A main character in today’s tale is named John Knoll. But what a challenge it is to keep up with the John Knoll’s involved in his story! What do you do when a pair of brother’s are each named John Knoll. And what do you do when these two John Knoll brothers marry a set of Herman sisters? Add to that the fact that the father of the two John Knoll’s was named John Knoll. In the end, I just hope I got this story right.

The John Knoll whose story I will tell today was born on March 12, 1844 in Bavaria. I found no middle name for John anywhere in the documents associated with him. John was the son of John Michael and Anna Knoll. I did find a family tree that gives Ampferer as the maiden name of John’s mother. One fact that at least makes this story a bit easier to follow is that John’s father is often called Michael, not John. I will also say that John had an older son that was named John Nicholas Knoll, and on occasion, he is called Nicholas. To add to this confusion, John had two younger brothers named John Adam and John Michael, but at least they were called Adam and Michael.

This Knoll family traveled to America in 1849 aboard the ship, Alesto. We can see them on this portion of that ship’s passenger list. John was listed as being 4 years old.

After their arrival, the Knoll family settled in the Cinque Hommes Township of Perry County. We find them in the 1850 census. John’s father was a farmer. This is one of the more understandable listing of names in this Knoll family. It calls John’s father, Michael, and the other 2 boys who are listed are called Nicholas and Adam.

The 1860 census is the one that was troublesome to me. First of all, the surname was spelled Nole, which makes it harder to locate this entry. It also includes a father named John, along with 2 sons that are named John. Today’s character is the one that was 16 years old at the time.

The 1870 census entry for the Knoll family lists only one John Knoll, but there is still some confusion. The John Knoll in this entry is called 23 years old, which would calculate to an 1847 date of birth. None of the John’s in this family had that year of birth. There are also 2 Andrew’s on this list, one at 14 years old and one at 12 years old. The Andrew Knoll in this family was born in 1857, which would put him at 13 years old. I honestly do not know how to interpret this census entry.

We will now take a look at the woman who would become John’s first wife. Her name was Christine Dorothea Herman, who was born on May 12, 1844, which means that in 4 days, she will be celebrating her 180th birthday. Dorothea was the daughter of John and Margaret Herman. I was unable to determine her mother’s maiden name. Like her future husband, John, she was born in Bavaria. I did not find any documentation for Dorothea’s early life. The first document I did locate for her was her first marriage, and it is the reason I discovered this story. Dorothea married John Graef on May 8, 1864, thus making today her 160th wedding anniversary. I found a few civil documents for this event, both from Perry County. The Rev. Besel mentioned on this form was the pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg.

Here is another record for that wedding.

Our German Family Tree lists 2 children born to this couple. We see those 2 children in the 1870 census for the Graef’s. John Graef was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township. I have included the entry for John Knoll that is found right below the Graef’s. However, this is John Nicholas Knoll, John’s older brother, who had married Catherine Herman, Dorothea’s sister. Are you confused yet?

I assume that John Graef died not long after this census was taken, but I found no record of his death. That leads us up to Dorothea’s 2nd marriage which probably took place in about 1874. I found no official record for this marriage. Our German Family Tree lists 2 children born to John and Dorothea. We find this blended Knoll/Graef household when the 1880 census was taken. The Knoll’s were living in the Salem Township where John was a farmer.

Another child was born to this couple in 1881, but that child died in 1883. At some point prior to 1900, John and Dorothea moved their family to Chester, Illinois. Just their son, Emanuel, was living with them. John was still farming.

Dorothea Knoll died in April of 1907 at the age of 62, leaving John as a widower. However, he did not remain a widower for very long. He got married again in July. His second wife was Emma (Grah) Tudor. Emma had previously been married to Leon Tudor, and that marriage ended with a divorce in 1903. That couple had 2 children. Then, on July 16, 1907, John Knoll married Emma Tudor. Someone on Ancestry.com attached this image to their family tree. It displays the marriage record for this couple, but it does not indicate where the record came from. I looked in the books of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Chester, but I did not find it.

This was the marriage of a 62 year-old man and a 36 year-old woman. There were no additional children born to this couple. We find the Knoll household in the 1910 census living in Rockwood, Illinois, which is located just south of Chester. Two Tudor daughters were living with their mother and John Knoll. Neither John nor Emma were employed.

Next, we find the Knoll’s in the 1920 census back living in Chester. John and Emma had an empty nest.

The last census in which we find John was the one taken in 1930. He was reportedly 88 years old, but I think that is a bit off.

John Knoll died in 1933 at the age of 88. John and his first wife, Dorothea, are buried together in the Evergreen Cemetery in Chester.

Emma Knoll is found in the 1940 census as a widow. She was living with her sister-in-law, Mary Grah, who was also a widow.

The last census in which we find Emma was the one taken in 1950. She was living by herself.

Emma Knoll died in 1956 at the age of 85. She is also buried in the Evergreen Cemetery.

This story is amazing in many ways. It is a story that begins with a birth in 1844, and ends with a death in 1956, a period which is 112 years long. That is made possible by an older man getting married to a much younger woman later in his life, but I must say it is not a common occurrence on this blog. Also, the confusing situation involving so many men named John Knoll proved to be quite challenging. And finally, how many times do you get to tell the story of 2 sisters who both marry John Knoll, and they did not marry the same man?