Immigrant Adam Koerner's grave

The first profile which I put on this blog back on June 3rd was for Adam and Maria Koerner, who came to the United States from Germany about 1850.  When I wrote that, I did not know when or where this immigrant couple died.  Their son Adam had moved to Greenwich some time in the late 1880s but I was not sure about his parents. 

A couple months ago, I found Maria in the 1900 Census.  Remember that her daughter Lena married Phillip Eberhardt who was brother to Adam Jr.'s wife.  Well, I found Maria living with her daughter Lena and her other daughter Maria Berle.  Both Lena and Maria Koerner are listed as widows living with Louis and Maria Berle and their children: Adam, Lena, Louis, Emily and Maria.  They were still living in New York City on First Avenue near 24th Street.

A couple weeks later I found information on a Maria Koerner who died in 1907 at the age of 95.  A person online had seen the Death Certificate and knew she was buried in the Lutheran Cemetery. I wasn't sure this would be the right Maria Koerner, but since the cemetery is only a couple miles from my house, I decided to ride my bike over there and check it out.

Sure enough, I stopped by the office, and they confirmed that Maria Koerner was buried in the cemetery along with Adam and Philip. A very helpful woman in the office gave me the location but didn't know whether there would be a stone or not.  I was doubtful since many immigrants would not be able to afford the expense of a stone back at the turn of the century. 

I rode my bike to the section of the cemetery where the woman had indicated the Koerners were located.  It was far to the back in what was obviously an older part of the cemetery which received few visitors.   The grass had not been mowed in a couple of weeks and was several inches high. It really had the feeling of being out in a field in the country only with scattered gravestones sticking up above the top of the blades of grass.  There was no sence that the largest city in the United States was only a few miles away. 

As I approached the area where the stone would be, I became very skeptical that I would find anything.  The stones were spread out with lots of space between them - space where people were buried but no markers had been laid.

I read each stone, looking for the name and the location marking to help guide my way.  Then I saw it, in the back, at the end of the row. A short, fat stone which read "In Memory of Adam Koerner." I had fulfilled my quest.

You'll notice that Maria's name name does not appear on the stone. It is probable that she died after Philip and the family either did not have money for a stone, or did not have room to add her name on the stone that was already there. Either way, she died in 1907 at the ripe old age of 95 and is buried here with her husband and second oldest son.

As a side note, I returned this morning to take some more pictures and was surprised at the state of the cemetery. You may remember hearing on the news several weeks ago that a tornado touched down in New York City, specifically in Queens and Brooklyn. Apparently the tornado went right through the middled of the cemetery, because there were trees down all over the place.  The path of the storm must have been toward the front of the cemetery, because in the back, where Adam and Maria are buried, the damage was minimal.  These were some pictures I took of trees still not cleaned up three weeks after the tornado hit:



The top of this huge tree was just twisted off the trunk
and thrown on ground under it!



Von Deck Marriage Certificate

1. Emil Von Deck
+ Maria Amalie Zantop
2. Pauline Von Deck
+ Adam Koerner III
4. Ruth E Koerner
+ George Willard Munson
5. Edward Deck (Ned) Munson
+ Debra Florence Dahlquist
6. Scott Edward Munson

Emil Von Deck and Maria Zantop were married about 8 years after the Koerners of the previous post, so the type of information on the Marriage Certificate and Return of a Marriage form is basically the same as we have already seen.  Fortunately, the copy quality is much better on this certificate so we do not have to guess at some of the last names.

Emil von Deck & Maria Amalie Zantop
Certificate of Marriage

One piece of information which was unreadable on the Koerner certificate but which is very clear here is the name of the minister and church which performed the marriage: Dr. E. F. Moldehnke pastor of St Peter's German Lutheran Church.  St. Peters is still an active church today at 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue. By searching the church historical records I may be able to find other references to the Von Decks or Zantops.

On the Return of a Marriage, Emil von Deck's birthplace is listed as New York City and his current address is 447 East 78th Street, New York City. This is in a neighborhood on the Upper East Side which is known as Yorkville.  Many German immigrants lived in this neighborhood.  Emil's birthdate is April 29th and he was 25 on his last birthday.  This means he was born in 1862.  Like Adam Koerner, his occupation is listed as barber.

Return of a Marriage

Emil's father is Johann Matthaeus von Deck.  From Census records we know that he used the name Matthaeus and/or Matthew and was born in Germany about 1821.  It was not uncommon in Germany at the time for a family give two or more of their children the same first name with a different middle name to distinguish.  Matthaeus may have had a brother named Johann Frederick or Johann Adam and so he chose to use his middle name regularly.  Notice as a witness to the marriage on the bottom of the return, he signs his name as Matthaeus Deck.  He address is 329 East 72nd Street, not too far from where Emil lived.

Emil's mother is Lina Angelica Junginger. From census records we know that she was born in Germany about 1830.  We also know that she died before 1900 when Matthaeus is recorded in the Census as a widower. 

Maria Amalie Zantop was my father's Great-Grandma Von Deck. She was born September 28, 1866 in Johanisburg, East Prussia.  Although a strong German presence existed there at the time,  Johannisburg is located in Poland today and has changed it's name to Pisz.

Pisz, Poland today from the website http://www.pisz.pl/

Maria's parents are recorded as Carl Zantop and Amalie Ziehfuss.  So far, I have been unable to locate any additional information about Carl. It is probable that he stayed in Europe or died before the rest of the family came to America.

Amalie and four Zantop siblings came to America: Maria, Pauline, Minna and Richard.  Pauline is one of the witnesses to Emil & Maria's marriage.  She lived in the city and never married. She is burried next to Maria in Greenwich, Connecticut. Minna married Julius Becker in 1895. They moved to Greenwich some time between 1900 and 1910.  Amalie lived with them. Richard died in 1895 at the age of 18.

Emil and Maria moved to Greenwich, Connecticut some time before 1900. Their two children, Richard and Pauline (my Grandma Munson's mother), were born in New York City before they moved. Emil and Maria are burried together at Putman Cemetery in Greenwich, Connecticut. Pauline and her husband Adam Koerner are burried with them.

Koerner Marriage Certificate

1. Adam Koerner

+ Maria Eberhardt

2. Adam Koerner

+ Pauline Von Deck

3. Ruth E Koerner

+ George Willard Munson

4. Edward Deck (Ned) Munson

+ Debra Florence Dahlquist

5. Scott Edward Munson

I was very excited recently to receive in the mail two marriage certificates from the City of New York. One was for my Grammy Munson's paternal grandparents and the other for her maternal grandparents.

Adam Koerner & Maria Eberhardt's Marriage Certificate

Adam Koerner and Maria Eberhardt were married on April 27, 1879 in New York City. Quite a bit of information is included on the certificate and the Return of a Marriage form. First, notice that the original German spelling of Koerner is used for Adam's name: Korner with the umlaut over the o. While most of the documentation I have found for the family show that "Koerner" was used after coming to the U.S., occasionally Korner was used. Here, even though his name is listed as Korner, he signs the return as Koerner.

Adam was born in New York and his address is listed as 500 East 12th Street, New York. This is the address where Adam's parents are listed as living a year later at the time of the 1880 Census. It proves this is my great great-grandparents and not some other Adam Koerner and his wife. This is further confirmed by the listed occupation: barber.

Return of a Marriage - whatever that means!

Next, Adam's parents are identified as Adam Korner and Maria Bercke. This is the first indication I have found of the immigrant Mary Koerner's maiden name. Remember that they came from Germany just before Adam Jr. was born and I have been unable to find any information about the family in Germany. Now I have a clue to further investigate. Too bad I don't know German!

One of the great thrills in researching family history is discovering maiden names, and marriage records are one of only a few sources for this information. Here, the bride is listed as Maria Eberhardt born and currently living in College Point. This is a neighborhood in Queens not too far from where I now live. Her parents are listed as Jacob Eberhardt and Maria Weickes.

It turns out that there is a family listed in the 1870 Census in College Point which is almost certainly that of Maria. Jacob "Everhart" age 52 is listed with his wife Mary age 48 and children Philip age 23, Adam age 18, Peter age 15, Mary age 13, Jacob age 10, Lizzie age 8 and Johnnie age 6. The parents and two oldest children were born in Prussia and the other children were born in New York. Jacob and his two oldest sons worked in a Rubber Factory of which there were several in Queens. Adam Eberhardt is one of the witnesses to the marriage of Adam Koerner and Maria Eberhardt. The other is Adam Koerner's brother, Philip.

102 St Mark's Place today.  Adam was a barber and
possibly lived here with his family in 1884.

Further research has revealed that Philip Eberhardt, Maria's older brother, had almost certainly married Lena Koerner, Adam's older sister in 1875. It is also almost certain that two of Maria's brothers were butchers, the occupation which would eventually be passed down to our happy couple's oldest child Adam, my great grandfather.

Adam and Maria are recorded in the Census a year after their marriage living at 544 East 11th Street with their newborn baby Adam, my great-grandfather.  Adam was a Barber and is listed at 102 St. Mark's Place in the 1884 and 1888 New York City Directories.  This was the heart of Little Germany at the time.  By 1892, though, the family had moved to Greenwich, Connecticut where young Adam met and fell in love with his future wife, Pauline Von Deck.

Pauline's father, Emil Von Deck, was also a barber in Greenwich who had moved from New York City. My next post will be regarding his marriage to Maria Zantop.  She was still alive when my father was a child and was known as Grandma Von Deck.

Update

I updated the Scott Munson's Family Tree page on this blog to include the next generation, my third great-grandparents. In case your not sure how this works, if you double a person's number, it is the number of that person's father. If you double a person's number and add 1, it is the number of that person's mother. If numbers are missing, then I don't know who those parents are yet. For instance, Ida Hotchkiss is #9. Her father, Charles Hotchkiss, is #18 and her mother, Ada Rockwell is #19. Mary Zantop is #23 but there no #46 or #47 because I haven't figured out who her parents are yet. As I add more and more generations, there will be more and more missing numbers.

Adam Koerner (1812)

Immigrant

Third Great-Grandfather

1. Adam Koerner

+Marie (Bercke?)

2. Adam Koerner

+Mary (Eberhardt?)

3. Adam Koerner

+Pauline Von Deck

4. Ruth Koerner

+George Munson

5. Edward (Ned) Munson

+Debra Dahlquist

6. Scott Munson :)

Adam Koerner was our first Koerner ancestor to come to the United States. He was born about 1812 in Germany, probably the region of Hessen-Darmstadt, possibly the city of Frankfurt. The first record we have of him is from an 1857 New York City Directory:

"Koerner Adam, tailor, h. 157 Third"

Adam and his wife Maria or Mary (possibly maiden named Bercke) arrived in New York from Germany some time between 1849 and 1850. Their two daughters, Lena and Mary, accompanied them on the voyage. This was during a time of great turmoil in Germany, and many were disgruntled with the new order of things and saw a greater opportunity in the United States. Unfortunately I have not been able to locate the actual immigration records for Adam and his family. Shortly after his arrival here, their first son, Adam (my Great Great-Grandfather) was born. In 1853 and 1854 they had two more children, Philip and Catherine.

There were three known addresses for the Koerners in New York City. The first was at 157 Third Avenue as referenced above. Nine families lived in the same building according to the 1860 Census - all immigrants. One other family was from Germany and the rest were from Ireland. Most were laborers raising families with less than $100 worth of possessions. Adam, as a tailor, would have found it especially difficult to make money from his skilled trade in the new world. With so many tailors moving from Ireland and Germany, the city had more than they could handle, and many were reduced to working at large factories in the garment district for very low wages.

This picture from 1865 was taken three blocks

from 157 Third Avenue

This first address is only a block off of Union Square, a center of social and political activism since the early 1800s. In 1861, 500,000 people rallied there in a show of Patriotism after the fall of Fort Sumpter. One has to wonder what our immigrant ancestors thought of this country when after being her only 10 years it was embroiled in a bloody Civil War. Could the Koerners have been at this major rally as a show of support for their new homeland?

This is a statue of George Washington in Union Square ca. 1870.

It is looking toward Third Avenue where Adam lived.

The second address recorded for the immigrant Koerners is 500 West 12th Street. This address is first recorded in 1876 when Adam becomes a naturalized citizen. This was the heart of Little Germany in the late 1800s and is known today as the East Village. In the 1880 Census, Adam and Marie are in their late sixties and only their youngest son Philip is living with them. Philip is 27 years old and working as a varnisher. Twelve other families live in the building, mostly German immigrants. Adam Jr. is married, working as a barber and living only a block away in 1880. His first son, Adam III, is only 4 months old. This is my Grammy Munson's father.

The last record we have of the immigrant Adam Koerner is in Trow's New York City directory for 1889-1890:

"Korner Adam, tailor, h 406 First av"

This is farther up town than the family had lived before, at about 23rd Street. In 1889, Adam and Marie would be in their late 70s. I have not been able to find a record of either one's death but it was probably not long after this.

This picture was taken about 20 years after we know Adam lived here

but one of these buildings is probably where he lived!

Today it is the sight of the V.A. Hospital.

We know that some time in the early 1890's, Adam Jr. and his family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut. Did the elder Adam move there as well? Did Adam Jr. leave before or after his parent's died? Why Greenwich? I'm not sure. I am hoping to take a trip there one of these week-ends to do some exploring and hopefully answer some of these questions.

Introduction

OK. So, back in November of 2009, I decided to sign up for a free two week trial at ancestry.com. My great-grandmother on my Mother's side was Jennie Hooker, a direct descendant of Thomas Hooker, the "founder" of Hartford and Thomas Willett, the first English mayor of New York City, but that was all I knew. My uncle, Jim Buggie, had been doing some research on that side of the family, so I was especially interested in researching the Munson side. As far as I knew, nobody that I knew had ever taken on that task. What I discovered in those two weeks has opened my eyes to a whole new world of investigation and discovery and has kept me an addicted subscriber to ancestry.com.

I decided that I wanted to share some of what I was discovering with family members around the country, and hopefully tap into some of their collective memory and wisdom. At first I was thinking of publishing some sort of newsletter which I could mail or email to family quarterly. How old fashioned! I had been throwing that idea around for several months before it occured to me I could much more easily create a blog to post pictures, articles and stories as I discover them. So here we go.

I have been researching both sides of my family tree using an ancestral approach rather than a descendant approach. I have information on all of my Great Grandparent's names: Munson, Hotchkiss, Koerner, Von Deck, Dahlquist, Hooker, Bowman and Crogent. I hope to present profiles of ancestors in such a way that they are more than just a name and dates, but are connected to the events of the world around them. So far I have found immigrants from England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. There are original puritan settlers of New England, key members of the Salem Witch Trials and other witch trials and a well-known King. Yes, a King!

I will try to indicate how each post is connected to me so that you will be able to figure out how it is connected to you. Hopefully you will enjoy what you read and maybe be sparked to do some research of your own. Be sure to add any comments you want to the post and make any corrections which need to be made.

I dedicate this blog to my Grandparents: Gram, Gramp, Nana and Grampa John (George, Ruth, Florence and John).