Joseph Kornmeyer (2x great grandfather on my husbands paternal line) was born Dec. 7, 1840 in Baden Germany and christened in Boehringen, on Aug 27, 1840. His parents were Martin and Maria Ursula (Uhl) Kornmeyer. Joseph was part of generations of Kornmeyers that are listed in the Catholic Church there in Boehringen.

This map shows the town circled in red.

The surrounding country side today is still farmlands. It is about 1 mile to the lake below and less then 6.5 miles to Lake Konstanz. Children born to Martin and Maria where: (1) Therese (1835), (2)Martin (1836), (3)Peter (1838), (4) Joseph, (5) Gabriel (1842), (6) Philipp (1844) and (7) Mathilda (1846).

Joseph was 8 in 1848 when the parish records state that the family left for America. His mother had either just died or died on the trip to Rotterdam, where they boarded the Ship Jane E. Williams, for an average 3 month voyage to New York, arriving on October 7, 1850. Wow two years to go from Baden Germany to New York. What hardships did they have on their travels? Were the docks swarming with travelers for the gold fields in California? Was there a lot of illness around them?  I would think that was quite the adventure for a 10 year old boy. I wonder if he was sorry they were leaving everything familiar for the hope of a better life in America?  From my own experience of moving when I was ten, I was quite angry  for several years, and we only moved about 200 miles.

 

In the 1860 Census for Boonville, New York we find Joseph (19) listed as a farmer the same as his father and the other members of the family. His father has married Rosa Jackle and  Joseph has a new sister listed as Amelia (11) born in New York and a new brother John (5) born in New York. The age for Amelia is probably off as is Phillip’s age which is also listed as 11 and he should be 16 while I would hazard a guess that Amelia is barely 10.

In the 1870 census Joseph would be 30. But I have been unable to locate him He married Josephine Isabella Good  in 1868.

They had three children only one lived to raise a family of their own. Fredrick Joseph Kornmeyer was born July 7, 1869 in Hawkinsville, New York, Mary Louisa was born December 26  1871 and died a little over 4 mos. later on May 2, 1872.

 

 

 

 

 

Their third child George Lewis Kornmeyer was born  19 June 1873.

Four months later Joseph Kornmeyer died  at 33 years of age on 13 October 1873.

 

 

 

His son George dies the following year on 28 June, 1874,

 

and Josephine died three years later, 27 August 1877.