ROSINA'S OBITUARY

For several years, I have been searching for an obituary for Rosina Kramer Ritterhouse VanDorn. I knew when and where she died, but had never been able to find an obituary. At first I was sure it would be in my Great-Aunt Edna's papers, but we never found it. Later, I thought maybe it would be posted in Find-a-Grave by some Ritterhouse relative, but so far no luck with that. Then, as Ancestry.com added an obituary database, I thought it would surely appear. I tried many different variations to Rosina's name because I have found her name in documents, in census records, in print spelled a wide variety of ways, using a variety of first and last names. Every avenue I tried came to a dead (no pun intended) end.

Finally, while researching the last two posts, I finally located not one, but two obituaries for Rosina. Neither solves any mysteries, but they are interesting. Originally, when I first started searching for them, I hoped they would tell me where and when she immigrated. Luckily, AncestryDNA solved the "where" question, and I have pretty well narrowed down the "when".  Of course, the obituaries do raise more questions about Rosina.

I am uncertain when the original Colorado Springs obituary was printed since I haven't found access to the Colorado Springs newspaper archives yet. Of the two obituaries I've found so far, the earliest dated one was in the Marshall County News (from Marysville, Kansas) on Friday, February 20, 1931 (page 11).



There are not many details given, but even so, some of the "facts" conflict with information we already had. This obituary gives Rosina's death date as January 21st and her age at death as 97 years. According to her death certificate, she was 99 years, 9 months, and 23 days old when she died on January 31, 1931. We also learn that she lived in Blue Rapids for more than 20 years. In an earlier post, I stated that she lived in Blue Rapids with her son for 15 years, so I may need to revisit that information to determine which is correct. It also confirms that she was born in Germany, but of course, not where in Germany or when she immigrated.

 

The second obituary was printed March 19, 1931 in The Axtell (KS) Standard (page 8).

 

 

 

Rosina's gravestone in Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs

The first thing you notice is the spelling of Rosina's name -- Rozena Vandorn. Next, is her age; as you can see, she aged two years between February and March. Most of the "facts" in this obituary are what ended up on Rosina's death certificate: born April 8, 1831, name spelled "Rozena", died at her
daughter Anna's home, born in Germany. Obviously, Anna was the informant for both the death certificate and the Colorado Springs obituary.

So, naturally, instead of solving problems, the obituaries only add to the questions. For example, when was Rosina born?  Listed below are the varying dates I have collected on Rosina's birth:

           1830 (from 1900 U.S. Census)
           1831 (from death certificate, gravestone and Colorado Springs obituary)
           1833 (from 1905 KS Census, 1910 U.S. Census, 1925 KS census and Marshall Co. obituary)
           1834 (from 1860 U.S. Census)
           1835 (from 1880 U.S. Census, 1920 U.S. Census and Cramme family information)
           1837 (from 1915 KS Census)

That means Rosina was somewhere between 101 and 94 when she died.

Another interesting thing in this obituary is the statement that Rosina "came to the United States as a child". In the 1920 U.S. Census, Rosina (or her son William) reported that she immigrated in 1852. My Great-Aunt Edna told me that Rosina immigrated to New York when she was 20 years old.  I have not found a ship record to document when she arrived.  In any case, I doubt that she was what I would call "a child" when she immigrated.

Even though there are still lots of questions about Rosina's birth, death and life, I love finding bits and pieces of information to try to fit together and learn more about our maternal Ritterhouse immigrant ancestor.

 

 

 

ROSINA'S BROTHER

Despite researching for about thirty years, I was never able to track my paternal great-great-grandmother, Rosina Kramer Ritterhouse VanDorn back to her native country of Germany, until my parents and I completed AncestryDNA kits. When our results were available, I eagerly began to search through our cousin matches. It was thrilling to come across a Kramer in Tazewell County, Illinois to whom my dad and I were cousins.  He turned out to be Rosina's brother.  And, through his great-grandson, Jim Stewart, became our gateway through the brick wall that was Rosina's origins and heritage.



Haueda, Germany

Johannes Cramme was born in Haueda, Germany, on July 30 1837, to Friedrich and Katherina
(Ackermann) Cramme.  His 2 1/2 year old sister, "Rosine Sophie" was waiting for him to arrive. About three years later, Johannes' world was altered when a baby brother, Philipp August, was born in March 1840. The Cramme family lived together in the small village in south central Germany. Then, around 1852, Rosina immigrated to the United States. (She was definitely in America by 1857.)  According to Rosina's grand-daughter, my Great Aunt Edna Ritterhouse, Rosina was 20 when she journeyed to New York City where she worked as a maid before continuing her journey west to Tazewell County, Illinois where she resided in 1857. Brother Johannes followed his sister to America ten to fifteen years later, apparently in 1865 or 1866. He, too, settled in Tazewell County, Illinois.

508 Charlotte St., Pekin, Illinois

Reportedly, Johannes, who became known as John Kramer, married Anna Kleen in 1865 or 1866 (as stated in his obituaries which disagree on the year).  With Anna, John raised two children, a son John, Jr. and a daughter, Emma. The Kramers were members of the local Lutheran Church.  He was employed as a cement worker by trade. At least from 1887 through 1903, he worked for Jansen & Zoeller, local mason contractors. For the last few years of

John Kramer gravestone

his life, he was employed by Jost & Schmidgall, who were also local mason contractors.  Anna and John lived in a 1024 sq. ft. home built in 1877, located at 508 Charlotte Street, Pekin, Illinois.  In fact, John, described as "an old resident of the city," died in this house on September 30, 1915, at the age of 78. "His death was sudden, following an illness of only a day."  He had lived in Pekin for 49 years. Not surprisingly, he was buried there, in Lakeside Cemetery.

It is interesting to speculate how close brother and sister were. For several years, they both lived in the same county in Illinois, thousands of miles from their homeland. John lived in the town of Pekin while Rosina lived on farms outside of town, but probably only five or ten miles away. Rosina's husband, John William Ritterhouse, died in June of 1876, about 10 years after her brother John moved to Tazewell County. She then remarried the next year and lost that husband a few years later. Around 1890, Rosina moved west to Kansas, apparently following some of her children, and leaving her brother behind. While Rosina continued to move westward during the remainder of her life, her brother remained in Pekin, Illinois until he died in 1915. My guess is they never saw each other again once she left Tazewell County.

HAUEDA, GERMANY: ANCESTRAL HOME OF ROSINA CRAMER (CRAMME)





Entrance of Haueda
 

Nestled in the middle of Germany is the small village of Haueda, home for many generations of our "Cramme" ancestors, documented back, at least, into the 1600s. Haueda is located in the state of Hessen-Nassau, in the Cassel district. The Kreis for Haueda (similar to our counties) is Hofgeismar.




Countryside around Haueda, Germany





 







Haueda is about 200 miles southwest of Berlin and about 150 miles north of Frankfurt. Wiesbaden, Hesse's capital, is also about 150 miles away. The nearest town of any size is Warburg which lies to Haueda's east about five miles and hosts a population of about 25,000 residents. Both Warburg and Haueda lie on the banks of the Diemel River, a tributary of the Weser River.



Haueda's Half-Timbered Houses

The village of Haueda is no longer an independent municipality, but instead is a frazione (or subdivision) of the town of Liebenau.

While there are no tourist accomodations or any significant employer in the village, Haueda still boasts some picturesque half-timbered houses and a limestone quarry which is one of the most important fossil sites in Northern Hesse, Germany.


For a historical map of Haueda, click the link below and then click on "Map":

http://www.meyersgaz.org/place/10738036