a spelling error? Hannah and Anna sound a lot alike. And the birthdates of all of the children of Hannah and Jacob are subsequent, and yet relatively close to the marriage date of Anna and Jacob. The questions never cease, so neither do I. As always, any input on any of my forays into family history are greatly appreciated.

*On a side note, a 20 year old Caspar Müller, also a weaver and also from Eckhard is listed on the line just below Johann Engelhaupt in the passenger list. Anybody know if a Caspar Müller/Miller also settled in the Auglaize Co area?

Close Knit Community

By 1840, my Kantner and Sammetinger ancestors had settled in Pusheta Township, Allen (now Auglaize) County, Ohio. Farmers all. On just one page of the 1840 census (SeriesM704, Roll 375, Page 138), I found two brothers, George and Emanuel Kantner, and father and son, Christian and Lorenz (Lawrence) Sammetinger with their unnamed household members. What interested me was the way in which other names appearing on the same page, thus living in relatively close proximity, are interwoven into our families. I'll come back to that shortly.

NOTE: In the 1840 census, only the heads of households were named. The rest of the household were only known in terms of free males, free females, free male colored persons, free female colored persons, and male slaves, female slaves. Within each of these catagories, the number of individuals within certain age brackets were provided. But whether these persons were related or not or how they were related if so were not given. So if an aunt or a grandmother or a farmhand was living with the family, one would not be aware of it. Thankfully, beginning with the 1850 census, the names and actual ages were added, but it wasn't until the 1880 census that the relationship of the individual to the head of household was provided. The following image is a portion of the page of interest. It contains the complete list of names on the page, but I cut out some of the info which doesn't pertain to the relationship questions.

George (line 8) and Emanuel (3rd line from the bottom) were sons of John (Johannes) M. Kantner, b. 1774. George had a daughter, Catherine, who "appears" in this census as one of the two free white females under 5 years of age in George's household. In 1857 she married John, son of Francis Shaffer (line 3), who "appears" as one of two white free males 5-10 years of age. George and Emanuel had a sister, Otilda who married William Bechdolt, Jr. in 1833. She "appears" on this page, on line 7, as a free white female, age 20-30. George and Emanuel also had a brother, Martin, whose son, John Martin married Wilhelmina Huttis in 1855. Wilhelmina was the daughter of Conrad Huttis (Hotes) and "appears" on the 7th line from the bottom, as a free white female, under age 5.
While the above named relationships are quite clear, in my opinion, the following is not certain, but presented for your consideration and further study. In regard to the Kantner clan:
1) George Kantner married Leah Oswalt (or Oswald), buried Haruff Cemetery, Pusheta Twp. I have her father as John Oswald, and her birthdate as 4/6/1812, PA. Perhaps a relationship to Daniel Oswald (line 15)?

2) George Kantner's grandson (son of John Shaffer and Catherine Kantner), George Frank Shaffer, married Anna C. Fisher, daughter of Antony Fischer and Anna Theresa Wiss, and granddaughter of John Fischer, buried in the Old St. Johns Cemetery, Pusheta Twp. Any relationship to Michael Fischer (line 4)?

Moving on to the Sammetingers:
1) Christian Sammetinger (line 14) is shown with the following in his household:
1 male 10-15       corresponds to Michal, b. abt 1827
1 male 15-20       corresponds to Johann, b. abt 1820
1 male 60-70       corresponds to Johann Christian Wilhelm Sammetinger, b. 6/11/1778
1 female 40-50    corresponds within 2 years to Kunigunda (Kraft) Sammetinger, b. 1788 (via immigration record).

2) Lorenz Sammetinger (line 13), son of Christian Sammetinger:
1 male 20-30      corresponds to Laurence Sammetinger, b. 1815
1 female 20-30   corresponds within 3 years to Rosina Fredrika (Shurr) Sammetinger, b. 1823

Lorenz Sammetinger's wife, Rosina Shurr had a sister, Maria who married John Engelhaupt, b. 1814. John's father was Johannes, i.e. John Engelhaupt. On the 11th line from the bottom is the household John Englehaupt, including 2 males 20-30, 1 male 50-60, and 1 female 15-20. I theorize that Maria's husband, John, is one of the 2 males 20-30 listed in the John Engelhaupt household.

In addition to the above "pretty certain" connection, I would point out the appearance of two Ruck households that may very well be connected to the Sammetingers, but my explorations into the Ruck family barely scratch the surface.  There is a Jacob Ruck on the 12th line from the top and a George H. Ruck on the 12th line from the bottom. I know that there is a
1) Mary Anna Ruck married Johann Sammetinger, son of Lorenz, son of Christian.
2) Catharine Ruck married a William H. Sammetinger, but I'm not sure who his father was. This merits further study.
3) Danniel Ruck married Margaret Engelhaupt, daughter of John and Maria (Shurr) Engelhaupt.

Any of you up on your Rucks? Perhaps you could bring me up to speed!

In the post with the transcription of the Henry William Smith Family Bible, the record of Kathaleen Smith and Bryan Hefner's marriage incorrectly had the date as March 17, 1938. The correct date is April 17, 1938. Thanks MMM for pointing that out. I've edited the original post to note the discrepancy, so those that might want to copy the dates from that post will be informed.

I'm going to share some info that MIGHT be helpful concerning Catharine Amarella Wilson's parents. I'm just throwing this out with the hope that someone might be able to find conclusive evidence that these documents either do or don't apply to Catharine's parents. I know this has been one of those stumbling blocks in tracing our family roots.

First, it is the unofficial position of the family that Catharine's parents were Thomas Wilson and Mary Chesta or Christy. As far as I know there is no documents to substantiate that. Perhaps this info was passed down verbally, from generation to generation. Any thoughts on that?

What we do know is that Frank Michael Smith and Catherine Amarella Wilson were married in Monroeville, Allen Co, IN on 11/4/1869 (Early Marriages of Allen County, Indiana, 1849-1874, Vol. II, compiled by Josephine Crabill Ehle, published by Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter N.S.D.A.R., Fort Wayne, Indiana) and with the date substantiated by the Marriage Records in the Schmidt Family Bible (Henry William Smith Bible) p. 1 “Family Record, Marriages: Frank M. Schmitt & Catharine A. Schmitt, Nov. 4th, 1869”

In the 1870 Census of Monroeville, Allen Co, IN:
Wilson, Mary, age 51, b. in PA
---------, Martha D., age 11, b. in OH
---------, William L., age 9, b. in OH
---------, Nancy C., age 7, b. in OH

If we accept that this is Catharine (Wilson) Schmidt's mother and children, we might posit from this that Thomas died between 1862 and 1870 (since he is missing from census and youngest child was born 1862-1863), perhaps a civil war casualty, that daughters Mary, Catharine, Allethea, Sabina have left the nest, that perhaps Mary, Thomas's widow moved to Monroeville after his death to live near a grown child

In the 1860 Census of Crawford Twp, Coshocton Co, OH:
Wilson, Thomas, age 42, farm laborer, b. in OH
---------, Mary, age 39, b. in PA
---------, Cath., age 13, b. in OH
---------, Allethea, age 12, b. in OH
---------, Sabina, age 10, b. in OH
---------, Martha, age 1, b. in OH
---------, Mary, age 17, Domestic, b. in OH

In the 1850 Census of White Eyes Twp, Coshocton Co, OH:
Wilson, Thomas, age 32, laborer, b. in OH
---------, Mary, age 28, b. in PA
---------, Harvey, age 10, b. in OH
---------, Mary Ann, age 8, b. in OH
---------, Catharine, age 4, b. in OH
---------, Ann, age 3, b. in OH
---------, Olivia, age 11/12, b. in OH

Next I present documents that may provide insight into the marriage of Thomas and Mary Wilson.
Since I found them living in Coshocton Co, OH in 1850, with a child 10 years old, I assumed they may have been married there around 1839. I was unable to find a marriage record in Coshocton Co, but after seeing a family tree that suggested that they were Thomas Wilson and Mary Christy married in Holmes Co in 1846 I got thinking. What if Harvey and Mary Ann were children from a previous marriage? Nothing from the info I had would argue against that possibility. Also, Holmes County is just to the north of Coshocton Co. So I looked for other marriage records for Thomas Wilson prior to 1846. I found:
Holmes Co, OH: Thomas Wilson married Margaret Jane McCaughey, 3/5/1840
Holmes Co, OH: Thomas Wilson married Sarah Jane Boyd, 4/3/1841
Holmes Co, OH: Thomas Wilson married Mary Christy, 3/5/1846

Could it be that Thomas was married twice, or even three times, and that our ancestor, Mary Chesta/Christy was step-mother to Thomas's first 2 children?

Interestingly, there is an 1840 Census, Holmes Co, OH that has a Thomas Wilson, age 20-30 and a female age 15-20, with no other children. Possibly, our Thomas's first wife?
Also an 1840 Census record in Coshocton Co, OH for a Henry Christy with daughters the right age for one of them to have been Mary.

If you want to look at the documents I can email a copy to you as I keep a digital copy of all the records I find.

Next time I'll delve into the little bit I've learned about two of Catharine (Wilson) Smith's sisters that may also help in putting the Wilson pieces together.

I hate retractions, but sometimes it happens. So hold the phone on Jacob Demaris. Seems he married a Martha A. Kauffman, not Martha Wilson. I'll try to slow down on making assumptions

In my 3/29 post I mentioned that I was trying to figure out who Martha Demaris was that appears in the 1900 Census with Frank and Catharine Smith, and listed as sister-in-law. Mom comes through again. She found a Jacob B. Demaris in the General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, in which a Martha A. Demaris sought a widow's pension for his service in the K 59 Ohio Infantry after Jacob's death in 1916.
So I asked Mom, why sister Martha might have been living with the Smith's in 1900. She posited that since Catharine had lost a leg, perhaps Martha had come to stay and help during her convalescence. We don't really know when she lost her leg, but know it was later in her life. A life crisis like that could account for an extended stay that would have put her there during the census.

Was wondering why I was getting no comments on my blog posts. After viewing the auto emails generated when I post, I have come to realize that you are getting an email containing the post, but not an obvious link to the blog itself. There is a link to the blog at the end of the email, "Kantner Trace" which if you click on that link, the Kantner Trace website will open. The advantage of this, is that you will be able to see all of my posts, plus you can add comments to any of the posts you want to add your thoughts to. Hope that helps.