Christian Fredrick Metzger

His parents were Christian [1832-1872] and Magdalena Wagner Metzger. Christian was born in Hoffnungstal, Hoffnungstal, Kherson, Russia -- now Ukraine.

Christian and his wife Catherine came to America with Christian's mother and his younger brothers and sisters. The trip by ship was hard and took about 30 days. From New York the railroad only went as far as Sandusky, Ohio, a distance of about 600 miles. Most of the German-Russian immigrants took this route. From there the people loaded their meager belongings onto wagons that were usually pulled by oxen, and headed for the Dakotas.

The first evidence of the Metzgers being in America was in Yankton, SD, when their second child, Elizabeth, was born. From there the family moved on to St. Francis, KS, where they had received a homestead of 160 acres. An article from the Cheyenne County Recorder newspaper, August 11, 1892, states: "Perhaps all thrashing machines in this area will be started this week. Among those who have bought new machines are C. Metzger, a steamer, and others bought machines that are horse drawn."

By this time, gold had been discovered in California. So, in 1894 Christian and Catherine with their family of five children, boarded the train and headed west! Johann, Christian's brother went with them. According to family stories, the Metzgers arrived in Denver and got off the train for a short time. It is thought that probably Christian had a large sum of money with him as the family had sold their homestead in St. Francis. In Denver the men disappeared for several hours and needless to say, Catherine with the five young children was very concerned! As the story goes, Christian was noted for the love of gambling and playing cards -- so we presume that he and Johann had been indulging -- but we never heard whether they won or lost!

The final stop in California was at Anderson in Shasta County. From there they went to Bullyshoop and Harrison Gulch, thriving mining towns southwest of Redding, towns that have long disappeared. Christian worked for several mines but mostly for the Midas Mine, noted for the excellent quality of gold. Sometimes, he and his sons would haul lumber and other supplies from Redding for the miners. Later they moved on to Chico and farmed for a few years. For a short time during the Great Depression, the family went to San Jose where Christian's brother, Friedrich, lived and farmed prunes. There, Christian worked as a watchman. Soon they moved on to Yuba City where the family raised rice.

Christian Metzger died of Bright's disease of the kidneys, he was 74 years old. His obituary from the Herald newspaper of Marysville states: "Funeral services for Christian Metzger, a Sutter county farmer for several years, were held Thursday, July 16th at the chapel of the Jones Funeral Home in Yuba City. Rev. Lloyd Morgan officiated and Mrs. Laverne Rathbun sang sacred selections. Interment was held at the Sutter City Cemetery." Christian was described as a "typical" German, about 6 ft. tall, dark hair and usually wore a heavy mustache. He was a stern man, believed in discipline but was hard working and industrious.

These family recollections are the work of several Metzger relatives, including Donna Metzger.

• Updated from Find A Grave Memorial via son Ernest Raymond Metzger by SmartCopy: Sep 8 2015, 20:10:01 UTC