Anna Janssen Ottersberg

Anna Yelkin (Jelken) was born on July 12, 1837 in Fiebing, Aurich, Ostfriesland, Germany (or Fiebing, Hanover, Prussia), the daughter of John J. (Jan Janssen 1802-1882) Yelkin and Gertrude Rena Egan (Gerdie Reinders 1806-1883). John and Gertrude were married April 30, 1832 in Bagband, Germany (OSB Bagband Nr. 1696 Last name is Jelten.)

Her father John was a farmer and listed as a colonist in Fiebing. Anna was their second child. On Dec. 26, 1846 they arrived in New Orleans on the Ship Everhard with their six children. They were listed as Jelten, Passengers 81-88, from Bremen, Germany. John stated that he was going to St. Louis, MO and that he was from Firrel, Germany.

The last child Emma was born two years later in 1848 in Illinois. They left Illinois in 1856 and settled in the Nebraska territory in Nemaha County.

Their daughter, Anna's first marriage was about 1857 to John (Johann Frederichs) Ottersberg (1828-1862) and they had three known children: Francis, John F. and Unknown.

The June 28, 1860 St. Frederick, Nemaha Co., NE census lists Anna and John living next door to her parents. She is with her spouse John Ottersberg (Ottensbury) (b.1828) and sons Francis (2 years) and John (9 months) (Page #57 HH#457 Family #422).

According to a family story two of her boys were killed by a gunpowder explosion. Based on that census, Francis must have been the oldest child, John the second, so the other unknown boy was the youngest. It is not known how old Francis and Unknown were when they died.

Her son John F. Ottersberg (1859-1932) married Augusta Zabel in 1882 and they had six children. John and Augusta are buried in Johnson Cemetery, Johnson, Nemaha, Nebraska.

After John Ottersberg died in 1861 or 1862, Anna remarried. Anna's second marriage was on October 1, 1863 to Albert Behrends Fass at the home of her parents in Nemaha county, Nebraska.

This was Albert's first marriage. Anna and Albert had no children in the fifteen years that they were married.

In the 1880 US Census, Albert (Farf) is newly married to his second wife, Charlotta, and there are two step-sons in his household, John Ottersberg, age 20 of NE, and Broer Rademacher, age 3 of NE. Broer is Charlotta's son from her first marriage to Evert Edward Rademacher.

This narrative was taken from a number of sources including, but not limited to, FamilySearch.org, Find-a-Grave.com and emails exchanged with a descendant, Cindy Rea. Thank you to all the contributors.