Our Family History

The Genealogy of Caitlin and Ryan Schuessler

  2  

Contents The Research……………………………..……3 How to Read the Tree…….…………………...4 Index of Surnames The Order Understanding the Information Surname Map…………………………..………6 Pedigree Chart……………………......……...…7 Summary of Findings……………….…………8 Family Tree

Paternal Line Schuessler…………………………..……9 Platte……………………………...…….18 Smola…………………………………...21 Larkey…………………………………..29 Ihrie…………………………………….35 Keene…………………………………...38 DeMoss………………………....………42 Goodlove……………………………….46

Maternal Line Hennemann……………………………51 Bohnert…………………………….…...62 Stafford…………………………….…...71 Quinn…………………………………..79 DeArman………………………………84 Masters………………………………....88 Colonial Connections……………….....97

Royal Connections...…………………...99 Index of Root Persons……………………….100 Appendix…………………………………….103

  3  

The Research One of the most instrumental tools of this research only developed to its caliber in recent years, and thus was unavailable to those who previously did genealogical research: the Internet. Resources on the Internet were invaluable in researching, organizing and creating genealogical data for this project. While there is valid question to the legitimacy of information found on the world wide web, only the most reputable resources were utilized in this project. Additionally, past research gave a major contribution to this project as well. These sources include: the thorough and detailed Schuessler Family Tree, as compiled by Kenneth Schuessler and the Goodlove Family History Project, as led by Jeffery Goodlove. One of the biggest difficulties in genealogical research is missing data – and this project is no exception. When relying on paper documents from decades or even centuries ago, it would seem that people just appear or disappear in the record. Even the most reliable sources, like the United States Census, have its shortfalls. Much of the 1890 Census was destroyed in a fire before the development of online catalogs. Furthermore, finding records describing ancestors in Europe is even more of a challenge. Regional churches or local governments often kept records of births, marriages, deaths, land ownerships, etc., though after decades of time, two World Wars, political strife and natural disasters, finding these records is extremely difficult, and that’s just if they’re online and translated. Such research requires the funds to put someone with the appropriate research skills on the ground in Europe. A complete list of websites, organizations and individuals that contributed to the research of this project are listed below: Ancestry.com Operations Inc.

(ancestry.com)

FamilySearch, operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (familysearch.org)

The Goodlove Family History Project ; Jeffery Goodlove

(http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/g/o/o/Jeffery-Goodlove/index.html) The Schuessler Family Tree ; Kenneth Schuessler Research by Staša Cvetković, funded by Edward Schuessler Synergia Agencija, Novi Sad, Serbia It should be noted that no research could have gotten off the ground without base information. This information was largely provided by the stories and memories of individuals, namely Willene Hennemann and Betty Schuessler.

  4  

How to Read the Tree Ordinal Index of Surnames Schuessler

Platte Smola

Larkey Ihrie Keene DeMoss

Goodlove McAtee

Hennemann Bohnert Stafford Quinn DeArman Masters

The Order The order of this history is organized as follows. Since the contents start with the paternal line, the Schuessler family is presented first. The line of the first woman married in to the Schuessler line to appear with sufficient ancestral information follows, and so on in descending order. For example, while there are seven generations in the Schuessler line, it is not until the fifth that a maternal line – Platte – has sufficient information to be included in this compilation. In regards to the list above, those names that are indented under another name signify a maternal line married in to that under which it is indented – also in descending order. For example, Larkey is the first sufficient maternal line to appear in the Smola line, followed by Goodlove. Ihrie, Keene, and DeMoss all appear in the Larkey line, not the Smola. The same is said for the McKinnon and McAtee lines in regards to the Goodlove. Understanding the Information Each box contains the information of one person, and the contents are described in the box to the left, and shown in complete box to the right. Any unknown information is left blank. Locations of birth and death are listed as the name of the given town, state or country during the time described, even if that location no longer exists or has a different name. As you can see below, Austria-Hungary no longer exists; though, Andreas Schuessler was born in what was that state.

  5  

Each page and complete chart contains the information of a family unit. The root person, meaning first person listed on the page, is a parent of the family. The other parent, usually the root person’s spouse, is listed directly below. Children from a union are listed below the parents, in birth order, off of a line from the parent’s boxes. See the example below:

If the root person was married more than once, additional spouses are listed along side other spouses, in order of marriage. The label at the top right corner of the chart indicates the paternal line being described, and the generation on the given page. For example, in the chart above, “SCH-4” translates to “the fourth known generation of the Schuessler line.” Only direct lines are descried in this collection. Meaning, only the families of direct ancestors are listed, as opposed to listing aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. For example, while the SCH-4 union shown above produced five children, our family directly comes from one son – Karl. The next page, SCH-5, would therefore be Karl’s family. The families and associated lines of his siblings are not described. The majority of root persons are listed twice in this collection: once in their own line, and once in their spouse’s, where they are not the root person. For example, if there were sufficient information about the line of Frances Knapp (see chart above), Andreas Schuessler would appear on the page in which she was the root person, only as her spouse as opposed to the root person himself. Spousal lines are no longer described once they enter the main line.

  6  

Surname Map Each “X” denotes a generation, and the intersection of two family lines. A dotted line indicates a known line, but with insufficient information to contribute to this research. Dark lines are included in this book. The highlighted portion of the map is shown on the next page in pedigree form, to help put the map in to perspective.

  7  

Pedigree Chart.

The pedigree below explains the highlighted portion of the surname map from the previous page. To have a full pedigree going back four generations (great, great grandparents) is an accomplishment in itself, whish is another reason it is included.

  8  

Summary of Findings One of the goals of genealogical research is to determine what ethnic group a family “belongs” to. Though, especially for families who have been in the United States for several generations, there is no simple answer to that question. America’s melting pot has done its work over the generation, and we are, in essence, mutts. However, if one’s ethnic identity is to be judged based on the frequency of one group’s appearance in a family tree, we can say that we are thoroughly German. German surnames appear more frequently than any other, on both the paternal and maternal lines of the family. Anglican (English, Irsh, Scottish, etc.), would be next. There are other influences as well. Two French lines appear, as does a Bohemian (Czech), with the possibility of Romani heritage. DNA evidence of ancient Jewish ancestry was found in a line of German-American, Christian farmers. There are also traces of Cherokee blood. It sounds simple enough to name a list of ethnicities. Though, historical and cultural contexts blur the picture. Research found that our ancestors have immigrated to this country as early as its colonial days and as late as the last century – and everywhere in between. Ironically, those relatives carrying our surname – Schuessler – were the last to arrive (1904). Even within ethnicities, the labels aren’t always so simple. For example, within our ancestry are three Scottish clans. Most German families never knew the word “Germany,” but instead came from Prussia, the Holy Roman Empire or the Austro-Hungarian Empire. One German family – the Schüßlers – weren’t considered by other Germans to be Germans at all, but instead were donauschwabben that haven’t lived in a German state in generations. For some individuals who were adopted in to the family, there is no way to know their ethnic background. Missing information is frequent as well. For some lines, the trail ends after two or three generations. Though, for others, it can stretch back to the first century (see pg. 99). It is a diverse scope of old and new, long and short, that creates an interesting perspective on “who” we are. For those who immigrated, the story is just as diverse. Some stepped off a ship into an unsettled frontier, while others were admitted into the country after being processed under factory-like conditions. Some were attracted to cities; others took on homesteads in places like the Iowa Territory. Though, in the end, they all ended up in St. Louis. Each line described in this research begins with a summary page explaining known information about to the surname, as well as relevant information pertaining to our specific line.

  9  

Schüßler “Schuessler” is the Americanized spelling of the German surname “Schüßler.” It is believed that the name originated in Bavaria, possibly near the city of Heidelberg. It comes from the root word “Schuessel/Schüßel,” or “wooden bowl.” The suffix “er” would indicate that our early ancestors were crafters of bowls, or the German version of “Potter.” Our known line of the Schüßler family, however, is not from Germany, but the region that is now the Hungary-Serbia border. These ethnic Germans living in Central and Eastern Europe along the Danube River were called Danube Swabians – or donauschwabben. The donauschwabben settled these regions in two waves. The first was in the 12th century, at the invitation of the Hungarian monarchy. The second was in the 17th and 18th centuries, when the Hapsburg Dynasty of the Austro-Hungarian Empire looked to repopulate regions devastated by its war with the Ottoman Empire. It is believed that the Schüßlers arrived during the latter. The majority of the donauschwabben were killed or forcibly deported to Germany by the Soviet Union and its satellite states after World War Two. This ethnic cleansing – often called the Forgotten Genocide – killed an estimated two million ethnic Germans living outside of Germany, including most of those in Andreas Schuessler’s birth village of Kac, and imprisoned civilians in Siberian labor camps or former Nazi-concentration camps behind the Iron Curtain. The expulsion of Germans after WWII was the largest movement of one ethnic group in European history. Those Schüßler who escaped were scattered across four continents. The Schüßler diaspora scattered distant members of the family in Germany, Austria, the United States (especially the Midwest), Canada, Argentina and even Israel. Additional Information: http://www.dvhh.org/history/ Our relatives arrived in the United States beginning in 1904 with Andreas Schuessler (SCH-4). Andreas had left his home in Kac to become a cabinetmaker in Budapest, Hungary. After his apprenticeship, he relocated to Vienna, Austria, where he married and had two children. As the story goes, the Empire, as the dawn of World War One neared, served him a conscription notice. Wishing not to fight, he boarded a train bound for France. At the border, the train was stopped and searched by soldiers looking for defectors. Andreas then hid in the women’s lavatory, which the soldiers did not search. He was not found, and made it to France and then boarded a ship for New York, where he promptly relocated to St. Louis. His wife and surviving son followed near after without difficulty. His son Karl (SCH-5) was a carpenter who helped build the Fox Theater in St. Louis. Karl’s son Kenneth (SCH-6) was a teacher in St. Louis, and also a jazz musician. Andreas’ siblings also immigrated in the years following. His mother, Elisabetha (SCH-3), immigrated with his young cousin after World War One. During the war, Austro-Hungarian soldiers had forcibly occupied the family farm, and Elisabetha and her niece were forced to cook and accommodate for them. Upon immigrating, the two were held at Ellis Island for special questioning, but were admitted in to the country and relocated to St. Louis. During WWII, it is possible that the remaining Schüßler cousins were members of the Nazi Party during the German Occupation. Andreas’ home village of Kac (Katsch in German) was located in what was the southeastern region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire – what was considered the frontier, in the Batschka region. After World War One, the region was absorbed into the former Yugoslavia as the province of Danube Banovia. Today, after the break up of Yugoslavia, Kac is in northern Serbia, and now is in the autonomous region of Vojvodina. It has a population of just over 11,000 and is primarily inhabited by ethnic Serbs. Kac is about 20 minutes from Novi Sad. Cservenka (Tscherwenka, the home of Andrea’s father, grandfather and great grandfather) is located Northwest of Novi Sad. Batschka was a multi-ethnic region, and our family was likely mutli-lingual in German, Hungarian, Serbian, Croatian, Russian, and eventually English.

  10  

Haus das Schüßler

  11  

  12  

  13  

  14  

  15  

  16  

  17  

  18  

Platte Our connection to the Platte family is through Henry V. Platte. However, Henry was adopted in St. Louis as a young child. It is believed that his birth name was Schwartz, but no record can be found of his birth family. No record can be found of Henry’s adopted family, as well. In any case, both names are German. Henry Platte and Estella McBride, whose grandfather came from Ireland, were married in St. Louis. Their only child, Maxine, was one of the early Radio City Rockettes, which was founded in St. Louis in 1925. One humorous anecdote about Maxine – it is said that, her whole life, she never slept with a pillow, in order to not have a double chin.

  19  

  20  

  21  

Smola The Smola surname originated in the region of what today is the Czech Republic and Poland. It is also a name that some Ashkenazi Jews carry. In the Czech language, Smola is a nickname for a person with dark hair, or a person that is unlucky. In this region, it is also associated with the Romani people – or gypsies. While there is no documented proof, family stories say that the Smola family in Bohemia were Romani. The Romani people are a pseudo-nomadic ethnic minority found throughout Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. Their anthropological origins rest in what is now the region between India and Pakistan. Likewise, blending with local populations in Europe, along with isolation from their “homeland,” has rendered them anything but South Asian. The first documented reference of Romani in Europe dates to the 1320’s. Our Smola family came from Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic. Wencil Smola (SMO-4) immigrated to the United States, but the year is unknown. Several Wencil Smolas appear in Ellis Island’s records during his lifetime. Though, it is known that he was given a land grant in Iowa, married an American and had a family. While the reasons for his immigration are unknown, history shows a turbulent, sometimes violent, time in Bohemia during the time Wencil would have lived there. The United States Government was also attracting immigrants by offering land to settle in the fronteir. It can be assumed that the violence in Bohemia, the incentive of free land, and the animosity against the Romani people in Europe drove Wencil to immigrate. Bohemian Romani were virtually wiped out during the Holocaust. The last known person to speak the Bohemian Romani language died in the 1970s. Wencil Smola’s birth home still exists. Vamberk, or Wamberg in German, was in the Morovia region of Bohemia. Vamberk is now located in the northern portion of the Czech Republic, approximately two hours from Prague. The Smola family in Iowa was well established and influential. Robert Smola (SMO-6) was a respected teacher, prinicpal and superintendent in local schools, and was named the regional Red Cross Administrator. The family later moved to Missouri, and Robert Smola owned a small farm oustide St. Louis.

  22  

  23  

  24  

  25  

  26  

  27  

  28  

  29  

Larkey The surname Larkey is of English origin, likely given to someone who could sing like a lark. The earliest known Larkey of our line was John Larkey (LAR-1), born 1776 in Philadelphia. Clearly, our Larkey family was in the country during colonial times, and likely were settlers. See the appendix for the entry on Edward Larkey from the 1879 History of Jackson County, Iowa. Since the earliest known member of the line was American born, it is not known who first immigrated.

  30  

  31  

  32  

  33  

  34  

Ihrie The name Ihrie is of German origin. The earliest known member of the Ihrie line in our family is Conrad Ihrie (IHR-1), born in Darmstadt, Prussia – now Germany. Conrad and his wife Mary immigrated to the colonies sometime before 1754, the year their son was born in Pennsylvania. Ihrie is an Anglicized version of the German name Ihrig. While it is unknown, give the time period in which Conrad Ihrie lived in the colonies, it is possible that he served during the Revolutionary War. Darmstadt still exists in modern day Germany, and is just south of Frankfurt.

  35  

  36  

  37  

  38  

Keene The surname Keene is of Anglican origin. The earliest known member of our Keene line is Joseph L. Keene. It is not known where he was born, but his children were born in New York. Since his birth location is not known, one cannot know which member of the family first immigrated. Though, it can be assumed that the Keene family was in the country in its early years. Given the time period, it is also possible, though unknown, that Joseph Keene served during the Revolutionary War.

House of

Keene

  39  

  40  

  41  

  42  

DeMoss The DeMoss surname is of French origin, sharing the same origin as the name “Dumas.” It is not known who the first member of the line to immigrate was, since the earliest known person was born in Pennsylvania (DeM-1). See the appendix for the obituary of Sanford DeMoss. Gibbs Sanford DeMoss (DeM-2) married Sarah Ann Gibbs, whose mother was a Cherokee and whose name is unknown. This means that Sarah DeMoss was half Cherokee, and her children (DeM-2) were one-fourth, and so on. That leaves the SCH-8 generation just over 1.5% Cherokee. There is also a possibility that Sarah Gibbs’ father, John (b. 1795 in Maryland), had Cherokee ancestry. The Gibbs family is known to originate in Maryland.

  43  

  44  

  45  

  46  

Goodlove There is some mystery to the origin of the Goodlove name. Though, it has been accepted that it is the Anglicized version of the German name Gottlieb. There is discrepancy regarding the birthplace of the earliest known person, Conrad Goodlove (GOO-1). It is possible that he was born Germany and immigrated to Pennsylvania. Or, he was born in Pennsylvania and his parents immigrated from Germany. Either way, the family was of German ethnic heritage. It is also possible that the Goodlove/Gottlieb line originates from a Jewish heritage. Gottlieb is a fairly common German-Jewish name. DNA testing has been done on members of the Goodlove family in Iowa, which suggest Jewish heritage. The Goodlove DNA has been described as “unique” in understanding the genetic legacy of ancient Israelites, and has been included in books on the subject. An excerpt from the DNA results of the Goodlove Family History Project: We discovered through DNA that the Goodlove male line has the rare Cohen

Modal Haplotype. The Cohen haplotype that can be found in the Priestly line of the Jews going back to Aaron, Moses' brother. Through DNA matches we discovered many people that are also Jewish and also Cohen. There are actually matches with the last name of Cohen, too. But there is a great deal of people with different last names. The reason for this is that Jews did not have last names. That only occurred recently.

Recently a 12 marker match was made with the Goodfriend "Gutfrajnd" family of Praszka, Poland. Yakov Gutfrajnd was born in Praszka about 1790. The results of the test indicate that our most common ancestor was more than 28 generation ago. The Goodlove family is seven generations of Christian farmers beginning with Conrad Goodlove born 1793 in Berks County PA. Conrad's family was from Germany and it is the oral history of the family that the name was changed from Gottlieb.

The Goodlove family in the United States was one of the first families to settle the Iowa Territory. The family also has a tradition of military service. Conrad Goodlove served in the War of 1812 as a sergeant in the Ohio Calvary under Capt. Samuel McCord. His son William Harrison Goodlove served as a private in the Iowa 24th Infantry during the Civil War. There is a day-by-day journal describing the journey of the Iowa 24th, written by William himself.

  47  

  48  

  49  

  50