Why a U.S. Marriage?

On 31 May 1847, Nicholas Wehner and his wife-to-be, Clara, docked in Baltimore, after immigrating from Germany. The following year his brother Lorenz, presumably with his future wife, Flora, also immigrated to the U.S. from Germany. Both couples married soon after arrival, Nicholas and Clara on 26 Dec 1847 and Lorenz and Flora on 14 Sep 1848. But why did they wait until they were in the U.S. to wed? Perhaps now we know.

Ship’s passenger list with ”Nicolaus” Wehner (“Bridegroom,” not “husband”) and Clara Schneider (maiden name).

In the first half of the 1800s, German marriage regulations (Ehe-Regularien) increased. In hopes of reducing the number of impoverished children, who might require public support, town councils and county courts began basing the right to marry on financial status. It did not work. Numbers of illegitimate births increased drastically. But until they were relaxed in the second half of the 1800s, the regulations made things difficult for couples hoping to wed. In the absence of income or prospects of income, permission to marry was often refused. This made marriage particularly difficult for younger sons of farmers since the oldest brother usually inherited the family farm. Age was also an issue. Young men, those below age 25 with questionable income prospects, were often refused a marriage permit.

Nicholas and Lorenz were the youngest children in the farm family of Johann Georg Wehner and Flora Müller. There were two older sons, Caspar (who died well before his father) and Valentin, who lived until 20 Feb 1900 and likely inherited the farm and perhaps everything else. Nicholas was only 22 years old when he immigrated to the U.S. and when he married in Scott Co, Missouri. At that age and without prospect of significant inheritance, marriage could have been impossible in Germany.

Eddie's Children

Here it is. A pictorial overview of John Edward Wehner, known almost solely by "Ed" or "Eddie," his wife, Leona, and their descendants (one, my wife). This 18" by 24" poster was part of the 12 Aug 2023 Pioneer Families display at the Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, Jour de Fete, where the Wehners were one of the two families honored.

Did you have a great Day of Celebration (Jour de Fete) at Ste Gen? I did, amidst a mass of Wehners.

It’s all Relative

 

One can get a shock researching family history. Trying to verify (not that verification is really needed) that the Pilot Knob Missouri Wehners and the Ste. Genevieve Missouri Wehners were descended from brothers, I have been looking for DNA matches between my wife, Mary Frances, descended from Ste. Genevieve Wehners, and descendants of Pilot Knob Wehners. And I did find some, as expected. But when I looked for a match between Mary Frances and a DNA-tested Pilot Knob 4^th cousin once removed, I found none. Now that is not surprising since there is a 52 percent chance that no match will be detected for 4^th cousins once removed. But then, by accident, I noticed that I have a DNA match with that very cousin. An admittedly very distant match, corresponding to a 5^th to 8^th cousin, but a match nevertheless. A relationship on my father’s side, probably involving my grandmother’s line, as indicated by shared matches. 

No, I’m not a Wehner. They probably wouldn’t have me. And I have no known ancestors in the Pilot Knob Area. Nevertheless, my wife shows no match with her cousin, but I do.

But, in the long run, we are all related.

Back in the Saddle with a 2nd Edition

Why a second edition? Why not? During the more than ten years since the first printing, discoveries have been made, people have passed, and, to be honest, a mistake or two (or three) has been found. A second edition with changes, additions, and subtractions nicely addresses this situation. But there is a more important reason. Each year Ste Genevieve, Missouri, hosts Jour de Fete, a festival held the second full weekend in August. As part of the proceedings, the Ste. Genevieve Project Pioneer, a nonprofit organization, honors two families, French and German, who helped found the town. In 2023, the descendants of brothers Nicholas and Lorenz Wehner is the German family honored. And, of course, I had to get involved, with new research, new discoveries, and, above all, new correspondence with Wehner relatives and family historians.

There is now a second edition, but will there be a second printing? Probably not, but who knows. In the meantime there is an absolutely free electronic pdf file available. To get a copy just click on the link below. You don’t need the Dropbox app. If you get a "Log in or Sign Up" message just ignore it. Press the download button at the top of the web page. You will then get (another) "Log in or Sign Up" message. Just click "Or continue with dropdown only" at the bottom of that message. You need not log in or sign up. It is not necessary to be a Dropbox user. Leave a comment or send me an email if you have problems.

Bier und Brot, Download

As the sole author and copyright holder, I am granting downloaders an OK to distribute this digital copy to anyone they wish at no charge. No exceptions. 

Why am I offering this book for free? First, at my age, I’m more interested in fame than fortune. Second, I am saving lives, keeping our dead unforgotten. In return, please let me know of errors or suggestions.

Project Pioneer Wehner Family Display

On 12 Aug 2023, the Wehners were one of two families honored by Ste. Genevieve Project Pioneer as part of Jour de Fete (Day of Celebration, see Wehner Family). The other family was the LeClere. Each of the two families had a display at the Ste. Genevieve Museum. Below are copies of three of the posters in the Wehner display. Since these posters are designed for 36-inch by 48-inch trifold poster boards, they are difficult to read here.

The Wehner display was unbelievably successful. Even more so were the meetings between distant family members. Jour de Fete tuned out to be Jour de Wehners.

  

Lorenz and Flora

Unlike the case for Lorenz's brother Nicholas, we lack pictures of Lorenz and his wife, Flora. But I just ran across photos I took in 2007 of their plot in the Catholic Cemetery, Pilot Knob, Missouri. Perhaps this is the best we can do. But I am still hoping for photos of the couple. Do you know of any?

Wehner plot, Catholic Cemetery, Pilot Knob, Missouri. Left to right, daughter Louisa, who died at age eleven; military marker for “Lorenzo”; dual marker for Flora and Lorenzo.

Lorenz                                                                  Flora

Was ist in einem Namen?

 "What's in a name? That which we call a rose
by any other name would smell just as sweet.” 

Lorenz Wehner, founder of the Pilot Knob Wehners, arrived in the USA from Hesse in 1848, but the ship, exact date, and port of arrival are unknown. And so has been the family name of his wife, Flora, who likely accompanied Lorenz while yet-to-be married. But we may have solved the last mystery.

On 14 Sep 1848 at Old St. Vincent's Catholic Church, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Flora and Lorenz were wed. The original marriage record, written in Latin, shows Lorenz’s bride as “Flora Grisner,” daughter of “Joannis” (Latin form of German “Johannes”) Grisner and Marguerita (Latin form of German “Margarete”) Müller. Remember, however, that the Latin record was prepared from information provided by newly arrived Germans, who almost certainly had a strong German accent. And it is not at all unlikely that Flora and Lorenz spoke very limited English. In fact, in the U.S. Flora often signed documents with a mark and she was recorded as being illiterate in the 1870 census. Perhaps she was limited in both English and German.

Copy of original marriage record for Lorenz and Flora.

Other records give varying names for Lorenz’s bride. She is “Flora Glisner” in the baptismal record for her last-born child, Louisa; “Florence Clysner” in the marriage record for her daughter Amelia; “F. Glimmer” and “Flora Glisener” in the death certificates for two of her daughters, Anna (Wehner) Siebert (son Clarence Siebert, informant) and Amelia (Wehner) Becker (son Elmer B. Becker informant). Her name appears as “Flora Glistner” and “Flora Chrissener” in Lorenz Wehner’s consolidated Civil War pension file.

Flora’s most unusual appellation may appear in the Saint John Nepomuk Church (St. Louis, Missouri) record for the 1867 marriage of Clara Christina Wehner, Flora's daughter, to Robert Schilling. The German-language record states that Christine's mother was “Floritha geborne Steinhauser von Hesse” (Floritha nee Steinhauser of Hesse). The church, established in 1854 by Czech settlers, often used the German language, spoken by many Czech people, for records and sermons. This puzzling name may result from inaccuracy in the record, the interpretation, or the translation. A village named “Steinhaus” is located just eight miles northeast of Fulda and just three miles east of Dietershan, home of the Wehners. A person born in Steinhaus would be a “Steinhauser.” And, as we will see, persons with the German last name concluded for Flora, were living in Steinhaus in the late 1700s.

And to further confuse the issue, Flora is given the middle name “Laura” in many internet trees, probably because this is the name recorded for her in the 1850 census. Of course, at the time, the census enumerator was entering data for a person who had been in the U.S. just two years and was unlikely to be articulate.

Overall, it appears that Flora’s family name, at least in U.S. records, was meant to be “Glisner” or “Grisner,” though both are almost nonexistent names in Germany. Since most of the recorded variations in the U.S. have an “L” as the second letter and since the name “Glisner” is found in Hessian records (admittedly few), while “Grisner” is not, Lorenz's wife's name was probably “Flora Glisner,” at least in the U.S. In Germany, the name was likely “Gleisner” (pronounced “Glīsner,” long “I”) before being Anglicized in the U.S. “Gleisner,” though uncommon, is a known German name, found primarily in the states of Hesse and adjacent Nordrhein Westfalen. In fact records from Fulda churches (see below) are found for for three Johannes Gleisners, though there is no proof that any of these was related to Flora. The German name “Gleisner” is known to have been changed to “Glisner” in English-language records.

Distribution of the name “Gleisner” in Germany today. Each red dot show the location of 1 to 5 people with the name. Though rather rare, the name is most abundant in the states of Nordrhein Westfalen and Hesse. The names “Glisner” and “Grisner” are so rare they cannot be mapped. (Karte zum Namen,)

Record of the 22 Jul 1755 baptism at St. Margareta Catholic Church, Margretenhaun, District of Fulda, Hesse, of a Johannes Domas Gleisner, born in the town of Steinhaus, District of Fulda. This Latin record actually gives his father’s name as Johannes “Klisner.” Margretenhaun is located six miles southeast of Dietershan. (Source, Johannes Keusekotten).

Record in Latin for the 4 Sep 1787 baptism at St. Georg Catholic Church, Großenlüder, District of Fulda, Hesse, of Johannes Sebastian Gleisner, son of Johannes Domas Gleisner. (Source, Johannes Keusekotten).

Given all the evidence shown here, we can conclude that Flora’s name in Germany was almost certainly “Flora Gleisner,” which became “Flora Glisner” in the U.S. And it is not unlikely that Flora was born, or lived in Steinhaus, Hesse.