I Do Not Know if Anyone Remembers Katherine Reimer

I do not  know if anyone remembers Katherine Reimer. I have only known about her for a month, but her story has stayed in my heart. Her mystery started years ago and I need to write about a small part of her life.

I had suspicions about Katherine, yet I did not have a clue about her the first time I saw the passenger arrival list of the Astoria, which departed in 1900 from Glasgow on May 28 and arrived at Ellis Island on June 9 of that year.

I discovered the Astoria passenger list in 2004 when I searched for the Reimers entry to the United States at Ellis Island.  Despite the text annotating my maternal great grandfather’s name as Phelep instead of Phillip, I found my great grandmother Anna and my grandmother Sophie listed beneath his name.  Sophie’s two sisters, Marie/Mary and Elizabeth, are also shown.  Philip’s occupation was recorded as a farmer.  Their ages matched my other records, their nationality was German and their last residence was Libau, Russia, one of the major ports of Russia at that time. How they traveled to Libau is likely another story unto itself.  Their destination?  Sheboygan, Wisconsin, of course.  Everything matched the oral history passed down by my family.

Since I found this passenger list, I have tracked Philip and Anna’s births to the 1850 and 1857 Reinwald Census among many other discoveries.

During the last few years, I sensed a strong need to go back, retrace, re-organize and cite all of my sources on the family history I have accumulated.  Over the years, my enthusiasm, computer and laptop changes, and destroyed external hard drives have left my research scattered and undocumented. Beginning with my conversation with my paternal Grandma Clementine Bauer in the 1960s to the last AHSGR convention, I have a broad and extensive period of documenting sources awaiting me in my near future.

One of the first documents I re-visited was the Reimer Passenger list. This time I noticed the total number in the Reimer party was six, not five.  Why was it so easy to miss this obvious count accentuated with a bracket when I first looked at this record?  I believe in my excitement to verify what I already knew, I missed an opportunity to learn more.

Line 26 shows the name of a 3 year old girl with the Reimer family.  The name looked like Kathe to me, however my daughter thought it was Ruth.  It’s definitely hard to decipher. Could my grandmother have had another sister of whom I never heard? Anything is possible, but why would no one have talked about her? I asked my mother about the extra passenger, but she did not know who it was.  It’s one of those mysteries that got tougher to solve as the years passed.

So, I continued on with other research, connecting with other experts, visiting fellow Germans from Russia in Leader, Saskatchewan, Bismarck, North Dakota and Billings, Montana. I learned about more and more research I needed to explore.

During a visit to my hometown last August, I asked my cousin, Charlotte Lamb, if she had any idea if our grandmother may have had another sister.  She was not aware of anyone else beyond ourfive known Reimers coming to America. Mystery unsolved.

About two months later I was accepted into the facebook Sheboygan Area Volga German group. One of the creators of the group was a fellow North High School student, Scott Lewandoske.  Scott has collected Volga German articles from the Sheboygan newspapers for years and is one of its most active historians.

On October 28, Scott posted the following article from the Sheboygan Telegram.

My heart leapt when I saw the surname Reimer, but I did not want to jump to conclusions. The article lists the family’s location as North 11^th St and Ontario Ave.  I knew my great grandparents lived on Erie Ave., two blocks north of Ontario.  I consulted with my cousin, Mary Dotz, as we are both descendants of the Reimers. She thought the article tied to my family but also shared, "On second thought, my great grandparents lived at 1017 Ontario Avenue. I was not aware of this until Scott Lewandoske posted this.  The Reimer family were member of Trinity and the children attended Trinity."

I thought about this article for a few days and I could not come to terms with the loss of such a young girl. I knew this young Russia girl had to be a relative, but I wondered how close she was to Mary and me and exactly who her immediate family was.

I contacted the Wisconsin Department of Vital Records to request an uncertified death certificate. I included a copy of the Sheboygan Telegram article and all of the information I knew, which was not much.

On Thursday, November 19, I received my answer. As I held the self-addressed return envelope in my hands, I delayed opening, as I knew I would have an answer. Would it e the answer to the mystery I so wanted to solve? The anticipation was great and I didn't know what I would find inside.

I used my mother's favorite letter opener, pulled out the single sheet of paper, and slowly unfolded it. On the certificate, her name was spelled as Katherine Reimer. The next thing I saw was her parent;s names: Philip Reimer and Anna Kerber. Besides the names, the address on the death certificate matched the home where Phillip and Anna lived on 10th and Erie Ave. The paper fluttered out of my hands. To finally have the connection was overwhelming.

As I read the death certificate, I could understand why there were no stories. During the early 1900s, many children did not survive past infancy, much less to age 11. And, her death from bronchial pneumonia was likely an awful struggle for the family. As someone who lives with asthma and has experienced bronchitis, I understand a bit about her illness. I also know I had drugs and cures that were simply not available during Katherine's time.

Katherine died on Christmas Day, December 24, 1908.  Her oldest sister Marie/Mary was 19m, my grandmother Sophie was 18, and Elizabeth was 15. About a month and a half before Katherine died, Sophie gave birth to her son, Fred, on November 6.

I was heartbroken for the family yet so glad I found out who Katherine was. Yes, my grandmother, Sophie Reimer Jurk Herzog Balde Balte, had more than two sisters. She had three. On of whom was never spoken about or included in any family stories.

Phillip, Anna and Sophie were gone years before I was born. What I would give to talk to them and hear their tales.  Their journey to Libau, Russia, then to America, journeys Phillip and Anna traversed at least twice.What other secrets have gone with them?

It is gratifying to find out who Katherine was. It is also gratifying to ave a reasonable understanding of why I had not heard the story.  I will remember Katherine Reimer, especially this upcoming Christmas Day and include her in her rightful spot in my family tree. Finding out about Katherine Reimer is what genealogy is all about for me...uncovering stories and honoring those who went before us. It is about remembering. Yes, that extra name on the passenger list was a family mystery. And, now I can say, "Mystery solved."

©Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski

Hometown: Sights and Memories - Holy Name Church

When I returned to my hometown, what used to be everyday sights turn into photo opportunities.  Here are some of my favorite shots from the "tourist" point of view. It's time to let the memories flow and capture the moment.

Holy Name Church, established 1868, was the parish my Dad attended when he was growing up.  He attended grade school here as shown by his graduation picture below. My Dad is in the top row, fourth from the left.

As I grew up, I knew it as the church my Uncle Fred and Grandma Bauer attended.

I attended Mass here often although my family were members of St. Dominic's Church. My favorite memories surround the Christmas Eve Mass. One year, I had to work the day before Christmas Eve which postponed my drive time from Franklin, Tennessee to Sheboygan considerably. I told my parents we would arrive in Sheboygan just in time for church. 

I drove through the night with my young daughters, north on I-65 to I-94 to I-43, stopping at Steak and Shake to keep awake during the cold, dark drive.  We arrived at 10 a.m. Christmas Eve morning much to my parent's surprise.

Of course, we went to church hours before the service began to secure the best seats. We headed to Holy Name church hours ahead of time to secure the best seats. The pre-Mass concert was worth the wait. The sounds flowed from the choir balcony at the back of the Church creating the most moving Christmas prayer experience.

I can still hear the drums pound as my favorite carol "The Little Drummer Boy," is introduced. I remember looking over at my Dad as the opening notes of Amy Grant's "Breath of Heaven" lofted down gently from the balcony.  Tears filled our eyes as the words "Be with me now," echoed through the church. My Dad nodded at me.

There are many more memories I could share, from the time I fainted in one of the back rows, to my cousin Mary's wedding, to the time my Dad slid in the snow and I tried to help him up.  I told him to grab the car door handle and together we would pull him up.  He told me the door would open since it wasn't locked.  I assumed him it was locked. As I tried to help him up the door swung open and we both landed in a snow bank.  We laughed so hard I barely get myself up, truly lock the door, and then really help him to his feet.

So many moments which now only remain in my mind's eye. Thanks for listening as the memories flowed.

Hometown:Cemeteries

After our stop at the Calvary Cemetery in Sheboygan, we drove around Kiwanis Park to the entrance of the Lutheran Cemetery, the resting place of the Herzogs and Reimers.

Many of the Germans from Russia who chose to live in Sheboygan were from the villages of Reinwald, Schaefer, and Schwed.  Most of them are buried here.

We parked and quickly located my great-grandparents headstone.  As I look at the stone, memories flooded back to me of all of the research I still want to do on the lives of Philip and Anna Maria Reimer.  The Reinwald Censuses of 1850 and 1857 opened many avenues for further exploration of their lives.

My grandparents, Fred and Sophie Herzog,  are near. Cousins from this side of my family still reside in and around Sheboygan.  They maintain and clean the areas around these plots as evidenced by the hosta plant behind my grandparent's stone.  I like how it has filled in the space and I hope the hosta Ashley and I planted will do the same at John's grave.

Fred Herzog remains my mystery to solve. I believe his family moved to Rosenfeld am Nachoi as I have found a number of Herzogs in the 1862 Census.  This census could be the link to pulling the family tree chart  back to the original Settler's list.  Yet, there are so many Fred's and misspellings and date contradictions, I need to cloister myself and submerge into the documents again before I can confirm my findings.

This visit I located my Mom's brother's grave.  The last time I was here with my cousin Charlotte, we could not find the stone. When I talked with Charlotte, she told me that her daughter found  the stone, but it had sunk so far into the ground, most visitors would not have seen it.  It has been raised again and it now visible.  A beautiful green plant grows behind the stone.  Fred died at 29 years old after a car accident on 8th Street during a snow storm.

Before we visited the Lutheran cemetery, we drove past my grandmother's house on St. Clair Ave and circled the block to check if my cousin Charlotte was home. She was sitting in the yard and we had a wonderful unexpected visit.

While I may have been one of the first to complain...

about the current political climate in our country, there is something resounding glorious about Flag Day. Definitely a quiet holiday, it subtly sneaks up on me and I revel in its history.

June 14 is not an average day. As a conservative spender, I left my house early this morning before the Arizona sun blazed the temperature above 100 degrees. I wanted to fill up my half full tank of gas, pumped slowly of course, to maximize my investment. As I drove through the subdivision entrance, most of the flags already stood at attention, and the volunteers diligently grounded the few remaining poles. The sight comforts me and instills a great sense of pride.

I imagine a number of people do not have any idea why the flags are displayed today. Despite Flag Day being proclaimed a holiday by President Harry S Truman in 1949, it is not the kind of family picnic/day off holiday such as the 4th of July or Labor day.

Or, perhaps, it is part of my own personal history which helps me to remember. My sister Joan's wedding anniversary is so close to Flag Day but on June 12 and this week she celebrated for the 27th year. Happy anniversary Joan and John and here's to another twenty plus years!

Perhaps my Wisconsin roots offer an explanation of why I remember this day. My father always ensured we stopped at every historical marker and on numerous occasions, we passed the marker for Flag Day in Fredonia, Wisconsin. According to http://www.usflag.org/history/flagday.html:

...the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or 'Flag Day'.

So celebrate the day knowing exactly why the flags burst onto the scene. Happy Flag Day!