1)From History of Zimmerman Family in Altheim "Both brothers (Johann Christian and Johann Heinrich)received a farm with 100 acres of land in Canada from the English government near Sebringville in Ontario." They emigrated to Canada in 1832. (Sebringville is now part of Toronto. DZS-2005)2)The Christian Zimmerman Story by Dianne Z. Stevens
11 October 2013
Dear Children,
Tonight we will continue with the story of my father's people with the story of the Zimmermans from earliest times up through our immigrant Zimmerman ancestor and beyond. I will be referring frequently to the marvelous Zimmerman History written by my first cousin two times removed, Annie Marie Zimmerman Nelson (b. 1874). This is how she summed up the Zimmermans:
The Zimmermans did not as a rule die young. They had a great deal of vitality and resistance...They all had nice hair and did not turn gray until late in life....They were all of very good disposition except for a slight touch of severity which I noticed in my father's two oldest brothers. (Oh, Oh! Our line is the second brother!) ... Financially they were all quite successful, as they all had their own homes and a good living, and such conveniences as a family might need, and enough set aside for their old age. They were prosperous, but never stingy, not one of them. ... They were all fond of home life, and children and rather discounted entertainments and amusements.
Another person to whom we are grateful in searching out our Zimmerman history is my second cousin once removed, Rolland Lawrence Zimmerman (b. 1904). In 1983 Rolland and some of his family decided to visit Germany and see what they could find out about their Zimmerman ancestors. He had a letter written in 1905 by the above named Anna saying our Zimmermans had come to Canada in 1834 from Altheim, Germany, a town that had a church with a very high steeple. Unfortunately, Rolland discovered there are ten Altheims in Germany. Which one? He wrote to the central Lutheran church in Germany and asked in which Altheim was there a church with a very high steeple in the year 1834. Here is the rest of the story retold by Gordon Zimmerman, another second cousin, one time removed:
With this information Rolland went to Germany and visited the first two churches on the list. (In) these two Altheims in different states no Zimmermans could be found. He then hired another interpreter and went to Altheim in the state of Hessen. There was a note on the Parrish door saying (the pastor) would be back in one hour. So Rolland went to the town cemetery. He found Zimmermans all over the cemetery. He went back to the Parrish house and was told by the young pastor that there were no Zimmermans that were attending church there at that time. Rolland told him about all the Zimmermans in the cemetery. (The pastor) advised he had only been there a short time and the name was unfamiliar to him.
Rolland and his interpreter were crestfallen. All the time and money he had spent on this project were for nothing. Just as he got to the front gate of the little yard a car drove up. It was the former pastor. When he was asked if there had ever been any Zimmermans in that church (the pastor) replied, "Zimmermans - you have eight to ten women in this church that were gebornen Zimmermans, probably more than any other family if you go back a few generations." (There were probably only women) as so many male children were killed in the war.
This pastor was Pfarrer Walter. He spent much time going over all the record books kept in the old Altheim Lutheran Church and several weeks after Rolland returned home Pfarrer Walter sent Rolland copies of Zimmerman records going back to the 1500's. Part of his letter is in my sources for this chapter.
This Altheim is in the German state of Hesse. Sometimes it's written Hessen. People have been living in Hesse for 50,000 years. “Hessian” refers to the people who live in Hesse, the dialect of German
spoken in Hesse, and also to the soldiers that originally came from Hesse, but later from all over Germany, and were rented out to whatever European army needed manpower.
The next section of this story relies on the Zimmerman records Pfarrer Walter discovered in the Lutheran church in Altheim, Hesse.
Hans Zimmerman lived in Altheim in the year 1558. It's not clear if he was our ancestor.
Paulus Zimmerman (d. aft 1648 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse) One story had it that Paulus was a Roman soldier that settled in Altheim. This makes sense because during his lifetime Germany was part of the Holy Roman Empire, and Paulus is the Latin version of the name 'Paul.' We think he was our ancestor but it's not certain. This is what Pfarrer Walter wrote about Paulus:
Due to war, hunger and disease only about 120 of the 360 inhabitants of Altheim remained alive in the Thirty Years War(1618-1648). A Paulus Zimmerman survived the war. (He was) a magistrate (and) ... a weaver. He was buried on April 11, 1666. One of his sons could have been Nikolaus Zimmerman of whom descendants still live at Kirchstraze 23 and 33. A Johann Peter Zimmerman about 1648 was most probably a son of Paulus Zimmerman, because he was also a magistrate in 1682, and later a village mayor.
Johann Peter Zimmerman (1648 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse - 1705 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse)
He died July 20, 1705 at the age of 57. In 1680 he, like other husbandmen (farmers), was assessed a tax of 70 florins, but he was not very able to pay. He owned a poor home, the worth of which amounted to only 30 florins. The worth of his land was 165 florins, and for livestock he had two pair of bad (poor) horses, one cow, one-year-old ox, three pigs. (A good beginning nonetheless, considering the poverty after the war.) In addition 25 florins borrowed from the church building and ten from the parsonage. He had five children. Of the five children of Johann Peter Zimmerman, the three sons Johann Peter, Nickel Matthias, and Andreas left numerous descendants. We are interested in the line of Nickel Matthias Zimmerman, which stretches into the present.
Nickel Matthias Zimmerman (1677 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse – 1731 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse ) married Anna Maria Funck (b. about 1690).
Nickel Matthias Zimmerman was born October 16, 1677 and died April 13, 1731. He had seven children. Of the two sons, Johann Jost Zimmerman continues the line.
Johann Jost Zimmerman (1713 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse – 1792 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse) married Anna Catharina Willman (b. 1718 Strakenberg, Hesse).
Johann Jost Zimmerman...had four children. Of his-two sons, Johann Bernhard continues the line.
Johann Bernhard Zimmerman (1743 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse – 1820 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse) married Anna Sybilla Appel (1749 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse – 1782 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse) on September 17,1772 in Hauptstraze 35, the house of her father. Johann Bernhard and Anna Sybilla had seven children in the following ten years. Anna died in childbirth with the seventh child who was born dead. Johann Bernhard married four more times in 1783, 1793, 1799 and 1802. I don't know how many more children he had.
Anna Sybilla was the daughter of Johann Valentin Appel (1716 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse – 1772 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse) and Anna Christina Marie Ohl (1710 Hergerschausen, Hesse – 1790 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse). When one of our cousins, Phillip Rolvang Nelson, visited Altheim in 1934 he found that Appel was one of the most common names in the village judging from the graveyard.
On the Roll of Property and Proprietors, the farm of Bernhard Zimmerman in Altheim/Hessen, Haupstrasse 35, in the year 1792, has one dwelling house with two stories, a stable, a barn and a pigsty.
One of Johann Bernhard and Anna Sybilla's sons was:
Johann Peter Zimmerman (1773 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse – 1852 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse) married Anna Catherina Sauerwein (1778 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse – 1853 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse). Johann Peter Zimmerman had only a small rural property which consisted of a two-story house, barn, cow-barn, pig pen, ten and one-half morgen field, two morgen meadows; worth of property was 960 florins. A florin was originally a gold Italian coin later adopted by much of Europe. According to Wikipedia, a “morgen" was traditionally about 60-70% of what a man could cover in a full day of ploughing. Of Peter Zimmerman's ten children we know a little of four of them and a lot about one of them. Here are the four:
Anna Maria Zimmerman (1804 – 1806) died as a toddler in the stream behind her family's house.
Johann Peter Zimmerman (1807 – 1810) died in the stream behind his family's house. Yes, that's right! Two children from this family died by drowning in their own backyard at two separate times.
Johann Valentin Zimmerman (1810 – 1837) stayed in the family home and passed it on to his heirs.
Johann Heinrich Zimmerman (b. 1815 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse), called Henry, came to America after his brother Johann Christian. Here is what Christian's granddaughter Annie Marie Zimmerman Nelson said about this Henry:
(Christian's) brother Henry came in 1837. When Henry came, he took a farm about fifty miles farther up the railroad from Christian. He...received a farm with 100 acres of land from the English government near Sebringsville in Ontario. We...know that he frequently came down to visit my grandfather, and after my grandfather's death, sometimes visited the family. My father remembers seeing him when he was down on one of those visits, but as my father was only about five years old his recollections of what he said and did are not very vivid. My grandfather's brother Henry (1815) was a cabinetmaker by trade and during the long winters made such furniture as he could use or sell. He made a very wonderful bureau with secret drawers for keeping his money. Banks were not much used in those days, and hiding places for money were always in demand. In some way this piece of furniture came into the possession of my father's brother, Henry (1835). My father's brother, Henry (1835), also had a table made by (Henry 1815). It was a wonderful piece of work, and took the prize at a provincial fair or show, where Uncle Henry (1835) became very much interested in it, and bought it
after the show was over. Uncle Henry's (1835) daughter, Lydia, remembers this furniture well.My grandfather's brother Henry (1815) had a family. There was a boy, Dan, who was a very fine penman which was quite an accomplishment in those days. We also know there were several daughters in the family.
Annie Marie believed Henry (1815) eventually returned to Germany and died there.
The child of Johann Peter and Anna Catharina Sauerwein Zimmerman that we are most interested in is
Johann Christian Zimmerman (1800 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse – 1851 Sebringsville, Ontario, Canada), called Christian, and also his wife, Elizabeth Dorthea Knoll (1809 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse – 1888 Fillmore Co., Minnesota). They are our immigrant Zimmerman and Knoll ancestors.Here follows the story of Christian Zimmerman as told by his granddaughter, Annie Marie Zimmerman Nelson.
During the year 1832, there came into the affairs of Christian Zimmerman a simple little circumstance which changed the course of his whole life.
One Sunday afternoon, Christian and his younger brother, Henry, were sitting on a fence not far from their home, when a group of young men about their own age joined them. These young men were discussing the fact that the English Sovereign was giving away one hundred acres of land in Canada to anyone who would go there and live on it. This looked like a wonderful opportunity to these boys who worked for a few cents a day, or perhaps received only thirty dollars for a whole years work, out of which they had to furnish their own clothes, which were made by hand. It was not an unusual thing during the busy season for these boys to rise at three o'clock in the morning and thresh grain with a flail until late at night. So the Sovereign's offer of one hundred acres of land brought forth quite a discussion. Some contended that here there really might be a great opportunity. Others thought that the hardships to be endured were too great. The long and perilous journey to the new world was in itself considered dangerous, and if the trip were made successfully, the hardships to be endured after arrival were almost insurmountable. Were there not great risks from sickness and hunger; from wild beasts and uncivilized people? So the discussion went on. The majority thought that they would like to avail themselves of this opportunity, if it were closer at hand; but that under the circumstances, the adventure to secure it was attended with too much sacrifice and danger. Christian was very much interested in this offer of the English Government, and finally decided that it was an opportunity which he must seize, and he made up his mind that he would go to Canada and have one of those farms. He realized that in Germany the opportunities of ever having a home of his own were not very good. Many of his friends tried to discourage him by telling him that rattle snakes and bears would kill him, and that he would never make the journey safely. The ocean voyage had to be made in sail ships at that time, and it took from six to fourteen weeks to come across the ocean. Christian could not be discouraged or turned from his purpose, and in due time made the journey.
Christian Zimmerman was born in 1800, so he was thirty-two years of age when he came to Canada and settled at Sebringsville, Ontario, Canada. His brother, Henry, came in 1837. Christian had his hundred acre farm.
The hundred acre plots were laid out in long narrow strips so that each farm would touch the highway. Christian's plot was one-fourth mile east of the present village of Sebringsville, on the south side of the road. The Buffalo and Lake Erie Railroad ran across the farm in later years. The old log house stood about ten rods away from the highway.
On the boat with Christian was Elizabeth Dorthea Knoll who had lived two houses down from him in Altheim. It is not known whether they planned to leave together or it just happened. Were they sweethearts leaving together on a great adventure? Or did they just happen to leave together and become better acquainted on the boat? We don't know for sure, but I have a feeling it was the former, since they were close neighbors. Annie Marie continues:
Elizabeth and Christian complied with the custom of those days which was that a wedding must be announced for three successive Sundays in the church before the young people could be married. They were devoted to each other, and their wedded life was exceedingly happy. Elizabeth was a great help to her husband, not only in making a happy home for him, but also in clearing the timber from the land. She helped him pile and burn brush, and sometimes get the logs off the land. She did whatever else there was to do that a woman could do. She was always well, happy and busy, being of the industrious type of woman. She was of medium size and weight, with slightly rounded shoulders. In her later years, she became decidedly round-shouldered. Her eyes were very dark blue, and her hair a very dark brown, almost black. Her hair never turned gray, even in her last days.
Christian had brown eyes, dark hair, and very pretty rosy cheeks with a nice clear complexion, better than many women have. He was not skinny, but was a slender man of medium height and weight.
They were both devoted Christians, and had a simple, beautiful faith in God, similar to that of other Christian people of their time. One Sunday during a heavy storm, the wind was beating the rain into the barn where the freshly threshed grain was lying. Elizabeth, after watching the storm for awhile, suggested that they had better go out and try to keep the grain dry, but Christian thought that they ought not to break God's Sabbath by doing manual labor, and suggested that God knew that they needed the grain, and if He wished them to have it, He would save the crop without their breaking His Holy Sabbath Day.
In Germany they were Lutherans, but in Canada they joined the German Evangelical Church, and in this church they trained their children in Christian living and in the doctrines of religion. All their children joined the church and led Christian lives, probably much above average.
Christian was not a very good sportsman, not having had an opportunity for such things in his youth. In Europe, this privilege was reserved for the wealthy landlords. But in Canada there was an abundance of deer for all, and other wild game was very plentiful. He seldom shot anything, even if the deer fed on his garden. One day a big deer came into the yard, and with an old, rusty gun, Christian shot it. But the gun gave him such a kick, and he felt so badly as he saw the beautiful animal lying dead before him, that he never tried shooting again.
Elizabeth and Christian built a log cabin on their place. It had two windows, and on one side an addition which they used for a summer cookhouse. This was their happy home. In the winter they would clear the land of brush and timber, and in the summer they would raise their crops. After the grain was hauled into the barn and threshed, Christian would spend an hour or two daily during the Fall throwing grain to remove the chaff. (A method of winnowing - involves throwing the mixture into the air so that the wind blows away the lighter chaff, while the heavier grains fall back down for recovery)
Some years later they sold two acres of their farm, one acre for the erection of a blacksmith shop, and the other to build a tailor shop on. Then a school house was built across from the little log house and a short distance down the road. The little village of Sebringsville grew up about a quarter of a mile from the school house.
Elizabeth and Christian had a family of five boys and two girls... Phillip was the youngest of the family. He was born January 10, 1851. That spring when the plum trees were in bloom, which must have been in May or June, his father died. Christian was only about 48 years old. For almost a week he had been busy building a dam which had necessitated his standing in cold water and mud most of the time while he was at his work. This brought about his death. He was sick only three or four days. He was buried in the Sebringsville Cemetery with a wooden tombstone on the grave, but now the exact spot of the grave is not known. Around 1890, the old cemetery, which was back of the Sebringsville church, was moved to higher ground because the graves filled with water. Such graves as had no one interested in them were abandoned. There were no relatives of Christian living there when this was done, so those who might have been interested did not even learn of the change until long after it had been made. So the body was never moved, but lies somewhere in the old cemetery which has been abandoned. Who knows, but it may also be petrified. It is an interesting fact that of the bodies moved, three or four were found to be perfectly petrified, which often happens when bodies are buried in low ground. At the time of Christian's death, the older boys were fourteen and thirteen, and Phillip was only five or six months old. Very sad and lonely hours followed the break-up of the once so happy home.
Christian and Elizabeth had seven children and at least 55 grandchildren. Of those 55, thirteen did not live to adulthood. Of the 42 that did, twelve never married. Of the thirty that did marry five didn't have children. Out of 55 grandchildren, 25 reproduced.
There is more about Elizabeth Dorthea Knoll Zimmerman in her own story. For now, we will consider the lives of Christian and Elizabeth's seven children:
The first child of Christian and Elizabeth Zimmerman was Johann Heinrich Zimmerman, called Henry, (1835 Canada – 1909 USA), the oldest. He married Mary Krusp in Canada in 1856. Mary's family had also come from Germany and settled first near the Zimmermans in Canada and later near the Zimmermans in Minnesota.
After Christian died the family ran the farm together for awhile. Then the church decided the farm should be Henry's property. He did not do well. Cousin Rolland tells us:
Henry started farming but lost the farm. He then went into the bee business, having as high as 400 swarms. He made good from the sale of honey for a long time. Canadian custom (adopted from England) expected oldest son to care for parents. When he lost his property his mother, Elizabeth, went to stay with other children at Preston, Minnesota.
Annie Marie adds:Whatever property (Elizabeth) may have had was lost in some way through Henry's mismanagement...
Henry and Mary had a family of eight children; six boys, two girls. All married. One, Will, married the same woman twice! Three never had children, but the other five had a total of 11 children. All settled in Washington or California except Albert, the youngest. He moved to Australia and became very wealthy in the import-export business until he lost it all in the run-up to WWII.
There is some question of where Henry died. His great-grand-nephew Gordon Zimmerman says he has seen this Henry's grave at Canby Oregon. Annie Marie Zimmerman Nelson says this Henry Zimmerman is buried in New Mexico where he died while he was staying with a daughter. Another descendant, Katie Allen, says this Henry died in Watsonville, California, the same as his wife.
The second child of Christian and Elizabeth Zimmerman was Adam Zimmerman, our ancestor. More about him in a bit.The third child of Christian and Elizabeth Zimmerman was Katherine Zimmerman (1839 Canada – 1877 Martin Co., Minnesota) Katherine came to Fillmore County, Minnesota from Canada with her brother Adam in 1859. Katherine and her brother Adam married a brother and sister of the family of George and Margaretha Strub Hopp, immigrants from Alsace, France. It was a double wedding ceremony. Katherine married George Hopp Jr. Adam married Eve Hopp. George Hopp Jr. was a farmer. He and Katherine had ten children during the next eighteen years, six boys and four girls. Katherine died in childbirth with the tenth baby. Then George married again and had six more children, making sixteen altogether. Of the ten with Katherine, the first two died before the age of two (1st John and Michael). The second and third were twins (Michael and 2nd John). Three never married (John, Matilda and Katherine). Two married but never had children (Jacob and Emma). One (Henry) we have no record of except his birth and death. Two girls were nurses, one girl was a teacher. Only two of the ten had children of their own; Lydia married Charles Oxreider and had three children; George, a successful lawyer in Minneapolis, had two children. So out of ten children Katherine only had five grandchildren. This is what Cousin Annie Marie Zimmerman Nelson wrote about George Hopp III. :
"I knew Cousin George Hopp the best (of the children of Katherine and George Hopp). He was a very dear cousin and attended the University of Minnesota while I was attending Hamline University, and I saw him a great deal.
He became an exceptionally successful lawyer and banker and traveled abroad a great deal in connection
with his business.Second John worked as a gold miner. The 1920 Census says he is the Manager of a Gold Mine. The 1930 Census show him living in Seattle with two single sisters, Matilda and Katherine, and still working in the Gold Mine. In Seattle! Except for George, who stayed in Minnesota, all these children ended up in the state of Washington.
The fourth child of Christian and Elizabeth Zimmerman was Peter Zimmerman (1842 Canada – 1894 Racine, Minnesota) who married Catherine Riehl (1844 Canada – 1902 Racine, Minnesota). It appears the Rhiel family was another family that migrated from Canada to Minnesota. This is what Cousin Annie Marie Zimmerman Nelson wrote about Peter:Peter Zimmerman and his brother Christ, came to Minnesota after the Civil War ended in 1865. They worked in a shingle mill all summer in Stillwater, Minnesota. Each earned about $14.00 a week, and Peter saved about $1,000. The next spring, they went to Stillwater again, but the river was too high to work at the shingle mill, so the brothers came to Preston and found work there. Because he was afraid he would be robbed, Peter pretended to be poor, and worked his way down the Mississippi on a boat, and left the river at Winona...Christ decided to go west and pan for gold in Montana...Peter stayed in Minnesota where he bought 160 acres of land in Racine township of Mower County. It was the last section to be cleared, and he paid twice as much for it as others had paid for the land around it. At the same time, he could have bought land where St. Paul now stands for less than half of what he paid for the land he chose. He built a three-room house with a kitchen, bedroom and a pantry. Later, when he was courting Catherine Rhiel, he walked twenty-five miles to Preston to see her. Another time he borrowed a buggy from old
man Felch to make the trip. Catherine had come from Canada when she was twenty-one, and stayed with her half-sister, Mary Long.
Peter and Catherine were married January 14, 1868, and lived in the frame house near Racine. The first winter, Catherine was so homesick that she rode to Preston in a bobsled, sitting on a box. She stayed a week and then was ready to come home.Peter was a serious, quiet man with dark hair, a sandy mustache, and intense deep gray eyes. He was very proficient in reading and writing the German language, but sometimes had difficulty with English. He wanted his family to use the German language at home, but Catherine thought that this would be wrong, as they were Americans now.
Peter and Catherine's first child was Anna Barbara Zimmerman (1869 Minnesota – 1949 Los Angles, California). Anna Barbara married Sam Anstett. They got divorced after having three daughters, Pearl, Stella and Bessie. Anna lived with her widowed daughter Pearl in later years. One of Anna Barbara's grandsons, son of Bessie Anstett, was named Nardeth Pooley. He was a lieutenant colonel in the army, fought in WWII and Korea and is buried at Arlington Cemetery.
Peter and Catherine's second child was George Zimmerman (1871 Minnesota – 1882 Minnesota) who died at the age of eleven.
Peter and Catherine's third child, Margaret Lydia Zimmerman (1873 Minnesota – 1935 California) married Julius Krause. The Krauses are related to our Zimmerman's in another way too, which I'll explain later. Julius was an extremely successful farmer. There was some kind of feud that developed between Julius and Margaret's brother John Zimmerman, after which, Julius wouldn't have anything to do with the rest of the Zimmermans except Margaret's sister Ida and later on, some nieces. Immediately after telling about the feud, Annie Marie Zimmerman Nelson wrote the following:
The only one of my grandfather Krause‟s family now living is my mother‟s brother, Julius Krause, who lives in Santa Ana, California. My grandfather Krause‟s father and grandfather were very good-nature d and of a most lovable disposition, but grandfather's father married a redheaded woman who was very nervous and excitable and could get very angry. She was ... a Schiller, a close relative of the poet and writer. Godleib, the oldest boy, was like his father and would almost never get angry or out of patience with anyone or anything. The second child, my grandfather, inherited the disposition of his mother and that brought into the family a nervous and irritable strain which partly overshadows the quiet lovely character of my great-grandfather.... in his children and grand-children the temperament of this woman is very conspicuous.
The Krauses are just in-laws to us, but she wrote this right after mentioning Julius which made me think perhaps he had an irritable disposition. I thought it was amusing she brought the grandmother's red hair into it.
Peter and Catherine’s fourth child was John William Zimmerman (1876 Minnesota – 1956 Minnesota). He married Zora Haas. Peter died of cancer while his children were still quite young, his only remaining son, John, just eighteen, took over the running of the farm. Annie Marie writes:
After Peter's death Catherine and her only son, John, who was in his teens at the time of his father's death, carried on the work of the farm for a while. Then he (John) married Zora Haas, and took over the farm with its beautiful home. Catherine died in 1902. Now at the time of this writing (1952) the son, John Zimmerman, is an elderly man. His wife has been dead for some time. He has sold the old home and lives in Rochester, Minnesota. His daughter Ruth, who is an instructor in art in Rochester, and lives with him.
Ruth was a twin to Rolland, John and Zora's son who went to Altheim and found the Pfarrer
who discovered all the old Zimmerman records. John and Zora's other two children were Vernon and Lloyd.
Peter and Catherine’s fifth child was Matilda Marie Zimmerman (1879 Minnesota – 1965 Montana). She married Will Huhnerkoch and they farmed in Montana. They had one child whom they adopted, Lillian.
Peter and Catherine’s sixth child Ida Catherine Zimmerman (b. 1885 Minnesota) married Leroy Drummond, a teamster, and had three boys. I have recently been in touch with one of Ida Catherine's descendants who has a marvelous family tree on Ancestry.com.
The fifth child of Christian and Elizabeth Zimmerman was Christian Zimmerman (1848 Sebringville, Ontario, Canada – 1934 Yamhill, OR) who married Louisa Sophia Nolte (1857 Sebringville, Ontario, Canada – 1938 Yamhill, OR). This Christian was called Christ for short, and sometimes Cris. In case you're getting confused, this Christian is a son of our immigrant ancestor, Johann Christian Zimmerman (b.1800), and also called "Christian." The following story was written by Christian's son George: Biography of Christian Zimmerman, brother of Peter Zimmerman, by George S. Zimmerman written at age 90, 1974, 1975:
This story begins in spring of 1868, when father was 20 years old. He had been working in Minneapolis, Minnesota in flour mill and woolen mill during winter 1867-1868. He wanted to go west so traveled down Mississippi River to mouth of Missouri River. Voyage was by boat. As money was scarce with him, he took job on river boat going up Missouri River to Fort Benton Montana. One of his jobs was to load wood into boats boilers.
As they neared Fort Benton at a wood loading dock, he saw where a white man delivering wood on steamboat dock, was murdered and scalped. His clothes were stolen from his body and he was left laying by the wood dock.
At Fort Benton he took a job driving a team of mules hauling freight to Helena, Montana. This was the winter of 1868-69. This was a bitter cold job and he suffered greatly.
In the spring of 1869 or 1870 he quit the teamster job at Helena. He met a man by the name of Thomas Cruse. They took up a mining claim together and started working it at Nelson Creek.
This was a very lawless country. Father never carried a gun in his entire life. They worked this claim together. At night thieves would come and rob sluice boxes. There was lots of gun play around. Father was used to this rough life. But one morning he had had enough. He rolled up his blankets and started West. He left everything to his partner, Thomas Cruse. He never went back or remained in contact with Mr. Cruse.
After six months or a year, he learned that Thomas Cruse had struck it rich. He had quit the country for good and never regretted it. Lawlessness was everywhere. Would he be the next one to be scalped, or murdered by white men if he tried to protect his property at night. Before he left, he never signed any release papers with Thomas Cruse for his half of original claim.
He traveled westward, working his way as opportunity afforded. He landed in Palouse country of South East Washington at harvest time. After Harvest, he worked his way down the Columbia River basin to Portland, Oregon. Just how long it took him, we have no record. How long he stayed in Portland and later the Mt. St. Helens area, we have no record.
It was a rainy, cold winter and he took down with chills and fever. In Portland he met a man who advised him to go to Puget Sound country around Tacoma or Seattle. The chills and fever left him in this salt water country.
The first winter he and his partner fished for salmon and packed them in salt for boats that came into Seattle Harbor. How long he worked at this, I do not know.The next record we have, he and another partner went up into Canada's Peace River Country and took up a mining claim. Just how well he fared there is not known. When I (George Zimmerman) was quite a small boy, I remember we had a teacup 1/3 full of gold nuggets from this undertaking.
He then returned to Puget Sound and secured work in a logging camp on Whidby Island getting out logs for California bound log rafts. The company for which he was working went bankrupt and for his accumulated wages he took title to 40 acres of timber believed to have been on Vashon Island. He worked long enough in the timber industry to learn business. Logging was done by ox team. He went out and purchased 3 or 4 yoke of oxen and was
in the logging business.We have his old time book which indicates he began logging June 12th 1877. We also have his old legal records that show he purchased a lot at Third and Bell Streets in Seattle and kept it until he had moved to Yamhill, Oregon during 1887. This land is now part of the Seattle Center Worlds Fair Complex.
The 1880 U.S. Census show Zimmerman Logging Company with 12 people working. It shows fathers age as 31. The census also shows a Chinese Cook and Oilers. (It also shows his nephew, John Hopp, working for him.)
He left to go up Missouri River in 1868 and (was) logging in 1877. These 9 years are very sketchy, and few positive dates can be set.
In 1910 he sold the family farm 2 miles North of Yamhill Oregon to me. He then built a new house on a hill just to the North of this farm, that he had purchased in 1887 from the John J. Burton Estate, the original homesteading family of this land.
In 1929 a man stopped at Zimmerman Bros. Elevator on Railroad East of Yamhill where my brother, Edward Zimmerman was working. He said his name was William A. Jackson and be had lived in Helena, Montana. He wanted to know if the Zimmermans here had been in Helena, Montana in the very early days. He said in 1914 there was a suit to clear title of land held by Thomas Cruse in Partnership with Christian Zimmerman who could not be located, and was presumed dead.
My brother Ed took the man home and fed him, for Mr. Jackson was down on his luck. Ed then asked his father if he had ever been in Partnership with Thomas Cruse in Helena, Montana. Yes he had been a partner and the strike that made Thomas Cruse a Multimillionaire was made after Father had left.
Christian Zimmerman had never told his four sons of his life in Montana until this time in 1929. He had never contacted Thomas Cruse. He never realized that for years he still owned a share in a very large mining
operation near Helena, Montana.My Father, Christian Zimmerman died August, 1934 at Yamhill Oregon.
After Christian finished with his adventures in Canada , Washington and Montana he went back to the old home country in Sebringville, Ontario, Canada and married Louisa Sophia Nolte (1857 Canada – 1938 Oregon). Sophia was his childhood sweetheart. She had waited a long time for him. Christian and Sophia traveled west to Oregon on one of the immigrant trains on which the Wintermantels had traveled to Oregon. Perhaps the very same one! They settled in Yamhill, Oregon and had a prune orchard. Before he died in 1934 Christian had acquired several thousand acres of land in the Yamhill area. Christian was a civic minded community member and a great supporter of education. He had a school named for him and either he or one of his sons served on area school boards continuously from 1892 to 1960. Christian and Sophia had a family of three girls and four boys. They had bad luck with their girls. The first girl, Catherine, lived almost six months. The other two were twins, Mary and
Emma, born in 1889. Mary lived almost three weeks; Emma, less than four. However, the boys all grew to be very successful adults and pillars of their communities.
Christian and Louisa's first son was Benjamin Franklin Zimmerman (1883 Can – 1947 Seattle) Frank as he was called made his home in Seattle where he worked in the hotel business. He and his wife raised three children. In later years they retired on Vashon Island.
Annie Marie writes:
Frank was noted for his kindly and lovable disposition and left many very devoted friends.Christian and Louisa's second son, George Samuel Zimmerman (1885 Oregon – 1976 Oregon), bought the family farm from his father. He developed a grain elevator business. He was very active in his community of Yamhill, Oregon, serving as a county commissioner, and working on the development of roads as the country moved from horse to automobile traffic. He and his wife, Oka Swingle, had two daughters and a son. Another son died in infancy. The son that lived, Gordon Zimmerman, is an operatic tenor and sang professionally for many years in the San Francisco area until he suffered from Bells Palsey and asthma. He has made many recordings and we have one of them. He has been a lifelong railroad enthusiast. He is the author of the book A Song of Yamhill and furnished material for this Zimmerman History. George and Oka's daughter, Linola, also had a beautiful voice and sang in Opera. Her career was cut short by a mental illness. George and Oka's fourth child, daughter Celia, was very active in genealogy. She married Emmitt Dromgoole.
Christian and Louisa's third son was Peter Christian Zimmerman ( 1886 Oregon – 1950 Oregon) This is what Annie wrote about Peter:
Peter was the third child in this family. He married Ethel Patey and they had one daughter whom
they named Carolyn. She married Ben Larson. I am told that Peter was a very wonderful and good man;
not only was he an electrical engineer and a good business man, but he became an important man
politically in the state of Oregon. He was a liberal and stood for government control of electrical power
so that electricity would be available to every farmer and poor person in the state of Oregon. In 1934 he
was prevailed upon to run for Governor and received a very heavy vote, but not quite enough to win the
election. He was a Republican, and (that) year the Democratic Party elected their man because there was a
split in the Republican Party. Peter was a great orator and debater and fearless in presenting the truth as he saw it.Christian and Louisa's fourth son was Edward Orin Zimmerman (1890 Oregon – 1985 California) Edward served in the Navy in WWII. Annie wrote the following about Edward:
Edward is the youngest of Uncle Christ's children. He married Cecil Deach and they have a
family of five children...The boys are Orin, Clifton and Martin. The girls are Elnor, who
married David Harlow; and Janette, who married Robert De Shazer... (Edward) has a large poultry farm near Yamhill, Oregon. Each year he raises about ten thousand fryers and four thousand turkeys and also has a large herd of cattle. He works for George (his brother with the Grain Elevator business) most of the time as George's business requires a few skilled and dependable mechanics and Edward is an electrical engineer and good workman.The sixth child of Christian and Elizabeth Zimmerman was Elizabeth Zimmerman (abt 1849 Canada- abt 1870), called Betsie. Betsie married Christ Regal and died in childbirth with her first baby. That's all I know about her. Both of Christian and Elizabeth's daughters died in childbirth.
The seventh and last child of Christian and Elizabeth Zimmerman was Phillip Zimmerman (1851 Sebringville, Ontario, Canada – 1941 Spring Valley, Fillmore, Minnesota). We know a lot about Phillip and his family because he was Annie Marie Zimmerman Nelson's father!
Here is the Phillip Zimmerman Obituary:
Phillip Zimmerman, the youngest of seven children, was born in Ontario, Canada, January 10, 1851. His father, Christian Zimmerman, died when Phillip was five months old. At the age of 14 it was necessary for the boy to earn his own living, and he found employment on the farm of a kindly Scotchman, Robert Murray, at ten dollars a month. An older brother had earlier left for Minnesota and Phillip followed him. Phillip's first job was working for Dr. Von Lochen of Preston driving the doctor's team and caring for them. The following winter, at the age of sixteen, he joined a crew of lumberjacks in the pine woods along the Mississippi.
In 1874 he married Ernestine Krause of Racine. They made their home near Fairmont, Minnesota. For two successive years a plague of grasshoppers destroyed their entire crop, so they abandoned their farm and returned to Spring Valley.
They settled on what is known as the Zimmerman Homestead, the farm 3½ miles northwest of Spring Valley, where Mr. and Mrs. Jack Briggs have been living. Phillip placed his building on a hill above Deer Creek, close to a large spring which served for years as a refrigerator. As the children grew old enough to help with the work, more land was acquired until the original 160 became 360 acres. For the Zimmerman's and their seven children this was the good life known by the early settlers of our community. They "broke" (cleared) the land, planted crops, raised chickens and stock. They slept on cornhusk mattresses in summer and feather beds in winter. They canned from two to four hundred quarts of fruit yearly and made twenty gallons of sauerkraut. They boarded the crew of "Irish paddies" who laid the track for the Great Western railroad across their farm and built the high trestle. There were picnics in the "Jensen woods" and on the winter evenings, visiting back and forth with their good neighbors, the Thayers, the Hesses, and the Churchills. In winters with the sleigh, in summer with the "surrey with the fringe on top," they drove every Sunday to the first Methodist Church of Spring Valley.
In 1924, friends and neighbors celebrated the golden wedding anniversary of the Zimmerman's. Mrs. Zimmerman passed away in 1926, but Mr. Zimmerman reached the age of 90, passing away in 1941. Of the seven children three are living, Annie, Alice, and Fern. In 1905 Annie, the oldest child married a Methodist minister Fred Nelson. They are now retired and live in Los Altos, California. In 1899, Julius left for western Montana and worked with the sheep-herders and cattlemen, an era of the early west known today as "cowboy days." In 1906, Albert married Anna Thompson and farmed in the Buckwheat Ridge community, retiring to Spring Valley in 1946. Edward married Tressie Tabor in 1913 and took over the old home farm, for his father retired that year and moved to the northeast part of Spring Valley. Minnie first taught high school, then did graduate work and became the librarian at Winona State Teachers College. Alice and Fern taught for twenty years in Cloquet High School, Minnesota. They now make their home with a 92-year old uncle, Julius Krause, in Santa Ana, California.Another story in Annie Marie's book tells about Phillip's schooling while in Canada and punishment:
For more than twenty years that school (in Canada) was conducted by a Mr. Hamilton. He was a school master of the old type, who did not believe in spoiling the child by sparing the rod. In the home too, children were punished most severely in those days, sometimes at very slight provocations. I have heard my father tell of how a lamp chimney was broken in some way. It was thought that he could have prevented it if he had been watching the children more cautiously, so he had to be whipped. Thirty-nine strokes was the punishment. Nowadays we would consider such treatment beyond all reason, and some people think that one should not punish a child at all. A generation or two makes a great change in people‟s thinking. …
Another of Annie's stories tells about Phillip's first job:
(The) Scotchman paid him the salary in silver dollars. My father carried those sixty silver dollars home six miles to Uncle Henry, who then gave him seventy five cents out of it for spending money. This was the first spending money that my father had ever had and it is interesting to note how he spent it. First he says he bought 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 jackknife, and with what money there was left he bought candy to treat 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. My Uncle 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; and when he returned he took my father with him.
Phillip married Ernestine Krause (1853 Prussia – 1941 Spring Valley, Fillmore Co., Minnesota) I want to tell you a little about the Krause family. The Krause farm adjoined the farm of Phillip's brother, Peter Zimmerman. Peter's daughter married Julius Krause, brother to Ernestine Krause. Aside of their streak of irritability and the red-headed grandmother, Annie Marie describes the Krause family this way:
My grandfather Krauses family was musical, but as they did not have musical instruments in those early days they expressed their musical talent in song. They sang at their work and at their play. You could never be at their home for any length of time without hearing their song. It was as natural for them to sing as it was to eat. It was a part of their nature and their life. When the youngest child was about thirteen years old, grandfather bought an organ and she learned to play, and then they had many a family sing, with the organ. But I love to think of their song as I used to hear it in my childhood days when they were working in the fields or as they were preparing meals or making beds, or most frequently in the open as they did their work about the house and barn. I shall never forget their clear beautiful voices.
The Krause family is another of the group of families that appears to have migrated from near Sebringsville, Canada to Fillmore County, Minnesota, along with Zimmermans, Riehls, and Krusps.
The Wilder Family Farm was also in Spring Valley, Minnesota. From May 1890 to October 1891 Laura and Almanzo lived with Almanzo's parents there and attended the Methodist church. So Phillip's family undoubtedly knew Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Wilder family.
Phillip and Ernestine's first child was Anna Marie Zimmerman (1874 Minnesota – 1964 Michigan). She married Reverend Alfred Christian Nelson, called Fred, a Methodist minister. Allan Van Lehn, Annie's grandson, wrote the following in his forward to his grandmother's book, Zimmerman Family History and Stories:
Grandma could speak German and taught us a few words. I remember her playing some 78 rpm
records of German songs, especially Christmas carols. She didn't push a lot of German culture on us, I
think, because of Hitler and the Third Reich. That was a sad and embarrassing period in human history
especially to my grandparents who worked so hard to help people and spread the Gospel (good news of
God's love). ..
Grandma was quite a prize because she was well educated, was a school teacher at 16 and school
principal at age 27, was quite spiritual and religious, had a strong work ethic, was very accomplished in
the domestic arts by virtue of being the oldest child, having to help her mother care for and raise her
younger siblings. It has always been astounding that there was a 25 year age difference between grandma
and the youngest child, my mother's aunt Fern. Grandma helped grandpa in the church by organizing and
running the ladies aid society, running the Sunday school, and even giving the sermon when grandpa was
sick or away. Very few ministers' wives (unless pastors themselves) had the training or inclination to do
what grandma did. One of grandma's favorite causes was the appreciation of God's creation: the mineraland vegetable, but especially the animal kingdom. She talked eloquently about the importance of being
kind to animals. She was very fond of guinea pigs.The book is filled with humorous, sad, glad and heart-warming stories of her family with Fred, her birth family and her extended Zimmerman and Krause families. Annie Marie and her husband were both ministers and had some hair-raising adventures traveling to their various churches in Montana in the early 1900's. This one I just have to relate here:
Chapter 4, p. 14 - FORDING the GULCH
Soon after our arrival in Shelby arrangements were made for Fred to preach one Sunday at Chester and
Lothair, and the next Sunday at Shelby. The Sunday that he was gone to Chester, I would take my baby
on one arm and an ax and kindling in the other and go over to the church, sometimes through deep
snowdrifts, to build a fire and then wait for Sunday school children to arrive. After Sunday school was
over I would have to conduct the morning service. The surprising thing about that work was that there
were usually about twenty men and only three or four women. The next Sunday Fred would keep the
baby and do as I had done while I would go to preach in Chester and Lothair, and in this way we
alternated the work all winter. In the spring the district superintendent wanted us to preach at Sweet
Grass which was on the Canadian border 40 miles to the north, as a young student had filed on a claim
near Chester, and could look after that work. Railroad connections were not very good to go to Sweet
Grass so that brought on a problem.
Shelby was anxious for us to stay in their town and built a parsonage for us, but the problem of
living on the claim had to be solved. We were supposed to live on our claim about six months out of
every year for three years. There seemed to be no solution. Finally we borrowed money from Fred's
father and bought a Ford [model T]. We established a residence on our claim and drove about 150 miles
every week-end, holding a church service at Sweet Grass every Sunday morning, at Shelby every Sunday
evening, besides preaching at a school house or two on the way. When we held service at the Sweet
Grass Hills School House, all the dinner that Fred would have time to eat on Sunday would be a sandwich
as he drove. There was no time to stop to eat. This life was terribly wearing on Fred, but we did not
realize it at the time. Of course, we encountered all kinds of difficulties and storms on these trips. On one
trip to Chester our car stalled in the middle of a big pool of water which recent rain had formed and
which it was impossible to avoid as the railroad track was on one side and a high barbed-wire fence on
the other. Fred had to take off his shoes and wade out and try to get a team of horses from the nearest
farm house to pull us out. While he was gone a Great Northern passenger train passed and when the
engineer and fireman saw us sitting in our car in the pool they reached out their hands to us in a most
imploring manner. The situation must have looked ludicrous to them but not so to us. On another
occasion high water had removed a bridge which crossed a deep gulch over which we had to pass. There
were several narrow thick boards lying near by. Fred laid these across the gulch as far apart as the wheels
of the car and drove across while I stood in front of the car to tell him that he was staying on the boards.
We both held our breath, but got safely over. It was two o'clock in the morning. We did not reach our
destination that night until nearly day-light.Annie Marie and Fred had two children, Phillip and Joy. Joy is the mother of Allan Van Lehn that I have quoted. Phillip was a concert pianist and played in Nazi, Germany before WWII. He wrote a letter home at that time. I share it with you here:
Darmstadt (Letter arrived in Oakland, California on August 30, 1934)
Bahnhof-hotel
Dear Folks,
I sent you a card from Heidelberg this afternoon and Lucerne before. I got on a train for Darmstadt at 3:10 P.M. or so and arrived after four. This letter is to tell you about Althein while it is fresh in my mind. As I had no map showing it and have forgotten much of what you told me once, I didn't know how best to proceed. So I went to an "eis" stand and had an ice cream cone and incidentally said "Wo est Althein?" As they didn't know they talked about it until someone actually took me to the train. It was a small train, all third class, and the conductor showed me a seat (driving out those who were there first.) He was most interested in my case, and told an old woman who was going there about me. And so we arrived in half an hour and I walked from the station to the village with the old woman. Althein is in Hessen not Hesse. The ticket read Althein, Hessen, so that point we wondered about is clear. I asked several times about "Spitzalthein." It is all one and the same town as Althein. The only reasons I could get for the double name are that Spitzalthein is the old and Althein is the modern name and "It was called Spitzalthein because the church was too high.My visit was rather a sensation. I had about a dozen people crowded around me. A school teacher "Hermann Menges" stayed with me all the time, and he was the only one who could speak any English. I met no Zimmermans. I saw a Zimmerman house and it was one of the best. One of the Zimmermans is a doctor in this city. There seems to have been more than one family of Zimmermans known to the natives. I do not remember the name of the wife of Christian Zimmerman so could not ask about that. There are 800 people. All are peasant class. There are two main streets and some alleys. There are two teachers and 100 students. There is no music in the town (students or teachers.) Some houses are quite nice looking and there are 4 or 5 radios in evidence broadcasting Hitlers election speeches. The town is full of Hitler signs, etc. The streets are made of stones, the houses of brick or stone. There are forests near by. The country is quite flat. The peasants raise vegetables and are poor "because they can't get money for the vegetables." There are three main families. They are Funk, Roth, and Appel. Most of the graves are of these names. One grave is Nikolaus Zimmerman 1817 - 1896. There is Marie Zimmerman b. 1819.
As there are not enough pastors in Germany they have none just now. They could not look in the church register. Only the pastor can. If you wish to know when a certain person was born etc. and have a definite question write to "Pastor of Althein in Hessen." I was in the church. It was built centuries ago, 1400 or 1500 A.D. and was once Catholic. The church has very thick walls and the original windows are very tiny, as it was used as a fort. The large windows are from modern times. One can see at the windows how thick and fort-like the walls are. I have some postal cards. The natives are mostly blue-eyed and have hair of all shades from black to blond. The place is quite clean compared to Italian villages. I was there five hours and had some "abendessen" (evening food), paying for my school teacher friend, total less than 2 marks. We had brea,d butter and all kinds of cold meats and mustard.
They had a battle last year over Hitler and I was shone the grave of a young Hitler follower 20 years old.
I find I can say a few words in German but understand nothing, almost. The Zimmerman family was not at home (or in evidence) and I saw their old and new (1907) house, both nice brick houses but simple. As the church has a record one might prove a connection with these Zimmermans if it were worth while. The church is Luthern of course.
Next day: I am sick today and shall stay in my room for a while. I have not seen anything of Darmstadt. Perhaps I shall start another letter to you now. The American Express in Berlin is 3 Unter den Linden.
Sincerely Yours,
PhillipThe Zimmerman house Phillip mentions (1907) was the ancestral family home of our Zimmermans. The Zimmerman family living there when Phillip visited in 1934 was George Zimmerman, a direct descendent of our Johann Christian Zimmerman's father, Johann Peter Zimmerman, as was Nikolaus Zimmerman who built the new part of the house in 1907.
Joy VanLehn (Phillip's sister) adds the following:
The next day he went on to Berlin where he gave a concert on Nov. 20, 1934. His friends there included American Ambassador William E. Dodd and his family and Louis Lochner, Bureau chief for the Associated Press in Berlin. All the Americans were getting nervous and advised him to get out of the country as soon as he could, so on Dec. 1, 1934 he left Berlin and went to Holland and Belgium on his way to London.
This concert is mentioned in In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.
Phillip and Ernestine's second child was Julius Benjamin Zimmerman (1876 Minnesota – 1935 Minnesota). Julius never married. As a young man he went west to Montana and worked several years on the range herding sheep and cattle. Eventually he came back to the old home in Minnesota to care for aging parents.
Phillip and Ernestine's third child was Albert Peter Zimmerman (1878 Minnesota – 1951 Minnesota). He married Anna Thompson and had two children; Ernestine who never married, and Phillip who served in the Navy in WWII and spent some time in Iceland.
Annie Marie tells this story about Albert:
My brother, Albert, had a serious accident the fall that [Williams Jennings] Bryan was running for president on the “16 to 1” platform. As the brothers were returning from a political rally the horse ran away and threw the boys out, breaking Albert's leg near the hip, and injured him otherwise so that he never completely recovered. He was in bed for months...
However, Albert did recover enough to farm until he was nearly seventy near Frankford, Minnesota. Annie calls him, “a kind and dear man.”
Phillip and Ernestine's fourth child was David Phillip Zimmerman (1881 Minnesota – 1882 Minnesota). David died as a toddler of Scarlet Fever.
Phillip and Ernestine's fifth child was Edward Walter Zimmerman (1886 Minnesota – 1953).
He married Theresa Tabor. Edward went to Northwestern University for one year but it was too expensive and he was homesick so he came home and took over his father's farm, eventually buying it.Phillip and Ernestine's sixth child was Minnie Etta Zimmerman (1889 Minnesota – 1955 California).
Minnie first taught high school, then did graduate work and became the librarian at Winona State Teachers College.
Phillip and Ernestine's seventh child was Esther Alice Zimmerman (1891 Minnesota – 1960 California). Alice, as she was called, was also a college graduate, and taught for twenty years in Cloquet High School, Minnesota. Annie Marie relates this story:
Alice had a serious accident while traveling through Yellowstone Park. She happened to be near a hot spring when the crust on which she was standing gave way and she fell into the boiling water burning her legs badly. For some time there seemed to be no hope for her life, but she had the Zimmerman vitality and shocked her doctor by getting well.
Phillip and Ernestine's eighth child was Fern Joy Zimmerman (1899 Minnesota – 1996 California). Fern too was a college graduate, and taught for twenty years in Cloquet High School, Minnesota along with Alice. Annie Marie writes:
Sister Fern had a serious automobile accident from which no one ever expected her to recover, but after months of pain and suffering she too showed her Zimmerman vitality and got well. How she ever managed to get well no one can tell, but she did after weeks of unconsciousness and untold pain.
And she lived a very long life, living to the age of 97. Fern Joy died 196 years after her grandfather Christian was born.
I've mentioned Julius Krause who had a redheaded grandmother and married Peter Zimmerman's daughter, Margaret Lydia. Julius and Margaret Lydia had one child, a daughter
Mable Krause. The 1930 census lists Mable's occupation as “Music Teacher.” But Mable had some kind of problem that made her an invalid. Some time after 1940, Uncle Julius came back to Minnesota and persuaded his three single nieces, Minnie, Alice and Fern, to come and live with him in Santa Ana, California,and care for Mable, so that's what they did., and I believe they cared for Uncle Julius as well.Here we are at the end of the beginning of our Zimmerman line. Our Zimmermans had made their home in the village of Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse which is now part of Germany. They lived there at least from the Thirty Years War until Christian came across the sea to Canada on the chance of having a better future. His descendants migrated to Minnesota and then, many of them, on to the west coast. They were all of very good disposition and they all had nice hair!
Love, Granny
Elizabeth Dorothea KNOLL Kneil Knell
26 October 2013
Dear Children
Tonight I will tell you about our Knoll ancestors.
We're not really sure how this name was spelled. My dad thought it was Kneil. I've also seen it as Knell. Knoll seems the most popular so I'll go with the majority. This genealogical information is from Pfarrer Walter's History of the Zimmerman Family in Altheim:
The first Knoll that we know about was Andread Knoll who (died in Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse 1806.) He married Susanne Marg Strumfels. Andread and Susanne had at least nine children. Seven survived to adulthood. The one that was our ancestor is:
Johann Adam Knoll ( 1778 Klein-Umstasdt, Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany – 1826 Altheim). He married in 1808 Anna Margarethe Schodt ( of Altheim, Hauptstrasse 27) She was the daughter of:
Philipp Schodt (b 1738) and Anna Margarethe. This is what Pfarrer Walter told us about the Schodts (Elizabeth's maternal grandparents):
(They) owned what for Altheim was quite a good piece of property at Hauptstraze 27. … The daughter, Anna Margarethe Schodt, stayed in her parents home and married Johann Adam Knoll from Klein Umstadt. In 1804 the property consisted of a two story house (that still stands today and has an arched gate), a barn and stable, one fourth Morgen (a measure of land six to nine tenths of an acre) garden, thirty four Morgen fields, three and three-fourths Morgen meadows, value of the property 200 florins.
This is the home where our Elizabeth grew up. Johann Adam Knoll and Anna Margarethe Schodt were the parents of our immigrant Knoll ancestor: Elizabeth Dorthea Knoll (1809 Altheim, Darmstadt, Hessen – 1888 Preston, MN) .
Part of Elizabeth's story is here and part of her story is bound up with that of her husband, Johann Christian Zimmerman (b 1800). Most of her story comes from Annie Marie Zimmerman Nelson's Zimmerman Family Stories and History. She told Elizabeth's story so well there's not much to add. Elizabeth was Annie's grandmother and what's more, Annie knew her personally! Annie was almost 14 when her grandmother died, and she lived with Annie's family much of the time.
Elizabeth's father had died and left the mother with a family to raise. Elizabeth had the same dream that many early colonists brought to America ... that this was a land where one could get rich quickly and then return home and make the lives of their loved ones easier. She was determined to come to Canada. Her mother was very opposed to this idea. She feared she would never see her child again. Elizabeth told her Mother not to feel badly, that she would soon be back with a nice little fortune to help her fatherless family. But she never went back. Her
mother and grandmother lived to be very old, both reaching the ... age of about ninety. In later years, she often spoke to her children about her brother, Philip,who seemed to have been an exceedingly clever and successful man.And so Elizabeth Knoll left her mother and her brothers and sisters and traveled to Canada on the same ship as did her neighbor, Johann Christian Zimmerman. When Rolland Zimmerman visited Altheim in 1983 he discovered that Elizabeth Knoll's family home, Hauptstraze 27, (today Hergert), was about four houses from the Zimmerman home, Hauptstraze 35, therefore only a few houses farther on the same side of the street.. Whether the decision to come to Canada in 1832 was mutual, or whether, as Annie Nelson recalled, their friendship on the long trip was the inspiration for their later marriage, we will never know.
Elizabeth and Christian complied with the custom of those days which was that a wedding must be announced for three successive Sundays in the church before the young people could be married. They were devoted to each other, and their wedded life was exceedingly happy. Elizabeth was a great help to her husband, not only in making a happy home for him, but also in clearing the timber from the land. She helped him pile and burn brush, and sometimes get the logs off the land. She did whatever else there was to do that a woman could do. She was always well, happy and busy, being of the industrious type of woman. She was of medium size and weight, with slightly rounded shoulders. In her later years, she became decidedly round-shouldered. Her eyes were very dark blue, and her hair a very dark brown, almost black. Her hair never turned gray, even in her last days...
The next part of Elizabeth's story is united with that of her husband, Johann Christian Zimmerman (b. 1800). Here we will resume Elizabeth's story after Christian's death.
An inheritance came for Elizabeth from the old country, but a man by the name of Henry Zimmerman, no relative at all and who had no right to it whatsoever, succeeded in getting it away from her.
For a number of years, until Henry, the oldest boy, was ready to marry, the mother and family carried on the work of the farm together--.She built a large wooden barn, and made a few other improvements. Elizabeth had a little cow, "Daisy", that she kept for twenty-two years.
Then as the children became adults, some of them moved on to Minnesota and Elizabeth went with them. Annie continues:
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. She was ill only a very short time. Early in the evening of October 18, when asked how she felt and whether she would have any supper, she replied that she did not need any supper, and that by ten o'clock she would be gone to her home in Heaven. Adam's family thought she was delirious, but really not seriously ill. Just before ten o'clock that evening, she passed quietly and peacefully away. No one realized she was going until she was gone. Then they remembered that she had said she would be gone by ten o'clock. She was 78 years and 9 months old. She is buried in the Preston cemetery, with services being held at the German Evangelical Church. Elizabeth had a certain strain of severity in her nature which, occasionally when conditions were right, showed itself. She was a fine disciplinarian and seemed to understand human nature better than most people. She was very tidy about her person, and her room, and was quite saving. She was always fair in her dealings with her fellow-man, but she also expected them to be fair with her. She disliked pictures and statuary very much, and used to say, "ach solcha gotza" (Oh, such idols!) To her, they suggested images, and made her think of idolatry, which was considered a sin. This probably is the reason that we have only one photograph of her, and none of her husband. She was always glad to help along any good cause, but always had so little money to spend. Something always happened to her property because of Henry's mismanagement. She said she did not care much for money for her own use, but that she would like to have had money so that she might give to the church, and help the poor, and give wherever there was a need. She loved to go to church, but it hurt her not to have more to give. Hers was a beautiful life of hardship, sorrow and trials, culminating in a great and glorious victory, and how can we know but that the discipline of this lower life perfected her, and made her ready for that higher service above. "A home in Heaven; what a joyful thought As the poor man toils in his weary lot, His heart oppressed, and with anguish drives From his home below to his home in Heaven."
We have come to the end of our Knoll story. They were comparatively well off citizens in the village of Altheim, Darmstadt, Hesse (now Germany). When her father died suddenly leaving his wife with many children to raise alone, his daughter Elizabeth, age 23 came to Canada with hopes of making a fortune and returning to help those she left behind. Instead she married and raised her own family and was left a young widow herself with many children to care for. She was a pioneer in Canada then she went with her children as they pioneered in Minnesota. She was a strong pioneer woman of great religious faith. We are happy to be among her hundreds of descendants.
Love
Granny
"The Britzius Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens 2013:
Our next ancestor is the son of Johan Jacob and Catharina Elisabethe Schwarz Britzius, Theobald H. Britzius (1820 Bisterschied, Pfalz – 1896 St. Charles, Minnesota). He came with his father, one brother and two sisters to America in 1840. They settled in Little Valley, Quincy Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. On Dec 7, 1843 he married Christina Elizabeth Maurer (1827 Waldgrehweiler, Pfalz – 1902 St. Charles, Minnesota) in Fiat, Bucks Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. The most interesting thing I've found out about these two is they were the parents of 15 children! Can you imagine raising fifteen children without running water? Twelve survived to adulthood. Sometime between the birth of baby number twelve and baby number thirteen they moved, along with papa Johan Jacob Britzius (1788), to Quincy, Olmsted County, Minnesota.
Christina was born in House # 49.
per Moyer - emigrated to US 3 May 1834- NY from Bavaria
per Britzius File III p. 2
"In Waldgrehweiler we were told of a very old house once owned by the Maurer family. . . . The original walls are three feet thick and it was nice and cool inside on an 85 degree day outside. The inside ceilings looked ancient except in the rooms he had redone. He said he didn't know when it was built - perhaps in the 1400's. It was used as an inn at one time, with a dance hall adjoining it."
From "The Britzius Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens, 2013:
10 – Nikolaus Britzius (1857 Ohio – 1864 Minnesota) died six days after his sister Maria was born.
1920 Census, Nome Alaska - gives name as John P. He owns his home free. He is single. He works as a gas supplier for a gold dredger.
This person is dead.
This person is dead.
per death certificate - occupation is meat cutter.
address at time of death is 1206 S.W. 18th Ave., Portlandper M. Alexander 10 Apr 2007 "Druschel and Wm F. Klein Butcher Shop in Portland – I had a note that that is what Charles owned and operated in 1890 in Portland"
per father's estate papers, Emma is 29 yrs old and is livig in Portland. She inherites $260.59
From: "The Adam Zimmerman Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens - 2013
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.
A school document from 1913/1914 indicates Mildred was enrolled in some type of special education program.
At time of father's death, Clara is 21, married, living in Wadena, Minnesota.
1900 Census shows Clara living in Canby nextdoor to her mother. It says she has been married 5 years, has born 3 children, 2 of whom are living
From: "The Adam Zimmerman Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens - 2013
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.
This person is dead.
Per father's estate papers, Aaron is 23 yrs. old and living in Preston, Minnesota. He inherites $260.59.
From: "The Adam Zimmerman Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens - 2013
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.
Odilie Wilhelmine Johanna Hannah KRALING
From M. Alexander 10 Apr 2007: "My grandma Hannah had a beautiful flower garden in the back yard and a covered swing. We always parked in back by the garage when we went there and when we went in the back door there was a Hoosier-type cabinet on the back porch and quite often there would be rhubarb kuchen cooling on the shelf. Grandma had those depression clear glass dishes that came in boxes of soap – hers were yellow – my favorite color. I remember eating home made applesauce from the apple tree in the back yard from those dishes. My grandma was a great cook – many Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners were eaten there. She made the world’s best coleslaw – even my mom couldn’t duplicate it! Grandma made her own lye soap and she would personally wash our hands at the kitchen sink because we couldn’t reach it very well (and probably to keep us from slopping soapy water on the floor!).
Bernice (Wesley’s sister) and her husband (John Norman Poulsen (Uncle Jack to me)lived two houses south of Aaron and Hannah. "
Marriage Notes for Heinrich Aron Zimmerman and Odilie Wilhelmine Johanna Hannah KRALING-275
Newspaper article from unknown paper
"On ChristmasDay, Mr. Aaron Zimmerman of Douglas Co., Washington, was joined in marriage to Miss Hannah Kraling Of Big Springs. The ceremony took place at the home of Mr. And Mrs. Geo, Riehl, in the presence of relatives and several friends. A. Geyman of this place officiated. The groom is well known to the people of Preston as he lived in this county until a few years ago when he went west, where he is at present a prosperous farmer. The bride is an estimable young lady who will be greatly missedby her many friends. After visiting several weeks with relatives and friends, the bridal pair will go to their future home in Washington. Our best wishes go with them."
Aaron's Uncle Philip Zimmerman married Catherine Riehl, prbable relation to Geo. Riehl named above.
possibly the Ed Gunther who died 5 Apr 1963. Oregon death index.
Per father's estate papers (1899), Sarah is 14 and living with mother in Canby.
At the time of Sarah's death she and Ed lived at 2339 S.E. Salmon St., Portland, Oregon. Additional causes of death were: acute myelogenous leukemia, diabetes mellitis, pneumonia, cardiac decompensation, and acute neuropblebitis bilateral.
from "The Adam Zimmerman Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens - 2013
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.
This living person has not agreed to be listed.
This person is dead.
Per Adam Zimmerman estate papers, name is spelled "Krak."
1900 Census - In addition to immediate family is listed a "servant" Edward Geiger, b. June 1880. He and both parents were born in Canada. He came to US in 1896. He has been employed for 2 months as a farm laborer.
On 1920 census it looks like the sons name, b. 1902, is Wilis Roosevelt. Hired hand Charles Wiescker, age 52, born in Germany, is also listed with the family as "hired man."
Per 1930 census father and mother were both born in Germany. John is living with his son-in-law and Daughter, Harry and Edna Carlson, his wife, and son Miles. He is no longer working.
I find John Krak listed as a 17 yr old on his father's farm in the 1880 census, Cavalier twsp, Pembina Co, Dakota Territory, but no listing for same area in 1900.From "The Adam Zimmerman Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens
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.
WWI draft card gives birthdate 12 Jan 1899.
This person is dead.
This person is dead.
From "The Christian Zimmerman Story" by Dianne Z. Stevens 2013:
The sixth child of Christian and Elizabeth Zimmerman was Elizabeth Zimmerman (abt 1849 Canada- abt 1870), called Betsie. Betsie married Christ Regal and died in childbirth with her first baby. That's all I know about her. Both of Christian and Elizabeth's daughters died in childbirth.