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See also GRUNER Project for details of Charles and Margarette's life together.
Anna Margarethe Enderlein Gruner was the daughter of Johann Barthold Enderlein (4 Mar 1790-22 Mar 1845), and Susanne (Bahrt) Enderlein (my Great-Great Grandparents). Margarethe was born in Süss, Nentershausen, Hessen, on 16 Dec 1825, the firstborn. Anna Margarethe Enderlein’s village of Süss was a part of Eisenach absorbed into Hessen. Eisenach was a strongly traditional Lutheran area; Luther translated the Bible in German at Wartburg Castle just outside the town of Eisenach. Margarethe’s birth and Baptism records indicate her father was a miner, like her grandfathers. However, there is a curious note at the bottom of her Baptismal entry which appears to mean that her grandparents were deceased and a maternal aunt (Anna Margarethe Bahrt) stood in as Godparent.
Barthold Enderlein’s father was Johann Wilhelm Enderlein, and his mother was Anne Katherine Ullrich (ggg grandparents). The meaning of ‘Enderlein’ is Anders/Andreas plus flax, i.e., dealer or grower of flax. Ullrich/Ulrich comes from Old High German Odalric; odal meaning ‘inherited property’ or ‘fortune’ + ric ‘power’. There were also Ullrichs around Mellingen.
Susanne Bahrt’s parents were Johannes Conrad Bahrt (1768-1813) and Susanne Herbst (1767- 1808) -- ggg-grandparents. The meaning of ‘Herbst’ in German is autumn, and ‘Bahrt’ means beard. Johannes Bahrt was a miner and church musician; he died 29 June 1813 from “water retention.” Johannes Bahrt’s father was Valatin Bahrt, and his mother was Susanne Weber. Weber means weaver. Susanne Herbst was the daughter of Conrad Herbst and Catharine Elisabeth Heidenreich, and she was born November 23, 1767 in Süss, Nentershausen, Hessen, and died of “inflammation of the lungs” on 2 April 1808 in Süss, where she was buried. Susanne Herbst married Johannes Conrad Bahrt on February 16, 1792 in Süss.
According to Jason Bahrt’s family tree (a distant cousin in NY), Susanne (Herbst) and Johannes Conrad Bahrt had three children: 1. Johann Georg Bahrt (b. 12 Dec. 1793, Süss, Hessen, Germany, d. 1 July 1847, Süss, Hessen, Germany); 2. Johann Martin Bahrt (b. 8 Oct. 1796, Süss, Hessen, Germany, d. 24 Oct. 1839, Süss, Hessen, Germany); 3. Susanne Bahrt (b. 23 Apr 1804, Hessen; d. 23 May 1874, Doniphan, Kansas). Susanne Bahrt’s mother died when she was four, and her father died when she was nine. Susanne was probably raised by neighboring relatives. Susanne Bahrt was married twice, each time to a miner. Her first marriage in 1822 was to Johann Georg Ullrich, son of Johann Adam Ullrich, and she had a daughter (Anna Martha Ullrich) and perhaps a son or stepson (Johann Georg? Ullrich). After the death of Ullrich, she married Johann Barthold Enderlein, also possibly a widower, in 1824, and she had four more daughters (including Great Grandmother Margarethe, her eldest) and two sons (another died aged two) before Johann Barthold Enderlein passed away on March 22, 1845. One or perhaps both of these marriages brought Susanne Bahrt Enderlein into ownership of properties in Süss.
Note: Jason Bahrt reported that a ‘George’ Ullrich arrived in the US aboard the Bark Minna from Bremen on 22 April 1848 with his ancestors (who were likely an uncle and aunt of George). He believes George Ulrich was born about 1812, son of Adam Ullrich and Susanne Bahrt. Great Great Grandmother (Susanne Bahrt) could not have been his mother if the dates are accurate, but she could have been his step mother or George’s age may not be accurate. In any case, it likely increased the family support system in place in the US before Susanne and family immigrated.
Johann Barthold Enderlein was a veteran of the Napoleonic War. On 27 March 1814 a plaque was hung up in the church at Süss listing the names of villagers who served in the war against the French. Included was Johann Barthold Enderlein and several other Bahrt, Heidenreich, Herbst, Weber, Kraus, Knies, Krell relatives. Probably this plaque commemorated the victory at Leipzig on 18 Oct 1813. This group of men served as “mineurs,” which can be translated as sappers/pioneers, and they all returned home “intact.” (Süss, das Dorf und seine Menschen, p216-217) GG Grandmother’s brother, Johann Georg Bahrt, was also listed on the plaque. Unfortunately, this plaque has been lost; it is no longer at the church.
Jason Bahrt of NYC provided some of genealogic information above to Jeanette Pitcher by email, and it was subsequently confirmed by church and other records obtained from Germany. Jason Bahrt has visited Nentershausen and Süss twice, and he maintains contact with some people there. He says that they told him Bahrt means "beard" in German, and that our ancestors were salt miners with long beards. However, “salt” must have been farther back in the ancestry; for the last few centuries, Süss was a center for copper and cobalt extraction. Only 12-15 miles Southeast though, the Werra Depression is generously endowed with salt deposits from an ancient sea. True to form, Jason’s ancestors, who emigrated to Hazelton, Pennsylvania, were all miners in the pits there. Johann Georg Martin Bahrt, one of Johann Georg Bahrt’s sons, came to Pennsylvania in 1846 and returned to Hessen the following year to bring more relatives. He, a brother, and a sister settled in or near Hazelton, PA, where some descendants still reside. Jason Bahrt’s family tree is sited with Family Tree Maker on-line at: (http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/a/h/Jason-Bahrt-nj/WEB...)
Margarethe Enderlein arrived in the U.S. in 1851. During the Civil War, Margarethe (Enderlein) Gruner’s kin in the U.S. were Union loyalists. Her elder brother, (Heinrich) Adam Enderlein (1835-1913) enlisted in the Union Army in 1862 and served with the Vermont Volunteers for three years and four days, mustering out in New Orleans as Corporal in 1865. Her younger brother, (Johann) Ernst Enderlein, also served briefly with the USRC Vols in Missouri.
Adam Enderlein enlisted in the 2nd Battery Vermont Light Artillery. The unit served in the Mississippi Gulf campaign, taking part in the assault and siege of Port Hudson and New Orleans. They also made expeditions to Pass Christian, Galveston and Baton Rouge. The initial leadership of the unit seems questionable. The commander resigned before leaving Vermont, two officers were court-martialed and dismissed during their first five months in Louisiana, and another resigned. On one occasion, a detachment was ambushed, and the officer wounded. The officer was paroled, but sixteen enlisted men were taken to Andersonville Prison, where five died. Pension records indicate both Adam, and then his widow, received a veteran’s pension for his service. Adam married Emma Henriette Küchs (1842-1938), daughter of Charles (Carl F.) and Henriette Küchs in 1870, became a butcher with his own shop, and raised a family (5 sons-two died as infants, 1 daughter) in Seneca, Kansas. He died in 1913 of heart failure after an extended period of ill health. About 1884, Adam’s health failed and his partner, Mr. Schwer, ran the business. Adam was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Odd Fellows, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen (a fraternal organization like the ‘Woodmen’). His obituary indicated he would be remembered “as an honest and honorable citizen, upright and square in all his dealings with his fellow man. He was of a kind disposition and watched for an opportunity to be of service to those with whom he came in contact. He was kind and gentle with his family, was a good provider and was always thoughtful of them, anticipating their every want.” (Seneca Tribune, July 17, 1913, page 1) It’s clear that the author of the Obit respected Adam and regarded him with affection.
Ernst Enderlein (1841-1874), worked as a saddler in St Louis. He enlisted in Company F, 3rd Regiment of Volunteers (USRC-3 mo.) on May 14, 1861, just four days after the street riot and killings that marked the Camp Jackson affair. Company F was commanded by Captain Constantin Blandousky (from Saxony); he was wounded in the leg on May 10 and died on May 25, 1861 – the first officer casualty of the Civil War. Ernst was subsequently “honorably discharged for Disability” on “Certificate of Surgeon” 25 July 1861. The nature of his injury is unknown, but his early death at age 33 may be connected somehow. Later, Ernst showed up on the muster roll of Company F, 16th EMM, but there is no further record of his service. Ernst didn’t receive a pension because the St Louis USRC units were considered “improperly mustered” by Congress, and the War Department didn’t recognize service in the Enrolled MO Militia. Ernst married Anne Brenner (1853-1872), daughter of Jacob and Barbara Brenner, in Doniphan, KA, where he purchased land. She died in childbirth, and the baby died soon after (Anna M. Enderlein, 25 Jan 1872-12 July 1872).
The Enderlein siblings’ bloodline in Germany includes Bahrts, Herbsts, Heidenreichs, Webers, Vockenbergs, and Ullrichs; the Ullrichs were also a ‘step family’ because of their mother’s first husband and their step brother and half sister. Records at St Mark’s German Evangelical Church in St Louis (1847-65) indicate some Herbsts, Knies, a Barth, an Ulrich, as well as a “Gruner” from western Hesse; some Schmidts, a Schaefer, and a Schrimpf from eastern Hesse; and an Enderlin from St Louis. There is considerable evidence of contact between the German American settlers and those still in Hessen. There are indications that those who left first assisted the crossing of those who came later. It is probable that the Enderlein family enjoyed this assistance from relatives and friends when they arrived in the new land. Perhaps they returned the favor. During the Civil War, it was also common for family members to enlist in the same regiment.
During the time of the Civil War, there was a group of Herbsts living in both St Louis and St Joseph. Christian Herbst served with Co M, 1st Regiment Volunteers from 7 May- 20 August and most likely participated in the Camp Jackson and Wilson’s Creek incidents. Joseph Herbst (Co M 54th EMM) was captured and paroled at Union 1 Oct 1864; he was released from duty 15 Nov 1864. Frederick Herbst served about 4 months in the Ironton area with B Co 68th EMM, Dec 1862-May 1863, and again with G/84th EMM in 1864. Corporal George and John Herbst were both from the St. Joseph area, the former serving with D/25th EMM from 7 Aug1862 – 13 Jan 1863, and both serving in the 87th EMM during 1864. Michael Herbst enlisted in the Home Guards in Cape Girardeau on 27 June 1861 and then transferred to 1st Engineer Reg’t 13 Sep 1861. Thomas Herbst enlisted in Co H, MO State Militia Cavalry, 21 Feb 1862 at Shelbyville but was killed in action 2 Apr 1862. Again, any relationship is unknown, but Susanne Bahrt Enderlein eventually left St Louis and settled in Doniphan, KS. Doniphan was originally organized in nearby St Joseph and maintained a close connection with the city. It’s likely that someone connected to that area encouraged her settlement there. Who better than a relative?
Margarethe (Margarette as she Americanized her name) appears to have been a strong-willed woman. She had to be in charge of family and “business” affairs while Charles was soldiering. I have some documents relating to their Osage County Farm where she used an executor to file an “indenture.” The use of the term in connection to real estate is unfamiliar to me, and I haven’t worked through it yet. Its common meaning relates to debt, and perhaps she had to borrow against the property. At the time, women’s legal and economic rights under the law resembled the status of a child more than an adult. My mother was too young to know Margarette, but she indicated that Dad’s family had treated her very circumspectly (apparently born out of fear of antagonizing her; she was said to have a “sharp tongue.”). In her last years, Margarette lived with her son Henry Ernst’s family part-time at the old farmstead in Bem, but as she grew weaker, she moved to her daughter’s home (Julia Ruwwe) in Tea, Gasconade County, MO. Margarette died 14 June 1911, at the age of 86 years.
Jeanette Pitcher has located property records and the graves of Susanne Bahrt Enderlein (Margarethe Enderlein’s mother) and most of her children in Doniphan and Nemaha Counties, Kansas. Doniphan County is across the Missouri River opposite St. Joseph, MO, near Kansas’ northern border. Margarethe had three sisters and two surviving brothers (Anna Elizabeth ,b. 1832-1918; Anna Martha, b. 1838-?; Anna Martha, b. 1843-1889; Heinrich Adam, b. 1835-1913; Johann Ernst, b. 1841-1874; Johannes died aged two in Süss). It appears that all the Enderleins came to the USA, most spending some time in St Louis and maybe Kansas City or St Joseph. We expended considerable effort trying to find a possible fourth sister, “Elise.” ‘Elise Enderlein’ was a witness at Margarethe and Charles’ wedding (1855). Eventually, we realized that ‘Elise’ was a nickname used by Anna Elizabeth Enderlein. Jeanette Pitcher believes she has information that Elise Enderlein worked as a housekeeper in St Louis, and she has located the boarding house residence of Susanne Bahrt Enderlein (1012 N. 13th Street, St Louis) in 1867, but the building has been torn down. Anna Elisabeth (Elise) Enderlein was living with her mother in Doniphan, Kansas, according to the Census of 1870.
Susanne (Bahrt) Enderlein entered the US at New Orleans, arriving on the Ocean from Bremen, on 4 June 1854 with three of her children: Anna ‘Elise’ (20), J. Ernst (13) and Anna Martha (10).Their origin was shown as Hessen, and their destination was St Louis, MO. Steamboat passage from New Orleans to St Louis took from 6-8 days in the 1850’s. Cabin fare was $25 per person, but usually the poor immigrants booked as “deck passengers.” Adults were carried for $3-4, and children were half fare. Deck passengers had to provide their own food and assist the steamer crew to load wood. It must have been confusing to answer immigration questions, go through the medical examination, get the baggage to the steamboat dock, and arrange passage. Often there were ‘hawkers,’ who pretended to help the immigrants get the best deals, but were really only shills for this steamboat or that. Once the Enderlein family left the Ocean, the strange, new language must have been confusing, and they would have encountered slavery for the first time.
Jeanette Pitcher wrote to me about her search for the Enderleins in Kansas in the summer of 2008. “It looks like Susanna and her whole clan came (to the U.S.) in 1852, and Susan remained in St. Louis for 14 years. I found her in an 1860 census in a boarding house with two daughters. She went to Kansas with the unmarried children around 1869. (I think she went with Adam, Elizabeth, Anna Martha, Ernst) … Anyway, Adam, Anna Martha and I think Ernst married shortly after arriving in KS. It looks like Ernst’s wife died in the birth of his first child and the child died 5 mos later. He never re-married and died at age 33. His death is calculated from some legal documents and an insurance policy paid to his single sister. Susannah died 5 years after her move to Kansas at age 70. We went to the cemetery which was 14 miles down a gravel road and found 4 graves in Doniphan. Susannah's was barely readable and we have contemplated having a plaque attached to it with her information. From the stone we found her husband’s first name was B. We went to Seneca and found her son's grave, Adam, and his whole family's (Adam married Emma Küch). Eugene Enderlein (ggg grandson of Susanna Bahrt Enderlein) in Sioux Falls said he knew his folks would go to Missouri to visit relatives. “ (This could mean the Küchs from Marysville, MO, however, instead of the Gruners in Gasconade County.)
“Susanna Enderlein's parents died well before the birth of "Anna Margaretha Enderlein" in 1825. This substantiates the need for a Godparent other than the grandparents, namely, sister Anna Margaretha (Bahrt, 1792-?). Parents dates from Jason Bahrt are : Susanne Herbst 1767-1808 and Johann Bahrt 1757-1813. Jason Bahrt (our ‘cousin’ in NY with roots in Hazelton, PA) believes that he (Johann) mined salt in the same mines that Hitler used to hide German Artifacts during WWII.” (Actually, that mine is 12-15 miles from Süss, and the Bahrts may have worked there prior to coming to Süss.)
Süss - das Dorf und seine Menschen by Anneliese Krauss-Neumann (p. 70) states that Susanne sold her land holdings to 15 people when she left Germany, another indication that her finances might have been substantial (two houses at least are named as sold in 1853). Süss - das Dorf etc. indicates Susanne Bahrt Enderlein left Germany for America between 1852 and 1855 with her children: Anna Elisabeth, Anna Martha, Johann Adam, Johann Ernst, and Anna Martha. The inference is that Margarethe emigrated to the U.S. separately. In fact, she crossed over from Bremen to New York with her brother, Adam, in 1851. It is possible that the siblings were aided by a relative, Johannes Georg Martin Bahrt, who had settled in PA 1847 – or some of the other Süss emigrants whose departure dates are not always indicated in the book.
Jeanette Pitcher found that Susanne purchased two town lots in Doniphan in 1868, and the family moved to Kansas in 1868-69, where Adam and Ernst met their future brides. Anna Martha Enderlein (1845-1889) married shortly after their arrival. Based on an obituary Jeanette subsequently found, Anna Martha married Adam Schnell on 30 March 1870. They were Lutherans, according to the obituary, and had nine children. Life on the Kansas plains must have been hard considering the life spans of their children: Ernest 1871-1878, William 1872-1872, Anna 1873-1892, Elizabeth 1875- ?, Albert 1878-1912, Ernest 1879- ?, Henry 1881-1887, Charles 1884- ?, Barthold 1887- ? (The “?” indicates those still living at the time of the obituary; only 4 of 9 survived the mother.) Anne Elisabeth (Elise) Enderlein never married. She was living with her sister and husband in 1880 (the Schnells), and later lived with her sister’s youngest son, Barthold Schnell.
Adam and Emma Enderlein had the following children: Charley A. (21 July 1871-9 Aug 1871); Ernest William (28 Sep 1872-15 Aug 1873); Edmund Bruno (1874-1921,); Emma A. (14 Jul 1875- 30 Aug 1953); Albert E. (1877-1956); and Theodore H. (5 Dec 1880-31 Aug 1953)). Edmund died of intestinal cancer at age 46, and Emma A. died less than 8 hours before her brother Theodore on the following day. None of the three married. Edmund was a prosperous and respected Baker in Altus, OK, with his own shop and membership in a variety of civic organizations. Emma A. was an active member of the Congregational Church and Eastern Star. Theodore graduated from the Kansas City School of Law and was a member of the Nemaha County Bar. He worked in Oklahoma for a couple years and retained farming and oil interests in that state, in addition to farming in Nemaha County. He was a Mason and a member of the Congregational Church. Albert was a clothier and had his own shop in Waterloo, IA, where he lived with wife, Luella, son Eugene, and daughter Olivia.
In 1875, Emma Enderlein was baptized at the Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church at Hermansberg, KS, about forty miles west of Seneca ; this would be Adam’s daughter, Emma A. Enderlein, who appears to have remained single until death. In 1877, Albert Enderlein, a son of Adam Enderlein, was baptized at the same church. The church was very conservative in its practices (members likened themselves to the immigrant Lutherans of Perry County, MO), and that (as well as the distance) may be why Theodore in 1880 is not listed among their baptisms. It appears that the Enderlein family subsequently became active members of the Congregationalist Church of Seneca.
The Nehama County (Kansas) Genealogical Society Newsletter for May 1997 lists the members and contributors to the Nehama Red Cross for 1934, including Emma Enderlein of Seneca (?? Adam’s wife died in 1938 and his daughter died in 1953). (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ksncgs/news/May97.pdf)
Seneca Historic District inventory includes: “12. 407 Main, circa 1885, … This property was recorded as a two-story building in the 1885 Sanborn map. The business was recorded as a clothing store in the 1896, 1901, and 1911 Sanborn maps. The business was a restaurant and confectionary in 1917, the Blue Goose restaurant in 1932 and a restaurant in 1939. The property owner in 1930 and 1939 was Mrs. Emma Enderlein. …” http://www.seneca-ks.com/main_street/ (This could refer to either or both women; Emma H. died in 1938, but Emma A. lived until 1953.)
Emma Henriette (Küchs) Enderlein was born 16 Oct 1842 in Reichenbach, Saxony (about 40 miles SE of Weimar, near Zwickau), where her father owned a brickyard and a summer beer garden. In 1869, her family (parents, five brothers and two sisters) immigrated to the U.S., arriving in New York, and moved to the farm near Doniphan, KA, where she met and married Adam, 16 Oct 1870. All but their first year of marriage was spent in Seneca, and she lived in the same house on Castle Street for 45 years. When Adam died, she was at the Chautauqua (which she was said to have enjoyed greatly) and had to be summoned home. Her daughter, Emma A., and son, Theodore, stayed with her at her home and provided care during her final years. At the time of her death, she was Seneca’s oldest citizen at 95. She had seemed to be recuperating from a month-long period of illness, when she suffered a heart attack. She was a member of the Congregational Church and Eastern Star. Her obituary stated that her “mind was undimmed by the passing of time and friends loved to visit with her.” (Seneca Courier Tribune, June 23, 1938. page 1)
Anne (Brenner) Enderlein (1853-1872, Ernst’s wife) came from a prominent Catholic family of Doniphan. The Brenner brothers (Adam and Jacob) were from Rheinpfalz, Bavaria. The elder brother, Adam, came to the US in 1847 and Kansas in 1857. Jacob, Anne’s father, followed his brother to Doniphan in 1860. Adam Brenner was elected mayor of Doniphan in 1874. Adam established a large and successful vineyard and winemaking business. He built the first grain elevator in Kansas in 1867 and owned several properties. Jacob Brenner started a smaller but successful winery, specializing in sacramental spirits and producing about 7,000 gallons yearly. His son, George, who was elected mayor in 1882, owned 100 acres of vines that produced 75,000 gallons of wine. Jacob Brenner was church warden of the Catholic Church of St John the Baptist, and George Brenner was one of the trustees. The church was erected on two acres of land given by Adam Brenner. Journal entries of both George and Eugenia (Frank) Brenner indicate that Jacob Brenner was entirely opposed to George’s interest in Eugenia because she was a Polish Jew. In 1865, Jacob forbade George to see her again. George was so distraught that he left home and slept in Uncle Adam Brenner’s store. The couple were married on 16 Oct 1866 by Squire Nesbit in the Frank home (not a Catholic Ceremony). Subsequently, Jacob tried to end the estrangement, but George never lived with his parents again. One wonders how Jacob Brenner felt about his Lutheran son-in-law, Ernst Enderlein? Perhaps the old man learned a lesson from the estrangement with his son, or Ernst and Anne may have faced the same kind of opposition as George and Eugenia. Ernst Enderlein and Anne Brenner were, however, married by a Catholic Priest, Father Boniface Verheyen, a Benedictine Prior, on 2 Jan 1871.
The fate of the first ‘Anna Martha’ Enderlein, b. 1838, remains a mystery. Süss - das Dorf und seine Menschen (P.70) states the emigration took place between 1852-1855. The ‘first’ Anna Martha (b. 1838) had simply disappeared; there was no record in the US (she was not living with her mother in St Louis in 1860’s Census). Furthermore, at first we didn’t know what had happened to Anna Margarethe either. There’s no record of Margarethe having left Süss. She seemed to have vanished from christening until her marriage in St Louis in 1855. The fourth daughter and second infant christened ‘Anna Martha’ (1843) was an ‘emergency’ christening, often meaning she was not expected to survive. Luckily, this Anna Martha (b.1843) did survive and subsequently married Adam Schnell, and she is shown in the Census of 1860 and the Census of 1870. What happened to the older ‘Anna Martha’? Did she survive? Did she stay in Germany? Did she go to Pennsylvania or Ohio and the relatives there? We thought it possible that one of those listed as “Anna Martha” could actually be Anna Margarethe (my great grandmother). Eventually, some of this mystery was resolved.
There is a family legend that Charles sent for Margarethe after he got settled in America. In 1855, when they married, Margarethe would have been age 30 – a spinster in comparison with her contemporaries. If we suppose that Charles and Margarethe had an agreement at the age of 21, when many Germans married, then that agreement would have come in 1846, a year of economic crisis, followed in 1847 by crop failures and more economic problems. In 1848, the Revolution racked Saxony, the Thüringen States, and Hesse, but less so in Hanover. The Enderleins owned property in Süss and their extended family included teachers, mayors, and others of local respect, indicating they were either at the top of the peasantry or the bottom of the burgers. No records of Charles Gruner’s economic status in Germany have been found. Perhaps, he had to “prove” himself before being acceptable to the Enderleins, or he may have had to complete an apprenticeship before he could marry. Perhaps he set off “to find his fortune” in other parts of Germany and ultimately America, or Charles may have had to flee from home in 1850 if he were involved in revolutionary activities. It took up to five years, 1855, for him to get settled in America. His 1855 naturalization paper says he has been in the U.S. for at least five years (since 1850), and presumably, he had to prove that to qualify for citizenship. The intervening events above could easily explain why the marriage of Charles and Margarette came so late in life. Then too, it makes more sense for Susanne Enderlein to sell everything and leave with her children for a new life if she had a prospective son-in-law and daughter at the other end to help. If there were no agreement with Charles, wouldn’t Susanne have gone to Hazelton, PA, where others of her family had settled? Eventually, it unfolded that the Enderlein family apparently crossed over in three increments, although the reasons behind this are not understood.
Nell Gore stated in an email (21 May 2009) that she remembered family members talking about Margarette coming to America with a brother or to meet a brother. Her recollection was that Margarette was ‘accompanied’ during her crossing. In fact, it appears that she emigrated with her brother Heinrich Adam and likely went on to relatives in Pennsylvania or elsewhere. In a 2010 conversation, Nell recalled that Juanita Gruner told her that Sophia (Ruwwe) Gruner said that J. F. Carl (Charles) Gruner had asked Adam to cross with Margarethe. Adam was 16 when he crossed the Atlantic with Margarethe and considered a man in many ways. He would have been a protector for his single sister aboard the crowded ship.
Charles Gruner was born in Mellingen (Saxe-Weimar), which is about 60 miles due East of Süss, where Margarethe was born. In between, about 30 miles West of Mellingen and 30 miles East of Süss, lay Ingersleben, where Charles’ mother (Barbara Heyer Gruner) was born. Charles was only a good walk from Weimar, an important cultural center – home to Goethe, Schiller, Herder, Wieman, etc., while the larger industrial cities of Leipzig and Dresden were close. Leipzig lay about 35 miles NE, and Dresden was about 60 miles East. Charles lived where Bohemians (Czech), Silesians (Poles), Saxons and Hessians mixed with Thuringians. Margarethe’s village was more insulated, but the mining industry and Hessian military deployments regularly exposed it to the larger world as well. These cultural influences perhaps contributed to a willingness to try something new and the flexibility to adapt.
On 30 Sep 1851, the Charlotte Reed arrived in New York from Bremen with Anna Enderlein (age 25) and Adam Enderlein (age 15) aboard. This is almost certainly Great Grandmother Anna Margarethe Enderlein and her brother Heinrich Adam. Her age is correct and Adam’s is within a year. The mate who prepared the Passenger list had atrocious handwriting, and he appears to have written in “Tuss” or possibly “Luss” as the place of origin (the transcriber thought it was “Lues”). This mate was obviously careless in preparing the list, and he may have ‘heard’ a T or L in place of an S when the passengers told him their hometown orally. Thus, the incremental crossing of the Enderlein family implies there was a plan, probably dependent on assistance of relatives already in the US. First, the eldest daughter with the elder son travel and establish themselves. Next, the middle daughter crosses with her godparent’s relatives. Finally, Great-Great Grandmother closes out her affairs in Süss and, with the help of the second-oldest daughter, brings the family together again in America. Certainly, the family reassembled in St Louis, with the possible exception of Anna Martha (the elder), of whom there is no further trace. She may have married in the East or fallen victim to disease. It is probable that Margarethe completed the trip to St Louis by train or coach, perhaps after she sojourned in Hazelton, Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore or with other relatives for a while. There were several former Süss residents (Heidenreichs, Bahrts, Ullrichs, Knies, Krausses, Lindemanns, etc.) in Hazleton, PA, a coal mining town in Luzerne County. Baltimore had Ullrichs. New York had several Heidenreichs. An Anna Enderlein (age about 60) was listed as resident of Philadelphia in the 1910 Census, but any relation is unknown, and she seems too young to be the missing Anna Martha. Adam Enderlein may have remained in the East for a longer time than Margarethe, however, since we know nothing more about him until his Civil War Service with the Vermont Volunteers and his subsequent marriage in Doniphan, KS.
The ship’s passenger list for the Elisabeth, docking at New York from Bremen on 10 Sep 1853 suggests a part of the missing story. Of the Elisabeth’s 163 passengers, 25 were housed in Cabin 1, about the same number in Cabin 2, with the rest between decks. Among those twenty-five passengers crowded into Cabin 1(in itself implying some sort of relationship), the names of Heinrich Heydenreich (age 59, miner), Adam Heydenreich (age 27, miner), Anna Enderlein (age 15), Magdalene Ulrich (age 22) and Johann Gruner (farmer, age 29) virtually jumped from the page. (Adam, Heinrich, and Anna are listed #2,3,4 on the roster, as families are listed together, and Süss residents used both spellings for Heydenreich/Heidenreich.) That all these names, so closely related to Süss, wound up together by coincidence is difficult to accept. This is probably the missing Anna Martha. The age would be correct. Since the second ‘Anna Martha’ was usually called ‘Martha,’ logic dictates that the first ‘Anna Martha’ may probably have been known as ‘Anna;’ besides, many ships’ mates merely copied from exit documents and others appear to have made estimations or guesses.
Why would Anna Martha have been separated from her mother and siblings? It appears that she was traveling under the care of her Heidenreich and, possibly, Ullrich relatives. Her Godmother was Anna Martha (nee Ullrich), wife of Johann Adam Heydenreich. There was a Magdalene Ullrich (wife of William Ullrich) listed in the 1850 Census for Hazelton who could have had a 22 year-old daughter/niece also named Magdalene. There are some Heidenreich (Heydenreich) families with roots in Süss that settled near Hazelton in Luzerne County, PA, during the 1840’s and 1850’s, with some members named Adam. Heinrich Heydenreich died enroute, so there may have been sickness in the port or aboard ship. If ‘Johann Gruner’ on the Elisabeth were Charles or one of his brothers or relatives, was he assisting Margarethe’s relatives in their passage to America, or is this how Charles came to know the Enderleins? Had Charles, himself, returned to Germany for some purpose we can only imagine?
Note: The entangled relationships between the Enderleins and Heidenreichs are illustrated by this entry from . Süss - das Dorf…. Residents of Am Überloor 21: …. “1825 – Johann Adam Enderlein (miner) & Anna Elisabeth (Küch); 1850 – Anna Martha Enderlein**, sister of Johann Adam”… (Anna Martha is likely the heir of Johann Adam Enderlein; Johann Adam Enderlein was Barthold Enderlein’s brother, so she would be the aunt of Barthold’s children.). ( p. 101) ** This is the same Anna Martha Enderlein who married Johann Adam Heydenreich, Jr., and became the Godmother of Heinrich Adam Enderlein. It appears that Johann Adam Heydenreich came to America in 1846, but his father may have remained in Süss.
*** The widow of Johann Adam Enderlein (Anna Elisabeth nee Küch) emigrated to America in 1853.
Johann Adam Heydenreich (with that peculiar spelling), from the ‘Niederhessen’ region (which may be appropriate to our ancestors), was born about 1827 in Germany and arrived in New York about 1846, according to Kurt Guenther, Hessian Emigrants to America (Ancestry.com). He would have been about age 27 at the time of the Elisabeth’s passage, and may have returned to Hessen to escort relatives.
Returning to Germany to fetch relatives was common practice. Heinrich Hermann (miner, b. 1819?) left Süss about 1845 for America, but he returned in 1846 to marry Anna Dorothea Heidenreich (b. 1822?) and bring her to America. On 20 June 1846, the Meta out of Bremen docked in New York. It could aptly be renamed “the Süss Boat.” In addition to Anna Dorothea (Heidenreich), ‘Henry’ Hermann brought his parents and brother: Andrew (61), Elizabeth (52) and George (19) Hermann. He may have talked a number of others into going as well. While the Hermanns went in style (they had a cabin), Adam Heydenreich (miner, age 27; likely the ‘Johann Adam Heydenreich above) came over “in steerage” on the Meta. Among the other passengers in steerage with Adam were John ‘Heidenrich’ and 24 others that may have come from Süss: Knies, Schuchardt, Lindemann, Heckmann, Schaefer, Weber, Kellner, and Krell (Wm & Julia). Balthasar “Broat/Brodt?” (could that be ‘Bahrt’?) came over on the Meta, and he appears as “Ballyer Broat” in the 1850 Census of Hazelton. Wm & Julia Krell also appear in subsequent Hazelton church records, and they are shown as emigrants to America in Süss church records of 1845-6. The Hermanns settled in Northern Illinois at Galena. Adam and John Heidenreich first went to Hazleton, PA, but appear to have passed on to Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. While others can’t be matched by first name with existing records, it’s likely a good number of them were Süss émigrés also. The potential support system for the Enderleins was expanding.
J. F. Charles was not the only ‘Johann Gruner’ to come to America around 1850. There’s a John Gruner (joiner, age 28) who arrived 9 July 1852 on the Lady Russell from Bremen, went to Pennsylvania, married Catharine, settled in Baltimore, and had a family which he supported by cabinet making. Another Johann Gruner (b. about 1825) settled in New York, where he farmed. He could be the one arriving on the Elisabeth. On 21 Feb 1848, a Johannes Gruner (26) arrived in New Orleans from Le Havre aboard the Franconia with his wife Magdelena (20). There’s a Charles Gruner living in St Francis, MO with his wife Frederika in the 1850’s. A Frederick Gruner (b. about 1828) arrived at New York 25 Nov 1854 from Hamburg aboard the Attica. It appears that he enlisted in the 1st MO Light Artillery during the Civil War, and finally settled in Kentucky according to the 1870 US Census. There’ a mill worker named William Gruner around St Louis about the time of the Civil War; he may be the same William Gruner (b. about 1821 in Hesse-Kassel) who was also in the St Francis area. Consequently, the presence of a “Gruner” on the Elisabeth could be coincidental, but the Heydenreich and Enderlein travelers arriving together in the Elisabeth appear to be unlikely coincidence. They are almost certainly linked to the mines in Süss. Again, the presence of an ‘Ulrich’ on the ship may be coincidental, but hard to accept as such.
Another unanswered question concerns the whereabouts and activities of Margarethe Enderline after her father’s death in 1845. At twenty, she would probably have been expected to marry or help the family financially. While Susanne had some properties that could be rented for income and perhaps even drew a miner’s widow’s pension, it would have been increasingly difficult for her to make ends meet as the overall economy declined. Perhaps Margarethe went to a larger community in search of employment. Thuringia and Saxony’s industrial economy was far advanced over that of Hesse in the mid 19th century, and she might have traveled east to Leipzig, Gera or Dresden, or even Weimar or Apolda in closer Thuringia. Perhaps this is how she met Charles. Another possibility is that Charles may have come to Süss for employment during its heyday around 1840. While all records show Charles as a farmer or laborer, he clearly had some knowledge of construction, carpentry, and masonry, and he was fluently literate. How he acquired these skills is unknown. However, since his brothers appear to have been apprenticed to trades, it is likely he was as well. Not far south of Weimar, stretching over to below Eisenach, is the Thuringian mining district: iron, gypsum, slate, etc. Iron, silver, and copper ores have been extracted and processed for about 2500 years in and around Suhl, about 40 miles south/southwest of Mellingen. If Charles’ family were also involved in working at the mines (doing carpentry or some other trade), it might shed some light on on how he came to meet Margarethe.
Johann Friedrich Carl Gruner and Anna Margarethe (Enderlein) Gruner had five children. The oldest, Charles Frederick William, was born 9 Oct. 1856 in St Louis County and died 9 Jan. 1929 in Amarillo, TX. Anna Martha (17 Nov. 1857 – 19 Dec. 1950) and Anna Julia (6 Jan. 1859 – 7 July 1930) were also born in St Louis County. Martha Bertha (26 Dec. 1860 - 1919) and Henry Ernst (16 Nov 1866 – 4 Oct 1939) were born in Jefferson Twp, Osage County, MO. The stress of the Civil War is undoubtedly the cause of the hiatus in births between Bertha in 1860 and Ernst in 1866. Charles F. W. Gruner would marry the first time with Malinda Ann Strain (1860-1885 on 1 June 1884 in Brush Creek Twp, Gasconade County, MO. Malinda was the granddaughter of Barney and Rachel (Souders) Strain. After her death by “apoplexy,” he married Emma Sophia Ruwwe (Dec. 1887) in Manchester, St Louis County, MO. Anna Martha married Jacob Esters of Kansas; Anna Julia married Edmund Ruwwe of Tea, MO; Martha Bertha married August John Helzer and lived in SD and NE; and Henry Ernst married Effie Belle Hartman and stayed on the family farm. (See section on ‘other Gruners’ below, p. 188)
However one considers the story of Susanne Bahrt Enderlein and Margarethe Enderlein Gruner, each had to be a capable and determined woman. Susanne survived the early death of both parents, bore nine children, survived the Napoleonic Wars and occupation, buried two husbands, handled complicated financial matters on her own, resettled her entire family over 4,000 miles from where it started, saw her sons and son-in-law caught up in the Civil War, and still lived beyond her normal life expectancy to the age of seventy. Margarette struck out for America on her own (with or without her mother’s immediate support), married a pioneer farmer, raised a family in the midst of the Civil War, and prospered, living over 85 years. There are indications that the family maintained contact during the lifetimes of these women. Perhaps the tragedy here is the way the twentieth century dismantled family relationships, and I often ask myself, “How could the children (my grandparent’s generation) of these heroic individuals have failed to recognize and record the experiences of their parents?” Jeanette Pitcher wrote of Susanne (Bahrt) Enderlein, lamenting the fact that those of us who owe her so much know her so little: “As she lies at her rest, we can hope that she is proud of all of us…,” the eight generations that have followed from and benefitted from her efforts. (Pitcher, Jeanette at Ancestry.com - Gore-Matthews Tree – “Susanna Herbst Enderlein”)
Anneliese Krauss-Neumann, author and resident of Süss, describes its citizens’ daily struggle across the centuries in her Introduction. “Their fight for daily bread, against sickness, want, and lots of worry and misery was caused by senseless wars and stunted by the various ruling classes. There never was a really good time.” (Süss - das Dorf und seine Menschen. (trans. Jason Bahrt). Nentershausen, Hessen: 2005, p7). Probably, that is why many emigrants seldom spoke of their lives in Germany. Like Jeanette, I submit that gratitude is the least we can offer to Susanne, Margarethe, and Carl. Without their courage to make a better life, ours would have been vastly altered.
In 1813, During the Napoleonic Wars, French troops were in Kassel in September and Leipzig in October. On 20 October, French Infantry demanded quarters in the village. The men of Süss were anxious, and the women and children hid in the attics. Soon, however, the Russians came. When Napoleon retreated to France in 1814, a Regiment of Cossacks and Prussians were quartered in Süss. The Prussians reportedly stole more than the Cossacks. Susanne Bahrt Enderlein (gg grandmother) was ten years old then, and the experience must have been life-shaping for her, but Barthold Enderlein (gg grandfather) actually went off to war. In 1858, Pastor Emil Dietz wrote a detailed description of the village as it was in the 1850’s – about the time Susanne (Bahrt) Enderlein left with her children for the US. Most of the inhabitants were Lutherans, a result of the villages’ long association with Saxony, although most other Hessians were ‘Reformed.’ In 1853, Süss had 800 Lutherans and 21 members of the Reformed Church. The church was the cultural center of the village. It was built new about 1829, and had an organ, clock, and bell. Pipes brought water to a central fountain. There were two variety fairs/markets annually, one just before Easter and the other in October. There was a dedicated school house with two teachers (for about 140 pupils). This served as a residence for one of the teachers. It appears from Süss - das Dorf und seine Menschen that both Susanne and Margarethe’s teachers likely were distant cousins. From the 1780’s, the Knies family provided three generations of village teachers, and from 1828, Johann Ernst Knies was the Adjunct teacher in the village to an undetermined time (p. 265). The elder Knies served as a subordinate officer among the “mercenaries” in America (1776), and his experiences may have helped spur the subsequent immigration that occurred as mining declined. There were a series of wars over the centuries which drained the economy and took men away from the village. Some of Susanne’s relatives served as “mercenaries” in America, and they must have brought back stories of the bounty and freedoms of the new country. In the 19th century, there are records of 217 Süss emigrants to America, most coming in the late 1840’s to 1860. Several of the emigrants were related to Susanne and Margarethe, so it’s probable that our ancestors from Süss had friends or relatives in the U.S. to help them when they arrived. Margarethe was born about the high water mark of the village growth and prosperity. She and Susanne got out just before the mining industry went into serious decline. Of course, the village economy depended on the prosperity of the mines, since that was the only industry of any significance. As mining contracted, so did the village. Between 1840 and 1864, the population of about 1,000 fell by 20%. There was less work for butchers, merchants, shoemakers, etc. when mine work declined. By 1880, the population drop exceeded 40%. It wasn’t just the men who were employed in the mines; children age 11 and up also worked half shifts during the days. The children, however, were not assigned to jobs underground. As it concerns our extended family, Herbst, Vockenburg, Weber, Jung, Küch, and Knies are among the names of the children employed there in the 1860’s. The use of child labor is only one of the indicators that times were increasingly hard for the villagers.
Note: In October 2010, My wife, Rita, and I visited Süss with Jeanette Pitcher, and Nell Gore. Anneliese Krauss-Neumann graciously spent the day escorting us on a thorough tour of the village.