Katherine Miller
Katherine was born on January 13th, 1843 in
Voßbarg, Aurich, Lower Saxony, Germany.
1 She died at the age of 67 on July 11th, 1910 in
Beatrice, Gage County, Nebraska.
1
- Death Notes
- Abbie Zimmerman’s obituary refers to Abbie’s mother as “Katherine Miller,” and Katherine’s brothers Eilert and Albert are listed as “Miller” on the 1880 census for Gage County, Nebraska. The Web site below gives Katherine’s Americanized name as “Katherina Mueller” and her birth name as “Trientje Rossmueller.” Katherine’s tombstone gives her date of birth as 6 January. Perhaps 13 January is the date of her baptism.
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I copied this from the following Web site on 22 Nov 2003:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~maryross/ships/othyen18541108.html
Ship name: O Thyen
Port of departure: Bremen, Germany
Port of arrival: New Orleans, Lousiana
Date of arrival: 8 November 1854
Source: National Archives and Records Administration, Film M259, Reel 40, List 342.
252 Eilert Rossmüller 52 Male Farmer
253 Eilers Rossmüller 16 Male his Son
254 Meta Rossmüller 14 female his daughter
255 Trentje Russmöller 12 female his daughter
256 Albert Russmöller 7 Male his Son
Rossmu(e)ller Family (Passengers 252-256 Second Cabin) - written
and contributed by Diana Church
Eilert Eylers Rossmueller originated from Vossbarg, Ostfriesland,
Germany. His wife, Abbe Janssen Goosmann died in childbirth in
August 1851; he later migrated to Illinois with his children (see
O.Thyen list, Second Cabin passengers 252-256). According to family
tradition, the father Eilert died shortly after arrival, near
Lebanon, St. Clair County, Illinois however I have not been able to
confirm this information; and I do not know where the four children,
ages 7 through 16, lived after his death. By 1860, his daughter
Trentje Rossmueller is living in Petersburg, Menard County,
Illinois, and working as a helper for a saddlemaker, no known
relationship. At Petersburg, in January 1861, Trientje married Tamme
Renken Zimmermann, also an orphan, who migrated in 1856 (?) from the
neighboring village of Fiebing, Ostfriesland, Germany. They both
"americanized" their names, using the names of Thomas R. Zimmerman
and Katherina Mueller.
In the spring of 1861, Tamme and Trienjte Zimmermann left
Petersburg, likely stopping to see friends at the Ostfriesen
settlements in Adams County, Illinois, and Rockport, Atchison
County, Missouri; in May 1861 Tamme bought 160 acres of land in
Richardson County, Nebraska, just south of the Ostfriesen community
at Febing, Nemaha County, Nebraska. In June 1862, they left
Richardson County and moved further west to become the first
Ostfriesen settlers and founders of the Bear Creek settlement in
Gage County, Nebraska where Tamme became a cattle driver (longhorns
from Texas) and very successful landowner. Remaining in Gage
County, Nebraska for the remainder of their lives, Trientje died in
1910 and Tamme died in 1925. Tamme and Trientje Zimmerman are my
gg-grandparents. Although I now live in Texas, most of their
descendants still remain in this community and much of the land
which Tamme originally purchased continues to be held by descendants
or relatives.
I do not have much information about Trientje's brother Eilert, who
was also a founder of the Zion Ev. Lutheran Church at Bear Creek
(1874). Her brother Albert Eilers Rossmueller married Gesche
Juergens Eilers (aka Rachel Jurgens) at Summerfield, Illinois in
1869 and by 1872 they had also moved to the Bear Creek settlement;
this couple held the organizational meeting for Zion Ev. Lutheran
Church in their dugout in March 1874. (I do not know Rachel's
parents, siblings or location of origin in Germany). The older
sister, Meta Rossmueller, also remains a mystery; I suspect that she
probably remained in Illinois but have not found any confirming
information and do not know her married name.
The story of this Gage County Nebraska settlement, locally known as
the "Hannover" community, is the focus of my newsletter, The
Hannover Chronicle, which is published semi-annually. Most of
these families first lived in the South Prairie community of Adams
County, Illinois, prior to moving to Nebraska during the 1870s. The
latest issue, vol. 3 no 1, identifies the first deed records, sod
dugouts and log cabins of these early Ostfriesen settlers.
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Albert E. Miller