Ancestors of Gerard William “G.W.” HELBLING and Anna May BEERBOWER – Page 25

Talented Tuesday: The Skills of Franz X. Helbling

Helbling Family

Are you a Helbling descendant who is good with knives? Can you deftly carve a large turkey at Thanksgiving, debone a chicken breast in just a couple quick strokes, or gently filet a fish? Then you may have have some of the butchering talent passed down through the Helbling DNA.

Franz Xavier Helbling (1800-1876) and his brother Jacob (1813-1872) were butchers, and Jacob is credited with being one of the first butchers to have a stand at the Pittsburg market. (Yes, that is how they spelled Pittsburgh back in the day.) With both brothers being butchers, it is highly likely that their father, Franz Xavier Helbling, (1773-?), was also a butcher. Franz had a son who became a butcher, but the family trade ended there.

I have found 4 IRS Tax Lists for 1862-3 for this family, and they show that there were more Helbling butchers than just these two in Lawrenceville, a suburb of Pittsburgh.

(Tax rates are 30 cents per head of cattle, 5 cents for a calf, 10 cents for a hog, and 5 cents for sheep.)

#1- September 1862

Francis Helbling- 6 cattle + 1 calf + 1 hog= $1.95 in taxes.

Jacob Helbling- 6 cattle + 1 calf + 1 hog= $1.95 in taxes.

Jacob Helbling- 4 head of cattle= $1.20.

#2- October 1862

Francis Helbling- 6 head of cattle + 2 calves for a total of $1.90.

Jacob Helbling- 6 head of cattle + 1 calf = $1.85 in taxes

Francis Helbling- 10 head of cattle +2 calves + 3 hogs + 4 sheep= $3.60 in taxes.

John Knipschield- 12 cattle + 1 calf= $3.65 in taxes.

(We do not know Mary Theresa Knipschield’s siblings nor parents- maybe this is her brother and why she came to America?)

#3- November 1862

Francis Helbling- 3 head of cattle for a total of $0.90 in taxes.

Jacob Helbling- 5 head of cattle + 2 calves = $1.60 in taxes

Francis Helbling- 9 head of cattle + 5 calves + 1 hog for a total of $3.05.

Jacob Helbling- 6 head of cattle + 2 calves = $1.90 in taxes

#4- October 1863

Francis Helbling- 7 head of cattle + 1 calf for a total of $1.45.

Jacob Helbling- 6 head of cattle + 3 calves = $1.35 in taxes

John Knipschield- 13 cattle + 6 calf + 4 hogs= $3.14 in taxes.

Robert Helbling- 4 head of cattle= $0.80

(Not sure who Robert Helbling is…more research needed.)

Being a butcher in the 1800s was a lot different than today- no tractor trailer driving to the grocery store loading dock with cuts of meat that only need a little trimming for the expensive meat case. As can be seen from the tax lists, our ancestors had to grow their own meat, kill the animal, butcher the carcass, utilize and dispose of the offal (undesirable parts), and package it when the customer chose the perfect steak. Cattle back then were a bit smaller than today, about 1,100 pounds vs today’s 1,500 pound cattle; an animal that size was a lot to manage. A lot to feed, too, to get to that weight- they would have had to purchase hay and corn to grow those calves, or grow their own.

After dressing the animal, i.e. cutting off all the undesirable parts, the remaining meat cuts would be about half the weight of the live animal. Of course, back then they also ate parts we are not always inclined to eat, such as tripe, tongue, heart, etc. Being German, they probably made some amazing sausage out of the leftover parts, and head cheese too, so their yield would probably have been higher than today’s. (Of course, our industrialized livestock farming of today uses all those undesirable parts- they just don’t tell us what it is in. Often it is fed back to animals, one way mad-cow disease is spread.)

Our ancestors who farmed, which was a majority of those in the 1800s, had to do this too, but on a much smaller scale.

So, the next time you are wrestling a 24-kb Thanksgiving turkey as the whole table of guests watch, remember that culinary knife skills may be in your DNA, and you can do it!

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Obituary for Rosina Wiesert Helbling, wife of Jacob Helbling.

The Pittsburgh Press, Nov. 30, 1907, page three http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nhobAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CEkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4329,6709035 &dq=helbling+death&hl=en

2) September 1862 Tax List: U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918AuthorAncestry.comPublisherAncestry.com Operations IncPublisher Date2008Publisher LocationProvo, UT, USA

October 1862 Tax List: U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918AuthorAncestry.com. Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.Original data – National Archives (NARA) microfilm series: M603, M754-M771, M773-M777, M779-M780, M782, M784, M787-M789, M791-M793, M795, M1631, M1775-M1776, T227, T1208-T1209

[Ancestry.com is in the midst of switching viewer styles and I cannot get to all of the sources for each of the IRS records. Please let me know if you need more information.]

3) A Century of Georgia Agriculture, 1850-1950 by Willard Range, 1954. https://books.google.com/books?id=s_GPG0k7XwUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Willard+Range%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JusAVeOtHYuZNt3rg9AL&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false

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Military Monday: Samuel Taylor Beerbower’s Civil War Service

Samuel T. Beerbower, from "The Story of Sherman's Brigade" page 637. — *Samuel T. Beerbower, c. 1864?, from “The Story of Sherman’s Brigade,” page 637.*

➡ Helbling, Beerbower Families

Today marks the 154th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. We had thought to list all those of our ancestors who fought in the war, but that would be a long list. It would also ignore the sacrifices of those who stayed behind, whose land was destroyed yet consecrated by the blood of both sides, and those who dealt with the physical and psychological aftermath throughout their lives- not just the soldiers, but the family, friends, and community.The Civil War changed us as a nation, and changed us as a people. It would be impossible to tell all these stories, so instead, we will tell a story of Samuel T. Beerbower.

The oldest (surviving) son of Eleazer John and Matilda McKelvey Beerbower was Samuel Taylor Beerbower, born on 10 November 1842 in Fairfield County, Ohio. He was the brother of our ancestor, Edgar Peter Beerbower, who married Anna Missouri Springsteen. So he would be an uncle with a variable number of ‘great'(s) before, depending on the generation of our dear reader.

Sam turned eighteen just four days after Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States in November, 1860. Southern states began to secede from the Union within six weeks of Lincoln’s election. Lincoln was not inaugurated until March 4, 1861, and the South made good on their promise if Lincoln became President- the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12th, officially beginning the hostilities of the rebellion. Three days after the loss of Fort Sumter to the Confederate States, Lincoln called for 75,000 militiamen to protect the Union. In a special congressional session on July 4, 1861, President Lincoln told Congress the Union was in, “…a struggle for maintaining in the world, that form, and substance of government, whose leading object is, to elevate the condition of men…” Congress recognized the gravity of this struggle, and instead of 75,000 men, the number authorized was over six times the request- 500,000 men.

The call to arms to preserve the union of the United States was surely felt strongly by Samuel, his friends, and neighbors. The Union loss at First Bull Run on July 21, 1861 likely fueled the fires of a young man’s passion to go off to war and Samuel enlisted in the Sixty-Fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company B, on 23 Oct 1861, in Mansfield, Ohio. Sam was promoted to Sergeant just one month after enlisting, on 18 November 1861. His unit became a part of the Army of the Cumberland, and the battles in which he fought included Perryville, Stone River, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, and Mission Ridge.

Samuel was promoted to First Sergeant on 02 Aug 1862. The company had been on duty along the Memphis and Charleston Railroad and then marched to Louisville, Kentucky in pursuit of Bragg.

The Battle of Mission Ridge near Chattanooga, Tennessee on 25 November 1863 was a brutal battle. Union troops took the first row of rifles in the valley fairly easily, but then had to go up the mountain to get to the next line, and they were easy targets for the Confederates from above. As Samuel’s company was storming the ridge, he took a minnie ball to the right shoulder; it passed out near his shoulder blade, just to the right of the spine. (Only a short bit to the left and most of his body would have been paralyzed for life.) Samuel spent three months confined in the hospitals of Chattanooga and Nashville to recuperate. Although he had avoided almost total paralysis, he did suffer from paralysis of his right arm and right hand.

“In January of 1864, the subject of reenlistment coming up, three fourths of the men expressed a willingness to re-enlist…”

and Sam’s company was furloughed home for 30 days. Sam was not one of those interested in continuing in the Army, due to his wound and paralysis.

Samuel T. Beerbower was promoted to First Sergeant, and then was honorably discharged 23 March 1864 from Nashville, Tennessee, on a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability. He returned to Marion, Ohio, and filed for a disability pension right away, on 08 April 1864. He may have been out of the fray, however the Civil War always stayed with him, as it did for all those who survived such a horrible war.

More to come about Sam’s life after the War.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) “The U.S. Civil War 1861-1865” on “The History Place” at http://www.historyplace.com/civilwar/.

2) 1860 US Federal Census, E J Beerbower, head of household: Year: 1860; Census Place: Marion, Marion, Ohio; Roll: M653_1006; Page: 326; Image: 123; Family History Library Film: 805006. Ancestry.com.

3) The Story of the Sherman Brigade. The camp, the bivouac, the battle; and how “the boys” lived and died during four years of active field service., by Wilbur F. Hinman, published by the author, 1897. This book is about the Ohio regiments mustered together by Col. John Sherman, not William Tecumseh Sherman, though they did assist in his march through the south. The book is a very interesting read as it contains so many details that regimental histories do not- truly, much of the day-to-day life as the author was a Lt. Col. in the Ohio 65th Regiment, and was there. https://ia600801.us.archive.org/26/items/StoryOfTheShermanBrigade.theCampTheMarchTheBivouacTheBattleAnd/Story_of_the_Sherman_Brigade.pdf

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Sorting Saturday: Capt. Ebenezer Peters of Ohio

*Headstone of Ebenezer Peters in Marion Cemetery, Marion, Marion Co., Ohio. Posted with kind permission of Find A Grave photographer. Year of death is 1884. (Click to enlarge.)*

Beerbower Family, Peters Family-

What originally was to be sorting my Beerbower family in Marion County, Ohio turned out to be more of sorting the Peters family, who married into the Beerbower family. We are, however, very grateful that Gale Martin of the Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society (MCHS) has been so generous and shared scans of documents, images, and a family bible in their possession, plus her incredible knowledge of the area and its history. Another Marion County resident, Mike Brewer, has kindly allowed us to use photographs he has taken for Find A Grave, and has helped us locate and document more of the Peters and Beerbower lines that are ‘quietly resting’ in the Marion Cemetery. Even better is that both are allowing us to post the information online so that all can have easy access! It has been a much bigger project than planned to sort and learn more about each of these families, but it is hoped that these ancestors can live on for future generations by having their story told here.

We will be adding a Peters family tree to our pages, but we need to finish sorting first.

Please do post a comment or send an email through our contact form if you have additions, corrections, more stories, etc. And if this post, and some of those upcoming, look familiar, yes, it is copied (and expanded) from Find A Grave. It is not plagiarism, though- the author of that bio and this post are one and the same.

On to Capt. Ebenezer Peters…

The youngest of 13 children born to Samuel Peters (1772-1829) of Philadelphia, PA, and Mary Stevenson Peters of Manchester, MD (1773-1861), Ebenezer was 22 years younger than his eldest brother. He grew up on the family farm in Fairfield County, Ohio, where he was born. After attending the local District School, he matriculated at Granville Baptist College.

Ebenezer migrated to Marion, Ohio in 1832, stayed about one year, then returned to Fairfield County to teach and study at Fairfield Amanda University for one year. He then taught for two years, and returned to Marion, Ohio in 1838. (What a privilege to get a college education in the 1830s! It still is a privilege today, actually.)

Ebenezer, along with his oldest brother Henry Peters, formed a Marion mercantile business called “H. & E. Peters”. The partnership lasted three years, then he became the sole proprietor for another two. He then took in a different partner and the business was called “E. Peters & Co.” for two years. Ebenezer became the sole owner of the business again, and continued in that manner until he retired in 1850. Ebenezer extended his sphere of trade to other areas of Ohio plus Illinois, and continued in this business until the Civil War. He also owned 600 acres of farmland, with the 1850 US Federal Census listing him as a farmer with $16,000 in real estate. The 1860 census stated that he had $14,000 in real estate and $4,000 in personal estate value; they had a farm laborer and an Irish domestic living with them that year. Ebenezer and family raised Spanish Merino sheep and Durham cattle, and exhibited regularly at the county fair.

Ebenezer had married Elizabeth Raichley (or Rightly) in July, 1846, and two children were born to them: Erwin Peters in 1848 and and Ella Peters in 1850; Elizabeth died in 1851. He remarried, to Elvira Gardner in October of 1853, but she passed away in August of 1854. He married third Narcissus D. Holmes on 25 Dec 1855.

Ebenezer was active in his community, being County Auditor 1851-2, a State Legislator 1854-5, School Board President for 8 years, and President of the Agricultural Society for 8 years as well. He voted Republican.

Battle of Mission [i.e., Missionary] Ridge, Nov. 25th, 1863 / Cosack & Co. lith., Buffalo & Chicago.
For McCormick Harvesting. Public domain. (Click to enlarge.)

At age 44 Ebenezer felt the call to preserve the Union in the Civil War, and enlisted in the 121st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving as their Quartermaster General for two years. He was engaged at Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, Shelbyville, Lookut Mountain, and was promoted to Captain in October of 1863. It was at the Battle of Mission Ridge on 25 Nov. 1863 that he began to have spinal problems, and he never fully recovered. After his discharge on May 1864, he received a $20 pension due to his severe disability- his ability to do physical work was greatly diminished.

Ebenezer Peters became a member of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) after the war.

The 1870 US Federal Census lists Ebenezer’s occupation as “Grader”- likely he was grading papers since he had been a teacher and could no longer work as a farmer. His wife Narcissus and son Erwin were living in his household, and Erwin was listed as a farmer. A music teacher and young boy, likely the music teacher’s son, lived with them as well.

Ebenezer, Narcissus, and Erwin were living together still in the 1880 census, with Ebenezer listed as a farmer, and his son Erwin noted as “works on farm.” Ralph Bain, age 15, was “at school” and listed as Ebenezer’s adopted son. (There were a lot of Bains in the area- finding more on this story might be interesting.)

Narcissus died in October of 1881, and sadly Ebenezer’s two children both died before 1883, when The History of Marion County was published. They were fairly young: Erwin no more than 35, Ella no more than 33. (We have not yet found more information about Erwin and Ella, and they are not buried in the Marion Cemetery as far as we can tell.)

Ebenezer passed away on 27 May 1884, and is buried in the Marion Cemetery, Marion, Marion County, Ohio. He shares a large headstone with his wife Narcissus and adopted son Ralph Bain.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) History of Marion County [Ohio], Leggett, Conaway & Co., Chicago, publishers, 1883. Pages 616-617. https://archive.org/details/historyofmarionc00legg

2) 1850 US Federal Census for Ebenezer Peters, Head of Household: Year: 1850; Census Place: Marion, Marion, Ohio; Roll: M432_708; Page: 67A; Image: 141. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

3) 1860 US Federal Census for Ebenezer Peters, Head of Household: Year: 1860; Census Place: Marion, Marion, Ohio; Roll: M653_1006; Page: 424; Image: 320; Family History Library Film: 805006. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

4) 1870 US Federal Census for Ebenezer Peters, Head of Household: Year: 1870; Census Place: Marion, Marion, Ohio; Roll: M593_1240; Page: 110A; Image: 230; Family History Library Film: 552739. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

5) 1880 US Federal Census for Ebenezer Peters, Head of Household: Year: 1880; Census Place: Marion, Marion, Ohio; Roll: 1046; Family History Film: 1255046; Page: 86B; Enumeration District: 092; Image: 0498. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

6) Find a Grave Memorial #144127845 for Ebenezer Peters- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=144127845

7) Image of Battle of Mission Ridge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Missionary_Ridge, public domain.

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Funeral Friday: Ollie Beerbower

Olive Beerbower death notice. Marion [Ohio] Daily Star, Volume II, Number 125, (Whole Number 435), Page 4. Posted with permission. — *Olive Beerbower death notice. Marion [Ohio] Daily Star, March 5, 1879, Volume II, Number 125, (Whole Number 435), Page 4. Posted with kind permission for non-profit use only.*

Beerbower Family-

The sad news of the death of dear Ollie Beerbower at the young age of 23 must have been devastating to the family.

It is understandable that the family would have wanted to take her back to Marion, Ohio to be buried with her ancestors, and so the family could congregate and share their grief as well as their happy memories. No parent should have to watch their child die, and they would need the loving embrace of family to help them get through the early days of their loss.

Olive Beerbower death notice. Marion [Ohio] Daily Star, March 5, 1879, Volume II, Number 127, (Whole Number 437), Page 4. Posted with permission. — *Olive Beerbower death notice. Marion [Ohio] Daily Star, March 7, 1879, Volume II, Number 127, (Whole Number 437), Page 4. Posted with kind permission for non-profit use only. (Click to enlarge.)*

Ollie’s father Samuel Beerbower took ill suddenly after her death, so the family decided not to travel to Marion, Ohio for Ollie’s funeral. Nancy Jane Huggins Beerbower, Ollie’s mother, must have had a very difficult time with the loss of her child and her husband so ill. We do not know if any of the Marion or Indianapolis family attended the Winterset funeral, as the newspapers for Winterset are not yet online, but we have found no mention in the Marion papers of the family traveling to Iowa.

Ollie had been ill for just a brief time, with the cause of death listed as “a low-type of fever” and “nervous prostration.” One definition of ‘nervous prostration’ is “An emotional disorder that leaves you exhausted and unable to work.” With having a fever as well, there would have been issues other than just emotional- one type of typhoid causes a ‘derangement of the nervous system’ as well as fever, and there are many types of fevers that can be lethal, especially in the days before antibiotics.

Ollie’s obituary was carried in the Marion, Ohio newspapers due to all the family she had there, and the friends she would have made growing up in Marion.

Olive Beerbower obituary. Marion [Ohio] Daily Star, March 20, 1879, Volume II, Number 138, (Whole Number 448), Page 2. Posted with permission. — *Olive Beerbower obituary. Marion [Ohio] Daily Star, March 20, 1879, Volume II, Number 138, (Whole Number 448), Page 2. Posted with kind permission. (Click to enlarge.)*

It is always nice to know a bit about the personality of a relative, and Ollie’s final tribute informs us of her kindness and her “gentle and true nature.” The family did lose a family treasure.

The sympathy of the community was not limited to Winterset, Iowa- those in Marion also expressed their sorrow and support to Samuel T. Beerbower’s family. (Ollie’s grandparents had already passed on.) Olive passed away on 04 March 1879, and, in addition to the food and cards that probably were provided very soon after that date, about 3 weeks later the community “surrounded” the family, and gave them an opportunity to enjoy themselves and begin to move on after the untimely death of a loved one.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) There is a wonderful article on the emotional toll of the loss of a loved one post-Civil War in JSTOR Daily, called “Forgetting Abraham Lincoln.” Martha Hodes is the author, and it was published 25 March 2015. It may be read here:

http://daily.jstor.org/mourning-abraham-lincoln/?utm_source=internalhouse&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=jstordaily_04022015&cid=eml_j_jstordaily_dailylist_04022015

2) Definition from Wordnet per “Archaic Medical Terms” website: http://www.antiquusmorbus.com/English/EnglishN.htm

3) Marion Daily Star article citations in captions.

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Wishful Wednesday: Olive Beerbower and Emma Beerbower

Screen Shot 2015-03-29 at 8.50.30 PM — *Co. B., 136th Ohio Muster Roll- Stephen R. Beerbower entry. (Click to enlarge.)*

*Co. B., 136th Ohio Muster Roll- Samuel Beerbower entry. (Click to enlarge.)*

Beerbower Family-

Olive Beerbower and her cousin Mary Emma Beerbower would have wished for August 31, 1864 to come quickly- it was the day their loved ones were to come home from the Civil War. Samuel Beerbower, who was Ollie’s father and Emma’s uncle, and his brother, Stephen Russell Beerbower, uncle to both girls, had spent 100 days in the Union Army. Their unit, Company B., 136th Ohio, had been on garrison duty south of the Potomoc as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. Although 22 members of the 136th died during their 90-day tour, no one in Co. B perished, and the men arrived home safely as hoped.

Mary "Emma" Beerbower, daughter of Eleazer John Beerbower and Matilda Louise McKelvey Beerbower, c late 1860s? Courtesy of Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.) — *Mary “Emma” Beerbower, daughter of Eleazer John Beerbower and Matilda Louise McKelvey Beerbower, c late 1860s? Courtesy of Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)*

The family reunion was short-lived, however. Ollie and Mary Emma no longer lived next door to each other and two years later, in 1866, Eleazer J. moved to Indianpolis, Indiana for his job. The family stayed in Marion while he established himself in Indianapolis. Emma and the rest of the family joined him a year later, around 1866. How difficult that must have been- wishing they could be with their father, but not wanting to leave family and friends. In 1870, they were the only Beerbowers listed in Indianapolis. The following year, son Stephen Russell married and was listed as a carpenter in the Indianapolis City Directory, and son Edgar P. Beerbower was a clerk, ‘boarding’ at his parent’s address.

*Ollie Beerbower daughter of Samuel and Jane Huggins Beerbower. Courtesy of Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. circa mid 1860s? (Click to enlarge.)*

Meanwhile, Ollie’s family was still living in Marion, Ohio. In 1872, however, they decided to move to Winterset, Madison, Iowa. Ollie’s uncle George Albert Beerbower had already relocated there about 1852, so at least they did have some family, and lots of cousins in the county- he had 6 living children!

Two years later, Emma married Ashford Ligenfelter (b. 1847) on 13 May 1874 in Marion County, Indiana, possibly in Indianapolis. It would be interesting to learn if the Marion, Ohio and Winterest, Iowa families came to celebrate with the happy couple!

We do know that some family members traveled back to Marion, Ohio, to visit:

Mary Emma Beerbower Ligenfelter and her family visiting her brother, Samuel T. Beerbower, in Marion, Ohio. Marion Daily Star, 26 Dec 1878, volume 2, number 67, page 4. Posted with kind permission for non-profit use. (Click to enlarge.)

This must have been a jolly Christmas visit!

The reunions were sometimes as much as three weeks long, such as this visit from 10 August to 04 September 1880:

Emma Beerbower Ligenfelter visiting Samuel T. Beerbower and family. Nancy Jane Huggins Beerbower, the wife of Samuel Beerbower of Winterset, Iowa, accompanying her. — Emma Beerbower Ligenfelter visiting Samuel T. Beerbower and family. Nancy Jane Huggins Beerbower, the wife of Samuel Beerbower of Winterset, Iowa, accompanied her. Marion Daily Star, 10 Aug 1880, page 4. Posted with kind permission for non-profit use. (Click to enlarge.)

Emma (Beerbower?) Ligenfelter returning home to Indianapolis after a 3-week visit to Marion, Ohio. Marion Daily Star, 04 Sep 1880, page 4. Posted with kind permission for non-profit use. (Click to enlarge.)

We don’t know which children, if any, also traveled to visit family, but we do know that Ollie Beerbower was not a part of the 1880 visit… More on that in our next post.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) 136th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company B Roster, from 136th Ohio Infantry Soldier Roster – Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866, Volume 8, by Ohio Roster Commission (Joseph B. Foraker, Governor, James S. Robinson, Sec’y of State and H. A. Axline, Adjutant-General), 1886. p. 637-9: http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyoh/rosters/136th_oh_infantry_roster.pdf

2) Official roster of the soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 -1865, Vols. 1-12.

3) A note on the RootsWeb message boards from Betty (commanchestar) from 05 Mar 2005 states her relationship to Casper, Ollie, and Bertha Beerbower. I have tried contacting her in hopes she is still interested in sharing family information. I do hope she finds our posts about the Beerbowers. http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx?o=30&m=1.3.6.29.1&p=surnames.beerbower

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Category: Ancestors of Gerard William “G.W.” HELBLING and Anna May BEERBOWER