52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 3 - Longevity

Before deciding on what to write for this prompt, I took a look at the ages at death of the ancestors in my family tree. There were a couple of people that lived to be over 100, but they were related through marriage and not in my direct lines. There were also a lot of people that I don't have birth or death dates for, so I still have some research to do there.

As I looked at the people that lived into their 90s, I noticed that a lot of them were descendants of my Hagedorn family. The Hagedorns were born in Germany and came to the US in 1834. Hermann Hagedorn was born on February 13, 1778 and died in Mercer County, Ohio on October 1, 1877 at the age of 93. Hermann's wife C. Maria Elizabeth Tebben was born in 1786 in Hannover, Germany and died on October 1, 1877, in Mercer County, Ohio, at the age of 91. That's amazing to think that a couple born in the 1700s both lived into their 90s!

The graphic below shows my direct line from the Hagedorn family and their ages at death.

Hermann and Elizabeth had two sons and three daughters between 1813 and 1825, so the children were born in Germany too. Their daughter Mary Katherine Hagedorn Gast was my 3x great-grandmother. She was born on May 7, 1823 and died on Nov 11, 1915 in Maria Stein, Mercer County, Ohio at the age of 92. Five children survived her, including my 2x great-grandfather, John Henry Gast. An interesting note from her obituary is that she lived to see the golden wedding anniversary of her daughter Mrs. Henry Schaefer.

John Henry Gast was born on October 28, 1849 and married Catherine M. Desch on April 23, 1872. They had nine children in 19 years, including my great-grandmother Mary Catherine Gast. John died on April 26, 1934, in Celina, Ohio, at the age of 84.

My great-grandmother Mary Catherine Gast was born on March 8, 1875. She married George Francis Pulskamp on August 18, 1899, in Mercer County, Ohio. They had eight children in 17 years, including my grandmother Anna Lee Pulskamp. Mary died on December 7, 1967, in Celina, Ohio, at the age of 92.

My grandmother Anna Lee Pulskamp and her twin sister Emma Lee Pulskamp were born on June 11, 1910, in Celina, Ohio. Sadly, Anna Lee died a few days after childbirth in 1934 and only lived to be 24 years old. Emma Lee died on March 15, 2001, in Celina, Ohio, at the age of 90. Their brother Andreas lived to be 91 and their sister Marie Catherine lived to be 95, so there was a lot of longevity in their family. I'm hoping some of it was passed down to my generation!

#52Ancestors is a series of weekly family history prompts developed by Amy Johnson Crow.

Sunday's Obituary - Mary Catherine Hagedorn Gast

This obituary for Mary Catherine (Hagedorn) Gast was published in the Celina Democrat on November 12, 1915.  Mary Catherine was my 3x great-grandmother and was married to Mathias Gast. She was the daughter of Hermann Hagedorn and C. Maria Tebben.

  Mrs. Mary Catherine Gast, aged 92 years, the venerable mother of John Gast, sr., of this city, died suddenly early Saturday morning at her home at Maria Stein. as the result of a stroke of paralysis sustained u few hours previous. 
  Deceased was a native of Germany, but immigrated to this country when a young girl and had spent the greater part of her life in this county. She is survived by five children—John H. Gast, of this city; Mrs. Henry Schaefer, of St. Bernard,. Henry Gast and Mrs. Henry Feldhake of Lima; and Mat Gast, of Maria Stein. 
  One of her daughters, Mrs. Schaefer and her husband celebrated their golden wedding anniversary last Sunday at St. Bernard, and while the venerable mother was not able to be present, a portion of the wedding cake was sent her and she enjoyed eating it on the day previous to her death. 
  Funeral services will be held at the St. John Catholic church near Marla Stein, Monday morning.

The above article on the funeral was published in the Celina Democrat on November 19, 1915:

  The funeral of Mrs. Catharine Gast, the venerable mother of John H. Gast, of this city, who died on the 11th inst., was held at St. John's Catholic Church at Maria Stein last Monday morning and was attended by a large following of relatives and friends. Among those present were:
  Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Gast, daughters Jennie and Nettie and son Andy, Barney Gast, Nora Gast, Henry Tubben, Mrs. Holkman and Ferd Woesta, of Celina; Wm. Harting and family, of Desatur; Mr. and Mrs. John Schaeper, of Norword; Miss Cecelia Schaeper, of St. Bernard; Mr. and Mrs. Henry Feldhake, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Gast and family, of LIma; Mr. and Mrs. Woeste, John Holkman, of Coldwater; Frank Harting, of St. Henry; and Miss Armelia Roeckner, of Chickasaw.

Images of the Celina Democrat are from the Chronicling America site.

Friday's Faces From the Past - Celina, Ohio Eagles Lodge

I was contacted by someone that rescued this picture from a flea market and wondered if I had more information on it. Luckily, the names were written on the back. My great-grandfather Charles Creeden is standing on the right in the middle row.

I knew from Charles' obituary that he had been a member of the Celina Eagles Lodge for many years and served as president at one time. My guess is that this is a picture of the Celina Eagles Lodge members taken when Charles was in his 30s or 40s. Charles lived from 1886-1958.

The following names were written on the back:

Top Row: Geo Detrich, Albert Schuck. Arsen Wenning. Vern Sacher. Ken?, John Hassman, Zeno Sacher, Fred Stemmer, H.J. Stelzer, J.P. Long

Middle Row: Clyde Myers. Henry Weisman. John Gast. Ben Ruschau, Joe Dierkes. Wm. Stein, Chas Cavender. Jake Puthoff. Chas Creeden

Charter Members Bottom Row: Wm Curry. Joe Schmidt. J. B. Schmidt. Jake Riesner. Oran Gillespie, John Schuyler, Frank Zender, Jake Gilcher. Frank Wolf.

A couple of newspaper articles from the Celina Democrat had several of the same names as members of the Eagles Lodge as those on the back of the picture.

December 10, 1915 - Celina Democrat newspaper

April 3, 1917 - Celina Democrat newspaper

Nice find at the flea market and I'm glad the photo was rescued!

Sunday's Obituary - Catherine Desch Gast and grandsons in Celina, Ohio 1918

The Gast family of Celina, Ohio suffered the tragic loss of four family members to the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918. Two sons of Mr. and Mrs. John Gast died on December 8 and December 11, 1918. That was followed by the death of John's mother Catherine Desch Gast on December 12, 1918. John's sister Antoinette "Mattie" Gast Ockuly died on December 23, 1918. It's hard to imagine losing so many in the family that quickly.

The following obituaries appeared in the Celina Democrat on December 13, December 20,  and December 27, 1918. I found them online at Chronicling America. The site has the weekly Celina Democrat available online for the years 1910 to 1918.

Celina Democrat, December 13, 1918

  GAST BOYS VICTIMS OF INFLUENZA
  Carl and Eugene Gast, ages 17 and 18, respectively, sons of Mr. and Mrs. John Gast, of North Cherry street, are both dead as the result of the dread Spanish influenza.
  Both were ill but a few days. Carl, the youngest of the two boys, passed away Sunday. Eugene's death occurred Wednesday. Medical science failed to stay the hand of the relentless reaper.
  Both boys were the pride and hope of their parents, were favorite among their fellows, and enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all whom they came in contact.

Celina Democrat, December 20, 1918

 THE GRIM  REAPER
  Mrs. John Gast, sr. (nee Desch), aged 64 years, one of the best known women of this city, died a week ago last night, after a week's illness of influenza. She had been at the home of her son John nursing the two grandsons,whose deaths were chronicled last week, until a few days preceding her death. Grief over the loss of her grandchildren and the absence of her youngest son Leo at Camp Merritt no doubt broke her spirit and hastened the death of the good woman. 
  The deceased was a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Desch, and was born at St. Johns, April 23, 1854. She was married to Mr. Gast in 1871. Five years later they came to Celina. where they since resided. The deceased is survived by her husband and eight children—John. jr., Andrew, Leo. Matilda, Sister Margaret, Mrs. Geo. Pulskamp, Mrs. P. A. Ockuly and Mrs, Alex Miller, of Ottawa.
  Funeral services were held Monday evening and the remains deposited in the mausoleum to await the arrival of her son Leo before her interment. 

Celina Democrat, December 27, 1918

  Mrs. P. A. Ockuly (nee Gast), aged 32 years, died at the home of her father, John Gast, sr., last Monday night. Mrs. Ockuly had been ill for three weeks or more from an attack of influenza, and the deaths of her two nephews, followed closely by that of her mother, no doubt had a very depressing effect upon her and contributed much to her final dissolution. 
  The deceased for many years was employed at the Bote office, and was highly esteemed by a large circle of acquaintances. She was wedded to Mr. Ockuly only last April. Funeral services were held at the Catholic church yesterday.

Catherine Desch Gast was my 3x great-grandmother. Her daughter Mary married my 2x great-grandfather George F. Pulskamp in 1899. George Pulskamp was the publisher of the German Bote newspaper mentioned in the obituary of Mrs. P. Ockuly.

Tombstone Tuesday - Katharina M. Hagedorn Gast

Birth: May 7, 1823, Germany
Death: Nov. 11, 1915
Maria Stein
Mercer County
Ohio, USA

Katharina M. Gast was my 3x great-grandmother. She was married to Mathias Gast and was the daughter of Hermann Hagedorn and C. Maria Tebben.  I've also seen her name listed as Mary Anna K. Hagedorn, but it would appear that she went by Katharina. She is buried in the Saint John's Catholic Cemetery in Maria Stein, Ohio. Thanks to Harley Rider for posting the picture on FindAGrave.

Tombstone Tuesday - C. Maria E. Tebben Hagedorn

Birth: Sep. 11, 1786, Germany
Death: Oct. 1, 1877
Saint Rosa
Mercer County
Ohio, USA

C. Maria E. Tebben Hagedorn and her husband Hermann Hagedorn came to the US from Germany. I haven't found out what her first initial stood for, but I would guess she might be another Catherine in my tree. Hermann and Maria were my 4x great-grandparents and were the parents of Katharina Maria Hagedorn Gast. Thanks to Cousin Becky of FindAGrave for posting the photo.

Tombstone Tuesday - Hermann Hagedorn

Birth: Feb. 13, 1778, Germany
Death: Mar. 28, 1871
Saint Rosa
Mercer County
Ohio, USA

Hermann Hagedorn and his wife C. Maria E. Tebben Hagedorn came to the US from Germany. They were my 4x great-grandparents and were the parents of Katharina Maria Hagedorn Gast. Thanks to Cousin Becky of FindAGrave for posting the photo.

Funeral Card Friday - John H. Gast

Kindly remember in your prayers

the soul of

John H. Gast

who was born at Maria Stein, Ohio, 

October 28, 1849, and died at Celina, 

Ohio, April 26, 1934, at the age of 

84 years, 5 months and 28 days.

John H. Gast was my 2x great-grandfather and was married to Catherine Desch. They were the parents of my great-grandmother, Mary Catherine Gast Pulskamp.

Surname Saturday - Gast

A few years ago, a Gast cousin sent me an extensive family tree that went all the way back to the 1700s in  Ligsdorf Haut-Rhin, France. I was surprised to find out that the family came from France since my father had always thought they were German. Searching for Ligsdorf Haut-Rhin, showed that it is part of the Alsace-Lorraine region of France. This region has changed hands between Germany and France several times and most of the population had Germanic origins. I found that the family gave their place of birth as France in some census entries and Germany in others. I've put information from the family tree in italics in the text that follows.

Andre Gast and his family came to Baltimore, MD in 1828 and later settled in Minster, Ohio. Andre Gast was born on September 09, 1788 in Ligsdorf, Haut-Rhin, France, and died in 1854 in Maria Stein, OH. He married Therese Bendi on June 02, 1808 in Ligsdorf, Haut-Rhin, France, daughter of Pierre Bendi and Madeleine Meister. She was born on August 05, 1781 in Ligsdorf, Haut-Rhin, France, and died in Maria Stein, OH.

Andreas and Tracey Gast in 1850 Auglaize, Ohio census

I found a good possibility for Andre and Therese in the 1850 Auglaize, Ohio census where Minster is located. They have the correct ages and are from France. The census shows that Andre was a farmer.

Gast House and General Store

Andre and Theresa's son Mathias Gast was my 3x great-grandfather. He was born on October 28, 1813 in Ligsdorff, Haut-Rhin, France, and died on April 22, 1888 in Maria Stein, OH. He married Maria Katherine Hagedorn on September 12, 1839 in Maria Stein, OH. She was born on May 07, 1823 in Newkerchen (Hanover) Germany, and died on November 11, 1915 in Maria Stein, OH. I have also seen her name as Katharina Maria Hagedorn.

According to Wikipedia, Mathias was one of the earliest settlers in Marion Township in Mercer County, Ohio and he opened a shoe store there in 1833. The Gast house pictured above was built in 1852 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Mathias operated a store and hotel out of his house. In later years, younger members of the Gast family built a substantial addition to the rear of the house to accommodate increasing numbers of relatives. The house is still being used as a residence, while the store was destroyed. It's definitely on my list of places to see!

1870 census entry for Mathias Gast and family in Marion Township, Mercer County, Ohio

The 1870 census for Marion Township, Mercer County, Ohio shows Mathias and his wife Catherine with their children John, Henry, Mathias, and Frances. Their oldest son, John Henry was my 2x great-grandfather. His occupation here is "clerk in store", so I would guess he was working in the family store. Mathias' place of birth says France, while his wife's says Holland. In the 1880 census, her place of birth is given as Prussia, while the 1860 census said Hanover. Also, of interest, is that Mathias's mother's place of birth is given as Switzerland.

John Henry Gast was born on October 28, 1849 in Maria Stein, OH, and died in 1934 in Celina, OH. He married Catherine "Kate" Desch, daughter of Ferdinand Desch and Katharina Anthony. She was born in 1853, and died in 1918.

1880 census entry for John Henry Gast and family in Jefferson Township, Mercer County, Ohio

In the 1880 census, John Henry Gast is a farmer. John and his wife Catharine have four children, John, Andrew, Mary, and Emma. Mary is my great-grandmother. John's parent's place of birth is given as France and Catharine's parent's place of birth is given as Prussia. In the 1900 census the place of birth is given as Germany for both John and Catherine. Interesting how the place of birth seems to change from census to census!

In the 1920 and 1930 census, John Henry Gast's father's place of birth is listed as Alsace Loraine and his mother's as Prussia.

George F. Pulskamp and Mary Gast in Jefferson Township, Mercer County, Ohio

Mary married George F. Pulskamp on August 19, 1899. In the 1900 census, they are living in Jefferson Township, Mercer County, Ohio. George is working as an Editor. He later published the Mercer County Bote, a German newspaper.

While the family tree I received on the Gast family has given me a good head start on researching the family, I have not verified any of the data before the family came to Ohio. That's another item on my long "to do" list.

With this post, I've covered all of my great-grandparent's surnames in a Surname Saturday post! These posts have really helped me organize the data I have and show what is missing.

Thanks again to Heather of Leaves for Trees for her tip on using Excel for ancestor graphics.

Tombstone Tuesday - Catherine M. Desch Gast

Birth: Apr. 9, 1853
Saint Johns (Mercer County)
Mercer County
Ohio, USA
Death: Dec. 12, 1918
Celina
Mercer County
Ohio, USA

Catherine Desch Gast was my 2x great-grandmother. She was the daughter of Ferdinand Desch and Katharina Margaret Anthony. She was married to John Henry Gast and they were the parents of eight children, including my great-grandmother Mary Catherine Gast Pulskamp. Catherine died due to complications of the flu in the epidemic in 1918.

Thanks to Mike and tut on FindAGrave for posting the memorial and picture.

Tombstone Tuesday - Mathias Gast

Mathias Gast was my 3x great-grandfather. He was born on October 22, 1813 in Ligsdorff Haut-Thin, France and died on April 22, 1888. He was married to Katharina Maria Hagedorn on September 12, 1839 in Maria Stein, Ohio. He is buried in the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church Cemetery in Maria Stein, Ohio.

Photos are courtesy of Cousin Becky from FindAGrave.

Wedding Wednesday - George Pulskamp and Mary Gast

My great-grandparents George F. Pulskamp and Mary Catherine Gast were married on August 19, 1899 in Celina, Ohio. They were certainly a handsome pair. I love the detailing on her dress! Thanks so much to one of my Pulskamp cousins for sending this to me and giving me permission to repost it. The photo is also posted on FindAGrave along with other information about the family.

George was the son of H. H. Pulskamp and Anna Marie Schaefer. George graduated from Notre Dame University in 1896 with a B. L. degree. He published a German newspaper, Der Mercer County Bote and ran a print shop. Mary was the daughter of John Gast and Catherine Desch and operated a small store in Edgewater Park.

George and Mary's Marriage License

George and Mary celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on August 21, 1949 in Celina, Ohio with many of their family and friends.

Sunday's Obituary - Parish Death Notices

The Immaculate Conception Church of Celina, Ohio published a monthly devotional magazine that also contained information on births, deaths, and marriages in the parish. This summary of deaths in the parish for 1934 was published in the February 1935 Parish Monthly in Celina, Ohio. (Click on the picture for larger view.)

John Gast was my GG Grandfather and Anna Lee (Pulskamp) Creeden was my grandmother.

Other names listed are Theresia Barga, Rita Matilda Schulte, James Cantwell, Bernard Stretholt, Leonard Hirsch, Mrs. Peter Stachler, George Durbin, William Maehlman, Theresa Bosken, Benette May Ellen Craft, Henry Beckstedt, Charles Zumberge, Fred Weber, William Barth, Wilbur Barth, Sarah Mrs. Phillip Beiersdorfer, John A. Heckler and Mrs. Margaret (Jacob) Schunck.

Mary Gast Pulskamp - Sunday's Obituary

Mary Katherine Gast Pulskamp was my great-grandmother. She was the daughter of John Henry Gast and Catherine Desch and was born on March 8, 1875. She was married to George F. Pulskamp in 1899 and they were married for over 50 years. She died on December 7, 1967 in Celina, Ohio. This death notice was published in the Lima News on December 10, 1967.

PULSKAMP, Mrs. Mary C. --
Requiem High Mass will be offered 10 a.m. Monday in Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Celina, by Rev. Charles Bricher. Burial will be in church cemetery. Friends may call at W. H. Dick and Sons Funeral Home from 2-4 p.m. today.

Military Monday - WWI Gold Star Mothers

In 1929, the US Congress authorized pilgrimages to European cemeteries for mothers and widows of WWI soldiers who were buried there. Details about the pilgrimages are included in the Burial Case files for the soldier and can be obtained from NARA. (See the Burial Case File for Julius King Councill for details on the records included in a burial case file and how to order them.)

This article was published in the Lima News in Ohio on Sept. 7, 1930 and gives a few details on one of the pilgimages. My Gast family lived in Mercer County, Ohio.

          Golden Star Mother Home From France
   Coldwater, Sept. 6 - Mrs. Gast, of Chickasaw, Mercer county's only Gold Star mother to make the pilgrimage to France this year, is home with a treasure of memories of her eventful trip. She has nothing but praise for the way the government arranged for their every comfort and convenience.
   At the largest American cemetery in France near Romagne, she visited the grave of her son, Leo J. Gast, who as a private in the 16th infantry of the First Division was killed during the Meuse-Argonne offensive Oct. 9, 1918. Each mother or widow was furnished with a wreath of flowers to be placed on the grave. Guides, many of them furnished by Paris Post of the American Legion, conducted them to the various cemeteries and gave them much information about the battle sectors thru which they passed. The mothers showed great interest in the military maneuvers in which their sons played a part.