Cremer, Wilhelm Henr Rosenbaum family history

CREMER, ROSENBAUM, HOVER, SCHNETGER, HOLTHAUS, HENNECHE, THELEN, DESSEL, PETERSON, BECHEL, LENSING, GERLEMAN, DILINGER, FLEISCHER, BUSH, MEYER, HUINKER, EHLER, SCHULTZ, SCHMITZ

Posted By: Linus Cremer (email)
Date: 2/19/2015 at 14:52:47

The Cremer Family History

Wilhelm Henr Rosenbaum Cremer was born January 29,1795 in Mechlinghofen of Datteln, Westfalen Germany. He was the son of Henrich Rosenbaum Cremer and Elizab Bernardina Lochtenkamp Schmitt. Wilhelm was baptized at the St Amandus Catholic Church in Dattlen. He married Elizabeth Hover on November 15, 1825, at this Catholic Church. The Town of Dattlen is a small village, just north east of Dusseldorff. Wilhelm & Elizabeth lived in this community until 1847 and raised their family.

On February 20, 1847, emigration papers were issued to Wilhelm Cremer, Sr. The Royal Prussian Government granted his wish to immigrate to America with his family, and his discharge papers from Prussian Citizenship were granted. His emigration papers state that Wilhelm was an Ackerman or Plowman, meaning farmer tiller of land. Wilhelm & Elizabeth prepared their family and gathered their belongings for their trip to America. A Mr. Bleiming took the Cremer family to Wesel, Germany a town on the Rhein River. I assume that they traveled on the Rhein to Belgium and on to Antwerp. On May 22,1847, they and their family of eight children, boarded a ship named the American Victoria at Antwerp, Belgium. The Captain of the ship was “Captain Hartshorne” and his records indicate the Cremer family members on board were as follows:

Wilhelm Rosenbaum, called Cremer, born 1/29/1795
Wife Elizabeth Hover born 1801
Son Wilhelm Christoph born October 10, 1827
Son Johann Henrich born December 15, 1829
Daughter Maria Gertrud born May 25, 1832
Daughter Angela Francisca born March 8, 1834
Daughter Caroline Pauline born April 12, 1836
Son Herman Joseph born December 1, 1837
Son William Joseph born November 11, 1839
Son Ludwig born July 13, 1845

They traveled as First Class passengers, and the voyage across the Atlantic took six weeks, arriving at New York on July 1, 1847. Upon arrival in America, their destination was Racine, Wisconsin.

Wilhelm had one sister, Catharina Eliza Rosenbaum Cremer, and she remained in Germany. She was married to Chtistopher Schnetger and they had six children, so I am sure we still have some cousins in Germany. The rest of Wilhelm’s siblings were all deceased at the time he immigrated.
The wife of Wilhelm, Elizabeth Hover Cremer, had one nephew, Julius Hover, living in the United States. Julius came to America a year or two after the Cremer family and settled at Elkader, Iowa. Later Julius and his family moved to San Angelo, TX and he died at the age of eighty-six

With the research I have done, the most likely route of travel from New York to Wisconsin was as follows:
A steamboat Isaac Newton ran from New York City, to Albany, NY, which was an eight-hour ride. A railroad ran from Albany to Buffalo, NY, which was three hundred miles, and took thirty-six hours. At Buffalo they could board a steam boat Madison that was bound for Milwaukee, WI, a four to five day trip through the Great Lakes. Upon arrival in Wisconsin, the family settled at Waterford, WI, near Racine. The Wisconsin land records indicate that Wilhelm Cremer owned 40 acres of land here, and the family lived there until the spring of 1852.

I am not sure why they set their destination here in America as Waterford, WI. My guess is that they knew other families from Germany who had previously located in Wisconsin or in North East Iowa. The Holthaus family came from Bockum, the Gerleman’s from Castrop, the Huinker’s from Verden, the Lechtenberg’s from Lunden, and the list could go on. I know a lot of the families from that same area of Germany came to Festina, Iowa.

Frank Cremer’s records tell the story that in the fall of 1851 William Cremer JR walked from Waterford, WI to The “ Old Mission “ in Iowa, later named Twin Springs, then Festina, IA. His goal was to find land, and a new location for his father, mother, and the family to live. William JR located two hundred acres of prairie land in Winneshiek County Iowa, Military Township. This land was available for purchase through the Government Land Office in Dubuque, Iowa.

The Government gave land to certain Officers and Solders who had been engaged in the Military Service of the United States in the War of 1812. They also gave land to widows who lost their husbands in the War Of 1812. Forty acres was purchased from Samual K Strickland, Private in Captain Adams Company, New York Militia. Eighty-two acres were purchased from Phebe Allen, widow of Aaron Allen Private in Captain Barrickman’s Company, First Regiment, in the Pennsylvania Militia. The balance of the two hundred acres was purchased directly from the Government.

William Cremer then walked to Dubuque, Iowa, to buy the land at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. At that tine the Government Land Office in Dubuque handled the sale of land for the North East Iowa. This was prior to a Land Office being established in Decorah. William returned to Waterford for the winter, and in the spring of 1852, he again made the trip to Iowa accompanied by two Holthaus brothers, Theodore and Herman. With the help of Theodore & Herman they erected a log cabin on the property. Upon completion of the log cabin in late May of 1852, the Cremer family arrived at what is now known as Festina, IA. The family moved from Wisconsin with a prairie schooner, two ox teams and two cows. My dad Leander Cremer told me that the log Cabin was located at the present home site, in the back yard, just south east of the large walnut tree. This land was selected for a number of reasons; the settlers needed drinking water, wood for heat, cooking, and fences. There was a spring bubbling from the ground just east of the current house, and for wood there was thirteen acres of timberland, plus the trees in the orchard area. Another reason this farmland was chosen was because it was grass rangeland, easy to break by ox teams and plows, making it ideal tillable soil.

One of the things I question about this story, which has been handed down, is the walking part. There were Military Forts throughout Wisconsin and Iowa. These Forts were all interconnected by Military Trails, used by solders, stagecoaches, horses, wagon & etc. There was a Military Trail that ran from Racine, WI to Dubuque, up the East side of the Mississippi to Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chin, WI. There were ferryboats that crossed the Mississippi river at this point, to McGregor, IA, to re-connect with the Military Trail heading west. It proceeded west to Postville, IA, and split, one branch heading north to Decorah, then on north to Fort Snelling at Minneapolis/ St Paul, MN. The other branch headed west to Fort Atkinson, and on to Fort Dodge, IA. The Old Mission Road ran from Fort Adkinson to Dubuque, Ia as well. With all these trails, my thinking is that they must have traveled by horse, stagecoach, or caught a ride with someone.

Wilhelm & Elizabeth and their children lived on this property, constructing buildings and turning the grass prairie into tillable farmland. A board sided house was erected to replace the log cabin along with barns and service buildings. The timing of that house is unknown, but I think it was that it was built in the 1860’s. The story handed down is that the row of maple trees along the road was planted during the Civil War. I would assume that they were planted upon completion of that house. Wilhelm & Elizabeth were getting along in age by this time, so the daily activities of managing the farm was done by their oldest son William.
Wilhelm died December 6, 1874, Elizabeth died on April 28, 1870, and they are buried in the Festina cemetery.

# 1 William Cremer married Pauline Henneche, July 10,1867, at St Mary’s Catholic church in Racine, WI. I have to assume that William met his wife Pauline Henneche in Racine while visiting family and friends. They lived on the Cremer family farm in Iowa, and raised their family. Three of their children, Carolina, Theodore & August all died at a young age and two died at birth. Only six of the eleven children lived to be adults. John married Matilda Holthaus and raised a family of nine. Their second son William went to Innsbruck, Austria and studied to become a Catholic priest. Reverend Father Cremer returned to the United States, and served as priest at churches in Iowa. The Racine connection is also interesting. Frank Cremer met his wife Louise Lechner and married in Racine. Mary Cremer married Peter Thelen from Racine, and they had three children. Catherine married Andrew Dessel from Ossian, IA and they had three children. Andrew Cremer married Agnes Peterson in California and they did not have children. Andrew was a WWI veteran, registering for his draft card in Mountrail County, North Dakota.
William died February 16,1889, Pauline died on February 18, 1900, both and are buried in Festina.

The Henneche family came to America from Albaxen, Germany. They departed from Germany, March 12, 1854, through the Port of Bremen, bound for New Orleans. They arrived on the ship Ocean June 12, 1854. The route of the ship was south to the Canary Islands, west to the Caribbean islands, Cuba and on to New Orleans. This is a more dangerous route in tropical season, but provides more stopping points for food and supplies. The group traveling together was the father, Johan Henneche, mother, Caroline Biex Henneche, son Hienrick Wilhelm, daughters, Wilhelmina, Pauline and Christine, and a six month infant son Henrick. Tragedy struck on the voyage when infant son Henrick became ill and died, and be was buried at sea. Also on board were relatives of the Henneche’s, Anna Biex, Joseph Schuster, Therese Biex Schuster and their six-month old daughter.
Upon arrival in New Orleans their travels took them up the Mississippi to Wisconsin and overland to Racine, where they settled.

#2 Johann Henrich Cremer (Henry) married Carolina Bechel on February 7, 1860 in Festina, Iowa. They raised a family of twelve children on a farm that was adjacent to the current Cremer farm. Daughter Mary followed a calling to the religious life, becoming a Franciscan Nun. Francis also went to La Crosse, WI to be a Franciscan Nun, but died at the early age of nineteen. Elizabeth married Alois Lensing June 21, 1887, and raised a family of six children, John, Edward, Joseph, Hugo, Arthur, & Aloysius. Joseph Cremer was poor and lived with his sister Elizabeth the final years of his life. He died in 1930 and is buried in Festina. Pauline married Joseph Gerleman October 26, 1896, and they were parents to four children, Edmund, Lauretta, Florence & Viola. Henry Cremer JR, never married and lived with various relatives, and died in Montana March 15, 1946. William E. H. Cremer never married, was an adventurer and lived in San Francisco, Seattle, and Alaska. He became a U S Deputy Marshall of Alaska from 1925 to 1933. His brother, George Michael, also had the wanderlust, and lived in Seattle, traveled the world in the mining industry, to places like Siberia, China, & Japan. John Barney was single; records show him living near Houston, TX in 1910, having a WWI draft card in 1918 and living in Montana, where he was a farmer. Louis headed to Alaska when he became an adult, married there and had one son, Stewart, who lived near Seattle, WA. Charles the youngest of the family married Emma Regina Nockels on July 25, 1918. She was from Spillville, IA They lived in Plevna, MT where he farmed and they raised two sons, Robert & Donald. Charles later gave up farming and became an interpreter in a bank in Miles City.
Henry Cremer is buried in the Festina cemetery and Caroline Bechel Cremer is buried in the Calmar cemetery.

Caroline Bechel was born on September 29, 1839, in Oldenburg, IN. Her parents were Sebastian Bechel & Mary Dilinger, who immigrated to America from France. In 1848 when Caroline was eleven years old, her parents, brother George, and sister Regina moved to the Old Mission in Iowa. Her mother became ill on the journey and unfortunately died shortly after arriving. They were some of the first settlers to the area and were instrumental in developing the church and community.

# 3 Maria Gertrud Cremer married Adolph Fleischer and they lived in Racine, WI. They had seven children, Mary, Nicholas, Frederica, Caroline, William, Elizabeth and Theodore. Theodore ran the furniture store and was the undertaker in Ossian, Iowa in the early 1900’s. Theodore had a son Andrew who was a pharmacist and was well respected in the medical field. He was instrumental in the development of the Stethoscope and the Blood Pressure Machine. He moved to Rutherford, New Jersey and became quite famous; he died at the age of 101.
Adolph died in 1872, Gertrud, the name she went by, died September 21, 1898 in Racine. I would have to assume they are buried there.

# 4 Maria Francisca Cremer married Herman Holthaus on October 22, 1855. Herman Holthaus was born in Bochum, Germany on December 12, 1826, and died May 8, 1864 This is the same Herman that helped build the log cabin on the Cremer homestead. Francisca and Herman had three children and lived in the Festina area, their children were Herman JR, Agnes, and Caroline. Unfortunately Francisca died with the birth of Caroline on August 30, 1859. Herman JR died at a young age, Agnes married Herman Bush SR, and Caroline married Lewis Meyer who was the Banker in Ossian.
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Francisca and Herman are both buried in Festina Iowa.

After the death of Francisca, Herman married Johanna Huinker and they had two children, Barney and John. After the death of Herman in 1864, Johanna married Bernard Ehler and they had four children. This is a situation where the first part of the family was not related to the last part of the family.

# 5 Caroline Pauline Cremer married Theodore Schultz and they had five children, Carrie, Elizabeth, Henry, Theodore JR, and Dora. Theodore was the administrator of the Will for Wilhelm Cremer SR when he passed away. Caroline died August 29, 1889 and is buried in Festina. Theodore died April 8, 1896 and is buried in the St Francis DeSales Cemetery in Ossian, IA. Frank Cremer’s records and my research indicate there were no descendants of Caroline Cremer.

# 6 Herman Joseph Cremer was born December 1, 1837. There was some confusion in that one of the children listed on the Immigration Papers died before leaving Germany. It was later determined that Ludwig died in Germany in April 1847. Herman went with the family to Waterford, WI and died between July 1947 and the spring of 1852 when they moved to Iowa. We do not know the date he died or where he was buried.

# 7 Wilhelm “ Joseph “ Cremer was married to Mary Meyer, daughter of Andrew Meyer and Regina Bechel Meyer. Census records show he was a “ Reaper Agent “ and they had four children born in Calmar, IA. The family moved to St Paul, MN and census shows him being a real estate agent and later an insurance agent. They had two additional children born in St Paul. Frank Cremer’s records indicated that later in life they lived in Los Angles, both Joseph and Mary died and are buried in Los Angeles; CA. Census shows that their son George and their daughter Julia and her family lived in Los Angeles. Daughter Emma became a Nun and went by the name of Sister Adelaide and was a teacher in Minneapolis, Mn. Daughter Agnes married a Charles R Schmitz and they lived in Portland, Or with a family of nine children one being a priest. There are a number of descendants from this family line living in the North West
The Meyer family and the Bechel family were two of the six families that relocated from Oldenburg, IN to the Old Mission and were some of the early pioneers who settled here in 1848.

# 8 Ludwig Cremer was born in Germany July 13, 1945 and was almost two years old and died prior to the family leaving for America. The immigration papers and ship records show him coming to America with the family but I believe this to be in error. Frank Cremer’s records show him dying in Germany. The St Amandus Catholic Church records also shows an orbit date of April 15 1847. I believe he died between the time of the immigration application, and the time they set sail from Antwerp, and the records were never corrected.

The above story summarizes the history of Wilhelm and Elizabeth Hover Cremer and their family of seven that came to America. They were brave, adventuresome, and courageous people to leave their homeland in Germany, and come to America to the unknown. It amazes me that the family of nine who came here in 1847, have a tree of descendants that is now several hundred. The Cremer family farm has been in the family for over one hundred sixty years. It and was owned by Leander Cremer until he passed in 2015 and is now owned by his wife Odelia Cremer. If you are ever in northeast Iowa, stop and visit, you can see where it all began, with a log cabin on a grass prairie.

Linus J Cremer
2692 Dearborn Lane
Frisco, Texas 75034

214-872-2448
CremerL@att.net

April 1, 2015

St. Mary's cemetery gravestone
 

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