The surname, Sohn, does not occupy much space in our German Family Tree. Below is what shows up in that document for that name.

Three daughters have baptism records in the Immanuel Lutheran Church books in New Wells. That’s it. The name doesn’t show up before 1885 and disappears after 1888. When researching the first daughter, Bertha, who was born on January 9, 1885, I eventually discovered that her father, Bernhard, was a Lutheran teacher. Once I discovered that, I realized that I could have concluded that he was a church worker because in the list of sponsors for the 3 daughters, you find the names, Feiertag, Pennekamp, and Welp, who were all names of church workers who served in this area. Teacher Bernhard’s wife was named Anna Maria Hubinger. Below is the baptism record for today’s birthday girl, Bertha Sohn, found in the books of Immanuel, New Wells.

Before I move on, let me say that it is somewhat ironic that a man whose name in German means “son” has 3 daughters listed in our GFT. I think the Sohn’s moved away from this area not long after the last child was baptized in 1888, so I am not even sure that they would have been found in the 1890 census even if we could see that year’s census pages. By the time we find Bertha in her first census in 1900, her family was living in Detroit. She was 15 years old, and her father was a teacher. His name is given as George B. Sohn. His wife, Anna, had died in 1896, and he had remarried a woman named Carolina Bieske in 1897.

A 1904 Detroit city directory gives us a few more facts. Bertha was called a domestic and was living at a different address than her father. Bernhard G. Sohn was teaching at Zion Lutheran School.

I located this photo of the church sanctuary for Zion Lutheran Church that was in use in 1904.

In the history of Zion Lutheran Church found on their website, it includes the following paragraph which states that at one time, it was the largest parish in the LCMS.

Next, we find Bertha in the 1910 census in which she was living with her parents. She was 25 years old and working as a seamstress in an overall factory. Her father was called a parochial school teacher.

Also included in Zion’s history is the following paragraph that includes a mention of Bertha’s father.

I can show you a photograph of Bertha when she was fairly young.

Bertha was still single in 1920 at the age of 35. Teacher Sohn died prior to 1920, so Bertha’s stepmother was the head of the household and called a widow. This time, Bertha was a clerk in a grocery store.

Bertha would get married the next year, so we will turn our attention to the man who would become her husband. His name was Joseph Leopold Roth, who was born on February 4, 1874. Joseph was the son of John and Anna Maria (Fern) Roth. He was born in Germany and did not come to this country until the mid to late 1880’s. He apparently settled in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. That is where we find him in the 1900 census. He was called a salesman grocer living in the Mill Creek Township in Hamilton County. That is found in the Cincinnati metropolitan area.

A photograph was taken of Joseph when he was quite young. The photographer was in Cincinnati. 

Joseph Roth married Caroline “Carrie” Hensgen on September 10, 1910 in Cincinnati. We are able to look at an Ohio marriage record for this event. These two were married by a justice of the peace.

According to a family tree on Ancestry.com, this couple had 2 children. We find the Roth’s in the 1910 census with those 2 children. They had by then moved to Detroit. Joseph was a clerk in a grocery. His mother-in-law was also in their household.

Another photograph was taken of this young family with their 2 children.

Carrie Roth died in 1914, leaving Joseph as a widower. Joseph had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. It said he was the manager of the Peter Smith & Sons grocery.

Joseph is listed as a widower when the 1920 census was taken. He was called the manager of a grocery store.

Joseph Roth married Bertha Sohn on July 12, 1921. I found a Michigan marriage record for this pair.

I am also able to show you this marriage certificate for this wedding.

Another interesting fact about this story is that Joseph Roth was also confirmed at Zion, Detroit in 1921. His confirmation record is shown below. I cannot tell if he was confirmed before or after his wedding because I cannot find a date for the confirmation.

One son was born to this couple. In the 1930 census, we find Joseph, Bertha, and just that son. Joseph was called a salesman in a grocery.

In the 1940 census we find the same trio. Joseph was the manager of a grocery store.

Later in his life, Joseph had his photo taken inside his grocery store. A family tree calls this store the Broadway Market.

Bertha Roth died in 1950 at the age of 65. I am able to display her Michigan death certificate.

I should have at least found Joseph Roth in the 1950 census, but I did not. He died in 1955 at the age of 81. I was not able to find Joseph or Bertha on Findagrave.com. Bertha’s death certificate says she was buried in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Detroit. I found that cemetery on Findagrave.com, but no entry for the Roth’s is found on that site. There are over 27,000 memorials in that cemetery and only 45% of them are documented on Findagrave.com.

So, now you know the story of a girl with a surname that is not what we could refer to as a common “GFT name”. That girl went on to marry a man named Roth, which is a surname that takes up lots and lots of pages in our GFT, except Joseph Roth had no connection to any of those GFT Roth’s.