Keitges

KEITGES MERSH

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 9/21/2010 at 14:21:57

History of Woodbury County, Iowa 1984

Keitges
By Esther Flammang

John Baptist Keitges was born in 1804 in Luxembourg. He was born on the home farm which the family had owned for two hundred years.

John married Susan Mersh.

Six children were born to John and Susan. Nicholas was the oldest child. He was born in the village of Nothum, Canton Wiltz, grand duchy of Luxembourg, on May 9, 1832.

The family immigrated to America in 1866. They came to Iowa and purchased an improved farm of 170 acres near Independence, in Buchanan County.

Nicholas was well educated in the French and German languages before he came to this country.

Nicholas married Margaret Hottua on February 27, 1868. Five children were born to them.

Nicholas and Margaret and their family lived in Iowa for four years, most of the time in Buchanan County. In 1871, they moved to Nebraska and lived on some property they owned. The grasshoppers destroyed the crops there four years in succession, and the family was obliged to move or starve. So on July 1, 1875, they left Nebraska and moved to Harrison County, Iowa, where they bought 140 acres of land, and lived there for eight years.

Nicholas’s wife, Margaret, died on February 16, 1877.

In 1883, Nicholas sold out and went to Oregon with his family. He spent tow months looking for land, but he was not satisfied there and returned to Iowa and located in Oto Township.

One of the children born to Nicholas and Margaret was Peter. Peter married Josephine Mack. They lived in Danbury. Peter operated a livery stable and was involved in insurance or real estate. He was also a cabinet maker and a carpenter in later years.

Peter and Josephine Keitges had ten children. They were Anna, Susan (Sister Barromea), Matilda, Agnes, Elizabeth, Mary, Agatha, John, Matthew ‘Pat’, and Bibiana.

Anna Keitges, 1890-1978, married Nickolas Flammang, 1889-1955, on January 7, 1913, in Danbury, Iowa. Nickolas was a native of Earling, Iowa. Anna and Nickolas had nine children. They were Matthew, Elizabeth, Monica, Edgar, Mary, Rita, Teresa, Coletta, and Jerome. Coletta died in infancy.

Matthew married Cecelia Uhl. They had five children. They were Edwin, Sandra, Janet, Sharon and Roger.

Elizabeth married Edward Uhl. They had ten children: Paul, Edward, Gary, Carl, Jeffrey, Jean, Audra, Carol, Janet, and Dennis.
Monica married Vernon Sasges. They had six children: Richard, Roseland, Patricia, Colleen, Sheryl, and Wayne. Vernon died, and Monica married Ervin ‘Bud’ Smith.
Edgar married Esther Glover. They had four children: Kevin, Kristin, Kirk and Kerry. They adopted Kevin and Kristin, and Kirk and Kerry were born to them.
Mary married Louis Daly. They had one child, Garry. Louis died, and Mary married Leo Gormally. They had six children: Ann, Francisca, Mary Beth, Thomas, Donna and Lisa.
Rita married Donald Ferdig. They had two children: Linda and Randy.
Teresa married William Sachau. They had four children: Constance, William, Kent and Catherine.
Jerome married Lois Hegna. They had one child, Amy.
Nickolas Flammang died on August 16, 1955. He was sixty-five years old.
Anna Keitges Flammang passed away on April 4, 1978. She was eighty-seven years of age.
Nickolas and Anna were farmers, locating in the Danbury and Mapleton communities from the time of their marriage until 1946, when they moved to Emerson, Nebraska. They farmed in the Emerson vicinity until Nicholas’s death. Anna then lived in Emerson for a time, later moving to Sioux City, Iowa, where she was residing at the time of her death.

Much can be said about early-day residents such as Nickolas and Ann. Their lives centered around home, church, and family and they were rewarded by a loving, caring family who provided much pleasure for them during their lifetime.

At the time of Anna’s death she had 121 descendants, including 8 children, 39 grandchildren, 73 great grandchildren, and one great great grandchild.