Saturday, April 27, 2013

April 27th

Birthdays:

1600 John Morehead in Edinburgh, Scotland the son of David & Marioun (Lowsone) Morehead

1796 Casper Johnson son of Caspar & Deborah (Adamson) Johnson in Pennsylvania.  He died there in 1876.


1822 Hiram Ulysses Grant in Point Pleasant, OH to Jesse & Hannah (Simpson) Grant.  He later changed his name to Ulysses S. Grant.  He was appointed to West Point at age 17 and he graduated with the infamous Class of 1843.  During the Civil War, Lincoln eventually gave him command over Union forces.  After the war Grant was elected president of the United States and served from 1869-1877.  Grant retired to a home in upstate New York where he died in 1885 of throat cancer.

Fannie Runyon Gurley
1861 Fannie Elston Runyon daughter of James & Nancy (Young) Runyon in Kentucky.  She married Louis Gurley in 1890.  They had no children.  Fannie died in Wayne City, IL in 1943 and is buried in Thomason Cemetery in Wayne City.  Her middle name may be a family name.  It has been used by three members of the Runyon/Gurley family that I know of.

1911 Gene Miller in Alma, NE son of Charles & Jennie (Druliner) Miller 

Perry Ayers son of John & Alice (Richardson) Ayers

Anniversaries:

1694 Moses Loomis & Joanna Gibbs.  Moses was born Windsor, CT in 1671 the son of Nathaniel & Elizabeth (More) Loomis.  Joanna was born in 1671.  In 1700 the couple moved to East Windsor, CT.  Moses died in 1754.
 
Jacob & Fredericka (Probst) Erkman
1876 Jacob Erkman & Fredericka (Probst) Dietz in Posey Co. IN.  This was a second marriage for both.  Jacob was born 1835 in Germany and immigrated with his parents Jacob & Catherine (Warner) Erkman in 1839.  The family stopped in Holmes Co., OH and Posey Co. IN before settling in White Co. IL.  Jacob married first Eva Magdalena Bechtold maybe in Ohio.  They had at least six children before Eva’s death in 1874 in White Co. 

Fredericka was born in 1845 in Prussia to Andrew & Sophia Probst.  The family is first found in Posey Co. IN in the 1860 census.  She first married Michael Dietz 1861 in Posey Co. IN.  They had at least six children.  Michael served in the Co. A of the Indiana 91st Infantry during the Civil War.  They moved to White Co., IL ca. 1869 where Michael became a naturalized citizen in 1872.  He died of cholera in 1873 and is buried in the Old Carmi Cemetery. 

When they married Jacob & Fredericka had eleven children from their first marriages and together they had nine more.  There was 33 years difference between Jacob’s oldest child George and his youngest child Henry.   Jacob was a farmer and owned peacocks, a sign of wealth at the time.  He spoke some English which Fredericka never learned.  Neither could she read or write.  All the children grew up speaking German.  German was taught as first language in German communities in southern Illinois until the outbreak of World War I.

In 1888 the Dietz kids urged Fredericka to apply for Michael Dietz’ military pension. The process continued through 1900.  In order to obtain the widow’s and dependent pensions the family needed to produce documents proving the marriage and births of the children.  In lieu of documents affidavits and declarations were produced and sworn to before notary publics and the county clerk.  These affidavits provide a fair amount of information about Fredericka’s life.

General Affidavit Jan. 23, 1892
Affidavit is the claimant above described and relative to her marriage to the soldier further declares that her maiden name was Frederica Probst, under which name she contracted for marriage with the soldier Michael Dietz, and the marriage ceremony was performed August 3” 1861 by Rev. H. C. Seybold.  There is no public record of the marriage in or under the names above written, but affiant submits a certified transcript of the record of said marriage, under seal of the circuit court of Posey Co. Ind., dated August 17, 1891, showing the issue of a license to marry and the solemnization of said marriage between Michael Deitz and Louisa Probst, and declares that she (affiant) is the identical person therein erroneously described as Louisa Probst. 

The soldier and the father of the affiant procured the license issued August 3” 1861 and being both unfamiliar with the English language, secured the services of one Chas. Lennig (now deceased) to accompany them to Mt. Vernon, Ind. where said license was procured, and to such ignorance of the English language must be attributed their acceptance of the licenses containing an erroneous name.

The person who performed the ceremony was unacquainted with the soldier and affiant, and if the name Louisa was read to affiant, or if she was thus addressed by the clergy man, she has no recollection of it.  Affiant had a younger sister named Louisa, and can account for the confusion of names in no other way, than the unintentional mention before the official who issued the marriage license of the name of said Louisa.

General Affidavit Feb. 4, 1892
That she is the mother of Magdalena Dietz and that said Magdalena Dietz was born on the 3rd day of July 1868; that there was a baptismal record of her birth but the same was destroyed by fire in the year 1874 in the dwelling house of this deponent; that she has no record evidence of the date of her birth and none exists so far as deponent knows.

General Affidavit Feb. 26, 1892
In a former affidavit she stated that Louisa E. Dietz was born May 13th 1866 when in fact said child was born May 22d 1866 the reason said mistake occurred in the dates was her house burned up and she lost all papers pertaining to the birth of said child and she made the affidavit in regard to said child’s age from memory upon examination of the church records she found said child was born May 22d 1866 she therefore makes this affidavit to correct an error in former affidavit.

Jacob died in 1908 and left each child $5 on their maturity (the boys at 18 and the girls at 21).  Fredericka left all her real and personal property to her youngest sons Joseph & Henry Erkman.  She died in 1913.  She and Jacob are buried in Newman Cemetery in White Co. IL not far from their home.  

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