I think this image and the few pages that accompanied it may have been the biggest research finds from my recent Salt Lake City trip. Caroline (1831-1905) was fourth of the ten children of Carl Benjamin and Maria Rosina (ILGNER) HEGWER. I may never find pictures of any of her siblings or parents, but at least I now have this one!
I knew that her husband, whose name I have recorded as Rev. J. Andrew FRITZE (1816-1877), had been a Lutheran clergyman of some note, often the first one in some of the areas where I have found him. I also knew that Andrew & Caroline's family had been in Indiana.
While at the Family History Library, I followed a hunch that there might be some information about him in this book: The Pastors and their Families, St. Peter Fueling Evangelical Lutheran Church, Root Township, Adams County, Decatur, Indiana. It appears in the FHL catalog with call number 977.273/R1 D3f. It's a small book, unpaginated, compiled by Alan Franz. (According to the catalog, it is also available on microfilm as Item 7 on film # 1,440,530.)
I used my digital camera to record the 13 pages about Rev. Fritze. The image above is cropped from one of those pages. The book also includes photos and birth/death dates for their 9 children, copies of obituaries for both Andrew & Caroline, and other general information. In one spot, it says Caroline & Andrew met and married in Europe but in Wisconsin in another spot. I am confident that they met and married in Wisconsin.
I used my digital camera to record the 13 pages about Rev. Fritze. The image above is cropped from one of those pages. The book also includes photos and birth/death dates for their 9 children, copies of obituaries for both Andrew & Caroline, and other general information. In one spot, it says Caroline & Andrew met and married in Europe but in Wisconsin in another spot. I am confident that they met and married in Wisconsin.
In my genealogy dreams, this book was going to include wonderful, specific information about Caroline's birthplace and her grandparents. That dream did not come true, but I'm still very happy having an image of someone from her generation!
What a great find!
ReplyDeleteI know it's been a year since you posted this, but do you have any more information about Rev. Fritze you could share? Could he be the Johann Andreas "Andrew" Fritze born 10/11/1816 in Eberbach, Jagstkreis, Wuerttemberg, Germany to Johann Georg Michael Fritze and Maria Sophia Roesch? If so I can share about his siblings and ancestors and I'd be very interested in what you found.
ReplyDeleteYes, the "Pastors & their Families..." book gives those names as those of his parents. I have just a bit of other info on him, but a good deal on his children. If you care to post your email address, I'll be glad to share. I'll delete the comment as soon as I get it.
ReplyDeleteI have a few misc. bits of information on the following Hegwer's. I think these were all from around Chase Co.,/Morris Co., Kansas. I believe Maria Rosina was the mother of Caroline Hegwer.
ReplyDeleteMaria Rosina (Ilgner) Hegwer
Eduard Heinrich Hegwer
Elenore Caroline Hegwer
Rosine Ernestine Hegwer
Andreas Wilhelm Hegwer
Clara Rosina Hegwer
Heinrich Philip Hegwer
Heinrich Benjamin Hegwer
Hulda Maria Hegwer
Benjamin Philip Hegwer
Carl Friedrich Hegwer
Also wondering if you know where Pastor J.A. Fritze and Caroline are buried (Cemetery in Ft. Wayne?)
Matthew,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post! Yes, the Hegwers arrived in Chase County in 1857.
According to the "Pastors and their Families..." book I cited in the original post, Caroline was buried in Strong, Chase County, Kansas and Pastor Fritze was buried in St. Peter Lutheran Cemetery, Decatur, Adams County, Indiana. Those locations match with what I have for where they were living at the times of their deaths.
Thanks for the Hegwer names! I can only identify a few of them. Other than Maria Rosina (Ilgner) Hegwer, none of them are my direct line. I would love to have your info: someday, I will find a descendant with more info on Maria Rosina's and Carl Benjamin's ancestry and more photos of their children....
If you care to post your email address, I'll send you a copy of my Fritze/Hegwer family group sheet. I'll delete your email from the blog as soon as I see it. Have a GREAT day!
--MHD
Dear readers,
ReplyDeleteContact update: I've received email addresses from both Eldermint and Matthew and we are exchanging Hegwer and Fritze info. What fun I'm having! I certainly didn't expect comments on this post after a year, let alone two within 2 days!
I found (Maria) Caroline in the Strong Township Cemetery, set up a memorial and requested a photo of her stone. The pic isn't great because it's white marble with very low contrast. Her memorial at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=86904127 also contains a link to son Theodore and his has a link to his wife Bertha Bibbert Fritze. Thought you might like to know that. I'm sure others of the clan are there as well.
ReplyDeleteHi, I know it has been a while since anyone has posted, but Rev. Johann Andreas Fritze was my Great Great Grandfather. My family has a lot of the history on where he was a Pastor for the Lutheran Church and all of the history regarding their move to Kansas. She (Caroline) went with her younger children to Kansas of which I am a descendant. My mother and father have more information and I can pass their contact information along to you, if you would like. I believe they may have other pictures of her as well.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to meet a new cousin! Thank you for writing. YES, please pass on my contact info: I'd love to share info. One of my dreams is that photos of Caroline's parents were taken and still survive in one of the daughter's lines.... I can't find an email address for you or I'd write directly. I look forward to hearing from you!
Delete