Case Studies

The Children of Anton & Mary (Reuter) Karbach / Koerbach

Dana 0 Comments 2 min read

Anton and Mary (Reuter) Karbach (or Koerbach), my third great grandparents, immigrated from Germany to Ohio in about 1853. Although a passenger list has not been located, they probably arrived with their three oldest daughters: Mary Magdalena “Lena,” Margaret, and Katherina. In Ohio, Mary gave birth to at least four more children: Theresa, Christina, Karl/Charles, and Mary. According to the 1900 U.S. census, Mary Karbach had a total of ten children, so three of them probably died as infants or young children and their names and dates/places of birth are not known.

Photo of Anton & Mary (Reuter) KOERBACH/KARBACH with their granddaughter, Mary Ann (March) LORETZ who was born in 1871. Photo circa 1876 when Mary March,  Margaret’s daughter, was about 5, Anton was 53, and Mary was 46. (Photo from Charles Wilke; used with permission.)

Of the seven known children, Charles (1863-1871) died as an 8-year-old boy and Katherina (1852-1879), who died at the age of 27, appears to not have married or had any children. Five daughters married and had children. But, as daughters, their children did not carry the Karbach/Koerbach name.

The five daughters who married and had offspring were:

    • Mary Magdalena “Lena” (1848-1938) who married (1) Reinhard KAECHLE and (2) John Henry SPRINGER. Lena & Reinhard are my second great grandparents.
    • Margaret (1849-1939) who married Madardus “John” MARCH.
    • Theresa (1854-1925) who married Charlie KOLLMORGAN.
    • Christina (1859-1942) who married Joseph Byron GAHAGAN.
    • Mary (1865-1939) who married Benjamin Bernard WIDMAN and possibly a second husband with the surname of Fredrickson.
Photo labeled “Christina, Margaret, Theresa, & Mary” and are probably positioned in that order. (Photo shared by Charles Wilke & used with permission.)

Four years ago, I was thrilled to find a tree by a cousin, Charles Wilke, who had shared photos and documents on MyHeritage regarding our Koerbach family. I had never seen any photos of these family members! At the beginning of this post, you can see the only photo I’ve seen of my third great grandparents: Anton and Mary Koerbach. Charles also had this photo of  four of the five sisters who had children; unfortunately, the sister missing is “my” Lena (Koerbach) Kaechle.

Are you related to the Koerbach family? I’d love to talk! Please leave a message or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net.

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