Saturday, July 25, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Joseph Kaul and Katherine Elsaesser
Joseph Kaul was born in Deidesheim, Germany in 1828 and his wife, Katherine Elsaeser was born and raised in the nearby village of Forst. Joseph served for six years in the Bavarian army. Less than two years later he left Germany and set out for a new life in the United States.
According to family history passed down, he and Katherine married once they arrived in New Jersey. This has been verified in the state's marriage records.
They moved westward into Canada and lived there for a year or two before moving to Grand Haven, Michigan, then to Saginaw, where they were living when a younger brother, Henry Kaul and his wife, Anna Anslinger joined them. A few years later, younger sister Sophia Kaul, and her husband, William Schaeffer, and their two children left Deidesheim and settled in Carrollton, near Saginaw.
When the economy got bad and Joseph and Henry Kaul couldn't find work, they purchased forty-acres each and built adjoining farms from lumbered-over wilderness in Blumfield Township, north of Frankenmuth. Life must have been hard as Katherine Kaul died of consumption (TB) and the following year, Anna Kaul died at the age of 40--her death certificate indicates she died of "old age."
Both left grieving husbands and children.
According to family history passed down, he and Katherine married once they arrived in New Jersey. This has been verified in the state's marriage records.
They moved westward into Canada and lived there for a year or two before moving to Grand Haven, Michigan, then to Saginaw, where they were living when a younger brother, Henry Kaul and his wife, Anna Anslinger joined them. A few years later, younger sister Sophia Kaul, and her husband, William Schaeffer, and their two children left Deidesheim and settled in Carrollton, near Saginaw.
When the economy got bad and Joseph and Henry Kaul couldn't find work, they purchased forty-acres each and built adjoining farms from lumbered-over wilderness in Blumfield Township, north of Frankenmuth. Life must have been hard as Katherine Kaul died of consumption (TB) and the following year, Anna Kaul died at the age of 40--her death certificate indicates she died of "old age."
Both left grieving husbands and children.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Books about our Kaul Ancestors
Above is the photograph that hung in Earl's house all his life and started my fascination about our family history. The photo was taken in 1903 by a travelling photographer who came by one Sunday after church. From the left, is William George Kaul (youngest son of Joseph Kaul and Katherine Elsaesser), his wife, Anna Mae Bell Kaul, their dog, Bob, and their son, Earl Kaul, and William's father, Joseph Kaul.
I have written two books about our Kaul ancestors. One is The Story of Our Kaul Ancestors, a 350-page book starting with our ancestors in Deidesheim, Germany in the 1600s, and ending in the 1880s when Joseph Kaul, moved from Blumfield Twp (north of Frankenmuth) to Sheridan Twp, (near Clare).
The story begins again with The Childhood Memoirs of Earl Kaul, a 530-page book about Joseph Kaul moving to Sheridan Twp. and at the age of 60, starting all over building a farm out of lumbered-over wilderness. He helped his six children purchase land nearby.
The story begins again with The Childhood Memoirs of Earl Kaul, a 530-page book about Joseph Kaul moving to Sheridan Twp. and at the age of 60, starting all over building a farm out of lumbered-over wilderness. He helped his six children purchase land nearby.
Meanwhile, his brother, Henry, purchased Joseph's forty-acres that were next to his farm in Blumfield Twp. Their sister and husband, Sophia Kaul and William Schaffer lived not far from Henry in Carrollton, near Saginaw.
Much of the book is in Earl's own words as he described his young life. The book ends with a chapter about each of Joseph's children and their families and a chapter about Earl's mother's family, Margaret Lawson Wallace and Thomas Kelly Bell.
85th Annual Kaul Reunion
Welcome, We are descendants of three Kaul siblings that came from Deidesheim, Germany in the 1800s and settled in Michigan. In 1924, family members decided to have a family reunion and for 85 years we've been getting together and having a fun time.
We will gather at the Frankentrost Church Park on Sunday, August 2, 2009 at noon, and eat dinner at 1 p.m. Later, we will have our regular meeting followed by the ever popular auction.
Family members are invited to send their photos and stories (old and new) to Judy Lessard at Lessard.judy@yahoo.com and I'll add them to the blog.
We will gather at the Frankentrost Church Park on Sunday, August 2, 2009 at noon, and eat dinner at 1 p.m. Later, we will have our regular meeting followed by the ever popular auction.
Family members are invited to send their photos and stories (old and new) to Judy Lessard at Lessard.judy@yahoo.com and I'll add them to the blog.
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