Our birthday boy for today spent only a short time in Perry County, and like was the case with yesteday’s main characters, he moved to Nebraska. This boy spent almost all his life in Otoe County in the eastern part of that state.

George Joseph Barth was born on June 5, 1865, so today would be his 160th birthday. George was the son of George and Catherine (Rosswinkel) Barth. I have actually already written a post that included George Barth. In the post, Fritz and Lottie – Nebraska Damme’s, it was reported that the mother of today’s birthday boy had previously been married to Friedrich Damme and had several children with her first husband. Then, in 1864, the widow, Catherine Damme, married George, and that couple had a son, also named George, in 1865. That son was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim. We can view his baptism record from that congregation’s books.

George is only found in one census in which he lived in Perry County. In the 1870 census, the Barth household is found living in the St. Mary’s Township, and George, Jr. was 5 years old. The other children in this family look like they had the surname, Barth, but they were actually Damme’s.

The Barth/Damme blended family moved to Nebraska in 1874. I arrived at that date because George’s later obituary says that he moved to Nebraska when he was 9 years old. When the 1880 census was taken, we find this family living in the McWilliams Township (or Precinct) in Otoe County, Nebraska. George Barth, Sr. had died prior to the compilation of this census. I think he may have died in Missouri, and that may have led his mother to move her family to Nebraska. In this entry, George, Jr. was 15 years old. His older half-brother, Fritz Damme, was doing the farming.

Here is a plat map produced in 1922 of the entire McWilliams Township. If you look carefully at this map, you will find quite a few parcels of land owned by people who were named Damme. Catherine may have moved to an area where there were relatives of her first husband, who was a Damme. I will also point out that there were two small towns located in that township. One was called Tallmage and the other, Lorton. It appears that today’s birthday boy spent most of his life in Lorton. You will also see that the Missouri Pacific Railroad ran through both of those towns.

Let me point out that Nebraska became a state in 1867, so when the Barth’s moved there, it had been a state for only 7 years. In his later obituary, it said that George was a pioneer in this Nebraska township.

Now, we will turn our attention to the woman who would become George’s wife. Her name was Isabella Margaret Normand, who was born on February 12, 1862, so she was a few years older than George. She was called Margaret, Isabella, and Belle during her life. I will use Isabella. She was the daughter of Julius and Margaret (Kyler) Normand. I located these pictures of Isabella’s parents.

The first census in which I found Isabella was the one taken in 1870. She was 8 years old, and her father was a farmer in the McWilliams Township. Her name looks like Mary, but I think it says Marg. for Margaret.

Next, we find Isabella in the 1880 census at the age of 18. She is called Belle in this entry. This time, the Normand family was living in the Rock Creek Township, which is the township just east of the McWilliams Township.

George Barth married Isabella Normand on October 30, 1866. Since they were married by a man with a Rev. in front of his name, this must have been a church wedding. I will also add that I think it was a Lutheran wedding.

According to family trees on Ancestry.com, this couple had 5 children, all girls. When the 1900 census was taken, we find the Barth household living in the McWilliams Township with 4 daughters. George was called a day laborer for the railroad.

In the 1910 census, we once again find 4 daughters in the Barth household. One more child had been born in the previous decade, and their oldest daughter had gotten married and moved away. It says George was doing odd jobs.

The 1920 census shows George and Isabella with just one daughter living with them. George was a section hand with the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

The last census in which we find George was the one taken in 1930. Once again, just their youngest daughter, Thelma, was still living with them. At the age of 64, George no longer had an occupation.

George Barth died in 1931 at the age of 66. We can read his obituary below. It specifically mentions that George had lived in Lorton.

Isabella Barth is found as a widow in the 1940 census. She was living by herself in Lorton.

Isabella Barth died in 1943 at the age of 81. I also located her obituary.

George’s obituary makes mention of him being an assessor for the McWilliams Township. Isabella’s obituary says George operated the A.B. Wilson grain elevator for several years. Neither of those activities can be gleaned from any of George’s census entries.

Both of the above obituaries say that George and Isabella were members of a Lutheran church. In Isabella’s obituary, it says she was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church which is located north of Talmage, Nebraska. Below is a photo of what that church looks like today.

Right next to this church is St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery where both George and Isabella Barth are buried. There is a family stone and two individual gravestones for George and Isabella (Margaret).

This story describes how yet another child who was baptized in Friedheim made his way to Otoe County in Nebraska. These Damme’s and Barth’s may be the first people to migrate to Nebraska from this area. They were even early enough migrants to Nebraska to be described as pioneers in that state.