The Will of Leonard Ziegelmüller

In posts found here and here, I discussed discovering the name of the mother of my great-grandmother, Elizabeth Dunzinger Panther. It ends up the surname had been in front of us for a decade or more but we had no idea that it was her last name. My second cousin has provided me with an additional piece of evidence that, had we known to look for it earlier, could have cut decades off of this search. It is the last will and testament of Leonard Ziegelmüller. In order to take advantage of this, I would have had to recognize that the last name in the headline of the newspaper article was definitely connected to her rather than believing another family the article discussed, which she was found living with in the 1870 US Federal Census, was her family. In the end, rather than providing us the breakthrough, it serves as additional evidence that what we have discovered is correct.

Reasons for Aloys Panther's Move to America

 My great-grandfather, Aloys Panther, and his wife Monica Hanle Panther, along with their oldest son, came to America from Baden in 1872. Why? I had speculated that the end of the Austro-Prussian War, the death of his brother and the death of two of his sons may have convinced him to try a for a new start in a new land. I believe his brother may have paid a return visit to his home town to convince him to follow him back to America.

Emigrants Out of Germany in the Mid-1800s

What are the reasons people left Germany in the mid-1800s? I've always wondered and could never find the answer. When my cousin visited our great-grandfather's home village last year, a local reporter wrote an article about his visit. In addition, part of the article was about the mass emigration of people out of the Black Forest region in the 1850s. I found this extremely interesting. While it wouldn't explain my great-grandfather's reasons for leaving in 1872, it could explain his brother leaving in 1854. The article was written in German. This is a translation that my cousin had a friend do for him.

Biography of Benedict Bixenman

Benedict Bixenman was born on March 21, 1829 in Treherz, Donaukreis, Wurtemburg, now a part of Germany, to 40 year old Eusebius Bixenman and his wife, 31 year old Maria Anna (Reidmiller) Bixenman. His parents had already had five other children, at least three of which were still living at the time. They were Joseph, if he was still alive, who would have been 9 years old. and 8 year old Francesca. We only know the birth date and nothing further about these two. It's possible they died prior to Benedict's birth. The rest of the children were 6 year old Johannes, 5 year old Theresa and 3 year old Leopold.

 

Benedict Bixenman's baptismal record from the church book in Treherz

My Miller Mystery

My surname is Miller. It is believed my great-grandfather was known by the surname Müller at least until he came to the United States. We have reason to believe one of his brothers went by the surname of Müller even after he came to America. In my experience looking through the record books of Catholic churches in a few villages in Germany, it appears that Müller is essentially just an alternate spelling of Mueller and Miller. It doesn't appear there was any intentional or accidental name change when my great-grandfather, Charles Miller (aka Karl Müller) came to America. It is my belief that he just started spelling it this way and that's the way his children ended up spelling it. Regardless, I'm sure that should we find his baptismal record in Germany in any of these spellings, I know I'll recognize the family.

Charles and Philomena Bixenman Miller ca1900

Charles Miller was extremely secretive about where he came from. He said he was on the run from the German military and if they tracked him down, he would be treated as a deserter. Grandpa Leo H. Miller Sr. said he was confident he had relatives in Germany but he had no idea where.

The Miller/Müller Family

I got a message from a cousin on my Miller side, asking for what is currently known about the Miller family. Of course, that makes a perfect blog post.

The Müller Family

First Generation

1.  It is unknown who the parents of the Müller siblings are. It is believed they lived and died in Germany. Where they lived and when they were born and died is unknown.

Their children were:

  +         2   M        i.         Charles E. Miller was born on 7 Oct 1852 in Germany, died on 21 Oct 1923 in Fort Madison, Lee, Iowa at age 71, and was buried in Fort Madison, Lee, Iowa.

  +         3   M       ii.         Gottlieb Müller was born on 29 May 1868 in Germany.

  +         4   F       iii.         Annie Müller.

              5   M     iv.         Unknown first name Müller.

  +         6   F        v.         Sophia Müller was born about 1871 in Germany.

  +         7   F       vi.         Rika Müller.

Not sure of order but Charles E. Miller appears to be in the front center. The rest are Gottlieb Miller, Annie Miller Quenzer, Sophia Miller Schmalzl, Rika Miller Susenberger

Read all the known details by clicking the Read More link:

More Information on the Dunzinger Family

I found out more details of the Dunzinger family in and around Wemding, Bavaria, Germany. This does not yet confirm that we've found Elizabeth Dunzinger's ancestors but it does confirm that the Andrew Dunzinger family found in the 1855 New York census does connect to the Dunzinger family in Wemding. What we need to track down now is the marriage and death records for Andrew and Fanny Dunzinger found in the 1855 New York census. If we can confim that they died in the late 1850s, that will, to me at least, prove beyond a reasonable doubt that we've found our Elizabeth Dunzinger's family. I'm sure there is more information than what I'm showing here but I've asked them to hold off the research due to the cost (more than I expected) and the fact that we haven't confirmed that this is the correct Dunzinger family. I'm pretty confident but I'd rather not have more research expense without knowing this for sure. I'm hoping to find a way to do the research myself but as far as I know, these documents have not been digitized or microfilmed.

Here are the details of what we now know:
Andrew Dunzinger, found in the 1855 New York census in Ward 20, 2nd Enumeration District, age 32, with a daughter, Elizabeth, 1 year old. Here's the entire family entry:

Andrew Dunzenger - M - 32 - born in Germany
Fanny Dunzenger - F - wife - 27 - born in Germany
Margret Dunzenger - F - child - 4 - born in New York
Elizabeth Dunzenger - F - child - 1 - born in New York
Victoria Sualemar - F - 68 - mother - born in Germany
Adam Pacoke - M - 16 - brother - born in Germany

At 32 years old, we can estimate his birth year to be 1822-1824 and the census specifies he was born in Germany and immigrated 9 years prior, in about 1846. It lists his occupation as a "paper stainer".
A paper stainer is typically someone who paints or dyes paper, typically to be used for wallpaper.

In the records of Wemding, currently stored in Eichstatt, we have the marriage of Andreas Dunzinger (a widower and tinctor [a dyer], son of the deceased Georg Andreas Dunzinger, a merchant, and his wife Cäcilia Riß) and Maria Francisca Leinfelder, born October 18, 1797,
Witness: Jacob Leinfelder, miller at Haagenmühl and his wife Maria Francisca Zamet.

They had 9 children including Andreas, born February 12, 1822. Their other childrens' names were Rupert, Joseph (died at 9 months old), Joseph, Catharina de Sienna, Cacilia (died at 5 years old), Francisca, Cacilia, Emmeram (died at 1 year, 8 months old).

The elder Andreas Dunzinger's first marriage was to Maria Josepha Lettenbauer, born 06.05.1792, daughter of Michael Lettenbauer mayor and innkeeper and his deceased wife Marianna Koch. They had three children, Maria Anna Juliana, Maria Anna and Joseph. His first wife died at the age of 38. His second wife, the mother of Andreas, also died at 38 years of age and he married a third time, to Marianna Strauss, daughter of the decesased Johann Strauss a citizen in Anhauserhof and his deceased wife Marianna Ottinger.

One baptismal entry says the father is owner of “Wildbad” in Wemding. Wildbad is a part of Wemding; today a hotel.

Georg Andreas Dunzinger (this would be Elizabeth's great-grandfather) married twice. First to Maria Barbara, daughter of the deceased Joseph Kreislmayer senator/councilman and his deceased wife Catharina. Next to Maria Cäcilia, daughter of the deceased Johann Riß innkeeper from Blindheim and his deceased wife Maria Anna. Maria Cäcilia would be Elizabeth's great-grandmother.

George Andreas Dunzinger was the son of Franz Xaver Dunzinger, cerearius Wörthae (= cerearius = chandler; Wörthae = Donauwörth?) and senator/councilman, and his wife Maria Anna.

We also have information about Joseph Dunzinger's marriage and descendants. This is the brother of the Andreas Dunzinger that moved to New York and likely the ancestor of most of the Dunzingers still living in the area. As for the mother and brother listed, we have to assume they are the mother and brother of Fanny Dunzinger. We have not yet figured out who she is and if she is also from Wemding. Their marriage record in New York will likely provide more information as there is no marriage record for the younger Andreas Dunzinger in Wemding. Also, the researcher could not find a connection between the Dunzinger family and the Ziegelmueller and Wagner families in Wemding so I'm working under the assumption they are releated to Fanny and that she is also from Wemding.

--Matt
Lessons learned: Never give up looking for that elusive ancestors. Never lose contact information for those who've helped you in the past. Find out the cost of what research is going to cost before authorizing the research.

Family History Center Presentation

This post is essentially the presentation I made at my local Family History Center last summer. I had had such great success tracking down my Panther ancestors, they wanted me to give a presentation showing how it happened, hoping to give pointers to others trying to find their ancestors in Germany. This is slightly changed due to one BIG mistake I made in my research. This one has the correct information on the ship, the SS Hanover. My initial research had found the Hanover, but it ends up it was the Hanover IV, which is of a completely different era of ship travel. Thankfully (and embarrassingly) there was a ship expert in attendance who pointed out my mistake and helped me find more information about their voyage.

Aloys Panther Biography

It was October, 1872. Thirty-five year old Aloys Panther was on the steamship Hanover with his wife of four years Monica and three year old son Maurice along with 722 other passengers, including 377 fellow Germans. Maurice was the Americanized spelling of the boy’s name, Moriz, who was named after Aloys’ father and brother. They had been at sea for over three weeks. They were getting close to their destination, New Orleans, Louisiana, America. What led him to leave the village of Mösbach his grandparents lived in for many years and the area near Achern his ancestors lived in for centuries?

Aloys was born in 1837 in the village of Mösbach, Baden, Germany to Moriz Panther and Elizabeth Birk. His younger brother, Michael died at the age of three when Aloys was just seven years old just a few months before his youngest brother Moriz was born. His father, Moriz, a police officer, died at the age of forty-three when Aloys was ten years old. His mother married his father’s nephew, Franz Anton Panther just a year later.  Aloys’ brother Ferdinand moved to America when Aloys was seventeen. We can guess he longed to follow his brother but thought it more practical to stay close to home. At the age of 24, he joined with Wendelin Bürck, Andreas Bürk, August Traub, Blasius Bürk, Christian Bohnert, Gabriel Schott, Moritz Weber, Konrad Rummel, Fabian Stretch, Alexander Sutter, Daniel Bürk, Wendelin Bürk and Anton Klump in establishing a brass band in their village.

When Aloys was 29, his youngest brother Moriz, who was a member of the Fifth Infantry Regiment, 8th company of the Baden Brigade, died at the battle of Hundheim in the Astro-Prussian War.

Two years later, Aloys married Monica Hanle, daughter of Sebastian Hanle and Magdalena Schmitt, also of Mösbach. His son Moriz was born a year later. The following year, a second son, Franz Haver died just three days after he was born, then Aloys’ mother died just five months later. Less than eleven months after his mother died, his third son was born. He named him after his brother Ferdinand who had gone to America eighteen years before. When this son died four months later, you could imagine Aloys had had enough. With only one sister and one brother left of his immediate family, he started making plans for America.

He left Mösbach on September 14, 1872, just one month after the death of his son Ferdinand, looking to follow his brother to a farm in Iowa. He and his wife arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 12. Nine months later, their son Frank Ignatius was born. Not long after, they continued their journey up the Mississippi, settling in the Sperry-Dodgeville area of Des Moines County, likely near his brother Ferdinand.

Aloys and Monica had another son, Joseph, in 1875. Monica died in 1877 at the age of 35 and Aloys married Elizabeth Dunzinger.

Aloys and Elizabeth had the following children: Leonard Joseph in 1878, Alvin Aloysius in 1880, Mary Ann in 1882, Anna Margaret in 1885, Edward James in 1887, George Henry in 1889, Benedict in 1892. Their son Frank married Frances Christina Beckman in 1894. Aloys and Elizabeth's last child, Veronica, was born in 1895.

Alois and Elizabeth were farmers. They were very active in their faith and attended St. Mary's Catholic Church in Dodgeville faithfully. Many of their children sang in the choir and their daughter Veronica played the organ. The boys were among the parishioners that helped to build the new church in 1901.

Their oldest son, Maurice married Mary Frances McCarty in 1900 and gave Aloys and Elizabeth their first grandchild, Hugh V. Panther in 1901, followed by Leo William in 1903. Frank and Frances had Bernadine Theodora in 1904, followed by Leona Anna in 1906.

That same year, Joseph married Ameda Jennie Nelson and daughter Mary Ann married Theodore Nicholas Vorwerk. In 1907, three more grandchildren were born, Lawrence A. to Maurice and Mary, Alois Carl to Joseph and Ameda and Mary Elizabeth Vorwerk to Theodore and Mary Ann. In 1908, Aloys and Elizabeth's son, Leonard Joseph married Theodore Vorwerk's sister, Bertha Elizabeth.

Aloys died on June 6, 1908 at his home in Mount Pleasant, Lee County, Iowa, leaving behind his wife, Elizabeth, eleven children and seven grandchilden. He was buried in Saint Mary's Cemetery, Franklin Township, Des Moines County, Iowa.