I have written some stories about children of today’s highlighted couple, but now you will read the story of their Mom and Pop. I tell the story today because it is a very special birthday for Mom. Katharina Hermann was born on September 18, 1850, thus making today her 175th birthday. Katharina was the daughter of Johann and Margaretha Hermann. There is some debate as to whether her surname should be spelled with a single “n” or two “n’s” at the end. I, along with a lot of others who have researched Katharina’s family, was not able to determine the maiden name of her mother. She was born in Germany.

When Katharina was just 3 years old, her Hermann family came to America aboard the ship, Charlotte, which landed in New York in 1853. We can see the Knoll family on the passenger list for that ship below. All of the Hermann’s were listed as females, but a mistake must have been made calling the father a female.

Katharina is found in the 1860 census at the age of 11, although I think she was only 10. Her father was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

Katharina would get married during the next decade, so we will now take a look at the man who would become her husband. His name was Johann Nicholas Knoll, who was born on January 29, 1840. He was the son of Johann Michael and Anna (Amschler) Knoll. Especially since several of his siblings used the name John, I will use the name, Nicholas, for this character. He was also born in Germany, and in his case, his Knoll family made the voyage to America in 1849 aboard the ship, Alesto. That ship entered the United States through New Orleans. Nicholas was listed as being 9 years old on the passenger list below. This passenger list included several other immigrants who would end up settling in Perry County.

Nicholas is found in the 1850 census. I think he is mistakenly called 7 years old in this entry. It is impossible that he could have been 9 years old when he arrived in 1849 and then only 7 years old a year later. Nicholas’s father was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

Next, we find Nicholas in the 1860 census at the age of 20. There are two John’s in this entry. Nicholas is the 20 year-old called a farm laborer.

When the Civil War was taking place, Nicholas became a soldier in the 64th Enrolled Missouri Militia. We can see his military record here.

Nicholas Knoll married Katharina Hermann on July 13, 1869 at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. I am not able to display a church record for this pair, but we can look at 2 different civil records for this event.

Here is a second Perry County record for this wedding.

Nicholas and Katharina have 5 children listed in our German Family Tree. They were all almost certainly baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. A year after they were married, we find the Knoll’s in the 1870 census with just one baby. Nicholas was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

In the 1880 census, the Knoll household included all 5 of their children. Katherina’s father had died in 1876, so her mother was now living with the Knoll’s.

Nicholas Knoll died in 1884 at the age of 44. I was unable to determine his cause of death. Nicholas is buried in the Peace Lutheran Cemetery in Friedenberg.

Although it may be hard to read, Nicholas had his military record acknowledged on his gravestone. A form for granting the permission for such a designation is displayed here. In the early days, Friedenberg was often called Frankenburg, as we see on this document.

Katharina Knoll is found as a widow in the 1900 census. She was living with her single son, Michael, who was farming in the Bois Brule Township.

Katharina’s son, Michael, got married in April of 1909, and then in December of that year, Katharina died at the age of 59. Her death record is found in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Point Rest, and it says she died of pneumonia. Katharina is buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Point Rest.

Before I close for today, let me say that tomorrow and Friday are the two days when literally thousands of folks show up in Altenburg for the East Perry Community Fair. I have plans to document this year’s fair with photos as I have done for several years. That means on Saturday and Sunday, my posts will not be the normal “family research” type of stories. Get ready to view some visual images of this annual event. I believe that our museum director, Denise Hellwege, has plans to write a post tomorrow about the exhibits people can view if they visit the museum during the fair.