She was born in Nieder Kunnersdorf, Konigsrich, in the Duchy of Saxony, Germany [1], a town about 45 miles east of Dresden [2]. Her parents had eleven children, of whom five died before their fifth birthday. To avoid being inducted into the army, her older brother, Christian Friedrich Krohe, Jr., went to America in 1833 and settled in Beardstown, Illinois [3]. He must have sent back glowing reports since a year later the his entire family, consisting of seven people including her parents and Henrietta. She was 23 at the time. On the same ship were seventeen members of the Jockisch family who were related by marriage. They left Bremen, Germany, on the ship Phoenix and landed in New Orleans, Louisiana, on 30 Dec 1834. Both groups traveled up the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers by steamboat and arrived in Beardstown, Illinois before Feb 1835 [4].
In 1837, less than three years after she arrived in America, she married Lewis Stoner who was 52 [5] and she was 26. Her first daughter, Mary, was baptized in Beardstown on 3 Nov 1837 [6] and six weeks later they moved to Texas in search of free land. This was just after the Texas War of Independence [7]. They settled in Montgomery County, Texas, approximately fifty miles north of present day Houston and near the town of Montgomery.
Their way of life in Texas during this period was recorded in the journal of a German traveler by the name of Gustav Dresel [8] who stayed with them for thirty days in the fall of 1839. Stoner told Dresel that upon arriving in Montgomery County they were lucky enough to find free land where Lewis located his headright and their neighbors helped them build a log cabin and the later a more spacious home. Within two years they bought the land they settled on and the Montgomery County land records show that in Jan 1839, Lewis bought a 125 acre ranch on Atkins Creek in Montgomery County for $185 from William Atkins [9]. Their cabin was, according to Dresel, at the edge of a forest and in front of a fertile hilly prairie that "charmingly swept along between groups of trees". In December of 1839 her second daughter, Frederica Stoner, was born [10]. Lewis Stoner's name was recorded on a list of conditional third class headright grants [11] in Montgomery County, Texas, for 640 acres . The list states that he had arrived in Montgomery County, Texas before 25 March 1839 [12] the date of the War of Texas Independence..
Lewis Stoner died about Feb 1841 leaving her with two daughters aged two and four. In a hearing in the Montgomery Probate Court, on 29 Mar 1841, Claiborn West and William Atkins were made administrators of the estate of Lewis Stoner and Henrietta was made guardian of the two children [13]. The next month, on 26 April 1841, an appraisal of the estate was made and the court divided it equally between Henrietta and her two daughters. Her share, after paying debts, was valued at $304.25 and consisted of half of the 125 acre ranch, (appraised at $375), a land certificate for 640 acres ($100), a lot in the town of Montgomery ($20) and 20 head of cattle ($110) [14].
Seven months later, In September 1841, at the age of 30, Henrietta she married Ferdinand Kesler in the Montgomery County Baptist Church [15]. A son, Felix John Kesler, was born in Sep 1842 "three miles s. of the city of Montgomery" [16], presumably on the 125 acre ranch. In January 1843 a settlement of her first husband's estate was made [17] and in September 1844 the property was partitioned between Henrietta Kesler and her two daughters [18].
At some time in 1844, a property assessment was made for Montgomery County and Ferd Kesler listed his property to include one Negro slave [19] and Henrietta's property was 125 acres. On 12 November 1844, Ferdinand Kesler bought 23.7 acres from William Atkins [20]. Anson Jones, the President of the Republic of Texas, granted Fred Kesler 355.4 acres in the north of Montgomery County, "on the Waters of the San Jacinto" river [21] on 2 June 1846. Texas was annexed by the United Sates on 29 December 1845 and with it came increased rights of women.
According to family lore [22], Henrietta's marriage to Fred Kesler was an unhappy one since she felt that he did not tend to business and provide for his family. In September 1846 a hearing took place which modified the original probate agreement. This new probate agreement granted Henrietta ownership of the lot in the town of Montgomery, the 640 acre headright certificate of Lewis Stoner and 20 head of cattle and Frederica and Mary Stoner took ownership of the 125 acre ranch [23]. In the following months this may have precipitated a number of actions. In the month that followed, on 1 October 1846, Fred Kessler sold his 355 acre property in Montgomery County for $89 to George W. Mason after owning it for just four months [24]. In the month after that, on November 1, 1846 Henrietta leased the town lot to William Fowler [25]. In the following year, 1847 [26], she returned to Beardstown, Illinois to be with her family.
The fate of Fred Kessler is somewhat uncertain. According to one story is that he followed her to St. Louis where he fell overboard from a boat and drowned in the Mississippi River [27]. On the other hand, the record seems to indicate that he, or his agent, was making land transactions in other parts of Texas almost thirty years later, in 1875 [28].
In the 1850 Federal Census Henrietta and her children were living on the farm of her sister's family Fredrika Krohe Duchardt, in Cass County Illinois [29]. (Her whereabouts are a little uncertain, however, since in Jan 1851, the index of Montgomery County Texas Land Deeds indicates that her town lot was leased to E. G. Collier by "Fred Kessler and wife" [30].)
In any case, on 2 Sep 1853 a deed was recorded in which Henrietta Kesler sold her lot in the town of Montgomery for $50 to E. G. Collier. In this deed her residence was given as Beardstown, Illinois [31]. On 27 September 1855 Henrietta's daughter, Mary, married Conrad Regus in Cass County [32] and on 30 August 1857 Frederica married Conrad Funk in Beardstown [33]. Four years after Mary's marriage, in August 1859, Conrad accidentally died [34].
In March 1860 Henrietta's daughters, whose names were given as "Mary Regas" and "Frederica Funk" with husband "Conrad Funk", also living in Beardstown, sold their property on Atkins Creek for $1,000 [35]. According to family lore Henrietta opened a notions business [36] on State Street in Beardstown and she was living with her daughter Mary Regus in August 1860, when the Federal Census was taken. There appears to be a one year old child named Willard C. Regus, but he does not appear in later Census records [37]. On 30 November 1864 her son Felix Kesler married Henrietta Kuhl [38]. Around 1869 her daughter Mary remarried to George Joseph Schmitt. In June 1870, when she was 59, Henrietta was living alone, apparently in her own home, in Beardstown and according to the Census record she owned real estate worth $800 [39] and gave her occupation as "huckster" [40]. In 1870 her daughter, Mary, and her husband and son lived at a different location in Beardstown.
By the 1880 Federal Census, when she was 69, she was living in the household of her daughter Mary Schmitt (42), her husband George (54) (who listed his occupation as saloon keeper) and their two sons George (11) and Victor (7) [41]. Mary's husband George died on 14 Feb 1899 [42] and in the 1900 Federal Census Henrietta was 89 and living with her now widowed daughter Mary (63) and one son, Victor (27) (Victor gave his occupation as a real estate agent and Mary owned her house). The Census record indicated that Mary had had five children and only two were alive [43].
It was said that she was a kind person and known affectionately as "Getta" by those who knew her [44]. She spent her later years in her daughter Mary's house, where she died in Sep 1902 at the age of 91. Her obituary reads:
"Death of Mrs. Kesler
Mrs. Henrietta Kesler died at 9:10 this morning at the age of 91 years and 7 months. Deceased leaves one son, Felix Kesler of St. Louis, and Mrs. George Schmitt, of this city. The funeral services will be held at the home of her daughter on East Fourth street, Tuesday afternoon at 8 o'clock. Internment at City cemetery." [45]
Her tombstone is at the Beardstown City Cemetery [46]. Henrietta had 17 grandchildren who survived her, Fredericka died three years after Henrietta, at 65 on 29 April 1905 [46] and Mary died eleven years after her at 75 on 8 February 1913 [47]. The property on Atkins Creek near Montgomery, Texas now lies under Lake Conroe which was built in 1976 as for recreation and a water source for Huston, Texas.
-----------------------------------------
References:
[1] - Church records at the Evangelisch-Lutherische Community Church, Obercunnersdorf,Germany. Personal communication by David Riley with Friederike Wittwer of Niedercunnersdorf. The church in Niedercunnersdorf was founded in1794. Prior to this the family attended Evangelisch-LutherischeCommunity Church in Löbau, Germany. Church website: https://www.gemeinde-kottmar.de.
[2] - Niedercunnersdorf, Saxony, Germany, has been incorporated into the town of Kottmar. It is in the far southeastern part of Germany, about 45 miles east of Dresden and lies 8 km (5 miles) from the Czech border and 20 km (12 miles) from the Polish border. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niedercunnersdorf
[3] - "Our Forefathers with German Roots, Volkmar, Duchart, Link, Krohe ofCass County Illinois", by Mrs. William T. Alston, Belleville, Illinois, Beardstown Public Library, Beardstown, IL (This book contains genealogies which are largely unsourced but very credible and with many family pictures, relics, newspaper articles, death certificates and funeral cards. Because of this we will refer to information from this document as family legend or refer to specific documents within this genealogy).
[4] - New Orleans, Passenger List Quarterly Abstracts, 1820-1875 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011, Phoenix arrival from Bremen, Germany, 30 Dec 1834, p. 7
[5] - Alston, p. 337, no marriage record has been found
[6] - Christening record of Gustina Maria (Mary) Steiner 2 Nov 1837 in Beardstown, IL page 2, Ersten EvangelischLutherischen Kirche: a translation of parish records, 1835-1900, William C. Talkemeyer, First Evangelical Lutheran Church (Beardstown, Illinois). On FamilySearch.com: https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?from=fhd&dps_pid=IE922159
[7] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Revolution. Women lost significant legal rights under the new Texas Republic constitution of 1836, which substituted English common law practices for the traditional Spanish law system. Under common law, the idea of community property was eliminated, and women no longer had the ability to act for themselves legally – to sign contracts, own property, or sue. See Section 6.2
[8] - P. 75 "Gustav Dresel's Huston Journal, Adventures in North America and Texas, 1837-1841", translated by Max Freund, Published 1954 by University of Texas Press, Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 54-10042 (available in 2018 from Amazon.com), [to be referred to as Dresel].
[9] - Lewis Stoner bought 125 acres Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume E page 288, William Atkins and Lewis Stoner, 19 January 1839, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas, Lewis Stoner buys 125 acres on Atkins Creek in Montgomery Co., TX
[10]- Her tombstone reads : "Frederecke Stiner Funk", Birth 5 Dec 1839, Death 29 Apr 1905 (aged 65), Burial Jockisch Cemetery, Cass County, Illinois, USA, Memorial ID: 38680824, FindAGrave.com.
[11] - https://assets.recenter.tamu.edu/documents/articles/1760.pdf
[12] - Headright grants, patents, titles and classes explained:
http://www.glo.texas.gov/ncu/SCANDOCS/archives_webfiles/arcmaps/webfiles/landgrants/PDFs/1/0/6/2/1062198.pdf
[13] - 29 March 1841, Claiborn West and William Atkins were made administrators of the estate of Lewis Stoner and guardians of the two children. Montgomery County, Texas, Probate Books, Volume L, Stoner Estate, 29 March 1841, page 192, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[14] - 26 April 1841, an appraisal for the estate was made, and valued at $608.50. Montgomery County Probate Record Book 4, p. 215-220, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301
[15] - Original marriage certificate in possession (in 2018) of A. Landis Riley, their great-great-grandson, located in the Montgomery County Court House, Conroe, TX found by Jo Ann Freeman, a genealogist in Conroe, in 1992.
[16] - His family bible states that he was born "three miles s. of the city of Montgomery", pages of this bible are (in 2018) in the possession of his great-great-grandson David J. Riley.
[17] - 19 January 1843, a settlement of Lewis Stoner's estate was made and Henrietta Kessler became guardian of the daughters. Montgomery County, Texas; Probate Book, Book 2, Stoner Estate Settlement, January 1843, p 260 - 268, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[18] - 30 September 1844, final settlement was made to change the partitioning of the Stoner estate between Henrietta and her two daughters, Montgomery County, Texas; Probate Book, Volume 5, Stoner Estate Settlement, September 1844, p 2327, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[19] - 1844 Montgomery County Property Assessment, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301 (found in 1991, could not be found 2018)
[20] - Fred Kesler bought 23.7 acres, Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume K page 33, William Atkins and Fred Kesler; 12 November 1844, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[21] - 2 Jun 1846 Fred Kesler was granted 355.4 acres in north of Montgomery County, TX, Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume L page 265, Republic of Texas and Fred Kesler; 12 November 1844, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[23]- Montgomery County, Texas; Probate Book, Volume 5, Stoner Estate Settlement, September 1846, p 23 - 27, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[24] - 1 October 1846, Montgomery County Land Deeds, Vol. M, p. 71, , Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St., Conroe, TX 77301
[25] - Nov 1846, Henrietta leased the Montgomery town lot to William Fowler, Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume L page 376 -378, Henrietta Kessler, and William Fowler; November 1846, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[26] - The obituary of Henrietta's son Felix John Kessler in the Beardstown, IL "Morning Enterprise" on 18 Oct 1910 stated that Felix arrived in Beardstown in 1847 (when he was 5 years old).
[27] - Alston, p. 337
[28] - A letter was published on 9 Mar 1962 by the Texas General Land Office clarify conflicting claims of Fred Kessler's land grants. This letter traces transactions in Montgomery County, Rusk County and Atascosa (then Bexar) Counties. The only patents he received were 355.4 acres in Montgomery County on and 284.6 acres Atascosa County on 27 Mar 1875. This brought his total to 640 acres as specified in the original land grant. See pp. 11-14 http://www.glo.texas.gov/ncu/SCANDOCS/archives_webfiles/arcmaps/webfiles/landgrants/PDFs/3/5/0/350115.pdf
[29]- 1850 Federal Census, Beardstown, Cass County, IL, 14 December 1850, Roll: M432_99;Page: 77A; Image: 579. lines 21-31. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. The Census lists the names of "John Jacker", 42; "Fredrica Jacker", 31; "Louisa Jacker",6; "Henry Jacker", 4; "Washington Jacker", 1;"Christina Crowe", 33; "Louisa Haman", 12; "Henrietta Castle", 40; "Mary Stone", 14; "Fredrica Stone", 12; and "Phillip Castlen", 7. We believe that "Henrietta Castle" is Henrietta Kesler with her three children and "John Jacker" and was John Duchardt with wife Fredrika Krohe Duchardt since the first names and ages of the family members match other records.
[30] - Jan 1851 Index of Montgomery County Land Deeds, book 0, p. 557, but the record has not been found, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301
[31] - Deed recorded in which Henrietta Kesler sold her town lot in Montgomery, TX for $50 to E. G. Collier, Montgomery, TX, Land Deeds, vol. P, p. 588, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301.
[32] - Illinois, Marriage Index, 1860-1920, Name: Conrad Regus, Marriage Date: 27 Sep 1855, Marriage Place: Cass, Illinois, USA, Spouse Name: Mary Steiner. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Marriage Index,1860-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,2015. Original data: Illinois State Marriage Records. Online index. Illinois State Public Record Offices.
[33] - Conrad Funk married Fredericka Steiner in Cass, Illinois, USA. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Marriage Index,1860-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,2015. Original data: Illinois State Marriage Records. Online index. Illinois State Public Record Offices.
[34] -Death Record of Conrad Regus, Gender: Male, Race: White, Marital Status: Married, Estimated Birth Year: abt 1824, Birth Place: Hesse, Germany, Age: 35, Death Date: Aug 1859, Cause of Death: "Fellfum winthwint" (according to family legend he fell through a window while sleepwalking), Census Year: 1860,Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois, USA, LINE: 4 U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Non-population Census Schedules for Illinois, 1850-1880; Archive Collection: T1133; Archive Roll Number: 58; Census Year: 1859; Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois
[35] - On 7 Mar 1860, "Mary Regus (formerly Mary Stoner) and Fredericia Funk (formerly Frederica Stoner)" sold their 125 acres in Montgomery County, TX to George A. Matthews and James Lynch; Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume P page 588, Henrietta Kesler, and E.G. Collier; November 1846, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas, sold a lot in the town for $50, Montgomery, Montgomery County,Texas.
[36] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notions_(sewing)
[37] - 1860 Federal Census, Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois; Roll: M653_160; Page: 215; Family History Library Film: 803160, Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
[38] - Marriage record of Felix Kesler, Gender: Male, Marriage Date: 30 Nov 1865, Marriage Place: Cass, Illinois, USA, Spouse Name: Henrietta Kuhl, Spouse Gender: Female. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Marriage Index,1860-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,2015. Original data: Illinois State Marriage Records. Online index. Illinois State Public Record Offices.
[39] -Year: 1870 United States Federal Census : Beardstown Ward 2, Cass, Illinois; Roll: M593_192; Page: 349A; Family History Library Film: 545691
[40] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huckster
[41] - Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Year: 1880;Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois; Roll: 178; Page: 722B; Enumeration District: 053
[42] - George J. Schmitt, Birth: 14 May 1827, Death: 14 Feb 1899 (aged 71), Burial: Beardstown City Cemetery, Beardstown, Cass County, Illinois, USA, Memorial #:54715468 URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54715468/schm Citation: Find A Grave, database and images
[43] - Federal Census Year: 1900; Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois; Page: 3; Enumeration District: 0015; FHL microfilm: 1240240. Source Information. 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.
[44] - Alson, p. 337
[45] - P. 3 of Illinoian Star, published in Beardstown, Illinois on Saturday, September 20th, 1902. At http://beardstown.advantage-preservation.com
[46] - Tombstone reading "Mrs. Henrietta Kesler", Birth 1811, Death 20 Sep 1902 (aged 90-91), Burial Beardstown City Cemetery, Beardstown, Cass County, Illinois, USA, Memorial ID 54715563 FindAGrave.com
[47] - Illinois, Select Deaths Index, 1877-1916, Name: Fredricke Funk, Birth Year: abt 1840, Gender: Female, Age:65 Yr, Death Date: 29 Apr 1905, Death Place: Monroe Twp, Cass, Illinois, Volume:3, Page: 104
[48] - Illinois, Select Deaths Index, 1877-1916, Mary Schmitt, Birth Year: abt 1838, Gender: Female, Age: 75 Yr, Death Date: 8 Feb 1913, Death Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois, Volume: 4, Page: 184
--------------------------------------------------------------
Contributions from:
- Dr. David J. Riley, great-great-grandson of Henrietta and Ferdinand Kessler
- Ann Galbraith, great-great-great-granddaughter of Lewis Stoner
- Fran Ellsworth, Montgomery County, Texas genealogist
- Jo Ann Freeman (deceased), Montgomery County, Texas genealogist (1991)
Contributor: Lance (50970355)
In 1837, less than three years after she arrived in America, she married Lewis Stoner who was 52 [5] and she was 26. Her first daughter, Mary, was baptized in Beardstown on 3 Nov 1837 [6] and six weeks later they moved to Texas in search of free land. This was just after the Texas War of Independence [7]. They settled in Montgomery County, Texas, approximately fifty miles north of present day Houston and near the town of Montgomery.
Their way of life in Texas during this period was recorded in the journal of a German traveler by the name of Gustav Dresel [8] who stayed with them for thirty days in the fall of 1839. Stoner told Dresel that upon arriving in Montgomery County they were lucky enough to find free land where Lewis located his headright and their neighbors helped them build a log cabin and the later a more spacious home. Within two years they bought the land they settled on and the Montgomery County land records show that in Jan 1839, Lewis bought a 125 acre ranch on Atkins Creek in Montgomery County for $185 from William Atkins [9]. Their cabin was, according to Dresel, at the edge of a forest and in front of a fertile hilly prairie that "charmingly swept along between groups of trees". In December of 1839 her second daughter, Frederica Stoner, was born [10]. Lewis Stoner's name was recorded on a list of conditional third class headright grants [11] in Montgomery County, Texas, for 640 acres . The list states that he had arrived in Montgomery County, Texas before 25 March 1839 [12] the date of the War of Texas Independence..
Lewis Stoner died about Feb 1841 leaving her with two daughters aged two and four. In a hearing in the Montgomery Probate Court, on 29 Mar 1841, Claiborn West and William Atkins were made administrators of the estate of Lewis Stoner and Henrietta was made guardian of the two children [13]. The next month, on 26 April 1841, an appraisal of the estate was made and the court divided it equally between Henrietta and her two daughters. Her share, after paying debts, was valued at $304.25 and consisted of half of the 125 acre ranch, (appraised at $375), a land certificate for 640 acres ($100), a lot in the town of Montgomery ($20) and 20 head of cattle ($110) [14].
Seven months later, In September 1841, at the age of 30, Henrietta she married Ferdinand Kesler in the Montgomery County Baptist Church [15]. A son, Felix John Kesler, was born in Sep 1842 "three miles s. of the city of Montgomery" [16], presumably on the 125 acre ranch. In January 1843 a settlement of her first husband's estate was made [17] and in September 1844 the property was partitioned between Henrietta Kesler and her two daughters [18].
At some time in 1844, a property assessment was made for Montgomery County and Ferd Kesler listed his property to include one Negro slave [19] and Henrietta's property was 125 acres. On 12 November 1844, Ferdinand Kesler bought 23.7 acres from William Atkins [20]. Anson Jones, the President of the Republic of Texas, granted Fred Kesler 355.4 acres in the north of Montgomery County, "on the Waters of the San Jacinto" river [21] on 2 June 1846. Texas was annexed by the United Sates on 29 December 1845 and with it came increased rights of women.
According to family lore [22], Henrietta's marriage to Fred Kesler was an unhappy one since she felt that he did not tend to business and provide for his family. In September 1846 a hearing took place which modified the original probate agreement. This new probate agreement granted Henrietta ownership of the lot in the town of Montgomery, the 640 acre headright certificate of Lewis Stoner and 20 head of cattle and Frederica and Mary Stoner took ownership of the 125 acre ranch [23]. In the following months this may have precipitated a number of actions. In the month that followed, on 1 October 1846, Fred Kessler sold his 355 acre property in Montgomery County for $89 to George W. Mason after owning it for just four months [24]. In the month after that, on November 1, 1846 Henrietta leased the town lot to William Fowler [25]. In the following year, 1847 [26], she returned to Beardstown, Illinois to be with her family.
The fate of Fred Kessler is somewhat uncertain. According to one story is that he followed her to St. Louis where he fell overboard from a boat and drowned in the Mississippi River [27]. On the other hand, the record seems to indicate that he, or his agent, was making land transactions in other parts of Texas almost thirty years later, in 1875 [28].
In the 1850 Federal Census Henrietta and her children were living on the farm of her sister's family Fredrika Krohe Duchardt, in Cass County Illinois [29]. (Her whereabouts are a little uncertain, however, since in Jan 1851, the index of Montgomery County Texas Land Deeds indicates that her town lot was leased to E. G. Collier by "Fred Kessler and wife" [30].)
In any case, on 2 Sep 1853 a deed was recorded in which Henrietta Kesler sold her lot in the town of Montgomery for $50 to E. G. Collier. In this deed her residence was given as Beardstown, Illinois [31]. On 27 September 1855 Henrietta's daughter, Mary, married Conrad Regus in Cass County [32] and on 30 August 1857 Frederica married Conrad Funk in Beardstown [33]. Four years after Mary's marriage, in August 1859, Conrad accidentally died [34].
In March 1860 Henrietta's daughters, whose names were given as "Mary Regas" and "Frederica Funk" with husband "Conrad Funk", also living in Beardstown, sold their property on Atkins Creek for $1,000 [35]. According to family lore Henrietta opened a notions business [36] on State Street in Beardstown and she was living with her daughter Mary Regus in August 1860, when the Federal Census was taken. There appears to be a one year old child named Willard C. Regus, but he does not appear in later Census records [37]. On 30 November 1864 her son Felix Kesler married Henrietta Kuhl [38]. Around 1869 her daughter Mary remarried to George Joseph Schmitt. In June 1870, when she was 59, Henrietta was living alone, apparently in her own home, in Beardstown and according to the Census record she owned real estate worth $800 [39] and gave her occupation as "huckster" [40]. In 1870 her daughter, Mary, and her husband and son lived at a different location in Beardstown.
By the 1880 Federal Census, when she was 69, she was living in the household of her daughter Mary Schmitt (42), her husband George (54) (who listed his occupation as saloon keeper) and their two sons George (11) and Victor (7) [41]. Mary's husband George died on 14 Feb 1899 [42] and in the 1900 Federal Census Henrietta was 89 and living with her now widowed daughter Mary (63) and one son, Victor (27) (Victor gave his occupation as a real estate agent and Mary owned her house). The Census record indicated that Mary had had five children and only two were alive [43].
It was said that she was a kind person and known affectionately as "Getta" by those who knew her [44]. She spent her later years in her daughter Mary's house, where she died in Sep 1902 at the age of 91. Her obituary reads:
"Death of Mrs. Kesler
Mrs. Henrietta Kesler died at 9:10 this morning at the age of 91 years and 7 months. Deceased leaves one son, Felix Kesler of St. Louis, and Mrs. George Schmitt, of this city. The funeral services will be held at the home of her daughter on East Fourth street, Tuesday afternoon at 8 o'clock. Internment at City cemetery." [45]
Her tombstone is at the Beardstown City Cemetery [46]. Henrietta had 17 grandchildren who survived her, Fredericka died three years after Henrietta, at 65 on 29 April 1905 [46] and Mary died eleven years after her at 75 on 8 February 1913 [47]. The property on Atkins Creek near Montgomery, Texas now lies under Lake Conroe which was built in 1976 as for recreation and a water source for Huston, Texas.
-----------------------------------------
References:
[1] - Church records at the Evangelisch-Lutherische Community Church, Obercunnersdorf,Germany. Personal communication by David Riley with Friederike Wittwer of Niedercunnersdorf. The church in Niedercunnersdorf was founded in1794. Prior to this the family attended Evangelisch-LutherischeCommunity Church in Löbau, Germany. Church website: https://www.gemeinde-kottmar.de.
[2] - Niedercunnersdorf, Saxony, Germany, has been incorporated into the town of Kottmar. It is in the far southeastern part of Germany, about 45 miles east of Dresden and lies 8 km (5 miles) from the Czech border and 20 km (12 miles) from the Polish border. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niedercunnersdorf
[3] - "Our Forefathers with German Roots, Volkmar, Duchart, Link, Krohe ofCass County Illinois", by Mrs. William T. Alston, Belleville, Illinois, Beardstown Public Library, Beardstown, IL (This book contains genealogies which are largely unsourced but very credible and with many family pictures, relics, newspaper articles, death certificates and funeral cards. Because of this we will refer to information from this document as family legend or refer to specific documents within this genealogy).
[4] - New Orleans, Passenger List Quarterly Abstracts, 1820-1875 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011, Phoenix arrival from Bremen, Germany, 30 Dec 1834, p. 7
[5] - Alston, p. 337, no marriage record has been found
[6] - Christening record of Gustina Maria (Mary) Steiner 2 Nov 1837 in Beardstown, IL page 2, Ersten EvangelischLutherischen Kirche: a translation of parish records, 1835-1900, William C. Talkemeyer, First Evangelical Lutheran Church (Beardstown, Illinois). On FamilySearch.com: https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?from=fhd&dps_pid=IE922159
[7] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Revolution. Women lost significant legal rights under the new Texas Republic constitution of 1836, which substituted English common law practices for the traditional Spanish law system. Under common law, the idea of community property was eliminated, and women no longer had the ability to act for themselves legally – to sign contracts, own property, or sue. See Section 6.2
[8] - P. 75 "Gustav Dresel's Huston Journal, Adventures in North America and Texas, 1837-1841", translated by Max Freund, Published 1954 by University of Texas Press, Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 54-10042 (available in 2018 from Amazon.com), [to be referred to as Dresel].
[9] - Lewis Stoner bought 125 acres Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume E page 288, William Atkins and Lewis Stoner, 19 January 1839, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas, Lewis Stoner buys 125 acres on Atkins Creek in Montgomery Co., TX
[10]- Her tombstone reads : "Frederecke Stiner Funk", Birth 5 Dec 1839, Death 29 Apr 1905 (aged 65), Burial Jockisch Cemetery, Cass County, Illinois, USA, Memorial ID: 38680824, FindAGrave.com.
[11] - https://assets.recenter.tamu.edu/documents/articles/1760.pdf
[12] - Headright grants, patents, titles and classes explained:
http://www.glo.texas.gov/ncu/SCANDOCS/archives_webfiles/arcmaps/webfiles/landgrants/PDFs/1/0/6/2/1062198.pdf
[13] - 29 March 1841, Claiborn West and William Atkins were made administrators of the estate of Lewis Stoner and guardians of the two children. Montgomery County, Texas, Probate Books, Volume L, Stoner Estate, 29 March 1841, page 192, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[14] - 26 April 1841, an appraisal for the estate was made, and valued at $608.50. Montgomery County Probate Record Book 4, p. 215-220, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301
[15] - Original marriage certificate in possession (in 2018) of A. Landis Riley, their great-great-grandson, located in the Montgomery County Court House, Conroe, TX found by Jo Ann Freeman, a genealogist in Conroe, in 1992.
[16] - His family bible states that he was born "three miles s. of the city of Montgomery", pages of this bible are (in 2018) in the possession of his great-great-grandson David J. Riley.
[17] - 19 January 1843, a settlement of Lewis Stoner's estate was made and Henrietta Kessler became guardian of the daughters. Montgomery County, Texas; Probate Book, Book 2, Stoner Estate Settlement, January 1843, p 260 - 268, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[18] - 30 September 1844, final settlement was made to change the partitioning of the Stoner estate between Henrietta and her two daughters, Montgomery County, Texas; Probate Book, Volume 5, Stoner Estate Settlement, September 1844, p 2327, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[19] - 1844 Montgomery County Property Assessment, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301 (found in 1991, could not be found 2018)
[20] - Fred Kesler bought 23.7 acres, Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume K page 33, William Atkins and Fred Kesler; 12 November 1844, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[21] - 2 Jun 1846 Fred Kesler was granted 355.4 acres in north of Montgomery County, TX, Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume L page 265, Republic of Texas and Fred Kesler; 12 November 1844, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[23]- Montgomery County, Texas; Probate Book, Volume 5, Stoner Estate Settlement, September 1846, p 23 - 27, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[24] - 1 October 1846, Montgomery County Land Deeds, Vol. M, p. 71, , Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St., Conroe, TX 77301
[25] - Nov 1846, Henrietta leased the Montgomery town lot to William Fowler, Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume L page 376 -378, Henrietta Kessler, and William Fowler; November 1846, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[26] - The obituary of Henrietta's son Felix John Kessler in the Beardstown, IL "Morning Enterprise" on 18 Oct 1910 stated that Felix arrived in Beardstown in 1847 (when he was 5 years old).
[27] - Alston, p. 337
[28] - A letter was published on 9 Mar 1962 by the Texas General Land Office clarify conflicting claims of Fred Kessler's land grants. This letter traces transactions in Montgomery County, Rusk County and Atascosa (then Bexar) Counties. The only patents he received were 355.4 acres in Montgomery County on and 284.6 acres Atascosa County on 27 Mar 1875. This brought his total to 640 acres as specified in the original land grant. See pp. 11-14 http://www.glo.texas.gov/ncu/SCANDOCS/archives_webfiles/arcmaps/webfiles/landgrants/PDFs/3/5/0/350115.pdf
[29]- 1850 Federal Census, Beardstown, Cass County, IL, 14 December 1850, Roll: M432_99;Page: 77A; Image: 579. lines 21-31. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. The Census lists the names of "John Jacker", 42; "Fredrica Jacker", 31; "Louisa Jacker",6; "Henry Jacker", 4; "Washington Jacker", 1;"Christina Crowe", 33; "Louisa Haman", 12; "Henrietta Castle", 40; "Mary Stone", 14; "Fredrica Stone", 12; and "Phillip Castlen", 7. We believe that "Henrietta Castle" is Henrietta Kesler with her three children and "John Jacker" and was John Duchardt with wife Fredrika Krohe Duchardt since the first names and ages of the family members match other records.
[30] - Jan 1851 Index of Montgomery County Land Deeds, book 0, p. 557, but the record has not been found, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301
[31] - Deed recorded in which Henrietta Kesler sold her town lot in Montgomery, TX for $50 to E. G. Collier, Montgomery, TX, Land Deeds, vol. P, p. 588, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301.
[32] - Illinois, Marriage Index, 1860-1920, Name: Conrad Regus, Marriage Date: 27 Sep 1855, Marriage Place: Cass, Illinois, USA, Spouse Name: Mary Steiner. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Marriage Index,1860-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,2015. Original data: Illinois State Marriage Records. Online index. Illinois State Public Record Offices.
[33] - Conrad Funk married Fredericka Steiner in Cass, Illinois, USA. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Marriage Index,1860-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,2015. Original data: Illinois State Marriage Records. Online index. Illinois State Public Record Offices.
[34] -Death Record of Conrad Regus, Gender: Male, Race: White, Marital Status: Married, Estimated Birth Year: abt 1824, Birth Place: Hesse, Germany, Age: 35, Death Date: Aug 1859, Cause of Death: "Fellfum winthwint" (according to family legend he fell through a window while sleepwalking), Census Year: 1860,Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois, USA, LINE: 4 U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Non-population Census Schedules for Illinois, 1850-1880; Archive Collection: T1133; Archive Roll Number: 58; Census Year: 1859; Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois
[35] - On 7 Mar 1860, "Mary Regus (formerly Mary Stoner) and Fredericia Funk (formerly Frederica Stoner)" sold their 125 acres in Montgomery County, TX to George A. Matthews and James Lynch; Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume P page 588, Henrietta Kesler, and E.G. Collier; November 1846, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas, sold a lot in the town for $50, Montgomery, Montgomery County,Texas.
[36] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notions_(sewing)
[37] - 1860 Federal Census, Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois; Roll: M653_160; Page: 215; Family History Library Film: 803160, Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
[38] - Marriage record of Felix Kesler, Gender: Male, Marriage Date: 30 Nov 1865, Marriage Place: Cass, Illinois, USA, Spouse Name: Henrietta Kuhl, Spouse Gender: Female. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Marriage Index,1860-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,2015. Original data: Illinois State Marriage Records. Online index. Illinois State Public Record Offices.
[39] -Year: 1870 United States Federal Census : Beardstown Ward 2, Cass, Illinois; Roll: M593_192; Page: 349A; Family History Library Film: 545691
[40] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huckster
[41] - Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Year: 1880;Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois; Roll: 178; Page: 722B; Enumeration District: 053
[42] - George J. Schmitt, Birth: 14 May 1827, Death: 14 Feb 1899 (aged 71), Burial: Beardstown City Cemetery, Beardstown, Cass County, Illinois, USA, Memorial #:54715468 URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54715468/schm Citation: Find A Grave, database and images
[43] - Federal Census Year: 1900; Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois; Page: 3; Enumeration District: 0015; FHL microfilm: 1240240. Source Information. 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.
[44] - Alson, p. 337
[45] - P. 3 of Illinoian Star, published in Beardstown, Illinois on Saturday, September 20th, 1902. At http://beardstown.advantage-preservation.com
[46] - Tombstone reading "Mrs. Henrietta Kesler", Birth 1811, Death 20 Sep 1902 (aged 90-91), Burial Beardstown City Cemetery, Beardstown, Cass County, Illinois, USA, Memorial ID 54715563 FindAGrave.com
[47] - Illinois, Select Deaths Index, 1877-1916, Name: Fredricke Funk, Birth Year: abt 1840, Gender: Female, Age:65 Yr, Death Date: 29 Apr 1905, Death Place: Monroe Twp, Cass, Illinois, Volume:3, Page: 104
[48] - Illinois, Select Deaths Index, 1877-1916, Mary Schmitt, Birth Year: abt 1838, Gender: Female, Age: 75 Yr, Death Date: 8 Feb 1913, Death Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois, Volume: 4, Page: 184
--------------------------------------------------------------
Contributions from:
- Dr. David J. Riley, great-great-grandson of Henrietta and Ferdinand Kessler
- Ann Galbraith, great-great-great-granddaughter of Lewis Stoner
- Fran Ellsworth, Montgomery County, Texas genealogist
- Jo Ann Freeman (deceased), Montgomery County, Texas genealogist (1991)
Contributor: Lance (50970355)
She was born in Nieder Kunnersdorf, Konigsrich, in the Duchy of Saxony, Germany [1], a town about 45 miles east of Dresden [2]. Her parents had eleven children, of whom five died before their fifth birthday. To avoid being inducted into the army, her older brother, Christian Friedrich Krohe, Jr., went to America in 1833 and settled in Beardstown, Illinois [3]. He must have sent back glowing reports since a year later the his entire family, consisting of seven people including her parents and Henrietta. She was 23 at the time. On the same ship were seventeen members of the Jockisch family who were related by marriage. They left Bremen, Germany, on the ship Phoenix and landed in New Orleans, Louisiana, on 30 Dec 1834. Both groups traveled up the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers by steamboat and arrived in Beardstown, Illinois before Feb 1835 [4].
In 1837, less than three years after she arrived in America, she married Lewis Stoner who was 52 [5] and she was 26. Her first daughter, Mary, was baptized in Beardstown on 3 Nov 1837 [6] and six weeks later they moved to Texas in search of free land. This was just after the Texas War of Independence [7]. They settled in Montgomery County, Texas, approximately fifty miles north of present day Houston and near the town of Montgomery.
Their way of life in Texas during this period was recorded in the journal of a German traveler by the name of Gustav Dresel [8] who stayed with them for thirty days in the fall of 1839. Stoner told Dresel that upon arriving in Montgomery County they were lucky enough to find free land where Lewis located his headright and their neighbors helped them build a log cabin and the later a more spacious home. Within two years they bought the land they settled on and the Montgomery County land records show that in Jan 1839, Lewis bought a 125 acre ranch on Atkins Creek in Montgomery County for $185 from William Atkins [9]. Their cabin was, according to Dresel, at the edge of a forest and in front of a fertile hilly prairie that "charmingly swept along between groups of trees". In December of 1839 her second daughter, Frederica Stoner, was born [10]. Lewis Stoner's name was recorded on a list of conditional third class headright grants [11] in Montgomery County, Texas, for 640 acres . The list states that he had arrived in Montgomery County, Texas before 25 March 1839 [12] the date of the War of Texas Independence..
Lewis Stoner died about Feb 1841 leaving her with two daughters aged two and four. In a hearing in the Montgomery Probate Court, on 29 Mar 1841, Claiborn West and William Atkins were made administrators of the estate of Lewis Stoner and Henrietta was made guardian of the two children [13]. The next month, on 26 April 1841, an appraisal of the estate was made and the court divided it equally between Henrietta and her two daughters. Her share, after paying debts, was valued at $304.25 and consisted of half of the 125 acre ranch, (appraised at $375), a land certificate for 640 acres ($100), a lot in the town of Montgomery ($20) and 20 head of cattle ($110) [14].
Seven months later, In September 1841, at the age of 30, Henrietta she married Ferdinand Kesler in the Montgomery County Baptist Church [15]. A son, Felix John Kesler, was born in Sep 1842 "three miles s. of the city of Montgomery" [16], presumably on the 125 acre ranch. In January 1843 a settlement of her first husband's estate was made [17] and in September 1844 the property was partitioned between Henrietta Kesler and her two daughters [18].
At some time in 1844, a property assessment was made for Montgomery County and Ferd Kesler listed his property to include one Negro slave [19] and Henrietta's property was 125 acres. On 12 November 1844, Ferdinand Kesler bought 23.7 acres from William Atkins [20]. Anson Jones, the President of the Republic of Texas, granted Fred Kesler 355.4 acres in the north of Montgomery County, "on the Waters of the San Jacinto" river [21] on 2 June 1846. Texas was annexed by the United Sates on 29 December 1845 and with it came increased rights of women.
According to family lore [22], Henrietta's marriage to Fred Kesler was an unhappy one since she felt that he did not tend to business and provide for his family. In September 1846 a hearing took place which modified the original probate agreement. This new probate agreement granted Henrietta ownership of the lot in the town of Montgomery, the 640 acre headright certificate of Lewis Stoner and 20 head of cattle and Frederica and Mary Stoner took ownership of the 125 acre ranch [23]. In the following months this may have precipitated a number of actions. In the month that followed, on 1 October 1846, Fred Kessler sold his 355 acre property in Montgomery County for $89 to George W. Mason after owning it for just four months [24]. In the month after that, on November 1, 1846 Henrietta leased the town lot to William Fowler [25]. In the following year, 1847 [26], she returned to Beardstown, Illinois to be with her family.
The fate of Fred Kessler is somewhat uncertain. According to one story is that he followed her to St. Louis where he fell overboard from a boat and drowned in the Mississippi River [27]. On the other hand, the record seems to indicate that he, or his agent, was making land transactions in other parts of Texas almost thirty years later, in 1875 [28].
In the 1850 Federal Census Henrietta and her children were living on the farm of her sister's family Fredrika Krohe Duchardt, in Cass County Illinois [29]. (Her whereabouts are a little uncertain, however, since in Jan 1851, the index of Montgomery County Texas Land Deeds indicates that her town lot was leased to E. G. Collier by "Fred Kessler and wife" [30].)
In any case, on 2 Sep 1853 a deed was recorded in which Henrietta Kesler sold her lot in the town of Montgomery for $50 to E. G. Collier. In this deed her residence was given as Beardstown, Illinois [31]. On 27 September 1855 Henrietta's daughter, Mary, married Conrad Regus in Cass County [32] and on 30 August 1857 Frederica married Conrad Funk in Beardstown [33]. Four years after Mary's marriage, in August 1859, Conrad accidentally died [34].
In March 1860 Henrietta's daughters, whose names were given as "Mary Regas" and "Frederica Funk" with husband "Conrad Funk", also living in Beardstown, sold their property on Atkins Creek for $1,000 [35]. According to family lore Henrietta opened a notions business [36] on State Street in Beardstown and she was living with her daughter Mary Regus in August 1860, when the Federal Census was taken. There appears to be a one year old child named Willard C. Regus, but he does not appear in later Census records [37]. On 30 November 1864 her son Felix Kesler married Henrietta Kuhl [38]. Around 1869 her daughter Mary remarried to George Joseph Schmitt. In June 1870, when she was 59, Henrietta was living alone, apparently in her own home, in Beardstown and according to the Census record she owned real estate worth $800 [39] and gave her occupation as "huckster" [40]. In 1870 her daughter, Mary, and her husband and son lived at a different location in Beardstown.
By the 1880 Federal Census, when she was 69, she was living in the household of her daughter Mary Schmitt (42), her husband George (54) (who listed his occupation as saloon keeper) and their two sons George (11) and Victor (7) [41]. Mary's husband George died on 14 Feb 1899 [42] and in the 1900 Federal Census Henrietta was 89 and living with her now widowed daughter Mary (63) and one son, Victor (27) (Victor gave his occupation as a real estate agent and Mary owned her house). The Census record indicated that Mary had had five children and only two were alive [43].
It was said that she was a kind person and known affectionately as "Getta" by those who knew her [44]. She spent her later years in her daughter Mary's house, where she died in Sep 1902 at the age of 91. Her obituary reads:
"Death of Mrs. Kesler
Mrs. Henrietta Kesler died at 9:10 this morning at the age of 91 years and 7 months. Deceased leaves one son, Felix Kesler of St. Louis, and Mrs. George Schmitt, of this city. The funeral services will be held at the home of her daughter on East Fourth street, Tuesday afternoon at 8 o'clock. Internment at City cemetery." [45]
Her tombstone is at the Beardstown City Cemetery [46]. Henrietta had 17 grandchildren who survived her, Fredericka died three years after Henrietta, at 65 on 29 April 1905 [46] and Mary died eleven years after her at 75 on 8 February 1913 [47]. The property on Atkins Creek near Montgomery, Texas now lies under Lake Conroe which was built in 1976 as for recreation and a water source for Huston, Texas.
-----------------------------------------
References:
[1] - Church records at the Evangelisch-Lutherische Community Church, Obercunnersdorf,Germany. Personal communication by David Riley with Friederike Wittwer of Niedercunnersdorf. The church in Niedercunnersdorf was founded in1794. Prior to this the family attended Evangelisch-LutherischeCommunity Church in Löbau, Germany. Church website: https://www.gemeinde-kottmar.de.
[2] - Niedercunnersdorf, Saxony, Germany, has been incorporated into the town of Kottmar. It is in the far southeastern part of Germany, about 45 miles east of Dresden and lies 8 km (5 miles) from the Czech border and 20 km (12 miles) from the Polish border. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niedercunnersdorf
[3] - "Our Forefathers with German Roots, Volkmar, Duchart, Link, Krohe ofCass County Illinois", by Mrs. William T. Alston, Belleville, Illinois, Beardstown Public Library, Beardstown, IL (This book contains genealogies which are largely unsourced but very credible and with many family pictures, relics, newspaper articles, death certificates and funeral cards. Because of this we will refer to information from this document as family legend or refer to specific documents within this genealogy).
[4] - New Orleans, Passenger List Quarterly Abstracts, 1820-1875 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011, Phoenix arrival from Bremen, Germany, 30 Dec 1834, p. 7
[5] - Alston, p. 337, no marriage record has been found
[6] - Christening record of Gustina Maria (Mary) Steiner 2 Nov 1837 in Beardstown, IL page 2, Ersten EvangelischLutherischen Kirche: a translation of parish records, 1835-1900, William C. Talkemeyer, First Evangelical Lutheran Church (Beardstown, Illinois). On FamilySearch.com: https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?from=fhd&dps_pid=IE922159
[7] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Revolution. Women lost significant legal rights under the new Texas Republic constitution of 1836, which substituted English common law practices for the traditional Spanish law system. Under common law, the idea of community property was eliminated, and women no longer had the ability to act for themselves legally – to sign contracts, own property, or sue. See Section 6.2
[8] - P. 75 "Gustav Dresel's Huston Journal, Adventures in North America and Texas, 1837-1841", translated by Max Freund, Published 1954 by University of Texas Press, Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 54-10042 (available in 2018 from Amazon.com), [to be referred to as Dresel].
[9] - Lewis Stoner bought 125 acres Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume E page 288, William Atkins and Lewis Stoner, 19 January 1839, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas, Lewis Stoner buys 125 acres on Atkins Creek in Montgomery Co., TX
[10]- Her tombstone reads : "Frederecke Stiner Funk", Birth 5 Dec 1839, Death 29 Apr 1905 (aged 65), Burial Jockisch Cemetery, Cass County, Illinois, USA, Memorial ID: 38680824, FindAGrave.com.
[11] - https://assets.recenter.tamu.edu/documents/articles/1760.pdf
[12] - Headright grants, patents, titles and classes explained:
http://www.glo.texas.gov/ncu/SCANDOCS/archives_webfiles/arcmaps/webfiles/landgrants/PDFs/1/0/6/2/1062198.pdf
[13] - 29 March 1841, Claiborn West and William Atkins were made administrators of the estate of Lewis Stoner and guardians of the two children. Montgomery County, Texas, Probate Books, Volume L, Stoner Estate, 29 March 1841, page 192, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[14] - 26 April 1841, an appraisal for the estate was made, and valued at $608.50. Montgomery County Probate Record Book 4, p. 215-220, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301
[15] - Original marriage certificate in possession (in 2018) of A. Landis Riley, their great-great-grandson, located in the Montgomery County Court House, Conroe, TX found by Jo Ann Freeman, a genealogist in Conroe, in 1992.
[16] - His family bible states that he was born "three miles s. of the city of Montgomery", pages of this bible are (in 2018) in the possession of his great-great-grandson David J. Riley.
[17] - 19 January 1843, a settlement of Lewis Stoner's estate was made and Henrietta Kessler became guardian of the daughters. Montgomery County, Texas; Probate Book, Book 2, Stoner Estate Settlement, January 1843, p 260 - 268, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[18] - 30 September 1844, final settlement was made to change the partitioning of the Stoner estate between Henrietta and her two daughters, Montgomery County, Texas; Probate Book, Volume 5, Stoner Estate Settlement, September 1844, p 2327, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[19] - 1844 Montgomery County Property Assessment, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301 (found in 1991, could not be found 2018)
[20] - Fred Kesler bought 23.7 acres, Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume K page 33, William Atkins and Fred Kesler; 12 November 1844, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[21] - 2 Jun 1846 Fred Kesler was granted 355.4 acres in north of Montgomery County, TX, Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume L page 265, Republic of Texas and Fred Kesler; 12 November 1844, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[23]- Montgomery County, Texas; Probate Book, Volume 5, Stoner Estate Settlement, September 1846, p 23 - 27, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[24] - 1 October 1846, Montgomery County Land Deeds, Vol. M, p. 71, , Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St., Conroe, TX 77301
[25] - Nov 1846, Henrietta leased the Montgomery town lot to William Fowler, Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume L page 376 -378, Henrietta Kessler, and William Fowler; November 1846, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[26] - The obituary of Henrietta's son Felix John Kessler in the Beardstown, IL "Morning Enterprise" on 18 Oct 1910 stated that Felix arrived in Beardstown in 1847 (when he was 5 years old).
[27] - Alston, p. 337
[28] - A letter was published on 9 Mar 1962 by the Texas General Land Office clarify conflicting claims of Fred Kessler's land grants. This letter traces transactions in Montgomery County, Rusk County and Atascosa (then Bexar) Counties. The only patents he received were 355.4 acres in Montgomery County on and 284.6 acres Atascosa County on 27 Mar 1875. This brought his total to 640 acres as specified in the original land grant. See pp. 11-14 http://www.glo.texas.gov/ncu/SCANDOCS/archives_webfiles/arcmaps/webfiles/landgrants/PDFs/3/5/0/350115.pdf
[29]- 1850 Federal Census, Beardstown, Cass County, IL, 14 December 1850, Roll: M432_99;Page: 77A; Image: 579. lines 21-31. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. The Census lists the names of "John Jacker", 42; "Fredrica Jacker", 31; "Louisa Jacker",6; "Henry Jacker", 4; "Washington Jacker", 1;"Christina Crowe", 33; "Louisa Haman", 12; "Henrietta Castle", 40; "Mary Stone", 14; "Fredrica Stone", 12; and "Phillip Castlen", 7. We believe that "Henrietta Castle" is Henrietta Kesler with her three children and "John Jacker" and was John Duchardt with wife Fredrika Krohe Duchardt since the first names and ages of the family members match other records.
[30] - Jan 1851 Index of Montgomery County Land Deeds, book 0, p. 557, but the record has not been found, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301
[31] - Deed recorded in which Henrietta Kesler sold her town lot in Montgomery, TX for $50 to E. G. Collier, Montgomery, TX, Land Deeds, vol. P, p. 588, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301.
[32] - Illinois, Marriage Index, 1860-1920, Name: Conrad Regus, Marriage Date: 27 Sep 1855, Marriage Place: Cass, Illinois, USA, Spouse Name: Mary Steiner. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Marriage Index,1860-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,2015. Original data: Illinois State Marriage Records. Online index. Illinois State Public Record Offices.
[33] - Conrad Funk married Fredericka Steiner in Cass, Illinois, USA. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Marriage Index,1860-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,2015. Original data: Illinois State Marriage Records. Online index. Illinois State Public Record Offices.
[34] -Death Record of Conrad Regus, Gender: Male, Race: White, Marital Status: Married, Estimated Birth Year: abt 1824, Birth Place: Hesse, Germany, Age: 35, Death Date: Aug 1859, Cause of Death: "Fellfum winthwint" (according to family legend he fell through a window while sleepwalking), Census Year: 1860,Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois, USA, LINE: 4 U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Non-population Census Schedules for Illinois, 1850-1880; Archive Collection: T1133; Archive Roll Number: 58; Census Year: 1859; Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois
[35] - On 7 Mar 1860, "Mary Regus (formerly Mary Stoner) and Fredericia Funk (formerly Frederica Stoner)" sold their 125 acres in Montgomery County, TX to George A. Matthews and James Lynch; Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume P page 588, Henrietta Kesler, and E.G. Collier; November 1846, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas, sold a lot in the town for $50, Montgomery, Montgomery County,Texas.
[36] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notions_(sewing)
[37] - 1860 Federal Census, Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois; Roll: M653_160; Page: 215; Family History Library Film: 803160, Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
[38] - Marriage record of Felix Kesler, Gender: Male, Marriage Date: 30 Nov 1865, Marriage Place: Cass, Illinois, USA, Spouse Name: Henrietta Kuhl, Spouse Gender: Female. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Marriage Index,1860-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,2015. Original data: Illinois State Marriage Records. Online index. Illinois State Public Record Offices.
[39] -Year: 1870 United States Federal Census : Beardstown Ward 2, Cass, Illinois; Roll: M593_192; Page: 349A; Family History Library Film: 545691
[40] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huckster
[41] - Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Year: 1880;Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois; Roll: 178; Page: 722B; Enumeration District: 053
[42] - George J. Schmitt, Birth: 14 May 1827, Death: 14 Feb 1899 (aged 71), Burial: Beardstown City Cemetery, Beardstown, Cass County, Illinois, USA, Memorial #:54715468 URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54715468/schm Citation: Find A Grave, database and images
[43] - Federal Census Year: 1900; Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois; Page: 3; Enumeration District: 0015; FHL microfilm: 1240240. Source Information. 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.
[44] - Alson, p. 337
[45] - P. 3 of Illinoian Star, published in Beardstown, Illinois on Saturday, September 20th, 1902. At http://beardstown.advantage-preservation.com
[46] - Tombstone reading "Mrs. Henrietta Kesler", Birth 1811, Death 20 Sep 1902 (aged 90-91), Burial Beardstown City Cemetery, Beardstown, Cass County, Illinois, USA, Memorial ID 54715563 FindAGrave.com
[47] - Illinois, Select Deaths Index, 1877-1916, Name: Fredricke Funk, Birth Year: abt 1840, Gender: Female, Age:65 Yr, Death Date: 29 Apr 1905, Death Place: Monroe Twp, Cass, Illinois, Volume:3, Page: 104
[48] - Illinois, Select Deaths Index, 1877-1916, Mary Schmitt, Birth Year: abt 1838, Gender: Female, Age: 75 Yr, Death Date: 8 Feb 1913, Death Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois, Volume: 4, Page: 184
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Contributions from:
- Dr. David J. Riley, great-great-grandson of Henrietta and Ferdinand Kessler
- Ann Galbraith, great-great-great-granddaughter of Lewis Stoner
- Fran Ellsworth, Montgomery County, Texas genealogist
- Jo Ann Freeman (deceased), Montgomery County, Texas genealogist (1991)
Contributor: Lance (50970355)
In 1837, less than three years after she arrived in America, she married Lewis Stoner who was 52 [5] and she was 26. Her first daughter, Mary, was baptized in Beardstown on 3 Nov 1837 [6] and six weeks later they moved to Texas in search of free land. This was just after the Texas War of Independence [7]. They settled in Montgomery County, Texas, approximately fifty miles north of present day Houston and near the town of Montgomery.
Their way of life in Texas during this period was recorded in the journal of a German traveler by the name of Gustav Dresel [8] who stayed with them for thirty days in the fall of 1839. Stoner told Dresel that upon arriving in Montgomery County they were lucky enough to find free land where Lewis located his headright and their neighbors helped them build a log cabin and the later a more spacious home. Within two years they bought the land they settled on and the Montgomery County land records show that in Jan 1839, Lewis bought a 125 acre ranch on Atkins Creek in Montgomery County for $185 from William Atkins [9]. Their cabin was, according to Dresel, at the edge of a forest and in front of a fertile hilly prairie that "charmingly swept along between groups of trees". In December of 1839 her second daughter, Frederica Stoner, was born [10]. Lewis Stoner's name was recorded on a list of conditional third class headright grants [11] in Montgomery County, Texas, for 640 acres . The list states that he had arrived in Montgomery County, Texas before 25 March 1839 [12] the date of the War of Texas Independence..
Lewis Stoner died about Feb 1841 leaving her with two daughters aged two and four. In a hearing in the Montgomery Probate Court, on 29 Mar 1841, Claiborn West and William Atkins were made administrators of the estate of Lewis Stoner and Henrietta was made guardian of the two children [13]. The next month, on 26 April 1841, an appraisal of the estate was made and the court divided it equally between Henrietta and her two daughters. Her share, after paying debts, was valued at $304.25 and consisted of half of the 125 acre ranch, (appraised at $375), a land certificate for 640 acres ($100), a lot in the town of Montgomery ($20) and 20 head of cattle ($110) [14].
Seven months later, In September 1841, at the age of 30, Henrietta she married Ferdinand Kesler in the Montgomery County Baptist Church [15]. A son, Felix John Kesler, was born in Sep 1842 "three miles s. of the city of Montgomery" [16], presumably on the 125 acre ranch. In January 1843 a settlement of her first husband's estate was made [17] and in September 1844 the property was partitioned between Henrietta Kesler and her two daughters [18].
At some time in 1844, a property assessment was made for Montgomery County and Ferd Kesler listed his property to include one Negro slave [19] and Henrietta's property was 125 acres. On 12 November 1844, Ferdinand Kesler bought 23.7 acres from William Atkins [20]. Anson Jones, the President of the Republic of Texas, granted Fred Kesler 355.4 acres in the north of Montgomery County, "on the Waters of the San Jacinto" river [21] on 2 June 1846. Texas was annexed by the United Sates on 29 December 1845 and with it came increased rights of women.
According to family lore [22], Henrietta's marriage to Fred Kesler was an unhappy one since she felt that he did not tend to business and provide for his family. In September 1846 a hearing took place which modified the original probate agreement. This new probate agreement granted Henrietta ownership of the lot in the town of Montgomery, the 640 acre headright certificate of Lewis Stoner and 20 head of cattle and Frederica and Mary Stoner took ownership of the 125 acre ranch [23]. In the following months this may have precipitated a number of actions. In the month that followed, on 1 October 1846, Fred Kessler sold his 355 acre property in Montgomery County for $89 to George W. Mason after owning it for just four months [24]. In the month after that, on November 1, 1846 Henrietta leased the town lot to William Fowler [25]. In the following year, 1847 [26], she returned to Beardstown, Illinois to be with her family.
The fate of Fred Kessler is somewhat uncertain. According to one story is that he followed her to St. Louis where he fell overboard from a boat and drowned in the Mississippi River [27]. On the other hand, the record seems to indicate that he, or his agent, was making land transactions in other parts of Texas almost thirty years later, in 1875 [28].
In the 1850 Federal Census Henrietta and her children were living on the farm of her sister's family Fredrika Krohe Duchardt, in Cass County Illinois [29]. (Her whereabouts are a little uncertain, however, since in Jan 1851, the index of Montgomery County Texas Land Deeds indicates that her town lot was leased to E. G. Collier by "Fred Kessler and wife" [30].)
In any case, on 2 Sep 1853 a deed was recorded in which Henrietta Kesler sold her lot in the town of Montgomery for $50 to E. G. Collier. In this deed her residence was given as Beardstown, Illinois [31]. On 27 September 1855 Henrietta's daughter, Mary, married Conrad Regus in Cass County [32] and on 30 August 1857 Frederica married Conrad Funk in Beardstown [33]. Four years after Mary's marriage, in August 1859, Conrad accidentally died [34].
In March 1860 Henrietta's daughters, whose names were given as "Mary Regas" and "Frederica Funk" with husband "Conrad Funk", also living in Beardstown, sold their property on Atkins Creek for $1,000 [35]. According to family lore Henrietta opened a notions business [36] on State Street in Beardstown and she was living with her daughter Mary Regus in August 1860, when the Federal Census was taken. There appears to be a one year old child named Willard C. Regus, but he does not appear in later Census records [37]. On 30 November 1864 her son Felix Kesler married Henrietta Kuhl [38]. Around 1869 her daughter Mary remarried to George Joseph Schmitt. In June 1870, when she was 59, Henrietta was living alone, apparently in her own home, in Beardstown and according to the Census record she owned real estate worth $800 [39] and gave her occupation as "huckster" [40]. In 1870 her daughter, Mary, and her husband and son lived at a different location in Beardstown.
By the 1880 Federal Census, when she was 69, she was living in the household of her daughter Mary Schmitt (42), her husband George (54) (who listed his occupation as saloon keeper) and their two sons George (11) and Victor (7) [41]. Mary's husband George died on 14 Feb 1899 [42] and in the 1900 Federal Census Henrietta was 89 and living with her now widowed daughter Mary (63) and one son, Victor (27) (Victor gave his occupation as a real estate agent and Mary owned her house). The Census record indicated that Mary had had five children and only two were alive [43].
It was said that she was a kind person and known affectionately as "Getta" by those who knew her [44]. She spent her later years in her daughter Mary's house, where she died in Sep 1902 at the age of 91. Her obituary reads:
"Death of Mrs. Kesler
Mrs. Henrietta Kesler died at 9:10 this morning at the age of 91 years and 7 months. Deceased leaves one son, Felix Kesler of St. Louis, and Mrs. George Schmitt, of this city. The funeral services will be held at the home of her daughter on East Fourth street, Tuesday afternoon at 8 o'clock. Internment at City cemetery." [45]
Her tombstone is at the Beardstown City Cemetery [46]. Henrietta had 17 grandchildren who survived her, Fredericka died three years after Henrietta, at 65 on 29 April 1905 [46] and Mary died eleven years after her at 75 on 8 February 1913 [47]. The property on Atkins Creek near Montgomery, Texas now lies under Lake Conroe which was built in 1976 as for recreation and a water source for Huston, Texas.
-----------------------------------------
References:
[1] - Church records at the Evangelisch-Lutherische Community Church, Obercunnersdorf,Germany. Personal communication by David Riley with Friederike Wittwer of Niedercunnersdorf. The church in Niedercunnersdorf was founded in1794. Prior to this the family attended Evangelisch-LutherischeCommunity Church in Löbau, Germany. Church website: https://www.gemeinde-kottmar.de.
[2] - Niedercunnersdorf, Saxony, Germany, has been incorporated into the town of Kottmar. It is in the far southeastern part of Germany, about 45 miles east of Dresden and lies 8 km (5 miles) from the Czech border and 20 km (12 miles) from the Polish border. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niedercunnersdorf
[3] - "Our Forefathers with German Roots, Volkmar, Duchart, Link, Krohe ofCass County Illinois", by Mrs. William T. Alston, Belleville, Illinois, Beardstown Public Library, Beardstown, IL (This book contains genealogies which are largely unsourced but very credible and with many family pictures, relics, newspaper articles, death certificates and funeral cards. Because of this we will refer to information from this document as family legend or refer to specific documents within this genealogy).
[4] - New Orleans, Passenger List Quarterly Abstracts, 1820-1875 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011, Phoenix arrival from Bremen, Germany, 30 Dec 1834, p. 7
[5] - Alston, p. 337, no marriage record has been found
[6] - Christening record of Gustina Maria (Mary) Steiner 2 Nov 1837 in Beardstown, IL page 2, Ersten EvangelischLutherischen Kirche: a translation of parish records, 1835-1900, William C. Talkemeyer, First Evangelical Lutheran Church (Beardstown, Illinois). On FamilySearch.com: https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?from=fhd&dps_pid=IE922159
[7] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Revolution. Women lost significant legal rights under the new Texas Republic constitution of 1836, which substituted English common law practices for the traditional Spanish law system. Under common law, the idea of community property was eliminated, and women no longer had the ability to act for themselves legally – to sign contracts, own property, or sue. See Section 6.2
[8] - P. 75 "Gustav Dresel's Huston Journal, Adventures in North America and Texas, 1837-1841", translated by Max Freund, Published 1954 by University of Texas Press, Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 54-10042 (available in 2018 from Amazon.com), [to be referred to as Dresel].
[9] - Lewis Stoner bought 125 acres Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume E page 288, William Atkins and Lewis Stoner, 19 January 1839, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas, Lewis Stoner buys 125 acres on Atkins Creek in Montgomery Co., TX
[10]- Her tombstone reads : "Frederecke Stiner Funk", Birth 5 Dec 1839, Death 29 Apr 1905 (aged 65), Burial Jockisch Cemetery, Cass County, Illinois, USA, Memorial ID: 38680824, FindAGrave.com.
[11] - https://assets.recenter.tamu.edu/documents/articles/1760.pdf
[12] - Headright grants, patents, titles and classes explained:
http://www.glo.texas.gov/ncu/SCANDOCS/archives_webfiles/arcmaps/webfiles/landgrants/PDFs/1/0/6/2/1062198.pdf
[13] - 29 March 1841, Claiborn West and William Atkins were made administrators of the estate of Lewis Stoner and guardians of the two children. Montgomery County, Texas, Probate Books, Volume L, Stoner Estate, 29 March 1841, page 192, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[14] - 26 April 1841, an appraisal for the estate was made, and valued at $608.50. Montgomery County Probate Record Book 4, p. 215-220, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301
[15] - Original marriage certificate in possession (in 2018) of A. Landis Riley, their great-great-grandson, located in the Montgomery County Court House, Conroe, TX found by Jo Ann Freeman, a genealogist in Conroe, in 1992.
[16] - His family bible states that he was born "three miles s. of the city of Montgomery", pages of this bible are (in 2018) in the possession of his great-great-grandson David J. Riley.
[17] - 19 January 1843, a settlement of Lewis Stoner's estate was made and Henrietta Kessler became guardian of the daughters. Montgomery County, Texas; Probate Book, Book 2, Stoner Estate Settlement, January 1843, p 260 - 268, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[18] - 30 September 1844, final settlement was made to change the partitioning of the Stoner estate between Henrietta and her two daughters, Montgomery County, Texas; Probate Book, Volume 5, Stoner Estate Settlement, September 1844, p 2327, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[19] - 1844 Montgomery County Property Assessment, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301 (found in 1991, could not be found 2018)
[20] - Fred Kesler bought 23.7 acres, Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume K page 33, William Atkins and Fred Kesler; 12 November 1844, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[21] - 2 Jun 1846 Fred Kesler was granted 355.4 acres in north of Montgomery County, TX, Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume L page 265, Republic of Texas and Fred Kesler; 12 November 1844, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[23]- Montgomery County, Texas; Probate Book, Volume 5, Stoner Estate Settlement, September 1846, p 23 - 27, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[24] - 1 October 1846, Montgomery County Land Deeds, Vol. M, p. 71, , Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St., Conroe, TX 77301
[25] - Nov 1846, Henrietta leased the Montgomery town lot to William Fowler, Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume L page 376 -378, Henrietta Kessler, and William Fowler; November 1846, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas.
[26] - The obituary of Henrietta's son Felix John Kessler in the Beardstown, IL "Morning Enterprise" on 18 Oct 1910 stated that Felix arrived in Beardstown in 1847 (when he was 5 years old).
[27] - Alston, p. 337
[28] - A letter was published on 9 Mar 1962 by the Texas General Land Office clarify conflicting claims of Fred Kessler's land grants. This letter traces transactions in Montgomery County, Rusk County and Atascosa (then Bexar) Counties. The only patents he received were 355.4 acres in Montgomery County on and 284.6 acres Atascosa County on 27 Mar 1875. This brought his total to 640 acres as specified in the original land grant. See pp. 11-14 http://www.glo.texas.gov/ncu/SCANDOCS/archives_webfiles/arcmaps/webfiles/landgrants/PDFs/3/5/0/350115.pdf
[29]- 1850 Federal Census, Beardstown, Cass County, IL, 14 December 1850, Roll: M432_99;Page: 77A; Image: 579. lines 21-31. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. The Census lists the names of "John Jacker", 42; "Fredrica Jacker", 31; "Louisa Jacker",6; "Henry Jacker", 4; "Washington Jacker", 1;"Christina Crowe", 33; "Louisa Haman", 12; "Henrietta Castle", 40; "Mary Stone", 14; "Fredrica Stone", 12; and "Phillip Castlen", 7. We believe that "Henrietta Castle" is Henrietta Kesler with her three children and "John Jacker" and was John Duchardt with wife Fredrika Krohe Duchardt since the first names and ages of the family members match other records.
[30] - Jan 1851 Index of Montgomery County Land Deeds, book 0, p. 557, but the record has not been found, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301
[31] - Deed recorded in which Henrietta Kesler sold her town lot in Montgomery, TX for $50 to E. G. Collier, Montgomery, TX, Land Deeds, vol. P, p. 588, Montgomery County Courthouse, Conroe TX, 301 N Main St, Conroe, TX 77301.
[32] - Illinois, Marriage Index, 1860-1920, Name: Conrad Regus, Marriage Date: 27 Sep 1855, Marriage Place: Cass, Illinois, USA, Spouse Name: Mary Steiner. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Marriage Index,1860-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,2015. Original data: Illinois State Marriage Records. Online index. Illinois State Public Record Offices.
[33] - Conrad Funk married Fredericka Steiner in Cass, Illinois, USA. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Marriage Index,1860-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,2015. Original data: Illinois State Marriage Records. Online index. Illinois State Public Record Offices.
[34] -Death Record of Conrad Regus, Gender: Male, Race: White, Marital Status: Married, Estimated Birth Year: abt 1824, Birth Place: Hesse, Germany, Age: 35, Death Date: Aug 1859, Cause of Death: "Fellfum winthwint" (according to family legend he fell through a window while sleepwalking), Census Year: 1860,Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois, USA, LINE: 4 U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Non-population Census Schedules for Illinois, 1850-1880; Archive Collection: T1133; Archive Roll Number: 58; Census Year: 1859; Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois
[35] - On 7 Mar 1860, "Mary Regus (formerly Mary Stoner) and Fredericia Funk (formerly Frederica Stoner)" sold their 125 acres in Montgomery County, TX to George A. Matthews and James Lynch; Land Deeds of Montgomery County, Volume P page 588, Henrietta Kesler, and E.G. Collier; November 1846, Montgomery County Clerks Office, Conroe, Texas, sold a lot in the town for $50, Montgomery, Montgomery County,Texas.
[36] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notions_(sewing)
[37] - 1860 Federal Census, Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois; Roll: M653_160; Page: 215; Family History Library Film: 803160, Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
[38] - Marriage record of Felix Kesler, Gender: Male, Marriage Date: 30 Nov 1865, Marriage Place: Cass, Illinois, USA, Spouse Name: Henrietta Kuhl, Spouse Gender: Female. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Marriage Index,1860-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.,2015. Original data: Illinois State Marriage Records. Online index. Illinois State Public Record Offices.
[39] -Year: 1870 United States Federal Census : Beardstown Ward 2, Cass, Illinois; Roll: M593_192; Page: 349A; Family History Library Film: 545691
[40] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huckster
[41] - Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Year: 1880;Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois; Roll: 178; Page: 722B; Enumeration District: 053
[42] - George J. Schmitt, Birth: 14 May 1827, Death: 14 Feb 1899 (aged 71), Burial: Beardstown City Cemetery, Beardstown, Cass County, Illinois, USA, Memorial #:54715468 URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54715468/schm Citation: Find A Grave, database and images
[43] - Federal Census Year: 1900; Census Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois; Page: 3; Enumeration District: 0015; FHL microfilm: 1240240. Source Information. 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.
[44] - Alson, p. 337
[45] - P. 3 of Illinoian Star, published in Beardstown, Illinois on Saturday, September 20th, 1902. At http://beardstown.advantage-preservation.com
[46] - Tombstone reading "Mrs. Henrietta Kesler", Birth 1811, Death 20 Sep 1902 (aged 90-91), Burial Beardstown City Cemetery, Beardstown, Cass County, Illinois, USA, Memorial ID 54715563 FindAGrave.com
[47] - Illinois, Select Deaths Index, 1877-1916, Name: Fredricke Funk, Birth Year: abt 1840, Gender: Female, Age:65 Yr, Death Date: 29 Apr 1905, Death Place: Monroe Twp, Cass, Illinois, Volume:3, Page: 104
[48] - Illinois, Select Deaths Index, 1877-1916, Mary Schmitt, Birth Year: abt 1838, Gender: Female, Age: 75 Yr, Death Date: 8 Feb 1913, Death Place: Beardstown, Cass, Illinois, Volume: 4, Page: 184
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Contributions from:
- Dr. David J. Riley, great-great-grandson of Henrietta and Ferdinand Kessler
- Ann Galbraith, great-great-great-granddaughter of Lewis Stoner
- Fran Ellsworth, Montgomery County, Texas genealogist
- Jo Ann Freeman (deceased), Montgomery County, Texas genealogist (1991)
Contributor: Lance (50970355)
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