HOMETOWN TUESDAY - St. Anne's Village, Jennings County, Indiana

My great-great-grandmother Barbara Brunett Huber was born in St. Anne's Village, in the Sand Creek Township of Jennings County, Indiana, on April 16, 1852. She was the fourth child of ten born to John Michael Baptiste Brunett (1818-1863) and Barbara Frisse (1822-1893), my 3x-great-grandparents. Both John and Barbara had immigrated from Seingbouse, France, and had married at St. Anne's Catholic Church in August 1846, less than two months after arriving in America. It was here in St. Anne's Village that all of their children were born, and where John and Barbara are buried.

Also settling here from Seingbouse were Joseph Frise (1796-1864) and Marguerite Lang (1802-1868), Barbara's parents and my 4x-great-grandparents, as well as all nine of their children. Joseph and Marguerite are also buried at St. Anne's Church Cemetery. [NOTE: The spelling of Joseph's last name was 'Frise' or 'Frisse', pronounced FREEZE. It was also sometimes spelled 'Frisz'. It was at the funeral of their mother that the sons decided to adopt a common spelling - F-R-I-S-Z.]

Joseph Frise was a farmer, as most citizens of the county were. His son-in-law John Brunett also was a farmer, until his death in 1863. His wife Barbara then took over the responsibilities of farming, as well as being the mother of ten children, ages 0-16. [In fact Barbara gave birth to baby #10 one month after losing her husband.] Her land is highlighted in the Sand Creek Township map below.

Jennings County History
[from Biographical & Historical Souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott and Washington, Indiana; 1889; published by John M. Gresham and Company; Chicago; pages 222-227 ]

"Jennings County lies in the southern part of Indiana. It was organized in 1816, and named for Jonathan Jennings, the first Governor of Indiana, after it was admitted into the Union as a State. ...It contains 375 square miles and by the census of the 1880 it had 16,453.

Heavy timber originally covered the county. As a general rule, the rolling lands bordering the numerous streams are more productive than the flat (lands). The principal productions are corn, wheat, oats, rye, buckwheat and hay. ...A considerable area is in pasture and large number of mules, horses and cattle are raised for the Cincinnati and other markets. Large numbers of hogs are fattened for the various markets....

Fruit culture is becoming more and more extensive every year and the soil proves that it is a good fruit region. The usual varieties of summer and winter apples do well; occasionally cherries and pears. ...Wild blackberries grow in profusion and are quite a source of income at some points, also wild grapes.

Jennings County was settled principally from the Southern  States - most of the early settlers coming from Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee, with a number of families from Kentucky. They were of that hardy class whose trials and hardships were as nothing compared to the longing desire to possess a home of their own. ...They did not come in great rushing crowds as emigrants now go West, on railroad trains, but they come on foot, in ox-wagons, on horseback and, in fact, any way they could get here.

Vernon, the county seat of Jennings County, is beautifully situated at the North and South forks of the Muscatatuck river, and on the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis railroad. It is a rather dull old town of 616 inhabitants by the last census (1880), but has a sound and solid foundation from a financial and business standpoint. The courthouse is a handsome brick structure, with white limestone trimmings, obtained from the neighboring quarries. ...There is, and has been, considerable manufacturing done in Vernon among which may be mentioned spoke and hub factory; foundry and plow shop; stave and heading factory; woolen and flouring mill; wagons and buggies; pumps and rakes; etc., etc., etc."

1889 Sand Creek Township Map
Barbara Brunett's land in purple
[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

Sand Creek Township
"Sand Creek Township is believed to have been organized in 1841. One of Jennings County's smaller townships, it contains a little over twenty-six square miles. When Indiana became a state and Jennings a county, the northwest corner of this township belonged to the Indians. The Old Indiana Boundary line ccan be found on maps yet today.

Sand Creek derives its name from the stream that winds through it, creating areas that cannot be surpassed for beauty. The Indians had a name for this creek, Laquekaouenek (lak/ka/oo/e/nek), which means "water running through sand." [Jennings County, Indiana, 1816-1999; Jennings County Historical Society; 1999; page 91]

St. Anne's Village
"St. Anne is a German settlement situated in the southeastern part of Sand Creek township. Among the first settlers were families named Frisz, Gasper, Glatt, Eder, Specht, Daeger, Winters, Shulthies, Henry, Erlsland, Frederick, Gehl, Meyer and Tipps. Although no town was laid out, St. Anne had a post office... a grocery story... and several blacksmith shops."[Jennings County Indiana, 1816-1999; page 91]

The village was centered around St. Anne's Catholic Church, organized by February 1841. [Read more in an upcoming post.]

Jennings County Facts

Jennings County Courthouse
Vernon, Indiana

As of the 2000 Census, there were 27,554 people living in Jennings County. The racial makeup of the county is 97.45% white.  It is a rural county, with the majority of  the county made up of personal farms and woodlands.

There are only two incorporated towns in the county - Vernon, the county seat, and North Vernon. There are 11 townships in the county.[Townships are a product of Indiana's history. There are just over 1000 Townships in the state. Indiana is one of 20 states that currently has some form of township government.]

The county is conveniently located in the center of an imaginary triangle consisting of Indianapolis, IN, Louisville, KY, and Cincinnati, OH, and requires only a hour and 1/4 drive time to any of these urban centers.

In recent years, average temperatures in Vernon have ranged from a low of 22 F in January to a high of 86 F in July. President Richard Nixon's mother, Hannah Milhous Nixon, was born near Butlerville, Jennings County, Indiana, in 1885.

HOMETOWN TUESDAY - Flörsheim, Germany

Phillip Huber, my great-great-grandfather, was born on December 17, 1847 in the town of Flörsheim to Georg Huber (1809-1900) and Eva Katherina Fauth (1807-1875). About 1868 he arrived in America, just 21 years old, and settled in Woodburn, Warren County, Kentucky. On April 25, 1871, he married Barbara Brunett (1852-1896), born in Jennings County, Indiana. They settled in Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky and had six children, John William "Willie" (born February 8, 1872), Mary Bertha "Mayme" (born August 8, 1873), Ida Catherine (born February 28, 1875), Philomena Barbara "Minnie" (born September 20, 1876), Clarence Joseph (born January 17, 1879), Magdelena "Lena" (born April 18, 1881) and Charles Thomas (born March 11, 1883). After the death of his wife and three of their children, Phillip moved his family to Birmingham, Alabama, where he died on April 4, 1901. Their daughter Mayme, my great-grandmother, married John Martin O'Donnell on February 11, 1904, in Birmingham. Their oldest child, John Huber O'Donnell (1905-1964) is my grandfather.

Flörsheim am Main, Hesse, Germany

Flörsheim, also known as Flörsheim/Main, is located in the Main-Taunus-Kreis district of Hesse, Germany. The city is situated on the right side of the Main River. The following information was taken from the german website: http://www.kulturland-rheingau.de.

Coat of Arms

"Flörsheim/Main was first mentioned in documents dating back to 828, however, the municipal laws and the additional name “am Main“ were only bestowed upon the town in 1953. In 1972 Flörsheim, Weilbach and Wicker formed the town of Flörsheim/Main.

The historic centre of Flörsheim – with the spa park Bad Weilbach and the remains of the Linear Pottery settlement were included in the UNESCO list of protected cultural goods in 2008 – was surrounded from the middle of the 16th century onwards by a drystone wall whose preserved remnant is the Main Tower.

St. Gall's Church
St. Gallusgemeinde

The impressive outline of St. Gall's Church as a typical example of the rural late baroque art of church construction, characterises the town. The famous Gall’s Concerts (“Gallus Konzerte”) have been taken place in the baroque chancel for more than 25 years. In the historic centre and communal district of Flörsheim numerous wayside crosses and chapels from the 17th to the 19th centuries can be found, which are partly stations during the great procession called “Prozessionsweg am Verlobten Tag“. This day has been celebrated for more than three hundred years annually on the last Monday of August in remembrance of the fact that the town had overcome the plague epidemic of 1666.

With the signature “FFF“ the Faience Factory of Flörsheim is still present in the town’s coat of arms. The prince-elector from Mainz established the manufactory in Flörsheim in 1765. Numerous jugs, vases and objects manufactured in the faience factory are on display in the Museum of local history, as well as a considerable number of paintings by Christian Georg Schütz Sen. born in Flörsheim in 1718 and his entourage.

Flörsheim Watchtower

The Flörsheim Watchtower (“Flörsheimer Warte”), once erected as a watchtower of the territorial army of Kastel, is not only the distinctive landmark on the Wicker high ground (“Wickerer Anhöhe”). While drinking a nice glass of wine visitors can enjoy a spectacular view over the vineyard site "Herrnberg" down into the Main valley and across the Forest of Odes. The second vineyard site in Flörsheim, "St.-Anna-Kapelle" is located in the area of the Wiesenmühle. St Anne’s Chapel built in 1715 is located there, which is dedicated to St Anna Selbdritt who gave the vineyard site its name. Flörsheim has its own wine tasting stand since August 2010. The wine growers from Flörsheim and Wicker offer their wines from the end of April to the beginning of October, from Fridays to Sundays in a pavilion on the Main dam and guarantee visitors and guests an enjoyable and good time.

The town’s offer as for culture, free time and relaxation is written in large capitals, additionally festivals and markets characterise the lively town of Flörsheim/Main in the course of the year. Numerous hikers and pilgrims pass through Flörsheim-Weilbach on their hike along Bonifatiusroute from Mainz to Fulda. Visitors can take the Main Bicycle Route (“Main-Radweg”) R3, one of Germany’s most famous long-distance cycling trails on Flörsheim’s side of the Main.

Flörsheim - on the River Main

Under the motto “Give the Landscape Meaning – a Landscape for the Senses“ the regional Park Rhine-Main aims at protecting open spaces between the settlements in the conurbation of Rhein Main and at developing them as habitat and people’s place for relaxation. Numerous ways and itineraries, squares and observation points designed by horticulture and architecture as well as artistically designed objects and installations offer famlies with children attractive destinations in Flörsheim and its vicinity: the “Poet’s House” (“Haus des Dichters“) in Weilbach as well as the “stones along the panoramic path”, (“Steine am Panoramaweg“), the former territorial army of Kastel (“Kasteler Landwehr“), the Flörsheim Watchtower or the iron tree in ”Flörsheimer Schweiz“."

Map of Flörsheim (inset Germany)

The Mainstein is a sculpture in Flörsheim depicting some of the history of the town. The lower part depicts the Mainz Cathedral, the 1000 year old center of the Archbishopric of Mainz, the former principality of the Holy Roman Empire of which Flörsheim, Wicker and Weilbach were ruled. The geese in the center section depict the geese-breeding industry in the town; the wheat carving represents the history of cultivation of grain in the area.

"Der Mainstein"
Collage from Mainzauber.de/blog

HOMETOWN TUESDAY -- Cincinnati, Ohio, Part I

On August 7, 1846, my great-great-great-grandfather Martin Horst arrived in New York City, along with his father Johann Eckhard Horst (1802-1852), step-mother Elisa Geiss (1817-1852), older sister Anna Elizabeth (1827-1877), younger brother Carl (1835-1900) and two half-sisters, Wilhelmena "Mina" (1843-1885) and Maria (1845-UNK). Martin was just 16 years old. He and his family had arrived on the ship Gladiator, landing in New York Harbor as thousands had before them and hundreds of thousands would after - as immigrants hoping to start a new life in America. In fact during the 1840's more than 1.7 million immigrants arrived in the United States, almost three times as many as had come the decade before. Martin and his family had left their home in the village of Omer-Ohmen, in the Grand-Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, at the time a member of the German Confederation.

The Horsts stayed briefly on the east coast. On September 28, 1847, Martin became a naturalized citizen at the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Maryland. At some point soon after this the family travelled to Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, where they would settle down.

from the Cincinnati Panorama of 1848
Fontayne and Porter Daguerreotype
(more about this photograph in panorama tomorrow - don't miss it!)

The History of Cincinnati, Ohio
[The following information is taken from OhioHistoryCenter.org, an online encyclopedia of Ohio and its history.] 

"In 1788, Israel Ludlow, Matthias Denman, and Robert Patterson purchased eight hundred acres from John Cleves Symmes along the Ohio River at the Licking River's mouth. Symmes had purchased two million acres of land from the Confederation Congress in 1787, hoping to become rich by selling land to others. Denman provided the necessary cash; Patterson found settlers; and Ludlow surveyed the land to make sales and also establish a town. They named the town Losantiville, a convoluted contraction of the idea that this was a "city across from the mouth of the Licking River." 

Law and order remained absent from Cincinnati during its early years. The settlers (around 700 total by 1790) organized a court and hired a sheriff, but the soldiers at nearby Fort Washington routinely had to establish martial law in the community. This became especially common as tensions increased with local Native Americans, especially the Shawnee Indians. Contributing to the lawlessness, many residents grew corn, which they distilled into alcohol and sold to the soldiers. Despite the lack of order and the various safety concerns, hundreds of settlers continued to flock to the town. They believed that they could make their fortunes providing the soldiers and people traveling down the Ohio River with supplies.  In 1803, the city had roughly one thousand civilian residents. It continued to grow, reaching nearly ten thousand people by 1820. Cincinnati had emerged as a major city, primarily due to its strategic location on the Ohio River. 

"Pork Packing in Cincinnati"
from 1873 Vienna Expo

 During the nineteenth century, Cincinnati continued to grow. The Ohio River provided Cincinnati residents with numerous business opportunities. Hotels, restaurants, and taverns quickly opened to meet the needs of settlers traveling westward on the Ohio River. Steamboats were manufactured and repaired in the city. Farmers brought their crops to the city to send down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans, one of Ohio's major markets.  

The Miami and Erie Canal made the trip from western Ohio to Cincinnati much easier and less expensive for local farmers. In the early 1800s, Cincinnati developed into an important meatpacking center. Farmers brought their livestock to the city, where it was slaughtered, processed, and sold to western settlers or shipped to various markets. Beginning in the 1830s, ethnic Germans began to settle in Cincinnati. During this time period, Cincinnati was becoming the pork-processing center of the United States. Because of Cincinnati's association with meatpacking, the city became known as the "Porkopolis" of the United States.

Some residents opposed the activities of others in the city and actively campaigned to reform the community. The temperance movement targeted the Germans and the Irish, who were alleged to be well-known for their heavy drinking. Ohio abolitionists utilized Cincinnati to campaign against slavery. Located directly across the Ohio River from Kentucky, a slaveholding state, Cincinnati abolitionists published newspapers and anti-slavery tracts, hoping to convince their slaveholding neighbors to free their slaves. Participants in the Underground Railroad also smuggled runaway slaves across the Ohio River to potential freedom in the North.  

Not all white Ohioans supported the abolitionists. Many of these people feared that, if slavery ended, they would face competition from the freed African Americans. Race riots sometimes occurred, especially if whites feared that African Americans were gaining too much power or were infringing upon white opportunities. In 1829, one such riot occurred in Cincinnati, because Irish immigrants disliked competition from the African-American community.  

During the Civil War, most residents supported the United States, but a sizable number of people went south to fight for the Confederacy. Cincinnati served as a major recruiting and organization center for the United States military during this time. The city's businesses thrived, as they provided supplies to the soldiers and housing for both the soldiers and their families. Various charity organizations also were present in the city to help soldiers and their families."

Germans in "Zinzinnati"



1855 Cincinnati Riots
Published in Illustrated London News 1855

"Beginning in the 1830s, large numbers of Germans began to settle in Cincinnati. Many Germans lived in the area of Cincinnati known as Over-the-Rhine

Because of violent episodes like the one that occurred in Cincinnati in 1855, German immigrants tended to establish their own communities. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many native-born Americans feared outsiders. Some of these people objected to the immigrants' religious and cultural beliefs, while others believed that the foreigners would corrupt the morals of United States citizens.  

These people also contended that the quality of life within the United States would decline, as there were not enough jobs to employ the millions of people migrating to America. Many native-born Americans hoped either to limit immigration or to force foreigners to convert to American customs and beliefs. It would take several generations before the immigrants became truly accepted by the vast majority of white Ohioans." (from OhioHistoryCentral.org)

"German immigrants were responsible for developing industries that are considered "native" to Cincinnati, such as meat packing, the machine industry and building trades.

Albert Stein, a German engineer, planned Zinzinnati's water works in 1817. Frederick Rammelsberg of Hanover introduced machine production of furniture. The brewing industry in Zinzinnati, and across the United States, was a creation of German-American businessmen. The famous Christian Moerlein Brewery was started here in 1853.

Local banking grew out of the thriftiness of the German population. Germans established mutual savings societies and credit unions, and loaned money at interest at their weekly meetings. These meetings were frequently held in a tavern over a glass of beer, and with a staff that consisted of a part-time secretary. 

Baking is yet another industry that Germans established in Zinzinnati. There were also many small baking establishments operated by German-Americans in various Zinzinnati neighborhoods. In fact, there were so many German bakers that they even formed their own singing society - the Baeckergesangverein." (German-American Heritage Teaching Guide, Dr. Don Heinrich Tolzmann, University of Cincinnati)

Over-the-Rhine Neighborhood



Miami & Erie Canal
[taken before 1920 when it was used to build city subway, later paved over]

"The completion of the Miami & Erie Canal in 1828 became the catalyst for making Cincinnati the central trading hub west of the Appalachian Mountains. The canal linked the Great Lakes with the Ohio River, and all the Ohio farmland in between. The Over-the-Rhine neighborhood was full of saloons, beer gardens, restaurants, and theatres that catered to tastes ranging from legitimate theatre to burlesque. OTR was also a power center where corrupt Republican Party head "Boss" Cox ran the city through deals and schemes hatched at beer halls like Wielert's, still standing on Vine St..

1841 Lithograph of Cincinnati
Miami and Erie Canal in foreground

The canal that helped grow the city also gave Over-the-Rhine its name. Immigrants from Germanic countries began arriving in Cincinnati in increasingly large numbers starting in the1830s. In German, the district was called "über'm Rhein." Although Germans were among the city’s first settlers, they constituted a small percentage of the population until the city’s rapid growth in the mid-1800s. When the Germans began arriving in Cincinnati in larger numbers, starting in the 1830's, the area north of the Miami & Erie Canal was mostly gardens and farmland. The Germans transformed it into a bustling neighborhood. It developed such a high concentration of German-Americans that traveling over the bridges spanning the canal became known as "going over the Rhine," a tongue-in-cheek reference to Germany's Rhine River. At its peak of population, Over-the-Rhine was home to more than 45,000 people, roughly 75% of which were first or second-generation German-Americans." (from otrfoundation.org)

Six million dollars was spent in the 1920's to use the bed of the canal to build a downtown subway in Cincinnati. The surface was later paved over to form Central Parkway as funds ran out before the Cincinnati Subway was completed.

NOTE:  Over-the-Rhine was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 with 943 contributing buildings. It contains the largest collection of Italianate architecture in the United States and is an example of a 19th-century intact urban neighborhood. Its architectural significance has been compared to the French Quarter in New Orleans, the historic districts of Savannah, GA, Charleston, SC and Greenwich Village, NY.

[Next Week in "Hometown Tuesday" - The Horsts in "Cincinnati"]

HOMETOWN TUESDAY - Rome, Floyd County, Georgia 1880-1881

Rome, Georgia  ca.1873

An Historical Sketch of Rome, Georgia

[Taken from the first Rome City Directory, 1880-1881]

          "As there has never been a history written it is a difficult matter to give a correct historical sketch of Rome. For the following, we are indebted to the Hon. Judge J. W. H. Underwood, whose father was among the earliest settlers: The court house was first located at Livingston, twelve miles from Rome, on the Coosa river, and through the influence of Daniel R. Mitchell, William Smith, Genubeth Wynn, Zachariah B. Hargrove and Phillip W. Hemphill an act of the Legislature was secured authorizing the removal of the county seat to Rome. By the choice of the people, the election was held and carried. The treaty was made with the Cherokee Indians on the 29th of December 1834, five miles northwest of Calhoun, and was bitterly opposed by their Chief, John Ross. By this treaty, the Indians were removed on the 22nd day of May, 1838, to the Indian settlement west of the Mississippi river. From the year 1838 the town has improved rapidly. In the year 1840 the Rome railroad was completed between Rome and Kingston, which connects with the State road at the latter point. The Selma, Rome & Dalton road was completed in the year 1873; the first steamers were built in 1849 - The Georgia and Alabama - under the auspicious of Wade S. Cothran, and plied their busy wheels between Rome and Greensport, the distance of 175 miles. For many years after its foundation the town of Rome grew slowly and surely, and the people realized the necessity of building up a town and trade for themselves. There are no startling events, no fabulous advances, no thrilling incidents connected with a history of the town. Its history is only that of a quiet village, whose trade for many years was almost entirely local, and which was very little connected with the outside world. The present prosperity of the town is due solely to its commercial enterprise, which, with a healthful situation, a delightful climate, good schools and a brisk trade, there seems no drawback to check its advancement. But Rome's golden days are just ahead when manufactories shall be introduced. The large and beautiful rivers on the outskirts of the town supply sufficient water power to run the largest factories in the State - such as paper mills, flouring mills, and especially cotton factories. What town for its size and population has such receipts of cotton (the receipts last year amounting to about 85,000 bales)? and as soon as this is done the town of Rome will grow to be the town of Georgia, and we feel assured that enterprises of this kind would be encouraged by the citizens of the place.

5th Avenue & Broad Street ca.1870

          The population of the county and various small towns on our railroads is increasing rapidly. Our farmers are beginning to use improved implements; they are also learning that they make a permanent investment by enriching their lands; they show great hospitality to strangers. Whether an immigrant comes from the North or South, he receives a warm welcome by his neighbors. While our people are taking on much of the enterprise and progress of the age, they do not forget old-fashioned kindness and hospitality.

         Heretofore our town has felt very much the need of a hall for entertainments or public meetings of any kind. Just now, however, a very handsome opera house is being completed by his Honor, the Mayor, M. A. Nevin, solely on his own account, which has very much improved the appearance of our rapidly growing town. The next step required will be street railways, and doubtless in a very few years the town will be able to support this improvement.

Broad Street ca.1890

          The town of Rome is growing rapidly. In the last twelve months many beautiful private residences have been erected, nany of them being stylish and handsome. This is the distributing point for heavy groceries, dry goods and tobacco for several counties, not only in our State, but Alabama; in these articles our merchants do a fine trace. The outlook is very encouraging, and with a few more years of political rest and honest State government, with fair crops, our prosperity will be largely increased. Our county is leading all the counties of the State in the way of good schools, and churches of some sort are in the reach of every family. We believe the watchword of the "Mountain city" is "onward and upward."

Flemming Family in Rome
In the early 1860's James Benjamin Flemming (1827-1907), my 3x-great-grandfather, along with his wife Sarah Linza Jackson (1837-1902) and the first three of their children - Charles Clinton, born June 23, 1854 (my great-great-grandfather); John W., born March 5, 1858 (he died two weeks shy of his 5th birthday, on February 20, 1863) and Thomas J., born July 1860 - relocated from their home in Cassville, Georgia to the nearby town of Rome, in Floyd County, after it was burned to the ground by General Sherman and his Union troops at the end of the Civil War. They had left their hometown of Darlington, South Carolina around 1859, over 330 miles away, traveling west through Columbia, South Carolina, on through Atlanta, to set up house in Cassville. Rome, another twenty miles further west, took in many of the burned out residents of Cassville. James and Sarah had four more children, who would call Rome their hometown - Oscar Eugene, born October 1866; Walter Edward, born July 4, 1869; James Benjamin, born January 4, 1876 (he died at 15-months old on April 19, 1878); and Minnie E., born April 1879. James owned one of the two saddle & harness-making businesses in Rome, located on the main street in town at 314 Broad Street. Sarah died on December 20, 1902; James died December 6, 1907. They are buried together, next to their young sons John and James, in historic Myrtle Hill Cemetery.

Jackson Family in Rome
William Jackson (1800-1879) and his wife Elizabeth (1802-1870) followed their daughter Sarah Jackson Flemming, her husband James and their young family from their hometown of Darlington, South Carolina, to Rome, Georgia. They arrived in the city sometime after 1860. William worked as a tailor. After his wife's death on February 2, 1870, he moved into his daughter's home, where he lived until his own death nine-years later, on February 5, 1879. William and Elizabeth are my 4x-great-grandparents. They are buried side-by-side at Myrtle Hill Cemetery.

McCaffrey Family in Rome
Thomas Joseph McCaffrey (1832-1896) and his wife Charlotte Elizabeth McCluskey (1838-1917), my 3x-great-grandparents, moved to Rome, Georgia, from their home in Shelby County, Alabama, after the end of the Civil War. Thomas, born in Boston, Massachusetts, and Charlotte, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, had left their home in Baltimore, Maryland at the start of the war to support the Confederacy. Thomas, who moved south alone, worked as a moulder in the development of ironworks for the war at Brierfield and Tannehill. Charlotte had given birth to five children before the start of the war - only two lived past the age of six:

• Thomas Joseph, born May 14, 1854, in Philadelphia;
• Susan "Susie", born March 3, 1856, in Baltimore; she died in Philadelphia on May 28, 1861, from Scarlet Fever, at the age of 5;
• Elizabeth Agnes "Lizzie", born December 23, 1858, in Philadelphia - she is my great-great-grandmother;
• Mary Frances, born March 13, 1860, in Washington, D.C.; she died at the age of 7 months on November 7, 1860;
• John Beauregard, born November 10, 1861 in Baltimore; he died on June 23, 1863, only 19 months old.

At some point after 1863, and the death of son John, Charlotte and her two children followed Thomas to Alabama, after being forced out of Baltimore by Union control of the city. While living in Alabama, in the cities of Selma and Columbiana, Charlotte gave birth to three more children:

• Charles Andrew "Davis", born May 2, 1865, in Selma, Alabama;
• Joseph William "Joe", born January 28, 1867, in Brierfield, Alabama;
• James Michael "Jim", born February 13, 1876, in Columbiana, Alabama.

 They arrived in Rome in 1872, prior to the birth of baby number nine in December of that year. Five of their children were born in their new hometown:

• Margaret Loretta "Maggie", born December 18, 1872;
• Charlotte Teresa "Lottie", born April 5, 1875;
• William George "Will", born May 31, 1877;
• Agnes Gertrude, born September 26, 1879; and
• Marie, born June 21, 1882; she died one month later, on July 18, 1882.

Thomas continued to work as a moulder in Rome, and assisted in the development of the city's water works. Thomas died on May 21, 1896. After his death Charlotte moved to Birmingham, Alabama, to live with daughter Agnes, her husband Edward Joseph O'Brien (1867-1922) and their five children. Charlotte died in Birmingham on June 12, 1917. Thomas and Charlotte are buried at Myrtle Hill Cemetery. They were survived by thirty grandchildren, 17 who called Rome their birthplace.

 The Charles C. Flemming Family in Rome
Charles Clinton, "Charlie" Flemming, oldest son of James & Sarah Flemming, met and married Elizabeth Agnes "Lizzie" McCaffrey, oldest daughter of Thomas & Charlotte McCaffrey, in Rome on April 9, 1877 at the newly built St. Mary's Catholic Church. They are my great-great-grandparents. While in Rome they had five of their ten children:

• Harry Clinton, born January 12, 1878 - my great-grandfather;
• Susie Elizabeth, born November 17, 1879;
• Minnie Agnes "Mamie", born August 12, 1880 (she died October 24, 1881, just 14 months old);
• Charles Clinton, born September 30, 1884; and
• Elizabeth Imogene "Imo", born September 28, 1886.

After the birth of Imo, Charles and Lizzie moved to Birmingham, following the railroad as it was being built in the new city. Here they had the last of their family:

• James Benjamin, born September 27, 1889;
• Charlotte Teresa "Lottie", born September 3, 1891;
• Sarah Marie, born December 17, 1893;
• Thomas Joseph, born January 3, 1896; and
• Willie May, born January 25, 1898 (she died less than 6 months later, on June 19, 1898).

Charlie and Lizzie died in Birmingham and are buried there at Elmwood Cemetery. Daughters Mamie and Willie May are buried in the family plots at Myrtle Hill Cemetery in Rome.

HOMETOWN TUESDAY - Eminence College, Henry County, Kentucky

My great-grandfather John Martin O'Donnell, attended Eminence College in Henry County, Kentucky. Martin was born in Jericho, Kentucky, a small town also in Henry County, on November 7, 1865. His parents were immigrants from Ireland - Patrick O'Donnell (1823-1911) and Bridget Kennedy (1838-1883). Martin was the youngest child of seven, and their only son. From 1881  to 1885 Martin attended Eminence College. On June 3, 1885, "Having Completed the Required Course of Study of this College and Commended Himself to Us by his Excellent Deportment and his Literary and Scientific Attainments" the faculty and trustees presented "John O'Donnell" a Bachelor of Science Degree.

An old taped-together photocopy of John Martin O'Donnell's Degree
June 3, 1885
[CLICK TO ENLARGE PHOTO]

He used that degree in his career as a civil engineer with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad throughout his life. It was because of his employment with the railroad that he left his family and moved to Birmingham, Alabama. Here he met his future wife Mary "Mamye" Huber (1873-1913), a fellow Kentuckian, and it was here that they had their four children - my grandfather John Huber (1905-1964), Charles Patrick (1906-1987), Edward Joseph Kennedy (1908-1989) and Barbara Lena (1909-1986). It was also in Birmingham that his wife Mamye developed tuberculosis and died, leaving Martin to care for their four small children, ages 7, 6, 5 and 3. [Read "WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY - John Martin "Pop" O'Donnell & his 3 boys" August 11, 2011 for more information on what happened]

You might say that if he hadn't earned his degrees from Eminence College he wouldn't have had the education needed for his job as a civil engineer with the L&N Railroad. And without the job, he would have had no reason to leave his father and sisters and move to Birmingham - he wouldn't have met his wife, they wouldn't have had their children, and I would not be here typing on my laptop to share this information with my family.

Eminence College

A few Male Department Courses of Study
from 1869 Catalogue

"Eminence College was located in Eminence, Henry County, Kentucky and began as a high school. In 1855 the citizens of Eminence organized a stock company to raise funds to build the high school, which opened in September 1857. The school soon became overextended, and in 1858 the facilities were sold to another stock company headed by the Rev. W.S. Giltner, a member of the Christian Church. As the major stockholder, Giltner became president of Eminence College. The college was one of the first coeducational schools in the state. Programs were offered in Latin, Greek, mathematics, chemistry, and physics.

Lacking an endowment, Eminence College had to rely on the business acumen of its stockholders, particularly Giltner, for its survival. Under his leadership the school created a commercial department in 1880 and a normal school to train teachers in 1885. In spite of these advances, enrollment, which had seldom been greater than two hundred, began to decline. In 1893 Giltner retired. Unable to find an administrator of  Giltner's ability, the college soon fell into debt and closed in 1895." [From The Kentucky Encyclopedia, 1992; page 293]

According to the school's brochure "Eminence College is situated in Henry County, Kentucky, near the L. C. and L. R. R., forty miles from Louisville, twenty-five miles from Frankfort, and one mile from the Eminence Station, immediately on the turnpike road from Shelbyville. Its situation is all that could be desired for an institution of learning. It stands aloof from the contaminating influences of town or city. These influences, exerted over young and ardent minds, too often more than counterbalance any advantages derived from scholastic training. The situation of the College in the country, in the midst of an intelligent and moral community, saves the students from those allurements and excitements which divert the mind from study, and lead to the formation of vicious habits." [1869 Catalogue, back cover]

The young women who attended the college had strict rules and quite high expectations, something female students attending college now would "LOL" at the mere idea that such requirements ever existed. Here are a few examples:

• "As fine apparel fosters pride and engenders envy we earnestly request parents to provide for their children only plain substantial clothing. As the health cannot be too carefully guarded, thick shoes and woolen stockings must be furnished for winter. Boarders must not borrow or lend wearing apparel."
• "We earnestly request parents or guardians not to furnish their children or wards with 'pocket money'. It engenders prodigality, and affords them the means of contracting vicious habits."
• "No young lady will be allowed to make any purchases without permission from the President."
• "All correspondence and letters will pass through the hands of the President. Boarders will not be allowed to correspond with anyone except members of their own family. Any pupil guilty of conducting a clandestine correspondence, or aiding another in it, will be promptly dismissed from the school."
• "As visiting interferes with study, distracts attention, and weakens discipline, none will be allowed unless expressly requested by parents or guardians."

The "Collegiate Male Department" had no such rules on their dress or behavior. But it wasn't as if the school expected the young men to naturally behave. One solution they had to help with the male student's behavior - "The young gentlemen can obtain good boarding in private homes at reasonable rates. The farmers living near the college will also take boarders.  It doubtless promotes morality not to congregate young men in too large numbers under one roof." [All examples taken from "Catalogue of the officers and students of Eminence College, for the session ending June 11, 1869"]

Tuition in 1869

One of the advantages of Eminence College that is stressed in its literature is the fact that it is a "mixed school":

"By this it is not meant that boys and girls form one department; on the contrary each department is distinct, and will remain so. Yet the entire school is brought together in the Chapel every morning for the purpose of prayer, the reading of a chapter in the Bible, and for such remarks as the President of the Institution may think proper to make on Biblical history, general literature, or any subject connected with the intellectual or moral improvements of the pupils.

A weekly report of the deportment and progress of each pupil is made in the presence of the entire school. Thus the presence of the one sex exercises a salutory influence upon the other.... Brothers and sisters can be educated under the same roof, so that the ties of natural affection are not weakened, as is the case when they are educated under separate institutions." [from 1869 Catalogue, pages 15-16]

HOMETOWN TUESDAY: Forst, Baden, Germany

Apollonia Weinschenk, my 3rd great-Grandmother, was born on March 9, 1829, in the town of Forst, Baden, Germany. Her parents (my 4th great-grandparents) were Matthew Weinschenk and Maria Barbara Biebel (b. June 4, 1787), both from Forst. Apollonia was the youngest of fourteen children. Church records show that she was baptized at the Catholic church in Forst, on March 10, 1829. Family history has it that her parents died around 1842-43. It was after this that she and several of her young siblings immigrated to America; she would have been about 14 at the time. She settled in Mobile, Alabama, along with older sisters Margaret (1816-UNK) and Catherine (1822-UNK).

Apollonia Weinschenk Horst
ca.. 1907

On December 15, 1846, at the age of 17, Apollonia married Tobias Berg (1819-1853), a native of Zonsweir, Baden, Germany. Together they had four children, two son who each died soon after their births, and two daughters. Apollonia and Tobias owned and operated the City Exchange Saloon in Mobile. After Tobias death at the age of 34, Apollonia met and soon married Martin Horst (1830-1878),  from Ober-Ohmen, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. They were wed December 28, 1854 at Mobile's Cathedral. Martin is my 3rd great-Grandfather.

Apollonia and Martin had eight children of their own, six living to adulthood. Their oldest, Charles Frederick Horst (1856-1912) is my great-great-Grandfather. Martin continued to run the saloon, through the Civil War and Yankee takeover of Mobile. Martin and Apollonia built the Horst House (now a Mobile landmark) and raised their large family, two blocks from the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, where Apollonia provided flowers for the services from her garden. Martin became the first elected Mayor of Mobile after reconstruction, in 1871-72. He died in 1878 from Bright's Disease, a disease of the kidneys. Apollonia lived thirty years longer.

Her sons took over the saloon and the running of the family's liquor dealership. Later in life, Apollonia took on borders, including many German immigrants. She died on April 24, 1908, at the age of 79, from "paralysis" (a stroke). She and Martin are buried at the Catholic Cemetery in Mobile.

Forst an der Weinstrasse, Germany

Forst, Baden, Germany
Forst an der Weinstraße (or Forst an der Weinstrasse) is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was known as Forst when our ancestors lived here.

The municipality lies at the hilly western edge of the Upper Rhine Plain in the Eastern Palatinate (Vorderpfalz). As its name suggests, it is also on the German Wine Route (Deutsche Weinstraße) in the Palatinate wine region.

The German Wine Route was established in 1933. There was a record harvest in 1934, and another one was foreseen for 1935, so it was decided to establish a road that connects all vintners' villages to boost the wine sales. The German Wine Route was officially opened on 19 October 1935. Existing local roads along the route were renamed to incorporate "Weinstraße" into their names and local municipalities were told to add "an der Weinstraße" to their names. The German Wine Route is marked by numerous open-air wine festivals, held annually from March to October, that make it a major tourist attraction. Bicycling the wine-route has become a favorite activity of the region.
The town's website www.forst-pfalz.de describes it like this:

"The extraordinarily high fertility of our fields prompted the Romans here in our fruit trees, such as almonds, peaches, plums, but in particular to introduce the wine.The wines arrived here early on to world fame. The village itself is a "village street", ie the main part backed by a single road with a length of about 1,200 meters. We currently have about 850 inhabitants. The work is dominated by viticulture, (and) increasingly from tourism. "

Kirsche St. Barbara

St. Barbara's Catholic Church, or Kirsche St. Barbara, is at the center of the town.
Apollonia's family name 'Weinschenk' is a German occupational name meaning 'innkeeper'; literally translated it means 'wine giver'.

History

Johann I, Emperor Heinrich IV's nephew, and the Prince-Bishop of Speyer, gave his personal holdings in 1100, among which was Deidesheim, as a donation to the Bishopric of Speyer.  The vast woodlands north of Deidesheim, also known as Vorst or Forst (cognate with English forest and meaning the same) was excluded from this arrangement and was reserved as the Prince-Bishop’s hunting ground. In this forest lie the village’s beginnings, and of course its namesake.

When the French Revolution spread to the German lands on the Rhine’s left bank, Forst temporarily became part of France’s territory. In 1816, what had once been Electoral Palatinate territory on the left bank was named the Rheinkreis, and later Rheinpfalz, and annexed to the Kingdom of Bavaria; the Palatinate remained Bavarian until the end of the Second World War.

HOMETOWN TUESDAY: Cassville, Georgia

My hope for this blog is that Tuesdays will be the day that I write about a town, or a city, or a village, where some of our ancestors lived in the past. I'm calling it "Hometown Tuesdays". The history, culture, and make-up of any hometown effects the individuals who live there. In my research I've discovered how unique each city is. So take a trip back in time - to the early 1800's - to the one time home of James and Sarah Flemming, my 3rd great-Grandparents, and my great-great Grandfather Charles Flemming. . . .

Cassville, Bartow County, Georgia

Cassville, in what was then Cass County, is known by many Civil War buffs as the location of the battle that never was. During the Atlanta Campaign in 1864, Confederate General Joe Johnston intended a major offensive here after tricking General Sherman into dividing his forces at Adairsville. But on the evening before the battle was to have been fought, General John Hood convinced Johnston to withdraw south to Allatoona. Union Forces occupied Cassville from that night until November 1864. On October 30, orders were issued to destroy Cassville. Residents were given only 20 minutes notice that the town was being burned. No images of the town, nor official records of her citizens, survived. That's the end of the story. But what was Cassville like when James and Sarah Linza Jackson Flemming lived and worked here, with their two young sons in late the 1850's, and early 1860's?

Cass County was created by the Georgia legislature in 1832 and Cassville, the county seat, was laid out less than a year later. The town grew up in the middle of the woods where the Cherokees were still roaming and became a busy place. The town was built around the Court Square in a similar fashion to most Southern towns and a brick courthouse and jail were completed by 1837. Just over a decade later, Cassville boasted with pride about being the largest, most prosperous, most culturally affluent town in northern Georgia. After all, Cassville contained four hotels including the fancy Latimer Hotel which was less than a block away from the courthouse. These hotels made Cassville an ideal place for a stage coach stop and many took advantage of the facilities. There was a bookstore, insurance company, several practicing lawyers, two tailor shops, dry good stores, grocery stores, two carriage and wagon shops, a blacksmith, jewelry store, harness shop, livery stable, furniture store, lumber yard, a boot and shoe maker, brick yard, and four practicing doctors.

The old town of Cassville had brick sidewalks and was laid out in a traditional village style with square blocks spreading out from the courthouse square in the center. On either side of the courthouse was the main business district of town. Six stores, three on each side, were lined about the courthouse. The U. S. Post Office was directly across the street from the courthouse and the Latimer Hotel was just past the post office. M. Murray's store, another hotel, and the printing shop were located on the opposite side of the courthouse square.

The town was also the home of two fine colleges, the Cassville Female College and the Cherokee Baptist College both of which were housed in large brick buildings on beautiful campuses. Girls and boys from allover Cherokee Georgia came to Cassville to go to college. The Female Institute was owned by the Methodist and was located on a hill overlooking the town from the West. The hill was known by the town's residents as "College Hill." By 1853, the large three-story brick structure was erected and in full use containing .the finest library in northern Georgia.

The Cherokee Baptist Male College, on Chapman Hill, was located about 3/4 of a mile northeast of the Female Methodist College. It was a school for boys established in January of 1854. It too was a three-story building constructed of brick, but it had two-story wings flanking each side of the main structure. The school was burned in 1856 and was quickly rebuilt within a year and included the same floor plan as before as well as a chapel large enough to seat 800 people. There were seven recitation rooms, a library, two rooms for other purposes, and two large halls for the two Literary Societies to hold their functions. The Cherokee Baptist Male College and the Female Methodist College were the first chartered institutions of higher education in Cherokee, Georgia. Because there were no dormitories at either school, the citizens of Cassville boarded the youngsters for a small fee.

There were many fine homes in and around Cassville. It was a pleasant place to live and there was an element of culture and refinement in the town that could not be found in surrounding areas.  It was in Cassville that the first decision ever of the Georgia State Supreme Court was handed down. The first paved sidewalks in upper Georgia were laid in Cassville as well. It was one of the very first towns in Georgia to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors, and businesses in Cassville prospered as greatly as any others in the state. Cassvillians were especially proud of their brass band which was held together until the young men went away to war. There was also a circus grounds used for special events.

There were four churches in Cassville: Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Episcopalian. Three of the four are still located on the same grounds they held before the town was burned. Late in 1861 Confederate Hospitals were organized in Cassville and by May of 1864 eight large Confederate hospitals were in operation. There were also several regimental hospitals in Cassville. More than 10,000 Confederates were treated in these hospitals. More than 500 Confederates died in them, of which about 300 are buried in the Confederate Cemetery. Also buried in the Cassville cemetery is Bartow's able Brigadier General W. T. Wofford.

The Cassville battle did not reach major proportions of a major conflict. There were not many killings in the little fighting that actually took place. The battle was fought Thursday, May 19, 1864 and was of more importance as to what would happen in the future than it was of that day. Hood's Advance and Retreat called the battle, "The Controversial Cassville Battle," or the "Question Mark" of the Atlanta Campaign.

It was on November 5, 1864 when the city of Cassville was destroyed by fire at the hands of the Fifth Ohio Regiment of the Federal Army under the command of Colonel Heath and Major Thomas. They said they had orders from Sherman "that not a house be left within the limits of the incorporation, except the churches." One theory for the total destruction of the town is that Yankees had a special grievance against the town because it had changed its name from Cassville to Manassas and the name of the county from Cass to Bartow just after the Confederate victory at First Bull Run in 1861. The names of the county and county seat had been altered because the state legislature did not believe that a Southern town should bear the name of a Michigan general who held the "wrong" views on the slavery question.

The Union Army destroyed the city and left behind a mass of smoking walls and charred timber around the limits of the town. During the summer of 1864 the Federals were in complete control of Cassville and her citizens went through hard times. The nearest mill was fifteen miles away and those fortunate enough to have a little wheat or corn had to walk that distance to use the mill. They walked because all their horses had been seized by either Union or Confederate cavalries. Usually a few small boys would get together and sneak over to the mill because if they were caught by Federal troops, their grain would almost always be taken away. All the people had to pick berries to help toward their daily meals. It would have been tougher on the people of Cassville if it had not been for the kindness of a Federal captain stationed in Kingston who often sent assistance to the people in town.

There was an interview by a former resident years ago, who had lived through the event, that on the morning of November 5th the Union Army marched into town and, after giving a short notice about what was to follow, began their work. Within a short time the whole town was in flames. That night the people found themselves out in the street in a cold rain with not a shelter left over their heads. They could have found shelter in churches but they had to watch over the few personal belongings they had saved from the flames. They knew the Yankees would either steal or destroy them if they had a chance.

With Cassville now gone, the county seat was moved to the nearby rail center at Cartersville. It seemed useless to rebuild Cassville because of its location and total destruction. Cartersville quickly became the new center of activity in Bartow County and remains so today. All of the businesses, including several of the businessmen of old Cassville made themselves new locations in Cartersville. Cassville was only a memory, except for three churches, three homes, and the die-hards who decided to rebuild.

By the 1870's, the state-owned Western and Atlantic Railroad made Cartersville a major travel center. It was this railroad that ended any possibility of rebuilding Cassville. Cassville could only be reached by horse or stagecoach, while Cartersville was a major rail center. It is for this reason that Cassville today is only a small community consisting of the three old churches, a store, a post office, a new fire station, an empty courthouse square, and a Confederate Cemetery.
[From www.cassvillehistoricalsociety.com/history/]

James Benjamin Flemming

The Flemming Family in Cassville
 According to the 1860 U.S. Census, James Benjamin Flemming (1827-1907) and his wife Sarah Jackson Flemming (1837-1902) were living in Cassville with their sons Charles Clinton Flemming (1854-1932) and John Flemming (1858-before 1870). They had left their home in Darlington, South Carolina sometime after son John was born. James was working as a Harnessmaker, a profession he occupied throughout his life, and would pass down to his sons. He valued his personal property on the Census as $50. The Flemmings were Baptists.

While living here, Sarah gave birth to their third child, son Thomas J., in July 1860. By the time their fourth child, Oscar Eugene (1866-1936) was born in October of 1866, the family was living in Rome, about 23 miles to the west. James was still working as a harnessmaker. By the 1870 Census, their second child John had died, and their fifth son, Walter Edward (1869-1907) was born. James and Sarah would later have two more children - James Benjamin (1876-1878), who lived just 16 months, and their only daughter Minnie E. (1879-1963).

Headstone at Myrtle Hill Cemetery
Rome, Georgia

It is unknown at this time which unit James served under during the Civil War but his obituary confirms that he was a veteran. Whether or not Sarah and her three young sons were living in Cassville on the day that it was burned to the ground is not known. Records were destroyed and their experienes in Cassville have long been forgotten. James and Sarah are buried beside each other at Rome's historic Myrtle Hill Cemetery.