Emma Grimm was a mystery to me
for some time and it seems, even to her own family when they stopped to think
about it. Her daughter, Maude, wrote in the family memoirs written many years
after Emma’s death:
“It seems impossible that we never questioned mom about such things. But
it seems there was no reason for questioning. Perhaps it was because there were
always a lot of people around and my mother certainly had her hands full taking
care of her large family – so when was there time for reminiscing?”
What Maude wrote about her mother and what Maude shared with
me in conversation was all I had to go on in learning more about Emma. Maude shared what she thought was correct from memories of her mother telling about her young life.
“Emma Grimm Egli was
born on April 2, 1877, to Samuel and Katie Bërger Grimm near Tremont, Illinois,
in a small cabin surrounded by dense timber or woods. . . . .She was about
three months old when her mother died. . . .
We know nothing of
who cared for the baby after the mother’s death. Later her father married again
and had four more children; two boys and two girls.
When mom was 12 or
13 years old the stepmother sent her out to the woods to see why her father was
not coming home. . . . They found her father lying under a large branch of the
tree. They figured he had already been dead several hours. . . .
After her father’s
funeral, mother’s stepmother told her she would have to make her own way now as
she could not afford to keep her, plus her four little children.
So at the young age
of 12 or 13 years mom had to assume the responsibility of looking after
herself. From our second cousin, we learned that our mother spent considerable
time in her mother’s home, since Aunt Annie was a sister to mom’s mother. This
would have been the home of her grandparents. But we never knew if her
grandparents were still living or what their full names were. Mom and Aunt
Annie were near the same age.”
This isn't much to go on
especially considering that the Aunt Annie referred to here was not a Berger;
her maiden name was Riggenbach.
I started this research before the
days of online records, so I began by writing to Tazewell County. They do not have birth records from 1877. There was no record for a Samuel Grimm and Katie Berger in
Tazewell County. Maude had an old marriage certificate for Emma and Christian so I knew the date of their marriage and requested their marriage record from the county. I was shocked to find that Emma had listed her
parents as Chris Grimm and Barbara Berger! How did Maude get them so wrong? And by now
Maude was gone and I couldn't even share this information with her, but I
recalled Maude telling me that her middle names were after her grandmothers.
Her name was Maude Barbara Katie. And her paternal grandmother had been a
Barbara. And according to this, her maternal grandmother was as well. So who
was Katie? And who was Sam?
I searched further and found
Chris and Barbara’s marriage record but I didn’t find anything with names
Samuel and Katie. I was searching census
microfilm at the library by this time and began to search Tazewell County,
Illinois. But I knew the chance of finding the right Grimm’s would be difficult. If
Emma was a first child and was born in 1877, they would not appear in 1870. And
in 1880 I didn’t know who I was looking for. I didn't know who his second wife was. I found a few Chris
Grimm’s but they had all been married to their current wife in 1877.
I decided to look into the Anna
Riggenbach story. Anna Riggenbach had married another of the Egli boys – John
Egli, who was Christian’s uncle. I
looked up their marriage record and found her parents listed as Jacob
Riggenbach and Catherine Bier. I went to the 1880
census and found a Katherine Riggenbach as head of household. In her household
were a large number of Berger children (listed as her children) and three Riggenbach
children (also her children) as well as one 3 year old granddaughter – “Ami
Grimmer.” If this was Emma, then Katherine Riggenbach could well be my "Katie."
I moved on back to the 1870
census and once again found a Catherine Riggenbach, head of household and the
first child listed is Barbara Berger.
I then went back to the 1880
census and looked for Chris Grimm – I found him listed as Chris Grimmer with a
new wife, Mary. Now it was back to the marriage records. There they were –
Chris Grimm and Mary Flickinger – his second marriage her first.
I also posted a query on the
Rootsweb surname site for Grimm. I relayed the story of Chris Grimm’s death
hoping someone from the family of the second wife would recognize it. And
eureka! They did. One of Mary
Flickinger’s grandchildren responded. She knew the story of her
grandfather's death [dying when a tree fell on him] and they had heard rumors of his previous
marriage and another child but had no definitive information about Emma. At any
rate, they were able to confirm his second wife, their four children, his
death and their location in Illinois. And one of the other four children had
been named “Sam.”
So, in spite of totally incorrect
information in the family record, I had found Emma’s family.
Emma's connection to me:
Emma's connection to me:
Sources:
Swartzendruber, Maude Egli, author and compiler. Family Memoirs of Christian Benjamin and Emma Grimm Egli: during the first 35 years 1895-1930. Hesston, Kansas: n.p., 1983.
Egli - Grimm Certificate of Marriage. Hopedale, Illinois. Issued by Omish Church (sic), Copy held in 2006 by Ida Egli, Kalona, Iowa.
USA. Illinois. Tazewell County. 1870 US Federal Census. Population Schedule. Digital images: NARA microfilm. Heritage Quest. www.heritagequestonline.com
USA. Illinois. Tazewell County. 1880 US Federal Census. Population Schedule. Digital images: NARA microfilm. Heritage Quest. www.heritagequestonline.com
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