[Last updated: 30 August 2010.]

Johan Frietrich Stembel

Frederick Stembel

Ann Catherine Stembel

ANN CATHERINE STEMBEL GROVE MICHAEL (1774 - 1858)

Ann Catherine was born on April 12, 1774, in Middletown, Maryland. She was baptized May 23 of the same year. Her baptism was sponsored by Johannes [Adam] and [Ann] Catherine Eberle (Frederick's mother and stepfather). She was Frederick's first child. We don't know much about Catherine's childhood or education.

In 1797, at the age of 23, Catherine married Martin Groff (Grove). A year later their first child, Mary Magdalina, was born.

At this point Catherine's life becomes hazy. We know a second child, Elizabeth, was born in March of 1800, but when the 1800 census was taken five months later, Martin had died, or so we assume, for Catherine's name was recorded in the census as "Catherine Groff - widow"⁽¹⁾. I'm not sure if Martin died before Elizabeth was born or after.

A year later, November 1, 1801, Elizabeth, died. She was not yet two-years old.

Losing her husband and a young child in such a short period of time must have been devastating.

Catherine soon remarried however. On March 21, 1802, she married Christopher Michael III, a 26-year old farmer from the nearby village of Harmony, Maryland. I believe Catherine and Christopher bought or rented a farm near Harmony.

According to Dr. McLean's research, Catherine left her remaining child from her first marriage, Mary, with her parents to be raised by them in Middletown. I have no idea why Catherine left Mary behind. Maybe she left her with her parents in town so Mary could attend school. Maybe Catherine and Christopher couldn't yet afford another mouth to feed, or maybe Christopher wasn't receptive to raising a child that was not his own. Whatever the reason, the decision seems to have created some ill will in the family, for the estrangement between Catherine and Mary was still evident nearly 40 years later in 1738 when Frederick drew up his will. He specifically directed the executer of his estate (who happened to be Catherine's husband!) to withhold one-tenth of Catherine's share and give it directly to Mary. It's obvious Frederick was worried that Catherine or Christopher might deny Mary her rightful inheritance.

Catherine had nine children by Christopher, eight girls and a boy. All lived to adulthood and all married - and all but one eventually moved to Ohio (as did Mary, Catherine's first child by Martin Grove).

Christopher died March 8, 1846, at the age of 70. In his will he left Catherine $3,000 plus their furniture. He left his daughter Mary Ann Esther a special legacy of $300 "in consideration of her faithful services now rendering me." He also gave her the land that she was living on (Mary Ann was 30 years old and unmarried at the time of her father's death. Five months later she married - see below).

There was a special provision in Christopher's will for another daughter, Maria. While Christopher specified that all the money owed him by his other children was to be subtracted from their portion of his estate, the money owed by Maria and her husband Levi Parson was to be considered a gift; it did not have to be repaid. Also, he indicated that $2,400 from his estate was to be put in trust, with the interest on that sum to be paid to Maria annually for the rest of her life. However, these were the only proceeds Maria was to receive from her father's estate. She was not included with the rest of her siblings in the division of her father's estate.

Christopher's nine slaves were also mentioned in his will. Seven of the nine were children between the ages of 6 and 15. Christopher gave one to his son, John Frederick, two to daughter Susan, two to daughter Lucinda, and two to daughter Mary Ann Esther. However, he stipulated that each must be set free on their 28th birthday. The two remaining slaves were adults. He directed that his slave, Rachel Jones, and her two small children were to be set free at his death. His remaining slave, David, was too old to gain a livelihood, so he stipulated that those of his children who received slaves from his estate must contribute to his support for as long as he lived. Any who refused were to be taken to court.

Christopher further charged that all his lands in Maryland and Ohio were to be sold at public auction with the proceeds to be split equally among all of his children (except Maria).

After Christopher's death, his son, John Frederick, purchased his father's farm from the estate. Ann Catherine continued to live on the farm with John Frederick and his family.

Seven years later, John moved his family to a new home in Urbana, Ohio. Catherine, then 79, accompanied them. She lived with them for five more years until her death in 1858.

Here is a biography of Ann Catherine's eleven children:

A. MARY MAGDELINA Grove Keller. Mary, also known as "Polly," was born on September 5, 1798, probably near Middletown, Maryland. As mentioned above, her father died when she was very young and after her mother remarried, she was raised by her grandparents in Middletown. In 1822, she married William Keller of Hanover, PA. In November 1827, they packed everything they owned in covered wagons and began a two month journey to Dayton, Ohio. They lived there for a year or so, and in April of 1829, moved to Urbana, Ohio.

Soon after moving to Urbana, William began building a new house on Court Street for the family. They moved into their new home in December, 1830.⁽²⁾

William was a hatter by trade. He was also active in the community, serving as Justice of the Peace for twelve years and Mayor for three years, in fact William was mayor at the time of his death - he had just been re-elected prior to his untimely death of a stroke on April 27, 1857.⁽³⁾

Mary and William had six known children⁽⁴⁾, two boys and four girls. One son became a lawyer and later a Captain in the U.S. Army. The other son was a clergyman. All four daughters were teachers, one of which married a physician.

Mary continued to live in Urbana for 18 more years. She died in 1885 at the age of 86.

Mary and William's six children:

1. Barbara Catarina. Barbara was born July 29, 1823, and baptized in Middletown's Lutheran Church on October 19 of the same year. When she was about 5 years old, her parents moved to Ohio where she grew up. Barbara was a teacher. She never married. She lived in Urbana most of her life, but a few years before her death she moved to West Liberty, Illinois, (the city is in doubt) where she lived with her brother, Joseph, and his family. She died there March 7, 1909. Her body was returned to Urbana and buried in Oakdale Cemetery.

2. Drucilla Elizabeth. Drucilla, or "Betsy" as she was known, was born April 23, 1826, and baptized in the Middletown Lutheran Church on September 10 of the same year. She was just two years old when her parents moved to Ohio. Betsy also became a teacher (although only the 1860 census records an occupation for her: seamstress). She never married. Betsy died June 8, 1879, of a stroke at the age of 53, and is buried in Urbana's Oakdale Cemetery.

3. Theodoric G. Theodoric, or "Todd" as he was sometimes known, was born April 12, 1833, about five years after his parents moved to Ohio. There was a seven-year gap between Todd and his older sister Betsy, so it's possible there were other children born between the two. Like his two older sisters, Todd started out as a teacher. However, in 1852 he began reading the law under the tutelage of Gen. John Young. He was admitted to the bar in 1855, but family members claim he never practiced the law. The 1860 census seems to contradict this because his occupation was recorded as Lawyer. In 1861 he enlisted in the Ohio Volunteer Infantry as a private, but rose to the rank of Captain. Though he saw much action, Todd returned home after the war uninjured. After the war he resumed teaching. He never married. Todd suffered a heart attack and died September 12, 1893. He is buried in Urbana's Oakdale Cemetery.

4. Margaret L. Margaret was born October 1836, I don't have the exact date. At the time of the 1860 federal census, she was single and living with her widowed mother. The census gave her occupation as a French language teacher. A year later, on June 20, 1861, Margaret married Benjamin Euans. Benjamin was about eight years older than she. They had only one child, Mary. Sometime before 1870, they moved to North Carolina. In the 1880 federal census, they were living near Franklin (Macon County), North Carolina, where Benjamin was a farmer. Later they became associated with the Newton Academy, located in Asheville. Margaret was a teacher there and may have headed the school (this according to her mother's obituary). Margaret died in 1903, Benjamin died a year later. They are both buried in the Newton Academy's cemetery in Asheville.

5. Joseph C. Joseph was born in March 1838, in Urbana. He was a clergyman in Illinois according to his mother's obituary written in 1885. In the 1880 federal census, he was living in San Juan (Mason County), Illinois. He had a wife and three daughters. Later he lived in McLean County, Illinois. He and his wife Nancy were still living in 1910, but I could not find either of them in the 1920 census.

6. Belinda Ann Kaufman. Belinda was known as "Bennie." She was born September 1840, in Urbana, Ohio. Like her three older sisters, she was a teacher. In 1873 she married Dr. Henry Clay Pearce of Urbana. Henry's grandfather, Thomas Pearce, was the first settler in Urbana. For Dr. Pearce this was his second marriage. According to family members Dr. Pearce had five children by his first wife. Belinda and Henry had two children of their own: William and Frank. In 1893, Henry Pearce was stricken with paralysis which left him an invalid. Two years later, William, who loved horses and worked on a farm, died of typhoid at the age of 20. Frank attended the Tennessee Medical College in Knoxville, where he earned a degree in 1901. Henry died the next year at the age of 69. Frank decided to remain in Tennessee to practice medicine in an area of west Tennessee that was in desperate need of physicians. In 1904, Frank married Lyde Sumners and soon was father of a little girl, Dorothy. A year later Frank became ill with typhoid fever. Like his brother William, Frank succumbed on September 27, 1906. At the age of 66, Belinda was a widow who had also lost both of her sons. She lived 13 more years. She died September 9, 1919. Belinda and Henry, and their son William, are buried in Urbana's Oakdale Cemetery.

B. ELIZABETH Grove. Elizabeth was born March 1, 1800, probably near Middletown, Maryland. Her father died just months after her birth. She died November 1, 1801.

C. SARAH Michael Lowe. Sarah was born December 20, 1802, near Harmony, Maryland. She married Elias Lowe on April 8, 1821, in Middletown. Sarah was 18, Elias was 22. In 1832 they moved to Ohio with Sarah's younger sister, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's husband. Two younger sisters, Maria and Ann Catherine - both single - also accompanied them.⁽⁵⁾

They eventually settled in Vermillion Twp, Erie County, Ohio.

In 1845, Elias and Sarah moved their family to LaPorte, County, Indiana, where Elias farmed and later operated a hotel. It's likely that money that Sarah inherited from her father's estate helped fund the move. In 1849 Elias laid out an addition to the town of Byron (LaPorte County), IN. Byron no longer exists.

Sarah and Elias had six known children, all of whom lived to adulthood. All but one moved away as adults: three eventually settled in California, one moved to Oregon, and one moved to Nebraska. They may have had a seventh child who died in childhood.

Elias died in 1863. He was 64 years old. Sometime between 1870 and 1873, Sarah moved to Yolo County, California, where she died in 1877 at the age of 74. No burial records have been found for her.

Sarah and Elias Lowe's seven children (the author thanks John Montgomery and Juliane Montgomery Burbach who contributed much of this information):

1. John Rufus. John was born January 18, 1823, in Maryland. On April 20, 1848, at the age of 25, he married Helen Gennette Root in La Porte County, Indiana. Helen was 18. Sometime before 1857 they moved from their home in Indiana to Solano County, California. John and Helen had four children, all were born after the move to California. After a decade or so in Solano County, they moved again, for the 1870 census shows them residing in Cottonwood Township, Yolo County, where John's real estate was valued at $11,125 and his personal estate valued at $4,725. Twelve years after that census they again moved, this time to Happy Valley in Shasta County. It's reported that John purchased an olive grove and a vineyard there. John died in 1887 in Shasta County at the age of 64. He is buried in the Happy Valley cemetery. After John's death Helen moved to San Fernando, California, where she died in 1908.

(2?). Christopher F. A Stembel family researcher shows a second son, Christopher, in his records, with no date of birth or date of death. The researcher's notes say Christopher lived in Denver, Colorado as an adult. I've done a thorough seach of the U.S. census records from 1850 through 1880 and have found no record of him. Lowe family researchers have no record of him and doubt he exists. I agree. I am leaving him in the family history in case we find he existed but died very young, for there is a break between the birth of John in 1823 and Mahala in 1827 where one would expect a child to be born.

3. Mahala Catherine. Mahala was born April 22, 1827 in Maryland. When Mahala was young, her family moved to Ohio. On November 28, 1844, she married Levi Ransom. It was Levi's second marriage. Levi had a daughter, Rebecca, by his first wife. Rebecca was only two when Levi married Mahala. Mahala and Levi had four more children, three girls and a boy. Sometime after 1860 they moved to California.⁽⁶⁾ Levi died in Woodland (Yolo County), California, in 1869. He was just 51. Mahala returned to LaPorte, Indiana, and reportedly remarried. She died in 1890.

4. Elias M. Elias was born in 1834, probably near Vermillion, Ohio. Sometime between 1845 and 1850, he moved to LaPorte County, Indiana, with his parents. On April 29, 1865, 30 year-old Elias married 18 year-old Anna Benford in LaPorte County. They had three known children. Elias was a lawyer in the town of Michigan City, Indiana. Sometime after 1880 Elias and Anna moved their family to Nebraska, for they are both buried in O'Neill (Holt County), Nebraska.⁽⁷⁾ Anna died in 1889 at the age of 42; Elias died in 1896.

5. William F. William was born May 5, 1836, near Vermillion, Ohio. William was a sergeant in Co. I, 87th Indiana Volunteers during the Civil War. He was severely wounded during the war, and returned home disabled. In 1868 he moved to Yolo County, California. In the 1870 census, he was living next to his brother, John. His occupation was "locomotive engineer." In the 1880 census, he was living in Wasco County, Oregon, and still working for the railroad. By 1910 he had moved to Columbia County, Oregon, north of Portland. He was 73-years old and his occupation was "fisherman-Columbia River." He owned his house where he lived alone. He died in 1911 and is buried in Portland, Oregon. William never married.

6. Lewis M. Lewis was born sometime after July 1838 near Vermillion, Ohio. He was a teacher when the Civil War broke out. Like his older brother William, he served in Co. I of the 87th Indiana Volunteers. During the Battle of Chickamauga (in northern Georgia), on September 20, 1863, Lewis was wounded and taken prisoner. He died in a Confederate prisoner camp on March 17, 1864. He is buried in the Danville (Virginia) National Cemetery.

7. Sarah M. E. Sarah was born in 1845. She may have been born in Ohio, or at her family's new home in Indiana. I'm told she was still living in 1873, possibly in California. I don't know if she ever married, or when she died.

D. ELIZABETH Michael Darby. Elizabeth was born March 11, 1804, near Harmony, Maryland. At the age of 18, she married Perry Darby in Middletown. They lived in Frederick County for about ten years before moving to Ohio with Elizabeth's sisters and the Lowes. Elizabeth and Perry had eight known children, all of whom were born in Maryland. Their first child was born in 1824, and the last was born in 1846--a 22-year spread. All but one child, a son who died at the age of 12, survived to adulthood.

Elizabeth died in 1849 at the age of 45, soon after moving to Ohio and just three years after her youngest child was born. Elizabeth is buried in the Brownhelm Cemetery in Lorain County, Ohio. Perry remarried a year later. He had two more children, one of which died before the age of two. Perry died in 1873 and is also buried in the Brownhelm Cemetery.

Elizabeth and Perry Darby's eight children:

1. Sarah Catherine. Sarah was born August 25, 1824, in Frederick County, Maryland. She was about eight when her parents moved to Ohio. On July 3, 1842, she married William Sayles. She was 17, William was 21. In the 1850 census, Sarah was recorded living apart from her husband. She was listed as head of household. Living with her was her younger sister, Ephagene, and a young couple, Nelson and Sarah Parsons (Nelson was a ship's carpenter). William was living next to Sarah with a family named Quigley.

In the 1860 census, William and Sarah were living together. According to the census they had a three-year old boy, Marion Sayles. Sarah's sister Ephagene was also living with them, as well as a 20-year old blacksmith.

Here's where it gets interesting. The 1870 census holds two surprises. One, William and Sarah are now living in the town of Antwerp, in Paulding County, Ohio - 120 miles east of their old home in Lorain County. The second surprise is that this time the census records their child as a female named Mattie - who was born in England! Mattie's real name was probably Marian, for three year's later a Marian J. Sayles married a Franklin Gordon in Paulding County. I assume Marian/Mattie was a relative of William's, born in England, and not William and Sarah's child. I base this on the fact that it would be rare indeed for a farmer from Ohio to travel with his wife to Europe and stay long enough to have a child. Also, in the 1860 census, Marion (Marian) had the last name "Sayles" written on the form, which was not the norm. Usually the children's last name was left blank because it was assumed the child had the same last name as the head of the house. The third reason I believe Mattie was not William and Sarah's child was that they had been married for 15 years with no children up to that point.

It appears the family moved back to Lorain County soon after Mattie's wedding, for in Lorain County's Brownhelm Cemetery we find headstones for Mattie (Sayles) Gordon who died in 1876 (the day after her 19th birthday) and for Sarah who died less than a year later, in 1877.

William re-married four months after Sarah's death. He married 23-year old Lovina Gordon. William and "Vena" had a son, William, who died just four months after his birth. Vena died on March 7, 1887, Willaim died three days later.

There are many unanswered questions about this family. Further research is needed.

2. William Edmund. William was born February 22, 1828 in Frederick County, Maryland. He moved to Ohio with his parents. There he married and had at least one child, a son. We're told he or his son eventually moved to Fresno, California. It is not known when he died. However, I have not been able to locate William in the 1850, 1860, 1870, or 1880 censuses.

3. Lloyd. Lloyd was born May 27, 1831. He married Sarah [last name unknown]. They had at least three children, a son, Jay, and two daughters, Edna and Edie. Their first child, Jay, was born in California in 1864 so we know they moved to California before that date. In 1870 Lloyd was a farmer near Vacaville, Solana County, California, and in 1880 he ran a lumber mill in San Benito County, California. Family members believe they later moved to Fresno, California.

4. John Frederick. John was born February 21, 1834, probably in Ohio. In the early 1860s he married Rebecca Ransom.⁽⁸⁾ Sometime before 1866 they moved to LaPorte, Indiana. John and Rebecca had at least six children, all sons. In the 1880 census, John and Rebecca were still living in LaPorte; John's occupation was listed as retired grocer (at the age of 46!). Evidently John died soon after the 1880 census, for Rebecca married a Samuel Doolittle in 1883.

5. Franklin. Franklin Darby was born June 26, 1836 in Ohio. He died just two months after his 12th birthday. He is buried in the Brownhelm Cemetery, Lorain County, Ohio.

6. Ann Rebecca Maria. Ann was born February 14, 1839 in Ohio. On October 18, 1857, she married George Phillips. They had at least eight children. Family members believe they moved, first, to LaPorte, Indiana, and later to Colton, California. It is not known when they died, or where. According to family members, one of their children, Georgia, moved to Hastings, Nebraska, another, Charles, moved to Eureka, California, and a third, David, moved to Yakima, Washington. I have not been able to confirm any of these moves.

7. Benjamin Dwight. Benjamin was born August 26, 1842, in Ohio. When the Civil War broke out, he joined the 41st Ohio Volunteers (Co. F). He died February 25, 1866, soon after the war ended. Though I don't know the cause of his death, it seems likely it was war related, for he was just 23 years old when he died.

8. Ephagene Elizabeth. Ephagene was born June 10, 1846, in Ohio. It appears that she was raised by her older sister, Sarah Darby Sayles, for she was living with her in the 1850 and 1860 censuses. Ephagine married a man named Mead. They reportedly moved to Hiawatha (Brown County), Kansas, soon after they married. When I looked for them in the 1880 census, I found an Eva Mead, widow, age 34, living in Washington County, Kansas (about 70 miles west of Brown County). I'm reasonably certain this is Ephagene Darby.⁽⁹⁾

E. MARIA Michael Parsons. Maria was born on January 25, 1806, near Harmony, Maryland. She moved to Ohio with her sisters Elizabeth and Sarah and their families around 1832. There, she married a widower, Levi Parsons, in 1838. Levi was the son of General Samuel Parsons, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. This was Levi's second marriage. He had two children from his first marriage.

Maria and Levi had two children. Sometime before 1860, Levi and Maria moved to Springfield, Ohio, where Levi ran a lumber yard.

Maria was treated differently from the rest of her siblings in her father's will. Unlike her siblings, the money her father lent Maria and Levi did not have to be repaid to the estate. It was considered a gift. In addition, $2,400 from his estate was put in a trust fund, with the interest to be paid to Maria annually for the rest of her life. However, these were the only proceeds Maria received from her father's estate. She was not included with the rest of her siblings in the division of her father's estate. Why?

Levi died in 1867. Maria died in 1874. Both are buried in Springfield's Ferncliff Cemetery.

Maria and Levi Parson's two children:

1. Mary C. Mary was born in 1846. At the time of the 1870 federal census, she was living in Springfield, Ohio, with her widowed mother and widowed aunt Mary Ann Brunner. On February 9, 1880, she married William Nicholson. They must have immediately moved to Alabama, for four months later the 1880 federal census shows them living on a farm in Madison County, Alabama. Mary and William had at least four children. Mary died between 1880 and 1900, probably in Alabama. William was still farming in Madison County, Alabama, at the time of the 1900 census.

2. Marian Elizabeth. Marian was born March 4, 1850 in Ohio. On April 2, 1868, she married Dr. Aaron Longstreet, a physician. Aaron was a distant relative of Confederate General James Longstreet. Marian and Aaron had 5 children (though one died as an infant) between 1869 and 1877, but Aaron died suddenly in 1879 at the age of 37. Five years later, Marian married Robert Thackery Nelson. Robert was 30 years old and Marian was 32. I don't know if Robert was previously married or if he had any previous children. In 1887 Marian and Robert moved first to Santa Anna, California, then Los Angeles, and eventually settled in Upland, California, where they bought an orange grove. Robert died in 1921; Marian died January 7, 1928. She was 77 years old. Both are buried in Ontario, California.

F. REBECCA Michael Poffenberger. Rebecca was born on January 28, 1808, near Harmony, Maryland. On May 2, 1833, she married John Poffenberger in Middletown. Soon after their marriage, they moved to Urbana, Ohio. John was very involved in civic affairs, and was one of the founders of Urbana's Oakdale Cemetery. Rebecca and John had seven children. Sadly, three died in childhood. I'm told Rebecca and John made numerous trips back to Maryland to visit their relatives.

John died in 1877 at the age of 67. Rebecca lived 15 more years. She was 84 years old at the time of her death. Both are buried at the Oakdale Cemetary John helped found.

Rebecca was the great-grandmother of the original Stembel genealogist, Dr. William McLean. It goes without saying that this family has been well researched.

Rebecca and John Poffenberger's seven children:

1. Franklin Michael. Franklin was born May 23, 1834, probably in Urbana, Ohio. He died when he was just two years old.

2. Ann Rebecca. Ann Rebecca was born May 15, 1836. She died October 16, 1844, at the age of eight.

3. John Carlton. John was born October 23, 1837, in Urbana, Ohio. On November 20, 1866, John married Adaline Sessions Breedlove. This was Adaline's second marriage, and she brought two children to the marriage. Her first husband, Charles Breedlove, died of wounds suffered in the Civil War.

John and Adaline had five more children. According to family members, John and Adaline moved to Illinois, and later, to Topeka, Kansas. This is where they were living at the time of the 1880 census. John's occupation was machinist. Adeline's two children were living with them as well as four of Adeline and John's children (one died earlier). Eventually they moved to Missouri where they were living at the time of the 1900 census. John was an engine machinist. John died October 1, 1910, in Springfield, Missouri. Adaline died 17 years later in California.

4. Oliver Benton. Oliver was born January 1, 1840, in Urbana. He died when he was 11 years old, August 28, 1851.

5. Ira Michael. Ira was born October 27, 1843, in Urbana. On December 8, 1864, he married Elizabeth Crabb. Soon after their marriage, they moved to Mason County, Illinois, where they had a daughter, Lillian. Elizabeth died eleven months after her daughter was born. Ira moved back to Ohio where he married Mary Brelsford. Ira and Mary had eight more children, including a set of twins. In the 1880 census, Ira and Mary were living in Concord Township, Champaign County, where Ira was a blacksmith. Ira died June 13, 1914, in Urbana. He is buried in Oakdale Cemetery. Mary remained in Urbana where she lived ten more years.

6. Miranda Catherine. Miranda was born October 2, 1845, in Urbana, Ohio. On September 1, 1870, she married Abraham Hefflebower in Paris, Ohio. They lived in Champaign County, Ohio, where their first child was born. They then moved to Missouri where a second child was born. Soon after the second child was born, they moved back to Champaign County where Abraham died in 1875. At his death, Miranda was four months pregnant with their third child, Sarah. Seven years after Abraham died, Miranda married William Savage Moore in Springfield, Ohio. William had been a Colonel in the Confederate army, but was working for the New York Life Insurance Company at the time they were married. William legally adopted Miranda's three children, but no children were born of this marriage. Miranda and William lived in Springfield, Ohio, for a few years, then moved to the South. Later they moved to Detroit, where William died in 1906. Miranda remained in Detroit where she died 16 years later. Both are buried in Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery.

7. Oren Christopher. Oren was born August 24, 1847, in Urbana. He never married. In 1880 he was a machinist, living in Springfield, Ohio. On December 2, 1886, he died in Detroit while visiting his sister Miranda. He is buried in Urbana's Oakdale Cemetery.

G. ANN CATHERINE Michael Hewett Schindler. Ann Catherine was born on May 21, 1809, near Harmony, Maryland. She was known all her life as "Kittie." At the age of 23 and single, Ann Catherine moved to Ohio with her sisters (see above). Five years later she married Col. Leeds Hewitt. Col. Hewitt was a widower with a son from his previous marriage. Ann and Leeds had one child - a daughter, but just two months after her birth, Leeds died. Ann returned to Middletown. She was living with her grandfather, Frederick Stembel, at the time of the 1840 census. Later that year she married David Schindler. David was also a widower with three children. Ann and David had three more children.

David owned a farm near Middletown. According to the 1850 census, his farm consisted of 135 improved acres, and 60 unimproved acres. The farm was valued at $10,000. This was somewhat above average in both size and value for a farm in the Middletown area.

In 1856, Ann Catherine once again was widowed. David was just 46 years old when he died. Ann Catherine was left with four children, aged 17 (who soon married), 14, 8, and 6. She never remarried.

Ann Catherine died in 1909, just two months shy of her 100th birthday. She was buried in the Middletown Reformed Church Cemetery.⁽¹⁰⁾

Ann Catherine Hewitt Schindler's four children (by two husbands):

1. Melissa (Hewitt). Melissa was born June 13, 1838, in Erie County, Ohio. Two months after her birth, her father died. Her mother moved back to her family home in Middletown, Maryland, taking Melissa with her. They lived with her great-grandfather for a few years. In 1840, her mother married David Schindler, who raised Melissa as his own. In 1856, when Melissa was just 17, David died. A year later Melissa married Joel Brandenburg, probably in Middletown. Joel was a merchant, and Melissa was a milliner. She had a hat shop next to the "Valley Register," Middletown's newspaper. In 1873 Joel and Melissa were living at 11 East Main Street in Middletown.

Joel died in 1877. He and Melissa had no children. Two years later Melissa married Dr. John Getzendanner. John was a widower twice. He had two children by his first wife, and one by his second. He and Melissa had no children of their union.

Soon after they married, they moved to Abeline, Kansas, where John worked as a physician. At the time of the 1880 census, John's two daughter's were living with them, as well as two of John's nephews and his aunt.

By 1890, John and Melissa had moved back to Middletown where John operated a drugstore. John tore down the old structures sitting on the lot at 10 East Main St. and built a large house. I believe it is still standing.

Melissa died January 19, 1908. John died six years later. Melissa is buried in Middletown's Reformed Church Cemetery.

2. Mary Catherine (Schindler). Mary was born September 28, 1841, in Middletown. On Christmas Day, 1857, Mary, age 16, married Isaiah Toms (known as "Ike) who was 19. Mary and Ike had six children. All six lived to adulthood and married.


Ike was a confectioner. In 1869 he purchased a large house for $6,600 on Main Street (lot #5). The family lived upstairs and the store was on the ground floor. It is said that Ike sold the first ice cream in Middletown.

Ike had a stable of horses in a barn behind their house. On January 11, 1898, the barn and stable burned to the ground in a spectacular fire. All the horses perished.

Ike died in 1914; Mary died ten years later, on August 4, 1924. Both died at their home on Main Street.

3. Theodore Christopher Michael (Schindler). Theodore was born August 19, 1847, in Middletown. When he was eight, his father died. Sometime before 1870 Thoedore moved to Ohio to live with his aunt Lucinda and uncle Samuel Bowlus (see below). He worked as a clerk in Samuel's store. There he met Lucinda and Samuel's daughter, Maria. Even though they were first cousins, they married on October 21, 1873. Maria was about five years younger than Theodore. They had two children, both boys.

At the time of the 1880 census, Theodore and Maria were living in Toledo, Ohio, where Theodore was a railroad clerk.

Sometime later, according to family members, Maria and Theodore moved to Washington, D.C., where Theodore was reportedly an executive for a railroad company. Theodore died in Washington in 1918; Maria died there a year later.

4. Margaret E. (Schindler) Margaret was born October 23, 1850, in Middletown. When she was five, her father died. "Maggie" as she was called, never married. She was an accomplished harpist. On summer evenings she would sit in the doorway of her parent's house and entertain the neighborhood.⁽¹¹⁾ Maggie died April 14, 1910, at the age of 59.

H. JOHN FREDERICK Michael. John was born on May 30, 1811, near Harmony. He married Mary Ann Hyatt on March 11, 1837. John and Mary had eight children. All but one lived to adulthood.

When his father died in 1846, John Frederick bought his 175-acre farm. In 1853, he evidently sold the farm and moved his family, including his mother, to Champaign County, Ohio. There he purchased a 360-acre farm seven miles southeast of Urbana. In the 1870 federal census, the farm was valued at $21,800.

John Frederick died in 1879. Mary lived 13 more years. They are both buried in Urbana's Oakdale Cemetery.

John and Mary Ann Michael's eight children:

1. William Franklin. William was born March 6, 1838, in Frederick County, Maryland. When he was about 15 his family moved to a farm in Champaign County, Ohio. On August 12, 1862, William married Emily Harper. They had seven children.

William bought a farm adjacent to his father's. When his father died in 1879, William bought his farm from his estate.

Emily died in 1882, leaving children aged 6, 11, 12, and 14. William never remarried. He died December 31, 1913. Both William and Emily are buried in Urbana's Oakdale cemetery. Six of their seven children remained in Champaign County all their lives. Only their oldest child, Effie Jane, moved away. She and her husband moved south, eventually settling in Chattanooga.

William and Emily's descendants are well researched by William's granddaughter and her husband, Emily and Lawrence Little (now deceased), of Urbana.

2. Christopher. Christopher was born December 10, 1839, in Frederick County, Maryland. Whe he was about 13, his family moved to a farm in Champaign County, Ohio. There he married Rebecca Sunderland in the early 1870s. They had three children, the last born in July 1877. Christopher died three months later. It is not known if Rebecca remarried or not.

In the 1880 census, Rebecca and her two daughters were living with her widowed mother in Urbana, Ohio.

Christopher's youngest daughter, Ella, married Johnny Siegle who went on to play 39 games for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team in 1905 and 1906.

3. Eli H. Eli was born March 27, 1842, in Frederick County. He was eleven when his parents moved to Champaign County, Ohio. He married Sarah Ellen Stewart on April 2, 1868. Sarah and Eli had four children. Soon after they married, they moved to Howard County, Indiana, near the town of Greentown, where Eli had a farm. Sarah died in 1896. Eli died October 30, 1916. Both are buried in the Greenlawn Cemetery, northwest of Greentown.

4. James K. Polk. James was born November 20, 1844, in Frederick County. His parents moved to Ohio when James was about eight years old. On December 27, 1877, he married Eliza Stewart in the Kingscreek Baptist Church. I'm told all of their children died in infancy. James died January 5, 1932 and is buried in Urbana's Oakdale Cemetery. Eliza lived three more years.

5. John F. John was born December 18, 1846. When he was about six years old, his parents moved to Ohio. Sometime around 1893, John married Luella Rupert. They had two children. In 1910, they attended the 59th wedding anniversary of John's cousin, Joseph and Mary Stembel. In the newspaper article reporting the event, John and Luella's residence was given as Magrew, Ohio (which I haven't been able to locate). John died in 1920, Luella died in 1948.

6. Charles E. Charles was born September 9, 1849, in Frederick County. When he was four years old, his parents moved to Ohio. Charles died there on January 20, 1861, at the age of 11.

7. Margaret Ann Catherine. Margaret was born September 23, 1851, in Frederick County. She was known as "Kate." When she was two years old her family moved to Ohio. Kate never married. At the time of the 1880 federal census, she was living with her widowed mother and single brother, John. I assume she moved to Greentown, Indiana, to live with her older brother, Eli, after her mother passed away, for that's where she died on January 16, 1932, at the age of 80.

8. Samuel M. Samuel was born November 11, 1855, in Champaign County, Ohio. At the time of the 1880 federal census, he was working in a flour mill and was boarding with the owner in Salem Township, Champaign County. The owner's wife's sister, Lucretia Hunter, was also living with them. Soon after the census was taken, Samuel married Lucretia. They had four children. Lucretia died in 1898, four years after her fourth child was born. Samuel never remarried. He died May 20, 1913. Both Samuel and Lucretia are buried in Urbana's Oakdale Cemetery.

I. SUSANNAH Michael Nikirk.. Susannah was born on September 20, 1814, near Harmony, Maryland. At the age of 24, she married John Nikirk (sometimes spelled Nykirk or Neikirk) on March 19, 1839. John was 31. John's family, the Nieuwkerckes, originally came to America from Holland in the 1650s.

Susannah and John owned a farm outside Boonsboro, Maryland (I believe it was near the little town of Benevola). They had eight children, however three died during childhood (two died within 11 days of each other in 1857). The remaining five children grew to adulthood, married, and had children. Two of Susannah's daughters, Anna and Maria, married brothers, Otho and Daniel Shifler.

Susannah died on May 16, 1868, at the age of 53. John died on the same day ten years later. Both are buried in the Boonsboro Cemetery.

Susannah and John Nikirk's eight children:

1. Anna C. Anna was born March 5, 1840, in or near Boonsboro, Maryland. On January 28, 1860, she married Otho Shifler, who was just a month younger than she. For a few years they lived with Otho's parents on the Shifler farm in Pleasant Valley, south of Boonsboro, but sometime before 1870, Otho purchased a farm near Hagerstown. By 1880, they had again moved, this time to a farm near the village of Conococheague, west of Hagerstown. They lived there with their six children (two others had died as infants). Anna died on Christmas Day, 1882. She was just 42 years old. She left behind children aged 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, and 16. Seven years later Otho married Emma [last name unknown]. He had one more daughter by his second wife. Otho died November 30, 1912.

2. Maria. Maria was born January 10, 1844, near Boonsboro, Maryland. At the age of 21, she married Daniel Shifler, brother of her sister's husband, Otho Shifler, on October 9, 1865. Maria and Daniel had five children. Daniel took over the Shifler farm near Rohrersville when his father retired sometime in the 1860s. After his father's death sometime after the 1870 census, Daniel sold the family farm and moved to a farm near Boonsboro. Maria died in 1897, Daniel died in 1923. Both are buried in the Boonsboro Cemetery.

3. Margaret E. Margaret was born May 31, 1846, near Boonsboro. She died six days before her eleventh birthday.

4. Charles E. Charles was born November 12, 1847, near Boonsboro. On December 31, 1867, he married Amanda Toms. The 1870 federal census shows Charles, Amanda and their first child, Rosa, living on a farm outside Boonsboro. Also living with them was a farm hand, Daniel Long, age 14. By the 1880 census, Charles and Amanda had four more children, with one more on the way. Amanda, however, was suffering from consumption (tuberculosis) and, soon after giving birth, succumbed to the disease on August 16, 1881, at the age of 35. About a year later Charles married Wilhelmina Wallick. She and Charles had four more children. At the time of the 1900 census Charles was a daylaborer living in Boonsboro. Charles died March 3, 1909. I don't know if Wilhelmina remarried or not (she was 46 at the time of Charles' death).

5. Lucinda Jennette. Lucinda was born March 13, 1850, near Boonsboro. She died May 1, 1855, at the age of five.

6. Silas A. Silas was born June 10, 1851, near Boonsboro. On November 14, 1870, he married Mary Walters. At the time of the 1880 federal census they were living on a farm near Boonsboro with their two children, Bernard (age 8) and Mary (7 months old), and Mary's mother. Silas and Mary may have had more children. Silas died April 19, 1895. It is not known when Mary died.

7. Mary E. Mary was born March 12, 1853, near Boonsboro. At the age of 16, she married Jonas Huffer who was about 13 years older than she. They had five children (one died young). In 1880 they were living on a farm near the small town of Chewsville, Maryland. Mary's name was recorded as Mollie. Mary died four years later, on April 1, 1884. She was just 31 years old. Her children were 12, 11, 9, and 5 at the time of her death. It is not known if Jonas remarried. He died in 1896. Both Mary and Jonas are buried in the Boonsboro Cemetery.

8. Susan Cora. Susan was born July 6, 1855 near Boonsboro. She died less than two years later, on May 14, 1857--eleven days before her older sister, Margaret, died.

J. MARY ANN ESTHER Michael Brunner. Mary Ann was born on November 26, 1816, near Harmony, Maryland. Evidently she remained single and lived at home to take care of her father, for in his will he left her a special legacy for her services rendered him. Five months after his death in 1846, she married Jonathan Brunner. Jonathan was a widower who had at least four children by his first wife. According to the 1850 census, Jonathan owned a 200-acre farm near Frederick.

Jonathan and Mary had three children together, a set of twins who both died soon after birth, and a daughter, Mary.

Sometime after 1860 Mary and Jonanthan moved to Tiffen, Ohio, however Jonathan died in 1867 and was buried in Springfield, Ohio. After his death, Mary moved in with her sister, Maria Parsons (see above) who was also recently widowed. When Maria died in 1874, Mary moved in with her sister, Lucinda (see below), in Bowlusville, Ohio. Mary died in 1897.

K. LUCINDA Michael Bowlus. Lucinda was born on January 19, 1819, near Harmony, Maryland. In 1840 she married Samuel Bowlus. Samuel was the son of Judge George Bowlus who served in the Maryland Legislature. Samuel's mother died when he was eight.

According to the 1850 census, Samuel owned a 175-acre farm not far from Middletown, Maryland. His main crops were corn and wheat. He owned two slaves.

In 1853, Samuel and Lucinda moved to Clark County, Ohio, where Samuel founded the town of Bowlusville. Samuel was an accomplished surveyor. They had 12 children, two of whom died in childhood.

Samuel died in November of 1896 at the age of 77. Lucinda died two months later. She was also 77. Both are buried in the Ferncliff Cemetery in Springfield, Ohio.

Lucinda and Samuel Bowlus's twelve children:

1. George Christopher. George was born April 11, 1841, near Middletown, Maryland. When he was 12, he moved to Ohio with his parents. Sometime around 1865 he married Barbara Crabill. They had six children. One son, Charles J. Bowlus, was twice elected mayor of Springfield, Ohio (see campaign pin, below right⁽¹²⁾). In 1880 George and Barbara were living in Urbana, Ohio, where George was a lumber dealer. Barbara died in 1886. George died January 11, 1917.

2. Samuel Washington. Samuel was born on September 4, 1842, near Middletown. He moved to Ohio with his parents in 1853. Samuel never married. At the time of the 1880 federal census, he was living in Bowlusville, Ohio, where he worked in a sawmill. He died November 17, 1923.

3. Charles Freese. Charles was born July 19, 1844, near Middletown. His parents moved to Ohio when he was about nine years old. Sometime in the mid-1860s he married Adelia Kershaw. At the time of the 1880 federal census Charles, Adelia, and their four children were living on a farm in Champaign County, Ohio. They may have had more children after the 1880 census. Later, they bought a farm near Holland, Michigan. Charles died in 1906. We don't know when or where Adelia died.

4. Ann Catherine. Ann Catherine was born in 1846. Dr. McLain's records show she was born on April 16, but her tombstone shows August 16. She died in 1848. Again there is a disagreement on what day she died. Dr. McLean's records show it was October 31, but her tombstone shows October 18.

5. Mary Elizabeth. Mary was born March 18, 1848. She died just two weeks later, on April 3 of the same year.

6. Mary Ann Catherine. Mary Ann was born October 19, 1849, near Middletown. Her parents moved to Ohio when she was four. Mary Ann, who went by the name of "Kate," never married. She died in 1911.

7. Maria Annette. Maria was born May 17, 1852, about a year before her parents moved to Ohio. On October 21, 1873, she married her first cousin, Theodore Christopher Michael Schindler (see above). They had two children, Samuel and Ray. Later they reportedly moved to Washington, D.C. Theodore died in Washington in 1918; Maria died in 1919.

8. Millard McCauley. Millard was born in Ohio on May 5, 1854. He married Phoebe (surname unknown). They had at least one child, Lloyd, born just before the 1880 federal census. In that census they were living in Bowlusville, Ohio, where Charles was a bookkeeper. Later, they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where Millard was a building contractor. It is not known if they had any more children, or when and where Millard and Phoebe died.

9. Warren Liles. Warren was born August 9, 1856, probably in Bowlusville, Ohio. On September 15, 1885, at the age of 29, he married Jennie Mumma. Jennie had been married before, but it is not known if there were any children of that marriage. Warren and Jennie had two children, Annette and John. Warren died March 16, 1924. Jennie lived until 1954; she died the day after her 97th birthday.

10. John Levi. John was born September 9, 1858, in Bowlusville, Ohio. At the age of 34, he married Emily Dunlop in May of 1893. Emily was 28. They had at least three children, although one of them died in infancy.

Emily died in 1904. John remarried in 1905 and moved to California where he operated a grocery store. He died June 12, 1930.

11. Henry Clay. Henry was born August 29, 1860, in Bowlusville, Ohio. Sometime around 1890 he married Alice Alexander. They had nine children. Henry and Alice lived in Springfield, Ohio, for a while, but later moved to California, where Henry was a manufacturer. Henry died in 1933. Alice died a year later.

12. Clement L. Clement was born September 1, 1862, in Bowlusville, Ohio. He never married. He died June 23, 1891, at the age of 28.

12. The pin was sent to me by a fellow researcher, Lori Powers of Owenton, Kentucky. She had found it among her mother's things and rather than throw it out she Googled the name on the pin and found this website.

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