from "The Christian Wintermantel Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens - 2013
Christian and Matilda's second child was Matilda Caroline Wintermantel (1868 Franklin, WI-1949 Spokane, WA), called Tillie. The 1940 census shows us that Tillie only stayed in school through 6th grade. She married Heinrich C. Weber in Canby in 1892. Henry, as he was called, was an Evangelical pastor. Most of his adult life he earrned a living as a fruit farmer near Yakima. He was one of the founders of the Canby church. Tillie and Henry had six children. One died at birth. Wayne Wardle, Tillie's nephew wrote to me about two other sons:
"(Tilly and Henry) had 2 sons, Walter and Fred, that drowned in the Yakima River. "
But not at the same time. Walter was 60, old enough that he left Tillie five granchildren. Fred was only 26. Here is an article about Fred's drowning from Yakima Daily Republic, Part 1, p. 3, Wednesday, July 17, 1918:
"HEROIC EFFORT TO SAVE CHUM'S LIFE - Fred Weber drowns while trying to ford Naches River at Horseshoe Bend - Though his companion, Samuel Shuman, made heroic efforts to save his life Fred Weber was drowned late yesterday afternoon while attempting to ford the Yakima River at Horseshoe Bend.
When the water at Clear creek, where they were fishing, became muddy early in the afternoon, the two young men started for Yakima in their car. At Horseshoe Bend they saw clear water and decided to try their luck. Weber, lured by a deep hole on the opposite side of the river, suggested fording the stream. Shuman at first objected, but finally expressed his willingness to go. When he was across he saw Weber floating down the stream a distance below him.
HOW IT HAPPENED
"Weber was carried under the water for about 100 feet," says Mrs. George Longmire who was called to the scene of the accident by Mr. and Mrs. H. J. Pontius, the only eye-witnesses."Shuman went after him as fast as he could. Part of the time he went under water. Later he said that he could not have done it at any other time and wondered how he was able to do it at all.
"When he reached the body, wedged in between rocks, he was still 20 feet from the shore. He pulled Weber to the surface, though the current there is strong, and picked him up in his arms as he started to walk the remaining distance. We who watched did not think he could get across at all. The stream is so swift that it is not easy at any time. Hampered by the weight of the body, Shuman staggered slowly along, at times appearing to stand still for several minutes while gathering his strength for another step.
Funeral Services Tomorrow
"First aid measures were tried the minute he reached the shore. B. J. Coe, who had been fishing, and saw Shuman on the rocks, swam across to help; but it was too late. Weber's body had a bad bruise between the eyes and also a bruise over the heart, so it may be that he did not die from drowning at all. He may have slipped as a result of a sudden attack of heart trouble, which he had.
After the unavailing efforts to resuscitate his comrade, Shuman went to Yakima and back to look after affairs. H. A. Shaw, acting coroner, brought the body to Yakima last night. Funeral services will be held tomorrow at the Evangelical Nob Hill Church at one o'clock.
Fred Weber, 26 years old, is the son of Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Weber of Nob Hill. He and Shuman are neighbors and were chums during their years at the Yakima high school, of which both are graduates. George Longmire, Mr. Pontius, Shuman, and Coe carried the body to the Fechter cabin."In 1910 Tillie and Henry were fruit farming in Yakima County, Washington. By 1920 they were settled on their place at West Summitview, Yakima County, WA, where they remained the rest of their lives.
William Frederick WINTERMANTEL
death certificate gives a birthdate of 2 Nov 1871. I believe that date to be in error because of siblings birthdates.
from "The Christian Wintermantel Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens - 2013
Christian and Matilda's third child wasWilliam Frederick Wintermantel (1869 Winterset, IA – 1917 Marion Co., OR) married Edna Monroe Nye, from Jefferson, Oregon. He's the one who was named after his father's brother, William Frederick Wintermantel (b. 1838) with whom Christian's family was living when William F. (1869) was born. They had three children. The first was Ethel Marjorie. Ethel was the news correspondent for her community newspaper for many years. Ethel had two husbands named Blinston. When the first died she married his brother so she was always Mrs. Blinston. Ethel had one child.
William and Edna's second child, William Frederick Wintermantel, Jr., died of pneumonia when he was only 23. But he was married at the time and did leave one descendant.
William and Edna's third child was Elda M. Wintermantel. Elda had an interesting life. When she was young she was a barnstormer and did trick flying. She married John Potts who died of cancer within a month, so then she married his brother, George Potts. Isn't that strange that two sisters would each marry twice, the second husband of each being the first husband's brother! Elda and George had very bad luck with their children. Elda gave birth three times. In 1941 their baby daughter was stillborn. In 1960 their two sons John Gary Potts, 22, and George Potts, Jr., 17, died in a boating accident on Antelope Reservoir in NE Oregon. William Wintermantel (1869) ended up with one grandchild.
from "The Christian Wintermantel Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens - 2013
Christian and Matilda's fourth child wasAlbert Earnest Wintermantel (1871 Winterset, IA – 1925 Spokane, WA) married Eva Bickel . They had only one child. According to the censuses they lived in Lincoln County, Washington most of their married life. Albert also had his mother-in-law living with him most of his married life. They had only one child, Verna Maude. One of Verna's children, Earl Wash, sent this illuminating story about his grandfather, Albert Earnest Wintermantel:
"The Germans, at least at that time, were a very clannish group. That is to say, “We will all speak German in our schools and churches, all our sons and daughters will marry only to Germans and will all be very happy ever after.” (Or until further notice.) “Further notice” came one day in 1895 when son Albert decided to fall in love and marry a pretty little auburn haired Scottish girl by the name of Eva Verna Bickal. As a result of this union, she was by most of the family treated as an outcast. There were three of his siblings she did manage to befriend. Albert (granddad), being somewhat of a young rebel, tired of what he found was happening, decided to remove an edge of the German stigma by changing ever so slightly the spelling of his last name. Others around him were told that, 'In the presence of my wife, we will speak English.'"
from "The Christian Wintermantel Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens - 2013
Christian and Matilda's fifth child was Hedwig A. Wintermantel (1873 Geneva twsp, Franklin Co, IA – 1957 Chehalis, WA), called Hettie, married John Ehret, a minister involved with the Canby church. Throughout his life he worked as either a clergyman or a farmer, probably both at the same time. The 1930 census shows him as a fruit farmer near Yakima, Washington. In the 1940 Census he and Hettie are living in West Summit View, Yakima County, Washington, the same municipality as Hettie's sister Tillie. In 1940, John lists his occupation as retired minister. They had three children Arthur William Ehret was a teacher and administrator in Centralia, Washington and was a very active community member. Their second child, Walter W. Ehret died in an automobile accident at the age of 23. Are you counting how many of Christian's grandchildren and great grandchildren died in accidents? Their daughter, Helen married a railroad worker and was living and raising her family in Spokane in 1940.
per Wayne Wardle letter 3Jun2003
"Emma and Herman lived on a small farm in the Portland area."from "The Christian Wintermantel Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens - 2013
Christian and Matilda's sixth child was Herman Otto Wintermantel (1874 Geneva Township, Franklin Co, IA – 1856 Portland, Multnomah, OR) married Emma Lena Wenger. Wayne Wardle told me, “Emma and Herman lived on a small farm in the Portland area." But in the 1920 census, Herman was working as a house carpenter in Yakima, Washington, and in the 1930 census, working as a carpenter in a box factory in Tillamook County, Oregon. That is the county his sister, Amelia, was living in. Perhaps they moved to the farm when Herman retired. Herman and Emma had three children: Mabel, Pearl and Lloyd. Mabel had a great tragedy in her life when her husband, Marvin Gholson and six year old daughter Audrey drowned in a boating accident on the Columbia River. Here is an article I found about it; Idaho Falls-Post Register, Monday Aug. 20, 1934:
FIVE DROWN WHEN BOAT OVERTURNS
Four Other Members of the Portland Party are Saved From River
Portland, Ore. Aug. 20 (AP) Surviving members of three Portland families today mourned five relatives drowned on a Sunday afternoon boating party on the Columbia River. One family lost mother and son; another mourned a father and daughter; and a third lost a son.
The five were drowned when a narrow 15-foot outboard motor boat turned suddenly and capsized. Mrs. O. G. McCann and her son Delbert, were killed. Mr. McCann and his daughter Orva, were saved. Police still were dragging the river for the bodies of Marvin Gholson, 37, and his six year old daughter, Audrey. Mrs. Gholson and her daughter, Jean, 7, stayed afloat with an automobile inner tube until they were pulled to shore. Billy Nelson, a youth, clung to the overturned boat for a time, but sank before rescuers could reach him.
C.G. Johnson, a witness to the accident; Arthur Reeves, Robert Blair and Jack Buckner, caddies from a nearby golf course, and a man known only as "Carl" rescued the four persons and also pulled out three bodies. Police resuscitation equipment proved ineffective.Herman and Emma's other two children were Pearl and Lloyd. Herman died on his birthday, in Portland at the age of 82.
from "The Christian Wintermantel Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens - 2013
Christian and Matilda's seventh child was Amelia Ella Wintermantel (1877 Geneva twsp, Franklin Co, IA – 1950 Longview, WA) married another one of the church men from Canby, Theodore Robert Hornschuh called Theo. According to the census Theo was a clergyman in Tacoma WA in 1910, a dairyman in Tillamook County, Oregon in 1920 and 1930, and a Presbyterian minister in Portland in 1940. Perhaps people didn't pay their ministers enough for them to be full-time all-the-time pastors. Remember when Christian was the first person buried in the Canby cemetery because the good German Evangelicals did not want to be buried next to Presbyterians? My how time changes us all!
Amelia and Theo had five children. So far as I know, none of them died in horrible accidents, although their fourth child, Lois Hope Hornschuch, died at age 18. I don't know why.
A great granddaughter of Amelia, L. Brown, sent me this description of Amelia, quoting her mother, Amelia's granddaughter:
“Amelia was very quiet and was always working hard, tending the family, feeding road crews, and being a minister's wife. She also said, though, that her grandmother was very witty and had a wonderful sense of humor."
from "The Christian Wintermantel Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens - 2013
Christian and Matilda's eighth child was Louisa Anna (1878 Geneva twsp, Franklin Co, IA – 1936 Clackamas Co., OR) married John Koehler, who was active in the Canby Evangelical Church. The 50th Anniversary article about the Canby church mentions John Koehler as being the first Class Leader when the Canby Class was formed. That statement may well have been referring to John's father, who also lived in Canby and was also John Koehler or Johann. John and Louisa lived in Canby their entire lives. Louisa took care of her mother, Matilda Fey Wintermantel Druschel, in her final years and Matilda was living with the Koehlers when she died in 1922. Besides being active in the church, John worked as a carpenter and building contractor. Louisa and John had one adopted daughter, Arlene, who married a blind man. John's brother, Johann George Koehler (b. 1871) married a step-sister of Louisa's, Matilda Druschel (b. 1877) (Louisa's mother's step-daughter).
from "The Christian Wintermantel Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens - 2013
Christian and Matilda's tenth child was Clara Edith Wintermantel (1882 Geneva twsp, Franklin Co, IA – 1962 Selah, WA). She married Jay Dumont Wardle (1885 Michigan - 1967).
In Christian pension papers pp 55-58 Clara testified she did not know what was wrong with her father, she did not know what he died of. He coughed a lot. She thought he had a stomach tumor or cancer. She was asked extensive questions about how old she was and how did she know how old she was because her mother was trying to get pension benefits on the basis of her having minor children when Christian died. Clara was 15 at the time. Clara told them over and over, the way she knew how old she was and when her birthday was is that her mother had told her.
Clara married Jay Wardle in 1913. They had four children together; Elbert, Harley, Alma Fey Louise, and Shirlie Wayne. Sometime after Wayne was born in 1920 and before the 1930 census, they divorced.
The following information comes from Clara's granddaughter, Karen Rose:"Clara and Jay Wardle could not get along with one another so they got a divorce. Jay took the two older boys, Elbert and Harley, and left. They traveled around from place to place. Jay worked as a cowboy on various ranches, but he was frequently without work and the boys had to work to support themselves and their dad. Neither one made it past the first year of high school.
Clara had had polio as a child and one leg was shorter than the other. She was left to make do with two children. Jay never wrote or sent a nickel of child support. The younger ones did not see the older ones for nearly thirty years. The older ones didn't see their mother for thirty years either. On the very rare occasion when they would find themselves at the same place at the same time, one would make a point to be going out the backdoor while the other was coming in the front."
In the 1930 and 1940 censuses Clara says she is a widow. There was a stigma to being divorced in those days. The 1940 census shows Clara living in Yakima, WA, and working as a house maid in a private home. She says she has completed 2 years of high school and she owns her own home worth $1800. All four of Clara's children are in the photo of some adult Wintermantel cousins. They are:
Elbert Wardle - Elbert Wardle was a career Army Air Force mechanic. he maintained bombers and spent two years during WWII in the South Pacific. He was in charge of maintenance for a group of planes. Elbert wrote Wintermantel Genealogy, published informally in June 1986.
Harley Wardle was a gifted mechanic who could fix anything. He worked as a lumber mill maintenance manager. He was the father of Karen Rose with whom I correspond and who visited in our home in August 2013.
Alma Fey Wardle married Wilfred Lawrence Sampson (called Larry). They lived in Washington and had two children.
Shirlie Wayne Wardle - Wayne's first employment was as a Yakima area orchard worker. He thinned and harvested apples. He enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1940. He spent 5 years in the Air Force and attained the rank of Master Sgt. He was in charge of records for the Second Air Force Hdqrs and was based in Colorado Springs. After the war he was employed by the State of Washington Employment Security Dept. When he retired he was in charge of the Wenatchee office. He retired to run a small pear orchard.
Son of Jacob and and Paulina Heller Mundorf
Eleanor Charlotte WINTERMANTEL
1910 Census shows Ella and family living with sister Minnie and her family and mother Matilda Druschel in Tacoma, WA.
There is a probate case file for Ellen C. Wintermantel in the Clackamas County Probate Case Files. Case #236, 1901, guardianship.
from "The Christian Wintermantel Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens - 2013
Christian and Matilda's eleventh child was Eleanor Charlotte Wintermantel (1885 Jefferson, OR – 1965 Corvalis, OR) called Ella or Ellen. She married John Mundorf, of Canby (1881 Kansas – 1936 Oregon). The Mundorfs were an important family in Canby. Jacob and Paulina came from Kansas in 1883 and the school was named for them, Mundorf School, where the first German Evangelical services were held. Jacob Mundorf was the first Sunday School superintendent. Jacob and Paulina's son, John, married Ella Wintermantel in 1904. John and Ella raised seven children in the Cornelius, Oregon area where they farmed. John died in 1936 leaving Ella with several underage children. The 1940 census shows them living in Cornelius, no longer on the farm. Son John, 18, is the only member of the household employed. He is working as a farm laborer and in the canning industry. Ella, the last surviving child of Christian and Matilda Wintermantel, died in Cornelius in 1965.
Census 1880 - He is living in Carrolton Twsp, Fillmore Co., MN -Occupation : farmer
listed with his family is Emile Joseph, age 17, farm hand, born - Germany, both parents born - GermanyThe Adam Zimmerman Story
2 Jun 1837 Sebringville, Ontario, Canada – 3 Apr 1899 Canby, Oregon, USA
5 February 2005
Dear ChildrenTonight I will tell you about one of your great-great-great grandfathers. Even though he is our direct ancestor, I know less about him than I do about some of his brothers because nobody wrote too much about Adam. But here is his story as much as I have been able to uncover.
Adam Zimmerman was born in Sebringville, Stratford, Ontario, Canada, 2 June 1837, the second child of Christian and Elizabeth Knoll Zimmerman, both immigrants from Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse (now Germany.) Adam and Katherine Zimmerman, his next younger sibling, went to Minnesota in or before 1858.
Why did Adam go to Minnesota, and why did he take his sister with him? During my research for this story I have discovered a number of families in the Preston, Minnesota area that migrated from near Sebringville, Canada to Fillmore County, Minnesota. Some of their names are Krause, Krusp, Reihl. We have heard some of those names when we learned about Adam's brothers in the last story. A Krusp family that came to Fillmore County recorded the following route (from memories of a Krusp grandson found on Ancestry.com):
1. They drove a team and wagon to Port Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.
2. They sold the team and wagon.
3. They crossed the St Clair river via ferry to Port Huron, Michigan.
4. From there, they took a train to Chicago, Illinois and on to LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
5. They took a steamboat to Winona, Minnesota.
6. They took a train to St. Charles, Minnesota
7. The final leg was a stage to Preston, Minnesota
Adam and Katherine very likely took this same route. Though we don't know exactly why they decided to move to Minnesota, we do know there was stress in the Canada family after the father died and the oldest son, Henry, was running the farm. Annie Marie Zimmerman Nelson wrote:"At the time of grandfather's death the older boys (Henry and Adam) were fourteen and thirteen, and my father (Philip) who was the youngest was only five or six months old. Very sad and lonely hours followed the breaking up of the once so happy home. The church formed a council of which a man by the name of John Kastner was one of the leading men. The council decided that most of the property should go to the oldest boy, Henry, which was an English custom, and that the other
boys should help Henry until they were sixteen, and go to school six months out of every year. But Henry was too youthful to understand and manage the family affairs properly..."Henry was actually 16 the year his father died and Adam was turning 14, but hardly the ages that boys would be expected to have a lot of business sense. Since the farm was given to Henry, perhaps Adam was resentful. During that decade people were flooding into Fillmore County, Minnesota. Adam had no doubt heard of the opportunities there from other westward moving German neighbors. We don't really know the details. But he and Katherine went together and there they met the Hopp family.
The Hopps were a large family that had immigrated from the Alsace Lorraine area of eastern France/western Germany. Sometimes it was French, sometimes German. On some censuses the Hopps said they came from France, on others, Germany. Adam and Katherine both married into the Hopp family, and had a double wedding at the Evangelical Church in Preston, Fillmore County, Minnesota on August 3, 1858. Adam married Eve Hopp, Katherine married George Hopp.
Adam and Eve had seven children on their farm near Preston in Carrrollton township. But, the stars were not aligned right for Adam and Eve. Four of their children died in early childhood or infancy. Then Eve died in December of 1867. I have a photo of Eve's tombstone in the Methodist Cemetery in Preston, her four little babies' tombstones roundabout her. Then in March of 1868, just four months later, Adam married again to Elizabeth Britzius, also of German descent. Elizabeth was the oldest of 15 children and no doubt brought some good homemaking skills with her. Though Adam had poor luck with his first family, he still had three little children that needed care, Elizabeth age 8, Mary 7, and William 2, so he was anxious to get a new wife.
Sometime around 1865 Adam took a trip back to visit his family in Canada. Things were not going well back on the farm with brother Henry in charge. When Adam returned he brought his 14 year old brother Philip with him. Soon after, brothers Peter and Christian arrived. Philip turned 14 in January 1865; Peter married in Preston, MN in Jan 1868, so it was within this time frame that the two middle brothers arrived. Peter and Philip stayed in Minnesota. Christian left for western adventures and eventually settled in Oregon.
Meanwhile Henry lost the home farm in Canada and mother, Elizabeth Knoll Zimmerman, soon joined her sons in Minnesota. Annie Marie says mother lived mostly with Philip but she was living with Adam when she died in 1888.Adam and Elizabeth had better luck at having children than did Adam and Eve. They had Emma, Aaron, Clara, George, Margaret, Sarah, and Della. But, they also had two babies die. Their children John and Katherine died in 1875. John was six when he died on July 14. Then Katherine, age 2, died on August 6, less than a month later. John and Katherine are also buried at Preston.
Back in the 1800's babies were much more likely to die before the age of 5 than they are today. The number of children up to age five who die out of every 1000 who are born is called the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). In 1860 in the USA the IMR was 197. That means almost one out of every five babies died before they reached 5 years old. In 2012 in the USA the IMR was below 6. In the 1800's children died of many diseases for which we now have vaccines, like small pox, diphtheria, whooping cough and typhoid. So if Adam and Eve and Elizabeth had 16 children all together and 7 died before age 5 can you figure the infant mortality rate for that little part of our family? (I know, I'm counting John who had turned six!)
Adam's mother died in 1888 and is buried in Preston, Fillmore County. Adam's daughter, Emma, married Charles Druschel of Clackamas County, Oregon about 1891. Emma may have been the daughter that went out to Oregon with her half-sister, Mary. Annie Marie says Adam followed his children to Oregon. Adam's younger brother Christian had already gone west and settled in Yamhill, Oregon. If Adam followed his children, perhaps Emma was the one to find Canby. We don't know why Adam ended up there, but we know from our Wintermantel story, there was a growing German settlement there that included the Druschel family. Before 1899 it included the Zimmermans. Adam's home in Canby was about 25 miles to the west of Yamhill where his brother Christian had settled.
One summer when I and my family visited my grandfather in Portland, Oregon he took us to Canby to see the home where he lived with his family, and so I have a photograph of the Canby house.
Annie Marie wrote the following about Adam:
"(The Zimmermans) were all of a very good disposition except for a slight touch of severity which I noticed in my father's (Phillip's) two oldest brothers. For example, Uncle Adam wanted to arrest people who according to his way of thinking desecrated the Sabbath. He thought it should not be allowed, and if people would not do right, they must be compelled to do right...
Adam Zimmerman, my father's second brother, lived near Preston, Minnesota on a farm until most
of his children were grown. Then he followed them into the West to the state of Oregon, and bought a home for himself in that state at Canby. At one time he had been thrown from a horse and injured, causing hernia, so that for many years he was compelled to wear a truss. Shortly before he started for Oregon he came in touch with the Zionist movement in Chicago. They had a program of divine healing and told him to throw away his truss; that God was able to take care of him. He finally did throw it away and his old trouble, hernia, soon killed him. He died very suddenly in Canby, Oregon, at the age of about 67 years. He was a very robust, healthy man, and if he had continued to wear his truss, or if he had had an operation, he probably could have lived many years longer. He left a widow and eight children to mourn his loss..."Adam died at Canby on 3 April 1899. He is buried at Zion Cemetery in Canby.
We have a copy of Adam's estate papers. You can see it all by looking in Adam's sources in the family tree program. Here are the parts I found interesting:Adam loaned out over $6000 during 1898 and 1899. There are several familiar names on the list.
He loaned $1000 to Charles Druschel. Charles Druschel was married to Adam's daughter, Emma.
He had two loans outstanding to John Krusp for property in Fillmore County, Minnesota, total $4750. Krusp was the name of Adam's brother, Henry's, wife. John was probably one of her relatives.
He loaned $30 to J. D. Britzius. Britzius is Adam's wife's maiden name. This is one of her relatives.
He had loaned $18.25 to Leonard Haas. A Leonard Haas was the father of Zora Haas who was married to Adam's nephew, John William Zimmerman.
George Hoff paid a debt of $212. George was married to Adam's daughter Clara.
William Druschel paid a debt of $6.63. William Druschel was the future husband of Adam's widow, Elizabeth.The other names on the list of loans are Riep, Rappe, Tollefsen, Sauer and Morgan. At the time of his death Adam owned only a house and seven acres in Canby so this money may have been from the sale of his Minnesota farm.
All these loans were paid off by the time the estate was settled. Reading about them makes me wonder about the state of banking in 1898 in a less developed area of the country. People will tell you, “Never loan money to friends or family,” however in an earlier time that may have been the only way to get money in an emergency.
Adam's property in Canby, house and land, was valued at $550. Altogether his estate totaled about $7000. Elizabeth got the home. After bills were paid half of what was left went to his widow, the remainder was divided up among his 10 children.
During the two years it took to settle the estate Elizabeth was allowed $40 per month for the care of herself and her three under age children. You may not think an estate of $7000 is not very large by today’s standards and it wasn't huge even a hundred years ago. But when you consider four people being able to live on $40 per month, $7000 looks a lot larger.
Here is a bit about Adam's children:
Adam and Eve's first child was Elizabeth Zimmerman (1859 Minnesota – 1934 North Dakota). She married John Krak and had seven children. She and her husband farmed near Cavalier in Pembina County, North Dakota. The children were Rosa Anna, Ruben, Edna, Flossie,Dewey, Miles, and Pansy Pearl Katy Krak. Elizabeth and John Krak are shown living with their daughter and husband, Harry and Edna Carlson, on the 1930 census. In Adam's estate papers, Elizabeth is credited with $700 already received, which is more than twice as much as the other kids got.
Adam and Eve's second child was Mary Zimmerman (1861 Minnesota – 1929 Oregon) I have a whole story about Mary. In the meantime here is what Annie Marie wrote about her:
Mary, was never married. When she was eighteen she had a stroke of paralysis from which she never entirely recovered. After doctoring for a number of years and receiving very little help she came out to Portland with a half-sister, and went into business for herself. She always was successful and spent a very profitable life.
Adam and Eve's third child was Henry Zimmerman (Jun 1863 Minnesota – Dec 1866 Minnesota)
Adam and Eve's fourth child was William Zimmerman (Dec 1864 Minnesota – Aug 1865 Minnesota).
Adam and Eve's fifth child was an infant daughter that lived from 9 May to 15 May 1866, Minnesota.
Adam and Eve's sixth child was a second William Zimmerman (9 May 1866 Minnesota – 1900 Portland) who was a twin to the baby girl that died (#5 above.) Here's what Annie wrote about William:
(William) was a boy whom they called Willie, who died of pneumonia contracted while he was
drilling a well. He was about thirty years of age when he died, and had never been married. When he
was a small child he lost an eye by getting lye into it while his mother was making soap.Adam and Eve's seventh child was Sarah Zimmerman (Aug 1867 Minnesota – Feb 1868 Minnesota). Sarah died two months after her mother died.
Eve Hopp Zimmerman died 16 Dec 1867 in Fillmore County, Minnesota.
Adam Zimmerman married Elizabeth Britzius 25 March 1868 in Olmstead County, Minnesota.
Adam and Elizabeth's first child was John Zimmerman (1869 Minnesota – 1875 Minnesota).
Adam and Elizabeth's second child was Emma Zimmerman (1870 Minnesota – 1962 California). Annie Marie seemed to believe that Emma was the half-sister with whom Mary went to Oregon. Emma married Charles Druschel in Canby, Oregon in 1891. Charles ran the Druschel and Klein Butcher Shop in Portland. Emma outlived Charles by 25 years. After he died Emma went to live with her daughter Mildred in Long Beach, California, where Mildred was a High School teacher. Emma's son, Clifford was also a high school teacher. He taught social studies and music, in Naperville, Illinois. Annie Marie says Emma only had two children, but I discovered she and Charles also had a son William who died at about age 13 in 1907.
Adam and Elizabeth's third child was Katherine Zimmerman (May 1873 Minnesota – Aug 1875 Minnesota). I know it must have been horrible for these parents to watch so many of their children die. But I wonder what it must have been like for the children that lived. Adam's daughter Elizabeth was 15 when Katherine died. Mary was 14. They had experienced the deaths of six younger brothers and sisters.
Adam and Elizabeth's fourth child was Heinrich Aron Zimmerman (Dec 1875 Minnesota – 1946 Waukegan, Illinois). He was called Aron. Sometimes his name is spelled Aaron and sometimes Arien. Here is a little about him from his obituary:
"Aaron Zimmerman, 72, of 2712 Edina Blvd., Zion, died yesterday ay Victory Memorial Hospital after a 12 day illness. He was born in Preston, Minn., and moved to Zion in 1914 from the state of Washington. A retired farmer, Mr. Zimmerman was affiliated with Masonic lodges in Rockford, Waukegan and Coolie Dam, Washington.
Mr. Zimmerman is survived by his wife, Hannah; two sons, Rollin of Chicago, and Wesley of Denver, Colo; two daughters, Mrs. Bernice Poulsen of Zion, and Mrs. Gladys Kreuschner of Kenosha, Wis.; one brother, George of Portland, Ore.; four sisters, Della and Margaret Zimmerman of Seattle, Wash.; Sarah Zimmerman of Portland., Ore., and Mrs. Emma Druschel of Long Beach, Calif., and eight grandchildren."His granddaughter, Mary Alexander, shared the following:
"I got a copy of (Aaron's) land record in WA. He was a blacksmith, didn’t buy the land until 1910 and then moved to Zion (Illinois) in 1914 and rented his land. . . .Aaron died in April 1946 of prostate cancer. He and Hannah had come to visit us in Denver for Christmas in December 1945 when I was nine and that was the last time I saw him. He was a quiet person and can’t remember him stating his opinion or taking a stand on anything. Actually the only thing I really remember is he would let either my sister or me sit on his lap and went we weren’t expecting it he would spread his knees and we would almost fall – he thought that was funny."
Zion is a small town just up the road from where I lived as a teenager in Waukegan, Illinois. It had a famous lace factory where Aaron worked part time as a mechanic, probably after he retired from farming. By the time we moved to Waukegan in 1955 Uncle Aaron was dead. Some of his children were still in the vicinity but we never met them.
Adam and Elizabeth's fifth child was Clara Phoebe Zimmerman (1877 Minnesota – 1917). Here's what Annie Marie wrote about Clara:
Clara (next younger than Aron) died in 1917. She had been married to a man by the name of Huff (George Johann Hoff) who was a minister but turned out later to be a scoundrel. I am told that he deserted his wife and family many years ago and has not been heard from since. She had four children, Kenneth, Harold, Violet and Myrtle. Violet and Myrtle live in Portland, Oregon. Harold lives in Cleveland, Ohio. I do not know where Kenneth is; I think he was in the army.
On the 1910 Census Clara reports that she has given birth to six children but only four are still living. Clara's daughter Violet lived in Portland and helped her Uncle George, my grandfather, a great deal when he was elderly and trying to care for his bed-ridden wife, and his only child, my father, was half the continent away. I met Violet in 1954 when Aunt Musa took me on a vacation and we stayed in Portland for several days. Violet and her husband, Harold Moore, invited us to stay with them. They were lovely, gracious people. They had a sweet home with a beautiful garden full of flowers and a pool with fish in it. Harold lived to be over 100 years old. Violet and Harold had one daughter, Muriel.
Adam and Elizabeth's sixth child was George Edward Zimmerman (1879 Minnesota – 1965 Portland). He was my grandfather and has his own story.
Adam and Elizabeth's seventh child was Margaret S. Zimmerman (1882 Minnesota – 1964 Washington).Margaret never married. She worked as a private duty nurse and later, as an embalmer in a funeral home. Do you know what an embalmer is? It's a person that gets dead bodies ready to be buried. Margaret lived in Seattle from 1920 until she died in 1964.
Adam and Elizabeth's eighth child was Sarah R. Zimmerman (1884 Minnesota – 1948 Portland). She married Ed Gunther who worked in the fruit wholesale business. They had two daughters, Eleanor and LaVerne, and they lived in Portland all their lives.
Adam and Elizabeth's ninth and last child was Della C. Zimmerman (1888 Minnesota – 1979 Washington). Della never married. She worked in Seattle as a bookkeeper from 1920 on. She and her sister Margaret lived together part of the time. Later on she bought a home with her friend Carol Richmond. My brother, Jon Zimmerman visited her in Seattle when he lived nearby in the 1960's. At that time she had been working as a schoolteacher for many years.
I don't know if you kept track, but I figure Adam had 24 grandchildren. That's a pretty good number considering how he and Eve started out.
After Adam died, Elizabeth stayed in the home in Canby, at least for awhile. The 1900 Census shows her living there with Sarah, age 16, and Della, age 11. Several older children were living with their half-sister Mary, at her rooming house in Portland. By 1910 Elizabeth had moved to Portland and was living with her daughters Margaret and Della at 540 Clay Street. That is where she died on 19 March 1911. She is buried at Zion Cemetery in Canby.
Adam was a pioneer twice in his life; once as a young teenaged boy when he moved from Canada to Minnesota, and again when he moved his family from Minnesota to Oregon. Both moves were undoubtedly difficult He saw a lot of grief in his life with the deaths of at least six children and one wife. Life on the frontier in the 1800's required courage, intelligence, and a lot of very hard work just to survive. Both Minnesota and Oregon were on the frontier when Adam moved to those places. Adam Zimmerman gave it all he had. We can all be proud of our Adam.
Love,
Granny
from the Anna Zimmerman Nelson story of our immigrant Zimmerman ancestors:"When Philip was fourteen years old, Henry, being in need of money, advised Philip to work for someone who would pay him a salary. So it came about that he was employed by an old Scotchman for six months for ten dollars a month and board and room. When the six months were up, the Scotchman paid him the salary in silver dollars. Philip carried those sixty silver dollars home six miles to Henry, who gave him seventyfive cents out of it for spending money. This was the first spending money Philip had ever had, and the first thing he bought was a comb for himself, thinking how fine it would be to have one all his very own. Then, as most boys would have done, he bought a jack-knife, and with the money he had left, he bought a candy treat for his brothers. He was badly in need of a suit of clothes at this time, so that he could go to church and Sunday School, but that seems to have been out of the question. Adam, who was next younger than Henry, and who was now living in the United States at Preston, Minnesota, made a visit to Canada about this time. When he returned to the states, he brought Philip with him. Elizabeth lived with her children in Minnesota until her death, October 18, 1888, at the Adam Zimmerman home three or four miles north of Preston."
Per 1930 census report of daughter Elizabeth, Eve Hopp was born in France.
However, 1860 census shows 2 other Hopp families in Carollton twsp, Fillmore co., MN (where Adam appears in 1880.) Both those, who are probably brothers, report being born in Germany.
Per Zimmerman History book, Eve and brother George were thought to be from Quatmeinheim, Strasburg, Alsace.
From: "The Adam Zimmerman Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens - 2013
Adam and Katherine went together (from Canada to Fillmore County, Minnesota) and there they met the Hopp family.
The Hopps were a large family that had immigrated from the Alsace Lorraine area of eastern France/western Germany. Sometimes it was French, sometimes German. On some censuses the Hopps said they came from France, on others, Germany. Adam and Katherine both married into the Hopp family, and had a double wedding at the Evangelical Church in Preston, Fillmore County, Minnesota on August 3, 1858. Adam married Eve Hopp, Katherine married George Hopp.
Adam and Eve had seven children on their farm near Preston in Carrrollton township. But, the stars were not aligned right for Adam and Eve. Four of their children died in early childhood or infancy. Then Eve died in December of 1867. I have a photo of Eve's tombstone in the Methodist Cemetery in Preston, her four little babies' tombstones roundabout her. Then in March of 1868, just four months later, Adam married again to Elizabeth Britzius, also of German descent. Elizabeth was the oldest of 15 children and no doubt brought some good homemaking skills with her. Though Adam had poor luck with his first family, he still had three little children that needed care, Elizabeth age 8, Mary 7, and William 2, so he was anxious to get a new wife.
Marriage Notes for Adam Zimmerman and Eve HOPP-267
per Zimmerman History - Adam married Eve Hopp and his sister Katherine married Eve's brother George in a double wedding ceremony in Preston.
Mary Zimmerman
(born 1861 - died 1929)February 4, 2005
Dear Children,I want to tell you about my grandfather George's half-sister, Mary. The "half" part means they only shared one parent. They had the same father, but different mothers.
Mary was born about 1861 in Minnesota. She was one of only three children of Eve Hopp and Adam Zimmerman to survive to adulthood. Five others died as infants or very young children and then Eve died as well. Mary was Forrest's favorite aunt. The 1910 census shows Mary running a boarding house at 385 Third St., Portland, Oregon. She has 31 boarders plus her sister Margaret who is listed as "Nurse." Mary and George were quite close, so after WWI George moved to Portland because Mary was there. In the 1920 Census George is at 1289 Morrison St. and Mary's Boarding house is at 410 Morrison St. She has 50 boarders including her niece Violet Hoff.
Mary had what Forrest described as a "withered" arm, but he could not recall what had happened to it. According to her death certificate she suffered from paralysis of the left arm and leg and she had suffered with that problem for 43 years, which would mean something happened to cause it in about 1886 when she was 25 years old.
She originally went to Portland to work as a domestic. Mary loved children and the people she worked for appreciated this fact and were very kind to her. They helped her get into the business of running a boarding house. Her small inheritance from her father of $260.65 probably helped too.
At that time boarding houses were quite common in the United States. Single people could rent a room in a boarding house for much less money than a hotel room. Most boarding houses would also supply one or more meals throughout the day. There were few convenience foods then. Preparing a nice meal was a fair amount of work. It had to be started from scratch. So boarding houses were a nice solution for single men and working women who did not have the time or facilities to devote to cooking.
Mary bought a small desk for her boarding house that supposedly went around Cape Horn three times. She bought it in Portland after it had come around the Cape from the eastern US. Then she got the idea life might be better in Boston, so she shipped the desk back east, around the Cape a second time. She was wrong. Life was not better in Boston, so she returned to Portland, shipping the desk around the Cape for the third time. The Panama Canal opened for business in 1914, so these moves must have taken place before then. The desk had several unusual features to it and kids loved to play with it. George inherited the desk from Mary. Then Forrest inherited it and had it refinished. Now it belongs to Jon Zimmerman.
In 2001 I did a skit for talent night at church based on Aunt Mary, her legendary kindness, and her boarding house. They loved it.
Aunt Mary died 15 Oct 1929 at the age of 68 of heart problems. At the time of death Mary was living at German Baptist Home at 201 East 82nd St. North. Mary is buried at the Zion Cemetery in Canby, Oregon.
Even though Mary never married or had children, she has an important place in our family tree. We remember her because of her great kindness.Love, Granny
from "The Adam Zimmerman Story" by DZStevens
Adam and Eve's sixth child was a second William Zimmerman (9 May 1866 Minnesota – 1900 Portland) who was a twin to the baby girl that died (#5 above.) Here's what Annie wrote about William:(William) was a boy whom they called Willie, who died of pneumonia contracted while he was
drilling a well. He was about thirty years of age when he died, and had never been married. When he
was a small child he lost an eye by getting lye into it while his mother was making soap.
William, age 33, living in Canby, is listed as an heir at the time of his father's death, but by the time of distribution, William has died and his share goes to his estate.
Physician's certificate of death says William died of nephritis with a predisposing condition of kidney calculus. The undertaker's certificate gives his address at time of death as 314 3rd St. but gives no town. I assume it to be Portland but it might be Preston, MN. The death certificate is unclear.
Adam and Eve's seventh child was Sarah Zimmerman (Aug 1867 Minnesota – Feb 1868 Minnesota). Sarah died two months after her mother died.