Ms. Snider's manuscript refers to two George Singers with the same date of birth (15 Feb 1832). One is referred to as the son of Jacob Singer, and the other is referred to as the son of Michael Singer. The two George Singers are listed as having different wives and children. Two of the children -- Joseph (1857) and Helena Rosa (1862) are listed in the families of both George Singers.
Although Ms. Snider's mauscript lists this George as the son of Jacob Singer and Magdelena Zwick, this is questionable. Note that Jacob Singer and Magdelena Zwick have another son named George (b. 1848). The existence of this child (b. 1832) has not been reported by other researchers of the Singer family. Ms. Snider's notes indicate that this George Singer (b. 1832) moved his family to Athens Co., OH in 1864.
Ms. Snider's notes also refer to a third George Singer, also born on 15 Feb 1832 to Michael Singer. That George Singer, however, has a different wife and children than this one.
According to research done by Tom Singer, George came to America about 1849. Family legend has it that George arrived in America on the first steamboat to cross the Atlantic, however, that occurred on 22 May 1819. He reportedly came within view of a sailing vessel which was carrying his future wife, Helena Schmitt from Wurtemberg, Germany. His daughter, Minnie, mentioned something about a leak in the vessel and the captain reportedly forcing the crew to work under gunpoint.
Witnesses to the marriage of George Singer and Helena Schmitt were Jacob Singer (George's uncle) and Henry Schodt. George and Helena were reportedly the parents of 15 children, but records have been found for only 10.
Many discrepancies exist in the census. The 1860 census shows 26 year old Hessian born farmer George Singer living in Jefferson Twp., Noble County, Ohio with his 24 year old wife Elizabeth and two children, John (3) and Roseanna (1).
In 1864, the family moved to Athens County. However, St. John's parish in Athens County has no record of the family. They may have lived there a very short time, if at all.
In 1870, Bavarian-born retail merchant George Singer (38) lived in Union Twp., Washington County, Ohio with Helen (35) and children John (13), Joseph (11), Rosina (8), Lewine (6) and Mary (3). The oldest three children attended school.
In the Rainbow community in Washington County, George farmed and ran a dry goods store. The family moved to Wetzel County, WV prior to 1873, and then to Pittsburgh, PA in 1877.
In 1880, the family lived in Allegheny City, PA. In 1900, George lived in the Home for the Aged Poor on Washington St. in Allegheny City. His wife and three youngest daughters (Mary, Philomena, and Cellia) lived in Allegheny City.
From Tom Singer: Family tradition has it that old Uncle George Singer was a "conniver" who was a less-than-ideal family provider. One time, he poured oil into a hole that he supposedly was digging for a well and then was careful to let it be known that "oil had been found" on his farm. He sold his farm for a good price and moved out of the area.
It is also family legend that George and his wife never got along very well. In later years, he lived with some of his children and she with others. He is also remembered as having a long white beard.
George Singer's obituatry appeared in the Pittsburgh Gazette Times on 7 Aug 1907:
George Singer, aged 75, died Sunday [4 Aug 1907] at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Phillip Artz, 16 East North Avenue, Allegheny. Last Wednesday, Mr. Singer, mistaking the elevator door on the third floor of his daughter's residence for the door of his own room and thinking a humorous trick was being played on him becasue the door was nailed closed, pulled it open; stepping within fell with the elevator to the basement. His injuries proved fatal. Mr. Singer was born in Tyrol and came to his country when he was about 17 years old. After living in Marietta, Ohio, he engaged in the dry goods business in Washington Co. of 25 years. He then retired and for the last two years has resided with his daughter in North Avenue.
Mr. Singer leaves Mrs. Helen Smith Singer, three daughters, Mrs. Dr. John Martchen of Irwin, and the Misses Mary and Minnie Singer of Allegheny, and one sister, Levina Singer of Cambridge, Mass.
Funeral services will be held this morning at 9 o'clock from the residence of Mrs. Artz. Interment in St. Mary's Cemetery.-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
According to Tom Singer, the above obituary contains several errors:
1) George Singer was not born in Tyrol (although some of his ancestors might have been).
2) He lived near, not in, Marietta, Ohio.
3) He engaged in the dry goods business in Washington County from 1864 to 1873. What he did from 1877 when he moved to Pittsburgh until his death in 1907 is unknown.
4) The sister Levina is acutally his daughter Ludwina, aka Sister M. Prima.
Alternate surname: Schmitt
Helen moved with her husband and children to Athens Co., OH in 1864. According to the 1870 census, she was born in Wurtemburg.
Obituary from the Pittsburgh Press, 6 Apr 1914:
Mrs. Helen Singer, aged 78, died yesterday at the house of her daughter, Mrs. Phillip Artz, 223 Federal St. She was born in Wurtenburg, Germany and came to America about 65 years ago, settling on a farm in Proctor, W. Va. She was a resident of Pittsburg for several years and a member of St. Wilhelmina's Catholic Church. She is survived by four daughters, Mrs. Hugo Noren, Mrs. Artz, Mrs. Jack Marchand and a daughter in a convent in Baltimore.
In the 1860 census, the 1 year old daughter of George Singer was named Rose. Catherine Singer did not appear in the 1870 census with her parents and siblings.
Theresa Singer did not appear in the 1870 census with her parents and family. She would have been about nine years old at the time.
Note: The family move to Athens Co., OH a few months after Ludrina was born. Ludwina joined the Sisters of Notre Dame on 23 Feb. 1888 in Pittsburgh, PA. She took the name Sister M. Prima.
Anna Mary Singer committed suicide.
Tom Singer indicates that no records substatiate the birth of this child.
Not with the family in the 1880 census in Allegheny City, Allegheny Co, PA.
In 1870, 22 year old Peter Hill lived and worked on his parents' farm in Enoch Twp., Noble County, Ohio.
In 1880, 40 year old farmer Peter Hill lived in Enoch Twp. with his wife Mary (35) and daughter Elizabeth (6). Also living in the house is a woman assumed to be Peter's mother, Barbara (Siebert) Hill and a five year old "charge" named Kate Foster, born in West Virginia. The relationship between Kate Foster and the rest of the family is not known. Adjacent farms in the census belonged to Ferdinand Hohman and the widow Mary Barbara Miller.
The family members listed in the 1880 census do not match church records. According to Dolores Snider (in "St. Mary's -- 150 Years -- Fulda, OH") Peter's daughter Catherine was born in 1874 and would have been about six at the time of the census. His daughter Elizabeth was born in 1879, and would have been one year old when the census was taken.
Some sort of tragedy occurred here. On the date that the twin children of Peter Heil and Mary Kress were born (9 Nov 1885), four of their six children perished... the newborn twins, four year old Anna, and seven year old Elizabeth. Their father Peter died 9 months later.
The Caldwell Citizens' Press reported only the death of the newborn twins on 19 Nov 1885
Birth -- Monday, Nov. 9 to Mr. and Mrs. Peter Hile, twin daughters. One
died at 3 o'clock a.m. and the other at 9 o'clock p.m. both were buried Wed-
nesday in one grave.
In the same newspaper, "On the sick list... Peter Hile and wife."
Mary's life was a tragic one. On the date that the twin children of Peter Heil and Mary Kress were born (9 Nov 1885), four of their six children perished... the newborn twins, four year old Anna, and seven year old Elizabeth. Their father Peter died 9 months later. Around 1894, Mary contracted tuberculosis, according to her death certificate. Two years after that, (eleven years after the death of her first husband), Mary married again, but the marriage to Leonard Miller did not last. Within four years, they were separated.
In 1900, 51 year old Mary Kress Heil Miller lived on a farm that she owned in Enoch Twp., Noble County, Ohio with her 16 year old daughter Maggie Hile. Mary's marital status looks like "Wd," but it's not clear. No husband is listed in the household, and the column for "number of years married" is blank. According to the census, only one of Mary's three children was still living. (Church records indicate she had six children, at least four of whom died.) Mary was born in Ohio to German-born parents. Mary spoke and read English, but could not write.
At the time of the 1910 census, 61 year old Mary Kress Heil Miller lived with the family of her daughter, Mary M. Heil Blackstone in Enoch Twp., Noble County Ohio. The census states that Mary was divorced (her ex-husband J. Leonard Miller died a year later) and that only one of Mary Miller's three children were living in 1910.
From death certificate:
Name: Mary Miller
Age: 62 years 17 days
Birth: 15 Feb 1849, Noble Co., Ohio
Occupation: Farmer
Marital status: Widowed
Father: John B. Kress, Germany
Mother: Catherine Bates, Germany
Informant: Clark Blackstone, Caldwell, Ohio RD 1 [son in law]
The 1880 census shows a six year old daughter of Peter Hill, but her name is Elizabeth, not Catherine. The 1900 census entry for Catharina's mother, Mary Miller, states that only one of her children was alive in 1900. That child was Maggie, born in 1884.
Note: four children in the family died on 9 Nov 1885
Note: four children in the family died on 9 Nov 1885
Note: unbaptized infants were buried in Potters Field adjacent to St. Mary Cemetery.
Note: four children in the family died on 9 Nov 1885
Note: unbaptized infants were buried in Potters Field adjacent to St. Mary Cemetery.
Note: four children in the family died on 9 Nov 1885
Alternate spelling of surname Liabach
John Heil and Mary Kress moved their family to West Virginia in 1865.
In 1880, 29 year old farmer Joseph Crum lived with his wife Mary (29) and daughter Barbara (2) in Jefferson Twp., Noble co., Ohio. All members of the household were born in Ohio, Joseph and Mary's parents were born in Germany.
In 1900, 50 year old farmer Joseph Crum lived with his wife Lena (48) on a farm they owned in Jefferson Twp., Noble co., Ohio. Living with them were their children Barbara (22), Mary (19), Strella(?) (10), Lucy (8), and Mela(?)(4). (Barbara and Mary were Jospeh's children from a previous marriage.) All members of the household were born in Ohio, Joseph and Lena's parents were born in Germany. Jospeh and Lena had been married for 23 years and according to the census, Lena had given birth to 5 children all of who were still living. (This may not be correct; the census taker may have included Joseph's children from his first marriage when counting Lena's children.)
In 1870, 19 year old Mary Hill lived and worked on her parents' farm in Enoch Twp., Noble County, Ohio.
Mary Hill Crum died as a result of complications of childbirth. She had given birth to twins in January 1885: a son who did not survive and a daughter who lived only a few months. Another son, born two years earlier, also lived only a few months.
At the time of the 1850 census, 36 year old "John Grass" lived in Enoch Twp., Monroe County, Ohio with his wife Barbary (45) and their five children: John (13), Mary (9), Antony (5), Casper (4), and Rachel (2). None of the children attended school. The two oldest children were born in Virginia, the younger ones in Ohio. Adjacent farms in the census belonged to John Hohman and Leonard McFerson.
In 1860, 47 year old Hessian-born farmer "John Grass" lived in Stock Twp., Noble County, Ohio with his 54 year old wife Barbara and their three youngest children: Anthony (16), Jasper (14), and Rachel (12). All three children attended school. The neighboring farms in the census belonged to John Hall and Nicholas Schott.
John Kress moved in with his son, Rev. John A. Kress in 1868.
The 1880 census entry for John's son Anton states that his parents were born in Hesse-Darmstadt.
Anna Barbara Heil Kress may have died around 1868, since her husband moved in with her son at that time.
John A. Kress entered the priesthood.
In 1870, 20 year old Leonard Miller lived and worked on the farm of his father and step-mother in Enoch Twp., Noble Co., Ohio.
In 1880, 29 year old farmer Leonard Miller and his wife Mary (29) lived a few farms away from Mary's parents in Enoch Twp., Noble County, Ohio. With them lived their five surviving children: Virginia (), twins Frederick and Alexander (6), Olivia (3), and Felix (1). None of the children attended school. Everyone in the household was born in Ohio. Adjacent households in the census belonged to John Christopher and Joseph Nau.
At the time of the 1910 census, 60 year old widower Leonard Miller lived as a hired man on the farm of Ira Sheets (38) in Plain Twp., Stark County, Ohio. [Ira Sheetz does not appear to be related to the Scheetz family from Fulda.] According to the census, Leonard Miller was a native of Ohio; his parents were German.
Leonard Miller's death certificate did not provide any details about the circumstances of his death. From death certificate:
Name: Leonard Miller
Age: 63 years
Birth: Feb 1848, Caldwell, Ohio
Occupation: Farmer
Marital status: Married
Father: Henry J. Miller, not known
Mother: not known, not known
Informant: John Miller, Caldwell OhioLeonard did not have any sons named John. The informant for his death certificate could have been his brother, John, but the informant gave his residence as Caldwell, and Leonard's brother John was a resident of Miltonsburg, Ohio, well over an hour east of Caldwell.
Mary's life was a tragic one. On the date that the twin children of Peter Heil and Mary Kress were born (9 Nov 1885), four of their six children perished... the newborn twins, four year old Anna, and seven year old Elizabeth. Their father Peter died 9 months later. Around 1894, Mary contracted tuberculosis, according to her death certificate. Two years after that, (eleven years after the death of her first husband), Mary married again, but the marriage to Leonard Miller did not last. Within four years, they were separated.
In 1900, 51 year old Mary Kress Heil Miller lived on a farm that she owned in Enoch Twp., Noble County, Ohio with her 16 year old daughter Maggie Hile. Mary's marital status looks like "Wd," but it's not clear. No husband is listed in the household, and the column for "number of years married" is blank. According to the census, only one of Mary's three children was still living. (Church records indicate she had six children, at least four of whom died.) Mary was born in Ohio to German-born parents. Mary spoke and read English, but could not write.
At the time of the 1910 census, 61 year old Mary Kress Heil Miller lived with the family of her daughter, Mary M. Heil Blackstone in Enoch Twp., Noble County Ohio. The census states that Mary was divorced (her ex-husband J. Leonard Miller died a year later) and that only one of Mary Miller's three children were living in 1910.
From death certificate:
Name: Mary Miller
Age: 62 years 17 days
Birth: 15 Feb 1849, Noble Co., Ohio
Occupation: Farmer
Marital status: Widowed
Father: John B. Kress, Germany
Mother: Catherine Bates, Germany
Informant: Clark Blackstone, Caldwell, Ohio RD 1 [son in law]
At the time of the 1850 census, 39 year old blacksmith John Grass lived in Stock Twp., Monroe County, Ohio with his wife Catherine (42) and children Elizabeth (11), Peter (9), John (5), and Mary (1). Elizabeth and Peter, both born in Virginia, attended school. Adjacent farms in the census belonged to John Crock and Phillip Snider.
In 1860, 50 year old Hessian-born farmer John Grass lived in Stock Twp., Noble County, Ohio with his 52 year old wife Catherine and four children: Elizabeth (20), Peter (19), John (15), and Mary (11). The youngest two children attended school. The farms adjacent to the Kress farm in the census were those of his son-in-law, Joseph Burkhart and Sylvester Yeagle. Interestingly, John's newly married daughter Elizabeth Kress Burkhart is listed in both her parents' home and her husband's.
In 1880, John B. L. Krass (68) and his wife Catherine (71) lived in Stock lived on a farm in Stock Twp. The adjacent farm belonged to Henry Snider.
From the Caldwell Citizens' Press, 7 Sep 1882:
Mr. John Kress, one of our oldest settlers, is in very feeble health.
He has divided his property among his children. The home place he
deeded to Peter Kress, and the farm he bought of the estate of Hohman,
with store, he gave to his daughter wife of Peter Heil.From the Fulda column of the Caldwell Citizens' Press, 31 May 1883:
John Kress has been very ill for the last two weeks, but is now
convalescing.John Kress' obituary, from the Fulda column of The Caldwell Citizens' Press, 29 May 1884:
Died -- May 22nd, at his residence in Stock township near Fulda, John
Kresse, one of the old German settlers who has resided there for 40
years, aged 73 years.
The 1900 census entry for Catharina's daughter, Mary Kress Miller, states that her parents were born in Germany.