I welcome a new guest blogger today.  Her name is Pat Borgman.  She will tell you the story of one of her aunts, Evelyn Meyr.  Her Aunt Evelyn received her heavenly reward earlier this year, and she will receive special recognition in our immigration conference next week.  Evelyn was a member of the building committee when our new museum was constructed 13 years ago.  She was a special volunteer on our museum staff for many years.

Pat has regularly attended our immigration conferences.  She and her husband, Rev. Paul Borgman, live in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.  She is a great family researcher and has been one of our presenters during our conference.  Pat and her husband are outstanding supporters of our museum, and I look forward to seeing more blog posts to come from her in the future.

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Well, what do you say when Warren asks you to write a blog in honor of your aunt?  You know he likes photos.  You know he writes so well that even a dull, uninteresting to you,” haven’t you written about that before” blog quickly grabs you and doesn’t let go.  You have been sucked into “Warren’s Blog Zone!”

And, indeed,  I said “yes” so, I put my brain into gear and spent time reminiscing about my aunt Evelyn. We had stories to share.  She often used the “Of course, I know that” comment when I thought I had found some special genealogical/historical fact to share, but we enjoyed remembering, gossiping, and sharing who we were and have become since she joined the Meyr family in 1950.

So, let’s go back a bit because her story is, for me, a critically interesting family story.  I have been working on my Mom’s families and this request  to write about Evelyn has forced me to look at her family.

Evelyn was born and raised in Frohna, Mo., the daughter of Edmund and Norma Mueller.  Her sister Elaine and brother Donald completed the family.

 

 

  Left to right: Evelyn Mueller, Donald Mueller,  Elaine Mueller

Mr. Mueller created the butter that we enjoyed every day at home.  BUT, you know all about this part of the story.  Warren has written about the Edmund Mueller family and the creamery.  So, let’s stop here and pick up “The rest of the story”.  We’ll take a walk back in time and I will share one of the biggest connections and greatest joys I have had doing family research.  I really love this stuff!

If you are reading Warren’s Blogs, you know about Edmund Mueller, his father Stephan and his grandfather, William.  William started the William Mueller and Son Creamery in Frohna.  Now, I didn’t grow up in Perry County, but I knew about the Creamery and I have done some superficial family research on the Muellers, so I know they go back to the 1838 Gesellschaft, along with so many other families.  The Fischers were one of those families, too.  And Norma Mueller was a Fischer.  Her parents, Martin and Sarah (Palisch) Fischer, lived in Frohna.  I never had evidence that they belonged to my Fischer family.  So, I will share what I have learned.

 

The Fischers who came to Perry County in 1838 were Johann Friedrich and Auguste Marie Justine neé Bode Fischer.  They had five children, three lived to adulthood and two died young.  Their children were:

1. Friedrich Albert (1826-1881) m. to Emma Marie Palisch
2. Henriette Christiane (1829-1884) – single
3. Friedrich Ferdinand (1832-1874) m. Martha Elisabeth Weinhold
4. Alvina Friedericke (1838-1839)
5. Johann Friedrich (1841-1846)

As you can see, only Albert and Ferdinand married and had children, but those children had quite large families.  My Fischer family descended from Albert, and Evelyn’s Fischer Family descended from  Ferdinand.

What I have in my library and files is the Albert Fischer Family.

 

These are pictures of Emma Marie (Palisch) Fischer and her husband Friedrich Albert along with their children, Emma Henriette and Emmanuel David.  I’m guessing Marie was not in this picture because she was pregnant with their son,  Edward Johannes.  She was pregnant nine times and had six children live to adulthood.  We know that that many pregnancies was not unusual but she managed to have that large family and did not die in childbirth.

Next are Ferdinand and Martha Elisabeth (Weinhold) Fischer.  I found these folks  by connecting with a fourth cousin, Beth (Fischer) Burkhardt.  She shared these pictures and those of Johann and Justine, all of which I had never before seen.  What a treasure!   And isn’t it amazing how much the men look alike.  This couple is quite unique compared to the other Fischer family, however, because of Martha.  But that is another story….

 

 

Ferdinand was a farmer in Frohna.  He and Martha had eight children and were the Great-grandparents of Evelyn Mueller Meyr.

These are Ferdinand and Martha’s Tombstones in the Concordia Cemetery, Frohna.

 

Martin Johannes, Evelyn’s Grandfather, was the sixth child of Friedrich Ferdinand and Martha Elisabeth (Weinhold) Fischer.  His other siblings were:

1. Anna Christiane (1860-1881) who married Matthias Wukasch,
2. Heinrich Joseph (1861-1910 who married Marie Caroline Estel,
3. Julia Martha (1864-1937 married to Henry Gustav Palisch,
4. Suzanne Johanne (1866-1905) married to Fr. Ernst Nicholas Koestering,
5. Gotthilf F. (1886-1924) married to Caroline L. Brockschmidt,

→6. Martin Johannes (1870-1931) m. to Sarah Mathilde Palisch

7. Martha Elisabeth (1872-1872) Died in infancy.
8. Friedrich Ferdinand (1874-1909) who was single.

 

Martin and Sarah were married 11 Sep 1890 in Frohna.  He was a farmer.  Their children were:

1. Martha Christiane (1893-1989) m. Albert Gotthilf Mueller
2. Elmer Leo Theodor (1897-1966) m.Edna Amanda Gerler
3. Arthur Martin (1901-1972) m. Alberta Meystedt
4. Hedwig Frieda/ Hattie (1903-1980)
5. Walter Carl (1906-1983) m. Meta Viola Mangels

→ 6. Norma  Anna (1909 -1995 m. Edmund Mueller – Evelyn’s parents

Here are Martin and Sarah’s tombstone in the Concordia Cemetery, Frohna.

 

As has been said, Norma Fischer married Edmund Mueller .  When Evelyn was in high school, she knew my Aunt Esther Meyr.  She probably knew Norbert, too.  Because Evelyn descended from the Ferdinand Fischer family, her marriage to Esther’s brother, Norbert Meyr, was a marriage of third cousins.  Esther married her second cousin, John Theodore Fischer

I guess these families liked each other.  In fact, there are lots of relationships here that require comment.  That will happen in time.