Johann Krueger (1841-1911)

I was just texting with a friend earlier this week about how unsuccessful I’ve been at German genealogy. Johann is a good example. Information about his immigration and life in America is known, but I’ve yet to find a trace of his first 27 or so years when he still lived in Europe. The information might be there and I just don’t know how to find it yet. Or, the information may be lost. The town of his birth is now in the country of Poland. Many records from that area were destroyed, especially during World War II. But, despite the frustration of not knowing his parents or what happened in his early years, I will celebrate his life by telling you about what I do know.

Johann Krueger was born on 20 Jan 1841, probably in what was then Cardemin, Stettin, Pommern (later Germany). The place is now known as  Szczecin, Zachodniopomorskie, Poland.  The names of his parents are not yet known.¹ UPDATE 03 FEB 2022: His parents are Johann Gottlieb Krüger and Anna Luise Zastrow.

Poland

When he was 24, he married Augusta Baumann, daughter of Gottlieb Gotthilf Baumann, about 1866 in Germany. Her widowed father had remarried in Plathe (Piepenburg, Heidebreck), Pommern, Preußen (now Ploty, Poland) a decade or so earlier, so it is likely that the couple married somewhere around that area.

Poland

Poland

Shortly after Johann and Augusta married, they left Germany and immigrated to Wisconsin. Johann, Augusta, and their first child, Emilie, were passengers on the Therese. The ship left Bremen on 13 Apr 1867 and arrived in Quebec on 29 May 1867. The Kruegers’ dreams of life in America were saddened by the death of Emilie while on board the ship. She died on 7 May 1869 at the age of about eight-months. Since her death was in the middle of the trip, she was no doubt buried at sea. After landing in Quebec, Johann and Augusta made their way to Wisconsin, first settling in Dodge County.

Johann Krueger and Augusta Baumann had the following children:

1. Emilie Krueger was born about Sep 1866 in Germany. She died 7 May 1867 at sea.
2. “Fred” Carl Friedrich Emmanuel Krueger was born on 19 Sep 1867 in Mayville, Dodge, Wisconsin (Herman Township). He married Maria Dahl on 10 Jun 1893 in Texas, Marathon, Wisconsin (Town of Texas). She died. He married Wilhelmine Dahl on 06 Jul 1895 in Texas, Marathon, Wisconsin. He died on 02 Jan 1945 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
3. “Frank” Franz W Krueger was born on 08 Nov 1868 in Herman Township, Dodge, Wisconsin.  He married Emilia Hetzel on 01 Jun 1894 in Texas, Marathon, Wisconsin. He died on 20 Jul 1937 in Texas, Marathon, Wisconsin.
4. Robert Friedrich Krueger was born on 15 Jun 1870 in Herman Township, Dodge, Wisconsin. He married Theresa Pauline Baumann on 19 Feb 1898 in Wausau, Marathon, Wisconsin. He died on 08 Mar 1948 in Wausau, Marathon, Wisconsin.
5. Louise Krueger was born on 17 Feb 1872 in Wisconsin. She married August F Boettcher. She died on 07 Dec 1896 in Marathon, Wisconsin.
6. Bernhard Richard R Krueger was born on 18 Nov 1873 in Herman Township, Dodge, Wisconsin.  He married Frieda H Lemke on 05 Aug 1899 in Wausau, Marathon, Wisconsin. He died on 14 Mar 1927 in Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin.
7. Anna Marie Mathilde Krueger was born on 24 Oct 1875 in Herman Township, Dodge, Wisconsin.  She married Gustav Otto Johann Viegut on 25 Nov 1897 in Texas, Marathon, Wisconsin (Town of Texas). She died on 19 Dec 1946 in Wien, Marathon, Wisconsin.
8. Martha J. E. Krueger was born on 12 Oct 1877 in Texas, Marathon, Wisconsin. She married Franz F Gernetzky on 19 Mar 1898 in Wausau, Marathon, Wisconsin. She died on 03 Feb 1941 in Wausau, Marathon, Wisconsin.
9. Otto Emil A. Krueger was born on 27 Dec 1880 in Texas, Marathon, Wisconsin (Town of Texas). He died on 07 Nov 1888 in Marathon, Wisconsin.

According to the 1900 Federal census, they had one additional child. That child has not yet been identified.

Upon arriving in America, Johann became John.  He was recorded as such in the 1870 Federal Census at Herman, Dodge, Wisconsin. At the time, John was working as a farm laborer and did not own any real estate.

Sometime between the 1870 and 1880 censuses, the Krueger family moved to Texas Township, otherwise known as The Town of Texas, in Marathon County, Wisconsin. The Town of Texas is just northeast of the city of Wausau.

By the time of the 1900 Federal Census, John and Augusta had lost four of their ten children. Besides Emilie who died during the voyage to America, and the unidentified child who likely died as an infant, they lost their youngest son, Otto, on 7 Nov 1888 and their daughter, Louise, on 07 Dec 1896. Otto was only seven-years old at the time of his death. Louise was 24 and was a young mother when she died. She had married August Boettcher and had children Otto and Ida, who survived her. Louise’s widowed husband went on to marry another of our ancestors, namely Clara Christine Elsabe Freese.

By 1900, John had retired. He and Augusta were living with their son, Fred. No land ownership records have been found for John, but it is quite possible that Fred took over the farm that John had originally farmed. It was customary for a son to take over a farm and then, in turn, care for his aging parents. It is interesting to note that John had learned to speak English, but his wife, Augusta, had not.

Shortly after the 1900 census was taken, John became a widower. Augusta Baumann Krueger died on 19 Jul 1900, at the age of 59. John lived the remainder of his life with his son Fred.

John Krueger died of pneumonia on 11 Mar 1911 in Texas, Marathon, Wisconsin. He was 70-years old at the time of his death. He was buried at Saint Peter’s Lutheran Cemetery, Wausau, Marathon, Wisconsin.

Where is he in the tree?

How can I learn more?

If you want to learn more, the Krueger book will be of interest.

The Krueger Family

 Selected Notes and  Sources:

¹There are several birth records that could possibly be for our Johann. The closest is a record for a baby born 29 Jan 1841. That is only nine days off from the birth date that we find on Johann’s death certificate.  That record lists the child’s name as Johann Friedrich Ludwig Krüger and the parents as Johann Jochen Christian Krüger and Catharina Dorothe Piper. Unfortunately, this birth happened in the far eastern part of Poland, far from the area that Johann was thought to have been born. So, this probably isn’t our Johann. The source: “Deutschland, Preußen, Pommern, Kirchenbücher 1544-1945,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KF9Z-2JF : 4 August 2017), Johann Friedrich Ludwig Krüger, 29 Jan 1841; citing Birth, Kröslin, Greifswald, Pommern, Prussia Germany, Landesarchiv Greifswald, Greifswald (Greifswald Provincial Archives, Greifswald); FHL microfilm 1,273,023. ( https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9GNT-9B3V?i=297&cc=1874205 : accessed 19 Jan 2018).

Ancestry.com, 1870 United States Federal Census (Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data – 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Record), Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com, Year: 1870; Census Place: Herman, Dodge, Wisconsin; Roll: M593_1710; Page: 244B; Family History Library Film: 553209.

Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1880 United States Federal Census (Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. All use is subject to the limited), Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com, Year: 1880; Census Place: Texas, Marathon, Wisconsin; Roll: 1433; Family History Film: 1255433; Page: 419D; Enumeration District: 094. Record for John Kreager,
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1880usfedcen&h=46200139&indiv=try.

Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census (Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.Original data – United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 18), iPhone Tree, http://www.iPhone Tree, Online publication – Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2004.Original data – United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900.T623, 1854 rolls. Marathon, Wisconsin, ED 97, roll T623 1798, page 3A.

Ancestry.com., Wisconsin State Censuses, 1895 and 1905 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007), www.ancestry.com, Database online.

Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, Ancestry.com, (Provo: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010)

“Germany Emigration and Immigration,” FamilySearch, Web, 1 Oct 2017, https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Germany_Emigration_and_Immigration.

Marathon County, Wisconsin, pre-1907 Wisconsin death record Vol. 02, page 0257 (1900), Augusta Krueger; State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.

“Marathon County,” Land Information Mapping System, ( http://gis.co.marathon.wi.us/Html5ViewerExt/Index.html?viewer=mcmaps_html : accessed 19 Jan 2018).