Before I Forget

          I've long wondered why several fellow family historians record a marriage of my 2ndGreat-Grandmother to a Mr. Carman.

          Many family trees have our Hannah with CARMAN as either her maiden name or her surname at the time of her marriage to Samuel Leeper in 1853. Tonight I reviewed the sources attached to these trees, and found a clue.

          But first, a brief timeline of our Hannah.

          My paternal ancestor Hannah was allegedly born in 1824 at a location the 1870 U.S. Federal Census indicates as "Hamburgh." That is the only reference I've found listing Hamburg as her birthplace. She first appears in a U.S. Census in 1860. Both the 1860 and 1880 Federal Census indicate only a birthplace of "Germany."  However, her four young sons have "Saxon" as their birth location in the 1870 census. Saxon = Sachsen or Saxony. There were several thousand German immigrants living in southeast Texas before the Civil War. I imagine few census takers spoke their language. So spelling errors must be considered.

          With that in mind, the very first surname I find attached to Hannah is in her April 19, 1853 marriage certificate to Samuel Leeper. Written in cursive, it appears to be Wosta. Or Woste. Is it a maiden name or a married surname? Maiden names were traditionally requested. And why does she not have the same last name as each of her four young boys: Louis Wiser, Barney Wiser, Amiel Wiser, and Henry Edward Wiser? Because of her different surname, I'm inclined to think Wosta is her maiden name. Have you a different opinion?

          My cousin-researcher, Doris Weiser Jarvis, obtained a certified copy of Hannah and Sam Leeper's marriage certificate. Mrs. Jarvis shared this transcription to the copy attached below:

   The State of Texas, County of Galveston. "To any regular ordained Minister of the Gospel, Judge of the District Court, Judge of the County Court, or Justice of the Peace. I hereby authorize any one of you to celebrate the rites of matrimony between Samuel Leeper and Hannah Wosta and due return of your proceedings hereon to me, at my Office, make within Sixty Days, as the law directs." Signed my county clerk, and certified by F. B Whiting, Justice of the Peace. Marriage celebrated on 19th day of April A.D. 1853. 

-- Galveston County Courthouse, Record Book No. B, pg. 87, numbered 214.

          No immigration record has yet been found. Several of us have spent hours searching. But my Great-Grandfather Amiel Wiser told his daughter Nora that they had immigrated from Germany when he was six years old. He was born May 31, 1845. (Our only proof is his headstone). So his family may have immigrated about 1851? Amiel was also known as Lemuel or Emeal. His daughter Nora spelled her dad's name as "Emeal" in her letter to her nephew, Urban Weiser, dated June 11, 1957.

          Urban's daughter Doris W. Jarvis transcribed her Aunt Nora's letter and shared this excerpt in July of 2004. I am ever so happy to have it! 

 "I couldn't tell her much for our parents never did talk much about the family. I heard Dad (Emeal) say he came over from Germany when he was six years old. A Mrs. Lafore raised him. And I talked with Mrs. Lafore once when Ed and I was going down to Double Bayou to see old Dr. Morgan. She lived at the mouth of the Bayou there where Dr. Morgans office was. She took me over to her house and showed me the organ our Dad used to play on when he was a little boy. When Dr. Morgan told her I was Lem Wiser's daughter she grabbed me and hugged me. I thought she would never let me go, then she took us over to her house and fixed us a nice dinner, and wanted to know all about our Dad, how he died and where he lived. I don't know why Dad never did tell us about her. Dad had two step-sisters Aunt Racy and Aunt Hannah. They were twins. Old Mrs. Weiser seemed to have married three times, as Aunt Racy and Aunt Hannah's names was Mason."......"Uncle Sam Leaper, (son of Hannah and Sam, Sr.) if you remember, lived with us awhile. and moved there close to Uncle Ben Abshier's, and he died at Ed Clayton's home. Ed Clayton was Aunt Racy's son." (Unquote.)

          Hannah's daughters, Rosa Theresa and her twin sister Hannah (or "Lina") were born June 18, 1860. Rosa's name appears as "Racy" in one census, as spelled by her niece Nora, above. The twins appear on census records with the last name of Leeper. However, Sam Leeper had died April 1, 1855--five years before the twins' birth according to his direct descendant Norma Webb Broach.

          Researcher Norma Broach Webb (1929-2004) has Sam Leeper's death date in her brief biography of her 2x GGrandfather in the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Patriot Ancestor Album, Vol. 2. (Published 2001, Turner Publishing Co., and available via Google Books). 

          And as for Hannah's twin daughters? I have not found any record showing Rosa or young Hannah with the last name of "Mason" as indicated by Nora Wiser in her letter of 1957. Not yet. I've researched any/all Masons living in southeast Texas. Have found only census pages showing twin sisters' maiden name of Leeper or Leaper.

          Indeed, Rosa's marriage certificate with Josephus S. Clayton reads:

"The State of Texas, County of Chambers Clerks office 29th May 1878, To any ordained Minister of the Gospel, Judge of the District or County Court, or Justice of the Peace, Greeting; You are hereby authorized and directed to celebrate the rites of matrimony between Mr. J.S. Clayton and Miss Rosa Leaper. Herein fail not and of this License made due return within Sixty days as the law directs. Given under my hand and official seal at office in Wallisville this the 29th day of May A.D. 1878." Signed by Jno. R. Wooten, Clerk. "Received 6th June 1878 and executed same day by meeting the within named parties at the home of Mrs. Hannah Leaper at Double Bayou, Chambers County in the holy bonds of matrimony." Signed: J. W. Hankamer, Justice of the Peace

          Nor can I find any record of Hannah marrying a Mr. Mason or any Mason who lived near our Hannah in Chambers or Liberty Counties in Texas. I will continue to search, as my Great-Aunt Nora's letter points to a Mr. Mason as the father of Hannah's twin girls. Family history is indeed a challenge for part-time sleuths!

BACK TO MR. CARMAN:  So what is the source for my cousins who list Hannah with the surname of Carman? When I first saw this name attached to Hannah's many trees online, I scoured censuses in southeast Texas in for neighboring Carmans. In a gentler time a woman having a child outside of marriage was scandalous. Admiration for my 2xgreat-grandmother would not wane were I to discover the twins and/or other children of illegitimate birth. But I found few Carmans.  

          Cousin-genealogist Kevin Ladd (1954-2014) once wrote: 

          On May 19, 1839 Hannah's future husband Sam Leeper married Lucy Marie Carr in Galveston, Texas Republic. It was his second marriage. His first marriage in Washington County, Virginia in 1816 to Sarah Bonham sadly ended in 1823 with her death. Sam appears in tax records for 1840 and 1846 in southeast Texas. That clever Sam, age 55, appears TWICE in the 1850 Federal Census: Once at Galveston while living in the household of Mr. J H Fredenburgh, and also as Sam "Leiper" at his home in nearby Liberty. Lucy also appears in the Liberty census with her daughter Emily and her husband James Yeoman. Perhaps to assist in taking care of their one-year-old grandson, William? To further confuse researchers, a "Saml Luper" appears August 24, 1850 in a "Federal Census Non-Population Schedule" for Liberty, Texas. Our Samuel had fought at both Bexar and the Battle of San Jacinto and had been awarded hundreds of acres of "bounty land" for his military service. Land that was bequeathed to his widow, Hannah Leeper. If you've registered, please see this link of Hannah Wosta's 1853 marriage to Samuel Leeper:

  https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F6YY-CN1

          Am I missing something? If my ancestor Hannah married a Mr. Carman I would love to see the source. She evidently met with some gentleman in late 1859 (as evidenced by her twin daughters' birth on June 18, 1860). But why he wasn't living with our 36-year-old Hannah in 1860 or in the later 1870 census, I can't explain.

         I welcome comments on our Hannah. She's one of my favorite genealogy "brick walls." FamilySearch is free, but requires registration. Hannah and her boys appear in the 1860 Federal Census on this FamilySearch page:

         https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXFX-MJC  

_________

Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6YY-CN1 : 22 December 2016), Samuel Leeper and Hanna Wosta, 19 Apr 1853; citing Galveston, Texas, United States, county courthouses, Texas; FHL microfilm 1,008,865

Today Ancestry.com/ uploaded a new database for people fluent in German. The original docs are held in the Staatsarchiv Stadt in Germany. 

          Hannover, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1621–1879
          http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=61007

The "about" states: This collection consists of Lutheran church records for the years 1621 to 1879 from the Elbe-Weser Triangle in Lower Saxony, Germany. Included in this collection are records of baptism, confirmation, marriage, and burial. Further reading indicates the collection includes the state of Niedersachsen. Hmmm, several in my family recorded birthplaces of "Sachsen" which could mean the town (there were several), or the county/province/state of Sachsen, which is also known as Saxony. Yes, THOSE Saxons of Monty Python fame. 

It is yet another tool in my search for my paternal 2nd great-grandmother Hannah. She allegedly was born about 1824 in Hamburg, Deutschland. Germany wasn't yet a country, but was made up of several states. Assuming her family was Lutheran, I ran several variations of my surnames through this new Lutheran database. A few returns of similar surnames, but none with given names near my Wisers or Wostas:

Zilch. I tried other variations with wild cards. Another time I may be inspired to continue. Perhaps another cousin might find something remotely similar to a Hannah or a "Johanna" born about 1824 or Wiser sons born in 1844, 1845 and 1852? German researchers have told me four names were common among many citizens. Databases often ask for only two.

As a guide, I offer this brief timeline of Hannah taken from census, land and marriage records:

     1853 - April 19 --  Hannah Wosta marries Samuel Leeper. (Wosta may be Woste)

     1860 - U.S. Census, Hannah Leeper. age 36, birthplace: Germany. Other household members showing name, age and birthplace are: (see also four census images below)

• Louis Wiser     16   Germany
• Lemuel Wiser  15  Germany (my great granddad!)
• Barney Wiser  15  Germany
• Sam Leeper     5   Texas

      My paternal second great-grandmother Hannah allegedly immigrated from Hamburg. Or Bremen. Both were popular seaports in what later became Germany. The first documented proof I have of her existence is an 1853 marriage to Sam Leeper in Galveston, Texas. On their marriage certificate the surname "Wosta" is handwritten. What appears to be WOSTA, that is. What spelling do YOU see? From a previous blog post, here is Hannah and Sam Leeper's marriage certificate:
http://treepig.posthaven.com/1853-marriage-of-hannah-wosta-to-samuel-leeper 

      Because it is an unusual name, I wonder if Hannah might have:

(1)  Been unaware of the correct spelling due to illiteracy;

(2)  Spoken a language that was not understood by the clerk who prepared the marriage certificate;

(3)  Been subject to clerical error. The clerk might have written phonetically what she heard the young bride say. Or what her older husband SAID was his new wife's maiden name.

      So many possibilities. Accompanying Hannah were her four young sons, whose names appear on census, guardianship and land records as WISER. (Yes, and Weiser, too. But predominantly spelled WIser) I therefore assume that the 29 year old Hannah told the Galveston court clerk her MAIDEN name--not her legal married name of Wiser. That was a custom--but not always a requirement in various jurisdictions. After all, I've no proof she was married to a Herr Wiser. Assumptions are not proof, Dear Reader. 

      WITH THAT IN MIND: Familysearch.org/ recently updated their New Orleans Passenger Lists. Attached are a few WOSTE immigrants who came to America at a time my Hannah might have arrived. You see, I've yet to find an immigration record for Hannah and her Wiser boys. These young Woste passengers require further study, as they might give clues to a family my Hannah once belonged. Might my Hannah have had family in America before she crossed the Atlantic with young children? New Orleans and Galveston were busy ports of entry for Europeans. From WHERE did you come, Hannah?

Months ago I posted a dilemma concerning my earliest Wiser immigrant to Texas. Records and census images show the spelling of Hannah's four young sons to be WISER. Her maiden name has yet to be discovered. This 2nd Great-Grandmother remarried an aging San Jacinto veteran (GO TEXAS!) in 1853, and the handwriting on the marriage license indicates, oh, take a look for yourself, is it WOSTA or WOSTE or what-the?

http://treepig.posthaven.com/1853-marriage-of-hannah-wosta-to-samuel-leeper

Look on the left-hand sidebar where the Galveston Court Clerk wrote "Leeper" and "Wosta?"  See it? Many descendants have scratched their heads at this handwriting thankfully recorded for posterity. And many a researcher has run variations of Wosta through databases looking for immigration records, ship notes, earlier census records, etc. 

Phoey, it raises more questions than answers. Is Hannah's name on this marriage certificate that of her last husband or her maiden name? And could it be that our last name is NOT "Wiser" but another name? BTW, when you boarded a ship in Bremen or Hamburg long ago (in what later became Germany) you could not do so by just paying cash. You had to show papers validating your full name and residence. Captains were required to keep logs. Thousands of these logs are preserved. Many died when crossing the Atlantic. Their deaths were recorded, too. Both the originals and transcriptions of these records are available. And many cities' newspapers published the names of the first class arrivals. MORE: http://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/passenger-arrival.html

WHICH BRINGS ME TO TODAY: A wonderful new database is available of World War I prisoners of war. Two of Hannah's Texas grandsons fought in France and Germany in 1918. I've long found it curious that two sons of a native German immigrant fought "the Huns" in a war that was to end all wars. Did they know much about their dad's ancestry? Surely it crossed their minds that they might engage in hand to hand combat in a muddy trench with a cousin or two, no? If I ever asked Grandpa this, I've since forgotten his response. And goodness knows he LOVED to talk about his time in the War. Do you know more from conversations with Elton?

http://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/  Prisoners Of The First World War 

I ran a few surnames. Found several Wisers in the German Army. Found several of my husband's surnames in the French Army (let the teasing begin). But this result below REALLY interested me. Of all the combinations of WOSTE I've not thought of or seen this spelling: Woster. Do you see the similarity to the handwriting on the 1853 document? Click on both pictures:

I shall now be on the alert for all things WOSTER. 

When you search for someone and can't find them, it feels like you're running up against a brick wall. Genealogists frequently speak of their "brick wall ancestors." Hannah Wosta is one of mine. And the man with whom she had her four boys. The elusive Herr Wiser. Many a fine researcher before me has looked high and low for proof of this father to the four Wiser sons who left Sachsen (now called Germany) for Galveston, Texas in the early 1850s. But more on the boys later.

I'd like to introduce the FIRST proof found of Hannah's existence. Do you read something other than WOSTA as her last name? See on the left-hand side where it is written again: "Wosta?" Try googling "wosta" and see all that pops up. This is NOT a common surname.

See this certified copy of an actual marriage certificate obtained from Galveston County Clerk on January 12,1990 by researcher Doris Weiser Jarvis, showing the Leeper/Wosta marriage on April 19, 1853. Partial transcription:

“The State of Texas, County of Galveston. To any regular ordained Minister of the Gospel, Judge of the District Court, Judge of the County Court, or Justice of the Peace. I hereby authorize any one of you to celebrate the rites of matrimony between Samuel Leeper and Hannah Wosta and due return of your proceedings hereon to me, at my Office, make within Sixty Days, as the law directs.” Signed by county clerk, and certified by F.B Whiting, Justice of the Peace. Marriage celebrated on 19th day of April A.D. 1853. Record Book No. B, pg. 87, numbered 214."

Thank you for popping by to read this blog.