Our German Immigrants: The Pfeil family - Part 2

(This is Part 2 of a longer blog post.  If you have not yet read Part 1, you can find it here.)

Once Elisabetha Pfeil had married and become Elizabeth Gardner (her name in the US was spelled in an American English way), the couple made their home in Chenango County, New York.  The couple lived in Guilford from at least 1900 through at least 1920 according to US Federal Censuses.  Specifically, the US Federal Census for the years 1900, 1905, 1910.  They had four sons, the third dying shortly after birth and unnamed.  The surviving sons were:

William Lewis Gardner (born 4 Nov 1890 in Oxford, Chenango, NY)
Charles Anton Gardner (born 21 Sep 1894 in Oxford)
Henry Joseph Gardner (born 20 Dec 1896 in Guilford)

Though the boys bore English sounding names, Pfeil family bible notes indicate the German versions: William Ludwig (Ludwig was Elisabetha's father's first name), Schalle Anton (Anton was Elisabetha's older brother's name), and Heinrich Josef (Heinrich was her twin brother's name, and Josef was her husband's father's name).

Numerous newspaper clips in the area give a glimpse of the Gardner family's home life.  They are mentioned numerous times visiting with Elizabeth's brother Anton Pfeil and his family.  One might assume that it was an opportunity to not only spend time with family, but also speak German with others.  Two generations later on the line, German would be completely lost save for a few words.

As for Elisabetha's siblings, here is what I have managed to learn about them:

Anton Pfeil (23 March 1859 - 12 Dec 1939) the oldest of the Pfeil siblings, was always married with children at the time of immigration from Germany to the US.  He married Susanna Rueber (daughter of Jacob Rueber and Magdalena Groh) around 1883 in Germany, and the couple had three children there:  Heinrich/Henry (1884), Elizabeth Katherine (1886), and Emma Rose (1887).  After the family's big move to the US, Anna S. was born in 1889.  The family made their home in Chenango County, New York.  His son Heinrich would marry Marie (Mary) Dorner and have three sons and a daughter.  (I need to do descendants research on that line to look for currently-living Pfeils).  Elizabeth Katherine would marry Charles Shapley and have one son Henry Charles Shapley.  Emma Rosa, sadly died in 1889 after the voyage to New York.  Anna would marry Francis William Campbell and have two daughters.

Heinrich Pfeil (26 Feb 1861 - Feb 1908), Elisabetha's twin brother, is someone I know much less about.  I have record of his naturalization 10 Sep 1887.  A Utica, New York newspaper reports on his February 1908 death in Youngstown, Ohio where he must have moved.  I have no idea what inspired the move, or what his life was like, and no record of spouses or children.

Maria Pfeil (31 Dec 1868 - 9 Jan 1869) died shortly after her birth back in Germany.

Rosine Pfeil (1 May 1871 - 24 Mar 1944) was just 17 when she arrived with the rest of the family in America.  A few years later she married Ludwig/Lewis Higler (1862-1957), a first cousin through the Frank line, and lived a fairly long life with him, where it seems that both were active with an area Catholic church.  I have no record of any children from the marriage.  Lewis would outlive her by more than a decade.  I have learned more about him than many of the Pfeils and have some fantastic records I would love to share with anyone interested in Higler research.

By 1925, Elisabetha Pfeil and William Gardner had moved to Norwich into a nice home on 10 Morse Avenue (according to US Census records).  I had the opportunity on a recent visit to photograph the home currently at 10 Morse Avenue.  I am not certain how much the current house or its appearance is like the original, but it was interesting to see the location where the couple lived their later years.

10 Morse Avenue, Norwich, NY
as of July 2015

William died on 13 Apr 1933 in Norwich.  Elisabetha would survive more than a decade after.  She passed away in March 1945, also in Norwich.  Their descendants and the descendants of her siblings are out there "somewhere"... Some I am in touch with and many more not yet.  I would love to hear from anyone connected to the Pfeil or related lines, so please don't hesitate to reach out!

Elisabetha Pfeil's Trunk & Bible

Several months after writing Part 1 of the Pfeil family's story, I had the opportunity to find Elizabeth Pfeil's "fabled" trunk that she had used to travel from Germany to New York so many years ago.

I traveled back to southern New York state with my mother for a sad reason: the memorial services of my maternal grandmother.  After a sad morning service, several of us went to my Uncle's home to reminisce and talk about happier times while looking through boxes of family photos and documents.  We were able to quickly locate the trunk in the basement.  It had seen better days, and had some mold and water damage, and was being used to store a few deteriorating blankets and items (none which seemed connected with Elizabeth necessarily).  But we dusted it off and brought it upstairs for some photos.

It was a simple wooden trunk with metal handles and keyhole.  (Didn't locate the key, but didn't matter as it was not locked anyway.)  It was stamped or stenciled simply with her name, port of departure (Bremen), port of arrival (New York), name of vessel (die Werra) and date of departure (16 September) of 1885.

Just as exciting though, was locating the Pfeil family bible, which despite missing the first several pages (likely a few blank pages which may have contained writing) and parts of Genesis, held handwritten family information in both the front and back, and a few dried, pressed leaves in between the pages.  Mold and moisture had started to deteriorate the book, and the pages had separated from the spine, but I brought it back home with me to Colorado, and did my best to gently dust and clean the exterior cover and the front and back interior and edges of the pages so as to delay further damage.  I also made sure the book got a few days in the sun but in the dry Colorado air so I think I have probably killed much of the mold and mildew and delayed further deterioration for now.  Next step will be looking into preservation and storage.

But first, the written pages!  Here are photographs of the writing on those pages.  (I am going to do my best over the coming days to transcribe and translate what I can make out, filling in the captions below.)

"Lisbeth und Heinrich Pfeil zu ihrer Confirmation von Frau von Gemmingen, Damhof 1875.
Wilhelm Ludwig Gärtner geboren am Dienstag Nachts 10 Uhr 4. November 1890.
Heinrich Joseph Gärtner geboren am Donnerstag Morgens um 5 Uhr 15. Dezember 1892."
Translation:
"Lisbeth and Henrich Pfeil, for their Confirmation, by Mrs. Von Gemmingen, Damhof 1875.
Wilhelm Ludwig Gartner born on Tuesday night, 10 November 1890.
Heinrich Joseph Gartner born on Thursday morning 5 o'clock December 15, 1892."

[Notes: Special thanks to the help of several individuals on the German Genealogy Group on Facebook who translated and also offered historical context.  I learned that Frau von Gemmingen was likely Julie von Gemmingen, wife to Ernst Ludwig von Gemmingen and that it was the custom for wealthier ladies of estates like that on Dammhof, to give a small gift like a Bible to children on their Confirmation. Secondly, wanted to note that the Heinrich  mentioned above died shortly after birth.  Elisabetha would later have another son who was given the same name.]

On this page appears to be recipes for preserving meat:
100 Pfund Fleisch; 8 Pfund Salz, 1 Kwart Melasse; 2 aunses Saltbiter; 1/2 Pfund Sote; Kellen Wasser
(100 pounds of meat, 8 pounds of salt, 1 quart molasses, 2 ounces saltpeter, 1/2 pound sote?; Kellen water)

16 Pfund Fleisch, 1 Stab Salz, 1/2 Steg? Satz?; 3 diespun Pfeffer; 1 diespun Ailspeis?
(16 pounds of meat, 1 rod salt, 1/2 steg satz, 3 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon Allspice?)

1 William Ludwig Gartner gaboren den 4 November am Dienstag Nacht 10 Uhr / 1890.
2 Schalle Anton Gartner / geboren am Samstag = morgens um 5 Uhr am / 21. September 1894.
3 Heinrich Josef Gartner geboren am 20 Dezember / am Sontagmorgens um / 5 Uhr 1896.

Translation:
1 William Ludwig Gartner born the 4th of November on Tuesday night 10 o'clock 1890.
2 Schalle (Charles) Anton Gartner born on Saturday morning at 5'oclock at the 21st of September 1894
3 Heinrich Josef Gartner / born on 20th December on Sunday morning at 5 o'clock 1896

On this page:
Ludwig Pfeil gaboren am 22 Marz 18
Elisabetha Pfeil gaboren am 10 August
Anton Pfeil gaboren am 23 Marz 1859
Heinrich Pfeil gaboren am 26 Februar 1861
Elisabetha Pfeil gaboren am 26 Februar 1861.
Rosina Pfeil 1 Mai 1877
Translation:
Ludwig Pfeil born on 22 March 1818
(other records state 23 March 1828 was his birthdate)
Elisabetha Pfeil born on 10 August
(year is missing, worth noting also that other records show a different date in August for her birth)
Anton Pfeil born on 23 March 1859
Heinrich Pfeil born on 26 February 1861
Elisabetha Pfeil born on 26 February 1861
Rosina Pfeil 1 May 1877

We also found a number of old photos, negatives and documents stored in cardboard boxes in my Uncle's basement.  Some of them we have not identified, but are may be descendants of Elisabetha and her husband.  I am scanning many of them now, so stay tuned!

Our German Immigrants: The Pfeil family - Part 1

Here's a post for my Gardner and Pfeil cousins, and those of us descended from William Gardner (born about 1861 in Germany) and Elizabeth Pfeil (also born in Germany).  This family has always interested me because I always like an immigrant's story.  What is more adventurous than choosing to live a new life in an unfamiliar place where you may not even speak the language?  And back in the days where it was very unlikely you'd ever return to your first homeland and the people who were most dear to you.  That must have taken a tremendous amount of courage, but it's how we all ultimately are here in America today.

I have had very different success with learning about our two original German immigrants in this part of the family.  William Gardner, or originally Wilhelm Gartner as he was probably known in earlier days, is currently a bit of a brick wall in my research.  I know little about his exact origins or parents, and I plan on go into more detail about what I do know in another post.

I can paint a much richer picture of his wife Elizabeth Pfeil (aka Elisabetha) and her family.  From their original home in Germany to their lives here in the US.  So I start with their story first:

Elizabeth Pfeil was my great-great grandmother.  She was born in or near Adelshofen or Eppingen in Baden, Germany on 26 February 1861, one of twins.  Her twin brother's name was Heinrich Pfeil. We know this because I located their christening record in microfilm from an old German church archive graciously translated for me by a German acquaintance.

Their births were recorded at the time of their baptism, the latter which took place on 10 March 1861.  Their parents were Ludwig Pfeil (born 1828) and Elisabetha Frank (born 1828).

The same set of records were a goldmine of information.  They also revealed the twins' family members, including their parents' birth and baptisms.  And a few siblings: older brother Anton Pfeil (b. 1859), younger sister Maria Pfeil (born and died shortly after in 1869).  Youngest sister Rosine Pfeil is missing from the records.

I was curious to learn more about the town of the family's birth and christening.  Adelshofen can be easily found through a simple web search.  It was a small village in Baden, Germany located near to (and now incorporated within) Eppingen.  Here are a few photos from the town including the town hall and a typical street.  I am uncertain about which particular church the family belonged to.  There only seem to be a few but need to do some more research to confirm.  This is definitely a place I would love to visit one day to get a feel for what the family's lives must have been like.

The family must have sought new opportunity (I imagine), as many families did in southern Germany at the time.  Ludwig, at least the time of Elisabetha and Heinrich's birth, was working as a "coachman".  For whatever specific reason we see that young Elisabetha left for America in 1885 and would be followed just a few years later by her family.  Elisabetha arrived 26 September 1885 in New York on a ship called Die Werra.  She can be found in the ship's passenger record, which is where I obtained the information.  On an interesting side note, my grandmother claims to have had a chest or trunk stored away in the past, which had the words "Die Werra" on it.  Until I found this passenger record, I had no idea what the words meant.  I have yet to have had the opportunity to look for the trunk to see if there is other identifying information on it. (UPDATE: We found the trunk!)

Image of the Die Werra taking from Ancestry.com

I know nothing about Elisabetha's life those early years, but find record of her once again in 1890 when she marries William Gardner (aka Gartner).  Here are their marriage records:

By then, several of Elizabeth's family members had joined her from Germany.  We find record of their immigration in ship's passenger records on 23 May 1888.  On the ship are her parents Lugwig and Elisabetha, her brother Anton and his probable wife Susana and their probable small children Heinrich and Elise.  We also see a 9 1/2 year old girl named Emma Pfeil who I am not certain of the identity.

The family would go on to settle in Chenango County, New York, where Elizabetha Pfeil (now a Gardner) and her husband William were as well.

More on the Pfeils and Gardners and their lives here in Part 2.