Franz Jakob and Catherina Hartman

I have been working on my great grandmother Minnie's family because I had not been able to get too far past her.  Her death certificate lists her mother as Kate Miller, so I have been searching for a Kate or Katherine Miller Hartmann, married to Frank J Hartmann.  Minnie's family lived in the Petersburg area of Scranton, and her mom is buried in the Petersburg cemetery.

1857-1870

The first reference I can find to the Hartmanns is their son Frederick's baptism record in the Petersburg Presbyterian Church journal, in 1866.  The entry shows that Franz Jakob came from Boerfink in the Kingdom of Prussia, and Catherine (Ternes) Hartmann was from Allenbach, also in Prussia.  What a gold mine of information--not only does it give Catherine's correct maiden name, but it also tells me where both parents emigrated from.

There's also an 1867 Scranton City director entry for F J Hartmann, miner, living in Petersburg.  In the 1870 census the family is living in Scranton's 10th Ward.  Minnie's father is listed as F J Hartmann, 34 years old, a miner born in "Prussia, Germany".  Living with him are

• Wife Catherine, 25 years old, keeping house
• Frederick, 4 years old
• George, 2 years old
• Catherine, 4 months old. 

In November1866 Catherine gave birth to a son, Jacob.  He was baptized July 28, 1867.  His baptismal record in the church journal also includes a somber notation--under his name is a small cross and a date:  3 Feb 1869.  That's the day two-year-old Jacob died.

This record points out the necessity of a broad surname search.  The transcriber wrote "Kartmann" instead of Hartmann; an exact search would not have found this entry.  Likewise, Jacob's burial record is listed under "Jacob Hartmaean."

The burial entry doesn't just record the date of death; it includes the cause as well.  Poor Jacob died of burns (verbrannt means burned in German), and from the other entries on the page, he wasn't the only child to suffer such a gruesome death. What happened? Maybe some newspapers from that time will have more information. 

1870-1880

Son Franz Carl was baptized in March, 1871 according to the church records.  This entry also lists Franz Jakob as originally from Boerfink, and Catherine Ternes Hartmann from Allenbach.

During this decade another son (also named Jacob), Mina, and Louis were born.

1880-1890

The census in 1880 shows the family living at 125 Ash Street in Scranton's 10th Ward:

• Hartmann, Frank; 45 years old, married, a miner, born in Prussia. No entry for his parents' birthplaces
• Kate, 30 years old, keeping house. She and her parents were born in Prussia.
• George, 12 years old, a slate picker.
• Kate, 10 years old
• Frank, 9 years old
• Jacob, 7 years old
• Mina, 4 years old (here is Minnie!)
• Louis, who shares my birthday (December 23) and is 1 year old

There's no 1890 census record because much of that census was destroyed.  But based on baptismal records, 1890 the Hartmann family consisted of

• Franz Jakob, the father
• Catherina, the mother
• Catherina the younger
• Franz Carl
• Jacob
• Mina
• Louis 
• Helene (born in 1880)
• William (born in 1882)
• Charlotte (no record found in the church journal)

1900

In 1900 the family is at 972 Paul Ave., a house they own.  Franz Jakob died in 1896, so it's Kate listed as head of household. In this census the questions included number of children and number of those living.  Kate answered 12 and 8.  She has lost four--Friedrich (died in 1875 at 10 years old),Jacob (died at 2 years old in 1869), and George (died at 13 in 1882) are listed in the church records.  Who is the other one?  Living with her at the Paul Ave house are

• Frank, 29; soldier in the "USA" (probably the Army)
• Jacob, 25; listed as unemployed for 12 months
• Louis, 19; a day laborer
• William, 17; born in June 1882, working as a cigar maker. 
• Charlotte, 11, born in April 1889, going to school. 

Minnie is not living with her mother in 1900.  Her 1903 marriage license application states she was married to a Floyd List who died in 1900, so she was married by the time of the census.  Kate the Younger and Helene are also not at the Paul Ave address.  We only have 11 known children, so there could be another we haven't found yet.    

The 1900 census is the first to ask the emigration year.  Kate says 1857.

1910-1930

In 1910, Kate is still at the Paul Ave house but this time she lists 7 living children and 1860 as the emigration year.  Louis (29) and William (26), both laborers in a shop, are living with her. In 1920, the three still occupy the Paul Ave house; Kate's year of emigration is listed as 1875, she is not naturalized, and the entry says she does not speak English.  Louis and William are employed as laborers in the Erie Railroad shop.  The 1920 census does not ask about the number of living children.

The 1930 census is the last time we see Kate; she is 88 years old, living at Paul Ave with Louis who is now listed as the head of the household.  This census entry reports Kate does speak English, emigrated in 1870, and is not a naturalized citizen.  Louis is a laborer for the railroad.

1931:  The end of Catherina's story

Catherina Ternes Hartmann died February 22, 1931.  She is survived by Franz Carl, Louis, Minnie, Catherine the younger, Helene, and Charlotte.

Summary

So here is what we know now:  Franz Jakob Hartmann, from Boerfink in the Rhine Palatinate, married Catherina Ternes from Allenbach, also in the Rhine Palatinate.  They had several children: George, Franz Carl, Jacob, Friedrich, Catherine, Jacob, William, Louis, Charlotte, Helene, and Mina.  George, the first Jacob, and Friedrich died young.  William died in 1924.  Franz Jakob died in 1896 and Catherine died in 1931.  By the time Franz Jakob died, the family was living at 972 Paul Ave., and that's where Catherine was living when she died in 1931.  The Paul Ave house still stands, but the Ash St. place is a parking lot now.

When did they come to the US?  Their son Friedrich was baptized in the Petersburg Presbyterian Church in 1866; Franz Jakob isn't in the Scranton directory for 1865 but he is there in 1867.  Kate said she emigrated in 1857 in the 1900 census, 1860 in the 1910 census, and 1875 in the 1920 census.  Clearly, 1875 isn't the correct date, but the other two are likely.

Lots of questions, still!  But now we know more about Mom's maternal grandparents, grand-aunts, and grand-uncles.  Now we need to make a trip to Germany!