A Dig into the Seil and Meyer Genealogy at Sunnyslope Farm

Herman and Annie (Seil) Meyer moved away from Fahnhamville church group to get a life of their own in Minnesota. They had married 18.January.1911 in Farnhamville, Iowa.

They were happy to be building a new beginning at Sunnyslope farm. Now I do not know if they picked that name themselves or if it already belonged to the farm, when they moved on to it.

After the research into this marriage, I got an inkling of her mother's origination. The records said Elisabeth of Gross Thondorf. Gross Thondorf is in the county of Himbergen kries Uelzen.

I have a good deal more to share with you about Elisabeth Seil's family, the mother of Annie Seil. Just a brief background will be fine for now. Annie was born 23. January.1893 in Farnhamville, Iowa. I still have her records to get from the church about her babtism and what ever information is available about her birth. I had made a trip down to this area of Iowa, which was about three or four years ago. The records are now kept at an archive area. I wasn't able to get anything from the church at that time. I am still planning on going back to get information.

Her mother had arrived by notice or no notice to see August Seil while 'with child', carrying Annie at the time in 1892. I have found this ships passage with a passenger lists, etc to be shared in a little while. The mother of Elisabeth Seil was a Korn. According to church records from the Himbergen area and from Dahlenburg church archives ( which I will share again in abit) the birth of Elisabeth and August Wilhelm Seil departure may have happened the same year. I believe he immigrated to USA about 1873 or 1875. The reason he said why he left was because there was 'some kind of an affair'.


The family of Seil and Jaeschke.

This is what I have been told by someone of the family who was told this by the stepbrother of Annie, William Jaeschke.

What we have found solely is the little I can share now. Later I will share birth records from Dahlenburg and other church records at Himbergen, Uelzen.

August Friedrich William Seil came to America around 1873 or 1875. We have found his naturalization process at Joliet in Will county, Illinois. It was finalized in 1880. Then he moved to Greene county, Iowa and married Anna Fogel or Vogel. He must have stated that this was his first marriage. Perhaps it was annuled. His license for marriage stated that it was his first marriage.

I was able to obtain records at Dahlenburg of his birth and babtism. That and his parents names were all that I was sent. I have since asked if there were more names of brothers and sisters, but as usual no answer. [ it often takes a full year.] I suppose I need to write to the church and send along a little incentive. I have a few more details that I can share about this family and the Korn family. Later of course.

After awhile after giving birth to Annie, Elisabeth Seil married. Somehow, they decieded to let August and Anna raise Annie so Gustav Jaeschke and Elisabeth could have a good start together. Which they did.

August and Anna moved up to Minnesota after the newly married couple Herman and Annie Meyer. They built a wing on to the house for Anna and William. I often wonder how they arranged the living matters of work and everything else.

It wasn't long after August and Annie moved to Minnesota that Elisabeth died. She died shortly after her last child Charlotte was born. There were several young children yet to be raised. So the Seil family and the Meyer family had the little ones come to live with them. I imagine that they moved back and forth between Iowa and Minnesota. There is a little more about those children that I would like to go into at another time, because it involves the Rowe, Cummings family and again the Meyer family. I recently obtained more information about them from several emails. Which is always good.

Witness to the arrangement of the family under one roof in Minnesota was a woman by name Amanda Walker. She later married Lyle Meyer, the eldest son of Herman and Annie. Amanda helped with the house work and cooking before she married Lyle. She told a few stories to her children, who have also shared some of those stories with me.

Annie and Herman seemed to have made quite a life for themselves. Herman was on the school board for the local country school. I think he and Annie were both involved. After his death his son took over the position as treasurer at the Fieldon country school. According to the census one year they took in a teacher boarder. Annie was involved in the local 4H chapter. Many local residents have mentioned working with Annie as a youngster in 4-H.

William Seil was able to grow his grapes and garden. His wife Anna and grandaughter, Annie often were said to have painted pictures. One story has been told that Amanda Meyer took up number painting. I think she also tried her hand at Rosemaling. She gave the reason that she knew that some others in the family [probably Annie and Anna] were so good at it, she wanted to learn a little herself. I know that her daughter had great penmanship and did well with caligraphy and old script. She also seemed to have inherited the artistic talent and a good hand at putting words down, in a way that others would like to read them. I have often wished she could help me here with my writing.

I mentioned once about the son of Herman Meyer being called ' the Duke' by a man who possibly might have been Herman Jaeschke. He had lived for a time at the Meyer/ Seil household and must have gone to school with Dwight and Lyle Meyer.

Dwight worked the farm. Herman suffered a stroke at middle age. He was tall and a bit thick at the stomach. In those days one rested after heart problems. He drew up papers that said his son was to manage the farm.

Lyle helped with the Service station at the five and ten Mile corner. Which was about three or four miles from their home. In the middle of nowhere , of course. Now it is a clover leaf section of a highway. Lyle also worked at the Game Farm, which was a mile as the crow flies from Herman's home. I think the family was proud of this mostly because of the Meyer roots back at Roethen, when Juergen Friedrich Meyer was a game [Waerten] Warden.

Other evidence of family roots repetiton was the raising of sheep. The thought that they came from a family of shepherds. That makes it somehow a natural thing to do, to raise sheep on the grasslands of Minnesots.

Somewhere is evidence of shoemakers in the family. I haven't found the name with this occupation in any church records. I guess finding that fact will take some time with digging into the past. So how do I know that? Once when I was small and it was getting to be time to go off to school, there was talk about my bad looking shoes. It must have been one of their lean or poor farming income years. You know, due to the result of bad crops. They were talking about fixing them. I remember a trip we took going down to Iowa to see, if someone they knew there could fix my shoes. { I wish I could remember who it was] The first thing I remember now after that trip, was Herman Henry in his work shop in the basement with his various vice grips. He was getting ready to fix my shoes. He said in a knowing voice which may have been a determined voice. "I should be able to I come from a family of shoe makers." No one ever pointed out to me that those shoes looked a little odd. They really looked fine to me. So he did a very good job, a man from a line of shoe makers.

That closet held many clues to the past of the Meyer family.

The only other thing I remember was that was when I started to read stories about brownies, who fixed things during the night. And also stories about cobblers, who fixed shoes. I found a little Grimm brothers fable book in ' the special closet' I had with Meyer keepsakes of my dads. He saw that I had it and I was warned to be careful with it. It was based on german folk tales. Written by Grimm brothers.

Another source on information I have had on the family. Is the one main source on the surnames of this family. That has can come from Berniece Jaeschke. I imagine she has done genealogy nearly all of her life, especially before it became easier over the internet. She has been a great teacher in the art of genealogy. The skill I have not entirely mastered as of yet.

And for information about the Vogel/ Seil family, one cannot forget that Tom got me started in the area of Greene and Calhoun Iowa. and Genealogy in general. I believe he did his within a year. Through him, I was able to get many church records printed out about the St. Peters church at Farnhamville. After that, suddenly the church book about the centenial celebration that I had acquired from Heman's' things made sense to me.

Once you begin to sort the roots of the past a good deal of the present make sense. It is almost as good as the little saying I like to toot to people now and then: "If you don't know where you have been how will you know where your going." And that probably only makes sense to me.
a rootdigger
Jo