Quite a few posts on this blog have been written about people who had the surname, Kassel. You will read another one today. It will tell the tale of one of the Kassel’s who originally entered the United States back in 1845. This Kassel man is also today’s birthday boy.
George Kassel was born on March 16, 1836, so today he would be celebrating his 190th birthday. George was the son of Philip and Caroline (Hoffmann) Kassel. According to the birth record below, George was born in Petersbach, France. It appears that the surname was spelled Cassel when the family lived in France.
Petersbach is located in the Alcase-Lorraine region of France, a place that is found near the present border between France and Germany. It is a place that has been fought over throughout history and sometimes was considered part of Germany. A map showing Petersbach is displayed here.
The Kassel family came to America aboard the ship, Raritan, in 1845. We can see the Kassel names (spelled with a “C”) on the passenger list from that ship shown below. George was 9 years old at the time.
George is found in the 1850 census at the age of 14 living in Cape Girardeau County. His family was likely living in the Randol Township, but in 1850, the census did not name the townships.
In 1852, George and his brother, Philip, Jr., were confirmed at the relatively new congregation, Hanover Lutheran Church, outside Cape Girardeau. They were in one of the first confirmation classes in that church. In a binder that we have for the Hanover Lutheran Church in our research library, we see these two brothers listed in the class of 1852. There were two locations for that church in those days, and the Kassel boys were confirmed at the one called Big Bend.
George is found in the 1860 census at the age of 24. He was farming with others in the Kassel family.
Later in 1860, George got married, so let’s take a look at the woman who would become his bride. Her name was Amelia Klara Bedford, who was born on November 28, 1845. Amelia was the daughter of Adolph Augustin and Hanna (Schatte) Bedford. I found no evidence of where she was baptized. In the 1850 census, we find her called Clara at the age of 3. It looks as if the census taker forgot to write the surname, Bedford, on this entry. Amelia’s father was a blacksmith in Cape Girardeau County.
In the 1860 census, we find Amelia at the age of 14. This time, the census entry says that this family was living in the Randol Township.
Later in 1860, George Kassel married Amelia Bedford on September 13th. Our German Family Tree says that this marriage took place at Hanover Lutheran Church, but there is no documentation for it. The 2 civil marriage records that I will show both say that this couple was married by a justice of the peace.
During the Civil War, George served in the Union Army as indicated by the 2 military records pictured here.
Before I move on, let me say that in 1865, George’s brother, John Kassel, married Amelia’s sister, Seraphina Bedford. That couple’s story was told in the post, John Kassel – Civil War Fife Player.
Family Search lists 9 children born to George and Amelia. In the 1870 census, we find the Kassel’s with 4 children in their household. George was a farmer in the Randol Township.
Next, we find the Kassel’s in the 1880 census with 6 children. Right above their entry in this census you will see that of George’s parents.
George Kassel died in 1887 at the age of 50. I do not know what caused such an early death. George is buried in the Brinkmann Cemetery in Cape Girardeau, but Findagrave.com has no gravestone photo for him. Amelia can be found in the 1890 Veteran’s schedule because of George’s service during the Civil War.
In the 1900 census, we find Amelia as a widow. She was living with 3 of her children, and she was called a farmer.
When the 1910 census was taken, Amelia was living by herself in Cape Girardeau at the age of 64.
The last census in which we find Amelia was the one taken in 1920. This time, there was a daughter and 2 grandchildren living with her.
Not long after that census was taken, Amelia Kassel died at the age of 74. Her death certificate says that she died of stomach cancer.
Amelia is buried in the Fairmount Cemetery in Cape Girardeau.
Before I bring this post to a close, I would like to share a video with you. I recently ran across this video on Facebook, and it tells the story of the East Perry Lumber Company, which is the largest employer in East Perry County. It does have a slight connection to this Kassel story. George’s brother, Philip, Jr., had a son named Christian, who made his way into Perry County. Early in his life, he was a sawyer and later established the Frohna Machine Shop in Frohna. Over the years, that business morphed into the East Perry Lumber Company. I wrote a story about Christian Kassel titled, Frohna Machine Shop. I thought my readers might enjoy watching this 5 minute video.