The Fritz Genealogy

The Fritz Genealogy

By Jared L. Olar

June-July 2020

Among the German ancestors of my wife's mother is the Fritz family, who were farmers in the late 1700s and early 1800s in the village of Braunsfeld in Posen, in the Kingdom of Prussia. The Fritz surname is a patronymic, indicating descent from a man named Fritz or Friedrich. For the historical background on the village of Braunsfeld (now called Kalina, near Gniezno and Poznan in Poland) and a map of Posen, see The Easterla Genealogy. In 2015 my wife had her autosomal DNA tested by 23andMe, and the test found that 1.7% of her autosomal DNA is of Eastern European origin. Most likely that Eastern European DNA came from the Oesterle family of Braunsfeld, Posen, which would also include DNA from the Fritzes and Lehrs of Braunsfeld. The DNA test also determined that my wife's maternal haplogroup was H2a2, a maternal haplogroup that also points to Eastern Europe. Signficantly, my wife's direct female line goes back to Braunsfeld via the Oesterles, Fritzes, and Lehrs.

Several family historians devoted themselves to researching the genealogy of our Easterlas, Fritzes, and Lehrs. In particular, Trudy Schenk in 1988 extracted several Oesterle, Fritz, and Lehr records from microfilms of Lutheran church records of Gnesen, while W. R. O'Halloran of Tacoma, Washington, prepared extensive family group sheets on the Easterlas. Much of what is presented below we owe to the painstaking research and generosity of my wife's late cousin Alma Maye Easterla (1926-2006), to whose memory this webpage is dedicated. May God grant her soul peace. Maye's extensive research is supplemented by my own research.

Two Generations of the Fritz Family

1. MICHAEL FRITZ, parentage and ancestry unknown, born circa 1780 perhaps in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died in 1826 (between Feb. 1826 and 9 Nov. 1826) in Braunsfeld. Michael was a farmer and landowner in Braunsfeld, where he is known to have lived as an adult. Michael married twice, but his first wife, (NN), died before 11 Nov. 1819 probably in Braunsfeld. Lutheran church records of Gnesen show that on 11 Nov. 1819 in Braunsfeld, Michael took a second wife, named MARIA KATHARINA LEHR, born circa 1793 probably in or near Braunsfeld, second daughter of the late Conrad Lehr, a farmer of Braunsfeld. "Lehr" is an occupational surname indicating descent from a man who had been a school teacher or tutor. The marriage of Michael Fritz and Maria Katharina Lehr and the information on their occupations, residence, ages, and parentage is recorded as no. 13 on page 12 of the Gnesen Lutheran church marriage register, which says Michael was 39 and Katharina was 26 at the time of their marriage. The names of Michael Fritz and Katharine Lehr are also attested in the 11 Nov. 1826 baptismal record of Michael's youngest child, their daughter Elisabetha. The baptismal sponsors of Elisabetha's children include persons named Johann Fritz, Johann's wife Elisabeth Fritz, Jacob Fritz, and Georg Fritz. In all likelihood, Johann, Jacob, and Georg were all sons of Michael Fritz. The baptismal record of Michael's daughter Elisabetha says he died before she was born, so he must have died between February 1826 and 9 Nov. 1826.

The known and probable children of Michael Fritz were:

     2.  JOHANN FRITZ, probable son, born probably in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, married Elisabeth.
     --  JACOB FRITZ, probable son, born probably in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia.
     --  GEORG FRITZ, probable son, born probably in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia.
     2.  WILBURA ELISABETHA FREDERIKA FRITZ, born 9 Nov. 1826 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia.

2. WILBURA ELISABETHA FREDERIKA FRITZ, daughter of Michael and Maria Katharina (Lehr) Fritz, born 9 Nov. 1826 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died 8 April 1896 in Napoleon, Lafayette County, Missouri, buried in Arnold Cemetery, Wellington, Lafayette County, Missouri. Elisabeth was baptised at the Lutheran church of Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, on 11 Nov. 1826, and her baptismal sponsors were Johann Fritz, farmer, his wife Elisabeth Fritz, Johann Oesterle, farmer, and Catharina Steinhuelper. The baptismal record identifies Elisabeth's parents as "Michael Fritz" and "Chatarine geb. Lehre," and includes a note saying, "Father was dead at the birth of this child." It should also be noted that the baptismal record mistakenly says Elisabeth was baptised on 11 Oct. 1826, but that is an obvious clerical error.

Shown here is the 1826 baptismal record of Elisabeth Fritz, daughter of Michael and Katharina Fritz of Braunsfeld, from the old Lutheran baptismal registers of Gnesen in Posen, Prussia.

On 22 Oct. 1848 at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, Elisabeth married JOHANN GEORG OESTERLE ("John Easterla"), son of Johann and Anna Maria (Vollk) Oesterling, born 17 June 1817 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died 1 Dec. 1878 in Napoleon, Lafayette, Missouri, buried in Arnold Cemetery, Wellington, Lafayette County, Missouri. Their marriage record from the Lutheran church of Gnesen says (in English translation), "On 22 October 1848 were married the bachelor Johann Oesterle of Braunsfeld, a son of the farmer Johann Oesterle, with virgin Elisabeth Fritz of Braunsfeld, daughter of the deceased farmer Michael Fritz, in the church. Ages: Groom 28, Bride 22." Johann and Elisabeth are known to have had 10 children, including four daughters, four sons, and two other children of indeterminate sex who died at or soon after birth. Their seven eldest children were born in Braunsfeld, and their births and baptisms were recorded in the Lutheran church records of Gnesen.

This copy of the 22 Oct. 1848 marriage record of Johann Oesterle and Elisabetha Fritz, from the old Lutheran church records of Gnesen in Prussia (now Gniezno in Poland), was kindly supplied by the late Maye Easterla.

Significantly, Elisabeth's father-in-law Johann Oesterling/Oesterle had previously been one of her godfathers, while Johann George Oesterle's father-in-law Michael Fritz had previously been one of Johann Georg's godfathers. Johann's baptismal record from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Gnesen shows that he was baptised on 22 June 1817 as "Johann George Oesterling," son of Johann Oesterling and Anna Maria Vollk, and that his baptismal sponsors were Michael Hornberger, mayor of Braunsfeld, Michael Fritz, farmer, and Katharina Oesterling. Although the family name is given as "Oesterling" in this record, in later records the surname appears as "Oesterle," an abbreviated form of "Oesterling." Johann's birth in Braunsfeld near Gnesen, Prussia (modern Gniezno, Poland) is attested on the 31 May 1866 baptismal certificate of his youngest child Gustaph, which says Gustaph's father "Johann Esterle" and mother "Elisabetha geb. Fritz" were both born in "Braunsfeld, Kreis Gnesen, Preussen." The information from this baptismal certificate enabled Easterla family genealogists to locate the families of Johann and his wife Elisabeth and most of their children in the old Lutheran church records of Gnesen.

Sadly, the firstborn child of Johann and Elisabeth died at or soon after birth on 16 Oct. 1849 and was never baptised. Their second child, Amalie Juliane, was born 7 Sept. 1850 and was baptised 15 Sept. 1850, with her sponsors being Amalie Oesterle, maiden, Gottfried Oesterle, young man, and Jacob Fritz, farmer. The third child of Johann and Elisabeth also died unbaptised at or soon after birth on 9 Feb. 1852. Their fourth child was a son, Gottfried, born 4 Jan. 1853 and baptised 9 Jan. 1853 -- his sponsors were Gottfried Oesterle, bachelor, Christiane Oesterle, single girl, Rosine Ferger, single girl, and Jacob Fritz, farmer. Johann and Elisabeth had another son, Herrmann Wilhelm, on 2 June 1855, and had him baptised 7 June 1855 with sponsors Rosine Ferger, maiden, Georg Fritz, farmer, and Wilhelmine Lauchstadt, married wife. (Herrmann or Herman was suffered from a congenital disease that was identified in 1988 as Charcat-Marie-Tooth Syndrome, a hereditary illness similar to Multiple Sclerosis that affects muscles of the extremities -- the same illness has been found among descendants of Herman's brothers Goodfred and Charles.) Next, Johann and Elisabeth had a daughter named Ottilie on 4 Sept. 1857, and had her baptised 13 Sept. 1857, with sponsors Friedrich Hornberger, farmer, Carl Oesterle, bachelor, and Johanna Oesterle, a wife. The seventh child of Johann and Elisabeth Oesterle was another daughter, Johanna Rosina, born 21 Feb. 1860 and baptised 26 Feb. 1860, with sponsors Friedrich Hornberger, farmer, Carl Oesterle, bachelor, and Johanna Oesterle, a wife. It is noteworthy that very often the baptismal sponsors of the children of Johann Georg Oesterle were other members of the Oesterle family -- most probably siblings, or in a couple of instances a sister-in-law, of Johann.

A few months after the birth of their seventh child, Johann and Elisabeth decided to leave Prussia and emigrate to the United States, boarding a sail-rigged ship of the Robert M. Sloman shipping line named the S.S. Washington on 15 Sept. 1860 bound for New Orleans, and departing from Hamburg with Capt. H. Platz in command of the vessel. The Washington arrived in New Orleans on 26 Nov. 1860 with 143 passengers aboard, of whom 117 were over the age of 8, 21 were between the ages of 1 and 8, and five were not yet a year old. The Hamburg ship passenger list says Johann and his family were all born in and residents of Braunsfeld, and lists them as "Oesterle Johann," 44, farmer, wife "Elisabeth," 35, "Amalie," 9 1/2, "Gottfried," 8, "Herrmann," 5, "Ottilie," 3, and "Johanna," 9 months. The New Orleans ship manifest states that Missouri was the destination of a great many of the passengers, including the Oesterle family, who are listed on the manifest as "J. Olsterle," 44, labourer, "Elis.," 34, wife, and children "Amal.," 10, "Gottfr.," 7, "Herm.," 5, "Ottilia," 3, and "Hanoken," 6 months. After their arrival in Missouri, Johann and his family settled in the area of Lexington in Lafayette County. It is thought that the Oesterles and other German families in their company came over to America as a part of the "German Turner organization."

Shown is a detail from page 471 of the Hamburg ship passenger list of the S.S. Washington, which sailed from Hamburg for New Orleans on 15 Sept. 1860. In this detail, the family of Johann and Elisabeth Oesterle and their childre are listed.

On 15 Oct. 1866, John purchased a 40-acre farm in south of Napoleon in Section 36 of Lafayette County, Missouri, from Carl Bernard "Charles" Rabe and his wife Sophia Rabe -- the mortgage deed was signed by Charles and Sophia Rabe on 18 Oct. 1866, notarised by James H. Beatty, notary public, on 18 Oct. 1866, and then recorded the following day. In the deed, John's name is spelled "John Oesterle." The legal description of the Oesterle farm is given in the mortgage deed as "The South West quarter of the South East quarter of Section No. Thirty Six (36) Township Fifty (50) Range Twenty nine (29) containing Forty acres." In selling the land, the Rabes reserved the right to use the waters of a spring on that land, and also carried back a $500 lien on the property that was released on 9 Sept. 1867. The Rabes and Oesterles were not only neighbors in their new home in Missouri, but the Rabes were listed just ahead of the Oesterles in the 1860 Hamburg ship passenger list, and the cemetery plots of the Rabes and Oesterles are close together in Arnold Cemetery, Wellington, Missouri.

The Easterla farm south of Napoleon, Missouri, is shown in this detail of an 1896 plat map of Lafayette County. By the time this map was published, both John Easterla and his widow Elisabeth had died. The farm was sold at auction to Joe Laseuer in 1897.

Four years later, John and his family were enumerated in the U.S. Census on 25 Aug. 1870 in Clay Township, Lafayette County, Missouri, as follows: "John Easterly," 54, farmer, real estate value $1,200, personal estate value $650, "Elisabeth Easterly," 43, keeping house, "Mollie Easterly," 20, "Goodfred Easterly," 18, "Herman Easterly," 15, "Tildie Easterly," 13, "Hannah Easterly," 10, "Charles Easterly," 8, "Emily Easterly," 6, and "Gust Easterly," 5, all children in the household "at home." The spelling of the surname as "Easterly" is a literal translation of "Oesterle" -- a few years later, the family settled on the Americanised spelling of their surname as "Easterla" (though even with that spelling the name is usually pronounced "Easterly"). The 1870 census record says John and his wife Elisabeth and the five eldest children were born in "Poland" (an error for "Posen," which then was a part of the Kingdom of Prussia, just one year before the unification of the Germany in the Prussian-dominated German Empire), while Charles, Emma, and Gust were born in Missouri.

Five years later, several German Lutheran families of Clay Township, Lafayette County, organised a Lutheran congregation on 4 Sept. 1875. This church was known as St. Paul Evangelical Christian Church, and the Rev. Friederick Drewel was the church's first pastor. Much later, the church abandoned Lutheranism and joined the United Church of Christ denomination, so the church is now known as St. Paul United Church of Christ. A published history of St. Paul United Church of Christ provides the following brief account of the founding of St. Paul Evangelical Christian Church:

"An official constitution was adopted on September 4, 1875 which marks the birthday of our church. The forefathers were: Michael Bettien, Christian Borchers, George Borchers, Herman Dingwerth, Ernest Doelling, Fred Doelling, Herman Larberg, John Osterlie, W. Ruetter, Ernest Sellmeyer, Fred Sellmeyer, W. Suhre, William Westerhold, and Henry Woestermeyer. The first church board included Herman Larberg, William Westerhold, and Henry Woestermeyer. . . . these faithful people organized the congregation in the Ish Rural Public School about two miles south of Napoleon."

John Oesterle and his family were recorded as church members in 1875 in the old German-language "Familien-Register" of St. Paul Evangelical Christian Church (in a family entry that was later updated). The family register, which mentions the family's year of immigration from Prussia, lists the family members as "Johann Oesterlie" (1816-1878) and his wife "Elisabet geboren F. Fritz" (1826- ), with children Amalie, Gottfried, Herrmann, Ottilie, Johanna Rosine Sellmeyer (1860-1889), Karl, Emma, and Gustaph. From the fact that the register refers to the deaths of John and his daughter Johanna and to Johanna's marriage, but does not refer to the death of John's wife Elisabeth, we can see that the original 1875 entry was last updated between 1889 and 1896.

John was only a member of the new church for three years, for he died 1 Dec. 1878 at his home in rural Napoleon and was buried in Arnold Cemetery, about a mile or two away in rural Wellington, Lafayette County, Missouri. A short pillar or obelisk marks the site where he is buried -- where his widow Elisabeth later would be buried as well. As John's widow, Elisabeth certainly continued to live on the Easterla farm south of Napoleon, but it appears that Elisabeth somehow was overlooked in the 1880 U.S. Census. Her eldest surviving child, Mollie, married Harlon Andrew Luellen in 1877 -- the 1880 U.S. Census shows Mollie and Harlon living in Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri, with their children Blanche and Claude, as well as Mollie's youngest sister Emma Easterla. The same census shows Elisabeth's eldest surviving son Gottfried "Easterlie" and his wife "Charcence" (Charzena) farming in Clay Township, Lafayette County, Missouri, with their children Wilhelm and Charlie -- boarding with Gottfried and Charzena were Gottfried's younger brothers Herman, a laborer, and "Gustave," a farm worker. One might think that Gottfried, as the eldest son, was working his late father's farm, but if that were case, why was his mother Elisabeth not enumerated as a member of his household? If not living and working on his late father's farm, it is at least evident from the census records that Gottfried was farming in the general vicinity of the Easterla farm, for the previous page of the census shows the Rabe family, who were the Easterla's neighbors to the north.

As for Elisabeth Easterla's remaining children, they were all enumerated in the the 1880 U.S. Census. The census that year shows Elisabeth's daughter Ottilie with her husband Edwin William Harrison (whom Ottilie had married in 1878) as residents of Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, along with their children Lydia and William -- in the census record, Ottilie is called "Matilda" (her nickname was Tildie or Tilda) and Edwin is listed by his middle name "William." Elisabeth's daughter Johanna Rosina, whose nickname was Hannah, had married Ernst Rudolph Sellmeyer in 1879 -- Johanna and Ernst are shown in the 1880 census as Earnest and Hannah Selmyer, farming in Clay Township, Lafayette County, Missouri. No children are listed with Johanna and Ernst, because they were counted in the census on 3 June 1880, exactly six days before Johanna delivered her first child, a daughter named Rosina. The only other child of Elisabeth Easterla to be accounted for in the 1880 U.S. Census is her son Charles, who was enumerated as "Charles Oestry," a laborer in the household of Fritz and Catherine Sellmeyer, farmers in Clay Township, Lafayette County, Missouri.

Elisabeth next appears on record on 27 March 1890, when she applied for a Civil War widow's pension (Application No. 418032), claiming a pension for her late husband John's service as a private in the Missouri Home Guard from 6 July to 19 Oct. 1861 -- John saw action at the Battle of Lexington (also known as the Battle of the Hemp Bales), when the Pro-Union Home Guard was defeated by the Pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard.

Elisabeth's youngest daughter Emma, wife of Henry Edward Klemme, fell sick of what appears to have been malaria or meningitis on Friday, 5 Oct. 1895, and died the following Thursday night, 11 Oct. 1895. Three days after Emma's death, Elisabeth wrote a letter to her son Herman Easterla informing her family of Emma's death (spelling and grammatical errors are shown as in the original letter, but some punctuation has been added for clarity):

"October 14th 1895
"Dear Son,
"I take pen in hand to inform you & Tilda and family of the sad news that Emma is dead and Burried. She Took Sick on friday and died the following Thursday night Oct 11th. She had melariel fever and conjestion of the Brains. I would have Telegraphed you But you couldent have got hear in time to See her. The rest of us are verry Well at presant. Im hoping these few lines may find you all the same.
"I have got a girl hired to do the work as i aint able to do the work my Self.
"I dont know yet what henry intends to do with the children. Will know more about it when I write again. other news of importance is scarce. the weather is awful dry hear. We havent had a good rain hear for nearly two months. Corn is awful cheap hear this year, Some selling for 90 & $100 per Barrel potatoes 25 cts per Bus"

Less than a year after Emma's death, Elisabeth herself died on 8 April 1896 on the old Easterla farm south of Napoleon, Missouri, and was buried next to her husband in Arnold Cemetery. The deaths and burial of Emma and Elisabeth are recorded near each other in the old burial register of St. Paul Evangelical Christian Church in Napoleon.

Shown here are the death records of Emma Easterla Klemme and her mother Wilbura Elisabetha Frederika Fritz Easterla, from pages 170-171 of the death register of St. Paul Evangelical Christian Church in Napoleon, Missouri.

Because Elisabeth had died intestate (i.e., without a will), her son Goodfried Easterla was appointed administrator of her estate on 20 April 1896. The five witnesses who signed the letters of administration of Elisabeth's estate were Goodfried Easterla, Gus Easterla, Charles Easterla, Henry Klemme, and Harlon Luellen. The same document names 13 surviving heirs of Elisabeth, all of them her children and grandchildren: Mollie Lewellyn, Goodfried Easterla, Herman Easterla, Tilda Easterla, Charles Easterla, Gustav Easterla, Rosa Sellmeyer, Mollie Sellmeyer, Lena Sellmeyer, Dora Klemme, Robert Klemme, Annie Klemme, and Carrie Klemme. Elisabeth was not at all wealthy and left only a very small eastate. An account of Elisabeth's estate submitted by her son Goodfried listed five head of cattle ($70), one 8-year-old mare ($20), one 25-year-old horse ($1), three hogs ($12.50), five sheep ($15), six dozen chickens ($10), three stands of bees ($1.50), 50 pounds of wheat ($3), 25 pounds of lard ($1.25), and household and kitchen furniture ($20). The item of greatest value that Elisabeth left was the 40-acre farm that her husband Johann had purchased in 1866. The probate court ruled that because the Easterla farm south of Napoleon, Missouri, could not be divided among so many heirs, the farm would have to be sold at public auction and the proceeds of the sale divided among the heirs. A Lafayette County probate court document dated 3 Aug. 1897 states that the farm was sold at auction and conveyed to Joe O. Lesueur for the sum of $800, which was to be divided among Elisabeth's children and grandchildren.

The children of Elisabeth amd John Easterla were:

     --  (NN) OESTERLE, born and died 16 Oct. 1849 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia.
     --  AMALIE JULIANE OESTERLE ("Mollie"), born 7 Sept. 1850 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died 10 Sept. 1923 in Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri, married Harlon Andrew Luellen.
     --  (NN) OESTERLE, born and died 9 Feb. 1852 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia.
     --  GOTTFRIED OESTERLE ("Goodfred"), born 4 Jan. 1853 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died 4 Jan. 1920 in Napoleon, Lafayette County, Missouri, married Charzena Dorothea Oeschlager.
     --  HERRMANN WILHELM OESTERLE ("Herman"), born 2 June 1855 in in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died 5 April 1920 in Grand River, Lake County, Ohio, never married.
     --  OTTILIE OESTERLE ("Odelia"), born 4 Sept. 1857 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died 11 May 1923 in Painesville, Lake County, Ohio, married Edwin William "Edward" Harrison.
     --  JOHANNA ROSINA OESTERLE, born 21 Feb. 1860 in Braunsfeld, Gnesen, Posen, Prussia, died 9 Aug. 1889 in Napoleon, Lafayette County, Missouri, married Ernst Rudolph Sellmeyer.
     --  CARL OESTERLE ("Charles"), born 6 April 1862 in Napoleon, Lafayette County, Missouri, died 22 May 1929 in Archie, Cass County, Missouri, married Emma May Knapp.
     --  EMMA OESTERLE ("Emma Easterla"), born 15 March 1865 in Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri.
     --  GUSTAPH OESTERLE ("Gus Easterla"), born 14 April 1866 in Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri, died 9 Aug. 1947 in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, married Nancy Shelby Blair.

Fritz Genealogy Resources:

The Reed Family Tree of Albuquerque, N.M., with Dirk Wobben Janssen descendants and Johnson and Oltman family photos.
Find-A-Grave memorial: Caroline Fredericka Klemmer Kruel Johnson (1895-1972), with links of mother, husband, children, and parents.
Meyer's Gazette: Braunsfeld, entry on the village of Braunsfeld in Posen, Gnesen, Prussia, today Poznan, Gniezno, Poland.

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