Glaeve Genealogy Journal

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

The Nebermans of Freeport, Illinois

Great Grandfather Frederick Glaeve was born in 1841 in

Beestland, Demmin,Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany

He was married to Maria "Mary" Fredericka Neberman in 1874.

Birth of daughter Wilhelmina Marie "Minnie" Glaeve

on 15 Dec 1875 in Freeport, Stephenson County, Illinois

Birth of Son Frederick Carl Glaeve

on 02 Apr 1878 Ridott, Stephenson, Illinois

Birth of last child, daughter Martha Lydia Fredricka Glaeve

on 18 May 1888 Freeport, Stephenson, Illinois

He died on December 11, 1907, in Winnebago,

Illinois, at the age of 66, and was buried in

Winnebago, Illinois. Mary died on July 11, 1919

and is buried beside him.

When Maria "Mary" Fredericka Neberman was born on April 29, 1851, in Schrödershof, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, her father, Christian, was 35, and her mother, Maria, was 35. She had one son and two daughters with Frederick Glaeve between 1875 and 1888. She died on July 11, 1919, in Winnebago, Illinois, at the age of 68, and was buried in Winnebago, Illinois.

Her father Christian Joachim Friedrich Nebermann was born April 16, 1816 in Lussow, Gustrow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, He died on March 31, 1883 in Freeport, Stephenson, Illinois.

other children of Christian and Maria were:

Fredericke 1840-1919

Johann F. 1847-1937

Sophia 1856-1886

Saturday, June 18, 2022

The kid sister

Kay was in one of the first classes in the new Como Park Junior High School. Originally opened in 1957, Como Park Junior High School was converted into a senior high school in the fall of 1979, accepting students from the just closed Washington and Murray High Schools, both of which became junior highs that same year.

Como Park Junior High School ca 1957 MHS

Washington opened as a high school in 1929 and drew from a handful of public grade schools—Whittier, Rice, Smith, and Gorman—all of them now gone. As the only public high school in the North End, Washington was a community center and anchor, much the way high schools are in small towns. Fifty years after it opened, Washington was converted to a junior high and later a middle school. Many of my relatives including my mother and my sister attended Washington when it was a Senior High.

The Hellers and others come from Burgenland to Columbus Township, Anoka County Minnesota

Many of the Burgenlanders who settled in Columbus Township, Anoka County, Minnesota, came from a small cluster of villages on the North East side of Lake Neusiedl.

The families included Schotls from Monchhof, Altenburgers from Podersdorf, Kreishitz/Kreitzs from Deutsch Jahrdorf, Groess from Halbturn; Hellers from Halbturn; Thurnbecks from St. Andras and more. I previously published a blog about Burgenland with information about the individual villages and the spread-sheet that Shan created, "People we think are Burgenlanders in Columbus Township" (see that spread-sheet and blog here)

Frauenkirchen, Church of Maria auf der Heide

To get an idea of the size of the area, the distance from Frauenkirchen to Halbturn is 6 km.; to Podersdorf 7.9 km. to Monchhof 5.6 km.; to Tadten 11.2 km.

We know that Anton Heller was born in Halbturn, Burgenland in 1851. He married Maria Hershelder in 1877, when he was 26 years old. Together with children Joseph Mary, and Katherine they sailed on the ship Zaandam which departed from Amsterdam, on April 24, 1886.

It appears that they went directly to Columbus Township, Anoka County, Minnesota. At the time of the 1900 Federal Census, they were living on their farm with their 3 children; Joseph, Mary, and Katherine.

In the 1905 State Census, Anton, Maria and their daughter Katherine were still living on the farm. Son, Joseph and daughter-in-law, Marie Lunzer lived on the next farm where they also farmed 80 acres.

Columbus Township, Anoka County, MN 1914

At the time of the 1910 Federal Census, Anton, Marie and their daughter, Katherine lived on the family farm on Holl and Nolz Road. Anton and Marie had 9 children only 3 of whom survived.

Anton died at age 63, and is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Forest Lake, Washington County. The Find A Grave Memorial# is 132145281

Mary survived him by 13 years. She moved in with her son Joseph and daughter-in-law Mary. We find her there in the 1920 Federal Census.

Mary died in 1927 at age 70 and was buried next to Anton in Calvary Cemetery, Forest Lake. The Find A Grave Memorial # is 132145263.

Shan pointed out that the two 40 acre parcels on the left side, of what was called Schotl Road in the 1910 Federal Census, were owned by Math Schotl (blue highlight). The two 80 acre parcels on the right side of the road had been the original Heller farms owned by Anton and Joseph Heller.

Friday, June 17, 2022

The Frogtown Neighborhood of St. Paul

The first German Bohemians came to St. Paul in the early 1870s and settled in the German ethnic neighborhoods that ring the downtown area of the city and joined the downtown German Catholic parish of the Assumption.

Church of the Assumption St. Paul

Their Czech neighbors from the old country were also their neighbors in the new country.

"Nearly all ethnic German parishes is St. Paul, Minnesota, held Bohmisch families, including St. Agnes, St Francis de Sales (near the Czech community centered at St. Stanislaus along West Seventh Street) St. Bernard's (Rice Street) Sacred Heart (Dayton's Bluff) and St. Matthew's (West Side)"

" The largest concentration of German-Bohemians in St. Paul was in the Frogtown neighborhood just north of the downtown business district.

Map of the Frogtown area of Saint Paul

These German Bohemians immigrated from small villages in the forested areas of Southwest Bohemia , the Böhmerwald (Sumava). There were many from the small village of Glockelberg (Zad Zavonka). The neighborhood was called Frogtown or Froshbberg by the German-speaking immigrants who populated the neighborhood,

because of the large number of frogs that inhabited this marshy area of the city."

"This immigrant neighborhood was centered on the beautiful church of St. Agnes.

Recent photo of St. Agnus Catholic Church

German-language sermons, hymns and confessions lingered well into the 1950s. Social events often centered around churches, card clubs, men's clubs, women's clubs, sewing circles, sauerkraut suppers and booyas..." German was the language of the home and the street. "The local business establishments, taverns, grocery stores, bakeries, butcher shops, hardware stores, tailor shops, barber shops, pharmacies and mortuaries displayed the German names of their German proprietors on their marquees."

Today, Frogtown is considered a subsection of the Thomas-Dale neighborhood. It is bordered by University Avenue on the south, the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks to the north, Lexington Parkway on the west and Highway 35 E on the east. More information here, "Frogtown or Thomas Dale". Ramsey County Historical Society. 2008-07-22

Bob Paulson and Shan Thomas at the Minnesota Historical Society

We know that Robert Paulson, founder of, and Research Committee chair of the German-Bohemian Heritage Society (GBHS) has been doing research on German-Bohemians in the Frogtown area.

A 2005 article written by Paulson and Linda Therkelsen in Heimatbrief states that "The church records of St. Agnes are laced with German-Bohemian names. " ... Paulson says "I discovered from the Catholic Church records of St. Agnes Parish in St. Paul, Minnesota, that a large group of emigrants from Kreis Krummau, Kaplitz, Budweis and Prachatitz also settled in that parish during the last half of the 19th century." Some of the St. Agnes parishioners joined St. Bernard's when it was founded in 1890 on the Eastern edge of Frogtown.

One of the few books on Frogtown is the book by Alex Leibel titled In Those Days, Recollections of Frogtown. The book "traces ... misadventures of a young boy born to German immigrants in a small section of St. Paul...

The memoirs are primarily of the 1930s and 40s during a period the author refers to as the golden age of Frogtown. It was an era when the immigrants were settled in and raising their large families beneath the sheltering baroque steeple of their Catholic church, their focal point sustaining them in that historic time with its two epoch events, the Great Depression and World War II." [from the synopsis provided by the publisher]

I did find a Facebook listing for Frogtown and through it found some entries from Dorothy Paulson, wife of Robert Paulson.

She grew up in the area, attended St. Agnes Catholic Church and St. Agnes Schools through high school. According to Dorothy Paulson, "The three Catholic churches in Frogtown formed a sort of triumvirate: Saint Agnes was German; Saint Adalbert's was Polish; and Saint Vincent's was considered the Irish parish."

Street View ca. 1930 of St. Agnus Catholic Church

Friday, June 10, 2022

Time for some General Blog up-dates and Kunshier news.

Time for some General Blog up-dates and Kunshier news. Most of the original family genealogy blogs were written between 2013 and 2015. Since many of those blogs lost, for whatever reason, many of the original pictures, I have attempted to replace them. Sometimes I was successful, sometimes not. In some cases I have added new photos and updated text.

First I want to remind every one that the Big family with Kumschier, Kumsher, Kunshier, Konschier site which is administered by Kornelia "Connie" Pelz is still active and can be linked.

The two most recent adds were about Gretchen (Kolbow) Kunshier and Robert James Kunshier which I will include here.

Gretchen "Kolbow" Kunshier

Gretchen C. Kunshier, age 40 of Forest Lake, Minnesota, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family as the sun set on November 5, 2020. Words can never explain the grace and tenacity Gretchen brought to her fight each day. She had a profound impact on all of us who love her. The love we shared will never leave our hearts. Her greatest talent among many was being a great mother. In the nearly eleven years she was able to spend with her daughter they shared a lifetime of love. It was very evident they were each specifically created to be together as mother and daughter. It was amazing to watch. She is preceded in death by her grandparents Jerry and Marian Tuominen, and Mary Jo Kolbow; aunt Roxan Wilkins, and uncle Peter Nelson. Gretchen is survived by her loving husband Joe; daughter Maija; parents Roger and Jan Kolbow; brothers Jared (Melissa) Kolbow, Jordan (Ashleigh) Kolbow, and Brent (Samantha) Kolbow; grandfather Ronald (Mary) Kolbow; mother and father-in-law Warren and Cheryl Kunshier

Robert James Kunshier

Robert James Kunshier Age 94 of Forest Lake. Robert passed away peacefully with family around him on January 21st, 2017. He was born January 25, 1922, to Andrew James and Lenore (Sevigny) Kunshier in Forest Lake, MN. He married Hiladore Kloss of Waite Park, MN on September 11, 1948. He was a postal worker, retiring in 1977. He was a member of the American Postal Workers Union, a 60 year, Lifetime member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4210, Forest Lake, and American Legion Post 225, Forest Lake, MN. Robert served in the United States Army during WWII from 1941-45. He was a proud member of the 34th Infantry Division of the Red Bulls, and one of the last two surviving members of 150 young men deployed from the unit in Stillwater, MN. The 34th Unit was the first US Army Division deployed to Europe in WWII. He went first to Lisnaskea, Northern Ireland, serving as an Artillery Sergeant, fought in the North African Campaign, then the Italian Campaign, going from Tunisia, North Africa to Anzio, Italy when the Italians surrendered. He was honorably discharged at the end of the war.

Bob was a man of deep faith, a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He enjoyed hunting and fishing, loved walking in the woods, nature and birds, cooking and playing cards. He was an avid biker, riding 15-30 miles a day until he was 90. He was very sociable, enjoyed trips to the casino and drives around the local countryside. His children provided him with joy rides until he passed, with Him directing the route and never losing his way on the most remote country roads. He is survived by his children, Bill (Cheri) Kunshier, Sauk Rapids, Tom (Terry) Kunshier, North Branch, Debbie (Greg) Houle, Stacy, Mary (Mike) Conroy, Prior Lake, Connie (Steve) Mueller, Forest Lake, Lorry (John) Grove, Oakdale, and Birdy (Steve) Dahl, Plymouth; fifteen grandchildren, Scott (Letha) Kunshier, McKenna Kunshier, Tess (Jake) Moosey, Madison Kunshier, Cassidae Kunshier, Sarah Houle (Ben Findley), Andrew Houle, Christopher Mueller (Jessi Anderson), Brittney Mueller (Joe), Caitlin (Ryan) Anderson, Danielle Mueller, Kelsey (Josh) Englund, Brea Kosman, Taylor Dahl, Aimee Dahl; nine great grandchildren, Cole, Maxwell, Isaac, Logan, Ellia, Hartlee, Ryder, Zaiden, Addlynn. He is also survived by his brother, Dean (Barbara) Kunshier, Forest Lake. He was preceded in death by his wife in 2003, sister and brothers Geneva, Glen, and Richard.

Additional Kunshier info was gleaned from the Forest Lake Times newspaper.

Glenn E. Kunshier of Lake Minnewawa was born Oct. 23, 1927, in Forest Lake to Andrew and Lenora (Sevigny) Kunshier. He entered the U.S. Navy in 1946, serving two years in the Pacific. He returned to Forest Lake and worked as a tile/carpet installer. He married Kay Bohler June 20, 1957. They were married 56 years. In 1977, they moved to Big Sandy, purchasing The Triangle Bar and owning it until 1979. Glenn was self-employed, installing tile and carpet around the McGregor area, until he was in his seventies. He enjoyed traveling with Kay and his daughters to many wonderful scenic destinations. He and Kay traveled to Yuma, Ariz., each winter after retirement. He was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church and the American Legion of McGregor. He died May 7, 2013 in McGregor. MN.
He is survived by his wife, Kay; daughters, Beth (Dave) Fredrickson, McGregor; and Donna (Rick) Boyer, Aitkin; grandchildren, Jake, Jackie, Cody and Wyatt; great-granddaughter, Issabelle; brothers, Robert and Dean; and sister, Geneva. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Dick Kunshier.

Kay Kunshier died Oct. 19, 2019

Gordis "Judy" Kunshier was born June 14, 1922 in Västra Fågelvik, Värmland, Sweden. She married Wayne Kunshier on May 6, 1941 and they made their home in Ham Lake, Anoka County, MN. She died on Jun 6, 2016 and was buried on June 9 in Columbus Township, Anoka County, MN. She was preceded in death by parents Nels and Ida (Emsell) Peterson.

Gordis "Judy" Kunshier gravestone

Barbara Anne (Kushier) Mudrick was born on February 4, 1935 to Clyde Conrad Kunshier and Charlene Mae (Hagen) Kunshier. She was married to Raymond Charles Mudrick on Oct 14, 1955. They divorced on June 26, 1980 but are buried together in Stacy Cemetery, Stacy, Chisago County, MN.

GlenBar

n was born Oct. 23, 1927, in Forest Lake to Andrew and Lenora (Sevigny) Kunshier. He entered the U.S. Navy in 1946, serving two years in the Pacific. He returned to Forest Lake and worked as a tile/carpet installer. He married Kay Bohler June 20, 1957. They were married 56 years. In 1977, they moved to Big Sandy, purchasing The Triangle Bar and owning it until 1979. Glenn was self-employed, installing tile and carpet around the McGregor area, until he was in his seventies. He enjoyed traveling with Kay and his daughters to many wonderful scenic destinations. He and Kay traveled to Yuma, Ariz., each winter after retirement. He was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church and the American Legion of McGregor.

He is survived by his wife, Kay; daughters, Beth (Dave) Fredrickson, McGregor; and Donna (Rick) Boyer, Aitkin; grandchildren, Jake, Jackie, Cody and Wyatt; great-granddaughter, Issabelle; brothers, Robert and Dean; and sister, Geneva. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Dick Kunshier. was born Oct. 23, 1927, in Forest Lake to Andrew and Lenora (Sevigny) Kunshier. He entered the U.S. Navy in 1946, serving two years in the Pacific. He returned to Forest Lake and worked as a tile/carpet installer. He married Kay Bohler June 20, 1957. They were married 56 years. In 1977, they moved to Big Sandy, purchasing The Triangle Bar and owning it until 1979. Glenn was self-employed, installing tile and carpet around the McGregor area, until he was in his seventies. He enjoyed traveling with Kay and his daughters to many wonderful scenic destinations. He and Kay traveled to Yuma, Ariz., each winter after retirement. He was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church and the American Legion of McGregor.

Glenn was born Oct. 23, 1927, in Forest Lake to Andrew and Lenora (Sevigny) Kunshier. He entered the U.S. Navy in 1946, serving two years in the Pacific. He returned to Forest Lake and worked as a tile/carpet installer. He married Kay Bohler June 20, 1957. They were married 56 years. In 1977, they moved to Big Sandy, purchasing The Triangle Bar and owning it until 1979. Glenn was self-employed, installing tile and carpet around the McGregor area, until he was in his seventies. He enjoyed traveling with Kay and his daughters to many wonderful scenic destinations. He and Kay traveled to Yuma, Ariz., each winter after retirement. He was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church and the American Legion of McGregor.

Thursday, June 9, 2022

Crex Meadows, Griggs-Cooper Co. of Saint Paul and the Depression of 1930s

Aunt Pat Schanno Schotl talked about the hard years of the Depression when you were lucky to find work. Neighborhood families shared with those that did not have jobs and food. Everyone learned to make do and put their dreams on hold.

From 1929-1931, Aunt Betty Handler worked for the Crex Carpet Company. She was listed as a "winder", probably a bobbin winder, and later as an "operator".

Crex Carpet Company on Front Street, St. Paul MN

The Crex Carpet Company went bankrupt in 1933, but the name "Crex" remained.

During the depression and drought years of the 1930s, further drainage and agricultural attempts failed. By 1940, nearly two thirds of the land in the area was tax delinquent. In 1946, the state purchased 12,000 acres of this tax delinquent land to start the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area

Crex Grass.

Crex Meadows Visitor's Center

We have family photos of both female and male employees posed near factory buildings. My mother, Bernice talked about working at the American Can Company before she was married. She appears with other female employees at the complex of buildings that we have identified as American Can Company. The years would have been ca. 1936-1937 as she married in 1938, and did not work immediately after her marriage. In 1940, according to the Federal Census, Pearl was 19, living at home, and also working at the American Can Company. She had dropped out of school after her sophomore year. The family may have needed the money as Grandpa Frank Schotl is not listed as employed in 1940 and may have been ill and no longer able to work.

The complex is currently owned by Silgan Container Corporation, a world-wide company founded in 1987. Silgan acquired the company after their merger with National Can Company.

Mom also talked about family members being employed at the Griggs-Cooper Company, but we have not been able to find photos or document it. ..Magdalen Horwath was working as a packer....

Griggs Cooper and Company building circa 1890

In 1913, Griggs, Cooper and Company, later famous for its Home Brand products, completed a large modern factory on the corner of Fairview and University Avenues in St. Paul. This location would have been an easy street car ride taking the Rice Street car and transferring to the University car where the two intersected.

The Griggs, Cooper & Company Sanitary Food Manufacturing Plant at 1821 University Avenue West occupies much of the block bounded by University, Fairview, and Thomas avenues. It was constructed in 1911-12 with additions in 1921 and 1925. Originally a canning factory and candy and cracker manufacturing facility, the building was reportedly the world’s largest canning factory when built.

The original wing, adjacent to University Avenue, was built to house the Sanitary Food Manufacturing Company Plant. The northeast and northwest wings were built as warehouses that provided space for other functions as well. The three wings of reinforced-concrete construction are similar in appearance and are unified by brick and exposed concrete exterior walls.

The Sanitary Food Manufacturing Company was a subsidiary of Griggs, Cooper & Company. This facility processed or manufactured several “Home Brand” products in addition to crackers and candy, including coffee, tea, spices, extracts, preserves, and canned fruit and vegetables.

In 1940 Elizabeth Horwath, Apple's sister is living at 582 Prior Ave., very near the American Can Company complex. Apple was married to my uncle Len Schotl.

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

The Marriage of Rose Kunshier and Frank Schotl and the move to Saint Paul

Frank Schotl has not yet been found in the 1905 Minnesota State Census, so it is unknown

when he moved to Minnesota, but his mother and two brothers, John and Matt are living in Columbus Township on a farm near others from the Neuseidl area of Burgenland.

On the 1910 Federal Census, he is living on Wyoming Road

and employed as a Cook on Wire Grass Farm #1

Frank Schotl married Rose Katherine Kunshier, on the 8th of November in 1911. They were married in Rose's home or in nearby St. Peter's Catholic Church in Forest Lake.

Their witnesses were Matt (Mattias) Kreitz and Theresa Pollreis, both from Burgenland families near Monchhof. They are identified on the back of the wedding photo. Theresa later married Berjamin B. Saxe, another Burgenlander.

On the 1910 Federal Census, Matt was working on Wire Grass Farm #1 in Columbus

a typical wire grass farm from the Anoka County Archives

Township. Matt's father, Michael Kreischitz was farming in Columbus Township, Anoka County, according to the 1905 Minnesota State Census. The family later shortened the name to Kreitz. The Schotls also owned or rented farms in Columbus township. The families may have been acquainted in the old country as Michael's place of birth is listed as Deutsch Jahrndorf, Burgenland, Austria. This area is less than 10 miles from Mönchhof, Hungary where Frank was born.

Theresa Pollreis and Rose may have known each other from school or from St. Peter's Catholic Church in Forest Lake where, according to the 1910 Federal Census, the Pollreis family was living.

Theresa's parents Stephen and Mary Daninger Pollreis were from Austro-Hungary. Theresa later married Benjamin B. Saxe and they moved to St. Paul where Benjamin was employed as a meat cutter for the Armour Company. (More about the Saxe family later)

After their marriage Frank and Rose moved to Forest Lake. According to his 1917 WWI draft registration, Frank was working on a farm owned by Jackson Simmons. At that time he and Rose had 3 children: Martin, Lawrence, and Leonard.

Before 1920, the young Frank and Rose Schotl family moved to 28 East Maryland Street in St. Paul. Other family members had already moved to St. Paul and were getting their first taste of an urban life after generations of farm labor and rural life.

As early as 1903, Grandma's brother Charles Kunshier was living at 1377 Edgerton Ave., St. Paul and working as a machinist for Griffin Wheel Company located at 1256 Phalen Blvd., per the 1903 Polk Directory.

In 1910, my Grand Uncle, Conrad Kunshier was working as a laborer in building construction and living with his sister Katie and brother-in-law John Schmidt at 452 Van Buren Street. This was the area known as Frogtown and was served by St. Agnes Catholic Church at 548-50 Lafond Avenue.

In 1911, my Grand Aunt Mary Schotl Handler was living with her husband John at 37 West Lawson Street with new born daughter Betty. John was working in a lumber yard. The house was on the corner of Sylvan Street across the street from Oakland Cemetery.

The neighborhood known as the North End Neighborhood was a later destination for many of the Schotls and Kunshiers. They were joining many other working class families who were attracted by the job possibilities and the transportation advantages.

The Church of Saint Bernard, a Roman Catholic parish in the North End neighborhood, was also an important attraction and became a focus for the community. The brick church was designedby John Jager and built in 1905. The members were predominantly German or German speaking. Aunt Pat Schotl told us that many of the old people, including her grandmother still spoke German in the home.

For those who didn't work in the neighborhood, the street-car was transportation to nearby factories and downtown businesses. Many of the men were working for the breweries, railroads and at the stock-yards. They were bakers, barbers, bartenders and truck drivers. While some of the women worked in factories, many also worked as retail clerks, book-keepers, domestics, laundry-help or did alternations, or are listed as home-makers.

After her father John Handler died on May 22 of 1933, Aunt Betty was working as a maid at Charles T. Miller Hospital and lived with her mother at 838 Hardenbergh Place. This address is six blocks South of their original home on Lawson and 2 blocks West of Oakland Cemetery.

Betty died in January of 1989 and is buried in Roselawn Cemetery, Roseville, MN.