Lefmann Family History
The Lefmann family is related to our Landwehr family through the marriage of Mrs. Katharine Louise (Lefmann) Bottemueller to Fritz Landwehr, one of the five immigrant Landwehr children, in 1870. Katharine Lefmann was a daughter of Johann Caspar 'Casper' Lefmann. Casper, in turn, was the son of Johann Heinrich Lefmann, a farmhand, and Catharine Maria Herbert (see :figref refid=clefman.).
Casper Lefmann (Katharine's father) was born at #7 Berghausen on February 24, 1805. The Prussian village of Berghausen was located only eleven miles due west of Joellenbeck (see #5 on :figref refid=minden.). Casper was baptized in the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Borgholzhausen, one mile north of Berghausen, on March 3, 1805. His godparent was Caspar Heinrich Obermeyer. Both the Lefmann family and the Broemmelsieck family (see :hdref refid=brom.) attended church at Borgholzhausen.
:fig id=clefman frame=box depth='4.3i'.
:figcap.Lefmann family chart
:figdesc.The ancestry of Katharine (Lefmann) Bottemueller Landwehr
:efig.
The Heiratsregister, or marriage register, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Borgholzhausen records that Johann Caspar Lefmann, age twenty-five, was married to Louise Catharine Elisabeth Klute, age twenty-one, on May 15, 1830. Louise was from the village of Kleekamp (located two miles west of Berghausen). Born on November 11, 1808, Louise was the daughter of Johann Heinrich Klute, a farmhand, and Louise Catharine Riecke.
When he and Louise were married, Casper Lefmann's occupation was listed as that of "table-furniture maker". Casper and Louise began their married life in Casper's home village of Berghausen, where four children were born to them between 1830 and 1839. Their first child was born at #10 Berghausen, and the next three children at #3 Berghausen.
In 1839 or 1840, Casper Lefmann brought his wife and his four children to America, where they settled in Franklin County, Missouri, in the area then known simply as St. John's Creek. The area was about seven miles northeast of the present site of Gerald. Following their emigration to Franklin County, Casper and Louise Lefmann became parents of two more daughters, in July of 1843 and November of 1845. The first of these two daughters born in America would eventually marry Fritz Landwehr.
Casper Lefmann and his family were probably "squatters", living on public lands, until 1845. Casper bought his first farm in Franklin County on August 4, 1845, three months before the birth of his last child. Casper purchased forty acres of land from the U. S. Government, located two miles north and one and one-half miles east of the village of Port Hudson. On the map provided as :figref refid=mlefman., this farm can be identified as the northmost forty acres of the Henry Kormeier farm in Section 11. On this 1878 map, the Port Hudson Mill can be located one-half mile west of the original Casper Lefmann farm, and the Port Hudson Post Office can be located about one mile northwest of the Lefmann farm (just west of the Port Hudson Catholic Church).
:fig id=mlefman frame=box depth='6.9i'.
:figcap.Map of Port Hudson area
:figdesc.From Atlas Map of Franklin County, Missouri,
published in 1878.
:efig.
Throughout this chapter, references will be made to Port Hudson and Casco. These two small villages in western Franklin County serve as convenient markers for describing the locations of early farms and churches. The two villages can be located on the map provided by :figref refid=mcc.. But the villages did not exist until some time after the Lefmann family settled in Franklin County. The post office at Port Hudson was not established until 1859, and the post office at Casco was not established until 1871. And a comparison of a modern-day map to the 1878 map of the area reveals that the site currently designated as Port Hudson is three miles south and a mile west of the original site of the Port Hudson Post Office.
Prior to 1846, there was no established church in the area where the Lefmann family lived. The area was visited by itinerant evangelical pastors. Then, on September 1, 1846, Rev. J. C. Roland organized the German Evangelical Lutheran Ebenezer Church about two miles northwest of Casco, which would have been less than two miles from Casper Lefmann's farm. Casper was among the charter members of this new church.
Casper expanded his land holdings in August of 1847, two years after he first purchased land, when he bought another forty acres from the U.S. Government. This second tract was located just south and east of his original tract, and can be identified as the southeast forty acres of the Henry Kormeier farm in Section 11 on the map provided by :figref refid=mlefman..
Meanwhile, the Evangelical Lutheran Ebenezer Church, established in 1846, was experiencing problems. Their new minister, Rev. Henry Grote, had established residence on St. John's Creek in the summer of 1848. But Rev. Grote divided his time between the Evangelical Lutheran Ebenezer Church on St. John's Creek, and another previously established congregation meeting in a private home some distance to the west on Beouf Creek. Some of his parishoners on St. John's Creek who paid him were angered about his divided loyalty, and dismissed him.
With the support of ten or twelve families who remained faithful to him, Rev. Grote organized a new congregation on St. John's Creek in April of 1850. Then, in June, he bought forty acres of land from the U.S. Government. The members of Rev. Grote's new congregation erected a log church and parsonage on the forty acres of land he purchased, marking the birth of the St. John's Evangelical Church near Casco. Casper Lefmann's family was among the families who helped Rev. Grote establish the new St. John's Evangelical congregation.
The first of Casper's children to marry was his eldest daughter, Charlotte. Charlotte was married in July of 1850 to Frederick Vogt. They were married by Rev. Grote, the minister of the new St. John's Evangelical congregation.
When the census-taker visited the Casper Lefmann household on October 30, 1850, Casper listed his occupation as that of a farmer, and valued his real estate at $250. With the exception of Charlotte, all of the Lefmann children were still living at home.
There was another Lefmann family living with Casper and his family in the fall of 1850. This second Lefmann family was the William and Minna Lefmann family. William Lefmann was Friedrich Wilhelm Lefmann, Henry's older brother. William was born in Berghausen, Prussia, on December 24, 1798, making him six years older than Henry. William Lefmann married Catharine Wilhelmine Geinert at Borgholzhausen on July 26, 1828, and must have emigrated to America after Casper, as William's youngest son was baptized at Borgholzhausen on February 21, 1841, at least one year after Casper arrived in America.
During the next five years, the Lefmann family purchased an additional 360 acres of land in the Port Hudson area from the U.S. Government. Some of it was purchased by Casper, some by his sons, and possibly some by Casper's brother. The forty acres that Casper purchased in February of 1855 was situated just south of the forty acres he purchased in 1845, and just west of the forty acres he purchased in 1847, thereby giving him 120 contiguous acres. The Lefmanns purchased another forty acres just southeast of Port Hudson, 160 acres three miles northeast of Casco, and another 120 acres one mile west and three miles north of Port Hudson. The fact that so much Government land was still available for purchase at $1.25 per acre, ten to fifteen years after the Lefmann family first settled in the area, attests to the fact that the Lefmanns were among the very early pioneers in this part of the county.
:fig id=phlef frame=box depth='4.4i'.
:figcap.Henry and Louise (Klute) Lefmann
:figdesc.Courtesy of Floyd Landwehr.
:efig.
Casper Lefmann's eldest son, Henry, was married to Charlotte Kappelmann in November of 1854. They were married by the minister of the Lefmann family church, the St. John's Evangelical Church.
The next month, the thirteen members of the St. John's Evangelical Church decided to build a new frame church to replace the log building constructed four years earlier. With donations solicited from St. Charles, St. Louis, Hermann, and Bay, the new frame church was dedicated two years later. The pulpit in the new frame church was fabricated by Casper Lefmann.
Casper and Louise saw their third child marry in October of 1858, when William Lefmann was married to Charlotte Kruel. As we would expect, they were married by the minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church.
While Casper Lefmann was undoubtedly a farmer all of his life, he apparently depended upon his skill as a carpenter for part of his livelihood. In the 1860 census, Casper listed his occupation as that of carpenter, with real estate valued at $1200 and personal property valued at $550. Living with Henry were his wife, and their three youngest children.
Casper and Louise apparently quit farming in 1860, when they sold the 120 acres of land that they had purchased in 1845, 1847, and 1855 to their youngest son, Fritz Lefmann.
The Civil War erupted in the spring of 1861. But a year later, there was another wedding in the Casper Lefmann family. In April of 1862, Katherine Lefmann, daughter of Casper and Louise Lefmann, married Hermann Bottemueller. Like her sister and brothers before her, Katherine was married by the minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church.
The last two of Casper's children were married in 1864. Fritz Lefmann was married to Louisa Kampe in May, and Louisa Lefmann was married to Henry Kohrmeier in September. The minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church married both couples.
While we have noted that each of the six Lefmann children were married by the minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church, the children did not continue to look to the St. John's Evangelical Church as their family church after their marriages. Instead, they individually chose to worship at the Ebenezer Evangelical Church, known as the Stone Church, seven miles west and two miles north of the St. John's Evangelical Church. The Ebenezer Church was organized in 1854 with the assistance of the minister of the St. John's congregation, and the same minister served both congregations until the Ebenezer congregation obtained their own minister in 1857.
Perhaps Casper and Louise felt a stronger commitment to the St. John's congregation than did their children, because they were among the earliest members. In any event, it appears that Charlotte (Lefmann) Vogt and Henry Lefmann affiliated with the Ebenezer congregation as soon as it was organized, William Lefmann as soon as he was married, Fritz Lefmann within six years after his marriage, and Katherine (Lefmann) Bottemueller within eight years after her marriage. Louisa (Lefmann) Kohrmeier also affiliated with the Ebenezer congregation.
After Louisa Lefmann (Casper's youngest daughter) was married in September of 1864, she and her new husband apparently provided a home for Casper and Louise Lefmann. The census records of 1870, 1880, and 1900 all confirm that Casper and Louise made their home with Henry and Louise (Lefmann) Kohrmeier the rest of their lives. And the 1878 map of the Port Hudson area indicates that Henry and Louisa Kohrmeier had acquired ownership of the original 120-acre Casper Lefmann farm.
Both Casper and Louise Lefmann lie buried in the graveyard of the St. John's Evangelical Church (now St. John's United Church of Christ) one mile north of Casco, Missouri. Their gravestones indicate that Casper died on August 23, 1886, at eighty-one years of age, and Louise on August 8, 1901, as she approached her ninety-third birthday.
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:hp3.Children of Johann Caspar 'Caspar' Lefmann:ehp3.
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:li.Catharine Marie Charlotte 'Charlotte' Lefmann was born in Berghausen, Prussia, on July 31, 1830, and was baptized in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Borgholzen on August 8. Her godparent was Catharine Marie Obermeyer.
Charlotte was married to Friedrich 'Frederick' Vogt on July 28, 1850. They were married by Henry Grote, Minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church, the home church of the Lefmann family. Frederick was born at Buckholzhausen, Prussia about 1823-25. Frederick and Charlotte were apparently affiliated with the Ebenezer Evangelical congregation from the date of its organization, as the baptisms of their children from 1854 to 1863 are recorded in the registers of that church.
Charlotte died on March 30, 1863, at the age of thirty-two, ten days after the birth of her seventh child. Her death was recorded in the registers of the Ebenezer Evangelical Church near Detmold, and it is likely that she was buried in the graveyard of that church. There is, however, no stone for her in the cemetery. Friedrich died on April 22, 1899, and was buried in the graveyard of the Ebenezer Evangelical Church (now Ebenezer United Church of Christ).
:li.Johann Heinrich Peter 'Henry' Lefmann was born in Berghausen, Prussia, on September 2, 1833, and was baptized in the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Borgholzhausen on September 8. His godparent was Johann Heinrich Klute, who may have been the infant's maternal grandfather.
Henry was married to Maria Charlotte 'Charlotte' Kappelmann on November 5, 1854. They were married by Rev. H. C. W. Schuenemann, Minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church. Charlotte was born at Ravensberg, Prussia on October 11, 1835.
Henry Lefmann served in the 54th Regiment of the Enrolled Missouri Militia during the Civil War. He was a Corporal, serving under Captain King, in Company I. The Company was enrolled and organized on August 25, 1862, in Beofftown, Missouri. They were ordered into active service at Washington the same day by Col. Gale, and relieved from duty on December 31, 1862. They were ordered into service at Washington again on April 23, 1863, and served for thirty-three days.
Henry and Charlotte were also affiliated with the Ebenezer Evangelical congregation at an early date. Nine children born to Henry and Charlotte between 1855 and 1877 were baptized by the minister of the Ebenezer Evangelical Church.
In 1900, Henry and Charlotte lived with their daughter, Ida, on 5th Street in Washington, Missouri. Henry died on July 17, 1901, and was buried in the Ebenezer Evangelical Church cemetery near Detmold. Charlotte died on October 5, 1932, less that a week before her ninety-seventh birthday. She was buried beside her husband in the Ebenezer Evangelical Church cemetery.
.li.Heinrich Wilhelm 'William' Lefmann was born in Berghausen, Prussia, on October 8, 1836, and was baptized in the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Borgholzhausen on October 16. His godparent was Heinrich Matthias Sprekelmeyer.
William married Charlotte Sophia Kruel on October 10, 1858. They were married by Rev. H. C. W. Schuenemann, minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church. Charlotte was born at Union, Missouri on October 8, 1940.
Like his older brother, William Lefmann served in the 54th Regiment of the Enrolled Missouri Militia. He was a Private in Company I, the same company in which Henry Lefmann served as a Corporal. The Company was enrolled and organized at Beoufftown, Missouri on August 28, 1862. They were ordered into active service at Washington, Missouri that same day by Col. D. Q. Gale, and were relieved from duty on December 31, 1862. William's service records indicate that his company was again ordered into active service at Washington, Missouri by Col. D. Q. Gale on October 1, 1864, and relieved from duty on November 15.
William and Charlotte (Kruel) Lefmann apparently affiliated with the Ebenezer Evangelical Church immediately after their marriage. The registers of the Ebenezer Evangelical Church contain records of the baptisms of eight children born to William and Charlotte between 1859 and 1883.
Sometime between 1880 and 1900, William and Charlotte moved from Franklin County to northwest Gasconade County, near Morrison, where they were living in 1900. William died on April 28, 1918, and Charlotte died on February 19, 1930. Both are buried in the Clary Cemetery in Osage County, near Morrison.
.li.Friedrich Wilhelm 'Fritz' Lefmann was born at Berghausen, Prussia on February 22, 1839, and was baptized in the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Borgholzhausen on March 24. His godparent was Heinrich Matthias Kleine.
Fritz was no more than one year old when he emigrated to the United States with his parents. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Fritz enlisted on June 13, 1861, as a private in Company D of the Franklin County Reserve Corps, a regiment of the Missouri Home Guards, under Captain Fricke. He was discharged three months later on September 13, 1861. At enlistment, Fritz described himself as a farmer, six feet one inch in height, with fair complexion, blue eyes, and dark hair.
Fritz later enrolled for duty in the militia on August 19, 1862. He was ordered into active service as a private in Company C of the 54th Regiment of Enrolled Missouri Militia on August 19, 1862 at Washington, Missouri. His company was relieved from duty December 31, 1862 by Colonel D. Q. Gale.
Fritz was married at Port Hudson to Maria Justine Louise 'Louisa' Kampe on May 19, 1864. They were married by Rev. George Maul, Minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church. Louisa was born in the German state of Hanover on January 5, 1846.
Fritz's militia unit was called upon again when Confederate General Sterling Price raided Missouri in the fall of 1864. He was ordered into active service at Washington on October 1, 1864, and was relieved from duty on November 14, 1864 by Colonel D. Q. Gale.
For most Franklin County men, their service in the militia during General Price's raid was their last experience with the military. But that was not to be the case for Fritz Lefmann. Fritz was drafted into the regular United States Army on January 13, 1865. He went from his home in Franklin County to St. Louis, where he was examined by the board of enrollment and held for service on January 25, 1865. He was sent to Benton Barracks, Missouri on January 26, where he was discharged from service on February 2, 1865, after furnishing a substitute. Having sore eyes, Fritz bought a substitute to serve for him before he was enrolled in any company and regiment.
Fritz and Louisa lived at Washington, Missouri until 1868, when they moved to a Franklin County farm near Boeuf Creek. Fritz and Louisa apparently affiliated with the Ebenezer Evangelical Church when they made this move, as records of baptisms of their children began to appear in the Ebenezer Evangelical Church registers in 1870.
In 1888, Fritz moved from Franklin County to Lafayette County, Missouri, where he and his family settled near Corder.
Fritz filed for a military pension in 1894, claiming disablility due to inflamatory rheumatism. In 1900, he was diagnosed as suffering from diabetis mellitus. In 1907, Fritz moved to Higginsville, Missouri, where he died on April 11, 1909.
At the time of his death, Fritz was receiving a monthly military pension of $15, on the basis of his service in the Home Guards. Following his death, Louisa filed for a widow's pension. She was receiving a pension of $25 per month when she died at Higginsville on July 22, 1920. Both Fritz and Louisa are buried at the Salem Evangelical Cemetery at Higginsville.
:li.Katharina Louise 'Katherine' Lefmann was born near Port Hudson on July 25, 1843. On April 24, 1862, at eighteen years of age, she was married to 25-year-old Hermann Bottemueller. They were married by Rev. George Maul, Minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church.
Hermann owned a farm prior to his marriage. Two years earlier, on September 3rd of 1860, "Herman Buttermiller" had purchased a 160-acre farm from Frank Kappelmann for $700 (the Bottemueller name was commonly referred to as Buttermiller). Hermann's farm was located about eleven miles south and three miles west of the Port Hudson Post Office. On the map provided as :figref refid=mfritz., Hermann's original farm can be described as the two forty-acre parcels belonging to F. Landwehr in Section 8, and the western-most fifty acres of the ninety acres belonging to F. Landwehr along the section line between Section 8 and Section 5.
The farm that Hermann bought in 1860 may not have been the first property that he owned. While we don't know whether the tax was based on land ownership or not, an old tax receipt found in the Hermann's personal papers indicates that Hermann paid $1.53 in "State, County and Jail Taxes" for the year 1858.
Hermann's personal papers also included a bill from his doctor which gives us a glimpse of medical practice in 1862. His doctor billed "Hermann Buttermiller" for $1.75 for the following medicines:
:ul compact.
:li.Aug 7 Antibilious medicine for wife $ .75
:li.Sept 11 Antibilious medicine for self .50
:li.Sept 11 20 gr. Quin solution self .50
:eul.
The antibilious medicine for Louise was prescribed six months prior to the birth of their first child, and the bill was paid in full on February 12, 1863, a month after the birth of their child.
Katharine and Hermann lived in a log cabin on their farm. The cabin, located on a bluff overlooking the Bourbeuse River, probably provided little more than a roof over their heads. Many years later, Katharine would tell her grandchildren a story about life in the cabin. She related that there were cracks in the house, and that one cold night, she kept awakening and complained to Hermann to "quit pulling the cover off of me". It turned out that a bear was reaching in and was pulling on the cover!
Katharine's first child, Henry Bottemueller, was undoubtedly born in that cabin in 1863. One of Katharine's granddaughters recalls Katharine relating that she and the baby would sometimes be alone at night, as Hermann would be away from home doing carpentry work, or cabinet work. Katharine also recalled riding horseback to Giebler's Store, only a short distance east of her home, with her sack of goods slung across the horse, and her baby in her arms.
Three years after Katharine and Hermann were married, on February 8, 1865, Hermann purchased another eighty acres of land from Elizabeth Chuming. On the map provided as :figref refid=mfritz., this eighty acres is identified as the easternmost forty acres of the land belonging to F. Landwehr along the section line between Section 5 and Section 8, as well as another forty acres just east of the forty acres just described.
Katharine and Hermann were married one year after the Civil War began. In the fall of 1864, two and one-half years after their marriage, Confederate General Sterling Price led a large Confederate army on a raid through Missouri. The Confederate forces, about 15,000 strong, were in Franklin County on the last day of September and the first few days in October. A letter found in Hermann's personal papers makes reference to that raid. The letter, written in German, was penned from a "Camp Near Mouth of White River, Arkansas November the 6, 1864". It was apparently written by a friend of Hermann Bottemueller. A translation of the letter reads:
Dear Friend,
I cannot miss the chance to write you a few lines and to let you know my joy on finally receiving your long-awaited letter. I can see from your letter that all of you are still well and in good spirits.
As for me, I can say the same.
Dear friend Hermann, I thought you were mad at me, since I did not receive any answers to my letters. I thought I had told you too many dumb jokes in my letters, but now I see that I was just not receiving your letters.
Dear friend, I heard that the rebels up in Franklin County raised quite a bit of hell. I do not know if they were in your area. Your brother-in-law, F. Lefmann, really got it from them. They took all of my clothes. I think the rebels want to bankrupt me, they'll have no luck in that respect so long as I'm in the U. S. Service. I don't think I'll have any trouble getting it back, maybe double, but the worst is that they took everything from the farmers, even horses, wagons and all kinds of other things. They must, however, accept the situation because they cannot change it.
Katharine and Hermann Bottemueller were the parents of three more children. William was born in 1866, Adolphus in 1868, and Sophia in 1870. Then, on February 4, 1870, less than five weeks after Sophia's birth, Hermann Bottemueller died. He was thirty-three years old. A granddaughter of Louise (Lefmann) Bottemueller recalls hearing that Hermann died of "brain fever". Hermann was buried in a small cemetery, now known as the old Elbert cemetery, near Champion City. The cemetery was probably the burying ground for the community at that time. On the map provided as :figref refid=mfritz., the cemetery location is marked by a cross in the 38-acre tract of land owned by C. F. Meyer & Co. in the northwest corner of Section 9.
Katharine later described her life, as a widow with four small children, to her grandchildren. She recalled that she had a horse, and she had a few eggs and a little butter, which she would sell to make a living. She also recalled that she would get on her horse, put two boys behind her on the horse, another boy in front of her, and would hold her baby, butter, and eggs in her arms as she rode off to sell her produce.
Seven months after Hermann Bottemueller's death, Katharine remarried. On September 5, 1870, she was married to Wilhelm Heinrich 'Fritz' Landwehr, son of Friedrich Wilhelm Landwehr and Anna Maria Ilsabein Bonsen. Katharine's life following her second mariage is discussed in detail in :hdref refid=fritz..
.li.Katharina Louise 'Louisa' Lefmann was born near Port Hudson on November 15, 1845. Louisa was married to Johann Heinrich 'Henry' Kohrmeier on September 13, 1864. They were married by Rev. George Maul, Minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church.
Soon after Louisa and Henry were married, they provided a home for Louisa's parents, Casper and Louise Lefmann, on the original Lefmann farm near Port Hudson. Casper and Louise Lefmann lived with Henry and Louisa (Lefmann) Kohrmeier the rest of their lives.
Louisa died on July 3, 1907, and Henry died on June 11, 1918. They were both buried in the St. John's Evangelical Church cemetery near Casco.
:eol.
Casper Lefmann (Katharine's father) was born at #7 Berghausen on February 24, 1805. The Prussian village of Berghausen was located only eleven miles due west of Joellenbeck (see #5 on :figref refid=minden.). Casper was baptized in the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Borgholzhausen, one mile north of Berghausen, on March 3, 1805. His godparent was Caspar Heinrich Obermeyer. Both the Lefmann family and the Broemmelsieck family (see :hdref refid=brom.) attended church at Borgholzhausen.
:fig id=clefman frame=box depth='4.3i'.
:figcap.Lefmann family chart
:figdesc.The ancestry of Katharine (Lefmann) Bottemueller Landwehr
:efig.
The Heiratsregister, or marriage register, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Borgholzhausen records that Johann Caspar Lefmann, age twenty-five, was married to Louise Catharine Elisabeth Klute, age twenty-one, on May 15, 1830. Louise was from the village of Kleekamp (located two miles west of Berghausen). Born on November 11, 1808, Louise was the daughter of Johann Heinrich Klute, a farmhand, and Louise Catharine Riecke.
When he and Louise were married, Casper Lefmann's occupation was listed as that of "table-furniture maker". Casper and Louise began their married life in Casper's home village of Berghausen, where four children were born to them between 1830 and 1839. Their first child was born at #10 Berghausen, and the next three children at #3 Berghausen.
In 1839 or 1840, Casper Lefmann brought his wife and his four children to America, where they settled in Franklin County, Missouri, in the area then known simply as St. John's Creek. The area was about seven miles northeast of the present site of Gerald. Following their emigration to Franklin County, Casper and Louise Lefmann became parents of two more daughters, in July of 1843 and November of 1845. The first of these two daughters born in America would eventually marry Fritz Landwehr.
Casper Lefmann and his family were probably "squatters", living on public lands, until 1845. Casper bought his first farm in Franklin County on August 4, 1845, three months before the birth of his last child. Casper purchased forty acres of land from the U. S. Government, located two miles north and one and one-half miles east of the village of Port Hudson. On the map provided as :figref refid=mlefman., this farm can be identified as the northmost forty acres of the Henry Kormeier farm in Section 11. On this 1878 map, the Port Hudson Mill can be located one-half mile west of the original Casper Lefmann farm, and the Port Hudson Post Office can be located about one mile northwest of the Lefmann farm (just west of the Port Hudson Catholic Church).
:fig id=mlefman frame=box depth='6.9i'.
:figcap.Map of Port Hudson area
:figdesc.From Atlas Map of Franklin County, Missouri,
published in 1878.
:efig.
Throughout this chapter, references will be made to Port Hudson and Casco. These two small villages in western Franklin County serve as convenient markers for describing the locations of early farms and churches. The two villages can be located on the map provided by :figref refid=mcc.. But the villages did not exist until some time after the Lefmann family settled in Franklin County. The post office at Port Hudson was not established until 1859, and the post office at Casco was not established until 1871. And a comparison of a modern-day map to the 1878 map of the area reveals that the site currently designated as Port Hudson is three miles south and a mile west of the original site of the Port Hudson Post Office.
Prior to 1846, there was no established church in the area where the Lefmann family lived. The area was visited by itinerant evangelical pastors. Then, on September 1, 1846, Rev. J. C. Roland organized the German Evangelical Lutheran Ebenezer Church about two miles northwest of Casco, which would have been less than two miles from Casper Lefmann's farm. Casper was among the charter members of this new church.
Casper expanded his land holdings in August of 1847, two years after he first purchased land, when he bought another forty acres from the U.S. Government. This second tract was located just south and east of his original tract, and can be identified as the southeast forty acres of the Henry Kormeier farm in Section 11 on the map provided by :figref refid=mlefman..
Meanwhile, the Evangelical Lutheran Ebenezer Church, established in 1846, was experiencing problems. Their new minister, Rev. Henry Grote, had established residence on St. John's Creek in the summer of 1848. But Rev. Grote divided his time between the Evangelical Lutheran Ebenezer Church on St. John's Creek, and another previously established congregation meeting in a private home some distance to the west on Beouf Creek. Some of his parishoners on St. John's Creek who paid him were angered about his divided loyalty, and dismissed him.
With the support of ten or twelve families who remained faithful to him, Rev. Grote organized a new congregation on St. John's Creek in April of 1850. Then, in June, he bought forty acres of land from the U.S. Government. The members of Rev. Grote's new congregation erected a log church and parsonage on the forty acres of land he purchased, marking the birth of the St. John's Evangelical Church near Casco. Casper Lefmann's family was among the families who helped Rev. Grote establish the new St. John's Evangelical congregation.
The first of Casper's children to marry was his eldest daughter, Charlotte. Charlotte was married in July of 1850 to Frederick Vogt. They were married by Rev. Grote, the minister of the new St. John's Evangelical congregation.
When the census-taker visited the Casper Lefmann household on October 30, 1850, Casper listed his occupation as that of a farmer, and valued his real estate at $250. With the exception of Charlotte, all of the Lefmann children were still living at home.
There was another Lefmann family living with Casper and his family in the fall of 1850. This second Lefmann family was the William and Minna Lefmann family. William Lefmann was Friedrich Wilhelm Lefmann, Henry's older brother. William was born in Berghausen, Prussia, on December 24, 1798, making him six years older than Henry. William Lefmann married Catharine Wilhelmine Geinert at Borgholzhausen on July 26, 1828, and must have emigrated to America after Casper, as William's youngest son was baptized at Borgholzhausen on February 21, 1841, at least one year after Casper arrived in America.
During the next five years, the Lefmann family purchased an additional 360 acres of land in the Port Hudson area from the U.S. Government. Some of it was purchased by Casper, some by his sons, and possibly some by Casper's brother. The forty acres that Casper purchased in February of 1855 was situated just south of the forty acres he purchased in 1845, and just west of the forty acres he purchased in 1847, thereby giving him 120 contiguous acres. The Lefmanns purchased another forty acres just southeast of Port Hudson, 160 acres three miles northeast of Casco, and another 120 acres one mile west and three miles north of Port Hudson. The fact that so much Government land was still available for purchase at $1.25 per acre, ten to fifteen years after the Lefmann family first settled in the area, attests to the fact that the Lefmanns were among the very early pioneers in this part of the county.
:fig id=phlef frame=box depth='4.4i'.
:figcap.Henry and Louise (Klute) Lefmann
:figdesc.Courtesy of Floyd Landwehr.
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Casper Lefmann's eldest son, Henry, was married to Charlotte Kappelmann in November of 1854. They were married by the minister of the Lefmann family church, the St. John's Evangelical Church.
The next month, the thirteen members of the St. John's Evangelical Church decided to build a new frame church to replace the log building constructed four years earlier. With donations solicited from St. Charles, St. Louis, Hermann, and Bay, the new frame church was dedicated two years later. The pulpit in the new frame church was fabricated by Casper Lefmann.
Casper and Louise saw their third child marry in October of 1858, when William Lefmann was married to Charlotte Kruel. As we would expect, they were married by the minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church.
While Casper Lefmann was undoubtedly a farmer all of his life, he apparently depended upon his skill as a carpenter for part of his livelihood. In the 1860 census, Casper listed his occupation as that of carpenter, with real estate valued at $1200 and personal property valued at $550. Living with Henry were his wife, and their three youngest children.
Casper and Louise apparently quit farming in 1860, when they sold the 120 acres of land that they had purchased in 1845, 1847, and 1855 to their youngest son, Fritz Lefmann.
The Civil War erupted in the spring of 1861. But a year later, there was another wedding in the Casper Lefmann family. In April of 1862, Katherine Lefmann, daughter of Casper and Louise Lefmann, married Hermann Bottemueller. Like her sister and brothers before her, Katherine was married by the minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church.
The last two of Casper's children were married in 1864. Fritz Lefmann was married to Louisa Kampe in May, and Louisa Lefmann was married to Henry Kohrmeier in September. The minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church married both couples.
While we have noted that each of the six Lefmann children were married by the minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church, the children did not continue to look to the St. John's Evangelical Church as their family church after their marriages. Instead, they individually chose to worship at the Ebenezer Evangelical Church, known as the Stone Church, seven miles west and two miles north of the St. John's Evangelical Church. The Ebenezer Church was organized in 1854 with the assistance of the minister of the St. John's congregation, and the same minister served both congregations until the Ebenezer congregation obtained their own minister in 1857.
Perhaps Casper and Louise felt a stronger commitment to the St. John's congregation than did their children, because they were among the earliest members. In any event, it appears that Charlotte (Lefmann) Vogt and Henry Lefmann affiliated with the Ebenezer congregation as soon as it was organized, William Lefmann as soon as he was married, Fritz Lefmann within six years after his marriage, and Katherine (Lefmann) Bottemueller within eight years after her marriage. Louisa (Lefmann) Kohrmeier also affiliated with the Ebenezer congregation.
After Louisa Lefmann (Casper's youngest daughter) was married in September of 1864, she and her new husband apparently provided a home for Casper and Louise Lefmann. The census records of 1870, 1880, and 1900 all confirm that Casper and Louise made their home with Henry and Louise (Lefmann) Kohrmeier the rest of their lives. And the 1878 map of the Port Hudson area indicates that Henry and Louisa Kohrmeier had acquired ownership of the original 120-acre Casper Lefmann farm.
Both Casper and Louise Lefmann lie buried in the graveyard of the St. John's Evangelical Church (now St. John's United Church of Christ) one mile north of Casco, Missouri. Their gravestones indicate that Casper died on August 23, 1886, at eighty-one years of age, and Louise on August 8, 1901, as she approached her ninety-third birthday.
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:hp3.Children of Johann Caspar 'Caspar' Lefmann:ehp3.
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:li.Catharine Marie Charlotte 'Charlotte' Lefmann was born in Berghausen, Prussia, on July 31, 1830, and was baptized in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Borgholzen on August 8. Her godparent was Catharine Marie Obermeyer.
Charlotte was married to Friedrich 'Frederick' Vogt on July 28, 1850. They were married by Henry Grote, Minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church, the home church of the Lefmann family. Frederick was born at Buckholzhausen, Prussia about 1823-25. Frederick and Charlotte were apparently affiliated with the Ebenezer Evangelical congregation from the date of its organization, as the baptisms of their children from 1854 to 1863 are recorded in the registers of that church.
Charlotte died on March 30, 1863, at the age of thirty-two, ten days after the birth of her seventh child. Her death was recorded in the registers of the Ebenezer Evangelical Church near Detmold, and it is likely that she was buried in the graveyard of that church. There is, however, no stone for her in the cemetery. Friedrich died on April 22, 1899, and was buried in the graveyard of the Ebenezer Evangelical Church (now Ebenezer United Church of Christ).
:li.Johann Heinrich Peter 'Henry' Lefmann was born in Berghausen, Prussia, on September 2, 1833, and was baptized in the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Borgholzhausen on September 8. His godparent was Johann Heinrich Klute, who may have been the infant's maternal grandfather.
Henry was married to Maria Charlotte 'Charlotte' Kappelmann on November 5, 1854. They were married by Rev. H. C. W. Schuenemann, Minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church. Charlotte was born at Ravensberg, Prussia on October 11, 1835.
Henry Lefmann served in the 54th Regiment of the Enrolled Missouri Militia during the Civil War. He was a Corporal, serving under Captain King, in Company I. The Company was enrolled and organized on August 25, 1862, in Beofftown, Missouri. They were ordered into active service at Washington the same day by Col. Gale, and relieved from duty on December 31, 1862. They were ordered into service at Washington again on April 23, 1863, and served for thirty-three days.
Henry and Charlotte were also affiliated with the Ebenezer Evangelical congregation at an early date. Nine children born to Henry and Charlotte between 1855 and 1877 were baptized by the minister of the Ebenezer Evangelical Church.
In 1900, Henry and Charlotte lived with their daughter, Ida, on 5th Street in Washington, Missouri. Henry died on July 17, 1901, and was buried in the Ebenezer Evangelical Church cemetery near Detmold. Charlotte died on October 5, 1932, less that a week before her ninety-seventh birthday. She was buried beside her husband in the Ebenezer Evangelical Church cemetery.
.li.Heinrich Wilhelm 'William' Lefmann was born in Berghausen, Prussia, on October 8, 1836, and was baptized in the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Borgholzhausen on October 16. His godparent was Heinrich Matthias Sprekelmeyer.
William married Charlotte Sophia Kruel on October 10, 1858. They were married by Rev. H. C. W. Schuenemann, minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church. Charlotte was born at Union, Missouri on October 8, 1940.
Like his older brother, William Lefmann served in the 54th Regiment of the Enrolled Missouri Militia. He was a Private in Company I, the same company in which Henry Lefmann served as a Corporal. The Company was enrolled and organized at Beoufftown, Missouri on August 28, 1862. They were ordered into active service at Washington, Missouri that same day by Col. D. Q. Gale, and were relieved from duty on December 31, 1862. William's service records indicate that his company was again ordered into active service at Washington, Missouri by Col. D. Q. Gale on October 1, 1864, and relieved from duty on November 15.
William and Charlotte (Kruel) Lefmann apparently affiliated with the Ebenezer Evangelical Church immediately after their marriage. The registers of the Ebenezer Evangelical Church contain records of the baptisms of eight children born to William and Charlotte between 1859 and 1883.
Sometime between 1880 and 1900, William and Charlotte moved from Franklin County to northwest Gasconade County, near Morrison, where they were living in 1900. William died on April 28, 1918, and Charlotte died on February 19, 1930. Both are buried in the Clary Cemetery in Osage County, near Morrison.
.li.Friedrich Wilhelm 'Fritz' Lefmann was born at Berghausen, Prussia on February 22, 1839, and was baptized in the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Borgholzhausen on March 24. His godparent was Heinrich Matthias Kleine.
Fritz was no more than one year old when he emigrated to the United States with his parents. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Fritz enlisted on June 13, 1861, as a private in Company D of the Franklin County Reserve Corps, a regiment of the Missouri Home Guards, under Captain Fricke. He was discharged three months later on September 13, 1861. At enlistment, Fritz described himself as a farmer, six feet one inch in height, with fair complexion, blue eyes, and dark hair.
Fritz later enrolled for duty in the militia on August 19, 1862. He was ordered into active service as a private in Company C of the 54th Regiment of Enrolled Missouri Militia on August 19, 1862 at Washington, Missouri. His company was relieved from duty December 31, 1862 by Colonel D. Q. Gale.
Fritz was married at Port Hudson to Maria Justine Louise 'Louisa' Kampe on May 19, 1864. They were married by Rev. George Maul, Minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church. Louisa was born in the German state of Hanover on January 5, 1846.
Fritz's militia unit was called upon again when Confederate General Sterling Price raided Missouri in the fall of 1864. He was ordered into active service at Washington on October 1, 1864, and was relieved from duty on November 14, 1864 by Colonel D. Q. Gale.
For most Franklin County men, their service in the militia during General Price's raid was their last experience with the military. But that was not to be the case for Fritz Lefmann. Fritz was drafted into the regular United States Army on January 13, 1865. He went from his home in Franklin County to St. Louis, where he was examined by the board of enrollment and held for service on January 25, 1865. He was sent to Benton Barracks, Missouri on January 26, where he was discharged from service on February 2, 1865, after furnishing a substitute. Having sore eyes, Fritz bought a substitute to serve for him before he was enrolled in any company and regiment.
Fritz and Louisa lived at Washington, Missouri until 1868, when they moved to a Franklin County farm near Boeuf Creek. Fritz and Louisa apparently affiliated with the Ebenezer Evangelical Church when they made this move, as records of baptisms of their children began to appear in the Ebenezer Evangelical Church registers in 1870.
In 1888, Fritz moved from Franklin County to Lafayette County, Missouri, where he and his family settled near Corder.
Fritz filed for a military pension in 1894, claiming disablility due to inflamatory rheumatism. In 1900, he was diagnosed as suffering from diabetis mellitus. In 1907, Fritz moved to Higginsville, Missouri, where he died on April 11, 1909.
At the time of his death, Fritz was receiving a monthly military pension of $15, on the basis of his service in the Home Guards. Following his death, Louisa filed for a widow's pension. She was receiving a pension of $25 per month when she died at Higginsville on July 22, 1920. Both Fritz and Louisa are buried at the Salem Evangelical Cemetery at Higginsville.
:li.Katharina Louise 'Katherine' Lefmann was born near Port Hudson on July 25, 1843. On April 24, 1862, at eighteen years of age, she was married to 25-year-old Hermann Bottemueller. They were married by Rev. George Maul, Minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church.
Hermann owned a farm prior to his marriage. Two years earlier, on September 3rd of 1860, "Herman Buttermiller" had purchased a 160-acre farm from Frank Kappelmann for $700 (the Bottemueller name was commonly referred to as Buttermiller). Hermann's farm was located about eleven miles south and three miles west of the Port Hudson Post Office. On the map provided as :figref refid=mfritz., Hermann's original farm can be described as the two forty-acre parcels belonging to F. Landwehr in Section 8, and the western-most fifty acres of the ninety acres belonging to F. Landwehr along the section line between Section 8 and Section 5.
The farm that Hermann bought in 1860 may not have been the first property that he owned. While we don't know whether the tax was based on land ownership or not, an old tax receipt found in the Hermann's personal papers indicates that Hermann paid $1.53 in "State, County and Jail Taxes" for the year 1858.
Hermann's personal papers also included a bill from his doctor which gives us a glimpse of medical practice in 1862. His doctor billed "Hermann Buttermiller" for $1.75 for the following medicines:
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:li.Aug 7 Antibilious medicine for wife $ .75
:li.Sept 11 Antibilious medicine for self .50
:li.Sept 11 20 gr. Quin solution self .50
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The antibilious medicine for Louise was prescribed six months prior to the birth of their first child, and the bill was paid in full on February 12, 1863, a month after the birth of their child.
Katharine and Hermann lived in a log cabin on their farm. The cabin, located on a bluff overlooking the Bourbeuse River, probably provided little more than a roof over their heads. Many years later, Katharine would tell her grandchildren a story about life in the cabin. She related that there were cracks in the house, and that one cold night, she kept awakening and complained to Hermann to "quit pulling the cover off of me". It turned out that a bear was reaching in and was pulling on the cover!
Katharine's first child, Henry Bottemueller, was undoubtedly born in that cabin in 1863. One of Katharine's granddaughters recalls Katharine relating that she and the baby would sometimes be alone at night, as Hermann would be away from home doing carpentry work, or cabinet work. Katharine also recalled riding horseback to Giebler's Store, only a short distance east of her home, with her sack of goods slung across the horse, and her baby in her arms.
Three years after Katharine and Hermann were married, on February 8, 1865, Hermann purchased another eighty acres of land from Elizabeth Chuming. On the map provided as :figref refid=mfritz., this eighty acres is identified as the easternmost forty acres of the land belonging to F. Landwehr along the section line between Section 5 and Section 8, as well as another forty acres just east of the forty acres just described.
Katharine and Hermann were married one year after the Civil War began. In the fall of 1864, two and one-half years after their marriage, Confederate General Sterling Price led a large Confederate army on a raid through Missouri. The Confederate forces, about 15,000 strong, were in Franklin County on the last day of September and the first few days in October. A letter found in Hermann's personal papers makes reference to that raid. The letter, written in German, was penned from a "Camp Near Mouth of White River, Arkansas November the 6, 1864". It was apparently written by a friend of Hermann Bottemueller. A translation of the letter reads:
Dear Friend,
I cannot miss the chance to write you a few lines and to let you know my joy on finally receiving your long-awaited letter. I can see from your letter that all of you are still well and in good spirits.
As for me, I can say the same.
Dear friend Hermann, I thought you were mad at me, since I did not receive any answers to my letters. I thought I had told you too many dumb jokes in my letters, but now I see that I was just not receiving your letters.
Dear friend, I heard that the rebels up in Franklin County raised quite a bit of hell. I do not know if they were in your area. Your brother-in-law, F. Lefmann, really got it from them. They took all of my clothes. I think the rebels want to bankrupt me, they'll have no luck in that respect so long as I'm in the U. S. Service. I don't think I'll have any trouble getting it back, maybe double, but the worst is that they took everything from the farmers, even horses, wagons and all kinds of other things. They must, however, accept the situation because they cannot change it.
Katharine and Hermann Bottemueller were the parents of three more children. William was born in 1866, Adolphus in 1868, and Sophia in 1870. Then, on February 4, 1870, less than five weeks after Sophia's birth, Hermann Bottemueller died. He was thirty-three years old. A granddaughter of Louise (Lefmann) Bottemueller recalls hearing that Hermann died of "brain fever". Hermann was buried in a small cemetery, now known as the old Elbert cemetery, near Champion City. The cemetery was probably the burying ground for the community at that time. On the map provided as :figref refid=mfritz., the cemetery location is marked by a cross in the 38-acre tract of land owned by C. F. Meyer & Co. in the northwest corner of Section 9.
Katharine later described her life, as a widow with four small children, to her grandchildren. She recalled that she had a horse, and she had a few eggs and a little butter, which she would sell to make a living. She also recalled that she would get on her horse, put two boys behind her on the horse, another boy in front of her, and would hold her baby, butter, and eggs in her arms as she rode off to sell her produce.
Seven months after Hermann Bottemueller's death, Katharine remarried. On September 5, 1870, she was married to Wilhelm Heinrich 'Fritz' Landwehr, son of Friedrich Wilhelm Landwehr and Anna Maria Ilsabein Bonsen. Katharine's life following her second mariage is discussed in detail in :hdref refid=fritz..
.li.Katharina Louise 'Louisa' Lefmann was born near Port Hudson on November 15, 1845. Louisa was married to Johann Heinrich 'Henry' Kohrmeier on September 13, 1864. They were married by Rev. George Maul, Minister of the St. John's Evangelical Church.
Soon after Louisa and Henry were married, they provided a home for Louisa's parents, Casper and Louise Lefmann, on the original Lefmann farm near Port Hudson. Casper and Louise Lefmann lived with Henry and Louisa (Lefmann) Kohrmeier the rest of their lives.
Louisa died on July 3, 1907, and Henry died on June 11, 1918. They were both buried in the St. John's Evangelical Church cemetery near Casco.
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