Last Will and Testament of Francis Henn, signed April 20, 1863

Used via creative commons license; photograph by WilliamJD

I don’t think this can be a 52 Ancestors post because I already wrote about Francis Henn #25 and I think that each of the 52 Ancestors posts is supposed to be about a different ancestor. However, I found this so interesting that I had to post about it even though it will put me even further behind in the challenge.

As I mentioned in the last post I found Francis Henn’s will in the New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971 . Even though it is short, there are several points about it that I found quite interesting. As his will was created on the day of his death, it is likely possible that he knew he was dying and had summoned a lawyer to his side to take down his will. This was not an uncommon occurrence in the 19th century, when even lawyers made house calls (that or he knew the correct legal terminology to use, which is unlikely in a farmer for whom English was a second language).

Index to Wills, Surrogates Court, Oswego County
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Wills are a method of passing on real and personal property to the person of your choosing. I was curious as to why it seemed to have taken nearly seven years to get Francis’ Will probated but in doing some research I discovered that  it wasn’t uncommon for probate to take up to a year, and under certain situations take much longer. It is possible (very possible in this case as we’ll see below) that the two witnesses necessary to prove it, and the ability of the executor to post bond (50% of the value of the estate unless waived in the will), were not available at the earliest possible court date. Moreover, Francis died in the middle of the Civil War; it is also quite possible that Court schedules were disrupted and/or witnesses were off fighting. Luckily, it was not necessary to probate the Will in order to empower the executor/executrix to bury the deceased, to pay or to collect bills, and to otherwise handle the property in the estate pending probate. That probably alleviated some of the problems of a drawn out probate in this case as he named his wife, Phillipina, both as Executrix and (initially) sole heir.

This marks Francis as an exceptional man. For most of history married women could not own or inherit property solely in her own being. Everything she was given was her husband’s in law. A woman did have a dower right to a one-third lifetime interest in the marital property (real or personal) upon the death of her spouse. The lifetime right meant that she could share in the rents or profits from that property but did not give her title in it or give her the right to sell or devise (will to someone else) the property. By law, only males or unmarried women over 18 could devise real property.  Married women could devise real property, even property that was hers before the marriage, ­only with the written permission of her husband. Likewise, if a father gave property outright to a married daughter through inheritance, the daughter’s husband would have ownership of that property and could sell or bequeath it to anyone he chose without his wife’s permission. That is why many 18^th & 19^th Century wills show a father leaving the use of personal property to a daughter for her lifetime, with title to be vested in her children and delivered to them after her death.

In the 19^th Century, that began to change as laws were passed piecemeal, state-by-state, across the country allowing married women to own property in their own right. The earliest comprehensive Married Women’s Property Act was passed in New York State on April 7, 1848. It significantly changed the law regarding property rights granted to married women, allowing them to own and control their own property, whether owned before the marriage, or granted her by gift or inheritance during the marriage by someone other than her than her husband. Even so, in culture and practice, change, albeit legal, was slow. Just because it was now legal, did not mean that it was at all common.

But as shown in his will Francis loved his wife and viewed her as his equal in ability to be responsible for the property, and it showed that he loved and viewed his sons and daughters equally and as equals.

 

Record of Application to Prove Will of Francis Henn
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This first form indicates that Phillipina Henn (#26) appeared in court on 12 October 1871 and applied to have the last Will and Testament of Francis Henn proved. The Surrogate ascertained who all the heirs and next of kin were and required them to appear before him at his office in Sandy Creek NY on 13 November 1871 to attend the probate of the will. On that day no one appeared to oppose the probate of the will. So he proceeded to prove the will in accordance with the law. The will stated as follows:

Last Will and Testament of Francis Henn, signed April 20, 1863
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Transcription, to the best of my ability:

WILL

“In the name of God Amen, I, Francis Henn, of the town of West Monroe in the County of Oswego and state of New York, being a naturalized citizen of sound mind and memory, blessed be almighty God for the same, do make and publish this my last Will and Testament in [__?__] and forever following (what is to say)

First.      I give and devise all of my real property, being the farm whereon I now reside, with the appendences, to my beloved wife, Phillipina, situated, lying, and being in the Town of West Monroe, in the County of Oswego and state of New York being part of lots Nos. 17 and 25, township No. 13 of Scriba’s Patent and bounded as follows, viz..on the North by Andrew Shillinger, on the East by said Shillinger and Morris [__?___], on the South by Francis Beresen and W. Brassard and on the West by said Fr. Berensen and Peter Pettit containing 50 acres of land be the same either more or less. Forever to have and to hold the same for her use and support and maintenance forever. Or to sell and dispose of the same at any time after my decease and live and support herself of the [___?_____], and if she chooses at anytime to alienate or sell the same (after my decease) I hereby authorize her as my executrix to give a good warrantee deed and convey the same in fee simple to the purchaser or purchasers in full and ample manner as I myself could or would do were I living.

Second.                I give and bequeath unto my said wife, Phillipina, all household goods or furniture, also all money on hand, money due or to become due either by Notes, Bonds, Contracts or anyother wise, for her use benefit and support. And after her decease I will order and direct that that whatever of the [__?___] of my property shall or may be left, or remain (all her debts, funeral expenses so first being liquidated and paid) that then, the same shall be equally divided among my children, viz – Jenefever, Serena, Dorothea, Andres, Generosa, Josephat, Francis and Josephine, or their heirs in case of either death. Share and Share alike.

Lastly I do hereby constitute and appoint my said wife Phillipina sole executrix of this my last Will and Testament hereby revoking all former wills by me made. In witness whereof I have herewith set my hand and seal this 20^th day of April Anno Domini in One Thousand Eight Hundred and sixty-three (1863) Francis Henn (F.J.)

Signed, sealed, published and declared by the Testator as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us who at his request in his presence and  in the presence of each other have subscribed our names as witnesses (___?___) Philip Rea West Monroe Oswego County NY. John Brickhammer West Monroe, Oswego County New York.”

Francis did not give Phillipina a life estate in the property, as I initially thought when I saw that he directed the further devising after her death as well. No, he willed it to her outright, giving her the ability to keep it for her support during her lifetime or to sell it “as I myself could or would do were I living”.  He also gave her “all household goods or furniture, also all money on hand, money due or to become due either by Notes, Bonds, Contracts or anyother wise, for her use, benefit and support.” This is rather remarkable. He does go on to direct how the property should be distributed after Phillipina’s death if any “may be left, or remain (all her debts, funeral expenses so first being liquidated and paid)”, but remember, married women did not have the right or ability to devise or will property in New York except as set forth in that 1848 law, which specifically excluded property gifted by a woman’s husband.

Even at that point, he shows that he is a loving and fair father, and an extraordinary man for that time, who saw his daughters as equal to his sons, “the same shall be equally divided among my children, viz – Jenefever, Serena, Dorothea, Andres, Generosa, Josephat, Francis and Josephine, or their heirs in case of either death. Share and Share alike"; the 1848 law allowing his bequest to his daughters to be their sole property and not automatically that of their husbands. (Edmund had predeceased his father, Francis, with no marriage or children.)

Witness Attestations proving the Will of Francis Henn (the top two affidavitts & writing down the side margin)
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The last form, after the will was set forth, consists of witness statements and may give a hint as to why it took nearly seven years to get the will probated.  It starts out perfectly normally as the first of the witnesses to the signing of the will, Philip Rea, attests that he witnessed the signature of the deceased, who was over 21,  of sound mind, memory, and understanding, and not under any restraint, and competent to devise real estate. However, Philip Rea also attests that the other witness was John Brickhammer, who is now deceased. So they needed to find someone else who had no interest in the will but who could identify Francis Henn’s signature to prove that it was his will.

In that cramped bit of writing in what would have been the white space between form affidavits is the written affidavit of Andrew Shillinger – I believe he is the person the will indicated was Francis’ northern neighbor.  The affidavit, as best as I can read it states as follows:  “Oswego County SS: Andrew Shillinger being duly sworn says that he was acquainted with Francis Henn in his lifetime and with his handwriting and knows the signature to the above described will is his genuine handwriting as he believes and that he was also acquainted with John Brickhammer now deceased and with his handwriting and that his hand name in the said will as a witness is his genuine handwriting as he verily believes.”

With that, the Surrogate, Henry Le Howe declared the will to be properly executed, and recorded, signed, and certified the will in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Statutes, on the 27^th day of November, 1871.

I find it very interesting and inspiring to know that we (my Dad, my aunts, my uncle, my brothers, my cousins & I) come from such a loving forward thinking man. It is so moving to me to realize that my great-great-great-grandfather so valued the women in his life that in a time when women were largely considered, at best, “child-like” in their comprehension, ability, and responsibility, and, at worst, “property”, he saw and treated them as equal to himself and his sons. With this sort of legacy, no wonder my Dad is such a wonderful, remarkable man in his own right.

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"New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971," images, FamilySearch ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-24574-23242-84?cc=1920234&wc=9VSS-824:213301201,214361501 : accessed 27 Jul 2014), Oswego > Will index 1816-1915 > image 63 of 153.;  "New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-24578-33399-10?cc=1920234&wc=9VS7-BZS:213301201,214485401 : accessed 05 Aug 2014), Oswego > Wills 1865-1872 vol J-K > image 522 & 523 of 717; http://www.genfiles.com/articles/wills-intestates-probate/; http://www.genfiles.com/articles/womens-rights/ ; http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/wes/collections/women_law/; http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/wes/collections/women_finance_investment/ ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Married_Women's_Property_Acts_in_the_United_States ; http://www.familytreemagazine.com/Article/probate-records-workbook   

52 Ancestors: #25 Francis/Franz Joseph Henn (1800-1863) and #26 Catharina Phillipina Blank Henn (1805 – 1890) Baden, Germany to Oswego County NY

German Immigrants to North America (1853)
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 This is my latest post for the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge initiated by Amy Johnson Crow of the No Story Too Small blog. For more information about the challenge and links to the other blogs participating in the challenge, please click on the badge in the right margin.

As I have visitors this week, I am doing my two ancestor posts for this week (on my catch-up schedule) in one. #25 Francis/Franz Joseph Henn and #26 Catharina Phillipina Blank Henn are my third great grandparents on my father's father's side (she was known as Phillipina and that is how I will refer to her). In the materials I received from my Dad, Francis and Phillipina Henn, are as far back in this line that anyone had gotten in tracing back our Henn line, and it dead-ended with the knowledge that they came from Baden, Germany. Accordingly, I was absolutely astonished and delighted to find a copy (English translation) of their marriage record information on FamilySearch.org. It had the right names and it was in the same place as Phillipina’s and many of the children’s births were registered (as found on Ancestry.com), so I believe it is the marriage record of my third great grandparents.  The record also included some information that wasn’t in Dad’s paperwork: their marriage date, and the names of Francis’ and Phillipina’s parents! Whoo-hoo! I went back another level! Well, I have names….but nothing else ...yet.  

I’ve learned this week that if you are researching a person who lived in Germany before 1876, the best place to look is the church records as civil records of births, marriages, or deaths weren’t kept until after 1876; but everything I’ve read so far says that the church records were reasonably accurate. In some areas of Germany, the records of people of other faiths were kept by whatever the predominant church/worship place was in the area. This perhaps partially due to the fact that “Germany” didn’t exist until the late 19^th Century. Instead, the area was made up of smaller areas controlled in a feudalistic system by a hierarchy of royalty (princes, dukes, counts, etc). Farmers were very nearly the bottom rung of that very regimented hierarchy.

Unification of Germany 1815-1871, Baden is in lower left of Germany

Franz Joseph Henn was born on or about November 8, 1800 to Melchior and Gertrudt (Grimm) Henn. In the marriage record index, kept by the Catholic (Katholisch) church in Doerlesberg,  Mosbach, Baden, Germany, Catharina Phillipina was listed only as Phillipine; her parents were Georg Michael Blank and M. _ Anna Schulz. She was born on or about November 17, 1805. I don’t know whether they were born in the same towns/areas or not. I don’t know anything about their growing up years. I do know that, according to records kept by the Catholic church in Doerlesberg, Mosbach, Baden, Germany, Franz Joseph Henn and Phillipine Blank were married on August 5, 1827. 

In the Baden-Wurttemberg section of Germany, many of the farmers had a side occupation that they passed down, father to son. As the Henn’s were farmers after they immigrated to the United States, it is logical that they were probably farmers in Germany as well. I know from family documents and a few U.S. Censuses that Franz and Philippine’s sons worked as coopers when they first got to America. That was a skilled occupation passed down through middle class farming families in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. So Franz & Phillipine were likely part of the middle class. They may have owned land obtained by fief (I haven’t established that yet) and were subject to the rules and laws imposed by the fiefholders to whom they would owe a sort of feudal allegiance. In the early 1800’s people had little choice in the persons they married as the marriage was often arranged by their parents as a business transaction in order to gain wealth by combining lands through the marriage. Additionally, the couple had to apply to the lord their family served to get permission to marry. The lord imposed a fee and sometimes the couple didn’t have the money to pay the marriage fee, and so delayed the marriage. This sometimes resulted in children born before the official marriage.

I don’t know yet if this occurred in Franz and Phillipina’s case, but about eight months before the marriage Phillipina gave birth to a daughter, Genofera Blank (later, also known as Genevieve [Henn] Scheer, 1827-1916), on January 2, 1827. The record, kept by the same Catholic Church as the marriage record, did not show a father’s name in the index, but my reading shows that is normal for pre-marriage babies. [The original was not available to view, or I would have.]  I haven’t yet found a birth record for Franz and Phillipina’s daughter Serena Mary [Henn] Dick, but later in the U.S. Censuses she indicated that she was born in July 1828, which would put it nearly a year after the marriage. I did find birth records Franz and Phillipina’s other children: Dorothe/Dorothea [Henn] Snyder (1830-1896);  Andreas/Andrew Henn(1832-1911); Generosa/Rosa (Henn) Strauss (1836-1908); Edmund Henn (1838-1961); my great great grandfather Josephat/John Henn (1842 – 1861); Franz/Frank J. Henn (1843-1928); and Josepha/Josephine (Henn) Schueurmann,  (1845-1877). All were registered through the Catholic Church in Doerlesberg, Mosbach, Baden, Germany, with the exception of the youngest two children who were registered at the synagogue (Israeliten) in, Eubigheim, Mosbach, Baden, Germany.

The area of Baden in which they lived was over-populated and land for farming was hard to come by. In 1817 Baden had become part of a German confederation, which then led to a few decades of political unrest, culminating in an attempted revolution in Baden in 1849, which failed after the Grand Duke of Baden joined with Bavaria in requesting the armed intervention of Prussia, and the armies of Prussia invaded Baden in June 1849 and crushed the rebellion. This couldn’t have made it a comfortable place to try to work a farm and raise a family. In addition, there were repeated years of crop failure and potato blight in the period between 1846 and 1853, making it very had to live and depressing the economy. All of this together perhaps led many farmers to truly view America, with its storied fertile lands and wide, open spaces, to appear to be a shining beacon of hope.

Port of Le Havre, France mid-19th Century
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One year after their eldest son went to America in 1852 at age 20 (see Andrew/Andreas’ story), Franz Joseph and Phillipina, immigrated with their entire family to America, joining Andreas/Andrew in Syracuse NY.  The Germans travelling to America in the 1850’s had the money to pay for their own tickets and thus arrived in America without debt. Franz Joseph and Phillipina first travelled to Le Havre France, where they had obtained passage on the ship, Trumbull, to New York City.  The ship’s passenger list (pictured below) inexplicably lists Franz Joseph Henn as “Henn, Fr. Friedrich” from Baden but the age is right, and listed with him are Phillipine and all of the children at the correct ages. So I tend to think that whoever filled out the list – it’s all the same handwriting – just got his name mixed up. 

"Trumbull" Passenger List, listing Henn Family
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They would have obtained the tickets in Germany as France required emigrants to show their tickets at the border. In addition to whatever personal property they were bringing with them to America, they would also have brought food – a lot of it – as emigrants were required to bring their own food for the voyage. They travelled in steerage, which would have been crowded and uncomfortable. (To read interesting descriptions of the voyages between Havre & New York in letters sent home by immingrants, click here.) Voyages lasted approximately 45-50 days. They arrived at the port of New York City thirty years before the creation of the Ellis Island processing center. (To read a contemporary story from The New York Times of what it was like for an immigrant to arrive in New York City in 1853, click here.)  

Ad shown in Freiburg, Germany for package voyage between Le Havre and New York, 1856
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From NYC they could have taken a steamship or train to Syracuse NY, where they joined Andreas. Sometime thereafter, they each anglicized their names, probably to better fit in in their new country.

Almost immediately, Francis and Phillipina moved the family up to a farming community named West Monroe, NY, about 22 miles north of Syracuse, in Oswego County, on the shore of Oneida Lake. They appeared in the 1855 New York Census in West Monroe, and indicated they had lived in the community for 2 years. Francis was 55 and listed as a farmer.  Phillipina is inexplicably listed as Phebe (one wonders if the census taker couldn’t spell Phillipina), age 49.  Still living at home were: Andrew, Generosa (spelled Russena), Edmund, Joseph (my great-great-grandfather John), Francis (Frank), and Josephine. All were listed as Aliens, so none of the family were naturalized citizens yet.

Oswego County, NY (about 1902), West Monroe is on North shore of Oneida Lake
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The 1860 Federal census found Francis and Phillipina still farming in West Monroe, Oswego County, New York. Still living at home were John (previously Josephat), Frank, and Josephine, Also there that day was a 1 year old boy, Jepa Cottel – I wonder if Phillipina or Josephine was babysitting that day? Francis indicates that he can read and write English (or rather, does not indicate that he cannot do so). The main population census showed that Francis owned $700 worth of real property and $300 worth of personal property. This was back when farming was done mostly by hand and/or with the help of a mule or horse. People could not work huge farms, without a lot of help then. He also was surveyed for the 1860 Federal Census Non-Population schedule on Productions of Agriculture. That survey indicated that he had 30  (or 80 – it’s hard to tell whether the handwriting is a 3 or an 8) acres of improved land and 20 acres unimproved. Here he states the cash value as $900 and the value of farm implements and machinery as $50. He owns 1 horse and no mules, but he has 30 (or 80) milk cows, 2 working oxen, and 2 other cattle. He owns 3 sheep and 2 swine. He estimates the value of his livestock at $173. During the year ending June 1, 1860, the farm produced 40 bushels of rye, 40 bushels of “Indian corn”, 50 bushels of oats, 9 pounds of wool, 50 bushels of “Irish Potatoes”, 5 bushels of buckwheat, 5 tons of hay and 300 ( or 800 - again hard to tell whether the handwriting is a 3 or an 8) pounds of butter. He indicated that the value of animals slaughtered during the year was $35 (or $85 – the handwriting problem is consistent.) 

In 1861, their son, Edmund died. He was only 22, and unmarried. I don’t know how he died. Or, for that matter, where he was in 1860.

Francis died two years later, at age 62, on April 20, 1863. I haven’t been able to find out why he died but he evidently knew he was dying because he drafted his will on the same day he died. (I found a copy through the Familysearch.org collection of NY Probate records, 1629-1971, for Oswego County, and plan to transcribe it, as best I can, in a separate post later this week.) He was buried in St. Francis Cemetery in Oswego County, NY.

Grave of Francis (Franz Joseph) Henn (1800-1863), originally posted on ancestry,com by Reckinger
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After her husband died, Phillipina saw two of her sons, Andrew and John, go off to fight in the Civil War in 1864, and, thankfully, return in 1865.  In 1870, the U.S. Census shows that Philipina is living with John Philip Henn, son of Serena Mary Henn Dick in West Monroe; she is “keeping house” and he, at age 15, is farming. The census indicates that she doesn’t own any real property and that her personal property is valued at $100. In 1871, acting as Executrix, Phillipina probated Francis’ will, in an action to prove his will filed October 12, 1871 The Court on, November 27, 1871, acknowledged the sworn statements of the witnesses to the will and declared it proved to be written by Francis when he was in a sound mind, on April 20, 1863. It left her his real (land) and personal property. I don’t know yet why she waited until seven years after her husband’s death to try to probate his will.

I then lost Philipina for about 20 years. I cannot find her in the 1875 New York Census, or in the 1880 U.S. Census. The person who wrote her entry at Findagrave.com said that “She lived on a farm in West Monroe, Oswego County, until after 1870 and then in Oneida, NY with one of her daughters until her death.” That would indicate that she probably lived with Serena Mary Henn Dick, even though I could find nothing showing that Phillipina lived with Serena and her husband, Jacob, and nothing showing that Serena’s family had lived in Oneida NY prior to 1900 (I have seen the 1875 NY Census, as well as the 1880 Federal Census, for Serena and her family and her mother isn’t listed with them). On the other hand, Serena and her family did live in Lenox, Madison County, NY through, at least 1892, and Lenox NY and Oneida NY are only about 4.5 miles apart. Phillipina, perhaps, just wasn’t in the house on the dates of the censuses, or perhaps lived close by but not with them.

Phillipina  died on August 5, 1890, at age 84, and was buried in St. Francis Cemetery in Oswego County NY.

Grave of Phillipina Blank Henn (1805-1890), originally posted on ancestry,com by Reckinger
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http://www.understandingyourancestors.com/ar/parishBirth.aspx; http://geisheimer.org/info/germ/village.htm; http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GEN-DE/1998-11/0909971932;  "New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1891", index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/275K-JZJ : accessed 10 Jul 2014), Joseph Henn, 1853; http://www.understandingyourancestors.com/ia/germanImmigration.aspx ; http://19thcenturyrhinelandlive.blogspot.com/2011/10/look-at-le-havre-less-known-port-for.html ; http://19thcenturyrhinelandlive.blogspot.com/2014/02/emigrants-setting-sail-questions-and_28.html ; http://home.comcast.net/~owen.rutz/rutz_genealogy/German_Immigration.htm; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg ;  1855 & 1875 New York State Census; 1860 & 1870 US Census and 1860 Non-Population Schedule, Agriculture Production; "New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971," images, FamilySearch ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-24578-35114-46?cc=1920234&wc=9VS7-BZS:213301201,214485401 : accessed 27 Jul 2014), Oswego > Wills 1865-1872 vol J-K > images 522 & 523 of 717; http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=HENN&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=36&GScntry=4&GSsr=81&GRid=45570773&

52 Ancestors: #24 Andrew/Andreas Henn (1832 – 1911), First to the U.S.A.

Gravestone of Andrew Henn (taken by Frank K for Find-a-grave.com)
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This is my latest post for the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge initiated by Amy Johnson Crow of the No Story Too Small blog. For more information about the challenge and links to the other blogs participating in the challenge, please click on the badge in the right margin.

As those who follow my blog know I have some notes and research done by some of my ancestors on both sides of my family that I have used as clues in doing my own research, and occasionally quoted in this blog. Those notes and such have usually turned out to be partially accurate, some more accurate than others. Most often there are a few grains of truth that help me confirm what I find belongs to my family (for an example see my post on Elizabeth Manley Bixler Wolfington Moore) then decided to check Great-Aunt Lucille’s book, Members of the Flock, to see if she ever talked about Andrew. Yikes! Yes, she reports a memory of my grandfather’s about an "Uncle Andrew" but he doesn’t sound remotely the same as the man I researched! I was then up ‘til 3:00 AM last night double-checking my trails and trying to find our Andrew in the places mentioned in Lucille’s book. I gave up. I don’t know if the book references the same man or if there is another Uncle Andrew that I haven’t found yet. I decided to tell you what the book said (it’s brief) and present what I found and if any can give me any further information/stories about Andrew that help resolve this, or even if they don’t, I’ll welcome you and them with open arms! Please leave a comment below or email me at the address on the “Contact Me” page. I will respond as quickly as I can.

In Great-Aunt Lucille's book, my grandfather, Owen Carl Henn, remembered the following brief story about "Uncle Andrew Henn, who “was an Immigration Officer on Ellis Island, New York City. Later he returned. I mean, retired, and lived in Florida. Mom and Dad visited him one time, and Dad was challenged by the sight of a checkerboard. Dad always prided himself as a fairly good checker player, and thought it a good way to pass the time. But Uncle Andrew proved himself to be a checker champion. Dad couldn’t do any good at all.”  

Andrew Henn is my 2^nd great grand uncle on my father’s father’s side. He was born to Franz Joseph and Katharina Phillipine[Blank] Henn on January 20, 1832 in Baden, Germany; he was baptized/christened, Andreas Henn, as a Catholic on January 23, 1832 at Doerlesberg, Mosbach, Germany. His siblings were Genevieve “Genofera” [Scheer] (1827-1916), Serena Mary [Dick] (1828-1918); Dorothea “Dorothe” [Snyder] (1830-1896); Rosa “Generosa”[Strauss] (1836-1908), Edmund (1838-1861), John “Josephat” (1842-1919), Frank “Franz Joseph” (1843-1928), and Josephine “Josepha” [Schueurmann] (1849-1876).

I know nothing personal the first twenty years of his life. But mid-Century Germany was experiencing upheavals, with the failure of the revolution in 1848 to bring Democracy to the country, economic uncertainty, and, in some cases, religious persecution, that were encouraging a boom in emigration to the United States for the chance at a new and better life.  In addition, better communication and travel meant that Germans in the interior knew more about emigration and found it to be more of a possibility. Those that left were generally small farmers, not rich, but also not the poor. These mid-century immigrants had enough resources to finance their trip, but not enough to make them want to stay in Germany if there were other opportunities. When they hit the American shore they went west looking for fertile farmland.

Nearly 1 million Germans emigrated to the U.S in the 1850’s, and among them was Andreas Henn. In taking ship for Germany he would likely have not only had to pay his passage, in steerage, but also bring all of his own food for the trip, which would have lasted approximately 30-45 days.  (See here for a collection of letters describing the voyage from Germany to the USA.)   I don’t know why he struck off on his own at age 20 but we know that he arrived here in 1852, one year before the rest of the family followed. I’ve found two possibilities for the ship he arrived on.  The first is the ship “Schiller” which left from the port of Bremen, and arrived at Castle Garden NY (it was before Ellis Island existed) on April 1, 1852; the passenger list shows “Andreas Hen”, male, age 20, from Baden, was aboard. The other possibility is the ship “Radius” which departed from the port of Le Havre, France and arrived at Castle Garden on October 14, 1852; the passenger list shows “Andreas Henn”, age 20, female, from Germany was aboard traveling steerage. Even though Bremen is a lot closer to Baden than Le Havre, I lean towards the Radius as the correct ship. I think the “Female is a misprint because Andreas is not a female name in German. I lean towards Le Havre because the next year the rest of the family left out of Le Havre and I would think that they would follow in his footsteps if he were successful. I might be wrong though. In any event, he arrived in 1852 and made his way to Syracuse NY (Onondaga County) initially, where there was a large German community.

Passenger List for Ship "Radius"
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Passenger List for Ship "Schiller"
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By 1855, though, he and the rest of the family had moved up to West Monroe in Oswego County, NY. As the Erie Canal and the Oswego Canal met in Syracuse, it was easy to get there and back to Syracuse as necessary. Andrew worked as a cooper [Here is a You Tube video demonstrating a Cooper at work - it's interesting!]. In 1859, he married Sarah Deacon, and by the time of the federal census the next year, they had a one month old son, Charles (1860-?). Two years later they had a daughter, Hattie [Baum} (1862-1931), and two years after that another daughter, Ida (1864-1884).

On February 9, 1864, he enlisted as a private in Battery G of the 3rd NY Light Artillery, for a three year period. It was commanded by Capt. David L. Aberdeen [duty at New Berne and other points in North Carolina till March, 1865. Campaign of the Carolinas March 1-April 26. Southwest Creek March 7. Battle of Kinston or Wise Forts March 8-10. Occupation of Goldsboro March 21. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. Duty in the Dept. of North Carolina till June], and was mustered out under Capt. William A. Kelsey, July 7, 1865, at Syracuse.

1st NY Light Artillery
out of copyright

He returned to Oswego County and took up farming. He reported on the Non-population farming Censuses in 1870 and 1880. His farm was a bit bigger in 1870 (15 acres improved 10 acres woodland) than in 1880 (8 acres tilled, 5 acres permanent meadows, and 7 permanent woodland), and valued about $300 more. I’m wondering if he could no longer maintain the bigger farm, since he filed for a civil war disability pension on December 9, 1979; it was granted.  He indicated later, in 1890, on a NY Veteran’s schedule that he had chronic diarrhea and spinal difficulties. In both non-population schedules he indicated he had 1 horse, 2 cows, 2-3 sheep, 2 swine and 2 poultry. Between 1870 and 1880 he went from producing 120 bushels of Indian corn to 40 bushels and 95 bushels of oats to 40, but his production of buckwheat doubled in that time frame, and his production of Irish potatoes and butter remained the same.

The local paper, The Baldwinsville Gazette Farmers Journal reported that Andrew and Sarah had a fairly active social life over the years with many friends and family visiting, and Sarah being very active in the Ladies’ Aid Society. They also knew tragedy. Their youngest daughter, Ida, died in 1884 at age 20, and the local paper reported that Andrew Henn’s sister Rosa died on August 31, 1908. In fact, Andrew outlived three of his siblings.  Andrew continued farming at least through 1910, per the census, and probably to the end, as he died the next year, on April 21, 1911, at age 79.

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I’d like to find out whether I have the wrong “Uncle Andrew” or who my grandfather was speaking of when he described “Uncle Andrew” as working at Ellis Island (that would also be a fascinating story) and retiring to Florida.

As always I’d like more detail about his life, and a picture or two. Perhaps there is more in the land records or probate records.

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Ancestry.com. Germany, Select Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Germany, Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.; http://www.loc.gov/rr/european/imde/germchro.html; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germans_in_Syracuse,_New_York; http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mstone/timeline.html; http://www.understandingyourancestors.com/ia/germanImmigration.aspx; http://www.energyofanation.org/4e667f77-e302-4c1a-9d2e-178a0ca31a32.html?NodeId=; http://19thcenturyrhinelandlive.blogspot.com/2014/02/emigrants-setting-sail-questions-and_28.html; http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/civil/artillery/3rdArtLight/3rdArtLtMain.htm; NY Find A Grave Memorial# 34893720; Fold3.com; NY census for 1855, 1892 & 1905; US Census for 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1010, including non population surveys for 1870 & 1880. And NY Veterans Report for 1890.